Damodred?

[Guest Fire Lord]

Hey guys, there are some obvious things that people fail to see or just simply ignore. One of those has been bugging me, and half of it has to do with a character we have not heard much about to my state.

This is for those geneticians among you.

I don't know how many times throughout the series we have been told that Cairhien (sp) people are very short. We have seen very few considered tall. Moiraine's father, by her own admission, in New Spring, I think. At a head shorter than Rand, Toram Riatin (sp) is very tall for a Cairhien. And Lord Barthanes (sp), the Darkfriend in the Great Hunt, was half a head shorter than Rand, and extremely tall for a Cairhien.

Now, how is it that no one notices that Galad, whom I would say is not more than an inch or perhaps two shorter than Rand, is a giant of a man for a Cairhien? He has the dark hair and eyes, and I know he has Andoran blood, but I am not sure that is the hitch.

Morgase is of average height, but look at Elyane and Gawyn (sp), they are both tall. Now, I am not sure about Tigraine but I don't think it's her. So that brings us to one guy: Damodred, Elyane and Gawyn's father. We know much and too little about him. Was he a full Cairhien? I guess so, though I would have liked to know what sort of man he was.

On a different note, I am sure I am not the only one who has noticed the similarity between Elyane and Ilyena. I mean, look at their names, very similar, both golden-haired and presumably Ilyena was also blue-eyed, one the wife to the Dragon, the other more or less the same to the Dragon Reborn, one the wife of a mad man, the other more or less so to a man who is half mad if not completely there. Any possibility of Rand going beserk and blasting Elyane? And any possibility of Elyane being Ilyena reborn? ( Well, to be honest, I don't think Jordan would pull such a stunt on us).

[TheDiceAgain...]

Damodred, Elyane and Gawyn's father.

 

Do you mean Taringail Damodred? If so, then I would tend to agree with you. He probably didn't give Galad his height. Galad is, however, half Andoran which you mention in your post. And if you'll remember, we also know another male member of his immediate family; his maternal uncle Lord Luc, one half of the entity known as Slayer. Here is what the books have to say about him:

 

He is tall, broad-shouldered and in his middle years. He has a hard, angular face and dark reddish hair white-winged at the temples. He has dark blue eyes. He wears a wolf's-head buckle on his belt.

 

One can safely assume that this is where Galad got his height and overall body type...

[Luckers]

Just because a people are generally short does not mean they all are, we have seen short Aiel, as well as one with dark hair.

[Guest Fire Lord]

Hey, thanks TheDiceAgain, I had completely forgotten about Tigraine's brother, and I think you may be right.

Luckers, I also agree with you, every rule has an exception, they say.