Theoryland Resources
WoT Interview Search
Search the most comprehensive database of interviews and book signings from Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson and the rest of Team Jordan.
Wheel of Time News
An Hour With Harriet
2012-04-30: I had the great pleasure of speaking with Harriet McDougal Rigney about her life. She's an amazing talent and person and it will take you less than an hour to agree.
The Bell Tolls
2012-04-24: Some thoughts I had during JordanCon4 and the upcoming conclusion of "The Wheel of Time."
Theoryland Community
Members: 7653
Logged In (0):
Newest Members:johnroserking, petermorris, johnadanbvv, AndrewHB, jofwu, Salemcat1, Dhakatimesnews, amazingz, Sasooner, Hasib123,
Theoryland Tweets
WoT Interview Search
Home | Interview Database
Your search for the tag 'balefire' yielded 80 results
-
1
Interview: Apr 20th, 2004
TOR Questions of the Week Part I (Verbatim)Week 3 Question (Matt Hatch)
There are many theories that attempt to create a connection of time duration to the transmigration of the dead Forsaken. Are there time and/or power constraints on the Dark One's ability to transmigrate souls?Robert Jordan
There are definitely time constraints on the Dark One's power to transmigrate a soul. The soul doesn't have to be secured immediately—that is, the Dark One doesn't have to be ready to snatch the soul at the instant of death—but the longer that passes after the death, the less chance that the Dark One will be able to secure the soul. Someone who has been killed with balefire in actuality died before the apparent time of his or her death, and thus the window of opportunity for the Dark One to secure that soul for transmigration is gone before the Dark One can know that the soul must be secured unless the amount of balefire used is very small. Remember that the more balefire is used, the further back the target's thread is burned out of the Pattern.
After the soul is secured, then a suitable body must be acquired and stripped of the (former) owner's memory and soul to make way for the favored one. By the way, what constitutes a suitable body from the Dark One's perspective is not that of the recipient. Certainly Aginor would never have chosen to be reincarnated in his, shall we say, less than imposing body, nor would the womanizing Balthamel have chosen to be reincarnated as a beautiful woman. It was only chance that Moridin ended up in a body that is young, fairly good looking and physically imposing. Those things simply don't matter to the Dark One. But the body has to be basically healthy and sound, and neither too young nor too old. After all, the Dark One wants his servants to be effective, and a body that meets those basic requirements is more desirable than one that doesn't. Since there is no stockpile of such bodies, the only way for someone to die and immediately be reincarnated would be a matter of pure chance. That is, the death occurred when a suitable body was on hand for some other reason.
There are a few other limits and constraints, but I won't go into them here, since I may want to use them in the books, and I would rather they come as a surprise if I do.
Tags
-
2
Interview: Nov 21st, 1998
TPOD Signing Report - John Novak (Paraphrased)John Novak
[Is balefire the eternal death of the soul?]Robert Jordan
If someone is balefired, the Dark One can't reincarnate them. But they CAN be spun back out into the Wheel as normal. Balefire is NOT the eternal death of the soul. He also made a comment to the effect that even in the absence of balefire, there may be circumstances where the Dark One cannot bring someone back. There was a long line, so I didn't press.Footnote
RJ expanded on these other 'circumstances' in the TOR Questions of the Week (see Q3).Tags
-
3
Interview: Nov, 1993
Trinity College Q&A (Paraphrased)Robert Jordan
Specific questions: Lews Therin Telamon's suicide was emphatically not balefire, but an overload of the Power. And when Verin was mentioned, he just said he hoped he kept surprising people.Tags
-
4
Interview: Dec, 1993
Letter to Tom McCormick (Verbatim)Question
Ask him if he knows about all the Jordan junkies on the network. Tell him we love his books and are frenzied to know when the next one is coming out. Get him to confirm that Verin is not Black. (Not that he will of course; then again, those of us who know, know that she isn't.) Please find out if Lews Therin balefired himself in the prologue in The Eye of the World, or if he just drew too much of the One Power. If it isn't critical to the continuing plot, I'm sure he'll say.Robert Jordan
I know about the "Jordan junkies" (ahem! Blush!), now. Lews Therin did not use balefire on himself; he simply drew as much of the One Power as he could, then kept on pulling it in. As for Verin: read and find out. Surely you agree with Oscar Wilde about the suspense? I will try to keep you right a tiptoe as long as I can.Tags
-
5
Interview: 2011
Twitter 2011 (WoT) (Verbatim)Austin Moore (6 January 2011)
Who was the Lord of Chaos that Demandred and Taim both mention? There has been tons of debate.Brandon Sanderson (6 January 2011)
Really? I thought that one was obvious. What's the debate about?Terez
It's Rand. Look in the BWB re: Feast of Fools.Austin Moore
Why was Demandred and Taim saying, "Let the Lord of Chaos rule" if it was Rand? Sorry just read through series once so far :(Terez
Here's a quote for you:
The Feast of Fools
Celebrated in Tammaz (in Arad Doman and the Borderlands) or Saven (everywhere else), the exact day varying according to locality. A day in which all order is deliberately inverted; the high perform lowly tasks (running errands, serving at table, etc.) while the low do no work and give orders to their usual superiors. In many villages and towns the most foolish person is given a title such as the Lord/Lady of Unreason/Misrule/Chaos or the King/Queen of Fools. Not an honor sought, but for that one day everyone has to obey whatever orders, however foolish, are given by the chosen one. (Called the Festival of Unreason in Saldaea; the Festival of Fools in Kandor; Foolday in Baerlon and the Two Rivers.)Matt Hatch
I've always enjoyed this theory about the Lord of Chaos. It's fun.Brandon Sanderson
That is a good theory for people to be reading.Terez
YAY. OMG, that theory has been on the rocks for years because of contradicting tour reports.Terez
Also, your tour quotes were vague enough to allow it but most people didn't see it that way.Brandon Sanderson
I didn't say the theory was true, just that you should study it. :) But I would like to see those tour reports.Terez
Footnote
Adding to Brandon's implications here is Sorilea's comment in reference to the balefiring of Natrin's Barrow, in The Gathering Storm Chapter 27: "We felt the world warping from here, but did not know what had caused it. We assumed it to be the Dark One's work." (Similar to the ripples Perrin and Faile experienced in Knife of Dreams.) This opens up the possibility that people have no idea really what they're talking about when they assume that the warping of reality is due to the Dark One's touch, just as Alviarin had no idea what she was talking about when she assumed that the rotting food was the Dark One's touch (Knife of Dreams, Prologue).Tags
-
6
Interview: 2010
Twitter 2009-2010 (WoT) (Verbatim)Ted Herman (29 September 2010)
Was Rand's super balefire beam palace sized or a narrow beam?Brandon Sanderson (29 September 2010)
Not palace sized.Tags
-
7
Interview: 2010
Twitter 2009-2010 (WoT) (Verbatim)Matt Hatch (8 November 2010)
Was Asmodean killed with balefire?Brandon Sanderson (8 November 2010)
I will see if I can give additional details. I'll ask Maria and Harriet for their read.Tags
-
8
Interview: 2011
Twitter 2011 (WoT) (Verbatim)Luckers (10 January 2011)
I wonder if Whitebridge is made of spinglass. Does anyone have an answer?TEREZ
I always took 'spinglass' to be a WoT way of saying 'spun glass'. Very fragile. Also...TEREZ
'The man opened his mouth to protest as citizens always did; they seemed to think Aiel were made of spinglass'.TEREZ
Obviously fragile is what he's getting at. Now, if you could do it like cuendillar...that's different.TEREZ
Per Moghedien I get the impression there are many forms of cuendillar. Maybe iron is easiest.LUCKERS
That's a good point—I missed the spinglass = fragile reference. As for cuendillar... perhaps.LUCKERS
There is an argument in the same vein towards Callandor being cuendillar.TEREZ
Well, people argued Callandor=cuendillar because it stopped balefire. But if Perrin can do it... :)LUCKERS
There was also Osan'gar's comment during the cleansing that though the Choedan Kal would be destroyed...LUCKERS
... he'd still have Callandor. Of course he could have meant to balefire Rand and attack Narishma. Still, weird.KRIT PETTY
Callandor is the most powerful sa'angreal without the Choedan Kal. He might just be noting the fact.LUCKERS
It's the expectation that he would have Callandor after he balefired the hill which is significant.TEREZ
He didn't say he was going to balefire the whole hill. Elza got his hill, though. ;)TEREZ
Strongest Rand could manage with fat man was man-thick. He could sweep it, but it's not necessary.LUCKERS
I did make that point, but it's weird, risking Narishma's response to the attack.LUCKERS
Rand was distracted, why not kill Narishma first, then Rand. Also Osan'gar links the balefire to...LUCKERS
... Rand's death—"But still, he could take Callandor after al'Thor was dead."—as if it's a result.TEREZ
I read it as him seeing Rand as the only real threat.LUCKERS
Which is weird, in itself. Callandor circle responding to reversed webs—a scary, and impossible thing for someone from the Age of Legends.TEREZ
True, but he might have figured out the ter'angreal thing like Demandred, and he was at point blank range (for balefire).RUTH HINCKLEY
So if the cuendillar Egwene makes is white, why are the seals half black? Saidin-made? Different type of cuendillar?TEREZ
re: black/white, I always figured this was why Elayne couldn't get the colors right with the stone ring (no man).Brandon Sanderson (10 January 2011)
@WoTLuckers @Lironah @Terez27 Now that's an interesting conversation. Re: cuendillar.TEREZ
lol, now I get to catalog the whole conversation because Brandon said it was interesting.Tags
-
9
Interview: 2011
Twitter 2011 (WoT) (Verbatim)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? @Terez27TEREZ
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.Tags
-
10
Interview: 2011
Twitter 2011 (WoT) (Verbatim)Brandon Sanderson (14 March 2011)
Man, this Shadow Rising ebook cover really is full of awesome, isn't it?MICHAEL GIGLIOTTI
Mat looks so dark; it's a very stark contrast to his personality.BRANDON SANDERSON
That was one of my first thoughts too, but he does get grim once in a while. Particularly after being killed...BRANDON SANDERSON (20 MARCH)
Another one for the "Huh, never noticed that before" file. Some Aiel tell Mat is death for him to enter Rhuidean. And they're right.TEREZ
Are they?BRANDON SANDERSON
By Mat's perspective. Though he's not 100% sure.MANAR
Wait. No. Mat does not die in Rhuidean, does he? I thought his death came when Rahvin strikes him with lightning.BRANDON SANDERSON
Mat thinks it counts. Of course, that whole Rahvin thing isn't something he remembers...Tags
-
11
Interview: Apr 5th, 1996
Balticon XXX - Bill Garrett (Paraphrased)Robert Jordan
Mat's amulet blocks both saidin and saidar. Jordan answered this one straight-out when asked. He pointed out that the amulet only blocks actual weavings of the One Power, not the physical effects that could be caused by a weaving. For example, Elayne was able to use the One Power to hurl a rock at Mat. Rahvin was able to create a bolt of lightning which struck Mat. (Jordan noted that Mat's death by lightning and subsequent undoing of his death when Rand balefired Rahvin, fulfills a prophecy about living, dying, and then living again.)
Tags
-
12
Interview: 2011
Twitter 2011 (WoT) (Verbatim)Terez (29 August 2011)
A signing report implies that you said that RJ changed his mind on whether balefire = eternal death of soul. This true?TEREZ
Here is a direct link to that particular report: http://bit.ly/nKpOSS @Blindillusion13 is unable to clarify.TEREZ
I always assumed what you really said (or really meant) was that you had believed it was the eternal death of the soul...TEREZ
...but then when you joined Team Jordan you learned differently (you said elsewhere that @MariaLSimons had to convince you).Brandon Sanderson (29 August 2011)
You have the right of it, Terez. I always believed that balefire = Eternal Death.BRANDON SANDERSON
Team Jordan instructed me that this was not the case, and balefire meant the Dark One could not recover the soul.Tags
-
13
Interview: Apr 5th, 1996
BaltiCon XXX - Pam Korda (Paraphrased)Question
When did Mat die and live again?Robert Jordan
He said something that implied that the die and live again prophecy-fulfillment was the lightning incident in The Fires of Heaven, and not the hanging incident in The Shadow Rising. I was always sure it was the other way around. To paraphrase the Humblest Man on the Net: Who's this guy to tell me such things? He just wrote the books.Tags
-
14
Interview: Jun 26th, 1996
Compuserve Chat (Verbatim)Martin Reznick
Are there limits to the Dark One's power besides: inability to reincarnate balefired people, and his imprisonment?Robert Jordan
Read and find out! Obviously, there are some limits or he simply would have ripped the prison open and done as he wanted to do. With an absolutely powerful character, there is no story, or at least the story goes "it shall be as I will it to be," he said, and so it was. The end. That's the whole story.Tags
-
15
Interview: Oct 9th, 1996
ACOS Signing Report - Erica Sadun (Paraphrased)Question
What happens when two people balefire each other simultaneously?Robert Jordan
[disgusted look] A lot of confusion.Tags
-
16
Interview: Oct 9th, 1996
ACOS Signing Report - Erica Sadun (Paraphrased)Question
Why doesn't somebody just balefire the Dark One?Robert Jordan
The quantity necessary would destroy the world.Tags
-
17
Interview: Jan 14th, 1997
Letter to Thomas Howard (Paraphrased)Thomas Howard
What the hell is up with balefire (in regards to Nynaeve and the boat)?
The main issue with this was whether or not balefire burned inanimate objects back through time in addition to living creatures.
Robert Jordan
According to Mr. Jordan, yes it does.Footnote
Moghedien attempted to balefire Nynaeve when she was in a boat in Ebou Dar in A Crown of Swords Chapter 31. And Brandon has confirmed that even inanimate objects have threads in the Pattern.Tags
-
18
Interview: Aug 30th, 1999
Sydney Independent Theatre Q&A (Verbatim)Question
Balefire is one of the most confusing things in the book, for me. I find the fine aspects of it, the whole threading together of the things that work in it... Could you be a little more elaborate on that?Robert Jordan
All right. The cosmography we're looking at here, is not the cosmography of here and now. The Wheel of Time is in its way a spinning wheel. The fabric of reality is woven by the threads. Those threads are the lines that are formed by people passing through time. Each person has a thread. The thread has its sole dimension in time, its life is in time. Those are the threads that are used to weave the fabric of reality. When balefire strikes a person, a thread here, it doesn't simply stop the thread there. The thread burns backwards a little bit, like you just took a thread and put a match to it and it burns up a little bit before it goes out. It depends on how hot the flame is how far it's going to burn back and what the material is opposed to. It burns up a little bit, it doesn't just catch fire on the end and go out. So that person that was hit here is burned out of the pattern back to here. What that person did between here and here was no longer done. Other people remember seeing it. They may remember the supposed effects of it but what that person did wasn't done. It didn't happen, it's not real. Now that's a little bit of a shiver on the fabric of reality as it is. The reason that there was an unofficial agreement in the War of the Shadow to not use balefire any more, to stop using it, was simply that several cities were destroyed in that way. Hundreds of thousands of threads were burnt out from the Pattern in one go and the fabric of reality began to unravel. And even the guys going for the Dark One knew that there's not a whole lot of point to winning if winning means there's nothing there to rule, nothing there to win. If you burnt out the stakes, forget it. Have I made it a little clearer I hope?Question
I was really referring to the scene where the wall falls on them and Rand uses balefire and they all come back to life. There's a prophecy about Mat how he was going to die and I'm not sure whether that incident is where he dies or not.Robert Jordan
Well you're not supposed to be, are you! Once, Mat was hanging by his neck and Rand wasn't sure whether he caught a heartbeat or not. You see, the thing is Mat doesn't know. Mat thinks he's got a little ace in the hole but maybe he hasn't. Maybe he doesn't have that ace in the hole that he has a death to give yet, and still live, the way he thinks. Maybe. There's an acronym they use on the net, RAFO. Read and find out.Footnote
RJ confirmed at Balticon XXX that the prophecy was fulfilled in Caemlyn rather than Rhuidean.Tags
-
19
Interview: Sep 20th, 1999
Brisbane Signing Report - Joel Gilmore (Paraphrased)Joel Gilmore
Robert Jordan
Ok, first and foremost we have an answer to the balefire-balefire paradox. If A balefires B, then C balefires A, B WILL come back alive again. I explored this quite thoroughly with him, getting him to repeat himself more than once. It is definite. It is over.Tags
-
20
Interview: Sep 21st, 1999
Brisbane Signing Report - Joel Gilmore (Paraphrased)Robert Jordan
I got an answer to the Rahvin/balefire/Tel'aran'rhiod question—when someone is balefired, the constructs they make in Tel'aran'rhiod do not disappear, but instead fade away slowly over time. There are lots of weird effects associated with Tel'aran'rhiod and balefire, such as the way the world flickers after balefire used. I asked him just generally about it, and then he jumped straight in, gave the answer, then used the Rand and the fish example.Tags
-
21
Interview: Sep 20th, 1999
Brisbane Signing Report - Willum (Paraphrased)Robert Jordan
Firstly, RJ explained that if person A were to balefire person B, and person C was to balefire person A, if that balefire was strong enough, person B would never have been balefired. This seems like common sense.Tags
-
22
Interview: Mar, 2000
Letter to Paul Ward (Verbatim)Paul Ward
Possible questions: Does balefire affect itself? Can you balefire balefire? If you balefire another person, but then you get balefired, what happens to the person you balefired?Robert Jordan
The balefire weave exists wholly or partly outside time, which removes it from its own effect.Paul Ward
This would have been helpful back during the balefire physics debates.Tags
-
23
Interview: Jan 17th, 2003
COT Signing Report - Jonathan Gan (Paraphrased)Question
Question: 'What happens when balefire hits balefire?'
Robert Jordan
(with a chuckle)You don't want to know!
QUESTION
What happens if you balefire yourself?Robert Jordan
That would be a bit tricky, kind of like performing eye surgery upon yourself.Tags
-
24
Interview: Jan 18th, 2003
COT Signing Report - Imran Safdar (Paraphrased)Robert Jordan
The second question asked was whether the Dark One could be balefired, to which he said, plainly, in one word, "NO".
Tags
-
25
Interview: Feb 26th, 2003
tarvalon.net Q&A (Verbatim)Question
If I were to open a gateway in front of me that opened behind me, and I balefired myself, what would happen?Robert Jordan
Young lady, you are entirely too obsessed and have far too much time. You need to get some sort of life. I suggest you go have an intense love affair. Doesn't matter with who, be it man, woman, or German Shepherd.Tags
-
26
Interview: Jan 6th, 2004
USA Today Interview (Verbatim)Laurel, Mississippi
In The Fires of Heaven, after Rand has his battle at the end, why is it that balefire works for his friends and not on his bites that have to be Healed?Robert Jordan
Because his injuries occurred in Tel'aran'rhiod. And what occurs there is different than what occurs in the waking world. Different rules apply.Tags
-
27
Interview: Apr, 2003
Budapest Q&A (Verbatim)Mort
What about the thread of the life in case of the Forsaken? Are they part of the Pattern or they are outside? Is it broken in the case of the Forsaken?Robert Jordan
No. They're part of the Wheel, except for the fellows who've been balefired, who are now gone: no rebirth [resurrection]; they’re out. The Dark One is outside of the Pattern, as the Creator is outside of the Pattern, but everything human is inside of the Pattern. One of the things that the Forsaken hope to gain is immortality. And immortality would put them outside of the Pattern.Footnote
RJ has said elsewhere that balefire is not the eternal death of the soul, and Brandon has confirmed it (and so RJ was merely saying that the balefired Forsaken could not be transmigrated into new bodies).Rhynn
You’ve wrote somewhere that Moridin used the True Power and he stepped out of the Pattern or something like that.Robert Jordan
No, he's made a hole in the Pattern as a way of Traveling which uses the True Power, which is a different thing. If you notice as far back as the Prologue of The Eye of the World, when Ishamael Traveled in to meet Lews Therin, who was mad, the description does not match the Traveling that we see later. It’s because at that point, Ishamael is using the True Power, which produces a different sort of effect for Traveling. It is a different method of Traveling than either men or women use with saidin and saidar.Mort
The descriptions are quite similar when he arrived by Travel with saidin. You also say 'bore a hole through the Pattern', and for the True Power, I think in one instance, 'ripping a hole in the Pattern'. And in one other instance you wrote that he stepped back inside the Pattern.Robert Jordan
It's similar. Similar, but it's not the same thing. It's why it produces that fading in and fading out effect.Sequoia
But if a woman used the True Power she would use it the same way?Robert Jordan
Yes. It's not separate. The True Power is not like saidin or saidar. The reason there are differences for men and women using the One Power is that one is using saidin, for men, and women are using saidar, which are not identical. But using the True Power, which flows from the Dark One, men and women are using exactly the same force, exactly the same source of Power.Tags
-
28
Interview: Oct 4th, 2005
Robert Jordan
Also for Mr Mashadar, I think, my favorite fantasy novel is The Lord of the Rings, hands down. The largest effect that it had on my writing was a desire to be the flip side of the coin, to take the comfortable old tropes and put a different spin on them. Also, the creation of paradox is one source of balefire's danger. Remember that in the War of the Shadow, even the forces of the Shadow gave up using it because of the fear that reality itself might unravel.
Tags
-
29
Interview: Oct 4th, 2005
Robert Jordan
For Sodas, when you are balefired, you are dead, dead, dead. It almost seemed redundant to say so.
Tags
-
30
Interview: Nov 4th, 2005
KOD Signing Report - Bluecole (Paraphrased)Emma
How did Be'lal recognize that Moiraine is intending to use balefire against him before Moiraine released the balefire? And how did Moiraine sense the balefire Rand used?Robert Jordan
RJ responded with the most emphatic "RAFO" of the evening. Jumped all over it, in fact. So I think that says several things, but that's another thread.Tags
-
31
Interview: Nov 4th, 2005
KOD Signing Report - Bluecole (Paraphrased)Robert Jordan
The theory that Demandred is using balefire at the direction of the Dark One to loosen the weave of the Pattern is squashed by RJ. (confirmed)Footnote
This person is not clear whether the theory was 'squashed' or 'confirmed', but in any case, we discussed it with Brandon here, and it seems as though RJ confirmed it.Tags
-
32
Interview: 2010
Twitter: Fan Names in the WoT Books (Verbatim)Terez
Here is an alphabetical list of names chosen, with details if given. They will be linked to EWOT pages when those are updated after the A Memory of Light comes out. The main auction for the speaking part was won by Sandip Mehta.
Eric Allen (In the Tower Guard; gets sworn at by someone who swears a lot. Perhaps Uno?)
Jesamyn Angelica
Charlie Bachelder (Aiel fighting in Last Battle)
Johnnie Lee Barrington, Jr. (Deathwatch Guard)
Paul Benish (Malkieri)
Melissa Bergevin
Jonathan Brockelman (Whitecloak)
Joff Brown (a city)
Brandon Bryant (Band of the Red Hand)
Jonathan Burt (Whitecloak)
Helen Cousins
Jay Dauro (Deathwatch Guard)
Shaun Davis
Gavin Doyle
Natalie Doyle
Daniel Egonsson
Kevin Fanshier
Jacob Figler (Band of the Red Hand)
Craig Foster (Borderlander; does not live long.)
Filis [Emery?] (Green Ajah)
Shani Gamble
[?] Gilbert, son of Chris
Courtney Gliszczynski (First name used.)
Cindy Goodman
Michael Gonzalez
Mione Haak
Laura Hayden
Laura Hepburn
Hugh Hill
Andrew Holcombe
Steven Karam
Rion Kinosaki
Einar Laastad Kjosavik (Asha'man who is balefired by a Forsaken.)
Sean Little
Nils Loodin (Aiel scout)
Glen MacDonald (Deathwatch Guard)
Sandip Mehta
Mikayla Micomonaco (damane)
Robert Moreau
Bach Payson (Borderlander; does not live long.)
Eric Peters
Eleanor Pettener (Wise One, or perhaps an apprentice.)
Alex Prescott
Bryan Ragon (Borderlander; does not live long; dies well.)
Sally Rankin
Kimberly Readdy (Wise One, or perhaps an apprentice.)
Kris Ring (Seanchan Blood)
Anna Roberts
Nikhil Rode (Aiel scout)
Robert Rose
Angela Ryddingwood
Maureen Sampson (Aes Sedai)
San D'ma Shadar (Group referenced by Mat which fought in a historic battle; translates to "Slayers of the Shadow".)
Michael Sarcone (Darkfriend, on request.)
Nathan Sawyer
Eric Silva
Shane Spears (Aiel, of course.)
Leisha Springer
Margaret St. John (Maiden name [not tweeted] will be a Seanchan general.)
Caitlin Sullivan (White Ajah)
Roger Trask (Aiel fighting in Last Battle)
Lindsey Turnbow (wolf)
Neil Tweed (Some woods, named after the original owners.)
Pia Maria Vaajakallio (Aes Sedai)
Kurt Wagoner (Two Rivers man)
Eyal Weinstock
Jordan White (wolf)
Shiv Whorra
Harm Wieringa
Savannah Rose Young (Seanchan general)
Jason ZigmontBrandon Sanderson (5 October 2011)
Do you want your name to appear in A Memory of Light? Click here.SHAWN J
Not sure if you wish to defend yourself: http://www.reddit.com...BRANDON SANDERSON
Thanks for the heads up.PETER AZP
"The auction will be through eBay and 10% of the proceeds will go to the Mayo Clinic" Wait, 10%? What about to the other 90?BRANDON SANDERSON
To Jordancon, a non-profit. (It's all there in the blog post.)BRANDON SANDERSON
On the A Memory of Light name drive: this is PRIMARILY a fund raiser for Jordancon, which Harriet and I believe deserves support.BRANDON SANDERSON
For a while, I've been wanting to do this to help Jordancon make ends meet, as I think it is a great way to honor RJ's name and legacy.BRANDON SANDERSON
Please note that Jordancon HAS applied to be tax-exempt as a 501(c)3. This means you will probably be able to deduct your donations.BRANDON SANDERSON (10 OCTOBER)
Cindy Goodman, just drew your name to be in A Memory of Light.BRANDON SANDERSON
Jason Zigmont, I just used (a variation of) your name in A Memory of Light. Details, for those confused, here.BRANDON SANDERSON
Glen MacDonald, welcome to the Deathwatch Guard. (Explanation)BRANDON SANDERSON (13 OCTOBER)
Running on too little sleep; I'm having trouble getting A Memory of Light written on the plane. Instead, I'm going to start filling in name placeholders.BRANDON SANDERSON
Shane Spears, you are first. Yes, you will be Aiel. There's really no way I could pass that up. Steven Karam, you are in A Memory of Light too.AUSTIN MOORE
So everyone who donates gets their name in? Or are you just selecting a few?BRANDON SANDERSON
Selecting semi-randomly, I'm afraid. Everyone is in 'spiritually' but I won't have enough names for all.BRANDON SANDERSON
Eric Peters, you're in. Kimberly Readdy, you are wise, are you not?ALCHEMIST
Can you say approximately how many names you will be needing? just so i know just how small my chance is... :)BRANDON SANDERSON
Maybe a hundred.NATHAN SMITH
What do you have in as placeholders?BRANDON SANDERSON
I use "***" to placehold in books, sometimes with one letter at the end to keep different placeheld people straight.BRANDON SANDERSON
Eleanor Pettener, you are soon to be wise. Laura Hayden, you're in. Shani Gamble, are you a boy or a girl? Name websites can't decide.JAMES STARKE
Have you started drawing names for the JordanCon auction? Also, there's no clear date as to when the drawing really "ends" ...BRANDON SANDERSON
Yes, this is for the JordanCon deal. I'm pretty sure that the first cutoff is right. Anyone before then has a chance.SHIVAM BHATT
How do you decide which names you're going to pick? is it based on sound or?BRANDON SANDERSON
Sometimes, I draw. Others, I just scroll, then stop at a name and work on it a moment. See if it works.FANTASY AUTHOR
(waving hand wildly) How about dropping in a fellow author? Granted, an indie author, but an epic fantasy indie author.BRANDON SANDERSON
Nothing wrong with being indie. But, in this case, I'm only using people who donated.BRANDON SANDERSON
For all still wondering what's up with these names, and how to join in the fun, here is that link again.CHAD ROSENTHAL
Is there a spot where you post the names? Just in case we miss the tweets?BRANDON SANDERSON
I will try to post them all at the end.ZACAJ
What are the chances of a name getting used if you donate?BRANDON SANDERSON
Hard to say. It will depend on number of donators and number of names needed. Between 1% and 10% maybe?BRANDON SANDERSON (18 OCTOBER)
Eric Allen, you're in the Tower Guard. Someone just swore at you, but he swears at lots of people. (How to get in)BRANDON SANDERSON
Einar Laastad Kjosavik, the good news is you're an Asha'man. The bad news is that one of the Forsaken just balefired you.SELENE O'ROURKE
So if half my name is a Forsaken's alias, and the other half is an Aiel chief, should I even think about going on the list?BRANDON SANDERSON
Ha. Well, I do change most of the names, so anything can theoretically be used.JALIL JAMES
Hey man, so If we donate to the good cause we are guaranteed a spot in the book or names get pulled off the list at random?BRANDON SANDERSON
Mostly random, I'm afraid. There is one 'sure shot' auction coming up, but last time that went for A LOT of money.COEN ZUIDERVAART (20 OCTOBER)
How many names do you still need in the book? And how many new names are there actually? Was just curious to those numbers.BRANDON SANDERSON
I'll use around a hundred in the book, I think. Still need to choose most of those.BRANDON SANDERSON
Mikayla Micomonaco, congrats! You're in A Memory of Light. I hope you don't mind being a damane. Details.BRANDON SANDERSON
Margaret St. John, you are a Seanchan general. (Using your maiden name; thanks for providing that. It worked great.)BRANDON SANDERSON
Joff Brown, I drew your name next. I made you into a city, actually.JEFF WEISSBERG
A "city" in the Blight?BRANDON SANDERSON
A Memory of Light will reveal it for sure.BRANDON SANDERSON (21 OCTOBER)
People are asking how many more names I'll use, as the book is 80% done. I left placeholders in dozens of names earlier that will be filled.DAMIEN BAUMGART
Are you just dropping names in as is or will they be "Wheel of Time-ified"?BRANDON SANDERSON
WoT-ified.BRANDON SANDERSON (24 OCTOBER)
Alex Prescott, you are in A Memory of Light.BRANDON SANDERSON
Jonathan Burt and Jonathan Brockelman, you two are a pair of Whitecloaks.BRANDON SANDERSON (25 OCTOBER)
Need a name for a sister from the Green Ajah. And...the name chosen was David Emery, who entered the name of his late sister, Filis.BRANDON SANDERSON (1 NOVEMBER)
The A Memory of Light name auction has begun. One winner. Or enter the drawing, multiple winners.BRANDON SANDERSON (3 NOVEMBER)
I am still picking names to go in the book, as per this blog post. Should be more of those tonight.BRANDON SANDERSON (4 NOVEMBER)
The "Get your name in A Memory of Light" charity auction had to be restarted due to ebay issues. Here's the new link.BRANDON SANDERSON
Enough people have asked, so it bears repeating. The name auction and the name drawing are different. Explanation here.BRANDON SANDERSON (29 NOVEMBER)
Thursday is the final day to enter the drawing to get your name in A Memory of Light. Details here.
BRANDON SANDERSON (1 DECEMBER)
Today's the final day to enter the drawing (& support JordanCon) to get your name in A Memory of Light. Last chance.
BRANDON SANDERSON
The drawing to get your name in A Memory of Light closes to entries in 4 hours. I still have a lot of names to draw.
DAN GOLDMAN
How many more names are left to draw?
BRANDON SANDERSON (2 DECEMBER)
Still a good fifty, I'd say.
REBECCA LOVATT
Have you been using people's names for characters? Haven't seen any posts/updates with that in a long time.
BRANDON SANDERSON
I've been putting in placeholders, and will be drawing out names over the next few months to replace them.
BRANDON SANDERSON (28 DECEMBER)
Shaun Davis, I just used your name in A Memory of Light.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Shiv Whorra, I needed another name, and you're in too.
KELLY
Is there a running list somewhere of the reader names you've used? And I hope you're feeling completely well soon. : )
BRANDON SANDERSON
We'll post them all once I'm done.
BRANDON SANDERSON
For those asking about names: this was done as a fund-raiser for JordanCon, so I'm no longer taking names. (Sorry.)
BRANDON SANDERSON
Explanation follows. (I do this sort of thing for all of my books, though, so there will be chances for other books.)
BRANDON SANDERSON
Robert Moreau and Robert Rose, you two are next. Welcome to A Memory of Light.
SIMON ST. ERIC
It is so exciting to see you pulling the names out of the hat... how many do you think you'll end up using? :)
BRANDON SANDERSON
Still many more.
BRANDON BALLENGER
Since you're not taking names anymore and have a full rough draft, could you make a guess at our odds of being drawn?
BRANDON SANDERSON
Really hard to guess. I have about 1,000 placeholders in the book, as told to me by Word, but...
BRANDON SANDERSON
Most of those are not "replace a name here" notes, but instead "Look this up" or "describe this better" or "continuity check."
BRANDON SANDERSON (29 DECEMBER)
Brandon Bryant, welcome to the Band of the Red Hand. (Unfortunately, we're not accepting new names. Details)
CHRISTOPHER SKINNER
I know no new names—for those of us who put ours in the hat before, how many spots approximately are left? What are our chances?!
BRANDON SANDERSON
I have no idea, I'm afraid. There are about 2k people in the drawing. Maybe a hundred names? Rough guesses.
BRANDON SANDERSON (3 JANUARY 2012)
Daniel Egonsson, I drew your name for A Memory of Light. (Unfortunately, we're not accepting new names. Details: http://www.mistborn.com/blog/1021/)
HUNTER SESTREN
But for those of us in the drawing we still have a shot right?
BRANDON SANDERSON
Yes.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Gavin Doyle, you're in too. (Yes, I will eventually post a list of all of these.)
BRANDON SANDERSON
Jacob Figler, you're next. (Sorry, ladies. I'll draw some female names soon.)
JACOB FIGLER
Hey that's me!!! Are you saying my name is going to be in A Memory of Light???
BRANDON SANDERSON
Yup. You're in the Band of the Red Hand.
JACOB FIGLER
YES!!! Check out the shirt I got yesterday hahaha! Perfect! And THANKS!!! http://yfrog.com/ob7i2zpj
BRANDON SANDERSON
Useful picture. Now I can describe you. :)
JACOB FIGLER
haha, well if you need any details let me know!
BRANDON SANDERSON
Okay, here's a woman: Jesamyn Angelica, you're in A Memory of Light.
BRANDON SANDERSON (4 JANUARY)
Kevin Fanshier, I only needed one name for A Memory of Light today, but yours is it.
BRANDON SANDERSON (12 JANUARY)
Kurt Wagoner, you're in A Memory of Light as a Two Rivers man.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Laura Hepburn, I have chosen your name for A Memory of Light.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Leisha Springer, your name came up next.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Nathan Sawyer, you were drawn next.
ROBERT ROTH
Do you or your assistant keep a list of drawn names? Can you post them?
BRANDON SANDERSON
I do keep a list, and will post them eventually.
SEAN RYAN
When you write a book do you fill the less important names in later?
BRANDON SANDERSON
Often I do just that. It can break the flow of writing to develop the right name, particularly when I might cut that scene.
BRANDON SANDERSON (13 JANUARY)
Angela Ryddingwood, I have drawn your name.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Bach Payson, I put you in A Memory of Light, but immediately killed you. Sorry 'bout that.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Oh, and Bryan Ragon, same goes for you. You died well, though.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Craig Foster, you round out the trio of dead Borderlanders I needed for this scene.
GREG LINDSEY
Just curious Brandon, are the names coming out of the proverbial hat, or do you look for names that can be easily WOTified?
BRANDON SANDERSON
Most things are pretty easy to wot-ify. And, since I can use either first or last, I haven't yet found any that don't work.
SEAN CORSON
Are you changing the names of people you put in A Memory of Light to make them more "Randland" appropriate?
BRANDON SANDERSON
They are changed.
BRANDON SANDERSON (16 JANUARY)
Michael Gonzalez, your name came up next. (Yes, I am wot-izing all of these.)
BRANDON SANDERSON (20 JANUARY)
Mione Haak, I drew your name for A Memory of Light.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Neil Tweed, you too.
NEIL TWEED
Who am I? Dark or light? Do I die well?
BRANDON SANDERSON
I try not to use fan names for the shadow very often. I actually named some woods after you.
BRANDON SANDERSON
You would have been one of the original owners of the land where the woods were, I should think.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Nikhil Rode and Nils Loodin, I needed two Aiel scouts.
BRANDON SANDERSON (23 JANUARY)
Kris Ring, you're a member of the Seanchan Blood.
BRANDON SANDERSON (24 JANUARY)
Johnnie Lee Barrington, Jr. and Jay Dauro, you are members of the Deathwatch Guard.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Paul Benish, hope you look good in the hadori.
DANIEL NELSON
I'm confused. You are still using names but won't take anymore? So my name may still come up assuming you aren't done us ...
BRANDON SANDERSON
It very well might. If you are on the list, there is a chance.
BRANDON SANDERSON (25 JANUARY)
Pia Maria Vaajakallio, you are Aes Sedai.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Maureen Sampson, you're in the White Tower too.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Natalie Doyle, your name came up for A Memory of Light.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Melissa Bergevin, your name came up next.
BRANDON SANDERSON (26 JANUARY)
Harm Wieringa, your name came up next.
SHAUN DUQUETTE
Taking a long time to add the names hehe
BRANDON SANDERSON (27 JANUARY)
I'm doing the first revision, and running across places where I left placeholders instead of names.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Jordan White, you're a wolf.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Lindsey Turnbow, you too.
M. KLOMPENHOUWER
Is anyone keeping track of the names that are being drawn for A Memory of Light?
BRANDON SANDERSON
Yes, they are. We'll post them eventually.
BRANDON SANDERSON (30 JANUARY)
Savannah Rose Young, you're a Seanchan general.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Sally Rankin, your name came up too.
ZACHARY NORTH
They all get changed. Some as little as Thom or Mat (if appropriate.) Some to things very different.
ADAM GOUCHER
How many names got submitted?
BRANDON SANDERSON
Three thousand, I think.
BRANDON SANDERSON (6 FEBRUARY)
Anna Roberts and Andrew Holcombe, I drew your names most recently for A Memory of Light.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Caitlin Sullivan, you're in the White Ajah.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Courtney Gliszczynski, your name came up next. I think I'll adapt your first name, not your last, if that's all right...
BRANDON SANDERSON
Michael Sarcone, you asked to be a Darkfriend for some reason, and I obliged.
BRANDON SANDERSON (7 FEBRUARY)
Chris Gilbert, you entered your son's name into A Memory of Light and it has been used.
BRANDON SANDERSON (8 FEBRUARY)
Drew a bunch of names I didn't report. Eric Silva, Hugh Hill, Sean Little, Rion Kinosaki, Helen Cousins, Eyal Weinstock.
SEAN LITTLE
This is Sean Little, the guy that emailed you previously regarding putting in a group name. Did that entry have...
SEAN LITTLE
...San D'ma Shadar as the name?
BRANDON SANDERSON
Yes.
SEAN LITTLE
Thank you very much.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Trying to figure out the San in that phrase, though. Is the "San" a name, or a word in the Old Tongue I'm missing?
SEAN LITTLE
The translation used on the site (made by our Old Tongue experts) is Slayers of the Shadow. I could ask for the exact translation.
BRANDON SANDERSON
That works for me. I actually put the name in a place where it could refer to a group, so I'll tweak it to do so.
ANTHONY AZIZ
Your favorite Two Rivers man, Azi al'Thone, back to bug you again :D I had put in an entry for SDS as well... and since...
ANTHONY AZIZ
...I'm a member of SDS of TV.Net, I'm wondering what (if any) possibility there is of making Azi part of it?
ANTHONY AZIZ
Of course, I understand if that's complicated or doesn't fit with the story—had to ask anyways.
BRANDON SANDERSON
The group is referenced by Mat as being part of a historical battle.
ANTHONY AZIZ
Oh okay! Yes, that would be really hard to make work then :P Thanks for the response, Great Lord :)
BRANDON SANDERSON (14 FEBRUARY)
Working on one of the big, climactic sections at the end of A Memory of Light right now. Not many names left to draw, I'm afraid. A handful, maybe.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Remember, there is a special group of Dragonsworn in the Last Battle representing all who donated, so even if you aren't named, you're there.
BRANDON SANDERSON (15 FEBRUARY)
Roger Trask and Charlie Bachelder, turns out I needed two more Aiel to fight in the Last Battle.
Tags
-
33
Interview: Oct 27th, 2009
TGS Midnight Release Preliminary Report - Matt Hatch (Paraphrased)Matt Hatch
I asked, in essence, are One Power and True Power balefire the same?Brandon Sanderson
He answered that the True Power is another source of power, that Aes Sedai were researching another source, like a different form of battery, to power their weaves and that for balefire, what it does is essentially the same between both power sources, but that it has different affects on the individual using the power source (this appeared to be a reference to what True Power does to its user).Tags
-
34
Interview: Oct 27th, 2009
BYU Stormleader Dinner - Matt Hatch (Verbatim)Matt Hatch
Did Robert Jordan leave a power to time comparison, as to how much time is burned back on a thread using balefire. Is there a calculation that says x amount of power will burn back x amount of time on a thread?Brandon Sanderson
M.A.F.O—Maria and Find Out. What he did leave, he left a lot of stuff, there is discussion of these things in the notes. I need to look and see if there is an actual equation. He was very focused on strength of the Power and things like that. He has probably told you before, I think I’ve seen a copy of that on notes and things. He did leave scales on exactly how powerful each person is...
MARIA SIMONS (VIA LUCKERS)
RAFO. Sorry, but we are doing an encyclopedia, and I have to reserve some things in case we want to put them in there.
Footnote
Tags
-
35
Interview: Oct 27th, 2009
BYU Stormleader Dinner - Matt Hatch (Verbatim)Matt Hatch
We know that in the Age of Legends that the Forsaken/Chosen, everyone agreed to stop using balefire because of its effects on the Pattern. Is it unrealistic then to say that a great amount of power could burn someone’s thread back a year or six months? Is that an unrealistic thing to say that there is enough power available to either one or multiple people to burn somebody back that far?Brandon Sanderson
I see what you are getting at you are trying to figure out if killed Graendal with a whole lot of balefire would bring Asmodean back to life.MATT HATCH
...like that could ever happen...BRANDON SANDERSON
That’s what you are digging for isn’t it?MATT HATCH
Let’s say, if a Forsaken was responsible for killing another Forsaken...BRANDON SANDERSON
Uh huh...MATT HATCH
And said Forsaken was balefired...BRANDON SANDERSON
You are under the assumption...You are trying to figure out who killed Asmodean again. That’s what you are trying to do and I’m not going to get caught and let you know...MATT HATCH
It’s a legit question...and I’m sure whatever is said at this table stays at this table...BRANDON SANDERSON
I’m sure, the leader of Theoryland and the guy taping this... [much laughter] Let’s divorce it. Rand balefires Rahvin as hardcore as he could and Rand is one of the most powerful people to live and he got us—what have you determined?—from the lightning killing Mat until balefire killed Rahvin, I’d guess fifteen minutes.MATT HATCH
Well, he at least got us fifteen minutes. We don’t know how far back, we just know up to that moment.BRANDON SANDERSON
Well, we do know because if it had been too much further than that we would have noticed a lot of discrepancies in the Pattern from things he’d done...MATT HATCH
Let’s say thirty minutes to an hour, at the most...BRANDON SANDERSON
Alright, thirty minutes to an hour. Okay, let’s say the Choedan Kal amplifies his abilities 100-fold...let’s say it’s a 100 times more powerful than Rand. That’s giving us, lets say he got an hour, we’ve got four days, from the most powerful, one of the most powerful sa’angreal ever created. I think it is unrealistic to assume you can get back a year, but that’s not saying it is impossible. I think that if you did that to the Pattern the ramifications would be so dramatic you’d see the Pattern unraveling hardcore at that point, it’s like balefiring an entire city. When I first read that guess I just laughed, I’m like guys c’mon lets run the math on this.MATT HATCH
Like I said to Jennifer, it is my job at Theoryland to entertain these ideas.BRANDON SANDERSON
Yes it is, it is your job to entertain them. But in the terms of Mythbusters let’s go ahead and call that one “Busted” in the realistic world. I’ve got to give you at least something, so I’ll at least give you that...If it were possible to do things like that, we’d have the Dark One just going and balefiring you know Tam so Rand never gets picked up off the mountain. [...] I think it is more loose guidelines than it is a formula.Tags
-
36
Interview: Nov 6th, 2009
TGS Signing Report - Paul Grow (Paraphrased)Paul Grow
I asked him a direct question: Where is Demandred? On whom or on what did the Dark One order him to use balefire in book 6? I answered my own question: Surely he is with the Borderlander Army waiting to use balefire on Rand directly. Rand would be burned out of the Pattern and the Pattern would unravel because it it couldn't exist without him. The Dark One wins.Brandon Sanderson
Brandon said someone killed by balefire could be reborn and woven back into the Pattern later, but the Dark One cannot resurrect that person.Tags
-
37
Interview: Nov 6th, 2009
TGS Signing Report - Paul Grow (Paraphrased)Question
Another fan asked if the balefiring of Graendal could bring back Asmodean, if in fact Graendal was the person who killed him.Brandon Sanderson
Brandon essentially said no, because it happened much too long ago. At best balefire burns someone out of the Pattern three days to a week at the absolute most. But usually more like five minutes.Tags
-
38
Interview: Nov 10th, 2009
TGS Signing Report - Lexington, KY (Paraphrased)Brandon Sanderson
When it comes to Asmodean's death or possibility of rebirth or potential killers, Brandon seems oddly obsessed with balefire being the means of death when discussing talking points.Tags
-
39
Interview: Nov 11th, 2009
TGS Signing Report - Tim Kington (Paraphrased)Question
It's pretty clear now that Moridin and Rand are linked because of the balefire incident. Since Rand used saidin to create the balefire, and now he gets sick when channeling saidin, does that mean Moridin gets sick when he tries to use the True Power?Brandon Sanderson
You're assuming that Rand's channeling sickness comes from crossing the streams.Footnote
From Knife of Dreams Chapter 21, "Within the Stone":
The face of the man from Shadar Logoth floated in his head for a moment. He looked furious. And near to sicking up.
Tags
-
40
Interview: Nov 11th, 2009
TGS Signing Report - Tim Kington (Paraphrased)Question
After Moiraine uses balefire on the Darkhounds in The Dragon Reborn, she says something about how she's much more dangerous now than when she met Perrin in Emond's Field. How did she become more dangerous?Brandon Sanderson
There are a couple of ways she might mean that she has become more dangerous. Think about this—when she went to Emond's Field, she thought Rand was the Dragon. Now she knows that he's the Dragon. That in itself, combined with the fact that she's Blue makes her much more dangerous.Tags
-
41
Interview: Nov 17th, 2009
TGS Signing Report - Robert Moreau (Verbatim)Question
If someone were to use balefire as a weapon, could they redirect it through a gateway, or would it destroy the weave and keep going?Brandon Sanderson
Well, I happen to know that someone asked Robert Jordan this at a signing, and he gave a kind of glib answer that didn't answer anything. So, I'm going to RAFO that, and we'll see. There will be a lot of balefire in the future of these books. *much laughter*Footnote
There was some conversation here about that answer, and someone who claimed to be at that signing, and that RJ pretty much told the person 'Go get laid.'Tags
-
42
Interview: Nov 16th, 2009
TGS Signing Report - kcf (Paraphrased)Question
Are there any circumstances of death that could prevent the Dark One from resurrecting someone (other than balefire)?Brandon Sanderson
Yes, but I'm not going to tell you what.
This led to a fair amount of discussion about balefire and such. At one point, Brandon said 'all Forsaken other than Sammael who haven't come back were balefired'.
I immediately jumped on this and asked if that included Asmodean—Brandon said that he wasn't talking about Asmodean (we all didn't even want to go there), but this is further evidence of Brandon slipping hints that Asmodean was balefired.
This led to a small debate about Osan'gar—I didn't think he was balefired, everyone else at the table thought he was.
Tags
-
43
Interview: Nov 16th, 2009
TGS Signing Report - kcf (Paraphrased)Brandon Sanderson
It was also mentioned that balefire does not mean that someone can't be reborn into the Pattern.
I was very surprised by this and hadn't heard it before, but apparently Brandon has said it in previous Q&As.
Brandon said he was also surprised but that Maria was very insistent about this—so if the Dragon Reborn was balefired, he could still be reborn.
Tags
-
44
Interview: Apr 28th, 2010
Recap of JordanCon II - Richard Fife (Verbatim)Richard Fife
There was also some question on how she [Moiraine] learned Balefire and after the panel I talked to Maria about it a little more hush-hush, in particular asking her if it was possible to learn weaves from text.Maria Simons
The vague non-answer I got was not a RAFO, but Maria "feels" that one can get hints from text that could lead to one figuring it out. When I plied a little deeper, asking if there was a graphical means, perhaps, for weaves to be recorded, she declined from answering either way (but still not a full RAFO). I then left the panel and interviewed Red Eagle Entertainment. Twice. It was double-fun.Tags
-
45
Interview: Apr 28th, 2010
Recap of JordanCon II - Richard Fife (Verbatim)Richard Fife
I instantly got my hand up and asked Harriet the same question I had just asked Maria [about how Moiraine learned balefire], even prefacing that Maria had not RAFO'd me, but instead given me a vague-ish non-answer.Harriet McDougal Rigney
Harriet’s reply was, "I can be very vague too when I want to be." She then had Brandon give me a RAFO card, that I then had her sign after the panel.Tags
-
46
Interview: Apr 22nd, 2009
Leigh Butler
After this I was on another panel, "Theories and Rampant Speculation", the subject of which should be fairly self-evident, with Jakob R, Bao Pham, and (of course) Matt Hatch, who actually did not manage this time to steer us Asmodean-ward, not for lack of trying. Most of the hour, as I recall, was taken up discussing the nature of Min's visions, how that whole ta'veren thing works, and whether and how the One Power differs from the Pattern. The latter debate mostly centered around balefire, and whether the fact that it could unravel the Pattern had to do with the people/souls it destroyed, or because it undid the choices they had made. I personally really liked the notion that the Pattern consisted of choices/events, rather than souls/lives, and wish I could remember who had suggested it.Tags
-
47
Interview: Oct 19th, 2010
John Ottinger
Do you consider Rand's use of balefire to be a deus ex machina, as some of your critics have claimed?Brandon Sanderson
I haven't read those criticisms. I'm kind of confused because I don’t see me using balefire in any more of a deus ex machina way than it has been used previously in the series. By the definition of the term, it's not a deus ex machina as long as what's possible and what someone can do has been foreshadowed. For example, at the end of book five when Rand goes to Caemlyn and brings Mat back to life using balefire, that would only be deus ex machina if the reader didn't know ahead of time that it was possible. But once you have the ability to rewind time, some really funky plotting things can happen. There are certainly criticisms that can be leveled. But deus ex machina is the wrong term.John Ottinger
Editor's Note: For more on these concepts, read Sanderson's and Weeks' dueling posts on the topic at Babel Clash.Tags
-
48
Interview: Nov 8th, 2010
TOM Signing Report - Ted Herman (Paraphrased)Ted Herman
Paraphrased since it is a long question (though I did read it right from my iPhone as it was worded): Are the ghost sightings and strange window seen in Tel'aran'rhiod (flame and fang) due to the Mirror Worlds merging?Brandon Sanderson
They are both due to the Pattern unraveling.Tags
-
49
Interview: Apr 17th, 2011
JordanCon 2011 - Terez (Verbatim)Marie Curie
Even a stone in a wall has a thread in the Pattern, right? You said so...Brandon Sanderson
As I understand it, Robert Jordan specifically said that even inanimate objects have a thread.Marie Curie
So, that explains why when, say, a stone pillar is balefired, only the portion that balefire hits disintegrates...Brandon Sanderson
Right...Marie Curie
...because all of those little bits would have their own threads...Brandon Sanderson
Theoretically. And I was wrong on that for a while—I had to go back and look at interviews before I...[to Terez] Were you the one that sent me that?Terez
Yeah, I tweeted that to you...Brandon Sanderson
Yeah...the boat that Nynaeve was on that got balefired...Marie Curie
She pointed out that inanimate objects...their threads are burned back. But that also explains why a person who has one thread tied to their soul would be completely eliminated by balefire.Brandon Sanderson
Mmmhmm.Marie Curie
So...why did their clothes go away?Terez
(laughs)Brandon Sanderson
Balefire does spread a bit, from what I've read.Marie Curie
Then why doesn't it for the column?Brandon Sanderson
It does, but it's like, you know...just a little bit.Marie Curie
Right, but if you use a pencil-thin bit of balefire, right, and I shot your shirt, why would the whole shirt disappear?Brandon Sanderson
Um, if it goes through and hits you, then you disintegrate, and it will spread out from you.Marie Curie
Then, that doesn't explain Nynaeve's boat.Brandon Sanderson
No, it doesn't. ... I will be perfectly honest with you. I've worked through and tried to figure out the rules of balefiring inanimate objects quite a bit...because we've got the whole thing with Nynaeve and...Marie Curie
The rowers.Brandon Sanderson
Yeah. Well no, not even that...earlier than that with the balefire rod that's like cutting swaths through the palace in Tanchico, and it's just cutting lines through the palace, just slicing big holes...Marie Curie
Right. That's the stone pillars...the multiple threads...Terez
It did the same thing in Caemlyn with Rand and Rahvin.Brandon Sanderson
Yeah. And that's searing little lines, but then you hit something living, and it all *poofs*. It actually becomes motes...like it hits and it spreads to the full, living thing, and then *poof* that all goes away. And so...the clothes are something I hadn't even thought of, but balefire does seem to spread a little bit...Marie Curie
You would think that, you know...where the balefire hit, obviously there would be a hole, the person would *poof*, and their clothes would drop.Brandon Sanderson
Yeah. But it's got to spread a little bit because of that. But then, you know, with the boat...yeah.Marie Curie
You can't imagine how many debates we've had on Theoryland about the boat...Terez
Oh god...Brandon Sanderson
The boat is an outlier. You could argue a couple of things on it—distance and power level could both be involved.Marie Curie
And there are other outliers, like in The Gathering Storm...um...Terez
The palace?Marie Curie
Yeah, the palace...Brandon Sanderson
That, I did intentionally. Looking through everything that is happening, and saying, 'He is continuing to pump balefire into this thing, to expand it through into the entire thing...'Terez
So, it's a deliberate, directive thing...Brandon Sanderson
That's got to be possible, because in the Age of Legends...Terez
Right, whole cities...Brandon Sanderson
Right, whole cities. And so there's got to be a force-to-spread multiplier. Does that make sense?Marie Curie
Sure.Brandon Sanderson
So, I'm using a force-to-spread multiplier. And so you could maybe make that argument with the boat.Tags
-
50
Interview: Nov 11th, 2011
Alloy of Law Signing Report - Wetlandernw (Paraphrased)Wetlandernw
Is there a distinction between the "bubbles of evil" and the "Pattern unraveling" events?Brandon Sanderson
There is a distinction, in that they are different manifestations of the same root cause: the bubbles come from the Dark One's prison and slide along the threads of the Pattern until they pop, while the Pattern unraveling is a result of balefire as well as the Dark One's direct influence. The "torn lace" icon is used for both.Tags
-
51
Interview: 2001
Thus Spake the Creator (Paraphrased)Signing Report (The One Power, the True Power, and channeling)
Next was a question about balefire.
QUESTION
If person A balefires person B, then person C balefires person A, what happens?
Robert Jordan
Depends on how strong the balefire was....
Tags
-
52
Interview: Nov 14th, 2009
TGS Signing Report - Claireducky (Paraphrased)Question
(something regarding the bruises remaining on Min's neck, and if this was a typo)Brandon Sanderson
No, that is correct. Rand caused the bruises, so balefiring Semirhage would not make them go away. Balefire only removes paradoxes caused by the direct actions of the one who is balefired. And the bracelets remained after Rand balefired [Semirhage and Elza] because they weren't really part of Semirhage or Elza.
Claire
(comment regarding the thread on Dragonmount where some are arguing that by balefiring Graendal's palace, the Compulsion disappeared since there'd never had been a palace in the first place, and others are arguing that it doesn't work that way, objects don't have threads).
BRANDON SANDERSON
Everything has a thread, not just souls. Even a stone in a wall has a thread in the Pattern.
Tags
-
53
Interview: Dec 17th, 2011
Alloy of Law Signing Report - Loialson (Verbatim)Loialson
Did Nynaeve inform Egwene that according to Rand, the Dark One can resurrect the soul of a Forsaken killed by any means other than balefire?Brandon Sanderson
I honestly don't know if she's told her yet.Tags
-
54
Interview: Nov 4th, 2005
KOD Signing Report - Saladdodger (Paraphrased)Saladdodger
First I want to applaud the OP for a well thought out theory supported by evidence. I have enjoyed the debate on this topic.
Now the bad news: I attended the Robert Jordan book signing here in Charlotte, NC tonight (11/4/05). While he was signing my books, I asked him if he could credit or discredit the theory that the Dark One charged Demandred with the task of wielding Balefire in an attempt to weaken the Pattern, so that the Dark One may be have a better chance of victory at Tarmon Gai'don.
Robert Jordan
He didn't quite understand my point and asked me to explain it again. When I did, alluding to the consequences of Balefire, and quoting the Dark One's asking Demandred about his willingness to use balefire for the Dark One, he quickly shook his head and gave an unequivocal no.
SALADDODGER
I'm afraid this theory is disproved by the word of Robert Jordan himself.
Footnote
It's clear enough from other reports and also from comments by Brandon that the theory was not precisely disproven. RJ probably meant that Demandred was not the one doing the balefiring, which fits with Brandon's comments.Tags
-
55
Interview: Oct 29th, 2005
KOD Signing Report - Congo Red Jr. (Paraphrased)Congo Red Jr.
Well I asked Mr. Jordan about this theory, in brief, at a booksigning in Santa Cruz. I did this while getting my books autographed.Robert Jordan
He said the Forsaken are using balefire to help unravel the Pattern. That was all he'd say on it, told me the books provide enough evidence for it.
CONGO RED JR.
At any rate I'm not sure whether or not this helps anyone's arguments as I haven't read all of them; y'all write too much.
Tags
-
56
Interview: Oct 29th, 2005
KOD Signing Report - Congo Red Jr. (Paraphrased)sporkster (comment 70)
So—one Jordan booksigning against the theory, and one for. Sounds like we can't put this theory in the "Debunked" pile yet...
CONGO RED JR. (COMMENT 71)
I suppose it's possible that Mr. Jordan may not have fully understood my question and therefore his answer isn't exactly for or against this theory. LOL The question I asked was this: Have the Forsaken, Demandred specifically, used balefire to destabilize the Pattern at all?
Robert Jordan
He said that they've used balefire and the consequences were destabilizing the Pattern and that in the books you could see evidence of that.
CONGO RED JR.
I should've been more specific in my question to him and my post here; that was first time I've ever commented on a message board, etc. I'm usually just a reader/browser to forums and such. I personally think the other fella's question was more specific therefore the answer probably more accurate as pertaining to the topic at hand. The answer he gave me upon further reflection could mean any number of things. It's hard to say. Guess we'll all find out when A Memory of Light is published.
Footnote
Actually, it appears that both answers might have been accurate in their original form, and that the Forsaken have indeed been using balefire, but that Demandred is not one of them. In any case, Brandon's comments on this theory make it almost certain that balefire is the main cause of the disintegration of the Pattern.Tags
-
57
Interview: Apr, 2012
Afternoon Tea with Brandon Sanderson - Luckers (Paraphrased)Luckers
Are the ripples in Knife of Dreams balescreams?Brandon Sanderson
*grins* RAFO. And say that’s a RAFO with a grin.Footnote
Tags
-
58
Interview: Nov 14th, 2009
TGS Signing Report - Aubree Pham (Paraphrased)Aubree Pham
From dinner re: balefire philosophy:
Talked to Brandon at the Stormleader dinner last night. He had a few things to say on this topic:
Brandon Sanderson
1. The bruises on Min's neck were not an error. After consulting with Team Jordan, it was determined that indirect effects remain. Rand was the one who strangled Min, not Semirhage directly, so the bruises stayed.
2. Brandon knows of two ways to destroy cuendillar. But he would not confirm if the Domination Band that Rand was wearing was made from cuendillar. He said it was not relevant to what happened.
3. The bracelets did not disappear when Semirhage and Elza were balefired because they were not considered to be intrinsic to their person. It would be the same if someone was holding a book and was balefired, the book would drop to the floor.
Footnote
Moghedien said the Domination Band was a form of cuendillar, and the assumption is that Rand was able to destroy it because he used the True Power.Tags
-
59
Interview: Nov 14th, 2009
TGS Signing Report - Aubree Pham (Paraphrased)Aubree Pham
From dinner & signing both:
There were some interesting answers at the Dallas signing and Stormleader dinner:
Tags
-
60
Interview: Nov 6th, 2009
TGS Signing Report - gammahunter (Paraphrased)gammahunter
I asked if Graendal were dead and had she killed Asmodean could he pop back up in Caemlyn.Brandon Sanderson
He said no. He said that Rand only took Rahvin out of the Pattern for 15 minutes to an hour. So, even if the Choedan Kal were 1000 times stronger than Rand with the fat man it would only be like 9 days at most. More interesting, however, is that he said that we have not seen anyone who could burn someone out of the Pattern that long, however, it was possible for someone to be that strong!—Who or what could this be?Tags
-
61
Interview: Nov 4th, 2009
TGS Signing Report - mrc1ark (Paraphrased)mrc1ark
I asked Brandon about the balefire and Min's bruises tonight at the DC book signing.Brandon Sanderson
He said that he, Harriet, and Maria discussed them and decided they should stay. Semirhage got balefired, not Rand, and Rand made the bruises therefore bruises stay. Thats according to the source. So even if you disagree with those rules that seems to be the way it will be interpreted for the last two books. Sanderson did admit that things with balefire were tricky.Tags
-
62
Interview: 2012
Memories of Light (Verbatim)Day 13
"We must spread the word to all of our allies," Amys said. "We must not use this weave." (p. 366)
Tags
-
63
Interview: Jan 9th, 2013
AMOL Signing Report - Marie Curie (Paraphrased)Marie Curie
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?
Brandon Sanderson
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.
Tags
-
64
Interview: Jan 11th, 2013
AMOL Signing Report - Lara (Paraphrased)Question
If there are three people, and person 1 balefires person 2, then person 3 balefires person 1, does person 2 come back to life?
Brandon Sanderson
Brandon reminded the fan that when someone asked Robert Jordan this question, Mr. Jordan responded by saying the asker needed the love of a man, woman, or schnauzer of his choice. There is actually a correct answer: balefire removes a thread from the Pattern, and, once removed, that thread cannot be replaced.
Footnote
RJ gave an answer to this question in Australia in 1999 that contradicts Brandon's answer here. RJ said that person 2 would come back to life; this was confirmed by another report at the same signing. Furthermore, there is an unattributed Q&A from Thus Spake the Creator in which RJ states (more specifically, perhaps) that it depends on the strength of the balefire, presumably because a very small amount would not burn person 1's thread back far enough to bring person 2 back to life. [Brandon later said it was his mistake, and Maria said that the 'depends on strength' answer is probably the correct one.]
Finally, it was in response to a question about opening a gateway behind yourself and then using balefire that RJ told the person to get a life, not the question asked here (and he actually referred to a German Shepherd, not a schnauzer).
Tags
-
65
Interview: 2013
Twitter 2013 (WoT) (Verbatim)Terry Benton (23 January 2013)
Did all of the balefire cracks disappear after the Last Battle? If not, was Egwene's weave discovered again?Brandon Sanderson (23 January 2013)
The world will heal itself, with time, even without the weave. But the weave was witnessed.Tags
-
66
Interview: Feb 11th, 2013
AMOL Signing Report - Aegon (Paraphrased)Aegon
*vague spoiler warning*
An audience member had, years ago, asked RJ what would happen if an Aes Sedai balefired herself through a gateway, and was told by RJ that she should find a man, a woman, or a dog to love and she should get a life. (heavily paraphrased). The same audience member was present at the signing and asked if the scenario played out in A Memory of Light was done in response to her question.
Brandon Sanderson
BS said that he has avoided gateways and balefire in his series because that type of magic belonged to The Wheel of Time, but he himself has had many thoughts on the use of balefire and gateways. So no, the scenes from A Memory of Light were not a response to her, but BS's own story. The audience member also added that she did find a guy to love, had a daughter, named her Aviendha, and the crowd clapped.
Tags
-
67
Interview: Feb 11th, 2013
AMOL Signing Report - Anna Hornbostel (Verbatim)Kathy
I don't know if you remember me, but I was a Stormleader for The Gathering Storm...Brandon Sanderson
Thank you.
Kathy
...and I got that first RAFO part, which was then answered in this book. And I was wondering if that question that I gave to Robert Jordan so many years ago, and he gave that wonderful answer, was the reason [?] or was it...[?]
Brandon Sanderson
(laughs) You're dog girl. Yes, you are! I will say...there's an inside joke here. Once, this wonderful young woman asked Robert Jordan what would happen if you balefired yourself through a gateway, and what exactly did he say?
Kathy
He said, "Young woman, I need you to go have an affair—with man, woman, or German Shepherd; it doesn't matter. Either way, you need to get a life." (laughter, applause)
Brandon Sanderson
Now, I, uh...(laughter continues)
Kathy
I also happened to then, several years later, marry a man who also read, and this is our daughter Aviendha.
Harriet McDougal
Awwww! (applause)
Kathy
See...[?]. (laughter)
Brandon Sanderson
I don't have one either, and I'm worried...my big question was always about gateways, and when I began reading the series, as soon as I discovered them, I started to think about what would happen, cause I'm a magic system guy, right? And I'm like, "Oooh, what could you do with this? What could you do with this?" In fact, I started taking notes on what I could do, and they sat there in my notes file for years and years because I eventually started moving away from things I had seen done by other authors, and that meant, specifically the few things I was most interested in in the Wheel of Time. I didn't end up ever writing a magic system using. gateways and the World of Dreams, the way Robert Jordan had it. I avoided these things intentionally. And yet I had all these notes of things that I would like to have done, if I ever did a magic system with them.
Lo and behold, I got that opportunity, and so I found ways to....when I got the project, I didn't want to come in and make any sweeping changes—that wasn't my goal—but there are some places where I felt it appropriate to add some of my touch to the books, and one was with the gateways. I didn't want to be spending a lot of time doing anything with the magic system, you know—inventing a lot of new weaves, or anything like that—but I did want to expand some parts.
And so I actually....I went to Charleston, and we needed a new viewpoint character, specifically someone in the Black Tower—we hadn't had...we didn't have the right viewpoint character for the Black Tower—so I said, is there an Asha'man you guys think that I could take over, so to speak, and really flesh out and make into a more...you know, elevate a side character to a medium level character, which is something Robert Jordan frequently did in the series, and they came to the decision that Androl was the person that I should take, and I gave him the gateway Talent because I wanted to explore what happens with gateways.
And so, right there....we are all on the same wavelength; it wasn't necessarily me trying to answer your question. It was me answering questions to myself as a young man reading the series, wondering a lot about gateways. And so, Androl was a lot of fun.
In fact, there's another story there. At one point, I'm working on the series, and I get in the mail this envelope—it's a manila envelope from Charleston, and in it are a bunch of photocopied pages, and Harriet has written on the front of them: "Jim planned to use this somewhere. Can you fit it in?" And what it was was a detailed explanation from the viewpoint of a leatherworker about how one goes about using leather, and leatherworking. And this is the sort of detail, craftsman-style sort of things that Robert Jordan really liked to find places for that sort of detail in the books, and meanwhile, I've been sitting here trying to build a character for Androl, and I'm like, "Okay! I've got a place for it." And that's how Androl became a leatherworker, is from that stack of pages from Robert Jordan; it was just a photocopy of a leatherworker talking about their work.
So, there's some Androl stories. And so the answer is, it's half to you, but it's mostly to me (laughter). It's to both of us.
Footnote
Kathy met her husband at tarvalon.netTags
-
68
Interview: Feb 12th, 2013
AMOL Signing Report - Wetlander (Paraphrased)Wetlander
Since balefire strengthens cuendillar, what effect would Egwene's opposing "Flame of Tar Valon" weave have?
Brandon Sanderson
Good question!
Wetlander
(But then we got interrupted and didn't come back to it, so if someone is curious, they could try again and get the rest of the answer. Related questions might be... Would Egwene's weave strengthen cuendillar simply because it is the One Power? If for every weave there is an opposite weave, could there be a weave that would turn the Tar Valon harbor chains back to iron?)
Tags
-
69
Interview: Feb 22nd, 2013
Odds and Ends with Brandon and Maria (Verbatim)Terez
At a recent signing, you answered a question about balefire which, as you can see from Marie's footnote, contradicts what RJ said. Can you clear that up?Brandon Sanderson
I can only surmise here that I'm wrong. My response didn't come from specifics in Jim's notes, but from conversations between myself and Maria trying to interpret things written in the notes that were not specifically clear. We came out of it understanding the following: Balefire burns threads out of the pattern. If you balefire someone after THEY balefire someone, the threads are remain burned away. However, this was OUR interpretation, and Jim's responses (where he gave them) always trump what we come up with.
Honestly, I thought we were pretty safe on this one, based on the notes and Maria's understanding of balefire. But it looks like Jim had ideas about it that he didn't leave in the notes! (This isn't uncommon, keep in mind. Most of the notes were intended for him, and not outsiders, and so he didn't often write on things he didn't need to remember. During the last months, he did give a lot of notes specifically for Team Jordan and myself—but these things dealt with bigger picture plot sequences or the like, and not the minutia of worldbuilding.)
I apologize for the mistake.
Maria Simons
Balefire makes my head hurt. I can't really add anything here, either. I'm sure that Jim and I discussed balefire at some point, but no details really remain. I think that the line "it depends upon the strength of the balefire" is the real answer. Sometimes person 2 comes back to life, and sometimes not, depending upon strength and timing. I got nothing better.
Tags
-
70
Interview: Feb 22nd, 2013
AMOL Signing Report - Terez (Verbatim)Terez
You said that the balescreams in Knife of Dreams were because Demandred was balefiring whole cities...
Brandon Sanderson
I did not say that.
Terez
You did not say that.
Brandon Sanderson
No!
Terez
That was reported! (on a private Facebook group)
Brandon Sanderson
That was reported; that's not what I said.
Terez
What did you say then?
Brandon Sanderson
I told them...they said, "What caused these?" And I said, "Ah, that's very interesting. By the way, Demandred was balefiring whole cities.
Terez
But you didn't say that's what caused them. Okay.
Brandon Sanderson
Yes.
Terez
Good answer, because that gets rid of my next question. Okay.
Brandon Sanderson
Mmhmm. They asked about balefire and things like that, and it was...
Terez
...and they connected it...
Brandon Sanderson
...and I thought they might, but I specifically said, "BY THE WAY..." This is not....
Terez
(laughs) ...Well, we're recording now.
Brandon Sanderson
So there you go.
Terez
Okay, good.
Tags
-
71
Interview: Feb 20th, 2013
AMOL Signing Report - JaimieKrycho (Paraphrased)Question
Question about the anti-balefire weave. Balefire burns out the threads of the Pattern. The Flame of Tar Valon, does it put the same threads back in? Or does it put brand new ones in?
Brandon Sanderson
It does rebuild the Pattern.
Tags
-
72
Interview: Feb 22nd, 2013
AMOL Signing Report - J. Dauro (Verbatim)Question
Can the anti-balefire weave restore threads to the Pattern?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, it repairs threads to the Pattern. The threads may not be exactly the same, but it does repair them.
Question
So does that mean Hopper could the next time in this cycle?
Brandon Sanderson
I can't speak for Hopper, other than, I have hope.
Tags
-
73
Interview: Feb 22nd, 2013
AMOL Signing Report - J. Dauro (Verbatim)Question
And the decision to exchange the bodies at the end?
Brandon Sanderson
That was his (Robert Jordan). And it began with the crossing of the balefire streams, way back when, and continued on through the series up to here. He actually wrote those scenes at the end himself.
Tags
-
74
Interview: Apr 15th, 2013
Reddit AMA 2013 (Verbatim)Shillster ()
Why did Mat's death break the bond with the Horn when his death was reversed with balefire? Wouldn't it also reverse the breaking of the bond?Brandon Sanderson
This is one where I just let Team Jordan lead. They told me why the bond had been broken, and that the other death didn't count. It was straight from RJ's mouth, but was not included in the notes, so we just had to work with what we had.Tags
-
75
Interview: Apr 20th, 2013
JordanCon 2013 - Q&A with Maria (Verbatim)Terez
How did Moiraine identify Sammael and Be'lal? How did she know their names?Maria Simons
I'm assuming research; I don't know.
Terez
My theory was always eavesdropping.
Maria Simons
Oh yeah, that's another good possibility.
Terez
And that would be a reason why she tipped Sammael off to her presence.
Maria Simons
Yeah.
Terez
How did she rediscover balefire? Assuming research again?
Maria Simons
Assuming.
Marie Curie
That question always comes up, about whether you can learn a weave by reading about it.
Maria Simons
Yeah, I think it can help, and then you have to experiment and hope for the best.
Footnote
Maria answered the question about Sammael again later.Tags
-
76
Interview: Nov 6th, 2012
Weller Book Works Signing - Josh & Mi'ch (Verbatim)Question
In the prologue it sounds like Lews Therin balefires himself, and then is reborn as Rand al’Thor.
Brandon Sanderson
He does not balefire himself, so I can answer that. He does not.
QUESTION
So it’s just something that sounds a lot like balefire?
BRANDON SANDERSON
Yes- well there’s various interpretations of what happens there. He um- yeah there’s various interpretations of what actually killed him. If you go look and read closely, what actually killed him may be- could be subject to some debate.
Tags
-
77
Interview: 2013
poesian (March 2013)
I'll bite:
We had some discussion about whether or not the scene in AMOL in which Rand thinks Roedran is Demandred was intended as a bit of a dig at all the fan theories assuming that to be true. Or was Rand really just supposed to be convinced of that same theory? (And how did Shara never occur to anyone in the books?)
Balefire question: If balefire isn't tearing someone's soul out of the pattern, why is it so destructive? Why, in AMOL is it literally tearing the world apart when Darkfriends are using it?
Thanks! I will try and remember to ask more questions on 15 April!
Brandon Sanderson
1. The item you discuss was not intended as a dig against fans. You could read it, potentially, as an acknowledgement of fans—though really, all it comes from is the fact that you have a fan writing these books. I'm aware of many of the theories, and even spent years thinking about them and talking of them. In constructing this scene, it was my impression that if we'd spent all of this time working on these theories, how much more effort would those in world have expended?
And so, my impression was that this would be genuinely what the character thought. I thought it would be very strange if he HADN'T considered it. Therefore, I put a note of it in the text—to indicate that the characters had been working through these same issues, and come to some of the same conclusions. It wasn't meant to break the fourth wall, though I can see how it stands out to some readers.
2. I was under the impression that to be killed by balefire meant dying forever. However, Maria and the notes showed me I was wrong about this fact. Balefire does weaken the Pattern, but it can't destroy souls, which are (you might say) the substance of the Pattern. Just like you can take a hammer to a cup and shatter it, but the pieces of glass will still be there. The Pattern can (theoretically) be unraveled, the world end, but the souls still exist.
It should be note that Moridin believed strongly that the soul CAN be ended by other means, and the implication of wolves (at least) being killed with no rebirth means it can happen.
So, in final answer to your question, it is so destructive because it leaves the Pattern in a mess, strained, and more easily subjected to the Dark One's will. His goal is to shatter the cup, so to speak, and then rebuilt it into a cup more to his liking.
poesian
Oh man, I am so happy (a) that you answered my questions and (b) that you answered them well. Thank you for all you've done with the series, Brandon!
(I pointed out the Demandred scene because it is fun on all of those levels. I've thought about the "fourth wall" comment and it doesn't make sense; there's no moment where Rand looks at us. Just at Roedran, in a way that actually is entirely sensical.)
TheBB
And so, my impression was that this would be genuinely what the character thought.
This was a bit jarring for me, because most of the reasons for the Demandred=Roedran theory came from hints given by Robert Jordan, that Rand wouldn't have access to.
Brandon Sanderson
Ah, but Rand would have a whole LOT of information in-world that we don't have. Spy reports, rumors, his knowledge of how the Forsaken like to work. If you remove the places where one of the Forsaken had already set up shop, remove the monarchs that Rand has already met and interacted with, and look for a place that has been suspiciously quiet, you end up with very few options.
poesian
One of which just happens to be as we now know Shara.
NruJaC
It's funny, it was an RJ quote that pushed people away from that particular theory. It turned out to be an extremely Aes Sedai answer.
poesian
I would love to read that quote.
And of course RJ would give Aes Sedai answers. That makes a lot of sense.
NruJaC
I'll try to find it, but he basically said that we'd never see Shara "on-screen".
poesian
Oh right! Yeah. That's a very Aes Sedai answer. Heh. 'You'll never see their country, but they'll see ours!'
Tags
-
78
Interview: Apr 15th, 2013
Reddit AMA 2013 (Verbatim)ShakaUVM ()
If people can be removed from the Wheel by dying in the Wolf Dream or the Dream World when they're there in person, how is it that there are any people left, if there's been an infinite number of turns of the Wheel?
Brandon Sanderson
They actually can't. That only works on wolves, regardless of what some people think in-world. I thought like you do, but Maria was quite firm that RJ said it couldn't happen, even in the World of Dreams. (Or even with balefire—which I thought would also remove people. Maria explained that I was wrong, and RJ was firm on this one too.)
Tags
-
79
Interview: Apr 15th, 2013
Reddit AMA 2013 (Verbatim)smb89 ()
The Flame of Tar Valon—what does it do other than shore up the Pattern? Does it have effects also opposite to balefire? Was the weave related to the weave that Rand used to seek out Shadowspawn in The Dragon Reborn?
Brandon Sanderson
This is left for your consideration and discussion for now.
Tags