The Path Unending (A Cultivation Quest)

MoonSerpent · Sep 21, 2021

Doomed Wombat said:
This is weird, but I think the primary question to ask in this case is "what is there that bares out their suspicions?"

So hmm... how do we phrase this while also angling for further route information?

[] I know this might be just another test from Elder Siani, but is there something out there might be of particular interest if not to the group I shall be traveling with, then to the Caretakers?

Doomed Wombat said:
Side note...can we take the pig?

His nose has proven to be seemingly impossibly sharp, so for sniffing out talents (and finding sick loot) they might prove to be a valuable asset.

We shall ride it into battle and treat it as if it were my own brother! Once more the Hogrider Dream comes alive!

zang269 said:
I feel a burning need to ask the question that would let us yoink someone in Nokai's situation.

Soon our meagre party shall swell with the ranks of potential minions!

Edkose · Sep 21, 2021

Doomed Wombat said:
This is weird, but I think the primary question to ask in this case is "what is there that bares out their suspicions?"

As in this is the supposed reasoning

Well, we know why from a side story:

Vesvius said:
Reports are arriving from every corner of the Empire," the Voice continues. "Reports of Imperial Citizens being slain in manners most disturbing. Messengers have come from Bronze Thicket bearing word of a family seemingly devoured. They have come from Azure Gardens with tales of fishermen dragged below the waves in broad daylight. Even more have come from Twelve Fields with reports too numerous and too varied to mention- and those are just the beginning."

Vesvius said:
"So tell me this, learned Elders. If that is the case, then why do we have a scourge of vestiges plaguing the outer reaches of my Empire?"

Every elder goes stock still. None are willing to answer the pointed question of the sovereign.

None save one.

"Because," Rinyi answers. "Our testers and those of the Imperial Bureaucracy have been neglecting those outer reaches to better serve the heartlands. "

The Emperor's head slowly turns. All of his focus rests on Rinyi.

"We are missing disciples, Glory," Rinyi continues. "That's where the Vestiges are coming from."

I guess KZ doesn't know that detail yet, but it's logical to assume that there'll be fights against vestiges on the conversation that Zhi and Xiong had regarding the threats to the Radiant Empire.

randomranter · Sep 21, 2021

[x] Will I have any additional Caretaker duties I need to accomplish while escorting?
[x] Are their any rivalries between us and Resolute March or Whispering Jackal
[x] Is there anything on our route that we should be keep our eyes out for?

KarmaA · Sep 21, 2021

[X] What should my priorities be on this mission?
[X] Do the Caretakers have any contacts in these areas that could be of service?
[X] How can I best make use of this opportunity to better myself while out of the sect?

aka
1) Should I focus on guarding, scouting, something else.
2) will there be external support

Tried for useful stuff if we're going to use the answers before we requisition stuff. Knowing other people we're grouped with would have helped if we could chat during the week to prepare better but currently doesn't seem like we'll be able to use anything we find out.

Doomed Wombat · Sep 21, 2021

MoonSerpent said:
[] I know this might be just another test from Elder Siani, but is there something out there might be of particular interest if not to the group I shall be traveling with, then to the Caretakers?

I mean unusual kinda means that they don't really know.

Its our job to investigate.

Edkose said:
I guess KZ doesn't know that detail yet, but it's logical to assume that there'll be fights against vestiges on the conversation that Zhi and Xiong had regarding the threats to the Radiant Empire.

Especially as this implies there are real reasons for it.

randomranter said:
[x] Will I have any additional Caretaker duties I need to accomplish while escorting?
[x] Are their any rivalries between us and Resolute March or Whispering Jackal

If there are any we will be told and we looked at the Sects. So we should know already.

eraserman · Sep 21, 2021

Chronobreak said:
This is either the set up for the Kong Zhi/Nokai/Mei Daiyu power trio, as foretold by Kong Ves himself, or the set up for Kong Zhi/Mo Hanying/Geng Tu for maximal torture.

Imagine.

Kong/Nokai/Geng. Can we avoid killing him on the mission.

Kong/Mei/Mo. Can we keep Mei from killing Mo without snubbing Mo in the process.

But the worst option: Kong/some one new/Some one new. We already have to many social options we don't need more.

DangerKitty · Sep 21, 2021

[x] What do we know about the tester we will be escorting?
[x] How should I conduct myself as a Caretaker outside of the Heart?
[x] What should my priorities be on this mission?

These seem most important to me

flotter · Sep 21, 2021

[X] How can I best make use of this opportunity to better myself while out of the sect?
[X]What is our actual duty during the mission? Are we to be bodyguards, aides, or something else?
[X] Your elder sister mentioned the tester would be collecting all the sparks that had been missed. Does that include those who have cycled anam when they were overlooked?

Enjou · Sep 21, 2021

Vesvius said:
"The greatest threat to the Empire has never been Spirit Beasts," Sister Xiong continues after reading the look on your face. "It has never been Waste Barbarians, Northern Savages, or the monstrosities that crawl from the Laughingstar. They are threats to be sure, but they can be stopped. They can be and have been overcome with the force of arms. But our greatest threat? Our greatest threat comes from within. It cannot be fought off or bargained with. It comes from the citizens themselves. It is-"

"-Vestiges," you finish, mumbling the answer before Sister Xiong can speak it.

Your senior gives another graceful nod at your words. "Indeed. To trained Artists, a Vestige may be nothing more than a distraction, but to a mortal, it is an unconquerable terror. A single Servant's Vestige can eradicate an entire farming village in under a day. A Soldier's Vestige can strike terror in an entire city, and a Farmer's? One Farmer's Vestige can break a unit of the Glorious Vanguard."

This makes a great deal of sense. A Spirit Beast will generally keep to a given territory, and probably will only cause so much damage before someone comes along to hunt them down. Hostile Artists aren't generally omnicidal, and you could potentially get them to go away for a bribe or some other form of submission. Even Kukuni aren't too big of a threat - they require anam to fight, but the majority of them aren't innately hostile to humans, and if you glean something of their nature you can predict them or even appease them in a lot of cases.

Vestiges aren't like that. When a Vestige sees a human being, it will without fail desire to consume that person and work to make it happen. They're beings of endless Hunger. You can't really negotiate with them or appease them, only fight them... and only if you have anam to do so. Mortals can do nothing against even the weakest of Vestiges except flee and hope they're faster or that the Vestige stops to eat someone else so they can get away, barring rare cases where the mortals might have charm weapons that can inflict spiritual damage. And the more advanced Vestiges get smarter, too, which is why a Soldier's Vestige can terrorize a city - they aren't entirely mindless beasts, and can potentially hunt their prey down while avoiding hostile Artists that could put them down.

Doomed Wombat · Sep 21, 2021

Ok reading the side story makes this all make sense.

In general it seems like the Emperor is trying to put a "hol da **** up" on the sects who he sees as focusing too much on the inner heart lands and the clans within who offer them tons of patronage.

I'm not sure if the fact he's specifying his testers is meant as a power play on the sects to see try and give them the impression that if they won't do their job he will, but the fact that they will be testing the people sent with them is likely a thing to poke at the Sect's and assess how strong they are in a way that is less biased than looking at the Sects himself would be.

I don't know if he maybe deciding on whether or not to axe a Sect, but it does beg the question that even with the Sect's focusing too much on the heartlands, why has there been a dearth in testers that the Sects are having to scramble to find people, even excepting that this is presumably a larger number of people being sent out than usual.

bookofportals · Sep 21, 2021

[X] How can I best make use of this opportunity to better myself while out of the sect?
[X] What do we know about the tester we will be escorting?
[X] What should my priorities be on this mission?
[X] How will we be traveling?

If we have additional Caretaker duties to accomplish, she'll probably tell us whether we ask or not, making that a waste of a question.

Rah13 · Sep 21, 2021

The contacts question probably won't get a clear answer because it's something we can get from requisitions.

[X] How can I best make use of this opportunity to better myself while out of the sect?
[X] What do we know about the tester we will be escorting?
[x] How should I conduct myself as a Caretaker outside of the Heart?
[x] What should my priorities be on this mission?

Edkose · Sep 21, 2021

[X] How can I best make use of this opportunity to better myself while out of the sect?
[X] What do we know about the tester we will be escorting?
[X] What should my priorities be on this mission?

unmatchingsocks · Sep 21, 2021

[x] What do we know about the tester we will be escorting?
[x] Will I have any additional Caretaker duties I need to accomplish while escorting?
[x] How long should I expect to be gone?
[x] What should my priorities be on this mission?
[x] Is there anything in particular that I should bring?
[x] Haven't seen Sun in a while, is he still alive?
[x] What things must I be careful of with the Resolute March?

KreenWarrior · Sep 21, 2021

Vesvius said:
"Not a great deal," you answer. When Sister Xiong sends you a look of silent recrimination, you hold in a sigh and plumb the depths of your mind for any possible nugget of information that might satisfy your senior. "I know that the seven sects of the Radiant Empire- the Seven Stars- kneel before the Dawnstone Seat and no other. I know that at times, nobles of the Steadfast Court have attempted to shackle the Sect's freedoms and have been stopped by the Dawnstone Seat's command every time. I know that the Seven Stars can be called upon in times of strife to support His armies. But aside from that, I know nothing."

Sister Xiong considers your words. "A decent answer, and a better one than I expected," she answers, her head inclining in a slight nod. "Indeed, all of those things are true. The Seven Stars of the Radiant Empire answer to none but his imperial glory and have since the time for the Emperor-In-Radiance. The Sects and the Dawnstone Seat are intertwined in ways that most cannot fathom, and have been since before the Dawnstone Seat was even created. It is a most unusual arrangement."

"It is?" you echo, your curiosity piqued despite Sister Xiong's utter refusal to move the conversation closer to your original query.

"It is," she repeats. "In other lands, such an arrangement would be seen as barely constrained chaos at best. They would wonder why the Sects are allotted so much freedom, or they would wonder why the Sects have need of the Steadfast Court at all. But the Emperor-In-Radiance knew that for the talents of Artists to be best leveraged, the Sects could not be constrained by the earthly concerns of government, nor could they function properly were they to be shackled to Seated institutions."

So, besides the concern for Vestiges, I think this provides some hints at why the sects work the way they do. The sects counterbalance the nobility and the bureaucracy (ie Seated institutions), both of which are traditional competitors to monarchal power in feudal systems. Presumably, this allows the Emperor to retain his power rather than disappearing behind a wall of eunuchs/ministers or being overtaken by powerful nobles and reduced to a figurehead.

Vesvius said:
Sister Xiong studies you in silence for a long moment. Eventually, she shakes her head. "You think too little of yourself Kong Zhi, though I will concede that you have some small point," she allows. "And indeed, members of the Fist and the Hand are being dispatched as well. You will likely be assigned to a trio with members of those courts. But you are forgetting one key detail."

A ghost of a smile crosses Sister Xiong's face. "Sending the Eighth out on assignment this early… it is not usually done. Were the need not pressing, it would never even be considered. But if Elder Hotei is to be believed, it is not only a pressing need, it is a vital one- and that makes this a very unusual situation."

"And when there is an unusual situation, upon whom does the sect call?" Sister Xiong asks.

You let out a low breath, knowing where she is going with this. "They call on the Caretakers."

"Indeed they do," comes the answer. "Now, if you have any questions pertaining to your assignment, now is the time to ask them."

And what do Caretakers do when they encounter an unusual situation? Investigate. I think we should take advantage of our straightforward Aurochs-ish nature to try to ask some probing questions of the tester when we get the chance. There may indeed be more to this decree than is apparent on the surface. One thing that occurs to me - we know from the side-story that the sects usually handle testing. Here, the Emperor is sending out his own testers. That's an assault on sect autonomy - a small one, but of such small abrogations of power are great shifts eventually made. The Emperor is known to favor the sects... but he could always change his mind.

I'm also curious what the 5th, 6th and 7th are engaged in. Surely Siani's little display of power didn't cause that much disruption - Ves said the sect lost some people but was overall fine. The Tournament of Seven Stars is implied to be a yearly affair, so probably not that - unless the Heart is hosting this year, in which case, yeah, set-up might take many months. Maybe they're engaged in setting up the infrastructure for the waves of newbies? Or something entirely different behind the scenes?

nothingtoseehere · Sep 21, 2021

[X] How can I best make use of this opportunity to better myself while out of the sect?
[X] What do we know about the tester we will be escorting?
[X] What should my priorities be on this mission?

EternalStruggle · Sep 21, 2021

KreenWarrior said:
I'm also curious what the 5th, 6th and 7th are engaged in. Surely Siani's little display of power didn't cause that much disruption - Ves said the sect lost some people but was overall fine. The Tournament of Seven Stars is implied to be a yearly affair, so probably not that - unless the Heart is hosting this year, in which case, yeah, set-up might take many months. Maybe they're engaged in setting up the infrastructure for the waves of newbies? Or something entirely different behind the scenes?

I think we can find a partial answer by looking back at the first post where we were warned about this entire affair, this one. It seems like the Sects thought they'd have trouble filling the sheer amount of required escort slots, so presumably the Circles above us are largely already deployed on the same mission, just ahead of us. The Radiant Empire's a big place after all, population... I'm not sure, but Large for sure. And the Sects, well, seem to only have a few thousand or so disciples each.

Edkose · Sep 21, 2021

KreenWarrior said:
So, besides the concern for Vestiges, I think this provides some hints at why the sects work the way they do. The sects counterbalance the nobility and the bureaucracy (ie Seated institutions), both of which are traditional competitors to monarchal power in feudal systems. Presumably, this allows the Emperor to retain his power rather than disappearing behind a wall of eunuchs/ministers or being overtaken by powerful nobles and reduced to a figurehead.

And what do Caretakers do when they encounter an unusual situation? Investigate. I think we should take advantage of our straightforward Aurochs-ish nature to try to ask some probing questions of the tester when we get the chance. There may indeed be more to this decree than is apparent on the surface. One thing that occurs to me - we know from the side-story that the sects usually handle testing. Here, the Emperor is sending out his own testers. That's an assault on sect autonomy - a small one, but of such small abrogations of power are great shifts eventually made. The Emperor is known to favor the sects... but he could always change his mind.

I'm also curious what the 5th, 6th and 7th are engaged in. Surely Siani's little display of power didn't cause that much disruption - Ves said the sect lost some people but was overall fine. The Tournament of Seven Stars is implied to be a yearly affair, so probably not that - unless the Heart is hosting this year, in which case, yeah, set-up might take many months. Maybe they're engaged in setting up the infrastructure for the waves of newbies? Or something entirely different behind the scenes?

I think there's always been Imperial Testers as well as Sect testers, and both groups didn't care too much about the outer provinces. What's new is that the Emperor has given a direct order for where they are going and sped up the training of the newest batch of Imperial Testers.

The 7th and 6th are also occupied with testing the population for Sparks:

Vesvius said:
A great number of the Sixth Circle and most of the Seventh has already been sent out to escort the testers in their work; the first wave could be here in weeks!"

The two sit in silence as they focus on their work. Gao Ning is the next to break the silence. "Wait, only most of the Seventh has been sent out? Why not all of them? Should this task not fall upon their shoulders?"

"Oh, it is," Ng Wu confirms. "The rest of the Seventh will likely be mobilized soon- at least, those who follow the Imperial Hand. But after that… well, the rumor is that-"
***
"Soon they may begin to send out promising Eighth Circle members!" Gao Ning breathes out. "The demand is so great that the Sixth and Seventh alone cannot fulfill it! Should the remainder of the Seventh not prove up to the challenge, the Hand will have to send the Eighth to pick up their slack!"

So yeah, it's a huge drain on Sect resources.

KreenWarrior · Sep 21, 2021

Edkose said:
I think there's always been Imperial Testers as well as Sect testers, and both groups didn't care too much about the outer provinces. What's new is that the Emperor has given a direct order for where they are going and sped up the training of the newest batch of Imperial Testers.

Fair enough. It's interesting that the Imperial testers weren't hitting the outer provinces either, though... unless it's simply a matter of numbers.

Edit: One of the interesting consequences of this is going to be a huge influx of non-noble Artists. So this might have the impact of weakening the nobility in the short term. Then again, if enough of those Artists become nobles, it might actually strengthen the nobility in the long run.

Horium · Sep 21, 2021

Two things kinda stood out to me:

Vesvius said:
"I… I've not yet even climbed to the Seventh Circle!" You have no idea why that is the objection that leaves your lips, but it is the one that stands out the most in your mind. The Seventh Circle is comprised of those who are ready and willing to leave the sect for assignments. You are not yet a member of the Seventh Circle. Ergo, you are not ready to leave the sect for assignments.

Sister Xiong seems unmoved by your words. "Indeed, you have not," comes her answer, the vague disdain in her voice leaving no doubt who she blames that on.

Really? I mean really? Talk about unrealistic if not outright impossible expectations. Has a single member of Zhi's class ascended to the 7th? Has any of the disciples from other classes in previous years ascended after only a couple of months?

Vesvius said:
"Sister Xiong? Why are they sending me?"

An excellent question. OOC, the reason is that Ves wants to write an adventure outside of the Sect.

IC, Xiong's answer to Zhi's question is pretty weak. Especially since the real reason for massive numbers of disciples needed is known to the Sect Leadership (and the readers).

The Sects messed up, there's a large ticking vestige-bomb backlog in the outskirts, and the Heart is overcompensating in order to showcase their remorse and loyalty to the Emperor.

The real reason is probably either that the Caretakers have to send at least someone (and Zhi's the better choice) or that Siani wants Zhi to have a baptism of fire with manageable risks.

Thor's Twin · Sep 21, 2021

[x] How can I best make use of this opportunity to better myself while out of the sect?
[x] What do we know about the tester we will be escorting?
[x] What should my priorities be on this mission?

Crazyone47 · Sep 21, 2021

Why am I seeing that we only have seven actions in the current plan?

Enjou · Sep 21, 2021

Crazyone47 said:
Why am I seeing that we only have seven actions in the current plan?

The 'do this multiple times' markers weren't included in Ves's quote.

CuriousRaptor · Sep 21, 2021

KreenWarrior said:
So, besides the concern for Vestiges, I think this provides some hints at why the sects work the way they do. The sects counterbalance the nobility and the bureaucracy (ie Seated institutions), both of which are traditional competitors to monarchal power in feudal systems. Presumably, this allows the Emperor to retain his power rather than disappearing behind a wall of eunuchs/ministers or being overtaken by powerful nobles and reduced to a figurehead.

And what do Caretakers do when they encounter an unusual situation? Investigate. I think we should take advantage of our straightforward Aurochs-ish nature to try to ask some probing questions of the tester when we get the chance. There may indeed be more to this decree than is apparent on the surface. One thing that occurs to me - we know from the side-story that the sects usually handle testing. Here, the Emperor is sending out his own testers. That's an assault on sect autonomy - a small one, but of such small abrogations of power are great shifts eventually made. The Emperor is known to favor the sects... but he could always change his mind.

I'm also curious what the 5th, 6th and 7th are engaged in. Surely Siani's little display of power didn't cause that much disruption - Ves said the sect lost some people but was overall fine. The Tournament of Seven Stars is implied to be a yearly affair, so probably not that - unless the Heart is hosting this year, in which case, yeah, set-up might take many months. Maybe they're engaged in setting up the infrastructure for the waves of newbies? Or something entirely different behind the scenes?

The 5th 6th and 7th are likely either already on the field, or preparing environs for the newbies. This in turn means an huge expansion of services from clothes, to food, to water, shelter, proper tests, etc. They're expecting a bumper crop of novitiates, and assuming we not taking no for an answer like what was in Xu Yun's backstory we are likely to need a gaol expanded as well. All the sect are about to take a logistical hit here, and they're trying to prepare for it because this class is likely to eclipse the rest of the delving heart's population of cultivators put together, and assuming The Emperor does not one and done the following classes are likely to be MUCH larger for the foreseeable future as well. This requires a long term planning and expansion, which means they need to get too it NOW before it bites them. It's tantamount to wartime getting declared and suddenly you production order of rifles has not only been magnified by an order of ten and that order is not likely to go down and quite possibly go up for the foreseeable future. You're going to need to expand because you can only give you much overtime to your employees for so long to make up the difference.

Vesvius · Sep 21, 2021

Horium said:
Really? I mean really? Talk about unrealistic if not outright impossible expectations. Has a single member of Zhi's class ascended to the 7th? Has any of the disciples from other classes in previous years ascended after only a couple of months?

Responded to this in discord, but figured I should probably make my response public record too.

Let's look at the data points here.

Data Point One: Zhi has been told he will be in the Seventh Circle the moment he is ready

Data Point Two: Zhi is not currently a member of the Seventh Circle

The Conclusion we can draw: Zhi is not ready.

Follow-up Question: who is in charge of Zhi's day to day activities and training?

Answer: the man himself

Final Conclusion: It is Zhi's fault he is not ready to be in the Seventh Circle

Is it charitable? Nooooooooooooooooo.

Is it wrong? Also nooooooooooooooooooo.

The Path Unending (A Cultivation Quest)

Let's go Darling!

Aiming for Space

shoddy writter

Let's go Darling!

The Wicked God