Recent entries

Questioner

What would happen to the Crimson Vault if it had inhabitants?

Will Wight

The Vault itself is actually the tip of the iceberg. There's much more to Ragnarus than Leah or any of her ancestors ever discovered.

Questioner

We have never seen further into Ragnarus than the single room behind the door and it doesn't sound like people tend to travel the other direction. What else is there in Ragnarus? Is it an expansive territory with a lot to discover?

Will Wight

Once, there was a king that ruled a vast realm. He dove deeply into the power of his world, which rewarded sacrifice: everything he loved was slowly consumed by his collection of magical artifacts.

The scope of this travesty grew to encompass his whole world, until the population of his enormous kingdom served only to feed his magic.

Finally, the fabric of his reality crumbled to dust. Faced with what he'd done, the king managed to preserve the one thing that still mattered to him.

And so his Vault drifted through the oceans of chaos. Until, at last, it found a resting place.

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

Do u have a name for Amalgams energy Traveler's use or does each territory have a different energy that's used or do they adapt to Amalgam?

Will Wight

The Territories each have their own small, half-formed magic system, and Amalgam is kind of the container in which all of those are mixed.

Questioner

Is Damasca a notable power? You said "medium country or large state," but they also have the only* Elysia and Valinhall travelers...

*that we are aware of

Also, are there any magic artifacts that are not nor have ever been connected to a Territory? Or are they ALL tied to a Territory, whether it is known or not?

Will Wight

All of the known artifacts with supernatural powers are believed to be connected to a Territory. Is that belief correct? Who knows?

Damasca used to be larger and more important than it is now. Though it could have the chance to rise again...

Questioner

How much of the Traveler's gate world have we seen? Are there explorers/colonies lost within a territory Robinson Crusoe style?

Will Wight

We have seen one small area of the Traveler's Gate world. Like a medium country, or a large state.

Why such a small area, if they have Territories to travel long distances? That's a great question, and hopefully one that I will have a chance to answer in the next book.

Most stories of lost colonies come from Asphodel, both because it is easy to get lost and forgotten there (the Mist is known to devour thoughts and memories) and because there are more colonies in Asphodel. It's the best Territory for farmland, so it's actually the Territory with the greatest number of Travelers. They just don't typically fight; they usually focus on raising crops and keeping farmers safe.

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

In the traveler's gate series, are there any other territories yet to be discovered or lost to the ages?

Will Wight

The best I can do is, "Almost certainly yes."

Questioner

Bets you say...

I'm assuming there were some bets on whether or not Simon would survive the house?

Was the Elder in on that bet and if so did he win or lose?

Also what were his odds? I'm assuming many bet against him and maybe a few prospered greatly?

Will Wight

People don't bet against the Eldest anymore. He's right too often.

It's pretty common for him to ruin bets between other Nye by making cryptic comments that cause them to second-guess themselves. He thinks it's hilarious.

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.

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.

Questioner

What's the most unconventional weapon of Valinhall?

Will Wight

By accident, Valin once created a living whip. He was trying to improve on the whip, which isn't really a combat-capable weapon, by weaving together Nye cloth with threads from other Territories that he found could move independently. He ended up creating a squirming, wriggling length of leathery rope that indeed could end up killing someone in the right hands, but only if it was in a helpful mood. He tried various methods of increasing its intelligence, perhaps in an attempt to make it an advisor, but ultimately gave up. It's currently in storage.

Questioner

Tell us about the most dangerous piece of furniture or collection of furniture in the house of blades.

Will Wight

Never question the dominion of the Devouring Sofa, whose hunger is never sated and whose thirst for blood is never quenched.

Questioner

Sauron vs. Sha Miara

Will Wight

This hasn't been explored yet, but basically the nature of Sha Miara's madra is countering and controlling other people's skills.

He could raise armies, and she could banish them or take them over. Any spell he cast, she could break it.

More than that, at her level, she could simply walk into Mordor. She'd leave it a crater. She's the nuclear weapon of her nation.

Questioner

Strongest sacred artist vs. a Great Elder

Will Wight

It's hard to say who the strongest Great Elder is, because they each measure strength differently.However, the strongest sacred artist in Cradle would be able to solo any of the Great Elders. Of course, that would only disperse them and make them spend centuries re-forming, since they don't treat death the same way mortals do, but it's enough for the sacred artist to win the battle.

Questioner

Elder Whisper vs. Asphodel Incarnation

Will Wight

This would be another one of those really interesting, sort of irritating fights where everyone is trying to figure out what is real and what's just an illusion.

Honestly, I think this probably comes down to chance. One of them falls into the other's trap first, and it's 50-50 who.

Questioner

Simon minus his nye essence vs Urzaia.

Will Wight

Without the Nye essence, Simon loses what I think is his biggest chance to kill Urzaia: going all-out from the very beginning.

The problem is that Urzaia's hatchets can turn a blow from Mithra, as can his Soulbound Vessel (the hide of a Sandborn Hydra). Without Simon's Nye essence, he can't blitz a win, so Urzaia probably wins on the strength of endurance and superior experience.

Questioner

Simon vs. the Emperor

Will Wight

Assuming, as I have for all of these other fights, that the characters actually have a reason to kill one another and are actively trying to do so...no, the Emperor crushes Simon like a bug.

Questioner

Kai vs. Bliss

Will Wight

I would love to write this fight.

Probably Bliss, but only because Kai has no frame of reference for understanding her powers. If he did get a sense for them, then he could take it. He's stronger and faster and more experienced in combat than she is. But the weirdness of her powers would be her biggest advantage.

And Kai would need a doll.

Questioner

Valinhall vs. Elders and Estyr Six

Will Wight

Valinhall vs. the Great Elders is an interesting matchup because it depends entirely on which one they're fighting. Against Nakothi, for instance, a full team of Valinhall Travelers would do even better than the Emperor and the Regents did. They would tear Nakothi apart with minimal losses.

Same goes for Kthanikahr or Othaghor. The Emperor WISHES he had an elite team like the Valinhall Travelers when he was going after Othaghor, because he basically just spawns endless minions.

Against Tharlos, on the other hand, the Valinhall Travelers would just have their minds warped and go insane, or they would be turned into ooze or a lamppost or something. He breaks all the rules. Urg'naut's shadows would be able to kill Simon without him ever being able to resist, and Ach'magut would arrange matters so that it never came to a direct confrontation.

Versus Estyr Six...I guess it depends on how many Valinhall Travelers show up. All thirteen could definitely do it, six would be pushing it, three wouldn't be enough.