Random lines from Blackflame!

3/8/2017

Once again, I don't have anything to say besides "I'm working on it, please let me live," so I'm going to do something new: I'm going to give you random lines from the book, out of context! What fun!

If you're especially spoiler-averse, stop now. However, it's not like the spoilers are going to be too heavy. I'm not going to drop any bombshells on you. Just tidbits that you might find interesting.

And as always, please remember that these haven't been edited, so I don't consider myself bound to keep any of these in the book. They might change.

Finally: just to keep things interesting, one of these lines is a complete lie! See if you can spot which one!

Here we go, lines from the current version of Blackflame:

***
EITHAN: "There will be no forgiveness. To the blood pits with you!"
***
The dragon advances.
The dragon destroys.
The dragon consumes.
***
"Path of Crawling Shades," Eithan said, and the red man's shadow flowed behind him until it engulfed the entire back wall. "This is a Path from a more advanced country than this one, but a practitioner once traveled here to be executed. They practice a unique process that essentially turns their shadow into a symbiotic Remnant."
***
Lindon tore through the wall.
***
"River doesn't get too far without banks," Yerin said. "Out of control, it's just a flood. Spills everywhere. You want it to go where you want it to go, you have to guide it."
***
Eithan reached out without looking, seizing an old, worn broom leaning against the side of a house. Its shaft was gnarled but reasonably straight, polished by years of use, and it ended in a tied bundle of straw.

He ran his hands up the broom, not saying a word.
***
His core flared with dark, bloody light.
***
Yerin raised her sword, which she had never sheathed. “If this was your mistake alone, I’d let you make it."
***
A pair of red eyes popped out—first one, then the other—glowering with menace and swirling to stare at Yerin.
She raised her sword.
Lindon bolted for the exit.
***
"Good thing Lindon didn't live to see this," Yerin said with a sigh. "Turns out all that about Suriel was just one big, trauma-induced hallucination. He never even left Sacred Valley, he just had a heart attack and then died in a coma. This would be a very disappointing story to read about, I can tell you that."
***

...so which is the lie? Which is the truth?

ARE YOU DETECTIVE ENOUGH TO SOLVE THE RIDDLE?

-Will

140 Comments

Sam

3/8/2017 07:27:05 pm

My duty as Captain Obvious requires me to state that the last line is a lie.

OR IS IT?

On a different note, no ETA for us poor readers salivating at the prospect of Blackflame?

Will link

3/8/2017 07:46:46 pm

I have no ETA, Sam. I don't make estimates anymore. Any hope for the future has been stripped away from my jaded soul.

Sumnerd

3/8/2017 07:58:51 pm

Are you saying Lindon gets to Jade?

3/8/2017 08:00:40 pm

I'm saying *I* finally advanced to Jade. Working on Cradle has tempered my soul.

Polycore

3/9/2017 10:18:02 am

Hey Will, I was wondering, did you send the book to your beta readers ? Or are you still writing the end ?

Ken

3/9/2017 02:06:40 pm

Will,
We need this book now. Just take my money.

Kidding aside, keep up the good work. Looking forward to the day you write ridiculous long epic fantasy like Sanderson. Not that you need to be like him, your style of world building, magic system, and plot twists are uniquely refreshing.

Jason

3/8/2017 07:33:30 pm

"Lindon tore through the wall" . It's the obvious fake. He's too polite to damage property and he's smart enough to know that he can just walk through the door.

Quite the surprise ending though. If you don't use it in this novel, you can always use it to end the series, people won't see it coming.

3/8/2017 07:46:17 pm

"Lindon aggressively pulled the door open, stopping before he slammed it against the wall. No need to damage the doorframe."

Isaac Xander

3/8/2017 07:43:11 pm

.... This post made me think a lot of what my mother would call "naughty words"....

3/8/2017 07:44:54 pm

The real troll would be if all of these lines came from the same scene.

...man, I should have done that.

Asterion

3/12/2017 03:16:55 am

Words like anticipation, release,and satisfaction. How naughty.

Aaron J.E.

3/8/2017 07:44:11 pm

"Lindon tore through the wall"

This is the one I like. Sure, others may have bigger spoilers, but this one shows *growth*. Lindon, soulless of the Sacred Valley, can go beast mode. I don't know where he is going, but I look forward to seeing him get there.

3/8/2017 07:45:17 pm

That was my favorite of these too, I won't lie.

Illar

3/8/2017 08:43:57 pm

Unless he is in a tent, that is not all that impressive really.

3/8/2017 09:14:02 pm

You're suggesting that tearing through the wall of a tent is MORE impressive than tearing through a solid wall?

Dustin

3/8/2017 11:41:25 pm

In some instances tearing through a thick canvas tent could be harder to do than bashing through a wooden wall or an old crumbling brick and mortar wall.

3/9/2017 07:20:47 am

In some instances, sure. You could say we have a tent made of tanned elephant hide versus a crumbling wall of balsa wood.

But I'm confused by "Unless he is in a tent, that is not all that impressive really."

...which, in context, would mean "Unless you're in a tent, tearing through a wall is not all that impressive."

Which makes no sense. Clearly something was lost in translation here, and I just wanted to know what.

iceman

3/9/2017 09:31:09 am

Will, I think you're reading it as

"It's not impressive unless he's in a tent"

while Illar meant it as

"Unless he's in a tent. In that case, it's not impressive."

3/9/2017 09:38:13 am

THAT would make complete sense, but you can't read what he said that way.

Unless there's a typo, or he missed a key word, or something.

I know it's just a miscommunication, but I'm really curious to know what he meant.

3/9/2017 11:45:10 am

I assume he meant, "Unless he is in a tent, [then] that is not all that impressive really. "

3/9/2017 03:44:21 pm

Thank you b that is what I meant to say.

Brian S

3/9/2017 05:11:43 pm

Noooo! I'm pretty sure that tents are Illars superhearo weakness. He tears through walls of titanium all the time, no problem, but put him in a tent and he is weak as a babe.

John

3/9/2017 08:00:58 pm

This all a bit too *intense* for me.

Light link

3/10/2017 09:43:39 am

I have to admit that your pretty funny Will.

Though if you have ever been in a collapsed tent blowing in the wind it would be pretty impressive to rip through it. With just this little bit of word play I'm excited all over again to read this book. Every word has power and you proved that here. Bravo Lord Wight.

3/10/2017 09:01:07 pm

Thanks Illar!

I knew we were just miscommunicating, but I really did want to know what you meant. And now I do!

Zeussaxis the Sometimes Troll

3/8/2017 07:47:28 pm

"Here we go, lines from the current version of Blackflame:"

None of these are actually from the current version of Blackflame?

3/8/2017 07:54:09 pm

...yes they are?

Zeussaxis Turning Scholarly

3/8/2017 08:01:04 pm

Okay, a serious guess:

I'm fairly certain that the following is a quote from (or reference to) Beowulf, and is thus probably not in the book:

"The dragon advances.
The dragon destroys.
The dragon consumes."

3/8/2017 08:06:00 pm

It is actually a somewhat indirect Beowulf reference, and I'm kind of shocked anyone got that. It's not a quote or even really a paraphrase, I was just trying to think of a catechism that people who idolize dragons might use, and I thought of Beowulf as a source.

So kudos to you; I have no idea how you recognized that. I wouldn't expect even someone familiar with Beowulf to get there, because it only makes sense following my weird train of logic.

But hey, you nailed it!

It IS really in the book, though.

(The obvious fake one is fake. The others are real.)

Zeussaxis the Savant?

3/9/2017 05:29:40 am

Wow...I have no idea how I got there either. With my coffee this morning I tried Googling it and like you said, it's THERE, but it's not there! I have been through Beowulf probably half a dozen times over the years, so I guess it's just stamped on my skull.

Corey Barro link

3/8/2017 07:54:54 pm

This year is really going to be a good one for new books!

3/8/2017 07:55:59 pm

I hope so!

What else are you looking forward to?

Corey

3/8/2017 08:13:25 pm

Book three of Stormlight from Sanderson comes out in November :D

What books are you looking forward to this year?

3/8/2017 08:25:23 pm

Stormlight is the only series I'm looking forward to. It's the only series I need.

Arjun

3/8/2017 10:08:35 pm

In addition to Stormlight and whatever else Will is cooking up this year (guaranteed to be awesome), I'm looking forward to Iron Gold by Pierce Brown.

James A.

3/8/2017 11:39:11 pm

Iron Gold got pushed back to January 2018. But Blackflame and Stormlight are all one really needs.

Kanggree

3/9/2017 03:01:10 am

The new nightlord book Knightfall by Garson whited (any day now)

The new dresden files book by butcher

The new warded man book the Core by Peter Brett due in august

Kyle

3/9/2017 08:02:47 am

Book 2 of Anthony Ryan's new series comes out in June this year as well. The Draconis Memoria Series.

3/10/2017 03:42:10 pm

I'm looking forward to The Core by Peter V. Brett. I'm honestly probably not going to buy it when it comes out though. Regardless of how much money I have, I just can't ever see myself paying $15 for a Kindle book.

Daniel

3/12/2017 11:13:27 pm

Book 4 off the Daniel black series by E. William brown

William

3/8/2017 08:30:45 pm

Thanks for the books :)

Ruan

3/8/2017 08:32:07 pm

Red seems to be a very common theme in Blackflame. I also seriously hope Lindon is the one being sent to "the blood pits"... That sounds like the kind of place where some serious growth can occur.

3/8/2017 08:34:57 pm

There actually is a lot of red in Blackflame, although maybe not QUITE as much as these quotes would suggest.

That's a weird coincidence; maybe I was subconsciously drawn to lines with the color red in them.

Mick

3/8/2017 08:44:13 pm

Maybe Will is stuck in the crimson vault and, thus, red has seeped into his soul.

Geoffrey

3/12/2017 10:01:00 am

One would have thought that a book called "Blackflame" would have been fixated on something black and firey, not red. Then again, you could always rename it "Crimsonflame", or "Book with a theme reminiscent of the stereotypical Scottish hair color".

Azqa

3/8/2017 08:45:37 pm

Woohoo! So very much looking forward to seeing the context of these lines :D

Nugaty_overlord

3/8/2017 09:27:45 pm

Love it. Hate it. Want more. Thanks will. I hope you're trolling us and the book is coming out in the next week or so, but I promise to only hold my breath till I pass out. Really though. Keep kickin ass.

3/9/2017 07:27:01 am

I'm trying to finish it! I'm trying so hard!

Devin

3/9/2017 11:14:45 am

Hurry faster! I NEED MUH FIX MAN!!!!!

Poshui

3/11/2017 02:07:33 am

You so make me want to quote Yoda but... well I think you should relax. Even if you finished the book right this instance and I could read it right away I'm sure I would just want the next one in a day or 2 so better for you to relax and work steadily through them so you don't get burnt-out trying to get them out faster.
So just keep up the good work.

Adarsh

3/8/2017 09:40:06 pm

So the last line isn't a lie, instead its part of a trauma induced dream of linden's.

Yosef

3/8/2017 09:59:11 pm

Yes !!! (Spoilers!!) I knew it Lindon gets the riverseed as his goldsign now he's learning to control rivers (and water madra?) so he must be at least lowgold

Lyrian Rastler

3/9/2017 12:54:55 am

bud, I am pretty sure ( as sure as one can be with Will) that the river reference is related to madra circulation and control rather than literally a river. Of course, I could be Will giving out a fake name and giving out spoilers, but that is debatable. :)

yoyomoss

3/8/2017 10:49:17 pm

I've always wondered, since Eithan is the descendant of the sage of brooms, how is broom madra harvested? Sweeping dusty floors? If so I imagine he went to that old dusty ruin with more than just loot on his mind, he wanted to clean it and finding Lindon and Yerin was just a bonus.

3/9/2017 12:37:01 am

Maybe if dust is left alone to cycle for long enough it will form into the dreaded dust bunny remnant, which can only be defeated by those who know the secerts of broom madra? Is Eithan's family the last line of defence against the hordes of dust? Will Blackflame show the lastest battle in the enternal war of dust vs broom?

Will.2

3/9/2017 01:26:22 am

Will, the Sword Sage praised the chief of the Heaven Glory school(not sure the name is correct). Does this mean that he has a perfect jade body, or whatever it is called.
Or did he simply mean that his foundation is better than the ones of the other elders?

3/9/2017 07:23:48 am

Curses. If I'd known you were going to ask this on two different threads, I've responded here instead of on the other one.

Bottom line: the Sword Sage didn't mean anything by it. He was being minimally polite to a bunch of primitive savages. "That's a very nice sharpened stick you have there; it's almost as good as my attack helicopter."

3/9/2017 08:05:14 am

Sorry for making you answer it twice.

After i wrote it on the other thread did I notice that you opened a new one, which led me to believe that you are going to pay attention solely on the new one.
Seems like i my worries were for naught.

Patrick

3/9/2017 10:22:41 am

I always imagined that conversation going like this:
Sword sage: You sure are making well and sure you're ready to advance to gold, aren't you? (I can't believe you're not even gold yet considering your age)
Heaven's Glory Elder: Your words are too kind. (He thinks I could make gold!)

Jay

3/9/2017 04:34:20 am

Appreciate you willing to resurface for a quick post, even if it was to torment us poor souls who are barely containing our will power not to scream over the anticipation of the Blackflame release. I refuse to speculate on your postings...
Ok, I can't help it. Reference the core being filled up with bloody light, the red eyes, and red everything else. This likely points to Yerin's belt (seal) that is keeping a powerful blood remnant at bay. Something likely happens to Yerin, causing her to lose control, and Lindon ends up doing something equally rash that forces him to bring in the blood madra after an intense battle where both he and Yerin are brought to deaths door.
Will, I know you lie, but can you give me at least a hot/warm/cold?

3/9/2017 07:24:14 am

Cold.

Ferone

3/10/2017 09:54:02 am

Could i join the guessing game?
A random shot in the dark would be that our (sadly) non perverted hero, straight shooting hero lindon, gets blood madra, which will in a later book allow him to benefit from her blood sash.

How cold am i?

3/10/2017 09:02:24 pm

Still cold.

3/11/2017 06:34:35 am

A guess: Yerin eventually has to deal with her unwelcome guest completely on her own except for emotional support from her friends.

In fact, I'll guess that the person whose core flared with dark, bloody light wasn't even Lindon...

Maahn

3/9/2017 05:21:37 am

ah man, this month is killing me. The wait for this and Mass Effect is completely eroding my will to do any work. I've already reread Unsouled and Soulsmith this month to try and satisfy the craving for more, but it's not enough!

3/9/2017 07:25:24 am

I feel the same way, Maahn. I can't play Horizon: Zero Dawn or Zelda: Breath of the Wild until I finish Blackflame.

It hurts deep inside.

3/9/2017 07:37:41 am

...so I probably shouldn't mention that Horizon is absolutely epic, and definitely needs to be played then?

Vald

3/9/2017 03:08:12 pm

Maahn, could you shoot yourself in the foot without taking every other reader with you?

Sean K

3/11/2017 04:59:34 am

See here one and all. Will has consigned himself to self torture until his book is finished. Please do NOT further antaganize him with posts of "Finish the book NOWZ!" He is suffering as no man should be self mutilation. THAT is the mark of a man who is good to his readers!

Justin

3/12/2017 11:17:37 pm

While I'm sorry to possibly hurt you more, I would suggest tossing Nier: Automata onto that list if possible. Personally found it to be an amazing game and kinda wonder what you would think of it.

Family of raccoons on the verge of ascending into sacred beasts

3/9/2017 06:04:15 am

Eithan always chooses the best weapons.

3/9/2017 07:26:29 am

Really, it's the most economical choice. What if you need to cut a yard of silk after slashing your enemy's throat? Fight with scissors! What if you need to sweep up after beating a bunch of dudes to death? Fight with a broom!

Family of sacred beasts cycling madra of path of the intrusive scavenging rodent

3/10/2017 10:41:30 am

A true weapon for the descendant of the great sage of brooms, founder of the great line of blackflame janitors.

By the way, was the ultimate goal of the Soulsmith in the transcendent ruins (think I got the name right?) to create the dreadgods?

3/10/2017 09:02:56 pm

Was that their goal? No.

3/11/2017 05:01:37 am

WILL! Stop giving any hints to the big mysteries like the temples! You should be more like Sanderson in like "that would be very interesting, should that be the case."

That kind of pain will keep us on our toes!

3/11/2017 07:53:46 am

I'm cryptic when I need to be, Sean.

In this case, telling you that it wasn't their goal actually tells you nothing. But it's a tantalizing bit of information.

In fact, I think giving little hints like this is actually MORE misleading than saying nothing.

3/11/2017 10:19:54 am

So it wasn't their goal, they just made the dreadbeasts anyway, by accident, maybe?

3/12/2017 11:20:49 pm

Or that wasn't their goal so they did nothing of the sort?

Mike

3/9/2017 08:17:45 am

A couple of things...

Nice sharpened stick, this is my attack helicopter... Made me laugh, a lot. Now I need to go to HR and explain that I'm not really insane.

I work for the NSA and recently intercepted one of Will's telephone calls (actually I record all his phone calls) and apparently he plans to have all books for the cradle series finished by the end of summer. And for the record he's also a 93 year old woman who lives in Maine. Which line was lie?

Will, I absolutely love your books (all of them) and really appreciate how much interaction you have with your readers/fans. Thank you!

3/9/2017 12:11:58 pm

I caught you in a lie, NSA! I'm not 93. I turned 94 on Tuesday.

(Thanks, Mike! Interacting with readers has made this whole journey so much fun.)

Jay W

3/9/2017 09:52:04 am

Before I got to the obvious fake line I had thought that this one may be fake:

"A pair of red eyes popped out—first one, then the other—glowering with menace and swirling to stare at Yerin.
She raised her sword.
Lindon bolted for the exit."

The Lindon I know wouldn't leave a friend behind. He's brave even when he has no reasonable chance of winning. That's one thing I really like about the character. If he ran, it must be for a good reason.

3/9/2017 12:09:20 pm

I'm actually happy you picked up on that, Jay!

(This scene will likely be cut, so I don't feel bad about spoiling you).

Indeed, he is not leaving her in danger. When presented with an obstacle course and a guardian barring their way through, Yerin and Lindon react in two different, instinctive ways:

Yerin raises her sword to fight the guardian.
Lindon heads straight for the goal.

Anon link

3/9/2017 11:13:10 am

I'm thinking that most readers/commenters are missing out on one somewhat obvious aspect of Lindens character... He is the MC in a Xania story. Ergo he will (probably) become an ultimate being eventually. He will need to do this for several reasons regardless of the story specifics: 1) He will want to get stronger for his own self and identity. 2) He will want to protect (his) people. 3) There will eventually be a crisis that has probably been brewing for thousands or even millions of years (maybe since creation or shortly after... so in that case eons). Given that the Abadon / Way represents order the other side will be Chaos. The only solution will be a character that can bridge the gap between the two and dominate both. Wait a minute, Lindon has two cores... that means one could be for each!! If that is true then he will end up cultivating various aspects from many paths and will be able to use every type of madra... one of his cores will start with a few types like for instance: sword and light (from stelar spear) and maybe blood and shadows from (whatever Will decides) the result of that combo would be a core filled with violence and possibilities. The other core will probable get the river seed. It would stay pure and allow for other possibilities. Much later down the road the combo of these two cores would make it possible for Lindon to become the super OP MC that he is destined to be by virtue of being the MC in this type of story.

Of course Will might not do any of that, but if this is really a Xania story he will. In these stories the ultimate fate of the MC is (usually) a forgone conclusion. It's the world building, twists and turns, characters, and overall actual storytelling quality that is what makes them worth reading or not. Will's books are great and he should write them faster while maintaining his current high standards.

Zeussaxis the Snowflake

3/9/2017 05:29:00 pm

Love the theories, and the sword and light vs blood and shadow dichotomy feels like it fits.

...However...

As a millennial American, I want to believe that everyone is unique and that some are more unique than others (lampooning myself, I guess). Thus, despite any evidence or common sense suggesting Will follow the Xania template, I'm gonna pretend this is all original, unique, and might jump into another direction at any moment!

My friend Tyler once called Will a 'snowflake'. True story.

Meanwhile, WoW recorded (to paraphrase) that he knew the first 200 pages or so would be cake, since the Xania template pretty much dictated the direction. That, to me, implies that it only started as a Xania story, and is/will become something different.

stephen

3/9/2017 11:28:01 am

Is anyone else wondering that if Suriel was a hallucination than how did Lindon meet Yerin?

Your mom's cousins dogs breeders uncles sisters co-workers friends houses builder's sons doctors rivals neighbors drug dealers dog-walkers bully's nephews crush's stalkers TV providers CEOs great great great great great great great grandfather's murders

3/9/2017 12:06:53 pm

Therefore it's fake

3/9/2017 12:10:33 pm

That's just how elaborate and involved this hallucination is.

Peripheral Tangent

3/9/2017 03:05:59 pm

Ok, not exactly on the current topic, but I've been wondering for a while...could Vallinhall "adapt" magic items from other worlds, like the soul sucking spear or the emperor's key? Or are the magic systems just too different?

Enkidu

3/9/2017 03:11:08 pm

Hey Will, is Eithan smiling in any of these scenes? I feel like he should be. Does he continue to smile too much, or will we see a more sober 'Master Eithan' in Blackflame?

3/10/2017 09:03:59 pm

In the one with the broom, he's not smiling.

In every other scene I've mentioned here, he's smiling.

3/11/2017 06:36:03 am

That was a great question from Enkidu and the response makes me grin madly!

jim

3/9/2017 04:31:55 pm

Thoughts on "..., and it ended in a tied bundle of straw" vs "...,ending in a tied bundle of straw" leaving out the "and".

I like both, kinda.

I think Rothfuss would like the "active" voice version, but at the same time, I didn't even need to read any of his blog/reader updates to know he's a pretentious douche; it just comes out in his writing.

Torrey

3/9/2017 05:42:01 pm

I was just going to comment on Roth fuss on the reddit. People are comparing about a few weeks of wait time. How about 3 years? His books are so long and arduous to finish even though they are quit good. He was my favorite until the dresden files and now he's a far third after cradle.

3/10/2017 08:57:55 pm

I stopped reading Patrick Rothfuss' blog simply because it wasn't about his books. I wanted to hear about his writing, not the rest of his life.

...which is usually why I don't talk about my life in this blog. I'm trying to stay on topic.

As for the sentence, you're right. The second version is more active, and it's tighter language to boot. That's probably what I'll end up with after edits.

Sancus

3/14/2017 03:03:53 pm

This is appreciated, btw. I come to an author's blog to hear about their books, and occasionally talking about their other projects or even other people's books they recommend is okay too.

But if you start talking about cool youtube videos you saw or football or whatever other topics unrelated to your actual work, that would start to get irritating.

the questioner

3/10/2017 02:04:15 am

Will, you said in the previous thread that if Lindon were to fight against an elder of his clan he MIGHT win.
His biggest problem would be their illusions.
Does it mean, though, that physically they are more or less on the same level.
I remember the scene in the 1st book, when he was attacked by an iron of the, I think, Mon family, because he shamed that iron by winning against him. Before he could hit Lindon,though, his attack was blocked by an elder, which seemed to lindon, as though the elder teleported in front of him. Would lindon accomplish similar feats..

3/10/2017 08:59:14 pm

The elder didn't seem to teleport because he was moving so fast (although he WAS fast, just not that fast). It was because of his mastery over illusion.

That's exactly what Lindon would have to deal with.

Physically, he'd be on a similar level to the Jades of Sacred Valley. His Iron body is of a higher quality, but it's specialized for recovery, not pure strength.

3/11/2017 10:22:30 am

Is there any such thing as "Perfect Jade?" Yerrin had to prepare for her Jade Spirit, so just wondering if that is also a thing or not.

That being said, how does Lindon compare to the elders of Sacred Valley when get becomes Jade at the end of this book?

3/15/2017 07:23:47 am

I was under the impression that the elder just manipulate everyone's perception of time to make everyone think he teleported. Either by slowing their perception of time down or preventing them from experiencing the time it took him to move

Darryl

3/10/2017 02:04:24 am

I KNEW IT! Lindon is going to use one of his cores for blood Madra. Probably to help Yerin with her little friend, or just because it's convenient similar to the reason for his BLOOD forged iron body.and now I'm going to assume that Madra will allow him to interact with shadows, also it would make the "blood pits" perfect training for someone using blood Madra!

Finbar

3/10/2017 02:43:19 am

Is the lie "Finally: just to keep things interesting, one of these lines is a complete lie! See if you can spot which one!"?

3/10/2017 05:35:20 am

That would be the most in keeping with Will's style. Good job thinking outside the box.

3/10/2017 06:36:17 am

I say that the lie here is the one stating that there is only ONE lie. I say there are at least three of the spoiler lines that are untrue.

3/10/2017 09:04:40 pm

It's entirely possible that none of these will make it into the final book. You never know.

Family of Raccoons now throwing in their predictions for the context around these lines from blackflame

3/10/2017 06:59:52 am

"There will be no forgiveness" is probably Eithan reminding Lindon that Jai Long won't show mercy, and while blood pits might be something pertaining to madra, it is also a term used by authors in reference to gladiatorial arenas. Which is funny, because in truth very few gladiators died in those arenas. Training the fighters and building their reputations took time and money, so very few fights were to the death. It was criminals who tended to be killed for sport.

Back on topic, this 'blood pit' is possibly a combat arena where Eithan is training Lindon. But I could be totally wrong about all of this.

On another note, what kind of a goldsign would the remnant of a dreadgod leave?

3/10/2017 10:17:42 pm

Dreadbeasts don't leave Remnants. Neither do Dreadgods.

We'll go into it.

Michael

3/14/2017 08:25:19 am

wait so what exactly is a dreadgod? I had just assumed they were corrupted sacred artists

3/11/2017 02:02:01 pm

Why is everyone assuming that Ethan is speaking to Lindon when he says, "There will be no forgiveness. To the blood pits with you!"? He might be addressing Yerin, or someone we haven't even met yet.

3/11/2017 04:16:03 pm

I assumed Ethan was speaking to his dog after it just crapped all over the floor in his house.

Marek

3/15/2017 07:00:49 pm

I kind of like the idea that it's just an euphemism for something more or less benign. Like that's what he calls his stomach and he's talking to a rare steak.

UltraMagnus

3/10/2017 09:00:58 am

WILL.... do you play video games? If so, have you played Path of Exile? For some reason, your Cradle books remind me of that game.

3/10/2017 10:19:00 pm

I've only played, like, ten hours of Path of Exile, so it's not like I ever got a good grasp on the game, but I'm not aware of any parallels between PoE and Cradle.

Curious

3/10/2017 11:03:09 am

Will, are we going to see some traces Li Markuth left on Cradle,
be it a clan he founded when he left the sacred valley, some monument he built, or just some stories, which are still in the minds of the people.
With his strength he should have been known on this continent, when he still lived there.

3/10/2017 10:19:40 pm

Maybe. Depends on whether I have room for it or not.

He's tied in to the history of Sacred Valley, but I'm not sure to what degree we're going to explore that period in history.

3/11/2017 09:50:16 am

You could always explore different periods of time on cradle in short stories ...

3/10/2017 12:13:27 pm

Okay, here's my theory:
Yerin won't be absorbing the blood madra sash she wears. Throughout the second book, it says that she'll have to find a way to deal with her unwelcome visitor or it will essentially take over. At the very beginning of the book, she is in the ring of swords and it says she'd rather die than accept that path to power. So, we have a huge ton of BLOOD madra, similar to a remnant, and a budding sacred artist with a "BLOODforged" iron body. Not to mention if he heads down the path and becomes a potential replacement for Ozriel the "Reaper," we can assume that his job might be bloody. So my theory is that will be Lindon's path from Jade to gold. He might save Yerin from that thing taking over, but some way he'll fuse the blood madra into at least one of his cores. (This one apologizes if he got any details wrong.)

Brian C

3/10/2017 03:19:41 pm

Am I the only one who thought that the Path of Crawling Shades sounded very similar to the Nye?

A Nye

3/12/2017 09:00:47 pm

We're putting together a lawsuit, don't worry.

3/12/2017 11:30:23 pm

And by law suit do you mean you are sewing yourselves a suit so you can sneak up and strangle them?

3/10/2017 05:15:53 pm

Cover Art?

3/10/2017 07:34:30 pm

http://www.willwight.com/a-blog-of-dubious-intent/working-on-blackflame

3/12/2017 09:28:22 pm

Thank you!

Lightsyde link

3/10/2017 07:48:14 pm

Yerin raised her sword, which she had never sheathed. “If this was your mistake alone, I’d let you make it."

Yerin's sword is always sheathed - in madra

3/12/2017 02:22:56 pm

Why does everyone seem to want Lindon to get Yerin's unwelcome guest as a goldsign... It would suck if he does. We all know that at some point Lindon is going to get overwhelmingly powerful, but If he gets her unwelcome guest then she has literally no way of keeping up. She becomes a pointless character, which is the opposite of what Eithan seems to want so I doubt he would be supportive of that. No she has to come to terms with it herself so she can be even more badass.

Lightsyde

3/13/2017 05:02:51 am

Probably just because it's an available option, or appears to be. Will is very unlikely to go that route, I think...

marek

3/13/2017 10:06:12 am

In this world there are countless ways to attain power. Since she was groomed by the Sword Sage (who we have as stronger than an underlord) there's no reason to assume she needs that remnant to continue along her path. She just needs to avoid get killed by it.

Probably.

Sean

3/13/2017 08:43:38 pm

Will,
Since Lindon has pure cores at the moment could he combine the madra stealing binding and the purification part of the mining equipment to make a weapon that gives him pure madra no mater who or what he kills with it?

3/14/2017 01:57:33 pm

That is a very interesting idea. I hadn't thought of that. That could open up a lot of options later down the line.

3/14/2017 12:25:43 am

Speaking of quotes from cradle, my favorite one is Yerin's "you want to advance? Well this is what up looks like" speach in the Transcendent Ruins.

To me that marks the moment Lindon became a true sacred artist. Sure before that he'd shown courage, cunning, and a tenacious grasp for power, but that was where, to me, he stopped being Lindon the Unsouled from the Sacred Valley and became Lindon the Sacred Artist.

3/14/2017 12:01:23 pm

Yeah that was a great moment.

As expected

3/15/2017 09:06:16 am

The comments have decreased immensely.
Seems like the weak minded have already perished, as they couldn' t bear the lack of Blackflame, anymore.

Disappointing.

Tievel1

3/15/2017 09:20:18 am

Make no mistake, we are here, lurking in the background. But there isn't much sense beating a dead horse. It'll come when it comes.

Lifts leg into the air

3/15/2017 10:18:42 am

Foolish

3/15/2017 04:21:35 pm

Weirdly enough, the comments haven't decreased at all. In fact, they've increased.

This post has only been up a week.

Fan theories that attained sentience

3/15/2017 04:54:33 pm

I think that this post in particular has accumulated comments especially fast because of the teasers that we're given. Lots of speculation leads to lots of comments. By the way, if you ever do a podcast or audio media you should call it "Wight Noise"

3/15/2017 05:06:19 pm

Whoa, that's a great name.

I was joking with a friend last week that I needed to do a story about psychic undead who use their willpower to overwrite the minds of others.

They could be called...will-wights.

3/15/2017 04:44:43 pm

We are all here, however seeing as according to the progress state of "lowgold" we still have highgold, true gold, then underlord to wait for so we have expanded our reading base while we wait.

3/15/2017 06:51:48 pm

Was it stated that 'underlord' is the finished state for this book, or do we have to go through all 13 (or however many) have been implied/stated/guessed at?

3/15/2017 07:15:07 pm

I believe he said in one of his previous post that blackflame completion will be at underlord progression.

3/16/2017 04:42:49 pm

Hopefully books don't have the same probability of increasing in ranks as sacred artists...

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