List: Ages of Stormlight Characters

[Aether he/him]

I've already made two attempts at determining the age of certain characters, but we have now got a definite WoP on the length of a Rosharan year, which is canonized at 1,1 Earth years.

.

With this knowledge, and as RP appointed aficionado of lists and self- proclaimed master of Systematic and Orderly Cataloguing of the 17th Shard, I've taken the liberty of making the Definite List of the Ages of Stormlight Archive Characters!

.

For reference, Rosharan temporal measures:

• A Rosharan week is composed of five days.
• A Rosharan month is ten weeks long.
• A Rosharan year is ten months, a hundred weeks or five hundred days long. <source>
   
• And just in the name of meticulous completionism, a Rosharan day is 20 hours long, and their hour is about a minute or two shorter than ours. <source>

.

Hints at the character's specific date of birth:<source>

• Kaladin: Birthday somewhere between month Betab or Tanat (7 or 9). Kaladin's age has been kept in line accordingly.
• Shallan: Date of birth somewhere before Ishaches [10-3-1].
• Navani: She is three months Dalinar's senior. 

 

Since we do not know the exact birth-dates of most of the characters, I will for the sake of approximation just assume that they were all born on the first day of the year (Jeseses). A lot of the characters are currently of an unknown age. I will update this list if more information is put forth. Unless otherwise stated, my numbers come from the Coppermind.

.

Ages by the end of the Way of Kings:

At the end of the Way of Kings, the year is 1173 Arbitrary Calendar (AC). The exact date would be Tanatabes [1173-9-7-1] (or rather Tanataban [1173-9-7-2], considering that Dalinar's last vision happens after midnight). <source>

 

Bridge Four:

• Kaladin: Born in the latter half if 1154 AC and is 20 years old. 22 years in Earth years.

House Kholin:

• Jasnah: Born 1139 AC and is 34 years old. Around 37 years old in Earth years.
• Elhokar: Born 1147 AC and is 26 years old. Close to 29 in Earth years.
• Adolin: Born 1150 AC and is 24 years old. Around 26 years old in Earht years.
• Renarin: Born 1154 AC and is 19 years old. 21 Earth years.

House Davar:

• Balat: Born 1150 AC and is 23 years old, which is 25 in Earth years.
• Shallan: Born 1154 AC and is 17 years old, which is just shy of 19 Earth years.

House Sadeas:

• Torol: Born 1123 AC and is 50 years old. 55 in Earth years.

Interlude characters:

• Szeth: Born 1138 AC and is 35 years old. 38,5 in Earth years.

In memory of the Fallen:

• Kabsal: Born around 1150 and died in 1173 AC. Was 23 at the age of his death, which is just past 25 Earth years.
• Tien: Born around 1155 and died in 1168 AC. Was 13 at the age of his death, which is just over 14 Earth years.

 

Ages by the end of the Words of Radiance:

The exact date at the end of the Words of Radiance is Jesesach [1174-1-1-3], which is three days past Lightday, one week after their arrival in Urithiru. <source>:

 

Bridge Four:

• Kaladin: Born 1154 AC and is 20 years old. 22 years in Earth years. (the only character who hasn't aged a (full) year between the books)

House Kholin:

• Jasnah: Born 1139 AC and is 35 years old. Around 38,5 years old in Earth years.
• Elhokar: Born 1147 AC and is 27 years old. Just short of 30 in Earth years.
• Adolin: Born 1150 AC and is 25 years old. Closing in on 27,5 years old in Earht years.
• Renarin: Born 1154 AC and is 20 years old. 22 Earth years.

House Davar:

• Balat: Born 1150 AC and is 24 years old, which is A little over 26 in Earth years.
• Shallan: Born 1154 AC and is 18 years old, which is just shy of 20 Earth years.

Interlude characters:

• Szeth: Born 1138 AC and is 35 years old. 38,5 in Earth years.
• Lift: She is ten during the events of her Interlude. "And she’ been that many for three years now". So really 13 years old, or 14 at the very end of the book, postulating her birthday to be on Lightday, as with the others, which is a little past 15 in Earth years. <source>

 

In memory of the Fallen:

• Torol Sadeas: Born around 1123 and died in early in 1174 AC. Was 51 at the age of his death, which is just past 56 Earth years.

 

EDIT: Post updated in accordance with Peter's latest corrections.

 

EDIT 2: Recalculated approximate ages for the Words of Radiance. Added in hints at the characters' specific birthdays.

Edited May 15, 2014 by Aether

[Bloodfalcon he/him]

Nice. I don't know why that age for Szeth seems really old to me. I figured he'd be somewhere around 32. He's just so spry! 

[Cromptj he/him]

Era of solitude works better as ES for dates because we can then use E1 for the Heraldic Epochs.

[Aether he/him]

Era of solitude works better as ES for dates because we can then use E1 for the Heraldic Epochs.

I am going to stick with EoS as long as they do so on the Coppermind as well. Besides, I prefer it like this so as to avoid confusion, considering that "Es" in Alethi (or possibly just Vorin tradition) means "one". The first day of the first week of the first month of 1173 EoS would then confusingly be written as 1173 Jezeses ES, or something.

Edited January 26, 2014 by Aether

[Cromptj he/him]

Unless we start with ES e.g. ES 1173 Jezeses. I do see where you're coming from though.

[WeiryWriter he/him]

I think I would prefer ES over EoS, personally I think it looks better.  (And I'm not exactly a fan of its usage on the wiki, mostly because it doesn't fit.  That calender isn't dated from the beginning of the Era of Solitude)

 

I also don't think it would be that confusing because dates are generally written Jeseses 1174, with the date preceding the year, adding ES to the end makes sense.  Also "-es" meaning one is only when its used as a suffix.  As a distinct word "one" is "Jes".

 

Also, if we are going with the idea that Taln arrives on the 1000th day after the "the Everstorm comes in but a thousand days" death rattle then it would be Shashahes 1173 not Betabanes 1173.

[Windrunner he/him]

What other name would we call it by then if not the Era of Solitude? It's the time period they're in, the calandra just doesn't start on the first day of the Era of Solitude. And I personally prefer the way EoS.

[WeiryWriter he/him]

What other name would we call it by then if not the Era of Solitude? It's the time period they're in, the calandra just doesn't start on the first day of the Era of Solitude. And I personally prefer the way EoS.

 

Yes, it is the time period they are in, but it is inaccurate to say 1173 EoS because that implies its the 1173rd year of the Era of Solitude.  That is how calenders work.  I don't know what it should be called because we don't know what the calender is dated from.  The letters after a date 1173 EoS, 2014 AD serve to indicate what calender the dates are a part of.  The "Era of Solitude" is not a calender.  It is an era, like the Modern Era, or the Medieval period, or the classical period.

 

For example the AD/BC split in our history is part of the Julian/Gregorian Calender.  Another calender, such as the French Revolutionary Calender would be dated from something else.

[Aether he/him]

I also don't think it would be that confusing because dates are generally written Jeseses 1174, with the date preceding the year, adding ES to the end makes sense.  Also "-es" meaning one is only when its used as a suffix.  As a distinct word "one" is "Jes".

You are correct. "One" is "Jez Jes" and only "-es" when used as a suffix. I do, however, still prefer EoS, and while we do not know what happened in year one of EoS, I see this more as a quirk of the Rosharan calendar rather than being problematic. If we get a WoB or WoP giving the proper name of the calendar (assuming Era of Solitude is not), then we can consider changing it, both for my post and for the Coppermind.

 

Also, if we are going with the idea that Taln arrives on the 1000th day after the "the Everstorm comes in but a thousand days" death rattle then it would be Shashahes 1173 not Betabanes 1173.

First of all, we do not know that the invoked Epigraph is referring to the arrival of Taln specifically, so I would hesitate to use it to date the Epilogue.

 

Secondly, there is nothing that ties the Epilogue to the events following the Battle at the Tower, which is what happens at the very end of the book - or at the very least at the end of Kaladin and Dalinar's story arcs. The Words of Radiance picks up the very next day, so I feel rather safe using Betabanes 1173 as the date for the end of the Way of Kings.

Edited January 26, 2014 by Aether

[WeiryWriter he/him]

You are correct. "One" is "Jez" and only "-es" when used as a suffix. I do, however, still prefer EoS, and while we do not know what happened in year one of EoS, I see this more as a quirk of the Rosharan calendar rather than being problematic. If we get a WoB or WoP giving the proper name of the calendar (assuming Era of Solitude is not), then we can consider changing it, both for my post and for the Coppermind.

 

First of all, we do not know that the invoked Epigraph is referring to the arrival of Taln specifically, so I would hesitate to use it to date the Epilogue.

 

Secondly, there is nothing that ties the Epilogue to the events following the Battle at the Tower, which is what happens at the very end of the book - or at the very least at the end of Kaladin and Dalinar's story arcs. The Words of Radiance picks up the very next day, so I feel rather safe using Betabanes 1173 as the date for the end of the Way of Kings.

 

I just question its use because it is not an in-universe thing, it is wholly something that readers have started using.  I just don't like using something that just feels wrong (in my opinion).  I doubt "Era of Solitude" will end up being the name of the calender, because if it were it would be dated from the beginning of the Era and not a point some 3,400 years after.  That just isn't how calenders work.

 

And I admit, I misread the post you linked as your source, I thought you were referring to it postulating the arrival of Taln is on the 1000th day, and not the Kaladin chasm leap.  That is why I phrased my post as I did.  That said, I think the use of "Betabanes" is even more unlikely to be correct.  The dates of the epigraphs are out of sync with the events of the chapters, and do not "date" them.  I guess it could be argued that the dying person could be seeing Kaladin as he is doing it but except for the "1000 days" death rattle the rattles are out-of-sync with current events.

 

(oh and by the way it is "Jes" not "Jez")

Edited January 26, 2014 by WeiryWriter
toning down my objections

[Aether he/him]

According to my listed source, Peter has confirmed the date of that Epigraph (Kaladin's leap) to be in sync with the event. Therefore Betabanes.

[WeiryWriter he/him]

I'm sorry, but I'm not seeing it.  The only post by Peter that I see is the one confirming the 1.1 earth years to 1 rosharan year.

[PeterAhlstrom he/him]

According to my listed source, Peter has confirmed the date of that Epigraph (Kaladin's leap) to be in sync with the event. Therefore Betabanes.

No, it is not in sync with that.

 

I have exact days for everything in Words of Radiance, and they should be much easier for everyone to figure out themselves than the dates in Way of Kings are, for various reasons.

 

There are also specific reasons from the timeline of the first book that this assertion: "Kaladin arrives on the Shattered Plains near the end of month 4/beginning of month 5, 1173" cannot possibly be correct.

 

Navani and Dalinar are not 50 years old. And by the way it's book 1 that says "Navani was only three months his senior", in chapter 22.

 

Adolin is not 24 years old. Chapter 12 in the first book says how old he is.

 

The Era of Solitude started 4500 years ago. So applying "EoS" to the current calendar is not correct.

[Swimmingly he/him]

And he hath descended, and he hath given unto us the Word. He hath banished untruth.

[PeterAhlstrom he/him]

Interlude characters:

• Lift: She is ten. "And she’ been that many for three years now". So really 12 years old, which is just past 13 in Earth years. <source>

If she has been 10 for 3 years, she is 13 rather than 12.

[Joe ST he/him]

Would you be willing to give us a hint on what we call the current era then? We don't want to be using it on the wiki if it's incorrect :\

[Swimmingly he/him]

If she has been 10 for 3 years, she is 13 rather than 12.

The first year she's 10, she's 10. The second year she's ten, she's 11. The third year she's 10, she's 12. Am I messing up my logic here?

[Awesomeness Summoned he/him]

The first year she's 10, she's 10. The second year she's ten, she's 11. The third year she's 10, she's 12. Am I messing up my logic here?

age 10-11 is one year, age 11-12 is the second year, and age 12-13 is the third year. So if she has been 10 for three full years, she would be 13

 

Edit: if she were only a fraction into that third year being ten, she would still be 12 (that statement in itself might be a little confusing but hope it makes sense).

Edited January 26, 2014 by Awesomeness summoned

[PeterAhlstrom he/him]

De-spoilering because it is not important.

 

"I've been 10 for a week now" (I am 10)

"I've been 10 for a year now" (I am 11)

"I've been 10 for two years now" (I am 12)

"I've been 10 for three years now" (I am 13)

[PeterAhlstrom he/him]

Would you be willing to give us a hint on what we call the current era then? We don't want to be using it on the wiki if it's incorrect :\

Hasn't been revealed. Is there any need? Just say the year is 1173. The only date that conflicts with that is from Dalinar's vision where a Knight Radiant says, “It is Eighth Epoch, three thirty-seven.”

 

Though, I think it's safe for me to reveal that the Horneaters use a different year number. How the number differs is not yet specified.

Edited January 26, 2014 by PeterAhlstrom

[Swimmingly he/him]

Oh. My logic, it is broken. I fix now.

[Joe ST he/him]

Peter, RE: only year: We have calendars from other books to consider too.

[PeterAhlstrom he/him]

Hmm. Is anything close to 1173? The only other date I remember is on the Alloy of Law broadsheet.

[Gamma Fiend he/him]

 

 

Though, I think it's safe for me to reveal that the Horneaters use a different year number. How the number differs is not yet specified.

Dang Horneaters, always gotta be different and more difficult than all of us airsick lowlanders.

[Aether he/him]

No, it is not in sync with that.

 

I have exact days for everything in Words of Radiance, and they should be much easier for everyone to figure out themselves than the dates in Way of Kings are, for various reasons.

I was taking the poster's information on face-value. Teaches me not to use material without links to the original source material.

Navani and Dalinar are not 50 years old. And by the way it's book 1 that says "Navani was only three months his senior", in chapter 22.

I had been going by the year of birth of the Coppermind. I do not know how those numbers were decided, but I've crossed out the years of Navani and Dalinar in my original post.

 

Adolin is not 24 years old. Chapter 12 in the first book says how old he is.

I assume it is this passage you are refering to: "Adolin was still occasionally caught by surprise, though he'd held [his Shardplate] - inherited from his mother's side of the family - since his sixteenth birthday. That was now seven years past." This makes Adolin 23 years old. Post updated accordingly.

If she has been 10 for 3 years, she is 13 rather than 12.

I interpreted it as Lift being in her thirteenth year, which would have made her twelwe-not-yet-thirteen. Post updated accordingly.

 

The Era of Solitude started 4500 years ago. So applying "EoS" to the current calendar is not correct.

Again, I've been going by the norms of the Coppermind. Since the Rosharan (Alethi? Vorin?) apparently has no name, I've just galled it AC. Short for Arbitrary Calendar.  Post updated accordingly.

 

EDIT: Since you didn't correct the age of any of the other characters, I am just going to assume they are correct.

Edited January 26, 2014 by Aether