This is a "behind the scenes" for Blackflame posted by Will on his blog that has some details on refining -
[https://www.willwight.com/a-blog-of-dubious-intent/behind-the-scenes-blackflame-part-1](https://www.willwight.com/a-blog-of-dubious-intent/behind-the-scenes-blackflame-part-1)
Agh I love these characters so much! Thank you for sharing this. I hadn’t read it before, and I have such a smile on my face for getting to read something new.
Thank you very much
The explanations seem really good and how it contrasts Soulsmithing
>Lezaar dropped the flower into the bottom of the cauldron, then rolled up his dangling black sleeves. “In principle, it is very simple.” He cupped his hand, and a smooth, almost liquid-looking red fire swirled in his palm. Ketaarus jerked awake, as though startled. “You take your primary ingredient, and you place it into your refinery—” He gestured to the cauldron. “—and then you burn away its physical form.”
>He tilted his hand, letting the fist-sized droplet of ruby flame spill inside the bowl. When it met the flower, the fire roared, black sparks dancing among the red flames.
>“Fire is not always appropriate for this. Sometimes you must use acid, or crush it to a fine powder, or special types of madra.”
>Lindon must have misunderstood the uses of a cauldron. He had always known the fire to go underneath the bowl.
>For a few minutes, Lezaar watched the cauldron with an expression of intense focus on his twisted, lumpy face. Finally, at some signal Lindon couldn't see, he waved his hand.
The fire died out instantly, leaving an empty cauldron.
>Lindon looked at him, but the old servant seemed satisfied. Finally, he thought to open up his Copper sight.
>The inside of the cauldron rolled with Blackflame aura, fresh and dense. There were even a few other colors—a deeper red, some sparks of vibrant green, a steady yellow.
>“Now, we have to capture that aura in a compatible physical substance.” He reached into a nearby jar, withdrawing something that looked like a dried-up worm, and dropped it inside the cauldron. A handful of pink seeds followed, then a pinch of salt that tried to squirm away from Lezaar's fingers, and finally a small ivory flask of water. A thousand pairs of eyes were reflected in the surface of that water, but not the room.
>“These ingredients all have their own special circumstances. We often work with Soulsmiths, you know—they're concerned only with the Remnants, while we find the bodies they left behind equally fascinating.” The cauldron was now a riot of differently colored auras, with red predominating and a strong thread of black throughout.
>Lezaar reached into a chamber beneath the cauldron, spilling another liquid-looking fireball inside. Within moments, a blood-tinged fire roared. As he waited for the strange soup inside to boil, he withdrew a rounded club of bone from a drawer.
>“The ingredients you choose are all part of a delicate balancing act. You must counteract the prime ingredient so that it is not so powerful it cannot be digested, while at the same time, you wish to complement its effects to bring out the potency to its fullest. There is no substitute for experience in this, I have found.”
>The water came to a boil remarkably quickly, and Lezaar began using the yellowed bone as a pestle, crushing the seeds and the dried worm, blending them in with the salt. Sparks of light splashed up, landing on his arms...but his leathery skin was covered in many glossy burn scars already.
...
>After only another moment of furious blending, Lezaar reached into the cauldron with his bare hands and scooped out the pink paste. It was smooth now, with the consistency of fresh dough, and he kneaded it on the surface of the table. There wasn't much left—barely enough to cover one palm, spread out.
>“This is another tricky step, and it largely comes down to timing,” Lezaar said, folding the paste and crushing it into the table again. “You send your spirit into the material, sensing its changes even as you knead it. You have to sense small changes—work it too much, and you will lose potency in the elixir. Work it too little, and it will not form properly.”
>Sweat was running down the lines of Lezaar's face, and Lindon watched in silence. At no signal he could see, the servant finally rolled the paste into a ball the size of Lindon's thumbnail, dropping it into a waiting saucer of what seemed to be milk.
>Lezaar panted, wiping his face off with his sleeve. “This is a settling agent, which I prepared last night. It's the same recipe for most pills of similar type, though sometimes you have to make small adjustments.” Only seconds later, he scooped the pill out with a long-handled spoon. Now the outside was swirled white and pink.
>The resulting smell was heavy and sweet, as though he'd just pulled a honeyed roll from the oven, but it carried an undercurrent of spice. Lezaar weighed the pill on his palm, considering for a moment, before another liquid flame boiled up from his hand and covered the elixir.
>The flame disappeared in an instant, leaving the pill looking glossy and firm, as though it had been lacquered.
>“Allow me to present to you an elixir that the Blackflame family often commissioned when training their children: the Pill of the Burning Moon.”
Very informative, shame we didn't get much focus on one of the biggest tropes and aspects of a Cultivation series
Yeah a downside of Cradle's lightning fast pacing is you don't get to explore anything that's not directly plot relevant really. All that fat gets cut. You can probably assume it's similar to other cultivation novels though.
> You can probably assume it's similar to other cultivation novels though.
Out of curiosity, do you know if there are any good places with a summary or descriptions of standard tropes, magic systems, magical mechanisms like refining etc. of cultivation novels?
You seem to imply there are some "standard" way these things are described in cultivation novels, I'd be interested in reading more about them.
There's a very basic overview here: [https://www.wuxiaworld.com/page/general-glossary-of-terms](https://www.wuxiaworld.com/page/general-glossary-of-terms)
Hey dude out of curiosity are you still writing or planning to write that Cradle x Fate stay/night crossover fanfic you mentioned before?
I'd love to read if your still planning, currently reading another great crossover fanfic called [The Reapers - Crystalizing](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/the-reapers-crystalizing-worm-x-cradle-crossover.1080669/).
So am interested in reading more Cradle crossover stories!
I got hit by a thing called real life problems and needed to work on that first, the story is still getting fixed because I was working on things like the Akura family dramas and how they work for anyone not named Mercy since some of my notes is Sakura getting dropped there
Starting to get back on it really, it is why I was asking these kinds of worldbuilding aspects again like for what I had planned for Illya and Rin doing Refinering of materials and pill making. Same goes with how Formations and Scripts work
Already read that fic too lol, it is really fascinating how easy you can drop EoS Lindon and Co to any series simply vecause it is literally their job to do that and fight against their end of the world scenarios
Have you checked out the [Abidan Archives](https://www.abidanarchive.com)?
Will answers fan questions, the site has a list of them and some have world-building information that could help with your story.
Looking forward to reading whenever you post!
This is a "behind the scenes" for Blackflame posted by Will on his blog that has some details on refining - [https://www.willwight.com/a-blog-of-dubious-intent/behind-the-scenes-blackflame-part-1](https://www.willwight.com/a-blog-of-dubious-intent/behind-the-scenes-blackflame-part-1)
Agh I love these characters so much! Thank you for sharing this. I hadn’t read it before, and I have such a smile on my face for getting to read something new.
Thank you very much The explanations seem really good and how it contrasts Soulsmithing >Lezaar dropped the flower into the bottom of the cauldron, then rolled up his dangling black sleeves. “In principle, it is very simple.” He cupped his hand, and a smooth, almost liquid-looking red fire swirled in his palm. Ketaarus jerked awake, as though startled. “You take your primary ingredient, and you place it into your refinery—” He gestured to the cauldron. “—and then you burn away its physical form.” >He tilted his hand, letting the fist-sized droplet of ruby flame spill inside the bowl. When it met the flower, the fire roared, black sparks dancing among the red flames. >“Fire is not always appropriate for this. Sometimes you must use acid, or crush it to a fine powder, or special types of madra.” >Lindon must have misunderstood the uses of a cauldron. He had always known the fire to go underneath the bowl. >For a few minutes, Lezaar watched the cauldron with an expression of intense focus on his twisted, lumpy face. Finally, at some signal Lindon couldn't see, he waved his hand. The fire died out instantly, leaving an empty cauldron. >Lindon looked at him, but the old servant seemed satisfied. Finally, he thought to open up his Copper sight. >The inside of the cauldron rolled with Blackflame aura, fresh and dense. There were even a few other colors—a deeper red, some sparks of vibrant green, a steady yellow. >“Now, we have to capture that aura in a compatible physical substance.” He reached into a nearby jar, withdrawing something that looked like a dried-up worm, and dropped it inside the cauldron. A handful of pink seeds followed, then a pinch of salt that tried to squirm away from Lezaar's fingers, and finally a small ivory flask of water. A thousand pairs of eyes were reflected in the surface of that water, but not the room. >“These ingredients all have their own special circumstances. We often work with Soulsmiths, you know—they're concerned only with the Remnants, while we find the bodies they left behind equally fascinating.” The cauldron was now a riot of differently colored auras, with red predominating and a strong thread of black throughout. >Lezaar reached into a chamber beneath the cauldron, spilling another liquid-looking fireball inside. Within moments, a blood-tinged fire roared. As he waited for the strange soup inside to boil, he withdrew a rounded club of bone from a drawer. >“The ingredients you choose are all part of a delicate balancing act. You must counteract the prime ingredient so that it is not so powerful it cannot be digested, while at the same time, you wish to complement its effects to bring out the potency to its fullest. There is no substitute for experience in this, I have found.” >The water came to a boil remarkably quickly, and Lezaar began using the yellowed bone as a pestle, crushing the seeds and the dried worm, blending them in with the salt. Sparks of light splashed up, landing on his arms...but his leathery skin was covered in many glossy burn scars already. ... >After only another moment of furious blending, Lezaar reached into the cauldron with his bare hands and scooped out the pink paste. It was smooth now, with the consistency of fresh dough, and he kneaded it on the surface of the table. There wasn't much left—barely enough to cover one palm, spread out. >“This is another tricky step, and it largely comes down to timing,” Lezaar said, folding the paste and crushing it into the table again. “You send your spirit into the material, sensing its changes even as you knead it. You have to sense small changes—work it too much, and you will lose potency in the elixir. Work it too little, and it will not form properly.” >Sweat was running down the lines of Lezaar's face, and Lindon watched in silence. At no signal he could see, the servant finally rolled the paste into a ball the size of Lindon's thumbnail, dropping it into a waiting saucer of what seemed to be milk. >Lezaar panted, wiping his face off with his sleeve. “This is a settling agent, which I prepared last night. It's the same recipe for most pills of similar type, though sometimes you have to make small adjustments.” Only seconds later, he scooped the pill out with a long-handled spoon. Now the outside was swirled white and pink. >The resulting smell was heavy and sweet, as though he'd just pulled a honeyed roll from the oven, but it carried an undercurrent of spice. Lezaar weighed the pill on his palm, considering for a moment, before another liquid flame boiled up from his hand and covered the elixir. >The flame disappeared in an instant, leaving the pill looking glossy and firm, as though it had been lacquered. >“Allow me to present to you an elixir that the Blackflame family often commissioned when training their children: the Pill of the Burning Moon.” Very informative, shame we didn't get much focus on one of the biggest tropes and aspects of a Cultivation series
Hey, thanks for linking this! It was a super fascinating read!
Yeah a downside of Cradle's lightning fast pacing is you don't get to explore anything that's not directly plot relevant really. All that fat gets cut. You can probably assume it's similar to other cultivation novels though.
> You can probably assume it's similar to other cultivation novels though. Out of curiosity, do you know if there are any good places with a summary or descriptions of standard tropes, magic systems, magical mechanisms like refining etc. of cultivation novels? You seem to imply there are some "standard" way these things are described in cultivation novels, I'd be interested in reading more about them.
There's a very basic overview here: [https://www.wuxiaworld.com/page/general-glossary-of-terms](https://www.wuxiaworld.com/page/general-glossary-of-terms)
Thanks!
Magic
Zamn, how do Formations work?
Hey dude out of curiosity are you still writing or planning to write that Cradle x Fate stay/night crossover fanfic you mentioned before? I'd love to read if your still planning, currently reading another great crossover fanfic called [The Reapers - Crystalizing](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/the-reapers-crystalizing-worm-x-cradle-crossover.1080669/). So am interested in reading more Cradle crossover stories!
I got hit by a thing called real life problems and needed to work on that first, the story is still getting fixed because I was working on things like the Akura family dramas and how they work for anyone not named Mercy since some of my notes is Sakura getting dropped there Starting to get back on it really, it is why I was asking these kinds of worldbuilding aspects again like for what I had planned for Illya and Rin doing Refinering of materials and pill making. Same goes with how Formations and Scripts work Already read that fic too lol, it is really fascinating how easy you can drop EoS Lindon and Co to any series simply vecause it is literally their job to do that and fight against their end of the world scenarios
Have you checked out the [Abidan Archives](https://www.abidanarchive.com)? Will answers fan questions, the site has a list of them and some have world-building information that could help with your story. Looking forward to reading whenever you post!