Stroniax
Does Szeth-son-son-Vallano's Surgebinding require an honorspren like Kaladin's?
Brandon Sanderson
No, it does not. (Hm....) Gold star to you.
#15001
Recent entries
#15001
#15002
Stroniax
What did Jek and Szeth do to become Truthless?
Brandon Sanderson
This will be answered in his book, during his flashback sequences.
#15003
Stroniax
Is Jek-son-son-Vallano important?
Is Jek-son-son-Vallano Szeth-son-son-Vallano's brother?
Brandon Sanderson
He is the same person as Szeth; I just changed the name. Sorry, no hidden truth there.
#15004
Lance Alvein
Did Cultivation come to Roshar with Honor, or was she already on Roshar when Honor arrived?
Brandon Sanderson
Good question. They came together.
#15005
McCullough
Having to do with Legion, if you could take a picture of any historical event what would it be?
Brandon Sanderson
Wow, tough question there at the end. Hmmm.... So many choices. Sermon on the Mount, perhaps?
#15006
McCullough
I love Wax as a Skimmer and a Coinshot. Is that your favorite Twinborn combination? If not, what is?
Brandon Sanderson
It's certainly one of my favorites. However, some of the characters in the modern day trilogy have some really neat combinations as well.
#15007
McCullough
In what ways do you feel that finishing The Wheel of Time helped to prepare you for The Stormlight Archive and how did it change your writing in general, if at all?
Brandon Sanderson
I gained three things, I feel, by working over the years on [The Wheel of Time]. (And, in particular, by studying [Robert Jordan]'s work in depth.) I learned how to better balance lots of different viewpoints, I got a better grip for foreshadowing and subtlety over many books, and I gained a deeper understanding of how to write a really sold third person viewpoint.
#15008
Straff Venture
Are any of your books' locations (barring Legion) based on real-life places? If so, where? If not, what propels your creative drive to make new worlds?
Brandon Sanderson
All of the keeps in the Mistborn series are based on real structures I've visited. The mists are based on a trip to Idaho, were I drove through a fog bank at high speeds.
Warbreaker's setting was inspired, in part, by a visit to Hawaii.
Much of Roshar is inspired by tidal pools and coral reefs.
#15009
#15010
Lightflame
Can you give me a hint about Nafti, the Uvara girl that Derethil brought with him when he left the Great Abyss?
Brandon Sanderson
There is more truth to that story than some may think.
#15011
Lightflame
Do all Shards have some sort of Shard-induced weakness, like how Ruin and Preservation can't see metal?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes.
#15012
Lightflame
When Shallan is appealing Jasnah, Jasnah reveals that she has heard about Shallan's step-mother, Malise Gevelmar. Has Malise Gevelmar ever met Jasnah or one of her associates (excluding Shallan)?
Brandon Sanderson
No, she has not. You'll learn more about Malise in [Words of Radiance]. She really is just a rural lighteyes of not much consequence. Shallan's mother, however...
#15013
Lightflame
You've confirmed that several Heralds have appeared or been mentioned in the modern (non-prelude, non-vision) parts of The Way of Kings. Have any members of the Knights Radiant (the one from the days of Urithiru, not near-Radiants like Kaladin) appeared in the modern parts of The Way of Kings? And if you have to RAFO me, could you give me a hint about the Heralds?
Brandon Sanderson
I can answer that--no, no Radiants from those days have appeared on screen in [The Way of Kings].
#15014
dyring
A Coinshot able to store weight can, as you showed us with Wax Push in a ridiculously powerful manner, as the weight/mass is the largest factor which controls the Push strength.
I'm wondering if the same can be done with soothing(or rioting). If you where to increase your identity, that may/should increase your emotional imprint(or whatever you might call it), would your soothings/riotings become vastly more powerful in a similar way as weight makes steelpushing more powerful?
And if it does, is this how the Lord Ruler improved his Soothing in such a spectacular fashion?
Brandon Sanderson
Well, the Lord Ruler--don't forget--could compound any Allomancy he wanted. That creates some crazy effects. As for what you discuss in your first question, I don't want to touch too much on Identity yet as I am saving it for later books. Talking too much here might undermine my ability to reveal interesting and cool things in books when the time is right. I like your theory, and it has merit, but I'm not going to give you a yes or a no as it delves too much into what Identity, as an attribute, can do.
#15015
rags
If I used a Hemalurgic spike charged with Allomantic powers on a person on say Nalthis, will the focus of Allomancy change because the power is being used on another planet?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO.
#15016
Kurkistan
Would it be fair to describe the three realms as the Spiritual Realm providing motivation/general directives (gravity, desires, energy, etc.), the Cognitive Realm interpreting and applying those directives, and the Physical Realm as where these directives--as interpreted by the Cognitive Realm--are actually implemented? All of this with interactions/change flowing back and forth between the Realms as well (Physical phenomena affecting thought affecting the spirit, for example).
Brandon Sanderson
Ha! That's a very interesting way to look at it. The theory isn't all there, but it's thinking along the right lines.
#15017
rags
You have told us there are more than 30 magical systems on Roshar. I am assuming there are 10 Surgebindings and 10 Voidbindings. Do the next 10 belong to another such classification? If yes, can you give us the name for it.
Brandon Sanderson
Fabrials are part of it.
#15018
rags
How is Harmony balanced when a part of Preservation's power is expended on human sentience? Isn't that what caused all the trouble to begin with?
Brandon Sanderson
Indeed. Hm... What could Sazed be doing with that extra power...
#15019
rags
We know that there are 10 orders of Radiants and 10 different powers, with each order having access to 2 of them. Any reason why this "class restriction" exists (they are lot more combinations possible with 10 powers)?
Brandon Sanderson
There is a reason. I don't know when I want to get into it, however.
#15020
Kurkistan
Can Hemalurgy be used to steal Shardblades directly, transferring ownership from the victim to the spike's recipient without a need for the recipient to physically take the Shardblade first?
Brandon Sanderson
A novel use of Hemalurgy which is not outside the sphere of its powers.
#15021
Kurkistan
Is Wax's hemalurgic earring in Alloy of Law giving him slight Allomantic pewter, enabling Harmony to fuel pewter Allomancy directly in the final fight sequence?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO.
#15022
Kurkistan
What is/was Endowment's gender? Is Endowment the same being as Austre (making him male)?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO.
#15023
Kurkistan
If you are standing inside of a time bubble, and throw a spear out of the bubble, what happens to that spear as it traverses the border of the bubble? Are different parts of the spear ever in different "time zones," going fundamentally different speeds?
On that line of reasoning, what would happen to a train and its occupants if Marasi stood next to railroad tracks holding up a Cadmium bubble while that train sped by?
Brandon Sanderson
In general, a large object going through a time bubble is not going to notice. An object is either in or out, and it depends in part on how the object views itself. People inside the train would be inside of its influence, and wouldn't notice the bubble. The spear would go from one to the other, but would never be in both.
#15024
Kurkistan
Do Breaths inherently possess the ability to interpret and carry out commands, or does the Awakener need to impart that decision making ability on Awakened objects?
If the Awakener does need to impart the decision-making ability, then does Awakening consist of an Awakener copying a portion of his/her Cognitive aspect (as determined by his/her visualization and verbal Command) onto the Cognitive aspect of the object being Awakened, with Breath then providing the "juice" for the object to actually follow its Command: powering both physical motion and "cogitation" based upon the copied Cognitive aspect?
If so, is that copying what drains color?
Brandon Sanderson
You're very close here.
#15025
Millennium
Can a Shard tell the difference between itself and its current holder?
Brandon Sanderson
Tricky question. Depends on the circumstances. The power as a whole, no. Pieces of it, yes. (Ala Spinozism.)
#15026
Millennium
Does the Shard Odium seek to separate things, much like the Shard Honor seeks to bind things together?
Brandon Sanderson
An interesting theory.
#15027
Millennium
Some dictionaries list two meanings for the word "odium": the feeling of strong hatred, and that which provokes hatred from others. Do both of these apply to the Shard with that name?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes.
#15028
Millennium
Is it necessary to touch a Shard--not necessarily to become its Holder, but to at least touch it briefly--to Splinter it?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO.
#15029
Millennium
Do Honorblades have the same sort of relationship to Honor (possibly to a much greater degree) that Shardblades do?
Brandon Sanderson
You're on the right track.
#15030
ReaderAt2046
Can a Feruchemist store an attribute in a metalmind that someone else has already stored in and if so, do the charges affect each other in any way?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, but the charges are just stored in separate pieces of the metal, and don't really influence one another.
#15031
ReaderAt2046
Is it at all possible for Kelsier to be reincarnated/posess someone/show up as a ghost/whatever and become a character in a future Mistborn book?
Brandon Sanderson
He's shown up before, so I'd say that's a pretty good indication for the future.
#15032
#15033
#15034
ReaderAt2046
Is Soulcasting mass-conservative (Soulcast a 1kg goblet, you get 1 kg of blood)?
Brandon Sanderson
In most circumstances, yes.
#15035
ReaderAt2046
What would happen if, right after someone died, they were made into a Lifeless, and then Endowment tried to Return that person?
Brandon Sanderson
Oooh...now that's a spicy one. Endowment's gift of a superpowered Breath would come down, strike the Lifeless, and all kinds of craziness would occur. You'd end up with a drab god, which would be hilarious.
#15036
ReaderAt2046
What would happen if Nightblood and a Shardblade hit each other?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO.
#15037
ReaderAt2046
How do worldhoppers communicate on all the cosmere worlds? Is there one universal language? Do they just learn a new language for each world?
Brandon Sanderson
There is not a universal language.
#15038
ReaderAT2046
If two people grabbed the hilt of a Shardblade at the same time and then it got knocked out of their hands, which one could resummon it?
Brandon Sanderson
The one it's bound to.
#15039
ReaderAt2046
Do Stephen's aspects exist in the way bonded spren exist (independent Spiritual and Cognitive aspect but tied to a human.)?
Brandon Sanderson
Legion does not exist in the cosmere, so Realmatic Theory is not at play in the story.
ReaderAt2046
Did Razon's camera use the same Spiritual gravitational anchors as time bubbles?
Brandon Sanderson
See above.
#15040
Telcontar
When Surgebinding, the person is Binding a Surge (the elemental force). Are those Bindings (the spiritual link) the focus for Surgebinding on Roshar?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO.
#15041
Telcontar
is one of the symbolhead-spren (or maybe all of them) responsible for Shallan's ability to Soulcast (in the way that Syl is responsible for Kaladin's Lashings)?
Brandon Sanderson
There is indeed a similar relationship there.
#15042
FireArcadia
Is there any use to being a copper Compounder, from a Feruchemical point of view? I think the same point would also apply to an aluminum Compounder.
Brandon Sanderson
Some combinations, like some abilities themselves, aren't really that useful. That said, being able to Compound copper...that could do some things. Aluminum, not so much.
#15043
FireArcadia
You once told me that Roshar is the name of the planet from the cosmere-literate point of view. Were the dawnsingers cosmere-literate?
Brandon Sanderson
There are various levels of cosmere awareness.
#15044
Brendan
Now that you have finished writing [The Wheel of Time], how does it feel going back to telling your epic story that you have wanted to share with the world and being able to write a story naturally without the outside constraints that came with [The Wheel of Time]?
What if anything has been the biggest challenge getting back into writing Stormlight Archive after working so hard on [The Wheel of Time]?
Brandon Sanderson
It feels great, though it's a feeling I've felt before. It was the feeling I had when jumping out of the Mistborn world after finishing all three books and instead doing Warbreaker. For most of the process with [The Wheel of Time], I didn't feel 'constrained' really. It was more a sense of difficulty--it was difficult to do for unique reasons. Matching [Robert Jordan]'s story, making certain to keep characters consistent, that kind of thing.
It is refreshing to move to a new project, but this one presents difficulties of its own. I have to follow up The Way of Kings, which I feel is the best book of my career so far. I poured twenty years of effort into that book. Now, the sequel needs to be equally awesome, which is a real challenge.
Also, I keep wanting to use [Wheel of Time] curses.
#15045
FireArcadia
Does the world map in The Way of Kings show all of the landmasses of Roshar? Does that make the continent on Roshar a Pangaea-like supercontinent? And as I think about it, are there tectonic plates on Roshar?
Brandon Sanderson
It is a supercontinent. I won't say there is NOTHING out there, but (unlike Scadrial) there is not another full continent. Plate tectonics are not a factor on the supercontinent.
#15046
FireArcadia
When Dalinar and Honor are having a "chat" at the end, Honor says "I don't know who you are, or how you found your way here." Does Dalinar visit the Spiritual Realm in his dreams then?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO. (Sorry.)
#15047
Shivertongue
Do you have any of the Power Nine, and if so, which ones?
Brandon Sanderson
Pearl, Emerald, Ruby, Time Walk, Recall. Four left to go. I try to pick them up at times when it means something--for example, I bought my Ruby in Taiwan during my visit there earlier, and my wife gave me one as a gift...that sort of thing.
#15048
Shivertongue
What aspect of a new setting do you find to be the most difficult to develop?
Brandon Sanderson
Hmmm.... The everyday stuff is actually the hardest. For example, the question about racist jokes. They'd have them in world, but getting everything like this into a novel can be tough--particularly since it has a chance of squeezing out the story if you do too much.
#15049
Shivertongue
A few months ago, I discovered listening to classic jazz just really got me into the mindset for my current novel, and I think it might be because the story is set in a time similar to the America in the 1920's; do you ever try to match the music with the setting of a specific book or scene? Is there any one artist or style of music that works no matter what?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, indeed I do. I actually listened to era-appropriate music when working on Alloy of Law. In general, a good soundtrack can work no matter what, but for some scenes I need something more powerful. (Szeth's scenes in [The Way of Kings] were usually to Daft Punk.)
#15050
Kaist
Are the lighteyes descendants of the first people who took the Shards after the Knights Radiant abandoned them?
Brandon Sanderson
I'm afraid I have to RAFO this too.