Recent entries

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.

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.

Questioner

Would you ever write a novel of someone who was transported to a pioneer world by the Abidan?

Will Wight

Actually, yes.  That was something I came really close to writing already.  It was something that I wanted to write kind of as a break book, in between Cradle.  Of course, I had Elder Empire, which was not so much of a break, as an intensification of the action.  The opposite of a break, whatever that is.  A seam?  I don't know.  That's the opposite of a break.  But I really wanted to do that, because I talked with some LitRPG authors, and they mentioned that I had brought up the idea of a Minecraft/Terraria LitRPG.  And I was like, I know there are a million of those.  And they were like, I don't know that there are.  And so I looked it up, and there are quite a few of those in Japanese, but there aren't too many in English, or at least there weren't a year or two ago, when I had this discussion.

So I said wow, that I had already outlined a book that involved a group of people on a pioneer world, the Abidan, where they're just kind of building a world.  Literally just starting from scratch, figuring out the magic system, and all that stuff.  I also had a story that I not only outlined, but also wrote a few chapters of, years and years ago, before House of Blades, in which a modern Earth-like but not technically Earth world had magic all of a sudden introduced,  and so it was like this magic apocalypse thing and it was slowly becoming more magical and the whole world was breaking down.  Which at the time was a new concept and is not nearly a new concept anymore because a lot of people did it, and they did a great job. So I missed the boat on that one, but that was fun to write.  I actually reread the first few chapters of that and I was like, that's pretty good.  Pretty good, young Will.  Not too bad.  So that was a... I kind of combined some aspects of that into this pioneer world developing idea.

Questioner

Were you originally planning on writing a series with romance in it? How do you feel about the community's response to the romance?

Will Wight

Was I originally planning on writing a series with romance in it?  You know, when I started Traveler's Gate, I was like, "Haha! I'm going to do  series with no romance."  Because all series have romance, and it frankly doesn't add anything to most series.  Well, not to most series.  Movies, so I was really comparing it to movies, and individual books or short series or trilogies.  So I was going, ok, in these short series and trilogies, it doesn't add a whole lot.  It's just there because it's supposed to be there, so I was like "Aha! I'm going to buck the trend! I'm going to do one with minimal or no romance."  And then I was very quickly like, "Nah, this doesn't really make any sense."  So the characters just, kind of, interact with one another.  They would be attracted to one another, which is logical.  So that became quickly a policy that I abandoned, although I still am not super comfortable writing romance.

So therefore, in this series, as Cradle went on, I knew that at some point in the series I was going to have to write some romance.  However, as I said in a recent blog post, I didn't expect Cradle to blow up quite the way it has.

(Will is briefly distracted by the threat of things exploding.)

So, I did not expect to get the point where I had to develop these characters to that degree, that it was going to be very important for me to write the romance.  But in fact, as I continued, I was like, "Yup, I'm going to have to develop this into a romance."  But it felt natural for the characters, it didn't feel like... I'm talking about it like I was forced into it because, you know, I was.  But I was forced into it by the natural progression of the story, so it made sense, where the characters would go, it felt right.  And so I knew I would have to stretch myself as a writer and challenge myself to develop character relationships as naturally as I could.  So that is what I am trying to do.

Questioner

Is Emriss considered a sacred beast?

Will Wight

She is an ancestral tree, well she was an ancestral tree, she is the Remnant of an ancestral tree.

Questioner

Did the Path of Twin Stars almost have another name, and if yes, what was it?

Will Wight

I don't think it did, I'm pretty sure it was the Heart of Twin Stars from the very beginning. The Path of Twin Stars was always named that because it's after the Heart of Twin Stars Technique, which is the logical name for the technique.

Questioner

Do we ever learn Pride's full height?

Will Wight

While I used a lot of imprecise measurements for Pride, I think he was just a couple inches under 5 feet if i remember correctly. So, he is like 4'10", something like that...I don’t remember. I do actually have heights for him I'm just not going to get my laptop out and look that up precisely. But uh, he is short.

And - Lindon is at the high end of 6 feet so he is significantly taller than Pride. So from Lindon's perspective...Real short

Questioner

Are you going to include oreos canonically as a spiritual food in cradle in the books?

Will Wight

Uh, I did already. I explained a couple of times. First of all, the bloopers, people assume the bloopers aren't cannon but I don’t know why you think all the bloopers aren't cannon. There was already an Oreo blooper and someone also asked me a question about the greatest confectioneries and I answered about the honey finger sect who does research on chocolate and cream to create the ultimate cookie and one day they will succeed and cradle will be changed forever.

Questioner

Is it safe to say that Simon has the mindset to join the Abidan while Lindon doesnt?

Will Wight

Um, can't comment on that.