The First Age

I've been giving a lot of thought lately to the idea of cultures and tradition assigning their own versions of creation myths in the context of time being circular.

The "real" creation would have taken place up to an infinite number of turnings of the Wheel ago. So let's think about creation myths starting with our own, present day theories and working backward.

A few examples:

Big Bang theory - scientific theory
Genesis accounts of creation
Popol Vuh
Māori myths
Greek cosmogonical myths
Sumerian creation myths (oldest)
So on and so forth...

Clearly many of these seem preposterous to "modern, scientific minds," but at the height of their tellings, were accepted as fact.

Let me ask the question. What is the creation myth in the Wheel of Time books?

The universe and the Wheel of Time are brought into existence by the Creator. At the moment of creation, the Creator's antithesis, the Dark One, is also brought into existence. The Creator imprisons the Dark One in a prison outside the pattern.

The Third Agers clearly believed this as truth. The Aes Sedai taught it, after all.

But could it be a myth based on who-knows-what just like all the other creation myths? Other than the fact that we know there is a Dark One, what if it's based on nothing at all that even closely resembles the truth of creation, or anything since?

That means there's no wheel. Or, at least, that the turning of the ages isn't quite as hopeless as it appears. For all we know, there could well be a straight line of events. Nothing in the book factually shows that everything that was will necessarily be. It's all subjective interpretation. :3

Unfortunately for MURICA and FREEDOM we have RJ's follow up on the nature of the Wheel in his interviews that confirms the accuracy of the Wheel/Creation theory of the Aes Sedai.

Fuck you my way is less depressing.

Uh yeah, clearly the wheel and creator and dark one and all that are real, because RJ said they are. But how did the folks in the books figure that out? Something must have been realized between now and the Age of Legends. How does someone discover this giant abstract cosmic Wheel anyway? Screwing around with the One Power, I figure. But still. What does that actually mean?

Not sure. Likely messing around with the One Power, maybe a theoretical physicist? discovered the presence of the Pattern, etc.

On an unrelated note. I ran across this today.

Devil's Tower, Wyoming.



That's the remains of Dragonmount, isn't it? Haha.

Anybody been there? Is there a giant river nearby? Kinda of a creepy, oddly placed tower of rock in the middle of flatlands.