Finally Finished Series... Wow!

[Guest]

Immeasurable sadness akin to the loss of a friend who's passing did not come from the inevitable deep sleep we will all awake to someday, but instead as one we know we have seen walk away for the very last time, the final farewell. The sweet sorrow of a parting well met! 

 

 

I realize that this might sound like I am being dramatic, and perhaps I am, but wow, I am nearly numbed by the conclusion of the series. A story I have read from early on in high school, perhaps around 15 years of age; only to now be finishing as a 28 year old man. I remember browsing the school library where I spent much of my time avoiding doing school work by submerging myself inside the world of literary imagination. I remember the first time sitting down to flip through the unreasonably thick book called the Eye of the World, not because of a reference by anyone I knew, not because the author was known to me, but because the image of Lan Mandragoran atop his horse was too good to pass up. 

 

 

Would you believe that over the years I have read all the way to book 5 a total of 3 times and to book 10, twice? The first time I read to book 5 I stopped not because of boredom but because I wanted to switch to a series my friends were reading about some drow named Drizzt and while I do not regret the switch as it lead to a love affair with the greatest dark elf known to man; I do regret abandoning a series like that part way through. I felt as though I had betrayed a great author's trust by setting the series down, even though I always intended to pick it up again. 

 

 

The second time, I made it to book 10. I was married and expecting my first child. I remember finishing a series I had fallen in love with to the point of tattooing a symbol from the books on my left arm; that being, a sword with the word truth scrolled on it. I remember the sadness of putting down the last book in the Sword of Truth series and knowing that while I had honored Terry Goodkind with my persistence, I had shoved Robert Jordan's genius aside for too many years. It was time to pick the series up again. At the time I had assumed the series complete and I was going to finish them once and for all; though this turned out not to be true as the completion would come in 2013. I remember reading Crossroads of Twilight late at night, in my 2 bedroom, 700 square foot apartment with my very pregnant wife tossing and turning in the dim light, to my side. I remember my anxiety for the party of adventurers mixing with my nervousness to see my child, which I knew would happen the next day as we were scheduled for an induction. That was the last night I would read anything by Robert Jordan for the next 6 years as the craziness of fatherhood took over. 

 

 

I started over again in 2015, telling myself, willing myself to push through and complete the series that had consumed so much of my thoughts over the years. And yet, once again I made it to book 10 and once again I put it down for nearly 4 months. I don't know why, I had hit a wall, I was not board, I was just not ready to be done. I took a new job with a commute of nearly 50 minutes each way and I knew I had no excuses once I found the audio books for the rest of the series. Hour by hour, day by day I lunged closer and for 6 months I have toiled alongside Rand; feeling his anger, his hurt, his betrayals and eventually his light. With ever push of the play button I inched closer to the inevitable conclusion to the conflict of Perrin and his nemesis of the dream world. Through each frustrating chapter reset due to my lack of concentration when I was cut off in traffic or the frustrating pauses in the drama because of a fast food order that took too long; I followed Matt through the bowels of the den of the snakes and foxes. And in the end, alone as my wife and now, 4 kids slept, I wept inside for the losses the forces of light faced in the final battle. I cheered as I waved to the back of a hero, fading in the darkness, for a world set right, for the possibilities left to the imagination and for the legacy of the author who will always come to mind when I think of my favorite series of all time.

 

 

To you Robert Jordan, may the creator shelter you and protect you to the end of the ages and may you forever find shade and water provided by his hands. God bless you and the heroes of the light for seducing my imagination and capturing my heart! 

 

P.S. 

   A sincere thanks to Brandon Sanderson for his dedication in completing a great mans final works. The task surely could not have been easy, though no master work is ever completed without sacrifice!

[Nikonis]

Welcome to Dragonmount Boulder,

 

First, congratulations on finishing the series after so many years of being a fan of it! Since you've finished the series you might enjoy checking out some of the threads on our Discussion Boards where people can start and/or join in on discussions about the series and characters from it.

 

In addition to those boards you might enjoy checking out our many Social Groups which can be a great way for you to meet and get to know some of the people around the site. You may join as many groups as you'd like and each one has their own draw. All of the groups have some great members, many of us are members of multiple groups, and each group has some fun activities to participate in. If any of the groups appeal to you then feel free to apply to join them. If you have any questions about The Band of the Red Hand, home of music, travel, drinks & food, I should be able to answer them (I'm the Band's Exececutive Officer). If you have any questions about The Black Tower, home of Spam and Madness, I should also be able to answer those (I'm Logain, leader of the Light Faction). Other than those two groups I can't really answer many of your questions but if you post here or in their general board I'm sure one of their members will be more than happy to help answer your questions about their group. From my experiance, many of the groups seem to have a little bit of RP mixed in however do not mainly focus on it.

 

If you are looking for some in depth RP we also have the RP-Groups which, though I have little to no knowledge of, is something many find fun to participate in. If you plan on participating I believe they have a main board you can post any questions to if no one here is able answer them.

 

Have a great time on the site and I hope to see you around!

[Elgee]

What a lovely intro! I hope we see you around the Social Boards, or even the RP Boards :)