Out in the countryside the rites she took part in were not on stages surrounded by nobles, but in old growth groves, at important lakes and in the center of fields, and though they held a respectful distance, they were open to the public.
Ling Qi had never been familiar with priestly rites and organized festival days. In Tonghou very few temples and shrines existed in the outer city. There were the quiet men and women who oversaw funeral rites and scattered shrines out in the agricultural lands. The people of the outer city had their personal rites, like the thieves whose slapdash shrine to the Grinning Moon she had observed once. The Liu clan was content to leave it at that though.
I wonder if that was simply them being unconcerned for the slums and all the stuff is in the inner city, if they followed a more personal approach for their major spirits, or if such things had never been a concern for them to begin with and a contributor to the city's decline.
So it had surprised Ling Qi, to see so many mortals gather for those services. Even if they were dull to her senses, there was a certain solemnity that had struck her as she watched the rites performed in the face of the coming winter, with Hanyi's song drifting through the air. The scent of candles held tightly in hundreds of hands burning, of softly lit lanterns heavy with offerings drifting down the mountain streams, of incense and prayers whispered too softly for mortal ears to hear.
The closest thing she could compare it to was watching the new roads carved into wild earth.
"Ah, Big Sister is back!" Gui's voice reached her as she stepped into the shadow where two slender trees came together in an arch and emerged in the center of the garden where the boiling mineral springs heat sent streamers of steam into the evening air. Earth and stone shifted, gravel falling as Zhengui rose from the depression, the nest he had dug out for himself, his footfalls sending ripples through the bubbling waters.
"That's right," Ling Qi said with a smile, reaching out to pat him on the head, he was half her height at the shoulder right now, the size the garden had been designed for. "There were some snags, but Hanyi's tour went well."
"I Zhen suppose I will have to congratulate her then," the serpent said haughtily. "But she is not the only one who has been working hard. Look upon our work sister!"
Ling Qi looked behind them to the garden surrounding the mineral spring, the bright colors of the flowers contrasting with the cool shadows and drifting mist. Shaped stones had been raised throughout the garden center as well, silent silhouettes in the steam and mist. They were a little crude, and Ling Qi couldn't quite work out how they had been shaped. Passing Zhengui, she knelt down in front of the closest. It seemed like it was only a boulder at first glance but a closer look revealed that the low slung stone was shaped roughly like a tortoise.
"How did you make this?" Ling Qi asked brushing her fingers over the shaped stone. Already moss was growing over it, in the crevices that provided it detail.
Zhen puffed up with pride and for once, Gui seemed to do the same. "Well, Gui had the idea when he saw some crafty-humans. Since Gui can make wood very hard to burn, he can make 'molds' if he really tries."
And he can do fine detail work with wood, which is fireproof due to his own fire element.
Hmm, might want to see if he can work with metal, molten stone tends to be rather viscous, and doesn't mold the details well.
Glass is an interesting material.
Sand was stone, eroded to powder.
Glass is sand, reborn as a stone through fire, and given life.
It plays well with his themes!
They did great for self taught glass makers, but the crux here is something they probably wouldn't realize - the mix must be homogenous to produce clear glass and Zhengui has been using well...literal dirt for his raw material. In such a case he'd need to remelt the glass, mix again and reproduce it to give consistency, he'd need to basically treat it like chewing gum until the color becomes consistent.
After that, to control the colors, he'd have to selectively burn off or add impurities in the glass, and again, repeatedly eat and spit it out until its evenly distributed.
If he can stabilize and sustain his temperatures crystallization of singular materials might also be neat to explore.
"It's a great idea," Ling Qi said, cutting off their argument before it could really begin.
"Heh, he's pretty creative," Sixiang piped up, their eyes materializing over her shoulder to look over the sculptors. "Gotta admit, even I thought you needed hands to do sculpture."
"Yes, Gui is very smart," he chirped, earning a complaining hiss from Zhen. "I wanted to make one of everyone but Hanyi and Big Sis are hard. The Sixiang is harder."
"Wouldn't look right with rock anyway," Zhen grumbled.
"Hm, hm, I bet I could figure out some tips now that I think about it," Sixiang mused.
"Probably, we did need to add ward stones to the garden anyway," Ling Qi mused, their presence kept malicious spirits out, but if they let anyone in it would be good for the developing spirits of the gardens to have boundaries. "Sculptures would be more interesting than just stone posts."
It would be good practice Ling Qi thought. Between the Dream realm and thresholds, and the creation of this garden, Ling Qi was beginning to come back around to her formation craft. Warding stones were something any noble needed, providing the boundaries between the lands of man and spirit. Her exploration of Dream had given her some insights and renewed interest in the subject though.
Formations Dabbler evolves to
Liminal Carver(G) 1: Your formation craft works best with the things in between. Not barriers or locks, but in doorways, thresholds and borders.
"When can we show grandmother and little sister the garden, Sister?" Zhen asked.
"Hm, we'd need to finish up a few things, but we can probably show them before the tournament starts," Ling Qi said thoughtfully. This was a place for Zhengui, but also because of that a place for kin. It would be safe
"Speak up Gui," Ling Qi said curiously. "What's wrong?"
"Gui wants the other's to come. The shrine-maker, the dancer, and the others who talk to us," Gui explained slowly. "Um, Gui has made this place, but more people should come."
Ling Qi frowned for a moment, he wanted some of the staff to come too. That was…
...That shouldn't have surprised her.
She'd seen it after all, on her tour with Hanyi, Mortals gathered, and spirits exalted. She had been in someone else's lands, participating in someone else's rituals. But she wouldn't always be. People would follow the rituals she laid down, those people who would be living under her power.
"Big Sister?" Gui asked,sounding worried.
"That's a good idea, Zhengui," Ling Qi said,patting him on the head. They're our people too huh? Even if they're not family."
He brightened up."Yeah! Even if this is just the first try, this is the place for Gui,"
"The place for Zhen," his other half echoed.
"And for Big Sister," they said together. "Our people should come!"
Ling Qi nodded absently. "Well we have some work to do then. You'll need to work on some more sculptures and I'll work on inscribing warding arrays on the ones you already did."
...wait a minute, is this the first time Gui actively initiated a request rather than reacting to the situation?
Thoughts on the options:
[] Talk with your mother and Zhengui, select the best among your household for the first tour of the garden (Zhengui's cult trait leans toward exclusivity and tighter bonds. Alters LQ's choices for Power expression)
Seems like some form of "The Power of my Family is also my Power, and my Power is my Family's" development.
[] Make of this a festival, the first of its kind, all of your household may come. (Zhengui's cult trait leans toward inclusion and wider bonds. Alters LQ's choices for Power Expression.)
And this opens up a tier wider than family. The bonds aren't as close or as strong, but that does not mean there are NO bonds.
[X] Make of this a festival, the first of its kind, all of your household may come. (Zhengui's cult trait leans toward inclusion and wider bonds. Alters LQ's choices for Power Expression.)
[X] Make of this a festival, the first of its kind, all of your household may come. (Zhengui's cult trait leans toward inclusion and wider bonds. Alters LQ's choices for Power Expression.)
[X] Make of this a festival, the first of its kind, all of your household may come. (Zhengui's cult trait leans toward inclusion and wider bonds. Alters LQ's choices for Power Expression.)
[X] Make of this a festival, the first of its kind, all of your household may come. (Zhengui's cult trait leans toward inclusion and wider bonds. Alters LQ's choices for Power Expression.)
[X] Make of this a festival, the first of its kind, all of your household may come. (Zhengui's cult trait leans toward inclusion and wider bonds. Alters LQ's choices for Power Expression.)
[X] Make of this a festival, the first of its kind, all of your household may come. (Zhengui's cult trait leans toward inclusion and wider bonds. Alters LQ's choices for Power Expression.)
[X] Talk with your mother and Zhengui, select the best among your household for the first tour of the garden (Zhengui's cult trait leans toward exclusivity and tighter bonds. Alters LQ's choices for Power expression)
[X] Make of this a festival, the first of its kind, all of your household may come. (Zhengui's cult trait leans toward inclusion and wider bonds. Alters LQ's choices for Power Expression.)
[X] Make of this a festival, the first of its kind, all of your household may come. (Zhengui's cult trait leans toward inclusion and wider bonds. Alters LQ's choices for Power Expression.)
[X] Make of this a festival, the first of its kind, all of your household may come. (Zhengui's cult trait leans toward inclusion and wider bonds. Alters LQ's choices for Power Expression.)
[X] Talk with your mother and Zhengui, select the best among your household for the first tour of the garden (Zhengui's cult trait leans toward exclusivity and tighter bonds. Alters LQ's choices for Power expression)
I just kind of feel like getting a sense for the household, and fewer bodies to juggle mean we're more likely to get a look at and descriptions of the people who make it up. It's too easy to lose focus when you're zoomed out so far the event is a character of its own.
The way this choice touches on Zhengui and Ling Qi's development at the same time isn't something I want to wade into and untangle, so I'm making my choice along a totally different axis.
[X] Make of this a festival, the first of its kind, all of your household may come. (Zhengui's cult trait leans toward inclusion and wider bonds. Alters Power Expression.)
[X] Talk with your mother and Zhengui, select the best among your household for the first tour of the garden (Zhengui's cult trait leans toward exclusivity and tighter bonds. Alters LQ's choices for Power expression)
I prefer tighter bonds with fewer characters; wide and shallow feels worse in a quest than tight and deep. If we want specific members of our household to matter, rather than the household as a collective undifferentiated mass, this is the option to go with.
[X] Make of this a festival, the first of its kind, all of your household may come. (Zhengui's cult trait leans toward inclusion and wider bonds. Alters LQ's choices for Power Expression.)
[X] Talk with your mother and Zhengui, select the best among your household for the first tour of the garden (Zhengui's cult trait leans toward exclusivity and tighter bonds. Alters LQ's choices for Power expression)
[X] Make of this a festival, the first of its kind, all of your household may come. (Zhengui's cult trait leans toward inclusion and wider bonds. Alters LQ's choices for Power Expression.)
[X] Talk with your mother and Zhengui, select the best among your household for the first tour of the garden (Zhengui's cult trait leans toward exclusivity and tighter bonds. Alters LQ's choices for Power expression)
Seems like the best choice for Zhengui; have a focus on humans who can understand him rather than a lot of people who won't.
I'm curious- can someone remind me who the shrine maker and the dancer are? I noticed Zhengui picked them out as individuals who he wanted to be there, but Biyu (whom I would have figured for the dancer) is already mentioned above.
Also, really want to being in our new adoptee at some point, and a presentation of the garden to just the clan first send like a great place to see how she fits with our family.
[X] Talk with your mother and Zhengui, select the best among your household for the first tour of the garden (Zhengui's cult trait leans toward exclusivity and tighter bonds. Alters LQ's choices for Power expression)
I prefer tighter bonds with fewer characters; wide and shallow feels worse in a quest than tight and deep. If we want specific members of our household to matter, rather than the household as a collective undifferentiated mass, this is the option to go with.
Personally, I don't want new characters from our household. There are already so many characters fighting tooth and nail for screen time that adding more is, in my opinion, counter productive. I am more than happy just showing the household that scary boss lady isn't that scary and building a wider bond with them as a unit. After the move to our fief when who we can interact with radically changes I would be more than happy to build close bonds with a couple of people in the household. But right now I am not, I want to see those we know, rather than add new additions.
[X] Make of this a festival, the first of its kind, all of your household may come. (Zhengui's cult trait leans toward inclusion and wider bonds. Alters LQ's choices for Power Expression.)
Sounds good. Kinda late for me. I'll read more tomorrow if there are any really convincing arguments. This one feels a little more Gody for the future. I'm sure once he's big enough the garden will be important enough that being at his garden rather than a general ceremony will be important. In the meantime this will help with his growth and what he has indicated his preferences are.
I'm curious- can someone remind me who the shrine maker and the dancer are? I noticed Zhengui picked them out as individuals who he wanted to be there, but Biyu (whom I would have figured for the dancer) is already mentioned above.
Also, really want to being in our new adoptee at some point, and a presentation of the garden to just the clan first send like a great place to see how she fits with our family.
Presumably they're the people that made Zhengui's shrine in the current residence, and the dancer that taught Biyu. Zhengui has spent plenty of time at the house, and he's clearly made an effort to remember the servants.
[X] Make of this a festival, the first of its kind, all of your household may come. (Zhengui's cult trait leans toward inclusion and wider bonds. Alters LQ's choices for Power Expression.)
In my opinion we already have stuff for close bonds, and festivals are great in general.
[X] Make of this a festival, the first of its kind, all of your household may come. (Zhengui's cult trait leans toward inclusion and wider bonds. Alters LQ's choices for Power Expression.)
[X] Make of this a festival, the first of its kind, all of your household may come. (Zhengui's cult trait leans toward inclusion and wider bonds. Alters LQ's choices for Power Expression.)
