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RekTer

Wow. Why is it that Elder Empire gets amazing art like this, yet Cradle just gets some scribbles for the covers?

Also I should probably just bite the bullet and read Elder Empire. I haven't yet because the "simultaneous stories" hook really doesn't excite me, but with art like this how could I not enjoy it?

Will Wight

"Some scribbles" = I'll kill you. I like that art.

But the reason why Elder Empire gets full paintings while Cradle covers are done in photoshop is because there are way more Cradle books and they come out more frequently. There's no delaying a Cradle book to wait on the cover art, and there never will be!

Questioner

Can you give info on the origin of Simon’s dolls both in the book and IRL? Or anything else. That works too. Excited for the Christmas short story!

Will Wight

I wanted Kai to be crazy, so I needed a prop to show how crazy he was. The first thing I thought of was a girl's doll that he whispered to. But then I asked myself, "Wait a second, is he hallucinating this, or should the dolls talk back?"

Questioner

Northstrider vs Kelerac, or Northstrider vs high ranking elders

Will Wight

Unsealed Elders no, simply due to the nature of the fight. At that point it's not a power level thing. Using sacred arts to fight unsealed Elders is, by and large, like trying to use your fists to fight a virus.But sealed Great Elders (like the ones the Emperor dealt with)...yeah, easily.

Questioner

Why is the sky blue?

Will Wight

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.

Questioner

In ‘Crimson Vault’ Denner uses a bell that returns everything to its respective territory. Does that also mean that the Tartarus sword that Erastes uses would have also returned? If it would, did a bunch of Damascan officers lose their swords as well?

Will Wight

Good question, but Tartarus steel is typically taken from the Territory and worked in the Unnamed World. It doesn't have enough of a connection to the Territory to be banished.

Jayce

Are there religious sects in Travelers Gate?

Will Wight

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.

Your Benevolent Dictator

Where are the territories?

Will Wight

They are stuck to Amalgam like barnacles.

Lil' Blue

You should definitely address romance in your books. ;)

Will Wight

Shshshshshshshshsssssssshhhhh. Hush now.

Lil' Blue

I need an awkward Will protagonist date in my life.

Will Wight

Jk, I know you’re right, and it’s going in. I have to practice to learn how to use it effectively, and the only way I practice is through LIVE-FIRE EXERCISE.   Everything that happens to Lindon and/or Simon results in awkwardness.

Lil' Blue

"Lindon: So uh...you like swords, right Yerin?"   "Simon: I like my eyes and having both of them."

Will Wight

^ Thats now my favorite. I’m going to try and work that in.

Questioner

Hey Will ! I am a big fan of your works (i probably already said this through my other user accounts but hey). I have a few questions if you don't mind entertaining.   Did Valin somehow have access to the Way when he created Valinhall ? Or the creation of Valinhall is kinda a Travelers Gate magic and nothing to do with the Way?   Did Eithan expect Yerin to eventually learn using the sword icon through his training ? Or that was just a pleasant surprise/coincidence that he did not know would bear fruit from his training?   Thanks for bringing Cradle/TG to life ! It has been a pleasure.

Will Wight

1.) It DOES have something to do with the Way, in fact. 2.) Who can know the mind of Eithan? (In all seriousness, #2 is a Read And Find Out.)

Questioner

What would happen if a nation's worth of people moved into a Territory?

Will Wight

As you might expect, that would depend on the Territory. There's usually a reason why nations don't form there.

In Asphodel, which is actually one of the most inhabited Territories, a nation-sized settlement would draw the Mist by the strength of their collective emotions. They would have to constantly contend with it, and would likely find it more worthwhile to settle elsewhere.

In Naraka, they would either leave or die of thirst. There isn't enough water in Naraka to sustain such a population.

Helgard might be able to support them. Some Helgard Travelers believe there might already be a nation-sized population somewhere in the Tower, there being huge floors and lots of nooks and crannies in Helgard.

Questioner

What would have happened to the house of blades or any other terrioty fragment if humans didnt discover it?Would it break apart and be consumed by the unamed world or would it just reach an all time low of power and sit there?

Will Wight

A fragment would slowly dissolve into the void if not bound to the Way by human will. This is true even for corrupted fragments, which is the preferred outcome: they drift off into nothingness until they dissolve.

Leigh_Ola

So, I recently started watching Bleach. It's a popular anime with 300+ episodes that started airing in 2004.

I couldn't help but notice similarities between Simon (The protagonist in Will Wight's Traveler's Gate) and Ichigo (The protagonist in Bleach):

Ichigo is an adolescent boy who uses a ridiculously big sword. Just like Simon.

Ichigo has a mask that when worn, allows him to get stronger. The main upgrade is his speed. Just like Simon.

Ichigo gets chains around his arms when he uses his maximum power. Just like Simon.

Ichigo has a small, talking stuffed animal doll. Just like Simon.

When Ichigo uses his mask, he risks losing a control and going "mad". Just like Simon.

Ichigo's large sword comes from a dark, brooding, powerful man who's now stuck in his "world". More similarities.

There are even similarities between Ichigo's personality and Simon's...

The fact that Bleach has been running for years before Traveler's Gate was released, and Will Wight seems to be a fan of Anime makes this seem like more than just a series of coincidences.

Here's a link to pictures of Ichigo and other Bleach characters : https://www.wallpaperflare.com/anime-bleach-kurosaki-ichigo-orange-hair-chains-sword-anime-boys-wallpaper-tssqn

Perhaps there's more to this than I'm aware of, so I'd like someone - Will, maybe? - to clear this up, because watching Bleach is starting to unnerve me.

Will Wight

So I love Bleach, but it didn’t actually have any influence on Simon’s design.

Obviously I’m going for a very anime aesthetic, hence the giant swords, but I described them to my artist as Final Fantasy swords rather than Bleach swords. The chains and doll and mask don’t come from Bleach at all.

Chains: I just needed a visual indicator of the increasing influence of the Territory and thought chains would be cool.

Doll: I wanted a prop to show that Kai was crazy, and I thought talking to dolls was a cool way to do that, and then I thought it would be funny if he WASN’T crazy and the dolls actually talked. Plus Simon is alone a lot and needed someone to trade dialogue with, so that’s where that came from.

Mask: I didn’t intend to give Simon a mask power-up, but Malachi had a mask that he would have dropped when he died, and I thought it would be logical if Simon picked it up. Then I was like “Hey, I wonder what would happen if Valinhall took this in like they’ve taken so many other things?” And thus the mask was born.

Bleach did have one major influence on my writing: the Abidan organization that oversees the multiverse was essentially the Gotei 13 in its first iteration. The fact that the Judges have long flowing white mantles of energy now is a nod to the haori of the Bleach Captains.

Questioner

If Simon had to pick an animal he would be, what would he pick?

Will Wight

When Simon was a child, he found a badger burrow behind his family's house. The badger largely ignored humans, but viciously attacked any other animals who get close to the burrow entrance.

Simon enjoyed watching it, and he was impressed with the way the badger completely ignored anything that wasn't a threat, but wasn't afraid of anything. And it spent a lot of the day nestled snug in its den.

This left an impression on him, so he'd pick a badger.

Questioner

On a scale of baby snow bunny to eldritch-horror who is scarier when fully equipped. Simon with the mask and cloak or Lindon with his goldsign and his wriggly arm?

Will Wight

I'd say Lindon when he gets going is basically a 6/horror. He's kind of a rough-looking guy anyway, and he gets the dark aura of the Burning Cloak, demonic eyes, a skeletal arm, and a big, hulking, burning turtle.

Questioner

What is the weirdest, creepiest room in Valinhall?

Will Wight

I'm tempted to say "Kai's bedroom," but I've made you wait two weeks for an answer, so I have to give you something decent.There's a deep room that is only roughly connected to the rest of the House, and it's something like an aquarium for spectral fish. The room is completely dry, but these pale, ghostly, aquatic creatures "swim" through the air as though on the ocean. They look horrific and alien, and their moans pierce the ear. If they cut you, your blood drifts up into a wispy cloud, as though dispersing into water that isn't there.

Questioner

What level of power could Simon earn?

Will Wight

This is kind of a meta answer, but I haven't decided yet.Totally depends on where I want to take the series. If I go where I've been planning to go, and keep the story relatively grounded but focused on Valinhall and giving Simon a satisfying arc of emotional development and growth, then yeah, probably Sword Sage level.But there's nothing that stops me from scrapping all those plans and having him ascend beyond his world just like Lindon is trying to ascend beyond Cradle. It's even easier for Simon, since he just needs to figure out how Valin left.

Questioner

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)

Will Wight

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.

Questioner

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?

Will Wight

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.

Questioner

Can other territories from amalgam attune artifacts from each other or is that something specific to the house of blades?

Will Wight

They all do that, over time. Valinhall somewhat speeds up the process using the workshop, but every Territory can assimilate pieces from other Territories eventually.

Questioner

Out of curiosity, what rank would Simon be on Cradle? Both with his mask and without.And would he be practicing the Path of Valinhall?

Will Wight

This is a tricky question, because while I know what you mean, they're practicing different magic systems. Simon hasn't worked on his madra at all, so if he were plopped down in Cradle, they would see him as completely untrained.If we're talking parallels, yes his chains are like a Goldsign, and the dolls would be something like a Remnant.In terms of combat potential, he'd be at Underlord level physically with his mask on. In fact, he might have an advantage even at that tier (WITH the mask on, in a head-to-head confrontation).But that's purely a physical measurement. He'd have to ghost armor his way through their techniques, and hope that Nye essence makes him faster than their Enforcer techniques so they didn't break the armor, lock him in place, and cook him alive with fireballs or something before he gets close.Then again, let's say there's a fight between Simon and a sacred artist with similar powers. Path of the Steel Chains, or whatever. It focuses on Enforcer techniques and making the body stronger and faster, and uses giant weapons.Simon would have the advantage in a shorter battle, but if the sacred artist hangs on past the first few minutes, Simon is going to start running out of powers. The sacred artist isn't. Sure, he'll exhaust his madra eventually, but it's not on a timer like many of Simon's powers are. The mask extends that, but of course the mask itself has a time limit.And because of the Iron body, once Simon runs out of Nye essence OR steel, the sacred artist is going to dribble him like a basketball.

Eithan, for instance, would just dodge until Simon gave up, retreated, or had to take the mask off. A lot of an actual matchup would come down to information. Does the sacred artist know that Simon has a time limit, and does Simon know that he has to finish the fight quickly? Does Simon know what Path his opponent is on? Does he have Caela with him? How do the sacred artist's techniques interact with ghost armor?Then again, if some Abidan plucked Simon out of his world and dumped him into Cradle, Simon WOULD be able to learn sacred arts. In addition to his Traveler powers.He'd have to adjust to the planet itself, which is bigger and has higher gravity, and some of his Traveler abilities wouldn't work--notably, he probably wouldn't be able to cut open a Gate, so there goes the healing pool. But he'd still be able to call steel, essence, and so on, and he'd be able to use the mask and doll as long as he had them on him to begin with.Summoning Mithra would PROBABLY be possible, but it would certainly take longer.

To expand on the theory behind what I just said:Amalgam (the TG world) has a bunch of tiny fragmented worlds stuck to it like ticks on a dog. Those are the Territories. It's easy to cut Gates to and from these miniature worlds because they're close, and they're already somewhat connected to the main world. They're like the elemental planes in D&D, if that means anything to you.Cradle is NOT close. So anything Simon takes from his Territory will still work the same, but anything he has to call on the Territory for--like cutting a Gate, or summoning a weapon, or calling more power from a room (as Simon and Kai have both done before)--is going to either take much longer, reflecting the greater distance, or isn't going to work at all.This is metaphysical distance, by the way. These are worlds as in dimensions, not worlds as in planets. Although they are also planets. Suriel gets into detail about this in Blackflame, in a scene that I had originally written for Soulsmith and then cut.But there's a reserve of steel and of Nye essence inside his body, and those will work. Anything he carries with him and all his internal powers will function as normal, just like they do when he's inside someone else's Territory.