Date: 2015-10-12
Location: Oak Brook, IL
Which world does Hoid enjoy visiting the most?
Scadrial almost has instant noodles. So he’s very interested in Scadrial.
Is he doing anything to push that along?
He is not as involved in that as certain other forces are.
There are forces involved in the developing instant noodles?
Yes, oh yes.
Hoid ,
Scadrial
From Shadows of Self, you just sort of name Hoid. Is he just not caring anymore, or is it just space in the book? [If anyone wants to make sense of what this question is asking, feel free. I can’t understand it.]
In Alloy, he wasn’t really interested. He showed up only for a wedding. By this, he’s noticed something else is happening on-world, so he’s come back to investigate, but he’s not really relevant. You will see him taking a larger role as he becomes more interested in what’s happening on-planet. His level of involvement is kind of directly tied to how interested he is in what’s going on.
Is Vasher aware of who Hoid is?
Vasher is aware of Hoid, yes. He doesn’t know the whole story, but he knows that something’s up with this guy.
On Sel, it seems like a lot of the magic is tied in to the location on the planet. Could you take something like Soulforging and do it on another planet, or is it just tied into Sel?
It is tied into Sel, and there’s this distinct reason for that, and it has to do with one of the big differences between the magic there and other places that people haven’t picked out of me yet.
So is that tied into how you can get Investiture there?
Yeah. It’s all tied in. I’ve only made it vaguely- It’s not obvious, but I think you could pick it out if you worked at it.
Sel ,
investiture
Are we going to get a 10th anniversary edition of Mistborn?
It’s likely we will. The question is, how well does this one sell, and things like that, but the goal will eventually be to get a tenth anniversary, particularly for the ones where Peter didn’t work with me yet, because when I hadn’t hired him full time, we didn’t get the Peter Copyedit, which is twenty times better than any other copy edit, so the typos were through the roof in some of the early ones, which is really why we needed the 10th anniversary copy.
Is there a particular reason behind the spelling, or is it just coincidence that Kelsier and Kaladin are both K-names?
Just coincidence. Kaladin’s original name was Merin, and it was a weak name that didn’t work for me, so I changed it. It took me forever to find a good name for him. It comes from “paladin”. Not the inworld origin, but that was the word that inspired it. It was more that I was searching for sounds, and I realized it sounded a bit like paladin, but I was okay with that. Just like Elantris sounds a little bit like Atlantis. It’s not like I was purposely choosing it. I just liked the sound of it.
Does the expansion of Jaddeth’s empire have more to do with greed and hunger for power, or the innate nature of Dominion?
Both. The innate nature of Dominion probably c0aused the greed and hunger for power.
What would you say percentage-wise?
Well, one caused the other. It definitely started with Dominion. The Skaze are pretty thirsty for power.
Jaddeth ,
Dominion ,
Skaze
Favorite shade of blue?
Alethi blue.
When do you think the next Stormlight book will come out?
We’re shooting for Christmas 2016.
For Soulforging, if you rewrite the history of an item, and it took effect permanently, would there ever be a potential to have a butterfly effect, out beyond the history of the item, that might directly affect something somewhere else in the world?
It would be very very hard for that to ever happen, because it’s like spliced DNA or something like that. It’s not real. It’s a Forgery. Nothing else considers it, that it did that. [That sentence is slightly unclear. Don’t quote it.]. The only tricky bit would be if you have children, and you’ve rewritten yourself in an interesting way that’s actually changed your DNA, that… might have ramifications.
Ever since reading Legion, I feel like Stephen Leeds might be based off of you. Is that accurate at all?
There’s a little bit of me in every character, and the me that’s in him is kind of the organizing crazy voices in my head.
What’s the chemical definition of a metal in Mistborn? Is it the entire chunk of the periodic table defined as a metal?
It is technically that, but many of them are Allomantically inert. But things like cesium still count.
If sprens are pieces of the god power, and investiture is the power of the god, then can Nightblood consume spren?
He could theoret- Yeah, he could totally consume spren. There’s not even any “theoretically” to that.
Are Cognitive elements like spren and seons only present on physical planes or worlds where Shards have been Shattered?
No, but it does require … alternately the shard would have to give up pieces of their power for that. But it doesn’t have to be “they were Shattered by someone.” Seons existed on, sorry, spren existed on Roshar before the Shattering. Not as many.
Was Honor Shattered before or after the Recreance?
I believe after. I’m pretty sure. I mean, he has memories of the Recreance.
Syl always sees Shardblades as dead spren, these terrible things. But she never mentions the same of Shardplate. Is Shardplate made of non-sentient spren?
RAFO
The Oathgate fabrial has an opening for a living Shardblade to make it functionable. Does this mean the opening is made from a spren?
You will find more about this in a future book.
Since Vasher has worldhopped to Roshar, is he still immortal?
As long as he has Breath or Investiture to consume, then yes.
Can he consume Stormlight?
Yes.
Does Zahel gain abilities from the Stormlight?
No.
Vasher ,
stormlight
Given how much they futz with time, why doesn’t Wax continually reset his watch?
They really should have to, huh? That’s a good reminder. I’ve never thought about that.
Where are you going with the lunar allegory of Wax and Wayne?
There’s no moon on Scadrial, and it just cracked me up that they would have these names that were a pun that they wouldn’t get. I came up with Wayne’s name first and then I needed a name for the straight man he played off of, and then Wax and Wayne amused me.
Who’s your favorite ninja turtle?
Leonardo, because I’m the bossy older brother who orders everyone around.
Was Odium’s original purpose to neutralize the threat of Adonalsium?
No. Good question.
Is the fact that Odium can’t leave Roshar a direct result of the Oathpact, or something else?
Not a direct result of the Oathpact, but the Oathpact was part of it.
Are the 16 shards finalized?
I have finalized them with the reservation that I can change them when I do their adaptation if something works better. I have them all written down, but they’re not canonized. I could tweak them. Once I put them in a book, they’re canonized. I like to give myself a little bit of flexibility before I put them in a book.
Syl identifies herself as an honorspren.
Yes.
Would Wyndle identify himself as a cultivation spren? [Pause]
Yes. I think you could say that he would.
By the same logic, would a voidspren follow the same naming convention, so to speak?
Here’s the thing. Certain spren have decided that they are the most pure forms of honor, or that they are the most pure form of whatever, where all of them are kind of… Syl’s got a good argument for what she is. But there are other spren that would be like “well, I’m an honorspren too, I’m just this variety of honorspren.” Does that make sense? Syl’s like “I’m an American!” and I’m like “I’m an Alaskan!” Yes, you’re an American. I’m an American too. It’s kind of similar to that. But she would be the most pure… many would view her as the purest form. Wyndle would view himself as the purest form of a cultivation spren.
spren
Any chance we’ll be seeing further correspondence between the writers of the letters? In further books, perhaps?
You will see more letters.
Is the God Beyond, or the Unknown god, one of the Adonalsium shardholders or is it another godlike entity?
RAFO.
So some people were talking about your science fiction stuff, like Defending Elysium. Do you have any intention to go further with that?
I have no current intentions. I have ideas for where I would go, but I just have so many projects that right now I’m letting that one lay as is.
In the Ars Arcanum of Elantris, you mention Vax, the planet? What project is there?
Good question; I’m not gonna’ answer.
Can you use Feruchemy and Hemalurgy together like you can use Allomancy and Feruchemy to Compound?
There are some tricks you can play. I wouldn’t call them compounding, but there are tricks.
What happens if you put Shardplate in a highstorm? If you are in Shardplate and you go out into a highstorm… A:
You’re pretty well protected, but a boulder flying through the air can still do some major damage to a person in Shardplate.
What will happen to the gems in the Shardplate?
They will be recharged.
shardplate ,
highstorm ,
infusion
Can you use a Divine Breath to Awaken a Lifeless?
RAFO.
whether Shardplate is also spren
RAFO.
In the Epilogue of Words of Radiance, Jasnah is talking with Hoid and Hoid mentions a nearby village. Is it Hearthstone?
No it is not. Good question. Because they’re out in the Unclaimed Hills somewhere. They’re not even in Alethkar.
Can you write the fourth ideal of the Windrunners?
No. No no no no no no. [unimportant conversation] The fourth ideal is guessable, I feel. Much more so than… Well, you probably could have guessed the third ideal as the book progressed. I think you could guess the fourth one right now, but it’s going to be hard. It’s not obvious, but it’s =there.
Is metal a renewable resource on Scadrial, or is it going to run out?
It does run out.
supposedly contradicts another WOB: I just got back from the Phoenix Comic on, where Brandon is a guest at, and I must say it was an honor to meet him. He read parts of Wax/Wayne 2, Legion 2, and the Taravangian interlude in WoR. There weren’t a lot of cosmeric goodies, but I did get a couple interesting tidbits in relation to Mistborn: Ruin would have had to manifest to reabsorb the atium, the Well of Ascension did not come at a price to Preservation’s power, and perhaps the most interesting one. Burned metals are turned into a different form, and will eventually return to the planet. The Pits of Hath sin are meant to foreshadow this.
Are all the Ideals going to be released eventually, all five- for all the different Knights?
Yes, they should all be.
If you burn a Hemalurgic spike, would it graft the piece of stolen soul onto your soul?
No, but it would have… There are some interesting effects there.
As of Shadows of Self, how many Shards are there on Scadrial?
(nervous laugh) There are two…. Harmony counts as two Shards. I do mean it that way, and I am giving you clarification so you don’t all freak out.
This is more of a nitty-gritty question about Allomancy, in particular cadmium. Would it function if it were affixed to a body smaller than a planet with its own source of gravity?
What do you mean by work [function]?
Like a spacecraft. My thinking is that it could be used on long space voyages, because you’ve said that you’re going to eventually progress into the Space age–
So are you asking if we can use that as cryogenics?
Yes.
I actually give you some tools for figuring these sorts of things out in Bands of Mourning, so I’ll refer you to that, because I’m dolling the physics of these things out, and since I know it’s coming in January, just read that one. You’ll get some more actual concrete laws and rules so you can start extrapolating.
Mistborn in Space
I have to congratulate whoever did the Soonie pup ad. Effective advertising: I want one!
Yes, lots of people have said this. It was not something we were intending to do. It would have to be more than just a little puppy, though. You’d have to be able to rip out its spikes and transform it or something. You can go get a stuffed puppy anywhere.
But it’s a stuffed TenSoon, so it’s a stuffed Irish wolfhound. And you can find those in adult. You cannot find those in puppy.
I’ll think about it.
You don’t have to do the spikes.
I know, but people will want the spikes. You’d have to be able to take out the spikes and turn it into a blob, so it’s a mistwraith on the inside and a Soonie pup on the outside.
It’d have to be something like a backpack dog. Maybe the spikes are clasps on the outside or something.
soonie pups ,
merchandising
Can you confirm: When Bleeder died, she only had one spike made of that new metal in her, right?
What does the book say?
It could go either way. Because it could be either one spike of the unknown metal and one regular, or just one of the unknown metal. And we’re divided right now.
I have heard this. I didn’t intend you to get divided, but I’ve heard that you are, and part of me doesn’t want the… One Week Later…”. I want more time for the theories to come out! [You can hear the smile in his voice :( ]
There are theories.
I know. Let’s give the theories a little more time and then I’ll canonize it for you in a little bit. I didn’t intend for there to be a division here, but obviously there is, and so I’m going to wait until I’m done with tour. Then you can write to us and we’ll tell you exactly what’s going on there.
Bleeder ,
Hemalurgic chimaeras ,
hemalurgy
Was Harmony unable to find her because the spike was made of this metal?
Yeah. The spike was what prevented him from being able to find her.
It wasn’t an ability granted by the spike.
No.
It was just the material.
Yeah.
Bleeder ,
Hemalurgic chimaeras ,
hemalurgy
Was Bloody Tan influenced and/or controlled by Harmony or one of his agents? During those introductory events [?]?
Controlled by Harmony? No.
Was he controlled or influenced by anyone outside of himself?
[Sounds like he’s about to say “yeah”] RAFO.
Bloody Tan
If a lerasium spike is used to steal a trait-
You’re straying way into RAFO territory here.
Will the recipient of the spike gain anything other than the ability stolen?
I’m not going anywhere near this one. This one’s a RAFO.
Lerasium ,
hemalurgy
The Hemalurgic constructs Bleeder uses. Do you have a name for them?
I have not named them yet. Should I? Is it important for fandom?
We don’t know what to call them.
I have in my head that they’re kind of Hemalurgic chimaeras.
Okay. We’ll go with that.
Bleeder ,
Hemalurgic chimaeras
Can somebody travel to the Spiritual Realm, the same as the Cognitive?
Yes, but it’s a very different experience. It is possible… You may have seen people do it…
As in you’re not sure, or you’re being obnoxiously vague?
No…
As in, you probably have but he’s having trouble remembering it.
No no no… For instance, Elend burning atium and duralumin pulled most of him into the Spiritual Realm.
Oh, that’s what happens there.
Yeah. He kind of got yanked into- You also have seen people ascend with the powers and dip into the Spiritual Realm for a little bit.
So, Vin?
Yeah. But they could be on both, or either, or both at the same time. But you have seen Vin stick into the Spiritual Realm. And it happened to Sazed/Harmony…
Oh! So is that where the gods live? Kinda?
Most of the bulk of the Shard’s energy of being is contained in the Spiritual Realm, yes. [edited for clarity- Original was: Most of the bulk of what the Shard’s energy of being is contained on the Spiritual Realm] Except for one notable exception!
The mistwraith? [I would guess she meant the mist spirit]
No.
spiritual realm ,
Vin ,
Elend ,
shards
Can you get a Hemalurgic spike for writing skill?
Hemalurgy is a lot more varied than what it’s been used for so far.
What is your favorite word in the English language?
Rutabaga.
Is there a reason?
Because it made me laugh when I used it in the Alcatraz books, and it became a theme of those books, which do silly things for no good reason.
Brandon on language
Is there a pattern to Spook’s street slang?
Yes, but it’s a really loose one. It was based off of some rhyming slangs, some street slangs, and some things that I researched, where it would evolve day by day, and they would throw in some extraneous words just to confuse people that didn’t speak it. It was also based on internet slang. There are rules, but the rules are kind of loose and free, and you can add weird words when you want to. You basically put everything in the past progressive and then you add lots of extra “to be” phrases. Then you reverse a few of your syntaxes, and that’s it.
So it’s practicing a whole lot to sound improvised.
Yes. … Wasing the being of complicated to be. No, complicated to see. Yeah.
high imperial ,
linguistics ,
syntax
What’s your favorite board game outside of Magic?
Ooh… I’m not a board game guy. A lot of people who play Magic don’t play anything else. My brother’s the board game guy. I don’t really have a favorite. I’ll play with him, but I’ll do it for fun to hang out with my family. If I do have one, it’s Sorry, because that’s what my family played when I was a kid. Does Dominion count? Then that would be my favorite. I really like Dominion. Stratego’s not bad.
I forget where it was, but I read something where you talked about Dark One, a world where the planet generates an electric field? [Goes on about how he wrote an RPG with the same idea in college]
I have so much more research to do on that one before I write it. I have to read 3 or 4 books on bonehead electric fields and things like that, and so…
Am I weird for liking The Emperor’s Soul?
It’s one of my most popular works.
Favorite place in the world?
My home. I’ve been to so many amazing places that it’s hard for me to pick a favorite. And I have fans in all of them, and they’ll be mad if I don’t pick them.
We were talking about Kelsier, and how he was much more powerful than most Mistborn, and how Vin was slightly more than most Mistborn [I think this was supposed to be Kelsier?]?
Why were Vin and Kelsier more powerful?
I know why Kelsier, but why Vin?
Vin was not more powerful. Vin just took to it very naturally. She was highly skilled. It was very instinctive to her, but Elend was actually more powerful than she was, if you count just raw power. Vin just knew her stuff. Beyond that Vin is a rare individual that for reasons I have not explained yet, was able to draw in the mists for a little extra boost at times. And there are other characters you have seen do this.
Vin ,
Kelsier ,
Elend ,
allomancy
So we’ve seen a bit that other magic systems can work on worlds that they don’t originate from. Could Hemalurgic spikes be made on other worlds?
Yes.
Why did you call it Shadows for Self?
There are two answers to this. One is the kandra are kind of doing different versions of themselves. The other is that Wax is trying to decide which person he is, through this. The term “shadows of self” is actually a phrase that one of the kandra use in the first trilogy talking about this idea of changing who they are and things like that, so the phrase had import to me in-world.
I really liked your Legion books. Is there any chance you would do a third?
I will do one more. And then if it takes off as a TV, like I’ve been trying to make happen, we will do some more, but if not, then… yeah.
Would it be safe to assume that Kaladin is also carrying the Honorblade? Because that makes the most sense to me.
Which Honorblade?
The one from Szeth.
That is… He’s not.
That surprises me, because to me that would be the best- That would make the most sense.
That would be sneaky of me. But that’s not the case.
So he actually has an Honorblade, since you asked which one.
He took Szeth’s. So he has that one. Oh! I thought you meant Taln’s, I thought. He does not have Taln’s. He has Szeth’s.. Yes he has Szeth’s.
I’m assuming he found that one, because that made the most sense to keep it safe
He’s got Szeth’s, that is true. … Sorry, I assumed you meant Taln’s. Taln’s is gone.
Yeah. Taln’s vanished off the face of the planet! I’m assuming Hoid grabbed that one, actually.
That is one of the prevailing theories and not one that is unreasonable.
Well, considering. That was the one, because you had mentioned last time you were here that you could have both, and I was like, “okay, so that means he’s got Szeth’s sword.”
Kaladin ,
Szeth ,
honorblade ,
Taln
Burning cadmium, is that maybe like a way to- maybe in the sci-fi novels where you can basically do your interstellar travel without, like you know dying going long distances. Is that kind of like the plan?
In [Bands of Morning] I will start talking about the rules for using these magics while you’re in motion.
About Renarin’s Ssurgebinding. Are [his visions] they influenced by Voidbinding instead of Surgebinding? [unclear who “they” are-possibly his visions?]
That’s a RAFO. Q: And then if they are influenced by Odium the way that Dalinar’s are influenced by Honor.
That’s a RAFO. I’m not going to talk about stuff like that! I have dropped some very blatant hints, and that is enough for me right now.
I asked pretty much the same thing last time, and you pointed me to a certain page. Can I tell her what the page was?
Yes. There are certain things going on with him that I feel are very blatant. He [Argent] is going to point them out to you.
Renarin ,
voidbringing ,
Odium
Do the Knights Radiant have a nahn? Are they within the nahn system or the dahn system at all?
The nahn and dahn system is a more recent construct. They would be at the very height of it, I would say.
Okay. So the system hasn’t been reorganized yet with Kaladin and such?
You’ll have to watch and see what happens in the next few books. Because the culture is not used to Knights Radiant being around.
Vorin society ,
caste ,
Knights Radiant
Is there going to be a Hoid series? Just Hoid?
There will be several Hoid books eventually. It will be about his backstory, the main one, and then we’ll have some in the present as well.
Will it show up in scenes where he interacts with these characters [presumably meaning, in scenes we already have seen him in, but from his viewpoint]?
I’m not planning those right now. I know they would be interesting, but I’m not sure if they’d make good enough books.
future books ,
Hoid
Are we ever going to see any more of Sixth of the Dusk again?
Yes, but not planned for another story. If you watch, you will see references to them.
Allomancy is of Preservation, correct?
Yes…
What are Feruchemy and Hemalurgy of?
Hemalurgy is definitely of Ruin.
Is it of pure Ruin?
Yes. That’s a very Ruin thing. And Feruchemy is more of a blend. Though… there is more philosophy to that and human construct—like the Allomantic table—than I think I’ve made clear before.
Metallic arts ,
preservation ,
ruin
If someone isn’t an Allomancer, could they burn atium? Since it’s…
They could not burn atium. They would have figured that one out.
So nothing would have happened, or…?
No. But there’s a little more to that story, but I’m not going to get into it right now.
atium ,
allomancy
Is this how you envisioned Wax? [on the cover]
It’s pretty close, yeah. [some time later] If there’s one thing in the depictions of Wax that are a little wrong, I imagine him more swarthy. Darker coloring, just a bit. He’s really kind of tannish. But I like how Ben got him to look kind of ugly, which is kind of Waxish. He’s not horribly ugly, but he’s not a model.
Is Jasnah ever going to find true love?
I’m not going to answer that.
Is the Thrill related to Investiture, or heritage, or both or neither?
It is definitely related to Investiture.
The metals that were formed from Shards, like atium and lerasium. Are they somewhat naturally occurring, like in [?] of power, or are they specifically [?]?
They are somewhat naturally occurring.
[Really? Even on other Shardworlds?
Oh. They could exist somewhere else. There are some special circumstances on Scadrial, but yes. The idea is that the pools are one state of this mythological matter.
So if you have the physical state and the liquid state, is there a less liquid state? [what does this question even mean?] Because some of that’s being used.
Um… Oh. Yeah. Yeah. But, I mean, it’s such a drop in the bucket compared to the actual Shards. So that it is a statistically insignificant amount, but it is an amount.
So Harmony’s pool, wherever it is is statistically larger than…
Yes.
atium ,
lerasium ,
investiture ,
shardpools
[Next book]
[talking about how Legion 3 will happen eventually, etc.] I will write it eventually, but not right now. I have a different secret novella I’m writing, which would be for next year, so Legion’s probably not going to come out next year.
If another Shard came to Scadrial, would that be enough to create a godmetal?
If another shard just came to visit, probably not.
If they brought a spren or-
If they came and completely Invested the world, then things might start happening. But there’s some special circumstances, remember. Ruin and Preservation created that planet. Specifically. And so there’s some goofy things that happened because of that. For instance Roshar was not made by Honor, Cultivation, or Odium. That’s one of the big differences about what’s going on there.
Scadrial ,
shards ,
Preservation ,
Ruin ,
Roshar ,
Odium ,
Honor ,
Cultivation
Have we seen harmonium?
RAFO.
What happens when you look at a kandra who has eaten another person while you’re burning malatium?
RAFO.
Kandra can eat nonhumans. What happens when they eat a spren?
Kandras have never encountered spren in any relevant way, except for the occasional Worldhopper, and they have never had occasion to try to eat a spren. Good question.
Does Shallan’s bond improve her art?
Shallan’s memorization is supernatural, and her memorization affects her ability to do art, so I would say yes.
Can Hoid safely have an MRI?
Why do you ask that?
Because if you have metal inside your body, and you have an MRI, which is magnetic, it’s very bad for you.
You’re just assuming that… That’s a very clever way to try to get around a question that I have not answered and intentionally said I am not going to answer, so…
Also, tattoos. You can’t have a tattoo with an MRI. The ink has little bits of metal in it.
You can’t? Well, I assume there are tattoo inks that are not little bits of metal.
That’s true.
Hoid
How many Horneater peaks are there? Or is it irrelevant?
It’s not irrelevant. You will find that out in one of the books. I’m not going to canonize that yet. Because the honest truth is, I’m wavering on how exactly I want that to look. So that’s the “I don’t want to canonize it yet” RAFO.
What happens if a Parshendi attunes Barry White?
(laughs) I think that if they attune Barry White they immediately enter mateform. That’s definitely how that goes.
Is it possible to Compound aluminum, or will it all just poof away the second you start trying it?
(laugh) I have actually been asked that. And I RAFO’d them, so I’m going to RAFO you.
If you spiked out Miles’ Feruchemical gold, would he be able to burn his Allomantic reserves [read: Feruchemical reserves using Allomancy] and heal it back?
Uhn… Okay. If you spiked out his ability to heal gold and somehow left him alive.
Yeah, but still having Allomancy.
Still has allomancy.
And he’s like in the middle of burning a goldmind.
Yes, that would still work. It’d still have a Spiritual connection to him.
So if you’re a Coinshot and you get [spiked] to have Feruchemical steel, and then you lose the spike after making a store, you can still Compound that for speed?
Yes… Yeah, that should still work.
Was Paalm doing that?
That’s a RAFO.
Hemalurgy ,
feruchemy ,
allomancy ,
compounding
Is there any difference between the healing that Feruchemical gold and held Stormlight can accomplish?
There are minor differences, but they work on the same principle, so…
How long does it take a newly-made chair to start thinking of itself as a chair?
It depends on how- is the perception of the people that are using it.
So if it just drifted together in space magically into a chair…
Yes. It would not actually start thinking of itself as a chair.
Kind of like if a tree falls in a forest, and there’s nobody there to hear it…
Yes.
cognitive realmatics ,
am i a chair?
Which character in your books have you had the most fun bringing to life?
Probably Wayne. He’s just the most fun to write. When I get in his viewpoint, the weirdness takes over and it’s great.
I was curious if Nightblood was the only one of its kind, or if Vasher and Shashara have made any others.
That’s a RAFO. Good question. Very good question. There was a point in time when Nightblood was the only one of its kind, and it may have continued until now.
What was your inspiration for Spook?
Spook was based off of a goofy internet friend. My friends and I had made a forum online. Just my friends and I: Dan, and all these people that were writers. And then this random kid showed up, who was 16 and British, and started writing this weird stuff. He was like our little mascot, and he became our friend. We never knew him. It was all these graduated from college guys, and there’s this sixteen year old kid that says the weirdest stuff.
Does he know [that Spook’s based on him]?
Oh, he knows. I told him ‘I’m basing a character off of you’. He said, ‘I’d love it.’ And he turns out to be very heroic, so I’m sure that he… I mean, he read them all. He was great with it.
Spook ,
Brandon on influences
How did Nightblood get on Roshar?
RAFO.
If the spren that bond people scream when they touch a Shardblade, but then at the end of Words of Radiance Kaladin holds Szeth’s honorblade and they do not have a problem with that, why does the Stormfather force Dalinar to get rid of his Honorblade at the end of Words of Radiance?
So… He does not have an Honorblade at the end of Words of Radiance.
He does not. Oh, I thought he got it from… [Taln]
Yes, that’s what the assumption is. If you look very closely, the blade that you think he ends up with is described differently from the one that he actually does.
Dalinar ,
Taln ,
shardblade ,
honorblade
What planet is Vasher from?
He did originate on Nalthis, but he Worldhopped very early in his life.
And what planet did he get the ability to change his shape, or is that because he’s a Returned?
That’s because he’s a Returned, yes.
So it’s not because he’s a Lightweaver?
Nope. That is a great question, though. He is mostly what he appears to be, with some hidden parts of his past.
Vasher ,
returned
Does Stormlight Archive happen before or after Warbreaker?
It happens after.
A nicrosil Ferring stores Investiture. Would a Nicrosil Compounder be able to gain Investiture up to the power of a Shard by infinitely compounding?
I talk a lot about that in an upcoming Mistborn book. So that’s a RAFO. The reading is coming. I will explain what it does.
If an Allomancer ate a Forged metal, what happens?
There is going to be some Investiture in that Forged metal, but it’s not going to be keyed the right way, so it’d be like eating a metalmind… If you’re asking if the metal was Forged into a different type of metal, the Forgery will take and it will believe and… that’s going to get really weird. I have not considered that. That’s a “let me think about it.” [Pause] My instincts say that it’s going to work like the metal it’s become long enough to burn for a few minutes, and then that’s going to break the Forgery, and it’s going to snap out of it and become the other metal. That’s my instinct, but I’ll have to think about it further. (on second thoughts) It’s going to be really hard to burn a metal that’s Invested like that. The magics don’t mix real well.
Eh, you can burn metalminds.
Yeah, you can, but it’s from the same “magic set”, right? So…
Allomancy ,
forgery
Could you Forge an entire human? What if a kandra eats that human?
Yes, you could Forge an entire human, and the kandra can eat that human as long as the Forgery takes. The problem is, once you break the seal, they’re going to change back. So that kandra would have to find a way to eat that person without breaking the Forgery. In that case it would just remain.
Lerasium grants all Allomantic powers when burned. Atium, when used as a spike, can steal any power. Is there a way to create a metalmind that can store anything?
There is a way to create a metalmind that can store anything.
Harmonium?
I’m not saying; I gave you an answer… [AKA: RAFO]
Lerasium ,
Atium ,
Aluminum
Since both the mists and Stormlight are very similar in many ways, are there gaseous, liquid, and solid states of Stormlight?
RAFO, but you know that there is a gas and a liquid.
The gas is just the stuff in the storms, right?
Yeah, and when it escapes from the gemstones.
Isn’t there the lake?
The lake is liquid. So you know there’s two of the three already. So just sayin’…
Stormlight
When Raoden goes in the lake above Elantris, he hears a voice. Is that a voice of a Cognitive shadow?
That’s an excellent question. RAFO.
Is the mist spirit in Alendi’s logbooks the same as the one Vin sees?
No.
Is it the same one Elend sees?
When? (chuckles) No. It is not the same one that Elend sees. There is a different mist spirit back then. Elend sees the same one Vin sees.
And Alendi saw a different one?
Yes. And originally my rules for what made a mist spirit were a little more lax than I eventually decided them to being.
But it still works…?
What is in the books, it still works and is canonized, and those are two different mist spirits. But if you find the deleted scenes—if you look at them—there are- I am exploring more with mist spirits and you’ll find out what that would have been.
mist spirit ,
Vin ,
Elend ,
Alendi
On Nalthis, can aluminum prevent somebody from Returning? So if you kill somebody with aluminum and leave the weapon in them?
[Long pause]I don’t think that’s going to be enough. I think that…
Different way then?
Yeah there are totally ways. I don’t think that that’s going to be enough. There’s a difference between being inert and blocking Investiture, and actually sucking out Investiture. If you stuck Nightblood inside of a corpse; there are certain things… if you had a larkin or whatever sitting there that ingests the Investiture as it was coming in, that would prevent [Returning]. I think with aluminum you would just have somebody that comes alive with a wound, so maybe… But I think it would just heal around [the aluminum] and you’d just have a spike in you, kind of like Hemalurgy—but not like Hemalurgy. It’s inert, but you know what I mean.
Which suggests you can’t actually Awaken aluminum.
No. It’s not going to hold a charge.
I assume you can’t Forge it, either.
No. In fact the unForgable metal-
Ralkalest?
There’s an unForgeable metal mentioned.
Could we call it aluminum if we wanted to?
Let’s just say that aluminum through most cultures was considered a mythological metal, and when people could actually find some, they considered it more valuable than gold, in our culture. So just sayin’…
aluminum ,
Ralkalest ,
forgery ,
Returned ,
hemalurgy ,
investiture ,
awakening
Did Hoid conference in on Harmony’s chat with Wax?
(laugh) RAFO. (more laughing)
If you’re on Threnody and you get withered by a shade, are you better off burning Allomantic aluminum, or tapping Feruchemical gold?
(lots of laughing) [Some clarification on the question]They would both work pretty well. I would say if you burned aluminum, that would kind of have the effect that you are wanting it to have, which is the effect- negating and sucking out, so that’s probably safer. But the gold would work, too.
So would it be fair to describe withering as a kind of cancerous Forging-
Sure.
That just kind of slowly takes over your soul?
Sure. That’s legit.
shades ,
aluminum ,
gold ,
forgery ,
withering
Is it practical for an Oracle to get more out of electrum than Vin and Elend tried to?
Yes. It is totally possible.
So if you could see your shadow wince when it turned left, you would think “Oh, Mrs. Peabody’s around that corner. I probably shouldn’t turn left!”
It is possible to squeeze more out of it than they did.
electrum
In your mind, what would constitute a Worldhopper? Is it someone who makes a single trip between worlds (for example, the exodus from Yolen—not that it was an exodus, but a single trip), multiple trips between worlds (such as Hoid), or simply leaving a particular world?
Here’s the thing. I would call anyone who is aware that there are multiple worlds in the Cosmere and has visited more than one a Worldhopper.
Do they actually have to have made it to a second world?
I think that…You’re getting at people like- I would say that they are a Worldhopper kind-of, but not fully. They’re kind of…
The Doctor’s companion?
Yeah, the Doctor’s companion type thing. I would define a Worldhopper as someone who has been to another world. I would call someone who has not actually been to another world “Cosmere-aware,” but not necessarily a Worldhopper.
I was thinking more along the lines of the Shard who does not have a planet.
Oh, Shards transcend these definitions.
They’re kind of Worldhoppers by default.
Yes.
worldhoppers ,
shards
Is it possible for a Shard or Shardholder to reproduce, other than by creating Splinters?
Yes.
Any chance we’ve seen the offspring of-
RAFO! (laughter)
shards
Will we see any information, book, story, or just WoB in general on the fourth shard that Odium has vanquished?
Eventually I will talk about it. I don’t want to talk about it now, but I will talk about it. So no, that’s a RAFO.
With Stormlight, the better the gem is cut, the less Stormlight it leaks, and the longer it holds its charge. If a gem was perfectly cut, on a molecular scale, would it leak Stormlight at all?
In a theoretical flawless gem, then no it would not.
Would it actually give off light?
Ooh… Theoretically no it would not, but it’s not what you’re thinking…
No no no, that’s not what I’m thinking, I figured that’s something totally different.
Well, actually, it probably would still give off light, because it’s drawing out of the Spiritual Realm. So I’d say it still lights, but it doesn’t leak. The leaking is not where the illumination is coming from. The illumination is coming from a direct… It’s basically a lightbulb screwed into the Spiritual Realm.
gems ,
stormlight ,
spiritual realm
What are the dimensions of Urithiru relative to something like the Sears Tower?
That’s a question for Peter and Isaac. They work out the math. It’s bigger! More area, but maybe not taller. I’m not sure.
What happens if you Compound chromium?
RAFO.
With zinc, you get mental speed. How is that any different from steel, except without [physical] speed?
I think of the mental speed actually turning you into… Let’s say you sped up your body, and you wanted to figure out some really complex equations.
So it lets you have intuitive leaps.
Right. It basically turns you into Ken Jennings. That’s how I imagine it.
So it’s not like bullet time?
No… It’ll bullet time a little bit, it certainly will, because you’re thinking faster than everyone else, but it has applications beyond bullet timing. Bullet time is really-
That’s steel’s thing?
That’s kind of steel’s thing. They overlap on that one, because the steel thing… But yeah. It’s more like “I think fast, but my reaction speed is not sped up”.
zinc ,
steel ,
feruchemy
I was curious about the concept of Flow, and how the Thrill compares to that.
Expand upon that. What do you mean?
(confusing wording)
So you mean like in the zone, in the moment. The Thrill does overlap with that a little bit, but the Thrill is something distinct. It does give you some of that focus.
The Thrill
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