Character from The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson
Herald of the Lightweavers, also known as Shalash. Spends centuries destroying artistic depictions of herself out of guilt for abandoning the Oathpact. Daughter of Jezrien, the first Herald whom Odium permanently killed.
Shalash — called Ash — is the Herald of Beauty and patron of the Lightweavers. Of all the Heralds' forms of madness after abandoning the Oathpact, hers is among the most poignant: she compulsively destroys any artistic depiction of herself, traveling across Roshar to deface statues, scrape paintings, and shatter carvings that bear her likeness. She cannot bear to see herself honored when she knows what she did — abandoning Taln to hold the Oathpact alone while she and the other Heralds fled their duty. Her guilt is compounded by the fate of her father, Jezrien, the first Herald and leader of the Oathpact, who was killed permanently by Odium's forces using a special weapon that destroyed his soul. Ash witnessed or learned of this, adding grief to her already crushing guilt. Despite her brokenness, Ash retains more coherence than some Heralds and eventually becomes involved in the conflict of the True Desolation, though she carries her guilt like a wound that will never heal.
A strikingly beautiful woman with dark Alethi features, though her heritage predates modern Alethi culture by millennia. Her expression is haunted, carrying the weight of unfathomable guilt. She moves with the grace of someone who has lived thousands of years but the frantic energy of someone running from herself. Her clothes are practical and nondescript — she avoids drawing attention even as her beauty makes anonymity difficult.
Also known as: Shalash, Ash'Elin, Herald of Beauty