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DRAGONMOUNT

A WHEEL OF TIME COMMUNITY

It's the first Wednesday in April, so it's time for another audiobook giveaway! Here are the rules again for those who aren't familiar with our giveaways:       This month, we will be giving away a copy of The Great Hunt. Click here for a clip from the audiobook.   This month's question is: What is your favorite scene from The Wheel of Time? You have until Wednesday, April 11th to answer in the comments section. Good luck!

By Dwynwen, in Audio Books,

Good tidings, my talented guests of Dragonmount! Welcome back to "It Works in Theory", Dragonmount's intermittent Wheel of Time-themed theory blog. I'm sure I could come up with some playful banter to waste some time before the disclaimer, but since I'm guessing many of you might have been anxious for another dosage of "It Works in Theory", I'll go ahead and skip the theatrics in favor of getting to the proceedings (somewhat) quickly.   WARNING!!! Spoiler Alert!!! WARNING!!!   This blog is based on theories that will include facts and material from the latest books in the series, so if you have not read through Towers of Midnight, continue reading at your own risk! "It Works in Theory" is best enjoyed from multiple psychological perspectives within each individual. Dilution of the signal by perceiving it through only one personality or that of a relatively sane individual will only serve to diminish the strength and clarity of the signal, resulting in confusion and lack of comprehension. "It Works in Theory" assumes no responsibility for those rare cases in which the consumer actually claims that of competent and clear mental faculties.   We shall belatedly continue the "Darkfriend Appreciation (Month)" this week by examining a very peculiar character indeed, Mazrim Taim. He has long been a figure of much speculation and pondering, and he also seems to have a fairly strong role yet to play in the last book. Ever since he was first introduced into the storyline, multiple questions have constantly revolved around him. His blend of offhand casual insanity and calm calculation makes him an interesting character to theorize about because the reader always gets a sense he is plotting something rather elaborate. He also carries a good bit of power with his office, controlling a growing force of Shadow-controlled Dreadlords who will surely be very deadly in the Last Battle. Before we continue on the many ideas and questions regarding Taim, there is first one issue that we might as well go ahead and cover right out of the gate.   Taim is not Demandred. Many seem to have independently arrived at this conclusion after reading the series, and even after rereading and researching key parts. Indeed, this issue seems to have gotten almost as much attention over the years as the famous "Asmodean's Murder Mystery" spectacle got. There are many clues which seem to suggest this idea may be true, which I will get to a bit later. Nevertheless, we have had several times in which Robert Jordan himself discounted the theory:           I hope there aren't too many people out there who are disheartened by this information; I know it seemed like a perfect fit. After all, Taim is said to be extremely powerful in the One Power. He has been able to channel for far longer than most men and doesn't seem (completely) insane yet. Even his use of phrases and mannerisms seem to suggest that Taim could actually be a Forsaken, and Demandred to boot. Alas, it was not meant to be. We'll cover who Demandred's alter ego might be (or if he has one) in a future blog, but for today we can still discuss the questions concerning Taim's origins.   The easiest part to explain is Taim's ability to channel and not be completely maddened by the Taint. He is obviously a Darkfriend, and more than likely due to the strength of his power has the Dark One's protection from the Taint on saidin. Even with his protection, there are more than enough examples of Taim having little slips of insanity. His power level is somewhat irrelevant, as we've seen several Third Agers who have seemed to sprout out of nowhere with unusually powerful abilities with channeling. Interestingly enough, though, his decorum and phrasing are the most interesting aspects about the "Taimandred" theory.   Mazrim Taim seems to make some odd slips of the tongue throughout the series, and these vocal phrases and utterings have drawn a fair amount of attention from theoryheads on this and other websites. The most famous is probably the "So-called Aiel" line he drops in Lord of Chaos:     Only one other person in the series uses this same way of referring to the Aiel: Moridin.     There are other explanations for this phraseology, of course. Assuming Mazrim Taim was knowledgeable about history and translation of words from the Old Tongue, he would understand the irony in the People of the Dragon referring to themselves as Aiel. Aiel, as you may remember, means dedicated in the Old Tongue; however, the Aiel of today are no longer dedicated to the same set of morals and values that they once were. There are a couple of other important slips, though, that start to make this harder to explain away so easily.   When Taim is first learning more of how much Rand knows about channeling, he sees Rand demonstrate opening a gateway, and Rand describes what he's doing:     Yet later, Taim expresses astonishment at Rand's lack of knowledge of other channeling fundamentals:     Rand never mentioned Traveling, yet Taim obviously sees that the gateway Rand opened was used for none other than Traveling. Once again, this might be able to be explained away on its own, but together with the "So-called Aiel" comment and this last example, it really starts to become a stretch.   The last example comes from the book title of the last few quotes, an utterance that becomes both something of a motto and an order to anyone trying to further the Shadow's goals: "Let the Lord of Chaos rule." The directive is handed down to the Forsaken, and they mention it in passing several times in the span of a couple of books. Yet when the group of Red Ajah Aes Sedai from Elaida approach Taim about bonding some of his Asha'man for Warders, Taim catches both the Aes Sedai representative, Pevara, and the reader alike off-guard when he uses the phrase as well:     The other parts about this theory that interest me are Taim's choice of decor. He definitely seems to favor red and black, which Moridin also seems to favor, and the dais he uses to address the Asha'man, made of a strange black rock, seems like it might perhaps be able to trace its origin to Shayol Ghul. Even more interesting, when Pevara is first being brought into the Black Tower and is describing some of the details she notices, we catch something interesting:     There have been two other circumstances in which we have seen similar markings, and both were in adornment of something a Forsaken owned. The first was Belal's coach in The Dragon Reborn:     Then we see it again in the meeting that Nynaeve and Birgitte spy on in Tel'aran'rhiod:     There's really no easy explanation for this; the symbol is too similar to the ones used by the Forsaken to be mere coincidence. So, if Taim isn't Demandred, could he be another Forsaken? All the other clues would point to it being Moridin if he WAS one of them, but I find this highly unlikely because Taim would have to be present and active in the Black Tower affairs to keep a good eye on things, and Moridin is way too busy with other Nae'blis stuff. In all actuality, Taim is probably just Taim, not some other Forsaken's alter ego or avatar.   That still leaves some unanswered questions, however. Taim definitely seems to exhibit the habits of a channeler from the Age of Legends. I personally would be very excited if this was the case, for I have long thought that this could be the case. Perhaps he was a channeler from that Age but just wasn't infamous enough to earn the reputation that the Forsaken earned. If this was the case, though, there would need to be an explanation for where he had been the past 3,000 years. It's possible that he was Sealed in the Bore with the other Forsaken, perhaps near the surface, and stole out in time to become a false Dragon. This seems kind of unlikely, but other explanations start getting even more flimsy (he was stuck in a stasis box, or he was on another Portal World whose time moved much faster than ours). So, the Age of Legends channeler idea might be nixed.   A much simpler explanation for Taim's odd behavior and sayings would be that he is being controlled and directed by the Forsaken, and that their habits are wearing off on him. This explanation definitely seems to fit best with the whole "Let the Lord of Chaos rule" comment. Some even think Taim might be in the process of being groomed for a "new" Forsaken position, perhaps along with Alviarin (the head of the Black Ajah). This is speculated because of one scene in which a Forsaken meeting seems to have two extra chairs set out. I can see both sides to this debate: with some of the Forsaken balefired out of existence, I could see the Dark One wanting to "fill in the ranks" so as to better prepare the Shadow for the Last Battle, but I could also see the other Forsaken having a serious problem with this. They more than likely think that the less of them there are, the more power they will each get to split with one another, and I don't think they would show any mercy to a "new" Forsaken because of this.   Alright, we're several paragraphs in, have a bunch of quotes from both the series and the author himself, and we've established that Taim is not Demandred, but that he's still kind of odd. Well done so far, if I do say so myself. So the next question is, what shall be his fate in the last book? At this point, I think it's safe to say that his fate is intertwined with that of Logain's; those two have been gearing up for a showdown for quite some time. What will happen, though? At first glance, Taim seems to have a decidedly significant advantage. He has more channelers on his side, the Forsaken and other nasty foes in his corner, and also has had much more time with which to plan whatever it is he's been planning. But we know that Logain is destined for glory, so really the main query would seem to be how Logain ends up taking him down.   I actually LOVE an idea that one of my readers posted in the comments section for my blog on Logain, and in fact, I was fairly envious that I had not thought of it first:     Grifter7 was gracious enough to point out how I had forgotten to include Logain's ability to see ta'veren, and he points out a VERY good example of how this ability could become very significant. Really, I don't have much to add to his thoughts, since it really does seem like a very good possibility at this point. Great job, Grifter. It's good to see my theorizing and general prognostication are rubbing off on some of my readers (just kidding).   Don't worry, I'm not going to just leave it at that. Taim deserves a bit more, and seeing as how he is fairly loony himself, I don't mind borrowing a couple of theories from the "loony bin." Two things have always piqued my interest when discussing Taim. The first has to do with a very nefarious process we learned about early in the series when Egwene was completing her test for Accepted: the 13 x 13 trick. Just as a refresher, if 13 channelers use 13 Myrddraal to focus their channeling, they can initiate a ritual in which any channeler can be turned to the Shadow forcibly, no matter how strong the will of the channeler being converted. That's pretty nasty business. It looks like we already have evidence of it happening at the Black Tower:       One of the funny things is that although I have probably discussed 17 different ways that we could end up seeing Dark Rand 2.0 in the last book, I've never really focused on the 13x13 trick being the way that he is converted, even though it's probably one of the most feasible ways it could happen. More importantly, though, the method can be used on ANY channeler, so we could very well see someone else kidnapped and brought to the tower and be in danger of being turned to the Shadow. We all know the stage is set for a big battle scene in Caemlyn somewhere around the start of A Memory of Light. It's very easy to believe that when Elayne finds out about her city being attacked, she will want to personally Travel back there and try to restore order. Maybe we'll see her, or another major character that can channel, being carted off to the Black Tower in order to be converted to the Shadow. Even if the ritual is stopped before fruition, it would definitely help add a good bit of tension to whatever rescue operation ends up going down.   The second "out there" idea that I've always kind of focused on in my research has to do with something that Taim brought to Rand in their original meeting. He brought Rand one of the Seals to the Dark One's prison, claiming to have been given it by a random farmer on a trek back from Saldaea. Aside from how sketchy Taim's story is for where he got it, we first would have to wonder why a Darkfriend, one as high up as Taim, would be fine handing over a Seal to Rand. We know that several attempts have been made by those controlled by the Shadow to recover the other Seals Rand has in his possession, so it's obvious the Shadow has some small desire to get those back. One obvious motive for Taim could have been to try and earn Rand's trust by giving him such a token, and this actually kind of works to some extent. But this seems like a small reward for giving away one of the keys to Rand defeating the Dark One at Tarmon Gai'don.   Then I read something from one of our discussion threads in the Wheel of Time discussion forums. In this post, one of our intuitive readers suggests that the Seal Taim gave Rand is actually a fake, and that this is part of a semi-elaborate ruse on Taim's part to try and help undermine Rand's attempt to fight the Dark One. Basically, the theory goes that Rand has to "clear away the rubble"--that is, he has to destroy all the Seals on the Dark One's prison so that he can perhaps construct a new prison for the Dark One. However, Rand already knows that with every Seal that he destroys, the Dark One gains that much influence on Randland. And he also believes that to do it right he has to destroy the Seals at Shayol Ghul, which just so happens to be the strongest area of the Dark One's power.   What if Rand gets there, prepared to destroy the Seals and remake the Dark One's prison, only to realize at the last second he has only destroyed six of the seven Seals? Unable to continue his plan, he would suddenly be at the complete mercy of Shai'tan, and would have only a single moment to curse Mazrim Taim's name before being consumed by Darkness. A scramble would ensue, not only to try and keep Dark Rand 2.0 from terrorizing the countryside, but also to find the last Seal pronto so that Rand's plan can be finished. I, for one, find it to be a completely evil idea and a very interesting possibility indeed.   Well, that's all for this week. I hope you enjoyed reading today's blog, and I'll try my best to keep getting these out to you with somewhat more regularity. As always, let me know what you think in the comments section, and be on the lookout for the last "Darkfriend Appreciation Blog", which will focus on a very interesting Darkfriend indeed! Adios!

By hazelkrs1, in Theory Blog,

I hope everyone got through April Fool's Day unscathed! We had our share of pranks for the holiday, such as a pretend new Social Group and an elaborately created fake staff board. Take a look at these links quickly, since they will only be up for a few more days. Now that things have calmed down around here, let's look at what's going on this week.   The term "ageless" is thrown around a lot in The Wheel of Time when Aes Sedai are being described, but does anyone know what agelessness would actually look like? If this question intrigues you, head to the General Wheel of Time Discussion forum and share your thoughts.   The second season of the television show Game of Thrones has begun! Did you watch it last night? If so, what did you think of it? If you want people to discuss it with, we have the perfect thread for you in our TV Show & Sports Discussion forum.   Who knew that the members of the Shayol Ghul Social Group had a hankering for haiku? I certainly didn't, but it seems to be the latest trend over there. I see a few different threads, including this one and this one.   It's time for the Green Ajah's Feast of Fools at the White Tower & Warders Social Group. Check out the link for a full guide to the games, fun, and insanity.   The role play Of Swords and Sons has had several updates since I last reported on it. If you haven't read it yet, be sure to take a look.   If it's been awhile since you've checked our Twitter and Facebook accounts, you may have missed out on some interesting chatter. We'd love to see you there!

By Dwynwen, in DM Website news,

Welcome back, dear readers! We've updated and changed some things around the site since the last roundup, including the site skin. What do you think of the new look?   Now that nominations are a thing of the past, it's time to vote in the Empy Awards! Be sure to stop by and contribute with your votes. The more people we have voting, the better the results will reflect the true preferences of our site's members.   Here's an interesting topic I've never encountered before: Who is the most "tortured soul" in sci fi/fantasy? Come to our General Discussion forum and see if you agree with the picks so far. There have been some intriguing characters listed, not all of whom are predictable choices.   The Hunger Games (both the book and movie versions) is on everyone's mind lately, particularly since the movie just came out and seems to be a big hit. Have you seen the movie? If so, how was it? Be sure to stop by the thread I linked above in the Movies & Games Discussion forum for all the hype.   The Aiel Social Group is hosting their first ever Clan Wars! See who wins in this series of games, scavenger hunts, and more!   Have you read the latest entries in "The Gossip Ghul"? That's right, in addition to being evil, the members of the Shayol Ghul Social Group love tabloids. If you still can't imagine what their favorite tabloid is like, just head over and see for yourself!   Our role players have the Green Ajah out of the Tower because of a book. If you're wondering why the Greens would be going on an adventure that sounds more like a Brown Ajah member's idea of a good time, check out the role play And All for a Book.   Have fun with the goodies I posted above, everyone!

By Dwynwen, in DM Website news,

Ta'veren Tees has once again produced an astounding work of art. This one is based on fan favorite Mat Cauthon:  

By Dwynwen, in Community & Events,

Regular observers of our boards probably have been aware of all the fun happening with our Wheel of Time cage matches. Well, we learned from the best: Suvudu. "For the past few years, Suvudu has been the home of Cage Match, where we pit fantasy and science fiction characters against each other in a March Madness-style bracket."   March Madness? Wait a moment--is that not precisely the month we are in? Yes it is, so it is once again time for the epic Suvudu cage matches. For a list of which characters have been chosen to participate, you can have a look at the Character list. To see who will be competing against whom, you would be best served by looking at the Bracket.   Since it's far into March already, the competition has advanced to the 3rd Round, which will determine who makes it into the Round of 8. Current combatants are Saphira vs Zaphod Beeblebrox, who are standing in a very close lockdown in regards to votes, and Anomander Rake vs Bast, with Anomander taking the lead. The winning combatants of those two battles will in turn be fighting against each other in the next round. Moiraine Damodred vs Jardir is one to fuel our Wheel of Time pride, seeing as Moiraine is taking the lead and the other battle in that bracket is Kelsier vs Ray Lilly, with Kelsier taking the lead. On the other side, we have Revan vs Mr. Wednesday, with their votes being but 1 or 2% apart, and Granny Weatherwax vs Napoleon (on a dragon), with Granny taking the lead. In our last bracket we have Julia Wicker vs Kylar Stern, with Kylar taking the lead by far, and the last match is between Erevis Cale vs Rachel Morgan, with Erevis narrowly taking the lead by 1%.   The voting for the Round 3 cage matches closes ON THURSDAY, MARCH 22nd, 2012, AT 5 PM, EST. That's later today, so if you're not liking one of the current winners, you'd better rally your voters and see if you can change the outcome.   Now, we all know that the original knock-out stages are never as fun as the more important battles. As such, I think reading the next set of battles, with the voting due to start on the 26th of March, will be quite the fun activity. So, be there or miss out!

By Tynaal Consen, in Rotating Features,

It's time for more wallpaper! Remember, during the weeks between Brandon Sanderson's "musings" on each Wheel of Time book, Tor.com will post eBook art wallpaper for each of the books.   This week, the featured eBook wallpaper is for The Shadow Rising. The artwork is by Sam Weber. Here is the image:         Go here to download different sizes of the wallpaper and to read more about how this art was created. How do you like the art this week?

By Dwynwen, in Community & Events,

Check out this press release for some exciting news:  

By Dwynwen, in JordanCon,

Today's roundup will be a little shorter than usual because my Internet is being mean to me and running extremely slowly. I still made it here, though!   I'm still accepting applications for the Fan Art Friday blogger position. Remember, you have until Sunday, March 25th to apply.   There's still time to send in your Empy Award nominations. Nominating will end soon, so don't forget to stick around for the voting phase of the process.   The Wolfkin Social Group is discussing travels this month. Have you moved a lot or lived in any interesting places?   Our role players are re-opening the Haus of Three. Come see what all the fuss is about!   The JordanCon programming schedule is now posted! I'll be there, and I'm looking forward to what they have in store for us.

By Dwynwen, in DM Website news,

It's time for another Tor.com feature! This week, Brandon Sanderson shares his thoughts on The Shadow Rising. You can read the full article here.   Next up will be an eBook wallpaper for The Shadow Rising.

By Dwynwen, in Community & Events,

It's that time of the week again! I hope you are excited about the audiobook giveaway I started on Wednesday. That's what I was referring to earlier in the week when I said I had something up my sleeve.   Speaking of opportunities on the front page, I'm looking for a new Fan Art Friday blogger. Jenn sadly no longer has the time to devote to it. She did a great job with it, so please feel free to comment and let her know she'll be missed. You can visit this thread for application information if you're interested in the position.   Now that the Hollywood awards season is winding down, it's time for our annual Empy Awards! These are our membership awards, where we like to honor people from all parts of the site for various things. Head over to the link I posted above to participate.   The Aiel Social Group's March discussion is all about books! What are your favorite books and series? What recommendations would you make to people?   It's time for another Shockwave Competition at the Black Tower Social Group. Many of you know the drill by now, but if not, instructions are in the thread. You have until March 24th to nominate a game.   The Wolfkin Social Group invites you to play Animal Pictionary. Sounds intriguing, right? If you want to play, or even if you just want to see how they manage to run a Pictionary game online, check it out!   Imagine waking up in the morning not knowing where you are or how you got there. For some people, this situation is all too common, and for others, it is a downright scary thought. Either way, the role play The Morning After sounds like it's worth a read.   Well, now that my roundup is done for the day, I'm off to nominate people for the Empy Awards. I hope to see you all there!

By Dwynwen, in DM Website news,

So, seeing as doomsday is ticking closer day by day, I thought it would be fun to have a look at the other books written by Robert Jordan.   There are quite a few other works out there. Personally, I always thought that all he ever created was The Wheel of Time since it seemed more than enough of a legacy, but there is more. In addition to the main sequence of Wheel of Time books, there are a few additional ones. I would say the most well known is New Spring, in which we follow Moiraine's journey as Accepted during the time of the Aiel War and birth of the Dragon. I would have to say that it is definitely a book you should read. Moiraine and Lan meeting is priceless. One also gets more of a glimpse into the life of Lan and comes a little closer to understanding him. The other book that gets mentioned a lot is The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time, also known as the Big White Book. This is essentially a reference book with all you need to know about the world that our characters inhabit. Also included in this book is a short story by Robert Jordan called "The Strike at Shayol Ghul". Both the Big White Book and New Spring are books that are a definite must have for your Wheel of Time collection.   Have you ever wanted to let your younger children read The Wheel of Time? Apparently, it is possible, at least for the first two books. Both The Eye of the World and The Great Hunt were repackaged into four books suitable for a younger market. There are also the three graphic novels that have been published so far, which are definitely worth a look.   The other series by Robert Jordan I was surprised to discover are Fallon (which was written under the pen name Reagan O'Neal), Conan the Barbarian, and a last novel called The Cheyenne Raiders (under the pseudonym Jackson O'Reilly). Fallon is a historical romance series set in the American Revolutionary War era that revolves around a central character Michael Fallon who becomes an indentured servant, begins his fight against poverty, and falls in love with a woman who will never be his. Conan the Barbarian returns Robert Jordan to the world of fantasy, where he essentially revives the classic legendary sword and sorcery of Conan. The last book, The Cheyenne Raiders, is kind of a western story. It's about a normal, urban man who gets involved with the mysteries of the Indian tribes and gets dragged into their world.   While I will definitely read the Wheel of Time based novels and those about Conan, I'm not really into romance or westerns, so I'll give them a pass. Nevertheless, one thing that this expedition has taught me is that Robert Jordan was definitely a man of very many talents.   Happy reading, folks!

By Tynaal Consen, in Rotating Features,

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