Just a couple quick notes.
First, thanks to everyone who has picked up On the Shoulders of Titans so far! The book is doing very well.
I wanted to make sure people are aware that there’s a preview of one of my next upcoming books – Six Sacred Swords – in the back of On the Shoulders of Titans. It’s easy to miss, so check it out if you’ve already finished the book and didn’t realize it was in there.
I mentioned briefly in the back of that book what I’m working on next, but I figured I’d provide some small updates.
My next focus is Defying Destiny, the third book in the War of Broken Mirrors series. I’m still debating if it’ll be the last book – I’d originally planned for four, but I may wrap it up early or write the fourth book in a different style. I’m about 25,000 words into that, which is about 1/7 of the total length of something like Stealing Sorcery. I’m not sure if this will end up being around that length or not – it depends on what I decide to do with book 4.
The next book after that is Six Sacred Swords, the Keras spin-off for the Arcane Ascension series.
Arcane Ascension book 3 is my next major project after that.
Somewhere in between, I may squeeze in a couple other projects that I started in the past, but either never finished or just never published.
As some people already know, I wrote five books that I never published before I published Forging Divinity. Most of these will probably never be published, but there are a couple of them that I might update and publish eventually – most likely the two Blackstone Assassin novels. You’ve seen a few references to these if you’ve read my Arcane Ascension books – they’re “fiction” novels that exist within that setting, but about a character that *supposedly* actually exists.
I may also go and revise Marks of Iron, which had a very different Taelien as one of the two protagonists. If I decide to go back to that, I’d either have to make the main character someone else – because Taelien has changed drastically since then – or update the book to change Taelien to be consistent with how he behaves in the War of Broken Mirrors books. That would also create some potential timeline issues, but I have some ideas on how I could resolve it if I go that route.
Finally, I have a few other books I’ve started, but never finished. Two of them are more “traditional” LitRPGs – meaning that they have numeric levels, HP values, and all that stuff – but with my preferred flavor of min/maxing protagonists and genre awareness.
I also have a project focusing on the rivalry between twin sisters in a shonen anime style setting. This is the least written, but it’s one of my favorite concepts, and I hope to get to it at some point.
Thanks again for all the support, everyone!
-Andrew
Andrew Rowe 
Andrew,
Love the story and the world so-far – is there any chance you can let your publisher know the kindle version for On the Shoulder of Titans has a full line break inbetween each paragraph? It’s killing the reading pace and flow.
Thanks,
Josh
That’s really strange. There is spacing between paragraphs, but it shouldn’t be anywhere close to a full line. What kind of device are you using?
I’ll see if I can edit the doc and get the spacing removed.
I’ve uploaded a new version that should have the spacing removed.
> there area couple of them that I might
there [are a] couple of them that I might
Fixed, thank you. =)
Will the Book come out in audible form?
It will most likely be at least a few more months. We’re trying to find time for the narrator to record it, but he’s very busy.
I just finished the first two Arcane Ascension books and wanted you to know that I really enjoyed them. It’s obvious that you have a game design background, and I think the series setting would make a great game setting 😀I’m a little disappointed in having to wait until 2020 for Keras’ book, though! However, I’ll read the War of Broken Mirrors series when the third book is released. Does that series take place in the same world as Arcane Ascension in an earlier time?
I read a review of Sufficiently that was negative because the main character is gay, although based on book 2 I think he’s bisexual, or at least sexually ambivalent, due to his having some form of Asperger’s Syndrome. I don’t care about politically correct characters but I am interested in knowing if Corin has Asperger’s. He has a lot of the markers for it. Then again, it could just be trauma due to his father’s treatment of him.
Anyway, I look forward to reading more of your books 😀
Yes, the War of Broken Mirrors takes place earlier in the same setting. I won’t say exactly how long because that’s something readers are trying to solve.
Corin is asexual, he’s just not aromantic. He’s still figuring out what his romantic inclinations might be.
He’s written to be neurodivergent, but I’m not comfortable giving him a specific diagnosis, because I’m not an expert.
A number of other people have suspected that he has Aspberger’s Syndrom or otherwise falls somewhere on the autism spectrum, and I think that’s a valid way of looking at the character.
Others have pointed out that many of his behaviors could be a consequence of abuse, rather than biology.
My intent was to imply that his behaviors are a result of a combination of both, but I don’t have a “canonical” answer on how much of it is biology and how much of it is about how he was treated. I’m deliberately leaving that at least somewhat open to interpretation.
Hey Andrew, found at least 15-20 typos in otSoT, is there anywhere I can share them with you? It’s quite a long list…
Also, I loved the book. Deni is awesome.
I’ve been fixing typos as they’re reported here: https://www.reddit.com/r/ClimbersCourt/comments/8jo430/typo_thread/
Hopefully some of the ones you found have already been caught and fixed!
If you don’t use reddit, though, feel free to free to e-mail the list to andrewkrowe@gmail.com. Thanks for being willing to help out!
Sent, hope some are useful
Did you post these or e-mail them? If it’s through e-mail, I don’t see them.
War on broken mirrors has so much potential to be an unbelievable saga i absolutely love the first two and cant wait for the third
I’m glad you’re enjoying the Broken Mirrors books!
The line breaks were horrible but I got used to them quick. Seems to happen with most new releases I think.
The one thing I miss about paperback is the covers, especially when they are this good. I did wish there was more dungeon crawling but hopefully that comes back as it progresses.
The line break issue should be fixed now (but you’d need to delete the book from the library and re-download it).
I’m definitely going to have more dungeon crawling in future books, especially ones like Keras’ spin-off that aren’t school focused.
It took me a while, but I just finished “On the Shoulders of Titans” (as in, I just put it down 30 seconds ago) and damn, I loved it. I do think there is a bit too much explaining sometimes, but the action makes up for it tenfold. I Love the humor, which, I think, was even more pronounced in this book, and I am impressed, that you manage you include and process so many tough subjects, with such a degree of success.
You are kind of breaking my heart a little though: !!SPOILER-ALERT”” I was (surprisingly) sad, that Jin played such a small role after the ball, and that he wasn’t joining them for the coming trip. I feel like he is slowly getting shut out of Corins life, and I would simply hate that, as he is such an interesting character – and because he genuinly seem to care about Corin. Can you say something (anything!) about Jins role in the coming book(s)? Especially, as I have to wait until 2020 to hear something new – that’s a long time with a broken hearth. 😉 “SPOILER-END!!
Thank you, for a great story – I will start checking out your other books 🙂
Maria
Jin is going to continue to be present in the story, but he’s going to have to work hard if he wants to regain the trust of the rest of the cast. Getting integrated back into the group won’t be easy. He’s going to try – but I won’t say how he’s going to approach it or how successful he’ll be.
I consider him one of the main characters for the series as a whole and I expect he’ll have a larger role in some of the future books, but not necessarily in book 3.
Thanks Andrew 🙂
Good to hear – and I’m glad there’s gonna be more than 3 books (I wasn’t sure about that).
Good luck.
Aiming for six to seven books, but that may change. =) Thanks for the support and interest!
Is the audiobook coming out soon?
No updates on that, unfortunately. I asked my audio publisher if they have a date, but I haven’t heard back yet.
Great work on the book and looking forward to more! 2 cents on the next one, come up with the book title far in advance. This builds up the web search history and blogging/marketing around the book. Also be sure to choose a book name that does not produce any relevant search results. Still a bit hard to Google your current book which is vital considering your tech savvy fan base.
That’s an excellent point, and I’ll try to plan ahead a little better for the next one.
Possibly only one more book in broken mirrors?
That surprises me as it feels like there is so much further the series could go. It’s your story so I’m sure you know exactly where it’s going and how long it should take to get there. I just hope that it doesn’t end up feeling rushed.
I really loved book 2. I have read all of your books so far and both series have been really enjoyable reads! Keep up the great work and Thanks!
To be clear, I wouldn’t be wrapping everything up with that book if I only go for three in that “series”. Rather, I’d probably be transitioning into books with a single perspective each book, and/or maybe adding new perspectives.
For example, after writing Book 3, the next book featuring those characters might just be written exclusively from the perspective of Taelien, Lydia, Jonan, Velas, or even one of the other cast members like Landen.
I plan to write in this universe for a long time, it’s just a matter of what form that takes.
RPG integrity
Andrew, one of the things that set your books apart (positively) for me is the integrity of your systems. Candidly, I don’t really care what ruleset an author chooses to employ, only that they are consistent in the application of that ruleset. It’s obvious you’ve given much thought to your “systems” and how they impact the world. I’m sure it’s hard work but wanted you to know the consistency is appreciated. There are some well received works out there, I won’t mention…cough VG among others,that seem to be less and less attached to the established game dynamics with each successive installment. I’m glad to see from your update notes that staying true to your ruleset top of mind. Change isn’t an issue, magical rabbits out of magical hats are. Candidly, that discipline is one of the best methods of avoiding the dreaded Deus ex machina plot device trap.
Well done!
Sorry-
I meant to post this in the Sufficiently Advanced Magic thread.
Thanks for the comment!
Systems consistency is extremely important to me. As a reader, one of the most interesting parts of a story for me is seeing how the magic works and figuring out how *I* would try to use it to solve the problems in the story. If the magic seems inconsistent or poorly explained, I don’t get to enjoy that element of reading.
As a result, I try to write my own books in a way where my readers can do that. I’m glad it worked for you!
I had an interesting thought today while thinking about and rereading Titans, regarding who Tristan’s powerful sponsor might be: Wrynn Jaden. She is probably more powerful than Keras, is very long lived, is probably as strong as the Visages, is not related to the Tyrant in Gold, and is someone who we know the name of. I had been considering the Visage of Caelford, Ferras, as Tristan’s sponsor, who seems to be a lot more human like in behavior, and may be playing a role in supporting/encouraging the Artificial Attunement program. So I will move Ferras down to 2nd on my list of possible sponsors for Tristan, with Jaden in first place. Possible but unlikely candidates would be the Goddess Selyss herself, or the Visage Wydd. Another possibility would be Blake Hartigan from the two Sorcery books, who is apparently immortal and very powerful and may be connected to Keras being on Kaldwyn. Blake Hartigan could be a strong candidate for 2nd place on this list, which would move Ferras down to third on the list. Any other candidates for Tristans sponsor are probably people that we do not know by name yet. There seems to be a mystery about where Jaden is and what she is doing, being behind Tristan seems like an interesting possibility, and could explain why we have not seen her yet to date in the series.
By the way, is Forgemaster a Caelford or Dalenos attunement? I found a reference that said that the God Beast of Dalenos was particularly strong in Metal and then mentioned the Forgemaster Attunement which made me think it was from Dalenos, but I think I saw recently (while rereading) something that said it was a Caelford Attunement.
I expect/hope that Corin’s group of students on their trip to Caelford will each probably pick up an additional Attunement, either by a long Tower climbing trip, a possible 2nd Judgement in Caelford’s Tower, and/or by meeting Ferras, the Visage of Caelford. I am hoping that Corin might get Biomancer, which would strengthen the possibility of Corin “eventually” being able to do Artificial Attunements and/or being able to modify existing Attunements and Brands (such as on Tristan and Elora). If they could meet Ferras, there would be the possiblity of them acquiring some more Restricted Attunements: I particularly like the idea of Patrick getting Paladin ( to go along with his new Magical Sword) and Marissa getting Abjurer to strengthen her Guardian ability to hit things HARD with her fist, so that she could break spells and/or do banishments when she hits them. I am not sure what to hope for, for Sera and Cecily. They do need to have someone with a Shaper Attunement, but they will not get that in Caelford, but perhaps it’s Caelford closest equivalent. They also need to acquire Attunements with Water and Earth to get more of the Elemental type Manas, they already have Air, Fire, and probably Ice. I am not sure what the 6th Element is, possibly Metal (or Light). Cecily getting Forgemaster (Earth and Metal, or Fire and Metal ?) to along with her Enchanter Attunement could be very useful for making magical items. So how about an Attunement with Water and Light, or Water and Earth, for Sera. Chronomaster for Corin would be an alternate possibility.
Them getting more than one additional Attunement each, would be a little too greedy to expect (but nice), but getting them now would enable them to take classes during second year learn how to use the Attunements.
Of course they need some Healing abilities, but Corin and Marissa could both take a class in Life in the second year of the School.
The School is going to have significant problems next year. Many Administrators and Professors were killed and more were seriously wounded. Plus the continued closure of the Serpent Tower will make getting an Attunement via a Judgement much harder since they will have to take a Judgement elsewhere (Caelford and Dalenos), plus they will not be getting the type of Attunements that the Serpent Tower gives out if they go to Caelford and Dalenos. So the new first year class will probably be a LOT Smaller. Plus we do not know how many of the old first year class were killed or injured. I wonder if Tristan would be able to open the Serpent Tower for Judgements, after Katashi closed it. The closure of the Tower and damage to the School will have major affects on Valia and its efforts to resist Edria. Valia not getting any new Enchanters and Menders will have major long term impacts, unless Artificial Attunements start being done on a large scale in Valia.
PS I still think that Corin needs Spirit and Ice at some point (not necessarily from the same Attunement) in order to get the maximum benefit out of his Sword, as well as to protect him while he is using it. Keep in mind that Attunements can gain additional Mana types, as they get stronger. I wonder what an Ascended Arbiter Attunement will be like for Corin, i.e. what it will add, if he ever gets it.
PPS what would happen if the did the following, in THIS order, in Caelford: first a LONG and HIGH Tower climbing trip (with Keras and Cecily), second a new Judgement visit, followed by meeting Ferras the Vissage of Caelford. How many Attunements might they each pick up, or reach higher levels in their old Attunements.
There is one problem with the possibility of Corin getting Chronomaster: If it is Perception and Enhancement then it is the exact opposite of both Manas in his Enchanter Attunement, so he might not be able to use it, (at least at the same time as his Enchanter Mark).
An Attunement with Both Ice and Spirit (if there is such an Attunement) on his Left Hand might be the perfect combination for Corin to use/control his sword as well as possible, and avoid wounding/killing himself (or friends) with it. And it would give him some additional Mana types to use, particularly Spirit, since Shera already can do Ice.
I would love to see Shera (or Cecily or Mara) get an Attunement with Water and Earth since it is the exact opposite of Fire and Air, and with Sand as the combined opposite of Lightning. So it would be Very useful in defending against Lightning which is a common long ranged attack spell. Although Earth would go well with Mara’s and Corin’s Life Mana for learning Healing Spells. But Mara can already defend herself against Lightning with her Guardian Attunement.
So if they only get one Attunement each from visiting Caelford, I would like to see Corin Biomancer, Shera Water/Earth, Cecily Forgemaster, Mara Abjuror, and Patrick Paladin. Although maybe Shera would have problems with Earth since she already has Air.
I made a mistake: Chronomancer is rumored to be Transference and Perception, Perception is the opposite of Mental. So only one of the two Manas are the opposite of Enchanter. So I am not sure if Corin could get and use it or not.
There is also the question of could Biomancer be acquired and used by someone with Corin’s Attunements. (I hope it can).
I am hoping that their party members might reach or get close to Sunstone level while they are in Caelford; particularly if they do a long Tower climbing trip. Reaching Sunstone level would also make using the Judgement Gate (as individuals) in Caelford’s Tower a lot safer for them in order to get an additional Attunement, irrespective of whether they can meet Ferras. However, meeting Ferras would be their best chance of getting any of the Restricted Attunements. I like the idea of Patrick as a Paladin of Ferras, and Marissa getting Abjurer.
If they can be at Sunstone level by the time they start 2nd year at the School, I am going to set a really HIGH goal (as a reader) for them: reach Citrine level by the time they graduate from second year. If they could grow by an average a little over 3% (less than 4%) per WEEK (using compounded interest), they could come close to going up another level to Citrine, depending on how strong they are when they return from Caelford, and how many weeks the 2nd School year lasts.
I am really waiting to see Corin meet his Mother when he returns to Valia, they have a LOT to discuss. In fact, I would not be surprised to see Corin give up the Cadence Name (at some point in the future) and become his Mother’s Heir, while Shera remains the Cadence Heir. (Two or so years is going to be a long time to wait for the next Book in the series).
And then there is the plotline involving Echion, Artificial Attunements, Artificial God Beast Attunements, etc. and how that might affect them. As well as who Tristan’s Sponsor is (see my comments above about Wyrnn Jaden), Tenjin’s captivity, and how all of that develops.
There is more going on than he will have space and time to cover adequately in the next book. I wonder if it will take more than one book to finish off second year at the School.
Something else occurred to me, How much did Tristan know before he entered the Tower for his Judgement? He might have known something from his Mother or someone else (perhaps a teacher) BEFORE entering the Tower. I raise this point particularly about Wrynn Jaden (if she is his sponsor), I am not sure that she ever enters any of the Towers (or wants to, it mat be a bad idea for her because of the Vissages, or the Goddess, sensing her in the Tower); but if she does not enter a Tower, how could she be the hidden powerful sponsor of Tristan. Perhaps only via other people or messages, like those in Corin’s Book.
It is possible that Tristan knew more than he has told Corin so far, about when he did his Judgement.
There is also the problem of how much (and when) does Corin,Tristan’s, and Sera’s father know about the secret things that Tristan is now involved in. If he does know something, he is probably trying to keep Corin out of it. This could be part of what caused Corin’s Mother to separate from his Father.
One last problem, will Caelford’s Tower also be set to send Keras and possibly other beings like him, e.g. Children of the Tyrant in Gold and others, to a prison cell like what happened most recently in Valia’s Tower? If it is, they would have trouble doing a Tower climbing expedition in Caelford with Keras. and would have to find a different 6th member unless they can rejoin him in the Tower. I am assuming that Cecily might be joining them on such a trip as their 5th member, since Jin did not accompany them on this trip. So they might have to recruit a Caelford native to join them, perhaps Verra’s brother or someone he knows. What is Jin doing in the current break while they are going to Caelford?
One wildly speculative idea, maybe they might go on a Tower climbing trip in one of Edria’s 2 Towers with the help of Jin someday (not necessarily in/before 2nd year). This idea could easily be aborted if military tensions with Edria rise more. There would be the big problem of trusting Jin not to betray them to Edria’s government or Visages or Whispers. There is the interesting question of what the Whispers in Edria (related to the groups involving Tristan) are doing, as well as what their Visages are doing. These ideas/questions are more likely to be explored after 2nd year is over.
Slightly less speculative, would be trip(s) to Dalenos’s Tower, either for a Judgement Visit for an additional Attunement or a regular climbing trip, or to meet people helping Tristan and his Mother. Again, this might not happen until after 2nd year was over, unless there is a break in the middle of the 2nd year. Less likely, would be expanding their current forthcoming visit to Caelford to include Dalenos (they might need the help of a Wayfarer to teleport them there), where Corin might meet his Mother (instead of in Valia, perhaps she might ask them to meet her there). Remember that each additional Judgement trip is supposed to be harder.
In the longer term, after 2nd year, for Tower Climbing trips, assuming that Jin is not with them (?), who would be their 5th and 6th members of their party? The most obvious possibilities would be Cecily and Rowland, who has Divination which they need. A less likely possiblity would Sheridan Theas who has Mender and Necromancer, and would be a big help for healing their party during a climbing trip.
Sheridan might be a strong possibility, if they ever visit the Spider Tower in the distant future. A really interesting possibilty, would be a Judgement visit to the Spider Tower in that distant future. Could they get a Secret/Forbidden Knowledge Attunement that way?
By symmetry of the other Towers around the central Tower in Unclaimed Lands, I would guess that the Spider Tower is in the North East of the continent, but not too close to the seacoast where it might be seen by ships, unless it was hidden by mountains.
Of course, there are also possibilities outside the Towers for future action, particularly the Temples for the Six Sacred Swords. Maybe we know more after the forthcoming Book on Keras.
I finally located the the second of the two references to Forgemaster:
the first was page 144 of 741 (on my Kindle) when they were started to make Patrick’s new Sword: Basicly Corin said he was aware of metal magic and that the God Beast of Dalenos was associated with metal element and that he had heard of a Forgemaster Attunement. This was why I made the (wrong) inference that Forgemaster was a Dalenos Attunement.
the second was in 3rd mock Tower school test, page 314 of 741 (on my Kindle), when Corin used Magnetism to retrieve the key, and said/wrote that Magnetism was a form of metal magic, usually restricted to people with the Forgemaster attunement in Caelford.
I am not sure if you want that first reference in that way to Forgemaster, because others like myself may think that Forgemaster comes from Dalenos.
I do think that it would be interesting and useful, as suggested above in another message, for one of their party to get Forgemaster on their trip to Caelford. The most likely and useful choice would be Cecily since it would augment her abilities to make magical items, along with Enchanter.
I have a couple of other interesting ideas:
First, adding Earth mana to an Attunement that already has Life, i.e. Marissa with Guardian or Corin with Arbiter. I already think that both of them should take a class in Life during second year, even without getting Earth added. If either (or both) of them gets Earth added they should be able to come close to a Mender (Life and Earth) in abilities. Also Corin with his ability to transfer pure mana quickly might make a very effective and FAST healer of injuries during a battle, in addition to his ability to transfer mana to others to restore their stored mana levels.
Second, if Corin got Earth added to his Arbiter mark, along with his ability to transfer mana quickly, Corin might be able to come close to Shaper abilities which normally require Enhancement, but with a doubled (or squared) Transference ability, he might be able to do also (i.e. he might get abilities similar to his Shaper father, although maybe weaker or slower).
Third, I have mentioned in other messages, that I think that Corin needs to get Ice and Spirit in order to get maximum use out of his Sword Selys-Lyann, but I would also like to see him get Biomancer to able make artificial attunements and modify attunement marks/brands (such as on his brother). Since we do not know what mana types are in Biomancer (yet), it occurs to me to wonder if there could be an overlap with Ice and Spirit, either one of them, or BOTH. Possibly Corin could get an attunement (on his LEFT Hand) such as Biomancer, that after gaining a third mana from a higher level promotion, would have both Ice and Spirit. There might be another attunement besides Biomancer that could substitute in here and still support efforts at artificial attunements.
So I am suggesting that Corin get Biomancer, which might start with one of Ice and Spirit, and that he gain the other mana type later. (The greedy suggestion would be for Biomancer (or something else) to be BOTH Ice and Spirit, but I consider that unlikely). Or else he could start with Ice and Spirit and get a promotion to Biomancer with a third mana type. Or he could start with a three mana Attunement (with Ice and Spirit) from the Visage Ferras, if he can meet her in Caelford.
Finally, there is the interesting idea that at higher levels, Corin with Arbiter might be able to transfer Mana AWAY from others, i.e. drain some of their mana either to himself or a third person. The problem with this would be him having to be in close physical contact with an enemy to do it.
By the way, what was Jin doing during the battle at the graduation ball with Mizuchi? I do not think he was mentioned after he danced with Corin.
Spirit may only be available to restricted or Secret/Forbidden Knowlege attunements, such as Necromancer.
I do not think that Jin was mentioned at all after the battle at the Graduation Ball for the rest of the book. We do not even know if he is alive or was wounded.
Plus there was a suggestion, I think in Book 1 (SAM), that in combat Menders could be very dangerous (terrifying) since it could operate in a negative sense, cause wounds or kill, instead of healing someone. This ability could be true of either Marissa or Corin, if they got Earth added to their attunement with Life in it. Particularly of Marissa who normally gets close enough to an enemy to actually hit them. It might even be able to done at less effective level by most high level Guardians with just the Life in their attunement.
Corin should ask Sheridan if there any Attunements with Spirit or Ice in them, normal, Restricted, or Secret/Forbidden, and where and how to get any of them. (It doesn’t hurt to ask, even he responds by saying that he can not say anything, or that they are Secret/Forbidden).
Actually adding Earth to Guardian does more than add Mender abilities, it also adds Shaper abilities. The question is how much of those Mender and Shaper abilites would be added, perhaps they are watered down some, i.e. not as good as someone with Mender and Shaper.
Also the same could be said about adding Enhancement to Mender, or Life to Shaper. They all end up with a combination of Life, Earth, and Enhancement, although they may differ on which one is a primary mana type, and which a secondary or even tertiary mana type.
But if a Guardian like Marissa could add Earth and get most or all of Shaper AND Mender, that person would be a very strong, deadly, and versatile fighter, with Guardian for short range (Melee), Shaper for long range, and the possibility of negative “Healing” spells. Plus of course, being able to heal afterwards.
These comments could also apply to the Mender and Shaper sides of this three way combination, depending how much of the additional abilities they get (and learn how to use).
So I am really wondering what the Ascended version of Guardian adds.
The same ideas can apply whenever someone gets an Ascended version of their Attunement; adding one mana type to a combination of two mana types, does more than add one mana type, it can add TWO of the two mana type combinations and their special combined abilities.
Which raises the interesting question, which mana type(s) did Sera get added to her Ascended Summoner Attunement? I suspect Ice since she was using Ice a lot both before and even more after getting it. But she might gotten something else from one of her contracts when they got “added” or strengthened in her improved Attunement.
On a different topic, Perception and Mental are opposites/complements, and Corin used Mental mana to weaken the Perception being used in Controller spells. But I wonder if he could combine them in one Attunement with Perception linked to Transference on one side and Mental linked to Transference on the other side (actually Above and Below Transference in the Mark). I think that Corin really needs to enhance his senses somehow (i.e. Perception) if he wants to do Haste spells to speed up his movement. I wonder what the Ascended version of Enchanter has in it?
And if Sera did get an extra mana type, which seems likely for an Ascended Attunement, did she get any new special combined mana abilities like those of other basic attunements, and which ones did she get, and now need training in ?
Actually, there is a related question, if you get any two mana types in an Attunement, is there are a special combined ability for that combination? Maybe, some combinations do not have a combined ability, but then maybe you can not get them together in an Attunement, even in an Ascended one. Given the number of mana types, I think that there are more two mana type combinations theorectically possible than there are actual named attunements.
Are there any special abilities that only come with a specific 3 mana type combination, i.e. an Ascended Attunement, or possibly Restricted or Secret/Forbidden ones?
I think that it may be possible for there to be different versions of an Ascended Attunement, if it is possible for the new extra mana type to be one of several allowed choices. See comments by Prof Meltlake about her Attunement having an specialization in Fire (which it already had, so she must mean a stronger ability to use Fire than the normal Elementalist).
I know this is an echo of earlier comments but it’s true that the ending seemed completely heart breaking for Jin. I think I’d be heart broken if he is replaced by Cecily as Corin’s love interest in the end. Jin seems a much better fit and deeper character. I know there’s a good plan, but it will be hard keep reading when it feels like Jin doesn’t have a chance.
I don’t want to spoil anything, but Jin is definitely still going to be in the story. You haven’t seen the last of him.