Is there a particular reason behind the spelling, or is it just coincidence that Kelsier and Kaladin are both K-names?
Just coincidence. Kaladin’s original name was Merin, and it was a weak name that didn’t work for me, so I changed it. It took me forever to find a good name for him. It comes from “paladin”. Not the inworld origin, but that was the word that inspired it. It was more that I was searching for sounds, and I realized it sounded a bit like paladin, but I was okay with that. Just like Elantris sounds a little bit like Atlantis. It’s not like I was purposely choosing it. I just liked the sound of it.
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