Recent entries

royishere

What were Wayne and Hoid talking about outside the carriage?

Brandon Sanderson

RAFO

Questioner

Is it possible for spren to move from one planet to another?

Brandon Sanderson

It is possible for them to get to other planets. They are tied to certain realms… A lot of them reside in the cognitive realm and are pulled into the physical by their bonds--

Questioner

Would they bring the same magics?

Brandon Sanderson

That you will have to wait and see.

Questioner

If a Mistborn burned both cadmium and bendalloy at the same time, would the bubbles default to the same size?

Brandon Sanderson

That's an excellent question that I'm not gonna' to answer yet; because a lot of people have been asking me it and I want to make sure it comes out in the right way.

Questioner

If they made the bubbles the same size, would there still be a barrier between the space inside and outside?

Brandon Sanderson

That's the question. I'm gonna' RAFO these things.

[...]

In general the cadmium bubbles are bigger than the bendalloy bubbles, but you can influence the size.

Questioner

Somebody said that you were writing “hands all red” in all the books, can you tell me what that means?

Brandon Sanderson

It’s just a line from the book I feel captures the tone of the book well.

Questioner

I read some stuff, it’s pretty old, about the sequel to Elantris. Are you still planning on doing it, and is it the same thing?

Brandon Sanderson

It’s still the same thing, and I’m still planning to do Sarene’s uncle, Kiin, and his family as the main characters.

Questioner

And do we get to learn more about the monks, the Dakhor?

Brandon Sanderson

The Dakhor, yes. You will find more about them, it will take place over in, uh, Fjorden.

Questioner

I was wondering about the Ryshadium. So, they can’t be tamed, so where do you go to [get them from]?

Brandon Sanderson

You will find out some of this in Book 3.

Questioner

Do you think we are likely to get another story in the Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell world?

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah, you’ll probably get another story in the same world, just different characters.

Brandon Sanderson

Brandon recommended the writings of Brent Weeks and Brian McClellan multiple times to various questioners asking for authors with a similar writing style to Brandon. Especially the book The Black Prism.

Questioner

I was wondering, is Nightblood a Shardblade?

Brandon Sanderson

Nightblood is an attempt by someone who didn’t know how Shardblades were made to create a Shardblade using a different magic system.

Questioner

How does Harmony know about radio?

Brandon Sanderson

There are actually two answers to this. First, Harmony was given a grand understanding of the laws of the universe during his Ascension. Second, Preservation had some limited precognitive abilities. Either one of those can lead you to the answer.

Questioner

Could an old [Feruchemist] go and transfer his Coppermind to his star pupil using Hemalurgy?

Brandon Sanderson

Like Deliberate…? Right. Ask me that question after you’ve read a few more Mistborn books.

Questioner

Is there a limit to the amount of useful energy that can be extracted from an end-neutral system? Like Skimmers on a Terris wheel on opposite sides.

Brandon Sanderson

So... Skimmers by making their weight lighter, spinning the thing around, and things and then--

 

Questioner

You got one on opposite sides--

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah you could totally do this. In my mind, the way I work this out is that it's no more-- having people do it and things like this-- yeah you could totally do that. The power for making this happen, you are drawing Spiritual energy into the Physical plane can power your motor. It's not power-negative, it's changing forms.

But in realistic terms that would be so much less cost-effective than other methods because Allomancers are expensive, but yeah you could just keep that going.

Questioner

Same with Lifeless? Telling them to push a wheel around?

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah, the sustenance for life is coming directly from the Spiritual plane. So if you remove that, it wouldn't work. The whole idea from this is that energy is getting recycled back into the Spiritual plane when people are dying and things like that, so...

Questioner

IF they were to fight with a lightsaber and a Shardblade, which would be able to cut through the other?

Brandon Sanderson

Depends on who’s world you're in, that's what I would say. Is Lucas writing it or am I?

Questioner

Well say you are writing it, since we're--

Brandon Sanderson

If I'm writing it I say they bounce off of each other.

Weltall

If an Allomancer found themselves on Nalthis or Roshar, would they be able to use chromium on someone using Stormlight or Breath?

Brandon Sanderson

I am staying away from answering too many questions like that until I start having it happen. But do know that the magics interact... some ways they interact very naturally, some ways, they don’t. One way I’ve released is, you could use bronze on most forms of Investiture to find it. So you can extrapolate that some of these things would work. But not necessarily all. All of them could be made to work.

Questioner

In Shadows for Silence one of the characters refers to “Justice has died here.”  Is that the actual Shard of Justice?

Brandon Sanderson

That’s a great theory! (Big grin, raised eyebrows.)

Questioner

So I’ve noticed a certain syllable, “Vo,” that turns up in this book [Warbreaker] and also in Vorinism. Is there supposed to be a link between Vo, the First Returned, because there seem to be a great deal of similarities between the monks of Austre and the Ardents.

Brandon Sanderson

So there are, um, more links between the planets than people know about, and I’m not going to confirm or deny anything. But the fact that you’re finding words that are connecting, like Worldsingers and Worldbringers, says that there’s… intentional connections. I’m not [confirming a connection], I’m saying that these theories should not be dismissed out of hand.

Questioner

Do the glyphs on Roshar have any fundamental connection to [the geography? Some confusion about if they’re connected to Sel

Brandon Sanderson

I’m not going to answer that yet, since I’m going to dig into what’s happening on Sel later.

FirstSelector

Does Alloy of Law take place after the whole Stormlight sequence?

Brandon Sanderson

I have not nailed down the exact timing, but it’s at least after book 5 of Stormlight. Because I haven’t nailed down exactly how long

Questioner

So alternate ending of Well of Ascension … *inaudible* three more spirits… *inaudible* if another Shard would show up [with the?] mist spirit, is that in [???]

Brandon Sanderson

That’s in *inaudible* There are things you don’t know about the mist spirit yet I am planning to reveal soon.

Questioner

Have we met any of those three yet?

Brandon Sanderson

For what I was planning there, yes, you have.

Questioner

The whole Cosmere thing, is there an end to it, and do you have a specific year in mind for when that will be?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, there is an end. Here’s what has to be happen before I finish it. We have to do another two Mistborn trilogies, The Stormlight Archive, at least three Dragonsteel novels. That’s the soonest I can do. I’ll probably have to do a few more Elantris and Warbreaker, but that’s the minimum. Because the third Mistborn trilogy is where we bring things to a head.

Questioner

Does the spren have to be present for a Surgebinder to have their abilities? Because with Dalinar, the Stormfather won’t be around all the time...

Brandon Sanderson

Good Question! Fortunately, the Stormfather is a little more omnipresent. Normally you’re gonna have to have your spren close, but the Stormfather absorbed... is basically Honor’s Cognitive Shadow, which means he’s got a connection to a lot of different things, so he’s not bound by a lot of the rules that others are.

Questioner

How far away from the original Mistborn trilogy is The Stormlight Archive?

Brandon Sanderson

From the original Mistborn trilogy? 300 years-ish. It’s happening kind of… Just before The Alloy of Law era.

Questioner

Is Stormlight an infinite resource or a finite one?

Brandon Sanderson

Stormlight is a renewing resource.

Questioner

Does Hoid go to the same place the Elantrians are going?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes.

Questioner

In Hero of Ages, I don’t quite understand why… the point of Hoid is in Fadrex, going around the city, gathering information…?

Brandon Sanderson

Not many people do! It’s an intentional secret, I have to wait a little while longer to explain it.

Questioner

What are the odds of making a Stormlight RPG?

Brandon Sanderson

If the Mistborn RPG goes well, maybe in the future.

Questioner

Have we seen Odium’s champion?

Brandon Sanderson

RAFO.

Landis963 (paraphrased)

Imagine a hypothetical Shard of Tenacity. What happens when the Vessel of that Shard dies?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

The magic will change drastically. Among other things, it would be very easy for practitioners of that magic to become Cognitive Shadows.

Landis963 (paraphrased)

Is the programming-esque nature of the Dor a product of the power being in the Cognitive Realm or is it for some other reason?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

A mixture of the Vessels' personalities, the fact that the power's in the Cognitive Realm, and the nature of Sel's focus.

CrypticVoidbringer (paraphrased)

When Khriss visits Scadrial, does Harmony know it?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

*written* Some times He does. (more often than not, these days...) But it is possible to hide.

*spoken* Khriss doesn't have a lot of reasons to hide. She doesn't mind the attention, usually.

Brandon Sanderson

The short is this: A fan asked if there were any holidays in the Mistborn world. I jokingly said Koloss Head-Munching Day. Fans ran with it.

eKalb

is Koloss Head-Munching Day when people munch on Koloss heads, or Koloss munch on people’s heads? Just want it to be clear.

Brandon Sanderson

It’s the day the koloss celebrate by having a nice head to eat.

vetemix

How do you reason using such specific historic terms as “Messiah” & “utilitaristic” in Mistborn world?

Brandon Sanderson

What you are talking about is sometimes called the “translation question” in regards to fantasy novels.

The book—and the dialogue—weren’t in English & had to be translated. The translation uses similar English words to the originals.

So when the book uses a word like those, the translator from the original Mistborn language feels it is the closest approximation.

CorbyCampbell

‘IronEyes’ at the end of AoL is actually Marsh? It could be any kandra could it not?

Brandon Sanderson

It could be a kandra, but I will tell you specifically that this time it is not. It is him.

HolkorS

Do Shardblades go to the Spiritual Realm when they haven’t been summoned?

Brandon Sanderson

The answer is in future books.

Fyodor32768

In Alloy of Law, are people still Snapping?

Brandon Sanderson

Sazed chose to alter the way Snapping works. It bothered him. It does happen, but differently.

gandy93

Will we ever meet Elend and Vin again?

Brandon Sanderson

Elend and Vin have had their stories told.

Shadowsofink

Complex “magic” system in Mistborn, & the complex one in Elantris, what base ideas do you build from for this?

Brandon Sanderson

For Mistborn, Alchemy and biological metabolism. For Elantris, Chinese linguistics and geometry mixed.

blan_Ryan7

loved Way of kings, can you say where shard blades go when not summoned or is it a Rafo

Brandon Sanderson

It is RAFO, but one that will be answered for sure.

Chaos

Is Endowment's holder female?

Brandon Sanderson

RAFO. :)

ericpeters

What exactly is a dueling cane anyhow?

Brandon Sanderson

Some are flexible, like sparring swords, and are used for duels where blood is not needed.

Others are basically a big length of wood for hitting people, like a tonfa without the grip.

ericpeters

Do canes have a hilt like a sparring sword then? I always picture something like pic being used

Brandon Sanderson

Many have a hilt. However for most, there is no crossguard or the like.

And most don’t taper like that one. They are often of a uniform diameter all the way down. #torchat

ShimmerGeek

Will some of the loose ends in The Alloy of Law be tied up?

Brandon Sanderson

All of them will, but some are foreshadowing for the second main-line Mistborn trilogy.

CorbyCampbell

your side characters often have physical infirmities. Can you explain why?

Brandon Sanderson

I feel that often, fiction tends to gloss over or ignore people like Clubs. So I find myself sticking them in.

AshleySMoser

i messaged earlier regarding #alloyoflaw appendix narrator, unaware of today’s torchat. maybe you can respond in the chat?

Brandon Sanderson

I haven’t been telling people the name of the appendix author. It is either Hoid or one of the 17th sharders. #torchat

atheistcanuck

The Almighty’s original name was Tanavast, yes/no?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes and no. The concept of the “Almighty” in Roshar has a lot of meanings, many of them wrong.

atheistcanuck

But the person who held the Shard Honor was originally named Tanavast?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes. You wiggled it out of me. That was the name of the original holder of the Shard Honor.

Chaos

So Aona is a synonym for love, hmm? Is Charity the correct Shard name?

Brandon Sanderson

Not quite. I’m trying to remember what the guesses were for the other Shard on Sel. I may have dismissed them too quickly.

Chaos

How about Mercy for Aona, then? The guesses for Skai’s Shard include Devotion, Obedience, and Order

Brandon Sanderson

Okay, I was right, then. Ha There’s something very ironic in all of this.

keithpishnery

was reading the Liar sample chapters again today. Really want this book to come out… any idea when/if it will show up?

Brandon Sanderson

It’s a long way off. I’m displeased with some of the aspects of it mid-to-late in the book.

feelieking

Is Roshar *broken* in some way? Shards, storms, Spren—everything there seems very fragmented.

Brandon Sanderson

Roshar is broken in some way. You are on to something there.

CameronAndersen

Do allomantic pushes and pulls apply forces only to an allomancer’s center of gravity?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, they do.

BigIllyStyle

Why is Sazed “unfortunately” the hero of ages? Why by depressed about it? He became a god and gets to see Vin etc.

Brandon Sanderson

He did not want the responsibility, and so he regards it that way.

atheistcanuck

whatever happened to the flute that Wit/Hoid gave Kaladin, why do I think it’s going to be insanely important in book 2?

Brandon Sanderson

Kaladin still has it