News items
Prime Video will host a Digital Watch Party for The Wheel of Time on March 8th, featuring an Early Screening of First Episode of Season Three.
This Digital Watch Party will be available globally on Prime Video on Saturday, March 8th, beginning at 10am PT.
This event will feature a screening of Episode 301, the debut of a two-part behind-the-scenes look at the making of the first two seasons, and an exclusive Q&A with series star Rosamund Pike, show-runner Rafe Judkins and other special guests.
The Wheel of Time Season 3 premieres March 13, 2025 on Prime Video
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Hello, all. Welcome to "WoT If?", Dragonmount's weekly theory blog. For this edition, I want to look closer at the Dark Prophecies we've been given throughout the series. Despothera did a blog on this last year, but I'd like to look at them again; after all, we have different perspectives on many things. 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, or Chapter 11. Please refrain from posting any spoilers from A Memory of Light in the comments section. The spoiler discussion board for A Memory of Light is found here. The first Dark Prophecy we get is in The Great Hunt. According to an interview with Robert Jordan, it's written there by a Myrddraal. The first question I have is why would the Shadow even bother? Why would they want to give any information to the Light? The second question is who made the Myrddraal write it? So, number one, why write it in the first place? We've seen that Trollocs like to write blasphemies to taunt their enemies, but Robert Jordan's quote says the Myrddraal was threatened into writing out the prophecy. He didn't do it to strike fear into the hearts of our main characters. What information in the prophecy does the Dark One, or at least one of the Forsaken, want the Light characters to know? There's plenty of spoilers of the Dark One's plans here; a lot is actually given away. For example, it explains that Lanfear is seeking Rand; we could have figured this out, but now we have confirmation. It also tells us the true nature of Luc and Isam. Why would the Shadow reveal insight to their greatest assassin? That whole last stanza lets the Light characters know about the Seanchan army's invasion. How could that possibly help the Shadow? Let's hold onto that thought and see who ordered the Myrddraal to write this prophecy. There's plenty of intrigue going on in Fal Dara. To the best of my understanding, it happened like this. Ingtar, at the Darkfriend social (The Great Hunt, Prologue), seems to have his strings pulled by Ba'alzamon (Ishamael, at the moment). So, logically, Ishamael is the one who wanted the Dark Prophecy written on the wall in the dungeon. It was Ishamael who wanted to reveal all this information to the Light characters—probably Rand, more specifically. This might be reading too much into it, but there are several theories that say Moridin (Ishamael's latest identity) will turn back to the Light, or that he's been a double agent from the start. With his talk of theology and the nature of good and evil, his desire to see the Wheel broken, plus his reputation for being insane, it's understandable to think he might have ulterior motives when serving the Dark One. Could letting sensitive prophecies, such as this, slip into the hands of the Light characters imply that Ishamael is on their team, giving them aid? Later, though, Moridin seems to have a change of heart. When speaking with Graendal about the Dark Prophecy, he says this: When characters are inconsistent, it points to deeper secrets. The part about Lanfear is interesting: Notice the line about her lover, "who shall serve her and die, yet serve still." Despite the scene in Towers of Midnight when Cyndane begs for Rand's help, I think this prophecy is showing her true intent. Some people believe Cyndane will be the Forsaken who returns to the Light, but I don't think so. In my personal opinion, there are further hints to this in the A Memory of Light Prologue, but I won't go into it here. Now for the part about Isam and Luc: There's a few things to point out. Luc and Isam are merged; we know that. But why does the line, "The hunt is now begun…" come before, "One did live…"? It breaks up the topics. Most believe the first line refers to the Darkhounds hunting, but I'll offer a different opinion. Slayer thinks of himself as a hunter; he also serves the Dark One. Is it possible he's the Shadow's hound? Also, since it's plural, the other hound could be Fain. Then, if that line is also referring to Slayer, it stays on topic, not jumping around. That makes more sense, to me. Another thing to note is the line, "The Time of Change has come." Since this is so ambiguous, I don't think there's much we can say for certain about it. However, I do want to point out that—to the best of my knowledge—the only other time we hear this phrase is from Bair: There has been some debate over whether one of the prominent Wise Ones is a Darkfriend. The two most often suspected are Bair or Sorilea. It seems a bit odd that Bair would use a random phrase we've only ever seen in Dark Prophecy. Since we talked about the Dark Prophecy in Towers of Midnight last week, it got me thinking about the different ways it could be interpreted as well. First off, we can't be 100% certain that the prophecy printed in the Epilogue is the same one Moridin and Graendal talk about. So, maybe they have a different passage that says more firmly that Perrin will be killed by the Shadow, because I don't think the "Broken Wolf" refers to Perrin. First, let's look at the second stanza of the prophecy: Let's take that first line, but remove the dependent clauses: "In that day, the last days of the Fallen Blacksmith's pride shall come." It's easier to see the main point of the sentence this way. My first instinct was, like Despothera said, to think that the pride represents Perrin's wolf pack. They aren't called a pride, of course, I think it's still possible. Other words for pride are: Arrogance (not something Perrin has) Satisfaction or delight (perhaps in terms of Faile) Self-respect (his confidence in himself has grown over the last book). I can see Perrin having pride and satisfaction in Faile, or perhaps in their child. However, Faile getting captured again seems pretty unlikely. Likewise, I don't see him losing all his self-respect or confidence after having just gained it in the last book. His army might count as a pride, but I still think it will wind up referring to his wolf pack. Next, "when the One-Eyed Fool…." Mat has a reputation as the Fool throughout the series. Karede is flabbergasted to find out that "Tylin's Toy" is the one leading the army against him (Knife of Dreams, Chapter 36, "Under an Oak"). He's called "trickster" by the Aelfinn (The Shadow Rising, Chapter 15, "Into the Doorway"). Also, he lost his eye at the Tower of Ghenjei (Towers of Midnight, Chapter 54, "Light of the World"). It seems conclusive this is talking about Mat. But doesn't that seem too easy? Despothera linked the "halls of mourning" to the Tower of Ghenjei, but I'd counter that with this: Mat lost his eye at the Tower, so he wouldn't be called a One-Eyed Fool yet. Ah, paradoxes. I think it much more likely that the halls of mourning will be either a) the burned city of Caemlyn after the Trolloc attack, or b) the city of Ebou Dar where they still might be mourning the death of the Empress. Next, let's look at "First Among Vermin" and "Him who will Destroy." The first might be Rand. There is a parallel between Lews Therin being called "first among the Servants" by Elan Morin (The Eye of the World, Prologue), but Rand really doesn't consider himself the First of anything. Plus, I think it's more likely that "Him who will Destroy" is Rand. It's possible that Rand might be bound at some point during the Last Battle. Then, the First Among Vermin will free him, allowing Rand to "Destroy" the Dark One. Looking at it that way, the First Among Vermin could be Fain, as discussed last week, but it could be Galad. Their blood connection should play an important part in the Last Battle, since he is as much a part of the "Royal line of Andor" as Rand is (The Shadow Rising, Chapter 1, "Seeds of Shadow"). Even the Shadow would consider the Children of the Light to be vermin. On to "the Broken Wolf…whom Death has known…." The Forsaken—if this is the passage they are looking at—take this to mean Perrin. Since Min did see the Broken Crown above him in one of her viewings, a Broken Wolf fits. However, there are many people with connections to wolves, and there are the real wolves too. My first pick would be Ituralde. He is called the Wolf (or Little Wolf) in the prologue of Crossroads of Twilight. He has been broken by his battle in Maradon, and also by the invasion of the Seanchan into his nation. I think Maradon would count as knowing Death, as well. He was left for dead by Rand, completely abandoned. Another interesting theory is that the Broken Wolf is Hopper. We are led to believe that he died during the Tel'aran'rhiod battle in Tar Valon (Towers of Midnight, Chapter 38, "Wounds"). But it could be his soul was being reborn into the waking world. The next bit says the Broken Wolf will fall to the Midnight Towers. Even Midnight Towers is an ambiguous term. The Towers of Midnight is the name for the Seanchan prison (The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time, Chapter 17, "Seanchan"). It's also referenced in Egwene's Dream, symbolizing the thirteen Forsaken (Towers of Midnight, Chapter 3, "The Amyrlin's Anger"). Ituralde could be killed by one of the Forsaken. The same is true for Hopper. However, if the Broken Wolf is Perrin, the Seanchan explanation seems more likely than the Shadow. Perrin did make a pact with the Seanchan; he could be consumed into their Empire. "His destruction" refers to the Broken Wolf. I think Despothera had the right idea suggesting it's about the destruction he (whichever it is) causes, not necessarily his death. Again, I think this would point to Ituralde, since more people would be shaken by his destruction; most don't even know Perrin is alive. Well, hopefully that didn't lead to only more questions. There were a few left to ponder, so let me know what you think. I wanted to get into Mashadar and other things a bit more, but I'm out of time for today. We'll save it for next week. Thanks for reading.
Dear Robert Jordan, Today I read your final book. The end of The Wheel of Time came to my hands nearly twenty years after I first picked up its beginning. It was a story well told, a story whose ending lived up to the promises made so very long ago. I’m writing in order to tell you a little about it. What I’ve loved most about your grand story throughout the years is how true it is. Those who cherish the fantasy genre understand this. Within a story about fictitious people, in fictitious worlds, with conflicts that never actually happened, we have the opportunity to explore what makes us real. The Wheel of Time has, for me, and I suspect for thousands of others, done that better than any of its peers. One of its most fundamental lessons is that time is a wheel, and that endings are simply new beginnings if you have the courage to turn and look the other way. When you died, I had the privilege to visit your home--your Charleston, your Two Rivers. I sat in your chair and looked at your beloved books. I breathed the air you breathed, and I understood a part of you. I met your friends and family, and saw how they defined yet another part. And so today, as I read the ending of your magnum opus, I yet again found a piece of you. In those final, beautiful moments, with tears in my eyes, I understood. I saw why you wanted to write the story. I see the point you were trying to make. And I laughed. It may not have been what people expected, but, to quote Stephen King, it was the right ending. And a glorious one. The Wheel of Time books have ended for me. I cannot deny the bittersweet emotions that brings. But a strong ending gives more meaning to the journey that came before it. Sure, I can pick apart small nuances of this final book that weren’t perfect. Some little parts may not have rung as true as they could have. But by and large, it delivered in a big way. If only you could have seen the specific way in which it turned out. I loved each character’s ending, even if it made me cry. I celebrated victories and gasped at the raw, visceral failures. Rand and Egwene shined the brightest, as I could have only hoped and expected. And there’s that one chapter. Holy smokes, RJ. 50,000 words? Really? Wow. You never met Brandon Sanderson; most likely never heard his name in your lifetime. But I can tell you, RJ, he did an amazing job. He was your steward, and carried your banner proudly into the maw of Shayol Ghul in order to ensure oblivion did not consume the series’ ending. You would’ve be so proud of him. I sure am. A lot of fans are. If you ever meet him, in an unknown place, time, or life, give him a hearty handshake of thanks, and buy him a beer some Magic cards. You should also know that Maria and Alan, your assistants, remained faithful every step of the way. For five years they’ve painstakingly studied, analyzed, corrected, and loved this final book. As I read it, I could clearly see their influence, and I’m so thankful we had them. It wouldn’t have been this good without them. If it would have even been at all. The fans, too, did their part. A small few helped with continuity, and a larger group honors your work every day through their service to the community and franchise. And yet another group, the largest, which spans the whole world, are fans who live and breathe your work. They share it with their friends. They strive to live up to the positive ideals you wrote about. They toast to your memory, and read your books to their children. They prove that a work of fantasy literature can inspire people of any nationality, religion, or political leaning to agree upon something they hold dear to their hearts. Your various publishers have honored your memory by printing your books, and continually putting fresh paint (literally, in the case of the covers) on this series. They’ve sometimes faced criticism, but in the end did you proud. Tom Doherty and his team have led that charge. I spoke to Tom recently and he reminded me that he does it because he’s a fan and a friend of yours. Finally, and most significantly of all, I want you to know that Harriet has been nothing short of amazing. You already know this in a way that I don’t need to describe, but her love for you is inspiring. She’s worked tirelessly since your passing to finish this book. She’s been your captain, and sailed the ship home. Next time I see her, I’ll give her a hug for you. I think a lot of other fans will, too. The most extraordinary thing about all these people, from Harriet to the worldwide fans, is that collectively they underscore the very heart of this book. They prove that life truly imitates art, and vice versa. The Wheel of Time began with you. Its pages began with a single man walking down a ruined hallway. But in the end, the series proved bigger than you, and bigger than that man and his successor. Yours is a story for the Ages. Some may criticize or belittle it, but its sheer scope and influence can’t be argued. The final pages may have been written, but it will live on in memory, community, and (let’s face it) franchise tie-ins. There are neither beginnings nor endings, right? So, RJ, as I finish this letter that you’ll never read, I’m left only with final thanks. Thank you for sharing your vision with me. With all of us. For all the worldwide success and attention this book will bring, it still spoke to me on an intimate, personal level. Thank you for expressing the beauty of your life in these pages. Thank you for giving us what is quite simply the most epic ending to the grandest saga of our time. Thank you for taking us upon a ride on the winds of time. With sincerity, I remain, Your Friend, Jason Denzel Jason@dragonmount.com About A Memory of Light Dragonmount features complete coverage of AMOL. Check back regularly for updates as well as exclusives such as our early review of the book. In the meantime, there's plenty for you to enjoy: 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. Read the opening portion of Chapter 11 for free. Visit our complete AMOL info page. Discuss A Memory of Light on our forums. Follow us on Twitter or "Like" us on Facebook. Please consider pre-ordering the full book through one of our international Amazon affiliates, and help support our website.
Last week was quite busy for us. If you haven't looked at the other front page articles recently, make sure you do. We don't want you to miss out on all the goodies we've been offering! If you're looking for a place to discuss the A Memory of Light Prologue you just downloaded, please head to this thread in our A Memory of Light Spoiler Discussion forum. Be sure to read the rules before posting, and do not put spoilers in non-spoiler areas of the site. The Band of the Red Hand Social Group has posted their next regimental book discussion. This time, they are analyzing the growth of Mat's character in the first two Wheel of Time books. Stop by and see what everyone's saying. The Shayol Ghul Social Group has graced us with quite the amusing picture for their September Caption Faction Contest. It's easy to participate--just vote for the caption that you think best represents the featured picture. There's still time to take part in the Wolfkin Social Group's Nature Scene Competition. All you have to do is create a scene from nature, using such methods as writing, drawing, photography, digital art, or other forms of creativity. The winner will be revealed in October. Finally, as always, you can visit our Twitter or Facebook accounts to follow more of our shenanigans. Have a great week!
It's time for another audiobook giveaway! Yes, you're probably wondering why I didn't post this on Wednesday as originally planned. Since we posted both the A Memory of Light Prologue and our birthday giveaway that day, I wanted to wait so our front page wouldn't explode. Now, without further ado, here are the rules again for those who aren't familiar with our giveaways: This time, we will be giving away a copy of The Path of Daggers. Macmillan hasn't sent me the clip for it yet, but I will add it as soon as I get it. This giveaway's question is: Which Wheel of Time character is the most similar to you? You have until Wednesday, September 26th to answer in the comments section. Good luck!
Although many Wheel of Time fan artists are dedicated solely to the Wheel of Time fandom, many more either don't have the time or don't have the inclination to dedicate countless unpaid hours to the continued production of Wheel of Time art. For this three week series, the Fan Art Friday spotlight is on those lesser-known Wheel of Time fan artists who nonetheless demonstrated such impressive talent that I was compelled to hunt down their galleries and dig through their non-Wheel of Time works. Just a quick note: This week, most of the Wheel of Time fan art I'm featuring falls more on the "inspired by" side of things. I apologize to all you hardcore fans of canon. The art next week will be truer to the series, and then we'll be back to our regularly scheduled programming. 1. ~aphostol Above (In memory of Robert Jordan): The Wheel of Time Below (original photomanipulation): True Romance 2. *medders Above (Wheel of Time): Moiraine Below (original work for Cyberpunk Co-op Action RPG Project Lodus by Leviathan Interactive): Project Lodus Underground City 3 3. Miles Collins (~NMEZero) Above (Wheel of Time): Some Wheel of Time Character Below (original work for the comic Mortifera): Mortifera 4. Krista A. Leemhuis (*krazykrista) Above (inspired by The Path of Daggers): The Rider Below (original work): The Wisdom of the Forest 5. ~leilasedai Above (I've featured this one before, but it's her only Wheel of Time art and I really like it!): Red Ajah Below (original work for The Pantheon Project, written by Erik Taylor): Pantheon Project Issue 01 Cover
My reread was postponed until after A Memory of Light was released, so I was kind of stumped about what to do for this week. I've been enjoying some time off from work lately playing Guild Wars 2, Final Fantasy XI, Final Fantasy XIV, Dragon Ball Online (Taiwan version), and Tera Online. I've played a few others as well, but those are my preferred choices. After checking in on Dragonmount, I decided to go back to one of the games and it hit me--I like MMOs, so why not write an article about them?! I'm not going to get too deep into individual game specifics, but I will touch a little bit on the neat things that make the games stand apart. First, as you can tell, I'm really heavy into gaming. I run multiple accounts in several games so that I have a pocket healer or a place to stash extra stuff. Aside from that, I generally play a legit system, where I'm not running third party applications like the majority of the gaming community that goes endgame. MMOs need the following things to really hold my attention: an in-depth storyline, better than average graphics, challenging endgame content, intense battle systems, and unique class systems. All of the games I listed above have at least one of those things except Dragon Ball Online (only due to the fact that I can't read it.) Below, I'll go into a little detail about each game. Guild Wars 2: I actually had no intention of buying this game. I stumbled across the last collector's edition box at the store the day it was released, and since I was slightly miffed that I did not get the CE of Diablo 3, I bought it on a whim. A good selling point on this game is that it is free to play (or F2P for the gamers out there), so you can play it when you want for however long you want and your pockets aren't getting any lighter unless you are buying Gems from the online store. Some of the big things I enjoy in Guild Wars 2 are the crafting system and music. I'm a bit picky when it comes to crafting systems. Most games get it wrong or make it too hard to get materials; however, Guild Wars 2 makes it easy because each craft other than cooking only has one primary material for each tier. It also allows you to level up your profession as you level your craft. My main character right now is level 40, and about half of those levels came from just capping Jewel crafting to 400. The music is epic, but I won't get too far into that because I plan on doing a video game music article soon. Final Fantasy XI: This was the first true MMO I played, and this game is by far my favorite. I have been playing it for six years now, and I still try squeeze in a few hours a week. I bought this game because of the franchise name; I've always been a fan of the Final Fantasy series, so this game was a no brainer for me.The plotline is unique. It's not the same "go here, kill this" type of MMO that some of these newer games are. There are a lot of side quests like that, but the main storylines are something more. The Chains of Promathia and Treasures of Aht Urhgan storylines were two of the greatest storylines I have ever seen, even beating out some of the regular RPGs out there. The music was really good, and so was the job system. There are twenty unique jobs to choose from, and you can go to town and change jobs at any given point so you aren't stuck on the same job throughout the entire game. Seekers of Adoulin will be coming out in 2013. If you don't count the three scenarios and the three Abyssea sets as expansions, this will be the fifth expansion of the game. Although I love this game, I don't recommend picking it up as a new player. Due to the age of the game, it has become not very beginner friendly, and all that's left are the hardcore endgame players. The endgame in this game is rather intricate as well, requiring a diverse set of jobs to successfully clear events. Final Fantasy XIV: Like XI, this game was a must have whether it was top notch or a flop. The original release flopped, but Square Enix has made huge improvements since then. Final Fantasy XIV has improved on the job system of XI, and there are several battle mage jobs or attacker jobs with a two tier system. The base class allows for major cross-class customization for solo play versatility. Tier two is more structured for group play; however, you cannot unlock tier two until the base class is 30 with a second class being 15 (based on the base class). Again, like other Final Fantasy games, the music is top notch. The big thing that's new to XIV that XI didn't have is amazing visual graphics. The cutscenes still lack the voiceovers of later MMOs, but sometimes games are better without voiceovers. I recommend getting this game after the big revamp in December if you're going to get it, since it sounds like SE is releasing a lot of new stuff with it. Dragon Ball Online: This game was more of just a fanboy type situation. I grew up watching Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, so I had to at least try it. Currently, there is no English release for this game. The last I heard was this game will be released in English sometime in 2013. I play the Taiwan version of the game. It's difficult to play a game you can't read, but not impossible. The Taiwan version at least is free to download and play if you can manage to set up an account on the website. Overall, it's your standard "go kill this and come back" storyline with a few twists, since it allows you to play through some of the iconic scenes from the anime even though your character is technically fiddling with time. The class system is subpar; you get three races to choose from--Human, Namekian, and Majin. From those three races, you get two classes to choose from that have two paths later on in the game (though I'm not that far in the game). Honestly, this game is more suited for the anime fanbase and not the MMO community, which is not a bad thing, but it makes it a different kind of atmosphere in my opinion. Tera Online: Tera is another game I played a foreign version of before its English release. Tera is now out in English, but I started on the Korean version. The big thing about Tera is the combat system--it's not a tab target auto-attack system. In Tera, it's hack-and-slash realistic combat. If you stand still in front of a creature, it's going to hit you, and there is no accuracy rating. You need to either block or evade depending on your class. The visual graphics in the game are insane; to play it on max settings, you need a decked out computer. The crafting system is simple but expensive. You have to buy certain materials and buy most recipes. Overall, even though it's your standard "go here and kill this" type of MMO, the combat system makes up for it most of the time. There is also a unique prologue function when you create new characters. You can try them out at level twenty before you really start at level one and it gives a bit of back story to why you're in the starting area.
"By Grace and Banners Fallen", the prologue to A Memory of Light, is now available! Due to some unforeseen mix-ups with other vendors, Tor decided to release the eBook prologue several weeks in advance of the original October 2nd release date. “By Grace and Banners Fallen” is available now for $2.99 as either an ebook or audio download. The DRM-free eBook version is directly available on our website. If you already pre-ordered the book, make sure you are logged into our website and go to this link to download the prologue. A man who loves the hunt begins a new pursuit, red veils appear, and one of the Forsaken stands newly revealed. The forces of the Shadow swell in triumph as the world unravels. By grace and banners fallen, the Last Battle has come. The full prologue is a lengthy, action-packed chapter that has intense scenes and some great surprises. "By Grace and Banners Fallen" is the final Wheel of Time prologue. There's no doubt that Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson left some great surprises for us. If you intend to buy the eBook prologue, please consider doing so from our website. You'll get DRM-Free versions for both the Kindle and ePub. You'll also be helping to support this website. It has been a tradition of the series since Winter's Heart (released in 2000) where the prologue was released as an eBook several months in advance of the actual novel. The prologues tend to be about 40,000 words; or the length of a short novel. For many fans, paying $2.99 is worth getting that much content, especially when it is released 3 months before the full book. We certainly think so, especially when "...one of the Forsaken stands newly revealed!" About A Memory of Light Dragonmount features complete coverage of AMOL. Check back regularly for updates as well as exclusives such as our early review of the book. In the meantime, there's plenty for you to enjoy: 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. Read the opening portion of Chapter 11 for free. Visit our complete AMOL info page. Discuss A Memory of Light on our forums. Follow us on Twitter or "Like" us on Facebook. Please consider pre-ordering the full book through one of our international Amazon affiliates, and help support our website.
Fourteen years ago today Dragonmount first went online. We had only a handful of members, a couple of message boards and absolutely no idea where this ride would take us. Today we are the largest Wheel of Time fansite, with thousands of members, and over two hundred message boards being posted to daily. We've gone from being excited to have more than one person at a time online, to working directly with Tor Books, Team Jordan and Brandon Sanderson to bring you the latest in Wheel of Time news and community updates. The experience has been frankly humbling, for both Jason and myself. We are truly part of something greater than ourselves at Dragonmount. What's a birthday without presents? In honor of our birthday we are giving away three sets of awesome Wheel of Time bumperstickers and maps. To win a set, just comment here wishing us a happy birthday. We'll pick three random winners. Tai'shar Dragonmount!
SCENE 1. HORN OF VALERE OPENING MUSIC: (BRIDGE) OPENING FANFARE, ESTABLISH THEN FADE UNDER NARRATOR Ladies and Gentlemen, Ear of the World Theater presents "The Horn of Valere," a radio mystery in four parts. We now begin. MUSIC: (STING) DRAMATIC OPENING, FADE UNDER FOR TITLE, QUICK FADE AFTER TITLE NARRATOR The Horn of Valere MUSIC: (BRIDGE) SOFT AND SLOW BIG BAND INTRO, NOIR STYLE, FADE UNDER Mat [reminiscing] It seems like an age long past since the troubles began, but standing here in the thick of it, I'm sure there's more yet to come. The winds had blown a storm into town that fateful day. I should have seen it as an omen of a beginning, for that was the day [pause for emphasis] she came to town. SCENE 2. ROOM INSIDE INN. EVENING (Rain falling outside window. Sounds of someone flipping through papers, humming slightly. Sturdy knock at the door) Mat You can come in. (DOOR OPENS, MAN WALKS IN) Bried, Landlord Mr. Cauthon, I'm here to remind you about the agreement over the month's rent? Mat Yes, I've got your money right here. (COINS PULLED OUT OF BAG, PLACED ON TABLE, THEN PICKED UP) Bried, Landlord [counting] Five, Ten, Fourteen. And will you be staying another month? Mat No, I finished up my last job here and I'm looking to move on tomorrow Bried, Landlord Well, Mr. Cauthon, I'll be missing your company around the bar. Not so much the fights, as it were, [chuckle] but you do tell good stories. Mat And you, Mr. Bried, serve good ale to go along with those good stories. Is there anything else? I'd like to finish up some notes I'm keeping. Bried, Landlord Well, now that you mention it, there's a man that's was asking about you earlier. [gossiping] Dreadful looking man, armed and with the face of a man accustomed to being in charge. He left a letter for you, said he'd be in town through tomorrow night and that he might have a job for you. [hands over letter] Mat Thank you [thoughtful grunt as he looks at the seal, speaks next bit quietly to self] Is that a crane of some kind? [Louder, to Bried] Did you read the letter yet? (SOUND OF PAPER BEING UNFOLDED) Bried, Landlord [blustering] Why, Mr. Cauthon, the very idea of my snooping into a guest's message! [nervous] That and the, uh, gentleman in question made it clear that I was to leave it be, or else. Mat [Reads letter, is obviously distracted by whatever it contains] What? Oh, yes. I suppose so. [pause for thought, still distracted] If you could send Seraen up with some food in a little bit? I think I'd like a meal to eat while I think over this letter. Bried, Landlord [brightly] Of course, Mr. Cauthon. I just ask that, what with tonight possibly being busy at the bar, you not help her to dawdle at all? Mat That shouldn't be a trouble at all. (FOOTSTEPS WALK AWAY, DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES, FOOTSTEPS CONTINUE DOWN THE HALL. SOFT TREAD OF FOOTSTEPS TO DOOR, DOOR OPENS SLIGHTLY, THEN CLOSES) [quietly, to self] Well, that was most interesting. [reading letter softly aloud] Meet me at the Horned Stag, will be wearing green cloak next to lady in blue dress. [scoffs] Yeah, because that's going to stand out so well in a crowd. [pause] Come armed? [thinking aloud to himself] Blood and ashes, that's the bit I don't understand. Why tell someone to bring a sword, unless they're expecting trouble. Even then, I haven't talked my fees with him yet, let alone received any money, and already I'll be thrown into the thick of it. (KNOCK ON DOOR) Mat Ah, good. Dinner is here. Hopefully there should be some decent wine. (FOOTSTEPS, DOOR OPENS) [Frightened] You? NO! MUSIC: (STING) (FADE OUT ALL SOUND) MUSIC: (BRIDGE) MELODIC THEME, FADE UNDER Narrator This has been Part One of "The Horn of Valere," an Ear of the World production. Who are the mystery man and woman at the Horned Stag? Who was at the door? Where exactly are the jokes I'm supposed to be telling? These questions and more will be answered, so stay tuned for Part Two, coming after this commercial break.
Welcome back to "WoT If?". As promised last week, this is my take on the possible outcomes of Padan Fain's presence in the last book. 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. First, let's start with a quote from Robert Jordan: So, according to this, it'll be easy to sort it all out. Now, what the HECK is Fain? He was a Darkfriend for forty years before the story started. When the Seals began to weaken, he was picked to become a Hound for the Dark One, sniffing out the Dragon Reborn. He had his memories "distilled" (The Eye of the World, Chapter 47, "More Tellings of the Wheel") and fed back to him. Then, ordered by Ba'alzamon (Ishamael), he began his hunt for the three ta'veren. Along this chase, he encountered Mordeth in Shadar Logoth and merged with him, becoming a combination of their two personalities (The Great Hunt, Chapter 49, "What Was Meant to Be"). To understand more of Fain's current state, we need to find out more about Mordeth. Mordeth, according to the glossary in The Great Hunt, was a councilor for the king of Aridhol. Obsessed with his hatred for the Shadow, Mordeth sought ways in which to conquer the Dark One once and for all. He wanted to accomplish this by any means necessary. This is important because to Mordeth, the end justifies the means; that is, he's not concerned about who is harmed as long as he achieves his goals. This principle led to the city of Aridhol using methods as evil as the Shadow's. An interview with Brandon Sanderson shows Mordeth's obsession with finding something that could beat the Shadow: Another interview speculates about what choices Mordeth made in his battle against the Shadow: Which of the Finns did Mordeth see? My guess would be both. So, he had three answers and three gifts. What would they have been? There's a lot of room for interesting speculation here. I won't go too much into it, but it seems like the Aelfinn gave him good answers—since he did go through with his plans—and he did receive something, from the Eelfinn or elsewhere, that made him gain these unnatural, evil powers. Hypothetically, one of those questions might have been how to defeat the Dark One. As we know, the Aelfinn give riddles for answers, so Mordeth probably acted on their advice the wrong way, leading to his, and Aridhol's, downfall. Personally, I'd guess that his actions will still aid Rand in re-sealing the Dark One, which would fulfill the riddle given by the Aelfinn, but probably not in the way Mordeth expected. Just a guess. The combination of Fain and Mordeth—we'll still call him Fain—gains some incredible powers, which increase as the story continues. Those powers include, but are not limited to, creating illusions. In fact, I was surprised to stumble upon an interview that said Fain was responsible for the visions Rand saw of Trollocs attacking a family (The Great Hunt, Chapter 10, "The Hunt Begins"). I always credited this to the "woman in white" (Lanfear). However, we see in the prologue of Towers of Midnight that Fain's illusion abilities have morphed into a sort of zombie-creating mist. I think this is an evolved version of Mashadar. Besides the illusion and Mashadar, I don't think we have a clear understanding of what kind of powers Fain has. That leads us to the heart of the discussion: what will Fain's role be in the Last Battle? There are many theories out there already; I've found five that seem plausible. And on a side note, I'm going to point out that Padan Fain is not going to have the same fate as Gollum. There's been a lot of comparison between the two, so here's Brandon Sanderson saying so: 1. Fain will kill one (or some) of the Forsaken. This one stems from Fain's line in Winter's Heart where he said, "He [Rand] belongs to me" (Chapter 22, "Out of Thin Air"). This theory suggests that Rand will be fighting the Forsaken, most likely Moridin, and Fain, in a jealous rage, will kill the Forsaken. This is very believable, and could easily happen. In all likelihood, the Forsaken will have all their attention focused on Rand. Fain could slip in unnoticed and easily do away with the Forsaken. We know that Fain is heading to Shayol Ghul, in order to meet Rand there (Towers of Midnight, Prologue). However, how safe will Fain be near the presence of the Dark One? He's got powers to protect him—and his zombified Trollocs—but there are some pretty scary creatures on the slopes of Shayol Ghul. Also, with the price on his head, and assassins (Slayer) after him, Fain would be an easy target out in the Blight. How will he go about hiding until the Last Battle starts? 2. Fain will kill Rand. This is the same as the one above, but substitute Rand for the Forsaken. Distracted by fighting, Rand could easily be killed by Fain in the same fashion. There are a couple of arguments against this one. First is Alivia. She is supposed to help Rand die (Winter's Heart, Chapter 25, "Bonds"). So, if Fain kills Rand, Alivia doesn't. Unless, of course, she is a Darkfriend, or some other sort of evil creature, who has sided with Fain and helps lead him to Rand. Second, there's been a big Rand/Ishamael rivalry going on since book one. Having Fain turn up and kill Rand would be unexpected, but not in line with the rest of the flow in the series. Most of us believe it will come to a Moridin and Rand showdown. 3. Fain draws the Dark One. I found this one on the Dragonmount forums, posted by bmunge. I'll expand on this a bit and say that since we do see the Taint and Shadar Logoth's evil battling one another, there could be a connection, or attraction, between the two. If, after Rand breaks the Seals, the Dark One gets free, he could be drawn to the anti-Shadow evil of Shadar Logoth. All his negative effects and powers could shoot straight into Fain, rather than at Rand and the rest of the world. That would be very interesting, and not at all expected, I think. 4. Fain breaks the Seals. This came as a surprise to me. I naturally assumed Rand would break the rest of the Seals, because he told Egwene he would. But some argue that the Dark Prophecy at the end of Towers of Midnight might refer to Fain, not Rand. Here's the quote: From this format, we may think the One-Eyed Fool is Mat, the First Among Vermin is Rand, and the Fallen Blacksmith is Perrin. Since three people are listed, our first thought is of our three ta'veren. However, these phrases are a bit vague. There are plenty of men with one eye (Uno?), many who can fit the description of First (Galad and the Whitecloaks?), and tons of blacksmiths (Aiel?). However, the logic of it being Fain who breaks the Seals stems from his overwhelming hatred for the Dark One: he'd unleash his anger and break the Seals. That seems almost counterproductive. If he hates the Dark One, wouldn’t he want to keep him sealed up? 5. Fain is the buffer against the Dark One. This one sort of evolved from the theory that Fain will be a buffer against the Dark One's backlash. However, I think saidar and saidin working together will be enough to keep the backlash from taking effect, if there will even be a backlash. If I understand correctly, the Dark One struck out blindingly when he was sealed by Lews Therin. It happened to hit saidin and taint it. I don't think it was actually planned. Fain being a buffer against the Dark One seems plausible. As I said before, the Shadow and the anti-Shadow evil of Shadar Logoth are enemies. The two wounds in Rand's side show that they battle against each other, almost negating the other's evil effects. If Fain could get close enough, he could negate the Dark One's power, allowing Rand to seal up the Bore. To do this, Fain's hatred for the Dark One would need to be more than his hatred of Rand. This could only happen if Rand is already dead, or if Rand is able to convince Fain to fight the Dark One instead. Is Fain past reason? Can Rand talk him into a different course of action? Brandon Sanderson did say this about Fain being sealed in with the Dark One: However, that could just be Brandon trying to get us off the scent. The best argument for this theory is Robert Jordan's insistence that Fain is unique to this age: If Fain is unique, that means something like him—and his counter-evil—hasn't been seen before. I think this piece of information could lead to the eradication of the Dark One completely. It could be the end to the battle, making this the Last Battle in truth. Ishamael has insisted that this battle happens every time the Wheel turns, but we do know that it's been called the Last Battle for a reason. Are we actually going to have the ending, not an ending? Out of all the five, I think the first and last (even without the ending of the Wheel) are most likely, though all could be possible. We'll conclude this week's edition there. Come back next time and we'll take a look at Dark Prophecy, among other things.
It's already time for another roundup! This week just flew by. We've spent a lot of time talking about good books on these forums, but which books have you struggled to finish? Come to the General Discussion forum if you want to warn people about boring books you've read. The Artists, Crafters, and Writers Guild has brought back its monthly challenges. The September Challenge is Let There Be Light! Use your art or craft of choice to demonstrate how that phrase inspires you. The Black Tower Social Group has invited a special guest to discuss health and fitness with them. There are sure to be some good pointers in this thread, so check it out. The Shayol Ghul Social Group just began a new version of their Gossip Ghul newsletter. Read this if you want to know what the members of this group have really been up to lately. Calling all gardeners! If you enjoy this pastime, join the Wolfkin Social Group for their discussion on gardening. What is in your garden, and what would you like to have in it? That's it for now!
I struggled to come up with a topic for Fan Art Friday this week. I spent a long time flipping through my art collection, mulling over all the ideas tucked away in the back of my mind, but nothing I could think of sat right with me. Finally, I realized my problem--no matter what topic I picked, I always found myself falling back on the same artists. My undying love of ~solitarium, *fee-absinthe, ~Forbis, *RoseMuse, and the many other cornerstones of the Wheel of Time fan art community aside (some of whom I've featured many times before, some of whom are still waiting in the wings), I finally had to face my fear that the world of Wheel of Time fan art just wasn't big enough to warrant a weekly post. Discomfited, I did what any self-respecting scientist would do. I went looking for evidence that I was wrong. I looked past the most well known and prolific Wheel of Time artists, focusing my attention instead on the nomads of the fan art world, the devious denizens of the doodle-and-dash. For the next three weeks, I've decided to push the boundaries of my role as a curator of Wheel of TIme art in order to demonstrate the surprising breadth and staggering talent of the Wheel of Time art community. For each artist, works on the top are inspired by Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time. Works below are original works (or fan works for other series) by the same artist. I hope you are as amazed by this hidden wealth of talent as I was. Note that, while many of these artists are professionals, none of them (to the best of my knowledge) are officially licensed Wheel of Time artists. 1. ~Mudora Above (Wheel of Time): Rand and Mat Sketches Below (original work): We Are the Secret Books 2. Paul Duffield (deviantART gallery: ~spoonbard, online portfolio) (This week he posted a beautiful painting of Rand and the girls called "Distractions Outside the Void." It's rated R for full frontal nudity though. Consider yourself warned!) Above (Wheel of Time): Twice, the Heron Below (commission for a multi-media fiction called Runaway Girl Army): Die Database 3. ~Lorrain Above (Wheel of Time): WoT 6 (Egwene and Graendal) Below (original work): Rest 4. ~Stuuuuu (online portfolio) Above (Wheel of Time): Bain and Chiad Below (original work): Ambush 5. Michelle Tolo (~Manweri) (Okay, so her art is actually very well known in the Wheel of Time fan community. But I couldn't resist featuring her non-Wheel of Time art anyway!) Above (Wheel of Time): WoT: Ta'veren Below (original work): Quest for the Dragon Treasure
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