Jasnah Kholin
| House / Order | Elsecallers; House Kholin |
|---|---|
| Race / Culture | Alethi |
| Status | Alive |
| Origin | Alethkar; Kharbranth; Urithiru |
| Born | Alethkar |
| Died | |
| Weapon | Ivory (living Shardblade); Soulcaster |
| Fate | Elsecaller of the new Knights Radiant; Queen of Alethkar |
| Portrayed by |
Jasnah Kholin is a major character in The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson. The daughter of the late King Gavilar Kholin and Navani Kholin, and sister to King Elhokar Kholin, Jasnah is the foremost scholar of her age, a famed heretic, and an Elsecaller of the Knights Radiant, bonded to the inkspren Ivory.
Brilliant, ruthlessly rational, and uncompromising, Jasnah is one of the few characters who grasped the true threat to Roshar long before anyone believed her. She becomes Queen of Alethkar following Elhokar's death.
Background
Jasnah is a member of the Alethi royal family. Famous throughout the Vorin world as a heretic for openly rejecting the existence of the Almighty and the authority of the Vorin church, she devoted herself to scholarship -- particularly history and the lost Knights Radiant. She bonded the inkspren Ivory in secret, becoming an Elsecaller, and could Soulcast without a fabrial, a fact she concealed behind a fake Soulcaster.
Biography
The Way of Kings
In Kharbranth, Jasnah takes Shallan Davar as her ward, unaware that Shallan intends to steal her Soulcaster. She investigates the ancient enemy of Roshar -- the Voidbringers -- believing their return imminent, and demonstrates her power by Soulcasting a group of would-be muggers to crystal and smoke, a chilling display of her pragmatism.
Words of Radiance
Jasnah is attacked aboard ship by assassins of the Ghostbloods and presumed dead, escaping into Shadesmar. After a long ordeal she returns, reuniting with Shallan Davar and the Kholin family on the Shattered Plains, her warnings about the coming Desolation now vindicated.
Oathbringer
With Elhokar Kholin dead in Kholinar, Jasnah is the rightful heir and is crowned Queen of Alethkar. She navigates the political and theological upheaval of the Voidbringers' return, balancing cold strategic logic against the moral weight of leadership -- including a controversial willingness to consider extreme measures against the enemy Singers.
Rhythm of War and Wind and Truth
As Queen and as an Elsecaller, Jasnah engages in scholarly debate (notably with Taravangian) over ethics and survival, and contributes her formidable mind and power to the war effort from Urithiru and beyond, including the diplomatic and martial crises of Wind and Truth.
Character
Jasnah is fiercely intelligent, decisive, and emotionally reserved, valuing reason and results over sentiment or tradition. Her atheism and heresy isolate her socially but free her to think without dogma. Beneath her cold exterior lies genuine care for her family and ward, and a willingness to bear the burden of hard, unpopular decisions for the greater good.
Powers and abilities
- Main article: Elsecallers
As an Elsecaller, Jasnah wields the Surges of Transformation (Soulcasting) and Transportation, allowing her to transmute matter and to travel physically into and out of Shadesmar, the Cognitive Realm. Her bond with the inkspren Ivory grants her a living Shardblade. She is among the most powerful and self-controlled Radiants of her era.
Relationships
- Ivory -- her inkspren, an Elsecaller spren and her living Shardblade.
- Shallan Davar -- her former ward and protege.
- Navani Kholin -- her mother, a fellow scholar.
- Elhokar Kholin -- her brother, whose throne she inherits.
- Hoid -- a mysterious figure with whom she has guarded dealings.
Quotes
There is no role for women in the old tales. So I will create a role for myself.
The purpose of a storyteller is not to tell you how to think, but to give you questions to think upon.