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Cradle ()
#85 Copy

Questioner

How would a meal of the same ingredients be different if made from someone of higher rank? Suck as Turkey. Assuming a culinary path, how would that Turkey differ when made by a low-gold, underlord, sage, or Herald?

Will Wight

I'm not sure if you're talking about the level of the chef or the level of a sacred turkey. So I'm going to answer both.The problem with eating sacred beasts is that they get more intelligent as they advance. Most cultures have the same taboos against this as they do against cannibalism.However, there are a few exceptions. Some powerful individuals don't care about the rights of those weaker than them, and will consume sacred beasts regardless of their intelligence. Other cultures have no taboo, but make sure that the beasts have died of natural causes. And sometimes when sacred beasts are born instead of awakened from advancement, they have all the power and none of the intelligence. Though this can be hard to prove.So in the latter case, where you might have a Truegold-level sacred turkey with the intelligence of a normal bird, let's assume you ate it. It's going to be very tough, so it's difficult to cook, but if you prepared it perfectly, you would find it to be an intense experience. The concentrated blood aura in the body gives the meat a powerful flavor that you might find physically uncomfortable until you get used to it. When processed with the appropriate herbs, it can be delicious...although usually served in small portions.It can also help to refine the body, strengthening you and promoting physical health.As for a chef, here's what they say in the Blackflame Empire:A Lowgold chef will prepare you a wonderful meal.A Highgold chef will cook you the best dish you've ever had in your life.A Truegold chef will serve you your new favorite food.

Cradle ()
#87 Copy

Questioner

Has there ever been anyone on cradle who "messed up" their path yet still ascended to the Monarch level? Say someone who, out of ignorance, got a poorly matching iron body, or cultivated a really weird mix of auras.

Will Wight

This is a great question. I like this question.

The Beast King is a Herald (right below Monarch) who was crippled as a child while attempting to gain his Iron body. He refocused his Path into communicating with animals, using a mix of life and dream aura. Despite being unable to walk, he ended up befriending some truly ancient sacred beasts, and with their help baptized his body in soulfire and ascended to Underlord.

He's now many levels above that, and can walk just fine, but without the foundation of an Iron body he's physically not as dominant as his peers.

However, he's guarded by enormous behemoths from the deep places of the earth, so it balances out.

September 2018 - December 2018 ()
#88 Copy

Lil' Blue

do we remember what Rank Li Markuth was?   Because Suriel called him a "Gold"   "With the same move he'd used on the children earlier, the boy drove his palm into the Gold practitioner's core."

Will Wight

Li Markuth was never intended to be just Gold. Suriel thinks of him that way mainly because to refer to him otherwise would have been confusing to the reader at that point. But now it's confusing to the reader retroactively.     The only logical step is to delete all the books and give up on Cradle forever.     You've persuaded me.
Cradle ()
#89 Copy

Questioner

What is your view on a possible Lindon x Yerin romance?

Will Wight

All of the reasons listed in this conversations are reasons why I don’t like writing romance. It’s usually out of place and unnecessary, and you have to take time out of the plot to write it. Plus, it’s entirely based on emotional interactions, and emotional/relational interactions are what I have the hardest time writing. They’re my greatest weakness.All that said, a well-executed romance makes the whole story better. I don’t dislike it as a reader, it’s just hard as a writer.So what I’m trying to do is lay the foundation for a romance by creating two likeable characters who care for each other and have spent a lot of time together. Which is the groundwork a lot of stories don’t do, and why a lot of romance sub-plots fail.

Cradle ()
#90 Copy

Questioner

Is/was there a country on cradle that leaves dangerous scripts/weapons around that children can accidentally use and kill themselves. And if so, how long did/will that country last before the population dies off?

Will Wight

I'm going to be honest: in most cultures on Cradle, child safety isn't a huge priority. Sacred arts schools often list their mortality rate, and a lower rate of survival is often considered a mark of a difficult, elite school for the most talented.

Most of the cultures on Cradle have techniques, constructs, or weapons around that children could use to hurt themselves. The sad truth is, you have to lose a LOT of kids before it affects the population. And most cultures respond by having more children, rather than protecting the ones they have.

Cradle ()
#91 Copy

Kalani

Is Dross's "physical" form just an illusion of dream madra or can it interact with other objects like dream tablets? And if it can interact with other physical things, can other people somehow capture him if he strays too far from Lindon?

Will Wight

Dross’ physical form is now a projection that can’t move far from Lindon. He can interact with small or light physical objects, but if he were to be captured and taken away, he would dissolve and be reborn from the seed inside Lindon. Although it might hurt him, he couldn’t be stolen.

Cradle ()
#92 Copy

Questioner

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 Wight

"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.

Cradle ()
#93 Copy

Tren

Since your books always get into the explosive anime action without much of an investment, do you feel like they lose some of the emotional weight I'm talking about? You're writing the kind of books you like to write, obviously, and I'm a fan so I don't want that to change. I just like the hard questions.

(If your answer is too personal, I'm totally okay with you skipping this question)

Will Wight

Yes and no. On the one hand, obviously if you invest the reader in the characters and the stakes before you begin the action, the action has a lot more weight and means more. That's certainly true. But on the other hand, if the reader never reaches the action scene because they're bored out of their skull with the emotional setup, then your action scenes do not mean more. The reader never sees them at all, and is not entertained.In what I'm writing, I believe the reader should not be working harder than the writer to extract entertainment from the text. You shouldn't have to push yourself to keep going. I think that is the approach most readers prefer.However, there are certainly stories that are aiming to be slower, and there's nothing wrong with that at all. I think there's probably a happy medium. The better of a storyteller I become, the more I'm hoping to invest weight into the action without sacrificing pace. I still have room to improve, although I'm probably never going to be writing Malazan, for instance.

Nope. Not that personal, and I don't mind being asked personal questions. I'm pretty open, and if it's something I feel leery about answering publicly or in print (or if I just can't be bothered to answer), I won't. No pressure felt!

Cradle ()
#94 Copy

Questioner

What about Yerin with Valinhall powers VS. Calder with Valinhall powers?

Will Wight

Man, that's a cool question.I'll still give it to Yerin, for the reasons stated above. Calder has training in fencing and experience using a saber, but it's not like he was trained as the disciple of a wandering swordsman.If they can use their previous powers, Calder being a Reader adds an interesting dimension to the Valinhall powers, but it doesn't touch having an Iron body on TOP of the ability to call steel, plus Striker and Ruler techniques.

Cradle ()
#95 Copy

Reigan Shen

What purpose do Dross' core and Madra channels serve? Can he actually cycle with them?

Will Wight

That was all part of Dross evolving from a construct to an independent spirit. Without some form of madra channels, he wouldn't be able to process power. He cannot cycle aura, though technically Lindon could cycle aura to him. If he wanted.

Cradle ()
#96 Copy

Questioner

Did you hesitant with just dross or when making all the presences for the abidan as well? besides I don't think it matters it just another away your books connect other than the way.

Will Wight

Nah, just Dross. I knew the Abidan needed some kind of magical AI.

Cradle ()
#98 Copy

Questioner

How are scales made and what are they? An inert Forger technique for storing power?

Will Wight

Scales: pretty much, yeah. It's a way to store inert power. They actually take more concentration and skill to make than normal Forged madra, which we'll (probably) go into in Skysworn.

Cradle ()
#100 Copy

Questioner

Underlords vs. Underlord+

Will Wight

The Sword Sage and Li Markuth are both roughly two stages above Underlord.

The three entities listed by Suriel as the top of the Cradle food chain are FIVE stages above Underlord, including one big leap (like the difference between Truegold and Underlord, it's only one stage, but it's a big one). The Dreadgods are a threat on THEIR level--and notice that Suriel said the 8-Man Empire, Sha Miara, and Northstrider could save Sacred Valley from them. She didn't say they could destroy the Dreadgods.

The BF Emperor is the one person in the Empire who is a level over Underlord.

The EE Emperor is about his level, although since they're using different magic systems, it's less about stages and more about what they can and can't do to counter one another.

Footnote: Will has since changed his mind about the 5 stages between Underlord and Monarch, As it stands now, it goes Underlord, Overlord, Archlord/Sage, Herald, Monarch.