Theory: Dalinar is not a Radiant

[Tarion]

Dalinar is doing this for personal reasons. He's doing it to cement his power as Highprince of War. The duels themselves weaken the army - Dalinar's power play is almost causing a civil war. The highprinces are going kicking and screaming, and throughout it Dalinar is forcing the highprinces to work together to attack Parshendi, losing more and more soldiers in the process.

 

Perhaps his goals are worthwhile (i think stopping the Alethi border skirmishes would be nice), but I am not convinced at this 'need' for Dalinar to take command. What Dalinar is doing is telling everyone that the chain of command doesn't matter - just beat up your king until he gives you the position of Highprince of War, and you too can command your own army!

 

He's not being a very good example to his men, forcing them to follow the Codes while he breaks them. His power move struck all the right 'tyrant' notes to me, and you will notice the other highprinces feeling the same way. The reasonable one Dalinar meets in WoR Chapter 8 (?) notes that Dalinar is reverting back to Dalinar and Gavilar's unification war with daggers in the back and the like, though Dalinar is being significantly less subtle.

 

Again: I'm not finding fault with Dalinar, per se. I think a benevolent dictatorship would be the ideal system of government (though impossible in practice). I just think it's hard to find his current actions as anything other than a clear-cut violation of the Codes. Trying to hem and haw and talk about how what he's doing is 'needed' is... odd, and seems to me like trying to bend the rules just because Dalinar seems like a great guy. (I apologize if I have horribly misinterpreted you/put words in your mouth.)

 

I think it's easier just to say that yes, Dalinar is breaking the Codes, and that's okay because he has a very good reason for it.

Dalinar's making a fundamentally political move - Cementing his power as the Highprince of War isn't for personal power, it's to further the war effort.  It's a fundamentally arrogant move, true, seeing himself as the best leader for the position, but the need for arrogance in leadership isn't exactly a new theme for Sanderson.  It pops up in The Well of Ascension too.  

 

And, I think it's worth noting, that nothing we've seen of the codes says you can't perform a coup, or be a benevolent dictator.  You can even be a tyrant if want, if you can manage to be a tyrant without breaking the Codes of Honor and Leadership.  

They're not a moral system, really.  They're very simple, and leave a lot of room for doing "bad stuff", so long as you don't do it on the battlefield, and do it in the name of furthering the war.  In that light, I think what he's doing is justified in the Codes.  

 

As for the definition of needless, I think it's actually key.  I can understand if you disagree, but I think it's significant that it's the only code with equivocation.  All of the others are black and white.  Always do X.  Never do Y.  To my mind, the fact that this one code allows some wiggle room can only mean that you can duel if the circumstances are right.  And I think they are.  

[Moogle]

That reasonable one?  By rejecting Dalinar's authority as Highprince of War he is by proxy rejecting Elhokar's authority.  Which is arguably an act of treason since Aladar and all the highprinces swore an oath to obey Elhokar.

 

Perhaps you're forgetting the part where Dalinar literally threatened to kill him?

 

 

“Fine,” Dalinar snapped, “honor has no value to you. You will still obey, Aladar, because your king demands it. That is the only reason you need. You will do as told.”

“Or?” Aladar said.

“Ask Yenev.”

Aladar started as if slapped. Ten years back, Highprince Yenev had refused to accept the unification of Alethkar. At Gavilar’s order, Sadeas had dueled the man. And killed him.

“Threats?” Aladar asked.

“Yes.” Dalinar turned to look the shorter man in the eyes. “I’m done cajoling, Aladar. I’m done asking. When you disobey Elhokar, you mock my brother and what he stood for. I will have a unified kingdom.”

“Amusing,” Aladar said. “Good of you to mention Gavilar, as he didn’t bring the kingdom together with honor. He did it with knives in the back and soldiers on the field, cutting the heads off any who resisted. Are we back to that again, then? Such things don’t sound much like the fine words of your precious book.”

 

Did you expect him to be reasonable after that? (Also: what a burn.)

 

To Aladar's credit, he seemed open to the possibility, but was concerned about protecting what he had:

 

“You trusted me when it came to tactics,” Dalinar said, turning to him. “Why not try trusting me in what is best for this kingdom?”

Aladar studied him. Behind, soldiers cheered their victory and Adolin ripped the gemheart free from the chrysalis. Others fanned out to watch for a return attack, but none came.

“I wish I could, Dalinar,” Aladar finally said. “But this isn’t about you. It’s about the other highprinces. Maybe I could trust you, but I’ll never trust them. You’re asking me to risk too much of myself. The others would do to me what Sadeas did to you on the Tower.”

“What if I can bring the others around? What if I can prove to you that they’re worthy of trust? What if I can change the direction of this kingdom, and this war? Will you follow me then?”

“No,” Aladar said. “I’m sorry.” He turned away, calling for his horse.

 

Aladar's refusal is a hasty one, and he runs away from Dalinar after saying no. I doubt he meant he would literally never follow Dalinar if Dalinar did what he said; Aladar just wanted Dalinar off his back. Aladar's motives are clear, and what Dalinar is asking him to do will harm him.

 

So yes, I find Aladar extremely reasonable, considering the state of Alethi politics. Expect him to be a cautious supporter of Dalinar should the winds change to blow in Dalinar's favor.

 

Also, this part amused me:

 

How could Dalinar do so many things so right, yet still be unable to persuade men like Aladar?

 

Maybe it's because YOU LITERALLY THREATENED TO KILL HIM A MINUTE BEFORE? Come on, Dalinar.

 

Edit: Also, since there were like five new posts, I can't really respond to you all without making a wall of text. I am overwhelmed here! Sorry!

Edited January 31, 2014 by Moogle

[+eveorjoy]

The issue to me is that Dalinar's actions are leading the Alethi to ruin. The fight against the Parshendi is essentially forcing them to use stormform just to survive.

 

Actually the reason they are considering stormform, at least in the beginning of WoR, is because they know about Kaladin, not because of what Dalinar is doing.

 

 

“I have discovered the secret of stormform,” Venli said.

“What?” Eshonai stood up straight. “You were to be working on a form to help! A form for diplomats, or for scholars.”

“Those will not save us,” Venli said to Amusement. “If we wish to deal with the humans, we will need the ancient powers.”

“Venli,” Eshonai said, grabbing her sister by the arm. “Our gods!”

Venli didn’t flinch. “The humans have Surgebinders.”

 

Now perhaps they will decide they made the right choice pursuing stormform once Dalinar pushes a direct attack, like the back of WoR suggests. Still you can't place the blame completely on Dalinar's shoulders.

[Moogle]

Actually the reason they are considering stormform, at least in the beginning of WoR, is because they know about Kaladin, not because of what Dalinar is doing.

 

The Parshendi feel the need to go to stormform because they are slowly being killed by the Alethi, Surgebinders seem to me to just be the final straw that cements in Venli's mind that "hey, we're screwed here". If the Alethi gave up the attack, I see no reason for the Parshendi to bother with stormform.  Perhaps we're reading your quote differently?

 

Now perhaps they will decide they made the right choice pursuing stormform once Dalinar pushes a direct attack, like the back of WoR suggests. Still you can't place the blame completely on Dalinar's shoulders.

 

The listeners share a good chunk of the blame for the start of the war. Dalinar is entirely responsible for starting the war up back in earnest and really pushing the Parshendi to the brink. I will place all the blame on him there, but yes, many things had to go wrong for things to get to where they are, and the Parshendi are responsible for some of those things.

[Lorna]

I love Dalinar's character inTWoK, but I begin to fear for him.

 

He certainly has honorable intentions, but he's terrible with politics. He is going to great and sometimes questionable lengths to unite the High Princes at the risk of internal war. I kinda doubt that's who the giver of the visions was talking about when he plead, "Unite them." After all, the Almighty didn't even know who he was talking to, and its all of Roshar at stake, not just Alethkar. If anything, the Princes are becoming united in their distrust of Dalinar.

 

We've been shown that the spren are sometimes a odds with one another too. The unite them phrase could be referring to spren, the orders of KR, all humankind, the Heralds, restoring the bonds between men and spren... or all of the above.

 

Navani's journal entry about the writing on the wall is certainly ominous, but rather vague. Many fingers point in both directions.

 

My hope is that Dalinar will indeed become a KR - not the champion Odium is driven to choose.

[Arondell]

Perhaps you're forgetting the part where Dalinar literally threatened to kill him?

 

 

Did you expect him to be reasonable after that? (Also: what a burn.)

 

Actually what I expect of him and all the high princes is that they would obey their oaths.  You know.  The ones where they swore to obey the authority of the king?  If they are refusing to obey the legal orders of the High Prince of War to fight in a unified fashion then they are breaking both the letter and spirit of those oaths and are in a functional state of rebellion already.

 

I do find it interesting that Taravangian seems to think that Dalinar is likely to succeed in his efforts to consolidate the power of the crown.

[Moogle]

Actually what I expect of him and all the high princes is that they would obey their oaths.  You know.  The ones where they swore to obey the authority of the king?

 

What authority? It's an open secret that Dalinar has staged a coup and is basically the power behind the throne. I think when someone takes over a kingdom like Dalinar did that obeying their oaths to a puppet-king on principle becomes a bit questionable. Surely you can see how reasonable it is from Aladar's point of view to not want to get caught up in Dalinar's doomed plan.

Edited January 31, 2014 by Moogle

[hoser]

I hope it doesn't end too badly, but I love how Dalinar screws up in his conversation w/Aladar. 

 

It just seems like his next step will be to resolve his struggles toward his second ideal.  Whether that ideal is "builder" or "guiding", he definitely has some work to do in this book to evolve into the politician his goals require of him. 

 

In tWoK, I can fit his struggles as working on either "resolution" or "piety" (although it's easier to see as resolution for me), having worked through that issue for now, he's facing a new challenge. 

• In the meeting that Kaladin observed, he is too strong, where he needs to be mentoring Elhokar and letting him lead IMO. 
• In the meeting w/Aladar he is also too strong, where he needs to be more persuasive, as I see it. 

These seem perfect for the Radiant to be, working on the second ideal.  Kaladin was both very protective and a leader before Syl came to him.  I would like to see more signs of a spren in WoR. 

 

Dalinar ground his teeth, turning away to watch the battlefield. His first instinct was to tell Aladar he was an officer under Dalinar’s command, and take the man to task for his tone. Treat him like a recruit in need of correction.

But what if Aladar just ignored him? Would he force the man to obey? Dalinar didn’t have the troops for it.

He found himself annoyed—more at himself than at Aladar. He’d come on this plateau run not to fight, but to talk. To persuade. Navani was right. Dalinar needed more than brusque words and military commands to save this kingdom. He needed loyalty, not fear.

But storms take him, how? What persuading he’d done in life, he’d accomplished with a sword in hand and a fist to the face. Gavilar had always been the one with the right words, the one who could make people listen.

Dalinar had no business trying to be a politician.

Half the lads on that battlefield probably didn’t think they had any business being soldiers, at first, a part of him whispered. You don’t have the luxury of being bad at this. Don’t complain. Change.

Edit: added quote

Edited January 31, 2014 by hoser

[QuantumHarmonix]

What authority? It's an open secret that Dalinar has staged a coup and is basically the power behind the throne. I think when someone takes over a kingdom like Dalinar did that obeying their oaths to a puppet-king on principle becomes a bit questionable. Surely you can see how reasonable it is from Aladar's point of view to not want to get caught up in Dalinar's doomed plan.

Why do you think that Dalinar wants to take over the kingdom? It seems to me that he wants his nephew to have the kingdom in more than just name. I think that the only thing keeping the kingdom together is that it hasn't been challenged yet, and if a serious power were to attack most highprinces would desert Elhokar.

[Meg]

We have a WoB that Bondsmiths are an order of the Knights Radiant. Kinda seals the deal on Dalinar.

Can you please quote this WoB and it's source.

In general I'm not fond of searching for evidences, when someone only says "There's WoB". I for myself try to give sources and quotes if I use them and I'd really appreciate if this would/could be common practice.

[Lorna]

I hope it doesn't end too badly, but I love how Dalinar screws up in his conversation w/Aladar. 

 

It just seems like his next step will be to resolve his struggles toward his second ideal.  Whether that ideal is "builder" or "guiding", he definitely has some work to do in this book to evolve into the politician his goals require of him. 

 

In tWoK, I can fit his struggles as working on either "resolution" or "piety" (although it's easier to see as resolution for me), having worked through that issue for now, he's facing a new challenge. 

• In the meeting that Kaladin observed, he is too strong, where he needs to be mentoring Elhokar and letting him lead IMO. 
• In the meeting w/Aladar he is also too strong, where he needs to be more persuasive, as I see it. 

These seem perfect for the Radiant to be, working on the second ideal.  Kaladin was both very protective and a leader before Syl came to him.  I would like to see more signs of a spren in WoR. 

Dalinar ground his teeth, turning away to watch the battlefield. His first instinct was to tell Aladar he was an officer under Dalinar’s command, and take the man to task for his tone. Treat him like a recruit in need of correction.

But what if Aladar just ignored him? Would he force the man to obey? Dalinar didn’t have the troops for it.

He found himself annoyed—more at himself than at Aladar. He’d come on this plateau run not to fight, but to talk. To persuade. Navani was right. Dalinar needed more than brusque words and military commands to save this kingdom. He needed loyalty, not fear.

But storms take him, how? What persuading he’d done in life, he’d accomplished with a sword in hand and a fist to the face. Gavilar had always been the one with the right words, the one who could make people listen.

Dalinar had no business trying to be a politician.

Half the lads on that battlefield probably didn’t think they had any business being soldiers, at first, a part of him whispered. You don’t have the luxury of being bad at this. Don’t complain. Change.

Edit: added quote

 I agree, hoser

Note that Dalinar is hearing the whisperings again.

 

Once these weapons meant protecting, a voice inside of him whispered.

...

Life before Death.

What was that voice?

from The Tower battle in TWoK, I believe. Correct me if I'm wrong, please.

Edited January 31, 2014 by Lorna

[hoser]

Can you please quote this WoB and it's source.

In general I'm not fond of searching for evidences, when someone only says "There's WoB". I for myself try to give sources and quotes if I use them and I'd really appreciate if this would/could be common practice.

From the Seattle signing.  Shardlet put a transcript up in one of the two Seattle signing threads, look about 3/4 of the way down. 

 

Edit: added link to Shardlet transcript,

Edited January 31, 2014 by hoser

[Moogle]

Why do you think that Dalinar wants to take over the kingdom? It seems to me that he wants his nephew to have the kingdom in more than just name. I think that the only thing keeping the kingdom together is that it hasn't been challenged yet, and if a serious power were to attack most highprinces would desert Elhokar.

 

If he wants his nephew to have all the power, he's going about things in a very interesting way by forcing him to name him Highprince of War after beating him up, and then taking charge of all the councils and claiming he has to unite the Knights Radiant. Dalinar really doesn't think of Elhokar as a leader, and his actions match up with that. He walks all over Elhokar. Dalinar wants a united Alethkar, not necessarily an Elhokar-lead Alethkar.

 

 

Can you please quote this WoB and it's source.

In general I'm not fond of searching for evidences, when someone only says "There's WoB". I for myself try to give sources and quotes if I use them and I'd really appreciate if this would/could be common practice.

 

Here you go. Took me forever to find. I normally try to include sources, but when this forum is impossible to search on and Theoryland updates slowly, and this response was not in the actual Seattle thread... yeah.

 

Edit: Of course hoser posts it. I am too slow.

Edited January 31, 2014 by Moogle

[QuantumHarmonix]

If he wants his nephew to have all the power, he's going about things in a very interesting way by forcing him to name him Highprince of War after beating him up, and then taking charge of all the councils and claiming he has to unite the Knights Radiant. Dalinar really doesn't think of Elhokar as a leader, and his actions match up with that. He walks all over Elhokar. Dalinar wants a united Alethkar, not necessarily an Elhokar-lead Alethkar.

 

 

 

Here you go. Took me forever to find. I normally try to include sources, but when this forum is impossible to search on and Theoryland updates slowly, and this response was not in the actual Seattle thread... yeah.

 

Edit: Of course hoser posts it. I am too slow.

Elhokar really hasn't been a leader, which is part of why the kingdom is so weak. Elhokar was also paranoid that someone was trying to kill him and suspected Dalinar. The whole point of the attack was to show Elhokar that his suspicions were misplaced. I've only got the audiobook at the moment so I can't quote him, but I was pretty sure Dalinar plans on it being and Elhokar-lead Alethkar. 

[Moogle]

The whole point of the attack was to show Elhokar that his suspicions were misplaced. I've only got the audiobook at the moment so I can't quote him, but I was pretty sure Dalinar plans on it being and Elhokar-lead Alethkar. 

 

An Elhokar-lead Alethkar... except when Dalinar is needed to dictate the entire war, dictate Soulcaster prices, beat up the other highprinces, and force them to accept his authority. Elhokar is a puppet king. Dalinar can make noises in his direction about owing his fealty towards him, but he's very clearly taken on leadership of Alethkar.

 

The weird part was that the final bit with Dalinar was written from his PoV, so we get a very biased look at his attack on Elhokar. I'd be very interested in reading that scene written from Elhokar's point of view, because I'm sure it is not very pleasant having your uncle come in, knock you to the floor, tell you he could kill you, show you that your guards don't protect you (Dalinar quite clearly controls them) and then tell you that you have to name him Highprince of War.

 

From Elhokar's point of view, I'd expect his paranoia to triple and to deal with things the only way he possibly could - let Dalinar lead the kingdom and plot to take back control in whatever way possible while acting harmless. Thus attracting cryptics. I hope for great things from Elhokar.

Edited January 31, 2014 by Moogle

[hoser]

Great catch! I definitely agree about hearing a spren in tWoK.  Actually, that whole thread is pretty related to this one, in a way.

 I agree, hoser

Note that Dalinar is hearing the whisperings again.

from The Tower battle in TWoK, I believe. Correct me if I'm wrong, please.

It's actually much earlier in tWoK, you can follow the link above for the details. 

I wondered about that whispering too, but it is less clear to me that it is external. 

[Meg]

From the Seattle signing.  Shardlet put a transcript up in one of the two Seattle signing threads, look about 3/4 of the way down. 

 

Edit: added link to Shardlet transcript,

 

Thanks Hoser

Took me forever to find. I normally try to include sources, but when this forum is impossible to search on and Theoryland updates slowly, and this response was not in the actual Seattle thread... yeah.

I hope you don't feel insulted. My problem is the same: searching in the forums is quite frustrating. Mostly, if I remember I saw a quote, I'm able to find it, but if I don't remember anything, I'm lost.

So my apologizes.

[Arondell]

The weird part was that the final bit with Dalinar was written from his PoV, so we get a very biased look at his attack on Elhokar. I'd be very interested in reading that scene written from Elhokar's point of view, because I'm sure it is not very pleasant having your uncle come in, knock you to the floor, tell you he could kill you, show you that your guards don't protect you (Dalinar quite clearly controls them) and then tell you that you have to name him Highprince of War.

 

This is actually a fascinating description of that scene.  Especially since it leaves out some of the most important parts and kind of skews the intent of the scene.  A very cryptic description.

 

"If I'd wanted to kill you, Elhokar, I could have done it a dozen times over.  A hundred times over.  It appears you won't accept loyalty and devotion as proof of my honesty.  Well, if you act like a child, you get treated like one.  You know now, for a fact, that I don't want you dead.  For if I did, I would have crushed your chest and been done with it!"

 

What I saw here was an exasperated and powerful high prince telling his oblivious idiot of a nephew that suspecting him of wanting to kill said nephew was childish behavior.  Given some of Elhokar's actions that ultimately led up to this scene I can't help but agree.

Edited January 31, 2014 by Arondell

[+eveorjoy]

An Elhokar-lead Alethkar... except when Dalinar is needed to dictate the entire war, dictate Soulcaster prices, beat up the other highprinces, and force them to accept his authority. Elhokar is a puppet king. Dalinar can make noises in his direction about owing his fealty towards him, but he's very clearly taken on leadership of Alethkar.

 

The weird part was that the final bit with Dalinar was written from his PoV, so we get a very biased look at his attack on Elhokar. I'd be very interested in reading that scene written from Elhokar's point of view, because I'm sure it is not very pleasant having your uncle come in, knock you to the floor, tell you he could kill you, show you that your guards don't protect you (Dalinar quite clearly controls them) and then tell you that you have to name him Highprince of War.

 

From Elhokar's point of view, I'd expect his paranoia to triple and to deal with things the only way he possibly could - let Dalinar lead the kingdom and plot to take back control in whatever way possible while acting harmless. Thus attracting cryptics. I hope for great things from Elhokar.

 

 

Dalinar is dominating Elhokar, but Elhokar is asking for it. If Dalinar didn't control him, the other highprinces would. Does that make it right, no, but Dalinar is in the position he is because Elhokar trusts him. Elhokar still has the ability to strip him from power if he no longer trusted him. He could do it as king, or he could have Adolin enforce it using that paperwork Dalinar's scribes wrote up that would force Dalinar to abdicate if he went too mad. The reason Dalinar has the power that he does is because Elhokar trusts him. 

Edited February 1, 2014 by eveorjoy

[Moogle]

This is actually a fascinating description of that event.  Especially since it leaves out some of the most important parts and kind of skews the intent of the scene.  A very cryptic description.

 

"If I'd wanted to kill you, Elhokar, I could have done it a dozen times over.  A hundred times over.  It appears you won't accept loyalty and devotion as proof of my honesty.  Well, if you act like a child, you get treated like one.  You know now, for a fact, that I don't want you dead.  For if I did, I would have crushed your chest and been done with it!"

 

What I saw here was an exasperated and powerful high prince telling his oblivious idiot of a nephew that suspecting him of wanting to kill said nephew was childish behavior.  Given some of Elhokar's actions that ultimately led up to this scene I can't help but agree.

 

I wrote the description that way to show just how much the PoV matters.

 

I agree that Elhokar was childish and stupid, but I think Elhokar could see it differently. Dalinar basically came in, blackmailed him about the strap, then demanded a higher title. Elhokar is paranoid, perhaps to the point of it being a disorder. It's possible he'll just lie back and let Dalinar do whatever, but I think someone who attracted cryptics might have more interesting plans than that.

 

Dalinar is dominating Elhokar, but Elhokar is asking for it. If Dalinar didn't control him, the other highprinces would. Does that make it right, no, but Dalinar is in the position he is because Elhokar trusts him. Elhokar still has the ability to strip him from power if he no longer trusted him.

 

I'm not making my point clearly, I think.

 

I am fine with Dalinar taking over and being the leader of Alethkar. I am not criticizing his decision to walk over Elhokar, because Elhokar is a really crappy king so far as I can tell. Dalinar is an even more terrible king, but he has decent enough intentions. I was just noting that from the perspective of Aladar, he's taken over the kingdom and that following oaths towards Elhokar based on principle are just a little bit ridiculous.

 

Also: if Elhokar tried to remove Dalinar from power, it wouldn't go too well for him. A paper shield doesn't keep you safe. Dalinar has the loyalty of a good army, controls Elhokar's guards, and has two sets of Shardplate now. If Elhokar got cold feet and declared Dalinar was no longer Highprince of War... I'd be very interested in seeing Dalinar's reaction. He wants Alethkar united. I think he'd depose Elhokar.

[Arondell]

I wrote the description that way to show just how much the PoV matters.

 

I agree that Elhokar was childish and stupid, but I think Elhokar could see it differently. Dalinar basically came in, blackmailed him about the strap, then demanded a higher title. Elhokar is paranoid, perhaps to the point of it being a disorder. It's possible he'll just lie back and let Dalinar do whatever, but I think someone who attracted cryptics might have more interesting plans than that.

 

 

Blackmailed?  What line in that scene even implied that Dalinar was going to blackmail Elhokar with the information about the strap?

[Moogle]

Blackmailed?  What line in that scene even implied that Dalinar was going to blackmail Elhokar with the information about the strap?

 

Elhokar is super incredibly paranoid and could easily view it as a blackmail attempt. And honestly, it could be used against him to weaken his position. I'm not saying Dalinar was going to do it, I'm saying Elhokar might think he would.

Edited January 31, 2014 by Moogle

[Arondell]

Elhokar is super incredibly paranoid and could easily view it as a blackmail attempt. And honestly, it could be used against him to weaken his position. I'm not saying Dalinar was going to do it, I'm saying Elhokar might think he would.

 

If he is as hyper-paranoid as your implying he is the last person I would want in power.  A certain amount of paranoia is good for those in positions of power and influence.  The awareness that simply being the king will mean that there are those that will try to harm you just because you are the king.  On the other hand, in my opinion, the level of paranoia your implying verges on madness.

[Moogle]

On the other hand, in my opinion, the level of paranoia your implying verges on madness.

 

Yes, I think that might describe Elhokar. Dalinar constantly remarks on his issues throughout the novel. At one point, Elhokar just stares at him suspiciously, and Dalinar is like "what the hell?".

 

Edit: It was Adolin!

Elhokar narrowed his eyes, looking at Dalinar, then at Adolin. It was almost if the king were suspicious of them. The look was gone in a second. Had Adolin imagined it?

 

Interestingly, Elhokar sees Cryptics, and you can see paranoia as a sort of quest for the truth... I think I'm actually convincing myself he'd be a great Lightweaver, here.

Edited January 31, 2014 by Moogle

[Leonardus]

The thing is that Dalinar has been following the codes for quite a while (I cant remember how long till Gavilar's death, 6 years?) It's gotten him nowhere, In fact at the beginning of TWoK he was seen as losing his wits, weak because of his highstorm visions. He even tried diplomacy trying to get the different highprinces to work together or to at least finish the war. However all they care about is filling their own pockets and gaining even more power. I may be biased since I quite enjoy Dalinar as a character but honestly I think that Dalinar has tried just about every angle to help unify and protect Alethkar.

 

So what do you do when everyone is being a selfish prick and avoids listening to reason? Well that's when you stop being "nice". Dalinar is trying to help the kingdom, trying to turn it into a unified nation capable of withstanding the incoming desolation. He NEEDS to make everyone stop fighting each other, his plan is actually quite simple : To strip the highprinces of their shards (he already controls the soulcasters thanks to Elhokar) this also ties quite nicely with him wanting to recreate the radiants, of course there's still the matter of whether those shards are corrupted by odium or if a radiant can actually use them, but given what Dalinar knows it's a pretty decent course of action.

 

As for him not obeying a certain part of the Codes of War, I think that he is still following them, The codes do not prevent dueling, they merely state that "Needless duels should be avoided" (in other words if two officers get angry at each other, they are NOT supposed to stab each other in a formal duel) Dalinar ordering Adolin to start obtaining shards is not a violation of this.

 

I honestly don't know if Dalinar will become a Radiant, It could go either way really all I know is that Brandon is going to surprise us in quite a few ways in Words of Radiance.