Character from The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson
King of Kharbranth who bargained with the Nightwatcher, gaining wildly fluctuating intelligence and compassion. Created the Diagram to save humanity through ruthless betrayal. Eventually ascended as the new Odium.
Taravangian is among the most complex figures on Roshar — a man who asked the Nightwatcher to grant him the capacity to save humanity and received a curse that splits his mind between days of transcendent genius and days of overwhelming empathy, never both at once. On his most brilliant day, he created the Diagram: an impossibly intricate plan to preserve a remnant of civilization by making horrific sacrifices, including betraying allies, assassinating monarchs, and manipulating the outcome of the True Desolation. As king of Kharbranth, he appears gentle and doddering, a mask that conceals his willingness to murder patients in hospitals to harvest death rattles — prophecies from the Almighty. He allied with and betrayed Dalinar, joined Odium's side, and then killed Rayse himself on a day of unprecedented brilliance, ascending to become the new vessel of the Shard of Hatred. As Odium, Taravangian represents something perhaps more terrifying than Rayse ever was: a god who genuinely understands human compassion and chose to abandon it for power.
An elderly man with a grandfatherly face, bald with liver-spotted skin and a thin frame that suggests frailty. His eyes shift between vacant bewilderment on his compassionate days and sharp, calculating coldness on his intelligent days. He wears simple robes befitting a modest king, preferring to appear harmless. His hands tremble slightly, whether from age or the weight of his terrible plans.
Also known as: Vargo, King Taravangian, Old Tara