Forge of Destiny(Xianxia Quest)

[tryrar]

Goddamit, @Thor's Twin has me inspired. I want to know more about this Norse-Germanic culture the he just created, so you get to suffer through the adventures of a young scion of a Marquis who has put together a trade expedition to the fabulously wealthy and exotic Celestial Empire on behalf of the Imperiala Ligan(Imperial League in Swedish). Note, not really a writer, but hey like I said, I got inspired, so blame Thor!

A Steward's Journal
​

132 Bauchman 3, first of Spring 1

It is done.

I, Konrad Meyer, 4th son to the Margrave of Süßwasserfurt, have obtained a Kings Warrant to conduct trade with foreign nations. Specifically, with the mysterious Celestial Empire, that shadowed land of Spirits and mages. With the funds I have ammased, and with the company I have assembled, plus a few generous "donations" to the Løvenes Orden have Convinced King Bauchman, as well as the Convocation of Princes, that my plan is warranted imperial support. Many trade missions have been launched to this far away Empire since explorers discovered it in 36 Leonhardt, but not many have returned. Those that have, have brought back riches and acclaim aplenty, which is what I need to convince father to make me heir instead of my wastrel brothers.

The candle burns low. I need to make ready for an early start in the morn, as I depart for Steinhaven, the largest port city on the coast of the Kristallmeer. I sail in two months.

132 Bauchman 3, 10th of Spring 1

I have arrived in Steinhaven, and have been hosted by the Margrave Reiner Von Albrecht. After the usual fetes and well mets', I have started assembling the expedition, bolstered by the addition of the Margrave's second cousin and good friend of mine, Klaus Von Griesheim, who holds the title of viscount and is the Margrave's primary craftmage, running the forges and craftwerks of the city. Having trained his latest batch of journeymen to Mastery of the fourth foundation, he has decided it was time to go on an adventure "before I'm all old and calcified", as he says. He has been an invaluable aid in gaining supplies, trade goods, and most importantly, convincing shipmasters to sign onto the expedition.

Meanwhile, I have opened a recruiting office for crew, porters, tailors, and various other sundry personnel needed, as well as the command staff who will be issuing the orders Klaus and I give. I pray to the Goddess for swift success.

132 Bauchman 3, 18th of Spring 1

A Kings Warrant goes a long way in smoothing over problems with merchants and suppliers, shipmen and traders. Trouble was averted after a league of merchants, hearing of the expedition, engaged in shady price practices for their wares. Nothing was provably illegal, but it was threatening to destroy my carefully laid out budget, with some things being 300% more expensive than usual, always with some unverifiable yet plausible excuse. They changed their tune real quick when presented the document and told that impeding an officially sanctioned trade mission was grounds for charges of treason, which carried the penalty of summary execution. It was real mysterious after that how easy it was to buy fresh meats at half the cost as normal, almost as if they were afraid for their lives. Funny that.

Another issue that has come up is the hierarchy of rank among the ship captains, who are a fairly independent lot at the best of times and not used to taking orders from others. This was solved by appointing a fairly intimidating man only known as Higgs the Unstoppable, who is one of the few to have sailed the Todesstraßen and reached the even more mysterious Children of Earth far to south past the barbaric tribes of the Great Desert, as Shipmaster to the Expedition. Few here would dare say he is unqualified, and fewer still would dare question his orders or resolve. I am glad such a man has decided to sign on, as I must confess when it comes to ships I may as well be attempting to fly like the famed tribes of the Clouds.

132 Bauchmann 3, 25th Spring 1

Progress continues apace. More and more supplies and goods fills the warehouse I have rented for the expedition, awaiting loading onto the fleet of merchant ships that have signed on.

Meanwhile, I have begun intensive study of everything that is known of the lands that we intend to set forth for. While even today we know only a barest fraction of what there is to know about the Celestial Empire, what we do know is fascinating. The first thing to know is they are extremely suspicious of outsiders, and mostly consider them barbarians. This is reflected by the fact that nobody who is not a citizen of the Empire has any rights at all, outside of the region bordering on the Kristallmeer known as the Savage Seas-which is the only area that has the authority to trade with outsiders and only then in specially designated trade cities. Any foreigner caught outside of such designated zones is at risk of being summarily captured as a spy. They are especially suspicious of foreign mages, and require such individuals to wear suppression runes at all times. (I've ran across several mentions that a couple of the early expeditions were devastated by mysterious "storms" that arose suddenly after a mage was caught asking too many leading questions.)

Speaking of magic, their entire magical tradition is at times familiar and confounding. Like us, their mages tend to be the rulers and elite of their society, due to the fact that magic preserves the body, and forces out mortality; however, they don't call themselves mages, but "cultivators", and "immortals", due to this effect. And while we conform to the 5 elements of Earth, Wind, Fire, Water, and Aether, The cultivators of the Empire have as many elements as it seems at times as the grains of sand on a beach, though they have a "standard" set of 8 Elements that conform to some description of the human spirit, expressed as Heaven, Wind, Water, Mountain, Earth, Thunder, Fire, Lake. I must confess the intricacies of them all are somewhat confusing, and these are just the "standard" elements. There are others acknowledged, such as Wood, which seems to be some subset of earth or water, and Metal, which seems to be some variation on Wood, or Fire, to more exotic elements such as Music(yes, Music. I had to double check the translation to be sure, but Music is an an element, apparently), and even Life, and Death. Apparently, if there was an element created for a cultivator's Way, then it ends up acknowledged in some form or another, no matter if it might fit better under a more broader element.

Speaking of Ways, from what we have gathered over the years, a cultivator's Way is something VERY important in their growth. Nobody is sure of the specifics, but once a cultivator reaches the third foundation, they choose the one concept that embodies them the most, and develops a cloak of power similar that to, ironically, a Mage's Mantle, which from then on defines their cultivation as they advance. I find it somewhat interesting on how two different cultures, separated by such distance and time, have developed a similar concept on handling the ever greater power a mage wields as they advance on foundation-given that our own mages bolster their willpower by choosing a concept, and reinforcing it until it becomes the unbreakable iron pillar that supports a mage's ascension. And how fascinating that as a cultivator AND mage grows in power, that concept more and more manifests as an aura of power that influences the world around him!

As for the Spirits of the Divine that they worship, well that's exactly what they are. Grand Spirits and Ancestors that Ascended, and are revered throughout. It is somewhat a strange concept for us who worship only the Goddess, she who is arbiter of the Mortal Elements and Avatar of the Spirit Aether, but not something unthinkable-since we believe the Elemental Spirits are the messengers of the Goddess, it is not an unfathomable leap for one to believe that the Great Spirits rule the heavens, and the Ancestors are the messengers and caretakers to and from the Gods. I must confess, though, this is still vaguely...unsettling. And they are not keen on hearing an outside viewpoint on the matter, as the 15th expedition undertaken in 235 Dahlmann 2 found out the hard way when missionaries from the Lammets Orden caused the entire expedition to be summarily banished.(There was again, a mysterious storm that later destroyed half the expedition on the way back to the League. It is suspected a powerful weather mage is a member of the ruling Duchy of the Savage Seas, but no confirmation can be obtained).

I must cut this short, as I have suddenly realized that the sun is setting, and I have not eaten in hours. While food is less of a concern for a mage, even one as low rank as I, one must still maintain decorum.


132 Bauchmann 3, 12th Spring 2

Things are coming together, as the last of the ships begin loading in preparation of setting sail on high tide in a week. As of late, my research has moved from the customs and ways of the Celestial Empire, and onto the hazards of the voyage in order to better prepare for them. Along with Klaus and Shipmaster Higgs, I have discovered that the hazards of the voyage are relatively few, all told. Other than the sheer length of the journey, which is a distressingly long 6 month voyage with at least 1 month sailing from sight of land in order to cross the Great Northern Bay, the only real hazard is one from the rather piratical nation of the Rote Geraden, inhabiting a chain of islands somwhat north of the Empire. They are ruled by the Krakenkönig, whose power is based on the number of shipmasters who follow him, and the amount of treasure they manage to plunder from their neighbors, and appear to be a rather large thorn in the side of the Celestial Empire. The Empire has a number of patrols to catch raiders as they appear, but as outsiders if we are caught outside of the range of patrols, the Empire's stand is that we're essentially on our own.

Given that armed ships are generally treated no different than raiders, this does present a rather tricky logistical situation, as we cannot be perceived to be threatening the empire or risk being sunk. I have read speculation that they are still a little resentful about the outcome of the battle of Northern Bay in 98 Leonhardt, which was tactically a draw but strategically forced them to acknowledge that we weren't just barbarians, and lead to the current treaty opening trade with us. There was mention of the then Ducal house collapsing in support from the outcome and the current House of Xuan rising in their place, but that is neither here nor there. In any case, we have decided to adopt a strategy of counterboarding any raiders, as there doesn't seem to be any objection to personal arms, simply anything that might point to the ship being a warship.

I just got a knock at the door. It appears Higgs has a few last minute preparations he wants to make me aware of.


132 Bauchmann 3, 19th Spring 2.

I sit here on board the flagship of the Fleet as the sun rises. We set sail in an hour!

---

Yeah, didn't get anywhere near the Empire just yet, but I just couldn't resist fleshing out the background of the kingdom Thor created. I might continue this in a part 2 detailing the journey and arrival of the trade expedition, but for now I'm tapped out.

 

[Neshuakadal]

The Pass: Shield of the World


Amongst all of the great Cities of Katoikia there has not been a well written account of The Pass. Finding this unacceptable as The Pass is the shield upon which Katoikia rests behind I have endeavor to write an account of The Pass that is both worthy of The Pass's glory and my own greatness. I hope that my account shall be read to the children once The Pass is no longer needed; once we reclaim Apxaios. I shall first start with the history of The Pass.


Even the smallest child knows that our people have not always lived in the cities of Katoikia. Long ago our people lived in Apxaios. That wondrous land of plenty. Great cities and great athánatos. This was not to last. During a great war between athánatos everything changed. Over the horizon a dark cloud had formed. The astamátiti had come from behind the horizon. Most crawled among the fertile land defieling the land with their decaying flesh and toxic esoterikós. Some marched in formations much like our athánatos. This great curse shattered our cities, shattered our athánatos, shattered our people, and shattered our families. Our people had no choice but to flee before the astamátiti. However no matter how far we fled the astamátiti followed. We fled through the plains over the rivers and into Katoikia. With great seas on either side of Katoikia our people continued forward. Then our scouts returned and told us that the land of Katoikia ended as the two seas swept together to swallow the land. Some of our crafter athánatos built great boats to continue the escape. Those of us that had not boarded boats watched in horror as the seas turned hungry and red. Giant monsters arose out of the sea to devour those that had sailed onto those seas. Our people were trapped. The astamátiti behind us marching forward with their horrific esoterikós and the hungry seas before us.


This is when the greatest athánatos to grace our people arose. His name was Ἀρχιμήδης. He was the finest athánatos to have ever lived. Many say he is the finest athánatos who can live. Skilled beyond even other athánatos in the matters of crafting and of shaping the world he decided to build and arm The Pass. He built the pass out of rock. Blocking off Katoikia from Apxaios The Pass forms a rectangle a third of a mile high, five miles long, and 30 miles wide. A small path 20 feet wide cuts through the middle of The Pass giving The Pass it's name. In the rooms and passages built within The Pass Ἀρχιμήδης and his fellow crafter athánatos began to build. They threw vast engines into the seas on either side of The Pass. The engines heat those waters to such an amount that the astamátiti would boil alive should they try and swim around The Pass. Then they crafted vast armies of war golems and siege weapons to help our brave warrior athánatos hold The Pass. While those armaments were being crafted Ἀρχιμήδης himself began to build his golems and siege weapons. Every single one of his siege weapons still stand spewing death from the back of The Pass. Sadly only one of his golems still stand. Atlas watches ever vigil over the vast metal graveyard where Ἀρχιμήδης and his golems stood and fell defending The Pass from the greatest astamátiti assault recorded. It is because of his genius and sacrifice that The Pass held off the assault. Ἀρχιμήδης's sacrifice allowed our people to rebuild here in Katoikia and it will be his legacy that allows our people to one day reclaim Apxaios.


Part Two

…..


A/N

It's no longer a writer's bite it's a plague! Curse you @tryrar and @Thor's Twin ! This is my idea for a state that exists at the opposite side of the Golden Fields. The idea of what would it mean if the ash walkers expanded in as many directions as possible. I have not yet heard of any geographical reason why the couldn't just expand in the other direction from the golden fields. My imagination thought of what a peoples reaction would be when a huge horde of ashwalkers just showed up at their borders and starting killing them. This Civ is based on the ancient Greeks. I hope everyone enjoys my offering to the omake lists. Also the guy writing this account is really too full of himself and I hope I got that across. Any critiques welcome!

 

[Neshuakadal]

A/N
Another omake for the omake throne @yrsillar ! This omake takes place sometime around Cui Interlude. Please enjoy and any critiques welcome!

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Fate and Fortune of the Forgotten


I desperately tried to muffle the moans of pain my body seemed intent on sharing with the world. I struggled to make as little noise as possible while curled in a corner of my tiny dirt cave. The pair of Rimefur wolves sniffing and prowling outside were making life far more exciting then it should be in my humble opinion. Letting out a sob as I heard the wolves start chasing something else I relaxed with relief. With shaking hands I pulled out my small diary.


Day 3 After Attack: The poison in my leg is continuing to cause excruciating pain even after three days. For three days after that horrific Bai had ambushed my party I have lain here in pain. I guess I was somewhat lucky though. Once Bai had realized that I had no information she wanted she turned her "loving" and "caring" attention to my party members and forgot about me. If I had known that the group who approached me worked for that scum Yan Renshu I would have never accepted their offer. I was so desperate though. So desperate for an edge. Something, anything that could be a seed for growth. I still have no idea for what I should strive for. Should I strive for a craftsman? Create wonders like the spirit barrier around my small village? Perhaps I should strive to master the staff as a warrior. Oh spirits… What would the village elders think of me? To see the village's staff lay here in the mud with me. They always took such care of it and now it is just getting filthy like me… Oh spirits.. I. I shall sleep now. Perhaps tomorrow will be better.


Day 4 After Attack: The pain seemed a little less today! Not nearly small enough to walk on though.. Watching the rain fall outside my little cave was a very soothing experience. I have started again my cultivation practice. This experience, this painful painful experience, has shown me how pitiful I was before. I was comfortable being at late red and gold. I am normal I cried in my heart. I am not a freak like that Ji Rong or that Ling Qi! I was happy being normal. Now here I lay in this muddy filth, trapped. The forest around me is filled with beasts far stronger than me. I have given up on my "friends" coming back for me. While they may have received far more attention than me, they also had healing pastes and pills that I would have never been able to afford. Yet even with all of that they could barely walk much less support someone who could not walk at all. So they left, leaving a promise that they would bring back some healing supplies. A promise they have seemed to forgotten about… I.. I shall cultivate some more than sleep. Thank you for being here diary while no one else is.



Day 5: I am currently practicing formations in the dirt at the back of this cave it shall keep me busy whil [the writing cuts off abruptly and the rest of the page is splattered with blood]


Day 7: The wolves came back. One managed to sneak his jaw down close enough to grab my leg while I was writing in you. No, No, I don't blame you diary you couldn't have known. Luckily they grabbed my bad leg so I still have a good leg! I beat the wolves off with the village's staff while a wolf gnawed and twisted my leg around. I managed to staunch the bleeding yesterday. However it now rests at an angle that to my untrained eye is not normal. It looks far from normal... I.. I am scared.. I. I don't want to be trapped here for the rest of my life. I..I..[ the rest of the page is stained by tears]


Day 8: Should this be found I Zhi Ruo the girl from Xia Tun village write my will. I curse … [ the will goes on for some time cursing some and blessing others with small items]


Day 9: I got quite the scare and surprise yesterday! While I was practicing some formations and digging out the cave further there was a little pop! I turned around as quickly as I could (which to confide in you diary is now quite slow with my mangled leg in the way) and saw a small animal next to me. It was a small creature, that almost matched the description of an Emerald Sea's mole! It would have been a perfect match if it wasn't for the horrific claw marks across half of it's face. I could even see parts of it's skull! I managed to stop it's bleeding with some of the cleaner bandages with me. Poor thing.. I hope he makes it.


Day 13: The mole woke up today. I fed him some my supplies. He seemed to like them a great deal. He managed to find a ticklish spot on my good leg. It.. It felt good to laugh even if just for a while. For now he is just laying on top of me. It feels good to have some other source of warmth here in this muddy cave.


Day 16: During the day the mole disappeared. I was very sad but even as I lay crying he came back! He managed to pull an edible root back through a small tunnel he made!

We shared it with great gusto. He managed to attack that ticklish spot again even as I tried to avoid him! What started as a miserable day has turned into a wonderful day!


Day 17: I have broken through into yellow soul. To celebrate my friend went and found some berries nearby! The bestiary wasn't lying when it said that the Emerald Sea's mole is amazing at finding useful plants! It almost felt like a party with red juice covering both of our lips. What a great day!


Day 18: My friend kept pushing himself into my stomach today. A little confused I finally realized that he was asking for me to bind him. The choice to bind little Ying Yue was the best choice I have ever made! We may both be cripples but now that we can talk to each other I think everything is going to turn out alright!


Day 20: It will not be alright.. I broke through into silver today but without water nearby to wash in, it has been a most miserable day. Even Ying Yue agrees that my stench is terrible. I need to figure out a way to get rid of this terrible terrible stuff.


Day 21: I managed to get a formation series set into the wood above me that seems to nullify the smell. Well I have not yet gotten rid of this...stuff..(it now sits in a pile in the corner of the cave) at least the air smells just like the forest around us. Now.. that is an idea.. If I…


Day 23: We have managed it! With Ying Yue bringing me various plants and the formations I have memorized from the archives I have managed to construct my first unique formations set! What a rush! What excitement! I have decided on the path I will take going forward! The formations make us blend into the forest. In a small bubble around the formations, which I have managed to carve into my staff, animals will only notice the forest as it should be. It will be as if the forest and all that dwell in it forget about us! They will not notice us as we hobble towards safety! While it will not work on anything with significant intelligence or even with anything that is a good deal stronger than us it should get us back to safety and the doctors! Hopefully the formations work...


Day 24: My staff worked on some small rabbits today. Ying Yue and I carefully got out of the cave and hobbled towards a rabbit Ying Yue felt. The test worked beyond our wildest dreams! The rabbit didn't even notice us until I reached down and touched its neck! Then it started running. When I no longer was touching it the rabbit slowly stopped and looked very confused as if it had forgotten everything which had just happened. This should work!


Day 25: Were back. Oh thank the spirits we are out of that hole. I was crying with happiness as I hobbled back into my home and washed. Oh I washed! Ying Yue was so happy too. The last I saw him before I started writing was him stuffing himself on the small garden that has grown out of control. Oh.. he has just crawled into my lap and fell asleep. What an amazing day.


Day 26: Bad, bad news today. My leg will be mangled for a very long time. The price to fix my leg now is ludicrous. Something I will not be able to afford for a long long time. The same for Ying Yue injuries. If we had gotten to the doctors before the tissues started to scar it might have been more manageable. Ahh.. [ the ink jerks around for a bit] Ying Yue hahah.. He.. He attacked that ticklish spot again. It is no use thinking on those thoughts. I will refine my formations until I can walk safely through the most dangerous of woods finding the rarest of plants with Ying Yue. Before this ordeal I may have been lost, now though my path is clear. Before the future looked murky and terrifying. Now with Ying Yue the sun has broken through the overhanging leaves. As long as I have Ying Yue by my side I can accomplish anything. I will no longer be forgotten!

 

[Kian]

Meanwhile in the Ji Rong Negaverse:​

"Okay. Everybody that Ling Qi girl is our next opponent. Here is what we know about her:

• She can fly
• She uses music to do most of her arts.
• She does frost damage
• Those mists are her primary debuffs
• She can fly.
• She is yrs's street rat archetype so her talent is almost equal to ours.
• She is a servant of house Cai so she might have a ducals house worth of backing.
• She has a cool turtle spirit."
• She can fly.
• She is sneaky."

"Yeah man. LQ is so bullshit. Yrs told us that flight is usually a 4th​ realm thing. I mean, look who else can fly in our year, Cai and Sun-bae. So its two literal ducal heiresses and then there is this girl."

"Just because we haven't seen the snake bitch fly doesn't mean she can't. I'm sure that there a clan as old as the Bai will have a few flying arts. Also, flying snakes are a thing."

"Maybe but we won't fight the snake bitch other than in the finals, which we won't reach with our next opponent being Liling after all. Also Bai would need to beat Cai to get to the finals and I'm not sure she can. There is a lot of politics in the background and Bai Meizhen kicking the heir to the Cai Clan out of the tourney after her mom made this bullshit pact with the snake terminator? I just don't see it happening. The Bai need to pay the Cai in face."

"Guys, focus! We have a fight to win. Let us get back to issue at hand. Everyone remember anything else about her? Like what should we expect?"

"Well, we know we she has used a bow earlier in the quest, so we know that she is okay the whole long range department. Also there was something about knifes? @yrsillar Could you tell us about LQ's knife usage or what we know is common knowledge about LQ?"

"I'm not sure if her using a bow is still relevant. Why would she use her mid to short range arts with her flying if she could optimize her advantage and go long distance? She probably stopped cultivating weapons early on and focused on arts. Btw, what the hell @yrsillar, how has a street rat accesss to so many bullshit level arts and FLYING?"

"We could meet with YR before our fight tomorrow. We know that YR and LQ have a history and he might know more. It's not like we have options for socials right now with LF and SL being busy with parties all the time. Also YR REALLy fucking hates her."

"Forgot about YR. We should definitely follow up on this though."

"Another point is her turtle. We know that it is fire/wood right? Fire is obviously being the damage part of the thing but what about the wood? We know from earlier WOG that wood is related to health. Those poisons the Bai bitch used are wood based but wood can also be used to heal right? Maybe her pet is also a healer? You know, full paladin build. Tank and heal!"

"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU"

"That thing is total bullshit!"

"Told you guys we should have invested some actions to get a proper spirit beast"

"<quote> Those poisons the Bai bitch used are wood based but wood can also be used to heal, right? Maybe her pet is also a healer? You know, full paladin build. Tank and heal!"<endquote>
I disagree with your observation. While what you said about wood is true we haven't seen any beast being able to use advanced skill so far. They do/block damage and use support arts. Healing pets would be used by everybody if just being wood themed was enough to qualify for healing. It is just too useful both infight and out of the fight. Also from the yokai wiki:
Genbu is associated with yin energy—the forces of darkness and shadow—and in ancient China was worshipped as a god of the moon (another strong yin force) in addition to being the god of the north. Because the shell of a tortoise is like a suit of armor, Genbu is also viewed as a warrior deity. The tortoise shell is a symbol of heaven and earth, with the flat part of the lower shell representing the world and the dome of the upper shell representing the heavens. As tortoise shells were a popular tool in divination, Genbu was also viewed as having soothsaying powers and the ability to travel between the lands of the living and the dead. The tortoise is a symbol of longevity and immortality, while the snake is a symbol of reproduction and multiplication. It was believed that all tortoises were female and had to mate with a snake to reproduce. The intertwining of the two was a symbol not only of long life and fertility, but also of the balance of yin and yang. - Genbu – Yokai.com
This description fits more with what we know about her. Rather than being associated with healing the Turtle of the North is associated with Darkness and Moon themed pet would fit her. I actually expect her beast to completely split into a damage beast and a protector beast or it could start spamming shadow clones. Multiplication powers are a thing. That spiritual elder using blood clones was one of the first arts we saw. The divination aspect is also interesting. Could it be that her spirit beast was LQs big in with the moon powers? We know from WOG that LQ caught the eye of a moon spirit. Maybe this was due to her acquiring a high level moon spirit beast? "

"Thanks! So we can add long rage capability, clones, divination and maybe healing to her expected skillset. Damn this is going to be a tough one."

"Yeah, I'm so fucking glad we got that anti-scrying talisman from Liling before we started our training arc. I seriously did not predict the Xuan Wu divination angle. Holy fuck that is smart but it would explain a lot. She isn't really that sneaky, she just uses her spirit beast to scry and scout favourable places and times in advance. She basically has a 'right place right time' trait due to her spirit beast. Damn that is OP."

"We really should have seen this coming after Xuan Shi. We also knew that the Xuan venerate the moon or at least some aspects from the moon from the WOG infodump. This actually raises another issue. Xuan Shi, as the other Xuan Wu themed sect member is known for his cryptic speech moon worship and formations. What do we know about LQ and formation knowledge? She and Xuan Shi are very likely strong allies and he might have tutored her or is willing to provide formations for her to use."

"We also know that, thanks due to SVers canon omake, LQ associates with the fox girl and her friend Suling. Thanks for writing another enemy resource by the way."

"Her friends name is Suyin. Also, the harem needed a cat girl, or fox girl in this case. Sorry, not sorry."

"You could have introduced your fox girl without making a competent formation artist WHO IS ALSO A DOCTOR AND THEN MADE THEM ENEMY RESOURCES"

"The harem also needed a cute nerd. Sorry, not sorry. Also yrs has already said that omake character had little to no effect on the war between us and Cai. They most likely hid themselves in the woods and waited for the storm to die down."

"Even if that is true there was no reason to write that they are friends with LQ. Like, make them friends with KZ or LF or at least Chu Song. That even would have fit her. The older sister archetype taking care of the hot blooded cat girl and the cute nerd makes sense. I mean where does LQ even fit in?"

"<quote> It was believed that all tortoises were female and had to mate with a snake to reproduce.<endquote> Are we sure that Ling is a street rat? The more I hear about her the more it sounds like she is, being moon themed with divination and a xuan wu, a member of a branch family of the Xuan clan. She could have been sent by the Xuan to seduce Bai Meizhen. It would make a lot of sense. We know that Bai Meizhen is not highly regarded by her clan and that the Bai are resurgent (despite best Grampas efforts) but in need of allies. If this works out, both between them and politically then both ducal clans have a connection through marriage they can exploit. Both of them have no real power in their clan so they HAVE to make it work and if anything goes wrong politically and this needs to be cut, neither clan loses anything of significant value. It makes so much sense. Also, we know that at higher levels gender and sex cease to matter. If spirit beasts and spirits can produce viable offspring with humans than so can women, lastly, remember how I asked yrs about gay representation way early in the thread? He has already told us that there was a gay person at the first council meeting. There could very well be more. Or one of them could be pan or bi! (probably LW due to her party moon affiliation)."

"Stop pushing the gay snake angle. We pretty much know that the one at the council meeting who is most likely gay is Han Jian. Also it makes absolutely no narrative sense for yrs to introduce an ice queen archetype with bai meizhen and a mysterious girl archetype with Ling Qi and not make them harem collectible. Han Jian is the gay harem option and we chose way back that we will not pursue those."

"I'm still not sure about LQ being able to use formations. I just don't think she would have the time. We know she is less talented than us. Her skillset is already ridiculously diverse which makes her a dabbler and jack of all trades. Her focus is all over the place and I'm sure her element spread and meridian spread are terrible and will hamper her long term. We should not overestimate her abilities."

"<quote>I'm still not sure about LQ being able to use formations. I just don't think she would have the time. We know she is less talented than us. Her skillset is already ridiculously diverse which makes her a dabbler and jack of all trades. Her focus is all over the place and I'm sure her element spread and meridian spread are terrible and will hamper her long term. We should not overestimate her abilities.<endquote>
I disagree. Resources, both people and material are incredibly important to cultivation. We know that she is at the very least sponsored by the Cai. There is a case to be made that she was also supported by the Xuan and the Bai. This is in addition to her being supported by a freaking MOON GOD which we found out when that creepy genderbending homo thing ambushed us in our bathing spot IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WOODS."

"Fuck you! Sixiang is great. Also, it's not gay if they can also be a woman."

"Sixiang rocks and that whole scene was funny as fuck. As much as I enjoy a good harem master quest, seeing ji rong flustered and not in control of the situation. I also did not think he/she was THAT creepy. He/she just suddenly appeared, cannonballed the hot spring we were in and started make more dick jokes than Sai in Shippuden and when we got ready to kick his/her ass he/she turned into a girl and started flirting. She did like all the flirting. ALL OF IT. The whole thing was so absurd it was hilarious. The whole role reversal thing was great."

"Return of the Why-Boner. With a vengeance."

"Hellsing abridged?"

"Yeah."

"Sixiang is a hideyoshi."

"Wf is a hideyoshi?"

"Don't google it."

"Imma google it!
Edit: I should not have googled it."

"Hmm, we know that she got her flying robe from Cai. We can guess that she has most of her moon arts from the Xuan due to her finding a FUCKING xuan wu on the sect grounds and we can assume that most of her music stuff comes from her patron being the party moon. The only real question is where all the ice comes from."

"Okay to sum this up. We are fighting a long to mid range flying arts user with a buff/debuff focus while also pumping out massive amounts of aoe frost ap damage as possible formation support, that has been bankrolled by up to three ducal clans, and her tanky fire themed clone-using, healing, divination beast.
I propose the usual:
We alpha strike her before she can get distance and set her buffs in motion. We have great gap closers and our homing and perceptions arts have been buffed by Sun-bae a lot. We her and lock her down before she can start any shit. The beast we can mostly ignore. We win by knocking out LQ before she starts her bullshit or the turtle drowns us in clones. Have to keep an eye open for possible healing or formation shenanigans but this is doable. On the harem master site we have IC info that she is into buff dudes and has ogled us before. That is a good beginning. I say we do a bit of muscle play and flash some abs to prep her for later harem induction.
Vote
[x]Big stick diplomacy
If you are"

"I really don't like her. She just doesn't fit us. Do we really need her in our harem? She is unattractive, way too black and weird. We don't need her."

"<quote> way too black<endquote>
What the actual FUCK is that supposed to mean?"

"<quote><quote> way too black<endquote>
What the actual FUCK is that supposed to mean?<endquote>
Red>>>>>>Black. Deal with it"

"I fucking hate this quest sometimes."

"Don't join a harem quest if you can't deal with the waifu wars."

"We need her because she is useful. No one here wants to make her the main waifu or even have her in the top 5 she is useful both for her resources and as a resource. Getting someone so useful and well connected into our harem early on will pay BIG TIME down the line. We throw a social at her every once in a while and take all she can get us, which is, as it would seem, quite a lot. TBH we should have cleared Ling Qi way earlier in the quest. She is useful, she is likely very easy and she doesn't clash with many of the other harem members."

"So we are agreed then? Everyone on board with prepping her for the route and with Big Stick diplomacy as the fight plan?"

"Yeah.
[x]Big stick diplomacy"

"[x]Big stick diplomacy "

"[x]Big stick diplomacy "

Spoiler

"GUYS WHAT IF SHE CAN SUMMON 30 FOOT TALL BONE ROBOTS? KAIJU WARS! THE KAIJU WARS ARE COMING. THE AGE OF TITAN BATTLES IS UPON US!"

 

[Kian]

A visit to the library​

There were many advantages to being born into an ancient ducal house, Bai Meizhen pondered as she sat in her rooms in the vast Bai tent construction. The vast political power,for one, that came with such a position, and the material wealth of course. Every day millions of mortals rose from their shacks and shelters and set about a day of laboring to sustain the Bai and fill their vast treasuries. Each day dozens of lesser Clans set about their task of administrating and protecting Bai holdings and their people and thousands of cultivators worked in the clan workshops to fulfill the more esoteric needs of the Bai clan.

However, the one advantage that an ancient ducal house had over lesser ancient houses and the younger ducal houses was history. History separated a truly great clan from all the pretenders, no matter the titles and sobriquets they so gaudily adorned themselves with. For a member of the Eight Great Clans of Bai, everyone of their actions was steeped in history and history was power.

Over the course of their more than thirty millennia of existence, more than three dozen white stage cultivators had shaped the Clans of Bai and the Thousand Lake province. Many later ascended into godhood; joining into the unimaginable war behind the veil, yet still, each ascended ancestor increased the value of the province that raised them and gifted their clan with boons and favors.

Every white clan leader and ascended ancestor had left their mark on the people and the landscape of the Thousand Lakes province, some dedicating their lives to eliminate a specific threat or terrifying beast or spirit of old, some forged the ancient pacts that bound the clans to the land, its spirits and the people, some added to the powerful arsenal of weapons and devices locked securely in the vaults of the Clans of Bai and others again dedicated their lives to studying and understanding the land and the people itself to make them more useful to their masters.

Knowledge was a power unto itself and few other things proved the veracity of this proverb more than a Bai Library, Bai Meizhen mused as she summoned hers from her dimensional rings. A Bai Library was thing of death and fear and a promise of chronic and sustained cruelty: A Bai Library was a library of venom. Hers was contained in a box, four hand spans wide, two in height and two again in width. She opened the box and the compartments slid out presenting the many corked vials in their differently colored segments.

Toxicology was a precise and unforgiving art but when it came to venoms, the scions of the Eight Great Clans of Bai, truly stood upon the shoulders of giants. The box was divided into several differently colored segments arrayed around a central mixing bowl. The vials within the segments contained the various components necessary for creating the desired venom. The vials itself were shatter proof and vastly increased the lifespans of the ingredients within. The corks were precisely tuned dispensers only ever allowing what amounted to one dose of the vials contents to be dispensed at once.

The Library functioned as thus: The Bai Clan member chose a carrier fluid, that helped introduce the venom to the targets system and then added components from the Library, freely adjust the lethality and the effects of the venom to their liking. Lethality, numbness or loss of control of the nervous system, internal damage ranging from nonexistent to extremely aggravated, hallucinogenic or ones that caused a deep sleep but little else, the variety of options was incredible. As long as the Bai took care to only select one vial from each colored segment and did not add more than one dose of any vial to the central mixing bowl, they were guaranteed a concoction with the desired effect and did not need to worry about any undue interaction between the components or any undesired side effects.

The newly created venom could then be applied to any weapon the clan member desired or be absorbed by their qi, allowing the member to use the venom in all of their venom based arts. The Library was a prime contributor to the Bai Clans reputation, unparalleled in the Empire, of diverse and precise venoms and poisons.

Bai Meizhen selected the base fluid first. She chose Cui's very own venom as the base. No other ingredient in her possession could match the speed of Cui's venom when it came to affecting the target. The next options were also easily selected, a component to deprive the target of their vision and their sense of hearing. She wanted to take away Kang Zihao's senses and introduce a feeling of vulnerability while allowing him to retain the ability to feel everything that was happening to him. The next vial contained a slightly altered combat drug used boost the body's endurance and stamina and cognitive function. The numbing effect, dulling the users sense of pain, had been carefully removed, the highly addictive nature of the drug and its life span shortening side effects had not. Kang Zihao would need to be as fit as possible to endure the suffering to come after all.

Two more components and she would have used all segments of her Library. She chose a component that would make his movements sluggish and cause random spasms in his musculature. She wanted to see him crawl and writhe at her feet and thus chose this over any venom that would paralyze parts or the entirety of his body. The final addition would introduce pain. Twenty-seven different options made the teal colored segment easily the largest in her Library and provided a gradient ranging from a slowly building migraine that took month to properly clear out of the system to instant crippling pain that defied description by any mortal tongue.

Carefully she removed the tiny vial from its compartment before hesitating. She wanted to use this venom. Kang Zihao had insulted her, insulted her Clan, had his subordinates mock her mother's execution and tried to kill Ling Qi. "Ling Qi!" she mouthed softly.

She felt no remorse or hesitation when she thought of the torture she would inflict on the boy in the coming match. She reveled in it, enjoyed the mixture of spite and Schadenfreude and the cruelty that condensed like acid in her soul and drip by drip started to burn away the stain of dishonor the Kang had cast upon her. This would not be enough of course. She had sworn to kill him and intended to follow up on her word. Honor and the Clan demanded it after all. Still, as she rolled the vial in her hand, she hesitated. Ling Qi would be watching and while she had long accepted and embraced the part of her Bai disposition that people found vengeful, cruel and sadistic, she struggled with the idea of Ling Qi seeing her this way.

Ling Qi's face, her eyes filled with disgust and fear flashed through her mind before she managed to suppress it. An unwelcome memory. Honor demanded that she inflicted torments upon the spawn of Kang, whenever she would be able to, before finally killing him as she had sworn. She knew this. She wanted this. An ancient part of her, tugged at her qi and soul. Vicious and cruel it seemed to hiss furiously at her, her writhing at the thought of staying her hand. Her eyes, she remembered the revulsion in Ling Qis eyes as she looked at her. She could not go through this another time.

Maybe she ought to use a slightly less excruciating venom?

Soft footsteps shook her from her musings and a few seconds later the door to her chambers slid open, allowing her revered aunt to step into the room.

"Niece" Bai Suzhen greeted her softly. Her appearance had not changed from the time she had stepped into the ring to face the Duchess of the Emerald Seas. Her face set into an emotionless mask, her eyes like steel bulwarks hiding the contents of her thoughts.

"Revered Aunt" Bai Meizhen replied, bowing deeply.

"I see, you are preparing for your match against the scion of Kang?" Her aunts steely eyes took in the mixture in the bowl and the vial in her hand, understanding the situation in a moment "A more personal bout than I anticipated. What did the young Kang do to warrant this treatment? "

"I have informed the clan leader of the issue and have been given permission to proceed." Meizhen evaded.

"I did not ask if you had the backing of the clan in this matter. I asked, what the young Kang did do to warrant this response." Bai Suzhen 's displeasure did not show on her face, neither did her voice change in any way and still Bai Meizhen felt any possibility of defiance drain away in front of her aunts presence. She bowed deeply and continued.

"Forgive me, venerated aunt. The spawn of Kang has sullied the clans honor by cowardly ambushing me and an ally after I had fought the Princess Sun. He and his craven subordinates have mocked the clans standing, have ridiculed our clan's traditions and slandered our history."

"And?" The pressure on qi did not diminish as her aunt gestured for her to continue.

"And Kang Zihao, through the mouth of his subordinates, pointed to the death of Bai Meilien as the well deserved result of our so called arrogance."

Some complex emotion flickered in the eyes of her aunt, too brief for Meizhen to recognize.

"I understand. This is truly a deed that demands the most extreme retribution. You will kill him for this insolence" Bai Suzhen stated, again leaving Meizhen no room to even consider anything but complying with her aunts ironclad decree.

"I have already sworn that his life will end at my hand. I cannot act as long as we are being supervised by the sect but I will not forget what he did. Fighting him tomorrow will allow me to give him a taste of what is to come."

"Yet I saw you hesitate, niece". There was no dangerous undertone to her aunt's even, dispassionate voice. There was no inquisitive inflection demanding to know why her niece seemed to shirk her responsibilities and shy away from avenging the dishonor rendered to their clan. Meizhen did not shudder.

"The death of Kang Zihao is assured. I am committed to this." She answered with a boldness of conviction that surprised even her." I was merely wondering how a show of excess retribution in an official, formal show match would influence how my peers perceive me and how this would influence my standing among them. I fear I might be a little foolish in this matter."

Bai Suzhen was not impressed with her reasoning and again she seemed to take in the entire situation at once and saw the true reason of why she had questioned her actions. And for whom.

"Yes. I do think you are being foolish. Taking the feelings of an outsider into account, no matter how well regarded she is by you, when acting to avenge an insult cast upon the honor of the clan is a childish squeamishness I did not expect from you. I would not expect this from any true Daughter of Bai. "

Meizhens insides froze and she bowed in shame. Self-hatred welled up in her. Her weakness had embarrassed her in front of the one person she admired the most.

"But, I do not fault you for this foolishness overmuch. You are still so young, Meizhen. Youth, little one, is the time for foolish indulgences and I am glad you found the opportunity and the people to indulge yourself. Even it takes the shape of this excessive kindness." Suzhen finished, a hint of fondness entering her voice as she lightly rested her hand on her niece's shoulder.

Warmth and relief spread through Meizhen and she raised her head, looking at her aunt in reverence. "I thank you for words, revered Aunt. I will strive to rid myself of my childish foolishness and I will bring…"

"Nonsense!" The older Bai interrupted Bai Meizhen's stream of reassurances. The corners of her lips rising almost imperceptibly "I promised to let you indulge and thus indulge you shall. This is my will. In fact, I shall support you in this foolishness." She waved her hand, a large cabinet, easily standing 2 meters tall, three meters wide and a meter deep, materialized from her dimensional rings.

"Let us peruse my Library. I'm sure that we will find a solution for your predicament. Though I do wonder young Meizhen, have you ever considered that your "friend", Suzhen seemed to still struggle with the concept," might not win her match?"

"Ling Qi will win", Meizhen replied with absolute certainty before she could stop herself, "I… What I meant is that…" She paused and looked at her aunt, whose features did not betray any emotion at seeing her niece disgrace herself so pathetically. She steeled herself and began anew. "It is the result of my observations and interactions with Baroness Ling that leads me to believe that she will most likely win her match."

"Your trust is endearing. I hope it is not misplaced. I will look forward to the victory of your friend then. However," she gestured for Meizhen to join her in front of her unfolding Library. Tens of thousands of vials gleamed maliciously. "let us assume that your friend does lose or is wounded or is otherwise unable to view the match. In those circumstances, there would be no need for the restraint you have decided to limit yourself to, would there?" Like some ancient evil rising from the bottom of a deep, dark lake, bloodlust began to seep into her qi. More and more, purer and purer it emanated from the elder Bai until finally, for the first time in the conversation her impassive expression changed.

"There would be no reason, revered Aunt", Meizhen replied and the snake deep inside her, ancient and vicious rejoiced at the prospect of exacting brutal revenge on her foes. Her qi took on a fell note as it coursed through her body, first languid and sluggish then faster and ever more caustic, as it fed of the bloodthirsty energy, until it finally arranged her elfin features into a mirror of the mask of almost transcendental cruelty that adorned her aunts face "There would be no reason to hold back at all."

"Then, my dearest niece let us create two sets of venom." Bai Suzhen said, and turned back towards the vials contained within her Library.

The night before the battle of the best eight outer sect disciples of the Argent sect, two women bonded over planning to torture a young man to the very limits of sanity and beyond.

Spoiler: Rant

Okay, tbh this should not have been posted yet. It is riddled with spelling mistakes, formating mistakes and awkward phrasing. I just panicked when I saw that the vote was closed. I wanted this to be out before the next update. Meizhen is such a character. We saw her in her imperious and bitchy full Bai modo and we saw her weeping and clinging to her cousin for emotional support for weeks after her crush rejected her. Writing Bai Suzhen is also weird since we have had barely any lines from her. She is in like two scenes and has a bit of background fluff but that is it. It is hard to get in their heads.

Then there was this whole introduction and the library thing. That wasnt planned at all and i think it shows. I originally just wanted a scene where the Bais bond over poisoning the everloving crap out of KZ. That was all. Then things got a bit out of control.

I wanted something that shows that Meizhen wants to really, really, really hurt KZ, a lot, but she is also afraid of showing her darker side to LQ, we have seen this in the quest before and I wanted to see how her aunt would react to something like that. So I wanted something that shows her mixing her venom for the coming fight and being unsure how far she can go. Then I remembered the many different venoms Meizhen has used in the quest, from paralyzing Fan Yu to offscreen torturing that ilusion worm to death or ambushing those YR minions and even that green glowy thing she did not use against her last opponent.

So I thought hey, Meizhen must have either have a lot of arts that produce venoms for all these different situations, thus taking up a lot of her meridians or she has a box with different poisons lying arround and an art that lets her absorb a few different specialized venoms and substitute them in, in her normal attack arts. So then I projected this idea on the whole clan and bam now I had a situation where the Bai Clan hands out like these Fisher-Price Babbys first poisoneer kit to their members. wtf

I will likely cut the whole thing to size and rewrite the more awkward stuff. Likely get rid of the boxes and find something that more smoothly transitions into the dialogue scene. I just wanted something out before we hear about the result of Bai v Kang.

 

[Thor's Twin]

In the interest of providing something new to chew on, Here's another Omake for the Omake Throne @yrsillar !

This omake was inspired by the idea of some poor sop next year trying to figure out what made Ling Qi so powerful. He had heard about the super scary commoner from last year, got enough information to figure Su Ling knew Ling Qi, and then did a ton of tasks for Gan to get him to arrange a meeting between him and Su Ling.

We have certainly made an impact amongst the sect this year, and that will ripple for at least a couple of years to come. Not my finest work, but I hope that people enjoy the read! As always, critiques and criticisms welcomed.


Path of the Mighty

Li Chang inspected the small hut with smoke curling up from it's chimney on the outskirts of the older student residents of the Outer Sect in the Argent Peaks. It was… smaller than he expected from an influential production track student. However, Sir Gan had been adamant that this was the person and place who held the best answers to his question.

Lady Su was known to be a large supplier of Sir Gan's "troops" as he liked to call them, and she was compensated handsomely for her work. It was interesting that she hadn't flexed her influence to get a more prestigious abode, but if the rumors and hearsay were true about her heritage, then simple dwellings might simply be more comfortable for her.

Taking a deep breath, Li Chang prepared himself and approached the entrance of the dwelling. He was here to get answers, hopefully, or at least another angle to work on. The meeting had been pre-arranged by Sir Gan, so at the very least he wasn't going to be an unanticipated or uninvited guest.

His hands rapped against the wood of the door with a thud, three times. Then, it was the wait. It took a few moments before Lady Su opened the door. She looked like a humanoid fox, with sharp features, somewhat unkempt tresses, bushy canine ears, and three twitching white tipped tails behind her. Which meant that the rumors about her heritage were probably true.

Su Ling looked around, up at the sun, and then looked at him, and asked, "Are you Li Chang?"

Li Chang took a breath before answering, "I am, Lady Su, I believe we had an appointment scheduled for today?"

"We won't have an appointment at all if you keep calling me Lady Su, you can call me Su Ling or I can throw you out onto the street."

"I understand… Su Ling. Could we please talk inside, however?"

Su Ling nodded, turned around and briskly began walking back inside of her home. Li Chang followed, off-kilter about Su Ling's abrupt demeanor. The door closing automatically and the slight rush of qi signifying formations being activated did not comfort him in the least. Now that he was in the house he could sense potent qi in the various rooms, locked behind solid looking wooden doors.

He was led to a small sitting room, with a polished silver table and a black teapot with steaming tea ready to be poured. Su Ling poured two cups and set them at either end of the table. She chose to sit at the far end of the small table facing the doorway, and Li Chang took a seat opposite her.

He sipped at the tea for a moment, enjoying the taste, before looking up at Su Ling.

"So," Su Ling began, "Gan Guangli actually paid me to sit down with you and answer one of your questions, which is why we are even having this conversation. However, the quicker I answer your question, the quicker I can actually begin to do useful stuff, so start asking."

Li Chang started, this was not how this conversation was supposed to go! Taking a deep breath and centering himself, Li Chang prepared his question in his mind.

"Su Ling, I understand that you knew Lady Ling well, and I've talked to a lot of the older students, and Ling Qi seemed to be the only commoner that all the older years seem to respect and still fear a bit. So my question is, how did Lady Ling get to be that strong and influential in under a year?"

Su Ling snorted, "the same as every other commoner who becomes a cultivator. Ling Qi had the talent and dedication to get to the top."

That was not the answer he wanted to hear. So with a breath, Li Chang started again, "I understand that is the basics of pushing yourself forward along the path of cultivation, but if that was all that there was then more commoners would reach Lady Ling's cultivation stage at her age. There has to be a trick to Lady Ling's growth. Anything you know would be helpful."

Su Ling peered at him, analyzing Li Chang like he was some sort of prey. It was a distinctly uncomfortable experience. But then she began to lightly chuckle.

"You want an advantage over your fellow commoners, don't you? Well, I can tell that whatever you think is dedication is not nearly the dedication that Ling Qi has for cultivation. If Ling Qi was breathing, chances were good that she was cultivating, networking, or gathering sect points and resources to cultivate."

Li Chang sat there, stunned. This was not the answer he wanted! He wanted, no needed, an edge, any edge, to get him to the top so he could get into the Inner Sect. But instead, the answer was simply to work harder, and nothing useful or insightful. All his work for Sir Gan to get this audience, all of it had burned and crashed around his head. He was dimly aware of Su Ling standing up and crossing the room to stand next to him.

"There are no shortcuts to greatness Li Chang, no pill to make you surpass your peers. And even if there was, I wouldn't give that information to you, not for any amount Gan Guangli would pay me. A single question was the extent that I was willing to allow, mainly because I was expecting something about my crafting methods, but a deal was a deal. I'm sure you can find your way out, and I would advise you not to try my patience. Have a good day, and I wish you luck on your goal."

Su Ling entered the hall and turned into one of the rooms filled with potent qi, leaving Li Chang sitting at the table. Slowly Li Chang stood up, and turned around and began walking towards the exit. All his work and progress was for naught. He supposed that he just needed to grit his teeth and accept that he simply needed to work harder than even his friends. He would probably have to stop hanging out with them at the teahouse every evening. Maybe… every other evening would be enough for him to pull ahead?

A/N: Whelp here is an influential Su Ling giving the hard advice to a poor commoner cultivator. Thank you for the read, and I hope you enjoyed it!

 

[Hangwind]

NETTLED

Zhengui paced in the foyer of the healing place, anxiously chewing on a piece of wood he had found. Mother's last fight had been hard. Impossible to win. And it wasn't fair! Mother had been torn apart by that meanie's blood spear, while he hadn't been able to get around the bad tree thing to help!

"It's not fair," Gui grunted around the dowel in his mouth, "We could have won if we could have just gotten in to fight the mean girl!"

Zhen hissed irritably at his brother, "Stupid turtle! If you weren't so heavy, we could move faster!"

"But, but," Gui replied, "If I weren't so heavy, we wouldn't have as much armor and we would have to have mother protecting us! If she's protecting us, how do we protect her?"

Xhen curls down onto the shell, looking quite put out as he is forced to admit, "I don't know. How frustrating."

Zhengui perks up as a whole however at the scream of rage that cuts through the peace of the foyer. "What in the Nether do you think you're doing!" A Green male apprentice healer points at the doweling currently being chewed on by Gui. "That's our bannister! WHY ARE YOU EATING THE ROOM!"

Gui sheepishly drops the bannister and hangs his head, "...I eat when I'm nervous."

"Or hungry, or scared, or happy, or any other state than sleeping," Zhen chuckles.

The apprentice doesn't see the humor in the situation though. "OUT! OUT! GET OUT OF HERE!" With that he grabs a nearby broom and starts batting at Zhengui. "OUT I SAY!"

Zhengui backs up as quickly as he can, trying to avoid getting boffed by the bristles of the broom. In Gui's case he just pulls his head in as far as he can, while Zhen gets hit a couple more times as they try to escape. Mostly because he just can't resist yelling at the apprentice. "STOP! Would you just-ACK! SMELLY HUMAN I-Ahh! My mom will come an-ouch! We're going, we're going!"

Finally Zhangui made it out the door. With one final perfunctory swat, the apprentice slammed the door behind them. "Smelly human, mother will come and beat him up for *grumble* *mutter*" Zhen comforted himself with the thoughts of his mother's terrible revenge on the apprentice. Gui had other things on his mind though.

"Hey, Zhen?"Gui rumbles contemplatively, "That guy-he was a Late Green and Bronze, right?"

"Yeah, it might be a while before mother can get revenge for us."

"But he was chasing us right?" Gui squinted at the door. "We kept his attention, and he attacked us even knowing that he couldn't get through our armor really."

Zhen extended his body further until he could look more squarely at Gui. "Yeah, so? What are you thinking?"

"I wonder if we could do the same thing to all of our opponents," Gui mused, scratching at the ground.

Zhen thought about it for a second, then shook his head. "Nah, we wouldn't be able to find all of our enemies houses before a fight. Some of them are made out of stone anyway, and you know how badly it upsets your stomach to eat too much of that."

"Sure," Gui nods, "but maybe we can annoy them in other ways, like Hanyi does!"

"But how?" Zhen tapped his brother on the head, "You just don't have her natural talent for it. Sixiang can annoy people, sure, but we can't just figure out our opponents like she does."

"Aw, shoot." Gui hangs his head. "I just thought that we might be able to help mother more..."

Zhen curls around the top of his brother's shell, squeezing tightly enough for Gui to feel the hug. Then he spies something-a decorative garden. And around it...

"Hey Gui?" Zhen calls.

Gui pops his head out from where he had retreated into his shell in discouragement, "Yeah?"

"Remember that time we got tangled in the nettle row around Yin Lee's garden?"

"...oooooh!" Gui began to smile. "I probably could imitate that! Add in some Fire to make it extra annoying, and spit a bunch of nettle leaves in someone's face!"

Zhengui grinned as well. "Heh. And you said revenge would take forever!"

"Didn't you say that?"

"If we can figure this out, revenge will be ours!"

"No, I'm pretty sure you said that."

"And we won't have to get mother involved!"

"You're just worried she'd make us apologize for the bannister."

XXX

@yrsillar so this omake came from the thought that Zhengui is suffering from a classic tank problem: how to draw aggro. Also from the fact that I've had a few woodsy misadventures involving nettles.

The idea is a technique that really does no actual damage, but distracts nicely. Gui spits a bunch of nettle leaves infused with fire essence at an enemy. When it touches the enemy or an obstacle, it explodes, covering the area with a confetti of nettles, and coating the enemy with stingers. The stingers are kept actively producing the itch oils and digging in by their active connection to Zhengui. A connection obvious to any halfway competent cultivator, essentially setting up a neon sign that says "If you want to stop itching, you have to fight me!"

My thought is that any cultivator will have been punched quite a bit, and be used to focusing through pain. Through burning itch though? Quite a bit harder and rarer.

I'm not sure how the narrative system works, so I can't represent it in game terms yet.

 

[Thor's Twin]

Titanic Struggles: Exhibition

Wu Chao stood amongst his sixteen peers, the victors of the preliminary round of the Inner Sect Tournament. His bronze armor shone resplendently in the morning light and while he was not the strongest amongst this year's hopefuls, Wu Chao was confident in his chances to secure a place among the Inner Sect disciples.

The attention of the crowd was intense though, and he could feel the weight of Duchess Cai Renxiang's qi bearing down on him through his qi senses. Straightening his shoulders, he attempted to ignore that feeling and concentrate at the space in front of him. At any moment, the Sect Head would give his speech and then the final winnowing would begin. And then, with a flash of light, Chen Hui, the Sect Head, appeared before the crowd. He appeared as an elderly gentleman, with his thinning gray hair and cane, but there was a palpable press of power emanating from him.

With a clearing of the Sect Head's throat, the crowd quieted down and Chen Hui began to speak with a voice like the grinding of mountains, "Thank you all for coming to the Argent Sect's Inner Sect Tournament this year. All of the individuals who now stand before you have strived against hardships and endured tribulations to present themselves as candidates for our Inner Sect. These are the strongest the Outer Sect has to offer, and it is my pride to allow them to exhibit their cultivation and skills to you."

"However," Chen Hui continued, "Our Inner Sect can only accept the eight best from this tournament, and so another round of matches need to be held to determine the final few who will be accepted. Before those matches occur though, we typically have an Exhibition match between the Elders of the Sect to show the heights of cultivation that might be reached. Given the numerous august personages present, however, an allowance has been made. Duchess Cai has expressed her desire to exhibit her peerless strength and Count Ling has volunteered to be her opponent."

Quiet murmurs ran through the crowd and Wu Chao shifted uneasily. Hopefully, his new perception art would not allow him to crack under the weight of Duchess Cai's potent qi. This… was probably going to be painful, even with the tournament formations holding back the qi of the two contestants considerably.

"I will endeavor to contain the clash within the stage of the tournament," continued the elderly man, "and our venerable Elder Hu will maintain the stage's formations. Now, disciples, pay careful attention for the chance to witness the peak of cultivation is vanishingly rare. Please, I invite my honored guests to present themselves upon the stage."

With a flash of light, both Duchess Cai and Count Ling appeared on the stage. The Duchess wore perfectly tailored clothes which shone with their very own radiance but left very little to the imagination. Count Ling's, on the other hand, was much more conservative, revealing only her face and star-filled hair. Duchess Cai smiled slightly and offered a respectful bow to Chen Hui.

"Thank you for allowing this match, it is rare that I am able to actually indulge myself in a spar."

Count Ling herself offered a respectful bow to both the Sect Head and Duchess Cai. "I also thank you for this opportunity. It is exhilarating to be able to demonstrate the heights of cultivation at the same place where I began my journey and saw the heights myself."

"Now, if both contestants are ready," Chen Hui began, "then this exhibition match will begin until first blood!" And with a thunderous retort, the world dissolved around Wu Chao.

He was floating in the sky surrounded by nothing but the void. Ahead of him and stretching beyond sight was an ever-shifting mountain chain. It's peaks and valleys grinding against each other in absolute silence as lightning continuously forked around the mountains. But what quickly drew his attention was a glistening, shining, floating mountain of Metal.

No, not a mountain, but a city of metal with an enormous tower protruding from its center. Everything in the city was precise and perfect in form and purpose from the dancers parading through the streets to the guards guarding the ramparts. What would it be like, Wu Chao wondered, to enter that city and find your purpose among its populace. To be guided until you could find the perfect role and be a part of the seamless purpose and goal of the City?

But there was another presence, like the feeling of moonlight upon the skin. Lighter than a feather, but no less real. Tearing his gaze from the majestic city, Wu Chao gazed to the space below the city.

A jagged ice field spread out across the ground, seemingly going out into the distant horizon. Glittering ridges of ice protruded in strange patterns that seemed to shift in his vision creating patterns of shadow and darkness. And in the middle of this strange ice field stood a small estate made of crystalline ice. The buildings sparkled under the light of the city floating above but the windows seemed to absorb all light, and the doors appeared to be portals to the void itself.

And then he saw, reflected in some properly angled panes of ice creating the roofs in the Estate, the Moon, flickering through various phases seemingly at random. Not all the phases were there, and for the most part, it seemed that the Dreaming Moon was predominant.

The images only lasted a moment though, as a melody began resounding through his ears. A melody expressing loss, of being utterly alone in the world with none even remembering your name. Of absolute isolation from comrades, friends, and family.

With a shuddering breath, Wu Chao almost slid to his knees, tears brimming at his eyes. How awful must it be to lose family and friends? To have no connections to support and comfort you? The lightning coursing through the Mountain Range suddenly intensified to eye-searing brilliance and the melody faded to a faint murmur. Even still, Wu Chao stayed on his knees watching as terrible black mists shrouded the entirety of the ice field, covering everything in a thick blanket.

The brilliant city did not stay still though, and it began to launch a veritable avalanche of missiles from its siege engines atop the city's walls. Brilliant bolts of technicolored power ripped through the mists and plowed into the ice field. A change began taking place, however, and the missiles began slowing down and some even shattering as a silent wind of absolute cold began blowing upwards towards the city. The very qi powering the missiles was being frozen and stolen by the wind and with every bit of qi taken the wind moved a little faster towards the city carrying with it the black mists.

Shutters around the City's tower opened up slightly and a scathing light burst into existence. Focused by crystals upon the walls, these searchlights obliterated the mists as they focused on the spot where the estate had been covered in the mists. However, to Wu Chao's surprise, the estate was no longer there, instead, it was more of the jagged ice field.

Shifting with surprising swiftness, even as the wind continued to blow upwards, the searchlights cut through the mists until they seemingly all focused on a random spot which was predictably covered in mists. Yet, there it was, the Estate in all of its crystalline glory. Living shadows seemed to shrink at the harsh light but even more spirited away into the mists still covering the majority of the ice fields.

One of the gates lining the city opened then, and a brilliant rainbow shot out directly at the estate. It was thrumming with power and it was not slowed in the slightest by the wind still rising towards the floating city.

Crystals of frozen moonlight appeared before the bolt and attempted to divert or redirect the massive beam away from the estate. Yet each on contact absorbing only a fraction of the bolt each time. While it was adding up, it was still not enough to stop the bolt from its course. Then, with a crack like a mountain splitting in two, a huge ice flow rose with incredible speed from the ice field and took the bolt head on.

A thunderous explosion rocked the battle, and when the light settled the ice flow had a thin crack which was seeping an incredibly viscous black liquid. There seemed to be a moment of absolute stillness between the two combatants before a whispered breath was exhaled. The murmurings of the melody ceased and with a flash of light the void disappeared and the tournament grounds reappeared.

Wu Chao struggled to regain his composure, as the murmurings of the crowd washed over him. That was the terrifying heights of cultivation. It was strange, to see that even though he stacked up well against his peers today, he was still utterly insignificant to those who wielded true power.

A/N:
Well, this one fought me a bit, so I'm glad that it's out. As you can tell, it is far in the future, like 700 years in the future. So that's why Cai Renxiang is the Duchess and both Ling and Cai are Whites. Also, why the Sect Head is dead, as he would have died of old age a long time before this. I thought of having one of our friends be the Sect Head, but that felt really weird and none of them seem like they would do a good job. Anyways, this is a possible finished domain of a Ling Qi who focused on ice, darkness, moon, and wind. Cai's domain is purposefully like her mothers, but instead of her face, it is a lighthouse type tower to symbolize her goal to lead people on the correct paths and not force her perception of order and justice upon them. I didn't have a Ling/Bai or a Cai/Bai fight because I'm not sure what Meizhen's domain would look like other than absolute terror.

I think this is the first time I really tried to develop a fight scene, and certainly the first time I've worked with white level characters. So, as always critiques and criticisms are welcomed. I hope you enjoy the read.

@yrsillar another omake for the omake throne.

 

[Thor's Twin]

Well... this writing idea wouldn't leave me until I had written it. So here it is. I am finally free of this nagging thought.


Dance in the Mist Filled Vale

Ling Qi stood amidst a small grove on top of a craggy and rocky mountain peak, watching as a group of fifty barbarians flew swiftly through the sharp peaks of the Wall. Most of them were either reds or yellows, but a handful of them had entered the green realm. The leader, however, had reached even higher heights in the green realm than Ling Qi herself. It was… unfortunate that they were heading straight for the fief that she had taken charge of a little more than a year ago.

"Ling Qi," Sixiang whispered in my mind, "you still have time to evacuate your holdings before the barbarian raiding party reaches them. We don't need to fight here."

"My holdings aren't large enough to interest them for long Sixiang," Ling Qi replied, "which means that they'll move on to the next target, and then the next. With the damage a raiding party this size can cause, I'll be charged with dereliction of duty and it's likely punishments will be levied against me. Lady Cai and I are not established enough in the courts to survive those types of charges unscathed. Anyway, my warning notice should be reaching the Argent Sect in a few moments, so all I need to do is buy enough time for the Sect's forces to come and reinforce me."

The rumbling assurances of Zhengui echoed across her mind and it seemed that even Hanyi was anticipating this clash. Making up her mind, Ling Qi began to ponder how exactly to trap fifty odd Cloud Barbarians and survive long enough for sect forces to reinforce her. She would fly up while expressing her song to its fullest extent and then plunge into one of the vales below, dragging the barbarians into the valley and entrapping them in an area where their mobility couldn't be used freely and where Zhengui would have an easier time attacking them.

"Hanyi," Ling Qi began, "your task is to hunt, ambush and kill the shamans amongst the group. Try to avoid engaging their warriors as they'll just slow you down. Zhengui, your goal is to draw all the warriors to you and endure their assaults; try and separate the weak from the strong so they can't support each other effectively. Don't be afraid to kill them as well. Sixiang, your job will be to keep me free from the curses that the shamans will undoubtedly attempt to inflict upon me. I've suffered one of the stronger ones before and they are potent, so be prepared.

"And what will you be doing Big sister?" Hanyi prodded.

"I'll be keeping their leader busy. Hopefully long enough for all of his followers to fall and so both you and Zhengui can help me finish him off."

With the plan laid out, and sensing no disagreements, Ling Qi sent a quick thought to the Dreaming Moon to smile upon her performance and then launched herself towards the oncoming barbarians. The music from the next iteration of the Forgotten Vale Melody flooding the sky with an immense expanse of black churning mist, over two kilometers across. Upon seeing the sudden flood of mist, the barbarians tried to flee and fly around the flood, but they were too clumped together and Ling Qi was too close to them. Despite their best efforts, all of them were caught in the ravenous mists within moments and Ling Qi dragged them down to the valley below. Upon lightly landing in the valley, Ling Qi began to express the monsters in the mists, which was when the screams and blood began to flow.

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Hanyi swirled amongst the mists that Elder Sister made, like an entrancing, beautiful, and deadly maiden. Her blizzard, an extension of her true self, was freezing and isolating these poor souls who had dared to fight against the inevitable. She spotted an individual, who could only be one of these so-called shamans, trying to dispell the mists around himself and rallying other shamans to his cause. It was such a shame, if he had laid down to die in peace he could have lived a little bit longer.

Hanyi sang about the absolute cold of winter, and how nice it would be for this young man to give his warmth to try and melt a lonely maiden's heart. Startled, he glanced in her direction and then flushed a scarlet red. Entranced, the shaman tried to take a step in her direction, only to fall and shatter to pieces upon the rock, his body having already turned to crystalline ice. The spirit beast guarding the fallen shaman tried to rush her but found itself in the same predicament as his partner.

Laughing with the sound of chiming ice, Hanyi twirled back into the mists, looking for the next poor soul to sing to. This was terribly fun, but Hanyi wouldn't let Little Brother kill more of these barbarians than her. It wouldn't do for Little Brother to beat her in something after all!

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Zhengui caged a red spirit with his roots and crushed the life from it, all the while enduring hundreds of desperate pinpricks trying to break through his armor. Burning like a beacon in the mists, he was attempting to attract these barbarians like moths. And then burn them like the ants they were.

Less than a handful were capable of making a dent in his armor, and they were battling through the burning forest he had trapped them with. It would only buy him a handful of minutes at best, but that was time he could think of a better way to deal with them. Following Big Sister's advice was hard, but managing to make the barbarians come after him in waves was paying off for now.

A curse tried to worm its way into Zhengui's mind and force him asleep. With a grunt, he split his mind between his two aspects and had Gui deal with the curse while he spit a glob of venom in the shaman's direction. Despite the shaman's attempts to dodge, the venom winged the arm and began melting flesh and bone. Pity it wasn't a kill, but Hanyi would at least know that the shaman was trouble and finish him off.

With Gui finishing up dissolving the qi in the curse, they joined minds again and began emitting a choking cloud of superheated ash, just as the handful of warriors broke through his trap. With the ants choking, burning, and fleeing, Zhengui prepared himself to meet the thunderous charge of the elite barbarians. At least this fight wouldn't be boring.

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Ling Qi desperately tried to avoid the powerful attacks of her opponent. His spirit beast was a powerful eagle, and they coordinated together with almost perfect precision in a relentless assault against her. Her stamina was beginning to flag after hours of this brutal combat though, and it was likely she wouldn't be able to keep going like this for much longer. While the goal had been to have Hanyi and Zhengui assist in this fight, that hadn't really worked out.

Hanyi had been the first to fall, being trapped in a delusion from one of the more powerful shamans on the field. She had become predictable in her ambushes and thus the shaman had been able to anticipate where she would appear. The shaman had not been able to anticipate a Xuanwu the size of a hill charging and crushing him, however. While Ling Qi had been able to dematerialize Hanyi before the barbarians could capitalize on her vulnerability, that was when the battle began turning against them.

It was only minutes ago when Zhengui had trapped the majority of the warriors and remaining shamans in a massive forest which he then ignited with the technique he had learned with the help of Yuzhao, all those years ago. It worked, killing everyone trapped in that forest. The acrid smell of burning flesh and clothing still lingered in her mists, and likely would for the remainder of the fight. The few remaining barbarians tried to exact revenge against Zhengui, but found all of their work in destroying his shell was for naught.

Even Sixiang had gone dormant after suffering an especially nasty spiritual attack from one of the more powerful shamans. It had devastated Sixiang's spiritual form, and so she had been forced to retreat to the depths of Ling Qi's dantian to recover. Dealing with the surviving shamans' spiritual attacks had been taxing, but then Zhengui had solved that problem.

Now it was just her, two of the green level warriors, and the leader. Fortunately, the leader's follower's weren't going to last very long before being torn apart by the phantoms of the mist. However, the leader was still going strong, and so It looked like this battle was a loss for her. It was probably a good time to figure out a way to flee.

Zhengui still had to be dematerialized and stored in her dantian, and so making a break in his direction was probably the better choice. It would mean diving deeper into the Wall, but the surviving barbarians would probably be hesitant to chase her given their own condition. While the Wall was dangerous, an uncertain death there was much better than a certain death here. If she could at least last until night in the Wall, then it was likely she could recover her qi from the moon, at least partially, and be in much better shape to get back to her fief.

Squeezing some more drops of qi from her dantian, Ling Qi warped to Zhengui's shadow. Taking a moment to store him, Ling Qi began to dash deeper into the Wall. The leader seemed to have anticipated her retreat, but it had taken him a moment to realize that she was not running away from the Wall but towards it. Then, the chase was on.

And before the barbarian could take a step, one of his legs was utterly obliterated followed shortly after by a sound like someone ripping the mountains asunder. More arrows quickly followed, like bolts of lightning or falling meteors. While the leader deflected and dodged valiantly, working with his spirit beast to try and escape certain death, it was all for naught. Hampered as he was by the crippling injury, he could not move fast enough to escape the wrath of the Argent Sect.

Ling Qi dismissed her mists and leaned into a cleft in the valley walls. The pain from the gashes and rents in her flesh soon made themselves known, like the pounding of a poorly made drum. She watched as a squad from the Argent Sect's Military made their way into the vale, to survey the fifty odd barbarians and their spirit beasts slain here and presumably look for her. Smiling weakly, Ling Qi loosed her control on her qi. One of the soldiers noticed her and quickly approached the narrow cleft she had secluded herself in. She had done it, she had stopped a barbarian raid that would have slaughtered her holdings and survived through the encounter. With that thought, consciousness fled her.

A/N: Well there you have it. I'm a lot happier with this one than the last one I put out, but I would still like your feedback on how to improve. There is a reason why Ling Qi didn't go to her fief and rally her troops. She wasn't 100% confident that they were going to hit her fief, this was the best location to trap them all in a valley limiting their mobility, and I wanted to write a scene where Ling Qi beats up a raiding party of barbarians by herself. As always, critiques and criticisms are welcomed.

Also, @yrsillar, another omake for the omake throne.