DRAGONMOUNT

As we previously reported, JordanCon is conducting a fundraiser drive to offset their operating costs. In exchange for contributing, participants are entered into a drawing for the chance to have their names used for a Wheel of Time character in the final novel, A Memory of Light. In addition to the drawing, JordanCon is also conducting an auction with the winner guaranteed a spot in the book. Please note: We had to relist our auction last Thursday, November 3rd, to comply with eBay's rules for fundraisers. Any bids made previously need to be resubmitted. This auction will run from November 1 to November 10 with the highest bidder winning a Wheel of Time character.   In addition to supporting JordanCon, a non-profit fantasy literature convention, ten percent of the auction proceeds will go towards the Mayo Clinic's amyloidosis research fund and be donated in Robert Jordan's memory.   WHAT IS JORDANCON?   www.JordanCon.org   JordanCon is a fantasy literature convention founded in honor of the late author, Robert Jordan. Jordan was the author of the bestselling The Wheel of Time series. JordanCon features four tracks of simultaneous programming, a Dealers Hall, and charity events benefiting the Mayo Clinic. Past guests have included Harriet McDougal, Brandon Sanderson, David Wong, Jana G. Oliver, David B. Coe, and Eugie Foster.   New to JordanCon this year will be the Art Show featuring art from a variety of fantasy and sci fi artists. Guests this year will include author Mary Robinette Kowal, artist Sam Weber, and Toastmaster Melissa Craib Dombrowski.   Please note that JordanCon, Inc. has applied for tax-exempt status as a 501©3 corporation. While they are awaiting the final verdict from the IRS, they are allowed to begin soliciting donations. Their tax-exempt status will be retroactively applied to the day of the filing.   WHAT IS THE MAYO CLINIC?   www.MayoClinic.com   For more than 100 years, Mayo Clinic has inspired hope and contributed to health and well-being by providing the best care to every patient through integrated clinical practice, education, and research. Today, your generosity is at the heart of sustaining Mayo's mission.   As a not-for-profit organization, Mayo Clinic reinvests all earnings into improving patient care. Yet philanthropy provides essential support as we develop better methods to understand, predict, prevent, diagnose, and treat disease, and train the next generation of physicians and scientists. Mayo Clinic has more than 3,300 physicians, scientists, and researchers from every medical specialty. They work together with 46,000 allied health employees to care for more than half a million patients each year, from every U.S. state and many countries.   In 2006, Robert Jordan was diagnosed with cardiac amyloidosis, which is a rare blood disease where abnormal proteins form in the bone marrow and become deposited in the patient's heart. During his illness, Robert Jordan received treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota and encouraged his fans to donate in support of the clinic. JordanCon is proud to continue to honor that request each year through various charitable fundraisers at the convention.   Q & A If I donate, what happens to the money?   All funds received will go directly to JordanCon with 10% of the proceeds going to the Mayo Clinic.   May I participate in both?   Yes, you may participate in both the General Auction and the Drawing. Please note you cannot win more than one character named for you. Please follow these instructions! In the notes section, include your full name and email address.   What are the rules for naming characters?   You may use your name or an appropriate name of your choice, but the author reserves the right to approve it or change it to fit the type of character created. A physical description of yourself may be used.   How long is the Fundraiser and when will winners be announced?   The drawing will run from October 1 to December 1, 2011, and winners will be announced at www.jordancon.org. The auction will begin on November 1 and end on November 10. We will announce the winner of the auction and the first name drawn by Brandon Sanderson. All future names drawn will be announced via Brandon’s website.   Can I be entered multiple times in the General Drawing by giving several donations?   Yes! For every $10 you donate, you name will be entered into the drawing. If you donate $100, your name will be entered 10 times. However, your name can only appear once in the story.   I am trying to donate to the General Auction or enter the Drawing, but have difficulties. Who do I contact?   You must contact eBay for issues regarding payments. They are our vendor handling all the transactions. If you are having an issue with the drawing, please contact jordancon@jordancon.org.   May I pay by check or cash?   At this time we are only able to accept credit card, debit, or PayPal as methods of donation.   Who is eligible to win? All fans are eligible to win with the exception of members of JordanCon, Incorporated’s board of directors and their immediate families.   I have questions about my privacy.   All donors give consent to have their names published publicly. This is done to ensure fairness and so you may see that your name did go through before we randomly draw the winners for the Drawing. All winners, including the General Auction winner, further agree to allow us to use their names to announce them as the donors selected to be used in A Memory of Light, including use of their names in any publicity associated with The Wheel of Time in this regard.   Private information such as contact emails and phone numbers will be given to Brandon Sanderson in case he chooses to use additional names at a later time. All other copies will be destroyed.   What if I have more questions?   Please send them to jordancon@jordancon.org with a subject heading indicating your question.

Happy Halloween, everyone! I hope you all had a spooktacular time yesterday. Feel free to share how you celebrated Halloween in the comments section of this article if you want!   The Science Fiction Book Club conducted an interview with author Patrick Rothfuss at WorldCon 2011. For more information and a link to this interview, visit this thread in our General Discussion forum.   Football season seems to be in full swing, and so is our discussion of it in our Sports Discussion forum. Which teams are your favorites?   The Aiel Social Group is extending the contest submission deadline for their Humor Month to today, November 1st! Look here for more information on how you could be a winner.   Have you ever wanted to be part of a One Power Tournament? Well, now is your chance! The Black Tower Social Group is hosting this tournament, and anyone can take part.   It's Halloween at the White Tower & Warders Social Group! Even if you aren't a member, you can still partake in some of the festivities on their main board. Watch this space so you can keep track of all the fun.   A Green Aes Sedai in the making shows that she won't let defeat stop her in the role play If at First You Don't Succeed...Petition, Petition Again. Read along to see Kathleen's fate.   Here's some news from our Twitter account: If you wore a Wheel of Time costume for Halloween this year, send us your pictures and we will put them up here on Dragonmount! I can't wait to see the submissions.   Until next week, folks!

Why hello, my witty habitué of Dragonmount! Welcome to another biweekly weekly (just kidding) entry of "It Works in Theory," Dragonmount's theory blog, in which this madman mysteriously gets the opportunity to muse on the topic of The Wheel of Time. Once again, I apologize for the absence of last week's blog. I do have a good excuse, though! I am ecstatic to say that I am now a married man! I'll allow some time for the applause and cheers to calm down. And now, for our weekly 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! I, Despothera, take you, my blog, to be my lawfully bonded assignment. Before these witnesses, I vow to put you off and delay writing you until the last possible moment. I take you, with all your strengths and weaknesses, as I offer myself to you, with all of my blog-related strengths and weaknesses. I shall bemoan you when you need to be written, and turn to you when I need an excuse to waste time online. You will take me in sickness and in health, or in whatever other state I might be in at the time, and leave me for better or for worse after you are written, till death do us part (or until my laptop gets thrown across the room).   Given that I did just get married recently, I thought it fitting to cover a theory related to marriage today. In fact, the specific theory we will be discussing today involves my favorite character, Perrin "Goldeneyes" Aybara, and his relationship to the Broken Crown. Alright, alright, zip it with all the abusive wife jokes! Faile and rolling pins aren't coming near each other in today's blog.   Okay, to catch everyone up, the first visions Min ever had about Perrin were described thusly:     The first one is obvious; the last one might be hinting at Perrin's possible role in rediscovering the lost Talent of Singing. I covered this in my blog a few weeks ago (click here for the link). The second has to do with Perrin's relationship to Faile, who is second in line in the succession to the Saldaean throne. The royal seat is more commonly known as the Broken Crown, and Queen Tenobia is currently the one on whom the crown is bestowed. Faile's father, Davram Bashere, is also Tenobia's uncle, and because Tenobia does not have any spouse or heirs, he is first in line for the throne should Tenobia abdicate or meet her end.   There is some discussion regarding the alignment of Davram Bashere; some think he might be a Darkfriend. Evidence for this theory includes his attack on Rand during one of Rand's sparring sessions--an incident in which Davram claims not to recognize Mazrim Taim--and this particular quote, another one of Min's visions:     The quote about Davram reminds me a lot of Min's vision of Alivia. Her desire to protect Rand from all the dangers around him leads her to be somewhat paranoid of even his closest confidants, but her suspicions seem to be just that: paranoia. However, it still can be said to be a potential clue pointing to Bashere's potential scumminess. Oh boy, that last sentence makes me feel I've been playing too much mafia lately! (For anyone wanting to check out Dragonmount's mafia games, visit this forum.)   Now, for some reason, I see Tenobia going under the radar for everyone. Apparently, not too many people believe her to be a Darkfriend. This is kind of strange, because there is practically an orgy of evidence which might seem to implicate Tenobia as having given her soul to the Dark One. Davram himself is somewhat suspicious of her motives when she leaves the Blight undefended to come down and pursue Rand. Alviarin (Head of the Black Ajah) sends a Red (and most likely Black as well) Sister to control and eventually kidnap Tenobia (it seems like that sister, Memara, failed in her tasks). One of the most damning pieces of evidence is that she left a relative of hers--Vram Torkumen, a verified Darkfriend--in charge at Maradon. Ituralde's entire campaign would have met a much shorter end had the Saldaean captain Yoeli not rebelled against his orders and performed a coup on the Darkfriend leaders. Min also has an ominous vision about Tenobia:     The imagery of the shining light probably leads many to assume she will die a heroic martyr type of death, but the flip side is that it may turn out to be that her death ends up being good for the Light. The fact that the spear is bloody definitely seems to call for someone's death; whether it's hers or someone that she betrays or kills remains to be seen. The big pitfall to the idea that Tenobia might be a Darkfriend is that she looks Rand in the eyes after his "Veins of Gold" epiphany, yet isn't outed by Rand's new Ghostrideresque ability to stare down Darkfriends. This would seem to dispel the possibility of Davram Bashere being a Darkfriend as well, since he passes the Rand al'Thor Darkfriend Seeing Eye Test(TM).   The only thing I would say about this is that I don't know if we really know enough about the new abilities to completely understand all the nuances and subtleties of how they emerge with Rand. It might be that a Darkfriend with a strong enough will can stare Rand down without being outed as easily as another Darkfriend. Another wacky idea I had was that Tenobia might be a Darkfriend going rogue, as in trying to set her own agenda to betray her former masters. The bloody spear shining in sunlight might be her moment of redemption. Either way, it seems fairly clear that there is a strong possibility of both Tenobia and Davram Bashere dying in the last book, leaving the throne to pass down to Faile. Because Saldaea has a form of a joint monarchy in which the spouse of the King or Queen is almost an equal co-ruler, Perrin would essentially end up wearing the Broken Crown.   So, what effect does this have on the outcome of the Last Battle and the events leading up to and after it? Well, first of all, it gives Perrin another possible seat as a ruler in the world that will hopefully survive after the battle. The more lands that are controlled by stable leaders that have potential ties to the Dragon Reborn after the Last Battle, the better the chances of Randland surviving and being able to adapt to a new age. He promised Lieutenant-General Tylee Khirgan that he wouldn't revive the nation of Manetheren, and even though he did enact an alliance with Elayne that made him something of a Lord over the Two Rivers, he's still not the ruler.   I've also got a small, growing theory about the explanation to the cryptic "the north and the east must be as one, the south and the west must be as one" line which would involve Perrin representing the north. As ruler of Saldaea, he would have loose control over all four of the Borderlander nations because of their alliance in face of the coming struggles. Part of the usefulness in having Perrin sit the Saldaean throne might have something to do with how Randland can keep itself from being conquered by the Seanchan should they miraculously survive Tarmon Gai'don. The rest of that particular theory will have to wait for another time, as we have arrived at the end of my blog.   Happy one week anniversary, my love!

Since it's almost Halloween, I thought I'd dip into my mailbag of requests and take a look at one of the most iconic-and puzzling- villains in the Wheel of Time series. So today we're taking a look at Padan Fain.     This is a fantastically creepy version of Fain by Mandersen. I think the decision to make this image black and white really adds to evilness. The shadows always seem a little deeper in black and white.     This portrait is by Luketarig on DeviantArt. According to his comments, it was done digitally. I really like the murky, impressionistic take on Fain.     Moesymoe took a few liberties with his version of Fain, by adding tattoos and shaving his head. However, I think it still captures the sense of the character. Fain has a creeping menace to him and a sense of wrongness. This fits that perfectly.   On a side note, JordanCon, a non-profit fantasy literature convention founded in honor of Robert Jordan, is currently running a drawing with the prize being a chance to get your name in A Memory of Light. The money is going to help defray JordanCon's operating costs, with a percentage being set aside for the Mayo Clinic's Amyloidosis research fund. The drawing runs until December, but Brandon Sanderson is already choosing names. If you'd like to enter, please visit www.jordancon.org.   And that's all I've got time for today. Thanks for reading!

<p>This is the 107th episode of The 4th Age Podcast, in which we discuss the mysterious batch of red-sealed letters Verin Sedai handed out. Your hosts for this episode are Virginia, Daniel, and Spencer.</p><p>(This episode, like most of our talks, is chock full of spoilers if you haven’t read Towers of Midnight yet!) <span style="color: #800000;">Warning: SPOILER ALERT!</span></p><p>Be sure to check out <a href="http://www.dragonmount.com">Dragonmount.com</a> for forums, comments, and all the latest news in the Wheel of Time world.</p><p><span style="color: #ff0000;"><strong>ATTENTION! THERE ARE TOWERS OF MIDNIGHT SPOILERS in this podcast!</strong> </span><em>Also, spoilers on ALL the other books are VERY likely!</em> If you haven’t read all the way through the Wheel of Time, THERE WILL BE SPOILERS of all previous books! There may be spoilers of other book series, tv series, and movies as well, too, or anything ELSE we can think of in the known and unknown universe…. We will try to give warning. We can make no guarantees, however.</p><p>Hosts: Virginia, Daniel, and Spencer.</p><h6>Editor for this episode: Ken S. Editor-in-Chief: Spencer</p><p><strong><a href="http://www.dragonmount.com/Podcast/Media/dm-4thAge-107.mp3">Download'>http://www.dragonmount.com/Podcast/Media/dm-4thAge-107.mp3">Download this Episode now</a> </strong></h6><h5>A HUGE thanks to all our editors, past and present, from all of us here! We couldn’t make this happen without your help and technical expertise. We are usually in need of editing help – please, contact Spencer at <a href="mailto:podcast@dragonmount.com" target="_blank">podcast@dragonmount.com</a> if you are interested in volunteering.</h5><h5>Music by: Josh Needleman. His website is at <a href="http://www.joshneedleman.net/">www.joshneedleman.net</a> and he has the music available to hear on his MySpace page at <a href="http://www.myspace.com/joshneedleman">www.myspace.com/joshneedleman</a>. Its title is <em>Floodgate</em>. Thanks, Josh!</h5><div><strong><a href="http://www.dragonmount.com/Podcast/Media/dm-4thAge-107.mp3">Download this Episode now</a></strong></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/4thAge/~4/DnvJuj5ImCg" height="1" width="1"/>

It's hard to believe we're already nearing the end of October! My seventh anniversary as a member of Dragonmount was on October 22nd, and I want to express my gratitude to my friends here for helping to shape me into the person I am today.   What would the Dragon be like if he were spun out of the Pattern into today's world? What sort of education or career might he have? What would his role be? Come speculate with our theory geeks in the General Wheel of Time Discussion forum.   Do you have any favorite quotes from books, movies, tv series, games, or historical figures? If so, please share them with us in our General Discussion forum.   The Kin Social Group is all decked out for Halloween with their Kin U Halloween Festival! Watch this space for games, discussions, and spooky surprises.   The auction portion of the Game and Auction Weeks from the White Tower & Warders Social Group has begun! Keep an eye on this thread for updates.   Will you be dressing in costume for Halloween this year? What was your best Halloween costume ever? Join the Wolfkin Social Group for a chat about awesome Halloween costumes.   Our role players are exploring the psyche of a newly made Seanchan damane in From Human to Property. This looks like it will be a fascinating story.   Finally, as always, keep an eye on our Twitter and Facebook accounts for more on the latest Wheel of Time news.

<p>In this, the 106th episode of The 4th Age Podcast, we will be discussing Tam al’Thor, the remarkable father figure to Rand, the Dragon Reborn. Your hosts for this episode are Andrew, Virginia, Spencer, Carrie, and Marc.</p><p>(This episode, like most of our talks, is chock full of spoilers if you haven’t read Towers of Midnight yet!) <span style="color: #800000;">Warning: SPOILER ALERT!</span></p><p>Be sure to check out <a href="http://www.dragonmount.com">Dragonmount.com</a> for forums, comments, and all the latest news in the Wheel of Time world.</p><p><span style="color: #ff0000;"><strong>ATTENTION! THERE ARE TOWERS OF MIDNIGHT SPOILERS in this podcast!</strong> </span><em>Also, spoilers on ALL the other books are VERY likely!</em> If you haven’t read all the way through the Wheel of Time, THERE WILL BE SPOILERS of all previous books! There also may be spoilers of other book series, tv series, and movies as well, too, or anything ELSE we can think of in the known and unknown universe…. We will try to give warning. We can give no guarantees, however.</p><p>Hosts: Andrew, Virginia, Spencer, Carrie, and Marc</p><h6>Editor for this episode: Ken S. Editor-in-Chief: Spencer</p><p><strong><a href="http://www.dragonmount.com/Podcast/Media/dm-4thAge-106.mp3">Download'>http://www.dragonmount.com/Podcast/Media/dm-4thAge-106.mp3">Download this Episode now</a> </strong></h6><h5>A HUGE thanks to all our editors, past and present, from all of us here! We couldn’t make this happen without your help and technical expertise. We are usually in need of editing help – please, contact Spencer at <a href="mailto:podcast@dragonmount.com" target="_blank">podcast@dragonmount.com</a> if you are interested in volunteering.</h5><h5>Music by: Josh Needleman. His website is at <a href="http://www.joshneedleman.net/">www.joshneedleman.net</a> and he has the music available to hear on his MySpace page at <a href="http://www.myspace.com/joshneedleman">www.myspace.com/joshneedleman</a>. Its title is <em>Floodgate</em>. Thanks, Josh!</h5><div><strong><a href="http://www.dragonmount.com/Podcast/Media/dm-4thAge-106.mp3">Download this Episode now</a></strong></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/4thAge/~4/uw5V0DU9eqY" height="1" width="1"/>

Orbit Books, the UK publisher for The Wheel of Time, announced today on their "Turn the Wheel of Time" Facebook page that they will be publishing a limited number of leather-bound editions for The Eye of the World. Only 2,000 copies will sold worldwide. The hardback book comes in a high-quality slip-case with a gold foil WoT logo on the outside of the case and gold foil lettering and logo on the spine.   These limited editions will not be available in the United States or Canada. However, some US citizens have reportedly been able to pre-order it from Amazon UK.   If you are somebody who lives in a country or territory where Orbit Books are sold, please contact a local bookseller near you and ask them to special order this book. Give them the ISBN number: 9780356501529. If your local bookseller is unable to do this for you, then try the Amazon link provided here.   According to Orbit's announcement, the UK retail price will be £35. Specific price will vary depending on who you purchase it from, and what currency you use.   Pre-Order this book from Amazon UK

As you all should know, the last book of the Wheel of Time, A Memory of Light, is in the process of being written by Brandon Sanderson. Seeing as this is the last book, I really think you all should give this a go.   The Robert Jordan estate, Brandon Sanderson, and JordanCon, Inc. have decided to launch a fundraiser in order to raise funds for JordanCon and the Mayo Clinic. You have two options to support the fundraiser. For the first option, you can take part in a highest-bidder auction, with the winner getting a character named (within guidelines) after them, including a physical description! This auction will take place from November 1-10. The second option is donating $10 and entering a raffle, out of which Brandon Sanderson will choose as many names as he wishes and then will use them in A Memory of Light. You can enter into this drawing as often as you wish.   In my opinion, this is really something you should do. Not only do you get the chance for your name to be in A Memory of Light, but you also will be supporting JordanCon. Before I read this blog post by Jennifer Liang, I didn't quite realize what JordanCon meant. Reading the blog post actually gave me goosebumps:     So, grab that wallet, skip your extra frosting donut at work for a week, and donate to a good cause, even if it is just $10. They have raised just over $17,000 so far! For more information on the fundraiser, JordanCon, or the Mayo Clinic, you can check out the JordanCon website.

Welcome back, all! I apologize for the lack of a roundup last week. Real life got in the way, but I'm back and ready to go this week.   As evidenced by the popularity of our weekly theory blog, we at Dragonmount have numerous fans who love to speculate about theories and predictions for the series. What will all these people do once The Wheel of Time series is finished? Come to the General Wheel of Time Discussion forum and find out.   Our fan casting thread for the Wheel of Time movie is still going strong. Drop by our The Wheel of Time in Other Media forum to join in the hype.   The Black Tower Social Group is running their October Shockwave Competition. You still have time to nominate games!   Some members of the Ogier Social Group have been writing songs in this thread. They are quite lovely, so visit and let them know!   The Warders of the White Tower & Warders Social Group are hosting a week of game shows! By participating in the games this week, you will be able to buy various members of the Social Group who are going up for auction next week. Yes, for those who are wondering, I will be one of the members you can buy in the auction. For more information about the Game Show and Auction Weeks, go here.   If any of you have ever wondered what a blademaster ceremony might look like, our role players have a treat for you! Come celebrate with Visar in Heart of the Heron, Part Two.   After a brief hiatus, the Intrigue in Murandy role play I told you about last month is back in full swing. Those of you who were waiting with baited breath for the story to continue need wait no longer.   Yesterday would have been Robert Jordan's 63rd birthday. Join us on Twitter and Facebook to see what fans are saying about our beloved master storyteller.