Sit down with Brandon

[Galavantes]

Ok so first of all I've lost access to my primary account and the site won't let me reset my password. If a mod could help with that that would be great.

Anyway, I have been selected as a "Memory Keeper" for the Memory of Light signing tour. So I will be sitting down personally with Brandon over dinner. I realize the signing is for WoT rather than a cosmere book, however I suspect he will be answering questions.

So my question to the forums is this: Supposing I can only ask one or two questions, what would the members here most like to have answered? Either WoT or Cosmere. Keep in mind we want to try to ask questions that won't get Rafo'd.

[Nepene]

On Scadrial, thank you Voidus, every shard shares the same focus for its magic, metal. Is this true for every planet?

It's indirect, not asking directly about Roshar, but if he answers it we'll have a better idea of how the magic works.

Or this question.

Assuming Ruin had won and defeated everyone, what would his long term actions be in the cosmere?

A fun question with lots of potential for widespread destruction. It may also explain why Odium is the most terrifying shard.

Or this. A common motif of fantasy is floating cities of magic. Do you have any plans to do one?

Because a certain Roshar city may have been a floating city of magic.

If Kelsier hadn't taken up Preservation, what would've happened to the Shard itself (ignoring Ruin)? Would there suddenly be objects throughout the land like spren?

We're asking about a hypothetical past that would never happen, but this should add more evidence on why spren exist.

Back to the past, you said Nightblood was confused because most people don't have a good grasp of what evil is. Did you mean Vasher or Shashara weren't able to visualize what evil is, or the breaths?

This would explain a lot about the nature of breaths- how sentient are they?

I've bolded the ones I'd ask.

Edited January 6, 2013 by Nepene

[Voidus]

On Nalthis, every shard shares the same focus for its magic, metal. Is this true for every planet?

This should be Scadrial I think, Nalthis has Biochroma which has no metals also I thought Brandon answered something like this before.

[Kurkistan]

Thanks for the offer. Here're some of my old-faithful questions:

-Is Denth technically the king of Idris, or is he an offshoot that happened to keep the Royal Locks for some reason?

-Why does The Lord Ruler spend time as an old man, if he can just compound (previously compounded) Age instead?

-Are Conjoiner fabrials sensitive enough that pairs of them attached to taught membranes could work as telephones?

-Is it the case that only native Scadrialians can use Hemalurgy to "spike" attributes out of their victims?

-Does the Blessing of Presence help a Kandra against takeover by emotional Allomancy, or only against Ruin?

EDIT:

Are Breaths "normal" parts of Nalthians (common to all humans in the Cosmere) which the magic system allows to be split off, or are they tacked on extra bits courtesy of Endowment, like the extra Preservation in Scadralians?

Edited January 7, 2013 by Kurkistan

[Asperity]

I'd still like to know an official and updated number pertaining to the amount of books that will be published in the Cosmere. Or ask how many stand-alone novels will be produced (anything other than Silence Divine?)

Or if you want to go all out, just ask if Adonalsium was sentient, and/or if it was man-made.

[firstRainbowRose]

First I want to say thank you for the offer to help! It's awesome that you'd think of us. Second pmm me and I'll help you when I get home to access you're account. Finally, which signing are you going to?

[Galavantes]

Good suggestions so far everyone. Rainbow I sent you a PM about my account. I'll be at the Raleigh signing in February.

I think I'll definitely ask why TLR had to spend time old, as that never made sense to me either. I'll get as many of the others in as I can. Keep them coming.

[Haradion Drogon]

If you were to Awaken a Metalmind, would that affect the amount you could store/tap in it?

If you were to Burn an awakened piece of metal, would that affect the power attained from it?

If you were to Awaken a Hemalurgic Spike, would that affect the amount you could drain/steal from a person?

Is the danger of using Shadesmere on Sel, related to the fact that Aons draw their power from the geography of Sel, and the geography in Shadesmere appears to be inverted-geography of origin, thus inverting the Aons?

(Not sure on spelling there, feel free to correct it).

And congrats at being selected as a "Memory Keeper"!

Edited January 8, 2013 by Haradion Drogon

[Phantom Monstrosity]

Thanks a lot, man. Hope the dinner goes well!

If you were to Awaken a Metalmind, would that affect the amount you could store/tap in it?

If you were to Burn an awakened piece of metal, would that affect the power attained from it?

If you were to Awaken a Hemalurgic Spike, would that affect the amount you could drain/steal from a person?

Actually, I was wondering about something similar myself. Something like "Is hemalurgy limited to metals only, or could other Invested objects (like a wooden stake full of Breath) be used in some manner."

EDIT: Heh... I just realized that Sanderson mentioned Returned are treated as vampires in some areas of the world. Stake through the heart!

Mistwraiths are humans with a blockage between their cognitive and physical aspects. We also know that Lifeless have far more sapience than people give them credit for - enough to be a POV character (upcoming for nightblood).

So... a question about what effect a kandra's blessings would have on a Lifeless, or what effect Breath would have if applied to a mistwraith?

It would probably clarify how the Physical and Cognitive realms interact. Plus, hybrids are cool. Lifewraiths.

Edited January 9, 2013 by Phantom Monstrosity

[Voidus]

I've already been RAFO'd on burning an awakened piece of metal so he'd probably just RAFO that one again.

[TheOneKEA]

I recently posed the question of whether or not it is possible to enter or exit Shadesmar in interplanetary space. Knowing what we know about the third Mistborn trilogy I'd expect such a question to be RAFO Bait, but you never know...

[Galavantes]

Ok guys I just left the Raleigh signing with Brandon! First of all it was an awesome experience and Brandon goes way above and beyond to connect with his readers. It's amazing. Now this was a Wheel of Time signing and most of the question were WOT related, however there were some cosmere questions asked. I was the only 17th sharder there (I asked) so most of them came from me lol. So forgive me if the questions I got in weren't the most advanced. But here is what I have, cosmere related first:

Q: Why did TLR have to spend time old?

Brandon: He didn't have to. He allowed it to happen, it was a sign of his weariness.

Q: Is Harmony more powerful than other Shards?

Brandon: More powerful or more potent?

Me: Um, powerful.

Brandon: Harmony is two shards in one.

Me: Could he take Odium?

Brandon: His two shards are at odds with one another.

(This was interesting to me, from his name being Harmony I had assumed Ruin and Preservation merged seamlessly. Brandon seems to be implying that while Sazed can utilize the power of both shards, he can't simply add them together)

Q: Have we met the recipient of "the letter"?

Brandon: Who's we?

Me: The readers.

Brandon: Some people have, you probably have not.

Me: So Beta readers?

Brandon *smile*

Q: The fact that Odium has bested other shards implies he is more powerful. Is odium inherently a more powerful shard or is it a matter of his nature?

Brandon: Both factors play a role.

Q: Is the fact that shadesmar is more dangerous to travel to through Sel related to the battle between Odium and it's shards there?

Brandon: It is indirectly related.

Q: Have any Chasmfiends managed to mature? Or have they all been caught before they could finish?

Brandon: You've already seen one. The enormous Chasmfiend that Dalinar fought was one that had successfully matured. You haven't seen what they start out as...

***Wheel of time spoilerThis post has been reported for attempting to skirt the rules

for the sake of having everything together I'm going to include the WoT answers here. If a mod wants to move this section somewhere else (or replicate it) then please do.

HERE THERE BE SPOILERS, if you haven't finished A Memory of Light do not continue!

Q: Was Hopper's soul forged into Perrin's hammer?

Brandon: Jordan's notes do not specifically say anything about this, but I believe that it was.

Q: Does Matt still have his luck now that he is no longer Ta'veren?

Brandon: Yes, his luck is an inherent part of his soul. The heros of the horn call him the gambler because they remember him from his past lives. Being Ta'veren did amplify his lucky, especially towards the end.

Q: Does the Light of Tar Valon (anti-balefire) insert threads into the pattern?

Brandon: It rebuilds the pattern.

Q: Did the creator ever manifest during the series?

Brandon: Um, RAFO haha

(immediately after)

Q: Who was Nakomi?

Brandon: *laughs* RAFO.

(Everyone in the group now assumes that Nakomi was the creator)

(Me): Did the creator speak directly to Rand twice?

Brandon: The same voice spoke to Rand in the Eye of the World and A Memory of Light.

Q: Was Elan's soul destroyed?

Brandon: I don't know. I believe it was.

Q: How did Rand light his pipe at the end?

Brandon passed this question to Harriet..

Harriet: *smile* I remember Jim laughing as he wrote that scene. I personally believe that this is the first sign that the next age is totally different than the one that the books took place in. Even mundane things are completely different.

(New magic system?)

Q: Why didn't we see the conversation between Artur Hawking and Tuon?

Brandon: I prefered to leave that to the imagination of the reader. But I think that Artur was more sympathetic to the Seanchan than most readers believe. Remember that he did not like Aes Sedai. And while he was part King Arthur, he was also part Alexander the Great. He was a conqueror.

Q: Can being burnt out be Healed?

Brandon: Yes, but not in the same way (as stilling). No one knows how.

Q: If someone is burnt out, and they are reborn, will they be able to channel?

Brandon: Yes. But only if they are respun into the pattern, moving a soul into a new body does not heal it. This is why Lanfear retained her weakened abilities when the DO put her soul in a new body.

Q: When Olver summed the Heros of the Horn, only one hero immediately left the main group. Was it Noal or Brigette?

Brandon: It was Noal. Brigette wasn't summoned back in the same place as the rest of them, because she still had a connection to Elayne she was summoned back to where she died. There was a lot of funky stuff going on with Brigette.

Q: Is Brigette going to be reborn as one of Elayne's daughters?

Brandon: No.

Q: Do we know where Gaidal Cane is going to show up?

Brandon: There is enough information to figure it out. *grin*

Me: Are you saying it should be intuitively obvious to the most casual observer?

*Harriet laughs*

Brandon confirmed that both Min and Matt returned to Seanchan.

That's it guys, there were some questions I didn't get a chance to write down, if I remember them I'll throw them up here too.

Edited February 21, 2013 by Galavantes?

[Kurkistan]

Nice work. We've been gnawing at that TLR question for awhile now. You might want to throw the WoT stuff in a Spoiler section. (Ex. <spoiler>STUFF!!!</spoiler>, with [] instead of <>).

[Senor Feesh]

You might want to throw the WoT stuff in a Spoiler section. (Ex. <spoiler>STUFF!!!</spoiler>, with [] instead of <>).

Or perhaps a friendly Mod could do that for us

[Senor Feesh]

Brandon: His two shards are at odds with one another.

(This was interesting to me, from his name being Harmony I had assumed Ruin and Preservation merged seamlessly. Brandon seems to be implying that while Sazed can utilize the power of both shards, he can't simply add them together)

I think the majority of people had assumed this. I guess 'Harmony' in this sense means simply that the powers complement each other rather than interacting, so by employing both Ruin and Preservation, change can happen (as mentioned in the books themselves - Preservation only would cause the world to stagnate, whilst Ruin would only allow for destruction, or perhaps deconstruction). Another related point is that 'Harmony' doesn't necessarily mean harmonious to the human race - it could simply be the balance of nature.