Recent entries

Questioner

Can a Surgebinder use Breath like they can Stormlight?

Brandon Sanderson

This is possible and not really that hard to make work.

Questioner

How would Nightblood react to Hoid?

Brandon Sanderson

Nightblood would probably try to be very friendly to Hoid, and then-- But Nightblood tries to be friendly to everybody. He's a very friendly, uh, demonic terrible sword that sucks your soul.

Questioner

If you were gonna pick a thing to be, like, an Edgedancer, or a Windrunner, what would you be?

Brandon Sanderson

Probably a Bondsmith is what's natural to me. If I could pick any, I'd probably be Windrunner, but I don't think I'd fit Windrunner.

Questioner

Does, like, Steelheart universe included in the cosmere?

Brandon Sanderson

It doesn't. Good question.

Questioner

Do koloss have hair?

Brandon Sanderson

...It depends on the form. Some do, some don't. But, in general, they do. But it's not-- Here's the thing, it's not quite hair. They're not mammalian.

Questioner

What are they if they're not mammalian?

Brandon Sanderson

They are their own-- uh, yeah.

Questioner

Are there any fain or formerly fain holders of a Shard of Adonalsium?

Brandon Sanderson

What an excellent question! It's a card, it's a RAFO card.

Questioner

Any clues on where we see Hemalurgy elsewhere in the cosmere?

Brandon Sanderson

No, we'll RAFO that for now.

Questioner

How does rewriting the Spiritual aspect work?

Brandon Sanderson

...So, it has ramifications through the other two Realms. It can happen. You've seen it happen.

Questioner

That's what happens with kandra, right?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, to an extent, yes.

Questioner

With the koloss?

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah, both of them. Hemalurgy is, like, sticking a piece of someone's spirit to another person's spirit and creating a Frankenstein's monster of spirits.

Questioner

Can you tell me why Jasnah wanted to potentially assassinate her sister-in-law, the queen?

Brandon Sanderson

She felt that the queen was seeking to usurp power, for one thing, and was reckless for another. And so Jasnah was worried about the safety of the throne.

Questioner

So, in Warbreaker, Awakened items have to emulate humans. Why is that?

Brandon Sanderson

It's a matter of perception on the people using the magic. And there are ramifications on the fact that the Shards themselves were all once humanoid.

Questioner

So, Renarin. Is there anything special about him, like regarding him being able to see the future, or, like, Rock not being able to see his spren? So he's different than other Truthwatchers?

Brandon Sanderson

Read [Oathbringer]. Then come back and ask.

Questioner

I had a question regarding the sixteen Shards... If they are, or when they are reformed to Adonalsium, will it have to be one person holding all sixteen Shards?

Brandon Sanderson

That's a RAFO. I'm gonna RAFO that partially because there's not even-- who knows if it can all be recombined.

Questioner

Would you care if I took what we have on, like, Aonic, and sort of rolled it into a conlang?

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah, that'd be fine. Aonic is the one that, like, in some ways the least useful.

Questioner

It has the most words that I've found for it.

Brandon Sanderson

If you're interested in conlangs, go talk to Peter, and maybe we'll sic you on something. Maybe we can get you working on something officially. I've tried to get Peter to do something... Go talk to him. Talk nerd stuff with him.

Questioner

What is the most fully-developed you've made any of the languages in the books? Or do you just come up with the sounds and just sort of stop?

Brandon Sanderson

It depends on which ones. Like, the further we go in the books, the more developed they become. Peter is a linguist, was a linguistics major, so I lean on him heavily for some of these things. Korean gets used all the time. Because I speak Korean and did my mission in Korea...

Questioner

What new series are you planning for the cosmere? Do you have any?

Brandon Sanderson

I really wanna do at least a book set on the same world as Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell.

Questioner

What are your plans for the third Mistborn trilogy?

Brandon Sanderson

1980s level technology... little bit of a, "how nerd culture works" in Mistborn world, on Scadrial. Lots of fun stuff. Allomancer taskforces and SWAT teams.

Questioner

So, would Allomancy work if the metals were a suppository?

Brandon Sanderson

That is theoretically possible, but gross... There's nothing special about the stomach. It's kinda getting it into your spirit, and things.

Questioner

What was your opinion of the Blackthorn?

Brandon Sanderson

What about it? What do you mean?

Questioner

Like, in general, people call him a monster, when I ask, ask around. I think he's a badass.

Brandon Sanderson

He totally was a badass. He was also not morally centered.

Questioner

Do you have a cameo, or a character that represents you?

Brandon Sanderson

I do not. They're all a piece of me... Every character is me in one way, and every character is not me in other ways.

Questioner

How do you write a good follower? Like, you have a lot of good leaders. But what are some good attributes of followers?

Brandon Sanderson

I think that a good follower is willing to-- perform... Knowing that we all wear different hats, and not everyone can call the shots every time, and being willing to be the person that trusts someone else to call the shots.

Questioner

Once upon a time I asked you about the magic system as described in Elantris and The Emperor's Soul, how in The Emperor's Soul [Shai] describes it as, she talks about the Spiritual Realm as the, like, the wall wanting to be beautiful. And how in Elantris they describe the Dor as what makes a river want to flow. And I assumed that meant that they were connected. But according to that [Arcanum Unbounded] it says that the Investiture is housed in the Cognitive Realm and how unlike most of the other magic systems its magic comes from the Cognitive. And so now I am confused.

Brandon Sanderson

Okay, they are related but there's an overarching theory, er, kind of philosophy of what Investiture is and it imbuing things with desires that in our world may not actually have desires. And that is connected. The fact that the Dor is the Cognitive Realm is not the way it's supposed to be. That is a prob-- well, in some ways it's a feature, but it's also very much a bug.

Questioner

I got my ears pierced recently and it got me thinking about Vin's earring. It's a Hemalurgic spike, right?

Brandon Sanderson

Mmhmm.

Questioner

And the Inquisitors don't have to worry about infection or anything with their eye spikes. So when Vin got her ear pierced as a baby, she also didn't have to worry about infection?

Brandon Sanderson

Probably.

Questioner

That is an awesome gig!

Brandon Sanderson

...It comes with some terrible side effects, but it is a pretty nice gig.

Questioner

Music on Roshar... How, why is it important, I mean more a why--

Brandon Sanderson

Why music? Music, the Rhythms you are speaking about specifically, or what?

Questioner

...There seems to be a lot that connects to music, with like the Dawnsingers, there's lots of people hearing the Rhythms--

Brandon Sanderson

It all comes from the Rhythms. That's all kind of interconnected.

Questioner

So they kind of hear where the Rhythms are originally coming from?

Brandon Sanderson

I'm not saying that.

Questioner

How many spren does it take to form a full suit of Shardplate?

Brandon Sanderson

That's making assumptions that we're gonna RAFO. Nice try!

Questioner

Could there be a colorblind Awakener and-- would they be able to do anything or--

Brandon Sanderson

It would be a harder life for them. It would be a more serious disability there than it is here but it is not completely ending their opportunity.

Questioner

...Once they get to the certain amount of Breaths or whatever, would that reverse the colorblindness? 

Brandon Sanderson

Not necessarily. But it might have some interesting effects.

Questioner

My question is, also Vivasher is my favorite ship, so I'm just wondering if he misses her... I'm wondering if Vasher misses Vivenna.

Brandon Sanderson

...Yes.

Questioner

So, I'm wondering if Rysn gets a book.

Brandon Sanderson

Rysn does not get a book, but she might get a novella.

Questioner

Is there even the babiest tiniest little bitty babiest chance of Syl and Kaladin ever being able to be together?

Brandon Sanderson

That would take a lot.

Questioner

But itty bitty babiest chance?

Brandon Sanderson

Itty bitty babiest chance? Sure.

Questioner

How is it that Szeth is so comfortable up in Urithiru, being out there and everyone else is weirded out by it?

Brandon Sanderson

He is a weird dude.

Questioner

So, we were having a discussion about the term Soulcaster. The term Soulcaster is either, it's a person or it's a thing, and it's not always clear what it is. So when Sigzil is theorizing that the Parshendi needed-- they had Soulcasters, that's why they needed gemhearts, was he referring to the item?

Brandon Sanderson

He was referring to the item. That's what he was trying to get.

Questioner

I've read a little bit of Oathbringer and I've been wondering-- is Oroden going to play a bigger role in future installments [of Stormlight]?

Brandon Sanderson

Possibly.

Questioner

Is it kind of a RAFO?

Brandon Sanderson

It is kind of a RAFO.

Questioner

I read the earlier version of The Way of Kings. When did Kaladin get depressed?

Brandon Sanderson

That was when I realized he was the main character and the least-- the least a character, right? And so, it was when I sat down and asked myself, what went wrong with it? And the main thing of the things I came up was that Kaladin wasn't real. And so I started looking at what would make him real. And depression doesn't make more real, but it's an outgrowth of him making the other decision, what happened with his brother, he had PTSD, and all of this stuff. It grew out of that.

Questioner

The Lopen's cousins? Is there any significance to them, or are they just--

Brandon Sanderson

No, they're just, like, his cousins and his distant cousins. He just is somebody who knows everyone and is related to half the Herdazians around. There's no secret, they just really are.

Questioner

When they show up, ever time, I'm like, there's gotta be something with these guys.

Brandon Sanderson

They're a tight-knit group, those Herdazians.

Questioner

So, Shardblades, they're dead spren, but Syl came back. Is there any way for Shardblades, the spren who are Shardblades, to come back?

Brandon Sanderson

Mmm... You'll have to read and find out.

Questioner

Shardshield or Shardhammer affect the world around them? Can they Captain America someone in half?

Brandon Sanderson

That is possible.

Questioner

What did Lopen do to get on a bridge crew?

Brandon Sanderson

Lopen? Someone just thought he was annoying. Lopen, he's like the only person in Bridge Four who's, like, not a criminal. It's just like, "Oh, that stupid Herdazian, send him to a bridge crew, get him away." He's legitimately, like-- all of them have deep, dark, tragic pasts, but not The Lopen.

Questioner

Is he one of your friends?

Brandon Sanderson

No...

Questioner

Can you awaken a Shardblade?

Brandon Sanderson

Can you Awaken a Shardblade? A Shardblade would already be defined as Awakened, by the magic systems.

Questioner

And what about the Plate?

Brandon Sanderson

Plate would already be defined as probably too heavily Invested to Awaken because it already is.

Questioner

Are you ever planning to sell someone the rights to a Steelheart video game, 'cause let me tell you, that would be so unbelievably--

Brandon Sanderson

I would totally do that. 

Questioner

I can't think of any developers that could do it though, at least not right now.

Brandon Sanderson

Everything's going to... "you have to be AAA or you have to be mobile game".

Brightlord Maelstrom

You've said that we should really be asking questions about the Dor. Do you mind just volunteering a nugget or--

Brandon Sanderson

No, no, it came out in Arcanum Unbounded, all the stuff I was talking about.

Kogiopsis

Is the person Kalak speaks to in the prelude of The Way of Kings the real Jezrien?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes.

Kogiopsis

I noticed in my reread that Kaladin had ten escape attempts in five months, and those are Vorin holy numbers. Is there any particular significance to that or is that an accident?

Brandon Sanderson

Is there any particular significance to that? No.

Brandon Sanderson

*reading* So did Renarin have an antagonist organization like--

FeatherWriter

In [The Way of Kings] Prime.

Brandon Sanderson

Right, 'cause Renarin created the Diagram in Prime... Taravangian was in Prime but under a different name, but yes, Taravangian was there but he was a different-- he was similar. So we'll write that: "Taravangian".

FeatherWriter

Is Glys a normal Truthwatcher spren?

Brandon Sanderson

You'd have to read the book, it's a RAFO.

FeatherWriter

Can you tell me what the Truthwatcher spren are called, like do they have a name? I know it's not in Oathbringer.

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah, I'm not gonna canonize that yet. There're things I am still thinking about.

Questioner

How do Windrunners rotate as they are moving through the air, since a force on their center of mass can't be rotation.

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah but wind resistance can. Same with [how] skydivers work. 

Questioner

Okay, so they kind of instinctively do it, or learn.

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah. You learn but-- you put your fingers out you go spinning around the right way. Kaladin gets better at this and you'll see some direct references to that in [Oathbringer] where he's talking about some of these ideas.

Brandon Sanderson

I have it cutting right now, but I don't know if I can have it actually completely cut because we slide it through the rock and things like that, right? So it's gotta be that, like, atomizing a little bit into Investiture or something like that. Because I use it in a way that they just-- but there's not really friction on it, so mathematically I'd probably have to say that something is vanishing... I don't want it to but I probably have to.

Questioner

Yeah, I was just sitting there, thinking about Dalinar getting that trench. That would be difficult.

Brandon Sanderson

RAFO. RAFO for you, sir.

Questioner

The spren on the other side of the Oathgate in Shadesmar... One is an inkspren-- I am guessing, no? Because there are two spren that grant the Transportation Surge so that would make the other a Willshaper spren?

Brandon Sanderson

RAFO.

Questioner

Was Bloody Tan performing like Lessie?

Brandon Sanderson

RAFO.

Comatose

Was Nightblood black before being awakened by Shashara?

Brandon Sanderson

No.

Comatose

*written* Was Shashara known to wear red scarves?

Brandon Sanderson

*written* Nope.

*spoken* Good question. Good question

Ravi

What did you get Matt?

Comatose

Shashara was not known to wear red scarves.