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Hmmph... this junior is a good seed [Cultivation Management Quest]

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    • Good Seed and Omake Spreadsheet Rules:

    Firstly, if you have questions about Good Seeds and the like please read here. If that doesn't answer your question please ping me in thread, or on Discord.

    If you write a new Good Seed, or write an omake, please update the spreadsheet if you have access.

    If you do not have access, please ping a collaborator (Swordomatic, Alectai, Quest, TehChron, Insane-Not-Crazy, Humbaba, ReaderOfFate, Kaboomatic, no., BungieONI) letting them know what you want and they will update the spreadsheet here. To gain access, you will need a gmail account of some kind. Throwaway emails are fine (I'm using one for the spreadsheet), but to gain access it's as simple as sending me either your email via PM, via DM in Discord, or just in Discord's #spreadsheet-requests channel.

    This is mandatory. If a Good Seed does not record their omake by pinging collabs (or just requesting access and editing things themselves - this is the preferred option), I won't give out awards. If a new Good Seed is not recorded here, they won't advance. By doing this it makes the whole thing manageable for me - it's gotten pretty unwieldy!

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    Omake Writer Instructions:

    There are four fields you need to fill out.

    Omake Link, which is just a link to your first omake for the turn. This makes it easier for me to read them as I do the update - without this it's tough to know off the bat which omake were written this turn, and to properly

    Requested Bonus, which is your requested bonus for your omake. You can leave it up to me if you like. You can see more info in the Good Seed infopost here.

    Cultivation Aims. For those following unorthodox paths - higher than 9th Heavenstage or later than 7th Dao Pillar paths. Please put in what you are aiming for before you break through. I have left it as 'default'. If you do not edit it, I'll go with that.

    Turn Notes - Do you want to do something specific? Enter a Secret Realm? Help the Clan out in some way? If you have something specific you want to accomplish on this turn, put it in turn notes so I can adjust your Fate around it.

    All other fields are for QM use to record character information to properly run the flow of the game.
     
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    Aretaphila Myia 7 - Early Morning Blues
  • Sidestory
    • Aretaphila Myia
    Early Morning Blues​

    In the end, the brutality in the Zha Fei Chang Hills had been incredibly minor in the larger scale of events. Putting down a relatively contained group of bandits that had attacked a stretch of land between two Waycastles that the Clan had determined not worth the investment due to proximity of the Hills endless stench.

    The Screaming Sausage Bandits, and Unfelt Passing Wind...had simply not mattered all that much. Not when tensions were beginning to rise with the Battle Blood Cannibal Sect to the East. Not a comforting thought, when one was forced to heal from a near-impaling of the lower dantian and the Contribution Points had not been sufficient to buy a treasure capable of swiftly repairing the damage.

    After escaping from the temple, findings and wounds in hand, Aretaphila had fled in fits and bursts for four days straight to return to the nearest Golden Devil outpost. Though she had managed to recover enough to flee, the effort of going through the sands had undone the progress in healing as scant as it had been. Though the foreign qi had been successfully excised, Aretaphila's fear and exhaustion and the lack of qi to put towards healing had torn the wound open further, nearly crippling her cultivation. For a brief moment, she had hoped that capturing or causing the execution of a Foundation Building bandit would give her enough Contribution points to make up the difference, but…

    Unseen Passing Wind had escaped by the time new Centurions had arrived to investigate the Temple and hidden grotto. Aretaphila had put up a brave face when confronted with the realization that she would be taken out of active duty, and a chance to both advance her cultivation and make a name for herself.

    With shame and humiliation dogging her steps, the young girl returned to Waycastle Myia, and though she was eagerly welcomed by her family...Her cultivation, the precious time she had to advance as quickly as possible and reach her dream, was gradually slipping away.

    Someone who was merely average could not shake the Heavens out of their complacency.

    For ten years, Aretaphila Myia struggled to maintain her cultivation and heal from the near-crippling she had received. Ten years until she was pronounced fit to return to her duties.

    And when she returned…

    "Hmph, is this supposed to be great Myia scion that our Contubernium was waiting on before forming?" A young man greeted her, the potency of his aura in the Fifth Heavenstage, "We have been in training exercises the past six months in the sands, waiting for your recovery."

    Aretaphila grimaced, before crossing her arms over a newly acquired brigandine, dyed sky blue to contrast with her skin and remind the girl of that underground grotto that had taken away a decade of her prime, "Sorry to keep you waiting," One eyelid closed as she stared at her apparent comrade appraisingly, his frame more than twice her own size, "Does the young master have a name or something?"

    His lips twitched into a frown, "Lampo Vatatzes, of the Vatatzes." The self-identified Lamp replies curtly, "Did you not even bother to check the roster for your own assignment, or did you just expect us to meekly serve your every need Myia?"

    She snorted, before pointing from Lamp to the other two members of her squadron - both of whom she recognized from the assessment twenty years ago, "Phryne Outi," Her finger points out at the taller woman, clad in thick bronze hoplite. Easily casting the longest shadow of the group, she now had considerable definition to match her build as she wore a large tower shield with no apparent effort on her part.

    "Mopsus-"

    "No last name," The young man of a height with her met Aretaphila's gaze levelly, "Just Mopsus." Which was unusual in itself. Ordinarily, orphans or those who found themselves drifting without a greater family in the Clan would become attached to one of the Orphan Clans, and either take on its name - as was the case with the Outi - or keep their one from their own lives. There were exceptions, but…

    "No last name," Aretaphila repeated, her single eye looking back at Vatatzes, "I read the names. Just couldn't put names to faces."

    "That's right!" The taller girl boomed, marching straight into the conversation, "We even had our own introduction when we were first gathered together, remember?" Vatatzes glanced at the Outi girl for a brief moment, seemingly at a loss for words before recovering himself with a nod.

    "Something like that did happen," The taller man admitted grudgingly, "That's still no excuse for keeping us waiting."

    Mopsus paused with a frown on his own face, Aretaphila found herself paying attention to the shorter man once again, his hands holding a cloth over a gleaming knife, "Nearly killed by a Foundation Building bandit, escaped on her own before succumbing to her wounds." Vatatzes turned to look back at him, expression incredulous, "Still kept her cultivation, apparently." The smaller girl winced at the reminder.

    "And you didn't think of mentioning this to us?!"

    He shrugged, before returning his focus to polishing his weapon, "Never asked."

    A giggle cut through the remains of the building tension, consigning it to oblivion, "You did spend all that time talking about how 'the perfidious Myia would learn her place' whenever she came up in conversation."

    Lampo's shoulders slumped, "I...apologize." The larger man turned to Aretaphila, head bowed, "It seems that I've insulted you."

    It wasn't anything compared to what she'd said to herself during her convalescence, "Don't worry about it." Aretaphila replied with a laugh, waving a hand casually, "Guess I should've just been more careful, huh?"

    The quiet young man glanced her way assessingly, saying nothing before returning to inspecting his equipment.

    "Don't worry about it," Lampos replied, "Unfortunately, your arrival means that you don't have as much time to drill with us in Formations as would be preferable," His eyes shone with what could only be described as anticipation, "Especially since we've already been given orders as of this morning." A grin crossed his features, before handing a jade slip to Aretaphila.

    "Deployment to the border with the Scarred Lands?" The Myia mused as she inserted her will and read the information contained.

    "That's right," The taller man replied, chest puffing out to catch the early morning sunlight on his gleaming hoplite, "We're to link up with a Cultivator of the 6th Heavenstage, a veteran scout who's familiar with the territory to help him root out Blood Path infiltrators where he'll assume overall command."

    Aretaphila frowned, suddenly aware that of the four of them, she would be the only one in the squad that had not yet breached the Fifth Heavenstage.

    She'd just have to excel here, and hope to earn enough Contribution Points to kickstart her Cultivation once more to catch back up.

    "Ambrius Nike, huh..."

    A.N.: Not as long as I would've liked, but this seemed like a decent enough cut off point so that I don't have to awkwardly do anything with the transit. So, this is the squad that Aretaphila had seen bits and pieces of during her own awakening ceremony back in the first omake. A small core of potentially talented scions with an oddball thrown in to try and bring it together. Thrown together with the last bits of influence that the Myia can bring together in the hopes of getting their Little Bell on the fast track to success.

    But well, we already know how this song and dance goes from the Turn 2 Good Seed Reports, no? :V

    Here ya go, @occipitallobe one last omake before all hell breaks loose at last!
     
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  • Sidestory
    • Catpetter1981 said:
    Perhaps this is a hint that Manuel didn't survive the Trials.

    I.e. perhaps every time the Clan leader dies during the quest and a new Clan leader is appointed , there is also a change in OPs to mirror the changing of the guard in-game.
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    That would be quite the promotion. Mortal to head of the clan in only one turn.

    Edit: I don't know if that much good fortune exists @occipitallobe : How many exploding 100s would that take?
     
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    ninjastar said:
    Achille Adephos VIII
    Treeline Shadows
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    I found the start a big confusing, i had to go back to the previous Omake to remember that Achille was trapped in a Dream Realm. But overall it's pretty cool, just that the stopping point is making me curious on what's going to happen next.

    BungieONI said:
    I didn't get any notification to that end, so its probably a Collaborator thing only.
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    Hmm, it appeared for me as well, and i don't think i'm a collaborator? Still it's a minor thing!
    fictionfan said:
    That would be quite the promotion. Mortal to head of the clan in only one turn.

    Edit: I don't know if that much good fortune exists @occipitallobe : How many exploding 100s would that take?
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    1D10000000 = Roll of 10000000 :V
     
    ReaderOfFate said:
    Huh, that's peculiar.

    Hi @occipitallobe, did you set Shortnmad to OP? If not, the recent notification is probably some sort of glitch.
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    No, I got the notification too! Presumably a forum glitch.

    shortnmad said:
    Good seed submission

    Mildgyð Galene 30 years old.

    Mildgyð is a master alchemist. Or as much as any mortal can ever hope to be which well much more than most cultivators will credit is still not that much in the grand scheme of things. Still Mildgyð was content. He had seen the trials and if that was part of the price of cultivation he wanted no part of it. However, fate had other plans for Mildgyð Galene. Well he was preparing a hair tonic a rat that got in spilled something else into it. Causing it to burst into a cloud of smoke which knocked Mildgyð right out. When he awoke he was a 1st heavenstage cultivator. What a stroke of "luck"! He has somewhat mixed feelings about this. On one hand he does like his new strength, but he fears all the prices that might come with. However, right now he is completely focusing on trying to replicate the recipe that got him to 1st heavenstage at a stroke. If he can replicate it fame and fortune will be his. The ingredients were not even that expensive after all he was a mortal alchemist.

    Current focus : replicating the recipe that got him to 1st heavenstage.

    Cool thing: Alchemist with inspiration on how to make the "First step elixir".

    Current cultivation 1st heavenstage.

    I figure that even if the elixir has side effects like crippling future cultivation it would still be an amazing find.

    Why we can't have nice things : reward increased Alchemy skill. Focus in making things more cheapy.
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    @shortnmad, in terms of elixir it'd be fine for Mildgyð to have it. Usually these things are replicable, but don't work for everyone. Making a tonic to turn you into a cultivator is possible, making a tonic to turn everyone into a cultivator is not - notwithstanding expensive rare ingredients or incredible alchemist skill.

    As a rule, replicable, affordable, usable for all - you can pick any two.

    fictionfan said:
    That would be quite the promotion. Mortal to head of the clan in only one turn.

    Edit: I don't know if that much good fortune exists @occipitallobe : How many exploding 100s would that take?
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    At least 100!.
     
    @occipitallobe brief question! I'm assuming that all omakes done this far help with the Good Seed's Fate Roll for the Trial turn.

    But for Omakes that come out after the Trial results are out but before the Good Seed Report, do they go to the Good Seed Report Fate Roll or do they get assigned to next turn's Good Seed Report since the Trial's Fate Roll is just a souped up version of the usual Good Seed Report Fate Roll ?

    EDIT: Wow, unintended tongue-twister :V
     
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    Anastasia Outi 2 - The Warrior of Red
  • Sidestory
    • The Warrior of Red

    Noon. The Sun of the Seas peaks at this time, not that those in this storm of Earth's damnation would notice. There exists no dune-shadow of absent light; rather, it is the slight decrease in aerial abrasion that marks this lee.

    The wind slows as the wayward pair walk forward from the now-vanished legionnaire-shaped imprint. Here, the grit's turbulent, sanding up, down, left, right in a chaotic tumble. Still, the constant pounding's lessened, and the pressure of the air no longer feels as oppressive. It's less draining: Anastasia's shoulders unconsciously loosen.

    In this shade of the nameless dune, the contubernium plus one finds a space for temporary refuge and some time for counsel. As this wayward pair approaches, the sand slowly unveils one concerned Iphi, flanked by the remaining six helmeted legionnaires in wedge formation.

    Anastasia speaks first. "I found a friend."

    With that, the tension breaks, and Iphi rushes forward, scooping her into an affectionate quasi-hug, running her hand over the back of Anastasia's neck. "Ana, I promise I won't let you go again," she whispers.

    Air! Anastasia thinks, coughing at the impact.

    "Are you alright, Ana?" Iphi asks, louder.

    "Iphi-dear, it's been ten minutes. I'm fine, mom," she responds, smiling.

    Behind them, Zheng coughs, holding a very familiar bundle. Anastasia wiggles out of Iphi's arms.

    "You dropped your pack, Anastasia. The strap tore when you went flying." Zheng says.

    She nods, slinging it back on.

    "This is the unnamed cultivator I nearly crashed into," she says, waving him over. "There's some Blood Path cultivators trailing him by a couple days or so."

    The anonymous one walks over. Iphi nods at him and sits down, motioning for him to do so as well. Anastasia does so as well, leaning her helmet against Iphi's pauldron.

    For the first time, she can hear the injured boy's voice: raspy, awkward, but unwavering and clear. "There are two threats here. First, the Blood Path cultivators, numbering at minimum a dozen, but at maximum fifty. None are above Qi Condensation, but I'm fairly sure one is at the Ninth Heavenstage. I'm fairly sure they have some kind of tracking Art, as they've been unerringly following my general direction, so assume at the very least visibility will not hinder them in this storm."

    He pauses for another grateful sip.

    "Secondly, and most likely most importantly: this storm. It's one of the worst curses I've ever seen, barring those of the divine. With the amount of death this patch of desert has accumulated, I would say it's almost alive, seeking the slow death of those within its grasp."

    "We have time, then," Squad-Second Zheng says. "We should retreat at best speed towards the Outpost, and let them dash against our arrays." For emphasis, he pushes his fist into his palm.

    "That would be the standard response," Delia notes.

    Having sipped some water, sat down, and taken a few breaths, the unnamed cultivator looks much calmer. Professional, even – as if this storm and those murderers were just rats to chase, catch, and kill.

    The boy explains the storm: it's an unnatural one, most likely designed to stymie retreat. "The curse is unnatural, artificially made, designed during times of and for conflict. It is meant to deliberately draw out the qi of those trapped inside over a prolonged period of time—unlike natural ones that are hungry ghosts, devouring what's in front of them with no thought to the future.

    "This grudge… it's not old enough yet to develop its own consciousness, so it's safe enough to traverse so long as you briefly stay within and then leave or have alternative resources, but escape from pursuit is what it's designed to prevent. Bloodshed is what the storm wants, and that's what it will get, one way or another. The only way to resolve the situation as I see it, is to either evade the Blood Path cultivators long enough for them to leave, or to stand and fight, in the eye of the storm or some similar ground, and break the storm enough to let us go."

    Bad luck, then. This squad was just "unlucky" enough to wander into this trap – a living one, that would devour them as they fled.

    Anastasia's not the only one disquieted: Zheng makes a face. The boy's posture shifts slightly, but relaxes again when Iphi speaks: she was always good at reading people.

    "Retreat is out, then." Iphi replies, in the same tone that she would use to order a large ice cold Ximi Luo for two. Pumpkin or Taro – the eternal question between the two. "What can you tell us about dispelling curses?"

    Very, very good at deducing information from nowhere. Anastasia jerks upright from her pauldron pillow. What?

    "Curses, grudges, ghosts, they're just like anything, anyone, at the very end of it. They're driven by a source of some sort, a purpose—to exorcise a ghost, you kill it, or you give it offerings. Grudges, you resolve the issue, or once again, purge it with blessed artefacts. Curses, curses, curses, they're made, they're artificial. Break the frame, break the curse."

    What did this person do, anyway? Live in a graveyard? She ponders.

    He finishes: "Give me a day—no, even less. Give me a bell's worth of uninterrupted time, and I'll be able to punch a hole right out of here, at the eye of the storm."

    Iphi smiles. "I like you. Good spirit, here."

    And a strong aura besides: at this range, Anastasia can sense an aura that matches hers, only exceeded by the brilliant sakura-red of her closest companion sitting at her side.

    "O mysterious wanderer: what's your name?" she abruptly asks.

    "Li Hua. And you?"

    The squad responds in practiced rapid-fire.

    "Iphigenia Fei."

    "Zheng Zhang."

    "Delia Zhao."

    "Ling Li."

    "Lysandre Xiang."

    "Xinyu Liu."

    "Anastasia Outi," she finishes.

    "Li Hua isn't your actual name, is it?" Iphi asks.

    The strange exorcist shifts, uncomfortable. "I have no name to call myself with—I remember nothing of my life before a certain point. Surely, my parents had named me, but like my name, they too are lost and unremembered. If you wish, you may call me 'Li Hua' like the merchants do, placeholder it may be."

    "You deserve a better name than that. Matthaios, perhaps. You seem like a Matt," Iphi muses.

    Planning continues for a few more minutes, with the logistics of an additional water-consumer sorted out, among other details. There's a bit of silence after that, with only the jet stream above in the background. Zheng breaks the peace with a clap, and everybody rises from their seated circle, shrugging on packs and sealing canteens. Anastasia takes the opportunity for one final sip.

    Iphi steps forwards and turns around. "Red Squad, we will march to the center of this storm, and let the enemy bleed themselves out in pursuit," Iphi declares.

    She pauses, raising her fist into the sand-filled air. "We shall defy!"

    Everyone, including the scarfed Matthaios – no, Li Hua – echoes those words.

    "We shall defy!"

    A/N: This is why I posted that screenshot of that aerodynamics paper in Discord.

    I may have also accidentally nerd-sniped a couple AeroE majors. :V

    Here's the paper: [1501.03396] Sand transverse dune aerodynamics: 3D Coherent Flow Structures from a computational study.
     
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  • Sidestory
    • “Matthaios Outi” 2 - Desperado
  • Sidestory
    • Desperado

    A scoundrel, a wastrel, a legend once said: "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players."

    There's a lot of things to be said about that, but for now, let's indulge them, shall we?

    The scene is as follows.

    One sandstorm, definitely cursed, has only gotten more rancid in the years passed. Did not age well. Winds of destruction, sand that scours.

    On stage, there are nine actors:

    Eight baby Golden Devils, halfway through basic training, would be wet behind the ears if it wasn't for this damn desert.

    One lone cultivator, beaten down and harried, also a child in the terms of this world.

    And finally, entering stage left:

    Twenty to thirty feral Blood Path cultivators. Possibly as thirsty for blood as the desert. Definitely willing to murder everyone on stage–but that would make for a bad play, wouldn't it?

    Ah, get to your seats quickly! The intermission is over, the curtains are opening!


    Blessedly, somehow, the winds are lessened here. Between cliffs, the wind is naturally still a torment, but less so–mundane daggers, versus flying swords. The girl holds up a hand, and he nods, standing just inside the sheltered dunes to wait. She walks over to someone–most likely their commander, flanked by three helmed soldiers.

    Wait a moment, a hug–?

    The girl nods in his direction and waves him over, evidently giving a signal they were safe where they were for now. He finally sits down, resting properly for perhaps the first time in a week, and pulls out his waterskin, slipping it beneath the sand-scarf wrapped around his face and neck to finally wet his throat. As he does so, he opens his eyes, and looks at all of them.

    He can feel the stares burning at him from the other soldiers, oddly uniform in armor, so he hastens to speak. However, they most definitely are not the same in spirit. The commander–a girl as well, he sees, at the head blazes far brighter, the one who brought him here is diffuse, a girl standing at the side reflects like the moon, the boy in the back is rigid and stiff—

    The boy claps his face with his hands, and then answers the unasked question.

    "There are two threats here. First, the Blood Path cultivators, numbering at minimum a dozen, but at maximum fifty. None are above Qi Condensation, but I'm fairly sure one is at the Ninth Heavenstage. I'm fairly sure they have some kind of tracking Art, as they've been unerringly following my general direction, so assume at the very least visibility will not hinder them in this storm."

    He takes another sip from his waterskin, unused as he is to actually talking to another person, much less a group of people.

    "Secondly, and most likely most importantly: this storm. It's one of the worst curses I've ever seen, barring those of the divine. With the amount of death this patch of desert has accumulated, I would say it's almost alive, seeking the slow death of those within its grasp."

    "We have time, then," a severe-looking boy declares with confidence. "We should retreat at best speed towards the Outpost, and let them dash against our arrays." As he finishes speaking, he dashes his palm with his fist, in some show of bravado.

    "That would be the standard response," another speaks, a girl sitting next to the leader--if not a second-in-command, still trusted, a trusted figure to those under her command.

    Inhale. Exhale.

    He is calmer now, but that does not mean that the fear that sparks along his spine is not there when the thought of that course of action taking place. Yet, that would not be productive, so he locks it down, the face that he put on when he did business sliding into place.

    They could survive the Blood Path cultivators on uncursed ground, and they could survive the sandstorm barring any further complications—it was his plan, after all. But both, at the same time? Professionally speaking, it was insanity.

    Which is why he told them so.

    "The curse is unnatural, artificially made, designed during times of and for conflict. It is meant to deliberately draw out the qi of those trapped inside over a prolonged period of time—unlike natural ones that are hungry ghosts, devouring what's in front of them with no thought to the future." A hundred ghosts. A thousand ghosts. He remembers, walking through places those of higher realms would fear to tread. Why? Perhaps he knew, in his hearts of hearts, that he would join them soon. He pauses. He continues, his audience oddly rapt. In his element, he continues.

    "This grudge… it's not old enough yet to develop its own consciousness, so it's safe enough to traverse so long as you briefly stay within and then leave or have alternative resources, but escape from pursuit is what it's designed to prevent. Bloodshed is what the storm wants, and that's what it will get, one way or another. The only way to resolve the situation as I see it, is to either evade the Blood Path cultivators long enough for them to leave, or to stand and fight, in the eye of the storm or some similar ground, and break the storm enough to let us go."

    Or, he quietly thinks, they could leave him behind. The tracking spell they most likely used was only on him, these legionnaires could leave–not easily, but it would be doable without being hounded by enemies.

    The boy who spoke earlier scowls, twisting his face, making to respond, and he worries that his fear would be given voice and prepares himself. He notes that a white-haired girl glares at the boy as well, and begins categorizing them as potential allies and foes.

    However, it wouldn't be necessary, as the commander slams the butt of her spear into the sand, uniform in appearance with the others but somehow more, and all become still and silent.

    "Retreat is out, then." the commander of the squadron answers, defiant. "What can you tell us about dispelling curses?"

    The girl who brought him here straightens suddenly, confusion writ upon her face. It is echoed across her fellow soldiers, clearly not expecting this response.

    He gives a thin-lipped smile, relaxing a hair.

    "Curses, grudges, ghosts, they're just like anything, anyone, at the very end of it. They're driven by a source of some sort, a purpose—to exorcise a ghost, you kill it, or you give it offerings. Grudges, you resolve the issue, or once again, purge it with blessed artefacts. Curses, curses, curses, they're made, they're artificial. Break the frame, break the curse." These are facts that every child knows, in the land of the dead. It's not easy, no, it never could be. But it's simple—all the ceremony, all the pomp and circumstance, it all boils down to those very simple goals. He aimed to get in and out alone, when he was escaping. But. . .

    "Give me a day—no, even less. Give me a bell's worth of uninterrupted time, and I'll be able to punch a hole right out of here, at the eye of the storm."

    The commander grins, a sharp slash carved across a statuesque face. "I like you. Good spirit, here."


    They begin preparing, a plan formulating. But, in that duration—he learns their names, the eight.

    "O mysterious wanderer: what's your name?"

    "Li Hua," he responds rapidly, the words well-used to his tongue. In turn, he asks theirs, and learns.

    Iphigenia Fei. Zheng Zhang. Delia Zhao. Ling Li. Lysandre Xiang. Xinyu Liu. Stephanos Ioannidis. And finally, the girl who brought him here—Anastasia Outi. After that round of introductions, however, the commander asks—

    "Li Hua isn't your actual name, is it?" the commander, Iphigenia asks.

    He grimaces. No wonder she was the commander of such a troop at a young age, she was sharp as all hells.

    "I have no name that I prefer, to be honest, I do not remember enough of my childhood to have any attachment. Undoubtedly, I was named at some point, but I do not have any particular recollection. If you wish, you may call me 'Li Hua' like the merchants do, placeholder it may be it is what I am called the most," he responds, almost absently.

    "You deserve a better name than that. Matthaios, perhaps. You seem like a Matt," Iphi muses.

    He pauses. It wasn't a bad name—-it felt strong, in fact. But it didn't quite sit right on him, like a too-new cloak sliding onto a dirty desert tunic. He shrugs, and the matter is dropped.

    Not long after, everyone rises–he, the last, following the cue.

    "Red Squad, we will march to the center of this storm, and let the enemy bleed themselves out in pursuit," the commander, Iphigenia, shouts.

    She pauses, fist raised, expression fiercely determined. "We shall defy!"

    Something charges in the air as she says that, and so, he echoes, for the first time in forever filled with belief.

    "We shall defy!"
     
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  • Sidestory
    • occipitallobe said:
    @shortnmad, in terms of elixir it'd be fine for Mildgyð to have it. Usually these things are replicable, but don't work for everyone. Making a tonic to turn you into a cultivator is possible, making a tonic to turn everyone into a cultivator is not - notwithstanding expensive rare ingredients or incredible alchemist skill.

    As a rule, replicable, affordable, usable for all - you can pick any two.
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    Well can I get replicable, affordable and easy to tell who can use it? It would be cool if Mildgyð could basically make a legion by his own efforts.
     
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    Ah, rip formatting.

    I'll need to fix that in the morning.

    shortnmad said:
    Well can I get replicable, affordable and easy to tell who can use it? It would be cool if Mildgyð could basically make a legion by his own efforts.
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    The real rule is "don't break the setting". If you have a technique, it needs to have a drawback to explain why it won't be standard issue across the entire legion instantly. In the case of a new formation, it could be "doesn't scale beyond Qi Condensation" or "too complex to teach everyone".

    This can get subtle, though.

    Example: The Outi is a worldbuilding construct carefully designed to not break anything. Who cares about the orphan clan that's most notable for disproportionate deaths in Qi Cultivation? Who cares, when they only have a handful of Foundation Building Experts, if any? Did they have a glorious past? Who knows?

    If nobody notices the masses, that's because... they're the faceless masses. They're "Nobody", in that sense. I just decided to give them a name.

    My notes has them at around "Smith" in terms of relative prevalence – or more. But does this matter, when most are below average, and all die?
     
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    shortnmad said:
    Well can I get replicable, affordable and easy to tell who can use it? It would be cool if Mildgyð could basically make a legion by his own efforts.
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    Personal opinion here, but i feel that this should be a long-term goal ?

    Why not make it replicable first and then devote future omakes to making it affordable and then easy to tell ?

    The journey to the end-goal can be done in unison with Mildgyo's journey as a cultivator. Honestly, no matter how much of a genius a cultivator is, i feel that someone with that much insight into the Dao of Alchemy should have already been a Core Formation Cultivator at a minimum.
     
    shortnmad said:
    Well can I get replicable, affordable and easy to tell who can use it? It would be cool if Mildgyð could basically make a legion by his own efforts.
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    Yes.

    That'd be a long-term goal, however - Core Formation elders can make legions as a rule, and making one from alchemy is well within a Core Formation cultivator's remit.

    And yeah, the rule is more 'if you want to do something cool and impactful for the Clan in general, you need to be of a higher cultivation stage'.

    Don't get me wrong, I think it's a cool idea with a lot of potential - having an eventual Core Formation elder who's entire deal is basically weird alchemy and creating his own Legionnaires through it is definitely both interesting and fun, but the potential would take time to realise. There are plenty of potential problems to make a story along the way, though - issues with identify who it's safe for, sourcing ingredients en masse, potential 1st Heavenstage cultivators using the elixir to break through and go straight to Blood Path having not gone through Clan training, and so on and so froth.
     
    shortnmad said:
    Does it break the setting if the elixir works on say everyone with brown hair? Also first Heavenstage no matter how many aren't going to break the setting.
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    Breaking the setting in this case is less on the strength obtained from the Elixir and more on making it so that everyone/ a huge number can now cultivate. While there are Xianxia settings where everyone can cultivate and how far they can go being dependant on resources and work, that isn't our current setting.

    The current setting is kinda like Harry Potter. A small section of the population can cultivate, with them passing the ability down + some people from the outside gaining the ability to cultivate as well.

    So in that regard, the Elixir is basically breaking how Cultivation works. Something to also keep in mind is that cultivation requires resources, and having that sudden influx of millions of Qi Condensation cultivators will drain the clan resources even at 1st heavenstage.
     
    uri said:
    hat's not true, we got confirmation from the QM that in theory everyone can cultivate.
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    Yes and no. Its more accurate to say that our system is that Everyone can cultivate but the vast majority of people have to make do with arts that are at best 30% or so efficient for them. Basically everyone can cultivate but only a small percent can actually gain high levels in power, unless they get extremely lucky with their first art or find another way to progress. This is why Blood Path is such a major hack, it allows everyone to cultivate at roughly the same level of efficiency which none of the other types allow, Blood Path is mostly just a massive efficiently boost to cultivation rather than direct power boost. This is why blood sects can handle more higher tiers than other types as they don't need to worry about perfecting a billion and one arts for cultivation but only one or two that work with the Blood Path. Out bloodline also does this as everyone can cultivate along the same general principles, even if some outliers need slightly divergent paths, they still have aeons of research to draw from due to sharing the blood.

    A normal mortal doesn't have that and as such would need to hit the jackpot to find any art near that effective for them.

    At least this is my read of what the OP means and said.
     
    Here's the quote.
    occipitallobe said:
    This is in theory, however.

    In practice, to cultivate you need a cultivation method suited to your physique (among other things). This is why demihumans suffer so much - they're all born differently so they'd need a unique cultivation method each. This is why a Bloodline is such a powerful thing - the Blood of Bronze means you can cultivate Clan techniques and methods, and so strong Blood of Bronze means you're taking advantage of methods honed over countless millennia and perfected for you.

    Most people have to find a cultivation method that suits them, and suits them well enough to keep advancing. Something with only moderate compatibility might only get you a few Heavenstages at best. Not to mention if your method isn't right for you but is right enough to let you progress a little along the path of cultivation, the resource consumption will be astronomical.

    So in theory everyone can cultivate, in practice they can't.
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    Yeah, the caveat is having a suitable cultivation technique in this verse, which is still a bottleneck that a universal elixir would break hard, so it'd still be a major unbalancing force for the setting.
     
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    uri said:
    That's not true, we got confirmation from the QM that in theory everyone can cultivate.
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    I mean if you really want to be pedantic about it, then i'll rephrase it.
    Mochinator said:
    The current setting is kinda like Harry Potter. A small section of the population can cultivate without the need for esoteric cultivation methods, with them passing the cultivation method that works for them down along their bloodline ability down + some people from the outside who find the cultivation method suitable to them to cultivate as well.
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    I mean i feel the general gist is still the same, which is that the limit is partially tied to a small section of the population that grows and expands with the aid of others taken into the group.
    ReaderOfFate said:
    Here's the quote.

    Yeah, the caveat is having a suitable cultivation technique in this verse, which is still a bottleneck that a universal elixir would break hard, so it'd still be a major unbalancing force for the setting.
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    Yeah, it'll essentially be forcefully converting their bottlenecks into one that a more widely known cultivation method can resolve.
     
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