When it comes to regeneration, what's the limit-- when Lift resurrected Gawx, was he actually dead?
He wasn't dead.
So, you can't actually bring the dead back from the dead.
If you could bring someone back with CPR, you can bring them back with-- does that make sense?
In Elantris, we talked briefly about Shuden and ChayShan... and I was wondering if you had based that on a particular martial arts?
Yeah, it's just Tai Chi was my origin for that. It's pretty obvious, but yeah.
Is Nightblood like the Tzai Blows... from Dragonsteel, where he pulverizes a Spiritual aspect, and it has a result on the Physical? Is that what he does, popping into smoke?
Yes, he is attacking directly at the spirit.
Um, Dawnshards. So, they obviously predate the arrival of humanity on Roshar. Are they of Odium? Are they Odious Investiture?
I will RAFO Dawnshards.
The letters in [Oathbringer]. Are they all three from Shards?
...Yes.
Is the first one, is that one we know? Is that one we've seen yet?
They are all ones you have seen.
They are all ones we have seen.
Yes. Or at least you know.
Have seen or know of.
Yeah.
Were there always slaveform parshmen between Desolations, or did that only happen after the False Desolation?
That, I believe only happened after the False Desolation. I have gone back and forth on that, but I think I can canonize it there. You do have to check with Peter. We had a big conversation about this a few years ago. But I'm pretty sure slaveform is a creation of the Last Desolation.
Of the Last? Or the False one? ...Because, in the epigraphs, they're talking about how that one Unmade was getting in on them--
Yeah. Oh, the False? No no no...
So, it was done in the Last Desolation, but it was undone somewhat in the False Desolation, and that's what we saw in the...?
Uh, no no no-- yeah, it is False. It is False Desolation.
Slaveform happened at the False Desolation.
In Words of Radiance, Shallan's necklace, in her flashback where she saved her brother, was made out of aluminum. Not counting Oathbringer, is that the only time we've seen aluminum on Roshar?
No.
Was Uli Da Ambition's Vessel?
Yes.
Can Lift touch a Voidspren? And what would happen?
RAFO.
Why does Shallan call her father's maps strange? Are they not Rosharan?
No... They are Rosharan.
So, why are they strange?
Um-- This-- There is not really something for you-- There's not anything there.
Why do only the Terris have the sDNA for Feruchemy?
That's a RAFO, too.
Was it necessary that Adonalsium split into sixteen Shards, or was it happenstance?
I will RAFO that one.
Would the number or intents have been different, if there were more or less people?
That's all wrapped up in that RAFO. Let's say it's conceivable that the split could have happened in different ways.
In Bands of Mourning, outside of Kelesina's mansion, Hoid says that he owns the place. Why does he say that?
Um, he thinks he does. He's kinda right.
Among the Knights Radiant, is there an equivalent for our engineers? Like, normal engineers?
Equivalent to engineers? Yes-- Not 100% one-to-one, but yes.
Is there any society on Roshar that actually would run the center of technology?
Not yet. Not yet.
[The arc of spears from the Way of Kings chapter headings and Allomantic symbols.] Coincidence that they look so similar?
Yes. Yep, there was no instruction to Isaac to draw those similarly.
Is Rial a worldhopper?
RAFO. RAFO. RAFO.
Kredik Shaw. Lots of towers, some are simply nothing more than lots of metal that sounds like Hemalurgy on the land. Is that?
It is meant to evoke Hemalurgy, but it is not actually Hemalurgic.
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?
Not necessarily. Not necessarily.
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.
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.
So, it takes some kind of mental control to give to someone and allow them to use it?
Yes.
But it's something they have to practice at, it's not just a--
Mmhmm.
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.
That should be answered in Oathbringer. If it's not, ask me next time and I'll explain, but it is in there.
Can you say what would happen if Lift swallowed a gemstone trapping an Unmade?
...Uh, hahaha. Uh, I'll RAFO that, but that's not that there's something there, it's just that I'm RAFOing that.
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?
Yes.
I'm just curious about Steelrunners. I have to ask, assuming they have physical limitations?
They do. We can't go Speed Force on this sort of thing. Wind resistance is still a thing, and stuff like that.
Bodily, their bodies--
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.
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?
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.
Are they able to make a Hemalurgic spike out of a god metal? Or does that not work?
RAFO. We will be releasing a Hemalurgic table before too much longer.
Is Hemalurgy directly tied to Ruin, or is that something we can expect to see other--
That is directly tied to Ruin, but you can also expect to see it elsewhere.
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?
More alongside each other.
Is that something we're gonna see more of in the future?
Probably.
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?
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.
I was wondering if you could tell me anything about Longshadow?
I cannot.
No quirks, personality traits, favorite kind of shirt?
RAFO.
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?
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.
Who would win in a fight? Lift, or Wayne?
I have trouble imagining why they would fight, but it's gonna depend on situation and who gets the upper hand.
How do koloss breed? It doesn't make any sense to us?
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.
Okay. But also they didn't have the gender parts.
They do have gender parts.
Is Wayne the author that's writing the Allomancer Jak stuff.
No, he's not. Good question, though! Good question!
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?
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.
I'm wondering, I've read White Sand, if we're gonna see Khrissalla's *inaudible*?
Uh, yes. Probably yes.
How many of your epiphanies happened at the gym?
Quite a number, actually. At the gym or in the shower, you put things together, for whatever reason.
What is your beverage of choice?
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.
I was wondering, how many pieces of different Shards does Hoid have to collect before he is considered Ascended?
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.
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...
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.
Unity is capital. Is there a reason for that.
*hands over a RAFO card*
How do you write books this long? Like, mental dedication to do that?
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.
How did all the characters learn about the different magic systems?
So, it really depends on the character, and the situation, and things like that.
How did the first person discover, like--
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.
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?
...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.
...[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.
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.
Out of all the Shards, why does Odium go for Devotion and Dominion?
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.
I was wondering if any of the magic systems that existed before the Shattering, did they get weaker because of it?
Weaker is the wrong term. They were affected.
Is the Dawnchant native to Roshar?
...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.
Is there gonna be any more Arcanum Unbounded-- like collections of short stories?
Yeah. I'll release short stories and every, you know, decade or so I'll collect them all into a collection.
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--
Yeah, you can get there other ways.
