Theoryland of the Wheel of Time

Is Szeth's sword noticeably smaller than other shardblades?

Yes.

szeth

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shardblades

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honorblades

Is Hoid in Shadows for Silence?

He is not. I intentionally didn't put him in... I wanted to indicate that he goes where there is an important reason for him to be there rather than just being a cameo in every story.

hoid

,

shadows for silence

(During discussion on the Surgebinding chart, found in the front endpages of The Way of Kings hardcovers) I'm pretty sure the Herald faces all match up to their respective orders.

heralds

(During discussion on the Surges) It's properly transportation rather than travel?

Yyyes, that’s the general thing. This is the one that involves Shadesmar.

surebinding

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shadesmar

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cognitive realm

Are there going to be other characters other than Hoid that will be crossing over between books?

Yes, in fact there are characters in the way of kings...(essentially mentions the known Ishikk interlude worldhoppers). I told people that there is a Terriswoman in Warbreaker somewhere, I believe that would be somewhat hard to spot. That one, I don't think you will be able to pick out until you see her later on and then go back and say 'wait a minute'.

worldhopping

Great magic unleashed here. (Written in someone's book with an arrow pointing at the Shattered Plains)

roshar

The change in how the magic (on Scadrial) interact with each other, was that done by Sazed?

Yes it was. You will find a theme. The snapping in Mistborn is actually a repeated theme through a lot of the different magics. Um, but what I felt at the end of the day Sazed would do something about it. So, even though that is part of the magic system, he changed that. The change to Feruchemy is more a matter of other factors such as the large amount of interbreeding that happened following...and things like that. And so a lot of people with Feruchemy sDNA mixing with people with people with Allomantic sDNA has affected the way the magics blend, so to speak. That's not done by Sazed. That's just kind of an effect.

allomancy

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feruchemy

So there are two other planets in the Roshar system, are they the Tranquiline Halls and Damnation that you mentioned in The Way of Kings?

(After consideration) There has been in the past knowledge of other planets in the system and that has indeed influenced the mythology of the world.

roshar

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ashyn

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braize

As far as I can tell, in The Stormlight Archive, we have seen three different lights: the stormlight, the amberlight in the flashbacks, and the dark light in the stone. Do those correspond to the three Shards?

No, the amberlight is more a function of...it's no different than the stormlight.

Question

So, you see that in a storm? Like when gems gather that in the storm?

Brandon Sanderson

That amberlight is more related to... so, no... you are not seeing something other than stormlight. That is like saying that stormlight in a topaz is a different color than stormlight in a sapphire. It's not different colors; you're just seeing it filtered through something. The dark light of the, um, the gemstone that Szeth was given is indeed something different and distinct.

Question

Voooiidlight?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, it is related to a different shard. How about that?

stormlight

If you have a series of inquisitors, like a family of inquisitors having children for generations over...

Would the Hemalurgy influence the sDNA of the children? Is that what you are asking? That is a hypothesis that has merit in the way the magic system works (grin). It is not a supposition to be discarded out of hand.

hemalurgy

Do you have in your mind all, like, 150 different metallic effects?

Yes, but I haven't named them yet. I approached that and thought, "This is just mind-numbing". So, yes; one of the things I'd like to be doing and you may see more of this... each combination has a slightly different effect than what you'd anticipate.

allomancy

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feruchemy

Do you plan on having, like, a final book for the cosmere? Like, the Shards are gone; Hoid is the king of the universe?

There will be an ending to the cosmere sequence that will involve a lot of these things going on.

future books

Will The Alloy of Law be a trilogy of its own or is it just going to be the one book you read from tonight?

Well, the 1st one was The Alloy of Law, the one I read from tonight is the sequel, so there's at least two. I signed a contract with, well, I haven'’t signed anything yet. I offered Tor two more beyond The Alloy of Law; so, Shadows of Self and one more. So, I have promised Tor three of them.

Question

So, there could be more?

Brandon Sanderson

I have not plotted this one. It does not have the same sort of interconnected arc as the others. It could go further. I think I would cautiously most likely do three or four and stop and if I wanted more short books like that, I'd pick different characters in a different location.

mistborn adventures

Was the book Wax reading written by the guy who gave it to him?

No, it was not.

Question

Spook? Sounds like Spook's voice.

Brandon Sanderson

(smiling) It certainly doesn't sound like Marsh.

mistborn adventures

What advice did Hawkwing give Tuon?

Everyone expects Hawkwing to, like, take Tuon to task (regarding the Aes Sedai). But, people forget that he didn't care much for the Aes Sedai himself, and he also conquered the world and is sort of a tyrant, but a great tyrant, along the lines of some of the great conquerors of our world. Um, I think he would be fairly proud of Tuon, all things considered, and his advice would be more like, how to seize her country back, and things like this. People expect him to be like, "Artur Hawkwing is going tell her to let the Aes Sedai go and stop (muttered) slavery." I think he would be like, "This is awesome! You've got captive Aes Sedai?"

Question

I've heard that approach challenged by, because when he was so anti-Aes Sedai was because he was being influence by Ishamael.

Brandon Sanderson

He was. He was. He was. There is definitely that. But, remember, he is part King Arthur, noble, and part Alexander the Great, conqueror and destroyer of those who opposed him. And so, keep in mind that this guy has both of those sides to him. And, even not influenced by Ishamael, being offered captive Aes Sedai who will do anything he says, this is not something that I think any ruler in the history of our world would have turned down or at least not considered strongly.

tuon

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artur hawkwing

Is Hoid any of the Shards of Adonalsium?

Good question. He does not hold a Shard.

hoid

Is he [Hoid] a Worldsinger?

He has a relationship with the Worldsingers.

hoid

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worldsingers

What was the inspiration for the necromancer pizza delivery story?

Death by Pizza. I came up with laws of necromancy that I thought would be super cool and I tried to find a book that would fit it. And, that book was fun, but bad. The rules were that necromancy is someone that has been killed and returned to life and each time they return they are more powerful. So a guy who has died five times and got more powerful throughout the course of a novel is a cool archetype that I thought would be a fun thing. So, it's like at the end of the novel, "I need more power, so do I die and get it? Or, not" and things like this. It was a cool concept and even with a mash-up with an urban fantasy world, the world was not built enough so that in the end it was like he was running around an empty city not one populated with as much mythology and wonder and storybook as I wanted an so I eventually said it isn't working and maybe I’ll pick it up again another time.

death by pizza

Are you willing to tell me anything about the history of the Vanrial community at this time?

What specifically did you want to know?

hoser

Well, is their eye color lighter than the typical Alethi peasant?

Brandon Sanderson

(after a long pause) I think I'll just stay away from this for now.

roshar

Can you tell me something about the larkin and their abilities?

You will see something about them in the second book. Their abilities are tied to stormlight.

larkin

(Speaking of the division surge) Is that a re-framing of, at one point in time you were talking about weak/strong forces?

Um, weak/strong forces, yes, that's the one that sent me there partially. Like, I'm not actually... the idea of the fundamental forces is a cool thing to me so it's not like I'm actually trying to use the weak and strong forces, the idea of there being fundamental forces. I wanted to go off on it in a fancy way. Like this one right here I told them was surface tension. But it's not really surface tension. It's more like um, the people with this could take a piece of cloth and snap it out and it would become hard as if the cloth became steel. I'm trying to explain this scientifically, but it doesn't work scientifically. Imagine as if they could restructure the atoms so that they became a latticework like a crystal rather than being soft like...cloth. I'm calling it surface tension, but it's not really surface tension.

hoser

Tensile strength?

Brandon Sanderson

(hedging) It's kind of like tensile strength. I have to go through Peter and say "Alright Peter, come up with what we should really call this." He does the hard science a lot better than I do. I do the armchair theories and then he goes, "Ok, now this is the math if someone were to actually fall off of this and 0.7 gravity and the weight of the bridge...". (looking back at the chart) So what can I give you that I didn't give her? Um, one of the orders is called Bondsmiths.

surgebinding

Did the Splintering happen before the Recreance?

I will reveal this as we go. However, be aware that in the past, when a Shard was killed, the person holding it, it is a slow burn to actually kill someone; because power cannot be destroyed. So, what it means to be killed means something a little different in these cases.

hoser

Did Tanavast survive Honor's splintering?

Brandon Sanderson

Tanavast is dead. Good question. However, that is as of the start of The Way of Kings.

hoser

So he could have survived the Splintering...

Brandon Sanderson

He could have survived the Splintering.

hoser

...as a mortal...

Brandon Sanderson

Well, he could have survived for a time, but then he could not have then...

hoser

...passed away in his sleep...

Brandon Sanderson

Right.

honor

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tanavast

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shards

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splintering

Was Odium able to Splinter Honor because the Heralds abandoned the Oathpact?

Good question. Um, their abandonment of the Oathpact is related... but mostly tangentially. If I was pinned down on that, I would say no.

Wetlander

Is there any of the Oathpact still functioning because of Taln's continued participation?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, indeed.

heralds

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honor

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odium

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oathpact

Is the Palanaeum named for Palah?

Yes. In fact, it was named based on—it was Greek in our world—the Athenaeum? It was based off of that.

Wetlander

Did we see Palah?

Brandon Sanderson

I believe every one of the Heralds is mentioned or shown somewhere in the first book.

Wetlander

Someone was wondering whether the old woman who was wandering around the Palanaeum was her.

Brandon Sanderson

That is a very good guess. I won't say specifically, because some of them are intended to be more obvious and some of them are intended to be red herrings. So, that was a very good guess.

heralds

Please explain what you will about Shards and Splintering and Slivers.

An event happened long ago which destroyed something called Adonalsium into 16 pieces. And 16 people took up that power.

Question

People?

Brandon Sanderson

I call all intelligent species people. If someone takes up the power and lets go of it, it has the effect much like a balloon that's been stretched and then the air is let out. I call that a Sliver; based off of the Lord Ruler calling himself the "Sliver of Infinity". The Lord Ruler is someone who held the power and then released it. And so, current Slivers are the Lord Ruler, Kelsier, and there may be others around who at one point held the power and let go of it. A Splinter is a term used by certain people in the cosmere for power of Adonalsium which has no person caring for it, no... no person holding it, which has attained self-awareness.

Wetlander

So is that like the mists and the Well? Are they...

Brandon Sanderson

They are not, because they have not attained self-awareness. But, the Seons are self-aware. So, any piece, for instance there were some spren on Roshar before Honor and Cultivation got there. Those were already Splinters of Adonalsium where he had left power which attained sentience on its own. So, it can be intentional is what I am saying, does that make sense? You have seen other splinters.

Wetlander

Are the highstorms related to the splintering of Honor?

Brandon Sanderson

The highstorms are more related to the mist from Mistborn which terminology we have not discussed yet. You have seen splinters quite a bit on various planets.

adonalsium

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spren

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splinters

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slivers