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{{quote|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{{ref|b|twok|c|14}}}}
'''Kaladin''', nicknamed '''Kal''', renowned as '''Kaladin Stormblessed''', is a [[darkeyes|darkeyed]] [[Alethi]] male [[Surgebinder]] who is on the path to becoming one of the first [[Knights Radiant]] since the [[Recreance]] on [[Roshar]]. He was born in [[Hearthstone]] to
Only a few months later, Tien died in battle while Kaladin could do nothing but watch. Extremely depressed by this, Kaladin obsessively threw himself to his spear fighting practices. He was soon renowned as the best spearman in Amaram's army, and promoted to the rank of squadleader and given his own squad. In Kaladin's final battle in Amaram's army in 1172, a [[Shardbearer]] tried to kill the Brightlord. Instead, Kaladin fought and killed the man and saved Amaram's life, but lost almost all of his soldiers in the process. Disgusted by the [[Shardplate]] and [[Shardblade|Blade]] that had been used to kill so many of his friends, Kaladin refused to take them up, and gave them to one of the few surviving members of his squad. Amaram, however, wanted the Shards for himself, and had Kaladin's men killed and Kaladin branded as a slave.
Kaladin grew more and more despaired during his time as a bridgeman. He eventually came close to committing suicide, but was convinced by the [[honorspren]] [[Sylphrena]] to try one last time to protect the bridgemen. He spent the subsequent period trying to win the loyalty of the bridgemen, and, once he did, to find a way to save their lives. He tried to establish training regiments, and alternative methods of carrying the bridge. After he caused a battle to be lost in a disastrous attempt to carry the bridge sideways, he realized that the purpose of the bridgemen was to be bait to the [[Parshendi]] arrows, and decided if they wanted to live, they would have to escape. He started training the Bridge Four as spearmen so they could fight when they escaped. 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, a first for a darkeyes, and given command of a thousand former bridgemen. Along with training his men, Dalinar gave Kaladin the responsibility to protect himself, [[Elhokar Kholin|the
== Appearance and Personality ==
== History ==
=== Early Life ===
==== 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]]. When he reached age eight, his father started training Kaladin in surgery. He was talented and learned quickly.{{ref|b|twok|c|10}}
===== Surgery on Sani =====
[[File:Kaladin_young.jpg|200px|thumb|left|Kaladin as a child by [http://botanicaxu.tumblr.com Botanica Xu]]]
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 [[Herald]]s 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 save lives, and those who take 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.{{ref|b|sa1|c|10}}
==== Wistiow's Death ====
In mid 1166, Kaladin told
==== 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.{{ref|b|sa1|c|20}}
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.{{ref|b|sa1|c|25}}
==== 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 [[Stormlight|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.{{ref|b|sa1|c|31}}
==== Joining the Army ====
=== Amaram's Army ===
==== Training ====
[[File:Kaladin.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Kaladin concept art by [[Ben McSweeney]]]]
Despite Amaram's promise that Tien would work as a messenger boy, he was sent to battle after a few months where he was put in front of the advancing enemy to soften their attack. Kaladin tried to come to his help but he could only watch as his brother was killed by the enemy.{{ref|b|twok|c|67}} In his depression, Kaladin started obsessively training with the spear.{{ref|b|twok|c|68}} 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.{{ref|b|twok|c|27}} 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.{{ref|b|twok|c|1}}▼
==== Tien's Death ====
Despite Amaram's promise that Tien would work as a messenger boy, he was sent to battle after a few months where he was put in front of the advancing enemy to soften their attack. Kaladin tried to come to his help but he could only watch as his brother was killed by the enemy.{{ref|b|twok|c|67}}
==== Becoming Squadleader ====
▲
Sometime during his time in the army, Kaladin attracted the [[honorspren]] [[Sylphrena]] who gave him the ability to [[Surgebinding|Surgebind]].
==== Fighting the Shardbearer ====
In his final battle in the army, Kaladin killed a [[Shardbearer]] to save the life of the army's leader [[Amaram]]. The Shardbearer killed all but a few of Kaladin's men. Kaladin was disgusted with the thought of wearing the [[Shardplate]] and [[Shardblade]] that caused the death of so many of his men, so he tried to give the Shards to one of his subordinates.{{ref|b|twok|c|47}} However, Amaram, on the advice of his advisors and [[Restares]], laid claim to the weapon and armor for himself claiming it was for the greater good, then executed all witnesses and branded Kaladin a slave as what he called was a mercy in {{date|1172|EoS}}.{{ref|b|twok|c|51}}
=== Slavery ===
As a slave, Kaladin made ten escape attempts with ten successive groups of slaves. Sometimes he managed to escape but they always caught him again. After one of his escape attempts, he was branded with a ''shash'' [[glyph]], meaning ''dangerous''. He was eventually bought by a slaver named [[Tvlakv]].{{ref|b|twok|c|2}} 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 {{date|1173|EoS}}.{{ref|b|twok|c|6}}
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