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A WHEEL OF TIME COMMUNITY

I hope that those of you who celebrated Thanksgiving last Thursday had a wonderful time and aren't feeling distressed about overindulging in delicious food.   Those who have cherished The Wheel of Time for years have assuredly experienced a myriad of emotions while reading. We may have chucked the books across the room in frustration or cheered with triumphant glee. The fans in our General Wheel of Time Discussion forum would like to know about the moments that made you laugh out loud. Which scenes tickled your funny bone?   If you are a fan of George R.R. Martin, you know that the waiting time between books can be long. A thread in our General Discussion forum poses an interesting question: Do you think Martin's slower writing pace will affect book sales of other authors?   It's rare to find a thread so popular that it has been actively posted in for years, but you need look no farther than the Band of the Red Hand Social Group's Music Game for an example. Come check out the fun!   The Shayol Ghul Social Group is playing a rousing game of Truth or Dare. What crazy antics are they up to now?   Those role players must have caught on that I am drawn to the stories with the juiciest titles. A new role play called Secrets has already sparked my curiosity.   If you're in a Seanchan mood, check out the role play entitled The Test is Never Wrong and the A'dam Doesn't Lie. It follows the same characters we met in From Human to Property a few weeks ago.   If you go here and download issue 300 of The Drink Tank, look for article #273. Our very own Jennifer Liang has written about how we can try to get Robert Jordan a posthumous Hugo Award. For more news like this, check us out on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+.

By Dwynwen, in DM Website news,

The evening began with the amusing sight of Brandon Sanderson piling various items of furniture on top of one another to create a home-made lectern for his laptop. Following a brief aside on the difference between a lectern and a podium (and how this plays into the editorial process), Brandon read from a novella he’s recently written. Apparently, he started it on the flight back to the US the last time he came to the UK. He couldn’t work on the Wheel of Time since he was awaiting the outcome of some research on the notes. He went on to explain that Robert Jordan left a pile of notes roughly half Brandon’s height that his two researchers dip into when Brandon needs an answer to one of his questions. This is normally quick, but it can take several months to come up with a fully researched answer. The reading lasted about eight minutes and seemed to be from the beginning of the novella. I won’t spoil the concept, but it’s clever and deeply silly.   The evening then moved to a Q&A. Questions and answers are paraphrased from my notes and memory, so they won’t be absolutely word-for-word, but they shouldn’t be much different from the original conversation. I’ve included all the questions, not just the Wheel-related ones.   Q: Can you give any advice to fantasy writers on creating magic systems? A: The most important thing about a magic system is what it can’t do, not what it can. The limitations of a magic system are commonly what drives the plot in a fantasy novel. One novel I’m working on involves a magic system where individually, people don’t have enough magic to do anything major. However, you can give your magic to someone else, and if you can get around 50 people’s magic, then you can do something interesting. But giving away your magic makes your world that bit darker. In such a world, it doesn’t actually matter then what the magic does; it’s more about whether you choose to sell yours or try and get someone else’s.   The second point is to consider how the magic system interacts with the setting. How does it affect the economics, social structures, and religious make-up of the world? For example, in the Wheel of Time, the clear gender difference in the magic--men go mad and women don’t--has affected the whole pattern of gender relations in the world in ways that can seem very bizarre to us. It’s also important to give magic a visual or sensory component. It’s tempting to have all the magic played out in the minds of the mages, but this can be boring to read.     Q: How does compounding work in Mistborn? A: I can explain this better in person because I know things that the characters in the book don’t. So, they haven’t worked a lot of this out. All the magic systems in my work are linked because the books all take place in the same universe. In Elantris, magic works by drawing symbols in the air. What actually happens is that when they draw a symbol, energy passes through it from another place (which is my get-out for the laws of thermodynamics) and the effect of that energy is moderated by the symbol. In one case it may become light, in another it may become fire. In Mistborn, the metals have a similar effect. The magic is not coming from the metal (even if some characters think it is). It is being drawn from the same place and moderated by the metal.   In the case of Feruchemy, no energy is being drawn from this other place. So, you spend a week sick and store up the ability to heal. It’s a balanced system, basically obeying the laws of thermodynamics. So, while it’s not real, it’s still rational.   In compounding, when you have the power of both Allomancy and Feruchemy, you draw power from the other place through the metal and it recognizes the power that is already stored--"Oh, this is healing, I know how to do that”--and so you get the power of Feruchemy but boosted by energy from the other place. This is how the Lord Ruler achieved immortality.     Q (my question): In Towers of Midnight in Egwene’s confrontation with Mesaana, how was Egwene able to override the a’dam when Moghedien had so spectacularly failed to do so earlier? A: Brandon accused me of being a Theorylander then thought for a bit. He explained that, while the answer might not give anything away, he was loath to go into detail in case it could be used to work out other things yet to come. So, regretfully, he gave it a RAFO.     Q: Having worked on Robert Jordan’s world, is there any other world you would like to write for? A: When I was 18, I would have said David Eddings, but that’s not true now. He’s wonderful at the right age, but I no longer want to write in his world. I would have said Star Wars but the prequels left a bit of a sour taste. If George Lucas said to me, "Do you want to re-write those prequels for me?" I’d definitely say yes, but that’s not going to happen!     Q: Is there anything earlier in the Wheel of Time that you would want to change? A: No. There are things I would have done differently if it were mine, but that’s not the same thing. I don’t approach the Wheel of Time as wanting to fix it. Instead, I think about how I can do it justice. There are clear differences in some areas and I have to deal with that. For example, Robert Jordan's and my action sequences are very different. That’s because he had been in Vietnam and had actually been shot at, whereas all my experience comes from action movies. Also, I treat magic a little differently, so sometimes that carries over into the text.     Q: Your writing style in the Wheel of Time is very close to Robert Jordan's but is much less so in your other books. Are you frustrated by having to write in Jordan's style? A: Not at all. But I have to change some things as I go to make it work my way. I have complete creative freedom, so I don’t find it constraining. I write what I need and then Harriet checks it. If I can get it past her then I know it’s right. Besides, constraint can be really useful for a writer as it fuels creativity. If you have a dry patch (as all writers do) then a really odd writing task, like having to write about sentient vegetables taking over the world, can push you in new directions. So, I have been creative in the Wheel of Time and I have put some audacious things in there. But Robert Jordan was already an audacious author. For example, cleansing the Taint before the end of the series was an audacious piece of writing. So, I have freedom, but if something is in the notes, we always try to include it. The only time we don’t is if he wrote about something that happens to a character in one part of the notes, then contradicted it elsewhere. In that case, we have to make a decision. Also, sometimes the notes say a character will do something, but I can find no way to get them where they are supposed to be to do it. In that case, we sometimes have another character do it instead, but I can talk more about then when A Memory of Light is out.     Q: A lot of your work deals with stereotypes. Can you tell us more about that? A: It’s true, but I always make sure that it isn’t just about the stereotype. It’s a fun thing to challenge some of the classic fantasy models, but that shouldn’t take over the writing as that can really undermine a writer. Piers Anthony was an example where the puns were fun but eventually came to undermine the series. I like having non-stereotypical professions and I enjoyed challenging age perceptions in Way of Kings. Having a romance between a man in his 50s and a woman in her late 40s is unusual in fantasy, where it’s all about the young man falling in love.     Q: Does the Oath Rod limit Aes Sedai age by using their life force to power the Oaths? A: I’m 85% sure on this and you’ll have to ask Maria for confirmation, but no, the effect is not caused by draining the Aes Sedai’s life force. I’m not going to tell you what is causing the effect.     Q: Were Ruin and Preservation two shards or one? A: They were two shards. Harmony is considered a shard, although it’s really two, in the same way that a king of two countries would still be considered a king.     Q: Do you miss characters when you “write them out”? A: Nice euphemism. I miss writing for them but it doesn’t shock me because I generally planned it that way, so I have time to prepare. I don’t see myself as killing them. Instead, I allow them to take risks and pay the price for those risks. Mostly, I know well in advance what will happen to a character. Just occasionally, though, the plot will suddenly take me to the point when something has to happen, then I have to go back and re-write the outline. I don’t sit there and think, “Now who won’t they expect me to kill," although I suspect some other authors might do that. (General laughter ensued at that point.)     That was the end of the Q&A. It was followed by a signing in which people got to ask their own questions. Obviously, I didn’t hear all the answers, so I only have the two I asked.   Q: You’ve said previously that when you were a young man you identified with Rand over the other boys, but now you’re older, you identify more with the older characters. Do you think when you are 80 you will identify with Cadsuane? A: Maybe with Thom Merrilin. I think I would need to be the full 300 to completely identify with Cadsuane.     Q: Why did Grady and Neald stop tying off gateways? A: They found that it didn’t work as well as they originally thought. Tied-off gateways behaved in strange ways; they were inefficient, ineffective, and unpredictable. There was also a considerable continuing cost to maintaining even a tied-off gateway. I can’t remember exactly when the change happened, but I think it was Jordan who made it. You can armchair this and see that he had to create a reason why they didn’t just tie off gateways all the time. If they could do that, then they would just have gateways everywhere and that would be that. So, he had to have an in-book reason to explain an out-of-book issue.

By LordJuss, in Brandon Sanderson,

This Friday may be known as Black Friday to most, but for us, it's Black Ajah Friday! Our friends at Ta'veren Tees would like to celebrate with you by having a "Black Ajah Friday Sale" this Friday, November 25th. For the entire duration of the day, every shirt will be 20% off! This is an incredibly generous offer, so definitely take advantage of this great opportunity, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

By Dwynwen, in Community & Events,

Vandui', my vigorous visitors of Dragonmount! Welcome to yet another weekly installment of "It Works in Theory," the world-famous Wheel of Time focused theory blog that resides on Dragonmount. I only say world-famous, by the way, because some friends of mine recently doubted the popularity of my blog, and I figured that if I start hyping it more, then eventually it might actually become world-famous. So, get out and start spreading the word! But first, go ahead and read my disclaimer (and the rest of my blog, I suppose):   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! As always, take whatever I say with a grain of salt. After all, even though some of my ideas might seem completely spot on, other ideas used to be very popular as well and turned out to be completely false. The earth used to be thought of as flat, then it was the center of the universe and brontosauruses had two brains, and then there was intelligent life in the universe (obviously, we know that last one is completely ridiculous). Anything you see written down in black and white can't be taken for complete truth, and the world is all shades of gray anyway. However, if you read something in other colors, you can take that straight to the bank.   Okay, where shall we begin? Well, let me first say that some parts of what I speculate about today will more than likely not be any huge revelations, but some of the stuff that takes me there is somewhat interesting. I'm going to be partially discussing the fates of the two Towers today (no, not those two, Tolkien fans), the Black and the White. I'll be frank at this point: I think it's fairly evident that both Towers will not exist in the same environment or fashion that they did before. The Seanchan will be invading the White Tower soon in force and with the aid of Traveling, and the Black Tower has already been Foretold to be "rent in blood and fire" by Elaida in A Crown of Swords.   So, what does this mean for the fate of Randland as a whole, with the Last Battle looming and in the wake of Tarmon Gai'don? Well, let's first take a look at a couple of quotes:       In this case, you can actually just ignore all the text, and instead pay close attention to the parts I bolded. Those are meant to be the cities in the Fourth Age that the quotes are taken from. Incidentally, you can find a great essay that covers all of the Fourth Age "prophecies" on our WOTFAQ by visiting this link. Does anything about their names look a little peculiar to you? Try breaking them down a bit. Taralan. Great Arvalon. Seems like both cities borrow part of their name from Tar Valon, the city in which the White Tower sits. This could be just a coincidence, but does it really seem like Robert Jordan would have had that much trouble coming up with names that sound a little more different than that? I think this could be a subtle hint as to what might end up happening with the White Tower.   The theme of sociological roles of gender has played a heavy part in the series, showing what might happen in a society where the power has shifted so greatly in favor of women. I'm not trying to make this a sexist grouping of thoughts by any means, by the way, but it's fairly obvious that things were better in the Age of Legends when men and women worked together to create absolute marvels. The Choedan Kal is just one of the incredible items they were able to create, and overall, society seemed to be flourishing during that time. Once the Breaking of the World occurred, however, the power shifted greatly in favor of women because of the general distrust of many towards men who could channel.   Unfortunately, the Aes Sedai over the past few thousand years have only succeeded in making this division and imbalance worse. Not only have they heightened the sexist attitudes throughout their society, but by creating separate Ajahs within themselves, they have prevented themselves from being more efficient in aiding the people of Randland. All this has helped create the perception many have when reading the books that the Aes Sedai are all a group of bickering old politicians, or worse. Personally, I find them to be a charming bunch of little old ladies who just so happen to have a few more tricks up their sleeves than most.   On the other hand, besides the fact that it is being controlled by a maniac in Mazrim Taim, the Black Tower is suffering because of its lack of checks and balances. It could benefit from the stricter bureaucratic nature of the White Tower. Unfortunately, I'm not really sure if it will have the chance to gain more stability since there will most likely be some kind of climactic confrontation in the last book. Knowing how well the Asha'man are trained in destructive weaves, I don't expect to see much of the Tower standing in the aftermath.   In fact, I see kind of a funny comparison that can be made between the White and Black Towers and the Republican and Democratic parties in the United States. The White Tower members are the elephantic Republicans, with their conservative policies and traditions. The Black Tower members are the burro-like Democrats, being a little more idealistic in nature, but lacking the organization to hold themselves together well enough.   So, what does this have to do with Taralan and Great Arvalon? Well, both the Aes Sedai and the Asha'man will need a new home once both of theirs are damaged. Doesn't it make sense for them to learn to coexist once again, build a new tower that they can share together, and work together once again in helping to aid the people of their land? Not a White Tower or a Black Tower, but instead a "Gray" Tower. If you say the name of one of the Fourth Age cities, it even seems to be some subtle foreshadowing of this society. Great Arvalon, Great Arvalon...Gray Tar Valon?   I imagine the new Tower will be built on the site the White Tower sits right now. The two cities I mentioned seem derived from Tar Valon, so it might be that the island of Tar Valon gets split in two in some kind of catastrophe, which would explain why two cities become founded with such a similar name. It could even be that they aren't both cities, but one has sprouted off the other. Perhaps the Gray Tower even gets its name because of the fact that the walls of the White Tower themselves might become stained with said catastrophe, be it an attack from Seanchan or Shadowspawn, or even an eruption of Dragonmount. Either way, the new Gray Tower would hopefully represent more of a university and learning center instead of the political entity that the White Tower represents. It would strive for advancement of society as a whole, instead of seeking to manipulate the nations of Randland to achieve its own ulterior goals. There is already a hint of Asha'man and Aes Sedai working together, which we see when Egwene visits Tel'aran'rhiod to meet with several allies:     The window Egwene is referring to is the one that was constructed to hide the eyesore of a huge hole that was blown into the wall during the Seanchan attack. When it was built, however, it contained only the Flame of Tar Valon and didn't include the Dragon's Fang symbol like it did in her dream. At the Thirteenth Depository, there is a page that examines and discusses all of Egwene's Dreams, and it suggests that this is a symbol for how the world will eventually respect Asha'man on the same level as Aes Sedai. What if this vision should be taken more literally, however? Perhaps the ancient symbol of the Aes Sedai will be brought back once again and restored as the proper symbol that will unite both men and women once again. They will be united again, not just in channeling the One Power, but in wielding power and influence in general so as to help recreate the proper balance that existed in the Age of Legends. Now, if only we can get some true gender equality in our own world, then we'd really be on the right track to utopia!   Like I said, this might have not been some huge eye-opening revelation for some of you. Luckily, however, I decided to play some of my cards close to the chest this week and make this topic a two-parter. I can hear some of you groaning already! Don't worry, I'll make sure to make it worth the wait. Until next week, my fellow fans of fantasy, when we will cover "The Amyrlin's Anger".

By hazelkrs1, in Theory Blog,

Welcome back, everyone! Things likely will continue to be a bit quieter than usual this week because it's almost Thanksgiving in the USA, but I'm sure activity will pick up again once December has started.   If you are anxious for updates on Brandon Sanderson's progress with A Memory of Light, you are far from alone. Join other excited fans in our A Memory of Light Non Spoiler Discussion forum to stoke the fires of anticipation.   Attention video game fans! If you are enjoying the new Batman: Arkham City game, come to our Games & Tech Discussion forum and let us know what you think of it.   The Aiel Social Group will be commencing their first Wasteland Auction soon. Instead of trading with coins or points, you can trade in honor and obligation. This looks like it will be entertaining, so go sign up!   The holidays are upon us, and the White Tower & Warders Social Group is taking advantage of this opportunity with their annual Holiday Cookie Exchange. If you're fond of gooey, sweet, crunchy, crumbly, flaky, fruity, fluffy, or festive treats, be sure to check this out. You have until November 30th to sign up. Please make sure to read the guidelines in the thread before deciding if you can participate.   Being a new novice is hard enough, but it is even worse when you must remain in the White Tower after hearing distressing news from home. Read Silent Tears for a heartfelt role play that might even make you shed a tear.   There are still ten days left to enter the JordanCon fundraiser drawing for a chance to see your name in A Memory of Light. For more updates like this, be sure to visit our Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ pages.

By Dwynwen, in DM Website news,

After a particularly boring episode of Come Dine with Me, I started giving the whole idea of dinner parties some thought and came to a conclusion that I thought might interest all of you out there. I decided any Wheel of Time fan would be a spectacular host. Just look at it this way: How often do you encounter an Oriental or Exotic theme? I personally have never heard of anyone having a Wheel of Time or Lord of the Rings inspired meal. It would be quite the experience to geek out in all parts of your life.   To enable such an experience, I spent some time trying to find places on the Internet that seemed to have respectable Wheel of Time inspired recipes. For some general recipes written by the members of the site, I suggest you check out TarValon.net's Library. If you would prefer to cook something up on the dark side of life, have a look at tWoTcast's old-fashioned Trolloc recipe and their recipe for Muradin's eyes. And for those of you needing a laugh today, here's a recipe to brew up your very own Forsaken.   Sadly, there weren't many places I could find recipes, but a great idea would be to simply let yourself be inspired by the Wheel of Time as others have been. Find something in the books that you think sounds superb and just create your very own version of it. I, for one, am definitely going to try my hand at making some honey rolls. If you manage to make your special Wheel of Time treat, let us know about your story of success.

By Tynaal Consen, in Rotating Features,

Pardon my language in the title, but once you've set your eyes on this shirt, you'll be prone to fits of cursing too! Let's see what the owners of Ta'veren Tees have to say about their new shirt:     Well, what are you flaming goose-brains waiting for? Go buy a shirt!

By Dwynwen, in Community & Events,

Dia dhóibh, my deft disciples of Dragonmount! Welcome to another week of "It Works in Theory," Dragonmount's fun little theory blog in which I get to mess around. In case you hadn't noticed, we've changed things up a bit and you'll now be able to find me on Tuesday instead of Monday. I hope the alteration doesn't throw any of you off too much; personally, I'm kind of excited to get to change things up a bit. Hopefully, I'll be able to use this new-found energy to stand and deliver another entertaining entry for you today. And now, for this week's disclaimer:   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! All information contained in this blog is correct at time of publishing. Immediately following that moment, however, all bets are off. In fact, by the time you actually read anything here, it is most assuredly incorrect and completely false. There might be a brief window where the information can suddenly become correct again after being processed inside your cranium; unfortunately, this window usually passes without you realizing or even getting the chance to acknowledge it.   Alright, so the topic I thought we should cover this week is actually coming in from a personal request, and it's a topic I was happy to cover anyway, so we should be able to have some fun with it. We are going to be discussing the nature of the flaw that Cadsuane revealed to us in The Path of Daggers, when she told Rand that to wield Callandor safely, he would need to link with two women and relinquish control of the flows.     So, the big question is, which two women? The thing is, so much can happen between now and then in the last book, that this is actually a tough issue to narrow down to two candidates alone. You know what that means: we get to do another list this week! I know, I know, that seems to be my thing lately, but honestly, even though I think I have a fairly good idea about who it may end up being, I don't want to miss the opportunity to write about some of the other candidates. To make things a little easier this time, I'll try to group the candidates together according to their likelihood that they'll end up being in the circle with Callandor. Some of the main attributes I'm looking at with these candidates are strength with the One Power, impact on the storyline so far, relevance to prophecy/foreshadowing, level of trust earned with Rand, and possible dexterity in being able to manipulate saidin through Callandor.   On the point of strength in the One Power, there is an extremely comprehensive and well-deduced ranking of female channelers within the series on The Thirteenth Depository, and you will probably see me reference this list when comparing strength in saidar. You can find a link to that article here: Saidar Strength Ranking.   Group A: The Really Dark Horse Candidates   Sharina Melloy   Just to refresh your memory, Sharina is the imposing old member of the Kin who joins the Salidar Aes Sedai in The Path of Daggers and quickly becomes an important member of the group when it comes to organizing novices and generally keeping the camp in order. The main reason I'm bringing her up is that the main front-runner candidates are often brought up because of their strength in the One Power, and yet Sharina is one of the strongest female channelers in the entire series. She at least has more potential than Nynaeve, who herself is already on par with the weaker female Forsaken. However, it doesn't seem likely that she'll take part in this circle, mainly because as powerful as she is, she'll more than likely be both organizing and Healing during the Last Battle, as this is where her true strengths lie.   Incidentally, there are only three female channelers that we know of who are stronger than or as strong as Nynaeve besides any of the Forsaken. Sharina is one, and I'll cover another later in this blog, but the third, Talaan din Gelyn, could possibly have a major role to play in the last book. She is a Windfinder for the Sea Folk and is said to come "very close" to Nyneave's strength, but based on the last we saw of her in Crossroads of Twilight, it appears she was kidnapped. It could be possible that she already was a Darkfriend, or she perhaps has been turned to the Shadow since then.   Egwene al'Vere   Egwene is certainly strong enough in the Power, and she's definitely had a major impact on the series so far. However, I don't find it likely that she'll be in the circle with Callandor. She'll probably be busy with a lot of other things in the last book, considering she IS the Amyrlin Seat after all. I wouldn't completely dismiss her, though, because she showed how capable she can be leading a circle when she defended the White Tower against the Seanchan attack, so she could bring something else to the table with her iron will and dexterity. That was with saidar, not saidin, but still.   Cadsuane Melaidhrin   This ancient battle-axe of an Aes Sedai wouldn't hesitate to get her hands dirty helping Rand whoop up on some Forsaken butt, and she definitely has a lot of advantages that others on this list lack. She has considerable strength in the One Power, being only one level below Egwene, but has FAR more experience with actual weaves and how to apply them than pretty much any other non-Forsaken channeler in the series. More importantly, she seems to have intimate knowledge of Callandor, since she was the one who uncovered the flaw in the first place. I actually feel somewhat hesitant putting her in this group, but I just don't see her as an obvious choice for the linking. Rand trusts her now, but there's still a weird vibe between the two of them, and she did mess up pretty badly letting the male a'dam slip into enemy hands. She seems to enjoy more of the advisor role now anyway, and I find it more likely that she'll be helping watch Rand's back during the encounter.   Group B: The Middle of the Pack     Aviendha/Elayne Trakand   From the quote above, we see that Rand has decided that Nynaeve will definitely be one of the women in the circle (more on that later), but he also throws out Aviendha and Elayne as possible candidates for the second women in the circle. They both definitely have a ton of things that help make them good choices as potential candidates. They're both very powerful at channeling, basically equal to Egwene's strength. They both have unique talents regarding angreal that could possibly help in the situation. Elayne is able to create ter'angreal, and could probably craft an angreal as well if she tried hard enough. She seems to be particularly adept at studying the inner workings of ter'angreal, which allows her to replicate them; this could come in handy if she was allowed to study Callandor before the event. Aviendha has a Talent for being able to surmise the true purpose of a ter'angreal, so she too might be able to have slightly more understanding of the sa'angreal were she to be chosen. Obviously, Rand trusts them both completely. They could even be connected to the circle because of their relationship to the prophecies, which vaguely could be referring to a linking with Rand that turns out catastrophically.   And yet, they don't really seem to be front-runners. First of all, both of them could be busy with their own plotlines. Elayne is Queen to her people and might choose their safety over linking with Rand, and Aviendha could be seeing to the future of the entire nation of the Aiel. Second, Elayne is pregnant, and Aviendha could be pregnant by then as well. The last thing Rand would want during the fateful encounter against the Dark One is for Elayne or Aviendha to not be able to properly channel because of the difficulties that come with being pregnant and trying to hold onto the Source. Not just that, but because of their love for Rand, they might compromise the situation at an important moment, and Rand will probably realize this. Still, either one of them could very well be one of the women who link with Rand; it wouldn't surprise me too much since he already suggested it himself.   Tuon Athaem Kore Paendrag   Some of you might be thinking, "Huh?" Others might be sputtering in outrage, yelling, "You stole that from Terez!" Don't worry, calm down everyone, and I will explain. Terez did give me permission (as if that was necessary haHA!); in fact, I have proof: Terez acknowledges one of my posts. That's from a thread on our forums where other Dragonmount members are also discussing who the women who help to wield Callandor could be. Please feel free to join in on that discussion as well. Okay, now there's probably still a group of you who are confused, being that Tuon herself has never directly channeled in the series. It's already been revealed to the readers that any sul'dam also has the potential to learn how to channel, a secret that will eventually send great reverberations throughout the Seanchan Empire once it becomes more well-known. Tuon is described as a particularly skilled sul'dam who has worked her entire life refining her ability to control damane. In fact, she is the only sul'dam we've seen who is able to direct the weaves herself through the damane instead of commanding them to do it themselves. We know this because of the scene in Knife of Dreams in which Tuon controls Joline and Teslyn Sedai through a'dam that are placed on them before they can react, then attempts to send flows towards Mat. All of the channeling that is performed during this scene was done without any verbal commands.   So, we know that Tuon has the potential to channel, and possibly might even have a dormant spark in her. She more than likely wouldn't have a lot of strength once she did begin channeling, but strength might not be as big an issue as many think. After all, there would be PLENTY of raw strength in the One Power coming from Rand and Callandor itself. Tuon also has an interesting connection to the prophecies as well; it could be said that having her link with him could be a form of Rand "binding the Nine Moons to serve him" since Tuon is the Daughter of the Nine Moons. She also believes herself to have an extremely important role to play in the Last Battle, according to her interpretation of the Seanchan prophecies. She also might have a particular skill in leading a circle because of her skill as a sul'dam.   All that being said, I decided to put her in this group instead of the front-runners because it does seem to me that Tuon has some big marks against her. She still has to be forced to confront the fact that she can channel, and then would probably have to train somewhat to be able to get comfortable with channeling directly. Then there's the fact that after her impending second attack on the White Tower, it will be hard to believe that Rand will find it easy to trust her as much as he would need to in order to link with her. Also, she might be busy leading Seanchan troops into battle. She would be a nice surprise as one of the Callandor wielders, though.   Group C: The Front-Runners   Nynaeve al'Meara   We know from that quote I referenced that Rand has already asked Nynaeve to be one of the women in the circle with him; in fact, he's certain that he wants her to be one of them. We know he trusts her completely as well, and has already used her help before in similar circumstances during the cleansing of saidin. So, if her position is essentially guaranteed, why are we even questioning whether or not she'll be in the link? Well, as I said already, a lot can happen before that epic confrontation for which Rand will need Callandor. First of all, she could die, and should Lan end up dying himself, Nynaeve very well may want to die. She might just end up being preoccupied; perhaps she goes off to save Lan when Rand needs her, so he has to blow his whistle and sub in one of his replacements off the bench. Either way, there is enough reasonable doubt to speculate about others who might end up filling her place.   Alivia   Alivia is immensely powerful in the One Power; in fact, she is only second to Cyndane/Lanfear and might even be Cyndane's equal. Rand trusts her and she's been part of his inner circle for quite some time. The main reason that so many have her in mind as being one of the Callandor wielders is the vision Min had about her that told her Alivia would "help Rand die." If Alivia were to be in the link with Rand, there's a good many potential situations in which she could end up helping Rand die, be it to end his link with Moridin, or to stop Dark Rand 2.0 from terrorizing the countryside (it's not an official Despothera blog without a reference to Dark Rand 2.0). I also particularly like her in this role because of her ability to detach her emotions from the situation. She was a damane for 400 years and yet was still able to keep her individuality and free will intact, which is an incredible feat considering how sul'dam usually handle their charges. This ability to remain detached from the situation and still do what needs to be done could be what ends up saving the day at the right moment.   Lanfear(aka Cyndane, Mierin)   This is another addition to the list that might have some of you scratching your heads. After all, if you buy the epilogue scene at the end of Towers of Midnight completely at face value, I've got a section of bridge I'd like to sell you. In that scene, Mierin had somehow broken through to Rand's dreams and was pleading for his help, and seemed to be in immediate danger. Rand Therin Telamon feels somewhat compelled to rescue her, but you can't help but be skeptical. Ever since Lanfear was resurrected as Cyndane, she has voiced nothing but complete hatred for Rand and his cadre of women. They always say hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and whoever first said that probably never read Lanfear's point of views in the Wheel of Time (the famous line is paraphrased from William Congreve's The Mourning Bride).   I covered the likelihood of Lanfear redeeming her soul and returning to the Light in a past blog, "No man can stand in the Shadow so long he cannot find the Light again". While it's definitely a possibility, I highly doubt that Rand will trust her enough for this task, or that Lanfear would be okay with linking with Rand and another woman. However, she does have some very strong things working in her favor. First of all, she is more than likely still the strongest female channeler in the world, and also has far more experience than pretty much anyone else when it comes to difficult weaves. More importantly, she is the ONLY one on this list who more than likely has actual experience guiding flows of saidin because during the Age of Legends, men and women were linked quite regularly. The biggest piece of evidence in my eyes, though, is the fact that right after hearing about Callandor's flaw from Cadsuane, the first woman he thinks of is Lanfear:     That last part of the quote is referring to the comment Lanfear made to Rand about using the Choedan Kal's immense power to challenge the Creator himself (or herself) in The Shadow Rising.   Moiraine Damodred   In case Lanfear does end up being one of the women who link with Rand, it would truly be kismet if the other woman ended up being Moiraine. Both women have had a strong hand in influencing Rand throughout the series, one trying to guide Rand towards the Light, the other towards the Shadow. Plus, after their last confrontation which resulted in both of them being imprisoned in the Tower of Ghenji for a time, there could be some chances for truly epic moments of terse hostility between the two. Perhaps Moiraine could be some kind of balancing force against Lanfear, and she definitely has Rand's trust, so it could possibly work. It would work on a grand artistic level for sure, and likely satisfy many fans. There is also an absolutely brilliant caveat to the possibility of Moiraine linking with Callandor as well, and I shall preclude it with a memorable quote from the first book:     Should the body swap occur, and Dark Rand 2.0 spawn anew to become the Dark One's champion, I would put ALL of my money on a new linking of Callandor constituted of Moiraine, Alivia, and Narishma going out to take him down. Alivia would be an obvious pick to help Rand die, and Narishma would be the young dark man with a glowing object in his hand that Egwene sees in a dream in A Crown of Swords. Before writing this blog, I was fairly certain that the two women who linked with Rand would be Nyneave and Alivia. Now, I'm not so sure. I really get this strong feeling we're going to see some sort of body swap, and it just makes way too much sense for Moiraine to be the one who leads the circle that takes Rand down. So, perhaps she's part of the original circle as well, and is the first one to pick up the pieces after the disastrous encounter comes to fruition. Either way, now I really can't wait for the last book!

By hazelkrs1, in Theory Blog,

Some of you may be wondering why you are seeing a roundup on a Monday instead of a theory blog. Not to worry, for the two features have simply swapped days. You will now see the roundups on Mondays and the theory blogs on Tuesdays.   Here's a topic from our General Wheel of Time Discussion forum that seems to have exploded in popularity over the last couple of days. Which Wheel of Time characters are still virgins, and what implications would that have for them?   Have you been playing along in Brandon Sanderson's Great Hunt this year? If so, stop by our A Memory of Light Non Spoiler Discussion forum and put your heads together to figure out the clues.   The Aiel Social Group is discussing ancient Egyptians this month. If you are fascinated by ancient Egyptian tombs, mythology, hieroglyphics, and more, be sure to stop by and participate.   Join the Wolfkin Social Group for their November Game: Cookpot! It's basically like playing Twenty Questions, and it's Wheel of Time themed. Give it a try!   What are an Aes Sedai and a mysterious man doing in the Blight? Find out in the role play Time to Put the Pieces Together.   Our very own Jason Denzel and Jennifer Liang joined other prominent Wheel of Time fans for Tor.com's first Wheel of Time Roundtable. Keep an eye on our Facebook and Twitter accounts for news like this. We also just got a Google+ account.

By Dwynwen, in DM Website news,

November is already proving to be an exciting month. NaNoWriMo has begun, and Brandon Sanderson just released The Alloy of Law. Let's see how the denizens of our forums are celebrating the start of the month.   Speaking of Brandon Sanderson, do you enjoy over-analyzing everything he has to say in order to find hidden clues to Wheel of Time storylines? If you do, stop by our A Memory of Light Non Spoiler Discussion forum and join in the obsessing.   If you are a Dungeons & Dragons fan, you may want to join in our thread about the online version of the game in our Games & Tech Discussion forum.   You've probably noticed by now that our Artists, Crafters, and Writers Guild does a Challenge for every month. The theme for this month's Challenge is Redemption. It sounds like we may be treated to some personal and profound art with this theme.   The Black Tower Social Group's Light vs. Shadow Week has begun! This showdown promises games, discussions, quizzes, and even epic battles. Keep an eye on this thread for everything you need to know about the event.   The Kin Social Group has embraced Thanksgiving and is already talking about things they are thankful for. What things are you thankful for?   Oh, even just the title of this new role play sounds juicy! Let's see what the gossiping Aes Sedai are up to in Dinner Stories--Because Even Aes Sedai Gossip.   If you've enjoyed the podcasts we feature here on Dragonmount, you'll also enjoy the tWoTcast. I had the pleasure of listening to them record live at the last Dragon*Con, and those guys have quite an amusing sense of humor!   That's it for now! Be sure to check the other announcements that have been posted on our front page recently. It's a great time to be part of the fandom.

By Dwynwen, in DM Website news,

Brandon Sanderson has launched a surprise online "hunt" which will reveal new content related to A Memory of Light, the final Wheel of Time novel.   As part of his book tour for The Alloy of Law, Brandon is giving away clues that reveal the location of 35 hidden WoT bumper stickers (shown here). These bumper stickers will be hidden throughout the bookstore where Brandon is scheduled to appear. Each has a written code on the back which will unlock exclusive content related to AMOL.   We don't know yet if the content is a chapter from the upcoming book, or something else. You can see the exclusive content on Brandon's website.   Follow the Great Hunt on Twitter at hashtag #wotgh, or check back to Dragonmount for updates as we learn them.   Happy Hunting!

By Jason Denzel, in A Memory of Light,

What started as a book to clear his mind has become a greatly anticipated novel. As the continuation of Brandon Sanderson's widely popular Mistborn trilogy, his The Alloy of Law will hopefully prove to be just as good a read. For those of you who have awaited the 8th of November as the release date for The Alloy of Law, this is the moment when you can let out a squeal of joy and excitement, because the day has finally arrived.   Before you start reading, you may want to check out this awesome trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbG-EJdxZW4   Those of you who might be skeptical about the book or don't know much about it have come to the right place to get information. The first place you should look for information is Tor.com. Watch this space on Tor in the next week or two for a forthcoming review of the book and for buzz from fans. You can also read sample chapters of the book on Tor. Another reputable review of the book can be found here, and we will be adding more review links throughout the next couple of weeks as they are posted elsewhere.   If you have the book and would love to get it signed by the author himself, you can go check out Brandon Sanderson's book signing tour schedule. And if you're a fan looking for fellow enthusiasts, I suggest you have a look at 17th Shard and Stormblessed. They are both jam-packed with great people and fun happenings. Last, but definitely not least, Dragonmount has worked out a deal with Macmillan Audio, and we are going to provide three copies of this audiobook for give-away prizes. What do you need to do to win one of these, you may ask? Well, just post a comment to this article between November 8th and November 22nd, and you will have been entered into the random drawing! Sadly, it's US addresses only.   Happy Reading!

By Tynaal Consen, in Brandon Sanderson,

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