Lan, the oldest brother of the Kaul family and the Pillar of No Peak, struggles with the weight of leadership. He is a great peace-time Pillar, but this makes it difficult for him to adapt as conflict with Mountain escalates. Even early in the novel, he realizes that his style of leadership will not hold up if the tensions rise to war: “[H]e needed to more firmly wield his power as Pillar. It was his responsibility to make the hard decisions” (30).

Lan struggles to assert himself as unquestioned Pillar in the shadow of his grandfather—a legendary Pillar from No Peak’s more storied past. Lan is also torn between the opposing advice given by his aggressive Horn and more pragmatic Weather Man, a man whose ties to Lan’s grandfather and ulterior motives make his advice suspect. As Lan attempts to adapt to the necessities of being a war Pillar, he succumbs to the pressure he cannot quite handle, lapsing into SN1 addiction.

Lan is the novel’s tragic hero. He defeats Gam in a death of consequence, earning new jade and respect for his clan, but is forced to rely on SN1 to maintain an image of strength even as his injuries affect his jade tolerance.