Shadows of Self Chicago signing

Event details
Name
Name Shadows of Self Chicago signing
Date
Date Oct. 12, 2015
Location
Location Oak Brook, IL
Tour
Tour Shadows of Self
Bookstore
Bookstore Barnes & Noble
Entries
Entries 109
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#1 Copy

Questioner

 Do the monks of Dakhor and Forging suffer from the same weakness of distance as the Elantrian magic?

Brandon Sanderson

Do the monks of Dakhor and Forging suffer from the same [weakness of] distance as the Elantrian magic? Yes they do. It's a little less pronounced in the monks because of certain things they are doing. It is very pronounced for Forging.

#2 Copy

Questioner

I really enjoyed the newspaper clippings that you've done in recent books, and I was just wondering what kind of preparation you've done for them, because they are really engaging.

Brandon Sanderson

He's enjoyed the newspaper clippings - which there is a bunch of them here, if you didn't pick one of these up, as promotion for this books... Because we have to chop it up, the broadsheet, in the book itself, we printed full ones that you can take, just because they look so nifty. I love the little one about the Soonie pups.

What preparation did I do?

My whole team, me, and Isaac [Stewart], and Ben McSweeney would put these together. Ben is one of the artists I use a lot, and Isaac is one of my employees. We read a whole bunch of Period newspapers and saw what they were doing. And we were like "wow, they advertised whiskey and cigars a whole bunch, stuff like that" *audience laughter* And we just kind of tried to get the tone down for those. And for these things I wrote some of them, but I didn't write all of them. Actually Ben wrote some and Isaac wrote some. With the idea being that we wanted to have a different kind of voice for the newspapers, so it felt like a bunch of different journalists were writing articles. And so we would brainstorm a bunch of ideas together, and we would all go out and write little clips about them, and we put the best ones in. And of course we hit little hints about the plot lines of this book and future books.

#3 Copy

Questioner #1

Which world does Hoid enjoy visiting the most?

Brandon Sanderson

Scadrial almost has instant noodles. So he's very interested in Scadrial.

Questioner #2

Is he doing anything to push that along?

Brandon Sanderson

He is not as involved in that as certain other forces are.

Questioner #2

There are forces involved in the developing instant noodles?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, oh yes.

#4 Copy

Questioner

From Shadows of Self, you just sort of name Hoid. Is he just not caring anymore, or is it just space in the book?

Brandon Sanderson

In Alloy [of Law], he wasn't really interested. He showed up only for a wedding. By this [Shadows of Self], he's noticed something else is happening on-world, so he's come back to investigate, but he's not really relevant. You will see him taking a larger role as he becomes more interested in what's happening on-planet. His level of involvement is kind of directly tied to how interested he is in what's going on.

#6 Copy

Questioner

On Sel, it seems like a lot of the magic is tied-in to the location on the planet. Could you take something like Soulforging and do it on another planet, or is it just tied into Sel?

Brandon Sanderson

It is tied into Sel, and there's this distinct reason for that, and it has to do with one of the big differences between the magic there and other places that people haven't picked out of me yet.

Questioner

So is that tied into how you can get Investiture there?

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah. It's all tied in. I’ve only made it vaguely - It's not obvious, but I think you could pick it out if you worked at it.

Footnote: We now know that the reason magic on Sel is tied to location is because the investiture there comes from the Cognitive Realm (where location is important), and not the Spiritual.
#7 Copy

Questioner

Is there a particular reason behind the spelling, or is it just coincidence that Kelsier and Kaladin are both K-names?

Brandon Sanderson

Just coincidence. Kaladin's original name was Merin, and it was a weak name that didn't work for me, so I changed it. It took me forever to find a good name for him. It comes from "paladin". Not the inworld origin, but that was the word that [inspired it]. [...] It was more that I was searching for sounds, and I realized it sounded a bit like [paladin], but I was okay with that. Just like Elantris sounds a little bit like Atlantis. It's not like I was purposely [choosing it]. I just liked the sound of it.

#8 Copy

Questioner

[Does] the expansion of Jaddeth’s empire have more to do with greed and hunger for power, or the innate nature of Dominion?

Brandon Sanderson

Both. I would say both. The innate nature of Dominion probably caused the greed and hunger for power.

Questioner

What would you say percentage-wise?

Brandon Sanderson

Well, one caused the other. It definitely started with Dominion. The Skaze are pretty thirsty for power.

#10 Copy

Questioner

[In Forging], if you rewrite the history of an item, and it took effect permanently, would there ever be a potential to have a butterfly effect, out beyond the history of the item, that might directly affect something somewhere else in the world?

Brandon Sanderson

It would be very very hard for that to ever happen, because it's like spliced DNA or something like that. It's not real. It's a forgery. Nothing else considers it, that it did that. The only tricky bit would be if you have children, and you've rewritten yourself in an interesting way that’s actually changed your DNA, that... might have ramifications.

#14 Copy

Questioner

Are Cognitive elements like spren and seons only present on physical planes on worlds where Shards have been [Splintered]?

Brandon Sanderson

No. But it does require <Cognitive *inaudible*>. Alternately the Shard would have to give up pieces of their power for that. But it doesn't have to be that they were [Splintered] by someone. Seons existed on, sorry, spren existed on Roshar before the Shattering of Adonalsium. Not as many.

#18 Copy

Questioner

Since Vasher is now Zahel to Roshar, is he still immortal?

Brandon Sanderson

As long as he has Breath or Investiture to consume, then yes.

Questioner

Can he consume Stormlight?

Brandon Sanderson

He can consume Stormlight.

Questioner

Does Zahel gain abilities from the Stormlight?

Brandon Sanderson

No.

#20 Copy

Questioner

The Alethkar culture, being competitive and all that. Is that [like a forethought of] capitalism and stuff like that?

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah, I wouldn't say that it is specifically. That could be in there in the back of my mind. There were very competitive cultures long before capitalism was around. They would certainly like capitalism, but there are other influences causing this in Alethi culture.

#23 Copy

Mike

Where are you going with the lunar allegory of Wax and Wayne?

Brandon Sanderson

There's no moon on Scadrial, and it just cracked me up that they would have these names that were a pun that they wouldn't get. [...] I came up with Wayne's name first and then I needed a name for the straight man he played off of, and the idea of Wax and Wayne amused me. I am easily amused by bad puns, Mike.

#27 Copy

Dan

The 16 Shards, are they finalized?

Brandon Sanderson

I have finalized them with the reservation that I can change them when I do their adaptation if something works better. So while I have them all written out, I don't canonize. So I guess "is it canonized?", the answer is no. But they are written down, and I could tweak them. Once I put them in a book, they're canonized. I like to give myself a little bit of flexibility before I put them in a book.

#28 Copy

Dragon13

Syl identifies herself as an honorspren.

Brandon Sanderson

Yes.

Dragon13

Would Wyndle identify himself as a cultivation spren?

Brandon Sanderson

He would definitely... Yes. I think you could say that he would.

Dragon13

By the same logic, would a voidspren follow the same naming convention, so to speak?

Brandon Sanderson

Here's the thing. Certain spren have decided that they are the most pure forms of Honor, or that they are the most pure form of whatever, where all of them are kind of... Syl's got a good argument for what she is. But there are other spren that would be like "well, I'm an honorspren too, I'm just this variety of honorspren." Does that make sense? Syl's like "I'm an American!" and I'm like "I'm an Nebraskan!" Yes, you're an American. I'm an American too. It's kind of similar to that. But she would be the most pure... many would view her as the purest form. Wyndle would view himself as the purest form of a Cultivationspren.

#29 Copy

Dragon13

Any chance we'll be seeing further correspondence between the writers of the letters? In further books, perhaps?

Brandon Sanderson

You will see more letters.

Footnote: The question refers to the epigraphs of The Way of Kings (Part II) and Words of Radiance (Part IV), which form a letter (from Hoid to Frost) and a response (from Frost to Hoid).
#31 Copy

Questioner

So, can we talk about your science fiction stuff, like Defending Elysium? Do you have any intention to go further with that?

Brandon Sanderson

I have no current intentions. I kind of have ideas for where I would go, but I just have so many projects that right now I'm letting that one lay as is.

#34 Copy

Questioner

What happens if you put Shardplate in a highstorm? If you are in Shardplate and you go out into a highstorm...

Brandon Sanderson

You're pretty well protected, but a boulder flying through the air can still do some major damage to a person in Shardplate.

Questioner

What will happen to the gems in the Shardplate?

Brandon Sanderson

They will be recharged.

#37 Copy

Questioner

In the epilogue of Words of Radiance, Jasnah is talking with Hoid and Hoid mentions a nearby village. Is it Hearthstone?

Brandon Sanderson

No it is not. Good question. Because they're out in the Unclaimed Hills somewhere. They're not even in Alethkar.

#38 Copy

Questioner

Can you write the Fourth Ideal of the Windrunners?

Brandon Sanderson

No. No no no no no no. [...] The Fourth Ideal is guessable, I feel. Much more so than... Well, you probably could have guessed the Second-- Third Ideal as the book progressed. I think you could guess the fourth one right now, but it's going to be hard. It's not obvious, but it's there.

#43 Copy

Questioner

Would [cadmium] function if it were affixed to a body smaller than a planet with its own source of gravity?

Brandon Sanderson

What do you mean by work [function]?

Questioner

Like a spacecraft. My thinking is that it could be used on long space voyages, because you’ve said that you're going to eventually progress into the space age...

Brandon Sanderson

So are you asking if we can use that as cryogenics?

Questioner

Yes.

Brandon Sanderson

I actually give you some tools for figuring these sorts of things out in The Bands of Mourning, so I'll refer you to that, because I'm dolling the physics of these things out, and since I know it's coming in January, just read that one. You'll get some more actual concrete laws and rules so you can start extrapolating.

#44 Copy

Kendra

You have to congratulate whoever did the Soonie pup ad. Effective advertising: I want one!

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, lots of people have said this. It was not something we were intending to do. It would have to be more than just a little puppy, though. You'd have to be able to rip out its spikes and transform it or something. You can go get a stuffed puppy anywhere.

Kendra

But it's a stuffed TenSoon, so it's a stuffed Irish wolfhound. And you can find those in adult. You cannot find those in puppy.

Brandon Sanderson

That's true. I'll think about it.

Kendra

You don't have to do the spikes.

Brandon Sanderson

I know, but people will want the spikes. They are gonna be like "If you're gonna provide me with a Soonie pup"-- You'd have to be able to take out the spikes and turn it into a blob, so it's a mistwraith on the inside and a Soonie pup on the outside.

Kendra

It'd have to be something like a backpack dog. Maybe the spikes are clasps on the outside or something.

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah.

#45 Copy

Argent

Can you confirm: When Bleeder died, she only had one spike made of that new metal in her?

Brandon Sanderson

What does the book say?

Argent

It could go either way. Because it could be either one spike of the unknown metal and one regular, or just one of the unknown metal. And we're divided right now.

Brandon Sanderson

I have heard this. I didn't intend you to get divided, but I've heard that you are, and part of me doesn't want the… One week later... I want more time for the theories to come out!

Argent

There are theories.

Brandon Sanderson

I know. Let's give the theories a little more time and then I'll canonize it for you in a little bit. I didn't intend for there to be a division here, but obviously there is, and so I'm going to wait until I'm done with tour. Then you can write to us and we'll tell you exactly what's going on there.

Footnote: Peter Ahlstrom confirmed on Twitter that Bleeder died with only one spike in her, and it was the "trellium" spike.
#49 Copy

Argent

The Hemalurgic constructs Bleeder uses. Do you have a name for them?

Brandon Sanderson

I have not named them yet. Should I? Is it important for fandom?

Argent

We don't know what to call them.

Brandon Sanderson

I have in my head that they're kind of Hemalurgic chimaeras.

Argent

Okay. We'll go with that.

#50 Copy

Argent

Can somebody travel to the Spiritual Realm, the same as the Cognitive?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, but it's a very different experience. It is possible… You may have seen people do it...

Argent

As in you're not sure, or you're being obnoxiously vague?

Brandon Sanderson

No...

Questioner #1

As in, you probably have but he's having trouble remembering it.

Brandon Sanderson

No no no... For instance, Elend burning atium and duralumin pulled most of him into the Spiritual Realm.

Argent

Oh, that's what happens there.

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah. He kind of got yanked into- You also have seen people Ascend with the powers and dip into the Spiritual Realm for a little bit.

Argent

So, Vin?

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah. But they could be on both, or either, or both at the same time. But you have seen Vin stick into the Spiritual Realm. And it happened to Sazed/Harmony...

Questioner #2

Oh! So is that where the gods live? Kinda?

Brandon Sanderson

Most of the bulk of the Shard's energy of being is contained in the Spiritual Realm, yes. Except for one notable exception!

Questioner #2

The <mists? mistwraith?>?

Brandon Sanderson

No.

Footnote: We now know that the "one notable exception" Brandon refers to at the end is the Dor, which is mostly contained in the Cognitive Realm.
#52 Copy

Questioner

I didn't know you listened to metal.

Brandon Sanderson

I do, I do listen to metal. I am not as much into it as I should. Like, all the cool little metal bands, I don't know as much as I should. But I've been thinking, one of my books, I am gonna write a metalhead as one of my main characters. So I've actually been hanging out on metalhead forums, and kind of reading about what they are talking about, "that's metal", "this is not metal" and stuff like that. Reading-- submerging myself in that culture. Because I think a metalhead advocate for metal would be a really great character one day.

Argent

It has to be in Mistborn!

Brandon Sanderson

No, it wouldn't, it would actually be on our planet, because I want to use our metalhead culture as the main character.

#54 Copy

Questioner

The character Spook, is there a pattern to Spook's street slang?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, but it's a really loose one. It was based off of some rhyming slangs, some street slangs, and some things that I researched, where it would evolve day by day, and they would throw in some extraneous words just to confuse people that weren't speak it. It was also based on Internet slang. And so, yes, there are rules, but the rules are kind of loose and free, and you can add weird words when you want to. You basically put everything in the past progressive and then you add lots of extra "to be" phrases. Then you reverse a few of your syntaxes, and then you go for it.

Questioner

So it's practicing a whole lot to sound improvised.

Brandon Sanderson

Yes. [...] Wasing the being of complicated to be. No, complicated to see. Yeah.

#55 Copy

Questioner

For this story, with Dalinar hiring the guy who shot at him with an arrow, was that at all based on Genghis Khan?

Brandon Sanderson

It was, that's where I got it. [...] I used to, when I first published <The Way of Kings?>, "You guys recognize this" and no one did, so I stopped talking about it. He was famous for not only that *incomprehensible*, but for recruiting people from every battlefield he went to. The better soldier you were, the more he wanted you in his army.

#56 Copy

Questioner

I was curious about what your favorite board game was, outside of Magic?

Brandon Sanderson

Ooh... I'm not a board game guy. I'm a Magic guy. A lot of people who play Magic and that's all they play. My brother's the board game guy. And I don't really have a favorite. I'll play with him, I'll play Catan, I'll play House at Haunted Hill, I'll play his stupid Battlestar Galactica one that takes like a billion years, but I'll do it for fun to hang out with my family, I don't have a favorite of them. If I do have one, it's Sorry, because that's what my family played when I was a kid, and that's not even a real one. Now they these board games, you have those intricate miniatures from Germany, and you set up all these things, and you draw a card, and that's your objective, and you're a zombie... All this weird stuff, and they look a lot more fun. Dominion, does Dominion count? It's not a board game, it's basically Magic again. Yeah, Dominion would be my favorite. I really like Dominion. Stratego's not bad.

#57 Copy

Questioner

We were talking about Kelsier, and how he was much more powerful than most Mistborn, and how Vin was slightly more than most Mistborn...

Brandon Sanderson

Why were Vin and Kelsier more powerful?

Questioner

I know why Kelsier, but why Vin?

Brandon Sanderson

Vin was not more powerful. Vin just took to it very naturally. She was highly skilled. It was very instinctive to her, but Elend was actually more powerful than she was, if you count just raw power. Vin just knew her stuff. Beyond that Vin is a rare individual that for reasons I have not explained yet, was able to draw in the mists for a little extra boost at times. And there are other characters you have seen do this.

#59 Copy

Questioner

Why did you call it Shadows for Self?

Brandon Sanderson

There are two answers to this. One is the kandra are kind of doing different versions of themselves. The other is that Wax is trying to decide which person he is, through this. The term "shadows of self" is actually a phrase that one of the kandra use in the first trilogy talking about this idea of changing who they are and things like that, so the phrase had import to me in-world.

#61 Copy

Questioner

Would it be safe to assume that Kaladin is also carrying the Honorblade? Because that makes the most sense to me.

Brandon Sanderson

Which Honorblade?

Questioner

The one from Szeth.

Brandon Sanderson

That is... He's not.

Questioner

That surprises me, because to me that would be the best-- That would make the most sense.

Brandon Sanderson

That would be sneaky of me. But that's not the case.

Questioner

So he actually has an Honorblade, since you asked which one.

Brandon Sanderson

He took Szeth's. So he has that one. Oh! I thought you meant Taln's, I thought. He does not have Taln's. He has Szeth's.. Yes he has that.

Questioner

I'm assuming he found that one, because that made the most sense to keep it safe

Brandon Sanderson

He’s got Szeth’s, that is true. ... Sorry, I assumed you meant Taln's. Taln's is gone.

Questioner

Yeah. Taln's vanished off the face of the planet! I'm assuming Hoid grabbed that one, actually.

Brandon Sanderson

That is one of the prevailing theories and not one that is unreasonable.

Questioner

Well, considering. That was the one, because you had mentioned last time you were here that you could have both, and I was like, "okay, so that means he’s got Szeth's sword."

#63 Copy

Questioner

[questions being asked on behalf of Alyx, a.k.a. FeatherWriter] About Renarin's Surgebinding. Are [his visions] influenced by Voidbinding instead of Surgebinding?

Brandon Sanderson

That's a RAFO.

Questioner

And then if they are influenced by Odium the way that Dalinar's are influenced by Honor.

Brandon Sanderson

That's a RAFO. I'm not going to talk about stuff like that! I have dropped some very blatant hints, and that is enough for me right now.

Argent

I asked pretty much the same thing last time, and you pointed me to a certain page. Can I tell her what the page was?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes. There are certain things going on with him that I feel are very blatant. I think he [Argent] is going to point them out to you.

#64 Copy

Questioner

Do the Knights Radiant have a nahn? Are they within the nahn system or the dahn system at all?

Brandon Sanderson

The nahn and dahn system is a more recent construct. They would be at the very height of it, I would say.

Questioner

Okay. So the system hasn't been reorganized yet with Kaladin and such?

Brandon Sanderson

You'll have to watch and see what happens in the next few books. Because the culture is not used to Knights Radiant being around.

#65 Copy

Questioner

Is there going to be a Hoid book? Just Hoid?

Brandon Sanderson

There will be several Hoid books eventually. [...] It will be about his backstory, the main one, and then we'll have some in the present as well.

Questioner

Will it show up in scenes where he interacts with these characters?

Brandon Sanderson

I'm not planning those right now. I know they would be interesting, but I'm not sure if they'd make good enough books.

Footnote: The last question likely refers to whether we'll see Hoid's viewpoint in scenes we have already seen him in.
#67 Copy

Questioner

Allomancy is of Preservation, correct?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes...

Questioner

What are Feruchemy and Hemalurgy of?

Brandon Sanderson

Hemalurgy is definitely of Ruin.

Questioner

Is it of pure Ruin?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes. That's a very Ruin thing. And Feruchemy is more of a blend. Though… there is more philosophy to that and human construct—like the Allomantic table—than I think I’ve made clear before.

#68 Copy

Questioner

If someone isn’t an Allomancer, could they burn atium? Since it’s…

Brandon Sanderson

They could not burn atium. They would have figured that one out.

Questioner

So nothing would have happened, or?

Brandon Sanderson

No. But there’s a little more to that story, but I’m not going to get into it right now.

#71 Copy

Questioner

The metals that were formed from Shards, like atium and lerasium. Are they somewhat naturally occurring, like in pools of power, or are they specifically [?]?

Brandon Sanderson

They are somewhat naturally occurring.

Questioner

Really? Even on other Shardworlds?

Brandon Sanderson

Oh. They could exist somewhere else. There are some special circumstances on Scadrial, but yes. The idea is that the pools are one state of this mythological matter.

Questioner

So if you have the physical state and the liquid state, is there a less liquid state? Because some of that's being used.

Brandon Sanderson

Um... Oh. Yeah. Yeah. But, I mean, it's such a drop in the bucket compared to the actual Shards. So that it is a statistically insignificant amount, but it is an amount.

Questioner

So Harmony's pool, wherever it is is statistically larger than...

Brandon Sanderson

Yes.

#72 Copy

Questioner

If another Shard came to Scadrial, would that be enough to create a metal like atium, or...?

Brandon Sanderson

If another Shard just came to visit, probably not.

Questioner

If they brought a spren or--

Brandon Sanderson

If they came and completely Invested the world, then things might start happening. But there's some special circumstances, remember. Ruin and Preservation created that planet. Specifically. And so there's some goofy things that happened because of that. For instance Roshar was not made by Honor, Cultivation, or Odium. That's one of the big differences about what's going on there.

#77 Copy

Alteroden

Can Hoid safely have an MRI?

Brandon Sanderson

Why do you ask that?

Alteroden

Because if you have metal inside your body, and you have an MRI, which is magnetic, it's very bad for you.

Brandon Sanderson

You're just assuming that... That's a very clever way to try to get around a question that I have not answered and intentionally said I am not going to answer, so...

Alteroden

Also, tattoos. You can't have a tattoo with an MRI. The ink has little bits of metal in it.

Brandon Sanderson

You can't? Well, I assume there are tattoo inks that are not little bits of metal.

Alteroden

That's true.

#81 Copy

Kurkistan

If you spiked out Miles' Feruchemical gold, would he be able to burn his Allomantic reserves [read: Feruchemical reserves using Allomancy] and heal it back?

Brandon Sanderson

If you spiked out his ability to heal gold and somehow left him alive?

Kurkistan

Yeah, but still having Allomancy.

Brandon Sanderson

Still has Allomancy...

Kurkistan

And he’s like in the middle of burning a goldmind.

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, that would still work. It'd still have a Spiritual Connection to him.

Kurkistan

So if you're a Coinshot and you get [spiked] to have Feruchemical steel, and then you lose the spike after making a store, you can still Compound that for speed?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes... Yeah, that should still work.

Kurkistan

Was Paalm doing that?

Brandon Sanderson

That's a RAFO.

#83 Copy

Kurkistan

How long does it take a newly-made chair to start thinking of itself as a chair?

Brandon Sanderson

It depends on how- is the perception of the people who are using it.

Kurkistan

So if it just drifted together in space magically into a chair...

Brandon Sanderson

Yes. It would not actually start thinking of itself as a chair.

Argent

So it's a bit like if a tree falls in a forest, and there's nobody there to hear it...

Brandon Sanderson

Yes.

#87 Copy

Questioner

If the spren that bond people scream when they touch a Shardblade, but then at the end of Words of Radiance Kaladin holds Szeth's honorblade and they do not have a problem with that, why does the Stormfather force Dalinar to get rid of his Honorblade at the end Words of Radiance?

Brandon Sanderson

So... He does not have an Honorblade at the end of Words of Radiance.

Questioner

He does not. Oh, I thought he got it from... [Taln]

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, that's what the assumption is. If you look very closely, the blade that you think he ends up with is described differently from the one that he actually does.

Footnote: We now know that Taln's Honorblade was swapped for a regular Shardblade somewhere between Kholinar and the Shattered Plains.
#88 Copy

Questioner

What planet is Vasher from?

Brandon Sanderson

He did originate on Nalthis, which is the Warbreaker world, but he worldhopped very early in his life.

Questioner

And what planet did he get the ability to change his shape, or is that because he's a Returned?

Brandon Sanderson

That's because he's a Returned, yes.

Questioner

So it's not because he's a Lightweaver?

Brandon Sanderson

Nope. That is a great question, though. He is mostly what he appears to be, with some hidden parts of his past.

#91 Copy

Questioner

If an Allomancer ate a Forged metal, what happens?

Brandon Sanderson

If an Allomancer eats a Forged metal, there is going to be some Investiture in that Forged metal, but it's not going to be keyed the right way, so it'd be like eating a metalmind... If you're asking if the metal was Forged into a different type of metal, the Forgery will take and it will believe and... that's going to get really weird. I have not considered that. That's a "let me think about it." My instincts say that it's going to work like the metal it's become long enough to burn for a few minutes, and then that's going to break the Forgery, and it's going to snap out of it and become the other [original] metal. That’s my instinct, but I’ll have to think about it further. [...] It's going to be really hard to burn a metal that's Invested like that. The magics don't mix real well.

Kurkistan

Eh, you can burn metalminds.

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah, you can, but it’s from the same "magic set", right? So...

#92 Copy

Questioner

Could you Forge an entire human? What if a kandra eats that human?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, you could Forge an entire human, and the kandra can eat that human as long as the Forgery takes. The problem is, once you break the seal, they're going to change back. So that kandra would have to find a way to eat that person without breaking the Forgery. In that case it would just remain.

#93 Copy

Argent

Lerasium grants all Allomantic powers when burned. Atium, when used as a spike, can steal any power. Is there a way to create a metalmind that can store anything?

Brandon Sanderson

There is a way to create a metalmind that can store anything.

Argent

Harmonium?

Brandon Sanderson

I’m not saying; I gave you an answer…

#94 Copy

Argent

Since both the mists and Stormlight are very similar in many ways, are there gaseous, liquid, and solid states of Stormlight?

Brandon Sanderson

That's a RAFO, but you know that there is a gas and a liquid.

Argent

The gas is just the stuff in the storms, right?

Questioner

Isn’t there the lake?

Brandon Sanderson

The lake is liquid. So you know there’s two of the three already. So just sayin'...

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Argent

Is the mist spirit in Alendi's logbook the same spirit Vin sees?

Brandon Sanderson

No.

Kurkistan

Is it the same one Elend sees?

Brandon Sanderson

When? No. It is not the same one that Elend sees. There is a different mist spirit back then. Elend sees the same one Vin sees.

Kurkistan

And Alendi saw a different one?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes. And originally my rules for what made a mist spirit were a little more lax than I eventually decided them to being.

Argent

But it still works…?

Brandon Sanderson

What is in the books, it still works and is canonized, and those are two different mist spirits. But if you find the deleted scenes—if you look at them—there are- I am exploring more with mist spirits and you’ll find out what that would have been.

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Argent

On Nalthis, can aluminum prevent somebody from Returning? So if you kill somebody with aluminum and leave the weapon in them?

Brandon Sanderson

I don't think that's going to be enough. I think that…

Argent

Different way then?

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah there are totally ways. I don’t think that that’s going to be enough. There's a difference between being inert and blocking Investiture, and actually sucking out Investiture. If you stuck Nightblood inside of a corpse; there are certain things… if you had a larkin or whatever sitting there that ingests the Investiture as it was coming in, that would prevent [Returning]. I think with aluminum you would just have somebody that comes alive with a wound, so maybe... But I think it would just heal around [the aluminum] and you'd just have a spike in you, kind of like Hemalurgy—but not like Hemalurgy. It's inert, but you know what I mean.

Argent

Which suggests you can't actually Awaken aluminum.

Brandon Sanderson

No. It's not going to hold a charge.

Kurkistan

I assume you can't Forge it, either.

Brandon Sanderson

No. In fact the unForgable metal-

Argent

Ralkalest?

Brandon Sanderson

There's an unForgeable metal mentioned.

Kurkistan

Could we call it aluminum if we wanted to?

Brandon Sanderson

Let's just say that aluminum through most cultures was considered a mythological metal, and when people could actually find some, they considered it more valuable than gold, in our culture. So just sayin'...

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Kurkistan

If you're on Threnody and you get withered by a shade, are you better off burning Allomantic aluminum, or tapping Feruchemical gold?

*laughter*

[clarification on the question]

Brandon Sanderson

They would both work pretty well. I would say if you burned aluminum, that would kind of have the effect that you are wanting it to have, which is the effect-- negating and sucking out, so that's probably safer. But the gold would work, too.

Kurkistan

So would it be fair to describe withering as a kind of cancerous Forging-

Brandon Sanderson

Sure.

Kurkistan

That just kind of slowly takes over your soul?

Brandon Sanderson

Sure.

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Kurkistan

Is it practical for an Oracle to get more out of electrum than Vin and Elend tried to?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes. It is totally possible.

Kurkistan

So if you could see your shadow wince when it turned left, you would think "Oh, Mrs. Peabody's around that corner. I probably shouldn’t turn left!"

Brandon Sanderson

It is possible to squeeze more out of it than they did.

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Dragon13

In your mind, what would constitute a worldhopper? Is it someone who makes a single trip between worlds (for example, the exodus from Yolen—not that it was an exodus, but a single trip), multiple trips between worlds (such as Hoid), or simply leaving a particular world?

Brandon Sanderson

[...] Here's the thing. I would call anyone who is aware that there are multiple worlds in the Cosmere and has visited more than one a worldhopper.

Dragon13

Do they actually have to have made it to a second world?

Brandon Sanderson

I think that... You’re getting at people like-- I would say that they are a worldhopper kind-of, but not fully. They’re kind of...

Kurkistan

The Doctor's companion?

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah, the Doctor’s companion type thing. I would define a Worldhopper as someone who has been to another world. I would call someone who has not actually been to another world "Cosmere-aware," but not necessarily a Worldhopper.

Dragon13

I was thinking more along the lines of the Shard who does not have a planet.

Brandon Sanderson

Oh, Shards transcend these definitions.

Argent

They're kind of worldhoppers by default.

Brandon Sanderson

Yes.

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Alteroden

With Stormlight, the better the gem is cut, the less Stormlight it leaks, and the longer it holds its charge. If a gem was perfectly cut, on a molecular scale, would it leak Stormlight at all?

Brandon Sanderson

In a theoretical flawless gem, then no it would not.

Alteroden

Would it actually give off light?

Brandon Sanderson

[...] Theoretically no it would not, but it's not what you're thinking...

Alteroden

No no no, that’s not what I’m thinking, I figured that’s something totally different.

Brandon Sanderson

Well, actually, it probably would still give off light, because it's drawing out of the Spiritual Realm. So I’d say it still lights, but it doesn't leak. The leaking is not where the illumination is coming from. The illumination is coming from a direct... It's basically a light bulb screwed into the Spiritual Realm.

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Alteroden

With [Feruchemical] zinc, you get mental speed. How is that any different from [Feruchemical] steel, except without [physical] speed?

Brandon Sanderson

I think of the mental speed actually turning you into... Let's say you sped up your body, and you wanted to figure out some really complex equations.

Alteroden

So it lets you have intuitive leaps.

Brandon Sanderson

Right. It basically turns you into Ken Jennings. That's how I imagine it.

Kurkistan

So it's not like bullet time?

Brandon Sanderson

No... It'll bullet time a little bit, it certainly will, because you're thinking faster than everyone else, but it has applications beyond bullet timing. Bullet time is really--

Kurkistan

That’s steel’s thing?

Brandon Sanderson

That’s kind of steel's thing. They kind of overlap on that one, because the steel thing... But yeah. It's more like "I think fast, but my reaction speed is not sped up".

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Questioner

I was curious about the concept of flow, and how the Thrill compares to that.

Brandon Sanderson

What do you mean? Expand upon that. 

[clarification]

So you mean like in the zone, in the moment. The Thrill does overlap with that a little bit, but the Thrill is something distinct. It does give you some of that focus.

Footnote: The question may have been inspired by the earlier reading of Dalinar's first flashback chapter in Oathbringer where he thinks about momentum in battle.
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Volratho (paraphrased)

Humans on Scadrial have Investiture of both Preservation and Ruin inside of them.

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

Yes.

Volratho (paraphrased)

Feruchemically, does storing Investiture in Nicrosil store this connection to Ruin/Preservation/Harmony?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

You are on the right track, and asking the right questions but RAFO.

Event details
Name
Name Shadows of Self Chicago signing
Date
Date Oct. 12, 2015
Location
Location Oak Brook, IL
Tour
Tour Shadows of Self
Bookstore
Bookstore Barnes & Noble
Entries
Entries 109
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