Praise be to the Dice Gods for they do bless us!
If only she could say the same for Ling Qi. Whatever arts she was cultivating now, whatever she composed, Ling Qi had no intention of connecting to the people around her even a little bit. they watched their human put on a mask of frost and venom, deflecting those who tried to come near. In some they saw only anger and pricked pride, in others they saw genuine hurt as their effort to reach out was rebuffed, and gradually the colors around them curdled. They saw pride sharpen into sneers and hope fade into dull disinterest and raised guards.
They tried to offer hints and nudges, but too often they were ignored. Perhaps they could have been more forceful, but with the Nightmare still heavy on both of them, they could not find the will to do it.
Fear had taken root in Sixiang. The last thing they wanted to do was make an annoyance of themselves.
This almost hurt to read, beautiful update. Our recent order from Renxiang to make friends may end up being good for us, even if it's uncomfortable.
[Denial. Trial.] Sixiang's whole being shuddered with the power pressed down upon them. Trial. That word encompassed uncounted years of meaning. Their greater selves were as gate and wall to those humans who chose to throw away the gifts of the [Two] and join their number as spirits. It was a kindness to break their mad ambition before they could destroy their humanity, or failing that, to prepare them for its loss. As the Second Born of [She Who Was] that duty overrode all other concerns.
This is interesting. Being the Second Born of She Who Was, I can see two possible interpretations of this.
The first is that the Moon as a whole is the Second Born, but personally the more likely and interesting interpretation is if you look at the phases of the Moon you will see that if you start with the Full Moon (Guiding) then the next phase is Waxing Gibbous, or Dreaming according to Forge Metaphysics, and having the first phase of the Moon be the Full Moon does make some sense (as would New Moon though this wouldn't make sense here with Dreaming being Second). The Full Moon being the Guiding Moon would also make sense with her being the first, 'Guiding' the way for the others.
(Edit: Realises Waxing Gibbous is in fact
before the Full Moon. Ah, sometimes I can be a dumbass
)
So the Eight Daughters of the Mother would be the Eight Phases of the Moon.
Just to point out, this would mean the first Humans and the phases of the Moon would be siblings, so the phases could be viewed as Ancestral Aunts.
So Aunty Xin is now canon is what I'm taking away from this.
On to the next point about this section, Trials and Tribulations. Often in Xianxia there are Tribulations when reaching sufficient realms, and two of the most common are Heavenly Tribulations (divine lightning) and Heart Demons.
If the Daughters of Mother view it almost as a duty to try and prevent Humans from throwing away their Humanity, well looking at the sort of things the phases represent, some correspond pretty well with some of the ideas often found in Heart Demons.
Heart Demons are already a thing in Forge as they were recently introduced, but what if they are in a sense orchestrated by the phases of the Moon however subtly, or at least the phases of the Moon are also incarnations of the causes of Heart Demons.
Heavenly Tribulations could also be a thing if the Father has Sons/Daughters who effectively smack down people when they try to break through in higher realms, something which hasn't come up yet.
These incarnations of Tribulations would also fit in a Yin Mother and Yang Father idea.
All pretty neat, and cool how whereas in most Xianxia such Tribulations are due to Humans going against the will of the heavens, in this case it's the Heavens not wanting humans to give up their humanity, with the Yin Motherly aspects of the Heavens trying to block their path (Moon Phases) and perhaps Yang Fatherly aspects of the Heavens trying to mercy kill them instead of letting them do so? Or maybe actually punishing them for from their point of view throwing away their Fathers gifts.
Just some neat half formed ideas.
However, in that carriage, they were thankful for her. Sixiang was too weak to speak up, but conscious. Watching Ling Qi process the pain that they had felt all through the battle hurt as if they were being wounded all over again.
It was good then, that the girl was able to offer Ling Qi something, a thread to hold onto and pull herself back up. That most precious of things for humans who cultivated. Purpose.
And if, in that moment, they spied a crack in the glass, and peered at the ------- beneath, they would not say a word. Not because of the glower of the abomination the girl wore, or the threatening hiss of steel from the one at her side, but because it would be poor form to repay the one helping her Ling Qi by spilling secrets.
If I understand correctly this means Sixiang's original impression of Renxiang being a puppet was a misunderstanding due to Renxiang's emotions being clouded to her senses, which is neat to see.
This update has been so subtly feelsy in surprisingly many ways.
[] Something fast paced and dramatic. [Empowers Ephemeral Dreamlit Dancer, shifts technique focus to movement and personal buffs]
[] Something slow and contemplative [Empowers Illustrious Phantasmal Festival. Shifts technique focus to Area of effect, group buffs and terrain control]
Currently I'm leaning of slow and contemplative, firstly as we already have Wind Thief for movement in the (relatively) near future, but also because it just seems like theme more in respect to this event. Will see some great arguments for both sides soon no doubt.
Great update!
