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Barnes & Noble B-Fest 2016 ()
#3 Copy

Questioner

So, I heard you talk about cameos, are there any other cameos besides Hoid and Nightblood in the books?

Brandon Sanderson

So, Galladon from Elantris, Baon from White Sand, and Captain Demoux all show up in Way of Kings. They're the Purelake scene. Let's see... the character of Felt is a worldhopper, you see him in a couple of books. Watch out for him. Khriss is in a couple of the books, she's the one who writes the Ars Arcanums. Nazh is in a couple of the books, Khriss's assistant. Vasher is in the book. They're all over the place.

YouTube Livestream 3 ()
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Brandon Sanderson

If you guys don't know who Nazh is, Nazh is the person who annotates all the maps and pieces of art in the Stormlight books. The affectation is that the Ars Arcanum for the books and a lot of the illustrations are things that have been collected or put together by Khriss and [Nazh]. You describe Nazh as "grumpy James Bond," who is sent into the world to grab artifacts for Khriss when she's putting together kind of her guide to a world in the cosmere.

Isaac Stewart

I've discovered a lot more about Nazh in the last year, just because we're getting closer to including him in more things. Right now, his personality is "grumpy James Bond" because he goes on missions, he's kind of a grump... but he kinda likes that sort of thing - he likes going off on his own, figuring out ways to do things. He has a specific skill set that works really well for this sort of thing.

Brandon Sanderson

But things kinda go poorly for him most of the time.

Isaac Stewart

Yeah. I wouldn't say he's a Mr. Bean type character, but if you imagine the situations that he gets into, they're those sorts of things - but usually not funny, though he may tell them in a grumpy, funny way later on.

Brandon Sanderson

Basically, as Hoid is to me, Nazh is to Isaac. This is very fun because he can write all these annotations on the artwork, and you'll see Nazh popping up in the books now and then, just as cameo references to this guy. The affectation is the text of the book like The Way of Kings is not something that they have in-world, but all of the art in the Ars Arcanum they do, and those are produced by Khriss and Nazh.

Calamity release party ()
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Questioner

I was wondering, like, are we gonna... From the Secret History...

Brandon Sanderson

Uh-huh.

Questioner

The people he met with... Are they the ones from Bands of Mourning, and Are we gonna see them anymore?

Brandon Sanderson

Which people? Nazh and Khriss?

Questioner

Yes.

Brandon Sanderson

Uh, Nazh-- Khriss is in Bands of Mourning. Nazh is referenced in many of the books. He's been in-- uh-- he's been in a lot of them... Just briefly, or annotating maps or things like that.

Questioner

Okay. So are we gonna see them more kind of like Hoid in the future?

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah, they're-- they are Hoid-esque. Khriss is the one who's been writing all the Ars Arcanum from the beginning, so...

Secret Project #5 Reveal and Livestream ()
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Brandon Sanderson

Nazh was born, as a character and as a concept, out of Isaac annotating maps, and wanting to have somebody... 'Cause Isaac was our original cartographer, been doing the maps ever since Mistborn, of basically all of the Stormlight books, until he started bringing some people in to do some of them. Not just Stormlight, but all of the Cosmere books. So if there's a map, or (particularly in the Stormlight books) ephemera, Isaac has had his hands in those, and he likes to add little easter eggs, and he came up with this persona of this character who was doing this. And we knew we wanted these to be in-world artifacts, but we also knew that we needed somebody who was kind of recovering these for some thing, and I'm like, "Well, this works very well with Khriss, probably compiling these and finding artifacts from planets and bringing them back to Silverlight." And so, that's kind of where Nazh was born. I borrowed him once before for Secret History; he makes a small appearance in Secret History. Larger appearance here. Isaac and I have talked through his history and his future, and as early as years and years ago (probably seven, eight years ago), I'm like, "What about this?" And that's when Nazh joined Starling's crew in his current incarnation.

Isaac Stewart

I think it was with Alloy of Law where we realized we need somebody annotating some of these, now and then. One of the reasons was, when you're doing a map of a city the size of Elendel, we couldn't really put these tiny street names, and things like that. So we're like, "Well, we need somebody annotating this." And many things crashing together, but that was one of them.

YouTube Spoiler Stream 5 ()
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graciemoo8

Approximately how many years before the Evil on Threnody was Nazh born?

Brandon Sanderson

I do not have that written down. It's more of an Isaac question. Nazh is an Isaac character, and Nazh's backstory will be explored in Isaac's stories, and I would not even canonize it if I had the answer here because we need to let him have the freedom to talk about all of that.

Arcanum Unbounded Chicago signing ()
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Questioner

My crazy theory is that Nazh was Isasik Shulin...

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah, he is not. Good question. Nazh is Isaac’s character, he designed him and came up with him. I said "I need somebody to be getting these" and the character is all him, doesn’t necessarily look like him. He doesn't actually look like him. But Nazh, he owns. He just credited that, and I knew people would look at that be like "What's going on here?" But it wasn't meant to be anything, just this is Isaac's character and if he ever-- He wants to write some stories in the cosmere, he might write about Nazh.

Footnote: Brandon is referring to the fact that is author photo is attributed to "Nazrilof".
#isaac stewart #nazh
Tor.com interview with Isaac Stewart ()
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Drew McCaffrey

Going hand-in-hand with the maps is the character Nazh, who annotates many of the in-universe maps. How much of Nazh was your idea? What about him appeals to you?

Isaac Stewart

The story behind Nazh is, I was in Brandon’s writing group when we were workshopping The Rithmatist. And there’s a character named Nalizar in that book. I could never remember his name, so I kept calling him Nazrilof. So it became this running gag with Brandon, like… “Nalizar and Nazh are different people. Nazh is your alter ego, Isaac, and Nalizar is a character in The Rithmatist.”

When we got to The Alloy of Law, Brandon and I were firmly in the camp of including maps that are artifacts from the world. And we thought, where are they getting these? And who’s labeling them? Diana Wynne Jones wrote a book called The Tough Guide to Fantasyland, and there’s a map in the front that basically says that if a location is labeled on the map, then by golly you’re gonna go to the place during the course of the story. Fantasy maps have gotten this reputation of being kind of spoilery.

So when we got to the map of Elendel, we were looking at it, thinking if we only labeled the places that were necessary for the story, then we’re falling into this trope of fantasy. So how can we subvert this a bit? So, if the novel is compiled by Khriss, presumably, then maybe she has somebody who goes and gets the maps and labels them for her with pertinent information. It might still feel a little like “these labeled things are the important parts” but at least there’s an in-world reason why that is. That allowed us to develop a character around that. Brandon said, “Why don’t we have Nazh do this?” to which I agreed, and Brandon said, “Isaac, welcome to the Cosmere.”

Since then, Nazh’s role has grown into basically a sidekick for Khriss. Now, when working with Nazh, we think of him as a grumpy James Bond.

General Reddit 2019 ()
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Pratius

My top (realistic) potential options here:

1) Silverlight novella2) The Silence Divine3) SotD 2

(But seriously, give me that Silverlight novella. PLEASE, Brandon.)

Brandon Sanderson

Silverlight novella probably needs to wait until I've done the Threnody novel, for some connective tissue reasons, but we'll see.

Roosterteethcomplain

Quick question. Will we ever see the Traveller short story be published in something like Arcanum Unbounded 2?

Brandon Sanderson

Probably not, at least not without a rework.

PM_ME_CAKE

This just further leads me to bet that the new group that'll be introduced in the Threnody novel will have Silverlight ties.

Brandon Sanderson

It will.

PM_ME_CAKE

Will it by chance be tied to how Nazh has gotten involved with Khriss?

Brandon Sanderson

No, though we're working on a White Sand graphic novel sequel that will start into that story, hopefully.

Words of Radiance Chicago signing ()
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Questioner

[I noticed] Nazh's name at the bottom of the illustrations a lot - is that a character that's going to come in in the future?

Brandon Sanderson

He's already appeared in the books. Very very cameo-ish tangential things, you have to be really looking to spot him.

*brief conversation about space age Mistborn*

Argent

Books, plural?

Brandon Sanderson

He wasn't in The Way of Kings, no. Not on screen, I don't think.

Prague Signing ()
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Oversleep

Does Nazh want his knife back, the one he gave to Kelsier?

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah, he would want it back but it's not like the flute. It's not something that was super super important to the person who gave it away. So he would like his knife back eventually,  but you know, nothing important.

General Reddit 2018 ()
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unchainedt

[The Oathgate map] can't be a very early Rosharan piece, because it lists the Shattered Plains, which weren't shattered when humans came. It also list all the current kingdom names, and the human kingdoms wouldn't have existed anywhere except Shinovar during the early days before humans ventured out elsewhere.

Peter Ahlstrom

Anything on the artwork that uses that font is an annotation by Nazh.

Oathbringer San Francisco signing ()
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Weltall

So, in Bands of Mourning there was an advertisement in the broadsheet from "K and N" asking about talking metal. Does that have anything to do with a certain knife that Nazh lent Kelsier?

Brandon Sanderson

I'm gonna RAFO that, mostly cause I'm gonna make you ask Isaac and Ben, cause they came to me with pitches for things to put in those and they wrote a lot of the broadsheet stuff themselves.

Weltall

Okay. But, does Nazh want that knife back?

Brandon Sanderson

The knife? Yes, he would like that knife back.

Secret Project #5 Reveal and Livestream ()
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Questioner

Is Khriss in the Secret Project?

Brandon Sanderson

That's definitely a RAFO. But Nazh is there, so who knows? But Nazh has had a lot of different adventures with a lot of different people through a lot of different places. Nazh, we should point out, is Isaac's character that I'm borrowing for this book with Isaac's permission and understanding. You can look forward to a lot more Nazh with Isaac and his things. He's on loan, shall we say.

Isaac Stewart

It's fine. The big questions are things like, "Well, how does he get to this point?"

JordanCon 2018 ()
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Ravi

Does [Nazh] ever have any arguments with Khriss?

Isaac Stewart

All the time.

Ravi

But, they're basically best friends anyway right?

Isaac Stewart

I don't know about that, I'd have to ask Brandon. But I imagine that they get along pretty well and he feels okay being grumpy around her.

Ravi

So it's not like Mythbusters where they're only friends on TV but not actually friends in real life?

Isaac Stewart

I would imagine it's not like that.

Oathbringer release party ()
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Questioner

My favorite character is Nazh... I just want anything about him, even if he's just his favorite food.

Brandon Sanderson

Isaac. Give us a favorite food...

Isaac Stewart

So, he likes, and Brandon will have to confirm this, but he likes a plant-- fried-- it would be considered an eggplant almost.

Brandon Sanderson

Fried eggplant. We're good on that.

Isaac Stewart

It's not-- It looks like an eggplant, it's native to Threnody.

Isaac Stewart r/Stormlight_Archive AMA ()
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Argent

Nazh is, presumably, well aware of Hoid. Have they met, and how does Nazh feel about him?

Isaac Stewart

Nazh and Hoid have met. I suspect that Nazh is just fine with Hoid, though he wishes he would say things in a more direct way. Nazh doesn't care much for riddles or flowery language and wishes people would just get to the point.

General Twitter 2019 ()
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Cephandrius

Is it true that you invented Nazh?

Isaac Stewart

Brandon and I invented him together. I kept calling Nalizar from the Rithmatist "Nazrilof" until the name became sort of an in-joke. When we needed someone to collect ephemera in the Cosmere, Nazh was the perfect choice.

Cephandrius

He's one of my favorite worldhoppers. Here's hoping for a novella or something to tell us about his background in the future.

Isaac Stewart

Glad you like him! There are tentative plans for some Nazh stories. I don't know when they'll happen. But we do hope to bring you all his backstory at some point!

Oathbringer Leeds signing ()
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Questioner

In Words of Radiance I think it was Nazh who was collecting the artwork for Khriss, is that the same person who... did the writeup of the glyphs and--

Brandon Sanderson

Who annotates. So, Nazh annotates almost all the stuff. That's almost always Nazh. Khriss almost always writes the Ars Arcanums.

Questioner

So there's not a new person also?

Brandon Sanderson

If you think it's Nazh, it's Nazh.

Questioner

So, specifically the one that talks about the glyphs and [how] he infiltrated--

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, that is Nazh. 

General Reddit 2017 ()
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Peter Ahlstrom

The labels on the [Oathbringer Oathgates] map are written by Nazh. Anytime you see this font used, it's Nazh writing it.

Ray745

I assume this means Nazh somehow got his hands on this ancient/priceless piece of art/map and had no compunction writing all over it? I'm honestly just a little surprised Nazh didn't write a note to Khriss somewhere on it.

Peter Ahlstrom

All his notes are written for Khriss.

Probably this isn't the only copy of this page on Roshar. It's like the manuscripts copied over and over by monks in our world.

Arcanum Unbounded Chicago signing ()
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Questioner

Is Nazh a cartographer?

Brandon Sanderson

Nazh. So Nazh knows enough that he-- Like he knows more than the average person, but I would not call him a cartographer. I would describe him... as a grumpy, cosmere James Bond. Not nearly as cool, but it's the same sort of thing. "Here's the mission. You need to do this. Get in. Infiltrate. Get this thing." Right?

Isaac Stewart r/Stormlight_Archive AMA ()
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RiedDes

Although I know something similar has been asked before, but could you please share a fun tidbit about Nazh?

Isaac Stewart

Okay, things we know about Nazh: Scottish-like accent, he likes fried Eggplants because they remind him of a similar vegetable from Threnody, he's grumpy, he looks like a young Peter Capaldi (in my opinion). I'm not sure what else I've said about him. But I'm going to go out on a limb here and tell you that his home town will probably be called Cianalis, or some variation on that spelling.

Calamity Seattle signing ()
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Questioner

The worldjumpers in [Secret History] are they ones that have shown up in other books? And we just don’t know their names?

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah, they’re only tangential in the other books.  I think one of them has only shown up on screen once.  The other one’s shown up a couple of times but mostly in certain annotations and things like that.  In the books, like on the maps.

Shire Post Mint Mistborn Coin AMA ()
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Oudeis

Someone told me once that there's apparently a secret hidden in Nazh's name, but I've yet to determine what it is. Recently finished Shadows again, paying attention to names, and couldn't really find any sort of conventions. The only name given any relevance was the surname Forescout, and that doesn't seem connect to Nazh.

Issac Stewart

I hadn't heard of something being hidden in Nazh's name. I'll have to look a little closer....

Footnote: Oudeis is likely referencing a comment made by Brandon in the afterword for Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell in Arcanum Unbounded, where he references the fact that he has not yet revealed Nazh's given name (Nazrilof is his surname).
#nazh
Sources: Shire Post Mint AMA - Reddit
General Reddit 2022 ()
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heynoswearing

So Haunted Man is Nazh right?

Yoitsthew

That’s what I’m thinking so I hope one day we get some context as to how he went from an antagonist to someone [Nicelle Sauvage] is galavanting around with! Maybe when u/Izykstewart finishes Boatload of Mummies we’ll know a little bit more about the in between??

Isaac Stewart

Maybe someday there will be more context to that. :)

Tor.com interview with Isaac Stewart ()
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Drew McCaffrey

Your input on the Cosmere goes beyond just the art—you wrote some of the Mistborn Era 2 broadsheet articles. Is there any plan for you to write more small-format things like that, continuing Nazh’s errands for Khriss?

Isaac Stewart

I wrote the Allomancer Jak story from Shadows of Self and the Nicki Savage story for The Bands of Mourning. Currently, we have an origin story for Nazh planned, which takes place on Threnody, as well as a few stories with Nicki Savage plotted out. It’s likely Nazh will probably show up again to torment her with his enigmatic grumpiness.

Nicki’s broadsheet story reads like an old serialized novel. In-world, she’s writing these things to be very sensationalized and bends the truth of true events to fit the needs of her story and to entertain her audience. Nicki’s novella is mostly plotted out. I just need to write it. It won’t be a first-person sensationalized newspaper serial, but the epigraphs will have pieces of the sensationalized stories. So you’ll read a chapter, and then the epigraph of the next chapter will be her sensationalized version of what happened in the previous chapter.

Drew McCaffrey

A new Mistborn Era 2 novella—that’s awesome! Do you have any of your own writing projects going, which you can talk about?

Isaac Stewart

Most of my own writing right now is in the Cosmere. I’ve been hard at work on some fun things for Taldain that we can’t quite announce yet, but I’m bursting at the seams wanting to share the cool things that are going on there. Rest assured that as soon as we’re able, we’ll make some announcements.

Oathbringer London signing ()
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Overlord Jebus

This map,

*Hands Brandon the Part Four Sea of Lost Lights Map*

How much of a hand did you have in this map or did you kind of let Isaac go crazy?

Brandon Sanderson

So this one is half and half, I went to Isaac and said put this and this and this and then he added some craziness. One of Isaac's voices in the cosmere is Nazh and almost everything that is written by Nazh is Isaac and he named a bunch of this stuff, he ran it all by me. I actually vetoed a few. He came up with some, I'm like "Ehh" and then I renamed them to things that actually fit.

Overlord Jebus

Okay, why is spren fishing banned here, is that you or Isaac?

Brandon Sanderson

That was Isaac...

Words of Radiance Omaha signing ()
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Kythis

Does Khriss owe Nazh a new coat?

Brandon Sanderson

Is what?

Kythis

Is Khriss owe Nazh a new coat?  That little picture in there where it says 'you owe me a new coat'.  I'm wondering if that's Khriss who owes the coat.  Not going to tell me on that one either?

Brandon Sanderson

I'm gonna stay closed mouthed on Khriss.