#9851
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#9851
#9852
Questioner
Why don't Northern Lights ever appear in the Era One Mistborn trilogy? If Luthadel is situated at the Magnetic North Pole?
Brandon Sanderson
It has-- ‘Cause as I understand--has to do with-- what is it coming off the sun--
littlewilson
Solar flares?
Brandon Sanderson
That cause the aurora borealis. It's not just the magnetic-- There's physics involved which are not relevant in the Mistborn world.
#9853
Questioner
I was curious, what would happen if a full Mistborn burned lerasium? What would the Allomantic powers be?
Brandon Sanderson
Oohh, excellent, excellent question. So, I have not revealed what lerasium does if you already have Investiture. So, the answer to that is a RAFO. We've actually had like three people ask that tonight, so there must have been a discussion on the Sh-- the forums about it and I didn't answer them, so I can't answer you.
#9854
Questioner
*reading a question from a friend* He asks you, "How a dead Splinter [Sliver] can interact with the physical world," and the follow up, "What could they do?"
Brandon Sanderson
A dead Splinter... So something like a dead...
Questioner
Someone who's held the power and let go of it, so someone like... someone like...
Brandon Sanderson
Someone like the Lord Ruler.
Questioner
Yeah, Lord Ruler or Vin or <someone like that>.
Brandon Sanderson
Okay, so... How could they interact with the world?
Questioner
Yeah, the physical world.
Brandon Sanderson
So they would have some of the same problems that Kelsier had. But would have slightly more advantages than him. So for instance, speaking to the mad is something they could probably do.
Questioner
Because Kelsier can't do that.
Brandon Sanderson
What's that?
Questioner
Because Kelsier can't?
Brandon Sanderson
He can't?
Questioner
He can?
Brandon Sanderson
Yeah, in Secret History he's able to speak to them. He has a lot of trouble getting through, but he can. So yeah. So I-- read Secret History and... *stutters* <a bunch> of the same answers. But they would be slightly more Invested than Kelsier was... No, but then he... yeah... They'd be about roughly the same.
#9855
Questioner
I want Megan to have a novella.
Brandon Sanderson
It's possible. Most likely, Mizzy will get a story, if I do another Reckoners. She would be the next most likely. But I can see doing a Megan story.
#9856
Questioner
When Syl says in The Way of Kings that she had been with other men who have killed. Is she-- Why is she able to say that?
Brandon Sanderson
Syl's memories, the longer she's bonded the more access to them she has, from times before. She knows some of these things. She'll never get it all back.
Questioner
From the time before Kaladin.
Brandon Sanderson
From before Kaladin, from before the Recreance, yes.
#9857
Questioner
How much creative control does Graphic Audio give you?
Brandon Sanderson
Graphic Audio, I give them pretty much free rein. I like what they've done. So with Graphic Audio, I generally don't even cast the people or anything. I just say, "Do your thing."
#9858
nike_dunks
Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized Lopens or 1 Lopen-sized duck?
Brandon Sanderson
One Lopen sized duck, assuming it's not a Surgebinder.
#9859
TheOneWithWen
Seeing that "Oathbringer" is looking like the definitive title, I got a small question. I know we all think of the sword when we hear "Oathbringer", but given that TWoK and WoR where titles of books within the books, I would like to know if Oathbringer may be a book too.
I find it unlikely, but I would really like it. I loved how I could be reading the same book that the characters (I know, not really, but you get the idea)
Brandon Sanderson
This will all make sense eventually.
#9860
Questioner
Would you consider doing a Kickstarter for the Mistborn movie?
Brandon Sanderson
I would not consider that right now. The reason being that I think that Kickstartering movies can happen, but it would need to be done by somebody who knows how to make movies. Or at least who has produced movies. It doesn't have to be done by the director, but it needs to be somebody who knows you can guarantee put it together. If I did a Kickstarter... I don't know. I can't promise you that I know how to use all this correctly and make the film the right way. I think you will see this happening more in the future, and if it starts becoming a thing, maybe I can approach the right people who would be interested and we can make it happen. But currently, it is not something that I would consider doing.
#9861
Drew Bailey
Reading the BoM Ch. 2 preview, would "welch on a promise" be an idiom in a universe without Wales? Is Earth in the Cosmere?
Brandon Sanderson (Part 1/Part 2/Part 3)
All cosmere books are to be read as if translated to our language. The translation often uses our idioms to convey ideas.
Usually, you should assume if we didn't translate it directly, it's something that wouldn't work too well in English.
For instance, using the name of a city in the Roughs where people are thought to be like that.
Drew Bailey
Very clever, solves a lot of problems. BTW, what would the Scadrial version be? Roughsmen are less trustworthy, roughed?
Brandon Sanderson
I often consider using something in-world, but you have to be careful about how much jargon you use. It can be off-putting.
#9862
Epic Games
What do you think you were able to bring to the story of Infinity Blade?
Brandon Sanderson
I'm a writer. This is what I do. One thing I've noticed—and I'm a big gamer, I enjoy video games—is that a lot of video game people have great ideas. They have excellent storytelling instincts. What they don't have, often, is a lot of practice doing it—you get better at telling stories by telling stories. A lot of the video games out there will have this core of awesomeness but a little bit of roughness around the edges when it comes to dialogue, making sure that the worldbuilding is rigorous, making sure that the characterizations are smooth and have nice arcs. I think that's something I can bring expertise to.
One of the nice things about video games is that it's a big collaborative effort. There are certain things that a writer like myself should not be involved in. I don't have any practice coming up with fun ways to play games. I know some writers who assume that because they know how to tell stories, they'll be able to make a game that's interesting, but that's certainly not the case. The developers at ChAIR are experts at making really fun, awesome games. But I can help them with their worldbuilding, making sure it's consistent; with their dialogue, making sure that it's both evocative and interesting without being cliched and overdone. I think that the more people with skill in various areas you have working on a project like this, the better the outcome will be.
#9863
Alteroden
Does Shallan's bond improve her art?
Brandon Sanderson
Shallan's memorization is supernatural, and her memorization affects her ability to do art, so I would say yes.
#9864
Truthwatcher_17.5
Are you ever gonna make an official quiz that sorts people into Knights-- Knights Radiant?
Brandon Sanderson
You know, I'm less likely to do a quiz and more likely to do a list of-- kind of attributes and traits and requirements. I feel that some people are more likely to be able to sort themselves than a quiz sorting them. Granted, it does depend on the spren also, so there are two parties in this. And so, you don't have absolute influence over which order you might end up in. But it is possible to be viable as a candidate for multiple orders and it also is going to depend on the spren.
#9865
Moogle
Why can non-Scadrians use Hemalurgy? Don't they need Ruin's sDNA, like Allomancers need Preservation?
Brandon Sanderson
Hemalurgy is built to be able to be used by anyone. It's about taking and breaking. Ruin doesn't care who does such things
#9866
Questioner
This actually came out of a panel today. You'd originally said that Nightblood is way more powerful than a regular Shardblade, but at the time that question was asked of you we didn' know about live Shardblades, we only knew about dead Shardblades. So is that still true, now that we know we have at least two--
Brandon Sanderson
Oh he is more powerful than a regular Shardblade. *groaning and laughter* that is 100% still true.
Moderator
How does Nightblood compare to a more living Blade?
Brandon Sanderson
More living Blade? Hehe, you’re asking the same--
Moderator
No I'm asking a different question. *laughter*
Brandon Sanderson
Well, let's just RAFO that one.
#9867
Questioner
Dalinar. A lot of people have theorized that his armor has glowed because he's channeling stormlight. I don't believe that's accurate. Is that right?
Brandon Sanderson
I'm not going to answer much about the armor. The armor, you will have to find out about.
Questioner
Alright, because my theory is that he's actually fulfilling the actual role of the Radiants—that's protecting people—therefore that's why his armor is glowing.
Brandon Sanderson
Interesting. Now which armor are you speaking about specifically?
Questioner
The Shardplate.
Brandon Sanderson
The Shardplate but which one?
Questioner
Dalinar's armor.
Brandon Sanderson
Dalinar's Shardplate. In which scene?
Questioner
In The Way of Kings. Several times.
Brandon Sanderson
*Disingenuously* I know nothing about what you're talking about.
#9868
Questioner
Lift stands outside Kredik Shaw, her goal is to eat the Lord Ruler's lunch, can she get away with it?
Brandon Sanderson
I think she totally can. She's Lift, she'll just get him while he's sleeping.
#9869
Questioner
Has a Hemalurgic Feruchemist ever used a Hemalurgic spike to tap power into it? Have they ever done that yet?
Brandon Sanderson
So a Hemalurgic spike is already Invested, so it's going to resist sticking anything else in it, particularly a magic like that.
Questioner
So if there's a pewter spike then a Feruchemist couldn't store strength in it?
Brandon Sanderson
Yeah. It would be difficult.
#9870
Macen
You've pretty much implied yes [to bonding more than one spren].
Brandon Sanderson
I did not say yes.
Questioner
You implied. <What about> more than one type of spren? Different types of spren?
Brandon Sanderson
Let's see what happens. This is not impossible.
#9871
Questioner
You said that Hoid has had love interests. Does he have any children?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO.
#9872
T.T
Are Kaladin's parents still alive, and if so, are they actually mad at him?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, they are still alive. RAFO.
#9873
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.
#9874
Green Hoodie Mistborn
Is there any relation between the smoke that is emitted when a Shardblade cuts somebody and the smoke that Nightblood emits in Warbreaker?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, there is.
#9875
Questioner
Elantris sequel, about Kiin's children... I really related to Kaise, especially with the Aiden situation, do you consider Kaise being autistic and/or ADHD?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, but not-- more ADHD.
#9876
angie_rasmussen
Are there any female Shardbearers? Or would they be considered immodest for not covering their safehands?
Brandon Sanderson
Eshonai, who is Parshendi, is female. (You saw her fight Dalinar in Book One.) There are others. (One is in the WoR prologue, for example.) It is easy to hide that you have a Shardblade. Historically there were many more than there are currently.
#9877
Iceblade44
Something that i've been wondering, you said before that Nightblood was modeled after Shardblades intentionally so my question is, did Vasher create his Phantoms with Shardplate in mind?
Brandon Sanderson
He was aware of Shardplate, but I wouldn't call them a conscious influence.
Phantine
Any sort of influence from the Soulcasting-to-Stone burial customs?
(If Vasher were a little more sneaky I'd think he had created the custom in case he needed a ready supply of Phantom material)
Brandon Sanderson
Let's say that yes, Soulcasting was very interesting to Vasher.
#9878
Questioner
So, did Sazed change that no more Mistborn are born? Because I noticed that--I know he made Spook one-- in Alloy they talk about Mistborn...
Brandon Sanderson
The idea is-- I won't say absolutely no to Sazed's manipulation. But, there weren't any Mistborn other than him that survived. The Allomantic lines were very diluted. So, his direct descendants-- you might be able to even find one potentially now. Someone might be born, or one might have been born that didn't tell people about it. But in the general public and population, it's just, there's not as much Allomancy around... He did also change Snapping, which had an effect on it.
#9879
Badger (paraphrased)
What's the status of the video game (Birthright)?
Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
- It. Didn't work out.
- There was another author at the time trying to get something done with (if I recall correctly) the same company, and he didn't want to compete with them.
- They still have the game rights.
It's been delayed mostly until there's some sort of movie out because basically there's two ways they can do a video game. They can do a big AAA game that will be very very expensive and it could flop, or they could do a smaller indie game. Because there's not a huge established audience from a movie, they want to wait until then before producing a game.
- He wants the gameplay to be a bit like Infamous in design (if I recall correctly).
- Basically what's stopping them right now is it's just really really expensive.
#9880
Questioner
What was your favorite scene to write ever, and why?
Brandon Sanderson
What was my favorite scene to write--
Questioner
The one you enjoyed writing the most.
Brandon Sanderson
The one I enjoyed writing the most? The one I enjoyed writing the most did not end up in the books. I was writing The Wheel of Time, and I was writing a scene where a certain character's on the slopes of Dragonmount, and I chuckled to myself and then wrote a scene where this character destroyed the world. *laughter* It was awesome. And then I wrote "The End" and I laughed. And then I took a screenshot of it . And then I deleted it, and I wrote the scene.
#9881
Questioner
If some of the cosmere books are set in different times in the cosmere, can Hoid time travel?
Brandon Sanderson
Not go backwards.
#9882
Questioner
How does Harmony know about radio?
Brandon Sanderson
There are actually two answers to this. First, Harmony was given a grand understanding of the laws of the universe during his Ascension. Second, Preservation had some limited precognitive abilities. Either one of those can lead you to the answer.
#9883
WeiryWriter
Something I've recently been wondering about is how responsive is Sazed to people in the Cognitive Realm flagging him down for a conversation. Let's say Khriss, during one of her trips between Scadrial and Silverlight just shouts "Yo Harmony, do you have time to chat?", how would he respond?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO on this one. :)
#9884
Questioner
What is the name or intention of Bavadin's Shard?
Brandon Sanderson
I have not revealed that yet. I don't think I want to get into that quite yet.
#9885
Anusien
Why did Lord Ruler not destroy the logbook knowing what trouble Ruin could cause with it?
Brandon Sanderson
A few reasons. First, Ruin had his fingers in the LR’s soul by then already. Subtle things are easier to influence.
He played off the LR’s natural nostalgia and desire to hold onto something so important to his past.
#9886
MindCanaries
Why did you settle on a Nicrosil Misting for your second Mistborn trilogy? Did you consider any other types?
Brandon Sanderson
I considered others, but in the end this was one aspect of the magic system I hadn't explored yet but which is very important for the future of the series. I wanted to start establishing it.
#9887
Questioner
If you were a misting, what would you be?
Brandon Sanderson
I would be a Coinshot. Because I would love to be able to have that flight thing going on, jumping around.
#9888
yulerule
Can you Forge liquids, like-- Does that go into Bloodsealing, can you change their blood type?
Brandon Sanderson
OK, can you use Forgery to, say, change someone's blood type? Yes. Can you Forge liquids? A little harder to stamp liquids, so this kind of comes down to, can you--
yulerule
Like, if you have a glass of water and you put salt in the water can you Forge it or make it and make it--
Brandon Sanderson
This is possible, but it requires a few little workarounds. Obviously you can do it because you Forge somebody, and they're mostly liquid.
yulerule
But you're putting in on a hard surface.
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, in the same way that you would with thr liquid you would probably--
yulerule
Touch some ice?
Brandon Sanderson
No, you would probably take the cup, and make it part of the whole, and if you can-- Remember in the cosmere, it depends on how you view a thing. Is it a whole? Do you view this as a cup of water, or do you view it as a cup and the water? Do you view a person as a vessel and the blood inside them, or together as a person? And that perception really affects your magic. So it's possible, for instance, to Forge a cup of water, Forging just the cup is easier than Forging just the water.
#9889
Scott Wilson
What are you reading at the moment and who are your favorite authors?
Brandon Sanderson
At the moment sitting on my shelf next to be read is The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett. I also have a manuscript of Variant, a novel by a friend of mine, Robison Wells, which will be coming out in a year or so from Harper Teen.
Favorite authors, in no particular order: Robert Jordan, Terry Pratchett, Victor Hugo, and Dan Wells. The list really depends on my mood at the time, who I've been reading a lot of recently. There are many authors from whom I'll love one book and not be as blown away by their other novels. Here's a sampling of single books I think are fantastic: A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge, Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly, Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay, and Sabri El by Garth Nix.
#9890
Morsker
I'd like to ask what led to this decadence in the Iridescent Tones, what were the social causes? It started out as the Cult of the Returned, and a simple faith in caring for the Returned so they'd live long enough to fulfill their purpose. And I assume the Voice even sends them back without memories exactly to foster this faith and hope in people, so that mortals can be part of their salvation instead of just getting divine hand-outs. That sounds really nice. But by the time we reach the events in Warbreaker, a lot of corruption and cynicism has found its way in, no?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, it has. Part of it is something that Lightsong points out. Their religion encourages the best of the Returned to give up their lives for their people, and they hit a patch where a lot of the best of them have already given up their lives. The rest have their needs and wants seen to. Beyond that, remember this is a society in which they're living in a very temperate climate where there isn't very much harsh weather at all; they're very sheltered, they have an extremely rich resource, and they have a lot of leisure time. So we're mixing leisure time with a somewhat selfish batch of Returned in control, and we're mixing that with a religion that focuses on art and beauty and that sort of thing.
I think one of the dangers this society would have to be worried about would be for this decadence to creep in as has happened at various points in various cultures around the world. The society certainly isn't irredeemable at all, but it is going through a patch of these three concepts aligning in some of the worst sorts of ways. But there are some better Returned than we focus on in the book, and there have been much better Returned in the past.
#9891
Phantine
Would giving a Lifeless a pair of Kandra Blessings make it more intelligent? Similarly, could Blessings make a Parshman more parshendi-like?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO.
#9892
Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
The person who gave Wax his earring was the kandra, MeLaan.
Also, that Kandra are working as "Sazed's Angels". And their role is primarily to go along fixing things by Sazed's Will.
#9893
Phantine
Could you soulcast atium from god-metal into god-wood?
Brandon Sanderson
Soulcasting atium would take a heap-ton of Investiture. You'd need a huge source to power that.
#9894
Questioner
And [The Silence Divine] is a short story that I started working on right after I finished Words of Radiance. And I was going to finish this, but then Firefight really needed to be done, so I've only written about ten pages of this story. But it's partially inspired by my trip to Costa Rica. I usually write short stories based on places I've traveled.
#9895
Donnovan Kidwell
I gotta know if I'm going to see Rlain interludes or (please!) a book of his perspective.
Brandon Sanderson
You will get a scene from his viewpoint soon.
#9896
CPiGuy2728
What would happen to someone who burned an alloy of Lerasium and lead? Would they a) gain Mistborn powers and a splitting headache from trying to burn lead, b) gain Mistborn powers and no splitting headache, c) just get the splitting headache, d) gain the ability to burn lead without a splitting headache, or e) die of lead poisoning?
Brandon Sanderson
This is a RAFO, not because I want to imply that lead has some big secret to it, but because I don't want to dig into the mechanics of Lerasium right now--and I don't want to kick off more questions like this at the moment.
#9897
The Sovereign
Is the chain in Celebrant made of Dragonsteel?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO!
#9898
Oversleep
Does Nazh want his knife back, the one he gave to Kelsier?
Brandon Sanderson
Yeah, he would want it back but it's not like the flute. It's not something that was super super important to the person who gave it away. So he would like his knife back eventually, but you know, nothing important.
#9899
Brandon Sanderson
Vasher Explains Some Things, but Leaves Some Things Hidden
I'm worried about leaving Vivenna's two questions unanswered. One is pretty obvious—how Vasher can hide how he looks—but the other is unintuitive. I wish I could explain better in the book, as I said above, but I decided in the end to just leave it hanging. It's a bit of a violation of Sanderson's First Law, but not a big one. The reason I feel I can get away with it is because Vasher didn't use his nature as a Returned to solve any problems. It is more a flavoring for his character than it is important to him getting out of danger or fixing things. He could have done everything he needed to in this book without being Returned. So I feel it's okay not to explain why he can be Returned and not die when he gives away his Breaths.
Can Vivenna change her appearance more? She can indeed. She could actually stoke that fragment of a divine Breath inside of her and start glowing like a Returned. She can't change her physical features to look like someone else, but she can change her age, her height (within reason), and her body shape (to an extent). It takes practice.
And yes, the scraggly miscreant is how Vasher sees himself. Not noble and Returned, which is part of how he suppresses his divine Breath.
Events in the second book may change that.
#9900
Brandon Sanderson
POSTMODERNISM IN FANTASY
The Way of Kings is out. I’ve been thinking a lot about the novel, what it has meant to me over the years, and why I decided to write it as I did. I’ve had a lot of trouble deciding how to pitch this novel to people. It’s a trouble I’ve never had before. I’m going to explain why this one doesn’t work as easily. But I’m going to start with a story.
There’s a particular music video I saw quite often when working the graveyard shift at the local hotel. I worked that job primarily because it allowed me to write at work (I wrote some eight or so novels while sitting at that front desk, including both Elantris and the original draft of The Way of Kings). However, part of my job there was the do the night audit of the cash drawer and occupancy, that sort of thing. As I worked, VH1/MTV would often become my radio for an hour or so, playing on the little television hidden behind the front desk.
The video was by Jewel, and was for the song “Intuition.” We’ll pretend, for the sake of defending my masculinity, that I paid special attention for the literary nature of the video, and not because I have a fondness for Jewel’s music. And there was something very curious about this video. In it, Jewel transitions back and forth between washed-out “normal world” shots of her walking on a street or interacting with people, and color-saturated “music video”-style shots of her engaging in product promotion while wearing revealing clothing.
The tone of the video is a little heavy-handed in its message. Among other things, it is meant to parody rock star/music video culture. It shows Jewel in oversexualized situations, having sold herself out in an over-the-top way. It points a critical finger at sexual exploitation of the female form in advertising, and juxtaposes Jewel in a normal, everyday walk with a surreal, Hollywood version of herself promoting various products.
Now, what is absolutely fascinating to me about this video is how perfectly it launches into an discussion of the literary concept of deconstructionism. You see, Jewel is able to come off looking self-aware—even down-to-earth—in this video, because of the focus she puts on how ridiculous and silly modern advertising is. The entire video is a condemnation of selling out, and a condemnation of using sexual exploitation in advertising.
And yet, while making this condemnation, Jewel gets to reap the benefits of the very things she is denouncing. In the video, her “Hollywood self” wears a tight corset, gets soaked in water, and prances in a shimmering, low-cut gown while wind blows her hair in an alluring fashion. She points a critical finger at these things through hyperbole, and therefore gains the moral high ground—but the video depends on these very images to be successful. They’re going to draw every eye in the room, gaining her publicity in the same way the video implies is problematic.
Deconstructionism is a cornerstone of postmodern literary criticism. Now, as I’m always careful to note, I’m not an expert in these concepts. A great deal of what I present here is an oversimplification, both of Jewel’s video and of postmodernism itself. But for the purposes of this essay, we don’t have time for pages of literary theory. The title itself is already pretentious enough. So, I’ll present to you the best explanation of deconstructionism I was given when working on my master’s degree: “It’s when you point out that a story is relyin’ on the same thing it’s denyin’.”
That will work for now.