Kaladin Stormblessed – Stormlight Archive Character Biography & Information

Kaladin is perhaps the most important protagonist in Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive series. The first chapter of the first book is from his point of view, and he’s currently got more page time than any other main character. Despite his youth, Kaladin has been through a lot — from an apprentice surgeon in his father’s clinic, to a squadleader in Amaram’s army and slave in Sadeas’, to the Knight Radiant he eventually becomes.


Below, we’ll summarize all of the key events in Kaladin’s life, discuss the key relationships in his life, and describe his appearance and personality.

Biography

The following biography covers all of the most important events in Kalidan’s life. Note it does not contain every last thing that happens to Kaladin, but instead tries to focus on the stuff most relevant to the narrative of the books.

WARNING: This section contains major spoilers for all published Stormlight Archive books.

Early Life (The Way of Kings)

  • Kaladin is born in the small village of Hearthstone in Alethkar, the son of Lirin, a skilled surgeon, and Hesina, both darkeyes.
  • Trains as a surgeon’s apprentice under his father, expected to follow in his footsteps.
  • Develops a desire to protect others, particularly his younger brother, Tien.

Military Enlistment (The Way of Kings)

  • Kaladin’s younger brother, Tien, is conscripted to fight in Brightlord Amaram’s army. Kaladin, against his father’s wishes, enlists in order to protect Tien.
  • Despite Kaladin’s best efforts, Tien is killed in battle, a loss that haunts Kaladin deeply.
  • Kaladin becomes a skilled spearman and eventually rises to squadleader, earning the nickname “Stormblessed.” It is possible he is already beginning to bond the Honorspren Syl at this point.
  • During a border skirmish, Kaladin kills the shardbearer Heleran, earning both Blade and Plate. He refuses the Shards, and tries to give them to his squad. In order to claim the Shards for himself, Brightlord Amaram has Kaladin’s men killed. He spares Kaladin, who is instead branded and sold into slavery.

Life as a Slave (The Way of Kings)

  • Kaladin is bought and sold multiple times over the course of less than a year, and attempts to escape ten times. One attempt involves a large group of slaves, armed — everyone dies but Kaladin in this attempt. He gets another brand, a Shash glyph that marks him as dangerous.
  • He is sold into a bridge crew on the Shattered Plains, where bridgemen are forced to carry bridges into battle as cannon fodder in the war against the Parshendi.
  • Kaladin almost kills himself in the Honor Chasm, but Syl convinces him to not give up. Instead he takes on the role of leader for Bridge Four, rallying them to survive and improve their conditions.
  • He successfully forges Bridge Four into a disciplined and tough bridge crew. Other crews envy them their evening stews and how few of them die on bridge runs.
  • Kaladin teaches his crew how to carry the bridge sideways (rather than above them) in order to block arrows. They use this on a run, but it disrupts the attack when other bridge crews try to replicate the side carry and fail. This causes disaster for Sadeas’ forces.

Becoming a Windrunner (The Way of Kings)

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Saving the Kholin army (art by Randy Vargas)
  • After the side carry debacle, Kaladin is tied to the roof of Bridge Four’s barracks during a highstorm, to be “judged by the storm” — essentially a death sentence. However, thanks to Syl and his burgeoning powers, Kaladin is able to survive by absorbing Stormlight from the sphere he holds.
  • Teft teaches Kaladin the First Ideal of the Knights Radiant: “Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination”, and Kaladin swears it soon after.
  • Kaladin continues to strengthen his bond with Syl, an honorspren who grants him powers of gravitation and adhesion, the Windrunner abilities. He uses these abilities to sneak spheres out of the chasms, pull Parshendi arrows to his shield, or to push the arrows around him in battle — helping and protecting both himself and his bridge crew.
  • When Dalinar Kholin’s army is betrayed by Sadeas and abandoned, Kaladin’s bridge crew goes back and rescues the Koholin army from the Parshendi. During the battle, Kaladin swears the Second Ideal of the Windrunners: “I will protect those who cannot protect themselves.”

Protector of the Kholins (Words of Radiance)

  • Kaladin becomes captain of Dalinar’s personal guard, charged with protecting the highprince and King Elhokar. In his new role, he struggles with his prejudices towards lighteyes.
  • He continues mastering his powers, eventually learning to fly with Lashings.
  • Kaladin saves Adolin from certain death in a 4v1 duel, but then challenges Amaram to a duel and accuses him of murder. King Elhokar imprisons Kalidan for accusing a lighteyes, but he is released after a couple of weeks.
  • While recovering from an injury, Kaladin protects Elhokar from an assassination attempt by his fellow bridgeman and close friend Moash. While defending Elhokar, Kaladin swears the Third Ideal: “I will protect even those I hate, so long as it is right.” He then flies to the Shattered Plains just in time to protect Dalinar and Adolin from Szeth, who he eventually bests and kills.

Conflict and Responsibility (Oathbringer)

  • Kaladin’s role as captain grows, but so does his inner conflict, as he wrestles with depression and his hatred toward lighteyes.
  • He visits Hearthstone, reconnecting with his family and realizing how much he’s changed.
  • Kaladin goes on a mission to Kholinar with Adolin, Elhokar, and Shallan, in an attempt to activate the Oathgate there and free the city from the enemy. The mission fails, and they end up in Shadesmar.
  • While in Shadesmar, Kaladin battles Fused and nearly swears the Fourth Ideal, but he cannot bring himself to say the words.
  • Kaladin and the rest of the group return to the Physical realm through Dalinar’s perpendicularity, and Kaladin battles a Odium-influenced Amaram, who is eventually killed by Rock.

Struggles with Mental Health (Rhythm of War)

  • Kaladin’s PTSD worsens, forcing Dalinar to relieve him of duty. He goes back to Urithiru and works in his father’s clinic.
  • He starts experimenting with group therapy for other people with PTSD, and finds the therapy work also makes him feel better.
  • The tower is invaded, and the Fused Rabonial reverses the tower’s defenses against the Fused, turning them against the Radiants. Kaladin is the only Radiant besides Lift who does not go into a coma. He works with the Sibling and Lift to protect the Sibling from the Fused.
  • During the final battle for Urithiru, Kaladin’s father is thrown off of the tower. Kaladin, already distraught over the death of Teft, jumps off the tower. As he is unable to use his powers due to the suppression field from the tower, this is a suicide attempt. However, Dalinar is currently riding the highstorm with the Stormfather, who stops time and allows Dalinar to send Kaladin a vision of Tien, giving him closure regarding his brother’s death. While in the vision, Kaladin swears the Fourth Ideal “I accept that there will be those I cannot protect”, allowing him access to his powers and save his father.

Mission to Shinovar (Wind and Truth)

  • Kalidan goes with Szeth to Shinovar, to help Ishar deal with his madness and possibly help Szeth with his own.

Physical Appearance

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Art by Antti Hakosaari

Kaladin is in his early 20s. He is tanned and tall, even for an Alethi — he is 6’4″, which puts him around 7 feet tall by Earth standards. He is lean but muscular, with shoulder length wavy black hair. His eyes are naturally brown, with an epicanthic fold typical of Rosharans. However, after summoning Syl as a shardblade, Kaladin’s eyes temporarily turn a pale blue and glow. Kaladin had slave brands on his forehead, but after swearing the Fourth Ideal, these finally healed and vanished.

Personality, Strengths & Weaknesses

Kaladin sounding a lot like Paladin isn’t a coincidence. Kaladin has a desperate need to do the right thing, and to save people — to a fault. This ends up being both his greatest strength and his greatest weakness. This may have started when he wasn’t able to protect Tien, as we can see him working hard to protect the new recruits in Amaram’s army by the time he’s a squad leader. He draws strength from this need to protect, however, as it often serves as motivation for him to keep going when all seems lost. Kaladin does what he thinks is right, no matter the consequences.

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Because of this deep-seated sense of morality, Kaladin struggles with his role as a warrior. He hates killing, and often struggles with the idea that it is possible to kill in order to protect — but the reality of war means that sometimes killing is indeed what it takes to protect. He struggles with nuance in general at times, especially when it comes to lighteyes; he tends to feel lighteyes are cruel and spoiled until proven otherwise.

Kaladin is a master of the spear — he has trained extensively with spears, and while he is becoming a competent swordsman, the spear remains his preferred weapon. He is tactically minded, and able to think quickly in the heat of battle; he is equally effective when planning strategically. Kaladin is a natural leader, and will take charge in any situation where a leader is needed — sometimes even if there is already a leader present.

Kaladin struggles with depression and seasonal affective disorder throughout the series. During the weeping, or anytime there isn’t much sunlight, he gets particularly depressed. He has almost committed suicide twice, but both times has managed to continue fighting thanks to the help of those around him. By the events of Wind and Truth, he is doing better at managing his depression; he has both come to terms with his negative feelings, and found he is able to feel OK more often.

He is intensely curious about the world around him, always questioning the how and why of things. He comes across as dour and serious initially, but with friends or when in a good mood he has a sense of humor and displays both intellect and wit — these traits, and his curiosity, are both attributes he seems to have gotten from his mother Hesina.

Knight Radiant Powers

Kaladin is a Windrunner, an order of Knights Radiant with a philosophy of protection — perfect for our little Paladin. He has sworn the Fourth Ideal, granting him Shardplate. He already has the ability to summon his spren Sylphrena as a Shardblade, as he’s sworn the Third Ideal.

Kaladin’s Shardblade can cut through any substance besides aluminum or living beings — it can still pass through living beings, severing their soul, but does not cut their flesh. The Shardblade is actually his spren, Slyphrena, and can be turned into any style of weapon, or indeed any tool the pair can imagine.

His Shardplate is made of Windspren, and can be summoned or dismissed at will. Shardplate is incredibly tough armor, able to protect the wearer easily from conventional weapons, and even offering protection from Shardblades. He can command his armor spren to protect someone else, or form it around himself. The Windspren that are Kaladin’s armor seem to follow him around, always present and available.

As a Windrunner, Kaladin has access to two Surges:

  • Gravitation – By infusing objects with Stormlight, Kaladin can change both the strength of something’s gravity, as well as its direction. A “Basic Lashing” can be used to cause people or objects to hover in the air or fly in a given direction, depending on the strength of the Lashing. A Reverse Lashing changes the gravitational pull of an object, allowing a shield to pull in arrows, for example — these Lashings require that the Radiant maintain contact with the object.
  • Adhesion – By infusing an object or substance with Stormlight, it can be made to stick to other objects (or people) who come in contact with the infused object or area.

There are Five Ideals, or Oaths, that a Windrunner can possibly swear. Each level of Oath sworn increases the strength of the Nahel bond, and the power gained from the bond. Kaladin has currently sworn the Fourth Oath, reaching the Fourth Ideal

  • First Ideal – Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination.
    • Grants some access to the surges and Stormlight
  • Second Ideal – I will protect those who cannot protect themselves.
    • Grants greater access to the surges and Stormlight
  • Third Ideal – I will protect even those I hate, so long as it is right.
    • Allows the Knight to summon their spren as a Shardblade, and to have squires.
  • Fourth Ideal – I accept that there will be those I cannot protect.
    • Grants the Knight access to Shardplate – for Windrunners, the armorspren are windspren.
  • Fifth Ideal – Unknown

Relationships

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Kaladin & Syl at the Honor Chasm (art by Artem Demura)

Sylphrena, his Honorspren, is his most important relationship. Syl prevented him from taking his own life in the Honor chasm, and helped him become a Knight Radiant. The powers their bond grants him has saved his life, and the lives of people he cares about, on multiple occasions. She also serves as a foil for his foul moods, joking or being silly in an attempt to cheer him up. Her curiosity about the world is similar to Kaladin’s, and he seems to find it amusing (and sometimes frustrating) how little she understands about people at times. They can communicate telepathically, even at a distance. When Kaladin does not honor his Oaths, Syl can grow weak and forget herself — we saw how much potentially losing her affected Kaladin when she disappears during the events of Words of Radiance.

Adolin Kholin is similar to Syl in that he often works hard to cheer Kaladin up when he is feeling depressed. Adolin will insist that Kaladin go out with friends to social activities, and that it will make Kaladin feel better — and despite Kaladin’s protests, Adolin is usually right. Adolin both meets and defies Kaladin’s expectations of lightyeyes as spoiled and ignorant — when Kaladin meets Adolin, it is when Adolin is protecting a darkeyed prostitute from a cruel lighteyed officer; still, Adolin is in many ways a spoiled lighteyes who doesn’t know about how life is for darkeyes. But when Kaladin was put in prison for challenging Amaram, Adolin insisted on being locked up as well in protest, demonstrating both his loyalty to Kaladin and his sense of justice.

Shallan Davar and Kaladin didn’t get along at first, with Kaladin suspecting Shallan of being a spy or some kind of opportunist. He also hated her for the same reason he hates all lighteyes at first — because he’s prejudiced. But after being trapped together in the chasms of the Shattered Plains during a high storm, and fighting off a Chasmfiend together, they have the kind of bond only shared danger can forge. Kaladin is attracted to Shallan, and her alternate personality of Veil is attracted to Kaladin in turn, but Shallan eventually chooses to be with Adolin — Kaladin accepts this relatively easily. Kaladin describes the way Shallan makes him feel as similar to how Tien was able to make him feel better when he was sad, rather than it being a deep love connection.

Bridge Four as a whole means a lot to Kaladin, as it was in leading them that he became a Knight Radiant and a leader once again. He views the entire bridge crew as both friends and as his charges to protect. Teft served as a second in command and supported Kaladin in making Bridge 4 a cohesive unit — his death was particularly hard on Kaladin. Moash was perhaps the only member of Bridge 4 Kaladin felt he could be close to, which made his eventual betrayal, and the fact that he now serves Odium, all the more painful.

Kaladin’s Family is very important to him as well. He has often had a strained relationship with his father Lirin, a stubborn man who was very upset Kaladin ended up a soldier instead of a surgeon. There is mutual respect there as well though, with Kaladin getting his strong sense of duty and Honor from Lirin; by the end of Rhythm of War, Lirin has come to accept Kaladin’s choices. Kaladin’s mother Hesina is where Kaladin gets his sense of humor and curiosity. His brother Tien died in war at a young age, and only after swearing the Fourth Ideal was Kaladin able to accept that Tien’s death was not his fault. Tien often cheered Kaladin when he was at his lowest.

Wit (Hoid) only speaks to Kaladin occasionally, but always tells him a useful story or offers crucial advice just when Kaladin needs it the most. Notably, Wit is much nicer to Kaladin than he is to perhaps any other character.


We hope this biography had what you were looking for! Questions, suggestions, and love letters to Kaladin welcome in the comments section below.

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DanielD
DanielD

A huge fan of sci-fi and fantasy (really anything with tons of weird proper nouns), music, and video games. Enjoys the outdoors, but has plenty to do on a rainy day.

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