All of the Questions and Answers From Wiki101’s “Wizard101 Arc 4 Recap Q&A” With Sam Johnson

On Wednesday, October 18th, we (Wiki101) hosted KingsIsle's Narrative Director Sam Johnson in our Discord server for a two-hour “Wizard101 Arc 4 Recap Q&A” event in which community members were given the opportunity to ask up to two questions each about anything they wanted relative to Wizard101’s Arc 4 ongoing-but-soon-to-be-concluded storyline: Karamelle, Lemuria, Novus, and the forthcoming finale Wallaru. The Q&A gave way to a LOT of great questions and equally great answers from Sam, so we thought we would share all of them with you here! We also wanted to archive everything in another format that way this Q&A isn't somehow lost to time. If you would like to see the original messages, they are currently in our Discord (link here) in the channel "ask-sam-johnson," where they will remain until we think enough time has passed to make the channel invisible. Whether this is your first time reading through the Q&A or your fifth, we hope you enjoy all the same!

Sam's introductory message

Note: The times included in this article are all in the US Central time zone.

Sam: Good afternoon, everybody! I'm thrilled to be here, and look forward to talking about the Arc and Wallaru. No spoilers, but I bet you could have guessed that. [2:57 PM]

The questions and answers

Aura: Is there any specific inspiration for the new arc's companion/antagonist (Dasein)? I.E how Raven was based on Nordic mythology. [3:03 PM]

Sam: We were looking farther afield. We wanted something that was NOT inspired by an obvious mythology, an Anti-Myth, as it were. The idea was to make something from Outside, with no Spiral context. So Dasein started as Nothing, as alien as we could get him. [3:12 PM]

Calamitythewiz: What inspired you to make the story? Was it a dream or just something you thought of? [3:04 PM]

Sam: The story arose in LOTS of discussion all the way back to Empyrea Part 2. We knew we wanted there to be Something from Outside the Spiral, and that it would start as the Nothing. Once we started trying to figure out what it was and how it might work the rest just spun itself up. [3:14 PM]

Corvidss: Technomancy has been mentioned a handful of times in game, (to tie it into Arc 4 I have to assume it’s something we see in areas like Sky City, with how they’re using mana to keep all of their technology going?) is there anything you can share about it? It’s fascinating to me! [3:04 PM]

Sam: I love the idea of magitech stuff too. I don't have anything specific about it, but love to include it whenever we can. The flexibility of our IP and how we use genre is one of my favorite things about writing for the 101 games. [3:15 PM]

Sentient-Cloud: We see a lot of species in Lemuria that aren't tied to a bigger zone like the Bears to Ursai or the Water Moles to Sky City- does this imply more zones we don't see that are home to larger populations of those species we only see one or two of, or is what's in game the full scope of Lemuria as a landmass? [3:04 PM]

Sam: I'm thinking there's more to Lemuria than we've shown. As to what that might be, or if we'll ever get to it, that would all most definitely be telling 🙂 [3:16 PM]

WHOISAID: The Novus cliffhanger is very complex; Dasein is a confusing character how is Wallaru gonna kick off I wonder? [3:04 PM]

Sam: Well, Sandiago is going to have something to do with it. That I can say. [3:17 PM]

That Thing: Whats been your favorite part of Arc 4? [3:05 PM]

Sam: VERY hard to choose! I loved how the mystery of the Nothing unspooled in Karamelle, and the pulp homages in Lemuria were so much fun to write. But I think my favorite part would have to be Dasein's journey - the depths he hit at the end of Novus really wrung my heart the first time I read through the finished quest scripts. [3:18 PM]

Countic: We know Nana and the Wizard went into a Cavity and came back out, unscathed. Can people who have fallen into a Cavity like the Old One and the Manticore who've seemingly been completely absorbed ever come back out too and be their own people again? Or have they literally become (pun not intended) nothing? [3:05 PM]

Sam: You could indeed escape. Sadly, the Old One did not - the Nothing consumed him. That's why when we met the Nothing in the lead in to Lemuria he looked like the Old One and could read his memories like pages in a book. We were a little vague on that, perhaps too vague. The Old One was really broken up once he figured out what he'd done, so I'm pretty sure that he wouldn't do it again, even if he could. [3:20 PM]

Pastel: There's a heavily implied history between some of the Heroes, namely Dog and Tessa, and then Buck and Duck. Is there more on these relationships and histories you can discuss? (If you can only get into one of those relationships, I'd love to know more on Duck and Buck's friendship and how that maybe factors into any other relationships with other Sky City characters!) [3:05 PM]

Sam: Dog and Tessa are that classic unrequited love between the workaholic hero and his accomplice. Buck and Duck? They're buddies who share a love of adventure - Duck keeps them in gizmos and rocketships and they go exploring all over. [3:22 PM]

Sam: Oh, there is a relationship in Sky City, but it's not Duck and Buck. [3:23 PM]

Ultimate Speedster: Hey! Is Wallaru going to make the end of Arc 4 emotional? [3:08 PM]

Sam: Stories are always better when they pack a good emotional core - we definitely want some catharisis for the end of the arc. [3:24 PM]

The Old One: After a lot of mentions of Wallaru over the years by the citizens of the Spiral, I'm so excited to finally see it! My question is, what made you decide to have Wallaru be the finale for Arc 4? [3:12 PM]

Sam: We've been kicking Wallaru around in our heads for a long time: what it'd be like there, where there is to go and what there is to do, the references we'd want to make, that kind of thing. The trick was, how could we fit it to the story of the Arc, to Dasein's journey? Once we hit upon that link, Wallaru was the obvious 4th world. [3:25 PM]

Marethyu: The Krok's empire was mentioned in a recent teaser; could we see their true homeworld potentially one day? [3:13 PM]

Sam: That would be telling 😉 [3:26 PM]

AlliBug: After Wallaru, are there plans for a fifth arc? [3:18 PM]

Sam: Yes. As usual we'll take an interstitial year with some unrelated content like we did back in Wizard City Underground, but Arc 5 will come. We've been brainstorming as some general ideas are coming into focus. [3:27 PM]

StevenDB: While on the topic of schools of magic we haven't quite learned ourselves yet, such as a sort of Magitech/Technomancy class; from a lore perspective (not a gameplay one), do you feel a true Light Magic school is something out there for us to learn more about someday? Or were the Astral Schools intended to fill that role, as the only/main antithesis of Shadow Magic? [3:19 PM]

Sam: I don't like to get into things like Schools of Magic because that's very much a Design-oriented thing. Does the existence of Shadow Magic require the existence of a Light school? That's a damn good question. Would there then also in theory be an Element School and a Spirit School, symmetric with Light and it's 3 sub-schools? Very interesting. Food to ponder, and fuel for future discussion with Design. [3:30 PM]

StormCloud: Obviously Sandiago was brought back from his 6 year cliffhanger for a reason; will we gain insight on his backstory and why he was such a knowledgeable figure in back in Mirage? [3:23 PM]

Sam: That would be... yes. [3:31 PM]

Klara-Flamez: During Novus it was revealed Manticore and the Old One seem to have know each other for quite a long time. Saying how "he explained this to the Old One again and again" and that "he became bewitched by the false song that enscorced us all, that locked us away in the spiral of oblivion." Was he talking about Stallion and Lemuria during this part for what "bewitched" the Old One and if so, how does he feel about them in general? Sounded like there was a lot of fun history between the three that have not been seen in game. [3:20 PM]

Sam: Manticore and the Old One do have a long history - they've both been movers and shakers in the Cabal for a long time. The "false song" is the dream of the Old One, which became the dream of the Cabal. [3:33 PM]

Ben CleverName: Have you ever given any thought as to just how powerful certain characters are, such as Dasein, Spider, etc. and had to choose to tone things down for the sake of the story, or do you tend to go with the flow as a sorts? [3:24 PM]

Sam: Indeed we have. Novus as we met him is the most cosmically powerful entity we've net in a long time, and the only real cosmic-level power we've seen in Arc 4. That's deliberate, we wanted to stop escalating the scale of foes. You'll note Dasein/Novus is not a big bad, not our enemy. At least not yet... [3:35 PM]

Anooble: Wallaru art showcase soon? [3:24 PM]

Sam: I don't know, my head's been down a while - but I'll ask Art! [3:36 PM]

Petmezzy: With the Wizard always seemingly a secondary character with no importance other than impressive skill in magical combat, what made you decide to make the Wizard something special (aka the Scion) at the end of Arc 3? [3:28 PM]

Sam: I dispute the inference at the beginning of the question - the Wizard's been Special since they were chosen to be called to the Spiral! And you'll note it was Bartleby who helped Merle pick the Wizard. Our base gameplay model keeps the Wizard from ever speaking any words we hear/see on screen, but we aren't secondary. The long-in-coming assumption of the Wizard's role as Scion at the end of Arc 3 was necessary, seeing as the foes that faced us or could have faced us at the end of Empyrea. [3:39 PM]

Dinov: Last year after Lemuria's release, you responded to criticisms regarding the clashing themes. In a response on the forums, you stated such a world with clashing themes would not happen again for a while. Yet, the following year, we got Novus, a world just like that. Albeit, I really liked the world, but I'm confused what prompted you to make that promise- especially considering you had been conceptualizing Novus for years prior. [3:35 PM]

Sam: Yeah, I did misspeak. Some of that was the precise character of how Novus emerged. We'd had a world called Slate (as in Blank Slate) in our minds for a long time. A world that the Wizard would slowly figure out was Alive and Aware, a world that would change as the story continued. Then our Art Director suggested the theme/genre of the world could be "surrealist art" and I was so blown away that I threw my old imagining out and said "I'll take 3!" So yeah, we got another crazy world. But it's so cool! Wallaru is more coherent, I promise! [3:43 PM]

Shannara: It's been a trend that the finale worlds are always two parters. I feel like Arc 4 still has a lot of store left, so will this be the case for Wallaru? Or is that too much of a spoiler? [3:37 PM]

Sam: That would be normally be telling, but I can say there will not be a Wallaru Part 2. Now, that's not to say that nothing will follow Wallaru, but I'm getting ahead of myself... [3:44 PM]

Wake me up inside: We know the concept of Music in the Spiral can take on many different forms and thus be assigned into different Schools. The Song of Creation that Life wizards pull their magic from, Morganthe's attempts to sing it being steeped in Shadow magic, the high tech of the Old One, the Old One's Scion as being Star/Myth/Balance, et cetera. Which of the 11 castable schools would Maulwurf von Trap fall into, if you had to pick? [3:38 PM]

Sam: Good question! I think he would fit into something like Storm - he puts the BOOM in the oom-pah band! [3:46 PM]

Pink: So I'm not at Arc 4 or looked at much of the content coming to Wallaru (remaining mostly unspoiled to get that story writing hitting me as hard as it can) so sorry if this is an odd or inapplicable question: Do you think any particular school of magic will have a more enjoyable/connected time story wise in Wallaru? (as a Life, Death or Myth student might in Arc 1 or a Death and particular Shadow Magic/Astral Magic user would in Arc 2?) [3:39 PM]

Sam: That question's beyond my ken - I'm focused on quests and dialogue, this sort of thing is firmly in the realm of Design (not Dasein!). Ratbeard might know, but would he tell? [3:47 PM]

Slaweki: How did the Old One manage to steal parts of the Spiral to create Lemuria without people noticing? What kind of power/magic did he use to achieve that? Even Bartleby just knew that something is missing. And with that, how did Quartermane figure out that something is wrong? [3:42 PM]

Sam: That is a very salient question. The way I'm figuring it, there was indeed some kind of shenanigans at work. While it escaped Bartleby's notice, people on the ground (i.e. the neighbor village to that village that just vanished) were aware. In his explorations, Stallion learned something was up by talking to the inhabitants of distant places. [3:49 PM]

ApparentlyMe: With Novus being Dasein as its world, where does the black hole of the Nothing fit in? To clarify, with Old One Dasein being only a projection from the black hole, this would imply that Novus is separated from the black hole. I wonder then if the Nothingness black hole would just be dormant and empty or still have a correlated consciousness to Novus Dasein. Also, unrelated, but I desperately want to work for Kingsisle as a writer and would absolutely love any help, advice, or guidance on getting that dream job. Thank you for such a lovely arc and making such amazingly beautiful worlds! [3:47 PM]

Sam: Cool thoughts - the relationship between the world Novus is and the void/black hole Dasein was is a pretty major concern in Wallaru. As to getting a job as a writer, my biggest advice: READ. Books, screenplays, comics, anything - sample as much as you can, even the bad stuff, and figure out why it's bad. My second piece of advice - hone your Style knowledge. There/their/they're, to/two/too, punctuation, that kind of thing. [3:52 PM]

Storm: Based off of your answers related to Dasein, would you consider him to be/is it possible that he is the concept of Nothing personified? And by extension, would there possibly be other spheres of conceptual influences that populate the Outside (whatever "the Outside" actually is? Since I imagine that "the Inside" is simply the sphere of reality, unless the Spiral itself exists as a concept, too...)? If so, it would explain why he prefers to be Nothing at the end of Novus, as that is literally the concept that he represents. Also, Do you think we'll ever get to explore the Outside, or will the Outside come to us? [3:57 PM]

Sam: Dasein began as Nothing, and then became aware of Things. In time, he decided to become Something, and got the chance. He's rejected the Everything because dealing with the "Real World" was very hard on him. Can he undo what the Synthesizer did? What would the consequences of that be? Important questions that cast a shadow over Wallaru. Now, as to what else might be Outside, there could be anything out there. I'd love to go there sometime, but I'd want to make sure whatever we envisioned would do justice to the concept. And, since "something from Outside" was the genesis of Arc 4, I wouldn't want to go back to that well too soon. [4:11 PM]

Zenkai: Dasein describes himself as being a point (0-dimensional) repeatedly... clearly he's not an actual point as they're defined in mathematics/geometry, but it works for conveying that he isn't comprised of any dimensions. However, his probes clearly are dimensioned entities, at least in a sense, with regards to their size being relative to the Wizard in some way... How did Dasein manage to give his probes dimensionality? Is there a theoretical limit to how many dimensions his probes can have? There are mentions of "4th dimensional" beings in the Doomsday Krok gauntlet... could he have made a 4-dimensional probe if he wanted? [3:57 PM]

Sam: This is awesome stuff, I love the question! The nothing about the Nothing as a zero-dimensional point was that it existed outside the 4-dimensional spacetime of the Spiral, but became aware of the Spiral and "touched" it. Once the Nothing came in, he was an intangible being, at idea in the Wizard's mind, at least until we go to the World Synthesizer. His attempts to probe the Spiral (the Cavities) transitioned into something quasi-dimensional - to manifest in the Spiral he had to have some kind of spatial expression. That music made him real-er: it's why he became visible. Now, once the World Synthesizer made him into Novus, he has dimensionality. His problem is that he's stuck now in 4 dimensional spacetime. But he wants to leave... [4:17 PM]

Deer Knight: Hello! Any plans to bring Morganthe back? I doubt we've seen the last of her. [3:58 PM]

Sam: That would be telling. Besides, we already brought her back! She was right there in Reverie! [4:18 PM]

Biscuit: At the end of Novus, us (the Wizard) seems to become the enemy in the eyes of the people who also came to conquer Novus. How will or does this affect our introduction into Wallaru with that reputation hanging around us? [4:08 PM]

Sam: You'll see... [4:18 PM]

Julia StormSong: Karamelle can be seen as the "black sheep" of Arc 4, and many criticize the world's story as overall being irrelevant to the rest of A 4 as Lemuria and Novus heavily focus on Dasein. Will Wallaru tie back into previous Karamelle storylines to integrate the world more with a deeper significance to the overall Arc rather than regarded as just the beginning? [4:10 PM]

Sam: I dispute the premise - there were two stories happening in Karamelle: one the Wizard messing with the Cabal and getting caught up in the strife in Karamelle, and the other was the Nothing trying to find us. The mysteriousness of the second plot was kind of the point, and we were hoping that the eventual revelations that Something Else was going down would be good for a chill or two. The plot of Karamelle began with the Cabal, and they're a thread that's run all the way through Arc 4 too. Perhaps it didn't all have the impact that we'd intended, but I'd hardly call Karamelle irrelevant... [4:23 PM]

Chi: On the topic of the Scion stuff, if the Wizard is Bartleby's Scion, how did they end up on Earth? Also if Mellori and Bat are also Scions, who represent Raven's love for Spider and Spider's dreams respectively, what does the Wizard represent from Bartleby? [4:11 PM]

Sam: It was always my understanding that the Wizard didn't end up on Earth, that's where they started. What precisely the Wizard represents at a cosmic level vis a vis the Big Tree is a very good question, one we're not done exploring... and that I'm not currently at liberty to comment about 😉 [4:25 PM]

The Spiral Project: Will Astral Magic make a reappearance? [4:13 PM]

Sam: Design has been chewing on some Astral Magic ideas, but I'm not certain how close any of those ideas are to fruition. [4:26 PM]

Yeahhh: Any chance we soon find out about some Spiral species we don't know the home world of yet? Such as where the Krokotopia Kroks came from, or the Wagywings like Fitzhume? [4:17 PM]

Sam: Soon? Unlikely. But we have a long list of things to explore, if the main storyline fits together with them properly. [4:27 PM]

BAVV: As the Spiral's feelings surrounding the Wizard shift and change, will the Wizard's feelings about the Spiral shift as well based off how they're being treated, and how will that weigh on future decisions they make regarding "big bads" or other villainy? Will the Wizard find themself manipulated, frustrated by being faced with no thanks or recognition, only being sent from task to task? Will the line about "blowing up the world" come into play from the Five B.O.X.E.S. event? Does that already tie into Dasein appearing as the Aberrant Paradox at the end of Karamelle, will it be made more relevant in Wallaru, or will something else come after? the Five B.O.X.E.S. event is something incredibly interesting to me lore-wise with its ties to the Pirate side of the Spiral as well in the Zafaria BOX. Will any more connections be drawn for that? [4:17 PM]

Sam: I can't comment specifically on this stuff, but I will say that exploring the role of the Wizard in the Spiral and looking at things from different angles has been one of the fun parts of Arc 4. [4:29 PM]

Ben CleverName: In a previous Q&A thread, you once responded to a question asking if Dasein was related to the Astral Plane, and you seemed to imply that Dasein was that Nothing, and there's a moment in Empyrea where the Astral Scholar tears a hole through the Astral Plane & the Spiral... that seemed to imply that the Astral Scholar's hole in space-time was what brought them over rather than the Wizard... was this a red herring? [4:20 PM]

Sam: That was a bit of a red herring, but only sort of: the thing that brought Nothing into contact with the Spiral was the fight against the Aethyr Titan: it was SO disruptive the Nothing felt it Outside. The hole was a tiny poke, enough to focus the Nothing into awareness. Then, it heard the CRASH, and became curious. [4:31 PM]

Aura: Thanks for doing this it’s been fun! I have a sillier question now. In your opinion, what Karamelle mob would be yummiest? [4:22 PM]

Sam: Never been a gummi fan, so I'll go for anything chocolate! [4:32 PM]

Klara-Flamez: In one of the Wallaru teasers there is a voice that sounds a lot like Stallion! Is he making a return or would that be telling? [4:22 PM]

Sam: It would. You'll see pretty soon. [4:33 PM]

Anooble: What gave the idea to have the theme of dreaming in Wallaru an Australian themed world? I'm curious on how that was choses and why dreaming to end off the arc? [4:22 PM]

Sam: We're pulling on the First Nations concpet of the Dreaming/Dreamtime, the cornerstone of their mythology. It's not a true reflection, and there are changes we make to feed the story, but that's where it started, and that's how we realized Wallaru was the next world. The Dream's the thing. [4:35 PM]

Shannara: Wallaru is seeing the return of Sandiago after 6 years. Will we see the return of other characters that have been gone for awhile? Like our goat Merle Ambrose 👀 [4:23 PM]

A: Wallaru is so far away that it's unlikely we'll run into folks we know. Well, except for [REDACTED]. But we may bring some familiar faces backbefore too long. [4:36 PM]

Ultimate Speedster: Should we be expecting some more familiar faces (other than Sandiago) when going to Wallaru? [4:23 PM]

Sam: See Shannara's question - jinx! [4:36 PM]

Petmezzy: How would you age the Wizard in terms of Arc 4? Many people discuss it but I'd like to know what you have in your head or if the Wizard is ageless even? [4:27 PM]

Sam: Well, I don't put a precise age on the Wizard. Tweenish? But definitely wise beyond their years. [4:37 PM]

Pastel: I'll make myself that guy lol- are Duck and Wilma just dating or have they tied the knot? [4:28 PM]

Sam: No knots yet, but Wilma is hanging in there! [4:38 PM]

Julia StormSong: The Wizard is not the only wizard in the Spiral, as evidenced by the variety of different wizard schools. What happens to the other wizards who do not become Bartleby's Scion, like what career paths do they have and what worlds of the Spiral do the other wizards frequent after graduating Ravenwood but not gaining admission into the Arcanum? In Wallaru or past Arc 4 is this something that could be explored? [4:34 PM]

Sam: Great question. It's one we haven't gotten to deal with in any detail, but we've given it some thought, and may explore the idea come Arc 5. [4:40 PM]

Sentient-Cloud: I realize this is a silly one but I figured I'd throw it out, can't think of anything that wouldnt be telling you know? Buck crashed into that building in Telos, did they ever... do anything about that? Does the man have a good insurance or something? Are they somehow billing Morg? [4:35 PM]

Sam: Oh that's awesome! I expect the Exemplary Personages will honorably pay to have it fixed up. Though the Lemurs will surely never go near it again out of terror. [4:41 PM]

An19dy98: With a wiz intermission next year might we more likely see a new Pirate101 world or a larger story update? [4:41 PM]

Sam: There's no intermission - Wizard will have the same number of updates, and there will be story content in Fall (just perhaps a bit less). Pirate updates are part of the plan. I came "here" from a quest outlining session. [4:42 PM]

Wake me up inside: In the beginning of Karamelle, Maulwurf von Trap says something a tad ominous: 'You would never see a Maulwurf trap until it is too late.' However, he hasn't yet acted upon this... warning. Are there plans to call back to this line, or was it a once-off to lighten the mood? Would that be telling? [4:35 PM]

Sam: Tee hee! I was reveling in the notion that a guy named Von Trap would pitch you a mission that was obviously a trap... only to have it not be a trap. Malwurf, he may have quite the scary side, though, now that I think of it. [4:44 PM]

Corvidss: ...How'd Dog and Tessa's dinner go? [4:36 PM]

Sam: They got there late, but the diner kept the kitchen open. A good time was had by all. [4:44 PM]

BAVV: One thing I've noticed between the Wizard and the Pirate is how they contrast each other- while the Wizard may make friends in each world they traverse, they ultimately proceed alone, vs. the Pirate's companions joining in for the full ride. What became of characters like Ivan the Great in Polaris, who promised to be there for the next adventure, but we haven't revisited him yet (instead meeting Newly French Zoot in the Lemuria prequest)? He's one character that didn't really leave the Wizard before Polaris concluded but instead assured us he would always be there. How's the guy doing? (And did he get to reconnect with his old circus friend, Bearyshnakov?) [4:37 PM]

Sam: A good point, and an excellent contrast between the two games. I'm not sure what's been keeping Ivan, but I'll look into it. The general notion of revisiting old friends has been coming up a lot in brainstorms lately - I'm hoping we can see some soon. [4:46 PM]

StevenDB: Back in Arc 2, during the Obelisk Orbs slideshow, we see shadowy silhouettes of Spider and his four children. Since then, we've only seen three. This could simply be a retconned/scrapped idea or an inconsistent art portrayal. However, Arc 4 and onwards seems like a plausible time to hear more about loose ends we've left behind on our journey this far. Is this something still on your radar? [4:37 PM]

Sam: We gotta keep some aces in the hole, right? We have a little chest of cherished ideas - someday we'll pull another out. Loose threads are great to hang plots on, so I don't mind them at all. 🙂 [4:48 PM]

Mayonnaisinator: In prior worlds, it sometimes might have felt that they were "one and done," and that we rarely saw those places or peoples again. Could we expect to see more scenarios like Novus in the future, where other worlds of the Spiral are more integrated into current storylines? It makes the Spiral feel more like one shared place rather than a series of unconnected worlds! [4:38 PM]

Sam: The demands of the arc are always going to drive story decisions, but I hope so. One of the great parts about Pirate is feeling the interconnectedness of the worlds, and I missed it when I got to Wizard. So looking forward, I'm hoping we can keep a wider focus. [4:50 PM]

The Old One: Did Skull Island know about Novus, or the Novus fragments? If so, did they try to go to a shard to go on Novus at some point? [4:41 PM]

Sam: Oooooo - that'd be a heck of a story. For the present I'm going to say Novus didn't send them a Shard, and Skull Island was a mite far from any of the others. Besides, the uproar over Novus' arrival is distracting the Great Powers to no end - the Pirates are busy getting rich off it! [4:52 PM]

ApparentlyMe: I have a few questions so you can just choose the one you want to answer. Qyburn mentions that his people studied the Nothing, knowing its terrible power. Would this imply that the Nothing had semi relevance before in ancient history, or is it just that the celestials are too far advanced for the laws of physics? Was the void conscious as the Nothing before it got introduced to the Something? Why was the Old One merged with the Nothing while none of the others did, only be reflected instead of actual consciousness being combined? Is the Old One a primordial like Raven and Spider, and if he is, is that why he is (was) so desperate to remake the First World, because he knew what it was like? Also, semi related, are Land and Sky from the First World conscious beings, because the illustrations of the Obelisk Orb scenes clearly showcase some hidden faces. Once again, that's a few questions, so go ahead and take your pick. [4:44 PM]

Sam: I'll do a few! The Old One, while old and really powerful, is not a cosmic primordial. Why was the Old One merged with the Nothing while none of the others did, only be reflected instead of actual consciousness being combined. It's because the Nothing ate the Old One. He didn't happen to consume anyone else who fell in. There, two's enough for now. 😉 [4:55 PM]

Chi: Asking more Earth related questions because it was mentioned briefly once or twice throughout the story, then never again and I'm curious! Are we ever going to get more information about the Wizard's background, with them being from Earth and such? How did Bartleby know to have Merle pick us, just coincidence or is there some hidden, deeper connection that's yet to be explored? [4:51 PM]

Sam: That would all be some serious telling. [4:55 PM]

Mean Mocha: Back when we first met Dasein as the Nothing, even Bartleby couldn't sense it. Once Daesin became Novus, he was a part of the Everything right? Did Bartleby then have a connection with Dasein in world form, and was Bartleby ever able to connect with Dasein before he became Nothingness again? Does Bartleby accept Novus fully as part of the Spiral? [4:52 PM]

Sam: Once Dasein became Novus, he did indeed pass into Bartleby's sight. As to acceptance, I think the old tree's witholding judgement. [4:56 PM]

Marethyu: Without telling will unnamed worlds be name dropped in Wallaru? Like Jaki's world, we used to have a lot of random world name drops back in Arc 2. [4:57 PM]

Sam: How can I tell without telling? We've been catching up for several arcs now - we'll start namedropping again soon. [4:58 PM]

Zenkai: Are Raven, Spider & Bartleby limited to the dimensions of the Spiral in the way you imply Dasein is in his Novus form? Could they go above and beyond those dimensions as they are stronger than him? [4:57 PM]

Sam: Good question. I'm under the impression there's not much limit to Bartleby, Raven, and Spider. [5:00 PM]

Lapridox: Are aliens a part of Wallaru because of the Wallaru bundle house? 👀 [4:57 PM]

Sam: Aliens? [5:00 PM]

Storm: I'm sort of surprised that Musicology wasn't more pivotal to the story of the fourth arc. It pops up now and again in different ways but it's always in the background, like some forgotten or underdeveloped idea. Do you have bigger plans for Musicology as a whole moving forward? Will it be more central to Wallaru/any sort of future arcs? I think it'd be cool to have a more music themed world at some point as well :) [4:58 PM]

Sam: Musicology has never been a focus - Music is very important, but Musicology as currently understood is good for little except blowing things up. [5:02 PM]

Slaweki: Were Lemurians trying to leave their world at some point before their world being released into the Spiral? Buck Gordon literally has some kind of space suit and a rocket... that crashed in Telos. [5:00 PM]

Sam: As I had envisioned it, Buck and Duck were unaware of their world's plight, or indeed that there was a Spiral at all. Had they discovered it, they would doubtless have tried to explore. [5:03 PM]

Yeahhh: Is there any plans of us returning to Darkmoor? It's hands down one of the coolest worlds and it would be amazing to visit it and learn more about its lore whether that be in Pirate or Wizard (and thank you for doing this Q&A). [5:01 PM]

Sam: Darkmoor is one of our favorite worlds too - my original Pirate plans for it didn't come to fruition, but there's still a lot to do there. The timing is the key. And you're welcome! [5:04 PM]

Sam's outro message

Sam: Whew! So much typing! I gotta go all, but this was very fun! I hope I answered some questions, raised others, and got you eager for more. Wallaru is coming soon! [5:04 PM]

Phew, that was a lot! Well, it's almost time to "Seize the Dream" in Wallaru! I hope you all are as excited for it as I am. Thanks once again to KingsIsle and Sam Johnson for making this Q&A a possibility. It was a blast and we hope to have Sam back in the future to answer more of your questions!