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Interview #36: Twitter 2011 (WoT), Entry #77

Aaron Oster (17 January 2011)

How could Verin write that note if she hadn’t taken poison yet?

Brandon Sanderson (17 January 2011)

An excellent question, one I’m surprised I haven’t seen talked about yet. (Though I’m sure it has been.)

BRANDON SANDERSON

Basically, it’s for the same reason that an Aes Sedai can kill if she puts herself into a situation where she’s in danger.

BRANDON SANDERSON

It involves mental gymnastics and lots of requirements. In the end, she put so many on that the note didn’t get read.

MAX (19 JANUARY)

What would have happened if someone were to balefire Verin’s cup of poison to remove its existence when it was consumed?

BRANDON SANDERSON

So far, I believe we’ve only see balefire used to remove living things from the Pattern that way. Am I wrong? @Terez27

TEREZ

There has been some serious debate over Nynaeve and her boat. Some think the rowers caused…

TEREZ

…the temporal anomaly, while some think it had to be the boat itself. I forget the arguments…

TEREZ

I remember the argument now. The boat was filled with water at the moment of balefire, which rowers don’t explain.

FOOTNOTE—TEREZ

Over a month later sleepinghour discovered an old letter from RJ to a fan in which RJ confirms that inanimate objects do get burned back just like living things. I suspect now that Brandon knew this from the notes, though, and that’s why he used the words ‘so far’ and redirected the question to me. This was probably one of those things that Brandon and Maria had to piece together from the notes, and from the wording of his following tweets I’d be willing to bet that Maria won an argument.

TEREZ (27 FEBRUARY)

We just found an old letter from RJ to a fan in which he confirms that balefire DOES burn back inanimate objects in time.

TEREZ

Thanks to @sleepinghour for that. Though I know this probably drives you crazy, lol. It’s almost like retcon!

BRANDON SANDERSON

Well, good to know. You’d think he’d mention some of these things in the notes…

TEREZ

I know, right? lol. Wasn’t it you that said that he didn’t put many things in the notes because he kept it all in his head?

TEREZ

We observed @Theoryland that your descriptions fit his claim better than his own descriptions re: inanimate objects.

TEREZ

And your assumption about living things only fit his descriptions perfectly…aside from the stupid boat!

BRANDON SANDERSON

Yeah. We get lots of fragments of things he jotted down, but they are more notes to himself, so he leaves things out.

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