DRAGONMOUNT

Below you will find a short interview of the immensely powerful, the personification of organized chaos, the Dark One himself by the esteemed John Lipton..       (Source)

The Wheel Turns, and November has passed. I trust we all had an excellent Thanksgiving! The Holiday season is upon us, and the year is drawing to a close. That can only mean one thing: time for another Weekly Roundup!   Have you seen Catching Fire yet? Do you like Jennifer Lawrence? Visit the Movies and Games Discussion and talk about it!   Did you participate in NaNoWriMo? If so, did you reach the 50,000 word goal? If so, the ACW Tuathan’an have a NaNoWriMo Brag thread!   Are you anticipating Christmas? If so, the Band of the Red Hand has an amazing Advent Calendar, sponsored by the Band’s own BFG and tonnalea!   Finally, an update from the Dragonmount Twitter feed:     Remember, you can get daily updates on Dragonmount and Wheel of Time related news by subscribing to Dragonmount’s Twitter and Facebook pages!   And a final note, as it is now December: don’t forget to go sign in at your social groups and have a fantastic Holiday season!

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!   We're almost halfway there! Where you ask? To the next season of the hit television series A Game of Thrones, based on the Song of Ice And Fire books by George R. R. Martin. It airs once per year, for ten weeks only, and then it seems like such a long wait till the next season! But it should be back beginning of April 2014 so we're getting closer.   If you know anything about the books or the series, you will know that it is one of the most brutal stories you will come across. It seems no character is safe from serious injury or some form of untimely demise. This reputation caused one fan to create the following image:     That, is the series of books so far and each of those colored pieces of paper represent the point of death of a named character within the series. It's quite a body-count. All in all, if you get the chance to fulfill your dream of living within a fictional world, Martin's may not be your wisest choice.   I wonder how that body-count stacks up against other works of fiction, or our own dearly beloved Wheel of Time series. In the comments below, see who you can name who died--permanently!--within the series. (Beware of spoilers in that list if you haven't yet completed the books) and let's see how many we can collectively come up with.   As a bonus feature after such a morbid topic, here is a selection of Game of Thrones heroines as art nouveau paintings.   That's all for now! Have fun!   Until next time, friends!

Ever wanted to know how much planning and discussions go on during meetings between the members of the Black Ajah? Just read below.     (Source)

Welcome back to another edition of "WoT If?", Dragonmount's weekly theory blog.  We are going to continue our reread of The Eye of the World, chapters 7-8.    Before we start, I do want to say that there will still be SPOILERS!  With the ending in sight, much of what I point out could allude to things that happen in A Memory of Light, so keep that in mind as you read.  Don't continue if you don't want to be spoiled.   Synopsis Chapter 7, "Out of the Woods"   As dawn approaches, Rand is happy to smell the chimney smoke from Emond's Field.  However, there's too much smoke on the air.  As he exits the woods, he sees that half the town is in ruins.  Villagers are poking through the charred rubble and Master al'Vere's horses are pulling Trolloc corpses down the road.     Haral Luhhan, the blacksmith, shows up and leads Rand to where Nynaeve is.  They run into Egwene, who quickly goes to get the Wisdom.    Rand notices that Mat's house has burned down and inquires if his friend is all right.  Master Luhhan says Mat is fine.   He also mentions that the Trollocs raided his house as if he had "gold and jewels in there."  When Rand wonders what they'd do if the Trollocs come back, Master Luhhan replies that the Two Rivers folk will survive.  Rand realizes that the villagers are moving with purpose; they're already starting to rebuild.   Nynaeve comes out and says there is nothing she can do for Tam.  Rand tries to convince her, but she refuses.  Rand decides to take Tam to the Mayor.   At the inn, Thom helps Rand carry Tam inside.  The Mayor gets him settled in a bed and sends Thom off to get Nynaeve.  Rand tells Bran that Nynaeve won't help, but he thought the Mayor could make her.  Thom returns and says Nynaeve will not come.   In desperation, Rand asks what he can do.  He can't just watch his father die.  Thom mentions that the Dragon's Fang has been scrawled on the inn's door, which prompts the Mayor to remember that Moiraine is an Aes Sedai, and Aes Sedai can Heal.   Rand runs to find Moiraine and asks her to Heal Tam, saying he will pay any price.  Moiraine agrees and returns to the inn with Rand.    Chapter 8, "A Place of Safety"   In Tam's room, Moiraine tells them all to leave, but Rand asks to stay.  Moiraine allows it.  Lan asks Rand about the heron-marked sword while Moiraine begins to work on Tam.  Rand confesses that he saw a man in the woods the day before, a man who wore all black and the wind didn't touch his cloak.  Lan berates Rand, saying he should have told them.  Moiraine chimes in that knowing wouldn't have given them much of an advantage.   Rand asks if his father is okay.  Moiraine tells him the blade the Trolloc used was tainted by the forges of Thakan'dar, and the taint is inside Tam's body.  She pulls out an angreal to Heal him properly.    Lan tells Rand that the dark rider was a Myrddraal.  Rand then confesses that he spoke to a Trolloc at his home.  He explains to Lan everything that happened the night before, and Lan tells him that few men south of the Borderlands have killed—or even seen—a Trolloc.     Moiraine completes her Healing and Rand is so happy he repeats his early promise of paying any price. She then tells Rand that he must leave with them.  She explains that his house, Mat's house, the blacksmith's house, and the Aybara farm were the first places to be attacked.  This means that the Dark One was after Rand, Mat, and Perrin ("In one of you or all three, there is something the Dark One fears").  Rand doesn't believe her right away, but understands that to refuse her offer would be putting his village in jeopardy.  He also feels a bit relieved that Perrin and Mat must leave too.  Moiraine and Lan leave to find the other two boys.   The Mayor and his wife come back into the room.  Circumspectly, Rand asks the Mayor about which houses were struck first.  Bran confirms that the Forge and the Cauthon's house went up in flames before anything else.  Since she didn't lie about that, Rand thinks she didn't lie about the rest.   Rand tries to stay awake in Tam's room, to be there when his father wakes up, but he falls asleep.   My take:   Chapter 8, in literary terms, is referred to as the "call to action."  In it, Rand willingly agrees to start out on this journey.  He could have said no, and stayed (or could he?), so this is where the real journey starts.  From here on out, the plotlines thicken and expand.  I love reading these parts.  It's so easy to get captivated by the thrill of the beginning.   A few things to point out about these two chapters.  Some just idle thought, others really interesting ideas.  First, the idle:   Why would the Trollocs bother burning Fain's wagon?  He's the one who led them there—we find out later—so why go through the effort of burning all his things?  At this point, Fain is still the Dark One's "hound," but wouldn't it have been easier on him—and the Shadowspawn—to still have his wagon?  They had to carry him most of the way, so why not let him have some of his supplies to help make the trip faster?     I could maybe see that they wouldn't want to leave any clues for the Two Rivers folk, but that doesn't seem like something a Trolloc, or a Myrddraal, would even think about.  Why would they care if the Two Rivers though Fain was a Darkfriend—not that anyone would have made that connection, I'm sure.  Maybe it was just the battle frenzy that overwhelmed the Trollocs?  Either way, it seems unnecessary.    And what of Thom and his hinting about Healing from an Aes Sedai?  I understand his point about being a stranger, but it seems sad that he wouldn't even offer the advice to save Rand's father.  The Mayor got there eventually, but it could have been the difference between life and death for Tam.   I think this is one of the many miraculous ways Robert Jordan worked in foreshadowing.  We see Thom being very manipulative in this scene.  Rand isn't able to see it, but we sure can.  And later, we learn that Thom is a master of daes dae'mar, used to making people dance to his tunes.  How awesome it is to go back to these early chapters and see that Thom is Thom, even then.  The Thom we know later would have done the same thing.  His character is established from the start, and he remains true to it all throughout the series.   And just a little bit of clarification on the whole ta'veren thing.  Robert Jordan said this in an interview:   Last time, I did argue that Rand was ta'veren from birth, but it seems Robert Jordan said otherwise.  He also states that Rand only became ta'veren shortly before Moiraine arrived.  That means, a few days, a week, before Bel Tine.  That would explain Rand's luck with the Trolloc, and his easy evasion of the Fade on the road.   However, I still think there's more to it than that.  Rand's whole life has been strewn with coincidences that led him to where he is—where he is needed.  If ta'veren-ness ebbs and flows, perhaps Rand was ta'veren earlier, and then it went away.  It took some mighty big yanks for the Pattern to get Tam up on that mountain right as Rand's mother died.   Oh, and more proof that Rand is ta'veren in these chapters is that Moiraine mentions dreams.  She means the dreams that aren't dreams—which will be coming up in the next chapter.  And we know that Ishamael is responsible for these dreams.  We also know—much later in the series—that Ishamael is able to find ta'veren and that's the only reason he was able to start the dreams so soon after escaping the Bore.  Since Rand has these dreams, he has to be ta'veren.  Otherwise, Ishamael wouldn’t have been able to contact him, Mat, or Perrin.   Another curious thing here is Rand's insistence to pay a price for Tam's Healing.  I'm thinking and thinking, and I can't find a single time when Moiraine uses this to her advantage.  When Rand starts misbehaving, why doesn't she remind him that he owes her a debt?  A debt he can "never repay"?  It seems to me this would have been the best way to manipulate him.  He would have honored his word to her—especially since he really is eternally grateful that his father was saved—so why didn't she use it?  That seems like an un-Aes Sedai thing to do.   As I mentioned last time, Rand's first channeling is coming up later this night.  So, it's understandable that he might already be feeling the effects of saidin—one of which might be the ability to sense Shadowspawn.  But in chapter 8, Rand shivers and rubs his arms when Moiraine channels.  Again, this is a subtle clue left by Robert Jordan, to hint at something we don't really discover until The Dragon Reborn.     Here's something I've never really picked up on before.  When Moiraine tells Rand he has to leave and Rand says he doesn't want to, Moiraine looks at Lan, and the Warder "said suddenly" statistics of whose houses were attacked first.  We learn that Aes Sedai cannot lie, but Warders can no problem.  One of the reasons they keep the Warders around, I'm sure, is to have someone who can lie at any moment.  And the obvious shift—with Moiraine's look and Lan's sudden speech—definitely points out that something suspicious is going on.     While reading through this, I can't see an outright lie.  But perhaps there's one buried deep in that statement.     When Rand finally decides he will go, Lan sighs in relief.  That sentence makes me wonder about what would have happened if Rand had refused.  Would the idea of price be brought up then?  Or would Moiraine be desperate enough to use Compulsion—or something similar if she doesn't knows the weave?  Would Lan knock him out and carry him over his shoulder?  How much would change if Rand hadn't willingly made the first step outside of the Two Rivers?  I think the story would have ended quite different if that had happened.   Well, that's all for this week.  Not too many answers, and just a bunch more questions.  Please join me next time for the next few chapters of The Eye of the World.  Thanks for reading!

Just in time for the Holidays, Ta'veren Tees is releasing a bunch of new items!  

Hello! I do apologize for missing last week, but the Wheel has turned again, and it is time for another Weekly Roundup! This has been an exciting week, both on Dragonmount and in the real world!   In the Debates and Discussions board, there is a new conversation about a recent rules change in the U.S. Senate. Now, Senators can only filibuster Supreme Court nominees instead of having the chance to filibuster all nominations made by the Executive branch. What do you think of this? Discuss! Saturday marked the 50th birthday of the BBC series Dr. Who, and to celebrate, the BBC produced a much publicized 50th anniversary special, “The Day of the Doctor.” The TV Show & Sports Discussion forum has a special Dr. Who discussion thread, for those who have already seen the show. A discussion of the episode can also be found in the Black Tower. Want to discuss how you became a fan of the Doctor? Visit the Warder’s Guild!   In other, non-Doctor Who related news:   The Black Tower has a new Official Random Thoughts thread.   The Band of the Red Hand is talking about Elder Scrolls Online. Another discussion of this upcoming game is taking place in the Movies and Games Discussion forum.   In the White Tower and Warders Social Group, the Gray Ajah is hosting a Thanksgiving celebration! Visit Tar Valon and discuss your favorite foods and traditions, get your Thanksgiving fortune told, talk about autumn crafts and play hangman!   A new interesting thread opened in Shayol Ghul. The “What would I say?” thread is about a social media robot that looks at your Facebook statuses and generates posts for you. It told me I would say, “I’m going to start a freaking ridiculous.”    Now the Weekly Social Media update: From Dragonmount's Facebook Page:      Remember, you can get daily updates on Dragonmount and Wheel of Time related news by following Dragonmount's Twitter and Facebook pages!     I hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving and a safer Black Friday!

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'm beginning to get excited! Are you?! Wait... You don't know what I mean, do you?The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug will be hitting cinemas in a matter of weeks! That's what I'm excited about and I hope you share my enthusiasm since this article will be looking back at the first film and ahead to part two. This article will include some light spoilers.The Lord of the Rings trilogy stands out for me as one of the best film trilogies around, and certainly one of the all time best book-to-film adaptations I have witnessed. The Fellowship of the Ring in particular for me was visually stunning and just captured everything the book had in it. I could watch it again and again.   I was particularly happy to learn, therefore, that Peter Jackson would continue where he left off with those films and produce the film adaptation of The Hobbit. I went straight to the cinema to watch the first installment, An Unexpected Journey when it came out.   Although it perhaps didn't live quite up to the heights of The Lord of the Rings, I was still very happy with it. It reflected more of a comical nature, with the action being fast but not as intense or serious, but I think that really reflected to the different style of the book, and although serious adult movie-goers may have been less impressed, fans of J.R.R Tolkien's works, and of fantasy fiction, in general I think would appreciate that.   As usual I particularly liked the visuals. New Zealand is such a picturesque place and really fits well with Middle Earth; the story was well done and pretty faithful to the book, although they did deviate in places, particularly in the creation of a villain that was more relatable to the audience and could be carried through the plot. The scene with the trolls--a childhood favorite--was well done, as was the scene with Gollum and the riddle competition; all in all, I was impressed. What was your take on it? Leave a comment below! Looking forward to part two, The Desolation of Smaug, I'm definitely excited and in anticipation. There are some great scenes to show on the big screen--Mirkwood in particular stands out as one I'm looking forward to, as well as the great Wyrm himself.   There's also plenty of eye candy for all with Orlando Bloom reprising his role as Legolas and Evangeline Lilly, of Lost fame, also playing an Elven beauty, Tauriel. Here is a link to a "sneak peek" in case you haven't seen it already. I'm really looking forward to it. Really really!   <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/lfflhfn1W-o" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> That's all for now! Have fun!   Until next time, friends!

Another product of the internet, and a sign of its madness and ingenuity (I could be slightly biased), is the Lolcats.  So here are a few Wheel of Time based ones that are surprisingly cute in a very internety (it's a word!) way.   Mittens never was a bright one.....     (Source)   Awww......   (Source)   Dawww.....   (Source)   Aww in a "I'm going to kill you human!" way....   (Source)   Points for the arrogant pose, if not for the horrible excuse.....   (Source)

Welcome back to another edition of "WoT If?", Dragonmount's weekly theory blog.  We are going to continue our reread of The Eye of the World, chapters 5-6.    Before we start, I do want to say that there will still be SPOILERS!  With the ending in sight, much of what I point out could allude to things that happen in A Memory of Light, so keep that in mind as you read.  Don't continue if you don't want to be spoiled.   Synopsis Chapter 5, "Winternight"   Rand and Tam return to the farm.  After inspecting the area—searching for signs of the black rider, and finding none—they get to work on chores.  They go inside to finish dinner, and while waiting, Tam gets out a key and locks the front and back doors, something that had never been done in Rand's memory.  Then, as Rand fixes tea, Tam gets out a storage box from his upstairs bedroom and returns with a sword.  Rand is instantly filled with curiosity about how Tam came to own a sword.  Tam says Kari told him to get rid of it, but it might be a good thing that he had held onto it all these years. There is a sudden knock from the door, and a few seconds later, it is broken down and a huge shape fills the doorway.  Rand throws the kettle of boiling water at it and Tam kills it with the sword.  Tam tells Rand to run, and he goes to the back door.  The door is locked, so he climbs out the window.  He warns Tam that they are coming in the back, then runs to the side of the barn.  Tam emerges a few moments later, and heads towards the back of the house.  Rand yells that he's not that way, and both run off in different directions to the forest.   They meet up in the forest, and Tam tells Rand the creatures were Trollocs—monsters out of stories.  Tam has been slashed by one of the Trolloc's swords and is burning up with fever.  Rand lets his father rest, and returns to the house for supplies.  He takes Tam's sword with him.   Once inside the house, Rand gathers up some items.  Then, one of the Trollocs on the floor gets up and begins to talk with Rand.  Narg tells Rand that they won't hurt him, and that the Myrddraal only wants to talk.  Rand lowers his sword and Narg attacks.  Rand gets the sword raised in time, killing the Trolloc.  Now he knows they will be back, so he grabs blankets, cloaks, water, and goes to find Bela in the barn.   There's no sign of the horse, or the cow, in the barn.  Instead, Rand uses pieces of the shattered cart as a litter.  He returns to Tam thinking of how he needs to get his father to Nynaeve.   Chapter 6, "The Westwood"   Rand looks over his father's wounds and wonders how a small scratch could cause such a fever.  He cleans and bandages the wound, then gets Tam situated on the litter.  Rand decides to follow the Quarry Road towards Emond's Field, but to stay hidden in the trees.  They make their way towards town.   As they continue, Tam begins to murmur with fever-dreams.  He talks about how "they came over the Dragonwall like a flood."  Rand tires to keep him quiet.  Rand hears approaching horse hoofs and crouches over Tam.  The black rider appears on the road with a lot of Trollocs marching behind him.  Rand waits until they have passed then begins to straighten.  Without a sound, the black rider appears again, inspecting the woods to either side of the road.  Soon, he passes on, then swiftly gallops back towards the farm.    Tam begins talking again, about Avendasora, the Tree of Life, and how its sapling had been cut down.  Since Tam's voice is only a whisper, Rand pushes on for Emond's Field.  But when Tam starts talking about running from a battle, Rand can't help but hear.  He found a baby on the slopes of the mountain.  Brought the baby back to Kari.  Tells Kari that Rand is a good name.  Rand dismisses the event as a fever dream, but instantly begins to wonder who he is.     My take:   Chapter 5 is the calm before the storm, so you don't really get a sense of much going on.  It builds more on Rand's nature than anything else, how dutiful he is as a son, etc.  We see how much Tam means to him, and how Tam's presence is able to focus him and motivate him.  I think this is important later when they meet again in Towers of Midnight.  As Rand grows more powerful, and more influential, he tires to distance himself from the boy he is in The Eye of the World.  But, perhaps it was necessary for him to learn some lessons the hard way.   One ironic thing I'd like to point out in Chapter 5 is that Rand thinks, "there was no false Dragon here."  No, Rand, only the real one.   Chapter 6 starts the real journey.  Not just leaving the Two Rivers and going to the Eye of the World, but the whole journey of Rand's life as the Dragon Reborn.  We learn that the Myrddraal wants to "talk" to him from Narg the Trolloc.  We learn that other Myrddraal and Trollocs will be back—meaning that there is some reason Rand is being hunted.  And perhaps most importantly, we learn that Tam is not Rand's biological father.  More on this in a bit.   I'd like to return to the idea of Rand already being ta'veren.  I know Robert Jordan said that he only becomes ta'veren after leaving with Moiraine, but there are several references to uncanny luck in this chapter.  For instance:   And:   What is this "something" that tells him what to do.  It could be instincts; he did grow up on a farm and hunted in the surrounding forests.  But it could just as easily be the Pattern delicately pulling him the way he is supposed to go.   Of course, there could be another explanation.  If we jump ahead in the timeline, Rand's first channeling would be less than twenty-four hours from this moment.  Is it possible it's his connection to the One Power that warns him about the danger of the Trollocs and Myrddraal?  Once he gets a better understanding of saidin, he is able to sense Trollocs—the same way Moiraine senses them.  He could instinctively be reading the warning of the One Power.   If Rand being ta'veren is out, I think this could be the most likely explanation.  I don't think he channeled to cause that "luck," or else there's be another reaction to touching saidin before his giddiness in Baerlon.  But it would makes sense if it was related to the Power in some way.   And another ironic passage—now that we know the whole story, there's a lot of these that make me chuckle.  After Tam mentions Avendasora being cut down by Laman, Rand thinks, "Next he might actually meet the Green Man, or an Ogier giant, or a wild, black-veiled Aielman."  The Green Man they meet at the Eye, an Ogier in Caemlyn, and Rand himself is an Aielman.   Finally, there's the part about Rand discovering that Tam found him.  I love this part because it adds to the depth of the conflict throughout the whole series.  This happens very early on, and it's something that Rand doesn't put to rest until he meets Tam the second time in Towers of Midnight.  This self-doubt begins a lot of Rand's questioning.  It almost instantly cuts him off from the Two Rivers.  Though he still thinks of Tam as his father, that blood tie is gone.  It could be one of the reasons that makes Rand ignore the Two Rivers so easily when the Whitecloaks threaten.     And what a heart-breaking way for Rand to find out about his adoption.  To have Tam talking as if to Kari was truly gut wrenching.  It makes sympathy for Rand skyrocket.  We, the readers, are instantly in tune with his pain and it brings us closer to him.   I don't think anyone could doubt the incredible character development shown by Robert Jordan in these early chapters.  Right from the start, we get a strong sense of Rand, Mat, and a bit of Perrin.  And watching them grow as the series continues is a wonderful experience—even the times when we know Rand is doing wrong.  Later in the series, it's hard to remember Rand as the innocent farmboy.  He himself has a hard time remembering.  That why I love going back and starting the series over.  It's amazing to remember his humble roots.   That's all for this week.  Please join me next time for the next few chapters of The Eye of the World.  Thanks for reading.