I promised that I'd give you some tips to identify those who stood in the Light and would-be/die-hard Darkfriends, and I'm here to make good on that promise. But first, allow me to briefly explain what it means to be on the side of the Light, and the implications of being on the side of the Dark.
The side of the Light is the side of the Creator. Now, we aren't told much about the Creator, but it is safe to assume that He represents everything good, kind, and white (case in point: The Whitecloaks). Now, there isn't much good in the world of the Wheel of Time, so, again, we can safely assume that the side of the Dark is overwhelmingly dominant.
You see, the Dark One seeks to bring an end to the 3rd Age, and indeed, all of the Ages to come, by unraveling the Wheel of Time. His minions abound, lured by promises of power in his new dominion, although I do wonder if anything will be left to rule if the Dark One wins.
Anyway, here are five things to note about this almighty struggle between the forces of Light and Dark.
Don't get carried away by the often overzealous activities of some individuals and sects. Not everything is as it seems. And not everyone practices what they preach. Remember that some of the most famous betrayals in the Bible were done by the most unlikely people. Judas was one of the original Twelve, and Joseph was done in by his own kin.
Those among us that are unfortunate enough to be religious fanatics are often blind to this fact. But your average agnostic and atheist will agree that if there truly was a God who would someday judge the world of sin and purge humanity of its uncleanliness, the damned were more likely to have a closer affinity to the inside of the walls of the Holy Houses, than without. Ironic, eh?
Accordingly, In the Wheel of Time, you need not look to the depths of Shayol Ghul to find the rot. There, it is more than obvious. The real rot, potentially the most damaging of the lot, will be found in the places where the Light of the Creator supposedly shines the brightest...
When reading the series, I fell in love with the machinations of the Dark. If you have chosen to stand in the Light, then I wish you all the very best. I know where I stand. I am a Darkfriend through and through. I have my motivations, but I need not explain myself to you.
If you choose to hate me because I seek power, then I mock your efforts at supporting the Dragon Reborn, whose destiny is, well, yet to be decided. Instead, I have chosen to side with the greatest Aes Sedai of all the Ages. Whether we stand or fall at the end, I do so in the knowledge that I chose this beautiful, beautiful darkness.
This is as much as I can tell you about Light and Dark without giving away actual spoilers. Here, I can almost see many of your Wheel of Time geeks rolling their eyes in disgust. But I don't care. After all, this article is first and foremost for the newbies. Anyway, I shall add two more nuggets (because I promised ten).
If the show does the characters the grave dishonor of not appropriating their full names on a regular basis, you can be reasonably sure that virtual heads will roll all over social media from as early as midnight on the 19th of November, 2021.
The names are truly beautiful. Personally, I shall be naming one of my future daughters (if I am lucky to have any) after a certain fierce Maiden-turned-Wise One (ooops, there goes a spoiler). The lovely names extend beyond the characters, to cities and city-states in Randland.
Even the most optimistic fan of the shows knows deep down that the books cannot be excellently replicated by live-action. In fact, many would argue that an animation adaptation would be easier and better. But who are we to stop Amazon from splashing the cash ($10 million per episode, I hear).
We are all having our hearts broken. But, as a newbie to the series, if you are remotely impressed by the first three episodes of the Wheel of Time Amazon Prime will give us tomorrow, then you owe it to Father Robert Jordan (may his brilliant soul forever bask in the radiance of the Creator's Light) to read books one through fourteen of the Original Wheel of Time; The Eye of the World through A Memory of Light.
Here's a mini spoiler tip for you: Read the prequel to the series, New Spring. It answers so many questions.
The Light shine on us all.
