Shallan Davar

[Shallan Davar]

"Life before Death. Strength before Weakness. Journey before Destination."
Brightness Shallan Davar
​

Source: Stormlight Archive (taking her from about halfway through book 3)

Behavior:

{Warning: Anything with Shallan in it has pretty major spoilers for where her character has gone in the first three books. I will try to shy away from specific details where possible, but the Shallan you see in book three is noticeably different from the one at the start of the series, so spoilers for the general character arc.}

Shallan is a Frenetic Novice. Her childhood in a deeply disturbed noble family left her with some deep-seated issues that she has struggled to overcome, and only recently has she had the autonomy to begin to discover who she is. Shallan is a curious scholarly type by nature, with an extremely quick wit and a tendency to blush easily. she is frequently scrambling to recover from the blows fate deals her, and her anxiety over her life and actions can frequently overpower her if she doesn't take measures to find some vestige of control in her life. This desperation often leads her to take rash actions, adapting to failures more quickly than she makes plans to avoid them. Too often her path has been one of reactions or chosen for her, and she sometimes struggles with actualizing her own goals as a result.

Shallan isn’t a warrior. Despite possessing an incredibly powerful shardblade and being able to use stormlight to heal otherwise mortal injuries, she has no experience on the battlefield, and only rudimentary training from her betrothed Adolin. This lack of training means that her fighting style is decidedly function over form, and she is willing to use somewhat underhanded techniques if they will end the fight quickly. Though a novice swordswoman, she knows that a shardblade is an incredibly dangerous weapon to use without training, so she is hesitant to wield it if she does not need to.

Spoiler

When engaging in tasks that She doesn't feel prepared or equipped for, Shallan has constructed some personas that she pretends to be. These personalities and identities have helped Shallan immensely, but lately she has struggled to keep a sense of her own self. She has occasionally switched personas without intending to, and will sometimes view Shallan as just another person she could be, a broken, struggling one at that. Those around her have noticed this problem and are growing more and more concerned that Shallan's powers might be letting her avoid facing her problems in a very unhealthy way.

Veil is a Streetwise Spy. A darkeyes commoner who has had to fend for herself in an uncaring world, Veil has learned to find her niche in society. She’s equally comfortable in a seedy bar or a noble’s courtroom, provided that it’ll help her get the information she is after. Veil is decisive and difficult to fluster, able to keep her head in intense situations, and not adverse to starting a fight if the situation calls for it.

Veil is a dealer in information and as a commoner she wouldn’t have a shardblade to fight with. Veil is a thief and a con artist; she’s not too concerned about honor and she’ll happily sucker punch someone to win quickly. Veil generally does not carry a weapon, but has been in more than one bar fight, and can take a hit, ready and willing to dish one back. Due to her nature as an espionage agent, Veil doesn't want anyone to be aware that Shallan has powers, and therefore won't use anything flashy that would hint at her magical abilities. She will still use stormlight in a fight, helping to recover her wounds and add some extra strength to her punches, but will shy away from illusions or soulcasting that would link Veil and Shallan together in an observer's eyes.



Brightness Radiant is a Self-assured Knight. As one of the newly reforming Knights Radiant, Brightness Radiant is the picture of noble honor. She is coming into her own as one of the heroes who will save the world from its troubles and is to be accorded the proper respect for the monumental tasks she has and will perform. She is not elitist per say, but she does recognize her own abnormal strengths and expects to be accorded the equivalent respect. This can easily come off as dismissive and on some low level, it is. Brightness Radiant is a living legend, what right would others have to question her?

Brightness Radiant is free of Shallan’s unpleasant memories of her shardblade and is therefore able to wield it without her concerns. Though she is relatively green still in terms of actual combat, she is able to wield the shardblade competently and confidently, training with one of the best contemporary duelists in Roshar. Brightness Radiant’s training has so far focused on single man dueling, and she has essentially no experience wielding a Shardblade in a larger battlefield.

Physical Description:

A young Vedan woman of seventeen, Shallan has long red hair and faded freckles. Her homeland has very strict gender roles, which Shallan has been steadily growing to question as she accumulates experience. However, she still follows Vedan fashion, where women keep their left hand, their “safe hand” covered when in public. If needed she does so with a glove, but the preferred method is a long-sleeved dress; the left sleeve being a longer closed off “pouch” which can also be used for storing valuable things such as her coin. She frequently carries her sketchpad and belongings in an over-the-shoulder satchel. Shallan stands about five and a half feet tall.

Spoiler

Veil is a darkeyes commoner the same age and size as Shallan, with non-descript dark hair and brown eyes. She dresses plainly, with a combination brimmed hat and scarf best suited for keeping the sun and dust out of her eyes. This also serves to keep her face non-descript in a crowd. She prefers to wear a long knee-length coat with several pockets, keeping her gloved safehand inside one when it isn't a problem. Veil is less cautious about modesty than Shallan, finding the glove quite sufficient protection, however the Shallan part of her would still prefer to keep it in her pocket when possible. She walks with a confident gait, and is generally light on her feet compared to the rather clumsy Shallan.

Radiant would best be described as Shallan's idealized version of herself in a few years time. She is taller and slightly older than Shallan, with a more regal demeanor and bearing. She wears comfortable but well-fitting clothes, as befits a noble warrior who is ready for fighting in short order. She has a keen and scouring gaze, ready to make judgements of those who she encounters.

Character History:

The youngest of five in a mid-tier noble family, Shallan’s youth was quite sheltered, affording her much time for studies, but little experience with the world. Dark events led Shallan to kill both her mother and father, the first in self-defense at a young age, the second to save her brothers years later. She was briefly the ward of Jasnah Kholin one of the foremost minds of the era, where she first began developing her abilities as a Surgebinder, before her mentor’s apparent assassination left Shallan stranded in the wilderness. She developed Veil as a disguise first to avoid being targeted for ransom, but later expanded her usefulness as the more confident commoner personality could achieve things that an anxious young lady of clear nobility could not.

Shallan was instrumental to the Kholin family’s saving the war camps from the arrival of the Everstorm and was the one who both found and activated the portal to the lost city of Urithiru. Now publicly one of the legendary Knights Radiant, Shallan struggled with the expectations of helping solve a world-wide crisis. She created a more idealized version of herself, Brightness Radiant, who she sometimes adopted to help meet those expectations. As time has progressed, Shallan has come to depend on these two personas, and it has become harder and harder to keep them separate from herself. when her mission to the besieged capital city of Kholinar fell into disarray, she and her companions fled to the city's Oathgate, only to find the portal had been trapped. When she attempted to activate it, she was sent somewhere else entirely, the crossroads.

Affinity: Gifted
Influence: Jasper's Gems: 3, Planeview Inc.: -3, Empire of Ahn'Qiraji: -3, House of Gerudo: -3, House of Wakanda: -3, Karim Underground: -3

Spent Essence: 6300

 

[Shallan Davar]

Abilities/Skills:​

Stormlight accumulation:
On Shallan's homeworld of Roshar, stormlight is the condensed power of the massive storms that sweep over the world, trapped inside of cut gemstones and used to power a variety of magical technologies. As a surgebinder, Shallan passively collects some stormlight herself from storms, and can utilize this power for a variety of purposes. When she needs more stormlight than she currently has, she can draw in an excess of stormlight from a gemstone holding it within her like holding her breath. The stormlight will drift off her in visible motes, settling back to a normal level if she does not expend the stormlight for some other purpose.
On worlds with less extreme weather (essentially any planet with a more stable climate or rarer weather events) Shallan will have to be sparing with her uses of stormlight abilities, else she may deplete her stores and be unable to use any of her abilities that require stormlight.

The Storm within: (900)
Damage (200) rank 2
--side effect (visible glow when used) (-100)
Move object (200) rank 2
--Side effect (visible glow when used) (-100)
Endurance (400) rank 4
--Side effect (visible glow when used) (-200)
Healing (1000) rank 5
--Side effect (visible glow when used) (-250)
--Finite (requires Stormlight) (-250)

As a Surgebinder, Shallan is able to draw on the power of stormlight, either from within herself, or stored within a nearby gemstone. She breathes in the Stormlight, much akin to holding her breath, though she is capable of containing it for longer than one could normally hold a breath if required. When holding stormlight within herself this way, she emits a glow. Her eyes fill with light, and the stormlight will drift off of her skin in visible motes like fog or steam. While she is containing stormlight she is able act with strength far beyond a girl of her age and build, as well as replenish her stamina enough to keep pace with the best of trained athletes despite a childhood of sheltered studies.
Perhaps most importantly, Stormlight can greatly accelerate her body's ability to heal, allowing her to survive injuries that would be otherwise lethal with enough ease that she will occasionally refer to herself as immortal. This attitude is dangerous however, while Shallan can survive injuries that a normal person would never recover from, this requires a steady supply of stormlight to accomplish, and does not happen instantly. It is possible to overwhelm the amount of healing stormlight can do with substantial and/or consistent enough trauma, and without stormlight, she is just as mortal as anyone else.

Lightweaving: (1800)
Illusion (visual & auditory) (1000) rank 4
--Ongoing (400)
--Affects Multiple (200)
--Ranged (200)

As a Lightweaver, Shallan has access to the "Surge of Illumination" allowing her to fashion her stormlight into visible hologram-like images. These lightweavings will diffuse into stormlight mist if disrupted, but will drift back into place if the image is sustained. She is able to project sound from a lightweaving if desired, thought she tends not to unless necessary, preferring silent images unless the situation requires more. A lightweaving blurs and fades if too distant from Shallan, though she can instead link the lightweaving to a person as its "source" rather than herself. Lightweavings that have depleted their source of stormlight will dissipate into mist, though Shallan can continue to feed her stormlight to smaller illusions for a length of time before she is likely to run out.
Lightweavings are formed from Shallan's imagination, therefore they are more concrete the more carefully she has considered them. To this end, Shallan frequently spends time sketching her intended lightweavings beforehand, so that she can create more realistic illusions, particularly when used for disguises. Additionally, lightweavings are easier to manifest as a change than as a new creation. It takes less stormlight and energy to change someone's face and appearance than to create the illusion of someone where no one is.
Shallan will typically avoid using large-scale illusions, as the strain of creating them noticeably increases when attempting to create larger lightweavings, and they require far more of her attention and concentration. She would only attempt such actions when she feels particularly safe or particularly desperate. Generally, she prefers to use Lightweavings for disguises or, if in conflict, as momentary creations to confuse or distract her foe more than anything else.
Some additional information on lightweaving. Spoilered for improved clarity:

Spoiler

The prior consideration that goes into a lightweaving matters. A spur-of-the-moment creation may be blurry or less defined, passable from a distance, but clearly false upon closer inspection. Meanwhile, a sufficiently thought-through image can be virtually indistinguishable from reality.
A lightweaving attached to someone's face will change along with their movements and reactions near perfectly, even so far as realistic facial expressions or blushing through an illusion.
Conversely, an illusion without a basis would likely move in a way that looks stilted or incorrect on more than a passing glance, as Shallan would have to mentally prepare all of its motion and interaction with the world. (For instance, a baseless lightweaving of a person walking might make the correct motion, but essentially slide across the ground, rather than stepping with impact or consideration of terrain. A baseless lightweaving of someone talking likely would not have perfect synchronization between its sound and the movements of its mouth.)

Imaging: (500)
Sense (Sight & Supernatural) 5 (1000)
-Concentration (-250)
-Activation (-250)

By focusing on a scene for a moment and blinking, Shallan is able to take what she calls an “image” of what she sees. Though she does not remember the scene consciously any different from normal, she is later able to draw it with near perfect accuracy. In addition, these drawings will sometimes reveal details that Shallan did not consciously notice at the time, including beings or things that do not exist in the normal world as we see it. She can have multiple images that she has not drawn, but once she draws the image, she would to take another one to draw it again. after about a minute of sketching Shallan can get a rough idea of what she saw, though a finer detail would take a few more moments to be clarified in her artwork

Shallan's Skills:​

Artistic talent: (300)
Craft(Sketching) 6 (300)
Craft(Painting) 6 (0)
Craft(Portraiture) 6 (0)
Craft(Scientific Drawings/Annotations) 6 (0)

Shallan is an accomplished artist, rarely without her sketchbook and charcoal. Drawing is a much-needed stress relief for Shallan, and she loves nothing better than finding something new and interesting, often doing brief sketches on the spot or taking an “image” for later if she does not have the time at the moment.

Learned Caution: (100)
Knowledge (Dragonology) 2 (100)
Language (Draconic) 2 (0)
Knowledge (Cartoons) 2 (0)
Knowledge (Cartoon physics) 2 (0)
Knowledge (Kaijuology) 2 (0)

After the hardships experienced at their hands, any scholar worth her stormlight would take the time to learn more about the dangers these beings pose and methods for properly handling them. Shallan is by no means an expert in these fields, but she's learned a trick or two in how to deal with them

Aspiring Natural Philosopher: (250)
Research (Scholarly Research) 5 (250)
Sciences (Botany ) 4 (0)
Sciences (Zoology) 4 (0)
Sciences (Mathematics) 5 (0)
Sceinces (Kinematics) 5 (0)

Hailing from a world approaching early renaissance levels of technology, Shallan proved her skills enough to become the ward of one of the foremost scientific minds of the era, Jasnah Kholin. While there are many ecological and even metaphysical differences between Roshar and the Crossroads, the fundamental theories and scientific approach is still something Shallan can make good use of.

Theological Scientist: (200)
Humanities (philosophy) 4 (200)
Humanities (Historical theory) 3 (0)
Humanities (Religious doctrine) 3 (0)
Humanities (Political theory) 3 (0)
Sciences (astronomy) 3 (0)

Growing up, Shallan received an education by Ardents, the priests of the Vorin religion. As the daughter of nobility, her education included a wide variety of topics, often colored by the perspective of the Vorin tradition. In the Crossroads, much of her historical memorizations are for naught, but the theory behind many of her lessons remains a practical background to build from.

Aspiring Spy: 200
Social (Rumor mongering) 4 (200)
Subterfuge (Casing) 4 (0)
Subterfuge (Tailing) 4 (0)
Subterfuge (Infiltration) 3 (0)
Knowledge (Forgery) 3) (0)

Though most of her training in the subject has been on-the-job, Veil has begun to acquire decent skills at the arts of information gathering, as well as how to handle the complications that can arise during the process of gathering it. She can be a bit over-eager at times, but she is generally skilled enough at improvisation to get out of the troubles she gets into.

Troublesome, Quick-witted Noblewoman: (350)
Social (Banter and Insults) 7 (350)
Social (Cons) 6 (0)
Social (Formal Etiquette) 5 (0)
Social (Riddles) 4 (0)
Social (manipulation) 6 (0)

Shallan has always had a sharp tongue. While she was exceptionally well behaved while under her family's roof, the freedom she has gained since leaving has manifested itself with a healthy serving of the opinionated tenacity she had previously not dared to show. She is smart enough to know when she needs to hold her tongue and act the part of the regal and proper noblewoman, but she has been known to throw her weight around quite infuriatingly when bored or feigning a more aggravating persona.

Pattern:​

Pattern: (1700)

Spoiler

Pattern is a Cryptic, commonly known as a Liespren, who has bonded with Shallan. Spren are concepts and emotions manifested into beings, and generally reside in the Cognitive Realm of Shallan's home world. Manifesting in the Physical realm required extensive measures on Pattern's part, and he relies on his Nahel bond with Shallan in order to retain his sentience while in the physical realm. The Nahel bond is what gives a Surgebinder like Shallan her ability to utilize stormlight, as well as a variety of other powers known to the legendary Knights Radiant.

While in the Physical Realm, Pattern takes the shape of a geometric array of shifting lines. A pattern slightly raised off of whatever surface or object he is clinging to, blending in to the point that people likely only notice him when they are looking for him. He tends to move about along the surfaces of objects and the world in this way, though he can on very rare occasions separate into a floating mass of twisting lines independent of any particular surfaces. He tends to vibrate audibly when excited or worried, creating an unnerving humming, buzzing sound that can be distracting to those who hear it.

Pattern is an Inquisitive scientist. He is a very logical being, viewing the world from a perspective that many would consider alien, but possesses a perhaps surprisingly genuine and honest interest in things he doesn't understand. As a Cryptic Spren, Pattern is only minorly familiar with organic life and the physical realm, having had perhaps a few months to experience it alongside Shallan thus far. He has a great love of language and lies, particularly concepts that mix truth and falsehoods, such as sarcasm, metaphor, flattery and other tricks of speech. He calls all of these things lies, but with a decisively positive outlook on the word. For all his love of lies, Pattern tends to speak truths plainly himself, and is a decidedly bad liar himself.
Pattern is a scientist among his people. He volunteered to take the trip to the physical realm, fully expecting that his bond with Shallan would result in his death, but too fascinated by the opportunity to study the illogical and abstract nature of humans and the physical world to pass up on the opportunity. He is an observer, barely able to interact with the physical realm beyond the faintest presses of light objects such as the pins inside of a lock. His fate and Shallan's are tied together, and he will assist her However he can, but his primary role in a situation is to provide Shallan with advice and counsel.

{Note: In an effort to Separate this purchase into more manageable sections, Pattern is currently restricted from leaving Shallan, and will operate while clinging to her directly, instead of being able to move about on surfaces independently of her.}

Nahel Bond: (1400)
Summon (300)
Adaptions (1050)
-Incredible Heat Environments (100)
-Incredible Cold Environments (100)
-Need to Breathe (200)
-Radioactive Environments (50)
-Starvation and Thirst (50)
-Need for Sleep (50)
-Chemical or Toxic Environments (50)
-Disease (50)
-Falling (100)
-Nonbiological Anatomy (Your organs aren’t where they ought to be, or don’t matter) (300)
Communication (Telepathy) (100)
--Limited (With Shallan Only) (-50)
Spren are emotions and concepts manifested into beings by the power of a human's beliefs. As such they do not adhere to many of the rules of organic life and are not affected by many of the things a normal human would be. On Roshar it is not generally viewed as possible to kill a Spren, damaging them will simply disorient and weaken them, and even doing that much requires unusual tools designed specifically to do so. However, as a being of the Cognitive Realm, Pattern requires a person to bond with in order to retain his sentience. This is the risk that makes Spren so hesitant to form bonds with humans, as the normally immortal beings make themselves vulnerable by tying themselves to a mortal and changeable being like a human.
The Nahel bond allows Pattern and Shallan to speak with one another without any visible or audible sign, though Pattern cannot stray too far from Shallan without his sentience starting to slip as well.

Cryptic expertise: (300)
-Mathematics 6 (300)
-Codebreaking 6 (0)
-Language Translation 6 (0)
-Lie Detection 6 (0)
-Logical Arguments 6 (0)
As a Cryptic, Pattern possesses an inhuman aptitude at logical reasoning. He can recognize patterns in speech and translate languages with a surprising ease, though he may complain about the illogical inconsistencies thereof in the process. He is very good at recognizing the patterns in people's speech and is generally aware when people are lying to one another or themselves, though his response is more likely one of a pleased humming at recognizing the lie than any particular action at the recognition.

 

[Shallan Davar]

Bases & Minions:


Trinkets:​

Operator Symbol

Spoiler

Damage 3 (200)
-- Ranged (150)
Move Object 2 (200)
-- Ranged (100)
-- Ongoing (200)

A well-fashioned, cold iron copy of the Operator's symbol. Can be fashioned into a necklace, belt buckle, or other similar things. While on your person, can be used to sprout a number of tentacles from your back, which can reach up to 30 feet. They can be used for clubbing and smashing attacks with surprising force, and their prehensile nature allows for grabbing and manipulating heavy objects with great dexterity.

Relics:
​

Shardblade

Spoiler

Damage 8 (800)
Debuff (protective armor) 4 (400)
Debuff (parrying) 4 (400)
Protection 4 (400)
--Weakness: Does not protect from attacks that could not be parried(-100)
Total: 1900

A long and slender silver blade of about four feet in length, generally designed to be wielded two-handed but unnaturally light for its size. A Shardblade can be summoned and dismissed at will, coalescing out of mist into it's wielder's hand after a span of ten heartbeats. Water condenses along the length of the Blade when it appears. A dismissed Blade vanishes back into mist.

Shardblades cut through non-living objects, such as wood or stone, as if passing through water. There is a slight bit of resistance as the Shardblade leaves behind distinctive perfectly clean cuts. When swung at a person or other living object, the edge of the Shardblade will fuzz, leaving the physical body unharmed, and cutting the being's soul. The person feels a flash of incredible pain and then the injury turns gray and becomes limp and numb. If the Blade lethally strikes the spine or head, the eyes of the person blacken and burn out, a dark smoke rising from them.

On Roshar, A Shardblade will cleave through other weapons and armor, slaying most foes in a single strike unless they are similarly equipped. Even on Multerra, the weapon is capable of weaving terrible wounds, sheering through many traditional defenses, though sufficiently powerful arms and armor will be able to resist it.

 

[Shallan Davar]

Relationships (Under Construction)

 

[Shallan Davar]

Purchase Log

Purchased: The Storm Within 8/12/2021
Purchased: Pattern 12/10/2021
Purchased: Lightweaving 2/25/2022
Recieved: Shardblade 4/03/2022
Lost: Shardblade 9/23/2023
Purchased: Learned Caution 10/08/2023
Purchased: Aspiring Natural Philosopher 1/28/2023
Purchased: Theological Scientist 1/28/2023
Purchased: Aspiring Spy 1/28/2023
Purchased: Troublesome, Quick-witted Noblewoman 1/28/2023