Nale
| Nale | |
|---|---|
 por Isaac Stewart
| |
| Títulos | Heraldo del Todopoderoso, Herald of Justice, Patron of the Skybreakers |
| Apodos | Nalan, Nin, "Darkness" |
| Mundo natal | Roshar |
Nale is one of the ten Heralds of The Almighty on Roshar.
In the Vorin tradition he is referred to as "Nalan".
He was associated with the number Nan, the essence Vapor, and the attributes Just and Confident.[1]
He was the Patron of the Order of Skybreakers of the Knights Radiant. He was also the last of any of the Heralds to accept the patronage of their Order.[2]
Appearance and Personality
Nale has dark skin and a crescent-shaped scar on his cheek. He appears to be the man who killed Ym[3] and the one who hunted Lift, who referred to him as "Darkness." He wears dark clothing with polished silver buttons which gleam in the streetlight.[4]
“ The tall Azish man with the white mark on his cheek, like a crescent. Black uniform with a double row of silver buttons down the coat’s front, a stiff silver collar poking up from a shirt underneath. His thick gloves had collars of their own that extended halfway back around his forearms.
Dead eyes. This was Darkness himself. ”
He has some sort of connection or obsession with order and will go to extreme lengths to ensure he doesn't break any laws of the land he is in. He also hunts down new surgebinders, believing that they were responsible for the return of the Voidbringers. He tried to kill both Lift and Ym, but only within the boundaries of the law. Thus, in order to kill Ym, he first found him guilty of a murder he committed in his youth. Similarly, with Lift, he appointed himself a lawman under Azir law and filled out the paperwork required to execute her for her crimes of thievery. After she was pardoned by the new Vizier of Azir, Gawx, Nale was frustrated as he was forced to release her and could not pursue her any longer.
When one of his underlings slit Gawx's throat he was annoyed with him purely due to the fact that he had not yet first filled out the relevant paperwork to kill the child. The underlings assertion that they are above the law is then rebuffed by Nale, who claims that nobody will ever be above the law and that he will be punished for killing Gawx.[5]
He was seemingly impressed with Szeth's steadfast adherence to his Shin traditions, despite knowing that his Truthlessness is in error, and so gave Szeth a new blade and mission.[6]
History
At an unspecified time before the setting of the stormlight archive, Nalan had met with The Almighty and agreed to take part in the Oathpact. 99 desolations later[7] he, along with 8 other heralds, abandoned their oaths, instead leaving their honorblades at their meeting place after Aharietiam.[8]
Nale was present during the feast to celebrate the signing of a treaty with the Parshendi.[9][10] He was seen by Szeth on his way out of the feasting hall, speaking with the heir Elhokar Kholin and another man.[9] Afterwards he left the feasting hall, walking along the corridor with his shorter companion, possibly Kelek, who mentions being worried about "Ash" (possibly Shalash). Jasnah questions him about the feast, and he coldly tells her it is over before moving on.[10]
Some time later, Nalan succeeded in hunting down Ym. He did this in accordance with the law, executing him due to a crime he had committed many decades prior, but he was actually specifically targeting certain individuals in order to stop what he thought would be the return of the desolations.[11][5]
After hunting down Ym Nalan next focused his efforts on Lift. He had tracked her down for a while until finally cornering her in Azimirs royal palace, during a time when Lift had snuck in using the viziers debates as a cover. He goes to great lengths to only act in accordance with the local law, having filled out all relevant paperwork in order to act out as a magistrate and execute her for her thievery. He manages to catch Lift with the help of several men acting under his command until she is helped by one of the viziers, who thinks that his intent to kill a child thief is rather extreme.
In his capture of Lift he is shown to be a very capable and calm individual, bursting into the room she is in order to have her "escape" into a side-chamber where his affiliate was waiting. He then uses a strange animal to suck out all of the stormlight from Lift, and only moves through the palace with her after his men take out the spheres from their wall brackets (making sure they replace them afterwards), effectively staying in a dark zone the whole time that he drags her through a well-lit palace. When Gawx is made the new Prime of Azir and pardons Lift, Nale lets her go without even a hint of dis-satisfaction or annoyance, which she finds eerie about him due to the great lengths he took to track her down.[5]
Both Nale and at least one of his underlings use shardblades, but it is unknown if this is his own personal honorblade that he has reclaimed or if it is a normal shardblade.
During the events of the Stormlight Archive, a person claiming to be Nalan revived Szeth after his confrontation with Kaladin above the Shattered Plains. Nalan recruited Szeth into the Skybreakers, as well as giving Szeth a new sword, one that is understood to be the Awakened Nalthian blade Nightblood.[12]
Nale later went to Yeddaw to track down a potential radiant in the city, the Stump[13]. He was accompanied by two Skybreakers-in-training and Szeth. He succeeds in finding her, but is confronted by Lift about the return of the Voidbringers and abandons his plan to attempt to stop the formation of the Knights Radiant[14].
Nale in other religions
To the Shin he is known as "Nin".[6]
Attributes and Abilities
- Surgebinding
It is confirmed by Lift that he is still capable of using his surgebinding abilities, which she refers to as him "also being awesome".[5] As the patron of the Order of Skybreakers it is likely that Nale can bind the surges of gravitation and division, but chooses not to use his abilities blatantly in the presence of others, likely in order to keep a low profile.
- Justice
It is likely that like the rest of his order Nale is capable of dividing the guilty from the innocent.[15]
- Swordsmanship
Nale is likely a capable swordsman. At one point he had used an honorblade for many desolations to fight. He managed to survive Aharietiam.[8] After this he left behind his honorblade[8], but as of the events of the Stormlight Archive has either taken it back or acquired another Shardblade.[5]
- Resources
Nale is one of the more resourceful characters shown in the series. He has been able to acquire a Larkin, several Shardblades, is capable of tracking Lift over most of a continent[5] as well as track where Szeth fell after his fight with Kaladin and in doing so resuscitated him with precision, making sure he had died fully but not spent enough time dead to be incapable of revival. He uses a type of Fabrial to revive Szeth which seems to be quite distinct, possibly marking it as his original construction. He also was in possession of Nightblood.[6]
Relationships
- Jezrien
He has apparently kept in some contact with the old king, as he seems to mention his current state to the viziers of Azir.[5]
- Minions
Like Shalash Nale hires a number of minions to help him in tracking down his quarries. These minions wear uniforms similar to his but of a lesser quality. He goes to great lengths to explain his motives to his minions, ensuring that one of them understands he should have only acted within the confines of the law with relation to Gawx.[5]
He seems to have trained these minions well, as they are disciplined, capable of taking care for a Larkin well, know how to keep a "dark" perimeter around Lift at all times and one of them has even been granted a shardblade.[5] This seems to insinuate that at the very least he trusts them with knowledge of how surgebinding works using stormlight, and that he keeps them more informed than Shalash does her own minions.[16][5]
- Szeth
Nale mentions that Szeth is perhaps the most deserving of any men who had ever joined the Order of Skybreakers. He is deeply impressed by his adherence to his Oath and had watched him on his path for at least a considerable part of his time as Truthless. He is impressed enough by him to not only revive him from death but also entrust him with Nightblood and the judgment of the Shin and the Stone Shamans.[6]
Quotes
“"It was forty years ago," Ym whispered.
"Justice does not expire."
The man shoved the Shardblade through Yms chest.
Experience ended. ”— Nale killing Ym, a nascent surgebinder, and his thoughts on doing so, for a crime committed in his youth.[11]
“"That was poorly done," Darkness said to the minion, tone emotionless. Lift barely heard him. So much blood. "You will be punished"
"But..." the minion said, "I had to do as I threatened..."
"You have not done the proper paperwork in this kingdom to kill that child," Darkness said.
"Aren't we above their laws?"
Darkness actually let go of her, striding over to slap the minion across the face. "Without the law, there is nothing. You will subject yourself to their rules, and accept the dictates of justice. It is all we have, the only sure thing in this world" ”
Notes
- ↑ El camino de los reyes Ars Arcanum#
- ↑ Palabras radiantes capítulo 43 Epígrafe#
- ↑ Palabras radiantes capítulo I-2#
- ↑ Palabras radiantes capítulo I-9#
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l Palabras radiantes interludio I-9#
- ↑ a b c d Palabras radiantes capítulo 88#
- ↑ El camino de los reyes capítulo 45#
- ↑ a b c El camino de los reyes capítulo prelude#
- ↑ a b El camino de los reyes prólogo#
- ↑ a b Palabras radiantes prólogo#
- ↑ a b Palabras radiantes interludio I-2#
- ↑ Palabras radiantes capítulo 42 Epígrafe#
- ↑ Danzante del Filo (novella) capítulo 18#
- ↑ Danzante del Filo (novella) capítulo 19#
- ↑ Palabras radiantes capítulo 55 Epígrafe#
- ↑ El camino de los reyes interludio I-7#