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The Ultimate List of Questions for Brandon


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Didn't you guys post a call for questions on Facebook like two days ago? Are we not sitting on a giant pile of questions? This has been looked into, right?

GO GO GO!!!

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That was because Brandon was going to Scalzi's signing in Salt Lake, so Josh decided to stalk him. Unfortunately, Josh told me that Brandon was in a hurry to go eat with them, so he had no time to answer questions.

By the way, I am aware of the giant list of questions. I have my replies all ready to go, but I have yet to put them in the topic. Sorry for being slow.

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Why do Returned need to sleep?

It seems clear that they do, and on a regular basis - Lightsong's dreams and all the scenes in Susebron's bedchamber give that away. It just doesn't seem like they actually need to sleep, however.

Biologically, humans need sleep to let the body rest, among other theories. However, Returned don't need that - their Breath sustains them, and their body changes according to how they view themselves. They are immune to disease, so the theory of resting to let the immune system fight off infection gets nipped in the bud there.

Does Nightblood need to sleep? If so, why? He is essentially a man-made Returned (sort of), and isn't even close to human form, so there would be even less reason for him to sleep.

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Why do Returned need to sleep?

It seems clear that they do, and on a regular basis - Lightsong's dreams and all the scenes in Susebron's bedchamber give that away. It just doesn't seem like they actually need to sleep, however.

Biologically, humans need sleep to let the body rest, among other theories. However, Returned don't need that - their Breath sustains them, and their body changes according to how they view themselves. They are immune to disease, so the theory of resting to let the immune system fight off infection gets nipped in the bud there.

Does Nightblood need to sleep? If so, why? He is essentially a man-made Returned (sort of), and isn't even close to human form, so there would be even less reason for him to sleep.

I'd say the Returned sleeping is psychological in nature most probably.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I've got a question or two-

When non-god metals are burned Allomantically, what happens to the metals? Are they crushed into tiny specks? Is all that matter converted into energy? And how about God metals?

Is Endowment male or female?

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I've got a question or two-

When non-god metals are burned Allomantically, what happens to the metals? Are they crushed into tiny specks? Is all that matter converted into energy? And how about God metals?

Is Endowment male or female?

1. We don't know for sure, but I think that it is not matter-energy in the way that we of the 21st century would think about it (first off, mistborn get nowhere near the amount of power they should if it was e=mc2). I suspect that it is a transformation from the physical realm to the spiritual realm, fueling the powers of the spiritual.

2. God metals are tricky. Lerasium was never one of the 16 allomantic metals. Atium became one of the 16 (and therefore perhaps was constrained by similar rules). Atium, at least, seemed to transform from the Physical realm into both the Cognitive and Spiritual Realms (The magical effect of seeing the near-future, and the increased mental capacity to handle this new info). It then went back to the Pits of Hathsin to grow back slowly over hundreds of years, transforming back into the Physical Realm (did this have any side effects on the Cognitive or Spiritual Realms?). Lerasium, as a true God metal, seems to modify the user's sDNA to make them an allomancer, but we clearly don't know enough about it.

3. RAFO, I'm sure, though I've always imagined Endowment as female.

Fell

EDIT: I only remembered what thread we were in after posting. I can move this discussion to a separate thread if desired.

Edited by FellKnight
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  • 3 weeks later...

Another question (I swear half of these are mine) ;) .

A few years ago, you talked about making a 10th anniversery edition of Elantris, revised and updated. What sort of things would you revise? Would it include Raoden putting the Chasm line in Kae instead of Elantris?

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1. We don't know for sure, but I think that it is not matter-energy in the way that we of the 21st century would think about it (first off, mistborn get nowhere near the amount of power they should if it was e=mc2). I suspect that it is a transformation from the physical realm to the spiritual realm, fueling the powers of the spiritual.

2. God metals are tricky. Lerasium was never one of the 16 allomantic metals. Atium became one of the 16 (and therefore perhaps was constrained by similar rules). Atium, at least, seemed to transform from the Physical realm into both the Cognitive and Spiritual Realms (The magical effect of seeing the near-future, and the increased mental capacity to handle this new info). It then went back to the Pits of Hathsin to grow back slowly over hundreds of years, transforming back into the Physical Realm (did this have any side effects on the Cognitive or Spiritual Realms?). Lerasium, as a true God metal, seems to modify the user's sDNA to make them an allomancer, but we clearly don't know enough about it.

3. RAFO, I'm sure, though I've always imagined Endowment as female.

Fell

EDIT: I only remembered what thread we were in after posting. I can move this discussion to a separate thread if desired.

Good questions regarding Atium.

About Lerasium though. I believe i read in an interview that if it was mixed in correct alloys that it could created a specific misting, rather than a full mistborn. Not sure why you'd want that, but he seemed to hint it would com into play in upcoming books set in Scadrial

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Good questions regarding Atium.

About Lerasium though. I believe i read in an interview that if it was mixed in correct alloys that it could created a specific misting, rather than a full mistborn. Not sure why you'd want that, but he seemed to hint it would com into play in upcoming books set in Scadrial

Yes, you're right about the interview. What I meant was that we don't really know what Lerasium does on a Realmatic level to make any comparisons to my theories on how Atium works.

Fell

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I really need to get faster at updating this. Really, really badly. But luckily for you, I'm on a graveyard and I needed some work to do. So let's get started!

3) Does Shardplate interfere with Szeth's Windrunning because he isn't a Knight Radiant or is there some other reason?

It’s been said that Mistborn couldn’t Push on Shardblades since they are Invested objects. So naturally it’s been assumed that Szeth can Lash on Shardplate for a similar reason. As such, I’m not going to put this on the list, but I could if you still want.

Is there a limit to the amount of power that can be stored in a metalmind and, if so, is this limit related to the physical size of the metalmind, the abilities of the Feruchemist, something else entirely, or a combination of these factors?

It was always my impression that the amount of metal mattered. After all, Sazed’s rings could only hold so much charge. I see no reason why this idea wouldn’t scale up. But I’m still going to ask this question, because we don’t know the extent of “strength” in Feruchemy, you know? Stronger Allomancers flare higher, but what about Feruchemists? Great question.

1) I want to clarify the Odium question. Odium is obviously one of the shards on Roshar, but were there always three, except for the time when he left. Originally when Roshar was formed, was he there?

2) Could Hoid or any other world jumper pick up different powers on one world and use them on another? For example, could Hoid have gotten Breaths on Nalthis and used them on Roshar? (I also rephrased this one)

Okay, now that I understand what you’re saying, these are great questions. Zas, I liked your description about Hoid picking up magics, and for the most part I agree. Now I’m just wondering what Brandon would say to question #2 here.

Odium is obviously one of the shards on Roshar, but were there always three, except for the time when he left. Originally when Roshar was formed, was he there?

In the Ancient Q&A topic, it was said:

13. How many Shards have existed on Roshar?

ANSWER: Three

So I consider this case closed. The answer was paraphrased from Brandon, but Josh and Mi’ch did read my questions explicitly. My phrasing rules out any other possibility.

New question, I know we've always assumed that it is but is the Shard Odium held by Rayse?

In the Cosmere 101 topic, I said that I believe Rayse is Odium. I think the applicable quote was that in Kaladin’s vision, it was said that Odium is the most dangerous of the sixteen. The letter says that Rayse holds the most dangerous Shard. Thus, Rayse must hold Odium. I think that’s a pretty safe assumption.

But, it goes on the list, because I think this can be a good question to explicitly ask, so there’s no additional debate. Unless any of you can find an explicit time Brandon said this, it’s going up.

I've got an interesting question. What would happen if a Kandra injested and burned Lerasium? (I would ask about Koloss, except you've said their nature has been changed). Especially since they require Hemalurgy to have sentience.

Corrected spelling and capitalization (lerasium is not capitalized) but this is an amazing question.

Is Endowment male or female?

This question is a subset of a long question we have on Shard genders, so I’m omitting this one.

So, in review, these are the questions that I’ve compiled here:

Is Szeth's Oathstone a fabrial?

Is there a spren inside Szeth’s Oathstone?

Does Szeth get his Windrunning abilities from/because of a fabrial?

Is Eshonai the name of the Parshendi Shardbearer Dalinar fights?

If an Elantrian tattooed another Elantrian with the Aon Rao, would the Elantrian with the tattoo be of equal power, no matter where he went, to Elantrians close to the city of Elantris?

What constitute foci for magics on Sel, and how difficult are they to create?

Are the Dahkor magics powered by the Dor?

Are Shallan's "Memories" a form of surgebinding?

Are the Worldsingers an order of Radiants?

Does the person being pierced in order to charge a Hemalurgic spike have to die?

Is there a limit to the amount of power that can be stored in a metalmind and, if so, is this limit related to the physical size of the metalmind, the abilities of the Feruchemist, something else entirely, or a combination of these factors?

Could Hoid or any other world jumper pick up different powers on one world and use them on another? For example, could Hoid have gotten Breaths on Nalthis and used them on Roshar?

Can Hemalurgy steal ANY spiritual DNA? Does it require using non-allomantic metals?

Does Rayse hold Odium? Status: Implied in text, but can use confirmation

Could Nightblood stop a Shardblade?

Do you prefer "foci" or "focuses" as the plural of focus?

What is the schedule for annotations? We knew it used to be a biweekly thing, but it seems to have lessened. Also, with the rush to write WoK, did you end up writing annotations for it? When will we see those?

What would happen if a Kandra ingested and burned lerasium? (I would ask about Koloss, except you've said their nature has been changed). Especially since they require Hemalurgy to have sentience.

What do the symbols on your website mean?

Why do Returned need to sleep?

Does Nightblood need to sleep? If so, why?

When non-god metals are burned Allomantically, what happens to the metals? Are they crushed into tiny specks? Is all that matter converted into energy? And how about God metals?

A few years ago, you talked about making a 10th anniversery edition of Elantris, revised and updated. What sort of things would you revise? Would it include Raoden putting the Chasm line in Kae instead of Elantris?

I am also going to add some of mine because I can’t resist. I’d add more, but my brain is tired.

Feruchemy is the “balance” between Ruin and Preservation. Would any combination of Shards create a “balance” magic, so to speak, or are only certain Shards compatible?

What makes certain Shards share certain foci?

Do the Shards on Roshar share a common focus?

Has Cultivation gone to the planet of Silence Divine?

I’m avoiding Alloy of Law questions, because who knows what the rest of the book will reveal?

So I’ve added those questions, and I’ve inputted answers in for other questions. I’m going to try and do a format where we, you know, actually link to where the answer happened, rather than just making stuff up. I think working on the wiki, and thinking about how to cite sources properly, has rubbed off on me.

Also, I really need to create subcategories. These topics are getting rather beefy.

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It’s been said that Mistborn couldn’t Push on Shardblades since they are Invested objects. So naturally it’s been assumed that Szeth can Lash on Shardplate for a similar reason. As such, I’m not going to put this on the list, but I could if you still want.

I think the problem isn't "why cannot he lash a Plate?" but "why (in his opinion, at least) couldn't he lash while using a Plate?"... Windrunners could.

It's said that the lashing would interfere with the gemstones powering the Plate. Maybe it's because now Plates are different.

About lashing the Plate I agree with your explanation.

Is it allowed to add questions for you to ask in this topic, or there is a quota or something?

Edited by eri
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I think the problem isn't "why cannot he lash a Plate?" but "why (in his opinion, at least) couldn't he lash while using a Plate?"... Windrunners could.

It's said that the lashing would interfere with the gemstones powering the Plate. Maybe it's because now Plates are different.

About lashing the Plate I agree with your explanation.

Is it allowed to add questions for you to ask in this topic, or there is a quota or something?

Oh. Yeah, you may be right. I'll check later tonight when I'm more conscious.

There isn't a quota. We're trying to make the biggest and most comprehensive list of questions for people to draw upon, so post them all! Worst that happens is I reject some.

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Oh, right you have night now. Weird things, timezones. :)

OK, here they go:

General:

  • In Mistborn, all magic systems seem to have the same focus (metal). Is it so for every planet? Ie all magic used on Sel has the same or very similar focus etc.?
  • Does every Shard (or planet) have a number attached to it? Preservation, or Scadrial as whole has 16 and Honor / Roshar has 10. Is it a heneral rule? If every Shard has a number - do these numbers range from 1 to 16, making Shards a numbered list? ;) (This would be cool, because we could add Hoid as number 0... ;) )

WoK (long and unsorted list):

  • Does the Roshar year (defined by Weepings) have anything to do with planet orbiting the star (the astronomical year)?
  • In those weird, random seasons - only temperature and weather changes, or does length of day change too?
  • Is there a significant difference between black-red Parshendi and white-red ones (except their color)?
  • Do parshen have kids (I find this hard to imagine), or they just spawn somehow?
  • Do Parshendi have gemhearts (in the way as chasmfiends have them, not as Alethi highprinces --- I mean inside their bodies, not in their treasury ;) )?
  • Are spren less common/less active during the Weeping?
  • Two questions that are sure to not get RAFO'ed ;) : How do you pronounce Szeth's name? Is Jasnah's name taken from Polish or similar language ("jasna" means "bright (female)" in Polish, but the "j" is pronounced like English "y"), or just a coincidence?
  • Probably RAFO, but why does Nalan's (I mean the guy in the hood, suppose it's Nalan) portrait in a chapter's heading mean "someone will suffer terribly in this chapter"? Why not Talanel - he's the betrayed one, after all?
  • Is Jezren a Sliver?
  • Did Gavilar get the mysterious sphere from Jasnah?
  • Is the Deathbend River also named after an order of Knights Radiant?
  • When did Szeth start learning to fight? (possibly wrong grammar / tense here, I'm not sure)
  • This one is probably more a question to you (people on the forum understanding English better than me): does parsh-races "marbled skin" mean that they have red stripes on black, like marble; or more something like... well... a cow. Or a Dalmatian(sp?) dog...
  • edit: How many Heralds + ex-Heralds have we seen in WoK (personally, not pictures, sculptures, anecdotes etc.)?
  • And could you ask him about the symmetry in surge pictures - is it a purposeful or not? I just can't stop wandering. I don't know how to phrase it into one short question.

Edited by eri
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[*]Probably RAFO, but why does Nalan's (I mean the guy in the hood, suppose it's Nalan) portrait in a chapter's heading mean "someone will suffer terribly in this chapter"? Why not Talanel - he's the betrayed one, after all?

Do you have a list of what the figures in the chapter headings mean?? I was rather sure that we had gotten a big RAFO on what they all mean.

Fell

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Oh, right you have night now. Weird things, timezones. :)

OK, here they go:

General:

  • In Mistborn, all magic systems seem to have the same focus (metal). Is it so for every planet? Ie all magic used on Sel has the same or very similar focus etc.?
  • Does every Shard (or planet) have a number attached to it? Preservation, or Scadrial as whole has 16 and Honor / Roshar has 10. Is it a heneral rule? If every Shard has a number - do these numbers range from 1 to 16, making Shards a numbered list? ;) (This would be cool, because we could add Hoid as number 0... ;) )

WoK (long and unsorted list):

  • Does the Roshar year (defined by Weepings) have anything to do with planet orbiting the star (the astronomical year)?
  • In those weird, random seasons - only temperature and weather changes, or does length of day change too?
  • Is there a significant difference between black-red Parshendi and white-red ones (except their color)?
  • Do parshen have kids (I find this hard to imagine), or they just spawn somehow?
  • Do Parshendi have gemhearts (in the way as chasmfiends have them, not as Alethi highprinces --- I mean inside their bodies, not in their treasury ;) )?
  • Are spren less common/less active during the Weeping?
  • Two questions that are sure to not get RAFO'ed ;) : How do you pronounce Szeth's name? Is Jasnah's name taken from Polish or similar language ("jasna" means "bright (female)" in Polish, but the "j" is pronounced like English "y"), or just a coincidence?
  • Probably RAFO, but why does Nalan's (I mean the guy in the hood, suppose it's Nalan) portrait in a chapter's heading mean "someone will suffer terribly in this chapter"? Why not Talanel - he's the betrayed one, after all?
  • Is Jezren a Sliver?
  • Did Gavilar get the mysterious sphere from Jasnah?
  • Is the Deathbend River also named after an order of Knights Radiant?
  • When did Szeth start learning to fight? (possibly wrong grammar / tense here, I'm not sure)
  • This one is probably more a question to you (people on the forum understanding English better than me): does parsh-races "marbled skin" mean that they have red stripes on black, like marble; or more something like... well... a cow. Or a Dalmatian(sp?) dog...
  • edit: How many Heralds + ex-Heralds have we seen in WoK (personally, not pictures, sculptures, anecdotes etc.)?
  • And could you ask him about the symmetry in surge pictures - is it a purposeful or not? I just can't stop wandering. I don't know how to phrase it into one short question.

I'm going to take a shot at answering some of your questions, and someone please correct me if I get any details wrong. I am numbering your questions 1-17 to make it easier.

2. Brandon as said that the numbers 10 and 16 are important to the cosmere, and how it works. I very much doubt that the numbers have anything to do with a Shard/Planet numbering system. We will have to RAFO on the reasons why these numbers are so important.

9. The audiobook pronounces his name "Seth". I expect that Brandon gave his input on how the names should be pronounced.

15. I have pictured "marbled skin" as similar to cows, but I could be wrong about that.

You have some very interesting questions eri. I'm glad you joined our group :)

I am in the process of doing a re-read and re-listen, and I am compiling a big list of questions. Apologies in advance for when I post them all at once! ;)

Fell

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Nope, but this guy in a hood is obvious imho, I've noticed it during first reading. And later found out that he's (probably?) Nalan. Which didn't explain anything.

I know we got a RAFO on what they all mean, I just wanted to ask about one of them. And not "what" but "why". I think this "what" I have guessed quite correct. Or part of it, at least.

I have no idea what do the others mean except for one observation: whenever one of the Heralds (or Hoid) appears in a chapter (including Hoid being sought by Selians and Jez appearing as a face in the storm) we have his face in that chapter's heading (often with some other one).

edit: Ninja'd. Thanks for your answers.

Seth sounds nice. Sounds Hungarian ("sz" as "s"), I wonder if he's named after a word too.

BS said 10 is important to the Cosmere (not only Roshar)? I must have missed that.

I also prefer the cow version of parshmen, but I'm not sure if it's correct.

Edited by eri
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In a recent interview released by Fantasy Faction, you were asked about the main viewpoint characters for the series and whether we had seen them all yet.

http://fantasy-faction.com/2011/brandon-sanderson-interview (At around the 7:40 mark for the first video)

At the end of your list, after saying that you thought we had met them all, you said "and of course Wit." Does that mean Wit/Hoid is going to be a viewpoint character?

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In a recent interview released by Fantasy Faction, you were asked about the main viewpoint characters for the series and whether we had seen them all yet.

http://fantasy-faction.com/2011/brandon-sanderson-interview (At around the 7:40 mark for the first video)

At the end of your list, after saying that you thought we had met them all, you said "and of course Wit." Does that mean Wit/Hoid is going to be a viewpoint character?

A partial answer to this:

Wit has already been a viewpoint character. We see his viewpoint in the epilogue.

As for whether or not we'll see him in a more major capacity, I'm not sure, but I wouldn't be surprised.

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