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Your search for the tag 'Shallan' yielded 61 results

  • 1

    Interview: Dec 25th, 2010

    Question

    At the end of The Way of Kings, several key characters seem to be converging on the Shattered Plains. The Way of Kings takes place mainly on the Plains and Kharbranth. Do you plan to spend much time in new locations in book 2?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Book 2 will begin with Shallan and Jasnah either very close to or arriving at the Shattered Plains.

    Tags

  • 2

    Interview: Oct 15th, 2010

    17th Shard

    On later Stormlight Archive novels will there always be one character we get to see flashbacks for?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes, and it should rotate to different characters. I have not yet decided who gets book two yet. It's really between Dalinar and Shallan and I go back and forth on whose story I want to tell next.

    17TH SHARD

    So, does that mean there's going to be 10 different characters that would be seen?

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    It's very likely there will be 10 different characters. The only caveat on that is that part of me really wants to do a second Kaladin book. And so I haven't quite decided who gets flashback books. You can probably guess from reading this book some of them who do. But there are some that don't necessarily absolutely need them, so Kaladin may get a second flashback book.

    17TH SHARD

    So, fingers crossed, fingers crosses, will Szeth get one?

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    Szeth will get a book.

    17TH SHARD

    YES! (laughter) We're all cheering.

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    Yes, Szeth will get a book. Shallan and Dalinar will get books.

    17TH SHARD

    Adolin?

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    Um…I'm not sure on him yet. He's one that could, maybe not. I mean he's got some interesting things going on but we'll see how the series progresses first. There are characters who will get flashback books that you haven't yet met or at least not spent much time with.

    Tags

  • 3

    Interview: Apr, 2012

    Some Stuff for fans of Brandon’s Other Works

    Brandon Sanderson

    Firstly he read from his novella, Legion, which is out in November [I think??]. It's about a genius whose genius manifests in the form of hallucinations. Basically whenever this guy studies anything, he creates a hallucinatory expert that retains the full extent of all this knowledge like a repository, and it is with his 'legion' of hallucinatory experts that his full genius and ability comes from.

    On the second day he read from a new novel set in the Elantris world (though in a whole different part of the world, with completely new characters (barring, of course, Hoid)). I didn’t write it down, but the title was something like 'Soul of the Dragon Emperor'. The magic system involves Forgers, people who can through study and understanding something’s past, forge a soulseal which can change that past so long as it is touching the thing itself. So a Forger could look at an old and battered table, and by studying it—understanding where the wood came from, where the polish came from, so forth—they could then create a soulseal that says the table has been lovingly and carefully cared for, and so long as that seal is laid into the table, the table will no longer be battered and old, but perfectly polished. This is the gist of the plot as well, that something has happened to the Emperor and a talents Forger who works as a thief is supposed to Forge the Emperor’s soul so that it appears as if nothing has happened.

    Other than that the only other thing I have in my notes is that Shallan is to be the Stormlight 2 Flashback character.

    Tags

  • 4

    Interview: Sep 22nd, 2012

    Fan

    I'm so excited for the Way of Kings sequel.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Well, you'll be glad to know that I finished with the first section of it last night; the second book is Shallan's book, so I was writing her flashback sequences.

    Question

    Any new name ideas yet?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Not yet. The name's still the Bad Name. [explains to others]. In my notes it's called The Book of Endless Pages, because that's the book Shallan gets at the end of Book 1, but the problem is that it's kind of a silly title for a book this long.

    Tags

  • 5

    Interview: Sep 22nd, 2012

    Question

    Can spren die?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes, spren can die.

    Question

    Okay, so Syl, she's been around for at least a few thousand years, right?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes.

    Question

    How does she forget her memories? Is it in connection to humans that makes it so she remembers things?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes.

    Question

    And she's what, a Bonding Spren?

    Brandon Sanderson

    You will find out. She [says she's] an Honorspren, but you will find out.

    Zas

    Is that bond the Nahel bond?

    Brandon Sanderson

    [Nervous grin on Brandon's face] [laughter] There is a certain amount of... It is a symbiotic bond that is gained by Syl. And things gained by the person bonding. And the stronger presence in the physical realm, and the ability to think better in the physical realm is a part of that bond. She is mostly getting [something] of the physical realm. Without the bond, it is very hard for her to think in this world.

    Question

    Because she's windspren?

    Brandon Sanderson

    That's part of it. That's part of something else.

    Question

    Shallan. What the crap was up with the headless spren?

    Brandon Sanderson

    You will find out! Read and Find out! I did just finish her flashback sequence, the first thing I wrote for the second book.

    Tags

  • 6

    Interview: Apr 14th, 2012

    Question

    Have you chosen a flashback character for book two of Stormlight Archive yet?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes. I have chosen to use Shallan as the flashback character for Stormlight Two. I feel that her narrative is the best one right here, and so I pretty much filled out the first five, 'cause Stormlight's in two five-book narratives, where we're going to anchor it with Kaladin is the first one and Dalinar is the last one, and then we'll use Shallan, Szeth is number three, and then probably Navani is number four. That's the one I haven't nailed down yet. It's either Navani or a character I can't tell you yet.

    Tags

  • 7

    Interview: Aug 31st, 2012

    Daily Dragon

    Shallan's sketches in The Way of Kings are terrific additions that enhance the epic feel of the novel. What inspired you to push for these illustrations?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I wanted to use the form of this novel to try and enhance what epic fantasy can do, and downplay the things that are tough about it. One of the tough things about epic fantasy is the learning curve—how much you have to learn and pay attention to, how many things there are to just know. I felt that occasional illustrations could really help with that. For instance, how Shallan's sketchbook, or uses of multiple maps, could give us a visual component to the book. Pictures really are worth a thousand words. You can have on that page something that shows a creature much better than I can describe it. And so I felt that that would help deemphasize the problem of the learning curve, while at the same time helping to make this world real. Epic fantasy is about immersion, and I wanted to make this world real since that's one of the great things we can do with epic fantasy. We've got the space and the room to just build a completely real world, and I felt that the art would allow me to do that, which is why I decided to do "in world" art.

    I didn't want to take this toward a graphic novel. I like graphic novels, but it wasn't appropriate here to do illustrations of the scenes and characters from the books because I don't want to tell you what they look like. I want that to be up to your own imagination. And so we wanted that in-world ephemera feel to it, as though it were some piece of art that you found in the world and included.

    I think it goes back to Tolkien. There's a map in The Hobbit, and that map isn't just a random map, which has become almost a cliché of fantasy books and of epic fantasy. "Oh, of course there's a random map in the front!" Well, Tolkien wanted you to think this map was the actual map the characters carried around, and that's why he included it. He wrote his books as if he were the archivist putting them together and translating them and bringing them to you, this wonderful story from another world, and he included the map because the map was there with the notes. That's what I wanted the feel for this ephemera to be. As though whoever has put this book together—done the translation and included pieces of art and maps and things that they found in the world that had been collected during these events—that's what you're getting.

    Tags

  • 8

    Interview: Apr 15th, 2013

    Reddit AMA 2013 (Verbatim)

    DrDont007 ()

    I was wondering something about the Stormlight Archive. You have said before that an upcoming book will be The Highprince of War. Will this definitely be Dalinar's book, or could this be referring to a subsequent Highprince of War (like Dalinar's sons?). And a quick side question: how is book 2 coming along? Can we still hope for a late 2013 release?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Book two has been renamed Words of Radiance, as it's Shallan's book. Dalinar's book will be Book Five. (Though I haven't promised he will survive that long. I reserve the right to do flashbacks for someone in a book after they have died.)

    It WILL be Dalinar's book, however, not one of his sons.

    Late 2013 is still possible. I'm about 2/3 of the way done.

    Tags

  • 9

    Interview: May 22nd, 2013

    StormAtlas

    I finally got to ask a question about the Stormlight Archive that Windrunner17 and Chaos helped me with which was: "Why Can Kaladin Surgebind with any gem type but Jasnah and Shallan need specific types?"

    Brandon Sanderson

    A lot of that will be explained as the series comes along. It is really the difference between Soulcasting and the other forms of Surgebinding. It's more a quirk of Soulcasting than it is something that is different about about Kaladin. So you've kind of got it reversed a little bit though; Soulcasting has this additional restriction that the other ones don't.

    Tags

  • 10

    Interview: Sep, 2012

    Nemuri

    How has writing Shallan as the focus character been compared to Kaladin in the last book? Easier? More difficult?

    Brandon Sanderson

    So far, I've only done her flashback sequence--but this was a little easier than Kaladin's, as I've been kind of chomping at the bit to tell her story.

    Tags

  • 11

    Interview: Sep, 2012

    Kaist

    If Kabsal hadn't been trying to kill Jasnah, would him and Shallan have gotten together?

    Brandon Sanderson

    It's uncertain. He actually did care for her, but he was an assassin trained to infiltrate and gain the trust of people like Shallan. If he hadn't been trying to kill Jasnah, he would never have had a reason to begin spending time with Shallan. However, I assume your question is if they had somehow started interacting, would they have gotten together. It's possible, but I don't think--in the end--it would have lasted.

    Tags

  • 12

    Interview: Sep, 2012

    Telcontar

    Is one of the symbolhead-spren (or maybe all of them) responsible for Shallan's ability to Soulcast (in the way that Syl is responsible for Kaladin's Lashings)?

    Brandon Sanderson

    There is indeed a similar relationship there.

    Tags

  • 13

    Interview: Sep, 2012

    Lightflame

    When Shallan is appealing Jasnah, Jasnah reveals that she has heard about Shallan's step-mother, Malise Gevelmar. Has Malise Gevelmar ever met Jasnah or one of her associates (excluding Shallan)?

    Brandon Sanderson

    No, she has not. You'll learn more about Malise in Book Two. She really is just a rural lighteyes of not much consequence. Shallan's mother, however...

    Tags

  • 14

    Interview: Sep, 2012

    E. Hyde

    Will we see illustrations of Shardplate and/or blades in the next Stormlight Archive book?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Shallan will likely be doing some sketches from dueling grounds where Sharbearers fight.

    Tags

  • 15

    Interview: Oct 30th, 2012

    Lance Alvein

    How are people with two different eye colours treated on Roshar?

    BRANDON SANDERSON (paraphrased)

    RAFO - this will be explored in one of Shallan's flashback sequences in Stormlight 2, and is already written.

    Tags

  • 16

    Interview: Dec 6th, 2012

    Question

    So why is Shallan so whiny? No I’m just kidding...

    Brandon Sanderson

    Shallan is very young and has gone through a lot in her life.

    QUESTION

    And does she have a Shardblade?

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    She does have a Shardblade.

    Tags

  • 17

    Interview: 2013

    Nepene (March 2013)

    I suppose one thing to wonder is how do you enter Shadesmar? We know of a number of people who are jumping from world to world through Shadesmar. Grump Thinker and Blunt, Hoid too. How are they accessing the cognitive plane to transport themselves across the lands?

    Presumably Shallan's bond with the truthspren let her get in. How does this work? If she had only a dim sphere then does it not require any stormlight, any spiritual power? Is it a purely cognitive change? I could see some advantages to that. You could hop into this alternative dimension at will if you were being attacked, even with little power.

    The scholars earlier talk of whether there is food in Shadesmar, so presumably others have visited it. Can non soulcasters visit it? Is there some fabrial that grants you access? Are they only referring to the distant past, when KR had the power to access it? Is it purely a thing of the mind that anyone can learn? Is it only possible if you have access to a splinter of a shard?

    And on an unrelated question, they have symbols on their heads. If Shallan managed to draw one of these would it be some glyph? Perhaps some glyph that we would recognize, like the glyphs in the artwork at the front?

    Brandon Sanderson

    There are many ways to enter Shadesmar. You'll see more of this in the future. One thing to keep in mind about Shadesmar is that space where things are thinking is expanded, while space where there is nothing to think is contracted. In other words, in an empty void, you get almost no Shadesmar. This makes distances as we think of them very different there.

    As for the symbols making up the heads of the cryptics, those are not glyphs. But it's possible you would recognize them...

    Tags

  • 18

    Interview: Dec 6th, 2012

    Question

    Is the city that the Parshendi are in Urithiru?

    Brandon Sanderson

    In the Way of Kings, Jasnah tells Shallan that Urithiru is not on the Shattered Plains. So either Jasnah is incorrect or that is not Urithiru.

    QUESTION

    In other words, you’re not going to tell me?

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    I’m just clarifying for you so that you have all the information you need in order to make judgements and ask questions.

    Footnote

    Brandon pronounced Urithiru like "You-rith-ir-oo".

    Tags

  • 19

    Interview: Dec 6th, 2012

    Brandon Sanderson

    This was a method I thought I would use in order to help divide each book and help me envision each book as a stand-alone volume in the series. Because one of the challenges of writing a big series like this is you don’t want them all to blend together. You want them each to feel distinct, to have their own climaxes and their own story because when they start to blend together it can be detrimental to the series in the long run. So in my original outline, I spent a lot of time figuring out what everyone’s story was going to be but I didn’t actually have to do them in a certain order because they all are flashbacks I didn’t have to have the flashbacks in certain parts. And so I wasn’t sure whether I was going to do Dalinar or Shallan for the second book, I always knew I was going to do Kaladin for the first book. And I ended up deciding on Shallan, in part because I want to get into her story because of things that are happening in the plot but also because I wanted Dalinar’s sequence to come later.

    Now, I’m not promising that characters all survive that long. It’s entirely possible, just so you know, that I would kill someone off and still show their flashback sequence. Because the flashbacks aren’t them having a flashback, the flashbacks are- it’s not them sitting there and remembering that, it is simply a non-linear way of telling their story. So just so you know, that doesn’t necessarily mean that Dalinar survives til book five.

    Shallan Flashback

    Tags

  • 20

    Interview: Mar 17th, 2012

    Zas

    There is a debate on what to call Shallan's Symbols, so we don't have such an ambiguous term for it .

    Brandon Sanderson

    The Symbolhead?

    ZAS

    Yeah, the Symbolhead, Shallanspren,

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    (laughter)

    ZAS

    We don't really know what to call them.

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    Do I want to canonize this yet?

    ZAS

    You don't have to canonize it yet.

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    I don't know if I want to canonize it yet. But I will say this. They are spren, that should be pretty obvious. They are the spren connected to what Shallan is capable of doing. But I don’t know if I want to canonize it yet. Truthspren is as good a name as any, and I would suggest you use that until further notice.

    Tags

  • 21

    Interview: Aug 9th, 2013

    Question

    Going back to characters: Stormlight Archive is very character driven—each book essentially focuses on one character. Who will we learn more about in Words of Radiance?

    Brandon Sanderson

    In the second book Shallan becomes the focus, though I would honestly say there is as much Kaladin in in the second book as there is in the first book. In the first book the things Shallan was doing were important and fun, but at the same time her plot line was intentionally disjointed because I was setting up what's happening in this book.

    Tags

  • 22

    Interview: Oct 1st, 2013

    Question

    Why can Shallan draw the Cryptics without seeing them, and can she do the same for other invisible (to her?) spren?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Shallan and the Cryptics have a "special connection" that allows her to draw them.

    Tags

  • 23

    Interview: Oct 8th, 2013

    Question

    Are Shallan's "memories" a form of surgebinding?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Good question! Shallan has something besides pure physiology aiding her when taking a memory.

    Tags

  • 24

    Interview: Oct 8th, 2013

    Question

    Will Shallan and Hoid meet and have a battle of wits?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Good question! I think you should read Words of Radiance and find out.

    Tags

  • 25

    Interview: Mar 24th, 2014

    Question

    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?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Ooh, good question! You will want to read Words of Radiance, where her flashbacks may indeed involve this scene that she drew.

    Tags

  • 26

    Interview: Mar 29th, 2014

    Question

    How did Shallan rescue Kaladin when they fell in the chasm?

    Brandon Sanderson

    She did not, it was actually Syl. But he was in the process of breaking the bond, and so she was able to get some stormlight to him, but that is what really — Like you can imagine, this bond was really a strain for her to use at that point, so it was her, but doing what she did just about destroyed her, which is why you don't hear from her after that.

    Question

    Is healing a universal stormlight power then?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes, within reason. Some are better at it, but it is a universal power.

    Question

    With Dalinar, as a bondsmith, what does that mean his power-?

    Brandon Sanderson

    That is a good question! That is going to be an [RAFO card].

    Tags

  • 27

    Interview: Mar 29th, 2014

    Question

    Do we ever get to see a good banter between Wit and Shallan?

    Brandon Sanderson

    She is not quite ready yet to be on his level. And if you watch through the series, her use of humor will mature. And in fact you should be able to notice a difference between these two even [Way of Kings and Words of Radiance]. By later books she will be able to stand a little bit better. Right now he would rip her to shreds.

    Tags

  • 28

    Interview: Mar 21st, 2014

    macros

    Based on what we know currently about the ten heartbeats, why does Szeth require ten heartbeats to bring forth his Honorblade?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Perception is a very important part of how these things all work, and remember, the Honorblades work differently from everything else. Everything was based upon them. Why don’t you read and find out what’s going on there, but remember, the characters’ perception is very important.

    macros

    So then that’s why at one point Shallan requires ten heartbeats and now she doesn’t.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Right, just like—it’s the exact same reason why Kaladin’s forehead wounds don’t heal, because he views himself as need—as having those, somewhere deep inside of him, and that can’t heal until that goes away. And it’s the same reason why in Warbreaker, when you bring something to life your intention, rather than really what you say, is what matters. It’s all about perception.

    Tags

  • 29

    Interview: Mar 19th, 2014

    Ant

    The Stormlight Archive already has that feeling of an "epic" tale, not just in the size of the novels and the rich world building but the story too. Do you have any idea how long the book series might go on for?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes. I conceived The Stormlight Archive as a series dealing with ten characters, where each book took one of the characters and delved deeply into their past and their psychology. Granted, the other characters will appear, as Kaladin is a big part of Words of Radiance even though this volume could be described as Shallan's book. Since I have those ten characters, and there are ten orders of Knights Radiant, I built a ten-book series with two five-book arcs: five books and then a break, followed by another five books.

    Tags

  • 30

    Interview: Mar 11th, 2014

    Question

    Where was Pattern before Shallan drew him?

    Brandon Sanderson

    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.

    Tags

  • 31

    Interview: Mar 6th, 2014

    Question

    Who are the 5 main characters from the first half of The Stormlight Archive?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Kaladin, Shallan, Szeth, Eshonai, Dalinar in that order.

    Tags

  • 32

    Interview: Mar 6th, 2014

    Question

    Why didn't Shallan summon her Shardblade on the ship when they were attacked?

    Brandon Sanderson

    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.

    Tags

  • 33

    Interview: Mar 19th, 2014

    Question (Paraphrased)

    Please don’t tell me you’re going to do a love triangle between Adolin, Kaladin, and Shallan.

    Brandon Sanderson

    (he phrased this very carefully) I'm not a fan of the traditional love triangle. However, I am fond of conflict in relationships.

    Tags

  • 34

    Interview: Aug 13th, 2014

    Question

    You said that Shallan will have different apprenticeships, we know 2, will Hoid be another?

    Brandon Sanderson

    RAFO. :)

    Tags

  • 35

    Interview: Aug 13th, 2014

    Question

    We know that Pattern was with Shallan before the murder of Shallan's mother. We will see in the next books how they met?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes, you will probably see this some day.

    Tags

  • 36

    Interview: Mar 4th, 2014

    QUESTION

    Are we going to find out in here, why Szeth and what the Truthless are all about?

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    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.

    Tags

  • 37

    Interview: Mar 4th, 2014

    QUESTION

    How deep are you going into Shadesmar in WoR?

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    Not terribly deep in WoR. We're going to have to wait until Jasnah or Shallan are exploring it more.

    Tags

  • 38

    Interview: Mar 22nd, 2014

    Question

    Have we seen a character who is a part of multiple organizations, for example the Ghostbloods and the Sons of Honor?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes you have. [Pause for a photo] I've a big gap out there, because of you-know-who is in the Ghostbloods and the Lightweavers. You give me opportunities, and I will answer truthfully

    Tags

  • 39

    Interview: Nov 29th, 2014

    Lady Radagu

    How do Shallan's memory blinks work? When she takes a memory, is it of what she sees in the instant before her eyes close, or is it while they're closed?

    Brandon Sanderson (Paraphrased)

    It is what she sees right as they're closing.

    Tags

  • 40

    Interview: Mar 13th, 2014

    Macen

    Is Shallan's mother, the one that she kills, is that her birth mother?

    Brandon Sanderson

    It is. Good question.

    Tags

  • 41

    Interview: Jan 6th, 2015

    Wetlander

    In addition to the two abilities given by each surge, does a Knight Radiant order have a third blended ability, the interaction of its two given surges?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Not specifically as phrased there, but each order has quirks that are unique to it. They are magical quirks, but it's not necessarily a blend of the powers.

    Wetlander

    So Shallan's Memories is kind of a...

    Brandon Sanderson

    Is associated with her Order, yes.

    Wetlander

    It's not just because she had that wonderful ability, and Pattern came along and went, "Oh, I like this one!"

    Brandon

    No that is not necessarily what attracted Pattern.

    Tags

  • 42

    Interview: Mar 13th, 2014

    Kythis

    How did Pattern actually become a Shardblade even though he hadn't been fully pulled into the Physical Realm?

    Brandon Sanderson

    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.

    Tags

  • 43

    Interview: Jan 6th, 2015

    Wetlander

    The bit with the bandits out there, and the deserters, and she convinces them to all go... Was she doing Lightweaving? Was she doing Transformation? Was she doing some combination?

    Brandon Sanderson

    She was... You have seen what she was doing before, done by another character.

    Tags

  • 44

    Interview: Mar 18th, 2014

    tganchero

    How many oaths can a Radiant swear?

    Brandon Sanderson

    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.

    Tags

  • 45

    Interview: Mar 18th, 2014

    tganchero

    No specific question.

    Brandon Sanderson

    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.

    Tags

  • 46

    Interview: Mar 19th, 2014

    Question ()

    The weepings--Shallan and Kaladin react very differently to them.

    Brandon Sanderson

    They do.

    Question

    It just seems to me that the Weepings feel very close to Cultivation.

    Brandon Sanderson

    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 affective 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.

    Footnote

    changed "defective" to "affective"

    Tags

  • 47

    Interview: Mar 20th, 2014

    Outis

    Who would win in an argument, Shallan or Lightsong?

    Brandon Sanderson

    [laughs]Lightsong. More practice. Maybe Shallan would eventually be able to hold her own but at this point he would win.

    Tags

  • 48

    Interview: Mar 20th, 2014

    Outis

    In Shallan, in the beginning and middle of the book it's 10 heartbeats, and in the end of the book it's none...?

    Brandon Sanderson

    The 10 heartbeats is required to revive a dead shardblade

    Outis

    But he wasn't dead the whole time.

    Brandon Sanderson

    He wasn't. But perception--all magic systems in the Cosmere are based on perception-what you think you can do. For instance, Kaladin can't get healed because he sees himself as having a wounded forehead with the scars and that can't vanish because his perception is in the way.

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  • 49

    Interview: Mar 21st, 2014

    Question

    Is Shallan's father actually her father?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Heh. People asked if her mother were actually her mother. No one's asked yet if her father was her father. Yes, it was her father. I will give you that. Her mother and father as presented in the story were actually her mother and father.

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  • 50

    Interview: Mar 21st, 2014

    Question

    When does a person become a Surgebinder? Because Kaladin talks about when he was a child, about it being a familiar feeling, and Shallan obviously was younger. Or is it when they speak the Words?

    Brandon Sanderson

    The bond starts forming before the words are spoken, but if the words are never spoken that bond will eventually evaporate and get broken. But the bond will start forming before. Just like an emotion attracts a spren, acting in the way that the spren you would eventually bond will start drawing them toward you and that will start to create that bond.

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  • 51

    Interview: Aug 4th, 2014

    Question

    On Shallan's origins as a character:

    Brandon Sanderson

    mostly derived from a character in Dragonsteel (I'm guessing the woman who turns up at the end of the "Liar of Partinel" book fragment that's been posted on his website) and Mat Cauthon. Specifically mentioned that she has issues with authority figures.

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  • 52

    Interview: Apr 24th, 2016

    Question

    There won’t be a weird love triangle between Kaladin / Shallan / Adolin?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I will do my best not to be weird.

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  • 53

    Interview: Jan 7th, 2015

    Question

    My first question is about Shallan and whether what she does with her drawings and the deserters in Words of Radiance, kind of changing them, at all similar to what Shai does in The Emperor’s Soul?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Umm, that’s a good question. There are similarities, but only in that The Emperor’s Soul is cosmere and is relying on the same foundation of magic. But good question. [...] somebody do it before. So you have seen what she does before, but that is not what I was pointing at. No one is going to expect it.

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  • 54

    Interview: Jan 24th, 2015

    ccstat

    Shallan's drawings in WoK showed multiple cryptics. Were there other cryptics accompanying Pattern at that time?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes.

    ccstat

    Did they approve of what Pattern's choices?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes. The cryptics are much like what is happening with Lift, where there is more of a conscious effort on their part. As opposed to what is happening with Syl or Jasnah where there is hesitance. What the cryptics are driven to do is in part because of what a few of their members have been experimenting with.

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  • 55

    Interview: Oct 12th, 2015

    Alterodent

    Does Shallan's bond improve her art?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Shallan's memorization is supernatural, and her memorization affects her ability to do art, so I would say yes.

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  • 56

    Interview: Oct 10th, 2015

    hula

    Is Shallan's photographic memory due to her bond with Pattern?

    Brandon Sanderson

    "Shallan's memory has a supernatural component"

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  • 57

    Interview: Oct 17th, 2015

    Havoc

    In WoK, Shallan is being chased by Cryptics. She begins to summon her Shardblade, stops and then Soulcasts for the first time. We know from WoR that it's her bond to Pattern, her Shardblade that allows her to Soulcast. So my question is, if Shallan had not begun to summon her Blade, would she have been able to Soulcast?

    Brandon Sanderson

    She would not have been able to. No one has ever asked me that before.

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  • 58

    Interview: Oct 14th, 2015

    AndrewStirlingMacDonald

    Are there any other Davars that are invested?

    Brandon Sanderson

    That is TOTALLY a RAFO.

    AndrewStirlingMacDonald

    I mean, I knew it, when I asked..

    Brandon Sanderson

    "Are there any?" is an odd question. Depends on what time you're talking about. But let's just say there are few people in all of Roshar who've gotten as far as Shallan.

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  • 59

    Interview: Jun 28th, 2016

    Question

    Are the similarities of Dalinar's last vision and Shallan's flashback experience of Middlefest, significant?

    Brandon Sanderson

    No.

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  • 60

    Interview: Oct 22nd, 2016

    Question

    I wondered about Shallan's eidetic memory, and about the possibility of trapping a spren. Could a bonded spren be trapped inside a gemstone and trapped in a safe ? If so, would something else - not Investiture related - fill the "crack in the soul" ? Could that be linked to her memory or her need to draw before Lightweaving ?

    Brandon Sanderson

    In and about, he answered that what Shallan does isn't out of the ordinary (which I'm not certain, she shouldn't have to draw before Surgebinding, as she has done before. And does again in Ch. 88. Maybe it is Ideal-based ?), and it is possible to trap a bonded spren inside a gemstone.

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