Hero Profile: al'Lan Mandragoran

 The Golden Crane rides for Tarmon Gai'den

Okay, so I was going to do Dune (2021), but HBO Max took it down sooner than I had planned. And I haven’t found the summaries on Wikipedia or other such pages to be particularly helpful with my usual scene by scene obsessive breakdowns, so I’m shelving Dune until it returns to HBO Max. Which does sound like it’ll be sooner rather than later next year, so I doubt you’ll wait too long to see my thoughts on it. And, since I needed an additional idea to fill out my usual 7 posts this month as well, I figured I should do the rest of the main Wheel of Time cast, Lan and Moiraine. Does this mean I will have basically devoted 3 months to Wheel of Time? Yes, yes it does. … Moving on.

 

All hail the king.

As the name of this post has undoubtedly already told you, we’re talking about al’Lan Mandragoran, Uncrowned King of Malkier, Lord of the Seven Towers, Lord of the Lakes, True Blade of Malkier, Defender of the Wall of First Fires, Bearer of the Sword of the Thousand Lakes, May He Sever the Shadow, Dai Shan, and Aan’allein. Yeah, if you’ve been following the show, the guy who doesn’t talk much has a plethora of titles to his name. Do ya want to know the history of Lord Tight-Lip before the show gets to it? Of course you do. Let’s go.

 

I should point out that some or all off what I’m about to go into might be slightly to significantly different in the show. I forgot to mention it in the previous posts on the subject, but the show is considered a “different turning of the Wheel.” Basically, it means that while the greater events of the story repeat themselves with each turning, the details shift. The previous Dragon breaks the world in his battle with the Dark One, is reborn, and fulfills the prophecies of the Dragon to show his coming. But the locations the Dragon goes to, the order in which he meets and influences people, can change each time. Get it? Got it? Good. Now, onto Lan.

 

He looks so tired.

Lan’s story begins not with himself, but his father and uncle, Akir and Lain Mandragoran. The Elder Mandragorans were as close as brothers could be. They fought and trained together, and beloved by their people. Even when Akir was chosen to assume the throne of their father, Lain was the now al’Akir’s biggest supporter. But his wife, on the other hand, Breyan, was less steadfast in her support of al’Akir and was a firm believer he stole the crown that should have been Lain’s. Breyan, encouraged by the Mandragorans friend Cowin “Fairheart” Gemallan, dared Lain to travel into the Blasted Lands, the worst area of the great Blight. He, and nearly all the men he brought with, were killed there. Breyan, rather unfairly, blamed al’Akir for this, and plotted with Cowin to overthrown al’Akir and put her infant son Isam on the throne. Cowin pulled troops back from the garrisons, leaving only skeleton crews, to help with their coup. As bad luck would have it, this was when the biggest Trolloc assault in generations assaulted the garrisons, destroy them and forcing all Malkier into retreat south. It’s at this point where it was discovered that Cowin was in fact a Darkfriend and had done all of this to destroy Malkier. Breyan fled with Isam, but neither were seen again. Aa young hero of the Malkieri. Jain “Farstrider” Charin, captured Cowin and brought him to his king. Rather than let Cowin have the nobleman’s death of beheading, al’Akir faced him in single combat and killed him. The story has it that al’Akir wept by his friend’s corpse, for the man who lost himself to the shadow, or for his nation, no one is sure.

 

Malkier was being overwhelmed by Trollocs, and it’s allies too far to arrive in time. With no hope in saving their land, al’Akir and his wife, el’Leanna, anointed their infant son Lan as king of Malkier, giving the babe his father’s sword and anointed him a Dai Shan, a battle Lord of Malkier, and in his name swore the oaths of Malkieri kings. They also gave him his family’s signet ring, and a locket to remember them by. He was then given to the 20 best swordsmen in Malkier and sent to Fal Moran in Shienar. Five survived the trip.

 

I have no idea why some official art 
has him wear a helmet. I can't think of
a single time he wore more than his 
hadori on his head.

Pretty much the moment Lan could walk, he began training as a swordsman. His every waking moment was used to train and push his body to make it the ultimate killing machine, to make him capable off avenging his people. At fifteen, a Malkieri noblewoman, Edeyn Arrel (sister of the idiot that screwed everything up, Cowin) chose to be his Carneira. This is a somewhat gross Malkieri tradition where an older person is chosen to be their first lover. Women chose the boys, girls chose the men. Yes, it is deeply uncomfortable. After their first night, Lan’s hair was cut to his shoulders and a lock of it was kept by Edeyn and turned into a daori. It’s a sort of talisman that, while having no actual power over Lan, traditionally compels the man to do as his Carneira asks. More on this later. Lan at 16 was given a hadori, the braided leather cord he wears holding back his hair, making him a man in the Malkier tradition. He spent the next 9 years training and battling the shadow wherever he found it. But things took a turn when he was 25.

 

At the time, the Aiel traveled across the Spine of the World in mass for the first time since they went over it the first time to hunt down and kill Laman Damodred, King of Cairhien, for chopping down the Chora tree they gave him. The battle raged for three years, the final battle being at Tar Valon as the Aiel retreated, having killed Laman. During the retreat, Lan, leading a small force of Borderlanders against the Aiel, the group they passed stopped to chant Aan’allein. This means “A Man who is an entire Nation,” and is a sign of the great respect the Aiel have towards Lan. After the fighting it truly finished, he heads back north, to return to his battle in the north.

 

A few months later, he was traveling to Chachin, the capital of Candor, to deal with the machinations of Edeyn. It turns out, Edeyn had raised the flag of Malkier, and seemed to be trying to resurrect their nation, regardless of Lan’s feelings on the matter. He, his old teacher Bukama and his friend Ryne, were on the road when they were followed out of town by Moiraine Damodred. She was trying to sneak up on Lan when the Malkieri threw her into a lake. She doused him in water as payback a short time later. They traveled together to Chachin, as it was also the next destination on Moiraine’s list of potential candidates for the Dragon Reborn. Lan, meanwhile, learned that Edeyn was planning to use her position as his Carneira and holder of his daori, to go against all tradition and force him to marry her daughter Iselle. Thankfully, Iselle is 100% against it too and wants to go to the Tower. Sadly, Iselle isn’t given that chance, as she’s one of several people killed by Merean Redhill, a Black Ajah Aes Sedai who was also hunting the Dragon Reborn. It’s also revealed that Ryne is a Darkfriend and killed Bukama when he caught the older Malkier spying. He and Moiraine were able to kill both, though. After the battle, Lan rode out to return to the blight but stopping to burn his daori, so it could never be used against him. Moiraine catches up with him, though, and convinces him to let her bond him as her Warder.

 

Just Lan and his non-romantic life partner.

Over the next twenty years, Lan and Moiraine searched for the Dragon Reborn. They were finally led to Emond’s Field in the Two Rivers, where they found not one, not two, but three Ta’Veren. Matrim Cauthon, Rand al’Thor and Perrin Aybara. Unfortunately, Trollocs attacked the day after they arrived during the Winternight Festival. Thankfully, Lan and Moiraine were able to protect the village and rout the enemy. After, they convinced the three boys to accompany them to the White Tower, convincing them that they’ll be protected there. They’re also joined by Thom Merrilin, a gleeman that had been invited to town for Winternight but realized no one is celebrating anymore, and Egwene, Rand’s kind of girlfriend that wants to go on an adventure too.

 

They race across the Two Rivers district, Lan scouting ahead and behind for much of the journey. When there is time, he begins training each of the boys in the weapons they brought along, Rand his sword, Perrin the axe, and Mat a bow. They eventually arrive in the city of Baerlon, where the town Wisdom Nynaeve al’Meara catches up to them. Lan is so impressed she followed his trail, he noticeably emotes. The group tries to relax and dance the night away, but in the night, Rand is attacked by a Fade. Lan, sensing it, rushes to Rand and scares it off. They hastily escape Baerlon and are harried by Trollocs after.

 

Due to Lan’s urging and a lack of options, the group travels to Shadar Logoth, the cursed city, to try to rest as Trollocs try to avoid that city as much as possible. He’s distracted by an exhausted Moiraine long enough for the boys to run off and get into trouble in the city. He goes out to look for them, misses their return, but does report Trollocs are in the city. They rush to escape but are followed both by the Trollocs and by Mashadar, the killing mist that haunts the city after dark.

 

Lan and Moiraine find each other and lament that they lost the boys. Nynaeve finds them, much to Lan’s surprise, and the three of them set out to find the missing boys. He helps Moiraine liberate Perrin and Egwene from Whitecloak captors, with Nynaeve’s help, and then travel onto Caemlyn where they find Rand and Mat.

 

Lan and Mandarb, power couple.

Rapid fire time. He leads the group through the Ways with help from the Ogier Loial, whom Rand had befriended in the city, to the Borderland city of Fal Dara. They traveled north fast to try to protect the Eye of the World, multiple sources telling them it’ll be under attack. They travel into the Blight and into the ruins of his home to try to get to the Eye. In the night, Rand overhears him speaking with Nynaeve. It’s subtle, but heavily implied that the two of them had grown close in their travels. Both want to be together, but Lan doesn’t believe there is room in his heart for anyone with his battle against the shadow and doesn’t want her to watch him die. So, yeah, he tries to break up with her, but in the least effective way possible. This is what he tells her, Verbatim.

 

“You are a remarkable woman, as beautiful as the sunrise, as fierce as a warrior. You are a lioness, Wisdom. I will hate the man you choose because he is not me, and love him if he makes you smile. No woman deserves the sure knowledge of widows black as her bridepiece, you least of all.”

 

Lan, I’m not saying all women love poetry. But I am saying that you shouldn’t tell one poetry when you are trying to break up with her, dummy!

 

They make it to the Eye and meet the Greenman, it’s guardian. They’re almost immediately attacked by two of the Thirteen Forsaken, Aginor and Balthamel. They threaten both Nynaeve and Moiraine, but the two are far enough apart that he can’t protect both. Hesitating, he gets hit by a blast by one of the Forsaken and knocked out. He comes to after the battle and returns to Fal Dara with the rest.

 

If you'd told me in 2009 that "Agent Zero" from 
X-Men Origins would be al'Lan Mandragoran,
I'd have laughed in your face. But here we are.

al’Lan Mandragoran is a born warrior. He’s been a blademaster for most of his life and is considered by many to be the greatest swordsman alive today. He’s also proficient in most other weapons, but his sword is his preferred weapon. His sword is Power forged before the Breaking, meaning the blade is nearly unbreakable and doesn’t require sharpening or oiling to keep it battle ready. Natural skill and power were enhanced by the bond that Moiraine created to make him her Warder. The bond greatly enhances Lan’s strength, endurance, and senses. He can sense when Shadowspawn draw near, and fight for far longer than any normal man. It also allows him to sense Moiraine’s health and emotions at a distance and allow him to track her if they’re separated.

 

Lan is a main character in the Wheel of Time series on Amazon. He’s portrayed by Daniel Henney. He’s been in multiple seasons of Criminal Minds, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and as the voice of Tadashi Hamada in the Big Hero 6 movie. Lan of the series is pretty much identical to his book counterpart, being a man of few words and stony disposition. But with a soft spot for Nynaeve al’Meara.

 

Lan is a great character. In the initial story he is a mysterious man of few words, immensely strong, a man made of steel. He teaches Rand and the boys a lot about fighting, and Rand specifically about concepts of honor. They share a mantra, “Death is lighter than a feather, Duty is heavier than a mountain.” Yes, not a great mantra, but there you go. But, as the story goes on, we see more of him, of the man that hides behind the mask. Nynaeve does her damnedest to break down his walls and make him… human. Their romance is easily the best in the series, and I can’t wait to see more of it. he’s the greatest swordsman of all time, and I can’t wait to see him prove that again. Next time, we’ll talk about the MVP of the series, Moiraine Damodred. 

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