Questioner
Is there any way to learn a different magic system of another iteration or are people limited to their native magic system? If the answer is no, is an iteration's magic system genetic?
Will Wight
People are not limited to their native magic system. Parts of it are genetic, but a character from another world might come to Asylum, for instance, and find that they were getting faint impressions or visions by touching objects. They are suitable to be a Reader.
Questioner
What are some popular idioms on cradle. Something like cradles version of "survival of the fittest".
Will Wight
This is a great question, but it's really hard to do. So I'm going to cop out by sharing with you some Yerin-isms that may or may not have made it into the series so far:
"Between a tiger and a rocky cliff" = Between a rock and a hard place.
“There’s always a higher heaven” = always a bigger fish.
“Hitched to the same wagon” = in the same boat.
“Eating from the same pot” = (see above)
“Flower” = sweetie/sugar. Her master used to say that to women. “Thanks, flower.”
Questioner
What's the most well known joke on Cradle?
Will Wight
Q: What's the easiest way to make sure your enemy dies before you do?
A: Go home, sell your sword, and wait.
Questioner
When it comes to the path of the stellar spear's gold sign, is it all their hair? Is personal grooming difficult?
Will Wight
In fact, it is only the hair on their heads. It used to be ALL their hair, and they altered their Path over the generations to change their Remnants so that it only armored the hair on their heads.
Questioner
What were the original blackflames goldsign?
Will Wight
A dragon's tail. They often used it when fighting.
Questioner
Are there any madra viruses in cradle? Like the same way a virus in real life is basically a random peice of DNA which uses cells to replicate itself, are there techniques which implant themselves in someone’s spirit and force a copy of themselves? And if so, would they differ by stage and advancement?
Will Wight
There are techniques like this, but they aren't as overpowered as you might think thanks to a simple rule: your own spirit is sovereign within your body.
It's the same reason why a water or blood artist wouldn't just stop your heart instantly. They can't. Your spirit is far stronger inside your body than anyone else's madra.
You can overcome that by a huge difference in power: a Herald could stop a thousand Underlords' hearts all at once. But techniques that insert themselves into enemies' bodies tend to degrade very quickly and do limited damage.
Questioner
What's life like for the average person in Sanctum? Are they living it up in a post scarcity universe, or are they still doing the 9 to 5 grind?
Will Wight
People in Sanctum have their basic needs met in a peaceful, prosperous world, but their society is engineered so that everyone has the opportunity to play a part. The Abidan see people as a valuable resource, so they've done their best to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to provide a benefit to society.
Some people choose not to, of course. And some people hate doing what they're best at, but they do it anyway. People are people.
Questioner
Where in your collective works would I go for the spiciest dish? As a corollary, how much trouble am I in for?
Will Wight
Cradle. There's a pepper that grows in chambers beneath active volcanoes, where fire aura is most intense.
Even if you just took the plant out of that area and brought it to the surface, you couldn't go within five hundred yards of the pepper without the heat being so intense it would make you turn back.
This is what those above Archlords use to season their food.
Questioner
If Lindon were to die and release a remnant, would he in fact produce two remnants because of his two cores, a single hybrid remnant, or two conjoined remnants?
Will Wight
It would be a conjoined Remnant, not two Remnants. It would be unstable at first, as the pure madra began to dilute the Blackflame madra, but would eventually stabilize.It would be less powerful and aggressive than a full Blackflame Remnant, but it would be less likely to randomly attack people, which would probably increase its likelihood of finding a food source.
Questioner
What are some of the coolest Cycling techniques on Cradle (like the one that increases madra regeneration, or maybe a technique that would make Ruler techniques easier, or a technique that acts like a Halfsilver Ring, etc.)
Will Wight
There's the Endless Revolving Cycle technique, which focuses entirely on madra regeneration, to the exclusion of all else. Their advancement isn't as fast, and they can't put an enormous amount of power into their techniques, but they can effectively use sacred arts all day long. They have to use elixirs to strengthen their madra channels in order to withstand the strain of constant use.
Questioner
What's another absurdly weak or isolated place on Cradle and what would their Lindon look like?
Will Wight
There's an underwater, sealed-off city at the bottom of the Trackless Sea that's surrounded by much more prosperous civilizations of aquatic sacred beasts.
The human population inside this city has developed mostly independently, just like Sacred Valley. Their Lindon would be anyone who, for whatever reason, couldn't master water aura and the Ruler techniques required to go outside the city.
That person would be like someone in our universe who can't use a car...not just someone who can't drive, but someone who is unable to get inside an automobile.
Questioner
Are the sacred animals bound to their stage, or could one, asy orthos for example, advance further?
Will Wight
Sacred beasts can and do advance. However, they cycle naturally, so their advancement is different from humans. Orthos has been stuck at the Truegold stage for decades, and he has long since given up any hopes of reaching Underlord, even if his consciousness was stable enough to support the advancement.
Questioner
Has anyone ever taken in cradle ever taken a spectre as a remnant to advance to gold. If so what path were they on.
Will Wight
I'm sorry, I don't think I understand the question.
Questioner
Is/was there a country on cradle that leaves dangerous scripts/weapons around that children can accidentally use and kill themselves. And if so, how long did/will that country last before the population dies off?
Will Wight
I'm going to be honest: in most cultures on Cradle, child safety isn't a huge priority. Sacred arts schools often list their mortality rate, and a lower rate of survival is often considered a mark of a difficult, elite school for the most talented.
Most of the cultures on Cradle have techniques, constructs, or weapons around that children could use to hurt themselves. The sad truth is, you have to lose a LOT of kids before it affects the population. And most cultures respond by having more children, rather than protecting the ones they have.
Questioner
Can you create a new madra type by mixing two others together?
Will Wight
Yes, and in fact that's how most Paths work.
The classification of madra into aspects is purely a human invention to help them understand the properties of different Paths. You could combine water and fire madra into a burning, fluid, liquid power...if you figured out a way to do it.
Questioner
What is the food equivalent of chicken on cradle?
Will Wight
It's chicken. They have chickens in Cradle.
Questioner
What is the smallest Sacred Beast to achieve underlord status in cradle?
Will Wight
Nessandarius the Flea, Lord of the Bloodlight Path.
He has grown larger and more humanoid as he advanced, and after refining his body in soulfire, he now looks like a two-foot-tall hooded man.
Questioner
Does the Will verse have ice cream (or a close analogue)? And if so, what are the favorite flavors of the Abidan Judges?
Will Wight
Of course it has ice cream. I'm not a monster.
Suriel: peanut butter ice cream with real nuts.
Gadrael: mint ice cream. No chocolate chips.
Ozriel: strawberries and cream flavor.
Makiel: he doesn't eat ice cream, because there's no purpose to it.
Questioner
Ok will I need to know how old is Lindon and what is his birthday is
Also how Long is a day on cradle, a month on cradle, and a year on cradle
Will Wight
As for the time on Cradle, it's the same time as ours. Why? Because it's easier to tell the story that way. I don't want you to have to remember custom details for how long times or distances are.
So they're all the standard measurements.
Off the top of my head, I'm pretty sure Lindon is eighteen now. He doesn't have a birthday, so to speak. In Sacred Valley, they count every child's age up a year each new year.
Questioner
How would you, using cradle lingo in the blackflame empire, ask someone if they wanted to "Netflix and chill"?
Will Wight
In the Blackflame Empire, you'd likely be asking a girl if she wanted to come cycle back at your place. There's no benefit to cycling together, so it's just a thin excuse she's meant to see through.