2016-11-30 [Arcanum Unbounded] Borderlands - San Francisco, CA

[emailanimal]

1 hour ago, Weltall said:

and, for example, Hoid wouldn't find himself suddenly losing perfect pitch as a function of time.

Not that we didn't know it before, but has there been a prior direct confirmation of Hoid's source of perfect pitch?

[emailanimal]

7 hours ago, Necarion said:

Q: What happened to Vivenna?
B: This will be answered very soon

A cameo to look forward to in Oathbringer

Edited December 1, 2016 by emailanimal

[PallonianFire]

7 minutes ago, Necarion said:

Necarion: Could a double-nicrosil Twinborn compound Breath or Stormlight?
Brandon: Uh, you’re getting a RAFO card on _that_. You’re getting SUCH a RAFO card on that!

Reference to the protag. for Era 3, perhaps? 

[ccstat]

Wow, a lot of great questions and answers from this signing. Good work, all! I had started this post by quoting half a dozen of the answers to comment on, but my comments were basically "Wow, that's cool!" every time, so I'll hold off on most of those until I have something useful to add. I am especially excited about those time bubble questions.

@Herald,Thanks for asking the numerology questions! I'm surprised that the source of the number-centrism was a "Big RAFO", but the Greater Roshar answer was good to get. Looks like someone has already started a topic on it.

6 hours ago, Weltall said:

Hoid is looking forward to instant noodles but they aren't Yolenese and he knows about them via the same method that he knows where he needs to be in the Cosmere.

This is actually really interesting to me. It suggests that there is a lot more visible in this future sight than simply "This place and time is important", which is how I'd been thinking of it before. It sounds like there is substantially more going on.

I'm disappointed the question about Nazh's knife got RAFO'd. I was hoping for some confirmation one way or the other.

[Yata]

6 hours ago, Weltall said:

- I asked if Nazh's knife didn't glow to Kelsier's eyes because the metal wasn't from Scadrial generally or whether it was a metal with some particular property. I didn't even get to finish the second half of that before he got that smile and I knew what was coming next. Sure enough, I collected a shiny RAFO card. Incidentally, is that a recent thing? Because the last signing I went to was a bit over a year ago and he didn't have those then.

This quite surprised me...I thought that the Knife didn't glow simply because it was actually in the Cognitive Realm as any other metal object on Khriss, Nazh or Hoid.

[Argent]

5 hours ago, Necarion said:

Q: What happened to Vivenna?
B: This will be answered very soon

To me this is as good as a confirmation that she is (mentioned) in Oathbringer.

 

5 hours ago, Necarion said:

Necarion: Could a double-nicrosil Twinborn compound Breath or Stormlight?
Brandon: Uh, you’re getting a RAFO card on _that_. You’re getting SUCH a RAFO card on that!

Huh. I wouldn't have thought this to be such a big RAFO.

5 hours ago, Necarion said:

Necarion: The compounding trick that the Lord Ruler performed. When you’re storing investiture, are you storing your ‘mistborn-ness’ or all the powers individually?
Brandon: All of the powers individually

Ah, I think I got RAFO'd on that one some time ago. Good to know!

Great questions all around though! I usually pride myself at getting a lot of information at the Chicago signings, but I think you guys are going to make me work for it...

Edited December 1, 2016 by Argent

[lookingglass]

1 hour ago, Argent said:

To me this is as good as a confirmation that she is (mentioned) in Oathbringer.

Or we're getting Warbreaker 2 (Nightblood?) soon? It could come out as a surprise like Mistborn: Secret History?

[Argent]

49 minutes ago, lookingglass said:

Or we're getting Warbreaker 2 (Nightblood?) soon? It could come out as a surprise like Mistborn: Secret History?

Every time Brandon has mentioned Nightblood, he has said it will be a long time. So I wouldn't hold my breath.

[Jazzy Kandra]

9 hours ago, Necarion said:

Q: Is Lift going to be in the next book?
Brandon: Yes 
Q: Yay!

More awesomeness. Literally. xD

Quote

Q: What happened to Vivenna?
B: This will be answered very soon

Why do I find this far more troubling than reassuring? I guess it means Zahel either talks about her in vague terms, and/or we'll get more from his P.O.V. I really doubt we'll see Viv though, but you never know...as it would be relatively easy for her to be around still (either through acquisition of enough Breath or the strange techniques that other, non-immortal worldhoppers use...)

Quote

Necarion: The compounding trick that the Lord Ruler performed. When you’re storing investiture, are you storing your ‘mistborn-ness’ or all the powers individually?
Brandon: All of the powers individually
Necarion: [Surprised, because this dashed a favorite theory of mine] Oh okay!
Brandon: Yeah, the compounding trick. Really what’s happening is you’re fueling feruchemy with the power of allomancy, but you’re filtering it through you, and then you’re storing it.
Necarion: So it’s not that you’re a more powerful mistborn when you’ve tapped [investiture]
Brandon: No, good question.

That fits how my weird brain understands Identity...nice.

Edited December 1, 2016 by Kandra-in-disguise

[Necarion]

4 hours ago, Argent said:

Re: RAFO on compounding

Huh. I wouldn't have thought this to be such a big RAFO.

I feel like this might be the most significant question for non-ascended magic uses in the Cosmere.  For example, having a large number of Breaths enables some impressive uses of investiture (see: Nightblood) but Breath is fundamentally a limited resources.  But if you can put a Breath into a nicrosil mind and then burn that nicrosil mind to get 2 or more Breaths out, suddenly the entire economic calculus of Nalthis changes. Preservation is a much stronger source of raw energy than Endowment, and even so, compounded Allomancy and Feruchemy is orders of magnitude more spectacular than raw Allomancy or Feruchemy. 

[maxal]

16 hours ago, Herald said:

4. Do Ym, Stump belong to Edgedancer? Will we see Stump again in the future?
A. Ym is not an Edgedancer. You will see Stump in the future novels though you may not see Tashikki much again.

Oh great. Thank you for asking. So, he said Ym wasn't an Edgedancer, but he didn't flat out say he was a Truthwatch, though it seems to be the implication. Anyone has further thoughts on this? This has been a nagging RAFO for so long and several of us have ask the question over and over again... Can anyone foresee why Brandon might have want to keep this one a secret for so long?

Thoughts?

[WeiryWriter]

So ailavyn-siniyashi over on tumblr posted the following the report:

Quote

I actually wrote myself out a script beforehand because otherwise I knew I’d forget what I wanted to say, it reads:
The fact that Vorinism was partially inspired by Judaism and Jewish mysticism means a ton to me, a Jew. So that you so much for that! It’s not often that my people get fantasy representation other than, like, dwarves, and that’s all stereotypes. On that note, could you please elaborate on some of the specific influences Judaism had on Vorinism?

This is definitely not an exact transcription, and he expanded a lot on most of these, but he listed 

*numerology
*the Double Eye of the Almighty is inspired by the Sephirot
*the names/phonology are very Hebrew, and he cited the fact that Kholin is pronounced properly with the Hebrew ch/kh sound (at which point I interjected to ask whether Kholin was deliberately similar to kohen/Cohen and I got a resounding yes, so congratulations me)

And then he pretty much said that he was going to stop talking now because otherwise he would not stop

During the signing line, though, he recognized me as the excited Jew in the grey sweater, and he gave me a few more examples! (also, like four different people came by and complimented me on my question and they were probably all Jews, but that’s neither here not there)

*most notably, he said that the Vorin outlook on the afterlife is very Jewish, the whole what you do while you’re alive is what matters, the afterlife is less important, just do your best to live in accordance with the Ten Names of the Almighty
*and tying into that, he mentioned that Journey Before Destination is, in that sense, very Jewish! which I totally agree with!
*then he talked about the influence that the laws of Shabbat (well, he said the Sabbath, but like,) had on the rules in Shadows for Silence, most notably the law against making a fire (it’s work!) and also he mentioned the eruv, the line that serves as a symbolic extension of the home on Shabbat (though, it’s been ages since I’ve read Shadows, so I can’t quite place where it ties in)

 

[emailanimal]

1 hour ago, maxal said:

Thoughts?

Truthwatcher.

[skaa]

So, I guess Wyndle couldn't bond Ym because some other spren got to him first. Makes me wonder if there are other characters that multiple spren have been racing to get at.

[maxal]

Just now, Ookla the Insipid said:

So, I guess Wyndle couldn't bond Ym because some other spren got to him first. Makes me wonder if there are other characters that multiple spren have been racing to get at.

But it seems like such a stretch... What were the odds of this happening? 

[DSC01]

7 minutes ago, maxal said:

But it seems like such a stretch... What were the odds of this happening? 

Not necessarily. There is probably an overlap in the characteristics that the various types of spren are looking for in their Knights, and those with coinciding interests might actually associate with each other a lot. In fact, we don't know that the Ring is full of cultivationspren. It could well be that they're a council consisting of several types of closely related spren, and the decision to send Wyndle to Lift instead of Ym was as much because they thought that Ym made a better Truthwatcher as it was that they thought Wyndle should go to Lift.

Of course, it is also possible that Brandon was messing with us when he said that Ym is not an Edgedancer. Maybe he was an Edgedancer, but is now no kind of Radiant at all because he's dead. I think that's less likely, but who knows?

[maxal]

Just now, DSC01 said:

Not necessarily. There is probably an overlap in the characteristics that the various types of spren are looking for in their Knights, and those with coinciding interests might actually associate with each other a lot. In fact, we don't know that the Ring is full of cultivationspren. It could well be that they're a council consisting of several types of closely related spren, and the decision to send Wyndle to Lift instead of Ym was as much because they thought that Ym made a better Truthwatcher as it was that they thought Wyndle should go to Lift.

Of course, it is also possible that Brandon was messing with us when he said that Ym is not an Edgedancer. Maybe he was an Edgedancer, but is now no kind of Radiant at all because he's dead. I think that's less likely, but who knows?

I just wonder about the coincidence of having sprens from two different orders investigating the same individual. I mean, there are what, a handful of sprens getting ready to bond humans again. How could it be, among this very small sample, two would focus on an elderly man living in a remote location? If he were at the forefront of events, like the Kholins, it would make sense, but him? It just seems too much of a stretch.

This being said, I like the idea the council is composed of members from several orders: then it would make more sense.

I'd rather Brandon is not messing up with us... The whole secrecy around Ym seems rather pointless... I wish I knew why Brandon refused to partake this information before. Why is it relevant?

[DSC01]

@maxal Yes, it probably only makes sense if the spren are talking to each other about potential Radiants. On the other hand, it could be that there are very specific personality traits that they are looking for. As outside observers, we think, Oh, they look for people who strive to help the downtrodden, but in their eyes, they are looking for people who experience a very particular feeling and think along very specific lines when they feel the urge to help the downtrodden. In that case, there might only be a handful of living people who fit the qualifications, and the coincidence isn't odd at all. Being that they are primarily Cognitive beings, they probably are sensitive to the way people think in the same way that humans are sensitive to how people look.

What if you were able to search through everyone in the world and find all the people who seem to look exactly like another--how many would belong to each group of dead-ringer lookalikes? Probably very few, depending on how exactly you demanded that they match each other's looks. Similarly, a particular pattern of thought or specific way of feeling an emotion may be that unique, where only a relative handful of individuals fits the qualifications.

[emailanimal]

6 hours ago, maxal said:

What were the odds of this happening?

There is a distinct societal deficit on bondable humans. 

@DSC01:

Quote

Of course, it is also possible that Brandon was messing with us when he said that Ym is not an Edgedancer. Maybe he was an Edgedancer, but is now no kind of Radiant at all because he's dead. I think that's less likely, but who knows?

.  "Ym is not Edgedancer.... 'E's not pinin', E's' passed on. He is no more. He has ceased to be. Expired and gone to meet his maker. Bereft of life. Off the twig, shuffled off his mortal coil. Kicked the bucket! He is an EX-EDEGEDANCER!" .

(with apologies to Monty Python).

This is a particularly cruel way for Brandon to split hairs in the face of communal interest. Given that he's been much more forthcoming with these sorts of tidbits as of recent, I hope this is not what he was doing.

 

Edited December 2, 2016 by emailanimal

[Yata]

10 hours ago, maxal said:

Thoughts?

Other than make people like me creating amazing theories to then destroy both my hope and my ego ? 

Anyway I have yet to process the whole fact but maybe He want us to be a bit confused about the Edgedancer's mantra ? Because it's possible that while Ym would be a decent edgedancer, he would be a great Truthwatcher...He was merciful but maybe his interesting was more about the learn from the guy he helped than help them itself.

I had to be honest, this weird situation made me actually doubt about Stump's order and about a real distinct bound in the spren' look and mantras

Edited December 2, 2016 by Yata

[Djarskublar]

15 hours ago, maxal said:

But it seems like such a stretch... What were the odds of this happening? 

One, apparently XD

I have discussed this a bit over on the Edgedancer spoiler board, but my bet is that it is because he didn't want to grant more evidence or confirmation that you can bond two spren at once. He was tight lipped because if someone asks what order he was in, he could say 'lol 2 suckers,' but that's a pretty big spoiler imo, so he just RAFOed it repeatedly.

[Blightsong]

This is kind of an open and shut case guys. Brandon has never lied to a questioner as far as we know and there isnt any reason for him to. It isnt that much if a stretch to think that both types of spren were looking at the same person. Its like if two football recruiters were looking for a new player, and two different teams found a player that could fit well in the team. Either way, peter confirmed that this was the case at one of the recent signings, they havent been very secretive about this 

 

Edit: Also, we have confirmation that you could bond two spren at once

INTERVIEW: Jan 7th, 2015

Central Library, Seattle, WA(Paraphrased)

QUESTION

Could someone bond with two sprenand wield two swords?

BRANDON SANDERSON

It is theoretically possible, but the sprenaren’t going to like it. So you won’t see it very often.

 

Edited December 2, 2016 by Blightsong

[emailanimal]

23 hours ago, Blightsong said:

Its like if two football recruiters were looking for a new player, and two different teams found a player that could fit well in the team.

Given the WoB you cite, it looks more like a basketball and a baseball team wanting to recruit the same player. In some very rare cases one would attempt such a thing, but everyone winds up being unhappy.

[BeskarKomrk]

4 minutes ago, emailanimal said:

Given the WoB you cite, it looks more like a basketball and a baseball team wanting to recruit the same player. In some very rare cases one would attempt such a thing, but everyone winds up being unhappy.

Ym confirmed for Michael Jordan, Cosmere is just a Space Jam fanfic

[Blightsong]

1 hour ago, emailanimal said:

Given the WoB you cite, it looks more like a basketball and a baseball team wanting to recruit the same player. In some very rare cases one would attempt such a thing, but everyone winds up being unhappy.

I think this is where the metaphor fails. One cannot maintain a proffesional skill level at two sports very reasonably, but there is no reason to believe that it is so rare for someone to harbor ideals of two orders reasonably.