Usuario:Botanicaxu/WOB OB 4
Post
“
I'm happy to post this update only two months after the previous one--which seems like a much more reasonable interval than the many months between two and three. I do feel bad at how long this book is taking, but I'm coming to grips with the fact that Stormlight books are just too involved to do as quickly as I once imagined. I still intend to get to them at a reasonable pace, but this year of work is showing that big epic fantasies require a lot out of even a somewhat quick author like myself.
In the wee hours this morning (3:00 am) I sent Part Three of Oathbringer to my editor. This means I've finished the rough draft (of Part Three) then done a quick revision, putting it at second draft level. (I explain in previous updates that I'm doing more revisions as I go on this one, hopefully to speed the editing process.)
Part Three is tight and fast, a nice counterpoint to Part Two, which was more leisurely and character-focused. The book stands at around 325k words right now. (Words of Radiance was right around 400k at publication.) I have on my website "73%" I believe, though I intend to move that to 75% soon. I started out counting 4k words as 1%, but I'm pretty sure that the final wordcount will be in the 450k range, which is why I have slowed the percentage bar velocity a tad. (Goal is for Part Four to be around 100k words, Part Five to be around 25k, and the interludes to take around 25k. Then I'll trim the book before publication, getting it down to around 450k.)
If you're following the general outline shape from Update Two, I moved the novella from this part to the next part, after deciding I liked the feel of this book having a narrow-wide-narrow-wide focus for the first four parts. We'll see how I feel after finishing the next part.
Next up, I'm going to dive into writing some Szeth flashbacks (which won't reflect on the percentage bar moving up) so I have his past nailed down. Then I'll expand the outline for Part Four, and write it. Goal is still to finish the book by the time I go on tour in late October, but we'll see. This part took me two full months.
Even if I'm a little late, however, having sections of the book already with the editor means we will still be on schedule. Plan is still for a late 2017 release, and it would take a major upset in writing plans to budge us from that.
Thanks, as always, for your patience and your kind words. The book is feeling very strong to me, and I think you'll be pleased with how it turns out.”
“
很高兴为大家带来飓光3的最新进展。上一次汇报是两个月前做的，这点时间比起等待卷三的那N个月要好多了。写这本书耗时颇长，我确实感到很对不起大 家，但又逐渐认识到，飓光这个系列非常宏大，涉及的东西太繁杂，没办法像预想的那样很快写完。虽说我还是想要保持一定的速度，但今年的工作却证明，大型史诗奇幻对作者要求甚多，就连我这样的“快手”，都招架不住了。
今晨三点左右，我把《渡誓》的第三部分发给了编辑。这下我就写完了（第三部分的）初稿，之后迅速地改出了第二稿。（在上一次汇报中我就说过，在我写这一部分时，会多做一些修改，希望能加快后期编辑的流程。）
第三部分剧情紧凑，节奏很快，与之形成鲜明对比的则是第二部分，这一块节奏更缓，也更注重角色塑造。这本书目前约有32.5万字。（《光辉 真言》实体书的字数在40万左右。）官网上的写作进度条应该暂时停留在73%的位置，但我打算过一阵子就把它提到75%。我开始用4千字为单位调整进度条，每写这么多字就增加1%，不过卷三最后的总字数肯定要在45万上下，所以我才稍微放慢了进度条上升的速率。（第四部分的字数预定在10万左右，第五部分则在2.5万左右，另外还有插曲章节，共计2.5万左右。在卷三出版之前，我会进行一些删节，把总字数压缩至45万上下。）
上图是我在第二次汇报中所发的大纲，我把预定的中篇从这一部分移到了下一部分，因为我觉得这本书的前四部分还是遵循密疏相间的结构为好。具体的在下一部分写完后再看吧。
往后我要去写泽斯的回忆篇了。（这块内容不会反映在进度条上。）这下就能决定他的过去。往后我会扩展第四部分的大纲，再把正文写下，目标依然是在十月底的巡回活动之前完成全书，但究竟如何，届时再议。光是写现在这一部分就花了我整整两个月。
尽管我这边有点拖延了，但我会将各部分陆续发给编辑看，这样还是能赶上进度的。目前我们仍旧打算在2017年下半年发行飓光3。假如要修改原定计划，我的写作步伐也会被严重打乱。
老规矩，感谢各位的耐心和鼓励。本书当是本人的力作，相信各位会满意的。”
—Translated by Botanica
Replies
[2016/11/13 20:08] [SA] What do Vorin practitioners believe happens to the soul if it is severed
Q: When someone is "killed" by a shardblade, their soul is understood to be severed. What do Vorin practitioners believe happens to the soul if it is severed? Does this mean that the soul cannot go to the Tranquiline Halls? If this is the case, why are Shardbearers/Blades so revered rather than feared or hated?
A: Vorin belief doesn't take being killed by a Shardblade as destroying the soul, likely because of Knight Radiant traditions.
Tags: [site:reddit] [type:qa] cosmere cosmere/roshar culture culture/religion culture/roshar stormlightarchive stormlightarchive/knightsradiant stormlightarchive/shardblade stormlightarchive/vorinism
[2016/11/13 14:51] [WB] When a person dies who is then Returned, do they come back essentially immediately
Q: When a person dies who is then Returned, do they come back essentially immediately? According to Llarimar it sounds like a quick process...
“When we found you dead, I lost hope. I was going to resign my position. I knelt above your body, weeping. And then, the Colors started to glow. You lifted your head, body changing, getting larger, muscles growing stronger.
When they do come back, are they unconscious? I only ask because as Llarimar was holding him when he changed, if he came back right then, Lightsong's first memory would be of this man who was to be his priest holding him. I assume this would be something Lightsong would have asked about numerous times, why he was with Llarimar when he died, so it seems to me a Returned must be unconscious for a while in order to give them a chance to be brought to the Court of the Gods without being exposed to their family, whom they were probably around when they died.
A: It's usually a quick process, but not standardized. It could take hours, or longer, but generally does not.
It's something between what you're saying, and instantaneous waking up. More like they start to glow, and the transformation begins, then they wake up and stand. But they're confused and disoriented, and Lightsong was told his priests were gathered as soon as he started glowing, so that they could greet him as he came to himself. He never had reason to question, and that moment is fuzzy anyway. (As evidenced by him not remembering the event, and needing to be told about it.)
Tags: [site:reddit] [type:qa] cosmere cosmere/nalthis warbreaker warbreaker/lightsong warbreaker/returned
Remarks: Q: If a heroic guy was also an organ donor, what happens to his original organs when he Returns?
Will the recipient's heart grow three sizes that day?
A: Not a question I'd anticipated, but the body is healed when made Returned, so anything missing would be regrown. So everything is fine.
[2016/11/13 14:45] [SA] One every three years is going to be average for the series
I could have stormlight books out faster if they were shorter--but I feel that the integrity of the series requires thick volumes. It's just not physically possible for me to do them as quickly as I once hoped. So I do apologize, but I think one every three years is going to be average for the series. It's possible I'll speed up, but they take a lot out of me.
Tags: [site:reddit] [type:reply] stormlightarchive writing writing/process
[2016/11/13 14:42] [SA] Zion and Bryce National Parks
Q: Just finished a trip to Zion and Bryce National Parks; did those parks and the surrounding area influence the Shattered Plains? Really felt like I should be looking for gemstones and watching out for chasmfiends while cayoneering.
A: Yes, they were a big influence. In college, one of my roommates (Micah Demoux, for whom I named Captain Demoux) was a photographer, and he took me on many nature photography trips in southern Utah. Roshar is a direct outgrowth of this.
Tags: [site:reddit] [type:qa] cosmere cosmere/roshar cosmere/roshar/environment stormlightarchive stormlightarchive/shatteredplains writing writing/inspirations
[2016/11/13 14:24] [MB] In the 1900's world of Mistborn, what would a comic book super hero look like
Q: In the 1900's world of Mistborn, what would a comic book super hero look like? I'm guessing at some point someone will come up with the medium, but in a world full of super powers (that seem "normal" to the people), what would a super hero look like? A full Mistborn? Someone who could fly without metals? Maybe someone who could only be killed by someone who didn't fear them?
A: Westerns took off as comics, instead of superheroes, on Scadrial as the dominant graphic story form. The idea of "Superhero" doesn't really exist to them, though you could find analogues in their storytelling--it's just not a distinct genre.
+ + +
Q: This reminds me a lot of Watchmen, and how pirate comics were very popular in that world instead of superhero comics. Are you a fan of that graphic novel by chance?
A: I'm a big fan, and the Black Freighter is an unabashed influence here. It sent me into reading the backstory of comics, superheros, the strong man, and things like the comic code--which I found fascinating. As Mistborn Era Three has a protagonist who is a code monkey involved in Scadrial's nerd culture, I knew I'd need to have some foundation in this sort of thing in order to do it in an authentic way.
Instead of broadsheets or sketchbook pages, the Era Three art inserts will be pages of in-world comics.
Tags: [site:reddit] [type:qa] cosmere cosmere/scadrial culture culture/scadrial mistborn mistborn/[era2] mistborn/[era3]
[2016/11/13 14:22] [MB] If two Leecher's burned their metal while touching each other
Q: If two Leecher's burned their metal while touching each other, would they both burn out super fast, not at all, or would the powers cancel each other out, meaning the Aluminum burnt at the normal rate.
A: Burn out super fast.
Tags: [site:reddit] [type:qa] cosmere cosmere/scadrial magic magic/allomancy mistborn mistborn/allomancy mistborn/leecher
[2016/11/13 14:19] [WS] Faces
Q: In the White Sand graphic novel, quite a few of the elements of the environment (e.g. rocks, clouds) look like faces (http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/55089-the-cloud-god-gods-faces-spies/ ). I find it hard to believe this is just a quirk of the artist, so can you tell us anything about why Taldain seems positively riddled with faces?
A: The faces are intentional. (Though they turned out more blatant in places than I'd have liked.)
Tags: [site:reddit] [type:qa] art cosmere cosmere/taldain whitesand
[2016/11/13 14:16] [SA | Cosmere] The meaning of The Way of Kings endsheet
Q: Somebody came up with a very clever theory about the meaning of The Way of Kings endsheet, and I liked it very much. I suspect you want to keep most of that a secret, but maybe you can answer this also vague question - is there another chart, in-world, similar to the ones on frontsheet and endsheet, that we haven't seen?
A: I'm afraid that the first one is RAFO territory. Let me point out that most charts in Cosmere books are human attempts at understanding the world. There are fundamental principles to them, but also human groupings and perspectives worked in.
Tags: [site:reddit] [status:rafo] [type:qa] art art/charts cosmere cosmere/roshar stormlightarchive stormlightarchive/01.wok
[2016/11/13 14:11] [MB | Cosmere] Length of a year
Q: Did the length of a year (as measured by the people on the planet) change when Scadrial was moved by The Lord Ruler/Harmony?
I've assumed that lengths of time given in the books use that world's time lengths. For example, the Reod happens ten Selish years before Elantris (which may not correspond exactly to Scadrian years or Earth years), or that the 4500 years between the prelude and the prologue of Way of Kings is in Rosharan years. Is this an accurate assumption?
I've assumed in the past that all the major shardworld planets we've seen have roughly earth similar years. Can you confirm/deny this for any of them specifically? I'm especially interested in Sel and Nalthis. (Specific numbers would be ideal, but even a yes/no for any of the planets would be super super awesome!)
A: I mentioned in another post that I'll wait a bit to give you exact numbers, because I want to make sure Peter has run all the right calculations. But yes, changing the orbit had an effect on things--though official calendars didn't need to change, as they'd been used since before the original shift happened anyway. When we talk about 'Years' in the Final Empire, it's original (pre LR) orbit anyway. I knew I was going to go back to them later in the series, and when characters were actually aware of things like the calendar, it would be close to earth standard.
Though, since you mention it, all numbers mentioned in their respective series are in-world numbers. This makes things tricky, as Rosharan years (with the five hundred days) are blatant enough to start the average reader wondering about these things.
Mostly, Roshar is the big one (not in actual deviation--I think a Roshar year is only 1.1 Earth years--but in how the scope and terminology of the novel will make people start to notice and ask questions.) Other planets have deviations from Earth, but it's not as noticeable. We'll give specific numbers eventually. I promise.
Tags:
[site:reddit] [type:qa] cosmere cosmere/roshar cosmere/scadrial writing writing/setting
[2016/11/13 14:07] [WB] Nightblood's melting point
Q: What's Nightblood's melting point?
A: Nightblood could survive a whole lot, so we're talking a pretty high melting point. But I haven't written it down specifically. (Some things are too detailed, even for me.)
Tags: [site:reddit] [type:qa] warbreaker warbreaker/nightblood
[2016/11/13 14:00] [Cosmere] Are all cosmere languages derived from yolish
Q: Are all cosmere languages derived from yolish (like french and spanish are to latin) or did the shards create them on their own?
A: Some peoples other than those on Yolen predate the shattering of Adonalsium, remember. So no. But many others do share a common root.
Tags: [site:reddit] [type:qa] cosmere cosmere/adonalsium cosmere/shattering cosmere/yolen culture culture/language
[2016/11/13 13:47] [SA | Cosmere] During the conversation the ardent uses the word “soil” in a way most Rosharans wouldn’t
Q: There is a very specific passage from The Way of Kings I would love to get some closure on, but it's a bit of closure on:
In The Way of Kings, Chapter 54: Gibletish, Dalinar has a brief conversation with Brightlord Hatham, one of his ardents, and a few other people. During the conversation the ardent uses the word “soil” in a way most Rosharans wouldn’t. After the conversation he tells Dalinar of “our goodwill toward you” and that “we will speak with you again.” The odd use of the word “soil” combined with what could be a vague reference to the ardent’s associated with a group other than the ardentia has led some of us to believe he might be a worldhopper. Plus, we know Nazh is around in the area, or will arrive soon. Is there truth to this idea, or are we overthinking this?
A: Alethi use the word "soil" on occasion in their language to mean "dirtied" or similar. It's a holdover from an earlier time. But they don't associate it with the ground, and if you see it used instead of stone like in this quote, it should indeed raise an eyebrow.
Q: How can "soil" be a holdover from an earlier time if Roshar was always a rocky place? Or did you mean that it's one of those words that carried over from Yolish, or whatever other language people spoke before they migrated to Roshar (like "hound")?
A: It is similar to hound, which is one of the ones that Hoid pointed out as an oddity. But people did not migrate from Yolen to Roshar. Roshar was inhabited before the shattering of Adonalsium.
Tags: [site:reddit] [type:qa] cosmere cosmere/adonalsium cosmere/roshar cosmere/shattering cosmere/worldhopping cosmere/yolen culture culture/language culture/roshar stormlightarchive stormlightarchive/01.wok stormlightarchive/alethkar stormlightarchive/ardent
Remarks: I just searched for the relevant passage here and came across this line from Tukks: "It's the difference between fighting to defend your homeland and fighting on foreign soil." http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/55863-hidden-worldhopper/
[2016/11/13 13:38] [MB] The plot of the next Mistborn series
Q: You've dropped a few tidbits about the plot of the next Mistborn series over the years. Putting all those things together, we have a necrosil Ferring Terriswoman hacker recruited for fieldwork in an "Allomancer SWAT team" to chase a Mistborn serial killer. Could you give us a more recent and concise pitch/blurb if the above is no longer accurate?
A: Ha. That's not far off, as all of those things still exist in the series, though the weight I'll give them is relative. With the Alloy series covering some of the police procedural aspect of storytelling, I'm inching the outlines slowly away from the SWAT idea and toward more spy thriller--but the SWAT team isn't not gone completely. (Of course, who knows what will happen in the intervening years between now and when I write it.)
Tags: [site:reddit] [type:qa] cosmere cosmere/scadrial mistborn mistborn/[era3] writing writing/setting
[2016/11/13 13:34] [Cosmere] Investiture tends to develop sapience on its own
Q: You've said that Investiture tends to develop sapience on its own. Is this a function of the amount of Investiture alone (i.e. any pile of Investiture large enough will develop sapience eventually), or does the process require extra effort (e.g. a Command from an Awakener, an action by a Shard, etc.)?
A: Under the right circumstances, a pile of investiture will eventually become self-aware. But there is no specific timing. The more investiture clumped together, the more likely--and the closer to human-level intelligence it is likely to obtain.
Of course, if you leave matter alone long enough (on a galactic scale) it will eventually end up becoming sapient too. So this isn't that different. (Well, okay, it is.)
Tags: [site:reddit] [type:qa] cosmere cosmere/investiture
[2016/11/13 13:21] [SA] Over a long enough timeline would Roshar's "random" seasonal pattern show an actual predictable pattern
Q: Over a long enough timeline would Roshar's "random" seasonal pattern show an actual predictable pattern, or is it truly random?
A: Temperature variation on Roshar doesn't follow much of a pattern, and is relatively small in variance. It's caused by the blowing of the storms, so over the long term, looking VERY hard, you could probably find some patterns. They'd be related to the frequency and strength of storms during that time of year.
Tags: [site:reddit] [type:qa] cosmere cosmere/roshar cosmere/roshar/weather stormlightarchive stormlightarchive/storms
[2016/11/13 13:17] [Cosmere] Is any book flagged for an avengers style "battle for the Cosmere"
Q: One of my "concerns" is that eventually the Cosmere stuff will overwhelm the individual series arcs. That being said is any book flagged for an avengers style "battle for the Cosmere"?
A: I do have some plans for mixing later on, though I'll be very forthright about when those books come out. Meaning, so long as I'm not talking about these things as the main focus of a series, you don't have to worry about it taking them over. Conversely, you can be very excited when it does happen, as those stories will be very clear about what they're attempting to do.
One thing I do try to warn people is that the cosmere isn't an "Avengers" style concept--the goal here isn't to collect a variety of heroes from a variety of worlds and then throw them at a problem. It's more of a, "What if you could watch the world of something like Star Trek develop, by seeing individual engaging stories from various planets, then slowly watching them merge into a larger universe."
While some characters will, obviously, continue on through the series, and the Vessels of the Shards will be very important, the focus of the greater cosmere storyline is the cultures, the magic, and the evolution of the planets, while the individual stories are about the people who live on them during turning-points in their history.
Tags: [site:reddit] [type:qa] cosmere cosmere/crossover writing writing/setting
[2016/11/13 13:13] [WB] Warbreaker was a prequel to The Way of Kings
One thing you have to remember is that in my cosmere outline, Warbreaker was a prequel to The Way of Kings, explaining Vasher's backstory. So I consider them more closely connected than some other things. But you could consider this the first major crossover.
Nightblood will be re-introduced, so those who haven't read Warbreaker will be brought up to speed.
Tags: [site:reddit] [type:qa] cosmere cosmere/crossover stormlightarchive stormlightarchive/01.wok warbreaker warbreaker/nightblood warbreaker/vasher
Remarks: There is only one planned Warbreaker sequel. In my head, the entire Stormlight Archive is a sequel, but I really shouldn't talk that way. Nightblood is the only planned traditional sequel to Warbreaker.
[2016/11/13 13:10] [Cosmere | MB] Is Hoid's flute actually TLR's
Q: Is Hoid's flute actually TLR's? Also, what happened to TLR's swivel chair?
A: RAFO
Tags: [site:reddit] [status:rafo] [type:qa] cosmere cosmere/hoid mistborn mistborn/lordruler
[2016/11/13 13:01] [MB | Cosmere] If Kelsier were to take the shard Odium
Q: If Kelsier were to take the shard Odium, how terrifying and dangerous would he be?
A: I could see Kelsier being very dangerous with Odium. His hatred of certain groups of people would lead him down bad paths.
Tags: [site:reddit] [type:qa] cosmere cosmere/shards cosmere/shards/odium mistborn mistborn/kelsier
[2016/11/13 12:57] [MB] The ranks within the Set
Q: The ranks within the Set are obviously inspired by either mathematics, or programming, or logic, or a related field. Can you talk about this motivation (either yours or the Set's) for this?
A: My motivation ties directly to the same reasons that we see mathematics playing out in behind-the-scenes ways on Roshar. This plays into the themes of the cosmere, the rule-based magic, and the fascination I have of the ties between art and mathematics. (See the Rithmatist, which was originally a cosmere novel.)
The Set's in-world reasonings are similar to this, though less self-aware.
Tags: [site:reddit] [type:qa] cosmere cosmere/scadrial mistborn mistborn/set writing writing/inspirations writing/setting
[2016/11/13 12:55] [MB] Obviously you've developed the writing system of Scadrial at least to the level of an alphabet
Q: Obviously you've developed the writing system of Scadrial at least to the level of an alphabet, but have you worked beyond it? Are there any plans to release in-world art, and specifically writing, similar to how Stormlight has them?
A: I didn't dig too far into the languages of Scadrial, at least not in First/Second era. It fits into my targeted worldbuilding philosophy--if I tried to do everything in every world, I'd never actually release any books. So I target my worldbuilding at the things that are relevant to characters/plots.
So I'm not planning anything like that for Era One or Two currently.
Tags: [site:reddit] [type:qa] cosmere cosmere/scadrial culture culture/language culture/scadrial mistborn writing writing/setting
[2016/11/13 12:47] [SA] What are the "Passions" exactly
Q: We know that the Passions are a religion or a set of superstitions from Thaylenah. But what are the "Passions" exactly? Are they a group of Gods who represent various kinds of "Passion" worshipped by the Thaylen people? If not, are those "Passions" simply a set of ideals believed by the Thaylen people? Are there any connections between Thaylen Passions and Alethi Thrill?
A: The Passions could be called a religion, but there are those among the Thaylens (and to a lesser extent, other peoples) who would argue that it's more a philosophy. Or a companion religion. Much like Shinto and/or Confucianism co-exist in some places with Buddhism.
However, there is not formalized theology, despite various thinkers and gurus expressing their thoughts on the matter. The central idea is that Passion equates to Action, and the cosmic belief that wanting something draws it to you. This idea is reinforced by the spren, obviously.
Tags: [site:reddit] [type:qa] cosmere cosmere/roshar culture culture/religion culture/roshar stormlightarchive stormlightarchive/passions stormlightarchive/thaylenah
Remarks: Q: The central idea is that Passion equates to Action, and the cosmic belief that wanting something draws it to you.
Ah, so basically some people treat it as a fundamental way of life, and some people just treat it as The Secret?
A: Yes, you can see it as a Rosharan version of the Law of Attraction, though some people have taken it further into a more religious fundamental.
[2016/11/13 12:40] [MB] Secret History gave the definitive explanation why Vin didn't meet Hoid
Q: You suggested Secret History gave the definitive explanation why Vin didn't meet Hoid but many years ago you hinted at something different (that something he does spooked her and she is too observant for her own good). Can you reveal what the original reason you had intended was? (My favourite theories were eerily skillful humming and her picking up very faint pulses from his Investiture usage.)
A: I went back and forth on this one, honestly. I knew Kelsier would be involved, but one thing I was really worried about with Secret History was undermining Vin's story or her agency. While I liked Ender's Shadow, the closest parallel I knew of to a story like this, I didn't like how it weakened a lot of what Ender accomplished and gave it to Bean instead. (I think I've mentioned this in conjunction with Secret History before.)
So I wanted something to have stopped Vin, regardless of whether or not I ever wrote Kelsier's behind-the-scenes story or not. The official answer in my head is not that it was anything specific, but that the whole package that Hoid was presenting was WRONG to her. Her instincts picked up a dozen subtle cues that he was more dangerous than he seemed, and that made her freeze and assess. And that gave Kelsier the chance to nudge her away.
I wasn't trying to lead people to figure out a specific answer, with those comments. I was trying to hint that something was wrong, and Vin didn't quite know what set her off--because it wasn't one thing, but many. So I don't have a smoking gun, so to speak, of things Hoid was doing to drive her off.
Tags: [site:reddit] [type:qa] cosmere cosmere/hoid cosmere/scadrial mistborn mistborn/[sh] mistborn/kelsier mistborn/vin
[2016/11/13 12:36] [WB] Nightblood's consciousness shift dramatically when he is actively consuming investiture
Q: In Warbreaker we see Nightblood's consciousness shift dramatically when he is actively consuming investiture. Does the Shardic flavor of that investiture (Breath vs Stormlight or Preservation Mist vs Ruin Mist) influence how his mind functions in that state?
A: RAFO, actually. Good question.
Tags: [site:reddit] [status:rafo] [type:qa] cosmere cosmere/investiture cosmere/nalthis warbreaker warbreaker/nightblood
[2016/11/13 12:01] [SA | WB | Cosmere] Did Vasher created his Phantoms with shardplate in mind
Q: You said before that nightblood was modeled after shardblades intentionally so my question is, did vasher created his Phantoms with shardplate in mind?
A: He was aware of Shardplate, but I wouldn't call them a conscious influence.
+ + +
Q: Any sort of influence from the Soulcasting-to-Stone burial customs? (If Vasher were a little more sneaky I'd think he had created the custom in case he needed a ready supply of Phantom material)
A: Let's say that yes, soulcasting was very interesting to Vasher.
Q: Regarding soulcasting, I have a question - why do people continue to use it post-Recreance? Would it not have been seen as a betrayal, given that the Radiants abandoned them? Why this Surge but not others? Was it simply the only Surge available and people would have kept using the others anyway? I guess it's a matter of practicality but given how devout Vorinism can be it does seem odd.
A: Good question. You'll notice that soulcasters aren't the only fabrial that access a surge, however. They're just the one most commonly used.
There are plenty of rationalizations. But it comes down to this: they are too useful to give up.
Q: Ah yes, now that I think of it Navani's conjoined-gem fabrials seem to utilize Gravitation and perhaps the heating one uses Abrasion(?) to produce heat. Or are there others I did miss?
Very interesting though, and off on a tangent - how would food production be like without soulcasters? Has Alethkar, for example, grown far beyond what it could (population-wise) without them?
A: I was referencing a regrowth fabrial, actually, which I believe has appeared several times.
The food question is a great one. As far as the Alethi go, it's more a matter of concentration than raw food production. Shipping is SLOW in Alethkar. It's long, which makes getting between north and south difficult, and the rivers aren't as useful as they are on (say) Earth.
The warcamps, for example, would starve themselves out short order without soulcasters. Supply lines are just not an Alethi strength. Kholinar, while not as big as Scadrian population centers, is also large enough that it depends on soulcasters for some of its food. It could survive without them, though, with northern Alethi food production.
Really, warfare is where they've learned to extend themselves, and depend on the soulcasters. Remember, gemstones in them DO break, so you do still need a ready supply of emeralds. The larger, the better.
Q: Isn't the regrowth fabrial incredibly rare? I was under the impression it disappeared with the Recreance and only Nin's reappearance brought it back. AFAIK, only a Radiant in Dalinar's vision and a Herald have actually used it so far.
Very interesting on the food logistics of Alethkar - I never did quite imagine Kholinar was smaller than say, Elendel, but the technological progress there explains it.
Given how slow food transportation is, I would presume fresh food is a no-go. Are spices and preserved food selling well in Roshar, then? As for population centers, is Kholinar the largest around, or are other places a lot larger?
A: Their rarity depends on the time period in question. But yes, I'd list them as incredibly rare.
There's a reason that Herdazian food (which makes soulcast meat taste good) is popular these days.
Azimir is larger in population than Kholinar. Kholinar is big by Rosharan standards, but far smaller than an Earth population center (like London) at a comparable time. The warcamps had it beat by a lot--depending on how you view the warcamps. (As one city, or ten small ones.)
Q: Does that just mean Herdazian food is incredibly spice-heavy, then? Also, why is Soulcast food bland? Is it due to the nature of the object (changing food to food makes it tastier than stone to food), or just because the Soulcaster lacks practice, like Jasnah did with strawberry jam?
Ah, so Azir has a larger population density, at least. Cosmere-wise, is Elendel the largest, or could say, T'Telir match it?
A: Flavorful, rather than spicy. Most western food is already spicy. The Herdazians offer something a little different, and are pretty good with soulcast meat. The portability is also a bit of a revolution.
Soulcasting anything other than the basic Essence requires some innate knowledge and practice. People could learn to soulcast better food, but it would have to be a Radiant with control over the process. The soulcaster fabrials are far more rigid in what they can create.
Azir has a large population density. Cosmere-wise, though, Eldendel is by far the largest. Though I don't have strict population numbers on places like Silverlight. (Which, for years, I assumed I'd have to rename--but I think the program Silverlight is dead, so I can go back to calling the city that.)
Q: Yeah, the chouta seems rather interesting, would definitely love a recipe for it!
As for soulcasting - now that is... interesting. So are Surgebinding fabrials more rigid in general? And what of an Honorblade when a non-Herald uses it?
And of course, what exactly is Silverlight? I don't think I've ever heard of it before. A Threnodian city?
A: Silverlight is mentioned in the Cosmere collection, I believe, in one of the essays. It's a city somewhere in the comsere, with some relevance you will discover eventually.
A soulcaster is built to do a certain thing, and can do that certain thing well, but without as much flexibility. It is the difference between having a computer output a picture of a circle--following some inputs such as size and some changes to shape--and having an artist who can draw what you want.
Q: Is Silverlight the city that exists in the Cognitive Realm, in an area corresponding to deep space in the Physical? And if that's the RAFO I expect it is, will we see an answer in Arcanum Unbounded?
A: RAFO.
I believe it's referenced in Unbounded, but I can't remember if I cut it or not. (I have been touchy about mentioning the place since Microsoft took the name in 06 or whenever it was.)
This one will remain a mystery for a while.
Tags: [site:reddit] [status:rafo] [type:qa] cosmere cosmere/nalthis cosmere/roshar cosmere/silverlight culture culture/food culture/roshar culture/transportation culture/war magic magic/fabrials magic/surgebinding mistborn mistborn/elendel stormlightarchive stormlightarchive/alethkar stormlightarchive/azir stormlightarchive/fabrials stormlightarchive/gems stormlightarchive/herdaz stormlightarchive/shardplate stormlightarchive/soulcaster stormlightarchive/soulcasting stormlightarchive/surgebinding warbreaker writing writing/earlywork
Remarks: Q: At the risk of getting too technical, is there anything besides lack of knowledge preventing a soulcaster from turning some rocks into a bunch of plutonium and exploding? I know you've got some rules attached to time bubbles to avoid those going nuclear so I wouldn't be surprised if there was something or another.
A: Well, Soulcasting isn't fission or fusion. It's a spiritual transformation process, not a physical one, and so you don't have to worry about some of these issues. There IS historical precedent of accidentally setting off fission reactions in the cosmere using the magic, but that was a different process. Soulcasting is actually pretty safe. (Well, on a grand scale.)
You could end up irradiating yourself, though, which wouldn't be very fun.
If you know what you were doing, making plutonium or uranium on Roshar wouldn't be difficult. The problem is more a matter of knowledge, and room for scientific exploration. They're unlikely to make atom bombs for the same reason they haven't made gunpowder. Once they figure out that some substances are important, they can learn to make them with Soulcasting (assuming they have Radiants) but some substances just don't occur naturally--so discovering them in the first place is difficult, and would require more modern scientific process.
Q: Okay, just to clarify here (since I'm not sure how up you are on early nuke designs)
A big enough chunk of uranium or plutonium will explode regardless of whether it's in a bomb or not. Early bomb designs just slammed two smaller chunks together so they'd be one big chunk.
For plutonium 'big enough' is about 35 pounds in one place - a chunk somewhere between the size of baseball and volleyball.
If I understand properly, people can soulcast from the cognitive realm into the physical, which implies once we get into a more modern stormlight setting soulcasters will make nuclear submarines look like small potatoes.
A: Slamming two chunks together so they became one big chunk seems an understatement, from what I remember. I'm under the impression that you had to use a great deal of explosive force to ram them together in order to set off a viable fission reaction. Doesn't it have to be compressed somewhat in order to react with itself?
I'll admit, it's been a long time since I've looked at this, but I remember glancing it over, and deciding that you'd need more than just soulcasting to get it to happen. Though it's not outside of reason that a soulcaster could learn to create super-dense plutonium. The problem is one of understanding, however.
Just like it's totally possible that we, with our current technology, could figure out some huge breakthrough in science allowing FTL or other incredible discoveries. But we don't have the understanding to pull it off yet.
In a modern setting, however, a lot of these complaints go out the window. Let's just say that this isn't the only reason a modern society that can instantly transmute one substance to another is potentially a very interesting place.
Q: You're totally right that everyone currently uses an 'implosion' style compression design. It's a lot more bang for your buck, and you need less radioactive material to work with. They're also a lot safer, because just sitting around they're well below critical mass - without the power-boosting tricks they basically can't go off.
The old "nobody uses these anymore" designs were 'Gun-Type'. Very simple - shoot a uranium bullet into the center of a uranium ring (or vice versa). Inefficient as heck (the Hiroshima bomb only fissioned 1.4% of its uranium), but also super simple to put together.
Despite being simple to build, gun-types were also super unsafe relative to modern implosion devices (among other worries, dropping a gun-type device into the ocean could potentially set it off because of how neutrons react with water). Also, getting the timing perfect on the fissile 'bullet' was a problem, so practically speaking it could only be done with uranium.
After WWII, the only use the US ever had for gun-types was in bunker busters and nuclear artillery (because of course that was a good idea). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W9_%28nuclear_warhead%29
Darn, that post turned out longer than I expected it to.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to see you make something really cool out of a post-scarcity transmutropolis setting (especially since the liespren would be in charge of nuclear treaties), and also my roommate just pointed out all the laying out of nuclear bomb details is pointless if they could just make antimatter instead.
A: This is useful information for me, but my gut says that Rosharans couldn't get this working with their current tech level. That said, the REAL issue (as you mentioned in your original question) is knowledge, not feasibility. They'd have to know how to make the right kind of Uranium or Plutonium--and would need to be able to get this across to a soulcaster in a way that works, then THEY would need to get this across to spren. Cross that hurdle, and I suppose it's not at all implausible to imagine Alethi during Dalinar's era with nukes. I suspect the right kind of fabrial could make a trigger device to match ring and bullet at the right time. Depends on how quickly it needs to be going, though.
Q: Phantine covered it well. I just want to add a link to a story from the Manhattan Project. These near misses illustrate how an extremely simple low-tech version could work. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon_core
Rosharans would need knowledge of the materials involved, but the upshot is that either getting a big enough chunk of plutonium all in one place or getting a slightly smaller chunk surrounded by the right reflective stuff is sufficient for a reaction to start running away. If the soulcaster doesn't care about surviving or has a way to escape the blast, making an explosion would not be technically difficult. As Phantine says, the yield would not be anywhere near as high as a purposefully constructed device, but still plenty deadly.
There IS historical precedent of accidentally setting off fission reactions in the cosmere using the magic
Now this is a story I look forward to hearing.
A: One of the first magic systems I designed for the cosmere was based on the manipulation of sub-atomic particles, and involved the ability to look directly at atoms and interact with them. I decided to back off on this, as it was a whopper of a magic system to get right with my limited (at the time) writing experience. It was fun, though, and is still a canonical Cosmere magic.
+ + +
Q: Not to be too obvious about being a geology dork, but if you can make clear quartz easily with soulcasting as we've seen, and you can also make radioactive materials, wouldn't it be trivial to make smokestone since defects from irradiation are what make quartz black?
edit: Just for the fun factor, here's a cool picture of a quartz crystal which crystallized around a few radioactive mineral grains. The radiation has blackened all the quartz around them in a sphere: http://gem-sphalerite.com/external/forum_go/quartz_radiation_halos1.jpg
A: Making unstable plutonium or the like is theoretically possible, but not something that Rosharans are aware they could do.
Emerald and Heliodor are basically the same thing, chemically, but are very different substances on Roshar--with different soulcasting properties. Same goes for quartz and smokestone.
Q: Is there any significance to some of the gems being forms of aluminum oxide?
A: Not really, I'm afraid. I tried to work it in, and decided I was stretching.
[2016/11/13 11:48] [SA] Shallan draws a picture of someone destroying a statue
Q: In Words of Radiance, Shallan draws a picture of someone destroying a statue. If attentive, could that person have been aware of being "observed" at the time?
A: I do understand the question, but at the same time, my answers can can confirm or deny things that are (sometimes false) assumptions underpinning questions. So when we get into something like this, that has to do with mechanics I haven't explained very well yet, I get very hesitant about answering. So...I'll probably just RAFO this one. For now. Though look for a scene involving Syl where something similar happens, as they are related.
Tags: [site:reddit] [status:rafo] [type:qa] magic magic/surgebinding stormlightarchive stormlightarchive/02.wor stormlightarchive/shallan stormlightarchive/surgebinding stormlightarchive/syl
[2016/11/13 11:43] [MB] Can Kandra learn to photosynthesize or imitate plants
Q: Can Kandra learn to photosynthesize or imitate plants? I'm thinking no, due to the biological differences between animal and plants cells, but I gotta know.
A: They've toyed with this, and it hasn't worked so far. There are kandra who believe they can figure it out, however.
Tags: [site:reddit] [type:qa] cosmere cosmere/scadrial lifeform lifeform/fauna lifeform/fauna/chasmfiend magic magic/beings mistborn mistborn/kandra stormlightarchive stormlightarchive/chasmfiend stormlightarchive/shardblade
Remarks: Q: Would a kandra be able to imitate a chasmfiend, given enough time?
A: It's not about time, it's about mass. A little one, sure. A full grown one? They'd crush themselves. They'd need to be able to make use of symbiotic spren bonds from Roshar, which isn't just a matter of digesting a body.
Q: If a kandra's limb was cut by a Shardblade, would it be able to heal/regrow?
A: Yes.
[2016/11/13 11:39] [WB] What would happen if I had a LOT of breath and tried to awaken something that was still alive
Q: What would happen if I had a LOT of breath and tried to awaken something that was still alive...?
A: RAFO on the second question. You could say that investing someone with your Breath, however, IS Awakening them.
Tags: [site:reddit] [status:rafo] [type:qa] cosmere cosmere/nalthis magic magic/awakening warbreaker warbreaker/awakening warbreaker/breath
[2016/11/13 11:23] [SA] What was the first idea that created Zahel in WoK prime
Q: What was the first idea that created Zahel in WoK prime? What came first, Zahel or nightblood and what were they like originally? Was it through them that you came up with the idea of worldhoppers or did you just want another worldhopper to appear to show that hoid wasnt the only one?
A: The idea was actually writing Kaladin's swordmaster in TWOK Prime. By then, worldhoppers were already quite well established. (I'd written Elantris in 99, along with Dragonstee to be a prequel to the entire cyclel. That was followed by White Sand and Aether of Night in 2000 or so--and Aether has the first on-screen appearance of a Shard.)
Kings Prime was 2002-2003, and I wanted Kaladin's swordmaster Vasher to have an interesting backstory. That was the origin of the idea for a worldhopper who was very interested in Shardblades. From there, wanting to do a sympathetic magic, and (years later) my editor suggesting a world more "colorful" drove me to try out Warbreaker itself.
Here is his first appearance in TWOK Prime. Note, none of the names are changed in this, so you get Kaladin and Adolin's original names, among others.
After a few moments, one of the monks noticed him watching. The man paused, regarding Merin with the eyes of a warrior. “Shouldn’t you be practicing with the other lords, traveler?”
Merin shrugged. “I don’t really fit in with them, holy one.”
“Your clothing says that you should,” the monk said, nodding to Merin’s fine seasilk outfit.
Merin grimaced.
The monk raised an eyebrow questioningly. He was an older man, perhaps the same age as Merin’s father, and had a strong build beneath his monk’s clothing. He was almost completely bald, save for a bit of hair on the sides of his head, and even that was beginning to gray.
“It’s nothing, holy one,” Merin said. “I’m just a little bit tired of hearing about clothing.”
“Maybe this will take your mind off of it,” the monk said, tossing him a practice sword. “And don’t call me ‘holy one.’”
Merin caught the sword, looking down at it blankly. Then he yelped in surprise, dropping his Shardblade and raising the practice sword awkwardly as the monk stepped forward in a dueling stance. Merin wasn’t certain how to respond--all of his training in the army had focused on working within his squad, using his shield to protect his companions and his spear to harry the opponent. He’d rarely been forced to fight solitarily.
The monk came in with a few testing swings, and Merin tried his best to mimic the man’s stance. He knew enough not to engage the first few blows--they were meant to throw Merin off-balance and leave him open for a strike. He retreated across the cool sand, shuffling backward and trying not to fall for the monk’s feints. Even still, the man’s first serious strike took Merin completely by surprise. The blow took Merin on the shoulder--it was delivered lightly, but it stung anyway.
“Your instincts are good,” the monk said, returning to his stance. “But your swordsmanship is atrocious.”
“That’s kind of why I’m here,” Merin said, trying another stance. This time he managed to dodge the first blow, though the backhand caught him on the thigh. He grunted in pain.
“Your Blade is unbonded,” the monk said. “And you resist moving to the sides, as if you expect there to be someone standing beside you. You were a spearman?”
“Yes,” Merin said.
The monk stepped back, lowering his blade and resting the tip in the sand. “You must have done something incredibly brave to earn yourself a Blade, little spearman.”
“Either that, or I was just lucky,” Merin replied.
The monk smiled, then nodded toward the center of the courtyard. “Your friend is looking for you.”
Merin turned to see Aredor waving for him. Merin nodded thankfully to the monk and returned the practice sword, then picked up his Shardblade and jogged across the sands toward Aredor. Standing with Dalenar’s son was a group of elderly, important-looking monks.
“Merin,” Aredor began, “these are the monastery masters. Each of them is an expert at several dueling forms, and they’ll be able to train you in the one that fits you best. Masters Bendahkha and Lhanan are currently accepting new students. You can train with either one of them, though you’ll need to pay the standard hundred-ishmark tribute to the monastery out of your monthly stipend.”
Merin regarded the two monks Aredor had indicated. Both looked very distinguished, almost uncomfortably so. They regarded Merin with the lofty expressions of men who had spent their entire lives practicing their art, and who had risen to the highest of their talents. They stood like kings in their monasteries--not condescending, but daunting nonetheless.
Merin glanced to the side, a sudden impression taking him. “Holy ones, I am honored by your offer, but I feel a little overwhelmed. Could you tell me, is the monk I just sparred with accepting students at the moment?”
The masters frowned. “You mean Vasher?” one of them asked. “Why do you wish to train with him?”
“I. . .I’m not certain,” Merin confessed.
Tags: [site:reddit] [type:article] [type:qa] cosmere cosmere/hoid cosmere/nalthis cosmere/roshar cosmere/sel cosmere/taldain cosmere/threnody cosmere/worldhopping elantris magic magic/awakening shadowsforsilence stormlightarchive stormlightarchive/00.wokprime stormlightarchive/zahel warbreaker warbreaker/vasher whitesand writing writing/earlywork
Remarks: Q: Is the payment to a devotary while training under an ardent still canonical? And given that Vasher had a reputation for being a bad duelist in Warbreaker, exactly how good is he with a blade? Is it just a case of Nalthian swordmasters being better or did Vasher learn from his experiences?
A: It's been a while. And Vasher isn't as bad as the text implies.
+ + +
Q1: By then, worldhoppers were already quite well established. (I'd written Elantris in 99, along with Dragonstee to be a prequel to the entire cyclel.That was followed by White Sand and Aether of Night in 2000 or so--and Aether has the first on-screen appearance of a Shard.)
Are you saying that Elantris has other worldhoppers in? I just finished the prose version of White Sand as well (i've never been a fan of graphic novels but didnt want to miss anything from the Cosmere) and didnt even notice Hoid in it, let alone other worldhoppers there.
So you created Vasher and then made them a worldhopper, and the magic system and Nalthis stemmed from there? I actually have another question related to that. Have you ever thought about something you wanted to add to the Cosmere - say, an idea or an ability or something - and then built from there, or do you always write a cool story because its a cool story and the Cosmere stuff comes after?
EDIT: For example, did you write Mistborn E1 to introduce the idea of shards or did you write the plot and then realise you can wiggle the shards in there?
Q2: Are any other magic systems capable of giving commands in a similar way to how breath is used? Warbreaker was the book that truly mesmerized me and I'd love to see other systems that have an overlap into the sympathetic and intent-driven magics. Part of me think blood-sealing could be used this way.
A: Hoid's part in White Sand was very minimal. I believe he's only referenced, and doesn't even appear on screen. Though Elantris has the famous mural depicting worldhopping.
You have it right. I was designing Vasher, decided he was a worldhopper, and then filed away "I'll tell his backstory some day" in the back of my brain. The magic for Nalthis grew more out of the idea for a sympathetic magic than it did for him, but the book was always intended to be his backstory world, so knowledge that Shardblades (or a version of them) being involved was part of my core creation of that setting.
Every story happens differently. Shadows for Silence happened from a writing prompt, for example. But at the same time, I'd been imagining for years a world to delve more into Cognitive Shadows. These things just kind of fit together as you work on them in your brain. But I've started with story first, and I've started with world first. Mostly, though, it's a mixture of both.
By Era One of Mistborn I was already very certain what I was doing with Shards, and so they were there from the get go. I'd say in the cosmere canon right now, White Sand is the most oddball, since it was the only world I designed and wrote a book in (the 1997 version, which is different from the 2000 version) before I had settled on the mechanics of the cosmere. I then placed it in the cosmere when writing the new version.
All of the published novels were written with the cosmere mechanics fully locked in, however, and the interactions of the shards set forth.
+ + +
Q: Hoid's part in White Sand was very minimal. I believe he's only referenced, and doesn't even appear on screen.
Where is that? I totally missed it? Is it possible to read the 97 version too, and LORD MASTRELL as well?
The magic for Nalthis grew more out of the idea for a sympathetic magic than it did for him
I dont really understand what you mean by sympathetic magic. All that comes to mind is Kvothe, which certainly isnt part of your work.
A: Sympathetic magic is the classical science idea that "Like influences Like." Voodoo dolls are a more contemporary example, though even spontaneous generation and the humors connect to the idea slightly. It was the basis for Awakening, and (I believe) Rothfuss's sympathetic magic. It's a common theme in fantasy magics, though, much like alchemy and astrology.
I don't send out the 97 version. It's just too bad. (Sorry.) Maybe some day, but not right now. It's the first book I ever wrote.
[2016/11/13 11:17] [TES] Moon Scepter
Q: We know that the "Moon Scepter" (functions like Rosetta Stone) stolen by Hoid is an actual scepter that people can hold and use, not a painting depicting a specific scepter. Some of us talked about it and its translation again, and a question appeared.
How does the Moon Scepter actually look like? In what shape is it?
Now we have two understandings of the word "scepter" based on different ways of translation:
1) 杖: It shapes like a common wand/staff/rod/cane/stick, usually seen in Western countries. [Mainland translation]
2) 笏: It's kind of a flat scepter of Chinese origin, shaped like a tablet, usually held before the breast by officials when received in audience by the emperor. (Very rarely, the emperor himself holds it.) The officials can take notes on it. [Taiwan translation (I believe the translator once showed you around the Taipei Palace Museum.)] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaku_(ritual_baton)
Could you tell us which one is closer to the original design?
A: It's not a Shaku, it's a Ruyi, actually. That's an excellent question, though. It does actually come from my visit to the museam, and while I'm aware of shakus, I hadn't heard them called scepters. But I guess they are! Either way, I imagined it as the wavy shape of a Ruyi. (如意)
Tags: [site:reddit] [type:qa] [type:translation] cosmere cosmere/sel culture emperorssoul emperorssoul/moonscepter
Remarks: Q: Why is it called Moon Scepter? Does (perhaps) one side/end of it resemble moon? [Full moon or crescent?] Or is it colored like moon? Or does it contain some moon pattern?
A: It has to do with the differences in religion between Shai's people and the Rose Empire. It is colored like the moon, but there's a little more to it than that.
Q: So what color is Selish moon when we look at it? (I suppose there's only one moon?) Didn't find any specific descriptions about its color in books. Can we assume it is similar to our moon?
A: I didn't say it was the color of Sel's moon... Just kidding. It is, and there is only one. It's a pale white blue, a little more blue than ours, but similar.
[2016/11/13 11:08] [Cosmere] Hoid isn't quite human
Q: You said that Hoid isn't quite human, so I was wondering if he wasn't quite human in the same way that inquisitors aren't quite human (i.e. alterations to spiritual DNA etc.)? And if so does he get his many investiture based powers in a similar way?
A: You are asking the right questions, and are thinking along correct lines.
Tags: [site:reddit] [type:qa] cosmere cosmere/hoid mistborn mistborn/inquisitors
[2016/11/13 10:54] [MB] The name Bleeder
Q: The name Bleeder - does it come from (the incorrect) idea that bleeding a patient can make them feel better? And so Paalm sees herself as the one who needs to bleed Elendel to make it healthy?
A: The idea of "bleeding" as we had on earth as a custom of medicine did not exist on scadrial. But the idea in your post isn't too far off.
Tags:
[site:reddit] [type:qa] [type:translation] cosmere cosmere/scadrial mistborn mistborn/[era2] mistborn/bleeder
Remarks: Q: What do you think about translating 'Bleeder' as 'barber surgeon'? It's the Polish translation (and the term is one-word and sounds really well). I think the translators went with the same train of thought as Argent did and since Bleeder has already described herself as a kind of surgeon - her comments about cleaning the wounds being more painful than the cut itself and so on. Is this a "on spot" translation or is it far off?
A: Yes, that's not a bad translation at all. I like it.
[2016/11/13 10:50] [SA] Shardblade victims are described as having burned out eyes
Q: When, in Stormlight, Shardblade victims are described as having burned out eyes, do the eyes physically burn out leaving empty eyesockets, or is it closer to a surface burn, maybe just looking like they had burned?
A: Eyes actually burn. It is an oddity that I might some day explain.
Tags: [site:reddit] [type:qa] cosmere cosmere/roshar stormlightarchive stormlightarchive/shardblade
[2016/11/13 10:43] [SA] How can Szeth apply multiple Basic Lashings to an object
Q: How can Szeth apply multiple Basic Lashings to an object - wouldn't the first one send the object immediately beyond his grasp?
A: Hold something in your hand. There is a "basic lashing" pulling it downward. How hard is it to keep holding on to? Often, though, then I have him Lash multiple times, he either does it all at once or in very quick succession.
Tags: [site:reddit] [type:qa] cosmere cosmere/identity cosmere/investiture cosmere/roshar magic magic/allomancy magic/sandmastery magic/surgebinding stormlightarchive stormlightarchive/shardplate stormlightarchive/surgebinding stormlightarchive/szeth
Remarks: Q: I was mostly interested in cases where Szeth lashes really heavy objects - stone blocks or tables - to the side. They are not things he can hold (usually), and my understanding of physics suggests that a second after the first Lashing the object would be 9.81 (well, less for Roshar) meters away. Maybe I can find an example where it feels weird.
A: Yes, please. It's entirely likely I've made a mistake somewhere. With the blocks, the ones I remember are where he has to overcome friction.
Q: we know that you can't Lash people in Shardplate, but can you Lash the person inside the Plate? If they had their helm off, for example. At that point Plate should be just dead weight, right?
A: There's a bit of an interference envelope. Wearing plate, the person has this big ball of investiture around them, and so pushing any through it--even by touching a person without a helm--is going to be tough. Easier than with the helm on though, I suppose.
Investiture acts (roughly) like a saturated solution in these cases. Sticking more power into something like a Feruchemical storage or a hyper-invested object like Plate is increasingly hard. The other part is that Investiture tends to interfere with other Investiture, unless there's a familiar resonance. (This is part of what philosophers call Identity.) Slapping your hand through a sand master's stream of sand will cause interference, and make them start to drop. It's not that the sand is supporting them, it's that the investiture holding them up gets scrambled for a moment because of your own investiture.
Investiture pushed toward someone inside a hyper-invested (supersaturated) system like a person in Shardplate is going to get hard push-back.
This is similar to the reason that it's harder to Push on invested coins. Depends on how invested they are, in that case. It's generally not as hard as doing something like Lashing a person in plate. (This is more about the interference than the saturation of investiture.) But the two principles are what I use to guide the physics in these areas.