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Questioner [PENDING REVIEW]

So Hoid, was he considered a Lightweaver pre-Shattering?

Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW]

Yes, that would be an appropriate term. There are lots of different terms that would also be appropriate.

Questioner [PENDING REVIEW]

But was it basically the same thing?

Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW]

Well, no Stormlight. No spren. So, not a Knight Radiant. But, similar magic. But you've also seen Elantris magic do this. So there are-- there are certain things that-- I'll just stop there.

Vulcronos [PENDING REVIEW]

Is Shallan's illusions similar to Essence Marks from Emperor's Soul?

Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW]

Not terribly.

Questioner

Shallan's photographic memory, is that due to her Connection to Pattern?

Brandon Sanderson

Shallan's memory is not, um, her memory has a supernatural component.

Wyndlerunner [PENDING REVIEW]

Hoid, he already has his Cryptic by Era 2, if I'm correct on the timeline. So have we seen him using his new fancy Lightweaving in action? Has he spoken his fifth Truth?

Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW]

I will RAFO that for now. I'll RAFO both of those. Those are two separate things, but I will RAFO them. You have seen Hoid Lightweaving, but whether you have seen him use his fancy new Lightweaving... we'll leave that off for now. Let's just say that he knows that certain uses of Investiture are easier to detect than others, and if you don't want to be seen, there are certain things you don't do.

Questioner [PENDING REVIEW]

In the chapter about the Wandersail, when Hoid is telling the story, is he using Lightweaving?

Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW]

It is not completely natural what you are seeing.

Questioner [PENDING REVIEW]

Is the smoke in any way related to Rosharan magic systems?

Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW]

In any way related, yes? I'm good at wiggling out of these. It's a part RAFO, it's not completely natural. I'll leave it at that. I can't say too much, otherwise I'll give away all my secrets.

callumke (paraphrased)

You have said previously that The Stormlight Archive will include Lightweaving. Is that still the plan?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

Yes. 

callumke (paraphrased)

Have we seen a Roshar native in The Way of Kings who can use Lightweaving?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

Yes, we have seen someone who has potential.

Questioner [PENDING REVIEW]

Lightweavers are radios, aren't they? Lightwaves are radio waves? Light and-- they're the same thing, aren't they?

Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW]

...They can do sound too, yeah. So you're saying lightweaving with illusion, can it?

Questioner [PENDING REVIEW]

Can transmit radio waves? As in, communicate over long distances, it's one of the most important things in battles, right? In war...

Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW]

I had someone in one of my very early books irradiate someone with Lightweaving, I think.

Questioner [PENDING REVIEW]

Oh that's right you've got multiple kinds of Lightweaving.

Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW]

Yeah.

Questioner [PENDING REVIEW]

Shallan's Lightweaving. How does she make those physical? Is it light becoming matter?

Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW]

So I'm not going to answer this one either, so you get another RAFO card. But I'll tell you which way to think. Here, energy and matter are basically the same thing. Investiture, energy, and matter are the same thing in the Cosmere.

In our world, when we touch, we are touching energy, right? We are not actually touching. The atoms are repelling each other or whatever. I'm not a physicist. I'm sorry, physicists!

Contact is a weird, weird thing. Keep in mind, investiture is another state of matter and energy in the Cosmere. It's not really that hard to extrapolate along.

Questioner

Have we seen another Lightweaver, as of Words of Radiance?

Brandon Sanderson

Um... Yes. Depending on your definition. Straight-up Lightweaver? Like you could make the argument... the Order of Knights Radiant? That... that, no. But you have seen people Lightweaving. The skill.

Wetlander

When Shallan does Lightweaving, is that a combination of Illumination and Transformation, or is Lightweaving just of Illumination?

Brandon Sanderson

Lightweaving is just of Illumination. Lightweaving is a long-established power in the cosmere. Very early books, in fact one of the very first stories I ever wrote, Lightweaving was the magic. (That story is unpublished, written long ago - long before Liar of Partinel) And so, this stems from my own personal affection for illusion and my feeling that it had not been used as well as I wanted it to be used in fantasy fiction. So I consider it only Illumination truly in The Stormlight Archive.

Questioner [PENDING REVIEW]

...At some point in the novel, there is a character who gets a certain, shall we say, powerup that falls in-line with many things that he, or she, already has. Is there, from an Investiture standpoint, is there a Compounding effect?

Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW]

Yes, there will be. *laughter* If we're talking about the same individual.

kalamitous_emoashions [PENDING REVIEW]

With Hoid, we know that he's got some sort of Lightweaving, Yolen magic. If we're gonna hypothetically say that he bonds with the Cryptic, at the end of Oathbringer. Talking about resonance between magic systems, what are we going to see if he tried the two together? Would they be separate? Or would they form some sort of resonance magic system?

Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW]

So, I'm gonna go ahead and RAFO that.

Questioner [PENDING REVIEW]

Does Hoid fit a Lightweaver?

Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW]

Yes, I think he does most fit it. He's OG Lightweaver. He was Lightweaving before it was cool.

Questioner [PENDING REVIEW]

It was not cool?

Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW]

He got in trouble for it a lot of times, early on. I'm mostly making a joke about that.

He was Lightweaving back before Adonalsium was Shattered.