The Ultimate List of Questions for Brandon

[ParadoxicalZen]

Yes! Or well, similar concepts exist in other systems. At least for Forgery:

 

You could probably use this and make a gigantic stamp? I'm not sure how easily you could turn that into a city. Note further that Forgers don't seem to have something like the Shaod going on, and that they can all use the magic, so making such a city probably wouldn't do too much for them individually.

 

---

 

 

All Sel's magics are regional:

 

Defining 'least affected' to 'most affected' seems like an incredibly difficult task. The Investiture ratio lost would probably be similar for all the magics, but some of the magics probably have a minimum amount of power they need to function at all, where others don't, which messes with things. And the systems have differing amounts of power in the first place... Forgery, for example, is low-power, but AonDor is high-power. And what about instances where some of the things in each system drop off more than other things due to this? Sounds very much impossible to quantify cleanly. But that's just speculation...

 

I meant would they suffer from distance decay in other parts of Sel. We know Forgery from WoBs and AonDor in-book do, but was just curious as to whether ChayShan/Dahkor might given how Shuden's display of ChayShan and Dilaf/Hrathen's Invested strength differed from what we saw of Raoden and the other Elantrians in Teod...but that discussion is for another time when we have more info (Although it does make me think of External/Internal application). I just meant as general classification, in the way Brandon classed several 'metal' Cosmere objects on how hard would it be to push/pull invested metal objects of varieties (Hemalurgical Spike/Nightblood etc) perhaps in terms of mileage (half-joke)?

 

Thanks again Moogle

[SmurfAquamarineBodies]

If Harmony was to give up Ruin and turn it all into Atium, how much would there be? Is that even possible?

 

New question. If a Surgebinder went into Shadesmere and looked at Nightblood, what would they see?

Edited July 2, 2015 by SmurfAquamarineBodies

[Oudeis]

If Nightblood were on Scadrial, could Ruin talk to him? Could Nightblood talk back? Would Nightblood being made of metal have any affect on whether or not Ruin could communicate?

[natc]

Being metal doesn't stop Ruin from doing anything though. Even spikes are metal, and Ruin needs that for mental links.

Metal is just Damnation bright to stare at on Scadrial under Shard-o-Vision.

[ecohansen]

Some of these are snappier than others--I definitely need to come up with less awkward versions of several of them.

 

Concerning the Aimians:

1. Were there any Aimians aboard the Wandersail after it left Uvara?

2. Are the Natans or the Selay descended from Aimians?

3. Are the Marebethians three-way Parshendi/Aimian/Human hybrids?

4. Did the Scouring of Aimia, the Shattering of the Plains, and the formation of the Purelake arise from similar causes?

 

Concerning food, magic, agriculture, ecology, and atmosphere on Roshar:

5. In WoR p. 695, Wyndle says that Lift being able to "metabolize food directly into stormlight" (emphasis Wyndle's) is an "incredible talent."  Aside from the Purelakers, do any other Rosharan cultures utilize a more indirect path between food and investiture?

6. Do either the Unkalaki or the Marebethians have food-based magic?

7. Obviously, the atmosphere is thinner in high-elevation places like Urithiru and the Horneater Peaks than it is at sealevel, but do the ratios of nitrogen to oxygen to carbon dioxide change with elevation?

8. Rockbuds and related plants don't seem to be productive enough to support an ecosystem or civilisation, but they do it anyway. We've seen Listeners using Stormlight to directly stimulate plant growth.  Do all non-Shin Rosharan plants require and store stormlight?  Is this why Lift can get Stormlight from food?

9. Alternatively, is the productivity of rockbuds due to direct Shardic intervention from either Cultivation or the remnants of Honor?

10. If Lift ate food grown entirely in Shinovar, would she still get Stormlight from it?

11. If Lift ate a Purelake kolgril, would she get more stormlight from it than she would from eating a random fish?  Would she still get the same benefits from eating the kolgril that a Purelaker would, or would the process of turning the kolgril into stormlight negate its usual benefits? 

12. Is crem partly composed of microscopic cremlings?

13. Is crem partly composed of microscopic crystals?  Do these crystals store Stormlight?

14. Do any cremlings have a marine component in their lifecycle?

15. Is crem NPK fertilizer? If so, why isn't Longbrow's Strait covered in algae?

16. Is food production significantly more difficult or inefficient on the Horneater Peaks than it is at lower elevations?

17. Are per-capita food requirements significantly higher on the Horneater Peaks than they are at lower elevations?

18. Chasmfiend spren resemble skyeel spren.  Is this because skyeels and chasmfiends are in fact different generations or different lifestages of the same organism?

 

Concerning Hallandren:

19. In any given year, are more total Breaths sold to Awakeners or to the Returned?

20. Only Vasher and God-kings coached by priests have been shown to be able to split their breath-hoard.  For everyone else, the only ways to reduce the size of a breath-hoard are to either Awaken and not take breaths back, or create Lifeless.  Therefore, we would expect the size of any given breath-hoard to increase over time.  So, 400 years after the discovery of Awakening, why are most Awakeners only at the First Heightening?

21. If something like the Elantrian Chasm appeared in Hallandren, could a Returned heal the land?

Edited July 3, 2015 by ecohansen

[VindicationKnight]

• How would a blast from Aon Daa affect a person wearing Shardplate? Would it simply be ineffective as it was against Brother Dilaf's Dakhor stuff or would it actually deal damage?

 

I don't know if this one is officially unanswered but I asked this one to Sanderson on reddit and received the answer (also some other questions.)

 

Is it okay to post them here or should I put them somewhere else?

Edited July 2, 2015 by VindicationKnight

[Oudeis]

So, 400 years after the discovery of Awakening, why are most Awakeners only at the First Heightening?

 

Because people die, losing their hoard.

Edited July 2, 2015 by Oudeis

[VindicationKnight]

Edited

 

1. Can Lift increase or decrease friction on other objects.?

 

2. If yes could she use this offensively?

 

3. How much control does the Stormfather have over the highstorms?

 

4. Is Shardplate immune/resistant to regular lighting or just that of stormform?

 

5. Did Elend or Vin ever consider parenthood, or was that never a priority for them?

 

6. What is the natural Koloss lifespan and how common is it for them to reach that?

 

7. To what extent could Shardplate resist a bullet?

 

8. Do kandra eventually die of old age and if so what is their lifespan like?

Edited July 2, 2015 by VindicationKnight

[WeiryWriter]

Still not sure if this is the place for it but I can edit it if ask?

 

*snip*

 

This is not the place to put this actually.  The relevant thread in the Events and Signings thread is.  People have been keeping a close eye on the AMA thread so we are up to date on everything out of it (including these answers, sorry).

[VindicationKnight]

This is not the place to put this actually.  The relevant thread in the Events and Signings thread is.  People have been keeping a close eye on the AMA thread so we are up to date on everything out of it (including these answers, sorry).

Cool

[ecohansen]

Oudeis, but wouldn't they normally pass the hoard on to an heir? And, over time, wouldn't hoards have a tendency to be combined (someone inherits from both a father and an uncle)?  Sure, sudden deaths will cause some diminishment, but I would have expected Breath distribution to be more top-heavy.

 

By the way, thanks for the spellcheck.  I can't believe I wrote "hoard" as "horde".  Bad nerd! Bad!

Edited July 3, 2015 by ecohansen

[Guest]

One of the advantages of a lot of Breath is enhanced resistance to Death. As such, as someone gets older they are more likely to stockpile large amounts of Breath and only give it up if they are certain to die regardless... and generally, if someone with a lot of Breath is dieing it's because someone is trying to kill them, so at that point they likely aren't feeling generous.

[Oudeis]

Yeah, a lot of people, especially someone with that much Breath, is prolly gonna grow used to the idea that there's always more time, that surely I've got another few months in me, you're only as old as you feel. Combined with the sure knowledge, if I give up this Breath, that's it. No more protection and my life will end.

 

I'm sure some Hoards are passed down, but I don't see them combining like you say. It says most people get to 50 Breaths, then stop, because Heightenings above that are crazy expensive. So let's talk about a rich merchant. His father was a rich merchant, and has 50 Breaths. The merchant saves up, buys a few Breaths a year, and finally has 50 of his own. But he's married. So more years pass, more saving, and finally he gets the same for his lady wife. But, in all these years of wedded bliss, they've got three kids! Well, you're not gonna let your kids get sickly while you're hale... but it's been more than a decade now, just to get two sets! Your old man is feeling his age, talking about passing on... hey, why not give your Breaths to the eldest! He's got no Breaths. And I'll spend the rest of my life working until i can get Breath for the middle one and... well, the youngest one is just gonna have to either buy his own set, or wait until his mother or I are ready to pass on.

 

I'm sure some of them do pass on. But the above scenario assumes uninterrupted prosperity for one family over the course of a whole generation. And what about when all three of those sons have their own children? Will you not pass your Breaths onto your granddaughters? Maybe your youngest son wants to become a sculptor instead of a merchant. Will his kids die, while your oldest son has children who live a decade or more longer, just because one of them preferred a job that paid better?

 

Long story short, even the times that someone is wise enough to pass on his own Breath and face his own mortality instead of taking it to the grave via denial, even past the times of sudden heart failure, accidents, or misadventure, I don't see it being altogether likely that people will often be in the position of inheriting two or three sets of Breath. But, that's just me. I'm sure it does happen every so often, I would be surprised if it NEVER happened, but I don't see it as prevalent.

[Dunkum]

To generalize from what oudeis is saying a little bit: population growth is exponential, and most people are probably hesitant to give up that first breath (even in cultures where it is considered acceptable), so the sum total of all the past breaths just isnt that much, and the present breaths are mostly still being held by their original owner.  plus, every once in a while, someone with a hoard of breaths will die without passing them on, further diminishing the supply.

[ecohansen]

Makes sense.  Thanks everyone.

 

So gutfeel, what percent of people currently at first heightening would have inherited those breaths rather than buying them piecemeal?  A third? more? Less?  I'm assuming Oudeis and Labrat will say "less" and Dunkum will say "more"--anyone wanna propose a competing figure?

Edited July 3, 2015 by ecohansen

[ecohansen]

Vindication, are you asking about Koloss lifespans in the first trilogy, or after Sazed/Harmony altered them?

[VindicationKnight]

Vindication, are you asking about Koloss lifespans in the first trilogy, or after Sazed/Harmony altered them?

Both really, sorry should have made that clearer.

[Dunkum]

Makes sense.  Thanks everyone.

 

So gutfeel, what percent of people currently at first heightening would have inherited those breaths rather than buying them piecemeal?  A third? more? Less?  I'm assuming Oudeis and Labrat will say "less" and Dunkum will say "more"--anyone wanna propose a competing figure?

You're right about my answer: It's been a bit since I read Warbreaker, but my memory of it is that most of the people beyond the second o r third heightening were essentially wealthy merchants and the equivalent of nobility, many of whom would have inherited large portions of their stash.  I imagine that follows for the lower heightenings, though with a larger percentage who have clawed their way up from poverty, it is still likely that most of them inherited at least a few breaths.   of course this is all speculation, so I could very well be wrong.

[natc]

One I've been thinking on: is it possible to summon a shardblade/honorblade elsewhere than in your hand?

Was thinking that if someone bonded 10 honorblades at once, in addition to having all surges would it be possible to simply shoot swords at people nonstop by summoning them in midair all at once.

There's a heartbeat delay between dead blade summons that must be met one at a time, but honorblades don't seem to have that (implied to all be in Szeth's head). So it should be possible to summon a second or third honorblade microseconds apart?

I guess you can just summon 2 and throw them too. Maybe try lashing it if it's even possible.

I watched too much Unlimited Blade Works.

[Guest]

I just realized I think we're missing a few very important pieces.

1: I've seen a WoB that says Breaths run out similar to Stormlight, but at a slower pace

2: according to Lightsong, a 10-12yr old has a stronger Breath than an old man, a dying baby has a "flickering" Breath, and in the Ars Arcanum (I think), it says that the Heightenings are estimates based on "average" Breath strength and not a real Breath Count.

So it's possible that if people are passing their Breath on only very late in life, the they're passing on a weakened stash of Breath

[ecohansen]

Oooo!  Thanks LabRat.  That does change everything!

[ecohansen]

VindicationKnight, WoA page 212 says

 

"He [sazed] searched an index quickly.  Somewhere, he'd taken notes on a book about Koloss...Most Koloss bodies gave out before they reached 20 years of age.  The more "ancient" creatures were often a massive twelve feet in height, with powerful stocky bodies. However, few Koloss lived that long--and not just because of heart failure.  Their society--if it could be called that--was extremely violent."

 

And now question 22 for my list: When I was looking for that quote above, I came across the following:

 

WoA p. 211. "Sazed tapped his tinmind. The edges of his vision fuzzed, as always, but with the increased vision he could make out details about the large group settled into a hollow before him."

 

Any ideas on why ferruchemically tapping a tinmind reduces peripheral vision?  Would the same happen with allomantic tin?  Does Spook have deep tunnel vision only a few degrees wide?

 

And one last question to add to my list.  This came up on the "Bendalloy aging" thread on the mistborn board:

23. Does the process that prevents light from redshifting and dimming in a time bubble also affect ionizing radiation?  Are radiation levels lower than ambient inside a bendalloy bubble, or are they the same as outside the bubble?

 

And, actually, yet another:

24. When Vasher is suppressing his Divine Breath, why doesn't he instantly skeletonize a la the Lord Ruler?  Is he still drawing some benefits from the suppressed breath?  If a non-Returned Awakener lived 200 years at the Fifth Heightening, and then gave up all her breaths, would she experience Lord-Rulerlian insta-skeletonization?

 

******

NATC, I'm not sure if I understand your scenario.  What gives the blades the kinetic energy to shoot forward, instead of falling to the ground when they're summoned?  Why not just summon them already embedded in your opponent's liver, and skip the whole swordfighting/ swordshooting thing altogether?

 

That said, I could swear I've seen a WoB on a similar question,  and it was RAFO'd.

Edited July 3, 2015 by ecohansen

[Moogle]

1: I've seen a WoB that says Breaths run out similar to Stormlight, but at a slower pace

 

I've never read this WoB, would you mind citing it?

[VindicationKnight]

VindicationKnight, WoA page 212 says

 

Any ideas on why ferruchemically tapping a tinmind reduces peripheral vision?  Would the same happen with allomantic tin?  Does Spook have deep tunnel vision only a few degrees wide?

 

What I'm curious to know is, does a similar effect happen when tapping other senses?

[Oudeis]

I've seen a WoB that says Breaths run out similar to Stormlight, but at a slower pace

 

I've read this too... I feel like it's not on Theoryland, but there's somewhere Mr. Sanderson is talking to alpha readers and it's brought up...

 

What I'm curious to know is, does a similar effect happen when tapping other senses?

 

"I can smell things happening one hundred yards away, but not five feet to my left!"