Argent

I wonder if Saze will end up doing something that looks a little villainous to us, because balance...

The 17S has a history of usurping Brandon's chats. It's something that doesn't sit well with me, but it sits well enough for me to be able to enjoy the extra information EDIT Rashek, is this you speaking there? 'cause it sure as storming hell sounds like you!

Whatever it is, I would keep it to Elantris and maybe The Emperor's Soul. An illustrated reprint would be very lovely. A short film (in the 15 minute range, perhaps) should also be doable, but I want that mostly so I can see Raoden draw Aons in the air. For 15 minutes. An Aon compendium of sorts would please my (not quite) inner geek - I am a sucker for made-up languages.

Though it is that one of the Heralds went back and reclaimed (presumably) his or her Blade. Nale just makes the most sense. Shalash most likely doesn't have a Shardblade, given that in Basil's interlude she mutters something about maybe getting one.

Do you have to transcribe all the "um"s?

@hoidhunter, I am sorry, but I have to correct you on a few points. I feel like I am nitpicking here, but I assure you that I mean no offense - even if I my reply might look otherwise. A common way to define deus ex machina is "when some new event, character, ability, or object solves a seemingly unsolvable problem in a sudden, unexpected way." This is not what Hoid does. Furthermore, calling something or someone a deus ex machina is almost an insult in the creative world because of how often the concept is associated with an author's inability to solve a problem the characters are facing with the skillset they already have, and so he or she introduces a new element out of the blue. The equivalent of "And therefore magic!" or "A wizard did it!" So please don't say that Hoid is "a kind of deus ex machina". He is a cameo at this point, with a relatively minor impact on the plot. And even if consider him an unexpected and unforeshadowed problem solver, we still know that there is a reason he shows up when and where he shows up. So again, not a deus. Actually, Hoid looks nothing like Brandon. Disregarding the fact that Hoid's appearance changes from book to book, he is often described as having a hawk-like arrow-shaped face, sharp nose, blue eyes, and white hair - none of which are physical characteristics Brandon shares with him. The one thing they share is that they are both tall. I am also pretty sure Brandon has specifically said that he is in no way Hoid, he hasn't written himself in the books at all, but I can't find a reference WoB for that.

He hasn't spoken of any plans like that. I find it more likely that we will start seeing new edition of his novels that include related short stories (e.g. Elantris + The Emperor's Soul in one volume, which is something he wanted to do for Elantris' tenth anniversary).

It, unfortunately, is not. It's Ashyn, the planet where The Silence Divine (a.k.a. "diseases give you superpowers") takes place. EDIT: I should clarify that even though Ashyn is not the Tranquiline Halls (or at least I would be very surprised if it were), the Halls could still be a real place. One theory is that Braize did a 180-flip - from the heavenly Tranquiline Halls to the hellish Damnation. Another is that the Halls are simply not in Greater Roshar at all. A third is that they are real, just not in the physical realm. I am sure there are more.

This is very very unlikely. For somebody to be a Sliver, they need to (and I quote pretty verbatim) "have held most of a Shard's power and then lost it." I find it incredible that Tanavast would've handed Honor to one Herald after another just so they get the Sliver perks - which we know nothing about really. Couldn't have been Splinters anyway, Splinters are just lumps of Investiture that has gained sentience (by virtue of being lumps of Investiture, and everything points in the direction of Investiture naturally developing sentience if left alone long enough in large enough quantities). People, definitionally, can't be Splinters.

I have been consistently and not at all subtly dropping hints in Albino Dragon's general direction. Maybe one day...

It's certainly a good line of reasoning.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves on the Shardplate thing. A very valid interpretation of Brandon's answer is that at one point during the series some characters will come up with a similar theory - which may or may not be correct.

Hands. Off.

This bit, about Adolin killing Sadeas at the end of Words of Radiance... I am really happy with Brandon's opinion here. Many people, I think, would say that what Adolin did was immoral in the absolute sense, but I believe it's important to acknowledge that there should be some debate on the topic, there is a legitimate moral argument. Maybe what he did was immoral, but it's certainly something worth not dismissing outright.

The Elendel > Elend, Luthadel > Lutha(d) (?) question has been around for a while, but Brandon is remarkably tight-lipped about it.

I asked this during the Words of Radiance tour, I think he RAFO'd me. I need to check. EDIT: Yep, I got RAFO'd on this one: Q [30:50]: In the different worlds, can you Hemalurgically spike people with materials other than metal? For example a wooden spike, or a gem spike? A: RAFO. So nice one here!

Another theory - and I should explicitly point out that all we have right now is theories* - is that the sphere holds (the essence of) one of the Unmade, which are presumably really powerful beings, invested somehow by Odium. Showing the sphere, the presumed prison of an Unmade, may have raised the concern among the Parshendi that Gavilar was going to (unwittingly?) bring the Unmade back into the world; if the Unmade are the Parshendi gods, it could explain their harsh actions. * If there are any of you who are picky about the use of the word "theory" in a context such as this, I use it to mean a hypothesis.

Somebody should start a thread for theme songs in general, not just Prof's.

Is this what we should be seeing?

As per Seattle's Steelheart Signing, it was Adonalsium itself that Shattered, so it couldn't have been a person, or a Holder.

Yeah, because we definitely treat all scholarly and artistic activities as feminine...

Welcome! Brandon's books that take place in an alternative Earth are all non-Cosmere (so Reckoners, The Rithmatist, Alcatraz). P.S. I am one of "the great" mentioned above.

I have a webcomics problem

Elend, because I am very much like him. I would prefer to be a Feruchemist though, it's a magic system that, to me, sounds much more versatile and less action-oriented. Soaring through the skies by pulling on the metal in Chicago's skyscrapers sounds really cool, but these days I think I would be much happier if I could just store up some warmth so face doesn't hurt anymore, or some wakefulness, or some weight, because man do I hate stairs. As for my Allomantic metal of choice, I think I'd go with zinc. I am sure I could do some amazing things with atium (magic tricks, for example), or steel/iron, but I find the emotional metals the most applicable in today's world. How much better would this planet be if teachers could Riot their students sense of curiosity, excitement, and desire to find out new things? I probably wouldn't be a teacher, but I could see myself talking to friends (I occasionally find myself in the role of the science popularizer) and Rioting curiosity like it's nobody's business. Not to mention that I could lead some killer D&D campaigns if I had access to zinc! EDIT: @mistwannabeborn, you probably should edit your post and tell people not to ask you about Ferrings (it might be a common suggestions for a new question). Not until you find out what they are on your own

When somebody does, please mark White Sand questions appropriately, because many users either haven't read it (for one reason or another).