Rand al'Thor

Origin

Born on the slopes of Dragonmount, the son of an Aiel chief and the daughter-heir of Andor. His mother died at his birth, and he was adopted by passing soldier Tam al'Thor, who brought the child back to his village in the Two Rivers and raised him as his own. Rand grew up alongside Mat Cauthon and Perrin Aybara, with whom he remained best friends through adolescence. A raid on his farming village by Trollocs caused the injury of his father, and subsequently he learned that he was adopted. He left the town, alongside the mysterious Aes Sedai Moiraine Damodred, her warder al'Lan Mandragoran, and his two childhood friends, as well as Egwene al'Vere, Nynaeve al'Meara and gleeman Thom Merrilin, in order to fulfill his destiny as the Dragon Reborn.

Creation

Rand was originally created by Robert Jordan for his book series The Wheel of Time, making his first appearance in the first book of the series, The Eye of the World. He made his first comic appearance in Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time: Dragonmount #0, written by Jordan and Chuck Dixon, and illustrated by Chase Conley.

Major Story Arcs

The Eye of the World

Rand and his companions are driven from Emond's Field by an attack of the monstrous Trollocs, sent to kill him and his friends. They are pursued in their flight and seek refuge in the corrupted city of Shadar Logoth, where the group becomes separated. Rand, Mat and Thom make their way to Whitebridge, where Thom is apparently killed. Rand and Mat make their way to Caemlyn, evading attacks by Darkfriends and acting as gleeman. In Caemlyn, he falls into the palace gardens where he meets Elayne Trakand, the daughter-heir of Andor, her brothers Gawyn and Galad, and her mother, Queen Morgase of Andor. Though Morgase's advisor advises her that Rand is dangerous, she allows him to leave the palace. Soon after this he is reunited with the rest of his group, and they travel to an untainted well of Saidin, the male half of the One Power, which is under threat from members of the Forsaken. At the Eye of the World he battles one of the Forsaken and unintentionally channels the One Power, defeating two of the Forsaken and the legions of Trollocs. Moiraine reveals that he is the Dragon Reborn.

Powers and Abilities

Rand is ta'veren, meaning that he twists the pattern around himself, generally unintentionally, manipulating probabilities and causing unlikely things to occur. Like Perrin, and unlike Mat, his twisting of the pattern has positive results in about equal measure to the negative results. His ta'veren nature often draws important people to him, and tends to win their loyalty, or at least forces them to submit to him. He is capable of channeling Saidin, the male half of the One Power. He is one of the most powerful channelers in the world, perhaps the most powerful since the death of Lews Therin Telamon some three thousand years previous. He has also been shown to be capable of channeling the True Power, the Dark One's version of the One Power. He is the reincarnation of Lews Therin, and hears the voice of the dead man in his head. He also has access to Lews Therin's memories, allowing him to instinctively create weaves of the power that have been lost for centuries. Rand is a gifted fighter who wields a heron-marked sword, marking him as a blademaster. He is also a skilled leader.

Other Media

Literature

The Wheel of Time

Rand was originally created for the Wheel of Time series of books. A major protagonist in the series, he has appeared in fourteen books.

Games

Rand appears in numerous game adaptations of the series, both online and offline.