DRAGONMOUNT

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!

The voter packet for the Hugo Awards are now available for download.     If you want more information on the Hugo awards, please click here. You can also read Brandon Sanderson's thoughts on voting here.  Please remember, though we are fans of the series, we want to familiarize ourselves with the other works nominated.  If you have only read The Wheel of Time out of all the other nominations, it's unfair to other authors and other works.  Wheel of Time may be the best choice out there, but you need to make sure of the fact before you vote.  It's also a good idea to nominate a 2nd place, or 3rd place choice.  As part of the science fiction/fantasy community, we want everyone to get the recognition they deserve for the hard work they put into writing these wonderful works of fiction.

However brief Asmodean's time was in the series, I think we all loved his sass (Sass-modean, I've seen him called), his interesting Age of Legends perspective, and his sometimes existential, philosophical pondering on the choices he made in his life. Pettymotives on Tumblr is someone who captures Asmodean's character time and again in hilarious sketches and comics. I'll feature a few in this post, but they are just a fraction of the many entertaining depictions on their blog.               (x)             Like I said, these are just a few of the many comics and sketches that pettymotives has of Asmodean, and they're all excellent.    I hope you've enjoyed this week's "Gleeman's Tales." The Light illumine you, have a nice week!

It's Friday, and that means fan art! This week we'll continue on from last week where we focused on saidin; this week it's time for the female half of the True Source. I also have a special little bonus for you guys at the end!   Portraying the Power must be a daunting task for an artist; I know I struggle to imagine how the weaves look like. I keep imagining the channelers using their hands to form/weave the strands, even though I know they don't. Are the different strands (Air, Fire, Spirit, Earth, Water) different colors? How thick is a normal sized strand of saidin? Do saidin and saidar look different when being being weaved? I have to remember to ask Team Jordan about this if I ever meet any of them!   But enough of my pondering, let's get on with the reason you're all here: the art!   Embracing saidar by Evil-Is-Relative   This is a photo-manipulation, and it's a clever piece. It is described numerous times in the book that opening up to saidar is imagining yourself to be a flower bud opening to the sun, and I like the colored threads that's meant to emulate strands of the Power. I especially like the subtle little heart-shape it creates on the top.     Weaving Saidar: Brown Ajah by polegnyn   This is very cool! A representation of how the Browns especially work with saidar, the square shapes are meant to represent building blocks of knowledge, and the flowers the way every Aes Sedai handle saidar uniquely. I love the composition, it's an exciting piece to look at.     Embracing Saidar by AzureLightning   I do wish this one came in a bigger size, because it's absolutely beautiful. It reminds me of the flower from Beauty and the Beast. Great visualization of the opening flower-concept.     Saidar by MeddlerInc   The color was what originally drew me to this one; the lovely sunset-warm golden yellows and oranges. The Aes Sedai in the books describe saidar as life itself, and this captures that. I also really like the simply flower-like shape in the middle, and the shapes coming out of it that looks like soft flower petals.   Learning Saidar by Love-Loyalty-Friends   This is actually how I imagine a weave to look like. This would obviously be a more complicated one, but that's how I think a weave looks like to a channeler. To me it looks like Water in the middle, the purple/pink is Spirit, and the red is of course Fire. Probably not what the artist intended, but that's how I see it!     Now, we can't talk about saidar without having an Aes Sedai included! One of my favorite Wheel of Time artists, David E, just released a new painting, and I wanted you to see it!   The Green Man's Cradle - WoT by Endave   Nynaeve, injured outside the Eye of The World. I love the sketchy/dreamy feel it has. This guy is brilliant, no?     That's it for this week! I hope you all will have a lovely weekend! I will, I'm gonna meet Neil Gaiman and get my tattered copy of Coraline signed! Until next week, my lovely readers.

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!   There are a number of movies either out or coming out in the next couple of weeks that I'm really looking forward to and would like to draw your attention to.   First up, out already is the latest Godzilla movie staring Bryan Cranston, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen. The new look Godzilla is truly huge, despite comments in Japan that he is in fact too fat! Here is the trailer:     Next, coming out this week is one I am really looking forward to: the latest installment in the X-Men movie franchise, X-Men: Days of Future Past, based on the legendary comic run of the same name of years ago. It stars both Patrick Stewart and James McAvoy as Charles Xavier, and Ian Mckellen and Michael Fassbender as Magneto, not to mention of course Hugh Jackman as Wolverine and many other stars. It should be epic, the comic series was a truly great classic story. Here is the trailer:   Then, the week after, one you may not have heard of but that I am really looking forward to, A Million Ways to die in the West, the latest film by Seth McFarlane. I'm a huge fan of his work on Family Guy, American Dad and Ted, and I'm really looking forward to this one. It looks very funny. Here's the trailer:   And there are plenty more great films in the works too!   That's all for now!   Until next time, friends! Have fun!

It's been about a month since the first "Alternate Universes" post, right? Either way, I'm bringing it back this week.      from knifeeared     Okay, while the original idea is that he checks in on Facebook, I wanted to have Mat taking selfies so I decided to go with Instagram, which is a social app that allows you to share photos. Hope you enjoy! If you saw the original version on my DeivantArt account, look again because these have been slightly...upgraded (with the addition of a few new users appearing in the "likes" section). Also, just a note, these are in reverse chronological order, since that is how the "posts" would appear on Instagram.        Thanks for stopping by! The Light illumine you and have a great week.

Sorry for the long delay, and welcome back to another edition of "WoT If?", Dragonmount's weekly theory blog.  With school coming to a close, things have been busy for me, but summer should give me more time to keep up with the reread.  Today we are continuing with chapters 26 and 27 of The Eye of the World.      Synopsis: Chapter 26, "Whitebridge"   Rand, Mat, and Thom are still aboard Spray.  They are heading down to Whitebridge.  Thom is giving one of his gleeman lessons: playing the flute.  Rand has improved on the instrument, but Mat shows little skill.  The sailors on deck laugh at Mat's attempts and it leaves him sour.  Rand reminds Thom that they don't have to try so hard—since once they find Moiraine, they will go to Tar Valon—but Thom doubts the others are still alive.  Rand insists they are.  He looks to Mat for back up, but Mat agrees with Thom, saying they might be dead.   A sailor calls out that Whitebridge is up ahead.  Rand isn't distracted by that, and instead, stares at Mat, shocked he could admit such awful things about their friends.  Mat eventually blushes and looks away.  As they pull towards the harbor, Bayle Domon joins them.  They all marvel at the White Bridge spanning over the river.  Rand thinks they look like glass, but Domon tells him it's not, that it's stronger and never slick.  Thom says it must be from the Age of Legends, but Domon disagrees, saying not everything is Aes Sedai work.  Rand thinks for all his talk of seeing the wonders in the world, Domon is still afraid of Aes Sedai.  As Rand looks at the bridge, he sees a ripple run through the structure.   As they dock, Domon kicks Gleb off the boat, saying he won't work on any vessel again.  Gelb leaves in a hurry.  Mat and Rand gather their things, and Rand scans the crowd at the dock.  He doesn't see Moiraine or Lan.  Thom warns them to keep out of trouble, they don't want anyone remembering they were there.  They get ready to disembark and Domon stops to talk with them.  He offers them money to travel down south with him to Illian.  Rand refuses, but Thom says they will think about it.   They go into town and find an inn at the base of the White Bridge.  They talk with the innkeeper—Thom leading the discussion and trying to weasel out useful information without seeming too interested.  The innkeeper tells them that Logain was defeated as he tried to make for Tear.  Logain will be put on parade to Tar Valon, passing through Caemlyn on the way north.  The innkeeper also says that the Illianers have proclaimed the hunt for the Horn.  This makes Thom stop and think a moment, so Rand tells the innkeeper that they are looking for friends that might have passed through.  Thom describes them and the innkeeper promptly tells them to leave—that a crazy man was asking after the same people, and after that a man in black asked after them too.  Rand knows the man in black was a Myrddraal.   They start to panic a bit—Thom insisting they go south to Illian, Rand saying they needed to go to Caemlyn.  Mat, after a moment, sides with Rand, and tells Thom he can go to Illian if he wants, but they are going on to Caemlyn.  Thom laughs at their ignorance of the world, and of the White Tower, and Mat grips the ruby-hilted dagger menacingly.  Noise from the other side of the common room pulls them up short.  /p> Gelb is telling other sailors that Rand, Mat, and Thom are Darkfriends, and that Trollocs are after the three of them.  Thom realizes that Gelb's story will circulate around town, reaching the ears of the Halfman.  They need to go, and quickly.  Thom divides the money between them, and they sneak quietly out of the inn.   Out in the alley, they want to get out of the city without rousing suspicion.  Mat wonders why Thom is helping them, since he'd be safer if he left.  Thom confesses that he had a nephew named Owyn, who was "killed" by Aes Sedai.  He wants to help these boys escape Aes Sedai since he didn't help Owyn.  Rand notices Thom has tears in his eyes as he says it.  He tells the boys to wait, then leaves the alley.  He returns a short time later with different cloaks for the boys to wear.  They are to leave the alley one by one, but always keeping each other in sight.   Out in the open, they spy a Myrddraal across the square.  Thom tells them not to look at its face.  Rand wants to run, but Thom says they will never outrun it.  With a quick growl about wishing he'd never gotten involved, Thom thrusts his flute and harp at Rand.  He tells them to go to the Queen's Blessing, an inn in Caemlyn.  Then he tells them to run.  He yells it over and over as he rushes at the Fade.  He has his daggers out, and they flash blue as they meet the Myrddraal's own blade.  Rand and Mat run, and they hear Thom's screams as they do.  Most of the other townsfolk run too, so it's about a mile out of town before the boys stop running.   Rand stops, but Mat says they have to keep going.  Mat says Thom is dead.  Rand slowly nods, then they get up and start walking towards Caemlyn.     Chapter 27, "Shelter from the Storm"   Perrin, Egwene, and Elyas are still with the band of Tinkers.  Perrin is irked at how slow they are moving, but Elyas doesn't want to leave and push on.  Still, Perrin admires how full of happiness, and music and dance, the Tuatha'an are.  Elyas is uncomfortable around the People, but when Perrin brings up the idea of going their own way, Elyas insists on staying.  Perrin worries about a Fade finding them, and murdering all the Tinkers, but Elays says they need to wait.  Perrin wants to know how he knows, and he says it's just a feeling.  Despite these reassurances, Perrin cannot relax.   One night, the women of the camp do a slow, seductive dance.  Perrin blushes and tries to turn away, but they dance in front of him again.  Because of his embarrassment, they do the same dance every night.  Egwene learns the dance too.  Perrin almost scolds her for it, but thinks better of it.  A bit angrily, he asks her if she's having fun.  She has adopted a new philosophy: whatever will happen will happen, so enjoy the good moments when they are here.  She runs off with Aram, who flashes a triumphant smile at Perrin.   In an act of defiance to the Way of the Leaf, Perrin leaves his cloak open, showing off his axe.  Elyas grins at him, which almost makes it cover it back up, but he doesn't.  He can't comprehend how people can just run from the evils of the world.   Perrin continues to have dreams—but not the ones like before.  They are mostly nightmares, of Fades attacking the Tuatha'an.  And his ability to feel the wolves increases each day.  The wolves are ready to go, and want to get away from the Tinker camp.  Perrin feels the same way, an eagerness to just get it over with, to be on his way to Caemlyn and Moiraine and answers.   In one dream, Perrin is in Mistress Luhhan's kitchen, a wolf at his feet.  The wolf growls, and Ba'alzamon appears.  He scornfully asks if the wolf is Perrin's protection, then sets the animal on fire.  Perrin rushes to try and save it, but as he touches it, it turns to ash.  He yells at Ba'alzamon to leave him alone.  Ba'alzamon mentions the Eye of the World again, that it would consume Perrin.  Ba'alzamon opens his hand towards Perrin and a raven flies out, piercing his left eye.   Perrin wakes up from the nightmare, remembering the agony of the bird's attack.  Elyas is beside him and the wolves are sending images of hatred and fire.  Elyas says it's time to go.  They pack up say their goodbyes to the Tinkers.  Aram tries to convince Egwene to stay, but she refuses.  During the goodbye ceremony Eylas, after a moment of hesitation, completes the parting words which startles Raen and Ila.   As they leave, the wolves keep sending images of the dream Perrin had.  He learns he can shut the wolves out, and determines to never let them back in.     My take: Sorry for the longwinded synopsis of chapter 26.  There was a lot of information that transpired, a lot character building, but not a lot of things to talk about.    First, I do wonder if the White Bridge can be, as Doman said, something other than Aes Sedai work.  We assume everything—every marvel—was done with the One Power, but we forget they had pretty advanced technology in the Age of Legends as well.  It's possible that it wasn't made with the One Power.  Is it likely?  No.  But it is possible.  I think it would be neat to speculate on what things in Randland weren't made by Aes Sedai.  The Horn of Valere, for example, was from Ages before the Age of Legends, and definitely wasn't made by Aes Sedai.  We will have to talk about the Horn at a later time—probably somewhere around the end of The Great Hunt—but I do wonder where that came from also.   What about the reputation of Morgase from the innkeeper in Whitebridge.  From early on in this book, we get a lot of positive ideas of Andor's ruling family.  Even those who don't like Aes Sedai—which is mostly everyone—still back Morgase as Queen.  I think this is important later, when Rand meets her.  We have already established that Morgase is kind and just, the common people love her.  So when she lets Rand go, despite the warning from Elaida, it fits in with the character we've heard about.  This is interesting.  We see the first of only a few rulers who are decent people.  The High Lords and Ladies in Tear are awful.  Those in power in Cairhien are almost worse.  In Andor, we have a ruler who does have the common folk's interest at heart.  This is deep in Andor's roots, and deep within the roots of the Two Rivers.  This can be where those characteristics can be traced too.  It also shows us how Elayne grew up to be a great Queen as well.  (On the other hand, can it be as Minnielikes theorizes, that it's just because they are pretty?)   Now, moving on to the tragic part—or so we think.  The first time around, I was convinced Thom was dead.  Moiraine is pretty confident he's alive, but who trusts an Aes Sedai?  Still, this part is such a wonderful scene within the series.  We've only known Thom for a few weeks, and we (and Rand and mostly Mat) trust him.  But Mat does bring up some interesting doubts.  We should be wondering why he's helping them too.  And I'm glad that Mat finally voices those opinions.  Thom's story of Owyn really explains a lot about his motivation, now and later in the series.  This is one of the main forces that drive him.  At this point, his character gets complex.  I love that there are tears in his eyes when he talks about Owyn.  I love that this conflict motivates him so much.  He hasn't gotten over it, even though it's been so long.  It explains so much about the kind of man he is.  He's well traveled and used to be a Court Bard, but family matters, and these boys from a small village matter.   I love Thom from this moment on.   While Mat and Rand have Thom as a sort of mentor figure, I love Perrin's interaction with Elyas for the same reason.  Both older men are world-wise, passing on their knowledge to our poor country bumpkins.  Look at how much experience and growth the ta'veren get because of these men.  And when these men appear again, the poor country boys are the ones in charge.  It's humorous, as only Robert Jordan can do it.   The time in the Tinker camp shows growth for the characters as well.  I really think it's interesting that Egwene has become so logical in her thinking about the future.  Perhaps Moiraine's constant "The Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills" has seeped into her.  But it's a very grown-up mentality to have, that what will happen will happen, so why worry about it.  This helps later when she takes on the leadership in the Tower.  From such an early age, she is prepared to take the world as it is, and try her hardest to adapt to it.  It's so admirable.  I've never been particularly fond of Egwene until she becomes Amyrlin, but this shows some of the woman she will become.   I've mentioned elsewhere that Brandon Sanderson talked about the possibility of Perrin accepting the Way of the Leaf, and how it would never happen.  And we see it pretty clearly here, his defiant nature, his refusal to take things lying down.  The fact that he openly displays his axe isn't how we'd expect this overly polite boy to act.  This shows us how bold he can get when he believes in a cause (can we say Blue Ajah?).  He gets sidetracked a lot by Faile in the later books, but in his core, he is so strong and determined.  He brings so much to his group of followers because of these traits.  He makes an excellent leader because of these traits.   I still wish he could have found the Way of the Leaf.  Can you imagine how the people of Saldaea would react to a King who followed the Way?  It's so funny to think about!  And what's also interesting to think about is that I never, ever thought Egwene would become a Tuatha'an.  That's strange, isn't it?  Egwene hasn't done anything that's considered "violent," but Perrin has.  Yet he's the one I think would convert of the two.  Why is that?  I have no idea.   Like I said, not much to speculate on.  These chapters moved the plot forward, and hinted a bit, but there's nothing too dramatic to glean from them.  A bit about how they'll grow up, but not much else.  Still, I love taking a look at these early years, and seeing how different the characters are.  They are so young and naive here.  Too trusting of everyone.  They are lucky the Wheel was looking out for them.   That's all for this edition.  Join us next time for the next few chapters of The Eye of the World.  Thanks for reading!

It's Friday, and that means fan art! A few weeks ago I got a request from Lali to do a feature on channelers weaving the One Power. Well, I wasn't quite successful in finding that, I'm afraid. But instead, I found these lovely abstract visualizations of the Source themselves instead. I hope you'll like it Lali! And the rest of you too, of course.   I'm focusing on saidin today, and next week will be saidar. Since most of these are abstract there's not too much to discuss about each single piece, but I'll add some general thoughts after! So without further ado, here we go:   Saidin by fighterj5     Saidin by Tarkin     Tainted Saidin by lupiskwid   WOT Saidin personified by AzureLightning   I have to say, I think these abstract images are absolutely brilliant. I think that is how a channeler would "see" the Source in their mind. I can't decide between the first three which one I think is the better! The first one I think would be the most realistic tainted saidin (the dark "oily" taint on the outside), the second one is the most dramatic and magic-looking, while the third is just really, really cool. And saidin personified! Fire and ice, and life. So awesome!   And a small bonus to settle us into next weeks saidar-feature:   Flame and flower 1 by Meyrocu   I think that is a lovely representation of the relationship of saidin and saidar!   Hope you all have a lovely weekend, my dear readers! And do feel free to give me requests about art you'd like to see!