Recent entries

Questioner

Would the average person on Cradle consider Lindon and Yerin super rich and spoiled?

Will Wight

That was a discussion that was going on not too long ago. Would the average person consider them that way? I guess, the average person wouldn't understand who or what they are, they would just assume that they're rich and spoiled or else extremely talented - they don't understand what it takes to advance in the sacred arts to that degree so they wouldn't know. So that's forming the opinion - but it depends on what their personal biases are. So if they are just assuming that only the rich get to advance, then yeah, they would go, "These guys must be rich and spoiled, because they're young and advanced." If they're like, no, only talented people can advance, then they'd go, "Wow these guys must be really talented." 

(He dies in game but it was his fault, Madhouse needs to animate the series)

They would consider them beyond anything they've encountered, so the average person would just be like, they wouldn't know what to say, like encountering someone from the future. So they'd say, "I guess you're rich and spoiled with all your future technology."

Questioner

What kind of fanart would you like to see more of?

Will Wight

Any kind..? It's always fun for me to see fanart. It's funny, because whenever fanart is posted, especially on Reddit, people are always like, "Ah, that isn't exactly how I pictured it in the book," and "On page 33, they said that this character is this much taller," or "I don't get that vibe from this person at all." And I don't ever do that with my books, but I've also found that I am a lot less picky as a writer than as a fan. For me, if I recognize who the character is, I'm happy. I'm like, "Hey! It's Lindon! Cool!" or "Hey! It's Mercy! Cool!" and that's it. Some of the art resonates with me more than others, but that's the nature of art, I guess. 

Questioner

What idea usually comes first for you? Magic, character, story?

Will Wight

Well, it's not story, I'll tell you that. What I normally do is I have notebooks on my phone and computer, note files. And whenever I have an idea, for whatever reason, I just write it down. So I have places to write those down and when I'm coming up with a new thing I just go through my thousands of ideas and pick the ones that I think are appropriate. So I'm generally organized, but I'm not a super organized person, so a lot of times I'll just find something in the wrong place and I'll think of it. But typically when I'm looking for new ideas, when I'm actively going out and seeking - like "I need a new idea here," let's say what I'm like if I'm going to develop a new series. I would look at the world and magic system first, just because that's what interests me. I go, "What's the concept? What's the high concept? What's the idea?" that hooks me, hooks my imagination. So someone asked me earlier about a Pioneer world story and that concept interests me. So that idea of someone being a magical terraforming group, that sounds really cool. I actually fleshed out an idea this past week, like what would magical terraforming look like, in real life, like you had to go to Mars and what spells would you need and how would you do it with magic instead of how people actually plan to do it with real technology. And that was a lot of fun. I enjoyed that. So that was a concept that definitely interested me.

(game: crits and shooting fire guys) 

Imagine you create gravity or magnetism in your terraforming. That is true, and I had that under the domain of earth magic. And I was thinking, as long as you have the magical ability to turn energy into matter and matter into energy, you can solve any problem with magic. Even if you're restricted on what types of matter you can create, from what types of energy, that's basically the only ability it takes and that's what magic often is, is it's just you turn energy into some kind of matter. So that'd be cool. 

Questioner

If sacred beasts only die when they are killed, and never of old age, which Whisper seems to prove, could a very patient sacred beast just cycle and practice in isolation for a few millennia and emerge a Monarch?

Will Wight

No. Some sacred beasts could, like Emriss kind of did that. But she's a tree. Their lifespan gets extended a lot, but they're not literally ageless. 

Questioner

What would have happened if Suriel’s marble had fallen into the cracks in Ghostwater, which I believe lead into the void?

Will Wight

It would have not fallen into the cracks. So if he had dropped it in there, it would have avoided the cracks. If he really intentionally threw it into the void, it would have come back. It is conceptually linked to Lindon, so he cannot lose it under any circumstances barring the intervention of a truly powerful individual. If the Mad King wants to take this marble he's gonna get it, but that would be beneath him. I don't know why he'd want that. It'd be a weird thing for him to do, just descend and rob some random dude instead of just annihilating everything.

Questioner

Is Emriss the highest level Remnant on Cradle?

Will Wight

Yes.

Questioner

Why can't Sesh defeat Northstrider since he has allies and Northstrider doesn't?

Will Wight

That is a misconception. Northstrider doesn't belong to an organization but that does not mean that he doesn't have allies.

Questioner

Would a bonded partner be able to rebond if one them died?

Will Wight

Yes.

Questioner

Any fantasy book recommendations?

Will Wight

Yes, I just made one.  Arcane Ascension 3 by Andrew Rowe is out very soon.  And I think I got that title correct, Torch that Ignites the Stars.  That one recommendation was probably not sufficient, so I have recently been mostly reading web novels.  I haven't read a lot of traditional novels recently.  I have been mostly reading web novels, but I did read book 1 of Michael Miller's Ascendant.  I don't remember what the trilogy is called.  His dragon rider book.  Ascendant.  Does anyone remember the series name?  Somebody will tell me in a second.  That's pretty good.  I haven't read a dragon rider book in a while.  So that was fun.  It got me thinking about dragons.  And riding them thereof.  The web novels I have read recently, I have reread a lot of one that I have already read, so I haven't read a whole lot that's new to me recently. So it's hard for me to...  Like, I was just rereading Solo Leveling, or Alone I Level Up, or whatever the web novel is translated as.  Solo Leveling.  And that one is great.  That's one of the few I recommend the comic over the original novel, even though the original novel is good too.  The comic art just adds a lot.  Yeah, the title of the book is Ascendant, it's the series title I don't remember.  (Transcriber's note: Songs of Chaos)  But the reason why I read it is he describes it as Cradle meets Eragon.  So it's dragon riders who cultivate, with their cores, with their dragons.  It's pretty neat; it was cool.  There's a lot of creative dragon stuff in there.

So then, fantasy novel recommendations.  I can give you something to read, but Dakota Krout already did.  So,  Something.  Book 1 Murder Hobo, by Dakota Krout.  The series has got the word Murder Hobo in it (that's actually two words, but Will and math, what can you do?)  So, if you don't know what a murder hobo is, it's a DND term.  And frankly, if you don't know what it is, I don't know that you're the target audience for the book.  But it was hilarious, it has a lot of the trademark humor, so that is another recommendation.  

Question from chat

Have you read Street Cultivation?

Will Wight

So, I read Street Cultivation when it was on Royal Road.  So that was a rougher version of the book.  So I can't... I am sure she has made a lot of changes and up dates and upgrades.  So I really don't know a lot about the current version of the book.  I keep meaning to read it, but it's like Wandering Inn; someone asked if I knew pirate aba, I do not, I don't even know pirate aba's gender, so I always refer to them gender neutral, as much as I can.  Occasionally I forget.  But I don't know anything about them.  I don't know their real name.  Nothing.  So they're a pirate to me.  A faceless masked pirate, sailing the seas.  And I have not read Wandering Inn yet, because it is massive.  And I feel like if I start, and I dive in, it's so much.  They write so fast that there is really no way for me to catch up.  The longer I delay, the more I have to catch up on.

Questioner

What other characters/stories on Cradle would you consider exploring outside of the main cast of characters and the quest to save sacred valley?

Will Wight

So, basically, what sort of spinoff stories would I like to see, or like to write in Cradle?

(Will running around in circles in Subnautica.)

What other stories or characters on Cradle would I like to explore?  I don't know.  So Cradle, there's a lot, the number one thing I would do on Cradle if I really did write a spinoff of some kind, would be about, like I mentioned earlier, not all

(Subnautica AI interrupts to talk about exercise)

What I would do, like I mentioned earlier, not all sacred artists are all fight and all advance all the time.  And I would like to show some of that.  I would like to show some regular people on Cradle.  Even some regular people who are not like really working to advance.  So that's what I'd like to do.  I'd like to show off some people who are just doing regular jobs, raising food, whatever.

Questioner

What is the correct way to eat Oreos?

Will Wight

Long ago, in ancient times, they decreed that in order to consume Oreos properly you must first fill a receptacle with the milk of a cow, ice cold as much as possible.  So in those days they would put their receptacle in the snow.  And then you would dunk your Oreo as thoroughly as possible into the milk.  Now, as you dunk your Oreo, you of course are holding it fingers, kind of like Achilles, as he was dunked into the River Styx.  In fact, you must speak about Achilles as you dunk the Oreo, or you have done it incorrectly.  This place where your fingers clutch the Oreo becomes the Achilles heel, and the weakness of the Oreo itself.  So you must devour the rest of the Oreo's flesh, the moist succulent flesh that has absorbed the milk for the proper amount of time, and you must devour all that in one bite, leaving only the Achilles heel, at which point you may consume it, or indeed, throw it away.  There are some Oreo purists who don't eat that piece of the Oreo, because it is considered tainted.

Questioner

Do you know Chinese? How do you ensure your usage of Chinese characters make sense?

Will Wight

So, I don't do any of the graphic design on these projects.  So I, it's not my, I do not use Chinese characters, at all. So that is very much something I avoid.  Because I do not speak Chinese.  I do not speak any dialect of Chinese.  Or version of Chinese.  I do not know any version of that language.  So, in order to, when these covers and paperbacks and stuff that do actually have Chinese characters in them are done, my graphic designer does run it by an actual Chinese speaking person.  And they are the ones who decide what characters get used, based on the descriptions in the books.  So it is someone who is fluent, a native Chinese speaker, who decides what gets done, but it is not me.  Si I have no input on that.

Questioner

If Lindon were isekaied to our world and found your books how do you think he would react?

Will Wight

So, isekai is a Japanese term basically meaning another world, and it's a genre in which people from our world go into a fantasy world. So what this person is asking is, Chronicles of Narnia type stuff if you are not familiar with the genre, so what this person is asking is if Lindon where teleported to our world magically, and he found the books and read them, how would he react?  So, that depends.  So that depends on whether he believes, or whether it is true, if my writing this stuff caused things to happen.  Or if I am just relaying what has happened in a real world.  Because if he found out that this is real, and I'm just reporting on it, he would try to just learn anything he could from the books, he would try to read especially the scenes from other people's perspectives so he could get insight into Eithan's head and Yerin's head, and he would really love the presence reports and stuff, because that's information he doesn't have.  If he found out that I was making things happen, he would hold me hostage and make sure that I wrote the rest of his life in a satisfactory manner.

ArchonFu

You described the Dawn Sky Palace as a "tiny pocket world - smaller than some void keys - containing only an opulent home". Are void keys and pocket worlds the same thing?

Will Wight

You’re going to have to let me get away with some lax phrasing when I’m casually answering questions. What I meant by a “special void key” was a portable space that can allow people to survive in it instead of the normal void key, which is a portable space that doesn’t allow that.

OrdinaryOrder

I felt so bad about the Black Dragon lol Will why would you do that ?

Will Wight

Don’t worry, he’s fine.

He was sent home from the battlefield after having been drained by Lindon, so he missed the big battle afterwards in which he would likely have been killed.

He goes home and spends time with his family, eventually stabilizing his spirit and living a long and productive life away from the violence he never really cared for anyway.

Also he weaves delicate wicker baskets and always stays hydrated.

Questioner

Ok, so Travis has asked, how long until I add some sort of lyrics that must be sung, just so that he knows how to prepare and go into vocal training.

Will Wight

I would say, well, I don't want to spoil anything, but book nine is entirely in limerick form, it's just one limerick after another.  It's not even like an epic bardic saga, it's just a limerick, just a series of limericks.  So you need to be prepared to do those.  Also, a lot of them need to be delivered in Irish accent.  Little known fact, Ireland exists in Cradle.  It's Ireland.  Just straight Ireland.  And you have to recite limericks in an Irish accent.  As authentic as possible.  So good luck.

Questioner

I've always loved that in Cradle it seems that you've taken abilities from popular anime and put your own spin on them for Sacred Arts. Is there an anime ability you'd like to adapt but can't see how? Or one you haven't got the chance to yet that you would like to?

Will Wight

HMMMM.  My brother started saying Kame... and I had to cut him off.  Let's see.  Is there an anime ability... Uh, yeah.  Super Saiyin man.  Super Saiyin.  So, I obviously have powerups that are just general power ups, like Simon's mask, so functionally it's Super Saiyin, right?  But it's just cool, it's iconic, it's just neat looking.  I could have someone's hair stand up, with their energy glowing all around them, and it'd be like yeah, ok yeah.

Somebody said the frog girl from MHA.  Yes, I would just love to give someone frog power.  I'm desperate for that.  Or tape powers.  Like, someone shooting Scotch Tape from their elbows.  Just can't adapt it.  Can't figure it out.

So, Super Saiyin, I just think it's iconic, it's a great look, it's really cool.  Ultra instinct is really great, although I do kind of have sort of a version of that, as you're exploring Sage powers, that's kind of sort of similar, in the sense that you get more and more in tune with an ability that lets you interact, whatever.  So, yeah.  I guess that'd be my answer.  There's a few others that would be neat that are probably not very practical.  

(Will almost cooked a bladderfish, but the crisis was averted.  Will also needs computer chips.  He sings a song about copper.  More info about bladderfish.)

Are there any other anime abilities?  There's got to be some.  Weirdly enough, I like one for all, and all for one.  Both of those.  But one for all is really what I was thinking of.  That'd be cool.  From My Hero Academia. 

Questioner

How common is it on Cradle for sacred artist to adopt Sacred Beasts or remnants as partners? 

Will Wight

It depends.  So one of the things that doesn't get brought up in the books a lot, because it's a, you know, magical Shonen fighting series, a lot of the people, a lot of the sacred artists on Cradle, don't fight a lot.  They don't have a lot of... They don't actually complete for resources.  They are part of an organization that does complete for resources, but they particularly don't, because they don't care if they really advance, so they plateau at whatever level.  So among those people, contracting with sacred beasts or spirits is more common, because you get a sudden boost of power, or alternatively, this happens a lot, you bond with a sacred beast when you are both very young.  So you grow up together.  So you get a partner and someone who is with you your whole journey.  Or if they are more advanced than you are, you get a sudden surge of power without having to fight for it.  So therefore sacred beast contracts are often for utility, rather than cultivation.

Questioner

What's the best Mexican or Tex-mex meal you've ever eaten?

Will Wight

Well, one time I was driving late at night, and I ran out of gas.  And it was one of those, it was dark, so it was one of those roads that there was forest to either side, just trees, so it's kind of like a road, like you're driving down in a nightmare.  And I broke down, and I'm like oh, crap.  So I'm pulling out my phone and I'm trying to figure out where I'm going.  And I start walking to the nearest gas station I can find on Google maps, and I end up next to a, it really looked like an aluminum siding sort of barn, and it just had a neon sign up, that just said Jeff's.  It didn't say Jeff's Mexican food, it just said Jeff's.  And I went inside, and it was a Tex-Mex place.  And it was just, I mean I still, I tried to find it later, and I just couldn't.  I have no idea where I was and I couldn't find it.  Couldn't find it under Jeff's, couldn't find it under Jeff's tacos, whatever.  And they had just the freshest, just the freshest beef I have ever had.  I'm pretty sure they kept cows out back.  And we just had the best burritos and the best couple of tacos I ever had.  And Jeff was  really cool.  Jeff was a chill guy.  I was the only one there so he just sat there and chatted with me the whole time.

Questioner

Does the late Elder Serenity of Heaven's Glory have any relation to the Akura clan?

Will Wight

No.  So, Elder Serenity did not have any relations to the Akura clan.  That was before I had decided on Akura clan naming conventions.  And in fact, funny enough, I had already named a few members of the Akura clan at that point, like Malice. But I hadn't thought of it like as a  family trait, like I thought of it just as a trait of the family at the top, not the whole clan.  And then I was just kind of like, why not? So I expanded it to make it pretty much anybody who was directly related, like not everybody in the Akura clan has a virtue name, but the cool ones do.