Questioner
I'm curious, you mentioned at the Legion release that the Fused were after the spren that Hoid bonded. Was there a specific reason why they wanted that spren? Or was it just because [it was] the enemy?
Brandon Sanderson
I will say they would have done that for another spren in that situation.
Questioner
Any other spren?
Brandon Sanderson
Not any other spren; but there wasn't something uniquely identifying about that spren that they were hunting.
Questioner
They wouldn't have done it for any spren, but there were other spren they had done it for?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes.
Sunbird
How old, in years, was Calamity during the events of the book, Calamity. Roughly.
Brandon Sanderson
Roughly 11 years old.
LizBusby
They were talking about, on the cosmere podcast, if cosmere dragons can breathe fire?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO. They can fly. So they--
LizBusby
Okay. That's good to know. I was just thinking, Frost like, doesn't sound very fiery to me. It sounds icy to me.
Brandon Sanderson
Mmhmm. *significant look* RAFO on that. You won't even find that in Dragonsteel, the old one, if you read it. It doesn't say.
R'Shara
Can you Awaken in total darkness; no light whatsoever?
Brandon Sanderson
This is possible.
R'Shara
Are the Death Rattles always about the future, or can they be about the past?
Brandon Sanderson
They are not always exclusively about the future, but they are not generally going to be about the past either.
R'Shara
Has Vasher or anyone else learned how to suppress just the Breath Aura, but keep the Heightenings?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO.
R'Shara
How long ago was the Recreance?
Brandon Sanderson
4500 years.
R'Shara
No, that was Aharietiam?
Brandon Sanderson
Oh, the Recreance!
R'Shara
2,000 or more?
Brandon Sanderson
Around. I've got the timeline, I'd have to pull it up and look.
R'Shara
Is the vision that Dalinar of the Recreance; is that how it actually happened?
Brandon Sanderson
You can assume that even though it was a recreation, that it is accurate.
Questioner
Is Nightblood a spren?
Brandon Sanderson
There are some who would define Nightblood as a spren. I would not. I would define Nightblood as something else.
coltonx9
What would Elhokar's fifth truth be?
Brandon Sanderson
...Oh, Elhokar's last truth? He would have had to have been on a long journey before he could even get to that. It would probably be-- I'm going to RAFO that now, because I think it would tell you too much about the way I'm thinking for the way the truths work. I could probably tell you that now, but I will choose not to. Let's just say it would involve kind of a journey that starts kind of-- negative is the wrong term. Being more aware of himself and then coming to a deeper awareness of himself that is perhaps not-- that leaves him in a good place.
coltonx9
Could you tell me what his first truth would have been?
Brandon Sanderson
It would have been to admit the thing that he knows, which is that he's a bad king.
Questioner
Is the Ghostblood's name related to their heritage?
Brandon Sanderson
Kind of.
Questioner
So it is not because of their blood *inaudible*.
Brandon Sanderson
I'll RAFO that.
Questioner
Of all of your characters, were some of them based off of people that are part of your life?
Brandon Sanderson
Definitely.
Questioner
And are there any of your characters that you wish were real?
Brandon Sanderson
Oh yeah, I'd have fun chatting with some of them. I would like to chat with Sazed, that would be a lot of fun. A lot of the side characters are based off of friends; not a lot of main characters. The most main character that's based on a friend is Skar, who is based off of my friend Skar.
coltonx9
If you were to [Forge] a car to say, that car had parked in a different space in parking lot what would happen, would it just disappear, if there were no other spots?
Brandon Sanderson
Okay, so you [Forge] the whole parking lot--
coltonx9
No, just SoulForge a car, in the parking lot to say it parked somewhere else.
Brandon Sanderson
That sort of temporal thing is probably not going to be something you can make work very easily with [Forgery]. You could rewrite this car so it had parked in that spot yesterday, but it's not going to change where it is, most cases. I think you might be able to contrive something that would work out, but that's normally not going to work... You can cause paradoxes with this sort of magic, that I have worked my best to make just not work.
Questioner
What do Shardblade Cryptics look like? They can't really have crossed out eyes. Would their pattern-
Brandon Sanderson
You mean like a deadeye?
Questioner
Yeah.
Brandon Sanderson
It will be noticeable, but it won't be the same as the eyes. Let's just say their algorithm is messed up.
coltonx9
How much Investiture is located in the planet-like object in the Threnody system named Purity?
Brandon Sanderson
*chuckles* RAFO.
the.fulgid
Wit states, "Some men as they age, grow wiser. I am not one of those, for wisdom and I have always been at cross-purpose, and I have yet to learn the tongue in which she speaks." Is Hoid referring to wisdom as a concept?
Brandon Sanderson
*Sly smile* RAFO.
the.fulgid
Hoid is not capable of hurting anyone, but in Way of Kings we see him wearing a side-sword, is that simply for show?
Brandon Sanderson
That's just for show. He is going to do that again in the next book. It's symbolic.
the.fulgid
During his conversation with Shallan, Wit said that, "Failure is the mark of a life well lived," and I'm glad that you shared that because this question has been on my mind a lot, and he says, "And in turn the the only way to live without failure is to be of no use to anyone." Is there anything Hoid has failed at that we haven't seen on screen that you would be willing to share?
Brandon Sanderson
There are certain people he thought he was going to be able to help who ended up not surviving.
the.fulgid
Would you be willing to share the failed process that Hoid used to attempt to become an Elantrian?
Brandon Sanderson
No.
Questioner
And at the planet they crashed on [Detritus] have Earth gravity?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, it is basically Earth gravity. Within reasonable comparisons. Same with air density.
Questioner
She wanted me to ask you if Soulcasters end up in Shadesmar when they *inaudible*?
Brandon Sanderson
Not necessarily.
Questioner
At the last signing event, I was asking about a Shard[blade] and paint, if it disappears, comes back, what happens? You said the paint never disappeared with it. But you seemed intrigued by other possibilities, and then I thought of some too. One of them would be a foundry, showing people how to make weapons, you put your Shard in the sand, make a sword in there, dismiss it, fill it with your molten metal, stuff like that sounded like...interesting ideas.
Brandon Sanderson
I like that, I like that a lot.
Questioner
You know how the BioChromatic Breaths is like more soul? If you were to get hit by a Shardblade while having several of them, could you take more hits before you lose the soul from your body?
Brandon Sanderson
I'll RAFO this. Good Question.
Questioner
What would a kandra without a body look like?
Brandon Sanderson
A kandra without a body is kind of a blob. It's a pile of muscles. It looks pretty gross.
Questioner
Can a coppermind be Awakened?
Brandon Sanderson
This is possible.
Questioner
With the memories already in it?
Brandon Sanderson
This is going to be harder because those memories are going to be keyed to someone else, who, by nature, would not be the individual that it was made into. You would have to key those memories to who the metalmind was becoming. There would be an extra step in there; It wouldn't just naturally be that way. We're talking wild, wild, these are possible, but far out, stuff. Possible, but there is an extra step in there.
SpaceGodPerson
Are there any plants that can eat Investiture that can naturally develop?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes. Good question!
xnkvbo
If an Awakener with Perfect Invocation turns something white, can they or another Awakener then use the white thing back to gray, back to white.
Brandon Sanderson
I actually thought about this. My answer ended up being a no.
xnkvbo
Can you give a little explanation why?
Brandon Sanderson
I will delve into it more as I delve into the nature of color and why it's relevant to multiple magics in the cosmere. So it's a RAFO.
xnkvbo
Are there any different effects on a larkin depending on what kind of Investiture it eats?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, but they are not enormous.
Chaos
You have said the fandom puts too much emphasis on the Lord Ruler's children. Is that because the Lord Ruler suppressed his ability to pass on his abilities to them?
Brandon Sanderson
No.
Chaos
Brandon, that makes no sense. What? Now I'm even more upset. It's actually my fault, 'cause I keep telling people that the Lord Ruler's kids should be important, so you can blame me.
Brandon Sanderson
People can be important and not be cosmere-relevant.
Chaos
Yeah, but they'd be like super-powerful Mistborn!
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, who died nine hundred years ago!
Chaos
But he spent so much time getting Feruchemy away from Allomancy!
Brandon Sanderson
Yeah, that's true.
Questioner
I've heard this theory passed around, and I just want to see if you'll confirm it or not. Are you actually a bunch of tiny writers in a coat, or--
Brandon Sanderson
No, no, no, I'm a bunch of robots programmed to create books. The "tiny writers" one is completely false.
Questioner
Do you know the value of a heliodor and a smokestone and all that, the relative values?
Brandon Sanderson
Peter does. I wrote it out once and now I have him just fact-check it for me when I write the books. So I will often say, "Worth about this much, give me the right money and change". So I made the original guide that they follow, but nowadays I don't have to use that; I can just bracket and say, "Something worth about this much".
Questioner
In Shadesmar, the solid and liquid phases are inverted. So, in the Spiritual Realm, is it something to do with solid and gas phases, or is it not the same at all?
Brandon Sanderson
It is not quite where you're going, but I like the way you're thinking.
Questioner
So then what's the reason that they can't travel to the Spiritual Realm?
Brandon Sanderson
The Spiritual Realm is not a place.
Questioner
How was Vin able to use the mists against the Lord Ruler even though they hadn't been keyed to her?
Brandon Sanderson
That-- You are making an assumption there, and so tell him he might be making the wrong assumption.
Questioner
Has Jasnah come up with her armor? Because there's a part where they say that geometric shapes were kind of disappearing and it wasn't like someone changing like they normally would.
Brandon Sanderson
I will RAFO that for now.
Questioner
How do you think Kelsier really feels when it's revealed that the skaa really are different from the other ruling--
Brandon Sanderson
So-- *pause* I would call it still a matter of debate whether they are or aren't. Whether they were is a different matter of debate, right? But I would say that a lot of the things that were claimed about skaa were not accurate. Some of the things claimed about them were, and that is part of what makes it subject to debate. And Kelsier is very good at not accepting answers he doesn't like.
Questioner
Any idea when we'll learn more about The Lost Metal?
Brandon Sanderson
Yeah, probably middle next year you'll know more about it. It's going to depend on how working on Stormlight 4 goes.
Questioner
Are the humans who arrived on Roshar at the first Desolation refugees from the Evil on Threnody?
Brandon Sanderson
No. Good question. Excellent question.
Questioner
I see Shai as one of the founding members of the Seventeenth Shard trying to hunt down Hoid. Is there any--
Brandon Sanderson
I'm gonna RAFO you on this. I'm gonna RAFO you on that. I'm not even going to say whether or not she ever managed to get off planet, even.
Questioner
Are we gonna get to figure out how Vivenna got to Roshar?
Brandon Sanderson
You are, eventually. It may take me a little while, but I will get to it.
Questioner
How do you decide whether or not a story is part of the cosmere?
Brandon Sanderson
There's a couple dividing lines. If it mentions Earth, I'm not gonna put it in the cosmere, because I don't want any sort of relationship there. At that point, the dividing line becomes, does the magic fit the cosmere, and is the story one that fits the cosmere, right? I made the decision very early on, I wasn't gonna try and force everything in. So if it's a natural outgrowth of the stories I'm telling in the cosmere, then I will go that way. I'm usually more finicky about pulling them out than putting them in. There are very few stories I've put into the cosmere, and I've pulled a ton of them out.
Questioner
I was wondering what your thoughts on cosmemes are.
Brandon Sanderson
Cosmemes? I think they're hilarious and we can only aspire to the greatness that is trebuchet memes or prequel memes. Someday, perhaps, we, too, will be great.
Questioner
Can a metalmind be made into a sentient object?
Brandon Sanderson
It's already got Investiture in it? Yes.
Slowswift
Has the Cognitive Realm of Scadrial changed at all since Sazed redid everything?
Brandon Sanderson
I'll RAFO that, I'll RAFO that.
Questioner
If you had to make any of your books into a musical?
Brandon Sanderson
Ooh. Well, since we already have a canonical version of The Hero of Ages as a musical in the Mistborn world, in one of the broadsheets, we would have to go with that, we would have to do the version in-world.
Questioner
I think Warbreaker would translate the best.
Brandon Sanderson
Yeah, that's probably true. If you want a real answer, that's probably true. It's probably the best.
Questioner
In Warbreaker, is the picture that Lightsong saves the same picture that Kaladin finds in Celebrant?
Brandon Sanderson
*Presumably gives RAFO card*
Questioner
With a cadmium or bendalloy savant, would they be able to impact the amount of time that they can compress or expand?
Brandon Sanderson
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Questioner
So they could fit-- Theoretically they could make-- fit more time into the same amount of metal.
Brandon Sanderson
Oh, that's what you're asking. Yeee-- *pauses* So, yes, technically, because... Yes, but mostly what that's going to do is going to influence your strength and how much you can multiply--
Questioner
The size of the bubble?
Brandon Sanderson
The size of the bubble and the amount of time, like when you flare, you are pressing more time into it and a savant is gonna get really good at that. They're gonna get good at changing the bubble and the shape of the bubble, they're gonna get good at some of the other things involving the bubble. It does technically, as you become a savant, does mean you're able to squeeze a little bit more out of your metal, because that's just how it works, but that's not the main effect.
Questioner
Any progress on making any visual adaptations of any of your works?
Brandon Sanderson
The closest right now is actually probably Snapshot, which is a lesser-known novella of mine. That's at MGM, we have a really good script, and they're about to announce a director very soon.
Questioner
Is Yaalani a character in any other stories?
Brandon Sanderson
Right now, no. Good question.
Questioner
Does not seem like a Eelakin name. And there are people in Stormlight who seem to have aviar.
Brandon Sanderson
Yeah. People in Stormlight do have aviar. That has happened. But let's just say, during Stormlight era, getting things on or off of First of the Sun is really hard.
Questioner
Are spren able to visit other planets than Roshar?
Brandon Sanderson
So, spren are, because of the nature of their Investiture, connected too strongly to the planet to normally get off. That doesn't mean it couldn't happen, but I will just say, normally no.
Questioner
So the Cognitive Realm, or whatever that sort of like-- is that different on other planets?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes. It looks different on each planet, partially based on perception.
Questioner
Have you thought of the implications of Pulsers, or cadmium Mistings, in space travel?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, I have.
Questioner
Because you could slow down the time bubble around the ship and extend your life span during long journeys.
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, I have thought of that.
