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Viktara Fen

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Good morning to you all!

As a newly approved member, I am delighted at the chance to introduce myself.

First, feel free to call me either Viktara or Vik, whichever suits you. I am an editor, writer, and lifelong fantasy fan in my early 40s. I currently live in Central Texas with my spouse and our two cats: Agnes, a grumbly older tortie-point Siamese lady, and Kane, a big goofball of an orange boy. Both kitties, as some might note, are named for sword-and-sorcery characters of yore (Robert E. Howard's Dark Agnes and Karl Edward Wagner's Kane, respectively).

Aside from a lifelong addiction to books in general, and fantasy books specifically, I have a perhaps-more-than-healthy appreciation for various flavors of metal music, and I am a long-time player of Dungeon & Dragons and other role-playing games. I started playing in the mid 1990s in the waning years of AD&D 2nd Edition, and have been a dungeon master since about 1997. I currently run primarily D&D 5th Edition games. With that pursuit comes the associated hobby of collecting metal miniatures and painting them. Just as I always have a big "to be read" book pile, I always have more than a few minis in the "to be painted" box.

I first discovered the Wheel of Time in 1995, when I was in high school. A friend with whom I often swapped book suggestions was reading The Eye of the World and recommended it. I had just finished up the last of Raymond E. Feist's Riftwar books that were in print then, so I was looking for something new to pass the time. If memory serves, I made my way over to either Barnes & Noble or to Hastings and grabbed a copy.

I ended up doing rather more than passing time. I tore through the books one after the other like lightning--even reading The Great Hunt in a single Saturday--and if I learned anything that fall at all in school, it was likely a miracle, as I had no time for anything but Rand and friends. In fact, it was the Wheel of Time that inspired me to campaign to get the household online. The same friend who had introduced me to the series mentioned that she was part of a role-playing and discussion group on America Online. I'd messed around with a few local BBSes and their door games, but my parents had been dubious about anything more involved or costly.

However, AOL held the prospect of talking to people outside of my small circle at school about the Wheel of Time, and that seemed like the most exciting thing imaginable. Eventually, I made the case successfully, and we got online...and I have yet to get offline, especially now that I can do so and use the phone at the same time. ;)

I don't remember much about the old AOL group, except that my friend from school eventually became a Blue Ajah Aes Sedai, and I eventually joined the Brown Ajah. I felt very mature and knowledgeable, but alas, I was almost certainly like any other teenager at the time in possession of a modem and soaking in the intoxicating anonymity of online life. XD

If memory serves (a debatable assumption these days!), that forum got shut down by AOL at some point in the late 1990s because there were concerns about our role-playing's essentially being unauthorized fanfiction...but I don't recall the specifics. I just know that it went away unexpectedly, and many of us were quite devastated. Whatever came of things after that I don't know, but before that calamity struck, I had some very good times, one of which involved scheming with my high school friend's warder, who lived in another state, to help him preorder a copy of A Crown of Swords for her and give it to her as a present.

Later on, undergrad, graduate school, and life in general cut down on my available time, and although I kept up with buying the books as they came out, after Winter's Heart, I struggled to balance reading (and re-reading) them and keeping up with things like job responsibilities, graduate coursework, and thesis writing. I promised myself that I would read them all, once and for all, one after the other, once the whole series was over and done with...but then life intervened again after A Memory of Light came out, and I never quite did.

When I heard that the television show would be released soon, I felt a twinge of nostalgia and a bit of guilt for never having finished, but I remained a bit on the fence about actually diving back in at the start. Then, the week after the first three episodes dropped, I had several strangers ask me on the same day whether I'd seen it and what I thought (I guess my ever-so-fashionable tie-dye dragon shirt was a giveaway that I might like that sort of thing), so I thought I might need to check it out. Then my mother, who has never been a fantasy person at all, called me because she had watched the premiere. She remembered my having read the books years ago, and she was excited and full of questions.

Well, that did it. I cracked The Eye of the World open that night and started in again. Currently I am about halfway through The Shadow Rising. I am not clipping along as quickly as I would prefer, but alas, real life intervenes. The spouse, who started The Eye of the World in the mid-1990s but never finished it, has been working through the series via audiobook on long overnight shifts and is currently about halfway through The Dragon Reborn. We chat every morning when they come in from work as I'm making my coffee and they are getting ready to lie down, and it's been a great way to connect over something that is both new and old.

As for the show, YMMV, of course, but I felt that it did a competent job of condensing the plot into its essential elements, collapsing the timeline to fit the show's requirements, and tweaking the text's themes to appeal to newer audiences, and particularly those who have not read the books. Like all adaptations, it isn't precisely the books, and IMO it cannot ever hope to be. I view it as a mirror world, and I endeavor to enjoy it as its own thing. I am also delighted both by how many new people it seems to be attracting to the books and by how it finally booted me off my rump and got me reading the series again after so long. If it isn't the film adaptation I imagined over 25 years ago, well, I am not too surprised at that. That said, as one of those insufferable English majors, I see great value in adaptations precisely because of their deviations from the source material...so I find plenty to entertain myself, though I surely don't fault anyone who might be put off by the changes or who might feel it's not to their tastes.

Now, as for the specific questions posed to new members...

1. Who is your favorite character in The Wheel of Time and why?

That's a very good question, and it is a difficult one to answer! Many years ago, I was very partial to Lan because I liked his grim sense of honor and his courage. I also liked Perrin because of his connection to the wolves. These days, I'm probably most partial to Verin (whose eventual developments and fate have been spoiled for me already, alas) because I see a lot of myself in her dedication to her research passions and to knowledge in general, and because I find her devotion to her particular mission very moving. I'd also be lying if I didn't acknowledge that I have forgotten my coffee four separate times this morning and that it is, once again, cold. ::sigh::

2. How did you find TarValon.Net?

Rather by accident! I turned up an entry in the Library while looking for something else, then started prowling about the entries. Several blissful hours on Planet Hyperfocus later, I realized there were also forums, and I popped over here to lurk a bit and see what people were discussing. After a few days of that, I decided to register.

3. What do you do? (student, job, hobbies?)

I think I already largely covered this above, except for the current job. At present I am primarily a freelance editor, though I have worked for editing firms and have held other jobs over the years, most of them in the education sector. I've edited many kinds of writing, from catalog copy to scientific research and everything in between.

4. Where are you from? What languages do you speak?

I am originally from Texas, and that is where I currently live, though I have been quite a few other places both in the United States and around the world. I speak English and still remember a bit of the Japanese I studied in undergrad, though it's so rusty all these years later as to be falling to pieces.

5. What is your favorite book or author other than Robert Jordan and The Wheel of Time?

I have quite a few on my all-time favorites list. The first to come to mind are Robert E. Howard (of Conan the Barbarian fame), Michael Moorcock (Elric of Melnibone and various other iterations of the Eternal Champion), Leigh Brackett (for her pulp-era sword-and-planet stories), and Raymond E. Feist (Riftwar), though there are many more.

I've just realized my coffee is cold (again), so I should probably wrap this up. I look forward to chatting with and getting to know you all!
 

Erin al'Denael

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Welcome! :D I'm glad the TV show dragged you back to the books, because ending at Winter's Heart...I'm not a fan of that one. :laugh:

I hope you enjoy your experiences here. Have fun and dig in!
 

Arella Mathara

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Welcome, Viktara, we're glad to have you!

There is a re-read going on at the moment, might be worth checking out. They are at book four now actually, I think! Just be aware there might be spoiler for AMoL there as it is a re-read :pleased-1:
 
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Welcome to Tar Valon!

Enjoy exploring and if you have any questions, just let us know.

Besides Tolkien, Feist was one of my earliest introductions to fantasy. Definitely influenced my interests and writing.

Lan is one of my favorite characters, and I agree with you on Verin. So many good characters in WoT.
 

Aintza Bisera

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Welcome fellow Texan! :D
 

Arinna Katal

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Hello and welcome to Tar Valon! I definitely remember the WoT boards on AOL! I never got involved with the RP boards, but I distinctly remember spending lots of time lurking on a board called The Winespring Inn that was mainly devoted to WoT-related humor.

I will also simply note that pictures of kitties are always extremely welcome. :D
 

Cassie Dainar

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Welcome! We have a lot in common! I have a spouse and two cats (one is named Chewbacca). I’m in Arkansas, also found the books in high school (pre-read from the librarian to help her decide if she wanted to put it on the shelves. AND I was also part of an RPG on AOL back in the day! Might have been the same group because we got shut down and moved to email strings (what a nightmare!). I was a Brown there with the same name as here.
 

Viktara Fen

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Thanks, all! I will check in on the re-read! I am pretty much resigned to spoilers so many years after the end of the series, so no worries that way...and I'm so naturally forgetful (one of the many delights of ADHD) that I'll probably forget I've been spoiled by the time it becomes relevant. XD

As for Feist, I think he was the third or fourth fantasy author I read with any seriousness. IIRC it went Tolkien, McCaffrey, McKillip, Moorcock, Feist...or Feist might have come before Moorcock or been read in parallel with him, but I don't remember now. It's been a minute or two. I do remember being in 8th grade, though, having only enough money for one book, and debating between Magician: Apprentice and one of Steven Brust's books...maybe Jhereg? I went with Feist, and amusingly, although I always meant to go back and read Brust later, I never did. Perhaps I should...
 

Laurien Achaur

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Hello and welcome to Tar Valon, Viktara! Huzzah for another being brought in because of the show, and for another D&D nerd! (I am both of those as well.) I very much enjoyed your intro and your writing style; I can tell you're an English major, which I mean in the best way possible :D3
 

Viktara Fen

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Hello and welcome to Tar Valon! I definitely remember the WoT boards on AOL! I never got involved with the RP boards, but I distinctly remember spending lots of time lurking on a board called The Winespring Inn that was mainly devoted to WoT-related humor.

I will also simply note that pictures of kitties are always extremely welcome. :D

I don't remember the names of the various boards for sure, but that does ring a bell! As for kitties, once I figure out how to add pictures and make sure I'm not uploading anything too big, I can certainly oblige.

Welcome! We have a lot in common! I have a spouse and two cats (one is named Chewbacca). I’m in Arkansas, also found the books in high school (pre-read from the librarian to help her decide if she wanted to put it on the shelves. AND I was also part of an RPG on AOL back in the day! Might have been the same group because we got shut down and moved to email strings (what a nightmare!). I was a Brown there with the same name as here.

It might have been, because I remember lots of "reply to all" emails at a certain point after the shutdown, and then I think it just kind of slowly died off. I think I also remember some chat room shenanigans involving water balloons as a Novice or an Accepted and getting scolded by the MoN. :laugh:

Hello and welcome to Tar Valon, Viktara! Huzzah for another being brought in because of the show, and for another D&D nerd! (I am both of those as well.) I very much enjoyed your intro and your writing style; I can tell you're an English major, which I mean in the best way possible :D3

Thanks! I am delighted to see all the new interest in things because of the show. Speaking of that and of gaming, I wonder if we'll see an official update to the RPG as a result! I've already had a player or two ask me about maybe running something in Randland (we usually do Forgotten Realms, which has been my favorite setting for many years), and although I have the old 3.x era book, most of my players are either ex-2e players who jumped straight to 5e or native 5e players, and I've long since forgotten most of what I ever knew about 3.x.
 

Melorea al'Taehor

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Welcome to Tar Valon!

Your intro was a delight to read. I wish I could write so eloquently.

Perrin is a favourite of mine too. Glad you have found your way here!
 
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:welcome

I'm glad you found our community! Thanks for the fantastic introduction - I feel like I'm already getting to know you. :pleased-1: Feel free to reach out with any questions as you explore our little corner of the internet.
 

Lithiel Morn

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Hello, Vik, and welcome to the community. :pleased-1: I will also second others - that was a wonderful introduction to read, and I dare say you're going to fit in here flawlessly! I'm really looking forward to getting to know you better. Do you have any questions right off the bat, or are you happy to explore at your own pace?
 

Viktara Fen

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Thanks again to all the well-wishers and welcomers!

Hello, Vik, and welcome to the community. [. . . ] Do you have any questions right off the bat, or are you happy to explore at your own pace?

I am sure I'll have questions as I go along! At the moment, I'm mostly feeling out what the discussions are like, processing the Membership Manual bit by bit, and getting a sense of where I might fit best. I have an eventual interest in pursuing the Shawl, and very likely membership the Brown Ajah. Such things take time, though, of course, especially given that I have a long, long delayed read-through to finish up.

The Classroom also has my interest, as does costuming (I do love me some faire fun), and I am certain I will find other areas!
 

Cassie Dainar

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We love more costumers!! My favorite thing about how membership progresses here is that there is no time limit, no pressure. Some people rush through it all, others spend ages at each level just enjoying the community. If you haven’t already, pop into our Discord and you can chat with all sorts of people about all sorts of things.
 

Lithiel Morn

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I am sure I'll have questions as I go along! At the moment, I'm mostly feeling out what the discussions are like, processing the Membership Manual bit by bit, and getting a sense of where I might fit best. I have an eventual interest in pursuing the Shawl, and very likely membership the Brown Ajah. Such things take time, though, of course, especially given that I have a long, long delayed read-through to finish up.

The Classroom also has my interest, as does costuming (I do love me some faire fun), and I am certain I will find other areas!

Ah, a few thoughts on that...
1. We are currently working on adjusting some raising requirements precisely because of the aforementioned read-through. Fourteen books is a significant amount that can take various amounts of time, based on the individual, and we do not believe we should force people to go through every single one of them in order to advance through the ranks. There are a lot of moving pieces right now, and you will be able to see a lot more of those once you are a Citizen, but I believe that we will soon make the raising processes a lot more streamlined and flexible, more tailored to the individual and their ambitions and capabilities. :pleased-1:
2. The book Ajahs and the TV.net Ajahs differ a little bit, though the core concepts are quite similar, so I would not set anything in stone right now. Please don't misunderstand me, there is nothing at all wrong with identifying very strongly with certain Ajahs over others (I would be very hypocritical to say I did not do it, myself) - however, keep in mind that you can be surprised, and that things might change over time. At one point, you will be able to guest with each of the Ajahs and Companies, and you will be able to get to know each of us much better, and vice versa. It was one of my favourite parts of the whole journey through the community, learning more both about the groups and myself. I personally believe each of us has stripes of every single Ajah, just depends on the extent. :pleased-1:
 

Viktara Fen

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We love more costumers!! My favorite thing about how membership progresses here is that there is no time limit, no pressure. Some people rush through it all, others spend ages at each level just enjoying the community. If you haven’t already, pop into our Discord and you can chat with all sorts of people about all sorts of things.

Thanks for the suggestion! I haven't had much luck with Discord in other contexts, and I found it could be a fairly big distraction for me if I was not careful about muting things, but that might well just depend on the server. At present I don't have a Discord account (I ditched the old one), but if I make a new one, I'll be sure to check out this community's server. :)

Ah, a few thoughts on that...
1. We are currently working on adjusting some raising requirements precisely because of the aforementioned read-through. Fourteen books is a significant amount that can take various amounts of time, based on the individual, and we do not believe we should force people to go through every single one of them in order to advance through the ranks. There are a lot of moving pieces right now, and you will be able to see a lot more of those once you are a Citizen, but I believe that we will soon make the raising processes a lot more streamlined and flexible, more tailored to the individual and their ambitions and capabilities. :pleased-1:
2. The book Ajahs and the TV.net Ajahs differ a little bit, though the core concepts are quite similar, so I would not set anything in stone right now. Please don't misunderstand me, there is nothing at all wrong with identifying very strongly with certain Ajahs over others (I would be very hypocritical to say I did not do it, myself) - however, keep in mind that you can be surprised, and that things might change over time. At one point, you will be able to guest with each of the Ajahs and Companies, and you will be able to get to know each of us much better, and vice versa. It was one of my favourite parts of the whole journey through the community, learning more both about the groups and myself. I personally believe each of us has stripes of every single Ajah, just depends on the extent. :pleased-1:

1. Thanks for letting me know! I am not worried if it takes time, and I can see the reasoning behind both having the read-through requirement and having something less restrictive. Either way, I'll keep an eye on the updates as/if they roll out. :)

2. That's an excellent point. I have certainly been surprised before when I thought I wouldn't be, and I might well be surprised again. :) Thanks for the reminder. I'll be excited to see how things settle out for me over time. :)
 

Jocasta Braithe

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Hey Welcome Viktara!
 
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