Gawyn Trakand

Gawyn Trakand is a fictional character in the "Wheel of Time" fantasy series by Robert Jordan.

Lord Gawyn of House Trakand is the son of Taringail and Queen Morgase, as well as the brother of Elayne and half-brother to Galad Damodred. Rand al'Thor meets Gawyn in "The Eye of the World" when he falls into the Palace garden, but little about him is discovered there. He has the same red-gold hair as Elayne.

Later, when Elayne heads to the White Tower for her Aes Sedai training, Gawyn and Galad train with the Warders. During his time there, Gawyn meets Egwene, Min, and Nynaeve. While he is at the tower, he assists in ousting Siuan Sanche from the Amyrlin Seat, and becomes the head of a group of former Warder trainees known as "The Younglings".

Gawyn has proven himself quite capable a swordsman, having killed two warders, Coulin and his swordsteacher Hammar, both of whom are of master swordsman caliber, during the revolts.

Gawyn shows up again in Cairhien where he meets with Egwene regularly and they confess their love for one another. After Egwene has to leave to become the Amyrlin Seat of the Salidar Aes Sedai, he leaves to assist the Aes Sedai he is travelling with at the Battle of Dumai's Wells, which he loses, but survives. As of "Knife of Dreams", Gawyn and the Younglings are encamped outside the walls of Tar Valon, not allowed in by order of Elaida and incapable of leaving due to winter snows and the rebel army. Like many of Robert Jordan's characters, Gawyn's name is reminiscent of Arthurian legend, in this case Gawain. He also dislikes Rand, as proven at one point when Egwene was pulled into one of his dreams, in which he killed Rand to rescue Egwene. He dislikes Rand as he thinks it was Rand who killed his mother, Morgase Trakand.