Recent entries

Questioner

Do you have any plans on showing what's happened to Kelsier after Secret History?

Brandon Sanderson

I do have plans. I cannot guarantee it, it's a side project, but I do have plans.

Questioner

You said that there were some things in the Cosmere that happened accidentally. What was one of them?

Brandon Sanderson

Shard pools is a good example. So when I started writing Elantris I knew I would have these concentrations of power. But I didn't know how I'm going to use them exactly. Like what's the connection... This was way at the beginning. By the time I had Mistborn, I knew all this. I knew I had a well of power there. What does it do? Shardpools are a good example of writing into the story and figuring out how the magic works bei actually playing with it.

Questioner

And how does Copper compounding work? Memories can't really get (indistinct...)

Brandon Sanderson

Let's just say that some sorts of compounding are more effective than others.

Questioner

You have this technical approach to Allomantic powers. But Feruchemy seems to me very different. So it's not very logical that you can store up health. What is health?

Brandon Sanderson

Well. I feel that it is. But it has its own definitions. In the Cosmere perception - I don't know if you know...

Questioner

Yeah.

Brandon Sanderson

... it really affects... It's kind of more like a concept of heallth. The idea of your body's ability to recuperate quickly. The magic system translates to your body's ability to match your spiritual self. When that is depleted, your body in the Cosmere starts to stray (? a bit indistinctive in the recording). Foreign things can get into it, diseases get into you, and your spirit can get a little more corrupted. Your body getting corrupted, your spirit's not getting corrupted. You get it, and it makes you extra connected to your spiritual sense. Your body moves to match it closely and better.

Questioner

So the same about speed and ...

Brandon Sanderson

Those are a little different. But each has their little behind the scenes explanation for myself. The problem is... The physics of it is very Cosmere-physics for Feruchemy, whereas for Allomancy it's a lot more out world physics with a different power source. We're changing that. But the physics do work for me. But obviously it's magic, so I'm breaking them anyway.

Questioner

How did you come up with the idea of evil librarians?

Brandon Sanderson

Because I thought it was so funny. I picked the thing I thought was the most ridicilous. They are super crazy. That's the goal. Just do something very different.

Questioner (paraphrased)

About the character he enjoys writing the most

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

Probably Wayne

Questioner

We've been wondering how to exactly pronounce Sazed.

Brandon Sanderson

Inworld people say both. Kelsier says Say-zed, Sazed says something like Sayzed. (Sorry, I have no idea how to transcribe it ^^ Kelsier's intonation is more on the second syllable, whereas Sazed himself says it more in a slur?)

Questioner

Glys, Renarin's Spren, is he a Cultivation Spren?

Brandon Sanderson

RAFO.

Questioner

Could you say that he is equally bonded to a different entitiy/to a different Shard like Sylphrena is bonded to Honor?

Brandon Sanderson

You're asking... Is his like the windspren?

Questioner

I mean allegion to his aspect.

Brandon Sanderson

Are you still talking about Glys?

Questioner

Yes. Sylphrena is like 100% of Honor. Is Glys like 100% anything?

Brandon Sanderson

RAFO.

Questioner

When Adolin snapped, I noticed your wording. Those... The term snapping...

Brandon Sanderson

No. Good question. He did not gain Allomantic abilities.

Questioner

Well - Spren bonding abilities...?

Brandon Sanderson

Well no. That was not used magically.

Questioner

Who's Senna?

Brandon Sanderson

RAFO.

Questioner

Could you spike a hordeling?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes. Spike means getting something out, spike means get(ting?) something in? I think that both is viable. I think you can, yeah.

Questioner

If you would spike something in, would the whole Aimian get maybe an Allomantic ability?

Brandon Sanderson

Mostly, this would probably change the hordeling. And they may lose contact to it. It could fiddle with the Connection to the point that they can no longer link. That's gonna be my answer right now, that spiking a hordeling would separate it from the group mind.

Questioner

You recently compared the Aon Dor to a programming language of some sorts. Could you actually go one step further and build something like a curcuit board?

Brandon Sanderson

The difficultiy with all of that is that you have got to remember that the magic as they understand it right now only works based on Elantrian intention and activation. There were basically these sorts of things, but the switch has to be flipped by an Elantrian. Those things existed in Elantris.

Questioner

It's just that I think that Elantris itself could be some sort of a really big circuit board.

Brandon Sanderson

That may be a little too far for what Elantris is, but there are places in Elantris which are just what you are describing.

Questioner

I think I am one of the few people who really like Elhokar. He's a king who actually asks a lowly Darkeyes two times how to be a good ruler. What's your opinion on him?

Brandon Sanderson

I think Elhokar is maligned by a lot of people. He was put in a hard situation, inheriting from a really great king and having a really domineering uncle. He is a little arrogant, a little full of himself, but thats natural for his position. And I am very fond of Elhokar.

Questioner

The visions Dalinar gets in WoK always struck me as odd - you don't just look at the past, you are able to act within this experience. Now we know that Gavilar was also on the way to being a Bondsmith - was he acting in a different way? Were the visions only basically the same but different in the end depending on the personal reactions? Is this something like a test?

Brandon Sanderson

He did see the same visions. They were the same thing. But... I will say that his reaction to them were very different from Dalinar's reactions to them. Anyway it was difficult for the Stormfather without a bond to determine/to tell the difference between very easily. When Spren are bonded, they gain a lot more ability to understand the world around then, so you'll find out soon more stuff about this in the third book.

Questioner

At the end of “Alloy of Law” Marsh tells Marasi he is giving the diary to Wax because “.. he does my brother's work”. At this time it was a reminder of Kelsier, but with Secret History and the third book out why does Marsh think we need someone to do his brother's work? Isn't Kelsier doing that himself?

Brandon Sanderson

Well. (laughs) Marsh is of multiple minds on what's happening with Kelsier at this time. When he's referencing his brother's work, he's specifically tells Marasi speaking to the lore of the Survivor. Like he's specifically talking to somebody, and he does believe this. He may not think that Kelsier is doing Kelsier's work anymore. But that depends on... You will see interaction between Marsh and Kelsier in the future.

Questioner

Did the Shattering of Adonalsium have a chance of a breakdown of the magic system on the planet of its creation?

Brandon Sanderson

There was an effect. Breakdown might not be the exact right phrase, but it could fit, but there was definitely an effect.

Questioner

Would there be a new effect if an Allomancer burned the metal of Paalm's spike?

Brandon Sanderson

RAFO. Excellent question

Questioner

Is Endowment agreeable with the Nalthesian using her gift to feed the Returned?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes.

Questioner

What with the deaths of Denth, Shashara and Arsteel - I can't see them giving their Divine Breath away. Isn't this the reason why they Return?

Brandon Sanderson

That's a RAFO, obviously.

Questioner

And there's one last question if I may: I'm really into swords and such. I couldn't help but notice king Elhokar's Blade. It's just... All the others are ornamented, and they may have some glyphs, but it is the only one where it is explicitly it is told that there are ten fundamental glyphs on it which are the glyphs of the orders. I read some of the chapters from Dalinar from Unfettered II, and I know how he got it for Elhokar. Is there also some more backstory to this Blade?

Brandon Sanderson

There's a backstory to every Blade and every one of them is special, that's the problem. But I will be exploring the origins of some of the Blades. Eventually. Not a ton, but a little bit.

Questioner

As it is ornamented in such a way... Could it be related to a Bondsmith?

Brandon Sanderson

Bondsmiths didn't have Blades.

Questioner

All of them? It's just... Maybe it was just the Stormfather...

Brandon Sanderson

No. That's a really good guess. Really good guess. I'm gonna RAFO Bondsmiths because you gonna learn a lot about them in the next book because it's the Bondsmith's book. That's a really good theory, but it's not true. 

Questioner

But maybe there is at least something to it.

Brandon Sanderson

But there's a reason to it, why it has all the 10 orders.

Questioner

Would it actually be enough to get to Silverlight University for an application or do you need to...

Brandon Sanderson

Oh no lots of people live there. It would not just be enough to get there. There are actually people in the city. It's a fully functional city.

Questioner

Another “physics” question: We have the Surges of Cohesion and Tension. And I'm really not sure what the difference is in that.

Brandon Sanderson

You'll see when I do this. It's a RAFO. And I play with them anyway a little differently in each order anyway. So what they do... I'll let you figure it out.

Questioner

It's just like when you enhance the tension of a water surface... (..)

Brandon Sanderson

Surface tension is what you're talking about. I'm gonna RAFO. But you're theorizing in correct directions.

Questioner

The Division Surge: does it actually split atoms or does it split the bonds of molecules?

Brandon Sanderson

It splits the bonds of molecules, it does not split atoms.

Questioner

That would be completely overpowered.

Brandon Sanderson

I have done an atom splitting magic originally in Dragonsteel. And wooow it was overpowered. So really, this is fiddling... You'll see what it does when I use it, but we'll not be splitting atoms. We're not creating nuclear reactio... or fission, so.

Questioner

I'm looking for a Nightblood drawing for a tattoo but i can't find any official artwork.

Brandon Sanderson

We don't have any official artwork. Ben McSweeny may have made some sketches of his own, so if you contact him on reddit he is 'Inkthinker'. He does a lot of the sketchbook pages. If you look in this for the one who did Shallan's sketchbook he might have one that he's done on his own, tell him he can send it to you if he has one, I think he might have one but we don't have an official yet.

Questioner

How would - just really generally - the Ghostbloods react if they found or met Hoid?

Brandon Sanderson

(laughs) They... Some people among them know of him.

Questioner

So they know he's around.

Brandon Sanderson

Some of them do, not everybody. But they are aware of his existence. At least in lore, they don't always... Not all of them have connected the King's Wit to this person's lore, does that make sense? So what would they know? They'd probably want to get him and interrogate him. They would want to know what he knows, but he is really slippery and it's hard to get out of him what he knows.

Questioner

I was wondering if the Chasmfiends have... like their own Gemhearts...

Brandon Sanderson

Yes.

Questioner

It's probably not a coincidence that emeralds that can hold most of the Stormlight. So are Chasmfiends, do they take energy from Stormlight?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, yes, yes, yes. That's part.

Questioner

So there is a huge energy source there, they can supply it with eating so...

Brandon Sanderson

It is actually most beneficial during their metamorphisis, as you'll notice that the chrysalises are not as big as they get, and so yeah. They depend on the Stormlight and they depend on the Spren that they are bonded to keep them from crushing themselves. So Chasmfiends couldn't exist off world for multiple reasons.

Questioner

I'm guessing that for Chasmfiends the absorption of Stormlight is different because there is a whole shell thing that is thick.

Brandon Sanderson

Yup, yup.

Questioner

I was wondering: Stormlight doesn't cross walls, because people put their spheres outside. But it crosses the glass of the spheres. Is that material dependent or...

Brandon Sanderson

It's thickness dependent. In the third book there's actually a little place where it's mentioned. Some people put it right inside a little, kind of thin rock portion and the Stormlight can still reach it. So I did that quite intentionally.

Questioner

Will there be possibly any books which play on Yolen?

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah, the Dragonsteel books will be on Yolen. And it's possible that Yolen will be involved later on

Questioner

I know that in Dragonsteel there's a lot about Hoid.

Brandon Sanderson

Yes.

Questioner

Do you have any guess when you will revision(?) Dragonsteel?

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah... My plan is right now to finish Stormlight, then do Dragonsteel, then do the last Mistborns. So it's kind of far away.

Questioner

(indistinct, about Hoid and the black seon)

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, the Skaze.

Questioner

What's the seon's name?

Brandon Sanderson

Well, it's one of the skaze. And I haven't... So... I have a name in my notes, but I haven't decided if I want to canonize it yet. RAFO. I'd have to even look it up now, but I've got it.

Questioner

If you were entrusted with a Shard of Adonalsium, which Shard?

Brandon Sanderson

Ummm... Heh heh heh... maybe Ingenuity. 

Brandon Sanderson

Szeth was in the original The Way of Kings. I love the idea of someone doing terrible things for what he sees as noble reasons; he feels he has to do those things.

Brandon Sanderson

Jasnah's role in Oathbringer won't be major, but won't be a minor one either; she will eventually reunite with the main cast.

Questioner

So, is she [Rysn] going to get a novella maybe?

Brandon Sanderson

Rysn is probably not going to get a novella but Rysn is a character who's going to have a nice novelette in each story, in the interludes. Maybe not quite to novelette length on each of them but she, in each of the first five books you will get a scene from Rysn.

Questioner

I think she's a very interesting character because in a way she epitomizes what you just said about being exposed to different cultures and--

Brandon Sanderson

Right, that's kind of her thing, is she goes and visits the different cultures of Roshar.

Questioner

And then we get to visit them too. 

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah. She's got a potted plant, she's got some grass actually, there's some grass that doesn't respond to the storm. So she's one of my favorites, I intend her to be in each of the interludes and have her own kind of little story running through the books.

Questioner

So now we know, when you think about--

Brandon Sanderson

Absolutely, there is a Rysn point of view in Oathbringer.

Questioner

Do any of the worldhoppers that we've met so far-- Do they all just use this sort of perpendicularity to travel?

Brandon Sanderson

Perpendicularity is the primary way to get between planets.

Questioner

But are we going to get a conventional inter-planetary travel, like based on Allomancy maybe?

Brandon Sanderson

You have seen conventional inter-planetary travel in Arcanum Unbounded, in the story Sixth of the Dusk, which takes place many hundreds of years after most of the stories in the cosmere. So yes. 

Questioner

Ok so that's where it's--

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah there's actually space travel involved in that story but not from the main characters, they just reference them, but yes.

Questioner

Two questions about the mechanics--well, actually, a bunch of questions--would a Shard's magic change if they moved to a different world?

Brandon Sanderson

That's a RAFO.

dragonssleepinfire

In Words of Radiance--

Brandon Sanderson

Yes?

dragonssleepinfire

After Eshonai bonds the stormspren, she starts hearing this screaming voice in her head.

Brandon Sanderson

Yes?

dragonssleepinfire

Is that her voice?

Brandon Sanderson

Well, um… It is a combination of her voice and something that is happening with Roshar, and at the end of the next book you'll get a big clue.

Darkness (paraphrased)

What does antiseptic look like in the Cognitive and would it frighten away any rotspren or grinders there?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

Mmm… no it would look like a bead unfortunately. You could manifest it, like how you see Kelsier doing with stuff but really… no. Maybe if you got some antiseptic in [into the Cognitive Realm], the rotspren might recognize it but just the soul of it, no.

Darkness (paraphrased)

Will Jasnah's sisters show up in the present day arc?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

Jasnah sisters… Oh… OH! The other… Veristitalians. Um… yes. You will actually meet two more Veristitalians in the next book!

Darkness (paraphrased)

Previous to the heralds giving up, could the Desolations be mathematically predicted, kind of like highstorms?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

Umm… no.

Darkness (paraphrased)

Did the person Sigzil tried to kill actually die, and then afterward become not dead?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

We'll RAFO that, mostly because I intend to dig into Sigzil's past more.

Darkness (paraphrased)

Ok so you're probably going to RAFO who it was?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

Yeah… mmhmm… but we do get a Sigzil viewpoint in this next book so…

Darkness (paraphrased)

Good! I like Sigzil.

Darkness (paraphrased)

Was Ivory watching when Shallan was in Jasnah's bathing chamber and that whole swap thing kind of went down… what did he relay to Jasnah…?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

Umm… he would've been there… but I don't have an answer for that, mostly because I haven't considered it.

Darkness (paraphrased)

Was it Syl or was it Kaladin himself that made things stick to his hands in the beginning? Are honorspren able to use a rudimentary form of the adhesion surge?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

Yes, they are. Windspren are too!

Darkness (paraphrased)

Did any metal break off when Gaz lost his eye?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

Did any metal break off?

Darkness (paraphrased)

Like… in him…

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

Oh in him… you mean… no he doesn't have a Hemalurgic spike. Gaz is mostly what he seems to be.

Darkness (paraphrased)

Does the location of the Ghostblood tattoo correspond to some kind of rank?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

No.

Darkness (paraphrased)

Is Cusicesh stuck in some kind of loop? Were his actions maybe recorded somewhere long ago?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

Mmm RAFO… yeah…

Darkness (paraphrased)

Ok. Is Kaladin going to meet up with Jost again?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

RAFO.

Darkness (paraphrased)

When a darkeyed person obtains a Shardblade. Does their new eye color reflect the specific type of blade they bonded?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

Yes.

Darkness (paraphrased)

Ok. The Thrill of Battle and the Thrill of Contest are noted as "distinct". Do the two come from different sources?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

No.

Darkness (paraphrased)

Are the quartz and iron in Szeth's oathstone specific to Szeth's in particular, or to oathstones in general?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

I'll RAFO that.

Darkness (paraphrased)

Does Szeth's connection to the Honorblade allow him to maintain a warrior's fitness as a normal person would need to?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

Uh…. Noooo… I'm gonna say he… he… no. I'll just say that.