While I understand your point, I think the comparison isn't that accurate.
The qi we spend on summons can be reduced with talismans, and the qi we lose can be brought back with restoratives and meditation. The qi we spend on a spirit is is much harder to reduce and is a permanent reduction. We can't bring it back. Not to mention all the majors/minors we have to spend are hell on action economy. Makes it even harder to be social if we want to maintain a good relationship with our spirit.
So, yes I get what you're trying to say, but it's not an apt comparison. We don't have to spend any actions on making sure our worms are nice and obedient and they like us. They're also not a permanent drain on our qi.
On the third hand, we save significant action economy in combat by having a second spirit. We don't have to take a turn off to summon it, it acts earlier in initiative, it will have its own arts, it will have its own qi pool, it will soak more than one hit from our opponents (burning their actions).
I think we do need to see how the spirit qi costs change first, though. If a good spirit falls into our lap when we're green, and based on Zhengui's progression it looks like we can maintain it, I'm not going to say no.
You know... people keep going on about AE's summons...
But they cost 10 qi before reduction, with extras costing 6 qi unreducable.
You know what we could get for that much qi? Another spirit. And it would probably be significantly stronger.
Like, by the look of things if we're wanting to play summoner (which is a good move given our support build) getting lots of pokemon looks like it could actually make more sense than using arts.
Having multiple pokemons would help, but it's not an alternative. AE summons might be extremely expensive, but they are situational and not 'must always use each fight', and they are spammable. The more Qi we have and the more summon arts can drown our opponents in worms/whatever, while Elder Jiao hinted that pokemons have non-linear Qi cost increase, even if we discount the cost in actions/etc.
If they find us, I don't think it's not really successfully hiding. The "hiding" from Hong Lin purchased us exactly one round of a missed attack. Sun Liling has never been impeded by the mist in trying to hit us:
I genuinely don't remember ever getting stealth dice to an attack by way of the mist. I'm happy to concede the point if there's a counterexample.
Sun Liling took her full action to find us again. It's like how our speed meant that she hit us less time than she would have otherwise (and if she had hit us another time it would have been with flying swords, and yet another time with spirit). Both speed and stealth got us a 'full evade'. It's not actually perfect, but she had 2 autos on us and was perception specced, so...
We have never gotten a stealth dice on an attack by the way of our mist because we only got the ability to get those once we got to SCS3, and Ling Qi has never actually wanted to waste her being in stealth by attacking an enemy. If she goes into stealth it's, well, to not be seen, not to get +3 to attack.
Having multiple pokemons would help, but it's not an alternative. AE summons might be extremely expensive, but they are situational and not 'must always use each fight', and they are spammable. The more Qi we have and the more summon arts can drown our opponents in worms/whatever, while Elder Jiao hinted that pokemons have non-linear Qi cost increase, even if we discount the cost in actions/etc.
They aren't really that spammable... We can only have 2 up at once (for the moment), base worm costs 6 right now, and extra worms cost 6 qi which can't be reduced.
Just getting 2 up would use almost 1/5th of our qi.
They aren't really that spammable... We can only have 2 up at once (for the moment), base worm costs 6 right now, and extra worms cost 6 qi which can't be reduced.
Just getting 2 up would use almost 1/5th of our qi.
1/6th, yes. We can have up to 6 worms, but the 2/turns is a pain. However, this is AE1. This will get better. And unless Zhengui's cost doesn't upgrade, we can easily expect 30+ Qi for a second spirit, considering Elder Jiao hinted spirit costs are not linear.
Sun Liling took her full action to find us again. It's like how our speed meant that she hit us less time than she would have otherwise (and if she had hit us another time it would have been with flying swords, and yet another time with spirit). Both speed and stealth got us a 'full evade'. It's not actually perfect, but she had 2 autos on us and was perception specced, so...
We got hit. We didn't get hit as badly as we might have, but I wouldn't call that a full evade. We certainly used the mist to run away and establish stealth, but we were nowhere close to executing Klaus's plan.
The suggestion was that our ideal battle would go:
Turn 1: stealth
Turn 2: attack
Turn 3: stealth
Turn 4: attack
If the enemy is able to detect us consistently between the "stealth" and "attack" portions of the plan, that's not going to work. Most combat systems are stingy about handing out close range in-combat stealth successes. I haven't seen anything in our combat so far to suggest that the plan is viable.
We've used the mist and associated defensive bonuses to basically dodge people until their qi ran out a couple times. We've used the mist to break contact. But mid battle close quarters stealth is something I haven't seen us pull off, and it's not like people are going to have fewer perception arts going forward than we've seen so far.
As far as I can tell, we lose hard in combat economy by trying combat stealth. We use an action to stealth. They get to look for us and if they succeed they get to attack us on that same turn, but if they fail they can still use an AoE on that turn.
So the net result even in our most successful is we burn an action and they still get a full attack in. Useful for scrubs who don't have an AoE, useful for running away, useful in a chaotic battle where we aren't the focus, but not useful to repeat our surprise bonus or to avoid being attacked by someone actually good.
We got hit. We didn't get hit as badly as we might have, but I wouldn't call that a full evade. We certainly used the mist to run away and establish stealth, but we were nowhere close to executing Klaus's plan.
The suggestion was that our ideal battle would go:
Turn 1: stealth
Turn 2: attack
Turn 3: stealth
Turn 4: attack
If the enemy is able to detect us consistently between the "stealth" and "attack" portions of the plan, that's not going to work. Most combat systems are stingy about handing out close range in-combat stealth successes. I haven't seen anything in our combat so far to suggest that the plan is viable.
We've used the mist and associated defensive bonuses to basically dodge people until their qi ran out a couple times. We've used the mist to break contact. But mid battle close quarters stealth is something I haven't seen us pull off, and it's not like people are going to have fewer perception arts going forward than we've seen so far.
The Sun Liling part of the fight you quoted was us before establishing stealth. Here is the part we did:
It still wasn't enough. Red hot pain lanced up her spine as the spear tore a bloody gauge out of her side. She felt it scrape against her ribs, and despite herself a sob of pain interrupted her song. It didn't matter though, she wasn't going to continue playing anyway when she could hide. The important thing was the cover it granted her.
Her senses warped as she merged with the shadow of the cliff ahead, color washing out and proportions subtly warping in her vision as she fled as fast as she could, the burning, bleeding wound in her side urging her on. She heard Liling shout something behind her, but she was too focused to care, slipping from one shadow to the next as she escaped through a cleft in the cliff side. She flowed over the rocky ground as fast as she could manage, activating her formless shade technique to slip through paths too narrow for her human body to take, everything she could do to throw the girl behind her off the trail.
She knew this area well enough, if she could just gain some distance, she could lose the princess in the maze of ravines ahead. Perhaps even lead her through the territories of some beasts to slow her down long enough for Ling Qi to flee into Zeqing's territory.
For a minute, as the world blurred around her, it even seemed like it would work.
A muffled boom from above as her only warning as a scarlet bolt struck from above. She had a moment to take in her opponent, now clothed in glistened, fluted scarlet armor. Sun Liling's narrowed eyes stared at her from inside the snarling demonic maw of her helmet, and two additional armored limbs clutched cruel, jagged blades. Bloody mist leaked from vents in the elbows and calves of the armor, making a trail to the sky above.
1 damage dealt, additional four damage due to technique. Armor Piercing negates armor. 2 damage is perfect, two damage ignores qi negation. Physical Defense Penalized by three, Speed penalized by 2.
The stealth won us at least one turn where she lost track of us, and she then needed to search for us 'for a minute'. If we can establish stealth, the enemy can't attack us until they find us again, and they need a turn to do so (so lose at least one attack).
As I said, though, both thunderboy and mimic wasn't us "dodging" them, it was us establishing stealth on and off until they couldn't maintain their perception art constantly through Qi drain and then couldn't even attempt to find us again.
Yes, stealth's big issue is we need to always be able to win stealth clashes, or at least reliably enough that it's never a lose proposition... but the secondary issue is that if we are able to establish stealth and never get caught, then we don't need to attack. After all, we have passive dots that win the fight for us, and attacking again just means being attacked every turn we leave stealth through our new attacks and it means losing Qi by attacking. There is no reason to do so.
The point, though, is we have used stealth previously, and it worked. Not perfectly every time, but a lot of it was "we had poor stealth dice" and "we are fighting someone a realm above us specced for perception".
As far as I can tell, we lose hard in combat economy by trying combat stealth. We use an action to stealth. They get to look for us and if they succeed they get to attack us on that same turn, but if they fail they can still use an AoE on that turn.
So the net result even in our most successful is we burn an action and they still get a full attack in. Useful for scrubs who don't have an AoE, useful for running away, useful in a chaotic battle where we aren't the focus, but not useful to repeat our surprise bonus or to avoid being attacked by someone actually good.
1 damage dealt, additional four damage due to technique. Armor Piercing negates armor. 2 damage is perfect, two damage ignores qi negation. Physical Defense Penalized by three, Speed penalized by 2.
The stealth won us at least one turn where she lost track of us, and she then needed to search for us 'for a minute'. If we can establish stealth, the enemy can't attack us until they find us again, and they need a turn to do so (so lose at least one attack).
As I said, though, both thunderboy and mimic wasn't us "dodging" them, it was us establishing stealth on and off until they couldn't maintain their perception art constantly through Qi drain and then couldn't even attempt to find us again.
Yes, stealth's big issue is we need to always be able to win stealth clashes, or at least reliably enough that it's never a lose proposition... but the secondary issue is that if we are able to establish stealth and never get caught, then we don't need to attack. After all, we have passive dots that win the fight for us, and attacking again just means being attacked every turn we leave stealth through our new attacks and it means losing Qi by attacking. There is no reason to do so.
The point, though, is we have used stealth previously, and it worked. Not perfectly every time, but a lot of it was "we had poor stealth dice" and "we are fighting someone a realm above us specced for perception".
They don't get to attack us in the same turn.
Moreover, our 'stealth area' is 160m diameter. it's big. we have never seen a AoE that big before for an attack, really (beside FVM).
Oh, and obviously, Ling Qi wins each turn she is in stealth: she has her passive dissonance/elegy/breath do her work for her.
I'll note that OWS lets us sneak attack without breaking stealth, even debuff perception on a successful clash, so once stealth is established we'd need to actually lose a stealth vs perception clash to break it.
I'll note that OWS lets us sneak attack without breaking stealth, even debuff perception on a successful clash, so once stealth is established we'd need to actually lose a stealth vs perception clash to break it.
I am not seeing where it says that? It only says it gives +5 bonus to attack on such a target, not that it allows us to not break stealth once we have attacked.
I am not seeing where it says that? It only says it gives +5 bonus to attack on such a target, not that it allows us to not break stealth once we have attacked.
If the shadow in question belongs to an animate target, the user must succeed on a clash to use it. On success, the target suffers a two die penalty on perception checks to notice the user. On failure the user is revealed.
Implying that a successful clash means stealth is maintained. The +5 bonus is only for the first attack vs the target (though SCS gives +3 vs unaware passively, those might stack).
It could be the case that stealth is auto-broken when attacking but that seems arbitrary to me.
TL;DR SCS, FVM and EPC are an extremely synergistic combo and art synergy isn't about stacking elemental art bonuses it's about techniques that make each other stronger e.g. a stealth art and a sneak attack art, if hitting people also made the stealth art better.
I think the synergy between these arts is fine too but I don't think there's a pressing need to add even more to it beyond what everyone is always saying about getting the debuffs to land better and preventing it from being dispelled. At the same time, I also think that something like archery makes for a useful backup plan when faced against something that can somehow no-sell FVM, by being immune to it or by being able to easily dispel it. I don't think it's good idea to become too much of a one-trick pony.
Implying that a successful clash means stealth is maintained. The +5 bonus is only for the first attack vs the target (though SCS gives +3 vs unaware passively, those might stack).
It could be the case that stealth is auto-broken when attacking but that seems arbitrary to me.
You are quoting the part of the technique that is about jumping into someone's shadow. A clash is needed to jump into someone's shadow, and if it's successful the user then is the shadow and can follow the guy around, jump in another shadow later... or attack them. If an attack is made, there is stackable +5.
Nothing is said about maintaining stealth after the attack.
Kind of strange that a silk dress would provide armor at all
to be less pithy. Essentially the formations that create 'armor' as a mechanical effect defend against all forms of physical trauma. So like Xiulan's fireblasts are physical attacks, so are Cai's lazors. Elegy is a spiritual attack, Meizhen's aura is a spiritual attack, and so are Su Ling's illusions, though they have a physical component in the fire half of things.
I'm not sure if you've commented on it, but what kind of armour are we to expect from peers? Say, what does Meizhen's dress do?
Is the base material important intense sense that "Han Jian's Breastplate has double your gown's Armour because its a breastplate, while you wear a gown" or is it more "the tier of the materials and crafter skills and the focus of the crafting matter far more than aesthetics"?
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.
If it's wild speculation time again, let me explain what the moon want us to do with AE.
We know that there are hidden requirement to go to Cyan. We know that we can make arts. I posit one of these would be to make our own art.
I think that the goal of the moon is to have us put together AE and FVM. The resulting art would be like FVM except that it would give us qi when we take qi from ennemies and the gribblies would exist and have decent attack dices.
That art would be an army killer. We know that armies are made of a leader that boost and is boosted by minions. With FVM+ the minion and the leader wouldn't be abme to boot each others and instead we would get free qi every turn thanks to the minions afore mentionned.
Something I just thought of is working on the entrapment part of FVM. If we get an art that reduces awareness even more we could lock down about anyone. We could get a art that gives suggestions just like the fungus we fought. With all the debuffs it would be more likely to stick.
Managing our stealth is indeed a very important point to study! There are a couple of factors at play.
One of of them is One with Shadow, our most potent stealth buff, which we didn't have before. There's no way we could maintain it in the long term but with a four round duration we would only need to use it once, maybe twice, in a typical fight. Thinking about this more, I realize that as long as we're using One with Shadow we don't need to spend an action to reestablish stealth in order to get our surprise attack bonus. As long as we succeed on our check when using One With Shadow we are not revealed, which means they still count as unaware, regardless of whether not we are actually "in stealth". Beating them at a stealth vs perception check is something we would have to do regardless of whether we spent an action establishing stealth or used One With Shadow, so that's not a factor.
This is also where mutually supporting arts come into play. Meizhen's impregnable defenses isn't just the result of two arts giving really high bonuses, it's the result of many arts all working towards the same goal. This is the natural fighting style that emerges from these two arts, but if we want to be top tier we still need to support it with our other art choices. Sneak Attack art, Shadow Mantle art, Sensory Debuff art, all of those would support each other.
Of course, we may still fail at stealth. Maybe they just get lucky occasionally or maybe they have a perception art like reverse-SCS. "What happens when things go wrong" is a question that must be considered for every build. A build that is only good when everything goes your way is a weak build. In this case we have a couple of options. We could just spend a round casting more buffs/debuffs instead of attacking which won't disrupt our rythem much because we were going to buff/debuff anyway. Since this build also expects us to be actually good at attacking we could also use our offensive buffs and attack. Meteoric Shower has good odds to hit thanks to our debuffs and more importantly, when an arrow hits it inflicts blindness, which not only inflicts a penalty to defense but also a penalty to perception. Which makes it easier for us to stealth. Disruptive Star could also cancel perception buff techniques.
Basically, the answer to "what do we do if we can't beat their perception" is "shoot them in the face until we can". And if we can't stealth even when they're blind and without buffs then stealth was probably a lost cause anyway so it's just as well that we've been shooting at them.
Honestly, it's kind of amazing that attacking people actually makes us BETTER at stealth.
I've been critical of Falling Stars Art in the past but doing this analysis is making me warm up to it. Attacks that improve stealth and stealth improving our attacks is exactly the kind of mutual support I want in an art. Meteoric Shower is also exactly the kind of high damage/low dice attack that's a perfect fit for a debuff specialist like us. Since our debuffs will have already reduced the opponent's defensive dice pool we can reliably land a powerful attack that in normal circumstances would not have great odds of connecting.
The synergy isn't as good as SCS and FVM, but it's alright. If some of its higher level/FSA+ techniques also inflict status ailments that debuff perception it may turn out really excellent. (I was actually super excited for a while because I thought Disruptive Star inflicted deafness, which would stack beautifully, but then I got home and saw it canceled buffs.)
TL;DR One with Shadow is a great stealth buff that lasts several rounds and shooting people with FSA also causes blindness. More arts that synergize with SCS/FVM/EPC would be even better all around.
-[X] market pills: relevant ones
-[X] rare pills : none
-[X] Overflow: Physical
-[X] Grinning Moon blessing : FZ
-[X] Train at the vent with Su Ling
--[X] Meridian : arm
--[X] Share Growing Caverns for Su Ling and Li Suyin after getting Meizhen's OK. Ask them to keep an eye out for Wood sites if possible.
-[X] Take a job
--[X] Passion Fruit Collection
-[X] Train with Meizhen
--[X] TRF
--[X] Meizhen held something back in your last conversation. Press her on it, it seemed that she had some idea that might allow them to stay together
--[X] Has she found any wood site? If so, is she looking for any sites in particular for trade for knowing its location?
-[X] Explore and Train with Golden Fields
--[X] FSA
--[X] Use Windblown Snowfield for FSA site.
-[X] Cultivate on your own
--[X] Meridian : spine
--[X] Spend a little time with your 'bodyguards. You should at least know what they can do in a fight
-[X] Spend further time around Cai Renxiang, try to get into her head a little, and see what the girl is really like
-[X] Xiulan's family apparently wants to talk to you, you should probably see to that
-[X] Spend some time with Zeqing, you should try to better understand the snow woman, so that you don't end up offending her
Number of voters: 37
"Ugh, I can't believe I'm doing this," Ling Qi grumbled discontentedly as she and Xiulan approached the outskirts of the town at the base of the mountain. The sharp autumn wind tugged at the hems of her gown, briefly revealing the black and silver slippers she wore beneath
Xiulan rolled her eyes above the golden veil that covered the lower half of her face. The wide sleeves and train of her rose colored gown trailed behind her elegantly, in keeping with her returning poise. "I do not understand why you are being so childish about this," she replied, exasperated. "It is not as if we are going to kidnap you for a ceremony this very hour."
"You would if you could get away with it," Ling Qi sniped back, half serious. She knew Xiulan wouldn't do such a thing to her, but her family… well who knew.
"Spouse theft went out of fashion with the unification, Ling Qi," Xiulan replied dryly. "Really, who would be so gauche," she added with a dismissive sniff. "You like the new style?" She then asked, deliberately changing the subject as they drew closer.
Ling Qi huffed, reaching up to toy with pale lilac 'petals' of the ornament pinning her hair back. Gu Xiulan had helped her pick it out. The clip was silver, decorated with what looked like a live orchid flower. It seemed you could do a lot of frivolous things with formations. In any case, most of her hair was pulled back, and hung loose down to the middle of her back.
The Ling Qi of six months ago would have quailed at the price of the medicinal solution Xiulan had coaxed her into using. She had to admit that it had good effects though, even unbound her hair was perfectly straight and smooth. "I'll get back to you. I don't know if it is going to get in the way yet," she replied grudgingly.
Xiulan gave her a flat look. "If you cannot manage so simple an exercise in your sleep, I shall eat your left shoe," she drawled.
"Not your left shoe?" Ling Qi shot back as they passed the city gates. Feeling a prickle on the back of her neck, she glanced to the side and saw a young mortal boy their age gaping at them from a market stall. He flinched away when he met her gaze and quickly busied himself. Ling Qi felt a moment of satisfaction, though it was quickly corrupted by a twinge of guilt.
Unmindful of her thoughts, Xiulan laughed. "Of course not, to ruin my own pair would be a travesty."
Ling Qi let out an amused huff in response. She supposed that there had been no reason to glare, but she was still feeling on edge. "So where are we meeting this cousin of yours anyway?" Ling Qi asked as they passed through the street, untroubled by the morning crowd.
"In the square," Gu Xiulan replied. "Simply relax, this is a polite offer and enticement, no more, there is no need…"
"Lan-Lan!" A male voice broke over the sound of the crowd, and Ling Qi blinked, looking ahead as people moved aside for the owner of the voice.
Xiulan's perfectly sculpted eyebrow twitched violently, pulling at her scars. "...Tai, did I not ask you to wait?"
Ling Qi caught sight of the speaker a moment later. Her first impression was that she could see the family resemblance. The young man in the street ahead had the same refined features as Xiulan, though they were of a hard cast, and his skin was a shade darker, tanned by the sun more than birth if Ling Qi had her guess. "Really, asking me to stand around for so long. Isn't that a bit cruel of you?"
"Lan-Lan?" Ling Qi asked in a low voice, barely moving her lips as she glanced at her friend.
The withering look she got in return put to rest any thoughts she had of teasing her friend… for the moment. "I see patience still eludes you," Xiulan replied haughtily, crossing her arms to look imperiously up at the taller boy.
Unlike Xiulan, his hair was streaked with lines of dark red rather than being a solid black, though like her friend he wore it long, or she assumed so, given that it was bound in a top knot. While he was quite a bit taller than Xiulan, he only had a few centimeters on her, he didn't seem to be much older than eighteen or nineteen though. "A curious accusation," the boy, who she assumed to be Gu Tai, said with a shrug. "Cousin, you know perfectly well that no Gu without gray hairs has a drop of that."
"Well at least he's honest," LIng Qi said, studying him critically despite her flippant response. He wore a sort of loose vermillion jacket patterned like the feathers of a bird open over a more tightly fitting black silk shirt with red highlights along its center. He wore a familiar bright red fingerless glove over his right hand. He had a lean sort of build, similar to Han Jian.
"The lady of the hour speaks!" Gu Tai said brightly, offering a bow of greeting, it wasn't shallow enough to be mocking, but it wasn't one which conveyed a great deal of formal respect. "It is pleasing to meet you in person MIss Ling, Xiulan's letters have been quite colorful in the past months," he continued, straightening up quickly. Ling Qi was a little shaky on how to take it, and so just put a polite smile in response.
Xiulan caught her questioning look, and let out a quiet sigh, and a slight shake of her head. He just had that kind of personality it seemed. "Tai, I think the both of us would prefer not to turn this meeting into a street show."
The mortals were very deliberately ignoring them while leaving them space as far as Ling Qi could tell, but a handful of people who read as being first realms were watching them curiously. "Yes, I am glad to meet one of Xiulan's relatives, but this is a little public, isn't it?"
The older boy nodded easily in response, his good cheer unaffected. "If that is the lady's wish," he said politely. "Though I am surprised to see you express such a sentiment, La-" Ling Qi was fairly sure that she saw his hair smolder for a moment under Xiualn's glare. "Xiulan," he corrected himself with a cough into his gloved hand.
Ling Qi followed the two fire cultivators further into town, feeling slightly bemused. Given Xiulan;s situation, she had half expected her relatives to be very… proper. This Gu Tai, for all that he was a third realm cultivator, didn't exactly give that impression. Then again, given that Xiulan had told her family about Ling Qi, perhaps he was simply acting for her benefit.
She allowed herself to fade into the background of the conversation between her two more bombastic companions as they traded jibes with an air of long familiarity, only offering a comment when prompted as she studied Xiulan's cousin. He was more difficult to read, his higher realm obscuring much of his nature… but she could get a feel for his secondary element at least. Where the purity of Xiulan's flames had been mixed with the explosiveness of lightning, her cousin had a strong tinge of wind, like a forge fire stoked by powerful bellows.
They soon arrived at their destination, a rather decorated building near the center of town, which seemed to be a teahouse and restaurant catering to the settlements elite. There were a much larger proportion of first and early second realm cultivators about here. The staff of the establishment was still mortal, for example, but she caught a whiff of first realm qi from the kitchens.
The elderly matron who came out to lead them to their reserved room was even early second realm. She was the owner, Ling Qi picked up from the pleasantries traded about. She supposed the Gu family was pretty distinguished. Her own perspective was probably kind of skewed.
Soon they were seated in a private room, filled with a light flowery scent, an open window and balcony providing light from the pleasant day outside. Ling Qi seated herself next to Xiulan, while Gu Tai sat opposite them.
"Have you examined me to your satisfaction then, Miss Ling?" She blinked, looking away from the window as Gu Tai spoke up, referring to her directly. "I did not imagine you a shy girl, so I assume your silence was one of thought."
"Well I did not want to interrupt you and Xiulan," Ling Qi deflected, meeting his dark brown eyes. "You two seemed to be enjoying yourselves."
"We have already caught up well enough over the past week," Xiulan replied evenly, eyeing her cousin with irritation.
"Perhaps," Gu Tai admitted, glancing to Xiulan. "Yet I cannot help but feel that I have not yet succeeded in my goals."
"I am not a child anymore Tai, your foolery is unnecessary," Xiulan replied a bit snippily. "Do not insult Ling Qi by ignoring her so."
Gu Tai let out a thoughtful humm and returned his gaze to Ling Qi. "My apologies if that is how it came across, Miss Ling. I am of course, glad to have your company. You have been very quiet though."
"It's no trouble," Ling Qi replied a bit uncomfortably. "I am a little uncertain about how I am supposed to act though," she decided to admit.
"Understandable," Gu Tai admitted lightly. "I suppose you have not exactly had much experience with betrothal negotiations."
Ling Qi barely kept her expression neutral, thoughts flashing back to memories dredged up by recent events.
Tai continued speaking though, as if he didn't notice her discomfort. "..an insult to your grace of course. Really, what louts these southern nobles must be."
"Right," Ling Qi replied a little thickly. "I… what exactly does this… I mean, what do you want?" She stumbled over her words a bit, and Xiulan shot her a look of confusion and concern.
The young man sitting across from them peered at her carefully, his easy smile fading for a moment. "Well to be blunt, our exalted grandfather has negotiated with the Han for a portion of the new lands opening up in the latest wave of reclamation," he paused, glancing at Xiulan. "How much does she know of Golden Fields?"
"Little I expect," Xiulan replied absently, studying Ling Qi's face. "Most of our province is ruin and ash. The land is so soaked in warring sun and death qi that it poisons those who attempt to live there."
"Excepting the Walkers," Gu Tai replied, resting his chin in his hands. "Dreadful creatures," he added absently. "However we have steadily cleansed stretches of land enough to render them… livable."
Now Ling Qi was confused. "I'm not sure what that has to do with what we were talking about," she replied with a frown.
"Well aside from a providing a lovely vision of your prospective home…" Gu Tai replied with a bit of humor. "I intend to be among the settlers wrangling the newly reclaimed lands. This would mean beginning a branch house, for which I would of course, like a lovely and talented wife," he continued brightly. "Preferably one which would not mind getting their hands a bit bloody at times."
Ling Qi glanced away, feeling confused, this wasn't quite going how she had expected it too. She looked to Xiulan for help.
"It is typical to seek new blood in the establishment of branch houses" Xiulan replied airily. "The Golden Fields bloodlines are somewhat… insular," she added after a moment's thought.
"Which did not stop your honoured Father from claiming a bride from the capital," Gu Tai noted absently. "It was rather scandalous at the time," he added in a more conspiratory tone, looking back to Ling Qi with a grin.
"Ancient history," Gu Xiulan dismissed with a sniff. "The Golden Fields have been opening up for centuries now, even the senior generation has acknowledged the foolishness of continued isolation."
"I shall be sure to inform Aunt Xiaoli that you consider her to be ancient," Gu Tai replied dryly. "But yes, as unromantic as it might be, the offer is a practical matter," he said, returning his attention fully to Ling Qi. "Your talent and rapid growth have drawn my uncle's eye, and he believes us to be a good match," he said with a shrug. "I have no objections. You are a bit young yet, but you will flower beautifully in a few more years, even ignoring your more practical talents."
Ling Qi felt conflicted. At least this time the one complimenting her appearance wasn't some… disgusting slime, she supposed. This still felt very… transactional to her. She didn't bother asking the question on the tip of her tongue. Gu Tai was clearly fine with marrying someone he didn't even know. "I… understand I think," she replied slowly. "So what, if I agree we ship off to Golden Fields and start scrabbling in the sand?"
Xiulan frowned at her, but Gu Tai laughed. "There would indeed be much scrabbling," he admitted. "But nowhere else in the empire will you find the possibilities of past treasures, and rich resources, lost under a bit of sand and ash," he said, the lines of thunder running through his qi pulsing. "I am afraid it would be at least two years, more likely three, before any such things were finalized however. You would have to remain under the Sect for that time."
Ling Qi relaxed a little. She didn't like it, the idea still rubbed her the wrong way, made some part of her feel like she was selling herself… but this didn't feel malicious. All she had to go on was gut instinct and a half years spotty experience with nobles, but what else did she have. "That sounds like it might be interesting," she conceded, if marriage wasn't involved it would be really intriguing actually. The part of her that found joy in her heists thrilled at the idea of plundering long lost vaults. "I hope you do not mind if I do not give you any answers today though."
"Of course not," Gu Tai replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I think Xiulan and I have the recklessness quite covered as it is." He flicked his wrist and a crisp, stiff letter appeared between his fingers, held out and offered to her. Ling Qi took it gingerly and gave him a questioning look. "That contains the full text of my uncle's offer, Miss Ling. Please review it at your pleasure."
Ling Qi nodded carefully storing the letter away for the moment, by the thickness of the envelope, she had a feeling that she would want some help reading over it. Still, this gave her time to think, and another option, if she felt that Cai Renxiang's offer was not to her taste.
They continued to chat as the food was brought in, but it quickly returned to the two Gu's dominating the conversation as Ling Qi thought on things, despite Gu Tai and Xiulan's occasional efforts to draw her into the conversation. She didn't need to make her decision yet. Gu Tai would remain here until the end of the year regardless. Apparently he was serving as the Gu's representative in a number of minor negotiations at the moment. If she wanted, she could try to get to know the young man better before she made her choice.
Thankfully, it seemed that neither Xiulan or her cousin were offended by her lack any definitive answers, so her time spent with the golden fields group did not become even more awkward. She continued to work steadily toward mastering the Falling Stars Art, and kept up with the groups explorations.
Her thoughts were still troubled though, between Gu Tai and Cai Renxiang, she was quickly becoming aware of how ignorant she was of a lot of basic knowledge about the empire and how everything about it worked. Perhaps it was time to spend a little time in the archives again.
It was a thought for the future though, as of this week she remained quite busy, and her first major task was taking another shot at doing a Sect mission. Given her own proclivities, there was really only one option. However, she remained wary of interference by Yan Renshu. After some deliberation, she elected to simply perform the mission before actually registering it. That introduced a little trouble for her, since she couldn't get the proper directions from the Sect without accepting, but she had a solution to that too.
Namely, Fu Xiang. In the wake of their last meeting he had left her a means of contact, in the form of a sheaf of treated papers that worked like the little messenger 'birds' the ministry used… albeit with less range and durability. She sent off a query regarding the valley and received a a response by evening, giving her directions to the dragon's valley.
The second part of her plan to avoid her enemies knowledge involved simply slipping off the mountain in the dead of night and laying out a confusing and convoluted trail. It cost her an hour, but anyone following her at a distance should be thrown off, and if what Fu Xiang had said was any indication than remote viewing could not easily be maintained for such a long time either.
There were defenses for that kind of thing too she supposed. Maybe she should look into that kind of formation.
Despite her delay, she traveled quickly once she was off the mountain, blurring through the canopy of trees as she headed further south, toward the rise wall of mountains from which the outer sect peak stood out. The valley lay in steep foothills.
She came upon it by following the small river that wound its way through the hills, as per Fu Xiang's directions. Her path took her to the top of a steep cliff, where the water thundered down into the valley below. She found herself pausing there, at the cliffside as she took in the sight before her.
It was beautiful, a lush, verdant valley, bursting with life. The water of the river was clear and fresh, sparkling under the light of the moon and stars, and mist that drifted from the river lent the place a mystical air. The qi too was rich and wholesome, filling her with vital energy.
Mystic Vale: Grants bonus successes equal to talent multiplied by cultivation realm to physical, spiritual and qi cultivation, Grants nine bonus dice to Wood, Earth, and Water Art cultivation.
This would be a cultivation site unparalleled by any she had found so far, even the argent vent. Ling Qi felt shocked that Fu Xiang had simply told her about the place. No, she was shocked that this place was not flooded by disciples. The reason for that became clear as her eyes fell upon the grove of fruit trees nestled by a bend in the river.
Coiled around the base of the trees, napping lay the dragon. It's body was vaguely serpentine, and covered in glimmering azure scales. The middle of its body, between its two sets of limbs was wider and flatter than a serpent's though, with sharp crystalline ridges on its back. It was also at least ten meters long in her estimation, though the curling of its long neck and tail made it difficult to tell.
It's limbs were almost stubby in comparison, short and thick with muscle, with claws longer than her daggers. It's head, resting on an upraised tree root, had a long and narrow muzzle, with only a few of its fangs poking out. The rounded horns at the rear of its skull looked like mere stubs, barely grown in, and only a tiny wisp of mossy fur curled from its chin. What really drew her eye though, was the gleaming stone seemingly affixed to its throat.
It was an emerald green spirit stone the size of her fist, a perfectly smooth sphere of condensed qi that gleamed with inner light.
The sheer value… Ling Qi shook her head. That alone confirmed her thoughts. She would take the job warning seriously. The young dragon was third realm… but if it didn't have a stronger protector, someone would have come here to harvest it for now. It didn't seem to show the signs of being bonded to a cultivator… which meant a parent. Probably bound to some core disciple or elder.
Ling Qi wanted no part of that, so she made certain her qi was well muffled as she crept down the side of the cliff.
Ling Qi barely breathed as her limbs turned dark under the moonlight, and she became little more than a fleeting shadow on the rocks. She passed over the river without causing even a slight ripple on the water, and flowed over the grass without a rustle. The young dragon remained asleep, it's loud breathing like the sound of a forges bellows.
It was hard to describe what things were like as a shadow, her body felt hazy and indistinct, her limbs ephemeral. This did not stop her though, many many illusionary obstacle courses under Elder Jiao had taught her to move in this state, and so she blinked from the grass up into the branches of a tree without pause. She hopped from one to another with barely a disturbance, feeling potent qi in the wood under her feet in her brief moments of solidity.
The dragon seemed even larger as she approached it, closer to twelve meters than ten. Her entire body was barely the size of its torso. It's head shifted and its tail flicked, and Ling Qi froze, not daring to move until the creature had settled again. She let out a tiny breath as it stilled, and continued forward, leaping from one shadow to another and eating up distance with ease.
It almost seemed too easy really, given her fumble at the fort, and Sun Liling's pursuit. She supposed that this was the result of preparation though. The little finned ridges on the dragon's head which she assumed to be ears twitched very slightly as she settled on the upper branches of the tree furthest from it, and she stilled again, but aside from a low growl and and twist of its tail, the dragon remained asleep.
Moving very carefully, Ling Qi reached out and pressed her hands to the bark. This was the tricky part, these trees were spirits in their own right, and would require a bit of propitiation. With a worried glance at the dragon, she pricked her thumb on the edge of one of her knives and pressed it to the bark, channeling qi through hands.
She closed her eyes, despite her nerves, focusing on conveying gratitude and supplication through the qi that she channeled into the wood. It worked, tree spirits were rarely less than docile, barring unusual circumstances, and she soon received a feeling of acceptance. No, the trouble would come if the dragon had scented her blood, or felt her qi.
She held her breath as the blood smeared on the bark dissolved into black mist and the dragon… rolled over, making a noise not unlike a man's snore, greatly magnified. Ling Qi didn't dare sigh with relief, instead quickly plucking enough fruit to fill her quota before soaring away, from the beautiful and deadly valley.
...It would be such a good place to cultivate in though. Surely there was some way she could manage it.
Rerolling 3
3 9 3. 2 successes. 2 auto. 31 total.
31/25 New Meridian opened!
Overflow to physical
59/180
With two of her major obligations for the week taken care of Ling Qi fell back into a pattern of cultivation, focusing on improving her arts and working open new meridians. Her failure last week had startled her, but it seemed that it was merely a sign that she was beginning to reach the edge of how many channels she could open without more powerful medicines.
She didn't let that discourage her for now though, she wasn't at that limit yet, so it was fine. She would not let herself get bogged down with worries. Like working out what exactly was appropriate when it came to sharing cultivation sites. Meizhen at least didn't seem to find sharing minor ones important, so she gave Su Ling and Li Suyin directions to the cavern where the first trial had been.
Ling Qi would have been a little put out with the girl for not telling her about the little circle of moss grown trees she had revealed weeks ago, but she knew that was simply how Meizhen was. It was her own fault for not asking sooner.
Emerald Grove: Grants six dice to wood and earth sites.
In a way, that was in itself what had finally pushed her to speak her mind.
Ling Qi panted as she leaned against the icy wall of the ravine where she and Meizhen trained. Welts and bruises stung painfully on her arms, and her vision swam with the light toxin's Meizhen had inflicted on her. Meizhen had taken their conversation last week as a signal to use more of her repertoire in spars.
Ling Qi was of mixed feelings about that.
"That was a well thought out attempt," Bai Meizhen complimented, standing a bit over two meters from her, looking as unruffled as ever. The snow on the ground was torn up in wild patterns from their spar, but Meizhen herself was untouched. Well, she did seem to be breathing a little harder than usual.
Ling Qi might have been imagining that though. "It still didn't work," she grumbled as she straightened up, her back twinging. "Did you have to throw me into the wall like that?"
"It was the most efficient non-lethal solution," Meizhen replied demurely, dismissing her ribbon sword. "You had come quite close to striking me with your final flanking maneuver," Meizhen continued, waiting for Ling Qi to catch her breath.
That 'maneuver' had left her pretty drained, jumping multiple shadows in rapid succession like that, and summoning those worms right on top of her friend to distract her for a crucial instant… It had been hard on her reserves. "You didn't even look back when you threw me away," she said grumpily. "Your awareness is just too amazing," she added, to ensure that the other girl knew her complaints were good natured.
"It is nothing," Bai Meizhen dismissed, though Ling Qi could hear the slight smile in the girl's voice. "Shall we rest then? You expended a great deal of qi."
"That sounds good," Ling Qi replied with a huff, allowing herself to slide down the wall and sit, a gust of wind blowing away the powder before it could soak through her gown. Meizhen was much more elegant about it. "Meizhen, can I ask you something?" She asked, looking up at the gray clouds overhead.
"You may," her friend responded. "Is something troubling you again, Qi? You are advancing as quickly as can be expected."
"I met with Gu Xiulan's cousin a few days ago. I left with a betrothal offer," she said bluntly, lowing her eyes to meet her friends faintly glowing yellow eyes. "I...I don't like the idea," she admitted quietly. "But I know that isn't necessarily rational."
Meizhen's expression was blank, her lips pressed together in a thin line. "I see… well, the offer is hardly an insult. The Gu family is quite prominent," she replied slowly. "However, I believe Cai Renxiang's offer to be a better choice."
"Probably," Ling Qi admitted. "But if it didn't come with a marriage attached… I'd probably jump on it. Getting to explore around places no one has been in a thousand years or more? That's more exciting than politics," she continued, letting out a sigh.
"I suppose," Meizhen huffed, clearly disagreeing.
"I…" Ling Qi paused. "I guess the point is, it's an option, you know? Even if I don;t necessarily like it. I'm glad I know I have the choice," she was rambling, so she tried to get herself back on track. "The point is, if you have an idea for how I could stay with you, I'd like to know about it, even if you believe I won't like it."
Meizhen stared at her for several seconds in silence, before looking away, her right hand clenching on her her gown. "It is amazing," she replied, a little quietly. "How cruel your earnesty can be at times Qi."
"I'm sorry Meizhen," she replied, looking down, guilt creeping into her tone. "I just… I want to know."
"Nothing would stop me from visiting you in Cai Renxiang's domain," Meizhen pointed out softly. "Given my relationship with her, it is even fairly likely that I may receive assignment to the duchess' court as a liaison."
Ling Qi fidgeted, she hadn't really considered that. "That's not the point though."
"It isn't," Bai Meizhen acknowledged. "You foolish, reckless, greedy girl," the insults had no heat in them.
"I'm sorry," Ling Qi apologized carefully, though she wasn't quite sure what it was she was doing it for.
"You are not sorry," Meizhen replied cooly, meeting her eyes once more. "Please do not condescend to me so," she added, letting out a frustrated breath. "I do not understand you," she continued bluntly, perhaps taking a cue from Ling Qi herself. "You rejected me," she said, emotion straining at her neutral tone.
"Meizhen, I…" Ling Qi began.
"Let me finish Qi," she replied, her voice cracking like a whip. "You rejected me, completely. Yet you persisted in approaching me, in remaining intimate with me," Meizhen's voice trembled slightly. "Friends are not so close as we are," she finished flatly. "Friends do not reject a position as a province heir's right hand merely to 'stay together'. So tell me, Qi, why do you do this?"
Her shoulders slumped, Ling Qi hadn't meant to pick at her friends wounds, on some level she knew the other girl was probably still hurt, but Meizhen showed so little, it was hard to remember. "You were my first friend too, you know?" she said, looking away, not ready to meet the other girl's eyes. "Before I came here… I was nothing."
Meizhen didn't say a word, simply letting her continue. After a beat of silence, she did. "You know how badly educated I was? Even for a commoner?" She asked rhetorically. "That's because I was a street kid. I was a pathetic, petty thief, and I could never stop watching my back."
"I had suspected," Meizhen admitted quietly, "Given your proclivities."
Ling Qi let out a brief laugh, looking back up. "Then I came here and met you, you were terrifying, but you were lonely too," she mused. "And you helped me again and again, even though I couldn't offer you anything. During Elder Zhou's test… I decided that I didn't want to be the kind of person who would spit on that anymore."
Meizhen's gaze dropped to her lap. "I still do not understand."
Ling Qi squeezed her eyes shut. "My mom was a whore, you know? I guess maybe you could call her a courtesan if you wanted to be polite. The place she worked for was pretty fancy," she mused. "I… don't want to talk about that, but… I guess I want to say. I don't really have much idea of how people are supposed to relate to each other and where the line between friends and… other stuff is, beyond the obvious."
"I see," Meizhen didn't look up.
"I also… I don't think of girls that way," Ling Qi replied uncomfortably, rubbing her arm nervously as she looked away again. "At least as far as I can tell."
An awkward, lingering silence fell between the two, which lasted for several minutes before Meizhen finally broke that silence. "Should I defeat Sun Liling publically and completely during the tournament, I believe Grandfather would be willing to grant me a minor favor if I request it," the pale girl said, plucking at the hem of her sleeve. "To that end, I could take you as my official handmaiden, rather than selecting one from among the Xiao clan, as is traditional."
Ling Qi perked up. "That doesn't seem too…"
Bai meizhen shook her head. "Understand, Ling Qi, that the Bai do not countenance weakness. My… feelings for you are a large one. I do not doubt that my cousins would make things incredibly difficult for you, in the process of undermining my position. You would suffer for accepting such a thing. I do not doubt that whatever you might feel, you would come to resent me, assuming you survive the internal politics of my clan," she clutched her sleeve tightly. "Please, accept Cai Renxiang's offer, or even that of the Gu Clan, or stay on in the Sect. It… would be better for the both of us."
Ling Qi sighed unhappily, if Meizhen was so certain, perhaps it was a bad idea. Still it rankled at her. Surely she could handle some backstabbing cousins.
She didn't let that discourage her for now though, she wasn't at that limit yet, so it was fine. She would not let herself get bogged down with worries. Like working out what exactly was appropriate when it came to sharing cultivation sites. Meizhen at least didn't seem to find sharing minor ones important, so she gave Su Ling and Li Suyin directions to
Ling Qi would have been a little put out with the girl for not telling her about the little circle of moss grown trees she had revealed weeks ago, but she knew that was simply how Meizhen was. It was her own fault for not asking sooner.
should be leaned? @Sirrocco found the other thing I forgot to quote lol
Well now, while I'm leaning away from taking the Gui betrothal offer, I'm admittedly curious to at least spend some time with Gui Tai. At the very least, I'm curious about knowing more about those faraway lands and how he intends to pioneer through them.
Also, no matter what people might say. I don't want to go for the Meizhen idea. While I want to continue our friendship, I think this option might actually hurt her the most. It'd be painful for her to keep us tethered to her like that, with no hope of reciprocation. I dislike interfering with her future to that extent, and also this calls for her to use her favor for our benefit and that also rankles. While that's Meizhen's life, I highly doubt Ling Qi would be happy surviving day to day, winning favor, navigating treacherous family politics. It's an insular life.
