In Asylum could the emperor have "Awakened" himself if he wanted to?
Commonly accepted Reader theory in the Aurelian Empire states that human beings are already Awakened. That's what makes us sentient and aware, and why Intent doesn't seem to build up in our body as we age.
Are there any awakened, sentient, wepaons or items in the Elder Empire?
By definition i think awakened items possess thoughts even if they are just simple thing like "KILL!" Or "FEED ME!".Are the Awakened weapons sentient?That's a hotly debated question in the Empire. Many Soulbound feel that their Vessels "speak" to them, but always in impressions or mentally communicated desires. Some of them swear they hear an actual voice in their head, but is that really the weapon? Or is it their imagination providing words for the impressions the weapon sends them?The common belief is that Awakened objects do have a measure of awareness, but not true sapience. They can't "think" or reason beyond the capacity and purpose for which they were created....as far as anyone knows.
Are there religious sects in Travelers Gate?
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.
What's the most unconventional weapon of Valinhall?
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.
Tell us about the most dangerous piece of furniture or collection of furniture in the house of blades.
Never question the dominion of the Devouring Sofa, whose hunger is never sated and whose thirst for blood is never quenched.
How do you actually make it to the end of a novel?
I ascend from Death to answer this one question, and this one alone, before returning to the grave.This is part of the process. I had many 20k stories before House of Blades, because that’s about the point where the inner critic kicks in and you realize what you’ve written isn’t as good as it was in your head. Now you’ve realized that the REALLY good story is a different idea entirely, or you’ve figured out that you can take the current story in a much better direction as long as you start over from the beginning.This feeling is not to be trusted. Those are lies whispered into your ears by Book Satan. If you switched ideas or started over, you would once again get about 20k in before facing the same situation.You cannot evaluate a story until it is finished. Give yourself permission to write a story that you feel is the worst thing ever. Finish it anyway. Push forward. This is where the hard work of writing comes in.Only when it’s finished can you actually start to judge whether it really is terrible or if it’s actually pretty good. You’re going to feel like it’s terrible throughout the whole middle of the process, and that’s natural. Just don’t let it stop you from putting words on paper.
What book or author would you recommend to someone who has read all of your books, preferring Cradle->House of Blades -> OKAK
I always have a difficult time giving recommendations. The only authors I recommend with no caveats tend to be very well-known. If you're not familiar with the wuxia / xianxia genre, that's what Cradle is, and there are some great examples over on WuxiaWorld.com. They're all fan translated and written daily, so there tend to be some difficulties with prose, but once you get used to it the stories can be off-the-charts hype.
What is the most pleasant and painless iron body type to develop?
The Drifting Iron Body. It involves undergoing a process to weaken gravity's hold on the body, making you lighter. The actual transformation process involves being woven into a silken cocoon made by refiners from plants that grow among the clouds. It feels like being suspended among hundreds of pillows for several hours a day over many weeks.
What's the biggest chain restaurant in cradle? Such as McDonalds.
Sungarden restaurants are all over a different continent. They have life artists that can grow tailor-made fruits and vegetables on command, so you're ordering from a menu of genetic options as much as a selection of dishes.
Where do you go for the best food in Cradle?
In many places in Cradle, it's difficult to tell, but everything in the Blackflame Empire is ranked for your convenience.The #1 rated restaurant in the Empire is the Dragon's Breath, a grill that specializes in unbelievably exotic meats. There, you can taste spiced sea dragon, butter-roasted Cloud Eagle, slices of butter-soft sashimi from tuna longer than a man is tall, and thousand-year peach wine.It's appropriately expensive. Many of the customers bring in the creatures their families have captured and pay to have them prepared by the high-class artisans on staff.
