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

If I don't misunderstand it, then this is still mainly for the Aria of Endings, which is LQ´s big offensive art, and one of the reasons we wanted to refine this art was because it was too unfocused and did too many things at once, but none really good, so I feel
[] To Want is to live, to grasp, to strive. At the foundation of every bond, in the root of every ambition, threaded through every movement of the world. In it's severance is despair. In despair lies death.

fits better for the purpose of a more pure offensive art because it is more focused.
As it would "just" sever, it is likely harder to defend against it than first trying to find understanding and then deciding what to do. (I hope I got across what I meant.)

If I misunderstood and this is more general, then
[] To want is to live, to grasp, to strive. At the foundation of every bond, in the root of every ambition, threaded through every movement of the world. Discern the deepest want in a soul, and there find the key to its understanding or undoing.
Probably fits more.

[X] To want is to live, to grasp, to strive. At the foundation of every bond, in the root of every ambition, threaded through every movement of the world. Discern the deepest want in a soul, and there find the key to its understanding or undoing.

Mr.Kittens said:

This felt like LQ was a step away from mantling Winter Wonderland. It's good practice to start with a spirit already aligned with her way somewhat - I wonder if we'll see it again?

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I feel it's the other way around with Winter Wonderland manteling Ling Qi lol

[X] To want is to live, to grasp, to strive. At the foundation of every bond, in the root of every ambition, threaded through every movement of the world. Discern the deepest want in a soul, and there find the key to its understanding or undoing.

[X] To want is to live, to grasp, to strive. At the foundation of every bond, in the root of every ambition, threaded through every movement of the world. Discern the deepest want in a soul, and there find the key to its understanding or undoing.

To take a sword or to take a shovel.
I will take the noble and righteous entrenching tool.

Whether to dig a hole or to bash in some heads.

[X] To want is to live, to grasp, to strive. At the foundation of every bond, in the root of every ambition, threaded through every movement of the world. Discern the deepest want in a soul, and there find the key to its understanding or undoing.

[X] To want is to live, to grasp, to strive. At the foundation of every bond, in the root of every ambition, threaded through every movement of the world. Discern the deepest want in a soul, and there find the key to its understanding or undoing.

This approach feels more balanced than the other one. Also more heisty rather than killy.

[X] To want is to live, to grasp, to strive. At the foundation of every bond, in the root of every ambition, threaded through every movement of the world. Discern the deepest want in a soul, and there find the key to its understanding or undoing.

[X] To Want is to live, to grasp, to strive. At the foundation of every bond, in the root of every ambition, threaded through every movement of the world. In it's severance is despair. In despair lies death.

Finally recognized what she did in full.
It is Huisheng's trick, to know that your Qi, even inside someone else's belly, is still yours until they make it theirs.
Its Shu Yue's trick to synchronize with them, to speak with their voice, and then finally twist what they think to match what you think, because you say what they say.

yrsillar said:

She punched through it, and immediately felt the frigid, leeching chill on herself even as she allowed her own Mist to flow out into the featureless void of snow. She felt her qi nipped at chewed, frozen dissolved, wicking away like water, spinning off into the quietly howling winds.

But, she had after all witnessed how a thief could hold their treasures even when they vanished from the pocket.

Hush. Hush. Hush. Sink into the white.

Ling Qi inhaled the frigid air, feeling her qi whorling through the vast circuit of winds surrounding them, and sang back.

Quiet. Quiet. Winds rock cold bones to sleep.

Her voice rippled outward, but not from her own lips. The great diffuse mass of qi around her shook, almost imperceptibly.

Silence? Silence? Lay heavy 'cross the land.

The returning verse was a little different than the quiet cold whispers, a curl of questioning in the tone.

Silence. Silence. Glittering in the hills.

But she sang in the same whisper, the some breathy cruelly playful tone, her voice in brought in synch by the bleeding of her qi into the whiteout.

Blow wind Blow, wipe it all away.

Beyond the fires, beyond the roads, snows quiet sleep.

Even she had a hard time telling her own voice from the spirits as she aligned herself too it further, and very carefully bent the intent with her own. They were, after all, very similar.

The difference lay in purpose. This spirit, for all their power, was a thing of directionless, all consuming hunger. It was…. Sad in a way, probably better that it or she did not have a more humanlike self. If it had, there would be no choice but to destroy it, such a thing could only be a monster which could never be allowed to exist near humans.

Lashing tails, a near skeletal body black lips drawn back over yellowed fangs flecked with foam.

At the very least, she didn't think she could stop Su Ling from getting some practice in, if that was the case.

Surrounded in this hunger, feeling it leech into her bones, the frost creeping over her skin and cracking her fingertips. She breathed out. Purest Want in its primal form. The qi she had fed into it resonated far more strongly than the motes she had stolen from Huisheng resonated with her.

She pushed her qi outward, and ceased to hold back the icy emptiness that surrounded her, letting qi flood into the spirits channels.

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"You wanted to know where I'd put my self," said Granny. "I didn't go anywhere. I just put it in something alive, and you took it. You invited me in. I'm in every muscle in your body and I'm in your head, oh yes. I was in the blood, Count. In the blood. I ain't been vampired. You've been Weatherwaxed. All of you. And you've always listened to your blood, haven't you?"

– Granny's speech to the Count | Terry Pratchett, Carpe Jugulum

Huisheng really has been good for LQ, looking forward to the fourth tribulation over there if we think we can survive it without long term damage?

So option 1 here, to me, is sort of neutral. If you know the deepest want of a soul, you can do whatever. Understand or unmake, probably other things that aren't directly stated. This is a good insight, and flexible. To me this seems to be leaning more towards manipulative type things. Or diplomatic, if you want to be friendly about it.

Option 2 is more focused in description, but broad in target. It only addresses the severing of want, and how without that core want, things will despair and die. But unlike option 1, it doesn't specify "soul", implying it's applying to the whole list of things with Wants. Bonds, ambitions, movements. And this allows the wielding of a weapon even in a diplomatic sense. Attack the reasons why want an alliance to exist, and make it fall apart.

There is also an argument to be made for the purity of philosophy. Especially in something that can be used as a blade against other cultivators. Now, this isn't much of a difference; most of both insights is the same. Both address Want as the foundational driving factor behind basically everything. The difference lies in what to do with that understanding. Note that it's not like the second option prevents other uses of understanding the core Want, we won't be Way-locking ourselves out of anything. It just won't be as impactful as it won't be directly baked into an insight.

I also think that Option 2 is useful from a non-weapon perspective, specifically because it says unequivocally that severing core want leads to despair. It means we need to respect and accommodate the wants of those we care about. I don't think this is absolutely necessary, since our other domain levels (especially in regards to choice and community) and advanced Insight will help ground and provide nuance. But it is still a good thing to internalize.

[X] To Want is to live, to grasp, to strive. At the foundation of every bond, in the root of every ambition, threaded through every movement of the world. In it's severance is despair. In despair lies death.

I want to sever the Want of an alliance. Or a war.

[X] To Want is to live, to grasp, to strive. At the foundation of every bond, in the root of every ambition, threaded through every movement of the world. In it's severance is despair. In despair lies death.

Just as a side note, "In it's severance is despair" probably goes directly against the Pure One's philosophy, assuming that it's based on Buddhism.

[X] To Want is to live, to grasp, to strive. At the foundation of every bond, in the root of every ambition, threaded through every movement of the world. In it's severance is despair. In despair lies death.

Tamwin5 said:

it's not like the second option prevents other uses

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Option 1 is probably far better in high level cultivator fights, but in a society, Option 2 cutting off small Wants continually probably does more damage in the long run?

I thought we didn't need the dress to fly? Wasn't that the whole deal with the Wind Thief arc ages ago, where the dress got stressed and gobbled up some sheets?

yrsillar said:

Whiteout Wonderland. The storm which blurred away the world, where travelers wandered until they stumbled exhausted, and sank into the false warmth which preceded death. Oh yes, cousin to Zeqing, that was what this was, with no mountain to be her own, but no less hungry and territorial for it. But all the same… she could feel the particles of stolen qi whipping out through the blizzard, circulating in its winds even as they were slowly dissolved and drunk.

The spirits whole being was diffuse. They were not hiding in the snow, they weren't dematierialized the way she would be, hiding in her mist. No, she doubted that this spirit even could consolidate itself that way. It was a core being, something solid to resist being overwritten, to keep existing from winter to winter, but it still more phenomena than person.

She could work with that, even if she couldn't contest its raw power, as she was right now.

That diffusion is what she could use to solve this.

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Ling Qi has understood the nature of the Spirit and is going to use that to unmake it.

yrsillar said:

Please Select the level V insight.

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Getting the first Level V insight is a really huge deal.

[X] To want is to live, to grasp, to strive. At the foundation of every bond, in the root of every ambition, threaded through every movement of the world. Discern the deepest want in a soul, and there find the key to its understanding or undoing.

They're both really close to each other as insights it's just the last bit that is different. I personally think that having this insight being about understanding or undoing something is more flexible even which is better even if it costs focus.