Navani Kholin
| House / Order | Bondsmiths; House Kholin |
|---|---|
| Race / Culture | Alethi |
| Status | Alive |
| Origin | Alethkar; Urithiru |
| Born | Alethkar |
| Died | |
| Weapon | The Sibling bond (Bondsmith) |
| Fate | Bondsmith bonded to the Sibling; Queen of Alethkar and engineer of Radiant fabrial science |
| Portrayed by |
Navani Kholin is a major character in The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson. Queen of Alethkar, widow of King Gavilar Kholin, and later wife of Dalinar Kholin, Navani is the foremost engineer and fabrial scholar of her age. In Rhythm of War she becomes a Bondsmith of the Knights Radiant, bonded to the Sibling, the spren of Urithiru itself.
A brilliant inventor and organizer, Navani transformed Stormlight-powered fabrial technology and led the scholarly arms race against the Voidbringers. Her arc centers on reconciling her self-doubt about being "merely" a patron of scholars with the truth that she is herself a genius.
Background
Navani was born into the Alethi nobility and married Gavilar Kholin, with whom she had Jasnah Kholin and Elhokar Kholin. Long fascinated by engineering and fabrials -- devices that harness spren and Stormlight -- she gathered scholars and artifabrians around her. Her relationship with Dalinar Kholin predated her marriage to his brother, and after Gavilar's assassination the two eventually wed.
Biography
Early books
Navani arrives at the Shattered Plains and rekindles her relationship with Dalinar Kholin, whom she marries in Words of Radiance. She lends her engineering brilliance to the war effort, studying the strange phenomena surrounding the new Knights Radiant, the Everstorm, and the workings of fabrials. She often frames herself as a collector of clever minds rather than a true scholar -- a self-deprecation the narrative steadily dismantles.
Rhythm of War
This book is Navani's. When Urithiru falls to the Singers and the Fused, Navani is trapped in the tower and forced to collaborate with the brilliant, alien Fused scholar Raboniel on the science of Stormlight and Voidlight -- and the discovery of a dangerous new "Warlight" / anti-Light. Through this work she finally embraces her identity as a true scholar, and in the climax she bonds the Sibling, becoming a Bondsmith and reawakening the tower's defenses to retake Urithiru.
Wind and Truth
As a Bondsmith and Queen, Navani applies her fabrial science and the powers of the Sibling to the defense of Roshar during the contest of champions, her partnership with Dalinar Kholin central to the coalition.
Character
Navani is inventive, pragmatic, and politically shrewd, with a deep love of discovery. Her central struggle is impostor syndrome -- the belief that she organizes genius rather than possessing it -- which she overcomes through her breakthroughs in Light science. She is warm and maternal toward those she leads, and fiercely devoted to Dalinar and her children.
Powers and abilities
- Main article: Bondsmiths
As a Bondsmith bonded to the Sibling, Navani gains command over the spren of Urithiru and its tower-spanning fabrial network, able to power and direct the ancient structure's defenses. Beyond her Radiant bond, her true power is intellectual: she is the leading authority on fabrial mechanics, the conjoining of spren, and the manipulation of the three Lights (Stormlight, Voidlight, and the Tower's Light).
Relationships
- The Sibling -- the Bondsmith spren of Urithiru, with whom she bonds.
- Dalinar Kholin -- her husband and fellow Bondsmith.
- Gavilar Kholin -- her first husband, the assassinated king.
- Jasnah Kholin and Elhokar Kholin -- her children.
- Raboniel -- the Fused scholar with whom she made a fraught research alliance.
Quotes
Power is the ability to make life better or worse for the people around you.
Journey before destination. It is the goal of all Radiants.