- Location
- New York
[X] Dream of shadows and cities, stacked like children's blocks (Grinning Feats, seeking the past. Sixiang evolves their movement trait)
Threads Of Destiny(Eastern Fantasy, Sequel to Forge of Destiny)
- Thread starter yrsillar
- Start date
- Original Users' Choice!
Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
[X] Dream of shadows and cities, stacked like children's blocks (Grinning Feats, seeking the past. Sixiang evolves their movement trait)
EternalObserver
eYe Gaze baCk
- Location
- The Void
[X] Dream of mountains in dewdrops and the rumbling of old thunder (Dreaming Feats, seeking the present. Sixiang evolves their perception trait)
[X] Dream of shadows and cities, stacked like children's blocks (Grinning Feats, seeking the past. Sixiang evolves their movement trait)
This was difficult because Sixiang improved perception could be useful in social, scouting/sneaking, or combat situations. But I'm wanting the Grinning Feat and it fits well with LQs past (could help physical scouting / security?). The focus on the past could give deeper insight for the loot we got. Concise choices, with a lot of potential depth. Great dilemma.
This was difficult because Sixiang improved perception could be useful in social, scouting/sneaking, or combat situations. But I'm wanting the Grinning Feat and it fits well with LQs past (could help physical scouting / security?). The focus on the past could give deeper insight for the loot we got. Concise choices, with a lot of potential depth. Great dilemma.
Last edited:
[X] Dream of shadows and cities, stacked like children's blocks (Grinning Feats, seeking the past. Sixiang evolves their movement trait)
Tomb of Lost Souls
- Location
- United States of America
Tomb of Ancient Souls
Ling Wei swayed gently in time with her perch, a small branch nestled within the canopy of this southern forest. Nothing disturbed the natural ambiance around her, small birds chirped greetings and young spirits frolicked around the trunks of these trees. Quiet, peaceful, serene. All of which veiled the darkness which crept underneath the hills. Young Baron Shan was fortunate that he had been too busy to deal with the construction he had detected beneath his lands, having decided to request assistance from his lieges in the matter while he joined a punitive force to handle some quarrelsome barbarian tribe. Or something. She wasn't quite sure what it was and she could not muster the desire to care. Not when it took all her effort to resist pirouetting with every beat of her heart!
Taking a moment to pinpoint a weakness in the wards and liminal defenses, Ling Wei smiled, breathed out fully, and shifted between material and dream. Just to scrape across the edge, to slide on the razor's blade between reality and dream, and, like a needle, slip through the old cracks in the defenses. A fine web of qi was disturbed slightly in her passing and was about to alert the stronger defenses, but in her wake came the breath of forgetfulness, and the fine lace settled, none the wiser that they had failed in their singular purpose. With a breath, she rematerialized in the corner of what seemed like a storeroom, carved into the very bedrock of the land. Musty and stale, the air tasted stagnant.
'Rise from slumber and dream Yewan,' Ling Wei mentally commanded her spirit, 'our work begins.'
Her shadow coalesced from the pitch-like blackness of the room. With a motion of its hands, a piece of the stone walls began to shimmer like a blackened fractured mirror. As large as a door, the shimmering mirror stood there, waiting. With a twirl, Ling Wei turned around and slipped out of the storeroom door. Yewan followed.
Entering a main hall of the complex, Ling Wei took a moment to orient herself. Lanterns and torches lined the walls and pillars, long extinguished. From the east came the sounds of marching feet, and from below her, she could feel a deepening of the darkness that had hidden this place since its construction ages ago. Taking the easternmost passage, and dispersing herself through the air, it took only a few heartbeats to find the source of the sound. A trio of human skeletons, armored in tattered leathers and holding spears of tarnished copper. A wisp of shadow skirted around them and peered at the qi constructs which guided them. The complex network of qi that had guided them had suffered clear damage, spaces that seemed to connect to something else had been severed, and now the skeletons were directionless, repeating motions without meaning or reason. But it was their source of animus that made her shudder.
These constructs did not use spirit stones for power, but souls. Scarred and shackled human souls. Muted as they were, the power source was unmistakable. It was almost enough to make her retch, to gag on bile. With a quick flick of qi, Ling Wei breathed out forgetfulness and peace, causing the stumbling horrors to stop and fall to the ground. She began to break apart the qi network leaching power from the souls, ripping the complex qi construction to pieces. In but moments, the souls were freed from their prison, and disappeared from perception, going wherever it was that souls went to in death. Rematerializing next to the pile of bones, Ling Wei knelt and produced a stick of incense to light for the dead. While there was no feeling that ghosts would appear from these souls, there was no reason not to be considerate either. And it was good, good to take some time to adjust her expectations of what to find down here.
No longer was this an abandoned tomb that would have been fun to explore. No longer was this about taking the first pick of treasures before letting Baron Shan know what to expect if he wanted to claim the rest. No longer was this about pleasure and release from mundanity. This was personal. It had all the signs of a more developed and personalized construction from that contained in the old pale manual she had studied. The ancient work of long-dead hill tribes. Work that she used as a base for her own path of ascending as a cultivator. While Aunt Zhihui would know what to do with any treasures that remained in this place, she would not wait to release the tortured souls that still patroled these halls. They would be freed tonight.
Ling Wei commanded Yewan to make another gate with a gesture and a second shimmering portal formed from the carved stone. She dispersed herself along with her breath and flowed deeper into the darkness of this place, following the halls and stairwells ever downward. Trio's of skeletal guards that she came across stood in place at junctions and doorways. She left them alone, for now, noting that these constructs were still connected to a larger network that determined their course of action. Passing storerooms filled with degraded leather and weapons, she commanded Yewan to make gates in each one, hidden from the senses of any guards. More guards appeared as she delved deeper, and even greater depravities were found.
Rooms with crusted shackles, pits filled to the brim with brittle bone, workbenches with decomposing scrolls which seemed to have been made by stitching human skin together, halls filled end to end with stationary skeletal guards. Each guard she had passed contained a human soul, scarred, shaped, and shackled. And, with each of her heartbeats, a pulse of power flowed through the command network, invigorating the souls and qi constructs. Keeping them alive. Only a few times did she dare to retch in quiet forgotten corners, tears brimming at her eyes. Finally, though, she reached the bottom. A pool of filth and shadow comprised the final room. An ancient spirit hovered over the darkened liquid, and it felt as though it could have been in the fourth realm. If it hadn't spread its power over this entire complex, keeping things functioning for a creator who was long dead. And if the spirit hadn't also been broken and made mad by the eons of captivity.
Yewan made a final portal in the pool room, and Ling Wei concealed it with a veil of forgetfulness. It was finally time.
'Slumber Yewan and ponder broken dreams'
From the portals came Ling Wei's puppets of shattered glass. Black forms comprised from cutting angles and sharp silicon, carrying all manner of weapons. They marched from her gates in a flood, smashing through the guards wherever they encountered them. Some of the skeletons were quick enough to shatter a puppet or two, but more stepped up to fill the ranks. In the final room, the ancient spirit screeched in pain and agony as Ling Wei sliced with her daggers of frozen flame, supported by even more puppets that flooded the room as well. It was over quickly, thankfully, the spirit not being able to process the flood of information over a network never designed to handle such an assault. Once the spirit fell, so did the rest of the resistance, and all that was left was ensuring no souls or spirits were left in this place. This forgotten tomb.
A/N:
@yrsillar Another omake for the omake throne! I hope people enjoy the read!
Ling Wei swayed gently in time with her perch, a small branch nestled within the canopy of this southern forest. Nothing disturbed the natural ambiance around her, small birds chirped greetings and young spirits frolicked around the trunks of these trees. Quiet, peaceful, serene. All of which veiled the darkness which crept underneath the hills. Young Baron Shan was fortunate that he had been too busy to deal with the construction he had detected beneath his lands, having decided to request assistance from his lieges in the matter while he joined a punitive force to handle some quarrelsome barbarian tribe. Or something. She wasn't quite sure what it was and she could not muster the desire to care. Not when it took all her effort to resist pirouetting with every beat of her heart!
Taking a moment to pinpoint a weakness in the wards and liminal defenses, Ling Wei smiled, breathed out fully, and shifted between material and dream. Just to scrape across the edge, to slide on the razor's blade between reality and dream, and, like a needle, slip through the old cracks in the defenses. A fine web of qi was disturbed slightly in her passing and was about to alert the stronger defenses, but in her wake came the breath of forgetfulness, and the fine lace settled, none the wiser that they had failed in their singular purpose. With a breath, she rematerialized in the corner of what seemed like a storeroom, carved into the very bedrock of the land. Musty and stale, the air tasted stagnant.
'Rise from slumber and dream Yewan,' Ling Wei mentally commanded her spirit, 'our work begins.'
Her shadow coalesced from the pitch-like blackness of the room. With a motion of its hands, a piece of the stone walls began to shimmer like a blackened fractured mirror. As large as a door, the shimmering mirror stood there, waiting. With a twirl, Ling Wei turned around and slipped out of the storeroom door. Yewan followed.
Entering a main hall of the complex, Ling Wei took a moment to orient herself. Lanterns and torches lined the walls and pillars, long extinguished. From the east came the sounds of marching feet, and from below her, she could feel a deepening of the darkness that had hidden this place since its construction ages ago. Taking the easternmost passage, and dispersing herself through the air, it took only a few heartbeats to find the source of the sound. A trio of human skeletons, armored in tattered leathers and holding spears of tarnished copper. A wisp of shadow skirted around them and peered at the qi constructs which guided them. The complex network of qi that had guided them had suffered clear damage, spaces that seemed to connect to something else had been severed, and now the skeletons were directionless, repeating motions without meaning or reason. But it was their source of animus that made her shudder.
These constructs did not use spirit stones for power, but souls. Scarred and shackled human souls. Muted as they were, the power source was unmistakable. It was almost enough to make her retch, to gag on bile. With a quick flick of qi, Ling Wei breathed out forgetfulness and peace, causing the stumbling horrors to stop and fall to the ground. She began to break apart the qi network leaching power from the souls, ripping the complex qi construction to pieces. In but moments, the souls were freed from their prison, and disappeared from perception, going wherever it was that souls went to in death. Rematerializing next to the pile of bones, Ling Wei knelt and produced a stick of incense to light for the dead. While there was no feeling that ghosts would appear from these souls, there was no reason not to be considerate either. And it was good, good to take some time to adjust her expectations of what to find down here.
No longer was this an abandoned tomb that would have been fun to explore. No longer was this about taking the first pick of treasures before letting Baron Shan know what to expect if he wanted to claim the rest. No longer was this about pleasure and release from mundanity. This was personal. It had all the signs of a more developed and personalized construction from that contained in the old pale manual she had studied. The ancient work of long-dead hill tribes. Work that she used as a base for her own path of ascending as a cultivator. While Aunt Zhihui would know what to do with any treasures that remained in this place, she would not wait to release the tortured souls that still patroled these halls. They would be freed tonight.
Ling Wei commanded Yewan to make another gate with a gesture and a second shimmering portal formed from the carved stone. She dispersed herself along with her breath and flowed deeper into the darkness of this place, following the halls and stairwells ever downward. Trio's of skeletal guards that she came across stood in place at junctions and doorways. She left them alone, for now, noting that these constructs were still connected to a larger network that determined their course of action. Passing storerooms filled with degraded leather and weapons, she commanded Yewan to make gates in each one, hidden from the senses of any guards. More guards appeared as she delved deeper, and even greater depravities were found.
Rooms with crusted shackles, pits filled to the brim with brittle bone, workbenches with decomposing scrolls which seemed to have been made by stitching human skin together, halls filled end to end with stationary skeletal guards. Each guard she had passed contained a human soul, scarred, shaped, and shackled. And, with each of her heartbeats, a pulse of power flowed through the command network, invigorating the souls and qi constructs. Keeping them alive. Only a few times did she dare to retch in quiet forgotten corners, tears brimming at her eyes. Finally, though, she reached the bottom. A pool of filth and shadow comprised the final room. An ancient spirit hovered over the darkened liquid, and it felt as though it could have been in the fourth realm. If it hadn't spread its power over this entire complex, keeping things functioning for a creator who was long dead. And if the spirit hadn't also been broken and made mad by the eons of captivity.
Yewan made a final portal in the pool room, and Ling Wei concealed it with a veil of forgetfulness. It was finally time.
'Slumber Yewan and ponder broken dreams'
From the portals came Ling Wei's puppets of shattered glass. Black forms comprised from cutting angles and sharp silicon, carrying all manner of weapons. They marched from her gates in a flood, smashing through the guards wherever they encountered them. Some of the skeletons were quick enough to shatter a puppet or two, but more stepped up to fill the ranks. In the final room, the ancient spirit screeched in pain and agony as Ling Wei sliced with her daggers of frozen flame, supported by even more puppets that flooded the room as well. It was over quickly, thankfully, the spirit not being able to process the flood of information over a network never designed to handle such an assault. Once the spirit fell, so did the rest of the resistance, and all that was left was ensuring no souls or spirits were left in this place. This forgotten tomb.
A/N:
@yrsillar Another omake for the omake throne! I hope people enjoy the read!
Country Roads
Dong Fu gave the reins a tug, guiding his companion around the sharp turn in the road ahead. All around him, the dark forests of the Emerald Seas midlands blurred by in an indistinct mass of shadow, seen through the fluttering talisman strips which hung from the wide brim of his hat. It was, in his opinion, the perfect time of year for a journey through the central forests. With spring fading into summer, the shaded roads were far cooler than the hot scrublands in the east, and dryer than the damp swamp air to the west, and the lesser development of the land meant that the lights and fires of cities and industry so prevalent in the north were absent, leaving the starry sky clear and unobstructed.
He hummed a simple tune in time with the feeling of his companions hooves beating against the packed gravel of the winding forest road. It was a pleasure in itself to have experienced journeys that had taken him far and wide enough to have a preference though, he supposed. Most cultivators were sedentary sorts, not particularly inclined to travel. He'd always had the itch for travel though. Sitting still never did sit right with him, disagreed with his cultivation.
Some things just didn't change.
Other things though…
Dong Fu snapped the reins casually, knowing they were coming up on a straight stretch, letting the wind howl outside the shell of calmed air as the carriage rushed on. He glanced back at the sealed carriage, where two young women who felt like they'd been through hell were resting. He allowed himself a wry grin. Not a glimmer of recognition.
He wasn't particularly offended though. They'd only spoken once. Still, it was startling seeing the gawky young thing he'd given some encouraging words to a year and a half ago wrapped in regal garb and standing beside the heiress of the Cai. His companion shook his head, tossing his mane and letting out a laughing whinny. Dong Fu cracked a smile. She'd certainly taken his advice to heart, by what he had heard.
He wasn't one for gossip, the some of his peers in the Inner Sect were, but he hadn't missed the story of the mad commoner girl, getting herself right in the middle of a tussle between all the highborn scions that had been incoming last year. Most had been pitying, expecting her to be crushed for her trouble, others dismissive waiting for failure to take her. He'd made a couple stones out of the tournament betting pool on her.
She'd had good fortune, and that could outweigh many things. Still, he considered her haggard expression as she climbed into his carriage for the final stretch of the trip back to the sect. Was she happy with what success though, he wondered. Being important was a double edged sword. His great grandfather had been important once. It had gone poorly for him. He'd learned that at his mother's knee in the tent city that lay below the cliffs of the Wang capital. They, a second wife and son who had no inheritance, were better for their irrelevance.
He bore them no resentment to his half siblings. He didn't particularly want lands and fancy houses. He had his companion, and his carriage, friends in a dozen cities, and a job that took him all over the Emerald Seas, and someday, maybe even the Empire. For humble Dong Fu, that was enough.
In the shadows ahead, he glimpsed a shadow across the road, fallen tree, or something more sinister he couldn't say, and so he let out a whistle through his teeth, and his companion's thundering hoofbeats crackled with electricity, a boom of thunder broke in the night and horse and carriage both soared over the obstruction on the road, never so much as jostling their passengers as they landed on the other side. Behind them, the 'tree' writhed briefly, and slithered from the path. Dong Fu made a note on the map in his mind, he would have to report that so the road wardens could take care of it.
But, his thoughts strayed back to his passengers. He still felt some sympathy for the girl, though she'd likely grow beyond him in a few years. She wasn't the type to fit the mold, he thought, and that was a dangerous thing. You could allay it, be useful or strong enough, and you could be allowed some eccentricity.
He had named his companion Fu because he was just bad at naming things after all. No reason to give him the stink eye. His hat and robe helped, people could ignore a lot of things if it wasn't rubbed directly in their faces. Man and horse shared a chuckle, carried away on the evening wind that howled past the carriage.
For that girl though… She'd already discarded that option. Even in the stables he heard the grumbles. She offended certain people just by breathing at this point. Yet, he'd spied the heiress allowing her to lean a hand on her shoulder. There was protection in that. This too his mother had taught him. Whatever could be said, she was no longer alone, and that was always the first step to safety.
Well, Dong Fu thought, it was no longer really his business. He was no noble, even if he had earned a title, he would never leave the Sect, and so he was merely a humble, if skilled driver, and she was a baroness, who would no doubt grow into more than that. One day, the name Ling Qi would be heard across the province. The name of Dong Fu might come to stables all over the empire, but never beyond.
Dong Fu leaned back on the driver's bench, snapping the reins once more as they neared an intersection of the roads, guiding his companion down the road to the Sect. In the story of a flashy life such as hers, Dong Fu was barely a footnote, and he was pleased enough to leave it that way.
And so, once again the carriage and the driver brought the girl of Tonghou to the Sect, to resume her story.
AN: Good work @Thor's Twin sorry bout posting this back to back here.
He hummed a simple tune in time with the feeling of his companions hooves beating against the packed gravel of the winding forest road. It was a pleasure in itself to have experienced journeys that had taken him far and wide enough to have a preference though, he supposed. Most cultivators were sedentary sorts, not particularly inclined to travel. He'd always had the itch for travel though. Sitting still never did sit right with him, disagreed with his cultivation.
Some things just didn't change.
Other things though…
Dong Fu snapped the reins casually, knowing they were coming up on a straight stretch, letting the wind howl outside the shell of calmed air as the carriage rushed on. He glanced back at the sealed carriage, where two young women who felt like they'd been through hell were resting. He allowed himself a wry grin. Not a glimmer of recognition.
He wasn't particularly offended though. They'd only spoken once. Still, it was startling seeing the gawky young thing he'd given some encouraging words to a year and a half ago wrapped in regal garb and standing beside the heiress of the Cai. His companion shook his head, tossing his mane and letting out a laughing whinny. Dong Fu cracked a smile. She'd certainly taken his advice to heart, by what he had heard.
He wasn't one for gossip, the some of his peers in the Inner Sect were, but he hadn't missed the story of the mad commoner girl, getting herself right in the middle of a tussle between all the highborn scions that had been incoming last year. Most had been pitying, expecting her to be crushed for her trouble, others dismissive waiting for failure to take her. He'd made a couple stones out of the tournament betting pool on her.
She'd had good fortune, and that could outweigh many things. Still, he considered her haggard expression as she climbed into his carriage for the final stretch of the trip back to the sect. Was she happy with what success though, he wondered. Being important was a double edged sword. His great grandfather had been important once. It had gone poorly for him. He'd learned that at his mother's knee in the tent city that lay below the cliffs of the Wang capital. They, a second wife and son who had no inheritance, were better for their irrelevance.
He bore them no resentment to his half siblings. He didn't particularly want lands and fancy houses. He had his companion, and his carriage, friends in a dozen cities, and a job that took him all over the Emerald Seas, and someday, maybe even the Empire. For humble Dong Fu, that was enough.
In the shadows ahead, he glimpsed a shadow across the road, fallen tree, or something more sinister he couldn't say, and so he let out a whistle through his teeth, and his companion's thundering hoofbeats crackled with electricity, a boom of thunder broke in the night and horse and carriage both soared over the obstruction on the road, never so much as jostling their passengers as they landed on the other side. Behind them, the 'tree' writhed briefly, and slithered from the path. Dong Fu made a note on the map in his mind, he would have to report that so the road wardens could take care of it.
But, his thoughts strayed back to his passengers. He still felt some sympathy for the girl, though she'd likely grow beyond him in a few years. She wasn't the type to fit the mold, he thought, and that was a dangerous thing. You could allay it, be useful or strong enough, and you could be allowed some eccentricity.
He had named his companion Fu because he was just bad at naming things after all. No reason to give him the stink eye. His hat and robe helped, people could ignore a lot of things if it wasn't rubbed directly in their faces. Man and horse shared a chuckle, carried away on the evening wind that howled past the carriage.
For that girl though… She'd already discarded that option. Even in the stables he heard the grumbles. She offended certain people just by breathing at this point. Yet, he'd spied the heiress allowing her to lean a hand on her shoulder. There was protection in that. This too his mother had taught him. Whatever could be said, she was no longer alone, and that was always the first step to safety.
Well, Dong Fu thought, it was no longer really his business. He was no noble, even if he had earned a title, he would never leave the Sect, and so he was merely a humble, if skilled driver, and she was a baroness, who would no doubt grow into more than that. One day, the name Ling Qi would be heard across the province. The name of Dong Fu might come to stables all over the empire, but never beyond.
Dong Fu leaned back on the driver's bench, snapping the reins once more as they neared an intersection of the roads, guiding his companion down the road to the Sect. In the story of a flashy life such as hers, Dong Fu was barely a footnote, and he was pleased enough to leave it that way.
And so, once again the carriage and the driver brought the girl of Tonghou to the Sect, to resume her story.
AN: Good work @Thor's Twin sorry bout posting this back to back here.
EternalObserver
eYe Gaze baCk
- Location
- The Void
Oh shit, it'd be Dong Fu
And he was there when we were brought back to the Sect from the bandit arc
And he was there when we were brought back to the Sect from the bandit arc
For ease of reference, below is the passage from "Smelting: 2" in Forge of Destiny where Dong Fu brought Ling Qi to the Sect for the first time.
- Location
- The Star Kingdom of Manticore
I wonder. Is Dong Fu descended from the cloud tribes? He is from Wang's land which are known for their aggressive assimilation policy, his mother was a second wife which doesn't seem to be a thing for imperials (concubines are a thing but I have not seen any mentions of a second wife before), he covers his head to avoid rubbing something in, his horse has the same name as him and his rebuttal of being bad at names seems like an amusing joke to the both.
I think Dong Fu is descended from the cloud tribes and is even using some of their techs to bind his spirit beast.
I think Dong Fu is descended from the cloud tribes and is even using some of their techs to bind his spirit beast.
Maybe, yeah.
There's also something up with the Hill Tribes though - remember the distinctions Alingge drew about her "heart companion".
- Location
- Cali
Take me home
To the place
I belong
Argent Sect
Mountain Mama, (RIP)
Take me home
Country roads.
To the place
I belong
Argent Sect
Mountain Mama, (RIP)
Take me home
Country roads.
TimEd
Meteor maker
gossip, the way some of
that
Man, I like Dong Fu. Do we know what exactly he is hiding under that robe?
His big, Fu(ll) Dong.
It's possible Dong Fu is descended from the cloud tribes but he isn't using their techs to bind the horse. In cloud tribes tech, there's no different between the man and the horse, they become the same being with one it's man self and another beast self. Dong Fu and his horse are not the same entity so no cloud tribe bond for them.
- Location
- The Star Kingdom of Manticore
But they share the same name, and the reason given, being bad at names, seemed humorous to them. So my guess is that there is a reason that both man and horse share the same name.
Your right that it isn't likely a full cloud bond, but I bet its something much more than a normal imperial bonding. Probably close to Allinge's heart companion thing. Whatever that means.
