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Your search for the tag 'dor' yielded 22 results

  • 1

    Interview: May 31st, 2011

    Thorondir

    Is the Dor the same as the power of creation that powers Allomancy?

    Brandon Sanderson

    He said that the Dor is similar to that which powers allomancy but not 100% the same.

    Tags

  • 2

    Interview: Oct, 2008

    VegasDev (16 October 2008)

    The other lake in Alendi's bumps?

    Brandon Sanderson (17 October 2008)

    A manifestation of Ruin's gathered consciousness, much like the dark mists in book two. The lake was still around in Vin's era, but had been moved under ground. (Note that the Well is a very similar manifestation. You've also seen one other manifestation like this....)

    PETER AHLSTROM

    Such as...this?

    The "lake" was barely ten feet deep—more like a pool. Its water was a crystalline blue, and Raoden could see no inlets or outlets.
    If that's what you're hinting at...I never thought of the connection before! I just kept thinking of Aether of Night, and never thought of this pool at all.

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    Both are accurate, but the first is what I meant, as most people here don't have access to Aether.

    CHAOS

    I'm also thinking that the Dor in Elantris is another Shard of Adonalsium. Certainly in the Elantris world, where the Dor came from is rather ambiguous, which I expected it would be. Of course, if other Shards of Adonalsium do exist, the Dor could have come from that source.

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    I will RAFO from here on the other Shards of Adonalsium, as it would be better for me not to give spoilers. Please feel free to speculate. Readers have met four shards other than Ruin and Preservation.

    PETER AHLSTROM

    Have we met these four by name, or just by influence? I can't think of a name that would go with the one that the Elantris lake is a manifestation of.

    Hoid could be one? I know nothing his purpose other than that he shows up in lots of different books, sometimes begging and sometimes telling stories. Since most of these series happen on different planets (though two of them may happen on the same planet as each other), I'm assuming he has mad planet-hopping skills.

    ...Nightblood...

    BRANDON SANDERSON (20 OCTOBER)

    Ookla, I'm going to be tight lipped on this, as I don't want to give things away for future books. But I'll tell you this:

    You've interacted with two directly.
    One is a tough call. You've never met the Shard itself, but you've seen its power.
    The other one you have not met directly, but have seen its influence.

    CHAOS (18 OCTOBER)

    I thought Nightblood was explained sufficiently for my tastes in Warbreaker, so I doubt that it is a Shard, but I've been plenty wrong before. Also, I don't know if Hoid could even be a Shard. Certainly he has mean planet-hopping skills, but I don't know what purpose a celestial storyteller would have in this universe. He doesn't really have the same kind of power as Ruin or Preservation did, so normally I would rule him out right off the bat. But it is possible that these Shards come in many shapes, not just in the near-deific quantity Ruin or Preservation had. I think it's a bit of a stretch to say Hoid is a Shard... but, then again, I don't have any ideas for what those four other Shards are.

    Maybe Hoid is just a traveler trying to find remnants of Adonalsium and stories about them. He doesn't need to be a shard, I suppose.

    BRANDON SANDERSON (20 OCTOBER)

    This is slightly a tangent, but here is a relevant chunk from the Warbreaker Annotations. As this won't be posted for months, I'll put it here as a sneak preview.

    Chapter Thirty-Two

    This whole scene came about because I wanted an interesting way to delve into the history. Siri needed to hear it, and I felt that many readers would want to know it. However, that threatened to put me into the realm of the dreaded info dump.

    And so I brought in the big guns. This cameo is so obvious (or, at least, someday it will be) that I almost didn’t use the name Hoid for the character, as I felt it would be too obvious. The first draft had him using one of his other favorite pseudonyms. However, in the end, I decided that too many people would be confused (or, at least, even more confused) if I didn’t use the same name. So here it is. And if you have no idea what I’m talking about. . .well, let’s just say that there’s a lot more to this random appearance than you might think.

    CHAOS (17 OCTOBER)

    Brandon, I believe in one of Sazed's epigraphs, he actually called it "Adonasium" rather than what you are referring to here, which is "Adonalsium". I'm thinking that's just a typo, right?

    I don't suppose you could tell us which book series of yours will tell us more about Adonalsium, would you? You know, just so us theorizers on the forum know when to properly theorize about these things...

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    Well, I guess this means that the proofreaders did not add the "L" when I marked the error on the manuscript.(sigh). Yes, the correct spelling is Adonalsium. I will try to get this fixed for the paperback, but I've been trying to get that blasted steel/iron error in the back of book one fixed for two years now. . .

    If it helps, Sazed would probably under-pronounce the "L" as that letter, like in Tindwyl's name, is said very softly in Terris.

    As for your other question, you will have to wait and see. Now, you could search my old books for clues, but I would caution against this. While there are hints in these, they are not yet canon. Just as I changed how things were presented in the Mistborn books during editing, I would have fixed a lot in these books during revision. Beyond that, reading them would give big spoilers for books yet to be released. White Sand, Dragonsteel, and Way of Kings in particular are going to be published some day for almost certain. (Though in very different forms). Aether of Night should be safe, as should Final Empire prime and Mistborn prime, though of those three, only Aether is worth reading, and then only barely. (It is still pretty bad).

    Footnote

    Peter's quote is from Elantris. It's the pool that Raoden finds in the mountains above Elantris.

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  • 3

    Interview: Oct 18th, 2004

    Brandon Sanderson

    In this chapter, I also go a little bit into the linguistics of the novel. If you'd been able to figure out that 'Dor' wasn't an Aon, then you were a step ahead of Raoden at this point. I realize it's probably too small a thing to have been of note, but I do actually mention the 'Dor' one time earlier in the book. It's in the discussion where Galladon discovers that the republic has fallen. He says, "Only outsiders—those without any sort of true understanding of the Dor—practice the Mysteries."

    There are a lot of other clues sprinkled through these chapters. If you're really clever, you could probably figure out from this chapter what is wrong with AonDor, and from that extrapolate why the Shaod went bad.

    Anyway, if you want more on linguistics, head over to the 'goodies' section of the website. I've got a whole essay on the languages in ELANTRIS over there.

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  • 4

    Interview: Oct 18th, 2004

    Brandon Sanderson (Chapter 32)

    Time for my second favorite chapter! (The first, if you recall, was the one where Raoden led Karata to the king's palace.)

    There are so many things going on in this chapter that I don't quite know where to start. I guess I'll begin with the Mysteries. I drew part of this religion, including the name, from the mystery cults of ancient Greece. I added the ritual sacrifices to give them a bit of zing. You'll get a little bit more of an explanation of the Mysteries, and why someone might decide to join one, in a later Sarene chapter.

    As I've noted before, religion—especially its dark side—is a theme in this book. I don't think I could have covered this subject well in the book without including a look at cult mentality. Now, I'll admit that 'cult' is a word we bandy about too frequently in religious discussions. It has been noted that Christianity started out as a kind of cult, and it seems that many consider any unorthodox religion to be a 'cult.'

    To me, however, a cult is something that twists who you are, changing you into a shadow of what you used to be. I firmly believe that you can judge a religion by the effects it produces in its practitioners. Does it make them better people? If so, then there's a good chance that the religion is worth something. Does it turn them into people who sacrifice their own servants in an effort to make evil spirits come and kill their daughters in law? If so, well. . .you might want to stay away from that one.

    Anyway, the Mysteries were—in my mind—a natural outgrowth of the Mystical Jesker religion. Like Galladon is always saying, they're NOT the same religion. The Mysteries are a perversion and simplificication of Jesker teachings. Jesker looks to the Dor—the power behind all things—and tries to understand it. The Mysteries treat the Dor like some kind of force to be manipulated. (Which actually, is what AonDor does. . . .)

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  • 5

    Interview: Oct 18th, 2004

    Brandon Sanderson (Chapter 37)

    We've entered the section of the plot where Raoden has a few short chapters (this one and the one before.) As I mentioned, his major plot cycle—the three gangs—for the first part of the book is over. Right now, the most important things are happening on the outside of Elantris, so Raoden gets a slight breather to study.

    That said, the realization that happens here—that Raoden isn't bad at dealing with the pain, he's simply facing something that the others don't have to—is an important one. There needed to be some progression here, even if it does take away Raoden's main character conflict. (Now he doesn't have to worry that he's inferior.) However, this conflict is replaced by another little timebomb—now Raoden has to worry about being destroyed by the Dor before he can finish his studies. It gives him a sense of urgency, makes things a little more difficult—which is why I introduced this plotting structure in the first place. As I've mentioned, I was worried that there wouldn't be enough tension in his chapters once the gangs were defeated. Hence the Dor attacks.

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  • 6

    Interview: Oct 18th, 2004

    Brandon Sanderson

    If you were wondering, most of the explanations we get in this chapter are true. The reason that Raoden was subject to the Dor attacks was because he spent so much time practicing with the Aons. He began to make a bridge between this world and the Dor, and because of that, he gave the Dor a slight opening into his soul. I imagine that he isn't the first one to suffer something like this during the ten years that Elantris has been fallen. Other Elantrians probably practiced with the Aons, and the Dor eventually destroyed them. When it was done, they simply became Hoed.

    By finally using the Dor effectively, Raoden relieved a little bit of the pressure, letting the nearby buildup of the Dor (the one that he himself had created by practicing so much) rip through him and fuel that single Aon.

    Originally, I had Raoden's conflict with the Dor continue on after this scene—I had it continue attacking him. In a later draft, however, I realized that I'd made a mistake. Raoden has other things to worry about in the upcoming chapters—he doesn't need the Dor attacks to create conflict and tension. So, after this chapter, the Dor attacks actually became distractions. I also realized that the way I'd set up the magic system, this chapter was probably the place where the Dor should stop attacking, since Raoden had fulfilled what he wanted it to do.

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  • 7

    Interview: Oct 18th, 2004

    Brandon Sanderson (Chapter 61-2)

    SHUDEN'S CHAYSHAN

    The several mentions of the ChayShan, along with both of the scenes where Shuden performs it, were added to the book to give a feeling of scope. I wanted the reader to understand that there are things in this world that are different from the increasingly-familiar magic and society of Arelon.

    We'll talk a little bit more about this event in the text. However, realize that the ChayShan wasn't ever intended to be effective or successful—it's not a Deus Ex Machina for the people trapped inside Elantris. It is a hint of things I plan to do with the future of this world.

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  • 8

    Interview: Oct 18th, 2004

    Brandon Sanderson

    THE SPIRIT OF ELANTRIS (PART TWO)

    So, my only worry about the climax here is that it's a little hard to visualize. Because I never quite got the map to look like I wanted it too, it's hard to see what Raoden is doing in this chapter. Essentially, he adds the chasm line to the Aon Rao that Elantris and its outer cities form. Because Elantris was an Aon, it stopped working just like all of the other Aons did when the Reod occurred. I've established several times in the book that the medium an Elantrian draws in—whether it be mud, the air, or in this case dirt—doesn't matter. The form of the Aon is the important part. By putting a line in the proper place, Raoden creates a gate that allows the Dor to flow into Elantris and resume its intended purpose.

    This is the scene that made me want to write this book. It, along with the one I talked about in the last chapter, formed a climax that I just itched and squirmed to write. (That's always a good sign, by the way.) The central visual image of this book is that of the silvery light exploding from the ground around Raoden, then running around the city. Storytelling-wise, this is the one scene I wish I could do cinematically rather than in text.

    I'm sorry for killing Karata. It felt like the right thing to do right here, even though my readers universally disagree with this decision. This is a very important series of events. If I didn't have any real danger for the characters, then I think earlier events—where characters did die—would come across feeling more weighty. Karata and Galladon throw themselves at a troop of armed soldiers. There was no way for that to end well.

    (By the way, none of the readers have even batted an eye about Eshen's death. I guess she got on their nerves.)

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  • 9

    Interview: Oct 18th, 2004

    Brandon Sanderson

    LOOSE THREADS

    You'll notice, therefore, that I pile on the lose threads here. The most important one, of course, is the concept that Fjorden has gained access to the Dor (presumably recently.) The Dakhor are a newer development—Wyrn was just getting ready to use them against Elantris when the city fell on its own. (Dilaf wasn't the only Dakhor plant inside Arelon. But, those are stories for another time.) Anyway, I think I gave myself plenty of sequel room here. There are the questions about the Dor, about Fjorden, and about the Seons.

    That said, I can't honestly promise that I'll do an ELANTRIS sequel. When I was writing during this period of my life (some seven years ago now), I was trying to create as many first books as possible. I was sending them all off to publishers, trying to get someone to bite on one of them so I could start a series. However, since I was a nobody, I had to write each book as a stand-alone as well. Publishers, I was told, like to get books from new authors that could stand alone or launch into a series. That way, they're not committing to anything drastic, but can monopolize on popularity if it comes.

    ELANTRIS turned out to be one of the best stand-alones I did. I kind of like how it doesn't really need anything more to make it feel complete. And, I've got so many stories that I want to tell, I don't know that I'll be able to get back to this one. I guess it will depend upon how well ELANTRIS sells, and whether or not Tor pushes me toward writing more books in this world.

    Anyway, I've got plenty of things I could talk about if I do come back.

    Footnote

    He currently plans on releasing Elantris 2 near the 10th anniversary of Elantris (appx. 2015).

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  • 10

    Interview: Sep, 2012

    Sweetness

    Does Forgery use the Dor?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes

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  • 11

    Interview: Sep, 2012

    Windrunner

    Why does Devotion's Shardpool act so differently from Preservation's?

    Brandon Sanderson

    For similar reasons to why the Dor acts so differently from Preservation's essence...

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  • 12

    Interview: Sep, 2012

    Windrunner

    Is the Dor made up of both Devotion and Dominion's power?

    Brandon Sanderson

    The Dor's nature, and why it acts as it does, is in part related to this question.

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  • 13

    Interview: Sep, 2012

    Kuri Shardweaver

    I've heard tell of an upcoming book where the magic is based on forging. This excites me greatly, and I was wondering if you could give us just a smidge more information regarding it? Either the world, the magic itself, or how it impacts said world? Though something like the Shard behind it would be awesome too..

    Brandon Sanderson

    Sure, the story is The Emperor's Soul, and it actually takes place on Sel. (Same planet of Elantris.) The magic system works by using a carefully designed stamp to rewrite the past of an object--creating a 'forgery' of its past, and that changes what it is in the future. Rewrite the past of a beat-up chair so it was owned by someone who cared for it, and suddenly it's polished and maintained. It's not illusion; it's an actual transformation.

    It works on the same mechanics of AonDor and its kin, using written characters to access the Dor and channel its power.

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  • 14

    Interview: Apr 15th, 2013

    Reddit AMA 2013 (Verbatim)

    linkhyrule ()

    Why is there only one Chasm line per Aon? Since each Aon is made up of repetitions of Aon Aon, shouldn't there be a Chasm line per repetition?

    Brandon Sanderson

    The Aons aren't JUST made up of repetitions of Aon Aon. There's a lot more to them than that. Some follow a repetition pattern, others do not. The only requirement is using the initial Aon once, then building from there. Because of this, I made the new requirement be only one use of the chasm line.

    Aons can actually have multiple forms and still work. For example, if you drew the chasm line on each one of those Aons, they'd work fine. (Maybe even better, in some cases.) What is happening in the books is that the Aons are ALMOST functional, and the Dor is straining to come through them. The chasm line brings them the one step further they need to be functional. However, further tweaking could make them more efficient.

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  • 15

    Interview: 2013

    Kaladin_Stormblessed (March 2013)

    Discussion of the week: Shadesmar & Truthspren

    http://coppermind.net/wiki/Shadesmar

    sufficientlyadvanced

    It says that it's dangerous to travel to Shadesmar on Sel. Why?

    Brandon Sanderson ()

    It has to do with the Dor and the lack of an entity controlling much of the power Odium left in his wake on Sel.

    Phantine

    Woah, that's interesting. I had no idea Odium left little bits of his power on Sel... I guess it kinda makes sense for evil monks to be powered by pure hate, though.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Odium did not leave his power behind, one should note. He left several other powers which are now, to a large extent, mindless...

    Windrunner17

    This is an awesome answer!

    If you wouldn't mind answering, does Roshar have a similar problem, with Honor being Splintered?

    Thanks!

    Brandon Sanderson

    No, Roshar does not have the same problem. There are some differences going on. (One reason being that the spren are far more extensive on Roshar, and provide something of a "release valve." The Seons and the Skaze on Sel are not numerous enough to fulfill a similar function. Though, of course, that's only one part of the puzzle. Raw power is dangerous.

    It's one reason everyone should be thankful Kelsier was around on Scadrial.

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  • 16

    Interview: Oct 21st, 2015

    BlackYeti

    With regards to the Dor, whereabouts is it located exactly in regards to the Realms?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Oh you're the first person to ask this one. It is in the Cognitive Realm. I think you might be the first one to crack that one. So, that's something that I've been dancing around for a while, waiting 'til people started to figure that one out. That's not where most of them are.

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  • 17

    Interview: Oct 13th, 2015

    Blaze1616

    The Dor. Is it gaseous investiture? *Brandon pauses for a long moment* If not, then is it plasma instead?

    Brandon Sanderson

    You got it. It's not exactly plasma, but *proceeds half explanation that pretty much describes plasma* You get it?

    Question

    Yeah. *Brandon looks satisfied*

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  • 18

    Interview: Dec 3rd, 2016

    wicktacular

    Based on the bit during the open Q&A about Odium splintering Dominion and Devotion and shoving their power into the Cognitive, and that blocking off the Spiritual, which makes Sel's magic so location (or Identity of location) based - if a Shardbearer traveled to Sel, could they still summon their Shardblade?

    Brandon Sanderson

    That's interesting. Nobody's ever asked me that before. That's a RAFO! (I got a card!)

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  • 19

    Interview: Dec 6th, 2016

    Question

    So we know that you can’t just have someone--if someone were to do something similar to Hoid, he can’t just pop and go ‘oh look, I can now do Allomancy or now do Surgebinding’. What about Breath? Could somebody give Breath--could they still get the benefits--

    Brandon Sanderson

    Oh, good question. Yes you can, actually. Breath, once it is given to you, it is being keyed to you--your Identity. So that transfer makes it yours to use however you want.

    Question

    So you could Awaken?

    Brandon Sanderson

    You could Awaken. If you were to somehow make it there, you would be able to Awaken. It’s the easiest of magics to get the magic from, and then to manipulate. Because it has keyed into it Identity.

    Question

    [garbled]

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes, you can take Breath onto another world. In fact, you’ve seen characters do this.

    Question

    [garbled]

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes, it would work the same way. The only magic that is location-dependent-- the ones who aren’t interested in this, just hum to yourself, okay? You don’t need to know any of this stuff to enjoy the books, okay? I’ve [written] them so that each series can be read independently, and enjoyed. There is behind the scenes stuff, and if you want to dig, it goes pretty deep. So on Sel, we have AonDor. AonDor is based on the fact that the Dor, which is an amalgamation of Dominion and Devotion, has been pressed together and stuffed into the Cognitive Realm by Odium who didn’t want it to gain sentience, as Investiture will do if it is left alone. It will either seek someone to be its Vessel or it will gain sentience. He pressed it in there; he pressed it together, which creates the violent reaction, because those two Intents are opposed. And that is the foundation of the magic. Because it’s stuck in the Cognitive Realm rather than the Spiritual Realm (the Spiritual Realm is location-independent; Cognitive Realm is location-dependent), it makes the magic on Sel only work in close proximity to what is keyed through there to the location they’re keyed to. This has to do with Identity and Connection--mostly Connection. So that means you can’t do AonDor on another planet, but you can do other magics works anywhere, because they’re drawing the magics specifically through either the place, or they’re end-neutral, like Breath is, and don’t need any extra power.

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  • 20

    Interview: Dec 6th, 2016

    Question

    The two Shards on Sel were kind of pressed into the Cognitive Realm. Is that what makes travel there so difficult?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes. Because you usually travel through the Cognitive Realm, but that’s not exactly what you want to be doing on Sel.

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  • 21

    Interview: Dec 6th, 2016

    Question

    Would it be possible to create a potential Vessel that has a Connection to all 16 Shards? Through a combination of birth planet, genetics, Hemalurgy...

    Brandon Sanderson

    [Hems and Haws] You… So, terminology--the Vessel holds the Shard. Lots of people have connection to Shards without holding them. So, I’m just gonna RAFO that. You guys got YEARS AND YEARS left, before we’re even gonna discuss. But if I tell you now...like...what are you gonna ask?

    Question

    So I got a bit of a Shard-related question. So, the entity that Harmony is, all the other Shards that we’ve had named so far, are any of them combinations, or are they all--

    Brandon Sanderson

    Okay, good question. The only one I would count as a combination is the Dor, right? But it isn’t even a full Shard. So everything else--single holder only when we talk about it okay? That’s an excellent question. Or they’ve been Splintered completely.

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