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First post, but I just wanted to jump in to point out about Brandons answers regarding the Parshendi. He said they were not originally of Odium or Cultivation, but when answering if they are of Honour he doesn't say not originally, he just says no.

It kind of jumped out to me that maybe by saying no rather than not originally it could be that he was implying they aren't ANYMORE.

 

That suggests that the Parshendi may have originally been of Honour but are now of Cultivation or Odium (or some funky cross).

 

So what i'm trying to say is basically that through his wording he hasn't ruled out that the Parshendi could originally be from Honour.

And thanks to RShara for compiling all of this, it's really great for those of us not in the US and can't attend any of the signings!

 

Edit: wording.

Edited by Pengwin_Lord
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Tonight in Omaha another person asked Brandon if hair color in the different nationalities in the Stormlight Archive were related to hair color in Warbreaker. He said yes, there is a connection. 

 

Huh. Assuming that both question and answer implicitly refer to the Royal Locks, then... I don't even know how to process this right now. The Royal Locks are part of Vo's heritage to the royal line. So we have a Splinter of Endowment (Vo), siring children, who in turn probably inherit some of their father's sDNA, which has been modified by Endowment's Investiture. So Vo's children, the first royals and first owners of the Royal Locks, have sDNA slightly different from that of the rest of the people on Nalthis. By the time we get to Siri and Vivenna the modifications are probably pretty diluted, but still present. 

 

So...does this imply that each race's ancestry can be traced back to different Splinters of Honor and / or Cultivation? Were the Heralds the first people on Roshar, the equivalent to Adam and Eve, each Herald becoming the father or mother of one or two of the races? The theory is getting pretty out there by now, but it's mostly logical in my head...

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First post, but I just wanted to jump in to point out about Brandons answers regarding the Parshendi. He said they were not originally of Odium or Cultivation, but when answering if they are of Honour he doesn't say not originally, he just says no.

It kind of jumped out to me that maybe by saying no rather than not originally it could be that he was implying they aren't ANYMORE.

 

That suggests that the Parshendi may have originally been of Honour but are now of Cultivation or Odium (or some funky cross).

 

So what i'm trying to say is basically that through his wording he hasn't ruled out that the Parshendi could originally be from Honour.

 

Shards can essentially bio-engineer entire races when they want to, so I dont think its out of the lines of possibility that The Parshendi were first tweaked into the Listeners by Cultivation. Perhaps as vessels for the Dawnshards. And then re-engineered in a more subtle way by Odium later in order for him to be able to control them.

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I finally got around to transcribing the few minutes I had alone with Brandon for a Q&A at the end of the Seattle signing. Some of the questions were from tor.com rereaders, some were mine, and I found a couple on the 17thshard forums. I told karaokeang I’d post what I found, so here they are:

Q: Are larkin and lanceryn one and the same?

A: There’s a little bit more than just [being] one and the same, but in some ways they are.

Q: Do all greatshells have spren?

A: In order to survive with the science that I built, the greatshells almost all require some sort of spren to keep them from collapsing. (I suspect greatshells in the water may not require them.)

Q: Did Adonalsium deliberately shatter itself?

A: Hmmm, good question! RAFO!

Q: Why didn’t Kaladin’s brand heal if Lopen can regrow an arm?

A: It comes down to how one views oneself. It is the answer that you think it is. So really what that’s saying is Kaladin sees himself as branded.

Q: Does Shardplate use a spren?

A: That’s a RAFO.

Q: Can Glys, Renarin’s spren, be a box?

A: The box is not his spren.

Q: Is a Desolation caused when a Herald breaks under torture?

A: This person is asking the right kinds of questions. (It’s since been confirmed from another Q&A that when the Heralds leave the place of torture a Desolation occurs. Taln is STRONG.)

Q: Who’s Nahz? The person who retrieved Shallan’s notebook…

A: You have seen him before.

Q: Why does Urithiru not have hallowed stones?

A: That’ll be answered eventually. It’s cultural, not magical.

Q: Why does Lift feel that Darkness isn’t a real person?

A: Because Lift is an interesting person who has her own perspective on the world.

Q: Is there anything that I should have asked that I didn’t?

A: Probably not… Do you know if anyone has figured out the hidden things in the map of Roshar? (We discussed the pattern 15 code for a bit. I’m glad it’s been solved! He said that it wouldn’t be earth shattering, but it would be cool to know. And boy, it was!)

Q: I picked up the Easter Eggs for Mraize being a Worldhopper. It was actually the sand that did it, having been fortunate enough to read White Sand.

A: Now there’s something odd about that sand. What color is the sand in WoR? (And I couldn’t remember it was pale! So lost an opportunity, darn it!)

(Speculated that I thought that at one time the Parshendi had used Odium spren or Unmade, and they must have finally divested themselves of the spren and that’s why they forgot how to get a lot of the spren forms. And they were trying to figure that out and things have taken a turn for the worse. He said no comment.)

Q: Are the Parshendi at the village the only Parshendi there are? Besides for the Parshmen...

A: The Parshendi as a people were all at Narak. Barring any scouts and things like that. That doesn’t mean that there might not be any other Parshmen out there that have bonded spren, but they would not have been part of this nation – any more than if you found another human that they may not necessarily be American.

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Wow, big props to Talenel. 

 

I think the Adonalsium thing is a red herring - didn't we hear, from another signing, that he (it?) was shattered by an external force?

 

Kaladin's brands, good to have confirmation. I think most of us suspected that this is the case, but I always delight in straight answers to good theories.

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I finally got around to transcribing the few minutes I had alone with Brandon for a Q&A at the end of the Seattle signing. Some of the questions were from tor.com rereaders, some were mine, and I found a couple on the 17thshard forums. I told karaokeang I’d post what I found, so here they are:

Q: Are larkin and lanceryn one and the same?

A: There’s a little bit more than just [being] one and the same, but in some ways they are.

Q: Do all greatshells have spren?

A: In order to survive with the science that I built, the greatshells almost all require some sort of spren to keep them from collapsing. (I suspect greatshells in the water may not require them.)

Q: Did Adonalsium deliberately shatter itself?

A: Hmmm, good question! RAFO!

Q: Why didn’t Kaladin’s brand heal if Lopen can regrow an arm?

A: It comes down to how one views oneself. It is the answer that you think it is. So really what that’s saying is Kaladin sees himself as branded.

Q: Does Shardplate use a spren?

A: That’s a RAFO.

Q: Can Glys, Renarin’s spren, be a box?

A: The box is not his spren.

Q: Is a Desolation caused when a Herald breaks under torture?

A: This person is asking the right kinds of questions. (It’s since been confirmed from another Q&A that when the Heralds leave the place of torture a Desolation occurs. Taln is STRONG.)

Q: Who’s Nahz? The person who retrieved Shallan’s notebook…

A: You have seen him before.

Q: Why does Urithiru not have hallowed stones?

A: That’ll be answered eventually. It’s cultural, not magical.

Q: Why does Lift feel that Darkness isn’t a real person?

A: Because Lift is an interesting person who has her own perspective on the world.

Q: Is there anything that I should have asked that I didn’t?

A: Probably not… Do you know if anyone has figured out the hidden things in the map of Roshar? (We discussed the pattern 15 code for a bit. I’m glad it’s been solved! He said that it wouldn’t be earth shattering, but it would be cool to know. And boy, it was!)

Q: I picked up the Easter Eggs for Mraize being a Worldhopper. It was actually the sand that did it, having been fortunate enough to read White Sand.

A: Now there’s something odd about that sand. What color is the sand in WoR? (And I couldn’t remember it was pale! So lost an opportunity, darn it!)

(Speculated that I thought that at one time the Parshendi had used Odium spren or Unmade, and they must have finally divested themselves of the spren and that’s why they forgot how to get a lot of the spren forms. And they were trying to figure that out and things have taken a turn for the worse. He said no comment.)

Q: Are the Parshendi at the village the only Parshendi there are? Besides for the Parshmen...

A: The Parshendi as a people were all at Narak. Barring any scouts and things like that. That doesn’t mean that there might not be any other Parshmen out there that have bonded spren, but they would not have been part of this nation – any more than if you found another human that they may not necessarily be American.

 

Some good stuff in here. What's the deal with the "hidden things in the map of Roshar"? Is there a thread on that? I totally missed it!

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I finally got around to transcribing the few minutes I had alone with Brandon for a Q&A at the end of the Seattle signing. Some of the questions were from tor.com rereaders, some were mine, and I found a couple on the 17thshard forums. I told karaokeang I’d post what I found, so here they are:

Q: Are larkin and lanceryn one and the same?

A: There’s a little bit more than just [being] one and the same, but in some ways they are.

Q: Do all greatshells have spren?

A: In order to survive with the science that I built, the greatshells almost all require some sort of spren to keep them from collapsing. (I suspect greatshells in the water may not require them.)

Q: Did Adonalsium deliberately shatter itself?

A: Hmmm, good question! RAFO!

Q: Why didn’t Kaladin’s brand heal if Lopen can regrow an arm?

A: It comes down to how one views oneself. It is the answer that you think it is. So really what that’s saying is Kaladin sees himself as branded.

Q: Does Shardplate use a spren?

A: That’s a RAFO.

Q: Can Glys, Renarin’s spren, be a box?

A: The box is not his spren.

Q: Is a Desolation caused when a Herald breaks under torture?

A: This person is asking the right kinds of questions. (It’s since been confirmed from another Q&A that when the Heralds leave the place of torture a Desolation occurs. Taln is STRONG.)

Q: Who’s Nahz? The person who retrieved Shallan’s notebook…

A: You have seen him before.

Q: Why does Urithiru not have hallowed stones?

A: That’ll be answered eventually. It’s cultural, not magical.

Q: Why does Lift feel that Darkness isn’t a real person?

A: Because Lift is an interesting person who has her own perspective on the world.

Q: Is there anything that I should have asked that I didn’t?

A: Probably not… Do you know if anyone has figured out the hidden things in the map of Roshar? (We discussed the pattern 15 code for a bit. I’m glad it’s been solved! He said that it wouldn’t be earth shattering, but it would be cool to know. And boy, it was!)

Q: I picked up the Easter Eggs for Mraize being a Worldhopper. It was actually the sand that did it, having been fortunate enough to read White Sand.

A: Now there’s something odd about that sand. What color is the sand in WoR? (And I couldn’t remember it was pale! So lost an opportunity, darn it!)

(Speculated that I thought that at one time the Parshendi had used Odium spren or Unmade, and they must have finally divested themselves of the spren and that’s why they forgot how to get a lot of the spren forms. And they were trying to figure that out and things have taken a turn for the worse. He said no comment.)

Q: Are the Parshendi at the village the only Parshendi there are? Besides for the Parshmen...

A: The Parshendi as a people were all at Narak. Barring any scouts and things like that. That doesn’t mean that there might not be any other Parshmen out there that have bonded spren, but they would not have been part of this nation – any more than if you found another human that they may not necessarily be American.

 

Would you mind posting this in the seattle signing thread in the Events forum?  That is where signing reports are supposed to go.

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I was at the Scottsdale signing last night.  Brandon came out an hour early and started signing books, including mine.  Here are a few questions I asked and overheard

 

Q: Is the woman around Wit's age named Reya?

 

A: RAFO

 

Q: Is the Moon Scepter an object of Investiture?

 

A: The Moon Scepter is an item that is important to Hoid, but I won't say why yet.

 

Q: Was Szeth's resurrection done with Rosharan Investiture or that from Nalthis?

 

A: RAFO

 

Q: What is the effect of the Nahel Bond on human lifespan

 

A: RAFO

 

Q: Does Hoid have all the abilities of the planets he's visited?

 

A: Not yet

 

Q: Is chouta (sp?) based on food from Korea?

 

A: (Long explanation about industrializing societies developing portable food) and no, it is Mexican/Italian, think deep fried meatballs in a soapapila (sp?) 

 

Q: Who are your biggest literary influences?

 

A: Robert Jordan (big crowd laugh) and Victor Hugo

 

Q: Were shardblades influenced by lightsabers?

 

A: Yes (long aside about how everyone in the last 40 years was so influenced), but not sure how direct of an influence

 

Q: How do you pick names?

 

A: (Extreme paraphrase) Each group is based on realworld naming conventions, Alethi = near-palindromes + semitic, Central Dominance = French, Emperor's Soul = Ancient Zoroastrian

 

Q: (Something about how he got his ideas for knights)

 

A:  A knight has a sword, armor and a horse.  (my interpretation of the answer is that Ryshadium were closely related with the ancient knights radiant)

 

Q: Will Kaladin ever get Wit's flute back to woo a certain red haired young lady?

 

A: Wit is very mad about Kaladin losing the flute.  If he recovers it, he wouldn't let Kaladin have it again.

 

Q: What is the last audio book you listened to?

 

A: Player of Games by Ian Banks (he said something funny about how Howard Tayler was shocked he had never read Banks before and so he made him do it)

 

Q: (overheard at a distance) Is there time travel in the Cosmere?

 

A: We haven't seen time travel into the past, but we have seen it into the future in Alloy of Law.

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soapapila (sp?) 

I've seen it spelled both as sopaipilla or sopapilla (Spanish double-L, pronounced like a consonantal Y). In the US, it's pretty common in the southwest, Texas and the four corners in particular. Kind of a pastry, fried dough with stuff in the middle. With honey, they were kind of a dessert when I was a kid living in Albuquerque.  

Edited by TomR
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Q: Will Kaladin ever get Wit's flute back to woo a certain red haired young lady?

 

A: Wit is very mad about Kaladin losing the flute.  If he recovers it, he wouldn't let Kaladin have it again.

Wit seems to have his favorites on who to harass / not to harass. Looks like Kaladin is going on the naughty list.

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I wouldn't say he is harassing him... Hoid obviously knows that Kaladin is (going to be) important, and he has the habit of injecting himself in the lives of people with that capacity. But I agree he might be a little extra obnoxious every now and then, out of spite.

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Ah, someone from the Scottsdale signing beat me to posting my own QA on this thread, but glad that someone is getting these in quickly regardless.  I was the one who asked about first the Nahel bond and its effect on human lifespan, knowing full well he was likely to R.A.F.O it.  In fact, got my very own R.A.F.O. card along with my shard hunt card.  While he was prepping to throw the cards back my way, I asked the question whether or not Kaladin would learn to play Wit's flute, or had Wit recovered it for good.  I had thought while reading WoK that the flute would have been a fun way to develop a little more of Kaladin's character, or at least turn him into a budding musician further breaking typical Alethi gender stereotypes.  Guess that ship has sailed however.   :(

 

 

NOTE: The wooing of a certain red-headed lighteyed lady with some smooth jazz flute was a joke I cracked before finally sitting down

Edited by DeployParachute
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 Giving Kaladin the flute never made ONE BIT OF SENSE. Hey bridgeman, while you are in a fight for your life, living in slave quarters, carrying every valuable possession you own on every bridge run so other slaves wouldn't come steal your stuff, KEEP UP WITH MY VERY VALUABLE FLUTE.

 

 It was dumb, never made any sense, and I wish if it played any important role should have been written in a way that would make atleast a bit of sense why you would give Kaladin the flute in the first place.

 Of course it was lost.

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 Giving Kaladin the flute never made ONE BIT OF SENSE. Hey bridgeman, while you are in a fight for your life, living in slave quarters, carrying every valuable possession you own on every bridge run so other slaves wouldn't come steal your stuff, KEEP UP WITH MY VERY VALUABLE FLUTE.

 

 

Kind of agree and disagree with you here.  The fact that it seemed very "unbridgeman-like" of a gift, and the difficulty Kaladin would face trying to hang on with it made me think that it at least had some role to play in Kaladin's future.  Also, I doubt that in Alethi culture where music is considered a feminine art, a bunch of male bridgemen would ascribe value to the flute enough to motivate them to steal it.  

 

I thought that Hoid giving Kaladin the flute was Hoid's way of saying to him that despite the daily pain and torture of bridgerunning he faces each day, Kaladin must still always strive to find something that keeps life worth living, lest he fall back into that place that took him to almost stepping off a chasm ledge.  I imagined Hoid was saying "Here, learn to play this flute, it will be good for your soul."  And I feel that Hoid recognizes some need to help keep Kaladin's mental state healthy.

 

 

 

 It was dumb, never made any sense, and I wish if it played any important role should have been written in a way that would make atleast a bit of sense why you would give Kaladin the flute in the first place.

 Of course it was lost.

 

At first I read meaning into the flute being given to Kaladin by Hoid.  But after my question to Brandon, and his very nonchalant answer concerning it, I have to say that I agree more with your line of thinking here.  If there was no purpose to it, then it made no sense for it to have remained in the novel imo.  Now it only serves as a way to make Hoid mildly irritated with Kaladin, and not a very good one at that.

 

Also at the signing, someone asked about the origin of Hoid's character, and Brandon responded that he was kind of the result of a mental exercise he used to do while reading fantasy books.  He would imagine this character injected into these stories to interact with the main characters and pretty much do some wacky things to amuse himself.  So in the end, Brandon probably didn't give this flute interaction much thought at all, as it was just another eccentric thing that Hoid just...does.

Edited by DeployParachute
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