Member Spotlight: Aran Cherubim
Author: Emory Sheldon
1 November 2011
While Aran has been here for five years and most people have a least seen him, I thought I would still go back to the beginning and explore the background behind his interest in the Wheel of Time. When he was 14, his father brought him a set of books that included the Norwegian first part of the Lord of Chaos, book six in the series. “[He] read it, not really knowing what…was going on, but really liking the elements and style, so [he] kinda bugged [his] parents about finding the first book. That Christmas, [he] got a beautiful hardcover full version of Eye of the Word.” Aran told me that he still has it and it is one of his most treasured possessions. Naturally, his interest in the books led him to the internet where he found TarValon.Net.
I couldn’t resist asking why, in five years, he never joined the tower? He responded with, “There is no real conscious ‘reason’ for why I haven’t joined the tower. I’ve always thought that at some point I [would] join...On the other hand, I was slow to finish the series, and I’ve never been willing to join it without having all the books under my belt.” He then added, “Of course...I do treasure my current rank of citizen, and for a certain time I worked fairly diligently to welcome and guide new junior members around, acting as a very informal tutor, if a self-appointed one. I liked this niche, of being a ‘fellow newbie’. It’s quite amusing to see people I helped around the site, back in the day, as Senior Members and holding important and helpful positions around the Tower.”
Now that we know how Aran arrived and a little more about him, I asked, where we could find him most on the site? He responded, “Actually, nowadays, I think I spend most of my time in Olde Warder and Hen. It’s just that General is an easier drop-by-and-post forum. By which I mean I am a spammer.” For all you non-spammers out there, you have been warned. As stated before, he has been seen “a little here...a little there”, to which he said, “Hopefully the ‘a little here, a little there’ impression is correct, as that is what I try to do. I’ve never enjoyed being confined to one clique, or one gang, and in real life I tend to hover between different groups of people at parties or gatherings, as opposed to talking the entire evening with the same people.” It does sound as if Aran could get along with any group.
Lastly, I asked him about his interests and hobbies outside the Wheel of Time. Actually, Aran is interested in a great number of subjects mostly all for one reason, he is a writer. On his profile page, he lists his interests as “reading, writing, history, religion, mythology, anthropology, etc” and all of it is used in his fictional universe of Iona. Even his name on TarValon.Net comes from that world, “which in hindsight might not have been the best choice, since the character is a religious figure venerated for introducing the dominant religion to humanity. I might as well have called myself Jesus. But the name stuck, and I don’t mind being called Aran.” He tries to put a lot of effort into is writing and “world making”. He did point out that, “While story is king, I am a firm adherent of realistic fantasy, which is why I love series like [Wheel of Time], and A Song of Ice and Fire. The worlds are a living, breathing thing and most things are more complex than they seem...”
One of the hardest things about interviewing members like Aran, is knowing that you can’t fit everything said into one article. He likes to sit in the background and help others. He likes to work a room, spread around and meet new people. He loves his niche as a Citizen’s Citizen. He is interested in many subjects and topics, and hopes to one day be a published writer. With all that Aran is, he is certainly a citizen that is here to stay.
