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Kaladin (edit)

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==History==
===Early Life===
Kaladin was born and raised in the town of [[Hearthstone]] in [[Sadeas]]'s princedom. His parents are [[Lirin]] and [[Hesina]], his brother is [[Tien]]. From an early age he was trained as a surgeon by his father. He was talented and learned quickly.{{ref|b|twok|c|10}} His parents wanted him to train in [[Great Concourse of Kharbranth]] with the sponsorship of the local citylord Brightlord [[Wistiow]] for the promise Kaladin would return to Hearthstone after his training was done. He was friends with the citylord's daughter [[Laral Wistiow]] to whom Kaladin's parents wanted him to eventually marry.{{ref|b|twok|c|16}} However, Brightlord Wistiow died and Lirin forged the document that would give the money set aside for Kaladin's training to them. Lirin was alone with Wistiow at the time so this couldn't be proven,{{ref|b|twok|c|37}} which made Wistiow's replacement Brightlord [[Roshone]] an enemy to Lirin which led to Kaladin's family becoming destitute{{ref|b|twok|c|31}} and eventually Tien being conscripted into service in Brightlord [[Amaram]]'s army. Kaladin promised his father that he would protect Tien and bring him back home in four years, then enlisted in the army as well.{{ref|b|twok|c|44}}
 
===Amaram's Army===
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}}
 
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.{{ref|b|twok|c|51}}
 
Sometime during his time in the army, Kaladin attracted the [[honorspren]] [[Sylphrena]] who gave him the ability to [[Surgebinding|Surgebind]].
 
===Slavery===
As a slave, Kaladin made ten escape attempts, alone or with others. 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 brings Kaladin to the [[Shattered Plains]] and sells him to [[Sadeas]]'s warcamp. Kaladin tries to convince the [[lighteyed]] woman to make him a spearman but is sent to the [[Bridge Four]] to work as a [[bridgeman]].{{ref|b|twok|c|6}}▼
 
▲Tvlakv brings Kaladin to the [[Shattered Plains]] and sells him to [[Sadeas]]'s warcamp. Kaladin tries to convince the [[lighteyed]] woman to make him a spearman but is sent to the [[Bridge Four]] to work as a [[bridgeman]].
===Bridge Four===
During his time in [[Bridge Four]], Kaladin grows more and more depressed. He stops caring about anything and Syl leaves Kaladin saying she will try to get back because she can't bear seeing Kaladin as he is.{{ref|b|twok|c|9}} The last man from Kaladin's first bridge run dies, and between that and Syl leaving, Kaladin comes to the point of suicide. He goes to the [[Honor Chasm]] at night. Before he jumps down, Syl comes back with a leaf of [[blackbane]], a deadly poison, hoping to make Kaladin feel better without understanding what she's bringing. She convinces Kaladin to try to protect the men of Bridge Four, saying there is nothing Kaladin can do to make their situation worse. Kaladin goes to the bridge sergeant [[Gaz]], bullies and bribes him to become the bridgeleader and so Gaz stays out of his way. He goes back to the barracks and learns the name of every men in Bridge Four.{{ref|b|twok|c|11}}
In Highprince Sadeas' army at the Shattered Plains, Kaladin served as a bridgeman in [[Bridge Four]]. He attracted the attention of what he believed to be an unusual [[Windspren]] named [[Sylphrena]]. She followed him around, aiding him, and the two became good friends. A bond between Kaladin and Syl gave rise to Surgebinding abilities in Kaladin which he used periodically to protect himself and Bridge Four from [[Parshendi]] arrows during bridge runs, and later to secure Parshendi carapace which he used to anger the Parshendi and draw their fire away from the bridge crews.
 
His honor also attracted the attention of Highprince [[Dalinar]] when Kaladin rescued him and his army from certain death at great risk to himself and to his bridgecrew. At the end of the day Dalinar traded his Shardblade for all of Sadeas' bridgemen who were admitted into Dalinar's forces.{{ref|b|twok|c|69}} Kaladin and Bridge Four were assigned to be Dalinar's Honor Guard and Kaladin himself was appointed as their Captain.{{ref|b|twok|c|73}}
 
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. 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}}
 
Next morning, Kaladin starts training for bridge runs. He tries to get others to practice as well, but is ridiculed for the effort,{{ref|b|twok|c|14}} though soon [[Teft]] and [[Rock]] start training with him. Kaladin starts bringing back the wounded back at this point.{{ref|b|twok|c|17}} Kaladin, Teft and Rock start collecting [[knobweed]] sap to use on the injured and to sell it so they can have money for supplies.{{ref|b|twok|c|21}} Kaladin tells Rock to cook meals every night and soon every man in Bridge Four accept Kaladin as their leader and start training with him.{{ref|b|twok|c|27}} This cuts down their losses in bridge runs but Kaladin doesn't feel it's enough. They start practicing carrying the bridge sideways so they can use it as a shield from the arrows.{{ref|b|twok|c|30}} This, however, undermines the strategy of the army and causes it to lose a battle.{{ref|b|twok|c|32}} As a punishment, Kaladin is strung up on the side of a building facing east during a [[highstorm]] to be judged by the [[Stormfather]].{{ref|b|twok|c|34}} His [[Surgebinding]] abilities allow Kaladin to survive the highstorm but he is still severely injured.{{ref|b|twok|c|38}} It takes him ten days to recover, which is found to be miraculous and people start calling him Stormblessed again.{{ref|b|twok|c|40}} Kaladin realizes that the bridgemen are bait to the [[Parshendi]] and knowing no matter how much they cut their losses it will never be enough, he proposes that they escape and starts training the Bridge Four as spearmen.{{ref|b|twok|c|43}}
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.
 
In the [[Battle of the Tower]], Kaladin and the Bridge Four save the lives of [[Dalinar Kholin]] and his men.{{ref|b|twok|c|68}} Dalinar, in return, buy all the slaves in the bridge crews from Sadeas with his Shardblade and free them.{{ref|b|twok|c|69}} Kaladin accepts becoming bodyguard with the rank of captain for Dalinar and training the former bridgemen for Dalinar's army.{{ref|b|twok|c|73}}
{{quote|Teft stood up straight, holding the dun sphere. An empty sphere after a storm, he thought. And a man who's still alive when he should be dead. Two impossibilities.
Together they bespoke something that should be even more impossible.|Teft's conclusions{{ref|b|twok|c|35}}}}
 
===Bodyguard===
Because of this "impossibilities" Teft grow curious. He took three small infused diamond spheres and put Kaladin's hand around, then he waited, making him vow Kaladin had better not die, because Teft needed answers. And, eventually, Kaladin drew in a short, quick, powerful breath and the three spheres faded.
{{spoilers| for Words of Radiance}}
Though a handful of events happened to save his life, after his own perseverance, the two main reasons were [[Teft]] further feeding him with Stormlight and Syl fighting off [[deathspren]] (which could have been hallucinations from his injured mind, or reality, either are possible) with a sword made of light.{{ref|b|twok|c|38}} Teft brought infused spheres in such a way that it would have aided in Kaladin's healing, but not so much that it would have been noticed by the other bridgemen. That caused Kaladin raise from his injuries ten days after the judgment.
Kaladin promotes [[Moash]], [[Skar]], [[Teft]], [[Sigzil]] and [[Rock]] to second captains, a rank which he invents because he needs a rank between squadleader and captain to form command structure for a thousand men.<ref>[https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VkGVO97Yq_sw3dV63j0BRw181MoIFvH_QKAYl0WU--w/edit?usp=sharing Words of Radiance Chapter 2]</ref>
 
==Appearance and Personality==
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