Rand, Galad, Gawyn or Lan?

[Ebony Ash]

Suian is more likely to consider dangerous to be other things than being good with a blade. I would have thought that she meant he could ruin her plans rather than being able to swing his sword about

I think she actually meant that he is dangerous in the actual meaning.  She mentioned him being dangerous after she noted that he killed his master Whatever-his-name-is. Therefore one is likely to infer she meant he is more deadly with the blade rather than saying he will wreck her plans.

[trakand_01]

I am sure that dangerous with steel in his hand was one of the connotations of 'dangerous' when Siuan was talking about Gawyn, but personally I think she was meaning that he was dangerous in terms of he wasnt one to just do what she said. He has his own mind, power (of a sort) and like Galad (although to a lesser extent) he does what he sees is the right thing to do. He can't be trusted to just 'go along', he's dangerous, one to keep an eye on.

[Daedallus]

I know i'm a bit late in the conversation. but there were a couple posts that said things to the effect of

 

"as long as rand doesn't lose the void, he would win"

 

The Void, is actually a sword master's trick, Lan uses it, Tam Al'Thor taught it to Rand and I'm sure that Galad and Gawyn both were taught and use it.

 

the fact that Rand uses it to control saidin was a happy coincidence, and rather fortuitous no?

 

as for the winner, i have to follow the pack and go with Lan. E ven if the 3 youngster's have all earned their Heron's you just have to go with experience. the scene i that i love to refer to, is the one where Egwene finds Lan in the little camp where Myrelle is trying to stop him from dieing, and he begins going through the forms. Hes a whirling blur for a good 30 minutes and only gets faster and faster.

[aussie_ashaman123]

Lan, hands down. Cut off one of his legs, Lan would still win. Eyeless, with one leg, Lan would win

[Moghedian]

I'd like to give it to the old man. I think Lan'd take it, mostly due to the fact that he'd just refuse to die and probably end up offing his opponant with his teeth if need be

 

Hear hear!

 

Lan would definitely be my first choice however Rand with both hands would be considerably better than the other two.

[bjclinton]

So I'm rereading the series- currently on Lord of Chaos....

 

If you would really like to dispel any concerns that Lan is most definitely the best swordsman / fighter / warrior in the series, reread the part where Egwene discovers that Myrella has obtained his bond and that they're keeping him hidden so they can and help him "heal" form Moiraine's death. In this scene we can see Lan training among other warders and as they're watching him work through the forms with his sword, everyone's mouths literally drop open at how fast he continues to move. Its a great paragraph describing a person moving a speed with weapon that we've never seen described in the series and yet he still continues to gain speed until he damn near splits Egwene's head open when she approaches him. There is something inhuman about how RJ is describing Lan and I actually forgot about this small, yet significant scene as it relates to how he dangerous of a man Lan is (grey streaks or no!)

 

If, after reading that, you still think there is a better swordsman / fighter in Randland then I will officially dub you Sir Crazy  ;)

 

(EDIT: i was so impressed by that scene, that I immediately logged in to search this topic out to post this, not taking a moment to read some of the most recent replies and it appears as though i'm saying that same thing as Daedallus was saying 2 posts above. OOps....sorry for stealing your thunder : )

[Kadere]

That scene is in ACoS... Lan only appears at the end in LoC when he comes to Myrella in the woods.

[Rahlian]

Gee, thanks The Thin Innkeeper, now I'm going to have to get a grin-ectomy. And i am going to go with Lan, for many of the same reasons. Writing on a PSP takes ages btw...

[Snowy Dawn]

``Perhaps I could parrot myself and point out that Rand killed two Warders in mere heartbeats etc etc?''

 

Um... I vaguely remember this, but please remind me of the incident (and which volume it is in).

 

Rand kills the High Lord Turak in a duel, but IIRC not so much by skill (he thinks that he cannot sustain his end of the fight much longer if I recall the passage in TGH correctly) but by one burst of effort in which he, a younger man, overwhelms the High Lord.

 

Rand is even with, but only holding his own, with Toram Riatin in the battle with practice swords in the big tent south of Cairhien that the rebels (Riatin, Caraline Damodred, &c.) have as their headquarters. Lan on the other hand kills Riatin in the encounter with Riatin and Padan Fain in attic of the house on Blue Carp Street in Far Madding (<i>Heart of Winter</i>, I believe.)

 

Galad kills Valda more by guile than swordsmanship, IIRC: he makes it seem as tho' he has about had it, whereupon Valda leaves himself open for the fatal slice across his abdomen.

 

The only judgment among the four named that I feel confident about is the same offered by most in this thread, viz., that Lan is the most formidable swordsman among them. (I would have to check the passage(s) in TSR, but I think that Lan as well as Rand is taught by the Aiel in the art of fighting unarmed.)

[Rahlian]

this is a bit off topic, but i forgot to ask this on my PSP, what does IIRC mean?

[BrainFireBob]

It's a common net acronym, in this case, for "if I recall correctly."

 

Others include "In my humble opinion (IMHO)," "as far as I know (AFAIK)," etc.

[Rahela Sedai]

I think it would be Lan, because he has alot more exprience and he taught Rand to fight. Generally when you teach someone to fight you know all their weak spots so he automatically has that advantage against Rand.

Gawyn could give Rand a run for his money I think, he killed two blademaster's when the Tower was broken. Before that he tells Min how worried he is over Egwene and Elayne and that he spends all day every day in the practice courts to work off his frustration, thats got to give him an excellent advantage and unlike Rand his training has been pretty steady from start to finish instead of coming in spurts whenever Lan is around. Galad on the other hand, sits on his butt all day reading Whitecloak philosophy.

[Harmless Bandit]

``Perhaps I could parrot myself and point out that Rand killed two Warders in mere heartbeats etc etc?''

 

Um... I vaguely remember this, but please remind me of the incident (and which volume it is in).

 

Lord of Chaos, I believe. Rand had been cramped in that chest all day, as the Aes Sedai who had kidnapped him were taking him to the Tower. In the evening, IIRC, they let him out, to 'walk him' or question him. Upon hearing that Min had been beaten (I think that's it) by the Aes Sedai, he literally went into a rage, and killed one of the Warders guarding him with his own hands, and mortally wounded the other Warder with his (or the dead Warder's) sword, and that in mere moments; after all the Sisters who were there were not fast enough to stop him before he did the damage.

 

The Warders are arguably the best fighters in the world (at least equal to the Aiel). I would walk carefully around someone who can kill one or two. And I would walk equally carefully around someone described as the best of the Warders.

 

Which is why I think a fight between Lan and Rand could go either way. Whoever would win, the other would walk away scarred for life.

 

Rand kills the High Lord Turak in a duel, but IIRC not so much by skill (he thinks that he cannot sustain his end of the fight much longer if I recall the passage in TGH correctly) but by one burst of effort in which he, a younger man, overwhelms the High Lord.

 

IMHO, that fight is not really indicative of his skills.

 

Rand is even with, but only holding his own, with Toram Riatin in the battle with practice swords in the big tent south of Cairhien that the rebels (Riatin, Caraline Damodred, &c.) have as their headquarters. Lan on the other hand kills Riatin in the encounter with Riatin and Padan Fain in attic of the house on Blue Carp Street in Far Madding (<i>Heart of Winter</i>, I believe.)

 

A few things to consider:

Rand and Toram were not seeking to kill each other.

What's more, Rand did not take that fight seriously; to him it was a kind of sport. At least that's how I read it. Min and Caraline sought to dissuade him, arguing that Toram was a blademaster, but Rand simply wanted to prove (more to himself than any other, I would say), that he was at least Toram's equal.

A challenge for sure, but not a deadly or life threatening fight. Toram, on the other hand, from his behaviour, was dead set on proving his superiority with a blade, and so it would stand to reason that he would put all his back into it. Notice that when they heard that scream, everyone save Toram looked up, even Rand. Had he really been into that fight, he would have ignored the scream, as Toram did.

 

Another thing is, Rand didn't take his gloves off. As I understand it, they lessen (somewhat) a good grip on a sword, and that is something an experienced fighter would take advantage of. Yet Rand held his own.

 

Didn't Toram manage to wound Lan?

 

 

[Thor]

i thought lan defeated riatin quite cleanly, though I might be in need of a reread. :/

[Korin Caylin]

I think it would be Lan, because he has alot more exprience and he taught Rand to fight. Generally when you teach someone to fight you know all their weak spots so he automatically has that advantage against Rand.

Gawyn could give Rand a run for his money I think, he killed two blademaster's when the Tower was broken. Before that he tells Min how worried he is over Egwene and Elayne and that he spends all day every day in the practice courts to work off his frustration, thats got to give him an excellent advantage and unlike Rand his training has been pretty steady from start to finish instead of coming in spurts whenever Lan is around. Galad on the other hand, sits on his butt all day reading Whitecloak philosophy.

 

But Rand has been fighting a lot since then to perfect his form not including his practice fights with multiple people at the same time.

 

 

Then there was the time at the Cairhien rebel camp where he fought another blademaster with his coat on limiting his moblility and wasn't beaten until he was distracted by a fog that was tearing people to shreds!!!

[benr]

Y'all make Lan sound like the knight in The Holy Grail, refusing to admit defeat after both legs and arms are cut off.  Rand just rides away.