Chapter 15: 1-2: NAN BALAT

Spoiler Notice: This page reveals details from Chapter 15 of The Way of Kings. Proceed only if you have read this chapter.

Summary

Nan Balat Davar sits on the porch of his family’s mansion in Jah Keved, methodically pulling the legs off a small crab. He finds the act soothing, a private ritual that eases his aches. His axehound, Scrak, plays with a mangled songling nearby. Balat’s thoughts drift: it has been six months since his shy sister Shallan left to become Jasnah Kholin’s ward, and today a spanreed message confirmed her success. But the plan requires Shallan to steal Jasnah’s Soulcaster—a task Balat feels cowardly for not undertaking himself. He broods over his crippled leg and the family’s shattered state after years of their father’s brutality. His brothers Jushu and Wikim are damaged; the eldest, Helaran, is dead. As Balat pries apart the crab’s shell, Wikim arrives with urgent news of a serious problem.

Key Events

  • Balat dismembers a crab on the porch, revealing his secret habit of killing small animals.
  • Scrak, his axehound, torments a captured songling in the garden.
  • Balat reflects on Shallan’s departure and the message that she is now Jasnah’s ward.
  • He admits feeling like a coward for staying behind while his sister risks the theft.
  • Balat dwells on his family’s trauma: his leg injury, his father’s abuse, his brothers’ vices and despair, and Helaran’s death.
  • Wikim appears and announces an unspecified problem.

Character Development

Nan Balat: This chapter introduces Balat’s dark coping mechanism—casual animal cruelty—which he recognizes as odd but necessary for his sanity. His physical limp and emotional scars from his father’s violence are evident. He masks self-loathing with excuses, labeling himself a coward. Despite this, his affection for Scrak and his concern for Shallan show a conflicted but caring side.

The Davar Family: The spanreed message reveals the high stakes of Shallan’s secret mission. References to Jushu’s vice, Wikim’s melancholy, and Helaran’s death paint a picture of a broken house struggling to survive after the father’s reign of terror.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

  • Cruelty as Coping: Balat’s animal torture is a visceral symbol of his inner pain and powerlessness. He literally pulls things apart because his own life feels shattered.
  • The Broken Family: The Davar siblings are all “cripples” in different ways—physical, psychological, or spiritual—highlighting the lingering damage of abuse.
  • Cowardice and Responsibility: Balat’s guilt over not going to Kharbranth underscores the theme of self-sacrifice versus self-preservation, a dilemma Shallan also faces.
  • Alien Beauty of Roshar: The vivid description of vines, songlings, and axehounds reinforces the world’s unique ecology and the Davar estate’s secluded, overgrown character.

Why This Chapter Matters

Chapter 15 deepens the Davar subplot by showing the personal cost of Shallan’s mission from her family’s perspective. It humanizes Balat as more than a background figure—a man damaged by his past who loves his sister yet resents his own weakness. The chapter also enriches Roshar’s worldbuilding through the details of Jah Keved’s flora and fauna. Finally, Wikim’s cliffhanger “problem” injects immediate tension, hinting at complications that could jeopardize Shallan’s plan.

Study Questions and Answers

  1. What is Balat’s secret habit, and what does it reveal about his mental state? Balat pulls apart small animals like crabs to soothe himself. This cruelty reflects his unresolved trauma from his father’s abuse, his physical pain, and his feeling of helplessness. It suggests he needs control in a life where he has little.

  2. How does Balat’s view of himself contrast with his view of Shallan? Balat calls himself a coward for not going to steal the Soulcaster, yet he describes Shallan as shy, quiet, and delicate. He underestimates her, while simultaneously envying her courage. This contrast highlights his self-loathing and the family’s tendency to protect Shallan.

  3. What role does the setting play in the chapter? The vine-covered Davar estate symbolizes the family’s stagnation and suffocation under their father’s legacy. The exotic songlings and axehound ground the scene in Roshar’s distinctive ecology, while the brief mention of spanreed communication connects the distant Shallan to the immediate tension at home.

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