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Will Wight, New York Times Best-Selling Author of 'Cradle'
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In which we ramble on.
And by we, I mean me.

Lindon Van Helsing

12/23/2021

53 Comments

 
Right before 2021 ends, I'm going to try to earn the title of "Most Random Blog Post." Anyway, last night I had a dream that Lindon hunted down and killed a bunch of vampires.

That's what this blog post is going to be. Me recounting that dream in detail. Merry Christmas.

I almost never have Cradle dreams, in spite of what you may expect. When I'm deep enough in Cradle that it consumes my every thought, it's usually because I'm writing, and when I'm writing I have no energy left to dream.

Writing devours dreams. Send help.

But apparently this time I hit that sweet spot of "immersed in Cradle but not a soulless husk," so I had a very vivid and surprisingly well-structured dream starring Lindon, with a cameo appearance by Yerin.

It starts with Lindon walking up to a big Victorian mansion that is for some reason in a normal suburb, like a massive haunted house planted next to a regular real-world one-story house.

He is in another world and completely aware of this. He's there on a mission. I don't know if that mission was to hunt vampires or not, but that's definitely what he ends up doing, because he blasts in the door and incinerates a bunch of low-ranking vampires.

I'm then watching Lindon tear his way through higher-ranking vampires. Each of them wake up, because it's daytime and they were asleep in their coffins, and talks about the new powers they have and how much stronger they are than the last batch, and Lindon effortlessly annihilates them and keeps marching deeper into this huge, sprawling, maze-like mansion.

As he proceeds, the vampires start activating magic to seal off his abilities. I'm not kidding, this whole vampire ranking thing and them coming up with magic ways to deal with Lindon were actually parts of the dream.

The most significant one is that they have this anti-fire enchantment that prevents anyone from using fire magic inside the mansion, thus sealing off Blackflame, which they think will make him powerless. Only to have him switch cores and continue with pure madra techniques.

They seal that off, only to find out that he's also stronger than them, and is getting stronger by feeding on them as he continues.

By the end of the dream, he's facing down this elder vampire, who claims to be a world-ending threat and this apocalyptically powerful being, and Lindon has been stripped of basically all his techniques, but he's still strong enough to go toe-to-toe in a superpowered brawl.

And, even though this isn't very Lindon-like, he's having fun. He's enjoying finding someone in this universe who can, even under these incredibly restricted conditions, kinda-sorta match him.

So Lindon finally wins, the elder vampire lays there dying, and then Yerin blows the entire upper half of the house apart looking for Lindon.

She's shocked and hurt that he would take these guys on without her, because they use blood aura and thus she would have annihilated them instantly.

Dross comes out to explain that was the point, that it would have been too easy had they gone together, and then the dream POV switches to the dying elder vampire who senses the power of these other-world invaders and dies in despair, having realized only at the moment of his death that he was never as powerful as he imagined.

...real dream, no joke.

I also find it pretty hilarious that I didn't dream that *I* was Lindon. For most of it, I was just watching him fight up the vampire ladder from the outside. The only other point-of-view I took besides "person watching" was the evil elder vampire.

So anyway, that was my subtle way of letting you guys know about our upcoming licensing deal to make Blade IV: From the Grave to the Cradle.

​-Will
53 Comments
YBS
12/23/2021 04:55:05 pm

I would absolutely read this short story

Reply
Scott Hernandez
12/23/2021 04:57:20 pm

I truly enjoyed this. I thought it was fun to think of Lindon as a vampire hunter. Thanks for sharing

Reply
Joe M
12/23/2021 05:07:33 pm

Please make this into a short story or even somewhere in the labyrinth would be awesome. Lol

Reply
David
12/23/2021 05:12:44 pm

Most well written dream I’ve ever heard of. Also, yes I’d totally buy that short story.

Reply
Cameron SunshineLongway
12/23/2021 05:16:03 pm

This would be so amazing, I need this... On that note, Dreadgod??

Reply
Michael
12/23/2021 05:16:16 pm

Firstly, lets all appreciate the realization that Lindon is a madra vampire. Secondly, I think I speak for everyone when I say that we need to know which Dross was there with him.

Reply
Justin Achord
12/23/2021 05:17:30 pm

Easy- killing vampires earns points. Short story makes complete sense now.

Reply
Eric
12/23/2021 05:24:40 pm

1) This sounds like a lot of different anime plot points were snatched by your dreaming mind and recycled. Lindon sounds like he mainly went Saitama and the elder vampire was Boris.
2) this story needs the details recorded in the form of an epic 20 minute blooper at the end of the last cradle book.

Reply
Path of Pain
12/23/2021 05:40:04 pm

This is a sign. Your next book is a world in the willverse where vampires are the magic system! Please do this!

Reply
Bill Redflame
12/23/2021 05:45:28 pm

Can you now weave this into the middle of Bloodline v2.0?!?
Returning back to sacred valley only to find the jerkfaced Elders had all abandoned their hopes of advancement and gone vampire! 🤪

Reply
Grumpy
12/23/2021 05:46:20 pm

Tomorrow's dream the Victorian Mansion morphs into the White House and Eithan is Abraham Lincoln fighting vampires.

"I'm sorry, Suriel. I'm sorry I've kept you in the dark all these years."

“Four score and seven years ago I brought forth, upon Cradle, a new pact, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all haircare is not created equal..Seek the great barber and find the true Way” .

Reply
Diego
12/23/2021 06:18:15 pm

Gonna be honest, with your multiple worlds this can totally happen. All that was left is the blood artifact he was searching to make Yerin a weapon compatible with her new path.

Reply
Peach
12/23/2021 06:26:15 pm

So... we know the filler episode when Cradle gets an anime. Nice.

Reply
Kandra
12/23/2021 06:35:51 pm

Oh, I think there's one way to explain why he was happy...

There were points involved. He'd be happy about it for points.

Reply
Ryan
12/23/2021 06:37:02 pm

I was half expecting you to say that your dream dropped spoilers for the next book but you couldn't repeat them in this blog. Or something more clever but some sort of tease / half truth to mess with your fans. Lol

Reply
Timothy Savage
12/23/2021 06:52:05 pm

This was excellent. Thank you so much for sharing. Keep up the good work. Merry Christmas and happy new year.

Reply
Mac
12/23/2021 07:32:59 pm

I'm all aboot this. Sounds like a Dresden/Cradle crossover, eh?

Reply
Masticore39
12/23/2021 08:05:38 pm

So the sequel to Lindondies is called Lindonundead.

Reply
Joshua Howell
12/23/2021 08:49:07 pm

Well, not quite the Christmas surprise I expected but I’m gonna take this as a really late Halloween short story.

Reply
Brian
12/23/2021 08:49:21 pm

Will is Eithan, confirmed.

Reply
Stplmstr link
12/23/2021 09:44:44 pm

Iteration 1260: Tepes

Reply
Sleepy
12/23/2021 09:47:07 pm

So a guy named Wight is dreaming about Vampires?

Reply
Sheldon
12/23/2021 10:09:08 pm

I enjoyed it, yes please more cradle, More!! Sorry… my apologies. I believe that hunger madra seeps into anyone reading the Cradle books. Please, carry on. More!… sorry, got it under control for sure this time.

Reply
Mike
12/23/2021 11:40:03 pm

It could be blooper prelude to another iteration in the Willverse. The Castlevania inspired iteration dominated by a vampire fiend and his underlings/spawn.

In sector 85, a new amalgamation has formed where corrupted segments of dead worlds have come togrther or been pulled into the primary world of a powerful iteration by dark forces. The fiend responsible for this is contained in a castle where it accumulates power while plotting its escape from this world to feed upon the multiverse. Meanwhile, the creatures in the castle cultivate their own powers, as well as the surviving inhabitants of the host world that have been entrapped in the castle that contains the fiend. A young man touched in a unique way by the power of the fiend finds that he can absorb the power of the lesser fiends that he defeats. As he dives deeper into the castle collecting artifacts from the strange worlds and absorbing power from the skeletons, zombies, sahagins, and various creatures, he unlocks new floors of the castle in his quest to defeat the fiend and restore order to his world before it is too late. In fact, a wayward Valinhall traveller might feel right at home as well as perhaps a reincarnated promising reader that was unfortunately killed in EE, and maybe a displaced sacred artist or two.

Alternatively, Interview with a Vampire came to mind with the vengeance scene raiding the vampire den after the "daughter" and "wife" are destroyed, but Castevania offers progression/cultivation -especially the string of games that introduced the powers from the monster soul capturing. Blade might not have easy cultivation without turning into a vampire to some degree or using hunger aspects, but a license deal with Underworld might lead to multiple cultivation paths.

Reply
JM-SL
12/23/2021 11:54:29 pm

That dream was a message send to you for the heaven... It was a "Yes". A new proyect, a new saga called "Reapers". In which a group a people that just ascended of Cradle become a new official division of the Abidan... A division that work beneath the Reaper command and whose job is based on visiting all kind of amazing/dreadful/strange iterations and dealing with "the bad ones..." knowing new magic systems and new "people" with each new mission...

Now leaving that wonderful dream behind....
I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, Will. Be fine.

Reply
Some guy
12/24/2021 12:20:56 am

Some MFers are always tryna ice skate uphill…

We’re gonna need an actual short story form of this ASAP.

Reply
Jacob
12/24/2021 01:31:53 am

You connected with an Icon there, World-hopping, spying on Lindon (while sleeping no less!)

Reply
Paul
12/24/2021 04:23:56 am

If you were hoping for an involuntary snort for that last line, then you succeeded, sir.

Reply
Mario
12/24/2021 05:36:21 am

You know, that's how you realm walk...

Reply
Jon
12/24/2021 05:38:10 am

Thanks for the chuckle!
You could even make it canon. Could be a training scenario for one of the Abidan branches? *Scratches head*
And the presence of a modern suburb is because we're one of the backwater iterations? *Shrug*

Reply
sami
12/24/2021 08:36:58 am

Your pov was the evil elder's because u are dedicately trying to hide the release date of Dreadgod as well as it's progress- which as it happens is starring lindon(elder vampire's archenemy
)

Reply
Dirt elf
12/24/2021 09:58:12 am

Jason Asano comes to mind

Reply
George
12/24/2021 10:41:11 am

That story left a tear in my eye. Lol

Reply
Brian
12/24/2021 01:30:24 pm

Thanks for sharing. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year Will and company.

Reply
BlueIsTheRealOz
12/24/2021 04:25:43 pm

This sounds like the perfect sort of thing for Lindon to get tangled up in as some sort of Amalgam adventure, trying to figure out how to become a traveler too.

Reply
Eric
12/24/2021 04:36:08 pm

Was this dream Pg-13, R, or NC-17? Want to know how you view them in a dream, since in your books it's mostly PG-13.

Reply
Madeline
12/24/2021 05:48:03 pm

I would buy this story.

This is your excuse to actually write a story including wights! Vampire servants!

Reply
Nakos
12/24/2021 11:13:34 pm

And thus, Cradle - "Kick in the door campaign" was born.

Reply
Not that Mike
12/26/2021 09:20:19 am

Please, oh please, write it up as a short story for us once you've finished the series. This sounds awesome!

Reply
Steven Brown
12/26/2021 12:47:06 pm

Bless your sweet insane mind...let the creativity flow and feel the power of the melatonin...

Reply
Matthew Ferguson
12/26/2021 04:53:44 pm

How is it Will's dreams are cooler than so many people's published works?

Reply
An Annoyance With A Wallet
12/27/2021 01:04:13 pm

Hmm.

Reply
Frank
12/28/2021 09:04:14 pm

You're hilarious. and since you are such a prolific writer I don't have to tell you to "shut up and write" Like I do every time George or Patrick post something.

Reply
Tanish link
12/29/2021 11:27:43 am

Interesting that you observed the whole thing, rather than possess the characters as they had this adventure.

Most of my dreams, I'm possessing the character, and have the sense of sight, which I actually lack in the real life.

Reply
Britton
12/30/2021 05:21:39 pm

Tee hee, Grave to the Cradle, that's a good one!

Reply
Arsim612
12/31/2021 07:57:28 pm

I wanted to explain how your cradle dreams are somehow connected to the silent king regaining his power but couldnt come up with anything.

Reply
Qudus Olaniun
1/3/2022 04:14:35 am

That was a very good one.
I had a very good laugh.

Thanks Will. It's Fire🔥

Reply
Mimus
1/9/2022 02:46:06 pm

You know how I know this is probably Will's best blog post ever. I've come back, not to check if there's anything new, but to specifically reread this post like 15 times. Best blog post, best dream 10 out of 10.

Reply
Philip
1/15/2022 05:45:03 pm

I know it's unfair, and you must think about so many other things you'd like to write, but I love Cradle so very much. Through depression and disability, through very serious illness, I root for them and come back again and again. Please keep this world going for all of us that need a little magic, and a few heroes. For those of us who need a lot of them.

Reply
Alex Hamilton
1/17/2022 05:22:20 am

And Tim could come back as a undead :D

Reply
Gregerny The Dog
1/27/2022 10:22:10 am

You should totally put this in the book Will! I think it would be awesome, plus, it gives you more material to use. I'm not sure how you would tie that in though.

Reply
EldritchFeline
1/31/2022 09:37:52 am

Doesn't Lindon like fighting though? Or at least "testing himself"? Why would it be unlike him to fight all those vampires?

I could easily see your dream as being something that Lindon actually does at some point after ascending to the Way, as part of his job as a Reaper (which he will presumably have). The plans of last-boss apocalyptic/world destroying elder vampire would probably be pretty destabilizing to the presence of the Way on that Iteration, so it would make sense for the Reapers (being intended as a preemptive/preventative force) to take them out.

PS: I think perhaps the "person watching" perspective might have been Dross or Little Blue, since Lindon's shoulder is kind of their spot (or at least one of their spots). Unless, of course, they were both clearly present elsewhere in in the dream (it didn't seem like they were aside from Dross after Yerin showed up.
Or maybe that dream is what it would be like for Dross to show the memory of that occurrence to someone (or the Way-record with low Synchronization percentage). That might account for the Elder vampire's perspective, if Dross somehow consumed it's mind/memories as it was dying (either as a naturally discovered/developed ability or a modification preformed by Lindon).

In any case, I hope to read about this scene in a future book, even if it's only a short story in an anthology (like The Traveler's Gate Chronicles anthology). Abyss, there be a whole miniseries focused on Lindon, Yerin, and Co working working for Eithan. Perhaps driven by the Way's Ultimate Incentive Combo: Points and a Leaderboard (the Leaderboard is for Yerin).

Reply
James
3/10/2022 06:38:59 pm

Sounds like a great sequence to add once he ascends. Maybe Lindon can visit HWFWM or DoF in a short?

Reply



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