I just had a thought about why we've yet to hear any mention of Voldemort or Tom Riddle so far in this story. It's clear that some sort of conflict happened (Harry's parents are dead, so are Susan's, and Neville's are incapacitated) but we've not heard a single mention of He Who Must Not Be Named and Harry is Lord Potter not the Boy Who Lived. So where is Tom Riddle?
Tom's ultimate goal was to live forever, it's even in his name - Voldemort is 'flight from death' in French. It's why he mutilated his soul to create a horcrux. It was only after his immortality was assured with a horcrux (and was potentially driven mad by it) that Tom started on his political aims and his war of terror.
But this is Xianxia land. Whilst I wouldn't be surprised if Horcruxs existed in this there's already a well define path to immortality - cultivate to the peak and ascend. And Tom is a genius, he's almost certain to be able to ascend relatively quickly if he puts his mind to it.
So my guess is that Tom mono focussed on ascending and then buggered off to a higher plane as an Immortal.
"Well, everybody agrees that Lord Potter is important. You don't just vanquish a demonic cultivator at the age of one and go back to a normal life. But the universe must still be in balance. If you are doing good, while you're being compared to Lord Potter, then he must be cast in a more negative light. People don't really like to do that."
"It's the idea that we should take the world back from the muggles, bring forth a renaissance of Qi. It was a popular position during the muggles' Great War, spearheaded by the likes of Lord Carrow, or then Lord Grindelwald. With the latter's fall to demonic cultivation, no one wants to admit to the label, but they still advocate for more 'living space'."
Thanks for running the numbers! However, we can only improve CoMC by one milestone, as that would be its effective cap of Beginner 2, so those last odds can't apply. Either way, I personally don't mind them being on the low side for Herbology, as my reason for training it is not necessarily to take it to the next stage (though that would be great, of course), but rather to simply find out how it works/looks and what kind of benefits its ingredients give.
And coming back to the Jade Chit Vault, assuming we win the House Cup, of course, could we get better Alkahest from it, @Karf ? I'm not sure, 'cause on one hand, I don't see why that wouldn't be possible in-universe, but on the other, that could feel a bit like the bad side of mixmaxing/powergaming, maybe. Hard to say without knowing what the Potions skill offers in later stages, to be fair, but depending on how good a version of Alkahest we'd get (and how much our max potions limit would increase), it could end up feeling like an abuse of the system or the taking advantage of a loophole thanks to the Jade Chit Cheat Vault.
Edit - On the other other hand (I have three, don't look at me like that), we'd lose a Jade Chit use that would give us an additional technique/charm/whatever, for a big immediate advantage that would later on disappear entirely once our Potions skill catches up with its effect. So it could maybe balance things out?
Guess who just added our only (???) Charm into her roller? I did. The same numbers as before, except now I'm not bothering with the two milestone measure because it is, as you said, impossible.
3 Action Astronomy: 1029, 1119 with one CMOC; Change of Reaching Apprentice: 87%; 93% with one CMOC improvement
2 Action Herbology: 690, 750 progress on average with one CMOC; Chance of Reaching Apprentice: 38%; 50% with one CMOC improvement (As you might expect).
So the gains from the towel are fairly subtle but they do help on the margins.
Personally as far as extra curriculars go, I would personally rather just finish up CoMC and just also do Arithmancy, and then focus on our more typical. Both of these provide huge boosts to our core subjects, while also allowing for us to do more besides those two.
We haven't explored Astronomy and Herbology at like all. And I really really really want to explore Astronomy. We could be doing all sorts of cool rituals, and it helps with our Spiritual Cultivation. Herbology is also cool, but I am not quite as interested in it, though I do want to explore it.
Expanding to Ancient Runes and Divination so quickly ignores that we while are doing well, are still a beginner. I want a firm foundation before like doing stuff that wont benefit us too much untill way later.
Like while the benefits vary upon what the requirements to pass the second year exam end up being, but Rei does not earn sect points during the months of July, and August meaning it makes sense to resolve lose ends for things that won't contribute to getting sect points in the school year. In the outcome where Ravenclaw does not win the house cup that is likely meridian unlocking actions, and subjects we're not intending to grab a monthly sect point in, or if Ravenclaw wins that is likely meridian unlocks, and advanced classes. Like advanced classes are useful behind mechanical/narrative reasons as they permit the players to better plan going into the third year about what ones we'll pursue, and getting a second house cup in a row seems unlikely imo, which makes them important if Rei wants to avoid falling further behind Harry/Draco.
Perhaps the benefits of the advanced classes will help close the gap with the Draco, and Harry, or we can mechanics are way into parity, but uh the last time we were given a number there was a 1730 point gap with Draco alongside a 2185 gap with Harry. Just to be clear Harry has 6080 points back then with Draco at 5625, and 3300 is the minimum to pass the exam, which means 6000* is the minimum to have all the core skills in apprentice.
This is an issue as 1000 is the lowest subsequent milestone whereas getting to apprentice is only 900, and the end result is everyone including Rei will need to dance around two peers being way ahead of them if they want any monthly Sect points. So we're going need to play smart, and avoid directly competing with what we expect their monthly actions to be based upon what they've already gotten.
Admittedly if we intend to have Rei aim for the House Cup in the second year a certain level of intentionally grabbing monthly points in subjects we expect one of them to get is likely to be required imo, and the reason for that is we're facing increasingly long** odds of getting the most total progress in a month while Rei is behind by over four digits. Technically it might be possible to coordinate with other members of Ravenclaw of the same year, but that seems liable to nuke social connections with the other the students from other houses, and those are worth more then the House cup imo.
*This is optimal something neither of them have for obvious reasons. Furthermore based upon Draco picking up most total progress alongside Defense against the dark arts alongside most total progress two months ago, and most total progress the following month... I'm pretty sure he used his Potion focus to go straight*** for the extra action. So I'd expect him to have all the core skills at apprentice by the start of next year if not by time exams end as passing all the exams when many will struggle to pass the makeup exams is a social power move.
**As in I'm not expecting to get any without using sect points to get some really nice boons.
***Should this be the case it is rather useful as it means he won't be contesting that spot for awhile, and the next action means he is going to focus on either getting potion milestones, or more likely grabbing spiritual cultivation for a larger pool.
Nice! Thank you for taking the time to do this. ^^
(It's not our only charm, by the way. We also have the brush, plus, for meridian-slotting purposes, our three Humble Light Bringer Law techniques and two Separating Void Paradigm Law ones.)
Personally as far as extra curriculars go, I would personally rather just finish up CoMC and just also do Arithmancy, and then focus on our more typical. Both of these provide huge boosts to our core subjects, while also allowing for us to do more besides those two.
We haven't explored Astronomy and Herbology at like all. And I really really really want to explore Astronomy. We could be doing all sorts of cool rituals, and it helps with our Spiritual Cultivation. Herbology is also cool, but I am not quite as interested in it, though I do want to explore it.
Expanding to Ancient Runes and Divination so quickly ignores that we while are doing well, are still a beginner. I want a firm foundation before like doing stuff that wont benefit us too much untill way later.
I could speak of the Electives' benefits that go beyond dice-boosting, but let's ignore that for a moment and just look at it this way: if we decide to train the Electives in the summer, we'll have to wait minimum 2 turns before we can raise Astronomy/Herbology. If we don't train the Electives, we'll have to wait minimum 12 (if we win the next House Cup) or 14 (if we don't) before we get the chance to do so again.
Can you really not wait 2 turns, even if it's just to spare those of us who like all the Electives from having to wait 12-14?
It's not our only charm, by the way. We also have the brush, plus, for meridian-slotting purposes, our three Humble Light Bringer Law techniques and two Separating Void Paradigm Law ones.
Technically, we don't even know if there will be an exam (though it sounds likely) or what would happen after failing it.
As for the other good ideas you offer in your post, it's worth pointing out that something else we don't know is how much the QM decides other disciples' training, and how much his program does instead. We do know that at least one out of two initial skills was assigned randomly to each first year, and we also know (or at least strongly suspect after speaking to people and seeing the award ceremonies) that the decision of which of those skills (or the two cultivations) they train each turn is not based on optimization. So I'm not sure how possible it is to try to predict what Harry/Draco will do and decide our training around that, but it would sure be nice.
I'm currently hitting my head against the recursion in Brush. If the new rolls didn't count towards making new sets, it'd be relatively simple, but I think the fact they do is very annoying.
I'm also not sure what order Charms apply in, and that's... fun.
If you mean elements as simply just the element aspects of dice, yeah, that's done.
We decide the order when we list what we slot in our meridians and in what position, i.e 1. Brush (applies first) - 2. Towel (activates second) and so on.
I'm currently hitting my head against the recursion in Brush. If the new rolls didn't count towards making new sets, it'd be relatively simple, but I think the fact they do is very annoying.
I'm also not sure what order Charms apply in, and that's... fun.
If you mean elements as simply just the element aspects of dice, yeah, that's done.
honestly My best bet, Is "Check to see if Brush Proct, If No = Continue Skip to J, If Yes = Add X Dice where X is Procts, Roll Dice Element and Number, J - Calculate other effects"
However that Gets in the Realm of actually having to make a program for it and my 3 months of learning programing in highschool is to much forgotten for me to do it .
honestly My best bet, Is "Check to see if Brush Proct, If No = Continue Skip to J, If Yes = Add X Dice where X is Procts, Roll Dice Element and Number, J - Calculate other effects"
However that Gets in the Realm of actually having to make a program for it and my 3 months of learning programing in highschool is to much forgotten for me to do it .
I've done it, my problem was more that I had a for loop iterating for the length of the number of dice in our pool, but when that length increased due to the bonus from Brush, the for loop wouldn't increase the length it was iterating for. Changed it out for a carefully worded while loop.
Guess who just added our only (???) Charm into her roller? I did. The same numbers as before, except now I'm not bothering with the two milestone measure because it is, as you said, impossible.
3 Action Astronomy: 1029, 1119 with one CMOC; Change of Reaching Apprentice: 87%; 93% with one CMOC improvement
2 Action Herbology: 690, 750 progress on average with one CMOC; Chance of Reaching Apprentice: 38%; 50% with one CMOC improvement (As you might expect).
So the gains from the towel are fairly subtle but they do help on the margins.
Behold: I repeat the same type of maths for the nth time. Now with rainbow brush! (Order of Operations is Towel, Brush).
3 Action Astronomy: 1131, 1231 with one CMOC; Change of Reaching Apprentice: 93%; 97% with one CMOC improvement
2 Action Herbology: 758, 825 progress on average with one CMOC; Chance of Reaching Apprentice: 50%; 62% with one CMOC improvement
This is... a lot more than I thought it would? Maybe I've made an error somewhere. I'll check if over again after I've eaten food.
Behold: I repeat the same type of maths for the nth time. Now with rainbow brush! (Order of Operations is Towel, Brush).
3 Action Astronomy: 1131, 1231 with one CMOC; Change of Reaching Apprentice: 93%; 97% with one CMOC improvement
2 Action Herbology: 758, 825 progress on average with one CMOC; Chance of Reaching Apprentice: 50%; 62% with one CMOC improvement
This is... a lot more than I thought it would? Maybe I've made an error somewhere. I'll check if over again after I've eaten food.
No, no, I've worked out the odds and done a step-by-step through my new code with several tests. Just.... seems to be a powerful charm. Nice. Now I'm not going to post anymore for a while, this is a triplepost.
"You were talking in the past tense about her. Did she ascend?"
There's no need to clarify which her you're talking about.
"No. She passed away when I was a toddler."
"How?" this time the reply is almost instant.
"Pneumonitis related complications," you once squeezed the clinical words out of Dad, and committed them to memory.
Another silence follows as dandelions sway in the breeze. You can see the frustration on Daphne's face, until she decides to take a step that clearly doesn't come easy to her.
"I don't know what that means."
"She had trouble breathing, but the doctors didn't really know why."
Well if ascension is a requirement of graduating Hogwarts the mortal world not being capable of supporting an immortal and political fallout from something keeping her there would make sense. Also would make the need for breathing room a rather literal notion for those who support that ideology.
Alternatively she fought in the last war and either got hit with a curse that triggered the family bloodline curse that was dormant from cultivation or was mortally wounded and just took a long time to finish dying somewhere in the process she had a kid. For the latter it does leave a rather open ended questions of when she met her husband and what side of the war she fought on.
I don't think it is. Unless the word ascension can mean two different things and/or even Elders have not graduated, then it's strongly implied by Daphne ("You were talking in the past tense about her. Did she ascend?") and Roscrow ("These are my last days in Hogwarts, and my attachment to this place is the only reason I haven't proceeded with my ascension yet.") that when you ascend, you're not around (the Earthly realm, I'd assume), anymore.
On this note, I have a thousand questions about ascension, immortality, cultivation, spirit, qi, Dao, etc. but I imagine that either they will naturally be answered as the story progresses, or they're simply beyond the scope of this quest, past a surface level. I guess we'll see!
Two evenings and one unplanned overnighter are enough to convert your notes on your towel into notes on your brush. With just a bit more work, you attach the tip to the paint. Well, that might be a bit of an understatement, but with Lisa's help, you figure out the symbolic connection between two locations. After almost ruining your work by not including a cleaning function, the brush is ready for a field test. If everything has gone right, there should be no conceptual distance between the paints and the brush, so any worldly range is irrelevant.
Of course, this neatly segues to your next project. You've done your research after consulting with Mandy, and you think you have figured out some approximation of what you're looking for. It's time to go seek out a spirit, and you've cobbled together a few requirements.
First on the list is cuddliness. You're not looking for a ferocious killer or some of the more haughty sprites. Likewise, you're not really prepared to take on a dire bear or an ent, seeing as you can't actually offer them a space in your dantian. It's just as difficult as usual to figure out which parts of the ancient texts are metaphors and which you're supposed to take literally, but you're pretty confident that eventually you'll be able to call on your familiar on a moment's notice, summoning them to your aid from within your Qi network. Which would make size less of an issue, if your spiritual center was prepared; keyword - if.
So, you're looking for something small and cuddly, for perfectly rational and well thought out reasons, if anyone asks. That said, the nature of what you're not looking for is just as important: you don't want a common pet. No, you're looking for something... special. Something that would fit with your definition of wondrous. A source of inspiration and a constant reminder of just how little you know about the world. It might seem like you're being picky, especially given that you haven't actually found anything yet, but you want to do this right.
The last issue you need to tackle is the question of where to look, but that's more down to personal preference than any challenge. You've seen the way some pebbles roll uphill in the early mornings, hiding away from the rays of the sun in caves and crevices. One time you almost stumbled into an Ashwinder's nest, a mound of ash and embers kept in check by its inhabitant in the middle of a field of dry grass. Everybody knows that the corridor opposite the library is infested with Cornish Pixies. Heck, you've personally caught a Qi fish from the lake.
But the Forbidden Forest is the holy mecca of spiritual activity. The woodlands are alive with game and primal energy oozes from each tree. Not only because the trees themselves are ancient beyond belief, but also because each canopy is home to entire tribes of suspiciously smart insects and stranger things. Plus, it's sufficiently far from your dorm to verify that the brush works, and it's been a while since you painted nature. You raid one of the countless unused classrooms for a lectern, pack a lunch and a roll of canvas paper from the always stocked stationary closet, and set out.
The sun is already peeking over the mountains, but dew still lingers in the shadow of the forest. The air is fresh, a gentle breeze making the leaves above sway and rustle. You've heard from the older disciples that there are parts of the forest that never see sunlight, and places where even songbirds don't make a peep, but that's not where you're headed. Maybe half an hour into the woods, you find a clearing, ferns giving way to a carpet of flowers and soft grass, and set down your ill-gotten furniture.
On the far side of the opening stands an old, gnarled conker tree, underneath which a three-way stalemate has developed. On the northern side of the trunk, pale emerald moss with star-shaped tips blankets the ground, the shade from the tree shielding the greenery from the scorch of the sun. On the opposite half, mostly towards the forest, lives a colony of pale mushrooms, nestled between roots and tenaciously spreading its substrate higher and higher. The mushrooms have a thick white stalk, and rust-red flat caps crown their heads, barely wider than the rest of them. Above the two factions, reaching down from the lower branches and clinging to the age-roughened bark is a mess of ivy. The curious tendrils occasionally branch off to hold deep blue flowers that you can smell from all the way across the clearing - it's just a hint sweet, with tang of something citrusy, but not overpowering.
Wood Qi flows throughout the forest, but the ancient tree still manages to stand out, and you hope that means it'll attract a curious spirit or two. Regardless, it's an ideal spot to spend the day, and with a twist of your wrist, green paint seeps into the hairs of the brush. And just as you hoped, as you paint and channel Qi, creating and adding your own contribution to the vast ecosystem of the forest, you attract curious spirits.
The first creature you spot is a buck with entwined horns staring at you from afar. Maybe you've taken up his favorite munching spot, so you do your best to project contriteness and that you'll be gone come evening, alongside an invite to join you, even if that's not the type of spirit you're specifically in the market for. With a snort, the beast disappears after hearing you out, but at least he doesn't seem offended.
However, it's the beings that emerge from the subject of your painting that captivate your attention. Once it's clearly established that you're not a threat, a few of the mushrooms stand up and go about their mushroom business: they clean water droplets from the regular shrooms, sweep up errant leaves and are soon joined by a few more of their tribe, bringing in a load of dark, rich earth from somewhere deeper in the forest, which they set about plastering the bark with. Their tiny little arms that seem to melt out of their off-white bodies can barely touch together in front of them, and they struggle mightily to climb on top of each other to reach higher on the tree.
Meanwhile, a mound of moss is skirting the edge of the clearing to circle around to you. Occasionally, it pulls itself into a ball and bounces between open patches of space, then, once it believes itself sufficiently hidden again, two yellow pinpricks of light peer at you from the depths of the fluffy construct. Once it's sure you haven't seen it, the cycle repeats, until it reaches far enough along to see your artwork slowly coming along. After a few minutes of watching you work and puffing up in the process, it rushes back to the tree, all pretense of stealth forgotten. Little stick-like arms - or arm-like sticks - emerge from its body and it too starts to clean away random detritus from its side of the tree. You make sure to leave the patch indistinct until it's owner has had time to clean up.
Unlike the mossball, the third spirit that joins you is much more sneaky. High above, the ivy vines snake across several other trees, though none are as richly adorned as the chestnut. A few times you think you spot movement, but each time you look closer, it seems as if it was just the wind. Until, that is, one of the tendrils reaches down to tap on your canvas. You almost jump out of your skin, focused on replicating the mushroom-people's tower, but the ivy isn't deterred, insistently demanding your attention on a place above where you're working. A careful examination shows that you've missed a few flowers there, and that is a travesty that can't be allowed to stand, according to the floating vine. Floating, because you belatedly realize that this particular tendril isn't actually attached to the rest of the plant. Still, you quickly correct your mistake, and the vine retreats to look over your shoulder. You can definitely imagine it casting a critical eye on its composition of the ivy and finding it wanting, as it too rushes back to the tree to start weaving a new pattern in the loose tangles of plant-life hanging right on the edge of the moss garden and mushroom farm.
The image you're painting is far too detailed to be finished in a single day, and although you could work through the night with the aid of a light spell, your common sense potion reminds you that the Forbidden Forest could be a different beast in the dark. Plus, you have time to come back tomorrow, and you need to do some research to figure out what spirits you're dealing with.
Thus, you return the next day, and the day after that, and then again, until your arrival no longer causes any stir in the tiny community, and more mossballs and even the mushroom people come to look at your painting as you work. You also pore over the notes from Brother Creevy again, and although the more detailed elements of your picture remain stationary partly out of lack of skill and partly due to you fearing that you'll mess the painting up if you try, the edges of the image are lined with gently swaying grass and leaves.
You decided ahead of time that you'd make your actual offer to bring one of the woodland spirits with you on the summer solstice, so it's a particularly late, but still bright evening that sees you finally walk over to the tree and sit down in front of it to begin negotiations.
Choose one being to bring with you:
[][Familiar] Athelas Mossball
A spirit of Wood Qi that builds a body and inhabits a clump of lichen or moss. They are quite particular about choosing their homes, and are often seen as caretakers of the forest floor. Some subspecies leave the woods behind to live closer to water and stone, which form the main part of their diet. Some theories suggest that truly ancient Mossballs grow into whole bogs, although the process likely takes centuries. Athelas is also known for healing and warding properties, sometimes thought to be the moss that causes the most potent of bezoars to form.
For every 400 points of progress an action grants, gain an extra wood aspect die to the next pool this turn.
If you gain 400 or more progress for an action, then the next one this turn has a bigger pool.
For a given pool size of 4:
The first action is [(earth 20), (fire 20), (metal 20), (water 20)] -> [(wood 100), (fire 100), (earth 100), (water 100)]
The second action's pool is [(earth 20), (fire 20), (metal 20), (water 20), (wood 10)]
If you gain 800 or more progress, gain 2 dice instead, and so on. This effect does not loop, i.e. the last action in a turn does not affect the first one.
[][Familiar] Oolacile Myconid
Oolaciles are nontoxic, tough mushrooms that grow in Qi rich environments. They are a favored building material for various Qi sensitive critters, but if left undisturbed for long enough, bigger examples achieve sentience and start cultivating the colony they were once a part of. The biggest known organism lives in Norway, and some of the Myconids there can swell to over three stories in height, proving that they never stop growing bigger. Amongst immortals, the substrate is valued as an ingredient in shrinking and expanding charms and potions.
For every non-wood aspect die in a pool that doesn't succeed, gain 5 additional bonus to all progress rolls for the next action this turn.
Every result roll for the next action gains a bonus depending on the amount of failing non-wood pool dice in this action.
For a given threshold 15:
The first action is [(wood 5), (wood 15), (water 6), (earth 20), (fire 2)] -> [(water 12+0), (earth 21+0)]
The second action is [(metal 3), (fire 8), (earth 9), (wood 17), (water 16)] -> [(earth 41+10), (wood 42+10)]
The third action is [(water 8), (fire 19), (fire 10), (wood 8), (wood 20)] -> [(metal 50+15), (metal 51+15)]
This effect does not loop, i.e. the last action does not provide benefits to the first.
[][Familiar] Azure Floatvine
Part of the Qi eating side of various sentient vines, such as the Devil's Snare or Flitterbloom, the Azure Floatvine generally lives near various climbing plants, helping them bind new shoots to trees or walls. Sightings are relatively rare due to their great camouflage abilities, as the vine can change color at will and fly on winds of Qi, letting it get out of sticky situations. Cultivators consider finding one in their gardens a good omen and a sign of a healthy greenhouse. More common in the tropics, where they naturally bond with vine snakes.
The lowest progress roll becomes a wood aspect pool roll at half the value in the same action.
Take the lowest roll in the result, cut it in half and add that number to the pool; if that number is bigger than the threshold, gain progress as usual.
A pool of [(wood 3), (metal 5), (water 5), (earth 20)] -> [(fire 100)] becomes [(wood 3), (metal 5), (water 5), (earth 20), (wood 50)] -> [(fire 100), (water 61)]
[][Name] Write-in
For the sake of my sanity, the above modifiers apply after all of your meridian modifiers.
In future Care of Magical Creatures milestones, you'll be able to teach this particular familiar new tricks and skills, rather than getting a new being for every bit of progress.
[X][Social] The Ravenclaw first year study club is becoming more active as the year draws to a close. Although you might not say so out loud, you know you're quite highly advanced in your chosen fields, and helping your peers cram in some last minute study seems like the right thing to do.
Roll: 21
"There is no reason to crush the beetles for a healing mix?" Lisa pants out an answer to your quizzing.
In a strange turn of events, nearly the entire first year Ravenclaw contingent, with the exception of Michael and Terry, are pushing their physical cultivation. Well, you suppose you're also not specifically pursuing the next realm, but since you've decided to give your friends a bit of a hand, you're getting a light workout yourself.
"Not as far as I know," you cheerily reply.
A light workout for you is not quite the same for the rest of the disciples on the lakeside trail. To you, it's an exercise in Qi sensing as you run in front of the group backwards, avoiding patches of muddy ground, roots or rocky outcrops, but Padma, Lisa and Tony are nearly breathless just keeping up with you.
At least Padma is also deep in meditation, so she has an excuse. You're not really sure if you're qualified to help someone with such a personal understanding, but you did loan her your necklace. You doubt she'll get as much use out of it as you did, seeing as you had personal experience to draw on, but at worst it'll serve as a focus for her attention. The blue light of the shape of your Qi is barely visible in the daylight, but you can sense the energy active in front of her now.
Tony on the other hand... the boy is bringing up the rear, if you discount Roger and Sue, who got distracted by some plant a few minutes ago. You were just annoying enough to the pair that they found it simpler to appease you for a session and join the group. Given that this is the third such training run this week, you'd say that getting them together has been a resounding success. But you're much more worried about Tony.
"Two more laps before we try another channeling," you call out, hoping to motivate the boy. Technically you had planned to keep going for another six. Instead of gaining a second wind however, he just hunches his shoulders as he continues to imperceptibly fall behind.
For all that his easygoing nature has brought the whole house together, in some ways, you can't help but feel that he's just not taking things seriously most of the time. Your own work ethic is... not extreme, but still pretty intense; there's got to be a middle ground, and Tony hasn't found it. By the time you reach the start of the trail again one lap later, he's not just bringing up the rear, but clearly lagging several yards behind. Still, he notices your look, even as he comes to a stop.
"Go," he pants out, "I'll wait for you right here."
"One more lap, girls," you call out before reversing your own course, "And no slacking off just because I'm not staring you down. Lisa, I want at least six uses for dragon blood when you get back!"
"But no one actually uses dragon blood!" your friend grumbles, but the two carry on without you with no real complaints.
Meanwhile, you have a moment alone with Anthony, who's hunched over, panting with hands on his knees.
"Hey, Tony, listen... If there's anything I could do for you, you know you can just ask, right? I'm sorry if it's not my place or if I'm just completely wrong, but I worry about your chances in August, let alone this month."
"You give this one fa-ar too much face," the boy chuckles as he catches his breath, "We both know I'm not passing the exams, and that's okay."
You blink, the idea entirely foreign to you, "Okay?"
"I'm a minor son in a minor branch of a minor clan," he stretches upright and groans, "I can live the mortal life for a few more years, and then, well, I'm immortal, which means I've got all the time in the world. Not everyone is like Lord Potter or Sect Brother Malfoy, or a prodigy like you or Roger."
"But... you can't come to Hogwarts if you're expelled. And I'm no prodigy."
"Of course, forgive my implication," he doesn't sound like he agrees, "You know that ascending isn't an euphemism, right? Graduating Hogwarts means leaving this plane of existence, but there's still a vibrant immortal community of adults around. Most of them are not like Ancestor Dumbledore or the Elders, who choose to stay behind through great skill and sacrifice. Most of them are like me - taking fifty years to reach the core refinement stage instead of five. If you remember me when you win the seventh quidditch cup in a row, my stay in these halls hasn't been a waste."
"I... huh?"
He laughs at your gob-smacked expression. "Hogwarts is amazing, don't get me wrong, a true national treasure, and I appreciate what you're trying to do, I really do. But I've made peace with the fact that this is the place for those driven on a different level from me. I don't need to bring honor to my clan, or fear that I might lose all access to the immortal world, or get revenge on an ancient dragon or whatnot. I'm here for the experience, and because I had the potential. Knowing that I did is enough."
"I never thought about that," you admit, "Is this a common thing? That people don't actually intend to graduate at all?"
"I'll admit that I'm probably more accepting than most, as is my clan. Plus there's pride to be had in lasting longer, but yeah. It's no secret that all of us won't make it to year seven, and of those that don't, the majority is failing this summer. It's expulsion, not execution." He surges his Qi like you've taught him, and grabs hold of his leg, beginning a series of stretches. "Of course, I'll still gleam as much as I can from Senior Sister's wisdom. Write to me sometime, wont you?"
"You know, I can think of at least one other person who would say that getting expelled is worse," you say, joining him in the exercise.
[X][Social] Contrary to the rumors, Harry Potter is nothing more than a polite twelve year old boy. You sincerely doubt that he's taken Gryffindor's loss of the quidditch cup to heart, but you'd still best make sure that that is the case.
Roll: 77
It turns out that finding Harry is the hardest part of your quest to clear any bad blood before it has a chance to appear. Through the proxy of Hermione, you learn that the boy is rarely found in the Gryffindor common room, which really doesn't narrow things down.
However, you're no stranger to hunting down reclusive people, and your tried and true method is yet to fail - everybody needs to eat. Well, admittedly you've only seen the elders eat maybe once a month, but the point still stands. True to form, a couple of long dinners later you spot a tuft of messy black hair, attached to one Harry Potter, arriving alone at the great hall.
"Harry!" you wave at him, and pat the space next to you, the tables mostly empty due to the late hour.
Hesitantly, he makes his way over to you. "Rei, anything I can help you with?"
"Not really," you make sure to project sincerity with your Qi, "I just wanted to congratulate you on a well-fought season. I'm sure next year will be just as close."
Harry relaxes a bit, and takes the seat next to you, starting to load his plate. "Thank you, you too. Both on the win and the breakthrough. I'll look forward to the rematch."
"So, what're you up to?" you ask.
"Copying over the whole library," he groans in response, "Feels like my hand's about to fall off from all the note-taking, but I need the material for the summer."
"Really?" you lift an eyebrow, "I would have thought you have some ancient family archive to read through or something."
"The only archive Uncle Vernon has is a collection of the Daily Mail, and I'm sure he'd rather burn it than let me touch it. The feeling's mutual," Harry says, scarfing down a piece of meat, barely swallowing before he continues, "Oh, that reminds me, I heard it can be quite a shock to leave Hogwarts, so watch out for yourself. Returning to the Dursley's will be bad enough, I hope it's not too awful."
"And where'd you hear that?" you ask drily.
"Dean told me. You know him, right?"
"Yes, I told him about it. If anything, he probably undersold it."
"Ah, of course, you went home for the Holidays. How was it?"
"What's it to you," you'd rather drop the subject, "you'll just spend the months packed away in some pocket dimension or something."
"Little Whinging can feel like one, sure, but I assure you it's very much on the map of Surrey."
Hang on, you know where Little Whinging is. You replay the last few sentences in your head.
"Wait, you live with mortals?"
"My aunt and uncle, ever since my parents died."
The last bit you've pierced together from Tracey's little lecture on lords, but the follow-up realization that Harry Potter is from the mundane world has escaped you until now. You thought you knew all the muggle-born disciples, but clearly you weren't alone in assuming that Harry grew up in the immortal world, given that Justin hadn't invited him to the gatherings.
"I didn't realize, sorry. Didn't you go home for the holidays? I'm sure you would have felt the Qi yourself."
"I stayed here."
"Oh... it's going to suck for you. On the bright side, maybe we can meet up, I'm from Croyden," Little Whinging is half a day's walk to the south, but you're sure you can convince Dad to drive you.
"Uncle Vernon probably wouldn't like that," Harry hedges instead.
"What, does he think I've got cooties or something?" you blink your eyelashes at the Gryffindor, doing your best to look innocent, before breaking into laughter at Harry's miffed look.
"Of the magical kind, yes," he sighs as your giggle trails off, "I'd love to meet with you over the summer, but we'll see."
"Trust me, you'll want a distraction every once in a while," you stand up and stretch. You've your own projects to tend to, that brush isn't going to charm itself. "See you around, Lord Potter."
He flings a fork at your back in response. The exams are a breeze for you. There's a day when the Elders hold semi-open court, and every disciple needs to gather up the necessary commendations by visiting their office throughout the day. You try starting with Elder McGonagall, but after seeing the line of disciples in the corridor, change your mind and make your way to the dungeons instead.
Elder Snape has a reputation, and even immortal cultivators try to put off visiting him for as long as possible, so you get your chance quite soon. He has you cleaning a cauldron, asks you a few elementary questions and sniffs in very mild approval at your Alkahest. The whole thing takes maybe fifteen minutes, and at the end, you're given a stamped, folded paper declaring that you've passed the Potions examination.
Rather than join the nervous queue of transfiguration disciples, you do some last moment meditation, grab an early lunch and only then make your way over, the line considerably shorter by now. When you're called into the office for the second time this month, not much has changed. The elder asks you to demonstrate two techniques of your choosing, and while a part of you would like to call down your keeper lightshow, you contain yourself to two orbs of light and a darkened arm. Then Elder McGonagall has you sketch out a replica Qi diagram of what she's channeling herself before finally having you write a few paragraphs on the interaction of two aspects that you haven't used so far. For a moment you blank on what to pick, but all it takes is a quick breathing exercise before you commit to the pen's ability to leave messages and the paper's smoothness. Probably not the most inspired of choices in hindsight, but it's enough to get you the second of the two stamps you need.
With two of them, a picture takes shape. If you twist and fold them together just right, the script on the slips combines into a train ticket for September the first. You suppose that's as clear an invitation back as any, even if the whole thing feels a smidge anticlimactic. Then again, presumably the elders already know exactly how far you've all progressed, so the whole thing is more of a formality.
On further inspection, the certificates can also be folded in yet another way that probably shouldn't be physically possible, but reveals a similar list to the one you received at the start of your immortal career. A few books you need to buy before September get quickly glossed over, your attention drawn to the goals you'll be expected to meet in a year's time.
As expected, you'll have to reach the next stage of cultivation before the start of year three. The equivalent to the aptly named realms seems to be a gone however, the naming scheme for the steps along the way as confusing as ever. You'll need to merge and harmonize your three dantians, identify primal aspect meridian channels and internalize yin-yang. Well... at least you recognize most of the words this time.
Disciples are also expected to branch out a bit, Hogwarts requiring that you have at least three of your subjects - excluding History, Defense and the electives - at the intermediate level. You're well on your way to apprentice competency in Charms, and the paper you're holding proves that you've achieved that stage for both Potions and Transfigurations.
The final line states that you must have at least ten open meridians. From what little asking around you've done, none of your peers have any, although Roger did mention that he'll be working on that next month. Still, that puts you ahead of the curve on this front.
And then, before you know it, the month is over, and the final day of the official year is upon you. The morning has the last point awarding ceremony, and the evening will hold a feast before all disciples shall depart on the overnight train to King's Cross station.
This time, most elders, with the exception of Elder Quirrel, are present again, and Elder Binns goes first.
"Master Boot," he calls out in a monotone, and Terry gets on stage, opening with a point for Ravenclaw.
Elder Snape is evidently standing in for the Defense teacher, or perhaps simply as the head of house for the winner, as Tracey claims the point for Slytherin, followed by Daphne taking another for Herbology.
"Lord Potter," Elder Snape's tone is frosty, but the point to Gryffindor stands, and Hermione getting called next for Charms brings the red house level with the Slytherins.
The Transfiguration point gets another Ravenclaw on stage, Roger taking the top prize, before Elder Sinistra names Harry again for a second point in Astronomy. Still, you're not worried. Despite being spread out quite wide, you feel confident that you've cinched the overall points. Moments later you're vindicated, as Elder Flitwick steps up with another beaming smile and calls you on stage.
The great hall is open, and the hourglasses with twinkling spirit stones serve as entertainment for the day, the green-and-silver banners of Slytherin serving as a constant reminder of what's at stake. You spend the final day lazing about, chatting with friends and exchanging addresses or phone numbers, where applicable, as the blue score keeps ticking up.
You know that the end is near when you spot Morgan walking in, his Qi a carefully contained maelstrom that still occasionally billows out around him, the young man on the precipice of ascension. He's shortly followed by the Elders arriving from a side-door to sit at the head table, and an anticipatory silence falls, all eyes focused on the hourglasses.
With a flash of fire and a trill of beautiful song, Ancestor Dumbledore appears at the very center of the dais, dressed in a royal blue robe and looking resplendent with what you can only assume is a phoenix sitting on his shoulder. The piercing gaze of the bird suddenly makes you glad that you decided to leave your own familiar in the dorm with your packed stuff.
Rather than give a speech, the Sect head snaps his fingers, and the little mental snag of Qi that stands for your points unravels as the spirit stones jump to a frenzy. A moment passes as you hold your breath, but as the dust settles, there's a clear lead for one house. The blue hourglass is nearly filled to the brim, decisively ahead of the competition. You're pretty sure it's Jeremy's whoop that breaks the avalanche, and you join in on the cheering as the banners above shimmer into extremely pleasant blues and bronzes.
Ravenclaw - 38 + 11 from Rei = 49
Slytherin - 40
Gryffindor - 31
Hufflepuff - 8
You share hugs and handshakes, eat until you're full to bursting and then go to grab your bags. On top of your trunk is a new leaflet of coupons, which are apparently called port-keys, as Penelope informs you when you run down to ask. Your very own collection of tickets to Hogsmeade, and by proxy, Hogwarts itself.
The carriages without horses are amusing, but you find that you preferred the boats. Still, the red train is once more in station, and departs at midnight. You spend the ride dozing off in a food-induced stupor, and in the morning, you wake up in London, your Dad waiting for you on the mortal side of the station.
Pick 3 to 5 training actions, you may pick the same one multiple times:
-[][Training] Spiritual cultivation
-[][Training] Physical cultivation
-[][Training] Herbology
-[][Training] Potions
--[] Which potion (see library)
-[][Training] Charms
--[] Which charm (see library)
-[][Training] Transfiguration
--[] Which technique (see library)
-[][Training] Astronomy
-[][Training] Ancient Runes
You will not benefit from having more than 550 total progress in an elective.
-[][Training] Arithmancy
You will not benefit from having more than 550 total progress in an elective.
-[][Training] Care of Magical Creatures
You will not benefit from having more than 550 total progress in an elective.
-[][Training] Divination
You will not benefit from having more than 550 total progress in an elective.
-[][Training] Meridians
During summer, Rei's stats are lowered by two levels, but thanks to Ravenclaw winning the house cup, she has 6 tokens that can counteract that, please indicate the actions you'd like to use those on.
--[] Write-in tokens
Optional meridian adjustment:
-[][Meridians] Adjust
--[] Write-in order
Not all of your time is spent on the path to enlightenment, your peers also demand some of your attention, and when you one day look back, some events would stand out:
[][Social] The central hub of immortal activity in London is Diagon Alley. Now that you're much more knowledgeable about the world of Qi, you'd like a second look at the place. Perhaps put a number to your actual wealth and do some window shopping.
[][Social] You receive a letter inviting you to "Trade pointers" with "Young Mistress" Daphne Greengrass. Also in the envelope is a single-use transport talisman you're starting to become quite familiar with.
[][Social] The address you got from Harry really isn't that far from you. If you wanted, you could incorporate a dozen or so miles into your morning run with little issue and swing by.
[][Social] Hermione has invited you and Dad to meet her own parents, to tell the adults comforting stories about your time at Hogwarts and set their minds at ease.
[][Social] You've got Dad to agree to a weekend trip to the countryside for you, visiting Mandy's clan and reservation.
[][Social] Although the streets of London aren't exactly Hogwarts, there's still adventure to be had. Bring your new familiar on a tour of the suburbia, who knows what you might find - perhaps there's a fragment of the magical right in your backyard.
[][Social] You've decided to set apart a day to be the model daughter. Starting with breakfast a-la-Qi, followed by a trip to the art exhibition at the local gallery, a picnic lunch, then a free afternoon to do whatever he'd like. In short, spend time with dad.
[][Social] You'll be passing by the village of Hogsmeade on your way to the castle. You know that disciples in the third year and above can visit the place whenever, but you could take the opportunity to explore now and lord your knowledge over your peers in a couple of years.
[][Social] Although the time you can spend at Hogwarts is precious, so is the opportunity to actually get to know some of the elders. At worst, they'll just tell you to leave them alone. See what happens when you try to take your lunch at the head table.
-[] Optional write-in who?
[][Social] You've managed to bring a doodle or two off the page - literally, in some cases - but you'd like to strive for more. Find a model and really put your skills to the test, both artistically and in the realm of Qi animation.
-[] Optional write-in who or what?
[][Social] Write-in
Please place training actions, token expenditure and meridian adjustments in plan format, then vote for however many social actions you'd like, with the top selections getting picked depending on how many free timeslots you have (minimum of 3). Also be aware that the effect from turn "A visit home I" could go into effect, eating up less popular choices.
[*][Plan] Example plan
-[*][Training] Meridians
--[*] 1 token
-[*][Training] Ancient Runes 2x
--[*] 1 token
-[*][Training] Charms
--[*] The Recorder Plushie
--[*] 1 token
-[*][Meridians] Adjust
--[*] 1. The Rainbow Brush
--[*] 2. Whip Shear Technique
[*][Social] Something Rei really wants to do
[*][Social] Something else Rei really wants to do
[][Familiar] Athelas Mossball
A spirit of Wood Qi that builds a body and inhabits a clump of lichen or moss. They are quite particular about choosing their homes, and are often seen as caretakers of the forest floor. Some subspecies leave the woods behind to live closer to water and stone, which form the main part of their diet. Some theories suggest that truly ancient Mossballs grow into whole bogs, although the process likely takes centuries. Athelas is also known for healing and warding properties, sometimes thought to be the moss that causes the most potent of bezoars to form.
For every 400 points of progress an action grants, gain an extra wood aspect die to the next pool this turn.
If you gain 400 or more progress for an action, then the next one this turn has a bigger pool.
For a given pool size of 4:
The first action is [(earth 20), (fire 20), (metal 20), (water 20)] -> [(wood 100), (fire 100), (earth 100), (water 100)]
The second action's pool is [(earth 20), (fire 20), (metal 20), (water 20), (wood 10)]
If you gain 800 or more progress, gain 2 dice instead, and so on. This effect does not loop, i.e. the last action in a turn does not affect the first one.
[][Familiar] Oolacile Myconid
Oolaciles are nontoxic, tough mushrooms that grow in Qi rich environments. They are a favored building material for various Qi sensitive critters, but if left undisturbed for long enough, bigger examples achieve sentience and start cultivating the colony they were once a part of. The biggest known organism lives in Norway, and some of the Myconids there can swell to over three stories in height, proving that they never stop growing bigger. Amongst immortals, the substrate is valued as an ingredient in shrinking and expanding charms and potions.
For every non-wood aspect die in a pool that doesn't succeed, gain 5 additional bonus to all progress rolls for the next action this turn.
Every result roll for the next action gains a bonus depending on the amount of failing non-wood pool dice in this action.
For a given threshold 15:
The first action is [(wood 5), (wood 15), (water 6), (earth 20), (fire 2)] -> [(water 12+0), (earth 21+0)]
The second action is [(metal 3), (fire 8), (earth 9), (wood 17), (water 16)] -> [(earth 41+10), (wood 42+10)]
The third action is [(water 8), (fire 19), (fire 10), (wood 8), (wood 20)] -> [(metal 50+15), (metal 51+15)]
This effect does not loop, i.e. the last action does not provide benefits to the first.
[][Familiar] Azure Floatvine
Part of the Qi eating side of various sentient vines, such as the Devil's Snare or Flitterbloom, the Azure Floatvine generally lives near various climbing plants, helping them bind new shoots to trees or walls. Sightings are relatively rare due to their great camouflage abilities, as the vine can change color at will and fly on winds of Qi, letting it get out of sticky situations. Cultivators consider finding one in their gardens a good omen and a sign of a healthy greenhouse. More common in the tropics, where they naturally bond with vine snakes.
The lowest progress roll becomes a wood aspect pool roll at half the value in the same action.
I'm very confused by all the listed examples - like, most of the numbers are within the range I expect for success dice not progress, but does that mean that a success dice and the progress dice you roll because of it can have different elements?
Also these are literally never going to go in my dice calculator I'd have to basically rewrite the entire thing to enable cross-action interactions and fuccccckkkk that.
High above, the ivy vines snake across several other trees, though none are as richly adorned as the chestnut. A few times you think you spot movement, but each time you look closer, it seems as if it was just the wind. Until, that is, one of the tendrils reaches down to tap on your canvas. You almost jump out of your skin, focused on replicating the mushroom-people's tower, but the ivy isn't deterred, insistently demanding your attention on a place above where you're working. A careful examination shows that you've missed a few flowers there, and that is a travesty that can't be allowed to stand, according to the floating vine. Floating, because you belatedly realize that this particular tendril isn't actually attached to the rest of the plant. Still, you quickly correct your mistake, and the vine retreats to look over your shoulder. You can definitely imagine it casting a critical eye on its composition of the ivy and finding it wanting, as it too rushes back to the tree to start weaving a new pattern in the loose tangles of plant-life hanging right on the edge of the moss garden and mushroom farm.
For the sake of convenience, you can't get better alkahest. For an in-universe explanation, knowledge of how to do something is not the same thing as being able to actually do it, so Rei simply lacks the practice with brewing to make the more refined versions.
In Doylist terms, it's not in the libarary so you can't pick it and it'd devalue potion milestones (kind of like you can't use one to get +10 to bonus or an extra pool die).
These aspects are determined at random when the die gets rolled, so every aspect has a 20% chance of being attached to any one die. All dice are completely independent of each other, unless otherwise specified by some modifier, so a fire aspect pool success does not necessarily mean a fire aspect result roll. Each die can only have one aspect.
I think it'd be quite unfair to punish you for being ahead of the average. Going from exactly what you need to finish year 1 to exactly what you need to finish year 2 is a total of 33150 (8000/8000/5250/5250/5250/1400) additional points of progress. By that metric, 1400 is not quite an afterthought, although also not the bulk. That you can currently roll over 2k a (good) turn is just a testament to your rapid growth.
[][Social] Hermione has invited you and Dad to meet her own parents, to tell the adults comforting stories about your time at Hogwarts and set their minds at ease.
I do hope we interact with Hermione more, are we friends from the troll thing, its hard to tell?
Still visiting her and talk to them would ease her parents worries that Hermione finally made a friend at Hogwarts compare to her lonely primary school days.
Tony's perspective is quite interesting, at least he's chill about it as Hermione would freak out big time!
I do like the social options outside of Hogwarts, quite new seeing the real magical world in her area.
Ooh, LotR reference. Athelas is what Aragon used to heal Frodo. Between that and the Mossball's affinity for healing/warding I'm leaning towards this one.
"Of course, forgive my implication," he doesn't sound like he agrees, "You know that ascending isn't an euphemism, right? Graduating Hogwarts means leaving this plane of existence, but there's still a vibrant immortal community of adults around. Most of them are not like Ancestor Dumbledore or the Elders, who choose to stay behind through great skill and sacrifice. Most of them are like me - taking fifty years to reach the core refinement stage instead of five. If you remember me when you win the seventh quidditch cup in a row, my stay in these halls hasn't been a waste."
This actually makes sense. I was wondering how people could graduate Hogwarts at the same level as Elders/representatives of the Wizengamot (Nascent Soul), but that just being the peak of the mortal realms fits. So there's immortal stages beyond that.
It's a shame we can't come back without difficulty, but we should be able to figure out something to visit Dad.
Disciples are also expected to branch out a bit, Hogwarts requiring that you have at least three of your subjects - excluding History, Defense and the electives - at the intermediate level. You're well on your way to apprentice competency in Charms, and the paper you're holding proves that you've achieved that stage for both Potions and Transfigurations.
I'm actually coming around to making the third subject Herbology, in addition to Potions and Transfiguration. It synergises with Potions and CoMC, and with our new spirit it should be great as well.
Meridians we'll be fine on, we only need to open 8 more barring nat 100s, though I'd still rather stick to electives and socials this summer.
That said there are definitely social actions I want to prioritise, and I don't think we can afford the risk of putting all our free actions towards training. @Karf am I right in assuming we can't fudge or strategise our way to better odds of winning the fight with ourselves (so roughly 50% odds of winning or losing each month), or does @Epic Bygones have the right of it?
Edit: Also, should we vote for what we want from the Jade Chit vault as well?
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