The Eye of the World Read-Through #3 - What can Be Read in Maps

What can Be Read in Maps

by Dom

One of the great pleasures of developing a passion for a book or series of books is that there comes a point you are so comfortable with the events of the story and characters that you have plenty of room to let your mind wander a bit and explore other layers of the writing and storytelling as you re read. When the object of your passion is the work of a writer as playful and witty as Jim Rigney by all accounts was, there's plenty of treats to be found this way, because he hides many 'secrets' in his books.

There are in the novels plenty of hidden layers, some serious and some completely humorous, and many in-between. The more knowledgeable characters will point out soon enough that the Wheel weaves lives into threads, and that all these threads are woven into the Pattern of the Age, and all the Ages through the turnings of the Wheel are woven into yet a greater Pattern. Robert Jordan, somewhat rather maniacally, introduced layers of patterns in as many aspects of the series he could think of. Some are obvious, like the repeating patterns of behaviour. Some run fairly deep, like all the patterns from world mythology. I will try to bring a few up as we progress in the series, but for this post I will focus on one of Jordan's favourite ways to give the impression of 'patterns' to his readers, one with which he virtually opened The Eye of the World: the geography and location design in the series reflect the series' great themes.

We'll look at this with a series of rough sketches of the Two Rivers map. The map needs first to be rotated clockwise by 90 degrees (there is a symbolic reason for this, but I won't go into it today). We have now top left the source of the Manethendrelle in the mountains, and top right the source of Taren. Both rivers join and encircle the Two Rivers region. Symbolically, the source of both is the dried-up ocean from the AOL, of which the Sand Hills were once a shore. This functions as:

1. The mythological World River encircling the World in many myths.
2. The related Great Serpent of Time, also representing the cycle of life.
3. The True Source, with its divided components merging as one : the 'White River' (Manetherendrelle) and the 'Dark River' (Taren).

In between the 'World River', the combination of the Roads, the Winespring Water and the Westwood form the trunk, lifeblood and roots of the Tree of Life, Yggdrasil, with the Winespring itself Mimir, the fountain of wisdom. With the World River all around, the classic mythological representation of the Tree of Life is complete. It is also a representation of Man, the Tree of Man. And it is a representation of Rand : his lost left hand, and the twin wounds in his left side, represented by the razed down Taren Ferry.

If we look at a very rough sketch of the Westlands, the same pattern is repeated :

The branches, from Bandar Eban/Falme to Rhuidean, and from Tear (with the Fingers of the Dragon as the roots) to the Eye of the World. The Blight corresponds to the Sand Hills, the destroyed Malkier to Manetheren and it is completed with a 'hole in reality' from where Evil pours into the land : Shayol Ghul in the North, the Waygate of destroyed Manetheren in the Two Rivers).

The same is also represented around Tear, the two branches, the Fingers of the Dragons, the Stone itself in which heart Callandor is found. North the Waygate from which Evil (the attack) would come in KOD. Notice how this is reflected in The Eye of the World: again an attack by Shadowspawn on the isolated farm (instead of the manor), again the ramblings of a madman (the wounded Tam and Lews Therin). Notice too that on the 'Road to the Stones' (ie: The Quarry Road), Tam had a Sword for Rand, a Sword hidden in a trunk under his bed which he never touched...


Now, if we zoom toward Emond's Field, we will begin to see one last'Pattern within the Pattern' for today, as Jordan describes the village and its features for the first time in The Eye of the World:

"Toward the west end of the Green, the Winespring itself gushed out of a low outcrop in a flow that never failed, a flow strong enough to knock a man down and sweet enough to justify its name many times."

The Spring represents the True Source – strong enough to knock a man down (saidin) but sweet enough to justify its name many times (saidar).

"From the spring the rapidly widening Winespring Water ran swiftly to the east, willows dotting its banks all the way to Master Thane’s mill and beyond, until it split into dozens of streams in the swampy depths of the Waterwood".

The willows, white and black trees, represent the Aes Sedai. Master Thane’s mill symbolizes the Wheel of Time weaving the Pattern, represented by the Winespring splitting into the dozens of streams of the Waterwood. The three bridges over the Winespring symbolize Time : The present (the wagon bridge, on which carts and horses pulling them pass) and the circularity of Time (one footbridge going south, the past and one footbridge to go north, the future):

“Outsiders sometimes found it funny that the road had one name to the north and another to the south, but that was the way it had always been, as far as anyone in Emond’s Field knew, and that was that.”

(Notice that in chapter 12, Moiraine will use a metaphor which is essentially the same as the allegory Jordan used in the description of the Winespring:

"No," Moiraine said in answer to a question Rand had missed, "the True Source cannot be used up, any more than the river can be used up by the wheel of a mill. The Source is the river; the Aes Sedai, the waterwheel."

This is an excellent example of how patterns are echoed and repeated by Jordan at various levels)

“On the far side of the bridges, the mounds were already building for the Bel Tine fires, three careful stacks of logs almost as big as houses. They had to be on cleared dirt, of course, not on the Green, even sparse as it was. What of festival did not take place around the fires would happen on the Green.”.

The Green represents the Living Land that must be protected from the Shadow, the colour adopted by the Battle Ajah, not because it represents soldiering but because it is the colour representing what the Green Ajah stands to defend. The three bonfires kept safely away from the Green symbolizes the three ta’veren and their mission : these bonfires won’t be used for festival in the end, they will burn Shadowspawn’s bodies.This imagery, that trees need to be cut and wood stacked, sacrifices required to achieve victory – will return very often in the series – from the battle in Emond's Field in The Shadow Rising to Elayne having to cut down wood parks in Caemlyn during the siege..

"The Winespring Inn stood at the east end of the Green, hard beside the Wagon Bridge. The first floor of the inn was river rock, but the foundation was of older stone some said came from the mountains.”

This is a transparent allegory of Tar Valon at the “east end of the Green” (on the big map that would be Caralain's Grass) and to Lews Therin (the mountains, a reference to the destruction of Manetheren equated here with Dragonmount) who 'created the island' in the prologue. This makes the Inn itself an allegory of the White Tower, where the mother and daughters live, where the council of seven (the Hall) have their meetings, in front of the large fireplace (ie: the Flame, the Amyrlin) made of river rock.

"The whitewashed second story – where Brandelwyn al’Vere, the innkeeper and Mayor of Emond’s Field for the past twenty years, lived with his wife and daughters –jutted out of the lower floor all the way around. Red roof tile, the only such roof in the village, glittered in the weak sunlight."

Notice that Egwene is brother less. Her sisters are older, and may be married with children but for the allegory’s sake Jordan has kept the sisters totally hidden from the story except for a mention in Ravens, where one is a widow and the others waiting to be married. Maybe they’ll come out at the end with families of their own, to symbolize the fruitful reunion of male and female Aes Sedai. Bran as Mayor carries the symbol of balance (the balance scales, silver for saidar.) Roofs are a symbol of sanity/insanity – here it is red, an allusion to the mission of the Red Ajah.

At this point of the story, the 'Black Tower'/male channelers - and even the warders and their bond, are represented by the dark fir pole bereft of all its branches planted in the ground, the Bel Tine pole around which the umarried women dance, encircling it with multicoloured ribbons.

Next week, we will look into how the consecutive mentions of slashed dresses form a pattern that predict the course of Tarmon Gai'don ..... or maybe we won't ;) Joking aside, Robert Jordan's descriptions are not only very evocative, they are a well of little allusions and foreshadowing.... bath scenes notably were a never used up source of One Power humour for Jordan.


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- You're welcome to leave comments about this post below, or to use The Eye of the World Round-Table open thread to leave a commentary of your own about any aspect of the book.

- Got any nagging question about a topic from The Eye of the World? Send them to 'Ask Zemaille' and the librarians will do their best to answer it.

The Eye of the World Read-Through #2 - What Themes Are There?

What Themes Are There?

by Linda

Quite a few, and they are present from the beginning of the series:

• Good versus evil - there definitely is evil and it must be fought against. However, there are limits as to what one should be prepared to do in order to eradicate evil eg not become like Shadar Logoth.

• The necessity of balance - including between the sexes.

• History changing over time into legend and then into myth, and that "our" history forms "their myth" and "their" history "ours" - that's what all those allusions to history and myth are about.

• Mis-communication between people – people not telling other people important info, whether for sinister reasons, trivial reasons or so they don’t lose face, or just due to stupidity or missed opportunity.

• Fate and destiny versus free will. We see a lot of prophecies – do they mean that people don’t have a choice? Or that their choice is preordained?

• The quest for knowledge - and corruption of knowledge by evil.

• Decline and fall of empires into dark ages - and the risk of destroying civilisation altogether.
  

• Realising that adulthood is not about demanding privileges, or even rights, but about taking responsibility for your actions and doing the best you are capable of.

• Commentary on leadership: cooperation achieves more than autocracy. Absolute monarchy leads to tyranny.

• Suggested by BobH: the importance of friendship.

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- You're welcome to leave comments about this post below, or to use The Eye of the World Round-Table open thread to leave a commentary of your own about any aspect of the book.

- Got any nagging question about a topic from The Eye of the World? Send them to 'Ask Zemaille' and the librarians will do their best to answer it.

The Eye of the World Read-Through #1 - Mat and Rand in the Woods

Mat and Rand sub-thread: If you go out in the woods today…what will you come back as?

by Linda

The Mat and Rand sub-thread in The Eye of the World builds on two patterns: the ‘Into the Woods’ pattern, which started early in the books; and the 'Two Evils' pattern, which we know little about the significance of until the end of the first book.

The 'Into the Woods’ motif describes those journeys into wild places which mark a passage from one life to another for a character. By the time Mat and Rand are alone, Rand is struggling with beginning to channel and with the feeling of being marked out in some way. He is a long way short of realising he is a saviour figure. Mat is much less conscious of being marked out, or even of having been marked by Shadar Logoth as a consequence of being impulsive and greedy. He is a long way short of even growing up. Really for both of them their arduous journey is a struggle for survival – against Darkfriends, against poverty and exhaustion and against despair.

Both young men also struggle with madness and injury at times. Rand has Ba’alzamon in his head and is affected not only by channelling sickness, but he has been exposed to the taint as well. Mat is being corrupted by the evil of Shadar Logoth/Mordeth which started out with good intentions but stopped, and will stop, at nothing in its war against the Shadow (out Shadowing the Shadow). Mat already had fear and hatred of the One Power even before being touched by Mordeth so it is lucky that Rand’s channelling is hidden (even from many readers) at this stage. (I've written an article on the Onset of Rand's Channelling.)

These two evils are inimical to each other, so it is no wonder the relationship between Mat and Rand is strained at times: it reflects the warring of the two evils.

To get back to the title of this rumination, they surely did get a big surprise on the road – more than one- and the Pattern provided them with an effective disguise as just one of the poor in the crowd. Not exactly a Teddy Bear's picnic.


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- You're welcome to leave comments about this post below, or to use The Eye of the World Round-Table open thread to leave a commentary of your own about any aspect of the book.

- Got any nagging question about a topic from The Eye of the World? Send them to 'Ask Zemaille' and the librarians will do their best to answer it.

The Eye of the World Read-through

Starting tomorrow, members of the Thirteenth Depository team will post their reading impressions as we progress in our preparatory re-read of the entire series in anticipation of the release of The Gathering Storm on November 3rd, 2009.

As far as read-through and book clubs go, this one will be a bit unconventional.

Our entries will be varied and will follow our whims of the moment: from general musings and texts of opinion, to excerpts from our personal notes accumulated through the years about the story lines, characters, unresolved questions, themes or symbolism which we will intersperse with the release of new 'Reference Library' articles with thematic ties to a particular book, new maps inspired by descriptions from the current book and a bit of everything that strikes our imaginations along the way. Our guideline: having as much fun as possible exploring the series while we wait for the release of part one of A Memory of Light.

As Linda and Dominic have hosted on and off since autumn 2008 on the Wotmania forums a more conventional read-through of the series that had reached the end of The Dragon Reborn before we both turned our time and efforts to the creation of this Blog, we will proceed at a fairly rapid pace through the first three books, starting tomorrow with the first entry for The Eye of the World. From The Shadow Rising to Knife of Dreams, our read-through will slow down to follow our reading and writing pace, and we will conclude the 2009 Wheel of Time Read-through in November-December with our detailed impressions of The Gathering Storm.

As always, we welcome participation from our readers. Beside opening each of our RT posts for comments, for each book we will have a 'Round Table' post - an open-thread in which everyone is invited to post their own impressions/commentaries related to the ongoing book.

A new index on the left panel will keep track of the Read-Through Posts.

If you have questions concerning events, characters and aspects of The Eye of the World, don't hesitate to send them to 'Ask Zemaille'. The Librarians of the Thirteenth Depository will do their best to get you the answers during the Read-through.

The Study of Master Roidelle: The Westlands 'big map' project

By Dominic


It has been a while since the maps of Andor and my next 'finished map' won't be ready
before some time next week, so I figured, why not show a sketch of an ongoing project?

This one is the sketch of a map of the Westlands I began in early 2008, based on the 'Big Map' combined with references from other maps published in 'The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time' to extend the covered area to the full Aiel Waste and the western limits of Shara. I digitized it as a rough reference, to compare the accuracy with digital versions etc. - shortly before I erased the work grid with which I made the enlarged reproduction by hand. The actual sketch is a bit over one meter large. It was done so large so I can also use it as the base to create fairly precise regional/national maps.



The original project for this map was to complete it as a full colour painting in the vein of the 'Big Map', though at the moment I'm also considering turning it into a china ink, pencil and charcoal project before bringing it into the computer for additional graphic treatment. A black and white rendition would be more versatile to achieve some of the 'ancient maps' looks I love.

And oh... of the many questions I'd really like to solve one day is the location of Rhuidean in the Waste.

New Article Released : Stones

A new article is now available in the Reference Library: in the Wheel of Time Games series, Stones.

This article written by Linda in 2004, the second in the Wheel of Time Games series to be moved from the Wotmania FAQ section to the Thirteenth Depository, documents all that is known about the strategy game Stones (and its Age of Legends predecessor No'ri) and compares it to the real world game of Go, which is the inspiration for it.

Could you beat Morgase or Thom Merrilin or like Juilin you'd be offered a 10-stone handicap? Read this, fetch your Go board and find out!

Dabel Brothers posts colour versions from EOTW #0

The Dabels have released a full colour preview of ten finished pages from Issue #0 of the adaptation of The Eye of the World.



Bookspotcentral has the 10 images on display:

Pretty cool stuff, though quite different from the style they've used for New Spring.

More comments later.

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More impressions:

They did a great job with the colours - most of it is great anyway, a few pages seems to lack details a bit (the ones with the boys, and all that sky).

It's a lot 'moodier'/impressionistic than the colouring style they had used in New Spring. I don't know yet which I prefer, I'll probably wait for the full issue to decide. Great job on the light and shadows effects on many cells.

I like their depiction of young Egwene - and I'm guessing their model for the older Egwene isn't that much different. I hope Mat isn't too different either, as the character design for young Mat works really well for me.

As I was telling Ernst Dabel at the Wotmania forums when he came to comment on the b&w preview pages, I think their penciller Chase Conley pretty much nailed down the mood of the Two Rivers. He had replied to wait for the colour version as it was even better, and I guess he was right about that. :) I'm quite eager to see the direction they've taken for the village and its surroundings.

The tone of the adaptation is a bit childish, which is exactly the tone RJ had adopted in that Egwene POV. Give or take a few occasional mistakes (wrong forms of address here and thre etc.) Dixon has done a very good job with New Spring, so I've no worry that the tone of the rest of EOTW will again be good. Of course, it's much condensed, but for me with graphic novels the point is to convey the essence and evoke much, and let the reader read more between the lines - and in the visuals themselves. Already I see the sort of good eye for the details that characterized the adaptation of New Spring - keeping those little moments that really smack of RJ for me - Egwene silencing the shepherd dog, for example. Not that I cared especially for that one, but it's a good sign for what's coming. The central piece of Ravens is missing - Egwene with the women, most notably bumping into Nynaeve. Strange they would cut that, as it deprives Ravens of much of its purpose - I guess we may be missing the central pages in this preview.

I don't quite remember from the decription in the book that we would see the Moutains of Mist so much from the Meadow (it's in the other direction, away from the village in the Waterwood well beyond the Jon Thane's Mill, with the village and Westwood in between) but I might be wrong on this. Hard to miss something as massive as the mountain chain whenever one turns to look West, I guess, but I would have expected some sense of the village and the Westwood in the distance. (edit: well, on the last page, I get to see what I had in mind - I guess for the other cells it was was a viewpoint angle affair).

Weird that they changed the title of 'part two' from Ravens to Raven, as well.

But for me it's definitely thumbs up on this adaptation for now. I'm quite eager to get my hands on the full issue, shipping May 13th.

Dr Saidin's weak drawing for the day

The Male Forsaken and their Strength in the Power : A debate

The relative strength in the One Power of the male Forsaken remains a subject of debate even at this late stage of the series. The author has admitted that he knows where they stand relative to one another in strength, but he’s also disappointingly stated that he prefers to keep that aspect of the series vague. There are several reasons for the difficulty in extrapolating the strengths of the male Forsaken…

1. As mentioned above, the author prefers to keep this aspect of the series vague.

2. The author has told us directly that the Forsaken lie frequently to one another and themselves. It is therefore very difficult to decipher their relative strengths and weaknesses when self-delusion and fallacy are a major part of their characters. When Rahvin states that he could overwhelm Graendal or Lanfear, or when Mesaana claims that she matches up well with Semirhage – how much credibility could one place on these statements? According to the author, they would not admit their fallibility in any area.

3. Character interaction is much more than strength in the One Power. Weaker personalities bend to the will of stronger ones, and they extend even beyond the realm of channeling. There are also unique skills that are inherent to each channeler, which may shift the balance of any potential duel. In fact, some of the Forsaken are so skilled in certain areas e.g. Graendal will Compulsion, that they may rely on these skills to overwhelm almost any opponent. While strength is an essential part in at least standing against your opponent, it is important to realize that a quote comparing two channelers may be loaded with more than one factor.

Therefore, any list is admittedly vague, and open to even the most amateur criticism. However, let me start by stating what I believe to be the most likely list of their strengths…

- Ishamael
- Demandred / Aginor
- Sammael
- Rahvin
- Be’lal / Aran’gar
- Asmodean

Ishamael is most assuredly the strongest of all the Forsaken. Of all of the Forsaken, Ishamael’s position is probably the easiest to defend. The two quotes, which introduce his strength, include…

Guide – “… he was assuredly the Dark One’s top captain-general despite the fact that he never held a direct field command… and the most powerful of the Chosen in the One Power, he was equaled by none but Lews Therin Telamon himself.”

TDR (The Hammer) – “… No one knows the strength of the Forsaken, except that Ishamael and Lanfear were the strongest.”

There is no evidence to contest this opinion, and not even the Forsaken have disputed his power, though his sanity is a constant subject of debate. Other evidence which supports his strength in the power include the following...

1. Ishamael has always been held in the highest regard by the Dark One. In ACoS (Mindtrap), he tells Moghedien that his Chosen are always the strongest, and he places particular emphasis on this. During the War of Power, he actively encouraged the Forsaken to destroy one another until the most powerful remained. As the Dark One’s top captain-general in the War, and as the Nae’blis in the third Age, it strains credibility to think that he would choose anyone but the most powerful of his dark servants to lead them.

2. His dark polarity to Lews Therin has been well established. In the War of Power, he battled Lews Therin at the gates of Paaren Disen, arguably one of only a handful of legendary battles during the entire war. During the third age, he is most certainly on a collision course with Rand for the Final Battle.

3. He inspires fear in the other Forsaken, which is relatively uncommon. In WH (with the Choedan Kal) we see that Osan’gar has always been terrified of him. In TDR (Shadows Sleeping) we see that Rahvin and Be’lal become sheepish when he confronts them. There is an element of bias here, because everyone is terrified of a madman who can channel. Many of the Forsaken may believe that he cannot be reasoned with, and even Demandred feels unsettled when he sees how freely Moridin channels the True Power.

Demandred and Aginor probably have similar strength in the One Power.

Demandred was quoted in the Guide as being "almost as strong and almost as skilled as Lews Therin" which leaves very little room for argument. Symbolically he is second to Lews Therin in almost every area, and it stands to reason that he falls just short of him in strength in the Power. As for Aginor...

Guide – “The second most powerful man, known by the Forsaken name Aginor, came close to rivaling Lews Therin and Ishamael in strength.”

EoTW (There is neither beginning nor end) – “Aginor was surprised and angry I held him as long as I did, but fortunately he had no time to spare for me. I am surprised that I held him so long. In the Age of Legends, Aginor was close behind the Kinslayer and Ishamael in power.”

Aginor’s power is actually not in dispute. He is clearly named as second only to Lews Therin and Ishamael in strength. Apart from the specific quotes mentioned above, we have other evidence of his strength…

1. In EoTW (there is neither beginning not end), Moiraine states that only the most powerful channelers in the Age of Legends could have wielded the power of the Eye. By implication, he must possess close to the highest strength in the Power if Moiraine is correct.

2. In ACoS (A Crown of Swords), Rand says that Dashiva holds close to his amount of saidin. Curiously we see in the same chapter that Adley estimates Sammael’s strength to equal Rand’s. This is often seen as evidence that Sammael is stronger than Aginor in strength, but there are several points to be argued here. Firstly, Adley estimated Sammael’s strength by the strength of his attacks, not by the amount of saidin he was holding. There is almost certainly an element of inaccuracy in this. Secondly, we don’t know if Osan’gar has been holding back. If his full strength made him more powerful than Rand in ACoS (due to Rand not at his full potential), it seems likely that he would hold back to prevent trouble for himself.

3. Osan’gar makes a very large gateway in ACoS (Hill of the Golden Dawn). Gateway strength is proportional to strength in the Power, and his gateway is considerably large.

The problem with Aginor is that he has a weak personality. He admits to himself that he is terrified of Ishamael, and always has been. We see in WH (Wonderful News) that Demandred openly mocks him, but he doesn’t counter the challenge, perhaps scared of open conflict with Demandred. Now to illustrate a previous point, Graendal openly mocks Demandred in the same chapter, and we know that she is weaker than him. Therefore, personality plays a large role in these quotes. Aginor, unfortunately, is a weak little man who is easily cowed, but still strong in the Power. While he has no problem boasting about his prowess to an untrained man like Rand in EoTW, he is mocked and jibed by several Forsaken in WH, without a rebuttal.

Sammael is probably weaker than Aginor and Demandred in the Power, and for the sole reason that nothing has been made of his strength according to legend. While Ishamael, Lanfear, Demandred and Aginor have specific quotes surrounding their profound natural strength, there is nothing to suggest such with Sammael. Logically, however, his strength is close to the higher echelons, due to his status as one of the Forsaken always present at the top of the Forsaken hierarchy (there were six others according to RJ). Other points to back up Sammael’s strength include…

1. Adley’s estimation that Sammael is as strong as Rand in ACoS (A crown of swords).

2. Sammael’s ability to duel Rand at the end of ACoS, even if not openly. This makes him at least as strong as Rahvin, whom Rand estimated was a strong as him in FoH.

3. Rahvin’s estimation that he and Sammael could defeat Lanfear if they needed to. This statement is open to all forms of criticism, but it at least means that Rahvin considers Sammael to be a top level channeler. It’s as close to admitting a strength as one would ever see from another Forsaken.

4. Sammael can make a gateway that is not much smaller than Rand’s. (ACoS – Spears).

Sammael is the opposite to Aginor – his strength is amplified by his warrior personality and his aggressive tendencies. Sammael is openly aggressive towards Demandred, Graendal, Lanfear and anyone who challenges him.

Rahvin probably sits slightly below Sammael in strength.

TFoH (Prologue) – “Snatching at saidin, he filled himself with the Power… Linked to saidin as tightly as Rahvin… this close Rahvin could feel it dimly – Sammael eyed him warily… Then he sensed Sammael gathering the Power…”

This statement suggests that Sammael was holding a great deal of saidin when he met with the other three Forsaken – probably as much as Rahvin could hold. Later he senses Sammael drawing further on saidin. We also know from his earlier boast that he could defeat Lanfear that he considers Sammael to be at least as strong as he is.

We also have the following from when Rand duels Rahvin – TFoH (The Threads burn) – “Rahvin was strong, perhaps as strong as Rand, and more knowledgeable, but Rand had the fat-little-man angreal, and Rahvin had none.”

We know that in TSR Rand was about as strong as Asmodean, and in ACoS he was as strong as Sammael and Osan’gar. Rahvin is thus the middle point between these Forsaken. Probably the best evidence for Rahvin’s strength is Rand’s own comparative PoV – since he believes Rahvin to be relatively equal to him in book 5, but after gaining some strength, he was a match for Sammael in book 7.

Be’lal is an area of contention. Initially he was presented as one of the most formidable of all of the Forsaken.

Guide – “… he combined and surpassed the strengths of both Rahvin and Sammael, being both a patient and cunning planner and a capable fighter wiling to do battle with the foe.”

It’s difficult to ignore a statement such as the one above. While it may seem that it merely refers to him being a better planner than Rahvin, and a better fighter than Sammael, it also makes one wonder why Jordan excluded him from the list of the six Forsaken who were always near to the top of the Shadow’s hierarchy during the War of Power (these were Ishamael, Demandred, Sammael, Lanfear, Graendal and Semirhage).

In my opinion, Be’lal was probably one of the weaker male Forsaken in the Power, though mentally superior to many. The best evidence for this comes from Moiraine.

TDR (The Hammer) – “… he was called the Envious, and he forsook the Light because he envied Lews Therin, and that he envied Ishamael and Lanfear, too… Or that he envied the Dragon as well as his companions in the Shadow. That strengthens my belief that he wants Callandor.”

Be’lal seems to be a man who envies the most powerful people in the world – Lews Therin, Ishamael and Lanfear. Moiraine directly links his envious nature to his desire to gain a sa’angreal. Once again, that is a hint that he needs a powerful weapon like Callandor to stand alongside, or defeat, those he envies. There are several problems here. Firstly, we know that even Moridin, Demandred, Sammael, Asmodean and Aginor have all actively expressed a desire to wield an angreal or sa’angreal if they could get it, and it does not denote weakness in the Power. To add to this, his envious nature may be centered on other aspects and not strength in the Power – namely fame, or physical attractiveness. Really, anyone can decide exactly how strong he or she thinks Be’lal is. He may well be as strong as Demandred, and one could back this up merely by citing the quote in the Guide that suggests his superiority to Rahvin and Sammael. Be’lal’s part in the series is the smallest of all the Forsaken’s. We have very little to work with, and while I believe Moiraine’s quote points to a deficiency he is trying to cover with envy and with a sa’angreal, I may be completely wrong.

Balthamel’s strength is rarely discussed, and in the Guide it is vaguely referred to as “quite strong in the Power”. Other vague hints of Balthamel’s strength include…

1. Aran’gar’s ability to duel a circle of two Aes Sedai and an Ash’aman at least indicates that he’s not too much weaker than Demandred, who pretty much did the same. It shows that he has great strength in the Power, but what else is new.

2. In LoC (When Battle Begins), Aran’gar becomes wild with anger when Delana asks why she is afraid of Logain. It seems like an overreaction to a simple question, but Balthamel was known for his horrendous temper. Likewise, this could merely mean she is afraid of detection by Logain, and not his power.

3. Robert Jordan in his Question of the Week said that if Aginor had obtained a power source not detectable by the Dark One i.e. the Eye, he would have killed Balthamel. In the author’s mind, Balthamel is no contest for Aginor, implying a reasonable gap in ability.

Finally, Asmodean, who is possibly the weakest of the male Forsaken.

In TSR (The traps of Rhuidean), Rand and Asmodean draw exactly half of the male Choedan Kal into themselves. Considering a sa’angreal grants amplification relative to your strength in the Power, it implies that they shared equal strength in the Power at this stage of the series. Rand undergoes a strength increase on further occasions after this, which implies that he stands very far above Asmodean. Further evidence of his strength includes…

1. Lanfear’s statement placing him on a parallel with Moghedien – TSR (Traps) – “You fear risk as much as Moghedien, don’t you? You would creep about like the Spider herself. Had I not hauled you out of your hole, you’d still be hiding, and waiting to catch a few scraps.” Either Asmodean is weak and cowardly, or just cowardly – it is difficult to say.

2. TFoH (Prologue) – “But now he has Asmodean, weak ally as he is. And even before Asmodean, four of the Chosen have died confronting him.” Rahvin and the other Forsaken don’t doubt her statement about his cowardly and weak ways, but whether Asmodean is truly the weakest of them is debatable. Lanfear certainly doesn't use him as a hallmark of the greatest obstacles Rand has to face, naming the other Chosen who have fallen. Lanfear may merely be trying to push her own agenda on the other hand.

3. LoC (Prologue) – “Who betrays me shall die the final death. Asmodean, twisted by his weakness, Rahvin dead in his pride.” The Dark One may be referring to Asmodean’s weak personality and the ease with which he turned away from the Shadow, or he may be referring to Asmodean’s weakness in the Power, and how it drove him to seek out the Choedan Kal, which ultimately led to his downfall.

In summary, I’m sure most readers will realize how tenuous the evidence can be. One could easily challenge the majority of the evidence, thus in keeping with RJ’s need to keep it vague. You could easily suggest that Asmodean is one of the strongest of the male Forsaken. Your evidence would be his ability to stand up to Lanfear in the real and the dream world, and his ability to survive among the other Forsaken despite being a coward.

Alas, I’ve done my best to make a reasonable list that can at least defend its position. The rest is up to the readers to make up their own minds.

New Article Released: Character Parallels - Rand al'Thor

A new article is now available in the Reference Library: in the Character Parallels series, Rand al'Thor

À tout seigneur, tout honneur, as we say in French... as the central protagonist of the Wheel of Time series, and with Christian Easter just on the horizon, it seemed fitting to give you the illustrated Thirteenth Depository edition of Linda's 2007 essay about the messianic figure of the series, Rand al'Thor.

As he developed a central theme of the series, History fading to Legends and Legends becoming Myth before being forgotten as the Wheel of Time weaves the cyclical Lace of the Ages, Robert Jordan has delved into a massive amount of mythological, legendary and occasionally historical sources to give his characters a myriad of parallels to figures from the Ages long gone and the Ages yet to come, anchoring this way his concept that echoes of our Age are still palpable in the series's world, while dim and distorted memories of the series' events and characters will divide or aggregate to become our own myths when our Age comes again in a future turning of the Wheel. The more important the character, the richer and more intricate the web of myth and legends Jordan wove around them.

In the Rand al'Thor Essay, Linda is your guide on a journey through the figures which are either most likely to have been used by Robert Jordan in the creation of Rand or which, and such is the universal and interconnected nature of world mythology, resonate the most strongly with the character and role of the Dragon Reborn.

It's an exploration of the messianic figure, from the better known like Jesus Christ to the more obscure from ancient myth or vanished religions. It's also a survey of many gods and heroes from world mythology, again the better known from Classical Greek or Norse mythology or the Arthurian legends - and the less obvious figures from Irish, Meso-American or Egyptian or Chinese Mythology, lesser known but often fascinating to discover.

With the release of this article, the Real Life Parallels and Symbolism Index has been greatly augmented, and you can now find listings organized by domain in the main index - just look under the keywords Greek, Irish & Celtic, Meso-American, Egyptian Mythology and under the Matter of Britain for everything 'Arthuriana', as well as under the entries for the great religions.

This article will be followed in the coming weeks and months by many more entries in the same series from Linda's archives from Wotmania, covering most of the major protagonists and villains - as well as new articles in preparation for characters that she had not yet explored.

Good reading, and as always we welcome your comments.

Moghedien in a Nutshell

The Age of Legends

- Her original name was Lillen Moiral.

- A Moghedien is a little spider from the Age of Legends.

- The Forsaken call her the Spider sometimes (which is really just a translation).

- In the Age of Legends she was an advisor of investments where she frequently overstepped ethical boundaries and was disciplined.

- She turned to the Shadow during the Collapse and long before the War of Power began.

- Before the War of Power she held a medium-level position in Lews Therin’s cabinet, where she acted as a master saboteur and instigator of several major disasters.

- She says that Lews Therin was an arrogant man who stank of piety and goodness.

The War of Power

- She was revealed as a minion of the Shadow, and barely managed to escape – setting up a public transport disaster as a diversion which killed thousands of innocent people.

- She headed the main spy network of the Shadow during the War of Power. Balthamel was the other Forsaken who had an effective network which competed with hers.

- Although she wasn’t a general, her plans lead to the deaths of as many people as any of the generals of the Shadow.

- Her statements imply that she was present when Paaren Disen fell, and at another area of conflict called the Asar Don.

Since being released

- She disguised herself as a servant, Gyldin, in Tanchico – where she hid her ability but did not use an Illusion. During this time she tracked both the Black Ajah, Nynaeve and Elayne. Her primary target was the male a’dam to leash Rand al’Thor.

- She dueled Nynaeve in the Palace in Tanchico, where she was defeated and shielded. She escaped by unravelling her tied-off shield.

- She later defeated Nynaeve in Tel’aran’rhiod and was on the verge of Compelling Nynaeve to capture Elayne too, when Birgitte shot her in the chest with a silver arrow. Moghedien pushed Birgitte out of Tel’aran’rhiod permanently. Chesmal Healed Moghedien in the real world.

- Liandrin tried to use her half-trained Compulsion on Moghedien at this point, and was shielded with a complex shield which Moghedien claimed only the Forsaken knew how to unravel.

- Moghedien was later defeated again and placed in an a’dam in Tel’aran’rhiod. Nynaeve used Moghedien’s own strength to burn Rahvin. Moghedien was actually in Salidar and from then on became Nynaeve and Egwene’s prisoner.

- She taught Nynaeve and Elayne some weaves, but at the same time sabotaged their efforts and taught them a lot of rubbish too.

- Moghedien was freed by Aran’gar and went to Shayol Ghul where she was mindtrapped. Her mindtrap is held by Moridin.

- Some of her punishment included imprisonment in a vacuole, a recurring nightmare, and the attentions of Shadar Haran.

- She is indirectly responsible for breaking Nynaeve’s block after attempting to balefire her.

- Graendal was worried that Moghedien would want to exact revenge on her for using Compulsion on her.

- Moghedien spent most of the Cleansing of Saidin hidden behind a hill where she did almost nothing. She was then pulled into the huge vortex which occurred when the dome around Shadar Logoth collapsed. KoD suggests that she wasn’t harmed.

- She now only wears red and black.

- She hasn’t said a word (that we’ve seen) since WH.

As an Individual

- She is a natural coward, and is not ashamed of the fact – but has rather turned it to her advantage.

- She was, however, jealous of those who were brave and could move against their enemies openly. According to Graendal she hated anyone who had more than her, from strength to anything at all really.

- She never confronts her enemies openly, unless she is vastly superior or is forced to.

- She could apparently hold a grudge until the Wheel of Time stopped turning.

- She is not described as good-looking, but often as regal or handsome.

- It is theorized that she is the weakest Forsaken in the One Power. She mentions to the Dark One that she was often ignored in the War of Power because she was not seen as a threat. She was also apparently looked down upon by several of the Forsaken and some of her enemies, until they died by her treacherous hands. Graendal said that Cyndane was much stronger than her in raw strength.

- She possesses the most powerful Talent for Tel’aran’rhiod known, where she surpasses any of the Forsaken. She attempted to trap Egwene in Tel'aran'rhiod by using a very complex scenario of Emond's Field. Egwene managed to elude the trap.

- She implies that she cannot Heal well, and she wishes her abilities with Compulsion were better. She had basic knowledge on how to make cuendillar.

Image property of Dabel Brothers.

New Article Released : Dew Drop Inn part 1: New Spring

A new article is now available in the Reference Library: Dew Drop Inn : Wheel of Time Accommodation

Back in 2007, Linda put together for Wotmania this compendium of all the Inns mentioned in The Wheel of Time series, organized chronologically by their first appearance in the novels.

Inns are an omnipresent feature in The Wheel of Time, an aspect the introduction to this article explores. Robert Jordan often used the names & signs of inns to add layers of symbolism, from the subtle or mythological to the purely comical, often referring to the journey, in the largest sense, of the characters involved. Linda explored this aspect, adding to her descriptions of the Inns many clues to their possible symbolism.

For its Thirteenth Depository publication, Dew Drop Inn - Wheel of Time Accommodation has been split in 12 (and eventually it will become 15) installments, one for each book, to be released on a regular basis. This week, we offer you the New Spring The Novel entry. We have added to the article several illustrations of Inn signs, executed in the naive, comical or occasionally pretentious styles of 17th century inns. Robert Jordan (and this might surprise the part of his readers who consider him overly descriptive) has elaborated on fairly few Inn signs through the series, so these illustrations are mostly meant to set an atmosphere as you read.

This announcement also gives me the opportunity to mention to our more research-oriented readers a companion Index page to Dew Drop Inn, which lists alphabetically all the Inns, their locations, owners and personnel. It will be completed in parallel with the Dew Drop Inn installments.

Finally, I also attract your attention on another feature page of the Index, a repertoire of Real Life Parallels and Symbolism in the series - listing everything from historical figures, mythological or legendary characters, locations, objects, animals etc - with links to references in our articles. It can be accessed from the keywords Parallels, Symbolism and Themes in the Main Index. Like all the index features, it is a work in progress which we fine tune and augment with each new article we publish.

Good reading, and as always we welcome your comments.

Musings on the new WOT Illustrations

By Linda

The recent release of a preview of a few pages from The Eye of the World graphic novel and of the The Gathering Storm cover were most interesting.

The page from the Prologue of The Eye of the World shows Lews Therin standing in the ruins of his palace with his family dead around him. Dominic said that he pictured Lews Therin's palace as a Venetian palazzo and that got me thinking. Venice is renowned for Carnivale and pageants, which are a step away from masques.

The illustration looks like a scene out of Edgar Allan Poe’s short story The Masque of the Red Death, in which Prince Prospero tries to avoid a virulent, very rapid-acting plague (the Red Death) by confining himself and other wealthy nobles to his abbey. He holds a masquerade ball and in the midst of the fun a shrouded figure turns up. When Prospero demands to know his identity, the prince drops dead. The figure is revealed as the personification of the Red Death and all the guests die. It seems to fit the illustration. Ishamael, that enthusiastic user of the True Power, is the personification of the Dark One’s taint. Lews Therin, poisoned by the taint, killed everyone he loved and then himself. Different order of events, but the same result.

Masques originated in Italy and were a popular court entertainment of the sixteenth and early 17th centuries. One unusual masque that fits here is Cupid and Death, in which Death and Cupid accidentally get each other’s arrows and the result is chaos (!). The lovers Cupid shoots are killed, while the elderly people Death shoots become amorous. There are guest appearances by the personifications of Nature, Folly, Madness, and Despair. The latter three seem appropriate to the Eye of the World Prologue. Things are sorted out in the end by the god Mercury. It’s all about the world gone mad and the overturning of the natural order. The same thing that the Dark One and Ishamael are aiming at in WOT.

The Gathering Storm cover was an unfortunate unprofessional leak for TOR and was a mockup only. Rand is a composite figure and looks like he is on his last legs literally. I think the building he and Aviendha (in a coloured, rather than white blouse, but that’s a pretty tame disregard of the books for Sweet) are standing in front of is an attempted Polynesian longhouse with dragons carved on the roof peaks. Polynesia suggests sea-faring folk. I suspect they are visiting the Sea Folk islands, and Rand has just seen for himself the self-inflicted devastation of the Amayar. No wonder Rand looks like he’s just been kicked in the nuts.

New Article Released : How Do Channellers detect other Channellers?

A new article is now available in the Reference Library: How Do Channellers Detect Other Channellers?

This article, written by BobH (Shishka) for the Wotmania FAQ section in 2005, is the first of his contributions to be republished here fully indexed. It details, with many examples, the possible ways, if any, that channellers can detect the status and strength of other channellers. This, of course, depends on their own status. The various ter'angreal which detect channelling are also discussed, giving insight into how these devices can inform the wearer as to what channelling is happening, or could happen, nearby.

Other contributors : KCF (aka Nethspace), Onarishma and our own Linda and Dr. Saidin

This article and its content have also been added to the Index.

The Gathering Storm (in a glass of water?)

Thoughts and musings about the official announcement released by Tor Books.


Yesterday was a day to mark on the calendar for all Wheel of Time Fans.

We have a title for the first part of the series's finale: The Gathering Storm. We have a definitive release date: November 3, 2009. We have the great lines of the plan for the the publication of the remaining volumes of what Robert Jordan originally thought would be the single last book of the series.

Great news or bad news? It's all a matter of perspective.

I am a passionate person who feels very strongly for what grabs my interest, for what I decide to devote precious time and energy. I sympathize with all my fellow dedicated fans who today feel betrayed, worried, disappointed or very sad about the decisions the 'Wheel of Time Team' have just announced. This has happened to me in the past over other hobbies and passions of mine, and it really sucks - but the more negative I was about it, the worse it seemed to suck.

For all my understanding of these feelings, I can't join in the concert of bitter disappointment and criticism, because for me today is a great day, and the announcements made by Tor, Harriet McDougall and Brandon Sanderson are cause for much rejoicing and even a bit of relief. A few qualms and worries, but no many.

I want to salute first Brandon Sanderson for his honesty and openness – since you've taken on this project, Brandon, I have come to respect you and to enjoy your Blog and your attitude toward us fans more and more. You're truly a great guy, and truly one of us – your own passion and dedication to the series permeate all your communications with the fans. Kudos for that.

The very long blog post explaining the reasons for the split was frank and courageous, heart warming and often funny. I must speak my mind on this, though: Brandon, often you are a bit too honest and open, and today it landed you in the pickle many of us predicted on the first days you took over this project and began to communicate directly with the WOT fans, notably among us at Wotmania. But with your comprehensive Blog post you've set matters straight – again - about progress on the book and the process behind the hard decisions, and gotten yourself out of that pickle with both courage and elegance. If you can be blamed for anything, it's certainly not for misjudging the scope of the project in the early phase, for adapting your plans as it evolved, or for feeling a bit overwhelmed and tired. No, the only criticism I'd put at your feet today is that in your generosity and desire for transparency, you've created too many hopes and unreasonable expectations among part of the fanbase that Tor and Harriet now had to crush, at least among those who have less aptitude to read between the lines a bit, nor have heeded all your warnings that nothing was set in stone or would be for a long time, and that anyway you were not the one who would make the final decisions on publishing, and you could only give your opinions. Perhaps taking a page from the ever discreet Harriet's book would have simplified your life, though personally if you cope well with all this controversy and pressure, I say by all means do go on being yourself – your candor would be greatly missed in the years to come before this project is over.

I want also to salute Harriet McDougall. The decisions you've announced today were no doubt difficult ones to make, and you must have known they wouldn't be very popular and at best highly controversial, that your late husband had created too many expectations with his promise to finish in a single book, with his jokes about forcing his publisher to invent new methods to bind books if necessary – which as usual were taken dead seriously at face value by too many fans who should have understood Jordan's humour better after all these years of reading his work. But again, you're showing how much you have your priorities straight in this project, and again you've taken the necessary hard decisions to achieve what is best for the book, to make justice to Jim's memory and legacy. As always, it's very reassuring for a fan like me to see the helm of the Wheel of Time vessel in your capable and loving hands. You'll get us all to port, in your time.

A thank you as well to Tom Doherty and Tor Books. All around you're accused today by the more cynical who can't seem to see motivations behind those with dollar signs, of being this evil capitalist publisher, obsessed with making the most financial gain out of the Wheel of Time, with your hawkish eyes targeting the wallets of Wheel of Time fans worldwide.

You're in this for profit, of course, but I rather choose to see in all of this primarly your steadfast support of Harriet and Brandon, your obvious love for Robert Jordan's work you've been involved with and believed in since its genesis, and your support of the creators when they decided to stay true to Jordan's vision, by taking as much pages as they feel the story needs to be told in full. Some would have pressured the writing team to shorten things up to be able to publish the story in one book, and some would have pressured them to stick to the announced deadline. Tor rather chose to bite the bullet on this one, to go with the options that won't be popular among the readers and even leave a bitter taste among some of your customers. This isn't greed I see in your decisions concerning the publishing of the last Wheel of Time books, this is vision, and respect for the story and its creators, skills at finding the best possible compromise solution for the book, and for your company. And yes, you'll make money out of all this.. but then, I was under the impression publishing books for a profit was the raison d'être of Tor Books, so why blame you? Thank you Mr. Doherty. Robert Jordan was right to put his trust in you.

And I genuinely have come to believe that this 'WOT team' have just taken the best possible decisions for the series, one for which we'll thank them when all is said and done. Jordan's promises can be dismissed for what they were : well meaning wishes and intentions and a genuine desire to reach the end of the great journey – an end he no doubt was deeply eager to have us read at last. Harriet believes he would never have managed it, and it's all too easy to trust her opinion on this. All too easy. If anyone knows how much his tales expanded in the telling, it's her. She heard them over the table, she read them at her work desk. He announced this a bit too early, with just an outline to judge the length of the coming book. Jim Rigney excelled in many things, but with all due respect to his beloved memory, if anyone ever sucked at evaluating how long it takes to tell a story, it's Robert Jordan. For years, it was always '2-3 more books". It had become a running gag in the fan base, a bitter one for some, a funny on to others like me who really didn't care how long it would take to reach the end. It's hardly surprising he had misjudged the length of the 'last book' too, and if alas he is no longer here to have revised his early judgment along the way, his passing is no good reason to make his statement virtually sacred and untouchable, and to point now the accusing finger at his widow and his friend Tom Doherty for facing reality and finding viable solutions.

I am one of those fans who appreciate all the details and intricacies of Jim's story, one of those whose love for the series increased as the books went on and one of those who much prefer the famously or infamously 'long winded' books 4-11 to the early and faster paced 'trilogy'. Lacking in the details that for me truly makes WOT WOT, is often how I describe Eye of the World, The Great Hunt and The Dragon Reborn. In many ways, for me, the Wheel of Time really kicks off with The Shadow Rising, still one of my favourites.

Knife of Dreams, as good as it was, was also cause for some concerns. Perhaps under some pressure from the fans, perhaps because he was eager to get to the ending, Jim began to cut a few corners here and there, to precipitate resolution that felt like maybe it wasn't fully doing justice to all his 'set up'. If the price for a single volume A Memory of Light was to rush the ending, let too much of the details abandoned behind, unused for lack of space, then my belief is that this was too high a price to pay. I can only salute now Brandon and Harriet's decision to take all the time and pages they need to let the story breath.

The fact the book will be split into three installments may even be seen now as a gift. We were seeing the end of the WOT communities, very soon. We had only one book to look forward to, the book that would resolve everything at once. The end of theories, the end of many beloved topics of debate and discussion. A rush of discussions for a few weeks, tainted by the depressive effect that it's all over, and by the division between those who will be satisfied and those who will hate the finale (just look how the BSG fandom has just recently collapsed over the controversial ending of the series). For many years, the fan base has had it rough. Jim's disease and sad passing was a massive blow. Some sites vanished almost overnight, one of the major ones is about to close down. Harriet's decision to take all the time she needs to finish the book, and to offer them to us in three volumes over the next two years, has the very positive effect (one of Siuan's beloved unintended consequences) of giving us our Wheel of Time back. We have a book to look forward to and be excited about, and it's but a few months away. And then we'll have months of discussions and anticipation ahead of us, with the knowledge that the next chapter isn't that far away.

It is all a matter of perspective. When you have passions that bring you pleasure in life, you must make the efforts to protect and nurture them, and part of achieving that is in looking at things positively whenever it's possible, and to accept letting go of things you can't change. The alternative is too often to let changes and disappointements sour and ruin everything.

Harriet McDougall and Brandon will now have all the necessary time to make these books as good as they can be, and to ensure they do justice to Jim Rigney's legacy – books the fans can enjoy, and books Brandon and Harriet can look back at and be proud of. We will have the entirety of the story as envisioned by Robert Jordan in his notes and outline, not a shortened version to accommodate publishing, or to bow under the pressure of the more impatient part of the fan base. And we have ahead of us a reprieve of 2-3 years for the WOT fandom, with a new Wheel of Time book to enjoy every autumn. I don't know about you, but I salivate in advance. Today, watching over Harriet's shoulder from wherever he is, Jim must sport a content smile, and gave a good chuckle when she uttered her first official RAFO. All is well and his legacy is still in the best and most loving of hands. Brandon, Harriet, Mr. Doherty – best of luck to all of you with the rest of the project, and again, thank you for all the care you put into this for Jim and for us all.

And for the little worries, for instance how what was conceived as an 'Act 1', and knowing how RJ's 'acts 1' were usually structured, will make a satisfying read, are better left for post-reading discussions in November. At least we'll know then what we're truly talking about.


Dominic

New Article Released : Egwene, Leane and the Harbour Chains

A new article is now available in the Reference Library: Egwene, Leane and the Harbour Chain

This article, written by Old Salt for the Wotmania FAQ section in 2006, is republished here fully indexed and completed with pictural research by Linda. It explores all the details between Egwene's plan to block the Harbours of Tar Valon, and the consequences of having partially succeeded.

This article and its content have also been added to the Index.

New Article Released : The Noble Houses of Andor

A new article is now available in the Reference Library: The Noble Houses of Andor


This is Linda's first new article written exclusively for the Thirteenth Depository, and one we're both fairly proud of. It documents the nineteen Great Houses of Andor and all the known lesser Houses. The article also explores the founding of the nation of Andor and some key historical events known from the series or The World of Robert Jordan's the Wheel of Time. The article is illustrated with charts, maps and renditions of Andoran sigils.

A thourough reference tool and a good read in itself, it was also written to be a comprehensive refresher before jumping back into this storyline in A Memory of Light

This content of this article is in process of being added to the Index.

Linda and myself hope you enjoy it, and as always we welcome your comments.

The Study of Master Roidelle : Mapping the Wheel of Time

For many years, I have loved cartography, especially from the Renaissance, Age of Discovery and Baroque eras. Creating maps of the Wheel of Time universe is for me a natural extension of my fascination with Robert Jordan's series.

Over the years, I have worked in different media. A very great deal is done purely as computer graphic imagery - a natural medium for me as it's been the stuff my professional life is made of since the late 1980s. Other maps have been painted in watercolours or acrylics, or done in charcoal or china ink, with or without CGI enhancements or treatment.

Within the 'The Study of Master Roidelle - Mapping the Wheel of Time' series (Master Roidelle is the mapmaker of Shen al Calhar, for those not completely up to date on WoT trivia), I will be adding to the Thirteenth Depository's Reference Library some of my favourite maps. Some have been done long ago, some are quite new, and many are in-progress. In the next couple of months, much of my the efforts will be focussed on finishing the maps that are meant to complement Linda's various articles; illustrations being a major improvement we are very excited to be able to offer, and something we had long wanted at the old FAQ section at Wotmania. On an irregular basis, I will also add maps from my personal collection and show you some of the ongoing projects. I am, of course, very much looking forward to documenting cartographically some of the events of A Memory of Light.

The maps will be collected over time to form a virtual Wheel of Time Atlas - the 'Study of Master Roidelle' section, where I will often add more information and comments, pointing book sources and various guesses and problems. Several maps will also be found in the articles in the Library.

You can expect soon the first two maps, documenting the Siege of Caemlyn during the Succession (that didn't dare speak its name) and the events in and around the city on the day of Arymilla's last attack that brought her final defeat. These maps will complement Linda's first wholly new article written specially for our new site: a great essay on the early History of Andor and a study of the known Noble Houses and their members. The article to be published later this week will also be augmented with family trees, and renditions of the Andoran Houses' sigils.

I hope you'll enjoy this feature of the Blog, and I'm looking forward to your comments.

New Article Released : Setalle Anan

A new article is now available in the Reference Library: The Importance of Setalle Anan


Written in 2004, the article is Linda's exploration of the mysterious character of Martine Janata, the burned out Aes Sedai scholar of ter'angreal and other One Power related objects, better known under her new identify of Setalle Anan, once Innkeeper of the Wandering Woman in Ebou Dar, the nightmare of Nynaeve and Elayne, and currently a valuable ally and friend to Mat Cauthon, and even a mother figure to him and Tuon in their carnivalesque escape from Ebou Dar.

This content of this article has also been added to the Index.

New Article Released : Foretellings

A new article is now available in the Reference Library: Foretellings


This article, written by Linda in 2005 for the Wotmania FAQ section and kept up-to-date with each new book, is a compendium of all the Foretellings in the series and their possible interpretations. The Weaves and Talents and Fate, Free Will and Divining the Pattern articles have a general discussion of the Foretelling Talent and of the characters who can Foretell.

Foretellings is the first re-published article from the Into the Future series, which discusses all the Prophecies and as well as the matters of Fate, Free and Divination in Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time. The rest of the series will be re published in installments in the Thirteenth Depository... in a very foreseeable future. ;)

This article and its content have also been added to the Index.

New Article Released : The Black Ajah

A new article is now available in the Reference Library: The Black Ajah


It is the latest iteration of whatwas once the Wotmania 'Black Ajah FAQ' researched, rewritten and added to by Linda and Wotmania member Moridin_2000 over the years.

You'll find in the latest version we add to the Thirteenth Depository in-depth discussions of many Black Ajah related topics, from the early History of the secret society to what we know of its functionning and beyond, as well as a 'Who's who' repertoire of all the Black Sisters & their deeds in the series.

The article also embodies a full section on the use of Crytography in the Wheel of Time world.

The content of the Black Ajah article is fully indexed.

Individual entries for the Black Sisters can also be accessed directly using the Characters Index.

New Article Released : Herbs and Other Medicines

A new article is now available in the Reference Library: Herbs and Other Medicines

Its a repertoire of all the WOT medicines, herbal and occasionally otherwise, and their uses. The article is completed with many real life parallels, and general information on the use of herbs and medicines in the series. The center piece of this article is without a doubt the extensive Forkoot entry.

The article was originally published in March 2008 by Linda, for the Wotmania FAQ section. For its first anniversary, the article makes its entry in the 13th Depository in new revised and illustrated edition. Each of the entries is also available directly using the Index.

New Article Released : Ter'angreal and Allied Items

A new article is now available in the Reference Library: Ter'angreal and Allied Items

Written by Linda in 2005 and originally published in the FAQ section of Wotmania, it now enters the Thirteenth Repository in a revised edition. This article offers a complete catalogue of the ter'angreal described in the series, as well as comprehensive general entries about all sort of issues related to these devices: Their making, the Talents involved, security measures various characters have put in place to protect their collections or caches of ter'angreal, as well all many issues related to specific items, like the Accepted Test and the sul'dam and damane culture of Seanchan. Several 'Allied Items' are also discussed, notably the Portal Stones and the Ogier's Book of Translation.

The topics covered by the article as well as all the individual entries are also searchable through our index. The main entry for Ter'angreal can be found here.

Dabel Brothers post two new WOT images

By Dominic

The Dabel Brothers have posted new image from their upcoming comic book adaptation of The Eye of the World in this Dragonmount Announcement.

After the sour turn their New Spring adaptation project took (in a complex imbroglio caused by Red Eagle Entertainment, now solved and not worth getting into), I'm still waltzing between excitement and mild scepticism concerning the new project.

The guys picked by DB for the WOT project(s) are very talented, and the work on New Spring was often outstanding and very interesting to follow month after month. Good art - often better than good art, and a surprisingly good adaptation, considering the complexity of the novel. Adapting the whole series is however such a massive, many years endeavour. I'm not convinced just yet they will manage to bring even the first book to its end (and not necessarily by their fault, mind you - with REE out of the picture and Tor involved in the publication of the issues in graphic novel form, a drop in sales would be a more likely reason the project could come to an early end), and the possibility we may begin the journey but never get to finish it damper my enthusiasm a bit.

The new images are very nice - to my taste a bit too stylized in the character design compared to the art direction chosen for New Spring, perhaps - and they are apparently for the cover(s) of issue #1.

They've used some artistic license there - early morning in late spring somehow looks more lik sunset in autumn - and this changes the atmosphere early book one scenes evoke with me. Though, admittedly, cover art is a different game and the DB took similar license with the covers of New Spring, while the content of the comic book adaptation itself remained a lot more faithful to the novel.

Alas, some of that faithfulness that made New Spring even more interesting may have had quite a bit to do with the close involvement of Jim Rigney with the project, and his enthusiasm to get faithful WOT art at last. Part of the attraction of New Spring by the DB was that RJ saw it as an opportunity to guide talented artists into making renditions from his world for his fans. And for once, this was to be done by people who cared to bring his vision faithfully to the page, not artists commissioned to create covert art under the direction of marketing execs and the like.

For many years, Jordan had been dissatisfied with WOT art like the covers or the illustrations from the BWB, and the DB were giving him a new chance to 'get it right'. With the Dabel Brothers he got gorgeous renditions from his world, with attention to details in costumes and architecture. The rendition of a bird view of Tar Valon from an early issue was especially stunning then and still is now, looking again at the comic book. With his passing, let us hope the adaptators at DB make can make full use of Harriet and RJ's assistants as advisors, though all the little insight RJ could offer, all these little details that weren't in his notes but only in his head, or that he created along way, inspired by the rough version the artists sent him, are now lost forever. They probably miss that collaboration as much as we do, however.

This project remains exciting, far more so for me than the possibility Universal goes forward with a film adaptation of the novel, a format I personally find totally inappropriate for the series. As with many other 'long winded' authors of renown like Alexandre Dumas (whose work became fairly disappointing mini-series and movies, especially the awful Hollywoodian versions), a main attraction to the Wheel of Time is in the details of plots, characters, descriptions and atmospheres. Rushing and cutting WoT would degrade it to standard fantasy fare, and that's without going into the massive problem created by Jordan's decision to evoke 'Fellowship of the Ring" and its plot a lot in the early parts of The Eye of the World (he intentionally wanted the reader to feel comfortable with a well-known setting, before suddenly opening his world to something quite different from LOTR once they leave the Two Rivers), with the ensuing big risk that after the movie adaptation Wheel of Time is perceived by movie-goers who haven't read the books as a 'sub-standard LOTR rip-off'. The series's legacy, often unrecognized and unfairly maligned by readers of Fantasy and critics in the last years, deserves better than the REE/Universal project.

Comics and graphic novels are much more interesting, as they leave a lot more to the reader's imagination, especially when they're done by talented artists like the team the DB have assembled for the WOT project.

Good luck guys. With such an ambitious project you'll certainly need it, but it will be a treat to follow these issues month after month.

Mapping the Wheel of Time : Andor

by Dominic

This image is a 'draft' version of a map of Andor, done in a mock 17th Century Dutch style two years ago.

It is decorated with the sigils of 18 of the 19th main Houses of Andor (the 19th's, House Candraed's, has never been described).

Click the picture to get the full-size version.

Artistic license was taken with the House colours whenever unknown. More accurate renditions of the House Sigils can be found in the heraldry article, and eventually I'll add them to a more advanced version of the map.

A major gripe I have with map is the fact it uses the book's full colours map as background. Since I've done that draft, I've started work on a giant reproduction of 'big map', painstakingly translating all the details using grids. Once finished, this painting of the map of the Westlands (including the Waste and part of Shara, and a bit more of the Blight as well) will be used to finalize the regional/national maps I've done, like the present 'rough draft" of Andor.

Bayle Domon

Egwene

INDEX OF POVs


THE EYE OF THE WORLD

EARLIER:
Ravens (new prologue, Young adult edition only)

Summer 988 NE

• Egwene at the Shearing, ten years before the events of Winternight.

Egwene - The Great Hunt

Geofram Bornhald

Jaret Byar

Jaichim Carridin (Bors)

Liandrin