Dalinar Kholin

==Summary==
This profile contains spoilers for the book, Oathbringer. Proceed with caution.
Dalinar Kholin was an Alethi Highprince, waging war against the Parshendi on the Shattered Plains as part of The Vengeance Pact he and the other highprinces took as a result of Gavilar's death at the hands of the Assassin in White. Known as 'The Blackthorn', he was the bloody right hand of Gavilar in the founding of a united Alethkar, using his tactical genius and bloodthirst in conquering dissenting highprinces and squashing rebellions after Gavilar was crowned King of Alethkar. However, Gavilar's death, and the discovery of the book, The Way of Kings, lead Dalinar to the conclusion that it was his lack of honor that killed Gavilar, who was assassinated during Dalinar's drunken stupor, and reformed his men to follow stringent tradition and a moral compass.
As the war with the Parshendi raged on, in the middle of the Highstorms that ravaged the Plains, Dalinar was racked with visions of a Final Desolation, repeatedly told to 'Unite Them'. Struggling to make sense of these foreboding images of the future, grappling with the transformation of the Parshendi conflict from a war of vengeance to a war of profit, the unity of Alethkar falling apart as rivalries emerge between highprinces, Dalinar searches for honor in land that appears to be devoid of it.
==Powers and Stats==
Tier: , with Plate | , with Stormlight, with Honor's Perpendicularity
Key: Pre-Oaths | Post-Oaths
Name: Dalinar Kholin, The Blackthorn
Origin: The Stormlight Archive
Gender: Male
Age: 53 (> 58 in Earth-years)
Classification: Alethi Bondsmith, Knight Radiant, Former Highprince of Alethkar, Highking of Urithiru
Powers and Abilities: Master Tactician and Swordsman, Superhuman Physical Characteristics and Resistance to Magic with Plate (Shardplate acts as a 'bubble' of Investiture, that blocks the effects of other uses of it, such as Surgebinding and Shardblades), Can summon a Shardblade, which has limited Durability Negation, Non-Physical Interaction, and Soul Manipulation (When attacking a living being, it severs the soul from bodyparts it strikes, and can sever the soul entirely if it hits the spine or head) | All previous abilities minus those of his Blade and Plate, Statistics Amplification through Stormlight, gaining Superhuman Physical Characteristics and Enhanced Regeneration (At most Low-Mid. Even with limited Stormlight, Radiants can swiftly regrow entire limbsOathbringer, p. 122, recover from major internal organ damage, and even heal significant brain damageOathbringer, p. 715-716. Heals wounds from ShardbladesWords of Radiance p. 378, diseasesSalt Lake City Comic-Con 2014, and poisons), Adhesion Manipulation/Limited Soul Manipulation and Matter Manipulation (As a Bondsmith, Dalinar can influence the Surges of Adhesion and Tension. The former allows Dalinar manipulate the rigidness of an object, using it to repair broken objects such as masonry. The latter allows Dalinar to establish a Connection between his and another's spiritwebs, giving them the same spiritual sense of origin for a limited time), Can amplify the abilities of other Surgebinders, Reality Warping/Dimensional Travel (Can create a perpendicularity between the Spiritual, Cognitive, and Physical realms, allowing all three realms to coexist at once and facilitating travel between them, as well as flooding the area with Stormlight)
Attack Potency: Athlete level (Despite his age, he can still wrestle trained athletes to the ground without the use of Stormlight, and has a large muscular build), Wall level with Plate (Grants him enough strength to send bodies flying thirty feet with a single hit, kill Warform Parshendi with thrown rocks, split a large wooden table by accident, and shatter bones by accident. With a warhammer, he dug a trench this large with repeated strikes in under a dozen minutes) | Same as before, Wall level with Stormlight (Enhances his physical abilities to the same degree as other Radiants), Unknown with Honor's Perpendicularity (Drove Odium away, and significantly weakened the Everstorm as it went over Thaylen City. Likely comparable to Preservation's Perpendiculartiy, which facilitated Rashek's Ascension)
Speed: Athletic Human (Can keep up with trained soldiers in swordplay, and dodge strikes from a Thaylen warrior repeatedly before tapping into Stormlight), Superhuman movement speed with Subsonic reactions with Plate (Plate enhances physical speed, allowing Adolin to keep up with Kaladin in combat) | Same as before, Superhuman movement speed with Subsonic reactions with Stormlight (Dodged sword-strikes from a Thaylen Prince repeatedly for four minutes straight. Should be comparable to Kaladin, who could weave around arrows mid-flight)
Lifting Strength: Likely Athlete level, At least Class 1 with Plate (Can lift a hammer that two soldiers struggle to lift easily in one hand. Could lift a Chasmfiend's claw, which is far larger than a single person) | Same as before, Class 1 with Stormlight (Lifted a boulder that weighed as much as ten men when filled with StormlightOathbringer, c. 59)
Striking Strength: Athlete level, Wall level with Plate (Moash, while restraining himself, accidentally shattered many of Kaladin's ribs and ruptured his organs in a single hit. Could block and lift a Chasmfiend's arms with a single hand) | Same as before, Wall level with Stormlight (Physical attacks from Radiants with even limited Stormlight can crack and break Plate)
Durability: Athlete level, Wall level with Plate (Despite its extremely high weight, it can withstand 40 foot falls. It can tank attacks from Chasmfiends, other Plate users, and is stronger than stone and presumably metal) | Same as before, Wall level with Stormlight
Stamina: Athletic, notably so for his age. Far higher with the assistance of Plate | Based on available Stormlight when using his powers, effectively limitless when inside of a Highstorm
Range: Extended Melee Range with Shardblade (Over six feet long), Tens of Meters with thrown projectiles | Standard Melee Range with physical strikes, Standard Melee Range to Several Meters with Surgebinding, Kilometers when producing a Perpendicularity
Standard Equipment: The Shardblade Oathbringer (Prior to the events of Words of Radiance), a large warhammer customized for Plate users, and a set of Shardplate | Typically carries infused spheres to draw Stormlight from, and a dagger or shortsword
Intelligence: Described as a genius battle tactician, having singlehandedly lead most of Gavilar's campaigns in Alethkar and out of it to victory. Expert swordsman, Plate/Shardweilder, and even wrestler, although these skills have diminished slightly with age. Outside of this, his skills in diplomacy and scholarship fall flat most of the time, although his understanding of the Way of Kings is well enough that he can recite the book by memory
Weaknesses: Shardplate's durability is significantly decreased when cracked. Individual sections of Plate shattering can limit movement in those places, while the pauldron breaking can cause the Plate to become effectively useless. Plates have no holes save for an eyeslit, which can be attacked through with thin weapons like spears. | Can't draw The Stormfather as a Blade without severely straining his relationship with the spren, if not outright breaking it after the events of Oathbringer.
Notable Attacks/Techniques:
* Surgebinding: Due to his Nahel Bond with The Stormfather, a splinter of Honor, Dalinar can manipulate the Surges of Adhesion and Tension. When near a source of Stormlight like infused spheres or a Highstorm, his physical abilities such as strength, speed, agility, durability, stamina, and healing are enhanced to a superhuman degree. Unlike other Nahel Bonds, however, Dalinar cannot (in most cases) summon The Stormfather as a Blade, and doing so in extreme cases greatly strains their bond.
** Adhesion: Presumably, Dalinar can perform the typical applications of the surge of Adhesion, such as a Full Lashing, which holds two objects together with a strong adhesive force. In tandem with manipulating Tension, this allowed Dalinar to repair intricate masonry and statues in Thaylen City. However, his unique use of the Surge as a Bondsmith allows for spiritual adhesion, connecting his soul with that of another's briefly when investing them with Stormlight. This gives them the same sense of spiritual origin, and allows Dalinar to understand concepts like language associated with that origin.
** Tension: Also known as the Surge of Soft Axial Interconnection. It allows Dalinar to manipulate the rigidness of an object, such as making a flexible object stiff and vice versa. Unlike Stonewardens, Dalinar doesn't use this ability in combat to rapidly reshape stone, but can use it in combination with his Surge of Adhesion to repair broken objects.
* Honor's Perpendicularity: Upon swearing to the Third Ideal of Bondsmiths, Dalinar brought forward the perpendicularity of Honor, which was made possible due to the unique bond with The Stormfather after the spren had received leftover pieces of Honor's power. This was manifested by Dalinar 'grabbing' onto the Spiritual and Cognitive realms and slamming them together, creating a merge of the Physical, Cognitive, and Spiritual worlds. This allows easy passage between each for both spren and humans, flooded the entirety of Thaylen City with replenishing Stormlight while it lasted, and repelled Odium and even lessened the severity of the Everstorm. It is unknown if Dalinar can preform a similar feat after taking his Third Oath, although he gained the ability to replenish other Radiants' Stormlight after this.
==Notable Matchups==
Victories:
Losses:
Inconclusive:
==References==
Category:Characters
Category:Male Characters
Category:Book Characters
Category:Fantasy Characters
Category:Royal Characters
Category:Kings
Category:Princes
Category:Warriors
Category:Knights
Category:Honorable Characters
Category:Good Characters
Category:Weapon Masters
Category:Summoners
Category:Non-Physical Interaction Users
Category:Soul Users
Category:Statistics Amplification Users
Category:Magic Users
Category:Regeneration Users
Category:Matter Users
Category:Self-Sustenance Users
Category:Reality Warpers
Category:Dimensional Travel Users
Category:The Stormlight Archive
Category:The Cosmere
Category:Adults
Category:Tragic Characters