Shadows of Self Tour

[ParadoxicalZen]

Should we do another compendium topic for questions?

[Argent]

I certainly plan on holding Brandon as long as I possibly can.

[Bort]

Argent, I can only support you holding Brandon if you intend to make him finish Oathbringer.

[Argent]

Only for questioning, I'm afraid.

[Oudeis]

[WayneSpren]

I am so stressed out. I want to ask Brandon:

 

Who painted the Battle of Twilight Falls? Was it a worldhopper or one of the Five Scholars?

 

Do I ask this when I go up for signings, or before when people from the crowd call out questions? I am so confused, and would really, really like to know soon, before I go insane.

[AndrewStirlingMacDonald]

That sounds like a good q & a question to me. Beware of giving him two choices though, he's like to find you the classic mathematician's answer: "yes."

[Oudeis]

Actually, I'll try to find it but I think he's answered that. It was just someone in the city; someone of the Third Heightening is close enough to Endowment, communed with the Shard while painting something specifically for a Returned, and was inspired to paint in such a way that it sparked a revelation in Lightsong. This sort of thing apparently happens occasionally. I will attempt to locate the relevant quote.

[luckat]

Actually, I'll try to find it but I think he's answered that. It was just someone in the city; someone of the Third Heightening is close enough to Endowment, communed with the Shard while painting something specifically for a Returned, and was inspired to paint in such a way that it sparked a revelation in Lightsong. This sort of thing apparently happens occasionally. I will attempt to locate the relevant quote.

This looks like it's his answer to that:

 

GORDON

The paintings (I think there were at least two, right?) that remind Lightsong of his dreams and the Manywar etc. Is the Artist someone we know? If not, will we eventually meet him/her in a later book? Does the artist hope to affect Lightsong this way, or is it just some guy giving abstract art to his God?

JARED

Is the artist that painted those paintings Hoid?

BRANDON SANDERSON (GOODREADS)

Hoid did not make the paintings. The goal of those paintings—and this is spoilery, by the way—the paintings are actually what the text implies that they are. They are abstract paintings which Lightsong, having a touch of the divine, is able to see and read into things that aren't necessarily there.

Beyond that, art is a magical thing in the world of Warbreaker. When an artist creates a work of art, part of the artist's soul ends up in the artwork. Someone who has many breaths and who's Returned like Lightsong has the inherent ability to see into the art and perceive that. So Lightsong can interpret correctly an abstract piece, based on what the artist is trying to convey, in a way that a normal person couldn't.

I was not trying to make the artists anyone specifically important. In the case of those paintings, they are wonderful artists — I think they are two separate artists, if I'm thinking of the two paintings that you're indicating. As Lightsong has a splinter of divine nature inside him, he is able to interpret the paintings—to foresee, using them, and to see into the soul of the person who made them.

source

[Oudeis]

That is a good quote which pretty well supports my argument but I do not believe it's the one I was thinking of... I feel like I've read a quote expressly stating that an artist with enough Breath will actually commune with Endowment, and that this is a means Endowment has to provide guidance to the Returned. I will try to find it.

[WayneSpren]

I repeat: do I ask my question when he signs my books, or when people ask general questions at the beginning?

[Kurkistan]

I repeat: do I ask my question when he signs my books, or when people ask general questions at the beginning?

 

There's nothing stopping you from asking your question during the general Q&A, but the sense I've gotten (not that I'm the most experienced signing-goer) is that the general Q&A is more for the "crowd friendly" questions that everyone, not just us crazy people, could appreciate the answer to. I know I'd feel a bit awkward if I stood up during the general Q&A and asked "Would Feruchemical gold or Allomantic aluminum be a more appropriate cure for someone withered by a shade?" or the like.

 

You can and should ask questions when he signs your books, so you'll not lack for the opportunity if you don't get a question in during the general Q&A.

[Argent]

The general Q&A should be spoiler-free. Yes, you can ask about juicy bits, but a) you'll probably get RAFO'd, and it's not cool. The general Q&A is for everyone, and as much as I would like to get as many answers out of Brandon as it physically possible, it's just not the right place. 

 

As Kurk points out, your turn in the signing & personalization line is your turn. It's your 1-2 minutes with (one of your) favorite author(s). Use it. Now, it may be the case that you have more interesting things to chat with Brandon about (I imagine if I were Brandon, I'd be more excited to hear a touching story involving my books than yet another question about Allomantic time bubbles), you can do that, for his sake, but either way it's your time to shine. 

 

And, of course, if you are an addict like I am, you can stay the entire duration of the event and ask Brandon if you can ask him the real juicy questions afterwards. I keep pushing me to tell me I am annoying him, but he keeps refusing to say so, so I keep staying after his signings to bother him. 

[Kurkistan]

...(I imagine if I were Brandon, I'd be more excited to hear a touching story involving my books than yet another question about Allomantic time bubbles)...

 

Them's fightin' words, Argent!!!  ( )

[Oudeis]

And, of course, if you are an addict like I am, you can stay the entire duration of the event and ask Brandon if you can ask him the real juicy questions afterwards. I keep pushing me to tell me I am annoying him, but he keeps refusing to say so, so I keep staying after his signings to bother him. 

 

I was lucky enough to attend a shockingly sparsely attended and quick event once, and while he did have somewhere to go so we didn't just recline in leather chairs sipping brandy, he did hang out with us for a bit. We were all a little too shy to grill him on details, but he did answer additional questions for us. Well, he RAFO'd most of them, but kind-of answered.

[little wilson]

So tonight at the midnight release, I purchased both Shadows and the 10th Anniversary Edition of Elantris there and got him to personalize both, answering questions. Elantris' is a spoiler for that edition, so I'm not going to put that here. Since I couldn't think of a good Scadrial question to ask with Shadows, I asked a Nalthis question instead: "Is Endowment male or female?" since we didn't have firm confirmation on that, though I think everyone figured Endowment was female.

 

 

Question: Is Endowment male or female?

Answer: Endowment is female.

 

So that's finally canon.

Edited October 22, 2017 by little wilson
Updated picture

[WayneSpren]

Changing my question to "can Shardblades cut Aluminum?"

[Argent]

Changing my question to "can Shardblades cut Aluminum?"

 

Been asked, I think.

 

@wilson, thank you for the Endowment confirmation. You know how irritating this particular bit of missing knowledge has been.

 

@Kurk, I have chosen you for my arch-nemesis on the forums. Sorry*. 

 

* This is not a sincere apology, I would never apologize to my arch-nemesis.

[ParadoxicalZen]

So tonight at the midnight release, I purchased both Shadows and the 10th Anniversary Edition of Elantris there and got him to personalize both, answering questions. Elantris' is a spoiler for that edition, so I'm not going to put that here. Since I couldn't think of a good Scadrial question to ask with Shadows, I asked a Nalthis question instead: "Is Endowment male or female?" since we didn't have firm confirmation on that, though I think everyone figured Endowment was female.

 

 

So that's finally canon.

 

Storms, there sorta goes one of my theories

 

I have no idea which questions i'm going to ask

Edited October 6, 2015 by ParadoxSpren

[Shardbearer]

The image isn't loading for me. What's the answer?

[ParadoxicalZen]

The image isn't loading for me. What's the answer?

 

female

[Nethseäar]

Here are 3 questions I got answered at the BYU Midnight Release (I was uncertain where to post them).
 

Unfortunately, I was very tired by the time I asked them, and didn't get a recording or written record. So, I will be paraphrasing Brandon's answers. Perhaps these questions and the paraphrased responses will inspire further, more scientific questions, asked by people with more scientific rigor than I.

Q - Could an Allomancer or Feruchemist Burn or Feruchemically Fill molten metal? Would that affect the Investiture?
A - Something to the effect that it would be very painful and damaging, but yes, one could Burn and Fill molten metal, and yes, it would affect the Investiture.

 

Q - Do Highstorms manifest in Shadesmar? If so, how? A giant wall of glass beads?
A - Yes, they do manifest in Shadesmar. You will need to read to find out how.

Q - If one used Hemalurgy to give a fallen Elantrian Feruchemic gold, would they be able to Fill health?
A - (pondered for an extended period of time) No, they would not be able to Fill health.

[here I asked whether a huge reserve would appear if they had been trying to Fill health while fallen and then were restored] No, it would not stack and then suddenly appear once they were restored.

[here I began to feel I was slowing the line too much, and was trying to let Brandon move on, but the question interested him enough that he went on. The following is extremely paraphrased and my remembrance (written not too long afterward) might be affected by my tired, overwhelmed mind:] Hemalurgic spikes would do very strange things to Elantrians. You could get more from an Elantrian with a Hemalurgic spike than from most other people.

[ParadoxicalZen]

[here I began to feel I was slowing the line too much, and was trying to let Brandon move on, but the question interested him enough that he went on. The following is extremely paraphrased and my remembrance (written not too long afterward) might be affected by my tired, overwhelmed mind:] Hemalurgic spikes would do very strange things to Elantrians. You could get more from an Elantrian with a Hemalurgic spike than from most other people.

 

I believe this most likely due to the Dor permeating most of their bodies

[Argent]

Hmm. I am kind of @ParadoxSpren on this, but for different reasons. If I were to guess, I'd say that when a person is taken by the Shaod, the Dor changes a lot more of their Spiritweb than, say, when a person Snaps and becomes an Allomancer. After all, Elantrians change more than Allomancers (or Radiants for that matter). There are... passive effects to becoming an Elantrian. 

 

To use an example from (magical) biology, let's see humans have 100,000 genes each. Snapping adds, for the sake of argument, 2 more, each one encoding for a Spiritweb trait responsible for whether the person can perform Allomancy. Being changed by the Shaod would, in this example, add... I don't know, a dozen, a hundred, a thousand? More than two in any way. Those genes would then encode for things metallic skin, glow, prolonged lifespan, the ability to draw Aons, any other perks Elantrians get. Surgebinders would probably be in the same boat as Allomancers - a gene per Surge, maybe one for inhaling Stormlight, but that's it.

 

I guess it all comes down to how the upgrade to your Spiritweb works. It looks like for Surgebinders, Awakeners, and practitioners of the Metallic Arts it's a one time change, a switch. One day you are a regular human, then something happens, and then you can do magic. For Elantrians it's a continuous thing. Yes, there is a one-time change (the Shaod), but they need continuous access to the Dor through Elantris. If this supply disappears or changes strength, they change with it - as seen during the Reod. Makes me wonder how adding giant modifiers to Elantris' Aon Rao would affect the Elantrians...

 

So yeah, this makes sense to me.

Edited October 7, 2015 by Argent

[ParadoxicalZen]

Hmm. I am kind of @ParadoxSpren on this, but for different reasons. If I were to guess, I'd say that when a person is taken by the Shaod, the Dor changes a lot more of their Spiritweb than, say, when a person Snaps and becomes an Allomancer. After all, Elantrians change more than Allomancers (or Radiants for that matter). There are... passive effects to becoming an Elantrian. 

 

To use an example from (magical) biology, let's see humans have 100,000 genes each. Snapping adds, for the sake of argument, 2 more, each one encoding for a Spiritweb trait responsible for whether the person can perform Allomancy. Being changed by the Shaod would, in this example, add... I don't know, a dozen, a hundred, a thousand? More than two in any way. Those genes would then encode for things metallic skin, glow, prolonged lifespan, the ability to draw Aons, any other perks Elantrians get. Surgebinders would probably be in the same boat as Allomancers - a gene per Surge, maybe one for inhaling Stormlight, but that's it.

 

I guess it all comes down to how the upgrade to your Spiritweb works. It looks like for Surgebinders, Awakeners, and practitioners of the Metallic Arts it's a one time change, a switch. One day you are a regular human, then something happens, and then you can do magic. For Elantrians it's a continuous thing. Yes, there is a one-time change (the Shaod), but they need continuous access to the Dor through Elantris. If this supply disappears or changes strength, they change with it - as seen during the Reod. Makes me wonder how adding giant modifiers to Elantris' Aon Rao would affect the Elantrians...

 

So yeah, this makes sense to me.

 

I just meant that the Elantrians are likely the most invested magic users we've seen, at least visibly, (one could argue the Returned) as not only has their whole body changed but they also have direct access to a large portion of investiture....but we can just go with your intepretation :B 

Edited October 7, 2015 by ParadoxSpren