So in Mistborn, you have to be 'snapped' to awaken allomantic abilities. Similarly in Stormlight, you have to be 'broken' to release surgebinding powers.
Are there any connections between these two requirements? Does it have anything to do with the 3 realms?
Yes and yes.
The final piece of training Gemmel gave Kelsier - was it attacking him and fighting him to the death? It seems like the type of thing he'd do.
It does indeed seem like something he'd do.
On the Coppermind there is this idea that if a natural Mistborn burned duralumin and then lerasium it would empower them to godly levels. Would this actually happen or would another effect happen.
That actually wouldn't work, but it is a clever idea.
Shallan explains the theory that all spren can be divided into two categories (emotions and forces). Jasnah then links these to Cultivation and Honor, and also notes that voidspren are of Odium.
Is this theory maybe a little incomplete? Is there a third category of spren for "sensationspren" like painspren (which don't seem to involve emotions or forces)?
In Vorin thought, those would be emotions, but that doesn't mean that the scholars who think about these things are right.
So you have said that making someone Mistborn is not lerasium's primary function, that a Mistborn burning it would have another effect. Is this also true of its alloys?
RAFO.
Zane comments that he's "always had" his spike. Is that just Ruin's influence making him ignore it, "oh this thing, it's always been there" or has he actually had the spike since childhood? Did he get it before he Snapped, after he Snapped, or concurrent with his Snapping?
More the first.
After snapping.
Are things that are written by scholars on Roshar suspect? In Mistborn, Ruin could change anything that was written down, so can Odium do the same? Are written words on Roshar: untrustworthy, trustworthy because that ability was somehow limited to Ruin, or trustworthy because Odium COULD do it but just won't because it's not his style/he doesn't consider it?
Odium didn't have a hand in creating Roshar, and his essence doesn't permeate it in the same way as Ruin permeated Scadrial. This gave Ruin a great deal more power over things like this--except when he ran into metals, of course.
Another difference is that Odium has a fully-living, fully-aware, and very powerful Shard opposing him. (Contrasted to one that was half-dead and going mad.)
So yes, you can trust much of what was written. Odium can be subtle when he needs to be, but his primary avenue of attack has been along a different line than the one Ruin used.
Had Gemmel ever met Zane?
Yes.
I'm not saying that meeting was particularly relevant.
Are the Ten Essences from Stormlight inspired from the ancient Chinese theory of the Five Elements, which is often used to explain various physiological and patological phenomena in traditional Chinese medicine?
Yes. Part came from there. Part came from Jewish mysticism. Part came from the idea of fundamental forces.
Can a person holding a shard voluntarily give up the shard? Vin gave it up by killing herself, but could Harmony/Sazed just decide to quit?
I will answer this eventually in the books. So a RAFO with a promise that you will actually get the FO part.
What would a Hemalurgic spike granting atium do for an Allomancer already able to burn atium? Does it function similarly to bronze, granting enhanced atium-ing? Along this line of thought, would enhancing electrum burning via spike be of any advantage?
A spike of something you have would enhance your ability, giving your more strength. With atium, more strength makes for a minimal edge--the length you can push out the atium shadows. However, there's a certain breaking point where you kind of crack the whole system, peer straight into the [Spiritual Realm], and kind of have a "It's full of stars" moment.
Electrum could reach this same moment, potentially, though there's more interference to fight through. Extra strength in electrum isn't going to be terribly useful up to that point.
Is that what happened when atium was burned with duralumin?
Yes.
Can't wait to see Nightblood in Roshar. Assuming he feeds on Stormlight rather than breath, he's going to be much "cheaper" to use. Loved the interactions with Vivenna.
Cheaper indeed. But don't underestimate his hunger.
Will the Everstorm result in a influx of Radiants?
RAFO.
Could you give us a snippet about the Dustbringers? Or Willshapers?
Dustbringers never liked their name, and tried hard to get people to use another title for them.
Was there a mechanical reason they weren't able to effect the name change, or was it just because the new name didn't catch on?
The latter.
Did the Lord Ruler have any hobbies / anything he just enjoyed doing not related to being a tyrant?
He did. Actually, across a thousand years he tried pretty much everything. He was most fond of music.
Composing, playing, or listening to?
Playing and listening to. Not composing.
Did he perhaps play the flute?
Yes, he did.
Is that the flute Hoid gave to Kaladin?
RAFO.
If Gavilar was still alive, would he most likely have aligned himself to or taken actions most similar to Dalinar, Amaram or Taravangian? In other words, which of the three is best acting out his will?
I can say he would align with one of them most certainly, but I want to RAFO this for now. (Though I might have made it clear elsewhere and not be remembering.)
Vasher had a strange reaction when Vivenna mentioned Clod to him. Was Clod someone that Vasher knew in life? Or was this a reaction of his general disapproval of the Lifeless in general?
No, Vasher has a connection to that particular Lifeless. It was indeed someone Vasher knew in life.
Are Feruchemists the Batman of the Cosmere? They can beat anyone with enough time to prep?
They are very versatile, but I'd say that Elantrians--on their home turf--could win in that department. They things they could do with enough preparation are even more impressive.
Will steelminds be used in some way for the FTL travel you plan to have in the third trilogy?
RAFO.
When Jasnah talks about soulcasting the 8 different types of blood, is she referring to transfusion typing within humans (e.g. ABO+/- on Earth) or to different kinds of blood between species (e.g. human vs axehound vs greatshell vs Aimian, etc)?
Both, though people on Roshar haven't hit upon the levels of complexity in blood types that we know.
Did these arise naturally on Roshar, or did Honor/Cultivation get lazy on templating humanity and copying existing?
RAFO. (Sorry.)
Is Ashyn the Tranquilline Halls?
RAFO.
Actually, my theory is that Braize is both the TQ and Damnation.
Gamers will all be familiar with the concept of rezzing after you die, often at a specific place.
The legend is that humans were forced out of the TQ and followed to Roshar. If Odium attacked and conquered Braize, and Honor created the heralds before he and Cultivation moved humans to Roshar, then the heralds might very well be rezzing on enemy-held Braize each day as described in the WoK prologue. Against the combined armies of the entire planet they get ganked as described in the prologue, only to rez the next day (kind of like the rez timers in World of Warcraft :-)).
WoR confirms that Braize was called Damnation, but I think it is now damnation, and was once the TQ.
Excellent theories, strange gaming parallels notwithstanding.
Did Ruin and Preservation create Scadrial, as in the actual planet? The other Shards seem to have settled on already-made worlds (or at least, they did for Roshar).
What Ruin and Preservation did is less common, for certain.
We know that Sigzil and Hoid have a previous relation but besides that the former was the latter's apprentice we don't know much, is this something that we will found out more about eventually?
Yes, there will be more.
Do those two weather related phenomenons have something in common. They both seem to have investiture that people can draw on.
Weather is important to most cosmere magic.
Is the mist creature, that was seen through out the second Mistborn book, Preservation/the mists version of the Stormfather, which seems to be related to Honor/Highstorms.
You are on the right track.
The aforementioned mist being was called a "shadow of self" in one of the original 3 MB books. Does this have anything to do with a book of the same name? The Stormfather also called himself a "shadow" of what Honor was, does this support my above theory?
The Stormfather would use the same language.
Since there's a Feruchemical metal that stores calories, is there one that stores the need to eliminate waste?
Not yet.
If Bob the Awakener Awakened fifty straw men to dance around, then died, then Returned as FormerBob the Appropriately Named, would FormerBob be able to reclaim the Breath from the straw men in the normal fashion (once he learned the "Your Breath to Mine" Command)?
Yes. He has enough of his original Identity, and the spiritual connection would remain.
What if he instead were reincarnated as a lifeless? Is there a way he could reclaim it then?
Lifeless have someone else's investiture replacing their own. (As opposed to Returned, who are augmented.) Depends on how much of them is left, and if they can achieve sapience again, but I'd say this is unlikely.
What if the Lifeless is Awakened with their own Breath? (i.e. they gave it away right before they died and the person they gave it to then used it in the Awakening)
This has happened already in the world, and it does help.
Did this happen "on screen"?
RAFO.
How significant will the White Sand be to the cosmere? Any hints on the Shard that resides there?
Moderately. (Its magic has some cool ramifications for off world use, and several characters factor prominently into the Cosmere.)
Is there more than one magic system in white sand?
Only one in the current outline.
Does the one magic have more than one variation? Because I got the impression that there was something going on on the Darkside? Though I guess the Sky Colors (I think that's what they're called, I read the draft you send out early 2014 so my recollection is a little fuzzy) don't have to be related to magic. Or you could have written them out if they were...
In intended the colors on Darkside to be more a matter of the ecology than the magic--though, on that planet, magic and ecology are very closely tied together. (Well, I guess most of the magics are.)
Are the Highprinces (back in the day) mirrored off of the Ten Heralds?
No.
Is there one shard besides Harmony that would give Odium a run for his money?
Possibly.
If you knew what you were doing could you turn a dog into koloss dog using hemalurgy?
Yes.
Why is it that Returned need to consume Investiture to stay alive? Most other Invested beings (like spren, Seons, and the like) don't seem to have a similar requirement.
There's a distinction between a being who is made of Investiture come alive and one who has been overstuffed with it. The Returned are fairly unique.
So, would a non-Returned who received enough Breath to overstuff them also need to start feeding on Investiture to live? Or would they be destroyed like Vin before that point?
I'm going to RAFO this, as I feel I should leave the details of the nature of the Returned for discussion in future books.
Here's one that's been on my mind for a while. You've said that Shardblades can take forms other than weapons/shields. Have we seen this happen in the series so far?
Yes.
In Elantris, did the Hoed actually die when they entered the pool?
Now THAT is the question people should be asking.
Can Nightblood be considered a Splinter and does it function like a spren realmatically, are there distinct differences is what I'm asking.
Nightblood is kind of his own strange thing. He's an attempt to use one magic to replicate something in another. He's closest to a spren, but kind of like a...robot spren, for lack of better words to use.
When you say that Nightblood is "an attempt to use one magic to replicate something in another," do you mean life in general, or are you referring to a specific effect in a specific magic system?
There are those involved who knew that Shardblades existed before they tried the Nightblood experiment.
So does this mean Vasher had knowledge of Shardblades before creating Nightblood?
It means what I wrote, and nothing more at this point. :)
Dude. That's the most tantalizing RAFO I've seen in awhile. Have other Shards made Shardblades besides Honor?
:) RAFO
Is that why Vasher uses the word 'Investiture' instead of some personal term for it?
I could be wrong, but I think Vasher was the first one in any book I allowed to use cosmere-aware terms for speaking of things like the magics. (Investiture is one of these.)
If Kelsier (when Vin knew him) were to join one of the Rosharan secret societies, which one would he choose?
He would become part of the Ghostbloods, most likely, and would be in charge of them within a year.
Which one are you talking about specifically?
If I'm understanding them correctly they are refering to the "Big Hint" you've said there is about Worldhopping in Elantris, which you later explained as being an Aon that Raoden misinterprets. They are proposing that the Aon is Aon Rao (I think?). At least that's my current guess (though my guess is that Rao actually translates to "Investiture").
Ah... They're on the wrong track.
I'll cut this one off right here, as I see they're misinterpreting what I said. It's more simple than that, and is something I think they have probably already figured out. The "Big Hint" I put back in Elantris are the murals Raoden and company discover. I believe this is what we're talking about, not the Aon being misinterpreted.
Is there Shard based magic that's used for translation? Hoid is very smart, but it seems like it would be a pain to learn all these other world's languages -- and he's very eloquent in all of them. Will you tell us any details you can about this? pretty please : )
There are several ways to do this. Hoid is not learning all of the languages without aid. No details, I'm afraid. Except that if you watch, you will see him slip and use words that have no meaning (or the wrong meaning) in some of the languages he's speaking. Those translate oddly, or don't translate at all.
In the WoK epilogue, Wit talks about novelty and what we value. He tells the guards that he "once asked this question of some very wise scholars." Is he referring to the Five Scholars?
RAFO.
Well Mr. Sanderson, I finally finished Words of Radiance as well. I thank you for answering previous questions of mine on this thread.
I didn't read Warbreaker but I intend to. That said, if I don't get to it (college is quickly approaching now), will it be a setback? I know that Szeth's sword is now a character from Warbreaker, but I don't want to be at a disadvantage if I can't get to it.
If you don't read Warbreaker, I doubt you'll be confused. I wrote Warbreaker as a prequel novel (after writing the original draft of The Way of Kings) to give some backstory to side characters I knew where cosmere-aware, but the story should work just fine without having read it.
What is the range on Jasnah's Soulcasting like, and is [there] a hard limit on how much she can Soulcast at once?
RAFO.
Do the Heralds have something like the Blessing of Presence protecting them at least a bit from the burden of thousands of years of torture?
RAFO.
If compounding Identity protects from mental influence like Soothing would it also protect from more mundane means of influence, like alcohol or a persuasive speaker?
Not as I currently envision it.
Is it possible to change your age with Forging?
Changing your age with Forging is very hard.
How did Spook not die of lead poisoning after losing the ability to burn pewter in the third book? He must have had some pewter left in him. Or was he going to die of it, but Sazed healed him?
It wasn't in his system long enough to hurt him.
What would happen to someone who burned an alloy of Lerasium and lead? Would they a) gain Mistborn powers and a splitting headache from trying to burn lead, b) gain Mistborn powers and no splitting headache, c) just get the splitting headache, d) gain the ability to burn lead without a splitting headache, or e) die of lead poisoning?
This is a RAFO, not because I want to imply that lead has some big secret to it, but because I don't want to dig into the mechanics of Lerasium right now--and I don't want to kick off more questions like this at the moment.
When you wrote the epigraphs to the third book, how much were you expecting to lead readers astray? How loony is it that I thought their author was TenSoon for most of the book? (After all, he is not a man, but a force. He defended his ways, yet violated them. He was their savior, yet they called him heretic.)
I wanted very much for people to think they'd figured it out. I was actually annoyed when my editor wrote in the jacket copy a question, implying that the identity of the Hero was a mystery. I wanted people to assume it was Vin.
What was the origin of the word "skaa"?
The Lord Ruler came up with it.
Can Lifeless talk or write? I don't think it ever came up.
Normally, no.
The man who calls himself Taln had his Blade swapped with another. Presumably, the people (or person) doing so thought he had an Honorblade.
Would the people who did the swap have known if Taln did not in fact actually have an Honorblade? Could they have been taking a chance and in fact ended up with a regular Shardblade?
This is possible. Assuming they knew just what they were trying to grab, they'd probably have figured it out very quickly.
