Great video, and it helps make something that was explained a little convolutedly in the books a lot easier to understand! You did get a few things slightly wrong, though, as far as I can recall. 1) Lanfear was never Lews Therin's mistress. They were lovers as students, but Lews Therin left her when he realised she loved the prestige of being his lover more than she loved *him.* She made several attempts to win him back, but he always refused her, as far as we know. "Mistress" implies he was cheating on his wife, which isn't the case. 2) The Sharom's original purpose was known; as far as I can remember, it was a building created by the Aes Sedai, and used as a laboratory to run experiments. It was - to quote The Shadow Rising - a "celebration of the triumph of their art." 3) The experiment wasn't a failure. It was a resounding success; they were attempting to reach the source of The True Power by boring a hole in the Pattern, because The True Power seemed to lie outside it. Shai'Tan - The Dark One - *was* the source of The True Power, and by boring a hole to its source, they bore a hole into his prison. It backfired horribly, but the experiment *was* a success. Unfortunately. The explosion was caused by the bore, not the other way around; the Bore *was* the intention, they just didn't realise they had found The Dark One's prison. 4) Balefire was initially used extensively in the war of power, but both sides quickly stopped using it when they realised that it was damaging the fabric of reality; the effects were so dangerous that even The Forsaken and the Dreadlords stopped using it, an order that was eventually rescinded during Tarmon Gaiden. But those are nitpicks. The video is well streamlined and easily understood, so kudos on making a complicated piece of lore easily understood! :D
1) He said that in the video, Mistress, lover whatever (you are being picky), it's later said that she went to the dark one after he left her and became Lanfear because Lewis married... if he was unmarried it meant he wasnt having an affair with Lanfear. 2)The Sharom was aglobe that appeared that they studied but didnt truly know its nature and when they broke it they released the dark one. 3)The experiment was a failure because with it they released the Dark One... so in reality it was the cause of all the pain that came later, and thus a massive failure for humanity. 4)Its Tarmon Gai'don, and they still used belfire but with care. Still it's correct to say it was a reseach/invention of the age of legend which he said. You just added extra info.
@@Alejojojo6 I admitted in my comment that I was being a little picky. ^_^ 1) This was picky, I acknowledged that. The fact remains that you don't call somebody's girlfriend a "mistress." Your Mistress is your Affair Partner. Since the purpose of this video is to be concise and clear, using the wrong term muddies the water. 2) I don't think you're right. To the best of my recollection, and from what I can tell double checking myself on the various Wikis, the Sharom was implied to have been built by the Aes Sedai. The breaking of the globe was not what released Shai'Tan; the bore was created inside the globe, and it was the opening of the bore that broke the Sharom, not the other way around. It went Research --> Bore --> Breaking Of Sharom, not Breaking --> Bore. 3) The results of the experiment were awful, yes. But in the strictest technical sense, the experiment was a success. What was the goal? To create a hole in the Pattern to access the location of The True Source. What happened? They created a hole in the pattern that accessed the location of The True Source. It may be splitting hairs a little, but an experiment can have a bad result and be a mistake on the macro level, but still be successful in its initial goals. EG, Jurassic Park; they wanted to bring dinosaurs back. They succeeded. Was it ultimately proven to be a bad idea? Yes. Doesn't mean the initial experiment's goals were not met. 4) The correction was that it was stated that they used it for the majority of the war, which wasn't quite true. They used it for about half the war, then both sides kind of agreed to not use it any more; it's stated in the books that neither side used it in the late stages *at all,* and besides individual uses in small duels during the book series, balefire wasn't used en masse by the Shadow's Forces until the restriction was lifted and the order given in The Final Battle. But yeah, this point was just adding a little extra info. I'm not sure what your point is, though. xD
There are some other minor mistakes, such as Lew's Therin's wife being called Aes Sedai (iirc she couldn't channel - EDIT: I WAS MISTAKEN, SHE WAS PROBABLY AES SEDAI) and Shayol Ghul not being the site of the (not) "failed" experiment. The former was actually a holiday resort and the latter was located in a big city. Still, I'm glad this series is being covered, and mistakes are unavoidable in this big an undertaking. Edit: Watching further, the classic balefire mistake is also made. It doesn't entirely burn someone out of the pattern, even though that's stated at least once in the series (unreliable narrator). I also had to be set straight about that at some point. Quote from a RJ interview (edit: it's actually a quote from a fan signing) in 1998: "If someone is balefired, the Dark One can't reincarnate them. But they CAN be spun back out into the Wheel as normal. Balefire is NOT the eternal death of the soul." (copied from Theoryland, though multiple sites have the quote)
@@methany8788 -- Ilyena: It doesn't say. As far as I remember, we don't know one way or the other whether she was a Channeller or not, they never specify to my knowledge. -- Travel Inn Shayol Ghul: Ah, good catch! There was something niggling at me, but I couldn't figure out what it was! Yeah, Shayol Ghul is simply where the touch was greatest, not where the experiment took place. Two different places. -- Balefire: Truuuue, it only burns you out of the pattern back a certain way. Not destroying the soul, just erasing your actions in the past depending on the strength of the balefire used, which is why it damages the pattern; unweaving certain threads and all the consequences therein. Though that *is* a second hand source (it's a signing report, not an official interview) so some caution in using it as a source should be taken.
@ninjabreadman1993r good point about the source on Balefire, though I do lean towards believing that one. Just did some more digging on Ilyena, and you're right. No idea how that popped into my head. If anything, there is evidence that she WAS Aes Sedai (from another signing). Edit: actually, there is "official" confirmation on Balefire. Both the Companion entry on it and a Sanderson quote apparently back it up
The First Age is heavily implied to be our own Age (during which the mysterious traveling pylons were created apparently). The Second Age is the Age of Legends, after which comes the Third Age of the setting of the books. The Third Age in turn influences our own age, as the wheel turns. Rand al'Thor becomes Arthur, Thom Merrilin becomes Merlin, Perrin resembles Thor while Matrim resembles Odin. The wheel weaves as the wheel wills.
@@Guardian582 That is the Third Age only, regarding Hawkwing. I meant that as the wheel turns, what was Rand al'Thor in an age long past becomes Arthur in our age (al'Thor --> Arthur, he picks up a sword from stone etc.). Similar to how in a future age Thom Merrilin becomes Merlin and so on.
The Wheel of Time is both an epic scale writing endeavor and a heartbreaking read if you are cognizant of what the author was going through as it was being written. Jordan knew his abilities were fading as his meds began to take their toll and the decision was made to bring Sanderson on to help carry the series to completion.
I didn’t think the series could be finished without Jordan, BUT man I was wrong! Sanderson did an amazing job finishing the series around Jordan’s notes
Sanderson wasn't brought on as far as I know. He was hand picked to finish the series but wasn't a part of a collaborative effort or anything like that. He had extensive notes and continuity maps to work with, but didn't contribute anything original prior to penning the last 3 books as outlined. And fwiw he was the right guy to wrap it all up.
@@Revanchist I've never read GGK, but my brother DNF'd one of his books(Can't remember which), so I doubt he's anywhere near Tolkien. Imo no one is, rather all modern Fantasy greats(Martin, Rothfuss, Jordan, Sanderson) have each inherited pieces of his genius.
His coming shall be like the sharp edge of the plow, turning our lives in furrows from out of the places where we live in silence. He shall stretch forth his hand to catch the Shadow, and the world shall scream in pain of salvation. All Glory be to the Creator, and to the Light, and to he who shall be born again. May the Light save us from him.
The Oath Rod only worked on channelers, as far as we can tell from the books. The more recently published Guide says otherwise, but that was published after RJ's death based on some notes. Also Balefire does not constitute a complete removal of the victim and their actions from the Pattern; it merely kills the victim back in time before they were hit by the Balefire, depending on the strength of the Balefire used. This could undo everything the victim had done back from several minutes to several hours. This had knock on effects of causality as the Pattern started to unravel reality with all the actions undone. Both side stopped using it as a result. Also, hunting down a male channeler and cutting them off from the One Power was know as "Gentling" them, not "taming."
Brilliant video. Another brilliant series just started. Looking forward to more brilliant videos. Your huge fan from Sri Lanka. We always appreciate your hard work to make these videos.
I've been waiting for your coverage of this amazingly culturally diverse, intricate world. I hope you don't compromise on the details that made this world unique among all high fantasy writings.
@@adamnesico yes. the regions' topograhy were artificially altered by the breaking of the world. But yes, the climates in each region make little sense
Thank yuu so very much for doing this series. I have loved WoT for over 30 years, was surprised at the dedication of Robert Jordan to finish his series, even from beyond the grave. But most important, this series WILL deal with the book source, rather than the horrible abortion made and filmed in Prime.
I've been waiting to find a lore series about WoT! There's like a dozen for LotR, but Wheel of Time is lacking in that department. I can't wait to see character journeys and lore deep dives, thank you!
It is people like you who obviously care about and love the source material that should have been given the reigns of the Amazon show. This is by far better content.
You should consider doing some on the Stormlight Archive and the broader Cosmere. There’s a WoT connection via Sanderson, plus you know it’s only a matter of time before it gets picked up for live action!
This is what the TV show missed, the fact that Lews Therin had no choice but to try and seal the dark one. He wasn't just some arrogant dick who doomed civilization because he was a man.
To be fair this is the implication in the early books as well simply because the Aes Sedai perpetuated the lie that men doomed the world. I don't remember if it's implied that the Black Adjah was responsible for this or not but they certainly embraced the lie as an organization.
@@xKinjax Well when the male Aes Sedai caused so much havoc, and with the centuries of hunting down men who go insane or proclaim (falsly) to be the Dragon Reborn, it is not THAT hard to understand that this clouded the way the distant past was retold by the female Aes Seadi. We speak about a time thousands of years ago, so it is only natural that all the years since thaz did not go without having a profound influence. So I think it was in part calculation to distant themself from those who almost brought humanity down, grief of the suffering and the slowy changing of the way they saw the male user of the one power, that created the way the Aes Sedai saw things.
@@marcbartuschka6372 But the female Aes Sedai are as much at fault for the world breaking as the males. Lanfear and all the other female Forsaken were Aes Sedai too. In fact the world might not have broken at all if they had helped Lews Therin when he asked them. Even more damning is that it feels like they never made any effort to try to cleanse the male half of the Source. It's not like male channelers instantly go insane when they try to channel, some are normal for many years yet it doesn't feel like they made any attempt to help them. I guess it's pretty ironic that they're pretty much exterminating themselves by hunting down the male channelers instead of helping them. You could say the fact that the Oath Rod is a sham and keeps their lives short is also another punishment.
@@xKinjax Well the world breaking was not so much the war (which was bad enough) but the insanity of the male Aes Sedai - or so I thought. In that neither the female Aes Sedai or the 13 had much influence (the 13 were in prison and the Aes Sedai did their best to stop it). I think the female Aes Sedai must have felt deeply betrayed - seeing the atrocities by their former comrades and friends may have influced their position (and it is not so that all of them at once turned against the men, some cooperated with some men to hide the horn of valere and the dragonbanner I thought, if I remember right - it is years that I last read the books). We see mostly the Aes Sedai 3.000 years later, not the Aes Sedai 10, or 20 years after the events at the End of the war. And I would not say that they are to blame too much for not trying to clean up the male side. First it would be hard for them to incluence it. Second - after seeing how the world was almost destroyed, would you take any risk that may result in poluting Saidar too? I mean eager experiments was what exactly brought the world in so much troubble the first time. It may not be noble or brave by them, but under the circumstances I would hardly blame them.
@@iitim2152 yeah and its a shame he had plans to write a sequel with mat and tuon goin back to seanchan land reconquering it (and presumably freeing the damane, he even had like a hint for that there was a legend "Legend has it that when a time of dire need comes, the Imperial family will return to the Towers and "right that which is wrong"" and towers of midnight were the place where creator of adam was made damane and basically where seanchan started making women damane )
@@iitim2152I kno exactly what u mean. My heart was broken when u heard he passed away. The final product was in know way equivalent to what we could’ve had.
@korionterivers9995 I have to respectfully disagree with both of you. I think Brandon taking over gave the series some much needed push to get over the line. But sadly, we will never know how different Jordans end product would have been.
THANK YOU SOOO VERY MUCH for this video!!! 😍🤩❤️👍🏻 As a non book reader this helps A LOT!!! 🥰❤️ I love this series and am seriously considering reading the books after watching this video.
oooh gush; Thanks a lot , i might have spoiled myself since i only watch the serie on amazon prime but now eveything makes so much more sense . i will try to get the books since they seem to be super fascinating .
What a fantastic level of details. I love how the series hinted at this age in S01E10 and showed splendor of the civ peak in just few seconds before it all went to ruin
I have several tiny nitpicks: 1 - The events of the books (the end of the Third Age) are indeed "centuries" away from ours, but "millennia" would be more accurate. 2 - The Oath Rod(s) would only have been used on offenders who can channel. "Muggles" would have been dealt with by other means. 3 - "Moments" is a generous description of Skimming travel time. Skimming generally takes at least minutes. And instantaneous "conventional" traveling through Gateways would be a better demonstration of the fantastical elements of the Age of Legends. 4 - The artwork here is incredible, but amusingly the drawing of Mierin (i.e. Lanfear) is somewhat unflattering lol. 5 - I'm not sure describing the Bore as a rift in the Pattern is exactly accurate, but that's super nitpicky even for me. 6 - The Bore did not allow Shai'tan to enter the world. It allowed him to touch and affect it, but he is still contained within his prison even while the Bore is open. 7 - Technically Shayol Ghul does not protect the Bore, but the place on Earth where the Bore is... most noticable, shall we say? The Bore does not technically exist in a particular geographic location. 8 - I'm not sure about the origin of the Blasted Lands. Perhaps they became barren as direct result of the Bore, but that might also be something that happened during the War of Power or the Breaking of the World. 9 - Do we actually know that Ilyena was an Aes Sedai? Nothing in the Companion indicates this beyond her having three names. 10 - Ishamael did not announce that he was joining Shai'tan by taking the name Ishamael. Ishamael was a name given to him by the side of the Light after he joined the Shadow. Also, *technically* it's "Betrayer of Hope" not "Traitor to Hope", but that seems to have been corrected in the captions. 11 - I wouldn't say that Ishamael was the leader of the Forsaken during the Second Age. He was the most powerful and most prominent, but more of a "first among equals" than leader. For all of Aes Sedai egalitarianism, I would say he was more of a first among equals among the Forsaken than Lews Therin Telamon was among the Aes Sedai. (Not because Forsaken were more egalitarian, but because of backbiting and infighting.) Ishamael didn't really become "the leader" in any sense until later, and didn't officially become the leader until near the end of the Third Age. 12 - Balefire does not completely remove someone from the Pattern. It removes them from the current moment of the Pattern and some time back, but their history in the Pattern is preserved beyond that point, and they can still be reborn in the future. 13 - Lews Therin Telamon's attack on Shayol Ghul did NOT lock the Dark One in a new prison, but patched over the hole in his existing prison. All that said, I second everything @ninjabreadman1993r said. This is a great video that was clearly well-researched and the artwork is fantastic!
I might be mistaken, but I believe that the chair of remorse may have been used on non-channelers for their crimes to make them feel what happened to their victims so they would empathize with them and not re-commit crimes. I might be wrong on that, but they definitely use it in the third age for a similar purpose at the tower. I think that it's used in the third age more to just punish people with nightmare images, but it seems like it can be used to insert memory or emotion into people and I am almost certain someone comments about a non-oath rod device at some point that was used on non-channelers in the AoL.
Adding to 12, they can be reborn naturally by the pattern, but not bought back unnaturally (hence it being a great weapon, aside from pattern-destroying drawbacks, for dealing with Forsaken so the Dark One couldn't resurrect them). Re there being more than 13 Forsaken, was there? I don't remember anything that indicated there was, but curious to know where its mentioned if I'm wrong?
@@MrHulaine There were definitely more than 13 individuals who had the rank of Chosen at one time or another. Whether the number of Chosen was ever more than 13 at a given point, I'm not sure. From the Companion: "The thirteen called the Forsaken were the top ranking at the time of the Shayol Ghul strike-Ishamael always was-but others had risen and fallen."
Nice nitpicking. It jarred when they said Ishmael chose his name, translated it wrong, and confused skimming with travelling amongst others. Otherwise a very good summary, the first of this series I've seen so far
“Popoiono • 2 yr. ago • The “well actually” crowd gets on my nerves so much. I don’t get why people have to be Fact Checkers/Gate Keepers/Lore Sheriffs instead of just enjoying the ride and the story we’re being told. I realize people enjoy things in their own way, but it’s gotten out of hand. People’s opinions start becoming fact due to a weird copycat mob mentality that turns into memes that get shared everywhere.”
The Wheel Of Time is a series that I keep forgetting that I love. Time to go book hunting soon… to get the whole set and start a lowing through that universe again! :)
Continue this series and take as many videos as you like but make it comprehensive so that no other video would be needed to understand or recap the wheel of time. And also start the second era of Mistborn and as soon as the 5th book releases of stormlight archive star that series too. As stormlight archive would be devided into two parts i think an ending would be given in the 5th book so the videos would be good.
I remember reading an interview where people were telling him his book series was too long. But Robert replied, he'll only stop writing if his coffin got nailed shut. RIP to a great writer
Oh it’s not centuries between The Breaking and the beginning of the books, it’s 3 millennia. 3 millennia with excellent explanations as to why progress doesn’t get past the medieval period.
They're well past medieval times. They have printing presses and clocks, while not common, aren't terribly rare either I think RJ described it as 16th - 17th century without gunpowder.
@@thomasrinschler6783 18th Century, actually. Just before gunpowder. The Last Battle is based on the Battle Of Austerliz, where Napoleon won a great victory against two armies.
@@shauntempley9757 i mean i wouldnt say its 18th century sure battle was based on that but gunpowder started being used in europe as early as 15th century and society wasnt rly 18th century equivalent either thats too late i think probably 16-17th is more accurate with some things mixed here and there
I wonder why you didnt introduce Graendal, Moghedian, Semigarde, Sammael, Rahvin and the others.... and just focused on Aginor, Demandred and Lanfear. (well and Ishamael).
@@Alejojojo6 yes, they are in that age, but their character arc doesn't come in till later. There is no need to over complicate a story that's already complex.
cuz the story isnt about them he just mentioned few most impactful ones like the one that created the trollocs, one that opened the bore, their leader in ishamael and demandred was like main general or something i think, well i guess you could skip demandred but his reason for joining was related to lews therin so maybe thats why he was mentioned
@@samdushukyan9595 Demandred arc doesnt come till later as well. Moghedien arc is before that of Demandred. Yet she isnt mentioned. So I dont think that's the issue. I agree if they dont mention Bel'al or Asmodean but Moghedien, Graendal and Semigarde are important more so than Aginor. Should be at least mentioned, telling the audience that the Forsaken are 13, not 3. Just mentioning them doesnt complicate anything.
Nice video and on a very epic fantasy world. However, the concept of seven spokes of the Wheel which represent time segments of an age (correct me if I misunderstood) - where did you get that? It’s not mentioned in the books. I assume you did and will use Official Companion of The Wheel of Time for information? I’m not familiar with it myself but know that it contains a lot of lore on the world.
I've seen one of your maps and it reminds me of Australia. You never said how the First Age ended, but I think I read a nuclear world war devastated the entire northern hemisphere. The Southern Hemisphere would contain the balance of humanity's home and Australia & New Zealand probably being technically ahead of South America and Africa could conceivably become a world leader.
1. So, was lanfear mistress or lover? In WoT, I know, multiple partners were not an issue but I'm curious. Was he involved with her before falling for Elein or simultaneously? 2. Was Lews' initial plan 100% fool proof? I've noticed a trend for blaming female Aes Sedai for the failure and nixing the plan. However, if they participated, wouldn't it be possible for ALL OF THEM to be forced to use One power directly, get tainted and go insane? I also don't blame the men, to be clear. Lews & Co thought they're doing the best they could do. A bit of hubris is human universal trait among the best men or women, this or that demographic group (Nynaeve, I'm looking at you and I love you! :) ). Good video!
I was so disappointed after the first amazon season. Hadn't read the books for several years, but I was sure the story was much better than what the series showed us. So i started reading the first book and it was so much better, of course I couldn't stop and finished all the books again. It was even better the second time I read them! Can't wait from more content here.
Great video, and it helps make something that was explained a little convolutedly in the books a lot easier to understand! You did get a few things slightly wrong, though, as far as I can recall.
1) Lanfear was never Lews Therin's mistress. They were lovers as students, but Lews Therin left her when he realised she loved the prestige of being his lover more than she loved *him.* She made several attempts to win him back, but he always refused her, as far as we know. "Mistress" implies he was cheating on his wife, which isn't the case.
2) The Sharom's original purpose was known; as far as I can remember, it was a building created by the Aes Sedai, and used as a laboratory to run experiments. It was - to quote The Shadow Rising - a "celebration of the triumph of their art."
3) The experiment wasn't a failure. It was a resounding success; they were attempting to reach the source of The True Power by boring a hole in the Pattern, because The True Power seemed to lie outside it. Shai'Tan - The Dark One - *was* the source of The True Power, and by boring a hole to its source, they bore a hole into his prison. It backfired horribly, but the experiment *was* a success. Unfortunately. The explosion was caused by the bore, not the other way around; the Bore *was* the intention, they just didn't realise they had found The Dark One's prison.
4) Balefire was initially used extensively in the war of power, but both sides quickly stopped using it when they realised that it was damaging the fabric of reality; the effects were so dangerous that even The Forsaken and the Dreadlords stopped using it, an order that was eventually rescinded during Tarmon Gaiden.
But those are nitpicks. The video is well streamlined and easily understood, so kudos on making a complicated piece of lore easily understood! :D
1) He said that in the video, Mistress, lover whatever (you are being picky), it's later said that she went to the dark one after he left her and became Lanfear because Lewis married... if he was unmarried it meant he wasnt having an affair with Lanfear.
2)The Sharom was aglobe that appeared that they studied but didnt truly know its nature and when they broke it they released the dark one.
3)The experiment was a failure because with it they released the Dark One... so in reality it was the cause of all the pain that came later, and thus a massive failure for humanity.
4)Its Tarmon Gai'don, and they still used belfire but with care. Still it's correct to say it was a reseach/invention of the age of legend which he said. You just added extra info.
@@Alejojojo6
I admitted in my comment that I was being a little picky. ^_^
1) This was picky, I acknowledged that. The fact remains that you don't call somebody's girlfriend a "mistress." Your Mistress is your Affair Partner. Since the purpose of this video is to be concise and clear, using the wrong term muddies the water.
2) I don't think you're right. To the best of my recollection, and from what I can tell double checking myself on the various Wikis, the Sharom was implied to have been built by the Aes Sedai. The breaking of the globe was not what released Shai'Tan; the bore was created inside the globe, and it was the opening of the bore that broke the Sharom, not the other way around. It went Research --> Bore --> Breaking Of Sharom, not Breaking --> Bore.
3) The results of the experiment were awful, yes. But in the strictest technical sense, the experiment was a success.
What was the goal? To create a hole in the Pattern to access the location of The True Source.
What happened? They created a hole in the pattern that accessed the location of The True Source.
It may be splitting hairs a little, but an experiment can have a bad result and be a mistake on the macro level, but still be successful in its initial goals. EG, Jurassic Park; they wanted to bring dinosaurs back. They succeeded. Was it ultimately proven to be a bad idea? Yes. Doesn't mean the initial experiment's goals were not met.
4) The correction was that it was stated that they used it for the majority of the war, which wasn't quite true. They used it for about half the war, then both sides kind of agreed to not use it any more; it's stated in the books that neither side used it in the late stages *at all,* and besides individual uses in small duels during the book series, balefire wasn't used en masse by the Shadow's Forces until the restriction was lifted and the order given in The Final Battle. But yeah, this point was just adding a little extra info.
I'm not sure what your point is, though. xD
There are some other minor mistakes, such as Lew's Therin's wife being called Aes Sedai (iirc she couldn't channel - EDIT: I WAS MISTAKEN, SHE WAS PROBABLY AES SEDAI) and Shayol Ghul not being the site of the (not) "failed" experiment. The former was actually a holiday resort and the latter was located in a big city. Still, I'm glad this series is being covered, and mistakes are unavoidable in this big an undertaking.
Edit: Watching further, the classic balefire mistake is also made. It doesn't entirely burn someone out of the pattern, even though that's stated at least once in the series (unreliable narrator). I also had to be set straight about that at some point.
Quote from a RJ interview (edit: it's actually a quote from a fan signing) in 1998: "If someone is balefired, the Dark One can't reincarnate them. But they CAN be spun back out into the Wheel as normal. Balefire is NOT the eternal death of the soul." (copied from Theoryland, though multiple sites have the quote)
@@methany8788
-- Ilyena: It doesn't say. As far as I remember, we don't know one way or the other whether she was a Channeller or not, they never specify to my knowledge.
-- Travel Inn Shayol Ghul: Ah, good catch! There was something niggling at me, but I couldn't figure out what it was! Yeah, Shayol Ghul is simply where the touch was greatest, not where the experiment took place. Two different places.
-- Balefire: Truuuue, it only burns you out of the pattern back a certain way. Not destroying the soul, just erasing your actions in the past depending on the strength of the balefire used, which is why it damages the pattern; unweaving certain threads and all the consequences therein. Though that *is* a second hand source (it's a signing report, not an official interview) so some caution in using it as a source should be taken.
@ninjabreadman1993r good point about the source on Balefire, though I do lean towards believing that one.
Just did some more digging on Ilyena, and you're right. No idea how that popped into my head. If anything, there is evidence that she WAS Aes Sedai (from another signing).
Edit: actually, there is "official" confirmation on Balefire. Both the Companion entry on it and a Sanderson quote apparently back it up
The First Age is heavily implied to be our own Age (during which the mysterious traveling pylons were created apparently). The Second Age is the Age of Legends, after which comes the Third Age of the setting of the books. The Third Age in turn influences our own age, as the wheel turns. Rand al'Thor becomes Arthur, Thom Merrilin becomes Merlin, Perrin resembles Thor while Matrim resembles Odin. The wheel weaves as the wheel wills.
Perrin thor, mat loki?
@@kylediffusion9879mat is odin
@kylediffusion9879 he gave up his eye for knowledgeable... not tricks. Also, Odin is a warrior God, too.
'Arthur' was not Rand, Arthur was Hawkwing
@@Guardian582 That is the Third Age only, regarding Hawkwing. I meant that as the wheel turns, what was Rand al'Thor in an age long past becomes Arthur in our age (al'Thor --> Arthur, he picks up a sword from stone etc.). Similar to how in a future age Thom Merrilin becomes Merlin and so on.
if you're gonna do deep dives into this series you have got A LOT of work ahead
Lmao, that's for sure!
Or find someone who has-either way, Wizards and Warrior blew it...
...in their typical lazy fashion.
@@anypercentdeathlesswdym
@@Bacchus His info on the Sharom is wrong.
@@anypercentdeathlessThat’s so bitter why do you hate this channel so much 😂
It's great to see that you are taking on the Wheel of Time. I've been eagerly waiting for this since you launched the channel.
The Wheel of Time is both an epic scale writing endeavor and a heartbreaking read if you are cognizant of what the author was going through as it was being written. Jordan knew his abilities were fading as his meds began to take their toll and the decision was made to bring Sanderson on to help carry the series to completion.
What happened to him??
I didn’t think the series could be finished without Jordan, BUT man I was wrong! Sanderson did an amazing job finishing the series around Jordan’s notes
Sanderson wasn't brought on as far as I know. He was hand picked to finish the series but wasn't a part of a collaborative effort or anything like that. He had extensive notes and continuity maps to work with, but didn't contribute anything original prior to penning the last 3 books as outlined.
And fwiw he was the right guy to wrap it all up.
That decision wasn’t made until after his death.
@@yuni-line8815
He got a serious blood disease that killed him in the end, he had it for a long time.
Happy to see you take on the Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan, imo the true inheritor of Tolkien's vision on fantasy.
That would probably be Guy Gavriel Kay not Robert Jordan.
@@Revanchist I've never read GGK, but my brother DNF'd one of his books(Can't remember which), so I doubt he's anywhere near Tolkien. Imo no one is, rather all modern Fantasy greats(Martin, Rothfuss, Jordan, Sanderson) have each inherited pieces of his genius.
@@georgeeast5502Now if only Martin and Rothfuss would finish their darn books.
AHHHHHH I never thought i would be happier seeing the wheel of time on your channel! love your content!
I’ve watched this channel since it’s inception and to see them covering my all time favorite fantasy series is like a dream come true
His coming shall be like the sharp edge of the plow, turning our lives in furrows from out of the places where we live in silence.
He shall stretch forth his hand to catch the Shadow, and the world shall scream in pain of salvation. All Glory be to the Creator, and to the Light, and to he who shall be born again. May the Light save us from him.
The Oath Rod only worked on channelers, as far as we can tell from the books. The more recently published Guide says otherwise, but that was published after RJ's death based on some notes.
Also Balefire does not constitute a complete removal of the victim and their actions from the Pattern; it merely kills the victim back in time before they were hit by the Balefire, depending on the strength of the Balefire used. This could undo everything the victim had done back from several minutes to several hours. This had knock on effects of causality as the Pattern started to unravel reality with all the actions undone. Both side stopped using it as a result.
Also, hunting down a male channeler and cutting them off from the One Power was know as "Gentling" them, not "taming."
The oath rod was one of many binding rods. They had binding chairs for non-channelers
Best book serie I read so far, I'm glad that you cover it :D
Great to see you guys dipping your toes into this amazing series! Keep up the great work!
Ahhhh! Wheel of time! I've been waiting for this! I hope I get to see you guys cover the world of the First Law next.
Fuck First Law
For the love of the gods please, please, PLEASE cover ALL of Tarmon Gai'don!
Y'all are amazing!
love this book series! looking forward to your depiction of so many of the battles that take place.
Brilliant video. Another brilliant series just started. Looking forward to more brilliant videos. Your huge fan from Sri Lanka. We always appreciate your hard work to make these videos.
I've been waiting for your coverage of this amazingly culturally diverse, intricate world. I hope you don't compromise on the details that made this world unique among all high fantasy writings.
Yes, sadly that geographically has no sense.
@@adamnesico yes. the regions' topograhy were artificially altered by the breaking of the world. But yes, the climates in each region make little sense
Thank yuu so very much for doing this series. I have loved WoT for over 30 years, was surprised at the dedication of Robert Jordan to finish his series, even from beyond the grave. But most important, this series WILL deal with the book source, rather than the horrible abortion made and filmed in Prime.
Thank you for covering The Wheel of Time!
Enjoyed this summary of something I found kind of convoluted in the books.
I've been waiting to find a lore series about WoT! There's like a dozen for LotR, but Wheel of Time is lacking in that department. I can't wait to see character journeys and lore deep dives, thank you!
Thank you so much for diving into The Wheel of Time. Been fascinated by the backstory since starting to watch the tv show
I have been watching your channel for Star Wars and LOTR. I have been ignoring everything else. ABOUT TIME YOU GUYS DID The Wheel of Time!
Both are extremely haggard properties in the present days😅.
Thanks!
I just started re reading these books 📚 😊 Favourite books by far ☺️
It is people like you who obviously care about and love the source material that should have been given the reigns of the Amazon show. This is by far better content.
You should consider doing some on the Stormlight Archive and the broader Cosmere. There’s a WoT connection via Sanderson, plus you know it’s only a matter of time before it gets picked up for live action!
I just started the series again. I’m in that first sequence in the beginning of book two. Neat coincidence.
Yours is very simply put an awesome channel!
This is wonderful. I am so glad you are doing this!
Finally! Waiting since the channel started for this series!
This is a very good synopsis, overall I give it an 8/10. Keep up the good work.
This is what the TV show missed, the fact that Lews Therin had no choice but to try and seal the dark one. He wasn't just some arrogant dick who doomed civilization because he was a man.
The show missed a lot because of their fear of offending modern sensibilities.
To be fair this is the implication in the early books as well simply because the Aes Sedai perpetuated the lie that men doomed the world. I don't remember if it's implied that the Black Adjah was responsible for this or not but they certainly embraced the lie as an organization.
@@xKinjax Well when the male Aes Sedai caused so much havoc, and with the centuries of hunting down men who go insane or proclaim (falsly) to be the Dragon Reborn, it is not THAT hard to understand that this clouded the way the distant past was retold by the female Aes Seadi. We speak about a time thousands of years ago, so it is only natural that all the years since thaz did not go without having a profound influence. So I think it was in part calculation to distant themself from those who almost brought humanity down, grief of the suffering and the slowy changing of the way they saw the male user of the one power, that created the way the Aes Sedai saw things.
@@marcbartuschka6372 But the female Aes Sedai are as much at fault for the world breaking as the males. Lanfear and all the other female Forsaken were Aes Sedai too. In fact the world might not have broken at all if they had helped Lews Therin when he asked them.
Even more damning is that it feels like they never made any effort to try to cleanse the male half of the Source. It's not like male channelers instantly go insane when they try to channel, some are normal for many years yet it doesn't feel like they made any attempt to help them. I guess it's pretty ironic that they're pretty much exterminating themselves by hunting down the male channelers instead of helping them. You could say the fact that the Oath Rod is a sham and keeps their lives short is also another punishment.
@@xKinjax Well the world breaking was not so much the war (which was bad enough) but the insanity of the male Aes Sedai - or so I thought. In that neither the female Aes Sedai or the 13 had much influence (the 13 were in prison and the Aes Sedai did their best to stop it). I think the female Aes Sedai must have felt deeply betrayed - seeing the atrocities by their former comrades and friends may have influced their position (and it is not so that all of them at once turned against the men, some cooperated with some men to hide the horn of valere and the dragonbanner I thought, if I remember right - it is years that I last read the books). We see mostly the Aes Sedai 3.000 years later, not the Aes Sedai 10, or 20 years after the events at the End of the war.
And I would not say that they are to blame too much for not trying to clean up the male side. First it would be hard for them to incluence it. Second - after seeing how the world was almost destroyed, would you take any risk that may result in poluting Saidar too? I mean eager experiments was what exactly brought the world in so much troubble the first time. It may not be noble or brave by them, but under the circumstances I would hardly blame them.
YES! Thank you! I remember asking for this series back when this channel first started.
R.I.P Robert Jordan. His death was the largest literary tragedy in our time.
How great of him (and his wife) to enable his series to be concluded. Wheel of time wouldn't be loved as much if we'd been without the last books.
@@hedottenno which were probably done as well as possible under the circumstances but still aren't what we would have gotten of he'd survived.
@@iitim2152 yeah and its a shame he had plans to write a sequel with mat and tuon goin back to seanchan land reconquering it (and presumably freeing the damane, he even had like a hint for that there was a legend "Legend has it that when a time of dire need comes, the Imperial family will return to the Towers and "right that which is wrong"" and towers of midnight were the place where creator of adam was made damane and basically where seanchan started making women damane )
@@iitim2152I kno exactly what u mean. My heart was broken when u heard he passed away. The final product was in know way equivalent to what we could’ve had.
@korionterivers9995 I have to respectfully disagree with both of you. I think Brandon taking over gave the series some much needed push to get over the line. But sadly, we will never know how different Jordans end product would have been.
Great video, I can’t wait for the rest of the series!
THANK YOU SOOO VERY MUCH for this video!!! 😍🤩❤️👍🏻
As a non book reader this helps A LOT!!! 🥰❤️
I love this series and am seriously considering reading the books after watching this video.
oooh gush; Thanks a lot , i might have spoiled myself since i only watch the serie on amazon prime but now eveything makes so much more sense . i will try to get the books since they seem to be super fascinating .
Thanks for bringing us these fascinating videos about favorite literary worlds!🧙⚔🔥🙌😎
What a fantastic level of details. I love how the series hinted at this age in S01E10 and showed splendor of the civ peak in just few seconds before it all went to ruin
This, was awesome. Please force feed it into the writers on the amazon show pronto.
I have several tiny nitpicks:
1 - The events of the books (the end of the Third Age) are indeed "centuries" away from ours, but "millennia" would be more accurate.
2 - The Oath Rod(s) would only have been used on offenders who can channel. "Muggles" would have been dealt with by other means.
3 - "Moments" is a generous description of Skimming travel time. Skimming generally takes at least minutes. And instantaneous "conventional" traveling through Gateways would be a better demonstration of the fantastical elements of the Age of Legends.
4 - The artwork here is incredible, but amusingly the drawing of Mierin (i.e. Lanfear) is somewhat unflattering lol.
5 - I'm not sure describing the Bore as a rift in the Pattern is exactly accurate, but that's super nitpicky even for me.
6 - The Bore did not allow Shai'tan to enter the world. It allowed him to touch and affect it, but he is still contained within his prison even while the Bore is open.
7 - Technically Shayol Ghul does not protect the Bore, but the place on Earth where the Bore is... most noticable, shall we say? The Bore does not technically exist in a particular geographic location.
8 - I'm not sure about the origin of the Blasted Lands. Perhaps they became barren as direct result of the Bore, but that might also be something that happened during the War of Power or the Breaking of the World.
9 - Do we actually know that Ilyena was an Aes Sedai? Nothing in the Companion indicates this beyond her having three names.
10 - Ishamael did not announce that he was joining Shai'tan by taking the name Ishamael. Ishamael was a name given to him by the side of the Light after he joined the Shadow. Also, *technically* it's "Betrayer of Hope" not "Traitor to Hope", but that seems to have been corrected in the captions.
11 - I wouldn't say that Ishamael was the leader of the Forsaken during the Second Age. He was the most powerful and most prominent, but more of a "first among equals" than leader. For all of Aes Sedai egalitarianism, I would say he was more of a first among equals among the Forsaken than Lews Therin Telamon was among the Aes Sedai. (Not because Forsaken were more egalitarian, but because of backbiting and infighting.) Ishamael didn't really become "the leader" in any sense until later, and didn't officially become the leader until near the end of the Third Age.
12 - Balefire does not completely remove someone from the Pattern. It removes them from the current moment of the Pattern and some time back, but their history in the Pattern is preserved beyond that point, and they can still be reborn in the future.
13 - Lews Therin Telamon's attack on Shayol Ghul did NOT lock the Dark One in a new prison, but patched over the hole in his existing prison.
All that said, I second everything @ninjabreadman1993r said. This is a great video that was clearly well-researched and the artwork is fantastic!
I might be mistaken, but I believe that the chair of remorse may have been used on non-channelers for their crimes to make them feel what happened to their victims so they would empathize with them and not re-commit crimes. I might be wrong on that, but they definitely use it in the third age for a similar purpose at the tower. I think that it's used in the third age more to just punish people with nightmare images, but it seems like it can be used to insert memory or emotion into people and I am almost certain someone comments about a non-oath rod device at some point that was used on non-channelers in the AoL.
Adding to 12, they can be reborn naturally by the pattern, but not bought back unnaturally (hence it being a great weapon, aside from pattern-destroying drawbacks, for dealing with Forsaken so the Dark One couldn't resurrect them).
Re there being more than 13 Forsaken, was there? I don't remember anything that indicated there was, but curious to know where its mentioned if I'm wrong?
@@MrHulaine There were definitely more than 13 individuals who had the rank of Chosen at one time or another. Whether the number of Chosen was ever more than 13 at a given point, I'm not sure.
From the Companion:
"The thirteen called the Forsaken were the top ranking at the time of the Shayol Ghul strike-Ishamael always was-but others had risen and fallen."
Nice nitpicking. It jarred when they said Ishmael chose his name, translated it wrong, and confused skimming with travelling amongst others. Otherwise a very good summary, the first of this series I've seen so far
“Popoiono • 2 yr. ago •
The “well actually” crowd gets on my nerves so much. I don’t get why people have to be Fact Checkers/Gate Keepers/Lore Sheriffs instead of just enjoying the ride and the story we’re being told.
I realize people enjoy things in their own way, but it’s gotten out of hand. People’s opinions start becoming fact due to a weird copycat mob mentality that turns into memes that get shared everywhere.”
Thank you so much for this! It explains a lot to me. I am not going to read the books, so I really appreciate this.
Well jeez. This was done super well. Thanks!
Yes! I knew you guys were planning to do this world.... oh these books have the BEST battles, I can't WAIT!
Thank you for this.
Great work!
The Wheel Of Time is a series that I keep forgetting that I love. Time to go book hunting soon… to get the whole set and start a lowing through that universe again! :)
discovered the show last friday. took me 2 days to watch 2 seasons. =) now i'll go buy books too
Cannot wait until The Last Battle and watching Matrim boat race the Foresaken generals.
Yay, please continue working on this series ❤
Continue this series and take as many videos as you like but make it comprehensive so that no other video would be needed to understand or recap the wheel of time. And also start the second era of Mistborn and as soon as the 5th book releases of stormlight archive star that series too. As stormlight archive would be devided into two parts i think an ending would be given in the 5th book so the videos would be good.
Can't wait for the next video. I loved the first few books but then life happened and I didn't come back.
I'm currently reading The Shadow Rising and this really helped me get fully immersed.
Glad you are reading and uploading on this fantasy fiction
Oh my god yes! WoT i my favourite fantasy series ever. Thanks for this video.
So excited for this series love the books huge fan
I remember reading an interview where people were telling him his book series was too long. But Robert replied, he'll only stop writing if his coffin got nailed shut. RIP to a great writer
I've been waiting so long for this
Hurry up and do the next one!!!😂😂😂 great work!! Scratch that! AMAZING WORK
Awesome! Well done and keep it up!
Really excited to see your video about Hawkwing, always loved that part of WoT lore.
Oh it’s not centuries between The Breaking and the beginning of the books, it’s 3 millennia. 3 millennia with excellent explanations as to why progress doesn’t get past the medieval period.
A millennia or several millennia is still many centuries... 3 millennia is 30 centuries. So what they said in the video it's still accurate
They're well past medieval times. They have printing presses and clocks, while not common, aren't terribly rare either I think RJ described it as 16th - 17th century without gunpowder.
@@thomasrinschler6783 18th Century, actually. Just before gunpowder.
The Last Battle is based on the Battle Of Austerliz, where Napoleon won a great victory against two armies.
@@shauntempley9757 i mean i wouldnt say its 18th century sure battle was based on that but gunpowder started being used in europe as early as 15th century and society wasnt rly 18th century equivalent either thats too late i think probably 16-17th is more accurate with some things mixed here and there
@@olorin3815 It is. Origins Of The Wheel Of Time says RJ had a map of the Battle Of Austerliz.
I wonder why you didnt introduce Graendal, Moghedian, Semigarde, Sammael, Rahvin and the others.... and just focused on Aginor, Demandred and Lanfear. (well and Ishamael).
Its not their time...
@@samdushukyan9595 It is their time... they are from the Age of Legends
@@Alejojojo6 yes, they are in that age, but their character arc doesn't come in till later.
There is no need to over complicate a story that's already complex.
cuz the story isnt about them he just mentioned few most impactful ones like the one that created the trollocs, one that opened the bore, their leader in ishamael and demandred was like main general or something i think, well i guess you could skip demandred but his reason for joining was related to lews therin so maybe thats why he was mentioned
@@samdushukyan9595 Demandred arc doesnt come till later as well. Moghedien arc is before that of Demandred. Yet she isnt mentioned. So I dont think that's the issue. I agree if they dont mention Bel'al or Asmodean but Moghedien, Graendal and Semigarde are important more so than Aginor. Should be at least mentioned, telling the audience that the Forsaken are 13, not 3. Just mentioning them doesnt complicate anything.
fantasy ideas : elric saga, narnia, starcraft, starship troopers (book ver.) and barsoom
Malazan series would be great but difficult for them
@@ryanvouche254 they would to make a planned roadmap for that in the future after finishing some the lore vids
The influence of Asian philosophies - Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism etc. is strong in this franchise.
Look forward to seeing more of these!
I always love to see WoT content!
Thank you for making some
Great job ❤ love it
Omg thank you for a fair cover of the Wheel of Time Lore
I bought the last book when it came out, but I have never read it because I don't want to have it end. Ironic considering the philosophy there.
Wonderful video! 🙂
To quote the Blind Guardian:
“WHEEEEEEEL OF TIME!”
"SAVE MY SOOOUL, FIIIND A WAAAAY!!"
Well now I don't have another choice but to actually finish the series by the time you guys make a video about it
SWEET. Love this world, both the books and the show.
Since Baldur's Gate I have been looking forward for some DnD lore it seems that there is an amazing amount of cool lore there too
Since you're covering one of my favorite fantasy universes, you might as well cover one of the most detailed sci-fi universes too; Battletech!
Woah, how did I miss you did some WoT videos!? My favorite book series. TV show however...
I’ve been so excited for WoT to come to WaW
Ayyye I’m all for a Wheel of Time deep-dive
I need a new live action series showing the age of legends and the war of power. Please someone make it happen soon.
Congratulations i hope you focus on the books and you will love the battles and the strategy
Nice video and on a very epic fantasy world. However, the concept of seven spokes of the Wheel which represent time segments of an age (correct me if I misunderstood) - where did you get that? It’s not mentioned in the books. I assume you did and will use Official Companion of The Wheel of Time for information? I’m not familiar with it myself but know that it contains a lot of lore on the world.
Will you cover forgotten ruin series?
Ishamael translates to betrayer of hope, not traitor of hope
Well, at least someone is making some quality content of the books. Please no ball gags if you do a video on the Seanchan.
Wait a minute! Women broke the world by not listening to men. If women aided 100 companions in sealing the breach it would have been complete.
Un no, both halves might have been tainted
Lews theirns plan worked, but the dark one's counterstroke worked because he touched the male source through the 100 companions.
When is gonna apear the last video of the mogol invasions?
Wow. Where did you find this information?
Curious to see what you do with the Time of Madness, the Aiel, and first 1000 years of the 3rd age.
So stoked!
I am very glad Wizards and Warriors will Do Robert Jordan's magnum opus justice.
Amazon sure as hell did not.
Fascinating lore!
Wow... helped a lot
I've seen one of your maps and it reminds me of Australia. You never said how the First Age ended, but I think I read a nuclear world war devastated the entire northern hemisphere. The Southern Hemisphere would contain the balance of humanity's home and Australia & New Zealand probably being technically ahead of South America and Africa could conceivably become a world leader.
Okay bro. please do Malazan next.
Anyone else flinch every time he said Shai'tan? Or is that just me? 😅
Do "Malazan book of the Fallen" best fantasy series of all time
1. So, was lanfear mistress or lover? In WoT, I know, multiple partners were not an issue but I'm curious. Was he involved with her before falling for Elein or simultaneously?
2. Was Lews' initial plan 100% fool proof? I've noticed a trend for blaming female Aes Sedai for the failure and nixing the plan. However, if they participated, wouldn't it be possible for ALL OF THEM to be forced to use One power directly, get tainted and go insane? I also don't blame the men, to be clear. Lews & Co thought they're doing the best they could do. A bit of hubris is human universal trait among the best men or women, this or that demographic group (Nynaeve, I'm looking at you and I love you! :) ).
Good video!
Just a couple of inaccuracies but overall a fun video!
I was so disappointed after the first amazon season. Hadn't read the books for several years, but I was sure the story was much better than what the series showed us. So i started reading the first book and it was so much better, of course I couldn't stop and finished all the books again. It was even better the second time I read them! Can't wait from more content here.