DRAGONMOUNT

Maid sweeps under the rug    Hand catching in the cookie jar   Viper vipes the vindows   Hammer strikes the thumb   Coyote falling off the cliff

Hello! To those of you who have already started school, or are about to go back, I wish you the best of luck in your educational endeavors.  It’s been another week, and it’s time for another Weekly Roundup!   In the General Discussion board, someone has asked about podcasts. Do you have any podcasts that are not Wheel of Time related that you enjoy? Share and discuss!   And, in the Television and Entertainment board, there is a discussion on the best scenes and episodes from television. This is not a “what is your favorite show” discussion. Instead, take the time to think of the best moments you’ve ever watched on TV, and relive your memories.   Are you a fan of Dr. Who? The Black Tower now has an official discussion thread about the Doctor. Have a favorite Doctor? Ever find a funny video about the Doctor? Share it here.    And finally, from the Dragonmount Twitter Feed:   The series is called Ren, and will be produced in the United Kingdom, though you do not have to be a resident of the UK to help get this series off the ground!    I hope you all have an excellent week!

Welcome to another edition of Fan Art Friday! This time's theme is ta'veren: Rand, Mat, and Perrin.   Rand al'Thor, Matrim Cauthon, and Perrin Aybara are the three boys with whom the journey in The Eye of the World starts. Through the series they all go through lot of transformations, but they have needed each others' help time and again. This edition features all three of them together.   WoT: Mat, Rand and Perrin by Manweri Mat with dice to show him as a gambler, Rand with a dragon to show him as the Dragon Reborn, and Perrin with wolves to show him as a Wolfbrother.   Ta'veren by starvnartist Three of them, ready for battle.   Ta'veren by Lovegrove Perrin looks like he is not going to let go of his farmer look, Rand has accepted that he is Dragon Reborn, and Mat is mischievous as usual.   Three Taverens finished by Zilverboy86 Prince of the Ravens, the Dragon Reborn with the Dark One's threat, and Perrin with the hawk and falcon on his shoulders.   Ta'veren by mattolsonart This kind of reminds me of how I imagined the Last Battle.   ta'veren by katya-h This artwork shows the artist's detail with faces.   Ta'veren by dem888 The background keeps reminding me of Shadar Logoth even though I know that the scene could not have taken place there.

Hello, friends! The Wheel has turned all the way around to Thursday which means two things: it's nearly the weekend, and it's time for our Rotating Features blog!   This week it's time once again for a book review. I have recently re-read a fantasy novel called The Shadowed Path, by one Simon Stone. I have met him in real life and got chatting with him, and his story and that of his novel is quite interesting.   To be brief, Stone is not yet a well known author, although I wish him all the success in the world in the future. He is, however, at least in my opinion, an excellent writer. From what I know about Dragonmount, several of its members are in a similar position, which is why the story of Stone and The Shadowed Path might prove interesting and I decided to pass it on. Stone decided to self publish his book by making it available on Amazon. It is a fascinating concept which allows you to get that story you've been working on out there for people to read, and to get yourself and your friends a copy of it as a finished article, because as everyone who has tried to get into publishing knows, sometimes it isn't how good you're writing is, it's just getting that first break and getting your name at least a little bit known.   Why do I say that? Because Stone's The Shadowed Path is as good as many books I have read from the shelf of a library or book store, to be frank. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The writing style flows, the plot is interesting and fast paced, the action is well written and dynamic, the characters at once interesting and believable, and the setting is a little different.   The book follows the journey of three principle characters from a Roman-inspired fantasy setting into a nightmarish forest--and then shows not so much what happened to them, but how it changes them, particularly the main character, Marcus. Meanwhile a horde of horrifying monsters are on the rampage, an Aztec-like kingdom is seeking war, and the most intriguing part of the book, the waylander, famed for not being able to harm a living creature, are suddenly able to kill, and frighteningly good at it.   It's well worth a read. The Amazon store has both a Kindle eBook and a paperback edition. I enjoyed it enough to get the paperback. I'd recommend it to you if you're looking for a new fantasy read, something a bit different, and I hope you enjoy it too.   Have fun!   Until next time, friends!

Welcome back to "WoT If?", Dragonmount's weekly theory blog.  This week, we'll expand just a bit on the last topic: the ghosts and their connection to the Pattern.  Before we begin:   SPOILER WARNING.  This will include content from A Memory of Light.  Please DO NOT read this if you have not completed the book.   I think I argued pretty well that the ghosts are part of the Pattern, not the work of the Dark One.  Most would agree that is the logical outcome.  However, there were a few other questions left unanswered.  Like, why do the dead arrive?  Is it only to fulfill the prophecies—to be an outward sign of the Last Battle?  Are they just reflections or are they actual dead?   Or even more peculiar, why didn't Tuon see the ghosts outside Jurador?   The road seems to be filled with people.  Mat can see them in front of him.  With Tuon and Selucia in front as well, they should have been able to see what Mat saw.  But they didn't.  This could all be chalked up to Mat's ta'veren nature, but it seems like more than that.  Of course, we know Tuon is skilled at ignoring things she doesn't want to see, so it could be as simple as that.   Last time, we talked about the ghosts not actually causing any harm.  They seem to be unaware of the living.  Egwene mentions this to a novice while in the White Tower:   There's a few pieces I want to pull from that chunk of text.  First is that the ghosts are in different clothes, older fashions.  This shows that they are from a different time, not those recently deceased.  Or, perhaps they are even from the future.  If the Pattern is weakening, and they are more reflections than ghosts, they could easily be people from an Age yet to come.   Even though most of the character think they are ghosts—"Yet [Egwene] had seen ghosts in the halls of the White Tower, and the corridors seemed to rearrange on a daily basis (The Gathering Storm, Chapter 12, "Unexpected Encounters")—that doesn't mean they are correct in doing so.   In fact, if we stretch that even further, they might even be images from mirror/portal stone worlds.  Egwene sees the dreams of people who live in the parallel worlds, so it's possible they could become overlapped as the Pattern dissolves.   I would say that all the "ghosts" observed are really just overlapped images from mirror worlds, if some of them hadn't been recognized.  In Crossroads of Twilight, Elsie, the servant, recognizes the ghost of Lady Nelein (Chapter 10, "A Blazing Beacon").   Okay, back to Egwene's speech.  The next bit of information is that the dead returning is a sign of Tarmon Gai'don.  We've heard that in several places, but it's still pretty interesting.  That would imply that the dead are a necessity for the Last Battle.  As if their only purpose is to be an outward sign.  It's sort of like the idea that the thing itself is not important—the dead walking have no bearing on the mortal humans—but their appearance is seen as something more.  It could have just as easily been the sun turning red, or the sky turning green.  It had to be something visible to all, to let them know the end was coming.     For that reason, I would go back to the idea of the ghosts just being images—something used by the Pattern.  Perhaps consciously used by the Pattern.  There are such things as Pattern Level Events—like Rand fighting Ishamael in the sky over Falme.  These events are broadcasted for all to see.  The ghosts, likewise, could be a Pattern Level Event, with the Pattern using itself—and its somewhat broken state—to show the world what it needed to see.   Also, Egwene speaks about the women walking into walls.  Except the current changes in the Tower—caused by the weakening Pattern—there shouldn't have been too many modifications to the White Tower's internal structure.  If the ghosts are images, just transplanted and following a set course, why would they walk through walls?  Those walls shouldn't have been there when the ghosts lived, so any "recording" and playback of them wouldn't have them walking through walls.     That again, leads me to the idea of mirror worlds.  In a mirror world, the Tower could have been built differently, with a hallway leading off that way, instead of a wall.  That way, the ghost would have been following a natural path to them, but would seem to walk through a wall in Randland's White Tower.   And we know that people can exist simultaneously in mirror worlds, so it also answers the question of how some of the dead are recognizable.  It wouldn't be the Lady Nelein that Elsie knew, it would be the mirror world version of her.     We'll have to wrap it up there.  I think I've made a pretty good case, but I'm still curious to see what you think.  Please post your comments below.  Next time, we'll look at some common misconceptions that persisted throughout the series.  Thanks for reading!

The Waygate Foundation is auctioning off a shirt signed by Team Jordan.     Hurry and place your bid for this priceless memento!

Hello Dragonmount! Since I was off on a leave of absence last weekend battling Klingons and Toasters at Space City Con, I’m going to give you an extra-large dose of the Weekly Roundup this week.   It’s August at Dragonmount. Summer vacations are wrapping up, school is about to start again, and Dragonmount has a flurry of activity!   Speaking of vacations, at the White Tower and Warders, the Brown Ajah is hosting its Travel Week. This is your chance to share vacation memories, discuss why people should visit your hometown, and to share your traveling playlist.   The Wheel of Time Cage Match has ended, and Asmodean has proven victorious over all his competition. Was there any doubt? Feel free to wear a forum signature commemorating this event.   The Black Tower is discussing the evils of texting. Personally, I think texting is evil mostly because my autocorrect doesn’t understand Wheel of Time terminology, but the Black Tower members have some other amazing ideas about texting.   Shayol Ghul is hosting Faction Olympics. While many of the activities are designed to prove which faction is the best, there are two activities that new and non-members can participate in: Twisted Fairy Tales and Roast an SG Member. This is your chance to let Shayol Ghul members what you really think about them!   The Wolfkin are hosting a Chili Festival! Here is the chance to participate in a chili dunking booth, Pictionary, word association, a scavenger hunt, and more! For those who are not already members of the Wolfkin, this is an excellent time to get to know this wonderful social group.   On the Roleplaying side, it looks like a returning Dragonmount member will soon join the Black Tower. I wonder what kind of "trouble" he will get himself into...   One final note before I leave you to another week of Wheel of Time awesomeness: Jason and Jennifer often post some amazing stuff that is Wheel of Time related on Dragonmount's Facebook and Twitter pages. For those who do not yet follow Dragonmount on social media, you are really missing out on some excellent information. They post information about the new DRM-free eBooks in the eBook store, interesting Wheel of Time related news, and more.   Here is just one of many awesome Tweets posted on the Dragonmount Twitter feed:     Follow Dragonmount on Twitter and Facebook for more.

Welcome to a new edition of Fan Art Friday! This week is about The Wheel of Time card teasers by ReddEra, and there's a surprise bonus at the end.   The Wheel of Time card teasers--made for Taveren Tees by artist Ariel Burgess--feature most of the important characters and they are some of the most beautiful artworks of the characters at present. This edition features some of my favorites. You can see others at the Wheel of Time Card Teasers Gallery.   Sammael He looks like a general ready for a fight.   Moghedien She sure looks like someone who manipulates from the shadows.   Galad Domodred No one can mistake Galad for anyone but a Whitecloak.   Berelain Sur Paendrag Paeron Beautiful! One word says it all.   Aludra Aludra looks fiery, ready with her dragon.     Now here's a bonus, an interview with artist Ariel Burgess (or ReddEra) herself.   To see more of Ariel's work, here are some links: Ariel's Website Ariel's Facebook Page Wheel of Time Facebook page

In the past, Dragonmount has occasionally featured reviews for other books within the sci-fi/fantasy genre.  We're going to start that up again!  So, on the first Wednesday of every month, one of the Front Page Bloggers will feature a book they recently read.  Feel free to add your thoughts about the book in the comments section.   This review will contain slight spoilers.   The Six-Gun Tarot By R. S. Belcher   Synopsis: The setting is Gulgotha, Nevada in 1869.  Jim, a fifteen-year-old, is on the run from the law, trying to find a place of safety.  Or, is it the mysterious jade eye, the last memento of his dead father, that's drawing him to the town of Gulgotha?  When he gets to town, Jim is taken under the wing of Mutt—a Native American deputy—and Sherriff Highfather.  But magic is in the air, and Jim's arrival might be the only thing that will save the people from an ancient evil.   A battle that predates the world—a battle between angels and demons and the darkest evil—is about to unfold in the small town.  The folk need to band together, each with their own abilities, and save Gulgotha from the clutches of darkness.                                  The Pros: This book's main drawing feature is the character development.  Each character is unique, with a rich back-story and relatable motives.  Jim—arguably the main character—has trouble in his past for killing a man.  He's so young, but still so tortured by his decisions.  Mutt, the deputy, is only part human—the other half comes from his deity father, Coyote.  This makes him an outcast with the humans, and his supernatural family.  Sherriff Highfather has saved the town from countless evils, including giant bats and a ghoul in the graveyard.  He is interesting because he cannot be killed.  He's been hanged three times, and still has not died.  The rumors around town say it's because "it's not his time."   There are other great characters too.  Maude Stapleton trained with a pirate queen in her youth and passes on her skills to her daughter.  Harry Pratt, the mayor, hides his homosexuality behind multiple wives.  And there are even angels: Biqa, who refused to fight for God in His battle to gain supremacy over the cosmos, and Lucifer.   The way the characters interact with each other and their surroundings is what makes this story so incredible.  Everyone has their secrets, most of them dark; as dark as the evil that surrounds their town.   The Cons: One of the few things I disliked about the book was the point-of-view switches.  It was written in omniscient point-of-view—meaning the reader can see and hear every character's thoughts.  This made it difficult to tell which thoughts were attributed to which character.  There were no scene breaks to let the reader know they were in someone else's head.   Still, Belcher did a fairly good job with the difficult point-of-view.  It hampered the story, but didn't crush it.   Conclusion: This book kept me interested for every page.  It had a dark, and sometimes gritty, story line, but also humor, and the possibility of redemption.  There were themes of faith, of letting go, of forgiveness, and of revenge.  It had something to please any reader.    My Rating: 4 out of 5     If you're interested in trying out this book, you can buy it from Dragonmount's eBook store.

Hello, all!  Welcome back to another edition of "WoT If?", Dragonmount's weekly theory blog.  The topic this time is the walking death—or the ghosts—that pop up in several places in the series.  We have instances where this phenomenon is attributed to the Dark One, and in other places it's attributed to the Pattern.  So, which is it?  But first:   SPOILER WARNING.  This will include content from A Memory of Light.  Please DO NOT read this if you have not completed the book.   I think most of us would think that the ghosts, or spirits, are a result of the Pattern beginning to unravel.  Reality is getting warped.  First off, could it be because of all the balefire?   With the importance of balefire in A Memory of Light—and Egwene giving her life to combat it—balefire might be one of the main causes.  It is what frays the Pattern; it removes threads and threatens the existence of life itself.   Or is it just the Pattern?  An article on the WOTFAQ, "What's Up With the Ghosts?", has this to say about the dead's connection to the Pattern:     However, the unraveling of the Pattern is also blamed on the weakening seals, and the Dark One.  Look at this quote between Rand and Egwene about breaking the seals:     Here, Egwene is blaming the walking dead, not only on the seals, but on the Dark One.  She's implying his touch is what is causing the Pattern such turmoil.  She also thinks that breaking the seals would make everything worse.   By that logic, we can assume Egwene believes the Dark One is in control of all the dead.  That's a belief that's very debatable.  We know the Dark One is also called Lord of the Grave, but it's also a common belief within Randland that people who walk in the Light are protected from the Dark One after death.   There is a lot of conflicting information about this topic.  A lot of it is based on what characters believe, and it's been pointed out to us time and time again that the characters are not always right—in fact, most of the time they are wrong.   So, how much access does the Dark One have to souls?  The WOTFAQ also talks a bit about this.  They speculate that Ishamael—when impersonating Ba'alzamon in The Eye of the World—really had access to Kari al'Thor's soul.     However, even if that were true, how would Ishamael have access to the souls?  He is not the Dark One.  In fact, during this scene, none of the seals had been broken yet.  It isn't broken until after Rand's fight with Ishamael.  Therefore, the Dark One wouldn't be able to touch the land at all, let alone bring Kari al'Thor's soul back to talk to Rand.   The proposed idea that it isn't an illusion has some other flaws as well.  We know that the battle with Rand and Ishamael is taking place in Tel'aran'rhiod.  Ishamael is a very skillful manipulator of the World of Dreams; there's no reason Kari al'Thor can't be an illusion made by him.  Naturally, Ishamael would want her to say things that would convince Rand.  Having her say, "Join the Dark One," would key Rand in that it's a fake; Kari would never say that to her son.  So, he needed her to say things that sounded convincing; things that would make Rand believe she was real, giving Ishamael power over Rand.  If Rand believes it's true, in Tel'aran'rhiod, it is.   But her last line—"The Light. The blessed Light."—could be another trick of Tel'aran'rhiod.  If Rand believes it is Kari, Ishamael might lose a bit of control over the illusion.  She could be acting based on Rand's image of her.  We see something similar to this when Nynaeve and Elayne are playing in Tel'aran'rhiod:     Here, their made up creation begins to act on its own.  Obviously, they wouldn't want it to chase them, but their belief in it caused it to act the way they thought it would.     I think that could show that Ishamael didn't really have access to Kari al'Thor's soul.   Another argument against the Dark One having souls is the fact that we see what he can do with them.  Let me try to explain.  The Dark One regenerates the souls he has.  We do not have any example of him holding onto souls and doing nothing with them.  Here's an interview with Robert Jordan that kind of says the same thing:     Robert Jordan emphasizes that the Forsaken have seen the Dark One transmigrate souls, that he can bring the dead back to life.  Accessing souls and putting them into constructs—in this case, dead bodies—is nowhere near letting souls wander free all over the world.     In fact, since the souls cannot touch the world and seem to be doing no harm, I think that shows it's not the Dark One's work right there.  If the dead were roaming on his behest, they woild be causing damage, doing evil, harming people—like the bubbles of evil that originate from him.   I think this also shows that Ishamael is a master manipulator.  He brings up Kari al'Thor, an illusion, to mess with Rand.  In the same way, he told Lews Therin in The Eye of the World prologue that the Dark One could bring back Ilyena.  Again, by that point, the Dark One was already sealed in the Bore.  There was no way he could have brought Ilyena back, even if he could access her soul.  Plus, there is still the debate of the Dark One being able to grab souls of people who walk in the Light.  Personally, I don't think the Dark One could have touched her at all, even if Lews Therin agreed to it.   The conclusion is that the dead have to be a result of the Pattern.  But for what purpose?  Just to fulfill the prophecies?  To be a sign that the Last Battle approaches?  Or is it involuntary?  Does the Pattern, in its weakened state, lose the ability to hold onto the dead?   This is getting a bit long, so we'll take a closer look at a few of those ideas for next week.  That's all for now.  Thanks for reading!