Brandon Sanderson
Sazed speaks to Wax
So, if it matters to you, this is actually Sazed talking to Wax here. It's not just Wax's imaginings.
I'm not sure what readers are going to think of this. My goal with the original Mistborn trilogy was to set up a mythology for the world, one in which real characters were playing a part. Sazed is, essentially, God now. Maybe a lowercase g would be better on that word, but regardless, he's the one watching over the world and making sure things go as they should. At this point, he's working hard to discover what's going on with the other Shards and to keep another disaster from coming Scadrial's way.
I've spoken before on my fascination with religion, and this aspect is a particularly interesting one for me. I've played with the ideas of men being treated like gods in Elantris and Warbreaker—but they didn't really deserve it. Here, however, we have Sazed who is approaching more of what a god would be. Should he be prayed to? Why or why not?
You should know that holding two opposed Shards of Adonalsium has made Sazed more . . . zen, if you will. Not inactive. However, he has taken a belief that both Ruin and Preservation are important in people's lives, and doesn't feel that interfering is something he should often be doing. He sees his primary role being to encourage people to be better, to keep an eye on the other Shards, and to make sure the world keeps working as it should.
Brandon Sanderson
Wax gets his earring
That was MeLaan, by the way, who converted Wax and gave him his earring. (MeLaan, if you don't remember, is TenSoon's adopted daughter/little sister. Though the "little" part is subject to debate, as she's easily five centuries old by this point.)
Brandon Sanderson
Vinuarch
Yes, one of the months of the year is named after Vin. There are twelve months, one after each member of the crew, with a few tweaks. (The days of the week have different names too, but we ended up not using any in this book.)
By the way, Scadrial—the world of Mistborn—is the closest Earth analogue in the cosmere. I did this intentionally, as I wanted one planet where technology and the like progressed similarly to what we have. There are distinctions, of course, but generally we've got a lot of similarities. Even in the original Mistborn, we referenced plants and animals by Earth-style names. You can assume that on Scadrial they have horses, dogs, cats, sparrows, and the like. There are twelve months, and a twenty-four-hour day. Gravity is earth gravity. Things like this.
There's no hidden meaning there—no tie back to Earth, at least not in any important way. The cosmere is entirely separate from Earth. This one planet, however, has creatures that were developed along the same lines as Earth. (Well, it's not the only one, but to say more would be to give away too much.)
Brandon Sanderson
Chapter Nine
Wax and Marasi talk philosophy and his past
This sort of thing is another hallmark of the Mistborn books. (And, well, perhaps my writing in general.) I intended this book to be faster paced than what I term an "epic" like any of the books in the original trilogy. I wanted to move at a fair clip and not get slowed too often by conversations like this one. However, conversations like these are what add depth to characters for me, so I didn't feel it right to cut them completely.
Here, we get to see Waxillium's and Marasi's different views on life, the ways that who they are ground what they do. Waxillium is a realist. He sees things as they are. (Or how he thinks they are, at least.) He has a touch of a philosopher inside of him, as he wonders about what the truth is—but he wants to find that truth, prove it. He's not unaccommodating or harsh, but he does believe in absolutes and wants to find them.
Marasi is more interested in extremes because they're interesting, not because she is seeking for truth or reality. She's like a moth drawn to flame, fascinated by outliers. She's good with numbers and statistics, and can find those outliers; then she reads as much as she can about them. She could name for you every serial killer in Elendel's history, and talk about their lives and what led them to do what they did. She wouldn't consider it morbid, just fascinating. Wax, reading the same thing, would find his eye twitching. He'd get through a part of the reading, then find himself out on patrol, trying to run across someone doing something wrong that he could stop.
fletchershair
Is there any chance of queer characters some point in future books?
Brandon Sanderson
There already are a number of them. Drehy the bridgeman is based off of my friend Ryan Dreher who's gay. And Ranette, the woman that Wayne chases-- I thought I made it clearer than apparently I did, but she's queer. The woman that Wayne thinks he's in love with. Those are two of them, and there will be others.
fletchershair
(paraphrased)
Out of all your characters, who would you most want to be like, personality-wise?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
Dalinar.
fletchershair
In Alloy-of-Law-era Scadrial, aside from Marsh, is there any Hemalurgy, or has that all been forgotten about?
Brandon Sanderson
That is a RAFO. But if you go back and look at it, the things Marsh says at the ending, indicating the book that he has given. The book has a lot to do with Hemalurgy.
fletchershair
How long has Odium been on Roshar?
Brandon Sanderson
I would have to grab the timeline and pull it out. That's one of the ones I'd just have to eyeball. It has been a while. A long time.
fletchershair
And has he been on Scadrial or Nalthis? Because we know he's been on Sel.
Brandon Sanderson
He is aware of both of them. But I'm not gonna say if he was on them or not.
fletchershair
Can you combine Aons? Instead of just adding the things that make them more detailed, can you combine them with each other?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes. There is an entire art based around figuring out what combinations work.
fletchershair
Now that Nightblood is on Roshar, can it use Stormlight the same way is would use Breaths?
Brandon Sanderson
I'll just tell you "yes." I was gonna RAFO that, but I think everyone's figured that out by now.
fletchershair
A friend wants to know exactly how you can go between types of Investiture. You've said that you can before.
Brandon Sanderson
It just depends on the Investiture. Some are much easier to use than others. Like, running Aons with other Investiture, very hard. Just the nature of the magic makes it very hard. But, Nightblood? He'll feed on whatever he can get. So, it's really easy to fuel Nightblood.
KChan
Does Feruchemy have anything to do with that? Converting into Investiture?
Brandon Sanderson
Not gonna say.
ROCkUguys13
(paraphrased)
Is there any sort of civilization on Braize?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
Braize is the weirdest one because it's kind of like a prison. So, is there any civilization on Braize? Kind of. It's like a prison. That's all I'll say.
Blightsong
(paraphrased)
Was Adolin's murder of Sadeas him falling under the influence of Odium, or was that all him?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
That was all Adolin.
Blightsong
(paraphrased)
Is Roshar, or has Roshar always been the only large landmass on the planet?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
Roshar is.... *Brandon then paused and looked up, thinking very hard* Roshar has always been the largest landmass--as long as there has been land.
Ruro272
(paraphrased)
Alright, but would nicrosil be the right metal to make a Hemalurgic spike if you did want to steal powers from another world?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
It's a good theory, you're theorizing well.
Ruro272
(paraphrased)
Does Hoid have a Hemalurgically charged Nicrosil spike?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
It's... unlikely. Hoid would not want to open himself to the influence of Shards so using Hemalurgy on himself is unlikely. Although Hemalurgy is the easiest way to get other powers, he'd more likely do things the hard way.
Ruro272
(paraphrased)
On a similar note, since Elsecallers can physically go to Shadesmar and have access to Transportation surge, can all Elsecallers worldhop?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
Yes, that is one of the Elsecaller powers.
Ruro272
(paraphrased)
In hindsight this seems like a really obvious question now *laugh*, but I think it's really interesting that Elsecallers can travel to other planets too--we didn't know that before.
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
There are hints in the names on the map of Shadesmar.
Ruro272
(paraphrased)
Is there a separate "Shadesmar" for each planet or is it one big place that are all connected with different regions for each planet?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
It's one big place with different sections.
Ruro272
(paraphrased)
So since its one big place, could spren travel to a different section that correlates with a different planet, such as the cognitive segment for Scadrial?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
They could go there, but they wouldn't usually...
Ruro272
(paraphrased)
Is that because Honor's influence is only on Roshar?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
*Brandon gave sort of a noncommittal half nod, but looked doubtful himself. Maybe best to interpret this last answer as a RAFO rather than reading into it too much.*
Blightsong
(paraphrased)
Is there a reason why shadows go toward the light in Shadesmar, or is it just worldbuilding flavor?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
There is a reason, but its not super important. It's like a cultural thing, things have reasons but they aren't always super relevant to the story.
Blightsong
(paraphrased)
Does Harmony have any Splinters?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
Do you mean like in his fingers? *Brandon has a coy smile. Questioner looks at him like "you know what I mean you fool". Brandon laughs.* No, he does not have Splinters right now. Good question.
Ruro272
(paraphrased)
Any hint on how Nin got a hold of Nightblood, or how Vasher lost Nightblood?
Brandon Sanderson (Written)
(paraphrased)
Vasher and Nightblood had something of a falling out...
Ruro272
(paraphrased)
Will we see all of the Heralds doing things in the upcoming books?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
The back five books are all about the Heralds. Two of them claim to be Heralds... Two of the point-of-views will be Heralds.
fletchershair
So, they're all in... Urithiru, and that's safe from the Everstorm, right? Because they're trying to get everyone there, right?
Brandon Sanderson
It is definitely safer than the Shattered Plains.
fletchershair
So what makes it safer? Is it just the location?
Brandon Sanderson
They are on the east side of a mountain. It's coming from the other direction. They also think they might be high enough to be over the storm, judging based on the fact that Kaladin was able to hop over it, so he knows generally how high up they go.
Dirigible
What are ReLuur's spikes made of? Marasi thought they were pewter, but that doesn't make sense.
Brandon Sanderson
It doesn't.
Dirigible
If you tap Connection in one area, for location, would that remove your Connection to your original place, where you're actually from?
Brandon Sanderson
Um, RAFO.
Dirigible
Could someone who's never been to Scadrial be Connected to Ruin, Preservation, or Harmony?
Brandon Sanderson
Possibly. Depends on the strength of the Connection. But yeah, Connection's not an on/off switch.
Dirigible
Can you store any sort of Temporal Connection?
Brandon Sanderson
Um, most.
Dirigible
Can you store....like if there is a Twinborn, who is a gold Allomancer and a duralumin Ferring, would his goldshadow change based on what his Connection is?
Brandon Sanderson
I'm going to RAFO that.
Dirigible
Can you store different types of Connection at different times? Like can you store Connection to people versus location?
Brandon Sanderson
That is possible.
Dirigible
Can you be Connected to two locations at once?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes
Dirigible
Will that help with doing Sel magic off-world?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO
Dirigible's sister
The Expanse of Broken Sky, is that Sel?
Brandon Sanderson (Paraphrased)
RAFO
Dirigible's sister
Is the Cognitive Realm flat or spherical?
Brandon Sanderson
The Cognitive Realm is this weird thing, where it's flat, but it's distorted.
Dirigible's sister
Yeah, 'cause I was going to say, if you make a globe flat...
Brandon Sanderson
You can walk from one planet to the next. So it's got really weird...the spatial reasoning doesn't work the same way.
Dirigible
Have we seen a Svrakiss in a book so far?
Brandon Sanderson
Um... RAFO
Dirigible
Can you tell us anything about Svrakiss, like are they originally from Sel?
Brandon Sanderson
Um... I'm not going to go into that.
Badger
(paraphrased)
What was your motivation/inspiration behind the Alcatraz books?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
- They're weird and modernist.
- His goal was to do something so different from what he was working on.
- He uses different books like this as breaks in order to keep the momentum up for writing and yet let himself rest.
- Still has a wacky magic system, so it's still one of his books, still what he likes writing, but it's still different.
- Inspired by like, The Emperor's New Groove sort of off the wall storytelling (gave the example of the fact that the opening scene is cut by a flashback and then never addressed again anywhere in the books)
Do you plan are having anymore full Mistborn in your books?
You'll have to read and find out! :)
Will Michael Whelan continue to do cover art for The Stormlight Archive?
That will be up to him, and his schedule. We will always ask!
What has been the proudest moment of your career?
A tie between winning a Hugo award and releasing the last Wheel of Time book, so far. Excellent question!
How many books do you read each year? Best you've read lately?
I real maybe a book a month. Much less than some people, but I have to fight to make time!
What stage of the writing process is most difficult for you?
Revision is the most difficult, by a long shot.
Were there any people present at the Shattering of Adonalsium other than Hoid and the 16?
RAFO.
Do u have plans for a Lurcher character? Orbiting a bullet/coin around them and back at shooter would be awesome .
Some day, I'm sure I'll do a Lurcher character.
Did the Ire form before the events of Elantris or do they form after the city is healed?
This is an excellent question! :) (And one I'm not going to answer yet, I'm afraid.)
Do you feel confident with the producer/directors making slight changes to the movie?
The best film versions of books make changes to fit the media. So I plan on this happening here.
Were you influenced by Tad Williams at all? I see some elements of his writing in your work.
I think Tad is an excellent writer, and have loved much of what he's written. I'd happily call him an influence.
Have you ever designed a character based upon a loved one in order to honor their memory?
Yes, I have--but it's almost always a side character, more a cameo than anything else.
Is there a genre you think you couldn't/wouldn't write (within fantasy)? Or might your writing take us anywhere?
I could see myself doing pretty much anything, within certain bounds of harsher content.
Any plans for any adaptations in the near future?
If, by this, you mean film adaptations--we're trying very hard. Unfortunately, it's up to Hollywood more than it is me.
Would you prefer film or TV adaptations? (If the choice was magically yours)
Depends on the series. I'd like to see Mistborn and The Reckoners as film, Stormlight and Wax and Wayne as TV.
Will all 10 Stormlight books be relatively close time wise, or separate centuries like Mistborn?
They will be relatively close, time wise. Across twenty years or so, rather than hundreds.
Why can non-Scadrians use Hemalurgy? Don't they need Ruin's sDNA, like Allomancers need Preservation?
Hemalurgy is built to be able to be used by anyone. It's about taking and breaking. Ruin doesn't care who does such things
Would you mind giving a width for the Final Empire as well? Thanks! :)
Still work to do on that... Maybe before the end of the year.
Ah, for the book with all the starcharts [Arcanum Unbounded]? Looking forward to seeing it then :).
Not necessarily for that book. :)
Are there any Epics who cannot die by old age?
No, not so far.
