DRAGONMOUNT

Greeting all! It is Thursday again meaning it is time for another installment of the Rotating Features blog! The dice have been been tossed and the featured topic has been chosen. If you have not already done so, mark April 17-19, 2015 on your calendars, JordanCon 7 approaches! Yes it is time for fans of The Wheel of Time to take over a hotel in Atlanta, Georgia for a weekend full of awesome panels, guest authors, old and newly met friends, as well as games! It is one of the few events I am truly saddened by the fact I must miss it. Honestly, it was one of the funnest conventions I have ever been to, and I have been to more than a few. What sets JordanCon aside from other conventions? My personal answer is the intimacy of the whole weekend. While I have had a few meets with celebrities at bigger conventions, they only chat with a fan for a few minutes before their security rushes them away, or until another fan completely freaks out over meeting them and forces said celebrity to leave. At JordanCon you can actually just have a conversation with many of the special guests randomly, and it's no big deal! The other thing I love about JordanCon is the attendees are all super friendly. I am serious on this one. I think this is because everyone there has one common love, and this is the wonderful writing of Robert Jordan Aside from the wonderful environment of the convention itself, there are always great panels and things to do all weekend for all types of fans. Want to talk about strictly Wheel of Time topics? You will be hard pressed to find an hour without something Wheel of Time related going on. Want to branch out and look at something different? Go to one of the horror or steampunk panels! Want to polish off some writing skill? There are multiple writing seminar panels throughout the weekend. Maybe you just want to vent a little rage or show off your skills with a weapon. Sign up for the Blademaster's tournament and earn your title! There are a ton of things to do at JordanCon. If it is your first JordanCon, or even if it isn't, I highly suggest the "Speed Friending" panel. It was actually a wonderful way to meet a bunch of fellow convention goers and they have great ways to break the ice. Last year it was, who is your least favorite Wheel of Time character, and yes, I stand by my opinion on Elayne being horrible. This year of course has a whole new set of panels and guests along with some old favorites. This year's Author Guest of Honor is Saladin Ahmed and the Artist Guest of honor is Todd Lockwood. There also a plethora of special guests and of course Harriet McDougal and some others from Team Jordan will be there as well.  The convention costs $55.00 for a pre-registered three day pass, the price is $65.00 for a three day pass at the door. You can find more details on purchasing admission, finding a hotel, what guests will attend as well as a schedule of the panels here at JordanCon 7 website. I highly encourage going to this convention if you have a chance. As always I hope you enjoyed this installment of the rotating feature blog. Sorry for my recent absence, I had to move half way around the world, literally! More on this in next week's blog where you will all learn a little about me! Until next week, this is Azeryn signing off to wonder around a foreign company looking for a spa with doctor fish!

Welcome to another edition of the Forum Roundup.  My aim is to bring you the most interesting things that I can find from the Dragonmount forums in easy to find, bite size chunks.   I will begin by sharing a rather fetching photo that I found in the White Tower and Warders Social Group depicting one of the more risque members of the Wheel of Time cast: the unforgettable Berelain.  I'm sure we have all come across a home wrecker or two in our times.  Surely none are quite as brazen as Faile's nemesis.  I agree completely with the White Tower Novice, Aniere; that is definitely the face she would have used on Perrin.  The question remains... how did the man resist?   Next I will share a poem written by one of the members of the Ogier's Social Group.  It is a lovely couple of verses show casing the talent that I believe is hidden within these forums.        The author of this poem wrote it in protest against light pollution.  I believe that the Dragonmount forums are fertile ground for imagination and aspiring writers (myself included), so let's see some more and you could find your creation on the Dragonmount Front Page.   Just to ruin the so far jovial spirit of this post, the General Discussion Board has decided to have a thread named "heart breaking moments in fiction."  So far we have had Harry Potter, The Wheel of Time, and The Amber Spyglass, to name but a few.  If you're having a bad day and feel the need to vent, why not add your own heart break to the list?   The Shayol Ghul Social Group has posted a very fitting "Evil Test."  It let's you know, as a percentage, just how evil you are!  apparently I am 51% good, 49 % evil, which is very disappointing.  It labels me as a neutral force.  Which is a bit like being labelled a waste of time, or a fence sitter.  Brilliant.   From Dragonmount's Twitter:      Remember to check out Dragonmount's Facebook and Twitter for all the latest Wheel of Time news.

Hello and welcome to another installment of the Forum Roundup.  I aim to bring you the brightest and best from around the Dragonmount forums.   I will begin with saying goodbye to yet another author of some superb fantasy novels; Terry Pratchett, the author of the Discworld series, died at age 66. His books have sold a staggering 85 million worldwide and he was the UK's best selling author of the 1990's.  Sadly Pratchett had been suffering with Alzheimer's disease and died on the 12th of March, 2015. I will join in the petition asking Death to hand him back and I ask you to do the same.  Join the petition here.   The Aiel Social Group has been doing a spot of blind dating, with a twist.  An Aiel twist.  Don't worry boys, it doesn't involve being taught to sing or having to fight any members of her family/society. Only answering some probing questions.  So if you're looking for love and don't mind being probed, head over to the Aiel Social Group.   The BBC has published a list of 100 books that it believes everybody should read; it has been pointed out that this list is largely British based. But the BBC is after all the British Broadcasting Company, so what can you expect?  I've read ten so far, and I'm approximately a third of the way through my life, so using some basic math, I think that I may need to speed up on the reading front.  If I could just stop reading the same fourteen books over and over and over maybe this would be a little easier!!     The article "How Feminism Hurts Men," featured last week, is still going strong in the White Tower forums, and is causing some good discussion.  And to further Women's History Month,  Dragonmount's Twitter has tweeted a lovely picture of Moraine Damodred, showing Moraine looking every inch the Aes Sedai she is described to be in the books.   And from Dragonmount's Facebook page:     Don't forget to follow Dragonmount on Facebook and Twitter for all the latest news.

Welcome to another installment of the Forum Roundup. Here I aim to bring you the most interesting forum posts from Dragonmount in bite size chunks.   Firstly from the Aiel Social Group has a post called ''Music for dancing the spears''  The author of the post, Hiarthbeorn, is looking for music that is, in his own words, ''monolithic yet fractured, familiar yet unknowable.''  I personally think that the Aiel people may be partial to a bit of Drowning Pool's ''Let the Bodies Hit the Floor'' whilst dancing the spears.    Second up comes the ''Who said this game'' on the Shayol Ghul Social Group, where the members have to use their encyclopaedic knowledge of Wheel of Time dialogue to guess which character spoke the completely random seeming sentence.  We know that you love to test your knowledge, so click on the link above to see if you can compete.   The Shayol Ghul forum has been busy lately.  They have posted a thread very close to their hearts: favorite villains of all time.  It is a perfect discussion for the place famed for spawning Myrdraal and Trollocs.   The White Tower Social Group has posted a very apt piece named, "How feminism hurts men."  Although very obviously tongue in cheek, it carries a very poignant message and is well worth a read. The comments below also have some very well written points of view.   And from Dragonmount's Twitter feed:     And remember to keep checking Facebook and Twitter to keep up to speed with Dragonmount and other Wheel of Time news.

Greeting all! It is Thursday again meaning it is time for another installment of the Rotating Features blog! The dice have been been tossed and the featured topic has been chosen.   As the Ages come and pass, we must reflect on the times gone by as well as towards the future. One Age, an Age of Legends, is currently being studied, weighed, and judged by the Dragonmount community. Thus it is only fitting we take time to look back at the members who have made our favorite Wheel of Time website, Dragonmount, so special. It is time for the 2014 Empy Awards!       The Empy Awards are your chance to recognize Dragonmount members for their contributions to the community. The awards are set up into four broad categories; Discussion Boards, Social Groups, Role Play, and finally the whole of Dragonmount. Within each category are specific awards which members may be nominated such as 2014’s Funniest Role Play Thread, 2014’s Best Signature Artist, 2014’s Best Wheel of Time Geek, and my personal favorite 2014’s Most Evil Member. These are just a few of the awards you can nominate fellow Dragonmount members for.   Here's the link to the full list of awards as well as the nomination rules. Please read the entire post for all the rules on nominating a member for an award. There are a few rules I would like to highlight as they can be missed if you are just glancing over the post. The first is the awards are for the 2014 calendar year. This is important as members who joined during calendar year 2015, or got positions during 2015 are not eligible for the 2014 Empy Awards. Second is you must have taken part in the specific area in order to nominate someone. For example, I cannot nominate someone for role play awards as I have not taken part in any role play threads. Lastly, let us remember one should not just simply nominate friends. Go back and reread some of the threads, then nominate the member you believe really best fits the category. Be objective and make an informed decision, this is the only way for the Empy Awards to maintain integrity and not simply become a popularity contest.   Nominations will continue through March 11, 2015. Voting will begin on March 18 and be open for one week. Awards are scheduled to be announced on March 25.   Unfortunately we were unable to book Neil Patrick Harris to host the awards, but we have a team of Dragonmount members diligently working towards making these awards a resounding success. Special thanks to Elgee, Barid Bel Medar, Taymist, and Nynaeve for all their hard work and dedication to make these awards possible and full of awesome.   Now go forth and nominate your fellow Dragonmount members for Empy Awards! Until next time, this is Azeryn signing off to finish packing for an expected journey.

Welcome to another installment of the Forum Roundup, where I bring you the brightest and best from around the Dragonmount community.   I'll begin this week with an interesting philosophical discussion taking place in the General Discussion Forum on the Dark One's reluctance to kill Rand al'Thor.  Was he reluctant or simply incapable?  Add your thoughts to the subject.   Do you like playing internet "Mafia?"  If so, the Black Tower Social Group has recently started their own, with a very interesting and slightly dark sounding beginning.  Find it here to follow along.    On the TV Show & Sports Discussion Forum, everyone is talking about Gotham, the Batman prequel television series on Fox.  If you like it, or don't, go join in the discussion.    And finally, in the White Tower Social Group, the Red Ajah is currently hosting International Women's Week.  It's on the Tar Valon board, so all Dragonmount members are free to participate; you don't need to belong to the White Tower.  And, the Blue Ajah's BlueCon--a celebration of all things geeky--is winding down, but the threads are still active.  There's plenty to check out!   Remember to keep up to date with Dragonmount by following our Twitter and Facebook pages.

Welcome to another installment of the Forum Roundup where I bring you the brightest and best from around the Dragonmount community.   I have to apologies for beginning with yet another contentious topic: the abridgement of the Wheel of Time series.  Some readers claim that the middle section of books could be considered as "slow."  Whether you agree or not, the Dragonmount community could never be accused of sitting on the fence, and here is yet another chance to have your say.       It's only when reading quotes like this that you appreciate how much of a literary talent we have had the pleasure of reading in Robert Jordan. The Wheel of Time is full of these stirring and romantic paragraphs.  To read more, and add your own favorites, visit the General Wheel of Time Discussion Board.   I will leave you with this ode to Dragonmount's own Wheel of Time Cage Match: Mat versus Galad; a pairing that hasn't happened within the Cage Match yet.   It's a lovely piece of writing that sees Galad and Mat duel.  It's a detailed, blow by blow account which is well worth a read.     And always remember to keep checking the Dragonmount Twitter and Facebook page for the latest news and information.

Let us talk for a moment about Ilyena Sunhair.   Ilyena, by Jinzali   What do we know about her? Well, she was Lews Therin Telamon’s wife, properly named Ilyena Therin Moerelle; mother of his children. Before they were wed, she was known as Ilyena Moerelle Dalisar. (There is some speculation that perhaps this was an error and should have been Ilyena Dalisar Moerelle, since the third name was earned in the Age of Legends and Moerelle was the name that carried over when she took her nuptial name, but it is only speculation.) We don’t know what she did to earn her third name, but it must have been something of note, as it seems these names were not handed out lightly. Even some of the Forsaken, largely the top in their respective fields, had not necessarily done anything to earn a third name yet.   Ilyena, by lilacwood   We know that she had golden hair. With a nickname like “Sunhair” it would be preposterous to think that she was anything but a blonde, or a ginger. (The Amy Pond sort of ginger, not the Jean Grey sort at that.) Brunette would be right out. But I’ve never talked to anyone who has actually read the prologue of The Eye of the World who thought she was anything but a blonde.   We know that Demandred desired her (because of course obsessed stalker Demandred wanted everything that Lews Therin wanted) and we know that Lanfear hated her in stereotypical psycho ex-girlfriend fashion. Side note – kind of interesting that Demandred and Lanfear were never a thing. I think I may have found a new ship to sail.   WoT Lews Therin Telamon, by manweri   Finally, we know that she, and all of her children, were slain by Lew Therin while he was overtaken by the taint, earning him the name Kinslayer.   She must have had a very interesting life, and I’m not the only one who thinks so.   That’s it this time.   If you have a character or subject you’d like to see featured, drop me a line! I’m looking for folks who do Wheel of Time cosplay or have Wheel of Time related tattoos, or any other “out of the ordinary” art forms, so let me know if you’re interested in sharing.

Greeting all! It is Thursday again meaning it is time for another installment of the Rotating Features blog! The dice have been been tossed and the featured topic has been chosen.   From time to time I will cover a YouTube channel or web series I think you will be interested in. These can be something related to literature or the fantasy genre. Other times it may just simply be something I think fits well with the fantasy/sci-fi subculture or something I quite honestly think is cool. This week I will be covering a YouTube channel called "Honest Trailers."  Ever went to see a movie solely based on the movie trailers and been completely let down? Do you enjoy finding gaping plot holes, even if you loved the movie? Do you simply have a wicked sense of humor and enjoy laughing at almost anything? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you will probably enjoy watching "Honest Trailers." "Honest Trailers" is created by the online movie magazine Screen Junkies. "Honest Trailers'" goal is to bring you a funny, and sometimes brutally honest, review of a movie in the format of a movie trailer. Not only does "Honest Trailers" review new movies, but they will go back and do older movies as well. While movies are the main focus of their attention, television series are not safe from their wrath either, as both Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones have been subjected to an "Honest Trailers" review. "Honest Trailers" does a wonderful job at looking at the whole picture, not just acting and writing, but also the effects used, the filler scenes, and even the directors. Truly nothing is safe when it comes to the "Honest Trailers" take of a movie. The end result is a hilariously gratifying poke in the eye to many big budget movies. Even if they thought the movie was great, they will still find a way to make their honest review full of knee slapping humor. The narrators voice is great for doing movie trailers. On a final note, the honest trailers channel is extremely fan friendly. At the end of each trailer the narrator says random words and phrases fans have wanted to hear him say in the “Honest Trailers” voice. Additionally, from time to time the "Honest Trailers" team do whatever movie was most requested. This led to them doing an "Honest Trailers" version of the Dragon Ball movie, something it seemed they were not over excited to do but they did it because they love their fans. Here is the link to the "Honest Trailers" YouTube channel. Some of my personal favorite "Honest Trailers" are the ones on Guardians of the Galaxy, The Lego Movie, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and The Little Mermaid. I hope you all enjoy the "Honest Trailers" YouTube channel. As always, leave comments or suggestions for future Rotating blog topics below. Until next week this is Azeryn signing off to drink home brewed mead and watch the new episode of Big Giant Swords.

Welcome to another installment of the Forum Roundup, where I scour the internet and the Dragonmount forums to bring you the most interesting pieces from around the Wheel of Time world.    This week there has been one piece of news that has sent tongues wagging like no other: the ''Winter Dragon'' pilot.  This thirty minute piece of film has been truly divisive.  Some fans seem happy that the Wheel of Time has been receiving some air time, and others incandescent with rage over the smallest details -- Ilyena Sunhair being a brunette one of many bug bears.        There has been discussion at length about this subjects, pros and cons, all of which can be found in the Wheel of Time in Other Media forum.  Your opinions are appreciated.  This is your opportunity to put your pennies worth into a discussion that obviously means something to you--otherwise why would you be on this website?   What about this fan artwork?     Is this slightly darker picture from DeviantArt user Manweri truer to the books?  And what do you think about Billy Zane's involvement in the pilot?  Did you know that he starred and produced?  No matter what your personal opinion this could signal exciting times ahead for all Wheel of Time fans.  The chance to share Robert Jordan's masterpiece with a larger audience is always to be encouraged, is it not?   Remember to look at Dragonmount's Twitter and Facebook pages to keep up to date with the latest of what is a very exciting time to be involved with The Wheel of Time.