Questioner
I'm an illustrator. I know a couple illustrators in the area have worked with you on some illustrations. So how does that work? I know usually the art director is the only one who has a say in the art.
Brandon Sanderson
Isaac is my art director. We have enough influence with the publisher that we hire out everything except the cover, and we say, "You're just putting this in." I pay for it. I started that on my second book, after they didn't pay my illustrator on the first book, because they forgot and lost the check. And it took them, like, eight months to get another check. I'm like, "I'm just gonna pay for this. So I make sure my illustrator gets paid." And from then on, I've just done that. When you're paying for it, the publisher lets you do a whole bunch of stuff.
Dragon13
Is the conduit that seems to be powering the Ire fortress, can that act as a safe passage through the Cognitive Realm of Sel?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes. Maybe not the way that you're implying, but yes.
Questioner
The screams on Roshar. Is that a cosmere-wide phenomenon?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO.
Volratho
Did Adonalsium have a god metal?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO.
Questioner
If Adonalsium was whole, would there be other powers in the cosmere that could threaten it?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO. But I would say the fact that Adonalsium was Shattered answers that question, itself.
Argent
The namesake of the Nahel bond. Was that a person, or is just a name?
Brandon Sanderson
It's a word in original Alethi as I was working on it. And actually, the original didn't use "bond." Bond was implied by it. The word meant, "connection to the divine." It's gotten larger since then...
Blightsong
So when Vasher takes a similar name, he's trying to imply that meaning?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes.
Dragon13
Hesina received a letter from her family talking about new fabrials. Is she related perhaps to someone like Navani?
Brandon Sanderson
See, there's too much wiggle room in that. Yes. But. Not probably as closely as your question is implying.
Volratho
Was there life in the cosmere before Adonalsium?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO.
Argent
Most of the Shardblades and Plate abandoned by Radiants during the Recreance are somewhere, missing. Are they mostly, kind of in the same place?
Brandon Sanderson
It's a good question. RAFO.
Questioner
The Listener Song of Secrets. Is that significantly related to the Taker of Secrets?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO.
Volratho
What happens to god metals when a Shard is Splintered?
Brandon Sanderson
God metals are unaffected.
Volratho
And atium and lerasium stayed unaffected when they merged?
Brandon Sanderson
Lerasium and atium that existed before were unaffected.
Argent
When the Everstorm passes over Kholinar in Oathbringer. That is when Ashertmarn appears, that's when they start reporting, "Hey there's a darkness around the palace." Did the Everstorm bring Ashertmarn there? Or did it kind of awaken or unleash it?
Brandon Sanderson
A little of both.
Dragon13
When Hoid met Kaladin, he said he came chasing an old acquaintance, ended up spending most of his time hiding from him instead. Is he referring to Rayse or Odium? Or someone else.
Brandon Sanderson
Yes. Not the someone else. He was referring to Odium.
Dragon13
In the Way of Kings epilogue, Hoid was playing an enthir. That instrument looks very similar to the one played by the musician in White Sand.
Brandon Sanderson
Yes. They are related.
Eric
One of Kaladin's early chasm duties, he examines a very distinctive knife with a figure at the center of the hilt, nicely carved with a man of fine armor... How similar is this knife to the one Moash used?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO.
Alex
Was Hoid at any point the Dark One in any world?
Brandon Sanderson
Not the Dark One as defined by the series The Dark One. There are definitely legends of him that are... darker than perhaps his lighthearted appearance might imply.
Questioner
Someone had asked you a question about Marsh being a worldhopper, and you mentioned that there was nothing about his Investiture that would prevent him from going off-world. Which implies that there are other people who their Investiture would prevent?
Brandon Sanderson
Kelsier. I don't count him as going off-world, despite him getting very close.
Questioner
Is there anyone living on Scadrial who that would also apply to?
Brandon Sanderson
As a default, no. I can't say 100% whether there's nobody. But as a default, that wouldn't prevent people. Not in the same way that you would have trouble getting off-world with a spren bond.
Questioner
Any new Dustbringers in Stormlight Four?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, there will be.
Questioner
I was wondering if there's any correlation between the spren in the Axies interlude in the Way of Kings with his faces, and what Shallan does in Oathbringer when she's going through the faces telling them it doesn't hurt? 'Cause it said the refugees saw her nature as a spren, and I made a connection there. Is it a coincidence?
Brandon Sanderson
I will call that mostly coincidence.
Questioner
The Ghostblood that's from the southern part of Scadrial. Does that mean she can use the [Allomantic] metals?
Brandon Sanderson
She was not born there. Iyatil is from somewhere else... She has a.. Scadrian heritage. Whether she's an Allomancer or not, I will RAFO. It is possible that someone with her lineage could.
Questioner
So she doesn't have to be born on--
Brandon Sanderson
No.
Questioner
On my reread of Reckoners, I remembered it being really kitschy and light-hearted, but the prologue of the first book is really dark. Is the rest of the book so light-hearted because it is David trying to make the best of a really crappy situation, or is it because it's Young Adult?
Brandon Sanderson
Yeah. It's also partially, I wrote the prologue, stepped away, came back, and wrote the rest... One of the things I regret about the books is that-- I was telling a story about assassinating superheroes. So I thought it was going to go darker than it did, once I found David's voice. And if I could go back, I might take out the baby skeleton... I couldn't cut it because it's such a great image, but I should have. My biggest regret with that series is the tonal mismatch... It's this thing where I'm like, "That would be the best book for, like, a fourteen-year-old to read of mine, except the prologue which involves dissolving babies."
Questioner
Toilet paper. Does the extra go over or under?
Brandon Sanderson
I am actually agnostic on this one... ambivalent. I don't even notice.
ILuvHats
I have a question about the Sleepless. So you have confirmed that distance does matter. Is there a limit or a factor affecting how many hordelings they control?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes.
ILuvHats
Can you elaborate?
Brandon Sanderson
No, but there is an upper limit on both mass and number.
Questioner
Will Eshonai's in-world book be, like, geography or an atlas?
Brandon Sanderson
Right now... her book was named after a song, one of the Rhythms or Songs, but I haven't picked the actual name. That's the working title.
Questioner
If Lift went to Nalthis and got Breaths. Could she then eat the local food and turn it around and use it to Awaken?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO.
Blightsong
People tend to hear a lot of voices on Roshar in their heads. And I've noticed that a lot of people either have been confirmed to be in contact with Unmade or show a lot of signs of that. Is there a correlation there?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes.
Blightsong
You've said that, AI in the cosmere, creating one is kind of like having a child realmatically. Would that extend to most sapient creations?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes.
Blightsong
So could a created spren from a Returned inherit Royal Locks? Within a reasonable possibility?
Brandon Sanderson
*ahhing in a very curious manner* You could make this happen, but I don't think it would happen naturally.
Volratho
Was Roshar equally Invested by Cultivation and Honor originally?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes.
Volratho
How 'bout now, since he's been--
Brandon Sanderson
So the Investiture is all still there... It is not all accessible. So, at this point, you might say-- I'd say it's a point of disputation. It would be worth arguing either way. I will say at this point, no, it's not equal anymore. But definitions of where the power is and what it counts as is ambiguous.
Volratho
So Cultivation has more active Investiture?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, I would say yes... Well, but she's been very coy. I'm gonna leave it at that.
Questioner
If a [Vessel] were to hold Nightblood, who would give up first?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO.
Questioner
So... Shardblades are modeled after Honorblades. Are Honorblades modeled after something else?
Brandon Sanderson
The Honorblades were provided for the Heralds. The person doing the providing was aware of certain things. So, yes, but not really. I think it is-- I can answer a "yes," but it's more like a big asterisk.
Questioner
With Shards, are there any... limits? What can't they do? Besides being opposed by another Shard and their own intent?
Brandon Sanderson
It varies a lot. It varies based on experience and situation. They are not omnipotent, though the power is infinite. So that is the weird part that you get into. So, they are limited partially by their own limitations, and also the limitations imposed upon them by the situations they're in.
Questioner
Is there anything universal about all of them?
Brandon Sanderson
They all have bits of them in all of the cosmere, so that's universal. They all are bounded more by themselves than by the power itself.
Questioner
In Hero of Ages, is Durn a worldhopper, Spook's beggar friend who has the perfect disguise?
Brandon Sanderson
I'll RAFO that.
Questioner
Was Nightblood always the same size?
Brandon Sanderson
*chuckles* I will RAFO that.
Questioner
You know how the whole group goes into Shadesmar. What would happen if they accidentally eat a bead, and then leave Shadesmar?
Brandon Sanderson
That would not be good for them.
Questioner
Would they just explode with whatever the object was?
Brandon Sanderson
That's not exactly how it works. Fortunately. But I wouldn't recommend ingesting any beads.
Questioner
When Shallan asked Jasnah about the Soulcasting with the jam, was Jasnah intentionally trying to reverse-assassinate Kabsal?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO, but more I just need to make sure I look at the details before I can answer that one.
Questioner
In which part of your process do you start designing [maps]?
Brandon Sanderson
In the old days, it was during the prewriting phrase, before I got into it. Now that I have Isaac, I can generally just write the book, give it to Isaac, and say, "All right, here's what I was imagining. Give me some iterations on this." And he's very good at that... It depends on the book. For Stormlight, I gave him a map and said, "Here's what it looks like." But for Skyward, I'm like, "Feels like this. It's, like, this distance. Come up with something."
Questioner
How do the Heralds come back? As Cognitive Shadows, how do they a physical body?
Brandon Sanderson
That system will be explained in the coming books, so that is a RAFO. I'm gonna dig into it pretty deeply. It's relevant for multiple reasons...
In the original version, Taln ended up in someone else, like they would get a body from someone else, which was part of fueling the "Is he crazy, is he not," because people were like, "I recognize this guy!" I don't use that system anymore.
Questioner
That's what I was wondering, because the Fused--
Brandon Sanderson
They use something kind of more like the Fused in the original draft, it's not that process anymore.
Questioner
Is that gonna give us lead-ins to how it worked with Kelsier?
Brandon Sanderson
Maybe. Maybe. You shall see.
Questioner
When did you first really realize who the Lord Ruler was, if he was good or bad? Because I feel like you turned him into a good guy.
Brandon Sanderson
He is complicated. I started with that concept in mind. In fact, I had written a different book that had used the same concept that had not turned out, and I kind of recombined it into Mistborn. So I went into it knowing he was this complex character.
Questioner
At the start of previous Desolations, how long would it take the Fused to get back after one of the Heralds broke?
Brandon Sanderson
I'll RAFO that for now. I'm gonna be digging into it. We will have some-- I'm just going to RAFO it.
Questioner
In The Way of Kings, how did Lopen get in and out of the chasms with only one arm?
Brandon Sanderson
So, he had a little help. And he can do it. Getting down and up-- I've actually seen people, looking online. You can climb a ladder. It's not easy. It's better if you have some help. But you can get up and down.
Questioner
Just give me a worldbuilding quirk, some weird quirk of a world. Something you haven't written or don't intend to write.
Brandon Sanderson
Something I don't intend to write but that I someday will. Crab people.
Questioner
As far as Hemalurgy, when you give that-- when it's done to somebody, would that create a new resonance?
Brandon Sanderson
It's possible that it could. Though I'm gonna say, most of the time, no... Lots of things are possible, but I'll give you a "mostly no" on that one.
Questioner
What about savantism? Is that possible with Hemalurgy?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, it is.
Questioner
Were you gonna do anything with The Stormlight Archive with an RPG?
Brandon Sanderson
I would like to. We'll have to see. We want to support the Mistborn RPG while it's out, we don't want to abandon it. But once we feel like we've done that one the way we want to, you might see a Stormlight.
Questioner
I need to get ahold of that, because I would almost be worried about, if you have a Mistborn character, especially in Era One, it would be too overpowered.
Brandon Sanderson
They made it work. The game is less combat-focused. There's social influence and gathering resources influence and combat influence are all separate, so you can have a duel of words where you attack someone's social influence that can be as valuable as attacking them on the streets at night. So because those two elements are so useful, what you end up having is, you can balance characters who don't even have Allomancy with characters who are Mistborn or with Mistings, things like that.
Questioner
I was more thinking something like Twinborn, that you can almost balance that without getting any Mistborn.
Brandon Sanderson
The problem with Twinborn is, you get the right combinations, it's kind of OP. But it's a storytelling based system.
Questioner
How much creative control does Graphic Audio give you?
Brandon Sanderson
Graphic Audio, I give them pretty much free rein. I like what they've done. So with Graphic Audio, I generally don't even cast the people or anything. I just say, "Do your thing."
Questioner
Do the Heralds know about AonDor?
Brandon Sanderson
I would say, conceptually, a few of them do, but not in specific detail.
Questioner
'Cause Ash's name is a combination of Transformation, Beauty, and Light. I didn't know if that was a coincidence, or--
Brandon Sanderson
There are some non-coincidences in the linguistics that people have started to pick up on, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the people who have those names know about the origins of their names.
Questioner
This is purely hypothetical, but if Dalinar was to become the Vessel for multiple Shards, would he have had more difficulty with Preservation separately if Harmony was involved? Because that's the only of the Shards I can't see him holding onto particularly well.
Brandon Sanderson
Hmm. I can say yes on that. I think that's a good theory... you phrased [that] very well.
Questioner
If Hoid encountered a larkin, would anything happen?
Brandon Sanderson
Hoid is aware of larkin.
Questioner
So he's avoiding them?
Brandon Sanderson
I'm just gonna say he's aware of them.
Questioner
In Arcanum Unbounded, it said that a Hemalurgic spike could work in any world. So if I were to take a Hemalurgic spike and spike someone like Kaladin, would he die and then I have a Windrunner's power?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, but there's a big asterisk on that. Because, with the spren being a third party in this sort of arrangement, weird things would happen.
Questioner
Is Urithiru a means for our characters getting between planets?
Brandon Sanderson
Getting to the Cognitive Realm would be the first step in getting between planets for most of the ways that people move. So, you could say yes.
Questioner
About the Passions. Are they related to Odium, or is there something bigger cosmere-wide?
Brandon Sanderson
They are related to traditions from the past that were Odium-influenced. I wouldn't saa-- So, they are technically related to Odium in that sort of method. More in a roundabout way, though.
