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Haliax

character · importance 88 · 41 theories

“Lanre reborn as the shadow-wreathed leader of the Chandrian”

also known as Alaxel, Lanre, Lord of the Seven, The Seven-Shadowed

Appearance§

Haliax is wrapped in a perpetual, unnatural shadow. A darkness gathers about him so that nothing can be seen of his once-handsome features but a vague impression of nose, mouth, and eyes; all the rest is shadow, black and seamless. Even with a bright sunset behind him and nothing between him and the fire, the shadow pools around him like thick oil, and no flicker of firelight comes close to him. This shroud is the mark of his curse, a hame of shadow that hides his face and through which no light passes.

Description§

Haliax is the shadow-wreathed lord of the Chandrian, once the hero Lanre of the Creation War. After Lanre fought beside his wife Lyra at the war's end and was restored to life following his death at the Blac of Drossen Tor, the loss of Lyra and his own deathlessness drove him to betray and destroy Myr Tariniel, the last and greatest of the cities of the Ergen Empire. For this betrayal Selitos cursed him, binding him in shadow and turning his own name against him, and he took the name Haliax. The curse leaves him sleepless, sane, and deathless: no door, whether of stone, sleep, madness, or death, can bar his passing. As leader of the Chandrian he knows the true names of the other Six and holds them bound, commanding their movements and restraining their excesses, and he shields them from the powers that hunt them, naming the Amyr, the Singers, and the Sithe among these. He subdues Cinder by speaking the word 'Ferula' and addresses him as a tool in his hand. Alone among the Chandrian he takes no evident pleasure in killing. He is present at the slaughter of Kvothe's troupe, where he rebukes Cinder for indulging in cruelty and orders the boy spared. Haliax seeks oblivion and the unmaking of the world, hoping for the day when everything is gone and the Aleu fall nameless from the sky.

Relationships§

  • Spared Kvothe — Ordered the boy spared at the troupe's slaughter
  • Leader The Chandrian — Shadow-wreathed lord who holds the other Six bound
  • Hero Of The Creation War — Once the hero Lanre of the Creation War
  • Commands Cinder — Subdues Cinder by speaking the word Ferula
  • Hunted By The Amyr — Names the Amyr among the powers that hunt the Chandrian
  • Cursed By Selitos — Selitos cursed him, binding him in shadow at Myr Tariniel
  • Destroyed Myr Tariniel — Lanre betrayed and destroyed the last great city of Ergen
  • Wife Lyra — As Lanre he fought beside his wife Lyra at the war's end
  • Hunted By The Sithe — Names the Sithe among the powers hunting them
  • Hunted By The Singers — Names the Singers among his pursuers

Established facts§

  • Haliax is Lanre, the fallen hero of the Creation War, and leads the Chandrian, also called the Seven.
  • He is wrapped in an unnatural, perpetual shadow so that only a vague impression of his nose, mouth, and eyes remains, and no firelight touches him.
  • This shadow is the mark of the curse Selitos laid upon him at Myr Tariniel after his betrayal.
  • Lanre fought beside his wife Lyra at the end of the Creation War, before his turn.
  • After Lyra's death Lanre sought a terrible power, failed to revive her, and was burned back into his body, made unable to die.
  • Lanre betrayed and destroyed Myr Tariniel, the last and greatest of the cities of the Ergen Empire.
  • Selitos cursed Lanre so that he could not die, sleep, go mad, or forget, and turned his own name against him to make him Haliax.
  • The curse leaves him so that no door can bar his passing: not the doors of stone, sleep, madness, nor death.
  • He commands and constrains the other Chandrian, telling Cinder, 'You are straying, indulging in whimsy.'
  • He knows the true names of the Chandrian and holds them bound, controlling their movements.
  • He subdues Cinder by speaking the word 'Ferula' and addresses him as a tool in his hand.
  • He shields the Chandrian from the powers that hunt them, naming the Amyr, the Singers, and the Sithe.
  • He does not always accompany the Chandrian, sometimes choosing to come along on their tasks.
  • He is present at the killing of Kvothe's troupe, where he rebukes Cinder for cruelty and orders the boy spared.
  • Alone among the Chandrian he takes no evident pleasure in killing.
  • He seeks oblivion and the unmaking of the world, hoping for the day everything is gone and the Aleu fall nameless from the sky.
  • His other names include Alaxel and Lord of the Seven.
  • In Skarpi's tale, when Selitos kills Lanre he cannot keep him dead for longer than a day.
  • When Lanre cries 'There is no joy!' to Selitos, the stones shatter at the sound of his voice.
  • In the myth he binds Selitos by the name of stone and mutes him by the name of the wind.
  • The Cthaeh states Haliax has lived five thousand years without a single second's sleep.
  • Selitos founded the Amyr in the wake of Lanre's betrayal, specifically to oppose him.
  • On the Mauthen pot he is depicted as a hooded figure with nothing inside the cowl, surrounded by the phases of the moon, with hands held over candles of light and dark.
  • Lanre, who became Haliax, had no gift for names of his own; his closest companions were the great Namers.
  • The Adem story names him only as Alaxel, while the Cthaeh and Skarpi name him Haliax.

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