Theoryland of the Wheel of Time

Brandon, Harriet, and Maria were at the Barnes and Noble in Skokie, IL (Chicagoland) on January 9, 2013. There was no reading at this event; they jumped directly to the Q&A. I taped the Q&A, and that will be transcribed and reported on separately.

The questions and answers below are only the ones that I asked during the signing. Because of the way that the bookstore structured the signing area and line, it wasn't really easy to listen in on other questions being asked during the signing. The questions and answers are paraphrased . . . things weren't really set up for me to be able to easily record them.

I don't know. (Brandon looks at Maria)

Maria Simons

I don't know. It might be in the notes.

Brandon always tells the story about going to your house in Charleston for the first time, and you had some soup on the stove, which you offered to him. But he just wanted to read the ending. My question is: Did he ever eat the soup?

Brandon Sanderson

Marie Curie

Brandon Sanderson

Peter suggested we ask you: Is Rand's third question to the Aelfinn specifically known? Is it in the notes?

Yes, it is known and it is in the notes. It will be included in the encyclopedia.

In The Gathering Storm, Rand says to Nynaeve: "Dream on my behalf, Nynaeve. Dream for things I no longer can." Was this a red herring? Or was it a completely innocent statement?

It wasn't a red herring. I meant it as a completely innocent statement. It was just about Rand telling Nynaeve to keep on wishing for him to be able to live.

RJ always said that he included a piece of you in each of his female characters. Other than being likened to Semirhage when you asked RJ to take out the garbage, can you identify the specific parts of the main characters (like Egwene or Nynaeve or Moiraine) that are from you? Did you and RJ discuss it at all?

He didn't consult with me on this. (laughter) As for characters, I tend to be like the one who offers up tea with lemon and honey.

We know that when the Tower split, about one third of Aes Sedai sided with Elaida, one third sided with the rebels, and one third stood apart. Aside from those who were Black among the ones that stood apart, when the Tower was reunited, did those sisters return to the Tower?

I don't know. I imagine that some returned, but I'm not aware of the disposition of all of them.

What about Cadsuane's contingent of Aes Sedai? We know that she gathered sisters to her, and we see several with her throughout the books. What about the others? And what about those at the Silver Swan? Were they hers?

I don't know about the others. There may be something more definitive in the notes about the ones at the Silver Swan, but I'm not sure.

We know that during the War of Power, entire cities were destroyed by balefire. It doesn't seem like (up until A Memory of Light, at least) enough balefire had been used during the Third Age to be anything close to what was used in the War of Power. Can you speak a little more about the cumulative effects? How much balefire is required before the Pattern starts to be significantly affected?

My interpretation of the way it works is that it's about a lot of balefire over a short period of time (and in a localized position) that causes the most serious damage to the Pattern. Cracks form in reality (like we see in A Memory of Light) when this occurs. The Pattern can sort of heal itself if the balefire ceases. It's kind of like an engine overheating.