Dirigible (paraphrased)
If Shai had a gold shadow, and she used one of her Essence Stamps, would her gold shadow change to reflect her new self?
Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
Yes, because she is changing her soul so the gold shadow changes.
If Shai had a gold shadow, and she used one of her Essence Stamps, would her gold shadow change to reflect her new self?
Yes, because she is changing her soul so the gold shadow changes.
If you tapped blank Identity in an area, would you develop the area's accent?
It's part of what you need. You need to both blank your Identity and tap Connection to get the accent.
Are the Svrakiss cognitive shadows?
RAFO. But you expected that.
Is ReLuur's spike made of Atium?
RAFO. You get a card though. It's not that big of a spoiler, but the answer would bring up questions that are.
Does Silverlight exist solely in the Cognitive Realm?
Yes.
If Kelsier created a metal while holding Preservation that it would have acted the same as lerasium, though over time the properties of it might shift.
You said that Ryshadium experience sentience through a spren. But I just didn't understand how that's possible. Most of them are through tension, gravitation, *inaudible*... nothing Cognitive.
Yes, yes, yes. So all-- so non-sapient creatures that get Invested in don't gain powers until they gain *inaudible*.
How does that fit into the larger picture?
Yeah, how does that fit? It's mostly-- you can start seeing that-- things that forces are adapting to the Roshar ecology. Does that make sense? Because a lot of Rosharan-- other creatures-- have bonds with spren. Very common. And so--
I know. I noticed the chasmfiend *inaudible*, whatever you want to call it. I don't know how that works.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. You'll see the next book kind of explores it a little bit. But yes... but yeah. I'm just going to leave it at that.
What do you call it when a Faceless Immortal says two things that can't both be true?
Uhh... I dunno. What?
A kandra-diction.
*grinning* Oh yeah? Well, how do you know, when a Radiant shows up at your holiday party, that he'll be well-dressed?
Umm... no idea.
Because he's in-vest-ed.
The back five Stormlight Archive books are still planned to be the same five characters, but when he gets to those books he reserves the right to change them.
Ambition, the Shard *inaudible*. Is that the one you previously referred to as not on a planet?
Ambition would fulfill that requirement, but that's not the one I was referring to.
There was a point when the Heralds didn't need to draw Stormlight from gems, although the Stormlight-in-gems predates Honor's arrival.
There was a following conversation about this topic, about how a lot of the elements were there before Honor arrived, but he co-opted them. So, Stormlight were there, but there are big differences now.
He said ettmetal is chemically reactive, not nuclear.
The longer answer makes it sound like Harmonium isn't a Lerasium/Atium alloy, but a whole new metal. He described it as "super-cesium," and that its volatility was based on electrons, not on protons or neutrons.
"It is not unstable, it is reactive. So it's like a "super-cesium". It reacts so violently..."
The in-world explanation for the safehand is that some men found an old book that said, "masculine arts are two-handed, feminine arts are one-handed," and used it to keep women from getting Shardblades. The women retaliated by not letting men write.
Odium locked the Selish Shards in the Cognitive Realm to keep them from achieving sentience or someone Ascending.
Are the Cognitive Shadows on Braize the Shades of the Knights Radiant?
*RAFO card* There you are, there you are!
*holding out list of Allomantic metal symbols* Is ettmetal's symbol one of these four? *Points at the unused ones*
Uh, no, it is not. Ettmetal has it's own symbol.
Have we seen it?
I don't believe you have. Isaac... *inaudible*
*making connections internally* Oh, that's interesting, since we have seen harmonium's symbol.
You've seen his symbol? You've seen the symbol?
Yeah, we have. *momentary staredown*
*inaudible* it might have been the...
It looks lerasium but both sides. *waves hands around in the air like an idiot to pantomime the axis of reflection*
*looks crestfallen* Oh... Okay... okay, yep, he put it in. *inaudible* Okay, ettmetal's... Fine, fine, fine.
Am I allowed to tell people? I can keep it a secret if you want.
No, you can tell people. I mean, it's obvious *inaudible* The fact that ettmetal's so volatile. It's intended to be a *inaudible*.
Where did the surviving Elariels end up after HoA and in the Wax and Wayne Era?
All over, really.
I also asked about the connection between the spren and Surgebinder, such that the spren turns into what the Surgebinder wants. Like in Edgedancer, [Wyndle] turns into a bar of metal and into a Shardfork. Wyndle himself isn't "in tune" with Lift, so his turning into something that she needs with no prior warning...
Yeah, they actually mix. When the bonding is happening, what's happening is that the gaps in the souls are being filled with the spren's <essence>. And they are actually melding into one
*inaudible*
And they are actually melding into one individual *inaudible*.
<And the minds are separate?>
Yeah, mhm.
I also got confirmed that the metal that spren turn into is god metal.
I just remembered that someone asked about the whole movie deal thing, and Brandon gave a more thorough explanation.
What happened is that DMG, which is a Chinese company, came to him first about The Emperor's Soul, because they wanted to make stuff that has more Asian characters. And they wanted to do it in Hollywood, because Hollywood's seriously lacking in representation of Asians. So he sold that to them first, and then they called him back a couple months later asking about the entire Cosmere. At that time, Mistborn was still optioned by another group, but Brandon sold all the other stuff, and they started on The Way of Kings right away. And then as soon as Mistborn became available they bought that up, so that they had the entire cosmere. And he said that The Way of Kings is ahead right now, but Mistborn will likely be first, because it'll be easier to produce and stuff.
Let's see... *reading written question aloud* "Can you tell me anything new about the force that opposed Adonalsium?"
*writes* "I would count groups of people as a force."
Okay? So, I'm not saying that that's what it is, but when people ask that question and leave a lot of wiggle room... because I would count groups of people as a force that opposed him. So, I have not confirmed it's a group or anything like that. The question has a lot of wiggle room.
Who has the best and worst handwriting in the cosmere?
Hoid's is just terrible, but it can also be really beautiful when he wants to. But Brandon said he didn't have a real answer for this one.
When a spren changes into a weapon, are they locked into one specific design for that type of weapon? Like, if Syl chose to be a longsword, could she only become that specific longsword?
No, they can become whatever they want/need.
Will we ever get some sort of dictionary/guide to Aons or Forging? One that tells us how they're made, with what all the various parts of a seal mean and how we could theoretically design them?
We might, but it would be a ton of work for him to put together. He compared it to when people ask if we'll ever get the full text of The Way of Kings--the in-universe book--and he said that we might, but all he has is an outline.
Does TenSoon look like an Irish Wolfhound (which is how I've seen a lot of people draw him) or more like an actual wolf?
He looks more like a large, wolf-like dog, such as a husky or something. (Though more wolf-like than a husky; he was just using that as an example.)
If the technology for 3D printing--CNC milling and the like--existed on Sel, would a Forger be able to use it to create stamps, or would they have to do it by hand?
They would be able to, but since they have to still create the stamps themselves, they'd have to be the ones to model/draw the stamps.
One quick one: Stormlight breathing. Do you actually need to physically inhale or can you cognitively inhale? Like I can think about inhaling without actually inhaling?
You—this is possible, and—
Okay, like if you're trapped and you can't breathe, but you can think about breathing.
Yeah, yeah. That would be fine.
*Written:* So somewhere it says that the number of Breaths doesn't determine the power of the object. But are the number of Breaths directly tied to how much Investiture is in an object? You're repeatedly said that Nightblood is ridiculously heavily Invested, more so than Shardblades, Honorblades, or the Bands of Mourning. But it only has a thousand Breaths, which doesn't seem all that much from the point of view of the God King--Tenth Heightening, over 50,000.
So this is a RAFO, but you're starting to ask the right questions there. Okay?
*Writes:* RAFO
*Written:* Is Iyatil wandering around the cosmere (Roshar) with a heating medallion? She's a Southern Scadrian, so she needs one of those so she won't freeze to death in normal temperatures.
RAFO on that, but it's a question you should be asking.
*Writes:* RAFO
*Written:* If an Allomancer Worldhopper really wanted to hack the magic system and knew what they were doing, could they get their hands on some tanavastium, rayseium, or egdlium? Basically make god metals from the other Shards?
*Reading question:* If an Allomancer worldhopper really wanted to hack the magic system.. *mumble*
Uh, yes. This is possible.
*Writes:* Yes.
I asked whether aluminum blocking Investiture is simply an on/off situation, or whether different amounts/different alloys would inhibit it in different degree.
It was theoretically possible.
<I asked if, in the future, he would have Lift use a trident as her main Shard weapon.>
There may very well be a trident in the upcoming book.
Is the rapier a weapon that somebody who doesn't have a Shardblade would use on Roshar?
Why do you ask that?
You know why. Because of the last scene in Words of Radiance. The weapon was an unusual weapon that, well, she needed. *inaudible* odd form *inaudible* If it's common then you can understand why someone would have a Shardblade of that type.
Yes, so... you are on to something.
So that's a read and find out?
Yep, read and find out. You know how to read and find out. I'm not going to answer it, but *inaudible*.
Is Niccolò Machiavelli's political theory--the ends justify the means--incompatible with the Knights Radiant's First Oath?
No. Although many of the Orders of Knights Radiant would find Machiavelli's theory, that the ends justify the means, incompatible with additional oaths and/or values of that Order, there are some Orders who could accept a Machiavellian. (Brandon said that the Skybreakers are where a Machiavellian could find a home.)
At the end of the first Mistborn trilogy it's really significant that 1/16th of the soldiers who got really sick are now atium Mistings.
Yes.
So were there-- were 1/16th of the rest of them just *inaudible* just not significant?
But we know that there's more than sixteen metals. Wh--
Yes. Sixteen that he-- when Preservation set that all up. He, number one, was not all there. But he was trying to create sixteen as a symbol to say, "Hey, catch this. I've given you a clue-- uh-- help." And so it was devised specifically for that. "*inaudible* Something's going on here."
No, no, they would have been Mistings of other types as well.
Yeah.
Did he bump one of the other types then to make it sixteen?
Okay. Do you have in your head *inaudible*?
Chromium.
Yes, that's right. It would probably have been one of the metals that was difficult to get at that level of technology. It would have been chromium - chromium would be hard gather at that time. Actually, no, it would have been aluminum. *about a minute later, while signing someone else's book* Hold on, there's a caveat to that last answer. Let me finish signing this and expand on that. *pause* So, it would still have been aluminum, but not for the reason you're thinking. It would have been aluminum, but there's an asterisk next to that answer.
Chromium?
Okay. Interesting.
Hard to get chromium.
I've been thinking about--
Oh no! He bumped aluminum. Yeah, he bumped aluminum. Sorry I had to-- I changed my mind.
Oh!
*a moment later*
Okay, Chad? I have a <qualification> for you. I'll do this and then we'll...
*a moment later*
So...
On the sixteen or the *inaudible*...
The sixteen. So the answer is "yes," but it's not something-- it's not what you're thinking it is.
Okay.
Alright, there's an asterisk on it, okay? There's an asterisk on it, it's not what you're thinking. Uh, you're making-- you're making assumptions.
questioner's paraphrase, delete after transcription review: Based on the bit during the open Q&A about Odium splintering Dominion and Devotion and shoving their power into the Cognitive, and that blocking off the Spiritual, which makes Sel's magic so location (or Identity of location) based - if a Shardbearer traveled to Sel, could they still summon their Shardblade?
Transcription:
So from what you said about Odium sticking Devotion and Dominion in the Cognitive, if they *inaudible* Shardblade, well Shardbearer, and travelled to Sel would they *inaudible*?
Uh... what-- I'm going to RAFO that. I've never asked me that before. I guess I haven't really explained that whole thing before to people.
If Hoid were a Magic card, what colors would he be?
Uh, he would be five-color. But most most likely if he's gonna drop a color it's white.
OK. Now, the Weeping that happens each year on Roshar. Does that occur each time when the 3 moons are in a particular alignment?
No. It's more related to the planet's orbital position than the moons' position.
I always sort of got the impression that there were maybe... *waves hand* a dozen or so worldhoppers around *inaudible*. Now this [Arcanum Unbounded] completely blows that idea away.
Yep.
Approximately how many worldhoppers are there in the Silverlight community when Khriss is writing these essays?
The Silverlight community is a full-fledged city.
Alright... Well, that could be anything.
Well, it's not a village; it's a city. I'm gonna let you have a RAFO on the rest until I write the story set there. Let's say we're talking about much larger than people might have originally assumed. But not everyone in Silverlight is a worldhopper. You've got people who are-- that have been born there, and raised their whole lives there, and died there.
I actually had like a really-- theory I was developing the past couple of weeks about Regrowth, and healing, and the Cognitive Realm. Let's take a look at this...
*Written/Paraphrased:* In the cosmere, you have matter, mind, and soul. Obviously, the physical world is most well understood (same as ours) and the spiritual is most mysterious. When anybody dies (going off from info in Secret History) their soul, which was tied to their body, the Connection is broken and the soul/Cognitive Shadow appears in the Cognitive Realm then goes on to the Spiritual. If healing is applied at any moment while the soul/Cognitive Shadow is in the Cognitive Realm, the Connection can be reestablished and that is why Regrowth can heal recently dead. Type of wound Shardblade versus not may determine how fast the Shadow is sucked into the Spiritual Realm. Also amount of Investiture a soul contains. Souls = Investiture, or at least all of them contain some?
So that's a RAFO. We'll dig into that a little later.
Oh, *inaudible*. Am I close?
Yeah, you're on the right track.
I just read Edgedancer. I was just wondering... Did Ishar deceive Nalan on purpose or was he just wrong-- he had wrong information?
All the Heralds are insane.
Okay.
It manifests in different ways. Do not trust anything any Herald says. Ever.
Okay.
Nale trusts Ishar too much.
Okay, but so did he do it on purpose, or...?
Um... So "on purpose" is a difficult thing when you're referring to someone with the psychology that Ishar has.
Did he know what it was-- that it was a lie?
*sighs* Alright, I'll RAFO that until I get to him, but the answer is kind of a yes and a no. Okay? So there is part of him that knows and there is part of him that doesn't want to believe it. And yet the things he's been doing lately in Roshar are done because he knows what's coming.
Also, what did Lift get? If she didn't stop aging, what did she get? Read and find out?
Read and find out. It involves the way that she's getting Stormlight.
Where did you get the name for David's crystal grower?
I named it to annoy Peter Ahlstrom since he didn't like the names for Dawnslight and Harmsway.
Will the Everstorm only affect Parshendi or will it also affect those with Parshendi blood, like Horneaters?
RAFO.
What is Stick's telos?
To be the best stick it can.
Is gestation period for humans the same on Roshar as Earth?
Basically, yes.
How long has Khriss been cosmere-aware?
RAFO.
Does Wit know what became of Helaran?
Depends on where Wit was, so maybe.
Has Dalinar been on the Bondsmith path for a long time? How about Gavilar?
Yes to both.
Brandon said that Gavilar had been on the Bondsmith path for longer than Dalinar has been.
Why don't Mistborn use aluminum vials?
Because they are too rare and expensive, though aluminum utilization is increasing in the AOL era.