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Family of raccoons laying siege to the city of carthage in order to prevent hannibal from crossing the alps in the dead of winter, catching roman forces completely by surprise and allowing him to march his armies through italy unchallenged

Here's something I've been wondering: you mentioned that creating a path around guns would be pointless, but then how are sword paths even remotely viable? It seems like the best paths would focus on long-range capabilities, and have techniques or an iron body that greatly enhance speed, allowing them to stay out of range. It doesn't matter how good a sword is if it can't land a hit.Also, how are armies organized in times of war? Are soldiers required to change to a standard path for uniformity among the ranks, arranged into divisions of people with similar skill-sets, or thrown onto the field with no regard for paths? Are officers determined by merit or cultivation level? Are more powerful sacred artists fielded first or last, as using them early could allow more control of the battlefield, but they don't want to risk the shame of being seen defeated. Do coups often follow wars? As the conflict would likely create powerful sacred artists to challenge the ruling power.

Will Wight

It depends on what you mean by "best" Paths. Best Path for what? Best Path for killing a sword artist, sure.However, the real answer is that in this world, a sword isn't a short-range weapon.The nature of sacred arts in this world means there aren't armies as we know them. It's pointless to mass together a bunch of people when one enemy who's advanced enough could kill all of them unopposed.War-level combat is a lot more about matching experts with experts. This is a world where it's even viable for wars to be settled by duels; if their Underlord beats your Underlord, and you don't have anyone else as strong or stronger, you might as well surrender.There are squads and divisions divided by specialty function and ability, which we'll get into. Also, Carthage must be destroyed.

Family of attack badgers (raccoons busy attacking carthage for mollusk blood to make purple dye, a priceless commodity of the ancient world, and a symbol of wealth and power in the roman empire)

That seems strange, as all previous examples of conflict (heavens glory, jai clan) show the leaders more than willing to throw weak fodder at their enemies, because if they go and fight themselves, they risk losing face, or appearing weak (pride/appearance of strength being a pillar of the culture here) Wouldn't kings and lords want to avoid this as much as possible? Sending low-rank fodder to fight their low-rank fodder (enemy kings won't want to risk themselves needlessly either, after all) seems like a preferable alternative, especially since if your fodder survives, they will likely become stronger from the fighting.

Will Wight

An Underlord loses face when he HAS to go deal with a group of Golds, because he's lowering himself to their level.If the enemy doesn't have an Underlord of their own, he doesn't have to deal with them at all. The threat of him doing so is enough.If they keep defying him, then he would lose more respect and reputation by allowing them to continue hurting his interests unopposed than he would taking care of them himself.So basically, if you're not roughly equal to the enemy in strength, you don't fight.If you ARE roughly equal in strength, as you say, fights are usually carried out by the lower ranks. It's not normally duels between the upper-level people, I was just using that as an illustration of where the real power is. It's a viable strategy, but it's not common.

 

And furthermore Carthage must be destroyed.

Patrick

Sorry, two more questions: Now that Ozriel is around, what does the wolf division do exactly? Are they actively on the borders of the abidan space attacking threats or are they the one's who dealt with the Elder's before they were bound or ?

Will Wight

We'll get into that much more as the books progress, but the bottom line is that the Wolves fight against rivals of the Abidan. So yes, unbound Elders, yes rival organizations, and yes people who ascend out of their Iterations and don't listen to reason.

Adarsh

So if Simon managed to ascend, would he become a Wolf? And how far away is he in terms of power from the weakest of the wolves?

Jerry

I'm going to guess LIGHT YEARS away from ascending. Remember that the Emperor could smite all the incarnations at once, and unless he was secretly an ascended being, it would seem that Simon is way way behind even that. So unless he masters valinhall and becomes the next traveler.. He's got a ways to go.

Will Wight

Yeah, the Emperor has enough power to ascend past his world. The only reason he hasn't is because he's in Asylum, which is effectively a prison.We haven't seen anyone in Traveler's Gate strong enough to do that. But if Simon DID get to ascend, then he would end up as a Wolf, yeah.

 

Otarin

Would the emperor have ascended and ditched his planet had he been able to or would his sense of duty have kept him there?

Will Wight

He wouldn't have left on his own. He may have tried to take a team into the Way, or tried to cast the Elders out.

Patrick

So by this point I assume that Ozriel is considered more powerful than the rest of the current judges, but possibly not stronger (or just as strong) as the original judges? What happened to them (the original judges who made the pact)? If they had just retired from their positions, they're still just as strong as they were originally (minus their mantles) and presumably immortal right? So there are a few impossibly powerful beings who created the current system just hanging around somewhere? Or did they die? 

Will Wight

Possibly. Most of them are confirmed dead, but there are a few that could be lingering around.They can't compete with the current Judges, lacking mantles and weapons, but they haven't lost any skills or knowledge.If, hypothetically speaking, they still exist.

April

I've been wondering for a while, but haven't asked as I assume you will not answer, but decided to ask anyway; with whom did the Abidan make this pact?

Will Wight

Between the seven original Judges and the Way.

Mathew

I'M quite curious how Lindon's father would react, if he were to discover that he was never a genius to begin with.Would this knowledge be more devastating or could he easier let go of the past.Isn't he so miserable, because he thinks that without his injury he could have become someone great, accomplished many great deeds.But by knowing the standard of the rest of the world, he would be aware that the strongest he could have gotten, would be the strength of children of teenagers.What is your opinion?

Will Wight

Also, Mathew, you've raised a good question. Lindon's father would be devastated at the knowledge of how far behind they are in Sacred Valley, and would resist the truth as long as possible.See, he KNOWS that the world outside the Valley is more dangerous, and therefore the people there must be more advanced. But he's picturing a wily, skilled Jade.If he learned that Lowgolds outside were more common than Irons in Sacred Valley, he would feel like he'd wasted his life.

April

So, did Valin ever visit the Blackface Empire during his wanderings?

Will Wight

He steered clear of the Blackface Empire. It gets SUPER racist.

Will Wight

Adriel, the Creator

The first seven Judges inherited their power and titles. Only Ozriel and Adriel are the exceptions: Ozriel because there has never been a Reaper before him, and Adriel because there has never been a Creator since.

Adriel is a myth to the modern Abidan. Some of their oldest records posit his existence, but he vanished before the Eledari Pact was signed. The strongest pieces of evidence for his existence are indirect references left behind by the first Abidan Court.

The Judges can defend, maintain, and alter Iterations. They can combine fragments into new worlds.

But only one person could, according to legend, design and create Iterations out of whole cloth: Adriel. He created new worlds, introducing fresh pieces into the cycle of existence.

His weapon, the Hammer of Adriel, is sometimes used by the Abidan as a symbol of creation.

Will Wight

Ozriel, the Reaper

When a world lives too long and drifts from the Way, only one person can terminate the Iteration without scattering corrupted fragments that threaten other worlds.

For most of the history of the Abidan, there was no Ozriel. They eliminated worlds the old-fashioned way, and most of their manpower was spent defending Iterations from chaos-corrupted fragments. Ozriel reduced the threat of corruption to such a degree that the Abidan could spread their manpower to an unprecedented degree. Where once it took hundreds of Abidan to protect and maintain a single Iteration, now that same team could supervise an entire Sector of ten or more worlds.

However, the entire system of the current Abidan now hinges on one man.

Where most Judges are rule-abiding and structured by nature, Ozriel is not so rigid. He often challenges Abidan laws and traditions, trying to change and improve the policies of their organization. He might have succeeded by now if he were willing to relinquish control and cooperate with others. But, traditionally, he has never been much of a team player. When others don't agree with him, he tends to do exactly what he wants anyway.

As the one individual in existence with a world-erasing superweapon, he's used to getting his way.

And now he's missing.

Will Wight

Zakariel, the Fox

The Way governs space, separating universe from universe, but its branches reach into every Iteration. Foxes use these branches like tunnels, slipping through the Way to reach their destinations without the headache of physical distance.

Virtually every Abidan has some ability as a Fox--at least the minimum spatial control required to enter and leave an Iteration. But only the best and fastest join the Fox Division: the heralds, scouts, and couriers of the Abidan.

Each Zakariel has always been fickle and unpredictable, perhaps as a side effect of the ability to travel anywhere at any time. This generation's Zakariel likes to meddle, as a godlike child with her toys. She tests the bounds of the Eledari Pact with her actions, and the Foxes beneath her have grown unruly and undisciplined. She has been chastised before the Court of Seven many times, but her personal power and ability have kept her from being pressured out of her mantle.

She is also an insatiable collector of anything she finds intriguing. Legendary weapons and rare creatures are displayed in her collection side by side with adorable stuffed animals and interesting leaves.

Will Wight

Suriel, the Phoenix

The power of the Phoenix is the power of restoration. An Abidan of the Phoenix Division can use the Way to return order to a system, restoring it to prime condition. Phoenixes are used as mechanics and engineers as often as healers, and are prized on any battlefield.

Though skilled Phoenix Abidan are rare, and their division small, they are also very durable. A Phoenix is said to be the second-most difficult of the Abidan to destroy (after a Titan), since powerful Phoenixes can regenerate even from total destruction.

The Phoenix herself, Suriel, is the only entity capable of restoring the condition of an entire Iteration at once. This can cause irregularities for both the Spiders and the Hounds, so she is required to notify Sector Control prior to temporal reversion.

Ozriel is well-known as the most powerful Judge since the first generation of the Abidan Court, and possibly of all time. However, he has no ability as a Phoenix. He has made it a point to befriend both the previous Suriel and this one, holding their talents in high esteem.

Will Wight

Razael, the Wolf

The Way protects, but it also strengthens. The Wolves are the Abidan combat division, and each of them commands formidable destructive potential. While most other divisions are filled up by Abidan from Sanctum and the other core worlds--and thus essentially born into the Abidan--the Wolves pride themselves on taking "wild" recruits.

Most Wolves were renowned warriors in their original worlds, and they carry those powers with them into battle.

As Gadrael is the Court's shield, Razael is their sword. She is the unstoppable force, the heavy artillery unleashed against the greatest of the Abidan's enemies.

Before the rise of Ozriel, it fell to the office of Razael to destroy worlds as completely as possible. Razael therefore considers herself something of a rival to the Reaper.

Ozriel does not return the sentiment.

Will Wight

Telariel, the Spider

The Spiders essentially function as the Abidan intelligence network. They spread their awareness through the Way, sensing deviation and disorder all throughout existence. Spiders maintain the system of Sector Control, through which Iterations are divided into sectors in order to make them easier to manage.

Inter-universal communication between Abidan is also handled by the Spiders, so they have a reputation as the busiest Division. However, they are also known as the weakest in combat, so they are usually left to roles in support and management.

A Spider may be hard-working, but the Spider is lazy, disreputable, and prone to leaning on the perks of his position. Telariel has long ago reduced his personal responsibility to only handling communication between Judges, which rarely requires his personal attention.

When Ozriel vanished, Telariel cast his laziness aside and bent his full attention to the search. He was soon forced to admit defeat. Ozriel took steps to hide himself from the detection of the Way, and the Spider's skill is nothing next to the Reaper's.

(After receiving the blow to his pride, Telariel retreated back into seclusion. To sulk.)

Will Wight

Darandiel, the Ghost

Just as the other Judges supervise the life and health of a world, someone must oversee the process of universal death and rebirth. The Ghosts watch over the broken fragments of worlds, guiding the development of new Iterations and protecting them from malign influence during the vulnerable cycle of destruction and creation.

As Hounds tap into the power of Fate and Titans into the power of protection, Ghosts manipulate the force that binds existence to the Way: conscious will. This is an esoteric power that, depending on the situation, can be either overwhelmingly powerful or totally useless.

Darandiel is rarely seen in Sanctum, the headquarters of the Abidan. She and her Ghosts spend most of their time beyond the Iterations, shepherding the birth of new worlds and defending old ones from the chaos of the void.

Will Wight

Gadrael, the Titan

The Way is fundamentally a force of protection, a barrier against chaos and destruction. Gadrael is the embodiment of that concept.

Titan Abidan are the defenders of the Abidan worlds, raising shields and barriers against creatures of chaos and against the enemies of the Court. Whenever the Abidan need a world quarantined, a weapon sealed, a prison reinforced, or an attack turned aside, they call on the Titans.

This generation's Gadrael was rescued from a dying world, then raised as a son by Makiel. His loyalty to the Hound is total.

He once had a reputation as the weakest Judge, due to his lack of skill in any discipline but his own. Other Judges typically have expertise in more than one area; Suriel, for instance, is an accomplished Fox (who excel at instant travel) and an able Spider (who detect deviations in chaos). Makiel could have inherited the post of Razael the Wolf instead, had he desired to do so, and Ozriel was skilled enough to fulfill the duties of any Judge but Suriel.

Gadrael cannot read Fate, he can barely cross through the Way, and his combat power is lower than many ordinary Abidan.

But his barriers are flawless.

Gadrael is is the sturdiest protector in existence, a one-man fortress, an immovable object, an impenetrable wall. Worlds under Gadrael's protection can rest easy, but there are thousands of Iterations under the purview of the Judges.

And the Titans cannot be everywhere at once.

Will Wight

Makiel, the Hound

The story of each universe is written in Fate.

Fate governs the natural lifespan of each Iteration. It isn't a detailed plan that determines every action of each person, but rather a force like gravity that pushes a world toward a healthy life ending in that Iteration's natural death.

Since humans tie the universe to the Way, people figure prominently in Fate. One individual life is unlikely to affect the destiny of an entire Iteration, but their actions might be a necessary step toward a world's continued existence. Or its end.

Makiel and the Hound Division of the Abidan supervise Fate. They tap into the Way to read the past and the future, and to deal with any deviations that may jeopardize one or more worlds.

Makiel is something of a leader among the seven Judges, though the Eledari Pact technically gives him no authority over his peers. This is a tradition continued from the original Makiel, who first realized the need for such a pact and organized its creation.

He is rigid and inflexible, utterly dedicated to the enforcement of the rules that protect existence. This mindset has led him to clash with Ozriel, who tends to value his own will over externally imposed guidelines. He has tried many times to recover the Scythe and Mantle of Ozriel in order to pass the title to a different, more worthy bearer, but the Reaper has eluded or defeated him at every turn.

Will Wight

The Eledari Pact: An ancient agreement between the original Court of Seven that both increases and restricts the powers of the Abidan.

Agreements and restrictions are inherently ordered, so this pact is the tool that allows the Abidan to control the power of the Way as they do. There are many rules in the Eledari Pact, but the most relevant one is this: the Abidan cannot use their powers to prevent the natural progression of an Iteration.

They cannot stop a global war from claiming billions of lives and destroying a planet, unless that war was started by outside forces or by a significant subversion of Fate. Abidan only descend to correct a deviation, though they're granted a certain freedom of action in doing so. This law exists both to preserve the natural balance of existence and to prevent the Abidan from settling down in lesser worlds and ruling like gods.

Will Wight

The Way: The source of order, the Way is a force that spans all of existence. Its presence protects against the destructive and corruptive influence of chaos, and its nature sustains reality.

An Iteration dying is part of the Way. Death is meant to be the end; this is part of the cosmic order. Only when an Iteration lives too long does it becomes a danger.

When a world's population drops so low that it weakens the influence of the Way, but not so low that the Iteration breaks into fragments, that is when corruption sets in. Chaos seeps into the world, infecting it, subverting the laws that govern reality.

At this point, the Abidan can destroy the remaining population, thus removing the Iteration's last hold on existence. But now the world will break into fragments, and those fragments are tinged with chaos. They might crash into other Iterations, infecting them, or combine to create worlds that are corrupted from the very beginning.

There is only one being capable of erasing a universe from existence entirely, without breaking it down into fragments.

And he's missing.

Will Wight

Iteration: Any universe that the Abidan recognize as capable of sustaining human existence and living out a complete life-cycle.

Every Iteration has a destined progression. A world is born, it lives out its existence, and then it quietly dies, breaking into fragments. These fragments float through the void, crashing and combining randomly until they form into a new universe.

They are called "Iterations" because the thousands of universes currently in existence are thought to be different versions of the same original world or worlds, spun out in different combinations again and again for eternity. Even the Abidan Judges do not know when this cycle began.

On its own, an Iteration should exist for billions of years, except for a certain underlying requirement: each Iteration is anchored to the Way by sentient consciousness. As long as humans* are around, the world is tethered to the natural law and order of the Way. The fewer humans there are, the looser that connection becomes.

When humanity dies, the world dissolves.

 

*(The Abidan definition of "human" is pretty loose, but never too far removed from the humanity we know. When a new Iteration forms that may be able to support life, the Abidan select a new population of human pioneers and send them to inhabit a suitable planet.)

Executive

We talking fu manchu dragons or those pesky ones with wings and legs? It's important... for science

Will Wight

Chinese dragons, not Western dragons.All the excess energy that would go to their wings instead goes to their awesome beards.