Torol Sadeas

Torol Sadeas is an Alethi Highprince on Roshar. Through a number of successful battles fought alongside Gavilar and Dalinar Kholin, he became one of the most powerful men in the Kingdom. Known for his cruelty and brutality, Sadeas is a proficient political master; along with his wife Ialai, they eliminate people they consider inconvenient. He commands one of the two most significant armies on the Shattered Plains, the other being the army of Dalinar Kholin.
As Highprince of Information, he was able to manipulate the king and the other Highprinces. He was still able to outmaneuver Dalinar, even after he was openly found guilty of treason. He possesses both a set of Shardplate and a Shardblade, which is called Oathbringer.
He is murdered by Adolin Kholin a short time after his arrival in Urithiru.
== Appearance and Personality ==
=== Appearance ===
Torol Sadeas is a bright-eyed man in his early fifties. He has a bulbous head, curly hair, and ruddy face. As a Rosharan, he would be considered tall amongst people from other planets in the cosmere; and as an Alethi man, he would have tan skin and epicanthic folds. His Princedom's colors are green and white, and he reflects this in his clothing. 
His Shardplate is painted red. It is decorated, including tassels on his helm.
=== Personality ===
Sadeas has been a brutal, cruel man for much of his life. He has no compassion and enjoys showing off and pillaging. He will sacrifice people easily to meet his goals; this was his pattern both during Gavilar's war to unify Alethkar and later with his bridgemen at the Shattered Plains.
He is proficient at politics and strategy. His marriage to Ialai is strong because she is also very good at conspiracy, intrigue, and plotting. They run their princedom with those same values, and their warcamp reflects this. While he relishes in his position of authority, he has no desire to be king, considering it a job with little praise or amusement.
One of his main goals are the life and stability of the kingdom of Alethkar. He is willing to sacrifice anyone, even those he respects and admires, if he considers them a threat to Alethkar and its stability. Though in time, this desire began to be superseded by his lust for war and conflict, making him question if the collapse of Alethkar is really a bad thing, as it would have meant the birth of a larger war.
Sadeas does not believe in the Codes and is sure that honor, compassion, and diplomacy are signs of weakness. He believes Gavilar Kholin's death was evidence that the Codes lead to ruin. This was one of the main reasons for him to betray Dalinar.
== History ==
=== Birth and Early Life ===
Sadeas was born in Alethkar in early into House Sadeas. Little is known about his early life, except that at some point prior to he became close friends with Gavilar and Dalinar Kholin. 
=== Unification of Alethkar ===
During the Unification of Alethkar, he and Gavilar would plot together, discussing strategy and the direction of the war. House Sadeas was one of the three princedoms to fight alongside the Kholins. 
He was instrumental in pushing the alliance to greater brutality. He was not ashamed of his cold heart and was known for showing off his cruelty, which included hanging the heads of the fallen Highprinces and their officers. He openly enjoyed the pillage of the fallen cities.
Sadeas has always been very proficient at politics. He would speak persuasively to gain new allies; if he was not convinced of their full loyalty, he would find "Alethi" ways to get rid of them. His wife, Ialai Sadeas, was known among their friends for coming up with elaborate schemes for getting rid of their problematic allies and enemies.
=== The Rift ===
During times of a unified Alethkar, Sadeas enjoyed doing politics, especially with the power he had under Gavilar. He helped plot tactics to keep power and stability, maintaining war and fear as his most important weapons, while Gavilar moved to a more political type of leadership. This difference was key to the decisions leading to the destruction of the Rift.
Tanalan, son of old Tanalan who was murdered by Dalinar ten years ago, led Rathalas. Now a young leader, he retained intense contempt for Dalinar despite Dalinar's mercy towards him as a small boy and led his people in rebellion against the Kholins. Gavilar had tried diplomacy and indirect fear (sending Dalinar to Herdaz), but failed. Eventually, he had to agree to send an army and take the city by force.
Dalinar lead the army to take the Rift, however, after a convincing argument by Evi, he tried to get Tanalan to agree on surrender without murdering anyone. Tanalan offered a pact where he would give the names of the traitors who had helped them to rise, in exchange for no violence. He accused Sadeas as the traitor. Dalinar followed the caravan leaving the Rift and fell into a trap, causing him to realizing that Tanalan, and not Sadeas, had betrayed him.
When Dalinar got back to camp, he found that his army thought he was dead. He and Sadeas decided to delay sending the news of his survival to Gavilar and decided not only to attack but to utterly destroy the Rift. They do so, and in the process, Evi is accidentally murdered.
Sadeas spun the news of the Rift’s destruction to the king’s advantage. He said it was regrettable that the Rifters had forced the Kholins to action by killing Dalinar’s wife and that it was unfortunate the city caught fire during the fighting. He continued to be a close advocate for Gavilar and his kingdom, as well as an ally. During the night of Gavilar's assassination, Sadeas acted as a decoy in an attempt to lead Szeth away so the king could escape. In the aftermath, he was the first Highprince to offer allegiance to Elhokar when he called for war on the Parshendi to avenge his father.
=== The War of Reckoning ===
During their time at the warcamps, Sadeas participated in a hunt out on the Shattered Plains with Dalinar, Renarin, Adolin, and King Elhokar. When they arrived at the plateau where preparations for the hunt were under way, a chasmfiend appeared on the plateau with all the courtiers and scribes instead of on the smaller plateau where the hunt was supposed to take place. Dalinar, Adolin, and Elhokar immediately dashed for the chasmfiend, hoping to kill it before it hurt any bystanders. Sadeas used his grandbow from a distance to weaken it while Dalinar and Adolin went for its legs and Elhokar distracted it. At some point in the battle, Elhokar's saddle strap broke, throwing him to the ground. To save him from being crushed, Dalinar caught the claw that would have otherwise crushed Elhokar with his Shardplate-enhanced strength. Adolin continued to cut off its legs until the chasmfiend was unable to support its own weight, at which point Elhokar summoned his Shardblade again and used it to kill the chasmfiend, then harvest its gemheart.
Back in the pavilion on the Plains, Elhokar remarked to Dalinar that Sadeas had won three gemhearts in the last few weeks, followed up by chiding Dalinar for not having won any himself in that time. Both Elhokar and Sadeas made use of the topic to highlight many of Sadeas' achievements, which Dalinar calls into question, especially the act of sending unprotected bridgemen against the Parshendi. While Elhokar noted that Sadeas' bridge crews were more efficient than Dalinar's, and were why he was able to win so many gemhearts, Dalinar was of the opinion that Sadeas' method wasted lives. Sadeas, however, felt that Dalinar's reliance on wheels to maneuver his bridges was foolish.
Sadeas, with the mindset of most Alethi, couldn't reconcile how Dalinar could have more important things to attend to than the war of vengeance for Gavilar. While Dalinar took a moralistic stance, a very un-Alethi way of thinking, Sadeas was only concerned with efficiency and results. From this point on, the argument deteriorated until Sadeas insulted Dalinar's sons, which is defused only by their mutual understanding for the safety of the king, not allowing their rivalry to descend into open conflict.
Sadeas and Dalinar planned to manipulate Highprince Vamah into using more of Elhokar's Soulcasters, proving the two of them could work together in the best interests of the king. Dalinar told Adolin that Sadeas had sworn to protect Elhokar at any cost. 
Dalinar investigated the cut girth strap on the king's saddle, but at one particular king's feast, Elhokar announced that in light of the recent attempt on his life with the saddle, he was appointing Sadeas the Highprince of Information to investigate. This was to spite Dalinar, whom Elhokar believed was not taking the investigation seriously. Sadeas had learned of Dalinar's request to be Highprince of War, and this was Sadeas' way of outmaneuvering his opponent.
=== Highprince of Information ===
In his new position, Sadeas investigated the cut girth strap. Dalinar was insistent that Sadeas reveal the results of the investigation at another of Elhokar's feasts, though Adolin was convinced Sadeas would use the opportunity to incriminate Dalinar and turn the other Brightlords against him. This conviction was punctuated by Sadeas beginning by saying to Dalinar, “You demanded this, old friend.”
Even Dalinar himself was tense at Sadeas' proclamation, given for all in attendance to hear. He had the strap sent to three different leather-workers, all of whom concluded the strap had been cut – the leather was relatively new, as shown by its lack of flaking and cracking, and the tear too even. To answer when it was cut, Sadeas interviewed many on the hunt and they all reported the same oddity: Dalinar and Elhokar storming off to the rock formation alone. This presented a problem, a problem that Sadeas discovered in the king's Plate: eight of the ten sapphires used to infuse the king's plate had been damaged. When Adolin (who still thought Sadeas suspected Dalinar) protested, Sadeas noted how highly improbable this would be, since a simple fall from horseback wearing full Plate would not cause sufficient strain; even after a battle, only two or three sapphires usually needed replacing. Someone, therefore, must have sabotaged the Plate.
Next, Sadeas brought out one of the grooms in the king's employ, asking him to repeat what he told Sadeas in private. The groom confirmed the saddle had been checked over in Dalinar's camp, but also noted that the horse was wearing a different saddle on the way to Dalinar's camp after the groom had himself outfitted the horse with Elhokar's favorite saddle. Sadeas proclaimed that, in his personal opinion, the strap had been cut in Dalinar's camp to cast suspicion on Dalinar, and that Dalinar had no hand in the plot. This shocked both Adolin and Dalinar, both on their toes waiting for Sadeas to accuse Dalinar. Despite their rivalry, Sadeas did not want to claim a victory so easily.
=== Betrayal ===
Right after being vindicated, Dalinar proposed that he and Sadeas try a joint plateau assault to combine the speed of Sadeas' army with the strength of Dalinar's. Sadeas agreed only after they agreed on the division of spoils, ceding any Blades which might be won to Sadeas while Dalinar would keep any Plate. They tested the tactics successfully in several battles, though the Parshendi sent a second army straight at Sadeas' banner during one of the battles and forced Dalinar to rush to his aid.
Later, Sadeas and Dalinar sat with Elhokar while watching Adolin duel. As the three of them talked, Dalinar outlined why he would choose to leave the war--but not abandon the Vengeance Pact--at the Shattered Plains, Sadeas asked to listen to The Way of Kings sometime, and Dalinar agreed to try using Sadeas' mobile bridges in place of his chull-drawn ones in their joint assaults. 
One day, a chasmfiend was spotted on the Tower, a plateau close to Parshendi territory on which the Alethi had never been victorious. Sadeas rode over to Dalinar's camp to plot strategy, convincing Dalinar that the battle could be used to decimate the Parshendi's ability to wage war, all the while really setting up Dalinar to be in a vulnerable position. As they approached the Tower, they could see the Parshendi had not yet extracted the gemheart from the chrysalis. Sadeas wanted to attack the Tower together, placing all forty bridges in a single wave. Dalinar refused, citing the Codes again and saying he would attack only after Sadeas had made a landing point for Dalinar's borrowed bridge crews.
The plan worked well for a time. Sadeas managed to get his forces across the bridges and onto the Tower, carving out a landing platform for Dalinar to follow. The two forces were separated by the Parshendi, Sadeas to the west and Dalinar on the eastern edge, fighting inward. When another Parshendi force appeared behind Dalinar, Sadeas retreated to the northern plateau, pulling the eight bridge crews he'd lent to the Kholin army with him and abandoning Dalinar and his army.
Upon Sadeas' return to camp, he was met by Navani. Acting regretful, he told her he had to be the harbinger of grave news; he offered his condolences and claimed he did all he could to save Dalinar but was himself ultimately overwhelmed by the Parshendi and forced back. Sadeas declared that Dalinar was both a friend and an ally, asserting that he would seek vengeance for Dalinar's death. He watched Navani ink and burn a large thath glyph shortly before a runner quietly announced Dalinar's approach.
Sadeas attempted to reconcile with Dalinar, offering an apology that Dalinar accepted publicly. However, the two moved close so no one could overhear them and Dalinar asked for an explanation. Sadeas claimed he was upholding his oath: “Protect Elhokar. Protect this kingdom.” He thought Elhokar was being influenced by Dalinar's insistence on the Codes, worrying that the king talked of retreating from the Plains, as Dalinar had wanted. Sadeas saw Dalinar as a threat to the kingdom and, despite their old friendship, admitted that he just wanted Dalinar gone.
Before leaving, Dalinar asked Sadeas to give him the members of Bridge Four to fulfill a promise he had made to Kaladin. Sadeas refused the initial offers, asserting that he would not give up the bridgemen for a thousand broams each. Dalinar then summoned his Shardblade and drove it point-first in the earth before Sadeas, offering his Blade in exchange for every bridgeman in Sadeas' camp. Sadeas, shocked, nevertheless agreed and gained the Blade he had always desired.
=== After the Battle of the Tower ===
After the Battle of the Tower, Sadeas was despondent about obtaining Oathbringer and bemoaned how it didn't quench his thirst for bloodshed. At one point, he stuck it into a table point-first, staring at it in awe. When Ialai came into the room and complained about the table, he told her how he intended to force the Alethi soldiers back into a full-out war instead of a prolonged game of chasing down gemhearts. He began plotting with her, instructing her to send more spies into Dalinar's warcamp and to prepare for any other steps which might be required, including assassinating him.
After a failed plateau assault on the Shattered Plains, Adolin spoke to Jakamav about his attempts at winning Shardblades and Shardplate through duels and his frustration at how no one would rise to his challenge. Jakamav told him that Sadeas, in order to stop Dalinar's plans, had been making offers and promises to Shardbearers in return for them turning down Adolin's challenges; he suggested Eranniv as one who might be more interested in fame than Sadeas' offers.
Sadeas began to undermine both Dalinar and Elhokar by using his swift bridge crews to go on plateau runs when it was not his turn in the rotation, arriving before the scheduled parties and then triumphantly throwing the harvested gemheart at their feet before leaving. This later developed into him simply pretending the gemheart had been lost, but secretly keeping it; his motive was purely to further push the throne's authority.
Sadeas and his wife were present at the duel between Adolin and Eranniv. He spent the duration speaking with Ialai about their plots and about Dalinar's attempts to unite the Highprinces.
Later, Sadeas was at the same winehouse that Adolin and Shallan visited together. While waiting out the highstorm in the safety of the lighteyes' bunker, Sadeas approached Adolin and began goading him about the Battle of the Tower and how he intended to do away with both Elhokar and Adolin. Sadeas wore uncut gems along his clothes from one of the gemhearts he had won earlier but which he had claimed to have lost.
After Adolin won his duel with the four Shardbearers, Sadeas was forced to accept his boon of a challenge. However, due to Kaladin interrupting, Adolin only successfully sought a challenge; Sadeas left before he could pin down a time. As such, Sadeas took the liberty of accepting the duel for a year from the date. He put on an air of control and mirth, but in secret was terrified to see that Adolin was becoming another Blackthorn.
On the last day before the weeping, Sadeas and his wife took a ride, supposedly for pleasure but in fact to gauge the extent of Sebarial's warcamp's industry. He spoke with his wife about Dalinar and Elhokar. Ialai believed they should seize the opportunity to attempt a coup on the Pinnacle, but Sadeas thought it wouldn't be necessary and also pointed out the failure of their last assassin. Sadeas was stunned to see Highprince Aladar join with Dalinar's forces; he thought on the events for a while before ultimately deciding that it did not matter, as those on the expedition would all die on the Shattered Plains. Instead, he felt that he and his wife must set about deciding who would take the places of the doomed Highprinces.
=== Death and Aftermath ===
Surprisingly, Dalinar's call to the Alethi warcamps was answered by Sadeas as quickly as it was by Aladar and Roion. Sadeas personally made his way to Urithiru with his wife.
They were exploring the tower when Adolin came upon Sadeas alone. Sadeas taunted Adolin by expressing the next round of rumors he planned to spread about Dalinar: the presence of a parshman in his personal guard was proof of how he had managed to get the Parshendi to cooperate with him in the ruse of the Battle of Narak. Adolin's restraint finally broke, and after a brief struggle, he stabbed his side-knife through the Highprince's eye. When Oathbringer coalesced, Adolin threw it out the window and then proceeded to get rid of any other evidence that he had been there before rejoining his scouting party.
Men of Bridge Four found the body, and Sadeas' guards immediately accused them of the murder. Though the blood was dry, confirming that the death had happened days ago, the division between the camps increased; many continued to blame Dalinar for his death.
Shortly after the murder, the corpse of Vedekar Perel was found; the curious connection between the victims was that they had died of identical wounds. It was later discovered that this second kill was made by the unmade Re-Shephir, the Midnight Mother, who was copying acts of violence in Urithiru.
While several people, including Sebarial, saw Sadeas' death as one less problem for the new alliance, Dalinar was very affected by the event and asked Adolin to investigate the assassination. Adolin struggled with guilt over what he had done and confessed his actions first to Shallan and later to Dalinar himself.
After Torol's death, Ialai named Highmarshal Amaram regent and heir to the house title, making him Highprince Sadeas. In doing this, she cemented a division with the Kholins that continued until Radiant killed her, roughly a year after the Battle of Thaylen Field.
== Relationships ==
=== Adolin Kholin ===
Adolin Kholin despises Torol Sadeas for his continuous betrayals of him and his father. This hatred was enough that, in early , he murdered him in the halls of Urithiru.
=== Dalinar Kholin ===
Before Gavilar's assassination, Sadeas and Dalinar were very close friends. They maintain their respect for the other's abilities and appear cordial to each other for a while after Dalinar's trip to the Nightwatcher changes him, but Sadeas secretly desires to outmaneuver Dalinar any way he can and feels that getting rid of Dalinar is what is best for Alethkar. Despite seeing him as a threat to Alethkar and a boulder in his path, Sadeas still claims to respect and admire Dalinar.
=== Gavilar Kholin ===
He deeply respected Gavilar Kholin, and wanted to keep him in the position of king of Alethkar. His respect was enough that he helped to unify Alethkar under Gavilar during the Alethi War of Unification.
=== Ialai Sadeas ===
Ialai Sadeas is Torol Sadeas' wife. He is attracted to her "dangerous" personality, and the two of them often work on political schemes together.
== Trivia ==
* His name's similarity to the word "sadist" was not a coincidence, but it was more of a subconscious choice by Brandon than one that he was aware of.
* In a draft of Words of Radiance, Adolin did not kill Sadeas. When Brandon decided to have Amaram survive Iyatil's assassination attempt, he decided that Sadeas had to die instead.
* Sadeas would get along well with Rayse.
* If he were in the place of Straff Venture, he would make far better use of Zane.
== Notes ==
category: viewpoint characters