AFTERWORD

Chapter 4

2. Bridge Four

Overview

Kaladin emerges from the highstorm as a free man and begins organizing nearly a thousand former bridgemen into a coherent military force under Dalinar's command. He appoints key officers, plans a training structure, and leads Bridge Four to receive tattoos covering their slave brands while being outfitted as official soldiers of the Cobalt Guard.

Summary

Kaladin spends the highstorm alone in contemplation, meditating on breath and the equality of all people regardless of rank. He emerges to find Bridge Four celebrating their freedom. After inspecting the vast barracks block assigned to house the former bridgemen—nearly a thousand men in total—Kaladin meets with Moash, Skar, and Teft to plan their integration into a military unit. He decides to combine the scattered bridge crews into twenty teams of fifty men each, with forty selected bridgemen to be trained first as a foundation for training the rest. Kaladin appoints five men as lieutenants: Teft (training), Sigzil (record-keeper), Rock (quartermaster), and Moash and Skar as personal bodyguards for Dalinar. He explains his strategy: by becoming a skilled, cohesive force of a thousand soldiers, they secure their freedom and independence. The chapter then follows Bridge Four to a tattooist, where each man receives a tattoo bearing the glyph for "freedom" and the date of their liberation, covering their slave brands. Hobber requests the addition of "Bridge Four" to his tattoo. Nearly all the men, even those without slave brands, choose to get the tattoo as a symbol of unity. Shen, a parshman in their group, receives one despite the tattooist's initial resistance. When Kaladin attempts his own tattoo, the ink mysteriously refuses to stay on his skin, revealing his slave brand scar beneath. The chapter concludes with the men receiving uniforms of the Cobalt Guard at the quartermaster's depot. The bridgemen remove the official insignia patches and request new ones bearing Bridge Four's symbol instead, asserting their identity as something distinct from Dalinar's previous guard. Kaladin does the same with his captain's uniform.

Characters

  • KaladinFormer bridgeman-turned-captain who organizes the thousand freed bridgemen into a military force and appoints officers to structure their training and protection of Dalinar Kholin
  • SylA mysterious companion visible only to Kaladin, appearing as ribbons of light and a young woman, offering support and counsel
  • MoashTall, solid bridgeman appointed as a lieutenant and personal bodyguard for Dalinar; skeptical of trusting lighteyes
  • SkarShort, wiry bridgeman in his early thirties appointed as a lieutenant and personal bodyguard; eager to receive his freedom tattoo
  • TeftOldest bridgeman appointed to oversee training of forty selected men; insists Kaladin acknowledge his Surgebinder abilities
  • RockLarge Horneater bridgeman who shaves the men during the highstorm; appointed quartermaster and second-in-command for provisions
  • SigzilBridgeman appointed as clerk due to his ability to read glyphs; notes the goodwill shown toward the bridgemen in the warcamp
  • HobberGap-toothed bridgeman who was among the first to believe in Kaladin; first to receive the freedom tattoo and requests 'Bridge Four' be added
  • LopenOne-armed bridgeman who questions the Cobalt Guard insignia and advocates for Bridge Four's independent identity
  • ShenParshman member of Bridge Four who receives a freedom tattoo despite initial resistance from the tattooist; remains mostly silent and observant
  • BeldBridgeman without a slave brand who receives the freedom tattoo as a symbol of Bridge Four unity
  • DrehyBridgeman shaved by Rock during the highstorm preparations
  • Dalinar KholinHighprince who freed the bridgemen, gave up his Shardblade for them, and appointed Kaladin as captain; object of Bridge Four's protective mission
  • SadeasHighprince whose betrayal killed thousands of Dalinar's men and created widows and orphans throughout the warcamp; object of Kaladin's hatred
  • AmaramReferenced as a man who murdered Kaladin's men and enslaved him; absent but subject of Kaladin's anger and vendetta
  • Navani KholinReferenced in opening journal entry; not physically present in chapter
  • RindLow-ranking lighteyes quartermaster who provides uniforms and equipment to Bridge Four; appears amused by the concept of a darkeyed captain
  • The tattooistSkilled woman who covers slave brands with freedom tattoos; struggles with the unusual ink rejection on Kaladin's forehead