DRAGONMOUNT

Fall is finally here! Some of you are experiencing a gentle cooling while others are experiencing inclement weather. Halloween is almost upon us and whether you have children or enjoy cosplay, this can be an extra special time of the year.   While continuing my “search” for Robert Jordan, I found this bit of trivia:   “He had a secretary whose main job was to keep the facts straight in the elaborate world he created that spanned 11 books and almost 7,420 pages. Some critics questioned his wordiness, yet he could sum up the series' driving force in three words: 'Life changes. Deal.'" (From the obituary of James Oliver Rigney Jr., Los Angeles Times)     Many of us would have cherished that job. I know I would have.     We have been introduced to new readers of the series and it is touching to hear their thoughts and wonder about a world we have all inhabited for quite some time. Vicariously, we can pick up the series anew and remember our own journeys through The Wheel of Time.   The Kin is flourishing in its new location, The White Tower and Warders. The Kin is a relaxing place where we build friendships and engage in fun activities.   The Band of the Red Hand is offering multiple threads for Halloween!   Debates and Discussions are heating up as we near the American election. The plus side is that members can post their own views and read those of others, some who reside outside of the United States.   The Black Tower is getting into an election mode, with sign-ups for a Trump vs Clinton 2016 Mafia game.   M’Lady Lefluer is at it again posting a beautiful collage that features Nynaeve.   Shayol Ghul is seeking a new Cuen’Shaidar. Do you have what it takes?     See you all next month!

Welcome back to a special Halloween edition of "Fandom Flair." So many of my craft ideas can be applied to Halloween costumes, so it was difficult to pick one to highlight for the month. Since I've done a lot of sewing tutorials, I wanted to do a sew-free craft this time. Here are a couple of different ways you can incorporate Harry Potter, or Hogwarts Houses, into a simple Halloween costume!   Witch or Wizard Wand   For this project you need: Paint brushes (for the wand) Paint brushes (for painting) Oven baked modeling clay (I used the Sculpey III brand) An oven Paints in various shades   First select you wand. I did this project with my sister, Mavin. We had an assortment of brush sizes and we each picked different ones.     I chose a thicker one; Mavin picked a daintier one.     Starting with the bristles, cover the brush in a layer of clay. The bristles will be the wand's handle, so you may want to make that area thicker.   This is completely customizable! You can design your wand to fit your personality however you see fit.   For mine, I made the handle smooth and rounded. But for the top portion, I wanted it to mimic rough wood. Mavin, on the other hand, kept the brush free of clay on the top--giving her an incredibly smooth finish--and only used clay to sculpt the handle and a decorative swirl.     Any color of clay will work since you will be painting over it. We used white, but brown may have been the best choice since we painted them brown in the end.     Once finished, bake in the oven as the directions state. You want to make sure they're fulled baked before you paint them. Allow them to cool as well.   Again, with painting, you can customize! We had an assortment of browns, with white and black to lighten or dull the colors. I painted my handle a darker brown than I did for the rest of the wand.       I painted all I could while holding it, then allowed it to dry by placing the end in a Styrofoam holder.     Once that dried, I painted the rest. I added in darker veins along the length of the wand to give it a wood look.     Mavin's did the same, but also used the darker color on the decorative swirl!       They turned out amazing, and were very simple to make!   DIY Hogwarts Uniform   Another super easy way to do a costume is by buying iron on patches. You can find several patches at in-store locations, like Spirit, or even Hot Topic. I was able to get a Ravenclaw patch on Amazon in the book colors of bronze and blue.    From there, iron on the patch onto a cardigan, or a shirt, and you're all done! I bought a cardigan for $5 at Goodwill and it turned out great!     Pair it with a button-up shirt, a tie, and a skirt or slacks. Easy Hogwarts uniform!     This costume is so simple, and very kid friendly. I can wear it to the elementary school where I work with no problems!   Next time we'll stick with the no-sew theme and see a different way to design Wheel of Time inspired shoes!  Thanks for reading!

Exciting news!  The first official Wheel of Time coloring book, Patterns of the Wheel, is set to be released on October 25, 2016.  The volume is illustrated by Amy Romanczuk—the wife of Team Jordan’s Alan Romanczuk.  Here are the details from Tor Books!     Mrs. Romanczuk had a first edition of this book at JordanCon 8 earlier this year, however Tor Book’s official version has an additional twenty images, a black and white map of Randland, and quotes from the series that correspond with each picture!    The book is now available for preorder.  You can find it on Amazon, here, or from Barnes & Noble, here.   Dragonmount is very pleased to be able to give away one free copy of Patterns of the Wheel to a reader!  If you would like to be entered into a drawing to receive the copy, comment below.  One winner will be selected on October 25, 2016!  You have from now until then to comment for a chance to win!  Unfortunately, only residents of the United States and Canada are eligible for this giveaway.   You can find more of Mrs. Romanczuk’s work on her website.

Welcome back to another edition of "Fandom Flair."  As promised, but a little late, here is a tutorial on how to make an incredibly easy Pokeball.     Materials needed: Red fleece White fleece Black fleece or felt Sewing machine Thread and needle Stuffing Hot glue gun     This is a simple project because fleece is a great fabric to work with.  It's also possible to sew this completely by hand.  It would be more time consuming, but the fleece is thick, which makes it easy to stitch.  The whole project took about 30 minutes total.  In an afternoon, you could craft a whole poke-arsenal.   The Pokeball--as a ball--can be intimidating to tackle.  But it's actually quite effortless by using four triangles to construct a dome.  I started by cutting out four rounded triangles in each color (red and white).  I made them about 3 inches wide and 3 inches high.     Next, focusing on the white ball first, I sewed the triangles together, right side to right side, along one edge.  The color of the thread doesn't matter since all these seams will be concealed within the Pokeball.     Sew all four together in this fashion.     Then, sew the two edges to each other.     Repeat for the red half.     After that, put the white part inside the red--right side to right side--and stitch along the edge.  Leave an inch or two open.     Flip the ball inside out and stuff with stuffing.     Now, hand-stitch the rest of the opening close.  Again, thread color doesn't matter.  It will all be covered in the end.     With the black fleece or felt, cut a long rectangle, about an inch wide, and long enough to fit around the circumference of the ball.      Use a hot glue gun (or other fabric glue) to fasten down one end of the rectangle along the middle of the ball.     Carefully glue the rest of the rectangle down and trim the edge to fit snugly.     Next, cut out a black circle and glue it down over the seam.     Finally, cut out a smaller white circle and glue it atop the black circle.      And that's it!  You have a great, palm-sized Pokeball to do as you please!  I used mine to capture a couple of Pokemon around my house.       Next time, we'll take a look at a great Halloween costume idea.  Thanks for reading!

Greetings all!  Hallia here once again for another rendition of Fan Art Friday!  This month is on a topic dear to me as a desert dweller.  We will be taking a peek at a few very talented concepts of the Aiel!     Our first begins with one of the most popular members of the Aiel - Aviendha!  I absolutely adore the shading used by this talented artist.   Heartlines ~ unefleur   The artist in this next piece puts so much action into his art!  They were able to perfectly capture a moment in time and translate it into this work!   Mat vs Couladin ~ hamdiggy   What I like most about this next drawing is the way they were able to capture the differences and similarities between two of the paths Aiel women can take in life: the Wise One and the Maiden of the Spear.  Their clothing styles may be dissimilar, but the confidence they exude certainly isn't.   Aiel Women ~ nazg   When one thinks about the Aiel, it isn't just who they are, but where they live that comes to mind.  This take on the Waste is unique; I especially love the coloring of the sky!   Sunset in the Aiel Waste ~ strangledbyart     The final piece for the week is a rendition of the ever deadly Maiden of the Spear.  The coloring in the eyes is stark and lovely contrast to the darkness of the rest of the work.   Maiden of the Spear ~ Etherick     That's all for this week; I hope you all enjoyed! See you next time!

Hello, and welcome to part four of our reread of The Eye of the World! My name is Matthew, and I am a writer, artist, and game developer from Arizona.   This post will cover The Eye of the World, Chapters 4 - 6. If you haven’t been following this since the beginning, you can catch up on the Introduction and Prologue in my first post, here.   We are going to be changing things up a little in this one... in making the posts a little more concise, I hope to be able to cover more ground each week.   CHAPTER FOUR :: “THE GLEEMAN”   WHAT HAPPENS   This chapter is one of loads and loads of exposition. Dozens of names are dropped, from story titles to factions to individuals. Some of these things like Ogiers, Aiel, and Warders become apparent with time, while most of the names on the list are just background knowledge. This is all in the form of stories and flourishes from the newest character, Thom Merrilin.   Later, Moiraine and Lan meet and talk briefly with Thom, and she addresses him as "Master Bard," assuming that she may have met him before. He doesn't seem to know her, albeit he is still very distrustful of her.   The boys talk about war and what would happen if the Two Rivers got involved, something that Tam almost scoffs at, saying that it is nearly inaccessible. Nonetheless, the Village Council is entertaining the idea of sending men to Deven Ride, Watch Hill, and Taren Ferry on watch duty. Tam points out that even if the Aes Sedai were traveling from Tar Valon to get to Ghealdan and pick up the False Dragon, they wouldn't detour the long way through the Two Rivers.   Finally, we find out that two other boys in Emond's Field have also seen the black rider.   COMMENTS   As stated before on several other sites is the interesting fact that a lot of Thom's stories in this chapter mirror things in real life. Some examples are Materese the Healer (Mother Teresa) and Elbet Queen of All (Queen Elizabeth). Whether this is just a speculation or truly intended, I'm not certain.   CHAPTER FIVE :: “WINTERNIGHT”   WHAT HAPPENS   Rand and his father return to their farm that evening and finish up their chores, finally coming to enjoy supper together. Tam decides to show Rand a curved blade heron-marked sword he had upstairs in a chest. Their time together is interrupted by Trollocs, monstrous humanoids each with a strange assortment of animal features, as they break through the front door.   Tam tells Rand to run, but Rand hesitates. After he does escape, he later reunites with Tam out in the forest to find him feverish. Rand takes his father's sword and heads back into the house for supplies, accidentally killing a Trolloc named Narg who points out that a Myrddraal wants to talk to Rand. Rand searches the house and barn but finds little of use, instead choosing to craft a makeshift travois to carry Tam into the town. He does so by cutting their cart into pieces with his sword, noting that it is still razor sharp after.   COMMENTS   Winternight is one of my favorite chapters in the book. It's when events turn and Rand realizes that things aren't as they once seemed. Everything out there that they've heard in stories leaks through and touches him.   CHAPTER SIX :: “THE WESTWOOD”   WHAT HAPPENS   At this point, Tam is just rambling in his fever dream, mostly about Rand’s mother, Kari, who died fifteen years ago. He talks about the Aiel War, Laman’s Sin, Marath, and the city of Cairhein on fire, but most of these don’t mean much to us right now. A little later he talks about Avendoraldera, a sapling from the tree of life Avendesora. He also raves about how happy Kari will be that he found a son, Rand, on Dragonmount.   Rand travels toward Emond’s Field with Tam in the travois, and successfully evades a Myrddraal and Trollocs on the way.   THE BREAKDOWN :: Chapters Four, Five, and Six   Fever Dreams   Why is Tam suffering a horrible fever? Some shadowspawn weapons are tainted when they are created, causing even the thinnest cut to eventually destroy the life of the injured. His fever is a precursor to that.    Until next week....   :: Lanestrider

Exciting news from our friends at Ta'veren Tees!    

Hello, and welcome to part three of our reread of [/size]The Eye of the World! My name is Matthew, and I am a writer, artist, and game developer from Arizona.[/size]   This post will cover The Eye of the World, Chapter 3. If you haven’t been following this since the beginning, you can catch up on the Introduction and Prologue in my first post, here.   CHAPTER THREE :: “THE PEDDLER”   THE BASICS   The peddler, Padan Fain, comes to town and bring news, stories, and tales from outside.    WHAT HAPPENS   Last we left the boys, they had just met the Lady Moiraine but their arguing has been cut off by the sounds of the approaching wagon. Padan Fain is a pale and bony man that has been visiting the Two Rivers for as long as anyone can remember.    As the peddler rolls into town, the Village Council and villagers as a whole crowd around his cart, asking questions and prompting him to speak, but Fain just keeps his silence. Another village boy and friend of Rand and Mat named Perrin Aybara finds them in the crowd. He’s much stockier than them, with curly hair and the build of the blacksmith he is apprenticing under.    Finally the peddler stands on his wagon and begins his tale. Someone asks what could possibly be worse than wolves killing sheep, and the peddler’s answer is “men killing men.” He tells the crowd about the was in Ghealdan, of soldiers marching, ravens flying, and blood shed. Everyone starts chittering amongst themselves, and once someone verbalizes concern about the Dragon and the Dark One, it spreads like wildfire until the whole crowd is talking about it. Haral Luhhan is quick to point out that the Dragon is not the Dark One; all things aside, this is a false Dragon they are talking about, not the real one.    The Council pulls Fain into the inn to speak with him and sends the crowds home, and the boys begin talking about the Dragon, Aes Sedai, and the Dark One again (see Breakdown). Nynaeve al-Meara, the village Wisdom, enters here, with Egwene behind her. Mat is talking about goading another boy into naming the Dark One on purpose. Nynaeve scolds him, asking why they would talk about something they have no business talking about. Rand answers her eventually, explaining that they were just talking about what the peddler was talking about. Nynaeve disappears angrily into the inn, mumbling about the Women’s Circle.    Egwene doesn’t follow her into the inn. Rand’s glad for this, but when he blurts out to Egwene a question of whether she would dance with him tomorrow, he gets nervous. They start talking about the future, and she shows him her braided hair, revealing that Nynaeve believes she will make a good Wisdom and has started to train her. She tells him that she might not ever marry, simply because most Wisdoms don’t ever marry. Rand comments that Nynaeve will probably be Wisdom for the next 50 years, but Egwene points out that she’ll just go to a different village. Rand isn’t happy about this, but Egwene pretends not to notice. Eventually, she begins to ignore him.   The others come up to Rand, eager to explain how Perrin received a coin from the Lady Moiraine as well, and he has also seen the black rider. Egwene turns on them, and in an exasperated tone, calls them all foolish for believing fairy tales. She is cut off when a white-haired man bursts out of the front door of the inn.     COMMENTS   Honestly, Rand and Egwene’s relationship as characters is one of my favorite things in the series. The details I won’t go into because I don’t want to spoil anything, but I love pretty much any interaction the two have with each other.    THE BREAKDOWN :: Chapter Three   The Peddler - Padan Fain, Ghealdan, false Dragon.   Padan Fain is a peddler that travels around collecting stories and tales and taking them with him as he goes. He is a skinny and pale man with long, gangly arms and a hooked nose. He’s been visiting Emond’s Field as long as Rand can remember.    Armies march to the Dhallin Forest in Ghealdan to see a false Dragon. There hasn’t been anyone claiming to be the Dragon in twenty years, and now there are three in the last five years. This last one already already has Aes Sedai coming to take him, whether he can or can’t use the One Power.    Some people believe that the Dragon Reborn will come to save mankind, but few talk about it out of fear of both the Children of the Light and the Aes Sedai. Another superstition held by the Two Rivers folk, they believe that naming the Dark One, an act of using the Dark One’s real name, “Shai’tan,” brings bad luck. The boys recall a time when another villager, Bili Congar, once named the Dark One and has since had terrible luck.   Until next week....   :: Lanestrider

Welcome to August's Forum Roundup. For those of you that are students or parents, the school year has started or you are almost there. I'm looking forward to fall, with the cooler temperatures, change of colors, and hopefully some rain. In my "search" for James Oliver Rigney Jr., I've discovered a few things since my last entry. He taught himself to read (with a little help from his brother) at age 4. He had a brother twelve years his senior who, Robert Jordan noted, exposed him to great fiction by reading to him the works of Jules Verne and Mark Twain. Thus, his brother ensured the "foreshadowing" of the development of a great writer.   "You have to understand child, everyone wants someone in their life, someone who cares for them, someone they can care for, even a queen."     ~Thom Merrilyn The Shadow Rising, Chapter 39, "A Cup of Wine"     Now, to the goings on here at Dragonmount. If you haven't noticed already, we have a new Wheel of Time reread for the Theory Blog.  New readers keep discovering The Wheel of Time and can also find more discussion here at "A First Time Reader's Impression of the Wheel of Time." The Dragon Reborn Role Play has recent entries. I keep intending to create my own character. Since I am already an Aes Sedai in the White Tower and Warders, I intend my character to be a Warder in training, getting the opportunity to explore both paths, so to speak. Have you ever considered role play? The Tower has welcomed some new members who have ended their journey to Tar Valon and are now poised to begin their paths to either Warder or Aes Sedai. In addition, M'lady La Fluer has shared with us a new collage of Elmindreda Farshaw. The Band of the Red Hand also has new members and activities, with promises of more to come. Come out and hang with the Band, have fun, and drink some spirits (virtually). Shayol Ghul is in the midst of their nominations for 2015 Ghoulies. If you are a member, don't forget to vote! The Black Tower is hosting a Mafia game, "League of Extraordinary Gentleman" and has a number of very active threads. As usual, please stay tuned to Dragonmount for updated information on the Wheel of Time and spend some time dwelling in Robert Jordan's world.

Barnes & Noble plans to release a new, leather-bound edition of The Eye of The World. This new edition will be available in stores on September 30th. You can also pre-order a copy online.  The Eye of the World--the opening volume of The Wheel of Time saga--joins an impressive list of well-known novels in Barnes & Noble's Collectible Editions.  The images provided on B&N's website show the spine and cover (shown here), as well as an interior photo and the back cover.  The interior looks the same as the editions we're already familiar with from Tor.  The back cover includes an error in that the "ancient Aes Sedai" symbol is improperly reversed the wrong way. Despite this error, I think we can agree that it's a fine-looking book, and one that's worthy of our shelves. There are no announced plans to make similar editions for other WoT books, and no plans to provide these overseas. B&N is publishing this with assistance from Tor Books, who owns the U.S and Canadian rights.  There is already a nice leather-bound copy of The Eye of the World available from Orbit UK.