Gavilar Kholin

It's come to that time of year. The next book in the @brandsanderson stormilight archive is looking like it's about a year or so away. Which means it's time to re-read the previous novels and get myself up to speed. HOWEVER This time I want to take things a bit slower and finally realize a thought that has been on my mind for over a decade. I'd love to start illustrating what I see in my mind's eye when I read these books. So I am going to take it piece by piece and illustrate people and moments in the book as they come. In this instance I give you King Gavilar Kholin. Wearing his family colours of blue with gold trim and sporting a middle aged slightly graying top bun, with a little gold circlet around his head signifying his position as king of Alethkar. I wanted him to be quite thickset and athletic. Someone who is very strong (after all he is known as a master of the shard blade). But also someone who has settled a bit into his more political role and gained a small bit of weight. This is an image I imagined just before he welcomes the Parshendi to his realm, just before he is killed by Szeth. Whenever I have seen illustrations for the #stormlightarchive they tend to be depicted in either East Asian or Western medieval styles. However for me, they have always come to me a bit more Mediterranean/North African/Islamic vibes. Hopefully people will enjoy this change of style. Anyways, I'll update with new images as and when they come.