Teshav Khal

Brightlady Teshav Khal is an Alethi woman on Roshar. The wife of General Khal, she acts as a scribe and an advisor to Dalinar Kholin and oversees the coalition's archive vault.
== Appearance & Personality ==
Teshav has a pinched face, violet eyes, and black Alethi hair with a blonde streak, indicating some foreign blood in her family. She often wears her hair up, woven in a complex pattern.
Teshav is often worried about various problems, resulting in a near perpetual expression of concern on her face. She is extremely loyal to King Dalinar Kholin; he is reasonably sure that he can trust Teshav completely. She frowns on public displays of affection, as do most Alethi. She remains professional at all times and disapproves of people stepping out of line.
== Attributes and Abilities ==
Teshav's abilities with reading and writing allow her to act as a scribe for both her husband and Dalinar. She works closely with her husband, developing efficient patterns of patrol for Dalinar's soldiers fighting bandits. She also acts as an advisor to Dalinar, and the king views her as one of the best political minds in Alethkar. As a scribe, Teshav has learned how to brew teas to help her stay awake and alert.
== History ==
=== The War of Reckoning ===
Nothing is known for certain of Teshav's early life and childhood. Though she has some family who live in Thaylen City, she is Alethi. At some point prior to the War of Reckoning, she married General Khal, one of Dalinar Kholin's officers. They had Halam, Aratin, and Meleran together. When the War of Reckoning came about, they moved out to the Kholin warcamp, where Dalinar often utilized Tehsav's skill as a scribe and attendant. She relayed reports from Prince Adolin Kholin about how his investigation into King Elhokar's girth strap was going, investigated other things herself on Dalinar's orders--such as the actions of other highprinces, banditry statistics, and the king's accounts--and drafted missives and notices for Dalinar. She also read certain histories that he suggested to her and helped her husband create patrolling routes for some of the Kholin forces.
After Elhokar's proclamation to the Alethi Highprinces regarding a new system of distributing gemhearts won in battle, General Khal and Teshav were two of the few who were invited to be in on the Kholins' strategy meeting. Teshav reported on the highprinces' reactions and reacted in shock herself to Dalinar's announcement that he would re-found the Knights Radiant. Later on, Teshav helped plan Adolin's meeting with Eshonai out on the Shattered Plains. Once her husband had his own set of Plate and a Blade, the two of them made more regular appearances at the feasting basin. During this time, Teshav took a few girls on as her wards.
=== Residence in Urithiru ===
After moving to Urithiru following the Battle of Narak, Teshav acted as a witness to the wedding of Dalinar and Navani. She continued to act as a trusted advisor and assistant to Dalinar; he relied on her advice as he began to reach out to other nations in an attempt to form a coalition. While one such session was wrapping up, Elhokar asked Teshav and Navani to witness him swearing an oath of fealty to Dalinar as his highking, though all present agreed not to say anything publicly.
When Taravangian and his retinue came to visit Urithiru in response to Dalinar's communications, Teshav gave them a tour of the tower. She then acted as a scribe to Azir and to the Thaylen queen Fen Rnamdi for Dalinar, Navani, and Taravangian. As Shallan and Adolin dealt with Re-Shephir in the depths of the tower, Shallan recognized the figure of Teshav among the Midnight Mother's horde of shadowy imitations. Teshav sat with Navani when Dalinar brought her into one of his visions in order to record Navani's mumbled descriptions of her experience. She operated the spanreeds during the Alethi bid to retake Kholinar and also kept in contact with the other members of the coalition. She was also present for meetings of Navani's scholars and engineers as they studied Urithiru, though she did not attend every meeting of the Knights Radiant. Teshav did attend the meeting of the coalition at Thaylen City; before the meeting began, she and her husband spoke with the Princess of Yezier regarding a union with their son Halam.
After the coalition fell apart and the Battle of Thaylen Field began, Teshav remained in the city running a scribe station near the Oathgate. Once Alethi reinforcements arrived from Urithiru, Teshav's scribe station became the command post within the city. After the battle, Teshav brewed tea and gave some to Shallan.
Following the conflict in Thaylen City, Teshav held some authority as a scribe for the coalition's military forces. She oversaw many of the battle reports and provided the Mink with some necessary information after his arrival in Urithiru. Teshav joined Jasnah, Dalinar, and the coalition's forces at the battlefront in Emul, working alongside other scribes and generals in the war effort. She reported the results of the Veden betrayal to Dalinar and his allies and also oversaw the status of Urithiru during the tower's occupation. While in Emul, Teshav also acted as an intermediary between Dalinar and the other monarchs.
== Notes ==