You have pointed out a really big mystery re Thjazi and Azune
"Thjazi Fang saw a child abandoned by the roadside, desperately, determinedly, and implausibly claiming he could fight. Thazi Fang was in the middle of waging a rebellion against the powers of Araman. That rebellion wasn’t the best place for a child of twelve. But it was a better place than abandoned by the roadside or picked up by another mercenary group, and Thjazi cared, so Thjazi took him in and assigned him to noncombat work away from the front lines."
Then, in the following paragraph, you also state that Thjazi sends Azune to Hal. If he could do this, why didn't he do this before, earlier, long before Azune became 15 (the flashback where he was however incidentally at the front lines) or 17 (which he approximately was at the time of the rebellion's end). That's five whole years Thjazi didn't find an alternate way to house Azune.
Azune was rolling death saves at 15 (e2), and he still didn't get sent to Hal's until the Rebellion ended. We know this because Azune witnessed the act that threw Thjazi in chains (Julien's Big Stand).
So that's my question. Why did Thjazi take so long to put Azune with Hal? There's many possible explanations but until we have concrete evidence, I can't even say with certainty that Thjazi did his best.
This mystery, in conjunction with Azune's reactions, does not paint a flattering picture of Thjazi's choice. Azune does break down twice, once in private (e24), once in front of Murray and Thimble (e27), about how he feels like a liar and a killer and not a good person.
We know from Azune's private speech that he felt like he got set on that path because of what Thjazi asked of him. We also know from that same speech that there is a part of Azune who longs to know what he could've been like outside of Thjazi's influence, and then in the same breath wondering what it would've been like if Thjazi was his dad. So there is some longing in there, a yet unexplored disappointment in Thjazi
And here's the thing. People can do their best by you and still fail you. Sometimes, people just don't work out no matter how hard either or both party wishes otherwise. I don't think failure is synonymous with bad intentions or some inherent evil in someone. Sometimes, that's just how the dice rolls, where even someone's absolute best doesn't necessarily mean they're fit parents, or they're taking good care of their kids.
It's how that failure is acknowledged and handled that makes the mark of a character. We know that Azune's parents had not the means to feed and care for their children. Through circumstances far outside of their control, they failed as parents. They recognized that failure by giving up their children to people who could give them a chance.
That is the mark of their love, knowing when the place at their side is not tenable for raising children. They must be sent away.
I do think Thjazi failed Azune. Was it intentional? No. Did it leave long lasting harm to Azune? Yes. Does Thjazi think he failed Azune? I dont know.
I dont know why he didnt send Azune away so he could spend 5 years without a sword in hand. I don't know why Thjazi yelled at Azune to keep his eyes open when the teenage boy was so scared of battle, he couldnt even look (e25), instead of sending him away to Hal where Alogar (same age) spent his time just hanging out.
And I don't think that makes Thjazi evil or whatever. I think maybe he shouldnt be trusted to raise kids, at least on his own. But other than that...
I don't really know what saying "Azune wasn't failed" accomplishes. As you say, "people who cared about him could give him still wasn’t the same as what he needed, because being an adult doesn’t make you all-powerful" like that is a description of failure. Sometimes, it doesn't work out and failure does not need to be that someone doesn't care. Failure is not a marker of effort. Failure is "not achieving the goal set out, for any combination of reasons". Failure is not a moral judgment on someone. It's just failure.
"Azune’s problems weren’t created by those who loved him." This is pending the reasons Thjazi kept him close. Because we do know that right now, Azune feels like a liar and a killer and he doesn't like being that. And I have to ask, did he have to become a liar and a killer? Was there truly no other way that he couldve grown up?
I dont think we have enough evidence right now to definitively answer that. so...
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