Theoryland of the Wheel of Time

East of the Sun Interview - Helena Lofgren (Paraphrased)

The story of TWoT evolved during a very long period, in part beginning in the middle of the seventies with the idea of the Breaking of the World, before he found the "final scene in the final book" and began to actually write The Eye of the World. The main impetus from the beginning was the notion of "men breaking the world" (my emphasis), and that men able to channel must be killed, controlled or stopped at all costs for 3,000 years. This led naturally to a society where women had great power and respect.

As an example of this, he puts forth Davram Bashere's reaction to Faile being a Hunter of the Horn. His initial negative response does not come from that Faile is a girl, but that she only is 17 years old. Her gender is irrelevant to the issue.

rj on writing, genesis, gender, the last scene, faile, bashere,

Elf Fantasy Fair - Gonzo (Paraphrased)

How did Bashere approach Rand without being announced the first time?

GONZO THE GREAT

bashere, rand,

COT Signing Report - Brandon (Paraphrased)

Also if anyone cares I asked him to describe the texture and feel of Bashere's baton of the Marshal-General. I was hoping he would say it "felt not like ivory, not like glass, but more like glass," as is the description of the known Oath Rods (note the only times we've seen it have been in Rand POVs and at first it was "what appeared to be an ivory rod", then later Rand assumes it is an ivory rod). However, I was greatly disappointed. He said, "it was smooth and heavy...ivory capped with gold." Oh well I guess Rand's later assumptions that it is just ivory are correct.

bashere, oath rod,

DragonCon Report - Matt Hatch (Paraphrased)

How did Bashere and his army manage to track Taim hundreds of miles?

Because a man like Mazrim Taim leaves a trail, even when he is trying to travel quietly. Traveling quietly is not in his character.

taim, bashere,

DragonCon Report - Matt Hatch (Paraphrased)

We have seen the organizing capability of Mat and Perrin's father-in-law. And one of the most difficult things that your characters have to overcome is not knowing about what is going on. May we expect to see Mat organize an intelligence service any time soon?

Read and Find Out.

mat, bashere,

Gold Coast SupaNova - Eleanor Chandler-Temple (Paraphrased)

This one I basically composed on the spot, so it got the answer it merited.

QUESTION

The darkness surrounding Bashere—can you give us any info on that? Was it caused by his past actions or by his future actions, or is it a result of someone else's actions against him?

What I can tell you is that being surrounded by darkness is rarely a good thing in the WoT world.

ELEANOR

Was trying to attack the Bashere = Darkfriend uncertainty, but, uh...This was in direct response to the tidbit he considered tasty mentioned earlier on.

bashere, darkfriends, min's viewings, a memory of light,

Phoenix ComicCon Report - KakitaOCU (Paraphrased)

The idea of Compelling the Great Captains was one he and Harriet worked up. The notes apparently just stated that several of the Great Captains died and then everything was given to Mat. Since it was so vague, they had to come up with a reason for WHY the world would trust Mat like that.

a memory of light, rj's notes, harriet, ituralde, bashere, agelmar, bryne, compulsion,