One of the greatest parts of reading epic fantasy novels is the map that is often included in the first few pages of the book, before the novel proper begins; these maps can be phenomenal introductions to just how expansive and detailed the world of the book is. Robert Jordan's The Lord of the Rings' expansive geography.
Season 3 of The Wheel of Time will focus on some of these locations, bringing them to life on-screen like never before.
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The Westlands
The Focal Continent Of The Wheel Of Time's Story
The Westlands is the general name for the region of the continent that is home to the many nations and independent cities that are the focus of The Wheel of Time's narrative. Bounded on the west by the Aryth Ocean, on the south by the Sea of Storms, on the east by the mountain range known as the Spine of the World, and on the north by the Great Blight, the Westlands rebuilt themselves after the destruction that ended the Age of Legends, although in the centuries since their composition has changed more than once.
A Timeline of the Westlands |
|
Year |
Event |
0 |
Breaking of the World |
47 After Breaking |
Tar Valon founded by the remaining Aes Sedai |
209 AB |
Compact of the Ten Nations signed |
1000 AB |
The Trolloc Wars begin |
c. 1100 AB |
The nation of Aridhol collapses; the city-state's corpse is renamed Shadar Logoth |
c. 1200 AB |
The nation of Manetheren is wiped out by Trollocs |
c. 1350 AB |
The Trolloc Wars end |
c. Free Year 1 - FY 100 |
A new calendar is introduced; 29 new kingdoms arise from the ashes of the old |
FY 912 |
Artur Hawkwing is born in Shandalle |
FY 939 - 943 |
The War of the Second Dragon |
FY 943 - 963 |
The War of Consolidation brings the Westlands under Artur Hawkwing's control |
FY 992 |
Luthair Paendrag's fleet invades Seanchan |
FY 993 |
Hawkwing's second fleet attempts to invade Shara and is annihilated |
FY 994 |
Artur Hawkwing dies with no heir; the kingdoms of the Borderlands claim independence. The kingdom of Andor is founded. The War of the Hundred Years begins. |
c. FY 1000 - 1117 |
The modern cities and kingdoms of the Westlands form as the War of the Hundred Years rages |
FY 1135 |
Concerns over collective mistakes of time-keeping lead to the establishment of a new calendar, the New Era |
509 NE |
The Aiel make a peace overture with Cairhien and offer the gift of Avendoraldera, a cutting of the Tree of Life |
c. 600 NE |
The nation of Almoth collapses, leaving Almoth Plain to be fought over by Tarabon and Arad Doman |
908 NE |
Loial, son of Arent, is born in Stedding Shangtai |
c 920 - 930 NE |
The Children of the Light take up residence in Amadicia, effectively taking over the country |
953 NE |
al'Lan Mandragoran is born in Malkier |
955 NE |
The border kingdom of Malkier falls to betrayal and is swallowed by the Blight |
956 NE |
Moiraine Damodred is born in Cairhien |
976 - 978 NE |
The Aiel declare war on Cairhien for the destruction of Avendoraldera |
978 NE |
Rand al'Thor is born on the slopes of Dragonmount. Matrim Cauthon and Perrin Aybara are born in Emond's Field. |
998 NE |
The events of The Eye of the World/Season 1 begin |
A millennium after the Breaking, the Trolloc Wars devastated the Westlands, and the Ten Nations that had rebuilt themselves were shattered by the 350-year conflict. Within a century, 29 new kingdoms arose from the ashes, and peace held for a time until a False Dragon attempted to conquer the land. He was stopped by Artur Hawkwing, who then went on to conquer the continent himself. Naming himself High King, Hawkwing sent two armadas out to conquer the rest of the world, but died before learning of their fate; this brought about the Hundred Years' War, which again shattered the Westlands.
The end of the Hundred Years' War saw the birth of two dozen new kingdoms, but over the next millennium many of these would fall, until only 14 remained: Altara, Amadicia, Andor, Arad Doman, Cairhien, Ghealdan, Illian, Kandor, Murandy, Saldaea, Shienar, Tear, and Tarabon. While these nations engaged in small border wars, it seemed the Westlands had found something resembling stability until the year 998 NE, when multiple men proclaimed themselves the Dragon Reborn, and the Seanchan made landfall on Tomon Head, and the world realized that the Last Battle was truly nigh.
Coastal Regions
The Nations Of Arad Doman, Tarabon, Altara, Illian, Tear, Mayene, And Almoth Plain
On the coast of the Aryth Ocean are the nations of Arad Doman and Tarabon, as well as the vast independent region of Almoth Plain; the peninsula of Tomon Head, with its main city of Falme, juts out from Almoth Plain into the ocean. To the south, along the Sea of Storms, lie Altara, Illian, Tear, and the independent city of Mayene. Tomon Head is where the invading Seanchan first landed to stake their claim on the Westlands, and it was at Falme that they saw a defeat as the Dragon Reborn was proclaimed to the world.
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The many coastal nations of the Westlands feature greatly in the story of The Wheel of Time, particularly the kingdom of Tear, its eponymous capital city, and the mighty fortress above it known as the Stone of Tear, which is rumored to predate the Breaking of the World. In the novels, this is where the powerful sa'angreal known as Callandor waits to be claimed by the Dragon Reborn. While Amazon's Wheel of Time seems poised to skip Callandor, the season 3 of the show may yet find a way to unite Rand with his signature weapon.
Inland Regions
The Nations Of Amadicia, Andor, Cairhien, Ghealdan, Murandy, Far Madding, And Tar Valon
The inner Westlands are dominated by the major kingdoms of Andor and Cairien, as well as the smaller nations of Amadicia, Murandy, and Ghealdan. The independent cities of Far Madding and Tar Valon are also there. Geographically, most of the inner Westlands are a mixture of plains and hills, divided from the nations of the Aryth Ocean coast by the Mountains of Mist, and abutting with the Spine of the World to the east. Above Tar Valon rises Dragonmount, the massive volcano that emerged as Lews Therin Telamon immolated himself at the end of the Breaking of the World.
While Amazon's The Wheel of Time has not yet introduced Morgase Trakand, Queen of Andor by the Grace of the Light, her daughter Elayne features heavily in season 2's plot; Morgase will appear in season 3.
The kingdom of Andor is central to the story of The Wheel of Time. The Two Rivers and its villages of Emond's Field and Taren Ferry, which Rand al'Thor and his ta'veren companions hail from, is technically on Andoran land, as is the cursed dead city of Shadar Logoth. West of the Two Rivers lie the Mountains of Mist, which divide Andor from the kingdom of Arad Domon. In the books, Rand and his companions reunite in the Andoran capital of Caemlyn, while in the Amazon series, that happens in Tar Valon, the island city of the Aes Sedai.
The Borderlands
The Nations Of Arafel, Kandor, Saldaea, And Shienar
The kingdoms of the Borderlands, which sit along the northern edge of the Westlands, have long considered themselves the last bastion of protection that the weaker southern kingdoms have from the ever-encroaching Blight. It is Borderlander armies that keep the aggressions of Trollocs and other Shadowspawn at bay, or work to burn the tainted plants of the Blight as they creep southwards.
Until its fall to betrayal from within in 955 NE, the kingdom of Malkier was the greatest of the Borderlands, but now that title belongs to Shienar, whose soldiers feel the pain of Malkier's loss every time they look northeast to Tarwin's Gap. The Shienaran fortress-city of Fal Dara is where Rand, Moiraine, and the others arrived via the Ways on their way to the Eye of the World, and from where Wheel of Time season 3's new character Faile Bashere.
The Great Blight
Malkier, The Eye of the World, The Town, Thakan’dar, And The Mountains Of Dhoom
After the Breaking of the World, the Dark One's influence slowly began to affect the land, trickling out of the crack in the Pattern that was Shayol Ghul, the great mountain in the midst of the Blasted Lands, which were said to have borne the greatest brunt of the destruction wrought during the War of Power. In the Blasted Lands, the valley of Thakan'dar is home to not only the peak of Shayol Ghul, but the sinister settlement known as The Town, where Darkfriends congregate and work to fuel the Dark One's mighty armies.
South of Shayol Ghul lies the Blight, a strip of corrupted and defiled wilderness that continues to expand as the Dark One grows in power. Plants and animals in the Blight turn monstrous and vicious, while water is sparse, and the soil turns red from the accretion of near-toxic levels of iron. The farthest expansion of the Blight in recent years rapidly consumed the kingdom of Malkier, homeland of king-in-exile al'Lan Mandragoran.
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Hidden deep in the Blight is a small hillside grove, untouched by the Blight. It's here that Aes Sedai hid the Eye of the World after the Breaking, in hopes that the power in it could one day be used to seal the Dark One's prison. In the Amazon series, it is thought that the Eye might be the location of the Dark One's prison, but this proves to not be the case, and Rand and Moiraine instead find themselves confronting the Forsaken Ishamael.
The Spine of the World
The Greatest Mountain Range In The Westlands
The vast mountain range of the Spine of the World stretches all the way from the Blight in the north to the coast of the Sea of Storms, far to the south. To the east of the Spine lies the vast expanse of the Aiel Waste; the Aiel call the Spine the Dragonwall, and cross it only when necessary, such as when they took the Jengai into Cairhien in order to punish King Laman Damodred – uncle to Moiraine Damodred – for cutting down the sacred tree Avendoraldera to make himself a throne, an act since known as Laman's Sin.
The Spine is also home to a third of the remaining Ogier steddings, including Loial's home of Stedding Shangtai, as the steep slopes and valleys amid the many mountain peaks allow them to keep themselves isolated from potential ers-by. Some Ogier, such as those near Cairhien, act as master builders for human cities, but most remain among their trees in comfortable solitude.
The Aiel Waste
The Sacred Sites Of Rhuidean And Alcair Dal
The desert that Westlanders call the Aiel Waste – teased in WoT's season 3 trailer – is a massive expanse of sun-blasted clay flats, punctuated by rocky buttes and outcroppings that the fearsome Aiel use to make their settlements, called Holds. The Aiel call the Waste the Three-Fold Land, as they see it as the source of three gifts: stone to shape them, a proving ground for their skills, and a punishment for the sins they carry from the Breaking of the World.
While the vast wildness of the Waste is unmapped, there are a few landmarks that the Aiel know, although such knowledge is rarely shared with Wetlanders; in fact, the Aiel kill any who tres in their territory, with the notable exceptions of gleemen, peddlers, the Tuatha'an (who the Aiel avoid at all cost), and the Cairhienen (up until Laman's Sin). The canyon of Alcair Dal is a neutral ground, where Aiel clan chiefs meet to negotiate. South of the Wastes lies the Termool, a waterless expanse of ever-changing sand that even the Aiel avoid.
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The greatest landmark in the Waste is the sacred city of Rhuidean; built by the Jenn Aiel and a few Aes Sedai after the Breaking of the World, it was never finished, as the Jenn Aiel died out, while their warrior cousins preferred the comforting challenge of living in the Wastes proper. Yet Rhuidean remained central to Aiel society, as aspiring clan chiefs and Wise Ones would make pilgrimages to the city to consult with the ter'angreal there that documented the Aiel's shameful history.
The Aryth Ocean and the Sea of Storms
Tremalking And The Other Islands Of The Sea Folk
The largest ocean in the world, the mighty Aryth Ocean divides the Westlands and the continent of Seanchan. The northernmost part of the Aryth, starting at the same latitude as the Mountains of Dhoom, is known as the Dead Sea; this stretch of sea may be afflicted by the Blight spreading under the waves, as the waters are lifeless and hostile. The Aryth is home to several archipelagos – the Aile Jafar, Aile Somera, and Aile Dashar – that the Sea Folk control.
Dividing the Aryth Ocean and the Sea of Storms is the massive island of Tremalking, which is the home of the Sea Folk. On Tremalking, a massive stone hand gripping a crystal orb sticks out from the ground; this is one of the Choedan Kal, giant sa'angreal from the War of Power that were made to be gigantic statues, one of a woman and one of a man. The statue on Tremalking is the female Choedan Kal, while the male is buried near the Cairhienen village of Tremonsien.
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East of Tremalking lies the Sea of Storms. This tempestuous body of water is home to two more Sea Folk settlements, Qiam and Cindaking, but none other than the Sea Folk dare to travel farther than the shallow coastal waters due to the massive storms that give it its name. Some 5,000 miles south of the Sea of Storms lies the continent known only as the Mad Lands, which the Sea Folk avoid, as it is home to unpredictable volcanic activity, and the few people who live there have fallen into anarchy since the Breaking of the World.
Seanchan
A Conquered Land Of Aspiring Conquerors
Across the Aryth Ocean from the Westlands lie the twin continents of Seanchan, split by a dividing channel and gnarled with fjords. Twelve hundred years before the main events of The Wheel of Time, it was conquered by an armada led by Luthair Paendrag Mondwin, son of High King Artur Hawkwing. Luthair and his armies played off the native nations and few Aes Sedai that lived there against each other, and over eight centuries his descendants forged the Seanchan Empire.
Inhabited not only by the various people of the Seanchan Empire, but also the bizarre creatures the Empire uses as beasts of labor and war, the continent of Seanchan is massive. While the northern landmass is mostly crags and peninsulas leading up to the Seanchan's own Mountains of Dhoom – thought to be a continuation of the same range in the Westlands, which may in fact encircle the globe – and the Lesser Blight north of that, the southern part of Seanchan is massive, with a wide variety of biomes. It is there that the empire's many cities are located.
Shara
The Impregnable Eastern Empire
East of the Aiel Waste, across the chasm known as the Great Rift and the steep mountains called the Cliffs of the Dawn, is the land of Shara. While technically part of the same continent as the Westlands, there is little trade or communication between them except a handful of Aiel, gleemen, peddlers, and Sea Folk traders.
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The Sharans are deeply insular, as their nation managed to remain intact through the Breaking of the World, the Trolloc Wars, and even the attempted invasion by Artur Hawkwing's second fleet. Most Westlanders only know of Shara in reference to the prized silk that those few traders bring back, which commands a high price.
The Wheel of Time
- Release Date
- November 18, 2021
- Network
- Prime Video
- Showrunner
- Rafe Judkins
Cast
Moiraine Damodred
al'Lan Mandragoran
WHERE TO WATCH
The Wheel of Time follows Moiraine, a member of the powerful all-female organization Aes Sedai, as she leads a perilous quest with five young individuals. Moiraine suspects one among them could be the prophesized reincarnation of a mighty figure destined to either save or doom humanity.
- Writers
- Amanda Kate Shuman, Dave Hill, Rohit Kumar, Justine Juel Gillmer, Celine Song, Rammy Park, The Clarksons Twins, Katherine B. McKenna
- Main Genre
- Fantasy
- Seasons
- 3
- Story By
- Rafe Judkins
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