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I gotta ask, are you going to give us any sort of backstory prior to Dragonsteel coming out? Of Hoid?
You will get little snippets here and there but really it's when you get his story that you are going to get the fully story of Adonalsium shattering. I have to leave it at snippets until then, because anything I give you is as a snippet now is canonizing something that I'm going to write later on. So I have to leave it at the stuff I know is going to be in there.
Can all spren imprint on someone—like Syl has with Kaladin—or is this ability special to certain types of spren? (I just got a mental picture of a flamespren taking notice of the pyromaniac noble girl from the castle market exercise in your JordanCon talk. Not sure that would end well.)
It is special to certain types of spren. There you go, a non-RAFO.
Did Davriel "kill" himself under controlled conditions so he could bamboozle a demonic contract, or was that a result of something going wrong?
I'm going to RAFO that--as it's something I'd like to reveal in a later story, if I have a chance to do one.
Adonalsium was 'killed' and split by the 16 who would eventually become shards, so that means there was an original holder of the power, and could their name have been Adonal?
This is a good question...that will be covered in the Dragonsteel series, when I get to it. (Sorry.)
As I was developing the Cosmere, I knew I wanted a few threads to span the entire mega-sequence, which was going to cover thousands of years. For this reason, I built into the outline a couple of "core" series.
One of these is the Stormlight Archive, where we have the Heralds who span ages, and which I eventually decided to break into two distinct arcs. Other series touch on the idea of long-standing characters. Dragonsteel, for example, will be kind of a bookend series. We'll get novels on Hoid's origins, then jump all the way to the end and get novels from his viewpoint late in the entire Cosmere sequence.
With Mistborn, I wanted to do something different. For aesthetic reasons, I wanted a fantasy world that changed, that grew updated and modernized. One of my personal mandates as a lover of the epic fantasy genre is to try to take what has been done before and push the stories in directions I think the genre hasn't looked at often enough.
I pitched Mistorn as a series of trilogies, which many of you probably already know. Each series was to cover a different era in the world (Scadrial), and each was to be about different characters—starting with an epic fantasy trilogy, expanding eventually into a space opera science fiction series. The magic would be the common thread here, rather than specific characters.
There was a greater purpose to this, more than just wanting a fantasy world that modernized. The point was to actually show the passage of time in the universe, and to make you, the reader, feel the weight of that passage.
Some of the Cosmere characters, like Hoid, are functionally immortal—in that, at least, they don't age and are rather difficult to kill. I felt that when readers approached a grand epic where none of the characters changed, the experience would be lacking something. I could tell you things were changing, but if there were always the same characters, it wouldn't feel like the universe was aging.
I think you get this problem already in some big epic series. (More on that below.) Here, I wanted the Cosmere to evoke a sense of moving through eras. There will be some continuing threads. (A few characters from Mistborn will be weaved through the entire thing.) However, to make this all work, I decided I needed to do something daring—I needed to reboot the Mistborn world periodically with new characters and new settings.
So how does Shadows of Self fit into this entire framework? Well, The Alloy of Law was (kind of) an accident. It wasn't planned to be part of the original sequence of Mistborn sub-series, but it's also an excellent example of why you shouldn't feel too married to an outline.
As I was working on Stormlight, I realized that it was going to be a long time (perhaps ten years) between The Hero of Ages and my ability to get back to the Mistborn world to do the first of the "second" series. I sat down to write a short story as a means of offering a stop-gap, but was disappointed with it.
That's when I took a step back and asked myself how I really wanted to approach all of this. What I decided upon was that I wanted a new Mistborn series that acted as a counterpoint to Stormlight. Something for Mistborn fans that pulled out some of the core concepts of the series (Allomantic action, heist stories) and mashed them with another genre—as opposed to epic fantasy—to produce something that would be faster-paced than Stormlight, and also tighter in focus.
That way, I could alternate big epics and tight, action character stories. I could keep Mistborn alive in people's minds while I labored on Stormlight.
The Alloy of Law was the result, an experiment in a second-era Mistborn series between the first two planned trilogies. The first book wasn't truly accidental, then, nor did it come from a short story. (I've seen both reported, and have tacitly perpetuated the idea, as it's easier than explaining the entire process.) I chose early 20th century because it's a time period I find fascinating, and was intrigued by the idea of the little-city lawman pulled into big-city politics.
Alloy wasn't an accident, but it was an experiment. I wasn't certain how readers would respond to not only a soft reboot like this, but also one that changed tone (from epic to focused). Was it too much?
The results have been fantastic, I'm happy to report. The Alloy of Law is consistently the bestselling book in my backlists, barring the original trilogy or Stormlight books. Fan reaction in person was enthusiastic.
So I sat down and plotted a proper trilogy with Wax and Wayne. That trilogy starts with Shadows of Self. It connects to The Alloy of Law directly, but is more intentional in where it is taking the characters, pointed toward a three-book arc.
You can see why this is sometimes hard to explain. What is Shadows of Self? It's the start of a trilogy within a series that comes after a one-off with the same characters that was in turn a sequel to an original trilogy with different characters.
Why do they ride horses, and not like fast insects of some sort?
That is an excellent question. That I'm not going to answer.
Where in Roshar do Ryshadiums come from?
That's a RAFO. I will answer it soon.
Will we find out in Stormlight 3?
Yeah.
My son wants to know if Hoid is a dragon.
He is not. But he knows some.
Has Vasher or anyone else learned how to suppress just the Breath Aura, but keep the Heightenings?
RAFO.
Are the Coinshots that helped Steris with getting people out of the flood zone, and who seemed rather concerned with whether she was following the law, actually Skybreakers?
Ah, hehehehehe. So, we'll just leave that one. So, how about this. At this point in continuity, a Skybreaker could not easily get off of Roshar. In fact, by this point in continuity, I believe (you can't hold me to this one too much) the only Radiant who's managed to get off of Roshar and maintain powers is Hoid. I believe that's the case. Hoid is weird. He also has lots of knowledge. He used a specific method to get... yeah, anyway.
Don't hold me to that, but I think by this point he is the first to get out of system. Off-world doesn't really count because you can go to Braize or Ashyn.
Where did you get the idea for your Adonalsium mythos? Did it develop in your head for a while, or did you have a sudden flash of inspiration.
Over time, particularly when building Dragonsteel as a novel. I was planning it as I wrote Elantris. Hoid has been around forever, long before Adonalsium became the central plot of his story. I have an old short story from the early, early, early days where he's on a planet trying to figure out how the local magic system works.
Who's telling "Unite Them" to Dalinar because it's obviously not Stormfather nor Honor because he's hearing it even outside of the visions, right?
He is hearing that, that is a RAFO. You can have a RAFO card.
Have any other Shards been combined, like Harmony was combined?
That’s also a RAFO.
So regarding Hoid, now are we ever going to know his real name at some point in time? I guess in Dragonsteel? I know he says about how he's borrowing stuff and how he steals stuff.
Yes. You will eventually know his real name, but it depends on what you define as real.
The Oathgate fabrial has an opening for a living Shardblade to make it functionable. Does this mean the opening is made from a spren?
You will find more about this in a future book.
Is he [Hoid] a Worldsinger?
He has a relationship with the Worldsingers.
If you had a spanreed, and you took one half into Shadesmar, would it still be able to write with the conjoined one in the Physical Realm?
RAFO.
Why were seons unaffected by the Reod?
They were.
They were? How?
RAFO.
Can Nightblood be Soothed or Rioted? Or influenced by Nergaoul or Ashertmarn, for that case?
RAFO!
Who is Wit?
He is a character who has been in all of the books so far and is somehow getting between all of the different planets these are taking place on and is somehow surviving the fact that these books are hundreds of years apart.
I have a good idea that he's a Mistborn.
Well he did steal a bead of lerasium.
And he has extra Breath because he said it was easier with perfect pitch.
He did indeed say that didn't he... I will eventually write a book series that is about him, but it is a ways off.
How many Shards are whole at the time of [Shadows of Self]?
How many Shards are whole at the time of Shadows? I'm just going to RAFO that because-- because I don't want to do math right now.
More than half or less than half?
At the time of Shadows? How many Shards--
Or about half?
Ha! *long pause* *really high and stretched out* Half-ish?
Half-ish?
Half-ish. It depends.
Give or take?
Give or take. Like it de-- Are there now only 15? Like what's the number? ...So-- I'm not going to-- I'm not going to--
RAFO.
Yeah, RAFO.
Do you plan on having any more mistborns in the Wax & Wayne series?
Read and Find Out.
What order [of Knight Radiant] did Oathbringer come from?
I'll RAFO that.
When Surgebinding, the person is Binding a Surge (the elemental force). Are those Bindings (the spiritual link) the focus for Surgebinding on Roshar?
RAFO.
Were the aliens in Sixth of the Dusk from [Scadrial]?
RAFO. :)
All I've said is that they're from a planet you've seen/heard of before.
The parshmen that got re-Connected. Was that based on where they were born, or where they were when the Everstorm came in?
RAFO.
We have seen Wit tell stories that others told incomplete versions of earlier in the book. Is this an in-world coincidence? Or is he aware of those stories being told?
It is a little of both. Nothing mystical in here; he doesn't automatically know if a story is being told. But he keeps an eye on things, shall we say, and finds out things that he shouldn't know.
Was Bloody Tan performing like Lessie?
RAFO.
What would happen to a bonded spren if its human was hemalurgically spiked and had his surges stolen?
RAFO. :)
Will we get a further definition on what Rayse meant when he said “WE KILLED YOU” as Dalinar merged the realms at the end of book 3?
I don't know for sure if I will give more on that or not. So for now, it's a RAFO.
Are gloryspren composed entirely of Honor's investiture?
RAFO.
In Elantris, the AonDor comes in the form of the lands, so if an Elantrian wanted to use it on a different Shardworld, like Roshar, would the symbols change?
That's an excellent question! And I'm going to RAFO it.
Why does Awakening need to drain color, and what determines the amount of color that's drained?
I'm going to RAFO Awakening because I'm going to write another book and I-- Mostly it's a RAFO because I don't want to canonize things until I've got the book in hand.
If Hoid collects a form of Investiture from every planet, will it grant him special effects?
He hopes so!
Is Sja-anat going to join the Knights Radiant?
RAFO.
Are spren alive? Can splinters be alive?
RAFO!
Do the Sleepless name themselves? Seems like they would since they spawn from "lost" swarms. Would they think of themselves as the original swarm at first? Would this would bring in all the scifi clone identity problems where the clone doesn't own it's identity?
RAFO for now. I'll get into their society some other time.
Has Vasher met Hoid, and are they BFFs?
Not BFFs by a long shot.
Has Hoid seriously offended someone on EVERY planet he's been to? Kelsier, Shai, the Alethi nobility, who knows how many shards from Yolen, AND Vasher are all out for his blood..? :o
That's only a small fraction of the total list.
What is the range on Jasnah's Soulcasting like, and is [there] a hard limit on how much she can Soulcast at once?
RAFO.
If a kandra were to somehow take the form of a dragon, would they notice any differences in anatomy, or is it spot-on impersonation?
I'm going to RAFO that, to leave Dragonsteel for Dragonsteel when we get there.
When Hoid *inaudible* Shallan in...
In Jah Keved, when she's back in the flashback?
In the flashback.
In the flashback, yep.
In--yes--during that experience...
Mhm.
And at the end of the book, Dalinar has that vision that didn't come from the Stormfather. I was wondering if those are related?
Those are not related. Good question.
Does the Shard of Autonomy have a paired Shard (like Ruin/Preservation or…Cultivation/Preservation)? I was thinking that Unity would work as the opposition of Autonomy, though we don’t even know what Unity is.
RAFO.
Will Hoid ever have a book of his own?
Yes he will. He will have several.
What drove Jezrien mad?
You will see firsthand in the series.
Is Adolin unkilling Maya? RAFO?
I'll give you a [RAFO] card.
Does any of the Sixteen actually like Hoid anymore?
Yes.
Can you tell us a little bit about what Hoid was up to in Terris in The Well of Ascension?
He was hunting for the Well of Ascension.
In the new continuity, he already knew where the Well was, because he used it to come back to--
Right, we changed the continuity, didn't we. Yeah. Oh boy. We came up with an explanation of this, because when we wrote the book-- Yeah, why don't you send me an email on that one. Now that I have the conversation with Peter, he brought that one up when I finally got around to Secret History. That was one of our big casualties. What did I come up with? I think he was just really, really-- I will have to-- because I canonzied it to Peter. We're gonna have to go to Peter and say "What's in the wiki now?" Yeah, that was one of the big casualties, and the fact that I couldn't get Kelsier to one of the places where I had left foreshadowing for him to speak in someone's head, and I can't remember what that one was, either.
Oh, that one was Sazed, you said it was his imagination.
Yeah, I had to make that his imagination. Because I just couldn't get people where they needed to go. This is the problem with writing an outline, then writing a book, and then writing another book so many years later. Certain things, we just can't work into the continuity. Write us an email, we'll get you the official continuity for that one. Because Peter did nail me down when we were working on the book.
After Hoid got the bead during the scene in Secret History, he went north to Terris to do research on possibly acquiring Feruchemy. While he’s there, all hell breaks loose, and he ends up embroiled in helping the Terris people.
Regarding the sibling relationships of Yesteel/Arsteel and VaraTreledees/Shashara, were either pairing Returned simultaneously? If so, how did they know they were siblings? And do any of the four know their original birth names? Finally, is it coincidence that there are two pairs of siblings in the Five Scholars or is there something more at work?
I do intend to delve into questions like in your first point when I return to that world, so I'll RAFO for now.
Can you tell us something about the Order of Willshapers that hasn't been mentioned?
No, I can't. Because, too many spoilers, in that sort of area. And plus, I don't want to lock down some of the things that... because I'm not sure how I'll represent them yet in books. I know what I'll probably do, but I have... there's certain things about it that, until I write a scene from someone's eyes, using the magic, that then is kind of when it locks down for me. So, we will stay away from that.
Is it necessary to touch a Shard--not necessarily to become its Holder, but to at least touch it briefly--to Splinter it?
RAFO.
