Sharadee
I am going to shamelessly take advantage of the fact that you are still answering questions here (and wow ! thanks for that). It's about the sprens. Isn't it inconvenient in some social situations if sprens can give away people's emotions? For example, if someone is working hard to hide their anger and angersprens appear... Can people have any kind of control over them appearing ?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, it can be inconvenient. And you'll see more about this in future books.
vandar10
Will we ever see radiant or mistborn space pirates? And could an artificial intelligence see a spren or attract one?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO. (But good questions.)
vandar10
Will we see in Nightblood why the returned base breath cannot be given away in the same way the other breath are given?? I'm referring to the fact that when a returned gives his breath the person who receive it don't reach any heightening but use it to heal instead of reaching the fifth heightening and healing anyway.
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO.
vandar10
Could someone with enough Breaths use part of them to heal himself without the help of a Returned?? Could the God King have healed himself without Lightsong with enough knowledge?
Brandon Sanderson
The nature of the Warbreaker magic is tied to the shard of Endowment, which is about giving. There are, therefore, things you cannot do for yourself.
RobotAztec
For healing can Big Breaths heal only one person at a time or can you heal a bunch of people at once?(as long as they are not yourself)?
Brandon Sanderson
Legends say you can heal many.
vandar10
Is there any chance we will see radiant knights using shardplate as diving suit to explore the deep of the Panthalassic ocean floor in Stormligh series?
Brandon Sanderson
This is possible. Whether you'll see it or not is a RAFO.
Argent
Are the glyphs on The Way of Kings front sheet the Alethi glyphs for the Radiant orders and the Surges? If so, can you tell us the name (i.e. the pronunciation) of the Windrunners glyph? Or, if you don't have this one, maybe another one?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes. I'll see if we can get all of the pronunciations into the appendix of the third book.
KingSloth
Does a Spinner Ferring have to be actively doing something to 'lose' fortune, while storing? Slightly worried that they'd end up giving themselves cancer or something if they were sat storing fortune, without doing something like playing cards to 'drain' the luck away from..
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO.
KingSloth
Doesn't all 'extra' investiture require a cracked soul? How are Nalthians born with extra breath, if so?
Brandon Sanderson
No. The Scadrians have extra investiture too, on a lesser scale.
KingSloth
Are there any Cosmere-unique natural hair colours we haven't seen appear in books yet?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes.
KingSloth
Is Odium's method of smothering shards inspired at all by the way Adonalsium was originally shattered? Or of his own devising?
Brandon Sanderson
It is not obvious to other Shards. But there are relationships.
KingSloth
Do all the shards have a 'secondary' imperative of some degree, to create?
Brandon Sanderson
You could say this.
yafeshan
Is yolen still out there somewhere(for example during the events of Final empire) ? If yes, does it have still intelligent life living on it?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes and yes.
yafeshan
Scadrial will get to space age sometime in future, what about other worlds. Will we see space tech based on other magic systems, shiny space battles etc.? Did we see space age tech of a world in another main (roshar, sel, scadrial) world(conveniently excluding Sixth of Dusk world)?
Brandon Sanderson
The cosmere is heading this way eventually.
Argent
How old would you say somebody has to be in order to attract a spren (with bonding intentions)? I can't imagine infants performing anything remarkable enough, but what about, say, 5-6 year olds? I could easily imagine them being selfless and protecting in their own little way - does this mean we can have children who can barely speak well Lashing their breakfast to the ceiling?
Brandon Sanderson
Someone like Lift is near the lower threshold, though it does depend on the spren in question.
minefieldpotato
So, it's mentioned throughout the Mistborn books that Allomancers can 'see' their metal reserves to determine how much they have left. What allows them to do this? I really have no theories, except the boring one: 'It's an innate property of Allomancy and its interaction with Preservation.'
Brandon Sanderson
It's just an innate part of the magic. Not really because of Preservation. A Surgebinder will know when their stormlight is running out. It's more similar to how you might know your strength is running out when you're holding something heavy, though obviously more delineated.
mooglefrooglian
Could Honor have made an Honorblade granting all the Surges at once, rather than just two? If so, why didn't he do that?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO.
bridge4shash
Are the Parshendi gods that they abandoned the Unmade?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO.
psychomanexe
I think that in the Spiritual realm a person's spiritweb sort of manifests as a collection of "nodes" which are the Forms of their body/mind/subconscious, and these nodes are connected by "lines" which are interactions between the pure Forms. These lines are what actually make up the person's character, how the body is "supposed" to be (barring accidents/disease, basically what magical healing attempts to restore the body to), as well as what interactions with investiture the person can use (what magic systems they have access to)
Am I completely off base here or should I keep thinking about this?
Brandon Sanderson
This is a good line to be thinking along.
Botanica
Except for in the prelude, does Kalak appear somewhere in the books? (A bit RAFO, but is he the shorter Alethi-looking man who accompanied Nale in WoK/WoR prologue?)
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO.
uchoo786
Has Vasher met Hoid, and are they BFFs?
Brandon Sanderson
Not BFFs by a long shot.
KingSloth
Has Hoid seriously offended someone on EVERY planet he's been to? Kelsier, Shai, the Alethi nobility, who knows how many shards from Yolen, AND Vasher are all out for his blood..? :o
Brandon Sanderson
That's only a small fraction of the total list.
WeiryWriter
To what extent are Cognitive shadows the same as the individuals they are shadows of? Do you count them as the same person or are they just a "copy" so to speak? Or is this a discussion for philosophers (which you've said is the case with the cosmere's "far afterlife")?
Brandon Sanderson
I've considered answering this a few times, and have decided I just have to RAFO it. This is a discussion for philosophers, as you've said. It may become a plot point in future books.
Thadamin
Do Shards need to be based on the same planet to create the interactions that made Feruchemy possible?
If the Parshendi are not originally from Odium and are referred to as the Ancient Ones by spren, then would that make the original Parshendi, bonded to the Splinters that existed before Honor and Cultivation arrived, the Dawnsingers?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO.
Enfeathered
Assuming that the events of the first Mistborn book took place on Nalthis instead, and especially considering the circumstances of Kelsier's passing and the events afterwards, would he have Returned?
Brandon Sanderson
That's a very interesting question. Endowment can be somewhat...erratic. I don't know, honestly. I'd have to think about it.
bridge4shash
Were the Plains originally shattered by a Dawnsinger? Are Dawnshard magical musical instruments? Are the Parshendi of Odium? Are the gods that the Parshendi abandoned Odium? Are the people above in Sixth of the Dusk Scadrians?
Brandon Sanderson
That's a whole pile of RAFOs. But I can answer one; the gods that the Parshendi abandoned are of Odium.
Windrunner
We've seen five "sub-types" (for lack of a better term) of the overarching Selish magic system. Are you planning on adding any more/are there other sub-types we have yet to see?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes.
Windrunner
Is it is even possible for a full Feruchemist Mistborn to be naturally born, or will the genes for the two interfere with one another too much?
Brandon Sanderson
It is possible, but highly unlikely.
aviv1525
How much Sazed is aware to Hoid and Hoid's action and what does he think about him?
Brandon Sanderson
He is aware. More is RAFO. :)
aviv1525
How Hoid has ended up being a Feruchemist? Is it by a method we familiar with (like Hemalurgy) or he has another way to manipulate his sDNA?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO.
mooglefrooglian
Why is Hoid’s color aura from his Breaths not noticed by anyone on Roshar? Are the characters just not used to noticing that sort of thing, or does he not have one?
Brandon Sanderson
There are a mixture of reasons. Not the least is Hoid's control over Investiture.
uchoo786
Would someone with Breath be able to notice his aura on Roshar? E.g. Vasher?
Brandon Sanderson
Various methods of detecting Investiture would still work, depending on how good a job Hoid is doing of suppressing his.
Chaos
You have once said, with regard to a question about Shards being the most powerful thing in the cosmere, that some would say that other "subtle forces" are being manifest. Are these subtle forces related to Adonalsium's opposition?
Brandon Sanderson
There is belief in a God who is not one of the Shards.
Chaos
Is Adonalsium and the "power of creation" synonymous?
Brandon Sanderson
In some people's usage.
Chaos
Did the Lord Ruler's children have something to do with the Lord Ruler's plot to once "give up" in the Final Empire?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes.
zotsandcrambles
Is the silver on Threnody imbued with investiture? The presence of a silver knife in Stormlight leads me to believe Threnodoic Silver is actively different than average silver and Threnody's silver could be used off-world in a way - say - Sel's silver couldn't.
Brandon Sanderson
I'm RAFOing most questions about Threnody for multiple reasons. It's a RAFO you shouldn't read too much into, however.
Argent
Is the Earth-like biome in Shinovar a product solely of environmental factors (e.g. shelter from the highstorms), or is there a magical component as well?
Brandon Sanderson
On Roshar, the environment and magic are so intertwined, environmental factors ARE magical components.
Argent
Interesting, hadn't really thought of it this way, but much of the environment and its events depend on magic - highstorms, plant and animal life, crem and water deposits, and those are just off the top of my head. Was it this way before the Shards showed up, or is this a change they caused (intentionally or not)?
Brandon Sanderson
This will eventually be revealed.
Argent
I've been listening to the Graphic Audio The Hero of Ages and just got to the point where Vin meets with Slowswift. While the meeting itself revealed nothing knew, the events after it made me wonder about something. When Vin leaves Slowswift, she burns her bronze to check whether the informant is an Allomancer, and then heads off to meet with Hoid - where, of course, something makes her turn away. Was she still burning bronze at that time? Was Hoid maybe manipulating Investiture in a way unfamiliar to Vin, so her bronze alerted her of something, but because it was such a foreign experience to her, she didn't recognize it for what it was?
Brandon Sanderson
I have to RAFO this one. It's been hard not to spill the beans here, as it's such a small thing, but it has important ramifications. You will have an answer eventually, I promise.
Kurkistan
If Investiture can neither be created nor destroyed, and Feruchemy is all fueled by the Feruchemist himself, then how do metalminds end up being invested without Feruchemists seeming to suffer any long-term loss of Investiture? If they're not "creating" the energy that's going into the metalminds, then where's it coming from?
Brandon Sanderson
The cosmere takes physics from our universe, and adds additional layers to it. Where we have energy and matter (simplified), the cosmere has additional building blocks that make reality. Investiture is one of these. It IS possible to change matter, to energy, to investiture, and back.
TheTetress
Some of the characters (I think it was Sarene) in Elantris mention that the constellations in their part of the world look like Aons. This seemed kind of odd to me. How significant is this, and does it play a role in how accessing the AonDor works (or do they just love astronomy)?
Brandon Sanderson
The characters in Elantris claiming that constellations look like Aons is mostly akin to us thinking that constellations look like animals--if you're looking for patterns, you'll find them.
zotsandcrambles
Shai mocks the Rose Empire's belief that a new sun rises every day for a set number of days. Is the reason Sel is difficult to travel to related to the religious notion that Sel has many MANY suns in their Shadesmaar equivalent?
Brandon Sanderson
Good guess! But no. (Sorry.)
Argent
In The Hero of Ages, there is a scene where Spook wonders why Clubs spent all that money and traveled all that distance just to save him (Spook) from likely death at the hands - or foot, as it is - of his father. Why did Clubs do it?
Brandon Sanderson
Clubs had his reasons, not all of which were altruistic.
Argent
Are there non-Invested (or at least not heavily Invested) objects that cannot be cut by Shardblades, or that offer more resistance than what we see in The Stormlight Archive?
Brandon Sanderson
You're unlikely to find anything without high Investiture that can resist a Shardblade. By definition, to stop one, you're going to need something with a powerful spiritual component to it.
zotsandcrambles
Would [Ralkalest] (the unforgeable metal) be at all resistant to a Shardblade given its proven resistance to other forms of investiture?
Brandon Sanderson
That's a RAFO, but is a question you should be asking.
ceraius
This is involving gemstones and their properties on Roshar. Given that Sapphire and Ruby are actually the same crystal - corundum - differing only in their impurities - how would you explain the differences in their properties, with respect both to their essences and their function in fabrials? For example, I am assuming that two identical fabrials, one made with a sapphire and one made with a ruby, would not function the same. To take it a step further, any corundum that is not ruby red is simply called a sapphire of whichever color it happens to be (blue sapphire, green sapphire, colorless sapphire, etc.). How does this play into things; would a blue sapphire have different properties than a green one or a colorless one?
Brandon Sanderson
This was a big part of the magic for me in working on Roshar, as I wanted the gems to work differently from Scadrials metals in order to avoid repetition. The fact that many gems are basically the same thing was one of the launching points actually. Let me say that you are on the right track.
On Roshar, color of the gem is more important than actual crystalline structure.
Shadowglass0
If someone used Hemalurgy to give Lift from Words of Radiance the ability to use Bendalloy Feruchemy, could she convert the nutrition she gets out of Feruchemy into stormlight?
Brandon Sanderson
Theoretically possible, I suppose.
Shadowglass0
We've seen the drawing of a gigantic greatshell towering over a city in Way of Kings. Jasnah's book called it a voidbringer. How big was that compared to the Reshi islands greatshells? Do they look similar (proportions, etc.)? Are the Reshi islands greatshells really-really old? So old that someone pretentious enough to speak in all-caps could call them 'ancient ones'?
Brandon Sanderson
That picture is very, very inaccurate--by design. However, the Reshi Island greatshells were one of the models this illustrator in world used to create his fanciful drawing. They are, indeed, very long lived.
vorpal_username
In mistborn you can't access someone else's feruchemical stores. However, what if feruchemist A stores something, and then hemalurgy is used to take A's ability and put into person B. Can person B use A's stores?
Also, what happens when someone burns metal with a hemalurgic charge? Or stores/retrieves something in a spike using feruchemy?
Brandon Sanderson
All RAFOs here, I'm afraid.
Argent
Did the Lord Ruler have children? Either as Rashek or as the Sliver of Infinity?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes.
Argent
On Roshar, certain people seem to be able to always see spren (Rock comes to mind). Are there people who can never see them? Similarly, can people from other worlds see them?
Brandon Sanderson
Those with Listener blood are more likely to be able to interact with spren who aren't currently trying to manifest.
If they appear on the physical realm, then they're visible to all who can see.
Tellingdwar
How did Hoid get to Scadrial? He didn't seem to know the location of Preservation's Shardpool until book 2, and I feel like him crawling out of the Pits of Hathsin would have created a bit of a stir... Unless he slipped out during the confusion caused by Kelsier...
Brandon Sanderson
In answer to your question, that IS a RAFO, but it's one I am planning to answer before too long.
drughat
Any hints on Duralumin's effect on Gold and Electrum?
Brandon Sanderson
Nope. :)
drughat
Is the reason why Allomancy creates allomantic pulses visible to Seekers because it is an external magic drawing upon Preservation's power? In other words, is the reason why Feruchemy is much, much harder to detect by burning bronze because it is an internal magic?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes.
drughat
If a Misting burned the correct alloy of Lerasium and their metal, would that be akin to them becoming a Savant?
Brandon Sanderson
No.