Walter
How the emperor’s original companions are still alive if the emperor had to bind himself to the heart just to live longer, and why nobody considers them like great elders at this point if they did the emperor.
Will Wight
The Emperor's original companions were asleep in coffins designed by the Emperor to prolong their lives. They are awakened only when the Empire is in great crisis, and then put back to sleep.
Diego
What would London, Simon , Calder and Shera say about Oreos? The classic since it would take too long with the others.
Will Wight
They would all say that Oreos are delicious, because they all have souls.
OrgnlDave
Hi Will, what sounds do techniques make? Is sound integral to a small set of types of madra, and things like the Dragon's Breath and Rippling Sword only make sounds due to superheating the air or moving fast or something? Do scripts also make noise when they activate?
Will Wight
Scripts do make a small noise when they activate! It’s something like the strike of a match followed by a hum like a power line, though for many scripts, that sound fades away. As for the sounds of techniques, that depends on the nature of the madra and the technique itself. As you say, something like dragon’s breath would make a sound because of its heat (and because of its destruction component tearing apart whatever it hits), but something like the Path of the White Fox would make no sound.
OrgnlDave
There was an entry [on the old wiki] that talked aobut how judges had the ferarris and regular abidan had the corollas
Will Wight
I don’t remember that analogy, but it’s a good one. Abidan use Presences for a lot of things, not just personal regulation of power. Everybody in the Abidan WOULD have one, at least as the equivalent of like a cell phone.
OrgnlDave
Wait, does that mean that they are as common and useful as cell phones, or that the difference between a Judge and and Abidan presence is a cellphone and a ferrari?
Will Wight
Sorry, I switched analogies. I meant they’re as ubiquitous and convenient as cell phones.
Questioner
Is Charity the sister of Malice?
Will Wight
Charity isn't Malice's sister. She refers to Mercy as her niece because the actual relationships get weird, given that so much of the head family is ageless.
AdmrlHellNinja
Is it possible to cultivate "Sex aura", if so what would this look like? What kind of remnant would you bond to get to gold? What kind of Iron body would be best suited for this path?
Will Wight
Sex aura: no, that's not possible. If anything, you'd generate some form of interaction between dream and blood aura, but it probably wouldn't be anything unique.
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.
Decadakon
hjorth
will said on reddit
that its not like the blackflames didn't have riverseeds and regen bodies
unless that info is wrong
and will forgot about that
Will Wight
He could practice Blackflame without a pure core. The pure core helps balance out the spiritual damage caused by Blackflame madra, but the treatment of the Sylvan Riverseed + medicine and/or rest could compensate for that. There are other ways around it.
Decadakon
So is there a reason the og blackflames didn't make use of a Sylvan riverseed
Will Wight
They did. They used all those methods.
Decadakon
Did u base ghostwater on Gatorade
Will Wight
Everything I write is based on Gatorade.
SomeWhoCallMe... Tim
You do really well at writing the nuttier characters
Will Wight
I mentioned the other day that, in my D&D campaign, I chose to play a human fighter because it was the character I would normally choose last. This is why: I'm way better at playing nuttier characters, so I'm trying to stretch myself so that I can play the "normal" grounded characters more convincingly.
SomeWhoCallMe... Tim
Will, do you write because you're good at it, you like it, or a mix of both? Like, is it a way for you to pay the bills, or did you dream of being a writer when you were a wee lad?
Will Wight
There's a combination of factors, but the main thing is that I love stories. I always have. I'm just very passionate about storytelling. And this is the storytelling medium I'm best at, because I've always been skilled at writing.
I never expected to be able to write full time. I thought I would be scraping by for a publishing contract that would, someday, if I worked very hard, eventually land me a full-time writing position.
Terrible
Wei Shi Kelsa let her spirit reach out, touching the image of her brother that had stepped out from behind the tree. Grief after Lindon’s death had often caused her White Fox madra to slip from her control and twist into his form. Her spirit, worryingly, felt nothing, none of her own madra, or any madra, emanated from her “brother”. She grunted, and started walking again. Living in the woods was evidently taking its toll on her mind. The hallucination opened its arms, like it expected a hug. She kept walking, planning to stride clean through it. A moment later, she let out a pained gasp as her face struck the illusion’s chest...and found it solid as rock. Kelsa stumbled back, tripping over a tree root. She stared up at the solid image, holding her throbbing nose. “No. My brother is dead.”
Will Wight
That was a really good Kelsa passage
Well played
Ruff
I like that Idea.... I personally want to see Lindon get into Underlord soon
Will Wight
SPOILER: THE FOLLOWING IS A SPOILER. AVERT YON EYES, YE WHO ARE SPOILER-ALLERGIC
...not Underlord this book. I'd like to title a book "Underlord." And that might be book six.
THE SPOILERS HAVE ENDED
GO ABOUT YOUR DAY
Polycore
Hey Will, we were wondering how would Lindon's Iron body stack against Bai Rou's madra? and can you tell how a Highgold Lindon (how he will be in the future when he reaches that stage) would fare against him?
Will Wight
Lindon's Iron body would help against Bai Rou, but not entirely, because Bai Rou's madra has a dream component that would attack the mind. It would be difficult for Lindon to defend himself, so he would have to rely on overwhelming attack. Which would be possible, thanks to Blackflame, which Bai Rou can't do very much about. Except that Bai Rou is a Truegold in Skysworn armor, so he would be able to defend himself, counter, and beat Lindon with his counterattack. As for how Lindon will fare at higher advancement, you'll just have to wait for Ghostwater, won't you?
Your Benevolent Dictator
how many references are in cradle
Will Wight
I have no way to answer that
Your Benevolent Dictator
i know of 1
lil blue
Will Wight
Little Blue is absolutely a TFS reference
Can confirm
Your Benevolent Dictator
HUSH LITTLE GREEN
Your Benevolent Dictator
NAAAAAIIIILLLL
Your Benevolent Dictator
lol
I DRAAAAAAAANK IT
Will Wight
There are a bunch of references, but I tend to toss them in as I think of them, so idk how many.
They're mostly just jokes for me.
Your Benevolent Dictator
you should throw in something about a family of racoons
Will Wight
I'd like to, but I'm not sure raccoons are native to the area they're in
Your Benevolent Dictator
have a forigner say something
Will Wight
That's true, Eithan could say something
Your Benevolent Dictator
ohh
true
Eithan is the most badass janitor of all time
Will Wight
He would certainly say so
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!
Lil' Blue
Do they ever let you sleep?
Will Wight
Occasionally they pump some Red Bull into my IV
The Last Reader
Who was the most powerful ant and what was his Path?
Will Wight
It’s a good question, but unfortunately this is another one of those I can’t answer right now. I don’t have that planned out, so I’d have to make up the answer, and I don’t have the energy at the moment. Rain check. This is why I occasionally do “ask me world-building question” events: so I can give each of these creative questions the time and energy they deserve for a fun answer. Sadly, I only have time for a boring answer right now. Sorry!
STINK
What's the coolest Valinhall power you didn't get to show in the trilogy?
Will Wight
That’s too hard a question to answer, sorry. I either have to scour my notes or make up an answer, and I don’t have the time for either at the moment.
Lil' Blue
Also how come you don't have the special Stabby flair on r/fantasy?
Will Wight
I probably won mine before they were doing the flair.