66 Fun Facts About Wheel of Time

Who wrote the first eleven Wheel of Time novels?

Robert Jordan wrote the first eleven books over fifteen years and died in 2007 while drafting what he meant to be the twelfth and final volume.

Which author completed the final three volumes after the original author's death?

Brandon Sanderson, a longtime fan, finished the series; the eulogy he posted for Robert Jordan helped persuade Jordan's widow and editor to choose him.

How many main volumes does the finished series contain, not counting the prequel?

The finished series runs to 14 volumes, eleven by Robert Jordan and three completed by Brandon Sanderson, plus a prequel and several companion books.

What is the title of the first novel in the series?

It was released as a large paperback in January 1990 and later split into two illustrated volumes for younger readers.

In which year was the first book in the series published?

The Eye of the World was published in 1990; Jordan had begun it in 1984 and reworked it heavily, at one point centring it on an older man who discovers his destiny late in life.

What is the title of the fourteenth and final novel?

A Memory of Light, published in January 2013, was the title Jordan had chosen for his planned single final volume, which Sanderson's completion grew into three books.

Which of these was the FIRST of the three co-written volumes that concluded the series?

The Gathering Storm came out in October 2009, followed by Towers of Midnight in November 2010 and A Memory of Light in January 2013.

Which publisher has released every volume of the series?

Tor Books, founded by Tom Doherty, has published every volume; Doherty had earlier hired Jordan for a run of licensed novels because he wrote quickly.

What is the title of the prequel novel, expanded from a 1998 novella?

New Spring, expanded in 2004 from Jordan's novella in the Legends anthology, is the only prequel; fan grumbling led him to shelve two more planned prequels and finish the main series.

Roughly how many copies had the series sold worldwide as of 2021?

The series had sold over 90 million copies worldwide by 2021, making it one of the best-selling epic fantasy series since The Lord of the Rings.

What is the male half of the One Power called?

Saidin is the male half; the Dark One tainted it at the moment of his sealing, which is why male channelers go insane.

People around whom the Pattern bends, such as Rand, Mat and Perrin, are called what?

Ta'veren such as Rand, Mat and Perrin bend the Pattern around themselves, though even they can only push events as far as the Wheel's weaving permits.

What title is held by the leader of the Aes Sedai?

The Amyrlin Seat rules the Aes Sedai from the White Tower; Siuan Sanche holds the office when the story begins.

In which city does the White Tower stand?

Tar Valon, an island city in the River Erinin, is home to the White Tower and is governed directly by the Aes Sedai.

Which of the seven Ajahs of the White Tower hunts down male channelers and cuts them off from the One Power?

The Red Ajah exists to hunt men who can channel and gentle them; traditionally its sisters alone take no bonded protector.

What is the secret eighth sisterhood whose members serve the Dark One while posing as ordinary sisters?

The Black Ajah is the hidden sisterhood of Darkfriends inside the White Tower; in the TV series Liandrin Guirale is revealed as one despite wearing Red.

An Aes Sedai's magically bonded male protector is called what?

A Warder is bonded to his Aes Sedai; the bond gives him heightened senses, strength, stamina and resistance to injury, and each can sense the other's condition.

Emond's Field, home village of Rand, Mat and Perrin, lies in which region of Andor?

The Two Rivers is a remote corner of Andor so isolated that its people barely remember they are the Queen's subjects; Emond's Field is its main village.

Which brutal humanoid Shadowspawn, eaters of any meat including humans, attack Emond's Field?

Trollocs, bred from men and animals in the Age of Legends, raid Emond's Field on Winternight; they eat any meat, human included, and fight in fists led by officers of the Shadow.

Which eyeless creatures can vanish into shadow but will not cross running water?

Myrddraal, also called Fades or Halfmen, are eyeless, melt into shadow and are loath to cross running water; they serve as officers of the Dark One's armies.

How many Forsaken were sealed away with the Dark One at the end of the Age of Legends?

13 Forsaken were sealed in the Bore with the Dark One; they call themselves the Chosen and compete to be named nae'blis, his regent over the world.

Rand al'Thor is the reincarnation of which Dragon from the Age of Legends?

Lews Therin Telamon, the Dragon, led the sealing of the Bore; the Dark One's counterstroke drove him mad, he killed his family and himself, and the Breaking of the World followed.

The Seven Seals on the Dark One's prison are made of which unbreakable substance?

Cuendillar, or heartstone, cannot be broken by any known force, yet the Seven Seals weaken as the Dark One's prison fails; the last of them are finally broken during the Last Battle.

Which weapon of the One Power erases its target from existence backwards through time?

Balefire burns a thread out of the Pattern backwards in time, undoing its target's recent deeds; it is also the only thing that permanently kills a Darkhound.

Rand claims which crystal sword, a powerful sa'angreal, from the Stone of Tear?

Callandor, the Sword That Is Not a Sword, hung in the Heart of the Stone until Rand took it; the Forsaken Be'lal had lured him there hoping to seize it himself.

At Falme, Mat summons legendary heroes back from the dead by blowing what?

The Horn of Valere, found at the Eye of the World, calls the Heroes of the Horn back from the dead; at Falme they drive off the invading Seanchan.

In which cursed, abandoned city does Mat steal the dagger that poisons him?

Shadar Logoth's ruby-hilted dagger binds Mat to the city's own evil, Mashadar, which is separate from the Dark One's; Aes Sedai in Tar Valon later cleanse him of it.

Perrin learns from Elyas Machera that he can communicate telepathically with which animals?

Men with the gift are called wolfbrothers, and Perrin later kills two Whitecloaks who slaughtered one of the pack.

What was Perrin Aybara's trade in Emond's Field?

Perrin was apprenticed to the blacksmith Haral Luhhan, and the hammer stays his symbol; Rand was the shepherd of the three and Mat the gambler.

Lan Mandragoran is the uncrowned king of which nation, lost to the Shadow in his childhood?

Malkier, a Borderland nation, fell to the Blight when Lan was an infant; he grew up as its uncrowned king and eventually marries Nynaeve.

What title does Nynaeve al'Meara hold in Emond's Field at the start of the story?

The Wisdom is the village's healer and weather-reader; Nynaeve holds the office at the story's start and only learns she can channel after leaving with Moiraine.

In Caemlyn, Rand meets which Daughter-Heir of Andor for the first time?

Elayne Trakand, Queen Morgase's heir, meets Rand when he falls into the palace garden; her brother Gawyn and half-brother Galad are there, and Galad is also Rand's half-brother.

Mat kidnaps which Seanchan heir, known as the Daughter of the Nine Moons, in Winter's Heart?

Tuon, the Daughter of the Nine Moons, is carried off by Mat during his escape from Ebou Dar; she later marries him and becomes Empress Fortuona.

Which Forsaken travels with Rand, Loial and Hurin in The Great Hunt as 'Selene'?

Lanfear, strongest of the female Forsaken, poses as the noblewoman Selene after Rand, Loial and Hurin are flung into a mirror world by a Portal Stone.

The Forsaken who appears in the early books as Ba'alzamon is really which of them?

Ishamael, strongest of the male Forsaken, hid behind the name Ba'alzamon in the first three books; after his death at the Stone of Tear the Dark One reincarnated him as Moridin.

The Seanchan control captured female channelers with a collar called what?

The a'dam is a collar-and-bracelet device linking a captive channeler, the damane, to her handler, the sul'dam, who holds the leash.

What do the Aiel call the desert that outsiders know as the Aiel Waste?

The Aiel call their desert the Three-fold Land: a shaping stone to make them, a testing ground for their worth, and a punishment for their sin.

Which city, built by the extinct Jenn Aiel, holds the record of Aiel history?

Rhuidean, raised by the Jenn Aiel in the Waste, holds the glass columns that show would-be clan chiefs and Wise Ones the Aiel's true history.

What is the name of the Ogier gift for stimulating the growth and healing of trees?

Treesinging is the Ogier Talent for coaxing trees to grow and heal, producing 'sung wood'; it is rare even among Ogier, and Loial has it.

What is the malevolent force, also called the Black Wind, that corrupted the Ogier Ways?

Machin Shin, the Black Wind, devours the minds of travellers in the Ways, which male Aes Sedai grew for the Ogier after the Breaking as a gift.

The pacifist Tuatha'an, or Tinkers, follow which philosophy?

The Way of the Leaf forbids all violence; the Tuatha'an travel in brightly painted wagons seeking a lost Song and share their ancient roots with the Aiel.

The cyclical concept of time at the heart of the series was drawn from which religions?

The cyclical, ever-returning ages come from Hinduism and Buddhism; Jordan also drew balance and duality from Taoism, and the Aes Sedai symbol resembles the yin and yang.

The author deliberately modelled the opening chapters on which part of Tolkien's Middle-earth?

Jordan deliberately gave the opening chapters the feel of the Shire before steering away from Tolkien; critics noted the resemblance with both praise and complaint.

The series' author wrote under a pen name; what was his real name?

Robert Jordan was James Oliver Rigney Jr.; he kept separate pen names for other genres, including Reagan O'Neal for historical fiction and Jackson O'Reilly for a western.

In which South Carolina city was the series' author born?

Jordan was born in Charleston in 1948, later studied physics at The Citadel in the same city, and worked as a nuclear engineer for the US Navy.

In what role did the author serve two tours in the Vietnam War?

Jordan served two tours in Vietnam as a helicopter gunner, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Bronze Star with 'V' device.

Before his own series, the author wrote seven novels in the 1980s about which pulp hero?

Jordan wrote seven Conan the Barbarian novels for Tor between 1982 and 1984, starting with Conan the Invincible; many fans rank them among the best not by Robert E. Howard.

Which editor, later the author's wife, chose the writer who would finish the series?

Harriet McDougal, Jordan's editor and wife, picked Brandon Sanderson to finish the series; she had published Jordan's first novel, The Fallon Blood, through her Popham Press imprint.

Which actress plays Moiraine Damodred in the television series?

Rosamund Pike plays Moiraine and is also a producer on the show; she narrated a new unabridged audiobook of The Eye of the World in 2022.

On which streaming service did the TV adaptation premiere in November 2021?

Prime Video premiered the show on 19 November 2021 with its first three episodes; Amazon had renewed it for a second season before the first even aired.

Who developed the TV series and served as its showrunner?

Rafe Judkins developed the show and served as showrunner; Sony Pictures Television produced it with Red Eagle Entertainment and Radar Pictures before Amazon ordered it in 2018.

How many seasons had aired when Amazon cancelled the show in May 2025?

Only 3 seasons had aired when Amazon cancelled the show in May 2025, the third having ended that April with the best reviews of the run.

In which European city was Jordan Studios, the show's main production base, built?

Jordan Studios, the show's purpose-built base, was constructed in Prague, where most of the series was shot with a largely Czech crew.

Which actor plays Rand al'Thor in the TV series?

Josha Stradowski, a Dutch actor, plays Rand; his casting was announced in August 2019 alongside most of the young Emond's Field cast.

Which actor took over the role of Mat Cauthon from Barney Harris in season 2?

Dónal Finn took over Mat from Barney Harris for season 2; the recast was announced in September 2021, two months before the show premiered.

Who plays Siuan Sanche, leader of the Aes Sedai, in the TV series?

Sophie Okonedo plays Siuan Sanche, the Amyrlin Seat; her casting was announced in August 2020 along with Kae Alexander as Min Farshaw.

Which actor plays the Forsaken known as the Father of Lies in the show?

Fares Fares plays Ishamael, the Father of Lies; in the season 1 finale Rand and Moiraine mistake him for the Dark One himself.

Who composed the score for the TV series?

Lorne Balfe, the Scottish composer behind Mission: Impossible – Fallout and Top Gun: Maverick, wrote the score for the series.

Which actor played the Forsaken villain in the 2015 rights-preserving pilot Winter Dragon?

Billy Zane played Ishamael in Winter Dragon, aired overnight on FXX with no publicity; Harriet McDougal said she had not been told, and Red Eagle briefly sued her for slander.

The original unabridged audiobooks are narrated by Kate Reading and which male narrator?

Michael Kramer reads the male point-of-view chapters and Kate Reading the female ones; the married pair also narrate Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive.

How many male channelers joined Lews Therin in the strike that sealed the Forsaken away?

Lews Therin led 113 male Aes Sedai, the Hundred Companions, to seal the Bore; at the moment of victory the Dark One tainted saidin, driving them mad and setting off the Breaking.

Which company released The Wheel of Time Roleplaying Game in 2001 using the d20 rules?

Wizards of the Coast published The Wheel of Time Roleplaying Game in 2001 on its d20 system; a single adventure, Prophecies of the Dragon, followed before the line was dropped.

Which massive mountain range separates the Aiel Waste from the Westlands?

The Spine of the World, called the Dragonwall by the Aiel, divides the Waste from the Westlands; beyond the Waste lies Shara, cut off by the Cliffs of the Dawn and the Great Rift.

The Sea Folk's prized porcelain is secretly made by which island people under their protection?

The Amayar, who live on Tremalking and the other Sea Folk islands, make the famous porcelain; protecting them has been the Atha'an Miere's duty since the Breaking.

The Aiel await a prophesied 'Chief of Chiefs' known by what title?

The Car'a'carn, the Chief of Chiefs, is the prophesied leader of all twelve Aiel clans; Rand is proclaimed Car'a'carn after emerging from Rhuidean.

Which of the books was the first to reach number one on the New York Times Best Seller list?

The Path of Daggers, the eighth book, debuted at number one in 1998; it is also the shortest volume of the main series, and every later book topped the list as well.