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

Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
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I like the stealth when the stealth comes froms a girl that litteraly fooled the gods. I don't really want to abandon the stealth aspect of LQ. Sneaking around was one of the funniest things we did in the first thread. Also, sneaky fortress memes (with ZG in our dantian)
 
[X] The tempestuous northern wind, bringer of storms (Enhances speed and initiative effects of art)
[X] the gentle eastern wind, unnoticed by all (enhances stealth effects of art)
 
[x] The tempestuous northern wind, bringer of storms (Enhances speed and initiative effects of art)
[x] the gentle eastern wind, unnoticed by all (enhances stealth effects of art)
 
NoxOfUmbra said:
I like the stealth when the stealth comes froms a girl that litteraly fooled the gods. I don't really want to abandon the stealth aspect of LQ. Sneaking around was one of the funniest things we did in the first thread. Also, sneaky fortress memes (with ZG in our dantian)
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I don't really think we would be abandoning the stealth aspect, just enhancing one of the other aspects. Frankly with a build like LQs, I think stealth is gonna always be a part of us even if we're not doing stealth missions as much.
 
[X] The tempestuous northern wind, bringer of storms (Enhances speed and initiative effects of art)
[X] The cold south wind, which cut to the bone (enhances offensive aspects of art)
[X] the gentle eastern wind, unnoticed by all (enhances stealth effects of art)

Going to go with these since I'm not a fan of adding more spring to Ling Qi's aesthetic.
 
[X] The tempestuous northern wind, bringer of storms (Enhances speed and initiative effects of art)
[X] The warm western wind, herald of spring (enhances Avoid effects of art)
[X] the gentle eastern wind, unnoticed by all (enhances stealth effects of art)
 
[X] The tempestuous northern wind, bringer of storms (Enhances speed and initiative effects of art)
[X] The cold south wind, which cut to the bone (enhances offensive aspects of art)
 
[X] The tempestuous northern wind, bringer of storms (Enhances speed and initiative effects of art)
[X] The warm western wind, herald of spring (enhances Avoid effects of art)
 
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[X] The tempestuous northern wind, bringer of storms (Enhances speed and initiative effects of art)
[X] the gentle eastern wind, unnoticed by all (enhances stealth effects of art)

I really like both the stealth and the speed choices. Stealth part would probably makes Ling Qi really good at stealth for the short term (with the combination of ENM mastered and LFTW with stealth focus), while speed would just continue the trend of Ling Qi being just good at moving all over the battlefied and being a trouble shooter there.

Avoid is probably the strongest mechanically, but I'm not sure I like it offhand.
 
Beneath her, the ground, the forest and the Sect dropped away. She stood now on a promontory of crumbling stone, over a ravine miles deep, its bottom hidden even to her eyes. It was a fall even she could not survive. Below were the Gods, cruel and greedy, with all the riches and wonders of the world in their vaults.

And she was just one girl, so very small in the end. What madness could possess her, to think that she could defy the gods so?
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Hm. So after thinking about this for awhile wouldn't this technically apply to all cultivators who seeks to become a Great Spirit? Like it isn't as bad as back when Great Spirits were able to directly interfere(There was likely someone who ascended solely for the purpose of seperating Heaven, and Earth imo), but they still have to work within the playground influenced by the rules made by those who came before, and a plausible reason for many cultivators to falter is they simply lack the flexibility of mind to adapt around a bottleneck caused by their belief being incompatible.
The Grinning moon was many things, it rejected constraints, all constraints, this she refused. It loved cleverness and tricks, and this she accepted. She recalled vaguely a text she had read last year, claiming that the Grinning Moon was not the patron of criminals, but clever investigators. She had found it odd at the time, but she now knew it was not wrong.

The Grinning Moon did not care about goals, it did not care about motivations. Perhaps it's manifestations and avatars did, but the moon did not. The Grinning Moon was a thing of action and movement. Call it a heist or a sting, a casing or an investigation, the moon cared not. It only cared that you acted, that you sought to live and run and fly, to match your mind against others and come out on top.
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So essentially the GM cares that a cultivator strives against what was made by previous Great Spirits, and that the cultivator overcome them.
As the ground approached, solid and inviolate, Ling Qi came to understand the core virtue of the Grinning Moon. That which underlaid all the rest.

Self Assurance.
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The GM only caring about the cultivator believing in their goal makes sense doubly so if the wind she stole was the authority over mortals ascending into gods.
Yet she could not defy the Law of Earth, anymore than any infant could defy the Law of their mother. But what parent did not know the mischief which a child could get up to, before the Law could be enforced?
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So yea if the Law of a dearly departed mother is the physical world it makes me curious what Laws the various Great Spirits have built up since then.
he passed into the winding tunnels of the gods vaults, a mere whisper and laughing breeze. There she passed the halls of the gods, where they lounged in great coiled masses of muscle and umber scales, lying redolent before the great and never ending feast of meat and wine laid out at their feet. Power and luxury both beyond comprehension, treated with lax contempt.

But their own might was their undoing, and Ling Qi became one of the numberless and faceless slaves who served the meal. A mere mote of dust, under the notice of the mighty. So vast was their excess, that none noted the disappearance of even the most potent wine, nor the fleeting shadow that had once been a servant.
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The reference to scales make me think this might take place during the time when dragons rules over mankind.
In the halls were innumerable defenses, mighty runes carved into stone to bar the entrance of foes and thieves alike. Alas for pride, that none deigned notice the movements of a mouse, designed as they were to fend off the machinations of gods. Beyond them at last, lay the vault of winds.

How mighty the door, how glittering the gems, all the riches of the deep earth on display. How impenetrable and secure, ten thousand locks bound by ten thousand spirits!

How neglected the beauty, dust dimming the fire of the earth's riches. How lax, the care, locks rusted and spirits disquieted by disuse. How foolish the gatekeeper, who accepted a bowl of most potent wine from a humble servant, a gift from his masters!
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Huh while this probably wasn't the Millennial Wine incident as the involved monkeys, and likely the Sage Emperor I suspect this is the same type of wine.
Within lay a simple bag of golden hide, bulging with the pressure of the winds, and as her deft fingers undid the ties, the first to emerge was…
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Hm. While I doubt this gives an insight it is important to note that we'll be giving another choice similar to this one later on down the line.

Although judging by the nature of the GM... this will likely influence the end lesson provided, and/or perhaps what LQ grow from training the art.

[X] The warm western wind, herald of spring (enhances Avoid effects of art)
[X] the gentle eastern wind, unnoticed by all (enhances stealth effects of art)

Because Ling Qi has mentioned her desire to make the world a better place inspite of her cynical nature, and this seems appropriate for such an individual.

The stealth one simply fits someone with the resolve to stand by those she cares about even if it results in her being crushed by Imperial politics.
 
[X] The tempestuous northern wind, bringer of storms (Enhances speed and initiative effects of art)

Our very first art helped us move fast.
Also, the Northern wind here is a tropical storm. Warm, and heavy with rain.
 
[X] The tempestuous northern wind, bringer of storms (Enhances speed and initiative effects of art)
[X] the gentle eastern wind, unnoticed by all (enhances stealth effects of art)
 
yrsillar said:
The wind screamed in her ears as she plunged downward, and Ling Qi's heart pounded with it. The walls of the ravine blurred by, and the cold stone below beckoned. This was a dream, but dreams were real enough in their way.
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Her understanding of the Dream deepens with every step taken.
yrsillar said:
The Grinning Moon did not care about goals, it did not care about motivations. Perhaps it's manifestations and avatars did, but the moon did not. The Grinning Moon was a thing of action and movement. Call it a heist or a sting, a casing or an investigation, the moon cared not. It only cared that you acted, that you sought to live and run and fly, to match your mind against others and come out on top.

As the ground approached, solid and inviolate, Ling Qi came to understand the core virtue of the Grinning Moon. That which underlaid all the rest.

Self Assurance.

Ling Qi looked at the approaching ground, and felt dormant meridians churn to life. The howl of the wind transformed into her laughter, and the shadows of the ravine closed in as a welcoming embrace.

She looked at the ground, and decided that she wasn't falling anymore.

Yet she could not defy the Law of Earth, anymore than any infant could defy the Law of their mother. But what parent did not know the mischief which a child could get up to, before the Law could be enforced?

Ling Qi became the wind and the shadow, and her momentum changed. She shot through the air, parallel to the ground, at a speed fit to strip a mortal's flesh from their bones. As the wind, she cared not. Feet and toes grew solid for one moment as her slowed descent carried her down into the depths of the ravine. There, her feet skipped across stone, and muscles filled with the force of hurricane flexed, granting her flight for a few more glorious moments.
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Did she just do the "Disciple falls down deadly ravine to "hopefully" get insight before gravity kills on purpose? LQ shows with her actions how do defy the world or rather the expected outcome.
Also this Experience LQ is getting through this Dream will get her invaluable insight to ascertain long shots in the Cai rise to prominence. What is a rebellion, but a defiance of expectations a societys traditions put on the individual after all? This defiance meshes surprisingly well with "The Breaker" Shenhua I think. The assurance on the other hand meshes well with the stability CRX will need in the future. You can´t build something, if you don´t believe you can break old bad habits and be able to instill better habits which will work well for the future. Someone needs Self Assurance tomake the first step and convince the society of their own beliefs.

Could LQ therefore help CRX understand her mother better? I think a possibility exists!
karmaoa said:
[] The warm western wind, herald of spring (enhances Avoid effects of art)

I like this one. Ling Qi already has a Winter theme but also an End theme, and when Winter ends it's followed by spring. I think it fits the whole "small endings are also beginnings".
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Huo Yuhao said:
[X] The warm western wind, herald of spring (enhances Avoid effects of art)

I'm leaning towards this as my favorite option, in part due to Xepheria's arguments. In my opinion, this is the most meaningful option. It syncs very well with our FSS insight, which will only become increasingly important to us as we get started on FSS+.




This insight directly adds meaning to the transition between winter and spring. Selecting the western wind here will further develop this concept, which is already core to Ling Qi's character. The western wind is a force of positive change, a new beginning that is worthy of following an old ending. It represents Ling Qi's attitude toward change in general, shown not only by her FSS insight, but her SCS one as well.




The FSS insight provides Ling Qi's reasoning behind the SCS insight. She values the rapid pace of change in SCS as she views change as a force of good - she views endings as opportunities for something new. The western wind, through the image of spring, further exemplifies the positive sides of new beginnings. As a concept to be added to the successor of SCS, this option seems to fit best.
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I share these reasonings for the herald of spring. The gentle eastern wind is my second favourite, because it remembers the beginning of LQs story. I don´t think should choose bringer of storms, because she already tells through her blizzards the story of endings. This doesn´t mesh well I think. Their similarity could maybe be narratively confusing.

[X] The warm western wind, herald of spring (enhances Avoid effects of art)
[X] the gentle eastern wind, unnoticed by all (enhances stealth effects of art)
 
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[X] The tempestuous northern wind, bringer of storms (Enhances speed and initiative effects of art)
[X] The warm western wind, herald of spring (enhances Avoid effects of art)
 
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