Additionally, its creation story has similarities to the Abrahamic religions' 'Creator' ( Light) and Shai'tan, 'The Dark One' ( Shaitan is an Arabic word that, in Islamic contexts, is used as a name for the Devil or the Satan). The series draws on numerous elements of both European and Asian mythology, most notably the cyclical nature of time found in Buddhism and Hinduism, the metaphysical concepts of balance and duality, and a respect for nature found in Taoism. Fellow fantasy author Brandon Sanderson was brought in to complete the final book, but during the writing process it was decided that the book would be far too large to be published in one volume and would instead be published as three volumes: The Gathering Storm (2009), Towers of Midnight (2010), and A Memory of Light (2013). He prepared extensive notes so another author could complete the book according to his wishes.

Jordan died in 2007 while working on what was planned to be the final volume in the series. Jordan began writing the first volume, The Eye of the World, in 1984, and it was published in January 1990. Originally planned as a six-book series, The Wheel of Time spanned 14 volumes, in addition to a prequel novel and two companion books. The Wheel of Time is a series of high fantasy novels by American author Robert Jordan, with Brandon Sanderson as a co-author for the final three novels.

The winds of time