Stormlight Archive Recap: Main Characters

Stormlight Recap Series: World and History | Other Notable Characters | Outstanding Mysteries

Welcome back! If you missed the previous Stormlight Archive recap article you can find it here. Last time, we covered the world and history of Roshar. In this article we'll look at the three main characters of the Stormlight Archive so far, Dalinar, Kaladin, and Shallan. We'll also spend some time on the upcoming flashback character, Szeth! This article will have spoilers for the Stormlight Archive, but there will NOT be spoilers for other Cosmere books. Let's do it!

DALINAR

We caught glimpses of Dalinar's dark and bloodthirsty past as he worked with his brother, Gavilar, and friend, Sadeas, to unite the princedoms of Alethkar. Afflicted by the Unmade called Nergaoul (the Thrill) for most of his life, Dalinar's victories only left him thirsty for more. It wasn't until the accidental murder of his own wife, Evi, that Dalinar began to change. Her death left him an alcoholic and a shell of his former self, and after his failure to protect Gavilar from assassination, Dalinar became determined to turn his life around. He visited the powerful, mysterious, and ancient spren called the Nightwatcher where he asked to forget about the painful death of his wife. Cultivation herself made an appearance, and took all memories of Evi from Dalinar--giving him an opportunity for a fresh start. Dalinar seized that opportunity firmly as he joined the war effort against the Parshendi, to avenge the death of his brother.

After a few years of war, Dalinar's resolve began to shift in a new direction. Strange visions granted to Dalinar by the Stormfather ultimately revealed to him that their God, Honor, was dead at the hand of Odium. Despite the treacherous betrayal at the hands of his old friend Sadeas, Dalinar began efforts to unite the Alethi highprinces against the coming True Desolation. After facing the Parshendi in the center of the Shattered Plains and surviving the first Everstorm, Dalinar established a new base of operations in the lost, mythical city of Urithiru. His mission of uniting the highprinces grew quickly to include uniting all the nations of Roshar AND re-establishing the forgotten orders of the Knights Radiant. Dalinar became the first new Bondsmith, bonded to the Stormfather--the spren of the highstorm itself--and organized a shaky coalition of Roshar's monarchs to stand against Odium's forces, even as Alethkar fell to enemy forces. Dalinar confronted his dark past at the Battle of Thaylen Field--thwarting Odium's plan to make Dalinar his own champion. Seizing fragments of Honor's power, Dalinar halted Odium's advance and earned the humans a much-needed victory. Dalinar learned of Taravangian's efforts to undermine him, however, leaving little room for trust between the two men in the year of war that followed. That mistrust was validated when Taravangian arranged for Jah Keved to betray the coalition while Dalinar was leading a campaign in Emul alongside the Mink. Dalinar had the former king held captive, as their campaign continued. Meanwhile, Dalinar's thoughts began to shift away from battle and toward his role as a Bondsmith, and how he might end the war more permanently. He sought out the Herald Ishar, who proved too mad to be useful, before meeting with Odium once again and setting terms for a final contest of champions to be held in two weeks' time.

What's next?

Dalinar has elected to serve the role of Honor's champion himself, with the contest just ten days away. When the time of the contest comes, will Dalinar be prepared to face Odium's champion? Who will he have to face? Will things proceed as planned or will Dalinar have another role to play? After the terms of the contest of champions was set, Taravangian himself Ascended to the role of Odium, unbeknownst to Dalinar. Will Taravangian making any unexpected moves, and how will Dalinar react if he discovers his former friend is now his greatest enemy?

KALADIN

Kaladin grew up in the newly reunited Alethkar as an apprentice surgeon to his father, Lirin. He spent much of his young life torn between his father's expectations and his desire to become a soldier. Hearthstone's brightlord died when Kaladin was young, leaving his family to suffer under the bitter, angry Brightlord Roshone. After witnessing his father's strength and defiance, Kaladin decided to become a surgeon after all... until Roshone had Kal's younger brother, Tien, drafted into the army. Kaladin joined to protect his brother, but failed within months and was too ashamed to return home. Upon winning a set of Shards on the battlefield years later, Brightlord Amaram stole Kaladin's spoils for himself and consigned Kaladin to slavery. One year later, Kaladin found himself running with Sadeas's bridge crews on the Shattered Plains. His spren, Sylphrena encouraged Kaladin to fight on, and he did. Kaladin united the bridgemen under his command, trained them to fight, and ultimately saved Dalinar after his betrayal at the hands of Sadeas.

After joining Dalinar's forces, Kaladin's loyalty was tested as Amaram arrived on the Shattered Plains, reminding Kaladin that no lighteyes can be trusted, while his new friend Moash revealed King Elhokar and Roshone's roles in the deaths of Moash's grandparents. Dalinar's honor won Kaladin over in the end, as Kaladin grew into his new Surgebinding powers and used them to save Elhokar and Dalinar both from assassination. After the Everstorm, the members of Bridge Four began to manifest their own powers as Kaladin's Windrunner squires. Accompanied by two squires, he traveled with Elhokar's team to save Kholinar, but ultimately failed to protect the king from Moash. In Shadesmar Kaladin experienced a vision suggesting that Dalinar would soon be in danger, and the team journeyed through Shadesmar to Thaylen City, where Kaladin failed to speak his Fourth Ideal with the team in mortal danger. Saved by Dalinar, the team was returned to the Physical Realm, where Kaladin fought and helped defeat Amaram, who had been consumed by the Unmade Yelig-nar. In the year of war that followed, Kaladin continued to be plagued with guilt and an overwhelming need to protect his friends at all costs. Ultimately, Dalinar forced the bridgeman into retirement. That retirement was short-lived however, as Urithiru became occupied by enemy forces. Kaladin worked with Queen Navani to protect the tower, and in one final act of defense lost his friend Teft at the hands of Moash. Kaladin nearly succumbed to influence of Odium, before speaking his Fourth Ideal as he dropped from the tower after his father--letting go of his burdens of guilt, and earning his Shardplate.

What's next?

Kaladin has agreed to accompany Szeth to Shinovar, in search of Ishar. Will he reach the Herald in time to bring the aid that Dalinar hopes for? As for his traveling companion: the two have clashed more than once before, have never been on the best of terms. Will these two men work together or will the journey be more bumpy than Dalinar expects? Now that Kaladin has sworn his Fourth Ideal, accepting that those he cannot protect, what steps are next in his own personal growth? And how will his Ideals be tested next?

SHALLAN

We don't know how or when Shallan's bond with her spren began, but at a mere eleven years old she was forced to kill her own mother with her  Shardblade in self-defense. Her father, Lin Davar, tried to protect his daughter by allowing rumors of the murder to point at himself. The pressure of these rumors, along with financial decline, fueled violence and abusive tendencies in her father, and Shallan was left acting as the glue holding her elder brothers together as they suffered. Shallan was ultimately forced to poison and strangle her father. During that confrontation, Lin's secret Soulcaster, on loan from the Ghostbloods, was damaged. Shallan then journeyed to Kharbranth where she became Jasnah Kholin's ward in hopes of stealing the princess's own Soulcaster. Shallan ultimately committed the theft and made plans to return home. A strange encounter with Cryptics and an accidental poisoning exposed Shallan's machinations to Jasnah, but the wardship was allowed to continue after Shallan was revealed to be a budding Knight Radiant.

The pair traveled by ship to the Shattered Plains in search of Urithiru and proof of an impending Desolation, but an attack by the Ghostbloods left Shallan shipwrecked and Jasnah presumed dead. Shallan made her way to the Shattered Plains, collecting several mercenaries along the way. Once there, Shallan balanced her time between exploring her Lightweaver powers, infiltrating the Ghostbloods, and wooing Adolin Kholin. Shallan eventually determined the location of the Oathgate, and as the Everstorm was summoned Shallan spoke her next "truth" and activated the Oathgate. To cope with her broken past, Shallan began to develop alters; first Veil, a Ghostblood spy, and then Radiant, an exemplary Knight Radiant. Shallan also struggled readjusting to her role as Jasnah's ward, and to escape Jasnah's scrutiny, she traveled with Elhokar's team to Kholinar, where her skills proved useful as the group attempted to infiltrate the palace. Their activities in the city failed, including Veil's personal attempts to help the people of the city, leaving Shallan's identity in a tailspin, but her alters began to stabilize following the Battle of Thaylen City and her marriage to Adolin Kholin.

In the year that followed, Shallan formed a team of Lightweavers named the Unseen Court, who successfully dismantled the Sons of Honor. A new dark persona, named Formless, seemed to develop however, as Shallan was sent with Adolin on a mission to the Honorspren city of Lasting Integrity. Shallan had her own orders, from Mraize, to kill the Herald Kalak--but when the time came, Shallan rejected the darkness within herself, turned down the Ghostbloods, and accepted another truth: her original spren bond had not been Pattern, but Testament.

What's next?

Shallan's past still has some mysteries, including the foremost question: how and why did Shallan form a Radiant bond at such a young age? And how will the revelation that she has a second spren bond to another Cryptic affect Shallan going forward? Perhaps most pressing is Shallan's rejection of the Ghostbloods. They both seek the Unmade Ba-Ado-Mishram, and the Ghostbloods aren't a foe to be taken lightly.

SZETH

Every Stormlight Archive book contains the flashback sequence for a certain character, and in Wind and Truth we finally get the character who started all of this in the prologue to The Way of Kings: Szeth. Hailing from the strange, isolationist nation of Shinovar, Szeth was named "Truthless" by his people after he claimed the Voidbringers were returning to Roshar. He was sold into slavery, carrying Jezrien's Honorblade and forced to do the will of any person who carried his Oathstone. After the listeners found and used him to assassinate Gavilar, Szeth was passed between several inconsequential masters until Taravangian came in possession of him. Taravangian used him to assassinate several world leaders across Roshar, to destabilize the world as required by the Diagram. After the arrival of the Everstorm and the Last Desolation, Szeth was forced to confront the truth that he was made  Truthless by his people in error, and the responsibility for all his murders rests at his own feet. Looking for moral guidance, Szeth was recruited by Nale into the Skybreakers, and given a mysterious black Shardblade. After swiftly advancing in the ranks of the Skybreakers, Szeth gained the acceptance of a spren and swore his Third Ideal to follow Dalinar Kholin. In the year that followed, Szeth willingly remained imprisoned until he was asked to accompany Dalinar to Emul. While there he faced Ishar, who claimed that Szeth's father was dead and that Shinovar had been overtaken by the Unmade. This reignited Szeth's desire to fulfill his Fourth Ideal quest--to return and bring justice to ones who falsely exiled him.

What's next?

Dalinar has agreed to allow Szeth to return to Shinovar, but Szeth can only guess what awaits him there. Will he succeed or fail? Will he finds what he expects or are there new mysteries to uncover? Szeth's mind is broken, and the authority he swore allegiance to will not be accompanying him on this next journey. Will he begin to heal or will he spiral further? And lastly, how will the truth of Szeth's past, finally revealed in his own sequence of flashbacks, shape his future and the future of Roshar?

That will be all for this time. In the next article we will continue exploring some other notable characters! If you found this helpful, make sure to tag your friends or share it around. If you feel like something important was left out, or if you have a question, let us know in the comments. If you haven't visited our forums and Discord server, consider this your welcome! We'd love to hear your voice in the conversation. Until next time, Life before Death!

Check out our other articles in our Stormlight Recap Series: World and History | Other Notable Characters | Outstanding Mysteries