Difference between revisions of "Tien"

|born={{Rosharan date|1155}}{{book ref|sa1|44}}<!-- Tien is 13 when he is recruited to Amaram's army, five years before the events of tWoK, which is set in 1173-->

|died={{Rosharan date|1168}}{{book ref|sa1|46}}

|profession= Carpenter’s apprentice, Soldier in {{tag+|army|Amaram's}}

|birthplace=Hearthstone

 

== Appearance and Personality ==

He has a mix of unruly brown and black hair, and is small for his age.{{book ref|sa1|16}}{{book ref|sa1|44}} He has a slight build and round cheeks that are often flush and due to his size and childlike features, Tien is often mistake for being younger than his actual age.{{book ref|sa1|16}} This has led to him being mocked on occasion by the other children in [[Hearthstone]].{{book ref|sa|25}} Despite [[Roshone]]'s treatment of his family and the towns ostracism, Tien liked living in Hearthstone and had not considered moving away before being conscripted.{{book ref|sa1|44}}

 

Tien has a fixation with rocks, of which he owns a large catalogued collection.{{book ref|sa1|16}} Some of the rocks in Tien’s collection show off hidden strata if doused with water{{book ref|sa1|16}} or change color under certain lights.{{book ref|sa1|37}} Due to his aversion with blood, Tien is unable to apprentice to his father and instead works for [[Ral]], the town carpenter.{{book ref|sa1|44}} Ral finds his apprentice frustrating as Tien is easily distractible and will work on his own projects instead of those set by his master.{{book ref|sa1|44}}

 

 

== History ==

They began looking for lurgs, quickly finding one amongst the boulders. After Laral joined them, they dissolved the lurg's cocoon to watch it jump around, looking for food. When the creature settled down to respin its cocoon, Kaladin manipulated it onto a rock so that it could be moved around without being further disturbed. He gave the the lurg to Tien, who then moved off to search for more of the amphibians. While he searched, Tien’s brother and Laral moved down the hill to speak with some of the other children in the town and a fight broke out. After the other boys had left, Tien gifted his brother another stone that he had found while lung hunting.{{book ref|sa1|16}}

 

When Tien was eleven years old, the governance of Hearthstone was taken over by Brightlord [[Roshone]]. On the day of Roshone’s arrival, Tien was waiting for his family in the square, having saved them places near the water barrels. Despite Tien’s father’s attempts to welcome the new citylord, the initial introduction of Roshone went poorly.{{book ref|sa1|25}}

 

Life for the family continued to get worse after Tien’s father had been unable to save the life of Roshone’s son, [[Rillir]]. When Rillir was brought to Lirin after being attacked by a [[whitespine]], Tien was pulled away from the surgery room by his mother, due to his aversion to blood.{{book ref|sa1|41}}

 

{{quote

| It’s not as bad as it seems, Kaladin... Things are never as bad as they seem. You’ll see.

 

Six months later, Tien found his brother on the roof of their house. Knowing Kaladin often struggled during the [[Weeping]], Tien did what he could to support his brother, sitting with him and giving him an intricately carving of a horse.{{book ref|sa1|44}} Unable to work as a surgeon’s assistant, Tien had been taken on by the town’s carpenter, [[Ral]]. Tien had a natural talent for carving, however often got distracted, to the displeasure of his master. Ral often got frustrated at Tien, though did admit that the boy had a talent for woodcarving.{{book ref|sa1|44}}

The thought of joining the army terrified Tien. Unable to let the matter lie, Kaladin offered to take his brother’s place, however Roshone was insistent. Kaladin enlisted along side his brother, in the hopes of keeping him safe and they both moved away from [[Hearthstone]].{{book ref|sa1|44}}

 

{{quote

| Gotta do what you can to stay alive, son. Turn a liability into an advantage whenever you can. Remember that, if you live.

 

Tien and Kaladin were separated after being drafted, despite Kaladin's belief that they were meant to assigned to the same squad. Kaladin searched for his brother after their separation, enlisting the help of his squad leader [[Tukks]], who eventually located Tien in squad seven. While in squad seven, Tien was given rudimentary training with a spear, and then shifted into a deep reserve unit. Tien hoped that he would be able to travel to the [[Shattered Plains]] to join the King's army.{{book ref|sa1|4}}{{book ref|sa3|91}}

Kaladin, who had been looking for his brother during the battle, arrived moments before Tien was struck down and killed. He lay on the battlefield with his brother’s corpse for hours, not returning to camp until long after the battle had ended. Tien’s parents received notice of his death from Kaladin, shortly after the incident.{{book ref|sa1|67}}

 

{{quote

| How is it you can always smile?... It’s dreadful outside, your master treats you like crem, and your family is slowly being strangled by the citylord. And yet you smile. How, Tien? And why is it that you make me want to smile too?

 

Tien is almost always able to lift his brother's mood and helps [[Kaladin]] during his bouts of depression.{{book ref|sa1|16}} He often gifts Kaladin rocks, as a way to try and help him feel better,{{book ref|sa1|16}} but is also a good judge of when Kaladin needs company verses support.{{book ref|sa1|44}} Despite Kaladin’s request of his brother, Tien always called him by his full name instead of his childhood nickname of Kal.{{book ref|sa1|16}}

</gallery>

 

 

== Notes ==