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shardbearerAPPLICATION
CHARACTER NAME: Adolin Kholin
CHARACTER SERIES: The Stormlight Archive
SPECIES: Human
AGE: 23
CANON POINT: A little bit after the end of Way of Kings, but before Words of Radiance starts in earnest. Adolin survived the assault on the Tower, as per the books, but the Kholin army was decimated by everything that happened. Adolin has had a little bit of time to meet Kaladin, his father's new captain of the guards, and there has been some verbal sparring. He hasn't been betrothed to Shallan just yet.
CLASS/ABILITIES: In his canon, Adolin is a master swordsman and a duelist. This doesn't change at Warforged, of course. His supernatural abilities are twofold, and actually rooted in his equipment as much as anything else. He knows the sword styles used on his native Roshar; the one he prefers most is Windstance, which involves wide, sweeping motions; however, he will change to other stances as need be. These aren't supernatural or anything; they just affect how he uses his sword.
The first supernatural power comes from his sword, which is called a Shardblade. On Roshar, a Shardblade is a terrifying thing to behold. It can vanish into nothingness and be summoned with a thought, after ten heartbeats past. When it cuts inanimate objects, it can slice through them like a warm knife through butter. When it cuts something living, it severs the connection to the soul; cutting a limb makes the limb turn grey and limp (forever without magical healing), while cutting the head or heart or spine will kill a person. This seems, frankly, overpowered for the game -- and boring, besides. As such, I'd prefer to say his Shardblade is simply a really good artifact weapon; it's amazingly light, it can be sent away and summoned in ten heartbeats, and it's very sharp. It's lost the ability to sever links to souls and can't cut stone like cloth.
The second piece of supernatural equipment is his armor, called Shardplate. Shardplate is basically awesome magical armor. It can stop Shardblades, which is what it is best known for on Roshar, but it also can soak a lot of damage. It also enhances the wearer's strength and speed. Basically, it makes Adolin tough, but far from unkillable: enough repeated blows can break sections of the plate, and when enough breaks, he is actually rendered immobile. The plate repairs itself by draining built-in gemstones infused with Stormlight, which could be replaced with magically-infused gemstones on Roshar. Basically, Shardplate is scary in the novel series... for non-powered people. People with magical powers or Shardblades or Shardblades (or both) can take them down, so Shardplate won't be nearly the advantage it was on Roshar.
Adolin will be a Warrior. He'll be a little clumsy at first, because he isn't used to the abilities allowed him. However, he is a capable battlefield commander who leads from the front, and he'll get used to it in short order.
HISTORY: There is an article about Adolin on the wiki for Brandon Sanderson's works, but it is rather sparse.
Adolin is the son of the current King of Alethkar's brother, Dalinar. His father is a stern general, who helped put the kingdom together through conquest; he had a reputation as a brilliant commander, and was given the name the Blackthorn. Adolin was too young to remember much of this at the time, and he never really saw his father for what he was: a brutal tyrant, who cared more about his own pleasure than anyone else, who couldn't curb his own baser impulses. He hero worships his father.
He grew up trained to become a Highprince, one of the high nobility that rules over large parts of Alethkar. He was meant to inherit his father's position as Highprince, and rule over the Kholin princedom. He trained as a battlefield commander and a warrior; he also became enamored with dueling when he was younger, and started doing that as a religious calling.
After the murder of his uncle, Gavilar, the kingdom went to war with the tribes behind the assassination. Adolin joined them out there, where he was given Shardplate and a Shardblade. He fought beside his father, who had become a much more reserved, by the book figure. He began to fear that his father was going mad, when he had visions, and losing his grip on himself -- though he later realized his father was not, after an argument and causing substantial doubts in Dalinar.
They worked with another Highprince, Sadeas, to try to end the war against their enemy, the Parshendi. Sadeas betrayed them, however, and left them to die; it was only the actions of some slaves that helped save Adolin and Dalinar, who returned depleted of forces. Kaladin, the leader of those slaves, was made Dalinar's captain of the guard after that. Their forces depleted, Adolin was left trying to find a way to get revenge on Sadeas and hold the Kholin army together.
Until the dragonflights pulled him to Azeroth.
PERSONALITY: Roshar's religion has a concept known as a Calling. This is more than their profession: it is something they attempt to excel at, to demonstrate their faith in the Almighty, and to prove their worthiness in the afterlife. Adolin's Calling is dueling. This says a great deal about him.
For one, Adolin has quite an ego on him. This tends to be one of the first things that someone notices about him. He has an intensely competitive streak, rooted in the fact that he just knows he is one of the best. He is not, precisely, the constantly boasting type. He prefers to let his actions speak for him, and prove his worth in the dueling ring, but there isn't any doubt that he thinks highly of his abilities: that confidence shows in how he carries himself and how he talks.
More than appealing to his ego and confidence, though, dueling is something that Adolin understands. He isn't a stupid person, by any stretch of the imagination, but he is not a particularly cerebral one. He likes to keep things simple and understandable, and his life as a highprince's son often makes things complicated. Dueling is simple; at the end of the day, it is him and another person, and skill is what determines who gets out of the ring as the victor.
He likes things to be cut and dry. Adolin tends to view the world in a very black and white way. One can see this in how he views his father and his house. Dalinar Kholin is a renowned general and commander, who Adolin hero worships, and he is now a good man -- but he used to be a drunkard, a bloodthirsty tyrant, and a brutal conqueror. Adolin, however, doesn't see how that past complicates the present. He simply sees the present: his father is an honorable man and, despite his somewhat strange insistence on sticking to old codes of honor and decorum, made House Kholin into a force for good. That's all that matters.
He struggles to handle things that are complex. For example, when he considers his father's rival, Highprince Torol Sadeas, Adolin sees him as a threat. He ends up being correct, catching things his father did not; however, he thinks the way to solve the problem Sadeas poses is a duel or simple violence, instead of a more subtle political approach.
Adolin has, nonetheless, incorporated many of his father's values. He believes in behaving honorably and tries to play the part of champion for both Alethkar's armies as a whole and especially House Kholin's armies. His father implemented codes of behavior that he expects his soldiers to follow, and while Adolin has questioned them before, he still follows those wishes and watches his behavior accordingly. However, he sometimes chafes, and when he gets angry -- such as when he, his father, his brother, or family as a whole are insulted -- Adolin can get confrontational or violent.
While he tends to see the world in a black and white way, he is not actually an idiot. He can be surprisingly perceptive and thoughtful, especially when it comes to people. He is good at picking up on little cues about individuals. However, he applies much of this intelligence to warfare, dueling, and the like; he is a very good battlefield commander, and his intelligence is directed towards that end.
Part of being a commander on the field is charisma, which Adolin demonstrates off the field, too. He is talkative and conversational, with little problem discussing among friends. He tends to put on a cheerful, confident face when he's off duty and talking with friends. He also has a good sense of humor, and is at home joking around and takes a few jabs in his direction in stride.
Adolin can be flighty in personal interactions. He has a reputation for quickly forming and quickly ending relationships in the Alethi warcamp, which is something that holds true in non-romantic entanglements. He tends to get his interest flared up and lose it quickly; while he is passionate about hobbies like dueling, he can end up starting and leaving hobbies and relationships quickly.
He is, however, a very loyal man. Adolin cares about his friends, his family, and his country. He is fiercely protective of them, and seeing them put at risk will make Adolin quite angry and take action; he is fearless in that. He can be suspicious of people that he thinks threaten those individuals. He also tries to fight for good things: for bettering the lives of others, and for the safety of his kingdom as a whole.
However, this is also where his darker side comes in. Adolin can be violent -- and even vengeful. For example, when Sadeas boasts in the second book that he will murder Adolin's father and ruin his family, and says Adolin can't do anything about it... well, Adolin tackles him to the ground and stabs him in the eye. He will resort to violence to protect people, and his sense of honor, while important, only takes him so far.
FIRST PERSON SAMPLE: [Adolin appears over the scrying orb, wearing the blue and silver uniform of House Kholin that he still likes to wear despite being in Azeroth. His arms cross behind his back, and he flashes a grin at the scrying orb.]
How many days has it been since the last storm? The last one was barely there, it felt like. Not planning around highstorms will make the logistics of these campaigns easier.
[His expression becomes a measure more serious, though.]
Do we know what to expect? This world is stranger than I expected, and the worlds we all come from seem strange to everyone. I'm concerned about how we'll form tactics, despite the new... abilities we have in common.
[The classes are weird to him, still.]
We also need to make certain we can watch each others' backs, in battle. Getting to know what we can do will help with that.
THIRD PERSON SAMPLE: Please choose one of the following in-game scenarios and write a reaction or scene involving the character you are applying for. There is no word requirement, but please keep in mind that this is arguably the most important section of your application. We will be using this to assist in flight placement. While we will accept "character essays" in which you detail out your characters thoughts and reactions to a given scene, we very much prefer in-character sampling.
A. The Frienemy Your character has been called to defend their territory from invaders originating from one of the other flights. In the midst of battle, you spot a old friend on the battlefield...except they're flying the wrong colors. They appear to hurt, though its impossible at a distance to tell how badly. There's a very great chance that trying to help them will result in one or both of your deaths from your respective allies or enemies.
Adolin turned, his Shardblade cutting through another foe. He looked away from the corpse at his feet, seeing a brief lull in the battle. He took a few deep breaths, trying to ignore the stormlight that smoked away from the cracks in his Plate. That was when he saw something that he hadn't expected to see since arriving on Azeroth: another Shardbearer. The other Flights, he thought, had also found ways to imbue gems.
He took a long leap, enhanced by his Shardplate, and landed down near tthe man. He was face first against the ground, so Adolin reached a hand out to turn him over. When he did, he recognized the man: one of Sebarial's Shardbearers. He knew the man; they had a few drinks, before, and had joked once ore twice.
He saw his eyes flicker open, then flicker with recognition. Adolin looked down at him, and then hesitated.
Then, finally, he stood back up. He could strike the man down here; but, he reminded himself, this was a comrade in another war. The war against the Parshendi waited for him when he returned home. He hesitated a moment longer, before he turned, and stalked away.
The decision still weighed heavily on him.
NOTE ON THE PB: Ok Taec-Yon is a Korean actor. I hope that romanization is correct (and if not, please let me know!). Since I've seen it discussed before, if you read the books and are left thinking, "Wait, the Alethi were Asian?" ... well, yes. There are references in the text to their eyes having epicanthic folds, their skintones being tan, and overwhelmingly having black hair. I decided this is clear enough to suggest that Adolin should have an Asian PB. I may swap the icons to drawn ones after awhile/when finances allow, because I'd like to have the clothing and the like look accurate too.
CHARACTER NAME: Adolin Kholin
CHARACTER SERIES: The Stormlight Archive
SPECIES: Human
AGE: 23
CANON POINT: A little bit after the end of Way of Kings, but before Words of Radiance starts in earnest. Adolin survived the assault on the Tower, as per the books, but the Kholin army was decimated by everything that happened. Adolin has had a little bit of time to meet Kaladin, his father's new captain of the guards, and there has been some verbal sparring. He hasn't been betrothed to Shallan just yet.
CLASS/ABILITIES: In his canon, Adolin is a master swordsman and a duelist. This doesn't change at Warforged, of course. His supernatural abilities are twofold, and actually rooted in his equipment as much as anything else. He knows the sword styles used on his native Roshar; the one he prefers most is Windstance, which involves wide, sweeping motions; however, he will change to other stances as need be. These aren't supernatural or anything; they just affect how he uses his sword.
The first supernatural power comes from his sword, which is called a Shardblade. On Roshar, a Shardblade is a terrifying thing to behold. It can vanish into nothingness and be summoned with a thought, after ten heartbeats past. When it cuts inanimate objects, it can slice through them like a warm knife through butter. When it cuts something living, it severs the connection to the soul; cutting a limb makes the limb turn grey and limp (forever without magical healing), while cutting the head or heart or spine will kill a person. This seems, frankly, overpowered for the game -- and boring, besides. As such, I'd prefer to say his Shardblade is simply a really good artifact weapon; it's amazingly light, it can be sent away and summoned in ten heartbeats, and it's very sharp. It's lost the ability to sever links to souls and can't cut stone like cloth.
The second piece of supernatural equipment is his armor, called Shardplate. Shardplate is basically awesome magical armor. It can stop Shardblades, which is what it is best known for on Roshar, but it also can soak a lot of damage. It also enhances the wearer's strength and speed. Basically, it makes Adolin tough, but far from unkillable: enough repeated blows can break sections of the plate, and when enough breaks, he is actually rendered immobile. The plate repairs itself by draining built-in gemstones infused with Stormlight, which could be replaced with magically-infused gemstones on Roshar. Basically, Shardplate is scary in the novel series... for non-powered people. People with magical powers or Shardblades or Shardblades (or both) can take them down, so Shardplate won't be nearly the advantage it was on Roshar.
Adolin will be a Warrior. He'll be a little clumsy at first, because he isn't used to the abilities allowed him. However, he is a capable battlefield commander who leads from the front, and he'll get used to it in short order.
HISTORY: There is an article about Adolin on the wiki for Brandon Sanderson's works, but it is rather sparse.
Adolin is the son of the current King of Alethkar's brother, Dalinar. His father is a stern general, who helped put the kingdom together through conquest; he had a reputation as a brilliant commander, and was given the name the Blackthorn. Adolin was too young to remember much of this at the time, and he never really saw his father for what he was: a brutal tyrant, who cared more about his own pleasure than anyone else, who couldn't curb his own baser impulses. He hero worships his father.
He grew up trained to become a Highprince, one of the high nobility that rules over large parts of Alethkar. He was meant to inherit his father's position as Highprince, and rule over the Kholin princedom. He trained as a battlefield commander and a warrior; he also became enamored with dueling when he was younger, and started doing that as a religious calling.
After the murder of his uncle, Gavilar, the kingdom went to war with the tribes behind the assassination. Adolin joined them out there, where he was given Shardplate and a Shardblade. He fought beside his father, who had become a much more reserved, by the book figure. He began to fear that his father was going mad, when he had visions, and losing his grip on himself -- though he later realized his father was not, after an argument and causing substantial doubts in Dalinar.
They worked with another Highprince, Sadeas, to try to end the war against their enemy, the Parshendi. Sadeas betrayed them, however, and left them to die; it was only the actions of some slaves that helped save Adolin and Dalinar, who returned depleted of forces. Kaladin, the leader of those slaves, was made Dalinar's captain of the guard after that. Their forces depleted, Adolin was left trying to find a way to get revenge on Sadeas and hold the Kholin army together.
Until the dragonflights pulled him to Azeroth.
PERSONALITY: Roshar's religion has a concept known as a Calling. This is more than their profession: it is something they attempt to excel at, to demonstrate their faith in the Almighty, and to prove their worthiness in the afterlife. Adolin's Calling is dueling. This says a great deal about him.
For one, Adolin has quite an ego on him. This tends to be one of the first things that someone notices about him. He has an intensely competitive streak, rooted in the fact that he just knows he is one of the best. He is not, precisely, the constantly boasting type. He prefers to let his actions speak for him, and prove his worth in the dueling ring, but there isn't any doubt that he thinks highly of his abilities: that confidence shows in how he carries himself and how he talks.
More than appealing to his ego and confidence, though, dueling is something that Adolin understands. He isn't a stupid person, by any stretch of the imagination, but he is not a particularly cerebral one. He likes to keep things simple and understandable, and his life as a highprince's son often makes things complicated. Dueling is simple; at the end of the day, it is him and another person, and skill is what determines who gets out of the ring as the victor.
He likes things to be cut and dry. Adolin tends to view the world in a very black and white way. One can see this in how he views his father and his house. Dalinar Kholin is a renowned general and commander, who Adolin hero worships, and he is now a good man -- but he used to be a drunkard, a bloodthirsty tyrant, and a brutal conqueror. Adolin, however, doesn't see how that past complicates the present. He simply sees the present: his father is an honorable man and, despite his somewhat strange insistence on sticking to old codes of honor and decorum, made House Kholin into a force for good. That's all that matters.
He struggles to handle things that are complex. For example, when he considers his father's rival, Highprince Torol Sadeas, Adolin sees him as a threat. He ends up being correct, catching things his father did not; however, he thinks the way to solve the problem Sadeas poses is a duel or simple violence, instead of a more subtle political approach.
Adolin has, nonetheless, incorporated many of his father's values. He believes in behaving honorably and tries to play the part of champion for both Alethkar's armies as a whole and especially House Kholin's armies. His father implemented codes of behavior that he expects his soldiers to follow, and while Adolin has questioned them before, he still follows those wishes and watches his behavior accordingly. However, he sometimes chafes, and when he gets angry -- such as when he, his father, his brother, or family as a whole are insulted -- Adolin can get confrontational or violent.
While he tends to see the world in a black and white way, he is not actually an idiot. He can be surprisingly perceptive and thoughtful, especially when it comes to people. He is good at picking up on little cues about individuals. However, he applies much of this intelligence to warfare, dueling, and the like; he is a very good battlefield commander, and his intelligence is directed towards that end.
Part of being a commander on the field is charisma, which Adolin demonstrates off the field, too. He is talkative and conversational, with little problem discussing among friends. He tends to put on a cheerful, confident face when he's off duty and talking with friends. He also has a good sense of humor, and is at home joking around and takes a few jabs in his direction in stride.
Adolin can be flighty in personal interactions. He has a reputation for quickly forming and quickly ending relationships in the Alethi warcamp, which is something that holds true in non-romantic entanglements. He tends to get his interest flared up and lose it quickly; while he is passionate about hobbies like dueling, he can end up starting and leaving hobbies and relationships quickly.
He is, however, a very loyal man. Adolin cares about his friends, his family, and his country. He is fiercely protective of them, and seeing them put at risk will make Adolin quite angry and take action; he is fearless in that. He can be suspicious of people that he thinks threaten those individuals. He also tries to fight for good things: for bettering the lives of others, and for the safety of his kingdom as a whole.
However, this is also where his darker side comes in. Adolin can be violent -- and even vengeful. For example, when Sadeas boasts in the second book that he will murder Adolin's father and ruin his family, and says Adolin can't do anything about it... well, Adolin tackles him to the ground and stabs him in the eye. He will resort to violence to protect people, and his sense of honor, while important, only takes him so far.
FIRST PERSON SAMPLE: [Adolin appears over the scrying orb, wearing the blue and silver uniform of House Kholin that he still likes to wear despite being in Azeroth. His arms cross behind his back, and he flashes a grin at the scrying orb.]
How many days has it been since the last storm? The last one was barely there, it felt like. Not planning around highstorms will make the logistics of these campaigns easier.
[His expression becomes a measure more serious, though.]
Do we know what to expect? This world is stranger than I expected, and the worlds we all come from seem strange to everyone. I'm concerned about how we'll form tactics, despite the new... abilities we have in common.
[The classes are weird to him, still.]
We also need to make certain we can watch each others' backs, in battle. Getting to know what we can do will help with that.
THIRD PERSON SAMPLE: Please choose one of the following in-game scenarios and write a reaction or scene involving the character you are applying for. There is no word requirement, but please keep in mind that this is arguably the most important section of your application. We will be using this to assist in flight placement. While we will accept "character essays" in which you detail out your characters thoughts and reactions to a given scene, we very much prefer in-character sampling.
A. The Frienemy Your character has been called to defend their territory from invaders originating from one of the other flights. In the midst of battle, you spot a old friend on the battlefield...except they're flying the wrong colors. They appear to hurt, though its impossible at a distance to tell how badly. There's a very great chance that trying to help them will result in one or both of your deaths from your respective allies or enemies.
Adolin turned, his Shardblade cutting through another foe. He looked away from the corpse at his feet, seeing a brief lull in the battle. He took a few deep breaths, trying to ignore the stormlight that smoked away from the cracks in his Plate. That was when he saw something that he hadn't expected to see since arriving on Azeroth: another Shardbearer. The other Flights, he thought, had also found ways to imbue gems.
He took a long leap, enhanced by his Shardplate, and landed down near tthe man. He was face first against the ground, so Adolin reached a hand out to turn him over. When he did, he recognized the man: one of Sebarial's Shardbearers. He knew the man; they had a few drinks, before, and had joked once ore twice.
He saw his eyes flicker open, then flicker with recognition. Adolin looked down at him, and then hesitated.
Then, finally, he stood back up. He could strike the man down here; but, he reminded himself, this was a comrade in another war. The war against the Parshendi waited for him when he returned home. He hesitated a moment longer, before he turned, and stalked away.
The decision still weighed heavily on him.
NOTE ON THE PB: Ok Taec-Yon is a Korean actor. I hope that romanization is correct (and if not, please let me know!). Since I've seen it discussed before, if you read the books and are left thinking, "Wait, the Alethi were Asian?" ... well, yes. There are references in the text to their eyes having epicanthic folds, their skintones being tan, and overwhelmingly having black hair. I decided this is clear enough to suggest that Adolin should have an Asian PB. I may swap the icons to drawn ones after awhile/when finances allow, because I'd like to have the clothing and the like look accurate too.