Location from The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson
The most militaristic kingdom on Roshar, ruled by lighteyed highprinces under the Kholin dynasty — a nation that defines itself through war and the Thrill of battle.
Alethkar is a kingdom that worships the sword. The Alethi divide their society by eye color — lighteyes rule, darkeyes serve — and by gender — men fight and govern, women read and manage scholarship. Ten highprinces control ten princedoms, theoretically united under a king but practically competing with each other in an endless contest of military prestige. The Kholin family reunified Alethkar under Gavilar, only for his assassination to fracture the alliance again. His brother Dalinar has spent years trying to hold the kingdom together through the force of his reputation and his visions of the Almighty. The nation fell to the Singer occupation during the Everstorm, its population scattered to refugee camps or trapped behind enemy lines. Alethkar's identity is its martial culture — the Thrill that fills soldiers in battle, the Shardbearers who decide wars, and the belief that strength is the highest virtue.
Eastern Rosharan terrain of exposed stone, crem-sculpted ridges, and rockbud fields. Scattered towns with stone walls built to withstand highstorms. Warcamps and training yards are as common as markets. Banners of the ten highprincedoms snap in the wind, each with their own glyphpair.
Also known as: Alethkar, the Alethi kingdom