Questioner
In the Arcanum Unbounded, it says that a Rosharan foot is longer than cosmere standard. How does that compare to an Earth foot?
Brandon Sanderson
Longer. Kaladin is almost seven feet tall, by our measurements. We've got a height comparison, Shallan is about six feet tall. She thinks she's short. Compared to us, she'd be on the taller end. That's why if you notice people from around the cosmere that show up, they're often mentioned as short. Not Hoid, who's able to use magical means to change how he's perceived, but someone like Felt, and stuff like that.
Questioner
Would a Shardblade be able to hurt Steelheart?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, I think it would.
Questioner
If the person feared him, would they still be able to hurt him?
Brandon Sanderson
Even if they didn't fear him, if you mashed Steelheart into the cosmere--which it's not, but if you did, the Steelheart magics would all have to work on the cosmere magics, which means that a Shardblade could hurt him. If you had a Shardblade, you could hurt someone even if you didn't know their weakness. That would be a way it would have to work. Now, if you were to mash them all into Steelheart's universe, then maybe not.
Questioner
Can Leechers leech on other types of Investiture across the cosmere? And how do people power their powers on worlds?
Brandon Sanderson
So, Scadrians can use metal from other worlds. The metal is considered a facilitator, a key for reaching the Spiritual Realm, and distance doesn't matter for the Spiritual Realm. All of the Allomantic powers, Leechers in particular, they do have an influence with the other magic systems. Even as simple as a Shardblade would be very difficult, near impossible to push or pull, because of the level of Investiture it has. Copperclouds have some interesting ramifications, as well as Seekers have interesting ramifications, and Leechers would work on other magic systems as well. It is a little tricky how it interfaces sometimes, but it'll generally do what you're expecting it to do.
Steeldancer
A while back, you mentioned that if certain circumstances hadn't happened on Taldain, that Taldainians... the people on Taldain probably would've been the first to space. Which interests me greatly, because they don't really have a magic system that is very conducive to faster than light travel.
Brandon Sanderson
I didn't say--did I say FTL?
Steeldancer
You didn't, that's true, but that doesn't change my question. So my question is, is there a method, other than Allomantic ways and Surgebinding ways, for faster than light, that could be achieved on any minor Shardworld, as long as they have access to Investiture?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, there is, but it depends on if you could get in Shadesmar. You could travel FTL in the Physical Realm through Shadesmar. Basically, just take a spaceship in Shadesmar and travel between Shardpools and you've achieved FTL. Because travel through Shadesmar, you could walk between planets in Shadesmar. So anyone who can get in and out of Shadesmar reliably can FTL. Ways in and out of Shadesmar are very rare, which is extremely limiting, but it is possible.
LittleMoss
What question about the cosmere does Khriss most want answered?
Brandon Sanderson
She would want to know what happens in the Beyond. Followed secondly by, how can you get Stormlight off of Roshar?
AmbrosíaWillReadOn
Did Kelsier ever consider remarrying, for any reason at all?
Brandon Sanderson
He has not. He never did in the... Let's say "no." No thoughts of remarrying.
Zane Borrow
Would you ever consider creating a sport in one of your series similar to a quidditch thing? Selling jersey and such? Mistborn Dodgeball?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes! In fact, the previous Wax and Wayne book has little hints about this, and the new one has another step forward. Obviously, Rithmatist is this; but they mean in the Cosmere and more of a formalized sport.
For those who don't know, part of the reason I wrote the Rithmatist is I'm like, "I wanna do a book where they use the magic for some sort of game or sport." But you can anticipate in Era 3 fully Metallurgic Arts-enhanced sports teams.
Questioner
In the fourth book of The Way of Kings, when Kaladin ascends to the fourth, *inaudible* because he projects the Shard armor to protect the kid and stuff. I don't know, that bugs me.
Brandon Sanderson
You are allowed to be bugged. And I give readers line-item vetoes. If you want to pretend that doesn't exist, you'll just have to imagine some of the scenes in future books differently.
Questioner
Well I mean, hopefully there will be an explanation for that or something, I don't know. As of right now, it bugs me, but everything else was awesome.
Brandon Sanderson
I'll try to explain it, we'll see if it works for you.
Questioner
In Skyward, Jorgen's original callsign, he asks to be "Jorgen." Is that also his real name?
Brandon Sanderson
Jorgen? Yes.
Questioner
So he asked for his real name to be his callsign?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, cause he is not quite as imaginative as he should be. It's supposed to kind of be a joke. Jorgen has trouble with stuff like that.
Questioner
I've been curious cause I couldn't find anything about a real name.
Brandon Sanderson
Yep, it is actually his real name.
Questioner
Jasnah was in Shadesmar for kind of a long time, right?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes.
Questioner
Did she go somewhere and get other Investiture?
Brandon Sanderson
She did not manage to get off world. Good question. She's becoming cosmere aware, but really it's through Hoid. Before, she didn't really have very much awareness of that.
Questioner
How did she survive, like getting stuff to eat and stuff?
Brandon Sanderson
You can get it if you know what you're doing in Shadesmar.
Questioner
She's pretty resourceful, right?
Brandon Sanderson
She's pretty resourceful. Most of the time, you're gonna have to trade for it. There's actually caravans that go through Shadesmar. They almost always stop at Roshar to resupply through the Horneater Peaks. So if you know what you're doing, you could trade for food. They have food in a lot of the waystops and the cities and things like that because humans are coming through, and it's a thing they can trade them.
Questioner
A lot of those canned goods, those coming from Scadrial?
Brandon Sanderson
If it's canned, it's coming from Scadrial at this point. Taldain probably has the same technology at that point, but Taldain is closed. So the cans are coming from Scadrial.
Questioner
How old was Shallan when she killed her first spren?
Brandon Sanderson
I would have to look at the exact outline of that. Karen keeps all of the continuity timeline stuff, and I just kind of offload that part of my brain to her, so she's the one that would know. You can ask Karen some time when she's around.
Questioner
I've heard that you're kind of close with the Magic: The Gathering people?
Brandon Sanderson
I mean, I did write a story for them, I do know some people over there.
Questioner
Have they ever asked you about doing a set, like how they're doing D&D and stuff?
Brandon Sanderson
Different thing, but they asked me to write the story for the new Urza set that's coming out. (The Brothers' War, I think they just announced it last month.) And I couldn't do it, I just didn't have the time. But a Secret Lair is totally possible. That's something that we could probably do.
It's just tricky because mechanically unique cards are divisive among the community, and so the question is: "Do we want a Secret Lair that just takes other cards and reskins them? Do we want to wait until there are cards that are being made that would match the characters, and then reskin those? Do we want to see how people receive the Lord of the Rings set, and if they really like it, then maybe they would do something Stormlight?" Something like that. I really kind of want to see how all of this plays out with the Secret Lairs and stuff, which I really like, but I know they're divisive in the community.
Anyway, this is on everybody's radar, right? They're making fantasy properties into card sets. There's only a couple names that come up. It's Tolkien, then probably George, and Harry Potter, and then me, so they have talked to me. But a full set, there haven't even been talks about that. It's all just been like, "Hey maybe would you be interested?" That sort of thing. So don't hold your breath, but we'll see how the Lord of the Rings set goes.
Questioner
I read a lot of the Star Wars books, and they have a timeline in the front of each book. I know that you mentioned that you don't want to force people to have to read them in a certain order. Is that something that you've ever thought of?
Brandon Sanderson
It is. I've actually thought of starting to stick in the back of the book, a guide to the cosmere and stuff. It's just, finding the space for it in the books and all of that is tricky. I think we will eventually do it. But it's just one of the many things that I have to find time to do.
Questioner
Will Warbreaker have any more effect on the Stormlight Archive series?
Brandon Sanderson
I mean, Vasher and Vivenna are around, and Nightblood is around, so I would say yes, would be the answer.
Erik02847
If a listener were to Awaken something, would they imitate the listener or a human?
Brandon Sanderson
They would imitate the listener.
Erik02847
And would that change based off of their form?
Brandon Sanderson
It could slightly change based off their form. More likely it's just gonna about their culture and the way the person sees the world, but the way that the listener sees the world is changed based on their form, so yeah, it'll have an effect.
Questioner
What is the Scar?
Brandon Sanderson
That is a RAFO. It is something that is visible from multiple planets, and it is a RAFO.
Questioner
Are the Ghostbloods good, in your mind, or bad?
Brandon Sanderson
They are neither, in my mind.
Questioner
Does their leader, Thaidakar, affect what they do a lot?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, but the Roshar branch is a little bit removed from him.
Questioner
What the heck happened, did Taravangian do to Wit?
Brandon Sanderson
You'll find out more in the next book. He stole a few of his Breaths, and they had memories attached to them.
Questioner
Does Wit ever get his memories back?
Brandon Sanderson
I will RAFO that. It will be dealt with, though; in the next book, he will notice.
Questioner
Because Zahel was especially Invested when he died, he became that other soul. Does that mean that Elend wasn't actually...?
Brandon Sanderson
Zahel is a special case. What happened with him is, on his planet, he was specifically chosen by the Shard to be Returned. That happens, you don't have to be specifically Invested for that. The god gives them that. Now, to become a Cognitive Shadow, which is what certain people in the cosmere are, you need a powerful amount, an enormous amount.
Questioner
So not the bead?
Brandon Sanderson
Not just being a Mistborn, not just... he wasn't even close to being where he needed to be, if you want to end up as a Cognitive Shadow. You need to do some special hoops. We're talking, drawing forth the power of a Shard, or being endowed with the power of a Shard, or a certain number of Breaths would do it. There is a threshold that you could get, you're gonna end up as a Cognitive Shadow.
Questioner
I asked for one of your precious secrets, and she already knew that it was gonna be "Hoid loves bacon."
Brandon Sanderson
Yep, but he can't eat it. Soul work by a Dawnshard has done some weird things to Hoid.
Tim
Nightblood's intent is to destroy evil. Since it consumes Investiture, does it view Investiture as evil?
Brandon Sanderson
No, it does not. Nightblood has trouble deciding what is evil. It is getting better, more and more, but it wouldn't view Investiture itself as evil.
Questioner
Which series have you enjoyed writing the most?
Brandon Sanderson
Probably Wax and Wayne. It is just pure joy. I save up Wayne quotes for years, and then find places for them in the books.
Questioner
I'm curious as to when we're going to see the Ire next.
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO, you get a RAFO.
Questioner
Is Taln still part of the Oathpact?
Brandon Sanderson
The Oathpact has been broken. There's a ghost of it in existence, fragments, but the death of Jezrien has broken the Oathpact. More than death, super death.
Questioner
Is that in the books? Should I know that?
Brandon Sanderson
Yeah, he's at the end of Oathbringer, his soul gets sucked by the knife they give to Moash.
Questioner
I didn't know it ended the Oathpact though.
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, that did break the Oathpact. If one of the Fused were to die, they would be reborn immediately. The Oathpact is a goner. They would have to form a new Oathpact, or something like that.
Questioner
Before it was broken, was Taln still involved with it?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes.
Questioner
Does *inaudible* know the significance of silver?
Brandon Sanderson
There is lore around silver. I would say no he doesn't, but people who were involved in the lore that eventually became *inaudible* did.
Questioner
Mistcloaks. Do they have sleeves?
Brandon Sanderson
They usually do not, but there are ones that do. Every mistcloak is built by the Mistborn, or commissioned, there's no standardized what a mistcloak even looked like, they're all kind of like individually built.
Questioner
I was wondering, are there dinosaurs on Ashyn? Or were there? Because there's chickens...
Brandon Sanderson
Right, right. There are reptiles. The Rosharan system is younger than some, but not as young as Scadrial. So I'll RAFO whether there were dinosaurs. On Roshar itself, there are no oil deposits caused by mass extinction events in the past.
Questioner
Are you gonna do more [White Sand Graphic Novels]
Brandon Sanderson
We're gonna do a full omnibus, and then we're talking about what to do with Darkside, 'cause there's a story there that I want to tell. I might involve Isaac in it; he's my art director who art directed this entire thing. There should be another story in the world. We're not sure if it'll be graphic or if it'll be print.
Questioner
I have a copy of Darkside, I just didn't bring it.
Brandon Sanderson
No, not Dark One. Darkside of White Sand, the other half of the planet. Dark One is a different thing. Khriss is from Darkside in this world, and she's really relevant to the Cosmere as a whole. She shows in up several of the other books. She shows up in Bands of Mourning, Khriss from this, and she's also in Secret History, and she shows up here and there. She's really relevant to the Cosmere, particularly some future stuff. And so we want to tell more of her story also.
Questioner
In Rhythm of War, when they're talking about like the sand from another planet, is that from here?
Brandon Sanderson
That is this, yes. So, white sand will charge, basically, off of any active Investiture, kinetic Investiture, and so you can use it to tell if something is using one of the magics nearby. And so it's become... you can just take it offworld and then use it kind of like a Geiger counter. So it's made its way all over the place. It shows up actually in Oathbringer as well.
Questioner
In Warbreaker, the royals, their hair color changes. When I was reading Mistborn, I noticed there was different times that Shan Elariel's hair was described as black vs auburn or different things like that, was that...?
Brandon Sanderson
That's a typo. There are times where if you watch that'll be a clue, that one is not.
Questioner
Have you based any of your characters off kids, like your kids or anybody else's?
Brandon Sanderson
I have not based any off of kids yet. I've based ones off of friends, but the kids... Most of the series I started when they were too young. I think eventually they will get some books.
Questioner
Do you have a timeline of the Cosmere right now?
Brandon Sanderson
I do, but I'm not a hundred percent satisfied with it. So I'm not canonizing it yet, there're still tweaks I'm planning to make.
Questioner
So the next Wax and Wayne, is that after the fifth Stormlight?
Brandon Sanderson
All the Wax and Wayne ones chronologically take place in the ten year gap between Stormlight 5 and 6.
Questioner
If Kelsier died and came back as a Returned, what would, off the top of your head, be his Returned name?
Brandon Sanderson
Hmmm, Lifeseeker? That's just off the top of my head.
Questioner
What are dragons like?
Brandon Sanderson
In the Cosmere? They are sneaky and long-lived.
Questioner 2
Will they have wings?
Brandon Sanderson
They do have wings, depending on what form they're in. They are natural shapeshifters.
Questioner
Are they Cognitive Shadows or are they people?
Brandon Sanderson
They are people.
Questioner
I was just wondering if there's anything you can tell me about the Dustbringers?
Brandon Sanderson
Let's say that the Dustbringers have the most variety among Knights Radiant. Them and the Willshapers would be the ones that, personality-wise and things like that, you're gonna find the most diversity. Dustbringers are famous for not agreeing with one another about almost anything.
Questioner
They [the order lines] all meet in the middle. What does the middle mean, is there somebody that can have all the powers?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO!
Questioner
Can you tell us anything about the Darkside of White Sand?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes. We are hoping to do a story set there once the omnibus is out. It might graphic novel, it might be print. There is some very cool stuff about the way that the other sun works, and the magic involves tattoos. It's very nifty. We will get to it eventually. So, there you go.
Questioner
If you do a graphic novel, will you release the prose like you did for the first one?
Brandon Sanderson
There might not be a prose if we do a graphic novel. I haven't written-- One of my goals is actually, now the graphic novel's done, is to do a straight up revision of the prose and actually make it match the graphic novel and match current Cosmere continuity, and then actually release a print edition of it. I think it's more likely that we do a prose edition of the second book than a graphic novel, but I'm not sure which one it would be.
Questioner
The perpendicularity on Threnody, is it a location or a circumstance?
Brandon Sanderson
Ooooh, good question! More like the second... I was ready to RAFO that, but you asked it the right way.
Questioner
Are the Intents of all the Shards related to the individuals who were involved in the Shattering?
Brandon Sanderson
"Related to"? Slightly, but not as much as you probably would think.
Questioner
My friends and I have been endlessly debating whether Wit knew what happened to him at the end of Rhythm, when he said "that went exactly as I planned," if he knew he was gonna get duped? Or if he got hornswoggled?
Brandon Sanderson
He legitimately got hornswoggled. One of the opening chapters of the next book is going to be him realizing that. There's a little teaser for you.
MangoMongo
Those spren bodies that were brought into the Physical Realm by Ishar. Could an Awakener make it Lifeless?
Brandon Sanderson
This is within the realm of possibility.
MangoMongo
What about Forgery?
Brandon Sanderson
Forgery would be a little harder. Because you'd need to know what went wrong to make it go well. I'd say Forgery could accomplish this.
Brandon Sanderson
There is a scene in Rhythm of War between Wit and Jasnah. This scene has Wit doing a weird linguistic trick with his sentences that I'm not sure if people have figured out, but it is not just alliteration, it is deeper than that. And it is not something that you're supposed to pick up on. You're just supposed to be able to feel like, "Oh yeah, Wit is doing somethin' weird. He does weird stuff." But if you follow it, it follows a very interesting... it's like he's made his own poetic form and is trying to follow it. And the fun of this scene for me, part of the fun of writing it is, Jasnah picking up on that, Jasnah doing it as well, him trying to constrain the conversation so they can make these little quips, her saying "please don't do this anymore, we gotta really be serious," and him saying "okay" but then doing it anyway more carefully and subtly with the last sentence that he gives. Which, I don't think this is something that people are going to get. I didn't expect you. But it says something to me about Wit. He gave his word and he immediately broke it, because it was too fun for him to not break it. He just had to see if he could break it in a way that Jasnah couldn't see. And Wit is bored by normal human interactions, to the point that he must put constraints upon himself to keep himself engaged in normal conversations, even ones that are full of import and emotion where he maybe shouldn't be acting like this. And that is one of his failings. And these sorts of things are basically, like that one there is mostly there for me. I don't think anyone will pick up on it other than "something weird is happening."
Maybe I'm wrong, and the cosmerenauts out there are like "oh, we got this exactly, Brandon." I won't say what it is, in case people want to actually figure out what the literary form he has created for himself to follow, what it is. But that sort of thing, I do not cut, as long as it's not too distracting. Once in a while, it is too distracting, and so I do cut it. I made up a word in Wax and Wayne that I really liked; not a fantasy word, just a derivation of another word. And the whole writing group hated it. And when I got back to it in revision, I'm like, "All right, I'll just cut this. The whole writing group hated it." Sometimes I will, if it's just too distracting. Sometimes I will leave it in and be like, "I'm creating a word here. You guys just deal with it."
LuckyJim
I've been really curious for a while about the modern Skybreakers and how they operated while in secret. To keep things short and avoid RAFO territory, what were the modern Skybreakers doing for their fourth ideal crusades? I'd imagine they must have been different from the sorts of crusades classic Skybreakers did, since their main purpose and general methodology seems to have shifted. Was it just stuff like "I will eliminate such and such radiant" or did they have other important missions that could qualify for a crusade?
Brandon Sanderson
Their crusades can actually be rather varied. They are different these days, but often involve joining and trying to help law enforcement in various countries. Watching tor Radiants was actually not often part of it, since Nale did that--and it isn't until recently that it's actually come up.
Deus Ex Biotica
Does anyone know anything about [A House of Ashes, a set of companion stories for the Mistborn Adventure Game]? Was it vetted by Brandon Sanderson, and thus capable of giving us some new canonical data, or is it going to be pure (albeit probably very well-written and exciting) fanfiction?
Crafty Games
We have indeed been working with Brandon to build the game - as much as his very busy schedule allows, at any rate - and he and his team have read and signed off on all of it, including this novella. That said, it's labeled very clearly as a "Companion to the Mistborn Adventure Game" for a reason. It has the seal of approval, but it's understood that the world and full canon are his and his alone. We hope he incorporates some of this into his work, but at the end of the day it's his choice what is and isn't actually true.
Kurkistan
I plan to treat it as second-order canon: Can be overruled by direct quote from Peter or Brandon or textual evidence from Brandon's books, but otherwise assumed to be true.
Crafty Games
This is absolutely how you should view it.
Hope that helps!
Dan Wells
I have finished a project! Dark One: Forgotten, my latest collaboration with @BrandSanderson, is done and polished and sent. This took SO MUCH LONGER than it should have, but it’s done! Victory! Time for my theme song.
LewsTherinTelescope
Nice! Out of curiosity, how does this relate to the first one?
Dan Wells
It's a prequel.
Brandon Sanderson
I just outlined a non-genetic magic system that I think is kind of interesting. I don't know if I'll ever get to write this book; I outline a lot of books that I don't get to write. But it was a really interesting idea for a magic system where a child was chosen by society when they were a newborn to gain the powers. You know, kind of for the good of society. And being one of these people, instead, I thought... Like I said, the implications are really interesting for that narrative story, is that you're forced, even from childhood you were chosen by everybody. You weren't born to it; but how do you choose a newborn? They just chose one, and now you've gotta live the rest of your life (Hope you picked a good one!) dealing with these implications. That's been very interesting to outline and think about, the effects on the character.
Questioner
Is that Cosmere or non-Cosmere?
Brandon Sanderson
That one is Cosmere.
Brandon Sanderson
The first one [reason for starting Mainframe] is to publish audio originals that match the audio format. I'm working on one of those with someone right now that, just, you couldn't write it in another format. It just doesn't work.
Brandon Sanderson
It [Lux] starts during the events of Calamity, the third Reckoners novel, and goes past the events of the end of Calamity.
Steven Bohls
Ultimately, what we decided was to start it around middle of Calamity, and then have it go past the end of Calamity with kind of the promise that we'll see post-Calamity as the story progresses.
Brandon Sanderson
And if people really like this book, we have plans for how to kind of integrate it a little bit more into some of the characters. It was important to us that this one be standalone; that if you haven't read the first three, this one stands on its own, it introduces the premise again but it works on its own. And so you're not gonna see a ton. You'll see little easter egg connections that we're building toward; hopefully people really enjoy this and we'll do some more with this.
Brandon Sanderson
Over time, those three [Lux] novellas morphed into a single novel. Each draft, they were more like that, until finally, we were just, like, "This is just a novel." Because originally, it was, like, three novellas about three different characters. Then it was three novellas about one character doing three different missions. Then it was three different novellas taking this one mission and breaking it into three parts. And then its, like, "Okay, it's just a novel."
