Theory: Danlan is more than she appears

[lil_literalist]

Adolin's reputation for short-lived courtships should be familiar, but there is a curiosity in the WoK. A girl named Danlan Morakotha manages to catch his eye and quickly grows close to him. However, by the end of the book, she is still with him. The events at the end of the book are very fast-paced and focus on other things, but as far as we know, at the time that Adolin left to assault the tower with Sadeas, he was still courting her. Now, it could be because she has a higher tolerance than the other women of the court, or that Adolin has somehow managed to keep her on his own (with a bit of help from Navani, in the form of avramelons). However, there is a bit more to her that makes her suspicious.

As noted by Dalinar, Danlan was barely in camp for a day before she started seeing Adolin. In fact, during the few hours that Dalinar was digging the latrine trench, Adolin had gone from merely being intrigued by Danlan and wondering if Malasha is the "one for him" to actively courting Danlan. Typical Adolin-paced relationships. But this courtship continues on far longer than normal.

It took me awhile to come up with a rough estimate of how long this period is. But it is a week and a day from Dalinar's decision to abdicate (at the end of Part 2, when Danlan and Adolin had started courting) until the beginning of Part 4, when Dalinar and Sadeas start cooperating. It is an unspecified number of days from the beginning of this cooperation until the battle when Dalinar starts using Sadeas's bridges (and when Kaladin starts wearing Parshendi armor). I'm going to guess five or six days as a rough estimate. It is another ten days until the second Tower assault, and until the end of the book. So all in all, a bit more than three weeks. And with no hints of their relationship slackening. So what? Does this mean that Adolin has finally settled down with a girl?

I doubt it. Danlan seems to have some special qualities about her. It appears that she is "just the type that attracted Adolin." And yet, she is intelligent enough to even impress Navani. She manages to land herself a job. Where? As a clerk, handling the spanreeds. The center of almost all private communication into and out of the Kholin camp. The perfect place for a spy.

When she is having lunch with Adolin's companions, Danlan further distinguishes herself. She makes a point to point out that she hasn't been in the camps very long and is ignorant about the political situation there. When Adolin contradicts her and says that she is incredibly clever, she looked "oddly annoyed for a moment." Oddly annoyed, as if she were trying to hide her intelligence. She makes another statement, trying to get Adolin to talk to Dalinar about "relaxing all of these foolish restrictions our camp is under." It strikes me that this is not something that an intelligent girl would say. My guess is that she is trying to play off the stereotype of an average court-going girl who is more concerned with feasts and balls than anything else.

Now, I am convinced that Danlan is not a simple lighteyed girl who happens to be dating Adolin. But what is her ultimate objective? I have some speculations, but not very much to back them up with. You can take your pick.

1. She is working for the Ghostbloods.

2. She is spying for Sadeas or another highlord.

3. She is a spy for Taravangian (who may or may not be a Ghostblood).

If number 2 is true, then there is another, highly interesting possibility. In the whole Stormlight Archives, there will be ten books, with a different character as the focus of each one. Brandon has pondered on the possibility of doing another book on Kaladin, but that is not a certainty. So chances are, this will be the only book with Kaladin's flashbacks. Kaladin briefly mentions that when he was bummed after letting Tien die, a girl named Tarah saved him from working himself to death. And he has also apparently failed her in some significant way. Though she is only mentioned two times in the whole book, those passages hint at some greater significance. And yet, she is in the past. The opportunity for Kaladin's flashbacks has come and gone, but this significant character from Kaladin's past has not been explained. Although it's possible that her name could have been thrown in as added flavor, but I do not believe that Brandon would add something like that in there, knowing that she will remain unexplained. Tarah is going to come back.

Two mysterious women, one from the past and one from the future. Both under the reign of Sadeas (I'm assuming that Tarah was somehow attached to Amaram's army, which is under Sadeas). There isn't much of a connection beyond these two points, but I find it an intriguing possibility nonetheless. There are a few minor problems with this particular option, though.

1. We don't know anything about Tarah. It is too soon to know for certain whether or not there is a possibility of Tarah and Danlan being the same person.

2. Amaram is coming to the Shattered Plains, but this becomes known around the time when Sadeas and Dalinar start working together--a week after Danlan first appears. This theory might have been more convincing if Danlan had arrived at the same time as Amaram. Of course, this can be explained away easily. The difference between an individual booking passage on a ship and an army marching overland, perhaps?

Regardless, it is my belief that these women are significant, and that we will be seeing more of them in Book Two.

For reference, the chapters that mentioned:

Danlan: 28, 52, 58

Tarah: 62, 63

I had to pull from various places to get the timeline somewhat accurate. Out of curiosity, has anyone gone and made a timeline for the book yet?

Edited February 9, 2013 by lil_literalist

[ReaderAt2046]

I'm going to propose that Danlan is actually Chaos, who has tracked Hoid to the Plains but doesn't know who he is from there.

[Elwynn]

I like this. After going back and reading those parts...I can definitely see some strange behavior out of Danlan. Nice eye.

Connecting her to Tarah seems a little far fetched at this point. But like you said...just not enough info on either of them.

Still, I have to agree with you at this point that Danlan appears to have some nefarious motives in the camps.

Sweet lord I'm dying for book 2 of SA.

[Triasmus]

I don't think Tarah would have had connections to Sadeas or other leaders beyond probably being in the camp. Kaladin was unimportant back in the day and there would have been far better places to send someone than to lift the spirits of a young soldier.

Now if Tarah and Danlan (or Tarah/Danlan) are connected to the "watchers" from the back of the book (there are four we watch: the surgeon, the [shallan], the [Dalinar], the [szeth]) we might be getting somewhere.

[lil_literalist]

I don't think that Danlan is Tarah, but I spotted the possibility and wanted to bring it up. My impression of Tarah is that she somehow comforted Kaladin, and then got swept up in something that he couldn't protect her from. However, there's another problem that I forgot to mention. We don't know if Tarah is a lighteyes or not. Chances are, she's not. After all, why would a lighteyed woman consort with a common darkeyed soldier? I still find it interesting, though. And I wanted to post about it so that in the off chance that it is true, I can beat my chest and say that I called it.

[Triasmus]

contacts

 

 

Edit: seeing this 3 years from when I posted it..... I have no idea what I was saying......

Edited April 16, 2015 by Triasmus

[Captain Cosmere]

Given that Taravangian is being kept apprised of the situation in the camps with Dalinar, it seems to me that Danlan is naturally his spy. We know she is in position to know what is happening with Dalinar and she has access to spanreeds. Due to the events at the end of the book, Danlan notifies Taravangian of the dangers that Dalinar poses and he then sends Szeth to kill Dalinar.

[hoser]

lil_literalist makes a solid case for Danlan being a spy. Taravangian feels threatened by something that Dalinar is doing recently. Danlan could be the source of that information.

It seems to me that there are also other possibilities.

Kharbranth, IIRC, is the Rosharian healing center. It is where Kaladin's father studied and where Kaladin had planned to study. I assume that the base of T's spy network is healers. They must have some women if they communicate by writing or at least spanreeds if they communicate by glyphs. Taravangian could be hearing through healers with access to the wounded and maybe at battles with the armies. He could even be hearing from the Parshendi, for all we know. He might not even know about the Highprince for war thing. He could even be reacting to the joint assaults that Dalinar and Sadeas started running weeks before.

I think that the ghostbloods are a distinct group from T's cabal because they apparently tried to kill Jasnah where T's group was just studying her.

So Danlan could easily be a spy for any of the highprinces, particularly Sadeas; the Ghostbloods and their presumed leader Thaidakar; or the mysterious Restares (who may be associated with some organization of stormwardens).

[valkynphyre]

I propose that Danlan is actually Valette Renoux, transported to the world of Roshar. /thread.

[Aethling]

This is probably just one of the cases people read too much into something. I believe that it is firmly what it is set up to be. A young woman trying to land herself a quality young man. Sanderson has used this type of thing in his books before, plus, they are about the right age for it in the books.

You will find a relationship like this in Mistborn, Elantris, Warbreaker (Siri sets about to actually nab the king on her own). It also happens at least twice in WoK. Once even involving Kaladin.

[lil_literalist]

This is probably just one of the cases people read too much into something. I believe that it is firmly what it is set up to be. A young woman trying to land herself a quality young man. Sanderson has used this type of thing in his books before, plus, they are about the right age for it in the books.

You will find a relationship like this in Mistborn, Elantris, Warbreaker (Siri sets about to actually nab the king on her own). It also happens at least twice in WoK. Once even involving Kaladin.

Oh, really? And in how many of those relationships were both the guy and the girl completely normal, unassuming citizens? None.

Elantris: Prince and Princess (both protagonists)

Warbreaker: Princess (protagonist) and God-king

Mistborn: Mistborn (protagonist) and heir to most powerful house (most powerful person of his age)

Way of Kings: It's not over yet. In fact, it's barely just begun. When the next book comes out, I guess we'll see if there's more than meets the eye or not.

[lil_literalist]

Another theory proposed (jokingly) by Sweetness in chat tonight: Danlan is a Herald. I don't think it's likely, but I will dutifully mention it here. I also briefly considered that Danlan might be a worldhopper, but I dismissed this almost as soon as it entered my head, for a multitude of reasons (such as not having an accent and already being accustomed to Alethi traditions and writing in Alethi).

[Dahak]

I propose that Danlan is actually Valette Renoux, transported to the world of Roshar. /thread.

I thought she was supposed to be Dalinar's sexchanged clone created as part of his experience with the Old Magic.

[Aethling]

Oh, really? And in how many of those relationships were both the guy and the girl completely normal, unassuming citizens? None.

Elantris: Prince and Princess (both protagonists)

Warbreaker: Princess (protagonist) and God-king

Mistborn: Mistborn (protagonist) and heir to most powerful house (most powerful person of his age)

Way of Kings: It's not over yet. In fact, it's barely just begun. When the next book comes out, I guess we'll see if there's more than meets the eye or not.

That they are power players in the universe is only typical since they are what those books are about. Don't forget about Breeze and his little powderpuff. You also have the relationship between the girl and the chay'san expert in Elantris. It is made pretty clear that she set out to land him. Siri is the only one that I can state from Warbreaker because that is really the only clean cut relationship shown. I don't count Lightsong and his strumpet.

You see the same thing in Eddings, which I feel is a lot like Sanderson. Ce'Nedra didn't set out to land Garion, but Taiba certainly did Relg in the first series. Velvet chases Silk across two continents to land him in the second series. Jordan has it also. Look at Nyn going after her Lan. Nothing short of the Darkone was going to stop her from getting his bond. You also have Elayne going after Rand to a lesser extent. I don't count Min or Avi due to other circumstances. Since Sanderson is finishing those up, you definately have some influence. There are several of the same type of relationships in Rothfuss's works. I can't really think of one from Goodkind, but Denna going after Richard is a far, far stretch. Chima has Raisa going after two different guys.

You are correct that WoK is just getting started. That is why I am saying it is too early to read too much into the relationship. Sanderson does have a history of putting clean male/female relationships into his works with basically no ulterior motives.

[lil_literalist]

That they are power players in the universe is only typical since they are what those books are about. Don't forget about Breeze and his little powderpuff. You also have the relationship between the girl and the chay'san expert in Elantris. It is made pretty clear that she set out to land him. Siri is the only one that I can state from Warbreaker because that is really the only clean cut relationship shown. I don't count Lightsong and his strumpet.

<Haven't read any of these, and they're not Sanderson anyways.>

You are correct that WoK is just getting started. That is why I am saying it is too early to read too much into the relationship. Sanderson does have a history of putting clean male/female relationships into his works with basically no ulterior motives.

Of all of those relationships that you mentioned, the only one that is slightly comparable to this situation is Breeze and Allrianne.

The rest of those relationships are minor. Supporting characters that are attracted to other supporting characters. We have seen events from Adolin's viewpoint; we have walked a mile in his shoes. He is a protagonist. I think that he's going to get his own book, even. Danlan, on the other hand, is barely a supporting character.

Brandon is great at portraying the relationships between characters. They are not trivial or added in for their own sake. He makes them believable, and he makes you understand what is going through the characters' heads. As such, we will either have relationships between two POV characters or we will observe the relationship completely from the outside. We will not be seeing a relationship from only one person's point of view. The more important the characters, the more this will tend to hold true.

Adolin is special. He's a Shardbearer, and the son of one of the 4 most important characters in the book. He is one of the few people who have had repeated viewpoints. He has to have a developed romantic partner. And what is interesting about Danlan? Apart from the fact that she is dating Adolin, practically nothing (if you are correct). Even the normal, non-magical heroines in Brandon's other books were still royalty. Danlan doesn't have that going for her. She would have to be developed further (as a passive character without much control of the events around her), or Adolin would have to dump her for someone else more interesting.

On the other hand, if Danlan is special in some way (hey, she might even be a KR candidate for all we know), then the relationship could work.

Also, as a general trend, Brandon's characters seem to fall for people who are close to their level of development, and "specialness." You see that in WoA, when Vin is a Mistborn and Elend is not, there is a distinct tension between the two. The culture is different in WoK, but Brandon's mind still works the same way.

Mark my words--Danlan will eventually be revealed for what she is. Whether that's in this next book or one later down the line, I don't know. But prepare yourselves, winter is coming Danlan will not remain an unremarkable woman.

[name_here]

I propose that Danlan is actually Valette Renoux, transported to the world of Roshar. /thread.

Eye color is all wrong. Otherwise sensible.

Now, part of the reason Dalan might be sticking with Adolin is that Navani has been helping him not put his foot in his mouth or repeat the Temple Incident. But you do raise a good point about her having Spanreed access. Interestingly, spying on the Highmarshall that way might have been less than effective- because he's working with the Stormwardens, who have a glyph-based pictographic writing system and therefore do not need to add a female scribe to the loop for high-security communications.

[BackBlast]

When she is having lunch with Adolin's companions, Danlan further distinguishes herself. She makes a point to point out that she hasn't been in the camps very long and is ignorant about the political situation there. When Adolin contradicts her and says that she is incredibly clever, she looked "oddly annoyed for a moment." Oddly annoyed, as if she were trying to hide her intelligence. She makes another statement, trying to get Adolin to talk to Dalinar about "relaxing all of these foolish restrictions our camp is under." It strikes me that this is not something that an intelligent girl would say. My guess is that she is trying to play off the stereotype of an average court-going girl who is more concerned with feasts and balls than anything else.

Now, I am convinced that Danlan is not a simple lighteyed girl who happens to be dating Adolin. But what is her ultimate objective? I have some speculations, but not very much to back them up with. You can take your pick.

1. She is working for the Ghostbloods.

2. She is spying for Sadeas or another highlord.

3. She is a spy for Taravangian (who may or may not be a Ghostblood).

While there may be a spy aspect to it, I think it's premature to jump to that conclusion. First, "our camp" clearly links Brightlord Morakotha into the Kholin camp which was sorta implied at his first mention. Given the level of loyalty typically afforded to Dalinar by those under him it is unlikely she is a spy for another highlord. Her appearance is also precedes events that would give cause for highlords to want highly placed spies in Dalanar's camp.

It is possible that she is a spy for the Ghostbloods and/or Taravangian. But certainly they have other spies that need not be so highly placed, it's certainly not a required aspect. Also, the stereo-typed females ala Elantris doesn't really exist here. It is common and commendable for intelligent women to be fully known for their prowess. The women are the scholars and engineers in the Voran lands and intelligence is a valued attribute. She simply doesn't have the motive to pretend to be dull minded.

If number 2 is true, then there is another, highly interesting possibility. In the whole Stormlight Archives, there will be ten books, with a different character as the focus of each one. Brandon has pondered on the possibility of doing another book on Kaladin, but that is not a certainty. So chances are, this will be the only book with Kaladin's flashbacks. Kaladin briefly mentions that when he was bummed after letting Tien die, a girl named Tarah saved him from working himself to death. And he has also apparently failed her in some significant way. Though she is only mentioned two times in the whole book, those passages hint at some greater significance. And yet, she is in the past. The opportunity for Kaladin's flashbacks has come and gone, but this significant character from Kaladin's past has not been explained. Although it's possible that her name could have been thrown in as added flavor, but I do not believe that Brandon would add something like that in there, knowing that she will remain unexplained. Tarah is going to come back.

Two mysterious women, one from the past and one from the future. Both under the reign of Sadeas (I'm assuming that Tarah was somehow attached to Amaram's army, which is under Sadeas). There isn't much of a connection beyond these two points, but I find it an intriguing possibility nonetheless. There are a few minor problems with this particular option, though.

1. We don't know anything about Tarah. It is too soon to know for certain whether or not there is a possibility of Tarah and Danlan being the same person.

2. Amaram is coming to the Shattered Plains, but this becomes known around the time when Sadeas and Dalinar start working together--a week after Danlan first appears. This theory might have been more convincing if Danlan had arrived at the same time as Amaram. Of course, this can be explained away easily. The difference between an individual booking passage on a ship and an army marching overland, perhaps?

Yeah, don't think this is the case. Especially with the implication above that Brightlord Morakotha is attached to the Kholin house. There is just no connection.

I remember reading somewhere that there would be two romances in The Stormlight Archives. Given what I know from the first book, it is likely that Kaladin and Shallan as young singles will both be on the list - not necessarily with each other. Dalinar and Navani may or may not be another one. I also recall him saying that Adolin would probably not get his own book - which probably means Danlan will remain a relatively minor character attached to a major but not primary character.

Edited May 10, 2012 by BackBlast

[Windrunner]

Adolin may or may not get his own book, that hinges on whether Brandon decides to do another flashback book for Kaladin. Also I've never read the two romances quote, can you point me to the source?

[junior]

Velvet chases Silk across two continents to land him in the second series.

And volunteered to have herself crucified in part to impress him, I suspect...

With regard to Danlan, imo the idea of her being a spy for Taravangian seems far too obvious. Yes, there certainly appears to be more to her than meets the eye. But the information that's been provided almost makes it too obvious that she's an agent for Taravangian. Compare the possible clues dropped for that connection with some of the other subtle hints that Sanderson dropped within the book. For instance, the hint that Shallan has her father's Shardblade literally comes down to a couple of lines where she starts to activate it while frightened by the Truth Spren, and then decides against it, all without actually saying within the text what it is she's thinking about. Or there's the hint that the king has the same abilities as Shallan. There's a seemingly throwaway comment early on by the king regarding some odd people he's seen that seems to merely be a part of his paranoia, and then there's no further mention of them whatsoever. And that comment is long before Shallan (who the reader ends up mentally linking with the Truth Spren) sees the Truth Spren for the first time. It requires either a long memory on the part of the reader, or a second reading of the book, to make the connection between Shallan's Truth Spren and the mysterious figures that the king mentions to his uncle.

With Danlan, on the other hand, we're constantly told over and over that she's "special". There's nothing particularly unsubtle about her presentation, and as a result making her Taravangian's agent in the camp would be a waste. A spy shouldn't be anywhere near that easy to pick out.

[Dahak]

With Danlan, on the other hand, we're constantly told over and over that she's "special".

She's a spren. She's behaving towards Dalinar much like Syl did towards Kaladin. He fathers a member of one o0r other of the conspiracies and covering for her while she manoeuvres Adolin into saying the most important words.

[junior]

She's a spren. She's behaving towards Dalinar much like Syl did towards Kaladin. He fathers a member of one o0r other of the conspiracies and covering for her while she manoeuvres Adolin into saying the most important words.

Hah! Wouldn't that be a plot twist!

[Aethling]

I just finished my reread. I still can't find anything that points to her being anything other than a woman that came to camp to be around the king's court. I may have lost count, but she is only on screne around three times. She is a Brightlord's daughter, and that itself gives her reason enough to be there. Google books search shows 9 mentions, but most of those are during the spanreed scene.

1. she was there when Dalinar spoke with Jasnah over the spanreeds.

2. she was at Adolin's side right before his duel.

3. Navani mentions her as a way to get rid of Adolin to flirt with Dalinar.

[royishere]

And you were right on the money. Congrats!

[shimwick]

[Edited for untagged spoilers]

Edited March 5, 2014 by Shivertongue
Spoilers

[Delightful]

good catch!