A Memory of Light pamphlet

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This information is from a pamphlet that was given to fans at A Memory of Light tour signings.

Facts About The Wheel of Time

The information this booklet was fathered from our friends and The Wheel of Time fans: Jason Denzel, Bob Kluttz, Jennifer Liang, James Luckman, and Linda Taglieri

We invite you to visit the following sites for additional information on the Wheel of Time:

dragonmount.com
@dragonmount
facebook.com/dragonmount

theoryland.com
@theoryland

tarvalon.net
@tarvalon

encyclopaedia-wot.org
@e_wot

13depository.blogspot.com

jordancon.org
@jordanconinc

waygatefoundation.org
facebook.com/WaygateFoundation

tor.com/wot

brandonsanderson.com
@brandsanderson
facebook.com/brandonsanderson

facebook.com/wheeloftime

taverentees.com
Taveren Tees has all the clothing gear you need to share your love for The Wheel of Time
@taverentees

"Mr. Jordan has come to dominate the world TOLKIEN began to reveal."
- The New York Times

The Eye of the World

  • Robert Jordan originally wrote another main character from the Two Rivers into the story. Jordan cut the extra character late in the writing, but he can still be seen on the original cover to The Eye of the World.
  • The term Aes Sedai is most likely taken from Aes Sidhe, a supernatural race in Irish mythology similar to fairies. The Aes Sidhe were descended from the Tuatha-De-Danann who traveled widely before settling in Ireland.

The Great Hunt

  • The dedication in The Great Hunt thanks many people who, "came to my aid when God walked across the water and the true Eye of the World passed over my house." This was a reference to Hurricane Hugo which struck Charleston in September 1989.
  • Aiel warrior societies were patterned after Cheyenne Indian culture. The Red Shields were a Cheyenne society. Another was the Dog Soldiers. There was a typo in early printings of The Great Hunt where "Stone Dogs" was printed as "Dog Soldiers."
  • The Nine Rings Inn in Cairhien is a nod to J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.
  • The majority of this book was originally intended to be part of book one in the series.

The Dragon Reborn

  • Symbolism in The Wheel of Time encompasses many mythologies of the world: from the Norse, aspects of Tyr, Odin, and Thor are represented in Rand, Mat, and Perrin.
  • There is an Ogier street less than two miles from Robert Jordan's house. Ogier is also a hero in Charlemagne myths.
  • Sa'angreal is a reference to the San Greal, the Holy Grail of Arthurian myth.
  • Robert Jordan owned the original painting to the first edition book cover to this novel. His wife was "creeped out" by the image of Ba'alzamon's floating head hovering just outside her bedroom door, so she asked the artist to paint over it. He did.
  • In the mid-90s, the premier Robert Jordan fan group was an animated Usenet group - rec.arts.sf.written.robert-jordan or "rasfwr-j."

The Shadow Rising

  • The Shadow Rising is regarded by many fans as the best book in the series.
  • Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson, and Harriet McDougal all considered Rand's journey through the ter'angreal in Rhuidean to be the best sequence in the series.
  • Cats in the Two Rivers have six toes.
  • Cats are drawn to women who can channel but hate men who can channel. The reverse is true of dogs.
  • Rhea, an Aiel girl Rand saw abducted during his flashback of the Aiel past in Rhuidean, is probably the origin of the Androan royal line - it should be noted that Rhea, in Greek legend, was a Titan who ruled from a throne with two lions at her side, and was the mother of the Gods, but not a god herself (the mother of the Queens, but not a Queen herself).
  • The phrase "All will be well, all will be well, and all manner of things will be well" that the Da'shain Dreamer Alnora says as they prepare to leave Paaran Disen at the start of the Breaking is a quote from the well-known English mystic, Julian of Norwich (ca. 1342 - ca. 1416).

The Fires of Heaven

  • Asmodean's death at the end of this novel sparked an intense debate related to who his murderer was. The mystery lasted eighteen years until the killer was finally revealed in Towers of Midnight.
  • "Who Killed Asmodean?" was by far the most commonly asked question Robert Jordan received. He said the answer should be "intuitively obvious to the casual observer."
  • Aiel t'mat is our tomato, zemai our maize, and algode is similar to the Spanish word for cotton.
  • A posy of broomwood is the Yellow Ajah emergency signal. In real life the herb dyer's broom gives a yellow dye.

Lord of Chaos

  • Lord of Chaos has what many fans consider to be the best ending in the series. The events at Dumai's Wells are arguably the central turning point of the story.
  • The Domani sursa are chopsticks.
  • Lord of Chaos was the sixth The Wheel of Time book published in five years; after it, the publishing pace slowed because Robert Jordan was exhausted. He told fans, "I need to slow down if I am not to fall over."

A Crown of Swords

  • The events in this book take place over the course of only eleven days; the shortest span covered by one book in the series.
  • The Sun Throne of Cairhien is based on Eighteenth Century France (Louis XIV was known as the Sun King) and medieval Japan, Land of the Rising Sun.
  • Ebou Dar refers to the real word city of Abu Dhabi, and Illian to Illion or Illium, which are alternative names for the ancient city of Troy.

The Path of Daggers

  • The Path of Daggers was the first The Wheel of Time novel to debut at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. All of the main sequence books since have debuted at #1.
  • At less than 230,000 words, this is the shortest of the main sequence novels.
  • The Seanchan "exotic" animal known as a s'redit is, in fact, an elephant.
  • Banner-General Furyk Karede of the Seanchan Deathwatch Guard wears a robe described as "dark Imperial green that some insisted on calling black," which sounds exactly like Charleston Green, a paint color commonly used in Charleston, South Carolina, Robert Jordan's home.
  • Dragonmount.com, Encyclopaedia WoT (encyclopaedia-wot.org), Theoryland.com, and Wotmania.com (now offline) were all independently founded just months before the release of this book.

Winter's Heart

  • Winter's Heart was the first The Wheel of Time novel for which the prologue (entitled "Snow") was released as an eBook by Scribner (and imprint of Simon & Schuster) before the book itself.
  • The titles Forsaken and Chosen applied to ALL Aes Sedai who turned to the Shadow in the Age of Legends, not just the thirteen who were imprisoned. The title Dreadlord came about during the Trolloc Wars, because the Darkfriend channelers in that time didn't dare claim the title Chosen.
  • Verin, Romanda, and Cadsuane are all from Far Madding. Of them, only Cadsuane is not currently wanted by the law in Far Madding.
  • Peaches are poison in The Wheel of Time world. In the real world peaches have tiny amounts of cyanide in their pit or kernel, but not enough to kill. Apricots have a bit more, bitter almonds a lot.

Crossroads of Twilight

  • Over the years, Robert Jordan repeatedly said that every female character in The Wheel of Time has an element of Harriet to her.
  • A man holding saidin cannot be compelled. The same is not true for a woman holding saidar.
  • Aludra was talking to a salt merchant in Jurador because she wanted to buy saltpeter (potassium nitrate) to make gunpowder. Nitrates are present in the salt mined in the French Jura mountains.

Knife of Dreams

  • Before the publication of this book, Robert Jordan declared that there was a chapter in it that should make a reader gasp. He was referring to chapter twenty-two, where the Sea Folk learn the Amayar committed mass suicide after they witnessed the female Choden Kal light up on Tremalking.
  • In Knife of Dreams one of the ter'angreal Aviendha identifies is a jolly bearded man holding a book; it allows the user to view a library. This is a cameo of Robert Jordan within the books.
  • Robert Jordan was once criticized about how none of the characters ever needed to go to the toilet, and as a result wrote a scene into Knife of Dreams where Mat questions Tuon on where she is going, and she replied, "If you must know, I am going to the necessary, Toy."
  • There was really a Battle of Maldon, in Essex, UK, in 991 AD (the spelling is different, though, from Malden in the books). Fun fact: Jim used Maldon salt.
  • Since 2007, TarValon.net has awarded the Robert Jordan Memorial Scholarship for undergraduates who have performed exceptional service to their community.

The Gathering Storm

  • The opening epigraph to this book was originally written by Robert Jordan about the process of making the final The Wheel of Time novel.
  • In The Gathering Storm Rand was given a new, unidentified sword. This sword is the same as the sword that Harriet gave to Brandon when he began writing The Wheel of Time, and represents his cameo in the series.
  • The real world equivalent of forkroot, the plant that drugs channelers, is probably mandrake (Mandragora offcinarum) a dangerous plant with a forked root chock full of alkaloids and the subject of many legends and associations with witches. Forkroot works on men as well as women channelers.
  • Spirit is the only Power that can be channeled while asleep.

Towers of Midnight

  • The "future history" that Aviendha sees for the Aiel is reminiscent of the real world Trail of Tears history of the Cherokee and other tribes.
  • The names Aelfinn and Eelfinn are similar to "elfin" and therefore refer to elves. In fact, the Old English word for elf was aelf. Like elves, the Aelfinn and Eelfinn have strange powers, including appearing and disapearing suddenly, seeing the future, and granting three questions/wishes.
  • At the time of publication, Brandon Sanderson said the chapter where Perrin forges his new hammer was the best he'd written in his career.
  • Towers of Midnight was dedicated to all fans of the series. The fans specifically named are the founders of the major The Wheel of Time online communities, conventions, or are otherwise well-known in the community.

A Memory of Light

  • Robert Jordan frequently said that the final scene of the series was one of the first that he imagined at the beginning of his story development process in the 1980's.
  • When asked to describe The Wheel of Time in six words, Jordan replied: "Sheesh! I've written a few million words so far, and you want me to summarize it in six? Well, here goes. Cultures clash, worlds change; cope. I know; only five. But I hate to be wordy."

New Spring/Legends Anthology

  • Robert Jordan originally wrote the novelette New Spring for Robert Silverberg's anthology Legends. He later expanded it to the novella, New Spring: The Novel. The original novelette was basically the second half of the novel; it started with Lan and Bukama arriving in Canluum. This opening scene was the first point of view we had from Lan.
  • Malkieri surnames are very similar in style to Mongolian surnames.

The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time/Strike at Shayol Ghul

  • The "Strike at Shayol Ghul" was a supplementary chapter written by Robert Jordan in 1996 for Balticon 30 which chronicles many of the events related to Lews Therin's attack on the Dark One's prison. (It's available at www.dragonmount.com/Books/Strike_at_Shayol_Ghul).
  • The Land of Madmen, an island continent in the Sea of Storms that even the Atha'an Miere avoid, where it is reputed that both male and female channelers run insane, is never actually referenced in the main series, and is known only because of The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time. Fans have connected this to Australia, a country that Robert Jordan loved very much.
  • The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time is the only place to show the known map of the globe.
  • 3% of the population in the Age of Legends could channel, and the vast majority of those were trained. This means that at conservative estimates there would have been thousands, if not millions, of Aes Sedai.
  • By comparison, 1% of the population at the time of the books can channel, and 62.5% of the women amongst that would have the strength to test for the shawl. There are 500,000 people in Tar Valon, and assuming that the gender division is roughly equal that means that there are around 2,500 women who could channel in Tar Valon's civilian population, roughly 1,562 of which could conceivably test for the shawl. This is more than double the number of Aes Sedai in the world as of the end of Towers of Midnight.
  • A full Encyclopedia for The Wheel of Time is in the works.

Robert Jordan

  • Robert Jordan's real name was James Oliver Rigney. He passed away on Septemer 16, 2007.
  • A life-threatening injury in his 30's caused him to reconsider his career as a nuclear engineer and inspired him to write.
  • He published a total of twenty-six novels.
  • Robert Jordan was a Freemason. There are references to Freemasonry throughout The Wheel of Time books.

Brandon Sanderson

  • He was chosen by Harriet McDougal, Robert Jordan's wife and editor, to finish Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series.
  • He is the best selling author of Warbreaker, Elantris, The Way of Kings, and the Mistborn Series: Mistborn, THe Well of Ascension, The Hero of Ages, The Alloy of Law.
  • He teaches creative writing at Brigham Young University.