Dusk Guard Live Q&A (Now Closed) · 5:48pm Mar 1st, 2016
Heads Up! MEGA-Sale on!
Right, it's day two of the Anniversary week! Starting tomorrow, I'll be doing a Reddit AMA. But that's tomorrow. Today, however ...
I'm doing a live Q&A for The Dusk Guard Saga. Right here. Right now.
That's right. Until my day is done, I'll be answering each question in the comments as they appear. To the best of my ability, naturally. As usual, spoilery questions for future DGS books will be answered in hints, not outright spoilers. Spoiler questions concerning stuff already written! Free game!
So, got DGS questions? I've got answers! Ask away in the comments! I've got until 5 PM Mountain time!
EDIT: All right guys, it's past five! It's been fun, but I've got to call it quits for now! Hope you got the answers you were looking for! Remember to check back tomorrow for the Reddit AMA! And don't forget the MEGA-Sale!
Ooh! I was waiting for this. (Also, thanks for using my banner. I question past-me's Barnabus, but it was subject to poor reference). I was re-reading the first Dusk Guard and I was wondering. What is Steel background, ie. past jobs, training, etc. (feel free to not answer if said information is spoiler territory)? How much are you planning to adhere to Season 5 canon? How do you write so well? Does this series have an end?
I guess that's it for now. I'll probably come up with more later but these were the ones on the top of my mind.
Which two characters do you think would be the most fun for you to write a snark-off between?
How did this particular pony epic get started? I'm fairly sure you didn't just wake up one morning with a new and fully formed idea in your head and a burning desire to write it into reality. Fairly sure. What was this fic idea's genesis?
According to the Duskverse, was Nightmare Moon a result of dark outside influence, a manifestation of her hate and jealousy, or something else?
Is Tirek an immortal in the Duskverse or some other being? If the former, what happened to the centaurs?
Where do the bat ponies/thestrals originate from? Are they another sub-species of pony?
Anubis vs Nightmare Moon? Who would've probably won if Nightmare Moon had taken over Equestria?
The Dusk Guard vs The Dusk Rogues? Who would probably win?
Not sure if this counts as a spoiler since its not really plot related... Eh, I'll go ahead and ask.
Are we ever going to see a Nova v.s. Frost fight?
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You're welcome! I hoped that it was okay. I suddenly realized I wanted some DGS art to give things a little pizzaz, and it's the biggest group shot I have.
He was borne to a lessor noble family (ie, not the wealthiest, but that doesn't mean they weren't really nice folks) in Canterlot and was raised there. Public school, not private. Got his cutie mark by saving a classmate from a manticore during a school field trip. This inspired him to attend the Royal Guard Academy, right down to the Royal Guard training program. He graduated with full marks, and offers to work for both the Royal and Night Guard ... but he turned them both down because he wanted something more active. With his scores, it wasn't hard to secure a job as a bodyguard for an industrialist, a job that quickly took him outside Equestria and to all sorts of dangerous places.
He jumped from job to job for a while, hiring out his services as needed, spending more and more time outside Equestria but still coming back from time to time. Roughly twenty years before Rise, he was hired to serve as a soldier-for-hire in the Regency wars, where he met Primetail and assisted his faction in replacing the current king and ruling clan.
After the Regency Wars were over, he traveled more, first around the Griffon Empire (where he became a Blademaster), and then around the world at large, still working as a bodyguard before eventually growing tired and deciding to retire while at the peak of his game. He bought a small cottage in Canterville, settled his debts, and decided to live out the rest of his days (or at least a good amount of time) near his family.
The series will chronologically end before season 5 starts, so not really a big worry. But most of the expanded "worldbuilding" they put forth I'm going to continue to ignore. After all, Yak-Yakistan (ugh) is a poor substitute for the Ocean of Endless Ice.
A little bit of skill, but a whole lot of practice. A whole lot. I passed 2-million words written a year ago, easily.
Yes. There will be a declarative ending to the Saga that ties everything up with a nice, neat bow. It's all planned out.
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Depends. If it's a deliberate snark-off, Hunter and Nova are both pretty good at dropping one-liners, and a snark battle between them would be pretty funny. None-deliberate ... pretty much anyone and Dawn, because her attitude doesn't have much room for snark, which makes her that much better of a foil to bounce snark off of.
Oddly enough, a game idea. This was way back when I was getting into the fandom, and I was thinking about how much fun it would be to make a pony RPG. Of course, I thought, if you wanted to go for something like FFVI, you'd need a large cast of characters, and I started thinking about how you could supplement the mane six (or perhaps step outside them entirely). That got me thinking about guards, which in turn got me thinking about an old, retired Guardpony who would likely teach your crew new moves, but of course he'd need an explanation for why he was in possession of all this combat prowess, so I started thinking of his story ... and very quickly realized that his story was the real story, and it'd make a better book than a game.
At the same time, I was just starting to get into writing for publishing and switching careers to that, and I figured that writing this story I was coming up with would be both great practice for some of the other stuff I wanted to write as well as a chance to give back to the community. So I formulated this big, epic-plot (as I'd never written an epic and wanted to practice that), and sat down and started writing.
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It was kind of a fusion of the two. It was a personal fall from grace that resulted in a sort of split-personality disorder. The battle with Sombra had something to do with fueling it (Sombra pushing Luna's fears to the forefront to take control), but the roots of the thought process that trained it could probably be traced all the way to The Breaking and the schism between the Immortals, along with everything that resulted. Sombra's influence gave those thoughts, doubts, and the like a chance to grow into a darker self, and eventually it erupted.
There have been many beings that have sought the powers of an immortal. Tirek is one of those. As for the rest of his race, very little is known about them. Much of the world remains unexplored, untraveled, or uncharted, and Tirek came from beyond those points, searching for a means to an end.
They are another sub-species of pony, though a rare one that isn't very common (and have a lot of similarities with pegasi). As for their origins, I haven't really decided yet, so I don't know. I also have yet to come up with a better name than Thestral or Bat-pony, so there's that. It won't play a major role in the series, however, so it's not that important.
Probably Anubis, actually. Nightmare Moon was a being driven by fear and paranoia, and Anubis was excellent at making use of the former. Pound for pound, Nightmare Moon definitely had more magical power, but she was very irrational and showed little capacity for cunning. Anubis would have stalked her from the shadows and driven her even more insane, possibly even manipulating her for his own ends until she cracked like an egg and he could crush the pieces. So had Nightmare Moon won and taken over Equestria ... well, first it would have to be asked if he would have ever gotten out. Eventually the Order of the Red Horn or someone else would have likely let him out, but without Celestia, there would likely not have been the same Equestrian Railway incident to get the key out there.
But if it was, my money would be on Anubis. His strengths are basically Nightmare Moon's weaknesses.
Depends on which you ask. Me? I'm just going to have to say wait and maybe we'll see.
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Whoa. I guess we'll find out. But dang, that would be a fight, wouldn't it!
Is the hummingbird going to get a Lutece Particle?, since BioShock Infinite is as canon as Doctor Who
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Easy answer. Nope. Don't expect to see any Bioshock stuff in TDGS. Though we will see the Doctor again ...
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Dang. Steel Song has one heck of an interesting past. I certainly wouldn't mind seeing a prequel exploring his first job as a bodyguard, his involvement in the regency wars, or his adventures in becoming a blademaster. Will we ever see any of these events get their own fic?
And speaking of origin stories, the fic itself had an interesting one. It reflects your starting your professional life working with games before moving towards writing full-time.
As for other questions, what are some of your favorite authors, both on and off of Fimfiction? I'm a fan of Larry Niven, Jim Butcher, and David Brin, particularly Brin's Uplift series. On the site, I'd say (in no particular order) you, Arad, Capn_Chrysalid, and FanOfMostAnything spring to mind. Beyond that, what authors do you consider to have heavily influenced you? Brin has definitely had a huge impact on how I write, between his expansive worldbuilding focusing on how aliens live and how that impacts what they make and value, and how he likes to tell stories from several perspectives in sequence.
How does pony ages work, ie. life expectancy? What kind of technology does Equstria, and even the world in general, have? What's the dominant power (country) in the world?
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Actually, Looking at the official map of Equestria, I imagine yakyakistan could very well fit a bit of a ways west of the Ocean of Endless Ice. Depending, of course, on how wide you assume Equestria is.
leponeyblanc.fr/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/map-equestria.jpg
To continue that, how well does the Dusk guard 'verse fit with the official map of Equestria?
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Yes, he certainly did. He's well-traveled, with a lot of experience under his helm. As to whether or not we see a series of stories about his younger self and life ... maybe. I'm not saying no, but I'm also not saying yes. I'd need to finish TDGS first, and that's still a ways off from being done. But someday, maybe. It would certainly be an interesting, exciting, informative, and at times sad adventure.
Off of fimfiction:
Timothy Zahn
Brandon Sanderson
RA Salvatore
Larry Correia
On fimfiction:
Hoopy McGee
Arad
Georg
Pen Stroke
Timothy Zahn, RA Salvatore, and Brandon Sanderson. At the moment, I'm also trying to expand my fight scenes by learning from Larry.
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It varies. Someone who takes good care of themselves can expect to live to be well over 100, but that's not always the case. Some die in their 60s or 70s. On average, most make it into their 80s or 90s, but start feeling it in their 60s or 70s.
It's kind of a mixed bag. What you've seen in TDG is pretty accurate. With magic acting as a stand-in for some tech, they're ahead of what one would think, but in other ways they're almost behind. They're roughly around the early 1900s by our standards, but that isn't exactly accurate, as they do advance/not advance in different areas based on what they discover and need. For example, we know they have movie theaters ... as well as magical holograms. They have portable music players ... but based on records, not CDs or tapes. The most telling thing would be to say that both in the show and TDGS, they're in the middle of an industrial boom, which is about to become a giant leap forward into a new technical era (much like computers jumped us forward).
Depends on who you ask. Most would agree that it's Equestria if you consider diplomatic, political, or economic power the primary, but the Griffon Empire is definitely the world's leader in military power (with the Minotaur nation close behind thanks to their tech advantage). The Griffon Empire is also a massive exporter, and pretty much on economic parity with Equestria. Other countries don't cover quite so much territory, but still carry political influence and favor, as well as economic power in their own right.
Again, though, since Equestria has control over the sun, the moon, and thereby the tides, they've got a lot of influence in political spheres, and tend to be host to most diplomatic meetings. Plus, since two immortals run Equestria, those meetings are, more often than not, almost always good for something!
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Huh. They've changed that map again. When I first started Rise, everything lined up neatly. Two retcons later ... not so much. I tried, though. I really did.
I have it pegged as less wide than the US, but I've never made an official measurement. Time spent traveling is about as far as I've gone so far. So it's smaller than the US, but not by too much.
Not nearly as well as it once did. Again, the two retcons (and I didn't know about this latest one) of the official map have kind of wrecked that, so I can hardly call it my fault. I tried, but there are just some areas where they no longer line up.
With that in mind, I still use the original official map that came with the first guide book when figuring stuff out, and the new ones only as a comparison.
What are dragons like in The Dusk Guard Saga? Author headcanon tends to vary, so I'd like your view on the mythical species, and how their existence is connected to other sapients, and the rest of the world.
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I had a feeling you'd say that. Personally, I think it would depend on the situation. In a direct fight with no armor, all of The Dusk Rogues are very skilled and experienced, while The Dusk Guard only has three who are probably equally as skilled (Steel Song, Hunter, and Sabra). Nova's magic makes up for much of his lack of fighting experience, however, and The Dusk Guard outnumbers The Dusk Rogues six to four.
In terms of who would catch an outlaw first, I think it would depend on the type of outlaw. The Dusk Guard has access to more official documents then The Dusk Rogues due to their high positions granting them access to all sorts of restricted stuff including info gathered by The Royal Guard and Night Guard, but The Dusk Rogues aren't afraid to get their hooves dirty and use....less legal methods of obtaining information that even The Dusk Guard wouldn't be able to find.
As for Anubis vs Nightmare Moon, I find it interesting how easily Nightmare Moon would probably be manipulated by Anubis without even knowing it. Mind beats brawn.
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They retconned the old maps?! The Duskverse was fitting so well into canon (excluding Season 5, that is).
I suppose it was inevitable.
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They're very standoffish, isolated, and individualistic, mostly tending to keep to themselves. Being long-lived (several hundred years) they tend to be a bit snobbish and disinterested in the affairs of other nations, and stick to their own dealings. Even then, they aren't that social with one another, apart from the great migration each year, and as such they could be considered the most undeveloped of nations since they aren't even that developed. Most of them are content to live in their caves and amass hordes of priceless metals and gems and spend their hours relaxing or asleep. This leads to numerous dangerous forays into dragon territory in pursuit of rare materials, and only time will tell how long they'll be able to maintain their current lifestyle.
Speaking of interlopers on their territory, dragons are known to wander. An international agreement between most nations and a representative of the dragon race agrees that dragons who wander outside of the official territory are at the mercy of their behavior and the nation whose borders they find themselves within (save during the migrations). Likewise, those who wander into dragon territory are at the mercy of the dragons. Some wandering dragons can be found peacefully dozing away in strange places, while others find themselves beset upon by military forces looking to drive them away ... especially if they haven't played nice.
Culturally, a lot of them still see themselves as "better" than most other beings and above most rules or laws, something that could lead to a head as more and more countries advance into the modern age.
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Also, don't forget that those with less combat experience (Nova, Sky Bolt, and Dawn) are being trained by those with lots of experience. 24/7, almost. And their armor is a big equalizer (seeing as the Dusk Rogues have a wide array of extraordinary capabilities that put them above average).
I'm still not saying who would win, though a lot of the situation would come into play ...
Well, I can say one thing: Sabra versus Alchemy would, I think, be like this, but with less anger.
Yeah. Power-wise, she'd likely best him. Which makes sense. It took Celestia and Luna both to fight Anubis, but they did beat him, and he knew they would. Nightmare Moon is raw, angry Luna with no regards for holding back most of the time. Brute force up front is more than he can match, as tough as he is.
But fear? Nightmare Moon is driven by fear, and Anubis made that and presence two of his greatest tools. As unsubtle as she was, he'd very much win the mind game and strike only when he needed to. Heck, he'd probably manipulate to wipe out some of his own foes first, before delivering the killing strike.
This is cool. Are there going to be changelings at some point in the story? If you have a set group of changelings that you are going to use, that's cool. But if want a changeling hive to use in your story, you are more than welcome to use my Shadow Hive. Let me know what you are thinking ok?
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Yes. But there are going to be some differences between they way they're shown in most fanfiction, and the way they are in TDGS.
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With more training, I think Nova, Sky Bolt, and Dawn could become just as skilled, but at the moment I don't think they'd be able to hold against the Dusk Rogues (not that I'm saying they're not skilled, it's just each of The Dusk Rogues has proven themselves to be exceptionally capable in a fight).
As for the armor, that's why I said "in a direct fight with no armor." With armor, I'd say The Dusk Guard wins.
I absolutely agree.
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I find it kind of ironic that the race with the longest lifespan is one of the least developed races.
3786679 Cool! Can't wait to see the next part! Also I have read a lot of different changeling stories, so I am curious about which kind of changelings you are going to use. Do you want to at least know about my changeling hive? You don't have to use them if you don't want to, or don't have a reason to.
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You'll see them when they make their appearance. Until then, you'll have to wonder.
As far as using other's creations in my work, no, sorry. I've got more than enough material to go with, and using other's creations (outside of the few cameo's I've done for other author's characters) isn't a practice that I need to get into.
3786701 Ok!