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atlantean0208

 

What is the point writing a Xuanhuan novel where the hero is weak and not winning the tournament and always weak among his peer. Most Xuanhuan novel, the hero if not powerful to fight cross level, they mostly unbeaten on the same level. Can you just stop writing Lindon like he some kind of Batman wannabe who always have to fight using scheme and plot instead of like a true Blackflame warrior who keep advance while just killing everybody in his path. You let blackflame as his path, but Lindon is more like a weak ants, so what is the point?

Will Wight

If I’m understanding your comment correctly, you want Lindon to win all the time because that’s what usually happens in the genre.

I agree, that does usually happen! But I don’t like that, and here’s why: usually in these web novels, the author pretends like the hero has been through a lot of adversity, but they haven’t. They win all the time, and they never lose, and they are always the best forever.

They never fight someone who is their equal because no one is their equal.

I don’t find that very interesting or engaging, to be honest. It’s pretty one-dimensional. I also don’t respect what the character has done if they only did it because they were the best of all time from the first chapter.

I would rather read about someone who becomes the best, not someone who is the best, so that’s where I intend to go with Cradle.

Is Lindon going to lose all the time? No, of course not! He lost here, and he’s as frustrated about it as you are.

But he’s going to buckle down and continue to push forward anyway, because that’s who he is.

goody123

Travelers Gate Trilogy has been my personal favorite fantasy series since i read it. And Cradle is easily one of my favorites of all time (if the books length was as long as other epic fantasy series like WoT, Malazan or Stormlight Archives i bet it easily rivals them .. in fact i feel Cradle is just as epic for me).Thank you for bringing life to series i didn't i needed but i did. Which also coincidentally the reason why life is alot more bearable to live(given IRL is brutal)Btw Travelers Gate and Cradle related question if you don't mind me asking.1. If Simon goes ascension route. Is Caela eligible as his future presence ? How about the Eldest ?2. Why did Eithan decide to pick pure madra path ?

Will Wight

Well, we can agree on at least one thing: real life is best escaped whenever possible. I'm glad you enjoy the books!1.) Yeah, Caela could potentially become his Presence if he ascended.2.) It's a spoooooky myyyyyysteeeerrrryyyyy....

Leigh_Ola

So, I recently started watching Bleach. It's a popular anime with 300+ episodes that started airing in 2004.

I couldn't help but notice similarities between Simon (The protagonist in Will Wight's Traveler's Gate) and Ichigo (The protagonist in Bleach):

Ichigo is an adolescent boy who uses a ridiculously big sword. Just like Simon.

Ichigo has a mask that when worn, allows him to get stronger. The main upgrade is his speed. Just like Simon.

Ichigo gets chains around his arms when he uses his maximum power. Just like Simon.

Ichigo has a small, talking stuffed animal doll. Just like Simon.

When Ichigo uses his mask, he risks losing a control and going "mad". Just like Simon.

Ichigo's large sword comes from a dark, brooding, powerful man who's now stuck in his "world". More similarities.

There are even similarities between Ichigo's personality and Simon's...

The fact that Bleach has been running for years before Traveler's Gate was released, and Will Wight seems to be a fan of Anime makes this seem like more than just a series of coincidences.

Here's a link to pictures of Ichigo and other Bleach characters : https://www.wallpaperflare.com/anime-bleach-kurosaki-ichigo-orange-hair-chains-sword-anime-boys-wallpaper-tssqn

Perhaps there's more to this than I'm aware of, so I'd like someone - Will, maybe? - to clear this up, because watching Bleach is starting to unnerve me.

Will Wight

So I love Bleach, but it didn’t actually have any influence on Simon’s design.

Obviously I’m going for a very anime aesthetic, hence the giant swords, but I described them to my artist as Final Fantasy swords rather than Bleach swords. The chains and doll and mask don’t come from Bleach at all.

Chains: I just needed a visual indicator of the increasing influence of the Territory and thought chains would be cool.

Doll: I wanted a prop to show that Kai was crazy, and I thought talking to dolls was a cool way to do that, and then I thought it would be funny if he WASN’T crazy and the dolls actually talked. Plus Simon is alone a lot and needed someone to trade dialogue with, so that’s where that came from.

Mask: I didn’t intend to give Simon a mask power-up, but Malachi had a mask that he would have dropped when he died, and I thought it would be logical if Simon picked it up. Then I was like “Hey, I wonder what would happen if Valinhall took this in like they’ve taken so many other things?” And thus the mask was born.

Bleach did have one major influence on my writing: the Abidan organization that oversees the multiverse was essentially the Gotei 13 in its first iteration. The fact that the Judges have long flowing white mantles of energy now is a nod to the haori of the Bleach Captains.

TemerityInc

Out of curiosity, has anything in the plot or world building changed from your original ideas because of a fan idea?

Will Wight

Not yet! I have often changed my presentation of an idea based on fan feedback, like bringing in a concept earlier or differently than I planned, but I haven’t changed the plan based on fan ideas.

As George RR Martin likes to say, if you set up the book so that the butler did it, and then you read online than everyone guessed the butler did it, you can’t now change it to the maid doing it. The foreshadowing and thematic setup won’t make any sense.

So I can’t imagine changing direction dramatically based on fans guessing correctly or coming up with a new idea, but I could imagine someday adopting a smaller idea. Like “It would be cool to see Lindon do X,” and I read that and think “Hmmm, it WOULD be cool to see Lindon do X.”

But most of the time, either fan ideas make no sense with what’s been established in the books or I’ve already considered them.

atlantean0208

 

What is the point writing a Xuanhuan novel where the hero is weak and not winning the tournament and always weak among his peer. Most Xuanhuan novel, the hero if not powerful to fight cross level, they mostly unbeaten on the same level. Can you just stop writing Lindon like he some kind of Batman wannabe who always have to fight using scheme and plot instead of like a true Blackflame warrior who keep advance while just killing everybody in his path. You let blackflame as his path, but Lindon is more like a weak ants, so what is the point?

Will Wight

If I’m understanding your comment correctly, you want Lindon to win all the time because that’s what usually happens in the genre.

I agree, that does usually happen! But I don’t like that, and here’s why: usually in these web novels, the author pretends like the hero has been through a lot of adversity, but they haven’t. They win all the time, and they never lose, and they are always the best forever.

They never fight someone who is their equal because no one is their equal.

I don’t find that very interesting or engaging, to be honest. It’s pretty one-dimensional. I also don’t respect what the character has done if they only did it because they were the best of all time from the first chapter.

I would rather read about someone who becomes the best, not someone who is the best, so that’s where I intend to go with Cradle.

Is Lindon going to lose all the time? No, of course not! He lost here, and he’s as frustrated about it as you are.

But he’s going to buckle down and continue to push forward anyway, because that’s who he is.

MountainKing

Who would be a better father figure for Lindon, Fury or Northstrider?

Will Wight

They would both be terrible, but Fury is actually a negligent father. Northstrider would at least take care of him.

notacommittee

If Eithans second best feature is his skin, what is his best? Hair, smile, ...?

Will Wight

He would say his winning personality.

nerbomer

(In response to Wintersteel's plotline post)

Make it a Jai Long book and release it April 1st.

Will Wight

How did you know about my plans for Cradle 13, Girthspear?

Will Wight

Aw, thanks! There are certainly ups and downs, but thus far my positive experiences have far outweighed the negative.

If I’m upset about anything right now, it’s that I haven’t finished EE yet. Which is on me, and is the reason why I so desperately need to finish.

Also, I love your username.

Akura_Fury

As for the username, I made a reddit account just so I could comment on your subreddit. The name choice was obvious, since Fury was by far the best and funniest secondary character in the book! Although secondary might be a bit too generous in his case (more Fury please <3).

Will Wight

I loved writing him more than I expected I would, and he was always involved in the main Monarch conflict, so 90% chance he’s around for the long haul.

When I originally drafted his character back before Blackflame, he was this stern military instructor type that was entirely controlled and militaristic. Then when I started to write him in this book, I realized that he overlapped too much with too many other characters...and also wasn’t much fun to write.

Thus, the true Akura Fury was born.

cleanflea

Noooo!!!!! I demand a Yerin book. Co-starring Little Blue and Shera. If you do not acknowledge my demands, I will form a coalition to threaten you properly. You have been warned. Act accordingly.

Will Wight

I wondered one time if I could do a non-canon short story or novella in which I split my various main characters up into random teams like this one. Like Lindon, Simon, and Shuffles having to do one quest and Calder, Leah, and Little Blue doing another while Yerin, Shera, and Caela are doing a third thing.

It’s gimmicky, but I think it could be fun.

morgf

So explain this to me. Eithan and Mercy, if not Yerin, know a lot about the world. Lindon lists two Monarch powers, and Luminous Queen Sha Miara. If they have never heard of Sha Miara, why didn't they say anything? Are there lots of Luminous Queens in the Ninecloud Court? If they did not say anything, why did it not stick in their minds? Certainly Eithan would remember every word that Lindon told him from a heavenly messenger.

Will Wight

No joke, there was actually a point when I was writing that scene in Skysworn where I had Mercy frown and say “Sha Miara?” like she heard wrong, and then the conversation moves on. It’s in one of the rough drafts.

Ultimately I waffled on it and then, as I revised the scene, that line ended up not making it back in because it didn’t have any connection to the events of Skysworn or my plans for Ghostwater, so I thought it would feel out of place for at least one more book.

Then when I was writing Uncrowned, I looked back at that scene and felt like it was a sufficiently minor connection to not warrant an explicit explanation. I didn’t feel like I as a reader would need an explanation for why Yerin, Eithan, and Mercy didn’t immediately connect the dots based on an offhand comment from Lindon so long ago.

morgf

A message from a heavenly messenger, and talking about the most powerful people in the world? And they just dismiss it like talking about the weather?

Will Wight

I’m really not trying to persuade you of anything here, I was just telling you what my thought process was since you asked. If it didn’t work for you, it didn’t work for you. That’s okay!

If I had expected this to trip people up, I would have included a line of explanation.

Tourni-quet

Can someone explain why Lindon was all worked up at the end of the book and had to rush off to tell his friends that Sha Miara is actually a monarch?

Like he literally mentions her name in skysworn, when he says about northstrider, the 8 man empire and luminous queen sha miara.

And Eithan, Mercy and Yerin are all like yep they’re strong.

Is this a continuity error? Bc it seems like lindon believes this is some big secret that he has to divulge, that he already has years previously. And I checked she’s not under a fake name in the tournament, northstrider announces her name in the revealing of the fight schedule so our other MCs are aware of the name

Will Wight

Yeah, I can actually answer that one! My take on that, which I probably could have retroactively explained in this book when it became relevant, was that anyone with knowledge of the world knows who the Luminous Queen is. But at this point, the Ninecloud Court are keeping it secret that the previous queen has died and her daughter has succeeded her.

Also, she's participating in the tournament, so of course she's an Underlady.

Lindon's urgency at the end comes from the fact that, at previous points in the book, he doesn't want to say anything lest he get in trouble with a Monarch. But after the Abidan have come down, there's enough at stake now for him to risk it.

That's the idea, though obviously I could have communicated it more clearly.

morgf

Yup, it is a continuity error. Unfortunately, the book is riddled with them.

Lindon, Yerin, Eithan, and Mercy all know that Sha Miara is a Monarch. As the commenter I was responding to said, she was in the tournament under the name Sha Miara. There was no reason for Lindon to run to tell the others since they already knew, as the commenter said. He told the story to Yerin multiple times. He probably mentioned the Monarch names every time, but he definitely mentioned Sha Miara to them by name at least once. Didn't you read Skysworn?  

Travis Baldree

I read it out loud :) But I don't remember him mentioning her by name.

But even if he did, I guess I'm not sure it would ruin the book for me. The world is huuuuge. The distances are vast. The people almost mythical.

Will Wight

Jumping in here: I was aware of this scene in Skysworn when I wrote Uncrowned, but I didn't see the need to clarify that Yerin and company didn't make the connection to Lindon's story from years earlier. They're thinking he saw a vision of the Luminous Queen, who this girl competing in the tournament obviously isn't.

I thought that came across in the story, but obviously not clearly enough.

I knew when I wrote Skysworn that it wasn't common knowledge that Sha Miara led the Ninecloud Court, but since it wasn't relevant to that book or the next book, I didn't want to bring it up at the time. In Uncrowned, I thought the situation was clear enough to go without further explanation, but apparently I was wrong.

jacktrowell

I still think that it was a narrative error to not have any character in the story mention the question earlier than that.

Not revealing the reason, just somebody asking the obvious question "how did a bunch of jades manage to kill a sage ?" (plus the similar question about Yerin managing to handle a Sage Remnant while only at Jade level at the time), even if followed immediatly by something like "I suppose they used some kind of rare poison ?"

Anyway the matter is now settled until we get more information.

That said, I really enjoyed the book and it's only one small flaw in a very good serie, please continue the good work, we are legions awaiting for Wintersteel now. ;)

Will Wight

Yeah, one of my big regrets was not having Yerin say something about it in Soulsmith.

Ragnrok

I actually thought that was intentional, and I liked it.

Yerin is a very focused and direct character. If Lindon had a larger knowledge base at that point then it would be in character for him to spend months wondering how the heck a bunch of Jades killed a Sage, but Yerin isn't one to waste her time questioning reality. A bunch of Jades poisoned and then killed the Sword Sage, so it must be possible, because it happened, so why waste time dwelling on it?

Will Wight

That was my thinking at the time; I thought it was consistent with her character not to question it, because they did it and it happened and now the question is what to do next.

I wish I had made her question it just because it would have saved me headache since then.

Brynovc

I guess we won't see anymore "how did a bunch of jades kill a sage" posts. And I loved the blooper about this!

SeNoyerSoublier

Am I hallucinating or did we also learn tim is named Adama?

Will Wight

You can’t know how TIMpted I was to put the letters T-I-M in his name somewhere. Like Atima. Problem is, I couldn’t come up with anything I thought sounded cool...and also I assigned him a name a while ago, and I felt weird about changing it for a fan meme.

But I was very tempted.

SeNoyerSoublier

I had a slight tinge of disappointment we didn't get an orthos epilogue, but damn book 8 can't come soon enough

Will Wight

Yeah, I wanted to do an Orthos epilogue. The problem was that the training for the tournament and the tournament took up the better part of a year, so the Orthos epilogue would have had to take place basically a year after the prologue. Which means I would have had to go into detail about what had happened to them over the intervening year.

It was just a lot to end on, so ultimately I decided not to include it in this book. I was sad about it, though.

caffeine-overclock

A few days ago, I asked how bindings are powered/recharged here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Iteration110Cradle/comments/d95b8u/how_are_bindings_recharged/

The consensus was that bindings work as they are described in Soulsmith, where Lindon creates his own water: his core is basically drained from the effort of "activating the binding," where that madra is converted to water madra.

The critical detail being that Lindon's own madra is drained from him into the weapon to activate the binding.

So far, so good.

Then, in Uncrowned, we see Yerin activate an Archlord weapon. The explanation we're given is that her new diamond channels kept her from being destroyed by using it two stages too soon. I guess if it's an enormous amount of Yerin's madra being ripped out of her into the weapon, this explanation makes sense, except...

Where did Yerin get all that Madra?

It's described as consuming the enormous arena stage, and being so much that Lindon's arm was ripping at the seams trying to control it all.

Has Yerin been using the HEPW? I can't imagine her having all that madra in her cores, especially after a long fight with Lindon.

Will Wight

The madra can come from the substance of the construct or from the madra forming the binding itself, which is how independent constructs work and why they cannibalize themselves over time.

Since Yerin can’t afford to subsidize an entire Archlord technique with her own madra, she puts as much as she can into activating and controlling it, and the rest of the power comes from the sword itself.

Which will cut down on the sword’s lifespan unless it receives serious maintenance.

caffeine-overclock

Yessss thank you!

So if Eithan wanted to activate an Archlord binding, and hypothetically also had diamond channels, he could do so without damaging it?

Will Wight

He could! Technically any Underlord can, if they have some way to handle the stress it puts on their spirit. It’s just usually better to have a weapon you can control and activate consistently with no risk.

TheWanderingBeard

Does the Arelius bloodline power become obsolete after monarch?

Or will Eithan be able to see/hear even further than other monarchs if/when he makes it that far?

Will Wight

Spiritual perception and the Arelius bloodline power work differently. Spiritual perception is able to feel spirits, madra, and aura; basically spiritual powers. The Arelius bloodline power extends your physical senses.

Donraj

I liked the bit after the fight with Naian Blackflame where Lindon reflects that he hasn't really done much to make him a good person and that it was nice to do something charitable for a stranger for a change.

Will Wight

I felt like Lindon needed to at least acknowledge the fact that he’s usually driven by selfish motivations.

Argent

How would the Abidan Presence view Dross? Is he... weird? Immature? Undeveloped? Freak?

Will Wight

Immature or underdeveloped.

CharmingLordEithan

Who is the most charming Monarch?

Will Wight

Charming: probably Malice, I would guess. Most of them can be charming when they want to be.