DRAGONMOUNT

Along with its newly launched Epic Fantasy mobile alerts, Tor is currently running a sweepstakes to win advanced copies of Brandon Sanderson's soon-to-be-released YA novel, The Rithmatist.   And for those of you who still haven't signed up for Tor's Epic Fantasy mobile alerts, it's not too late.    

At JordanCon V, I had the distinct privilege to purchase one of Michael Whelan's original concept paintings for A Memory of Light.  The story behind is this image is that it’s one of several concepts that Michael provided to Tor Books. From what I understand, this particular painting was one of the top choices to become the actual book cover, but the publisher wanted an image which included the lunar eclipse.  If this image had been selected, Michael would have re-painted it, and added a significant amount of more detail.   The painting depicts Rand, holding Callandor, outside the cave at Shayol Ghul, right before he descends to face the Dark One.   Detail:   More images and details about how I acquired the painting can be found on my personal website. Also, be sure to look at Tor.com's behind-the-scenes feature at how the AMOL cover was designed.   What do you think?

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, I thought I would begin a series of articles I plan on continuing from time to time in this blog. It will highlight some of the different areas of Dragonmount which you may not yet have begun enjoying, just to see if we can tease you into that direction... We begin by appealing to you hardcore Wheel of Time enthusiasts out there. First, I'll highlight something which you may enjoy if you have perhaps finished reading the series now, maybe even more than once, and then we will look at something that will appeal to all fans of the series, even if they are on their first incomplete read through. One of the sections of our Dragonmount forums is the Wheel of Time Discussion area, and within that you can find the Full Spoiler Discussion board for A Memory of Light, the final book in The Wheel of Time series. Now, I won't highlight any of the articles on this board to you in case I spoil something you haven't read yet (and also because I haven't read A Memory of Light myself yet...Shhh...Don't tell!), but if you have completed the series and the final book, or if you are adventurous enough not to mind being told about things you haven't read in the series, then dive right in and see what everyone is discussing! The series may have ended, but the crazy theories from the minds of fans everywhere certainly have not! Within the same section of Dragonmount, you can also find the General Wheel of Time Discussion forum. This has all sorts of interesting discussions ongoing, and is spoiler friendly to those who may not have finished the series yet. For example, right now, there is an engrossing debate about who the deadliest Blademasters in Randland may be, an interesting discussion on the way Brandon Sanderson wrote compared to Robert Jordan, and a great thread that has been going strong for some years where you can ask a simple question, get a simple answer to anything you have come across in the series you found confusing, and that's just a brief selection of the topics on offer. There really is plenty to get involved in on these Dragonmount boards and they are one of the most popular features of the site, so feel free to join in and have your say or benefit from hearing other people's opinions. As a final note, be sure to read the pinned topics at the top of each board to familiarize yourself with any of the posting rules that may apply. Other than that--have fun! Until next time, friends!

(Deep Voiced Movie Announcer) In a time when trouble was spreading across the land   (pan across a field of dying wheat being marched across by an army)   A simple blacksmith had his own problems   (Arnold) "Sometimes, especially in the dream, I forget I'm a man, not a wolf. If one of these times I don't remember quickly enough, I'll lose hold, I'll be a wolf. In my head, at least. A sort of half-wrong image of a wolf. There won't be anything of me left."   He stood against the tides of darkness for the love of his life (scene outside village square with armed villagers standing around a wolf's head banner)   (Faile) I'll not have you bleeding to death on me. That would be just like you, to die and leave me the work of burying you. You have no consideration.   (Arnold) Faile. My falcon.   But then they took her    (Arnold) Faile! Nooooooo!!   He will make them pay     (Arnold) "A Warder once told me Trollocs call the Aiel Waste 'the Dying Ground.' I mean to make them give that name to the Two Rivers."   Wherever they go   (pan across the ruined city of Malden, cut to Sevanna scolding Faile)   (Sevanna) You will do as I say or I will have you beaten again and again.   With any weapon that comes to hand   (Sam Elliot as Elyas) "You'll use it, boy, and as long as you hate using it, you will use it more wisely than most men would. Wait. If ever you don't hate it any longer, then will be the time to throw it as far as you can and run the other way."     And with a ragtag band of misfits to help him find her     (scenes of wolves running through a snowy forest, then cut to Aiel and Two Rivers bowmen marching over a hill)    (Gaul)  Get on a horse? Me? Must be wetlander humor.  What'll you think of next, Perrin?               Arnold Schwarzenegger   is     "The Wolf King"   (Arnold) Tell her I love her. Tell her I’m coming.  

Welcome back to "WoT If?", Dragonmount's weekly theory blog.  I've come back with renewed vigor, thanks to a wonderful weekend at JordanCon.  It was an incredible experience, talking with Brandon, Harriet, Maria, and Alan, as well as other fans who love the series as much as I do.  I also sat through several of the theories/spoiler panels, letting ideas grow in my mind of topics to explore.  For this edition, I want to look at the comical side of The Wheel of Time fandom and talk about "The Grave is No Bar to My Looney Theories" panel at JordanCon.  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.   The Looney Theories discussion included Kristy Lussier, Sarah Nakamura, Billy Todd, Matt Hatch, and Alan Romanczuk on the panel.  This discussion wasn't meant to be taken seriously, so any idea someone presented that could likely be true was marked with a "Too Plausible" stamp and pushed away.  We'll talk about one of those for next week, but I'm jumping ahead of myself.  I just want to give fair warning that these theories will be a bit on the crazy side.   My favorite of the bunch involved Berelain and Rhuarc.  Here's the theory:  In A Memory of Light, romantic couples seemed to live or die together: Siuan and Bryne, Gawyn and Egwene, etc.  But the only couple that didn't fit this criteria was Amys and Rhuarc.  The theorist claims that this proves that Rhuarc was not really in love with Amys, and that he was gay.  This is further collaborated by his relationship with Berelain, that she is one of those young women who liked to hang out with gay men.  It may be a stretch, but I could see it happening.   The next one comes from the idea that peach pits are poisonous in Randland.  The theory says that peach pits are actually saidin, and they are poisonous because of the taint.  So, with the cleansing of the source, peaches won't be poisonous anymore.  It's plausible.   Another suggested that Rand is really Charlie Sheen.  I think some part of this theory derives from Charlie Sheen's sudden descent into madness, but mostly it was because it would mean Tam is Martin Sheen—which seemed to make many of the women attendees sigh.  Charlie Sheen as the Dragon Reborn is hard to swallow, though.   This may be the looniest, in my opinion.  Rand didn't die during his fight with the Dark One because Rand didn't have a soul.  The theorist pointed out that Rand is a ginger—someone who has red hair—and everyone knows gingers don't have souls. (I must point out, once again, that this is all in jest.  There is no offense meant to anyone with red hair.)   And our own ed2funy submitted one for the panel's consideration.  He said that Rand wasn't the Dragon Reborn from the start.  His powers only came to him the night they were fleeing the Two Rivers.  On that night, Bela was in danger, and so she—who was really the Creator—searched for a way to save herself.  She released the Power into Rand, allowing him to become the Dragon and channel to save herself.  Also, at the end of A Memory of Light, Bela did not die.  Rather, she allowed her Power to go into the Horn of Valere and caused Olver to sound it.  She lost her body, but the Creator doesn't need it.  Everyone knew from the start that Bela was either the Dark One or the Creator, so this makes sense to me.   Ed came up with another one, though not in time for the Looney Theories panel.  He said that the Ogier will use Seed Singing on people before they use the Book of Translation to flee the land.  When they Sing to the people, the humans will grow into giants, creating another one of our modern world's legends.  Harriet was sitting at the table next to us, though, and when Ed asked her if it was possible, she said flat out, "No."  Sorry, Ed!   I think the tradition of looney theories will still continue, even with the conclusion of the series.  There are so many ways to analyze and evaluate all the characters and their interactions with each other.  Plus, it's a lot of fun thinking outside of the box, and just enjoying the silliness that can come from friends talking together.   That's all for this week.  Next week we'll examine another "looney theory" that sounds really plausible to me: Lanfear is still alive.  So, join us then, and don't forget to post your own looney theories in the comments.  Thanks for reading!

It is said that the Ogier are great builders. The cities they build seem to have a life of their own. Among the Ogier built cities, Tar Valon is said to be the most beautiful. Tar Valon is followed by Caemlyn in terms of beauty. People of Caemlyn say that Tar Valon could not be more beautiful than Caemlyn, but that is so because they have not seen Tar Valon.   In honor of these two cities, this week's fan art is focused on Caemlyn, Tar Valon, and places in and around them.     The White Tower by humite     Caemlyn from Tar Valon Gate by artguyjoe     Dragonmount by NuttyMonk   That's it for Part 1 of Architecture and Scenery. Part 2 will be here next week, and you are free to guess what will be in store for you.

Hello, friends! It's 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 are taking a look at another form of Wheel of Time media, for those of you addicted to The Wheel of Time but with no way to get your fix now that the series has ended... This particular website holds a special place in my memory because it was something I read avidly in the years I first joined Dragonmount way back when I was in school. It is an unofficial, tongue-in-cheek comic series called WoT now?, which is an especially apt name now that the series has been completed. Its author is known as Burnout, an avid fan of the Wheel of Time series. The artwork is fairly basic and based on the old Megaman gifs. It can be a little irreverent and as stated, tongue-in-cheek, but it should provide a good giggle to its readers once you get into it. It was definitely done with the best of intentions by a fan who loved The Wheel of Time and Robert Jordan as much as we all do. Sadly, the series has not been continued for a while now, but there are plenty of panels to read in the meantime. Have fun!

Announcer Reader discretion is advised.     Children   Announcer   Children is filmed on location with the men of the Children of the Light. All Darkfriends will be brought to trial for their crimes.     Chioal Honestly, the best thing about this job is that you get to help the people of the world. I mean, just think of what would happen if these fools went on with their killing and destruction? We can't allow the Shadow to spread, so we go where the Light wills and bring peace and justice.   Rodhor Right, and you get to travel to all sorts of different places. I've personally never been to this area of Amadicia, but it's a beautiful country, and they understand that, even if it doesn't seem pleasant, your duty is yours to do, so they've been pretty helpful to us.   Chioal And respectful too. That's the nice thing about wearing the sunburst; it allows people to see you're someone to be respected, and feared a little. But you have my word that we're out to help the people.   Rodhor Indeed. That's why we're out here. We've heard reports of Darkfriends gathering in the local countryside and we can't be having with that. So, we're traveling the roadways, stopping here and there and seeing if anyone has heard any news.   (Horses pull up outside of an inn) Rodhor Now, we're heading in to this inn because we've heard rumors that a Darkfriend was seen in the area, and may have stayed here plotting his foul deeds.   (Inside)   Chioal Morning, sir! I and my companions here are seeking out the enemies of the Light. We wish to ask you a few simple questions about a traveler that may have passed through here about a week ago.   Innkeeper Yes, yes, of course. I'll tell you anything you wish to know, gentlemen.   Rodhor We'd expect nothing less from one who walks in the Light. Now, sir, was there or was there not a gentleman with a beard and a slight scar on his right cheek?   Innkeeper (Cowering) Yes, sir...I saw him. He came in asking for a room and I noticed the shadows seemed to follow him. I sent him packing on his way, sir. No help for the Shadow here, sir. Honest, sir.   Chioal That's good. Did he mention which way he was headed?   Innkeeper No, sir. Saw him shake his head and head off that way down the road.   Rodhor Thank you, sir. If you don't mind, though, I'll have Inquisitor Vareyn come in here and double check what you've told us, and then we'll leave you to your business.   (Children head back out as a man with a shepherd's crook on his robe enters. Cameraman quickly exits.)   Chioal Well, we'll know by tonight if this man's story can be corroborated, and whether or not he may have been our Darkfriend's contact in this town. Either way, this town may have fallen under the Shadow, so we'll be sending back a messenger to the Fortress of the Light and ask for a banner to be sent here to make sure that these fine folks walk under the Light. (Distant cries of pain)  

Dragonmount's very own Co-Webmasters, Jason Denzel and Jennifer Liang, have been honored recently for their tireless contributions to the Wheel of Time fandom.  Both are extremely deserving of this recognition, and we are proud to have them at the helm of this website. Jason will be a Guest of Honor at Penguicon this year.  Penguicon is a science fiction convention that has a strong focus on computer-related topics.  It will be held in Pontiac, Michigan from April 26-28, 2013.  When he is not on Dragonmount or engaging in other hobbies, Jason works on Linux projects for a network technology company.  He will be the first notable Wheel of Time fan to be a Guest of Honor at a convention.       Jennifer was elected President of the Southern Fandom Confederation last weekend at JordanCon.  The Southern Fandom Confederation is an organization dedicated to celebrating science fiction and fantasy fandom in the Southern United States.  It is affiliated with DeepSouthCon, which is a traveling Southern convention that JordanCon hosted this year.  Jennifer's work as both the Chair of JordanCon and Director of the former Wheel of Time track at Dragon*Con made her an ideal candidate for the position.  When she is not working on conventions or on Dragonmount, Jennifer works as a special education teacher.

Trollocs. Fades. Draghkar. Myrddraal. Twisted Ones. Neverborn. The Shadowspawn have names that differ from region to region. They were created by Aginor during the Age of Legends for the fight against the forces of Light. They are the forces of the Dark One whose numbers are so large that the forces of Light cannot compare. They were formed from twisting humans and animals with the True Power. Every fantasy needs the kinds of creatures it can throw against the good guys (and not mind dozens of them being killed in the process). The Wheel of Time has the Shadowspawn. The Shadowspawn are a varied bunch, including Trollocs, Fades, Draghkar, and gholam. These creatures have been fascinating for me (or I just chose this topic because I call my brother a Trolloc). Now, without further ado, I present to you the Shadowspawn. Goat-horned Trolloc by t-biddy     Myrddraal by BloodRedFullMoon     Draghkar by cadavis3     I suppose my teachers could count as Shadowspawn, but I cannot post pictures of them here since they are not from the Wheel of Time series.   That's all for today!   (Artworks have been used with permission.)