Questioner
Is there anyone who came from a different world to cradle and went unnoticed by the abidan? If so do their powers transfer over? If we follow our heroes out of cradle, will their powers still work?
Will Wight
Powers do carry over from world to world. Sometimes they work a little differently elsewhere.
Questioner
This is probably too spoilery, but in Blackflame Jai Daishou (I forget how to spell his name) mentions how the the six or so truegolds he brought probably could have killed Eithan without him. So, it is possible for truegolds to gang up on an Underlord and kill him. Is this possible with higher ranks too with sacred artists ganging up on those above? For example, could a bunch of sages kill a herald? And could a bunch of heralds kill a Monarch? It seems the gap between ranks gets bigger and bigger so I’m just curious.
Will Wight
As the gap between ranks gets bigger, this possibility gets less likely. One of the reasons Jai Daishou believes this strategy could work against Eithan is because the Truegolds had set up a trap that he believed would work.
Questioner
Are there any people on Cradle who don't cycle at all or is it as natural as breathing?
Will Wight
You can be born with madra and not ever cycle or develop it.They can sort of feel their spirits, even without training, so it requires a degree of deliberate or culturally enforced ignorance to never do anything with it, but there are definitely isolated locations where they don’t learn to cycle and therefore don’t quite advance or use real techniques.
Questioner
Does remnants have a core, or to they just absorb madra they are given? Can they actually learn new things, or just grow stronger in what they already know?
Will Wight
Remnants have a limited capacity for change. They can learn new things, but they can’t always adapt to the new information they learn.
Questioner
And is there other ways to create illusions than with light + dreams?
Will Wight
Yes. There are light Paths or dream Paths that craft either purely visual or purely mental illusions. And there are other Paths that rely on sensory trickery, it’s just that those are the most common.
Shadow madra is a thing, for instance.
Questioner
How would someone on a death path use an enforcement technique?
Will Wight
They probably wouldn’t, as you wouldn’t want death madra in your body. However, Enforcing a weapon is still an Enforcer technique.
Questioner
If a person breaks an oath and is strong enough to influence aura around them, are the consequences permanent, or temporarily manifested where the oath is broken?
Will Wight
Technically permanent, but there are ways to mitigate or avoid the consequences over time.
Questioner
What are the mechanics of a soul oath? Does the oath need to be made with equal consideration on each side? What happens if you break an oath? Can an oath be annulled by mutual agreement?
Will Wight
A soul oath is your spirit holding you to an agreement. When two people’s spirits are holding them to the same agreement, they resonate, and it creates a sort of subtle link.
Therefore, both people have to recognize that they have made an oath. Forcing someone to swear an oath under duress works, but is much weaker, because both participants know the oath is unfair. However, making a false oath isn’t really possible, because your spirit and the other person’s would recognize that you had made an oath.
Yes, you can annul an oath under mutual agreement.
If you break one, your spirit suffers the consequences. So you can have your madra channels or core injured, your madra can become more difficult to control, etc.
In the worst case, you can die, though those risks are exaggerated in rumor. Usually, if you do die from breaking an oath, it’s because your powers screwed up.
Some people with more powerful souls even influence the aura around them to hold them to their oath, meaning the natural world would curse them with consequences for oath-breaking.
Questioner
So how does aura become madra?
Will Wight
A sacred artist draws the aura into themselves and into their core, where they make it part of their spirit. If they succeed, they’ve taken control of a small amount of aura, which merges with their current madra so they share properties.
Questioner
So in the new Ghostwater excerpt is the construct that may have something to do with ghostwater littleblue or is it a yet to be introduced construct?
Will Wight
It’s yet to be introduced! It shows up in the first couple of GW chapters.
Questioner
Will we find out what Eithan took from the Ruins on Yerin’s behalf? Also Will we learn about the black scripted stones Lindon took from the ruins?
Will Wight
I thought he lost those stones. Did he not? I have a file specifically to keep track of Lindon’s inventory, so I’ll have to check.
Questioner
What happens if you try to Awaken a weapon from Cradle? I don't recall if anyone has asked this before, but can someone use the powers of one world in another world? What about learning a power from a different world than the one you're on?
Will Wight
Yes, you can mix-and-match magic systems.
I’m trying to decide which world they’ll go to after Cradle. Initially I was planning on it being an in-between world called Threshold, which would have been a melting pot of all the Sector 11 magic systems, but those plans have subtly morphed over time.
Now Sanctum might end up being that melting pot.
Questioner
So do they all have split cores? Or do their paths just work well together?
Will Wight
They have a mechanism for allowing their Paths to work together.
Questioner
Do the members of the 8-Man Empire all practice the same path from birth, or did they join up with their own and have to change it, or are they able to keep their own individual paths and still join?
Will Wight
They’re a weird case in that they are each practicing an individual Path and one together. The Path of the Eight-Fold Spear is the name of their collective Path.
Questioner
How many continents are there on Cradle?
Will Wight
I think five major continents.
Questioner
Do sacred beasts have "physical" cores like dreadbeasts, or are they like sacred artists' cores?
Will Wight
Dreadbeasts have their spirits all mangled up with their bodies, so they’re weird. Sacred beasts have spirits like humans do.
Questioner
Will those powers eventually affect Yerin or will she be able to access them as she advances?
Will Wight
Maybe, maybe not!
Questioner
Additionally, those colored rings of madra that Lindon sees around the sword sages remnant! Those just little cool visual effects? Extra soul spaces (will yerin find some presents as she advances?) Or are they indications he has more than one path!?!
Will Wight
They are little extra powers that the Sword Sage gained over his long career that he had stored in his soul. They became part of his spirit over time, and merged with his Remnant when he died.The only spoiler is the nature of what those powers were.
Questioner
So the reason that Blackflame is corrosive to madra channels is because the fire part slighty damages them, and the destruction part speeds that up?
Will Wight
That, and because their cycling techniques emphasize output over safety. The original version of this Path was developed by pure-blooded black dragons for use by other pure-blooded black dragons, so they weren’t concerned about the fragility of humans.
Questioner
If two monarchs were to somehow fall in love, and get married what would the wedding look like? How powerful would their kids be?
Will Wight
Rarely happens, but the wedding would be a continental event that involved altered weather, lights in the sky, and all conflict forcibly stopped. Their children would have to start from the Foundation level like everyone else, but depending on their inherited abilities, they might be able to exert a Lowgold level of power as toddlers.