The Wheel of Time

The Wheel of Time is the setting of a popular epic fantasy book series written by Robert Jordan. Robert Jordan's efforts have been applauded for working unique cultures into his stories. He has also been criticized for letting the details of these cultures and their interactions get in the way of a good story.

Starting in The Eye of the World, the story begins slowly, and rapidly gains speed as the group of country bumpkin heroes are led to save the world by a woman who possesses the gift of channeling. This woman is Aes Sedai, part of a exclusive group of women who have been controlling the continent behind the scenes for thousands of years. We soon learn that her goal is to see Rand Al'Thor, the unwilling hero, and subject of prophecies no one may truly understand, defeat the Dark One: a malevolent being who has been locked away for centuries. The bugger is in the details; Al'Thor can channel, and men who can channel go insane, thanks to a parting shot by the Dark One before he was imprisoned.

As Rand slowly loses his mind, we follow his friends as they split up throughout the series and travel a very detailed world. The possibilities are rich and endless, leading to the creation of a possible three, maybe more, gameworlds or persistent worlds when Neverwinter Nights 2 comes out on the market.