General Khal

General Khal is the highest ranking general in the Kholin army on Roshar.
== Personality and Appearance ==
General Khal has yellow eyes and stands with a straight back. He is bald and appears limber. Khal is a cautious man and has his doubts about the strength of the Alethi throne. As a veteran of combat, he has an understanding of how conflict and terrible situations can unite men. Also a seasoned commander, Khal is experienced in matters of war and advises Dalinar on a variety of other issues as well. As a general, Khal is of the third dahn, which is the highest a man can achieve without being royalty or related to a highprince.
== Attributes and Abilities ==
General Khal is one of the few Alethi to own both Shardplate and a Shardblade. As a full Shardbearer, Khal's effectiveness on the battlefield is unmatched by any common soldier, and when using his Shards, he is nigh-unstoppable in combat. While General Khal's skill with a Blade is unmentioned, he is likely a master, as he is chosen to lead the strike team that guards the highprinces during their meeting.
However, his greatest contribution to the battlefield may in fact be his experience as a general. Dalinar trusts him as he trusts no other commander, knowing that he will be able to advise Adolin in any situation that could arise. Khal is always at the center of the command tent, moving troops around and discussing the most effective strategy with Dalinar. When Dalinar cannot participate in combat, he often leaves General Khal alone in charge of the armies.
== History ==
=== Early Life ===
Nothing is known of General Khal's early life or how he ascended to his current rank. At some point during his life, Khal married a woman named Teshav, who gave birth to their three boys: Halam, Aratin, and Meleran. He served as a general in the Kholin army during the War of Reckoning on the Shattered Plains. General Khal was in charge of all of the patrols of the Alethi territory in the Shattered Plains. It is uncertain whether or not he participated in the Battle of the Tower, but afterwards he was the seniormost commander remaining in all of Dalinar's army. As a result, Khal's patrol responsibilities were given to Kaladin and his men, and Khal moved on to more pressing duties.
=== Head of the Kholin Army ===
For the rest of the war, General Khal served as one of Dalinar's most trusted advisors. He and his wife attended Dalinar's meeting with King Elhokar Kholin, where they plotted their plan to discredit Highprince Torol Sadeas and remove him from power. Khal counseled against directly opposing the other highprinces, believing they had enough strength to ignore the authority of the throne. He also worried that the highprinces would refuse the dueling challenges and that Adolin might lose the fights. Khal felt that the plan was too chaotic and had too many ways it could possibly fail. Despite Khal's urging, Dalinar went ahead with his plan.
As Dalinar settled into his role as Highprince of War, he moved away from directly commanding armies, choosing rather to send his elder son Adolin to lead them with the aid of General Khal. After the attempt on Dalinar's life by the Assassin in White, Khal guarded the room in which the highprinces met to discuss the attack. He wore Adolin's Shardplate and had command of a strike force that was prepared to enter the meeting room at any moment to dispatch the assassin.
As the war dragged on, Khal continued to advise Dalinar in matters of both war and politics, including during Adolin's meeting with a Parshendi Shardbearer, Eshonai. When Adolin successfully dueled four Shardbearers at once with the help of Renarin Kholin and Kaladin, General Khal received both Plate and a Blade. As a Shardbearer, Khal was able to join the ranks of the high nobility and attended the feast at which Sadeas leaked copies of Dalinar's visions.
=== Expedition to Narak ===
General Khal accompanied Dalinar when he chose to lead a war party onto the Plains themselves. As the number of skirmishes with the Parshendi increased during the trip, General Khal predicted that they were attempting to draw the armies off-course. When they reached Narak and realized the threat that they faced now consisted of stormforms summoning the Everstorm, General Khal helped Dalinar lead the armies from the command tent. He lent his Shards to his son, now a captain, to bolster the troops fighting on Roion's front. Khal helped to direct the armies to the Oathgate when the armies evacuated to Urithiru at the conclusion of the battle. The general was wounded during the course of the battle, but he kept the fact a secret until the retreat was complete. He was placed on leave until he recuperated.
=== In Urithiru ===
As the Alethi established themselves in Urithiru, Kaladin asked General Khal to send the most likely members of the army to Bridge Four to screen them as possible Radiant squires.
He was present while they awaited news from the Siege of Kholinar and discussed tactics with Aladar.
General Khal also accompanied the group that went to Thaylen City ahead of the Battle of Thaylen Field and discussed a potential union of his son Halam with the princess of Yezier. Just prior to the battle itself, Dalinar heard him shouting for runners for more troops from Urithiru. After going back to Urithiru to collect more troops with his son, a surprise attack hit Urithiru and delayed their return to Thaylen City. They eventually returned with the rest of Bridge Four along with two thousand soldiers; upon their arrival, Renarin attempted to catch the general up.
== Notes ==
category: titled characters