The Wheel of Time
The Wheel of Time is a series of high fantasy novels by the American author Robert Jordan, with Brandon Sanderson as co-author of the final three installments. Originally planned as a trilogy, The Wheel of Time came to span 14 volumes, in addition to a prequel novel and [|three companion books]. Jordan died in 2007 while working on what was planned to be the twelfth and final volume in the series. He prepared extensive notes, enabling Sanderson to complete the final book, which grew into three volumes: The Gathering Storm, Towers of Midnight, and A Memory of Light.
The series draws on numerous elements of both European and Asian mythologies, most notably the cyclical nature of time found in Buddhism and Hinduism; the metaphysical concepts of balance, duality and a respect for nature found in Taoism; and the dualistic concepts of God and Satan which is the foundation of Zoroastrianism.
The Wheel of Time is known for its length, detailed imaginary world, magic system, and large cast of characters. The eighth through fourteenth books each reached number one on the New York Times Best Seller list. After its completion, the series was nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Novel., the series has sold over 90 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling epic fantasy series since The Lord of the Rings. Its popularity has spawned [|comic book adaptations], a collectible card game, a video game, a roleplaying game, and a soundtrack album. A television adaptation, The Wheel of Time, aired for three seasons on Amazon Prime Video, from 2021 to 2025.
Setting
The One Power and the Aes Sedai
The series is set in the Third Age of a fantasy world in which the pattern of human existence is determined and maintained by the Wheel of Time, a cosmic embodiment of eternal return. The Wheel spins the Pattern of the Ages, manifest in both the physical world and human destiny, using the lives of men and women as its threads. Individuals with the power to influence and change the Pattern are called ta'veren. The Wheel is rotated by a magical force called the One Power. The ability to access and wield the One Power is known as channeling, and only women can do this safely. Artifacts called angreal amplify the One Power, with sa'angreal being the most potent, and ter'angreal limited to specific functions.A matriarchal order called the Aes Sedai, made up of female channelers, are both respected and feared across the world. Their stated goal is to use their skills to serve and protect humanity, but they are also preparing for the inevitable, prophesized return of a malevolent entity they call the Dark One. The leader of the Aes Sedai, known as the Amyrlin Seat, rules from the White Tower in the city of Tar Valon. The order is divided into seven disciplines, or Ajahs: the Blue Ajah are dedicated to the pursuit of justice and inevitably intrigue, possessing extensive spy networks; the Brown Ajah are dedicated to the preservation of knowledge and history; the Gray Ajah are dedicated to mediation and politics; the Green Ajah are warriors trained in battle and strategy; the Red Ajah monitor the use of the One Power by outsiders; the White Ajah are concerned with logic and truth; the Yellow Ajah are mistresses of healing; and a secret eighth faction, the Black Ajah, pose as members of other Ajahs but serve the Dark One. The few men born with the ability to channel ultimately go mad, so the Red Ajah hunt male channelers and "gentle" them, or cut them off permanently from the One Power, ever aware of the danger they represent. With the exception of the Red Ajah, an Aes Sedai may choose to bond magically with a Warder, a male protector. The link bestows the Warder with heightened senses, strength, stamina and resistance to injury.
Geography and cultures
The primary continent depicted in the series consists of three regions: the Westlands, Shara far to the east, and the Aiel Waste in between. The Aiel Waste is separated from the Westlands by a vast mountain range known as the Spine of the World. Connecting these three areas in the north is the eastern part of the Great Blight, a once-verdant land mass that has been corrupted by the Dark One's influence. It stretches far west across the Aryth Ocean and borders the north of the continent of Seanchan. South of the Westlands is the Sea of Storms, and the small continent known as the Land of the Madmen. The Westlands contain 14 nations, including Andor, Cairhien, Illian, Shienar and Tear, as well as four major city-states: Falme, Far Madding, Mayene and Tar Valon. Other notable cities include Caemlyn, the capital of Andor, and Fal Dara, the northernmost city in Shienar. Two Rivers is a region in Andor which includes the village Emond's Field, home of five of the series' main characters. Shara, which extends much further south than either the Westlands or the Aiel Waste, is separated from the rest of the continent by the Cliffs of the Dawn and the Great Rift. Shara remains mysterious to outsiders, who are only allowed to enter walled-off towns to trade. The world in which the series is set is sometimes called "Randland" by fans, referring to lead character Rand al'Thor.The are a vast and powerful empire whose civilization has developed at a distance from the primary continent of the series. Their culture enslaves female channelers, who they believe are too dangerous to be free. Such channelers, known as damane, are collared with a ter'angreal called an a'dam, which allows women known as sul'dam to harness and control their channeling power. As the Seanchan invade, they use the a'dam to enslave any Aes Sedai they can. Also opposing the Aes Sedai are the Children of the Light, or Whitecloaks, a quasi-religious, militarized order bent on destroying anyone who channels the One Power, believing they are servants of the Shadow. In Shara, channelers are known as Ayyad, and isolate themselves in special communities. The females, who secretly control the monarchy, cultivate a bloodline of channelers by using male Ayyad as uneducated breeding stock and executing them by age 21.
The are a fierce warrior race who live in the Three-fold Land, called the Aiel Waste by outsiders, an inhospitable desert region located between the Westlands and Shara. They are tall, with characteristic pale eyes, and red or blond hair. There are 12 Aiel clans, plus the extinct Jenn Aiel, who built the city of Rhuidean, a repository of Aiel history and culture. The Maidens of the Spear are an all-female warrior society among the Aiel. Female Aiel who can channel the One Power or navigate Tel'aran'rhiod, the World of Dreams, do not join the Aes Sedai, instead becoming known as Wise Ones. The Aiel await a prophesied "Chief of Chiefs", whom they call the Car'a'carn, who will unite and rule all the clans.
The are a hirsute, wide-featured and immensely tall and strong species of humanoid known for their proficiency in woodwork and masonry. Though physically intimidating, they are peaceful, intelligent and interested in historical and genealogical study. The Ogier also possess a unique ability called treesinging, whereby they stimulate the growth and healing of trees and plants by singing to them. They live in sanctuaries called steddings, in which the One Power is inaccessible. After the Breaking of the World, male channelers who sought sanctuary with the Ogier thanked them by creating the Ways, a series of paths through an alternate dimension that connected Ogier communities. Stone doorways called Waygates, placed outside each stedding, were used to travel long distances quickly. In the millennia that followed, however, the Ways were corrupted by a malevolent force known as the Machin Shin, or Black Wind, which attacks travelers.
The, or Tuatha'an, are a nomadic group of people who travel continuously and widely in brightly colored wagons, believing this is the only way to remain safe. They follow the pacifistic Way of the Leaf, which eschews violence. The Tuatha'an's main purpose has evolved to searching for "The Song", lost during the Breaking of the World, which they claim they will know when they find it. The Sea Folk, or Atha'an Miere, are dark-skinned people with complex customs who live on ships and on islands in the Sea of Storms. They only appear on the mainland to trade goods, and Sea Folk porcelain sculptures, delicate and graceful objects of art, are highly prized by mainlanders. Unknown to any but the Atha'an Miere, the fabled porcelain is created by the Amayar, a group of island dwelling people protected by the Sea Folk as a solemn duty since the Breaking of the World. The Amayar adhere to the Water Way, a pacifistic way of life akin to the Way of the Leaf practiced by the Tuatha'an.
The Dark One
Humans seduced by promises of power and immortality to serve the Dark One are known as Darkfriends. The increasing influence of the Dark One has also introduced an array of creatures called Shadowspawn. Trollocs are brutal, humanoid monsters with animal senses who kill with pleasure and eat all meat, including humans. They are led by the Myrddraal, or Fades, terrifying and deadly creatures without eyes who can disappear in shadow but will not cross running water. Appearing human and designed to target channelers, gholam are constructs which possess superhuman strength, are impervious to harm and immune to the One Power, and feed on blood. Gray Men, or the Soulless, are humans who have sacrificed their souls to become drab assassins with the ability to pass completely unnoticed. Draghkar are flying, vampiric creatures that devour the souls of their prey. Darkhounds are otherworldly, doglike beasts the size of small horses, with acidic, poison saliva. They regenerate when wounded or dismembered, and can only be destroyed by balefire, a weapon of the One Power which erases the target from existence, retroactively through time.The most significant minions of the Shadow are the Forsaken, a group of male and female channelers from the Second Age, or the Age of Legends, who are among the most powerful to have ever lived. Calling themselves "Those Chosen to Rule the World Forever", they pledged their loyalty to the Dark One in exchange for power and immortality. In turn, the Dark One granted them access to the True Power, his exclusive equivalent of the One Power which is not divided by gender, and is more chaotic. Use of the True Power manifests as saa, black flecks moving across the eyes of the channeler, increasing in number in tandem with increased channeling. The more powerful among the Forsaken vie to be raised above the others to the position of nae'blis, the Dark One's second-in-command. The thirteen Forsaken—Aginor, Asmodean, Balthamel, Be'lal, Demandred, Graendal, Ishamael, Lanfear, Mesaana, Moghedien, Rahvin, Sammael and Semirhage—were imprisoned with the Dark One at Shayol Ghul at the end of the Second Age. Three thousand years later near the end of the Third Age, the Aes Sedai learn that the prophesied channeler known as the Dragon has been reborn, signaling that a final battle with the Dark One is coming. The Seven Seals of the Dark One's prison have weakened, and the Forsaken begin to reenter the world, presenting a new threat and paving the way for their master.