Kaladin

Kaladin
por Exmakina
Familia Padres Lirin, Hesina Hermanos Tien (deceased)
Nacido en	Late 1153
Capacidades	Surgebinding (Adhesion/Gravitation) Shardwielding
Títulos	Kaladin Stormblessed
Oficio	Soldier Bridgeman (formerly) Apprentice Surgeon (formerly)
Grupo	Knights Radiant🐱︎ (Windrunners) Bridge Four🐱︎
Lugar de nacimiento	Hearthstone
Nacionalidad	de Alezkar
Mundo natal	Roshar

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“I don’t know what I am either. A bridgeman? A surgeon? A soldier? A slave? Those are all just labels. Inside, I’m me. A very different me than I was a year ago, but I can’t worry about that, so I just keep moving and hope my feet take me where I need to go.”

—Kaladin to Sylphrena

Kaladin (Alethi pronounciation: [ˈkæl·ə·dɪn] KAL-a-din), nicknamed Kal, renowned as Kaladin Stormblessed, is a darkeyed Alethi male Surgebinder who is on the path to becoming one of the first Knights Radiant since the Recreance on Roshar. Born and raised in the town of Hearthstone, he started training with his father, Lirin, to be a surgeon at age eight. The family had a more or less happy and peaceful time until the Citylord Roshone accused Lirin of thievery of a substantial amount of money. Roshone eventually had Kaladin's brother, Tien, conscripted to Brightlord Amaram's army. In order to look out for his younger brother, Kaladin also joined.

Tien died in battle shortly after. Extremely depressed by this, Kaladin obsessively threw himself to his spear fighting practices. He was soon renowned as the best spearman in the army. In his final battle in Amaram's army in 1172, Kaladin killed a Shardbearer. Amaram wanted the Shards for himself, so he had Kaladin branded as a slave. He was eventually sold to Sadeas's army where he was assigned to Bridge Four to work as a bridgeman. He was convinced by the honorspren Sylphrena to try to protect the bridgemen. He convinced the Bridge Four to escape because he realized that the purpose of the bridgemen was to be bait to the Parshendi arrows, and trained them as spearmen. In the Battle of the Tower, when they had the chance to easily escape, he and Bridge Four saved the lives of Dalinar Kholin and his men. In return for their sacrifice, Dalinar freed all the bridgemen from slavery and offered them a job as soldiers in his army, to be trained and led by Kaladin.

Kaladin was granted the rank of captain and given command of a thousand former bridgemen. Along with training his men, Dalinar gave Kaladin the responsibility to protect the members of Kholin family.

History

Early Life (1153–1168)

Childhood

Kaladin was born in late 1153 to a family of second nahn, Lirin and Hesina, in the town of Hearthstone in Sadeas's princedom. Two years later, his younger brother Tien was born. Because his family was the only one of second nahn in the town and the superstitions surrounding his father's work as a surgeon, Kaladin had to grow up mostly in isolation. As a result, he was very close with his brother and, after being encouraged by his family, became friends with the daughter of the citylord, Laral Wistiow. As a child he didn't want to be called by his full name, because he thought "Kaladin" was a lighteyes name; instead he went by "Kal." When he reached age eight, his father started training Kaladin in surgery. He was talented and learned quickly.

Kaladin as a child by User: Botanica

Surgery on Sani

In 1164, at age ten, Kaladin helped his father perform a surgery on a fifteen-year-old girl named Sani, who had badly injured her safehand. He was late to the surgery because he was with Jam, who had been showing Kaladin and Tien the quarterstaff fighting his father had been teaching him. Lirin admonished Kaladin for his tardiness when his son came to the surgery room, but said they would discuss it after the surgery. Lirin told him to wash his hands, claiming it was the wisdom of the Heralds that water repulsed rotspren and deathspren. Although Kaladin immediately went to wash his hands, he answered his father by saying that he'd heard that the Heralds were demons from an ardent. Lirin told him he was mixing Heralds with the Knights Radiant, and Radiants weren't demons, but betrayers. Once that done, the two removed the makeshift bandages on Sani's hand, and Kaladin saw they would have to amputate the girl's third finger. Lirin did the actual amputating, while Kaladin helped him as a nurse. They finished the surgery, able to save Sani's other four fingers, applied antiseptic and bandages. When they were finished, his father told Kaladin he still had to work on his nerves, and it was alright to care, as long as it didn't interfere with his ability to perform surgery. He asked why Kaladin was late, and Kaladin told him about Jam. The conversation shifted to Jam's father and then surgery, with Kaladin trying, poorly, to impress they needed soldiers, and Lirin claiming they needed surgeons more. Eventually his father told Kaladin there were two kinds of people in the world; those who saved lives, and those who took lives. After the conversation died down, Lirin quizzed Kaladin on surgery. He praised him when Kaladin answered perfectly and announced he would like to send him to Kharbranth when he turned sixteen years old to train as a much better surgeon than Lirin.

Wistiow's Death

Kaladin and Tien by User: Botanica

In mid-1166, Kaladin told Laral that Lirin wanted to send Kaladin to Kharbranth. At age twelve, he was becoming interested girls for the first time, and he was attracted to Laral. She was angry that he hadn't told her about his father's intentions for two years and made her think he would join the army to win a Shardblade and become lighteyes. She tried to convince him to join the army by saying the Alethi had a noble heritage of soldiery. Kaladin's answer wasn't very enthusiastic, which prompted Laral to say that she hated speaking with him when Kaladin was moping around. Tien joined the two and showed Kaladin a rock he had found, as was the younger brother's habit, to make Kaladin feel better and somehow succeeded in boosting Kaladin's morale. Once Tien left, Kaladin and Laral saw a group of older boys who usually worked at farms and, at Laral's prompting, went to meet them to see them. They found out the boys were talking about darkeyes becoming lighteyes by winning Shardblades. One of the boys, Jost, claimed his father had won a Shardblade in the wastescum skirmishes in the north but it was stolen by someone else when his father was unconscious. Kaladin pointed out there weren't any Shardbearers in those battles. At Laral's provocations, Jost grew angrier and challenged Kaladin to a fight with quarterstaffs. At first, Jost easily overwhelmed Kaladin, but once he grew angry because he was in pain, Kaladin felt an exhilaration and almost beat the older boy, but stopped at the last instant because he didn't want to hurt him. The other boy didn't have the same inclination, so he beat Kaladin to the ground. Laral left for her home without saying anything or helping Kaladin up. Kaladin asked Jost to teach him how to fight, but the older boy refused by saying that Kaladin should be what he is. Kaladin met with Tien, and he walked towards home thinking about what he wanted to be. When they got home, Lirin told Kaladin that Brightlord Wistiow was dead, and he had left them a goblet full of spheres so Kaladin would study to be a master surgeon in Kharbranth, then return home.

Roshone's Arrival

Two months, in which he had barely seen Laral, after Wistiow's death, Kaladin attempted to heal a five year old girl named Miasal on his own. He was thirteen, but thought he was well trained. The girl had compound fracture in her leg after a fall, a bleeding head wound and was bleeding due to a severed artery in her lower leg. Kaladin cauterized the wound and tied off the artery, but he was too late as the little girl died due to blood loss. An hour later, his father found Kaladin in front of the surgery room crying to himself. Lirin told him he was proud of Kaladin's work and there was nothing he could have done to stop the girl's death. Kaladin told Lirin he didn't want to be a surgeon, but Lirin answered he would have to learn when to care.

Towards the end of 1166, Kaladin overheard Nanha Terith and Nanha Relina talking about his family. Their superstition about not seeing angered him and claims that Lirin stole from Wistiow angered him, so he made sure he was seen by the two women and gave them a sharp look as he passed by them. He reached home to find his mother, Hesina, cleaning the crem left in their house's roof. He complained that everyone hated Lirin, but Hesina answered they didn't hate him; he just made them uncomfortable because of their own ignorance. As Kaladin climbed up to help his mother, their conversation led to Kaladin's own future, and he realized the reason his parents had encouraged him to spend time with Laral was so the two would marry. While Kaladin was deep in thought mulling over his mother's words, Lirin arrived to say that the new citylord had arrived. The trio made their way town square and were joined by Tien. Roshone arrived with a retinue that impressed the young Kaladin, but the Brightlord himself said nothing except for a few contemptuous words as the procession continued towards the citylord mansion.

Conflict with Roshone

Roshone's arrival saw that the fortune of Kaladin's family turned for the worse in the next year, as the Brightlord applied pressure so they would spend the spheres Lirin got from Wistiow. Following the Citylord's direction, the townspeople stopped making donations for Lirin's work, although they still helped in secret in little ways. Around this time Tien started working as a carpenter's apprentice. One night, while Kaladin was studying in his father's surgery room at age fourteen and a half, Lirin told him not to return to Hearthstone once he made his way to Kharbranth in a rare indulgence of intoxication. As Kaladin went on with his study, few men tried to break in through the door not expecting to find anyone inside. Kaladin was very afraid, but Lirin confronted them without showing fear. The men told Lirin to give them the sphere, and Lirin responded by uncovering the light of the spheres. Once out of darkness, Kaladin recognized the men as Luten, Horl and Balsas, and his fear evaporated. Losing their nerve, the men faded into the night without a word.

Four months after the townspeople stopped their donations, Roshone invited Lirin to the mansion for dinner. Although Lirin tried to hide it from Kaladin and Hesina tried to keep him occupied, Kaladin caught up with his father and insisted on accompanying him. Lirin acceded, and the two climbed in the carriage Roshone sent for Lirin. They arrived at the mansion to find Roshone already dining. The servant tried to get them to a side table, but Lirin insisted on joining the same table as Roshone. While the two older men were discussing the spheres, Kaladin let out an outburst, and Lirin told him to wait in the kitchen. Humiliated, Kaladin went to the kitchen and was given a child's meal by the cook, which compounded his embarrassment. As he sat there, Roshone's son Rillir sauntered in along with Laral. Rillir tried to get Kaladin to fetch them supper. Kaladin responded by saying he was no kitchen servant, but he proved no match for the lighteyed boy and was even more embarrassed as the two left at Laral's insistence. When Lirin walked in, Kaladin told him that he wanted to be a surgeon, surprising his father. As they discussed how their meeting went, Kaladin realized that his father had, indeed, stolen the spheres from Wistiow. Lirin claimed that Wistiow would have given them those spheres if he could regain enough lucidity and that he had merely made sure that promises were kept. Kaladin said he would go to Kharbranth even with stolen spheres, but he would find a way to pay them back to Laral eventually. He told his father that from then on he wanted to be called by his full name "Kaladin."

Joining the Army

Some time later, Roshone and Rillir were brought to Lirin's surgery room with serious injuries that they had sustained while hunting whitespine. Kaladin pushed past the screaming Laral and entered the surgery room to help his father. They quickly assessed that Rillir was beyond their help and, despite the Brightlord's protest, started working on the older man's wounds. They anesthetized both the father and son with dazewater, because it was the only mercy they had to offer Rillir. There was an instant where Lirin could have killed Roshone and got away with it by cutting the femoral artery of the already bleeding man, and both Lirin and Kaladin considered it. However, Lirin looked at his son's eyes and went on to saving Roshone as Rillir died. That evening, Kaladin asked why his father hadn't let Roshone die. Lirin answered that it would be murdering Roshone and that he wasn't a killer. He said the lighteyes didn't care about life, so he must. As Kaladin considered his father's words, he realized he would have killed Roshone if he were in Lirin's place. The next day, Lirin spent one of the spheres from Kaladin's education money for the first time.

In the Weeping of 1168, Brightlord Meridas Amaram visited Hearthstone with his army. As he lay on the roof of his house, Kaladin was feeling depressed and thinking dark thoughts, when Tien joined him. As he always did, he managed to cheer Kaladin a little with his optimism. The younger brother gave Kaladin an intricately carved, small wooden horse he'd made in the carpenter shop he'd been working. Hesina was amused to find his sons lying on the roof, but joined them there. When Tien included her in their conversation, she comforted him by saying things weren't as bad as they seemed, and Lirin was making them seem worse in order to make Roshone think he was winning. She told Kaladin that he was free to become whatever he wanted, not limited to surgery and said that she didn't think it would be long before men were allowed to learn to read, which made Kaladin aghast. He briefly considered how it would be to a stormwarden, but dismissed it by saying he wanted to become a surgeon. Some time later, Lirin arrived, remarked their irregularity and told there was a gathering in the town square called by Roshone. They went there to see that Laral was now engaged to Roshone himself after Rillir's death. When the crowd quited, Amaram spoke to the crowd to announce he was there to recruit new soldiers for the army. When only six men volunteered, Amaram told Roshone to announce the men they would conscript. He could not take Kaladin, because as his father's apprentice, he provided an essential function to the town. However, Tien wasn't under the same protection of the law, so Roshone got his revenge by forcing the younger boy into military. Amaram tried to get Roshone to choose someone else, but when the citylord didn't budge, he told Lirin he would make Tien a runner boy for a year or two so that he wouldn't be in combat. Looking at his younger brother, Kaladin tried to take Tien's place, but when Roshone told him law said he could choose whomever he wanted, Kaladin volunteered to join the army alongside Tien. Tien was thankful, although their parents were understandably overwhelmed. Kaladin promised them he would bring Tien back in four years. The two brother reported to the army and their drill sergeant Hav.

Amaram's Army (1168–1172)

Tien's death by user: exmakina

Tien's Death

Despite Amaram's promise to Lirin, because recruitment was slower than desired, the older messenger boys, including Tien, were soon organized into several squads of reserve units. According to Dalar, these squads would not see combat unless the army was in serious danger. Less than four months after his enlistment, Kaladin took part in his third real battle. The enemy force tried to take over a hilltop Amaram's army was trying to hold onto. As the battle went worse for the Amaram's side, messenger boys were assigned to Brightlord Sheler's company. Kaladin ran recklessly through the battlefield to reach his brother as the lines of Amaram's army buckled. On the southeast side of the hill, he saw Tien and two other boys placed in front of the enemy army as bait by Squadleader Varth. While running towards his younger brother, he killed a man for the first time, although he didn't get much chance to reflect on it in the battle chaos. The enemy soldiers took Varth's bait and killed the three boy, while Kaladin could do nothing but watch. Weeping and bleeding from wounds taken during his run, he hugged Tien's dead body until long past the end of the battle.

Stormblessed

Kaladin concept art by Ben McSweeney

In his depression, Kaladin started obsessively training with the spear. His drill sergeant was surprised with how fast Kaladin mastered the spear and soon he was known as one of the best spearman in Amaram's army. He was promoted to the rank of squadleader, earning the nickname Kaladin Stormblessed for the first time. Kaladin's squad always lost fewest men of any squad in the army, which was credited to Kaladin's luck and his bribing the army's surgeons.

Sometime during his time in the army, Kaladin attracted the honorspren Sylphrena who gave him the ability to Surgebind.

Fighting the Shardbearer

On the month of Ishi of the year 1172, Kaladin fought his final battle in Amaram's army. Prior to the battle, Kaladin met with another squadleader named Gare and two of his sergeants. As he usually did when he saw a young recruit in need of protection, Kaladin bribed Gare so the other squadleader would send Cenn to Kaladin's own squad. He went by the surgeon's station to also bribe the surgeons there to see to Kaladin's men first, although the pouch stuck to his hand by what Kaladin thought was a windspren, then he continued on his way to the front ranks of the battle line to take his place with his squad for the upcoming battle. He started telling his sergeant, Dallet, to take care of Cenn once he arrived but cut off when he saw that the younger boy had already made his way there. Dallet and Kaladin surveyed the battlefield and decided they would fight around a nearby hill. With a final counsel to Dallet to keep an eye out on Cenn, he took his place at the front of his squad after shortly conferring with another squadleader.

Once the signal to march was given, Kaladin's squad ran ahead of the rest of Amaram's army, thereby avoiding the volleys of arrows the enemy sent their way. They engaged the first enemy squad, and their discipline saw to that the enemy would retreat without Kaladin's squad taking no casualties. For the better part of an hour, they held the small hill they'd chosen as their battlefield, only engaging squads that got close to their position. The larger battle, however, didn't nearly go as well, and after the larger body of Amaram's force broke, Kaladin's squad retreated eastward, towards a larger group of soldiers that were still holding. Before they were halfway across the field however, a large group of enemy soldiers intercepted them. The two sides met in a crash, and in the chaos Cenn got too close to enemy soldiers. Kaladin rushed to the young boy's help, defeating six enemy spearmen, and saw to his wounds. Nearby an enemy battalionlord was trying to rally his soldiers to mount a counterattack. After seeing to his men, Kaladin decided to attack the enemy officer in the hopes killing a so high ranked officer would be enough to get them to the Shattered Plains. Kaladin and two of his subsquads executed their plan flawlessly, and Kaladin himself struck the killing blow on the enemy battalionlord, while the other two subsquads held back with the wounded.

As they surveyed the field, they noticed a Shardbearer cutting through Amaram's army. Kaladin ran towards the six men he'd left behind, but could not get there before the Shardbearer killed them all. In anger, Kaladin ran after the Shardbearer followed by his twenty remaining men. They reached him just as the Shardbearer was about to kill Amaram himself, and Amaram's honor guard abandoned their charge. Led by Kaladin, his men attacked the Shardbearer but were barely able to scratch the Shardplate. The man easily killed sixteen of his Kaladin's men with a few strokes of his Blade, and the last four scrambled away. Facing the Shardbearer by himself, Kaladin dodged a few of the other man's swings, then eventually killed him by ramming the broken head of his spear through the visor slit of the enemy's Plate. Kaladin's remaining men, as well as Amaram, were amazed by what Kaladin had done. Coreb tried to get him to take the Shards, but disgusted by the thought of wielding the same Blade that had claimed the lives of so many of his friends, Kaladin said he was giving them to Coreb and walked away to the warcamp, alone and crying.

Kaladin was called to the warcenter a few hours later. He sat in one of the smaller chamber mulling over the events of the day, while he waited for Amaram to come out of the conference he was holding with his counselors to discover the identity of the Shardbearer. Kaladin rose as Amaram entered the chamber along with his stormwarden, a group of lighteyed officers, one of whom was carrying the Shardblade wrapped in cloth, and the four surviving members of Kaladin's squad, followed by two of the lesser lighteyes in Amaram's honor guard. Amaram praised Kaladin on his bravery and asked why he hadn't taken the Blade. Kaladin hedged and said he wanted to give the Shards to Coreb, the best fighter among his surviving men. Without another word, Amaram ordered the men's death. Kaladin was incapacitated by Amaram's men. The Brightlord knelt on one knee next to the lying Kaladin, apologized for killing the men because he couldn't afford them to talk about what happened. He said after thinking over it for hours and being convinced by Restares he'd decided that the Blade would serve Alethkar the best with himself. Claiming it was a mercy, he had Kaladin branded as a slave for deserting the army.

Slavery (1172–1173)

Sas nahn and shash

Kaladin spent the next eight months under five different slavemasters in harsh conditions of constant beatings and deprivation. He always demanded his wages be given to him as was required by the law, but the slavemasters always managed to cheat him out of it by charging for housing or food. He managed to keep his defiance and made ten escape attempts, even managing to get away a few times, but he was always captured and taken back. Around his sixth month of slavery, he noticed a windspren following him around. He spent time with a Selay man who told him about about the Old Magic and its ability to curse people under his fifth slavemaster. In his last escape attempt, he led a group of twenty armed slaves, but all of them except Kaladin died. According to Kaladin, he should have been killed for that, but finding him "intriguing," his previous master branded his forehead with the shash glyph, meaning dangerous, in addition to the sas nahn glyphpair already there and sold him for a pittance to another slavemaster named Tvlakv.

Tvlakv brought Kaladin to the Shattered Plains and sold him to Sadeas's warcamp. Kaladin tried to convince the lighteyed woman, Brightness Hashal, who was responsible for the acquisitions of slaves to make him a spearman but was sent to the Bridge Four to work as a bridgeman in 1173 .

Bridge Four (1173)

“Shen is one of us now. I don’t care what he was before. I don’t care what any of you were. We’re Bridge Four. So is he.”

—Kaladin to the men of Bridge Four

Decision

During his time in Bridge Four, Kaladin grew more and more depressed. He eventually stopped caring about anything and Syl left Kaladin saying she would try to get back because she couldn't bear seeing Kaladin as he was. The last man from Kaladin's first bridge run died, and between that and Syl leaving, Kaladin came to the point of suicide. He went to the Honor Chasm at night. Before he jumped down, Syl came back with a leaf of blackbane, a deadly poison, hoping to make Kaladin feel better without understanding what she was bringing. Kaladin found this oddly sweet. She convinced Kaladin to try to protect the men of Bridge Four, saying there was nothing Kaladin could do to make their situation worse. Kaladin went back to the bridge sergeant Gaz, bullied and bribed him to become the bridgeleader and so Gaz would stay out of his way. That night, he learned the name of every men in Bridge Four. Next morning, Kaladin started training for bridge runs. He tried to get others to practice as well, but was ridiculed for the effort, though soon Teft and Rock started training with him. Kaladin started bringing back the wounded back at this point. Kaladin, Teft and Rock started collecting knobweed sap to use on the injured and to sell it so they could have money for supplies. Kaladin told Rock to cook meals every night and soon every man in Bridge Four accepted Kaladin as their leader and started training with him.

Side Carry

Kaladin as a bridgeman by user: exmakina

The training cut down their losses in bridge runs but Kaladin didn't feel it was enough. They started practicing carrying the bridge sideways so they could use it as a shield from the arrows. This, however, undermined the strategy of the army in the Tower and caused the army to lose the battle. As punishment, Kaladin was strung up on the side of a building facing east during a highstorm to be judged by the Stormfather. During the highstorm he had a vision of an inhuman, smiling face of darkness that was as large as he could see. His Surgebinding abilities allowed Kaladin to survive the highstorm but he was still severely injured. It took him ten days to recover, which was found to be miraculous and people started calling him Stormblessed again. Lamaril was executed and his replacement Brightlord Matal's wife, Brightness Hashal, informed Kaladin that Bridge Four would always work in chasm duty from then on. Kaladin realized that the bridgemen were bait to the Parshendi and knowing no matter how much they cut their losses it would never be enough, he proposed that they escape and started training the Bridge Four as spearmen.

Escape

During a highstorm, Kaladin dreamed he was the storm. In the dream, he followed the path of the highstorms, travelling from east to west. He raged forward just ahead of the stormwall, soaring above Roshar. He saw many places including a city that Sigzil later confirms as Sesemalex Dar. He also saw a Shin man that appeared to see Kaladin as well. Once he reached the western ocean, he heard a voice calling Kaladin Child of Tanavast. The face he saw when he was strung up in the highstorm appeared again and was revealed to be the source of the voice. The face informed Kaladin that the Oathpact was broken and Odium reigned. Kaladin woke up, finding himself surrounded by the men of Bridge Four trying to restrain him from walking out into the highstorm.

Later that day, Bridge Four got a new member, the parshman Shen. Kaladin made sure he was accepted by the rest of the men. While talking with Syl, he asked if she knew about Odium which made Syl run away without looking back. Strolling confused about what happened in the warcamp, Kaladin stumbled upon a prostitute being beaten by a lighteyes. Adolin Kholin and a few of his soldiers came and save her. Adolin told Kaladin to deliver a message and called him bridgeboy which made Kaladin indignant. Syl returned with no explanation about where she went.

In one of the next bridge runs, Dunny died. Kaladin was frustrated, and started rescuing members of the other bridge crews. Teft talked about how when Kaladin ran point, Parshendi arrows always missed them. Kaladin remarked his behavior as strange. One week later, Bridge Four found an emerald broam along with a number of smaller denominations. Kaladin decided they couldn't get the emerald broam out of the chasm but they would find a way to recover the other spheres. They attached the sphere pouch to an arrow and Rock shot it at under one of the permanent bridges to be recovered later. Teft faked throwing a punch to Kaladin and Kaladin instinctively drew in Stormlight and used Full Lashing in front of Teft and Lopen. Kaladin confronted Syl about it and asked how he could get rid of it. They argued and Syl ran away, her feelings hurt. In the evening, Kaladin met Hoid while walking around the warcamp. Hoid gave Kaladin a Trailman's flute and asked him to look after his apprentice, Sigzil, and that he was graduated to a full Worldsinger. He also told Kaladin a story about Wandersail which made Kaladin think about responsibility. Kaladin decided to use Surgebinding to help Bridge Four and that he was not cursed.

He went back to Teft and they started practicing how to use Surgebinding consciously. Teft also taught Kaladin about the Immortal Words. They ran into Brightness Hashal and his husband, Hashal informed them that Bridge Four would be on bridge duty every day from then on while doing chasm duty at nights. While doing chasm duty, Kaladin found a Parshendi corpse and cut his carapace armor. He used Full Lashing and tied the armor to the permanent bridge they had used before. The next chasm run, Kaladin wore the armor and ran ahead of the bridge crews wearing the Parshendi armor. Parshendi were angry because Kaladin had disturbed the corpse of one of their kind and focused all their archers on Kaladin. He managed to dodge them with his abilities and bridge crews managed to set their bridges without casualty. Others volunteered to run with Kaladin and they decided that five men should run before the bridge crews every time. While they were resting, a group of Parshendi soldiers ambushed Bridge Four but Dalinar Kholin came to their rescue. Kaladin told Leyten to make a set of armor for every man in Bridge Four, not just those running in front.

Battle of the Tower

In the Battle of the Tower, Sadeas abandoned Dalinar and his army in the Tower Plateau and escaped taking all of his bridge crews. Kaladin told Lamaril that they would follow behind the army with their own bridge claiming they were too tired. He thought they could fool the army into thinking they were dead by falling further and further behind. When he and Bridge Four saw Dalinar's army surrounded by the Parshendi, they decided they couldn't leave all those people to die while there was something they can do about it. Bridge Four charged to the plateau to set their bridge. Kaladin used Reverse Lashing to draw the volley of the Parshendi archers who were firing on Bridge Four. He wasn't ready for this however, and it left him unable to even stand up. Rest of the Bridge Four carried Kaladin back and returned to set the bridge. Kaladin had a flashback to when Tien was killed. Remembering gave him strength and Kaladin ran back to the fight. He took the Second Ideal of the Windrunners and almost held back dozens of Parshendi by himself, defending the bridge. Bridge Four joined him and they managed to hold the bridge until Dalinar's army arrived. Kaladin went to get Dalinar out from his fight with Eshonai. In the end, Kaladin and the Bridge Four managed to save Dalinar and over twenty-six hundred of his men. Dalinar, in his gratitude, bought all the slaves in the bridge crews from Sadeas with his Shardblade and free them. Kaladin accepted becoming bodyguard with the rank of captain for Dalinar and training the former bridgemen for Dalinar's army.

Kholin's Bodyguard (1173—)

Kaladin in uniform, by ktep

Kaladin promoted Moash, Skar, Teft, Sigzil and Rock to lieutenants, a rank which is the equivalent of sergeant in companies made solely of lighteyes, because he needs a rank between squadleader and captain to form command structure for a thousand men.

Appearance and Personality

Kaladin is a fairly tall man. He is muscular and has multiple scars on his body. He has tan skin and shoulder-length wavy black hair typical of an Alethi. He was born with dark brown eyes, though after swearing the Third Ideal of the Windrunners, his eyes turned very pale blue that glowed while holding Stormlight. Like most Rosharans, Kaladin's eyes have an epicanthic fold that appear faintly colored amber when he is holding Stormlight. His face is square and firm with strong lines and a proud chin. He prefers to be clean-shaven but during his slavery he grows a long, scraggly beard. He is branded on his forehead with a sas nahn glyphpair indicating his slavery and a shash glyph meaning dangerous.

Kaladin is a natural leader who makes people want to listen to him. Men of his squad in Amaram's army called him lucky and believed they would be protected because they were in Kaladin's squad. During his time in Bridge Four, he takes men who no longer care about anything and organizes them into an extremely loyal and well trained squad of spearmen. Dalinar Kholin remarks his men think very highly of him. He has a strong protective instinct, especially over those who are defenseless. He joins the army so he can look after his younger brother. As a squadleader, he strives to protect the men in his squad. He specifically recruits youngest members with the least training to his squad by bribing other squadleaders so he can take care of them.

Kaladin shows a deep sense of loss when those under his protection die and has a tendency toward depression in various forms. By the time he joins Bridge Four, he has lost so many people he falls into a deep depression. He thinks himself cursed because he always survives when others did not. At his lowest points, Kaladin falls into apathetic despair and becomes suicidal. He is also prone to seasonal depression, feeling a sense of heavy melancholy during the weeks of the Weeping.

As a soldier who has been raised as a surgeon, Kaladin has many conflicts about killing. He knows sometimes there is no way but to kill, but his father's about the sanctity of life are engrained too deep within him. He constantly question if it is possible to protect by killing. He carries a powerful hatred for all lighteyes during his time in Sadeas' army, fueled by the betrayals of Roshone, Amaram, Katarotam, and others. However, by the time of Dalinar's rescue and the granting of his freedom, he is beginning to show a willingness trust Dalinar. At his lowest points, Kaladin falls into apathetic despair and becomes suicidal.

Attributes and Abilities

Surgebinding

Kaladin has a Nahel bond with the honorspren Sylphrena which gives him the ability to Surgebind. He has access to the Surges of atmospheric pressure and gravity. As with all Surgebinders, he has superhuman speed, strength and healing when he holds Stormlight. He has so far demonstrated the ability to use Reverse Lashing and Full Lashing, but not Basic Lashing. Kaladin is in the process of becoming a Knight Radiant from the Order of Windrunners. He has currently taken the first and second Ideals of his order.

Kaladin is currently immune to the Thrill although that does not mean he never felt it. This may be because of his Nahel bond.

Surgery

Kaladin has been taught surgery by his father, Lirin, from an early age. As a youth, he helped his father save people in Hearthstone. Lirin thought Kaladin was very talented and wanted him to go to the Great Concourse of Kharbranth. After Kaladin joined the army, he used his skills as a surgeon to save his fellow soldiers and bridgemen.

Spearman

“I could have beaten him. I probably could have beaten all four of them. I’ve always been good with the spear. No, not good. Durk called me amazing. A natural born soldier, an artist with the spear.”

—Kaladin to Sylphrena

Kaladin is naturally talented at fighting with spears and similar polearm weapons. He first demonstrated his talent by almost beating an older boy in a quarterstaff fight although Kaladin had never used a weapon before and Jost was being trained with a quarterstaff by his father for some time. Once he joined Amaram's army, he learned the quickest among all the training men in his cohort. He almost did it without instructions, which surprised his drill sergeant Tukks, although Tukks' advice helped refine and channel his ability. After Tien's death, Kaladin spent a year training, driving himself to exhaustion each day. Over time, he grew to be reputed as the best spearman in Amaram's army. In the army, he preferred a shortspear that is a hand longer than the spears other men used with two leather knife sheaths attached to it. Teft claims he has never seen anyone fight like Kaladin, a sentiment that has been shared by others in the past. The rest of Bridge Four are amazed by his skill as well.

Quotes

“Perhaps you should pray to the Almighty for guidance. I hear he has a fondness for slavers. Keeps a special room in Damnation just for you.”

—Kaladin to Tvlakv

“Authority doesn't come from a rank. [It comes] from the men who give it to you. That's the only way to get it.”

—Kaladin to Sylphrena

“Men are unreliable in many things. But if there’s one thing you can count on, it’s their greed.”

—Kaladin to Sylphrena

“Death isn’t better. Oh, it’s easy to say that now. But when you stand on the ledge and look down into that dark, endless pit, you change your mind. Just like Hobber did. Just like I’ve done. I think you’ve seen it too.”

—Kaladin to Teft

“Tradition is the blind witness they use to condemn us, Teft. It’s the pretty box they use to wrap up their lies. It makes us serve them.”

—Kaladin about lighteyes

“Soon you’ll hardly be a spren at all. You’ll be a little translucent philosopher. We’ll have to send you off to a monastery to spend your time in deep, important thoughts.”

—Kaladin to Sylphrena

“Storm you! Look at that! Who cares for them? Not Sadeas. Not their fellow bridgemen. I doubt even the Heralds themselves spare a thought for these. I won’t stand there and watch while men die behind me. We have to be better than that! We can’t look away like the lighteyes, pretending we don’t see. This man is one of us. Just like Dunny was. The lighteyes talk about honor. They spout empty claims about their nobility. Well, I’ve only known one man in my life who was a true man of honor. He was a surgeon who would help anyone, even those who hated him. Especially those who hated him. Well, we’re going to show Gaz, and Sadeas, Hashal, and any other sodden fool who cares to watch, what he taught me. Now go to work and stop complaining!”

—Kaladin about members of other bridge crews

“I’ve been here before! What happened last time? I’ve learned! I won’t be a fool again! I owe you nothing, Kholin.”

—Kaladin yelling before helping Dalinar's army

Trivia

• Kaladin spoke the Second Ideal of the Windrunners in modern Alethi.
• Despite previous contradicting statements by Brandon, Kaladin is not likely to get another flashback book anymore.
• Kaladin was originally named Merin. One of the reasons for the name change was that Merin sounded too much like Plantilla:Wp. Another was it sounded too much like a female name. Brandon also felt that the character had changed so much that he couldn't think of him as Merin anymore.
• In the original manuscript of The Way of Kings, Kaladin saves the life of Elhokar from a Shardbearer and accepts the Shardblade. They try to take it away from him, but Dalinar insists that he be given it.