claytonphillips
Several times in Way of Kings, you have characters think of the Shin as having big or round eyes. Do the Shin really have giant eyes, or do all the other peoples of Roshar have an epicanthic fold on their eyes?
It seemed to me that this was very similar to how characters in second world fantasies, like Faile in Wheel of Time, are designated as "Asian" even though there is no Asia in the book. Is this a subversion of that? Are the Shin the only people on Roshar who look Western European?
Brandon Sanderson
You are right, actually. Normal eyes on Roshar are those with an epicanthic fold. The Shin do not have this. Note, however, that they wouldn't look "Western European." Roshar races are fairly far off from what we imagine as Earth ones. The people most likely to look Western European to you would be those from Mistborn.
claytonphillips
Before Adonalsium shattered, was it consciously opposed by something, be it people or another cosmic force? Is whatever opposed it still around?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes. Yes.
Herowannabe
Was Sazed the intended recipient of "The Letter"?
Brandon Sanderson
Meaning, the one in the epigraphs? No, that is written to someone else. (They're not from a world you've seen yet.)
Herowannabe
is Sigzil, as Hoid's apprentice, Rosharan? Has Hoid taken him to other worlds?
Brandon Sanderson
He is from Roshar.
No, Sig hasn't visited any other worlds.
Herowannabe
Hoid has Lerasium and breaths, Does Hoid have anything from Sel? Soul stamps perhaps?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO. :)
Herowannabe
Can an infused Hemalurgy spike be affected by Allomancy- steel pushes and iron pulls? Or does the charge interfere with the Allomancy much like a person's body would?
Brandon Sanderson
Anything infused (regardless of the world or magic that infused it) is resistant to magic. So you'd have a lot of trouble pushing or pulling on a spike, unless you had access to a boost of some sort to overcome the resistance.
Herowannabe
What happens when a blind person burns Gold- especially of he "sees" a version of himself that isn't blind? Can he see the other version or just hear/feel/sense him? What about the other version, can it see things? Could a blind person use gold in this way to see the world around him?
Brandon Sanderson
A blind person would indeed sense these things, but not have the vision with the eyes. In the same way that a blind person still dreams, but doesn't "See" in them. (As I understand it.) I'd suggest talking to someone who is blind and getting their take on how this would work.
Herowannabe
I recently picked up the Mistborn Adventure game and am loving it. I made a character who is a blind Mistborn because hey, I thought it would make for some interesting possibilities. As I understand Allomancy, he can hear/sense well enough to get around with Tin, plus even though he's blind he can still "see" steel lines (like the inquisitors), and I assume Atium would work the same way- that is, he could still "see" Atium shadows. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Brandon Sanderson
No, you're right. That works. He'd have to burn metals a LOT though. It might warp him a little. :)
theFinisher4Ever
Are all wind spren really just unbonded honor spren?
Brandon Sanderson
No, they are cousins to one another, but not exactly the same thing.
theFinisher4Ever
Was the Lord Ruler using Feruchemy + Allomancy to Soothe all of the people around him? Or was he, as I like to think, flaring for so long that he became a Soother Savant?
Brandon Sanderson
He lived long enough and used his metals enough (particularly Soothing) to become nearly a savant in every area, if not a full savant.
solembum
Did it happen to one of your characters that you changes the gender pretty late?
Brandon Sanderson
Vin, in Mistborn, started as a boy. I wrote about one chapter of Mistborn with her as a guy, then changed. However, another character by that name had existed in one of my unpublished books as a boy.
NewbSombrero
Is the risk of Vasher dying from wielding Nightblood unsheathed too long because Nightblood would consume his divine breath or does that also extend to those who are not Returned?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, and yes, it does apply to others.
yulerule
*Written:* How much compounding would a nicrosil Twinborn would need to do to get a metalmind that is as Invested as Nightblood?
Brandon Sanderson
*Reading question:* How much compounding would... *mumbling*
Wow, so much.
*Writes:* Wow so much.
yulerule
*Written:* A thousand breaths doesn't seem to be that much--the God King has tens of thousands. Would a piece of stone, wood, cloth, or plain metal that has a thousand breaths be as Invested as Nightblood, or is there something more?
Brandon Sanderson
No, it needs more. Needs more.
*Writes:* Needs more.
yulerule
More?
Brandon Sanderson
Yeah.
yulerule
Does that-- is it taking stuff from people it kills?
Brandon Sanderson
That's a RAFO, good question.
NewbSombrero
Are Splinters primarily Spiritual?
Brandon Sanderson
Less Physical. More a blend of the other two.
NewbSombrero
Are Shardblades Splinters? If not, are they related to Shards in some other way?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO. More to come.
Ravi
Were any of the other magic systems of Sel affected by the fall of Elantris, such as soulforging?
Brandon Sanderson
No.
Ravi
Can someone use their native world's magic system on a different planet? (Ex. Would Galladon be able to use Aons on Roshar?)
Brandon Sanderson
Plausible. Certain things would need to be done.
Ravi
Can any person absorb a Shard? Or do they have to be somewhat "magical"? (Like Vin and SazeD)
Brandon Sanderson
One does not have to be somewhat magical, so to speak, but it does help.
Ravi
If Odium were lured to Scadrial, would his physical body turn into a burnable metal?
If so, could Harmony create an Odium-metal legion of Mistings to consume and burn it?
Would that weaken him sufficiently enough to be killed or destroyed?
Brandon Sanderson
The difficulty here is, again, one of Identity. People born on Scadrial have an Identity tied to it and its magic. Odium would have to do certain things to make them able to use a magic he fuels. He has done these things on Roshar, so it's not impossible for him to manage it on Scadrial.
Chaos
Why does giving your Breath to another person not require color? Every other Command does.
Brandon Sanderson
I thought I answered this in the book. You use your own color. :)
Chaos
You have said the Scadrians on the southern continent does have interaction with the Metallic Arts, but use them in very different ways. Does this mean there are different, for example, Allomantic abilities for those Scadrians? Or is it more a cultural thing?
Brandon Sanderson
The abilities are the same. The way they harness and use them, though, is different...
AptoCanavalian
Dear Brandon, If you could have a dinner party with six of the characters that you have written about, which six would you choose and why? Would your answer change if the party was in someone else's house?
Brandon Sanderson
Well, it would be tough--I'd have to decide if I wanted the party to be crazy, interesting, or low risk.
For example, inviting Hoid and Kelsier to the same party could result in murdering. Having Sazed around with someone like Jasnah would lead to some great discussions of philosophy.
unknown
Wait--are you implying Hoid and Kelsier would want to murder each other, or that they would team up to murder other people?
Brandon Sanderson
Hoid and Kelsier do not get along. At all.
samwisevimes
I had a question about the Parshendi, do they have a negotiating form? I ask because it seems they must have shifted forms before/just after the betrayal and are now stuck in war form, but if they had the ability to negotiate before why not now?
Brandon Sanderson
More of this will be answered in book two. They aren't 'stuck' in warform, but do have limited options.
Nepene
Do Cosmere planets have a soul, like in Final Fantasy?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes.
Nepene
In Warbreaker Lightsong mentions that the Returned's forms are dependent on contemporary beauty standards. In the Emperor's Soul Shai implies that if others did not find the Emperor's Soul plausible it would not take as well. Is my reading of their statements correct, is their magic dependent on how others view you as well as how you view yourself?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes. This is a factor.
Nepene
In The Emperor's Soul and Elantris the magic systems have very different methods and powers, though both work through symbols. Assuming they adapted the symbols to their local geography could they use each other's methods? Could an Elantrian forge a soulstamp say?
Brandon Sanderson
Birth in a certain location on Sel gives a certain affinity for the local symbols, and their usage. To use the magic of another region, one would need to have a rewritten connection to that area instead.
Nepene
You've said you want to write a book set in the Southern Continent. I did enjoy the Emperor's Soul a lot, so I am curious about you writing that future book. How do they use magic differently, and why should we be excited about reading a book set there?
Brandon Sanderson
The southern continent is where people have discovered how to harness the metallurgic arts in a more mechanical method. (I've hinted several places that this is possible. I've been holding off doing it until we go here.)
Chaos
About the southern continent, would it be possible for other Scadrians to discover this method of using the Metallic Arts, or is it unique to the southern Scadrians?
Brandon Sanderson
It is technology-based rather than genetics based.
Nepene
If Ruin had won, what would his long term goals for the Cosmere be?
Brandon Sanderson
Ruin's goals and motives were about fulfilling the needs of the Shard inside of him. It overwhelmed his personality, and corrupted him. He would seek for all things to be reduced to a state of entropic equilibrium.
Nepene
You've mentioned several philosophical concepts used in the writing of your books, like Jung's collective unconsciousness, Plato's cave. Could you expand a bit on your use of those in your books, and whether you think it is necessary to use philosophy to make a good fantasy world?
Brandon Sanderson
I don't think it's necessary at all. The writer's own fascinations--whatever they are--can add to the writing experience. But yes, some philosophical ideas worked into my fiction. Plato's theory of the forms has always fascinated, and so the idea of a physical/cognitive/spiritual realm is certainly a product of this. Human perception of ideals has a lot to do with the cognitive realm, and a true ideal has a lot to do with the spiritual realm.
As for more examples, they're spread through my fiction. Spinoza is in there a lot, and Jung has a lot to do with the idea of spiritual connectivity (and how the Parshendi can all sing the same songs.)
Nepene
Not completely sure where Spinoaza comes in. I guess the shards are part of the natural world and have no personality without a human wielder.
Brandon Sanderson
Yes on Spinoza there, and also the idea of God being in everything, and everything of one substance. Unifying laws. Those sorts of things. (Less his determinism, though.)
ryanthelion
I know that you are very meticulous in developing your stories. Were the shardblades, shardplate, mistborn cloaks, or even Nightblood from Warbreaker developed in a similar fashion, or is it a more organic process to making cool weapons and armor? How do you blur the line between what makes sense, and what is just plain fun?
Brandon Sanderson
There are connections in the things you mentioned above, though I don't want to speak of specifics yet for risk of spoiling future revelations.
As for blurring the line between what makes sense and what is fun...I err on the side of the fun. However, part of my meticulous planning is about how to make the fun make sense. I feel that is part of what makes this genre interesting. I decided I wanted to do a story about the Knights Radiant, with the Plate and Blades. From there, I spent a long time thinking about what would make those kinds of weapons reasonable and important to a society.
You can do anything, but do try to focus on laying your groundwork and being consistent.
Cheese_Ninja
Did Kaladin say the words of the 2nd Ideal of the Windrunners in modern day Alethi or the ancient tongue that Dalinar uses in his visions?
Brandon Sanderson
He spoke them in his own language.
Satsuoni
You have mentioned that certain spren are an embodiment of concepts. How does that work for the concepts like honour, that can mean opposite things to different culture groups?
Brandon Sanderson
Human perception has a lot to do with why spren act like they do...
Satsuoni
Is it possible to soulforge yourself to have, say,a network of of blood vessels that would work as a self-renewing seal?
Brandon Sanderson
Clever idea, but not viable. The vessels would be too squishy, for one thing.
Satsuoni
Are bound spren like Syl individuals? What happens to their consciousness when their symbiont die?
Brandon Sanderson
Words of Radiance has some clues on this one.
Satsuoni
From which stage of development does human embryo on Scadrial gain Hemalurgic potential?
Brandon Sanderson
Conception.
Satsuoni
You said that every person on Scadrial has a bit of Preservation in them. It is possible, then, to accumulate enough Hemalurgic charge from killing normal people by, say, steel spike (at once, or in order), to make that spike grant Allomancy? Building on this, is it possible for the spike to accumulate charge while being imbedded in acceptor body, by killing people with the protruding end?
Brandon Sanderson
My, you're making the Scadrial magic systems sound a lot like the one from Nalthis.... Hm....
phrakture
You seem to be adept at creating interesting magic systems for your worlds - what is your creative process for creating something of this sort? Any hints as to what the next one might involve?
Brandon Sanderson
Next two magic systems you might see:
1) Disease magic. Bacteria have evolved to the point that they try to keep their hosts alive by granting them magical powers while you have the disease. So, you catch a cold, and can fly until you get over it.
2) I've got a very cool 'throwing spheres of light' magic that I'm working on...which, when you break it down, was inspired by seeing how accurate baseball pitchers were and thinking about how that could be weaponized in a fantasy world.
3) That guy with his ice soap has me thinking about "freezing stuff in water" magic. Like, potions that do things only after they thaw...
shdwfeather
One of the things I really like about your books is the creative and immersive backdrop that the stories take place in. I know you spend a lot of time (and words!) on the background material for these worlds. Will you ever publish your world-building notes?
Brandon Sanderson
I'd like to someday. The reason I haven't yet is because many of them contain cosmere-related notes that give huge spoilers for other books. I could just expunge those, but I feel it better to let things grow a little more and then do some worldbooks. The Mistborn RPG coming out this year is half worldbook, though, and has a lot of setting information from my notes.
luxgladius
Do you already have a fully fleshed-out idea of all 10 orders of the Knights Radiant, or are you still coming up with them and their Ideals?
Brandon Sanderson
All ten orders are finished and worldbuilt. (I feel pretty good about them.) However, I could decide to move some things around as I write.
unknown
Was Vallano, Szeth's grandfather, also a Truthless? And if not, what did he do to disgrace the Shin?
Brandon Sanderson
No, Vallano was not Truthless.
Szeth was a very respected member of his society, once. There are clues to what happened in his story, but you won't hear it in full until he gets his book. (Which will include his flashbacks.)
Renian
When will we see a book that basically revolves around the concept of the Cosmere and the shard-travelers? Basically, a book revolving around people like Hoid who can jump from shard to shard.
Brandon Sanderson
Third Mistborn Trilogy involves a lot of this. I MIGHT do some parallel stories showing more of what Hoid has been up to. He is a primary viewpoint protagonist of Dragonsteel, but that happens before all of the other books.
crucix
Probably a RAFO question but why does Syl have an aversion to shard equipment? Is it something inherited from Kaladin's interaction with shardbearers?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO. (You'll will find out eventually.)
Ted Herman (Paraphrased)
I asked for a personalization with some autobiographical details about Lift in the form of an ID.
Brandon Sanderson
Name: Lift
Date of Birth: A number greater than ten
Birthplace: With my mom
Eye color: Brown
blorcit
I've seen in your answers to previous questions that you are always open to changing aspects of your story so long as it's not already written in another book, or more importantly so that it doesn't contradict what the reader already knows.
That being said, how much of the Cosmere and its story would you say you already have a plan for? For example, do you more or less already know how each world and story ties into one another, or is that something that changes as you write? Given that there seem to be some constants in this universe (the number of shards, etc.), is there an end to these stories as a whole, or is it an ever-expanding universe?
Brandon Sanderson
Things do change as I evolve as a writer.
There is an end to this story. Dragonsteel-Kings-Mistborn are all fairly well planned out, but I must allow myself flexibility.
FirstRyder
This series will apparently be 10 books long, and for in-world reasons having it end up 9 or 11 books long would be inauspicious. Do you think you'll regret setting a pretty firm length on it, fifteen years down the road?
Brandon Sanderson
Honestly, I'll let myself drop by a few books if the story demands. I won't inflate it to ten if, in the long run, the story just can't hold it up. Right now, though, I've got a really solid outline.
It's ten books, though in my mind, there are really two five book arcs.
Chaos
It's a little odd that Preservation would inherently give up its power to fuel Allomancy, because you'd think he would preserve himself, you know? Does that make sense?
Brandon Sanderson
Preservation, as a Shard, is about preserving life, people, and the like. Not about self. No more than Ruin is about destroying self, or Cultivation is about growing herself.
Chaos
I'm curious whether there is a deeper significance here than Preservation simply needing to be Ruin's opposite.
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, there is, but I can't talk about it now.
Chaos
Allomancy provides many very dramatic effects, which some have noted is not very much like Preservation. Could you walk me through how Allomancy is of Preservation, though it does dramatic, dynamic things?
Brandon Sanderson
One of the 'basics' of the magic in all of the worlds is that the energy of Shards can fuel all kinds of interactions, not just interactions based on their personality/role. I did this because otherwise, the Magics would all be extremely limited.
The 'role' of the Shard has to do with the WAY the magic is obtained, not what it can do. So, in Preservation's case, the magic is a gift--allowing a person to preserve their own strength, and rely upon the strength granted by the magic. While Hemalurgy has a huge cost, ending in net entropy.
Chaos
Can Hoid jump through time? If so, can Shards jump through time?
Brandon Sanderson
Hoid, so far, has only moved forward in time. He has not 'lived' all of those years, but has used some time dilation techniques. That said, he is far older (both in relative and real time) than a normal person can live.
unknown
How often is a "weeping" in Way of Kings?
Brandon Sanderson
Once a year. Opposite it in the year is an extremely powerful highstorm.
eri_pl
When, relatively to the events in Way of Kings is/will be the nearest Weeping? (I ask, because I started wondering, if this powerful storm was, coincidentally, the one, during which... you know... the face in the clouds and all that.)
Brandon Sanderson
Well, there are ten months in year. If I haven't mentioned dates in the last book (I may or may not have) I am planning to in the next. So a timeline should be possible for fans to figure out...
