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Questions for Seattle Signing 10/14


hoser

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I pulled out the chart of orders and surges.  Apparently someone had also gotten most of what he was willing to reveal, but he said that the surge between orders 2 and 3 is Division, loosely based on weak/strong forces.   He took pity on me, and said that there is an order called Bondsmiths and a surge based on the idea of surface tension.  With the surface tension surge, you could snap a towel and make it stiff, for example. 

Nice. That's Kalak's Order probably.

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That last question was answered in that audio Eric posted recently. It can be either or. Most of the time Shallan just goes in with her eyes clothes, but Jasnah prefers to physical enter Shadesmar.

Oh Where is that that sounds interesting because I tought thkat it would be the other way around and Jasnath just closes her eyes and not Shallan and that would be cool to hear.

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Could someone post a transcript, or the audio link, to what Brandon said about Jasnah and Shallan entering Shadesmar? IIRC, every time we see Jasnah Soulcast, she either closes her eyes, or just does it so rapidly it looks like nothing happens.

 

Also, the fact that her second Surge is Transportation confirms a theory I had a long time ago - that when she throws "lightning" at the thieves, what Shallan really sees is Jasnah moving to touch each thief so quickly she only registers as a blur of Stormlight. Or something to that effect. 

 

Also, also - I'm just a tad surprised that Brandon put Transportation and Transformation next to each other on the chart, thereby giving both to one order. It pretty much makes the Elsecallers the most powerful (or most useful, however you want to call it) order. Imagine, being able to both soulcast and teleport. "Oh, you can slip and slide and grow plants? How nice...."

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Could someone post a transcript, or the audio link, to what Brandon said about Jasnah and Shallan entering Shadesmar? IIRC, every time we see Jasnah Soulcast, she either closes her eyes, or just does it so rapidly it looks like nothing happens.

The stuff on Jasnah and Shallan in Shadesmar is over here.

 

Also, also - I'm just a tad surprised that Brandon put Transportation and Transformation next to each other on the chart, thereby giving both to one order. It pretty much makes the Elsecallers the most powerful (or most useful, however you want to call it) order. Imagine, being able to both soulcast and teleport. "Oh, you can slip and slide and grow plants? How nice...."
Not every Radiant served in a combat role. Some powers were probably useful for other things.
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Not every Radiant served in a combat role. Some powers were probably useful for other things.

 

That's exactly what I mean! I guess we don't know exactly what Transportation allows Jasnah to do with it, but we know the Silver Kingdoms had Oathgates and that, at least for the upper classes, it wasn't a big deal to hop all over the continent multiple times in a day. And even in current times, the handful of remaining Soulcaster fabrials are essential to the economy. So, completely aside from their role in warfare, how important to society would a group of people who combined these two abilities have been, or could be? By contrast, Kaladin can walk on walls and fly, and stick things together. He's a badass warrior, for sure, but other than that, his existence, or the existence of others like him, isn't a paradigm shift for how society functions. The only other game-changing ability on a larger scale that we've seen so far is Growth/Regrowth. 

 

I guess what I'm saying is, from what we've seen so far, if I could join any Radiant order I wanted based on current info, I'd choose the Elsecallers any day of the week and twice on Sunday :-)

Edited by 11thorderknight
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Well I think it depends on the situation. Remember that zapping the thief from afar cost Jasnah a large gemstone so it much have used a collossal amount of stormlight.

 

Also bear in mind that Windrunners are supposed to be Shock troops, dropping out of the sky and battering the enemy.

 

I would think Elsecallers and lightweavers are primarily a support roles (logistics and intelligence I suppose) 

 

I can also see Edgedancers being brilliant covert operatives and spys.

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I don't agree with your assessment of the Edgedancers' role, MadRand. Growth and Friction don't speak spies to me - Lift's case, due to other reasons, is a special one.

 

This is a fair point. Still, they lend themselves to a more supporting role than a directly offensive one.

 

I could see them harrying / disrupting / slowing enemy troops I suppose. Plus the obvious application of regrowth..

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I would think the Edgedancers would have been a combination of field medics, support troops, peacekeeping, and embedded first responders. In a way, the divergence of their surges is an asset - it's kind of nice for the support forces to have access to the kind of defensive maneuverability that Friction gives them. Plus, Growth would have been useful for a lot more than healing; I'm sure it's a much more efficient way of using Stormlight to make food that Soulcasting. 

 

I imagine Windrunners and #10 as light cavalry (extremely mobile, versatile), Skybreakers and Dustbringers as heavy artillery, Edgedancers and #5 as support troops/field medics, Lightweavers as scouts/spies, Elsecallers and Bondsmiths as logistics/communications/transport, and Stonewards as infantry.

 

I'm super curious to find out what Surge #10 is going to be. I would think it would have at least some connection to living things, since order 10 is associated with animal life.

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How do you figure Order 10 has to do with animal life?

 

I can't attest to what his reasoning but I think I can make a guess at it.  The Essence for Order 10 is Sinew and has to do with flesh and such which mirrors nicely with Order 5 which has Pulp and plant-life.  I'm not sure if I quite agree though since growth seems to cover both plant-life and animal-life.

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Ok.  I know many of you have been waiting patiently for this.  I finally sat down and transcribed the Q&A from the signing line (nearly 2300 words worth).  There is even one (fairly substantial) bit for all you WOT-ers.  I have included Wetlander's and Hoser's names for their questions and comments in order to give props where props are due.  So, without further ado, enjoy the meal:

 

Q: Is Szeth’s sword noticeably smaller than other shardblades?

 

A: Yes

 

Q: Is Hoid in Shadows for Silence?

 

A: He is not.  I intentionally didn’t put him in…I wanted to indicate that he goes where there is an important reason for him to be there rather than just being a cameo in every story.

 

A: (From a question from Wetlander’s during discussion of Karaokeang’s surgebinding chart) I’m pretty sure the Herald faces all match up to their respective orders

 

Me: (speaking of the travel surge which Brandon referred to as transportation when looking at Karaokeang’s chart) It’s properly transportation rather than travel?

 

A: Yyyes, that’s the general thing.  This is the one that involves Shadesmar.

 

Q: Are there going to be other characters other than Hoid that will be crossing over between books?

 

A: Yes, in fact there are characters in the way of kings…(essentially mentions the known Ishikk worldhoppers).  I told people that there is a Terriswoman in Warbreaker somewhere, I believe that would be somewhat hard to spot.  That one, I don’t think you will be able to pick out until you see her later on and then go back and say ‘wait a minute’. 

 

Great magic unleashed here. (Written on someone’s Roshar map with an arrow pointing to the Shattered Plains)

 

Q: The change in how the magic (on Scadrial) interact with each other, was that done by Sazed?

 

A: Yes it was.  You will find a theme.  The snapping in Mistborn is actually a repeated theme through a lot of the different magics.  Um, but what I felt at the end of the day Sazed would do something about it.  So, even though that is part of the magic system, he changed that.  The change to feruchemy is more a matter of other factors such as the large amount of inbreeding [interbreeding?] that happened following…and things like that.  And so a lot of people with feruchemy sDNA mixing with people with people with allomantic sDNA has affected the way the magics blend, so to speak.  That‘s not done by Sazed.  That’s just kind of an effect.

 

Q: So there are two other planets in the Roshar system, are they the Tranquiline Halls and Damnation that you mentioned in TWoK?

 

A: (after consideration) There has been in the past knowledge of other planets in the system and that has indeed influenced the mythology of the world.

 

Q: As far as I can tell, in SA, we have seen three different lights: the stormlight, the amberlight in the flashbacks, and the dark light in the stone.  Do those correspond to the three Shards?

 

A: No, the amberlight is more a function of...it’s no different than the stormlight.

 

Q: So, you see that in a storm?  Like when gems gather that in the storm?

 

A: That amberlight is more related to…so, no…you are not seeing something other than stormlight.  That is like saying that stormlight in a topaz is a different color than stormlight in a sapphire.  It’s not different colors; you’re just seeing it filtered through something. The dark light of the, um, the gemstone that Szeth was given is indeed something different and distinct.

 

Q: Voooiidlight?

 

A: Yes, it is related to a different shard.  How about that?  (clearly not a confirmation of “voidlight”)

 

Q: If you have a series of inquisitors, like a family of inquisitors having children for generations over…

 

A: Would the hemalurgy influence the sDNA of the children?  Is that what you are asking? That is a hypothesis that has merit in the way the magic system works (grin).  It is not a supposition to be discarded out of hand.

 

Q: Do you have in your mind all, like, 150 different metallic effects?

 

A: Yes, but I haven’t named them yet.  I approached that and thought, “This is just mindnumbing”.  So, yes; one of the things I’d like to be doing and you may see more of this…each combination has a slightly different effect than what you’d anticipate.

 

Q: Do you plan on having, like, a final book for the cosmere?  Like, the Shards are gone; Hoid is the king of the universe?

 

A: There will be an ending to the cosmere sequence that will involve a lot of these things going on.

 

Q: Will AoL be a trilogy of its own or is it just going to be the one book you read from tonight? [speaking of SoS reading]

 

A:  Well, the 1st one was AoL, the one I read from tonight is the sequel, so there’s at least two.  I signed a contract with, well, I haven’t signed anything yet.  I offered Tor two more beyond AoL; so, SoS and one more.  So, I have promised Tor three of them.

 

Q: So, there could be more?

 

A: I have not plotted this one.  It does not have the same sort of interconnected arc as the others.  It could go further.  I think I would cautiously most likely do three or four and stop and if I wanted more short books like that, I’d pick different characters in a different location.

 

Q: Was the book Wax reading written by the guy who gave it to him?

 

A: No, it was not.

 

Me: Spook?  Sounds like Spooks voice.

 

A: (smiling) It certainly doesn’t sound like Marsh.

 

Q: (Something about what advice Hawkwing gave to someone)

 

A: Everyone expects Hawkwing to, like, take Tuon to task (regarding the Aes Sedai).  But, people forget that he didn’t care much for the Aes Sedai himself, and he also conquered the world and is sort of a tyrant, but a great tyrant, along the lines of some of the great conquerors of our world.  Um, I think he would be fairly proud of Tuon, all things considered, and his advice would be more like, how to seize her country back, and things like this.  People expect him to be like, “Arthur Hawkwing is going tell her to let the Aes Sedai go and stop (muttered) slavery.  I think he would be like, “This is awesome! You’ve got captive Aes Sedai?”

 

Q: I’ve heard that approach challenged by, because when he was so anti-Aes Sedai was because he was being influence by Ishamael.

 

A: He was.  He was.  He was.  There is definitely that.  But, remember, he is part King Arthur, noble, and part Alexander the Great, conqueror and destroyer of those who opposed him.  And so, keep in mind that this guy has both of those sides to him.  And, even not influenced by Ishamael, being offered captive Aes Sedai who will do anything he says, this is not something that I think any ruler in the history of our world would have turned down or at least not considered strongly. 

 

Q: Is Hoid any of the Shards of Adonalsium?

 

A: Good question.  He does not hold a shard.

 

Q: Anything close to…Is he a worldsinger?

 

A: He has a relationship with the worldsingers.

He came so close to asking a great follow-up question: Was Hoid ever a Shard?  But, alas, no, it did not happen.

 

Q: What was the inspiration for the necromancer pizza delivery story?

 

A: Death by Pizza.  I came up with laws of necromancy that I thought would be super cool and I tried to find a book that would fit it.  And, that book was fun, but bad.  The rules were that necromancy is someone that has been killed and returned to life and each time they return they are more powerful.  So a guy who has died five times and got more powerful throughout the course of a novel is a cool archetype that I thought would be a fun thing.  So, it’s like at the end of the novel, “I need more power, so do I die and get it? Or, not” and things like this.  It was a cool concept and even with a mashup with an urban fantasy world, the world was not built enough so that in the end it was like he was running around an empty city not one populated with as much mythology and wonder and storybook as I wanted an so I eventually said it isn’t working and maybe I’ll pick it up again another time.

 

hoser: Are you willing to tell me anything about the history of the Vanrial community at this time?

 

A: What specifically did you want to know?

 

hoser: Well, is their eye color lighter than the typical Alethi peasant?

 

A: (after a long pause) I think I’ll just stay away from this for now.

 

hoser: Can you tell me something about the Larkin and their abilities?

 

A: You will see something about them in the second book.  Their abilities are tied to stormlight.

 

hoser: (speaking of the division surge) Is that a reframing of, at one point in time you were talking about weak/strong forces?

 

A: Um, weak/strong forces, yes, that’s the one that sent me there partially.  Like, I’m not actually… the idea of the fundamental forces is a cool thing to me so it’s not like I’m actually trying to use the weak and strong forces, the idea of there being fundamental forces.  I wanted to go off on it in a fancy way.  Like this one right here I told them was surface tension.  But it’s not really surface tension.  It’s more like um, the people with this could take a piece of cloth and snap it out and it would become hard as if the cloth became steel.  I’m trying to explain this scientifically, but it doesn’t work scientifically.  Imagine as if they could restructure the atoms so that they became a latticework like a crystal rather than being soft like…cloth.  I’m calling it surface tension, but it’s not really surface tension.

 

hoser: Tensile strength?

 

A: (hedging) It’s kind of like tensile strength.  I have to go through Peter and say “Alright Peter, come up with what we should really call this.” He does the hard science a lot better than I do.  I do the armchair theories and then he goes, “Ok, now this is the math if someone were to actually fall off of this and 0.7 gravity and the weight of the bridge…”.  (looking back at the chart) So what can I give you that I didn’t give her? Um, one of the orders is called Bondsmiths.

 

Wetlander: Did the splintering happen before the Recreance?

 

A: I will reveal this as we go.  However, be aware that in the past, when a Shard was killed, the person holding it, it is a slow burn to actually kill someone; because power cannot be destroyed.  So, what it means to be killed means something a little different in these cases.

 

Hoser: did Tanavast survive Honor’s splintering?

 

A: Tanavast is dead.  Good question.  However, that is as of the start of the WoK (i.e., not including the prelude at least).

 

Hoser: So he could have survived the splintering…

 

A: He could have survived the splintering.

 

Hoser: …as a mortal…

 

A: Well, he could have survived for a time, but then he could not have then…right.

 

Hoser: …passed away in his sleep…

 

A: Right. (Indicating that Tanavast would not have passed away from old age)

 

Wetlander: Was Odium able to splinter Honor because the Heralds abandoned the Oathpact?

 

A: Good question. Um, their abandonment of the Oathpact is related…but mostly tangentially.  If I was pinned down on that, I would say no. 

 

Wetlander: Is there any of the Oathpact still functioning because e of Taln continued participation.

 

A: Yes, indeed.

 

Wetlander: Is the Palanaeum named for Palah?

 

A: Yes.  In fact, it was named based on…it was Greek in our world…the Athenaeum?  It was based off of that.

 

Wetlander: Did we see Palah?

 

A: I believe every one of the Heralds is mentioned or shown somewhere in the first book.

 

Wetlander: Someone was wondering whether the old woman who was wandering around the Palanaeum was her.

 

A: That is a very good guess.  I won’t say specifically, because some of them are intended to be more obvious and some of them are intended to be red herrings.  So, that was a very good guess.

 

Wetlander: Please explain what you will about shards and splintering and slivers.

 

A: An event happened long ago which destroyed something called Adonalsium into 16 pieces.  And 16 people took up that power.

 

Q: People?

 

A: I call all intelligent species people.   If someone takes up the power and lets go of it, it has the effect much like a balloon that’s been stretched and then the air is let out.  I call that a sliver; based off of TLR calling himself the Sliver of Infinity.  TLR is someone who held the power and then released it.  And so, current slivers are TLR, Kelsier, and there may be others around who at one point held the power and let go of it.  A splinter is a term used by certain people in the cosmere for power of Adonalsium which has no person caring for it, no…no person holding it, which has attained self-awareness.

 

Wetlander: So is that like the mists and the Well?  Are they…

 

A: They are not, because they have not attained self-awareness.  But, the Seons are self-aware.  So, any piece, for instance there were some spren on Roshar before Honor and Cultivation got there.  Those were already splinters of Adonalsium where he had left power which attained sentience on its own.  So, it can be intentional is what I am saying, does that make sense?  You have seen other splinters.

 

Wetlander: Are the highstorms related to the splintering of Honor? (Brandon spoke over the word Honor in starting his response)

 

A: The highstorms are more related to the mist from Mistborn which terminology we have not discussed yet. (also affirmed the well as being similar).  You have seen splinters quite a bit on various planets.

Edited by Shardlet
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Some good stuff in there. I am probably most excited about how we have seen all of the Heralds in The Way of Kings - which, I think, also implies that they are all alive. Since I started (slowly) rereading TWoK, I am tempted to make a list of all the characters and start crossing them. Anyone wanna help?

 

Let's see, what else... Braize has a good chance of ending up being Damnation. I am willing to completely ignore the Tranquilline Halls for now. Also, this Voidlight (let's capitalize that, since its counterpart also is), this is interesting. For some reason I had assumed that even Voidbringers would use Stormlight to power their abilities. Unfortunately, we probably haven't seen enough to theorize properly.

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Some good stuff in there. I am probably most excited about how we have seen all of the Heralds in The Way of Kings - which, I think, also implies that they are all alive. Since I started (slowly) rereading TWoK, I am tempted to make a list of all the characters and start crossing them. Anyone wanna help?

Now that sounds like fun!  Play the "everyone who isn't identified very specifically is a potential herald" game.  Seriously though it sounds like fun.  

 

The information that spren are potentially splinters of Adolnasium is very interesting.  This definitely helps make a bit more sense of some other things we'll probably learn in WoR (not being specific, as I don't want to spoil). 

Edited by deddinty
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Wow, this is crazy awesome stuff. In so many ways.

Wetlander: Are the highstorms related to the splintering of Honor? (Brandon spoke over the word Honor in starting his response)

A: The highstorms are more related to the mist from Mistborn which terminology we have not discussed yet. (also affirmed the well as being similar).

I feel this is very, very important, in a way that may not be obvious. My theory-senses are tingling...
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Well, wasn't it established that the mists were essentially Preservations body/power? It's probably too simple of an explanation, but what if Stormlight is Honor's body/power? The highstorms themselves are not the same as the mists of Preservation, but the Stormlight they carry (somehow) is? Strictly speaking, this could satisfy Brandon's response.

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Well, wasn't it established that the mists were essentially Preservations body/power? It's probably too simple of an explanation, but what if Stormlight is Honor's body/power? The highstorms themselves are not the same as the mists of Preservation, but the Stormlight they carry (somehow) is? Strictly speaking, this could satisfy Brandon's response.

I agree with this.

 

So theoretically, can a Surgebinder that is out in a highstorm (like Kaladin, but someone who knows what he's doing and wasn't beaten to unconsciousness beforehand) use all the Stormlight in the highstorm instead of a tiny portion trapped in a gemstone like Vin used mists?

 

Speculate!

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Forgive me if he's said it before, but I noticed around the end, Sanderson referred to Adonalsium as a 'he'.

 

I was just about to post the same thing! I must say its very interesting!

This confirms that Adonalsium had a consciousness. Probably also had a sex, namely male.

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Forgive me if he's said it before, but I noticed around the end, Sanderson referred to Adonalsium as a 'he'.

 

That portion did make me grin when I heard it.  But, caution, there are no singular gender neutral pronouns in American English.  I wouldn't read too much into it...yet.

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