DRAGONMOUNT

We've got less than ten days until the eagerly anticipated release of A Memory of Light! Due to the upcoming release, things will be operating a little differently here on the front page during the book tour. We'll put the regular blog features on hiatus during the signings since we will be posting the Memory Keeper signing reports during that time. This means that starting next week, we'll be starting the hiatus. This hiatus will be in effect until the beginning of March. However, if my bloggers get bored, they may have some (non-spoiler) blogs for you during the book tour gap in late January.   We have created a new board for all the A Memory of Light spoiler discussions. If you have read the book and wish to discuss any part of it, you will need to restrict the spoilers to the A Memory of Light Full Spoiler Discussion forum. If you have read any of the pre-release materials, such as Chapters 1 and 2, but not the rest of the book, you may continue to discuss those in the A Memory of Light Pre-Release Spoiler Material Discussion forum.   How did your Christmas shopping go this year? Your family and friends may be hard to shop for, but would you find it harder or easier to shop for your favorite Wheel of Time characters? Join this interesting thought experiment from our General Wheel of Time Discussion forum and let us know what you might buy for Egwene, Rand, and other favorite characters.   Celebrate the New Year with the Green Ajah at the White Tower & Warders Social Group! Their annual Festival of Lights offers games, contests, and discussions galore. Be sure to stop by this forum to participate.   That's it for now. Happy reading next week!

Dragonmount is pleased to announce the "Memory Keepers" for the A Memory of Light signing tour that will take place in just a few weeks. These volunteers will be at each event handing out promotional materials, assisting Brandon Sanderson and Harriet McDougal and taking notes for the official signing reports to be posted here. We had a large number of extremely qualified applications. Jason and I had to make some very difficult decisions. We wish we could have picked everyone!   Atlanta, GA Betsy A Austin C Ross N Mack P Stephaine G James A Levi G Liz H Jennifer L James L   Baltimore, MD Allen S Joshua S Kristen B David D Melody S Eric M Maureen S Renee F Robert M Cassy E   Birmingham, AL Raymond L Jay D Randy W Seth L Lee C Amanda R Janice M Jennifer L James L   Charleston, SC Christine D Katelyn H Billie Jo S Brandie H Suzanne H Meagan R Perry M Jennifer L James L   Chicago, IL Michael E David W Anne C Ismail K Kelly G Jeffrey N Leonid V   Dayton, OH Nicholas B Mikayla B Cassie C Erin R Duchess M Chuck E Michelle I   Lexington, KY Andrew C Lara C Billie S Richard F Lydia K Tyler F Jennifer D   Los Angeles, CA Katherine P Rob H Joe S Rebecca G Kenneth E Nathan B Kyle O   Midnight Release - Provo, UT Jody C Shannon M Jared W Jeff E Tracie P Andrew G Joelene K Kristy L Luke J Matt H   Milford, NH Frank G Peter B Daniel B Curt H Greg S Albert S Kalyani P   Minneapolis, MN Kaitlin G Grant C Amber K Sarah F Benjamin L Chris B Vicky W   Philadephia, PA Andrew C Bob S Sara-Jane R Phillip M Paul R Aishwarya S Robert B   Portland, OR Andy D Sara G Brittany Y Tyler J Anna H Christine C   Raleigh, NC Joel A Kerri C Gary K William T Oliver G Gary S Jaimie K Thomas B   Sacramento (Citrus Heights), CA Deanna B Adam M Julianna K Jason R Jeff W Danny S Jim F   Salt Lake City, UT Brigitte R Marc T Taylor O Michael W Deborah N Christopher W Charlotte C   San Diego, CA Lyndsey B Tim C Justin L Eric H Manue C Alexei P Christopher H Chris C   San Francisco, CA Matthew B Anthony A Shivam B Molly W Evan K Ashley K Amie C   Seattle, WA Emilie N Eric P Alice A Wendell P Jeffrey S James B Jeffrey J   Toronto Paul L Alex H Elizabeth O Praan M Rebecca L Karen C Alexander A   Vancouver Michael K Alex R Dawn F Stefan R   Not a Memory Keeper? You can still let us know if you plan to be at a signing by RSVPing to one of our Facebook events. The more accurate the number, the easier it will be for the Memory Keepers and venue staff to plan.

The official Wheel of Time playing cards you have eagerly anticipated are finally here! Our pals at Ta'veren Tees have these cards, plus a lovely "Tarmon Gai'don" poster for sale. Both the cards and the poster feature the spectacular artwork of Ariel Burgess. Check out the press release below for complete information: _____________________________________________________ “3 Editions of Wheel of Time Playing Cards Decks now available for Pre-Order and never before seen ‘Tarmon Gai’don’ Poster by Ariel Burgess” Ta’veren Tees is excited to announce the “Wheel of Time Playing Cards Decks”, featuring the artwork of Ariel Burgess, are available as of December 25 for pre-order at www.TaverenTees.com/novelties. For The Wheel of Time®, Robert Jordan created thousands of unforgettable characters – both good and evil – that fans have come to know and love. The Wheel of Time® Playing Cards bring over 60 characters to life through the breathtaking art of Ariel Burgess and are an essential addition to any WoT fan’s collection. Every card features a different character or characters from the series. A portion of the proceeds from each edition sold will be donated to Mayo Clinic to fund research on Amyloidosis, the rare blood disease that claimed Robert Jordan’s life in 2007. A complete list of characters included in the deck can be found at www.TaverenTees.com/cardlist Pre-orders begin shipping January 10th, 2013. All items purchased in the same order as the “Wheel of Time Playing Card Decks” will be held and shipped at the same time. Ta’veren Tees is pleased to offer 3 Editions of the Wheel of Time playing cards. ___________________________________________________________________________ Standard Edition: The Wheel of Time® Playing Card” The “Standard Edition: The Wheel of Time® Playing Cards” contains 54 cards, including two jokers, in a single deck box. ________________________________________________________________________ “Collector's Edition: The Wheel of Time® Playing Cards” The “Collector's Edition: The Wheel of Time® Playing Cards” comes in a double deck box, with a character list and two individually wrapped 54-card decks, so you can play with one and display the other! The Collector’s Edition is limited to 500 units. _______________________________________________________________________ “Limited Edition: The Wheel of Time® Playing Cards” The “Limited Edition: The Wheel of Time® Playing Cards” includes: · 1 Standard Edition single deck box. · 1 Collector’s Edition double deck box (with two 54-card decks and a character list) · 1 Autographed 11 X 17 one of a kind character portrait. The autographed character portraits are not available for sale except with the “Limited Edition:The Wheel of Time® Playing Cards.” Each of the 54 cards in the deck has been made into an 11 x 17 character portrait. There are exactly 54 of these portraits created and all have been signed by: 1. Ariel Burgess, Artist 2. Harriet McDougal Rigney, Robert Jordan's editor and widow 3. Maria Simons and Alan Romanczuk, Robert Jordan's assistants Robert Jordan was a poker enthusiast, and in the spirit of poker, when you order a “Limited Edition” version of the playing cards, one of the 54 posters will be randomly selected and shipped to you separate from the rest of your order. You cannot specify which character you receive. The Limited Edition is limited to 54 units. _________________________________________________________________ "Tarmon Gai'don" by Ariel Burgess. Just in time for the Last Battle, Ta'veren Tees is excited to provide this stunning piece of new, NEVER-BEFORE-RELEASED artwork by Ariel Burgess titled “Tarmon Gai’don”. This 16" x 20" poster features Perrin, Rand and Mat as they are before A Memory of Light and the Last Battle. Add it to your art collection today! To read more about Ariel Burgess, visit our Guest Artist page. Ta’veren Tees is an officially licensed creator of Wheel of Time® merchandise. Find them online at www.TaverenTees.com, on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/taverentees, and on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/taverentees.

This is the last of our pre-AMOL audiobook giveaways, so be sure to enter if you'd still like to win something! Here are the rules again for those who aren't familiar with them:         This week, we will be giving away a copy of New Spring. I haven't received an audio clip from Macmillan, but will add it here if/when I do.   This giveaway's question is: How do you feel about the Wheel of Time series coming to an end on January 8th? You have until Wednesday, December 26th to answer in the comments section. Good luck!

Tor Books has released their third promotional video for A Memory of Light. This video, called "The Final Chapter", is a telling of the familiar story many fans know: how, shortly after Robert Jordan's death, Harriet selected Brandon Sanderson to complete the Wheel of Time series. As with the first two videos, this one features interviews with Brandon Sanderson, Harriet McDougal, and Tor publisher Tom Doherty. Here's the video: Please pass this video on to your friends and family. This is a great way to share the phenomenon of the Wheel of Time with a wider audience. About A Memory of Light Dragonmount features complete coverage of AMOL. Check back regularly for updates! Visit our complete AMOL info page. Read our spoiler-free review of the book. Leigh Butler's spoiler-free review of the book (Tor.com) Purchase the prologue and support our website Read the opening portion of the AMOL prologue for free. Read the opening portion of Chapter 1 for free. Listen to Chapter 2 for free. (Tor.com) Read the opening portion of Chapter 11 for free. Book Tour dates and locations Get daily AMOL quotes emailed to you (Tor.com) Discuss A Memory of Light on our forums. Follow us on Twitter or "Like" us on Facebook.

'Twas a time of recov'ry, the Breaking now past The Dark One lay dormant, though 'twas sure not to last Strong new watch posts were set by the Blight with great care, In fear that Ba'alzamon soon would appear.   Ten nations, in vigilance, lay cross the land, Backed up by Tar Valon, where the Tower did stand My Aes Sedai in her shawl, and I with my sword Had just been dispatched north for the passes to ward   Oh, young fool was I then, for action did I long When from out of the mountains, an army did throng. The guardsmen did tremble, the watch posts did yield All our forces were pushed back, Trollocs took the field   Then Barsine was destroyed as more towns were then crushed Ten nations were rallied to plug where it gushed, But once poor Aramaelle had lost the day The foul Trollocs' dark leader then entered the fray   With a crash of loud thunder, our terror so stark, I knew in a moment 'twas the Heart of the Dark. On a steed made of smoke, laughing like a madman, He did curse them, and shouted, and drove them by clan!   Now, Al'ghol! now, Ahf'frait! now, Ghar'gheal and Ghob'hlin! On, Gho'hlem! on, Ko'bal! on, Dha'vol and Ghraem'lan! To the lands of the south! Past the Borderlands' wall! Now clash away! Bash away! Smash away all!   As all things must before the wild hurricane go, When they met with a foe, they did deal a deathblow. Down to Manetheren, past Aridhol they flew, With a couple of Draghkar, and some Myrddraal too.   He was dressed all in black, from his head to his toe, And his mouth and his eyes had an infernal glow. A bundle of Dreadlords around him did stand, All ready and waiting to fulfill his command   His eyes--how they smoldered! they sparked and did fume! His face was all ashen, so inspiring of doom! His foul little mouth then drew up in a sneer, And I knew what it was then to be seized by fear   The hilt of a sword he raised high in his hand, And black smoke encircled his head like a band. His voice shook like thunder when he gave the order And quite caught off guard this frightened young Warder!   He was evil and vile, a right troubling beast, And given a chance, on this world he would feast! With a glare from his eyes and a tilt of his head, I learned all to know that I could about dread.   He spoke so few words, just went straight to the fight, it turned the whole battle, a dark day for the Light. but as quick as he came the dark lord did abscond, and I hope that he stays there, where'er he spawned!   His forces now routed, thanks to the Amyrlin But the kingdoms were failing, much to our chagrin And Ba'alzamon's last words in my ears did burn "Let the Lord of Chaos rule, for I shall return!"

Hello, everyone. Welcome back to "WoT If?". This week's topic will be the former damane, Alivia.   Spoiler warning! This will include content from many books in the series, including Towers of Midnight, and speculation about A Memory of Light. Please read at your own risk.   Also, this WILL NOT contain spoilers from A Memory of Light's Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 11, or Tor's daily previews. Please refrain from posting any spoilers from A Memory of Light in the comments section. The A Memory of Light spoiler discussion board can be found here.   To me, Alivia has been one of the biggest mysteries in the series. There aren't too many theories about her, at least that I could find. I think that is so intriguing. It seems that everyone just accepts her—readers and characters alike. Ever since she was first introduced, I've had a hard time understanding the characters' acceptance of her. She's always stood out to me as being out of place with Rand's inner circle. So, let's look a bit closer at her and see if we can find out what she's hiding.   Alivia is first introduced—though not mentioned by name—in The Path of Daggers, Chapter 23, "Fog of War, Storm of Battle." She is one of five damane captured by Rand during his fight against the Seanchan. It's in Winter's Heart when we first hear anything about her, though. And the things we learn are that she was collared at age thirteen or fourteen, has been a damane for more than four hundred years, and she hates sul'dam (Chapter 8, "Sea Folk and Kin"). A leashed woman for over 400 years and she hates sul'dam? How unlikely is that? Damane are broken. It would take so much effort for one to want to be free of the collar.   In fact, the other two Seanchan damane don't want to be let off their leashes. Why would Alivia? The Randland damane want to be free, but they are still very beaten down; Reanna says, "I doubt either one could stand up to a sul’dam. I think if a sul’dam ordered either to help her escape, she would, and I fear she might not fight too hard if the sul’dam tried to collar her again." Yet Reanna says Alivia, "hates all the sul’dam, and she certainly makes a good show of it, snarling at them and cursing them, but…". How is it possible for women used to freedom to be cowed by the sul'dam but not a woman—a Seanchan woman—who has been leashed for 400 years? This should be a huge red flag to readers because of the impossibility of it.   So, after Alivia is let out of the a'dam, she is supposed to have a Kinswoman with her at all times, but rarely does. No one appears to do anything about it. Nynaeve tells her, "You aren’t supposed to go anywhere without an escort!" and then later, "You won’t let me see you without two or three Kinswomen again, if you know what’s good for you" (Winter's Heart, Chapter 11, "Ideas of Importance"). But, that very same day, Nynaeve takes Alivia with her when she leaves with Rand. Why?   This is just outrageous, the way she is instantly trusted and taken into the group. I can see a bit of reasoning on Nynaeve's part, though. She has been struggling with keeping to the Aes Sedai hierarchy—which is based on strength. She has used her own strength as a tool to get what she wants from others, so she would need to follow the rule as well. Alivia is stronger than Nynaeve, so it would be only Aes Sedai politics, maybe even subconsciously on Nynaeve's part.   Even so, how did Alivia even discover Nynaeve was leaving? Or did Nynaeve go and seek out the ex-damane? That seems even more unlikely since Nynaeve is obviously uncomfortable around the woman.   After leaving the Palace in Caemlyn, the party goes to Far Madding. It's here that Min has a viewing of Alivia:   Finally, we have someone who is suspicious of Alivia, though it makes Rand trust her more, for some reason. But the woman continues to be in their group. Why don't they interrogate her? Why don't they do something to find out her reasoning for hating sul'dam and wanting to help Rand? The fact that this is accepted without any explanation is mind boggling, to me.   Because of Min's viewing, even Nynaeve won't trust Alivia—though why she trusted her in the first place is a mystery. Nynaeve and Lan discuss it briefly:   This exchange can go both ways. A popular theme in the series is women knowing what's best, and another is women not understanding when they think they do. So, this could be foreshadowing either way, but I thought I'd point it out.   So, Alivia wanders free, not being taught by the Aes Sedai, but paying attention to their weaves. She is able to learn something just by seeing it done once (Knife of Dreams, Chapter 20, "The Golden Crane"). That means any channeling she sees, she can duplicate. This includes all the secret weaves that Sisters don't even pay attention to. Perhaps even secret weaves used to keep a wooden box—with the Domination Band inside—safe?   This leads me to my ultimate conclusion. Though there's very little evidence, I'm going to speculate anyway. I think Alivia was ordered by a sul'dam to gather information about their captors. They were captured by Rand, the Dragon Reborn, so the sul'dam could have told her to spy on him by any means possible. I think that's one of the only explanations for why Alivia was so eager to get the collar off: she was ordered to. Surely a damane would only be willing to be uncollared if she was ordered to. I think this is proved by the other Seanchan damane's insistence that they need to remain collared.   Either that, or there's another explanation: she is a Darkfriend. There is a certain sense of foreboding around Alivia, in the things I pointed out and other places. Perhaps she used Compulsion on Nynaeve to get to go along with the group? I did hint that she might have been the one who helped Elza get the Domination Band out of Cadsuane's room. Let's look at that a bit closer.   Cadsuane has the Domination Band in a document box in her quarters (The Gathering Storm, Chapter 14, "A Box Opens"). She disarms the box (which has inverted weaves on it that capture a person with Air, makes sounds like trumpets blasting, and has flashing lights) and shows the contents to Sorilea and Bair. Later, when the box had been opened, the wards didn't go off (Chapter 23, "A Warp in the Air"). Rand says servants searched Cadsuane's room; they would have mentioned if anyone was stuck floating with weaves of Air.   Sorilea saw the box disarmed, and likely armed, though it's not mentioned. But Cadsuane showed Sorilea the weaves she used on Semirhage, so it seems likely. Now, there have been a few theories that Bair might be a Darkfriend, but she can't channel, so she couldn't disarm the box. Sorilea as a Darkfriend is unlikely. But, what if Sorilea practices the weaves and Alivia happens to see? The next time we see Alivia, Rand thinks: "To the side, Alivia watched her [Min] go with curiosity. The former damane had stayed aloof recently, as if biding her time, waiting until she could fulfill her destiny in helping Rand die" (The Gathering Storm, Chapter 29, "Into Bandar Eban"). No other time has the damane been "aloof" in personality. If anything, she's overbearing. Why would Alivia suddenly be aloof? Because she's afraid of drawing the eye since her involvement with the Forsaken.   I think Alivia is working on one of those two sides. And her "helping Rand die" will not be for his own good, like he believes.   That's all for this edition. We have a break next week for the holidays, but the week after will be my last minute predictions for A Memory of Light. Thanks for reading!

We're getting closer and closer to Christmas! Because it's the holiday season, all our bloggers will have next week off from their duties here. They already have some interesting things planned for you the week after that, though!   Last week, Leigh Butler regaled readers with juicy, mysterious clues in her review of A Memory of Light. If you enjoy picking apart teasers and making predictions, head to our A Memory of Light Spoiler Discussion forum and join the fun.   The Hobbit has been in movie theaters for a few days. How did you like it? Did it live up to the hype, or was it a disappointment? Let us know in the Movies and Games Discussion forum.   It's Winter in the Waste at the Aiel Social Group! Partake in games, recipe exchanges, card exchanges, and more. See the thread linked above for a guide to the events.   The Wolfkin Social Group would like to know your opinions about winter. Do you like the season, or dislike it? What does the season mean to you?   That's it for now. Happy Holidays, everyone!

Here's the last of the eBook wallpapers that Tor is making available before the release of the last book. This time, the featured eBook wallpaper is for Towers of Midnight. The artwork is by Raymond Swanland. Here is the image:     Go here to download different sizes of the wallpaper and to read more about how this art was created. How do you like the art for this eBook?

Shayol Ghul Dock Side Restaurant   Winter Raids Holiday Feast   Appetizers   Choice of   Seanchan Dumplings Choice pieces of To'raken steamed in a sweet bread shell.   or   Twice Baked Warder Skins These pesky troublemakers couldn't save their skins, so enjoy them with a hot cheese and bacon filling.   Soup and Salad   Choice of   Wolf Bone Soup A slow cooked and heavily seasoned stock of Wolf Bones, served with a dollop of cream and crackers.   or   Cream of Vegetable Soup For our non-Trolloc visitors, something that won't remind you of what will happen should you fail the Great Dark Lord.   either will be served with a Blightberg Lettuce Salad with Tremalking Island Dressing A delicious collection of local non-deadly vegetables from the Blight, tossed with tangy Tremalking Dressing.   Entree   Choice of   Surf and Turf A slab of farmer with a slab of Sea Folk, cooked to order and lightly seasoned.   or   Farmer's House Potluck Surprise Cow, sheep, horse, all meats and vegetables from the farm thrown into a pot and cooked to perfection. A local favorite.   Dessert   Lady Fingers and rich Seanchan Kaf Guaranteed Noble, Our Lady Fingers are fried and covered in chocolate, then served with a steaming cup of Seanchan Kaf.