Theory on Fabrials and the War (SDCC Reading)

[kuiinteth of isaana]

Like quite a few others on the 17S Discord Server, I had one major nagging question after the SDCC Reading. How does the fabrial we see work? While it's effects are somewhat clearly shown, the method behind it is very important to understanding the weapon, and to understand the nature of the arms-race that is apparently going to be an essential part of Rhythm of War. Although this theory definitely does have holes, I think it's a fairly elegant solution, though it's definitely not perfect. 

To start let me lay out the basic groundwork my theory builds on. Maybe I'm wrong about this, since I can't find the reading on Arcanum yet, but I remember Syl saying something along the lines of 'I felt faded, distant' when Kaladin asked her about the effects of the fabrial. Despite it's ability to block Radiants from surgebinding, the Fused seems to find no issue. Lift, notably, is also affected by the aura of the machine. Finally, Kaladin is still able to hold Stormlight, but not use it.

My theory is essentially this: The fabrial somehow pushes the Realms apart, weakening the Physical presence of Spren, and weakening Radiants ability to access the Nahel bond. This theory seems at first a simple, clean answer, that makes at least some Realmatic sense (to my admittedly weak understanding of Realmatics). It also, to me at least, seems to line up that if a Perpendicularity can pull the Realms closer, an 'anti-Perpendicularity' can push them apart. When the Realms are pushed apart like this, a Spren has to reach 'further' to give the Radiant the benefits of their bond, thuse causing the weakening, or in the specific case we saw, elimination of the powers given by that bond.

The information we have does make it somewhat difficult to come to such a simple conclusion, due especially to the apparent specialized nature of the fabrial, in blocking Radiants but not Fused. Indeed, at first, this seemed to be the end of the road for my theory when I discussed it briefly on Discord. However, there is a simple work-around that makes a decent amount of sense. 

You can't stretch a bond when the Spren is wholely in the Physical Realm. So, a second claim is necessary to make this theory work. Singer bonds bring the spren wholely and irreversably (unless released) into the Physical. There's no apparant reason, from what I've seen, that this would be implausible, and it would make for interesting implications for the future of the war: fabrials that can be used as weapons would be the only counter to the 'anti-Perpendicularity', and thus, we have out arms-race, since fabrials, like Singers, trap Spren in gemstones. Radiants, on the other hand, strengthen their bond with each Oath, and the Fifth Ideal, the way I see it, likely brings the Spren into the Physical Realm.

To conclude, based on the information in the Sand Diego Comic Con reading, it seems logical to me to say that the fabrial we see used by the singers pushes the three Realms apart, and makes things like the Nahel bond, which operate through multiple Realms, substantially weaker. However, a Spren trapped in a gemstone, like in the case of Singer bonds, or another fabrial, is wholly in the Physical, and so cannot be pulled apart from their host the same way. Radiants who have sworn their Fifth Oath, giving their Spren total access to the Physical realm, and full Physical manifestation, would likely similarly be unaffected by a fabrial like this, or at the least affected substantially less.

I'd love to hear back from some of you awesome Sharders out there with feedback, refutations, or just critiques of my theory. I'm sorry I don't have a lot of textual evidence for this, but I don't have a transcription of the reading, and I don't have time to look back into the books or rewatch the video for references at this time.

[+Oltux72]

15 minutes ago, kuiinteth of isaana said:

You can't stretch a bond when the Spren is wholely in the Physical Realm.

Well, a Shard Blade is about as physical as it gets. In fact more so than a spren in a fabrial. It is solid metal.

[kuiinteth of isaana]

2 minutes ago, Oltux72 said:

Well, a Shard Blade is about as physical as it gets. In fact more so than a spren in a fabrial. It is solid metal.

Well, yes, but I'm thinking that it's about the strength of the bond, and saying that there's some fragment of the Spren still in the Cognitive, that causes the Spren to be pulled 'away' from the Radiant, but this is definitely a weak point in my theory.

[Pagerunner]

Selected portions of the reading, for reference:

Quote

The [Void]light dimmed suddenly.
Kaladin's powers vanished.
He felt it as a strange smothering sensation, as if something heavy had been placed upon his mind. His full weight came upon him again, his Lashing cancelled. Syl gasped as her spear puffed away and became a spren; as Kaladin tried to resummon his Blade, nothing happened.
...
Kaladin strained to create a Lashing. Stormlight still raged inside of him and kept him from needing to breathe the acrid smoke, but something was surpressing his other abilities.
...
"Are your powers suppressed, too?"
"Yeah," [Lift] said. "What'd they do to us?"
"I'm extremely curious about this, too," Syl said, zipping over to the device on the floor, a gemstone covered in metal pieces and resting on tripod legs. "That is a very strange fabrial."
...
"A moment later, Kaladin's powers returned. He sighed in relief, though that made Stormlight puff out before him. Nearby, Goedeke gasped, unconsciously breathing in Stormlight, his wounds starting to heal.
...
He glanced at Syl, who sat on his shoulder. "Have you experienced anything like that before?"
She shook her head. "Not that I remember. It made me feel faded. As if I wasn't quite here."

It definitely appears to target the Nahel bond somehow, since there are three different effects (Syl can't manifest as a Blade, Goedeke can't breathe in Stormlight, and Kaladin can't expend Stormlight to Lash), and the only commonality is that they're granted by being a Radiant. I wonder why Kaladin's Lashing was dismissed, but he still kept his Stormlight.

As to the Realms part of the theory, I don't believe that Radiant spren exist in the Cognitive Realm while they are bonded. It's something they talk about a lot.

Wyndle (WoR):

Quote

"I...I'm not sure. Mistress, the transition to your side was difficult and left holes in my memory, even with the precautions my people took. I..."

Pattern: (WoR)

Quote

"Coming to this place, this world of yours, I had to give up many things. The transition was ... traumatic. My memory returns slowly, but I am pleased at the chance."

Syl (OB):

Quote

"In Shadesmar, we can think on our own, but if we go to your realm, we need a human bond. Otherwise, we're practically as mindless as those gloryspren.
"But how did you make the transition?"
"I..." She adopted a distant expression. "You called for me. Or, no, I knew that you would someday call for me. So I transferred to the Physical Realm, trusting that the honor of men lived, unlike what my father always said."
...
"Could you transfer again?" Kaladin asked. "To carry word to Dalinar that something might be wrong with the Oathgates?"
"I don't think so. You're here, and my bond is to you."

In the reading, Syl doesn't say "distant," she says "not quite here." Which is a subtle but important distinction. If the Nahel bond is broken or weakened, yes, Kaladin loses some of his powers, but Syl would also lose her sentience. As she says in her interlude from the newsletter:

Quote

Syl kept hold of the idea, cradling it, then let herself be otherwise distracted by the storm. She danced for its entire passing, though she couldn’t leave with it. She needed to stay within a few miles of Kaladin, or her Connection to the Physical Realm would start to fade, and her mind would weaken.

If the Nahel bond is reverted, she would lose her mind and becomes like a windspren, which is something that happened to her multiple times throughout the books, like when she flies to get Kaladin blacksbane (or whatever it's called, the poisonous leaf) in Way of Kings or when Kaladin starts to regress in his bond in Words of Radiance. But in the reading, she says that she's never experienced anything like this before, which would seem to indicate it's not a weakening of the Nahel bond itself.

All that being said, there are points both ways. The fact that Syl can't manifest means it has to target more than just Surgebinding; but it can't go after the Nahel bond wholesale. I would be very interested to see how other forms of Investiture that manipulate Surges without a Nahel bond (such as an Honorblade or a Soulcaster) would behave in this void-fabrial's field.

[Karger]

It could generate some kind of anti investiture.  Doing so would push the realms apart.  Alternatively and I think more likely.  It drains kinetic investiture from the surrounding area making it impossible for spren to really manifest.  We have see this before MB spoilers.

Spoiler

With leachers using that box in BoM

 

[+Oltux72]

29 minutes ago, Karger said:

It could generate some kind of anti investiture.  Doing so would push the realms apart.  Alternatively and I think more likely.  It drains kinetic investiture from the surrounding area making it impossible for spren to really manifest.  We have see this before MB spoilers.

  Reveal hidden contents

With leachers using that box in BoM

 

(Scadrial)

Spoiler

Leaching would make his internal reserves go away.

And the Stormlight is still capable of acting as a replacement for breathing.

[Karger]

1 minute ago, Oltux72 said:

And the Stormlight is still capable of acting as a replacement for breathing.

So?

It also did not destroy Syl.  Perhaps they are both too strong for that in terms of identity and investiture quantity or perhaps it was targeting Syl and not Kaladin. 

[dgreene196]

Maybe the fabrial just disperses powdered aluminum.  Would that disrupt Investiture in the manner described?

Note:  I’m 90% kidding, at least about the fabrial’s function.

[+Oltux72]

11 hours ago, Karger said:

So?

(Scadrial)

Spoiler

Replacing breathing is a form of kinetic Investiture. You drain a metal mind if you use it.

Now, ity is possible that replacing air is just the most basic function of Stormlight, hence it still works. However, summoning a Blade does not need Stormlight at all. Kaladin did it even after he had run dry.

Also teleportation still worked. If that was the Surge of Transportatition, the fabrial was strictly aimed at Stormlight specifically.

11 hours ago, Karger said:

It also did not destroy Syl.  Perhaps they are both too strong for that in terms of identity and investiture quantity or perhaps it was targeting Syl and not Kaladin. 

If the fabrial could be defeated by your spren just going back a few dozen meters, it would suck.

[Isilel]

19 hours ago, kuiinteth of isaana said:

My theory is essentially this: The fabrial somehow pushes the Realms apart, weakening the Physical presence of Spren, and weakening Radiants ability to access the Nahel bond.

<snip>

The information we have does make it somewhat difficult to come to such a simple conclusion, due especially to the apparent specialized nature of the fabrial, in blocking Radiants but not Fused.

 

I agree with your theory, but in addition I'd like to point out that the Fused have something fundamentally different from the Nahel bond - surge-binding is somehow baked into their Cognitive Shadow, so they aren't 2 conjoined beings, but one. Which is why they are not affected, IMHO - once embodied the Fused are all in the Physical Realm and while increased distance between the realms likely makes the use of surges harder for them, it can't stop it entirely. IMHO, they are in for a big surprise when the fabrial won't affect Singer Radiants, because them housing  Nahel spren in their gem hearts creates a closer connection that can't be interfered with. Ditto the fabrials. I have long thought that the breaking point for the struggle would be decreased reliance on the traditional Radiants on the side of anti-Odium forces, because the use of fabrial will give normal people a chance against the Fused - this is bound to accelerate the trend and also to bolster the acceptance of singer Radiants among the humans.  The first of them being a Willshaper is very appropriate, given what we now know about the Order.

[kuiinteth of isaana]

4 hours ago, Isilel said:

 

I agree with your theory, but in addition I'd like to point out that the Fused have something fundamentally different from the Nahel bond - surge-binding is somehow baked into their Cognitive Shadow, so they aren't 2 conjoined beings, but one. Which is why they are not affected, IMHO - once embodied the Fused are all in the Physical Realm and while increased distance between the realms likely makes the use of surges harder for them, it can't stop it entirely. IMHO, they are in for a big surprise when the fabrial won't affect Singer Radiants, because them housing  Nahel spren in their gem hearts creates a closer connection that can't be interfered with. Ditto the fabrials. I have long thought that the breaking point for the struggle would be decreased reliance on the traditional Radiants on the side of anti-Odium forces, because the use of fabrial will give normal people a chance against the Fused - this is bound to accelerate the trend and also to bolster the acceptance of singer Radiants among the humans.  The first of them being a Willshaper is very appropriate, given what we now know about the Order.

You articulate a great many of my unspoken reasons for liking this theory, although you should be aware that Page has fairly thoroughly refuted it. I still think there's space for an anti-perp to exist, and have some powerful consequences, but I think that this theory is fairly unlikely at this point in time. Regardless of the root cause, I think that all of the consequences you mention sound like really fun ideas to cover, and I hope that some of them do wind up being main parts of the 'arms race'.

[Karger]

I recently came up with another theory.  This fabrial allowed voidbinding but not surgebinding and we know investiture resists investiture.  What if it floods the PR with some kind of Voidlight calibrated to act as interference?

[Lightspine]

On 7/24/2020 at 6:53 AM, kuiinteth of isaana said:

You can't stretch a bond when the Spren is wholely in the Physical Realm. So, a second claim is necessary to make this theory work. Singer bonds bring the spren wholely and irreversably (unless released) into the Physical.

I think you've got a cool theory, but I believe you may have gotten this part a bit backwards. It's been my belief ever since we learned about spren "betraying" the singers in favor of humans that the Nahel bond brings a spren more fully into the physical realm than a bond with a singer. Singers are closer to the cognitive realm than humans and thus have less to provide, so to speak, to the spren through their bond. (I thought there was a WoB on this, but can't find it. Perhaps I'm wrong!) This is why (might be paraphrasing, just reciting this from memory) "though broth are we, their meat is men." (referring to spren, spoken from point of view of a Listener)

To me, this is basically confirmed in Oathbringer when Syl describes leaving the Cognitive Realm. When Syl decided to to seek a bond with Kaladin, she had to enter the physical realm completely and lost a great deal of her memories and intelligence. @Pagerunner already cited the relevant quotes in his earlier reply. From what we can tell, she is still in the Physical realm even when she is not being summoned as a Shardblade. Some other evidence for this is that windspren are some of the few spren that can interact with objects physically, just as Syl does (bringing Kaladin a leaf), and we know that they in particular exist far more in the Physical than the Cognitive.

Edit: Originally I didn't have much of an alternative theory of my own, but I thought of something now.

I like your theory because I do believe that the fabrial must somehow be targetting the Nahel bond. The Nahel bond, however, isn't Cognitive but Spiritual; Syl and Kaladin's spiritwebs are connected, and Syl's spiritweb will be damaged if Kaladin breaks the bond by breaking his oaths.

This is different from the Fused. As @Isilel pointed out, the Fused aren't necessarily operating with a "bond." It's clear that the singer who originally inhabited the body of the Fused is dead. Thus, I believe that the spiritweb has been replaced entirely with that of the Fused, rather than "bonded" to the cognitive shadow. The fabrial could work, therefore, if it weakens spiritual connections. So, maybe Connection?

It sounds right in my head, but there's some problems with this. We don't understand Connection entirely, and when we see it used in the Mistborn series it's towards the land/culture and not towards other spiritwebs. Could this fabrial make you forget how to speak your native language? Hopefully one of you has a better grasp of how Connection works, and if it's even the same thing as the spiritual Nahel bond. I would really love to learn more/be corrected if I'm wrong.

Edited July 26, 2020 by Lightspine

[Isilel]

Oh, and imagine the Fused's unpleasant surprise if they ever try this fabrial on Azure! I'd really love to see it .

[Lightspine]

I didn't deeply research my theory last night about how the fabrial might be using Connection since I was about to sleep, but I've now found some pretty compelling evidence surrounding it today.

I did a bit of digging and found this WoB:

Quote

Questioner

If a Knight Radiant were to store Connection and Identity into the appropriate metalminds on a heavy basis, would it affect their spren bond, and how?

Brandon Sanderson

Oh, right. Yes, but I won't answer the how, but it definitely has an effect. 

Orem signing (March 10, 2018)

I think this pretty solidly backs the idea that the fabrial could somehow work by suppressing Connection. It's solidified by what Syl says to Dalinar in her interlude:

Quote

“Your abilities are what made the original Oathpact,” she said. “And they existed—and were named—long before the Knights Radiant were founded. A Bondsmith connected the Heralds to Braize, made them immortal, and locked our enemies away. A Bondsmith bound other Surges and brought humans to Roshar, fleeing their dying world. A Bondsmith created—or at least discovered—the Nahel bond: the ability of spren and humans to join together into something better. You Connect things, Dalinar. Realms. Ideas. People.”

Here, Syl is asking Dalinar to strengthen her bond with Kaladin, and pretty strongly implies that he might be able to do this because he can manipulate Connection. This explains why the ability he used to speak Azish strongly resembles the Connection Feruchemy we see in Mistborn Era 2.

However, this quote from Syl's interlude mentions Connection and might make things a bit tricky:

Quote

She needed to stay within a few miles of Kaladin, or her Connection to the Physical Realm would start to fade, and her mind would weaken.

If the fabrial had reduced Syl's Connection to Kaladin, which is providing her Connection to the Physical Realm, shouldn't that have lead to her mind weakening? Syl doesn't seem to experience this, so I could be off the mark.

This is where the theorizing gets a bit rocky. I'm completely convinced that the Nahel bond comes from Connection, but it's hard to say what the effects of lessening that Connection should be—Sanderson basically RAFO's that part of the question—and if it could line up with what we see the fabrial doing. My gut instinct is to say that Connection strengthens as one progresses through the oaths, and therefore the consequences of reducing Connection should look a lot like reverting back a few oaths. This would line up with being unable to summon Syl as a shardblade, something Kaladin couldn't do until his last oath. However, Kaladin has been able to use surgebinding even before he swore his first oath. In addition, we see Godeki (? spelling unknown) unable to take in stormlight while the fabrial is active, another thing that Radiants are able to do before their oaths. However, we don't know which oath Godeki is on—if he's just first or second oath, maybe his Connection was weaker to begin with and the weakening effect of the fabrial was more profound. There's a lot of room for speculation.

[+Oltux72]

12 hours ago, Lightspine said:

This is where the theorizing gets a bit rocky. I'm completely convinced that the Nahel bond comes from Connection, but it's hard to say what the effects of lessening that Connection should be—Sanderson basically RAFO's that part of the question—and if it could line up with what we see the fabrial doing. My gut instinct is to say that Connection strengthens as one progresses through the oaths, and therefore the consequences of reducing Connection should look a lot like reverting back a few oaths. This would line up with being unable to summon Syl as a shardblade, something Kaladin couldn't do until his last oath. However, Kaladin has been able to use surgebinding even before he swore his first oath. In addition, we see Godeki (? spelling unknown) unable to take in stormlight while the fabrial is active, another thing that Radiants are able to do before their oaths. However, we don't know which oath Godeki is on—if he's just first or second oath, maybe his Connection was weaker to begin with and the weakening effect of the fabrial was more profound. There's a lot of room for speculation.

Well, it is actually odd for the Fused to develop such technology. There are maybe a few dozen Radiants, but at least hundreds of Fused and thousands of Regals at least. If both sides acquired such technology, Odium's side would suffer a lot more. Hence I would assume that it is based on a principle that cannot be turned against the Fused, or alternatively it is trivial

(First of the Sun)

Spoiler

Maybe this is just what what a strong Aviar would do on Roshar

or

(Scadrial)

Spoiler

This is what a coppercloud looks like

and the Radiants would discover it anyway in due course or the defense would be something simple like an aluminium helmet, so this thing is a gimmick to be used once or twice.

[Lightspine]

7 hours ago, Oltux72 said:

Hence I would assume that it is based on a principle that cannot be turned against the Fused, or alternatively it is trivial

One of the reasons I was proposing the Connection theory is that the Fused don't operate through bonds, as they haven't bonded the spiritweb of the singer whose body they are inhabited but rather completely replaced that spiritweb with their own.

However, I really like your coppercloud idea. It has some merit, although we would still have to explain why the Fused could use Transportation. That said, wearing an aluminum helmet would definitely not protect against a coppercloud's effects. If anything, wearing aluminum mimics a coppercloud. Aviars work in pretty much the same way.

[Karger]

I am surprised they tipped their hand so early.  Maybe they were not sure it would work and wanted to field test?  Also maybe since the radiants have no idea how to get voidlight it will just run out giving them a worthless gemstone and some metal?

[Pathfinder]

So I had a thought, though this has to do with Mistborn spoilers which is why most of my response will be spoilered:

Spoiler

 

"I think it works like a leecher (chromium). Now the response would be "well why would Kaladin still hold stormlight then?" But think about the nature of each of the things suppressed when the fabrial was activated and compare it to Wax. Kaladin's lashing was dismissed. That was an active use of his investiture. Just like when Wax is actively burning his metal. If Wax swallowed metal but did not burn it, or as shown on the train, it is in the vials, the leech does nothing. It only removes the metal when it is being burned. When it is active. Just like how Syl was a shardblade. She was being "used", she was "active". The edgedancer could not take in any new stormlight, and Kaladin could not employ what stormlight he already had. We have not seen what it looks like when a leecher is holding someone down, burning chromium, with the person then trying to burn the metal. Based on this instance, theoretically the misting would be unable to begin burning their metal since the leeching effect is already in effect. 

Then there is the WoB that says a leecher actively leeching a shardbearer would prevent him or her from summoning her blade. So I think this is different than a being like Chiri Chiri, because Chiri consumes investiture, while it seems leeching dispels or locks away access. 

 

 

[+Bzhydack]

39 minutes ago, Pathfinder said:

So I had a thought, though this has to do with Mistborn spoilers which is why most of my response will be spoilered:

My thout exactly, but we also need explain why Fused can use his Surges.

We know that Investiture block other Investiture unless it has the same Identity, we have ShardPlate as example. The most logical explanation is that Fused and this strange Fabrial has the same Identity of Investiture. So this mean Fused uses Voidbinding with the same way as standard Surgebinding, but simply fuel Surges by Odium Investiture. We know also they are Cognitive Shadows, made from Odium Investiture, so this mean Fabrial has to be also fueld direct from Odium. This will mean all Fused will have the same Identity as Odium, or they have no Identity. Or fabrial is not affecting Investiture with partial-maching Identity (Like only with Honor/Cultivation signature). Maybe Identity has levels? Like Shard, type, place, individual or something like that?

If Fused has the same Identity as Odium, this mean that that fabrial fueled by Stormlight should be able to cancel Fused abilities, but cancel also all Radiants beside this one who launch it. If is somewhat Identity-selective, so should be possible to use against Fused without turning off Radiants.

Edited July 27, 2020 by Bzhydack

[Pathfinder]

2 hours ago, Bzhydack said:

My thout exactly, but we also need explain why Fused can use his Surges.

We know that Investiture block other Investiture unless it has the same Identity, we have ShardPlate as example. The most logical explanation is that Fused and this strange Fabrial has the same Identity of Investiture. So this mean Fused uses Voidbinding with the same way as standard Surgebinding, but simply fuel Surges by Odium Investiture. We know also they are Cognitive Shadows, made from Odium Investiture, so this mean Fabrial has to be also fueld direct from Odium. This will mean all Fused will have the same Identity as Odium, or they have no Identity. Or fabrial is not affecting Investiture with partial-maching Identity (Like only with Honor/Cultivation signature). Maybe Identity has levels? Like Shard, type, place, individual or something like that?

If Fused has the same Identity as Odium, this mean that that fabrial fueled by Stormlight should be able to cancel Fused abilities, but cancel also all Radiants beside this one who launch it. If is somewhat Identity-selective, so should be possible to use against Fused without turning off Radiants.

I think the reason might be simpler. I think it has to do with the nature of the fabrial, not anything to do with the voidlight. Remember there was a detecting fabrial that would alert you if people were coming from a distance in a radius. You could set it to exclude the people in the immediate area otherwise it would continually go off. Further in that case, everyone was "human" yet there was a way to set it to exclude specific individuals and include others. So I think its just a setting that can be done to fabrials normally. Just this one happens to be powered by voidlight, and its purpose is to act like a

Spoiler

leecher

 

also got to do some digging later, but I feel like I have a vague recollection of a WoB regarding:

Spoiler

a leecher leeching a feruchemist. Which may be a more accurate representation of the similarity to stormlight. A metalmind can only be leeched when it is being actively used, and I could have sworn a WoB said leeching a feruchemist would prevent them from tapping, but that portion could be wrong.

 

Edited July 27, 2020 by Pathfinder

[Karger]

4 hours ago, Pathfinder said:

spoilered

MB Spoiler

Spoiler

Leachers can destroy metal reserves that are not actively being burned.  Just like aluminum.

A chromium Misting is known as a Leecher. Chromium acts just like aluminum inside the body, causing any Allomancers touched by a Leecher to lose their metal reserves.^[1]

 

[Pathfinder]

1 hour ago, Karger said:

MB Spoiler

  Hide contents

Leachers can destroy metal reserves that are not actively being burned.  Just like aluminum.

A chromium Misting is known as a Leecher. Chromium acts just like aluminum inside the body, causing any Allomancers touched by a Leecher to lose their metal reserves.^[1]

 

Please see the post I made just prior to yours. Thank you. 

[Karger]

3 minutes ago, Pathfinder said:

Please see the post I made just prior to yours. Thank you. 

I did.  Please be slightly less patronizing.  Thank you.  Also the WoB you referenced was probably this one.  MB spoilers.

Spoiler

Questioner

Could a Leecher take away stores in a metalmind?

Brandon Sanderson

You’ll have to find out.  That’s a RAFO.

Calamity Seattle signing (Feb. 17, 2016)

 

[Pathfinder]

12 minutes ago, Karger said:

I did.  Please be slightly less patronizing.  Thank you.  Also the WoB you referenced was probably this one.  MB spoilers.

  Reveal hidden contents

Questioner

Could a Leecher take away stores in a metalmind?

Brandon Sanderson

You’ll have to find out.  That’s a RAFO.

Calamity Seattle signing (Feb. 17, 2016)

 

My intent was not to be patronizing. I figured you missed my most recent post where I added an comment. I literally said please and thank you. I thought I was being polite.