Dave DeLong
Is "Realmatic" pronounced "Real-matic" (like automatic) or "Realm-atic" (referring to the 3 Realms)?
Peter Ahlstrom
It's not like the word "real" followed by "matic." It's the word "realm" followed by "attic."
#451
Advanced Search
Search results:
Found 746 entries in 0.197 seconds.
#451
#452
Questioner
If a planet has no sentient life, does it have a Cognitive representation? If not, would the Cognitive area generate in Shadesmar whenever sentience appeared there?
Brandon Sanderson
People have started to talk about this, because it is a legit thing. So, if there is no sapient life, or even sentient life, if it's a dead rock out in space and nobody knows it's there, its manifestation in Shadesmar will be basically nothing. I say basically because the Shards are aware of it, so there's probably going to be some bit of something that manifests, but until the attention of sapient beings starts focusing on it, it's not going to manifest very much in Shadesmar. It might be like a patch of ground that is a couple feet wide. It is going to start growing as soon as they do, which distorts space in Shadesmar, and makes routes between planets change and more distance come between them. Which is very very odd, and very very interesting, and it's one of my favorite parts about the whole thing. It should kind of break your brain, and it shouldn't really make sense with our physics.
#453
Chaos
How much do you plan in the cosmere? There were a few things in Rhythm of War [that went in] a different direction, like anti-Investiture, that black sphere Gavilar had in the prologue being anti-Investiture, and Testament and Shallan, were those always part of the plan or options?
Brandon Sanderson
Those were always options. Anti-Investiture has been pretty core for a long time, there are a couple reasons for this. Number one I need to get certain resources into the cosmere for use in the future, and anti-Investiture is one of those. Another reason is I want to push Stormlight Archive more towards magic-tech, because I'm pushing Mistborn more towards Earth analog with Earth technology and then some cool fantastical things thrown in, but when you're using the technology. When you're using a radio on Scadrial, it's a radio. You know what a radio is. It works based on radio principles, and maybe you can do some wacky things with weight, but an airship is kind of an airship to them where as I want Roshar which is on the opposite end of that spectrum. Where an airship on Roshar is not an airship like you would imagine. Its not being propelled in normal ways it's working off all these weird magical things. And anti-Investiture was an important thing to get into the series for the future for that reason.
From book one I knew I needed magical healing for Roshar, [for] the stories I wanted to tell to work. And I needed some really powerful magical healing. Particularly for the Knights Radiant, because of the stories I wanted to tell, this meant I was going to be very much under cutting the danger of physical violence in The Stormlight Archive as we move forward as the characters became Radiants. It is really hard to kill a Radiant in combat and there need to be foils to that.
Beyond that from the first chapter of the first cosmere novel Elantris, death has not been the end. [hosts laugh] We start the first book with someone being resurrected. That's one of the main themes of the cosmere is a second chance at life. This is Raoden's story, this is Lightsong's story, this is Kelsier's story, this is a major theme of the cosmere, and I needed to be introducing into the cosmere a "dead is dead" mechanic. And I considered Shardblades for that for a while, before I even released Stormlight. No, it can't be Shardblades, because I can't have every battle - once lots of people have Shardblades then there's no purpose to the magical healing. So I needed another tool for the late part of the cosmere, when people have figured out Cognitive Shadows; How do you destroy a Cognitive Shadow? Well there are ways, but throw some anti-Investiture at them and that's guaranteed, you are gonna kill that Shadow, and I'd been pushing towards where to get this in, and this book felt like the right place. It was either this book or book five, and where it settled into this book is where I finally made the decision that I was gonna let Navani be a main character, which she had been pushing to be for a while, and I'd been pushing back. No, I deserve to have a scientist, an actual straight up scientist main character in The Stormlight who can dig into some of this stuff. I can self-indulge by doing that, as long as I balance it with Kaladin behind enemy lines fight sequences and things, for a more traditional structure. Because Navani's scenes do not have a traditional structure. They're like "we're going to do science now! But we're making up the science also?!"
#454
stargeak
In Mistborn 5, Shadows of Self, Wax chases Bleeder into the mist after the party where she was speaking in his mind to taunt him. As Wax jumps into the mist to follow, he has an internal monologue thinking about Vin. He says he can see her vaguely within the mist.
"Slight of frame, short hair splayed out as she moved, mistcloak fluttering behind her. It was a fancy, wasn't it?"
Has the mist become a self aware Splinter of Harmony similar to how the Stormfather operated with Honor? Also, since the mist "tuned" Vin to be able to take the Shard of Preservation, does the mist remember Vin in some form? And is it still connected to her similar to how a Returned is connected to their former self?
Brandon Sanderson
You're making some excellent theories here; I'm not sure if I want to stamp any of them out. I like where you're going on this. I will say that this is related to where, if you read in Words of Radiance, you will see odd things sometimes happen with Investiture. There is a scene (that I don't think a lot of people pick up on) where Syl is responding to Connection threads being built and is looking different than she should look and things like this. We're looking more at the Spiritual Realm and Spirit Webs and Connections and things like that. Not to stamp out any of your theories, but also to kind of direct you—often times when I'm writing pure Investiture or beings of Investiture, they respond to echoes in the Spiritual Realm. And like I said, you'll see this in Syl sometimes.
I'll leave it there. Continue theorizing but go that direction.
#455
Anushia Kandasivam
Let's talk about geek culture. So, geek culture in general, including science fiction and fantasy, has had its share of critics saying that it's still too male-dominated despite there being a rising number of prominent, well-respected, well-known female authors. Plus, there's still plenty of hostile misogynist and sexist behavior by male geeks towards female geeks. What do you think needs to be done to make geek culture as a whole, whether it's comics or gaming or books or conventions, more welcoming for women and girls?
Brandon Sanderson
Wow. I don't know if I'm the right person to ask, right? I am at the top of this social structure, and so asking me this question-- I mean I'll try to give an answer, but let's point out that I may not be the best person to answer this question. I see it a lot in Magic: The Gathering circles, where you go to the game stories, and there are just so many guys who are--
I wanna say this the right way. I have had female friends, who when they visit, feel like they are being evaluated by everyone in the room based on their dateability, primarily. And I think this could be a big part of the problem, is that-- maybe not emphasizing in your head, that when a woman enters our realm-- It shouldn't even be "our realm," right? There's my bias speaking right there. But when we look at women who walk into an area that has a lot of male dominance, and then everyone hits on her? I can't imagine how off-putting that would be, right?
I think we need to listen. I think, when women explain their experience in some of these circles, we need to be less dismissive. I mean, these are, like, 101-level things... Oh, man, I see these posts, and the immediate explaining of why they're wrong, and I'm like, "This is a person's experience. Their experience can't be wrong. It is what they experienced in life." It's not there for argument. It's their expressing who they are, and what they've been through.
So, what can we do? Boy. We can certainly listen better. We can try to make these atmospheres less focused on, like I said-- do a little less-- You see how much I'm struggling with this? Because I feel I need to listen better on this topic myself. And I need to have other people telling me. I'm not the one who needs to be saying what we can do.
I do think there's still a problem. There's obviously a problem, because people who are writing about it are saying there's a problem. And they're the ones who have experienced it. And I think that sci-fi/fantasy, in particular, we like to pride ourselves on being forward-thinking. This is what science fiction's all about, let's look to the future and try to imagine a better world. Sometimes, we imagine that better world by displaying a terrible one and saying, "Let's not become this." But either way, it's kind of about trying to imagine a better world. And fantasy, I think, doesn't look backward. fantasy is talking about the world we live in right now by using certain metaphors and storytelling.
So, yeah. We think that we're very good at this. And we need to be willing to acknowledge that we're not. And be willing to listen about how we're not. And be willing to change in the ways that people who are not me tell us we need to change.
So, I don't know if that's a good answer to your question. Because it's a hard question for me, specifically, to answer. My response would be, "Well, let's here what women who are having problems with-- Man, how can I even say it without-- Yeah, let's listen to the women, and see what they say.
#456
Alteroden
With Stormlight, the better the gem is cut, the less Stormlight it leaks, and the longer it holds its charge. If a gem was perfectly cut, on a molecular scale, would it leak Stormlight at all?
Brandon Sanderson
In a theoretical flawless gem, then no it would not.
Alteroden
Would it actually give off light?
Brandon Sanderson
[...] Theoretically no it would not, but it's not what you're thinking...
Alteroden
No no no, that’s not what I’m thinking, I figured that’s something totally different.
Brandon Sanderson
Well, actually, it probably would still give off light, because it's drawing out of the Spiritual Realm. So I’d say it still lights, but it doesn't leak. The leaking is not where the illumination is coming from. The illumination is coming from a direct... It's basically a light bulb screwed into the Spiritual Realm.
#457
Questioner
Can Leechers leech on other types of Investiture across the cosmere? And how do people power their powers on worlds?
Brandon Sanderson
So, Scadrians can use metal from other worlds. The metal is considered a facilitator, a key for reaching the Spiritual Realm, and distance doesn't matter for the Spiritual Realm. All of the Allomantic powers, Leechers in particular, they do have an influence with the other magic systems. Even as simple as a Shardblade would be very difficult, near impossible to push or pull, because of the level of Investiture it has. Copperclouds have some interesting ramifications, as well as Seekers have interesting ramifications, and Leechers would work on other magic systems as well. It is a little tricky how it interfaces sometimes, but it'll generally do what you're expecting it to do.
#458
Argent
Can Shards manifest a physical body that can actually interact with the Physical Realm?
Brandon Sanderson
If they wanted to, yes.
Argent
Was that the thing that Odium did at the end of Oathbringer or was that just a projection?
Brandon Sanderson
Umm, it starts to be really difficult to define when you're getting to these points because they generally are such massive wells of Investiture themselves that it's like, is this thing they're creating, like, they are kinda, y'know, then bending the three Realms around the like spacetime with lots of gravity so is that a projection? Is that a real thing? Does it matter? Does that definition--
Argent
Oh! At that point they are almost the same thing, right?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, exactly.
#459
Staufar
Nomad and Auxiliary refer to each other as knight and squire, even though Auxiliary is also referred to as a spren. Auxiliary also calls himself dead, even though “dead” spren usually cannot talk. However, we know that cognitive shadows are also referred to as spren by various people on Roshar. Based on this language, can we infer that, at some point before Nomad left Roshar, surgebinders learned how to Nahel bond with the cognitive shadows of deceased Knights Radiant instead of true spren?
Brandon Sanderson
Excellent question, that is a stretch of an assumption.
#460
Questioner
With spikes, would you be able to actually transfer Breaths, when they get to the other planets?
Brandon Sanderson
So spikes rip off pieces of the soul and so Breaths are not going to be part of the soul. You could maybe get a divine Breath but I haven't really decided on regular Breaths, they're kind of stuck there in the Physical Realm which is not a thing that spikes are dealing with. Divine Breath, potentially, because that's something that's actually melding onto your soul. But, you know, when you're using the Breaths they reach through to the Spiritual Realm so, maybe if you got it while the Breaths were kinetic, right, while you're using them, then you might be able to rip them off. I'm not a hundred percent certain on that one.
Bystander
There's still things to decide upon.
Brandon Sanderson
Yeah there's still things, like I have to kind of see. My instinct says no right now. But, you know, how they interact is not something that I have-- Yeah.
#461
life_b4_death
What is happening from the point of view of an observer in the physical realm when an object is soulcast? Are the constituent electrons, protons, and neutrons being rearranged into new forms? And from a 3 realms stand point, is the history of the material being rewritten? Instead of when that star went nova to create heavy metals, was it silicon instead of iron (for instance)?
Brandon Sanderson
I'll go ahead and RAFO this, but with a promise that answers will actually come some day.
#462
LewsTherinTelescope
In the Liar of Partinel samples, we see fain life is covered in skullmoss (and iirc seems to have it inside them, from a few mentions of eating fain-touched animals being deadly). If a fain being were to Ascend, would their body retain this skullmoss when they drop (I mean, Leras and Ati seemed to retain their clothes, so it wouldn't surprise me), or would it be killed off by the process?
(Actually, I'm curious about this with microorganisms and such in general with Vessels, but the fain life is what made me think of it.)
Brandon Sanderson
Imagine the body that drops after a Shard dies being the essence being recreated out of energy. It wasn't there all along--it was absorbed into the power, then drops back out as a kind of husk. But it's not literally the same atoms. There has been some strange E=MC2=Investiture shenanigans going on.
LewsTherinTelescope
Interesting. Is this similar to transitioning in and out of the Cognitive through a Perpendicularity?
And does this recreated thing include microorganisms (like the stomach bacteria or something), skullmoss, foot fungus, clothing, etc? Or just the minimum required to count as the body itself? (Leras and Ati tended to appear dressed, as well as Leras having his knife, but them choosing to appear in the Cognitive might not be the same thing as that body.)
Brandon Sanderson
I'll RAFO it here. Good questions as always, though, LTT.
#463
Questioner
And I also have a question about the nature of spren being dead. Specifically about whether or not they can be resurrected. Because ideas can never really die...
Brandon Sanderson
Ideas can never really die--
Questioner
... Cognitive creatures--
Brandon Sanderson
They are Cognitive creatures. This is theoretically possible but very difficult without the people who originally betrayed their oaths.
#464
MangoMongo
Those spren bodies that were brought into the Physical Realm by Ishar. Could an Awakener make it Lifeless?
Brandon Sanderson
This is within the realm of possibility.
MangoMongo
What about Forgery?
Brandon Sanderson
Forgery would be a little harder. Because you'd need to know what went wrong to make it go well. I'd say Forgery could accomplish this.
#465
Mason Wheeler
It seems that taking something metal that is Invested and melting it down, and reforging it, does not destroy the Investiture in it. For example the spike that got turned into a bullet.
Brandon Sanderson
Well, and the-- yeah. There are other examples as well.
Mason Wheeler
If that doesn't ruin its Invested nature, what would happen if Wax were to take one of his ironminds, have that melted and alloyed into steel, and then tried to burn it?
Brandon Sanderson
So you are saying mixing in-- right. Um, this would probably not work. But I'd have to go to the document on this one, because I've theorized in it. So I'm going to say probably won't work, but I have to go to my document, so Notes And Find Out. As soon as we get into the really detailed-- One of the things I want, even when I was building the Mistborn magics, is I wanted it to get really complicated. Because, my philosophy was making a wheel is easy to understand what's going on. Making a car uses all the same physics and simple tools, but is infinitely--well, you know, not infinitely--hugely more complex. Making a spaceship goes beyond that. And I wanted when we dug into all the actual mechanics it all works, but it's like the difference between making an abacus and making a computer. And we're starting to stray-- not into computer-making realms, but starting to stray into combustion-making realms, and so these are the sort of things that I just can't talk about off the cuff as easily. Because I have this document and I'm like "this, this, this, this." Does that makes sense?
So I'm going to say that probably wouldn't work. I believe what is going to happen there is you're probably going to end up with one of these things where you see a reservoir there but you can't access it that happens quite a bit when things get muddled once you mix in other metals and things like that. But I can't give you 100% on that without the notes to double check myself.
#466
Questioner
Could Lift be given a Hemalurgic spike that stores nutrition?
Brandon Sanderson
So... I'm not sure what a Hemalurgic spike that does nutrition... like, something that gives them the Feruchemical power of storing nutrition? Storing calories? That is not outside the realm of possibility. There are not systems in place for it right now, but that is not outside the realm of possibility.
#467
Ironeyes
So harmonium, we have a working theory that the reason it's so volatile is because some of the subatomic particles are associated with Ruin and some of them are [of?] Preservation. Is that true?
Brandon Sanderson
Yeah, that's basically what's going on is that it's creating a very unstable metal. Now, it is in the nature of the Cosmere not a compound but an element. But, you could call it a subatomic particle sure. It's very volatile because it is in nature spiritually in contrast with itself. And so though it is a single element rather than a compound, the spiritual nature is not happy as it is, and you can set up in the physical realm, through reactivity things that would just rip it apart and really your energy is not, your energy in that is actually pulling from the Spiritual realm, and so that's why it can be so much more explosive than even the chemistry would account for.
Ironeyes
So it's not that the subatomic particles are invested, it's that they have a spiritual identity which causes them to...
Brandon Sanderson
Yes.
Ironeyes
So then it's not creating an oxide because after the spiritual energy goes away from the explosion then it's a different metal, right?
Brandon Sanderson
Right, and...
Ironeyes
So you can't find harmonium oxide in the water afterwards.
Brandon Sanderson
Right right right right. Because it's not, it's, yeah. But you might be able to find something else, which is really relevant to the Cosmere. And to Scadrial.
Ironeyes
So the core elements, the core particles, having extra repulsion causes them to have a nuclear potential.
Brandon Sanderson
I would not call it nuclear because it's not the same exact thing. But there is a Cosmere equivalent. To - I mean, you could do nuclear power just the same in the Cosmere, but since we have a third kind of state of matter, right? Matter, energy, Investiture. You have a third axis that, you know, you can release energy from matter, you can release investiture from matter, and things like that. So it's similar, but following its own rules that I have a little more - that are controlled by me, right, that are built on this idea. So once you add *inaudible*, matter now can exist in this third state, you get all sorts of weird things, which one of the things that happens is, you can get an energy release in sort of the same way. A reaction, I'm not going to call it a nuclear reaction, but of the same vein.
#468
Questioner
I want to ask how were the Realms created and does their creation have anything to do with Adonalsium and the Shattering?
Brandon Sanderson
So, good question. The Realms predate the Shattering of Adonalsium and are part of the fundamental physics of the cosmere. So they would have been created at the equivalent of the cosmere Big Bang when time was created and things like that.
#469
Ted Bade
As an author, you can completely control all aspects of a story, the environment, and the characters in the story. When you move to a game realm, there will be many limitations and aspects you can't or won't control. How important is it to get "right" the following aspects of your fantasy realm? What do you plan to do to ensure they work?
a. The look and feel of the environment, which includes environmental sounds, and music
b. Character dialogue and interactions, as well as NPC dialogue and interactions
c. The storyline and sequences of events
d. Other aspects very important to you
Brandon Sanderson
This is quite an in-depth question. Certainly the things you mentioned, that you can't control all aspects of the story, are a consideration. The bigger thing for me with a video game, that is different from my own work, is that a video game is a collaboration. A novel in most cases is a solo work, certainly with the help of talented editing staff and art direction and things like that—but at the end of the day, I can do the bulk of the work on the book myself. On a video game, I can't. Nor would I want to.
On a video game, you take a step toward films where you need to have people who you trust working on aspects of the game that you yourself can't do. Certainly the look and feel and all these things you're talking about—I can oversee them, and Little Orbit has been great; they're showing me concept art and things and saying, do you like this or do you like this? What feels more like Mistborn to you? But at the end of the day, I have to let them do their job, which is program a great game, and come up with an engaging and fun system.
I can have some input in it myself, such as the dialogue and story—I can step in and say hey, I know how to do this; let me do it. So I have done that for this game—I've stepped in and I'm writing the dialogue and the story myself, and I'm going to try to make it the best it can be to match Mistborn. From there I'm working with and trusting people whose job it is to make great games be great.
#470
Trae
Previously, you've revealed that the mechanism that determines the Returned on Nalthis is a decision of a sapient entity... Is the determination by which the entity that selects the recipient of a Divine Breath to come back as a Returned predicated on that recipient fulfilling some purpose in the Physical Realm?
Brandon Sanderson
...Basically they are asking... "Why does the entity that picks who Returns, why did they pick who they did?" And, your question kind of implies there's, like, specific tasks to fulfill. I'm gonna say, there aren't specifics, but there are certain things this entity is looking for--
Trae
In the Physical Realm?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes. There are certain things that they are looking for. Now, sometimes-- let's just say this entity is not necessarily the most consistent of entities in the cosmere when it comes to making decisions like this. But there are certain things they are looking for.
#471
TheFoxQR (paraphrased)
In Awakening, can you with some mental gymnastics, view yourself as both the donor and recipient of Breaths? Is this how Vasher hides his Divine Breath (and consequently nature), by tucking it inside of himself rather than an external object? Theoretically, can you Awaken yourself, and with the right Commands enhance/extend yourself Cognitively, like how burning atium comes with Cognitive enhancements to process the raw information?
Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
This is a theory worth exploring. You're not quite there, but you are on to something.
#472
Argent
Both times when Kaladin has had to survive a Highstorm outside, he finds himself in an area of unnatural calm. Is the eye of the Highstorm not entirely in the physical realm? I've had this feeling that the calm area pulls people into Shadesmar, at least a little...
Brandon Sanderson
This is not 100% physical realm.
#473
kdt05b
Can Megan manifest a Cosmere reality? The Reckoners is not part of the Cosmere, but one of they main character's power is reaching into alternate dimensions. I want to see some epics on Roshar!
Brandon Sanderson
I wanted to avoid multi-verse theory type things in the Cosmere, in part because the Wheel of Time delved into these concepts, and even before working on the WoT was looking for ways to keep the Cosmere distinctive from it.
Beyond that, multiverses (along with time travel) really play havoc with continuity. I felt the cosmere was stronger if I kept to the three Realms--that's complex enough. Assume that in the cosmere, while different possible futures/pasts do branch (and can be seen) things like Allomantic gold are NOT looking at other realities--and there is only one reality, once events actually occur.
This does mean that time travel into the past is not going to be a factor in the cosmere.
This separation does let me divide these concepts off and play with them in other realms (like the Reckoners) where they're 'quarantined' so to speak.
#474
Questioner
Is AonDor Physical, Spiritual, or Cognitive?
Brandon Sanderson
AonDor is mixed up in all three. So I would say more Cognitive and Spiritual than it is Physical, but it is mixed up in all three.
#475
Questioner
The dead Shardblades, could you possibly get Stormlight into them to reawaken them?
Brandon Sanderson
Dead Shardblade, could you pump enough Stormlight into them? That alone would not be enough.
Questioner
So you would have to find someone to re-swear with oaths?
Brandon Sanderson
There is something broken on the Spiritual Realm because of the broken oath and simple Stormlight will not fix that.
Questioner
So say--
Brandon Sanderson
If the person were still alive and could re-swear the oath then yes.
Questioner
But someone like [...] could go [...] the Spiritual Realm?
Brandon Sanderson
It is not outside of reason but it would be very, very, very difficult.
#476
Brandon Sanderson
You got it wrong. I'm not busy because I'm writing other books, I'm working on the licensing deals! Cardboard shardplate! Official Bridge Four loincloths! "There's spren in my poop" toilet paper!
Rutthed
Serious question: are there poopspren, and how would they fare in indoor plumbing situations?
Brandon Sanderson
Well, it depends on how you're defining spren. In the books, they don't make a distinction, but there are several varieties. At the basic level, everything has an identity--a soul, you might say, but more than that. This is based on how it is viewed, and how long it has been viewed that way. Feces would have this, but wouldn't have a very strong cognitive identity because of its transitional nature.
Other types of spren, the type that characters see and interact with, are cognitive ideals or concepts which have taken on literal personification over time. These are usually related to forces or emotions, and don't relate to this particular topic.
And that's far more than I ever expected to say on this...
#477
Kythis
How did Pattern actually become a Shardblade even though he hadn't been fully pulled into the Physical Realm?
Brandon Sanderson
He had been pulled into the Physical Realm before when Shallan was younger, and she almost broke her bond. And in so doing . . .
Kythis
But he didn't go mad.
Brandon Sanderson
She didn't completely break the bond. She didn't reject him completely. But it was dangerous there for a while.
#478
LittleMas42
Does Intent reflect on the Spiritual or Cognitive aspects of Intent?
Brandon Sanderson
Yeah. Intent can influence that, but it's going to be very much based on the specific instances. I'm not sure exactly what specific instance you're talking about but it can.
LittleMas42
Like the Elantrians, when they're drawing Aons and their Intent to draw an Aon.
Brandon Sanderson
Their Intent to draw an Aon is really important and in the same way your Intent to Awaken is really important, and in the same way there are some things in Roshar where your Intent is really important to what you're doing also.
LittleMas42
And does that reflect like how Shallan can see, "I am a stick" by touching the bead in the Cognitive?
Brandon Sanderson
Is that by Intent? Not exactly the same mechanism going on right there.
#479
Blightsong
How much did Super Mind Taravangian know about the Cosmere as a whole, roughly, rough estimate.
Brandon Sanderson
He had a little bit of knowledge. Not as much as... not as much conscious knowledge.
Blightsong
Did he guess about the three realms?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, he knew about the three realms. He didn't have to guess on that, he had read philosophy and things, that knowledge is there on Roshar
#480
wicktacular
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*?
Brandon Sanderson
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.
#481
Questioner
I've got a list of various Cosmere bits of metal and I was wondering if you would rank them from like one to ten or just easy to difficult on how hard it would be to steelpush on them. So with one being just a regular coin, ten being like when the Lord Ruler was moving bits of glass on the floor, so like metal inside a person's body.
Brandon Sanderson
It depends on how strong the Investiture in them is.
Questioner
Is that gonna be the answer for all of these?
Brandon Sanderson
Probably!
Questioner
How about a spike charged with Hemalurgy?
Brandon Sanderson
A spike charged with Hemalurgy... that depends on...
Questioner
Not in a person.
Brandon Sanderson
Depends on how strong, yeah, a spike is moderately, (in the realm of these kinds of things) moderately easy to push on because a spike does not rip off very much Investiture. Only enough to short circuit the soul, and less it over time. I would put that at the bottom, with the top being very hard, to be one of the easier things.
Questioner
How about a metalmind that is full?
Brandon Sanderson
That is full? That is going to be middle of the realm of the, yeah. Generally easier than, for instance, a Shardblade which is going to be very hard.
Questioner #2
A Shardblade is [inaudible] actually metal? [metal]-ish?
Brandon Sanderson
Ish. Is Lerasium a metal? Yeah.
Questioner
So that'd be the same for Shardplate too?
Brandon Sanderson
Shardplate and Blade are very hard. Blade is probably gonna be a little harder.
Questioner
A Half-shard?
Brandon Sanderson
A Half-shard shield? That's gonna be moderate.
Questioner
Nightblood? I imagine that being hard.
Brandon Sanderson
Hard, of all the things you've listed, that is going to be the hardest. Far beyond even a Sharblade.
Questioner
Far beyond metal inside a person?
Brandon Sanderson
Uh, yes. Depending on how invested the person is.
Questioner
If somebody was invested as much as Nightblood?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, for instance the God King, right. At the end with all those Breaths. Pushing something inside of him, getting through all of that? Gonna be real hard. Average person on Scadrial? You've seen how hard that is. A drab? Much easier.
Questioner
That was my next one, or no, sorry not a drab. A lifeless?
Brandon Sanderson
A Lifeless, yeah. Even... yeah. Lifeless are kind of weird because they've had their soul leave but then they've had a replacement stuck in in the form of Breath which leaves them in a very weird position compared to a drab which has had part of their Investiture ripped away but a majority remains, so, anyways. I'm going to give you one more. Pick your favorite.
Questioner
A soulstamped piece of metal?
Brandon Sanderson
A soulstamped piece of metal is going to be on the lower, easier side. Not a lot of Investiture going on in a soulstamp.
#482
Argent
Investiture in the Cosmere when used goes to the Spiritual Realm, except in one place. What determines which Realm Investiture returns to when it's being used?
Brandon Sanderson
Too many factors for me to actually say right here, Evgeni, so I'm gonna RAFO this one. There are lots of reasons that it could go in different ways and different places.
Billy Todd
How many of those reasons are rule of cool?
Brandon Sanderson
Rule of Cool is definitely a reason. I think he's trying to get at why on Sel things are weird, and I have not explained why things are weird on Sel yet.
#483
Questioner
I kind of envision the Old Magic working a little bit like Hemalurgy, where some-- takes a part of the Physical DNA of the person and transmutes it onto the Cognitive DNA because everything seems to be a Cognitive shift for the person, am I thinking along the right lines?
Brandon Sanderson
You are thinking along very-- Yes you are thinking along the right lines. I won’t tell you exactly but you are thinking along the right lines.
#484
Lhyonnaes (paraphrased)
So, at the end of Mistborn Era 1, Sazed takes up both [Preservation] and Ruin, Shards which are obviously fairly diametrically opposed. Secret History implies that Sazed is able to hold both of them at once because of (for lack of a better term) who he is, and therefore implies that other people might not be able to do the same. Is that true? What would happen if someone tried to take up multiple shards and didn't have those qualifications?
Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
Sazed was uniquely able, yes. Usually there would be an imbalance favoring one shard, which would override or push out the other.
Lhyonnaes (paraphrased)
Like, physically expulse?
Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
Right. Not necessarily, but yes.
Lhyonnaes (paraphrased)
So what would happen then? Would it just float around? Would it Splinter? Could it be dragged into the Cognitive, like on Sel?
Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
Oh, you guys finally figured that one out?
Lhyonnaes (paraphrased)
No, no, it's- it's in the book.
*points to Arcanum Unbounded*
Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
Right, yeah, I gave you that one. But it depends- it depends on the circumstances. It might Splinter. In the right circumstances, it might obtain its own sentience. Or it might seek out a holder on its own.
Lhyonnaes (paraphrased)
Wait, you mean, sentience without a holder? Just...?
Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
In the right circumstances, yeah.
Lhyonnaes (paraphrased)
And if it sought a holder, it would be inclined to find someone that would fit better with its intent?
Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
Yeah.
Lhyonnaes (paraphrased)
And these circumstances would also depend on which Shards are taken up? Like, if they're less opposed that Ruin and Preservation?
Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
Yeah, exactly.
#485
Tom Goldthwait
At any point in the Rosharan history, was it possible to form a Nahel bond without swearing oaths?
Brandon Sanderson
"Nahel bond" is the phrase used for a bond between a spren and a being from the Physical Realm. That is the definition of it. So the answer to that is yes; it's currently possible right now. It's how greatshells exist and grow to the size they do. It's how Ryshadium exist. Those are Nahel bonds also.
What you're asking is if a sapient spren, a spren and a sapient individual, forming what we currently call the Radiant bond, which has access to much greater power; was that possible without swearing oaths? Yes and no. The formalization of the oaths and the Orders aligned with certain spren did take a little bit of time to come together. It was possible to form a Nahel bond before that, but it was not a Radiant bond accessing the levels of powers that are currently possible. So it's another one of these "yes and no" answers, if that makes any sense.
You could find a Nahel bond... In fact, many would call the bond between the singers and the spren that give them forms Nahel bonds. It may not fit fully into the categorization that most people would use it for, but you could kinda call that the same thing.
#486
lupicorn
Hi Brandon,
I was wondering about how color-based magic like Soulcasters would work before the terms that define the colors existed. I know the Spiritual Realm is supposed to be associated with color and sound (maybe due to the mathematical basis of wavelengths?), but it doesn't seem like the exact wavelengths of the gemstones used in Soulcasters matter as much as whether they're understood as being specific colors. Does the existence of a color category precede the existence of a distinct magical effect or would the effect exist regardless? Like, before the language of the first inhabitants of the Rosharan system had words to differentiate between green and yellow would heliodors and emeralds have produced the same effect? Or smokestone and amethyst before the existence of the blue category?
I have a feeling the answer is going to be similar to why the Bands of Mourning couldn't be used before they were known to be the Bands of Mourning but I thought I'd ask.
Brandon Sanderson
So, the color theory things in a lot of the cosmere are deeply integrated with the ideas of perception. I've mentioned before that some gemstones, for example, are nearly identical chemically, but are different colors--and so work differently in the magic. This is about perceptions.
Linguistics certainly has a hand in shaping our perceptions of things. And so yes, the direction you're theorizing here has merit, but I'm going to have to RAFO details for now.
#487
Questioner
How many different worlds of the cosmere has Nightblood been to in total? By which I mean, been present in the Physical Realm of that world.
Brandon Sanderson
More than two.
#488
dvoraen
When Dalinar teleports away from Vedenar back to Urithiru, the Thrill immediately comes to him even though he just went a very large distance away. Was this due to Odium talking to him directly at that point, or did Odium move Nergaoul there to maintain the effect of the Thrill, or was Dalinar already Connected to/consumed by Nergaoul and the distance effectively didn't matter because Spiritual Realm Things(tm)?
Brandon Sanderson
Dalinar's feelings are not always the Thrill. A part of him legitimately feels these emotions--and there are other things happening as well. (Either way, Odium did not move Negaoul in that scene.)
#489
Brandon Sanderson
My second book was called Star's End. I've looked back at Star's End; it is not good. But it is the first place where it's like, "Hey, maybe this guy could be good, someday." I was really interested in supernovas at the time; I'd been researching them, I'd taken an astronomy class, I'm like, "I'm gonna write a story about a research station at the edge of a star that's about to go nova." And the idea is that they're gonna try to capture the energy. They're gonna do some weird Dyson sphere thing where they're just gonna try to get all the energy out of a supernova. That was the premise. And then there's a murder mystery that happens on the station that's monitoring this. And the main character is somebody who's sent to take over the station. He gets there, there's a murder, and he's like, "I've gotta figure out what's going on with this." So murder mystery on a space station.
It does do some weird things. Kaz, from the Alcatraz books, is a transplant from this. He showed up first in Star's End. And there is an entity that lives outside of time that is contacting the main character, a very strange spren-like being way before the sprens were happening, that doesn't really belong in the story. But I wanted a cool alien. It doesn't really fit. So the idea: this creature lives outside of time and space and can influence probability very slightly inside the realm where time and space matters. And so, has influence, so random collections of things have happened that leave messages. So you communicate with this thing by taking a panel off, and you're fixing something, and you look, and the panel, accidentally some words have been scratched in there, that the person scratching them didn't know why they were scratching. Or it's just random happenstance; it's a message from this being outside of time and space.
#490
Phillip Carroll
You teach a class at BYU. What are some of the typical mistakes you find writers in that class make?
Brandon Sanderson
Oh, there's a whole host of things we can talk about in this realm. I teach the class because I actually took the class when I was an undergraduate, and they were looking for a teacher—the teacher who was teaching it moved on—and I took it on because I didn't want them to cancel it. It's how to write science fiction and fantasy. And I would say that one of the big early issues with fantasy and science fiction writers is the infodump. They don't know how to balance those early pages, those early chapters, in making it interesting and exciting without dumping a whole bunch of worldbuilding on us, which is a real challenge because...we just had a panel on this here at the con; worldbuilding is what we read science fiction and fantasy for; it's the cool stuff; it's the cream that drives us to read this; it's what we love, and yet, throwing too much on us at the beginning can really stifle a book, and I would say that's a big rookie mistake.
Another big rookie mistake is assuming that all it takes is writing one book. Most authors, you know, you learn to write by writing. I like to use the metaphor lately of learning to hit a baseball with a baseball bat. You only learn to do that by practicing; you can't read about hitting a baseball and then go out and know how to do it. Certainly reading about it is going to help you with some things, and as you're swinging that baseball bat, the pros are not thinking about which muscles they're moving. They're not thinking about necessarily even their stance at that point; they've just done it so much and done it so well that they get to the point that they can do it, second nature. And that's what a writer wants to learn to do. And you do that by, at the beginning, you do think about your stance. You do think about your grip. You do work on these...you target certain things and you learn to extend the metaphor. You work on your prose or you work on your characters, or you specifically hone in on this, but at the end of the day, writing a lot and practicing is what's going to teach you to fix problems in your writing by instinct. And I wrote thirteen novels before I sold one. I don't think everyone has to do that, but I certainly think that your first job to do is to finish one novel, and then you need to start writing a second one.
#491
yulerule
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?
Brandon Sanderson
You—this is possible, and—
yulerule
Okay, like if you're trapped and you can't breathe, but you can think about breathing.
Brandon Sanderson
Yeah, yeah. That would be fine.
#492
Argent
Are there Aviar who grant Physical abilities?
Brandon Sanderson
Technically, yes.
Argent
'Cause we’ve seen Spiritual, we've seen Cognitive...
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, there are.
#493
Steeldancer
A while back, you mentioned that if certain circumstances hadn't happened on Taldain, that Taldainians... the people on Taldain probably would've been the first to space. Which interests me greatly, because they don't really have a magic system that is very conducive to faster than light travel.
Brandon Sanderson
I didn't say--did I say FTL?
Steeldancer
You didn't, that's true, but that doesn't change my question. So my question is, is there a method, other than Allomantic ways and Surgebinding ways, for faster than light, that could be achieved on any minor Shardworld, as long as they have access to Investiture?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, there is, but it depends on if you could get in Shadesmar. You could travel FTL in the Physical Realm through Shadesmar. Basically, just take a spaceship in Shadesmar and travel between Shardpools and you've achieved FTL. Because travel through Shadesmar, you could walk between planets in Shadesmar. So anyone who can get in and out of Shadesmar reliably can FTL. Ways in and out of Shadesmar are very rare, which is extremely limiting, but it is possible.
#494
alanthiana
Allomancy is such a unique form of magic, in the fantasy realm of books. What was your inspiration in forming it?
Brandon Sanderson
A mix of many things inspired Allomancy. The 'feel' of a magic that was really just a new branch of physics, as I spoke about in another post. Alchemy, which is fascinating to me from the standpoint of its place on the border, is another. Real scientists believed in Alchemy, but had to sort out that it was not scientific. It was a time of great thought, and a time when science and 'magic' were mixed in what now seems like strange ways.
Dune was an inspiration (having a limited resource, though I didn't limit it nearly as much, to give an economic side to the magic.) Vector physics was a big influence, as was the fact that I wanted to write a heist story. I therefore designed powers that worked for thieves. The 'burning' of metals was chosen because it resonated with science--the basic way we gain energy is by ingesting things and breaking them down for chemical energy. I wanted something that felt like it had one foot in science, but was also very magical.
#495
/u/brnbrn1996 (paraphrased)
Is it possible for a sentient bit of Investiture to pick up a Shard? Like a spren or Nightblood?
Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
It would be possible yes, well, for a spren or a seon for example, it would. Nightblood could theoretically but it would be difficult for various reasons.
/u/brnbrn1996 (paraphrased)
Right, because he has no hands.
Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
*graciously chuckles at my dumb joke*
/u/brnbrn1996 (paraphrased)
Would they have to be embodied to be able to actually use it effectively, or would they have the same limitations as Kelsier did when he was a cognitive shadow ?
Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
They would have the same limitations yes, but there are ways around that.
/u/brnbrn1996 (paraphrased)
Right, like Ishar is working on.
Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
Right.
#496
Questioner
So I have a question about surges. So in this book they use this very Spiritual Adhesion. Do all of the surges have applications in each of the different realms?
Brandon Sanderson
To an extent yes, but some of them are more focused on it than others, on different levels.
#497
Questioner (paraphrased)
In order to use magic from one world on another world, do they need a bit of [the first world's] Shard with you?
Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
It helps a lot. But there are other ways to do it. What's going on in the Cosmere is people have 3 sets of DNA. They have Physical DNA, Spiritual DNA, and Cognitive DNA. Their Spiritual DNA is what encodes the magic system into them, their Investiture. So if you can find a way to rewrite your Spiritual DNA, you can do all kinds of funky things. That's what Hemalurgy does. It rips off a piece of someone else's soul, staples it to yours. So if you went with a Hemalurgic spike to the right place, ripped off a piece of someone's soul and stapled it to yourself, you could create short circuits that will let you do all kinds of goofy stuff.
#498
Questioner
At the end of the trilogy, Sazed communicates with Kelsier, so they exist in the afterlife, of some sort. You've got some concept of an afterlife. Is it uniform across the cosmere?
Brandon Sanderson
What is happening there is not actually technically an afterlife, though it kind of is. It's what we call a cognitive shadow. It's when your spirit is not moving on yet. So there is a Beyond, but there is a -- basically that's what we would call in our world a ghost, and there are actually magic systems based around that. In fact, the story I have coming out in George R.R. Martin’s next anthology is a ghost story involving this same -- it is cosmere based. Yes, that would be consistent. They don’t all have the same mythology regarding it, but it would be consistent. What happened to Kelsier could have happened on any of the planets.
#499
Kurkistan
Are the changing beauty standards of Returned and the "plausibility" of Forgeries determined by the same kind of "cognitive ideals or concepts which have taken on literal personification over time" that some types of Spren represent?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes. These things all work according to the same fundamental framework.
#500
Questioner
So Allomantic Savants. So I was curious-- That system-- When that happens, is it purely physiological, or is there something else happening in terms of--
Brandon Sanderson
Uhh, it's physiological in a cosmere sense, but that can involve your Cognitive and Spiritual aspects.
Questioner
I guess the question there is, are there other similar processes to savantism with other--
Brandon Sanderson
Yeah, yeah you've seen it. So, Soulcasters.
Argent
Where their skin turns--
Brandon Sanderson
Where they're slowly being-- their spirit is slowly being merged and infused with Investiture that is having Physical ramifications. It's the same thing.