"A TOR book"--Title page verso

In the Third Age, an age of prophecy when the world and time themselves hang in the balance, the Dark One, imprisoned by the Creator, is stirring in Shayol Ghul.

The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and go, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth returns again. When The Two Rivers is attacked by Trollocs-- a savage tribe of half-men, half-beasts-- five villagers flee that night into a world they barely imagined. They find new dangers waiting in the shadows and in the light. Rand al'Thor, an orphan, does not know that he is bound to the Wheel of Time-- and there are prophecies to be fulfilled. -- adapted from jacket