Alethkar

Alethkar is a country in eastern Roshar. It borders Jah Keved to the west, the Unclaimed Hills to the east, and the Frostlands to the south. Alethkar is the largest country on Roshar, and is the largest and most prominent of the five Vorin nations. People from Alethkar are known as Alethi, and their royal colors are blue and gold. The Alethi are known world-wide for their militarism and fighting nature.
Prior to the True Desolation, the Alethi were engaged in the War of Reckoning against the listeners. As of on the Vorin Calendar, the vast majority of their territory is under the control of the Voidbringers.
== Etymology ==
The name Alethkar is of unsure meaning, but it stems from the name of the Silver Kingdom of Alethela, which later became what is now known as Alethkar. The demonym Alethi is likely derived from Althman, an old term for those that inhabited the land that is now Alethkar.
The Alethi are called the Tagarut by the Azish, this term means "Breakers" in Azish. This refers to their destructive nature during their invasions of Azir. Singers refer to Alethkar as Avendla, this is ancient Singer for Land of the Second Advance.
== Geography ==
=== Territories and Features ===
==== Territories ====
Alethkar lies in eastern Roshar, stretching across the entire continent, from the Steamwater Ocean in the North to the Tarat Sea in the South-West. To the East, it leans on the Unclaimed Hills, while to the South, it reaches the nationless Frostlands and the Shattered Plains, the latter of which it has recently claimed for itself. To the West, Alethkar has a long and long-disputed border with Jah Keved, which currently follows two rivers and the bend of the Sunmaker Mountains. To the North-West, Alethkar borders Herdaz across a stretch of land decided through many years of border conflicts. Its northern extent is 5.4° S including Akak, or 7.2° S for the mainland.
At the tail end of the Era of Solitude, Alethkar is the largest state on Roshar, covering an area around 7,134,000 km2. 
Besides the mainland, the Alethi have a number of territories off the coast. On the Steamwater Ocean, Alethkar has Akak and a number of surrounding islands, giving it complete control over the Bay of Elibath. On the Tarat Sea - more specifically, a region of it called Mevan Bay - it controls a number of small islands in the delta of Deathbend River, near the city of Karanak.
==== Geographic Features ====
It has numerous rivers crossing it, the two major ones being Windrunner and Deathbend. The Windrunner River runs East to West, from the Unclaimed Hills to the Bay of Elibath, and has numerous tributaries across the northern half of the country. The Deathbend River likewise starts in the Unclaimed Hills, though it turns South, ultimately ending in the Mevan Bay, with one of its major tributaries being an enormous lake called the Sea of Spears. The North and South of Alethkar are divided by a long, cross-shaped masiff called the Sunmaker Mountains.
=== Climate ===
Due to how far east it is, Alethkar is buffeted by particularly heavy highstorms. This forces settlements to primarily be built on the leeward sides of laits. These leeward sides are also far more lush with plant life, due to the protection the liats provide from powerful highstorm winds. 
Like the rest of Roshar, Alethkar does not experience true seasons, with them instead being defined by current temperature, climate, and storms, unrelated to irradiance. The Alethi utilise stormwardens to predict the coming of seasons. The shattered plains experience a moister climate than the rest of Alethkar. Clouds are also less frequent in this region.
=== Ecology ===
==== Flora ====
Despite the fact that Alethkar is far more exposed to the highstorms than most other countries, large swathes of it are lush with animals and vegetation and is considered fertile. The flora one finds depends heavily on the region of Alethkar. In the northwest, common flora includes thickets of snarlbrush, stout markel trees and stumpweight trees. Some forests are made up of purely vivim trees, which bind their branches together to ensure that the forest is almost impenetrable. Central Alethkar is filled with rockbuds, and here the roots of trees sprout from the ground. Southwest Alethkar is also home to sturdy trees as well as many varieties of vines, although there are less vines than in Jah Keved. In some areas of Alethkar rockbuds can grow nearly to the size of a barrel, with vines as thick as a human wrist; Alethkar also contains many fragile types of flora, such as vines and weeds, these species usually only grow in laits. Due to the moister climate of the shattered plains, plants here have a tendency not to pull into their shells as swiftly after a storm as in the rest of Alethkar.
The Alethi also cultivate many plants. Foremost among these plants, a staple in the diet of any Alethi, is Lavis. There are many different strains of Lavis, some are capable of withstanding even the strongest highstorms while others are extremely nutritious. They also cultivate Tallew, among many other types rockbuds, and tubers. The Alethi also grow a wide variety of fruits, typically in large orchards. Some species of trees are cultivated to be much taller and leafier than usual in order to provide more shade. A large number of grown plants are domesticated for other purposes then eating, such as clothing, medicine and more.
The Alethi also use a farming technique unknown to most other Rosharans. This technique involves the use of stormlight, music (specifically one of the Rhythms), and lifespren. This technique also drains Stormlight from the used gemstones, and can even crack them in a way very similar to a that of a fabrial. The Alethi learned this technique from the listener Rlain.
==== Fauna ====
Alethkar also has a large variety of fauna. Large wild Fauna includes Whitespines, Chulls, axehounds and more. Alethkar is also home to multiple herds of Ryshadium, which live mostly in the eastern part of the country. Diggerworms are also common in Alethkar, and much work goes into protecting crops from them. Another common species found across Alethkar is the lurg, a small amphibian. Alethkar isn’t home to any sarpenthyn, but skyeels are common near the coast. Concentrationspren are rare in Alethkar.
The Alethi have also domesticated a wide range of animals. While most of them live as farmers, occasionally keeping animals alongside their plants, some Alethi also live as herdsmen. Over time, breeding projects yielded animals with larger and larger gemhearts. Domesticated fauna includes lobberbeasts, a large grazing animal; pigs, which are kept for meat, leather, and milk; gumfrems, which are usually kept for their gemhearts; and chulls, which are used as beasts of burden. Besides these large pastoral animals the Alethi also keep a number of animals as pets, such as axehounds, some birds, and mink.
=== Notable cities ===
* Kholinar - the seat of House Kholin and the national capital following Alethkar's unification. The Alethela Oathgate is located there.
* Rathalas - ruined city once known for being constructed in a massive canyon for safety. It was burned down by Dalinar Kholin following the rebellion of the local highprince, Tanalan.
* Revolar - one of the largest cities in the Vamah princedom. During the True Desolation, it's taken over by the Voidbringers and used as a major assembly point for their armies.
* Dumadari - a major city on the border of Alethkar and Jah Keved.
*Karanak — a major city in the south of Alethkar, it is located near the delta of the Deathbend River. Karanak was a major part of the Alethi defense during the True Desolation.
== History ==
=== Creation ===
The land that would become known as Alethkar was created at an unknown point before the Shattering by Adonalsium, along with the rest of Roshar and the Rosharan supercontinent over ten-thousand years prior to Vorin year . It is unclear how much the geography of modern-day Alethkar has changed compared to the land at creation.
=== Pre-Human Arrival ===
Before humanity arrived on Roshar from Ashyn, the land that would come to be known as Alethkar was inhabited by Singers. 
Circa -5825 in the Vorin calendar, humanity arrived on Roshar after fleeing Ashyn and were granted the land that would become Shinovar. After less than a generation, they headed an invasion, slaughtering the Singers and expelling them from their land and claiming it as their own, this included the land that would come to be known as Alethkar. This history was lost to time until the discovery of the Eila Stele.
=== The Silver Kingdoms ===
Alethkar was founded as a kingdom of an unknown name, with the people being known as Althmen around a century after humanity's arrival. Jezrien is known to have been a member of this kingdom, and possibly its leader.
It was settled by Ashynite emigrants who arrived on Roshar in what will become Shinovar, before eventually expanding outward and conquering the rest of Roshar. They were an extremely militaristic nation which remembered and studied the arts of war so that they would be able to teach it to new generations whenever a Desolation came. Due to this, the Knight's Radiant primarily lived in Alethela, even if their operations were based in Urithiru. This militarism laid the foundation for modern Alethi militarism and military strength. It eventually became Alethela in the Silver Kingdoms Epoch. 
Its territory during this era was larger than its current territory, including the Unclaimed Hills in the Rosharan far east.
Due to the Desolations, they were constantly returned back to early technological levels, often to the point to making use of stone tools. Though they advanced each time with the help of the Heralds whenever they returned, often receiving this assistance from Kalak and his Willshapers. Old manuscripts and texts mention quick-spreading diseases that killed tens of thousands, likely during the Heraldic Epochs.
Very early in the nation's history, the Dawncity of Kholinar was created and made into its capital. Kholinar was eventually made into the home of the Alethelan Oathgate. Despite its age, it still stands as of , making it one of the oldest cities on Roshar. It was the place that many people wanted Urithiru to be built, likely due to Alethkar being the home to the Knight's Radiant. Despite this, for a reason obvious to many others at the time, it could not be, instead being built in the mountains near Makabakam.
==== The Rule of Nohadon ====
At some point early in its history, prior to year 31 of the Sixth Epoch, it was ruled over by King Nohadon. During one Desolation during his life, they fought for over eleven years and nine-in-ten Alethelan citizens were killed. 
Nohadon wanted to abdicate due to the tragic events of this Desolation, however, he kept his throne and tried to rebuild. Over the decades, he successfully managed to rebuild Alethela into a bustling and colorful place. Eventually, he went to war with Makabakam over trade routes, the full effects this had on both kingdoms are unknown. Nohadon was a very influential figure on the ideals that form the backbone of the Knights Radiant.
==== Further Desolations ====
The Sixth Epoch lasted at least thirty-one years, and likely significantly longer, before its Desolation arrived. 
One of the many Desolations that struck the nation, along with the rest of Roshar, arrived in the year of the Eighth Epoch. This Desolation was heralded by the release of Midnight Essence in a small settlement in Natanatan. The length of this Desolation is unknown.
During some of the Desolations, the Fused managed to take the capital of Alethela, though were ultimately pushed out.
Another Desolation occurred later and ended circa -3333, during an unknown Epoch. This left society wounded and weak, forcing them into a period of recovery.
==== The Last Desolation (c.-3332) ====
The Last Desolation was a large scale Desolation which occurred circa -3332, around 4500 years before the arrival of the Assassination of Gavilar. This Desolation was particularly devasting due to the fact that it happened only a year after the previous Desolation, and thus society was weakened and still recovering. Tired of the Desolations and their torture on Braize, the nine Heralds still on Roshar refused to return to Braize, leaving Taln as the sole Herald on the planet for millennia.
After the Last Desolation, Desolations ceased to ravage the nation. Due to this, society was able to advance much further than ever before, giving them the strength to potentially resist any potential Desolation without complete societal collapse. The era heralded by the Last Desolation came to be known as the Era of Solitude.
==== After Aharietiam ====
At some point before the Hierocracy, and likely before the Recreance, the ancestors of the Oldbloods acted as the monarchs of what would become Alethkar. Little is known about them, but they are known to have been a dynasty, implying that they had ruled for a long time. It is not known how, when, or why, but they eventually lost their authority, but it would be remembered by their descendants for many generations. 
Many Alethi rulers, be they highprinces or kings, ravaged the rest of Roshar with their armies during this period. This was possible, in part, due to their wealth of emerald soulcasters, preventing the need for long supply lines. During this time, scholars were more like gurus, sitting in shrines and pontificating the nature of storms and the souls of men. At some point following Aharietiam, the kingdom splintered apart into many different smaller nations, and would not reunify for centuries following the splintering.
They are said to have invaded Azir, under the Ulutu Dynasty, at least five times during this period; with legends stating that they attempted to climb the mountains to gather gemstones and weapons from the sun itself, which bleached their eyes and left them defeated by its majesty. This tale is a complex mixture of truth and legend, that historians struggle to untangle. Throughout the Era of Solitude the Alethi would sometimes war with the Reshi. These wars were in part because of the fertile fishing in the north, causing the sea there to be coveted by both parties.
=== The Hierocracy and Sadees the Sunmaker (??? - c.) ===
==== The Hierocracy ====
Alethela survived the Desolations, but fell under the sway of the Hierocracy some point after the Recreance. This was possible as religion permeated every aspect of life and Ardents were allowed to own poperty and political office, and were seen as the only figures capable of interpreting scripture. This allowed them to, at some point, overthrow the power of the government and make themselves into a powerful theocracy, claiming the divine right to rule over mankind. They further controlled the populace through their access to information, both religious and secular.
While ruling, they sought to expunge historical information regarding Shadesmar, the Knights Radiant and the Recreance, from the records as best as they could. They did not just expunge information, but also tampered with text to create their own revisionist history of Roshar. This left knowledge about the past clouded by propaganda and censorship.
They did not just control Alethelan territories, but expanded to become a wider Vorin coalition, including the likes of what would come to be known as Jah Keved, Kharbranth, and Thaylenah. But as it grew larger, it become more and more difficult to keep it itself stable and consolidated, thus their power began to become unstable, laying the foundations for the War of Loss.
==== The War of Loss (c.)====
The Hierocracy lasted until the Sunmaker led the kingdom in a successful revolt against Vorin rule circa , known as the War of Loss. Many cities were sacked and destroyed during this war and the chaos of its aftermath, with Kholinar being one of the few eastern cities to remain unharmed.
After overthrowing the Hierocracy, Vorinism was split into many Devotaries, leaving it heavily decentralized. Furthermore, ardents had their rights to own property and political office stripped away, they were no longer allowed to amass wealth, and they were reduced into being little more than slaves. However, they were stilled allowed to excommunicate people without political consultation. Furthermore, they had their claims of seeing visions of the future thoroughly debunked, questioning their authority as unquestionable religious figures even further. 
This was all done by Sadees in the attempt to prevent another Hierocracy from rising in the future. The Hierocracy and its fall served to shape modern Vorinism. 
Despite its collapse many centuries ago, various groups during the War of Reckoning and the True Desolation, such as the Sons of Honor, still seek for the return of the Hierocracy.
==== The Rule of the Sunmaker ====
Following his successful reunification of Alethela under the name of Alethkar, he set his eyes upon the rest of Roshar.
His first conquest was over the northern nation of Herdaz, which was successful. At some point following the occupation of Herdaz, he marched upon Azir, then under the rule of Prime Aqasix Snoxil. He successfully conquered the capital city of Azimir, claiming to have come to "civilize" them. With a powerful army stationed in the nation, he instituted a policy of genocide against their people, it is said one of every ten Azish people died under the tyranny of Sadees.
After the Sunmaker's death, his ten sons could not agree on one of their number as his successor. With none of them willing to forego their claim to the throne, they split the kingdom into ten princedoms, which they ruled individually as Highprinces, with no unifying government. This loss of central government in the empire led to the occupied territories, such as Azir and Herdaz, regaining their independence. This time saw the use of a specific type of sword, the ulius. There are also numerous famous duels from this time, such as the Velinar/Gulastis duel, which are still remembered by .
The legacy of this era would live on, with the Alethi seeing him as a great conqueror and a hero to his people, while many other people across the world saw him as a genocidal tyrant, causing other leaders to be hesitant to trust Dalinar and the Alethi. However, Alethkar's conquests forged trade routes to other regions including Azir, Herdaz, and Jah Keved; these routes persisted into the modern era, bringing great wealth to the nation.
=== Alethi War of Unification (-)===
Several centuries later, in approximately , Gavilar Kholin--inspired by the Sunmaker--sought to conquer and unite the highprinces, which he achieved by about . He was then crowned king and his brother Dalinar Kholin became highprince to the Kholin Princedom. However, due to the lineage of each Princedom going back to the Sunmaker and his sons, the Highprinces were loathe to surrender their autonomous power to a supreme ruler. The integrity and unity of Gavilar's kingdom is therefore questionable, as evidenced by the ferocity with which the Highprinces resisted his military approach to unification and continued to strain against his rule. The most severe instance of this was the rebellion in Rathalas, where Gavilar eventually had to send troops led by Dalinar and Torol Sadeas in order to quench the revolt, as political means had resulted in a failure.
==== Brightlord Yezriar ()====
One notable battle during the war was the battle against Brightlord Yezriar in , he was defeated and his land subsumed into the growing united Alethkar.
==== Conquest of Rathalas ()====
They led a conquest against Rathalas in , the seat of Brightlord Tanalan. During this fight, Dalinar slew Tanalan, but his body was taken away before his shard manifested. Thus he tracked it down and found his family, where he observed as the Brightlord's son took up the Shardblade Oathbringer in an attempt to protect the rest of his family. Ultimately, he couldn't bring himself to kill them, so he simply took the blade and left. 
The conquest was ultimately successful, placing Rathalas under Kholin hegemony, although the rule was not peaceful. The ruling family was enraged by the conquest and the death of Tanalan, and was even further enraged by the loss of Oathbringer, which they demanded be returned to the rightful heir. 
This battle was notable for laying the foundations of the Burning of Rathalas, and with the Kholin family obtaining the Shardblade Oathbringer.
==== Conquest of Kalanor's Territory () ====
Highprince Kalanor, though he referred to himself as king Kalanor, rose to power sometime before . Though the specifics of his rise to power aren’t known, it wasn’t peaceful. Kalanor and Gavilar Kholin were major enemies during the Unification War, with Kalanor acting as one of the major stonewalls in Gavilar's quest towards the complete unification of Alethkar. They had both been politically maneuvering around one another for two years before the start of the conquest. Due to his power and influence, Gavilar believed that he needed to fall at all costs.
In , the Kholin army attacked myriad small cities in Kalanor's region in an attempt to undermine his authority and pull him out of hiding, provoking him into a large scale battle in which they could secure a decisive victory. This strategy was successful, leading to the two armies into a large-scale battle on a large, open plain. This was the largest battle the Kholin army engaged in during the Unification War, and ended in a decisive Kholin victory and the death of Kalanor at the hands of the Blackthorn.
Kalanor's shards were given to Gavilar by Dalinar, and Kalanor's territory was given to Loradar Vamah, thus it was officially named the Vamah princedom. This battle marked the official end of the Alethi war of unification, however battles and skirmishes would continue for decades afterward.
==== Alethi-Herdazian Border Conflict ( - ) ====
A violent war between Alethkar and Herdaz occurred starting in and lasting up until . It was intended primarily as a show of Alethi strength, and as a way to ensure security at the border and expand Alethi territory. Dalinar Kholin was a major general in the conflict.
This conflict led to the deaths of many on both sides, and defined the modern Alethi-Herdazian Border.
==== Conquest of the Akak Reshi () ====
At some point in , Dalinar Kholin led a military conquest of the Reshi island of Akak. The conquest was ultimately successful as he destroyed the Akak Reshi, and claimed the island for Alethkar.
==== Alethi-Veden Border Conflict ( - ???)====
Around , a war broke out at the border between Alethkar and Jah Keved. Dalinar Kholin also acted as one of the major generals in this conflict as well. Part of the motivation for the conflict was Jah Keved taking land from Alethkar in around .
One of the battles during this conflict happened at a place called Slickrock. This battle saw the Vedens, commanded by Brightlord Nalanar, and the Alethi, commanded by Dalinar Kholin, fighting. This battle ended in an Alethi victory, although the Vedens almost defeated them during at least three points in the battle.
==== Burning of Rathalas () ====
In , due to increasing hostilities and calls for rebellion in Rathalas, led by Brightlord Tanalan's son, also named Tanalan, Gavilar Kholin sent Dalinar Kholin and Torol Sadeas back to the Rift in order to quell them. Dalinar attempted to peacefully negotiate, offering Tanalan the position of Highprince if he surrendered. His offer was refused and his contingent, including himself, were struck by a landslide orchestrated by Tanalan, killing all of his men and leaving him injured, but alive.
Enraged, Dalinar slaughtered his ambushers, and ordered his surviving men (stationed outside of the Rift) to douse the city in oil and set it alight, as to slaughter all of its people and leave the city in ruins. Panicked at what Dalinar ordered, Evi went into the city in secret and attempted to negotiate with Tanalan herself, in order to prevent the massacre from being carried out. Tanalan came to agree, and decided to send out a plea for surrender.
When messengers were sent out waving a flag of surrender, he ordered them shot dead, and demanded that the burning be continued without any deferment. The attack went through at night, and the attack left all inhabitants of the city dead with the exception of Tanalan and his family, who Dalinar killed without hesitation. However, Tanalan soon revealed to Kholin that his wife Evi was in the city during the burning, and was killed in the fire. 
The guilt of killing Evi and thousands of innocents weighed heavily on Dalinar's mind, and ultimately led to his seeking of the Nightwatcher and fundamental change as a person, and in the manner he runs his political office as Highprince.
=== Wastescum Skirmishes (???) ===
A collection of skirmishes in the northern Princedoms of Alethkar which occurred some time before , and some time after the crowning of Gavilar in . The skirmishes were against groups of Reshi raiders who thought they could take advantage at the instability of Alethkar early after the crowning of Gavilar Kholin. It can be reasonably assumed that the attempt to repel the raiders was successful.
Soldiers for the battle were brought in from across the Sadeas Princedom, and presumably beyond, including various darkeyes in Hearthstone. The Reshi forces notably did not have any Shardblades.
This conflict did not fully dissuade the Reshi from engaging in border assaults, and they are known to have still be attempted to raid Alethi territories as late as .
=== Early Interactions with the Parshendi ( - ) ===
Gavilar met with the Parshendi in and was instantly fascinated by them. The Parshendi exploration that underwent first contact was led by Eshonai, who became a very important figure in Alethi-Parshendi relations.
==== Assassination of Gavilar Kholin ()====
During the feast celebrating the signing of the Parshendi-Alethi Treaty in , Gavilar revealed to Eshonai that he knew how to bring back the old gods they abandoned, and that he planned on doing so. Horrified, Eshonai reported his plans to the Five, and they agreed that he needed to be assassinated.
They sent Szeth to kill him, and Gavilar fought back in a desperate attempt to survive. Szeth ultimately won in the battle and assassinated him. However, Gavilar managed to make out some last words, telling his assassin to tell Dalinar that "he must find the most important words a man can say", and gave him a Voidlight sphere. Szeth honored these last wishes, writing his last words on a piece of nearby debris, and taking the sphere.
=== The War of Reckoning ( - ) ===
King Gavilar was assassinated by Szeth, under the orders of the Parshendi, in . Three of the Parshendi leaders claimed responsibility, which later turned out to be a cover for the flight of a large number of their countrymen in Kholinar. Dalinar Kholin, the late king’s brother, immediately sent a hundred horsemen after them, but every man was killed. The Parshendi leaders who stayed behind were strung up for their crimes. Gavilar’s son, Elhokar Kholin, became king shortly after and declared war on the killers. Each of the highprinces joined the Vengeance Pact and they set out into the Shattered Plains to besiege the Parshendi in what would become known as the War of Reckoning. 
When the Alethi arrived at the forests surrounding the Plains they found that the Parshendi had retreated onto the Plains. Dalinar Kholin, the Blackthorn, formulated a plan; besiege them, starve them out and force them to face the Alethi in open battle. They sent scouts around the entire perimeter of the Plains, watching to see if the Parshendi fled. The Parshendi almost immediately began their raiding, destroying bridges and attacking the warcamps. After the Highprinces discovered the gemhearts they began fighting the Parshendi for them. After some embarrassing losses in the beginning the Alethi managed to adapt to Parshendi strategies. During the first year of the war, highprince Kholin defeated a Parshendi Shardbearer, earning himself another set of Plate and Blade. He gave these to the king, to bestow upon a worthy warrior. Slowly but surely all of the listener Shards were taken, until only a single set remained to them. Kholin’s strategy was only mildly succesful, while the listener military did dwindle due to the constant fighting over gemhearts, they didn’t starve and did well enough out on the plains. Over time, the war became more about wealth and less about vengeance, to the frustration of highprince Kholin. Navani Kholin, the king’s mother, spent most of these six years guiding her son. At an unknown point in time she went back to Kholinar, to aid the king’s wife in rule, but she returned near the end of the war.
During the war, highprince Dalinar began to have visions of the past, and warnings of the future. These visions caused other highprinces and his soldiers to start doubting his sanity. However, over time, his talking during these visions led to the decipherment of the Dawnchant. These translations began to spread amongst scholars, leading to an immense increase in Rosharan understanding of their own history as they learned how to translate various ancient texts. Alethkar, during the War of Reckoning, also experienced an incredible time of innovation on the field of Fabrials. The siege took much longer than was expected, and was still going on by .
==== Sadeas Princedom Border Conflict (c.) ====
In c., the Sadeas Princedom engaged in a border skirmish with the Vamah or Aladar princedom. During this battle, which was led by Meridas Amaram on the Sadeas side, Helaran Davar, a Veden Shardbearer, was killed on the battlefield. While the killer was Kaladin, and thus he had legal right to the dropped Shardblade, Amaram killed his squad and marked him as a slave, taking the Shardblade for himself.
In late , Reshi border encroachments grew increasingly bold, recognizing the weakening state of Alethkar due to the prolonged War of Reckoning.
==== The Chasmfiend Hunt () ====
In the sixth year of the siege Dalinar Kholin organised a hunt, and together with Sadeas, Vamah and king Elhokar they set off. The hunt was well prepared and should have gone smoothly, with the chasmfiend being weakened before the Shardbearers went in for the kill. The chasmfiend surprised them however, appearing on the viewing plateau instead of the hunting plateau. Three of the four Shardbearers raced down to distract and kill the beast, while the fourth, Sadeas, grabbed his Grandbow to help from a distance. After a hard fought battle they managed to kill it, although the king almost died due to a failing strap on his saddle, causing him to fall off his horse and almost get crushed by the chasmfiend. After the hunt, Elhokar showed Dalinar the strap and asked him to look into it. Although Kholin later concluded that nothing had happened. Weeks later highprince Kholin talked to the king about leaving the Shattered plains, word got out and people across the warcamps were astonished. He later changed his mind, agreeing to finish the Parshendi by marching onto the Plains and made an official refutation.
==== Battle of the Side Carry () ====
During an attack on the Tower led by Sadeas, Bridge Four attempted a strategy that they believed would protect them from Parshendi attack by carrying their bridge on the side. This successfully protected themselves, but focused Parshendi attack on other bridge crews, causing a large amount to fall. This disrupted the attack, and led to a large amount of deaths, of both trained soldiers and bridgemen. Over two-hundred bridgemen perished in the attack.
This ultimately dealt a crippling blow to Sadeas's army, and led to the execution of Captain Lamaril for allowing the disaster to take place. Kaladin was also punished by being strung up in the coming highstorm and left for dead, as a punishment for the actions of his crew.
==== The Fall of Kholinar () ====
Late into the War of Reckoning, after Navani Kholin left Aesudan to rule for herself after deeming her fit to do so without her advisement, Kholinar was infiltrated by Ashertmarn, Sja-anat, and Yelig-nar. These Unmade caused Aesudan to fall into an abyss of decadence, throwing lavish feasts as Kholinar society collapsed around her, while Sja-anat corrupted the spren of the city; and Yelig-nar bonded with Aesudan. After a number of years, well into the True Desolation, Aesudan failed to control Yelig-nar, which led to her death.
The events that took place in Kholinar before Aesudan’s death served as the basis of the Siege of Kholinar, and its eventual fall and occupation by Fused forces.
==== Battle of the Tower () ====
On , Highprince Sadeas set up a battle on the Tower as a trap to murder Dalinar Kholin. The motivation for this was a part of his desire to protect Elhokar from Dalinar's ideals.
The battle led to the decimation of Dalinar Kholin's army, he arrived at the battle with 8000 men, but returned with only 2,653 men, coming out at 5347 fatalities. It also led to Dalinar successfully attempting to gain the title of Highprince of War in order to insure more authority to manage the war directly, in response to Sadeas' betrayal.
==== Unrest and politics ====
Dalinar, with the king’s authority, released a proclamation, first in private to the highprinces and then to the public, stating that all gemhearts won in battle now belonged to the king and the wealth will be apportioned at the Crown's discretion. This proclamation was made to refocus the Highprinces' attention on the war and not on gaining wealth. Hatham was the only highprince to comment on this proclamation publicly, denouncing Elhokar's decision.
==== Assassins ====
Some time later king Elhokar suffers an assassination attempt in the form of a sabotaged railing, luckily his guards managed to pull him up before he fell. Another while later the assassin in white returns, he ostensibly attempts to assassinate Elhokar, although he actually means to kill the king’s uncle, Dalinar. This attempt is thwarted however, and the king calls a meeting of Alethkar’s elite. Shallan Davar, betrothed of Adolin Kholin, brings news to this meeting, telling the members of house Kholin about Jasnah Kholin’s death. A couple of weeks later Adolin meets with Eshonai, the listener general, to discuss a listener surrender. She is cold to him however, and denies his every attempt at making peace.
==== The expedition ====
Troubled by the glyphs scratched on his walls and wanting to end the War of Reckoning Dalinar Kholin soon began to gather allies for an expedition onto the Plains. Weeks, and much preparation, later he sets off, taking his entire army with him. Three of the highprinces join him, Roion, Sebarial and Aladar.
As the four armies neared the center of the Shattered Plains they discovered that the listeners had changed forms. Close to the center they held a war council and decided to assault the listener forces. This battle, called the Battle of Narak, occured on and saw the deaths of many Alethi, including highprince Roion. The Alethi forces were victorious, but ultimately unable to prevent the summoning of the Everstorm. During this same time there was an assassination attempt on the life of king Elhokar by the diagram, but this plan was foiled when Kaladin swore the third ideal. The Everstorm caused the start of the True Desolation.
=== The True Desolation ===
==== The Everstorm ====
The Everstorm caused the Parshmen to become whole again, and Parshmen across the world, including those in Alethkar, broke free, fleeing from their owners. These Parshmen, now singers, along with the unexpected Everstorm, wreaked havoc among the Alethi. Many buildings were damaged or destroyed by the storm, although the singers generally left their towns peacefully. The Alethi armies weathered the storm and the singers well, be it in Urithiru or the warcamps.
A short time after the first Everstorm Dalinar issued a command, all highprinces were to abandon the warcamps and move to Urithiru, although many highprinces disobeyed this order, staying in the warcamps. After highprince Torol Sadeas arrived at the tower he was murdered by Adolin Kholin. Following his murder, rulership of the Sadeas Princedom was passed to Meridas Amaram by Ialai Sadeas, as the heir to the position was too young to fill it. At the same time Dalinar appointed highprince Aladar as highprince of Information and Roion's son as the new Roion Highprince. He also placed tariffs on anything entering Urithiru, which significantly bothered the Alethi businesses on the Shattered Plains.
==== Invasion of Alethkar ====
The Singers, commanded by the Fused, slowly took control of Alethkar. After the storm they immediately gathered at human settlements, ready to train and fight. Some Alethi armies fought the singers, lead by men such as Relis Ruthar and Sheler, but with the bulk of the Alethi armies remaining at the Plains or Urithiru they stood little chance. These armies were soon after forced into Herdaz. Relis Ruthar, after he saw the number of singers, attempted to rally the rest of the troops in the country. Thousands of singers from all over the nation, though mainly the ones who had gathered at Revolar, set off to Kholinar, which was a vital city to take due to the city’s status as capital and the location of an oathgate. This was the beginning of what would be called the Siege of Kholinar. At the same time, Dalinar Kholin started the greatshell hunts on the Shattered Plains again, although they were quite different from before. The lack of Parshendi removed the need for large armies, and the spoils were equally shared amongst the highprinces.
Meanwhile highprince Thanadal, who chose to ignore Kholin’s order to move to Urithiru, took advantage of the absence of the other highprinces to build himself a virtual kingdom of his own in the area. The Alethi, in particular Highprince of Commerce Turinad Sebarial, were worried over Thanadal's continued seizure of Alethi resources on the Shattered Plains, and highprince Aladar expressed worry to Kholin that without Thanadal's forces joining those at Urithiru, their armies would be too weak to establish Urithiru as the bastion of order he had envisioned. Somewhere around this time a group of Alethi scholars, led by Brightness Navani Kholin, began designing a flying ship, called the Fourth Bridge. They would complete it somewhere during the first year after the Everstorm.
==== The Coalition and Kholinar ====
At the same time multiple nations, including Alethkar, banded together to form a Coalition to collectively fight their enemy. The king, Elhokar, also swore an oath to Dalinar Kholin, elevating Dalinar as high king of Urithiru and Alethkar. The king later thought up a plan to relieve the capital, as it had an oathgate. He flew to Kholinar with a small team of Radiants, planning to open the oathgate and allow the Alethi armies through. This plan failed however, and the Voidbringers attacked the city while the Radiants couldn’t figure out how to open the Oathgate. In the ensuing battle the king was killed, although his heir made it out safely.
Shortly after the fall of Kholinar the Coalition began preparing their defense of Jah Keved, which was where they thought the enemy would attack. The Alethi aided this effort by sending ten battalions, ten thousand men, to Jah Keved. These men were mostly Kholin and Aladar soldiers, but highprince Sebarial cut his army back to a single division, and the rest took Kholin colors. Eventually however, highprince Kholin realised that the Voidbringers wouldn’t attack Jah Keved, but would instead go after Thaylenah.
==== Thaylen field and a new Monarch ====
The Coalition forces, suspecting the Voidbringers to soon invade Thaylenah, moved to Thaylen City, where they made preparations for the battle. On the Voidbringers eventually arrived, and managed to bond Nergaoul to the ten thousand Alethi soldiers that resided there, causing them to switch sides. The ensuing battle still saw a Coalition victory however. A short while later the Alethi, with the heir to their throne being too young and a regency deemed too unstable, made the decision to crown Jasnah Kholin in his place. This happened in a grand ceremony. A week later Adolin Kholin and Shallan Davar were married.
==== Continuation of the war effort and evacuation of Hearthstone ====
During the year thereafter the war dragged on, with many clashes between Coalition, including Alethi, troops and the Voidbringers, one such clash was on the Veden border. Sometime after this clash Ialai Sadeas began posturing herself as a patriot who wanted to rescue Gavinor from the Blackthorn and the boy's aunt. She planned to become Queen of Alethkar herself, with the boy as her heir. Meanwhile Thanadal was assassinated, supposedly under Kholin orders, but actually by the Ghostbloods. Highprince Vamah saw this and immediately fled, though he couldn’t escape the Ghostbloods either. Ialai Sadeas eventually travelled to the warcamps, and on arrival at the warcamps, finding a vacuum of power, she essentially took them over, and began demanding tariffs from arriving trade caravans. Eventually Shallan Davar, spying on Ialai under order of Dalinar Kholin, kills her before she can start a true rebellion. Shortly after this Dalinar Kholin released a report about the mission to the public, and authorised a complete occupation of the warcamps. Highprince Sebarial was sent to the warcamps to bring order to them. Queen Jasnah Kholin also showed a new law to her family, which pushes towards a singular law for lighteyes and darkeyes alike and the abolishment of slavery. Her family reacted negatively however, as this law would cause immense social upheaval. She also implemented new inheritance laws, which make it possible for a woman to inherit a title or position.
In , an attempt was mounted by the coalition to evacuate the town of Hearthstone. After a battle with Fused occupiers, most notably Lezian, all but fifteen occupants of Hearthstone were successfully evacuated via the Fourth Bridge, and brought to Urithiru. During the battle, citylord Roshone was killed by Vyre, leading to the position of citylady eventually being passed on to Laral.
The Alethi forces in Alethkar proper spent their time reconquering the nation, and at the end of the year they had managed to retake the southwestern corner of Alethkar, which lies on the Tarat Sea. House Kholin considered launching a major offensive into Alethkar but was convinced by the Mink that it would be wiser to attempt to retake Emul. When Taravangian betrayed the coalition, the Alethi in southern Alethkar successfully regrouped at the city with minimal casualties.
==== Expedition to Emul and Urithiru emissary delegation () ====
At the Coalition’s behest, Highprince Aladar and some of his scribes helped to advise the Emuli on fortifying their remaining lands to ensure no further loss of territory. The following year had the war effort in Emul reach a stand still with multiple skirmishes and attacks by the Skybreakers against coalition forces. The position of the coalition later changed in , when it was agreed unanimously to push into and defeat the singer forces in Emul. Many of the Coalition forces during this campaign were made up of Alethi, and the Queen, along with a single highprince, resided in Emul as well. Dalinar Kholin and Jasnah Kholin also chose a new Sadeas highprince during this time. Queen Jasnah participated in the war planning sessions, to the frustration of Highprince Ruthar. At one particular session Ruthar snapped, insulting the Queen and challenging the Queen’s Wit to a trial by sword. The Wit appointed Jasnah as his champion, and after she defeated Ruthar, the highprince was stripped of all titles and lands, and his oldest son was made highprince. After the duel, Jasnah passed a new law, forbidding trial by sword in Alethkar. The push into Emul was ultimately successful.
Meanwhile, the Coalition, stunted by the lack of willing honorspren, sent a delegation to Lasting Integrity, the honorspren capital. This delegation was made up of the new highprince Adolin Kholin, his wife and a number of Knight’s radiant. Their original plan, made by Queen Jasnah, was to present the honorspren with gifts, and give them written requests to begin relations again. Once arrived however, the honorspren of Lasting Integrity made it clear that they wanted nothing to do with the Coalition, destroying their correspondence and refusing to engage Kholin’s pleas and arguments. With all of his other plans having failed, Adolin surrendered himself into the custody of the honorspren, after giving them the opportunity to trial him for the Recreance. The Honorspren put Kholin on trial, and after a hard-fought and rocky trial, Kholin won after his Shardblade spren Mayalaran revealed the truth about the Recreance.
==== Contest of Champions ====
After the liberation of Urithiru, Odium appeared to Dalinar. He wished to set terms for a contest of champions, which would end the True Desolation one way or another. If the Coalition wins, Alethkar, along with Herdaz, is given back to the Coalition and Odium will vow to cease hostilities and maintain the peace. If Odium wins the contest however, he keeps everything and gets Dalinar’s soul, along with peace.
== Culture ==
=== People ===
The Alethi people are generally tan -- darker-skinned than the Veden and Shin peoples, but not as dark as the Makabaki -- with dark, typically black hair. They are typically extremely tall, standing on average at least a foot taller than people living further West. Like most Rosharan people, they possess Epicanthic folds and see those without such folds as wide-eyed and childish. They are a racially-mixed people due to their history of conquest, although there are also some immigrant families in Alethkar, mostly of Makabaki origin.
In the late Era of Solitude, the Alethi tan and black hair are considered the general standard of beauty. Multicolored hair is also present within Alethkar and is an indication of mixed heritage. Some see this as a sign of an "impure" bloodline, while others use it as evidence of Alethkar's superiority, hard won through conquest. As a result of the higher tendency for lighteyes to marry foreigners then Darkeyes, many Darkeyes have 'purer' Alethi hair. The Alethi in the north of the country often have curly dark hair. Violet eyes are an indication of a mixed heritage. Among the Heralds, Jezrien, Vedeledev, and Kalak look Alethi.
Like all Vorin nations, Alethi practice a division between the sexes and enforce a strict gender binary, to which only ardents are held exempt. Women have safehands, covered either by a buttoned-up sleeve, typical of lighteyes, or a glove, typical of darkeyes. They are discouraged from picking up weapons and fighting. By contrast, men are forbidden to read. As such, oftentimes a man and a woman will work together as a team in an important position that overlaps both their areas of responsibility, such as the military, with the woman acting as a scribe while the man issues commands. The militaristic nature of the Alethi further influences this divide, leading to most of Alethi rulers being kings, and women rarely, if ever, becoming highprincesses.
Alethi discourage emotional openness and any show of what could be perceived as a weakness; an engaged couple keeping close in public is considered, while not obscene, at least extremely improper. Reserved though the Alethi are, they have become more opulent and self-indulgent over the past forty years. Men are encouraged to be combative and forceful, and women to be witty and willing to engage in barbed banter. Unwillingness or inability to act in this way can often lead to a person being labeled as inept or stupid. The Alethi are also extremely competitive, and many view life itself as a competition, in which some prevail and others fail. Due to this competitiveness, Alethi squabbling and business ended up favouring cunning, belligerent and aggressive men. 
Abandoning a duty or quitting is very un-Alethi, sometimes you pick up an extra duty, but it is uncommon to step aside, even if someone else is better equiped for it. Alethi girls are considered adults when they have to wear a glove on their safehand. For most Alethi punctuality isn’t terribly important, this is likely due to their lack of clocks. The Alethi care much about traditions. One such tradition is that everyone, no matter their social ranking, carries their own chair or stool to a meeting. This old tradition symbolizes each chief bringing important wisdom to the gathering. It is also a symbol of equality.
==== Engagements and weddings ====
Before a couple can be married they have to be engaged. A woman who is engaged typically wears a 'bride's prayer', which is a specific type of glyphward. It is customary for people who wish to pursue a relationship to swear an oath. There are a wide variety of partnership oaths for these people, including some for same-sex couples. All official Vorin betrothals must be signed and verified by ardents. As a result, people sometimes use a causal betrothal, which makes them practically engaged but confers no legal benefits. Darkeyes rarely marry outsiders, although lighteyes do.
Alethkar has many traditions surrounding weddings. A traditional lighteyed Alethi wedding is very extravagant. Firstly, the bride and groom are put in different chambers, where they are prepared for the wedding. This preparation includes dressing and make-up, but they also receive gifts from the other women in their life, gifts can range from a rug to a box of incense and much more for women, while men receive mostly weapons. After that the ardents say their blessings, and pray for the couple. Afterwards the bride is left in a room to paint a last prayer and meditate, while it is unknown what the groom does, it is likely that he has a prayer painted for him, and also meditates. It is only after this that the actual wedding begins, the couple say their oaths and a large feast begins.
Brides often wear clothing of an ancient style, with a graceful drape, drooping sleeves, a golden vest over one’s shoulder and an intricate headdress, known as the bridal crown, woven into their braids. Their dress is typically red, which symbolises luck.
=== Music and Art ===
Music and the creation of art are seen as feminine arts, and is thus primarily only pursued by women and ardents. Alethi music makes a heavy use of flutes and string instruments made of a fine wood and played with a bow. Their flutes are held higher than a trailman's flute and are oriented top to bottom, rather than horizontally. Flutes are sometimes played in quartets. Battle hymns make use of brass-like instruments. 
Each Alethi woman of sufficiently high Dahn receives vocal training. However, unlike the playing of instruments, both men and women sing. The Alethi may practice a sort of throat-singing. They are known to sing various forms of Vorin hymns. Drums are popular among the lower-class, darkeyed population. Due to this, lighteyes typically associate drums exclusively with darkeyes and therefore interpret them as base instruments. The Alethi tend to dislike percussion in general. It is common for music to be played at lighteyed feasts, and lighteyes also enjoy dancing.
Alethi women also practice painting and drawing. Artists often have large sketchbooks with them. A well known, and old, artistic style is surrealism. Hardly anyone bothers with it anymore, except some students.
The Alethi traditionally use a ten-note scale to make music, although it is more accurately described as two groups of five notes called a quintave. The greatest and most famous Alethi compositions are all made using this scale. During times long past, however, people used a three-note scale. Although the three notes correspond to the "pure tones of Roshar," of which there is one per Rosharan Shard, there is no good evidence that the ancient people knew about this correlation. Additionally, before the True Desolation, no Alethi scholars knew that one of these notes could prompt a reaction in Stormlight.
=== Fashion ===
Alethi fashion varies greatly between the lighteyes and darkeyes, enforced by the division between the castes. Alethi fashion also shows a strict seperation in clothing between genders, with masculine and feminine fashion exhibiting immense differences from one another. 
As of , Alethkar was going through a trend of bright colors and ornate frills. They also have a tendency towards solid colors.
Liafor and Yezier deeply influence lighteyed fashion in Alethkar, with much of their clothing being designed in these countries, based on Alethi fashion trends with their own cultural flair. Azish fashion also has a degree of influence over Alethi fashion. Additionally, Alethkar and Jah Keved have closely aligned fashion styles, enough so for Liafor to market to them using the same fashion folios.
==== Masculine Fashion ====
Lighteyed men wear a wide variety of clothing. They often wear shirts and jackets, which can be both open or buttoned close. They also wear coats, both long and short ones, some of these coats are designed to button down the sides of the chest. Trousers are generally stiff, with a belt attached to them. Recent fashion trends drift towards baggy and loose fitting trousers, often with wide cuffs. During , fashion in the Kholin princedom included coats that didn’t close at the front, except for a few buttons right below the collar. The sides of these coats generally flared out, splitting into tails at the back, they also had large pockets. Many Alethi also wear a single, or sometimes multiple, scarfs. Most of these scarfs are worn around the neck, but some of them are also worn around other parts of the body, such as at someone's wrist. Some men wear a sidesword, though most of them are symbolic and not made for combat. Most of their clothing is made from silk and lace, and clothing worn by high nobility is often embroidered in silver or gold.
A traditional form of male clothing, typically worn by Alethi warriors, is the takama. The takama is a form of long, straight, calf-length skirt, typically worn with a belt and shirts specifically designed for use with a takama. The takama stems from a much older Alethi style of clothing, which features long skirts tied at the waists by wide girdles, which can sometimes come up to the stomach, over which they would go bare-chested or wear a simple shirt. The Takama also has similarities with the Veden vakama and ulatu. Some newer styles also match the takama with a more modern jacket. Some people also wear a warrior’s sarashi. Darkeyed men wear different clothing then the lighteyes. When working they tend to wear overalls and sturdy boots. They also wear laced shirts, as they have no money for buttons, and trousers. Many common Alethi wear clothes made from Breechtree cotton. 
The Alethi, like any other culture, have specific views on when someone is handsome. A good looking man needs to have a good face; full lips, a broad forehead and a firm chin. A handsome man is also supposed to have a straight back and a good posture. Some Alethi men also have a moustache or beard, although this is considered unfashionable by . Nonetheless, some lighteyes wear a beard in a certain style, which is a representation of old Alethkar. Few men are considered to be able to pull off this look off however. Alethi scholars from long ago wore a wispy beard and moustache after a particular style. Within Alethi culture, a true gentleman's bow is refined and contains plenty of deference. In late , Alethi men preferred dark colors, to contrast with the brighter feminine mode of dress. This changed by , with lighteyed men coming to favour bright colors. The exact lightness of these clothes still differed per region however, with the nobility in Kholinar favouring brighter clothes then those on the Shattered Plains. During this time the combination of red and orange was considered to be unfashionable, and orange itself was considered repulsive, although a burnt orange was still alright. Yellow was also considered to be bold. The rent style was also out of favour.
==== Feminine Fashion ====
The Vorin Havah is a very common form of clothing amongst Lighteyed women in Alethkar. It is formfitting through the bust, shoulders, and waist, and has a flowing skirt; fitting with Vorin ideals, these Havah have a long left sleeve, hiding their safehand. These sleeves often have a pouch to store belongings known as a safepouch. Havah are often made of brightly colored silk, which is thin enough to allow women to easily grip objects with their safehand, when necessary. Alethi women also wear skirts and blouses. Some southern Alethi wear their skirts and blouses after a certain Southern style, it is currently unknown what this style entails however. Women also wear a particular type of hat during the Weeping, this hat is meant to deflect rain.
An ancient style of clothing, now used mostly in weddings, has a very loose fit, and drooping sleeves, as well as a graceful drape. Some people still wear something similar to this outside of a wedding however, with a flowing dress and voluminous sleeves. Another very old style of clothing, worn during the desolations, features tubular gowns, which are made of layered small rings of cloth with tassels om the bottom, this gives the dress a rippling effect. Clothing worn to bed is usually formless and loose. Alethi women also wear a lot of make-up. The Monarch, and the people in his family, have access to the royal make-up artists. Havah often have elaborate embroidery, sometimes taking the form of multifarious designs, hatchings, and stylized glyphs. Some havah, those of a newer style, in are heavily embroidered along the sides. Generally, the more embroidery on someone's havah, the more important they are. The colors on a piece of clothing also have meaning, on at least some occasions, and the color red stands for luck. Alethi consider a slender neck and a large mouth to be unattractive.
Lighteyed women often have their hair woven in intricate braids, which are secured on top of their heads by four steel spikes. Their braids are either arranged in intricate patterns or in a loose pile. The hair-spikes pinning the braids together are considered to be traditional in Alethi culture. Some women deign to use different metals, such as gold, to construct these spikes; some even choose to wear a different number of spikes in their hair, such as six. Sometimes hair-spikes are designed to resemble Shardblades. Some women also have ribbons or intricate headdresses woven into their braids. These headdresses might only be for special occasions however.
Darkeyed women tend to wear simpler clothing, such as blouses and skirts or trousers. They also tend to wear gloves on their safehand rather than large sleeves. This is done so that they are able to more easily perform household duties. Wearing a glove on the safehand in this manner is seen as immodest and an inherent sign of lower class, and therefore is not typically practiced by lighteyes. Some darkeyed women also cut their fingers out of the glove. It is common for prostitutes to dress with their safehand uncovered. Though the majority of Alethi women wear Alethi clothing, some also choose to wear clothing of a different culture, such as Thaylen.
=== Cuisine ===
Like many other nations, Alethkar has a rich and varied cuisine. Similar to the other Vorin nations, they practice a gendered division in cuisine between genders. Masculine food is often heavily spiced. Feminine food is made up of fruit and is often very sweet. However, as always, ardents are immune to these gender norms and can eat whatever they wish.
==== Alcohol ====
Alethi alcohol is often made of fermented tallew or lavis, but are occasionally made from fruit. Some wines enjoyed in Alethkar are Clavendah and Ruby Bench. The Alethi themselves make some wines from simberries. They also, though rarely, drink Shin wine.
Their alcohol is colored with various dyes in accordance with the strength of the beverage. The strongest colors are not only fermented, but also distilled into spirits. Parties often only make use of the weaker colors, to prevent participants from getting drunk too quickly. There is a great variety of beverages even within the same color, such as hard honu, a type of lavis grain liquor. Alethi vintages aren’t terribly sweet, and most are sourer then Shin wines, which are made from grapes. Some alcohol is also spiced, giving it a spicy flavour.
==== Curry ====
Various forms of curry are popular in Alethkar. Such as sweet curry, or spicy curry made with pungent peppers. Some of their curries are mixed with different types of cream, primarily made from sow's milk. Vegetables and meat are often mixed into curry.
In terms of texture and consistency it can vary between watery, thick, and creamy.
Curry is often eaten with bread, or rice and grain. The Alethi also enjoy Kuma, which is often served with flatbread.
==== Dairy Products ====
Dairy in Alethkar is primarily produced from sows. Dairy products are not in wide consumption, primarily used only in creams used in curry.
==== Grain and Tubers ====
A large portion of their diet is made up of tallew and lavis, with them being used in food, and alcoholic beverages. Tallew is often boiled or steamed and made into soup. It is sometimes used as a spread on vegetables such as stagm.
Stagm and other tubers are a common part of the Alethi diet. It is common for children to eat fruited tallew rice with flatbread.
==== Meat ====
They make use of meat in several dishes, particularly using pork harvested from hogs. Sometimes cooked in a savoury broth, or served with chutney.
Alethi sometimes eat cremlings such as skrip, typically boiled or steamed, though they are considered a low quality dish. They also eat the meat of crabs and lanka. When they eat crustaceans, they typically dip the meat in curry or prepare the curry with the meat in it. Though sometimes they simply serve it with a dish of grain.
==== Seasoning and Sauces ====
Alethi men’s food is known for its spiciness. Which is often mixed into sauces and curry. Women in Alethkar instead use sweet seasoning and sauces. 
They make use of a wide range of sauces of a variety of different flavours, ranging from spicy, to sweet, to peppery, to salty.
==== Dining etiquette ====
The Alethi are also very particular about how one eats, especially the lighteyed upper classes. Men carry their dining knife in a sheath on their right calf. These dining knives are often wide and serrated, able to double as a weapon in a time of need. It is considered a breach of etiquette for someone to, while they are eating at different tables, approach someone of the opposite gender while he/she is eating.
Lighteyes‘ meals are generally accompanied by a cup of water for dipping one’s fingers, along with clean white napkins beside them. Lighteyed dining rooms are also often decorated with lit candles, even though they are less effective then Stormlight. When eating a crustacean’s claw, some Alethi crack the carapace using the bottom of their mug. The Alethi upper crust often enjoy themselves at magnificent feasts. These feasts are not only a place to enjoy yourself, it is also a place to do politics and business. The king’s feasts are usually outdoors, heavily decorated with miniature rivers, streams and more. These feasts often exist on multiple ‘plateau’s’, and each plateau is for a different group of lighteyes. There is usually one for younger lighteyes, one for women, one for men, one for lesser lighteyes and one for the king. Additionally, these feasts are often accompanied by so called ‘Beggars feasts’, feasts for the poor and downtrodden.
=== Architecture ===
==== Infrastructure ====
Alethkar has poor transport infrastructure. for this reason, it is hard to get supplies to northern Alethkar, and likely other rural areas as well. This also makes travel and resource movement between distant cities slow and cumbersome, and increases the importance of soulcasters to the Alethi economy and military. Buildings are built up against one another for protection from the highstorms. Additionally, the Alethi use rounded roofs as they repel the wind better. Some large buildings can hold a dozen families. An everlasting issue is the Rockbud polyp that grows on stone walls, and have to be scraped off. Buildings are generally built in places where they are sheltered from the highstorms by a lait.
Every city has a little huddle of buildings for caravaneers and the likes. They also have large stormbunkers to house armies or multiple caravans. Additionally, many small villages have a central cistern to catch rain water and filter out the crem. Rural Alethkar works by having a few larger towns act as hubs for smaller farming towns, these larger towns generally have a lighteyed citylord. Even in rural areas however, you generally can’t walk for more then a day or two/three without finding a farming village or settlement. Some large cities, such as Tomat and Kholinar, have walls along their perimeter. These walls protect against highstorms and enemy soldiers. Some of these cities, such as Revolar, have also expanded past these walls, leaving them as markers of the inner portions of the city.
==== Decorations, furniture and adaptations to the Highstorms ====
Many high Dahn lighteyes live in manors or lavish houses, these buildings often have gardens. Many of these manors also have a family crypt. Classical architectural styles have many pillars in the front of the buildings. Some buildings also have skylights, although this appears to be quite rare. The Alethi are fond of richly decorating their buildings and rooms, although not as rich as the Azish. They lay down rugs and use vases as decorations. The Alethi also use marble tiling, and many buildings have windows on their leeward side. Some rich houses also have walls carved with reliefs and adorned with mosaics. During the year oil lamps were considered by many to be provincial. Some decorations, such as rugs, are imported from far away countries. 
Some furniture is gold plated, and some Alethi also have aquariums. Cellars are used to chill wine. Some lighteyes mansions also have a Watercatch, which serves to trap the water that leaks from the tunnel to the stormcellar. The Alethi weathered the Everstorm quite well. Large cities quickly built walls on their western side and small villages got stockpiles from their governments. Doors are often faced away from the Origin, especially further to the east, and streets are often designed running east to west to provide a way for highstorm winds to blow. Additionally, houses are built in rows and are wedge shaped with a sloped eastern side, with windows being exclusively situated along the, often flat, western side.
=== Caste system ===
The Alethi culture is divided into two major castes, the lighteyes and darkeyes, separated by, as can be surmised, the color of a person's eyes. The lighteyes form the upper caste, with broader rights and privileges, while the darkeyes are the lower, working caste. Furthermore, each caste is subdivided into ten ranks, with the lighteyed ranks being called dahns, while the darkeyed ones are the nahns. Some nahns and dahns are hereditary, or stable, while others can only be held by attaining a particular position. The Alethi monarch, for example, is the only person in the country holding the first dahn.
There are many ways for a person to improve their rankings, such as through marriage or military service. A soldier who becomes an officer will almost automatically be raised to a proper dahn or nahn, along with their children. Holding land automatically entitles a lighteyes to at least the sixth dahn, regardless of their previous status, and becoming a Shardbearer entitles at least the fourth dahn.
Alethkar is generally a feudal nation. The Alethi monarch is served by ten highprinces, which have their own lower-dahn subjects, down to the citylords, who rule over individual settlements. Shardbearers stand slightly aside from this system, although many of them are either highprinces themselves, or in direct service to one highprince or another.
=== Militarism ===
The Alethi culture is highly militaristic, stemming from their origins as Alethela. A soldier is considered the highest religious Calling, with the fight to reclaim the Tranquiline Halls being believed to be the greatest afterlife one could hope for. The country is almost perpetually at war, if not between the highprinces, then with some external power. Children as young as twelve can and sometimes are recruited by raving armies to feed this endless war machine.
Military service is one of the more reliable paths of social advancement in Alethkar. A soldier can expect to raise in dahn or nahn to match his military rank. Moreover, many darkeyed soldiers go to war hoping to defeat a Shardbearer and gain ownership of a Shardblade, due to a widespread belief -- later proven correct -- that bonding a Blade would change their eyes to light-colored.
Alongside this culture, the Alethi highly honor the Thrill, a form of battle-lust that can sometimes encompass them when in combat. The Thrill is often considered a private thing, not to be shared with others; however, it's also highly desirable, with men often awaiting its arrival when in combat. For many, it's downright addictive. Following the Battle of Thaylen Field and the sealing of Nergaoul, the Thrill ceased to mold the hearts of men.
=== Religion ===
Alethkar is one of the five great Vorin Kingdoms, with the vast majority of their populace worshipping the Almighty. The worship is mostly carried out by the priests, called the ardents. The ardents, while influential, are not free -- rather, they are slaves to various lighteyes. Unlike most other professions, ardentia is open to both men and women, and to people from all social castes. Ardents are considered genderless from a social standpoint, and as such, many of the Vorin taboos regarding gender and gender roles do not apply to them. They are also the only people permitted to use Soulcasters.
Unlike Vorinism in other nations, the Alethi are not required to be personally devout, or to perform religious ceremonies. While each citizen is supposed to pick their Calling and Glory -- their goal in life, and the aspect of the Almighty they wish to emulate -- the actual religious part of the religion is handled by the ardents, who perform the requisite rituals and prayers for their masters, so as to reassure them of their righteousness. The Alethi themselves rarely interact with the Almighty, save for an occassional glyphward or prayer. The regular Alethi darkeyes are taught of Vorinism by their parents and by travelling Ardents.
After the start of the True Desolation many Vorin Alethi stopped worshipping the Almighty, this was likely due to Kholin’s Visions and the reality of the desolations, the Heralds and more. Many still remained Vorin though, and some others changed their views of Vorinism entirely. These people believed that Honor, who had died, was only an aspect of the Almighty which was tasked with protecting men, and that the Heralds were, though glorious, simply men.
The majority of Alethi Vorins follow an orthodox strain also practiced in Jah Keved, though a sizable population, mostly made up of Herdazians, follow more heterodox branches, such as Herdazian Vorinism.
A small but notable population of individuals chose to actively reject any religion, but these individuals tend to be shunned by society and deemed as heretics (a notable example being Jasnah Kholin).
=== Language and Writing ===
The Alethi language is part of the Vorin language family, which includes others such as Veden (spoken in Jah Keved) and Herdazian. It's particularly close to the former, making it easy to learn. It is also descended from Alethelan. Known words from the language include dahn and nahn for the ranking system, numerous glyph pronunciations, as well as two terms for family members -- Mathana, a formal term for older sister, and Mashala, for aunt.
==== Script ====
The Alethi language can be written using two different systems. The Women's script, used broadly across eastern Roshar, is an alphabet, with twenty five letters, and at least two symbols -- a mark of maximum character height, at the start of a passage, and a small diactric denoting that a particular letter should be read as an "H". 
Pronouns, including the first-person pronoun, are gendered in the written language, with a masculine, feminine, and neuter form. Due to only woman and ardents being allowed to write, the use of the masculine first-person pronoun is largely restricted to use in quotes, whilst the neuter is used in writing by ardents. It is likely that no pronouns have gender in the spoken language. There are further additons to the written language that change the context of words, and are not read out loud. This form of Alethi is used widely throughout the eastern world to make the underscript of a book. There are also lots of Alethi epics, which are presumably written in women’s script. Many of these epics are famous even outside of Alethkar. Some Alethi also enjoy epic and ancient poems. 
==== Literacy ====
As a Vorin nation, reading and writing is restricted for use by the female part of the populace. and to ardents. Due to this, men are typically illiterate, regardless of their class. 
Men are permitted to learn glyphs, a separate system where each symbol or pair of symbols represents a separate idea or concept. Despite this, stormwardens make use of glyphs in a system known as the Stormwarden script, which phonetically uses glyphs in order to construct words. This, however, is seen as a form of reading, and thus the manner in which they use glyphs is typically hidden from the public.
Literacy is ubiquitous amongst lighteyed women, and is not uncommon even amongst darkeyed women in Alethi cities. However, literacy is uncommon in smaller, primarily darkeyed settlements such as Hearthstone, with some having literacy rates as low as 0%.
==== Alethi names ====
There is a large difference between the names of lighteyes and darkeyes. Lighteyed names generally consist of multiple syllables, and are made of a prefix and a suffix. For example, the name Adolin is made up of the prefix Adoda and the suffix Lin. The names of lighteyes also have meaning, for example, in Adolin’s case, Adoda means ‘light’, and Lin means ‘born unto’. Due to Vorin ideas it is considered mildly blasphemous if a name is symmetrical, although this doesn’t stop some daring parents. Every lighteyes is also a member of a house, and the name of the house serves as their surname. Additionally a lighteyes may have one or more titles, which come after their name (e.g. Torol Sadeas, Highprince of Information). Some lighteyes also receive a nickname or alias of sorts, which depends on their reputation. A lighteyes’ name is often inspired by the name of a herald. For example, the name Kaladin is made by combining the name Kalak and the Alethi suffix 'din'.
Darkeyes names are generally simpler, although a darkeyes can have a lighteyes’ name. Many darkeyes with a lighteyes’ name shorten it, to make it sound like a traditional darkeyed name. Darkeyes, unlike lighteyes, do not have surnames, although they may still receive a nickname or alias.
=== Death and Funerary Culture ===
Wealthy lighteyes tend to have their bodies soulcast into stone or metal statues, which are placed in catacombs. The ceremony in which this takes place is regarded as holy. The dead lighteyes is first positioned by mortuary sculptors, leaving them suitable for display. There are a lot of traditions and rituals during a lighteyes’ internment, for example, it is traditional to have fire nearby, instead of stormlight. There are also many ritual sayings, like keteks. A number of Keteks are traditional, while others are made by the female family members of the deceased. The ceremony is generally performed by an ardent, a different one then the ardent who will soulcast the lighteyes.
Darkeyes tend to have their dead burned. Although some very wealthy darkeyes get different treatment. When an army fights a battle far from home they usually burn their dead on the spot, so only the lighteyed officers get sent home. After a battle multiple charnel groups go through the battlefield, cutting patches from their fallen. These patches indicate who the man was, so that the army can send word to their family.
==== The Afterlife ====
As a Vorin nation, they believe that people go to assist the Heralds in accordance with their Calling, with warriors being believed to fight in the battle to reclaim the Tranquiline Halls from the Voidbringers. They believe that those who do not achieve their Calling are put into a dreamless sleep until the Halls are reconquered, whilst the sinful are cast down into Damnation.
=== Sex and Sexuality ===
Vorin culture is strictly oppossed to extra-marital sexuality, though this doesn't stop prostitution from being popular at Warcamps and cities, and in Urithiru. Though even those that make use of their services tend to look down on them for their occupation, and often physically abuse them.
They are accepting of homosexuality, and allow same-sex marriage, as long as the same oaths are spoken. This is due to the fact that their perception of marriage is rooted in the oaths itself, which a pair of any gender would be able to make without any issues. However, some see it as unbecoming of one's gender, but this seems to be an uncommon perception. Despite Alethi prudeness, some men own cards with pictures of women in compromising positions on them.
Incest is strictly looked down on, this includes the marriage of one's sibling's widow(er).
Some Alethi people, despite or perhaps because of their racist outlook, appear to sexualize western women, and Reshi women, due to their "exoticism."
=== Gender Roles ===
The Alethi have very strict gender roles that permeate nigh every aspect of their culture. With most aspects of life, from art, to occupation, to cuisine, is defined by a strict masculine-feminine dichotomy. Ardents, however, are essentially considered genderless and can pursue both masculine and feminine activities.
Going against these prescribed roles is often seen as unnatural or downright blasphameous.
Systemized misogyny exists within Alethi society, with men discussing what the role of women in society should be, and finding their strength in their ability to fulfil preordained roles. Some Alethi people have argued against this system, stating that the strength of women is their ability to choose their own role, but this view seems to be in the minority.
Their conception of gender roles is deeply rooted in Arts and Majesty, an ancient work of Rosharan literature that defines certain topics and practices as feminine or masculine.
=== Games, Sports, and Entertainment ===
==== Festivals ====
Alethkar practices various fairs and festivals to celebrate special occasions. 
One such festival practiced in Alethkar is the Middlefest Fair, which celebrates the coming of the Midpeace. Before the Unification of Alethkar, the highprinces would often attend 'gala's of might and renown'. These gala's are essentially tournaments, and served as a way for the highprinces to show off to each other.
==== Games and performances ====
Due to Vorin precepts against predicting the future, Alethi culture has a distaste for gambling and games involving random chance. Thus their games tend to revolve around skill rather than chance.
One popular game in Alethi culture is Breakneck, particularly among darkeyes. Other popular games include Pieces, Pawns, Runaround, Towers, and an unnamed Rosharan card game. The Alethi also enjoy buskers and street performers.
==== Sports ====
The Alethi enjoy many sports. They especially enjoy hunting, and many lighteyes go on grand hunts. Hunting is almost as deeply ingrained in Alethi culture as fighting. Most hunted are the greatshells, such as the chasmfiends of the Shattered Plains. A hunt is organised by a huntmaster. The huntmaster is, among other things, responsible for luring the greatshell to the place where the hunt is to take place. This is done with food, blood and prey. Some lighteyes, the ones with access to Shardblades, use Shards or grandbows to weaken and kill the beasts. Others use regular tactics, including archers, to weaken them. 
Hunting greatshells also has an economic nature, because the gemhearts harvested from the beasts have a great value, and are very effective in a soulcaster. The value of chasmfiend gemhearts was also the reason that the War of Reckoning, took so long. Some of the species often hunted, such as the chasmfiend, are beginning to dwindle, and might soon go extinct. Alethi scholars have suggested multiple solutions to mitigate this; primarily, reducing the number of hunts and breeding greatshells such as the chasmfiend in captivity for their gemhearts. However, with the arrival of the Everstorm, those plans, as well as most of the hunts themselves, have been put on hold as a bigger threat in the form of the Voidbringers occupied the attention of the Alethi lighteyes.
Alethkar also has a proud and long-standing tradition of dueling. The duels are not merely contests of skill but are also considered to be an art form. Before the Unification war duels of passion were often spontaneous, with both parties engaging each other on the spot. Later, after the princedoms were united, duelling became more civilised, happening days later in grand arenas. Both lighteyes and darkeyes gather in arenas to witness these spectacles. There are many official rules governing what is permitted during a duel, and traditions impose additional limitations. A lighteyes may appoint a champion, who will fight all his duels for him. This prevents people from dueling the lighteyes himself, to for example embarrass or kill him.
A judge is present to moderate duels, and they have some special authority. Duelists typically fight until a specific number of sections of Shardplate are shattered. Duels can also end in surrender, allowing a combatant to yield when they feel they are bested. Paired duels and disadvantaged duels, where one side has fewer duelists, are also possible. The Alethi fight duels for various reasons, such as for sport, to practice and display skill, or to become the dueling champion of the kingdom. Dueling champions are determined by statistical rankings, preventing lower-ranked Shardbearers from challenging those much higher up. Duels can also be used to settle insults. Additionally, duels can involve wagers of money, Shardplate or Shardblades, though the high-stakes duels wagering Shards are rare and usually very spectacular. Duels to the death are legal, but uncommon. The Alethi also practice vehah, a traditional wrestling style.
== Politics ==
=== Monarch ===
The Alethi have a long history of monarchies rising and falling, with few families able to retain authority for any significant period of time. 
The first figure to unify Alethkar after the fall of Alethela was Sadees the Sunmaker in c., although his rule quickly collapsed after his death as Alethi territory was split between his ten sons, leading to another interregnum due to a proper heir not being selected before his passing. This interregnum lasted until Gavilar Kholin led a war of unification, once again bringing Alethkar under a single ruler by the year .
While the king has power over the Highprinces, highprinces still retain a high degree of autonomy within their own princedoms, to the extent that they essentially function as their own sovereign nations. Therefore, the king is not a true autocratic source of authority. The monarch also acts as a judge, mediator etc, a high ranking lighteyes may request an audience with the monarch to settle a dispute.
The monarchy's power over the highprinces, however limited, is primarily maintained through military strength and access to soulcasters, which he taxes highprinces for their rights to use. In part due to the limited power of the king, many people feel more connection and loyalty to their highprince or local lord than they do to the king themself, or to the institution of the monarchy. The monarch also allows his highprinces to jostle and contend for status and influence, this is one of the ways he keeps them in check.
The monarch has the right to promote individuals into the position of a classical Highprince if they deem it necessary, therefore consolidating inter-princedom national power in certain aspects of government into individuals. This right is controversial, and only began to be put into use late into the War of Reckoning in , when King Elhokar granted highprince Torol Sadeas the position of Highprince of Information and Dalinar Kholin the position of Highprince of War. Throughout Alethi history, many men have claimed kingship, although they didn’t necessarily control the entirety of Alethkar. The most recent of these men was Kalanor, while many other Kholin highprinces also claimed kingship.
Jasnah Kholin, the current queen, has expressed an interest in disbanding the monarchy after the True Desolation is over.
==== Rules of Succession ====
Traditionally, the crown passes down to the eldest male heir of the ruling king upon his death. However, this traditional line of succession can be overruled if the heir is deemed too young to serve as king in the contemporary political climate of the nation. In such a case, the crown can pass to the sibling of the deceased king, to act as monarch until the heir comes of age or the political situation calms enough for them to be able to take the throne. 
A king can choose to grant the throne to another individual outside of their line of succession, as Elhokar briefly did to Lopen, making him the legitimate king for a short period of time. Though the nation refused to recognize the legitimacy of his claim or add him to the official list of kings. His children do have a valid claim to the throne, due to his brief role as king, though the Alethi are unlikely to accept his claim.
==== List of Known Alethi Monarchs ====
Alethi Monarchs 	Alethi Monarchs	Alethi Monarchs
Name 	Length of Rule 	
Nohadon 	Pre-Aharietiam 	
Interregnum 	??? 	
Oldblood Dynasty 	Pre-Recreance 	
Interregnum 	??? 	
Hierocracy 	circa 	
Sadees the Sunmaker	??? 	
Interregnum 	??? - 	
Kholin Dynasty 	Kholin Dynasty 	Kholin Dynasty
Gavilar Kholin 	1145 - 	
Elhokar Kholin 	- 	
Jasnah Kholin 	- Incumbent 	
==== The King's Wit ====
The King's Wit (known as the Queen's Wit during the rule of a queen) is a court jester that works for the residing monarch, mocking those of lower dahn than the king. The Wit gets good pay and, as he's allowed at the King's side, free food at a feast. The current Wit, as of , and beginning his service in , is Hoid. 
It is legal for a Highprince to murder a Wit, though doing so would lead to them losing their position and property.
=== Princedoms ===
Though it is ruled by a single king, Alethkar is divided into ten princedoms, or highprincedoms as they are sometimes called, each ruled by a lighteyed highprince. Each princedom is named after the family controlling it, and each has its own military, independent of one another - a remnant of the times prior to the reunification. While the highprinces do work together, the king has limited control over them, maintained less through tradition, and more through sheer military power and access to amenities like Soulcasters, which are heavily taxed. In addition, the ruling House Kholin controls the largest territory, as apart from their own princedom, they also hold an underpopulated stretch of land called the Eastern Crownlands.
Borders between Princedoms were largely, but not exclusively, defined by natural borders created by the Windrunner and Deathbend rivers, the Sunmaker mountains, and the Sea of Spears.
It is unclear what princedom Akak is a part of. At some points in history, the Alethi viewed Herdaz as an Alethi province.
==== Highprinces ====
A highprince is the ruler of one of the ten princedoms that make up Alethkar. They essentially function as the leaders of sovereign nations, rather than simply as heads of administrative districts. At their ascension to highprince, each man must swear an oath to protect the people of Alethkar. After the invasion and occupation of Alethkar by the Voidbringers, Dalinar Kholin gifted the highprinces a tenth of Urithiru each, to rule as they wish.
===== Highprince Rules of Succession =====
When a Highprince dies, the position passes to his eldest male child. If he has no eldest male child, their nephew can be elected as heir.
If the deceased Highprince has no descendants that can act as valid heirs to the position, their spouse is allowed to elect someone from outside the family to take it up. In these cases, it is traditional for the new highprince to change the princedom’s glyphpair. In extreme circumstances, the monarch of Alethkar is allowed to step in and choose to elect a figure of their choosing to be the next Highprince. If a highprince retires he is expected to return to his lands and stay out of politics.
==== The Classical Highprince System ====
During the rule of Sadees, the ten Highprinces had specialized roles in government, controlling certain aspects of the entire kingdom. This system fell into disuse after the death of Sadees, as Alethkar broke into ten self-governing regions.
This system has seen a resurgence as of late , starting with the election of Torol Sadeas as the Highprince of Information.
===== Known Highprince Positions =====
* Highprince of Commerce: This position held authority over all merchants and his troops would patrol the roads across all ten princedoms.
* Highprince of Information: This position had authority over criminal investigations and policing across the entire kingdom and appointed judges and magistrates. Of particular interest to the Highprince of Information were criminal investigations where the Crown's interest was at stake. 
* Highprince of War: This position had control over the kingdom's combined military forces, likely only during a time of war.
* Highprince of Works: This position had management of the kingdom’s infrastructure, such as sewage disposal, civil services, and potentially Stormlight management; with the increase in uses for Stormlight since the Battle of Narak.
==== Inter-Princedom Conflict ====
Despite unification under one banner, it is common for princedoms to engage in violent border conflicts with one another. This continued even long into the War of Reckoning.
==== Administrative Districts ====
Each Princedom is further divided into named regions, such as Akanny in the Sadeas Princedom. These regions are controlled by Brightlords or Highlords that hold extensive land and property within a princedom, and collect taxes from the citylords. 
Another level down from regions are individual settlements, which are ruled by citylords. When a citylord dies without a proper heir, a new citylord is sent to replace them. These citylords own the land and territory of a settlement, and rent it out to inhabitants. These inhabitants pay an income tax, which varies depending upon the size and purpose of the settlement in question, with smaller farming towns like Hearthstone primarily paying in produce such as lavis grain, while larger cities levy more financial taxes. Furthermore, the citylord only gets a portion of the collected taxes, with most going to their own local highlord, or to their Highprince.
Citylords have legal authority over those on their manor, and are allowed to press them into passing armies at will, so long as they are over the age of fifteen and aren’t vital to the community. They are also able to forbid an individual from willingly joining into service.
Citylords are ultimately subservient to the lord of the territory that they inhabit, and in various ways have to pay tribute to their local lord.
==== Known Princedoms ====
The territories of Alethkar and their major settlements are:
=== Laws and Codes ===
==== Alethi Codes ====
The Alethi have many laws and codes, although their code of law is barely thirty years old. One of the Alethi codes is the Vorin legal code of citizenship. It can be assumed that this code is Vorin is origin, and is shared between the Vorin kingdoms. This code is incredibly complex, and it contains much information. It states, among many other things, that people who provide an essential function to their settlement, as well as their apprentices, are given special privileges. Another Alethi code with at least eighty seven provisions states that a criminal may be pardoned if he has a vital task to perform for the good of all. 
Shardbearers are some of the most influential and important people in Alethkar, they are so important that they become, to some extent, above the law. For serious crimes, Shardbearers are either pardoned or executed, as it is impossible to imprison a Shardbearer against their will. Queen Jasnah implemented new inheritance laws, which make it possible for a woman to inherit a title or position.
==== Rights and privileges ====
Every citizen also has a number of rights and privileges, which depends on their nahn or dahn. Most Alethi have the right of travel, which allows every citizen of sixth nahn or higher to freely travel. Lacking this right essentially ties a person to the land they were born in, and usually indicates that something went wrong for their ancestors. Joining the military automatically forfeits the Right of Travel for the duration of service. This right serves as a form of addressing the power imbalance between lighteyes and darkeyes, as most darkeyes are able to leave an area that is poorly managed.
Most Alethi have the right to start an inquest against someone. There are a small number of nahns however, the lower ones, which don’t have this right. An inquest goes as follows, you may go to the lighteyes in charge and plead your case. Afterwards this lighteyes may confer with witnesses or experts and then he renders judgement. Few lighteyed judges are truly impartial, but most still feign honor. Additionally, a lighteyes has the right to arrest someone of a lower social status, although they must still battle an inquest. Anyone who is of the sixth nahn or higher can't be executed without good reason and authority.
Most people in Alethkar have the Right to Learn. This right allows people to go to a temple of the Almighty to learn a profession. Many lighteyes also have the Right of Challenge, which allows a distinguished warrior to demand justice through combat from the one who wronged him. Lighteyes also have something called the right of responsibility, this means that, in case of something terrible happening, a lighteyes is responsible and can be blamed. An Alethi Shardbearer also has something called the Right of Bestowal, which is the ability to choose their successor themselves.
==== Other laws ==== 
The tradition of the trial by sword was banned by Queen Jasnah Kholin. The Alethi king or queen may also grant someone the authority to act on their behalf. The highprinces have to pay a high tax to use the Soulcasters, and during war time, the highprinces are to pay ahead on this tax. There is a law however, decreasing Soulcaster taxes for those who have paid ahead.
==== Slavery ====
Slavery is common in Alethkar, although there are many laws surrounding it. These laws binding slavers and slaves are Vorin in origin, and as such apply to all the major Vorin realms. Every slave receives a brand on their forehead, appropriately named a slaves brand. These brands are made up of two glyphs, and they indicate, among other things, where a slave was branded. Only lighteyes can brand someone a slave. Lighteyes themselves can only be branded by a highprince, or another lighteyes needs permission by the highprince to brand them.
According to Vorin rules, every slave has to be paid a small wage, roughly half of what a non slave would receive for the same work. Every slave also has a slave debt, which he can theoretically pay off to earn back his freedom. It is suspected by some people to be a shum however, intended to keep the slaves docile. This is due to the amount of the slave debt being an enormous, far more then a slave is sold for. Additionally, it is common for masters to find ways to cheat a slave out of their wages, charging them for housing etc. A master can also always set a man free, or the man can try and escape. It is illegal to separate a husband and wife, so that they always stay together, but this is hard to enforce, and not really attempted.
 
Many slaves are downtrodden, dirty and hopeless. Slave brands are burned into the skin. These brands are made up of a glyphpair; the highlord's district where the person is originally branded. Some slaves also receive additional brands, such as the Shash brand. These brands mark the slave as a certain attribute, such as how the shash brand means ‘dangerous’. Slaves with a shash brand are more difficult to sell and less valuable due to their trouble. A freed slave is given a writ of freedom, which the owner has a copy of, but he can also cover his slave brand with a tattoo indicating details of his freedom in order to lessen potential misunderstandings. Most Alethi slaves are sold to other Alethi, but some also make their way to the remote, small and independent cities on the coast of the unclaimed Hills. Prices for a slave vary widely, but they range from roughly 1,5 emerald broams for a weak or bad slave to three emerald broams for a good one, although the average is two broams.
Slavers themselves are little better, people don’t like slavers and so they are forced to spend time with others of their kind. Slavers are often poor, as the slave trade is an undesirable trade and many merchants are forced into it after losing other means of income. A slaver must provide the reason someone was sold into slavery when he sells the slave, and it is illegal to lie. Each slaver has a ledger containing information on the slaves, such as how much they've paid of their slave debt, it isn't uncommon to lie on this though, even if it is illegal.
==== Political Culture ====
The Alethi have somewhat of a political culture of their own. The Alethi love to gossip, and their court is known for it. They are also quick to label extreme actions as eccentricity, and if someone refuses to act like a proper Alethi they will often be labeled as inept or stupid. The Alethi can be ruthless in their political manoeuvring. When visiting another, it is proper to send a message to let them know, it is because of this reason that many women take a palanquin. The Alethi also make use of assassins, usually to take down rivals, although they usually don’t target the rivals themselves, instead aiming for their family to scare them. Many Alethi still find assassins distasteful though, and an assassin during a storm is considered to be desperate and extremely distasteful.
=== Government-in-Exile ===
Following the start of the True Desolation and the invasion and occupation of Alethkar by Fused forces, the Alethi government became a government-in-exile centred around Urithiru. They retained political recognition by other states despite their exile.
=== Demographics ===
==== Ethnicity ====
Alethkar has a variety of people in their ethnic demographics. The largest known ethnic groups in Alethkar are the Alethi, Herdazians, singers, and Makabaki peoples. 
Alethkar's largest ethnic group is the Alethi people, who make up the majority of Alethkar's population and are the most prevalent ethnic group in seats of government or positions of authority. They are a highly mixed people due to their history of conquest.
Herdazians are another major ethnic group in Alethkar, with a significant amount of Herdazians immigrating from Herdaz. They are known to retain their cultural identity and gather together with other Herdazians to form cultural communities, such as Little Herdaz. They are subjected to various prejudices and stereotypes by the Alethi population, and are primarily Darkeyed, and thus typically possess less rights and freedoms than Lighteyed Alethi.
Enslaved singers, referred to as parshmen by the Alethi, made up a notable portion of the population. They were treated harshly and had minimal rights, being bought and sold as property amongst wealthy Lighteyes. Following the True Desolation, the singers had their minds returned to them and were able to gain their freedom from the Alethi. After they gained their freedom during the True Desolation starting in late , they took up various aspects from Alethi culture, syncretized with their own ancestral culture.
There is a sizable population of immigrants from various Makabaki countries.
==== Religion ====
 
The majority of citizens of Alethkar are adherents of Vorinism, which was the dominant religion in the country for several centuries. The majority of these followers are adherents of an orthodox strain of Vorinism also practiced in Jah Keved; though a sizable population, mainly made up of Herdazians, follow more heterodox varieties, such as Herdazian Vorinism. Following the True Desolation, and the revelation of Honor's death, various peoples turned away from Vorinism or adopted more heterodox views to reconcile their beliefs with this revelation. Despite the demographical changes following the True Desolation, orthodox Vorinism remained the dominant religion in Alethkar. 
 
Atheism is uncommon but not unheard of, with a small population of individuals choosing to reject religion altogether. These individuals are deemed as heretics by most of Alethi society.
=== Foreign Policy and International Relationships ===
==== Azir ====
Azir has a deep distrust of Alethkar due to their militaristic nature, and due to the genocide perpetrated against them by Sadees, who is still held as a hero in Alethi historical recollection. Due to this, they were hesitant to join Alethkar in the Coalition of Monarchs or give them access to their Oathgate, until their hand was forced by a Singer attack.
==== Herdaz ====
Herdaz was conquered by Alethkar during the conquests of Sadees the Sunmaker until the instability following his death. They have been a typical first target in Alethi attempts at expansion throughout history, leading to a deeply bitter relationship between the two nations. 
After a change in dynasties in Herdaz around led to them rallying their forces and pushing against Alethi borders for around four years of combat. These skirmishes shaped the modern Alethi-Herdaz border, and incited a degree of ethnic strife between the two peoples, with the Herdazians becoming the target to stereotypes and discrimination. Due to their history, the Herdazian government was distrusting of Alethkar when they approached them with offers to join the Coalition of monarchs. 
Although they are currently allied in their fight against Fused forces, distrust and tension still exist between the two armies, as the people haven't forgotten the atrocities committed against their people by the Alethi during the - border conflicts, and other such conflicts. They are very quick to slate Alethi generals for execution when they commit crimes against their people.
==== Jah Keved ====
They have repeatedly fought with the neighboring Jah Keved, fighting for territory at their shared border. These wars tend to be pushed more by western Highprinces instead of by national efforts pushed forward by the crown. At the same time, marriage of lighteyes between nations is nothing seen as particularly out of the ordinary, nor is it forbidden by any religious tenants or national laws.
Through trade treaties, they are able to trade with Jah Keved for cheap.
==== Kharbranth ====
Before Taravangian's betrayal of the Coalition of Monarchs, Kharbranth and Alethkar had a close political and economic relationship. This relationship led to Kharbranth joining the Coalition of Monarchs before any other nation. Whilst they appeared to be good allies, Taravangian was secretly planning to cause Dalinar's rule over Alethkar to collapse allowing him to take control of the nation.
Following the reveal of his deceit, and his fall from authority in Kharbranth, Savrahalidem became Queen and withdrew from the alliance, declaring neutrality in the conflict. This led to an increase in tensions between them, ultimately leading to Dalinar creating a trade blockade across the sea near Kharbranth to force them back into the alliance.
==== Listeners ====
When they first met, the listeners and Alethi had a positive relationship. After a number of expeditions the Alethi wished to formalize their relationship, which led to the establishment of a treaty between the two peoples in . This treaty contained clauses to simplify trade between the peoples and for mutual border crossing. The treaty also prevented the listeners from trading their Shards to other kingdoms without first coming to Alethkar. Aside from these clauses the treaty also allowed for one party to legally attack the other party.
Peace quickly broke down however when on the very night that the treaty was signed King Gavilar Kholin was assassinated under listener orders, which lead to the enactment of the Vengence Pact and the beginning of the War of Reckoning against the listener people. This slaughter of their people would continue for six years, until it ended with the start of the True Desolation on .
The Alethi see the listeners as sub-human savages barely capable of thought, and spread that supremacist ideology amongst their people and their soldiers.
==== Marabethia ====
Alethkar requested that Marabethia join in the Coalition of monarchs, however, Marabethia refused to respond to these invitations.
==== Reshi Isles ====
Throughout their history, Alethkar and the Reshi Isles have been in a state of near constant conflict, seen in conflicts such as the Wastescum skirmishes. Attacks at the northern border continued even long into the War of Reckoning. The Alethi conquest of Akak, and their extermination of the Akak Reshi, likely played a role in Reshi aggression towards Alethkar.
They appear to have good relationships with at least a few Reshi islands, with some providing chulls and handlers to the Alethi military during the War of Reckoning. During the True Desolation, in the year , they allied with the Reshi isle of Relu-na and their king Ral-na.
==== Thaylenah ====
Thaylenah is an important member of the Coalition of monarchs,though they deeply distrusted Alethkar and Dalinar due to the prior actions of both entities, before ultimately choosing to join the Coalition.
==== Yezier ====
They have a stable system of trade with Yezier, wherein Yezier sells them a variety of clothing articles, which are of great popularity in Alethkar. Yezier quickly requested to join the coalition of monarchs with Alethkar shortly after the start of the True Desolation. This created a close economic and military union between the two nations.
== Military ==
=== Enlistment and Wages ===
==== Enlistment ====
Any man, lighteyed or darkeyed, can volunteer to join the military. Most of the volunteers are boys, their head full of ideas about glory and Shards. When needed, conscription can also used to gain more men.
It is seen as a citylord’s duty to handpick men to conscript into the army. There are limitations to this system however, a citylord isn’t allowed to conscript someone who provides an essential service to the community, such as a surgeon. Recruits may bring two changes of clothing and three stoneweights of other possessions with them.
Each enlistment lasts four years, after which a soldier can choose to enlist for another four years. Upon completion of his time in the army, he will receive a war bonus, equal to one tenth of his total wages. If a soldier manages to distinguish himself and rise to a higher rank, he could also rise in nahn or dahn.
==== Wages ====
Alethi soldiers are well paid, although their wages are based upon military rank and caste. The average darkeyed spearman is paid five clearmarks a day. As higher ranking men, someone in the personal guard of a lighteyes is generally paid thrice as much as the wage of a standard spearman, which translates to about 15 clearmarks each day. Military slaves are paid a fifth of the wage of a darkeyed soldier, around one clearmark a day.
There are a number of ways to earn money outside of your wages. A lot of low ranking men in the military are susceptible to bribes. Some men also try to steal from the dead, although this is strictly prohibited by the officers. If a group of regular soldiers has killed a noteworthy target, usually an important brightlord, they can send for their captainlord, who will confirm the kill, to earn a reward. Many armies allow their soldiers to pillage a conquered city or town, which is a large source of wealth to the soldiers. When a soldier dies, his highprince needs to pay his family.
=== Command structure ===
==== Leadership ====
The Alethi military is not a single unified entity, rather, it is a loose coalition of ten different militaries. These ten militaries are sworn directly to their respective highprinces. This means that the king has very little say in how the military is run; he doesn’t command anything other then the two hundred and fifty strong King’s Guard. There is constant in-fighting between the highprinces' armies, even during wartime, and cooperation between the highprinces themselves is seen as a weakness. This is bolstered by the tenets of Vorinism that say the purpose of life is to prepare in order to join the Heralds in the fight to regain the Tranquiline Halls and Alethi belief that everything is a competition in life. Recently, in an effort to truly unify the kingdom, Dalinar Kholin has been appointed as the Highprince of War by the king. This title was used in Alethkar before being fragmented into ten princedoms when each highprince was given the ultimate authority over one aspect of the governing of the kingdom. On paper, this gives Kholin authority over all war-related activities. Highprince Kholin later commanded his soldiers to spend time with soldiers from the other princedom’s militaries, trying to build comradery between them.
Aside from this division between the armies, the Alethi have excellent leadership. This is mostly due to how for the Alethi, being a leader is essentially the same as being a general. Alethi officers, be it low ranking or high ranking officers, learn how to properly and effectively boost the morale of their troops. They are also taught that whenever they have made a decision, they should commit to it. It is an Alethi wartime virtue for a commander or officer to eschew comfort. This likely lies in the short and small supply lines of the Alethi military. Additionally, long-standing Alethi conditioning states that the best general is the one who charges into battle. It is considered treasonous for someone to sell military secrets to another kingdom. If a commander, like a captain or companylord, isn’t in place to give commands, the most senior of his officers has command. Soldiers are rewarded for their valiant service by way of medals. Medals are given by the highprince or commander himself.
Chain of command	Chain of command	Chain of command
Unit 	Soldiers 	Typical Commander
subsquad 	6–8 	sergeant
squad 	~25 	squadleader
platoon 	~50 	captain/captainlord
company 	~100 	companylord
battalion 	~1000 	battalionlord
division 	~2000 	general
army 	— 	highprince
==== Organisation of the military ====
The Alethi military has a complex command structure, with various ranks and units organized to maintain order and efficiency. The smallest unit is a subsquad, consisting of 6 to 8 soldiers, commanded by a sergeant. In companies composed solely of lighteyes, the rank of "lieutenant" is used as the equivalent of a sergeant, maintaining the same level of authority and responsibility within the unit. A squad, typically comprising around 25 soldiers, is led by a squadleader. A platoon, which includes approximately 50 soldiers, is under the command of a captain or captainlord. When multiple platoons are combined, they form a company, consisting of about 100 soldiers, led by a companylord. The next larger unit is a battalion, which consists of around 1,000 soldiers and is commanded by a battalionlord. Every battalion also includes a single platoon that functions as a policing force. A division, made up of approximately 2,000 soldiers, is commanded by a general. The entire army itself is overseen by a highprince. 
Additionally, an army also has a large support staff. The army employs many surgeons, and a good army can never have enough. The Alethi armies also have a large group of quartermasters, organised by district. A soldier can change battalions, but they need permission from their superior to do this.
Besides the regular command structure, which is listed above, the Alethi military also has a few extra ranks or duties. One such rank is highmarshal. It is unknown what the position of highmarshal entails, but it is a high rank, and most highmarshals command a large force of soldiers practically by themselves. Some officers are responsible for a branch of the army, such as the infantry or cavalry, these officers are referred to by their duties, along with the suffix -lord (e.g. cavalrylord, infantrylord). Besides these ranks, some officers gain command of certain parts of the army (e.g. the rearguard). These officers are referred to as ‘commander of the … (part of the army)’ (e.g. commander of the rearguard). It is not known whether this is a rank or a duty. Before the True Desolation, it was extremely rare for a darkeyed soldier to rise higher than the rank of squadleader. But sometime after the Alethi occupation of Urithiru Highprince Kholin, and likely the other highprinces as well, started promoting soldiers purely on merit, instead of on eye shade.
=== Equipment === 
==== Uniforms and non-combat equipment ====
Although uniforms differ between princedoms and even armies, most Alethi wear something very similar. Each soldier generally has two uniforms, a summer and a winter uniform. Uniforms are usually colored with the colors of their wearer’s highprince. 
Uniforms are generally comprised of trousers, a jacket, which often comes down to the waist and sometimes buttons closed beneath the belt, a shirt and boots. Some traditional generals still outfit their soldiers with takamas instead of trousers. Uniforms, both the ones owned common soldiers and the ones owned by high ranking lighteyed officers, always have a patch to indicate the duty and unit of the wearer. Uniforms also always have their Highprince’s glyphpair displayed prominently, both on the back and the breast. Some men choose to further personalize their uniforms by adding embrodiery or colorful scarfs. When it rains soldiers may choose to wear a stormcoat over their uniform, and there are often umbrellas ready for officers.
An officer’s uniform is usually comprised of a waistcoat and a double breasted longcoat, sometimes decorated with precious metals, although never with embroidery. These longcoats, called officer’s coats, are approximately waistlength and are supposed to hang unbuttoned. Recruits wear a patch, appropriately called a recruit’s patch, to signify their rank. A soldier's patch is used to indicate who the man is, as it is supposed to have the man's name inked on the back by a quartermaster's scribe. This doesn't always happen though, and the patch sometimes gets ruined during battle. If the man has fallen during battle, the army uses his patch to send word to his family. Army surgeons wear white clothing. Messenger women often wear travelling dresses of a particular fashion. These dresses have the front and back slit open, all the way to the waist, to allow for greater mobility. They also wear something called a runner’s sash. Messenger boys, in turn, wear a messenger’s vest.
Officers are distinguished by knots on a cord across the epaulette, with the amount of knots and their color signifying their military rank, and their rank in the Alethi caste system. White knots indicate a citizen officer, that is a sergeant or squadleader; red knots indicate an officer of seventh dahn; and gold knots indicate second or third dahn; It can also distinguish between low captain, captain, captainlord, lieutenant, sergeant, and battalionlord. Soldiers without authority bear no knots.
Soldiers also have many other things, not directly related to combat. Each soldier gets a requisition chit, which they can use to get, among other things, rations from a quartermaster (e.g. beer). A requisition chit is a bit of small metal, with the soldier’s number stamped on it. Soldiers usually wear, if they have one, their medal on their collar. Some men also have spyglasses. Their rations include small bars, made from crushed lavis, which is held together with sugar.
==== Armor ====
The Alethi are outfitted with a large variety of armours, what a soldier wears depends on their job, wealth, and rank. Regardless of these factors however, soldiers almost always wear the colors of their highprince.
Regular spearmen wear special knee-length skirts, which are appropriately named spearmen skirts. Spearmen also wear a spearman’s cap, which is a specific type of helmet. It is forbidden for spearmen, even squadleaders, to wear trousers, although this rule isn’t taken very serious; respected soldiers won’t get into trouble for breaking it. Regular spearmen wear steel breastplates, which have emblems on them, and leather jerkins, they also don’t seem to wear any arm or leg guards. Besides these armor pieces they also wear steel, or sometimes leather, caps. Wealthier soldiers, or those in professional armies, may also wear chainmail. Archers generally wear leather vests, while heavy infantry wears thick steel armour.
Wealthy lighteyes often wear steel plate armour. At least some lighteyes decorate their plate armour to resemble Shardplate. Some lighteyes prefer helms with open visors to helms with closed visors. Some lighteyed soldiers also decorate their helmets with bird plumes. Many lighteyes wear breakaway capes, so that if an enemy grips the garment it breaks away from the armour. These cloaks or capes are often emblazoned with the brightlord’s glyphpair. High ranking Brightlords may sometimes have a shieldbearer with them. The Alethi also have access to a number of sets of Shardplate. While the natural color of dead Shardplate is slate-grey, it is extremely common among the Alethi to change the appearance of one's Shardplate by painting it or adorning it with decorative details or even gemstones.
==== Weaponry ====
Most of the Alethi soldiers are equipped with spears, both longspears and shortspears, and shields. The Alethi also use maces, polearms, pikes and halberds. Spears are generally used alongside large round shields, which have a metal plate set into the wood. Instead of round shields, pikes are used alongside large rectangular shields. The round shields used by spearmen are designed to hang from someone’s back, shields are also painted to indicate one’s loyalty, this allows the soldiers to distinguish between friends and foes. Some soldiers strap knife sheaths to the haft of their spear. The Alethi also use truncheons when they don’t want to kill. The Alethi are skilled in the use of bows, of which most are shortbows. Despite this, longbows are also used. Most soldiers can’t choose what weapons to wield themselves; their weapons depend on their position in the army (e.g. spears for spearmen and bows for archers). Some higher ranking soldiers however, like squadleaders, are allowed to choose weapons.
Only lighteyes wield swords, although almost never as primary weapons, because according to Vorin traditions the sword is a lighteyed's weapon. These swords include both longswords and shortswords. One handed swords are often wielded with small round shields. The Alethi know many sword types, and swords have evolved much over time. It is still possible to buy swords from other periods of time though, such as those used in duels of honor during the Sunmaker’s time. Alethi heavy infantry, which always consists of lighteyed men, carries heavy impact based weapons such as maces, they also often carry square steel shields. Due to Vorin cultural ideas women can’t be armed, even scouts are only allowed to wear knives. The Alethi also have a number of Shardblades, around twenty, these blades are used effectively in combat.
=== Strategy ===
==== Troops ====
The Alethi military has a lot of soldiers, approximately a hundred fifty thousand troops. Most of these troops are darkeyed spearmen, with a smaller percentage of lighteyed heavy infantry and archers. At the tail end of the Era of Solitude Alethi warfare started to include more and more cavalry, an army in the year 1145 would have about fifty horsemen, if not less, while an army in 1173 would have several hundred horsemen. The Alethi armies aren’t entirely made up of Alethi, they also contain people from different nations, such as Herdaz, and Jah Keved. The Alethi also employ many army surgeons, their apprentices are almost all men who have some incapacitation, preventing them from fighting. Following the start of the True Desolation, the Alethi armies began employing surgebinders to aid in their war efforts. Foremost among these surgebinders are those of the Order of Windrunners. Besides the Windrunners the Alethi employ a large number of Edgedancers, with a smaller number of Lightweavers. 
Each of the Alethi armies has it’s own strength, with the Kholin army having the best heavy infantry, the Roion army the best archers and the Sadeas army the fastest bridges, at least during the War of Reckoning.
==== Formations ====
The Alethi make use of a wide variety of formations. They generally fight in a shield wall. However, they also have many other formations. One such formation is called ‘pincer pattern’. This formation looks, as the name suggests, like a pincer, the formation is meant to distract and then destroy an enemy target. The troops at the side generally distract the target while the troops in the middle go for the kill. Pincer pattern is meant to be used by a large number of men, like a full squad or company. Soldiers are also trained to assemble and function in pike blocks to counter heavy cavalry. Another, unnamed, formation has the men spread out, the first line holds their spears low while the second line holds their spears higher in an overhand grip. Three other basic spearmen formations include forming a ring, with one man behind every two men to serve as a quick step-in reserve, a two deep shield wall and an arrowhead formation. Spearmen are also trained in the wrinkled wall formation.
Another formation is called the trident formation, this is a small-squad battlefield formation used by spearmen. The men, or man, in the middle hold(s) the target’s attention while those on the outside attack from the flanks. Squads are trained to fight in a V formation, they also learn a number of marching formations, one of these formations is the hefty rearguard formation, which focuses on the rearguard to prevent enemies from sneaking up on the troops. Most formations make use of an overhand spear grip. There are also a number of formations that aren’t used on the battlefield. One such formation is used during an inspection, the men will stand in lines while the officer(s) check(s) their gear.
==== Battlefield tactics ====
The Alethi employ a wide range of tactics. One popular tactic that is often used by the Alethi is the hammer and anvil tactic. The Alethi are also practiced at executing a fake rout, often leading to an ambush. 
The Alethi infantry is usually employed in large block like formations, these blocks can get very large, with some of them being five thousand men strong. These standard spearmen blocks engage enemies as much as to position them as to do harm. The Alethi infantry blocks are also extremely mobile, far more so then infantry blocks from other militaries. The Alethi infantry uses their shields, forming a canopy of sorts, to protect from arrows and throwing spears. In these spearmen blocks, the front row of soldiers rotates to the back every ten minutes. This means that for every minute you're fighting, you also have a minute to rest. For most of Alethi history, due to lack of horses, light infantry was used to harry enemy armies.
Cavalry has never played a large role in Alethi warfare, at least, until recent times. Warfare has started to include more and more cavalry. Cavalry has historically been used to fight shardbearers, and has more recently begun being used to break lines. Cavalry was used extensively during the War of Reckoning, mainly to break ‘Parshendi’ lines and establish a beachhead for the rest of the army to exploit.
While the soldiers are trained to fight in formations, some battles, the ones fought between largely unprofessional armies, immediately start with a charge, the lines and formations disintegrating. These battles are extremely chaotic, the armies often mingle indistinguishably and squads split up to fight other small groups.
The Alethi are excellent, by modern standards, at using their surgebinders. Windrunners are used to launch aerial assaults on the enemy, defend the Alethi armies against other lashing surgebinders and aid in conventional ground attacks. Besides this, the Windrunners scout the surrounding landscape and aid in moving troops, mostly generals or other high ranking officers, around. The Edgedancers are mainly used as medics, with their use of the surge of Progression the Edgedancers can heal anyone in a matter of seconds. In contrast to these surgebinders, the Lightweavers don’t enter combat, instead they serve mostly as spies.
The Alethi generals are constantly trying to get an edge over each other, ensuring that Alethi warfare rapidly evolves. During the Unification of Alethkar, around the year 1145, the Kholin army implemented new tactics. These tactics saw the Kholin army dominate other Alethi armies, such as the one commanded by Kalanor. The army would largely be made up of lighteyed heavy infantry and lightly armoured but fast archers. The middle of the army would contain the heavy infantry, which served to keep the enemy infantry busy, while mobile archer units deployed to the sides, firing down upon the enemy flanks. The enemy infantry would often attempt to engage the archers, but the heavy infantry prevented this, threatening to break through the central block. It is likely that this strategy evolved into another, which has become commonplace by the year 1172. This evolved strategy had infantry carrying shortspears in the first ranks, men carrying longspears or javelins behind, while the strategy kept the original idea of having archers at the sides. At some point during the year 1163, the Alethi began to make use of small and mobile squads. After a battle is over, the officers have to dismiss every squad manually. When an army fights a battle far from home they usually burn their dead on the spot, only the lighteyed officers get sent home.
After the assassination of king Gavilar the Alethi armies saw themselves pitted against the listeners, who used different and previously unknown strategies. These strategies, along with the listener advantages such as carapace armour, resulted in a number of embarrassing Alethi defeats. They eventually adapted to the listener strategies by increasing the flexibility of their armies, making them able to respond quickly to the uncanny way the listeners fought. Likewise, during the True Desolation, warfare began to change. There were far fewer large scale formations, those became far to easy to disrupt. Instead men spent their time in protected warcamps, occasionally making a sudden surge to claim ground and shove away the enemy. During this time battles changed from decisive engagements to several month long fights.
Sieges are rare in Alethkar, and often last only a short time. This is due to soulcasters, which make it almost impossible to starve a city out. Instead, the Alethi break down the walls quickly, seize the high ground to pound the city for a while or simply attack, attempting to scale and conquer the walls. During a siege, a general has to make a difficult decision, which is widely regarded as a conundrum, does he choose the best position to weather storms, or does he seize the high ground. Most generals choose the former.
==== Shardbearer tactics ====
With over thirty Shardbearers, the Alethi have become incredibly skilled at employing and fighting alongside their Shardbearers.
Alethi Shardbearers often lead formations, cutting a hole through enemy ranks with their overwhelming force. This creates a gap that the well-trained Alethi soldiers can exploit, which can even allow for an army to overcome superior numbers. Shardbearers will also sometimes be used in defensive fights to close the gaps in their own lines, moving quickly between weak places to give soldiers a chance to recover and return to their formation. Alethi Shardbearers almost always have an honorguard with them, which follows them into enemy lines. This honor guard does not spend time defending the Shardbearer directly, but rather stays nearby to support the Shardbearer, so that if his Plate is severely damaged or he is seriously injured, the Shardbearer can retreat to safety and not risk their life or their Shards. Additionally, any breach in the ranks is immediately patched by the Shardbearer, making it incredibly difficult to break an enemy line or formation.
The Alethi have also become adept at countering Shardbearers. While stories speak of battles where the Shardbearers are the last ones standing, this almost never happens. If you kill a Shardbearer first, you can use the Shards against your enemies, and so you usually take down the Shardbearers as fast as possible. The Alethi have learned that the best way is to send another Shardbearer against them. By leveling the playing field in this way, the overwhelming power of a Shardbearer is negated and victory is left to the most skilled of the fighters. Aside from that, they use heavy weapons such as war hammers and axes in an attempt to shatter the plate. The most common tactic employed by the Alethi is to simply drown a Shardbearer in enemies. There are also soldiers trained specifically to deal with Shardbearers. They utilize ropes and hooks to try to unbalance or trip the shardbearer, though this isn't always successful as shardplates are extremely heavy. Some Alethi Fortifications are built to withstand Shardbearers. These fortifications are built with narrow corridors to prevent a bulky Shardbearer from maneuvering.
==== Bridge Crews ====
Bridge Crews were a very important part of most of the Alethi armies during the War of Reckoning, serving as an expendable workforce that carried bridges to help soldiers cross over the large chasms between plateaus. They also acted as canon fodder for Parshendi bowmen, as to direct attention away from more trained and valued soldiers. Due to this, bridgemen had a very high mortality rate, with around half a crew dying per run.
Each Bridge Crew was made up of 35-40 men, which were lead by a Bridge sergeant, who reports directly to the Brightlord in charge of the crews. Each crew has an internal leader elected amongst themselves known as the bridge leader, who has no official authority outside of that which his crewmembers choose to give him. Members of bridge crews were typically payed five clearmarks a week, given on the third day of every week.
The bridges used by Torol Sadeas's army are eight feet wide and two feet thick, with supports on both sides extending its width to sixteen feet. They are also thirty feet long, and allowed one to set up 8 men per column and 5 men per row.
While not on bridge runs, they are typically used as cheap manpower to perform undesirable duties at war camps, such as chasm or latrine duty.
Not all highprinces made use of bridge crews, with Dalinar Kholin notably refusing to make direct use of them. He instead made use of large bridges on wheels, pulled by chulls. Due to being heavier and pulled by chulls instead of people, movement is significantly slower, but Dalinar makes use of it regardless as it results in a major reduction of casualties during plateau runs.
==== Communication on the battlefield ====
On the battlefield, runners are used to give orders. Many leaders give speeches to their troops, these speeches are then recorded by a number of scribes, who are always women, and repeated to the rest of the army. Horns are used to signal certain commands. Aside from this, when it is dark stormlight may also be used to give certain signals, such as the signal to attack. The Alethi, like the other Rosharan militaries, have become incredibly dependent on spanreeds for communication. They use them to gather information about enemy movements and to spread commands. 
War banners are used to mark divisions, battalions and companies. This makes a battlefield easily surveyable for someone who understands the system. Most high ranking brightlords have their own personal glyphpair, which, like the name suggests, is usually made up of two glyphs. These glyphpairs are often painted on war banners, which ensures that particular brightlords are easy to find on a battlefield. A red banner, which is usually attached to a spear or pole, serves as a call to the runners to carry the wounded off the field. There is a symbol, which every Alethi recognises, to indicate a truce.
When the sound of battle is loud enough, a squadleader may decide to give his commands by banging his spear against his shield in a certain rhythm, with particular rhythms meaning particular commands. Some troops, like a lighteyes’ personal guard, are trained to recognise certain arm gestures, which mean certain commands, such as to retreat.
==== Planning and army movement ====
After centuries of warfare the Alethi have become adept at effectively moving their armies around. While highstorms are a problem, good planning prevents an army from needing to be out during one, except in some rare cases, in which case the army will search for a lait to set up camp. If a campaign takes longer then anticipated, the army can split and retreat back to a number of close towns for shelter. Due to highstorms, the Weeping is a common time for military campaigns. 
==== Soulcasters and supplies ====
Alethkar possesses numerous soulcasters, most of them are capable of creating materials such as grain or stone. In fact, Alethkar has a near monopoly on food making soulcasters. The existence of these Soulcasters enables the Alethi to raise and supply large armies that their logistics would not normally allow for, as it can be difficult to travel in Alethkar, and the Alethi have poor supply line infrastructure. Soulcasters are also used to supply the armies with wood, metal, and other necessities. Although despite their access to many soulcasters, small armies often have only one, to be used in emergencies only, this means that they still need to run supply trains. The king controls most of the Soulcaster ardents; in fact, manipulating the highprinces with his Soulcasters is one of the ways that the king maintains control over them.
==== Warcamps ====
How a warcamp is organised and run depends greatly on the highprince. Some camps are organised and patrolled while others are chaotic and almost lawless. Alethi warcamps are generally circular, with the camp followers in a ring on the outside, the mercenaries, if there are any, in a ring next to them, the citizen soldiers in the middle and the lighteyes in the very center. Inside these rings the barracks, which are placed in rows, are arranged into circular patterns, with a meeting ground and a mess hall at the center of each battalion. Barracks are often painted with the symbols of the platoons using them. Some warcamps have wooden scouting towers, these towers are designed to be portable and mobile. Many warcamps have a market, which is located in the camp followers' part of the camp. Most warcamps also have a number of barracks that allow for families, or married soldiers can rent a place in the market. 
The Alethi use latrines to collect their waste. These latrines are made up of a long sloping trough, which is covered with oiled and tarred wooden boards to seal in the scent, and a latrine house, which is always located on the high end of the latrine. The contents of these latrines are soulcast to smoke once every few months. Warcamps also have a surgeon’s hall, where soldiers can come to get medical aid. You can also buy medical supplies there, and it is relatively cheap.
Some warcamps have a building called a ‘warcenter’. This building, often made of wood, serves as the home of the general or high officer while on campaign. Warcenters are luxurious, decorated with trophies, rugs and more. Most warcenters are constructed of dozens of sturdy sections, which can be attached and deattached whenever the officer likes. These wooden parts are transported individually by chulls.
=== Training ===
The way soldiers are trained depends on the princedom they’re from. In at least some princedoms it is seen as the squadleader’s or sergeant’s task to train new recruits. In the Sadeas princedom, squadleaders are given six weeks to train a new cohort of recruits. The Alethi are excellent soldiers, each individual is far better at single combat then any given Azish or Veden soldier. Besides their skill in combat, soldiers are usually trained in one or two additional skills, e.g. horse grooms. Soldiers are also trained to give a proper salute, which includes moving a hand to your breast. 
Soldiers are trained in a specific order. Firstly, men are trained to march properly.. Afterwards, spearmen are taught a proper stance, only after that do they get trained in fighting. The first stance they learn is called the ‘elementary forward spear stance’. It takes about a week to learn the proper stances, although this is worth it as men who have learned the stances become better at fighting far quicker then those who don’t know the stances. After the second or third day of practice the men begin with resetting exercises, these exercises are meant to teach someone to revert to the proper stance without thinking. Sometime after this the recruits are taught how to move to avoid arrows, light on their feet and erratic, and a number of grappling moves. It is considered to be necessary to know how to catch a spear, so you can yank someone off balance. However, this maneuver is also known to be almost impossible to execute on the battlefield. Officers also learn a trick to discipline troops by way of conversation. They stay silent for a couple seconds, which makes the soldier nervous and begin explaining himself.
==== Drills ====
The Alethi have a large number of drills to practice certain formations, movements and fighting in general.
The ‘close order’ drill is an essential exercise to an army’s performance, although few outside the military appreciate its importance. There is also a drill called the ‘extended order’ drill, sometimes called the ‘extended combat’ drill, this drill focuses on practicing formations and movements used on the battlefield.
==== Kata ====
The Alethi make use of a number of exercises called katas. A kata is meant to work the muscles, as well as practice basic stances and attacks. Katas are not meant to be practical; they are usually a lot more showier then useful. There is genuine skill required to properly perform a kata however, this skill is usually seen back in the speed, grace and smoothness of a kata. Some people practice katas to calm themselves and relax. There are both spear and sword katas, and likely for other weapons as well.
==== Shardbearer training ====
The Alethi military also relies on trained Shardbearers to aid their regular soldiers. Due to their militaristic society, and the large amount of Shards they have, the Alethi have become excellent at training Shardbearers.
In most cases, lighteyed boys of appropriate rank around the age of ten are chosen by an ardent swordmaster for training. These boys typically already have at least some training with the sword. The swordmaster teaches them the ten Shardblade Stances and familiarity with plate. They train with Blades in two ways. If the trainee has no Blade of his own, they can make use of wooden practice swords that approximate the balance and weight of a real Blade. They may also borrow one of the King's Blades. This tradition is one of the reasons the Alethi have the best trained Shardbearers on Roshar. Whenever a Shardbearer is killed or dies, there is always someone prepared to bond their Blade and use it right away. A swordmaster also coaches their student on how to control the Blade with their mind, commanding it to remain in place so it can be loaned to others.
==== Training grounds ====
Many Alethi soldiers train in specially designated buildings called training grounds. These buildings are split between those built for lighteyes and those built for darkeyes, although there is little difference between the actual buildings. The training grounds, or at least some of them, are run by ardents. Training grounds all look fairly similar. They almost all have an open courtyard in the center, which is filled with a thick layer of sand. Bordering this courtyard is a raised walkway, which separates the courtyard from an outer building. This outer building wraps around most of the complex, leaving only the front open, which has a gate to enter the courtyard. The outer building is usually only a single room deep. Most men come to these complexes to train, but some also come to seek enjoyment.
==== Punishments ====
The Alethi military also has a large number of punishments. Regular punishments, usually given by a squadleader, include menial duties and corporal punishment. A highprince can also choose to execute someone, or even leave them to the stormfather’s judgment, which includes tying them up and leaving them outside during a highstorm. Officers can put people in a stockade. Most punishments are short, and anything demanding longer then a week or two usually results in a discharge or, for more serious infractions, execution.
=== Fortifications ===
Alethkar contains many fortifications, spread roughly even throughout the nation due to inter-princedom warfare. These holdings serve as defenses, and let armies rest and hunker down for highstorms. Soulcasters are used to build and supply fortifications. These fortifications are often equipped with ballistas and catapults, which are run by crews of women because of Vorin ideas. Some fortifications are built to withstand shardbearers. These fortifications have narrow corridors, or traps to make a Shardbearer fall a great distance. Siege equipment is also used to defeat Shardbearers, specifically ballistas, nets to trap the Shardbearer, ropes and catapults. Some fortifications also have men equipped with large poles to push shardbearers off the walls.
== Economy ==
=== Currency ===
As with many other nations on Roshar, their economy was based upon glass spheres with cut polestones in their center, known simply as spheres. In the mint, they check sphere weights in order to see if they fell into the proper categories. The value of polestones, and thus the worth of sphere denominations in their economy, is based around the value of the substances a polestone can transmute another substance into.
=== The Market ===
Alethkar has some form of open market, though the amount of openness in the economy, that is the amount of government regulation in the market, is unclear.
=== Agriculture and Livestock ===
Akanny in the Sadeas Princedom served as a major source of agriculture throughout Alethkar, being the source of a signifigant portion of the nation's lavis and tallew. Other towns and cities throughout Alethkar are important centures for the production of hog leather and meat, whilst others still harvested gumfrems for their gemhearts, which were used in the soulcasting of meat.
=== Soulcasting ===
Soulcasting is central to the economy of Alethkar, used to feed mobile armies and augment local urban food stores. They hold a near monopoly on food-creating Soulcasters, and they are a vital part of their military infrastructure.
=== Taxation ===
Taxation is levied upon darkeyes and landless lighteyes over rights to live on the territory of wealthier lighteyes. If a citylord fails to pay his taxes to the highlord, people are sent to collect it from him, often violently. The highlord answers to the highprince; and highprinces themselves are taxed by the king for the right to use soulcasters, which were an important resource in waging prolonged, large-scale conflicts. This is the primary form of taxation levied upon the highprinces by the king.
=== Foreign Trade ===
Through trade treaties, they are able to trade with Jah Keved for cheap. As of the True Desolation, Fen Rnamdi held administration over trade and supply, as one of the stipulations in the coalition of monarchs.
== Notable Alethi ==
== Trivia ==
*Alethi are modeled on half Asian and half Hawaiian people, and according to Brandon, picturing Alethi as looking east-Indian works very well.
* Alethkar is partially inspired by Yuan Dynasty China.
* At 7,134,000 km2, it is a little smaller than the total area of Australia.
== Notes ==
es:Alezkar