Questioner
When Lift the Nightwatcher to not change, or whatever it was...
Brandon Sanderson
Mm hmm.
Questioner
...her exact wording. Was that triggered by the loss of a loved one?
Brandon Sanderson
There is loss involved......that's a RAFO.
Found 74 entries in 0.314 seconds.
When Lift the Nightwatcher to not change, or whatever it was...
Mm hmm.
...her exact wording. Was that triggered by the loss of a loved one?
There is loss involved......that's a RAFO.
One thing that I'm slightly confused about is who the primary POVs will be for the second set of 5 books in the 10-book series. I've heard a bunch of names being floated around on various online forums--such as Jasnah, Renarin, and Taravangian to name a few--but are any of these confirmed? Any word of Brandon as of yet?
It's possible this will change. But the back five have been planned as Jasnah, Renarin, Lift, Taln, and Ash. Though, once again, this isn't a promise that these people survive. You'll likely see at least one flashback set in the series from a character who has died in a previous book, and then you get to see something they experienced through flashbacks before their death.
I'm having trouble locating Ash. No direct matches on coppermind.net, 17th shard forums or google.
Do you mean Ashir from one of the WoK interludes? Or perhaps someone we haven't met yet (at least by name).
There are a lot of weird things going on with Ash, so what's up with her will be something you'll have to wait on for a long while.
But how about the characters we currently love? Are they all gone in the second half??? This is terrible :-(
No, they will be around. (Well, if they survive.) But the second series will be taking place years later, and their roles may have changed.
Will we ever see Lift fight with a Shardfork?
RAFO.
Will we ever find out what Lift asked of the Nightwatcher?
Yes. It's probably gonna be her book before you find out. Book Six.
(Until the second five books, where our primary characters will shuffle. So you Renarin fans will have to be patient.)
Do you worry that assuring us that a character will likely survive the first arc of the series removes some of the tension in their scenes?
(While you've discussed the idea that a main character can have a book about them while they are dead when Dalinar was expected to be central to book 5, this seems different)
I have said many times before that Renarin and Lift are main characters for the next five, but--as you point out--I've also said that I have no problem having a main character who is actually dead, and their story told through flashbacks and the stories of the other characters. Renarin is not safe, but you will see a lot more from him in the future, even if he does die.
To say more would be to give too many spoilers about the nature of the back five books.
If Lift went to Nalthis and got Breaths. Could she then eat the local food and turn it around and use it to Awaken?
RAFO.
Could Lift's food ability be taken by Hemalurgic spike?
Theoretically yes.
Does Lift see Wyndle a different way than another Edgedancer would see their spren?
Yes, but only slightly. She sees a longer vine, and slightly more, but it's not a big difference.
Her name, Lift, is it literally like 'lift', the sound, or is it translated from Rosharan, like the word lift?
It is translated from Rosharan.
Is it a nickname?
So, I'll RAFO that. But that is actually, it's whatever in Rosharan...not in Rosh...in Reshi, whatever in Reshi...and Reshi is the Iriali language family, so...
Lift has lots of pancakes and you only describe six of them. I was wondering if you could tell me of any of the other three?
Okay, sure... One is a terrible, awful, seafood one that Rosharans would eat and I would hate, and people that I know would love. Not sure what the other two would be. Probably a very spicy one, a savory spicy one. Probably a vegetable greenish one, something that over here would look like it has spinach in it.
Is that different form the one-- she mentions one that has chopped vegetables in it?
Yes, that would be different. It would be a pure green one as opposed to one more like--
Like a fritter?
Yeah. Yeah.
When Lift eats food, does she convert it directly into Stormlight, or some other form of Investiture?
RAFO.
What's the inspiration for Lift? Because she's super crazy and unique.
The absolute first was when I was designing the Knights Radiant, I said: I need to have a variety - I need to have older Knights Radiant and I need to have younger Knights Radiant. She grew - like a lot of my characters - out of me naturally trying some viewpoints, practicing different characters, and seeing where it goes, eventually landing on what I thought worked. And I really wanted her to be different, so.
So, you wanted her to be a gremlin?
Yes.
With Lift part of the inspiration was-- Boy, what was the inspiration for Lift? When I was building The Stormlight Archive I said, "I want the Knights Radiant to run the gamut of different character styles, ages, and types of story." And when you say "knight"--when I say knight you imagine one thing. What you don't imagine is a thirteen-year-old Hispanic girl, right? And I said "I want to have the people that are in the Knights Radiant to not be the standard what you think of." They are the entire world's cultures having different people. And so I said "Well, what is somebody who does not fit that mold?" That you would say is not a knight. Lift was partially developed out of me wanting to build a character who was awesome but was so different from what everyone would think of. 'Cause you say knight and they think of white dude in armor, and I wanted something very different from that. And that's where she came from. It also came partially from my wife reading a lot of fantasy and complaining that she's like, "you know the Asians show up in fantasy a lot, Asian culture inspires a lot. European culture of course does. You see a lot of these things but where are the Hispanics?"
*audience laughs*
...Yeah there's one. So she challenged me to put a Hispanic culture in my books because I had never done it before, and so Lift is an outgrowth of that, so are the Herdazians. They are meant to be sort of in the same way that the Alethi are inspired by Korean culture, mashed up with this sort of concept of medieval knights. The same way Shallan is based a little off of Western American/Europe culture. The Herdazians are launching off some of the original Hispanic concepts. So the thing is, you want every culture to be new and original but you are working from somewhere. And the problem is we all work from the same stories for so long that is part of the reason why fantasy is starting to feel so stale.
So Lift gets her awesomeness from food. Is that a Lift thing or is that an Edgedancer thing?
That is a Lift thing. She is a very specific thing, and what she is will come out more, as the series progresses. It's not just a little one-off, there is actually something more behind it, but it is not an Edgedancer thing.
I was starting to think that maybe there was something that Cultivation's people had their own kind of Heralds, that had their own alternative energy so--
It's going to probably take until Lift's book to start to dig into it too much, but it isn't that far off, 3 books.
*laughs* Only 3 books?
Yeah, she is 6th.
Why is Lift different in the way she processes Investiture?
She was created that way specifically, by ac- an "Act of Cultivation".
Okay, so she went to see Nightwatcher?
Yes.
Here's my theory, and I want to get it down here so when it turns out to be right I can say "See I called it!"
Dalinar becomes the new Honor, Lift becomes the new Cultivation. Why? Cultivation touched three people, Dalinar, Taravangian and Lift. She planned for Taravangian to become the new Odium, so I figure the other two are the new Honor and her eventual successor Cultivation. At least this is Cultivation's plan, even if that's not exactly how it ends up happening.
RAFO indeed.
When did Lift meet Hoid? *inaudible*
Lift met Hoid in between the visit to the Nightwatcher and her first <interlude>.
Is there going to be more Lift in the next book?
No, you’ll see some of her, she's reserved... most of her you'll see in the book 6 and on but you'll see little glimpses of her in the other ones. The stuff she has in Oathbringer is a riot, it's very fun.
Is Lift trans? Some of the specific scenes and wording when Lift stole the food from Rock's son seemed to indicate that?
This was not intentional. I have intended Lift to be assigned female at birth. I wouldn't play so coy with something that would be so relevant to trans readers.
I think /u/Loose_Combination meant the other way around. She's experiencing body dysphoria very much in the way a transmaculine character would.
Oh, I apologize. I didn't read closely enough.
So yes, there is something here. More her body disphoria is related to aging, and secondary sex characteristics are involved.
I am a bit sad Lift didn’t tag along to Shadesmar.
I was actually going to send her on that mission, and wrote this chapter with that intent. Then I re-read what I'd written, and decided, "There's no way on Roshar Dalinar and Navani would send her on a delicate diplomatic mission." So I forced myself to revise the outline so Lift stayed in the tower.
There are some things that just stretch plausibility too much.
Will Lift get a Shardfork?
You know, she's likely to do something like that...
Is Lift going to show up in Stormlight four?
Yes but she's not going to have a big part. You'll have to wait for 6 before she gets a big role.
*Inaudible interjection*
That as well but 6 is where you really see Lift quite a bit.
Do all Surgebinders breathe Stormlight in, or are there other ways? Is Lift one-of-a-kind in this regard?
Lift is one of a kind.
What is Lift's favorite food? Answer: yours. It tastes better to her if she's taking it from somebody.
If video games existed in the cosmere, which current cosmere character that we know would be the best gamer?
Best gamer? Um...
I want to see if your statement is the same as mine.
Whew, best gamer? Who wants to sit down and game?
That's going outside of mine, my character probably would not want to, but I think they'd be very good at it.
Very good at gaming, very good at gaming... Lift.
Oh, Lift would probably enjoy it. Mine is Sazed because he can store his speed and stuff.
Yes, Sazed would be technically, you're right, would be way, way better. I don't know if Wayne could slow time and put in inputs and then they would come out, I don't know how that would work.
Is the tv outside of his bubble?
Yeah, the tv would have to be outside of his bubble. How would that work?
What happens to a wireless signal when it hits the bubble?
Wireless signal is going to have a red shift. Physicist, what happens if a red shift happens? As I understand it, that actually wouldn't change it appreciably, but we'd let a physicist say on that. Regardless, yeah, Sazed would definitely have a big leg up. That's a very good answer.
What are two cosmere characters that have never met (and maybe never will) that you would be most excited to write a scene involving?
It is Lift and Wayne. Preferably after Lift is of age, and they can go drinking together. But even before, I think, they would make a very interesting pairing.
Does Lift's shadow behave abnormally with respect to the sun or infused spheres?
Yes, there is something going on with her shadow, but no specifics given.
Could Lift convert food from other cosmere worlds into Stormlight?
Yes. Lift's Spiritweb has something changed about it to allow converting mass to Investiture directly.
1) Will we see more Lift or Rysn in Stormlight 3? 2) Will Stormlight 3 have a main interlude character similar to how Eshonai was in Words of Radiance and Szeth was in The Way of Kings?
1) Yes. 2) Yes.
Who would win in a fight? Lift, or Wayne?
I have trouble imagining why they would fight, but it's gonna depend on situation and who gets the upper hand.
Is Lift capable of touching other spren?
I'll RAFO that for now. I could wiggle out of that one easily, but I won't. I'll not answer the question you're asking, rather than the one you're not asking.
[Can Lift] get Stormlight from spheres like normal or if it's just from food for her.
She can only get it from food.
Which [is it] related to her boon or her curse?
RAFO.
Let's say Lift received two Hemalurgic spikes: one for Allomantic bendalloy and one for Feruchemical bendalloy. Then she eats a bunch of pancakes, stores the nutrition in a piece of bendalloy, burns it to compound nutrition. Can that nutrition be turned into Stormlight?
Yeah. Yeah, but remember she didn't have to be-- so basically what that-- Is just a really complicated way for her to turn Allomantic Investiture-- so that it can allocate Allomantic Investiture into Stormlight. That would be a complex method of doing that. Just transferring one type of Investiture into another. It's just basically drawing from Ruin and she is then turning it into Stormlight-ish? It's a complicated thing, but that's basically what happens, just really crazy.
Okay, so-- but it is the same sort of thing, right? *hesitant nod from Brandon* And--
I hope that eventually in the cosmere they will find easier ways than that.
Considering Brandon likes MTG, this is probably something he has thought out haha.
Kaladin strikes me as someone with a very White personality and Blue powers.
Shallan's Blue.
Dalinar's White, but I feel like he was Red before.
Adolin has some Red, some White, and recently some Black I guess.
Lift is Red in personality and I guess Green at powers.
What else can you guys come up with?
Hmm... These are not bad, and it's always hard to figure out how to define by this system--honestly, I wouldn't trust my definitions, I'd have to go to MaRo or something.
I'd suspect that Shallan is red/blue instead of mono blue.
Lift is very green, not just in powers, but in personality. She's all about instinct, and doing what occurs to her in the moment.
As OP said, Kaladin is very white/blue. And Dalinar is red who became white. Navani is mono-blue. Szeth is black/white, and Taravangian probably mono-black. Eshonai is probably green.
Who's your favorite character to write?
Usually the characters I look more-- forward to the most are the ones that are goofy.
Wayne?
So like Wayne and Lift. Like, but not up to like-- Wit I-- is hard to write, right? It's the kind of wacky but don't have to be too clever characters that are most fun to write.
Can you say what would happen if Lift swallowed a gemstone trapping an Unmade?
...Uh, hahaha. Uh, I'll RAFO that, but that's not that there's something there, it's just that I'm RAFOing that.
Does Lift converts food to Stormlight, Lifelight, or something else?
Lift uses Lifelight. Good question.
I was wondering if any of the characters from interludes will end up with their own books.
Yes, they will. Lift, specifically, is one of the characters in the back five. I think she might be the only one who has had a view point so far. That’s, um, no … There are others. So, yes, interlude characters will end up with their own books later on. Right now they’re side characters.
Does Lift turn food into Investiture directly or is it similar to the metals on--
Similar to the metals.
So like a gate?
Yes.
Okay, that's good to know.
She can metabolize-- She can draw-- It's not actually the food, it's-- It's not like the metals, not exactly. It's not-- What she can do is she can metabolize into Investiture instead of sugar. Does that make sense?
Yeah.
We metabolize food into sugar. She can metabolize it into Investiture. Does that make sense?
That makes a lot of sense. So if she eats--
She's got to have a blood sugar spike.
So if she eats like a cake it will give her more Investiture--
Faster. It will give her faster.
Whereas if she eats a vegetable...
Vegetable... More calories is going to equal more. But the better comparison would be a sausage and bread. Because bread is a fast blood sugar spike and the sausage is not. And that's how I'm working in my head. It's kind of a magical version of a blood sugar spike and I have it happen to her faster than it could happen. Like normally you eat a piece of bread and your blood sugar spikes in a half hour, it's going to go faster for Lift.
Hers is like five minutes.
Hers is like five minutes, but a sausage would be slower.
Is Lift going to be in the next book?
Yes.
I asked for a personalization with some autobiographical details about Lift in the form of an ID.
Name: Lift
Date of Birth: A number greater than ten
Birthplace: With my mom
Eye color: Brown
Is it relevant that Lift was ten when she stopped aging?
It isn't a coincidence.
Can Lift convert cremling shells to Investiture?
She can only convert what she is able to metabolize for nutrients to Investiture.
Is there a specific reason as to why Lift can synthesize food into stormlight? Or is she just special?
Have we met/Will we meet anyone else that can take in stormlight in a different way?
She is unique, and was not born with the ability.
Will we ever get a scene with Lift hanging out with Bridge Four?
Yes, you will likely get a scene like that at some point. No absolute promises, but probably.
Can Lift touch a Voidspren? And what would happen?
RAFO.
If Lift ate something that had like, gold leaf on it, 'cause some foods like-- She would be turning that gold leaf into Investiture or Stormlight, right?
If it is giving-- So the gold leaf would probably pass through her system.
So she wouldn't be...
Mmhmm, yes, that things that she eats that she can metabolize, she can turn into Stormlight.
So Kaladin's in charge of the Windrunners, right?
Yes.
Is Lift in charge of the Edgedancers?
You'll have to see in the next book. Lift is the first Edgedancer they've found. Lift is not so good at being in charge of anything... So I wouldn't probably say the first one discovered has to be in charge. Different Orders of the Knights Radiant lend themselves to different styles of organization. Like, some of them are a lot more disorganized than the Windrunners, who you'll see have a very militaristic organization to them.
What's the word for Lift's name in her language?
I don't know the actual word. I haven't written it down. I am translating the meaning of her name. They're not saying "Lift." It means "to elevate or raise up."
<Did the man Lift met is Hoid>?
It is Hoid.
In book three, right? In book three.
Oh *inaudible* Lift? *inaudible* No, that's not Hoid. So she references having talked to him but it's not someone she meets in this. In the beginning, she mentions him but he's not specifically in this. Right? Sorry, I thought you meant *inaudible*.
*Inaudible*.
Yeah, of course, that makes sense. But yes, so, she met him - but she talks about him, she didn't - it's not him on the street.
(From my notes:
In Edgedancer, Lift references talking to Hoid but he doesn’t show up himself there. She met him, she talks about him but he doesn't appear in Edgedancer.)