Galad Damodred

Lord Galadedrid of House Damodred, called "Galad" for short, is a fictional character in the Wheel of Time fantasy series by Robert Jordan.

He is the son of Tigraine Mantear, fathered by Taringail Damodred, and half-brother to Elayne and Gawyn Trakand through his father. He is also (though he does not know it) Rand al'Thor's half-brother through his mother. His sign is a winged silver sword, point-down. He is known for his virtuous nature, and sometimes despised for it, as he "always does the right thing, with no regard for who it hurts." His physical beauty is also often commented on by several characters.

He and his brother Gawyn trained with the Warders at Tar Valon; of the two, Galad was accounted the better swordsman, though both were excellent and (as of the series' eleventh novel, Knife of Dreams) had become blademasters by defeating an acknowledged blademaster in combat. During The Fires of Heaven, he is found to have joined the Children of the Light, where he was quickly promoted due to his skill with a sword and zeal for righteousness. Having said that, Gawyn believes that Galad joined the Whitecloaks partly because he wanted to find Egwene al'Vere, with whom they are both besotted. As a Whitecloak, he was of service to his half-sister Elayne and her traveling companion Nynaeve al'Meara, taking action to secure a boat for their escape; however, this action was to seize the boat under the auspices of the Children, sparking an all-out riot which, in Elayne's opinion, would inevitably engulf the entire nation of Ghealdan in war. He did this purely to facilitate Nynaeve's and Elayne's escape, which he considered to be the right thing to do.

Galad is not present again in the series' narrative until the novel Knife of Dreams. Upon hearing that Eamon Valda, the Lord Captain Commander of the Children of the Light, had assaulted and killed his stepmother Morgase Trakand, he rides with several supporters to the Whitecloaks' new headquarters where he challenges Valda to "Trial Under the Light", a trial by combat duel to the death. Galad wins, and, by Whitecloak custom, inherits the defeated person's possessions; in Galad's case, he took up Valda's heron-mark sword and title of blademaster, as well as the office of Lord Captain Commander of the Children of the Light. The Children divide over this turn of events, and roughly 7,000 Children ride north with Galad towards Tarmon Gai'don. Later, his group meets with the other half of the children, and eventually he is recognized by all as commander.

It may be that Galad has a future relationship with Berelain, as Min Farshaw's viewings relating to her are, "Just a man in white who will make her fall head over heels"^[1] as well as another viewing of two beautiful people falling in love with each other. As of "Towers of Midnight", both he and Berelain showed great interest in each other.

References

1. ^ Lord of Chaos, Chapter 50