Recent entries

Cosmere Questioner

Is Rial a worldhopper?

Brandon Sanderson

RAFO. RAFO. RAFO.

Cosmere Questioner

Kredik Shaw. Lots of towers, some are simply nothing more than lots of metal that sounds like Hemalurgy on the land. Is that?

Brandon Sanderson

It is meant to evoke Hemalurgy, but it is not actually Hemalurgic.

Cosmere Questioner

If two Shardpools were described the same exact color, like emerald, would that mean anything significant? Like, the Investiture is from the exact same source?

Brandon Sanderson

Not necessarily. Not necessarily.

Questioner

So, when a Shardbearer, they get caught off guard, or, like, they're trying to throw their Shardblade, you know that it <quickly poofs> But yet, they can give it someone else, and it doesn't poof. I was just wondering how that works.

Brandon Sanderson

Mental control. It's kind of in-- it's a control thing. Some people-- I mean, you have to practice it, and things like that.

Questioner

So, it takes some kind of mental control to give to someone and allow them to use it?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes.

Questioner

But it's something they have to practice at, it's not just a--

Brandon Sanderson

Mmhmm.

Questioner

What was-- There was something going on in the shadows. 'Cause the King mentioned seeing shadows out of the corner of his eye when Kaladin wasn't around.

Brandon Sanderson

That should be answered in Oathbringer. If it's not, ask me next time and I'll explain, but it is in there.

Questioner

Can you say what would happen if Lift swallowed a gemstone trapping an Unmade?

Brandon Sanderson

...Uh, hahaha. Uh, I'll RAFO that, but that's not that there's something there, it's just that I'm RAFOing that.

Questioner

I have a theory that each one of the Shards is related to a certain number. Preservation really likes 16, Honor likes 10, and Odium likes 9. Am I onto something?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes.

Questioner

I'm just curious about Steelrunners. I have to ask, assuming they have physical limitations?

Brandon Sanderson

They do. We can't go Speed Force on this sort of thing. Wind resistance is still a thing, and stuff like that.

Questioner

Bodily, their bodies--

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah. So, most magic in the cosmere will strengthen your body to let you use the magic to an extent, but-- Yeah, there's some pretty strong limitations.

Questioner

If you had a steel/steel Twinborn racing a pewter/steel, would you say that the pure steel, or the pewter burning to enhance their body-- in a short race?

Brandon Sanderson

Who would win? Probably pewter then, at that point. I would have to have Peter-- I wouldn't do it myself, make Peter run the math, and see what he comes up with. Those are the sort of things I go to him with.

Questioner

Are they able to make a Hemalurgic spike out of a god metal? Or does that not work?

Brandon Sanderson

RAFO. We will be releasing a Hemalurgic table before too much longer.

Questioner

Is Hemalurgy directly tied to Ruin, or is that something we can expect to see other--

Brandon Sanderson

That is directly tied to Ruin, but you can also expect to see it elsewhere.

Questioner

About the end of Elantris. When Hoid is speaking with the dark seon? I was wondering, like, what is that relationship there? Is he, like, working with them, or for them?

Brandon Sanderson

More alongside each other.

Questioner

Is that something we're gonna see more of in the future?

Brandon Sanderson

Probably.

Questioner

I know Peter has talked about it on-- he hinted something on one of your posts on Reddit. I obviously can't say anything, but-- Stormlight Archive tabletop RPG?

Brandon Sanderson

I can't-- we are working on that. Yeah, there is one in the works. We aren't gonna do a lot of talk about it until we make sure that it's prototyped, that it's going well, that the deals are all in business... But it is in the works. We had a really good experience releasing a board game for Mistborn, and this is someone else, but since it worked out so well doing it once, it's a realm we're willing to continue playing in.

Questioner

I was wondering if you could tell me anything about Longshadow?

Brandon Sanderson

I cannot.

Questioner

No quirks, personality traits, favorite kind of shirt?

Brandon Sanderson

RAFO.

Questioner

If Death came for your soul, and he said you could keep it if you beat him in a game of your choice, what would you pick?

Brandon Sanderson

You know, probably just a coin flip. Because I'm gonna bet he's better than me at anything that doesn't base on random chance. So, I would choose something like that, just completely random chance.

Questioner

Who would win in a fight? Lift, or Wayne?

Brandon Sanderson

I have trouble imagining why they would fight, but it's gonna depend on situation and who gets the upper hand.

Questioner

How do koloss breed? It doesn't make any sense to us?

Brandon Sanderson

So... A child born to a koloss and a koloss, or a koloss and anybody else, is what we call a koloss blooded. They don't become a full koloss until they undergo the ritual and are spiked.

Questioner

Okay. But also they didn't have the gender parts.

Brandon Sanderson

They do have gender parts.

Questioner

Is Wayne the author that's writing the Allomancer Jak stuff.

Brandon Sanderson

No, he's not. Good question, though! Good question!

Questioner

You have all these magic systems within the cosmere, <Allomancy and Feruchemy> and all that, and now they're starting to come together into one body. Do you ever worry that you're gonna treat that character where, like, they're drawing from so many systems that they're almost, like, the ultimate *inaudible*, like, they're drawing from five different magic systems and just don't *inaudible* anymore?

Brandon Sanderson

You know, having done The Wheel of Time, where Rand was basically a deity, I'm not quite as worried about that as I was. I don't know if that'll ever even get to that point. And it turned out that that was just fine. The thing about it is, stories always happen in the intersection of what characters can't do. And there's always something you can't do. Unless you become, like, all-powerful, all-omnipotent. So, I'm not that worried about it. I have to keep an eye on it, but I'm not that worried about it.

Questioner

I'm wondering, I've read White Sand, if we're gonna see Khrissalla's *inaudible*?

Brandon Sanderson

Uh, yes. Probably yes.

Questioner

How many of your epiphanies happened at the gym?

Brandon Sanderson

Quite a number, actually. At the gym or in the shower, you put things together, for whatever reason.

Questioner

What is your beverage of choice?

Brandon Sanderson

Uh, ice water. Yep, really is. I really just like me a good-- lots of ice. Like, a big cup filled to the top with ice, and then you fill up water in it. Best stuff.

Questioner

I was wondering, how many pieces of different Shards does Hoid have to collect before he is considered Ascended?

Brandon Sanderson

You know that's even a little bit false, uh-- not begging the question. Whichever logic fallacy is assuming that he could. Or, you are assuming that he could. Who knows if it's even possible, or anything like that.

Questioner

The quote that Dalinar says at the end [of Oathbringer]. "I am Unity." Is that something that happened specifically because Honor is dead, and, for all these different reasons, that was able to happen? Also Odium said that he had Ascended. He wasn't supposed to Ascend, but he did...

Brandon Sanderson

I am totally RAFOing all that stuff; I knew people were gonna ask about it. You're just gonna have to wait and find out.

Questioner

Unity is capital. Is there a reason for that.

Brandon Sanderson

*hands over a RAFO card*

Questioner

How do you write books this long? Like, mental dedication to do that?

Brandon Sanderson

You know, it's all about breaking it down into something smaller, building it up as an outline. I couldn't do something this big without an outline. It's about step-by-step, right. Start with scene, go to chapter, go to sequence, go to book. It does take practice. Oh, yes, milestones are really, really helpful.

Questioner

How did all the characters learn about the different magic systems?

Brandon Sanderson

So, it really depends on the character, and the situation, and things like that.

Questioner

How did the first person discover, like--

Brandon Sanderson

Oh, Mistborn powers? Ruin and Preservation, in that case, were actively cultivating the society, particularly Preservation. Some of it comes through that. Some of it comes through, if you have the Investiture, part of you kinda knows about it. But it takes experience, so you have to know the right things, and stuff. I'll get into it more eventually.

Questioner

Out of the Cosmere, you have your whole plan, I'm assuming you have in your brain or written down... When do you finalize, like, whenever you're writing. Is it all finalized then?

Brandon Sanderson

...The books become the canon. Even the wiki is not canon. Until I write it into the books, it's not canon. For instance, you can go find Oaths of various orders of Knights Radiant in there, but I don't canonize those until I write the books, because I usually tweak some of the words. By the way, sometimes people ask me "Can you write an Oath of a Knights Radiant that we haven't seen yet?" in a book, and I always say no. Number one, like, if at the release party I got asked that, like, 8 times; we'd be out of Oaths by now. That's the same reason why I won't tell you the names of Shards that I haven't canonized, or their intents, or things like that. Until I get to it in the books, it's not canon. Because I need that flexibility going forward as I'm putting the whole thing together, to get all the puzzle pieces to fit.

Brandon Sanderson

...[Skyward] is teen, 'cause it's in my Reckoners line, and it's a story I've been playing with for some four years now, and I built an outline, and it's kind of like a cross between How to Train your Dragon and Top Gun, with starfighters. A girl finds an old broken-down starship with a really screwy AI that she thinks she can get up and running. In the meantime, she gets into starfighter school and is learning to be a pilot, and there's all kinds of mysteries and things about the nature of really what's happening with the planet why they're being attacked, and things like that. It's a whole lot of fun.

Brandon Sanderson

In fact, in the origin of The Stormlight Archive, the first Surgebinding things I did, every order of the Knights Radiant was going to be able to Soulcast. Be able to change things from one to another. It was just, you would be locked into the element that was associated with your order of Knight Radiant, you could turn that into anything else you wanted to. That was one of my original pitches. I eventually moved away from that, a lot of the Orders were just feeling too similar in what they did, but that core concept is still there in Stormlight, and Soulcasting as a concept is there because the series is about change.

Paladin Brewer

Out of all the Shards, why does Odium go for Devotion and Dominion?

Brandon Sanderson

He targets people with two kinds of ideas. Number one, he can argue they're breaking the rules they set out. And two, people he thinks are a good match for him, or a challenge, or a danger.

Questioner

I was wondering if any of the magic systems that existed before the Shattering, did they get weaker because of it?

Brandon Sanderson

Weaker is the wrong term. They were affected.

Questioner

Is the Dawnchant native to Roshar?

Brandon Sanderson

...Yeah. Dawnchant is what they were speaking when humans came over. It is their language. It is the Dawnsingers' language. So yeah, that is native to Roshar.

Questioner

Is there gonna be any more Arcanum Unbounded-- like collections of short stories?

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah. I'll release short stories and every, you know, decade or so I'll collect them all into a collection.

Questioner

So I have a question about Savants. Could you only get there by flaring, or if you burn it for a long period of time or like duralumin--

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah, you can get there other ways.

Questioner

Have we seen the lady in the mask-- who's like related to the Ghostbloods--

Brandon Sanderson

Iyatil?

Questioner

Have we seen her in another book, by any chance?

Brandon Sanderson

No, you have not.

Questioner

So who do you think Shallan's favorite real world artist would be?

Brandon Sanderson

She is a classicist so-- I don't know-- Probably someone really, really classic like da Vinci or, you know, or even Michelangelo.

Questioner

Where they do interesting light studies...

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah, where they're looking right at the musculature and things like that. That would be my guess.

Questioner 1

I'm building Plate. I would like it to be Radiant. What's the finish? Is it different from standard Plate or is it--

Brandon Sanderson

If you-- like, they often paint theirs. But say it's going to be straight unpainted it's like dull slate grey steel--

Questioner 2

And it doesn't vary order to order?

Brandon Sanderson

No. Well, I mean, if it's actual Radiant Plate it does-- But what you've got is-- Yeah, it glows and it has things, too.

Questioner

The world that White Sand takes part in, there were things that are kind of irked me about the book. It's that on Dayside most of the characters were light-skinned and on Darkside most of the characters were dark-skinned and evolutionarily that's backwards. Is there a reason for that?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes there is. Intentional.

Questioner

And are we gonna read and find out?

Brandon Sanderson

We'll see if I get around to it, but yes.

Questioner

If Nightblood uses Breath, and Szeth has Nightblood, how would it use-- would it feed off of Stormlight?

Brandon Sanderson

It can feed off of Stormlight, but Szeth can't draw in Stormlight right now.

[...]

So Szeth better not draw that sword, for a while at least.

Questioner

I'm asking why they have chickens.

Brandon Sanderson

...They were carried with them.

Questioner

So is Earth...

Brandon Sanderson

Earth is not. There are several Earth analogues. I go with a default, we're gonna make it easy on myself. Those planets have, kinda, Earth analogue for plants and animals. And then you can assume that they have Earth creatures until I start doing ecology really quite weirdly.

Questioner

When Wax dies, he sees a red cloud haze. What is that?

Brandon Sanderson

That is the effects of another Shard trying to do something.

Questioner

Who is that?

Brandon Sanderson

Mmm, that part's a RAFO.

Questioner

*inaudible*

Brandon Sanderson

Very old. Pre-Shattering old.

Questioner

Can you tell us what planet Hoid originally comes from?

Brandon Sanderson

He comes from Yolen, he really is. There's no trickery there.

FirstSelector

Was Khriss involved in founding the (a) University at Silverlight?

Brandon Sanderson

Yup.

FirstSelector

Can Nightblood be dismissed like a Rosharan blade?

Brandon Sanderson

He thinks you could.

FirstSelector

Does red in cosmere signify one Shard co-opting or corrupting another Shard's magic?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes.

FirstSelector

Was the Nightwatcher the spren that powered the Urithiru fabrial?

Brandon Sanderson

Nope!

Weltall

You mentioned in the annotations that just started releasing on Way of Kings that Syl originally came from another Cosmere book that wasn't working out. Was that Climb the Sky?

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah-- how do you know about that one?

Weltall

Ah, someone on the 17th Shard found it on the old Time Wasters forum--

Brandon Sanderson

Oh, did they? Yeah, I wrote like three pages of that, right? Yeah, that's where it started. I'd almost even forgotten about that... no, that's totally where it came from. I actually sent three pitches to my writing group, of Cosmere books I wanted to do, and I didn't end up writing any of them.

Weltall

So, in Bands of Mourning there was an advertisement in the broadsheet from "K and N" asking about talking metal. Does that have anything to do with a certain knife that Nazh lent Kelsier?

Brandon Sanderson

I'm gonna RAFO that, mostly cause I'm gonna make you ask Isaac and Ben, cause they came to me with pitches for things to put in those and they wrote a lot of the broadsheet stuff themselves.

Weltall

Okay. But, does Nazh want that knife back?

Brandon Sanderson

The knife? Yes, he would like that knife back.

Weltall

MaiPon and JinDo are based on Korea and China you've said, I thought that Dominion and Devotion have some resonance with Confucianism-

Brandon Sanderson

They do, the yin and the yang and things like that, absolutely.

Weltall

So that was intentional?

Brandon Sanderson

That was very intentional. Yeah, I've always been fascinated with, like, the blue and the red, right? The things that are opposite but to some cultures and not to others. Like, that was really, that was the Ruin and Preservation thing, right?