DRAGONMOUNT

TarValon.Net has announced that they are currently accepting applications for the 2013 Robert Jordan Memorial Scholarship!  This annual scholarship awards $500 to an undergraduate student at an accredited college or university.  This opportunity is open to all Wheel of Time fans, so you do not have to be a member of TarValon.Net or attend school in the USA to enter.    

For many who are interested in fantasy worlds and perhaps also have an interest in tabletop games and role playing, the Warhammer world will be at least somewhat familiar.   Warhammer is a tabletop strategy game using miniature figures which has been produced by a UK based company called Games Workshop since the 1980's. Its setting is a fantasy world which has often been said to be largely inspired by the high-fantasy genre of fiction largely crafted and made famous by J.R.R Tolkien--as such it includes very familiar settings of Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, and humans as a younger race, although from there it is fair to say they have expanded and made their own world.   The book I am reviewing today, Trollslayer (written by William King and printed by The Black Library, Games Workshop's own publishing house), is the first book in a series focusing on the adventures of a Dwarven character, Gotrek Gurnison, and his human companion, Felix Jaeger. Gotrek is a Dwarf Slayer, who's unspecified crimes demanded that he dedicate his life to trying to find a glorious death in battle as a form of atonement. As such, he often goes on highly dangerous adventures and quests, with Felix in tow to record his legacy.   Although it is set within the Warhammer world, you don't need to be a fan of the game or know much about the background to enjoy the book, as the author does a good job of fleshing out the world and the races in it and some of the background history in a very natural way. I have only a passing knowledge of Warhammer and yet I did not feel lost at all in the book. The book is relatively lighthearted--there are a few laughs--yet the main reason I describe it that way is because it is perhaps not to be taken too seriously; the main characters accomplish some pretty heroic feats. It is fairly well written, and engages as a series of short sections, each outlining an adventure the pair undertake. While it may not be an epic fantasy classic like The Wheel of Time or A Game of Thrones, I did enjoy reading it. It is action packed and adventurous.   As a side-note to explain why I began reading this novel--I recently downloaded a game called Warhammer Quest on to my iPad, which I believe is also available on other devices. It is an adaptation of a board game of the same name and is very good, and very playable, a real dungeon-crawler in which you control and level up a party of characters of various backgrounds and skills. So I recommend that as well to any gamers out there, and it piqued my interest to get this novel on my tablet as well to read during commutes. Have fun!   Until next time, friends!

Here's an interesting question from the Waygate Foundation:   More questions and answers can be found on their Facebook page.

(Apologies to Don Ho)       Evil Bubbles In the world Tear up the Pattern As it's unfurled   Evil Bubbles Popping up all over Got me feeling sure that the  Dark One wants to end all time   So here's to the end of an Age And the sealing of the Bore But mostly I'm hoping that It won't kill me Evil Bubbles  Across the land Have me quite fearful For what Shai'tan has planned   Evil Bubbles Showing up all over Got me feeling sure that the  Dark One wants to end all time   So here's to the Dragon Reborn Who'll save us all some day Here's hoping when he does These Bubbles fade away

Welcome back to "WoT If?", Dragonmount's weekly theory blog.  Continuing from last week, we'll explore other possibilities of who/what Nakomi might be.  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.   A few weeks ago I suggested that Nakomi might be the equivalent of a female Dragon—someone who went through the same thing as Rand and therefore has the same abilities.  Doing my research for this week however, I found a helpful interview with Brandon Sanderson:     There are a few other things Brandon has flat-out denied, like this one:     And this one:     With those few tidbits, a lot of choices for who Nakomi might be get eliminated.  And I think the only answer we have left is that she is a "magical" force.  Perhaps magical isn't the right word, but let me explain.  There won't be a natural explanation for Nakomi.  In the world of Wheel of Time there are things we accept as being natural, even though there is a magical reason for them begin there.  For instance, we can rationalize that Aviendha might have been in Tel'aran'rhiod and that makes sense to us.  The answer still involves magic—or something we don't have in our normal lives—but we don't question it because we accept Tel'aran'rhiod as being part of their world.  But Nakomi won't have logical explanation.  Her existence won't make sense.   One of the reasons I've come to this conclusion is following Brandon's other endeavors.  If you aren't aware, Brandon—along with Dan Wells, Howard Tayler, and Mary Robinette Kowal—hosts a weekly podcast called "Writing Excuses."  He and the other podcasters talk about the dos and don'ts of writing fiction.  One of the things they talk about regularly is the act of foreshadowing.   In another interview, Brandon has said he wrote the scene with Aviendha and Nakomi:     This, to me, means that the only appearance of Nakomi would have been at the Bore, when she talks Rand through the body-swap.  From a literary standpoint, that would have seemed odd to most readers.  The foreshadowing wasn't there.  We would have been very confused, wondering why there was a random woman in the Bore.  With the added scene, we see Nakomi actually exists and that she is working for the side of the Light—or at least working for the good of the Aiel.  Sure, we are still confused about her identity, but we don't feel like it was deus ex machina.    Throughout the series, there are several occasions when coincidence saves the day.  Most of the time we attribute it to ta'veren luck.  But, other times we know it is the Pattern.  I've argued before that, although Moiraine says the Pattern is neutral, it has to be allied with the Light.  If the Shadow wants to unmake the Pattern, it would naturally align with the side that doesn't want to destroy it.  And since so many characters—those who aren't ta'veren—get saved in coincidental ways, it shows that the Pattern is looking out for the Light.   Which leads us back to Nakomi.  What if Nakomi is an avatar—not for the Creator, who takes no action—but for the Wheel and the Pattern?  She could be the embodiment of Balance, the entity who makes sure things stay on track.  The few times we see her are extreme cases, ones that effect the whole world.  With Aviendha, Nakomi's words prompt her into to seeing the second vision, and leading the Aiel away from the ruin the glass-column ter'angreal predicted.  The second time, she allows Rand—who has given so much to the world—to have a real life.  She's setting things into motion that would not have happened without her help.  It's like the Pattern was unable to correct these two events without taking direct action, so someone had to step in.   But there can be other explanations.  One of the major theories is that Nakomi is the Creator's avatar.  This seems quite likely since we see that the Dark One has Shadar Haran.  If the Dark One can have a vessel on the planet, it seems the Creator could have one too.  This has also been foreshadowed throughout the series, so it doesn't feel like deus ex machina either.     But, we also know that the Creator doesn't take part, so why would he send his avatar to speak with Aviendha, of all people?  There were several others who could have benefited from direct communication with the Creator.  Egwene, for one, with her battle against Taim.  If she knew the details earlier of balefire and the new weave, the Flame of Tar Valon, things wouldn't have ended so badly for her.  Why would the Creator only choose to help Aviendha?   Could it be possible that the Aiel are the Creator's chosen people?  To bring in the Biblical reference, there are a few similarities between the Aiel and the Jewish religion.  Rand, the savior, was born into the Aiel.  Jesus, the Christ, was Jewish.  Rand was accepted by some Aiel, but the Shaido refused to believe he was the Car'a'carn.  In the story of Jesus, he was accepted by some, but rejected by others of the faith.  In this comparison, it's easy to see how the Aiel could be special in the eyes of the Creator, and therefore Nakomi would be willing to offer guidance to them only.     But does the Creator have those tendencies?  We all know he doesn't take part in the affairs of the world.  Robert Jordan said:     Would Nakomi, being a part of the Creator, suggest the same thing?  If he needed to come to earth, in any form, and "fix" things, he wouldn't be perfect.  Which leads me back to the Wheel or the Pattern.  If any of these entities wants the world fixed, it's the Pattern.   There's been some speculation that Nakomi might be answered in the Encyclopedia.  But it's not confirmed, that I've seen.  With what we have, and if no new information is given, I'm going to say Nakomi is the avatar of the Pattern/Wheel, not the Creator.  Even with the Biblical connection, it doesn't make sense for the Creator to take part in only two events.  The Pattern, however, would see these events as significant for its own existence.  It would want to set things right.  And it has also acted on the world, making Pattern Level Events, like the fight between Rand and Ishamael over Falme.   That's all for this edition.  Next week we'll talk about the state of Channelers and what might be in store for their future.  Thanks for reading!

Welcome to my first blog as the new Weekly Roundup Blogger! I’m excited for this opportunity to spread the word of what’s going on in our fantastic Social Groups. For those of you that do not yet know me, I’m Moon Sedai, and have been a member of Dragonmount for four years.   Because it has been a few weeks since the last Weekly Roundup, I'm going to tell you what's been happening around Dragonmount during the month of June.    Ever find something weird on Craig's List or Ebay and want to show it off? This month, Shayol Ghul is running a Craig’s List/Ebay summer event. The link I provided is the index link for the event, and is being updated with each new event. There are weird item hunts, personals, an Amazing Race game, and even a thread entitled "Dope or Nope?"  where people can discuss the experience of purchasing used items from the Internet.    The Aiel Raids are in full-swing this month. Much like the Aiel characters of the books, our Aiel Social Group is taking the opportunity to "visit" the other social groups in the form of "raids," where they host a variety of threads throughout Dragonmount.   The Black Tower is hosting a One Power tournament. Members of the Black Tower are pitted against each other in a battle, fighting with their saidin skills to see who will emerge victorious.    The Band of the Red Hand is hosting an interesting poll and discussion: what item of Mat Cauthon's is the most useful thing he acquires throughout the tale of The Wheel of Time series? Here's your chance to answer the poll and weigh in your answer to this fascinating question.    Well, that's the big news for the Month of June. I look forward to telling you all about July's events in our next Weekly Roundup.

Some of you may be familiar with the Suvudu" rel="external nofollow">http://suvudu.com/'>Suvudu cage matches, which pits popular characters from sci-fi and fantasy against each other. Starting next week, Dragonmount will be hosting our own version of the cage matches, featuring only Wheel of Time characters, right here on our forums. " rel="external nofollow">http://www.dragonmount.com/forums/forum/374-wot-cage-match/'>forums.   Here's a list of this years competitors:   Alivia Asmodean Berelain Elaida Faile Galad Grady Halima Moghedien Narishma Siuan Slayer Sulin Tam Tuon Uno   This year, we've added a few special features.  First, we have %22team%22" rel="external nofollow">http://www.dragonmount.com/forums/topic/82825-team-siggies/'>"team" signatures for anyone to wear to support their favorite character.  We are also having a friendly prediction" rel="external nofollow">http://www.dragonmount.com/forums/topic/82838-prediction-competition-info/'>prediction competition—submit your guesses for each round and you'll win points if you're correct.     Round 1 begins on June 30th, but there's plenty going on right now.

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!   This week we re-visit the "Features of Dragonmount," a series of articles which we began a few weeks back by looking at the General Discussion forum here at Dragonmount. This time, let's begin exploring the different Social Groups you can take part in.   Social Groups here at Dragonmount are separate sections of our forums, each with it's own identity based on one of the groups of people found within The Wheel of Time books, located under the Social Community part of the forums. Each one tends to have its own theme or themes and its own individual vibe. I'd certainly encourage anyone to explore them all before deciding which one (or ones!) they would like to settle in.   To provide a bit more information, let's take a little look at a couple of them. The Wolfkin Social Group, for example, is loosely based upon the golden-eyed characters in the books. As such, they have tasks you can complete in order to earn your "name" among them, and fittingly, their overall theme is one of nature and travel. Like all the Social Groups, you can find many good friends there and enjoy good conversation with like-minded people.   The Black Tower Social Group is a crazy, crazy place. If you have read far enough in the books to understand the reference in their name, you'll get why we can say that. To reflect this, the Black Tower tends to have a lot of crazy conversations, and a lot of what we call "spam," which is Internet forum-speak for topics without a set direction, or idle, crazy conversation. They do also have ranks you can progress in, however, and their own "dueling system" where you can duke it out with other members to see who is the strongest or canniest saidin wielder! That's a tough one to explain in brief, so if you want to see how it works, you'll just have to go over there and ask them.... And probably never come out alive, or at least sane.   There are many other Social Groups we haven't yet mentioned, like the White Tower and Warder's Guild, Shayol Ghul and others--they'll probably be the focus of a future "Features of Dragonmount" article. In the meantime, dive right in and begin exploring the Social Groups! I guarantee you will meet a bunch of fun, like-minded people with mutual interests and make some good friends.   Have fun!   Until next time, friends!

The Waygate Foundation has posted another answer from Team Jordan.     More answers can be found on their Facebook page.

Animalistic   Unrestrained   Dangerous   Trolloc   The newest fragrance from Caemlyn Climb   For that darker you     ________________________________________________________     A gentle breeze down a mountain side   The smell of apples blooming   Dragon   From Caemlyn Climb   Be reborn!