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Interviews: Driving Mr. Sanderson - Terez

Summary:

Entries

32

Date

Apr 17th, 2011

Type

Verbatim

Location

Atlanta, GA

TourCon

JordanCon 2011

Reporter

Terez

Links

Theoryland

  • 1

    Terez

    Here is the official version of the report. I linked to the original questioners in cases where questions were submitted, but all questions were paraphrased by me. Also, I contacted Maria and she was nice enough to fill in a few MAFO bits. You'll also note that she ignored a few, but keep in mind she's probably pocketing tidbits to add to the Encyclopedia, and maybe even the glossaries. I think she likes putting things directly into the canon better than she likes answering fan questions, and I can't say that's a bad idea.

    Once again, Brandon was a most gracious subject and gave us some very nice things to play with. Peter was also gracious enough to record the convo and send it to me. My memory is pretty good when it comes to WoT stuff, but verbatim is much more fun.

  • 2

    Terez

    Demandred mentions that the sleepweavers are used to train beginners in Tel'aran'rhiod. Can any channeler be trained to enter without a ter'angreal (eventually) or is a certain amount of Talent required?

    Brandon Sanderson

    (long silence) I believe...I'll give you a percentage on these. If I say, "I believe", it means, "this is my understanding, but, um..."

    Terez

    Right, the asterisk.

    Brandon Sanderson

    There's an asterisk on it. And most of my understanding is informed by the notes and what I've read, but I often get things mixed up. So, I'm going to say on a 75% surety, not everybody can be trained to enter without a ter'angreal eventually, and some talent is required, but there are some who can...there is a middle ground between, for instance, Egwene, and somebody who can't at all.

    Terez

    Like Aran'gar, who obviously has hardly any talent at all, but she can get into people's dreams.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah. So, there is a middle ground. But I don't believe everybody can.

    Terez

    Have all of the Forsaken been trained to do this or do some of them have to use gateways to get there?

    Brandon Sanderson

    In choosing the Forsaken—and this one is actually, um...I am quoting sources that you don't have access to, but I do...

    Terez

    Right.

    Brandon Sanderson

    In choosing the Forsaken, the Dark One was careful...um, the very nature of it led to people with great talent in many areas being chosen. They are extraordinary in many areas, and having talents that others do not have, beyond being powerful channelers.

    Terez

    We're talking about the thirteen that were at Shayol Ghul...

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah. ...This is what led to them being at the top of the heap. That said, I do believe that, among the Forsaken, there are some who had to use gateways to get there...but the majority of the Forsaken are very talented in many areas.

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  • 3

    Terez (herid)

    When you said some Forsaken are Dreamers, you meant they have prophetic dreams, right? Or are they just Dreamwalkers?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I did mean Dreamers. People have been trying to pin me down on that one.

    Terez

    Yeah, everybody has been like convinced that you were just confused...

    Brandon Sanderson

    ...that I was just confused. No. I meant Dreamers. I DID INDEED MEAN DREAMERS.

    Terez

    I know you did, but...just verifying.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah. And I’m like 95% on that one. We’ll put an asterisk on it. I actually sent Maria deeper into the notes, but I know at least one is, and I’m pretty sure one of each gender is.

    Footnote

    The most likely candidates seem to be Moridin, Cyndane, and Moghedien, who are undeniably the most skilled at getting into people's dreams and using Tel'aran'rhiod. These talents seem to go together, and all three of them are still alive as of Towers of Midnight (out of five remaining Forsaken).

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  • 4

    Terez (sleepinghour)

    If a dead Hero who can channel is called by the Horn, can they channel at the battle?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes, they can.

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  • 5

    Terez (sleepinghour)

    Why did the female Choedan Kal melt at the cleansing but not the male one?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I’m out on a limb on this one, so this one is basically Brandon assumptions without as much substantiation...The female one is...you know that male channelers tend to be a bit stronger. My understanding is that the female Choedan Kal...they weren’t built with equal power levels; they were built with power levels of equivalent [or respective power potential], and so the amount of power pulled through was almost enough to destroy the male, but was enough to destroy the female as I understand, but that one’s out on a limb.

    Terez

    It might possibly have something to do with the fact that Nynaeve is not at the top of the female strength level, but Rand is at the top.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Both of them are kind of drops in the bucket compared to what the Choedan Kal can do. I honestly don’t think that was a factor. It is a valid theory, though, because in that case Rand is contributing more, and Nynaeve’s sa’angreal needs to contribute more, if that makes sense. And so...I mean, that could be valid, but the first one was my understanding, but I’m like way out on a limb on that one. I’m not sure on that one at all.

    Footnote—Terez

    Since Brandon made it clear that my theory was valid, I'll explain my reasoning: Verin believed that only Siuan, Moiraine, Elaida, and the supergirls were strong enough to use the female Choedan Kal, so apparently one's strength does make a difference in whether or not one could handle a super-sa'angreal, whether or not Verin was correct about who could handle it and who could not (she seemed to think Logain could not handle the male one, but she was probably wrong). Of course, she might have been lying, but what was her motive for lying to Perrin about it? Also, RJ fairly consistently places the strongest channelers with the angreal and sa'angreal in group efforts, presumably because strong channelers can get more out of them. (Rand, Nynaeve, Alivia; and with the Bowl of the Winds: Nynaeve, Aviendha, and Talaan; etc.)

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  • 6

    Terez (sleepinghour)

    Is the weave used in the shawl testing a form of Compulsion?

    Brandon Sanderson

    They’re definitely cousins. Whether they would consider it a form of Compulsion...to them, Compulsion is complete evil, so they will not view it at all like that...

    Terez

    Yeah, I thought that might be part of what Verin used to cobble together her own Compulsion weave.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah. They’re definitely cousins.

    Footnote—Terez

    This question came out of a thread I started on Theoryland, which in turn came out of a response Brandon made to someone on Twitter. I thought that Nynaeve remembering she could channel at all in her Accepted test might be related to her ability to resist Compulsion as she did with Moghedien (which, as we know from Rahvin, is a fairly rare ability possessed by only the most strong-willed, such as Morgase). Egwene's Accepted test is a whole different ballgame because of her Dreaming talent and the interference with the stone ring ter'angreal that Verin had just given her.

    Terez (sleepinghour)

    Do you know what the original use for the testing ter'angreal was?

    Brandon Sanderson

    The notes do. I don’t have it off the top of my head.

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  • 7

    Terez (herid)

    How much time passed between Verin's meeting with Mat and her death?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Oh boy, you’re fishing for Nakomi!

    Terez

    No, actually I'm not; somebody else submitted that question.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Okay. I would have to have the timeline in front of me.

    Terez

    Yeah. I think they asked because there are certain contradictions in the timeline and that’s why...

    Brandon Sanderson

    Oh yeah. There’s a mistake in Mat’s timeline.

    Terez

    And that was in The Gathering Storm, right?

    Brandon Sanderson

    No, there’s a mistake in Towers of Midnight. Mat sees sunshine when he shouldn't, or vice-versa. The reason for that being, Mat's timeline was the big one we were playing with, and we were moving him through the book to different places to decide where various things were appropriate, and where we settled on, both Alan and Bob Kluttz—who are really detailed timeline people—both stamped this timeline and said 'There are no flaws in this except there is an error in The Gathering Storm', which we have now changed. But we let a typo creep through—that one was more of a typo because we moved a scene from some place to some place else—and so there is a cloud typo. It is recorded on Twitter—I don’t know if you saw it—where someone pointed it out to me and I said 'We will get that changed.' Maria now is aware of it.

    Terez

    If it was recently then I didn’t get it, because I’m behind.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Okay. But Bob Kluttz does have an official timeline...he was one of the beta readers. The betas have all kind of come out now. I didn’t want people being jealous of them before the book came out, but...

    Terez

    Too late. I already knew about Linda. And I was jealous.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah. I went to Bob because Bob is a master of timeline—one of them; there are many out there—and Bob’s job was to keep me honest on the timeline, and he did a really fantastic job, but we did miss one typo at least.

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  • 8

    Terez (herid)

    Does Shaidar Haran channel the True Power? Can he teach weaves?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I’m going to RAFO Shaidar Haran for now.

    Terez

    Totally understandable. And predictable. But I asked anyway.

    Footnote—Terez

    This was asked in reference to the theory that Sorilea is a Darkfriend.

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  • 9

    Terez (herid)

    What exactly did Graendal see when Aran'gar put Compulsion on Ramshalan?

    Brandon Sanderson

    She doesn’t see it. We talked about this in editing when we were looking at it. It’s Graendal’s viewpoint; she’s summarizing; she doesn’t actually see it. We actually didn’t change it, because I just thought that was, ‘That’s what’s going on; it’s in her viewpoint; she doesn’t see the weaves.’ So, that isn’t an error. Maybe it’s not the clearest writing around, but I felt it was sufficiently clear when I looked at the passage. It got flagged by Maria.

    Maria Simons

    Actually, we did asked for this to be changed for e- and future editions. It should now read "Aran'gar shrugged, but focused as if laying down a thick and complex Compulsion on the unfortunate Ramshalan's mind." The answer is the same, though, really; she saw nothing.

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  • 10

    Terez (herid)

    Did Alviarin kill Carlinya?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I’m answering too many of these; I’m going to RAFO that one.

    Footnote

    This question was asked in reference to the question of why Min's raven tattoo viewing of Carlinya seemed to have been unfulfilled when she died. Alviarin's mark might have explained it; however Maria said it just meant she would be killed by the Black Ajah.

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  • 11

    Terez (Wetlandernw)

    What did Cadsuane use to blackmail Flinn, Narishma, and Manfor?

    Brandon Sanderson

    RAFO. ... That one’s mostly a MAFO. I’ll be honest. That’s a question I should have looked at.

    Terez

    Yeah, I figured it was; I was hoping actually to catch Maria on that one. That was from Wetlander from tor.com.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Oh, was it? Hi Wetlander! That’s one I should know. I’m pretty sure it’s in there somewhere. That’s one I should have looked up, but I’ve just never looked it up. So...

    Maria Simons

    A quote from the notes: "For the men, it would have been at least partly a matter of blackmail. They are distrusting of Rand, and also of Taim to various degrees; none thinks it's safe to go back to the Black Tower; they are known in Cairhien as men who can channel, and also elsewhere, making them marked to an extent, at least on their own."

    So it wasn't anything really hidden, it was just "let us bond you and we'll help you; otherwise you’re all on your own." And it was Hopwil, not Manfor, who was in the first group bonded.

    Footnote—Terez

    I took the three names from Taim's list of "deserters" given to Rand by Logain in Crossroads of Twilight, Chapter 24; Cadsuane wasn't too specific: "Blackmail was a tool she disliked using, but she had already used it on the three Asha'man..." That was in Winter's Heart Chapter 13; she told Rand about the three bonded Asha'man in Chapter 25, and indeed Karldin Manfor was not among those three.

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  • 12

    Terez

    Will we learn about the information exchange between Graendal and Mesaana?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Considering what's happened to Mesaana, I’m going to say that’s unlikely. No, that depends on what you mean by 'learn of'. If you wiggle it out of us, then perhaps some day.

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  • 13

    Terez

    Have Egwene's dreams concerning Gawyn all been fulfilled?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Which one are they asking about?

    Terez

    This is my question.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Because it was a Min vision, about holding her life...

    Terez

    No, no...I know the difference. I’m thinking mostly of the fork in the road that Gawyn comes to in Egwene’s dream, and down one road they marry, and down the other they don’t...

    Brandon Sanderson

    Okay, yes. That has been fulfilled. That fork in the road was the same decision that Min saw. Those were parallel [prophecies]. And that prophecy did get fulfilled...and the meaning of that is...there is no hidden meaning, no 'Surprise, that wasn’t really it!' You saw it: if Gawyn had not returned when he did, Egwene would have died.

    Footnote—Terez

    Brandon didn't let me finish telling him the dream, so I asked him about it again later. The dream actually refers to Gawyn's death rather than Egwene's, and was not fulfilled until A Memory of Light when they married (which set Gawyn down the chosen path).

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  • 14

    Terez

    Is the area of a dreamspike adjustable?

    Brandon Sanderson

    The area it covers? Yes, it is.

    Terez

    Yay!

    Brandon Sanderson

    That’s a good question.

    Terez

    Thank you.

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  • 15

    Terez

    Has Moridin/Ishamael been collecting 'angreal for 3500 years or only recently?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I would say more than collecting—'keeping tabs on'.

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  • 16

    Terez

    Will we ever learn what went wrong when Narishma went to fetch Callandor?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Um...perhaps. (Terez laughs.) Was that one of yours?

    Terez

    Yes, that was.

    Brandon Sanderson

    I didn’t answer it, but I didn’t RAFO it.

    Terez

    Yeah. It’s all good.

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  • 17

    Terez

    Is the sky clear above Alanna or only the harem? (Brandon, who was reading from my list of questions, refused to say 'harem' and said 'THE THREE WOMEN' before I cut him off with my uproarious laughter.)

    Brandon Sanderson

    Was that yours?

    Terez

    Why is that offensive?

    Brandon Sanderson

    What's that?

    Terez

    They are a harem.

    Brandon Sanderson

    No.

    Terez

    They are!

    Brandon Sanderson

    Noooo! Harem...I don’t know if it really does imply...but a harem implies women who sit around and do nothing...

    Terez

    This is true.

    Brandon Sanderson

    ...until the man, um, wishes...

    Terez

    It’s an affectionate name for them.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes. But I have seen that um, that phrase before, and...yes. Is the sky clear above Alanna? I’m going to RAFO Alanna. Alanna’s got an interesting thread still, so...

    Terez

    Yay!

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  • 18

    Terez

    Will we learn anything else about the Black Ajah oaths?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Um...

    Terez

    I mean, you can tell us now.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Well, you’re phrasing these questions in such a way that...

    Terez

    I know, I know. I was trying to be...

    Brandon Sanderson

    You’re being nice. No, I appreciate that. I’m not complaining that you’re phrasing these in a way...um, I think that there is a decent chance that those could go in the encyclopedia.

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  • 19

    Terez

    When did Lan first become a blademaster?

    Brandon Sanderson

    (reading) When did Lan (LAHN) first become...oh, Lan (rhymes with pan), sorry. I hear all these names at JordanCon, and half of them pronounce them one way, and half of them the other way, and I end up getting bad habits.

    Terez

    Yeah. I don’t care.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah, but Robert Jordan cared, so I try to care.

    Terez

    So is it Lahn or Lan?

    Brandon Sanderson

    It’s Lan.

    Terez

    Okay, good, because that’s how I pronounce it.

    Brandon Sanderson

    As far as I know—someone could correct me—it’s Lan, but Lan was one of those ones that—I believe—some major source had wrong. I could be completely wrong on this. I know Tar Valon (Tar va-LAHN), one major source had wrong, meaning an audiobook reader, or an original typo in one of the glossaries, or something, which really itched at Jim as I understand because he really wanted it to be Tar va-LAHN and not Tar VA-lun. So...when did Lan first become a blademaster? Well...between New Spring and The Eye of the World.

    Terez

    (laughs) Okay.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Wait, didn't he...he wasn't a blademaster in New Spring, was he? No...

    Terez

    Not that I'm aware of. And Ryne was better than him then at that time, so...

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah. So, somewhere in between those two. I suspect that was one of the things that Jim wanted to do in the prequel.

    Terez

    Right. Because there was definitely not a big deal made of it when he killed Toram Riatin.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah.

    Maria Simons

    Okay, the notes say that Lan became a blademaster before he turned 20, which would have been before New Spring. My thoughts on this are that Lan got his sword at an early age, and worked really hard with it, and was judged a blademaster by five blademasters sometime pretty early on. It's not mentioned specifically that I can find in New Spring, but it makes sense to me.

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  • 20

    Terez

    Will the fat man turn up again?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Um...I hope you're not talking about me.

    Terez

    Um...(cracks up) [This made me laugh mostly because I had just noticed that Brandon seems to have shed quite a few pounds, no doubt because his wife occasionally reminds him that he owes it to his fans to stay in shape.]

    Brandon Sanderson

    I hope you're talking about the angreal! Um...I've always had an affection for that little fat man angreal.

    Terez

    (pause) That's a good answer.

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  • 21

    Terez

    Who killed Barthanes?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I'll RAFO that one, because I've answered a whole bunch. Some of these...I need to leave questions for people, and...you know...

    Terez

    Oh come on, it's not like...you know, there will always be questions.

    Brandon Sanderson

    There will always be questions. I don't want to look like a pushover. Jim wasn't a pushover, and I'm kind of a pushover.

    Terez

    I don't know. You answered most of Matt's questions, on his drive.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah, I know...I know I did. Wait, are you trying to guilt-trip me now, that I answered Matt's?

    Terez

    No, no. (Peter is laughing in the back seat.)

    Brandon Sanderson

    At least this time I knew what I was getting into. With Matt, that was my first Theoryland ambush.

    Terez

    Oh really?

    Brandon Sanderson

    My first real one—my first real big one. So I guess I now need to have Emma drive me somewhere. And then I'll have completed the...who else is big on Theoryland. The one who was on the...the...

    Terez

    Ted.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Is his name Ted?

    Terez

    WinespringBrother.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah! Right, WinespringBrother, and who else? Frenzy. Yeah.

    Terez

    She was there last year.

    Brandon Sanderson

    The tor.com people aren't Theorylanders, are they? Like Wetlander and Freelancer...

    Terez

    No, I just know all of them because I hang out there sometimes...

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah, you hang out there...

    Terez

    Thanks to Peter. He sent me that way.

    Peter Ahlstrom

    Did I?

    Terez

    Yeah, you did. When you pointed out [Freelancer's] signing report that was there.

    Peter Ahlstrom

    Oh.

    Terez

    Yeah, that was the first time I went there, and I've been hanging out there ever since.

    Brandon Sanderson

    See, now you're getting into these little specific ones, that I'm...

    Terez

    I mean, you know...answer what you feel like. I was just collecting questions from everybody, so there's not really any pattern to it.

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  • 22

    Terez (Callandor)

    Who killed Sahra Covenry?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Bob Kluttz made a guess at this on the Encyclopaedia [The Shadow Rising 17] and he was correct. [Bob noted that the most popular choice was Alviarin.]

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  • 23

    Terez (Callandor)

    Who ordered the attack on Demira Eriff in Lord of Chaos?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I'm going to RAFO that one.

    Footnote

    It was Fain.

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  • 24

    Terez

    Was Moridin in his own dream when Rand visited him in The Gathering Storm? If so, did he pull the boys into his own dreams in The Eye of the World, or did he invade and control theirs?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I believe Moridin was...okay, in The Gathering Storm, he was in his own dream. He at least believes he was in his own dream, and he is usually right on things like that. And in The Eye of the World, he...I believe it was their dreams that he was controlling. But...

    Terez

    That's difficult to do.

    Brandon Sanderson

    That's very difficult to do....so I could be wrong on that. It's easier to pull someone into your own dreams, but it's easier to influence multiple dreams from the outside. So...does that make sense?

    Terez

    Yes.

    Brandon Sanderson

    So, since he's doing it to all three of them, that makes me believe he was actually controlling their dreams. I'm pretty sure on that one, Terez. [Cut discussion of the pronunciation of Terez.] I could be wrong...but my understanding of the mechanics is that since they're all dreaming the same thing, that it's external, much as a lot of the Forsaken have been not warding their dreams through the early parts of the books, and causing people to dream lots of weird things, and share dreams. Ishamael was doing that intentionally...doing something similar. Does that make sense?

    Terez

    Right, and it also has to do with his ability to find ta'veren.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah.

    Footnote—Terez

    In my reread I noticed in A Crown of Swords Chapter 10, "Unseen Eyes", that Egwene says it's possible for a Dreamer to pull someone out of their dreams into a dream of her own making in Tel'aran'rhiod; this is something the Wise Ones won't do, but Ishamael wouldn't have a problem with it; I had forgotten that detail for some reason, and the Moridin dream confused the issue. It can be assumed that Lanfear did the same thing; Moghedien has shown no sign of having the ability (or perhaps the desire) to reach others' dreams, but she can trap Dreamwalkers in their own dreams in Tel'aran'rhiod. Aran'gar can do it weakly, and then only if she is sleeping right next to the person. Brandon has a point about the fact that all three of them dreamed the same dream apparently at once, but in once instance, after Perrin found the wolves, it seemed to Rand and Mat that they fell asleep, had the dream, and immediately woke up, when Moiraine says they were asleep for four hours.

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  • 25

    Terez

    Can Shayol Ghul be reached in Tel'aran'rhiod?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I'm actually going to RAFO that. And that's actually not one I'm RAFO'ing...I'm RAFO'ing that for very good reasons. Not just out-of-hand RAFO'ing.

    Terez

    Gotcha.

    Footnote

    RJ said that the Blight cannot be reached in Tel'aran'rhiod because it's not a part of the 'normal' universe, but he never commented specifically on Shayol Ghul.

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  • 26

    Terez (Callandor)

    What happened to the twelve Aes Sedai Siuan sent to recapture Taim? Their troops?

    Brandon Sanderson

    That's a great question. RAFO. That's a good question to be asking, though.

    Footnote

    This was asked because they match the number of Aes Sedai who joined the Borderland rulers. Paitar's adviser Coladara made the 13th.

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  • 27

    Terez

    When Perrin and Egwene saw Rand in Tel'aran'rhiod in The Dragon Reborn, had he been pulled there by someone?

    Brandon Sanderson

    (pause) I'm a little bit out on a limb on this one, but I don't believe he was. We have seen places where Rand manifests in Tel'aran'rhiod when he's in the real world, and this is something that happens with Rand that we haven't seen with other people...

    Terez

    Are you talking about like when...

    Brandon Sanderson

    Well, there's the Perrin sequence, for one...

    Terez

    Right, and when Ishamael visits him in The Great Hunt...

    Brandon Sanderson

    Mmmhmm.

    Terez

    Right. Cool.

    Brandon Sanderson

    So, I believe Rand has got something a little unique going on there...

    Terez

    Oh, okay. That's interesting.

    Brandon Sanderson

    ...but, I'm a little on a limb on that one.

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  • 28

    Terez

    Does Mashadar eat the memories of people it kills?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I've always thought it does, but I haven't actually looked it up.

    Terez

    Yeah, RJ said that Machin Shin does, but he never did comment on Mashadar.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Really? Okay. Well, I believe it does.

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  • 29

    Terez

    Does one typically (emphasized in the list he was reading) have to visit Shayol Ghul to be granted permission to use the True Power?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Um...(pause) Yes. I see what you're fishing for there.

    Terez

    Well, I mean...obviously. I didn't think I would slip that one past you.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah.

    Footnote—Terez

    I was mainly following up on Freelancer's question. Despite the confusion, most fans believe that Rand accessed the True Power through his link with Moridin (and most also believe the Dark One is okay with this, despite not having granted explicit permission). Brandon's answer to Freelancer seemed to confirm that, but then Brandon denied he had actually said that.

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  • 30

    Terez

    There seems to be a difference between Ishamael's big black cord and the wires which represent the protection from the taint. Is that intentional?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I believe that it is. But that one's more like 50-50...no, I'm like 65% sure.

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  • 31

    Terez

    How does Demandred compare in strength to Moridin and Aginor? Sammael?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Um...I have to have the list in front of me for that one.

    Terez

    Ahh.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Sorry, Terez.

    Terez

    That's okay.

    Brandon Sanderson

    I really want to just post that for people, because so many people ask about it...

    Terez

    Right, they're like really obsessed with it at rafo.com....

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah, they're very obsessed with it, and the thing is, a lot of them are really close, and so it's a matter of a few points on Jim's scale...

    Terez

    Yeah, I figured, like what you were saying earlier about how they were Chosen because their talents...

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah.

    Terez

    ...obviously they're all within...

    Brandon Sanderson

    ...yeah. They're all awesome. And so, you know, you couldn't be a Forsaken simply for being awesome in the Power. It's like you had to be awesome at the Power, and be awesome at other stuff.

    Terez

    Well, I mean...that's what they said about Balthamel, that that was the only reason he was one of them, was that he was so strong...

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah....

    Terez

    But, you know, obviously there was something else going on there...

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah. [I think he was already looking at the next (last) question at this point because we were nearing the airport terminal.]

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  • 32

    Terez (herid)

    If Taim already knew how to ignore heat, why did he shave his beard? (Because of the way he read it.) That's not my question.

    Brandon Sanderson

    I have no idea.

    Terez

    (laughs) I didn't figure you would.

    Brandon Sanderson

    That's a pretty random question. I don't even think that's in the notes; I'll be honest with you....that's really not the sort of thing Jim put in his notes, so I'm guessing...I can MAFO that one, if you want to ask Maria, but I really don't know.

    Maria Simons

    I don't know either.

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