Who is Rand al'Thor from A Crown of Swords and what is their importance?

Rand al'Thor is the main focus of the Wheel of Time series. Rand is what has been spoken of in ancient prophecies as the Dragon Reborn. It is said that the Dragon Reborn will do battle with the Dark One and save the world. There are various groups that want to find and capture Rand, and each has their own reasons for doing this. There are groups that want to capture Rand so that they can stop him from defeating the Dark One since they serve the Dark One.