DRAGONMOUNT

[EDIT:  The deadline has been extended to April 30th, 2014 for anyone who would like to enter!]   Welcome to this special edition of Dragonmount’s Fantasy Review. This month, I want to take the opportunity to present to you the two books that make up R.A. Salvatore’s latest release: DemonWars: First Heroes. This book is not a new book, but instead encompasses two books: The Highwayman (2004) and The Ancient (2008). The two novels are the beginning of Salvatore’s epic First King series, a prequel to his popular DemonWars Saga.  And to celebrate this new release, Tor Books is giving away one copy to our Dragonmount readers!  Post in the comments section below before April 30th, 2014, and you could win a free copy.  The winner will be randomly selected from all those who leave a comment (unfortunately, only residents within the US or Canada can win).   Or, you can buy these books separately in Dragonmount's DRM-free eBook store: The Highwayman and The Ancient.     Synopsis: The Highwayman   The Highwayman is the origin story of the series’ hero Bransen Garibond. Bransen was born to parents who were members of two vastly different religions. His father, Brother Bran Dynard is a priest of the church of Blessed Abelle; his mother, Sen Wi, is a mystic of Jhesta Tu, a foreign and mysterious philosophy that Brother Dynard set out to study.  Due to circumstances of fate, Bran is killed and Sen dies in childbirth, leaving the boy to be raised by his father’s dearest friend.   Bransen is born with severe birth defects, causing him to be the source of ridicule in his small hometown. As he grew up, he discovered his father’s notes on Jhesta Tu, and began practicing the methods of his mother’s people. After spending several years in a Abellican monastery, he finds a magical gemstone (a powerful piece of the Abellican faith) that allows him to walk, talk, and live the life of the Highwayman.   As the Highwayman, Bransen becomes a local Robin-hood type hero. He robs from rich, helps out the poor, and romances his childhood crush, the woman he later marries.   The world of the Highwayman is dangerous. The Abellican faith is still in its infancy; the church was founded less than a century before the events of the series, and the Abellicans are struggling with other religions. Bransen’s father was ostracized for marrying a Jhesta Tu heathen, and Bransen was later forbidden from studying his mother’s religion.   The background plot of the Highwayman involves a war. Pryd Holding, where the story is set, is at war; there is a prince who is desperate to produce an heir, religious conflict, and the ravages of war on the common folk.   The Ancient   The Ancient picks up shortly after the end of Highwayman. After the events of the first book, Bransen, his wife and mother-in-law must flee Pryd Holding, and are headed south, when Bransen is tricked into traveling to a distant land to help fight in the war. The story gets complicated when Bransen loses his Abellican gem, making it next-to-impossible for him to fight.   The war is more readily evident throughout The Ancient. The Samhaist religion, along with the Ancient Badden, the most powerful of their numbers, wish to destroy the Abellican order that threatens them. A small monastery is built in the shadow of the Ancient Badden’s palace, on a lake near a small, tribal civilization that the Abellicans hope to convert.   War breaks out on all sides: the tribe verses the Abellicans, the tribe verses the powries (a race of dwarves that are fierce and warrior-like), the Abellicans verses the powries, and ultimately, the Ancient Badden verses everyone else.   Pros: I like the exploration of Bransen as a disabled hero, and how he looks back to his parents and their varying faiths to overcome significant birth defects. His wife loves him both as the Highwayman and as his ‘alter ego’ the Stork, showing that this disabled hero loves and is loved, no matter what. The first book sets the stage for the remainder of the Saga of the First Kings and for the later events in the DemonWars Saga.   I also really enjoyed reading the stories of the young Abellican church. In the main DemonWars book, the Abellican church is the most important religion. The years are marked in Corona from the death of St. Abelle. I enjoyed reading of the religious struggles, and of the wars surrounding them.   Cons: I have not read all the DemonWars books, and thus I felt like I was missing out on some of the references within the story. As prequels, I’m certain that the two books contain a few hidden gems of references that long-time readers of the DemonWars will enjoy. I feel like I missed out on something there.   Missing references is a minor complaint, one that can be rectified with a read of the complete DemonWars Saga. The only real big problem I had with either book was in the Ancient. Bransen was tricked to travel away from his wife and mother-in-law, conscripted in a war. I missed the interaction between Bransen and his family. His love and his wife, gave Bransen a reason to struggle, something beyond revenge or money, and away from his wife, I found Bransen to be a little colder, less relatable.   Conclusion: If you’ve read the complete DemonWars Saga, these books (or the special DemonWars: First Heroes edition) will be a great read. If you have not read the DemonWars, the stories are still fascinating, and a good read, but be prepared to possibly miss references to the other works.   My Rating: 4 of 5

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! I really, really want to tell you all about The Elder Scrolls Online, the new massively multiplayer online role playing game from Bethesda Softworks which officially began yesterday, for those who preordered early access, and will be open for general play on Friday. If you are unfamiliar with an MMORPG, they are like computer games that you play online, not just with your friends but with everyone else, in one huge world. Bethesda has previously created some excellent Open Sandbox style games, such as Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim, all of which were truly excellent for developing and playing your own character in an RP style game, and for their great graphics and world settings. We are hoping for similar things in The Elder Scrolls Online. Here is a trailer for it:   <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/XH9fCA3dmGc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>   You can create a character, be it a mage, assassin, templar, or fearsome dragonkknight, complete quests, develop your characters skills, meet friends, join guilds, explore a truly gorgeous world (yes, I have the early access and visually, it is great) and generally have tons of fun. If you've never tried an MMO, they're hugely popular, so maybe this will be your first. If you've played them before, then what are you waiting for? Come join the action! That's all for now! Have fun!   Until next time, friends!

Hello! The Wheel has spun, and now, April is almost upon us. With that, there are many exciting changes that are soon to take place in Dragonmount.   One important part of the month of April is JordanCon! To those of you who are lucky enough to go, congratulations! For the rest of us, there is Dragonmount.   Black Tower members have stumbled upon the all-important Secret Diary of Sarumon the White.   There are three new interesting threads up on the Movies and Games Discussion board. The first is about the game Thief. The second is about 300 Rise of an Empire. The third thread is about Divergent. Have you seen any of these movies or played these games? Join the discussion!   And in the TV Show and Sports Discussion board, there is a new thread of interest: Major League Baseball 2014. Are you a baseball fan? Do you have a favorite team, player, or least favorite of either? Here’s the place to talk about it.   And don't forget, today is the last day to submit nominations for the Hugo Awards.  This is the last year Robert Jordan is eligible.  Check out the article here for more details.   Now, an update from Dragonmount’s Twitter feed:     You can get daily updates about The Wheel of Time, Dragonmount, and other related topics by following our Twitter and Facebook profiles!   That wraps it up for March! Remember, as April starts, to sign in at your various Social Groups and have a safe JordanCon to all those are attending. Because of the convention, our regular weekly posts will be suspended for a week, so I'll be talking with you in two weeks.

It's Friday, and that means fan art! Well, sort of. I'm back with round two of "art that remind me of Wheel of Time."   First off, my deepest apologies for not posting anything last week! I'll try to make up for it by showing you some really, really awesome art today!   I have tried to keep it to art that is very clear it has similarities to The Wheel of Time. There is a lot of art I see that reminds me of a character or a setting, that others might not even see the similarities. So let's dig right in shall we?     Princess Lauralye by Selenada   Yes, it's another Moiraine-portrait. I can't help that artists seem set on painting her! Although, as someone graciously reminded me in the comments last week, Moiraine has dark brown eyes, not blue. But otherwise I do think it's spot on. She is described as "porcelain doll pretty" in New Spring after all! So I see this as the younger Moiraine, maybe even before she came to the White Tower.     Practise of magic by anndr   I'll admit, this is the painting that made me want to make this series of blog posts. I saw that and thought "Ooooh, Nynaeve!" Nynaeve having a quiet moment to herself, finally starting to feel at ease with saidar after her block was removed. Also fitting since cats seem especially attracted to Aes Sedai.     Comisson: Rand by Selenada   Yes, this character is actually called Rand! Not that it is an image of our Rand, but a commission of someone else's OC (original character) called Rand. But I think he looks more like Galad, yes? Almost too pretty, and very serious. I have always struggled to picture Galad before, but when I saw this image, it struck me instantly as being him. I can easily see every woman in the White Tower, Aes Sedai included, standing around drooling when he's sparring shirtless!     Bartola by ArdenRey   Another Maiden of the Spear (I almost wrote Shieldmaiden... wrong fansite!). Veiled and ready for battle. I imagine her sneaking through somewhere dark, and then her enemy only sees this little glimpse of her in their last moments, as light falls on her face. She looks fierce, and I would not want to be on the wrong end of her spear!     White Tower by SlySharp   It isn't a perfect match for Tar Valon, of course. Tar Valon is much bigger, and is an island in the middle of a river, not located next to a river. But the giant white tower, and the looming mountain behind it, the darkness coming in and the ray of sunlight directly on the city, just screams Tar Valon to me! I also really like the kind of surreal feel over this image, the way it's painted is very fascinating, with the flowing brushstrokes.     Elven town by anndr   And again we visit Tar Valon! The thing that really caught my eye in this one, is the little staircase/bridge, in the upper right corner. Isn't that just a wonderful little detail? Tar Valon has always made me think of Rivendell in a lot of ways, so it's not surprising this image remind me of Tar Valon. The only problem is that, contrary to what a lot of artists seem to think, Tar Valon isn't all white! The city walls are gleaming white, and of course the White Tower is white. But the rest of the city is colorful and filled with beautiful buildings that border on the absurd. If I don't remember too wrong, the fish market building is built like a school of colorful fish! I can't even begin to imagine how that looks like!     That's it for this week, my darlings! Enjoy your weekend, and as always, tell me which is your favorite in the comments!

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!   You, like myself and other fans, have a definite need for something--more merchandise from their obsession of choice! This week, I wanted to talk about a particular type of merchandise that really is a kind of collector's item, or rather, a potential collection. If you could have something from the Wheel of Time world, what would it be? Likely, many things come to your mind, there are lots of possibilities, be it a ring, or a weapon.  One that you may not think of, however, is actually a great idea--a coin! People have coin collections from the "real world." As a child I had one of old coins (or copies of). Well, now you can get them from your favorite fictional worlds as well! And that's the idea behind The Shire Post Mint, a website dedicated to making these replica coins, including the silver Tar Valon Mark and the Golden Crown of Ellisande from The Wheel of Time books. They also have coins from George R. R. Martin's fictional world of Westeros, and from Patrick Rothfuss' Four Corners of Civilization too. Their latest Wheel of Time coin is the pure silver Tar Valon Mark. This coin differs from the previous version and features Siuan Sanche on one side, and the other has the Flame of Tar Valon and the Great Serpent around the edge.  This special edition includes the coin in sealing wax atop a letter from Siuan Sanche, herself ("What the bearer does is done at my order and by my authority. Obey, and keep silent, at my command."). The Shire Post Mint will be a vendor at JordanCon this year.  Check them out and you could be well on your way to starting or expanding your fantasy/fiction coin collection! That's all for now! Have fun! Until next time, friends!

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 22 and 23.    Synopsis: Chapter 22, "A Path Chosen"   Perrin wakes up and it takes a moment for him to remember where he is and what happened the night before.  He decides that if Egwene made it across the river, she would be further down than Perrin.  He sets off to see if he can find her.  He finds hoof prints with Master Luhhan's signature double crossbar, and knows that Bela made it across okay.  He finds Egwene and Bela inside a small clearing—a fire lit in front of them. Egwene has him sit down and dry off.  They discuss what to do; Egwene wants to wait for Moiraine to find them, Perrin insists that they should keep moving.  Perrin's plan is to cut across the wilderness and bypass Whitebridge, meeting the others in Caemlyn.  Egwene agrees, though Perrin does wonder what will happen if the Aes Sedai isn't in Caemlyn.  They might have to go to Tar Valon on their own.   Egwene has most of her supplies still, so they eat quickly, then begin to walk.   Chapter 23, "Wolfbrother" As they walk, Perrin struggles with who is the leader between the two of them.  Sometimes, Egwene is ready for him to make the decisions, other times she won't listen.  They travel through the wilderness, not seeing anyone or anything.  They run out of food quickly, and have to resort to hunting.   Perrin catches a rabbit, while Egwene is supposed to light the fire.  When he comes back, the fire isn't lit and he realizes that Egwene was trying to use the Power.  He asks her to stop using it, but she refuses.     They travel for a few miserable days when they smell smoke in the air.  Perrin goes to investigate and finds a man who is roasting rabbits.  Perrin calls for Egwene and they are both allowed to eat.  The man is Elyas Machera, and he has golden eyes.  Elyas chats with them for awhile before warning them to be still, that his friends are coming.  His friends turn out to be four wolves: Dapple, Hopper, Burn, and Wind.  Elyas says he can talk with them, and that Perrin can talk to them too.   Elyas asks them what they are doing out in the middle of nowhere, and Perrin and Egwene quickly launch into a rehearsed story about being from Saldaea and running away from home.  Elyas knows it all lies, and what's worse, the wolves sensed Trollocs and Halfmen in their thoughts as they told the story.  Elyas demands the truth, hoping they aren't Darkfriends.  The wolves growl threateningly, so Perrin tells the whole story.   After he's finished, Elyas talks about his dislike of Aes Sedai, and how the Red Ajah tried to gentle him—he had to kill a few Warders to escape.  But, he invites Perrin and Egwene to stay with him.  They refuse, but he agrees to travel with them for a while.     When their plans are settled, Burn angrily stares at Dapple, then runs off into the night.  Elyas says that Burn thinks they are wasting time with Perrin and Egwene, but Dapple runs the pack and she will go with Elyas and the Two Rivers folk.  As Burn leaves, Perrin can feel him go.   My take: Only a few chapters this time, but I think there's enough her to look at.  Namely, Perrin and his Wolfbrother abilities.  We get a very detailed description of Elyas' gradual awareness of the wolves:     From the sound of this, it was very gradual.  And when we hear of Noam later (The Dragon Reborn, Chapter 8, "Jarra"), his transformation also seems to have happened slowly.  Yet, here is Perrin, being told he can talk to wolves, and after just an hour or two, he can feel the wolves.  He also puts a name to Hopper, and then wonders how he did it.   But, maybe it didn't happen so quickly.  What if the wolves had been tracking Perrin for a while?  In chapter 1, we learned that there are more wolves in the Two Rivers than before.      Those wolves might have been able to sense Perrin already.  We have no contextual proof, but they could have been lurking near Perrin.  Perrin might have been exposed to the Wolfbrother bonds already.  I am certain that if Perrin hadn't left the Two Rivers, he still would have been turned into a Wolfbrother—probably just not as quickly.   There's also a phrase Perrin uses, when we get his first point-of-view chapter.  When he see's Master Luhhan's double crossbar horseshoe tracks, he is able to follow the trail using his "sharp vision."  However, later in the book, Rand wonders about Perrin's vision:     So, Perrin thinks of his eyes as sharp, but Rand thinks of Perrin's eyes as weak.  Or, had the transformation already taken place before they left the Two Rivers, and Rand had never been around to see it?  He's been on the farm for a while—only coming to Emond's Field rarely—so Perrin's abilities could have increased without Rand noticing.  In fact, as quiet as Perrin seems to be, it's not something he would likely tell others about, or maybe he didn't even notice it himself.   Of course, the other explanation is that Perrin's ta'veren nature sped up the Wolfbrother skills.  This is likely, as well, but too much of a convenience.  I'd like to think that not everything in the story happens because of the ta'veren.  But, it's possible.    Another thing about Perrin is that he already balks at being the leader.  Many readers complain about how he drags his feet when he's put in charge of the Mayeners and the Ghealdanin, but it was in his character all along.  That was the way Perrin would have acted—we can see the beginnings of it here.     Also, why are so many Talents (including Wolfbrother abilities) connected to the sealing of the Bore?  Elyas says:     With the weakening of the Seals, all these Talents come back.  It isn't a link to the Dark One, right?  It's more that the world will need these abilities for the hard times ahead.  Or is it that since the Dark One was locked up, the Pattern, to compensate for the loss of so much evil, had to remove some of the forces of good?   And what other Talents has the world lost?  Hurin's sniffer abilities?  Min's viewings?  These do seem to be forces of the Light, which would need to increase as the Shadow's influence was increasing as well.  I think that's what makes the most sense.   I did get a bit sidetracked on the talk of Talents and Seals, but it's all in good fun.  I think we'll have to stop there.  Next time, we'll get to see Rand and Mat sneaking downriver on The Spray.  Thanks for reading!

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!   Have you ever wants to punch somebody in the face as hard as you can? Wait, no... that came out wrong.   If you, like many of us here on Dragonmount, have ever taken part in some sort of sparring exercise, be it martial arts or self defense or some form of armed combat, you will have come across a very common problem. You always get to the point where you wonder how you can truly test your abilities in a "friendly" combat, where you have to pull your punches or otherwise take care not to cause injury. Unless, of course, you take part in some form of actual combat sport like MMA or boxing. However, for most of us it's more of a hobby, particularly something like sword fighting, and the limitations can become very frustrating.   Well, look no further. Technology is, of course, always advancing, and the next in the kind of "gadgets I absolutely must sell my other kidney to have" is the Lorica, an armored suit also equipped with an array of sensors to monitor what is happening to it. The idea? You can be smacked about--or preferably, can smack someone else about--without fear of injury. I particularly relish the prospect of live steel sword fighting in this thing.     If you want to know more, check out the links below.   CNN had an article on it with a few pictures and a lot of information, and Singularity Hub has an article with several videos.   What do you think? I want two at least for the Warders Guild here on Dragonmount!   That's all for now! Have fun!   Until next time, friends!

I am calling for applications for one person to join my staff of bloggers. Applications for this position will be open until Wednesday, April 2nd.   Description of the Job Position:   The open position is for a Wheel of Time Humor Blogger. This blog is a regular feature on Wednesdays. This person will be responsible for a short weekly column featuring a combination of existing WoT humor from around the Internet (e.g. Mat's Inbox, the WoT lightbulb jokes, the WoT Lolcats) and creating their own WoT humor content.   Job Duties for Both Front Page Blogger Positions:   1. Bloggers are expected to produce content in their respective areas for the front page once per week. They must be able to meet deadlines in a timely manner.   2. Bloggers occasionally will be called upon to assist the Front Page Admin with brainstorming new ideas for features.   3. Bloggers are expected to dedicate time each week to the Front Page Bloggers Staff Board and the DM Staff Board. As members of DM Staff, they act as representatives of the members of DM and their input is vital in the decision making process. Bloggers should be actively engaged in discussions on staff boards.   4. Bloggers must be able to give at least a 6 month commitment of approximately 5 hours per week. LOAs will come up, of course.   Anyone who thinks they can fulfill the requirements may apply. Strong candidates are people who possess the following qualities: efficiency, writing ability, organizational skills, creativity, maturity, and the ability to work well with others.   The Application Process:   If you are interested, please send an email to frontpage@dragonmount.com.   In your application, please include:   * Your DM Handle. * Some details about who you are in real life, including anything you think will have prepared you for leadership (including past online leadership experience). * A sample of your writing consisting of at least three short paragraphs. This can be in the form of a brief essay, a blog, a school paper, a newspaper article, a forum post, a short story, or a role play. You do not have to write something new for this application; in fact, many of you already have forum posts that are long enough to count. I mainly want to get an idea of your writing style. * Anything else that you think would set you apart from other applicants.  Why are you the best candidate?   If you have any questions, please feel free to ask and I will try to answer them.   ~Mashiara

Ta'veren Tees is releasing a new "Moiraine and Lan" shirt design, featuring the artwork of Paul Bielaczyc.       

Hello Dragonmount! The Wheel has spun, and now it’s time for a new edition of Dragonmount’s Weekly Roundup! March is well underway. We’ve survived Pi day, the Ides of March, and now it is St. Patrick’s Day!   The Wolfkin monthly discussion about music and the monthly game, an acronym game, is well under way. It’s not too late to join the discussion or play with the Wolfkin in their home!   Aiel monthly activities include a Movies by the Alphabet game and a discussion of Art and inspiration.   Are you planning on going to Jordancon 2014? Talk about your travel plans!   Roleplayers: Are you interested in joining the Children of the Light? The new guidelines are available. Even if you don’t have an interest in the Children, but are generally interested in our Roleplaying boards, check the thread out, since it has some valuable information on getting started.   And don't forget, Hugo nominations are due on March 31st, so remember to submit your top picks.  Check out this article if you need inspiration or suggestions. Finally, an up date from Dragomnount’s Twitter account:   Remember, you can get daily updates about Wheel of Time, and other related subjects from our Twitter and Facebook pages.     That wraps up this week’s Weekly Roundup. See you next week!