Adolin Kholin and the Unoathed

One of my favorite moments from Wind and Truth was Adolin and Yanagawn’s final stand in the defense of Azir, and the forming of the group that would be known as the Unoathed. As the final moments before the final confrontation between Odium and Dalinar near, Yanagawn leads a small force to attempt to seize the throne room in Azish capital, with the hopes of securing the throne as the contest begins. The hope was that an ancient Azish law would dictate that the one who holds the throne in the Bronze Palace would be considered the ruler of Azimir. All Yanagawn had to do was hold the throne room until the time of the contest, and Azir would remain under human (honor) control.

"Once we stood against all that was dark. Adolin, we stand again. We. Stand. Again."

Mayalaran, Wind and Truth, Chapter 135.

In the final moments of the confrontation, just as Adolin defeats Abidi the Monarch in a duel, Maya returns with the promised help she sought out in the beginning of the battle at Azimi. Rather than gathering Honorspren sympathetic to the plight of the humans, as Adolin had assumed she was doing, Maya sought out the abandoned Shardblade and Plate spren and brought them to Azimir. In a moment of glory, Adolin called forth nine sets of Shards, equipping the entire party who sought to hold the throne room.

The resulting defense was the largest deployment of Shardbearers in an age and led to successful recapture of Azimir, just as the deadline for the contest arrived. Odium’s remaining forces were required to abandon the assault and leave the city, returning to Shadesmar and retreating from the region entirely.

The Unoathed

Weeks after the conflict and the forming of Retribution, Adolin would reflect on his relationship with his father, and think of the newly formed group he called the Unoathed. While we don’t get much in the way of explanation of what the Unoathed are, and what Adolin’s plans for them are, we can assume that it is some kind of knighthood or group that Adolin considers important. 

For one, in the text version of the book, “Unoathed” is capitalized, meaning it is a proper noun. That would suggest that at least Adolin considers the Unoathed some kind of organization. They are even referenced as “Adolin’s Unoathed” in the final chapter of Wind and Truth.

He considers how they have a total of thirty-seven sets of Plate and Blade, an insane wealth of shards, to grow their group. It’s not clear if the count of thirty-seven includes the nine sets the other Unoathed current wields, or if this is an additional set of thirty-seven. The total with the original ten (nine granted Shards plus Adolin) would be forty-seven Unoathed members.

The Unoathed Plate and Blades worked differently than traditional Shards. For one, they didn’t require Stormlight. This was a massive boon since Stormlight doesn’t exist on Roshar after the forming of Retribution. Unfortunately for the older Shardbearers, their Plate and Blade can no longer be repaired or bonded, leaving the Unoathed as the only non-Radiant Shardbearers on Roshar. The Unoathed can summon and dismiss their Shards without surges.

Like Radiants, the Unoathed can communicate with their spren. Despite originally being deadeyes, the something about the recent events on Roshar is leading to them recovering. Maya no longer has scratches on her eyes, and other non-Unoathed spren are recovering as well.

Finally, even though we only see a glimpse of the world post Retribution, we know that the Unoathed, at least in Azimir, are counted among the elite of the city. Zabra’s clothing has patterns showing her as of the rank of a Shardbearer, and Yanagawn considers each of the Unoathed to be of a rank permitted to speak directly with him. In Azish society that is massive.

Adolin’s philosophy surrounding the Unoathed will be interesting to see play out. The abandoned deadeye spren still consider themselves as “watchers on the rim”, a term Kaladin used to describe the Knights Radiant. To Adolin, keeping to a promise was different than an oath, it's something deeper. 

“An oath could be broken, but a promise? A promise stood as long as you were still trying. A promise understood that sometimes your best wasn’t enough. A prime cried with you when all went to Damnation. A promise came to help when you could barely stand. Because a promise knew that sometimes, being there was all you could offer.”

Adolin Kholin, Wind and Truth, Chapter 135.

We have seen Adolin’s bond with Maya grow over time, but we’re not sure if it can be considered the capital B Bond that a Radiant has with their spren. Time will tell if this becomes something new within the Cosmere; a way for spren to create a bond not as risky as the Radiant bonds that claimed the “lives” of so many spren when oaths were broken. A promise kept or an oath sworn, we’ll learn the difference in Era 2.

The members of the Unoathed

Ten stood in defense of Azimir in the hour before the Contest of Champions.

Adolin Kholin

Son of Dalinar Kholin and Highprince of the Kholin family. Armed his companions during the defense of Azimir and formed the Unoathed. Bonded to Maya.

Colot

A lighteyed Alethi, former Windrunner squire, second-in-command of the Cobalt Guard, and captain in the Kholin army. He joined Adolin in the defense of Azimir. 

Gezamal Kushkam

The Azish son of Zarb Kushkam. Known to be an expert in Towers, and is one of the few Unoathed previously trained with Plate and Blade.

Hmask

A Thaylen member of the Cobalt Guard. Hmask joined the Cobalt Guard after Adolin rescued his son from a Thunderclast during the Battle of Thaylen Field.

May Aladar

A lighteyed Alethi and daughter of High Prince Aladar. May is a skilled archer and has previously practiced with Plate and Blade. She is also well versed as a scholar and was often included in diplomatic meetings during the early days of the Coalition of Monarchs.

Notum

A Honorspren, somehow able to equip Plate and Blade. Notum met Adolin during Adolin’s first excursion in to Shadesmar, an event that cost Notum his post in the Honorspren navy. 

Sarqqin

An Azish blacksmith who joined the defense of Azimir and was one of the ten present during the forming of the Unoathed.

Yanagawn

The Azish Prime Aqasix, king of Azir and emperor of Makabak. Lead the party to retake the throne room in the Bronze Place. Bonded to Xorm.

Zabra

A young Azish woman who attempted to enlist as a soldier in the defense of the Azimir, but was sent to scout and train in the bow with May Aladar by Adolin. As the plan to assault the palace was forming, Zabra once again volunteered to help. This time, Adolin did not refuse the extra sword.

Zarb Kushkam

The Azish Commandant in charge of defense of the Oathgate during the assault on Azimir. While he initially had a poor relationship with Adolin over the defense of Azimir, the two eventually found a mutual respect and grew close. 

A connection to Sunlit Man

An interesting line in Sunlit Man seems to reference the Unoathed. While Sigzil is on the Scadarian science vessel, one of the researchers assumes that because he had a blade without having said oaths, that he was “unoathed”. Notably, the use of unoathed is not a proper noun. This could potentially indicate that the rest of the Cosmere starts to use Unoathed as a general term, and may not be a reference to the organization. 

I made a reddit post where I brought up this topic. There are a ton of great comments, but I want to point out one as form reddit user u/Agreeable-Equal6241

They point out that Sig makes a promise to Auxiliary, which could be contrasted with the Oaths he swore as a Windrunner. This could be some of Adolin’s philosophy bleeding through, and could suggest that Adolin’s method of bonding could be behind Sigzil’s relationship with Auxiliary. Time will tell. 

The future of Unoathed

We are given a fairly significant lore dump on the Unoathed in the final chapter of Wind and Truth: Light Flickering in the Darkness. I think this signals the significance Adolin and his growing group of Shardbearers will play in Era 2 of the Stormlight Archive. 

Azimir is the only place outside of Urithiru that is untouched by the influence of Retribution. The terms of the contract suggest that Azimir will go untouched by Odium (now presumably Retribution as well) unless they strike out first. The Unoathed, as an independent organization, might be a way to fight back without compromising the safety of Azir. This might be a stretch, considering the Prime himself is a member of the organization, but as the only non-Radiant Shardbearers friendly Shardbearers on Roshar, they are the strongest martial force pinned against Retribution. For now.

Personally, I would love to see Adolin form this army of mercenary Shardbearers who help reclaim Roshar, but eventually find their way out into the Cosmere. The nature of Adolin’s philosophy opens up a lot of wiggle room for varied morals when it comes to “keeping promises”; without the Life Before Death oath, who knows what the Unoathed are capable of. Again, time will tell. Is it 2031 yet?