DRAGONMOUNT

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!

[slight spoilers of The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance will follow.]   Brandon Sanderson's latest epic book, Words of Radiance, was released earlier this month.  At over 1,000 pages long, it took me a week and a half to make it through.  Not from lack of wanting to, only from lack of time.  I finished it on Friday morning, which was my goal, because Friday evening was Brandon's signing in Scottsdale, Arizona (the bookstore livestreamed the event; you can watch it here).   The book looks intimidating.  It's really, really big.  I think that could put many readers off.  But, if you can stick with it, the story is well worth the effort.   It picks up where The Way of Kings left off.  Kaladin and his Bridge Four gang have been taken in by Dalinar.  Dalinar is still experiencing his visions from the Almighty, trying to put them together for a plan to save the world.  Shallan—despite her betrayal of Jasnah—has been embraced as a full ward of the heretic, and helps research the Voidbringers.   The world is heading towards destruction, but all our heroes fight towards the goal of salvation.   Shallan's storyline was the most interesting.  Brandon has said that each book within the Stormlight Archive will be one person's story—The Way of Kings was Kaladin's book, sharing his past through flashbacks.  This was Shallan's book, and we were finally shown her whole story.  It was fascinating to see how she transformed from the timid girl of Jah Keved to the ward and confidant of one of the most powerful women in the world.  She finds her inner strength and grows into a very strong character.   This is helped by her bonding of a Spren.  We saw Kaladin make on bond with Syl, the Windspren, in The Way of Kings, and Shallan's bond with her Spren is similar.  Pattern, a Liespren (or Cryptic), helps Shallan build her powers.  With different typed Spren, though, come different powers.  Shallan's abilities are very unlike Kaladin's.  She is able to Lightweave, forming illusions.   Kaladin, though not the main focus of the book, still has a great story arc.  After being rescued from Sadeas, Kaladin and his bridgemen take the employ of Dalinar as personal bodyguards.  Kaladin soon finds himself protecting the whole Kholin clan, including the King.  Knowing his duty is the right thing to do, he is still torn at the prospect of protecting Lighteyes—people who think themselves raised above him.    Throughout the novel, Kaladin battles with himself over these mixed feelings.  He respects Dalinar, but can't seem to take that final leap in trusting him completely.  He is unable to confide his abilities to Dalinar, even though he knows he should.  Kaladin does a lot of regression in this book—going back to hating the world and the people around him.  It makes an interesting parallel to Shallan's story because they share experiences of overwhelming grief in their past.    Dalinar doubles his efforts to find Radiants.  He is convinced that the mythical figures will begin appearing to help save the people from the Desolation that is coming.  Sadeas still undermines Dalinar's beliefs and the Kingdom is nearly torn in half between the two Highprinces.   Still, Dalinar pushes on, despite the ridicule of the other Highprinces.  He is so firm in his beliefs that he doesn't let anything deter him from his duty.   He is such a great character.  He's strong of will and mind, and he is able to put aside his shame and focus on the bigger picture.  His goals are very ambitions, but he does everything in his power to make them come to fruition.    The book is divided into five parts, with interludes in between.  These interludes feature characters that are minor, or out of the way, but still offer insight to the state of the world.  The most interesting of the interludes was from the point of view of a Parshendi Shardbearer, Eshonai.  She wants to make peace with Dalinar and the Alethi people, and takes steps to meet with them.  However, something happens to the Parshendi, a transformation that changes Eshonai's intentions drastically.  We also see other people who have made bonds with Spren.  This is just a taste of all the abilities—all the Orders with the Radiants—that we will see as the series continues.    Exciting and captivating, this book is wonderfully paced—the interludes giving needed breaks from the thick intrigue of the main storyline.  It is humorous and sad, light and dark, hopeful and depressing.  Brandon has done a great job of making a world and characters that are realistic.   The rest of Brandon's tour dates are listed on his website.  The event was very well attended—not everyone could fit inside the bookstore!  He also had prizes to hand out, with Shardhunt codes—which will unlock goodies on Brandon's website if enough of them are activated.  My sister and I were given codes because we dressed up—we both wore our Aes Sedai shawls.  If he's stopping in a town that's near you, I really suggest trying to see him.

Hello again my lovelies! It's Friday, and that means it's time for fan art! Except, this week I don't have fan art to show you. Curious, yes?   This week I want to show you art that has made me think of Wheel of Time. I think you all will see why! Now let's dig right in, shall we?     Wanderlust by FoxFires   I will admit, basically any painting of gypsies could be seen as a depiction of the Tinkers. But this one just speaks to me so much. The brilliant colors, the peaceful atmosphere, and the relationship between the girl and the fox. The Tinkers had large wolfhounds after all, so a close relationship with a fox seems very fitting! I can almost hear the music, it looks like she's looking over at the musicians, watching others dance, and enjoying the comfortable warmth of her home.     Character Portrait IV - edit by Jinxiedoodle   Bad-ass Aiel girl, straight up. Okay, her hair is too long for how the Maidens wear it. Maybe she has given up the spear now? That defiant gaze, the red hair, the scars, this character is simply made to be an Aiel.     Blue By Fragmented   This is Logain, just like I see him in my head! Dark, menacing, but handsome. You can see this guy declaring himself to be the Dragon, can't you? The clothing is too modern of course, but it is a black coat!     Ethiopian Beauty by Dark-Adon   No doubt about this one, is there? This is Tuon, of course. She is perfect, just like she is described; an almost too full mouth, big eyes, heartshaped face, and a face that can look boyish at first glance, but when you look again, undeniably female. If I ever learn how to make paintings like these, I could never make Tuon, because this is my ultimate Tuon.       Opale by Melanie Delon   Moiraine, of course. She's truly ageless; she could be 20, she could be 40. Her eyes hold her age and you can see she knows too much, she's seen too much. Blue eyes, dark curly hair, and the blue kesiera. The only "flaw" is that the chain on the kesiera is silver, not gold. Melanie Delon is one of my favorite digital artists, and this is the image that made me find her. It's so beautiful.     That's it for this week! Next week I'll have another batch of art that could have been Wheel of Time-artwork to show you! As always, tell me in the comment what you think. Have a great weekend!

Is there Hope for "Hopper"?     (source)