• "The Wheel of Time" season three premieres on Thursday on Prime Video.
• The fantasy series follows a group of villagers forced to become heroes of the world.
• Here are the key story plots to remember before tuning into season three.

"The Wheel of Time" returns for a third season after a year-and-a-half break.

The fantasy Prime Video show, based on Robert Jordan's whopping 15-novel series, follows a group of five villagers forced to save the world from an evil known as the Dark One.

Before you start season three, here's a quick refresher on the key players and story plots.

Rand Al'Thor and his friends each have roles in the battle against the dark.

In season one, Moiraine Damodred, an Aes Sedai who uses magic known as the One Power, and her trusty warrior Lan Mandragoran come to the Two Rivers village to find the Dragon Reborn — a reincarnated hero prophesied to save the world from the Dark One or destroy it.

They instead find five special villagers.

Rand al'Thor is the Dragon Reborn and one of the few men who can use the One Power, though the magic is driving him mad. His parents were Aiel, a tribe of skilled warriors, but he was raised by non-Aiel farmers who never told him about his heritage.

Mat Cauthon seems to have a connection to his past lives. Perrin Aybara is a Wolf Brother, a human with heightened senses who can telepathically communicate with Wolves.

Egwene al'Vere and Nynaeve al'Meara can use the One Power and are training to be Aes Sedai.

Along their journey, Rand and his friends have made allies, including Elayne Trakand (a princess of the Andor kingdom and an Aes Sedai trainee), Loial (an Ogier), Min Farshaw (a woman who can see people's futures), and Aviendha (an Aiel).

Rand killed Ishamael, one of the Dark One's lead minions, but there are more villains to fight.

The Dark One is locked up in a special prison, but the Forsaken, powerful male and female Aes Sedai who were imprisoned centuries ago after they chose to follow the Dark One, have now been freed.

In the season two finale, Rand kills one of the Forsaken, Ishamael, during the Battle at Falme. Two more Forsaken have been shown onscreen: Lanfear, who is in love with the Dragon and wants to protect him from her fellow Forsaken, and Moghdien, who attacks Lanfear at the end of season two.

The others are waiting to attack Rand and his friends.

The Aes Sedai have traitors within their ranks.

Rand's identity as the Dragon was revealed to the world in the season two finale, which will split the Aes Sedai community, led by the Amyrlin Seat. Some believe the best action is to work with the Dragon, and others want to cage and control him until he has defeated the Dark One.

A third group, known as the Black Ajah, are secret servants of the Dark One.

In season two, Liandrin, Nynaeve's mentor, reveals she is a member of the Black Ajah. She kidnaps Nynaeve, Egwene, and Elayne and hands them over to the Seanchan, an army from across the seas that enslaves women who can use the One Power and want to retake the kingdoms they say belong to their ancestors.

Nynaeve and Elayne escape, but Egwene is enslaved and tortured for days. The three women will want their revenge on Liandrin and the Black Ajah.

The Whitecloaks want revenge against Perrin.

The Whitecloaks, also known as the Children of the Light, are a religious militia dedicated to eradicating evil and servants of the Dark One. However, they often just harm anyone who seems shifty, is an Aes Sedai, or looks different from an average human.

In season two, they attack Falme to get rid of the Seanchan, while Rand and his allies try to do the same. In the crossfire, Perrin fights the Whitecloaks and kills a general, Geofram Bornhald, in front of his son. The son, Dain, vowed revenge against Perrin, so The Whitecloaks will likely be a bigger problem in the future.

Mat blew the Horn of Valere to defeat the Seanchan.

The Horn of Valere can resurrect heroes and is one of many special artifacts in "The Wheel of Time" needed for the final battle against the Dark One.

Mat blows the horn during the battle in Falme, which helps unlock part of his memories of his past lives. The resurrected heroes are the turning point in the fight against the Seanchan, leading to their retreat, but they will likely return.

• "The Wheel of Time" TV series is back for its third season on Prime Video.
• The series adapts a fantasy book series comprised of 14 novels and one prequel.
• Here's the correct way to read the entire series.

The fourth book in "The Wheel of Time" series (and some of the third) have been adapted for the latest season of its eponymous TV show.

Fans of the show who want to read the source material can do so in order of publication — but have two options for digging into the prequel.

You can read 'The Wheel of Time' in publication order

"The Wheel of Time" follows Rand al'Thor and his friends Egwene al'Vere, Nynaeve al'Meara, Matrim Cauthon, and Perrin Aybara after they are forced out of their village, the Two Rivers, to save the world from an evil known as the Dark One.

The series is filled with magic, which is called the One Power, monsters, magical artifacts, and even portals to other worlds.

In order to stop the Dark One and his minions, Moiraine Damodred and her trusty Warder, Lan Mandarogan, must guide and train the five villagers, one of whom is the Dragon Reborn and is destined to either save the world or destroy it.

The order of the original series is as follows:

1. "The Eye of the World"
2. "The Great Hunt"
3. "The Dragon Reborn"
4. "The Shadow Rising"
5. "The Fires of Heaven"
6. "Lord of Chaos"
7. "A Crown of Swords"
8. "The Path of Daggers"
9. "Winter's Heart"
10. "Crossroads of Twilight"
11. "Knife of Dreams"
12. "The Gathering Storm"
13. "Towers of Midnight"
14. "A Memory of Light"

Author Robert Jordan, real name James Oliver Rigney Jr., wrote the first 11 books in the series and the prequel, "New Spring."

After he died in 2007, a fan and fellow author, Brandon Sanderson, was chosen by Jordan's editor and wife Harriet McDougal to finish the last book using the late author's notes. It was later decided to split the book into three novels.

The final book includes an epilogue written by Jordan before his death.

Season one of the TV series adapts "The Eye of the World," while season two merges a few plotlines from "The Dragon Reborn" into "The Great Hunt" storyline. Season three will focus on book four, "The Shadow Rising," but also includes a few storylines from "The Dragon Reborn."

'New Spring' can be read first or after 'Crossroads of Twilight'

"New Spring," set 20 years before the events of the main series, follows a younger Moiraine who is training to become an Aes Sedai, a specially-trained witch, alongside her close friend Siuan Sanche. Siuan is the leader of the Aes Sedai in the main books and the TV show.

In the novel, we see how she and Siuan become involved in the prophecy of the Dragon Reborn and how she meets Lan.

If you have been watching the TV series, a lot of this was explored or teased in the first two seasons.

"New Spring" was published between book 10, "Crossroads of Twilight," and book 11, "Knife of Dreams," so you could read it between those two novels. Alternatively, you could read "New Spring" first as your entry into the world of "The Wheel of Time."

According to a note published on the official "Wheel of Time" Facebook account, "New Spring" was meant to be the start of a prequel trilogy, but Jordan never got to finish the series before he died.

'Wheel of Time' inspired 'Game of Thrones'

The show's third season, which premiered on Thursday, is part of Amazon's attempt to create a fantasy franchise that rivals the success of "Game of Thrones." "The Wheel of Time" and "The Lord of Rings: Rings of Power" have been hits on Prime Video, but haven't recreated the critical and cultural highs of "Game of Thrones."

Jordan's novels, written in the '90s and early '00s, inspired George R.R. Martin's "Game of Thrones" series.

Martin told Entertainment Weekly in 2020 that "GOT" would not have been successful without "The Wheel of Time."

"Jordan essentially broke the trilogy template that Tolkien helped set up. He showed us how to do a book that's bigger than a trilogy," referring to the author of "The Lord of the Rings." He added: "I don't think my series would've been possible without 'The Wheel of Time' being as successful as it was."

It's unlikely there will be more 'Wheel of Time' books

Sanderson said in a 2020 video on his YouTube channel that he didn't want to take ownership of the series and does not plan to write any more spinoffs or sequels.

"I handed that ring back, and I told Harriet, 'I'm not going to write any more 'Wheel of Time,'" Sanderson said. 

While publisher Tor and McDougal could hire another author to take over the series, there hasn't been a new book in over 10 years.

Sanderson also said that Jordan was against other authors writing their own "Wheel of Time" stories for much of his career, and only became open to the idea of another author helping him finish the series when he was close to death.

Correction: January 5, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misidentified the author of the final three "Wheel of Time" novels. It is Brandon Sanderson, not Brian Sanderson.