It should be noted that The Wheel Of Time having 7 spokes for seven ages (time without end) is an in-universe cosmology. For the 'reality' of what is happening, I only really consume what <PERSON> has said, and the opening narration from each book, which is presented as omniscient. Every other source is presented as fallible or untrustworthy (e.g. The Dark One)
What we 'know':
* <PERSON> had stated at various times that Wheel Of Time takes place on Earth of the future and of the past. He had never (to my understanding) indicated how far in the future or how far in the past.
* It is never stated what mechanism can refresh the world between turnings of the wheel, or to what extent it does.
* It is stated that the One Power is not always known to humanity in all ages or turnings, but the One Power appears to be a prerequisite for opening the Dark One's prison (the Bore) and sealing it.
* The Ogier are not native to Earth. It is unknown if they always arrive and always leave, or if it was a one-time event
* We have no idea what the shape or state of the world is before the breaking. Only that the world is 'much changed'. The Two Rivers sits on land that used to be the western coast of some land-mass. 54
Some mountains existed from prior to the Breaking, and others are new (The Mountains of Mist are new, The Mountains of Dhoom are new, and it is implied that so is much of The Spine Of The World). The land around Tar Valon survived roughly intact before and after the breaking.
* Many of the Seanchan beasts were brought to the prime world via Portal Stone. They are not akin to any earth biology.
* Tel'Aran'Rhiod exists everywhere and every time. It binds all possible worlds together.
* The only source who could know the truth in-universe is <PERSON>. If it is to be believed, then this happens over and over again, not exactly, but as variations on a theme. <PERSON> states something similar to this, but he has no way of knowing, and it is implied by The Dark One itself that what <PERSON> thinks he knows is incorrect.
The conflict with The Dark One isn't really the doing of The Dark One. People cause it. Is that inevitable as the wheel turns? It's unclear. Are the effects the same every time? Who knows. 88