That's not the case tho. Otherxise we wouldn't have been able to train our arts last update.
Forge of Destiny(Xianxia Quest)
- Thread starter yrsillar
- Start date
- Original Fantasy
That's not the case tho. Otherxise we wouldn't have been able to train our arts last update.
Codex
Fantasy Addict
- Pronouns
- She/Her
There's a difference between swapping art in an EVENT, and swapping arts in a WEEK. It doesn't matter what the element is in a week because we can spend a significant amount of time attuning the meridian to a different element and swapping arts. An event is done in a short period of time however and as such attuning elements takes too long.
Arkeus
Crazy cat guy
- Location
- France
Speaking of Argent Arts, I had assumed for a long time that they were foundational art meant to support whatever style a disciple has, and so would tick all the boxes of what disciples could want (melee, range, phys def, sp.def, movement, perception, sp.offence), but it appears that while they are very broad in the bonus they give (so a lot of disciples CAN use them) they are still definitely their own 'style' given what our Archer tutor said.
Considering @yrsillar has been really fucking good when making different fighting styles of other characters (Meizhen and her 'if you want to be able to run you need to hit me, and if you try to hit me you are dead', or Sun Liling with her whirlwind of death pokes combined with her special blood that gives her perfect damage for each attacks), I suspect the Argent Style is, also, very thematic.
AC is a melee art that gives greatly increased ability to destroy armour and focus on a wearing down enemies, AS is a body reinforcement art that punish enemies for surrounding them, granting a defensive techniques focusing on retaliation moreso than actual defence, and AM is a defensive art about being able to assess enemies and seeing through traps.
That suggests to me that the Argent Style is a thug style where you wade in enemies and beat their leaders, safe in your certainty that any minions trying to attack you would just be suicidal, and that enemies cannot lay out traps for you. It... would really fits Ji Rong.
If that's the case, I think the last combat art, if there is one and it's not AG, would be either a lung/arm art about 'chaining' your hits (E.G, you hit a minion in retalliation, lighting strike all enemies around you). An actual purely defensive art not only doesn't seem to fit the style, but AM is already called 'the early defensive art', and AS 'the body reinforcement and movement'. I am also not seeing an actual ranged art, considering how AC and AS work. It's better to make the combo of those two arts even stronger, so that not only would the opponent's armour crumble with each retaliation, but increasing further effects each time you do retaliate even further.
The big issue, though, would be both the low defensive dice from AM and the low defensive dice from AS. The obvious answer would be "successor arts would have much more than that", and that does work if we assume that those arts are normally given in inner sect, and so the yellow versions do not need to suffice as a whole art suite without any other arts, just the green ones.
In that case, my instinct would say that the 'set bonus' from learning the yellow version is having access to the Argent Element. As such, each argent art would be boosted by such element without compromising elemental balance at all.
Considering @yrsillar has been really fucking good when making different fighting styles of other characters (Meizhen and her 'if you want to be able to run you need to hit me, and if you try to hit me you are dead', or Sun Liling with her whirlwind of death pokes combined with her special blood that gives her perfect damage for each attacks), I suspect the Argent Style is, also, very thematic.
AC is a melee art that gives greatly increased ability to destroy armour and focus on a wearing down enemies, AS is a body reinforcement art that punish enemies for surrounding them, granting a defensive techniques focusing on retaliation moreso than actual defence, and AM is a defensive art about being able to assess enemies and seeing through traps.
That suggests to me that the Argent Style is a thug style where you wade in enemies and beat their leaders, safe in your certainty that any minions trying to attack you would just be suicidal, and that enemies cannot lay out traps for you. It... would really fits Ji Rong.
If that's the case, I think the last combat art, if there is one and it's not AG, would be either a lung/arm art about 'chaining' your hits (E.G, you hit a minion in retalliation, lighting strike all enemies around you). An actual purely defensive art not only doesn't seem to fit the style, but AM is already called 'the early defensive art', and AS 'the body reinforcement and movement'. I am also not seeing an actual ranged art, considering how AC and AS work. It's better to make the combo of those two arts even stronger, so that not only would the opponent's armour crumble with each retaliation, but increasing further effects each time you do retaliate even further.
The big issue, though, would be both the low defensive dice from AM and the low defensive dice from AS. The obvious answer would be "successor arts would have much more than that", and that does work if we assume that those arts are normally given in inner sect, and so the yellow versions do not need to suffice as a whole art suite without any other arts, just the green ones.
In that case, my instinct would say that the 'set bonus' from learning the yellow version is having access to the Argent Element. As such, each argent art would be boosted by such element without compromising elemental balance at all.
Just to weigh in on Ling Qi's future specialization or way of cultivation. I'm very much liking the sound of using the Argent Arts as a base for our other two most flexible specialties; the moon is associated with change (and we could theoretically replace the darkness meridians with moon ones to balance our qi?) and music seems like a very flexible art where we could possibly have balanced elements (and music meridians to balance elemental qi?).
Also this does fit in with Ling Qi's love of freedom and choice which I like the narrative of. I'm not sure if this would interfere with her archery. Maybe a flying self playing flute would allow her to do both? Though that seems like it would have drawbacks.
I also really want to find out what argent qi is all about, could be great synergistic add to our music, or totally not helpful. Really though I think we should do some fact finding minor actions to find out more about what is even possible. Xaun Shi may have had the right idea of it, and it might be a great way to find inspiration by looking up past famous musician cultivators of history.
Also this does fit in with Ling Qi's love of freedom and choice which I like the narrative of. I'm not sure if this would interfere with her archery. Maybe a flying self playing flute would allow her to do both? Though that seems like it would have drawbacks.
I also really want to find out what argent qi is all about, could be great synergistic add to our music, or totally not helpful. Really though I think we should do some fact finding minor actions to find out more about what is even possible. Xaun Shi may have had the right idea of it, and it might be a great way to find inspiration by looking up past famous musician cultivators of history.
Again. We have been told repeatedly that Ling Qi is in a bad headspace for relationships.
Also, she's fourteen.
- Location
- UK
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Doesn't prevent crushes but yeah, 90% sure this introduction won't go anywhere.
- Location
- United States of America
I said the thread. Not ling qi, we all know about ling qis relationship stuff already.
Also these are 14 year Old cultivators already are looking into marriage or have fiance at this time. But that's a while different conversation and irrelevant.
Oh god it's ZUTARA all over again
- Location
- UK
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Zutara is love, Zutara is life.
Arkeus
Crazy cat guy
- Location
- France
Azula/Katara *shake fists*
- Location
- UK
- Pronouns
- They/Them
- Location
- Leeds
Go to hell. Nobody's good enough for Ty Lee.Heretic. Azula/Ty Lee.
Definitely not the one who kicked her out of the circus.
I would potentially be argued down to Iroh from LoK if you can get a time machine.
- Location
- UK
- Pronouns
- They/Them
It's alright, Ty Lee can change her. Ty Lee can bring out the good in Azula like no one else can!
Arkeus
Crazy cat guy
- Location
- France
- Location
- UK
- Pronouns
- They/Them
But Katara does???
Don't you dare imply Ty Lee deserve the awesomness that is Azula
*Edit* yeah we got a little off track.
Back to Cousin Tai. I'd like to think that even though our friendship with Xiulan makes this a more casual than official introduction, that the Gu will put their best foot forward. I expect him to be ripped (Xiulan should know at least that much about Ling Qi) as well as a talented cultivator and at least not actively out to sabotage the meeting.
*Edit the second*
Last edited:
My favorite romance focused (albeit cracky) Avatar fic was Sokka/Azula.Heretic. Azula/Ty Lee.
- Location
- The Temple of the Winds
By that point it's more crack than fanfic to be honest...
Fan Yu, the Peggy Sue chronicles Part 2
Seeing as the thread has gone weird places (again), perhaps it's time for a new omake.
Here is the second part of everyone's favorite protagonist, Fan Yu!
What do you mean he is not your favorite protagonist? All of you guys said he was! Multiple times!
Oh.
You meant least favorite protagonist.
Well, this is awkward.
Fan Yu, The Peggy Sue Chronicles part 2
'Being surrounded at all times by a bunch of brats is infuriating.' Yu thought grumpily as he couldn't help but be irritated by the discordant cacophony on all sides, created by all the first year students nearby going their own way, laughing and giggling, talking and posturing haughtily the way they imagined their elders did.
There was something simply ridiculous about a bunch of snot-nosed brats behaving as if they were the fully-grown adult cultivators, who had the whole world all figured out and theirs for the taking.
'Especially when the brats in question are -barely- teenager versions of your rivals and erstwhile friends. Not to mention *shudder* Xiulan.'
Fan Yu firmly put any thoughts of Xiulan far, far away, at least for this moment, in some distant reaches of his mind ordinarily reserved for all those nasty experiences one sometimes experiences in life, such as drinking a dead camel's blood to prevent death by thirst, or having to explain his future father-in-law what he was doing naked in his winter gardens. The same out of the way part of his brain that only awoke under the influence of strong, mind-addling drugs, or even stronger alcohol.
Gu Xiulan, his childhood fiancée, was hell itself, and best left alone, though he knew he could not do so. She was, at this point of time, still his fiancée, and would not accept his avoiding her forever. However, finding a proper way to deal with her was the future Yu's problem.
Now Han Fang, on the other hand, Yu was somewhat glad to see again, as while their paths had separated a long time ago, they had separated at mostly good terms and the stocky cultivator was always glad when he saw his childhood companion, although he rarely did.
The once-mute boy, had undergone an almost meteoric rise in the Imperial Army. Already a captain, a mid Cyan and late Iron cultivator, almost always on a campaign, the now mountainous man had little time in his life for matters unconnected to warcraft, even for his clan, let alone Fan Yu.
Fang had been one of the few bright spots in Yu's life in that second bitter year, after the Final Tournament of the first year, when Jian and Xiulan had managed, by the skin of their teeth and with no small amount of luck, to advance to the Inner Sect.
That second year... had been desolate. Yu and Fang had been left behind, bereft of most of their allies and denied the various Sect resources and privileges that showed their true value only in their absence.
To make matters worse, the strongest remaining disciple, Kang Zihao, had nursed a grudge against the Golden Fields for his narrow defeat at Jian's hands, and Lu Feng was dutifully carrying on his crimson princess' mandate to cause havoc and ensure the rule of jungle, with Sun Liling's blessings and, more importantly, some of her resources and assets.
The older leaders of the Outer Sect Disciples meanwhile were on the war path, thankfully without Chu Song who had scrapped by to the Inner Sect, finally united in their desire to prevent the events of the last year from repeating and thus stopping some first year upstarts from preventing their advancement in Sect's hierarchy, again.
It had fallen to Han Fang and Fan Yu to help Guangli and that freak Huang to pick up the pieces of the Cai's council. An impossible task, but one they had to attempt in order to acquire allies and infrastructure needed to keep all their enemies from taking their pound of blood.
Just the great effort of keeping himself alive and well, as well as some subsequent unpleasant events, had changed Fan Yu.
Xiulan had used opportunity of her advancement to gleefully wreck beyond any hope of repair their mutual relationship, thereby even endangering the relations between their two clans.
Their betrothal had been in shambles for months at that point due to her unreasonable antagonism and was likely doomed to failure. Yu knew that the most likely outcome was for him to marry some other girl from Xiulan's clan, however, in her impatience and sheer capriciousness, drunk with victory, Xiulan had been entirely too ham-fisted and had pressed too hard and too fast in her attempts to force her father's hands and break their engagement, which had borne unfortunate consequences for both Xiulan and Yu.
His father and his honorable grandfather the clan head, had not been happy, and they had let their displeasure be known, both to Xiulan's father and himself.
Xiulan's father, not too satisfied himself with Xiulan's conduct and even further incensed by the outcome of the short and abruptly ended negotiations with the leaders of the Fan clan, punished Xiulan harshly for her insolence, which had cost the Gu clan.
Fan Yu scowled, angry at himself, and again banished thoughts of Xiulan the furthest he could. Unbidden, his thoughts went to the other dominant presence in his childhood, Han Jian.
Han Jian, on the other hand, had just grown distant as time passed. No great theatrics and volcanic eruptions of emotions for him.
Rather, the moment of his ascension in the Sect's hierarchy, marked also the moment when Jian had left Yu behind, in body and mind. He rarely returned letters, and seemingly had little time to devote to Fan Yu, always citing some unspecified responsibilities and unspecified obligations as the reason for his unavailability.
It had taken him many years, but the stubborn noble had eventually understood that his 'brother' Jian had likely not been as fond of him as Fan Yu had always been of the taller boy, and had intentionally allowed their relationship to wither away.
The sting of that harsh, but nigh undisputable fact still pained him, even all these years later.
Fan Yu logically understood that he had always possessed certain flaws. He was far from perfect, and one could not expect to be universally liked, even in the case that he was a better man than Yu was.
He was too blunt, frequently overly harsh, almost prone to insensitivity when it came to other people's feelings and not very tactical in certain situations to put it mildly. He had an unfortunate tendency for risk-taking, with a gambling vice he constantly had to keep in a steel grip.
He was also easily roused to anger and often impatient, sometimes even outright unkind.
Fan Yu knew all this.
His emotions burned hotly, and could get away from him at times. While unseemly in a noble and a cultivator, it was just who he was, Fan Yu had long since accepted that part of his being. It was something he had learned to manage with his family's training and simple experience, but not something he felt embarrassed about.
He had always disliked being dishonest, hiding cruel thoughts behind bland smiles, nor did he like behaving like a three-day old dead fish, never showing joy or any other passion, always killing one's emotions in the name of some unnaturally bland "composure".
However, he always thought that his virtues outweighed his frankly noticeable flaws. He was loyal, passionate, generous, honest, cheerful and of a forgiving nature.
Too bad Han Jian apparently had never felt quite the same way.
Which honestly made their current conversation, first real one in almost a week for Jian and the first one in years to Yu, all the more stilting and surreal to the stout man/boy.
"You have been absent quite a bit ever since we arrived at the Sect, Yu. Is everything well?" asked the General's son with a faint air of curiosity, while they walked leisurely on their way to the market. Han Fang was also present, moving entirely too quietly for a person of his size, on the opposite side from Fan Yu, with Han Jian in the centre of their little group.
"Everything's fine, Jian. I was just busy exploring the mountainside and training a bit. The change of surroundings have been a real inspiration!" replied the other boy, trying to project a bit of his (in)famous energy into the answer, hoping to put Jian at ease.
It... didn't entirely succeed.
Fan Yu, while a cheerful and passionate man, still had a mind of an adult with more than a few years of experience under his belt; in war, cultivation and life.
He simply didn't behave like his former self had, and could never hope to closely imitate the rambunctiousness nor the unthinking abrasiveness of the 14-year old Fan Yu. (Hence, he just simply couldn't cause the same kind of annoyance to the people in his presence. Not that Fan Yu realized any of this).
Han Jian, and even Han Fang looked a bit uncertain at the answer. Nevertheless, the Tiger Scion let out a soft chuckle.
"Is that so? Well, I must say, Fan Yu, the Argent Sect seems to be doing you good. You looked very focused these last several weeks. I can't remember the last time your eyes held such drive, and for such a long time. I am thankful that it was not some trouble causing this.
And I hope you forgive me, old friend, for saying this, but you have also certainly... mellowed out a bit. Honestly, it is a good look on you. Even Xiulan noticed. She approves."
In the background, Fan Yu could see Fang giving a solemn nod, apparently agreeing with his cousin. Not that surprising. Yu could count on the fingers of his hand the times Fang had disagreed with Jian in all the years he knew them, and still come short.
'And that's the sticking point, isn't it?' thought Fan Yu bitterly.
He had been avoiding his companions, truthfully. He had been busy trying to regain those abilities of his that he could, had been busy rebuilding qi and opening meridians all over again, and had hoped to hasten the process by using all the myriad of cultivating sites and secrets that the Outer Sect held and that were mostly reserved for the first years, hoping to use his 'unfair' knowledge accumulated during his three years spent in the Argent Sect in order to gain an upper hand against the frankly monstrous competition.
First years had no place being that advanced!
Truly, his generation must have had the worst of luck to have been saddled with the likes of Bai Meizhen and Sun Liling as their competition.
However in his haste to secure as much of the resources for himself as he possibly could, no mean goal when his intention was to do this just by himself if possible, especially as weak as he currently was, he seemed to have behaved significantly unlike his younger self.
(Unlike even his older self for that matter, not that Fan Yu realized this at the start. His sheer zeal for forging a new life for himself had made him behave quite oddly for his standards, younger or older.)
And this new Fan Yu seemed to be more to the liking of his compatriots and his fiancée from the Golden Fields.
It was an ugly thing, that realization. That the selfish, ambitious, distant, almost uncaring version of him was the one that Jian, Xiulan and even Fang seemed to prefer, rather than his generous and caring original self.
It opened old wounds, the ones that had never truly healed but rather had just scabbed over, even though his wife-to-be FeiFei had tried her best to help and comfort him.
He was still bitter, and still resentful. Of Jian's long-hidden, traitorous dislike, of Xiulan's scorching disapproval and cruel enmity, and Fang's stoic almost indifference.
Of being left behind, alone, as so many others, worse in character but stronger in talent, passed him in the mud. Of being disliked, or even ignored by people he liked and trusted.
However.
'I need their help' came the unpleasant realization, stuck like a bone in his throat.
'I am not strong enough to access most of the cultivation sites.I will not become strong enough fast enough. Sun Liling, Kang Zihao or somebody else will claim them. To say nothing of the Elders' trials...'
And Fan Yu wanted those Elders' trials, and what they would bring very much. His ignorance of the myriad Argent Arts, with the exception of the humble Argent Soul, gnawed on him fiercely.
He also wanted the attention, the recognition, that passing the Elders' trial would bring him.
Additionally, the material rewards awaiting those that passed the trials was nothing to sneeze at.
"Yu? Have you started sleepwalking?" asked Jian humorously, interrupting his frenzied thoughts.
Fan Yu watched the other boy carefully, at war with himself. Han Jian. The gallant, noble, compassionate, treacherous, weak, dishonest, flawed Han Jian. Yu felt himself on a precipice, weighing whether to keep his knowledge of the Sect's bounties to himself, or to trust again.
He turned his gaze to the other larger boy walking beside them. The polite, calm and stoic Han Fang, who seemingly preferred the background and whose affable silence hid a veritable storm of ambition and a thirst that could not be denied, a primal desire to step out of the shadow and to make something of himself, to make all his wishes come true, no matter the cost and no matter who got in the way.
Fan Yu licked his suddenly dry lips and let out a hoarse chuckle.
"N-no, I haven't. I've just been thinking. Jian, and you Fang, listen carefully. I think I may have found something interesting on the north side of the mountain a couple of days ago..." started speaking the shortest boy among the three of them quietly, the two other boys unconsciously stepping closer to better hear him, with Fang discreetly making noise not carry over to the other disciples.
Ultimately, Fan Yu was the forgiving sort, and he was ready to roll the dice again.
AN: @yrsillar The more I write, the more I appreciate the effort you put in this quest. Really, hats off.
Here is the second part of everyone's favorite protagonist, Fan Yu!
What do you mean he is not your favorite protagonist? All of you guys said he was! Multiple times!
Oh.
You meant least favorite protagonist.
Well, this is awkward.
Fan Yu, The Peggy Sue Chronicles part 2
'Being surrounded at all times by a bunch of brats is infuriating.' Yu thought grumpily as he couldn't help but be irritated by the discordant cacophony on all sides, created by all the first year students nearby going their own way, laughing and giggling, talking and posturing haughtily the way they imagined their elders did.
There was something simply ridiculous about a bunch of snot-nosed brats behaving as if they were the fully-grown adult cultivators, who had the whole world all figured out and theirs for the taking.
'Especially when the brats in question are -barely- teenager versions of your rivals and erstwhile friends. Not to mention *shudder* Xiulan.'
Fan Yu firmly put any thoughts of Xiulan far, far away, at least for this moment, in some distant reaches of his mind ordinarily reserved for all those nasty experiences one sometimes experiences in life, such as drinking a dead camel's blood to prevent death by thirst, or having to explain his future father-in-law what he was doing naked in his winter gardens. The same out of the way part of his brain that only awoke under the influence of strong, mind-addling drugs, or even stronger alcohol.
Gu Xiulan, his childhood fiancée, was hell itself, and best left alone, though he knew he could not do so. She was, at this point of time, still his fiancée, and would not accept his avoiding her forever. However, finding a proper way to deal with her was the future Yu's problem.
Now Han Fang, on the other hand, Yu was somewhat glad to see again, as while their paths had separated a long time ago, they had separated at mostly good terms and the stocky cultivator was always glad when he saw his childhood companion, although he rarely did.
The once-mute boy, had undergone an almost meteoric rise in the Imperial Army. Already a captain, a mid Cyan and late Iron cultivator, almost always on a campaign, the now mountainous man had little time in his life for matters unconnected to warcraft, even for his clan, let alone Fan Yu.
Fang had been one of the few bright spots in Yu's life in that second bitter year, after the Final Tournament of the first year, when Jian and Xiulan had managed, by the skin of their teeth and with no small amount of luck, to advance to the Inner Sect.
That second year... had been desolate. Yu and Fang had been left behind, bereft of most of their allies and denied the various Sect resources and privileges that showed their true value only in their absence.
To make matters worse, the strongest remaining disciple, Kang Zihao, had nursed a grudge against the Golden Fields for his narrow defeat at Jian's hands, and Lu Feng was dutifully carrying on his crimson princess' mandate to cause havoc and ensure the rule of jungle, with Sun Liling's blessings and, more importantly, some of her resources and assets.
The older leaders of the Outer Sect Disciples meanwhile were on the war path, thankfully without Chu Song who had scrapped by to the Inner Sect, finally united in their desire to prevent the events of the last year from repeating and thus stopping some first year upstarts from preventing their advancement in Sect's hierarchy, again.
It had fallen to Han Fang and Fan Yu to help Guangli and that freak Huang to pick up the pieces of the Cai's council. An impossible task, but one they had to attempt in order to acquire allies and infrastructure needed to keep all their enemies from taking their pound of blood.
Just the great effort of keeping himself alive and well, as well as some subsequent unpleasant events, had changed Fan Yu.
Xiulan had used opportunity of her advancement to gleefully wreck beyond any hope of repair their mutual relationship, thereby even endangering the relations between their two clans.
Their betrothal had been in shambles for months at that point due to her unreasonable antagonism and was likely doomed to failure. Yu knew that the most likely outcome was for him to marry some other girl from Xiulan's clan, however, in her impatience and sheer capriciousness, drunk with victory, Xiulan had been entirely too ham-fisted and had pressed too hard and too fast in her attempts to force her father's hands and break their engagement, which had borne unfortunate consequences for both Xiulan and Yu.
His father and his honorable grandfather the clan head, had not been happy, and they had let their displeasure be known, both to Xiulan's father and himself.
Xiulan's father, not too satisfied himself with Xiulan's conduct and even further incensed by the outcome of the short and abruptly ended negotiations with the leaders of the Fan clan, punished Xiulan harshly for her insolence, which had cost the Gu clan.
Fan Yu scowled, angry at himself, and again banished thoughts of Xiulan the furthest he could. Unbidden, his thoughts went to the other dominant presence in his childhood, Han Jian.
Han Jian, on the other hand, had just grown distant as time passed. No great theatrics and volcanic eruptions of emotions for him.
Rather, the moment of his ascension in the Sect's hierarchy, marked also the moment when Jian had left Yu behind, in body and mind. He rarely returned letters, and seemingly had little time to devote to Fan Yu, always citing some unspecified responsibilities and unspecified obligations as the reason for his unavailability.
It had taken him many years, but the stubborn noble had eventually understood that his 'brother' Jian had likely not been as fond of him as Fan Yu had always been of the taller boy, and had intentionally allowed their relationship to wither away.
The sting of that harsh, but nigh undisputable fact still pained him, even all these years later.
Fan Yu logically understood that he had always possessed certain flaws. He was far from perfect, and one could not expect to be universally liked, even in the case that he was a better man than Yu was.
He was too blunt, frequently overly harsh, almost prone to insensitivity when it came to other people's feelings and not very tactical in certain situations to put it mildly. He had an unfortunate tendency for risk-taking, with a gambling vice he constantly had to keep in a steel grip.
He was also easily roused to anger and often impatient, sometimes even outright unkind.
Fan Yu knew all this.
His emotions burned hotly, and could get away from him at times. While unseemly in a noble and a cultivator, it was just who he was, Fan Yu had long since accepted that part of his being. It was something he had learned to manage with his family's training and simple experience, but not something he felt embarrassed about.
He had always disliked being dishonest, hiding cruel thoughts behind bland smiles, nor did he like behaving like a three-day old dead fish, never showing joy or any other passion, always killing one's emotions in the name of some unnaturally bland "composure".
However, he always thought that his virtues outweighed his frankly noticeable flaws. He was loyal, passionate, generous, honest, cheerful and of a forgiving nature.
Too bad Han Jian apparently had never felt quite the same way.
Which honestly made their current conversation, first real one in almost a week for Jian and the first one in years to Yu, all the more stilting and surreal to the stout man/boy.
"You have been absent quite a bit ever since we arrived at the Sect, Yu. Is everything well?" asked the General's son with a faint air of curiosity, while they walked leisurely on their way to the market. Han Fang was also present, moving entirely too quietly for a person of his size, on the opposite side from Fan Yu, with Han Jian in the centre of their little group.
"Everything's fine, Jian. I was just busy exploring the mountainside and training a bit. The change of surroundings have been a real inspiration!" replied the other boy, trying to project a bit of his (in)famous energy into the answer, hoping to put Jian at ease.
It... didn't entirely succeed.
Fan Yu, while a cheerful and passionate man, still had a mind of an adult with more than a few years of experience under his belt; in war, cultivation and life.
He simply didn't behave like his former self had, and could never hope to closely imitate the rambunctiousness nor the unthinking abrasiveness of the 14-year old Fan Yu. (Hence, he just simply couldn't cause the same kind of annoyance to the people in his presence. Not that Fan Yu realized any of this).
Han Jian, and even Han Fang looked a bit uncertain at the answer. Nevertheless, the Tiger Scion let out a soft chuckle.
"Is that so? Well, I must say, Fan Yu, the Argent Sect seems to be doing you good. You looked very focused these last several weeks. I can't remember the last time your eyes held such drive, and for such a long time. I am thankful that it was not some trouble causing this.
And I hope you forgive me, old friend, for saying this, but you have also certainly... mellowed out a bit. Honestly, it is a good look on you. Even Xiulan noticed. She approves."
In the background, Fan Yu could see Fang giving a solemn nod, apparently agreeing with his cousin. Not that surprising. Yu could count on the fingers of his hand the times Fang had disagreed with Jian in all the years he knew them, and still come short.
'And that's the sticking point, isn't it?' thought Fan Yu bitterly.
He had been avoiding his companions, truthfully. He had been busy trying to regain those abilities of his that he could, had been busy rebuilding qi and opening meridians all over again, and had hoped to hasten the process by using all the myriad of cultivating sites and secrets that the Outer Sect held and that were mostly reserved for the first years, hoping to use his 'unfair' knowledge accumulated during his three years spent in the Argent Sect in order to gain an upper hand against the frankly monstrous competition.
First years had no place being that advanced!
Truly, his generation must have had the worst of luck to have been saddled with the likes of Bai Meizhen and Sun Liling as their competition.
However in his haste to secure as much of the resources for himself as he possibly could, no mean goal when his intention was to do this just by himself if possible, especially as weak as he currently was, he seemed to have behaved significantly unlike his younger self.
(Unlike even his older self for that matter, not that Fan Yu realized this at the start. His sheer zeal for forging a new life for himself had made him behave quite oddly for his standards, younger or older.)
And this new Fan Yu seemed to be more to the liking of his compatriots and his fiancée from the Golden Fields.
It was an ugly thing, that realization. That the selfish, ambitious, distant, almost uncaring version of him was the one that Jian, Xiulan and even Fang seemed to prefer, rather than his generous and caring original self.
It opened old wounds, the ones that had never truly healed but rather had just scabbed over, even though his wife-to-be FeiFei had tried her best to help and comfort him.
He was still bitter, and still resentful. Of Jian's long-hidden, traitorous dislike, of Xiulan's scorching disapproval and cruel enmity, and Fang's stoic almost indifference.
Of being left behind, alone, as so many others, worse in character but stronger in talent, passed him in the mud. Of being disliked, or even ignored by people he liked and trusted.
However.
'I need their help' came the unpleasant realization, stuck like a bone in his throat.
'I am not strong enough to access most of the cultivation sites.I will not become strong enough fast enough. Sun Liling, Kang Zihao or somebody else will claim them. To say nothing of the Elders' trials...'
And Fan Yu wanted those Elders' trials, and what they would bring very much. His ignorance of the myriad Argent Arts, with the exception of the humble Argent Soul, gnawed on him fiercely.
He also wanted the attention, the recognition, that passing the Elders' trial would bring him.
Additionally, the material rewards awaiting those that passed the trials was nothing to sneeze at.
"Yu? Have you started sleepwalking?" asked Jian humorously, interrupting his frenzied thoughts.
Fan Yu watched the other boy carefully, at war with himself. Han Jian. The gallant, noble, compassionate, treacherous, weak, dishonest, flawed Han Jian. Yu felt himself on a precipice, weighing whether to keep his knowledge of the Sect's bounties to himself, or to trust again.
He turned his gaze to the other larger boy walking beside them. The polite, calm and stoic Han Fang, who seemingly preferred the background and whose affable silence hid a veritable storm of ambition and a thirst that could not be denied, a primal desire to step out of the shadow and to make something of himself, to make all his wishes come true, no matter the cost and no matter who got in the way.
Fan Yu licked his suddenly dry lips and let out a hoarse chuckle.
"N-no, I haven't. I've just been thinking. Jian, and you Fang, listen carefully. I think I may have found something interesting on the north side of the mountain a couple of days ago..." started speaking the shortest boy among the three of them quietly, the two other boys unconsciously stepping closer to better hear him, with Fang discreetly making noise not carry over to the other disciples.
Ultimately, Fan Yu was the forgiving sort, and he was ready to roll the dice again.
AN: @yrsillar The more I write, the more I appreciate the effort you put in this quest. Really, hats off.
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- Location
- United States of America
I agree wholeheartedly and want to expand on this idea.
To me, it seems that the 3 argent arts we already have fit a brawler style exceptionally well. First, we got AM which our Archer tutor told us would cripple our range if we kept it as the only perception style art we have. That seems to imply that it is mainly focused on close ranged combat. While the qi sense of 100m is a decent range for us, we are going to be getting into Green where a cultivator can cross that distance in a turn. Heck, we are almost there and we are still in yellow. It is also focused on cleansing ourselves from spiritual influences as well as countering with Tranquil Rebuke. To me, it seems to allow a cultivator to focus on a target and not get sidetracked by illusions or slowed down by spiritual crowd control. Since these things are hard counters to most brawlers, having arts that counter them would be essential to a solid brawler build.
Next is AS, which is low on the defensive spectrum. For instance, it has a double spine but gives the same defensive dice in passives as TRF which is a spine/heart at a similar stage And looking at the techniques, TRF gives much better defensive bonuses (such as a total of +5 to defensive from it's two instant techniques plus extra health and damage mitigation) while AS gives the person using it more effects to their attacks (deafness or a chance for 3 more attacks). The passives also give more speed and initiative, which indicates to me that the purpose of AS is to get a person into melee range and start hitting the opponent as quickly as possible and to allow each hit to do more than it should. The latest technique (the counter one) also works beautifully with AC's scalding stream where the counter is more likely to hit due to the opponent's lowered defenses. Also, the first technique in AS would mean that if fighting against a group, coordination would be harder between the opposing enemies because they couldn't hear each other.
Moving on to AC, we see the main passives are for degrading the opponent's armor as quickly as possible, increasing the multi-attacker buffs, and just increasing the potency of physical attacks. Armor degradation is extremely helpful because the faster the armor falls off, the quicker that damage can be dealt towards the opponent. AC is also supported by AS, as AS's passive to increase the DV of melee weapons allows the reduced defense caused by SS to allow a cultivator to hit at the DV more often. The last technique works wonderfully with a group of brawlers as the voice isn't normally used when pounding on someone with a melee weapon, meaning that everyone in the group will hit their targets harder, and in turn, you will hit your target harder.
As I see it, AS and AC work together to allow a cultivator to quickly move into the thick of the fight and start dominating by hitting the opponents harder than they can hit you. Every time they miss an attack against you, another strike against them occurs which is boosted by AC's passives. At that point, it seems more focused on beating down the opponent as quickly as possible, hitting him harder than he hits you, with each hit doing something to disrupt battle formations and coordination, and hitting him more times than he can hit you. AM is focused on keeping the cultivator on target and to prevent him from getting distracted by illusions and misdirections. AM also keeps a person from getting debuffed, so that his hits will always be at full power.
While I don't know what the last argent art will give, something regarding range is probably not likely. AS and AC all work best under melee circumstances, and so the last argent art will probably follow that trend. Especially if AM is also more of a "melee" perception art with its range restrictions. What I can say though, if this conjecture is true, is that we probably don't want to pursue the Argent path much further. We are not a brawler and I don't expect us to become one. However, Ji Rong would be incredibly powerful with these types of arts since this style seems to be what he is going for.
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
That being said, it's still worth trying to get the fourth Art, because while these support a brawler style, their passives are pretty good--and we can take elements from them to otherwise make us stronger. Thunderous Retort for instance would be great fighting Liling in the future if it continues to develop, and more defense is never a bad thing.
Like, while in a vacuum, yeah, the Elementary Argent Arts are chiefly good for brawlers, they're not really designed to be used in a vacuum.
And while Red is the introduction to Cultivation, Yellow seems to be the point where you lock down your Foundation in earnest while your Qi is still fairly malleable. The stronger and broader our Foundation is when we break through to the Third Realm, the easier time we should have adapting to more exotic techniques in the Third Realm.
Like, while in a vacuum, yeah, the Elementary Argent Arts are chiefly good for brawlers, they're not really designed to be used in a vacuum.
And while Red is the introduction to Cultivation, Yellow seems to be the point where you lock down your Foundation in earnest while your Qi is still fairly malleable. The stronger and broader our Foundation is when we break through to the Third Realm, the easier time we should have adapting to more exotic techniques in the Third Realm.
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