DRAGONMOUNT

Welcome to this week's Edition of <em>Dragonmount</em>'s Weekly Roundup, where I tell you about all the fun and fantastic things happening around <em>Dragonmount </em>and in the <em>Wheel of Time</em> fandom. For this week's Roundup, I'm going to shift focus out of the Social Groups to look and see what's going on in the other areas of <em>Dragonmount</em>.   First off, the <a data-ipb='nomediaparse' class="bbc_url" href='http://www.dragonmount.com/forums/topic/89864-welcome-to-the-wheel-of-time-cage-http:/www.dragonmount.com/forums/topic/89864-welcome-to-the-wheel-of-time-cage-match-2014/match-2014/'>2014 Wheel of Time Cage Match</a>. This year's competitor list consists of 8 channelers and 8 non-channelers, and just like years previous, you will have the chance to vote for your favorite players. While you are at it, grab your <a data-ipb='nomediaparse' class="bbc_url" href='http://www.dragonmount.com/forums/topic/89868-team-siggies-2014/'>Cage Match Team forum signature</a> and make your <a data-ipb='nomediaparse' class="bbc_url" href='http://www.dragonmount.com/forums/topic/89867-prediction-competition-2014/'>Cage Match predictions</a>.   <em>Game of Thrones </em>Fans! The fourth season of the show is over, but the discussion is still ongoing in the Entertainment Board. There are two threads: <a data-ipb='nomediaparse' class="bbc_url" href='http://www.dragonmount.com/forums/topic/88354-game-of-thrones-season-4-spoilers/'>Spoiler thread</a> (which will discuss the books) and <a data-ipb='nomediaparse' class="bbc_url" href='http://www.dragonmount.com/forums/topic/88355-game-of-thrones-season-4-spoiler-free-edition/'>Spoiler-Free</a> (which focuses on just the television series), and you can still talk and discuss the bloody season finale (and predict what is in store for season 5)!Elsewhere in the Entertainment boards, sports fans might find the discussion on the <a data-ipb='nomediaparse' class="bbc_url" href='http://www.dragonmount.com/forums/topic/89570-world-cup-2014'>World Cup 2014</a> intriguing.   In the Roleplaying Boards, a new character biography has been approved for the Character <a data-ipb='nomediaparse' class="bbc_url" href='http://www.dragonmount.com/forums/topic/89888-approved-band-bio-silene-belain-wolfie-ccd/#entry3272438'>Silene Belain</a>, who will be played by <em>Dragonmount</em> member Bela_theDo. The character's background seems interesting, and I know I'm looking forward to see what she does in her new life.In the General <em>Wheel of Time</em> Discussion board, there is a new thread discussing the <a data-ipb='nomediaparse' class="bbc_url" href='http://www.dragonmount.com/forums/topic/89594-wot-encyclopedia/'>Wheel of Time Encyclopedia</a>. Feel free to discuss this upcoming project, its contents, and publication date here!   Next, from <em>Dragonmount</em>'s Facebook page:<img src="http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff34/ahmoondah/dmjune21_zps5da59dec.jpg" alt="dmjune21_zps5da59dec.jpg">   For those interested in the podcast mentioned above, it can be found <a data-ipb='nomediaparse' class="bbc_url" href='http://t.co/qHUpLf8aXP'>here</a>. Remember, you can get daily updates on <em>Dragonmount </em>and Wheel of time fan information by following <em>Dragonmount</em> on Facebook and Twitter. And please, like, comment, and share from <em>Dragonmount</em> to help keep their Facebook page visible in your feed!One final thing before I leave you for this week. You still have time to <a data-ipb='nomediaparse' class="bbc_url" href='http://www.dragonmount.com/index.php/News/amol/more-Hugo'>nominate and vote for the Hugo Awards</a>! Voting will end in July, and the awards will be announced August 17^th at LCon, the 72^nd World Con.   That's it for this week. Tune in next week, where I'll discuss more exciting adventures from <em>Dragonmount</em>'s Forums!

A small band of scared young men on the run from mysterious dark forces make a run for a ferry to get them to safety.  Fellowship of the Ring or The Eye of the World?   A young farm boy with special powers must learn to control those powers in order to fight dark forces in the world. Star Wars or Wheel of Time?   This week is all about crossovers. It's no secret that The Eye of the World resembles Lord of the Rings in more than a few ways, but it's the ways that the two are different that make The Wheel of Time so great.     As the release of A Memory of Light approached last year, I could only think of one way to express my angst and simultaneous undying devotion to these precious books.     Here's another hilarious crossover which manages to draw a link between--not two--but three different stories which use the "'tribal' woman and 'civilized' man fall in love" cliché.   by maledictor   This next one is a reference to one of my favorite shows of all time, Arrested Development. My whole life has been building to the moment when these two incredible things would collide, and it is perfect.   by masyafs   A somewhat unlikely crossover sprung up which references the movie Shrek, which is (unexplainably) a favorite movie of the Tumblr crowd. Don't get me wrong, I love that movie, but...well let's just say some people are a little weird about it. At any rate:     This quote just begs a reference to the movie, right? Just replace Shrek and Donkey with Lan and Mat, and the dialogue is almost perfect.   Lan: Warders are like onions. Mat: …they stink? Lan: Yes—no! Mat: Oh, they make you cry? Lan: No! Mat: Oh! You leave ‘em out in the sun they get all brown n start sproutin’ little white hairs! Finally, I will leave you with one of the most timely references. Did anyone else, at the end of the movie Frozen, (SPOILER ALERT) find Elsa's "epiphany" to be curiously similar to Rand's in The Gathering Storm? It begs the comparison between Rand and Elsa as characters, to be sure. by shutupshea That's it for this week, wetlanders. The Light illumine you!

Welcome back to another edition of "WoT If?", Dragonmount's weekly theory blog.  We are continuing our reread of The Eye of the World, with chapters 29 and 30 this time.    Synopsis: Chapter 29, "Eyes Without Pity"   Perrin, Egwene, and Elyas are traveling across the land at a quick, unrelenting pace.  Elyas takes every precaution when making camp, and leaving camp.  As they go, the wolves scout ahead, but Elyas still checks at the tops of each hill.  At one hill, Perrin says he is going to the top with Elyas.  At the top, the land around them is empty and Perrin voices his complaints about how slow they are going.  Then, a large flock of ravens fly out from the trees.  Perrin asks Elyas if that was the reason he was going so slow, and Elyas says he's not sure.   They travel faster now, trying to keep right at the tail end of the flock.  The wolves send word that another flock is coming from behind them.  They will be safe after sundown, but they might not last that long.   The ravens kill for fun.  Perrin and Elyas see the group tear a fox to shreds.  Other animals are left behind, mangled for no reason.  As they are running, Perrin realizes they won't make it till sundown.  The flocks are getting too close.  He wonders if he could spare Egwene the pain of the raven's beaks by killing her with his axe instead.    Suddenly, they enter a stedding, a place of safety.  Elyas leads them to a watering hole and they set up camp.  Egwene notices a rock that looks like and eye, and Elyas tells them that this was the place Artur Hawkwing was going to build his capital.  He goes into the details of Hawkwing's rise and fall, and the turmoil after.   Chapter 30, "Children of Shadow"   After they eat, Perrin goes down to the pool to be alone.  Elyas follows and confronts Perrin about his thoughts on Egwene.  At first, Elyas comes off forceful, asking if Perrin hates Egwene, and once Perrin confesses his thoughts of killing Egwene before the ravens could, Elyas softens, and tells him Egwene would have rather died by the axe.   Perrin tells Elyas he hates his axe, and he almost throws it into the water before Elyas stops him.  Elyas tells him to keep it until he likes it.  Until then, he will use the axe wiser than any other man.    The wolves suddenly send a warning that men are coming.  Elyas and Perrin rush to the camp and douse the fire.  Perrin, Egwene, and Bela run off to find a hiding spot.  As they hide, a group of Whitecloaks show up and spot Bela.  They tell the Emond's Fielders to surrender, so Perrin and Egwene do.  As they approach the Whitecloaks, Hopper jumps on the closes one and Perrin, by instinct, grabs his axe and fights the Whitecloaks too.  They kill Hopper, and Perrin is hit on the head by a lance.   He wakes up in a tent.  Egwene is there too.  It's the tent of the Lord Captain Geofram Bornhald, and his underling, Jaret Byar, is with him.  Byar accuses Perrin and Egwene of being Darkfriends.  They tell a version of the truth of how they wound up there, but Bornhald doesn't believe them.  He says Egwene has a chance to repent and come back to the Light, but Perrin killed two of the Children, so he will be killed once they reach Amador.   My take: As I said last time, this is a heavy Perrin section.  And my love for Perrin grew so much from this part.  When we first start this story, we know Mat is a rascal, and we see most of the story from Rand's point-of-view, so we know a lot about him too.  But we don't get a good grasp of Perrin until these two chapters.  There is so much character development; it is amazing.   But first, I want to talk about Elyas.  He has them moving quickly, knowing something is coming.  Perrin thinks it's the ravens, but Elyas says he wasn't sure.  Then, at the end, with the Whitecloaks, Elyas says, "I was sure it was the ravens."    So, how did Elyas know they were running from something?  It's curious to think that he experiences wolf dreams like Perrin does.  Once Perrin asks him about it, Elyas tells him to stay away from that place because it is dangerous (Towers of Midnight, Chapter 24, "To Make a Stand"), but Elyas must visit it from time to time.  He's used to wearing the wolf's body we see in A Memory of Light.  I think that Elyas must have seen a vision, one of the windows opening in the sky.  That would warn him of danger, but not necessarily be clear what the danger is.   Also, it's interesting that the raven flock didn't know that Perrin was nearby.  I would assume that the Dream Perrin had in the Tinker camp let Ba'alzamon know where he was—Ba'alzamon had a hard time finding Perrin since the wolves started protecting him.  If the ravens were eyes for the Dark One, how did they not know that Perrin was a target?  Perhaps Ishamael was too weak at this point to control the ravens himself, and they would just be reporting to a random Myrddraal instead of one of the Forsaken?  That's possible.    Another thing discussesd is how far Elyas and Perrin can sense the wolves.  At this point, Perrin can only feel them a mile away.  Elyas' range is a bit farther, but not too much.  Perrin sees how he struggles to remain in contact with the pack when they are running from the ravens.  Yet, it seems like Perrin's range with wolves grows much larger than that.  When he actually accepts their sendings, they come from miles and miles away.  Of course, it could always be Perrin's ta'veren nature that makes him stronger in this way.   Now on to Perrin.  This scene will still make me cry when I read it.  It's so packed full of emotion.  It's funny to think about—I have a hard time remembering my first reading of the story—but Perrin could have been Robert Jordan's attempt at a red herring, as far as who the Dragon is.  At first, we think it could be Mat, due to his spouting of the Old Tongue.  But here, we get some references to Lews Therin:     So similar to Lews Therin's, "His children's faces accused him, blank eyes asking why, and his tears were no answer."   And Perrin's internal conflicts are what really make this story so enjoyable and re-readable.  His emotion is so real, that I am effected, even after the ninth time through.   Perrin is such a good, and honorable guy.  Mat is… well, Mat.  Rand becomes corrupted.  But Perrin stays true throughout the whole story.  I love his character so much, just by this book alone, that I didn't falter at all when he lost Faile.  Many readers hate him then, but you have to remember where that love came from.  This is where it formed, his desire to protect in any way possible.  And he loves Faile so much, naturally he would do anything and everything to help her.  He would have done anything and everything to help Egwene, even killing her with his own hands.  It sounds odd, but that is a love so true it makes my heart hurt.   On another emotional note, this is my first re-read after A Memory of Light.  So it's very sad when you get to the scene when Perrin and Egwene are hiding:     That's one promise he was not able to fulfill.  I wish, just once, they could have had a moment—besides the battle in tel'aran'rhiod fighting Masaana—to talk and see each other again.   That's all for this edition.  I could go on and on about my love for Perrin.  But I won't.  Join us next week for more of the Mat and Rand adventures.  Thanks for reading!

Hello again! I’m back after a long absence to once again start posting the Weekly Roundup. I’ve been busy moving from Houston to Phoenix, and now that I’m here, well… I’m ready to rock and roll!  And now on to what’s going on around Dragonmount this week:   First, in the Movies & Games board of the Entertainment Forum is a discussion on Dragon Age: Inquisition. If you are a fan of the series and are looking forward to this exciting new game, check this thread out. Or pop on over to the nearby thread and discuss this year’s E3!   In Shayol Ghul, this month is all about board games: Join in on a board game discussion, play board game hangman, or guess the board game.   In the White Tower and Warders, the Gray Ajah is hosting an amazing Picnic Midsummer festival! There are games, discussions, recipes, many things all about the summer picnic!   The Gray Ajah may be picnicking, but the Wolfkin are having a barbeque! Do you like to cook outdoors over an open flame? Know the difference between barbeque and grilling? Check out what the Wolfkin have to say on the subject!   Dragomount's yearly Wheel of Time Cage Match is about to start!  The battles will begin on June 29th, but in the mean time, read up on the competitors, play the Prediction Competition game, or get a special forum signature to show off your favorite character!   And now for an update from Dragonmount’s Facebook Page:     Remember, to continue getting excellent daily information about the Wheel of Time, Dragonmount, and other related topics from this awesome page, you must like, share, and comment on the posts by Dragonmount on Facebook, or it will not show up in your feed. You can also get information from Dragonmount’s Twitter profile.   One final thing before I leave you this week about the Hugo Awards:  You still have time to nominate and vote!   That wraps it up for this week! I hope you’ve had an excellent one and will see you next week for a new Weekly Roundup!

Hello, friends! The Wheel has turned all the way around to Thursday again, which means two things: the weekend is not too far away, and it's time for our Rotating Features blog!It's fair to say that many of us with an interest in fantasy fiction will have some level of awareness of role-playing games--be they table top ones, probably most famous in the Dungeons and Dragons format--or even here on Dragonmount--we have our own Portal Stone Worlds, forums where people are encouraged to play "in character" set within an alternate Wheel of Time universe. Today, however, we are going to look at a slightly different take on the role playing game, and better still, a slightly different take on the Wheel of Time universe.To be short and sweet, our editor of the Front Page Blogs, Mashiara, has interviewed Ascendency, who runs a little project called the First Age. I can't explain better than Ascendency myself what it is, so here is the interview in full.   So there you have it! I hoped that sparked your interest and you take a look at what they have to offer! It certainly does sound like an unusual and interesting experience. Here is a link to their main website: The First Age.  That's all for now! Have fun!Until next time, friends!

Ok, maybe not quite one-liners, but I'm not sure what to call them? This week I'm bringing you my top five short-and-sweet (PG-13) jokes, in no particular order.   1. 2.   3. 4. 5.     That's it for today, folks! The Light illumine you!

Hello, friends! The Wheel has turned all the way around to Thursday again, which means two things: the weekend is not too far away, and it's time for our Rotating Features blog!   Every so often you come across something a little different. This week I have done so and decided to share it with you, confident that there are those of you out there who will appreciate it, although it is not my usual cup of tea.   Deviantart user nandomendonssa has done quite a few interesting "mashups" of Game of Thrones characters drawn in Disney style. I know that a fair few readers here on Dragonmount that enjoy Disney, and probably even more that enjoy Game of Thrones, so I hope that you'll find them interesting. They are very well done in my opinion.   Below you can find the ones he has done so far, but keep an eye on the link above as I believe more are being added as time goes by.               If anyone out there has skills even similar to these, we demand Wheel of Time mashups! It doesn't matter what style but more Wheel of Time art is always a good thing. They can be published in our Fan Art Friday blog!   That's all for now! Have fun!   Until next time, friends!

Welcome to another edition of Dragonmount's Fantasy Review.   Slight spoilers will follow.   Legion By Brandon Sanderson   The Synopsis: Stephen Leeds is a genius.  But rather than claim his own brilliance, Leeds manifests hallucinations, or "aspects," that contain incredible knowledge in their specific field.  In this way, his aspects are smart, not him.  With aspects that specialize in weaponry, theology, chemistry, and languages, Leeds is summoned to solve the crime of a missing camera.  The only thing is that the camera can take pictures of the past—and it's a threat to national security.   Leeds doesn't take cases easily.  Monica, a security consultant for the company making the camera, sort of bribes him with a picture from the past, a picture of Sandra, his ex-girlfriend, leaving on a train.  With that sort of technology, he could finally find out where she went.  So, he takes the case.  Armed with such aspects as Ivy, a psychologist, Tobias, a history expert, JC, a gun-totting ex-Navy SEAL, and Kalyani, a translator, Leeds goes to Jerusalem to find the camera and the scientist who invented it.     The Pros: This story contains all of Sanderson's best writing quirks: humorous situations, witty dialogue, and the surprise ending.  The interaction between Leeds and his aspects are some of the funniest writing I've encountered.  Each aspect is developed so well, with their own interests, backgrounds, nationalities, religions.  And all of them have their own problems too: Tobias has hallucinations of a man in a satellite that updates him with the weather, Ivy's has trypophobia (the fear of anything with a pattern of holes), Armando thinks he's the Emperor of Mexico, Adoline has OCD.  This rich development adds so much flavor to the story, and to Leed's activities.  There was never a dull moment in this book because the characters are so interesting and rounded.   The plotline is simple, but enough to keep the story going.  Once they arrive at Jerusalem, they encounter terrorists, which adds to the action of the book.  Everything is quick paced.  And the underlying themes of science versus religion—or maybe a world where the two could join—leaves the reader with something to think about.  Nothing is determined one way or the other at the end of the novella, only further questions remain.  A book that can accomplish that, and not get preachy, is rare. The Cons: The only con for this book is the fact that it's over too soon.  At only 88 pages in the hardcover versions (96 pages according to Kindle), this book is tiny.  The story and events are wrapped up perfectly, but like a good movie, you don't want this one to end.   Conclusion: This is one of my favorite Sanderson novels.  It's a great place to start for someone who just wants to try him out.  Once they read this, they'll be hooked to his writing style, his character development, and his hilarious dialogue.  I could not recommend this book enough.   Rating: 5/5 stars   If you want to give this one a try, you can buy it here, at Dragonmount's eBook store.   On a side note, the sequel, "Legion: Skin Deep," is rumored to be out later in 2014.  I cannot wait for it!  (This link is for the limited release of the leather bound, signed version, only 2,500 copies; an eBook version will likely be the same price as the eBook of "Legion.")

How to explain Wheel of Time to someone? Some of you may have your elevator pitch, but for the rest of us it is a struggle. Yes, it's kind of like Lord of the Rings but...no it's really not. Sure, it's a little like Game of Thrones, if you add more women, more magic, and tone down the sex and violence, maybe.  Recently, my parents said to me, "Oh, we thought it was about time-travel. Didn't you say they go back in time?" "No, I said the world in the series is connected to our world." "Oh...isn't that the same thing?"  Trying to describe this series to someone usually ends with a major facepalm and the exasperated exclamation, "Here, just read it!" All of this is portrayed hilariously and perfectly in the following video. This video resonates with me a spiritual level, you guys. I think every fan has gone through this, but it makes it all worth it when, in the end, you find another fan.  Oh, and on a somewhat unrelated note, I think jace-strigoi has provided us with Meow-naeve (from the on-going Lan Man-dog-oran saga in this post.)    The Light illumine you all!  -Minnie

Welcome back to another edition of "WoT If?", Dragonmount's weekly theory blog.  We are continuing our reread of The Eye of the World, with only chapter 28 this time.    Synopsis: Chapter 28, "Footprints in Air"   Nynaeve, Lan, and Moiraine arrive in Whitebridge.  Nynaeve remembers the trip with the Aes Sedai and the Warder up to this point.  The Wisdom has no good thoughts of the Aes Sedai, and is kept out of the planning discussions altogether.  For a brief moment, Nynaeve thinks that Lan would be better without Moiraine, and blushes at the thought.  Still, Lan makes Nynaeve even angrier that the Aes Sedai.   Nynaeve is awed by the White Bridge, and fails to notice the smell of smoke on the air until they see the charred buildings in the square.  There are a dozen different tales about what happened in town—including Darkfriends, or a man using the One Power—but they can confirm that a Gleeman went downriver on one of the boats.    They stop at an inn—the same one Rand, Mat, and Thom stayed at—and Moiraine announces that two of the boys where here a day or so before.  They will go find the one who is north of them, and still in possession of his coin, since the other two will undoubtedly be heading towards Caemlyn.  Nynaeve says that's good for the boys, but demands what the Aes Sedai means to do to find Egwene.  Moiraine gets angry and tells Nynaeve that she doesn't want to give up on Egwene, but it will be as the Wheel wills.     My take: The next two chapters (29 and 30) go together, so I want to focus only on chapter 28 this time.  Plus, there is a lot to look at here.  Namely, the relationship between Nynaeve and Moiraine.   So, here's my first question: Moiraine's handling of Nynaeve; is it the right way?  I'll admit that Moiraine is the Aes Sedai and the one in charge, and Nynaeve has a bit of a problem relinquishing her authority, but sometimes I think Moiraine mishandles the situation.  She's manipulating Nynaeve, getting her to feel like a fool.  But think how much more powerful they would have been at the Eye if Nynaeve was a willing ally at that point!  Why would an Aes Sedai want distance between her and anyone who could offer aid?  In normal circumstances, an Aes Sedai would be unlikely to admit they needed aid, but Moiraine knows they are fighting the Dark One, that the world is at stake, that she will need powerful allies.    To me, it feels so wrong for Moiraine to do this. Why would she spend so much time alienating the Wisdom?  It's something that only a power-hungry person would do, and we know Moiraine isn't power-hungry—or else she wouldn't have worked so hard to avoid being the Queen of Cairhien.  So why do this?  It's petty, even on Moiraine's part.  Why withhold information?  Why treat Nynaeve like she's a pest and beneath her.  And don't spout all that drivel about Aes Sedai thinking they are above everyone.  Moiraine is one of the most worldly Aes Sedai we've met (besides Cadsuane), and she is not that kind of person.  Could it already be the hints of jealousy that she finally admits in The Great Hunt?  She can feel Lan's bond, and must know that those feelings are blooming in there somewhere.  Can this be as simple as a love triangle?   Why else would Lan insist Nynaeve go back home?  He's already concerned for her and her safety.  And his suggestions go against what Moiraine wants—"'She's part of the Pattern, Lan' Moiraine said chidingly."  Lan doesn't do anything contrary to what Moiraine wants unless it's in regard to his love for Nynaeve in the later books.   If women dislike each other from their first meeting, it's most likely that a man is involved.  Moiraine says in The Great Hunt (Chapter 22, "Watchers") that she never had any concerns when Lan took lovers, but that Nynaeve was making him feel again, and for Moiraine, that's a bad thing.  We also know that Lan is very good at fuzzing the bond between him and Moiraine, but some of it might be leaking through—or perhaps Moiraine has learned to read him in other ways since they've been working together for twenty years.  Either way, it seems like Moiriane's acting like a scorned lover to me.   And leading into that, this is also on par to Moiraine's dealings with Rand.  She behaves so badly in regards to him.  She does almost the exact opposite of the right thing when dealing with him.  He's wary of her, and for a reason!  Look at how she handles him—obviously handling him.  Moiraine doesn't have that stupid Aes Sedai arrogance—well, not as much as some—and she should know that different cultures have different ways.  So why treat Rand, so Two-Rivers-stubborn, the way she does?  I can't understand her logic.   Moving on, another interesting thing happens in this chapter with Nynaeve.  She feels something that is similar to her Listening to the Wind Talent: "Something of it tickled the corners of her mind, as when she listened to the wind, but now she knew that that had to do with the One Power, and she could not bring herself to embrace those ripples at the edge of thought."  Later in the series, she can feel the storms gathering, but the emotional storms instead of physical.  Could this be the start of that Talent she acquired?  However, right after that, Moiraine says it is the Dark One that Nynaeve is feeling.  What exactly is it she is able to sense, and how is it similar to her ability to channel?  What would have happened if she had embraced those ripples?    The Dark One's gaze is strong right now—which is why they're having an abnormally long winter—so how close is he to escaping at this point?  He's messing with the weather and making it so people who can touch the Power can feel him.  That's a pretty strong grasp on the world, I'd say.  However, when Rand uses the Eye of the World, the weather goes back to normal, for a while.  The Dark One's hold on the world loosens up a bit.  How?  Now probably isn't the time to talk about this, but I just wanted to bring it up.  Keep it in the back of your minds, because we'll explore it more when we get to the end of this book.   That's all that I found in this chapter; though it's a lot for only one chapter.  We'll look at the next two chapters—and I'll gush about how much I love Perrin some more—later.  Although this is Rand's story, and he's obviously the main character of this book, I think Perrin is the one who grows the most.  More on that next time.  Thanks for reading!