Remove ads

Threads Of Destiny(Eastern Fantasy, Sequel to Forge of Destiny)

Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
Reader mode
yrsillar said:
"Though a path might be hard and lonely, it has worth if you can present something of beauty to those you care for at the end," she spoke the lesson of the Forgotten Vale Melody first, feeling the words resonate with her spirit. It was the beginning of an ethos for action, the acknowledgement of the purpose toward which power was to be bent..
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

yrsillar said:
Ling Qi just nodded fractionally, before silently closing her eyes, she had to wonder what Zeqing would think of her other insight. "There are endings and Endings, only the very last one is final. Just as winter ends in spring, small endings are new beginnings," it sounded trite said aloud, but the meaning rang clear to Ling Qi. To her, it was the absolute conviction that failures and losses could not and would not end her path.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Well well well. We chose pretty good I'd say,

"Power should be used for a good purpose" and "failure and isn't the end" are pretty good lessons for Ling Qi IMO.

yrsillar said:
-Sincerity is the measure by which the worthiness of the self and ones guests should be measured.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
And I quite like AM's insight as well.
 
yrsillar said:
Spring Breeze Canto: D
Duration: Persistent
This ephemeral melody rings out with the vital curiosity of youth, The melody carries the musician's perception among her listeners, allowing her to clearly hear and see any one of them, regardless of distractions, so long as the songs echoes last.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

So, this thing is constantly active? Considering that Ling Qi is a mobile musical battle station, that's incredibly useful - now she doesn't even have to see people she's freezing to death.

Arkeus said:
Apart from that, a question: It seems HDW cannot be equipped because it means we can no longer detect derived attributes of people with it. Is this correct?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I don't follow. Can you explain what you mean please?
 
yrsillar said:
Could simple words express the insights she had found in her arts, Ling Qi wondered. Mastering music as she was, it was becoming ever more clear how limited and prone to distortion language could be.However, meeting Zeqing's featureless eyes, she knew that the ice spirit would understand the meaning beneath her words.

"Though a path might be hard and lonely, it has worth if you can present something of beauty to those you care for at the end," she spoke the lesson of the Forgotten Vale Melody first, feeling the words resonate with her spirit. It was the beginning of an ethos for action, the acknowledgement of the purpose toward which power was to be bent..

"I see," Zeqing replied without emotion. "A worthy lesson, but not the only one."

Ling Qi just nodded fractionally, before silently closing her eyes, she had to wonder what Zeqing would think of her other insight. "There are endings and Endings, only the very last one is final. Just as winter ends in spring, small endings are new beginnings," it sounded trite said aloud, but the meaning rang clear to Ling Qi. To her, it was the absolute conviction that failures and losses could not and would not end her path.

When she opened her eyes though, she beheld her tutors face, looking even more like a blank and lifeless mask than usual. The spirit stared at her with empty white eyes, and in that moment Ling Qi, who stood atop a mountain peak above the clouds ankle deep in snow, felt for the first time a chill.

"Acceptable," her mentor said, Zeqing did not even pretend that the words came from her lips, which remained as still and unmoving as a corpse. "You should be on your way then. These days have tired me."

Before Ling Qi could respond to those terse words, Zeqing dissolved into a flurry of ice and snow, and a howling wind carried her presence away, leaving Ling Qi alone with her muse and Hanyi.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Very interesting reaction to Qi taking FSS into her domain. Was a little confused, but my best guess is that us becoming a little closer to her in nature is strengthening her urges to grab Qi and never ever let her go. Similar to how she is distancing herself from Hanyi in order to let her grow and eventually leave. This is absolutely not something I would've expected of Zeqing when we first met, I'm starting to sympathize with her a lot more. Human cultivators really do bring immense changes to spirits simply by interacting with them, but it is Zeqing herself who is doing this for those she loves.

yrsillar said:
"I'm making Momma sick," Hanyi said quietly. "Everytime I get bigger, or learn a new song, Momma gets sicker. You're doing it too."

Ling Qi grimaced, looking away from the ice child. "I know… but she doesn't want to stop teaching us either."

"...I liked how things were. I could always play and Momma would always wait for me. It was like that forever, you know?" Hanyi said instead of replying, looking up at Ling Qi with sad eyes. "...I liked learning Mommas songs more though."

"There's nothing wrong with that," Ling Qi replied. "Hanyi…" she wanted to say that things would get better, but she couldn't bring herself to lie. She didn't know what was going to happen.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Again, Zeqing is being a badass about all this, Hanyi doesn't really want to seperate and grow either, but she also really likes growing. The day Hanyi is kicked off of this mountain is going to be hard on her.

yrsillar said:
She could feel Sixiang's own discomfort pressing against her thoughts and magnifying her own. "Hanyi, just… don't do anything hasty okay? Big Sister will figure something out," she said with confidence she didn't feel. "Besides, Zhengui will be awake soon, you know? He'd be sad if you weren't around to tease him."

Hanyi puffed out her cheeks. "I don't care about that big dumb sled, disappearing for so long just to take a nap," she muttered under her breath, looking away. She didn't refute Ling Qi though.

Hesitating for a moment, Ling Qi reached out and placed a hand on the little spirits head, ruffling her hair in way she had seen Zeqing do once or twice. "I'll see you soon Hanyi."
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

But she will have Ling Qi and her turtle friend to help her in the next stage of her life.

yrsillar said:
Bark Worn Rough: C
Duration: Immediate
Damage: E
While Heaven Scarred Trunk is active, the user may activate this technique whenever targeted by a spiritual attack. Sharpening their own spirit into rough edges, the user damages the spirit of the enemy who targeted her if their own assault fails.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Oh yes, putting a wall of barbs around our soul to shank anyone who fails to penetrate it.

As for the vote, one option to add more punch to our offensive techniques, one to increase attrition and qi drain. I know what I'm voting for.

[X] It's cry grew ever more eerie
 
Last edited:
Varder said:
I don't follow. Can you explain what you mean please?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Yrs is now, giving it as a permanent, but:
AM5 said:
Passive Effects
+10 bonus to all Perception vs. Illusions
+5 bonus to all Perception
+3 bonus to Composure, Resolve, and Resist
+5 bonus to Survival, Investigation, and Empathy
+10 bonus to Spiritual Avoid
-Allows the user to determine the Derived Attributes of a target, depending on Perception, to determine a living things primary elemental alignments, spirit binding connections and overall level of qi with sufficient Perception.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
The underlined ability is key to actually being able to fight anyone, and is something that I considered a strict requirement for any perception arts that has a chance of seeing combat. This is what gives us 'enemy statblocks' when we meet an enemy. Without it, Ling Qi has no way of planning a fight.
 
[X] It's cry grew ever more eerie

Poor Hanyi. Also seriously Zhengui get your ass up, it's been like two months.

EDIT: And like 3 IRL months.
 
[X] It's cry grew ever more eerie
Singing Mist Blade
Dexterity+Woodwind. Darkness. Spiritual. +15 to Penetration. Damage D. Health D
 
What does it mean when an art has no duration?

Intractable Roots: D
A short piece full of stubborn obstinance, this technique significantly bolsters the users Resist against a single dispel attempt. Even if the dispel succeeds, unless it exceeds the users resist by at least a full rank, the technique dispelled persists until the users next action.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Is this just always on?
 
So, a couple of fun notes!
yrsillar said:
Domain Effect: Allies in a scene with whom Ling Qi has at least four ranks of positive relation receive a one rank bonus to Spiritual Avoid, Armor and Combat Perception(Boosted Rank cannot exceed Ling Qi's), So long as at least one such ally is in the scene with Ling Qi she receives a half rank bonus to resisting or avoiding effects which would induce immobility or helplessness. In addition, when within a space Ling Qi considers to be 'hers' she receives a half rank bonus to Social Perception.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
With our domain increasing in potency, the effects we are getting from our domain increase as well. It also does a very good job at listing out some derived attributes that we should probably focus on a bit more to get the most out of our domain.

Specifically the "Spiritual Avoid, Armor and Combat Perception" derived attributes. Our domain ensures that the stronger we are, the stronger our closest allies are, but we can't help them if they are already stronger than us. Our Spiritual Avoid is... a bit middling to be honest, as well as our combat perception. Increasing these will allow us to ensure that our closest allies get a nice boost to some very important stats when we are in the same scene as them.

This is further compounded with HDW's 2nd and third techs.

yrsillar said:
Summer's Day Rising: D
Duration: Long
This piece, embodying optimism and hope, speaks to the musician's bond with her listeners. Even the tenuous bond of casual acquaintance thrums with new vitality, bolstering allies significantly against spiritual attacks and deceptions. Those of stronger bond are bolstered still further, buoyed by their connection with the musician.

Industrious Labors of Fall: C
Duration: Short
The third piece, which speaks of the labors made in preparation for the long winter ahead, steadies the musicians audience and fills them with determination for the trials ahead. Bolsters the armor, health and Resist of listeners, with greater effects on targets of higher bond.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Using these techs in conjunction with our domain can mean some serious increases to vital defensive stats on our more squishy allies. Some which come to mind are Xiulan and Li Suyin. Others which will benefit from HDW, but might not benefit as much from our domain, are Zhenqui and Meizhen. Well, Zhengui will certainly benefit from the spiritual avoid, but his armor is going to either be equal to ours, or just flat out better.

All in all, we've set up a powerful set of defensive support tools when we also take into consideration TRF. The health, armor, and spiritual avoid of our allies will be dramatically improved, which means that they will last longer and be able to dish out even more pain against our opponents.
 
Really like how LQ casually freezes the world around her when she's not paying attention. And, as Bai Meizhen helped us learn, LQ often doesn't pay attention. Fun times.
 
Reader mode
You must login or register to reply here.
Remove ads
Back
Top