Recent entries

Alteroden

Does Shallan's bond improve her art?

Brandon Sanderson

Shallan's memorization is supernatural, and her memorization affects her ability to do art, so I would say yes.

Questioner

What happens when you look at a kandra who has eaten another person while you're burning malatium?

Brandon Sanderson

*laughs* That's a RAFO.

Questioner

Kandra can eat nonhumans. What happens when they eat a spren?

Brandon Sanderson

Kandras have never encountered spren in any relevant way, except for the occasional worldhopper, and they have never had occasion to try to eat a spren. Good question.

Questioner

If another Shard came to Scadrial, would that be enough to create a metal like atium, or...?

Brandon Sanderson

If another Shard just came to visit, probably not.

Questioner

If they brought a spren or--

Brandon Sanderson

If they came and completely Invested the world, then things might start happening. But there's some special circumstances, remember. Ruin and Preservation created that planet. Specifically. And so there's some goofy things that happened because of that. For instance Roshar was not made by Honor, Cultivation, or Odium. That's one of the big differences about what's going on there.

Questioner

The metals that were formed from Shards, like atium and lerasium. Are they somewhat naturally occurring, like in pools of power, or are they specifically [?]?

Brandon Sanderson

They are somewhat naturally occurring.

Questioner

Really? Even on other Shardworlds?

Brandon Sanderson

Oh. They could exist somewhere else. There are some special circumstances on Scadrial, but yes. The idea is that the pools are one state of this mythological matter.

Questioner

So if you have the physical state and the liquid state, is there a less liquid state? Because some of that's being used.

Brandon Sanderson

Um... Oh. Yeah. Yeah. But, I mean, it's such a drop in the bucket compared to the actual Shards. So that it is a statistically insignificant amount, but it is an amount.

Questioner

So Harmony's pool, wherever it is is statistically larger than...

Brandon Sanderson

Yes.

Questioner

Is the Thrill related to Investiture, or heritage, or both, or neither?

Brandon Sanderson

It is definitely related to Investiture.

Questioner

Is Jasnah ever going to find true love?

Brandon Sanderson

I'm not going to answer that.

Questioner

If someone isn’t an Allomancer, could they burn atium? Since it’s…

Brandon Sanderson

They could not burn atium. They would have figured that one out.

Questioner

So nothing would have happened, or?

Brandon Sanderson

No. But there’s a little more to that story, but I’m not going to get into it right now.

Questioner

Allomancy is of Preservation, correct?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes...

Questioner

What are Feruchemy and Hemalurgy of?

Brandon Sanderson

Hemalurgy is definitely of Ruin.

Questioner

Is it of pure Ruin?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes. That's a very Ruin thing. And Feruchemy is more of a blend. Though… there is more philosophy to that and human construct—like the Allomantic table—than I think I’ve made clear before.

Questioner

Sixth of the Dusk, are we ever going to see any more of that again?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, but not planned for another story. If you watch, you will see references to them.

Questioner

Is there going to be a Hoid book? Just Hoid?

Brandon Sanderson

There will be several Hoid books eventually. [...] It will be about his backstory, the main one, and then we'll have some in the present as well.

Questioner

Will it show up in scenes where he interacts with these characters?

Brandon Sanderson

I'm not planning those right now. I know they would be interesting, but I'm not sure if they'd make good enough books.

Questioner

Do the Knights Radiant have a nahn? Are they within the nahn system or the dahn system at all?

Brandon Sanderson

The nahn and dahn system is a more recent construct. They would be at the very height of it, I would say.

Questioner

Okay. So the system hasn't been reorganized yet with Kaladin and such?

Brandon Sanderson

You'll have to watch and see what happens in the next few books. Because the culture is not used to Knights Radiant being around.

Questioner

[questions being asked on behalf of Alyx, a.k.a. FeatherWriter] About Renarin's Surgebinding. Are [his visions] influenced by Voidbinding instead of Surgebinding?

Brandon Sanderson

That's a RAFO.

Questioner

And then if they are influenced by Odium the way that Dalinar's are influenced by Honor.

Brandon Sanderson

That's a RAFO. I'm not going to talk about stuff like that! I have dropped some very blatant hints, and that is enough for me right now.

Argent

I asked pretty much the same thing last time, and you pointed me to a certain page. Can I tell her what the page was?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes. There are certain things going on with him that I feel are very blatant. I think he [Argent] is going to point them out to you.

Arbron

So how long has "Zahel the swordmaster" been slumming it on Roshar? I mean I don't know who that is obviously.

Brandon Sanderson

Zahel the swordmaster has been on Roshar for a long while at this point. There's something on Roshar that's very easy for him to get that's very hard in other places. And so, yeah.

Arbron

So he retains his previous abilities?

Brandon Sanderson

He was actually in the first draft in 2002. But yes there's something in Roshar that makes it better for him to be there.

Ness

Are the pools at the top of the Horneater peaks shardpools?

Brandon Sanderson

RAFO.

Ness

So has Rock always been a third son?

Brandon Sanderson

Oh, clever man. No he has not.

Questioner 2

Yay!

Jerich

Are Skybreakers like the MPs of the Knight's Radiant?

Brandon Sanderson

Um, yes you could say that. That's a good way to put them. I will say more about the Skybreakers in the future, but yeah.

Questioner

Would it be safe to assume that Kaladin is also carrying the Honorblade? Because that makes the most sense to me.

Brandon Sanderson

Which Honorblade?

Questioner

The one from Szeth.

Brandon Sanderson

That is... He's not.

Questioner

That surprises me, because to me that would be the best-- That would make the most sense.

Brandon Sanderson

That would be sneaky of me. But that's not the case.

Questioner

So he actually has an Honorblade, since you asked which one.

Brandon Sanderson

He took Szeth's. So he has that one. Oh! I thought you meant Taln's, I thought. He does not have Taln's. He has Szeth's.. Yes he has that.

Questioner

I'm assuming he found that one, because that made the most sense to keep it safe

Brandon Sanderson

He’s got Szeth’s, that is true. ... Sorry, I assumed you meant Taln's. Taln's is gone.

Questioner

Yeah. Taln's vanished off the face of the planet! I'm assuming Hoid grabbed that one, actually.

Brandon Sanderson

That is one of the prevailing theories and not one that is unreasonable.

Questioner

Well, considering. That was the one, because you had mentioned last time you were here that you could have both, and I was like, "okay, so that means he’s got Szeth's sword."

Questioner

I really liked your Legion books. Is there any chance you would do a third?

Brandon Sanderson

I will do one more. And then if it takes off as a TV show, like I've been trying to make happen, we will do some more, but if not, then... yeah.

Questioner

Why did you call it Shadows for Self?

Brandon Sanderson

There are two answers to this. One is the kandra are kind of doing different versions of themselves. The other is that Wax is trying to decide which person he is, through this. The term "shadows of self" is actually a phrase that one of the kandra use in the first trilogy talking about this idea of changing who they are and things like that, so the phrase had import to me in-world.

Questioner

So we've seen a bit that other magic systems can work on worlds that they don't originate from. Could Hemalurgic spikes be made on other worlds?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes.

Questioner

We were talking about Kelsier, and how he was much more powerful than most Mistborn, and how Vin was slightly more than most Mistborn...

Brandon Sanderson

Why were Vin and Kelsier more powerful?

Questioner

I know why Kelsier, but why Vin?

Brandon Sanderson

Vin was not more powerful. Vin just took to it very naturally. She was highly skilled. It was very instinctive to her, but Elend was actually more powerful than she was, if you count just raw power. Vin just knew her stuff. Beyond that Vin is a rare individual that for reasons I have not explained yet, was able to draw in the mists for a little extra boost at times. And there are other characters you have seen do this.

Questioner

I was curious about what your favorite board game was, outside of Magic?

Brandon Sanderson

Ooh... I'm not a board game guy. I'm a Magic guy. A lot of people who play Magic and that's all they play. My brother's the board game guy. And I don't really have a favorite. I'll play with him, I'll play Catan, I'll play House at Haunted Hill, I'll play his stupid Battlestar Galactica one that takes like a billion years, but I'll do it for fun to hang out with my family, I don't have a favorite of them. If I do have one, it's Sorry, because that's what my family played when I was a kid, and that's not even a real one. Now they these board games, you have those intricate miniatures from Germany, and you set up all these things, and you draw a card, and that's your objective, and you're a zombie... All this weird stuff, and they look a lot more fun. Dominion, does Dominion count? It's not a board game, it's basically Magic again. Yeah, Dominion would be my favorite. I really like Dominion. Stratego's not bad.

Questioner

For this story, with Dalinar hiring the guy who shot at him with an arrow, was that at all based on Genghis Khan?

Brandon Sanderson

It was, that's where I got it. [...] I used to, when I first published <The Way of Kings?>, "You guys recognize this" and no one did, so I stopped talking about it. He was famous for not only that *incomprehensible*, but for recruiting people from every battlefield he went to. The better soldier you were, the more he wanted you in his army.

Questioner

The character Spook, is there a pattern to Spook's street slang?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, but it's a really loose one. It was based off of some rhyming slangs, some street slangs, and some things that I researched, where it would evolve day by day, and they would throw in some extraneous words just to confuse people that weren't speak it. It was also based on Internet slang. And so, yes, there are rules, but the rules are kind of loose and free, and you can add weird words when you want to. You basically put everything in the past progressive and then you add lots of extra "to be" phrases. Then you reverse a few of your syntaxes, and then you go for it.

Questioner

So it's practicing a whole lot to sound improvised.

Brandon Sanderson

Yes. [...] Wasing the being of complicated to be. No, complicated to see. Yeah.

Questioner

What is your favorite word in the English language?

Brandon Sanderson

[...] Rutabaga.

Questioner

Is there a reason?

Brandon Sanderson

Because it made me laugh when I used it in the Alcatraz books, and it became a theme of those books, which do silly things for no good reason.

Questioner

I didn't know you listened to metal.

Brandon Sanderson

I do, I do listen to metal. I am not as much into it as I should. Like, all the cool little metal bands, I don't know as much as I should. But I've been thinking, one of my books, I am gonna write a metalhead as one of my main characters. So I've actually been hanging out on metalhead forums, and kind of reading about what they are talking about, "that's metal", "this is not metal" and stuff like that. Reading-- submerging myself in that culture. Because I think a metalhead advocate for metal would be a really great character one day.

Argent

It has to be in Mistborn!

Brandon Sanderson

No, it wouldn't, it would actually be on our planet, because I want to use our metalhead culture as the main character.

Argent

Can you get a Hemalurgic spike for writing skill?

Brandon Sanderson

Hemalurgy is a lot more varied than what it's been used for so far.

Argent

Can somebody travel to the Spiritual Realm, the same as the Cognitive?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, but it's a very different experience. It is possible… You may have seen people do it...

Argent

As in you're not sure, or you're being obnoxiously vague?

Brandon Sanderson

No...

Questioner #1

As in, you probably have but he's having trouble remembering it.

Brandon Sanderson

No no no... For instance, Elend burning atium and duralumin pulled most of him into the Spiritual Realm.

Argent

Oh, that's what happens there.

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah. He kind of got yanked into- You also have seen people Ascend with the powers and dip into the Spiritual Realm for a little bit.

Argent

So, Vin?

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah. But they could be on both, or either, or both at the same time. But you have seen Vin stick into the Spiritual Realm. And it happened to Sazed/Harmony...

Questioner #2

Oh! So is that where the gods live? Kinda?

Brandon Sanderson

Most of the bulk of the Shard's energy of being is contained in the Spiritual Realm, yes. Except for one notable exception!

Questioner #2

The <mists? mistwraith?>?

Brandon Sanderson

No.

Argent

The Hemalurgic constructs Bleeder uses. Do you have a name for them?

Brandon Sanderson

I have not named them yet. Should I? Is it important for fandom?

Argent

We don't know what to call them.

Brandon Sanderson

I have in my head that they're kind of Hemalurgic chimaeras.

Argent

Okay. We'll go with that.

Argent

If a lerasium spike is used to steal a trait--

Brandon Sanderson

You're straying way into RAFO territory here.

Argent

Will the recipient of the spike gain anything other than the ability stolen?

Brandon Sanderson

I'm not going anywhere near this one. This one’s a RAFO.

Argent

Was Bloody Tan influenced and/or controlled by Harmony or one of his agents? During those introductory events [in The Alloy of Law prologue]?

Brandon Sanderson

Controlled by Harmony? No.

Argent

Was he controlled or influenced by anyone outside of himself?

Brandon Sanderson

*sounds like he's about to say “yeah”* RAFO.

Argent

Was Harmony unable to find [Bleeder] because the spike was made of this metal?

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah. The spike was what prevented him from being able to find her.

Argent

It wasn't an ability granted by the spike.

Brandon Sanderson

No.

Argent

It was just the material.

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah.

Questioner

We've seen that the "Sylblade" can change shape to fit Kaladin's needs. Is there a limit on the size of the blade that Syl can become?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes.

Questioner

Okay. And can you share with me what the upper limits on those sort of things would be?

Brandon Sanderson

Upper limits of hers are about human-sized.

Questioner

Is it always going to be something that has to be a fighting utensil, or does it have to...?

Brandon Sanderson

That's going to RAFO. You'll have to see.

[...]

I will say this. You have seen Syl changing shape from the first time she appears onscreen and she is frequently not a weapon.

Questioner

Is there a specific reason the South is never mentioned on Scadrial?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, 'cause they don't know about it.

Questioner

The form of the Parshendi: Are there ten of them "of power"?

Brandon Sanderson

No. There are more. So they are not a one-to-one correlation.

Questioner

So far all the spren that have bonded to humans appear to be emotion-based as opposed to nature-based. Is that true for all the Knights Radiant?

Brandon Sanderson

Well it depends. For instance: how would you define Wyndle?

Questioner

I struggled with that one.

Brandon Sanderson

Uh hm. So I would say that you are on the right track, that there is a definite inclination that direction.

Questioner

Towards Honor?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes. There is.

Questioner

Is there other surges then, that are more Cultivation-exclusive or other Knights Radiant that are...?

Brandon Sanderson

We'll RAFO that, but the original Knights Radiant are more focused on Honor and his spren.

Questioner

If some of the cosmere books are set in different times in the cosmere, can Hoid time travel?

Brandon Sanderson

Not go backwards.

Questioner

The Heralds: I had a question if they might in fact be some form of spren?

Brandon Sanderson

The Heralds are not some form of spren. Good question.

Questioner

So Nightblood. Is it going to go into maybe in the next book how Vasher loses him, because I'm assuming that's what [Szeth] gets at the end of the book?

Brandon Sanderson

*Coyly*

Oh you assume that this is uh yeah...

Questioner

So far as we know that's the only sentient sword...

Brandon Sanderson

You will find answers to these questions eventually.

Questioner

With the soulcasting and the spren, is there maybe some quantum physics in there that you were thinking about?

Brandon Sanderson

There is. Yes, very intentionally.

Questioner

Is that gonna come into play?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes.

Questioner

How many other characters are in this *inaudible*

Brandon Sanderson

Oh I'm not going to give you an exact number.

Questioner

I'm guessing one or two, so far at least.

Brandon Sanderson

But there are multiples.

Questioner

Amaram and Dalinar, they both talk about Gavilar a lot. How many secret societies did Gavilar know about or was he a part of?

Brandon Sanderson

Ah! How many did he know about? He knew of more than he was part of, but he was not part of very many.

Questioner

So you mentioned that Kaladin gets sad during the Weeping. Is that due to lack of stormlight or maybe seasonal affective disorder?

Brandon Sanderson

It is mostly due to seasonal affective disorder. Now, you know, there are other things going on and whatnot, but yes he has strong seasonal affective disorder.

Questioner

Is there a maximum number of Bondsmiths that Roshar can support?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes.

Questioner

Are the Unmade the analogs to Heralds?

Brandon Sanderson

There is certainly something similar going on there. Be aware that it's not a one-to-one correlation, that they're not exactly the same. For instance: Many of the- the Unmade are referenced by Taravangian in this, and he uses a phrase for them, and that is correct, that's what they are.

Questioner

With covering the safehand for women, how does that affect how left-handed women are treated or perceived?

Brandon Sanderson

Left-handed you are trained- Well it's not a big deal for darkeyes because they wear gloves. Lighteyed women are trained to use the right hand, even if they're left-handed; which does cause some problems, but that's how they are trained.

Questioner

Dalinar. A lot of people have theorized that his armor has glowed because he's channeling stormlight. I don't believe that's accurate. Is that right?

Brandon Sanderson

I'm not going to answer much about the armor. The armor, you will have to find out about.

Questioner

Alright, because my theory is that he's actually fulfilling the actual role of the Radiants—that's protecting people—therefore that's why his armor is glowing.

Brandon Sanderson

Interesting. Now which armor are you speaking about specifically?

Questioner

The Shardplate.

Brandon Sanderson

The Shardplate but which one?

Questioner

Dalinar's armor.

Brandon Sanderson

Dalinar's Shardplate. In which scene?

Questioner

In The Way of Kings. Several times.

Brandon Sanderson

*Disingenuously* I know nothing about what you're talking about.

Questioner

Is Vin the only person who could have Ascended or could any Mistborn have ascended?

Brandon Sanderson

Um... That's a tricky question because you're giving a false dichotomy. It's not only Vin, but not just anybody. Does that make sense?

Questioner

Are the Heralds originally from Roshar?

Brandon Sanderson

RAFO.