Question and Answer

[Odium's_Shard]

say, you take a mistwraith and turn it into a kandra-- perhaps give it the blessing of presence. Then you put a copper hemalurgic spike through this barely sentient baby kandra's heart and steal memory. Could it in fact steal an ability from a Kandra? Would the baby Kandra die or continue to exist with a terrible mental handicap? Would the hemalurgic charge in its spikes be diminished? How much of a hemalurgic charge would be in this new hemalurgic spike? If you took that now-brainless kandra and removed its blessing, then gave it a different blessing and repeated the process, how many fully charged hemalurgic spikes could you create?

So in essence, you are suggesting that if you took the only 'netal fortitude' of a baby Kandra, or human infant (if it could survive the spike), say, directly after giving it sentience then steal it's first thoughts, that it would then remove (and possibly store) that sentience?

Personally I doubt this would happen, as for me the definition of 'sentient' is to be able to develop its own thoughts, and so if it is in fact a Kandra, with the Blessing of Presence, it shouldn't affect it any more than the mental scar of being stabbed as a baby. But then again, it might store sentience while the Kandra continues to possess it, and we're not completely sure how one can be 'mentally fortunate'.

[ReaderAt2046]

Wow, this raises about 20 questions.

say, you take a mistwraith and turn it into a kandra-- perhaps give it the blessing of presence. Then you put a copper hemalurgic spike through this barely sentient baby kandra's heart and steal memory. Could it in fact steal an ability from a Kandra? Would the baby Kandra die or continue to exist with a terrible mental handicap? Would the hemalurgic charge in its spikes be diminished? How much of a hemalurgic charge would be in this new hemalurgic spike? If you took that now-brainless kandra and removed its blessing, then gave it a different blessing and repeated the process, how many fully charged hemalurgic spikes could you create?

wow... this is just scratching the surface, too.

Hemalurgy always loses power, so i suspect that either:

A: Nothing happens, the new spike is not charged.

B: You drain the Kandra's Blessing, so you have exactly as much Hemalugic charge as before.

[Odium's_Shard]

But even still, this implies that a conversion of some form is possible between charges.

[Brendan]

Dalinar, is forgetting his wife the boon or the curse?

I always thought that he went to ask for him to forget his wife because it was too painful remembering her and has some other curse, but others on this board seem to think that it is his curse if so what is his boon? Is there any evidence either way (I couldn't find a thread).

[Asha'man Logain]

Dalinar, is forgetting his wife the boon or the curse?

I always thought that he went to ask for him to forget his wife because it was too painful remembering her and has some other curse, but others on this board seem to think that it is his curse if so what is his boon? Is there any evidence either way (I couldn't find a thread).

I personally think that it was the curse. And the boon was saving his sickly son's life (Renarin?). It would seem to me an ironic balance if he went to save the life of one family member, and as a price, lost all memory of another. However, I think that Dalinar believes he went to remove the memory and is responsible for his son's sickness as the curse. After all, if his wife WAS the reason he went, he wouldn't know it. I think he assumes he made a terrible mistake and removed his wife from his memory because he loved her too much, and thus cursed his son with frailty. In reality though (my theoretical reality) he saved his son from dying, but lost all memory of his wife.

[Lance Alvein]

I always got the impression that he wanted to ease the pain of her dying from his memories, and thus was granted the boon/curse of not being able to remember her at all.

[Asha'man Logain]

I always got the impression that he wanted to ease the pain of her dying from his memories, and thus was granted the boon/curse of not being able to remember her at all.

I think that is what he thinks as well. But if he did go to ease the pain of his wife's passing, would he remember that as being the reason? If he cannot even hear her name and remember it, would he remember missing her so much that he sought the old magic just to get rid of it? Or instead, would he assume since he remembers nothing to do with his wife, that he asked for that? All he can remember now, is how in love with Navani he's been. In absence of all other evidence he would assume that he loved his wife as much or more than he did his brother's wife. The conversation he had with Navani about his late wife, makes it seem to me more of a marriage of convienince or neccessity, than a mad love affair. But again, only one book of evidence, I could be wrong.

[Oxinabox]

is Rimistis confirmed as not a Shardworld?

[Chaos]

is Rimistis confirmed as not a Shardworld?

I am highly certain it is not a Shardworld, but I don't have a quote for you on that one.

[valkynphyre]

Can a kandra, while in the shape of a female, get pregnant if they want to?

[ReaderAt2046]

Can a kandra, while in the shape of a female, get pregnant if they want to?

I suspect that a female kandra, in any shape, can get pregnant by another kandra. But the offspring would be a mistwraith.

[Morsk]

Do we know if mistwraiths reproduce sexually, or by binary fission, or some other method? Binary fission feels right to me, given the way they grow. But they were created from humans, so who knows.

[ReaderAt2046]

Do we know if mistwraiths reproduce sexually, or by binary fission, or some other method? Binary fission feels right to me, given the way they grow. But they were created from humans, so who knows.

We know mistwraiths and kandra are male and female (there are real genders among the kandra, which they can detect) so it seems likely that they reproduce sexually.

[valkynphyre]

We know mistwraiths and kandra are male and female (there are real genders among the kandra, which they can detect) so it seems likely that they reproduce sexually.

I always assumed Kandra didn't procreate.

[Commander Spoonface]

I always assumed Kandra didn't procreate.

Yeah, I thought that Mistrwraiths procreate, but the Kandra don't.

[Zas678]

Mistwraiths reproduce asexually (binary fission), or at least that's what I've heard from Peter. Kandra though.... If there is a female/male they could reproduce I suppose, but it seems like that would be mentioned. I think it's more likely that they just recognize that their spirits are male/female.

Here's the quote from Peter:

They breed somehow. It could be binary fission—if a mistwraith gets too big it just splits. That's my guess personally.<div>Note: This is not inside information. Just my guess. Source

I feel though that we've had more recent information than this. Let me see if I can find something else...

Oh, and here's a quote about male/female kandra

ZAS678

How do Kandra decide gender? Is it just intellectual? Or are there subtle physical differences?

BRANDON SANDERSON

Kandra have a specific gender that is associated with scent- you can tell if a kandra is a boy or girl depending on how they smell. There is more to it than that. They also know who they are attracted to.

</div> Edited June 21, 2012 by zas678
I accidentally wrote "koloss" instead of "Kandra". Thanks Joe!

[Anaris]

When did odiums "Visit" to Sel take place, in relation to the time elantris is set in.

[Zas678]

We don't know. We do know that it was before there where Seons.

MI'CHELLE

I know that you've answered this before, but we don't have citation yet. Was the earthquake caused by Odium's visit to Elantris? You've answered that one before, I believe.

BRANDON SANDERSON

I don’t know if I have. I think I’ve given implications without a strict, direct answer on that one.

MI'CHELLE

And what are the implications, so I can know if I'm thinking of the right answer?

BRANDON SANDERSON

What do you think I've said?

MI'CHELLE

I think you've said, no it isn't.

BRANDON SANDERSON

The Seons existed before the earthquake.

MI'CHELLE

But was the earthquake caused by Odium?

BRANDON SANDERSON

When Odium visited there were no Seons.

JOSH

Okay.

MI'CHELLE

But that doesn't answer the question about the earthquake, so that's interesting to note.

BRANDON SANDERSON

See what I'm saying?

Source

[Trizee]

If you used a Basic Lashing on a wall, then that wall becomes like the floor to you- right? Well then what happens if there is a door in that wall, and you go through the door? Does gravity pull you to the wall from the other side, or is gravity just in the direction of the wall, and if that's the case, you just fall out and if there's nothing to stop you- possibly fall out into space? And what happens if you're in the doorway?

[ReaderAt2046]

If you used a Basic Lashing on a wall, then that wall becomes like the floor to you- right? Well then what happens if there is a door in that wall, and you go through the door? Does gravity pull you to the wall from the other side, or is gravity just in the direction of the wall, and if that's the case, you just fall out and if there's nothing to stop you- possibly fall out into space? And what happens if you're in the doorway?

Probably depends on how you think. If you were thinking "gravity pulls me towards that wall" when you cast the Lashing, then you would fall back towards the wall and end up floating zero-g in the door. If you were thinking "gravity pulls me in that direction", you'd go flying off wherever.

[Morsk]

If it really works like gravity, you'd keep your velocity passing through the door; instead of stopping when you pass through it, you'd just slow down. Then you'd reverse direction and pass through it again from the other side. Without air resistance you might oscillate back and forth forever.

If the lashings can do that, things could get pretty weird, lashing projectiles to points to make them orbit around, or whatever.

[ReaderAt2046]

If it really works like gravity, you'd keep your velocity passing through the door; instead of stopping when you pass through it, you'd just slow down. Then you'd reverse direction and pass through it again from the other side. Without air resistance you might oscillate back and forth forever.

If the lashings can do that, things could get pretty weird, lashing projectiles to points to make them orbit around, or whatever.

I was assuming air resistance, so you'd eventually stop oscillating.

[Windrunner]

Probably depends on how you think. If you were thinking "gravity pulls me towards that wall" when you cast the Lashing, then you would fall back towards the wall and end up floating zero-g in the door. If you were thinking "gravity pulls me in that direction", you'd go flying off wherever.

I don't think this is how it works. The basic lashing actually twists gravity pulling you somewhere else. What you've got here sounds more akin to a reverse lashing, giving something else it's own gravitational pull.

[ReaderAt2046]

I don't think this is how it works. The basic lashing actually twists gravity pulling you somewhere else. What you've got here sounds more akin to a reverse lashing, giving something else it's own gravitational pull.

I think Trizee was wondering if whether, when you pass through the door, the direction of the Lashing changes to match the direction of the wall.

[Windrunner]

It's still impossible though because that's not the way the basic lashing works. When he lashes himself "to" a wall, he's really just moving gravity's pull that direction. It's the same as when he lashed the block to the sky. So he'd fall right through that door, just as he'd fall through a trapdoor in the real world. I mentioned the reverse lashing because it's the best way to simulate the affect he seems to be describing.