Recent entries

    Orem Signing ()
    #3751 Copy

    JoyBlu's Friend

    Many of my questions have to do with the Dalinar-Adolin relationship because I love families and I find this particular relationship very strained. I wish to know stuff like what Dalinar really feels for Adolin, as I find he treats him more like a tool than a son. Or whether or not we've seen the end of the Adolin murdered Sadeas narrative arc, as no character really had the time to react to it yet.

    Brandon Sanderson

    You have not seen the end of that arc. Dalinar loves his son but has trouble treating anyone as anything other than tools.

    JoyBlu's Friend

    What are Brandon's thoughts on the relationship? I'd also die to hear Brandon speak about what to expect for Adolin within book 4 in terms of length, scope—

    Brandon Sanderson

    RAFO! RAFO!

    JoyBlu's Friend

    —as I just wished to give Brandon comment on the fact that some readers were disappointed with the outcome of this narrative arc.

    Brandon Sanderson

    RAFO, RAFO.

    Orem Signing ()
    #3752 Copy

    JoyBlu's Friend

    I want to ask Brandon if he plans to write how Adolin feels next to Shallan, as we never get Adolin's viewpoint when it comes to their relationship. I thought it was missed.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Tell them that I do plan to do some of that.

    Idaho Falls signing ()
    #3754 Copy

    Questioner

    What happened to Rand? He's not dead?

    Brandon Sanderson

    So Robert Jordan wrote everything from Rand stumbling out of Shayol Ghul until the ending, with the exception of the Perrin scenes, which I added to that epilogue. Harriet says--his wife--says he sat laughing to himself as he wrote the scene with the pipe, but he did not tell her what it means.

    Questioner

    Pipe?

    Brandon Sanderson

    The pipe where he-- he lit the pipe just by thinking about it. 

    Questioner

    That's also something-- he's using the Tel'aran'rhiod power to light it in the real world?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I do not know. Now, I have my theories. I think that because Rand touched the Pattern directly, when he was doing what he was doing, that he now has influence over the Pattern. 

    Questioner

    So he can change and manipulate things? But he's-

    Brandon Sanderson

    That's what I think, but Robert Jordan didn't say, and he did write those scenes himself before he passed away. So, I wrote the actual Last Battle-

    Questioner

    All of it? That was so epic.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes. So he took over-- where he left was right when Rand stumbles out. The Last Battle chunk before that was me. He wrote Mat in the Tower of Ghenjei... He wrote most of Egwene in The Gathering Storm, and then little snippets of Egwene all the way through. Perrin was almost one hundred percent me; he didn't leave much on Perrin. With Rand, he wrote little chunks here and there...

    So I do not know. Now, I can tell you that there in the notes that when the balefire streams, when they crossed, intertwined [Rand's] soul with Moridin's soul. And one thing that his assistant said is that the [soul] that wanted to live found the body that was going to live, and the [soul] that wanted to die found the body that was dying. And that's what happened.

    Questioner

    They swapped bodies because he had this thing-- Why didn't he go in and say "hey everybody?" ...He didn't want to be with his family and friends anymore?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I think he probably came back-- He just needed a break. I'm pretty sure that he eventually let them know, but he just needed a little time. So, but I don't know for sure.

    Questioner

    I thought it was super cool, going in, the chase between Slayer and Perrin.

    Brandon Sanderson

    I had a lot of fun with that scene.

    Questioner

    ...Also, you told me last time I saw you, that Tel'aran'rhiod is basically-- Is that kind of where you got the idea of the parallel universe in the other books?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah, Shadesmar. Shadesmar you can tie directly back to my love of Tel'aran'rhiod. It's kind of mixed with that in my love of some ancient Greek philosophy things that are not that important, but yeah.

    Idaho Falls signing ()
    #3755 Copy

    Questioner

    I was wondering if there was ever a time where you wanted to write but you were too afraid to, or if you've always just been writing?

    Brandon Sanderson

    No, as a teenager particularly, I was very nervous about my writing. I would hide my writing from my family. I was so embarrassed of the idea that they might find it and read it, and things like that. Early on, I didn't ever show my work to people. I wasn't scared of writing, but I was scared of letting anyone see it. As I got older, I got around that. I got over that, but it was kind of hard.

    Idaho Falls signing ()
    #3756 Copy

    Questioner

    Alcatraz! Sounded as though there was gonna another book. Probably not by Alcatraz himself?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes, by Bastille. I've written half of it. After I wrote about half of it, I realized I wanted a little help with the voice from a friend of mine who's very good at voice. So I've been letting her look at it and offer some tweaks and suggestions. Just 'cause I want it to feel like Bastille, but it felt too much like Alcatraz when I wrote it. Like I said, it's about halfway done, 25,000 words are done and good. We just need to tweak the voice. It's probably gonna be called "Bastille vs. the Evil Librarians." It will give the real ending, not the ending Alcatraz thinks it should have.

    Orem Signing ()
    #3758 Copy

    treegrass

    How long does it take to summon an Honorblade? Is it ten heartbeats or instant?

    Brandon Sanderson

    So, Honorblades, as far as anyone knows is ten sec- ten heartbeats. If you were to ask Szeth how long it would take, he would say ten heartbeats.

    treegrass

    But they're not?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I am not saying that. I am saying if you ask Szeth, if you ask the current bearer of Jezrien's Blade, they would all say it takes ten heartbeats.

    Questioner 2

    What about for the Heralds?

    Brandon Sanderson

    RAFO there.

    Orem Signing ()
    #3759 Copy

    JoyBlu

    On the back of The Way of Kings, it says "I long for the days before the Last Desolation." Who's I?

    Brandon Sanderson

    That is one of the Sleepless. You have not...

    JoyBlu

    And it ends in "One of them will destroy us." Okay. And I have it we don't know who the Sleepless is yet?

    Brandon Sanderson

    You know who the Sleepless... You don't know which one. It is not the one that you have met officially. I mean, you've met a couple of Sleepless, but it is not the one that Lift hung out with. He's a little odd, even for a Sleepless.

    Orem Signing ()
    #3764 Copy

    Questioner

    Of all the women that you've written, do you have one that was really fun to write?

    Brandon Sanderson

    In Wheel of Time, my favorite probably was writing Nynaeve at the ending. I had a lot of fun with her in the end. In my own, I would probably say Spensa was the most fun to write.

    Orem Signing ()
    #3766 Copy

    OrangeJedi

    Could a non-native be able to be Returned?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes, that is possible.

    JoyBlu

    So someone who was born without a Breath and came to Nalthis could possibly be Returned?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Possibly could be Returned. Yes. That's not very likely.

    JoyBlu

    So they could get a Divine Breath, even though never...

    Brandon Sanderson

    They could be given a Divine Breath, yes.

    Orem Signing ()
    #3767 Copy

    JoyBlu

    In order to have a Breath, do you have to be native to Nalthis?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Not to be given Breaths, but people who are not native to Nalthis are not born with that Investiture.

    JoyBlu

    So, you have to be born on that planet?

    Brandon Sanderson

    There are exceptions. Most of the time.

    JoyBlu

    If both your parents were Nalthians, and they moved off planet, and they had a child that was born on a different planet—

    Brandon Sanderson

    It is possible for that child to have a Breath, but it would not continue too long. But yes, that child would probably have a Breath, depending...

    Joyblu

    If both of his parents had Breaths.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Mmmhmm.

    Orem Signing ()
    #3769 Copy

    JoyBlu

    Question about marriage. Is there, on Roshar, something to show that a woman is married? Like here we have our ring finger, do they have something?

    Brandon Sanderson

    No, they don't have the same sort of cultural thing that we have on that.

    JoyBlu

    What about, what's the planet name with Siri, Vivenna, Warbreaker, is there anything in that one?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Depending on the culture, there are several.

    Orem Signing ()
    #3770 Copy

    Questioner

    Are there any Knights Radiant who broke their oaths in the Recreance that are still around in present day Stormlight time?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes. Oh, that broke their oaths. You anticipated me. RAFO.

    Questioner

    But there are still ones around who haven't?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes, Nale. That's my loophole there. That's who I was thinking of. But you said that did break their oaths, so you anticipated me on that one.

    Orem Signing ()
    #3771 Copy

    Questioner

    When Mizzy becomes an Epic, what's her Epic power?

    Brandon Sanderson

    So I very carefully didn't mention that because I wanted the freedom for when I actually wrote the books. Right now I have it in my head involving detonations, but I don't want to actually canonize that because if I write the book I want to have the freedom to take it where I want to.

    Orem Signing ()
    #3772 Copy

    Questioner

    I was wondering, what would happen if you Steelpushed or Ironpulled on liquid metal?

    Brandon Sanderson

    It would work a lot like ferrofluid works. You'd be able to push or pull on it. It would just respond in a fluid way.

    Orem Signing ()
    #3773 Copy

    Kyrroti

    Why does Hoid seem to like the Kholins so much?

    Brandon Sanderson

    He thinks highly of several members of the family. And he also likes to stick near people who are able to cause change in the world in which they are involved. He is very, very interested in a specific member of the Kholin family.

    Orem Signing ()
    #3774 Copy

    Questioner

    When Kaladin and Shallan and the others are in Shadesmar, it talks about broams of Stormlight. How do they measure that? Because you could have partially depleted spheres.

    Brandon Sanderson

    A broam's worth of Stormlight is just a full sphere. Newly infused. Behind the scenes, there are actual units of measurement for Investiture that a broam would correlate with, but you would need to be measuring that using instruments that measure Investiture that they don't quite have on Roshar yet. They could make them, but they don't quite have them yet. They're close.

    Orem Signing ()
    #3775 Copy

    Questioner

    How many shots would it take for Wax using his gun to break a section of Shardplate?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Depends on the gun... Okay, so Vindication. He could probably... depends on the bullet, cause he's got several styles. But let's just say two or three. There's an argument he could do it with one, with the right shot, the right bullet, in the right moment.

    Orem Signing ()
    #3778 Copy

    Questioner

    How are the Warbreaker leatherbounds coming?

    Brandon Sanderson

    They're looking great! Oh man, the artists loved Warbreaker, for obvious reasons. We're getting the best art for any of the leatherbounds we've ever gotten, for Warbreaker. It is gorgeous!

    Questioner

    The Nalthis essay?

    Brandon Sanderson

    What's that? Oh, the Warbreaker leatherbound essay. Yeah, I should put that in, shouldn't I. We'll see.

    Orem Signing ()
    #3779 Copy

    Questioner

    You've previously said that Nightblood is the most powerful non-Shardic being in the Cosmere. Is he more powerful than the Unmade or Stormfather in terms of raw Investiture?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Raw Investiture? Here's the thing, when you say powerful, it can mean lots of different things. More raw Investiture than the Stormfather... probably not. Than the Unmade, probably. I would have to look, I don't have the numbers on this. But the Stormfather is very restricted in what he can do.

    Orem Signing ()
    #3780 Copy

    Questioner

    Does M-Bot follow the Three Laws of Robotics?

    Brandon Sanderson

    M-Bot does not follow the Three Laws of Robotics.

    Questioner

    Does he follow his own set of laws?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes.

    Orem Signing ()
    #3782 Copy

    Wyndlerunner

    Hoid, he already has his Cryptic by Era 2, if I'm correct on the timeline. So have we seen him using his new fancy Lightweaving in action? Has he spoken his fifth Truth?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I will RAFO that for now. I'll RAFO both of those. Those are two separate things, but I will RAFO them. You have seen Hoid Lightweaving, but whether you have seen him use his fancy new Lightweaving... we'll leave that off for now. Let's just say that he knows that certain uses of Investiture are easier to detect than others, and if you don't want to be seen, there are certain things you don't do.

    Orem Signing ()
    #3784 Copy

    Questioner

    I heard rumors for a collectible card game, possibly, for the Cosmere?

    Brandon Sanderson

    That's possible. The guys who did the Mistborn RPG are really interested in doing one, so we'll see. It's just in the discussion stages right now. There's not even contracts for it or anything.

    Orem Signing ()
    #3785 Copy

    Questioner

    Is Skyward the title or the series title and is Claim the Stars is the book title?

    Brandon Sanderson

    No, Skyward is the series title and the book title. Like I should have done with Mistborn because we had Final Empire in the first book, and people got so confused because, "Is this the last book? It says The Final." This time I didn't give a subtitle to the first book. It was just too confusing when I did it the first time.

    Orem Signing ()
    #3786 Copy

    Snipexe

    Are lighteyes or darkeyes dominant?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Um... Depends.

    Snipexe

    Okay, and how do mixes work?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Different things can happen, but on Roshar, heterochromia is usually indication of a mixed parentage.

    Orem Signing ()
    #3789 Copy

    Snipexe

    Would a primate be turned into a koloss if the spikes were placed in the correct bindpoints?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Something like a koloss, but you would not call it a koloss.

    Snipexe

    Would they lose intelligence or gain, if they were?

    Brandon Sanderson

    You could do it either way.

    Orem Signing ()
    #3790 Copy

    Questioner

    My thought is, you know how the Stormfather in Oathbringer says he's not able, or he's never seen Dalinar be able to create the bridge. Does that mean Honor could be reborn?

    Brandon Sanderson

    So, there are things standing in the way, but cosmereologically, it is fully possible that another person could become Honor. The Vessel that was holding Honor before is gone. Though the Stormfather is kind of his Cognitive Shadow at this point, in a way. But the power, something else could be done with it. Or it could remain in the state it is now. Your answer is yes, but there are some hindrances along the way.

    Orem Signing ()
    #3791 Copy

    Snipexe

    Does Hoid's Lightweaving produce light?

    Brandon Sanderson

    *After a very long pause* He has used different types of Lightweaving, or he has access to different types of Lightweaving.

    Snipexe

    Does the Yolish Lightweaving produce light?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yolish Lightweaving could produce light.

    Orem Signing ()
    #3795 Copy

    Questioner

    Are you going to make another Warbreaker book?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Someday I will. It probably won't happen until after Stormlight 5 is out, because I want to keep those Stormlight books moving along.  But once Stormlight 5 is out, Ill take a little breather from Stormlight before doing number six to do some things. Maybe like this.

    Orem Signing ()
    #3796 Copy

    Wyndlerunner

    You've mentioned in the past aluminum savants being able to somewhat heal their spiritweb, healing them of the cracks, sort of healing them of Allomancy. Could a chromium savant do this to other people, kind of like in the Avatar [The Last Airbender] finale where he seals bending?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I will say RAFO, but I will say you're theorizing along correct directions.

    Orem Signing ()
    #3799 Copy

    Questioner

    With aluminum resisting Shardblades, could you plate Shardplate with aluminum and have extra resistance, or would that be too thin to really even do anything?

    Brandon Sanderson

    This would probably not be very effective. Maybe in modern times, you could, but honestly you'd be better off just building aluminum armor for someone else. It's not gonna add too much to the Shardplate and to what the Shardplate's already doing and it might just interfere too much with what you're trying to do anyway. It would be worth experimenting with, but I don't think it's gonna end up doing too much.