[ ] Soar high, and and witness the Nightmare of War Unending (+1 Power XP, Explores theme violence with party.)
[ ] Walk low, and know the Nightmare of Final Conquest (+1 Ending XP, Explores themes of loss with party.)
This is interesting. These options are related to the Xi, maybe? Their entire thing was constant warring and expansion into the south; theirs is really the era that cemented the true enmity between Emerald Seas and Cloud. And we also know they were big into mined resource extraction in the south, and that it was kind of mismanaged, with lingering effects to this day. So both options would match nightmares related to the Xi. Both seem really valuable and I can see links to different characters in different ways.
[ ] Soar high, and and witness the Nightmare of War Unending (+1 Power XP, Explores theme violence with party.)
War has loomed large in the story for a while now, but we haven't really gotten a birds eye view of it besides a couple sidestories. Which makes sense, since Ling Qi's a small piece on the board. This is a cool opportunity to see things from a different perspective, and it's probably helpful for later war arcs we have.
In terms of the party, there's some interesting dynamics going on with the topic. Ling Qi's always been rooted in a very personal context for conflict and violence between people, though she's been trying to branch out. War, and war across generations and epochs, is a new venue for her to think about. Xuan Shi's clan has their forever war with the sea folk, a conflict he might not entirely be feeling like he's one side of due to his implied heritage on his mother's side, and the exclusion he's faced from the Xuan. Zhengui should have insights on the destruction and growth spurred by conflict, and perhaps the experience will open his eyes to the waste that can come from destruction as well, or the inequity of growth's distribution in its wake. Kongyou's expressed desire for big dramatic falls in the past, so it's possible that a slogging forever conflict which grinds people's tragedies down to dust and numb nothingness will turn out to be to their distaste. Sixiang's probably not going to be very happy in general, but it's a good place to pick up material for them to work on in the upcoming Nightmare Tribulation.
[ ] Walk low, and know the Nightmare of Final Conquest (+1 Ending XP, Explores themes of loss with party.)
We're trying to prevent and limit war, but another concern is what the aftermath of conflict looks like, whether we succeed or fail. Victory is still failure if it doesn't hew to our vision of the world.
If this is to do with the Xi, then the implication I'm getting from the mineshaft is forced labor of conquered people, probably mostly hill tribe but others as well. I expect similar ideological revulsion from Ling Qi and Zhengui. The end/destruction of autonomy bent towards petty consumptive enrichment of the victors, instead of growth or new starts. Also, as Sparkle pointed out to me, examining the history of forced labor of subjugated people is an interesting counterpoint to our upcoming Wang focus. Who are currently subjugating people and all.
Other stuff: it helps sell our project to Xuan Shi, offering a tangible state we want to avoid. Plus he might have a unique perspective on loss with his personal issues. Kongyou might have to actually confront the consequences of tragedy, which could be interesting. Sixiang, probably the same as above.
[X] Walk low, and know the Nightmare of Final Conquest (+1 Ending XP, Explores themes of loss with party.)
Leaning this way for now, might change my mind later.
