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 an Alethi Knight Radiant from the Order of Windrunners. He was born in 1153 in the town of Hearthstone. He was trained from an early age in medicine by his father, until he joined Amaram's army as a spearman at age fifteen. Kaladin eventually rose to the rank of squadleader. Near the end of Kaladin's four years term, the army's commander Brightlord Meridas Amaram was attacked by a full Shardbearer in battle. Kaladin fought and killed the Shardbearer, however he was captured and sold into slavery by Amaram, so that the lighteyed man could claim the fallen assassin's Shards.

Kaladin spent eight months under various slavemasters, until he was eventually sold to Sadeas' warcamp to work as a bridgeman in the Shattered Plains. He became the leader of Bridge Four, whom he trained as spearmen in secret. Bridge Four saved the lives of Dalinar Kholin and a sizable part of his army at the Battle of the Tower. In gratitude, Kholin freed them and offered them to become his bodyguards with Kaladin being given the rank of captain—a first for a darkeyes. During his time as bodyguard, Kaladin fought the Assassin in White, and saved King Elhokar from other assassins. He engaged the Assassin in White for the second time at the Battle of Narak and, this time, defeated him. When Urithiru was discovered, he became one of the four founding members of the post-Recreance-era Knights Radiant.

History

Early Life (1153–1168)

Childhood

Kaladin was born in late 1153 to his father Lirin, a surgeon, and mother Hesina in the town of Hearthstone in the Sadeas princedom. Two years later, his younger brother Tien is born. His entire family is of the second nahn, which outranks the other inhabitants of the town, who are mostly of fourth and fifth nahn. Due to this rank disparity and the superstitions surrounding his father's work, Kaladin grows up mostly in isolation. As a result, he is very close with his brother and, after being encouraged by his family, becomes friends with Laral Wistiow, the daughter of the citylord. As a youth, he dislikes his name "Kaladin" because he thinks that it is a lighteyes name; instead he goes by "Kal." When he reaches eight, his father starts training Kaladin in surgery. Kaladin is talented and learns quickly.

Kaladin as a child by User: Botanicaxu

Surgery on Sani

In 1164, at the age of ten, Kaladin helps his father perform a surgery on a fifteen-year-old girl named Sani, who has badly injured her safehand. Late to the surgery, Kaladin inspects the patient and is told to wash his hands. The two then remove the makeshift bandages on Sani's hand, and Kaladin sees they would have to amputate the girl's third finger. Lirin does the actual amputating while Kaladin helps him as a nurse. They finish the surgery, able to save Sani's other four fingers, and apply antiseptic and bandages.

When they are finished, Lirin addresses Kaladin's performance of the surgery. Lirin tells Kaladin that he needs to address his nerves and to not let caring for his patients interfere with his work. Upon being questioned about his tardiness, Kaladin tells Lirin that he and Tien were watching Jam, an older boy, demonstrate the quarterstaff fighting that his father taught him. This leads into an argument over the relative value of soldiers and surgeons to society; these two conflicts—caring too much and Kaladin's role in society—continue to plague Kaladin throughout his life. Eventually his father tells Kaladin there are two kinds of people in the world: those who save lives and those who take lives. Lirin eventually ends the conversation by praising Kaladin's medical talent and tells Kaladin that he would like to send him to Kharbranth when he turns sixteen so that he can train with true surgeons.

Wistiow's Death

Kaladin and Tien by User: Botanicaxu

In mid-1166, Kaladin starts a sober conversation with Laral when he tells her that Lirin wants to send him to Kharbranth to train as a surgeon. Laral, angry at Kaladin for not telling her of his father's intentions, chastises him. She tries to convince him to join the army by recounting Alethkar's military heritage and repeating the legend that a darkeyes who wins a Shardblade on the battlefield will become a lighteyes, thus worthy of marrying into a lighteyed family. Though the two are mutually attracted to each other, Kaladin misses Laral's implication that the two could then marry if Kaladin raises his rank.

Throughout their conversation, they are joined by Tien. Tien, in an attempt to cheer up Kaladin, shows Kaladin a rock he finds that has a distinctive pattern on it, visible only when wet. This, surprisingly, has an uplifting effect on Kaladin. Kaladin suggests to Tien that he goes to play with some lurgs, a type of insect, which he does.

As Tien leaves, Kaladin and Laral resume their conversation and see a group of older boys, sons of farmers, walking past. Led by Laral, the two go to investigate. In the ensuring conversation, the boys ask Kaladin whether he knows anything about a darkeyes becoming a lighteyes. One of the boys, Jost, claims his father had won a Shardblade in the wastescum skirmishes in the north but that it was stolen by another soldier while his father was unconscious on the battlefield. At Laral's prompting, Kaladin points out that there weren't any Shardbearers in those battles. Jost grows angry at Kaladin and challenges Kaladin to a fight with quarterstaffs. Not wanting to back down in front of Laral, Kaladin accepts. Initially overwhelmed by Jost, Kaladin beats the older boy down while marveling at the feeling of the staff in his hands. His natural talent for wielding spears unleashed for the first time, Kaladin restrains himself from attacking further due to the fact that it was the first time he had ever hurt someone. Jost, not having the same inhibition, beats Kaladin to the ground. Kaladin, who is enthralled with the feeling of the staff in his hands, begs Jost to teach him how to fight. Jost declines, accepting his position in life, saying "You go be what you are, Kal. I'll be what I am." Meanwhile, Laral leaves for her home without saying anything or helping Kaladin.

Eventually, Kaladin returns home with Tien while contemplating what he wants to be. When they get home, Lirin tells Kaladin that Citylord Wistiow has died, and unveils a goblet full of spheres: a bequest from Wistiow on his deathbed to Kaladin so that he can study in Kharbranth when he is sixteen.

Roshone's Arrival

Two months later, a thirteen-year-old Kaladin attempts to treat a five-year-old girl named Miasal on his own. The girl had suffered a compound fracture in her leg, a bleeding head wound, and bleeding due to a severed artery in her lower leg. Kaladin cauterizes the wound and ties off the artery, but he is too late as the little girl dies due to blood loss. An hour later, his father finds Kaladin in front of the surgery room crying to himself. Lirin tells him he is proud of Kaladin's work and there was nothing he could have done to stop the girl's death. Kaladin tells Lirin he doesn't want to be a surgeon, but Lirin answers he would have to learn when to care.

Towards the end of 1166, Kaladin overhears Nanha Terith and Nanha Relina talking about his family. The two disparage Lirin's profession and claim that Lirin stole the spheres from Wistiow. Angered, Kaladin passively confronts the two as he makes sure he is seen when he passes by. When he returns home, he confronts his mother about the things he has heard, but his mother convinces him to not hate the ignorant townspeople because they are afraid of what they do not understand. Their conversation turns to Kaladin's own future and he realizes that the reason his parents had encouraged him to spend time with Laral was because they hoped the two would marry. As Kaladin mulls over their conversation, Lirin arrives with news that the new citylord has arrived. The family make their way to the town square in time to see Citylord Roshone arrive, however, he does not give any speeches or introductions to the townspeople as they had expected. At Lirin's offer to show him around the town, Roshone merely acknowledges him as the person that allowed Wistiow to die and continues towards the citylord's mansion.

Conflict with Roshone

Citylord Roshone's arrival brings misfortune to Kaladin's family. Believing that Lirin stole the spheres that Wistiow bequeathed to Kaladin, he influences the townspeople to stop making donations for Lirin's work. Since Lirin only accepts donations as payment for his services—refusing to charge money—his family loses its primary source of income. Tien starts working as a carpenter's apprentice while Kaladin is still debating whether he wants to join the army or become a surgeon.

One night, when Kaladin is fourteen and a half, a group of men break into Kaladin's house while he and his father are inside. Lirin confronts the men, who were not expecting anyone to be home. The men demand that Lirin hand over Wistiow's spheres; instead, Lirin uncovers the light of the spheres, exposing the intruders not as highwaymen but members of the town: Luten, Horl and Balsas. Upon being confronted, the men leave without taking the spheres or harming Kaladin's family.

Four months after the townspeople stop their donations, Roshone invites Lirin to the mansion for dinner. Although Lirin and Hesina try to hide the meeting from Kaladin, he finds out anyway and attends the meeting with Lirin. When they arrive, Roshone treats the two with contempt and insults not only Lirin and Kaladin, but the town itself. As the conversation progresses, Kaladin is sent out of the room to the kitchens by Lirin, under the pretense of finding a more appropriate child's meal. While in the kitchens, Roshone's son Rillir and Laral walk in together. Treating Kaladin as a servant, Rillir orders Kaladin to fetch supper for him. Kaladin refuses and argues with Rillir, but ends up humiliated while Laral does nothing to help Kaladin.

As they leave the mansion, Kaladin realizes that his father had, in fact, stolen the spheres from Wistiow. Lirin claims that the spheres were promised to Kaladin and Wistiow would have given them the spheres if he were lucid. Kaladin is humiliated and angry at the experience and his discriminatory treatment by the lighteyes. Though Kaladin is darkeyed, he desperately wants to be acknowledged as an equal from the lighteyes. Kaladin asks his father to call him by his full name instead of his nickname "Kal", finally embracing his lighteyed-sounding name and the dual nature it implies. Kaladin resolves to become a surgeon, even if he has to use stolen spheres, although he would repay Laral eventually.

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 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 at 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 her 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 at the Tower Plateau, escaping with all of his bridge crews. Kaladin told Lamaril that they would follow behind the army with their own bridge, claiming they were too tired to keep pace. Kaladin believed they could fool the army into thinking they were dead by falling further and further behind. However, when he and Bridge Four saw Dalinar's army surrounded by the overwhelming numbers of Parshendi, they decided they couldn't abandon them all to die alone.

Bridge Four charged the plateau to set their bridge and give Dalinar's army a chance to escape. As the Parshendi archers on the Tower opened fire on Bridge Four, Kaladin instinctively used a Reverse Lashing to draw the entire volley of Parshendi arrows to his shield. Exhausted by the effort and expended of all his reserve Stormlight, Kaladin collapsed to the ground. The rest of Bridge Four rescued him from the front lines and continued to set the bridge. Surrendering to his fatigue, Kaladin nearly fell to depression, believing he had failed to protect Bridge Four just as he had failed to protect Tien years ago.

Regaining consciousness, Kaladin shook off his dark memories and ran to Bridge Four's aid. At the urging of Syl, he spoke the Second Ideal of the Windrunners, exploding with Stormlight and pushing back the Parshendi attacking Bridge Four with incredible speed and power. Amazed at his recovery and awed by the Stormlight still radiating from his body, his bridge crew joined him against the attackers and held the bridge until Dalinar's army arrived.

Fighting through to reach Adolin, Kaladin convinced him to order a retreat, and then single-handedly rescued Dalinar, still dazed from his battle with Eshonai. In the end, Kaladin and 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 for the price of his Shardblade and then immediately freed them. Kaladin accepted Dalinar's offer to become his bodyguard, with the rank of captain, and was charged with 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 and Syl by User:Khal

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 the ability to manipulate the Surges of Adhesion and Gravitation through his Nahel bond with the honorspren Sylphrena. By breathing in Stormlight, he gains superhuman strength, speed, agility, durability, stamina, and healing, as long as he has access to Stormlight. While his honorspren is present with him, his movements are enhanced by her, which Kaladin describes as "being guided by the wind." This gives Kaladin a superior natural fighting talent, although it does not replace skill by itself. After Kaladin swore the third Ideal of the Windrunners, Sylphrena gained the ability to become a Shardblade. Unlike the dead Blades left after the Recreance, Kaladin can summon his as any weapon he chooses, as well as a shield, and transform it from one to another almost instantaneously.

Adhesion

Full Lashing is the first of the Three Lashings Kaladin mastered, and the first he used consciously. He was able to bond fist-sized rocks to a sheer chasm wall and create a ladder. He used Full Lashing to disarm his opponents by yanking their weapons with his own and neutralize them by bonding them to surfaces, while sparring, although he stated he felt awkward due to lack of practice. His Full Lashing had no effect on himself at this time. He later bound himself to the saddle of his horse, demonstrating that he can choose when his Full Lashing would bond him or ignore him.

Gravity

Though he has never used it consciously, Kaladin performed Reverse Lashings during the bridge runs for the entirety of his time as a bridgeman. He instinctively managed to infuse the bridge he carried to attract the Parshendi arrow shot at him while approaching the target plateaus. Later at the Battle of the Tower, he infused the shield he was carrying to draw an entire volley of arrow shot at the Bridge Four.

After his encounter with the Assassin in White, he managed to duplicate the ability to perform Basic Lashings. Initially he had problems adjusting to the sudden change of perspective, but with practice, he managed to push down his panic and become accustomed to the altered gravity. He has discovered how to perform multiple Lashings in the same or different directions, as well as partial Lashings, though he has not managed the accuracy necessary to perform, for example, a half Lashing which would make him weightless. He has achieved "flight" by Lashing himself to the air and shown that he can keep up with a more experienced Surgebinder like Szeth.

Combat Skills

“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 claimed he had never seen anyone fight like Kaladin, a sentiment that had been shared by others in the past.

Medicine

Kaladin was trained in medicine by his father and assisted him in surgery since he was eight years old. His training was mostly concentrated in, but not limited to, surgery. After joining the army, he had considerably practice as a field medic, attending to his fellows soldiers injured in combat. He showed to have at least a basic understanding of pharmacology when he harvested and extracted his own antiseptic from knobweed sap. He also demonstrated knowledge in neurological disorders like epilepsy. After joining the army, he had considerably practice as a field medic, attending to his fellows soldiers injured in combat.

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 is currently immune to the Thrill although that does not mean he never felt it.
• 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 Perrin. 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.