Recent entries

Joe

This isn't necessarily related to this particular post, but thinking of the immortal nature of the Abidan Court got me thinking about this. Are there any beings in any iterations that have not ascended and yet are inherently immortal (at least apart from being killed)? 

The Nye are partially what made me think of this, as the Eldest Nye has evidently been around since before his world was splintered and has been living in that splinter for some time. So even if the Nye aren't immortal, are there any naturally immortal beings?

Will Wight

Yes, there are immortals in the Iterations.

But the Eldest Nye hasn't been around since before his world was splintered. He's telling tales that have been passed down for generations.

Sean K

It seems like Eithan might have the makings of a great spider one day!

Will Wight

Yeah, I think he would!

Devin

You said in part 2 that Ozriel was skilled enough to fill any position save for Suriel, does that mean Ozriel is equal to or stronger than the other Judges in their spheres of power? 

Or is the Spider just unfamiliar with using methods not involving The Way to find something he is looking for, while Ozriel, being newer, doesn't rely on The Way as much as other Judges?

Will Wight

That's the question!

The other Judges aren't really sure how Ozriel managed to elude them. If Telariel wasn't good at his job, he wouldn't have ascended to the position in the first place, but Ozriel somehow managed to completely evade all detection by the Way.

Some of the Judges have wondered if Ozriel actually obliterated himself.

Devin

Would hiding somewhere not governed by the Abidan have something to do with why he can't be found THE Spider?

Will Wight

Could be! That's one explanation. It's also why Suriel was hanging out in Cradle, so FAR from Iterations the Abidan don't control: she was stalling, trying to order her thoughts in the last place Ozriel would come back to.

She has a long journey ahead of her.

Jack

1) You said each world had its own magic system. Does Amalgam have its own system seperate from the territories or is that all it had from the beginning?

2) Some iterations have galactic colonies. Are there aliens in the Willverse?

Will Wight

1.) Amalgam's magic system is its unique property that allows it to collect and draw power from Territories. 

2.) There is alien life, but the only sentient non-human life was either once human or gained sentience from humanity in some way.

The Elders, for instance, were never human, but they gained the ability to interact with the world in a way we recognize as intelligent from humanity.

Sir Wolpertinger

1. If The Ghosts decide where the fragments of iterations go does that mean they pick which territories Amalgam can access?

2. You mentioned before that it once a person leaves their iteration they can't use that magics iteration any longer, but since Valinhall travelers summon the magic into themselves does that mean they still can, and if they can, are other travelers able to?and finally

3. Have you ever considered writing a story wherein the main character is a villain? It's obviously been tried many times, but with your unique writing style I think it could be really awesome.

Will Wight

1.) They could if they wanted to, yes.

2.) They can, and most of Ragnarus' magical weapons would still work too. If another Traveler took their creatures to a different world, like the Avernus birds for instance, their powers would probably stay intact (it depends on the magic system in their destination, but usually yes).

3.) Instead of Elder Empire, I almost wrote a story about a girl on a quest to become a dark lord while a guy is trying to trick people into thinking he's the hero destined to oppose that dark lord.

There were a few cool things about the story and the setting, but now I don't think I'll ever write that particular story. Too much of it went into Elder Empire and Cradle instead.

But yes, I would like to write a villain story. The trick is finding the sweet spot between "totally evil and therefore unsympathetic" and "effectively just a hero in black armor."

George

Will, how many people of Northstriders level would it roughly take to defeat weakest member of The Wolves? I know that suitability is a huge factor in a fight, which is why i don'T expect a definite answer.

Will Wight

Assuming the weakest of the Wolves, i.e. someone who has no other powers besides those of the Abidan and little combat experience but they're trying to work in the Wolf Division anyway...AND assuming we mean "beat in a fight" rather than "kill"...Northstrider might be able to do it in a 1v1. There's a wide gap between the least of the Abidan and the Judges, plus people who are weaker than Northstrider could still technically ascend.

George

Do you ascend simply after reaching a certain level, or is it only possible after gaining an enlightenment of a certain laws of the universe, kinda like Linley did in Coiling Dragon later in the books?(For example, Profound Laws of Earth)If it is the latter, could technically a copper ascend by understanding a certain amount of laws, or is that, already, not possible, because mastering such laws allows you, immediately, to reach a higher cultivation rank even if it is an unconventional way.

Diego

I imagine it's a lot like the transition to iron for Lindon though. If someone weak ascends too early it probably limits their future growth. Or maybe the iteration the weakest Wolf came from allows early ascension so he's not all that strong yet.Hey Will another question: What stops immortals from mastering different magic systems from different iterations? (Like in disguise so they don't disturb fate too much)

Will Wight

@George: It's more like mastering Laws than pure cultivation, but no a Copper couldn't do it.@Diego: Yep, you nailed it. The weakest Wolf is from an Iteration other than Cradle (so he might have to leave a lot of his power behind) and has just started learning to tap into the Way.What stops immortals from going to another Iteration and learning the magic system?The Abidan. There's nothing in the rules of the universe to prevent that, and indeed one of the rival organizations of the Abidan is made up of people who do this.

Daniel

How advanced is their scientific understanding on cradle? Cause I mean I know they have lots of knowledge of their magic and their alchemy equivalent but do they understand stuff like, there is a top of the atmosphere, cradle revolves around the sun, space is empty, other planets exist... stuff like that

Will Wight

It's not great in Sacred Valley, but there are places in Cradle where their scientific understanding is pretty advanced.

But their technology never advanced to the level you'd THINK it could, what with scripts and constructs.

Why? A few reasons, but here's the main one: thanks to the sacred arts, if you have the resources, you can learn to DO pretty much anything yourself. You don't have to develop the technology to fly in a world where you can learn to fly.

It's more complicated than that, but we'll explore it as we get into the more advanced areas of the world.

Reddan

On a bit of a Suriel kick here with these questions:

How many years has the current Suriel been alive?

Is she as strong/skillful as her predecessor? (Is that a useful distinction or are all the judges really close together)

How well did she know her predecessor?

What other court roles could Suriel have filled if she wanted?

Was/is Suriel a "wild" Abidan, or did she come from Sanctum (or another place like Sanctum)?

Will Wight

1.) Age:

...I won't lie to you, I don't know. I haven't invented that answer yet.

2.) Skill:

She's more temperamentally suited to the role of the Phoenix than her predecessor was, but they both had different strengths and weaknesses. All in all, they were basically on the same tier.

3.) Familiarity:

She worked alongside him for many years. They were very familiar.

4.) Roles:

She has skill in almost all the other roles, but she's only Judge-level as a Phoenix. That's pretty common.

Most of the Judges excel in one area, though they're skilled in several others. The only exceptions are Gadrael, Makiel, and Ozriel: Gadrael because he's useless in every area but one, Makiel because he has the skills of a Judge in two areas, and Ozriel because he's good at everything. Except healing.

5.) Wild or not?

She did ascend from an Iteration on her own; she's not from Cradle, but she's not from Sanctum either. She mastered her original magic system before rising into the Abidan and eventually making her way onto the Court.

Before she was a Judge, she was personally acquainted with both Ozriel and the previous Suriel.

Anon

On the topic of the planet Cradle and vital aura. Is the planet called Cradle because it's great for cultivation? OR is there another reason like some awesome being in the center who is not yet hatched / or is being suppressed? Such an incredible entity might be the source of the vital aura that makes Cradle such an great place to cultivate. 

Also, will Lindons double cores allow to for things like ascending to gold with black dragon madra and then raising the second cool to iron thus adapting Lindons blood forged body in a way the original human dragon path cultivators could not? 

Also, is the Black dragon path madra another way to consume and process the madra other paths? 

Will Wight

1.) It's called Cradle because it's great for cultivation, but there are often double meanings in Abidan designations. The Elder Empire world is called Asylum, which means protection, but it is also has...other implications.

2.) No, that specific chain of events will not happen.

3.) No.

Nocturniquet

So far Will seems to always paint Ozriel in a good light as if he is noble and one of the good guys.I think we will slowly begin to see him as the villain of the overall universe for a few reasons.He has an absolutists goal that cannot currently be achieved because the government forbids it. If the abidan were removed from the picture or overthrown then Ozriel would be free to enact his ideals.Will confirmed there are non-abidan entities that illegally use the Way and/or are opposed to the abidan. Makes sense that Ozriel could rally or lead these people against the Abidan.If this is the case I find it to be great writing because in most stories the villain simply is and we never get to experience his rise to "villainship" in real time. It's always as if the main characters are fighting to stop the master plan or fix the world after the villain has almost fully succeeded.This way we start off with Ozriel as a good intenioned character who slowly goes too far.

Will Wight

I can't comment on ultimately what role Ozriel will play in the story, because obviously that's a spoiler.I will say this: I'm painting him that way now because that's how Suriel sees him. She sees him as ultimately good-intentioned, maybe a little arrogant, but the system has some good points too.Her viewpoint and yours might change as the series goes on.Maybe he'll be even MORE of a good guy. Who knows?

Devin

How would a fight between the Reaper and the Wolf go?Also, could a retired Judge craft a new mantle and weapon to be on par with a current Judge? And if so, did Ozriel craft his own mantle and weapon?

 

Will Wight

Ozriel crafted his own weapon, but I don't think the mantle (I'd have to check my notes to be sure, but I don't think so).A retired Judge could not (in theory) craft his own mantle and weapon to be on par with a current Judge, because you couldn't do it secretly. The Abidan would notice the rare materials and the huge conflux of power it would take to create something like that.It's also difficult for anyone but the Abidan to do it because it requires materials and magic from multiple worlds.

Nitin

Has any asked before what was Ozriel's real name?

Will Wight

No, and no one's asked me Suriel's real name either.

Adarsh

Well what are they?And as a side note why do all their names end with -el? Is that a culture thing?

Will Wight

I made up seven archangel names.Razael, Suriel, and Adriel at least have all already been used--I found out through Google; I have no idea what Blood Omen: Soul Reaver is--but I made all of them up according to general angel mythology.Kaballah, Jewish tradition, and some Christian tradition holds that there are seven archangels, but their names vary wildly, so I came up with ones that sounded cool.In the original draft of this universe, they had taken the titles of seven actual archangels, but I eventually nixed that. The angel names stuck because A.) I had gotten used to them, and B.) they're a court of seven holier-than-thou celestial judges, and naming them like archangels reinforces that point.As for why the angels have names ending in -el, it's because in Hebrew, the -el ending refers to God. So it has an "of God" or "of the Lord" or "God's" connotation.In this universe, it's because it was an ancient naming convention they used because it sounded authoritative.

John

How far do you outline?

Will Wight

I always have a plan, but often I leave details vague just in case I have a better idea or change my mind later. Gives me some elbow room.

I do a TON of world-building before I start, but a lot of it is fluid. When I'm writing the book, if what I planned doesn't serve the story as well as I imagined it would, I'll change the planned backstory as needed. Nothing is set in stone until it shows up in a book.

As for parts that are more narrow than world-building elements--like characters, scenes, twists, etc.--most of those I design as needed when I'm working on the book. I don't determine their fate several books ahead of time.

However, that's for MOST characters and scenes. There are a few incredibly specific elements that I've already determined way ahead of time, including several that are still four or five books away.

TL;DR - Me setting up a specific character twist two books ahead is uncommon, but not terribly rare.

Nitin

Adriel? Is he the first Abidan?Did anyone work under Reaper or was he one man machine?Sanctum is home of Abidan or is it a world of ascended beings? Or both?Titan tanksPhoenix healersWolf dps.There goes our raid!

Will Wight

Adriel: You'll have to find out in a few days, won't you?Ozriel: The Reaper is a one-man band.Sanctum is home to the Abidan AND people who have ascended beyond other Iterations, but mostly it houses the Abidan and the civilizations that support them.Titan tanksWolf DPSPhoenix healersFox...rogues?Ghost bardsSpider scoutsHounds don't raid, they're in the RP servers solving crimesReaper OP, needs nerf.TL;DR - balance team, wtf

Shane

For some reason, I think Lindon and the Fox would get on well together.

Will Wight

I've wanted to write a scene with the Fox for years now.With anybody really, but mainly between Ozriel and Zakariel. Because Zakariel irritates all the other Judges with a smile on her face, but the only one who gets on HER nerves is Ozriel.Fun fact: probably the first scene I wrote for this series, when I was working out the Suriel storyline, was a dialogue between Ozriel and Zakariel.

Kaileonis

Will we get to enjoy that scene that you wrote about?

Will Wight

Probably not, no. I originally wrote it for Elder Empire.

Numuhukumakiaki'aialunamor

1) Would someone from the Abidan Court leave a remnant, can someone who uses the power of the Way even leave a remnant?

2) If Lindon, Yerin and Eithan advance to the world beyond Cradle would they be babies in the new world or adults?

3) Does any world beyond Cradle use Madras?

Will Wight

1.) Most of the seven Court members are not from Cradle, so no, they would not leave a Remnant. Any normal Abidan from Cradle would leave one, but it might not be capable of tapping into the Way. If it can't, then it's much less powerful than the Abidan was in life, and would be easily exterminated by anything capable of killing an Abidan.

2.) Depends on where they go and when/how they advance. Lots of factors in play.

3.) Not exactly. This is difficult to answer without getting into spoiler-y specifics.

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.

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.