The Ultimate List of Questions for Brandon

[Chaos]

It has been too long since I have read Mistborn to be certain, but now that you mention it, I vaguely recall that. And Vin couldn't get him because of Ruin.

That's interesting, because that means the Lord Ruler can have a far, far more extensive grasp on the Inquisitors when he needed them. Imagine if you are rebels and the Lord Ruler got involved, and he's controlling ten Inquisitors as well as his own power. Holy crap.

[CrazyRioter]

no wonder it took a thousand years (and Ruin's manipulations) for that guy to finally get taken down.

[happyman]

It has been too long since I have read Mistborn to be certain, but now that you mention it, I vaguely recall that. And Vin couldn't get him because of Ruin.

That's interesting, because that means the Lord Ruler can have a far, far more extensive grasp on the Inquisitors when he needed them. Imagine if you are rebels and the Lord Ruler got involved, and he's controlling ten Inquisitors as well as his own power. Holy crap.

I knew there was an annotation in HoA that clarified it. I haven't found the one I was looking for, but I did find one that was relevant. At the beginning of chapter 49, Sazed explains why Ruin didn't use Inquisitors to free him. Part of it goes as follows:

"Before the Lord Ruler's death, he maintained too tight a grip on them to let Ruin control them directly."

So I think that answers that.

[Chaos]

Yeah, that's the quote that led me to ask the question, but now it does seem explicit enough.

[Cuaiir]

Is there a canon term for a group consisting of a Shardblade and a set of Shardplate? We've been usiing the term Shards (i.e. Dalinar had Shards, a Blade and Plate set), and that seems both clunky and like it could get confused with actual, divine-powered Shards (Ruin, Odium, etc).

[Zas678]

How does Feruchemy work? I mean it makes sense that Allomancy Preserves power in the person, it makes sense that Hemalurgy Ruins that power by decreasing it, but then how does that work with Feruchemy?

(Notice: I'm pretty sure it's because the influences are so opposite that they cancel out, but I want a really good Cosmere explanation that will give us more information. Sort of like the B&N explanation of Lightsong's visions that led us to Slivers and Splinters.)

[happyman]

How does Feruchemy work? I mean it makes sense that Allomancy Preserves power in the person, it makes sense that Hemalurgy Ruins that power by decreasing it, but then how does that work with Feruchemy?

(Notice: I'm pretty sure it's because the influences are so opposite that they cancel out, but I want a really good Cosmere explanation that will give us more information. Sort of like the B&N explanation of Lightsong's visions that led us to Slivers and Splinters.)

Feruchemy does neither. The power you use is your own, and you get as much back as you put in, at least if you don't try to access too much too quickly. It simply moves around when you use it, not how much you have available.

Or as I see it, because metal is the focus for the metallic arts, and because Preservation provides power (allowing you to preserve your own) and Ruin destroys power (by decreasing the amount overall), Feruchemy simply allows you to store your own attributes in metals. It the the art of using power with metal without either preserving or ruining the power. An elegant balance.

[Chaos]

I agree with happyman's explanation but I think I will put in the list if only to see Brandon's response.

[Quantum Toast]

I always figured the way it worked was that the Ruin half decreased your power but the Preservation half stored the lost power elsewhere so you could get it back.

[Guest Galavantes]

What are the hemalurgic/Feruchemical properties of Lerasium?

[Guest Galavantes]

What is the "life-span" of a breath? For instance can a single family line collect dozens/hundreds of breaths by having everyone pass their breaths on to their children?

[happyman]

What is the "life-span" of a breath? For instance can a single family line collect dozens/hundreds of breaths by having everyone pass their breaths on to their children?

I like this one. There are related questions.

The breath is also related, in the annotations, to the health of the person holding it. For instance, in the annotation, we learn that this is why they often use children to keep the Returned alive; their breaths give the Returned more power through the week.

So do breath's decay over time? Or does a single breath decay over time, leaving the rest untouched?

[darniil]

Wasn't it stated, somewhere in Warbreaker, that the breaths that Susebron had were passed down from one god-king to the next?

[Joe ST]

So do breath's decay over time? Or does a single breath decay over time, leaving the rest untouched?

Wasn't it stated, somewhere in Warbreaker, that the breaths that Susebron had were passed down from one god-king to the next?

this suggests that they don't decay as a group. It might be that their power dissipates over a standard lifetime (thus the child's is most powerful) when it's being kept alive by the normal 'human' metabolism. You have to remember that the power held in the breath is returned to Endowment when it not connected to anything (is this true? lol).

[Zas678]

You have to remember that the power held in the breath is returned to Endowment when it not connected to anything (is this true? lol).

It might be. That is one theory that is floating around (though I disagree with it) and I haven't seen any quotes that seem to indicate that. I personally think that a Breath comes naturally and so is connected to a person's soul, so it goes wherever they go when they die.

Also- Brandon, if you had to pick one place in the world to go, where would it be?

EDIT- I don't want to post this, but I do want it somewhere where I'll see it.

So, we have

Source: Where the spiritual power comes from. Prime Example: Dor, Power of Creation (allomancy), Self (Feruchemy)

Focus: The physical thing that gets used up to access Source. Prime Example: Metals, Colors,

"Spark": The cognitive thing that starts the reaction. Prime Example: Commands, "burning",

What is the right name for a "spark", for the Cognitive Trigger?

[TheBobs]

So do breath's decay over time? Or does a single breath decay over time, leaving the rest untouched?

I assumed that a single breath becomes worn out over a lifetime of trying to keep a body healthy. If you have hundreds or thousands or tens of thousands . . .

Which leads me to can a breath 'die' from being used up or worn out and the person still live? We know you can give it away and become a Drab, but could there be a very very old person who perhaps encountered a lot of sicknesses during their life and their breath die or fade?

Or would there always be some sort of minimal strength left?

[happyman]

I assumed that a single breath becomes worn out over a lifetime of trying to keep a body healthy. If you have hundreds or thousands or tens of thousands . . .

Then what? They all take a very small amount of damage, or only one takes the normal amount of damage?

[Zas678]

I don't think that an old person would have no breath, even if they were unusually sick. I still hold to the idea that the people of Nalthis are just like us. We have a breath, and they have a breath. The only difference is that they can give theirs away. So I guess my answer is that I have is that even if there is a super sick person, they still have life sense, and they still have vitality.

And I think that if you had thousands of breath, they would all take a very small toll. That's why Awakeners can't get sick. Because it takes too much sickness to assault all several hundred breaths that an awakener might have.

[TheBobs]

And I think that if you had thousands of breath, they would all take a very small toll. That's why Awakeners can't get sick. Because it takes too much sickness to assault all several hundred breaths that an awakener might have.

This. Then because the illness can't take hold in the person the body doesn't have to fight off of the sickness. Which then the breath doesn't have to help the body get over the sickness.

Kind of circular, but meh.

[pdxtrent]

So on the questions for Stormlight, it asks how many Heralds we see in WoK. I asked Brandon this in Portland last year, and he said 5.

I also asked if the Highstorms were one storm, or multiple storms and he RAFO'ed that question, which leads me to think that yes they are, and that it's important enough to be considered spoilerish.

[Arcanist Lupus]

How much choice did the Shardholders get when they took up their Shards? (ie, did the choose which Shard to take, did they choose to take a Shard at all, or were they forced to take the Shards?)

How do you have a shadow that goes backwards?

Also, did the spren-hunter guy imagine alespren, or are they real?

Edited September 15, 2011 by Sir_Read-a-Lot

[Cuaiir]

What in-cosmere character writes the Ars Arcanum?

[Quantum Toast]

Probably not a very important question in the long run, but I'm curious about whether he's already planned out what all of the Shards are (intent-wise) or whether he makes them up a few at a time.

[masaru]

So on the questions for Stormlight, it asks how many Heralds we see in WoK. I asked Brandon this in Portland last year, and he said 5.

I also asked if the Highstorms were one storm, or multiple storms and he RAFO'ed that question, which leads me to think that yes they are, and that it's important enough to be considered spoilerish.

5 heralds, eh?

3 obvious ones:

Kalak and Jezrien (prelude)

Taln (epilogue)

1 possible:

Shalash (Baxil's mistress)

Leaves 2 more in WoK?

Edited September 16, 2011 by masaru

[pdxtrent]

5 heralds, eh?

3 obvious ones:

Kalak and Jezrien (prelude)

Taln (epilogue)

1 possible:

Shalash (Baxil's mistress)

Leaves 2 more in WoK?

I think Shalash is pretty much certain. But I'd like to point out, we don't know we didn't see Kalak or Jezrien in more modern times either. Taln, I'm pretty sure, we know where he was.