Next Book: Skysworn

8/3/2017

EDIT: Now that my birthday is over and those mysterious black helicopters have stopped hovering over my house, I've had time to respond to some of your comments. If you were waiting on a response from me, check below!

If I haven't gotten to you yet, I'll be answering more over the next couple of days!

I've done it! I salvaged enough of Blackflame's extra parts that I can cram them into Skysworn.

So Cradle is next, followed by OKAK (which I've also been making progress on, over the last couple of months).

I still don't have a firm release date for Skysworn, and if I officially confirm the date I'm aiming for then you will take it as a promise and lynch me, but it won't be too much longer.

In the meantime...

Let's play a game!

You give me a detail, and I'll make up a short, one-paragraph-or-less story incorporating that detail into one of my worlds. For instance:

"What are prisons like in Cradle?" On the Iceflower Continent, far from the Blackflame Empire, there's a buried chamber chiseled into the heart of a halfsilver vein. Madra is dispersed as soon as it touches the air, and thirteen layers of script repel all aura. There are twenty cells, and no more than twenty prisoners. Imprisoned here are those who cannot be executed.

"Tell me about mountain climbers in Elder Empire." The body of Kthanikahr, the Worm Lord, weaves through a mountain as though through a rotten apple. The Great Elder is miles long, and the stench of his decay is overpowering. Still, some brave the corpse--and the cordon of Imperial troops around the area--to scale the peak and try to harvest a strip of the Worm Lord's skin. It is said that a charm made from this leathery strap can repel Elderspawn, so dozens make the trip each year...and only a handful return.

"Are there any magic wands in Traveler's Gate?" Yes. Most of them suck.

...stuff like that. I'll invent an answer on a spot, and we can do some good old-fashioned worldbuilding together.

It's kind of like writing mini-short stories, except it doesn't take much of my time away from writing books.

-Will

544 Comments

Faris

8/3/2017 02:11:25 pm

Where do you go for the best food in Cradle?

Will link

8/3/2017 02:18:57 pm

In many places in Cradle, it's difficult to tell, but everything in the Blackflame Empire is ranked for your convenience.

The #1 rated restaurant in the Empire is the Dragon's Breath, a grill that specializes in unbelievably exotic meats. There, you can taste spiced sea dragon, butter-roasted Cloud Eagle, slices of butter-soft sashimi from tuna longer than a man is tall, and thousand-year peach wine.

It's appropriately expensive. Many of the customers bring in the creatures their families have captured and pay to have them prepared by the high-class artisans on staff.

Samuel

8/4/2017 04:29:29 pm

What's the biggest chain restaurant in cradle? Such as McDonalds.

Will link

8/14/2017 04:14:49 pm

Sungarden restaurants are all over a different continent. They have life artists that can grow tailor-made fruits and vegetables on command, so you're ordering from a menu of genetic options as much as a selection of dishes.

Nocturniquet

8/3/2017 02:26:22 pm

༼ \m/ ◕◕ ༽\m/

Marvin Anderson

8/3/2017 02:51:29 pm

Tell us about the most dangerous piece of furniture or collection of furniture in the house of blades.

Will link

8/3/2017 03:43:16 pm

Never question the dominion of the Devouring Sofa, whose hunger is never sated and whose thirst for blood is never quenched.

(deriuqer) emaN

8/3/2017 02:52:59 pm

What's the most unconventional weapon of Valinhall?

Will link

8/3/2017 03:42:42 pm

By accident, Valin once created a living whip.

He was trying to improve on the whip, which isn't really a combat-capable weapon, by weaving together Nye cloth with threads from other Territories that he found could move independently. He ended up creating a squirming, wriggling length of leathery rope that indeed could end up killing someone in the right hands, but only if it was in a helpful mood.

He tried various methods of increasing its intelligence, perhaps in an attempt to make it an advisor, but ultimately gave up. It's currently in storage.

Mike

8/3/2017 04:06:54 pm

Now I'm picturing a talking, Nightblood-esque whip that squirms around like a snake whipping evildoers.

Jayceblk

8/3/2017 02:53:12 pm

Are there religious sects in Travelers Gate?

Will link

8/3/2017 03:39:32 pm

I have a meta answer and a story answer for you, Jayce!

(Story)

Yes, there are, though perhaps because of the influence of Territory culture, organized religion never grew as widespread as you might expect. There's a sect that worships the Incarnations, a people who believe that Territories are holy ground and they can only take from naturally occurring Gates, and isolated groups who worship powerful artifacts that fell from Territories.

Enosh still swears by the "saints above," which reflects what they believe happens to people when they die: they are purified and become saints, to watch over the people below.

(Meta)

I find that including religion in stories is more trouble than it's worth.

House of Blades was almost banned from a school, I once found out, because the administration believed it was promoting religion. I have no idea what that was about.

There's also a subset of people who lose their minds whenever you write a fantasy novel with religion in it. If you write a story with a pantheon in it, you're promoting polytheism. If you write a story where there's one creator god, you're promoting monotheism. If I wrote a story where the characters sincerely believed in their religion and it was a positive force in their life, I guarantee you I'd get complaints from atheists about my promoting religion.

I've already gotten such complaints, and that's WITHOUT religion in my books. I can't tell you how many people tripped up over my use of the word "soul" in Cradle.

So since I can't create a fictional belief system without people taking it as a statement of my actual beliefs, I find it's easier to just skirt religion entirely.

Samuel

8/3/2017 03:42:05 pm

That's... kind of disappointing that people can say stuff like that... get over the fact that he says soul, it's obviously not religiously implying anything...

Will link

8/3/2017 03:53:50 pm

It just irks me that I can't write something without it being taken as a statement on how I think the world actually works.

It's a fantasy novel, guys. I write it this way in order to create fun stories, not because I'm trying to subtly promote my agenda or explore how I think the world ought to be.

Some writers react against this phenomenon by being highly critical of religion in their stories, like by promoting all priests as scam artists or all people of faith as deluded. But what I find funny is that, a lot of times, this takes place in a world where magic and the supernatural are actually real.

I recently ran into this in the Castlevania anime on Netflix, where all the priests are evil and corrupt, and they're presented as idiots for relying on God to solve any problems for them. Faith is just a tool to keep the masses in line, and the only reasonable people of faith we're presented with belong to a made-up foreign religion and they don't believe in the Christian God.

Except that, in this world, Hell is DEMONSTRABLY real and demons attack every night. They are kept at bay by holy ground, holy water, crosses, and sanctified weapons.

So, uh...what? Wouldn't any rational person believe in God, in that context? In that case, it's not so much a matter of belief as an observable fact. If there's a swirling portal to Hell in the sky that's vomiting forth demons, you're not going to be skeptical about the existence of the afterlife.

It would make WAY more sense in the world of the story if God and Satan were known to exist, and nobody doubted it. Except then the show creators would be "promoting religion."

It's a catch-22, and one that irritates me, so I just avoid the question in my works as much as possible.

Samuel

8/3/2017 03:57:44 pm

The old catch 22. Well, sorry Will. Just ignore them, if they can't put aside personal beliefs then they shouldn't be reading books.

Diego link

8/3/2017 03:58:50 pm

Put a disclaimer stating its a work of fiction and that your not promoting anything. Maybe it will help? I dislike people that complain about minor stuff like that though, its like their looking for something to complain about. Its supposed to be a free country you should be allowed to write what u want.

Will link

8/3/2017 04:23:28 pm

Well, I mean, I CAN write whatever I want. They're not stopping me, and that's what's cool about the current state of fiction. I can write and publish whatever I want without anyone's approval except the readers'.

But the religious argument is enough of a headache to make me not want to write it. And it's not like I have a burning story about religion that I just have to get off my chest; religion would be a setting detail at most anyway. It's fairly easy to chop it off and just keep writing.

Corey link

8/3/2017 04:27:48 pm

I wonder if any of sanderson's books have been banned from schools for this reason. His Cosmere books always have religion, usually a multitude of them for different cultures. Granted, they never touch religions from this world.

Dustin

8/4/2017 04:20:41 pm

I never understand why people react in such a manner about things like this. I'm not a religious person in any way, shape, fashion or form. I don't see how having religious ideas, real world ones or ones made for the story, detract from the story in and of themselves. If the story sucks, chances are pretty good it would have been bad even if religious ideas were kept out.

Diego link

8/7/2017 12:13:14 pm

Dustin. U have some merit to what your saying. If a writer cant write adding religion isnt going to help, but at the same time u have to realize people all over the world believed in some form of religion. Im not actually sure if there is a pre-industrial culture that didnt possess a religion. Its part of human cultural development especially on earlier time periods. Adding it to a society makes that society all the more believable, especially if the cicumstances of the enviornment directly influenced the religion. Take for example a world where it rains all the time. Its likely they will have at least one rain god and he(they) may be considered the strongest as the rain is always present. Religion also leads to crazy plot developments : fanatics , prophecy, evil cults etc.

IllHangeUpAndListen

8/3/2017 02:54:20 pm

What is the most pleasant and painless iron body type to develop?

Will link

8/3/2017 03:06:01 pm

The Drifting Iron Body.

It involves undergoing a process to weaken gravity's hold on the body, making you lighter. The actual transformation process involves being woven into a silken cocoon made by refiners from plants that grow among the clouds. It feels like being suspended among hundreds of pillows for several hours a day over many weeks.

Diego link

8/3/2017 03:15:15 pm

Screw Lindons wolverine body. The Drifting Iron body is the one for me. I imagine its for people whom want to fly ,glide, float or be a parkour ninja.

Will link

8/3/2017 03:32:55 pm

There's a similar Iron body for a Path that has rigid metallic wings as their Goldsign. They're not a wind Path, so it's difficult for them to fly, but if their bodies are light enough they can glide.

This particular Iron body is from a sect of body-enhancing life artists that you might call ninjas.

Samuel

8/3/2017 07:39:43 pm

Will lindons iron body get stronger the more he advances? That would be very cool to see when he has gotten his maximum potential.

Mathew

8/3/2017 11:14:33 pm

If the most pleasant iron body is asked, then what's with the most painful, except for Lindon's(if his IS even the most painful one)

Will link

8/14/2017 04:11:26 pm

It's hard to quantify the MOST painful Iron Body; is burning alive more painful than being torn apart piece by piece?

Because those are both actual ways of developing an Iron body.

There are some Iron bodies similar to Lindon's that involve being stabbed and cut over and over while you're being healed. There are others that involve adapting your body to fire, which basically means burning yourself one part at a time.

Roonling

8/3/2017 03:02:39 pm

What's the most advanced piece of technology native to Cradle?

Will link

8/3/2017 03:56:56 pm

There are cloudships far more advanced than the one the Arelius family use, and they have powerful onboard weaponry as well as long-range communications and detection.

However, it's difficult to develop technology that works reliably everywhere in Cradle. Gunpowder might explode with too much force in an area where fire aura is strong, or destruction aura might cause an engine to burn too much fuel. There are patches of aura that block certain detection methods, and beings whose very existence can cloud a sacred artist's spiritual senses.

Deadnettle

8/3/2017 03:03:46 pm

Cradle: Are there paths that grant tremendous power swiftly at the cost of later advancement?

Will link

8/3/2017 03:12:59 pm

The most common Paths for those who want to gain quick power at any cost are blood/sword Paths. It's a common pairing, because a battlefield typically has both strong sword aura and strong blood aura.

The aura is powerful, as well as easy to create and cycle: you just have to keep killing people. The stronger the physical body, the greater the power of the blood aura. Virtually everyone who walks a Path of slaughter and bloodshed reaches Truegold quickly.

The problem comes after that.

First of all, you've killed a lot of people, so you've made enemies. They won't let you get away with enjoying the spoils of your evil Path.

Second, even if you manage to slip away, there's no hiding that the power of your soul is drenched in blood. There are blood arts focused on healing, and others focused on strengthening the body, but it's easy to sense the difference between those and powers gained through murder. Peaceful civilizations won't accept you, and there are even laws in many places banning "evil arts," "slaughter arts," "demonic arts," etc.

Therefore, because interaction with other people is difficult, it becomes harder to obtain the backing you need for the resources to cross into Underlord and above. As every further stage requires more and more resources, eventually you'll find yourself stranded and surrounded by enemies. That, or killed in combat.

But it's not as though no one has ever succeeded in advancing along this Path...

Sean

8/4/2017 05:01:05 pm

Are there any instances of sacred artists "selling themselves " into slavery at a coliseum to gain patrons and have a legal way to cultivate blood madra?

Will link

8/14/2017 04:17:07 pm

Most culturally acceptable blood Paths are medical, so it's not difficult to find sources of blood aura. Also, every living being generates some blood aura, so you can cycle a little wherever you are.

Corey

8/3/2017 03:11:30 pm

Woo, three books I wanted are all released this year ;D (Blackflame, Skysworn, Oathbringer)

Are there any paths that follow the same line of rules like common monsters in our world? Werewolves, vampires, that kind of thing.

Will link

8/3/2017 03:14:36 pm

There are some blood Paths that involve advancing by drinking blood, or elixirs made from blood, yes.

And there are a few different types of what you might call werewolves. Some sacred wolves are somewhat humanoid, and there are other Paths that transform into bestial forms in order to fight.

Poly_core

8/3/2017 03:13:29 pm

Great news :) Thanks a lot Will!

How did the other empires of Cradle consider the Blackflames when they were at their strongest? And how would they react to a new Blackflame?

Will link

8/3/2017 03:18:18 pm

"How would they react to a new Blackflame?" is a bit too much of a spoiler, but...

When the Blackflame Empire was at its height, it controlled the whole (massive) continent. That was when it was ruled by dragons.

When the Blackflame family was at the height of their power, their empire controlled about half the continent. As for the other half...well, the dragons and their descendants had to go somewhere.

Now that the Blackflame lineage has fallen, the Empire is even smaller. About a third of the continent. The dragons outside are powerful enough to wipe out the human empire, except that the humans of the Blackflame Empire have a backer.

To the other great nations around the world, including the Ninecloud Court, the original Blackflame Empire was a real power. Now, it's just one territory sheltered under the wing of a true powerhouse.

Samuel

8/3/2017 05:08:02 pm

Who is the backer? Not the dragons, as you said, so who?

Will link

8/3/2017 05:16:27 pm

I'd tell you, but then I'd have to eat your brain.

Samuel

8/3/2017 07:40:42 pm

Well I guess everyone assumes you meant the dragons, then I looked at the exact wording and realized you meant something else.

Tren

8/3/2017 03:15:02 pm

How are shooting stars explained in Cradle?

Will link

8/3/2017 03:21:40 pm

One culture explains them this way:

The night sky is our glimpse into the heavens. When we see a shooting star, we're seeing a heavenly messenger descending to someone in the world.

Gavriel Sontag

8/3/2017 03:18:19 pm

Pure Madra as a building material in the emperor's palace?

Will link

8/3/2017 03:24:20 pm

Pure madra is an unreliable building material. It breaks easily, and it's so impressionable that placing it next to any other Forged madra will cause the two types to mix, changing both of their properties.

However, it is used decoratively. Sometimes it is used to substitute for stained glass; you Forge a pane of pure madra and then stain it in spots with madra of different colors and properties. The other madra spreads like paint through the glass, creating a moving, swirling, blending canvas of living power.

You just have to be careful about how long you let it sit and how much power you put into it, or it might randomly create a powerful effect.

Samuel

8/3/2017 04:10:41 pm

Would it absorb madra launched at it? A forged pane of pure madra would be very cool for Lindon to learn how to do if it could be used as a defense.

Will link

8/3/2017 04:25:15 pm

Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. Technically it would intercept any madra thrown at it, but most of the time it would just shatter. Sometimes it would actually make the technique MORE powerful for having passed through and absorbed the pure madra.

There could be ways to fashion it into a defense, but they're almost all hugely impractical. It would be much easier to just have a regular wall and carve a script into it.

Garbagiel the raccoon

8/3/2017 03:20:57 pm

When not strangling the inhabitants or acting as the caretakers of Valinhall, what do the Nye do in their free time? Do they have any particular hobbies or favorite pastimes?

Diego link

8/3/2017 03:25:03 pm

O.o im interested too. The younger ones seemed very curious while others seemed a bit lazy.

Will link

8/3/2017 03:27:10 pm

Yes, Nye actually do get time off, and they do enjoy it.

They have a number of games that they play to fill the time. Especially Nye children. They will sometimes play hiding games, or their equivalent of tag, or race from one room to another. When they're older or feeling rebellious, they'll go to the edges of the House--where the rooms are unstable and dangerous--and see who can return with a piece from a wild room.

Older Nye spend their time with one another, in typical social gatherings, and they often place bets. The dolls picked up this habit from the Nye.

Corey

8/4/2017 06:23:05 am

Bets you say...

I'm assuming there were some bets on whether or not Simon would survive the house?

Was the Elder in on that bet and if so did he win or lose?

Also what were his odds? I'm assuming many bet against him and maybe a few prospered greatly?

Thanks,
Corey

Will link

8/14/2017 04:19:11 pm

People don't bet against the Eldest anymore. He's right too often.

It's pretty common for him to ruin bets between other Nye by making cryptic comments that cause them to second-guess themselves. He thinks it's hilarious.

Diego link

8/3/2017 03:22:32 pm

Is there a ranking system by the Abidan to measure the world level of advancement? Could u give us the rating for your currently displayed worlds if yes?

Will link

8/3/2017 03:28:10 pm

Yes, the Abidan do have such a system, and sufficiently advanced worlds are allowed to interact with the Abidan openly. Though most Iterations never make it to this point.

I can't share it with you, though, because I haven't perfected it yet. I have an early version of the system, but I don't like it much, and it's likely to change before it makes an appearance in the books.

Diego link

8/3/2017 03:41:05 pm

Thats cool man. I picture Travelers Gate as a young world because Damascans seem somewhere between the iron age and medeival though magic helps. Asylum seems stuck somewhere in the Renisance with the 1-shot muskets. (Also i think there were some crazy inventors whom managed to do a 2-shot pistol irl) Though i doubt the Abidan want to interact with them cuz of the elders. Cradle is obviously the most advanced and seems industrial-era with Flying Clouds (DBZ) replacing cars and constructs replacing wepondry.(dream tablet=telegraphs?) They just need computers, internet and spaceships and gigantic madra contructs(Gundams) and they will get close to us.

Samuel

8/3/2017 03:45:24 pm

That seems impossible because of the icreased gravity. They would need exceptionally powerful propulsion to clear the atmosphere.

Diego link

8/3/2017 03:47:39 pm

Magic

Samuel

8/3/2017 03:48:58 pm

😂

Will link

8/3/2017 04:02:42 pm

Nothing is impossible, Samuel! The flexibility of madra is infinite.

Scott

9/4/2017 01:10:41 pm

I would imagine that the Abidan deliberately limit their interactions with Asylum given that they likely imprisoned some of the elders there. Suriel's Presence states that all known individuals confirmed to be able to threaten Judges are imprisoned in Asylum. I'd also like to point out that the world of Traveler's Gate is likely named either Haven or Sanctum (unsure if this has been confirmed).

Azqa

9/5/2017 07:46:33 am

The Iteration of Traveler's Gate is called Amalgam, per previous blog posts. It lines up neatly with how the Territories currently exist, though that raises the question of "did the Iteration's name change, or has it always consisted of a combination of world fragments?"

James Redflame

8/3/2017 03:22:49 pm

Are there other colors of dragon madra beyond "black"flame?

Will link

8/3/2017 03:31:08 pm

Yes there are, James of the clan Redflame.

The dragons who inhabited the lands of the Blackflame empire were (and are) black, the color of the destructive aura that they cycled. There are sea dragons that are blue, sky dragons with a variety of colors, and earthbound land dragons that might be green or brown.

But you asked about the color of their flame, not the color of their scales. Yes, there are dragons with toxic green flame, frigid icy "flame" that consumes even as it freezes, good old natural flame, and red living flames that drift around like Remnants burning as much as possible to extend their fleeting lives.

13-year-old

8/6/2017 07:41:48 pm

So could Lindon learn all the dragon paths?(If he split his core some more of course.) And does this mean that technically he could learn other beasts paths? If he absorbed the remnant of the sacred beast that was in the arelius bloodline would he get their bloodline powers?

Will link

8/14/2017 04:20:31 pm

There is a way for someone born without bloodline powers to acquire them. But in order for him to get the Arelius powers, he'd have to find the same sacred beast they got their powers from. Or another of a similar type.

Prometheus

8/3/2017 03:24:45 pm

Are there any awakened, sentient, wepaons or items in the Elder Empire?
If that's too spoilery, then is there an iteration in Cradle where people eat Burritos?

Diego link

8/3/2017 04:09:24 pm

By definition i think awakened items possess thoughts even if they are just simple thing like "KILL!" Or "FEED ME!".

Samuel

8/3/2017 04:13:04 pm

Some people think that too...

Will link

8/3/2017 04:47:43 pm

Are the Awakened weapons sentient?

That's a hotly debated question in the Empire. Many Soulbound feel that their Vessels "speak" to them, but always in impressions or mentally communicated desires. Some of them swear they hear an actual voice in their head, but is that really the weapon? Or is it their imagination providing words for the impressions the weapon sends them?

The common belief is that Awakened objects do have a measure of awareness, but not true sapience. They can't "think" or reason beyond the capacity and purpose for which they were created.

...as far as anyone knows.

Samuel

8/3/2017 04:53:02 pm

Remember the thing at the beginning of the chapter in the first book(Shadows and Sea) where is said awakened items shall no longer be allowed on the council of architects? Yeah...

Jeremiah Halstead

8/4/2017 09:12:18 am

Do Soulbound Vessels have their own consciousness? My sword says so but it's a liar. - Jorin Curse-breaker

IllHangeUpAndListen

8/3/2017 03:28:20 pm

Which sacred beast produces the best bristle material for the Aurelias Clans brooms?

Will link

8/3/2017 04:41:20 pm

There's a species of eagle whose tail-feathers have a unique relationship with wind aura. When you sweep such a feathered broom, the wind actually gathers up all the dust and loose debris in a small area and piles it neatly up. Scholars believe that the patterns in the feathers act as a script to produce such a unique effect, but no one really knows for sure.

In battle, the Broom Sage used bristles from the tail of the Thorn Mountain Boar, a fifteen-story-tall boar that ate forests. The wood was taken from a branch of the Underworld Herald, a self-aware ancestral tree that once grew upside-down in an underground kingdom of blood and darkness.

Will link

8/3/2017 04:44:13 pm

*the wood for his BROOM was taken from a branch of the Underworld Herald

That was ambiguously worded, I apologize.

7thGuest

8/3/2017 07:25:34 pm

Wait, wait, wait.
Broom Sage??? WTF?
Is there a Sage for every item in the world?

Samuel

8/3/2017 07:42:13 pm

The broom sage was in charge of the Aurelius family who were janitors... hence the broom.

Samuel

8/3/2017 07:56:21 pm

What Path did the Broom Sage use?

Jacob

8/4/2017 06:10:52 am

The Path of Swept Soul

Samuel

8/3/2017 03:29:52 pm

What path is the best later on in the stages but sucks early in your advancement?

Will link

8/3/2017 04:32:30 pm

Path of the Starseed.

Practitioners gather aura of light and heat into a tiny ball of madra that they keep inside their spirits. They can manifest it, like a tiny star in their hands, but any power they use is taken away from the Starseed's growth.

As they advance, they also advance their Starseed, but it's far less useful than any similar Paths (like, say, Heaven's Glory) until they reach Underlord. Once the Starseed is bathed and forged in soulfire, it becomes another level of existence entirely.

Now practitioners can use their Starseed to melt through stone, and as it gets larger and more dense, the sacred artists become deadlier. If they continue to advance, their Starseeds can eventually burn cities in seconds after manifesting.

Samuel

8/3/2017 04:40:00 pm

I assume the artists on the Path of the Starseed have some way of protecting their body from the aura? Also, can they only manifest it inside their hands, or within a certain distance?

Will link

8/3/2017 04:42:35 pm

It's cupped a few inches from their hands, like a ball. As they advance, they can control it more freely and project it farther.

Samuel

8/3/2017 04:54:01 pm

Does that include inside of bodies?

Sage of the infinite blade

8/27/2017 06:45:57 pm

What prevents them from learning other techniques to use so that they're not almost useless until underlord and beyond? You'd think it would be rather simple to, say, learn to throw the energy from your hand in a beam, or even just a blast, or something of the sort.

David ML

8/3/2017 03:32:47 pm

In the traveler's gate series, are there any other territories yet to be discovered or lost to the ages?

Samuel

8/3/2017 03:34:51 pm

Short story incoming?

Will link

8/3/2017 04:36:53 pm

...I'm afraid to answer this question, David, I'm sorry! I'm afraid because I don't want to back myself into a corner before I've made more progress on the next series.

The best I can do is, "Almost certainly yes."

Deadnettle

8/3/2017 03:34:23 pm

Thanks for answer my first question! Here goes number two: Are there any "dark" or "evil" magics on Amalgam? (something that requires blood sacrifice or is socially unacceptable to practice)

Diego link

8/3/2017 03:52:34 pm

He already answered that. Drinking blood is a no no, though it is possible to advance that way( i think strong blood is an elixer to these people). And most evil blood sacred artists are easy to identify and the practice is banned in most civilized places. So yes evil arts exist.

Will link

8/3/2017 04:01:58 pm

That's in Cradle, Diego. He was asking about the Traveler's Gate world.

There are some answers to this question that I don't want to go into too much detail about, pending spoilers and/or me changing my mind, but each Territory has its dark side.

In general, Ragnarus is considered to be the "evil" Territory. But there are birds in Avernus that can twist and warp the personality of humans, addictive parasitic flowers in Asphodel, and terrible weapons left buried in Lirial. Most of the Arbiters of Naraka obtained their power from the acts of brutal injustice perpetuated against them, and it has left them twisted and broken, willing to commit unspeakable deeds in the pursuit of their ideas of justice.

Diego link

8/3/2017 04:18:13 pm

Apologies deadnettle once more my haste is my undoing. I shall atone by means of self injury.(exercise)

Deadnettle

8/3/2017 04:34:08 pm

No problem, we're all here for some awesome new tidbits and I very easily could have repeated a question. No self flagellation required.

Donald Trump

8/3/2017 03:39:48 pm

Are you telling me that you were working on OKAK when all we wanted was Skysworn? Will... ( deep breaths) I expected better from you. YOU ARE FIRED

Will link

8/3/2017 03:58:44 pm

FAKE NEWS

Diego link

8/3/2017 04:20:15 pm

I see noone else asking so here goes:
Are scripts some form of universal language or just Cradle oriented? Are there similar things in Amalgam or Asylum?

Samuel

8/3/2017 04:24:40 pm

Scripts direct the flow is madra, so I imagine it is cradle oriented.

Diego link

8/3/2017 04:26:18 pm

True but what is madra but energy? And all world possess an energy system no?

Samuel

8/3/2017 04:31:07 pm

How would scripts direct Reading though? You are investing your Intent within the object, therefore defeating the purpose of the scripts.

Diego link

8/3/2017 04:58:58 pm

Simple. They could prevent reading. Or make regular people capable to accessing such a single memory on an object. They could allow an object to accept only one form of intent or a combination of intents. They could even enhance intent. Not even the Sky's the limit with imagination bro.

Samuel

8/3/2017 05:05:25 pm

Wow you are right! I'm thinking to rigidly. I need to start thinking of all possible ways anything can be changed.

Will link

8/3/2017 04:27:46 pm

Scripting is unique to Cradle, but other worlds have similar systems for guiding, shaping, or controlling their native energy.

Diego link

8/3/2017 04:43:41 pm

That would explain Suriels eye thingy for fate reading.

Samuel

8/11/2017 03:28:32 pm

Well Suriel says that her eye things could make Cradle scripting advance too quickly, so she changes the shapes of her eyes, and the Abidan are from Cradle, so it would make sense if those were actually Cradle scripts for seeing fate.

Riley

8/14/2017 09:42:42 am

Samuel, the abidan are not from cradle. At one point Suriel even asks Lindon if he thinks anyone would attack her Homeworld. Cradle is one of thousands of worlds. That doesnt mean everyone originated on cradle.

Samuel

8/14/2017 05:54:57 pm

No, Cradle is the birthplace of the Abidan. Suriel specifically states that Cradle is the birthplace of them in one of her chapters in Unsouled. Cradle was the birthplace of the Abidan, and theoretically Ozriel could cripple their organization for millennia by destroying it, but crippling them was never his goal.

Riley

8/14/2017 06:22:12 pm

Samuel, you are correct i keep forgetting "Abidan" is an organization and not just the title of The 7 (?) Abidans. Yes it is the birthplace of the organization as well as Ozriel but they arent all from there. Okay perfect thank you for pointing that out for me!

Sage of the Infinite Blade

8/9/2017 08:27:24 pm

I mean, we know that Suriel used script on her eyes to enhance her ability to see fate

13-year-old

8/17/2017 06:25:11 pm

Have you ever fought the sage of the endless sword.

Sage of the Infinite Blade

8/20/2017 03:39:11 pm

Lol, it's just a path I came up with in my free time.

Diego link

8/3/2017 04:24:09 pm

I just thought of something crazy. In Asylum could the emperor have "Awakened" himself if he wanted to?

Will link

8/3/2017 04:27:09 pm

Commonly accepted Reader theory in the Aurelian Empire states that human beings are already Awakened. That's what makes us sentient and aware, and why Intent doesn't seem to build up in our body as we age.

Diego link

8/3/2017 04:32:21 pm

You said "commonly accepted" but i saw the emperor push his intent upon an incarnation on a short story fight and we all know he didnt teach everything he knew to the public. Its probably spoliers though so if u cant answer thats fine.

Samuel

8/3/2017 04:27:25 pm

Is the emperor an object?

Diego link

8/3/2017 04:35:00 pm

I suppose his body is an object now. Also out bodies are technically objects.

Samuel

8/13/2017 10:17:19 am

The distinction between humans and animal is a large one. It appears that humans are connected to the Way, while animals (apparently) are not. So perhaps being connected to the Way prevents Intent from building up inside of bodies.

Diego link

8/15/2017 07:17:50 pm

Hmmm. Maybe people have intent in their bodies but are always leaking it out? Thats why they affect objects they use and intent never accumilates inside? O.o maybe thats why the emperor was so powerful he just kept most of his intent inside till he needed it and the opened the flood gates when he went to battle.

Deadnettle

8/3/2017 04:31:45 pm

How much of the Traveler's gate world have we seen? Are there explorers/colonies lost within a territory Robinson Crusoe style?

Will link

8/3/2017 04:35:23 pm

We have seen one small area of the Traveler's Gate world. Like a medium country, or a large state.

Why such a small area, if they have Territories to travel long distances? That's a great question, and hopefully one that I will have a chance to answer in the next book.

Most stories of lost colonies come from Asphodel, both because it is easy to get lost and forgotten there (the Mist is known to devour thoughts and memories) and because there are more colonies in Asphodel. It's the best Territory for farmland, so it's actually the Territory with the greatest number of Travelers. They just don't typically fight; they usually focus on raising crops and keeping farmers safe.

Aaron

8/3/2017 04:51:25 pm

Is Damasca a notable power? You said "medium country or large state," but they also have the only* Elysia and Valinhall travelers...

*that we are aware of

Also, are there any magic artifacts that are not nor have ever been connected to a Territory? Or are they ALL tied to a Territory, whether it is known or not?

Samuel

8/4/2017 11:15:12 am

But wouldn't other nations have their own travelers also?

Will link

8/14/2017 04:23:36 pm

All of the known artifacts with supernatural powers are believed to be connected to a Territory. Is that belief correct? Who knows?

Damasca used to be larger and more important than it is now. Though it could have the chance to rise again...

Diego link

8/3/2017 04:52:21 pm

Do u have a name for Amalgams energy Traveler's use or does each territory have a different energy that's used or do they adapt to Amalgam? I'm also very interested in how artifacts are created but Idk if you could maybe give us a short story(s) on it? Because u explaining it may be hard on a paragraph. The ragnarus mask was already created and only adapted to Valinhall not made from scratch.

Samuel

8/3/2017 05:00:23 pm

Well the territories are world fragments connected to amalgam, if that changes anything.

Will link

8/14/2017 04:24:27 pm

Samuel has it right. The Territories each have their own small, half-formed magic system, and Amalgam is kind of the container in which all of those are mixed.

Sage of the infinite blade

8/27/2017 06:50:46 pm

So would it technically be possible for, say, a Founder to make a Territory that had a similar magic system to Cradle, or another world? If so, that'd be kinda op lol

Deadnettle

8/3/2017 04:59:02 pm

Cradle: Are there legendary remnants that are especially sought after? Also, are there any effects (good oreasonbad) that come from bonding a remnant that is insanely far beyond your cultivation level?

Deadnettle

8/3/2017 07:56:14 pm

I meant good or bad, not whatever it is that got garbled together by my autocorrect

Will link

8/14/2017 04:26:30 pm

There are indeed some ancient or legendary Remnants, at least one of which will be shown in Skysworn.

As far as bonding a Remnant beyond your advancement, it's a big risk. The Remnant has more of a sense of identity, so it can make your bonding process either much easier or much harder.

Yerin could never have bonded the Sword Sage's Remnant, for instance, if he hadn't allowed it.

Samuel

8/14/2017 05:56:59 pm

Didn't u have a post saying something about the Lord of Crows, and how when you wanted an Underlord dead, you didn't have many options? Is this one of those legendary remnants?

Jaden

8/3/2017 05:02:50 pm

Who started the Sacred Valley and/or made them so ignorant to the ways of the world?

Diego link

8/3/2017 05:11:21 pm

London has to return to sacred valley bro. That's 99.9 +0.1% spoliers

Samuel

8/13/2017 10:19:06 am

It would be awesome if we had a short excerpt of Lindon returning to Sacred Valley and finding the Wei Clan destroyed by Heavens Glory.

Alex

8/3/2017 05:05:44 pm

Tell me about the nega realm because nega Alex is too busy playing football to tell me about it

Tievel1

8/3/2017 06:44:33 pm

Were the sacred artists Suriel revealed to Lindon a mere sampling of the beings at that power level, or are these literally the only three groups at their level?

Samuel

8/5/2017 11:19:13 am

Most likely some of the only ones, considering the descriptions of them. Ones a ruler of a powerful kingdom. One is undefeated. One absorbs dragons.

Will link

8/14/2017 04:29:22 pm

They are not the only ones.

In the form of a young boy, an ancient dragon rules the desert to the east of the Blackflame Empire. He is kept from consuming the humans by the deterrent of the Akura clan, whose Matriarch is one of the few beings on the planet he respects.

Northstrider gathers power in the hopes that he will one day be able to challenge this particular dragon.

Madman_Alpha

8/3/2017 06:45:50 pm

Why is the sky blue?

Will link

8/14/2017 04:56:12 pm

All the creatures of Helgard have blue blood because they are descended from the original ancient titan, he whose blood covers the sky. Every sunset, he comes back to life and his blood retreats. Every sunrise, he is slain once more.

Sup3rk1ng

8/3/2017 06:57:06 pm

Does Cradle have a community equivalent to video game theorycrafters, who spend all day working out min/maxed combos of ironbody/cycle method/madra paths?

Not will

8/5/2017 06:26:13 am

I'm not will but I'm guessing yes

Samuel

8/5/2017 11:19:36 am

Almost definitely

Will link

8/14/2017 04:59:32 pm

There is such an organization, and I'd love to go into detail about them, but unfortunately I'm afraid it might be a spoiler.

But the non-story answer is yes!

Ben

8/17/2017 06:17:34 pm

Is Eithan a member? He is certainly min maxing Lindon.

Five

8/3/2017 06:57:45 pm

behind the door in Ragnarus, and/or do people with great Intent leave bodies that can be Awaken?

Five

8/3/2017 06:59:58 pm

or can bodies be Awakened in general?

Diego link

8/3/2017 07:18:12 pm

I don't know if human bodies can be awakened but for sure animal ones can be soulbound. There's an example of that companion of the Emperor whom did it with 3 monster skulls or something. Her name was something with Six.

Samuel

8/3/2017 07:44:39 pm

Estyr Six

Will link

8/14/2017 05:01:07 pm

Objects gather Intent when they are used by a human for a purpose. You would have to use a body for a particular purpose in order to invest it, which is required for Awakening.

Body PARTS are often Awakened.

Adarsh

8/3/2017 07:02:34 pm

Where did the one eyed old man go? That dude who made Queen Cynara the first into an incarnation?

And could a seed of a hanging tree bind an underlord?

Diego link

8/3/2017 08:07:41 pm

I think Indirial mentioned that King Zak lost his eye acquiring the eye? I thought it was insinuated he killed the old guy (for being a jerk) and took the eye for himself but who knows? Wouldn't the tree just drink the Underlords blood and kill him/her?

Doug Holland

8/6/2017 08:40:55 am

I believe that the one eyed man was the founder of ragnarus and is still alive beep in the territory

Samuel

8/13/2017 10:21:32 am

Duh duh duuuuuuuhhhhhhh. The mastermind behind all of the Incarnations actions, using the Obelisk of Control, trying to free himself from his prison deep within the Crimson Vault.

Will link

8/14/2017 05:01:43 pm

This goes a little bit beyond questions I can answer with a made-up worldbuilding story.

Mestama

8/3/2017 07:08:35 pm

Are there any places on cradle where information on sacred art techniques are widely available and indigenous practitioners are encouraged to develop their own paths?

Will link

8/14/2017 06:09:57 pm

The Dawnspring Archive.

It's both a location and an organization dedicated to helping young sacred artists develop their own, personal Path. They have dream tablets from all over the world and from all sorts of Paths, which can encourage children to expand their imaginations and experiences with the sacred arts.

Jacob

8/3/2017 07:19:49 pm

The greatest battle ever to take place in the arena

Will link

8/14/2017 06:16:33 pm

Baldesar Kern, the current Head of the Champion's Guild, was never a gladiator. But he did have one fight in the arena.

He had attempted to persuade a rival of his to back the Guild, but his rival was not convinced of Kern's strength. Therefore, Kern agreed to meet his rival's representative in the arena.

His rival's "representatives" turned out to be a half-dozen Kameira trained and equipped for battle. There was a lizard bigger than a horse with red-hot teeth, a lion-headed ape with a pair of axes, two shark-creatures that may have been Elderspawn, a worm that burrowed through the sand, and a puppy-sized flea that conjured clouds of smoke.

Baldesar's battle with this army of creatures lasted over an hour, and is widely considered the greatest battle ever to take place in an Izyrian arena. It became a mark of honor to say that you were there that day.

At the end, his rival had no choice but to support the Champion's Guild, and the Champions were victorious. As they always are.

lowercase e

8/3/2017 07:22:44 pm

Nice to see the progress tracker back!

What is Gilad's least favorite floor in the tower of Helgard? Also, did they skip floor 13 on the elevator?

Will link

8/14/2017 06:19:39 pm

If they had an elevator, they would skip Floor Sixteen. It's the worst.

Gilad is most afraid of Floor Twenty-Two, where serpents of razor-sharp ice devour heat and light. He can't use his Naraka powers--not that powers from foreign Territories are very reliable in the Tower, but on most floors they can at least be used as a fallback--and he can't carry any torches or lights with him.

His personally least favorite floor, though, is the first floor. It's usually well-populated, and many of those people know his name. He doesn't enjoy the attention.

Garbagiel the raccoon

8/3/2017 07:39:31 pm

I've got a somewhat strange question: are there any paths that are based around salt? Its a mineral with quite a few interesting uses, and rarely shown having any magical properties in fantasy settings. It can be used to preserve meats for long periods of time, allowing civilizations to stockpile food and focus on other things. In large quantities, it can even kill plants and animals.

Not to mention some if the gruesome iron-body trials you could use it in. Ex: flaggelate for fifteen days and nights with a flail soaked in sacred saltwater

Samuel

8/3/2017 09:21:05 pm

On the contrary, salt is used quite a lot as a barrier that "evil" creturea cannot cross.

Garet

8/3/2017 08:29:00 pm

Are there any paths that are agriculturally focused?

Samuel

8/3/2017 09:22:32 pm

Path of the Redflower is used to provide food for the Blackflame Empire. In blackflame, the Jai clan avoided injuring/killing them because of their worth to the empire.

13-year-old

8/7/2017 06:34:10 am

And also because then the Emperor would have had to take action if any of the redflowers were injured or killed.

Sage of the Infinite Blade

8/9/2017 08:32:03 pm

As far as we know, there is no Path of the Redflower. The Redflower clan simply uses a variety of agricultural paths.

Samuel

8/13/2017 10:23:02 am

Sorry, I meant to put Paths of the Redflower Family. My bad!

Will link

8/14/2017 06:07:13 pm

The Redflower family actually uses several Paths in conjunction in order to keep the Empire fed.

The Path of the Yellow Flower involves moving earth and nurturing soil. The Path of the Green Flower encourages growth and the health of crops. The Path of the Blue Flower gathers water from the air and facilitates irrigation. The Path of the White Flower controls air flow and climate regulation.

The Path of the Red Flower, for which the family was named, was designed to defend the others.

Sean K

8/16/2017 11:42:02 am

So, any chance we get to see a practitioner of the Redflower path in Skysworn?

This ONE comment just got me INSANELY interested in the path of the Red Flower!

Hardik

8/3/2017 08:32:28 pm

What would be a popular tale/story/folklore that people would tell their children to scare them in the world of cradle?

kaden

8/6/2017 09:44:34 pm

I'm willing to bet it involves dragons of blackflame artists

Will link

8/14/2017 06:03:59 pm

The Lonely Wolf.

Once, there was a wolf pup born as the smallest in his litter. He wanted nothing more than to be close to his brothers and sisters, but they would shove him out of the den every night, where he would shiver alone in the cold. Every morning, he would try to get close to them again, but every night he was pushed out of the cave once more.

So it was that when a tiger walked into the den and devoured the whole pack, he missed the lonely wolf pup.

The lonely wolf survived, but he was even lonelier than ever. He tried to join another pack, but they too rejected him. He tried to join a flock of birds, but they flew away. Schools of fish fled when he approached the river.

He wandered through life alone, and the years passed. Then the decades. Then the centuries.

The lonely wolf had become more than a simple beast. The shadows responded to his desire to get close to others, and now they hid him. At last, hidden in the shadows, he could slip into other packs and pretend to be one of them. None of the wolves, not even other sacred wolves, ever saw more than a flickering shadow.

But in a way, he was lonelier than ever. Now he could stay close, but not close enough. No one could see him, nor treat him as part of their family. He was nothing but a ghost, drifting through the lives of others.

The loneliness grew until it became an ache, then a pain. Then a hunger.

And he thought of one way to be closer to his fellow wolves.

The first time he swallowed a wolf pup, he finally felt that burden on his soul lighten. Now that there was another wolf inside his skin, his loneliness was relieved. But only briefly.

When his stomach was empty again, he swallowed another wolf. Then another. He worked his way up the pack until he was alone again.

Then he found a village.

Like a creeping shadow, the lonely wolf moved through the homes, looking for someone to join him inside his body. He started with the infants, and when they had all joined him, he moved his way up to the little children. Only when the entire village was with him did he move on to the next village.

So at night, as the firelight flickers, keep watching those patches of shifting shadows at the corner of your eye. It might be the lonely wolf, just looking for another friend.

Hogeyhead

8/14/2017 09:46:54 pm

That's a great story.

Masoric

8/18/2017 08:29:03 am

Never commented before but just had to say that for an off the cuff story that was impressive. Loved it.

Will link

8/21/2017 09:11:15 am

Thanks! I think the core of it works, but if I wanted to use it in a book, I'd boil it down to be simpler. More like a real fairy tale that has been passed down through generations.

I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Adam

8/3/2017 08:42:09 pm

What is a powerful elixir with a huge drawback

Diego link

8/4/2017 02:08:47 pm

Wouldnt it be any elixer with crazy amounts of madra that isnt compatible with the path of the consumer? I mean imagine Lindon swallowing Steller Spear elixers towards his blackflame core.

Will link

8/14/2017 05:51:26 pm

A Dragon's Tear.

It's refined from two perfectly balanced varieties of madra (the actual ingredients used depend on the refiner's Path and the availability in the region). When you swallow it, it releases an explosion of power that "supercharges" your soul, so to speak, releasing enormous power temporarily.

However, it strains the madra channels, which can lead to permanent spiritual damage. In a severe case, it could leave you with no more power than an Unsouled.

More importantly, it's addictive. Not chemically, but even users with no spiritual damage report feeling that their souls feel weaker afterwards in comparison to that brief moment of transcendent power.

the other sam

8/3/2017 08:43:59 pm

Is it time to destroy some evil?

Samuel

8/3/2017 09:23:26 pm

Who are you, imposter? I shall foil thy evil plans, and smite the with a Karate Chop of Justice!

Garbagiel the Raccoon

8/6/2017 07:43:08 am

Nightblood? Is that you?

Barlimor

8/3/2017 09:53:41 pm

What book/novel in the world of Cradle is poularly considered a must read amongst Crade inhabitants and why?

Lastly, what does it retail at?

Will link

8/14/2017 05:44:35 pm

Children of Eternity is a popular novel about a romance between an immortal man and woman in their never-ending quest to stay together, but the world keeps tearing them apart.

It's fairly cheap in the Blackflame Empire, at sixteen low-grade scales per copy. But of course, the scales of some Paths are worth more than others.

IndignantEchdina

8/3/2017 10:02:12 pm

If I wanted to be the greatest travelling musician in the Blackflame empire, what Path should I be following to make this happen?

Adarsh

8/3/2017 11:10:17 pm

The Path of the Wandering Minstrel

Collects sound, light, and dream Madra from stories told to people falling asleep on moonlit nights(or any time there is enough light). This Madra can then be shaped into a reconstruction of whatever anyone imagined while reading the story. The more stories the Wandering Minstrel listens to and cultivates near, the more they can manifest.

Achieving underlord allows one to manifest solid illusions, giving the path some decent combat power at that stage. Further stages allows the summoned dreams to manifest more and more of the power they were dreamed to have. Rumor has it that the Song Sage could briefly manifest an illusion on par with a mid-class member of the Wolf division of the Abidan using nothing but a brief verse.

13-year-old

8/7/2017 06:39:31 am

Then technically couldn't someone on the path of the white fox do the same thing? If they got to a high enough level.

Will link

8/14/2017 05:41:16 pm

If you wanted to be the greatest musician in Cradle, you would have a rival. She is known as Nightsong, though the legends generally agree that she was not born with this name.

She follows the Path of the Moonlit Flute, and her powers vary according to the storyteller. Some say that she played a song over a battle between two Sages who had hated one another for years, and they walked away friends. Only weeks later, the two were married.

It is said she rides a Remnant, but never the same one. She simply plays a song on her flute, and Remnants compete to carry her around.

Mahfuz

8/3/2017 11:08:14 pm

Has anyone of the Abidan in their nigh immortal lives ever asked somebody to get out of their Way?

Jay W

8/14/2017 10:07:48 am

The Abidan sword dripped with blood. A look of disdain passed his face, briefly.

"That was...unfortunate. I would have rather not taken a life today. I told you to get out of my....way."

*Travelers do not behave nicely to those that cut them off on the roads between iterations.

Will link

8/14/2017 05:35:17 pm

10/10

Mathew

8/3/2017 11:20:45 pm

Will, How many peopel have reached the same stage Northstrider has on Cradle.
Currently we only know of 3, or is it 10?

Depends on whether all members of 8-Man Empires have reached the same rank, or if the woman Suriel singled out, who managed to get to Low-Gold when she was only 6 years old, exceeds the rank of her friends.

Will link

8/14/2017 05:34:42 pm

Hm. I don't think I can answer this with a worldbuilding story.

Therefore, I will sidestep with a story that sort of answers your question:

Reigan Shen is the creator and sole practitioner of the Path of the King's Key. Centuries ago, he consulted an oracle and grew to believe that he was destined to rule the world. He seeks to make that vision a reality.

He fought the Eight-Man Empire to a standstill, though they eventually drove him off. He has stolen Northstrider's prey. He is considered one of the Ninecloud Court's greatest enemies, though everyone below the Queen is instructed to treat him as an honored guest, should he arrive.

Only about six years ago, he finally slew his longtime rival. Though Lindon didn't know it, he felt the aftereffects of that battle in Sacred Valley.

Samuel

8/14/2017 06:03:49 pm

I need to know if it is in the books or not, because I will read through them again and again looking for this event...

LeGrand

8/14/2017 08:22:41 pm

Six years ago from when? Could his rival have been the Sword Sage, and have something to do with the fact that he was brought down by what should have been ants to him?

Samuel

8/15/2017 05:13:22 pm

It wouldn't be that, that wasn't 6 years ago, and this guy is possibly one of the most powerful people in the world of Cradle, and the Sword Sage is not at the level of a single member of the Eight-Man Empire, while he fought them all at once.

Sean K

8/16/2017 11:59:43 am

So, 6 years ago, Lindon would have been 10. At the age of 10, Lindon tried for script the bottom of the testing dish to determind his spirit. When he was tested this time, it shook violently enough to draw the attention of the elder, who then investigated and found his trickery.

Could this event have cause the extreme shaking and prevented Lindon from "tricking" his way into become a full foundation member? Instead of being taught a real cycling technique which could have started Lindon early on a path, this "backlash" shook the madra bowl enough and convinced the elder to name him "Unsouled" and forbidden him the techniques of the clan?

Chris N

8/3/2017 11:29:22 pm

So meta question while I think of my story question: can we take these mini stories as canonical?

Will link

8/14/2017 05:27:57 pm

More or less. As with everything I say.

Darren

8/3/2017 11:40:17 pm

What is the average life expectancy of someone on the path of gluttonous avarice?

Adarsh

8/4/2017 01:25:49 am

Depends on what they eat.

Will link

8/14/2017 05:27:35 pm

Adarsh is right.

Some of them, of course, eat anything they can get their hands on. These are almost impossible to kill, as their bodies process the power they consume to protect them. But they often die on their own, as their organs will eventually fail so badly that Enforcer techniques can't preserve them any longer.

However, some of them devour only the most valuable delicacies. Ancient Remnant dead matter processed by Soulsmiths to be edible, the delicately seasoned meat of a thousand-year-old Underlord-level sacred beast, or fruits of such pure power that they glitter like crystal.

These practitioners might be rail-thin and live for centuries more than their counterparts. Their bodies also tend to take on strange properties.

Lord of the Cabbage

8/4/2017 01:40:05 am

Are there any sacred artists out there focused on conditioning their minds, not their bodies?

Will link

8/14/2017 05:23:18 pm

Madra flows through the body, so there are no Paths that don't affect the body in some way.

However, not every sacred artist lives by his fists.

The Path of the Diamond Sky focuses on polishing the power of the mind, until its practitioners have perfect memory, utter control over their emotions, and imaginations so vivid that some of them die inside self-created dreams.

Adarsh

8/15/2017 12:11:51 am

Out of curiosity, did Valin ever learn about Cradle? It seems like a few of Valinhall's powers mimic abilities from Cradle.

Will link

8/15/2017 08:22:00 pm

No, but both worlds are in Sector 11. They tend to have similar or overlapping powers.

Diego link

8/17/2017 04:15:47 pm

What rating of tears of the spatial gates do the Abidan rate Traveler's gates?

Sean K

8/4/2017 05:18:53 am

How would an underlord on the path of the white fox compare to the other underlords of the Blackflame empire?

Will link

8/14/2017 05:19:39 pm

When asked what Paths were the hardest for him to fight, the Underlord of the Cloud Hammer School said, "I despise beyond anything else the cowards who hide behind shadows and illusions. Let a true sacred artist come to me under the light of the sun and do battle. From anything else, I will flee; not because I fear the power of cowards, but because my time is too valuable to burn it away."

JKWAS

8/16/2017 05:11:13 am

I secretly hope Lindon splits his pure core one more time and goes for the path of the white fox. I think the destruction of black flame with the benefits of the pure core would balance well with a little bit of illusion.

Joe

8/4/2017 05:24:52 am

We have never seen further into Ragnarus than the single room behind the door and it doesn't sound like people tend to travel the other direction. What else is there in Ragnarus? Is it an expansive territory with a lot to discover?

Diego link

8/4/2017 01:35:08 pm

While true ragnarus is a vault so i imagine the founder gathered all the items he accumilated there. While there may be other "raw" materials to make artifacts out there or other "vaults" doesnt really matter since Leah is almost certainly too weak as is to venture out there. The first queen (the former incarnation) can probably explore it in a short story though.

Will link

8/14/2017 05:18:02 pm

Once, there was a king that ruled a vast realm. He dove deeply into the power of his world, which rewarded sacrifice: everything he loved was slowly consumed by his collection of magical artifacts.

The scope of this travesty grew to encompass his whole world, until the population of his enormous kingdom served only to feed his magic.

Finally, the fabric of his reality crumbled to dust. Faced with what he'd done, the king managed to preserve the one thing that still mattered to him.

And so his Vault drifted through the oceans of chaos. Until, at last, it found a resting place.

Diego link

8/14/2017 06:18:03 pm

I've always suspected that part of the deal Leah's ancestor had to do to bind Ragnarus to their bloodline was mixing it with the Founder. So if that's true Leah would be descended from that king. Idk if u will ever delve into the creation of each Territory, I'd love to see even a small glimpse of where each fragment came from.

Jeremiah

8/4/2017 05:55:45 am

What is generally held to be the must ridiculous awakened object that turned out to be much more useful than anticipated?

Samuel

8/4/2017 06:10:27 pm

The Awakened Pitcher. It now has the ability to drown people by flooding their lungs with water.

Will link

8/14/2017 05:14:43 pm

A wide-brimmed hat invested to keep its wearer cool. When a Magister spent weeks attempting to Awaken it, his colleagues thought he was crazy. He was actually called into the Guild to question the use of his time.

Now he makes a fortune selling them. They can't be mass-produced, so each hat is a work of the Reader's art. There's a waiting list.

Wearing such a hat is like wearing sunglasses while your head is stuck in an air-conditioned room.

David

8/4/2017 06:22:55 am

What path do professional sex workers follow? Are they in a house and ranked like the janitors?

Diego link

8/4/2017 01:42:01 pm

Wow.... like wow. While that is a part of society i dont think Will wants to explore it and really its not what attracts his readers to his amazing stories.

Donald

8/4/2017 04:35:00 pm

Path of the Sexual Seducment

Will link

8/14/2017 05:11:12 pm

Prostitutes often follow dream Paths, because dream madra can be used to alter appearances, induce emotions, and even find potential customers.

In the Blackflame Empire, they are of course ranked. Everything is ranked. The top brothel is The Court of Roses, which caters to members of the royal family and influential clan leaders.

The number one courtesan in the Court of Roses is Haru Mei, a woman on the Path of Twining Vines. She cycles aura of life and dreams, in a strange combination that helps her sense what others are feeling and manipulate those sensations.

Walter

8/17/2017 06:09:47 pm

It probably gets frustrated having people nit pick over your ideas rather than just accepting that not everything makes sense...., BUT.... wouldn't this mean that the prostitutes would have known that they were peostitutes from a very young age, seeing as you cycle outside madra into your core as early as copper, which is very, very young? Wouldn't it make sense for them to have other, failed paths that circumstances drove them away from that only, if they were to be successful in this way, were compatible with dream and life madra (also essentially making each path unique unless there are different prostitution paths for people of different types of previously cultivated madra, which might even be a crazy spin off series.[not necessarily prostitutes, but an isle of misfit artists where they learn to cycle madra compatible with their own madra to surpass their limitations of their previous path that they could no longer progress upon.]) Anyway, yea- in order to have this path I'm asking if you considered that people start paths and techniques very young, and if there might be an alternative to institutionalized prostitution- is this only courtesans from a path that chose this life over one of politics, music, other forms of entertainment, etc.?

Diego link

8/17/2017 10:07:32 pm

Walter I get what your saying, but I'm actually certain some prostitutes would know they would be prostitutes from a young age. Orphaned girls could get educated and fed while learning the path. Also it's possible to switch paths before Iron I believe. Another example is deviating from your path. Let's say someone is a Life artist. They fail or are destitute. They simply have to add dream madra to their core and get a complex path like Haru Mei.

Will link

8/21/2017 09:14:33 am

@Walter

Not necessarily.

Switching Paths isn't too uncommon, if you're practicing a compatible Path and you're not too old.

Yerin could have switched to a different sword Path, for instance. Lindon hasn't been practicing Blackflame for so long that he couldn't switch to another fire Path, though there would be some conflict until he worked the destruction aura out of his madra.

GLDI8R

8/4/2017 06:27:46 am

Cradle: Are there others who have had two cores and managed to elevate to a decent level? (past underlord)

Will link

8/21/2017 09:15:13 am

There are, but we'll probably end up meeting at least one of them, so I don't want to spoil anything. Sorry!

Blubberfish link

8/4/2017 07:01:51 am

Are there any carnivorous plants on Cradle? If so what is the capability of the most dangerous one?

Samuel

8/5/2017 06:44:02 am

Almost definitely there are.

Will link

8/21/2017 09:18:48 am

I can't comment on which is the most dangerous, because that's a competitive title. But I can tell you about a location, briefly explored in Skysworn, that is hazardous because of the existence of carnivorous plants.

To the south of the Blackflame Empire is a vast jungle, populated by an intricate ecosystem of sacred beasts, Remnants, and ancestral trees. Many of the large-leafed trees in this jungle remain undisturbed long enough to come to life, tearing themselves free of the soil and walking around on their roots.

They use their vines as arms, entangling and feeding on prey creatures that hide in the underbrush. Sacred beasts often live in the branches of these trees--sometimes flocks of birds or troops of monkeys. They feed on the scraps left behind when the tree eats, and on the spirit-fruits the tree occasionally produces.

ben10 link

8/4/2017 07:03:38 am

Is/was the fisher geisha married?

gordon

8/4/2017 07:09:01 am

Probably, assuming that she told Lindon the truth in Soulsmith when she told him she married the last person that made her wait. This was when he first followed her back to her foundry with the idea of asking to become her apprentice.

Will link

8/14/2017 04:58:49 pm

She was, and in fact I expect to go into slightly more detail in Skysworn.

Deadnettle

8/4/2017 07:11:50 am

Cradle: Are there any paths that utilize "space" aura like the rabbit, bat and mole in unsouled? (I can envision a path of the Infinite step. Highly focused on movement, mobility and field manipulation.)

Will link

8/21/2017 09:19:21 am

Yes there are, and we'll get to see plenty of them...later in the series. Spoilers abound!

Riley (Of the Celestial Pheonix Path)

8/4/2017 07:25:57 am

I know you have said you are doing it and it might be in a book later, but i reallllllllly want a description of the steps of advancement and what each advancement does to the body/soul/core and the amount of power that seperates each advancement.

If you say no to that.... what do you call the stage that this honoured one would have to be to leave Cradle.

Riley (Of the Celestial Pheonix Path)

8/4/2017 08:11:42 am

I just thought of another question.... it may be a spoiler but.... What is the Sword Sage's reputation. (It is mentioned in awe by most and some don't really even know who he is)

Sean K

8/6/2017 05:58:14 am

Yerin (the sword sage's disciple who follows the same path) is on the path of the Endless Sword, who's primary principle states that all swords are one. It's a path who's every technique is part ruler, gathering aura with every swipe to make her attacks as sharp as possible. The main weakness of this path is that the path has no technique to strengthen the physical body.

Will link

8/21/2017 09:20:24 am

I can't answer any of this.

However, the Sword Sage could have left Cradle had he wanted to. And there were still plenty of people stronger than him in the world.

James

8/21/2017 08:48:33 pm

Will, what was the Sword Sage's Gold sign and why didn't the Jades at the Heaven's Glory School recognize there was something different about him?

I need an Idiot's Guide to the Willverse

8/4/2017 07:35:28 am

What is the deepest point in the Aion Sea (that's the Elder Empire sea, right? Forgive this one's idiodicy if he's wrong.), how deep is it, and what is the most horrible creature that lives there?

Will link

8/21/2017 09:32:10 am

The Vebross Pit is a legendary location at the bottom of the Aion Sea, passed down through Navigator tradition.

No one has ever explored it--there are many shallow locations in the Aion Sea that have never been explored, to say nothing of the true depths--but many Navigators employ Soulbound with water-scanning and scouting powers. All of them report impenetrable depths around a general location near the center of the Sea, and that area has been referred to as the Vebross Pit.

The ocean seems almost dead around the Pit, with no sightings reported of anomalous events, Kameira, Elderspawn, or anything but natural fish. Therefore, the Navigators once preferred routes over the Pit.

But that only lasted a short time.

Navigator ships began to go missing. This is not in itself too unusual, but when it continued for three or four years and started to cost the Guild money, the Guild Head sent out an expeditionary force to investigate the Pit.

The Witnesses accompanying the expedition returned reporting a phenomenon that happened at night. As the moon rose, a vast humanoid face seemed to rise from the depths. It grew closer and closer, until the captain of their vessel realized that the face was big enough to cover the ocean for miles.

Their force escaped with no losses, and from then on, the Vebross Pit was classified by the Navigator's Guild as an Unknown Danger Zone. A captain plotting a course through such a zone must leave all Guild assets behind, as they are likely to be lost.

Diego link

8/4/2017 08:40:43 am

What is the most revivaled and infamous person in Cradle History?

Sean K

8/6/2017 06:00:22 am

In ALL of Cradle's history? I'd probably say it was Gabargiel, the Racoon before he ascended into the heaves. No where was any trashcan safe from his clutches, causing trash to be tossed all over the street!

Samuel

8/8/2017 07:57:26 am

*cough*Ozriel*cough*

Will link

8/21/2017 09:44:39 am

One of the most well-known and reviled criminals in the history of the Blackflame Empire was a man named Gan Lo Zin, who operated the most well-known Remnant factory to be taken down and exposed.

So-called Remnant factories kidnap children at Copper, then strap them to scripted devices and force-feed them scales. Their madra is cycled by force through scripts and madra devices, which is often inefficient, painful, and leads to long-term spiritual damage.

However, this doesn't tend to matter. Because as soon as the children reach Jade, and thus leave stable Remnants of a high enough quality, they are slaughtered. Their Remnants are sealed and captured in boxes, to be categorized and sold to large organizations with a need for great quantities of bindings, dead matter, or Remnants for Lowgold bonding.

When Gan Lo Zin was exposed, it caused a public outcry. It's estimated that he was responsible for the deaths of as many as thirty thousand people.

However, when captured and questioned by the Skysworn, he maintained that he was far from the only one to operate such a facility. Outside the boundaries of the Empire, and even on other continents, he claimed that many large organizations ran their own Remnant factories.

They were, he said, the inevitable price of progress.

Diego link

8/24/2017 12:51:24 am

Holy carp that's scary. Also it's a sad fact of life such things occur in real life as well. :(

Man of the path of reading

8/4/2017 09:30:34 am

Is there an awakened object that was awakened to be the aqivelent of an AI (artificial intelligence)

Diego link

8/7/2017 11:50:17 pm

Will posted he sacrificed true AI to establish humans dominance over the universe or else all the gods would be AI's. They dont exisit in his universe.

Will link

8/21/2017 09:46:53 am

In a certain sense, yes. There are records of a dozen Soulbound whose Vessels were books. These Soulbound exhibited superior memories, enhanced insight, and a remarkable ability to organize their thoughts and impressions.

Yosef

8/4/2017 09:31:31 am

what does water turn into if left to gather madra for long enough like a stone will turn into a Titians bone.

Samuel

8/4/2017 10:18:51 am

Titans Drool? A single drop will completely rehydrate you, and restore your madra.

Diego link

8/4/2017 01:44:16 pm

Wouldnt it be something like Divine Tears? Or Heavely/Sacred waters?

Samuel

8/4/2017 04:36:03 pm

Yes, I was just being silly. And there seems to be a place like that on Sacred Valley also, right?

Samuel

8/4/2017 05:32:52 pm

Oohhh Titans Tear's

Samuel

8/6/2017 01:55:14 pm

What about air that is left alone for large amounts of time? Titan's Breath, and it completely revitalizes anybody who breaths it in.

Will link

8/21/2017 09:51:38 am

Sacred pools, which are referred to differently in different lands, are actually fairly common. Titan's bone is almost mythical, because of how long it takes stone aura to condense in rocks and how deep you have to drill to excavate it.

However, sacred pools, divine springs, and so on are commonly used to refine elixirs. They are often cultivated specifically in the gardens of powerful sects.

Some believe that the deep ocean has the water with the most condensed and powerful aura, but that's difficult to judge. The power of water is of course overwhelming down there, but no one is known to have filled a container with deep-ocean water and returned to the surface without contaminating the power of the sample.

Sage of the infinite blade

8/27/2017 07:07:39 pm

So then, what was with that one spring on top of a mountain in Sacred Valley that reversed aging, as far as we could tell? If all Sacred Pools did that, then you'd think people like the Jai Clan Patriarch wouldn't be about to die of old age.

Samuel

8/4/2017 11:00:38 am

Many paths seem that all they need to do is hit somebody with one hit and the person dies, ex. Heavens Glory. It seemed like if somebody was hit, they die. What keeps underlords, sages, from being just one shot K.O. by a Jade or lowgold?

Jacob

8/4/2017 11:16:45 am

I think generally just their madra strength. Remember at the end of blackflame while orthos is fighting the sand vipers, everyone is astonished that Lindon's attack was able to damage the patriarch?

Samuel

8/4/2017 11:21:54 am

Thought so but wasn't sure. Also, chief, not patriarch. Just saying.

Benj

8/7/2017 07:45:20 am

It's mentioned that jade sight works like a automatic threat detector a couple of times, thief spirit warns them of hostile threats, the higher your advancement it the better it gets I suppose. So ambushes is possible but you're not going to be able to knock someone out in their sleep

Will link

8/21/2017 09:59:13 am

Within your body, your madra holds sway. This is why non-pure madra can't be effectively used in an Empty Palm style technique, because you can't just "inject" your madra into someone and expect it to do anything. It's also why fire Paths don't just set the air in their opponent's lungs on fire and walk away.

The reason why a Heaven's Glory Jade can't just gun down an Underlord is an expansion of this principle. If your madra is sufficiently more powerful than your opponent's, it becomes hard for their Striker techniques to even hurt your skin. Often, the madra is simply dispersed when it touches you. The same is true for Forged madra--it can be dispersed by the natural madra of a more-advanced opponent.

Ruler techniques will work equally on anyone, so they're usually what you use if you have to fight a more advanced opponent. However, there are some drawbacks.

First of all, not every Path has a battle-ready Ruler technique. Second, Ruler techniques often take a long time to implement; you have to gather up compatible aura in the area and then activate it in a specific manner.

It's also expected that an Underlord will have more powerful Ruler techniques than a Truegold, or will sense what is happening and dodge or disrupt it.

As for Enforcer techniques, they of course work fine against higher-level opponents. But usually, someone more advanced than you will also get better results out of their Enforcer techniques.

Samuel

8/27/2017 10:20:47 am

Soooo... HOW did the Jades of Heavens Glory kill the Sword Sage??? Unless his body was deteriorating or he was almost dead anyway, that should be impossible...

Rel

8/4/2017 11:03:34 am

Hi Will, you and your books are awesome.

So, in Cradle, what are Sages exactly?

More meta, but which Path or Iron Body would you choose?

Samuel

8/4/2017 11:18:12 am

Sages are those who reach the end of their Path.

Jacob

8/4/2017 11:30:23 am

Has Will said that? How do you define the end of a path?

Samuel

8/4/2017 04:37:35 pm

Eithan says that Yerins foundation is so pure and firm that only one at the end of a path could have such a disciple(or something along those lines). He then says how the sword sage disappeared and here is his apprentice so 2+2=4

Samuel

8/4/2017 04:40:45 pm

I assume it means that they understand everything about their path on their bones, limitations and maximum potential, how compatible it is with other madra types, etc.

Samuel

8/4/2017 04:48:58 pm

In, not on.

Sage of Tequila

8/5/2017 03:06:25 pm

That was my original hypothesis, and the rather naive and obvious assumption.

But after further reflection, I doubt it could be that simple. Paths, by their very nature, don't really have an "end". Suriel said it herself. "Improve yourself" is foundation of any path. And there is never any point where you can stop improving (short of becoming omnipotent and omniscient etc etc).

Sage of tequila

8/5/2017 03:12:57 pm

Also note that a Sage is usually named after an object, not a Path. Such as a Sword Sage, a Sage of Brooms, a Sage of Tequila, etc.

Samuel

8/5/2017 04:17:55 pm

While that is true, understanding your path and being at the end of your path are not the same. Most likely it isn't the end of a path, but a stage so high only a few go above such as the ones shown in unsouled. So you know your path, but madra isn't as strong as it could be, etc. etc.

Samuel

8/5/2017 04:21:16 pm

However, we don't know the Broom Sages Path. We do know the Sword Sages though, which was the Endless SWORD. Most likely it simply means their path used that as a weapon, and when they don't use a weapon, the name of their madra.

Santiago

9/16/2017 10:32:35 am

Didn't Elder Whisper Say that there is no limit to a path?

Samuel

8/6/2017 08:45:42 am

Also, the Sword Sages full title was Sage of the Endless Sword.

Diego link

8/8/2017 11:32:53 pm

I think Sages are people on the cusp of Ascension. And it's obvious Will would just make an iron body with everything and choose that one.

Samuel

8/9/2017 12:51:59 pm

Duh! Super regeneration, flying, super strength, super speed, all of the above combined into one body. Super Mans got some competition.

Sage of the Infinite Blade

8/9/2017 08:40:09 pm

No, Will even said that Sage is an advancement level, and people like the Luminous Queen, Northstrider, and the people in the Eight-Fold Spear path are WAY beyond sage. A Sage CAN advance, but they're not necessarily at the cusp of it, as there's no set level at which you can advance. And I know sage can advance because Will stated that the Sage of the Endless Sword could've advanced if he had the knowledge, skill, and desire to do so.

Diego link

8/10/2017 08:06:05 am

Idk where Will said Northstrider, Luminous Queen etc. were stronger than the sword sage but u can still advance once ur on the cusp of Ascension. Ascending is basically that advancing. There are also advancement levels to the immortals if im not mistaken and Will says u nevere stop advancing.

Sage of the Infinite Blade

8/20/2017 03:42:22 pm

Will said that they are at the last advancement level before they would have to ascend. I might be wrong, as I forget where he said that, but I'm pretty sure he did. Also, yeah, he did state they are way stronger. He even said at one point that if Li Markuth and the Sage of the Endless Sword tried to kill the Luminous Queen, they'd die to her guards before ever reaching her. He also stated they were 5 advancement levels ahead of him.

Will link

8/21/2017 10:02:49 am

Sages are Archlords who have achieved [something special] that sets them apart from their peers. There are levels above Archlord, but Sages are actually more rare than the stage immediately over Archlord. It's easier to advance than to distinguish yourself and become a Sage.

As for which Path I'd choose, that's an interesting question. I initially thought I would go with the Path of the Cloud Hammer, because it is a force-based Path with fairly easy aura to cultivate and many broad applications. Plus, they can run on air.

However, since then I've realized I'm lazy, and I would prefer a Path that required me to move less. There are summoner-style Paths that involve manipulating construct puppets, and I'd probably choose one of them.

Diego link

8/25/2017 10:58:45 am

Path of the Last Oath?

Nan

8/4/2017 11:06:40 am

In the world of Cradle, is there a path that forsakes strength and power to attain beauty?

Benj

8/7/2017 07:47:37 am

Yeah remember the sculptor, deep eye path I think, that was literally a sacred art path? Was mentioned briefly.

Jay w.

8/4/2017 11:09:34 am

What would a Cradle board game look like?

Jacob

8/4/2017 11:30:45 am

I'm not sure, but I would buy it

Joe

8/4/2017 12:22:31 pm

It's not a Cradle board game, but I'm working on one right now that the original idea for was inspired by the labyrinth under Sacred Valley. I've abstracted it quite a bit since most people would have no clue what I was talking about otherwise, but it is Cradle inspired in a way. It's still in play testing phases, but I'm hoping to be talking to my publisher about it within the year.

Samuel

8/4/2017 06:12:49 pm

Interesting. I would definitely buy that.

Deadnettle

8/4/2017 03:07:14 pm

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Alo

8/4/2017 03:22:08 pm

What happens to things twisted by Incarnations into their territory like ares when the incarnation is gone? Does it slowly revert? Are there a bunch of benches and woodwork on the fields where Valin wandered around that will now be there forever?

Sean

8/4/2017 04:39:20 pm

Are there paths that specialize in hunting down remnants and selling them intact.

Are there sacred artists that form contracts with remnants (similar to how lindon made the contract in book 1) on a more permanent scale?

Samuel

8/4/2017 04:42:33 pm

I now picture a man leading a massive army of hornets and trees...

Sean

8/4/2017 04:52:25 pm

So i was thinking more along the lines of a trusty companion like chewy or groot but an army of hornets sounds way cooler

Samuel

8/4/2017 05:12:24 pm

What is possible to forge with Blackflame madra? Like a living flame or something that shoots blackflame

Deadnettle

8/4/2017 07:06:14 pm

I can easily imagine something similar to dark souls 3's black serpent pyromancy. We already had an example of something similar with tendrils of blackflame crawling across dragon bones when Lindon first obtained blackflame madra, just imagine it with a bit more agency in seeking out targets.

Ravi

8/4/2017 06:02:27 pm

What is the most common joke on Cradle? (Chicken crossing the road level) Or, what's the most common joke involving the Abidan?

Samuel

8/4/2017 06:14:29 pm

For the Abidan, probably something like ft out of my Way, or you were outFoxed, or something along those lines.

Benj

9/14/2017 11:38:41 pm

You're in the way?/get out of my way
For cradle? Maybe something like 'let's get down to the core of the issue'.

Maybe something like en-core-aging youngsters? There's a lot about jokes that are contextual/based on language and semantics though so there could be anything from "what did the mind remnant say to the wind remenant? -- nice so SEE YOU" HAHHAHAHAH

which makes no sense to us but I assume it would be hilarious to somebody

Samuel

8/4/2017 06:16:19 pm

For cradle, I would guess something that involves the word path.

Sean

8/4/2017 06:18:57 pm

Cradle: sacred beasts, im interested in just about anything you have to say about them. But im particularly interested if there are those who focus there paths on creating sacred beasts. Like tuning their pet into sacred beasts or raising animals to be sacred beasts instead of focusing on their own progression

Are there people who try to give madra back to nature in the hopes of harvesting better spirit fruit?

Joshua

8/4/2017 09:16:40 pm

It's time for 'Oceans 11:Cradle'; a group of individuals with special skills have to be gathered to overcome an elaborate security system. What does this look like?

Gordon

8/5/2017 05:43:47 am

If Lindon had rejected the Heaven and Earth Purification Wheel cycling technique, what others might Eithan have recommended?

Gordon

8/5/2017 06:01:38 am

Also, what is the long and fascinating history of the HEPW?

Not will

8/5/2017 06:28:30 am

I'm not will but im pretty sure eithan made it up

Gordon

8/5/2017 07:38:15 am

I got that impression too Not Will, but I was curious what Actual Will might come up with.

Samuel

8/5/2017 11:27:22 am

He probably has some amazing story about it filed away somewhere

13-year-old

8/7/2017 06:53:35 am

He said he found it in his library and used it because there's no pure vital aura

Sage of the Infinite Blade

8/9/2017 08:42:44 pm

Eithan did NOT create the path, he says he found it in the Aurelius Library

Sage of the Infinite Blade

8/20/2017 03:43:16 pm

*did not create the cycling technique. Dunno why I said path lol

Benj

9/14/2017 11:44:01 pm

We know eithan recommended it because it specialised in capacity, which was necessary for a pure path which couldn't draw its madra from local aura quickly. The wheel isn't important in itself it is just a way to get capacity so there isn't much you can do with it.
If he were trying to get a technique which benefited black flame instead of pure it might have looked something like a sort of osculatory thing (like a swing where each down swing would have provided momentum for the next cycle?) ? Drawing in huge amounts of aura then compressing it to spray out into the body, sort of like a jet engine or something which would have suited black flame styles... it's probably more infinite but it's difficult to say bc we've only seen 1

Walter

8/5/2017 06:30:22 am

You've mentioned physical sculpture, but are there any sacred arts that use 2 dimensional art or calligraphy as key to their path? You've mentioned scripting and that it's the most basic and that even unsouled Lindon could do them, but what about advanced, complex artists? Is this like soulsmithing and what was required for the Blackflame trials? some people are better writers- does your talent, practice, genre, or anything like that matter?? 😊

worldwide military-industrial complex?

8/5/2017 08:54:49 am

Is everyone in cradle (especially the sacred valley) a "sacred artist?" I know there are sects that focus on farming and forging, but... who builds the houses, makes the paper, weaves the cloth, etc? Is everyone a sacred artist first, and an artisan/laborer second? And if so - why are "Sacred Artists' robes" not just called "robes?"

Samuel

8/5/2017 11:28:38 am

Well I'm sure there are some paths for making stuff like that, and it would be much easier to do physical labor with an iron body.

Heaps of Fun

8/7/2017 11:50:50 am

In unsouled Lindon kills the guy that forges bricks. I'm pretty sure they talk about how that path is meant for building.

Samuel

8/14/2017 06:28:52 pm

They do, but need scripts to keep the bricks from disappearing.

Diego link

8/7/2017 11:44:53 pm

U have to remembee Cradle is the birthplace of the Abidan the iteration is probably several million years old so information about cycling is readily available to anyone. Their technology is pretty advanced, we just see magic and most of what we are reading about Sacred Valley is that their backwards ignorant rednecks living in the wild. If your gonna study a career to be say a smith. Why not get a path that helps you with it? Iron body gives u a host of benifits and from my understanding u age slower as u advance. Also its part of the culture and childhood upbringing. So more than likely everyone does follow a path.

Samuel

8/8/2017 07:59:40 am

Exactly. And you could probably even learn how to forge swords with said path you follow.

Magister Aegon

8/12/2017 02:04:51 am

You are only a sacred artist if you are lowgold or higher outside of Sacred Valley. There are most likely a bunch of people who are only iron or jade who do manual labor.

Samuel

8/15/2017 05:22:59 pm

Children are gold outside of Sacred Valley. While that might not be true for everyone, if a child can reach Gold, a 30 year old man can. Even if they are pumped on elixirs, it would just take longer to advance and you would still end up being Gold.

Shane

8/5/2017 08:59:47 am

Are there any media sources on Cradle (e.g. newspapers, fox news etc.) and if so what do they normally cover?

Rugger

8/5/2017 09:34:38 am

Is it bad for Lindon's health to keep regenerating his body like that? It's a common theme in other stories with enhanced regeneration that the body ages faster due to the limits of cells making imperfect copies of themselves. I know a major draw for cultivators is longevity, and this might explain why few others go for the power of a regenerating body (besides the pain and danger).

Not will

8/5/2017 11:01:55 am

I'm guessing no because he's healed by magic and even if it is bad for him the blackflame madra is worse

Samuel

8/5/2017 11:31:14 am

The iron body repairs his body. That's it. Boom, done, end of story. No science here. And I get the feeling the madra doesn't repair his body, it just gives his body the ability to heal itself at a very fast rate.

manty05

8/6/2017 01:24:11 pm

I think it depends on whatever or not does Lindon's bloodforged iron body boost cellular division only or also the body's immune system and the like. Should the body's immune system also be boosted, then it could be able to detect and eliminate any (or most) dis functioning cells before they become a threat.
Though there could also be an iron body type that prioritized regeneration(could regrow limbs) at the cost of general health(user had to use special elixirs to avoid or slow the deterioration).

Diego link

8/7/2017 11:36:35 pm

I dont think Will takes the time to study biology and come up with a plausible scientific explaination for his magic. Its magic. And magics well... u know.... magic. Look at the immortals they dont age and Lindon will supposedly reach that level someday. I think most people dont go for the bloodforfed iron body because 1.)Its draining and there are healers everywhere 2.) People prefer power over defense 3.) It doesnt suit their path.

Samuel

8/8/2017 08:00:20 am

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Sage of the Infinite Blade

8/9/2017 08:44:48 pm

Eithan says that Lindon's iron body gets rid of all diseases and toxins and such using his madra

Jonathan

8/15/2017 12:24:26 pm

Actually if you look at Soulsmith and when Jai Long is officiating the young Sand Viper into maturity. you notice that the amount of venom and blood is very small. Now they may simply be doing this over a longer timeframe but Lindon's creation of his iron body was EXTREME. Ethan even indicates that the body would only be good for small wounds at most, indicating no one previously has taken this body so far.

In effect, Lindon is in unknown territory. He may find that the rapid healing has drawbacks further on, or perhaps more benefits. I for one want to see how it changes when he has soulfire to use. Since this is used to improve weapons and other things, what effect will it have on the body? especially one like Lindon's?

Samuel

8/5/2017 11:39:52 am

What rank is the Arelius Family in the Empire? Eithan introduces Jai Daishou as the Underlord of the 3rd out of the 3 great clans of the empire, and later Jai Daishou says that Jai Longs actions have allowed a servant family to surpass their rank. So does that mean that the Arelius Family ranks second or first?

Diego link

8/5/2017 05:32:39 pm

I think it meant they were ranked 3rd of the great families and the Jai clan was became #1 of the servant families

Samuel

8/5/2017 08:53:50 pm

Could you explain that a little better? I didn't get what you meant there.

Samuel

8/6/2017 01:58:42 pm

I felt like it meant the Arelius Family became the second of the three, with the Nary family as the first, and the Jai as the third.

Bob

8/6/2017 05:13:41 pm

The way I understood it clan Arelius is is 4th. and they are in the process of becoming a great clan. The fight in Blackflame is the Jai clan trying to prevent them from doing so.

Samuel

8/7/2017 09:05:26 pm

But Jai Daishou specifically states that JaimLongs actions have allowed a SERVANT family to surpass their rank and join the grea clans of the empire. So that means they are at least equal to or above the Jai clan, and a higher rank than them.

Diego link

8/7/2017 11:28:34 pm

What Bob is implying (and ur misunderstanding) is that there can only be 3 great clans within the empire at any given time. The lower clans are considered servant families. Since the Arelius clan was the #1 Servant clan (just under the great clans) they were considered the #4 clan in the empire while the Jai were #3 and during the course of the book they swapped places which made the Jai Daishou extremly angry at Jai Long for letting the Jai clan become a Servant Family.

Samuel

8/8/2017 08:02:19 am

Thank you for clearing that up. Who is the second ranked clan then? The Redflowers?

Samuel

8/8/2017 06:01:29 pm

Rereading Blackflame, and I noticed The Kotai clan. Are they the second ranked?

Frog on the keyboard

8/5/2017 11:42:30 am

What is the rarest path and why?

Not will

8/6/2017 02:03:16 pm

I'm not will but I'm guessing twin stars because it has one user is one of the rarest

Samuel

8/7/2017 11:06:19 am

It's not really a path though, it only has 2 things you can do inside of it, and one is deprecating your cores.

Caleb Chamberlain

8/5/2017 03:16:14 pm

There are places in Valinhall where not even the Nye dare go. Describe one of those places.

Samuel

8/5/2017 04:24:33 pm

An unstable area where chaos reigns supreme (or the Dominion of the Devouring Sofa)

Diego link

8/5/2017 05:30:29 pm

Kia was in one when the Eldest went to get him due to an attack.

Shinji

8/5/2017 06:15:40 pm

Yayyyyy more Cradle!!

Not sure if you're still answering questions in this thread but here goes

1) What music do people in Cradle listen to? Do they have music bands?

2) What novels would Will Wight be writing if he were born in the CradleVerse.

Samuel

8/6/2017 01:42:36 pm

Novels about a small planet named E-arth that has no madra or magic m.

Diego link

8/5/2017 06:35:59 pm

Hey Will i realize ive asked alot of questions by now but i was re-reading cradle and i was wondering if in a short story could u show us Haven? And why its important. Suriel mentioned it along with Sanctum(which we will probably eventually see in the post-Cradle series) Asylum, and Cradle as important worlds.

Samuel

8/5/2017 08:58:17 pm

Asylum is where they keep the Fiends, the dangerous ones, and Cradle is the birthplace of the Abidan, and I believe
Haven and Sanctum are the headquarters of the Abidan.

Diego link

8/5/2017 10:11:43 pm

Sanctum is the HQ as far as i remember but im curious over way Haven is important.

Daniel

8/5/2017 09:10:55 pm

How did Valen realize his "Dragons" were actually the students he eventually adopted and trained in Valinhall?

Mahfuz

8/12/2017 10:24:05 am

I'm willing to bet 300 hours that Valin actually found his dragon(s?) and then when he got students, he just raised them in the image of said dragons.

Benj

9/14/2017 11:50:07 pm

It seems like despite valin looking for dragons he never really found anything, or if he did he saw so many creatures or dragon resembling things that he decided that a 'dragon' is a state of being- the capacity to stand as an individual and be stronger than all others/fear nothing, accrue treasure (as valinhall travelers seem to be good at) and protect what they want to. Basically I see a whole lot of congruence between orthos the dragon turtle and valine dragons. That's what I think what valin was getting at when he named them the dragon army.

Lightsyde

8/6/2017 12:16:33 am

Delighted to be getting more cradle Will!! Recently reread Blackflame. I think I enjoyed it a whole lot more than the last time I reread it. Is that normal?

What is Luminous Queen Sha Maria's greatest pet peeve?

Benjamin

9/14/2017 11:51:10 pm

Probably having to execute servants bc they forgot to bow or show proper respect.

Either that or being judged as incompetent because of her age

Samuel

8/7/2017 11:08:31 am

Is the crack in the sky in the second book a "portal" to the Way? I got that impression from Bliss, and I believe that you will have a post-cradle novel/series about the Great Elders escaping. That would be a must read!

Craig

8/7/2017 10:28:59 pm

Are some paths compatible with a variety of madra types? If not, what's the normal way to get into a school in the Valley? Do young students need to switch the type of madra that they cultivate to align with the school's path if their clan doesn't cycle the right madra? Or do they join the school before learning to cycle?

Diego link

8/7/2017 10:54:40 pm

This is answered in unsouled if u read and comb through it over and over. The answer I discovered is once u've advanced past a certain point u cannot switch madra types, early on you can. From my understanding the schools adopt disciples based on need or when they find exceedingly talented youths. They do not need to possess the path the school traditionally uses, but if its not too late to switch they do adapt to the school. The Heaven glory Disciple Lindon killed was an example he wouldnt have been able change his madra type.
Paths use madra types that their techniques are suited for and sometimes those techniques use more than one madra type such as Lindons blackflame or his familys foxfire (Light&Dreams) others use only one pure madra type such as Yerins Endless Sword Path which uses solely sword madra.( which is kinna incorrect in my opinion, its closer to blade madra , but meh details) These combo madra paths have the madra combo in the artists core. Idk if Lindon would be able to use blackflame if he had only Destruction on one core and only Fire on the other but it seems unlikely since he has to switch between cores.

Benjamin

9/14/2017 11:57:01 pm

I think this is addressed in a couple of places, we know when Kai Long was talking about the spear that it is possible to have other types of Madra in you but that combination gets steadily harder and harder to find in the right proportion that your techniques need if you want to advance by harvesting aura.
Also when London gets black flame Madera it's stated that once your core has adjusted to a type, the core itself starts producing that Madra.
So there is the thing where you can't get it from external sources, you have to rely on you're own, and if you try to just keep adding types into your core you will get the explosions that fishers were talking about when you mix the wrong types.

Either that or your turn into something like a fell beast.

Diego link

8/7/2017 11:19:18 pm

I just realized something. I forgot to answer to whether some paths are compatible with a variety of madra types. Yes i believe some are. The Jai clan uses the Path of the Stellar Spear which was once the Path of the Broken Star. After the clan lost access to the madra required for the Broken Star i imagine they found another suitable madra type for their techniques which i imagine is stellar spear madra (Light&Sword).

Sage of the Infinite Blade

8/9/2017 08:47:17 pm

But we know from the Aurelius family library that they don't use the same techniques, as we got some glimpses at the techniques of the Path of the Broken Star

Diego link

8/9/2017 09:13:27 pm

I read it over and over and from my understanding the techniques are the same. It's just that the Broken Star madra is better suited to the technique and has better results while Stellar Spear madra is less so. The weaving the guy used for as a forging technique was similar to the one Jai Long does. The Vanishing act he did last minute against Yerin sounded similar to the Broken Star

Sage of the Infinite Blade

8/20/2017 03:44:46 pm

Did you not read the part where he forges a cracked sword of purple madra that vibrates with force? Pretty sure that's not the same technique lol

Samuel

8/22/2017 02:55:59 pm

Actually... isn't it? Didn't Jai Long do that against Yerin? It just is different in appearance because, as Diego pointed out, that madra is better for their techniques. I would also assume that the sword is a better weapon than Jai Longs technique.

Save of the Impatient Reader

9/26/2017 09:20:37 pm

My guess is that the Path of the Broken Star relied on some combination of Light/Force madra that only exists in a few places (such as the sites of previous meteor strikes).This makes sense because, while Light and Force madra should be found almost anywhere, there are few things that would embody BOTH (whereas Sword/Light would both be found on any sharp edge during the day). The difficulty of finding the right combination, despite the two parts being common individually (Force madra being basically anywhere something is moving/colliding and light everywhere during the day) is similar to how the Path of the Black Flame can only be trained in a few places, despite Fire and Destruction madra being common.

It's possible that the Broken Star used Sword madra (which is really blade madra, gathering around sharp edges of any kind) with something other than light madra, but the fact that they kept the "star/stellar" portion of the name makes me think that the Light aspect of the Path is the part that was kept.

Without access to the proper blend of madra, the Jai clan adapted, using a more plentiful combination of madra that could emulate the techniques they already knew. This allowed Elders on the Path of the Broken Star to teach techniques to the younger Jai clan members (who didn't have access to the right Broken Star madra).

Craig

8/7/2017 10:38:46 pm

There are badges in the Sacred Valley (and beyond) for each stage. Are there badges for, say, Enforcer or Striker outside of Sacred Valley? If so, what is their significance?

Extra questions:
Are there badges for different madra types? Different paths? There's a badge for Soulsmiths, what other professions have badges? Is there a society outside of Sacred Valley that values the badges?

Diego link

8/7/2017 11:08:43 pm

The Test children take shows their main talent. Lindon had so little madra at the start of unsouled that the test didnt read his talent. The badges represent that talent. There isnt a badge for Soulsmiths(job) as u say. The badge ur refering to is the badge for Forgers(talent). And yes there are badges for the other talents theres one for Rulers(scepter) , strikers(arrow), forger(hammer) and enforcer(shield).
The badges are used by other societies as Eithan had one and Lindon found his iron hammer badge in the trascendant ruins. Idk if other societies have diffrent badges for diffrent madra types or professions but so far we haven't seen any evidence of that practice in the books.

Ferone

8/8/2017 01:45:04 am

What is the most painful type of iron body to develop? Barring lindons and yerins. I don't know, yerins seems much more painful to me than lindons. Lindons is basically suicide and much more dangerous, but still less painful than yerins which is basically 3 days of unceasing torture. So yeah, got anything worse ?

gordon

8/8/2017 01:51:15 am

Jai Long's sounds pretty awful when he has a tiny flashback to it while performing the Sandviper Bloodforged Iron Body ritual for young Bren towards the end of Soulsmith. We don't hear much about it apart from it included "blistering all the skin on his body and breaking almost all the bones in his body, followed by 3 months recovery time in bed afterwards and that's WITH his new Iron body!

Samuel

8/14/2017 09:03:47 am

Who says it was with his iron body? And an iron body heals everything, so he must have advanced after he had recovered.

Samuel

8/8/2017 08:06:32 am

But Lindons was literally injecting himself with poison from a creature who's venom is EXTREMELY painful. A tiny drop is enough to cause somebody to grimace. 5 complete injections from full sized Vipers? That sounds painful beyond belief.

Ferone

8/9/2017 02:17:43 am

Yeah it is extremely painful, no doubt about that, he basically died. However compared to the pure torture that yerin went through for 3 days. I think that would be more painful. Frankly it seems kind of abusive but we know it was done with a cause

Gordon

8/8/2017 01:46:55 am

What would have happened if Lindon had retaken the children's madra Test in Sacred Valley just before he too part in the Foundation Trials. To have had an effective Empty Palm he must have had a tiny amount of madra by that point....

Which way would the Test have pointed him (Forger/Enforcer/etc.)?

Jonathan

8/15/2017 12:10:14 pm

I don't think the test only tested your amount of power, but included some sort of basic talent indicator as well, at least that is what I got from Yerin's comments on the subject.

13-year-old

8/17/2017 06:52:53 pm

He always had madra, it just wasn't enough to pass the test

Deadnettle

8/8/2017 01:14:00 pm

I know that it's a super unrealistic expectation, but man I hope that the book is out in two weeks. I go on vacation the week of the Eclipse and I would absolutely love to have this book to read. That being said I would love to have this book period and am more than willing to wait for the finished product.

Cooper

8/8/2017 05:24:14 pm

How was cycling discovered? instinct or did someone meditate and boom discovered madra?

Diego link

8/8/2017 05:51:53 pm

I'm not Will , but I imagine it started with people consuming naturally occurring elixirs such as the Orus Fruit Lindon ate. Once you reach a certain level of advancement you can sort of see your core in you minds eye. After that its just a matter of experimenting with it trying to improve it without elixirs, similar to how people discovered exercise builds muscles,

Sage of the Infinite Blade

8/9/2017 08:49:16 pm

No, you can see your core at any point of advancement, as even Lindon, as an extremely weak Unsouled, could still see his core.

Diego link

8/10/2017 08:09:12 am

True but he was asking how it started and if u dont know where to look how will u improve it? So i think it took natural elixers to make ppl figure out that stuff is real.

7thGuest

8/8/2017 05:48:08 pm

"liked to do their business in as flashy a place as possible. Last Soulsmith she visited had built a glowing palace out of shining pillars and sat on a throne of burning inhuman skulls."

Were was this?

Diego link

8/8/2017 05:57:01 pm

Yerin thinks that when she sees Fisher Geisha's worksho pand shes contemplating the last soulsmith her master took her to visit. Its in Soulsmith

Riley (Path of the Celestial Pheonix)

8/14/2017 07:29:44 am

On that note... where was Yerrin born? In book one Lindon mentions she has the look of sacred valley in the hair etc. etc. but she has been outside of the valley visiting places so did she live outside of the valley then go to the valley where she met lindon or did she live in the valley left the valley then came back?

Ethan link

8/8/2017 08:02:31 pm

Abidan court records of elders, including the ones we already know (I.e. Nakothi or Kthanikar)

Frank

8/9/2017 11:30:20 am

At which point in her training did Yerin learn how to use violence to save people from danger (kicking Lindon to safety etc.)?

David

8/9/2017 01:54:17 pm

When you say you salvaged enough parts from Blackflame to write Skysworn, what does that entail? Is it parts of the story that came after the events in Blackflame and you just decided to stop sooner? Or are there parts interspersed throughout Blackflame that you cut and are pulling together for Skysworn?

Sage of the Infinite Blade

8/9/2017 08:25:25 pm

First: Don't question the name, I thought up a path in my free time, shh. Second: Those unicorns we talked about from the thread about the Celestial Radiance, Hungry Deep, and Eight-Fold Spear paths, are they actually real in Cradle? I would laugh so hard if they were lol

Will link

8/16/2017 06:31:44 pm

I haven't made up my mind yet, honestly. I really want them to exist, but it's a little bit of a stretch. Especially because Lindon wouldn't react to unicorns any more than he would to any other sacred beast.

I mean, someone from our world would go "holy crap, unicorns!", but Lindon wouldn't.

Sage of the Infinite Blade

8/20/2017 03:45:45 pm

I guess we'll wait and see lol

Samuel

8/10/2017 09:39:07 am

He set aside the books, bandages, medical kit, rune-light, emergency rations, extra clothes, inkwell, spare brushes, blank scrolls, needles, thread, scripted fire-starter, sculptor’s... why did he start a fire with Blackflame when he has a "scripted fire-starter"?

Diego link

8/14/2017 09:12:08 am

Maybe it was broken? I remember Lindon sayong he was sure something broke in it at some point. I mean its not hard to assume since he has been tumbling and rollong about more than a circus acrobat.

Samuel

8/14/2017 03:57:25 pm

So true... but I don't remember ever reading he broke it. If you know where this is please inform me!

Jonathan

8/16/2017 02:08:06 pm

There is a phrase all the way back in unsouled that mentions something might have broken but doesn't specify what broke

Will link

8/15/2017 08:30:10 pm

If I remember correctly, he started it with Blackflame for training purposes. Not because they couldn't figure out another way to start a fire. He was just trying to adapt to using the madra all the time, and then when it sucked, he lived with it.

Samuel

8/16/2017 01:55:39 pm

Huh. I checked that chapter and didn't get that impression, so I guess I'm wrong...

Jonathan

8/16/2017 02:16:03 pm

Chapter just say he started it with Blackflame madra but not why...but if I were able to throw black flames around, I would certainly try starting a fire with it lol

Samuel

8/16/2017 07:09:04 pm

I mean, sure, but not if my meal tasted like how it was described because of the fire...

Jonathan

8/16/2017 11:39:25 pm

Yeah, I mean the first time he didn't know but after that... Why torture yourself with bad food

Samuel

8/10/2017 10:37:39 am

Also, Ach'magat sounds insanely intelligent, enough to predict the future, how could anybody seal him inside of Asylum? He had to have known something was wrong. Which Elder is the most powerful among the Great Elders?

Daniel young

8/21/2017 06:11:42 pm

From a purely logical perspective in order to predict which of the infinite possible futures is going to happen one would need infinite data in order to account for all possibilities which is impossible. That's not to say making fairly accurate guesses is impossible, that would be orders of magnitude easier, but they would still be guesses

Benjamin

9/15/2017 12:02:21 am

I have a solution for this; I was reading about a vaguely similar premise in a philosophy thing.
But he idea is if you could construct a model of the future you would have to account for the choices you then made because of that adjustment to the future, then you would have to adjust your simulation for the adjustment that you made because you made an adjustment to the future because you saw it in your simulation.
Essentially it becomes impossible because you have to predict the existence of the model you're tying to create.

kyleD

8/10/2017 11:57:17 am

Hello Sir William - sorry if this has been asked before -

I'm wondering with your increase in popularity as an author if you've considered having the Cradle series professionally narrated? Don't get me wrong, you've done an admirable job narrating books yourself but there are some pretty amazing guys out there that can really bring a story to life. Perhaps Nick Podehl or Jeff Hays? Seems within their wheelhouse.

Anyway keep on keeping on.

Will link

8/14/2017 04:58:07 pm

I've considered having the Cradle series professionally narrated mainly because I don't have the time to do it.

The whole reason I narrated the Traveler's Gate was so that I could keep all the rights, but at this point money is worth less than my time.

Andrew

8/14/2017 06:11:32 pm

Nick Podehl would be great.

Stearmmd

8/21/2017 12:05:46 pm

Micheal Kramer and Kate Reading. All time fav narrators.

Reddan

8/10/2017 02:06:07 pm

Off-the-wall Elder Empire/Asylum question, not sure where my brain came up with it:

How tall was Bastion, and how did he feel about his height? (was he content with his height, wish he was taller/shorter?)

Rusty Shackleford

8/10/2017 07:07:55 pm

What is the most "miniscule" type sacred beast around and about? House cat? Cockroach? Tapeworm?

daniel young

8/21/2017 12:56:59 am

The smaller the creature from earth the less gravity changes effect them so I doubt anything smaller than a large spider would even need to use madra to counter the affects of gravity so if that were the case I doubt we will see any sacred beasts smaller than large spiders. Could be wrong though.

Samuel

8/11/2017 02:48:02 pm

For centuries, the shape looming in his dreams has been dark and impossibly vast. It would crush them all beneath its ponderous weight, and there was no stopping it. Sacred Valley’s past was coming back and bringing death with it. But there was something strange about his premonition this time.

Wait a second... a dark and impossibly vast shape. Something will destroy sacred valley and it is from its past. Was THIS the disaster that destroyed the dragons?

Diego link

8/11/2017 05:47:30 pm

Bro... Suriel confirmed the disaster was a dreadgod attack. She saw it in Lindon's future. Whether or not that was the same disaster that befell the empire has yet to be confirmed but seems likely.

Samuel

8/12/2017 01:09:48 pm

I know, I'm just obsessed with finding out what will happen. Everything Markuth said is extremely interesting, like the 4 Beasts he talked about.

Samuel

8/12/2017 01:11:14 pm

Have any of the people in sacred valley reached gold without knowing? It seems likely considering all the legends compared with the reality of Jade to Gold.

Samuel

8/12/2017 06:36:16 pm

Sorry, thought about it, realized they couldn't. Unless you can advance to Gold some other way than bonding with a Remnant or sacred animal....

Jonathan

8/15/2017 12:04:01 pm

It is confirmed in Blackflame that you can advance to gold without a remnant, at least low gold Also the guy they fight right before they leave sacred valley is gold. Admittedly probably only low gold.

Samuel

8/15/2017 03:29:06 pm

Who??? Don't remember any golds inside of sacred valley unless ur talking about the sword Sages remnant?

Jonathan

8/15/2017 11:43:17 pm

I was thinking of Elder Whitehall but he was Jade, had to go back an reread to confirm. There is phrase that I mistook to mean he was gold. It says that his gold remnant rose when he died. But it was referring to color not stage of advancement

manty05

8/12/2017 02:00:36 pm

Do all iron body types get automatically stronger as the sacred artist progresses through the stages (just by varying degree based on the iron body type), or just some iron bodies(like the steelborn iron body that Yerin has and sword sage likely had).
By the way I have been wondering did the sword sage die because of the Heaven's clory schools poison or did someone or something else kill him covertly. If the poison killed him was the poison just so effective, or did the steelborn iron body have poor affinity with poison.

Sean K

8/13/2017 01:21:11 pm

I think most Iron bodies do NOT get stronger as the practitioner advances. Lindon's doesn't actually get 'stronger' his core just is able to supply it with more Madra to fuel it. Others, like the one will described such as the "drifting iron body" I don't think changes as they get stronger, the person just learns to edge more advantage out that that body type.

Again, there are always exceptions (such as Yerin).

As to why the Sword Sage died? No one knows for sure and I believe it is a great mystery that will be solved in future books. I've heard theories that he already knew he was dying, fought something in the Labyrinth that set him up to die, something about the "curse" of Sacred Valley killing him, to him even plotting his own death in order to advance. Overall the only way we are going to find out for sure is if we RAFO (read and find out).

Riley (path of the Celestial Pheonix)

8/14/2017 07:45:49 am

So people have mentioned it and i was curious Suriel in book one says 1 of the members can go up against 10,000 golds and they wouldn't scratch her armor..,. What rank would this be.... im sorry i keep asking but i really want a guide of the rank/stages.

Sean K

8/14/2017 03:14:02 pm

It would be a level, maybe two, above Sage. This is SIGNIFICANT! I define level as pre-gold, gold, Lord, unnamed, Sage, unnamed, unnamed.

Each level has 3 ranks/stages to it. Copper, Iron, Jade; Lowgold, Highgold, Truegold; Underlord, Overlord, Archlord; not yet named. Each stage could beat roughly 10 people of the stage below them in a straight fight (sometimes geniuses can fight above their level, sometimes they get lucky or don't fight fair like Lindon). So, that is a LOT of stages!

Riley (PotCP)

8/14/2017 03:54:19 pm

Perfect i gotcha like yerrin can fight above and cassius can fight those of the same rank (he is rank 2 for a reason) understood. I think sages are a little farther along though because he says the dreadgod fragment couldnt hurt him so i wonder if that could mean he was a little farther along/around the same stage as the ones Suriel chose to show Lindon.... thoughts anyone?

Samuel

8/14/2017 06:19:55 pm

That has been confirmed, he is not at their level. However, each stage gets progressively more difficult as you advance, so the difference between the stages is much larger than you think, and the Dreadgod fragment probably killed a Gold at most. And in Blackflame Eithan 6v1's the elders while fighting Daishou. So that's like fighting 15v1. Eithan is most likely one of the strongest Underlords, but as you can see, the differential between true gold and Underlord is massive. So Overlord to Archlord to Blank Blank Blank Undersage to Oversage to Archsage, it gets progressively more difficult with your power at each level increased massively. So a fraction of a Sages madra could be life threatening to a gold, or even an Underlord.

Sage of the Infinite Blade

8/15/2017 03:33:19 pm

It's confirmed that they are about 5 levels higher than sage. Also, a lot of the things you just said are assumptions that are likely not accurate

Riley

8/15/2017 05:31:54 pm

You keep saying it is confirmed... where? Further up in the post or somewhere else?

Samuel

8/15/2017 07:09:09 pm

Sorry, I was simply using common sense. Correct anything you see wrong with things Will has said in the past, with a link to that sight also. Thank you for your comment and I sincerely hope you have more constructive things to say in the future.

Riley

8/15/2017 07:39:19 pm

I mean don't get me wrong i have no clue if you are right or wrong i just havent seen it anywhere (it could have been said in a previous post that i have not seen) i just didn't know it was confirmed like if the sage was on their level he would probably have been mentioned. But i just havent seen a post saying he was 5 levels different or a couple stages less... i posted earlier that i would like a realm/stage list to better understand the relative power levels of the people we talk about. I figured that sage was pretty high and that there aren't a lot of them but we don't have enough info from the books to figure that out. If you got your info from previous posts, i apologize for my criticism... i'm just trying to squeeze out as much information from everyone that i can!!

13-year-old

8/17/2017 07:00:54 pm

sorry to nit-pick but the first stage is called foundation.

Sage of the Infinite Blade

8/20/2017 03:47:52 pm

I wasn't trying to take you down or anything. I couldn't find where he said the 5 levels thing, and of course I don't KNOW anything to be wrong, other than the 5 levels thing, I just said that they are likely to be wrong, simply because we don't know enough yet. The way you responded it sounded that you are angry. I apologize if I made you angry or offended you in any way. (this is @Samuel)

Samuel

8/22/2017 02:58:57 pm

Very sorry! That was me when I was very tired and had jet lag... I didn't mean to sound so rude. Actually, I don't remember saying anything like that at all,but looking at what I said, my comment was definitely uncalled for no matter the circumstances.

As to the 5 levels thing, it was confirmed a while ago in a comment reply by Will(I believe).

Will link

8/15/2017 08:20:19 pm

@Samuel "I sincerely hope you have more constructive things to say in the future."

That's a little aggressive there, man. Everybody's calm here.

@Riley

I'm not going to give you a guide to the ranks yet, but we get a lot more about that in Skysworn! Including some (distant) looks at people who are on the same level as the experts Suriel showed Lindon!

Riley

8/16/2017 05:32:53 am

Wonderful! I mean I was already excited for Skysworn, now im just sitting here begging for an update, or to just see the release date be, you know, tomorrow or something. Ugh. Can't wait!

Samuel

8/16/2017 03:02:06 pm

Same. Apologies for my not so passive aggressive comment. I was very tired and hope this one can be forgiven.

Tacroy

8/14/2017 05:53:24 pm

Which Path tells the best jokes?

Samuel

8/14/2017 06:32:58 pm

Path of the Jester. Cycles dream madra to create the funniest thing possible to a person, which is focused specifically on that one thing that makes that person laugh.

Benjamin

9/15/2017 12:08:10 am

If it were dream madra you could just cause them to think it was the funniest thing they've ever heard, without actually saying anything.
Sort of like that thing in nightmares where it's scary despite the fact that it's completely ridiculous

Riley

8/14/2017 06:24:17 pm

Hey Will, I was just wondering if we will learn more about the "local Sector Control Abidan" in Cradle at a future time?

Udhay

8/15/2017 03:39:07 am

How many continents are there in Cradle? And are Sha Mira, Northstrider and the Eight man empire at the highest level of advancement possible on Cradle or are there a few more levels before you reach the peak of cradle.

A Horde Of Raccoons committing ritual sacrifice to honor Lord Garbagiel

8/15/2017 12:01:19 pm

Remember, Will said earlier in this thread that Northstrider was gaining power to defeat the ancient dragon in the form of a child. Therefore, there are levels on Cradle above what Suriel demonstrated with the Eight-Man Empire, Sh Miera and Northstrider.

Deadnettle

8/15/2017 01:14:10 pm

Lindon only asked how strong he would need to be in order to save the sacred valley from the dreadgod attack and that is what Suriel showed him. She never said that they were the absolute pinnacle of power on cradle.

Jonathan

8/15/2017 11:49:02 am

Hey I know this might be off topic but I ran into an interesting tidbit in Blackflame today, wanted to get some input on it. I've read it multiple times and this was the first time I realized this.

Excerpt:

" Lindon knelt, driving an Empty Palm deep into the ground. He'd raised his pure core to Jade, and the technique penetrated deeper than he'd dared to hope, almost disrupting the script that powered the Trial. If he could break it, that would disrupt the function of the Trial long enough for them to pass through.

But it wasn't enough. The soldiers swarmed him, beating him until he dropped the crystal."

This happens while he is training the "Burning Cloak" technique. So here is my conundrum.

Assumption:
1) He is holding the crystal, so he is cycling Blackflame Madra. 2) He used an Empty Palm, so he is cycling Pure Madra.

Possibilities:
1) He is cycling both Madras through his body at all times and doesn't realize it?? Takes discipline to seperate maybe??
Would make Blackflame Madra less effective since it would be diluted.
Would hate to see what happens if he were to replace his pure madra core with some other incompatible madra to blackflame.

2) He only cycled Pure Madra to his hand??
Seemed less likely since burning Cloak is a FULL BODY enforcement technique.

3) He initiated the crystal with Pure Madra???
This also seemed unlikely since he learned to initiate the crystal with Blackflame, although he is imaginative.

Thought I would bring it up in case it was an oversight, unless you have something in mind later for us.

Will link

8/15/2017 08:27:33 pm

It's not an oversight exactly, just a phrasing problem. I rewrote that scene probably more than any other scene in the book, so I'm not surprised it has problems.

The original idea was that he had to learn how to drop the Burning Cloak for just long enough to drive an Empty Palm into the ground, but not SO long that the crystal would go dark. There were a couple of lines about this being a challenge he had to deal with.

But in the many revisions that scene went through, apparently I lost that explanation and left only an apparent contradiction.

Chris N

8/16/2017 08:31:30 am

Hey Will, out of curiosity, when there's little contradictions like this do you go back later and revise/update the novel?

Will link

8/16/2017 08:42:53 am

Sometimes, yeah. I haven't been able to change much for Cradle, just a few little proofreading notes, but I hope to be able to scrub the books a little more thoroughly someday.

Jonathan

8/17/2017 12:00:38 am

You don't really need to change the scene...just in future books flash back on the training when he tries to do something similar. Give yourself a set to expound on some of the questions.

April

8/15/2017 12:19:07 pm

What sort of kamiera do greenwardens typically keep as pets?

Jonathan

8/15/2017 12:40:52 pm

I just thought of another question I had.

If Lindon has 2 cores, will he be able to bond 2 remnants, 1 for each core?

Or perhaps initiate a contract with 2?

(Example: Orthos for Blackflame, Sylvan Riverseed for Pure Madra)

Deadnettle

8/15/2017 01:08:58 pm

I'm fairly certain that Will has stated that his two cores allow for the bonding of two remnants, that being the case he would be able to establish a contract with two as well.

Deadnettle

8/15/2017 03:15:18 pm

Any chance of an update to the status of Skysworn? I'm itching to know what kind of progress has been made.

Diego link

8/15/2017 07:24:26 pm

Hey Will i think i saw a reference stating the emperor may have had kids. Did he? And if he did why arent one of them lining up to be emperor? I mean he did live an extremely long time and while he literally had god like self restraint i dont see why he wouldnt have a wife or consort especially when he was younger.

Will link

8/15/2017 08:24:47 pm

He did have many children, and some of his descendants are still around. Basically, because the Emperor was the only real ruler humanity ever had and no one expected him to die, the idea of inheriting authority through blood never caught on.

It still might have happened a few centuries ago, when the Emperor's direct children were active and working as leaders, but nowadays the Emperor's descendants don't have any special distinction beyond their pride in their heritage.

Random Person

8/15/2017 09:11:18 pm

Hey Will, when you finish the book how long will the publishing process take?

Azqa

8/16/2017 06:09:19 am

Since he self-publishes, whenever he's finally done and uploads it to Amazon, it'll just take until Amazon makes it available on the site. I believe he's said in the past that they don't commit to anything faster than 24 hours, but the past few books have been available in something like 4-6 hours after upload.

Will has also indicated that he was pleased with the experiment of releasing a book on the first of the month, and intends to continue that practice, so whenever it's finished, the first of the next month is presumably the target date for release.

Diego link

8/15/2017 11:28:42 pm

What is your favorite Ragnarus weapon idea ?

And I've noticed something..... If someone in amalgam say took Mithra.... or any weapon could they in theory add properties from each territory and make a mega monster of a weapon/artifact? If this is indeed possible I see Amalgam as Enchanter heaven. :D

Adarsh

8/18/2017 02:11:42 pm

A sword with a blade of Tartarus Steel, adorned with gems mined from Ornheim, with a handle made from the bones of a Helgard beast, a pommel made of a Naraka rock, dipped in an Asphodel poison, engraved with runes from Lirial and Elysium Gold makes up the hilt. Finally, the whole thing is assembled in Valinhall and sheathed in a scabbard made from the broken pieces of an Abidan's armor.

Adarsh

8/18/2017 02:15:04 pm

Whoops, forgot Ragnarus.

*EDIT*

and sheathed in a scabbard from Ragnarus that takes from its wielder their sense of pain in exchange for being able to call the sword to your hand from anywhere in Sector 11.

Diego link

8/20/2017 12:03:52 am

Haha that's a cool one, but what's the point of a standard if u summon it for combat?
My favorite Ragnarus artifact idea is : A ring of dark gold with rubies revolving around it that periodically pulse with life. The ring feeds on the wearers guilt leaving him prone to egoism, apathy and cruelty. The ring is useful for defending & redirecting mind altering effects.

As for a mega weapon hmmmm let's see:
Tartarus: Tartarus steel alloy.
Asphodel: wooden grip with a potent drug-sap that alters time perception for the user.
Avernus: Feather Charm that dispells illusions it comes in contact with.
Ornheim: skystone Gems that render the weapon light weight.
Naraka: narakian rock that slowly charges the weapon by absorbing natural heat.
Endross: Metal Alloy that Shocks through anything it hits. At full charge can send a bolt of lightning.
Lirial: Runes that help detect incoming attacks.
Helgard: Fanged pommel that drains heat from enemy blood and freezes them.
Elysia: Protective runes summon a layer of green light infront of the artifact.
Ragnarus: Allows for an explosive burst of strength during the swing at the cost of intense Stamina consumption. Adorned by a red ruby.
Valinhall: Well this one's weird I'll go with a miniature glass bell that banishes Summoned monsters since I'm lazy.

Benjamin

9/15/2017 12:15:18 am

I think Ragnarus has some cool meta capabilities, so imagine something like a ring that instead of letting you see other territories powers, it let you intercept them, or deny the travelers access to their planes.

Alternatively, some object that stores other territories powers-

Or a weapon that always hits, and you have to pay it by missing an attack, or by taking a hit.

Or a weapon that penetrates any armour.

I tend to find that the most powerful weapons aren't the nuclear options like the bloody wand or the mask, but the ones that are reletivly weak but are always useful. Think the eye vs the bloody wand- the eye has arguably saved more lives than the wand/been more useful.

Benjamin

8/16/2017 12:02:49 am

Is there an aura associated with more circumstantial things like knowledge and if so are there paths who cultivate it?
In that same vein, what are some of the rarest types of aura?

manty05

8/16/2017 05:50:49 am

Hey Will sometime ago there was a discussion about which of your novels would Lindon like the most. So just out of curiosity what novel/series would be Simon's favorite.

Riley

8/16/2017 09:11:43 am

Will, Are you going to do a short story about Yerrin's origins, are you going to do other little flashbacks like the one in Blackflame, or are you just going to let Yerrin tell Lindon in her own time when she is ready to talk about it?

Deadnettle

8/16/2017 11:02:26 am

Are the more technologically advanced nations in the traveler's gate world? Are there any ways of technologically interacting with the various territories?

Greg

8/16/2017 11:07:22 am

Cradle: Is there ever a gathering of talent similar to our Olympics where different Paths or Nations compete for prestige and recognition? And what would that look like? Thanks!

Jonathan

8/16/2017 11:53:53 pm

Just a little levity, but I think they called those wars...

Citino

8/16/2017 01:11:16 pm

Who was the greatest hero whose deeds were never recorded?

Jonathan

8/16/2017 02:37:53 pm

So rereading some parts of Blackflame. Since the Path of Blackflame never had a basic forging technique, and Lindon wants to be a forger...

Any ideas if Lindon will create his own technique? if so, what would be his go to weapon of choice, when he decides to forge one?

Jonathan

8/16/2017 02:42:42 pm

Also really interested to see what he will do for a Drudge...

Diego link

8/16/2017 04:06:35 pm

Can't he just get any random one? I dont think ive seen a rule that your drudge has to be made by you.

Jonathan

8/16/2017 11:44:25 pm

True...but wanting to be a forger why would he leave something like that to someone else? I am also assuming it needs to connect with the user on some level. If so, needs to be tailored to that user. The drudges we've seen so far seem to be tied in part to their type of Madras.

Diego link

8/17/2017 01:11:59 pm

Items that require a connection or to be fed madra don't need the creator to operate it. Else every Soulsmith would b out of a job. Look at the cloud ships, the cloud London uses is one he didn't create and Yerin can operate it as well. They don't need to be tailored to the user either since Yerin can use her master's sword. A drudge has a scanner function from what I understood, it detects madra types you ask for and it's up to you to know what madra reacts how with others. I haven't yet seen a reference that a drudge has to be made of the madra u use to b able to operate one.

Jonathan

8/17/2017 01:25:10 pm

Just seemed to me that they some sort of mental component. Where feedback or information might have been available to the user directly. I wouldn't think you would want to use something like that without locking out others who could interfere whilst in use.

Prose_Piranha

8/17/2017 01:41:52 pm

In Soulsmith it is never stated but in the beginning of Chapter 11 there is an info dump on Soulsmiths. Though it is never explicitly states, it is highly implied that making one's own drudge is the mark of certain level of skill at being a soul smith.

As well in Chapter 1 of Blackflame it states, "The spider-construct had identified the location of the binding in the dread beast's body, and it would take much of the guesswork out of building a construct, but he wouldn't have access to a drudge until he built one himself."

Samuel

8/19/2017 05:06:24 pm

Before creating their own drudge, would-be Soulsmiths are expected to practice certain core skills. They must familiarize themselves with a Soulsmith's foundry, practice their own Forging—in order to fill in the gaps of dead matter and create a functional shell around valuable bindings—memorize a set of basic scripts, and test dozens of different madra aspects to prove that they can spot the difference.

There you go fella's

Udhay

8/16/2017 05:10:09 pm

At the end of blackflame one of the skysworn says that lindon's goldsign wasn't the goldsign from the path of the blackflame she remembered. If so what is the original goldsign from the path of the blackflame?

Sean K

8/16/2017 05:46:25 pm

Probably a Skysworn spoiler, but I'd LOVE to see the answer to this!

Ohh, also, what's the goldsign for those on the path of the Red Flower?

Samuel

8/16/2017 07:10:24 pm

Big black dragon wings on your back???

Jonathan

8/16/2017 11:49:05 pm

Prehensile tail or spikes down the spine??...

Jonathan

8/16/2017 11:50:25 pm

I also got to wonder, if Lindon bonds a remnant will his gold sign change?

Mason Jones

8/30/2017 02:38:02 pm

Wondered this everytime he switched his cores from blackflame to pure his eyes changed colour. does this mean that when he advances his pure madra core to LowGold he will get another GoldSign?

Jonathan

8/30/2017 02:43:55 pm

I don't think so, since pure madra has no physical aspect and Eithan doesn't seem to have a Gold Sign.

Riley

8/30/2017 03:03:42 pm

If Lindon was to bond his pure core with say Little Blue he might get something of a similar sign. If you bond a remnant then you get a gold sign. Period. However there are not many remnants to consume for a pure core so i believe that eithan did not consume one, so he may have bonded a beast with pure madra... or as the turtle said the only difference is an extraordinary amount of madra, so maybe he just used the heaven and earth purification wheel to expand his core to be able to breakthrough that way. This leads to the thought that that is what he will have lindon do, but i think lindon might also be able to bond to little blue.

Mason

8/31/2017 08:03:11 am

I think he's going to bond little blue but i think she's going to get a hell of a lot stronger first.
either that or it will bond with Jai Long's sister

Samuel

8/31/2017 06:15:53 pm

*Pure madra has a physical form, but is EXTREMELY easy to break and very brittle. It was mentioned as decoration, as madra can be used to color the glass-like surface, but that is about the only use of forged pure madra. However, it IS able to physically exist.

Daniel young

8/16/2017 07:10:56 pm

What was the most ridiculous war in the history of cradle fought over and why?

Captain Spaulding

8/16/2017 09:54:53 pm

Just curious, near the end of Blackflame Lindon thinks Jai Long's sister reminds him of someone. Could I be the only one that thinks it might be Yerin that she reminds him of? Some similarities in their stories. Both attacked at a young age by something more power than them. Both "infected" by beings more powerful than them.

voiceafx

8/16/2017 10:02:53 pm

In Lindon's vision with Suriel, I'm quite confident that he saw himself marry Jai Long's sister.

This is pretty cool. In Blackflame, Jai Long had a moment wherein he seriously considered abandoned his quest for vengeance and disappearing to the fabled valley - which happens to be Sacred Valley. But he decides not to quite, IN PART BECAUSE LINDON KILLED KRALL!

If Lindon hadn't been around to interfere, Jai Long and his sister would have left for Sacred Valley. If Suriel hadn't left Lindon's memory intact, he'd have stayed, met Jai Long's sister (who was also disabled), and eventually married her.

Sage of Tequila

8/16/2017 10:26:34 pm

She reminds him of the woman he married in the vision of his future Suriel showed him...because it was her.

In that future, Jai Long takes his sister to Sacred Valley. It is mentioned in the books that Jai Long was considering taking her west beyond the mountains to a place where the locals were isolated and weak.

Obviously, having madra issues herself, Jai Long's sister would have been sympathetic to Lindon's madra deficiency, and would not have seen it in an offensive light.

Suriel notes at tge end of Blackflame that the destiny between Lindon and Jai Long's sister is quite strong, although the nature of their relationship will have changed given the current events. So it isn't a sure thing that they will end up married. But I wouldn't be surprised if Jai Long's sister has an important role to play in Lindon's future, given the debt she owes him and the workings of Fate.

Jonathan

8/16/2017 11:47:15 pm

So in essence in the previous future they were both cripples and now they are both whole and on convergent paths. No wonder cradle's deviation is so large...

Samuel

8/19/2017 05:09:44 pm

I think it's actually because Lindons going to become the next super man of the Abidan and will fix all of their problems with his magical abilities of amazingness

Jonathan

8/17/2017 12:09:44 am

Got to wonder, since both Cassius an Yerin are now equal stages of advancement, are we going to see a scene where they battle and their rankings change?

Also, is Cassius going to teach her the Silver Step enforcement technique? Since her enforcements suck basically...

She should be able to use it since they both use the same Madra

Jim

8/17/2017 03:09:26 am

Will, who is the youngest most known person on Cradle(Ninecloud Queen excluded) and the oldest one (only humans, no dragons or other immortal-ish beings)

Chris

8/17/2017 06:10:27 am

Really hope he answers this one, was gonna ask it myself !

Walter

8/17/2017 06:46:37 am

How do bloodline powers get established? If it's to do with sacred arts, why is it hereditary?

Joe

8/17/2017 12:45:10 pm

Will mentioned in an earlier post that the Aurelius family gained their power by bonding with a beast. It would be interesting to find out what beast and what other bloodline powers are out there...

Daniel young

8/21/2017 01:09:50 am

It would be interesting to see if London gets any odd powers from bonding with orthos if that ends up being the case

Jonathan

8/21/2017 01:07:21 pm

Since Eithan is so Hell bent on fixing Orthos, I think Lindon might actually bond a remnant elsewhere. perhaps a Black dragon remnant no one has been able to deal with...etc.

Prose_Piranha

8/17/2017 12:35:37 pm

In your books and in this thread we've seen mentions of the foremost scholars, farmers, artisans, gluttons and more.

What I'm wondering is which clan holds the prestige of being the foremost builders? What kind of iron body and bloodline techniques do they possess?

Quinn

8/17/2017 01:09:37 pm

Tell me about games that children people play in Cradle.

no name

8/17/2017 05:15:03 pm

they probably don't play games; instead they probably concentrate on getting stronger. if they did ply games, the games would probably indirectly affect their powers.

Walter

8/18/2017 12:04:54 am

Like Eithan- in... soulsmith? He mentions that to acquire his iron body his family had him catch birds with his hands, play games of agility, and things (if I remember correctly)

Quinn

8/18/2017 02:19:23 pm

I would imagine that games would still be played. Children are still children after all. And people are still people. And it seems like most people aren't even all that interested in getting stronger(one out of every 1,000 goes from gold to high gold or something like that). That is a large number of people that never advance. They must still have ways to enjoy life. And I would imagine some Paths would have games to increase strength, madra flow, etc. Games help you get stronger.

Quinn

8/17/2017 01:30:14 pm

Also, what sports are there in Cradle.

Kurt

8/17/2017 04:24:10 pm

What path do Gigalo's follow?

manty05

8/18/2017 01:00:32 am

What would be the goldsign of a sacred artist on the path of the white fox.

Quinn

8/18/2017 02:20:26 pm

A big fluffy tail lol. Good question.

Diego link

8/20/2017 12:15:50 am

I think it depends on the Remnant they adopt. But if it's a white fox remnant ill go with either the tails or extra fox ears.

Coldsteel

8/18/2017 06:40:12 am

Will, are there any paths predicated on absolute secrecy? They exist, but Cradle as a whole doesn't know they exist, only their initiates and practitioners do?

Garrett

8/18/2017 07:47:31 pm

Will this isn't a short story questions but I was rereading SoulSmith and I thought of something. When they are at the top of the transcendent ruins and Yerin was passed out after her battle with Jai Long, Ethan chose a treasure for her. He acted like he didn't care what it was but with his ability he would have sensed exactly what it was, was it truly nothing of importance or is he waiting until the right time to give it to her?

Samuel

8/19/2017 07:25:54 am

I was wondering about this also, hope he answers this one.

Sir Wolpertinger

8/19/2017 07:53:48 am

This will be RAFO since it will directly influence the plot of either Skysworn or the book after, though Skysworn is more likely.

Samuel

8/19/2017 10:01:13 am

Just thought of this, what is the worth of precious metals from our world in Cradle? The world there is much bigger and it would be easier to mine with an Iron body, but there appears so be so much more plentiful there than one would think. These means gold, silver, jade, and various crystals such as rubies and sapphires.

Samuel

8/19/2017 08:20:44 pm

Appears to be so much more than one would think*

The ants that get into your sugar jar

8/19/2017 01:08:47 pm

What path would a general or tactician follow?

Daniel young

8/21/2017 01:22:32 am

I'm not will but: Path of Hawks Eye. Followers of this path cycle madra of light and dreams but unlike followers of the white fox those on the path of hawks eye focus exclusively on enforcing themselves to increase their anbility to perceive their soroundings and process data in order to reach the most optimal solution to any problem in as little time as possible. Disciples on the path of hawks eye can count the hairs on your head from miles away and determine the exact way to exploit an enemies weaknesses simply by watching how they walk down a street. Hawks eye disciples are the most annoying of all enemies to fight as they can seemingly predict your every move before you yourself know you plan to make it. While this path is powerful in the right hands it falls short when faced with overwhelming power and lacks reach.

Chris

8/22/2017 07:58:43 am

10/10 should help Will create more paths

Daniel young

8/22/2017 06:11:15 pm

Thanks Chris:) I actually made a bunch of comedic path names that Will responded too a few months back. I'll see if I can dig them up again and link them here. Ive got some more written down if you want me to post them.

Donald

8/19/2017 02:09:05 pm

On their way out, Yerin sliced another pillar. The Ancestor’s Tomb groaned, cracked, slowly crumbling under a lack of support. As they flew out the hole in the wall, the ceiling tilted and collapsed into a landslide of rubble, delaying Heaven’s Glory. And interring the Sword Sage forever in his killer’s tomb.

Correct me if I am wrong, but does this mean the Ancestor killed the Sword Sage? If so, would that mean the Ancestor is the rival of the guy on that Key King Path thing?

Azqa

8/19/2017 04:18:13 pm

The Sword Sage was killed by a number of Jades from the Heaven's Glory school. He retreated to the Ancestor's Tomb in an attempt to pick a better battlefield while he was poisoned, and succumbed to his wounds there. Those are the facts as Yerin, Lindon, and the Heaven's Glory school knows them. Will has said that there is more to the story than just that. Eithan has indicated that, as an Underlord, he would hardly be affected by such weak opponents, though he has not heard Yerin's story of her master, so has not been able to tell Yerin or Lindon that there must be more at play than what they know.

Jonathan

8/21/2017 01:03:10 pm

His Iron body had no way to counter the effects of the poison. Even, Yerin, in Soulsmith, couldn't handle the effects of the sandviper venom we she was captured. I don't think his stage of advancement made much of a difference.

Azqa

8/21/2017 01:32:25 pm

While it's unfortunately not on the FAQ page, the question and response has come up numerous times. Here's one response of Will's on the matter:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Iteration110Cradle/comments/5vswkb/spoiler_alert_that_plot_twist_in_soul_smith/de6qgv4/

Donald

8/21/2017 01:56:31 pm

So there was likely some form of "curse" or similar affliction brought down on the Sword Sage by the Ancestor, be it from his Remnant or trap left behind by him. Interesting, read Unsouled 8 times and I learn something new each time!

Johannes Gittenburg, inventor of the portable printing press or something

8/19/2017 04:46:36 pm

What was the first path ever walked by humans? What was the first path the gain widespread use?

Jonathan

8/21/2017 01:00:50 pm

I could see a Pure Madra path being the first, with an ordinary iron body.

Steve

8/19/2017 07:53:13 pm

So this might have been covered somewhere else... Is it possible to bind a critter to Valinhall the same way an item is? I was assuming that's what some of the house guardians are, but wasn't sure.

If that's the case, what would happen if a Founder from another Territory was beaten and bound to Valinhall?

Walter

8/20/2017 08:11:27 am

What is the parasitic ring exactly? If it's parasitic, where does the madra go? Why does it improve your madra quality?

Samuel

8/20/2017 09:33:33 am

It is a halfsilver ring that purifies madra, but makes it harder to cycle.

“He carried with him a parasite ring, of braided halfsilver etched with intricate script, which went into the keeping of the Patriarch to award to a promising practitioner of the Sacred Arts.”

That's about all we know other than Eithan asking Lindon about madra filters/purifiers.

Joe

8/20/2017 03:20:50 pm

This of course begs the question. Would there be any benefits to wearing multiple parasite rings?

Sage of the Infinite Blade

8/20/2017 04:11:41 pm

Joe, I believe so yes, but like, with Lindon's cycling technique, it may be so difficult that he can't actually cycle at all, nullifying the benefits. So with an easier cycling technique, there probably is, just not with Lindon's.

Samuel

8/21/2017 05:48:57 am

You do have to wonder though, is the effect cumulative? If one makes it twice as hard with twice the results, would two rings make it four times more difficult with four times the results? If so, what would be the best cycling technique for this? Add one more, would it get eight times more difficult with eight times the results? We may never know some of these things unless Will answers our questions!

Jonathan

8/21/2017 12:59:22 pm

Well just like working out if you do too much you strain something, I could see Will, showing us Lindon trying to cycle with 4 rings and straining his soul too hard it actually rips. being unable to cycle at all would be the least that could happen.

Sage of the Infinite Blade

8/20/2017 04:09:56 pm

Okay, so, I just thought about this. I know you probably don't have the time, but will we ever get like, pictures of what the different runes in scripting look like, and like, descriptions on how script circles and stuff work and how runes effect other runes? I'm one of those people that has to know EXACTLY how everything in a magic system works or it bothers me for a long time lol

Murder of Crows

8/20/2017 07:57:42 pm

Do the poles of Cradle have permanent ice? Where is Blackflame situated, near equator, northern hemisphere, southern?

8/20/2017 09:09:03 pm

Any updates will on skysworn?
I can't help checking! Lookingforward to the next one.

Devin

8/21/2017 07:55:42 pm

What does an offensive use of Life Madra look like, and what effect does Life Madra have on other types of Madra it could be combined with, in regards to a Sacred Artists path?

Azqa

8/21/2017 08:06:33 pm

Just checking to see if there's a cap of 500 comments per post or not. Seems random, I know. Still curious!

Frozen

8/22/2017 02:46:34 am

So Will we've seen paths that use two types of madra
i.e. Blackflame, Stellar spear....ect but, are their any paths that use three or more types of madra and can you game at least two examples?

Frozen

8/22/2017 02:48:11 am

Give*

manty05

8/24/2017 04:47:17 am

This is only my theory but it could be that madra mixtures of more than two types are rare in the environment of cradle or at least not often enough occurring to be of much use. Making the development of a path that utilizes three or more madra types tricky as the sacred artist could not properly harvest madra for their path.
Or it could also be that 2 is just a magic number in cradle for madra mixtures after which no human core(or most at least) can remain stable or something similar.

Dumb_knight

8/23/2017 08:08:37 am

Cradle : story of cradle look like wonderful material for open world game. Any planned version ??

Groundsworn

8/23/2017 12:41:52 pm

How would Valin at his peak before incarnation compare to a underlord?

Sage of the Infinite Blade

8/27/2017 07:15:41 pm

Hey, question, are there paths that deal with archetypes? Like, we know there's dream aura, and that might be able to be used in something like this, so like, if one were to mix dream aura and sword aura, would they be able to create an archetype path for sharpness? So like, their attacks are the very idea of sharpness, therefore infinitely sharp. I don't think archetype paths would be too overpowered, as yes, while fighting somebody on the same advancement level as you would be ridiculously easy in most cases, fighting somebody to far beyond you would just dispel your madra on contact, like you stated. So, are there archetype paths on Cradle? If there are, what paths (would prefer some backstory to one or two :3)? If there aren't, is it possible?

Samuel

8/31/2017 06:35:22 pm

This sounds very interesting, but I believe(just my thoughts, don't take it as canonical) that dream madra can only be used for illusions and such. We don't have any experience with powerful dream Sacred Artists, so we don't know their full capabilities, but my thoughts on this is that you would only be able to make sharp images. I see no reason why dream madra would be able to change the fundamentals of science and madra. Also, if sword madra is sharp enough to such an extent that according to Yerin, it can cut through mountains, why would you want to make it sharper? Yerins attacks with sword madra can harm a Truegold as a Lowgold, so the idea of an infinitely sharp edge is rather extreme when it is unnecessary if your attacks would simply bounce off of a high enough leveled Artist. And in most of these cases, it would be overpowered. Sword madra is literally the power of an edge. It can cut through most anything if it is condensed enough. If Yerins attacks can cut through a Truegolds as a Lowgold, than an infinitely sharp edge of madra would be literally unstoppable no matter what. And what about a ruler technique?
This would be, quite literally, UNSTOPPABLE. If a blast of sword madra as a ruler technique is multiplicaticely enhanced to the point of infinity, then it would cut nonstop. It wouldn't matter how powerful the other person was, if the ruler technique lands they are toast and dead. And even if that wasn't true, one of these would go on forever, until eventually deteriorating.
While Will might have a different take on this idea, it seems a little too Overpowered to exist without some kind of massive limitation.

Sage of the Infinite Blade

9/3/2017 07:07:49 am

Well, of course there would be massive limitations, but if they did exist, those limits would be up to will. And of course, it wouldn't necessarily have to be dream Madra that turns it into an archetype path, that just happens to be the closest possible thing we know of, since we don't know of any like, mind or idea madras.

Sage of the Impatient Reader

9/26/2017 10:30:08 pm

I believe that the "idea of sharpness" IS sword madra. Sword madra seems to be poorly named, it collects around knives, spear blades, essentially ANY sharp edge. An attack of pure sword madra isn't made of metal, it is purely a cutting force. Madra of a specific type IS the idea of that thing.

Think about cycling Light madra. It doesn't make the area around you darker, because you aren't actually absorbing the light. Instead you are taking in the very idea, the essence, of the light around you.

Madra master

8/31/2017 08:15:35 am

Hi I have a few questions,

First if The Jai clan know what madra Ethan uses does that make a difference?

Now that we know that Ethan uses pure madra will he teach Lindon his Path?

Will he help Yerin and Lindon to under lord and get himself to overlord?

Quinn

8/31/2017 01:25:56 pm

Just some thoughts Mr. Madra Master. Knowing what madra Eithan uses does make a difference for the Jai. It is referred to that pure madra in particular has certain weaknesses. Itt is really poor for defense. In the first book they talk about someone shooting an arrow. A fire artist could burn the arrows and a sword artist could cut them or some such. But a pure madra artist wouldn't be able to defend against it. That could be a huge advantage. On your second question, Eithan seems to be teaching Lindon his path already. It was his Heaven and Earth Purification Wheel that has given Lindon such large madra reserves. Yerin remarks about this during the fights with Orthos. As for the third question, so far Eithan has said that he wants Lindon and Yerin to walk with him to the end. That would require raising them to Underlord and Eithan reaching Overlord. These are just my opinions, but I hoped I could help.

a mad bookworm on the path of eating books

9/9/2017 05:20:03 am

What is the original gold sign for a sacred artist on the path of black flame?

SANTIAGO

9/16/2017 10:45:40 am

Have you ever considered making one of your books into a screenplay? If you could who would you cast and would it follow the events of the books?

Hendpg

9/29/2017 07:28:50 pm

Has anyone been into the black mist in ragnarus if so what were the afects on their body, are there any beasts in the mist, and did they ever return

Sage of the Fleshy Mirror

10/18/2017 03:58:29 pm

A quick question, what would be the objectively worst path?
by worst I mean
not versatile
weak
maybe severe consequences
hard to cycle
scorn
etc.

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