Tien
| Tien | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 by Silver Stars
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| Born | 1155[citation needed] | ||||||
| Died | 1168[1] | ||||||
| Profession | Conscripted into Amaram's army | ||||||
| Birthplace | Hearthstone | ||||||
| Nationality | Alethi | ||||||
| Homeworld | Roshar | ||||||
Tien is second son of Lirin and Hesina and brother to Kaladin and Oroden.[2][citation needed] Tien is two years Kaladin’s junior and eighteen years older than Oroden. He is pressed into Highmarshal Amaram’s army, where he is killed during battle.[citation needed]
Appearance and Personality
He has a mix of unruly brown and black hair, and is small for his age.[2][3] He has a slight build and round cheeks that are often flush.[2] Due to his size and childlike features, Tien is often mistake for being younger than his actual age.[2]
Tien has a fixation with rocks, of which he owns a large catalogued collection.[2] Some of the rocks in Tien’s collection show off hidden strata when wetted[2] or change color under certain lights.[citation needed] Tien is an excitable person and always seems to find beauty in things that others would consider mundane.[2]
An image of Kaladin holding Tien's body by User: beneathsilverstars
An image of Tien's death by User: Exmakina
Young Kaladin and Tien by User:Botanicaxu
History
Growing up, Tien would often spend time with his brother Kaladin and Laral, climbing rocks and searching for Lurgs.[2] Of the theee of them, Laral was always the better climber.[2]
In Hearthstone, he is apprenticed to a carpenter named Ral as he does not have the stomach to become an assistant to his father. Tien habitually makes intricate carvings, and is distracted from the more "useful" work easily.[3]
He is pressed into Brightlord Amaram's army by Brightlord Roshone when he is thirteen. Amaram promises his parents that Tien will be a messenger,[3] but he is later put on the battlefield when there is a shortage of regular soldiers. Without any training and unable to use a spear correctly, Tien is killed by an enemy lighteyes officer four months after being drafted.[1] Although he progresses into his teens throughout The Way of Kings, he always seemed to act childishly. For Kaladin, he was a beacon of light during the harder days of life in Hearthstone; specifically during the Weeping. He has a knack for finding stones and finding something special in them. In many ways, this symbolizes his youthful characteristics and his way of finding the best in people. His death on the battlefield shook Kaladin greatly, and Kaladin still grieves his death every day.
Before his death, Tien was starting to bond with a Cryptic.[4]
Relationships
Kaladin
Tien is almost always able to lift his brothers mood and helps Kaladin during his bouts of depression.[2] He often gifts Kaladin rocks, as a way to try and help him feel better.[2] Despite Kaladin’s requests of his brother, Tien always calls him by his full name instead of by his childhood nickname of Kal.[2]
Tien and Kaladin often spend time together as children and once joked about dropping lurgs into their fathers bath.[2] During their childhoods, they would also often wrestle for fun.[2]