DRAGONMOUNT

Welcome back to "WoT If?".  As we look deeper into A Memory of Light, there are several foreshadowed events that need further examination.  The topic of this week's scrutiny is Moiraine and how "important" she was during the final showdown.  SPOILER WARNING.  This will include content from A Memory of Light.  Please DO NOT read this if you have not completed the book. Moiraine.  Everyone was so happy for her return.  She was the embodiment of Aes Sedai for most readers, and her influence over Rand was what helped him become the Dragon Reborn in strength.  Early on, we had some hints that she was coming back, that she really wasn't dead.  Min thinks:   This lets us know, pretty early on, that Moiraine might be coming back.  We know Min's viewings are never wrong, so even though she doubts, we can read between the lines.  But this also brings up the point that Moiraine will do something that will help Rand win.  We see more of this when Mat actually rescues the Aes Sedai.   This is quite obvious.  Moiraine will "save the world."  Or is that what's really being said?  Moiraine's return would save the world, not necessarily Moiraine herself.  Let's look at what Moiraine does which might constitute as saving the world. 1.  Make Rand remember laughing and crying (The Gathering Storm, Chapter 50, "Veins of Gold"). I thought for sure that Moiraine's return would be what caused Rand to come back from the edge of madness and destruction.  Since Cadsuane did it, Moiraine's sudden appearance didn't add anything to Rand's state of mind.  He was surprised to see her, but it did nothing for his well-being.  2.  Tells Egwene she must break the seals (Chapter 6, "A Knack"). This was an important part of the Last Battle.  If the seals weren't broken, Rand couldn't re-seal the Dark One.  However, it wasn't Egwene who broke them.  Logain did.  And he would have done so even without Moiraine's insistence.  As far as we know, the Asha'man knew of Rand's plan to have the seals broken.  Moiraine's words wouldn't have swayed Logain in the least. 3.  Help Rand by linking with him, Nynaeve, and Callandor (Chapter 23, "At the Edge of Time"). This was supposed to be one of the key moments during the Last Battle.  Rand thought long and hard about who could be trusted enough to link with him at this fight.  Moiraine's aid might have been considered saving the world, except that she didn't do anything of any real use.  Aviendha—Rand's original pick—could have easily substituted in with no outward change in the event.  And if Moiraine was given the prophecy of saving the world, Nynaeve would need a similar prophecy because she helped just as much—if not more—than Moiraine. Since Moiraine didn't really add much to Tarmon Gai'don, let's see who was a better fit for "savior of the world." Perrin: He killed Lanfear, who had him under compulsion, and kept her from killing Nynaeve, Moiraine, and Rand right before the deed was done (Chapter 48, "Light and Shadow"). Moridin: He used Callandor and unwillingly gave Rand the True Power to use as a buffer (Chapter 47, "Watching the Flow Writhe"). Nynaeve: She gave Alanna andilay, which kept her lucid enough to release Rand's bond.  The same argument could be made for Alanna, too, that she saved the world by releasing Rand's bond (Chapter 46, "To Awaken"). Egwene: She forced Rand to let go of all the guilt and all the names on his list of dead women (Chapter 38, "The Place That Was Not"). Tam: He reminded Rand that he could use one-handed sword techniques, which kept him alive as he dueled Moridin (Chapter 15, "Your Neck in a Cord"). And finally, the only way it could be Moiraine who saved the world: Thom. Since Moiraine was rescued and bonded/married Thom, he was there to protect the entrance to Shayol Ghul: "Someone will need to guard the entry into the cave, my wife" (Chapter 23, "At the Edge of Time").  If Moiraine had not survived, Thom would not have been present to dispatch all the Darkfriends who tried to enter under different disguises.  If Aviendha had been the other woman, there wouldn't have been a Warder to guard their backs.  So, with that logic, Moiraine might have been the savior, but only because she fell in love with Thom Merrilin. That's all I've got to say on this particular issue.  Let me know what you think.  For next week, I'd like to look at the Horn of Valere and who else—besides the Heroes—might be bound to it.  Thanks for reading.  

Tor.com posted a lengthy interview between Tor publisher Tom Doherty and Harriet McDougal (Robert Jordan's widow, and the editor of the entire Wheel of Time series).  They cover many topics ranging from their approach to marketing The Eye of the World in 1990:     ... to discussion about the upcoming ebook release of A Memory of Light (due on April 9th, and soon to be available on our online store)     The full interview can be found here on Tor.com.

We're back!  Our book tour hiatus is over, and I'm also back from my travels.  Things should be back to normal around here shortly. If you are interested in being my new Rotating Features Blogger or Fan Art Friday Blogger, now's your chance to apply.  The call for applications can be found here.  Applications are due by March 27th. We are currently in the process of announcing and congratulating the winners of the Empys, Dragonmount's membership awards.  Please stop by to show the winners some love.     It's time for the March Clan Wars at the Aiel Social Group!  This month, the events include Assassins, Paintball, a Word Scramble, and an Art Contest.  Check out the link above for more information. The Band of the Red Hand Social Group has begun a new feature.  Each month, they will discuss a popular Broadway musical for their Musical of the Month.  It's a wonderful way to celebrate this beloved form of music.  They are currently discussing the children's favorite Mary Poppins.  The White Tower & Warders Social Group is featuring several stimulating discussions in honor of International Women's Week.  If you are interested in talking about this important topic, look here.  Please note that some of the discussions are sensitive in nature, and mature, thoughtful discourse is required. Evil creatures and people are gathering for some mischief.  What vile things are they plotting?  Find out in the role play Long Shadows Gathering.    

The book tour blog hiatus on the front page is over, so that means I need to flesh out my staff again.   I am calling for applications for two people to join my staff as bloggers. Applications for these positions will be open until Wednesday, March 27th.   Description of the Job Positions:   1. The first open position is for a Fan Art Friday Blogger.  This person will be responsible for a short weekly column that will have such content as fan art, analysis of fan art, and occasional interviews with artists.  Please look here for past examples of this column.   2. The second open position is for a Rotating Features Blogger. This person will be responsible for a short weekly column that will have different types of content each week. This person will work off a list of ideas for features (partly ideas that have already been thought of for you, and partly ideas you can make up and run by me for approval) and rotate the features. For instance, the first Thursday of the month could be for interviews with people who have contributed to the fandom, the second Thursday of the month could be for tips about WoT merchandise (e.g. where to get the best Aes Sedai rings), the third Thursday of the month could be a contest, etc.  Please look here for past examples of this column.   Job Duties for Both Front Page Blogger Positions:   1. Bloggers are expected to produce content in their respective areas for the front page once per week. They must be able to meet deadlines in a timely manner.   2. Bloggers occasionally will be called upon to assist the Front Page Admin with brainstorming new ideas for features.   3. Bloggers are expected to dedicate time each week to the Front Page Bloggers Staff Board and the DM Staff Board. As members of DM Staff, they act as representatives of the members of DM and their input is vital in the decision making process. Bloggers should be actively engaged in discussions on staff boards.   4. Bloggers must be able to give at least a 6 month commitment of approximately 5 hours per week. LOAs will come up, of course.   Anyone who thinks they can fulfill the requirements may apply. Strong candidates are people who possess the following qualities: efficiency, writing ability, organizational skills, creativity, maturity, and the ability to work well with others.   The Application Process:   If you are interested, please send an email to frontpage@dragonmount.com.   In each application, please include:   * Your DM Handle.   * Some details about who you are in real life, including anything you think will have prepared you for leadership (including past online leadership experience).   * A sample of your writing consisting of at least three short paragraphs. This can be in the form of a brief essay, a blog, a school paper, a newspaper article, a forum post, a short story, or a role play. You do not have to write something new for this application; in fact, many of you already have forum posts that are long enough to count. I mainly want to get an idea of your writing style.   * Anything else that you think would set you apart from other applicants.  Why are you the best candidate?       Note: Please specify the position for which you are applying (Fan Art Friday Blogger or Rotating Feature Blogger) in your application.   If you have any questions, please feel free to ask and I will try to answer them.   --Dwyn

*note* Don't get me in trouble with your drill sergeant, please?       Old man Shai'tan lives on up in the Blight  (echo) Can't find a date for a Saturday night (echo) When the Amyrlin heard about his plight (echo) Told us all to go up and treat him right (echo) So we got dressed up in our Sunday best (echo) Need to make sure that he's impressed (echo) And when he lets us be his guest (echo) Gonna lay him to his eternal rest (echo)   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Call: Now Warder hey you Warder well don't you cry    Response: Gonna get ya bonded to an Aes Sedai   C: Prettiest Green that you ever did see   R: Standing by the wall making eyes at me   C: Next to her stands a beautiful Blue   R: Don't know why she's a-lookin at you    C: Standing with a book is a cutie Brown   R: Wonder what it is that she's writing down   C: Coming up now on a lovely White   R: Wouldn't mind hearing some of her insight   C: There's a pretty lady dressed all up in Gray   R: Talking so sweet just to get her way   C: Shopping us now is a fine young Yellow   R: Gonna bond herself some lucky fellow   Book Red Call:  Heads up guys here comes a Red   Book Red Response:  Turn around now or we're all dead   Forum Red Call:  Look out boys, it's the scarlet skirts   Forum Red Response:  Careful now or we'll lose our shirts

Hello, all.  Welcome back to "WoT If?", Dragonmount's weekly theory blog.  This time, we'll continue our look at the Warder bond.  As always: SPOILER WARNING.  This will include content from A Memory of Light.  Please DO NOT read this if you have not completed the book. Last week, I suggested that the bond connects the two participants' souls.  For this discussion, I want to look closer at the double bond formed by Pevara bonding Androl and Androl bonding her in return.  Before we look at that, though, I'd like to examine both bonds a bit more. The Aes Sedai/Warder bond is formed by the Aes Sedai with saidar.  The Aes Sedai is the leader of the pair—in vows as well as in the physical manifestation of the bond.  Sisters can force their Warders to do things through the bond; we see that when Myrelle receives Lan's bond:   However, this practice of using a form of compulsion on their Warders to do their bidding doesn't seem to hold true for men who can channel.  When Alanna bonds Rand, he is not subjected to her compulsion.  The conversation between Alanna and Verin shows it:   Her "trying" had to be using the bond to make him heed her words.  Obviously she would have tried it.  But she failed, and it's because he is too "strong."  So, that leaves the question of which strength is it?  Is it because Rand is ta'veren or is it because he is a channeler?  We don't see any other instances of an Aes Sedai compelling her Asha'man Warder in such a way, so I'm assuming it's the channeling that gives them immunity to this device. On the other side, though, the Asha'man bond is quite different from the Warder bond.  The Asha'man bond was discovered by Canler, and it's "something like the bond between Warders and Aes Sedai" (A Crown of Swords, Chapter 27, "To Be Alone").  How similar, and how different, are they? When Logain bonds Gabrelle and Tovaine, we see he has absolute control over them.  Gabrelle thinks:   So, what happens when the two bonds are mixed? After a horrifying linking experience, Pevara bonds Androl without his permission.  Then, in retaliation, Androl uses the Asha'man bond on Pevara.  This results in their emotions circling back on them—her feelings get reflected to Androl, which get reflected back to herself.  Overall, it's a very crazy concept. As time progresses, Androl and Pevara begin to consciously develop the bond, forming a sort of telepathic connection.  They can essentially read each other's minds—and with greater ease than Gabrelle could read Logain's mind. So, here's my conclusion: the Asha'man/Aes Sedai double bonded combo will serve as the catalyst for binding the two Towers together. Once the events of the Last Battle settle down, it seems likely that others will follow Pevara's and Androl's example.  There are many advantages to their enhanced bond.  It was very useful as they ran around looking for the seals.  If every Asha'man/Aes Sedai combo had that sort of telepathic connection, they would be very powerful.  But the main reason is that the connection gives equal status to both participants.  The Aes Sedai is the weaker one in the Asha'man bond, and the Asha'man weaker in the Warder bond.  The double bond gives them equal status, which would be advantageous to both the White and Black Tower.  I think every channeler bonded to another channeler will agree to add on the extra bond. There are other things to speculate about the single bond.  First, would the Asha'man suffer the pain of losing the Aes Sedai?  In the prologue of Winter's Heart, Gabrelle says, "Or it could be that this bond is like the Warder bond in more ways than we know. Maybe he just did not want to experience the two of us executed."  Here, she's implying that if Logain's bonded Aes Sedai were killed, Logain would suffer the unbearable pain of the broken bond. And if the Asha'man dies, does the Aes Sedai go into the "death rage?"  Rand wonders about this in Knife of Dreams.  He thinks, "The Asha'man bond differed from the Warder bond in some respects, but in others it was identical, and no one yet knew the effects of an Asha'man's death on the woman he had bonded" (Chapter 27, "A Plain Wooden Box").  It seems likely that the death of the Asha'man—the bonder—would cause the Aes Sedai—the bonded—to die as well.  Or at least suffer from the "death rage," and want to kill themselves. The double bond would either cancel out both negative factors, or make them a hundred times worse.  I could see that if Androl died, Pevara would feel the cutting of the Warder bond more keenly than the other, since that was the bond she initiated.  If Pevara died, Androl would feel the cutting of his initiated bond, feeling the pain of it, but not suffering from the "death rage."  It seems logical that each would feel the bond they created the most, and the loss of the other would be a lesser reaction; they would feel the pain, but not experience the "death rage." On the other hand, with their near telepathic connection, perhaps feeling Androl die would be so emotionally shattering that it would kill Pevara instantly.  If their minds are linked, as well as their emotions, they probably wouldn't be able to separate their own feelings in time to survive the loss. This is a tough one, and I'm not sure we have enough information to go on.  Personally, I'd like to think the former situation would work—since it's very sad to think both would die.  If they did, I'm not sure the price of the double bond would be worth it. So, what are everyone else's thoughts on the subject?  Please let me know!  That's all for this edition.  Next week, I want to look at the "importance" of Moiraine.  Thanks for reading!

3:00pm    Where in the Wetlands are the Shaido Aiel?      This week's contestants will be searching the land of Andor for signs of the Shaido.  Will they be able to solve the clues in time and find one of the missing Shaido septs?  Tune in and find out!     3:30pm   Tales of Jain Farstrider for Kids      Jain learns why sharing and teamwork is important when Tarmy Trolloc starts causing trouble again.  Little Barillille gets in trouble when she disobeys her parents, and is rescued by a new friend.   4:00pm   Kerin Burin's War of the Hundred Years, Episode 12        In this episode, learn how the shield of the north was formed by the newly risen kings and queens of the Borderlands, and how they refused to let the Shadow through in that century of troubled times.    6:00pm  This Ogier House       Visit with the Ogier Builders this week as they visit a store in Tar Valon to fix the masonry and reinstall the lighting.  Norhm then takes you to visit a local craftsman who builds Trolloc War era furniture.   7:00pm   B'hab Rahoss Teaches Painting       B'hab gives instructions to paint a memorial painting of the fall of the Seven Towers of Malkier.  Grab your brush and canvas and paint along!   8:00pm   The Thom Merrilin Show      This week on his musical variety show, Thom has special guests The Ta'veren Trio performing their latest hits: "The Caemlyn Polka" and "Two Rivers Trouble".  Hear the gossamer voices of the Ajah Sisters singing some of the best ballads this side of the Misty Mountains.  And, as always, the gang gathers round to sing a rousing chorus of "Roll out the Trolloc" as Thom dances with the audience members.    9:00pm  Late Night Movie: "Revenge of the False Dragon"                   They thought they had stilled and silenced him, but he's back for vengence.              Stars Lian Vuwel, Gota Brien, and Jainen Zeva   11:00pm Station Sign off

Hello, everyone!  Welcome back to "WoT If?", Dragonmount's weekly theory blog.  Just because the series is finished doesn't mean there's nothing to speculate about.  In fact, I think A Memory of Light left us with more questions than answers.  So, let's get into the topic for the next two weeks: the bond. SPOILER WARNING.  This will include content from A Memory of Light.  Please DO NOT read this if you have not completed the book. The bond between a Warder and Aes Sedai is something even the Forsaken don't understand.  Semirhage thinks about it in Lord of Chaos, Chapter 6, "Threads Woven of Shadow."  The bond connects the emotions and a bit of the physical state of the two people who are joined.  We know that the bond gives Warders extra strength and energy.  The Aes Sedai receive a sense of comfort, knowing they have someone they can trust to aid them when necessary; a sword hand to watch their back. So the exchange between them is give and take—each receives some benefits, but they also give up a little as well.  The Aes Sedai feel the terrible pain if they lose a Warder, and the Warders have a sort of "death rage" when their Aes Sedai dies.  To some, it might look like Warders have the worse end of the bargain, but Aes Sedai rarely die under normal circumstances. But what exactly is the bond?  What does it connect and how?  In all the accounts of bonding in the series—from POV characters—we see Elayne bond Birgitte and Rand, and Egwene bond Gawyn and Egeanin. Only Elayne's experiences give us any details of the actual event.  Spirit is the only weave used, connecting something in one person to something in another.  But what is it that's connected?  Some argue that it's the ability to channel.  The most convincing proof for this is the example of Siuan's bond to Alric.  After Siuan is Healed, her bond to Alric is still inside her (Lord of Chaos, Chapter 30, "To Heal Again").  Her stilling severed it, but once she reclaimed saidar, the pain came back.  This would definitely suggest that the ability to use the Power was what connected their bond. The counterargument: Min and Rand.  If the ability to channel was needed, Min couldn't have been bonded to Rand.  Some might say that Rand would be the channeler in that pair, yet Rand's weaves were never used in the ceremony.  More on this in a second. So, the only logical reasoning I see is that the bond connects two people's souls.  The evidence for this is abundant in A Memory of Light.  Rand, when he completes the body-swap, moves into Moridin's body.  However, his three women still feel the bond—now connected to Moridin's body!  The only thing that transferred over was Rand's soul.  If the connection had been to anything physical—the brain, the heart, his ability to channel—the women would have felt Rand's body die.  It has to be a connection to the soul.  Going back to the argument of Rand being the channeler in his bond with Min, we see that Rand cannot channel at the end of the story (A Memory of Light, Epilogue).  So, if the ability to channel was necessary, his bond with Min wouldn't have survived his body-swap, only Aviendha's and Elayne's. Taking that piece of evidence, here's my theory for this week: what if Birgitte's new body is bonded to Elayne from birth? I know, I know.  Birgitte was killed, and the bond broken.  Elayne says that when she sees Birgitte in Hero form:    Why wouldn't it work?  Probably because Birgitte is in spirit form at the moment.  Or perhaps it's because they still have a remnant of the bond intact within both their souls already. I think the time it took for Birgitte's soul to pass from her Heroes' body to her new body was no more than a few hours.  It might be possible that Birgitte's new body would still have the bond connected to her soul.  I'm sure there's never been any case of a person who has been bonded being reborn so soon after death.  There's no way to say for certain that the soul doesn't still hold the bond. At the very least, Brigitte's new body would feel the loss of the bond, the pain that's almost unbearable.  It's possible for the Warder to be the survivor of the pair, so baby Birgitte could still live, only with that sense of something missing inside her. Honestly, I think it would be awesome if when baby Birgitte is born, Elayne automatically feels her, and that their bond remains intact.  In fact, people in our own time often say that they feel like they are missing a part of them.  Since our world is just another Age, perhaps it's the remnants of a past bond. That's all for this week.  Next time we'll continue the discussion on bonds, focusing more on Androl and Pevara.  Thanks for reading!

I see you, Dragonmount. Thanks for checking out the following recap of the Los Angeles (Huntington Beach) book signing of A Memory of Light with Brandon Sanderson and Harriet McDougal. My fellow Memory Keepers and I were happier than a Brown in a library to be chosen to help out and make this signing awesome. We started arriving at around 3 pm and were surprised to find that not a few avid fans had already arrived, eagerly awaiting the start of the event. Our Memory Keepers were a diverse group comprised of Rebecca, our “First Among Equals,” Nathan, Ken, Joe, Rob, Carlos, and Kyle. Since Barnes &Noble took care of all of the setting up, we were able to focus on games and projects to keep everyone occupied while they were waiting. We had both drawing and sculpting setups, as well as extremely challenging trivia sheets for people to test their Wheel of Time knowledge. Want to take the challenge? You can find a copy here: View attachment: Wheel of Time Trivia Questions Only.pdf Stumped? No worries, the answers are posted here: View attachment: Wheel of Time Trivia Questions.pdf Those who participated in our sometimes fun, sometimes diabolical diversions were rewarded with various swag items including The Way of Kings in paperback, WoT phone cases, backpacks, and “Tai’shar Malkier” bumper stickers. Right around 6:15 pm, we received word that Brandon and Harriet had arrived, and were smuggled into a back conference room to get our books signed and questions answered. An interesting outcome from our questions was that Brandon asked us to get people to compile a list of characters whose outcome was left out of the final book for potential inclusion in the upcoming encyclopedia. You can add to the discussion here: http://www.dragonmount.com/forums/topic/79423-list-of-characters-fates/   View attachment: _MG_4868.jpg View attachment: _MG_4875.jpg View attachment: _MG_4871.jpg Upon our return from the back room, we chose a winner of the costume contest we hosted, but since we only had one participant, the choice was pretty easy. He looked really good though. View attachment: _MG_4857.jpg   Brandon and Harriet arrived upstairs and took a moment to admire everyone’s handiwork…. and promptly asked us to get it off of their table. They were thoroughly impressed, I’m sure. View attachment: _MG_4921.jpg View attachment: _MG_4923.jpg View attachment: _MG_4976.jpg View attachment: _MG_4980.jpg View attachment: _MG_4982.jpg     At this point, we were well past standing room only. Introductions were made, and Brandon reminded everyone to stay away from spoilers, especially since about 2/3 of the crowd had not yet finished AMoL. From there, the Q&A began: View attachment: _MG_4892.jpg View attachment: _MG_4906.jpg View attachment: _MG_4917.jpg View attachment: _MG_4910.jpg     Q for Brandon: Loial is my favorite character in the series.  Are his scenes in AMoL written more by Brandon Sanderson or by Robert Jordan? A:  Brandon replies by saying he will need to keep this vague due to not wanting to reveal spoilers to those who have not finished reading.  He will answer this individually when the person comes up to him in line.  He is against readers “looking” for him or for Robert Jordan in the books.  The epilogue was entirely written by Robert Jordan, except for one portion that Brandon wrote. Q for Brandon: Is there anyone Brandon wanted to include in AMoL but didn’t get to? A:  No, he was able to get to everyone.  There were two major sequences cut from the book.  One of these will appear in the charity anthology Unfettered.  The other character POV just didn’t work. Q  for Harriet: What are the top three characters in which her personality dominated that character’s personality? A:  (joking) Graendal, Moghedian, …. (lots of laughter).  Probably Nynaeve.  Harriet remarks that she has several home remedies for any ailment.  She states that Robert Jordan said all of the women characters stem from her and makes a comment about nagging Robert Jordan to take out the trash. Q for Harriet: When editing both Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, were there any scenes that needed to be cut because they were “too ridiculous”? A:  No, for either of them.  They are fabulous storytellers and did not show her ridiculous scenes.  One scene of Brandon’s she cut for pacing reasons.  She did have some disagreements with Robert Jordan, different opinions.  Some scenes that he absolutely loved, she did not like, and vice versa.  She emphasized the importance of having your editor as a trusted first reader.  Brandon mentions Dannil, the fourth Two Rivers boy, and Harriet explains that he was cut because he had nothing to do in Eye of the World and he was boring.  Robert Jordan said that he had big plans for him in the fourth book, and Harriet’s response was that if you bore your readers now, there won’t be a fourth book.  Later, Robert Jordan admitted “how easily he [Dannil] unzipped out of the book.” Q for Brandon: Did he get to include anything from his “Cool Stuff” list in the series? A:  A few things did end up in the book, but he won’t expand due to spoilers.  He did say that he had ideas about Gateways long before he was selected to finish the series.  He wanted to include some of these ideas in his own work but he was too worried about copying Robert Jordan, so they just stayed in his file.  He was able to pull these ideas out and use them with Androl in AMoL. Q for Brandon: How did reading The Wheel of Time inspire his magic systems? A:  The first influence was Robert Jordan’s focus on human characters over fantastical ones.  He felt that Jordan’s concept of weaving was complex and interesting, as opposed to magic systems of authors such as David Eddings.  With the Wheel of Time, the rules and restrictions on magic made characters more clever and interesting.  He didn’t want to modify the WoT magic system but he did explore two aspects of it using ideas he had as a teenager:  the World of Dreams and Gateways.  He avoided adding new weaves because the series was coming to a close. Q for Brandon: Who was his favorite character to write and who does he see himself the most in? A:  Perrin was his favorite.  Even though Perrin went through “a slump” in the series in order to build tension, Brandon always stayed “Team Perrin.”  Perrin was the most natural.  Mat was tough and thus a cooler character to write.  Brandon enjoyed writing Mat, especially in AMoL.  Mat challenged his skills more than anyone else.  The saddest part for him with finishing the series is that he can’t write Mat anymore.  Harriet added that there will not be anymore WoT books (other than the encyclopedia).  She said that Robert Jordan hated the idea of someone taking his material, although he did want the series finished.  He stated he would run over his hard drive before allowing others to “sharecrop.”  Harriet stated that the two sentences about the outriggers that Robert Jordan left behind will be released in April or May.  She said that with the encyclopedia there is “the work of at least a year.” Q for Harriet: Did Robert Jordan have a favorite character?  A:  Yes – the one that he was writing that day.  She said that some days after writing he would come into the kitchen slouching and sidling up against the wall, and she would say, “Have you been writing Padan Fain today?”  She went on to say that he always wrote from “a position of love” for every character.  Brandon tells about one of the editing notes that he received from Harriet which read “Padan Fain needs more crazy.” Q:  Do Robert Jordan’s notes state who killed Asmodean? A:  Brandon states that at the top of a large stack of Robert Jordan’s notes that he received, there was a print-out of a fan’s theory about the killer of Asmodean.  Stuck to it was a post-it note from Jordan that read, “this is right.”  Harriet commented about the importance of glossaries. Q  for Brandon: Is the dialogue between Rand and Mat in AMoL more Robert Jordan or Brandon? A:  Brandon does not want to answer that publically due to the potential for spoilers. Q:  Will the encyclopedia have illustrations? A:  Yes.  Much more time will be given to the illustrator than with the earlier book (the Big White Book).  He stated that the BWB illustrator is very talented but was rushed. Q for Brandon: Will you share the story of the day you got the phone call from Harriet about completing the series? A:  Here, Brandon reviewed the story, remarking that he was more nervous than on his wedding day.  Harriet added that she told Brandon that he was on her short list, but didn’t reveal at the time that it really was a list with just one name.  She said that she knew that he was a good writer but she didn’t know just how superb he was going to be.  He was “a great choice” to finish the series. Q for Brandon: Why do the Shardblades in The Stormlight Archive have the effect on flesh (human tissue) that they do? A:  He originally wrote the scene in the prologue with the assassin Szeth using a traditional sword, but it was so bloody and gruesome that Brandon was actually disgusted.  He had to find a way to avoid that and so he came up with a new way for the swords to behave. Q for Harriet: What were Robert Jordan’s influences for the creature that Padan Fain became? A:  Just his own work and imagination.  There were no outside influences that she knows of. Q for Brandon: Who was his favorite villain to write? A:  Demandred Q for Brandon:  Could you elaborate on some of your recent comments about the difficulty of writing shorter books? A:  One of Brandon’s favorite stories is “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, and it’s only five pages long, but he has struggled with writing shorter works.  He’s tried, but he has felt bad at it and it’s not something he’s ever been trained in.  He realized that he was trying to write shorter fiction for the wrong reasons – he was doing it for New York and not because he wanted to do it.  He feels that his best short work is Emperor’s Soul.  He goes on to praise Harriet for her remarkable career, specifically pointing out her role in Ender’s Game and Eye of the World, two of the greats in sci-fi/fantasy.  Harriet modestly says, “I put my shoes on one foot at a time.” Q for Brandon:  Who was the most challenging WoT character to write? A:  Mat was the most challenging, the second most was Aviendha.  He explains that it is hard to write about someone so different than yourself and the Aiel culture seemed the most unique in the series.  Of Rand’s three women, Avi is Brandon’s favorite.  He recalls that after writing his first Aviendha scene, Harriet read it and then told him that it was a “picture perfect Elayne.”  Brandon went on to discuss how he has to write his way into his characters.  Vin, in Mistborn, was originally a boy.  Lots of his early work on The Gathering Storm was scrapped by Harriet because Brandon wasn’t “there yet” with the characters.  He then goes on to discuss the volume of notes left by Robert Jordan.  There are about 200 pages for AMoL and then there is roughly 32,000 pages of other notes for the series, three times as large as the entire series put together.  Brandon tells of how he tried to open it once and it crashed his computer because the file was so large.  He also wants to commend the enormous efforts of Alan and Maria for their help in managing all of the details of the series. At this point, in the interest of time, the Q&A ended so that, as Brandon said, "We can do a reading. We meaning Harriet."She read the opening paragraph of the wind rose chapter, and it was magical.   View attachment: _MG_4920.jpg   Following that, the signing began. As Harriet said, “I love you all, but I hate midnight.” In consideration of that, everyone was allowed 3 books their first time through the line, and anyone who wanted additional books signed or any personalization had to go through the line a second time after Harriet left. Before that could happen though, they had the daunting task of signing books for approximately 500 people! Here are some cool things that happened as people made their way to the front of the line: View attachment: _MG_4923.jpg View attachment: _MG_4932.jpg   Brandon getting a picture and signed card:   View attachment: _MG_4951.jpg View attachment: _MG_4957.jpg   An awesome tattoo:   View attachment: _MG_4966.jpg   One hardcore fan with equally hardcore shoes:   View attachment: _MG_4975.jpg View attachment: _MG_4984.jpg   Fan Art:   View attachment: _MG_4988.jpg   These girls had a little fun with the trivia sheet giving spoof answers such as the Dark One's real name was Voldermort. Brandon found it so amusing that he posted it to his Twitter. He also signed a poster for them.   View attachment: _MG_4997.jpg View attachment: _MG_5003.jpg   This couple came all the way from Australia to be at the signing. Now that's dedication.   View attachment: _MG_5007.jpg View attachment: _MG_5011.jpg   Familiar faces:   View attachment: _MG_5013.jpg   With all of these awesome and interesting things happening, the highlight for me was when out of the blue, Harriet poked me in the ribs and said, “He looks like Perrin! Doesn’t he look just like Perrin?” I was so surprised that of course I immediately agreed, and that is forever more what I’ll remember when I think of Perrin Aybara. Not that I even saw the guy. Sorry Harriet.   All too soon, it was time for Harriet to say goodnight. The Memory Keepers then enlisted Brandon’s help to give out the last of our remaining swag to the die-hards who remained for personalization.   View attachment: _MG_5032.jpg   Then we breathed a collective sigh of relief, watched the line dwindle down to the last person (a B&N employee who just got off of work), took a moment for one last picture, and made our exit. View attachment: _MG_5036.jpg View attachment: _MG_5039.jpg     We hope you enjoyed this brief recap of the awesome night we had here in Huntington Beach. We are incredibly grateful to Dragonmount for choosing us to be a part of the Memory of Light Tour, Barnes & Noble, and of course to Brandon and Harriet for making all of this possible. Thank you all for checking out our event. May you always find water and shade.  

<p> Most all forces of the light were present to welcome Brandon Sanderson, Harriet McDougal and Jason Denzel to the Sacramento area signing at Barnes and Noble in Citrus Heights, CA. Represented were Aes Sedai, the Red Band, Whitecloaks and the Traveling People among others. Birgitte, Aviendha, Mat and Thom even decided to join in as Memory Keepers on this stop. Mat, the group's "first among equals", had a three hour drive and was first on scene to start answering questions and handing out wrist bands. 50 wrist bands had already been handed out by noon, a sign of things to come - by the end of the night nearly 400 would be given out.<br /> <img alt="gallery_28279_270_3525759.jpg" src="http://www.dragonmount.com/forums/uploads/gallery/album_270/gallery_28279_270_3525759.jpg" /> <br /> As the majority of the Memory Keepers filtered in around 4 the store was already filling with fans. After setting up "green screen” backdrops for Wheel of Time commemorative photos and lining the path with Wheel of Time themed signs (Bela is a darkfriend, I Killed Asmodean, etc) we hung a poster on the front of the signing table in memoriam of a family member of one of the Memory Keepers who was also a fan of the series and was killed in August of 2012. Brandon and Harriet both signed the poster and it will be presented to the family member's parents (Memoriam picture at the end of this post).<br /> <br /> Next we set up for trivia. Unfortunately the store hadn't received one of the boxes containing the Way of Kings paperbacks, so we ended up winging it a little on the giveaways. This consisted of WOT trivia and quotes, with winners being given the choice between the AMoL messenger bag or the iPhone case, with a few front of the line passes thrown in for harder questions. To pass the time a WOT word search and a WOT crossword were handed out (thanks to the Seattle Memory Keepers for sharing their crossword with us).<br /> <br /> Trivia:<br /> <img alt="gallery_28279_270_2395758.jpg" src="http://www.dragonmount.com/forums/uploads/gallery/album_270/gallery_28279_270_2395758.jpg" /><br /> <br /> At this point there were only two customers in costume, both beautiful Aes Sedai of the Green Ajah. One even made her own teardrop Aes Sedai hand bags (Brandon later signed these for her). Both were given prizes for their costumes. The crowd then chose to hold their own best costume contest for the Memory Keepers. By crowd noise they chose Mat, to which Thom said, “Bloody Ta’veren.” Birgette agreed with the decision though she thought his face too pretty and Aviendha just shook her head at wetlander ways.<br /> <br /> Costume contest:<br /> <img alt="gallery_28279_270_3119043.jpg" src="http://www.dragonmount.com/forums/uploads/gallery/album_270/gallery_28279_270_3119043.jpg" /><br /> <br /> We were lucky enough to have Dragonmount.com founder and webmaster Jason Denzel join us for this stop and he was the first to arrive and check in with us. Even after all the events he's been to, he seemed just as glad to be there as we did. When it was time to greet Brandon and Harriet, Mat, Birgette and Thom headed outside. After 10 minutes or so talking with the 20 or 30 fans waiting outside the store, Brandon arrived. Mat and Birgette escorted him in while Thom stayed behind to play some songs for the crowd and keep a lookout for Harriet.</p> <p>   <iframe width="480" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Py5Dsm3eNJo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <br /> Harriet arrived shortly and Thom got the distinct honor of offering his arm to escort her inside. Once inside, he quickly got lost and Harriet was kind enough to point out the way to go ("that door, the one that says 'Employee's only?'"). She was still kinder to make a point to mention that she'd been inside many book stores in her time.<br /> <br /> Once in the back she joined Brandon signing some book stock and the memory keepers were called in to spend some time, ask questions and get signatures. They were both very gracious with the little amount of time they had and we were joined by Jason and his writing group, so many were able to get Jason's signature on Towers of Midnight and A Memory of Light. There were a couple of those present who hadn't read the book, so we kept it spoiler-free. Brandon mentioned during this time that the pacing of the final book was the most difficult part to get right and was behind most of the revision work. He said he wrote the POVs separately for the first part of the book but as the pacing picked up he had to abandon that approach. Harriet was asked about the movie/series with NBC Universal and said it is a movie that's in development, not a series, but she hasn't been involved. They retain the right to consult with her, which means they could ask her out to consult and subsequently ignore whatever she says (paraphrased). Brandon was also asked if he knew how Stormlight would end, which he said he did, that he hadn't written it yet but he knew how it would end. When asked he said he had about a page outline for each of the books after four, that he adds and modifies them as events in the first books get fleshed out.<br /> <br /> From the start of the actual signing it was obvious Brandon knew what he was doing. He had specific jobs for a few of us, while telling the crowd there wouldn't be a Q/A due to space limitations, but that he'd be glad to answer any questions anyone had while he signed their books. Several of the less common questions are included at the end of this writing, including a link to some spoiler questions that were asked. First though, some impressions we Memory Keepers were left with of the evening.<br /> <br /> <strong>The crowd</strong> was impressive in both size and passion. There were many more costumes that came through, the first of which was a family of four dressed as Lan, Nynaeve and their two kids - a wolf sister and blade master. Brandon was very impressed and immediately jumped up to give them the cardboard poster of Way of Kings.<br /> <br /> <img alt="gallery_28279_270_258927.jpg" src="http://www.dragonmount.com/forums/uploads/gallery/album_270/gallery_28279_270_258927.jpg" /><br /> <br /> Some other costumes seen:<br /> <br /> White Cloak/Aes Sedai/Red Band<br /> <img alt="gallery_28279_270_185823.jpg" src="http://www.dragonmount.com/forums/uploads/gallery/album_270/gallery_28279_270_185823.jpg" /><br /> <br /> Three Aes Sedai:<br /> <img alt="gallery_28279_270_2686697.jpg" src="http://www.dragonmount.com/forums/uploads/gallery/album_270/gallery_28279_270_2686697.jpg" /><br /> <br /> Tinkers:<br /> <img alt="gallery_28279_270_1485830.jpg" src="http://www.dragonmount.com/forums/uploads/gallery/album_270/gallery_28279_270_1485830.jpg" /><br /> <br /> Beyond the costumes there were fathers and sons, entire families, brothers and friends as well as many military personnel. Brandon and Harriet did signings only for everybody else their first time through, though they wrote "thank you for your service" in more than one service member's book. As Harriet explained her father was in the Navy and she has a special place in her heart for the military.<br /> <br /> It can't be said enough how great these fans are. There was a pile of gifts for Brandon and Harriet by the end of the night and one fan - a leather worker whose name wasn't given - actually gave Memory Keeper Mat an extra dice cup he'd made (since Mat was without one). It was very cool for us Memory Keepers to talk to so many people who were just as excited as we were to stand for hours on a Friday night and share in the experience of books, Wheel of Time and otherwise. Also amazing was how many people approached Brandon and said they hated reading until they'd picked up one of his books. In the age of cinema and TV, it's a blessing to see such electricity generated in a book store.<br /> <br /> <strong>Harriet </strong>was an absolute gem. She is a very sweet lady and she smiled nearly the whole night long. She just seemed genuinely proud of the work her husband and her were able to accomplish and graciously answered all questions, and even checked on our Memory Keeper Aviendha several times to see if she needed anything (since she was stuck between Brandon and Harriet the whole night). Harriet also thanked more than one employee for working with books and was glad to sign any books she worked on which included Ender's Game and the Way of Kings (guest editor). Even though she started to look a little tired she still smiled and stayed until each of those nearly 400 people got through to get their books signed before leaving (probably 10:00 PM).<br /> <br /> One more note on Harriet. When the Aes Sedai in the below picture came through Harriet noticed her nail polish. She said she loved the color, leaned back and proceeded to kick her shoe off then lifted a toenail painted with a similar color and said, "the color's called 'Rage'" with a mischievous grin.<br /> <br /> <img alt="gallery_28279_270_2399915.jpg" src="http://www.dragonmount.com/forums/uploads/gallery/album_270/gallery_28279_270_2399915.jpg" /><br /> <br /> <br /> <strong>Brandon </strong>was the embodiment of humility. For each thank you he got for finishing the series, he gave a thank you in return to the fan for reading - and it was genuine thanks. He told several people they were his boss, so if they didn't buy his books he wouldn't be able to write them. He fist bumped one long time WOT fan saying that he was right there with him as a long-time fan himself. He has an avid fan base outside the Wheel of Time series, many had gotten into those books because of Brandon's other works. There were also several writers given encouraging words (including at least one Memory Keeper) - he really does support those trying to learn the craft.<br /> <br /> Beyond that, he's just about as close as you can get to being a rock star and still play Magic the Gathering. He signed at least one deck box, one homemade Magic card and one of the Memory Keepers Fireball cards, making it a Bale-fireball. Memory Keeper Mat gave him a framed and signed “Hyrdroblast” #40 of 500 art print by the artist Kaja Foglio from the Magic the Gathering card game. Brandon was very excited that he knew artist but hadn't seen that specific piece.<br /> <br /> <img alt="gallery_28279_270_2652.jpg" src="http://www.dragonmount.com/forums/uploads/gallery/album_270/gallery_28279_270_2652.jpg" /><br /> <br /> When Brandon left it felt to us Memory Keepers like saying goodbye to someone we'd known for some time, not a well-known author we'd just met a few hours before.<br /> <br /> <br /> <strong>Jason </strong>had lines of people waiting to talk to him as well, just people grateful for everything he's done for the fan community. He still managed to get out and mingle with the crowd and us Memory Keepers and jumped in to help wherever he thought it needed. He also got into a commemorative Wheel of Time photo. At the end of the night he mentioned to Brandon that, of all the tours they have done for books 12, 13 and 14, the Sacramento Memory Keepers were the first ones to think of something like that. Brandon got excited and wanted to do one, but we'd already taken the backdrops down and the store was closing so weren't able to get one in. It just speaks volumes for the man that at the end of such a long day of taking in so many interactions he was ready to hang out later to take part in the full experience.<br /> <br /> <img alt="gallery_28279_270_1709.jpg" src="http://www.dragonmount.com/forums/uploads/gallery/album_270/gallery_28279_270_1709.jpg" /><br /> <br /> If you were present at the signing and got a commemorative picture taken, head on over to the <a href="http://www.dragonmount.com/forums/gallery/album/270-sacramento-california-282013/">full gallery</a> to download a copy.<br /> <em>Please note: If you do not see your photo please check back in a few days. Some of the green screen photos are being touched up to fix a few small issues with the backgrounds.</em><br /> <br /> <strong>And for the rest of you who came out, thank you so much for making it such a memorable occasion. It is because of fans like each of you that events like this are possible. From all seven Memory Keepers - Deanna Butler (Aviendha), Jim Firanzi, Julie Kuhn (Birgette), Adam Matthews, Jason Rapp, DJ Stipe (Thom) and Jeff Wakefield (Mat and our first among equals) - a sincere thanks to each of you who attended or watched the live stream for making this stop one to remember.</strong><br /> <br /> <br /> <u>WOT Questions (paraphrased from notes while also taking fan pictures):</u><br /> <br /> When asked how hard the pacing was to get right on AMoL he said that was the most difficult part of the book and that's where most of the revision came in. Follow-up question was asked if he'd written each perspective individually like he had other books and he said that he started out doing that, but as the perspectives began to switch more frequently he stopped.<br /> <br /> The Dark One seems to be conscious and aware of the events in the world. Is the creator also conscious of world events? Brandon said that's left up to the reader. He then said that many people think the voice in all caps in the Eye of the World is the creator, which might indicate the creator was, but stated it really wasn't know even in-world.<br /> <br /> Brandon was asked one question he’d never been asked before. What would he ask the Aelfinn? He didn't know, but said he'd think about it and tweet it...so watch his twitter feed (@BrandSanderson) for that.<br /> <br /> <br /> <u>Non-WOT Questions:</u><br /> <br /> Asked what their favorite animal was, Harriet said an Elephant, Brandon a Dragon (he then revised to say the family dog).<br /> <br /> Someone asked if Brandon intended to write anymore science fiction books. He indicated first that <a href="http://www.brandonsanderson.com/book/Steelheart">the upcoming Steelheart</a> (available September 2013) is a sci-fi, though it's superhero sci-fi. He then said the third trilogy in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mistborn_series">Mistborn series</a> would be science fiction. He explained that built into <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allomancer">allomancy</a> is the ability for faster-than-light-speed travel and that the final trilogy would involve space travel.<br /> <br /> Since many asked this, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stormlight_Archive">Stormlight 2</a> will be out in Christmas 2013 if lucky, otherwise Spring 2014.<br /> <br /> A couple people asked about <a href="http://blog.patrickrothfuss.com/2012/04/alloy-of-law-and-the-gemmell-award/">the Patrick Rothfuss blog</a> and <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/315662446">Goodreads review</a> that mention adding Brandon to a short list of "authors [Patrick wishes] to kill so that [he] might eat their livers and thereby gain their power." Brandon said he wished he could get some of Patrick's powers, that his prose is absolutely beautiful. (Check out Patrick's work here: <a href="http://www.patrickrothfuss.com/">http://www.patrickrothfuss.com/</a>)<br /> <br /> When asked if he ever thought about working a magic card game into one of his book he admitted that he'd toyed with the idea and might like to.<br /> <br /> An entire writer's group (besides Jason Denzel's group, who were also there) came through the line and talked to Brandon together. When he found out they were an unpublished writing group he told the story about how, shortly after having books published, he was at a friend of a friend's house and was introduced as a writer to the host. The host responded, "So you're unemployed." Brandon was excited to be able to tell him "No, I actually get paid for it now." He is very supportive of aspiring writers (if you don't know about it, check out his weekly writing podcast here: www.writingexcuses.com).<br /> <br /> At the end of the night, a store employee was brought over and told a touching story through tears. Her Mother had had some health issues and her younger brother and sister both had a low-performing form of Autism. She said that her brother was inspired by Brandon to become a writer and she thanked him for bringing that to her family - it was very touching.<br /> <br /> <br /> SPOILERS:<br /> If you have read the book there are more questions that involve spoilers <a href="http://www.dragonmount.com/forums/topic/79242-ask-simple-questions-get-simple-answers-amol-version-covering-the-entire-series/?p=2791218">we posted over here.</a><br /> <br /> <br /> Our photo in memorium:<br /> <img alt="gallery_28279_270_13242.jpg" src="http://www.dragonmount.com/forums/uploads/gallery/album_270/gallery_28279_270_13242.jpg" /></p>