Sadeas
Alethi highprince and lifelong rival of Dalinar — and, in a dark corridor of Urithiru a week after the storms, the man Adolin finally killed with his own hands. Sadeas told Adolin he intended to spread the lie that the Radiants were a show Dalinar arranged with the Parshendi and to take Urithiru from him; Adolin choked him against the wall, dazed him on the stone floor, and drove a sidesword knife up through the eye socket into the brain. His Shardblade — Oathbringer, taken from Dalinar in the trade — appeared beside the corpse. Adolin hid it by dropping it into a planter on the terrace below. SA:WoR:Ch 89
Highprince of Alethkar — Gavilar's old commander, Dalinar's bitter rival since the Tower betrayal. Runs an extensive spy network through his wife Ialai and has begun activating planted assassins against the Kholin household; intends to see both Dalinar and the king dead before the war on the Plains is done. SA:WoR:Ch 58 superseded at SA:WoR:Ch 89
An Alethi mentioned by name in the dying king's breath, as one of those Gavilar suspected might be behind his murder. SA:WoK:Prologue superseded at SA:WoR:Ch 58
Known facts
- bridge-crew-tacticSends unarmored slave bridgemen sprinting under their own wooden bridges into the teeth of the Parshendi archers, so that his cavalry can charge across once the bridges are laid. Crew losses are accepted as routine.SA:WoK:Ch 6
- bridge-crew-disciplineRefusing to charge the Parshendi is the one infraction punished by execution. All others — even striking an officer — earn whipping, dock-pay, or the Stormfather's Judgment. Survive a hundred runs and you are supposedly freed; almost no one does.SA:WoK:Ch 9
- needles-dalinarBoasts of newly captured gemhearts in front of the king and lobs veiled insults at Dalinar for going on fewer plateau assaults — knowing Dalinar's Codes forbid challenging him while on duty.SA:WoK:Ch 12
- bridge-doctrineDefends his bridgeman tactic to Dalinar as deliberately efficient — at first he tried shields and armor, the Parshendi ignored the bridgemen and shot his soldiers; once the bridges went light and unprotected the Parshendi could not stop firing on them. "The prize is worth any cost." Dalinar disagrees flatly: "It is a war. Not a contest."SA:WoK:Ch 15
- no-supplies-to-bridgemenHas standing orders forbidding the surgeon's hall and the camp apothecary from giving antiseptic or surgical supplies to bridgemen, slaves, or servants of the lesser nahns. The reason Kaladin cannot care properly for his wounded.SA:WoK:Ch 20
- named-highprince-of-informationManeuvers the king into appointing him Highprince of Information over the very investigation that began under Dalinar's protection — turning the cut girth inquiry against the Kholin name and outflanking Dalinar's bid for Highprince of War.SA:WoK:Ch 21
- stormfather-judgement-overruledHas consigned Kaladin to the Stormfather's judgement. When the soldiers see Bridge Four cutting him down alive, they mutter but do not stop the bridgemen — Sadeas's own ruling has overruled them.SA:WoK:Ch 35
- betrays-dalinar-at-the-towerAfter hours of marching to the Tower together, Sadeas reaches the staging plateau, lets Dalinar commit, and then pulls back. Half his army is already across the chasm to safety; the eight bridge crews he lent Dalinar retreat with him; he takes all of his bridges. Dalinar and his army are stranded on the Tower, surrounded on three sides by Parshendi, with no way back.SA:WoK:Ch 64
- holds-oathbringerSadeas now openly possesses Oathbringer — Dalinar's former Shardblade, traded to him for the bridgemen — and intends to use the Tower betrayal as the start of a full conquest of Alethkar and then Jah Keved for himself.SA:WoR:Ch 5
- plans-to-kill-elhokarSadeas tells himself, watching the dueling arena, that to rebuild Alethkar all vestiges of former rule must be removed — Elhokar will need to die after Dalinar is dealt with. He expects he will cut the king's throat himself, quietly, out of respect for old Gavilar.SA:WoR:Ch 29
- butchered-surrendering-parshendiIn the first year of the war, when a Parshendi line on a plateau once laid down its weapons and tried to surrender, Sadeas personally slaughtered all of them with Shardhammer and Plate while their fellows watched from across the chasm. None has ever surrendered to him since.SA:WoR:Ch 29
- crashes-rotation-and-discards-gemheartSadeas crashes a plateau run that was not in his rotation — Hatham and Roion's day — using his bridge-crew speed to take the gemheart before they can arrive, then hurls it across the rocks at Hatham's feet and rides away. The point is the show: he no longer cares about deniability.SA:WoR:Ch 29
- renounces-highprince-of-informationIn the winehouse bunker Sadeas tells Adolin that he has set down the title of Highprince of Information — the very lever Dalinar had been preparing to let him pull — and that the other highprinces have agreed none of them will accept such appointments. He frames it as renouncing the king's authority, and warns that he is now openly hoarding what strength he can to weather what he calls Dalinar's coming collapse.SA:WoR:Ch 50
- flaunts-illicit-plateau-gemsSadeas displays uncut emeralds set as the buttons of his coat and a matching ring — gemhearts won on a plateau run he and Ruthar made without Dalinar's sanction, racing the assigned highprince. He pays the fines and continues, treating Dalinar's rule of law as a fee schedule.SA:WoR:Ch 50
- killed-highprince-yenev-in-a-duelEighteen years before the present day, when King Gavilar was still unifying Alethkar, Sadeas brought down the powerful Highprince Yenev without a battle. He won a spectacular preliminary duel at a tournament, used the ancient King's Boon to claim Yenev's heart on the end of his sword, then killed Yenev in single combat — opening the way for his ally Aladar to take that princedom.SA:WoR:Ch 55
- traps-adolin-into-four-on-one-disadvantaged-duelAdolin's public challenge contained the phrase he would fight Relis and any others Relis brought, with no number specified. Sadeas reads the loophole and arranges for Relis Ruthar to walk onto the sand with three other Shardbearers instead of one. He coaches scribes to record the exact wording in advance, ensures the highjudge accepts it as a full disadvantaged duel rather than a paired one, and announces it to Dalinar and Elhokar from the stands as the men step onto the sand.SA:WoR:Ch 56
- orders-assassins-set-on-dalinarAlone in his warcamp after Adolin's win, Sadeas orders Ialai to mobilise her entire network of informants against Dalinar and to activate the assassins she has been quietly planting. He intends to wound Dalinar so badly that the other highprinces see him as broken before he finishes him outright.SA:WoR:Ch 58
- defers-adolin-right-of-challenge-by-a-yearForced to respond to Adolin's public Right of Challenge from the steps of the arena, Sadeas sends word from his warcamp accepting the duel — in one year's time, far enough out that whatever is coming will almost certainly have made the duel meaningless.SA:WoR:Ch 58
Events
- SA:WoK:Ch 6 Crossing the bridge in burnished red Shardplate at the head of his cavalry
- SA:WoK:Ch 12 Red-armored at the king's side, needling Dalinar over his fading gemheart count
- SA:WoK:Ch 13 Hangs back loosing arrows from a grandbow
- SA:WoK:Ch 15 Argues bridgeman doctrine with Dalinar inside the pavilion
- SA:WoK:Ch 20 Present at the feast; will be appointed Highprince of Information
- SA:WoK:Ch 21 Receives the appointment, smiles broadly, and immediately begins mingling on the king's island
- SA:WoK:Ch 32 Ends the day clinging to the Tower edge with his Shardbearer's body
- SA:WoK:Ch 54 Listens, agrees with a shrug, hurries back to the feast
- SA:WoK:Ch 58 Agrees to the staging plan and asks for a copy of Gavilar's book
- SA:WoK:Ch 62 Rides past Bridge Four at the staging plateau and compliments Kaladin
- SA:WoK:Ch 64 Off-page across the chasm — bridges pulling back
- SA:WoK:Ch 75 Accepts Oathbringer for the bridgemen — contemptuously
- SA:WaT:Ch 99 A vision-cast Sadeas storms in to demand what Dalinar thinks he is doing and takes a right hook through his Plate helm for the question; he drops in a heap of armour, and the punch — Dalinar admits — feels good.
- SA:WoR:Ch 37 Catches Adolin leaving the duel offer and goads him over Dalinar's "failing wits," styling the Tower betrayal as a friendly kindness; Adolin hisses a death-threat back and is hauled off by Amaram before he can swing.
- SA:WoR:Ch 38 Watches Dalinar across the room with a faint smile, lets Ruthar and his wife argue for him, and welcomes the planned plateau march with a cheerful offer to expand his own camp into the empty one Dalinar's death will leave behind.
- SA:WoR:Ch 50 Corners Adolin in the highstorm bunker; flaunts his uncut emeralds and announces he has renounced the title of Highprince of Information.
- SA:WoR:Ch 53 Watches the duel from the stands with Aladar and Ruthar.
- SA:WoR:Ch 56 Sits in the stands with Ialai and announces from his seat that Adolin signed a full disadvantaged duel and not a paired one — entitling Relis to bring as many men as he wishes.
- SA:WoR:Ch 57 Stands from his seat after the bout and makes his way up the steps to flee, only for Adolin to name him from the sand before he can reach the exit.
- SA:WoR:Ch 67 On the king's island with Aladar, feeding himself fruit and grinning while Dalinar demands an answer about the leaked visions.
- SA:WoR:Ch 89 Inspects a faded mural in the dark corridor with his own scouting party, smiles into Adolin's face as he previews the lie he will spread, and dies on the floor with Adolin's knife through his eye socket and into his brain — his Shardblade manifesting beside the corpse.
Relations
- relatedBridge Four — One of Sadeas's bridge crews SA:WoK:Ch 6
- relatedBridge Four — Used as expendable arrow-bait by Sadeas's tactics SA:WoK:Ch 9
- foreshadowsDalinar Kholin — The vision-voice's instruction: trust Sadeas SA:WoK:Ch 18
- relatedHighprince of Information — Maneuvers into the new office and out of Dalinar's path SA:WoK:Ch 21
- relatedRock — Rock's nuatoma was killed by Sadeas for his Shards; Rock was sent to the bridges after spiking the Highprince's meal SA:WoK:Ch 22
- relatedLamaril — Executes him within the hour by right of responsibility for the Tower disaster SA:WoK:Ch 34
- foreshadowsBridge Four — First armed escape plot — kill a guard post at night, hope Sadeas underestimates them SA:WoK:Ch 43
- foreshadowsDalinar Kholin — Joint Tower assault proposed and accepted — the trap that will close in Ch 65 SA:WoK:Ch 54
- fulfillsDalinar Kholin — The Tower betrayal — Sadeas leaves Dalinar's army stranded and takes all his bridges with him SA:WoK:Ch 64
- fulfillsDalinar Kholin — Trades Oathbringer for every Sadeas bridgeman SA:WoK:Ch 75
- foreshadowsElhokar Kholin — Sadeas privately decides Elhokar will have to die after Dalinar is dealt with — and that he himself expects to be the one to cut the boy's throat. SA:WoR:Ch 29
Backreferences
- summaryMB2:TLM:Ch 51
- summarySA:OB:Ch 1
- summarySA:OB:Ch 2
- factBridge Thirteen
- factIlamar
- factPerethom
- summarySA:OB:Ch 3
- summarySA:OB:Ch 4
- factVedekar Perel
- factVedekar Perel
- summarySA:OB:Ch 9
- summarySA:OB:Ch 10
- factAkanny
- summarySA:OB:Ch 11
- summarySA:OB:Ch 15
- summarySA:OB:Ch 18
- factNed
- summarySA:OB:Ch 19
- summarySA:OB:Ch 21
- summarySA:OB:Ch 22
- summarySA:OB:Ch 27
- factRe-Shephir
- summarySA:OB:Ch 28
- factKef'ha
- factTifi
- factSinaku'a
- summarySA:OB:Ch 44
- summarySA:OB:Ch 46
- summarySA:OB:Ch 48
- summarySA:OB:Ch 51
- summarySA:OB:Ch 64
- summarySA:OB:Ch 66
- summarySA:OB:Ch 67
- summarySA:OB:Ch 68
- factNoromin
- summarySA:OB:Ch 70
- summarySA:OB:Ch 71
- factTanalan
- summarySA:OB:Ch 75
- factTanalan
- summarySA:OB:Ch 76
- summarySA:OB:Ch 83
- summarySA:OB:Ch 88
- summarySA:OB:Ch 89
- summarySA:OB:Ch 97
- summarySA:OB:Ch 105
- summarySA:OB:Ch 108
- summarySA:OB:Ch 122
- summarySA:RoW:Prologue
- summarySA:RoW:Ch 6
- summarySA:RoW:Ch 7
- summarySA:RoW:Ch 19
- summarySA:RoW:Ch 27
- summarySA:RoW:Ch 82
- summarySA:RoW:Ch 85
- summarySA:WoK:Prologue
- summarySA:WoK:Ch 6
- factDalinar Kholin
- factGaz
- factBridge Four
- factBridgeman
- factParshmen
- summarySA:WoK:Ch 12
- summarySA:WoK:Ch 13
- summarySA:WoK:Ch 15
- summarySA:WoK:Ch 18
- factDalinar's Visions
- factThe Vision Voice
- factTaffa
- summarySA:WoK:Ch 20
- summarySA:WoK:Ch 21
- factElhokar Kholin
- factHighprince of Information
- summarySA:WoK:Ch 22
- factRock
- factRock
- summarySA:WoK:Ch 24
- factDalinar Kholin
- factDalinar Kholin
- summarySA:WoK:Ch 26
- summarySA:WoK:Ch 27
- factSadeas-camp Apothecary
- summarySA:WoK:Ch 32
- summarySA:WoK:Ch 34
- factLamaril
- summarySA:WoK:Ch 35
- factSadeas
- summarySA:WoK:Ch 43
- summarySA:WoK:Ch 46
- summarySA:WoK:Ch 49
- summarySA:WoK:Ch 54
- summarySA:WoK:Ch 55
- summarySA:WoK:Ch 56
- summarySA:WoK:Ch 58
- summarySA:WoK:Ch 59
- summarySA:WoK:Ch 60
- summarySA:WoK:Ch 62
- summarySA:WoK:Ch 63
- summarySA:WoK:Ch 64
- factSadeas
- summarySA:WoK:Ch 65
- summarySA:WoK:Ch 66
- factKaladin
- factBridge Four
- summarySA:WoK:Ch 68
- summarySA:WoK:Ch 69
- factDalinar Kholin
- summarySA:WoK:Ch 75
- factDalinar Kholin
- summarySA:WaT:Prologue
- summarySA:WaT:Ch 39
- factAdolin Kholin
- summarySA:WaT:Ch 54
- factAdolin Kholin
- summarySA:WaT:Ch 71
- summarySA:WaT:Ch 99
- factDalinar Kholin
- summarySA:WaT:Ch 123
- summarySA:WaT:Ch 139
- summarySA:WoR:Prologue
- summarySA:WoR:Ch 2
- summarySA:WoR:Ch 5
- factSadeas
- factIalai Sadeas
- factKhal
- factKing's Guard
- summarySA:WoR:Ch 8
- factYenev
- summarySA:WoR:Ch 9
- summarySA:WoR:Ch 14
- summarySA:WoR:Ch 16
- summarySA:WoR:Ch 18
- summarySA:WoR:Ch 22
- factAmaram
- factIdrin
- summarySA:WoR:Ch 23
- summarySA:WoR:Ch 24
- summarySA:WoR:Ch 26
- summarySA:WoR:Ch 29
- factSadeas
- factSadeas
- factSadeas
- factAdolin Kholin
- factEranniv
- factThe dueling arena
- summarySA:WoR:Ch 31
- summarySA:WoR:Ch 34
- factVathah
- summarySA:WoR:Ch 36
- summarySA:WoR:Ch 37
- factAmaram
- factAdolin Kholin
- summarySA:WoR:Ch 38
- factBridge Seventeen
- summarySA:WoR:Ch 43
- summarySA:WoR:Ch 46
- summarySA:WoR:Ch 49
- factAdolin Kholin
- summarySA:WoR:Ch 50
- factSadeas
- factSadeas
- summarySA:WoR:Ch 51
- factAmaram
- summarySA:WoR:Ch 53
- summarySA:WoR:Ch 55
- factSadeas
- factShallan Davar
- summarySA:WoR:Ch 56
- factSadeas
- summarySA:WoR:Ch 57
- factAdolin Kholin
- summarySA:WoR:Ch 58
- factSadeas
- factSadeas
- factIalai Sadeas
- factShallan Davar
- summarySA:WoR:Ch 67
- factDalinar Kholin
- factDalinar Kholin
- summarySA:WoR:Ch 68
- summarySA:WoR:Ch 71
- summarySA:WoR:Ch 75
- summarySA:WoR:Ch 76
- factAmaram
- factAladar
- factIalai Sadeas
- summarySA:WoR:Ch 80
- factElhokar Kholin
- summarySA:WoR:Ch 87
- summarySA:WoR:Ch 89
- factDalinar Kholin
- factAdolin Kholin