DRAGONMOUNT

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!

It's time again for some Wheel of Time humor. I have unfortunately never been to JordanCon, but over the years I have enjoyed seeing the photos of all the incredible Rands, Mats, Perrins, Nynaeves, Egwenes, Moiraines...you name it, someone has done it! Here are a (very) few photos that I particularly enjoy.   Let's start off with the most recent Con just a few weeks ago. Best picture for me has to go to this excellent Mat cosplay:   photo from MashiaraSedai   It takes some real cojones to put on those pink ribbons. Well done, sir.   Now, if you will, take a few steps back in time to 2010 and 2012 cons, respectively.     This one was taken by Sophie Decaudin, and what I love about this photo is what April Moore (Cadsuane) says about it: "This looks for all the world like Cadsuane giving young Rand an earful of advice! "     This photo is aptly named "Nynaeve disapproves" by more2lookfwd2. I can't help but enjoy how in-character they both are for this photo!   Last but not least, this next photo is not from a Con, but I think you'll enjoy it all the same. Punnylittlepiggy dressed her dog up as Lan once, and thank the Light she did because I cannot get enough of this photo.     Just pair him up with grumpy cat dressed as Nynaeve and you've got yourself an epic love story. "Meow-naeve, you have made a place in my heart where I thought there was no room for anything else. You have made flowers grow where I buried bones and stolen shoes. Woof woof." -Lan Mandogoran   I hope something here has made you laugh today, the Light illumine you all! Oh, and can someone please volunteer to dress up their cat as Meow-naeve? I think I need this in my life.

It's Friday, and that means fan art!   Today I'm going to deviate slightly from how I usually do things. I've been in a strange mood lately, a bit melancholy. And so this post is dedicated to my wonderful husband, who encourages and cheers me up when I get these moods. So today, we have a feature on Lan and Nynaeve. Their relationship is one of the most lovely I've read about; by themselves they are hurt and damaged from their past and their fears, but together, they grow so strong. They don't love each other despise their failures, but because of them. They grow together, feeding of each others strength, making each other better. They have their rough times and their arguments. But in the end it doesn't matter. They have each other, and that's all that matters.   The unusualness of this post is that I will not be commenting on each individual image. These images tell their story all on their own; they don't need my words cluttering them up. I've included more images than normal to make up for my lack of words though! So let's enjoy and celebrate the beautiful love of Lan and Nynaeve.   Lan and Nynaeve by Darkeningfire     Lan and Nynaeve by GrayInBlack       Lan and Nynaeve 3 by GrayInBlack     Come back to me by Holda-Volk     Lan and Nynaeve 2 by GrayInBlack     Hold the moment by Orcak1989     Lan and Nynaeve by Gorgaidon     Nynaeve and Lan - Wheel of Time by Endave     Personally, I think the first and the last ones are my favorites. But that sculpture has me really impressed too!   Hope you all have a wonderful weekend, my dear readers, and that you get to spend some quality time together with a special someone, whether it be a partner, family member, or a friend!

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!   Today we are going to talk about dragons! A real staple of many fantasy fiction series', dragons of course play a prominent role in The Wheel of Time, although in a symbolic way as opposed to giant, flying, fire breathing lizards!   But dragons of all shapes and sizes fill many other fictional works. Drakes in the world of The Lord of the Rings, Middle Earth, were great beasts, servants of evil, as represented recently by Smaug, the last of the fire drakes in Middle Earth by the Third Age. If you have seen the recent film adaptations, you get an idea of the size and power of that type of dragon.   In one of the most popular television series' on air at the moment, A Game of Thrones, dragons play a very significant role, as the Targaryen's conquered Westeros on dragon back, and Daenerys currently has three... They were babies, but they are growing all the time... The Song of Ice and Fire mythology states that dragons in that world never stop growing all their life! and as such grow to some truly enormous sizes.   You may remember a while back that I reviewed Naomi Novak's Temeraire series! They had a take on dragons I enjoyed as it set them in Napoleonic battles, and again, they were large beasts capable of carrying several riders and crew--the counterpart to the Navy below.   These are just a few of the many different dragons in fantasy fiction culture.   Why are we talking about this?   Well, firstly, I want to let you all know that the Warders Guild here on the Dragonmount forums is currently having a cage match style event based around fictional dragons from many different forms of fiction. Many have already been nominated, preliminary rounds have been drawn up and voting is under way! So be sure to drop by and check that out and cast your vote--it may just be decisive!   Secondly, I found this interesting little graphic I thought I would share. It shows the relative sizes of various dragons across various fictional worlds, just to get an idea of how they would weigh up against one another should they ever all actually meet.   (click here to see a larger version)   Then again, size isn't everything, right?     That's all for now! Have fun!   Until next time, friends!

This review might contain a few spoilers.   In the Midnight Hour by Patti O'Shea     Synopsis Ryne is a troubleshooter, like a police for the magic using Gineal. She has been assigned to hunt down her old mentor, Anise, who has been using dark powers. Ryne has confronted Anise many times in the past few years but has never been able to defeat her. Anise's dark powers grow and soon Rye may be too weak to fight her.   Ryne has a weird fascination with a cartoon show, DSPI because she notices a man's soul trapped in the main character. She frees that man, Deke from the cartoon. He might hold the key to defeating Anise.The spell was not perfect and Deke will return to the cartoon in two weeks. Her only hope lies in defeating Anise. But the spell to free him pushed into areas of grey magic and she could hear the dark side calling to her. Soon, she might not be able to resist the lure of dark powers.   The book follows Ryne's journey as she tries to make sense of her relationship with Deke while trying to defeat Anise.     Pros There are mini-cliffhangers and shocking discoveries at the end of the chapter that hold the interest into the next chapter.  Ryne's past, as it begins to surface, shows another side to the character, a tougher Ryne.  Deke, irritating at first, grows likable once it shows how he tries controlling Ryne's emotions (for her own good). The story is not as much of a love story with no thought as I initially though.     Cons Deke does not come out as the charming hero he is being shown.  The book has too many curse words. I usually don't like it when the book gets too many curse words.  The love story has more focus instead of the search for Anise.     My Rating I'll give this book a rating of 3. This is not really a good book but for a light read, its not as bad as some.   If you interested in reading this book, you can purchase it here in Dragonmount's e-book store.

Over the past few years, I've created "Wheel of Time Advertisements" based on the characteristics of the different peoples in the series. I thought I would share a few of those with you today. You can see more that aren't in this post here.   Let's start with Andor. I recently saw a post by csi-middle-earth which pointed out that Andorans seem to follow anyone who is good looking.     Yep. Sounds about right. It could be a tagline for the city of Caemlyn, no? (Oh look at me, I do be sounding like an Illianer, no?)     Artwork by Joe Trimarchi, I just put some words over it.   I think the Whitecloaks are masters of propaganda (just like the Seanchan). In modern times, they would make some horribly ugly public service announcements. Help the war effort in the fight against Darkfriends! Buy bonds! I mean...   (Apologies for the typos)   In Ebou Dar, any self-respecting woman wouldn't be caught dead wearing anything less than a premium "Jarid" marriage knife. If your man tries to buy you some off-brand piece of junk, just stab him with it.     Finally there's the Tinkers, who in terms of advertising, I could see as a sort of equivalent to a church. They're a peaceful bunch who just want to get the word out, maybe in the form of a roadside billboard.     Is the advertising working? Do you feel brainwashed? I know, I'm a marketing genius.   Thanks for dropping by! The Light illumine you and have a nice week!