Bridge Four

Bridge Four is a bridge crew of the Alethi army that rose from the lowest, most expendable rank of Shattered Plains laborers to become one of the most celebrated companies in The Stormlight Archive, the foundation of Kaladin's Windrunners and a brotherhood at the heart of the saga.

Origins

Bridge crews were the disposable infantry of Highprince Sadeas's army on the Shattered Plains, tasked with carrying enormous wooden bridges across the plateaus and laying them over chasms so that soldiers could assault Parshendi positions. Bridgemen ran at the front, unarmored, drawing enemy arrows; their casualty rate was catastrophic, and assignment to a bridge crew was effectively a death sentence. Kaladin, sold into slavery, was assigned to Bridge Four, the unluckiest crew of all.

Transformation

Under Kaladin's leadership, Bridge Four was transformed. He drilled them, healed their wounded, fostered loyalty, and instilled discipline and hope where there had been only despair. The crew adopted practices and a brotherhood that bound them together, and their survival rate climbed dramatically. They eventually saved Dalinar Kholin's forces in a pivotal betrayal on the Plains, after which Dalinar took them into his own service and freed them.

The Windrunners

As Kaladin became a Windrunner, members of Bridge Four began to manifest Surgebinding abilities as his squires, and many went on to swear the Ideals and become Windrunners in their own right. The crew thus became the seed of the reborn order. Notable members include Teft, Rock, Sigzil, Lopen, Moash, and others, each with their own arc.

Significance

Bridge Four embodies the central themes of The Stormlight Archive -- the lifting up of the broken, the power of loyalty and leadership, and the rebirth of the Knights Radiant from the most unlikely of origins. Their motto and brotherhood resonate throughout the saga: life before death.