Right, I wanted to talk about this earlier, but I somehow got wary of an updated arriving midway my typing this post for some reasons. Basically, I wanted to talk arts. Someone mentioning something about trying to create an art made me want to try and find as many data points to see how they worked. First, I wanted to talk about the seeming differences between Zephyr's Breath and the arts that came in our jade slip.
Mechanically, Zephyr's breath is much more 'pure' then either Forgotten Vale Melody or Sable Crescent Step. By that, I mean that Sable Crescent Step is an art that marries physical/spiritual cultivation, Forgotten Vale Melody is an art that makes a two-step process of creating constructs that are then influences by the rest of the art. However, Zephyr's Breath appears much simpler and is apparently only about increasingly stronger and better wielded air currents to aid and hinder.
Interestingly, however, Zephyr's breath being simpler is represented by having less pre-reqs than SCS and FVM, which instead not onlymeans that working on it seems to depend more on your insights/improving it than on how powerful you are, but also means you can keep working on it for much longer before hitting your 'level cap'. Instead of what I would have expected for what seems a 'easier' technique, if all arts increase at the same pace it means that as it gets higher in levels you'd have to get significantly more success to have it 'mastered for your level' than SCS/FVM, which does make me think that SCS/FVM DCs might rises faster, that Zephyr's Breath might cap much earlier, or, most probably, that SCS/FVM are simply not meant for Red Soul and thus you need high pre-reqs to even use it at all there, but later on things change. So, while you'd need say 70 success more for Zephyr's breath to be fully mastered during its Red Soul stage with only 30 for SCS/FVM, in Yellow it will switch around.
It's possible, I guess, that @yrsillar is going anti-conventions about it and the seemingly less complex technique in fact is the one that has a huge disparity between 'not that mastered' and 'mastered' for a given level compared to the high-end techniques, but I doubt it, especially given the thematics around them.
Lorewise though are the interesting parts. Not only is Zephyr's breath description extremely utilitarian and direct, but each layer is simply called 'level'. SCS and FVM, however, are respectively philosophical and poetic, one apparently using philosophy and understanding of the world's nature to twist the rules to our benefits, and the other calling up a world where we make our own rules. FVM actually reminds me a lot of western fantasy stories where you have to 'hold' your world's visions against enemies, or of Fae's, or of Exalted Raksha, and so on and so forth, which is just neat. Furthermore, well, the layers are not called any such trite things as 'level'.
This reminds me of Yrsillar's old comments on how the imperial system of Red/Yellow/Green/Cyan/Indigo/Violet/White had 'boring' names on purpose, while Bai Meizheng still uses her tribalistic system with much more descriptive naming like 'shedding', etc. This makes me wonder if the utilitarian and boringness of Zephyr's Breath description is not on purpose, and if so why. While tribalism clearly does not help the empire, I wouldn't think that art descriptions would matter for that. It might also be simply a reflection of it being a lower level arts that hasn't incorporated mystical elements yet, but I like the idea of it being on purpose lol.
This brings to mind Bai Meizhen's request that Ling Qi share her insights into SCS. It makes complete sense in a setting where understanding itself is not only a path to but also often the vehicle of power, but I'm curious what that means at a more practical level. The first and most obvious option is that comparing notes on similar techniques or even just listening to another's insights into tangential material improves the rate at which you can improve your own arts. We do something similar with Suyin, so we can be assured of this much.
Another option, and one that comes up in-genre from time to time, is that sufficiently detailed insight into similar arts can allow one to... tweak an art shoring up weaknesses or filling gaps in philosophy or concept to create a slightly greater whole; this strikes me as difficult and time consuming, especially for red or yellow soul cultivators, and even moreso especially with highly advanced arts that are far from being mastered in their fullness as it is. Still, I am a knowledge hog at heart, so I can't stop my mind wandering to flimsy justifications for my predilections.
This brings to mind Bai Meizhen's request that Ling Qi share her insights into SCS. It makes complete sense in a setting where understanding itself is not only a path to but also often the vehicle of power, but I'm curious what that means at a more practical level.
Huh. This phrasing, I think, might explain why Zephyr's Breath and AS are the way they are, compared to SCS/FVM and probably EPC. We know that Han Jian said that 'very few people go beyond Green', that Elder Su said 'even cultivators of extremely low talent can get to Yellow with effort', and that Bai Meizhen awakened when she was eight and she is now currently Yellow (and is having some issues getting to Green).
The empire has many, many cultivators 'grunt' in the army that are mostly peak Red. It also has many cultivators in sects that are much more talented but would live their entire life as 'outer sect', and we also can assume they are often courtiers/etc. If those are green for the most part, then the empire has primary grunts in the army and 'secondary nobles' in huge numbers. The latter would necessitate more resources, but here is my theory: they are huge quality/price gains, and they have extremely reliable numbers.
AS, Zephyr's breath, and so on? by having it mainly be about skill and effort, rather than understanding being the vehicle of the power, means you can reliably get a huge numbers of powerful Green member of the Empire that have well-oiled and powerful arts. Not tying down one's progression through the rank to understandings might somewhat weaken the arts and cultivation arts they have access to, but it does mean you probably can multiply by tens the numbers of low-level cultivators the empire has access to. Furthermore, if those arts and cultivation arts were made by sufficiently powerful cultivators, they might still be the equivalent to understanding-powered arts made by slightly less powerful ones, so it doesn't actually create much problem if a significantly outstanding disciple appear and then switch to more mystical arts.
If you compare it to our arts like SCS/FVM/EPC, or Meizhen's own arts, I am expecting our arts have not only a much lower ceiling of power and body resistance needed to use (so it needs more time and talent and tutoring to even begin learning them), but that 'bottlenecks' are much more frequents too, not just when going up a tier (and those are much harder). OTOH, they are probably much more 'complete' arts that are not only mechanically a bit stronger but also prepare one's mentality for what it needs to be when you climb to higher ranks, while AS/Zephyr's Breat/Crimson Flowing Art/etc do not. This is why the old noble families still use that style, as they don't lack the resource and tutoring needed to help their family get the necessary background in understanding necessary before they enter the great sects, and while their methods cost much more it can also much more reliably get you past cyan/etc.
Some idea come to me while reading. In Xianxia there is a trope of giving up cultivation for someone else, ancient spirits, demons and so on gave up their power usually to main character. @yrsillar is this type of exchange in this world to? If so here comes idea, what with cultivation of dying disciples/spirits/demons? Can it be harvest, or can disciples be bound to send their cultivation in the moment of death to some repository. Cultivation power is main resource in this world it would be wasteful to lose it just because someone died. Can it be sucked out (I know that it most certainly belong to "evil/demon/place your descriptive word here" sects)?
It is certainly possible to harvest another cultivators dantian if you know the trick too it, it's what your doing when you take a beast core after all, spirit beasts are just more tied to the physical and thus their cores are easier to remove.
Of course it's generally considered kind of super evil as a thing to do, and often has certain corruptive effects, as a humans dantian is much more tied to their mind and soul than a beasts core. In the empire at least, someone consuming dantians is basically going to be regarded the way we would regard someone who snacks on human hearts.
Update should be out relatively soon wrapping up and doing the attribute ups as we speak.
Ling Qi once again found herself standing at the front of the lecture hall for Elder Su. The line up was rather different this week though. She supposed it had been last week too, she had learned from Suyin later that only herself and Ji Rong, the boy with the burn scar ,had managed to get it again that week. This week, it was that same boy, her, that creepy and possibly blind boy, another girl she vaguely recognized from Zhou's lessons… and Han Jian, who offered her a friendly nod over the other's heads as she took up a place at the far end of the line.
He had probably broken through then, she supposed. She eyes him out of the corner of her eye, he didn't really seem different, maybe a little more confident? She turned attention back to Elder Su after a few moments, bowing her head and murmuring a thanks as the older woman passed her the reward for her hard work.
+1 Qi Foundation Pill
She soon returned to her seat next to Li Suyin, acknowledging the girls quiet congratulations with a nod. Anything else that might have been said is silenced as Elder Su begins to speak. "Today begins the final month of the lessons offered to new students. My colleague has already winnowed away much of his class, as is his wont," her words caused a slight stir that might have turned to grumbling in another situation. Ling Qi certainly saw a lot of unhappy looks, some of them directed at her and the other students who were in Zhou's class. "As I am sure you have concluded by this point. I am not quite so harsh in my standards as he or prone to dramatic shows as he," she paused, seeming to lose herself in thought for a moment before sighing wistfully, as if from a pleasant memory.
"But, all the same. I also believe that the drive to improve oneself is the most important factor in a cultivators success, and thus sadly, for some of you, this will be your last day in my lessons," she continued. That stirred up some murmurs, even if they were swiftly silenced by a look from the Elder. Ling Qi was quite glad that she had won a pill this week all of a sudden as Li Suyin began to nibble her lower lip nervously. She was… pretty sure she was safe from the up coming expulsion. "While I have encouraged your success with rewards, I prefer to see how my students can motivate themselves, and how far they will push themselves even when crises does not loom, which is why I did not warn you of this in advance."
The older woman's warm gaze grows colder as she surveys the room. "Some of you have disappointed me greatly, meandering along your path without little ambition, almost idle in your cultivation. Compared to others in this lesson, to those who have put their full effort into improving themselves in some way every day, you do not deserve my teachings any longer. Perhaps in the future, when you have reflected upon and corrected your flaws, we will speak again," she continued harshly.
Ling Qi wouldn't lie to herself and say she didn't feel a bit of satisfaction as the Elder began to list off names, one after another. She did glance at LI Suyin and bump her shoulder against the other girl to draw her attention and give her a reassuring smile. Ling Qi felt the other girl was being a little ridiculous to worry about her own position, she strongly doubted that anyone who had earned a pill would be among those kicked out.
Sure enough, she was right, The room was emptied by half when the Elder was done. Her pleasant countenance returning as the last of the disciples she had named slumped dejectedly out of the room. "Now that we have resolved that unpleasantness, allow me to describe the curriculum for our final month together children," she went on, as if the last few minutes had never happened. "Firstly, I intend to ensure each of you becomes grounded in the knowledge of the three thousand common characters of the formation arts, as a cultivator should always be able to perform at least basic identification of talismans and wards in the field," Ling Qi felt a bit of dread along with anticipation. It would be one more thing she didn't need to rely on Meizhen for, but on the other hand… she was only barely literate as it was, even if her time here had dusted off the rust that had accumulated on those skills. Learning three thousand more characters seemed pretty daunting.
"Secondly, we will be reviewing the necessities and difficulties of breakthrough to new stages of cultivation," she continued on pleasantly. "Finally though, much of our effort shall be spent on your cultivation of the Argent Soul Art. All of you have progressed well in forming an understanding of the foundations of the technique, but as a master of our schools techniques, I do have certain insights that you will find of use."
Ling Qi's felt a bit of excitement at that, the next stage of the technique had seemed quite daunting, and she was worried about how long it would take her to 'mold the foundation of her World', particularly since she hadn't yet been able to puzzle out what that meant. Elder Su wasn't done speaking though. "Lastly, to further encourage you, in addition to the Qi Foundation pill each week, the three students who have impressed me the most at the end of this month shall receive a permanent pass for the first floor of the Outer Mountain's archive. Do work hard."
Did that mean they could go in and use the jade slips in the archive whenever they wanted? That sounded really good. Ling Qi glanced at Li Suyin and sure enough the scholarly girls eyes were burning with determination.
...It was honestly kind of weird seeing that kind of expression on her face.
Reaching the next stage of cultivation is a more difficult and involved process, one where talent is even more important than normal. Once the late stage is reached, to begin the process of breaking through one must fill the experience meter as normal. However, once the meter is full the user must take special actions to unlock the next stage of cultivation.
Firstly a full action slot must be assigned to the attempt, although later breakthroughs may take a much longer time and thus more slots. During this attempt one then rolls a 1d100. To succeed you must roll under a value equal to Talent times 10, 60 in Ling Qi's case. Rolling over the target number results in a loss of experience equal to the amount rolled over.
EX: Ling Qi makes the attempt and rolls a 71. She loses 11 experience from the cultivation type she is attempting to break through on. Obviously, you must then regain the experience before attempting again
However this is not the end, each stage of cultivation requires the person in question to succeed multiple times. Twice for the second stage, three for the next, etc. Failing on successive attempts does not negate previous ones, though the experience lost must still be regained before attempting it again.
To make it even more difficult, higher cultivation stages apply a stacking -10 penalty starting at the third stage, making it more and more difficult to breakthrough.
However, the target number can be improved through various means, such as cultivation art bonuses, medicines, and rare talismans.
Such is the importance of talent. Someone with a poor talent of two or three will have incredible difficulty making it beyond the first few stages of cultivation, and even those will only come with great hardship.
When the lesson was over, Ling Qi left with Li Suyin as was often her habit. Walking openly as she did when with the other girl made her nervous and twitchy, but at the same time… it was a little nice to not have to skulk for once. The other disciples had ceased much of the open hostility by this point, and she hadn't had to fend off a pick pocketing attempt for some time, but she could still feel the dislike in many of their gazes, and could hear the disparaging comments directed her way from the occasional knot of disciples.
It seemed likely that they were simply holding off until they could attempt to bully her with some actual force behind any threats they made. She put it out of her mind for the moment though. While the time when she would have to be concerned by them was rapidly approaching, right now she still needed to focus on preparing. Li Suyin was of the same mind, at least in the need for preparation, she agreed far more easily than Ling Qi expected to another forest expedition. She had many more questions on physical cultivation though.
Ling Qi focused instead on trying to figure out what was holding her back from achieving the next level of her first art.
15/15 Second Level Achieved
4/35 toward Third level(Max)[Will use second heart meridian]
Passive Effects:
-Provides two additional dice to all projectile weapon attacks.
-Provides one additional dice to defense against projectile attacks.
-Increases the initiative of the user and all allies within thirty meters by one one
-Increases maximum range of all projectiles to twenty meters if less
Active Effects
Against the Wind: oo
Cost: 4 Qi
On a successful clash reduces the dice pool of enemies within twenty meters by two for the next three clashes. In addition enemy movement is reduced by three
Guiding Zephyr: o
Cost: 2 Qi
Grants an additional dice to the clash pools of all allies within twenty meters. When used in conjunction with a projectile attack by the user it increases the damage dealt by one.
It came to her quickly this week, the corrections she needed to make to her stance, breathing and Qi circulation. Perfecting the timing of the pulses of qi needed to guide the wind around around her. The techniques improvement wasn't as impressive as her other arts, but she felt that it was much less limited now with the doubling of her control range. However there were only a few exercises left, and although they seemed quite difficult, and she liked the sound of this 'Shielding Gale' technique it promised, it seemed that Zephyr's Breath was indeed a rather limited technique… it seemed that there were more advanced forms that built on it though.
Ling Qi threw herself into her lessons in the following days, she was close to the next stage in both cultivation types she could feel, the result of continuing to steadily improve herself even as she focused on shoring up the many areas in which she was deficient compared to her peers. If she was going to make it through the coming storm though, she needed to at least reach the late stage if she wanted to be able to stand up in the face of her fellow disciples dislike without having to constantly rely on Meizhen, Han Jian, and his friends. Not to mention that she simply felt ready, with four meridians humming with elemental qi, the way she had nearly doubled the pool of energy available to her last week, and Argent Soul mastered to the third level, she felt it would be foolish to hold back on advancing.
The breakthroughs to late stage didn't seem to be dramatic things, rather she felt as if she had simply reached the end of a path well paved… and now stared up at a sheer cliff, the true difficulty and change would lie ahead, when she prepared herself to break through. Still her senses felt sharper, her muscles stronger, and and resolve more certain than ever. She wasn't going to have to run and hide forever.
She still found herself on the losing side of her spars more often than not, but with her ability to spend qi more freely, and the improvements to Zephyr's breath as well as the passive enhancements of her new techniques, things were less one sided, and when she found herself paired with stronger students, they even won occasionally. It still grated a bit to hold back, but she knew she didn't really have anything to gain by revealing her techniques.
...She wouldn't hold back if it mattered, if they ran into spirit beasts while searching the forest, she wouldn't worry about hiding things.
With her and Li Suyin both resolved to prepare for a trip to the woods though, there was something else Ling Qi felt the need to take care of. She had not spoken to Gu Xiulan at all last week, and she wanted to make sure that the haughty girl did not think she was being snubbed… and the best way to do that would probably be to agree to go along with the other girl to shop and… pretty herself up.
Ling Qi really disliked the idea of playing doll again, particularly given how futile it was, but she supposed it wasn't really a major sacrifice to made Gu Xiulan happy. At least she would finally get a chance to see the market that apparently existed. She really hadn't had time to explore the mountains amenities herself.
Which is how she found herself making her way over to Gu Xiulan after Instructor Zhou's lesson ended. One thing she had noticed while spending time with the girl and observing her during lessons was that Gu Xiulan did seem to genuinely lack any other close female friends. She chatted and mingled with the others far better than Ling Qi ever could of course, but there weren't any other girls she invited along to their bathing sessions for example.
Which was why she wasn't too surprised to catch the other girl alone as the sparring groups broke up. She had been paired with Gan Guangli again today, which she generally liked. He was very… loud, but she appreciated his politeness and the fact that he was exceptionally good at keeping their opponents attention on him. Their arts worked reasonably well together too, and he didn't seem to resent her when they lost, bidding her farewell at the end of the sessions with the same booming enthusiasm he greeted her with.
"Gu Xiulan," she called in greeting as she approached the other girl, who somehow managed to look as pretty as ever even glistening with the sweat of their recent workout. "Are you busy today?"
She glanced up at you, having been paused at the edge of the training field adjusting the laces on her elbow length glove talisman. "Oh Ling Qi? Have you joined the rest of us in the land of the living then? I had been a bit worried that you had been replaced with a corpse doll."
Ling Qi hunched her shoulders, frowning defensively. "I'm sorry about that," she mumbled crossing her arms and looking away. "I just underestimated how strong the pills I was using were. Sorry I haven't talked to you in a little while too, I didn't mean to be rude."
She hummed thoughtfully as she gave the laces one more tug. Seeming satisfied with the snugness of the glove she stopped toying with it and faced Ling Qi properly. "Hm, I was a bit put out," she admitted meeting Ling Qi's eyes and resting her hands on her hips. "Really, if one is going to perform such heavy cultivation it is only polite to inform your friends first, you know?" She let out a disatisfied huff. "You are such a difficult girl sometimes."
Ling Qi thought that was a pretty unfair assessment coming from Gu Xiulan, but she chose not to say so. "I'll remember next time," she assured the other girl, straightening up as she did. "I've just been really focused. I really am sorry," she wasn't used to apologizing, but it seemed the right thing to do.
Gu Xiulan waved her hand dismissively, already seeming to have dismissed her irritation. "I will forgive you this time. I suppose allowances can be made given the situation. Did you wish to accompany me to the mineral spring today? I did notice you had been using it in the last week. Have you gained a preference for late night baths?" She asked with just a hint of reproach, but also curiosity.
Ling Qi glanced around, there were still a few people in earshot, so she decided to keep her answer vague. "It's been pretty helpful with what I've been cultivating lately, yeah. Thank you for showing me the place. I actually wanted to see if you wanted to do something else today though, even if I wouldn't mind a dip."
She raised an eyebrow, her curiosity growing as she shifted her stance, one hand still resting on her hip. "...Water then? I suppose that does suit you," she mused quietly. "Well I suppose I don't mind, though I do hope you will show me the fruits of your labor some time. I admit I am quite curious as to what has caused you to be so driven," she continued. "What did you have in mind then?"
Ling Qi grimaced internally as she steeled herself to say the words that would bring her doom. "Well, I was thinking about what we've talked about, and… I wanted to ask for your help," she clasped her hands in front of her stomach and bowed, remembering Bai Meizhen's chiding lessons on etiquette. "Do you think you could help me… Ah, clean up a little?" She continued awkwardly as she raised her head and gestured vaguely to her hair.
She didn't like the way Gu Xiulan's eyes lit up, or the teasing grin that appeared on her features. "Really?" She asked, drawing the word out as amusement danced in her eyes. "And what brought this on?" She asked, though she continued before Ling Qi could answer. "Ah, is it that Gan fellow? Or maybe the Zhang boy" She added, still not giving Ling Qi time to interject. "I have noticed the way you stare at Instructor Zhou on occasion, I had thought your attention seemed unusually rapt at times. Is that your type then? I suppose the rough and burly look isn't bad, even if I prefer a more refined kind of man."
Ling Qi let out a strangled sound even as she flushed darkly. Who even was the second person she mentioned? If Gu Xiulan had noticed though… did that mean other people had seen her looking at Elder Zhou on occasion? Had he noticed? Damn her nonexistent ancestors, of course he had, he was an Elder. "N-no, I mean. I'm not really. I just get distracted sometimes and focus too much on the lesson…" she found herself gesturing uselessly with her hands. "And this is really nothing like that, I just thought it would be…" she couldn't exactly say she was just doing it to appease Gu Xiulan, which lead to her trailing off rather pathetically.
Gu Xiulan smiled and reached out to pat her on the shoulder in a friendly manner. "No worries now. There's nothing wrong with appreciating fine sights. It's not as if you are the only one," she said comfortingly. "Why don't we go clean up, and I shall see what I can do to help afterward. It will be fun I'm sure," she seemed pretty pleased, so she supposed that was mission accomplished.
...She wasn't a fan of the teasing though. Even if she could get… distracted sometimes, she knew she shouldn't even think about things like that, given who she was. It was the same reason she didn't want to do this in the first place. The last thing she wanted was to give the impression that she was willing or interested in being someone's accessory, or even less. Even a noble like Gu Xiulan couldn't escape it. She was engaged to that jackass Fan Yu after all. Ling Qi wouldn't even have the advantage of getting any respect due to her family.
Still, she had set herself on this course, so she endured Gu Xiulan's teasing, eventually steering the conversation to other things while they took the time to soak a bit. Once she had been deflected to other topics, chatting with Xiulan was more pleasant, and allowed her to catch up on what she had missed in recent days. Han Jian had indeed advanced to Yellow Soul, and was now preparing himself to begin working to advance into a Silver Physique. He was actually off with Han Fang working on that now, the mute boys spiritual cultivation lagged, but it seemed he was ready to begin the physical breakthrough.
It wasn't too hard to detect that Gu Xiulan was a little miffed to be left out of that. She would need a little more time to ready herself for Yellow though. As for Fan Yu… he had thrown himself into training hard, Gu Xiulan didn't seem interested in talking about him though.
It wasn't too hard to convince XIulan to show her around the mountains market area under the excuse that she wouldn't want to always have to borrow things from Gu Xiulan. It did unfortunately steer things back to the topics she had been avoiding, as they walked the wide path that wound around to the south side of the mountain's base.
"...The prices are a tad much I admit, but I really would suggest the rose petal oil I mentioned. You've let yourself grow so unkempt you know, you really need something with rejuvenating qualities to fix those split ends, before we worry much about straightening," Gu Xiulan chattered cheerfully at Ling Qi's side as they approached the large stone gate that marked the beginning of the market.
Ling Qi could see a number of other disciples, many older than her moving through the neatly laid out streets that laid beyond, and a waft of strange scents reached her, the mixture of perfume, medicine, spice and other things that often plagued open markets. "I suppose," Ling Qi responded noncommittally. "How much are we talking though? I mean, I have no idea how much a spirit stone is worth as money," she added with a bit more interest, since it was more useful information.
Gu Xiulan paused, pursing her lips as she gave Ling Qi a look of slight frustration. Ling Qi winced, she really needed to work on appearing more interested in what the girl was talking about. "Well, you should not worry over much. I can spend a few stones allow you to have the necessities," she said dismissively. "The ban on communication will be ending along with the truce soon after all," she added, seeming pleased at the prospect. "But to answer your question… Hm, I think it's about one hundred silver to a red spirit stone?" She mused. "That sounds about right, if I recall my lessons."
Ling Qi's eye twitched at that blithe statement. One hundred silver… she had felt rich after stealing close to thirty. She was pretty sure you could feed a large family for several years on one hundred, or purchase a small home. "Oh," she responded faintly. "How much do the things you were talking about cost?" They had passed under the gates now and were among the crowd. For once Ling Qi didn't feel nervous, it seemed the older disciples either didn't know or didn't care about her.
Or they were better at hiding it.
"All together? Perhaps two or three spirit stones, once we haggle them down a bit," Gu Xiulan responded with a dismissive wave of her hand. "No more than a trifle, I still have a good supply of the allowance Mother and Father gave me," it was hard for Ling Qi to not let out a frustrated sigh at that. Even now she was still poor, with the value of hundreds of silver in her pockets.
"You don't have to buy me anything you know," Ling Qi said in response as they passed a stone hut advertizing 'Fatty's Medicine Feasthall', what kind of name was that for a shop? "I don't know when I'll be able to pay you back."
Gu Xiulan gave her one of those measuring looks out of the corner of her eye. "And I have said that you need not worry about it," she replied lightly. "Something as small as this is not worth quibbling over. Of course I want you to look your best, and not just so that you can catch the eye of those rugged fellows you like so much," she added with a teasing lilt.
Ling Qi's cheeks colored again even as she hunched her shoulders. "I told you it's not like that," she responded sullenly. "But fine, I won't keep refusing," she relented, knowing that the other girl would probably feel insulted if she kept refusing. "Anyway, do you know if they buy talismans here?"
The noble girl blinked at the sudden change in subject, as the two of them turned a corner, moving away from the smaller shops near the entrance to enter a street lined with signs advertizing less practical and more feminine products. "I suppose there is most likely at least one shop that will," she mused. "If at a price much reduced from the value. Have you made an acquisition recently?" She asked, sounding curious.
Ling Qi frowned, this was the part she was worrying about. "Well… I was thinking, that staff I got during the test. I'm not sure it's really suited for me, you know? I thought maybe I could trade it for something that fit me better," she really hoped the other girl wasn't going to take offense. There were other reasons to get rid of it too, but she didn't wanted to say them aloud for fear of making her companion think her a coward.
Gu Xiulan frowned, tilting her head to the side as she continued to lead Ling Qi through the street. "Is that so? I suppose that I can understand, now that I know you better, you are rather unsuited to Wood techniques. Still, you will lose most of the value of an item like that by simply selling it," thankfully she hasn't taken offense. "A direct trade might be better if you could manage it. Perhaps a Water enhancing talisman?" She mused. "That would be appropriate for someone in your position I think, that element contains many useful supporting arts."
Ling Qi nodded, feeling a bit of relief. "That would probably work better," she replied as the other girl slowed her pace. "So I suppose I'll just have to try and find someone willing to trade?"
Stopping in front of a particularly… flowery looking shop, Gu Xiulan smiled. "Yes, that would likely be for best, but let us leave that aside for now. We are here," she continued cheerfully, heading for the door.
Ling Qi sighed as she followed her. At least she knew where the place was and could come back on her own now. The next couple of hours were spent pretty unproductively in her opinion. She did her best to sound interested and invested as Gu Xiulan showed her a dizzying array of scents and oils and other cosmetics, chattering happily about their effects and which ones would suit her best. In the end she ended up with a small leather case containing a number of little clay bottles and application brushes and other things she wasn't quite sure what she was meant to do with.
...Of course, that didn't mean she was done. Gu Xiulan insisted on helping her get her hair in order at least, which was another nerve wracking hour of having to sit still with another persons hands on her scalp, applying the 'rejuvenating' hair oil the girl had bought her, followed by braiding her recalcitrant locks in a manner similar to the other girls style. It… didn't really look bad she supposed afterward, looking into the other girls mirror, her normally lank hair was a bit… shinier and less fly away now.
She begged off of using the rest of the stuff for the moment, citing the need to get to her lessons. She was going to have to later though, she was pretty sure Xiulan would feel unhappy and insulted if she didn't use it at all… and honestly, she would feel guilty for spitting on the other girls generosity. She would just have to try and keep it simple
+1 Cultivators Cosmetic Kit(+1 to relevant socialize and persuasion rolls)
It wasn't until the near the end of the week that she got back together with Li Suyin to begin their little mountain expedition, to avoid being followed, they had agreed to meet on a small plateau well off the beaten path, but also on the way to their destination. It was evening, after Elder Su's lesson, so they would have all night to search.
Which was why Ling Qi found herself surprised when it wasn't just Li Suyin who arrived up here on the windy little cliffside. She shouldn't have been, on reflection, they only knew about the icy woods because of Su Ling, why would Li Suyin leave her out of things?
"Why the fuck do you smell like that?" The surly fox girl said by way of greeting as she reached the top, Li Suyin arrived behind her, red faced and breathing heavily. "Do you really think it's a great idea to be wearing perfume for something like this?" She asked incredulously, glaring at Ling Qi.
She blinked, she had forgotten about it honestly, having dabbed a bit of scent, along with a few dabs of other things, this morning so Gu Xiulan wouldn't think her gift was being ignored. She couldn't even smell it anymore herself. "I'll wash up in that stream we have to cross on the way. Excuse me for being busy," she replied defensively.
"Don't know why you're using that crap in the first place, thought you were one of the halfway sensible ones," she said, grumbling the last under her breath. "You need a breather Li Suyin?" She asked over her shoulder as the blue haired girl straightened up with a determined look.
"I-I'm fine," she insisted as she caught her breath, at least she was doing better than last time. "A-and, I don't think it's a problem, you look… nice?" She added, looking to Ling Qi, with a hint of confusion. "I don't think something like that will be much more noticeable than a natural scent to spirit beasts… don't most of them have qi enhanced senses," she added, voice shrinking until she was barely audible by the end under Su Ling's glare.
The furry eared girls tail twitched in agitation whole remaining wrapped tightly around her waist. "Whatever, none of my business if you want to smear crap on yourself. It's not like we're hunting," she replied with a huff. "She's right that the dangerous stuff is gonna be after the scent of our qi anyway. You sure you want to do this?"
"Yes," Ling Qi responded tightly, feeling a little annoyed. "We all need whatever advantages we can get, right?"
"I agree," Li Suyin added seriously. "I… I have things I need to accomplish," she added, looking determined again.
"Fine, not gonna argue about it then, let's get climbing, I won't want to be there until sunrise," Su Ling replied grudgingly, eyeing the steep path leading further up the mountain.
The climb up was easier than before, Ling Qi found herself climbing the steep path with ease, and even on occasion outpacing Su Ling, she could already feel the soothing rush of being immersed in the dark and it made it easier to move quickly. Su Ling did give her a few suspicious looks, though, sniffing uncertainly at the air when Ling Qi passed her. Li Suyin proved to be the limit on their pace though, even with her improved physical cultivation the scholarly girl simply couldn't keep up with them, though she no longer needed help climbing some of the cliffs.
...She was just so slow when it came to doing it. Still, Ling Qi didn't begrudge slowing down, it was only with Suyin's help that they'd have any real hope of finding a good cultivation spot. Night had fallen by the time they reached the woods, but the weather was clear and the nearly full moon was bright, so the others didn;t seem to have too much trouble.
For Ling Qi it was strange, without light the color of everything was rather washed out, but she had no trouble seeing just as well as she could during the day. Glancing up at the moon, she dipped her head for a moment. Even if it wasn't the right phase, she could say a silent thanks.
The three of them remained largely silent once they reached the part of the woods that they had refrained from entering before. The only sound coming from Li Suyin's painfully loud footsteps. In this, Ling Qi felt herself agreeing with the frustration on Su Ling's face. She couldn;t do anything about it but keep a sharp eye out though. Being able to see perfectly well was useful, but also disquieting. It let her see clearly the shapes of the crows perched high in the trees, and the dark shapes of predators lurking at the edges of her vision. It wasn't perfect though, several times Su Ling had to stop them with a hissed warning, pointing out patches of creeper vines that were carnivorous, or leading them away from places marked by the scent of a mountain bear or other predator.
For Ling Qi's part, she stopped the fox girl from putting her foot into the burrow of… something hidden in the underbrush, as well as helping the group as a whole avoid a few other blunders of the sort. All the while, Li Suyin squinted into the dark. Ling Qi could tell that she wasn't really searching with her eyes though. This went on for the better part of two hours as they searched the woods. Several times Ling Qi saw a predator in the dark, a mountain lion, an owl big enough to have claws the size and length of her fingers, and even once something that looked like a scrawny wolf, but none of them attacked, perhaps deciding that their group was not easy prey.
...She had an odd itching feeling on the back of her neck though, as if she was being watched. Eventually though, Li Suyin's senses lead them to an open cliff on the far side of the woods, that looked out over the southern mountains. The landscape visible was beautiful even at night, seemingly endless peaks extending as far as the eye could see. The cliff was surrounded by high ridges on either side, with the thick woods they had traveled through blocking off it's rear.
None of that is what drew Ling Qi's eye though, rather it was the broad crack in the stone of the cliff, from which a faint silver mist wafted. The edges of the cleft were lined with glittering red and yellow crystal that were all too familiar. They were obviously spirit stone, if more than she had seen in one place before and not carved into uniformity.
"A natural spirit stone deposit," Li Suyin breathed out softly, looking at it in wonder. "And… ah that mist, can you feel it resonating with your Argent Foundation?" She asked absently, taking a step forward.
Ling Qi could feel an odd quivering in the 'skin' that had formed around her dantian when she advanced to the third stage of Argent Soul. Was that what Li Suyin was talking about? While she was thinking that Su Ling reached out to grab the blue haired girl's shoulder, her body language tense. "Stop. There's something here," she said harshly. "I can't smell anything, but… we aren't alone."
Ling Qi nodded, she could feel it now that she was looking, a strange stillness in the air. She was glad she had, because a moment later her instincts screamed at her to move as fast as she could, and she did so, her qi surging as she felt the edges of her self blurring into the darkness around her. She landed from her sideways dive in a controlled roll as a thunderous crash broke the silence of the night.
The ridge beside her seemed to have come to life, what she had taken for a large rock formation now rose on two trunk like limbs. It was vaguely humanoid and stood nearly four meters tall, it was even now withdrawing the 'arm' that it had just tried to crush her with. It's 'head' was little more than a vague lump with two glittering crystal growths where eyes would be.
"What the fuck is that?" Su Ling hissed, backing away with wide eyes as Ling Qi came back to her feet.
"It's a Sediment Guardian, t-they often appear around such deposits, appearing to spontaneously generate from the natural qi expelled by the stones. They come in several…" Li Suyin was backing up as well, panic in her eyes. She appeared to be reciting a book passage from memory.
"Can we kill it?" Ling Qi cut her off in a tight voice as she rose back to her feet, backing up as well. This wasn't a great arena to fight in, barely eight meters from the start of the woods to the edge of the cliff and only twenty across from ridge to ridge, there wasn't exactly a lot of room to dodge. At least the spirit didn't seem to be a hurry as it rose to its full height and took a single lumbering step forward.
"I don't have anything that could hurt a damn rock," Su Ling responded as she eyed the slowly approaching thing warily. "I… might be able to confuse it though, hell if I know how the thing senses stuff."
"Vibration and sound," Suyin replied immediately. It seemed when she panicked she became an encyclopedia. "Ah… supposedly the crystal 'eyes' are a weakness, as well as the nodes on it's back, but…"
Ling Qi frowned, fighting down her own fear as she backed away to stay out of range of the things limbs. She was the closest, and Su Ling and Li Suyin were a about four meters behind her, near the woods. They could probably escape… but then this would have been for nothing.
She doubted her ability to hurt the thing, 'eyes' or no, but… she glanced toward the cliff, would it survive falling off? COuld she manage to lure it with Forgotten Vale Melody? Su Ling said she could confuse it too, maybe if the both of them worked together…
[] No, it's not worth the risk, just run
[] You'll never get anywhere by always running away, try to lure it off the cliff
[] A different plan?
Strength 9/10 Training
Dexterity 14/20 Training
Stamina 2/20 Training
[X] You'll never get anywhere by always running away, try to lure it off the cliff
That Argent soul bonus seems like a must have, our sound technique is the perfect thing to lure it out, and even if it survives the fall, we have teammates to back us up. And how fast can the crystal golems be?
"A natural spirit stone deposit," Li Suyin breathed out softly, looking at it in wonder. "And… ah that mist, can you feel it resonating with your Argent Foundation?" She asked absently, taking a step forward.
YES. That's a ridiculously good find, assuming we can, ah, disperse this guardian somehow. And we even got to spend some time with Su Ling! Awesome.
Also, I mean we have Zephyr + daggers so we could also try to aim at its eyes, although tbf, I dunno what that will do other than possibly getting stuck in the eye.
@yrsillar, don't we have 2 bonus dices to perception rolls with FVM?
The older woman's warm gaze grows colder as she surveys the room. "Some of you have disappointed me greatly, meandering along your path without little ambition, almost idle in your cultivation.
[] You'll never get anywhere by always running away, try to lure it off the cliff
This seems the go-to vote, but I would really like it if someone has a great write in.
alright, here we go! Luring it off the cliff seems the best option. I was wondering if it would be possible to lure it to the encampment below like peter piper, but that might be a bad decision in retrospect.
@TheLastOne your right in that, we can't afford to waste the action. So we need to deal with it somehow.
I don't think we know enough to commune with it, and I doubt that we have enough physical force to destroy it.
Well... I am in favor of opening with FVM. I am not quite sure if first strike bonus from SCS is gone though?
Also, time to test out if FVM works with ZB~ Despite the watching eyes thing, which I hope is either an Elder, some spirit, or just that Sediment Guardian.
Something like this?
[ ] Order Li Suyin to flee to the cliff and wait, order Su Ling to aim for the nodes on its back while Ling Qi distract its senses
-[ ] Use the flute and activate Mist of the Vale (3+2 Qi), include Su Ling, create random noises of chimes and footsteps around to the Guardian's front
--[ ] Aim for the crystal 'eyes' with throwing knives
This is more of getting a definite win, for Ling Qi's pride. But if we want to be safe... Well, tossing it over the cliff... Actually, didn't it pretend to be a cliff before? Uh, I am not sure there.
Would the Imperious Serpent's Majesty work on it? I mean it's probably slow, and if all goes to hell, it could be our run away card. That is of course if it doesn't call in friends. Our current max damage (DV) is 3 (Daggers + Guiding Zephyr), and we should be able to hit it without a problem with our Qi arts, and we have Qi to spare. In worse case scenario our Trackless Escape and Crescent's Grace can be used to escape/lure him in. What part of the day is it anyway? Can we use Crescent's Grace without needing FML?
Something like this?
[] Order Li Suyin to flee to the cliff and wait, order Su Ling to aim for the nodes on its back while Ling Qi distract its senses
-[] Use the flute and activate Mist of the Vale (3+2 Qi), include Su Ling, create random noises of chimes and footsteps around to the Guardian's front
--[] Aim for the crystal 'eyes' with throwing knives
This is more of getting a definite win, for Ling Qi's pride. But if we want to be safe... Well, tossing it over the cliff... Actually, didn't it pretend to be a cliff before? Uh, I am not sure there.
Should be the opposite, action wise: FVM cancels in three turns if we stop playing, and throwing knives would do so. However, begining with guided zephyr and against the wind would dimnish its dice pool and movement significantly, making it much safer, and then we can go FVM and arrange it to walk out of the cliff.
The problem would be if having its movement being harder means it's also harder to make it walk off the cliff, but given it probably means "it has less control of its movement" I think it would be in fact easier.
Why order Suyin to the cliff edge? She might fall off there.
BTW, I wonder if Yrsillar has played Dragon's Dogma before because this Sediment Guardian sounds like the metal golems they have there.
I guess it really depends on how exactly these eyes / glowing veins work. Like generally, if you have a dagger that you can actually pierce a crystal with, the crystal doesn't ... usually explode or anything like in video games. You just have a dagger stuck in a stone.
well, we know that it is night, and I think that going for the eyes is going to be good. I also think that the more we can mess up their senses the better it will be, and eyes are typically associated with senses.
Should be the opposite, action wise: FVM cancels in three turns if we stop playing, and throwing knives would do so. However, begining with guided zephyr and against the wind would dimnish its dice pool and movement significantly, making it much safer, and then we can go FVM and arrange it to walk out of the cliff.
The problem would be if having its movement being harder means it's also harder to make it walk off the cliff, but given it probably means "it has less control of its movement" I think it would be in fact easier.
It's night.
