Oudeis

It did have a charge. I'm reasonably sure there's a WoB out there somewhere confirming it's actually a small piece of one of the spikes of an Inquisitor.

He did cancel last time because of a storm...

What's your costume? I sorta wonder if Ryshadium aren't the result of a bunch of Truthwatchers using the Progression Surge on pregnant horses over the course of a few generations to literally genetically modify better horses.

I don't think this is actually "widely accepted", not here on 17th Shard, anyway. I think what's "widely accepted" is that we know tantalizingly little for certain, and that almost anything is possible. This could be how it works, though it was only made up for the MAG. However, given that one of the Sanderson Laws is that limitations are more interesting than powers, I would personally be surprised if it was quite as simple; I imagine that if nicrosil does have such utility, it will be accompanied by restrictions we don't yet know. I could, of course, be wrong. Because we don't know enough about nicrosil to know anything for certain.

I disagree, he's not controversial! Just my little joke, of course. You're right; feelings on Szeth are all over the map. He inspires tremendous sympathy, and rightly so... and also tremendous ire, and rightly so. Eh, my thought on Szeth's ending is... that it's far off. Who can say what can or might happen in the books to come? If most of humanity fails to survive to book 5 (at this point, most of humanity might not survive the first chapters of book 3), we could be looking at an entirely different story. Hopefully, we'll get our first good look at the Stone Shamanate, and that might provide some much-needed context. At this moment, I have difficulty seeing a path that would lead to anything but Szeth's death. That said, there might be many miles to walk before we get there, and the path could look very different by then.

Just to be clear, there's a WoB somewhere that most Seekers are savants; it's just an incredibly easy metal to always be burning with no bad side effects. So, it's not a matter of savanting = sense the well. But I wonder if it might be part of it; do Savants have that bit of themselves permanently 'pushed', even when not burning? That would seem to be the opposite of Tin savanthood... when Spook stops burning, he can barely experience the world. Of course, tin is pulling and bronze is pushing, so maybe having opposite savantness makes sense? Maybe tin lets you burn more, better, but with the drawback if you stop, while bronze savants instead get their button stuck to 'on'... though I may suddenly be recalling a WoB saying that bronze savants get larger ranges... I should look these quotes up. Any thoughts?

She glows. For reference, this is when she's summoning Awesomeness in order to use Growth, so even when she's calling it up to directly use it, she still glows in the meantime. Szeth: In short, there are some messes too broke to fix, all you can do is make an ending. Unless you happen to believe, "Survival at literally any cost is most important," I don't believe a life of isolation and exile would be kind even to Szeth himself; existence for him now is pain and misery, without significant hope of that changing. You said you think he simply doesn't care, and that he'll be better if he learns to. I disagree whole-heartedly. Szeth absolutely does care, which is why living is, for him, torture. Caring, every moment of every day, about every life he took. His problem isn't apathy. It's agony. Sitting him somewhere to wait decades until his body stops would not be a kindness to him, I believe. I can't personally conceive of a different resolution. The guilt of having killed hundreds of people does not simply dissolve, under literally any circumstance.

Eh. You seem to be operating on the assumption that life is best in all circumstances. Szeth himself hoped to die, and was upset he didn't. One of the reasons I think Szeth's death might be the best circumstance at this point would be for himself; is there any reason to suspect he wants to live for life's sake, at this point? He's not a very happy man. Also, I have difficulty imagining that it will ever be safe to assume that Szeth will definitely never harm another person; as I've mentioned, his very existence will harm the families of his victims. And even if he does get "redeemed" (which I don't see how anything short of full heroic sacrifice could redeem him by this point), if there's nothing permanent in his guilt, then there's nothing permanent in his redemption; what's to prevent him from following a new code of laws slavishly and with as bloody and pointless a result? I'm gonna read this section again... I feel like I would have noticed if she was a Surgebinder who didn't seem to hold Stormlight. I realize she metabolizes what she needs, but she's also got the storm in her blood like Kaladin mentions when he's simply Invested. It would be incredibly remarkable for her to expressly not be glowing while doing this, and I feel like I would have noticed.

I disagree... Wyndle makes it seem like Regrowth is a big deal. Doesn't she glow noticeably when she's only about to make some plants grow? How could she grow less noticeably than that to have enough stormlight to bring someone back from the dead? Is it expressly stated that it was "a very small amount" of Stormlight, or is that an inference on your part? Also, she was basically lying on the ground on top of the corpse. Did no one think that was odd? At least worthy of question? They seem to have unanimously come to the conclusion that he performed the miracle of Regrowth on himself; I just find that odd, given the circumstances. Though no odder than a group in a bureaucracy actually coming to a conclusion. Eh, punishment for criminals is a complicated issue. Does it not cause the victims of his family pain, seeing him walking around, empowered, free, unpunished for his crimes? Does it not cause them undue harm to deny them closure? How do you measure damage? At the end of the day, we all have our own opinions, we all have our own "this matters, this doesn't," but there's no way to prove it. You can't measure suffering. "It would cause 89 SI units of suffering to leave him alive, and 109 SI units of suffering to kill him. He remains alive." Ultimately, it will always come down to our own personal philosophies. I do think you're downplaying the damage a lack of justice can do. My friend lost family in an incident officially classified as a "massacre", and I can assure you, if the man responsible had simply walked free, it would have done significant damage to her. His imprisonment isn't some "compensation" to her; it was an incredibly necessary closure. And I assure you, this man believes even less than Szeth that he did anything wrong.

I've recorded twice. Here are my thoughts on it. 1. Phone's usually good. I've found an external battery to be helpful under a multitude of circumstances, but if you don't want to get it it shouldn't be a problem. Try to do various battery-saving stuff that day (airplane mode, turn location off, etc) and it should last for the session pretty well. I've been lucky enough to go with people when I've gone, and I've just let them take the lead in anything requiring a phone. 2. Check your phone to see if you have a recording app. Mine came with one, I never had to download it. It's called Voice Record or something; open your apps manager and just search for the word 'record'. Otherwise any basic one will do, like Easy Voice mentioned above. 3. I've typically talked to the staff first. "Hi, my name is ___. I'm from his fansite. (Bit of credibility there.) At most signings, Mr. Sanderson is okay if we record the audio of his signing line. Would you mind if I leave my phone near him to record?" 4. If you phrase it like this, I've always been directed to the man himself; basically you're giving them the option of "don't personally deal with me" and people love taking that option. 5. Mr. Sanderson is way more experienced than any of us at this kind of thing. You can basically say, "Hi, I'm the Sharder recording you this time. Do you mind if I leave my phone here to record the signing line?" The two times I've asked, his reply was basically, sure. 6. Phone placement. Put it off to the side. You don't want it getting in the way, you don't want someone putting their book on it by mistake. It will pick up audio WAY better than you might think. Keep it away from microphones or speakers. Don't put it on power cables. Try to aim it so that the part you talk into is pointing towards The Man. If you have the time/inclination, test it out a few times and see what quality audio you end up getting. Don't stress, don't worry, and at any point if anyone gives you a flat "no," accept it and move on. We're lucky that we have the audio of so many lines, and I feel it's important we not take this for granted. If someday it doesn't work, for whatever reason, then it doesn't work. Enjoy yourself, have a good time at the signing, have your own question written down beforehand so we all know exactly what you asked, and try to write down his exact response as quickly after you step out of the line as you can. Just my thoughts.

But she does use it, against Marsh. And this is after Ruin is free, and presumably has greater influence, and is directly looking right at her, we know for a fact, whereas in her fight with Zane his mind/attention may have been elsewhere. I also don't think we need to look for supernatural effect; sometimes people just don't think of something. There's no special reason this should have been so obvious it's a wonder she missed it. Like I said, it was just a game.

No worries! Very minor distinction. I assure you, I've been misread worse. And I hadn't even thought of this... is there ever a time she sense the Well without her earring? I believe she's wearing it more-or-less constantly for that whole book. Raising another question... ostensibly, the reason to keep her earring is to use it as a weapon if she ever needs a final scrap of metal. She even does so, in Hero of Ages. Why, then, doesn't she use it when she's having her "the floor is lava" contest with Zane? For that matter, why is she so surprised when he gets a coin out of nowhere? Coin in the mouth is somewhat useful, but wouldn't it have worked just as well with like, a belly-button ring or something? I guess it's a little easier to hide than an earring if you have a coin in your mouth, but her reaction is that it's something impossible no one has ever thought of... when she has a trick of her own very similar. Which she somehow doesn't use. I guess Vin just didn't think of it. Which is fair, sometimes people just don't think of things. It's not like touching the ground first was life-or-death.

Well... what drew Nin to Szeth was, Szeth's blind obedience to law, beyond reason. So we can maybe assume Szeth will keep that, even if the law he was upholding has proven false; there's every chance he'll simply find a new law to uphold. That said, if he wants to kill Taravangian, I do not believe Taravangian passing a "you cannot kill the king" law is gonna stop him. It was presumably illegal within Alethkar to kill Gavilar, or any of the other Highprinces, Kings, Prime Kadasixen, what-have-you. Szeth was obeying his own law of Shinovar, not each individual place. That said, Nin does seem to believe each individual place has the right to their own laws. And he seems to expect his followers to obey these laws. I wonder if his random minion will actually be convicted of attempted manslaughter? Since the man he tried to kill (and might technically have succeeded) is now the ultimate appeal of the land, I don't personally see his chances as being very good of leniency. I digress. With Nin require Szeth to obey each country's laws? With Szeth agree to this? Stay tuned, I suppose. I agree with Pulse; at this point, Szeth might just be broken beyond repair. I personally have comparatively little sympathy for someone obeying a stupid law and slaughtering dozens of innocents because he was following orders, but I don't see Szeth as a true 'bad guy'. I do think he's just a mad dog at this point, and for the good of all mankind, himself included, should probably be put down. Not as punishment or anything like that. It's a Gordian Knot, basically. There's not a possible positive outcome. I don't believe anything can bring the man peace, anymore, not while he lives, and frankly it's unfair to all of his many, many victims and their families if he avoids all punishment, whatsoever. The only solution I can see at this point would be a severing. Still, perhaps Mr. Sanderson will come up with something better. A simple "redemption," however, I'm not sure I see how that could be. We saw from his own PoV that he went so far off the deep end I wouldn't believe him simply "getting better", and nothing he could ever do would make up for the death and terror he has inspired. Whether he personally accepts responsibility for his crimes or not (which he says he does) I'm not personally willing to accept a "no responsibility" verdict. To digress even further: How do people think Gawx healed himself? A glowing young girl dives out of nowhere, spits light onto him, and suddenly he's healed. Who is dumb enough to think that's something he did to himself? I'll re-read the passage, but wasn't he crowded around by people? Weren't a ton of people watching? Between this and the Duel... people on Roshar must be really, really stupid.

That I know of, she never sensed the well without the spike, she sensed it without burning bronze. Which gets into the nature of bronze, of course. We know bronze does something internal and mental. So it's pushing on something inside of yourself, and that causes your body to sense when allomancy is being used (or other things, clearly). Why was she still able to sense the well when she wasn't actively pushing on anything inside herself, at all? Was she a bronze savant at this point? Was it all in her head; she she simply believe she felt the pulses after months of listening for them constantly? Is part of being a bronze hemalurgist that your power is always 'on', if only a little bit? Basically, this fact is a slight indication that our understanding of the Metallic Arts might not be all we think it is.

Mr. Stewart also does some website administration for brandonsanderson.com, yes? And I believe he's an author in his own right. And I've heard he does some sculpting.

I feel like I heard somewhere that with three books coming out so close, the publishers were basically planning what works out to one huge tour, broken up into three sections by book. So, presumably, places neglected by the first might be visited for the second or third leg. This might just be wishful thinking on my part. And terror, as this means the potential times he might come near me are blizzard season, again, the reason the only signing within four hours of me was cancelled last time.

The "reply" box is gone on mine... is it over? Did I get the final reply ever in this months-long AMA?

Does anyone know, I believe I saw a WoP on this once... isn't there something about specifically how one should order books to most help Mr. Sanderson? Like, buying a physical hardcopy of the book within the first week "counts" as more as far as "best-seller" lists and whatnot? I think I heard it somewhere but I forget specifics.

OKAY. I think I'm done. Link in the OP works, too, but here it is if you want to click. There comes a point, earlier than I would have liked, when I'm forced to acknowledge that there simply isn't enough data for pure analysis and I jump deep into speculation. In the end, I didn't come up with very much. I'm hoping when Shadows of Self comes out, if we get more data, or if someone else wants to look over it and find a connection I missed, it might actually provide a framework for further study.

Upon realizing that with feruchemical gold, especially compounded, I would almost certainly be able to fix my eyesight and not need glasses, I'm changing mine to a definite, mistborn-with-feruchemical-gold. I believe that gold would be able to fully heal my sight, but even if it could only heal the damage done to my eyes from an infection I got as a youth, I'd at least be able to wear contacts.

Here's another question. Is a hemalurgist, a Misting? Does Misting mean, person born with one allomantic power? Or does it mean, someone who currently possesses one allomantic power? Was Quellion (the Citizen) a Misting once he got his spike? Who is doing the defining, and what's the definition? I would suggest that without the word Misting, a normal person with a spike granting bronze allomancy would definitely be considered a Seeker. Stormlight Archive

That's possible, but Seekers like Marsh are many orders of magnitude more powerful than Alendi. The number of spikes he would need, he'd look like Pinhead. The alternate theory has been proposed that each Spike was used to kill SO MANY Seekers they finally built up a huge charge. I find issues with either theory. We know Ruin's mind wasn't totally free, but we also know he was still able to influence people, not even just the spiked but the crazy. Is it not possible he was able to power Alendi and Vin a bit? Also, if my alternate theory about how purely allomantic bronze couldn't sense Preservation's Investiture for the same reason tin filters the mist is true, it still works... though it doesn't answer why Alendi had to be a Seeker in the first place. Do we know he was a natural Seeker with a spike, or was he a Seeker by virtue of the spike?

Personal theory: We know the Shards can directly power their own arcana. I personally believe that it didn't matter how much charge was in the spike; as long as it was hemalurgically-granted allomantic bronze, Ruin could power it to the point of being able to detect the Well. Worth noting, there came a point when Vin could hear the pulsing without even burning bronze. Also worth noting: She was able to sense it from outside the Central Dominance; Alendi first felt it when he was in the mountains. Also, Vin detected it very slightly in the very first book, well more than a year before the Well filled and could be used, months before the mistsickness began. Alendi only sensed it, not only when he was close, but within weeks of taking the power. EDIT: Alternate theory that just occurred to me. Tineyes see through the mists, because their bodies are attuned to Preservation. Maybe normal Seekers, of whatever power, are so "attuned" to Preservation that the pulses of the Well pass right through them with no resistance. Maybe the fact of a hemalurgic spike "turned them against the current" as it were, and that's why they could sense the Well. Worth noting: Do we know if Marsh was able to sense the Well at any point after he got his spike? I don't think we get a POV from him between the spiking and the Well being used. We know he knows where it is, but by then he's under Ruin's control. Back while they still sorta trusted Marsh, I'm surprised Ruin didn't use that to somehow tell Vin where the Well was. We know Ruin wanted her to find it.

Eh, considering the nutritional properties of crem, I'd be surprised if the weekly influx of their equivalent of fertile land literally inundating the entirety of the continent didn't mean that food wasn't typically scarce. Recall that Kaladin's family found those roots, not the tastiest thing, but nourishing and literally a weed that other people got rid of. They might not be able to farm like earth, but life will exist wherever life can. Where life can't, this sometimes takes longer. (Credit to Terry Pratchett for that line, btw.)

I thought it had been confirmed to be Nazh, a worldhopper from Threnody (spoilers through the link). However I cannot find the attribution... In short, Nazh has a tendency to travel the cosmere gathering data on items, events, people and phenomena of interest. Exactly what is interesting about them sometimes changes; realmatically interesting, historically interesting, sometimes just narratively interesting.