Skyward release party

Event details
Name
Name Skyward release party
Date
Date Nov. 6, 2018
Location
Location Orem, UT
Tour
Tour Skyward
Bookstore
Bookstore Barnes & Noble
Entries
Entries 163
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#2 Copy

Steeldancer

What happens when you flare copper?

Brandon Sanderson

What happens when you flare copper? Various different things can happen when you flare copper. I'll RAFO that for now. [...] I'll delve into that more, I don't want to delve into it too much right now, you'll find out, probably in Era 3, some of the things that can happen with copper.

#3 Copy

Questioner

You pulled Apocalypse Guard, will it ever come back?

Brandon Sanderson

I sat down with Apocalypse Guard and looked it over and since I couldn't decide what was wrong with it, I actually gave it to Dan Wells, who's a friend of mine, and I said, "Dan, can you figure out what's wrong with this?" We broke in together, we've been in writing groups together for a long time, and he read through it and he's like, "Yeah, I've got some ideas." So I actually, you know, wanted to work with him, so he actually jumped in to try and do a draft of it himself, and he fixed a lot of the problems, but he didn't fix the biggest problem, which is that the worldbuilding doesn't work.

Which is a really weird thing for a Brandon Sanderson book, but it's part of the reason we can't release it. I can't release a book with bad worldbuilding. I just can't. So while he fixed the characters, I still need to fix the worldbuilding. If I can, we will release it. If I can't, I'm sure even if I don't ever release it, I'll find a way to put it on my website or something like that. So you would be able to read it, and if we do release it, I'll make sure to release it in the failed version too for those who are interested so you can compare. So I think it's really illustrative to see how a professional fails.

#6 Copy

Questioner

You said in a previous question and answer that there was Cultivationlight, possibly. Since Lift is aligned to Cultivation, does she actually use Stormlight?

Brandon Sanderson

That's a RAFO. You know I'm staying away from this.

Footnote: The previous question referenced can be found here. This question has been answered here; she is generating Lifelight, which is Cultivation's Light.
#8 Copy

JoyBlu

Both Tien and Kaladin are Radiant, you talked about how that wasn't hereditary, and how that was more because of where they were with association. Was it because they were associated with the same person, or the same place?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, Connection influences spren.

JoyBlu

Right, but was the Connection to a person that they were around?

Brandon Sanderson

Connection to people.

JoyBlue

So not necessarily the place where they were?

Brandon Sanderson

Right.

Joyblu

Because my way of thinking it might be with the people is because, like with the Purelake on the Cognitive Realm there would be more spren hanging out there because that was more land, right; so if you spent more time on that you would have more spren around you. So if you're closer to more water, you're closer to more spren.

Brandon Sanderson

That is not an irrelevant observation.

#12 Copy

Stormlightning

Where you *inaudible* Hoid as a Lightweaver in Era 2?

Brandon Sanderson

Hoid was a Lightweaver in Dragonsteel.

Stormlightning

I mean a spren Lightweaver. Unless the timeline's still, really--

Brandon Sanderson

Meaning was I planning for him to become a Lightweaver?

Stormlightning

Before Era 2 since we thought Era 2 was going to be Era 3.

Brandon Sanderson

 Hoid has never quite stopped being a Lightweaver. He is very happy to be fully empowered with things.

Stormlightning

Does that mean he was not fully a Lightweaver?

Brandon Sanderson

You will find out someday. His magic was not fully functional, but he was Lightweaving in Way of Kings

#14 Copy

R'Shara

A long time ago, where you said that Pailiah was the elderly ardent in Kharbranth that Shallan saw, is that right?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes? If you say I said that, then I did.

Questioner 2

Does that mean it is still true?

Brandon Sanderson

Let's just say there is a Herald in close proximity to Taravangian.

R'Shara

It was in a signed book but we never got a picture of it.

Brandon Sanderson

There is a Herald in close proximity to Taravangian. I'm not being sneaky about that.

R'Shara

Is there more than one?

Brandon Sanderson

There have been in the past, but there is only one that you would call influencing him right now. But there have been others in the past.

#15 Copy

JoyBlu

How old is Taravangian?

Brandon Sanderson

Taravangian is in his 80's, I believe. He is not immortal, he has not lived an extra long time. He might be 70's local time.

JoyBlu

How many kids does he have? If he has all these granddaughters running around.

Brandon Sanderson

He has a number of children, but I have not defined it.

JoyBlu

Were they all with the same wife?

Brandon Sanderson

No. That, I have defined.

Questioner 2

Were they all by a wife?

Brandon Sanderson

A better question. RAFO.

R'Shara

Was he as much of a stud as Spook?

Brandon Sanderson

RAFO.

#16 Copy

Questioner

You see, in a few places, Shards that can read people's minds, or send thoughts to people's minds. What, in other settings, would be called telepathy. Do we have, in any Shardworlds, a magic system where ordinary people have telepathy?

Brandon Sanderson

I've actually designed one that I think is interesting, whether I will make that work or not, I'm not sure. But there is a very interesting world, one that i have right now in the Cosmere, that we will see. I try not to canonize these things till I actually write the story. As happened with Silence Divine, where people have been for six years, "When are you going to write this story?" Because I wrote one chapter of it.

But yes, I do have something that works that way.

#18 (not searchable) Copy

Brandon Sanderson

So I have never read this to anyone before. In fact no one has seen it in ten years. It is not canon, but it is where Taln as a character started. If you're not familiar, Taln is the crazy guy that shows up at the end of Way of Kings. And here is how his first scene went in the original Way of Kings.

 

Taln awoke from a dream of agony and screams. Two things occurred to him immediately. First, as a Herald, he should not need to sleep. Second, as a Herald, he definitely shouldn't dream.

He frowned, sitting up. The last few days were a blur in his mind. He had come to the city, and he remembered his arrival and his bursting in on some sort of feast or party. Beyond that, the Sign hadn't worked.

Taln hissed in surprise, thrusting forward his hand, trying to manifest the Nahel bond within him. Nothing happened. What of his other powers?

He analyzed his surroundings with a quick glance. He was in a long rectangular chamber set with beds along both walls. The room was set with stone pillars and the windows were shaped with triangular peaks. In fact, the architecture had a great number of angles and lines. He was probably in the Alethi section of the city.

Many of the beds were occupied with the lame and the sick. And the men tending them wore undyed tan robes, some with the glyph Ele, the mark of the priesthood. There were two long doors leading out of the room and the windows provided an alternative exit. They looked wide enough to be broken with relative ease. A table would probably do it.

There was a small chair beside his bed, and a chest with amber knobs. He reached out, blessing his fortune. He had the sourcestone of Stonewarding. He touched the amber, seeking to draw upon its power, and again, nothing happened. Taln withdrew his fingers, frowning. Something was very, very wrong.

Why won't my Stonewarding work, he thought with frustration. And the Sign. I need information.

He scanned the room again. His mind was far less fuzzy than it had been. Images, places, and thoughts were all becoming more clear. There were only two monasteries in this section of the city, unless new ones had been constructed. Lighthome and Mercyhome, of which Lighthome was a female monastery.

One of the attendants noticed Taln was awake, and the man waved over an older monk. The elderly man regarded Taln with a displeased expression, whispering to his companion in a voice most men probably wouldn't have been able to overhear. But Taln was not most men.

"Where's Brother Lhan?" the elder monk hissed. "He should be here!"

"I'll fetch him," the other monk promised, bowing his head in deference, then rushing off.

The older man cleared his face of displeasure, smiling reassuringly toward Taln. He had a large nose and grizzled features and his hands were callused.

"I see you finally awoke from your slumber, traveler."

"Yes, holy one," Taln replied, still bothered by the fact that he had fallen asleep in the first place. "Thank you for caring for me." He flexed his arm, testing his muscles against their extended immobility. "It seems I've been out of sorts these last few days. How long was I asleep?"

"Four days, off and on," the senior monk explained. "You were awake for much of the time, but you seemed unable to focus."

Four days. Taln shook his head. Yet he could feel the weakness in his mind, the whispers at the edges of his sanity. It was getting worse each return. Perhaps that was the reason for his apparent slumber.

"I must say, traveler, you seem far more lucid than you were when we first brought you."

"I feel far more lucid, holy one," Taln said with a smile. He raised his sheet, noticing he was still naked. Hopefully the monks would loan him some clothing, though he doubted anyone was going to give him a weapon any time soon.

"Tell me, traveler, what do you remember of yourself?"

Taln raised an eyebrow. "Are you asking if I still think that I am a Herald?"

"In not so many words."

"My problems of the last few days were not related to my identity, holy one," Taln said. "I am a Herald. I will not lie to you. That would do us both a disservice."

"I see," the monk said, his disappointment apparent.

"However," Taln continued, "I don't expect you to believe me. The Sign did, after all, fail. I'll have to solve that problem before I can move on to other items. For now, let's suffice to say that I was a traveler in need of your assistance and you provided it. The Almighty bless you for that."

The monk smiled, glancing to the side as another brown robed form, looking a little disheveled, entered from the north hallway. "You're welcome to stay with us as long as you need, friend," the elderly monk said, gesturing toward the newcomer. "Brother Lhan has been assigned to care for you. He will travel with you and make certain you are acquainted with the city."

In other words, he'll make certain I don't get in trouble, Taln thought, smiling and nodding his head as the elder monk backed away to care for other patients. Taln was pleased to note that this Brother Lhan was carrying a folded pile of clothing for him. Lhan was a younger man, probably in his early twenties. A bit on the pudgy side, with an unconcerned oval of a face.

Lhan blinked tiredly as he approached, and his left cheek was still imprinted with the lines of whatever he had been lying on before they woke him. Lhan yawned as he pulled a stool up beside Taln's bed, resting the clothing on the floor in front of him.

"Greetings traveler. Welcome to the glorious Mercyhome monastery."

"Thank you," Taln said, reaching immediately for the clothing. "I assume these are for me?"

Lhan nodded, yawning again.

"I'm sorry they woke you," Taln said, picking through the clothing.

Lhan shrugged. "It's my own fault, I really should get a better place to hide."

Taln raised an eyebrow at the comment as he examined the clothing. The cut was unfamiliar to him, though fashion changes between returns were normal. The trousers were loose through the legs and ended in wide triangular cuffs halfway down the calf. The shirt was equally loose, probably intended to be worn tucked into the pants and tied with a sash. There were undergarments as well.

The most important article, however, was the thick brown cloak. A piece of Rosharan fashion that would never change. Cloaks were necessary even in the summer to ward off highstorm rains. All the clothing had been crafted from <shanaw>, a plant whose bark was stringy and fluffy enough to be spun. It made for rough fabric. Fortunately all of the cloak had been treated in such a way to make it soft to the touch. Taln nodded in satisfaction.

"Brother Lhan," Taln said, "Please run and fetch me some thread and a needle."

"Excuse me?" the monk asked.

"You and I are in a forced relationship,"Taln said. "Your superiors obviously expect you to keep me from causing serious trouble. If you want my cooperation in this, you'll want to make yourself useful."

Lhan raised an eyebrow. "How very economical of you."

Taln sighed, regarding the man. "I'm not trying to be difficult, Lhan, I'm just trying to save the world. A needle and some thread would be very helpful."

Lhan rolled his eyes, rising from his stool. "All right."

"Oh and bring me some rocks," Taln added. "Small ones, maybe half the size of your fist."

"Rocks?" Lhan asked.

"Yes, rocks. This is Roshar. Last time I checked, which admittedly was several centuries ago, they were fairly prevalent here."

"Rocks," Lhan mumbled again as he walked off.

Taln was dressed by the time Lhan returned. He accepted the thread, needle and rocks from the monk, and began sowing the flap of the hem of his cloak.

The monk sat down, regarding Taln with curiosity.

"The second thing I'll need from you, Brother Lhan, is information," Taln said, pulling the thread tight.

"Ask away."

"What year is it?"

"Tenth Epoch, 980," Lhan replied.

Taln paused, needle halfway through his stitch. "980?"

"Yeah," the monk said. "Not that I've seen the daylight for the last ten years or so, but at least that's what they tell me what year it is."

980. Nearly a thousand years since the last return. That's a long time. Something must have happened to the <cofen> That was the old name for the voidbringers]. They had never waited that long between returns before. "What happened to the epoch kingdoms?" Taln asked

Lhan didn't respond immediately. "You're kidding, right?"

"Pretend I'm not."

"They fell, right after the beginning of the tenth epoch."

Taln closed his eyes, sighing to himself. He hoped it wasn't true but.. "What about Alethkar," he said. "It obviously still exists."

"Well a lot of the kingdom is just a name," Lhan explained. "It's always a good idea to use one of the old names when you found a kingdom. Makes you seem more legitimate."

"Which ones still stand then, even if only in name?"

"Alethkar, of course." the monk said, "And as the king told you, we've expanded a bit over the last few years. Thaylenah still stands, by itself on that island over there. So its borders stay pretty stable. Vedenar is now called Jah Keved, though it's ruled by three Veden houses with a figurehead as its leader."

"That's it?"

"Well Shinovar is still there. But no one really pays much attention to them. The rest is gone. Kingdoms sometimes try to claim their names, but mostly they're uninhabited. Especially <Rianat>. There's enough bandits over there to form their own kingdom."

Taln nodded. It wasn't as bad as it could have been, but... "Vorinism is still strong, I assume?" Taln noted, reaching for the rocks that Lhan had brought him.

"Always will be, Almighty willing," Lhan said in a beautiful monotone, his piousness weakened slightly by the extended yawn he made in the middle of the sentence.

"If the Vorin religion is still in power, " Taln said, "How is it that no one takes my claim to be a Herald seriously? Have you forgotten about the cycle of returns, the coming of the cofen? The religion was founded to prepare for such things."

"Well, we've kind of had to change our focus during the last epoch. You did, after all, promise that you weren't coming back any more."

"What?!" Taln froze, glancing up.

"At the end of the last return," Lhan explained. "The Heralds disappeared and said they weren't coming back. That the cycle of returns was through and the cofen had been defeated."

"That's not possible."

Lhan raised an eyebrow.

"I wouldn't be here if the cycle of returns were over." Taln explained. "Trust me. Which of the Heralds proclaimed this?"

"Well I'm not sure. It didn't become the official doctrine until about the fifth century, I think."

"Why so long?"

"You're kind of asking the wrong monk, actually. Actually, the wrong monastery. The order of Ishar contains all the history experts. This all happened a thousand years ago."

"But it's your theological heritage!" Taln said.

"So the senior monks are fond of telling me."

Taln stood, putting on the cloak.

"You sewed rocks into your hem. How very odd of you."

Taln spun, turning a few times to judge the motion of the cloak. Then he turned to the side in a quick motion, pulling the garment off with a smooth gesture. He nodded to himself, putting it back on. "For weight." Taln explained "A weighted cloak is more easy to position in battle and more easy to remove quickly." You could also use it as a surprise weapon, though he didn't offer that bit of explanation.

"Oh," Lhan said.

"What did you think I was doing?" Taln asked with amusement, sitting down on the bed without removing the cloak.

"I wasn't sure," Lhan replied. "I figured you were confused. You are, after all, crazy."

"You're not a very subtle one, are you, Brother Lhan?"

"I make up for it in sheer laziness," Lhan replied. "What are you doing now?"

"Pockets," Taln said, getting out of the cloak again. "Do you mind if I cut up this blanket?"

Lhan shrugged. "It's the kind of thing they expect crazy people to do, so I guess it's okay. But you'll have to tear it. I'm certainly not giving you a knife."

Taln frowned but did as requested. "You seem surprisingly flippant with regard to my supposed lunacy. Aren't you afraid I'll become violent?"

"You're not the violent type. I've seen your type come through the monastery a lot. I also know you can't be talked out of who you think you are. My job is simply to make certain you don't accidentally hurt yourself or anyone else, especially not me."

"You have experience with my type, then?" Taln asked.

"I tend to get the more undesirable assignments"

"I wonder why." He fell silent as he worked, turning his thoughts to a topic he'd been avoiding. What was he going to do? Normally he had the other Heralds to decide the plan. But he appeared to be the only one who'd reached the city. He needed to find the others and that required one thing. His sword. It had been taken from him. He remembered that night of the feast only vaguely.

"My sword..." he said.

"That was confiscated," Lhand said. "You didn't exactly make a good impression on the king. Enduring perhaps, but definitely not good."

"There was a woman," Taln said. "She saved my life."

"Lady Jasnah" Lhan agreed. "The king's sister. Don't assume she protected you out of fondness. Lady Jasnah is about as compassionate as a sleeping chull. Even her breathing is politically motivated. No one's certain why she pled for you, but most think it was some kind of stunt."

"Either way, I owe her my life," Taln said. The loss of his weapon was troubling. With it, he could sense the location of the other Heralds. It would be the easiest and fastest way to find them. Assuming, of course, he thought, that the Blade's power still worked.

Taln paused. A feeling of dread struck him. Stonewarding didn't work, and he couldn't manifest the bond. If he'd lost the sword as well...

The window light turned red. Taln gasped, feeling dizzy. An expression of concern actually crossed the monk's face.

"Are you all right?" Lhan asked.

The monk burst into flames. The windows melted. Bloodred fire ripped up the sides of the building, pooling at the top and bearing down on Taln with its heat. Smoke rose from the suddenly ignited beds, curling ominously, bringing with it screams, sudden, formless screams, that came from the far edge of the room.

Taln looked up. Fire roared and something moved within it, something dark. The screams mounted, pulsing in his ears, searing him, flaying him.

"What's wrong?" Lhan asked, still in flames, his flesh melting from his face.

Taln closed his eyes, grabbing the sides of his bed, pushing the screams away. He shivered, exhaling a long, demanding sigh. When he opened his eyes, the room had returned to normal. He sat for a few minutes, breathing deeply.

"I'm fine," Taln finally said, forcing himself to stand up and look at his new cloak. It had one large pocket and two smaller ones, and a small ribbon at the back to hold a hidden dagger, if he ever managed to get his hands on one.

"I assume I'm allowed to leave the monastery?"

"So long as you take me with you," Lhan said, "but.."

Taln raised an eyebrow.

"You're kind of expected to go work in the royal mines, "Lhan explained. "To help pay for your keep."

"No one is going to force me?" Taln clarified.

"Well, no."

"Good," Taln said. "We're leaving."

"Umm...Where are we going?"

"To get some information."

"Oh, you mean my wealth of accumulated wisdom isn't good enough for you?"

Taln turned, eyeing the monk with a suffering eye, then waved for him to follow.

#19 Copy

Questioner

What was the inspiration for Sazed's spiritual turmoil?

Brandon Sanderson

He came from several ideas. One idea was the missionary for all religions. Which was that the cool concept, that originated his story, was someone who tried to fit a religion to someone like you fit shoes to somebody. "Let's find the right one to fit them." When I was developing that character and working on it in the outlining process, and after I tried a few scenes and knew that I liked who he was, the question that followed up is, "What does he really believe?" As I developed the character, I settled on "He doesn't know," because that's not what he does, he tried to suit to other people. I knew that the story had to put him in a crisis of deciding what does he actually believe, and what is his belief system, because that is who he is. The inspiration of that was simply growing out of who the character was as I saw this character, and trying to create a crisis that would force him down that path, to make the hard decisions.

#20 Copy

Questioner

Will we ever find out more about Vessel of Ruin?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes. I will eventually write Dragonsteel, which is Hoid's backstory; you will find out about all the various Vessels of the Shards of Adonalsium then. It is a little ways off; I'm going to finish all of Stormlight before I do that. It will be the the next thing after Stormlight 10.

#21 Copy

Questioner

When will you clear up the things at the end of Bands of Mourning?

Brandon Sanderson

That is mostly setup for Era 3 of Mistborn. You can find some answers in Arcanum Unbounded; if you haven't read that, I would recommend that. If you get the the end of Bands of Mourning and you're like "huuuuh?" there are some answers in Arcanum Unbounded, but mostly I'm doing stuff that is Era 3 of Mistborn, which will be written after Stormlight 5. There will be a Wax & Wayne 4. Wax & Wayne 4 will touch on these, but it's not the central theme of the Wax & Wayne books; it's the central theme of Era 3.

#22 Copy

Questioner

If you were a Smedry, what would your talent be?

Brandon Sanderson

I base most of the talents of the people in the Alcatraz Books off dumb things that I do. So I am famously bad at dancing. Famously. So I would definitely have that one. I am always late; that came from me. (Though really, secretly, it came from my mom; 'cause she is even more late that I am.) Most everything thing in there is me. But I would say probably "bad at dancing", that would probably be my best, because I am just really bad at dancing. It's not even in a funny way, it's just in a boring way.

#23 Copy

KING

What would it take for a member of the Seventeenth Shard Shard to convert over to a member of the Ghostbloods? 

Brandon Sanderson

Oh, the Ghostbloods would actively recruit from them. So, I think it would not be terribly difficult. It 's gonna depend on which kind of Seventeenth Sharder. Because there are a lot of non-field-agent Seventeenth Sharders, which would be less interesting. Field agents, they would actively recruit. 

#24 Copy

Questioner

Do you have any updates on the Dark One TV series?

Brandon Sanderson

It's got an interesting history. Dark One is one I've been working on for a long time, and I actually wrote out a big pitch for it when I pitched Apocalypse Guard to Random House, and I said, "Here's one of the other ideas I'm gonna write someday." They're like, "Woo. We'll keep this in our binder." And that binder made its way to their TV department, who read the pitch and was like, "We have to have this!" and came to me and said "Can we buy this?" I'm like, "Well, I haven't written the books yet." They're like, "We don't care. We want this pitch." And the pitch, the idea is that a young man in our world, a knight shows up to assassinate him, and he finds out that there's kind of a Narnia-esque fantasy world that his father visited when he was a kid and screwed up, and they are super mad. And they have prophecies that this kid is gonna be the next Dark One, and so they're gonna assassinate him before the whole epic-fantasy-thing can happen, and the Dark One tries to conquer the world. They're just gonna take him out first. And so it's kind of this twisting the story on its head idea. And it's a really fun pitch.

So they bought it from me. I expanded it to a 30-page outline, sent it to them. I can't tell you who they got, but they've got somebody very big attached to it, which I'm very excited about, someone who I was excited about that my assistant Peter just about fell over dead when he heard the person attached. And we should be flying out to do pitches to studios and places early part of next year. We wanted to be doing it now, but I have a book launch, and they want me there with them.

It's going really well. It's been a wonderful experience. I'm very hopeful with that, I think it will be a very interesting story if it happens.

#25 Copy

Questioner

What made you want to write Skyward?

Brandon Sanderson

Skyward is a weird book in that it is a science fiction book based on a fantasy idea. Some of my favorite books when I was growing up were stories about a boy who finds a dragon egg or a dragon, and raises the dragon and then flies on the dragon, all sorts of fun stuff happens. And I've always wanted to do one of these stories. One of the very first books I ever read in fantasy was Dragonsblood by Jane Yolen, which I just reread so I could write a little review of it. And it's great. One of my favorite books of all time is The White Dragon, by Anne McCaffrey. And you'll find some Anne McCaffrey references in this book, you won't have to look that hard. But the idea was I wanted to do one of these books, but I never felt like I could give a good spin to it. And it is when I combined it with some other worldbuilding I had done in a science fiction universe and changed it from "a boy and his dragon" to "a girl and her spaceship" that the story really started to connect, because the worldbuilding that I had built for this galactic science fiction really clicked with this story. And that was kind of the breakthrough that I made, was combining these two things together.

So, Skyward came from me wanting to write a story about a dragon. It just turns out the dragon is a spaceship with a really weird AI.

#26 Copy

Questioner

Do you have it planned out to a final ending?

Brandon Sanderson

I do. It's interesting how the outlines work. The further you get in a given series, the middle books have the least, and the last books have the most. It's the same for the Cosmere. Last books of Era 4 have a lot more than the first book of Era 4 does.

Questioner

Is there a point where you foresee basically ending the Cosmere and moving away from writing the Cosmere, start doing prequels?

Brandon Sanderson

The fact that I will probably not finish this until, like, my 60s if we're lucky. I feel like that point, I could do more jumping around, but that will be an endpoint. I like things to end. So I won't write off doing some other things in the Cosmere, but that will be an endpoint.

#28 Copy

Questioner

There are honorspren and cultivationspren on Roshar. The other spren that are tied to orders of Knights Radiant, do they have any relationships with any other Shards?

Brandon Sanderson

They are all going to be a mix of the Shards on Roshar. Some weight a little further one direction or the other. They are not off-world Shards. Good question.

#29 Copy

Slowswift

How do the spren in Shadesmar feel about fabrials? Are they mad that people are trapping spren?

Brandon Sanderson

Let's say there's a wide variety of emotions, but the general response would not be favorable.

#30 Copy

Questioner

If Vin had not killed the Lord Ruler. I would think that the Lord Ruler would take up the Well of Ascension a year later. Would he have just fixed the world to be what it was pre-...?

Brandon Sanderson

I think there are various theories of where this could have gone. Some, it would have been okay. I think that assuming things would turn out the way the Lord Ruler thought he was capable of doing would be assuming a lot, for what his state was at the time that he was *inaudible*. It is possible that things would have gotten much much worse. I'll just say that. I'm not gonna canonize either way, but I think there's a good argument in both directions.

#32 Copy

Questioner

Mistborn Era 3. Are you going to make a steel Twinborn?

Brandon Sanderson

That's a very dangerous combination. Let's just say that certain elements in-world are very, very interested in finding and/or making them.

#34 Copy

Ethour

Would an Aviar be capable of a spren bond?

Brandon Sanderson

What they do is the same thing, by cosmere terms. It is not as powerful; because of that it is easier to shift between people. What you gain is not as strong, but you also gain flexibility. But it would be, cosmerologically, considered the same thing.

#37 Copy

JoyBlu

I dressed up as Kokerlii from Sixth of Dusk. I want to know, red and green are in the book are these [rainbow-colored array of feathers] appropriate, or not?

Brandon Sanderson

Kokerlii I had not imagined as fully rainbow colored.

JoyBlu

So red and green, were there other colors?

Brandon Sanderson

I was imaging red on green.

JoyBlu

What about the green Aviar? If I wanted to make a green aviar costume? Green and white?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes that would work.

JoyBlu

Is it just those two colors? Are there different shades of green?

Brandon Sanderson

There are aviar that are like this *gestures to JoyBlu's costume*, full parrot. Totally legit. But There are a lot of breeds of aviar.

JoyBlu

*inaudible* What would be the best <pattern>?

Brandon Sanderson

Solid colored feathers *inaudible*

#39 Copy

JoyBlu

As I was reading about nightmaws, I thought that nightmaws were like dinosaurs. Is that...?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, but they are feathered.

JoyBlu

Like a pterodactyl?

Brandon Sanderson

More like a giant...

JoyBlu's Daughter

Chicken!

Brandon Sanderson

Giant chicken. We're looking at a giant evil bird.

#42 Copy

OrangeJedi

In several instances of the highstorms, several characters mention seeing large creatures walking in the highstorms; they don't seem to be super fazed by this. Do they know these creatures exist, is it part of their lore?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes. But you've got to also remember that people who are out in highstorms, they expect it to be... they expect to see odd things. When you're out in a highstorm, it does not faze you in the same way that if you go to a horror movie, you expect something horrific to happen.

OrangeJedi

Do they have a name for said creatures?

Brandon Sanderson

There are names in various parts of the lore, but there is no one name.

OrangeJedi

Could you give us one of them?

Brandon Sanderson

No.

#43 Copy

JoyBlu

At the end of Oathbringer there is an agreement between Odium and Taravangian.

"If you help me, I will save your family.  Anyone within two generations of you."

Taravangian says "Not enough."

"Then we have no deal"

And so then they go on and they make the deal that says "The city itself, and any humans who have been born into it, along with their spouses."

Was the grandchildren included in that? -- or was it meant to be ambiguous?

Brandon Sanderson

Depends on where they were born.

JoyBlu

And then, Grandchildren. There are three listed of Taravangian's: Gvori, Karavangia, and Ruli.  There is also the one that Shallan drew the picture of which I think is a different one.  Is that right?

Brandon Sanderson

*nods head in agreement*

JoyBlu

So far we have four granddaughters.  Karavangia is obviously named after her grandfather, Right?

Brandon Sanderson

*nods head in agreement*

JoyBlu

Does he have more grandchildren named after him?

Brandon Sanderson

*shakes head no*

Why are you asking?

JoyBlu

I was wondering if Tarah was somehow related to Taravangian.

Brandon Sanderson

Good question, no.

#45 Copy

OrangeJedi

In a previous question you said that when Pattern talks he makes vibrations in the air that can be picked up by a recorder. When Syl talks to just Kaladin, and is only appearing to just Kaladin, could that audio be recorded?

Brandon Sanderson

RAFO.

#47 Copy

JoyBlu

Szeth, when he writes when Gavilar dies, what language was that written in?

Brandon Sanderson

That was written in Alethi.

JoyBlu

Where did Szeth learn Alethi?

Brandon Sanderson

He has been living among them for a long time, and Alethi was also part of his training.

#49 Copy

Questioner

What would happen if Hoid held Nightblood?

Brandon Sanderson

Uh, Hoid would not do that. Hoid would stay very far away.

Stormlightning

Not even hold it??

Brandon Sanderson

He would stay really far away. There are very few things in the Cosmere that Hoid is afraid of, and Nightblood is one of them.

Stormlightning

I thought he'd be afraid of the blade end.

Brandon Sanderson

So let's just say if very, very, very few things in the Cosmere had a chance of destroying you, you wouldn't even pick one up. You'd try to be in a different room entirely.

R'Shara and Sunbird and JoyBlu

*Whispering about Nightblood being able to destroy Hoid*

Brandon Sanderson

I didn't say, I said theoretically. I said "had a chance of", I did not confirm. Hoid doesn't know. But there's a chance, and so he is not going to risk that.

#50 Copy

Stormlightning

Is there a limit to hordeling size? Like what the size of one is?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes.

Stormlightning

Should I be worried about whitespines being a hordeling?

Brandon Sanderson

They are not a hordeling.

Stormlightning

So what's the size limit?

Brandon Sanderson

Fist-sized is about how big they get.

Stormlightning

And how many can you have? For one.

Brandon Sanderson

Lots. More than you have seen on screen.

#51 Copy

Stormlightning

So Hoid has some sort of magical compulsion that doesn't allow him to hurt people.

Brandon Sanderson

That is correct.

Stormlightning

Is there any other involuntary compulsions he has that would stop him from doing things he'd like to? "Involuntary compulsions" being the kicker there.

Brandon Sanderson

I'll RAFO that.

#52 Copy

Questioner

Would Hoid be able to harm a Herald or a Cognitive Shadow?

Brandon Sanderson

Um, so, he is curious about this too. I don't know if I should canonize this. Let's say: odds are, no. Cosmere scholars would guess no.

#56 Copy

Questioner

Can a coppermind be Awakened?

Brandon Sanderson

This is possible.

Questioner

With the memories already in it?

Brandon Sanderson

This is going to be harder because those memories are going to be keyed to someone else, who, by nature, would not be the individual that it was made into. You would have to key those memories to who the metalmind was becoming. There would be an extra step in there; It wouldn't just naturally be that way. We're talking wild, wild, these are possible, but far out, stuff. Possible, but there is an extra step in there.

#59 Copy

Questioner

At the last signing event, I was asking about a Shard[blade] and paint, if it disappears, comes back, what happens? You said the paint never disappeared with it. But you seemed intrigued by other possibilities, and then I thought of some too. One of them would be a foundry, showing people how to make weapons, you put your Shard in the sand, make a sword in there, dismiss it, fill it with your molten metal, stuff like that sounded like...interesting ideas.

Brandon Sanderson

I like that, I like that a lot.

#63 Copy

the.fulgid

During his conversation with Shallan, Wit said that, "Failure is the mark of a life well lived," and I'm glad that you shared that because this question has been on my mind a lot, and he says, "And in turn the the only way to live without failure is to be of no use to anyone." Is there anything Hoid has failed at that we haven't seen on screen that you would be willing to share?

Brandon Sanderson

There are certain people he thought he was going to be able to help who ended up not surviving.

#66 Copy

Questioner

What do Shardblade Cryptics look like? They can't really have crossed out eyes. Would their pattern-

Brandon Sanderson

You mean like a deadeye?

Questioner

Yeah.

Brandon Sanderson

It will be noticeable, but it won't be the same as the eyes. Let's just say their algorithm is messed up.

#67 Copy

Questioner

Of all of your characters, were some of them based off of people that are part of your life?

Brandon Sanderson

Definitely.

Questioner

And are there any of your characters that you wish were real?

Brandon Sanderson

Oh yeah, I'd have fun chatting with some of them. I would like to chat with Sazed, that would be a lot of fun. A lot of the side characters are based off of friends; not a lot of main characters. The most main character that's based on a friend is Skar, who is based off of my friend Skar.

#76 Copy

Questioner

I'm curious, you mentioned at the Legion release that the Fused were after the spren that Hoid bonded. Was there a specific reason why they wanted that spren? Or was it just because [it was] the enemy?

Brandon Sanderson

I will say they would have done that for another spren in that situation.

Questioner

Any other spren?

Brandon Sanderson

Not any other spren; but there wasn't something uniquely identifying about that spren that they were hunting.

Questioner

They wouldn't have done it for any spren, but there were other spren they had done it for?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes.

#82 Copy

Questioner

Mrall is the assistant to Taravangian. He's described as Thaylen but he's bald and no eyebrows. Does he lack hair everywhere else?

Brandon Sanderson

He does not completely lack hair, but mostly.

Questioner

His comments about how it's easy for him to turn off his emotions are a little bit eye raising.

Brandon Sanderson

They should be!

#84 Copy

Questioner

Is there a group on Taldain that's tied to Autonomy? Directly, like working for Autonomy? I'm after sand mages versus...

Brandon Sanderson

I would say yes. Though there is some wiggle room in that question, I would say yes. I wouldn't canonize it. I would call it Word of Brandon canonized. Until it appears in the books, it's not super canon.

#85 Copy

Shqueeves

Stormlight, when you hold it, gives a sense of immediate urgency or movement. Does Voidlight have a similar emotional impact?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes.

Shqueeves

Is it the same as the urgency, or is it something different?

Brandon Sanderson

Something different.

Shqueeves

What is it?

Brandon Sanderson

RAFO. Good question.

#86 Copy

Questioner

I was wondering what kind of aviation research you did for [Skyward].

Brandon Sanderson

Fighter pilots. I did my best off of YouTube and researching. I still got it way wrong. Fortunately, I had a couple of long-suffering fighter pilots I did some phone calls with, who were able to set me straight. The final version, I think the only thing that I wish I would have changed is, I learned more about ejection seats and the way to eject, after the book had gone in. The things you need to do.

#87 Copy

the.fulgid

I feel like knowing both basic and advanced studies of Realmatic Theory are key to understanding not just how the magic works, but how the very nature of the cosmere works. We already have some of the fundamentals, including:

- The three realms- Shard aspects, knowing that they were made with intent, but the form they building blocks of much of the cosmere- Connection to a Shard is necessary to access its Investiture- I have a bit of an analogy where Identity and Connection work similar to an access badge to a building

Is there a more advanced concept of Realmatic Theory we don't have yet that you'd be willing to share?

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah, I could buy that.

the.fulgid

Is there a more advanced concept of Realmatic Theory we don't have yet that you'd be willing to share?

Brandon Sanderson

No. Too hard to say, something like that, what we don't know. So no, I will RAFO that. I apologize. I will put them in the book when they are developed, and I can explain them in the way that I feel is appropriate.

#88 Copy

Questioner

A lot of authors say that a lot of their writing comes from personal experiences. For Warbreaker, do you have any personal experiences that led to...?

Brandon Sanderson

I did write it on my <honeymoon>, so that may play into the whole marriage, all that stuff. I'll go with that one. There's a weird one. As I was working on Mistborn, my editor said, "Wow, Elantris and Mistborn both take place in pretty dark and grimy worlds. Do something more colorful next time." And so I'm like, "All right, I can do colorful."

#89 Copy

Questioner

Warbreaker. Any modifications to it to fit it better to Stormlight?

Brandon Sanderson

No, I think that the connections are where I want them to be. We will do, when we do the tenth anniversary leatherbound, we do small continuity error changes and typos, but there shouldn't be any major changes.

Questioner

I was just thinking because of the whole Breath, the colors, and the Stormlight, I'm assuming...

Brandon Sanderson

It is where I want it to be right now, in those relationships.

#90 Copy

Questioner

The magic systems. How much do you have to research, and how much can people just believe?

Brandon Sanderson

It really depends on the situation. Like, for instance, Skyward. I was doing actual fighter pilot stuff. I researched, wrote it, and it was wrong. And my fighter pilot alpha readers were like, "This is gonna kick out anyone who's a fighter pilot. You need to get this right." That sort of stuff, you can't fudge. But something like the Shattered Plains, where it's a combat situation no one in our world has ever been in before, I feel like I can control and say "This is what they would do because of the way their traditions are." So even if there might be an absolute better way to do something, I can make it reasonable. So, there's both. It depends on what's gonna kick people out of the story, and things like that.
#91 Copy

Questioner

How can you make someone fall in love with a character? <Make them interesting?>

Brandon Sanderson

Those are both very different things. A couple quick tips. Relatable problem, even if it's not the main problem of the book. Making a character want something and not be able to have it is always instantly relatable to us. Making someone really capable and competent is another way. One of the reasons Indiana Jones works is we see how good he is at what he does, we are instantly intrigued by that as people. A good question, a good book question, can also work. Like, "Why would the character be doing this thing? It seems so odd." But likeable and interesting are very different things.

#93 Copy

Questioner

For the interior art [for leatherbounds], do you find the artists, do your publishers find the artists?

Brandon Sanderson

It depends. A lot of these are covers. And in those cases, I picked my favorites. Otherwise, Isaac commissions where we have holes. The Miranda piece here. He and Peter are the ones, these are kind of their babies, putting together the leatherbounds. So I give them leeway to kind of do what they want. He commissions the endpages, and things like that.

#94 Copy

Questioner

David's similes or metaphors. Was Megan correcting them as to be metaphors intentional from the start? Or is that something that afterwards, lots of people had been complaining?

Brandon Sanderson

I was aware they would complain. But their complaining did prompt me to make sure I mentioned it.

#95 Copy

Questioner

Do you have to sometimes reread a novel or a series when you're making a sequel to that series?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, I do. In fact, I'm gearing up to reread all the Stormlight books so I can write the next one.

#96 Copy

Questioner

Are Mat and Perrin bound to the Wheel?

Brandon Sanderson

I would say yes, but I'm not the ultimate authority on that, so it's possible what Robert Jordan would say would be different. I would say yes because we have Odin myths and things like that that are obviously Mat myths.

#97 Copy

Questioner

I read something that said you wish there'd been more between Mat and Padan Fain, in the end.

Brandon Sanderson

I wish I had done more. I feel like that's one of the things that I, a little bit, dropped the ball on. It was a little too brief. That's one of those things that, if I had a little more time and got more reader response in beta reads, I might have picked up on.

#100 Copy

Questioner

After Stormlight, Wit was far and away my favorite characters. One of my friends came to me and heard I really liked Wit, and he's like, "Oh yeah. His name is Hoid, he's a worldhopper, he's in a ton of cosmere books. So I went and read a bunch of the other cosmere related books. Why's he so different? Like, in Mistborn, he shows up as a beggar/informant for half a page?

Brandon Sanderson

So there's a couple reasons for this. One is, there are certain books where he is a character and other books where I'm just writing him as a cameo. Most of the books I'm just doing a cameo for him. Stormlight's where you see the most of him until he gets his own book.

The other reason was, at the beginning, I wasn't sure how much people would be interested in behind-the-scenes stuff, and so I was very sparing with it in the early books. You won't see a lot of him until Warbreaker, and even then he's only in a chapter. Even in Wax and Wayne books, you only see glimpses of him. There will be other books he'll be a bigger part in, but if you like Wit, Stormlight's your jam.

#101 Copy

Steeldancer

When Sazed gives Vin a little bit of pewter that doesn't really have a charge in it, and she isn't able to use that power. What would happen if he gave her a full metalmind and she tried to burn it for Allomantic power.

Brandon Sanderson

I think I cover that in the book somewhere, don't I?

Steeldancer

I looked around for it and couldn't find it.

Brandon Sanderson

I know for sure I've answered it to fan questions before. So go ask. If I haven't, you can come back and ask me, but I'm pretty sure we have answers on that.

#102 Copy

Steeldancer

When a Feruchemist stores their charge in a metal, where is that going? Is that going into molecules, is that going into the Spiritual essence of the metal, is that sort of a Cognitive - what is that?

Brandon Sanderson

It is charging it in...in cosmere terms, more on the Spiritual level, but there are connections to the Physical as well. It's not 100% on the Spiritual.

Steeldancer

It's not changing the molecular structure?

Brandon Sanderson

It is not going to change the molecular structure. If you brought that metal to Earth, somehow, and tested it, you wouldn't be able to tell any difference. Because we just don't have that element.

Steeldancer

You can't test for Investiture on Earth

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah. In the cosmere, you can.

#103 Copy

Questioner

The magic system from Elantris has a lot of drawing things, and the system from Warbreaker has a lot of colors. Would you be able to combine that, if you did a rune with colors?

Brandon Sanderson

This is possible, yes. It's an interesting combination, it would work in interesting ways.

#104 Copy

Questioner

In Oathbringer, Taravangian tells Dalinar that there is metal falling from the sky, anything more on that?

Brandon Sanderson

The rainfall on Roshar is full of elements; and metal is not maybe not 100% accurate. But crem, that solidifies, comes down with the rain water.

Questioner

He says that's what they were using to make half-shards.

Brandon Sanderson

Oh, you're talking about that! I'll RAFO that for now.

#108 Copy

Questioner

In Secret History, you talked about Kelsier being attuned to Ruin, more to Ruin than to [Preservation]. How come Vin isn't that way.

Brandon Sanderson

I have to say this very carefully. She is, for reasons I'm not going to explain at the moment, and she isn't, at the same time.

#115 Copy

Questioner

Did you have trouble killing Vin?

Brandon Sanderson

No, because by then, I was well prepared for it. I was worried about what the response would be, but it wasn't hard for me to do, because that was the story. Sometimes, when I'm doing this, I've outlined for a long time, I've planned it for a long time, it's almost more like I'm writing history, if that makes any sense.

#119 Copy

Questioner

How did Nightblood get from Warbreaker to Oathbringer.

Brandon Sanderson

He was carried.

Questioner

How?

Brandon Sanderson

RAFO! He was carried by someone.

Questioner

What book will you have to read to find out?

Brandon Sanderson

You will find out eventually. Nightblood, the sequel to Warbreaker will include some, Stormlight books will also include some.

#120 Copy

Questioner

Do you play those [Blizzard games]?

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah. They tried to get me to write for them. Back before Overwatch became Overwatch, when it was their next MMO game, Titan, they brought me in and were trying to convince me. And they were good books, but I just could not spare the time.

#121 Copy

Questioner

In Mistborn Era 1, they don't...aluminum in real life can only really be refined through the use of electricity.

Brandon Sanderson

You can actually get it before that. For instance, Napoleon had a set of aluminum dinnerware that he gave to the really fancy guests. If you weren't fancy enough, you got the gold. So they could get it in elemental form without electrolysis or whatever the process is. You could get it, but you couldn't make it. It was extremely rare till the modern era.

They have started to figure out that process in Mistborn, and it soon is going to become really common.

Questioner

Once aluminum is dirt cheap like it is--

Brandon Sanderson

That changes the world a whole bunch!

#125 Copy

Questioner

Did the game developers for the Witcher franchise get back to you?

Brandon Sanderson

They never did. I didn't expect them to, though. I was not calling them out. I was specifically just saying that if somebody asked me, I would. It's not like I was...I was trying to bury that. It went way bigger than I wanted to. But I think they already knew. I have made it clear to them I'd enjoy working with them.

#126 Copy

Questioner

On Roshar, if a Herald were to die, to not-really-come-back die, would it possible for someone to take up the mantle of that Herald?

Brandon Sanderson

You're gonna need to read and find out, because this is the first time that happened was at the end of Oathbringer.

Questioner

Because he is dead--

Brandon Sanderson

He is dead dead.

#129 Copy

Questioner

God-King versus God-King. Susebron versus Rashek, who comes out on top?

Brandon Sanderson

Rashek, probably.

Questioner

By a lot or a little?

Brandon Sanderson

Well, here's the thing. I think Susebron is at the disadvantage in almost every situation.

Questioner

Okay. How so?

Brandon Sanderson

Rashek has been alive longer. Rashek knows what he's doing. Rashek has martial training. Rashek has killed a lot of people, Susebron never has. Fewer scruples. His magic is way more combat-oriented. He can get out of range a lot easier. He has power emotional Allomancy, which Susebron would *inaudible*.

Granted, he's got so much investiture, he may be able to shrug that off. But still, I would put Rashek at the advantage.

#130 Copy

JoyBlu

An epoch, is that a standardized set of time or relative?

Brandon Sanderson

It is not a standardized set of time.

JoyBlu

So it could be variable like, when dad gets home from work til when leaves from work.

Brandon Sanderson

Well, that's not going to be one, but yeah... The epochs were way better defined in the original Way of Kings. I let them be more squishy.

JoyBlu

In the original Way of Kings, like a first edition?

Brandon Sanderson

No, in the Prime, that I read from.

#133 Copy

JoyBlu

Szeth Son-Son. When did his name change from Son to Son-Son.

Brandon Sanderson

When he was made Truthless.

JoyBlu

Do we know the time of when he was made Truthless? How long has he been Truthless since the [Prologue]?

Brandon Sanderson

I know, but I'm not confident enough, because I rely on Karen so much to fact check my numbers.

JoyBlu

Is it like a couple of years or a lot of years. Recent?

Brandon Sanderson

I would say recent, but that's also subjective and relative.

JoyBlu

Because if he's lived a thousand years, then a hundred years could...

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, but he hasn't lived a thousand years.

JoyBlu

So, he's lived about thirty years...

Brandon Sanderson

Mmhmm.

#139 Copy

Questioner

Are the Unmade and the spheres that contain them only on Roshar or are they in other planets in the cosmere?

Brandon Sanderson

You need to rephrase that question a little bit. Ask me again, remembering there's a big difference between the Rosharan system and the rest of the cosmere. There's three planets in the Rosharan system.

Questioner

*Gestures* Particularly in these ones.

Brandon Sanderson

It's possible that Unmade influence and existence would extend beyond Roshar.

#140 Copy

Questioner

Both the languages described in Warbreaker and The Stormlight Archive contain a letter or glyph called the shash. Is that a consequence of both languages originating from a common root language on Yolen or is there something more complicated going on?

Brandon Sanderson

Less complicated.

#141 Copy

Questioner

If you had an AI like M-Bot with subroutines that simulate emotions, if it was written well enough, could it attract a spren?

Brandon Sanderson

I will RAFO that for now, I have been asked it a bunch. Let's just say, AI in the cosmere are going to be an interesting thing to explore. We will explore that.

#143 Copy

Questioner

When you pictured Kelsier in the Mistborn Series, did you see him as a Christlike figure?

Brandon Sanderson

He sees himself that way, I do not.

Questioner

And the church that follows up after him, is that more like *inaudible*

Brandon Sanderson

It is hierarchical like some Christian churches are, but it is not meant to reference any specific church. I do not personally see Kelsier as... he has a more inflated opinion of himself than I think he should have.

#144 Copy

Questioner

Do we ever get to see more of Threnody?

Brandon Sanderson

You should, if I can figure out when to get the Threnody novel in, it's going to be a lot of fun.

Questioner

Like you said earlier you are trying to finish some things--

Brandon Sanderson

Before I start new things. You wouldn't see it until Stormlight 5 is done, for sure.

#145 Copy

Questioner

You used the Julia Set as a basis for the map of Roshar; Is there any meaning beyond it, using the Julia Set? Or is more, "This is striking to me-"

Brandon Sanderson

The meaning is my fascination as a layman with fractals and equations. It is supposed to mean something in world; that Roshar was grown with a mathematical equation.

Questioner

But not specifically that one?

Brandon Sanderson

Not specifically the Julia Set. You can't learn much from the Julia Set.

#149 Copy

Questioner

Who is Trell?

Brandon Sanderson

Trell? Depends on who you ask.

Questioner

He is the god that Wax... *inaudible*

Brandon Sanderson

Or a random person on Taldain, or someone referenced in Era 2, there are lots of different things that Trell could be.

#151 Copy

Questioner

What's the strangest thing you've made yourself an expert about for the sake of your books?

Brandon Sanderson

Eunuchs? I would not call myself an expert, but it is one of the odder things I have researched.

#154 Copy

Questioner

[Their question is] Why do you hurt Kaladin so? They're really sad by that. And why can't he be happy? And who the heck is Wit?

Brandon Sanderson

I hurt Kaladin because I tell the stories and the characters put themselves in the situations. Why can't he be happy? Kaladin has a hard time with happiness. He is working on it.

#155 Copy

Questioner

If you had to pick actors to play Kaladin, Lopen, Skar, Dalinar, and Rock, who would you pick?

Brandon Sanderson

I'm not sure if I could pick them all. I really like Dave Bautista for Dalinar, he is somebody that I think would do a really good job. I can give you that one; I'm not sure about the others.

#156 Copy

Questioner

In The Stormlight Archive, you've got the actual book The Way of Kings, are you planning to write it?

Brandon Sanderson

No, I am not. I feel like it would be an exercise that would take a lot of effort for very little value to the community or to myself. I like it also being open-ended so I can be like, "Oh, this should be in there," and then be like "Hey, here is a new quote from The Way of Kings".

#160 Copy

Questioner

I'm an illustrator. I know a couple illustrators in the area have worked with you on some illustrations. So how does that work? I know usually the art director is the only one who has a say in the art.

Brandon Sanderson

Isaac is my art director. We have enough influence with the publisher that we hire out everything except the cover, and we say, "You're just putting this in." I pay for it. I started that on my second book, after they didn't pay my illustrator on the first book, because they forgot and lost the check. And it took them, like, eight months to get another check. I'm like, "I'm just gonna pay for this. So I make sure my illustrator gets paid." And from then on, I've just done that. When you're paying for it, the publisher lets you do a whole bunch of stuff.

#161 Copy

Questioner

If you write down a measurement of a firespren, it locks into that. If you write down a measurement that's not true, will that still work? Can you just write down the measurements of a firespren and quadruple its size?

Brandon Sanderson

Let me just say this. Human perception of spren has an intrinsic effect on how they act, react, and interface with the world.

Questioner

So if I were to take a picture of a firespren, increase the brightness on my phone by 5000, and then write down that recording, the firespren would multiply brightness by 5000?

Brandon Sanderson

I didn't say that. I said, "Human perception of spren influences their behavior and their form."

#162 Copy

Questioner

Are you ever scared someone's going to ask you a question you don't want to answer?

Brandon Sanderson

Scared, no. But the thing that worries me is I flub some of the questions 'cause I'm just not paying attention. I get into the groove of signing and they hit me with something. And I usually flub one or two a night, where I'm just not paying attention. Or I think they ask something, and I'm thinking they asked something they didn't. Those are the ones I don't like. I don't fear them, but I'm like, "Argh." They only happen once a night. But it happens consistently.

#163 Copy

Questioner

I'm planning a game for Mistborn roleplaying. What are your thoughts on an obligator, an Oracle obligator Misting who (and this is pure theorycrafting on my end) can, burning the alloy of atium and cadmium, put himself into a stasis to last into Alloy of Law era, realize "Where has my Lord gone?"

Brandon Sanderson

I think that's a great story. I don't know if it would work 100% in canon, but in a roleplaying game, that sounds feasible and great.

Event details
Name
Name Skyward release party
Date
Date Nov. 6, 2018
Location
Location Orem, UT
Tour
Tour Skyward
Bookstore
Bookstore Barnes & Noble
Entries
Entries 163
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