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.
#8101
Recent entries
#8101
#8102
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.
#8103
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.
#8104
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.)
#8105
Millennium
Does the Shard Odium seek to separate things, much like the Shard Honor seeks to bind things together?
Brandon Sanderson
An interesting theory.
#8106
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.
#8107
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.
#8108
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.
#8109
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.
#8110
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.
#8111
#8112
#8113
ReaderAt2046
Is Soulcasting mass-conservative (Soulcast a 1kg goblet, you get 1 kg of blood)?
Brandon Sanderson
In most circumstances, yes.
#8114
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.
#8115
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.
#8116
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.
#8117
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.
#8118
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.
#8119
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.
#8120
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.
#8121
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.
#8122
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.
#8123
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.)
#8124
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.
#8125
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.
#8126
Kaist
If Kasbal hadn't been trying to kill Jasnah, would him and Shallan have gotten together?
Brandon Sanderson
It's uncertain. He actually did care for her, but he was an assassin trained to infiltrate and gain the trust of people like Shallan. If he hadn't been trying to kill Jasnah, he would never have had a reason to begin spending time with Shallan. However, I assume your question is if they had somehow started interacting, would they have gotten together. It's possible, but I don't think--in the end--it would have lasted.
#8127
Link389
Are there any other Shards on Nalthis aside from Endowment.
Brandon Sanderson
I suppose I can answer this if I haven't already. No, it is only Endowment.
#8128
Link389
With Stormlight being in your mind 2 five book arcs, is there still a single "through-line" so to speak (aka, the Everstorm, A clash with Odium, or the like).
Brandon Sanderson
Yes.
#8129
Link389
Before Adonalsium was Shattered, was there magic in the cosmere and what form did it take?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, and when I write Dragonsteel, you shall see the answer to this.
#8130
InsurrectionistFungus
Are there more kinds of kandra blessings than just the four we've seen?
Brandon Sanderson
Potentially, yes.
#8131
InsurrectionistFungus
Does aluminium have any effect on the other Allomantic metals aside from iron/steel and zinc/brass? If yes, does that include god metals and their alloys?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes and no.
#8132
Voidus
Would an Archivist who was sufficiently practiced be able to store memories at different strengths? (Keep a vague recollection of the memory as well as a stored copy which would degrade faster)
Brandon Sanderson
I don't think this is outside of reason for one to do, if they wanted to. I'm not sure if they would want to, but it's plausible.
#8133
Voidus
What would happen if you Allomantically burned an Awakened piece of metal?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO.
#8134
Arcanist
Is Szeth bounded to the Oathstone (master) with magic/force or just with his honour? As I can remember, in the end of [The Way of Kings] he nearly killed Taravangian.
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO. :)
#8135
Arcanist
Do you plan a magic system which enables the character to manipulate the four elements with their will? I mean not so bounded, like Allomancy with Pushing or Pulling but shaping/summoning the elements according to the wishes of the person. I ask this, because in the whole fantasy genre I rarely find something like this (except: Arc Magica RPG), so I had to develop it myself at home. But from the authors I know you are the person who has the creativity to do this without doubt.
Brandon Sanderson
Maybe, but there are a few problems here. For one, "Four elements" magic has been done over and over in books and video games, so it feels hard to make fresh. And in what you describe, it sounds like the characters would be very powerful, which makes for a challenging story to write.
#8136
Arcanist
When will be see the whole Cosmere-concept (Shards, the plans of Hoid) at the level of the books? In the third Mistborn trilogy or earlier? In which books do you plan to finish the "hidden story" which connects all your earlier books?
Brandon Sanderson
Third Mistborn Trilogy will certainly include some of this. We shall see if I do any of Hoid's stories before then.
#8137
Arcanist
As Dalinar gave his Shardblade to Highprince Sadeas, was his motivation only to free the Brigdemen as "Thank you" for the help? Or did he already plan to build a team from soldiers who are loyal only to him?
Brandon Sanderson
He certainly saw the side benefits. However, his primary motive was to make a statement. Not just as a thank you, but as a way of proclaiming to all of the Alethi "What we have been doing is wrong. This wealth is not worth the lives of men."
#8138
Arcanist
Most of your heroes are true traditional "heroes", because they want to be useful for the family/society/other, and they often lack selfish, "dirtier" motivations. Will we sometimes see characters, who are not villains but are rather egocentric?
Brandon Sanderson
Kelsier. :)
Expanding that, however, I feel that in general, other people are telling stories about "dirtier" characters and doing it well. I don't feel characters who are generally good characters are any less realistic, however--in fact, almost everyone I know is more like Vin or Dalinar. They want to be good people, they TRY to be good people. Fantasy has taken a very dark turn in many ways, and this is fine, but it is not the type of story or characters in which I am interested.
That doesn't mean I won't ever do it. There are some far more borderline characters mixed into some of the series, but they are more the exception than the rule.
#8139
KChan
How does Snapping work after Sazed changed it? If you don't want to reveal it all right now, are there any hints you can give us?
Brandon Sanderson
He couldn't get rid of this entirely. I don't want to spoil things, but Snapping was built into Allomancy primarily because of larger-scale magical issues. This is getting deep into the issue, but it has to do with a person's spiritual makeup and a 'wounded' spirit being easier to fill with something else, kind of like a cut would let something into the bloodstream. Sazed made this threshold on Scadrial much easier to obtain.
#8140
Windrunner
Why does Devotion's Shardpool act so differently from Preservation's?
Brandon Sanderson
For similar reasons to why the Dor acts so differently from Preservation's essence...
#8141
Emeralis00
Does the intent/personality of the Shard affect the personalities of the humans they create?
Brandon Sanderson
It has some very small effect.
#8142
Emeralis00
What do you call a human from each Shardworld (demonyms like Scadrialeese) ?
Brandon Sanderson
Selish, Scadrian, Nalthian, Rosharan.
#8143
#8144
Chaos
In the Ars Arcanum of The Way of Kings, next to the Essences are listed ten Body Focuses. Are these Body Focuses the focus (in cosmere terms) of Surgebinding?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO. :)
#8145
Chaos
Is there a cosmere-specific term you use to describe, say, a Shard's power inside someone? For example, people on Scadrial had little bits of Preservation in them that made them sentient (and, with enough Preservation, Allomancy). This obviously doesn't make these people Slivers or Splinters, so I was just wondering if you had a word for it.
Brandon Sanderson
In my own terms, I refer to all of this as types of Investiture. The degree, and effects, can be very different--but those people are Invested. I term this innate Investiture, and it is similar to what happens with people on Nalthis. That is also innate.
#8146
Chaos
A lerasium Mistborn's kids would surely be Allomancers. If such a lerasium Mistborn traveled to, say, Nalthis, fell in love and had kids with a native [Nalthian], would those kids be Allomancers? Or something else?
Brandon Sanderson
In most cases, they would still be Allomancers. Mixed, potentially, with something else depending on the native innate Investiture. That mixture could do some strange things, though.
#8147
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.
#8148
Stroniax
Can people from one area of the cosmere Return to the place in the cosmere where Awakeners are from?
Brandon Sanderson
Meaning, can they travel to Nalthis, where Warbreaker takes place? Yes, they can.
#8149
#8150