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{{character
|children=[[Sudi Valam]], [[Redin]]
|titles={{tag+|Highprince|Jah Keved}},
|died=
|abilities={{tag+|Shardbearer}}
|world=Roshar
|universe=[[Cosmere]]
|books=[[The Stormlight Archive]]
}}
{{quote
|So the night will reign, for the choice of honor is life...
|Valam's final words, likely a [[Death Rattle]]{{book ref|sa2|i|14}}
}}
Brightlord '''Valam''' is a [[Jah Keved|Veden]] highprince on [[Roshar]] who later becomes king.{{book ref|sa1|3}}{{book ref|sa2|i|14}} [[Valam princedom]] notably includes the lands of [[House Davar]].{{book ref|sa1|3}}
==Appearance and Personality==
{{quote
|I'm
|Valam,
}}
Valam's appearance is not known until he is on his deathbed, at which point he has lost his hair and has extremely sunken cheeks. He seems to be intelligent, but also domineering and vengeful. He treats his bastard son [[Redin]] particularly poorly.{{book ref|sa2|i|14}}
==Attributes and Abilities==
He possesses a [[Shardblade]]. He is not seen using it, but he still has it when he dies.{{book ref|sa2|i|14}} The subsequent fate of his Blade is unknown.
==History==
Valam was a powerful aristocrat. He had ten landed [[lighteyed]] men who led noble houses in [[Valam princedom|his princedom]]. Each of these nobles constantly tried to curry his favor by contributing economically to the princedom through various methods, such as [[Revilar]]'s textiles and [[Lin Davar]]'s mining.{{book ref|sa2|45}}{{book ref|sa2|73}} They also feared him; he employed Redin as a ruthless enforcer and assassin.{{book ref|sa2|39}}{{book ref|sa2|i|14}} Valam spent most of his time in the capital of [[Vedenar]], only occasionally visiting his distant princedom.{{book ref|sa2|31}}{{book ref|sa2|45}}
===House Davar's Decline===
[[House Davar]] was one of the houses who pledged fealty to Valam. After the death of [[Shallan's mother]], the house was in turmoil and began to decline financially.{{book ref|sa2|39}} By this time, Valam was likely in his seventies (his daughter [[Sudi Valam|Sudi]] was a widow in her fifties){{book ref|sa2|61}} and his health was failing him. He no longer provided the Davars with the same protection as he once did.{{book ref|sa1|3}} Additionally, Redin suspected that Lin had killed his wife and would have likely removed him if he had any proof.{{book ref|sa2|61}} Revilar sensed Lin's weakness and forced him into a terrible business deal. Lin, who was becoming increasingly unstable, also disowned his heir [[Helaran]].{{book ref|sa2|45}}
These factors presumably led to Lin striking a deal with the [[Ghostbloods]], with [[Luesh]] secretly using a [[Soulcaster]] to artificially create valuable mineral deposits on Davar land, significantly improving the family's previously dire financial situation.{{book ref|sa1|7}}{{book ref|sa2|39}} Lin was able to leverage the restored name of House Davar to gain political influence in the princedom; he even considered forcing his son [[Balat]] to marry Sudi Valam despite a thirty year age difference.{{book ref|sa2|61}} Lin was likely positioning himself to become [[highprince]],{{book ref|sa1|29}} but his death ended any threat to Valam's reign.
===Veden Civil War and Death===
{{sidequote|side=right|size=300px
|Through my storming heart! I won't lie here and let Taravangian coax my own servants into poisoning me. Do it, boy! Or can’t you do a single thing that—
|Valam ordering Redin to kill him{{book ref|sa2|i|14}}
}}
Despite Valam's age and ill health, he participated in the war of succession that followed the murder of King [[Hanavanar]] and six Veden highprinces by [[Szeth]].{{book ref|sa2|31}} He was closely monitored by both the Ghostbloods and the [[Diagram (group)|Diagram]], with reports indicating that his health was failing.{{book ref|sa2|34}}{{book ref|sa2|i|14}} He commanded a significant military force that laid siege to [[Vedenar]]. The other remaining highprinces attempted the same tactic, leading to months of brutal combat, spurred on by the [[Thrill]].{{book ref|sa2|i|14}} The battle all but destroyed the city,{{book ref|sa2|34}} but Valam became the king of Jah Keved.{{book ref|sa2|i|14}}
His reign was short-lived, however, as his physical condition continued to decline and he began coughing up blood. He was visited on his deathbed by [[Taravangian]], who had been sending aid to the city. Valam was lucid until the end and expressed some regret for his ambition to become king. He saw through aspects of Taravangian's plan, realizing that he had surreptitiously built his own case to become the Veden king and would probably soon have him poisoned, if he hadn't already. Taravangian's actions had indeed been laid out in the [[Diagram (literature)|Diagram]] as a step towards unifying the world. Despite Valam's disdain for Taravangian, he named him the heir to the throne. He then ordered Redin to kill him with a knife through the heart, angrily chastising his son when he hesitated. His final words were a [[Death Rattle]], surprising Taravangian.{{book ref|sa2|i|14}}
[[Mrall]] mentioned that Valam's treatment of Redin was cruel; Taravangian noted that forcing his son to commit patricide destroyed any claim he could have made to the throne.{{book ref|sa2|i|14}}
== Notes ==
sa2: 31, 34, 38, 61, I-14
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{{complete|[[User:Big Smooth|Big Smooth]] ([[User talk:Big Smooth|talk]]) 20:01, 8 November 2023 (UTC)}}
{{Stormlight}}
[[category: family names]]
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