RShara

Dayton http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/6815-anyone-going-to-the-dayton-signing-19th/ Luke and darkanimereal1 Q: So, the Purelake in Shadesmar is mountainous. Does this in any way have to do with the fact that the Purelake is so shallow? A: No. I haven't yet discussed the nature of the relationship between Shadesmar and the Physical world. Q: So, when Dalinar has his vision in what he assumes in the Purelake, he sees an obsidian fortress. Is that fortress in any way related to the fact that the Purelake in Shadesmar is mountainous? A: No. Q: Please don't tell me you're going to do a love triangle between Adolin, Kaladin, and Shallan. A: [Phrased very carefully] I'm not a fan of the traditional love triangle. However, I am fond of conflict in relationships. Q: The weepings--Shallan and Kaladin react very differently to them. A: They do. Q: It just seems to me that the Weepings feel very close to Cultivation. A: The primary thing you're noticing -- and I'm not going to say there's not any magical influence -- but the primary thing you're noticing is that Kaladin has season defective disorder and Shallan likes the rain. That's the primary thing you're noticing. I like the rain--my wife hates it. My wife gets depressed when it rains and I love when it rains. Q: Did Taravangian go to see the Nightwatcher before or after Gavilar's assassination? A: Um, oh man. I'm going to have to look at my timeline. I believe it's before, but I can't guarantee I'm right, because these things are all happening around the same time. Q: Because he says that Gavilar confided in him the night of. A: Ooooh, you're right. Nope, it's after. It is after. You can send that question to Peter so we can confirm it. There might be something I'm forgetting about Taravangian. [Peter said by PM: "As far as I can tell from what the book says, he went to the Nightwatcher after the assassination."] Q: What caused a Desolation to end? Was it just the defeat of Odium's forces? Because the Desolations start when the Heralds break under torture. A: Because the Heralds can no longer be in existence. There is a certain period of time that they can be there, and after that, if they're there, they will start a new one. So the Heralds do need to leave for a Desolation to end. Q: Oh. So they've got a time limit. A: They do. Otherwise the Desolation will start again. What they discovered is not all of them have to. As long as one remains, the Desolation will not start again. Q: So, by the nine leaving, did that actually break the Oathpact for them? Did it change the cycle of Desolations? A: They have not completely broken the Oathpact, despite what they may think. Q: How much stormlight equals one breath? Do you have an actual ratio? A: I have a ratio. It's not on me. Q: Okay, that's a Peter question again. A: Yeah, well, I may not answer it even then. Q: Are the Heralds actually aware that Taln is back? A: Are the Heralds aware that Taln is back? Uh, you're implying that this person actually is Taln. [The smile on Brandon's face at this moment was the best, most excruciatingly awful smile ever. And we thought Peter was a tease.] Which is not guaranteed. It's not guaranteed. However, the return of the Voidbringers does indeed indicate to them, in their mind, that he would have returned. Q: So they assume because the Voidbringers are returning-- A: Because the Voidbringers are returning, would be a clue to them that Taln has returned. Q: You mentioned that human can’t bond Honorblades, but Nalan tells Szeth that his bond with his Honorblade has been broken. Can you clear this up? A: Humans CAN bond Honorblades. There's a crucial difference between Honorblades and Shardblades. When you drop an Honorblade, it does not disappear, even if it has been bonded. A Shardblade will disappear when dropped. Q: Which map holds the Easter Egg? A: The main map of Roshar. Q: From which book? A: Either book, it's the main one that will go in each copy. It's VERY hard and it won't change a whole lot. Q: Does it have anything to do with the compass? A: Not the compass. Q: How many parties were there to the original Oathpact? A: The Heralds and Honor. They thought that by walking away from their oaths, that it would break the Oathpact. They're going to find out that it's not quite as broken as they had previously thought (meaning the Heralds).

Lexington (would like audio for this if anyone has it) http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/6984-lexington-ky-signing/ tganchero Q: (Brandon mentioned changing Kaladin's plot so that he chose the "hard" path) What was the hard path? A: Kaladin initially accepted the shardblade and plate in the first book, and the rest of the book was about him fighting with them. Really boring. Q: Are highstorms a meteorological or magical phenomenon? A: Both. Q: Did the mistress from the interlude in book 1 destroy the Shalash statue on the night of Gavilar's death? A: Yes, and also all the other ones that we've seen, including the one in Shallan's vision in Words of Radiance. Q: Is the mistress Shalash? A: RAFO. Q: How many oaths can a Radiant swear? A: There is an upper-limit/threshold to the number of oaths a Radiant may make. By the end of WoR, Shallan is a step higher than Kaladin. Not completely sure on this one: He said that at one point Shallan may have said all the oaths for her order (or may have been capable of saying all of the oaths by the end of the book) but has since regressed due to "memory loss/repression." Regarding Dalinar: He said that Dalinar has had a bond with the Stormfather "for a while." He also only said one oath at the top of the Urithiru tower, not two. Dalinar conveyed a single idea in that particular oath. Brandon also clarified that the oaths, with the exception of the first ideal, are not restricted to specific words. Rather, a specific idea must be conveyed for the oath to be accepted. gpmushu Q: Do darkeyes feel the Thrill? A: Yes, they do. Q: Do highstorms get weaker as they move west because of normal meteorological reasons the same way a hurricane gets weaker over land or is it because they slowly drain investiture as they infuse spheres over the whole continent? A: Both. He said that anything like that will be affected by both normal science as well as the magic, but then he added that the highstorms are a natural occurring phenomenon that were on the planet before stuff started going down. I didn't get this confirmed, but I think he meant the stormlight part of the storm was added later, I'm assuming by a Shard. Q: Has the Thrill existed longer than the Death Rattles or have they both been occurring for about the same period of time? A: The Thrill and the Death Rattles started around the same time, but the locations for the two fluctuate and have been since they appeared. (This is just a way of confirming that the Unmade have been active for about the same amount of time. Both started around the time Gavilar started to explore the Shattered Plains according to Taravangian.)

Phoenix/Scottsdale (would like audio for this if anyone has it) the_archduke http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/6605-words-of-brandon-compiled/page-5?p=112550#entry112550 Q: Is the woman around Wit's age named Reya? A: RAFO Q: Is the Moon Scepter an object of Investiture? A: The Moon Scepter is an item that is important to Hoid, but I won't say why yet. Q: Was Szeth's resurrection done with Rosharan Investiture or that from Nalthis? A: RAFO Q: What is the effect of the Nahel Bond on human lifespan. A: RAFO Q: Does Hoid have all the abilities of the planets he's visited? A: Not yet. Q: Is chouta (sp?) based on food from Korea? A: (Long explanation about industrializing societies developing portable food) and no, it is Mexican/Italian, think deep fried meatballs in a soapapila (sp?) Q: Who are your biggest literary influences? A: Robert Jordan (big crowd laugh) and Victor Hugo. Q: Were Shardblades influenced by lightsabers? A: Yes (long aside about how everyone in the last 40 years was so influenced), but not sure how direct of an influence. Q: (Something about how he got his ideas for knights) A: A knight has a sword, armor and a horse. (my interpretation of the answer is that Ryshadium were closely related to the ancient Knights Radiant) Q: Will Kaladin ever get Wit's flute back to woo a certain red haired young lady? A: Wit is very mad about Kaladin losing the flute. If he recovers it, he wouldn't let Kaladin have it again. Q: (overheard at a distance) Is there time travel in the Cosmere? A: We haven't seen time travel into the past, but we have seen it into the future in Alloy of Law.

Omaha [Would like more audio for this if anyone has it.] http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/6777-questions-for-omaha-signing-3-13-2014/page-3 Q: The hair color: is there a link between the hair color in Warbreaker and the hair color in—like with the Alethi always have black, and I can't remember the other country that always have their gold hair coloring? A: Yes. You are noticing something very interesting which was done deliberately. Q: If you write Nightblood, the Warbreaker sequel, chronologically, will it come before or after Stormlight? A: Before. More close to Warbreaker than to Stormlight. Q: So do you know what the end of the series is going to [can't make out the rest]. A: I do. I've actually written the epilogue to book five. Peter, my assistant, like sent an exlamation point after he saw that apopear on the wiki. Actually the ending of the entire series, of the ten books, is somewhere in the two books. Just like in Mistborn it was in the first page. It's not in the first page but it's in those books. Q: There are some scientists talking about spren, and they seemed to be describing the positioning...[can't make out the rest]. A: It does, but it's really behind the scenes. This is just helping you understand the nature of spren, kind of their relationship to subatomic particles and quantum thery and things like this. There are relationships there. It's even one or two steps further than what you see in actual quantum physics. In this book you get a discussion of the theory on spren that should relate right back to that. Watch for stuff that Jasnah says about spren. It's worldbuilding stuff that's not part of the main story. It's fun for scientists. Q: Is Wit a Herald? A: Wit is not a Herald. Wit predates the Heralds. Sir Jerric Q: Has Hoid ever visited the planet Braize? A: [sing-song, delighted] RAFO. Such a big RAFO! The biggest RAFO! Q: Could a Seon, or a Skaze, could they turn into a, some sort of Shardblade on their own planet? A: That is theoretically possible. It's—I mean they work under the same fundamentals, but they would need to have something to pull them more into the physical realm. Q: Do we see the highspren at all in Words of Radiance? And if so, do they look like a comet? A: That's a good question. That's a gooood, good question. I will say this, the comet, hmm, the comet spren. The comet spren is very important to an order of Knights Radiant. Macen Q: What group, if any, was Shallan's mother a part of? B. RAFO. But you are right, she was indeed involved. Q: Was Shallan's father influenced at all by Odium? B. Yes. Q: Is it possible to bind with more than one spren? (then I added in) of different types? B. I'm not going to say it's impossible. Q: Will there be more romantic subplots? I really enjoyed the scene between Shallan and [can't make this out]. A: There will be more romantic subplots. There will definitely be. If you watch, there will be a lot more. I'm a big fan of romance. Q: Are there any other continents on Roshar? A: I haven't said if there's anything else out there, but I have said that it's a pangaea. Meaning if there's anything else out there, they are small. They are not of a similar scope in size. Now on Scadrial, there's other stuff going on. And I've told people that for years and years and years. So you may find some other stuff going on there. So the southern continent was populated on Scadrial, during the Final Empire era even. It was just impossible to reach because of the heat. The poles were the only habitable places on the planet. So anything in between just cooked. Final Empire was on the North Pole. Q: We know that 10 is an odd number in the cosmere. And I noticed that the Lord Ruler specifically released 10 Allomantic metals. Is there a reason behind that? A: No, that was a coincidence right there. 10 is an odd cosmere number for Roshar, and there are reasons why it is Q: But it wasn't just Roshar, it was also Nalthis and Warbreaker. A: Nope, that one is a coincidence. Sometimes they just pop up that way. Part of the original reason that Roshar was 10 was I was going for a 10 day like Robert Jordan did, which I thought was cool. But then I ended up writing the Wheel of Time so I have to do something different now. So it turned into the two five-day weeks. Two five-days becoming a 50 day month. Q: The Cognitive Realm, is Shadesmar a Roshar specific term? A: Shadesmar is a Roshar specific term. But when I translate from what other people are saying in these books, I just translate it to Shadesmar. For instance, when Wit is talking about it, he's going to call it Shadesmar, he's just going to use the Roshar term. But no, Shadesmar is what--it's called there. Q: With the whole ground/water inversion thing, is that a cosmere wide thing? A: That, you will need to RAFO. But I will say that there are places in Shadesmar that are different, and some that are the same. Q: [Not sure on this] Is there something important about the stone, and the girl that's missing that has to do kind of with the stone, and how Tien gives him rocks? A: Some of that you're reading too much into, but something is real. I'm not going to tell you what is what. But there's definitely something about that. Q: When Hoid was talking to Dalinar, he seemed to expect that Dalinar had heard of Adonalsium. Why would he think that? A: He thought that Dalinar was part of some of the secret societies on Roshar. And he had thought his way into thinking Dalinar was part of them and that was how Dalinar was knowing certain things. Which he really wasn't he was getting them from the storms and things like this. But he thought that Gavilar had confided things in Dalinar. That Dalinar would know more about this. So he was kind of testing to see. And he was wrong. Q: I was thinking of how Shardplate in Dalinar's first vision looks different than Shardplate is now. Syl can only transform into a Shardblade after he says the third round of Oaths. Is Shardplate the next set or will it be a totally different [Can't make this out.] A: You are totally going to get a RAFO. You are asking good questions. Q: If someone is using an Honorblade, would they be able to bond a spren? A: It is indeed possible. It does not block it. Good question. You do not have to bond Honorblades. Honorblades work with whoever holds them. [syl was mainly created to be a figure of light to contrast with Kaladin's darkness.] Q: Why does Hoid show up in all of your books? A: Because they're all connected and he's searching for something. Q: Soulcasters, [can't make this out] do they visit Shardsmar, do we see more about them? Because they're [can't make this out] something about them with the stony face. A: Yes, the actual soulcasters. Use of the soulcasters is affecting them on one of the Realms other than Physical. Q: Can you tell me something about Tension and Cohesion? A: I haven't actually written these magic systems yet, so they may change. But they are--Tension is the ability to take something flexible and make it rigid. Which sounds simple, but there are so many cool things you can do with that. Q: Is Shallan's mother, the one that she kills, is that her birth mother? A: It is. Good question. Q: What Heightening is Hoid? A: [Coy] I don't know what you're talking about! Heightening? He's just the King's Wit! Q: With perfect pitch? A: He does have perfect pitch! [Even more coy]You're obviously misconstruing that! Q: Are Heralds Surgebinders without Honorblades? A: That's a RAFO. That's a big fat RAFO! [This was answered at another signing.] Q: [Can't make this out] A: Sigzil claims Hoid is his master Q: [Can't make this out] A: Sigzil is not a world hopper, but he spent some time with Hoid during one of Hoid's visits. Q: A couple of days ago, you mentioned some person called Khriss. Has he actually appeared or been referenced in any of... A: She! has appeared and.... Q: I guessed as much because one of the pictures says "Dear woman!" toward the end of the book. A: She has appeared in--if you ask around about Khriss, she has appeared in unpublished books. Q: Is Khriss the author of some of the Ars Arcanums? A: [Teasing]Oh I dunno. That's very interesting Q: Does Khriss owe Nazh a new coat? A: [Long pause]I'll stay closed mouthed on Khriss. Kythis Q: [Didn't hear] A: Hemalurgy-when you spike, you place the spike in a place that determines which charge the spike gets. Q: Through the heart seems to pick up universally. A: It depends on where in the heart. It's like acupuncture. This is designed from acupuncture and you get very specific on which nerves you're hitting and things like that Q: So the spike will never pick up more than one power. A: Not the way they know how to do it. Q: Can they hold more than one Honorblade at a time? A: That is theoretically possible. Q: The names Zahel and Nahel bonds are very similar. Is it coincidental? A: It's part of the linguistics. They're based off of similar suffixes. They're the same suffixe I believe. Q: Is there a specific # of Ideals that they have to do before they can get the Shardblade? A: It depends on the Order. Q: How did Pattern actually become a Shardblade even though he hadn't been fully pulled into the Physical Realm? A: He was pulled into the Physical Realm before, when Shallan was younger. And she almost broke her bond. Q: He didn't go mad though. A: She didn't completely break the bond. She didn't reject him completely. But it was dangerous for a while. Q: Is there anything Hoid was scared of? And if so, is it still around, and... A: There are many things that Hoid is scared of. He is really scared of Odium, but there are others. Q: I'd kind of like to get you to talk more about Southern Scadrial but... A: That, we're just going to wait on. Q: I have a theory that it requires Hemalurgy to get started. A: Hmmm! Good plot, good theory!

Houston (would like audio for this if anyone has it) http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/6743-brandons-answers-in-houston-311-signing/?p=110173 Awesomeness Summoned (Added to the Database) Q: Where was Pattern before Shallan drew him? A: He was around. The bonding process had started when Shallan was young but then she pushed him away and he withdrew mostly to the Cognitive realm until the bonding was started again and she pulled him fully into the physical when she drew him. Q: What is the realmatic composition of Investiture? A: Investure is intended to be the building blocks of the Cosmere so I would say for the most part it transcends the different realms. Probably more of the spiritual if anything but more accurately it transcends them. Q: Were the heralds born on Roshar? A: RAFO Q: If Hoid were to hold an unsheathed Nightblood, would he feel sick? A: (Loud laughing) RAFO Q: Are the Ghostbloods accounted for in the Diagram? A: The Ghostbloods are in the Diagram. Q: Why is Vasher on Roshar? Is he trying to get back Nightblood? A: Kind of a RAFO. I won't go into all his reasons right now but there is one thing that was difficult to get on Nalthis that is much easier to get on Roshar. Going to Roshar solved that problem for him. Q: Something about why he put Nightblood in the Stormlight Archive? A: Nightblood and Vasher were in the original version of the Way of Kings before I wrote Warbreaker. Warbreaker in a way was actually introducing those two characters I'd already created. Q: Can you write an unknown ideal? A: They are still rough so this might not be the exact wording but: "I will stand when others fall." Q: How much more powerful is Nightblood than a a regular Shardblade? A: I haven't actually quantified that in my own mind so can't give an accurate comparison at this point. I will say that when he is fully consuming Investiture he can do some really freaky things. Q: If a non Windrunner picked up Jezrien's honorblade would they gain Windrunner powers as well? A: Yes Q: If a Windrunner picked up that blade, would their abilities be enhanced? A: There would be some compounding but strength is not as much an issue with surgebinding as is the strength of the spren bond and how much Stormlight you are using. Q: Why were all the shardblades swords when they can take on any weapon form they want? Would they all revert to swords when they die? A: When they die they'd revert to the basic form which was a sword since they were patterned after honorblades. Q: Feruchemists that can store Investiture, would they be able to then use that to power allomancy with say stormlight? A: RAFO Q: Lift is my favorite character even though she was only in that one chapter. A: You will see much more of Lift in the future. Lift is seeded there because she will be very important later on. Q: Have we seen Cultivation's magic? A: Yes. Q: Is Hoid the most knowledgeable about what's going on in the cosmere? A: No, Khriss is the most aware by a long shot. Nazh knows a lot as well. Hoid might know more than Nazh but he is pretty in the know as well so it's close. Q: Are the Parshendi of Odium? A: Not originally. Q: Are the Parshendi of Cultivation? A: Not originally. Q: Is the Nightwatcher a spren of Cultivation in a similar way that the Stormfather is to Honor? A: The Nightwatcher is not Cultivation but is related. You're on the right track. Q: Demoux is the only world hopper we've seen that inherently ages. Is there something about world hopping that makes someone not age? A: There are ways around that. It is not intrinsic to the process. You would need to do something special. Q: Are there one or two shard pools on Scadrial? A: RAFO. Q: Will there still be Hemalurgy in the Alloy of Law series? A: Yes. Q: Can a Hemalurgy chart be made? A: Yes. We will make one eventually. Q: The ending of Mistborn was hidden in the first chapter epigraphs. Is there something similar to that in The Way of Kings A: There is, but they are hidden in different places. The last chapter of the Stormlight Archive is somewhere in these two books. Q: Is it possible to steal Stormlight? A: It's theoretically possible. Q: Is there a region based magic like Elantris on any of the other worlds? A: The Aon magic is unique to that planet because it is intrinsic to the shard that created it, but you could theoretically hack the magic system so that Aondor would work on another planet. Q: In the chapter 84 code, does the sequence 111 denote a special character such as a space between words A: I do not believe there is a 111 to separate words unless it was added by Peter when I wasn't looking. Is this a question from the 17th Shard? Yes. I will say this, the key is in another epigraph. %5Bsolved%5D He RAFO'd anything about where the shard pools are. Q: Are the Parshendi of Honor? A: No Q: Can anyone other than a Parshendi bond a voidspren? Like, can a human bond a voidspren? A: That is theoretically possible but humans are not good at bonding spren in the same way. Q: How about the other way around? Can a Parshendi bond a KR spren? A: Historically, the Parshendi were not made Knights Radiant, or the parshmen weren't. Q: Can they become squires maybe? A: Historically they did not, but it's not impossible.

Seattle October 14, 2013: http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/4258-questions-for-seattle-signing-1014/page-6#entry68628 Transcription by Shardlet (Added to the Database) 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 Q: (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: Yes, 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. 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: So there are two other planets in the Roshar system, are they the Tranquiline Halls and Damnation that you mentioned in TWoK? A: 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: Voidlight? A: Yes, it is related to a different shard. How about that? 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. It is not a supposition to be discarded out of hand. Q: Do you have in your mind all 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? 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: 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. hoser Q: 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? Q: Well, is their eye color lighter than the typical Alethi peasant? A: I think I'll just stay away from this for now. Q: 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. Q: Is [the Division surge] 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. Q: Tensile strength? A: 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 Q: 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 Q: Did Tanavast survive Honor's splintering? A: Tanavast is dead. Good question. However, that is as of the start of the WoK (not including the prelude). Q: So he could have survived the splintering... A: He could have survived the splintering. Q: ...as a mortal? A: Well, he could have survived for a time, but then he could not have then...right. Q: ...passed away in his sleep. A: Right. (Indicating that Tanavast would not have passed away from old age) Wetlander Q: 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. Q: Is there any of the Oathpact still functioning because of Taln's continued participation. A: Yes, indeed. Q: 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. Q: Did we see Palah? A: I believe every one of the Heralds is mentioned or shown somewhere in the first book. Q: 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. Q: 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. Q: 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. Q: Are the highstorms related to the splintering of Honor? A: The highstorms are more related to the mist from Mistborn which terminology we have not discussed yet. You have seen Splinters quite a bit on various planets. Seattle (would like audio for this if anyone has it) http://www.17thShard.com/forum/topic/6583-adolin-Shardblades-skybreakers-wob-seattle-new-info-wor-spoilers-elantris-spoliers/ Jerich Q: Is the Hoed from Elantris similar to the state of a Shardblade? A: [Paraphrased] Similar, but probably not exactly in the way you are thinking. It is kind of like two diseases caused by different bacteria: Both are caused by bacteria, but they are not exactly the same. Q: Is it possible then to reawaken a Shardblade if that blade is wielded by someone who speaks the oaths of a Knights Radiant? A: (Thinking)...Yes, but it would be extremely difficult. The spren in a Shardblade are not trapped in a state of mid-transformation like the Elantrians. They are stuck in an agony cycle after having a significant portion of their consciousnesses ripped out of them. The Nahel bond is what allows Spren to think on [the] material plane and that has been torn away. It would be like having a data jack installed and then having someone come up to your head and rip it out of your head. Q: So you would basically have to replace the part that was lost to wake them up? A: Exactly. Q: Are the Skybreakers kind of like the MPs of the Knights Radiant? A: Hmm... (Thinking) ... Yes. That is actually a really good analogy. Q: Are there Radiant orders that would take someone like Adolin even after what he does at the end of Words of Radiant? A: I am not going to say whether or not Adolin will become a Knights Radiant, but yes, there are several orders that would be very happy with what he did. Q: Like the Skybreakers or Dustbringers? A: The Skybreakers would probably not want him because he broke a law, but there are other orders that would think he completely did the right thing and be very happy with him. Trickonometry Q: Like the Dustbringers? A: (Didn't say anything but looked up at him, smiled and half nodded) Q: What would happen to the function of a magic item if it were to be taken from one world to another? A: An invested object theoretically would work, but they may not work exactly the way they are supposed to. Q: Would you be able to tell me anything about how Vasher lost Nightblood to Nin? A: (Brandon gives a knowing smile) "Wait, who?" Q: Okay... What can you tell me about how Zahel lost Nightblood? A: Oh ZAHEL! Well... I can't say much about that right now, but you'll get all of these questions answered in the book "Nightblood" in the future. Q: We've now seen that the Syl-Blade can change shape to meet Kaladin's needs. Is there a limit to the size that Syl can become? A: As for the size, she can get up to about the size of a human. Q: Okay, and is Syl limited to only weaponry, or can she take on the shape of other objects? A: I'm gonna have to RAFO that. Though, to be fair, you have been seeing Syl change forms since the beginning of the books into many non-combat forms, so... AhoyMatey Q: Are larkin and lanceryn one and the same? A: There's a little bit more than just [being] one and the same, but in some ways they are. Q: Do all greatshells have spren? A: In order to survive with the science that I built, the greatshells almost all require some sort of spren to keep them from collapsing. (I suspect greatshells in the water may not require them.) Q: Did Adonalsium deliberately shatter itself? A: Hmmm, good question! RAFO! Q: Why didn't Kaladin's brand heal if Lopen can regrow an arm? A: It comes down to how one views oneself. It is the answer that you think it is. So really what that's saying is Kaladin sees himself as branded. Q: Does Shardplate use a spren? A: That's a RAFO. Q: Can Glys, Renarin's spren, be a box? A: The box is not his spren. Q: Is a Desolation caused when a Herald breaks under torture? A: This person is asking the right kinds of questions. Q: Who's Nazh? The person who retrieved Shallan's notebook... A: You have seen him before. Q: Why does Urithiru not have hallowed stones? A: That'll be answered eventually. It's cultural, not magical. Q: Why does Lift feel that Darkness isn't a real person? A: Because Lift is an interesting person who has her own perspective on the world. Q: Is there anything that I should have asked that I didn't? A: Probably not... Do you know if anyone has figured out the hidden things in the map of Roshar? Q: I picked up the Easter Eggs for Mraize being a Worldhopper. It was actually the sand that did it, having been fortunate enough to read White Sand. A: Now there's something odd about that sand. What color is the sand in WoR? Q: Are the Parshendi at the village the only Parshendi there are? Besides the parshmen? A: The Parshendi as a people were all at Narak. Barring any scouts and things like that. That doesn't mean that there might not be any other Parshmen out there that have bonded spren, but they would not have been part of this nation – any more than if you found another human that they may not necessarily be American. http://www.17thShard.com/forum/topic/6593-seattle-signing/ Ness Q: Has Rock always been a third son? A: No (85% sure) Q: Are the pools on the Horneater peaks Shardpools? A: RAFO. Q: Any hints on the chapter 84 code? A: There is a key in the book. [solved] http://www.17thShard.com/forum/topic/6579-seattle-signing-report/ JamHeretic Q: Would the powers of a magical object change if it went to a different world? A: It is plausible that they will, but most likely is that they don't work right. Most of them will not. Q: Why are Ryshadium cooler than regular horses? I suspect a spren bond. A: There is Investiture involved. Q: Can you tell me who the Herald is for the Truthwatchers. A: RAFO, sorry, good question. Q: How about one of the surges? A: I am RAFO'ing the Truthwatchers entirely. Q: Can you go into healing a bit more? A: Regrowth in the books - Healing is an aspect, Regrowth is ??, Q: Will you write any more books in the Alcatraz series? A: Yes. I bought them back and sold them to Tor. I'm looking at doing it soon, this year or the next. I finished Firefight; the next book on my list is the Rithmatist and after that Tor has requested is Stormlight. Q: What Radiant order would you be? A: I want to fly, so Windrunner. Q: Interludes having characters on the other side of the world - when can we see Lift again? A: She is seeded for future use, indeed. Some of these interludes are for characters that I'll need in the future. Lift is there because she's going to do much Awesomeness in the future. Q: Is Vasher the swordmaster-ardent? A: (coy) I have no idea why you would ask that. Zahel the swordmaster-ardent was in the 2002 WoK by a different name and it blew my assistant's mind when he looked back in the original draft. It was ALL PLANNED. Q: When do we get to officially get to know what's going on in the Cosmere? A: All of my epic fantasy books are connected with continuing characters. That's a way off, and that's because I don't want people to feel like they have to have read all my previous books to enjoy the series. It should be about the characters. Eventually I will write one that's a mashup, but we're not there yet. I'll be very upfront about it when I do it. For now it's just easter eggs. Q: How do you pick names? A: It really varies based on the book. I'm often picking a linguistic paradigm. Alethi - there are two separate paradigms because I like linguistics to be messy. Usually based on symmetry being holy, so they'd pick names one letter off from symmetrical to avoid hubris. Also suffix - like Kaladin is Kalak (Herald) + din which is a suffix, all of them mean things, like the old Hebrew names have "born of" or "comes through". Stick that on and drop the last letter. Dalinar, Elhokar, all of those have suffixes - nar, kar. Q: What would happen if Alcatraz tried to wield Nightblood? A: They would get in a long conversation about random things and the book would just be those two having a discussion, and then the entire world would break probably. Q: Navani's fabrial bracelet: A: The stones don't have to be all heliodors. "They will change." (???) The number of prongs is not significant; the artist made the decision. arbron Q: How long has Zahel been slumming it on Roshar? A: For quite a long time, on this planet he can get something quite easily that is much harder to get where he came from. http://www.17thShard.com/forum/topic/6584-seattle-signing-orders-and-surges-confirmed-d/ Order #5 is the Truthwatchers, Order #8 is the Willshapers, Order #10 is the Bondsmiths. Turns out I had Cohesion and Tension backwards on the chart I showed him, so I corrected the surges at his instruction in the diagram below I also asked about healing something like eyesight and whether that would require Regrowth or if it was just the result of holding Stormlight and he said it would all depend on how the person envisioned himself. Cohesion involved being able to alter things at a molecular level, and his example was that you could push your hand on a table, and when you removed your hand there would still be a handprint. He pointed this out because he said he was sure Willshapers had access to Cohesion which is how he knew I had them backwards.

Portland (would like audio for this if anyone has it) http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/6534-oregon-signing-march-2014/?p=107507 Kogiopsis (General Q&A) (Added to the Database) Q: By the end of the Stormlight Archive will you look into the minds of everyone who will develop powers? A: No. The next three are, in order: Szeth, Eshonai, and Dalinar. Q: Do the Windrunners have any Surges that Szeth doesn't have? A: RAFO because it's explained in WoR. Q: There's a rumor about a second Elantris book. A: Yes, that's coming someday, but Stormlight is the priority. Current schedule: Firefight is done, Rithmatist 2 is next, Stormlight 3 after that (working title might still be Stones Unhallowed if he can get it out before Rothfuss finishes Doors of Stone) Q: How many series in the Cosmere? A: 36 novels, don't tell some people because they'll get scared. (Mistborn is 9, Stormlight is 10, Dragonsteel is the prequel and those are the core; everything else will be a trilogy or one-off and some might be novellas.)

San Francisco http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/5853-san-francisco-wor-signing/?p=106161 Anaroth85 Q: During the Final Empire Era, had anyone on Scadrial, particularly Sazed, Tindwyl, or Elend, read The Way of Kings? A: The Way of Kings as a novel is known off-world, but not on any of the planets you mentioned. At least not currently. Q: Will you ever write any chapters from the POV of a spren? A: Likely that he eventually will, but probably as an Interlude. More talk about main characters in SA and structure of SA: http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/6587-san-francisco-signing-audio/ (Added to the Database) EnaMai provided most of these but I did some edits for more exact phrasing. Q: Who are the 5 main characters from the first half of the SA? A: Kaladin, Shallan, Szeth, Eshonai, Dalinar in that order Q: When are we going to get Hoid's book? A: Hoid has 6 books, they are the 3 books of Dragonsteel, which are prequels and the last Mistborn trilogy of the nine book arc will have him as a main character. Q: What powers does [Hoid] have, what magics is he using? A: If you watch in these books, he has used on screen so far three of the different magics. Q: Have we seen those three, do we know what those three are? A: You know at least two of them. More obvious clues are in [Words of Radiance]. Watch where he and Kaladin have some interactions. Watch carefully, you will see something in what he mentions. You've seen him and Shallan, that scene in one of her flashbacks, in that scene he uses one if you watch. Q: I was interested in the implications?? of Gaz coming back. A: Gaz was always planned to come back, which is why there's kind of a mystery to him in the first book, like where did he go? It's something Robert Jordan did that I liked. Q: Do you know how you're going to write how Hoid goes between worlds? A: Yes I do. There is a big clue in [WoR]. There is a very big clue in the very first book I published. Q: Do you hear the Parshendi song as you write it? A: To an extent, yes, but I'm not as musically inclined as some, and so if we ever do it, I'd probably have somebody else come up with something more... It's more of a cadence though. Q: Are you going to expand on the Cosmere in its own book? A: Yes, the thing that started it all, Dragonsteel, is going to be about the Costmere a lot more, and the third Mistborn trilogy will be also. I want to make sure that it never comes to the forefront until I am warning people, "Now, you need to know this stuff." Q: Will you ever have characters use the different systems of magic openly in front of each other? A: I'll warn you this, the third Mistborn trilogy is a space opera, which will involve travel between planets. Q: What was Kaladin's original decision that you changed? A: Kaladin won the Plate and Blade in chapter one and kept it. Q: How did you decide that you were going to tackle racism, classism, gender, all those things in WoK? A: One of the things I like about Fantasy is the ability to tackle things like this in a way that removes the baggage from our current society which is why you see me doing things like the gender relations centered around whether the hand is sleeved or not. I want to do something that is one step removed so that it is pertinent…The Parshendi-Human thing is going to be a big deal for the series so I wanted to introduce it early on in the books. Q: Would aluminum give an atium shadow? Like if someone threw an aluminum spear? A: The aluminum would not give an atium shadow. Good question. Q: When you were planning Zahel being Vasher, how long did you do that? A: Vasher was in the 2002 version of WoK by name. I only changed him to the new name after I finished this entire draft. Because I was like, oh he'd probably go under a pseudonym. So he's been in Roshar 12 years our time. Q: The Ars Arcanum-is there an in-Cosmere author of that? A: Yes, it is in Cosmere Q: Because it seems like it'd be written by someone like Hoid A: It's not him. I don't know if I've released who it is; but its probably not who people are thinking but it is in-world. Q: So what was the Moment? A: It was actually right near the climax. It was the phrase 'These words are accepted.'... Oh I thought you were talking about the Moment of Inspiration. Oh the moment you're asking about is the moment where Kaladin, in the original writing, he took the Blade and plate instead of turning it down. Q: Why didn't Shallan summon her Shardblade on the ship when they were attacked? A: The Shardblade has a lot of....I mean if you look at it she thought about it. She has this psychological thing where she ignores the past, and it's so painful to her, the things that happened. Q: Why did you gloss over (can't make this out)? A: Because Jasnah, that was not going to happen in this book. In the initial plot it didn't happen, and Shallan was unable to, in the initial scenes I wrote, come into her own and so I had to make major revisions to the plot for ths outline, the biggest thing I did was that. Q: What's your favorite original Shardholder? (Props to bartbug for this question) A: I don't know...The tricky thing is that I'm going to have to write them as their personalities because right now they are just concepts. I'm very fond of Bavadin but I can't say. Q Is Bavadin the only shard on Taldain? A: He is the only shard on the planet. (is he the sun?) - RAFO Q: Would a Hemalurgic spike take surges? A: Hemalurgy can interact with every one of the magics. I designed it specifically in writing Mistborn for future use. Because some of the magics are so limited by their planet I wanted one that transcended all of them and Hemalurgy is very important to the entire Cosmere Its invention is a thing of great power and great danger to the entire Cosmere. Q: Have people not from/on Scadrial used Hemalurgy? A: Yes. Q: What was the pouch on the Radiant in Dalinar's vision in WoR? A: RAFO. I'm not saying its important, but you have to get a RAFO. Q: Were there spren bonds before Aharietiam? A: I'm not going to answer that one either but we will delve much more into this. The spren were around back then but they're not nearly what they are now they've changed over the course of the book obviously. I think the Cosmere theorists have figured it out. They are much more prevalent following Honor and what happened to him, but there were some spren on the planet before even that happened. Q: If there is one Shard on the planet, then are there more Shards in that Solar System?/Are there other shards in the Taldain solar system? A: Now that's a clever question. There is only one for that solar system. There are other places with only one. It's not uncommon. We've gone to places with more than one because that is where the conflict is Cosmere centric. Q: What was Jasnah's "last thoughts?" A: Her "last thoughts" were of escaping. Q: Is Jasnah's book going to be one of the backstories? A: It is. She's on the back five. Q: So that bit at the end with Szeth.. A: That's setting up for book 3, which is going to be crazy. Q: There's another book with a black sword... A: It's the same sword, yes. In fact I wrote the original WoK involving the character who has that sword, then I wrote Warbreaker about him then I wrote [WoR]. Q: Do all the humans have innate Investiture? A: I believe that they all do. I don't think that you've seen anyone without innate Investiture yet. [Drabs] do not have innate Investiture. And on Scadrial they have the pieces of Ruin and Preservation in them. And they do have it on Roshar. Q: Which Shard is that? A: You'll have to RAFO Q: In WoK you do this one thing from the PoV of Gaz, where you turn him from random bad guy to interesting character. You said that if we read carefully we could figure out what happened to him but I never could? A: So he had his debts. He was owing people debts and they came due and he deserted. Q: What's the deal with safehands? A: You'll find out eventually. There is something it originated in. Inspired by bottoms of feet being offensive in KoreA: Q: Why do they ride horses instead of fast insects of some sort? A: That is an excellent question that I am not going to answer. Q: At the very end of WoR, Dalinar touches a Shardblade and it screams at him. Should that particular Blade have been safe? A: No, it should not have. It's a clue that something has happened. There are other clues that something is wrong with what the story you've been told is. Q: Because Option 2 is that it's unsafe to touch an honorblade, but there's no evidence of that. A: There is no evidence of that. There's much stronger evidence that something else is going on. Q: Did Hoid switch out the blades? A: Hoid did not switch out the blades, but good question. Q: Does the Silence Divine take place in the Cosmere? A: It does, it takes place on a planet called Threnody. There is no shard on that planet however. The magic is more something you interact with, not something you perform b/c there isn't a shard there. Q: If Kelsier's Cognitive Shadow or a Seon went to the forests of calamity, would they be shades? A: Yes, that is the same thing. The people on that planet; their Investiture; the lack of shard means that their cognitive shadows react differently. The ghost of Leras is the same thing too. Q: If Nightblood were on Roshar would he be a Shardblade? A: Yes, they are exactly the same thing. He is a Shardblade that is twisted and is a lot more powerful than normal.

Huntington Beach (would like audio for this if anyone has it) http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/6497-word-of-brandon-from-huntington-beach-signing/ ericth (Added to the Database) Q: What is Odium's edge. Vin and Ati killed each other but Rayse has downed 3 shards and survived. Was it skill, ability, numbers or possibly un-dispersed power? A: Some combination of the above Q: Could Sazed take down Rayse since he has two shards? A: Rayse is VERY scared of Sazed. However, given Sazed is a composite of two diametrically opposed shards, he finds it very difficult to act. Sir Read-a-Lot (Added to the Database) Q: Was Adonalsium shattered intentionally, and if so, was the intention malevolent? A: Yes, and RAFO Q: Is the 17th Shard meant to represent a specific Shardic intent? A: The 17th Shard has a specific purpose, and the name was chosen very deliberately. Dawnshard (Added to the Database) A new shard (not the shard that wants to hide and survive) is "not on a planet."

Compiled Words of Brandon thread #2! Since the Q&A's got too long for the first post of the old thread, I'm posting a new one, then reserving the first page or so for signing reports. If any of you have Q&A's I'm missing, or audio, please let me know! http://www.sffworld.com/2014/03/brandon-sanderson-exclusive-interview/ (Added to the Database) Q: Will we learn more about the character currently known as Hoid in Words of Radiance? A: Yes, you will. Watch for a story told at a bar. http://fantasy-faction.com/2014/brandon-sanderson-stormlight-interview (Added to the Database) Q: In The Way of Kings, when Shallan zones out and draws a picture of a dead noble at a dinner table, was she drawing her own father after she killed him with her Shardblade? A: Ooh, good question! You will want to read Words of Radiance, where her flashbacks may indeed involve this scene that she drew. Q: Is Hoid drawn to novel-worthy plots? Or does he ever just show up in a completely normal time/place, with no ramifications on the Cosmere, Shards, etc.? A: He is drawn to places specifically because of what's happening in those worlds. He is there and he is meddling. Q: Could any type of spren bond with a person (even if the results wouldn’t be a Knight radiant)? Or only the ones associated with a branch of the Knights? A: Ooh, that’s an excellent question. This is something theoretically possible for a lesser spren to achieve. From Emperor's Soul personalization signing Ninch http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m104/theninch/sandersonanswerbigger_zps1501bca5.jpg http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m104/theninch/sandersonanswer_zps1e0737eb.jpg Q: Could a person soulcast more Atium and Lerasium if they had a bead? A: No. Investiture messes things like that up. http://www.17thShard.com/forum/topic/6405-information-from-the-midnight-signing-spoilers/ Pinpoint (Added to the Database) Q: Can Shardblades kill spren? A: Theoretically, yes. Q: If Hoid got beheaded, would his body grow a new head? A: Yes. Q: What if Hoid got cut by a Shardblade? A: The Shardblade cuts the soul and what Hoid does heals the soul. Q: Does Dalinar have Surgebinding abilities? A: RAFO. Q: Belief has had a lot to do with the Cosmere. Will belief have a big part to play in The Stormlight archive? A: It already has. The two scholars measuring the spren. http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/6571-brandon-byu-signing-march-4-2014/ scm288 (Added to Database) Q: So, I don't actually own a hardcover copy of The Way of Kings, but I did notice when looking at one that there's a map of Shadesmar. And that the map shows that Shadesmar geography is precisely aligned with Roshar's geography. So I'm just going to assume that other planets we've visited so far also have realms of Shadesmar that are aligned geographically. A: That's very clever of you! Very clever... Q: So I guess my follow-up question is: is Elantris a Dawncity? A: Hmm. I could see where your reasoning could come to that conclusion, but no. No, that's not it. But your earlier extrapolations are in the right direction. http://www.17thShard.com/forum/topic/6439-audio-from-the-san-diego-signing/ Talenelat (Added to Database) Q: Are we going to find out in here, why Szeth and what the Truthless are all about? A: That, you will have to wait for his flashback sequences in a future book. Each character gets a set of flashback sequences. I'm not going to promise that the characters live to the book where their flashback sequences are. You might have a character die and then get their flashbacks the next book to get more information on them. This will be Shallan's flashback, then the next book will be Szeth's flashback, then Eshonai, then Dalinar. Q: A while back someone asked if Hoid's sword is Nightblood, you said that was interesting. Is it similarly Invested? A: I'm going to RAFO that. It is a very interesting question. Q: What you can tell me about Investiture? A: That is the word for someone or something which has gained a portion of the magic of Adonalsium, so the original whatever-it-is. Like a Shardblade is an Invested object, and people if they draw in the Stormlight, they're drawing in the magic-they're Invested. Q: Why does the Stormfather consider himself dead, or will that be covered? A: That will be covered, eventually. Q: What about Kaladin getting sliced with the Shardblade and then being able to rejuvenate. A: That is a clue for what is going on with Szeth and his understanding of Shardblades and the Shardblade he has. Q: Which is an Honorblade, right? A: I can't say, but Szeth says in book one you can't heal a Shardblade wound with Stormlight. There are other very big but subtle discrepancies between what Szeth does and what Kaladin does. Q: The coats that the Alethi wear, that the officers wear. Is it a Prussian sort of thing? A: I'm thinking in my head probably french early 1800's. Just past Napoleonic. Bound tails. Q: Where did you get the basis for the spren? A: The spren are partially based out of Shinto mythology, the idea that everything has a soul and a spirit to it. And partially mixing that with my desire to have some sort of a unique representation of emotion in these books. Q: It seems like a movie adaptation would have just constant spren everywhere? A: That's why I made it so that not every use of the emotion causes them-so it wouldn't get too crazy even when I'm writing them. And what's happening is the spren exist on the Cognitive plane, on Shadesmar, so they have to be attracted, they have to be nearby enough to flock to you, so it depends on how common the spren is. Q: For a Windrunner, if he had enough heating fabrials and enough Stormlight, how high up could he get? A: You could exit orbit. Windrunners, remember they're gravitation and pressure. So if he knew what he was doing, we have actually factored how long it would take to get to the various moons. Q: You very clearly make rules for the wine in this world, like the different colors and different alcohol content. I was wondering what the inspiration for that is, and also what some of them are actually made from, because it doesn't seem like grapes. A: It's not grapes, it's a local fruit. So we would not probably call it wine, we would probably call it something else. And it's based on my desire to do funky things with world building in every way I can. [The color is a cultural thing.] Q: For the Dangerous Women story, are you going to write anything again in that world? A: That world will show up again. Silence probably won't, but the world itself, yes. It's called Threnody, it is one of the Cosmere worlds. There's not a Shard there but there are interesting things happening. There's actually been a character in other books who's from Threnody. It will eventually be clear who that is, but they have shown up in many previous Sanderson novels. Q: Would that be Hoid? A: Hoid is not from Threnody. Good question though. Hoid is from Yolen. Q: When are we first getting a look at the Cosmere coming together? A: The third Mistborn trilogy is going to involve-it's the first one I planned to do a lot with. I doubt I will do much in the second Mistborn trilogy, more than I probably have done [so far]. It's fun for me, so I'll keep including things in. You'll notice that Hoid is a bigger part of the Stormlight than previous ones, but I still don't want it to come to the forefront quite yet. Q: How deep are you going into Shadesmar in WoR? A: Not terribly deep in WoR. We're going to have to wait until Jasnah or Shallan are exploring it more. Q: For the people you have coming back in the Stormlight Archive - how do you pick who makes the cut [in the interludes?] A: It just depends on where I feel like going, the interludes are complete freedom for me. Q: In the Cosmere you have so much going on, what happens when you come up with something that would conflict with something else? A: Then I don't put that in the Cosmere. Q: Does Nightblood rip souls out of bodies, by chance? A: Nightblood consumes Investiture, including the spark of life. Q: Is there a difference between Shadesmar and the Cognitive realm? A: Shadesmar is a word for the Cognitive Realm specifically touching - It's like San Diego is a word for a place in America. It's a local word. Q: What kind of changes do Slivers go through after letting go of a Shard's power? A: It leaves them, imagine it like a balloon that has been deflated. Q: Ok so would Rashekk still have had powers? A: He would have had some residual effects. But it also works the soul in weird ways, like a baloon that has been deflated. Q: If Endowment were killed, would the Returned still come? A: Somebody needs to hold the magic. If no one holds the magic, the magic will start to gain sentience. Interesting and bizarre things happen then, so I would say yes, but with the caveat that with whoever picks up the power or what happens with the power could end up changing that. Q: To the spren, is becoming mindless the same as death? A: They consider it as such. Q: Are there birds outside of Shinovar in Roshar? A: There are, but very few and they are all in the west. So you're not going to find birds in Alethkar for instance. Unless they're chickens that have been brought, or something like that. Q: Can Breath be used to power Surgebinding? A: They are very similar Investitures, and most of the magics can be powered with the other magics if you are capable of making that happen. Q: What would happen to the Breath? A: The Breath would be consumed in the same way that Stormlight is. A renewing resource, much like Atium is. Q: Any chance of a Shardspear? A: Shardspear? YOU are going to get RAFO'd. Q: Does Hoid ever show up somewhere, stand around for awhile, realize that there isn't a novel-worthy plot going on, and leave? A: [Laughed] Yes, Hoid gets around a lot and that has happened a couple of times. He does not know everything. Q: Can someone bond more than one Honorblade A: Honorblade? You can't bond an Honorblade, though it can be given to you. Shardblades, however, come from a spren bond and it is possible to bond more than one. [This was cleared up at a later signing.] leinton (Added to the Database) Someone else’s question was about the safehand and Brandon gave new information on it. The essay that defined masculine arts as being ones with two hands and feminine needing only one was in order to let men secure power over Shardblades. http://www.17thShard.com/forum/topic/6523-hoid-drinking-at-the-fair-Cosmere-implications/#entry106083 DefiantBurrito (Added to the Database) Q: Can you tell me what Wit put in his drink in Shallan's flashback scene? A: It was something that you or I would probably not want to eat in our world, but that Wit got some benefit from eating. Q: Something we've seen in the Mistborn books, perhaps? A: [sounding pleased] Yes, perhaps like something you've seen in Mistborn.

lol yeah makes it easy for me to find those things. Plus, I've read them so often I practically have them memorized.......... I think I need a life?

Actually I think he says that the ending is hidden somewhere in these 2 books, scattered, not just in the beginning, like in Mistborn. Ah, here it is.

Thanks Weiry. I'll get that thread started tomorrow then

Yep, the idea was that @Observer: Ew? I can't remember which thread those were pointed out in, don't give me credit for these. I'm completely oblivious

I don't think you can Invest an Invested object (kinda the same way you can't Awaken a person-their Innate Investiture). I also think that Vasher is on Roshar probably to get Nightblood back. Whether losing NIghtblood predates his desire to use Stormlight instead of Breath I'm not sure of (He might have gone to Roshar to use Stormlight, and then lost Nightblood, or lost Nightblood and is trying to get him back, using the Stormlight to power himself, or if Nightblood was the price of his going to Roshar). I can't remember the Heightenings, but Vasher at least has Lifesense, since he can tell when Kaladin is about to visit him in his hut.

I always thought it related to ummm how sometimes it's difficult for a lady to get...interested..and um..prepared...because lack of moisture...yeah. Hard to explain this without getting in trouble lol!

I think soulcasting cloth would be really reallllly difficult, since it's not one of the Essences, or one of the things she's good at. I always thought she'd used the missing hem of her skirt to make the safehand glove, and maybe part of the pack.

I sent a PM to Weiry to make sure. Btw, is San Diego the same as the Midnight signing?

I like this idea, but will it annoy the mods?

I'm not sure what to do about this...I run out of "room" partway through Chicago.

Crap, I'm getting a content too long error when I try to add the Chicago signing....lol. I'll need to....do something.... Edit: Btw, Argent, I have a question here that you scribed in the Chicago signing, that I didn't hear in the audio. Is it from the lost audio (it was marked as signing line 1? Q: What's up with the Parshendi just admitting that they killed Gavilar? A: There are definitely questions to be asked.

Oh is Khriss in White Sand? I just sent my request to Brandon for that. The recipient of the first letter/writer of the second I think has been confirmed as a dragon.

Do we know how intoxicating red is? Violet is the most, and orange(?) is barely more than water, but I don't remember red.

I'm wondering if Khriss is the shard that isn't invested in a world.