he protagonist, a reincarnated savior, against the Dark One, who serves as the pure essence of evil. In less simple terms, Jordan's protagonist has the capacity to save the world but the risk of destroying it in the process, and the stories center around, not only the struggles of the protagonist himself, but also the struggles of his world in general to handle their fate and the destructive path it may take.

In fact, the experience of the outlying characters is so important to the development and flow of the series that the character list reaches into the thousands, each with a specific background and unique description. In essence, Jordan has not only created a fantasy story, he's created an extensive alter universe.