Theoryland of the Wheel of Time

The number 10 seems to be a recurring theme in this world. Are the Ten Fools the antithesis of the ten orders of the Knights Radiant?

Have you ever killed off a character and later regretted it?

When writing a battle scene in which thousands die do those deaths affect you in any way?

Which one will you focused more in the future, the Heralds or Radiants? Will you dig deeper into each of Heralds story and some of Radiants?

I feel that I should probably RAFO this one. We are going to delve into the Radiants as orders a lot. But the Radiants as individuals? Depends on what you mean. Kaladin is well on the path toward becoming one of them, though he's not one yet, as Teft is quick to point out. So if you mean focusing on actual Knights Radiant, we'll have to see if anyone actually manages to become one.

The Heralds are integral to the entire story, which is why the Prelude focuses on them. Since someone showed up at the end of the book claiming to be one of them, I think you can obviously expect some attention to be drawn there. Who each of the Heralds are and what their natures were is important.

Is spren lost their memories and personalities because of the loss of their attached radiants? But retain a basic attraction to things associated with the radiants they bonded to previously?

Not all types of spren bonded to Radiants. You will find out more about this in the future. However, if you're speaking specifically of spren that were bonded to Radiants, then yes, you're on the right track.

Was Syl's appearance and behavior caused by Kaladin giving up his shardblade?

It was a major fundamental factor in what happened between them.

Do Szeth and Kaladin both belong to the same order of knights radiant?

Szeth isn't actually in an order of Knights Radiant. Something different is happening with Szeth that people have already begun to guess. And Kaladin isn't yet a Knight Radiant, but the powers he uses are those of the Windrunners, one of the orders of the Knights Radiant. Szeth is using the same power set. So your phrasing is accurate to that extent.

Concerning the Radiants' shardplates, and the glyphs on them that Dalinar had never seen before, is there any relation to these and the AonDor? Could they perhaps act as an added focus?

From what I recall, he didn't really give a definitive answer on this one, but he seemed as if we were in the right direction.

Is Shallan's memory a Surge?

I want to wait for the right opportunity before revealing more surges.

There are connections in the things you mentioned above, though I don't want to speak of specifics yet for risk of spoiling future revelations.

As for blurring the line between what makes sense and what is fun...I err on the side of the fun. However, part of my meticulous planning is about how to make the fun make sense. I feel that is part of what makes this genre interesting. I decided I wanted to do a story about the Knights Radiant, with the Plate and Blades. From there, I spent a long time thinking about what would make those kinds of weapons reasonable and important to a society.

You can do anything, but do try to focus on laying your groundwork and being consistent.

Just got back, asked a few questions. Please note that these are super paraphrased, but I did see someone's IPhone on the table, so we hopefully have a transcript!

Question

Have we seen another Lightweaver?

Yes.

Nicrosil

Please note that a family member decided to drop in at this point, so I may have heard wrong. Woops.

Yes.

Question

Why does he do that?

Brandon Sanderson

Because when Kaladin was there and they were touching it, they actually heard the spren that was inside of it.

Question

So it wasn't Syl that he heard, it was —

Brandon Sanderson

It was the sword's spren. That Kaladin was touching it — when a Knight Radiant touches it — you'll see when other Knights Radiant pick up sword, they can hear the screaming.

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].

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.

It's a cool thing, it's also a very dangerous thing.

Question

Well [the Stormfather] controls the highstorms ... follow-up question: if he dies, does that affect the spren?

Brandon Sanderson

Dying, as long as the oaths are not broken, does not affect the spren in a very terrible way. There are effects.

Uh ... yes.

Question

Does each specific order have their own spren that they would bond?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes. Each order has a spren that is distinctive. All Windrunners come from wind— from honorspren.

Hehehe, good question!

Question

Has she already popped up?

Brandon Sanderson

She has not already popped up.

Question

So she's not a Radiant. Or is she?

Brandon Sanderson

You have not seen her on screen yet, other than in her story.

Boy, this is a really interesting one that I'm surprised I haven't been asked more often. I have been asked it once or twice and it's really hard to say because where do I think I would belong? Or where would (I) want to belong?

Because I've always wanted to fly, so if I'm going to choose one thing — one power — I'm choosing "I can fly." Even though it's not the smartest power I could pick, it's what I would pick. If I could self select, then that might be where I would go. But, I don't know if I would honestly fit there accurately. I'm not sure if that's where I'm meant to be. I would probably be more likely to be a Bondsmith than anything else, with just knowing my personality. It's a good question.