Lan Mandragoran

From A Wheel of Time Wiki

“'To stand against the shadow so long as iron is hard and stone abides. To defend the Malkieri while one drop of blood remains. To avenge what cannot be defended'”
— The ancient oath of the Malkieri kings

al'Lan Mandragoran, Lord of the Seven towers, Lord of the Lakes, true Blade of Malkier, may he sever the Shadow, commonly known as Lan. Is the Uncrowned King and last survivor of the royal line of Malkier; his kingdom was swallowed by the Great Blight shortly after his birth. Lan is often described as having a face of stone and chilling blue eyes. There is little that can defeat him in physical combat.

EWoT: al'Lan Mandragoran

al'Lan Mandragoran
[[Image:]]
Born	953 NE
Died
Race	Malkieri
Nationality
Rank	Lord of the Seven Towers, Dai'shan
Title
Position
Occupation
Affiliation
Gender	male
Height	1 span, 5 inches
Weight	25 stone?
Hair	dark, graying
Eyes	blue
First Mentioned	TEOTW 1
First Appeared	TEOTW 2

[edit] Youth

Lan was born in 953 NE, the year Malkier was betrayed to the Shadow. When he was an infant and Malkier was falling, his parents placed the sword of the Malkieri kings in his hands, named him Dai'shan, Diademed Battle Lord of the Malkieri, and swore the ancient oath of Malkieri kings and queens in his name. His mother placed a locket around his neck for remembrance and twenty of Malkier's best swordsmen carried him to Fal Moran in Shienar. Only five reach the city, all wounded. The surviving men taught the child all they knew of weapons and fighting the Blight.

At age sixteen Lan was given the hadori, a thin strip of braided leather holding his hair back, and became a man. He began his one man war against the Shadow that he could not win, with the oath graven on his mind. To stand against the shadow so long as iron is hard and stone abides. To defend the Malkieri while one drop of blood remains. To avenge what cannot be defended. He has nothing left to defend, only to avenge. He will court death himself without a second thought.

[edit] Moiraine and Nynaeve

Moiraine Sedai met Lan in Kandor while searching for the Dragon Reborn after the Aiel War. He managed to throw her into a pond, and she threw a pond onto him. After a battle with the Black Ajah and losing Bukama Marenellin -- the last of the men that carried him to Shienar -- he became her warder in 979 NE. About twenty years later Moiraine battled with Lanfear and they fell through the twisted redstone doorframe. the warder bond was broken, leading Lan to believe she had died.

Lan could no longer feel the bond and told Rand he must now go to Myrelle Berengari, the woman Moiraine had arranged to pass his bond to^[1] in the event of her death. He asks Rand to tell Nynaeve al'Meara to forget him before riding off to Salidar.^[2].

After Egwene al'Vere discovers him staying in a camp there, she sends him to Ebou Dar to protect Nynaeve,^[3] to whom he is married by the Sea Folk Mistress of the Ships.^[4] When Rand goes to Far Madding to kill the renegade Asha'man, Lan, along with Nynaeve, Cadsuane, Verin, Min and some others, follow him. Rand recieves an anonymous note (from Padan Fain) giving him the location of the final two renegades. Rand and Lan walk knowingly into the trap, and fight their way clear across the rooftops, until Lan slips. Rand grabs him, but they both slide to the edge of the building. Rand hangs on, but, in a show of self-sacrifice, Lan quietly tells him to let go and save himself. Rand tells him 'When the sun turns green.' and they both fall. Luckily they are only unconscious, and Cadsuane rescues them from the Far Madding jail.

In KoD, Nynaeve tricks Lan into raising the Golden Crane of Malkier, and riding across the Borderlands to gather an army.

Lan seems to have at last found happiness with Nynaeve, but given the events to come, it is uncertain as to how long that will last.