Difference between revisions of "Kaladin"

|booksfirst appeared=[[The StormlightWay of ArchiveKings]]

Kaladin is a very tall man, even tall by Alethi standards, standing approximately 6'4" in Rosharan feet (nearly seven cosmere standard feet).{{wob ref|12138}}{{wob ref|15034}} He is leanly muscular and has multiple scars on his body.{{book ref|sa1|6}} He has tan skin{{book ref|sa1|prologue}} and shoulder-length wavy black hair typical of an Alethi. He was born with dark brown eyes,{{book ref|sa1|1}} though after swearing the [[Immortal Words|Third Ideal]] of the [[Windrunner]]s, his eyes turn a pale, glowing blue whenever he summons [[Syl]] as a [[Shardblade]], and for a few hours after he dismisses her.{{book ref|sa3|5}} Like most Rosharans, Kaladin's eyes have an [[Wikipedia:Epicanthic fold|epicanthic fold]].{{wob ref|4079}} His face is square and firm with strong lines and a proud chin. He prefers to be clean-shaven but during his time as a slave, he grows a long, scraggly beard.{{book ref|sa1|46}} He is branded on his forehead with a ''[[Glyphs/Index#Sas|sas]] [[Glyphs/Index#Nahn|nahn]]'' [[glyphpair]] indicating his slavery and a ''shash'' [[glyph]] meaning "dangerous".{{book ref|sa1|2}} These brands disappeardisappeared after Kaladin swearsswore the Fourth Ideal.{{book ref|sa4|110}}

Kaladin has the ability to manipulate the Surges of Adhesion and Gravitation through his Nahel bond with the honorspren Sylphrena.{{book ref|sa1|57}} By breathing in Stormlight, he gains superhuman strength, speed, agility, durability, stamina, and healing, as long as he has access to Stormlight.{{book ref|sa1|62}} 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.{{book ref|sa2|52}}

After Kaladin sworeswears the Third Ideal of the Windrunners, Sylphrena gainedgains the ability to become a [[Shardblade]]. Kaladin can summon her in the form of any weapon he chooses, as well as a shield, and transform it from one to another almost instantaneously.{{book ref|sa2|86}} His preferred weapon for fighting is a spear,{{book ref|sa2|86}} but he usually summons Syl in her default Blade shape when showing her off.{{book ref|sa3|7}} Later, the Fourth Ideal allows him to additionally summon windspren and manifest them in the Physical Realm as [[Shardplate]].{{book ref|sa4|110}} His Plate glows blue at the seams, and is emblazoned with the glyph of [[Bridge Four]] on the chest. The spren that can create it are always present nearby, though not always manifest; this allows Kaladin to summon it at a moment's notice.{{book ref|sa4|114}} He can also send it out to manifest on other people and protect them this way.{{book ref|sa4|111}}

During his time in Amaram's army, Kaladin's natural talent blossomedblossoms him into a master at spear-fighting. He wasis the quickest learner among the members of his cohort. His effortless ability surprisedsurprises his drill sergeant, Tukks.{{book ref|sa1|27}} Kaladin spentspends the year after his brother's death driving himself to exhaustion each day at the practice yard. He eventually grewgrows to be known as the best spearman in Amaram's army.{{book ref|sa1|63}} He wasis able to take down six spearmen by himself in seconds, even before he discovereddiscovers his abilities as a Surgebinder.{{book ref|sa1|47}} Combined with Stormlight, he heldholds off dozens of Parshendi almost single-handedly.{{book ref|sa1|68}}

While the spear is his preferred weapon, Kaladin has training with other weapons as well. He often carries throwing knives as a secondary weapon and is able to use them with considerable accuracy.{{book ref|sa1|47}} He has at various times wielded a quarterstaff, a hammer, and a halberd.{{book ref|sa2|86}} After becoming the Kholin bodyguard, he startedstarts training with the Swordmaster Zahel, though he is by no means an expert with a sword yet.{{book ref|sa2|16}} Syl has also confirmed that Kaladin's preternatural skill with weapons, evident since the first time he picked up a quarterstaff as a boy, comes from their bond.{{book ref|sa2|52}}

Kaladin also possesses a capable mind as a military commander. He becamebecomes the youngest squadleader in Amaram's army when he wasis eighteen years old. He managedmanages to reduce the casualty rate of his squad to the lowest in the entire army.{{book ref|sa1|47}} He wasis able to train Bridge Four with barely any resources.{{book ref|sa1|73}} He is able to quickly analyze a battlefield and assess the tactical situation.{{book ref|sa1|32}}

Kaladin startedstarts training in medicine with [[Lirin|his father]] and assisting him in surgery when he wasis eight years old.{{book ref|sa1|10}} His training wasis mostly concentrated in, but not limited to, surgery. After joining the army, he hadgains considerable practice as a field medic, attending to his fellows soldiers injured in combat.{{book ref|sa1|1}} He has some level of understanding of pharmacology, as he is able to harvest and extract his own antiseptic from knobweed sap.{{book ref|sa1|23}} He also has a basic grasp of neurological disorders like epilepsy.{{book ref|sa2|41}}

Kaladin has had a varied social standing throughout his life. His birth to Lirin, a darkeyed surgeon of the second [[nahn]], setsets him at second nahn originally.{{book ref|sa1|6}} When he wasis branded a slave by Amaram, his rank changedchanges to tenth nahn, like all slaves.{{book ref|sa1|51}}{{wob ref|13069}} When Dalinar rescuedrescues him and mademakes him captain of the Kholin guard, his nahn wasis uncertain, since captain wasis a rank usually given only to lower-dahn lighteyes. During this time, he wasis treated as an oddity outside of the normal caste system by many.{{book ref|sa2|5}}

Once Kaladin beganbegins summoning Syl as a Shardblade, his eyes would temporarily change to blue, making him a lighteyes, before fading back to brown, making him darkeyed again. Dalinar decideddecides that his status as a [[Shardbearer]] mademakes him a lighteyes of the fourth dahn, regardless of his current eye color. Since fourth dahn is a landed title, Elhokar gavegives Kaladin a small piece of the [[Eastern Crownlands]] to rule over. This technically makes Kaladin a landed lord, despite him not actually having any control over his territory, as it wasis taken over by [[Voidbringers]] shortly before he obtainedobtains it.{{book ref|sa3|58}}

As Bridge Four grewgrows into the refounded Order of Windrunners, Kaladin wasis promoted from captain to highmarshal.{{book ref|sa4|3}} Shortly before the Fused occupation of Urithiru, Kaladin steppedsteps down, at Dalinar's request, and becamebecomes a surgeon.{{book ref|sa4|18}}{{book ref|sa4|10}} His notoriety as Stormblessed{{book ref|sa4|102}} and the high social status of Radiants{{book ref|sa4|25}} mademake his effective status remain high, even if he wasis technically just a surgeon. He wasis reinstated briefly as highmarshal during the occupation,{{book ref|sa4|63}} although he renounces command again upon the retaking of the tower.{{book ref|sa4|116}}

|Lirin to Kal after Miasal's death {{book ref|sa1|20}}

|Lirin to Kaladin {{book ref|sa1|41}}

|Kaladin weeping over Tien's body {{book ref|sa1|67}}

Kaladin returned to the apothecary and made a deal for his bridge crew to gather [[knobweed]] sap in return for a [[spheres|skymark]] per bottle of sap and some bandages. Upon returning from selling the sap, [[Gaz]] sent [[Bridge Four]] to do chasm duty, recovering valuables from the war dead who had fallen into the chasms. In the chasms, Kaladin continued to build rapport with the men, bringing [[Dunny]] into the fold, who sang for the men while others hovered behind. Through their work, Kaladin came across a spear in the chasms. Picking it up and holding it drew the ire of [[Moash]], [[Sigzil]], and [[Earless Jaks]], who began taunting the bridgeleader. Ignoring their gibes, Kaladin closed his eyes and went into a trance. He performed an advanced practice kata with the spear, revealing his talent as a genius spearman to the men, leaving them speechless.{{book ref|sa1|27}} This particular sequence would years later become known as the Chasm Kata.{{book ref|tsm|37}} During the display, [[Teft]], along with some of the other men, noticed an unknown spren—actually [[Syl]]—zipping around Kaladin. Through the rest of their chasm duty and on the walk back, more men started to open up. The night culminated in Kaladin using the money he had earned to purchase food and assigning [[Rock]] to cook a stew. Not a single person refused to partake in eating around the fire. The next day, a majority of the men followed his orders to rise out of bed and practice.{{book ref|sa1|27}}

|Kaladin to Rock, Teft, and Moash before the highstorm {{book ref|sa1|35}}

When readying for the assault, Elhokar gave Kaladin the duty to save the Queen and the heir. While the other with the troops storm the palace, Kaladin, Shallan, Skar, and Drehy used their Radiant powers to engage and distract the Fused. They seized the Sunwalk and the eastern gallery, using Shallan's illusions to fake their death, and meet the others in the palace.{{book ref|sa3|83}} Kaladin joined Elhokar to lead a force, including Noro's squad, up the stairs to the royal chambers. They found the queen, who has lost her mind and joined the enemy. Kaladin searched the room and Syl found little [[Gavinor]] surrounded by red spren. Using his Sylblade Kaladin cut one of the spren, and scared off the other spren. Elhokar and Kaladin then fled down the palace followed by the Queen's Guard. They were met at the bottom by a group of parshaman, led by [[Sah]], Kaladin's friend. Kaladin froze when he noticed he had friends in multiple of the fighting groups, the conflicting loyalties overwhelming him. He tried to stop the fighting, but his efforts were in vain. He was watching Elhokar starting to speak the First Ideal, when [[Moash]] came in and killed the king. Drehy, Skar, and Adolin enter just in time to save Kaladin and pull him to safety.{{book ref|sa3|84}} Kaladin was in shock and watched while Shallan activated the Oathgate and the group ended up accidentally in in Shadesmar.{{book ref|sa3|85}}

The honorspren sailed south-west, letting the group move freely on deck except Syl who was kept captive. Kaladin was very angry over Syl's imprisonment, and wanted to fight her free. Eventually, Kal went to the high deck to use a spyglass. HeAfter confronteda conversation with [[Notum]], the captain of the ship, Kaladin started contemplating the Windrunners' Ideals. He felt himself afraid of drawing closer to the Fourth Ideal because of what it might demand of him. This contemplation seemed to cause the first step of manifestating living Shardplate in the form of pinpricks of light trailing soft luminescence in the air next to him. This made some mistspren gasp, whisper, and move away, presumably to fetch the captain. Kaladin was then also able to mentally communicate with Syl, who was still in the processhold. The captain confirmed to him that the lights were windspren, an uncommon sight in Shadesmar, as they live almost completely in the Physical Realm. In this conversation with the captain, he revealed that Dalinar had bonded the Stormfather, which impressed the honorspren very much. Shortly thereafter, they spotedspotted eight Fused in pursuit of the ship.{{book ref|sa3|108}} They were close to [[Longbrow's Straits]], here a land area, with Thaylen City on the other side. Using the bead of a room, Adolin, Shallan, Kaladin, and their spren snuck into the bead ocean while the honorspren and Azure held off the Fused. Kaladin flew them part of the distance, and the group had an exhausting hike across the land to get to the Thaylen City Oathgate, only to find it guarded.{{book ref|sa3|110}}{{book ref|sa3|112}} The group attacked the Oathgate in an attempt to get back to the Physical Realm.{{book ref|sa3|115}} Kaladin used some of the remaining stormlight to attack the Fused, he managed to draw four into an extended chase.{{book ref|sa3|116}} he managed to disarm one of them, and one of the others offered a challenge. Exactly then his stormlight ran out, and he dropped into the beads. Syl pulled him out of the beads, and during the whole fight encouraged him to speak the fourth ideal. Kaladin wasn't ready yet.{{book ref|sa3|117}}

Kaladin first sees Adolin saving a darkeyed prostitute who is being harassed by some lighteyed officers. Despite this, Kaladin, due to his past interactions with lighteyes, marks it up as an act.{{book ref|sa1|46}} Their relationship sours even more when they next meet face-to-face, with Kaladin seeing Adolin as spoiled and arrogant and Adolin disliking Kaladin's condescending attitude and willingness to order those clearly above him in rank. Their interactions manifest in glares and taunts with each only tolerating the other out of necessity.{{book ref|sa1|68}}

Later, when Kaladin and Shallan are both stranded in the chasms of the [[Shattered Plains]], they grow to respect and admire one another. During this time, they reveal some of their personal history and secrets to each other, including the fact that Shallan has a Shardblade.{{book ref|sa2|74}} Although unsure of their own natures as members of the Knights Radiant, this incident causes them to suspect each other of being more than meets the eye. As time passes, the two of them grow closer together, with Shallan admitting that Veil is attracted to him.{{book ref|sa3|121}} In the end, however, she chooses Adolin instead. When Syl asks how Kaladin feels about this, he claims that she lifted his burdens a bit and reminded him of Tien (possibly since they were both LighweaversLightweavers), but that he never actually loved her.{{book ref|sa3|121}}

* During the events of ''Rhythm of War'', Kaladin was as close as it was humanly possible to be to the 4thfourth Ideal, without having sworn it. This, along with how much he exemplified Windrunner-hood, allowed him to resist the effects of the partially corrupted Sibling's influence. {{wob ref|14523}}