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

[X] The tale of the lonely girl and an ugly city. A tale of youth, a tale of want. (Music skill advancement quest unlocked)

[X] The tale of a daughter and mothers. A tale of loss and a tale of growth. (Jaromila bond up, Hanyi gains insight/bonus toward FSS successor)

[X] The tale of a daughter and mothers. A tale of loss and a tale of growth. (Jaromila bond up, Hanyi gains insight/bonus toward FSS successor)

yrsillar said:

"You are unmoored, with no place," The Voice said dubiously.

"Mhm, I don't have a place of my own, but that's okay. I like traveling!" Hanyi agreed. "And I already promised a whole lot of people I would sing for them you know? If I don't give them my blessing who knows what'll happen when winter comes? I gotta keep my word."

For a long moment, the Voice and Hanyi remained still, meeting each other's gaze. Ling Qi felt the cold whispers of qi in the air as the Fifth Realm examined her for duplicity.

"You are small, to carry word between men and gods," The Voice retorted.

"I am," Hanyi agreed. "It's probably not a alot to you, but I don't wanna disappoint them."

Branches creaked, and there was a long, tense moment of silence.

"Oaths must be kept," the Voice finally rumbled, there was a note of dissatisfaction there.

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Ah, so Hanyi's slotting into the idol gig as bringing the voice of mortals to the spirits and vice versa. Something of a god that is also a priest role, if you frame it from their perspective.

yrsillar said:

"It was necessary," Jaromila said. "Your words… they are disturbing to us. Ice does not make life. At best, new life comes after the slate has been wiped clean. But if it is possible? That is a matter of interest to us."

"The Voice did not seem to think it wholly possible," Ling Qi said carefully.

"The Voice is on her first step of Apotheosis, and has enough human left in her to speak deceptively. If she truly believed those words, would she have made that request?" Jaromila said.

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Interestingly, Jaromila thinks you need to be human enough to deceive...and we can see Jiao absolutely capable of lying.
I think its a difference in types of spirit - they mainly deal with elemental spirits, and those evolving into elemental spirits. Not subtle, elemental forces are pretty straightforward.

yrsillar said:

"I had thought it strange, but you do not divide cultivation between ascension and apotheosis, do you?" Jaromila said.

"I've worked out what you mean through context, but no, it's all just steps on the same road to becoming a great spirit," Ling Qi replied. "It's the same for Cloud Tribes isn't it."

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The difference then is that Imperials only become a spirit if they ascend, but they can become spirits apparently at any point, as we see here.

yrsillar said:

"It is, and that is one of the reasons Ilsur and I believe they are so troubled," Jaromila said. "Those on the higher steps… they have too much power yes? Too much power to safely interact with humans without intermediaries. Such power that it is only good for war and intervening with the Land. You saw the ruin wrought by those who walk that road at the caldera. My mother chose that path, and though she is mighty, she is no longer my mother, though she might have lived a century more as a woman and not a spirit."

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Goes back to the elemental spirit things, they have a lot of primordial elemental forces which are basically living weapons, and not much of Spirit of Super Thief, Spirit of Progress, etc, which can be more discerning because they're of human ideas rather than elemental forces which humans go into and learn not to.

yrsillar said:

"Those who walk the way so high can be pretty monstrous," Ling Qi acknowledged. "But… I think our ways are different, you can hold onto who you are if you cultivate properly."

...For most of the way at least. The Elders, they had their oddities, but they were still people. They weren't… like Shenhua. Probably, maybe she was just worse at hiding it.

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Might be how quickly Shenhua did it, in an environment where she had just lost her family. Certainly somebody making foundational domain decisions after they've lost everything can beeline to inhumanity pretty fast.

yrsillar said:

"Perhaps," Jaromila said. "Your people, those who are above fourth ascension rule, don't they?"

There was no point in hiding that, Ling Qi nodded.

Whatever Jaromila thought of that, Ling Qi couldn't discern.

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Jaromila is probably shifting diplomatic tack. They have a different playbook for spirit diplomacy, and since the Empire is ruled by near-spirits, they'd need to assume less offense, as she said before, spirits can't observe the same courtesies as a human.

They're more rigid.

yrsillar said:

"I still wish to know you better," Jaromila said after a moment. "I propose an exchange of tales. One tale of the past that you think informs who you are for one of mine. Is that acceptable?"

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...so here she's fishing for what its like to live in a land ruled by spirits?

[X] The tale of the lonely girl and an ugly city. A tale of youth, a tale of want. (Music skill advancement quest unlocked)
[X] The tale of a daughter and mothers. A tale of loss and a tale of growth. (Jaromila bond up, Hanyi gains insight/bonus toward FSS successor)

honestly, I am fine with whatever wins. Though I think I like these 2 more than the last one.

[X] The tale of the lonely girl and an ugly city. A tale of youth, a tale of want. (Music skill advancement quest unlocked)
[X] The tale of a daughter and mothers. A tale of loss and a tale of growth. (Jaromila bond up, Hanyi gains insight/bonus toward FSS successor)
[X] The tale of a dreamer and a nightmare. A tale of fear and loathing. (Internal Insights, progress on heart demon)

I want all of 'em!

[X] The tale of a daughter and mothers. A tale of loss and a tale of growth. (Jaromila bond up, Hanyi gains insight/bonus toward FSS successor)

deadcrystal said:

Confirmation of what we suspected, and tbh their way seems better for a healthier culture if they aren't cutting apart their own consciousness.

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The Voice kind of gives testimony otherwise. From what I see, Great Spirits are fundamentally inhuman and to become one you must shed your humanity; they just do it in a more abrupt manner. The rampant sexism also doesn't scream "healthy culture".

[] The tale of the lonely girl and an ugly city. A tale of youth, a tale of want. (Music skill advancement quest unlocked)
[X] The tale of a daughter and mothers. A tale of loss and a tale of growth. (Jaromila bond up, Hanyi gains insight/bonus toward FSS successor)
[X] The tale of a dreamer and a nightmare. A tale of fear and loathing. (Internal Insights, progress on heart demon)

veekie said:

Interestingly, Jaromila thinks you need to be human enough to deceive...and we can see Jiao absolutely capable of lying.
I think its a difference in types of spirit - they mainly deal with elemental spirits, and those evolving into elemental spirits. Not subtle, elemental forces are pretty straightforward.

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The difference is that they use a system which very closely imitates existing Ways, and makes this a strength.

Whereas in the Empire, your Way is something you build yourself with building blocks that fit with your personality, and for most Cultivators who make far enough for a Way to be relevant there is a very wide selection of them available, so if you want to be able to lie you just put that in from somewhere.

[X] The tale of a dreamer and a nightmare. A tale of fear and loathing. (Internal Insights, progress on heart demon)

Is it possible that the dreamer is Cai Renxiang, and the nightmare is Liming?

Renxiang is very much a dreamer; she has a clearer vision of the world she would like to bring into being than any peer we know. I imagine that gives her quite an advantage when it comes to cultivating, but... that dream is pushed askew by the shadow of Shenhua's trauma and ruthless repair using a chopped up nightmare spirit, Liming.

It's a story that gets right at the heart of what it means to be ruled by a white. And it's a story that could easily lead to an insight into resolving cultivation conflicts.

[X] The tale of a daughter and mothers. A tale of loss and a tale of growth. (Jaromila bond up, Hanyi gains insight/bonus toward FSS successor)

[X] The tale of a dreamer and a nightmare. A tale of fear and loathing. (Internal Insights, progress on heart demon)

I'm really looking forward to the moment when we drop the bomb on these people that "oh by the way, the leader of the Emerald Sea achieved White at fucking 50". And that actually is an important thing to mention once we get to the nitty gritty, not (just) for the purposes of intimidation, but also because it indicates just how long they'll be dealing with the same person.

[X] The tale of a daughter and mothers. A tale of loss and a tale of growth. (Jaromila bond up, Hanyi gains insight/bonus toward FSS successor)

[X] The tale of a daughter and mothers. A tale of loss and a tale of growth. (Jaromila bond up, Hanyi gains insight/bonus toward FSS successor)

Hanyi did good and is Best Girl of the week right now.

[X] The tale of a daughter and mothers. A tale of loss and a tale of growth. (Jaromila bond up, Hanyi gains insight/bonus toward FSS successor)
[X] The tale of a dreamer and a nightmare. A tale of fear and loathing. (Internal Insights, progress on heart demon)

[X] The tale of a daughter and mothers. A tale of loss and a tale of growth. (Jaromila bond up, Hanyi gains insight/bonus toward FSS successor)

Something that does what we set out and helps Henyi....sold!! Honestly the rest can be relatively be solved with effort and focus but this mission is a one shot if we fuck up.

[X] The tale of the lonely girl and an ugly city. A tale of youth, a tale of want. (Music skill advancement quest unlocked)

I think that this one is the most politically relevant one tbh.