When will we see a Hoid book?
You will see a Hoid book-- You will not see a Hoid book until I finish the first five books of Stormlight and the next Mistborn trilogy at the earliest. More likely it's after Stormlight is done.
The theme of creating people in The Emperor's Soul, is that an example of my brainstorming process?
It is actually drawing upon some of those same things so I would say that is a true analogy.
There is a debate on what to call Shallan's Symbols, so we don't have such an ambiguous term for it .
The Symbolhead?
Yeah, the Symbolhead, Shallanspren.
*laughter*
We don't really know what to call them.
Do I want to canonize this yet?
You don't have to canonize it yet.
I don't know if I want to canonize it yet. But I will say this. They are spren, that should be pretty obvious. They are the spren connected to what Shallan is capable of doing. But I don’t know if I want to canonize it yet. Truthspren is as good a name as any, and I would suggest you use that until further notice.
When will second book of Legion be out on Audible?
Probably, I think November 1st is the scheduled release date and I think Audible--I can't promise this--but I think we are going to do the same thing we did with the first one, which is it will be free on Audible for like the first two months because they are short enough that charging a full credit for them is kind of, you know, they are one-third of a book, right? But you can't really split a credit into one-third credits. So if you do want to go buy Legion off of Audible, the Audible version is very nice and I think they sell it for five bucks or something, don't use a credit just go spend five bucks on it. And the second one--we did that one free for the first few months, and I think we may do the second one free for the first few months also.
Are they planning to go that for Infinity Blade, like for an Audible release?
I don't think there are plans right now, but the fact that you are interested makes me think maybe we should ask if they are interested.
Current status of the White Sand graphic novel?
We have chosen a writer and the writing is quite good. We are very pleased with it, the person who's adapting the story. We have not chosen the artist yet, we have had several that have been sent to us. Each of them are doing an application with their art and we are now choosing among them. So if there's-- We are looking for professional comic book and graphic novel illustrators and so if there happened to be one of you out there who has done professional work in this field and has done--you have to be willing to commit to doing a lot of work and you have to work with Dynamite and things like this. Then you are more than welcome to contact us, but I think we are close to picking somebody.
Is Hemalurgy still practiced during Harmony's reign?
Yes.
How much more do you want to write about Stephen Leeds?
How much more do I want to write about Stephen Leeds, from Legion? I want to write a decent amount more. I have finished Legion 2, which you may have noticed, which is called Legion: Skin Deep. I had a really great name for a title, but I don't know if I can use it because Skin Deep is a reference to beauty, right? But I thought a great title would be Legion: Lies of the Beholder. I like the pun on that but that is also "beauty is in the eyes of the beholder" so I can't make them all puns off of beauty. The original concept with Legion was to do a short that would--I imagine being a television show, it's how I imagined it and I wanted to do future episodes, so to speak. I particularly love the episode format they are doing for Sherlock on the BBC, if you guys have seen that, where your season is three hour-and-a-half long mini movies basically. And I love that format for a television show, I wish we could get more television shows doing that. I would rather sink my teeth into an hour-and-a-half long episode that has character growth, real growth and development, progress and the next one doesn't just hit the reset button and say, another adventure. It is progressing the characters further. I'd rather get three of those in a season than a twenty-two episode where of those episodes eighteen are just yet another adventure with no progress. And so--anyway that's how I imagine that.
When Legion came out there was talk Hollywood was already interested.
Yes, we sold the rights and then they let them lapse. They kept the rights for two years and they let them lapse.
What was the reason for choosing the base form of Shardblades as blades, why not another form? Was it because of the spren?
Why was the base form of Shardblades chosen to as blades, as swords? It is because the Shardblades were devised... They were devised as imitations of the Honorblades, which were created and given to the Heralds. And so since the original pattern was the Honorblades, they were built to feel like the Honorblades.
Shadows for Silence, cosmere-wise timeline where does that fall with the rest of the books?
Shadows for Silence, cosmere timeline, where does it fall with the rest of the books. It is middle cosmere, a little on the late side but not-- I mean, it is pre-Stormlight Archive, so yeah.
Will you tell us a little about the sword from Warbreaker?
Nightblood is a weapon that I devised. He is partially inspired by my love of Michael Moorcock's writing. He was built into the cosmere using many of the foundational cosmere magic system things that exist on multiple worlds.
In Well of Ascension, there are two strange "voice in the head" experiences. One of them is with Sazed and Marsh are fighting, and Sazed realizes that he can burn the metal rings that are now in his stomach. But the other one is with Elend, when a voice comes, and he's not sure where it comes from. It says something like "If you have a dagger, the only way to win is to go in for the kill"
That one, where it came from, is – I know what you are searching for, but it's actually just an old *inaudible* from weapons training. He's just dredging- he's not sure where it came from because he never thought he would need any of it, he thought he was just going to be a scholar. But his father did have him trained in weapons, so it's just instinct that he got from one of his old mentors in fighting.
So there's nothing to see there, so no, he's not *inaudible*
Okay. We were just wondering if it was Preservation, or Kelsier.
Nope. Unfortunately, no. I do that on occasion, but this time...
Is Harmony aware of events on Roshar?
*hesitantly* Yes, some of them.
Will Hoid ever have a book of his own?
Yes he will. He will have several.
Any hints at the thing hiding in the maps of Roshar?
The map of Roshar, what hints can I give you? The same thing is hiding in all of the maps of Roshar. All of the ones we have done so far have the same thing.
When are you going to work on the next Mistborn book?
Right now I am going to write Rithmatist 2, followed by Stormlight 3, and the next Mistborn book [Shadows of Self] is going to come after that. Tor has asked that I write the next Stormlight book before I write the next Mistborn books, so I will be doing that. I do have a chunk of the sequel written, but I had to put off writing it until later.
Are there kandra hiding in any of your books, besides the Mistborn ones?
Yes there are! Yes there are.
Alcatraz?
Alcatraz 5. When am I going to write Alcatraz 5? I have a few things on my plate but I do want to finish it. I have re-releases of the series coming out next year probably. We sold the series to Tor, I bought it back from Scholastic. We are repackaging them with new covers and we are hiring an illustrator to illustrate them, to have cool illustrations all through the book. It looks like we'll do 25-30, little half-pagers and things like that through the book. We're doing a map, Isaac is commissioning a very nice map. And then we are going to re-release them and so I will try to have Book 5 come out when we have that going.
What are Cultivation's feelings with regards to the Stormfather?
Cultivation's feelings... Cultivation is, *long pause* I just have to decide how I can say things that are not spoilers. Cultivation-- The Stormfather reminds her of certain things about someone else she knew, and she feels the same way about the Stormfather in some ways as this person that she knew.
Hoid has said that what he does, when he heals or comes back to life or whatever, heals the soul
Yes.
But Hemalurgy is like ripping off a piece of the soul. Could he heal that?
It is possible. Well, his particular brand of healing is very Spiritual Realm based. And so, it would-- he could. Not all brands of healing are capable. It depends on what's happening, and things like that. But yes, he would. Most Shardbearers [Surgebinders?] when they're in the throes of their powers would heal spiritually. *brief pause* Not all of them. Not all healing will do that, though.
Yeah. Because I was thinking that maybe you could spike him multiple times and compound his power.
Yes. Spiking him could do some weird things though. But spiking can do weird things to anyone.
Location of Shardpools: are they determined by the Shard, by the planet, or something else?
RAFO. *laughter* RAFO. We end on a RAFO.
Can you tell us about a cultural inspiration you’ve used in a world that we have not seen?
I wrote one that was based off of Mesoamerican- there’s a tribe out of Costa Rica. And I didn’t get the story done, but I used that one… it was really an obscure tribe, which made it really hard to name things and stuff like that. What else have I done that you haven’t seen… <thinking noises> There’s Polynesian stuff you haven’t seen, but you’ve also seen a lot of it [already], so…
In Scadrial the amount of investiture in humans from Preservation, aka, the amount of Mistborn and mist powers, is that decreasing or just being diffused among the population?
That power is being diffused among the population, though everybody has some of it already. That power is not.
Are Renarin's visions compulsive or involuntary?
Renarin's visions are-- have an element of that to them... So I'll ask you a question in return.
Okay.
How do Rosharans view seeing the future?
Oh yeah, very bad. Of Odium.
Yep. They sure do.
Is there a orbitary range limiter placed on the powers of an Epic, or does it vary from person to person?
It differs from person to person.
So, for Chicago, what was the range of the city turning into...
I've got it in my notes. It was basically enough to get me to Soldier Field, because that's where *inaudible*, does that make sense? I thought we'd go to Soldier Field, and then a little ways.
Like a mile?
It's a bit more than a mile, it's a couple miles. But the guy who said "7 miles" and I'm like "Yeah, you could be in danger".
The question is, where was [Steelheart] standing when did [the Grand Transfersion].
He was in a bank that I actually looked up, that was in downtown, and I changed the name of it. [...] The problem was, it went that far into the lake as well, and I wanted to get a good chunk of the lake, but not like, you know... and so, it's probably like four mile radius or something like that, so the seven mile radius guy is probably okay. I wanted to get downtown, Soldier Field, a little bit beyond...
Chicago proper.
Yeah.
[...] For the picture of all the Radiants and their surges, in the background there’s two dragons. Are those just--
Those are not dragons. Those are little beasties from the world. You’ve seen them before.
Larkin?
Yeah. But you can call them "dragon bugs" if you want, that’s what Isaac called them when I described them.
So are they just from the world, or do they have any over-reaching signif--
Well they have a certain ability that you may have seen in-world, which is pretty distinctive and different, and so they have a lot of mythological import. They are not widely known by most cultures right now.
If you were to make a language that was very complex, and one word could describe a complex idea and you were to raise a child with that language, would their Awakening ability be significantly more powerful?
Yeah, sure. *laughter*
If a Shard wanted to affect another Shard’s magic system, would they need to Invest themselves in the world, or can they just kind of show up and do things?
“Affect their magic system”? What do you mean by that?
So for Roshar, let’s say additional Surges or modified Surges. For Scadrial different metals. For Nalthis--
That would require more than just showing up.
Is there such a thing as a Feruchemical savant?
I did not write Feruchemical savants into the original outline. Whether or not I will do them- it’s highly unlikely because it’s not there and Mistborn is getting trickier and trickier in that regard. But I didn’t write them in, so… that’s a “probably not”.
What is the ratio of parshmen to humans?
Depends on the country. Some have a lot, some have not as many at all. I would say that the humans vastly outnumber the parshmen overall.
The YA book you were talking about earlier, is that Dark One? That your doing for--
I'm not doing Dark One. I pitched it to them and they decided one of my other pitches they liked better. The Apocalypse Guard... So the Apocalypse Guard is-- So people have started to explore the multiverse and found that there are dimensions in which the planet is doomed to some catastrophe. It's going to extinction event. And the Apocalypse Guard is a group of scientists, soldiers, and experts who save the planet that they have discovered that is doomed. So it's about saving planets.
That sounds very non-cosmere.
It's non-cosmere. But you have, if you've been reading non-cosmere books-- there's another non-cosmere book which explores the concept of a multiverse and alternate dimensions. It might be in the same continuity.
Are Renarin's visions Surgebinding?
*nervous laughter* RAFO!
So you can imagine that that's you [Aradel] or you can imagine that you are the person who inspired the name that ended up becoming what he's named after. However you imagine it. But the name worked, and I wanted a Goradel descendant, and lo and behold you ended up being a big part of the book.
Chalklings, we know, can catch rides off of Nebrask. If Melody had chalklings on a slate and carried them around, could she give them verbal commands later, after she had made them?
You will have to find out how her magic works as we progress. Everyone would say "No, that's not possible" but she had done things that are supposedly-- that seem impossible. So what you are proposing is probably likely, probably possible, but it depends on her magic.
So you have circles, or Lines of Warding. If you draw a semi-circle, like if a Rithmatist was backed up against a wall, can just a semi-circle act as a Line of Warding?
It can, but the sides are going to be so weak. I mean they can just go around it, but yes, the semi-circle would work.
So if you drew a semi-circle, and drew the other half up the wall--
That would be fine.
Would it be equally strong as if it was all flat on the ground?
It would probably-- It would be really hard to get that corner so it would be. In theoretical, magical Christmasland, yes. 'Cause chalklings are two-dimensional, so they don't even see that it's changed really. I mean it does but--
If you drew a Line of Forbiddance on, like, a slate and then you can hold the slate--
Moving stuff around starts playing with things. So I'm going to say, I will deal with that in the next book but it doesn't work how you want it to work.
Okay, I'll accept that answer.
For logistical reasons, when I was building the magic, I was "Ehhh, we've got to not have this be possible."
Could you make fences, like Rithmatic fences, by having fence posts and drawing Lines of Forbiddance down them and creating a forcefield--
Theoretically, yes.
How high up do they [Lines of Forbiddance] go?
Thickness determines height.
So you have Lines of Forbiddance, you draw them on the ground and you get forcefields. How about when you draw them on a chalkboard? Does it project out into the room?
It would project out into the room, yes.
At the Words of Radiance signing, I asked you what Renarin's eye color was. You said if there wasn't one in the wiki, you would canonize one for me. Peter has said there is not a color in the wiki.
Not a color in the wiki, okay.
Fan art has used blue--
You're going to get this in.
--and blue is my favorite color.
Oh is it?
So if you need a color--
Alright Renarin's eyes are blue. *cheers*
How accurate would you say the northern continent on the Sycla map is? Is it horribly inaccurate?
This map has severe deficiencies, especially in the northwest.
Is there any reason why the cities seem to be on the borders?
Seem to be where?
On the borders, or coastline, like literally all of them.
So Brandon can tell me if I'm wrong on this, but normally at the level of technology we're at in this world you've got to have cities near water. That's really what it is. Early cities are almost always near a source of water.
And so the rivers are just the borders?
Yeah. I mean we have the rivers that come in through the border in some places but rivers also are just a great border between places. Especially when there is-- when you're not building bridges over all of them. I will tell you... I won't answer what's going on up here.
Is it really this enclosed though? Like it's pretty enclosed?
It's pretty enclosed. This right here is pretty distorted, I will tell you that. And I made it look bigger than it is...
Eric, we will eventually release a more correct map.
*written* What series is Vax associated with?
I'm going to RAFO this one. So there... I'm totally going to RAFO that. You just got-- You got a good one so I'm going to RAFO the other.
Humans on Scadrial have Investiture of both Preservation and Ruin inside of them.
Yes.
Feruchemically, does storing Investiture in Nicrosil store this connection to Ruin/Preservation/Harmony?
You are on the right track, and asking the right questions but RAFO.
Is there an average height for the Shin people?
Shorter than the average Alethi, I should think. :)
Do you know the general skin tone and hair color of the Thaylen people? Because there seems to be few descriptions in the books. And how exactly long are their eyebrows? (Fan art problems, sorry.)
No idea about Thaylen skin tones, if the text doesn't state it clearly then I guess it's open to discussion. With the eyebrows, I'd think the length varies depending on age and care. The Thaylen riding the chull in the first book has brow-fans that look to be near a foot long. I'm not sure if that's above average, but I'd think there's probably some upper range determined by sheer practicality. Though I don't think they have to fan out, they could be braided or beaded... really, this is a /u/mistborn question.
Could you give us some clues about how the two lines of buttons on Vorin havah actually look like? I find it hard to imagine correctly. (When designing this costume, has Brandon got some in-world reference?)
The cut of a havah is similar to a cheongsam through the torso, with full sleeves and skirts falling from the hips. Beneath the slitted outer skirt are many thin layers like fine silk which interweave to create a sort of accordion effect. This would (I think?) allow the dress to fall at a sharp angle from the hip when still, while expanding to allow a full range of leg movement. The buttons run from the throat down to the waist, following a line from the jaw down to the collarbone, curving out to follow the bust and then down the line of the torso. I don't think there's a rule for the number of buttons, but when in doubt remember that "10" is significant to the culture. Frog buttons are legit, I think.
Will we see a sketch of larkin some day?
I think you're the third person to ask about larkins, so I'm putting it on a to-do list. :)
How is the illustrating process for Stormlight 3 going? Is there any new guest artist? Will we see more new species/fashion pages/character depictions? I remember a WoB saying that there's a plan for Unkalaki outfit design. Is it still possible?
We're still in the early draft process. Almost certainly, but it's not for me to say. Almost definitely/possibly/no idea. If there's an Unkalaki design, it might be slated for Dan.
Is there any chance that we can see more of your personal Stormlight art? Just like that Chasmfiend piece =)
Maybe? I'd like to do more, but I like to do lots of stuff and I keep busy.
Is there anything you're looking forward to illustrating that you haven't had an opportunity to do yet?
Oh, there's a few things.
I want to know what the heck a Thunderclast is. :)
Which order of the Knights Radiant would/are you be in?
Lightweavers is the easy, obvious answer, but we're still learning a lot about each Order so I think it's still pretty early to say.
