Why does everyone think that having killed Sadeas will destroy Adolin so much?

[Twenty@20 he/him]

The same exact situation of Sadeas betraying Dalinar may not happen nowadays simply because politicians like Dalinar are no longer present. But there have been plenty of media reports how innocent bystanders have been treated as collaterals in pursuit of "high value targets" or simply invading armies causing civilian deaths. I am sure the head of states were in the decision making chain which led to these deaths.

Even though Adolin eventually killed Sadeas impulsively, he had nevertheless always hated Sadeas even before the betrayal and later had actually threatened to kill him. I used to think his hatred for Sadeas is similar to what people feel for our generally corrupt, lying, scheming politicians. So I can understand Adolin grieving over killing some innocent but not Sadeas.
Edit: I can see Adolin grieving that he had to kill in the manner he did but he would not repent that he killed Sadeas.
2nd edit(sorry): Another thought popped in my head. In our world, we should also include economic and political betrayals because those are much more likely to cause widespread damage in rival economies and societies. Those are fairly common but often neglected because they are not dramatic but incremental

 

Apologies for the double post. Didn't feel like editing the previous post for the third time. Please don't double post. Edit the previous post instead. -Rubix

On hindsight, I kind of wish that Adolin had controlled his temper in the face of Sadeas' taunting. Adolin knew the KR had returned and Roshar was facing the threat of another Desolation. Sadeas was soon going to be irrelevant anyway. The KRs will be leading the war against voidbringers and high princes and soldiers would be foolish indeed not to support them.

And worst of all, Dalinar was on his way to become Bondsmith( though Adolin didn't know if that) and all Sadeas' threats would become meaningless. I mean who would people believe- newly become Radiant Dalinar or scheming Sadeas. Dalinar, high prince of War would soon take command of Alethkar's armies and all other high princes will come to his side. Only thing Sadeas could have done is perhaps join the Voidbringers if he is that crazy but then his career is finished.

Really if Adolin didn't kill him, his end would have been more tragic.

Edited November 13, 2014 by Rubix
Combined posts.

[Kyats Rani she/her]

Apologies for the double post. Didn't feel like editing the previous post for the third time.

On hindsight, I kind of wish that Adolin had controlled his temper in the face of Sadeas' taunting. Adolin knew the KR had returned and Roshar was facing the threat of another Desolation. Sadeas was soon going to be irrelevant anyway. The KRs will be leading the war against voidbringers and high princes and soldiers would be foolish indeed not to support them.

And worst of all, Dalinar was on his way to become Bondsmith( though Adolin didn't know if that) and all Sadeas' threats would become meaningless. I mean who would people believe- newly become Radiant Dalinar or scheming Sadeas. Dalinar, high prince of War would soon take command of Alethkar's armies and all other high princes will come to his side. Only thing Sadeas could have done is perhaps join the Voidbringers if he is that crazy but then his career is finished.

Really if Adolin didn't kill him, his end would have been more tragic.

 

I think I have to disagree. People on Roshar aren't going to simply accept KR back. They still consider them traitors, so there will surely be many troubles for the new KR to gain any acceptance. Sadeas going against Dalinar would only make the matters worse. Now, the KR have better chance. Because people would believe the scheming Sadeas. No matter what Dalinar did, there were still people following Sadeas - that wouldn't change. And now, with Dalinar being a Radiant it would be only worse. Common people don't remember the greatness of KR, their sacrifices to protect the mankind from Desolations. They only remember the Recreneance (sp?). Sadeas would surely find a way to convince at least some that Dalinar somehow caused/helped the Everstorm (or at least Ialai would - she's the brains in the relationship) - that was his plan after all. Maybe highprinces wouldn't believe him, maybe the armies wouldn't. But what about common people? Ones that weren't there when Shallan, as a Radiant, saved the armies from Voidbringers? Ones that wouldn't know that Kaladin, a Radiant, supposedly killed the Assasin in White? Ones that believe seeing the future is inheretely evil and that's what Renarin, a Radiant, does? No, if Sadeas stayed alive he would still cause many problems. And dealing with them would distract Dalinar from the real threat (but then again, dealing with the fact that his son killed a highprince will distract him too).

[Pathfinder]

I think a good analogue, since Hitler was already mentioned so Godwin's law has already taken place lol, is the nazi brass themselves during the Nuremberg trials. They gave orders that resulted in the deaths of thousands, yet claimed they could not be held accountable because they were just following orders, or they were led to believe what they were doing was right. The Nazis are demonized as evil, but what it comes down to it, is it was people, united under a concept that lead them to believe they were superior and those killed were not human. Sadeus casually sacrificing over 6,000 people, without a second thought, pre-meditated (he did not just see an opportunity and capitalize on it, he specifically set it up), I think easily places him within those leagues. So if you are looking for a real world analogue, equating him with those individuals I believe is apt. Not currently day politicians. Are their actions reprehensible? Totally, but their actions may eventually lead to death, and they do not have to face right in front of them, the product of their actions. We spoke earlier at one point as to whether or not Adolin is a psychopath/sociopath. Based on the definition and what we saw, I think that definition belongs to Sadeus any day of the week. 

 

Now having said that, there was something you said Maxal that triggered a thought in my head. You stated he would be so broken up, because he was big on the honorable duel and etc. I agree, if this was the first book, but the way you described it reminded me of the duels Adolin had in the second book. True he held to the rules, but the first few duels he had when his father gave him leave, left people shocked by the way he fought them. I see that as an early sign of Adolin beginning to see honor and action in his own light, and I think as result, it might not bother him as much as we think. It still will, but I am beginning to think this change in Adolin came much earlier than I originally thought. 

[Twenty@20 he/him]

I think I have to disagree. People on Roshar aren't going to simply accept KR back. They still consider them traitors, so there will surely be many troubles for the new KR to gain any acceptance. Sadeas going against Dalinar would only make the matters worse. Now, the KR have better chance. Because people would believe the scheming Sadeas. No matter what Dalinar did, there were still people following Sadeas - that wouldn't change. And now, with Dalinar being a Radiant it would be only worse. Common people don't remember the greatness of KR, their sacrifices to protect the mankind from Desolations. They only remember the Recreneance (sp?). Sadeas would surely find a way to convince at least some that Dalinar somehow caused/helped the Everstorm (or at least Ialai would - she's the brains in the relationship) - that was his plan after all. Maybe highprinces wouldn't believe him, maybe the armies wouldn't. But what about common people? Ones that weren't there when Shallan, as a Radiant, saved the armies from Voidbringers? Ones that wouldn't know that Kaladin, a Radiant, supposedly killed the Assasin in White? Ones that believe seeing the future is inheretely evil and that's what Renarin, a Radiant, does? No, if Sadeas stayed alive he would still cause many problems. And dealing with them would distract Dalinar from the real threat (but then again, dealing with the fact that his son killed a highprince will distract him too).

We know that Dalinar has already refounded the KR officially when he nominated Amaram as KR. Did we see anyone at the warcamps, the ardents or civilians or other highprinces there protesting against the reforming of KR on religious or historical grounds? I think if the common people had so much negative opinion against the KR, then they would have definitely protested saying it was heresy or something like that. That we saw no opposition then is a good indicator of future response to the true KRs.

Even if assuming that the public on Roshar have doubts about KRs, I don't think it will take long for them to win public support because they will be the ones running around protecting people.

Another point. People on Roshar tend to view the past as mythology. There is so less known about the past that its all vague. I can't realistically imagine that once people see actual humans with superpowers who actually want to help them, they will bear any grudge against them based on 1000 year old (atleast) mythical happenings.

Edited November 10, 2014 by Twenty@20

[Twenty@20 he/him]

It seems I have caught the downvote bug. Is it so wrong to express an unpopular view? I am sorry if I hurt anyone's nationalistic feelings (guessing that's the reason for the down vote). If not, I am ready to apologise to anyone who thought I was rude to him.

Edit: looks like someone really hates me.

Edited November 10, 2014 by Twenty@20

[Pathfinder]

We know that Dalinar has already refounded the KR officially when he nominated Amaram as KR. Did we see anyone at the warcamps, the ardents or civilians or other highprinces there protesting against the reforming of KR on religious or historical grounds? I think if the common people had so much negative opinion against the KR, then they would have definitely protested saying it was heresy or something like that. That we saw no opposition then is a good indicator of future response to the true KRs.

Even if assuming that the public on Roshar have doubts about KRs, I don't think it will take long for them to win public support because they will be the ones running around protecting people.

Another point. People on Roshar tend to view the past as mythology. There is so less known about the past that its all vague. I can't realistically imagine that once people see actual humans with superpowers who actually want to help them, they will bear any grudge against them based on 1000 year old (atleast) mythical happenings.

First, we only see the prospective the higher ups that are disdainful of the religion to begin with, and think Dalinar is mad and this is only sealing the deal. The only common people we see around are people that serve Sadeus, and people that serve Dalinar. Any public outcry would more than likely be centered back in Alethkar, which it seems communication is relatively minimal. There certainly were not any scenes of people reacting to the announcement back at home, and it seemed like the declaration was much more centralized in the warcamps since it was part of the bid to unite the princes. So just because we do not see a huge upheaval when it is first announced, does not mean there will not be one at all.

 

That is conjecture, especially considering the numerous organizations that are working against the formation. I see it as a math game. You have an established religion that has painted the radiants as corrupt, and abandoned everyone. You have an established religion whose interest is maintaining this view. You have numerous groups whose interest is in controlling the radiants, or discrediting them in a bid to gain power. you have another group led by a herald himself, running around and killing radiants. and finally you have a group of radiants that know each other and assuming want to work with each other that numbers four, Dalinar, Renarian, Shallan, and Kaladin. Lift I do not count because they have not met, nor has she agreed to join them. Also those four do not know or truly understand their powers. So I think there is a whole long that stands between the radiants and people trusting what they have to say and want to do.

 

Well look at it from an order of occurence. First you think magical radiants are a myth. then you find out they are real. where did you read about these radiants that you thought were a myth? the same place that says they are bad and abandoned us. so if one part of that text turns out real, why wouldn't you believe the other part?

 

So as I typed all that, I saw your latest post 20, and I want to say given over this thread we have pretty much disagreed on everything lol, I want to make sure you know I did not downvote you, and as I said before I respect what you think and believe. I am not saying you were accusing me, but given our discussion on the thread, it would be the most logical deduction. I like our discourse 

[Twenty@20 he/him]

@ pathfinder: I never thought you would down vote me. Disagreements are the soul of a debate. So that's all fine with me.

[Kyats Rani she/her]

We know that Dalinar has already refounded the KR officially when he nominated Amaram as KR. Did we see anyone at the warcamps, the ardents or civilians or other highprinces there protesting against the reforming of KR on religious or historical grounds? I think if the common people had so much negative opinion against the KR, then they would have definitely protested saying it was heresy or something like that. That we saw no opposition then is a good indicator of future response to the true KRs.

Even if assuming that the public on Roshar have doubts about KRs, I don't think it will take long for them to win public support because they will be the ones running around protecting people.

Another point. People on Roshar tend to view the past as mythology. There is so less known about the past that its all vague. I can't realistically imagine that once people see actual humans with superpowers who actually want to help them, they will bear any grudge against them based on 1000 year old (atleast) mythical happenings.

 

You make a valid point. And yet I have a different opinion on the part with Dalinar making Amaram a Radiant.

 

Firstly, people tend to see Amaram as the greatest man ever so they are likely to think "he's so honarable and good and whatnot, he couldn't turn against us". I know it's not a good argument, but I think it could be a part of it.

 

Secondly, I tend to think that people didn't think too much about the matter. Most of the common people may not have known to much or have heard only rumors in which they didn't believe. Others may have thought it's a byproduct of Dalinar's dementia - he's getting older, he has strange ideas, nothing serious to care about. One man declared a supposed Radiant - that's nothing too troubling. But a larger group? Made mostly of some lowly or unimportant people who don't have Amaram's reputation of honor? Actively trying to do something as being Radiants and not just walk around basking in a fancy title? Now that may be a problem.

 

Thirdly, there's also Surgebinding. Everyone must have heard stories about the Radiants of old using magic/supernatural abilities. Somebody does that now? That means they're just like the ones form before! Besides, didn't the Assasin in White do the same (that would focus against Kaladin)? And he was evil! By default, people fear things they don't understand, at least at the beginning, before they get used to it. It's obvious they would fear surgebinders as they can do something strange, unexplainable.

 

Besides, the circumstances are strongly against the new KR. When Amaram was named a Radiant nothing strange was happening. But now, as the real KR appeared - it's the beginning of the Desolation. The Everstorm came and propably killed many people, destroying cities and so on. People look for explanations. Usually for the simplest (and untrue) ones. The Desolation started. The KR appeared. It must be their fault then! They brought it upon us!

 

As for people with superpowers helping the society... The X-Men movies - the mutants have superpowers they use to help, yet they're still feared and hated. Supernatural abilities (surgebinding) is the last thing that would make common people trust the new KR...

 

And the Radiants can't just run around and save everyone - there are too many people and too little Radiants for that. Say, Kaladin saves people from his hometown from the Voidbringers because he is around. They are going to accept him as a hero. But what about all the other villages who weren't directly saved by a Radiant? Even if they are told that they are safe thanks to the Radiants, they aren't too likely to believe that basing on prejudices.

 

 

It seems I have caught the downvote bug. Is it so wrong to express an unpopular view? I am sorry if I hurt anyone's nationalistic feelings (guessing that's the reason for the down vote). If not, I am ready to apologise to anyone who thought I was rude to him.

Edit: looks like someone really hates me.

 

I hope you don't think it was me... I don't downvote people, no matter how much what they say differs from what I think.

 Actually, if everyone agreed then every discussion would be so boring... Just imagine it:

Person A: "So, I think that [something] is the case."

Person B: "Yes, that's most definitely true."

Person C: "I agree completely."

Person D: "A, you are right."

...

Person Z: "Of course it's true!"

 

I think would leave as soon as I can...

[Guest]

It seems I have caught the downvote bug. Is it so wrong to express an unpopular view? I am sorry if I hurt anyone's nationalistic feelings (guessing that's the reason for the down vote). If not, I am ready to apologise to anyone who thought I was rude to him.

Edit: looks like someone really hates me.

 

I feel for you    It really sucks to be donwvoted simply for expressing an unpopular opinion. I do not agree with you, but I do not think you deserved downvotes for it, so I fixed it.

 

 

Now having said that, there was something you said Maxal that triggered a thought in my head. You stated he would be so broken up, because he was big on the honorable duel and etc. I agree, if this was the first book, but the way you described it reminded me of the duels Adolin had in the second book. True he held to the rules, but the first few duels he had when his father gave him leave, left people shocked by the way he fought them. I see that as an early sign of Adolin beginning to see honor and action in his own light, and I think as result, it might not bother him as much as we think. It still will, but I am beginning to think this change in Adolin came much earlier than I originally thought. 

 

Adolin has indeed been changing all through WoR: he has progressively abandoned the Thrill. In his first duel, he was brutal, shocking, effective, but wrapped up in the Thrill. It drains him to fight this way even if the fight is short. In the following duels, we saw him fighting down the Thrill and refusing to give in as he displayed his skill. In the end of WoR, he couldn't summoned the Thrill in a time where he needed it to overcome the horror of warfare.

 

Adolin has been slowly growing into the man he needs to be as opposed to the man Dalinar wishes him to be. There is a sharp contrast here as Dalinar wants Adolin to live by the code and to learn to control his impulsiveness by setting clear boundaries. Adolin however is an uncaged whitespine: once backed into a corner he fights with all his might for what matters most, his family, his loved ones. They are his driving force and not some code written 4500 years ago. It gives him a ruthless edge Dalinar never had. It also gives him the strength to do what needs to be done, to fix the wrongs around him.

 

It is impossible going so strongly against Dalinar, the man he loves and admires the most, will not harm Adolin. To answer to Twenty's earlier concerns: Adolin will not feel guilty he killed Sadeas, he'll feel guilty he betrayed Dalinar and put a stop to his project of unification. He may also come to disapprove how he did it as he lost his temper, the one thing Dalinar had always warned him to keep under control. Besides, his first reaction, following the deed, is one of panic. We can almost feel his anguish when he wonders if he has just killed a highprince... He clearly goes into shock as he methodically hid all the proofs of his presence here. He'll have to cope and deal and no it won't leave him unscathed. I do not believe one second Adolin will walk away, hide everything, play normal and be perfectly fine with it. I mostly see Adolin internally panicking over what he did, getting more and more unhinged as things slowly get above his capacity of coping. He won't know how to deal with the issue and once the truth comes out, he won't be able to face Dalinar's anger. Will it break him? Probably.

 

 

As for Sadeas himself, I do believe he was still very dangerous. People are not going to take kindly to the return of the Radiants, especially with so many Kohlins. I doubt Sadeas would have had issues gathering supporters. Others have made nice texts to express this very thought.

 

 

Even though Adolin eventually killed Sadeas impulsively, he had nevertheless always hated Sadeas even before the betrayal and later had actually threatened to kill him

 

Adolin has always hated Sadeas, but he only takes actions after Sadeas goat him in a moment of weakness and confirms to him there is nothing that could ever be done to deal with him other then killing him.

[Twenty@20 he/him]

I feel for you It really sucks to be donwvoted simply for expressing an unpopular opinion. I do not agree with you, but I do not think you deserved downvotes for it, so I fixed it.

When I saw the down votes raining down, my first thought was about your post where you said that after every 50 upvotes or so you get a few down votes.

So I woke up this morning and was pleasantly surprised to see that you had up voted me. Thanks maxal. You are awesome.

Edited November 11, 2014 by Twenty@20

[Guest]

When I saw the down votes raining down, my first thought was about your post where you said that after every 50 upvotes or so you get a few down votes.

So I woke up this morning and was pleasantly surprised to see that you had up voted me. Thanks maxal. You are awesome.

 

You're welcome I know for a fact how those can hurt our feelings especially when we are trying to be respectful. All opinions should be welcome even if unpopular as long as they are phrased properly which I will admit is not always easy. Besides, as far as I am concerned, you could be completely right and I completely wrong

[KevinTheHerdazian he/him]

We are all forgetting something extremely important.... Elhokar can pardon adolin!!! Dalinar said "you can pardon ANY crime as king" it's something like that when dalinar was discussing with Elhokar

Edited November 11, 2014 by KevinTheHerdazian

[Kyats Rani she/her]

We are all forgetting something extremely important.... Elhokar can pardon adolin!!! Dalinar said "you can pardon ANY crime as king" it's something like that when dalinar was discussing with Elhokar

He can. But there is also a matter if he will do it. Elhokar is not the sharpest tool in the shed and he can be pretty stubborn trying to prove that he is a king on his own. He wants people to respect him but he's not the kind of person to earn this respect in a right way (like Kaladin did for example). He will most likely try to enforce respect for himself and therefore he may decide to be stern and unforgiving even (especially) towards his family...

 

And that is kind of beyond the point. It's not about whether of not Adolin will face consequences of his doings as in if he will be punished for it. It's about his own morality and his own mind. And the fact that he is pardoned may not necessarily mean that he will be able to forgive himself. Mind you, I'm not saying that Adolin will feel bad for killing Sadeas (I'm sure he's convinced that was the right thing to do) but he won't forgive himself the fact that he murdered somebody without giving him chance to protect himself. Adolin is not the type of person to be a ruthless murderer. He's a kind, caring person. Sadeas needed to die, but Adolin will feel disgusted with himself because of the way he did it. And, even more, because by doing this he went against all that Dalinar tried to teach him (but maxal has already explained this aspect very well).

 

I'm convinced that Adolin will suffer because of the murder. And not because of any punishment that may be issued against him (at least not only because of it). He will suffer from guilt. It may even be eating him alive. And the longer it will take everyone to find out who killed Sadeas, the more Adolin will suffer, trying his best to hide his crime, afraid of punishment but mostly of his father's reaction.

[Moogle]

If Adolin were pardoned, it could very easily trigger a civil war. The Alethi are more united than they were before WoR, but I don't think it would take too much to shatter that. The Kholins would be showing they're just taking power by force (again). I doubt that solution will come up.

[Guest]

We are all forgetting something extremely important.... Elhokar can pardon adolin!!! Dalinar said "you can pardon ANY crime as king" it's something like that when dalinar was discussing with Elhokar

 

Doubtful it will happen.... Elhokar is trying to enforce his authority and so far, the best way he has found to do this is to extremely harsh while giving punishment. He may feel he needs to be extraordinarily harsh with Adolin to prove his manhood.

 

 

He can. But there is also a matter if he will do it. Elhokar is not the sharpest tool in the shed and he can be pretty stubborn trying to prove that he is a king on his own. He wants people to respect him but he's not the kind of person to earn this respect in a right way (like Kaladin did for example). He will most likely try to enforce respect for himself and therefore he may decide to be stern and unforgiving even (especially) towards his family...

 

I tend to see Elhokar choosing this line of behavior, if it comes to a trial. I doubt it will though. I think it is more likely the "Adolin issue" will be dealt with internally. The Sadeas and their allies will demand his head, but the Kohlins may argue the boy was acting in self-defense. All in all, I think it is more probable both house will settle the score off-record. In think Adolin won't be executed or exiled, but he'll lose his rank, his position as heir to house Kohlin and his shards.

 

That would be the "official" punishment. The "non-official" one will the loosing Dalinar's trust and this will hurt. Father and son will drift apart, up until Dalinar find out the oath that allows him to give his son some leniency.

 

 

 

And that is kind of beyond the point. It's not about whether of not Adolin will face consequences of his doings as in if he will be punished for it. It's about his own morality and his own mind. And the fact that he is pardoned may not necessarily mean that he will be able to forgive himself. Mind you, I'm not saying that Adolin will feel bad for killing Sadeas (I'm sure he's convinced that was the right thing to do) but he won't forgive himself the fact that he murdered somebody without giving him chance to protect himself. Adolin is not the type of person to be a ruthless murderer. He's a kind, caring person. Sadeas needed to die, but Adolin will feel disgusted with himself because of the way he did it. And, even more, because by doing this he went against all that Dalinar tried to teach him (but maxal has already explained this aspect very well).

 

I'm convinced that Adolin will suffer because of the murder. And not because of any punishment that may be issued against him (at least not only because of it). He will suffer from guilt. It may even be eating him alive. And the longer it will take everyone to find out who killed Sadeas, the more Adolin will suffer, trying his best to hide his crime, afraid of punishment but mostly of his father's reaction.

The punishment, if too harsh (and I believe it will) may make him suffer...  I do agree with the last bit: the longer it last, the worst Adolin will get. I see him trying to cope, to cope, to cope, to keep his confident, self-assured facade, but it eventually, it will start to crack. Bottom line is I quite convinced the ordeal will break Adolin, but not in the same way Kaladin was broken. Murdering Sadeas is not a strong enough even to break him, it does not bear the tragedy of loosing Tien or murdering one's parents. However, when you add it to the rest... I see events piling up on top of his shoulders to a point where it goes above his capacity of coping.

[KevinTheHerdazian he/him]

But how do we know that they know adolin did it? I probably missed something but there wasn't a wob about it was there?

Edited November 11, 2014 by KevinTheHerdazian

[Guest]

But how do we know that they know adolin did it? I probably missed something but there wasn't a wob about it was there?

 

We don't. We all speculated the truth will come out one way or another. Either he'll be incriminated due to his poor clues hiding capacity, either he'll confess to relieve himself of the guilt. We must keep in mind Adolin has always been described as a straight-forward honest person, not the kind to keep secrets or to act hypocritically.

[Pathfinder]

But how do we know that they know adolin did it? I probably missed something but there wasn't a wob about it was there?

In all the discussions I have been a part of, Adolin being found out is conjecture. Some feel it is more likely than others, but I have yet to see anything concrete from Brandon, or in the book that says he is caught. 

Edited November 11, 2014 by Pathfinder

[Kyats Rani she/her]

I tend to see Elhokar choosing this line of behavior, if it comes to a trial. I doubt it will though. I think it is more likely the "Adolin issue" will be dealt with internally. The Sadeas and their allies will demand his head, but the Kohlins may argue the boy was acting in self-defense. All in all, I think it is more probable both house will settle the score off-record. In think Adolin won't be executed or exiled, but he'll lose his rank, his position as heir to house Kohlin and his shards.

 

That would be the "official" punishment. The "non-official" one will the loosing Dalinar's trust and this will hurt. Father and son will drift apart, up until Dalinar find out the oath that allows him to give his son some leniency.

 

I actually have a different opinion on this... I'm very convinced that Ialai is not going to let the matter go too easily. She's going to use all of her spies to find out who killed her husband, so even if Adolin admits his crime to his father only, she will know. One way or another. Thus I believe Ialai will demand public trial or anyhow else she won't allow the Kholins to sort out the matter quietly. She will want everyone to know of Adolin's crime. She will try to use it against Dalinar and the others. She will strive to put as much shame on house Kholin as she can. Settling the score off-record won't give her this chance. And since the matter will be public, Elhokar will try to show himself as the true king - HE rules, not Dalinar.

 

I agree with the official and non-official punishment idea. That's more or less how I see this.

 

 

But how do we know that they know adolin did it? I probably missed something but there wasn't a wob about it was there?

We don't. At least it wasn't officially stated. But many (me included) tend to see this as obvious - sooner or later the truth will come out. By now nobody knows yet, but as for the end of WoR nobody propably knows yet that Sadeas is dead in the first place Personally, I think that even if Adolin's clue hiding skills will somehow be enough, he will be eaten up by guilt, so his behaviour will propably reveal him as a potential culprit. For me, the question isn't whether or not Adolin will be found out. It's whether he will break and admit to Dalinar what he has done or somebody discovers the truth (Renarin, Ialai's spies, Nalan, anyone).

[Pathfinder]

I actually have a different opinion on this... I'm very convinced that Ialai is not going to let the matter go too easily. She's going to use all of her spies to find out who killed her husband, so even if Adolin admits his crime to his father only, she will know. One way or another. Thus I believe Ialai will demand public trial or anyhow else she won't allow the Kholins to sort out the matter quietly. She will want everyone to know of Adolin's crime. She will try to use it against Dalinar and the others. She will strive to put as much shame on house Kholin as she can. Settling the score off-record won't give her this chance. And since the matter will be public, Elhokar will try to show himself as the true king - HE rules, not Dalinar.

 

I agree with the official and non-official punishment idea. That's more or less how I see this.

 

 

We don't. At least it wasn't officially stated. But many (me included) tend to see this as obvious - sooner or later the truth will come out. By now nobody knows yet, but as for the end of WoR nobody propably knows yet that Sadeas is dead in the first place Personally, I think that even if Adolin's clue hiding skills will somehow be enough, he will be eaten up by guilt, so his behaviour will propably reveal him as a potential culprit. For me, the question isn't whether or not Adolin will be found out. It's whether he will break and admit to Dalinar what he has done or somebody discovers the truth (Renarin, Ialai's spies, Nalan, anyone).

Especially considering it is shown that Lalai really does love Sadeus. True their love is more intellectual than physical/emotional, but there is a love of respect they hold for each other. They work well together and balance each other. Lalai is gonna gun for whoever did it with a passion and not stopped till the target of her ire is destroyed. 

[Moogle]

I'm not sure Ialai is going to bother dragging House Kholin through the mud of public opinion. They're actually in a reasonably strong position, given the Voidbringers have returned, the Everstorm has come, and they found Urithiru. It might not work. I think the easiest path for her is to just have Adolin assassinated.

[RawToast225 he/him]

With the death of Sadeas, wouldn't Ialai be of the same social standing that Navani was with the death of Gavilar? People would suffer her, but she would have no real power. Just a thought.

[Blaze1616 he/him]

With the death of Sadeas, wouldn't Ialai be of the same social standing that Navani was with the death of Gavilar? People would suffer her, but she would have no real power. Just a thought.

 

I'm not even sure if that is correct, because Navani has two perks that Ialai does not; she is the widow of the previous king AND mother to the current king. Ialai is just the widow of a highlord. They might be of similar situation, but I doubt the Alethi elite would suffer her the way they do Navani.

[RawToast225 he/him]

So, she has even less power than Navani to affect politics.

[Pathfinder]

I do not think that she would let that stop her for a second, especially considering her network, but that is an excellent point.