*discussion fades in* ...I doubt they would come to regret that. It depends on your threshold for characters with depression but--
They haven't minded that so far. That's not an issue. I think they just want to make sure he doesn't end up leading the Voidbringers or something.
Yeah I think you'll be okay.
Would you come to regret naming your child Kaladin? It was requested I ask.
I might stay away from Moash but-- Considering what he did in [Words of Radiance].
What should I be looking out for to see Hoid in this one [The Bands of Mourning]?
He's pretty obvious in this one.
Oh he's obvious in this one? I remember the last one he barely popped in.
Yeah the last two he's been barely in. This one he actually is-- He's up to something in this one.
If you were a Twinborn with both steel, would you be able to move faster than people could use atium to see what you were going to do?
So you couldn't move faster than their atium, but you could move potentially faster than their mind's ability to process what they're seeing. You might be able to-- but the atium does lend a certain ability of natural reaction, but you are still limited by your muscles, and things like that. So I think you could probably beat atium that way. That would be a valid way.
Is there a comparable way-- like you can become a Misting by burning an alloy of lerasium and some other metal--
Yes.
Is there a comparable way of becoming a Ferring?
Uh… *carefully* Comparable within certain limits of the definition of that word, then yes.
Just meaning, is there some in-world way--
There is some in-world procedure yes.
So what would Wayne do with a Shardblade?
Hehehe... He would have way too much fun.
Could you use steel or iron to Push or Pull off Shardblades or Shardplate?
Anything that's Invested resists, the more Invested it is the more it resists.
Okay, so you could technically--
Yes.
--if it was not charged?
Well-- Certain objects just have more Investiture and are more purely of the Investiture. A Shardblade's going to be really hard, but it's possible, it's just going to be really, really hard. Even more hard than an absolutely full Feruchemical metalmind because the Shardblade is being created directly out of the Investiture, it's basically all Investiture, it's not a metal that is Invested. It's going to be real hard.
So for most of your planets do you just assume that gravity is 9.8 m/s, and do you have a reason for that, or--
It just depends on the planet. Like Roshar… it's 0.7 Earth gravity on Roshar.
Oh really?
Yeah, otherwise they couldn't lift those bridges, and you couldn't have the-- Even with the help of the spren, you couldn't have the giant beasties. So it's a high-oxygen, low-gravity environment. So fire acts a little differently on Roshar than it does on other planets. People are taller, like if you put a Rosharan next to someone else the low-gravity would have had that effect.
Oh, I didn't even know that.
Generally you should assume when I'm using numbers they're in-world numbers. So, for instance, a Rosharan foot is actually larger than a foot in another-- Stuff like that. I have to do some jockeying of these things to not be completely off-putting and confusing to people who are not expecting-- to the casual reader, but like days. A Rosharan year is 500 days, but they're twenty hour days, I made an hour basically our hour just to keep it from being too crazy for people. But that means when it says Kaladin's 18 he's really actually like 20 years old and a little over, or something like that, I forget the numbers. Everyone's a little bit older than they sound but it works just for the average reader.
Does the word Adonalsium-- In your mind did you get that from the phrase "ad nauseum"?
No.
Because the first few times I heard someone say ad nauseum I was like "Adonalsium? Did someone say Adonalsium?"
Good question, nope but that's not the origin.
Does each Shard have a favorite, or special, number or color?
I would say that there are inclinations but it's not, perhaps, as specific as you are thinking.
If Shardblades were spren, then what is Shardplate?
Good question. It's a great question.
And you're not going to say are you?
I'm not going to answer you.
If the Stormfather were to turn into a blade for Dalinar, would it be bigger than other Shardblades?
Um… That's a RAFO. *people get excited* That doesn't mean that I'm going to answer it, that means that answering it would either canonize something I don't want to canonize or it would mean that it is something irrelevant and I don't want to send fans spiraling into-- and so... It doesn't necessarily mean that something that will be included in the books.
Do you ever go on the 17th Shard just to see what random heck is going there.
Once in awhile.
With the AonDor seems to based on the geography of the place, could there be AonDor based on other geographical features, like Kholinar?
Um… *hesitantly* Yes, but it's-- There's something weird about Sel that is making that happen that way on Sel. So...
But you could have it in other places on Sel?
You could-- Yes, it does exist in other places on Sel but yeah.
I have a young game-development studio and we're interested in making a Rithmatist game because I think the magic system lends itself very well to tablets and mobile devices. So what type of prototype or product would you have to see to be able to say "Yes this is good or no this is "--
That is an excellent question. So the question is he works for a game development studio and he wants to potentially make a game from The Rithmatist. And he's asking how he would go about doing that. So, we have had about five proposals on The Rithmatist and we haven't taken any of them. This is mostly because the game studios who proposed them, none of them have actually been able to show us developed games they made on their own. They all were game studios that were still working on something. And knowing the little I know about the gaming world, having friends who are in gaming, I take people who have actually finished things with more respect.
So, I’ve sold video game rights before, except nothings ever been made, I've sold Mistborn and things. I sold it to the people who came and said "Look we have a bunch of games". So if you have actually built games then I am really interested in talking to you about the potential of doing a Rithmatist game. If you haven't actually built and released games I would suggest go and build and release some of your own games, let us see that you can do it, and then come and talk with us. And if you do have released games and it's all good come up and I'll point you at my assistant Adam and he can tell you how to get in touch with my agent and send a proposal to me and the agent at the same time and we'll look it over.
Who's going to make the Mistborn game, and when is it going to come out?
Who's going to make the Mistborn game and when's it going to come out. So they bought the rights to that like four years ago and then their game studio divided and the people-- the gaming guys were like "Yeah this happens" and they had an architecture but then it fell through and they said "Oh we're going to do it for nextgen" and since they said that we haven't really heard anything. So...
Y'know, this happens in gaming all the time, they're a good studio, they have lofty ideals, but most of the games they make are not on the scale of Mistborn. And so they have until 2017 to make something. I still have not seen any sort of playable architecture or anything like that… So we'll just wait and see... Their name is Little Orbit. They have mostly done movie tie-in games. There's a bunch of people-- It's the gaming industry out in California so three of the people there were from Interplay and three of the people there were from this studio and they've all made big games before but this studio itself, they just aren't being able to get it together to make a big game. So if they do-- I mean I really like them, if they get it going I'll be super excited to see it happen but once 2017 rolls around I probably won't renew their option and say "Well it's time to let this one lapse".
Is the Old Magic a Shard?
Is the Old Magic a Shard? That's a Read And Find Out.
Why was Dalinar able to feel the Thrill during his visions from the Stormfather?
Why was Dalinar able to feel the Thrill during his visions from the Stormfather. Well that would indicate that the same reason he feels the Thrill now still was in existence. Well not-- I mean was still affecting him. Does that make sense? He was in the real world, his body was in the real world. Whatever makes him feel the Thrill was still affecting him. Does that make any sense?
Was the Rose Empire ever under threat from Shu-Dereth? And can you speak a little bit on fitting The Emperor's Soul into a world you'd already created?
So was the Rose Empire ever in danger from Shu-Dereth and could I speak a little about fitting The Emperor's Soul into a world I'd already written. So when I designed Elantris, I knew where I was going, and I knew a lot about the world. This is how I am in building. So when I wanted to do The Emperor's Soul I already knew where I was going to place it, I knew which magic system I was working toward, and things like that. So it wasn't terribly hard since I already knew what was over there.
The fun about that is that you should go look at the map commissioned, the one Isaac drew, that's done by the Derethi and see how they view the Rose Empire and where they put it on their map. And then you'll eventually get a map of the whole world, and let's just say they don't have a really accurate representation of the world and their place in it. As was very common for a lot of early societies, early European maps are hilarious.
Do the koloss make new Hemalurgic spikes or do they just reuse the ones they already have?
Do the koloss make new Hemalurgic spikes or do they reuse the ones that they have. So far they have just reused the ones they have.
When Galladon appears in Way of Kings why is his skin not silvery?
When Galladon appears in The Way of Kings why is his skin not silvery. That's a RAFO but there is a good reason for it.
The beginning of the trouble in [the Cognitive Realm] near Sel, is that coincident with the onset of the Chasm?
The beginning of the trouble in [the Cognitive Realm] near Sel, was that-- did it coincide with the beginning of the Chasm. No, good question.
So I hear that you have a director for Steelheart--
Do we have a director for Steelheart. So Steelheart was purchased by Shawn Levy's company, at Fox, Shawn Levy directed the film Real Steel, which I really like, he also directed the Night at the Museum films, which I enjoy.
Do you have an idea as to when casting might start?
So the way this goes-- breaks down for those who aren't aware. First thing they do, usually, when they buy a property is they commission a screenplay. Which they did. Screenplay came in some time in January, I haven't seen it yet they are sending it out for a polish. Once they are satisfied with the screenplay, at that point that's when they go to the studio and try to-- Oh that's when they try to get talent attached. Usually a director, like Shawn Levy is enough talent if he says "Yup, this screenplay turned out good, it's my next project" that would get it a greenlight and they would go to casting. So it's actually going really well. If it weren't a studio deal, if it weren't through Fox, at that point they would have to get some talent attached and then they'd have to convince a studio to give up funding and stuff like this. But if Shawn Levy likes the screenplay and says "Yes I'm doing this" it will then go to casting.
Would you have any option on the screenplay?
Would I have any option on the screenplay-- No I do not have any power over the screenplay. No. When you sell rights like this most of the time you just have to hope they do a good job. I feel I gave them a pretty good screenplay in Steelheart in the book itself so I'm hoping Steelheart the book works out as a film.
What can you tell us about Nightblood's sheath?
What can I tell you about Nightblood's sheath. That it's cool. *laughter* It's a little bit different. Good question. I can tell you it's made of an unusual material.
*audio obscured*
So Elend's name came from the Germanic word for misery and Straff's name means punishment. The question is did I do this intentionally. I didn't do either one intentionally. I don't speak German, what I did was I went to Germanic morphemes, I didn't even know what they meant, and just got a feel for "Okay this is Germanic, this is Germanic" and then put those aside and said "Alright can I come up with a bunch of names that sound Germanic" once that mood is in my head. Because English has a lot of Germanic influences I guess I did it too well and I named a whole bunch of people things that are actual words in German. *laughter* But you know I'm actually fairly pleased with that, it means I was doing my job. But you know I didn't intentionally make them mean anything in German, at least this time I didn't accidentally pick a swear or something, which I’ve done before. *laughter*
How did you come to know Joshua Bilmes?
How did I come to know Joshua Bilmes. Joshua is my agent, for those who don't know. So when I took the class at BYU, that I now teach, from David Farland, I was writing Elantris and he was very impressed with the book and he said "Look, you're writing to get published." And I said "Great, what do I do?" And he said "Well how much money do you have?" And I said "None." "Well borrow some 'cause I want you to go to the Nebula Awards because they're in New York and when the Nebula Awards," he said, "are in New York a lot of the agents and editors go and it's one of the best places to just go meet them."
So I managed to scrounge up enough money to fly to New York, I stayed in a friend's basement. It was actually the brother-in-law of Skar the bridgeman, Ethan Skarstedt, my friend he came along with me. We stayed in his brother-in-law's basement and took a train into the city just for the Nebula Awards. We couldn't afford the banquet so we just sat in seats on the side of it. And beforehand Dave said to me "Alright I want you to go, and when you get there I want you to go to the bar, 'cause everyone is there, and I want you to start talking to people." And I'm like "I'm like a Mormon kid, what am I doing in a bar?" "You're ordering a Sprite and you're talking to people, that's what you do in a bar." And so I went and I sat down and ordered a Sprite and started talking to people. Meanwhile Ethan went upstairs to the little lounge area where they also had a bar and ordered a Sprite and started talking to people. I ended up talking to Jim Minz an editor at Tor, who rejected the book I sent him. Now Jim is at Baen Books.
He ended up talking to Joshua Bilmes. He came down afterwards and said "Who'd you meet?" "I met this guy" Introduced him, they chatted, and then I said "Who did you meet?" "I met Simon Green's agent" And I'm like "Cool I like Simon Green's books" And we went up and I chatted with Joshua and he gave me a card. And then I came home and I sent him a book and he rejected it. *laughter* And I sent him another book and he said "Ah let me see more of this one" And then he read that and rejected that one. And I sent him another book and he rejected that. Then I sold Elantris to Tor and called him and "I've got a book deal" and he said "Well I think I'll probably represent this one." So he was very skittish of taking me on at first but he's an excellent agent and I'm very glad I ended up with him. But yeah Mormon kid trolling for editors and agents in a bar in New York, that's how it happened.
Where do koloss-bloods come from?
Where do koloss-bloods come from... Good question. So when two-- When a mommy koloss and a daddy koloss… *laughter* Any natural offspring from two koloss become koloss-blooded, they do not become full koloss unless they decide to take the initiation which involves the spikes.
So Nightblood is sentient, he can make choices, and now he is in Roshar. Could Nightblood bond a spren and become a Radiant?
Could Nightblood bond a spren-- *drowned out by laughter* That one's just a bit farfetched. *laughter* I rarely say anything is impossible but let's just say that one's pretty farfetched.
Do the Shards move-- Other than Odium do the Shards move around and have we seen-- Or have Shards moved to worlds after the events that we have read about?
Do Shards other than-- Do Shards move around? The answer is yes, there are several of them. Have Shards moved around after the events you've read about? Yes, there are Shards that have moved around after that.
That have moved to the worlds we've read about?
That's a RAFO. I'm not going to tell you whether they've moved to the planets you've read about or not.
Of all the characters you've written which one has the most of you in them?
Of all the characters I've written which has the most of me in them. Boy, y'know every character is a bit of me and every character's got something that's very unlike me. Um, I really have trouble answering that. People have asked it of me before. Some days I think it's Jasnah, some days I think I'm arrogant to assume it's Jasnah. Any character I would mention it would feel like the things I like about them are the things I wish I would have, if that makes sense? I don't know if there's any one that is really just me. My mother reads the Alcatraz books and says that's me. *laughter* She really does. Like she loves those books because she says "No that's you". When I have no inhibitions and I'm not trying to be self important I just do stupid things like in the Alcatraz books so maybe Alcatraz?
I was at-- I think it was at Way of Kings or Towers of Midnight, and I think I might your dad?
Okay.
At least I think it was your dad. He said he was your dad. *laughter* I realized like two years later that it might not actually be your dad.
It was, it was. *laughter*
I'm relieved. Old, white hair, he said he was sort-of going to voice act Grandpa Smedry.
So my dad. She may have met my dad. And she really did meet my dad. *laughter*
I realized like two years later, "Wait what if that wasn't really his dad? Just some crazy guy?"
My dad looks like--
Your dad was very nice.
Yes, he looks vaguely like Alan Alda. Much more when he was younger, now he looks like a grandpa-ish Alan Alda.
So like Alan Alda.
Yeah, maybe like Alan Alda still is. So the funny story about my dad is-- She wanted to know if this was really him and he said he was going to voice act Grandpa Smedry. So what my dad loves to do is he likes to show up at my signings, particularly-- He had a job where he moved around a lot. He would be at home in Idaho for a weekend and then he would go and work somewhere for a week and come back-- One of those jobs, right? And so I would go do my signings and never know where he was, right? And so I'd be doing a reading-- And I did one once in, this was in Ohio--
I met him in Portland.
You met him in Portland?
The year someone brought you a massive box of Voodoo Donuts...
Yes, yes, the Voodoo Donuts...
...you don't like chocolate?
But I love Voodoo Donuts! I'm just not going to wait in line for it.
But you don't like chocolate!
I don't like chocolate flavored donuts, I like a piece of chocolate, but like the chocolate flavoring they put on donuts is such fake chocolate...
I think it was the CocoPuffs one.
Yeah. So anyway my dad, he'd just show up at places like this, and I'll be doing my signing, right? And I was doing a reading once in Ohio and there's a disturbance at the back, and I'm like "What is going on?" And people kind of part, and there's my dad signing books. *laughter* Seriously. He's just signing books, and he's just laughing about it like "Oh I taught him everything." *laughter* He's never read a science-fiction book in his life. He reads the books like, that we replaced over here for our signing that are religious books and stuff. He reads-- Oh it was the cart, the cart said religious books and they had stacks of my books on it-- He reads stuff like that, he reads biographies. My dad does not science-fiction.
Has he read your books? I know he's read Alcatraz, because he was talking and quoting it.
He's read my books. He's read the Alcatraz books at least. This is my dad, he's signing my books... The other part of that story is that he then took off and like seven kids came through the line-- like twelve-year-olds that he had bought a hardcover for because he'd seen them with a ratty paperback and knew they couldn't afford one, so he just bought if for them. *audience awws* And he did that for just tons of kids in the line. And he will do that at the signings. If he sees some young kid with a paperback, he'll buy them a hardcover. So that's my dad for you. *applause* I'll tell him you applauded for him. I'll tell him that you remember him...
Will you bring him back?
Will I bring him back? I'll tell him he has to come to the signing next time.
What was Wit doing during the hunt of the chasmfiend near the beginning of The Way of Kings?
That's a RAFO.
So we'll find out?
A RAFO does not mean you'll find out. A RAFO just means I'm not answering this right now.
Do you have a layout of the cosmere, like everything is happening written down or is it just up here?
It's written down. Some of it's up in the head, some of it's written down. Most of it is somewhere...
Somewhere?
Yeah most of it's somewhere.
Is Harmony only able to see and watch over Scadrial or will he be able to see the potential of other parts of the cosmere?
We'll talk about that in an upcoming story. You'll get more clues about that very soon.
Very soon?
Very soon.
Like before the end of the night?
Poten-- Well not-- Potentially before the end of the night, yes.
Are Returned the same person-- like is a Returned the same person they were before they were alive or-- 'Cause it says in the book that it is a Shard that Awakens the body so is it the consciousness-- Well not the Shard--
It is the same soul.
The same soul.
Yeah.
I was wondering if it was the consciousness of the Splinter.
Yeah.
Is 1/16th of everyone on Scadrial capable of becoming Allomancers?
Are 1/16th capable--
Of everyone.
--is that the question? Not necessarily.
In one of the Stormlight books, or Way of Kings, it says "3 of 16 ruled but now the Broken One reigns", so did they-- did the three of them have a pact?
That's a RAFO.
"--and then the Broken One reigns"?
That's a RAFO.
I was wondering, how often are [???] life imitating art or intentionally put into place?
It's rare that it's intentional. Once in a while it is, for instance Nohadon is based off of King Benjamin.
Nohadon?
The author of The Way of Kings, the original author. But more often it's just unintended
Will there ever be more Mistborn llamas?
*laughs*
I had a shirt signed by you and the others and my parents destroyed it.
If you ask Kara, she's the one you have to convince [email protected].
Is there a meaning for Adolin's name, like there is for Kaladin?
Yes.
Okay, do you want to tell me it?
Honestly I have to look them up. So I don't have them off the top of-- I should. I just have to look them up. It’s like there's technically a meaning to almost every name but yeah.
If the spren turn into any weapon how come all the dead spren are Shardblades?
Good question.
Read And Find Out?
It is a Read And Find Out.
What happened to Wax's horse that Wayne did?
What happened to Wax's horse that what?
That Wayne did, it's kind of referenced.
The reason the horse bit Wayne, is that what you're asking? The horse just has a nice sense of who deserves to be bit.
Can you tell me at what point did Renarin hear the Shardblade…
At what point? Um… *long pause* Earlier than it may initially be obvious.
If Renarin can see the future why did he say that we're dead?
You will learn a lot more about him in the third book. And why he's doing what he's doing.
Did it take a life to create Nightblood?
Did it take a life to create Nightblood. It did not. It just required a lot of Breath, which you could assume each one is a little piece of a life so maybe. Multiple lives in that way but no one actually had to die. Good question.
Can an Epic’s weakness change?
Can an Epic's weakness change? So far they have not.
Does Kelsier ever talk to Marsh since Sazed's Ascension?
RAFO… Good question. That's one I'll answer some day so it's not a RAFO for "nothing's happening".
Can a Returned gain a Nahel bond?
It is not outside the realm of possibility. Much more easy than Nightblood [gaining a Nahel bond]. Invested things resist other Investiture and so it depends on amounts of Investiture and it depends on a lot of factors. But that one's a mixing that could happen.
I'm going through Hero of Ages...again and I noticed...when Vin takes the power of Preservation into herself the descriptions remind me a lot of someone who has been Invested with Stormlight--
Yes.
--are those powers very similar--
Yes.
--in how they operate?
Ye-- Definitely some similarities. You will see a lot of mist in Stormlight if you are looking. So yeah.
It like puffs out like mist.
Any hints about what the Stormlight novella will be about?
I'm probably going to make Lift the main character if the scene-- if it works it will be Lift. If it doesn't I could pick a different character, but I have a nice little outline for what Lift has been doing in between and I think she'll make a very good novella on her own. I do want to write the short story King Lopen the First of Alethkar, but that one's only like 5,000 words so if I get that one done I'll stick it in too. If you watch at the end of Words of Radiance Lopen's going around claiming to be king and there's a reason for that.
I just had a question about the broadsheets, do you write all the content for those?
I wrote all the first one. And the second and third one's I'm like "I don't want this all to be in my voice I want it to feel like a newspaper" so I wrote a couple. Isaac wrote a bunch, Ben wrote some of them--
Ben didn't write any.
So it was you who wrote the rest of them?
Did you do the layouts?
Yeah I do the layouts and then I give them to Ben to do some of the illustrations.
The really fun thing is Isaac wrote the Nicki Savage one in this one [The Bands of Mourning].
It was really fun, I'm glad Brandon let me.
If an Awakener were to go to Roshar and were to bleed the color from a gem would that gem still be able to store Stormlight?
Bleed the color from a gem… Um ye-ye-ye-yeah. This would interfere with its function on Roshar. It would probably still be able to hold Stormlight…
Might not be able to be used for Soulcasting?
Yea-- It's going to… You know what no it would just change it. It would just bleed the color from it and turn it into a dusty quartz or something like that. That's probably what it would end up with, a dusty quartz. Because the molecular structure doesn't matter as much as the color for Roshar. So yeah you would probably still be able to hold Stormlight because a diamond can but I don't know, quartz might cut it. You'd probably end up with something that's not going to work so well.
What about a fabrial that needs a specific--
Yeah a specific-- A ruby wouldn't work any more, and it would let go whatever is captured inside.
Shardblades are essentially spren that have died--
Not all of them have died but yeah.
Oh, my question was if they could be revived?
Um this… According to the understanding of those in-world it would require the same person who broke their oath. So it would be possible if any of them were still alive. I'm not ruling out other ways, but that's how it's understood by--
It would be the traditional way.
Yeah, mmhmm.
So I was actually wondering, I keep finding myself thinking of new and exciting ways to break science with magic. How do you keep yourself from doing that constantly as you're writing?
You write the book the best way the book can be. You give it to a scientist. You say "What does this break?" and then you either take it into account, if you think it is going to work for the book. If not you come up with an explanation in-world and you move forward. We're writing fantasy, we don't want the science to ruin our book, we want the science to be something we considered. Does that make sense? Like when I made speed bubbles and Peter's like "Red shift! You're going to irradiate people." I'm like "Alright we're just going to have to say 'Speed bubbles are not irradiating people' ". And just be aware of it and write the best book you can.
What would happen if somebody used the color from a Stormlight-infused gem to create a BioChromatic entity?
So I just had this question actually and what we came up with was that would leave behind something that is like a cloudy quartz and is going to make it work not as well for holding Stormlight. That's our answer right now, I'm going to talk to my scientists and see what they think because draining the color from something doesn't just leave it white, or clear, it kind of ruins it, it's gray-ish, it's dun. It clouds. So I think it would ruin things for Stormlight.
Was Rashek-- Was he pained by burning gold all the time? Like was he always able to see what could have been, since he's burning gold to stay alive?
He grew more philosophical than pained about that.
Has a Hemalurgic Feruchemist ever used a Hemalurgic spike to tap power into it? Have they ever done that yet?
So a Hemalurgic spike is already Invested, so it's going to resist sticking anything else in it, particularly a magic like that.
So if there's a pewter spike then a Feruchemist couldn't store strength in it?
Yeah. It would be difficult.
Are you willing to answer any questions about Wax's earring?
Not really. Not the one you want answered. We're going--
Won't even tell me what it's made of?
I'm going to keep that one close to my heart for now.
Could I get the material that Bleeder's spikes are made out of?
No. Nice try.
Does Wayne's ability to impersonate people have anything to do with his Allomantic abilities, or is it just skill?
He is just really good at it. Good question.
What's Wayne's favorite ice cream flavor?
The more-- Oh rum. Obviously, come on.
In Warbreaker, Hoid's about to tell a story and he starts pulling out sand, some black sand. Is this from the planet that White Sand is from?
Good question, and that's a RAFO.
In Alloy of Law, Marasi goes to see Wax in his house and he was doing experiments, she describes him as being oddly-- looking oddly younger than he had before. Is that relevant or is that just because he’s excited about--
Yeah it's more that, and more she had this picture in her head of him and things like that. There's no actual magical thing going on there. It's an excellent question.
So three Vin & Elend books, and then four Wax and Wayne, and five of the next ones?
No, we'll probably go back to three, but they'll be big, thick ones again. So... I haven't actually named the main characters of the next one yet. I'll have to think about that, so I can tell people what it is.
At the end of The Rithmatist that weird chalk creature he meets in the chapel, can you tell us something about that?
That weird chalk creature is deeply involved with the magic system and you will find out a lot more in the next book.
Megan's weakness was fire, she overcame it. David's weakens was water, I feel he overcame it when shooting at the window. So my conspiracy theory is that he didn't have to take power from Calamity because he overcame his weakness or he was never experiencing the negative aspects of being an Epic *audio obscured*
You are getting warmer... You're theorizing is wise and you'll just have to see where it goes. But yeah you are definitely getting warmer.
If they can make it so they can't see that kandra, can they do that the same with koloss?
Is that possible? Yes it would be possible.
Probable?
It has not happened yet.
In the beginning of Way of Kings, the first one, you start and Gavilar has a sphere that he passes off to Szeth and says "Give this to my brother, keep this safe away from them". It says it's dark but has its own inner light, but it hasn't been brought up again.
No.
Is it going to be brought up again?
It will be brought up again.
How-- Is it important? Or is it more mi--
It's important… ish.
Ish? Does it have anything to do with Odium?
Yeah.
*after reading a personalization request* What do you mean by specifically what Paalm was doing, which thing?
Her ultimate goal, we think, was to Shatter Harmony.
You think her ultimate goal was to Shatter Harmony?
*audio obscured*
Her ultimate goal was to free people from Harmony, so I wouldn't say her ultimate goal was to Shatter Harmony. So what you're asking me is "Is Taravangian trying to combine Harmony?
We thought that Paalm was trying to divide people from Harmony in order to Shatter Him. *audio obscured* Taravangian was doing the opposite, trying to gather his people so that he could pick up-- so Honor could come back.
Not really. Good question, once I figured it out.
What happens when a... spren picks up a Shard?
What do you mean picks up a Shard? Shardblade or Shard of Adonalsium?
Picks up a Shard of Adonalsium.
A spren is a Shard of Adonalsium so it just--
Picks up one of the big ones like could a spren do the same thing that Kelsier's spirit did after he--
*hesitantly* It's like you're asking if electricity can gain a charge of electricity and get electrified. Does that make sense? I mean-- It's a question that doesn't make a lot of sense.
If a Shard were to somehow-- They would just combine into a bigger Shard and get larger-- if that makes sense?
The foundation of that question was I thought that maybe the Stormfather spren was basically doing what Kelsier's spirit did.
Oh, um *sighs* Not really... It's really a not really There's some similarities but it's a not really. It's not quite a RAFO though. more of a--
More of a "doesn't quite work that way".
--doesn't quite work that way but you're thinking along the right lines?
*following a question concerning information from Dragonsteel Prime* I'm not 100% on anything in that-- those books are canon
What would happen if a Leecher touched Nightblood?
*nervous laughter* If a Leecher touched Nightblood the Leecher would be dead. That would not end well.
For the Leecher.
For the Leecher.
Would it require a human-type person to have possession of one of the Shards? Would it interact the same way like if a dog were to somehow take it?
Yeah, a dog would probably not be able to do it. It's not outsi-- Yeah, a dog wouldn't be able to do it.
So there probably wouldn't be some huge dog tearing up the furniture?
Probably not. No, good question, but nah.
So what about other creatures that are intelligent but not human?
That's possible.
Did you get a little bit of inspiration for Dalinar's character from Captain Moroni?
Maybe unconsciously? Not specifically, but a little bit perhaps.
Did [Hoid] cause the Shattering?
*hands out RAFO card* ...There is a hint about this in a book that is released tonight that is not that book.
The three travelers in Way of Kings, we know who they are. Did they know about the cosmere in the books that they appeared in?
Uhhh…
Cosmere or Seventeenth Shard.
I'm just checking each of them. No, no, and no.
So something happened in their lives afterward?
Yep… That's an excellent question.
This is kind of a shot in the dark but is there anything you want to tell me about whoever writes the Ars Arcanum?
The person who writes the Ars Arcanum is a character in-world from a book that is been written but has not been published.
Is it a book that has been announced?
It is a book that's been announced, the title is known.
*audio obscured*
Honestly? I just, these days, say "It kind of looks something like this" and he [Isaac Stewart] reads the book and finds any references I've made and comes up with something. I can trust him to the point that I don't have to worry too much about it. On some I'll give him a shape. On Roshar I gave him the shape, and said "It's like this" and then I split things up. Because that one shape was very important to me. But like Mistborn I'm like "It looks kind of like this. Go for it."
*audio obscured*
Oh yeah I sent an MS Paint thing.
My question is about Shai, is she going to meet Hoid in person? Like I read your State of the Sanderson, is it going to be another short story or is it going to be in the Elantris books possibly?
If I-- When I write future Elantris books you're likely to see her in those.
Or before maybe in shorter stuff like this *audio obscured*
We'll have to see, like shorter stuff I can never say when the shorter stuff is going to happen because it's where-- I funnel the random inspirations I get now into the shorter stuff. And the big books I have planned, I just don't have room for more big books, so when I get an idea I'm like "We'll do a novella on that instead".
I'm the guy who asked about the game.
Oh right, so have you guys released stuff?
No. I have an app, that's a level builder, that is technically published but it's *audio obscured* the guy who's doing the art *audio obscured*
Like I do wish you the best of luck. My friends at ChAIR, Epic Games, they were just BYU guys who got together to release their own game but I need to do it with people who have done things before.
Oh yeah. After we get a couple--
After you get a couple games, if you come to me. Because I have some really cool ideas for how a great Rithmatist game would work. Like I think what you would want to have is pieces of chalklings that people could piece together, and then they have to draw their chalkling and they’d piece together their circle and then enter into a duel with someone else on their own iPad and you have to trace your circle. You trace it. And whoever get's done first get's a bonus to their strength or whatever, but whoever's most accurate also gets one. Stuff like that would be a lot of fun to be able to do.
So the surprise with Lessie at the end of the last book [Shadows of Self], at what point did you know-- Like did you know that in... writing Alloy of Law?
I knew that at the end of Alloy of Law. So what I do is I write a book, and then I go and build a series out of it. So I wrote Alloy of Law. I then built a series out of it, then I went and wrote the prologue to Alloy of Law. And then I released Alloy of Law. I did a revision too to make sure it was all in there. And so, actual writing of Alloy of Law? No. By the time I'd done the revisions on Alloy of Law? Yes. And then I built the three book outline that would be the trilogy you are now in the middle of.
And Mistborn had some similiar things where I wrote the first book, then outlined second two, and revised the first one, then wrote the second two. It works really well for me doing that with a trilogy, because you get some spontaneity for the first book, and you know how the characters are and you can build a larger framework for them.
When someone is born as a Misting, is the type of Misting they are dependent on random chance or genetics or their personality? Is that something...
Genetics.
So is it just a coincidence that both Vin and Kelsier are Mistborn with siblings who are Seekers?
Um… Mostly a coincidence.
Do you have master-copies of all of these carved in metal so Ruin and Preservation can't...
*laughs* Well they're gone, Harmony is around. I don't mind if he reads'em.
Which character, do you feel, would be the most "at-home" in this world that we live in here?
Most at-home? *long pause* Hoid?
I've heard about a Shard that just wants to survive, hiding off-- it doesn't have a planet it doesn't--
Right.
--out there in space, trying to survive. Does it have the intent of like Fear, or something like that?
The intent is related but only tangentially. Mostly it just knows what's going on and is smart enough to get out of there.
I noticed that you-- Was that a retcon on the way iron Feruchemy works?
What do you mean?
There's a researcher who talks to Wax, asking him about whether he's changing his mass of whether he's changing whether the planet perceives him-- affecting his gravity.
Right. It's more a re-- Defining something I didn't pin down strongly enough. I wouldn't call it a retcon because it's something that nobody really did until Wax, really, in the series. The only one really capable of doing that in the original trilogy would have been the Lord Ruler, maybe some of the Inquisitors, but we don't have viewpoints from them. So I wouldn't call it a retcon I would just say it’s something that didn't come up in the first series that now I have to make sure is clear.
So is it Higgs field stuff going on?
Yeah. Mmhmm.
My idea was right.
Mmhmm.
Are you considering doing and more digital versions with the annotations kind of baked in, similar to Warbreaker?
I'd have to write more annotations for it to really be relevant and the time do that has just vanished on me. So maybe we'll get the original Mistborn trilogy done that way. But I'm less certain I will ever get any more annotations written.
So Nightblood is basically a Shardblade from a different god-Shard--
Yes.
--is that how it works?
Mmhmm.
Are there going to be-- Are there Allomantic Shardblades?
Not yet... And the Nightblood experiment has been an interesting experiment.
How did people-- So apparently Zahel... who is teaching Kaladin Shardblade stuff... He's Warbreaker?
He is Warbreaker.
How did people figure that out?
The color metaphors. He displays BioChromatic Breath. It's not that great because I didn't put a lot of color metaphors into the book, even though I wish I had, I've gotten better about adding flavor to books. But really he notices when Kaladin is coming to knock on his door before Kaladin gets there. That's one of the big clues that people got.
How has the process of portraying women changed from Elantris to the more recent books?
Portraying women? A couple of things. I would say the primary one is just getting better at characterization all around. And the other one has been kind of this-- *sighs* struggle to figure out how to make every female character's conflict be about her role-- Not just her relationships, that one's not as big a deal because-- I mean if you look at the male characters, they all have relationship issues too, right? But it's more like fighting against-- Like if every woman is fighting against society's expectations of her that becomes a cliche very quickly and there are plenty of people, of both genders who are fighting against society's expectations but people of both genders are like "This is my society, I'm part of this" it's not fighting against it it's "finding my place". It's very difficult though when you are writing characters in states of conflict. So, I don't know.
I read Shadows of Self and Elantris back-to-back, and that was really interesting to see the differences between the first published and most recent published.
Right, yeah. Those books will have some very big differences.
I do have one question that I have no idea if you'll answer. Aronack?
Yes. Wow, you're going way back.
Well it gets worse, I noticed the name both in Dragonsteel [Prime] and in some chapters from Liar of Partinel--
Yes.
Was that a cannibalization? Or is that two separate appearances?
So Liar of Partinel was a re-envisioning of... Dragonsteel and so there were certain things I was changing but that's not one of them. That's the same person.
So was that story arc just-- Okay it's just the same thing?
Yeah.
We've got Kaladin's name meaning, do we have Shallan's?
Shallan is-- Her name comes from Shalash, the herald, so it's kind of like naming somebody Christian in a lot of ways. Or naming someone Michael, though Michael has a meaning. Shalash does too but it's so old-- Like-- Yes, it will have a meaning but really what you need to know is "she is named after the Herald Shalash", right? But I'm sure we can dig out what the meaning is because it does have a meaning... I mean Kaladin's has a meaning even though he's named after Kalak.
How many blushes did Blushweaver weave?
Hehe, as many blushes-- How many blushes would Blushweaver weave if Blushweaver could weave blushes? Many a blush is what Blushweaver weaved-- wove.
Who would win in a fight, Kaladin or Kelsier?
Kelsier, he fights dirty. Kaladin has, probably, more raw power-- I don't know. Kelsier's going to win easy though. He's just going to murder him in his sleep.
Do you consider yourself a lighteyes or a darkeyes?
I am darkeyed… These hazel eyes don't get quite light enough, they wouldn't count me.
Given equal footing with weapons, who would win in a fight: Batman or Kaladin?
...Batman or Kaladin?
Given that they have equal weapons.
Does Kaladin have Stormlight?
Only if Batman gets Stormlight too.
Batman can't use Stormlight.
Then Kal-- Equal footing. So if Kaladin gets to use Stormlight, so does Batman.
But he can't use it. See this fight doesn't make sense, because it's like-- You know-- Well, I mean, if you give Batman Stormlight does it make any sense? If you give a bunch of Batarangs to Kaladin, he's like "What do I do with these?" I don't know. Does Batman have time to prepare? Because if Batman has time to prepare... If Batman has time to prepare then he's in good shape.
Maybe Batman just gets Shard-Batarangs and nothing else.
If he meets Kaladin on the field of battle, Kaladin's a soldier and Batman's not. Batman's not going to do well in a war.
Yeah-- But if Kaladin doesn't have any powers, Batman has extensive hand-to-hand training.
Yes, yes he does.
Is the radiance of the Returned, or people with Breath, is it like Stormlight coming off of people? Or is it a different concept?
It's a similar concept with different magic systems.
*referring to his personalization request* Just that one. Wayne is a wise man, wrapped up inside of a sad man, wrapped up inside of a silly man.
He likes a hat to be nice and stiff. To mean something. And a fedora is going to be too weak for him. Too... too floppy. It's not a hat you have to commit to, in Wayne's opinion.
Is it possible to Compound your Spiritual Connection to a location on a planet while storing your Spiritual Connection to all other locations on the planet to kind of pull yourself through the Spiritual Realm to that location?
That's not how that would work. Parts of what you say are possible, but the teleportation aspect wouldn't actually do anything.
Was Hoid trying to Compound his Spiritual location in the scene you added in the 10th Anniversary [Elantris]? Was he trying to Compound Connection to that location to try to become Elantrian?
...So at that point chronologically he was not an Allomancer.
The size of the metal, does it matter to transfer Allomancy or can it be really really tiny or really really big?
For Allomancy? Or what, a bead of lerasium? Is that what you're talking about?
Yeah, when you're transferring the powers, like to make someone a Mistborn...
Yeah it has to be-- The size of it is going to influence how strong a Mistborn you are.
It couldn't be a sliver.
Yeah-- Well it could, you'd just be really weak as a Mistborn.
*referring to a personalization request* That is a R A F O, but you do earn a card for your RAFO... Now let me just say--
I'm not asking about Nightblood, I'm asking about the Shardblades.
Yeah-- Oh, OH. You're asking-- okay. You're not asking what other Shardblades made, but if somebody brought a Shardblade to another pl--
Like if Kaladin went to Nalthis.
Okay, his Shardblade would manifest exactly-- it would do exactly the same thing.
With the god-Shards, is it possible to put-- for someone to put one down without dying?
Yes, it is.
Last time you said that his name, if it wasn’t Harmony, it would be something else. Is it Discord?
This is relevant.
It is relevant?
Yes.
Are twins more likely to be Allomancers?
They are more likely to share--
--to share Allomantic attributes.
--to share Allomantic attributes.
Does it make a difference if they’re identical or fraternal?
It does… Yeah, it does. Fraternals are still more likely. But identical are even more likely.
Okay so fraternal are more likely than siblings--
Than siblings, yes.
And identical are more likely than--
Mmhmm.
Why don't Northern Lights ever appear in the Era One Mistborn trilogy? If Luthadel is situated at the Magnetic North Pole?
It has-- ‘Cause as I understand--has to do with-- what is it coming off the sun--
Solar flares?
That cause the aurora borealis. It's not just the magnetic-- There's physics involved which are not relevant in the Mistborn world.
It seems to me that members of the [LDS] church generally like Elantris a lot more than people who aren't in the church and why do you think that is?
I haven't noticed that but if that were the case… boy. I don't know that whole Raoden just pushed through it has some sort of tying your spirit to it and that's definitely-- I could see that being relevant.
I've been told it's Hrathen's struggle with faith.
I think they like the whole-- the whole evil missionary thing would be something thing that members of the church would be like "Ahh evil missionary?! That's cool!" *laughter* So I think that's totally possible but I hadn't noticed that specifically. I think that it is also a book that is less focused on the action and fighting. Like Mistborn is more focused on that, and so I would expect that there's that relevant issue, perhaps, as well.
Has Odium used the weapon created by Adonalsium's opposition?
Has who? Odium?
Has Odium--
Odium, has Odium? That's a RAFO.
Is the gender of a spren bonded to a surgebinder based on sexual preferences?
It-- A lot of people are curious about this one… Not strictly but there is an influence there. But it's not strict. In other words Renarin having a male spren does not necessarily mean--
What some think it means?
-what some thinks it means. How about this you are more likely to bond a spren of an opposite gender-- a spren who identifies as an opposite gender, because spren don't actually have gender. But you are also more likely, statistically, to like members of the opposite gender. Those things have a correlation. Whether they have a causation is not a thing I am canonizing.
How many Shards are whole at the time of [Shadows of Self]?
How many Shards are whole at the time of Shadows? I'm just going to RAFO that because-- because I don't want to do math right now.
More than half or less than half?
At the time of Shadows? How many Shards--
Or about half?
Ha! *long pause* *really high and stretched out* Half-ish?
Half-ish?
Half-ish. It depends.
Give or take?
Give or take. Like it de-- Are there now only 15? Like what's the number? ...So-- I'm not going to-- I'm not going to--
RAFO.
Yeah, RAFO.
This guy [in the broadsheet], is that Nazh...
Nazh, yeah. Nazh. It's short for something.
Are any of the Lord Ruler's descendants alive at the time of Alloy of Law?
Yes.
