Small Details You Missed In The First Wheel Of Time Teaser Trailer

Contains potential spoilers for Amazon's "The Wheel of Time"

When it comes to the most popular fantasy novel series of all time, many people first think of "The Lord of the Rings" and "Harry Potter." However, another title deserves to be among those ranks, and thanks to the upcoming Amazon adaptation, more people than ever before will be exposed to the majesty of "The Wheel of Time."

Across over a dozen volumes, the books have sold over 90 million copies around the globe (via The Hollywood Reporter). That number's bound to increase once the series' first live-action adaptation drops on Amazon Prime Video on November 19 (and, no, we aren't counting "The Winter Dragon," and neither should you). The first teaser trailer promises an epic adventure filled with monsters, magic, and mayhem. It also appears to be a highly faithful adaptation. In other words, it's everything fans of the novel could hope for.

The trailer may only be two minutes in length, but it shows off plenty of exciting plot points fans from the books will recognize. In case there were any details you missed, allow us to fill in the blanks. 

Many images crop up throughout the trailer that probably don't mean anything to people who haven't read the books, and while we can't state for certain what some of the clips mean, we can make some educated guesses.

One of these occurs around the 0:17 mark, where you'll notice a man crying, while bringing a golden object up to his mouth. Based on the books, we'd venture a guess that this is Lews Therin Telamon. The only time this version of Lews Therin appears in the flesh is in the prologue to the first book in the series, "The Eye of the World." 

The scene takes place 3,000 years before the events of the main story kick off. Lews Therin is a male Aes Sedai, and therefore a wielder of the male half of the True Source, known as saidin. Why do we think this is Lews Therin? Aside from those big, blubbery tears, he's holding what looks to be an Aes Sedai's golden serpent ring. By the time the series kicks off, there aren't anymore male Aes Sedai. Indeed, Lews Therin is one of the last (and arguably the reason for their dissolution). 

Millennia ago, Lews Therin and his band of male channelers sealed the Dark One (the series' principal Big Bad) in his prison at Shayol Ghul, thus bringing an end to the War of Power. In the moment of the sealing, however, the Dark One counters by laying his evil taint over saidin. Henceforth, any male born with the ability to touch the Source is doomed to go insane and destroy everyone and everything around him. Lews Therin himself goes mad and kills his family, which is likely why he's crying in the scene shown.

That all makes sense ... until you check the casting announcements and see that this actor is supposedly playing the Warder to a modern Aes Sedai. Warders are like Aes Sedai bodyguards in "The Wheel of Time," complete with magical connections to their charges. This "Bond" means Warders take it really hard when their Aes Sedai partners die, and vice versa. The only thing that could make a Warder weep like that over an Aes Sedai ring would be the death of his bonded Aes Sedai. If we're actually seeing a Warder in mourning here, and not Lews Therin, then that would represent the first confirmed major change to the source material. 

We'll likely find out which it is in November.

At around 0:22, there's a scene in which a woman rises from the water, streaked in colors. The character represented here is Egwene al'Vere, played by Madeleine Madden. Egwene is one of the original Emond's Fielders, from the Two Rivers area, who leave when shepherded by Moiraine (Rosamund Pike), thus kicking off the action of the story. Though short, this particular image offers some pretty intense visual foreshadowing. In "The Eye of the World," it's soon discovered that Egwene can channel the female half of the True Source — saidar – and in fact, she has a future as a very powerful Aes Sedai.

In the mythology of "The Wheel of Time," women with the power to touch the True Source go to Tar Valon, the site of the White Tower, to learn to use their powers. Once they are raised from the level of "Novice" or "Accepted" to full Aes Sedai, they choose to join an "Ajah," which are represented by different colors. Each Ajah is designated a specific role within the Tower. In the books, Egwene is attracted to the Green Ajah, also known as the Battle Ajah, in part because Greens are allowed to "bond" as many Warders as they wish, and are the only Aes Sedai known to frequently marry (Egwene's got a thing for the boys, you see). 

However, in the course of the series, Egwene never actually gets to choose an Ajah. Instead, as a result of a schism in the White Tower caused mostly by the presence of the Dragon Reborn, she becomes the leader of them all — the Amyrlin Seat — before ever being elevated to full Aes Sedai. The Amyrlin Seat, representing all Ajahs and none, wears a stole of silk that contains stripes of all seven Ajah colors — much like the paint colors on display in this brief scene.

At the 0:39-minute mark, viewers finally get a peek deep inside the White Tower, a location that notably doesn't appear in "The Eye of the World." It's here in Tar Valon that the Aes Sedai study and scheme, and it's where two of the original characters from the Two Rivers — Egwene and Nynaeve al'Meara (Zoe Robins) — come to find their destinies after Moiraine, also an Aes Sedai, discovers their latent abilities. Their education here, as well as the political machinations that turn out to be percolating under every white stone, helps shape these young women into the powerful Aes Sedai that they become.

In the center, we get our first good look at Siuan Sanche (Sophie Okonedo), the current leader of the Aes Sedai. She is dressed in blue, as she was raised to the Amyrlin Seat from the Blue Ajah. Here she presides over the majestic Hall of the Tower, a small governing body of the Aes Sedai comprised of elected "Sitters" from each Ajah. We see these important figures on display in the trailer, each group dressed in the color of its respective Ajah. 

This is our first (of a few) hints that showrunner Rafe Judkins and his writing team intend to take us beyond the scope of the first book in Season 1. Though the White Tower is a critical location, and Siuan Sanche a critical character, neither makes a true appearance until book 2, "The Great Hunt."

At 0:46, the camera pans over a number of women in red — or should we say "Red." 

These are all Aes Sedai of the Red Ajah. In "Wheel of Time" lore, the Red Ajah is responsible for hunting down men who can channel and "gentling" them. Because of the Dark One's taint on saidin, men who channel tend to go mad after they come of age. This makes them very dangerous. By gentling these men, the Red Ajah severs their connection to the True Source, preventing the madness, but often resulting in the male channeler's premature death. Generally, a number of Aes Sedai is required to do this, which is why a group of women — especially wearing red — is a dangerous thing in the world of "The Wheel of Time."

Among these women is Liandrin (Kate Fleetwood), who becomes one of the series' principal (mortal) antagonists early on. Liandrin is yet another character not introduced until "The Great Hunt," so her presence here is a good sign that Judkins intends to raise the stakes right off the bat. You're going to love to hate her.

At around the 1:07 mark, you'll find a man interacting with a vicious-looking wolf. The strange thing is — he doesn't seem all that bothered by it. That's because this man is Perrin Aybara (Marcus Rutherford), an Emond's Fielder with a unique set of skills in "The Wheel of Time" books. In the first volume of the series, he discovers that he's actually a Wolfbrother, a possessor of an ancient power that confounds even the most learned Aes Sedai.

These individuals have heightened senses, much like wolves themselves. They're also able to turn into wolves while they dream, and in the waking world they can marshall other wolves for battle and communicate with them over great distances. Seeing how confused Perrin looks in the scene, we'd assume he's just recently learned about his powers. He's slow to embrace this arcane skill set in the books, but his powers play a crucial role in the series' apocalyptic confrontation.

Wolfbrothers are few and far between in the novels. Aside from Perrin, the only other men who have this power are Noam and Elyas Machera, but you'll likely learn more about them both in good time.

Fans of "The Wheel of Time" know that the Tuatha'an — or Traveling People — are prone to violent attacks given their pacifistic nature. Their honor code, The Way of the Leaf, is explained by a former member as, "The leaf lives its appointed time, and does not struggle against the wind that carries it away. The leaf does no harm, and finally falls to nourish new leaves. So it should be with all men. And Women."

Unfortunately for the nomadic group, one moment in the trailer implies that a gleeful Tuatha'an dance may turn deadly. In one scene, they dance in a concentric circular formation with interlocked hands, moving back and forth as a small crowd looks on. In the next, the trailer quickly cuts from the celebration to an eerily similar shot of another concentric circle, but this time it's made up of bodies covered in white sheets with red markings on their chests. 

A small group of cloaked Tuatha'an travelers stand at the center with their hands clasped. It's not yet clear what happened, but as we learned from "Midsommar," even the most innocuous of dance circles can be dangerous.

Reminiscent of the half-human, half-horse hybrids in "Sorry to Bother You," the Trollocs are a horrific genetic mashup of humans and aggressive animals. The lab-made creatures were crossbred to wreak havoc, and are essentially the footsoldiers of the Dark One. They first invaded during the War of Power, and had a resurgence during the aptly named Trolloc Wars, though by the time the events of book 1 role around, they are rarely sighted outside of the Borderlands.

Of course, their ominous size and monstrous appearance are frightening enough, but these chimeric killing machines are also able to communicate and coordinate — often with the help of Myrddraal. While the first look at the notoriously sadistic creatures doesn't reveal much, they are shown clashing with the main characters in the Two Rivers — an iconic scene from "The Eye of the World."

Fans on the series' subreddit are still reacting to the trailer, but so far, everyone seems on board with the little they've been shown. "The trollocs look perfect!" one Redditor gushed. "[Producer] Rafe [Judkins] nailed it, right down to the hooves for feet."

"They were terrifying, especially the shot with them backlit with flames," another said. "Legit looked like demons from hell."

Maybe that guy in the center holding up the spear is actually Narg, the series' only named Trolloc with a speaking role? A fanboy can dream.

Toward the end of the trailer, we get a brief glimpse at a terrifying hooded creature with no eyes — although that doesn't stop them from seeing clearly — and a mouthful of razor sharp teeth. "Wheel of Time" book lovers will likely recognize this creature right away as a Halfman — aka a Lurk, Fade, Myrddraal, or Eyeless, depending on regional dialect. These creatures are more advanced Shadowspawn than the Trollocs, and often serve as battle commanders on behalf of the Dark One.

In "The Eye of the World," a Myrddraal stalks Rand (Josha Stradowski), Perrin, and Mat (Barney Harris) early on, before eventually leading an attack on Emond's Field, where the main characters reside. The Myrddraal is determined to capture the boys, and harries their escape from the Two Rivers all the way across the Kingdom of Andor. Their eyeless gaze is said to induce a paralyzing fear in their victims, and from this first glimpse, we don't doubt that that's the case.

All in all, it's looking to be a heart-pounding and faithful adaptation, and that's very good news.