Alethkar

Alethkar is one of the most powerful kingdoms of Roshar and the homeland of many of the central figures of The Stormlight Archive, including Dalinar Kholin, Kaladin, and Shallan Davar (by marriage and association). A martial, Vorin nation ruled by House Kholin from the capital of Kholinar, Alethkar is renowned across the continent for the prowess of its armies and the dominance of its Shardbearers.

Geography

Alethkar lies in the eastern portion of the Rosharan supercontinent, exposed to powerful highstorms. Its lands are divided among ten princedoms, each governed by a highprince. The kingdom borders Jah Keved to the south and the Shattered Plains to the east.

Society

Alethi society is rigidly stratified between the lighteyed nobility and the darkeyed commoners, a distinction tied to eye color and, in tradition, to the legacy of the Knights Radiant. The culture prizes martial achievement above almost all else, and warfare is regarded as a noble calling. The Vorin church and its ardents oversee religious life, and the reading of glyphs and women's script structures literacy along gendered lines.

History

Alethkar was united from its warring princedoms by King Gavilar Kholin and his brother Dalinar Kholin. After Gavilar's assassination by the Parshendi, the Alethi highprinces marched to the Shattered Plains to prosecute the War of Reckoning. The kingdom later became a founding member of the coalition against Odium, though it suffered the loss of Kholinar during the war.

Significance

As the seat of House Kholin and the source of the coalition's military strength, Alethkar stands at the center of the political and martial struggle of the Archive.