World of the Wheel
The Wheel of Time location
Map of the World of the Wheel
First appearance	The Eye of the World
Last appearance	A Memory of Light
Created by	Robert Jordan
Genre	fantasy

The Wheel of Time series, created by Robert Jordan are set in an unnamed world that, due to the cyclical nature of time as depicted in the series, is simultaneously the distant past and the distant future Earth. Randland or The World of the Wheel are names adopted by fans to refer to the world where The Wheel of Time series takes place, and are derived from the name of the central character, Rand al'Thor as well as its main concept and title.

More specifically, it often refers to the Westlands, the main area of Randland's main continent between the Aryth Ocean and the Spine of the World; although forgotten places are mentioned in the east. Like many other writers, Robert Jordan never officially names his world, so in lieu of another name Randland has come into accepted common usage so that fans have something to call it. It is possible that it is still called Earth as Lan Mandragoran refers to Malkier as being "wiped off the face of the earth".

A reliable way of measuring the maps was produced in the novel New Spring, which gave the straight-line distance from Tar Valon to the sea south of Tear as 400 leagues (1,600 miles). Additionally, Caemlyn is roughly 800 miles north of the plains at the border of Tear, thereby providing a scale of approximately 530 miles to 1 inch for the maps provided in the paperback editions (Lord of Chaos). The series depicts fictional, ancient mythology that references modern Earth history (with one notable example being the legend of two giants named Mosk and Merk, who were said to fight wars against each other using spears of fire that could reach around the world), while events in the series prefigure real Earth myths (with King Artur Paendrag Tanreall, better known as Artur Hawkwing, serving as an allusion to the myth of King Arthur Pendragon).

The main setting for the series is the western region or continent of a larger landmass, both unnamed; however, the western region has been called "The Westlands" in licensed media, and by author Robert Jordan in interviews. The Westlands contains multiple kingdoms and city-states and is bounded on the east by a mountain range. To the east is a desert, the Aiel Waste, inhabited by the Aiel warrior people, who live in small settlements and whose society is organized into clans and warrior societies. Further east is the large and predominantly insular nation of Shara, separated from the Waste by large mountain ranges and other impassable terrain. North of all three regions is the Great Blight, a hostile wilderness inhabited by evil beings. The Westlands are mostly temperate; it and the Aiel Waste are in the world's northern mid-latitudes. Shara extends slightly south of the equator. Across an ocean west of the Westlands is Seanchan, the name of a continental landmass and the empire that spans it. Seanchan is narrower from east to west than the other landmass, but extends most of the way between the ice caps from south to north. A large island in the northwest is separated from the Seanchan mainland by a channel. At the beginning of the series, Westlanders are unaware of Seanchan's existence. The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time depicts "The Land of Madmen", a small continent in the southern hemisphere, far to the south of the Westlands and the Aiel Waste; it is never mentioned in the main series. Although no scale appeared on the maps in the books themselves, a scale did appear on the world map on page 146 of the guidebook accompanying the series, The World of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time. The scale on this map suggests that the distance from the edge of the continent on the west to The Spine of the World in the east is approximately 3,000 miles. This concurs broadly with the designers who worked on The Wheel of Time Roleplaying Game, who suggested a scale of 1"=400 miles on the color endpaper maps in the hardback editions of the books. By their calculations, the Westlands therefore measures roughly 3,500 miles from the west coast to the Spine of the World, making it approximately the size of the United States of America.

The series takes place about three thousand years after "The Breaking of the World", a global cataclysm that ended the "Age of Legends", a highly advanced era. Throughout most of the series, the world's technology and institutions are comparable to those of the Renaissance, but with greater equality for women; some cultures are matriarchal. Events later in the series prompt advances similar to the Industrial Revolution. Several legendary figures from around the time of the First Age are mentioned throughout the series, such as Elsbet, the Queen of All (implied to be Queen Elizabeth II), and Matarese the Healer, Mother of the Wondrous Ind (implied to be Mother Teresa of Calcutta).

The Third Age in the Westlands was marked by two great upheavals. A thousand years after the Breaking, humanity was nearly overrun by creatures from the Blight in the "Trolloc Wars". A thousand years after that, High King Artur Hawkwing unified the region, but his death resulted in the "War of the Hundred Years" instead of an orderly dynastic succession. The division of the Westlands into nations changed completely after each of the two events. The Old Tongue, a fictional language from the series, is depicted as a now-dead language, spoken only by scholars and certain nobles, though it still plays a role in the plot of the books.

"The Pattern" is a manifestation of both the physical world and people's destinies, while "the Wheel" represents the passage of time. These concepts apply to a series of parallel worlds, as well. Some characters observe or visit such other worlds; some of these worlds reflect different courses of history, and some are so divergent from the main reality that they are uninhabited. Physics sometimes operates differently in these worlds. The Seanchan imported "exotic" creatures from other worlds, later breeding and training them. Tel'aran'rhiod is the "world of dreams", which connects to all of the other worlds. It can be visited in one's sleep, but events there are real; it is also possible to enter physically.

These are the flags of the various nations located within the world the series is set in.

These flags represent nations that went extinct before the main events of the series.

While the Wheel of Time has a total of 2,782 distinct named characters, the books largely follow the same five Emond's Fielders, dubbed by fans the "Emond's Field Five".

• Rand al'Thor: Ta'veren; the main protagonist of the story. The Dragon Reborn, known as the Car'a'carn or He Who Comes with the Dawn to the Aiel, the Coramoor to the Atha'an Miere, and Shadowkiller to the wolves. Born on the slopes of Dragonmount during the Aiel War. The soul of Lews Therin Telamon Kinslayer reborn.
• Matrim Cauthon: Ta'veren; usually called "Mat". He becomes the Marshal General of the Band of the Red Hand, marries the Seanchan empress Fortuona, and becomes one of the greatest generals the world has ever seen.
• Perrin Aybara: Ta'veren; Perrin is a wolfbrother, and throughout the story becomes quite adept at manipulating Tel'aran'rhiod. Becomes the Lord of the Two Rivers/Steward of the Dragon in the Two Rivers.
• Egwene al'Vere: From Emond's Field herself, she was in training to become a Wisdom before venturing off with Moraine and Lan, where she discovered she could channel. She quickly rises through the ranks of the Aes Sedai, eventually becoming the Amyrlin Seat.
• Nynaeve al'Meara: At the start of the story, she is the Wisdom of Emond's Field. After tracking down the rest of the Emond's Fielders after their departure, she soon finds out she can also channel, eventually becoming an Aes Sedai of the Yellow Ajah, and marries Lan Mandragoran, making her the Queen of Malkier. She is one of the most powerful female channelers alive and a member of the Yellow Ajah, due to her gift with Healing.
• Elayne Trakand: When she first appears, she is the heir to the Lion Throne of Andor, as the only daughter of Queen Morgase Trakand. Later becomes Queen of Andor following her mother's (falsely) presumed death. She is also a powerful channeler, becoming an Aes Sedai of the Green Ajah.
• Moiraine Damodred: Aes Sedai of the Blue Ajah, Moiraine Sedai's arrival to the small village of Emond's Field serves as the inciting incident of the series. Along with her Warder, Lan, Moiraine takes the Emond's Field Five away from their home of the Two Rivers.
• Elmindreda Farshaw: Commonly known as "Min". Originally from Baerlon, Min enters the series because of her unique ability to sometimes see viewings and auras around people which can serve as a kind of divination. She is also (arguably) the main love interest of Rand al'Thor.

"Channeling" is equivalent to magic as depicted in other fantasy-genre works, but is never called "magic" in the series. Many characters are channelers, including series protagonists Rand al'Thor, Egwene al'Vere, Nynaeve al'Meara, Elayne Trakand, Moiraine Damodred, and Aviendha. Channelers can access a natural power source called the "One Power", while Shai'tan can grant access to a separate power, the "True Power". Very little is written in the series about the True Power, while the One Power is described extensively. The One Power consists of five elemental "Powers": earth, water, air, fire, and spirit. Channelers often have particular strength in at least one Power, more commonly earth and fire in men and water and air in women; strength in spirit is equally rare between the sexes. A channeler creates a "weave" to achieve a specific effect by placing individual "flows" of the five Powers in a specific geometric configuration. The One Power has two aspects: "saidin", used by men; and "saidar", used by women. They differ sufficiently that no woman can teach a man to channel (and vice versa), and they can be used in drastically incompatible ways, though they sometimes achieve functionally identical effects. The greatest and strongest feats are when both are used together with each other. The True Power similarly differs from both. There are many different limitations of channeling between men and women that often compliment each other. Male channelers are usually stronger and women are more dexterous with weaving flows. Women can "link" with other channelers to harness more power; an individual's strength is quantified by the amount of the One Power he or she can channel at once. Men require at least one woman to link with another man, but men are required to increase the maximum number of total linkers. A man will grow in spurts with the end unknown, while women will grow gradually and the final limit is known from the start.

Some men and women are born with the "spark" to channel; these individuals will spontaneously begin to channel around puberty, but without formal training three of every four will suffer a fatal illness caused by channeling. Those who survive are called "wilders", and often are unaware of the existence or nature of their powers. Channelers are constrained by any restriction they believe applies; wilders often possess a "block" that allows them to channel only under specific circumstances (such as experiencing a particular emotion). The majority of channelers lack the spark and will channel only if taught. Channelers can determine if a person of the same sex has the spark or is capable of learning to channel. A channeler with the spark who receives instruction is not at risk of death and is not normally considered a wilder. Channelers have a longer lifespan than non-channelers, in proportion to their strength; from early adulthood, channelers age more slowly than non-channelers, and the strongest channelers can live over 800 years. Shai'tan tainted saidin at the end of the Age of Legends, causing any male channeler to go insane (usually very destructively) and die; the Breaking was caused by the world's male channelers simultaneously going insane, while in the Third Age male channelers are neutralized in various ways as they come of age.

Channelers are treated in different ways by different cultures within the series. In the Westlands, channeling is viewed as synonymous with the Aes Sedai, an organization that survived from the Age of Legends and which views channeling as its proprietary domain; some Aes Sedai refer to channelers from other traditions as "wilders", even if they are not self-taught. Aes Sedai are respected in most Westland nations, and they rule the city-state of Tar Valon. Aes Sedai are divided into seven "ajahs" named after colors and dedicated to different purposes; Red Ajah members seek out men who can channel and "gentle" them (remove their ability to channel). Also in the Westlands are the Kin, consisting of women who studied in Tar Valon but left without becoming Aes Sedai due to lack of desire or ability to complete their training. The Aes Sedai are aware of the Kin, who are very discreet, but are unaware that the Kin actually outnumber them. Among the Sea Folk, a seafaring Westlands culture, female channelers are expected to become "Windfinders", ship's navigators; the profession is also open to non-channelers. Every generation, the Sea Folk send a few weak channelers to Tar Valon, successfully concealing the prevalence and strength of their channelers. Aiel channelers are expected to become Wise Ones, the culture's spiritual leaders, as are all Dreamwalkers; other worthy women may become Wise Ones without these special powers. Male Aiel channelers go into the Blight, expecting to die after killing some of Shai'tan's creatures; unbeknownst to the Aiel, Shai'tan actually captures and corrupts these men. Shara is secretly ruled by its female channelers, the Ayyad, through figurehead monarchs; the Ayyad keep their male offspring as breeding stock before killing them. The Seanchan believe channelers are subhuman and dangerous; they enslave female channelers with the spark, while those capable of acting as their handlers are, unbeknownst to themselves and other Seanchan, those who can learn to channel. Male channelers are executed.

Certain "objects of the One Power" exist. "Angreal" and "sa'angreal" increase the amount of the One Power a channeler can harness; sa'angreal may be orders of magnitude more powerful than angreal. "Ter'angreal" produce specific effects; some require channeling to function, while others operate continuously or via touch; some affect only channelers or affect them differently.

Robert Jordan uses the capitalized word "Talent" to refer to two distinct types of abilities sometimes possessed by channelers; the text also sometimes uses "Talent" to refer to abilities unrelated to the One Power and possessed by non-channelers.

One type of Talent is the aptitude for a particular weave or type of weave. Talents seen in the series include healing (Nynaeve al'Meara), manipulating weather (many Windfinders), creating "gateways" for instantaneous travel (Androl Genhald), and fabricating the indestructible substance "cuendillar" (Egwene al'Vere). Such a Talent may manifest as finer control over weaves, the ability to use a weave that would otherwise be beyond the channeler's strength, superior results when using a weave with all other factors equal, or some combination of these benefits. Some weaves, such as creating cuendillar, function only for a channeler with a corresponding Talent.

A Talent can also be some other ability possessed only by some channelers, but distinct from creating weaves of the One Power. Talents of this type include creating ter'angreal (Elayne Trakand), perceiving the purpose or function of a ter'angreal (Aviendha), analyzing an expended weave, "unweaving" a weave (Aviendha), predicting the weather (Nynaeve al'Meara), recognizing ta'veren on sight (Siuan Sanche and Logain Ablar), and "Foretelling" prophecy (Elaida do Avriny a'Roihan). The latter three Talents have no obvious connection to the One Power, but are described as occurring only in channelers.

Some abilities depicted in the Wheel of Time are not related to the One Power or the ability to channel.

"Dreaming" (an Aes Sedai term) is the ability to have prophetic dreams, which are usually symbolic rather than literal. "Dreamwalking" (an Aiel term) is a set of abilities involving dreaming, including the ability to visit Tel'aran'rhiod and the dreams of others at will, and aptitude for manipulating Tel'aran'rhiod. Egwene al'Vere is both a Dreamer and Dreamwalker, and the text never establishes whether or not these are two separate things. Dreamwalking is well known to the Aiel Wise ones, who use it for society-wide communication; Aiel Dreamwalkers include channelers Amys and Melaine and the non-channeler Bair, who become Egwene's teachers as the last Aes Sedai Dreamer died about five hundred years earlier. No man is explicitly identified as a Dreamwalker in the series, but many of the male and female Forsaken, Shai'tan's top lieutenants, appear in Tel'aran'rhiod, and the male Forsaken Ishamael projects himself into other characters' dreams.

"Ta'veren" are individuals who are focal points of the Pattern for a time. Rand al'Thor, Matrim Cauthon, and Perrin Aybara are all ta'veren during the events of the series. The Pattern causes events and the actions of others surrounding a ta'veren to conform to the ta'veren's destiny, usually resulting in occurrences that are possible but unlikely. Mat has exceptionally good luck at gambling and in battle, while Perrin easily earns the support of others. Rand's presence often affects a large area around himself, causing such anomalies as one entire village pairing off in marriage in one day, another village erupting into violence over every disagreement its residents ever had, and a city's newborns being free of birth defects during Rand's residency.

Rand al'Thor is also the "Dragon Reborn," a prophesied savior. Towards the end of the series, Rand is shown to have reality warping abilities related to the Dragon Reborn's connection to the Pattern; he kindles a pipe without channeling.

Perrin Aybara and Elyas Machera are "Wolfbrothers," individuals who can communicate telepathically with wolves, which are depicted as sapient. Wolfbrothers also have abilities similar to Dreaming and Dreamwalking, although they are not shown as capable of entering the dreams of others. The souls of wolves inhabit Tel'aran'rhiod, which they call the "wolf dream," and a Wolfbrother who loses his identity as a man may become a wolf there. Only male Wolfbrothers are depicted in the series.

Min Farshaw sees auras and images around people; she does not always understand these visions, but sometimes she instinctively understands them and is always correct in such cases. Min is the only person in the series depicted as having this ability. However, the superstitious Seanchan are apparently familiar with it and consider the images to be omens; when Empress Fortuona learns that Min possesses this ability, she identifies Min as a "Doomseer" and immediately makes her a top advisor.

Hurin is a "sniffer," one who can detect violence as an unpleasant odor. This ability is apparently accepted by his countrymen; it is considered an asset for his career in law enforcement, and Perrin pretends to be a sniffer to conceal that the true source of his insight is communication with wolves.

The Seanchan produce ter'angreal rings that, when touched with the wearer's blood, grant him or her the abilities of a "Bloodknife": increased strength and speed and the ability to blend into shadows, at the cost of dying within a matter of days or weeks.

The books describe several scenarios where Shai'tan gives powers to individuals. People whose souls are removed by Shai'tan become supernaturally inconspicuous "Gray Men," ideal assassins. Padan Fain serves Shai'tan and is given the ability to track Rand al'Thor. Padan Fain later merges with the ghost of the evil Mordeth, gaining the abilities to inculcate others with paranoia and to summon and control a deadly miasma. Shai'tan merges the bodies and souls of Isam Mandragoran and Luc Mantear into the individual known as Slayer, to whom Shai'tan grants powers involving Tel'aran'rhiod, including the ability to travel instantaneously between there and the physical world while awake and without the use of a gateway.

Tor Books published a companion book to the series, entitled The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time, in November 1997, which contains much hitherto unrevealed background information about the series including the first maps of the entire world and the Seanchan home continent. Jordan co-authored the book with Teresa Patterson, who've also co-authored similar companion book with Terry Brooks: The World of Shannara. Jordan ruled the book broadly canonical but stated that it was written from the perspective of an historian within The Wheel of Time universe and was prone to errors of bias and guesswork.^[1]

On November 3, 2015, The Wheel of Time Companion: The People, Places, and History of the Bestselling Series was released in hardback format, written by Harriet McDougal, Alan Romanczuk, and Maria Simons from Tor Books. Alan Romanczuk and Maria Simons were Robert Jordan's editorial assistants. The book is an encapsulating glossary of the entire series. The authors began compiling material for the volume as early as 2005, and the final book was released after the series' conclusion.^[2][3]

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