silklantern is a responsibly run Wheel of
Time site, offered as a resource to readers of all ages. Our mission
is to provide a safe place where anyone who has read The Wheel
of Time may participate comfortably.
Founded rather accidentally in 1997 as "The Netland White
Tower" by a San Francisco high school student who made a
homepage and penned herself Qirien Sedai, silklantern
began as a collection of 'biographies' of Aes Sedai and Warders,
created and written by fans. The writers soon merged their stories
into an interactive novel, using email to write and exchange scenes.
In March 2002, five years after Qirien created the original Netland
White Tower homepage, the site was re-launched as silklantern.
The name 'silk lantern' is inspired by the gold-tasselled, globe-shaped
fixtures of Chinese origin, hung outdoors during holidays. A lantern,
like a story, is small enough to be held by a child's hands, but
bright enough to be shared or passed around. In The Wheel
of Time, lit lanterns are hung in windows, doorways, gates,
and trees during the Festival of Lanterns in the month of Choren.
