Sharian Nation

[Ubaydullah Abdul-Malik]

After finishing the last book and finally ending a journey of over a decade i want to say it was nice to

finally see black/afro-type male channelers and an African/Arabian nation included in the W.O.T. world. (Shara reads like Sahara or Sub-Sahara)

 

Too bad these Afro/Arabian male channelers walked on all fours like apes and couldn't even talk like humans but hey, they finally got their place in the story! Count on R.J. to save the best for last!

 

Also too bad this Afro/Arabian nation was the one and only nation to be totally on the side of Evil and fight amongst Trollocs, Myrddraal, Draghkar and Forsaken but hey, they got their place in the last battle.

 

I would have liked to read something explaining how/why a nation ended up choosing the side of Evil, but i read nothing about mass compulsion or anything. Did read about some likely prophesy-trick but that was debunked when Demandred confronts Shendla about fighting amongst Trollocs and seeing who's side they are REALLY fighting on. Of course she is likely blinded by love but she is one individual and not an entire nation/race/people. I guess they all just really really love Demandred.

(he is rather kind and endearing after all)

 

It was a nice allegoric touch, having the darkest skinned people of the saga finally playing a mayor part by fighting for the Dark One. (why didn't i think of that, how original!)

 

Did i mention it was cool the men moved like apes? Sure they went crazy, like some Asha'men went crazy but it was a nice touch having the Sharan channelers also walk like apes.

 

I loved how even after the male part of the One Power was cleansed a long while ago the Sharan channelers still were all depicted as men that can't even speak human words or walk like humans. Must be that the Sharan Army command only took these guys to the Battle. Probably for some good tactical or psy-warfare reason. Too bad the book doesn't explain, but hey it added to atmosphere of the saga!

 

I i think the author(s) mean us to understand the sane Sharan men would not so easily choose Evil.That must explain it. That's why there's no sane Sharan male channeler in the entire book that speaks and walks like a man. That must be it. Would have loved some chapters about a Sharan male channelers underground or resistance against Bao/Demandred but hey, i guess there was only limited time and paper in the series.

 

Too bad that we couldn't get a real proper look at all inside Shara in these 2 decades of W.O.T. Too bad we never got much of Demandred's POV. But hey, at  least R.J. made an effort here and there to trickle some information about the nature of Sharan people.

I recall in one of the books they are said to be very truthful and nice to trade with, pleasant people. (Correct me if that is not what RJ wrote about them)

 

 

It was all a very pleasant read, A Memory of Light was, the only moment i felt a bit uncomfortable was

when Mat or another hero remarked about a tactic or an event and said something like: If they are killing Sharans and Trollocs it's good! Or something like that sentiment. That was quite an awkward promotion/approval of slaughter.

 

Not like Dumai's Wells were our heroes express regret and revolt at the slaughter of the brave but misguided Shaido. Not one word of regret or sorrow for the Sharan soldiers in the entire book. Nothing like what Tolkien wrote and Faramir asked of the Haradrim/Easterlings he had to fight in Lord of The Rings. Those words Tolkien wrote were quite moving and true. But no such remarks of pity or even asking "why" for the Sharans in this book. (Even Lanfear got a few lines of pity)

 

Well....I guess them Sharans had it coming eh?

 

 

Thank you mister Sanderson,

 

The Pacifist Warder - The Netherlands

 

 

PS I've been a major fanboy since 2001 and read most of the saga thrice or twice. Also bought books for friends and colleagues to spread the saga. So far i haven't shared it with "certain" people as they were busy reading Feist, Martin and Herbert Junior and now i've read the end i guess i'll leave it this way. Something tells me it's better they don't connect me to this saga.

 

 

The Sharian's are afro-arabs with a little bit of Imperial China throne in for flavor, one of the names for shara, Kigali is shared with a real world city in Rwanda.

The description of the Sharan Axe is very close to these       African battle Axes.

In this regard I am glad that either Brandon Sanderson or somebody on team Jordan actual did at least a little home work into African weapons. When it came time to outfit the Sharan's instead of going, "Hey let's just give the Quasi-African/Arabs Sharian/Easterlings/Southruns Spears  big leather shields and call it a day". 

 

Demandred's Sharian armor described as looking  like a coins that had been sown together. It was likely meant to be seen as a very ornate form of scale armor perhaps something like this.

 

 

In my mind however I saw the armor as something like this, an armored gown/robe.

 

Having read The World Of Robert Jordan's Wheel Of Time. I knew that the male members of the Sharian Ayyad were just two steps above being Feral. The men of Ayyad are barely taught anything beyond the absolute basics of how to function as person. Are used as breeding stock by the females until the show signs of channeling or turn twenty one, in either cases they were killed; that is until Demandred emancipated them.

 

I personally as a Black/African-American member of the N.O.C. Nerds of Color, do not find the Sharans their culture or their role as the dangerous bad guy army offensive.

 

However...if i was going to take some mild umbrage at something. it would be the fact that a near feral group of dark-skinned  heavily tattooed men in baggy pants put the fear of the Light into everybody; yes even other Sharans.

[clutzyninja]

So should I be offended that the most evil people in history were all supposedly white?  The forsaken, that is.

 

And Rand, assuming Rand is white, obviously it is an allegory to how every white person to lead a nation winds up tearing it apart in the process, right?

Cutting down avendesora?  Another obvious poke at white people's disregard for the environment.

 

Seriousy guys, I never even figured the Sharans as being black before this post.  Stop looking for racism and you can take away so much of its power.

[Plato]

Don't forget the desert dwelling, spear throwing, veil wearing Aiel are Irish and Scottish.  Your argument is invalid.

[Ubaydullah Abdul-Malik]

Don't forget the desert dwelling, spear throwing, veil wearing Aiel are Irish and Scottish. Your argument is invalid .

 

First whenever a touchy "subject" is brought up there are always three responses:Agreement,Dismissal,Neutrality. And in a discussion/argument the neutral voice often serves as the mediator and peace maker.

 

Assuming the information in the Wheel Of Time FAQ is accurate then the Aiel are very tall Celtics. With cultural infusions from the Cheyenne, Apache, Zulu(which is where they get their predilection for spears and leather shields from;albite small and round rather than large and ovoid), Bedouin, Japanese, Berbers.

 

And assuming that "Your argument is invalid" is directed at then, you are incorrect good sir  my "statement" is perfectly valid. From the FAQ here is a list of real world influences on the Wot Nations.http://www.steelypips.org/wotfaq/3_sources/3.14_countries.html

 

 

 

[Mr Ares]

So should I be offended that the most evil people in history were all supposedly white?  The forsaken, that is.

Except Semi, who was black.

 

 

Don't forget the desert dwelling, spear throwing, veil wearing Aiel are Irish and Scottish. Your argument is invalid .

 

First whenever a touchy "subject" is brought up there are always three responses:Agreement,Dismissal,Neutrality. And in a discussion/argument the neutral voice often serves as the mediator and peace maker.

And consequently, is not worth listening to. It's not peace that matters, it's victory.

[Ubaydullah Abdul-Malik]

Don't forget the desert dwelling, spear throwing, veil wearing Aiel are Irish and Scottish.  Your argument is invalid.

 

The Aiel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

First and Fore most are the Fremen from the series Dune.

 

 

Transplanted into Epic Fantasy from Sci-Fi. Both are races of  tribalistic Hyper-Lethal desert dwelling survivalist. Who accept the protagonists of their respective series as one their own;And come to serve him as a highly effective military force.

 

A lot of the Aiel's culture is drawn from various Native American cultures. The most obvious being the sweat lodges and their naming trends.

Less well known i'd guess, is the concept of Warrior Societies something that the Sioux formed under the name Akíčhita. Another trait shared with a number of Native Americans cultures is that the  women were the ones who hold property rights;roof-mistress indeed.

 

The Aiel also share some cultural traits with the Zulu and one other African Culture.

 

 

 

The Aiel Warrior's Signature weapon shown here.

Described as a Spear with a long broad blade on a short shaft.

 

 

Is modeled on the Zulu Ikwal.

 

Other Zulu inspired elements of the Aiel, are their leather shields;Although the Aiesl's shields are small and round rather than large and ovoid like the Zulu's. 

 

 

The Aiel's penchant for singing at their enemies

 

During a scene in the later books Tam, says that he hoped to never here that sound again. In the scene Tam is watching the Aiel as they are banging their spear into their shields and chanting; Again the Zulu did this.

 

Mentioned near the beginning of this post is the fact the Aiel share a cultural thread with one other African society besides the Zule, the Dahomey.

 

The Aiel's sole female Warrior Society the Far Dareis Mai      were a full time all female military force.

 

And their is at least one real world example of such a force having existed...the so called Amazons of the Dahomey

 

 

 

I have absolutely no way to know weather or not  the late Mr.Robert Jordan had any knowledge of the Dahomey Amazons. The Most likely source of the inspirations for the Maidens of the Spear were the Greek Amazons(who were in all probability inspired by the Greek contact with the Scythians) however their are some interesting parallels between the between the Maidens of the Spear and Dahomey Amazons; which could possibly be interpreted as more than coincidental.

 

 

So should I be offended that the most evil people in history were all supposedly white?  The forsaken, that is.

 

And Rand, assuming Rand is white, obviously it is an allegory to how every white person to lead a nation winds up tearing it apart in the process, right?

Cutting down avendesora?  Another obvious poke at white people's disregard for the environment.

 

Seriousy guys, I never even figured the Sharans as being black before this post.  Stop looking for racism and you can take away so much of its power.

 

A question to clutzyninja, the only description of a man who might be a Sharan is given in the Knife of Dreams Chapter 21. This is from the Wot Wiki"He is described as very dark, with a peculiar coat without collar or lapels, once white but now stained, and having a musical accent. The kidnapped rulers, too, are described as very dark-skinned and with curly hair, both slender and of great beauty".  What people or peoples of the Earth/First Age can fit that description.

[Suttree]

Here is the desciption of the Sharan for people to reference:

 

KoD Ch.21

 A very dark fellow with tightly curled hair, at a square table beside the door, seemed not to notice the Maidens at all. Rand took him for one of the Sea Folk at first, though he wore a peculiar coat without collar or lapels, once white but now stained and wrinkled. “I tell you. I have many, many of the… the worms that make… yes, make… silk on a ship.” he said haltingly in an odd, musical accent. “But I must have the… the… andberry… yes, andberry leaves to feed them. We will be rich.”

 

and the rulers from LoC Ch.6

 

Graendal had already moved on, to a very dark-skinned man and woman with curly hair, both of great beauty. A slender pair played oddly elongated harps, with chimes that resonated to the plucked strings in crystalline echoes. "My newest acquisitions, from the lands beyond the Aiel Waste. They should thank me for rescuing them. Chiape was Sh’boan, a sort of empress, newly widowed, and Shaofan was to marry her and become Sh’botay. For seven years she would have ruled absolutely, then died. Whereupon he would have chosen a new Sh’boan and ruled absolutely until his death in seven years. They have followed that cycle for nearly three thousand years without a break." She gave a small laugh and shook her head wonderingly. "Shaofan and Chiape insist the deaths are natural. The Will of the Pattern, they call it. To them everything is the Will of the Pattern."

 

That said it is a fallacy to assume the entire country is made up solely of these people. It could very well be like Seanchan with a variety of skin colors. We know that Sammael only unified some of the groups, a portion of the country never came under his control and didn't fight in the LB.

 

As for the Aiel we know per RJ that Zulu and Native American inspiration went into forming the culture. Regardless one and all they are light skinned and fair haired, similar to someone with a Celtic background.

[clutzyninja]

@Asha'manKill!

 

Slightly off topic, but not too much...

 

I love history, but you obviously have a better background in it than I do...

 

The Doth'raki in SoIaF, what influences would you say they have other than Mongolian?  They're tribal, they're all about horses, they're expanionist when united, feudal when not.  That all screams Mongol to me.  THoughts?

[Ubaydullah Abdul-Malik]

Here is the desciption of the Sharan for people to reference:

 

KoD Ch.21

 A very dark fellow with tightly curled hair, at a square table beside the door, seemed not to notice the Maidens at all. Rand took him for one of the Sea Folk at first, though he wore a peculiar coat without collar or lapels, once white but now stained and wrinkled. “I tell you. I have many, many of the… the worms that make… yes, make… silk on a ship.” he said haltingly in an odd, musical accent. “But I must have the… the… andberry… yes, andberry leaves to feed them. We will be rich.”

 

and the rulers from LoC Ch.6

 

Graendal had already moved on, to a very dark-skinned man and woman with curly hair, both of great beauty. A slender pair played oddly elongated harps, with chimes that resonated to the plucked strings in crystalline echoes. "My newest acquisitions, from the lands beyond the Aiel Waste. They should thank me for rescuing them. Chiape was Sh’boan, a sort of empress, newly widowed, and Shaofan was to marry her and become Sh’botay. For seven years she would have ruled absolutely, then died. Whereupon he would have chosen a new Sh’boan and ruled absolutely until his death in seven years. They have followed that cycle for nearly three thousand years without a break." She gave a small laugh and shook her head wonderingly. "Shaofan and Chiape insist the deaths are natural. The Will of the Pattern, they call it. To them everything is the Will of the Pattern."

 

That said it is a fallacy to assume the entire country is made up solely of these people. It could very well be like Seanchan with a variety of skin colors. We know that Sammael only unified some of the groups, a portion of the country never came under his control and didn't fight in the LB.

 

As for the Aiel we know per RJ that Zulu and Native American inspiration went into forming the culture. Regardless one and all they are light skinned and fair haired, similar to someone with a Celtic background.

 

When it comes to works of media as far as i am concerned the creator/creartrix's intent trumps everything. Even political correctness which can at times not only be ridicules, it can be more offensive than(insert "ism" of choice here ). Assuming the information in the FAQ is accurate than the Shara is Africa as a whole combined with elements from Imperial China; most notable being silk production.  Suttree i am not trying to take the Aiel from you, just highlight  some of the elements that went into the creation of their culture. If the Aiel actually do have to go somewhere it will not be with me, but back to Arrakis.

 

 

[Ubaydullah Abdul-Malik]

 

Here is the desciption of the Sharan for people to reference:

 

KoD Ch.21

 A very dark fellow with tightly curled hair, at a square table beside the door, seemed not to notice the Maidens at all. Rand took him for one of the Sea Folk at first, though he wore a peculiar coat without collar or lapels, once white but now stained and wrinkled. “I tell you. I have many, many of the… the worms that make… yes, make… silk on a ship.” he said haltingly in an odd, musical accent. “But I must have the… the… andberry… yes, andberry leaves to feed them. We will be rich.”

 

and the rulers from LoC Ch.6

 

Graendal had already moved on, to a very dark-skinned man and woman with curly hair, both of great beauty. A slender pair played oddly elongated harps, with chimes that resonated to the plucked strings in crystalline echoes. "My newest acquisitions, from the lands beyond the Aiel Waste. They should thank me for rescuing them. Chiape was Sh’boan, a sort of empress, newly widowed, and Shaofan was to marry her and become Sh’botay. For seven years she would have ruled absolutely, then died. Whereupon he would have chosen a new Sh’boan and ruled absolutely until his death in seven years. They have followed that cycle for nearly three thousand years without a break." She gave a small laugh and shook her head wonderingly. "Shaofan and Chiape insist the deaths are natural. The Will of the Pattern, they call it. To them everything is the Will of the Pattern."

 

That said it is a fallacy to assume the entire country is made up solely of these people. It could very well be like Seanchan with a variety of skin colors. We know that Sammael only unified some of the groups, a portion of the country never came under his control and didn't fight in the LB.

 

As for the Aiel we know per RJ that Zulu and Native American inspiration went into forming the culture. Regardless one and all they are light skinned and fair haired, similar to someone with a Celtic background.

 

When it comes to works of media as far as i am concerned the creator/creartrix's intent trumps everything. Even political correctness which can at times not only be ridicules, it can be more offensive than(insert "ism" of choice here ). Assuming the information in the FAQ is accurate than the Shara is Africa as a whole combined with elements from Imperial China; most notable being silk production.  Suttree i am not trying to take the Aiel from you, just highlight  some of the elements that went into the creation of their culture. If the Aiel actually do have to go somewhere it will not be with me, but back to Arrakis.

 

 

 

@Asha'manKill!

 

Slightly off topic, but not too much...

 

I love history, but you obviously have a better background in it than I do...

 

The Doth'raki in SoIaF, what influences would you say they have other than Mongolian?  They're tribal, they're all about horses, they're expanionist when united, feudal when not.  That all screams Mongol to me.  THoughts?

 

 

Here is the desciption of the Sharan for people to reference:

 

KoD Ch.21

 A very dark fellow with tightly curled hair, at a square table beside the door, seemed not to notice the Maidens at all. Rand took him for one of the Sea Folk at first, though he wore a peculiar coat without collar or lapels, once white but now stained and wrinkled. “I tell you. I have many, many of the… the worms that make… yes, make… silk on a ship.” he said haltingly in an odd, musical accent. “But I must have the… the… andberry… yes, andberry leaves to feed them. We will be rich.”

 

and the rulers from LoC Ch.6

 

Graendal had already moved on, to a very dark-skinned man and woman with curly hair, both of great beauty. A slender pair played oddly elongated harps, with chimes that resonated to the plucked strings in crystalline echoes. "My newest acquisitions, from the lands beyond the Aiel Waste. They should thank me for rescuing them. Chiape was Sh’boan, a sort of empress, newly widowed, and Shaofan was to marry her and become Sh’botay. For seven years she would have ruled absolutely, then died. Whereupon he would have chosen a new Sh’boan and ruled absolutely until his death in seven years. They have followed that cycle for nearly three thousand years without a break." She gave a small laugh and shook her head wonderingly. "Shaofan and Chiape insist the deaths are natural. The Will of the Pattern, they call it. To them everything is the Will of the Pattern."

 

That said it is a fallacy to assume the entire country is made up solely of these people. It could very well be like Seanchan with a variety of skin colors. We know that Sammael only unified some of the groups, a portion of the country never came under his control and didn't fight in the LB.

 

As for the Aiel we know per RJ that Zulu and Native American inspiration went into forming the culture. Regardless one and all they are light skinned and fair haired, similar to someone with a Celtic background.

 

When it comes to works of media as far as i am concerned the creator/creartrix's intent trumps everything. Even political correctness which can at times not only be ridicules, it can be more offensive than(insert "ism" of choice here ). Assuming the information in the FAQ is accurate than the Shara is Africa as a whole combined with elements from Imperial China; most notable being silk production.  Suttree i am not trying to take the Aiel from you, just highlight  some of the elements that went into the creation of their culture. If the Aiel actually do have to go somewhere it will not be with me, but back to Arrakis.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the desciption of the Sharan for people to reference:

 

KoD Ch.21

 A very dark fellow with tightly curled hair, at a square table beside the door, seemed not to notice the Maidens at all. Rand took him for one of the Sea Folk at first, though he wore a peculiar coat without collar or lapels, once white but now stained and wrinkled. “I tell you. I have many, many of the… the worms that make… yes, make… silk on a ship.” he said haltingly in an odd, musical accent. “But I must have the… the… andberry… yes, andberry leaves to feed them. We will be rich.”

 

and the rulers from LoC Ch.6

 

Graendal had already moved on, to a very dark-skinned man and woman with curly hair, both of great beauty. A slender pair played oddly elongated harps, with chimes that resonated to the plucked strings in crystalline echoes. "My newest acquisitions, from the lands beyond the Aiel Waste. They should thank me for rescuing them. Chiape was Sh’boan, a sort of empress, newly widowed, and Shaofan was to marry her and become Sh’botay. For seven years she would have ruled absolutely, then died. Whereupon he would have chosen a new Sh’boan and ruled absolutely until his death in seven years. They have followed that cycle for nearly three thousand years without a break." She gave a small laugh and shook her head wonderingly. "Shaofan and Chiape insist the deaths are natural. The Will of the Pattern, they call it. To them everything is the Will of the Pattern."

 

That said it is a fallacy to assume the entire country is made up solely of these people. It could very well be like Seanchan with a variety of skin colors. We know that Sammael only unified some of the groups, a portion of the country never came under his control and didn't fight in the LB.

 

As for the Aiel we know per RJ that Zulu and Native American inspiration went into forming the culture. Regardless one and all they are light skinned and fair haired, similar to someone with a Celtic background.

 

When it comes to works of media as far as i am concerned the creator/creartrix's intent trumps everything. Even political correctness which can at times not only be ridicules, it can be more offensive than(insert "ism" of choice here ). Assuming the information in the FAQ is accurate than the Shara is Africa as a whole combined with elements from Imperial China; most notable being silk production.  Suttree i am not trying to take the Aiel from you, just highlight  some of the elements that went into the creation of their culture. If the Aiel actually do have to go somewhere it will not be with me, but back to Arrakis.

 

 

 

 

@Asha'manKill!

 

Slightly off topic, but not too much...

 

I love history, but you obviously have a better background in it than I do...

 

The Doth'raki in SoIaF, what influences would you say they have other than Mongolian?  They're tribal, they're all about horses, they're expanionist when united, feudal when not.  That all screams Mongol to me.  THoughts?

 

Most of my information on Pre-colonial Africa came from one book.

 

 

 

 

About The Dothraki Horde.

 

I Haven't read any books on Asian or Near/Middle Easter History so i can't go in "depth" as to what elements from the real world cultures were incorporated into them.

 

However I reconiges at least one thing, the Arakh. 

 

The Curve bladed sword that the Dothraki use is similar to the Egyptian Kopesh.

[Apoc81]

This whole topic makes no sense since there have been black people all throughout the series, viewed in many different ways, just as white people were.

[driedraspberry]

 

 

Taraboners actually seem to be quite Arab (and note: Tarabon), and Arad Doman seems to be Persian or Indian in parallel ethnicity (the capitol, Bandar Eban, has a name similar to many Arab/Persian cities, and some have noted that Domani is nearly an anagram of Indian).

 

Those are cultural references not ethnic ones. You'd be hard pressed to find Persians that physically resemble Domani, they're much more like Cairhienin (pale with dark hair and dark eyes, smaller of stature...).

 

 

I'm not going to claim that I've met many Persians, but I have met half a dozen, and most of them had bronze toned skin. The region is pretty diverse, however, so maybe I was wrong to make the comparison as a whole. Domani do have darker skin tones then characters ethnically native to the mainland setting, however.

Most Persians have olive skin tones, not bronze, and they're usually quite fair. But there are always exceptions and tanning is popular with those living in Cali for example. The half a dozen people you met could have been either, but certainly that's a very poor sample size to make any sort of conclusions based upon.

 

I always pictured Moiraine as a stereotypical Cairhein which are described more like an Asian group. Lan I interpreted as Native American features based on his many descriptions. 

 

The Two Rivers folk (minus Rand) all come from a tiny village that is mostly isolated for 2000 years, I do not find it hard to believe that they all are similar in ethnicitiy. Tuon is the most powerful single character after the books conclude.

 

Cairheinin would have to be Asian or from the northern regions of middle east, because of their smaller stature and dark hair/eyes in combination to paler skin. I love the idea of Lan as a native American.

 

I never thought of the Two Rivers folk as white since Rand looked so different that people were disinclined to believe there as his origins. In tEotW Rand has reddish-brown hair and a tan, so it's not like he has extreme Nordic features to distinguish him, and yet even despite that Elaida/Morgase don't buy him as being from Two Rivers. And yet Egwene/Nyn have no trouble fitting in other places like Tear, where in their group only Elayne was an obvious foreigner.

[Sabio]

1. As mentioned, Shara isn't the only nation with dark skinned peoples. There are dark skinned Tearians (Julin Sandar) Sea Folk, Seanchan and more. Shara isn't a totally dark-skinned nation (although it certainly has many African parallel's. 

 

2. Shara is actually more advanced than the lands Rand dwells in. They were largely unaffected by the Trolloc Wars and Hawkwing's downfall. They speak in a "higher" tongue, closer to the old tongue used in the AoL. 

 

3. As mentioned, madness doesn't go away after cleansing. The madness that has acumulated stays,, it just doesn't get any worse. 

 

However, that's besides the point. The reason the Sharan males are little more than animals is because the Sharans did not kill their male channellers immediately. They used them as breeding stock, and killed them when they started to channel. They are kept in an isolated village and are not educated at all - since they are going to die anyway. They are cattle. Demandred stopped this practise and taught them channeling. However, it was only 2 years since he arrived in Shara. The men are mostly uneducated and little more than animals. 

This is purely because of the Taint madness, not because of any perceived racism. Male channelers all around the globe are persecuted. In Seanchan they are killed and their names stricken from the records forever. Most people don't know about the cleansing either. The Sharan males wouldn't have the ability to articulate it anyway - and they would likely not believe them. Hardly anyone believes Rand as it is - only those that have had first hand proof. 

 

4. Only a faction of the Sharan continent joined Demandred. In fact, only a relatively small portion. 

 

5. RJ had relatively little to do with the culture of Shara in the end. Brandon has said he had to expand it himself. 

I'd call the notion absurd and offensive if it was RJ. 

 

For Brandon - there is no way. Any perceived insult is just that. It was done unknowingly. 

 

 

INTERVIEW: Feb 22nd, 2013

AMOL Signing Report - Terez (Verbatim)

 

TEREZ

Because all this stuff is in the notes, right?

 

BRANDON SANDERSON

What's that? Oh, some of it is, not all of it.

 

TEREZ

Oh, well yeah, because I know you said you had to kind of....you know, extrapolate a little bit...

 

BRANDON SANDERSON

I had to extrapolate a lot of the Sharan culture and things, which is where "River of Souls" came from. At the end of the day, because I was extrapolating these things, that's what made them distracting from the main plotline, if that makes sense.

 

 

There are far more factors involved than what you are suggesting. I would suggest having a close look at some of the interviews here: http://www.theoryland.com/wheel-of-time-interview-search.php which shed some light on influences and parallels. 

I see them in some ways as more advanced but in other ways they are probably inferior to Randland.  Think of feudal Japan that closed itself off from the outside world.  In some ways it harms their culture because you never get new ideas into the nation.  As other nations advance and gain new technology, Shara stays isolated and walled off.  In some ways they seem the type to resist change, since change could be dangerous as new ideas could mean people want change.

[Asgard Thorin]

I think the story focuses so much on the main continent (Hakwingia) that we lose sight that there must have been other battles in other places. The Sharans side with evil because all those who opposed the Darkfriends there are dead. Their Lan, Nynaeve, Elayne, Egwene, their Davram Bashere and Lord Agelmar (or whatever non-ta'veren character you want to compare these unknown Sharan do-gooders to) already lost. Remember, Graendal stole the Sharan Emperor and Empress a year or so earlier. It's not that these people are intrinsically evil; they were beaten into submission. I.e., there, the Forsaken won.