Forge of Destiny(Xianxia Quest)
- Thread starter yrsillar
- Start date
- Original Fantasy
Sirrocco
Pedantic
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Was thinking about it today. I'm going to admit it. I was wrong. Vote change. Again.
[X] Accept the Pass
...and I was wrong for two reasons. The first reason is purely IC. Right now, Ling Qi is emotionally wrung out. She successfully fought back the spider-dream's assertion that she cares for no one but herself, but she didn't really even try to contest the cowardice. Now, one of the instructors has just painted an *enormous* target on her, and told her that she has the choice of either trying to work together with a bunch of other students who will be highly motivated to backstab her, or... to just take a pass, and be safe. She's not cool with being dragged out of the shadows, she's probably feeling more than a few of her old survival instincts kick in, and her survival instincts say that when you have a pack of enemies who are better than you who are after you, you *run*. You hide. You do whatever it takes to get the heck away from them Right Now, because if you dont' you might not have a later. In this case, all she has to do is say "I'll accept your generous offer", and it's all over. What kind of a *moron* would she have to be to decide *not* to?
Really what happened there was that I was thinking about what *I'd* do, or what a generic faceless RPG protagonist designed to conform to my decisions would do. Ling Qi is neither one of those. To some degree I was thinking about optimal play (though I admit this was more in "loyal opposition" mode than really fighting for the "yes, we should take the test".) Ling Qi does seek to win, and is pretty canny about it, but her instincts about what optimal play is are very, very different than mine.
I also figured out what Jiao is up to. Yes, he's messing with... basically everyone. Yes, he's lighting a fire under our classmates. Yes, he's making our lives More Interesting. Mostly, though, he's letting us pass the test. Stealth and sneaky types probably aren't all that common among cultivators, and we're showing real promise in the art - enough so that the Moon Spirit (or a reasonable facsimile) is paying a degree of attention to us... and I think he cares, to a degree, what that Moon Spirit thinks. He sees potential, and he wants to see if it can flower... and he's pretty sure that if we go into the next test, we'll fail... so he puts Zhou in a tight spot. Part of the point of playing up the advantages of taking us out is that Zhou now knows that pretty much any team that's put together with us in a valid test of teamwork will fail utterly. At least one member *will* go for the backstab, and then it'll all be over. Jiao put him in a place where if he didn't pass us, he'd be auto-failing our teammates... and hed rather not do that. He wants his tests to be fair.
In the end, having thought about this quite a lot, I'm pretty sure the offer is legit, I absolutely think it's our best pick if it *is* legit, and if it's not... well, then we will have failed the test in a very in-character way (and we might still be better off), and I'm okay with that.
[X] Accept the Pass
...and I was wrong for two reasons. The first reason is purely IC. Right now, Ling Qi is emotionally wrung out. She successfully fought back the spider-dream's assertion that she cares for no one but herself, but she didn't really even try to contest the cowardice. Now, one of the instructors has just painted an *enormous* target on her, and told her that she has the choice of either trying to work together with a bunch of other students who will be highly motivated to backstab her, or... to just take a pass, and be safe. She's not cool with being dragged out of the shadows, she's probably feeling more than a few of her old survival instincts kick in, and her survival instincts say that when you have a pack of enemies who are better than you who are after you, you *run*. You hide. You do whatever it takes to get the heck away from them Right Now, because if you dont' you might not have a later. In this case, all she has to do is say "I'll accept your generous offer", and it's all over. What kind of a *moron* would she have to be to decide *not* to?
Really what happened there was that I was thinking about what *I'd* do, or what a generic faceless RPG protagonist designed to conform to my decisions would do. Ling Qi is neither one of those. To some degree I was thinking about optimal play (though I admit this was more in "loyal opposition" mode than really fighting for the "yes, we should take the test".) Ling Qi does seek to win, and is pretty canny about it, but her instincts about what optimal play is are very, very different than mine.
I also figured out what Jiao is up to. Yes, he's messing with... basically everyone. Yes, he's lighting a fire under our classmates. Yes, he's making our lives More Interesting. Mostly, though, he's letting us pass the test. Stealth and sneaky types probably aren't all that common among cultivators, and we're showing real promise in the art - enough so that the Moon Spirit (or a reasonable facsimile) is paying a degree of attention to us... and I think he cares, to a degree, what that Moon Spirit thinks. He sees potential, and he wants to see if it can flower... and he's pretty sure that if we go into the next test, we'll fail... so he puts Zhou in a tight spot. Part of the point of playing up the advantages of taking us out is that Zhou now knows that pretty much any team that's put together with us in a valid test of teamwork will fail utterly. At least one member *will* go for the backstab, and then it'll all be over. Jiao put him in a place where if he didn't pass us, he'd be auto-failing our teammates... and hed rather not do that. He wants his tests to be fair.
In the end, having thought about this quite a lot, I'm pretty sure the offer is legit, I absolutely think it's our best pick if it *is* legit, and if it's not... well, then we will have failed the test in a very in-character way (and we might still be better off), and I'm okay with that.
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- Location
- Who Knows
I think I like the character implications better regardless of whether or not it comes to a positive outcome. Was super torn so I didn't vote before though
[X] Accept the Pass
[X] Accept the Pass
- Location
- Who Knows
Yeah somethings off about that tally, I think this is the correct one?
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Third Test, End
More than anything else, Ling Qi felt frustrated. The first real glimmer of good luck she had in years, and it was getting flung back in her face, used to cause her more problems. The resentment she felt for the loudly dressed elder up on the stage was difficult to keep off of her face. After everything she had dealt with today, she absolutely did not feel any desire to have to fend off other thieves at the moment.
Despite the anxiety she could feel at being the center of attention, she straightened her shoulders and back and bowed politely to Instructor Zhou and Elder Jiao. "Thank you very much for your recommendation Elder Jiao, I will humbly accept your offer Instructor Zhou," her voice sounded stiff and unnatural to her own ears, tight with ill restrained nerves, but she managed to avoid stumbling on her words or otherwise making a fool of herself.
Her words brought more than a few discontented murmurs from her fellow disciples, but she saw no recriminations on the faces of her team… and for the moment that was enough. Instructor Zhou silenced the murmurs with a single stern glance before looking back at her, expression neutral. "Very well. Come up to the stage, Elder Jiao will release you from the Formation."
Ling Qi let out a shuddering breath, but managed to keep her posture straight and unworried. She nodded politely to Han Jian and the others, murmuring a quiet wish for their good luck before proceeding up to the stage where the Elders stood. She saw plenty of resentment along with greed on the faces of the disciples around her… but to her surprise, it wasn't omnipresent. A few of her fellows seemed ambivalent, or looked at her with interest and calculation instead.
The most noticeable was the girl she had noticed earlier when the first disciple to come in after her had arrived and gone to her side. The immaculately dressed girl stared at her with furrowed brows, studying Ling Qi with uncomfortable intensity, as if the girl was committing every detail of her face to memory. At least her face was easy to remember as well, completely unadorned by the cosmetics the other obviously wealthy girls wore, with thin lips and sharp features that made her more handsome than pretty.
That didn't bode well, Ling Qi thought darkly to herself as she passed them by and began to ascend the shallow stairs to stand beside Instructor Zhou. She dipped her head respectfully to the older man, even as she resolved to work twice as hard as before, to make sure she was ready when the time came. So focused was she that she almost startled when she heard the instructor's voice, pitched low so as not to carry down from the stage.
"Retreat is not always cowardice, but can become it if relied on over much. Think hard on what stands to be lost before choosing to cede ground," Ling Qi nodded rapidly, relief bleeding away some small part of the tension she felt. He didn't think her a coward for taking the pass or resent her for the decision.
As she moved past him Jiao gestured for her to follow as he turned and walked toward the far end of the stage. It made her a bit nervous to follow someone who clearly didn't have her best interests at heart out of sight of everyone else… but there wasn't much choice.
"You chose wisely," the amused elder commented as the two of you reached the rear wall, where a single silver character was emblazoned on the stone. "Do try not to die. It will be ages before I hear the end of this as it is."
Ling Qi kept her expression carefully neutral, but she had a feeling the Elder could detect the resentment she was doing her best to hide going by the merry twinkle in his color shifting eyes. "...Why?" She asked quietly, drawing on her last well of courage. Elder Jiao didn't seem malicious, so… surely he wouldn't be offended by the question.
The spindly man hummed thoughtfully to himself as he traced the character on the wall with his finger, leaving a dull glow in it's wake. "Because it amused me, girl," he responded lightly, while shooting her a warning look. "And perhaps because you caused my companion the discomfort of being subsumed by her greater self, if only for a short time."
Ling Qi frowned, not understanding what he was talking about. Did he mean the moon spirit? What did he mean by greater self. "I...I'm sorry?" She tried, not really feeling sorry at all, she could tell he was lying, which probably meant he wasn't even trying.
He chuckled quietly as he finished tracing the character and the wall in front of her warped, becoming a doorway filled with shifting fog. "Oh, don't worry yourself, I'm not the sort to hold a grudge," he looked her way once more, the same infuriatingly lax expression on his pallid face. "Well, as long as you do not slack on your studies. I would be most offended if you manage to be merely average."
Ling Qi set her lips in a thin line, but nodded, the older man wasn't going to give her any further answers. All she could do now was deal with the fallout. Elders were beyond her, being angry at one was as pointless as trying to a defy a thunderstorm, and about as ten times as likely to get her fried.
As she stepped through the fog filling the gate, his voice reached her one more time. "Oh, young lady, those garments are not real nor is the silver in your pockets. I strongly suggest you find a change of clothes before they fade away." Her eyes widened, and she tried to turn back, but it was too late, she found herself being quickly drawn forward, as if an invisible rope had been fastened around her waist and pulled by a team of horses. She couldn't resist it at all.
Phantom wind roared in her ears, and she felt her eyes watering from the sensation of being pulled rapidly through space, only to stumble as she came to a sudden stop, vision swimming as she regained her balance. She stiffened almost immediately as she took in her surroundings. She was back at the site of the formation that they had begun the test at, with the sun sinking under the horizon, and all around her was a crowd of other disciples, the ones who hadn't made it through the test for the most part she assumed. Thankfully, she didn't see anyone she had directly confronted. However she was once again the center of attention and she was getting very tired of that indeed. She glanced back at the formation she had emerged from to find it still lit and active, she hurried to step away, hoping she could merge with the crowd of failed students and observers, but even that was denied to her.
"You! Peasant girl. The third test has already begun, did you see Xiulan? Was she well?" She found herself confronted by Fan Yu, who had pushed through the crowd to approach her, one side of his face was swollen with bruises, and she could see more such wounds under the collar of his robe. He resembled those poor souls who managed to draw the ire of an entire gang and survive, beaten black and blue.
The way he referred to her was irritating, but she was too tired to argue with the lout at the moment frankly, and he did seem genuinely worried, maybe she could just answer quickly and move on. "Gu Xiulan was fine, she wasn't wounded as far as I could tell. The others are still taking the test," she answered while glancing over his shoulder, trying to find a path through the crowd she could take. "Han Jian and Han Fang were fine too, just a little banged up," she added as an afterthought.
The squat boy's shoulders sagged in what she thought was relief. It was hard to read the expression on his swollen face, but she thought that she saw some bitterness briefly flash in his eyes. "That is… good. If she's fine then…" he muttered, seemingly to himself. As she began to try and edge around him though his eyes snapped back up. "So what of you? Did it simply take a bit longer for them to fish you out of the second?"
Ugh, why did he want to talk to her now? And to just assume she failed like he had when she had done the opposite, been one of the first ones to make it in, she could feel her already frayed temper slipping her control.
"No, I'm the first to pass the third," she found herself snapping. "I finished, so Elder Jiao allowed me out of the formation early," she almost immediately regretted saying it, as a few of those nearby looked to her in surprise, and whispering began to quickly spread. Fan Yu looked poleaxed for a moment, but his expression quickly twisted into a sneer.
"What a ridiculous lie. A commoner like you, who can barely fight was the first one to pass Instructor Zhou's test? The test that I failed?" His voice was gradually rising and growing angrier as he spoke.
Ling Qi grimaced, she was absolutely done with this. No longer attempting to be subtle about it, she sidestepped Fan Yu and made to pass him without saying another word. It wasn't to be though, maybe it was her mental exhaustion, or maybe she had just been too surprised by his action, but when he reached out and seized her wrist, she didn't manage to avoid it.
"I did not say you could leave yet," the battered boy growled. "Apologize for lying to my face, right this instant."
Ling Qi tried to pull herself free, but found his grip on her wrist inescapable, and her struggling only caused him to tighten it. She could still get away, but it would involve hitting or tripping him up, would that count as attacking another disciple. "I'm not lying," she responded angrily. "Now let me go. That hurts you oaf," she knew she shouldn't insult him further, but her temper was up at this point.
"I won't just…" he began, expression darkening. Ling Qi began to prepare to do what she needed to in order to escape, but then something happened, the disciples around them, who had been watching their argument with interest went pale and silent, and Ling Qi's eyes met a pair of pale gold ones over Fan Yu's shoulder. An instant later, the battered boy went pale as a dainty white hand clamped down on his shoulder, quite painfully from the way he winced.
"Ling Qi has asked you to release her, do so this instant," Bai Meizhen said frostily from behind him with a cool expression. "And think the next time you choose to be so boorish."
He released her as if she was suddenly aflame, stumbling back the moment that Meizhen did so in turn, resentment stewing on his features. Meizhen ignored him though, stepping past with a swish of cloth to gesture for you to follow. "Shall we walk home then? I completed my meditation somewhat early, so I thought that I would come observe your success," she said as Ling Qi quickly fell in beside her. Utterly ignoring the disciples around them.
Ling Qi almost laughed, though she suspected the sound would have been closer to a sob. Just like that, she was safe to reach their home. It really was that easy when you were strong, wasn't it? The way the others parted before her pale housemate almost made her laugh again. There was something different about Bai Meizhen now, she managed to seem even more casually ominous. Perhaps it was the unnaturally dark shadow at her feet, trailing like a pool of ink. "Thanks," she finally managed. "I guess you're cultivation was a success?"
Bai Meizhen's eyes flicked briefly down, following yours before she nodded shallowly, returning her gaze to the path back down the mountain. "Somewhat, I have broken through to the next stage of one of my clan's arts. Unfortunately I have not yet reached the next stage of cultivation. It seems something holds me back yet," she responded musingly. "What of you? I imagine the Elder's exam was not easy."
"It wasn't," Ling QI admitted. "But… I think I did well, and I have… many things to meditate on," she said quietly. Everything she had experienced recently swirled in her mind's eye for a moment. She really needed to get her thoughts in order. "I should thank you though, knowing how to beseech a water spirit properly really saved me in the second test."
Meizhen raised one perfect eyebrow questioningly. "Is that so? Well, I am glad that some part of my words remained with you. I had worried that you were not truly listening at points."
Ling Qi flushed, she knew her attention had wandered a bit during some of those conversations, but she hadn't thought Meizhen had noticed. "Well I was," she responded quickly. "So thank you… and not just for that."
The other girl simply nodded slightly. "It was a trifling thing. A man should know better than to lay hands on a lady like that," she responded with a dismissive gesture.
"I'm hardly a lady," Ling Qi responded wryly, rolling her shoulders only to wince as her damaged one twinged slightly.
Her pale haired house mate shook her head. "Nonsense, you walk the Path. You are as much a lady as any other, if a somewhat crude one for the moment."
Now Ling Qi really did laugh, drawing a questioning look from the girl beside her. "Sorry, I… I guess I'll just have to work on my manners a bit then, while I'm not cultivating," she responded, was it really that simple in Bai Meizhen's mind?
The two of them returned home in comfortable silence, interspersed with occasional chatting, and by the time she retired to the meditation room, Ling Qi felt much more settled. Finally she would get to see what all this trouble had been for. She sat down and carefully withdrew the narrow jade jade slip inside the bottle… and began cultivate.
As the world around her faded, she found the meanings held within the tiny piece of jade impressing themselves on her mind. Only the most mean understanding reached her for the moment, the basic surface understanding of its contents. Yet even that was enough to shock her. The slip contained not one technique, but three. A movement art, a cultivation art, and a combat art.
Sable Crescent Step, the movement art exemplified elegance and subtlety, allowing the user to step move through shadow and moonlight as blur, barely visible to the eyes of men. It required channeling darkness natured qi through a leg meridian to begin. Eight Phase Ceremony was a cultivation art that allowed the user to absorb the light of the moon and stars as power and granted great speed to cultivation performed at night, as well as improving the rate at which arts and energies related to darkness and the moon to be cultivated. There was more too it as well… but Ling Qi could not understand what the slip was trying to tell her. She got the impression that this art… her cultivation was not advanced enough to use it for the moment.
The final art, was Forgotten Vale Melody, it brought to mind images of wild, untouched places, where spirits roamed free in the damp mist under the light of the moon. It required musical ability from it's user, and worked to obscure and confuse the senses of those who could hear the user's music… it required the opening of both heart and lung meridians to channel the dark and water natured qi the technique required.
There was more to all three techniques, she could tell, but it would require understanding she did not have to learn more. The last bit of information she was able to extract from the slip was the use for the pills. Each of the Sable Light pills would not only greatly increase her ability to open new meridians over the course of a week, as well as boosting her success in learning Yin aligned arts, but would actually cause her to expand her dantians qi reserve while doing so.
Sable Light Pills identified: Grants five bonus dice toward opening meridians and learning Yin aspect arts. All successes in such efforts trigger a roll to increase the user's qi pool as well, retaining the pills die bonus.
It was a little overwhelming honestly, was this what it was like for wealthier cultivators? Why someone like Meizhen was so far beyond her? Because they had access to things like this?
She put that thought aside for the moment and returned the slip to it's bottle, right now she needed to meditate on what had happened to her during the test, she could decide what to do in this week… after.
By the time she opened her eyes, it was late at night, and Ling Qi felt refreshed, she still worried, she was still nervous, but... she would survive, just as she always had before. Of course, her serious contemplation ended when she noticed that her clothing had indeed vanished, because she had forgotten to change. The only things that remained from the test were the staff, the moon spirits gifts, the things she had taken from the boy... and strangely enough the tokens. That was odd, perhaps there was something more to them? She could worry about that later though, for now all she wanted to do was sleep.
Use a Sable Light Pill?
[] Yes
[] No
How many spirit stones will you use this week?
[] 1
[] 2
[] 3
The lesson actions will remain locked, THREE actions remain. One additional action is unlocked via Qi Expenditure. Select FOUR actions
[] Continue searching for better Cultivation spots with Suyin
[[] Continue your cooperative cultivation with Suyin
-[] Spiritual, Qi, or Meridian?
[] Ask Meizhen about the talisman Cui mentioned
[] Discuss the merits of your potential techniques with Meizhen
[] Speak with Han Jian, does he have any group exercises planned?
[] Take Gu Xiulan up on her invitation.
[] Try to talk with Su Ling again. She seems like a useful friend to have.
[] Explore the mountain
[] Try to puzzle out the tokens left from the test
[] Cultivate on your own
-[] Physical
-[] Spiritual
-[] Qi
-[] Meridian (which one?)
-[] Argent Soul
-[] Zephyr's Breath
AN: Okay, first event is over, I feel it went pretty well, time to get back to raising your xia tho.
Despite the anxiety she could feel at being the center of attention, she straightened her shoulders and back and bowed politely to Instructor Zhou and Elder Jiao. "Thank you very much for your recommendation Elder Jiao, I will humbly accept your offer Instructor Zhou," her voice sounded stiff and unnatural to her own ears, tight with ill restrained nerves, but she managed to avoid stumbling on her words or otherwise making a fool of herself.
Her words brought more than a few discontented murmurs from her fellow disciples, but she saw no recriminations on the faces of her team… and for the moment that was enough. Instructor Zhou silenced the murmurs with a single stern glance before looking back at her, expression neutral. "Very well. Come up to the stage, Elder Jiao will release you from the Formation."
Ling Qi let out a shuddering breath, but managed to keep her posture straight and unworried. She nodded politely to Han Jian and the others, murmuring a quiet wish for their good luck before proceeding up to the stage where the Elders stood. She saw plenty of resentment along with greed on the faces of the disciples around her… but to her surprise, it wasn't omnipresent. A few of her fellows seemed ambivalent, or looked at her with interest and calculation instead.
The most noticeable was the girl she had noticed earlier when the first disciple to come in after her had arrived and gone to her side. The immaculately dressed girl stared at her with furrowed brows, studying Ling Qi with uncomfortable intensity, as if the girl was committing every detail of her face to memory. At least her face was easy to remember as well, completely unadorned by the cosmetics the other obviously wealthy girls wore, with thin lips and sharp features that made her more handsome than pretty.
That didn't bode well, Ling Qi thought darkly to herself as she passed them by and began to ascend the shallow stairs to stand beside Instructor Zhou. She dipped her head respectfully to the older man, even as she resolved to work twice as hard as before, to make sure she was ready when the time came. So focused was she that she almost startled when she heard the instructor's voice, pitched low so as not to carry down from the stage.
"Retreat is not always cowardice, but can become it if relied on over much. Think hard on what stands to be lost before choosing to cede ground," Ling Qi nodded rapidly, relief bleeding away some small part of the tension she felt. He didn't think her a coward for taking the pass or resent her for the decision.
As she moved past him Jiao gestured for her to follow as he turned and walked toward the far end of the stage. It made her a bit nervous to follow someone who clearly didn't have her best interests at heart out of sight of everyone else… but there wasn't much choice.
"You chose wisely," the amused elder commented as the two of you reached the rear wall, where a single silver character was emblazoned on the stone. "Do try not to die. It will be ages before I hear the end of this as it is."
Ling Qi kept her expression carefully neutral, but she had a feeling the Elder could detect the resentment she was doing her best to hide going by the merry twinkle in his color shifting eyes. "...Why?" She asked quietly, drawing on her last well of courage. Elder Jiao didn't seem malicious, so… surely he wouldn't be offended by the question.
The spindly man hummed thoughtfully to himself as he traced the character on the wall with his finger, leaving a dull glow in it's wake. "Because it amused me, girl," he responded lightly, while shooting her a warning look. "And perhaps because you caused my companion the discomfort of being subsumed by her greater self, if only for a short time."
Ling Qi frowned, not understanding what he was talking about. Did he mean the moon spirit? What did he mean by greater self. "I...I'm sorry?" She tried, not really feeling sorry at all, she could tell he was lying, which probably meant he wasn't even trying.
He chuckled quietly as he finished tracing the character and the wall in front of her warped, becoming a doorway filled with shifting fog. "Oh, don't worry yourself, I'm not the sort to hold a grudge," he looked her way once more, the same infuriatingly lax expression on his pallid face. "Well, as long as you do not slack on your studies. I would be most offended if you manage to be merely average."
Ling Qi set her lips in a thin line, but nodded, the older man wasn't going to give her any further answers. All she could do now was deal with the fallout. Elders were beyond her, being angry at one was as pointless as trying to a defy a thunderstorm, and about as ten times as likely to get her fried.
As she stepped through the fog filling the gate, his voice reached her one more time. "Oh, young lady, those garments are not real nor is the silver in your pockets. I strongly suggest you find a change of clothes before they fade away." Her eyes widened, and she tried to turn back, but it was too late, she found herself being quickly drawn forward, as if an invisible rope had been fastened around her waist and pulled by a team of horses. She couldn't resist it at all.
Phantom wind roared in her ears, and she felt her eyes watering from the sensation of being pulled rapidly through space, only to stumble as she came to a sudden stop, vision swimming as she regained her balance. She stiffened almost immediately as she took in her surroundings. She was back at the site of the formation that they had begun the test at, with the sun sinking under the horizon, and all around her was a crowd of other disciples, the ones who hadn't made it through the test for the most part she assumed. Thankfully, she didn't see anyone she had directly confronted. However she was once again the center of attention and she was getting very tired of that indeed. She glanced back at the formation she had emerged from to find it still lit and active, she hurried to step away, hoping she could merge with the crowd of failed students and observers, but even that was denied to her.
"You! Peasant girl. The third test has already begun, did you see Xiulan? Was she well?" She found herself confronted by Fan Yu, who had pushed through the crowd to approach her, one side of his face was swollen with bruises, and she could see more such wounds under the collar of his robe. He resembled those poor souls who managed to draw the ire of an entire gang and survive, beaten black and blue.
The way he referred to her was irritating, but she was too tired to argue with the lout at the moment frankly, and he did seem genuinely worried, maybe she could just answer quickly and move on. "Gu Xiulan was fine, she wasn't wounded as far as I could tell. The others are still taking the test," she answered while glancing over his shoulder, trying to find a path through the crowd she could take. "Han Jian and Han Fang were fine too, just a little banged up," she added as an afterthought.
The squat boy's shoulders sagged in what she thought was relief. It was hard to read the expression on his swollen face, but she thought that she saw some bitterness briefly flash in his eyes. "That is… good. If she's fine then…" he muttered, seemingly to himself. As she began to try and edge around him though his eyes snapped back up. "So what of you? Did it simply take a bit longer for them to fish you out of the second?"
Ugh, why did he want to talk to her now? And to just assume she failed like he had when she had done the opposite, been one of the first ones to make it in, she could feel her already frayed temper slipping her control.
1 Success needed
4, 3. 0 successes.
4, 3. 0 successes.
"No, I'm the first to pass the third," she found herself snapping. "I finished, so Elder Jiao allowed me out of the formation early," she almost immediately regretted saying it, as a few of those nearby looked to her in surprise, and whispering began to quickly spread. Fan Yu looked poleaxed for a moment, but his expression quickly twisted into a sneer.
"What a ridiculous lie. A commoner like you, who can barely fight was the first one to pass Instructor Zhou's test? The test that I failed?" His voice was gradually rising and growing angrier as he spoke.
Ling Qi grimaced, she was absolutely done with this. No longer attempting to be subtle about it, she sidestepped Fan Yu and made to pass him without saying another word. It wasn't to be though, maybe it was her mental exhaustion, or maybe she had just been too surprised by his action, but when he reached out and seized her wrist, she didn't manage to avoid it.
"I did not say you could leave yet," the battered boy growled. "Apologize for lying to my face, right this instant."
Ling Qi tried to pull herself free, but found his grip on her wrist inescapable, and her struggling only caused him to tighten it. She could still get away, but it would involve hitting or tripping him up, would that count as attacking another disciple. "I'm not lying," she responded angrily. "Now let me go. That hurts you oaf," she knew she shouldn't insult him further, but her temper was up at this point.
"I won't just…" he began, expression darkening. Ling Qi began to prepare to do what she needed to in order to escape, but then something happened, the disciples around them, who had been watching their argument with interest went pale and silent, and Ling Qi's eyes met a pair of pale gold ones over Fan Yu's shoulder. An instant later, the battered boy went pale as a dainty white hand clamped down on his shoulder, quite painfully from the way he winced.
"Ling Qi has asked you to release her, do so this instant," Bai Meizhen said frostily from behind him with a cool expression. "And think the next time you choose to be so boorish."
He released her as if she was suddenly aflame, stumbling back the moment that Meizhen did so in turn, resentment stewing on his features. Meizhen ignored him though, stepping past with a swish of cloth to gesture for you to follow. "Shall we walk home then? I completed my meditation somewhat early, so I thought that I would come observe your success," she said as Ling Qi quickly fell in beside her. Utterly ignoring the disciples around them.
Ling Qi almost laughed, though she suspected the sound would have been closer to a sob. Just like that, she was safe to reach their home. It really was that easy when you were strong, wasn't it? The way the others parted before her pale housemate almost made her laugh again. There was something different about Bai Meizhen now, she managed to seem even more casually ominous. Perhaps it was the unnaturally dark shadow at her feet, trailing like a pool of ink. "Thanks," she finally managed. "I guess you're cultivation was a success?"
Bai Meizhen's eyes flicked briefly down, following yours before she nodded shallowly, returning her gaze to the path back down the mountain. "Somewhat, I have broken through to the next stage of one of my clan's arts. Unfortunately I have not yet reached the next stage of cultivation. It seems something holds me back yet," she responded musingly. "What of you? I imagine the Elder's exam was not easy."
"It wasn't," Ling QI admitted. "But… I think I did well, and I have… many things to meditate on," she said quietly. Everything she had experienced recently swirled in her mind's eye for a moment. She really needed to get her thoughts in order. "I should thank you though, knowing how to beseech a water spirit properly really saved me in the second test."
Meizhen raised one perfect eyebrow questioningly. "Is that so? Well, I am glad that some part of my words remained with you. I had worried that you were not truly listening at points."
Ling Qi flushed, she knew her attention had wandered a bit during some of those conversations, but she hadn't thought Meizhen had noticed. "Well I was," she responded quickly. "So thank you… and not just for that."
The other girl simply nodded slightly. "It was a trifling thing. A man should know better than to lay hands on a lady like that," she responded with a dismissive gesture.
"I'm hardly a lady," Ling Qi responded wryly, rolling her shoulders only to wince as her damaged one twinged slightly.
Her pale haired house mate shook her head. "Nonsense, you walk the Path. You are as much a lady as any other, if a somewhat crude one for the moment."
Now Ling Qi really did laugh, drawing a questioning look from the girl beside her. "Sorry, I… I guess I'll just have to work on my manners a bit then, while I'm not cultivating," she responded, was it really that simple in Bai Meizhen's mind?
The two of them returned home in comfortable silence, interspersed with occasional chatting, and by the time she retired to the meditation room, Ling Qi felt much more settled. Finally she would get to see what all this trouble had been for. She sat down and carefully withdrew the narrow jade jade slip inside the bottle… and began cultivate.
As the world around her faded, she found the meanings held within the tiny piece of jade impressing themselves on her mind. Only the most mean understanding reached her for the moment, the basic surface understanding of its contents. Yet even that was enough to shock her. The slip contained not one technique, but three. A movement art, a cultivation art, and a combat art.
Sable Crescent Step, the movement art exemplified elegance and subtlety, allowing the user to step move through shadow and moonlight as blur, barely visible to the eyes of men. It required channeling darkness natured qi through a leg meridian to begin. Eight Phase Ceremony was a cultivation art that allowed the user to absorb the light of the moon and stars as power and granted great speed to cultivation performed at night, as well as improving the rate at which arts and energies related to darkness and the moon to be cultivated. There was more too it as well… but Ling Qi could not understand what the slip was trying to tell her. She got the impression that this art… her cultivation was not advanced enough to use it for the moment.
The final art, was Forgotten Vale Melody, it brought to mind images of wild, untouched places, where spirits roamed free in the damp mist under the light of the moon. It required musical ability from it's user, and worked to obscure and confuse the senses of those who could hear the user's music… it required the opening of both heart and lung meridians to channel the dark and water natured qi the technique required.
There was more to all three techniques, she could tell, but it would require understanding she did not have to learn more. The last bit of information she was able to extract from the slip was the use for the pills. Each of the Sable Light pills would not only greatly increase her ability to open new meridians over the course of a week, as well as boosting her success in learning Yin aligned arts, but would actually cause her to expand her dantians qi reserve while doing so.
Sable Light Pills identified: Grants five bonus dice toward opening meridians and learning Yin aspect arts. All successes in such efforts trigger a roll to increase the user's qi pool as well, retaining the pills die bonus.
It was a little overwhelming honestly, was this what it was like for wealthier cultivators? Why someone like Meizhen was so far beyond her? Because they had access to things like this?
She put that thought aside for the moment and returned the slip to it's bottle, right now she needed to meditate on what had happened to her during the test, she could decide what to do in this week… after.
Strength (1/10)
Dexterity (5/20)
Stamina (6/15)
Intelligence (12/15)
Wits (2/15)
Resolve (15/15) New attribute dot gained
Presence (4/10)
Manipulation (6/15)
Composure (8/15)
Skills
Athletics (7/9)
Larceny (1/12)
Stealth (4/9)
Empathy (3/9)
Persuasion (2/9)
Streetwise (2/9)
Subterfuge (2/9)
Masteries
Dodge (3/6)
Throwing Knives (3/6)
Arts
Zephyr's Breath (5/15)
Dexterity (5/20)
Stamina (6/15)
Intelligence (12/15)
Wits (2/15)
Resolve (15/15) New attribute dot gained
Presence (4/10)
Manipulation (6/15)
Composure (8/15)
Skills
Athletics (7/9)
Larceny (1/12)
Stealth (4/9)
Empathy (3/9)
Persuasion (2/9)
Streetwise (2/9)
Subterfuge (2/9)
Masteries
Dodge (3/6)
Throwing Knives (3/6)
Arts
Zephyr's Breath (5/15)
By the time she opened her eyes, it was late at night, and Ling Qi felt refreshed, she still worried, she was still nervous, but... she would survive, just as she always had before. Of course, her serious contemplation ended when she noticed that her clothing had indeed vanished, because she had forgotten to change. The only things that remained from the test were the staff, the moon spirits gifts, the things she had taken from the boy... and strangely enough the tokens. That was odd, perhaps there was something more to them? She could worry about that later though, for now all she wanted to do was sleep.
Use a Sable Light Pill?
[] Yes
[] No
How many spirit stones will you use this week?
[] 1
[] 2
[] 3
The lesson actions will remain locked, THREE actions remain. One additional action is unlocked via Qi Expenditure. Select FOUR actions
[] Continue searching for better Cultivation spots with Suyin
[[] Continue your cooperative cultivation with Suyin
-[] Spiritual, Qi, or Meridian?
[] Ask Meizhen about the talisman Cui mentioned
[] Discuss the merits of your potential techniques with Meizhen
[] Speak with Han Jian, does he have any group exercises planned?
[] Take Gu Xiulan up on her invitation.
[] Try to talk with Su Ling again. She seems like a useful friend to have.
[] Explore the mountain
[] Try to puzzle out the tokens left from the test
[] Cultivate on your own
-[] Physical
-[] Spiritual
-[] Qi
-[] Meridian (which one?)
-[] Argent Soul
-[] Zephyr's Breath
AN: Okay, first event is over, I feel it went pretty well, time to get back to raising your xia tho.
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LucidProp
Pocky Eating MafiaDoka
Better pit that musical talent to use and unlock the Forgotten Vale Melody.
Also, Meizhen is truly best snake friend, even if we did screw up with that social encounter.
[X] No
[X] Continue searching for better Cultivation spots with Suyin
[X] Speak with Han Jian, does he have any group exercises planned?
[X] Discuss the merits of your potential techniques with Meizhen
[X] Take Gu Xiulan up on her invitation.
An invitation is an invitation so we better not snub it, especially when it came from a teammate. Speaking of teammates, let's try and ease ourselves into the group again after the exercise. We really only need to worry about Fan Yu.
Keep on looking for that sweet spot with Suyin to further accelerate our development and catch up with everyone else since we ain't doing much cultivating this week.
While I'm pretty set on which we technique we should pursue first, it can never hurt to consult an expert.
Also, Meizhen is truly best snake friend, even if we did screw up with that social encounter.
[X] No
[X] Continue searching for better Cultivation spots with Suyin
[X] Speak with Han Jian, does he have any group exercises planned?
[X] Discuss the merits of your potential techniques with Meizhen
[X] Take Gu Xiulan up on her invitation.
An invitation is an invitation so we better not snub it, especially when it came from a teammate. Speaking of teammates, let's try and ease ourselves into the group again after the exercise. We really only need to worry about Fan Yu.
Keep on looking for that sweet spot with Suyin to further accelerate our development and catch up with everyone else since we ain't doing much cultivating this week.
While I'm pretty set on which we technique we should pursue first, it can never hurt to consult an expert.
Khona Moshr
Pink Flamingo Cabal Healer(they/them)
- Location
- Alabama
- Pronouns
- They/Them
[X] Continue searching for better Cultivation spots with Suyin
[X] Speak with Han Jian, does he have any group exercises planned?
[X] Discuss the merits of your potential techniques with Meizhen
[X] Take Gu Xiulan up on her invitation.
[X] Speak with Han Jian, does he have any group exercises planned?
[X] Discuss the merits of your potential techniques with Meizhen
[X] Take Gu Xiulan up on her invitation.
Before we start voting in earnest, might I suggest a bit of a cooling off period for discussion? I'm sure long posts are already being written full of vim, vigor and analysis.
Also, I kind of need to go to bed right now so yes, I do have an ulterior motive.
Also, I kind of need to go to bed right now so yes, I do have an ulterior motive.
Arkeus
Crazy cat guy
- Location
- France
@yrsillar we also lost the Red Spirit Stones we looted?
Also, damn, we didn't manage to get the special pill. I was hoping getting up a tier in our Red Soul would be enough, though it wasn't that likely.
I think that if we still have 7 Red Spirit Stone, it might be worth it to use 3 or so of them this week. After all, this is the second week and we'll get 5 back 2 week after that, so we'll then have 4 Red Spirit Stones for 2 weeks. Given the current week is the 'bonus action' week, trying to give even more bonuses with Red Spirit Stones increase our odds of impressing Elder Su.
[X] No
[X] Continue searching for better Cultivation spots with Suyin
[X] Speak with Han Jian, does he have any group exercises planned?
[X] Discuss the merits of your potential techniques with Meizhen
[X] Take Gu Xiulan up on her invitation.
Get Team Powerups first then. I'm thinking the optimal route is to take the Accelerated Cultivation Art first, but that relies on having allies to back us up, a good Cultivation spot to boost our dice and someone to help us understand what we're getting into.
Pills should probably wait until we're pushing the limits. These are powerful as hell.
[X] Continue searching for better Cultivation spots with Suyin
[X] Speak with Han Jian, does he have any group exercises planned?
[X] Discuss the merits of your potential techniques with Meizhen
[X] Take Gu Xiulan up on her invitation.
Get Team Powerups first then. I'm thinking the optimal route is to take the Accelerated Cultivation Art first, but that relies on having allies to back us up, a good Cultivation spot to boost our dice and someone to help us understand what we're getting into.
Pills should probably wait until we're pushing the limits. These are powerful as hell.
That would have been awkward if we didn't get a rescue.
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- Location
- Brazil
So, if we take a pill, all of our rolls for the week involving meridians and Yin Arts will have the bonus?
How many meridians can we open total right now? Can Ling Qi open Lung and both legs?
Or Lung, Leg and Spine?
I think we should try to open the next meridian on our own, then take a pill while opening the next and learning an art.
How many meridians can we open total right now? Can Ling Qi open Lung and both legs?
Or Lung, Leg and Spine?
I think we should try to open the next meridian on our own, then take a pill while opening the next and learning an art.
your?
step through?
could be cultivated
to?
its?
- Location
- Brazil
Arkeus
Crazy cat guy
- Location
- France
Next meridian is 6 successes, the one after that is 7, and then 8. The DCs are really not high enough to make it worth using a pill until we can get 4+ actions in one turn.
It's possible that using 3 Red Spirit Stones WILL give us 3 actions (+ a fourth from expending Qi) in which case it might be worth it, but as we don't know how breakthroughs work for more difficult things I will still advise to wait a while until we use one.
So we could probably learn the Sable Crescent Step after opening a leg meridian. But Eight Phase Ceremony and Forgotten Vale Melody is still beyond Ling Qi atm. Unless we can open lung meridian's now that we are at mid red? @yrsillar
At a guess EPC is due to not having high enough cultivation base as it is. As much as I would like the vote for the plan going maximum social, I have to wonder if we dont have to start working on next rank of Argent Soul, Qi or our start chipping away towards late red.
At a guess EPC is due to not having high enough cultivation base as it is. As much as I would like the vote for the plan going maximum social, I have to wonder if we dont have to start working on next rank of Argent Soul, Qi or our start chipping away towards late red.
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You are reading correctly, Vale requires two slots.
EPC requires a higher cultivation base, and so is unavailable for the moment.
You can open Lung/Head Meridians as you are, there are just penalties for failure
Discussing with Meizhen is indeed the general identify option.
EPC requires a higher cultivation base, and so is unavailable for the moment.
You can open Lung/Head Meridians as you are, there are just penalties for failure
Discussing with Meizhen is indeed the general identify option.
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TheLastOne
Person of impeccable tastes (for destruction)
[X]No
This is a truly valuable pill for now. Wait till we're at least trying to open our third, not our second.
[X]3
[X] Continue your cooperative cultivation with Suyin
- Spiritual
Still have to make the grade for our second class
[X] Ask Meizhen about the talisman Cui mentioned
It would be good to pay her back at least a little. She remains our best ally.
[X] Discuss the merits of your potential techniques with Meizhen
She just knows more then us. Should we switch cultivation methods even though we aren't quite read, should we continue as we are, and so on. It's the closest we can get to advice from the GM.
[X] Cultivate on your own
-[X] Spiritual
Again, still in crunch time.
This is a truly valuable pill for now. Wait till we're at least trying to open our third, not our second.
[X]3
[X] Continue your cooperative cultivation with Suyin
- Spiritual
Still have to make the grade for our second class
[X] Ask Meizhen about the talisman Cui mentioned
It would be good to pay her back at least a little. She remains our best ally.
[X] Discuss the merits of your potential techniques with Meizhen
She just knows more then us. Should we switch cultivation methods even though we aren't quite read, should we continue as we are, and so on. It's the closest we can get to advice from the GM.
[X] Cultivate on your own
-[X] Spiritual
Again, still in crunch time.
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Arkeus
Crazy cat guy
- Location
- France
My personal guess is EPC needs us to be at either Yellow or Green, though it might be possible that simply getting Argent Soul to 5 would be enough. I'm actually kind of glad we don't have to choose between continuing an art specially made for training new cultivators or an art that's incredibly strong in a more general sense.
About Meizhen, I would feel bad about talking to her without mentioning the whole Talisman thing. Giving back and all that.
I don't think searching for the better Cultivation spots with Suyin is a good idea.
From week 5
From week 5