Fain maybe origami out of a fade in tSR for starters. RJ used fades as a benchmark of great fighting skill many times in the first few books. Lan being the swordsman that he is duels quite long with a fade. Fain is badass, he just hasn't had alot of screen time showing it. He managed to wound the greatest taveren in history, which you may oddly see as an indictator of a poor combatant, I see as a sign of a deadly ass mofo, even more so considering if he hadn't hit that one spot on him he would be toast, as would any other person in the world.