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0.01: The Wheel of Time FAQ: Introduction, Copyright Information, and Contents

"I of course have zero evidence for this, but since when has that stopped any of us?" -- David Wren-Hardin

"Just the FAQs, ma'am." -- Sgt. Joe Al'Friday

This version of the WOTFAQ was initially published in January 2004.

Copyright Information

The Wheel of Time FAQ (WOTFAQ) contains writing by many authors. The individual authors hold copyright to their respective contributions, as cited in the text. The Wheel of Time books, and all quotations therefrom, are Copyright 1990-2003 by Robert Jordan. The Wheel of Time chapter icons are by Matthew C. Nielsen, and are Copyright 1990-2000 by Tor Books, used with their gracious permission. Unattributed material in the WOTFAQ is Copyright 2004 by Leigh Butler, Pamela Korda and Erica Sadun. This version of the WOTFAQ is Copyright 2004 by Leigh Butler, Pamela Korda and Erica Sadun.

What does all that mean? You may not distribute the WOTFAQ in any form, in whole or in part, without written permission from Leigh Butler. You certainly may not claim any part of the WOTFAQ as your own work, unless, of course, you wrote that part. You may print out a copy of the WOTFAQ for your own personal use. You may keep a copy of the WOTFAQ on your own computer for your personal use, provided that you don't distribute it. For example, you may not make the WOTFAQ available on your web page without permission. You may quote short portions of it as reference material, provided that you provide proper citation and credit.

For more information about copyright law, see:

• Copyright on the Internet
• The Copyright FAQ
• Ten Big Myths about Copyright Explained

Introduction to the WOTFAQ-- a Word from the FAQueen

This is the Wheel of Time Wondrous Masterpiece of Assembled Knowledge, Theories, and Discussion (a.k.a. The Frequently Asked Questions compendium). 'Tis edited and maintained by me, Leigh Butler. The FAQ is based on discussion of The Wheel of Time series on the Usenet group rec.arts.sf.written.robert-jordan, as well as some personal correspondence, and a few other sources on the Web. This version of the WOTFAQ contains lots of SPOILERS for all books of the Wheel of Time, up to and including Book 10, Crossroads of Twilight. If you haven't read, don't read. There are versions of the WOTFAQ from before COT (i.e. no spoilers, but some out-dated theories), which you can find links to in the Wheel of Time Index (see section 0.08).

This version of the WOTFAQ (v7.0) has been updated to include information and theories from Crossroads of Twilight. The Keywords and Sitemap indices have been deleted.

Standard Reference Format: [Book Abbreviation: Chapter Number, Chapter Name, Tor HC page number]

Credits

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Keeper of the Chronicles (FAQ Maintainer and HTML implementation): Leigh Butler (leighdb@pacbell.net).

Defender of the Dragonwall (Site Maintainer) and FAQueen Emeritus: Pam Korda (pam@linuxmafia.com).

Master of the Blades (Original Site Design): Matthew Hunter.

Mother of the FAQ (Originator of the WOTFAQ): Erica Sadun.

Advertisement-free Web space courtesy of: Rick Möen (original site); Alistair Young (UK mirrors); Maggie Brazeau and David Scotton (US mirror); and Kate Nepveu (2nd US mirror).

Beta-testers/Proofreaders: A ton of thanks go to Steven Cooper, who went above and beyond the call of duty with an exhaustive proofread of the entire FAQ. You rock, Steven... A plethora of kudos also go to my crack team of nitpickers and broken-link-finders - Evan "Skwid" Langlinais, Duncan Macdonald, Pat O'Connell, and Jennifer Winters. Also thanks to Kjell Stahl, my johnny-on-the-spot with the page refs, and to Maggie Brazeau for her help in the final stages of production.

FAQing awesome people: Richard Boyé, for taking on the hellish job of updating the Sitter section for me; Jeff Dougan, for helping me put together the oh-so-fun bonding section; Kevin Bartlett and Karl-Johan Norén, whose web pages Pam plundered mercilessly for good analyses of Asmodean's murder; Steven Cooper (again!), for his comprehensive and endlessly useful Chronology; Daniel Posey, for his Ideal Seek engine (or as I like to call it, Sanity Flotation Device); Bill Garrett and Hawk, for allowing me to make free with their hardbound property; and Pam Korda, for her continuing and fabulous assistance in maintaining the FAQ.

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Contents

Note on changes since the last version:

• Items marked "NEW" are sections which are, well, new.
• Items marked "UPDATED" are sections which include significant new information and/or discussion.
• Items marked "REVISED" are sections which contain some minor new info or discussion, but no major changes.
• The "Sources" section has been completely reorganized, with the old entries redistributed appropriately, but all sections marked "new", "updated" or "revised" do also contain new material.

• 0 Administrivia

• 0.00 Welcome to the Wheel of Time FAQ
• 0.01 Introduction, Credits, and Contents
• 0.02 RJ says the FAQ is only 1/3 right. Why should I bother reading it?
• 0.03 Acronyms and Abbreviations
• 0.04 What are these Jordan Wheel of Time books?
• 0.05 What should I do if I've become obsessed?
• 0.06 What's the deal with those shoddy Tor covers that keep falling off?
• 0.07 Who is Robert Jordan, really? What else has he written?
• 0.08 What other resources are out there besides the FAQ?
• 0.09 How can I contact Robert Jordan?
• 0.10 Is there a downloadable version of the FAQ?

• 1 The Dark Side

• 1.1 The Forsaken: The Old Guard

• 1.1.1 Who are the Forsaken? Where are they now?
• 1.1.2 Who is Mesaana in the Tower?
• 1.1.3 Who was Silvie?
• 1.1.4 Why did Sammael claim he had a truce with Rand?
• 1.1.5 How do we know Demandred is not Taim?
• 1.1.6 The Death of Asmodean
• 1.1.7 Could Lanfear be good? (not just in bed, Roy)
• 1.1.8 Was Ishamael really bound?
• 1.1.9 Why do we think Anath is Semirhage in disguise?

• 1.2 The Forsaken: The New Kids on the Block

• 1.2.1 Who are Aran'gar and Osan'gar?
• 1.2.2 What is the deal with Halima and Egwene's headaches?
• 1.2.3 Who is Moridin? Why do we think that he is the Watcher and the Wanderer?
• 1.2.4 Who is Cyndane, and where did she come from?
• 1.2.5 Moridin's Nine Sha'rah Players

• 1.3 How's That Work for the Dark?

• 1.3.1 What are those black threads on the male Forsaken?
• 1.3.2 The True Power
• 1.3.3 Are Black Ajah bound by the Oath Rod?
• 1.3.4 Are the Seals connected to the Taint?
• 1.3.5 What is the deal with Black Ajah and Warders?

• 1.4 What's Up in the Dark? Who's Who?

• 1.4.01 Who ordered Melindhra and why?
• 1.4.02 Slayer: The Luc-Isam Connection
• 1.4.03 Can Slayer channel?
• 1.4.04 Who is Slayer's mystery employer?
• 1.4.05 Shaidar Haran, Superfade
• 1.4.06 Who will be the new dreadlords?
• 1.4.07 What's the deal with the 'Aiel' attack on Demira Sedai?
• 1.4.08 Did Shaidar Haran violate Moghedien?
• 1.4.09 Who killed Adeleas and Ispan?
• 1.4.10 The "Kill Rand" Order and the TPOD Attack
• 1.4.11 What was up with the Forsaken at the Cleansing?
• 1.4.12 Who will meet Rand in Ebou Dar?

• 1.5 Black? Or Not?

• 1.5.1 Is Aram a Darkfriend?
• 1.5.2 Why Moiraine is not Black Ajah
• 1.5.3 Why Elaida is not Black Ajah
• 1.5.4 Is Sheriam Black Ajah? Who's beating her up?
• 1.5.5 Is Chesa a Darkfriend?
• 1.5.6 Is Taim a Darkfriend?
• 1.5.7 Who is not a Darkfriend?
• 1.5.8 Who is a Darkfriend?

• 1.6 Ghoulies and Ghosties and Long-Leggedy Beasties

• 1.6.1 Where do Trollocs and Myrddraal come from?
• 1.6.2 Fifty Ways to Kill a Gholam
• 1.6.3 What's up with the ghosts?
• 1.6.4 What's up with Darkhounds? Who are the big pack in COT hunting?

• 1.7 Shadar Logoth, Mashadar, and Fain

• 1.7.1 More of the Fain
• 1.7.2 Mordeth, Mashadar, and Machin Shin
• 1.7.3 Is Mordeth a gholam?
• 1.7.4 What was up with Liah in Shadar Logoth?

• 2 Things Not Necessarily of the Dark

• 2.1 The Ta'veren

• 2.1.1 What's up with Mat's ring?
• 2.1.2 Is there a connection between Mat's luck and the dice ter'angreal?
• 2.1.3 Is Mat still linked to the Horn?
• 2.1.4 When was Rand's Power-Acquisition Fever Syndrome?
• 2.1.5 What's up with Mat and his memories?
• 2.1.6 LTT - is he for real, or is Rand loony? What happened to him in ACOS?
• 2.1.7 The Third Man
• 2.1.8 What's the deal with Mat and bells?

• 2.2 The Rest

• 2.2.1 Can Thom channel?
• 2.2.2 What was up with Gawyn during the Tower Coup?
• 2.2.3 Who was the geezer on the barrel?
• 2.2.4 What's the deal with Setalle Anan? Is she the one who is no longer?
• 2.2.5 Where is Gaidal Cain now?
• 2.2.6 How do we know that Moiraine is not dead?
• 2.2.7 Verin: Black, Brown, or Purple? (What's up with Verin, how old is she, is she bound by the Oath Rod?)
• 2.2.8 Can Tuon channel?

• 2.3 The Power and Power-Related Objects

• 2.3.01 What's up with the male-female a'dam link where they both die screaming?
• 2.3.02 The Sad Bracelets / male a'dam
• 2.3.03 Effects of the Oath Rod: Binding, Agelessness, and Death
• 2.3.04 How do One-Power-forged blades work?
• 2.3.05 What is the range on sensing other channelers?
• 2.3.06 Can you make horizontal gateways?
• 2.3.07 How does balefire work?
• 2.3.08 What is the difference between Skimming and Travelling?
• 2.3.09 What do Dreamers and Dreamwalkers do?
• 2.3.10 How does Mat's medallion work?
• 2.3.11 What are 'involuntary rings'?
• 2.3.12 What caused the One Power weirdness in Ebou Dar?
• 2.3.13 Is Cadsuane's hair-thingy a ter'angreal?
• 2.3.14 The Seven Seals: Status Report
• 2.3.15 What's the deal with Healing stilling/gentling?
• 2.3.16 Cleansing the Taint and What Came of It
• 2.3.17 Is saidar failing?
• 2.3.18 What's the difference between inverting and reversing?
• 2.3.19 What's the deal with bonding and Compulsion? Can the Warder bond be released?

• 2.4 Days Of Yore

• 2.4.01 Who was Beidomon?
• 2.4.02 Did LTT balefire himself?
• 2.4.03 The Green Man, the Aiel, and the Song
• 2.4.04 Jain Farstrider: Where is he now?
• 2.4.05 The Old Tongue and the New Tongue
• 2.4.06 Who or what was (the) Tamyrlin?
• 2.4.07 What did Ogier do of old?
• 2.4.08 Were there Ajahs in the Age of Legends?
• 2.4.09 Was the Sharom the Dark One's prison?
• 2.4.10 Tigraine = Shaiel: An analysis
• 2.4.11 What was the Vileness after the Aiel War?

• 2.5 True Love and Families

• 2.5.1 Who's Who in the Families?
• 2.5.2 Who is Juilin's honey?
• 2.5.3 Why do we think that Thom will marry Moiraine?
• 2.5.4 Is Thom the father of Elayne or Gawyn?
• 2.5.5 Kari al'Thor: What do we know about her?
• 2.5.6 Is Aviendha pregnant?
• 2.5.7 What's the deal with Seanchan marriage customs?

• 2.6 What's Up? (Non-Dark Section)

• 2.6.1 What is the deal with Callandor? Who will use it?
• 2.6.2 The Severed Hand
• 2.6.3 Who are the Aelfinn and Eelfinn?
• 2.6.4 Where do the Aes Sedai get their money?
• 2.6.5 The Mystery of the "Too-Young" Sitters
• 2.6.6 Military Roundup: Situation Report
• 2.6.7 What did Toveine's note say?
• 2.6.8 Who betrayed Egwene?

• 2.7 Absurd Trivia and Generalities

• 2.7.1 How does one sniff, anyway? What about snorting?
• 2.7.2 How tall is everyone?
• 2.7.3 How old is everyone?
• 2.7.4 Is there religion in Randland?
• 2.7.5 Iconography
• 2.7.6 Missteps (Errors Along the Way)
• 2.7.7 When Rand and Mat are travelling to Caemlyn in TEOTW, why does the scene with the scarves happen twice?

• 3 Sources of Knowledge

• 3.01 Judeo-Christian and Biblical Parallels
• 3.02 Norse Mythology
• 3.03 Greek and Roman Mythology
• 3.04 Celtic Myths
• 3.05 Arthurian Legend
• 3.06 The Fisher King
• 3.07 Dragon Legends
• 3.08 Asian Influences
• 3.09 Shadowspawn
• 3.10 Miscellaneous References
• 3.11 Similarities between The Wheel of Time and other SF (including Dune)
• 3.12 Is the world of Randland a future Earth?
• 3.13 The Aiel, Native Americans, and the Zulu
• 3.14 Real Nations' Influence on Randland

• 4 Prophecy

• 4.1 Egwene's Dreams
• 4.2 Min's Viewings
• 4.3 Miscellaneous Prophecies
• 4.4 The Dark Prophecy
• 4.5 The Karaethon Cycle
• 4.6 Perrin's Dreams
• 4.7 Fourth Age Histories

• 99 Publishing Stuff

• 99.1 When is the next book going to be out?
• 99.2 What is the Guide? What is "New Spring"? What are these "Young Adult" volumes?

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