Difference between revisions of "Kaladin"

Kaladin had been trying to figure out a way to protect his men from the hail of arrows that were encountered during each bridge run. His first thought was to give each man a shield to protect themselves, but since [[Sadeas]] had tried and abandoned this idea prior to Kaladin's time as bridgeman, he looked for another solution. Realizing that the bridge itself was as good as a shield, he trained his men to carry it in a way as to protect them during a volley of arrows. The maneuver he called "side carry right/left" worked as intended, but made the bridge crews less enticing targets to the archers and lead to the [[Parshendi]] firing at the bulk of the army, which was the very reason the shields were taken away to begin with. The attempt Kaladin made to save his men ended up costing Sadeas the battle, and many soldiers, leaving someone to answer for the events, and Kaladin became the main target.{{ref|b|twok|c|32}}

The punishment was to be left tied up, upside down, outside his barrack, all during a highstorm.{{ref|b|twok|c|34}} This left his fate in the hands of the [[Stormfather]]. There was rarely if ever a survivor of this type of punishment, so in essence it was a death sentence. Just before being left alone, Kaladin told the men that he would survive, then told [[Syl]] after she asked how he knew that, that he was 'in for all,' meaning, that if he died the men would say "I knew it would happen." and nothing would change, but if he lived, it made him a miracle and he had predicted it. Which would inspire hope in the men.

Leaving Kaladin before the highstorm met, Teft gave him a (dun) sphere as kind of a mojo. {{ref|b|twok|c|34}}

{{quote|Carry a sphere with you into the storm, and at least you’ll have light by which to see.|Kaladin remembering an old saying{{ref|b|twok|c|34}}}}

When the men of Bridge Four found Kaladin alive after the storm, they saved him and brought him into the barrack to patch him up. Teft found Kaladin still holding that sphere, but against all logic, that sphere was dun, as for spheres were stored outside in a highstorm to get infused with Stormlight. When he realized the sphere was still dun, Teft thought of both Kaladin's survival and the sphere being dun as "impossibilities."

His personality varied with the events of his life, as a child he was enthusiastic and had a strong sense of justice and responsibility, wishing at various stages to become a soldier to protect his country and a surgeon to heal the people of his town. In Amaram's army he became a strong and confident leader, leading his squad through the battles, he cared deeply for his men, bribing the armies surgeons to treat his men before all except the wounded lighteyes. After being sold into slavery Kaladin became frequently withdrawn and depressed, as it seemed to him that he lost everyone who he tried to save, he maintained a rebellious streak, making frequent escape attempts and possibly planning to kill the leader of the slave caravan with a poisonous leaf he found. After joining Bridge Four Kaladin attempted to gain back his former confidence and leadership from his soldiering days, and trying to inspire the other bridgemen. However the continual setbacks they suffered still left him sometimes depressed and pessimistic about their situation, SylphrenaSyl usually pulled him out of these episodes, offering him hope for the future. By the time Bridge Four rescued Dalinar's army Kaladin had more or less regained his former leadership and confidence, bolstered further by his new Surgebinding abilities.

Kaladin learned knowledge of surgery from an apprenticeship with his father. Heand was an extremely skilled spearman, possibly the best in Brightlord Amaram's army.{{ref|b|TWoK|c|1}} He is in the process of discovering the extent of his abilities as a [[Windrunner]] and has effectively used both a Reverse Lashing and Full Lashing as well as being able to inhale Stormlight which improves his speed, strength and healing.