Dragon (Wheel of Time)

Dragon (Wheel Of Time)

In the fictional Wheel of Time fantasy series by Robert Jordan, the Dragon is the champion of the Light and the Creator against the evil Dark One. Although the Dark One was imprisoned by the Creator at the moment of creation, he continually seeks to break free of his prison. In each Age, the Dragon is reborn to fight the Dark One and keep him locked away from the world. During the events of The Wheel of Time, Rand al'Thor is the Dragon, and is referred to as The Dragon Reborn.

The Dragon is considered to be the same person reborn in every age, the soul being reborn into a newborn body in keeping with the concept of reincarnation and rebirth which is prevalent in the Wheel of Time series. Although each rebirth is a new person, having the same soul but different life experiences and memories, and thus a unique personality, sometimes the memories and personality of past incarnations "intrude" upon the new person's mind, especially in the case of male Channelers who are succumbing to the taint on saidin and are thus going insane, which manifests as a "voice" in their heads. Every rebirth of the soul of the Dragon is considered the Dragon, and thus "Dragon" is more of an honorary title than a name. The Dragon does not retain his old memories when he is reborn (except for unusual circumstances, as detailed above), so in each age he may go by a different name, form (though he may have similar characteristics, such as height, from the previous Dragon) and different identity. The Wheel of Time series does not discuss all of the Dragons in all of the Ages; however, in the Age of Legends, the Dragon was a powerful Aes Sedai named Lews Therin Telamon, regarded as the most powerful Channeler of his Age. In the current Age (the Third Age), an entire cycle of prophecies, called the Karaethon Cycle or the Prophecies of the Dragon, is devoted to prophecies of the coming of the Dragon of the Third Age.