A Rare Moment of Personal Expression

3/21/2019

As most of you know, I took last week off for a post-book vacation. It was awesome, very refreshing, and I only had to wrestle 3-4 manticores. Usually I have to take care of at least five a week, so that was a nice break.

But since I got back, things in my personal life have been hectic. Nothing dramatic. It's just a mix of prior commitments, catching up on what I missed while I was gone, and some random crap hitting my family all coming this week.

Bottom line: this week was a lot harder than I expected. However, catching up on work has meant also catching up on the fan response to Underlord.

You all are amazing.

I came back to an endless stream of encouragement. A truly crazy number of positive reviews, messages expressing excitement, and so much discussion of the story that I couldn't read it all.

I'm just very grateful for you guys right now. You've been more supportive of me than I deserve, and I thank you.

-Will

229 Comments

Cool Person

3/21/2019 06:33:02 pm

At least 5 a week? You're lucky! I have to deal with an absolute minimum of 4 every day!

Cool person

3/21/2019 06:33:45 pm

Also, thank you.

Avinash

3/22/2019 02:25:15 am

I did encounter one once
He had a clichéd name was pretending to be a school teacher of all thing and weirdly enough had heterocromia.

Cool Person

3/22/2019 08:43:15 am

The most annoying one I ever met went by the alias of Dr. Thorn, and called himself The Man-Eater. terribly rude.

Cool Person

3/22/2019 08:53:54 am

@ Cool Person

I was lucky he didn't know how to eat a demigod!

Cool Person

3/22/2019 08:55:58 am

@ Cool Person

Wait a second... I think I saw you there!

Avinash

3/22/2019 09:28:05 am

@ all the coolguys
Yup
I was the one running for my life from the gang of hot girls.
Could you belive they would chase you over half the world just for "accidentally" seeing them bathing .

Also the manticore was way too whinning going on and on about his time in iran.

Avinash

3/24/2019 09:08:40 am

@℃ool guy
I do believe so
I was planning to make a reference to the wine dude but am afraid it would be all Greek to them

Cool Person

3/25/2019 06:43:54 pm

this post has more comments than any other one!

Will link

3/22/2019 12:15:43 pm

You need to start wearing Old Spice's Anti-Manticore Deodorant. Its patented twelve-hour manticore protection got me down from four manticores a day to only five a week.

Avinash

3/22/2019 12:40:15 pm

Will do WILL,
But what about the hunters , they even have ties with amazon which makes tracking me easy for them

Avinash

3/22/2019 12:46:02 pm

Might also need an armour
That moon lady is a wicked shot.
Could you put in a good word with a soulsmith or reader for me .

Rogue 9

3/22/2019 01:20:26 pm

Oh I only have to deal with manticores once a month since I switched to Arm & Hammer Ultra Max advanced manticore control.

Cool Person

3/23/2019 01:59:56 pm

@ Rogue 9
Are me and Avinash the only people getting the reference here?
also, If the hunters are pursuing you with amazon, I reccomend getting google to hack their sattelites. that's what I did, and it's mostly gotten rid of the hunter problem. only problem with google is that they treat anyone who isn't transgender or non-binary as slaves. oh well.

Avinash

3/24/2019 09:09:49 am

@cool person
℃ool guy
I do believe so
I was planning to make a reference to the wine dude but am afraid it would be all Greek to them

Cool Person

3/24/2019 11:55:31 am

@ Avinash

oooh... that's a good one.

Tom

3/21/2019 06:34:24 pm

👊

Will link

3/22/2019 12:16:17 pm

👊

Cool Person

3/23/2019 02:00:22 pm

👊

Jaeger

3/23/2019 02:13:55 pm

👊

Mr. Aviators

3/26/2019 11:50:32 am

🤝 oops, thought you were going for a handshake. Well this is awkward

Tievel1

3/21/2019 06:34:50 pm

You're doing a fantastic job, so take your well deserved break and get back to it when you're ready.

On the other hand, if you really do think it's more than you deserve, I'm more than happy to heap on harsh criticism and unnecessary negativity.

Cool Person

3/22/2019 08:43:52 am

I'm with you on that.

Will link

3/22/2019 11:39:40 am

Oh good, that makes me feel more at home.

Cool Person

3/23/2019 02:01:23 pm

I thought it would, that's the only reason I agreed. all I have is your best interests at heart, will.

Elfishpirat

3/21/2019 06:42:58 pm

YOU'RE AMAZING!

And you deserve every bit of the praise you get. Thank YOU for sharing these amazing stories with us!

Now get back to work! Chop chop! lol

Will link

3/22/2019 12:16:42 pm

I'm chopping as fast as I can! *sobs*

Garfield

3/23/2019 02:02:33 pm

Have you tried Tom's Ultra Fast Slicing Knife? It slices! It dices! it conjugates verbs!

Tory Bozeman

3/21/2019 07:34:53 pm

We appreciate the hard work, Will! Amazing book!

Will link

3/22/2019 12:16:58 pm

Thanks, Tory!

Charles Plumb

3/23/2019 11:25:50 am

Will, I first came across your work when you offered book 1 of Traveller's Gate for free on Amazon. At that time I was picking up all the free books I came across, and now years later of all those authors you were the one I stuck with. You are an incredible author!

However, it is the Cradle series that brought out the fanboy in me. I spend entirely too much time trolling Cradle discussion boards when I should be reading more books through Amazon Unlimited.

One of the things I love about the Cradle series is that the next book does not always turn out as I expected, other then the main character still being alive at the end of the book. I tend to think of how I would develop Lindon as if he was playing an online game, but that would not necessarily make a good story. So I always appreciate how you write his story so that it is enjoyable, although I can't still help but feel frustrated sometimes. When is Lindon going to learn how to use at least one weapon properly?

Thanks again Will for a great series, looking forward to Uncrowned!

Asterion

3/21/2019 07:47:08 pm

And you deserve it too. I read Underlord when it was released and then immediately reread the entire series. I loved it both as a singular entry and as a part of a bigger whole. I can't wait for whatever is next (from any of your series). Good luck with the manticores.

Will link

3/22/2019 12:17:47 pm

Thanks! I'm definitely looking forward to getting the Elder Empire finished, because--

Ssh. Did you hear that? I know that sound...

Manticores.

Madeline

3/23/2019 11:14:53 am

If you wanted to get Elder Empire finished, why did you end Underlord in a way that was guaranteed to make people desperately want to know what happens to Kelsa, in addition to what happens to Lindon, Yerin, and Mercy? You've essentially doubled the ordinary begging for more Cradle.

Cool Person

3/23/2019 02:04:57 pm

@ Madeline
I didn't even know it was possible to do before, but you're right.

Cool Person

3/24/2019 02:50:53 pm

@ Will

which sound? the moving of the stinger, the rustling of the tail, the scraping of the claws, the clicking of the mandibles, the pounding of the feet, or the metabolising of human meat?

or is it all of them *dun dun dun*?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Deadnettle

3/21/2019 08:21:57 pm

Thank you very much for all that you have given us. Your books and your interactions with us as fans has made you one of my all time favorite authors. It has been a pleasure reading your works and watching each installment get better and better. I hope that this turbulent time that you're facing passes swiftly. All the best to you Mr. Wight

Will link

3/22/2019 12:18:10 pm

Thanks for sticking around so long, Deadnettle! I know you've been around forever, and I appreciate it.

Arch

3/21/2019 08:25:48 pm

You deserve all that positive encouragement, this book felt like it was a caliber above your already stellar previous works.

Will link

3/22/2019 12:19:34 pm

I'm glad! I'm trying to push myself forward as an author with every book, but it's hard to say that each individual story is better than the one before it. So I'm pleased that you enjoyed this one so much!

Disaster Area

3/21/2019 09:12:44 pm

What Will isn't telling you is that his strict regime of manticore slaying has caused him to invent the EZ Manticore Security System 5000. Sure, it's a sentient giant floating eyeball and cleaning up partially disintegrated manticore viscerae is not for the faint of heart, but you can get used to anything after a while.

Cool Person

3/22/2019 08:45:29 am

I need to get one of those. too much of my day is spent moping up guts.

Cool Person

3/24/2019 02:52:58 pm

@ me

too clarify, I mean that cleaning up partially disintegrated manticore viscerae sounds much easier.

Will link

3/22/2019 12:19:53 pm

How did you know about my eyeball?

Cool Person

3/24/2019 02:51:33 pm

@ will

something about that sentence is just amazing.

Jesse Kaukonen

3/21/2019 10:09:24 pm

Thank you for your hours entertainment and hard work. Take care of yourself.

Will link

3/22/2019 12:20:58 pm

Thanks, Jesse! I'm doing well (honestly, I personally am doing great), the family's just had a lot to deal with this week. And I want to help them however I can!

Jake

3/21/2019 11:33:21 pm

Hey Will....thanks.

Will link

3/22/2019 12:21:16 pm

Thank YOU, Jake!

Rogue 9

3/22/2019 12:44:48 am

Why do I have a feeling that Eithan is based on the person you hired to keep you on track. All kidding aside, congrats on Cradle being 6 of the top ten in your Kindle subgenre.

Will link

3/22/2019 11:40:32 am

He sees all! I can never escape!

Rogue 9

3/24/2019 09:18:54 am

A few quick questions

Is the Uncrowned tournament under 35 meaning 35 & under like sports here on Earth?

Is Blackflame able to have a forger technique or is it only able to be forged as dead matter?

If Lindon had scripted his arm would it have just limited it's range of motion or would it have limited it's overall potential? Because he hasn't scripted it yet, does it have more potential because it is controlled by Lindon's will?

Cool Person

3/24/2019 12:25:22 pm

@ Rogue 9
yes, eithan is 35 and he can join, so its 35 and under

I bet blackflame does have a forger tecnique, abidan archives mentioned that the path has like 11 techniques, and we only know 3

Rogue 9

3/24/2019 04:24:02 pm

@cool Person Eithan is 34 as of the end of Underlord. I asked the questions I have because they are some of the most contested on Reddit.

@rouge 9

3/24/2019 11:12:32 pm

Eithan would be 35 at the time of tournament cause there is about 10 months left
The dragon's surely had many more technique but the human black flame were able to initiate only 3 successfully.
Or else only Lords could forge black flame madra seeing as even orthos couldn't.
If ur talking about his arm at the end of underlord then it's already scripted.
He upgraded his arm not replaced it.
So the existing binding/script got upgraded to lord level and should work better than before.

Avinash

3/25/2019 04:12:28 am

The above @ rouge 9 was by me Avinash

Cool Person

3/25/2019 07:52:30 am

@ Avinash

yeah, I meant that he would be 35 at tournament, i just misphrased it

enchantedrose

3/22/2019 01:14:14 am

Truly amazing people deserve to be recognized and praised for their awesomeness as well as their accomplishments! You are truely my favorite author because of how amazing you are. Never have I read the like of what you do in every single book. Hats off to you! You are truely a gem!

Will link

3/22/2019 12:21:38 pm

Avinash

3/22/2019 02:06:27 am

Been waiting for a new post to ask somethings

So finding out abidan archives was an info overload and I felt kinda like what dross must have felt on trying to integrate the Aurelius library.
So I have a few questions/confusion.

1. Regarding Monarchs
Will said that there are 8 active monarchs in cradle
And at the end of underlord 7 live ones are mentioned
Akura malice
Seshethkunaaz, (dragon one)
Sha miara
Northstrider
8 man empire , counted as one
Emriss silent born ,The monarch remnant
Reigan shen , who apparently killed a monarch
recently (possibly the Aurelius )
Now I am not counting the Aurelius monarch as he's been dead for a few years (~6) and Will said active monarchs.

So the question is is there an unknown/hidden monarch
Am I missing someone's name
Or is eithan the aurelius monarch and is hiding/repowered.

2. Of Markuth
I believed he was abidan level but he was confirmed to be sage at most, so I can get how he can travel off world maybe using portals or something like a Stargate but looking to fight the 4 dreadgods together or even one at a time when even monarchs cannot handle them alone seems unbelievable.
Remember how malice was on the verge of retreating after 3 days and the blood Phoenix was still good to go but it retreated (maybe the influence of makael judge 001 ) wore off.

3. A few random musing
i. Who is judge 007 cause the reaper is 008.
ii. Is a ward key like a battery or an amplifier
iii.Do u have to die and be reborn(leaving ur remanent behind) to ascend/touch the way , this would explain the death of sage of endless sword.

Cool Person

3/22/2019 08:47:48 am

@ avinash, point 3, iii
it would also explain why everyone thought northstrider was dead

Avinash

3/22/2019 09:36:45 am

I don't think north strider ascended or else he would have been forbidden from returning to cradle.(by the abidan)
It's more likely that fell from public eye , or isolated himself from the world.

Commander JP

4/1/2019 11:05:49 am

Hey the part about northsteider feeling the way was when he entered ghostwater traveling through to the pocket Dimension he felt the way while moving there if I remember correctly

Will link

3/22/2019 11:44:20 am

This is a lot of questions, and these blog comments aren't a great medium for an in-depth discussion, but I'll do what I can.

1.) There are eight Monarch factions. Currently seven living/active Monarchs.

2.) He was an Archlord (or similar level) when he ascended from Cradle, but he has advanced beyond that in a different magic system after leaving. When he came back, he believed himself to be more powerful than anyone in the Iteration. Maybe he was, who knows? Maybe he was just prideful and Northstrider would have beaten the crap out of him. But he was definitely not more powerful than Suriel.

3a.) Zakariel is Judge Zero-zero-seven.
3b.) No, it's like a passkey that lets you walk in and out unharmed.
3c.) Maybe! That would be a spoiler.

Avinash

3/22/2019 12:31:13 pm

3.i)The names Fox, Zakariel Fox
Finally a female bond.
It fits with her personality.
1. Fractions , ok
2. I meant normal 1star or similar abidan and not a judge obiously but damn he had the bad luck to face a judge of all things.
3.ii) thought so to at first(it's usually a used in wuxias) but then got confused by daishous line about using too much madra , which was due to his wheel tecq .

Cool Person

3/23/2019 02:08:13 pm

I never said that Northstrider ascended, but it did mention in book 5 that he could 'feel the Way', and you said ascend/touch the Way.

Jaeger

3/23/2019 02:17:27 pm

I think Northstrider left Cradle (not ascended just left perhaps for better prey) and The Aerlius family (either their Monarch from a while ago or their sage) sensed this and thought it meant he was dead.

Avinash

3/23/2019 09:24:56 pm

@cool person
By ascending I mean leaving cradle.

But ur right just touching the way is possible without ascending.
It was mentioned in book 1.
So if he just touched the way and not left it would fit but there is the matter of his remnant which would be sentient by itself.

@jaeger
If he was looking for prey tk cycle he would not find any outside the cradle

What I think the reason is
The north strider is a loner , he doesn't have any sect or family
So maybe he did not appear in public for a long time and also missed the last few uncrowned king tournment so everone thought the old loner died .
But eithan did mention an excellent source , so maybe the source was Aurelius monarch

Cool Person

3/24/2019 07:50:41 am

@Avinash

How do we know that it isn't possible to find better prey outside cradle? Suriel mentioned that cradle had an abundance of vital aura, in a way that could imply that there are other iterations that could use the same magic system.

Jaeger

3/24/2019 07:58:58 am

@coolperson That’s exactly what I mean :) There shouldn’t be any reason he couldn’t leave Cradle kill a dragon and either bring it back to Cradle, although I’m not sure what he cycles is it the dragons he kills or is it the very act of hunting them kind of like how when yerin fights she cycles maybe Northstrider cycles as he hunts.

@avinosh I think the very reliable source is either the Aerelius Sage or Monarch! :)

@coolperson @avinosh You think Ziel will be his choice for the tournament? (Depending on if he was able to get past Underlord.. again?)

Avinash

3/24/2019 08:23:13 am

A few reasons

If u guys mean travelling to another world within iteration 110
Then it may be possible but suriel did say that aura was best on cradle , so going to other world would be counterproductive

But leaving the iteration by your own power means transcending , and leaving aside the fact that different iterations has different magic system., Once u transcend the abidan prevent u from returning to ur old world , except in special cases
Like the retired suriel might be allowed but with his power forcefully veiled
And valin was able to travel using portals or something similar.but had a power level insufficient to leave on his own
Will did allude to him as a kid in the eyes of the abidan
Also @ cool person what were u referring about north strider feeling the way in book 5
Did u meant he knew of abidan as shown by his desire to create a presence.
Or did u mean he could touch the way and draw from it , could u refer the line or para for me.

Also north strider s path is hungry deep
If may be related to hunger madra or just related to consuming his preys aura after its death as he was doing in ghost water.
Personally I think it has something to do with hunger madra as he is ancient in the truest sense.and might have been around the time of the people who made the labyrinth

Killing a prey and bringing it back wouldn't work either since only creatures from 110 would have madras/aura also the best time for cycling for northsstrider is just after the kill

Regarding hunger madra I think dreadgods are product of experiments done by the people who created the lybrinth and they were doing experiment about ozreils power.

Avinash

3/24/2019 08:34:50 am

@jaggery
Yes Ziel wil be there mark my words.
He only went to ghost water to repair his core and even his sponsor a herald was unable to heal him.
But a monarch on the otherhand can do it remember what mercy said about yerins condition being nothing to a monarch
And even how she heals mercy and restricts her iron body.
So he would heal him on the condition that he fights in his name and this would appeal to north strider since zeil has experience being a lord

Leaving logic aside a monarch has a lot of slots atleast 10 and not using a periviously written character who even has a relationship with the mc seems a waste

Cool Person

3/24/2019 12:12:09 pm

@ Avinash
I just reread Ghostwater, and I couldn't find the line I was looking for. it's possible that it never existed, and I somehow misread it, or it was changed since I last read it. also, for your point about how cradle has highest vital aura, that's true, but there could still be places that just have less people in them, so there could be more powerful mosters there. but, if he did ascend cradle, then abidan wouldn't let him leave. my guess is that he went to another continent, and no one in the continent that the blackflame empire is in saw him for a while, so they thought he was dead.

MisterGuyMan

3/22/2019 07:03:10 am

Just wanted to thank you for your work ethic. I get that authors don't generally owe their fans anything and that's my general position when fans get on authors for not releasing content fast enough (Song of Ice and Fire). But on the flip side when authors *do* put fans first, engage the community and grind out novels like you do, it's much appreciated.

Trying to self publish too and you're an inspiration.

Avinash

3/22/2019 09:41:45 am

U know I am not one to criticize generally but when it comes to authors who are late a few just jump to mind
Patrick ruthford author of name of wind
I mean he doesn't even give any approx date
And for the last few yrs just says "not this year"

Also the author of tales of demons and gods he has been releasing one wuxia chapter per month for last year.

I get that the have a right to publish as they want , but I will like to warn any one who hasn't read them to stay away as "that way lies madness"

Madeline

3/22/2019 10:30:43 am

The thing that made me completely lose interest in Patrick Rothfuss was when he had that "donate money to charity using one of these links and I will either live stream using my time to play a video game or using my time to write the book, your choice" gimmick. I'm sorry but using my desire to read the end of the story as a marketing gimmick to troll for money is a line in the sand I am going to have to draw to demark unacceptable behavior. Yes, writer's block exists, and I accept that. Yes, sometimes you can write a story the whole way through several times, and each time the draft is unusable and you have to start over from nothing, and I've had this happen to me. But selling "not writing the book everyone wants and you can watch fans be miserable that I'm using my writing time to not write", even for charity.... that feels wrong.

MisterGuyMan

3/23/2019 05:29:45 pm

It's the different sides of the same coin. I could also get mad at authors if they don't meet my standards but then I end up getting jaded. Even worse when an author like Will Wight goes really does go the extra mile, grinding out stories while also interacting profusely with fans, I risk taking it for granted. So I choose to expect nothing and be pleasantly surprised with the authors that exceed expectation. I guess I do this for my own sanity if nothing else.

I honestly think Will's greatest attribute is how much he grinds these books out like clockwork. Everyone needs inspiration but nothing beats a good work ethic.

Will link

3/22/2019 11:44:43 am

Thanks, and good luck!

Avinash

3/22/2019 07:12:15 am

You know WILL
I happen to agree with misterguyman
The best thing about u I have always felt is u interact and joke around with ur fan base
Many authors don't even interact or reply ,they just decree and that's it.
And of the rare few who do interact many come across as superior as if they were . . . . . . . U know what I tried for 5 min and couldn't come up with something that didn't sounded rude.
So let's just say I really appreciate ur way of writing and world building , but I love the way u treat ur fans.

Cool Person

3/22/2019 08:48:50 am

For sure.

Madeline

3/22/2019 10:33:59 am

It was so nice, just after Blackflame came out, to have a conversation with Will about how seeing Lindon's luck get him out of danger again and again and again and again eventually became frustrating because no luck lasts forever. And he said he saw the point I (and others) was making. And then in Skysworn Lindon had his arm cut off.

Now whenever people who are still in school have to write a book report where they have to pick a book and include examples of "what is the meaning behind thus event in the book?" I tell them I have a book that I can tell them EXACTLY why one of the things happened.

Will link

3/22/2019 11:46:08 am

You were right, Madeline!

That discussion helped me take a look at my upcoming book and make sure that I addressed that problem with Lindon's development. Interacting with fans helps me understand the reader reaction to each book, which is incredibly valuable!

Avinash

3/22/2019 01:10:39 pm

I too had this issue with many stories particularly with wuxia genre.
But I always took it this way

I am not seeing a live story play out rather i am seeing the history of the ultimate being or hero and he was the only one among countless who succeeded
and frankly I don't think I would enjoy to read about someone who lead a monotonous life or who failed due to circumstances.
But still a dash of realism that good luck comes with bad luck and with a bonus of worse luck adds meaning to story.

So it really makes it immersive and intresting
Like how Libby grant (scarecrows girlfriend ) died in scarecrow.
Till the end I was just waiting for the line that no she survived miraculously but she did not and that what made it memorable among generic adventures.

qbanjackson

3/27/2019 07:28:09 pm

Will love the books (all of them) but especially cradle. Keep up the good work!
Avinash, have you read the Godsfall Chronicles? Great Wuxia story where main character doesn’t always have everything turn out great. Also, other cradle, only western style wuxia I have found. It’s a pretty good read

Avinash

3/28/2019 04:33:21 am

@qbanjackson
I did look into it but the translation seems to be on the low side around 400ch so I didn't start it
Maybe when it's sufficiently translated I'll start

But on this note I would like if anyone had any wuxia , fantasy or sci fi story to suggest
I really like a story with a humorous undercurrent.

Like
A will eternal
Library of heavens path

And in western or fantasy series
U might try the night angle trilogy
It's one of my all time fav

qbanjackson

3/28/2019 09:50:34 am

@Avinash
Yes it still isn’t anywhere done and I am stuck waiting. I had no idea when I started as I randomly selected it. LOVED night Angel trilogy it is definitely a favorite. Here are some suggestions. I have accumulated a few thousand books over the years so I can offer more if you want some.

Demon lord series by Morgan Blayne. OP mc with some humor and always gets the girls. Western style fantasy. It’s not bad.

Demon cycle series is a great fantasy read
Chains of honor series is good
Thrice cursed Mage series
Immortal series by gene Doucette
The Reminiscent exile series is good
Black magic outlaw series
Sundancer novels
Bill the vampire series are teen centric but funny
Storm phase series are a little funny, teen centric and eastern focused
Sorcery Ascendant sequence is pretty awesome

Avinash

3/29/2019 05:27:43 am

@qbanjackson
We're all deliverers.

Commander JP

4/1/2019 11:13:12 am

@ Avinash

I strongly second night angel and lightbringer 4 is all that I see that will entertain me till uncrowned comes out. Unless Sanderson comes out with shardbearer 3. Or maybe rothfuss gets off his butt but I doubt it. Still cradle is still my number one at this point.

Sam

3/22/2019 07:13:17 am

I'm glad to hear you've kept up with your manticore breeding! And here I thought you'd given on it after becoming a sucessful fantasy author. I remember picking up a few new tips on manticore breeding during your original AMA on r/fantasy.

Will link

3/22/2019 11:46:23 am

It's all about avoiding the stinger.

Taylor

3/24/2019 07:52:52 am

I have the most trouble with the poison claws, personally.

Jukssuger

3/22/2019 08:07:51 am

Sorry to hear about the vacation-to-real life fallout. Here's a joke/Avatar the Last Airbender crossover to lift your spirits.

*Lindon sitting around, looking depressed in the Akura mansion*
Mercy: "Aunt Charity, I'm worried about Lindon. I think he really misses Yerin. But all you do all day is play with your owl."
Charity: "I'll have you know, Owlie is incredibly useful. He can send messages! In fact, let's write a letter to Lindon, saying it's from Yerin and that she misses him but hopes he's training hard, then have Owlie deliver it!"
Mercy: "Aunt Charity, you're a genius."
Charity: *writes letter, attaches it to owls leg, then sends owl 15 feet to Lindon*
Lindon: *quickly reads letter then shouts across the way* "Charity, I know Yerin didn't write this because YERRIN CAN'T READ!"
Charity: "Ok, new plan, we write a letter to Yerin saying it's from Lindon..."
Mercy: "I think we'll run into a similar problem."

Will link

3/22/2019 12:22:53 pm

That scene works far better than I would have expected. It's a little disturbing. Have I been subconsciously channeling ATLA this entire time?

Jukssuger

3/22/2019 03:25:08 pm

I think you've been channeling a lot of things. All of them good. But it's an author's job to inhale tons of great media from other artists, then exhale their unique combination of said media.

Cool Person

3/24/2019 07:54:14 am

@ Will

That's more than a little disturbing how well that scene works.

Jazz

3/22/2019 04:06:20 pm

Solution: Eithan can read it for her...oh wait. That sounds like an awful idea.

Cool Person

3/24/2019 12:14:34 pm

yeah, that sounds more like an april fools prank than a solution

Northstrider

3/22/2019 08:15:31 am

The next book should be called uncrowned.

Cool Person

3/22/2019 08:50:19 am

I really hope you're joking there...

Will link

3/22/2019 12:23:06 pm

Done!

Madeline

3/24/2019 08:59:33 am

YAY

The Undertaker

3/24/2019 07:00:39 pm

What about Ununsouled? (Saving that for the finale?)

Cool Person

3/24/2019 07:05:19 pm

@ undertaker

no, ununsouled is the semifinale. ununUNsouled is the finale! oh wait... that's wrong. it's ununununsouled.

Northstrider

3/22/2019 08:18:40 am

Underlord was the best yet and I'm even more eager for Uncrowned. I only wish you had written the whole series and then released it. But it's all good

Will link

3/22/2019 11:46:56 am

I too wish I had finished the whole series already...

Will link

3/22/2019 11:47:16 am

...because that would make releasing future books SUPER easy.

Cool Person

3/22/2019 08:52:18 am

that would be great, but then imagine how long we would have to wait for will to write 12-15 books!

BTW, I'm not calling will a slow author; he's probably the fastest I've seen.

Will link

3/22/2019 12:23:59 pm

I wish I had all the books done and lined up, because that would make releases a BREEZE. And I could always have an answer for the people asking "When is the next book?"

Cool Person

3/24/2019 12:15:39 pm

but the question is, when would you release them?

Corin

3/22/2019 09:10:37 am

I already mentioned this in a previus post, but why have I never seen a mention of Andrew Rowe or his books in you blog, will?

Avinash

3/22/2019 09:33:01 am

@corin
Don't tell me u r Andrew undercover ? ..Hmmm

Also I too have read his books and really liked the sufficiently advanced series.
But my fav character remains keras

Lyrian

3/22/2019 10:11:44 am

^Seconded

Damn if it isn't a great series, and another one with a well-developed and defined magic(?) system, like cradle

Will link

3/22/2019 11:50:24 am

I speak with Andrew fairly regularly, and in fact I exchanged messages with him right before checking the comments on this blog just now, so I'm happy to talk with him about this subject anytime!

Cool Person

3/24/2019 07:56:35 am

@ avinash

no, I am not andrew.

OR AM I???????

but yeah, keras is definitly my favorite charachter.

Garrett (Bamfious)

3/22/2019 11:00:21 am

We've got you. Hope things get better.

Will link

3/22/2019 11:50:46 am

Thanks man! Same to you two.

Madeline

3/22/2019 12:24:35 pm

Does anyone else think it would be interesting, after seeing all the giant/exotic animal sacred beasts, like snowfoxes, wolves, sandvipers, tigers, and dragons, that it would be interesting to just see a really ridiculously high level house cat? Like an animal that started out as a completely ordinary pet, and because cats get into everything, it managed to consume enough elixirs to advance to an absurdly high level (to the distress of its owner because elixirs are not cheap)?

That would be funny, especially given how impressive/dangerous looking the sacred beasts have been so far.

Will link

3/22/2019 12:25:34 pm

Problem is, it would probably end up looking exotic too, even if it STARTED as a normal cat.

Madeline

3/22/2019 12:33:48 pm

Even after becoming an Underlord, if it wanted to look like an ordinary cat? I thought the process of refining and reshaping the body gave the artist some control over how they looked, or was that just because Lindon's arm started as a Remnant?

Avinash

3/22/2019 12:36:38 pm

Orthos did mention that even at lord range sacred beast had to decide what to be/become.
Also since with level will come cognitive ability ,the cat might try for a human form to better control it's madra . Like the dragon monarch did.

Avinash

3/22/2019 12:47:42 pm

The really ridiculous one would have been an ancient sacred squirrel.

Cool Person

3/24/2019 08:29:37 am

You're all wrong... what we need is a monarch-level dust mite!

Avinash

3/24/2019 09:15:57 am

I see ur monarch level dust mite
And raise
A vroshir puppy
One who inherited his power like sharma miara

Cool Person

3/24/2019 12:18:36 pm

@ avinash

then I will make my dust mite ascend cradle and become a judge!

Avinash

3/24/2019 11:19:29 pm

@cool person
Judge of what ?
Also my puppy would be full of innocence and uber cute
Just immagine suriel arrives to fight the vroshir and he just charger her with his cute puppy eyes and starts playing.
U know what now that I think about it ozriel could use him to make suriel defect. Hmmm
Need to plan this out

Cool Person

3/25/2019 03:36:07 pm

@ Avinash

a Judge of the Judges, so like the Judges but 10000000 times more powerful. also, he's uber mean, so he's immune to cuteness and despises innocents.

Arrddvark

3/29/2019 09:26:08 pm

I would like to bet 90 high grade scales on the innocence -despising, judge of the judges dust mite who is immune to the cuteness of brownie puppy

Jeremiah

3/22/2019 02:50:38 pm

You, sir, smell of monkeys!

Cool Person

3/26/2019 06:25:57 pm

Scott Pike

3/22/2019 03:05:27 pm

So two questions form Underlord. Will Lindon need to keep getting more powerful hunger madra every time he powers up to keep his new arm or was that a one time event because of the transformation from True Gold to Underlord that the body goes through?
Also what happens if someone old like Fisher Gesha becomes Underlord? If their body rebuilds itself do they become younger than they were?

Diego

3/22/2019 05:27:26 pm

Yes, it's implied. Jai Daishou STARTED aging, that's how his clan knew he was dying. Before he likely looked like 30-40ish. When we met him he was about to naturally kick the bucket.
Your lifeline seems to determine your youthful appearance. Orthos got younger when he strenghtened it and advancing also rebuilds your lifeline.
Fisher Geisha probably already looks a bit more lively that before.

Avinash

3/22/2019 08:25:10 pm

He may need stronger source when he becomes a herald and then again on becoming a monarch
But within the Lord realm this one should suffice.

My theory on age and advancement is as u advance ur overall age/life line(the thing urrin damaged) increases and the stronger it is the healthier/in ur prime you look

Avinash

3/22/2019 08:26:33 pm

I meant the thing YERIN damaged
Damn autocorrect

Jaeger

3/23/2019 02:07:35 pm

I think he will be good through Archlord for his current arm since i believe the Archstone was an. Archlord level construct, and I bet his arm will eventually become fully functional again. As in he can feel it like a normal one. As for Gesha I bet she would choose to remain the same age she just wouldn’t be the same (I always imagine the grandma from Mulan “I told you! This one’s a lucky one!”)

Cool Person

3/26/2019 06:24:19 pm

probably.

Dreamsteal

3/22/2019 09:05:31 pm

Hey Will quick question, because destruction madra is a thing, is there such a thing as creation madra? Is that kinda what pure madra is? So pure madra is pure "creation" but because pure "creation" isn't really anything it just comes off as blank madra? Eh, I am probably overthinking things. I guess I am a little confused as to why there is such a thing as blank madra and how it fits in to the rest of the world.

Rogue9

3/22/2019 09:14:00 pm

Pure madra is called that because humans named it. There are no sacred beasts with pure madra. Pure madra is human madra. I asked this on Reddit and someone was kind enough to send me to the Abidan Archive. Search pure madra and you can read Will's exact words on the subject. Hope this helps.

Avinash

3/22/2019 09:25:07 pm

Sure there is
I don't know how rare it is but I know of one who did use creation aspect of madra
Judge#000 The creater

Cool Person

3/26/2019 06:22:50 pm

that;s a thing?

Avinash

3/26/2019 07:47:56 pm

Sure the first gen judges were from cradel and one among them could built worlds and possibly iterations out of the void.

Avinash

3/22/2019 09:50:06 pm

Creation artist may be incredibly rare cause creation is a relatively slow process unlike destruction so it might be very difficult to find its aura of sufficient strength.

Cool Person

3/26/2019 06:21:22 pm

it depends on how you define creation.

Avinash

3/26/2019 07:46:24 pm

Any creation process is quite slow wet destruction
Rome wasn't built in a day but it did burn in one

Avinash

3/22/2019 09:47:47 pm

Regarding orthos
I always pictured him as kinda like oogway but instead of inner peace he believes in crushing his enemies
But now he's young again
So now if he chooses human form would he be like an middle-aged man with a shell and a long chinese beard or will he follow the traditional anime approach and become a hunk and romance kelsa.
This being WILL I know the latter is a far fetched theory but if WILL was a mangaka I would have bet my remanent on the second theory

Jaeger

3/23/2019 09:16:05 am

He will become a humanoid turtle regarded as Orthonardo and he will wear a band of black cloth tinged with red with two eye holes. His weapons will be dreamforged illusions made by Newly minted Underlord Wei Shi Kelsa. Lol

Matt

3/23/2019 01:05:37 pm

He had to find family to complete his move to the Lord realm. He doesn't have any dragon turtles in his path. But Lindon became his family, so he sought out Kelsa. She can't take on his path of blackflame but he can teach her that she has to learn all three dimensions of her path (e.g., enforcer, striker) to move up.

It will be interesting to see if another character thread opens up around Ortho and Kelsa.

Madeline

3/23/2019 02:58:13 pm

I have to wonder if this is the miracle that will push her to Underlord (eventually). She now has a Truegold who NEEDS family to journey with to hit Underlord, and if she doesn't advance she won't survive that journey. Orthos is very ancient, and very stubborn.

Avinash

3/23/2019 11:26:43 pm

@madeline
While I do not disagree with any of ur point
2 things got me confused.
1.orthos NEEDS to journey and it's TRADITIONALLY done with family.
So he could go alone if he needed to
2.ORTHOS is Ancient wrt true gold
I think he was around 300+
But that is by no way much in front of Lords , let alone monarchs

Cool Person

3/24/2019 12:20:55 pm

@ madeline
regarding kelsa advancing to underlord
Eithan mentioned that if you just have a generic iron body, then your foundations will be much to weak to advance to underlord

Madeline

3/24/2019 01:04:56 pm

@Cool Person he said barring a ridiculous miracle/infusion of good luck. And we know Makiel twisted fate to ensure Lindon, Yerin, and Eithan would leave Cradle sooner than later, and once people Ascend they don't typically come back. Ensuring that Lindon's only living family member (their parents were a cripple and a non combatant. I'm assuming they're both dead until Will reveals otherwise) is in a position to leave with him is at least enough of a possibly motivating factor that we can't necessarily discount the chance that Makiel would intervene in her fate. I'm not going to say it's definitely going to happen, but it seems more likely than not.

At the very least, Makiel's intervention means we can't take anything for granted in terms of what can and can't be done. Suriel's intervention was sufficient to get Lindon out of Sacred Valley, but her Presence predicted he would die in the duel with Jai Long, no matter what he did. It was Suriel and Ozriel (in the form of Eithan)'s interventions combined that allowed him to surpass that prediction and come out of the duel alive. Makiel's intervention means there are now three Judges messing with fate, and that means I would almost consider the unlikely to be more probable than the likely, because it's the unlikely that will force them to Ascend faster.

Avinash

3/24/2019 11:26:18 pm

Leaving aside all the fate talk
It is usually not possible , that means there are elixers and pills that could do it.
Also if all else fails she could start from the beginning again (this was confirmed to be possible)

Also for all the generic body guys, Lindon thought that every one had the same body ,but even outside clans and families have same iron bodies.and the Wei clan was a big family in past so kelsa may have her clans body due to her path and that might not necessarily be weak enough to survive underlord.

Cool Person

3/25/2019 03:41:43 pm

@ Avinash

good points about starting over and not having generic iron bodies. also, she could make contract with elder whisper and become powerful. or, if she wants to go with orthos, she could start over and become blackflame. while I do like idea of having a illusion based person on the team( she'll probably end up joining lindon, yerin, and mercy somehow), it would be nice for lindon to have someone to practice blackflame with. only problem is then she would go back to lindon with orthos, and orthos sad it would be many years before he came back.

Cool Person

3/26/2019 06:19:06 pm

but im willing to overlook that.

Jaeger

3/23/2019 09:12:33 am

Will you be doing flashbacks later in the series to perhaps explain what happened with the sword sage (my bet is that Samara’s ring is a seal that restricts power because of the many labyrinth openings and he was vulnerable because of it) or what happened to the Aerelius Monarch or the rise of Reigan Shen? I’m just so dang curious not even Oreos can date my hunger for more. Underlord was just so damn good! Tears, laughter and awe rolled up into one book! Can’t wait for more

Cool Person

3/25/2019 03:42:41 pm

put this in the next post, will probably won't read it here.

Cool Person

3/26/2019 06:17:44 pm

Dreamsteal

3/23/2019 12:02:34 pm

Are their other planets in the "world" of cradle? If so, do those planets also have vital aura?

Cool Person

3/24/2019 08:28:08 am

Because iteration 110 is listed as cradle, that implies that there is only one 'planet' in the iteration. however, there are other continents, and it is mentioned that the contnents don't interact with each other

Avinash

3/24/2019 09:18:43 am

Not necessarily
Think australia

Avinash

3/24/2019 09:20:57 am

It is implied that every iteration has its own magic system
So most likely yes other planets in 110 will have aura but it's weaker than cradle

Cool Person

3/24/2019 12:22:16 pm

Wait... cradle has australia?????????????????????????????????????????

Avinash

3/24/2019 11:27:51 pm

HaaaaA
Ha
I meant how the continent australia also has a country called australia.

Cool Person

3/25/2019 03:44:12 pm

@avinash

good point. yeah, tht makes a lot more sense than cradle having australia. darnit, now I want australia with northstrider.

Cool Person

3/26/2019 06:16:11 pm

I can imagine it already....

Matt

3/23/2019 12:54:34 pm

I admit it. I'm hooked. I ran out of good stuff to read twice, kept checking the web site to find out when the next book was coming. When I knew it was two weeks out, re-read the prior three books. I had just re-read the whole series before the last one (ghostwater).

Keep up the good work!

That said. When are you going to draw and post the map of Cradle. At least the map the Skysworn Underlord was using. Maybe throw in a few more details...

And a request. As your characters get more powerful, please don't lose track of 'reality'. They still live in a world of equal and opposing forces. They still have the full range of strengths/weaknesses, blessings/curses, virtues/vices. They still struggle with selfishness over altruism. Still make both bad and good choices.

Bobby Fisher

3/23/2019 03:12:25 pm

You are so right..

Cool Person

3/26/2019 06:15:47 pm

yeah, I would like a few more character developments unrelated to advancement level

Robert Perry

3/23/2019 03:09:40 pm

I was hooked from the first book. I read a lot and hardly write reviews, but these books have been so amazing for me I had to tell anyone who will listen. I am so mad that I have to wait for the next book. It's one of my favorite new series if not one of my favorites ever.. I would gladly help in any of next books. Lol.. As a way to read it first.

Cool Person

3/26/2019 06:15:00 pm

who wouldn't?

Sean

3/23/2019 06:31:00 pm

I read three to four books a week, yet I find myself coming back to your stories to try to understand every facet. You are a diamond of an author and I look forward to giving you my money for years to come. thank you

Cool Person

3/26/2019 06:14:36 pm

yeah, will should set up a patreon page just so I can give money to him.

Theophilus

3/23/2019 06:40:25 pm

I was having fun coming up with path names, so I decided to put them on your blog. If like any of them, feel free to use them, but I really don’t care what you do with them.

The Path of the Crimson Star—light and blood path
The Path of the Shifting Scythe—shadow and death path
The Path of the Shattered Flame—fire path
The Path of the Silent Moon—death path
The Path of the Shattered Night—shadow and sky path
The Path of the Blighted Flame—death and fire path
The Path of the Flowing Wind—sky path
The Path of the Calling Sun—light and dream path
The Path of the Writhing Sea—water path
The Path of the Twisting Leaf—dream and life path
The Path of the Slithering Blade—sword path
The Path of the Weaving Flower—life path
The Path of the Mountain’s Maw—earth path

DesperateFan

3/24/2019 12:06:53 am

Wiill, I demand more personal expression from you. Please.

Cool Person

3/26/2019 06:13:57 pm

agreed

Cool Person

3/24/2019 08:31:35 am

Will, do you have a set posting time, or do you just post whenever you want?

Cool Person

3/26/2019 06:13:37 pm

Drew L

3/24/2019 01:19:21 pm

So, I just finished reading every single book you have published, and I really just want to say thank you. Your work has been an unparalleled reprieve from an incredibly dark time in my life; going as far as reading multiple books in a single session of binge reading.

Thanks, Will. God, I simply cannot wait to dive into the next installment of any of your incredible series. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Cool Person

3/26/2019 06:13:04 pm

I would prefer that 'incredible series' to be cradle.

Drew L

3/29/2019 03:13:33 pm

Likewise, but havin finished the OKAK series recently (I suppose that’s the correct acronym) I’m eager to find out what happens next! Traveler’s gate has so much potential as well. I mean, for the love of god, tie some of it together! Cheers!

Sammy

3/24/2019 04:05:20 pm

Hey Will, if you are looking for another blog post topic, do you think you could do another wuxia recommendation thread? I've already exhausted all the ones you posted on "Ancestors of Cradle". Assuming you're still reading wuxia that is.

Cool Person

3/26/2019 06:11:47 pm

yeah, that would be nice

Theophilus

3/24/2019 05:39:52 pm

I was having fun coming up with path names, so I decided to put them on the blog. If you like any of them, feel free to use them, but I really don’t care what you do with them.

The Path of the Crimson Star—light and blood path
The Path of the Shifting Scythe—shadow and death path
The Path of the Shattered Flame—fire path
The Path of the Silent Moon—death path
The Path of the Shattered Night—shadow and sky path
The Path of the Blighted Flame—death and fire path
The Path of the Flowing Wind—sky path
The Path of the Calling Sun—light and dream path
The Path of the Writhing Sea—water path
The Path of the Twisting Leaf—dream and life path
The Path of the Slithering Blade—sword path
The Path of the Weaving Flower—life path
The Path of the Mountain’s Maw—earth path

Cool Person

3/24/2019 07:11:47 pm

those are good ideas. i just have a few reccomendations. if star madra exists, then crimson star should be blood and star. I think you should change shifting scythe to deathly sword, path of sword and death. actually, just make that another one. shattered night sounds more like shadow and destructin to me. shouldn't flowing wind be a air path?
that's all.

Theophilus

3/24/2019 10:35:19 pm

@ Cool Person

Thanks for your suggestions. I was under the impression, though, that light madra and star madra were the same, as well as air and sky madras. 🤨

Adam

3/28/2019 06:08:12 pm

I don't think star madra is a thing. Remember the path of the stellar spear was derived from the path of the broken star and uses light and sword madra

Avinash

3/24/2019 11:41:58 pm

Path of the sleeping beauty : dream and illusion
Path of the creator . : destruction and creation
Path of ying&yang . :Life and death
Path of the avatar : fire,air,water,earth aura
Path of the lonely king. : Blood and destruction
Path of the reaper . :Shadow and death
Path of life flame :life and flame
Some of the path above req 2 or more core to practice

Cool Person

3/25/2019 06:48:05 pm

I like sleeping beuty, yin and yang, avatar, lonely king, and reapoer. path of the life flame is too badly named, it's called literally what it is. could do something like the green fire. why is creation and destruction path of creation? path of creation should be path of the creator.

Avinash

3/25/2019 07:30:09 pm

Ah but u see
To create something you need to destroy something else first.
Creation springs from destruction.
Also as a hindu the concept of duality is deeply ingrained in me so it fits for me

Or if u want to go all science on me
Law of conservation

Also about life flame
Yeah it's on the nose
But then again sometime the best ans is the simplest one

I did consider green flame but it sounded flame and nature/plant to me.

Cool Person

3/26/2019 04:09:54 pm

@Avinash
while your correct, I still don't like path of life flame and creator.

Avinash

3/26/2019 07:52:08 pm

@cool person
Say no more
For ur satisfaction
Path of creator==path of The alpha and The omega
Path of life flame == path of burning soul

Cool Person

3/27/2019 02:35:06 pm

@Avinash
I do like those, especially burning sould

Adam

3/28/2019 06:16:15 pm

Will talked about a path of life and flame once. I'm pretty sure he called it the path of living flame? He said it was very powerful

NerevarMS

3/24/2019 06:23:24 pm

I really love your invention of Dross, Will.
Im just curous if he was inspired by Portal 2s Weasley ? :)
*Inspired* mind you, its clearly its own entity.

I also love the way you write, and how Shindon can train and upgrade himself, but that his utilities are sentient and can advance in turn. It really is interesting and original developement, Im curious if next major step is on Lil Blue, I feel like she is about to have that critical moment and ascend her Health Pack status haha.

Cool Person

3/26/2019 06:11:11 pm

yeah, I eithan once said that she could become more powerful in te futer, just needs more madra and (possibly?) soulfire.

Avinash

3/28/2019 04:19:21 am

Soul fire isn't going to do anything for him as it was shown in under lord at Lindon's advancment

Vicarious reader

3/24/2019 10:30:25 pm

Not sure if this is going to make a ton of sense to anyone but me, but I read my favorite authors vicariously when I can. Once I've read the published books say, three or four times and can't justify going back for another round (for now,) I'll suggest them to friends and family and bugb them to tell me about their experience with the books.

Sanderson, Pratchett and McClellan have probably been my favorites to do this with.

Well, I have my girlfriend listening to the audio book for Way of Kings and reading the Cradle series at the same time. As much as I love the Stormlight Archive, (and I really, really do,) I'm finding myself even more excited about hearing her impressions about Cradle.

So, that was a long way of saying that Will, you have secured a spot on my list of authors that I consider to be truly exceptional. Your published works started out really fun and and have only gotten better as you've continued. Really excited to see what comes next.

A quick thought about the (Cradle) books themselves, the series up till now has largely involved London and Yerin fighting to advance themselves and catch up (to each other, to Eithan.). We haven't seen much, if anything about what Eithan has been doing to advance. Also, they've had him as a guide, it's not obvious that he's had a guide himself. It seems to me that if anyone is at rush of getting left behind in the next few books, it's Eithan.

Avinash

3/24/2019 11:32:15 pm

Eithan might have been suppressing himself for uncrowned
But that does maje much sense as this tournament was held much earlier and was decided only 1yr ago due to judge 001 manipulation of fate

Cool Person

3/26/2019 04:13:44 pm

@Avinash

yeah, we know that there's something special about eithan. he broke into a prison meant to contain OVERLORDS, and we know that there is some connection between him and the dead arelius family monarch. aslo, there was that comment in skysworn about eithan saying, " finally, no one's watching." or something like that, and then completely destroying longhook without breaking a sweat.

Cool Person

3/26/2019 06:09:56 pm

I think he was trained by the monarch. seems like it would be to hard to hide his rank, but we already know that people of the same rank can be more powerful than others.

Avinash

3/26/2019 07:54:53 pm

Entering the prison could be done using his bloodline ability.
Defeating Longhook when no one was looking was to hide his path and madra reserves.

Caro

3/25/2019 05:29:16 am

Really loved the book :) I was just wondering what is going on with Meira? She is obviously rather strong and has been refered to as abnormal by the Seishen King. Her powers seem weird, like not beeing affected by Mercys huge shadow arrow etc. Somewhere, Will said that there might be a person, who can use two types of madra without blending them. Is that Meira with life and death madra? Will we see more of her in the future? Or is she defeated and irrelevant now? She seems to have an interesting story, so I'm really curious!

Avinash

3/25/2019 09:56:17 am

@caro
So u really think the crazy , abnormally powerful, hell bent on revenge woman who swore to kill the mc is defeated and done for.
Really

Really

REALLY.

Madeline

3/25/2019 10:20:24 am

I wouldn't say done for, but... it was highly implied that Kiro's revelation was that he practices the sacred arts because he's afraid of his father, and Meira practices the sacred arts for Kiro. What happens to an Underlord when the foundation of their ascendance to that rank is destroyed? Not to mention Kiro thought his father would kill her if he didn't survive.

Avinash

3/25/2019 10:30:43 am

@madeline
As malice said the revelation is what u are and not what will always be
Motivation can change and revenge is one of the greatest motivation there is.
Also kiros father was so against her cause she was better than his son, who he always advertised as the strongest, but now the said son is dead and unless the king is an idiot he needs every talented lord he can get especially one who could become Overlord.

Madeline

3/25/2019 12:40:22 pm

If he didn't recognize her when she was their kingdom's lead contender in the which three Underlords get picked competition, why would he recognize her now?

My impression of the four sacred artists from their kingdom is that all four of them were fatally flawed. And while Meira and Daji have definitely been given room to grow, I'm not sure if the king will allow them that growth.

Avinash

3/25/2019 05:42:35 pm

@madeline
Cause at that time he wanted his son to succeed him as king by becoming overlord
And was afraid that if she became an overlord first it might seed rebellion or at the very least undermine kiros authority.
But now she is hell bent on revenge and may be the only one in his kingdome who could become an overlord
Since it will take daji a long time if ever and daji is not the best fit for a ruler

Taken in consideration is also the fact that he all but declared war on black flame empire and their sa would be stronger than his in yr or 2 with atleast 3~4 overlords and so he needs strong sa to defend his empire and only one of them has any real potential for it right now

Madeline

3/26/2019 10:23:23 am

@Avinash
Eh... maybe. I guess I don't exactly WANT her to survive and come after Lindon for revenge, because that feels like straying too close to the lol obsessive woman is obsessive, you took her love and you will pay because that's her only defining characteristic stereotype... it would be different if she had more character building first, but since the only thing we know about her is how devoted to Kiro she was... it's a negative stereotype that makes me uncomfortable.

Cool Person

3/26/2019 06:08:53 pm

@madeline
what exactly is the negative stereotype?

Avinash

3/26/2019 08:00:30 pm

@madeline
There is a reason stereotypes exist cause more often than not they are true.
And while it does Create a negative impression
Just think about it
Here's a abnormally powerful payco who swore revenge on mc in the last book and then she doesn't make an appearance
People are going to ask what happened to her
And since she did not die trying to save kiro , I think will has plans for her
Maybe as an assassin or by going after kelsa or someone else. Cause Lindon is beyond her reach for now and would be overlord by next book

Madeline

3/27/2019 06:55:50 am

@Cool Person
The negative stereotype is the belief that women are more emotional than men, so OF COURSE a woman who is devoted to a man who was killed is going to turn psycho obsessively seeking revenge against the guy who killed him. A man would be much less emotional and never do that, he'd accept that Kiro was trying to murder the person who killed him and it was justified. Of course.

Arrddvark

3/29/2019 09:47:37 pm

@Madeline

While that stereotype is seen too often in media, that isn't what is being portrayed in the book. Don't try to make it something that it's not. Having Meira go after Lindon, even having her being hysterical/emotional, would just be sticking to her character and what she said she'd do. In this case, there isn't a stereotype being propagated, it's just the story being consistent

trent crisp

3/26/2019 11:46:09 am

Love all your work but would really like to see shadows and sea finished up.

Cool Person

3/26/2019 06:08:22 pm

I beg to differ.

Avinash

3/26/2019 08:01:18 pm

Its been almost 4 yrs I think

Cool Person

3/26/2019 06:07:05 pm

how do this post have so many comments?

Cool Person

3/26/2019 06:07:58 pm

I'm just going to see if I can bring this up to 200 comments by commenting on every single post, once again.

Cool Person

3/26/2019 06:28:44 pm

okay, nevermind, I only got halfway before I had ti spend 5 minutes answering questions about wether or not I saw crosswalks for each comment to see if I was a computer,

Arrddvark

3/29/2019 09:49:34 pm

You know you should stop doing what your doing if it makes a computer think your one of its kind

Coool pperson

3/26/2019 06:39:15 pm

okay, I tried using a different computer with the same google acount, and that didn't work. now, I use a different computer on a proxxy using javascript. there should be absolutely no way for it to know.

Avinash

3/26/2019 08:02:20 pm

@ cool person
Don't worry I completed your grand work

Cool Person

3/27/2019 02:36:14 pm

Thank you.
*prays that I won't have to answer useless questions*

Cool Person

3/27/2019 02:37:31 pm

Yes! it worked! I had to clear all of my cookies, which signed me out of all of my sites, but it was worth it!

Cool Person

3/27/2019 02:52:32 pm

why has this post been up for so long?

Cool Person

3/27/2019 02:53:21 pm

oh wait- it's only been 6 days. it feels a lot longer.

An Even Cooler Person

3/27/2019 07:56:00 pm

Will likes to post every two weeks. He might post more often for a little while just because he had a big release recently so he's flush with fans and blog visitors right now, but usually it's two weeks.

Eric Junker

3/29/2019 09:50:45 am

On March 3, Evan Winter, the author of Rage of Dragons, wrote an email touting The Cradle series. As far as I can tell he doesn't know Will Wight, and just wanted to let everyone know that this great book that he found was available for free on Amazon. He had previously done this for the Chaos & Immortality series, which I devoured, so I decided to take a look. I bought the first book, but had to finish what I was reading, so didn't get started for another week. On March 29, about three weeks after I started the first Cradle book, I've now found myself in the terribly disappointing position of not having any more Cradle books to read. And it's seriously bumming me out. I read through all of the available books, like 1800 pages or 600 more than in a standard bible, in 21 days. I've never even finished reading the Bible, so that means that the Cradle series is officially better than the Bible.

I haven't been this anxious for a new book in a series since Jim Butcher stopped writing a Dresden book every year. Please don't be like Jim Butcher. I hope there's another ten books in this series.

Thank you for making audit season a little bit lighter for me this year. (My auditors don't thank you though, since I've been ignoring them for the last three weeks.)

Theorist

4/13/2019 06:29:42 pm

Question about Aurelius clan: The Aurelius are monarch-level faction (even though their monarch is dead). So I'm confused how a branch of the Aurelius could exist as a mid-level clan within the vassal state (Blackflame Empire) of another monarch-level faction (Naru clan).

Theorist

4/13/2019 09:17:37 pm

Correction: "...of another monarch-level faction (*Akura* clan)."

Theorist

4/13/2019 08:33:41 pm

And a question about the striking effect of life water on Lindon's lifeline: I can't find the reference (I'm listening on audiobook, so it's hard to search) but, IIRC, while Mercy said that elixirs like life water were routinely available to Akura heirs, she gave the impression that Lindon's lifeline was thicker than any she'd previously seen in a gold. If so, how is this possible? Here are some possibilities:

1) While elixirs comparable in *value* to the Northstrider life water are available to Akura heirs, that particular *formulation* was a unique product of Northstrider's research program.

2) Elixirs having properties comparable to life water are indeed available to the Akura heirs; however, they are not typically available in the sheer quantity Lindon was able to consume. [Diminishing returns: even a wealthy clan like the Akura needs to apportion their resources, and thus they (lacking the specific research motivation Northstrider had) wouldn't devote the resources needed to produce such large quantities.]

3) Life-water-like elixirs are available to the Akura heirs, and in whatever quantity is needed to maximize their lifeline. However, Lindon's unusual (unique?) iron body allowed him to obtain much more benefit from them than is typical.

In which we ramble on.
And by we, I mean me.