There is general agreement within the fantasy community that the majority of fantasy literature is derivative of J R R Tolkein's seminal work; The Lord of the Rings. The plot lines follow a template; village boy finds out he's is more than ordinary, sets out on a quest usually with a wise old man conveniently from his village. There are elves who are superior to every other race in almost every aspect, but who, for some inscrutable reasons, do not take part in any of the actual fighting, but rather, restrict themselves to spewing pompous rhetoric and being mysterious and enigmatic. There are dwarves who almost always hate elves, have beards and are good with stone. There is always some enchanted place in the forest with some seeped in 'ancient magic' where the village-boy-hero will find an artifact which will help him defeat the Dark Lord singlehandedly. Tolkein handles the above template very well. He does this by choosing not to explain the mechanics of the magic, by making the One Ring the single most malevolent entity in all of literature, by inventing languages and writing page-long poems in them, and most of all, with beautiful, beautiful prose. However, several writers have fallen into the trap of trying to recreate his magic. They have failed.
Mr Jordan brought with him a breath of fresh air. Someone might stop me here and say, "Stop right there mister, the initial chapters of the first book, The Eye of the World read almost like the template that you have so portentously presented." Mr Jordan deliberately wrote the initial chapters of the first book closer to the style and tone of the Fellowship of the Ring and I concede that they are so. One would be hard pressed to find any other similarities to the template in the subsequent books.
Whereas Mr Tolkein predominantly drew his inspiration from Anglo-Saxon folk tales and poems, Mr Jordan looks toward religion for his inspiration,most importantly, the concept of the Messiah, or the Saviour which kicks around in modern religion. Th concept of rebirth which resonates throughout Hinduism, and the concept of balance and duality of Buddhism
The Creator created the world, and at the moment of Creation, imprisoned his anti-thesis, Shai'tan. The wheel of time is turned by the One Power which has two aspects; saidin and saidar. Saidar can be weilded by women, whereas, the more violent saidin can only be weilded by men. In an Age when all living beings were at peace, an Age which was later known as the Age of Legends, men and women who could weild the power, known as Aes Sedai, worked towards the progress of humankind. They occupied important posts in government and had a monopoly over all knowledge. However, in an attempt to tap into a power source accessible by both the sexes, a team of researchers inadvertently created a bore in Shai'tan's prison. Over the next few years, His influence spread across the world and poisoned men's minds. However, in anticipation of this, the Wheel of Time churned out the champion of the Light; the Dragon. A male channeler of immense power, the most power channeler in the world. In the Age of Legends, Lews Therin Telamon was the Dragon. however, the forces of the Light suffered heavy losses in the War of the Shadow. In a last ditch attempt to salvage victory from the jaws of defeat, Lews Therin led the most powerful male channelers known as the Hundred Companions to Shayol Ghul, to seal the Bore in Shai'tan's prison. However, just as they seal the Bore, Shai'tan unleashes his counterstrike because of which, saidin is tainted and Lews Therin and his Hundred Companions are instantly driven insane. Lews Therin murders his family and anyone related to. Because of the taint on saidin, all males which touch the Power are slowly driven insane and they die of a wasting disease. The remaining insane male Aes Sedai destroy the world in their madness. They raise mountains where there once were rivers. This is known as the Breaking of the World.
Three thousand years pass. Human society has taken a gigantic leap backwards. Male channelers are regarded with fear and hatred. Lews Therin Telamon in particular is the most hated and referred to as Lews Therin Kinslayer. The Aes Sedai are now a purely female order which captures men who channel and snuffs the ability out of them. There are no male Aes Sedai. In such a world, the Dragon is rebon. His name is Rand al'Thor and The Wheel of Time is his story.
