The Eye of the World (abbreviated as tEotW by fans) is the first book of The Wheel of Time fantasy series written by American author Robert Jordan. It was published by Tor Books and released on January 15, 1990.

On January 2, 2002, The Eye of the World was re-released as two separate books aimed at a young adult literature market, with larger text and a handful of illustrations. These were From the Two Rivers and To the Blight. The former included an additional prologue entitled "Ravens", focusing on Egwene al'Vere.

Prologue: Dragonmount The Eye of the World is unique in that its prologue, "Dragonmount", is set in the Age of Legends, roughly three millennia prior to the events which comprise the remainder of the series. 

The prologue introduces Lews Therin Telamon, the Dragon, victorious commander of the forces of Light in the war against Shai'tan, the Dark One. His victory was not without cost, however; as a result, Lews Therin has gone insane and murdered his family. He is confronted by Ishamael, one of the Dark One's chief lieutenants, who restores his sanity. Faced with the magnitude of his crimes, Lews Therin commits suicide, creating Dragonmount.

From The Two Rivers to Shadar Logoth
The early chapters of the book are set in and around the rustic village of Emond's Field in the Two Rivers district of Andor, where most of the primary characters reside.

On the eve of Bel Tine, an annual festival celebrating the arrival of spring, an unexpected attack by bestial Trollocs and fearsome Myrddraal seems to target Rand al'Thor and his two friends, Matrim Cauthon and Perrin Aybara specifically. Hoping to spare their loved ones from any further attacks, the three young men decide to flee the village by night, accompanied by Moiraine Damodred, an Aes Sedai, and her Warder, Lan Mandragoran. As they attempt to leave, their surreptitious escape is discovered and joined by the innkeeper's daughter, Egwene al'Vere, and a wandering gleeman, Thom Merrilin.

Chased by Trollocs, Myrddraal, and Draghkar, the seven companions make their way to the nearby city of Baerlon, where they encounter Min Farshaw, a young woman gifted with prophetic visions, and Dain Bornhald, an officer in the Children of the Light. They also find Padan Fain, a peddler who was presumed killed during the Trolloc attack on Emond's Field. Also in Baerlon, Rand and his two friends begin experiencing dreams in which they are taunted by an arrogant man who calls himself Ba'alzamon. Shortly before they depart, Nynaeve al'Meara, the village wisdom of Emond's Field, arrives to retrieve the four villagers. When Rand and his friends refuse to return with her, Nynaeve joins them to ensure their continued safety.

Pursued by ever-increasing numbers of Trollocs and Myrddraal, the travellers are forced to take refuge in the ancient, abandoned, and deadly city of Shadar Logoth, a place even Myrddraal are reluctant to enter. While there, Rand and his two friends foolishly try to explore the ruined city and meet a man named Mordeth, who first offers them riches in exchange for a small favor, then attempts to kill them when he learns that their companions include an Aes Sedai and their eventual destination is Tar Valon. The three barely escape, and only reach their companions just before nightfall.

From Shadar Logoth to Caemlyn
Myrddraal and Trollocs enter Shadar Logoth during the night, forcing the eight companions from their warded quarters. As they try to avoid the search and leave the city, Mashadar, the evil of Shadar Logoth made manifest, separates them from each other.

After leaving Shadar Logoth, and with Trollocs close behind, Rand, Mat, and Thom stumble across a moored ship on the nearby River Arinelle. The captain, Bayle Domon, reluctantly grants them passage to Whitebridge. During the journey upriver, Ba'alzamon continues to haunt Rand and Mat's dreams, and Mat becomes strangely reclusive and suspicious of strangers. Rand discovers that Mat has kept a ruby-hilted dagger from Shadar Logoth despite Moiraine's earlier warning, but fails to connect this new acquisition to Mat's changed behavior.

In Whitebridge, the trio are met by a Myrddraal in a crowded square. Thom apparently sacrifices himself to buy Rand and Mat time to escape, and the two continue alone on the road toward Caemlyn, earning meals and lodging along the way by playing Thom's flute and juggling. As they near Caemlyn, however, they begin to encounter darkfriends in nearly every town who seem to be able to recognize them by sight, and Mat's paranoid behavior becomes more debilitating.

Once in Caemlyn, while Mat confines himself to his bed and seeks to avoid all contact with outsiders, Rand makes the acquaintance of an Ogier named Loial and embarks on an unlikely adventure. Logain Ablar, a recently-captured False Dragon, is being paraded through the streets of Caemlyn. While seeking to catch a glimpse of him, Rand climbs a wall and accidentally falls over the top into the palace garden, where he meets Elayne Trakand, heir-apparant to the throne of Andor, and her brother Gawyn Trakand.

When Rand's presence is discovered by the palace guards, he is taken into custody despite Elayne's protests and brought before Queen Morgase and her Aes Sedai advisor, Elaida. Elaida prophetically identifies Rand as a dangerous individual, but Queen Morgase decides that she does not have sufficient evidence to imprison him.

Meanwhile, Egwene and Perrin plan a route that should take them from Shadar Logoth almost directly toward Caemlyn. Along the way, they meet Elyas Machera, a man who can communicate with wolves. He tells Perrin that he, too, can develop this gift. Though Perrin shows little interest in this possibility, Elyas and the wolves decide to accompany the two youngsters at least part of the way. They travel for a few days with the Tuatha'an, a nomadic, pacifistic people, before striking out on their own when the wolves witness one of Perrin's dreams featuring Ba'alzamon.

After fleeing from massive swarms of ravens and crows sent to mark their movements and kill them, they run afoul of a legion of Children of the Light commanded by Geofram Bornhald, father of the officer encountered in Baerlon. After witnessing the death of a wolf at the hands of a Whitecloak, Perrin, whose talent has developed despite his efforts, goes temporarily insane and kills two of them. Elyas escapes, but the Children of the Light hold Perrin and Egwene prisoner, planning to execute at least Perrin as soon as they reach Amador.

Moiraine, Lan, and Nynaeve rescue Egwene and Perrin from the Whitecloaks just as one overzealous individual is contemplating their premature execution. Together they travel to Caemlyn, where they are reunited with Mat and Rand, who has only just returned from his adventure at the castle. Moiraine immediately diagnoses Mat's "sickness" as the corrupting influence of the ruby-hilted dagger, and she uses her powers to diminish its effects, although she cannot heal him completely or break his attachment to it.

From Caemlyn to the Eye of the World
Loial warns Moiraine of a threat to the Eye of the World, a threat independently corroborated by a story heard by Perrin and Egwene while among the Tuatha'an and by the dreams of Rand, Mat, and Perrin. Moiraine decides that in order to reach the Eye of the World in time to stop the Dark One, they must take the Ways. The group is guided along the dangerous Ways by Loial and emerge in Shienar, where they meet Lord Agelmar Jagad and Ingtar Shinowa in the fortress of Fal Dara, on the eve of an expected battle against a Trolloc army.

Padan Fain is found climbing the walls of Fal Dara. He is taken into custody and interrogated by Moiraine and Lan, who discover that Fain is a Darkfriend whose mind has been specifically moulded to find the Dark One's quarry; it was he who aimed the attack on Emond's Field. Following that attack, he was forced into the Myrddraals' pursuit of the companions, only escaping them in Shadar Logoth.

Even separated from the Myrddraal, however, he was still the Dark One's bloodhound, and he followed the companions to Caemlyn, through the Ways, and to Fal Dara.

The group enters the Blight in search of the Eye of the World, guarded by the fabled Green Man. The Eye is revealed as a pool of pure saidin, and when the companions exit they are confronted by the Forsaken Aginor and Balthamel. Balthamel dies at the hand of the Green Man, and Aginor is consumed by the One Power as he battles Rand for control of the saidin at the Eye of the World. Guided by blind luck and instinctive knowledge, Rand uses the supply of saidin to decimate the Trolloc army and defeat Ba'alzamon.

Afterwards, Rand realizes to his own horror that he channeled the One Power, and that he is condemned to a fate of insanity and rotting death. The book ends with Moiraine's ominous statement to herself that, "The Dragon is Reborn."

Themes and allusions
Robert Jordan has stated that he consciously intended the early chapters of The Eye of the World to evoke the Shire of Middle-earth in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.

The Eye of the World may be regarded as a coming of age story, in which young people mature, experience new things, and accept greater responsibilities. Another theme prominent in the book is the nature of trust; the people of the Two Rivers have to rely on Moiraine, but they fear she is only manipulating them and using them for her own ends.