Difference between revisions of "User:Ammcclain15/kaladin"

 

Before Kaladin could step off the ledge, [[Syl]] returned, excitedly carrying a leaf of [[blackbane]] with her. Syl, in her naivety, having seen Kaladin previously take heart in having the poisonous leaves with him, assumed they would make Kaladin feel better. Syl recalled how everything seemed to go wrong when he lost the leaves, how he used to fight and make his soldiers feel like family. She admitted that was one of the things that drew her to him to begin with. Kaladin just lamented that he failed, that everything he touches withers and dies. Syl pleaded with him to give it one more try, reminding him that he couldn’t hurt the bridgemen any worse. Opening his eyes, he left the chasm and resolved himself to become bridgeleader. He marched up to [[Gaz]] and seized the man by the throat, sweeping his legs out from under him. Kaladin then intimidated and bribed the man into giving him the position along with the autonomy to run Bridge Four. Entering Bridge Four’s barrack that night, Kaladin found the men all huddled inside just as he left them. Kaladin visited with each man, introducing himself as bridgeleader and learning each of their names. Later, Kaladin went to sleep with a sense of purpose in protecting the men.{{book ref|sa1|11}}

 

====Reforming Bridge Four====

Because bridgemen were supposed to be expendable, Kaladin was told that he could keep tending to the wounded men, but they would not be paid or fed while they were unable to work. Not wanting to give in to Brightlord [[Torol Sadeas|Sadeas]], the bridgeleader asked other members of [[Bridge Four]] to pitch in money and food to care for the men. However, all refused except for [[Rock]]. He offered to share his food with [[Hobber]], who was the least injured of the three. Knowing it would only be a matter of time before the [[rotspren]] were attracted to the wounded, Kaladin came up with the idea of collecting [[knobweed]] stems during stone-gathering detail. With the stems, he could create the antiseptic the men desperately needed and even sell some to get more supplies and food. Gaining the trust of [[Rock]] and [[Teft]], Kaladin enlisted their help to find and collect the knobweed during their new detail. [[Syl]] assisted as well, finding patches of knobweed and guiding Rock—who was mysteriously able to see her—to them. While working to extract the sap that night, Kaladin started building camaraderie with the two men, even managing to get Rock to open up and share some of his life story.{{book ref|sa1|21}}{{book ref|sa1|23}}

 

 

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. 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}}