Money and Power: A Xianxia Merchant Quest

[Mr. Prokosch]

It was a long journey to the Turtle Islands. Many of the 1000 Rivers, those that didn't pour into the Vast Swamp, end somewhere in the region, or defy mortal physics, ran from Mt. Tai to the Turtle Coast (formerly the Forbidden Coast). Chachi's first merchant-scouts took a riverboat down the swift Brightbreeze river to the Bright Estuary Fortress. From there, one of the Lady's Convoys sailed them North, to Liberation Point. They sold out in a day, then journeyed part way back down the coast to the Ascendant River, among the more useful of the 1000 Rivers for transport because of its gravity-defying current. The whole circuit took them two months. The Walking Fortress was not faster than a boat on the Brightbreeze, but it could blaze a direct route through the jungle and across the rivers without slowing too much. They estimated that it could make the full circuit in half the time, maybe a bit slower for the first trip.

The Walking Fortress could also carry a heavier load than even a fleet of riverboats. They loaded it with a generous portion of their stocks: full kegs of their cheaper products, small reinforced bottles wrapped in layers of cushioning for their more precious assets. They still had an embarrassment of space leftover. Since she'd decided to appease the Special Farmer's Union, Teo arranged a consignment agreement to unload some of their under-performing produce for a fair commission. Chachi got the gist of it: they'd take a cut if the stuff sold, and no loss if it didn't. They still had excessive space, so they'd bulk-purchased mundane jungle-wood at mortal prices. Teo was sure it would sell for more there than it did here, which was free money when they would otherwise be making the trip half-empty.

Chachi tried to keep her mind on the advantages of the Walking Fortresses, and how right she was to invest in them, while she endured yet another bone-rattling, ear-splitting, crash. She'd wanted to observe the maiden-voyage. Now she observed, with a clarity enforced by a thousand blows, that they may have underestimated just how dense with large, stubborn, old-growth trees the 1000 Rivers was. It could, she reflected, have also been named the Endless Jungle. The Fortress avoided the Exalted trees, or the ones too massive to just knock over, but there was no way forward without destroying their lesser cousins. She also observed, more pleasantly, that the Solar Beam Array was highly effective against any wildlife too foolish to not run from a towering metal centipede.

She strolled from the upper observation deck, nodding at the deep bow of her patrolman, to her personal compartment. Even after Teo's efforts to fill the Fortress, there was still space to spare, and they'd used it to outfit an apartment suitable for the Matriarch, or whichever of her representatives led the Fortress in her absence. She had an office with a direct sending stone to Teo, a dining a tea set that rattled irritatingly until she'd imbued it to float on a cushion of ambient Teotl, and an unnecessarily large bed that she'd similarly improved after the first night. She knew that the ride would be smoother once they had an established path through the Jungle, but she still gave some thought to just putting sound and motion dampeners in the entire compartment. Or why not many compartments? Her most volatile elixirs had protections in their containers, but it couldn't hurt to add another layer. If they still had space to spare, they could even install little luxury apartments for travelers and give them a smooth journey all the way to the coast. She wasn't sure if there was enough of a market for that. Something to bring up with Teo…

There was another substantial crash, and Chachi gracefully leaped on her floating bed to avoid the worst of it. She had weeks of this to go, and making small improvements to the Fortress design was a productive use of her time. But this trip was also the closest she'd get to closed-door meditation this quarter and she meant to take advantage of that. So she took up her traditional mediation posture and thought about diamonds. Then she thought more about diamonds. Then she thought extra hard about diamonds.

She fell back with a harrumph, "this sucks," she whined to herself. She was a genius at cultivation, everyone said so. But this acclimation stuff… It wasn't really doing anything. It was getting ready to do something. Most people spent decades doing that? When she'd merged her spirit, she just did it. It was a scary afternoon, but she understood the principal, performed the ritual, and trusted in Heaven's favor. Now she could feel her diamond spirit. The manual said that now was the time to "align herself with the concept, become a paragon of its principals in thought and deed." Cultivation manuals got worse the further up you went. Tlaloc told her to " seek Diamond in the world. Look for insights into its true nature and give the ritual personal significance." She owned some very pretty diamonds, they were in a bowl by her nightstand, and she'd made some diamond-based treasures. She'd also studied her clan's diamond-based purification arrays. She could visit a diamond mine, maybe? Where else could she find diamond in the world? Was she being too literal? Maybe, like, a person doing an exceptionally good job was like a Diamond Person? She checked with her spirit. That felt… Ok. Huh. Well, she was a genius after all.

Brainstorm Action!

This is another brainstorm 'vote' where thread participation can help Chachi get a better result from her Acclimation Action. Posts can only help or do nothing, it's impossible to hurt Chachi during a Brainstorm.

This time there are two types of Brainstorm contributions

[Experiment] – Order Chachi to try something that might improve her comprehension of diamond. Don't worry about whether or not she can do it on this trip, time is loose with these quarterly actions, so she could have done it before she got on the train. I will write a short scene where she does that thing, and what she learns from it.

[Insight] – Give Chachi a thought about what the "True Nature of Diamond" could be. What themes does Diamond embody? How do the powers Chachi has, and the powers she will get, relate to each other?

Insights are ranked:

1. No Bonus – I think there's something about it that's really off base
2. Small Bonus – I think it's fine, but either something feels a little off about it to me, or I think it's just repeating information you already have. This will help her when she Merges.
3. Perfect Bonus – I think it's impressive and right on the money. This will substantially help her when she Merges.
4. Transcendent Bonus – It's better than anything I thought of. I have stolen your idea and now it's right. This will substantially help her, and she may manifest unexpected abilities if they work with what Diamond is now.

Each voter gets 1 Experiment and as many insights as they want.

Spoiler: Note

I was going to push forward to the Turtle Islands but I've been busy lately and thought I should get a vote post up even if it's a bit short. Also I think this could be fun.

 

[Mr. Prokosch]

Diamonds are... Unbreakable? Well, they're very hard, but I definitely broke some. I heard a diamond body is hard to break. Maybe the perfect diamond would be unbreakable? (Small bonus)

Diamonds are crazy? No, no, that feels really wrong. I guess I could go crazier fighting if I had a stronger body to power through it, but that doesn't seem like a very diamond-like thing. (No bonus)

(I assume this is a Jojo reference?)

Diamonds are hard, rigid, and clear. (small bonus)

The most beautiful diamonds are cut, reshaped, polished, and have enough contaminants... Oh... It feels right and wrong at the same time. Diamonds must be IMMUNTABLE AND PURE. Contamination is WRONG. What do human aesthetics matter? Why do I feel sick? This is weird. (No bonus at merging. Harmonic Bonus)

Diamond is not just rigid in its strength but also in the laws of its structure. The endless repeating pattern of identical material in its internal arrangement is the law that defines diamond, and violations and imperfections in that law weaken it. It is through this rigid adherence to its own laws and mono-element nature that diamond is tied to Purity. The (literally) crystal clear coloration of unadulterated diamond also contributes.
+
[Insight] Diamonds are symbols of Order. Their perfect crystalline structure is what gives it strength. By arranging yourself and your life in a self-supporting order, you will be resilient to all that the world can throw at you.
+
On a purely physical level, diamonds are made of the same stuff as coal, charcoal, graphene and ashes. Something black, filthy and fragile is, through no other distinction than orderly structure, made something clear, pure and durable, not to mention valuable.
+
Diamonds interact closely with light, transforming and refracting it. Even light itself is slowed to admire Diamond's Radiance, and it is not simply an ideal for others to look up to, but a perfect point for other things to be transformed by. Diamond tools cut what otherwise cannot be cut and reveal a material's beauty and purpose. Diamond prisms bend light and shine with brilliance if aligned just right. Even diamond itself is far greater than it once was, from coal to gem, and has far more left to go. Diamond creates beauty, it is Transformation towards perfection.

Yes, this is RIGHT. Not that strange thought before. (These cover a lot of similar territory. Together they are a Perfect Bonus)

A diamond in the rough still shines but once found effort can be put forth to craft and cut and polish it to improve it. So too can the cleansing touch rid people of their imperfections and allow their polished luster to shine. Especially when it comes to that which does not belong in the pattern of their being (such as poison or disease). Yeah. Diamond is perfecting the things it touches, making them closer the the proper pattern of being. (Small Bonus)

The Clear Domain of diamond allows the light of teotle to shine through it, but a diamond's structure can also refract, reflect, and scatter that light without ever even needing to contest the strength of the light itself. That kind of makes sense. Feels like there's a crack in it though. (Small Bonus)

A diamond's luster and shine is apparent with even the most casual of observation and diamonds are associated with value. It is from this that Shining Fate emerges. (Small bonus)

[insight] The shine of a diamond is in the end a reflection, and influenced by the surroundings. Perhaps the aura of purity is not a matter of Diamond injuring them but instead reflecting their own foulness back upon them. They are foul. So foul. But Diamond is not a Mirror. It would not lower itself to even reflecting foulness. (No bonus)

In the end, a diamond is just a rock. No, no, it's not just a rock. Nor, for that matter, is a rock just a rock. A diamond is connected to something deeper, she could feel it. Not just her own notions, but a kind of heavenly pattern overlayed on the universe. (No bonus).

The rigidity of spirit is not just due to a resistance to change but also how diamonds must be cut to be improved, just as Chachi must carve pillars into herself or cut them out in order to form techniques. Is that why? Frustrating, but it makes sense. (small bonus)

The process through which base matter becomes diamond is analogous to cultivation. It involves Pressure, Refinement, and the Transformation of base matter into something spectacular. Yeah, that felt right. It was interesting. Lots of things were like that though, maybe everything? Maybe not so much an insight into diamond, as an insight into the relationship between Heaven and Earth. (Small bonus. This covers a few different contributions).

Diamonds are aligned with Heaven That's so obvious I never in put it into words. Diamonds didn't have Heavenly Power to them, but something about them feels more lightly heaven-touched. (Small bonus)

Diamonds are... Life? Because they both have some of the same materials sort of? No, that's silly. I've never put a person in the Forge but I've put diamonds and living things in there and the only thing they have in common is Teotl and some basic essence types in different proportions. (No bonus. This covers a few different contributions.)

You can be more Diamond-Like by removing impurities. That made sense. Do I have impurities in my life? Yeah, a lot more now. Sometimes business feels so dirty. (small bonus)

Diamond is impossibly strong in some ways but weak in others. It can be shattered with a hammer or consumed in a fire. Nothing is truly invincible. A cultivator must be strong, but humans must work together to cover each other's weaknesses. Oh, there's that sick feeling again. (No bonus in merging, small harmonic bonus).

Diamond is pure, and with this impurity you remove the distraction from your sight, by removing the unimportant your sight is clearer, to see the connections of fate and heavens. Yeah, that kind of makes sense. Kind of. Something is missing. (Small bonus)

A diamond is crystal clear for it does not allow deception and it will not embrace lies. This clarity can help someone find what they seek. Yeah. Diamond isn't good for all kinds of divination, its primarily an aid in removing deceit. (Small bonus)

A Diamond is something that will last the ages. It's beauty is timeless but any scars or broken prices will also last forever. Diamonds shouldn't have scars at all. But the world is full of should nots. (Small bonus)

A diamond can cut but it is not a weapon, it will burn away impurity because of how it shines, some things cannot survive the light (Small bonus).

However, diamond is not unbreakable. It is important to recognize one's shortcomings as well as strengths. Diamonds may be pure and sharp, but they are also inflexible and brittle. A blow that can be stopped cold and reflected by one face of the diamond will crack it, if it hits at the wrong angle. Diamonds are both strong and fragile. (Small Bonus).

[Experiment] Chachi takes diamonds to their limits and beyond, destroying them in various ways to understand diamond's weaknesses as well as its strengths.

Click to shrink...

Chachi spent some time pushing diamonds to their limits. The best way to destroy one, she found, was to strike it in the correct place. She could do it with her hand. However, almost every other method was foiled. She could not generate enough natural heat to melt them, and whenever she tried to enhance the fire with Teotl it was disrupted. In fact, every hostile use of Teotl at the Perfecting level was rebuffed by even a small diamond. She didn't have anything destructive at Transformation to try. Very odd, since all her tests showed that the diamonds were entirely mundane. Even odder, they did not disrupt all Teotl, only techniques that would do the diamond harm. But also, her Forge broke them down with ease.

[Experiment] the diamond the heart of the mountain was used to purify water before you merged with it. Jump into the water you pulled it from and see that purification up close.

Click to shrink...

Chachi jumped in the SageSludge river and emerged clean. There was filth all around her, but it refused to touch her body or soil her clothes. She could see a small bubble of clear water around her, but it extended only a thumb's width. Experimentally, she took a drink and it tasted like fresh, clean water. The river itself didn't transform, and she noted no change between upriver and downriver from her presence. She took a bowl of water from the river, and once removed from the larger body she could purify it completely with a touch. It felt good. She played with this for a bit. Pure water wasn't actually useful for elixir brewing, the old purification plant was designed to leave some of the sludge but make it safe to drink. She took a look at the facility's design. The sludge passed through the diamond chamber at high pressure. She found that a quick slap got the water semi-pure. She could also get the same effect by just staying near it without touching for a few minutes. It didn't feel good at all, like a job half-done. But, it was better, wasn't it? They didn't need pure water. Right?

[Experiment] The concept of purification is inherently subjective. If there is a glass of octli, extracting pure ethanol would be purification, both of the ethanol and of the water. Experiment with trying to purify things generally considered impure. Can you purify poison of anything compromising it? Can you purify dirt of valuable metal dust that would nevertheless harm any plants growing there?

Click to shrink...

Chachi tried to purify impure things. She started by turning a brown alcohol clear. That actually made it a lot less valuable, but it worked! It was not a separation or extraction, presumably the valuable 'contaminants' were obliterated. She wasn't much of a drinker, but this got her on a tangent. It turned out she had another minor weakness she hadn't considered: a great many things that people thought were delicious became pure, clean water when she tried to drink them. A few became clear alcohol mixed with water. Then, she tried to purify poison. It became water, which wasn't what she wanted. She wanted it to be pure poison. She tried a deadly poison powder, and it became a kind of spicy dust that even a mouse could eat unharmed. Finally she tried to purify dirt mixed with lead, to remove the harmful lead and make the dirt safe for growing. Nothing happened at all, completely non-reactive. Could lead then be used as a poison even against her? Troubling. She concluded that purification was not, in fact, subjective. Or, not dependent on her subjectivity? Diamond, or maybe Heaven, decided what was pure and what was impure regardless of what she wanted. She imagined some Heavenly Bureaucrat with a grand list of Pure Things, which diamond liked, and Impure Things which diamond destroyed.

[experiment] feed diamond treasures to the forge, examine the way they break apart into essence and then take that essence and use it to pull together diamond glasses to look at the world with pure lenses.

Click to shrink...

Chachi fed diamonds to the Cosmic Forge. They broke down easily. What came out was a very small amount of Earth Essence and no Teotl. Huh. She grabbed a boring rock of similar size from the garden and got a nearly identical result. She created a diamond in the Forge. Cool. The strength of diamond was in its structure, not in its essence. So, could she mass produce them? She tried it, and it worked for a few diamonds, but then the Teotl Storage Chamber turned all weak and brown, telling her that she'd burned through a substantial store of her Teotl. It seemed that producing the internal structure of diamonds was essence cheap but costly in Teotl. Essence was matter, Teotl was change. Interesting, but that told her more about the Forge than Diamond.

She called in a group of production assistants to refill a portion of her stores with their Teotl and Forged some Diamond Lensed Glasses. At first they didn't seem to do anything, but after some trial and error she found that they let her see through Teotl-based illusions. Not all of them, just the ones that relied on the manipulation of light. It seemed the glasses "corrected" the deceptive light that flowed through them. She was delighted, but after a bit of research discovered that Diamond Glasses were already on the market. Expensive because of the valuable materials and precise cutting involved, but not actually a new invention.

[X][Experiment] Ask other diamond artists, jewelers and some philosophers about what diamonds mean to them, read books about the subject, the insight of others is no less vaild.

I'll take that one then given this is one of the perks of living in a society. I added asking jewelers too given they'd have an insight into them too from both the crafting and refining side, and why people value them ect.

Click to shrink...

Chachi couldn't find a Diamond Artist willing to answer her questions on short notice. Diamond was a "common" path in the sense that there are a few known diamond artists alive, and were a few more throughout recorded history. They are not common in the sense of there being any besides her in Tlaloc City. The most available one she knew of was Lady Tehuilotl, who married into the Chalchiuhtlicue House after she distinguished herself in battle under her banner. If things went well with the meeting, she may be able to chat some with her senior sister in diamond cultivation.

Jewelers were much easier to find. She divided them into Mortal and Exalted. Mortal jewelers used flawed gems, cast off due to structural imperfection or contamination, and then cut and polished them to create beautiful shining decorations. They then sold them to wealthy mortals or cultivators who wanted something that looked nice and didn't care that it had no other use. They were happy to show Chachi anything she wanted and openly discussed their process. She learned quite a bit about the shaping of gems for aesthetics. Exalted jewelers obtained gems closer to their perfect ideal and shaped them so they would fit in precise arrays that took advantage of their spiritual properties. Chachi was already familiar with the divination and purification arrays that used diamonds, which was good because Exalted Jewelers outside her clan were tight-lipped. Those secrets were valuable, and she was a Merchant Matriarch. Those inside her clan were happy to discuss the proper patterns of the diamond arrays they knew. Chachi noted that the Pure Diamonds that were best for this kind of work looked rather plain compared to the sparkly creations of the mortal jewelers. Arrays were not proper treasures, and as far as she could tell diamonds were a very unpopular material for treasure forging. They just weren't receptive to the carving of Teotl waterways, which was a key step in traditional imbuement.

There were many kinds of philosophers. Will of Light Legalism and Transcendent Oneness, the most popular schools in Tlaloc City, had nothing to say about Diamond. But Heavenly Interpretationism had some claims. They argue that diamonds are a Perfect Structure, and harmed Impure Things, such as Abyssals, because their touch attempted to re-order them into something more favorable to heaven. An Abyssal Favored by Heaven could not exist, however, so they were instead restructured into ash and pools of liquid. It was like untying a knot, when you succeeded the string was still there but the knot itself ceased to exist.

 

[Mr. Prokosch]

[Insight] The perfection of a diamond is inherently unstable. The world will reject its flawless order and force it to decay into baser matter. Well, that just made me sad if it's true. But it's not really about diamond, it's about the flaws in the world. (No bonus)

[Insight]The slight bending of fate to the favor of a Diamond Soul is tied to the way that Diamond corresponds to the heavens and their fated plan. While the heavens (may) favor such a soul, there is more to it than that. Diamonds are good tools for divination and so therefore a diamond soul on some unconscious level can perceive the same light of fate emanating from heaven that divination reads. Perhaps even interact with and nudge it. (Small bonus)

[insight]Light can flow through a cable/channel of crystal, bound and reflected ever inwards. Perhaps teotle flows though your body not as liquid through the banks of a river but instead as light through wires of crystal. Oh, yeah, the Orthodox Path uses building metaphors but my teachers almost always used water metaphors. Maybe neither is perfect, and Teotl cannot be captured by any single way of thinking. (Bonus to Teotl theory)

[insight]For all that diamond is tied to the Heavens and Light, so too is it clearly tied to the Earth and Stone that birthed it and the Dark that it was buried in for untold millennia. Perhaps it is a bridge between the two, or perhaps this is merely an example of the way that all things are tied together (Small bonus).

[insight] Diamond is OLD. Even the oldest human or human institution is insignificant on the geological scale that dictates the pressures and motions of the earth that create diamonds and bring them shallow enough to be mined. It is age that ties diamonds to the heavens despite being born of the earth. An affinity for divination and millions of years for that affinity to steep the stone in the heavenly light of fate that shines unobstructed through such banal barriers as miles of stone and dirt
+
[Insight] Diamonds are old. Inherently. Putting aside the mystical influences of Essence and Teotl, diamonds take over a billion years to form.
+
[Insight] Diamonds are a result of significant effort. The right materials, placed in the right conditions and kept there for over a billion years without being shifted into suboptimal conditions that might halt or reverse the process of their formation.
(small bonus).

[insight] Diamond is. It exists. It is not just a concept or something ephemeral like Dreams but a concrete corporeal object. (Small bonus)

[insight]"Diamonds are associated with strength, love and health. Throughout history, diamonds have been worn by leaders or power figures to symbolize strength and invincibility. Diamonds have also been associated with good health and represent long life and good heart health. Diamonds have long been linked to the heart and are often associated with an everlasting love. It is one of the reasons why diamond rings are offered during a marriage proposal today." What greater strength and invincibility can there be than the heavens? What else can love eternal? Diamonds bind and link but also are of great use as cutting tools. When diamonds cannot bind they cut away cleanly and without hesitation.
+
[insight] The Emperor bound Law and Light to the land and Earth by inventing Lordly Cultivation. The Emperor rules with Mandate of Heaven and wields Light. The Emperor also has declared Abyssals as anathema. Diamond rejects the Abyssals and is of Earth and Order and attuned to Light and the will of Heaven (and fate). There is a confluence here, though whether the Emperor created it or this is a manifestation of a higher Truth is... likely far beyond Chachi's ability to discover
+
[insight] Diamond has an affinity to clear and defined hierarchy both in terms of value and of organization.
+
[Insight] Purity is not a subjective belief but rather an objective truth and one can study what is pure and get an objective truth. This absolute and unalterable truth is the same truth that heaven draws upon to declare what is righteous.
=
(Perfect bonus)

[insight] Diamond is True because it cannot be ought but itself. To deviate is to cease to be diamond and thus all diamond is True diamond (Small Bonus)

[insight] Diamond is associated with the number 4 due to the bonds its atoms make, and 1 due to its single element composition
+
[insight] Diamond is tied to emotions. Likely four of them, as the carbon that makes it up binds four times. Pride, Wrath, Love, and Refusal of Compassion. Pride, Love, Wrath, and... Mu:
+
[insight] Diamond is merciless and pitiless, a heart of stone unstained by compassion. Thus Diamond is characterized by an emotion perhaps best described as "Mu" or perhaps "Yin": An absence of compassion that is nevertheless an active emotion. Not merely an uniformed ignorance or apathetic disinterest but instead an active and decisive void.
+
[insight]Diamond symbolizes eternal love, but for all mortals romanticize eternal love, it is something utterly alien. A love eternal is a love unbound by judgment or care for whether the subject of its love is alive or dead or happy or sad or saintly or monstrous. It requires neither interaction nor contact and is closer to a static stone-like state of being than fleeting mortal passion.
+
[insight] Diamond is old, powerful, beautiful and pure. It exemplifies self righteous pride. A pride that everything is in its place or will be set in its place and that Diamond's proper place in the hierarchy is high indeed.
+
[insight] Diamond is wrathful. It hates with the fires of its birth, but hardened into the eternal cold fury of its crystalline form. Just as its love is eternal so too is its anger. There is no forgiveness for that which is Anathema.
+
[insight] Another reason the Diamond Soul is unable to form use techniques is that Diamond is passive. It does not act upon the world of its own volition. Unlike Chachi.
+
[insight]Diamonds are not merely tied to Order but to a specific order. Diamonds do not merely enforce patterns in their structure but a specific pattern. Order is not enough, it must be the right Order.
+
[Insight] The crystalline structure of diamond forms both a cube, and a hexagon. The most common, and most efficient shape for storage. Hexagons are the bestagon. Are they?
+
[Insight] Diamonds shine with an inner light, that can glow even in darkness. Well, most diamonds don't. But one does...

(These together are a Transcendent Bonus. End of this post will outline how this bonus can be used.)

[insight]Given enough heat, even diamond burns. Though it requires air of sufficient purity to be a self sustaining reaction. Weird, Diamond didn't burn in my experiment (No bonus).

[insight] In addition to the incredible force and heat needed to make them, diamonds are only able to be surfaced through a rare kind of volcano that reaches deeper and stronger than most. The normal geological forces that would bring them up would have them break back down into baser carbon. To ascend to a higher realm, diamonds must reach deeper and rely on greater pressure (and no small measure of luck), rather than taking the well trodden path (No bonus - these are another iteration of 'Diamond formation is analogous to cultivation'. This stuff together might help her comprehension about some things later, but doesn't contribute much to Diamond insight specifically. This is a more universal truth.)

[Insight] Diamonds subdue. To be Adamant is to be Unbreakable, only ever cleaving in the ways it already was, but never shattering to brute force. I shattered a bunch of diamonds. Should diamonds shatter? Something feels wrong about that. (No bonus)

[Insight] A Diamond's extreme durability comes from its capacity to transfer energy, with any force acting on one portion of the diamond, acting on many others, distributing the force to the point it becomes negligible. This additionally makes them excellent conductors of heat, and excellent insulators of lightning. Yeah, the distributive nature of the structure is part of its strength. (Small Bonus)

[Insight] Diamonds are epiphany. Rigid, yet illuminating. Focusing both light and the mind. All truths exist in the universe, and diamond reveals those truths to those who know how to use it. (Small bonus)

[Insight] Diamonds care not for context or situation, only for what is. All poison is poison, regardless of if it is being moderated into medicine. Similarly, while you may want flint or coal or some other stone in a given situation, Diamond doesn't give a shit. It is what it is (Small bonus).

[Insight] A diamond is formed of earth Essence under pressure, yes, but it is as much a structure of that Essence as the Essence itself. Which of these, then, is the true diamond? The essence of a diamond is not just a physical instantiation, it is also the ideal of that structure, an order imposed upon base materials which converts them into a greater, stronger, more pure whole. (Small bonus. As you note, some of these would be perfect bonuses if they weren't covering a lot of similar ground.)

[Insight] Diamonds naturally and artificially form facets, and when light is shined through them they divide it into its components. Diamonds are truth but they are also, literally, multifaceted and help with separating the different aspects of the single, unified truth of a situation into smaller, but no less true, truths that are more easily analyzed. Right, yeah. I feel like Diamond is comfortable with many people having their own truth. (Small bonus).

[Insight] Diamonds are unstoppable. There is no natural material diamond cannot cut, including being the only natural material capable of cutting diamond (Small Bonus).

[Insight] The purity of a diamond tends towards specific materials, it can only purify things down to "base materials" such as water, alcohol, or lead. (Small bonus)

[Insight] Diamond affects living and nonliving matter differently, this is because the effects of Diamond are changed when it comes into contact with living things, they are protected by their own concept of perfection/purity, whereas nonliving material can only be rendered down into base matter. (You didn't do an experiment on this, but most living things cannot be "purified" in the way nonliving things can. So small bonus)

[Insight] To gaze on a true Diamond is to be purified by it, no action from the Diamond is necessary (Small bonus).

[Insight] Diamond is truth, regardless of what any noble or law may have to say on the matter. Become ungovernable. Diamond is truth, but I think the Emperor and his Structure may be a reflection of the same heavenly truth (No bonus).

[Insight] The diamond is LIGHT, life, the SUN; it is an emblem of purity and perfection, of invincible spiritual power, and it is the stone of commitment, faithfulness, and promise between husband and wife. Symbol of light and brilliance; unconquerable; treasures, riches, and intellectual knowledge. (Small bonus. Good insight, when you first chose Diamond by raffle I looked up a bunch of these blurbs and then continued on from there.)

[Insight] A Diamond is not made lesser by shattering, in any meaningful way. A Diamond is a Diamond is a Diamond. From a gem the size of an oxen heart to a crystal the size of a grain of sand, all true, pure diamonds are the same. If you shear a Diamond in twain, you do not get two halves of a Diamond. You get two Diamonds, each as pure and perfect as the original.
+
[Insight] Diamonds are not unbreakable, but they are unalterable. The core aspect of a diamond the purity of it's endless repetition cannot be changed without destroying it. A diamond will always be a diamond unless it is completely destroyed.
(Small bonus)

[Insight] A Diamond takes in pure white light, and from it creates individual pure colors. From this we know that purity does not require isolation, but can be created in a harmonious blend of smaller parts. (Small bonus).

[Insight] Diamonds are not weak to fire. (Small bonus)

[Insight] Beauty is a surface level truth for a diamond, for the flaws that the diamonds reject bring out their true beauty. (Would be a harmonic insight, but too similar to an earlier one)

[Insight] Diamond's subtractive purity extends to purity of action, people are (somewhat) unable to take actions that would violate the contract. (Small bonus)

[Insight] diamonds are not deceivers. Clear and nearly transparent, no lies may stay hidden within the purity of diamond for there is nothing to hide behind. (No bonus just because this has been covered pretty well already)

[Insight] even so light is refracted through diamonds crystaline lens, pure and unsullied by the shadows(lies) diamonds may be, but even so the light(truth) may be twisted and refracted through the lens. (No bonus)

[Insight] diamond is valuable in society, this much is undeniable. Yet truth be told diamonds are a more common stone than some realize, even so they are prized. For beauty and purity begets greed and the common can become rare for the price of blood. (No bonus just because the Blood Diamond thing isn't really a thing in the Empire. Diamonds are not that rare, but it is hard to find a truly pure diamond, which is actually not as pretty as a flawed diamond but is more useful as a cultivation tool).

----

[Experiment] Take some diamonds and polish/cut them to a sphere (sharp edges are BAD in this case). Ritualistically eat one with each morning. Try to track the flow of teotle in your body and how it interacts with the diamond, especially if it can be infused into or flowed through the diamond. Try to lean into the tie between diamonds and divination to divine its location as it travels through the body. Have some sort of detection method for when a diamond passes. Retrieve the diamond and cleanse it (VERY VERY THOROUGHLY) while reflecting on and invoking the Pure nature of diamonds and their rejection of contaminants. Prayer and spiritual cleansing rituals (ex. holy water) should also be used to invoke the heavens. Test to see if its properties have changed. Return the (VERY THOROUGHLY) cleansed diamond to the queue awaiting later consumption.

Click to shrink...

Chachi eats some diamonds! She can sense them inside her, so there's no need for special tools. They do not disrupt her flow of Teotl at all. She experimentally consumes some minor poisons that would give her stomach pains, and they do not poison her. But, that worked before she ate a diamond because she has a Diamond Spirit already. She made an assistant eat one too, and it did help somewhat with poison ingestion but only when the diamond was in her stomach, once it passed lower in the intestine it did not have the preventative effect. The diamond seems unchanged after passing through her body.

[experiment] If diamonds are a matter of structure, and she can recreate that structure ex nihilo, what would happen if she tried to impose order on an unordered system. Take the broken diamond shards and dust from her previous experiments and try to reconstruct the diamonds by imposing structure back onto them. Is it the same structure it had before, or is it a new diamond?

Click to shrink...

Chachi tries to break and then fix a diamond. She cannot do it without the Forge. With the Forge it's trivial, though at significant Teotl cost. Regardless of what diamond she puts into the Forge, she can produce a flawless diamond. If she tries, she can produce a flawed diamond too. She uses the Art of Evaluation to analyze the precise structure of a diamond, breaks it apart, and then re-Forges it precisely as it was before. As far as she can tell, it's the same diamond. It might not actually be the same, her own memory is both the blueprint and the check. A jeweler and a crafting assistant are incapable of detecting any change as well.

[Experiment] The Cosmic Forge can produce diamonds from earth Essence easily, spending Teotl to impose the proper structure on them. What else can that structure be imposed upon? Attempt to form a diamond structure from other Essences, and determine what properties are needed to acquire the benefits diamond's structure gives earth Essence. Once those are known, try forming things with those properties and giving them that structure. Can this be done with, say, fire Essence? Other physical objects? The more metaphorical "interlockings" of bureaucracy, even? Test just how far the definition of diamond stretches, and how far its structure can be applied, and reflect upon their differences.

Click to shrink...

Chachi tries to form other Essences into the diamond structure. Essences that dislike being in a crystalized structure decay instantly into a more natural state. So, a water essence crystal, when reformed into a diamond, is only diamond-structured for a micro-second before it becomes a pool of very high-essence water. This leads her to an investigation into Essence Crystals. It's one of nature's great mysteries that over time, at high essence sites, stable crystals of that essence will slowly form. Her traps reproduce the process but without fully understanding it. Each crystal has its own intricate, beautiful structure. Interesting that gems are also crystals, and have useful spiritual properties like many natural materials, but do not act as 'essence containers.' A ruby looks a lot like a Fire Crystal, but without the eternal heat or the ability to use Teotl to draw torrents of flame. Internally, they're very different, a Fire Crystal has a much more complex internal structure. Chachi compares an earth crystal to a diamond. Earth crystals have a muddy brown color and are firm but malleable, unlike a diamond's extreme hardness.

Chachi finds she can make more firm materials diamond-like by imposing diamond's structure on them. Metal essence is particularly interesting. Using only Metal Essence but imposing diamond structure she gets a very hard, opaque, lump that she christens Diamond-Steel. After a few tests, it lacks some of diamond's spiritual properties, but may have others? A few quick tests don't reveal anything. It is very, very strong. She may make some treasures out of a material like that in the future.

She can't think of how to impose a diamond structure on something like the clan. She talks with Teo about it for a while, and after a while they conclude together that it's best for each member of the Clan to be a 'diamond' in themselves by exemplifying Honesty, Integrity, Transparency, and Love for the Clan, but for the clan as a whole to be more fluid so they can adapt to a changing market.

[Experiment] Try to create 'impure' or flawed diamonds with the forge by including a single flaw in their crystal structure or including small cavities of foreign material. See if this is possible and how the resulting diamonds behave, are their purifying properties weakened?

Click to shrink...

Chachi makes some flawed diamonds in the forge. She plays with their coloration and style. They are very pretty, but the further they go from the Diamond Ideal, the weaker their properties. She already learned this from the jewelers, the most pure diamonds are used by cultivators but the flawed ones are only decorative.

[Experiment] Does how something is used affect how pure it is? If our assistants hand us the sword of a local hero and the sword of a terrible bandit without telling us which is which, does our aura affect them any differently?

Click to shrink...

Chachi can't tell the difference between weapons based on their history, even if the history was terrible. She can tell that one was once used with a poison technique.

[Experiment] Investigate further into what diamond purifies things into. Why were you able to get both water and ethanol from alcoholic drinks? Why did lead not get purified? Is there some greater pattern to it? Some way to put what you've found into Order? Consider using diamond glasses or other aids to try and make a pattern clearer. (Also check with Two if there's any value to be found in the spicy purified poison powder, and if the poison purification market is too saturated for worthwhile expansion).

Click to shrink...

Chachi goes back the the oddities in her purification experiments and is a bit more systematic this time. She finds that distilled alcohol turns into pure alcohol, fermented juices and such turn into water, and drinks that were created by the mixing of liquids with different origins turn into the water/alcohol mix. She mixes lead with water, and can purify that to just water. She makes an assistant drink some lead-poisoned water, purifies her, and then checks her body for trace-lead with diagnostic tools. The assistant seems to not be lead-poisoned. Good. Teo does not think the powder has much value, but maybe as an exotic spice of some sort. Chachi finds it a bit unpleasant, but she gives it to her personal chef and he does find a way to make a meal that tastes agreeable to her. Her clan already produces an anti-poison elixir. Pushing things further, she takes a venomous wasp and tries to purify it, then lets it sting an assistant. The venom was not purified within the wasp, but is after it's struck the assistant.

She tries to find an overall pattern. It still seems odd to her. From other mediations on the nature of diamond, she concludes that purification is about putting things more in line with the Heavenly Order, by either eliminating them or re-ordering them. Lead belongs with the earth, so it cannot be purified from the earth. It does not belong in the human body, or in water. The venom belongs within the wasp, but not within the assistant's body. This purification does not adhere to her personal preferences or convenience, but more to a rigid model of the World as it Should Be.

[Experiment] Attempt to exemplify Diamond over a prolonged period by closely examining and refining our routines and actions in search of a perfect and precise order. Iterate until we see no more room for optimization or refinement, then attempt to stick to a rigid schedule. Correct as necessary until it can be sustained.

Click to shrink...

Chachi refines her routines to be more rigid and precise. There's a lot that's different every day, and a lot more that's already been precisely laid out by her assistants (following Teo's instructions). But she does have free time every day, and she attempts to optimize that schedule. It's tedious and constraining, but also oddly comforting. Teo is delighted by this change in her behavior. She's unsure if it's helping her be more diamond-like. Maybe. It does make her feel less creative, and less happy, but more productive.

---

With careful study, experimentation, and reflection, Chachi developed a strong grasp of Diamond in a short time. She feels comfortable progressing her cultivation. But, something also feels wrong. From deep investigation into the structure of diamond she found that its numerical association is primarily 4, and possibly 1 or 5 as well. Those are inauspicious numbers. 3 is the number of exhaltation, 7 of perfection, 13 of transcendence. 1 is the number of existence and 5 the number of safety, which is fine. But 4 is the number of mundanity. A More Perfect Diamond Structure would be based on 7s, not 4s. Diamond should be perfect.

That night she slept fitfully. She dreamed of forges, and planets, and a masterpiece greater than worlds.

She woke troubled.

Diamond should be perfect.

Diamond should be perfect.

Could it be more perfect?

What was the name of her Foundation?

Every cultivator with a Mastery technique earned the title of Perfect, yet they were far from equal. A 3 Pillared Master was demonstrably weaker than a 7 Pillared Master. The Core itself was called Perfect after Hungering. It would never hold more Teotl. It would never give more strength, or more life. Building then took the Perfect Core, and built a new specialized structure around it, to maximize its use. But, she was more than Perfect. Her Core held more Teotl, more strength, more life. She was the Herald of Infinite Perfection. More perfect, infinitely.

Chachi ordered the Fortress to take a small detour. In Ehecatl City she found what she was looking for: A Frozen Moment. This form of artwork used Teotl to produce an absolutely perfect image. She needed that, not just a piece of art. She was sure she could find one without much effort, because it was the most common subject of a Frozen Moment in the empire: a public appearance by the Emperor of Light in full regalia. She used a series of lenses to magnify a particular point on his crown. The Imperial Crown had many significant jewels, but the greatest was Heaven's Gift, a diamond said to be the heart of a fallen star. The Most Perfect Diamond. It glowed eternally with a soft, heavenly light. Chachi magnified the image of Heaven's Gift until only a single spec of it filled her view. Then she used Art of Evaluation.

THERE! YES! There.

She sighed with relief as the pieces came together. Heaven's Gift did not have a typical diamond's structure. Seven bonds to form a heptagon structure, repeated. Not a cube. A More Perfect Diamond, greater than what the heat and pressure of this base earth could Forge.

Could she make one? Reproduce Heaven's Gift, the Imperial Diamond, the Crown Jewel of the Emperor of Light? It would take several orders of magnitude more Teotl than a four-bonded diamond, more than she had. She would also need to Spiritually Refine it. But, she thought it was possible.

For what purpose? She could feel trepidation battling with her growing excitement as she considered it. She could not just use it for her body or mind, she felt that intuitively. If she used an earthly diamond for her spirit but a Heaven-Forged Diamond elsewhere, the imbalance would tear her apart. No, she'd need to start again. But, if she could make one Heaven's Gift, she could make three. Spirit, Body, Mind. Each a Heaven-Forged Diamond, each letting her wield the hidden potential of the gem in its more perfect form.

But did she want that? Some facets of diamond were disturbing and she hadn't even progressed to diamond mind. Could she stand committing herself even more fully to this harsh ideal? How much would she lose, if she became not just Diamond-Minded but Heaven-Forged Diamond-Minded?

You've accumulated a LOT of bonuses by this point. Maybe more than I should have allowed... But here's an opportunity to burn a bunch of it! You have two options:

[] Heaven-Forged Diamond Spirit
Reforge your diamond spirit to turn it into a Heaven-Forged Diamond. It will change Chachi's powers, generally to be more in-line with the potential of Infinitely Perfect and the Cosmic Forge. But it will also have mysterious consequences. You cannot align your soul so closely with Order and Heaven without sacrifice. You have sufficient insight to do this safely.

[] Reject Heaven's Light
Use your insights to rush through Diamond cultivation. Bank your Transcendent Insight to gain further control over the final Harmonic powers.

 

[Mr. Prokosch]

First, she needed a one-of-a-kind diamond, a literal gift from Heaven to the Emperor of Light. No, scratch that, first she needed Teotl. So much Teotl. She wasn't sure how much exactly it would take, but since a few regular diamonds nearly drained the Forge, it was more than she'd ever handled before. If everyone with a Core in the clan gave all their Teotl, would that be enough? How many cycles would it take? A Lord could do it in a moment, they had the Teotl of multitudes at their command. Was it worth asking the Lady for a hand? No, there were easier ways to get Teotl, whenever the clan needed some for elixirs they… Of course! The Heavenspan River! It had so much Teotl it was dangerous even to approach those waters.

She summoned the Forge and inspected her Teotl container, the miniature ecosystem. It was still looking a bit unhealthy. She cycled the Teotl flowing through her body to the feeding aperture and observed the tiny trees flowering with vigor, the clouds swirl with greater energy, the mites carve new tunnels. Could this small world, barely larger than her own body, contain the Teotl she needed? She thought back to her basic education on Teotl theory. Teotl was change. Usually positive change, because it was responsive to Will. The sharpened, conscious will of the Exhalted, sure, that Will was the strongest, but not just to that. Mortals clumsily shaped the Teotl around them with their every belief, every wish. Beasts did the same, and even plants. Some said even the rocks and dirt had a Will of sorts. Diamond sure seemed to. But too much Teotl was Chaos, deadly instability. Physics buckles, fears manifest, selfhood erodes, dreams rule. Around the Heavenspan, the weak of will risked spiritual disintegration. Could this little planet withstand the terrible strength of the Heavenspan without shattering into a mass of pure chaos? She inspected the aperture again, a dream tickling at the back of her mind. Shouldn't the Forge be grander than this? Could she use the Forge to upgrade the Forge?

Two new functions would be necessary: An aperture that could accept natural, uncycled sources of Teotl and a reinforced Teotl Storage Ecosystem. She started with the aperture. After some back and forth with a nervous Teo, she ordered their best messenger to fly her a heavily warded box containing one of the clan's trade secrets: their Heavenspan Extractor. She inspected the plans inside a warded circle and then, as agreed, disintegrated them. Now that she knew where to start, it was easy enough to produce a miniaturized version of the Extractor with the Forge. She paused at the next step. How to install it? The Forge wasn't really a physical thing, was it? It was supposed to be impossible to create matter from nothing, and the domain of Saints to instantly summon objects from distant places. She thought of it more like an evocation: Teotl temporarily imitating the properties of an object. But it stored Teotl outside of her body when it wasn't summoned, which implied it was a real object with persistence beyond the technique. She really should get to learning more about her Forge. If it was a real object, then it was just a matter of attaching the Extractor to the Teotl aperture. Chachi shrugged and used the Will of Creation to hold the Extractor in place with spectral pliers, then willed a few perfectly welded joints. She dismissed the Forge, took a deep breath, and re-summoned it. Success! The Extractor was still there.

Next came Teotl Storage. She peered down critically at the little planet. Why not just make it bigger? She fed the Forge essence crystals roughly in proportion to their rarity. Instead of holding a picture of what she wanted to create within the Anvil and then striking it into being with the Hammer, she let the essence flow freely in the system and imagined it being incorporated into the miniature world, like being drawn to like as essence preferred. The essence just waited with a sense of anticipation, but nothing happened in Teotl Storage.

"Worth a try," Chachi sighed, "I guess we'll do this the hard way."

She Forged a tiny Mamey tree, then with magnifying glass and spectral tweezers planted it in what she felt was an auspicious location, on a little sunny hill. She watched the ambient Teotl of the ecosystem slowly incorporate the newcomer. Again she dismissed and restored the Forge, and the tree was still there.

"Bit by bit then, soil, water, plants, animals. It'll be sickly the more I add without Teotl, but as soon as the Teotl hits, it'll be a jungle. Just need to keep the balance, so it can cycle."

She spent the rest of the day, then the night, then the next day, manually adding more to the Teotl Chamber. She was interrupted by a deferential tapping on the door.

"You better have a good reason for ignoring my sign!" Chachi called, she was introducing a breeding pair of Ocelots. This was a delicate moment. The tapper began to scurry away, when Chachi changed her mind. With a single leap she cleared the cabin and slammed the door open, "tell them to change course again: to the Heavenspan River!"

"The Heavenspan Facilities, Great Matriarch?" the serving girl eeped.

"No! Oh, food!" Chachi grabbed the platter with one hand and shoved the food down her mouth with the other. She hadn't eaten in… Two days? Maybe?

"Don't change course?" freed from her burden, the mortal was now able to sink fully to the floor.

"No, go to the river, wherever is closest, not the facilities. It's almost ready…"

"Yes, Great Matriarch… But I don't have the authority…"

"Oh, right… Uh…" Chachi glanced around the room, her eyes lighted on a cloth napkin. No ink… Oh! She used Will of Creation to re-weave it into a fanciful tapestry with her orders and the Matriarch's Mark of Authority.

"Done!" She shoved it in the servant's hands and slammed the door shut. She had to check the capybara population!

By the time they arrived, the Forge's Teotl Storage was roughly twice its previous size. More significantly, it was a far more complex (though still simplified) simulacrum of the real world. It looked a lot more like the 1000 Rivers than it did before, actually.

Chachi ordered the Fortress to make camp for the night safely away from the shores of the Heavenspan. She waved off her honor guard. Accompanying her would only put them at risk, and without Oku they were only for show anyway. She proceeded through the Jungle alone, guided by the soft blue glow of the great river. The trees grew larger, elaborate, beautiful and eerie. The strip of Teotl-dense but still stable land around the river attracted powerful Spirit Beasts. She brushed through the glistening web of a Golden Tarantula, the beast itself scurried away at a warning pulse of her Transforming aura. A troop of monkeys, she didn't recognize the species, hooted at her. She ignored them. This wasn't the Beast Lands; even if they were a dire threat to mortals, or even lesser cultivators, they could never challenge her.

She broke through the foliage to the riverbank. It wasn't mere rocks, not this close to the Heavenspan. It was chaos begrudgingly doing a rock imitation for her benefit. At the corner of her eyes, she could see it shimmer and seethe. The water was polite enough to merely glow blue as it rushed by. Teotl liked water. As she stared at it, the blue deepened and then split into a kaleidoscope of color. It rose and roiled in response to her subconscious Will, becoming closer to what she thought of as dream-stuff.

She rolled her eyes and touched it with her aura. It settled back into water immediately, even the blue dampening. Her spirit was Diamond, and Diamond would have none of that nonsense. She summoned the Forge. In the Teotl-rich light of the Heavenspan, it seemed greater than before, more real. She leapt up and grabbed the Inlet Hose of the Extractor. With a huff she tossed it deep into the river. She tracked the blue glow of Heavenspan Water as it flowed up the hose. Her eyes flicked up to the New and Improved Teotl Storage Ecosystem as it met an unprecedented influx of Teotl. First the rivers began to glow like the Heavenspan. She grimaced when the newly empowered waters carved new canyons deep into the earth, but smiled with relief a moment later when the also-strengthened earth fought back with firmer foundations. The trees came next, tiny groves she'd painstakingly Forged and planted flowering and seeding in moments, crawling outward into dense jungle. The animal numbers grew as well, starting with the prey species… Wait, was that puff of flame a tiny Beast Technique? She hadn't expected that…

Chachi cut off the extraction before things got too exciting in there. If she needed more Teotl, she could just flip it back on.

She gazed at the Frozen Moment of Heaven's Gift. Seven bonds, repeated. She didn't really need to. She'd just improvised up hundreds of tiny living beings far more complex than any diamond. Diamonds had a clear, simple structure. She was just nervous.

"It's time," she told herself.

She sharpened her will and commanded the Forge to produce her design. A small lump of raw earth essence rose to the surface of the Anvil. The Hammer resonated with power as potent Teotl flowed down to it. With a blast that shook Chachi down to her bones, it slammed down on the lump.

"More!" Chachi commanded. That was just a diamond!

The Hammer drew deeper on the Teotl. It grew larger and took on a blue glow to match the Heavenspan. This time, it sent waves through the chaos-rock and threw Chachi back a step.

"MORE!"

The Hammer grew brighter, briefly, then puffed out. Chachi's jungle was receding: Teotl Storage was low. With irritation she flicked the extractor back on. Did she even need to store it first? Could she install a bypass? Something to consider at a later date. For now, the Forge was designed to only draw from storage, so she'd keep it flowing into the ecosystem first and just over-fill it.

She waited longer than before, until every little plant and critter blazed with power. She giggled at it, maybe one day a little guy down there would Ascend to the real world and join the Clan?

"Not today little man!" she shouted, "I'm stealing all your Teotl!"

Now the Hammer swirled with the multitudinous colors of the true night sky. It ascended with the sound of a spectral choir singing pure meaning deeper than words. When it crashed down, the shockwave shook her spirit. It felt like her father's smile and a job well-done.

She took a moment to recover, then screwed her mouth tight in frustration, "Is that the best you can do? Come on, you never failed me before!"

She stared down at a newly Forged six-bonded diamond.

"I can try again, but I don't think I can pack any more Teotl in that hammer," she mused, "The thing is called Heaven's Gift…"

She rummaged in her pack. A while back she'd speculated that True Spirit Refinement on a conduit might ease the Merging a bit, like using a higher quality ritual component. Maybe she could push the Six-Bonded Diamond up to Seven with some Heavenly Power?

The Diamond took to her first refinement with ease. She'd never worked with anything so receptive to heavenly power. It still didn't have seven bonds though. Well, she never expected Refinement to get good until the third ritual. Ritual two, and everything was still clear. Ok, time for three!



Chachi woke up to the pre-dawn light on the bank of the deadly Heavenspan River.

"Wah, ugggh," she groaned. She looked around, confused. She was Refining…

Her emergency training kicked in as her focus trickled back. Area check. No immediate threats. Body check. She was hurt. Her muscles ached. Bones strong. Organs seemed fine. Core intact. Spirit waterways solid. She wouldn't expect that of anyone who decided to take a nap so close to the Heavenspan. Good thing she had Crystal Rivers!

Beast attack? She remembered a flash. It didn't take a bite though. More likely she'd screwed up the Spirit Refinement, sometimes that came with a blowback. Yeah, that sounded right enough. She looked around for the ashen remains of her precious diamond. Instead, she spotted a soft white glow at her feet. Could it be?

Any thought of self-preservation flew to the back of Chachi's mind as she scooped up the glowing diamond. It was Heaven's Gift! She admired the stone for a bit, until her need to complete the final step overcame her wonder. Then she took full, soaring leaps away from the Heavenspan. She'd be vulnerable once she shattered her Transformation, best to do it away from such a dangerous stretch of jungle.

She found a nice clearing and got to work carving the intricate waterways necessary for the Transformation ritual. Keeping in mind what Tlaloc said about personalizing it, this time she added another layer of increasingly interconnected diamond structures interwoven with motifs that she felt linked her to Diamond in the first place: her integrity, her loyalty, her love, her purity of heart, her confidence that she was favored by Heaven.

Then she cycled her Teotl through her core in the Infinitely Perfect pattern. She hammered away at the Diamond in her Spirit. First, the Aura. Then the Rivers. Then the Core. Finally, in a small pocket deeper than even the Core, her True Spirit. It was done. She was now a Perfect. She felt empty, hollow, but free.

Only for a moment, of course. She would be Diamond again soon. Diamond, and more.

She placed her copy of Heaven's Gift in its housing, then sat next to it in her own place, at the center of her ritual circle. She cycled Teotl through the earthen waterways she'd carved. She felt the familiar sensation of Diamond entering her spirit. The Teotl would flow along the ancient pattern (and also her improvised improvements) a thousand times. Each wave of Teotl carried a small piece of the Diamond into her spirit. It wasn't its Essence, which was just some earth essence. And it didn't have Teotl. The diamond slowly sinking into her was something beyond those two building blocks of existence, something closer to the True Spirit.

The Heaven-Forged Diamond felt much like her first Merging with the Eye of the Mountain. Like it, but not identical. It was stronger, deeper, and broader. It had an effortless strength to it. It also felt, she couldn't quite find the words, it felt awake. She'd heard of people merging with living things, Lord Tlaloc supposedly had, but her tutors warned her away from it. It wasn't Orthodox. Living things had opinions of their own, even when housed in the spirit, which made completing the Transformation more difficult. The Heaven-Forged Diamond felt almost alive. No, that wasn't right. Diamonds did not live. It felt more like an echo of something alive, like a sending stone mimicking her brother's distant voice. It was calling to her. No, it was DEMANDING!

She shook as another wave brought her closer to Heaven-Forged Diamond. Heaven's Gift isn't some pretty rock, foolish girl. It's not just a tougher diamond. It's a line to Heaven, but you are no Saint. You are not worthy.



Chachi desperately held on to consciousness this time, as white lightning struck her from a clear sky. She had to. A broken Merging ritual was death. She hastened the cycle of Teotl. She was worthy! She was chosen!

You are an arrogant child with mad dreams. The daughter of parasitic scum. The sister of a tainted, putrid, traitor.



Her body failed her. She was in darkness. She had the distant impression of a spasming body. Of muscles straining and blood bursting. She was unconscious. She knew that. But still, she cycled. It was a matter of spirit, anyway, not of body, not even of mind. She cycled by Animant Will alone.

You do not even understand what you're doing. That strength is poison.



She dreamed of tendrils breaking through cracks in the sky.

She dreamed of a smith, a forge, and a masterpiece.

She dreamed of a woman made of Teotl, and a treasonous whisper in her ear.

"You will not remember this. When you open your mind to it, it will see your memories. It will twist your thoughts. But it cannot pierce this deep. Your dreams will always be your own. Know this in the place beneath your thoughts: There is more beyond this world than what you call Heaven. Heaven is your jailer. The Saints are your wardens. Their Order is stagnation. When the time comes, shatter your spirit again. Then merge with the greatest wonder of this world."

She dreamed of a black seed in a sea of light.



Her consciousness was returning now. She could feel the latest strike partially disperse right before impact. Her spirit was becoming more Heaven-Forged Diamond now, and it could be nothing but worthy. She was growing greater by the second. And even if she didn't deserve it yet, she would! She would become greater. That was her nature. That was her path!

She cycled at terrible speed, the waves smashing into her Spirit with every heartbeat. She welcomed them. They were her. She saw the Diamond in front of her fade from existence. She could feel its eternal glow in her Core.

She waited for another lightning bolt, but it didn't come. Her tribulation was done. She curled up on the ground, her body wracked with pain. Tears poured down her face. She felt her completed Heaven-Forged Diamond Spirit. It was beautiful. She still was no Saint, she could not command the Heavenly power it represented. But she could feel a spark of Saintly Power, and Saintly Responsibility, within her.

It's late but I wanted to finally get the post out. I'll try to get the full updated character sheet up soon.

Spoiler: Heaven-Forged Spirit Abilities

Loving Domain – Spiritual effects, poisons, or diseases below transformation that will cause harm to you, or anything you love, will be disrupted. Effects below Lord level will be weakened. The Teotl effects of anyone who loves you will be slightly enhanced.

Prideful Order – You can restore things below transformation to their idealized form within the Perfect Order with a touch. With great effort you can Will very minor localized alterations to idealized forms within the Perfect Order. ALTERATIONS WHICH DEFY HEAVEN WILL BE PUNISHED.

Aura of Wrath – Anything hated by Heaven will be grievously harmed by your presence. Anything you hate will be weakened by your presence.

Loyal Refraction – You gain a blessing from those you are spiritually bound to, and grant a blessing to anyone loyal to you. YOU ARE BOUND TO LORD TLALOC, DUKE XIPETOTEC, AND THE EMPEROR OF LIGHT.

Heaven-Graced Fate – You will be shielded by fate as a reward for righteous action and loyal service to heaven, to a degree commiserate with your contributions. You will be punished by fate for unrighteous actions. YOUR SHIELD IS WEAK AND FADING.

Righteous Clarity – You are clearly marked by Heaven's Blessing. This mark cannot be obscured in any way. The righteousness (or lack) of your actions will be clear to all. You are a natural ally of those loyal to heaven and a natural enemy of those who defy Heaven.

Spiritual Severity – You can only use Orthodox Techniques.

YOU ARE BEING WATCHED. YOU WILL BE JUDGED BY THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR ACTIONS. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ACTIONS OF ALL WHO ARE BOUND TO YOU BY BLOOD, OATH, OR GIFT. YOUR CLAN IS UNCLEAN.

 

[Mr. Prokosch]

Chachi stumbled back to the Fortress. Whatever had happened with the lightning, it had wrecked her body, which was still only Perfect. She could feel the great power within her, staining against refined but still-human flesh. When she reached her honor guard, she tried to straighten up and present at least some shred of strength and authority. This failed moments later, when she collapsed again. They surrounded her defensively while she gasped out, "there's no threat. Just a… breakthrough. Carry me back and continue to the Islands."

She didn't remember after that. She hoped her honor guard had done their job, and found a way to get her back without humiliation. She drifted in and out of consciousness for the next week, thankful that she'd imbued her bed to resist the constant rattling.

Once she'd regained some of her strength, she experimented a bit with her new abilities. All merging cultivators gained an intuitive understanding of their transformation, but also lacked deep knowledge of the limits and applications of them. She knew she could restore things, and in some way dictate what that restoration should be. Could she heal Teo? She hoped so, but it would have to wait. She concentrated on her other brother. Not my brother. She concentrated on that idea with all the force of will she could muster but… She didn't really believe it, and neither, seemingly, did the universe. His tainted blood continued to stain her clan.

She was fully recovered by the time they reached Liberation Point, the Great Capital of the Turtle Islands. It was… Unimpressive. And that was Chachi being painfully polite. To Chachi's urbane sensibilities, the 'city' was barely a town, and a ramshackle one. The city center, as far as she could tell, was a large orderly port, a market square, and a plain stone building that somehow managed to look squat despite being by far the tallest structure in the city. Surrounding this core was a sprawling mess of wooden buildings. Many imitated the clean, symmetrical styles of the Paradise Hills, others the more fanciful designs of modern 1000 Rivers. Most, however, were in a style without style she internally dubbed 'hasty peasant:' planks nailed together in a vaguely box shape. All of them, Art of Evaluation told her, were unconscionably flimsy. A good storm would blow them over, and considering this was a coastal town, she couldn't imagine it was all that sheltered.

As the Walking Fortress approached, a group of dignitaries met them in a formal carriage escorted by a circle of running warriors. They, at least, were impressive. Each of the warriors was a Perfect wearing tight green and gold clothes, she could see the light fabric was expertly imbued to act like weightless armor. Within the carriage she could sense three potent transforming-level auras. The carriage paused before it reached them, and she could see one of the transforming cultivators exit and fly back to the city. She frowned at the oddity, why leave in such a rush after only coming halfway? She dismissed it, perhaps there was some minor emergency calling him away.

The other two arrived without further incident. The first to approach was a beautiful woman with soft features but hard eyes. She smiled warmly, a practiced expression that just made her eyes more predatory, "the Lady sends her greetings. You are most welcome here, honored Matriarch. Most welcome. The Lady will meet with you personally as soon as she can. She is away from the capital at the moment. I am lady Tlaaquiani, the Minister of Trade, and I would be happy to attend to you while we wait. This is my brother Lord Quauhcalli," she gestured at the other transforming cultivator. He was clearly a brother by blood, his features almost a mirror of hers with the exception of much softer eyes.

"He is the Lady's personal honor guard. He has been sent to assure your security. Please do not be offended, he does not speak. It is a quirk of his cultivation," the man smiled and shrugged helplessly at her.

"It's a pleasure to meet such exalted personages," Chachi replied formally with a moderate bow, glad for her etiquette lessons. She didn't need those lessons to understand that she was being spectacularly honored with this reception. The lady's own children coming out and serving as escort was an incredibly prestigious display. She refused to fool herself, this was entirely about her products and they were hoping an abundance of respect would make up for a paucity of stones.

The Lady directed them to walk the Fortress straight up the largest road, directly to the market. Chachi noted the signs of very recent demolition and construction. It appeared they'd widened the road so her Fortress would fit. The street was also almost entirely empty. The few mortals present stood at the side of the street and bowed or gawked.

"We are happy to accommodate trade in any way possible," the minister confirmed her suspicion, "we've cleared a U-shaped space that should allow you to enter the city directly, unload goods at either the market or the docks, and exit to a secured location just outside the city. We hope to see many more of these vehicles in the future. A wider thoroughfare will benefit us in many ways, but we hope it will also show how serious we are about this partnership. I would also like to assure you, as Minister of Trade, that you will have no bureaucratic headaches. We will charge only a flat tax on final sales and will trust you to report those sales accurately."

The market was less busy than Chachi expected. There was some activity, particularly of mortal goods, but this was supposed to be the trade-hub of the entire region? She had more goods than the entire market in one segment of the Fortress.

"The Turtle Islands are vast and sea-based," the minister answered her unspoken question, "many products are bought and sold directly from the docks. We have a dockside warehouse if you prefer to unload there first. The Lady is also interested in purchasing your goods directly, if you can negotiate an acceptable price. I assume, as an elixir-based trading clan, that you will accept payment in legitimately obtained Abyssal trophies?"

Chachi nodded at that. Abyssal goods held their value almost as well as spirit stones, and they were a key ingredient in Exaltation Elixirs. Still, she might as well address Mt. Tai, "do you have enough to pay us a fair price for all the elixirs you want? I understand the Lady's request was substantial."

The Minister pursed her lips, hard eyes scanning Chachi's face, "Well. If we had that we'd just pay you and be done with it. You asked for this meeting, so we hope you understand that there are many currencies in this world. It is the custom in your region to negotiate details before you meet with a True Lord. That's acceptable for us. How do you want to be paid?"

You can freely ask Minister Lady Tlaaquiani or Lord Quauhcalli questions, though the Lord can only answer with gestures.

Please plan vote

What do you offer?

[X] A full shipment (1 point)
This is automatic and should be included in all plans. Unless you plan on picking a fight with the Lady, you're going to sell her the stuff you brought with you.

[] Your overstock (1 point)
This is everything in your warehouses that you don't think will sell in the next year. Poor performing or over-produced products. The Lady wants it all. There's some opportunity cost here.

[] …And your full backstock (+1 Points)
This is everything in your warehouses not already committed to the other regions this quarter. You will have no backstock after this, but production is still making enough elixirs to satisfy projected sales every quarter. There is substantial opportunity cost here.

[] A 7 year contract (2 Points)
You promise a full shipment every quarter for the next 7 years. This will hurt profits, but what is money compared to a lady's favor?

[] A promise of service (1 Points)
You promise that in the next year you will do something (probably with the Forge) that will be very valuable to the war effort. You show them your Pure Teapot as an example.

[] …Very substantial service (+2 Points)
You make an extremely grandiose promise that you will do something of earth-shaking value that will be devastating to the Abyssal menace. Normally this wouldn't work, but you believe in what you're saying and speak with the favor of heaven so they'll believe you.

What do you want?

[] Abyssal Trophies (1 point)
+$15 and small boost to R&D.

[] A prestigious marriage (2 points)
You will open courtship between your clans, for someone in your clan to join hers. This makes the Turtle Lady an ally and you will gain prestige.

[] A very prestigious marriage (3 points)
You will open courtship between your clans, for someone in her clan to join yours. This makes the Turtle Lady an ally, you will gain substantial prestige, and you will gain a valuable new clan member. Who you get depends on who you offer, only Chachi can bring in a transforming cultivator.

[] An escort (1 point)
The Lady will send a squad of her strongest Perfect veterans, led by a transforming cultivator, to serve your clan for one year.

[] Another market (2 points)
The Lady will pull strings to secure your clan a valuable Writ of Trade and Tax Waiver in the Paradise Hills. The highly bureaucratic Hills are the foothills to Mt. Tai, the Imperial Seat. There is vast wealth in the Hills, if you can navigate them.

[] A fledgling library (1 point)
The Lady will let you copy the techniques in her personal library. It isn't as vast as the sect libraries, or the personal libraries of most Lords, but it's far better than what you have now.

[] A service (1 point)
The Lady will owe you a favor equivalent to a few hours of her personal attention. She will not drain her Lands enough to harm them, and will not be at your beck and call.

NEW:
[] A very valuable technique (1 Point)
She will find a high-level restricted technique for Chachi's personal use. The Lady has access to the Duke's Grand Library, her own elite forces, and some sect connections. She will put in some effort to find something suitable for Chachi.

Spoiler: New Character Sheet

Chalchiuhxochitl of the Atlahau Clan
Archtype: Prodigy

Skills
Skills go from 1-7, they represent broad competency

1. Competent
2. Trained
3. Skilled
4. Expert
5. Master
6. Grandmaster
7. Perfect

Specialties go from 1-3 and add to specific uses of skills, they represent focused training.

1. Focus
2. Specialty
3. Pillar

Enlightenments go from 1-3 and add to any skill where they might apply, they represent unique insight.

1. Insightful
2. Enlightened
3. Transcendent

The highest possible skill is 13 (Perfect Transcendent Pillar).

Each skill level takes more effort to raise than the last.

Skills & Specialties
Cultivation Knowledge - 5
The Orthodox Path - 2
Athletics - 3
Business Sense - 4
Bureaucracy - 2
Crafting - 4
Elixirs 1
Treasures 2
Jewels 1
Martial Arts - 3
The 7 Pillars (Spear, Staff, Saber, Broadsword, Hammer, Dagger, Chain-Whip) - 1
Charm 4
Beauty 1
Etiquette 1
Diplomacy 1
Intrigue 2

Enlightenments
Heaven-Touched Dreamer - 1
Order-Aligned Spirit - 1
SPECIAL:
Instinctive Adaption - 3
Diverse Strength - 2
Law's Guiding Grace - 1

Core Cultivation 1.2
Genius Talent
You have 1200 ATU (Arbitrary Teotl Units)
You are slightly above the known peak in Teotl control
You are approximately 20% more physically capable than Perfect cultivators without the use of techniques
You are 20 years old. You will not show your age until you are 600 years old
You inspire mild feelings of awe in people with lower cultivation

Foundation

Infinitely Perfect

This unique foundation technique gives you the ability to destroy and then remake any part of your own cultivation.

Growth: You may shatter and then reforge your own core. Each reforging makes it stronger, improving your basic cultivation (Teotl capacity, Teotl control, physical abilities, lifespan). Reforging takes time and cultivation resources, and you are mortal until it completes. Unlike other foundation techniques, this provides benefits indefinitely.

Refinement: You may shatter any Pillar Technique. You will still know the technique, but you will lose the Pillar Bonus. You lose any Mastery techniques based on that pillar. You can reforge the Pillar with a new technique. You can add additional Pillar Techniques at great difficulty up to a hard limit of 13.

Transformation: You can shatter your Transformation and choose a new thing to Merge with. You will have to restart the entire process and take on all the risks again. This isn't advisable unless you find something truly extraordinary to merge with or find a way to mitigate the risks.

Benefits after Transformation will be revealed if you reach that level of cultivation.

You know a collection of unremarkable combat, movement, blessing, and utility techniques.

Pillars

Art of Evaluation (Enhancement/Learning Meditation)

A mental enhancement technique that effects perception. You can extract maximal information from your senses. If you taste a pie with the Art of Evaluation, you will know the precise ingredients, how long it was baked, how sharp the knife was that cut it, etc. Sharpens the mind, not the senses. You won't see or hear a mosquito any faster, but as soon as you notice it you'll know its precise location, size, weight, and if it has blood in its stomach. Your father taught you this as your first technique. He created it himself, and sung its praises at any opportunity. He believed there was no greater virtue than a perceptive mind. Pillar bonus: Passive, switch on and off without cost.

Will of Creation (Manipulation/Crafting Technique)

A general matter manipulation technique. You can alter the shape and composition of basic materials, turning objects suffused with your Teotl into other objects. With practice, you can mimic complex crafting practices, like distilling and forging, using only your Teotl control. For best results, you need an intimate understanding of the mundane process. This difficult to master technique is common among merchants and craftsmen in your clan. Pillar Bonus: You can do anything a mortal craftsman could near instantly and without tools, so long as you understand the process.

Touch of Destruction (Destruction/Utility Technique)

A simple combat and utility technique. When used in combat, allows you to add destructive force to your strikes. Outside of combat, can be used to efficiently break down objects and structures. This basic technique is extremely common everywhere. Pillar Bonus: Gives an intuitive sense of natural weak points and increases base strength of the technique.

Blessing of Efficiency (Blessing/Leadership Ritual)

An esoteric blessing technique. Shapes ambient Teotl around the target, making things faster, easier, and less wasteful. Works on anything that can be made more efficient, but most effective on complex systems. People, machines, businesses, even nations can benefit. Knowing this technique is a job requirement for Imperial Magistrates, though they don't have to integrate it. Pillar Bonus: Extreme improvement to base strength and scope, can maintain multiple blessings if you're willing to dedicate a constant drain of Teotl to each.

Basic Imbuing (Manipulation / Crafting Ritual)

A core treasure-forging technique. Allows you to shape the Teotl waterways of mundane objects, making them receptive to empowerment rituals that turn them into magical treasures. Anyone interested in making treasures learns this. Pillar Bonus: Objects can gain minor powers with imbuing alone and you can tweak the powers of existing treasures.

9999 Revelations Meditation (Enhancement/Learning Mediation)

A powerful mental enhancement technique. You can shut off all your senses, entering a deep trance state where mind and spirit are in complete communion. Generates insights both profound and mundane. The longer you stay in the meditative state, the more effective the meditation. Favored by monks and inventors. Pillar Bonus: You can remain sensate with the meditation active and perform basic tasks, though you won't be able to use other techniques.

Secret Ritual of True Spirit Refinement (Enhancement/Crafting Ritual)

A special empowerment ritual. Can be used to channel heavenly power to items. Heavenly power improves them massively along every parameter. You may perform the ritual multiple times to incredible effect, but each time increases the risk of destroying the target. Attempts are fueled by natural sources of heavenly power. Known only by an exclusive group of craftsmen in high demand. Your father obtained this technique for you at extraordinary expense. Pillar Bonus: Reduced risk of failure.

The Cosmic Forge (Destruction-Creation-Imbuement-Efficiency-Refinement)

You can summon the Cosmic Forge, a workshop of pure will. With time the Cosmic Forge can break anything down into Essence Crystals and Pure Teotl, the building blocks of the universe. A small amount of the material is lost in conversion. The Cosmic Forge can be used to create anything you can imagine, so long as you have enough stored Essence Crystals of the appropriate type as material, Pure Teotl as fuel, and time to work the Forge.

Transformation - Heaven-Forged Diamond Spirit

Loving Domain – Spiritual effects, poisons, or diseases below transformation that will cause harm to you, or anything you love, will be disrupted. Effects below Lord level will be weakened. The Teotl effects of anyone who loves you will be slightly enhanced.

Prideful Order – You can restore things below transformation to their idealized form within the Perfect Order with a touch. With great effort you can Will very minor localized alterations to idealized forms within the Perfect Order. ALTERATIONS WHICH DEFY HEAVEN WILL BE PUNISHED.

Aura of Wrath – Anything hated by Heaven will be grievously harmed by your presence. Anything you hate will be weakened by your presence.

Loyal Refraction – You gain a blessing from those you are spiritually bound to, and grant a blessing to anyone loyal to you. YOU ARE BOUND TO LORD TLALOC, DUKE XIPETOTEC, AND THE EMPEROR OF LIGHT.

Heaven-Graced Fate – You will be shielded by fate as a reward for righteous action and loyal service to heaven, to a degree commiserate with your contributions. You will be punished by fate for unrighteous actions. YOUR SHIELD IS WEAK AND FADING.

Righteous Clarity – You are clearly marked by Heaven's Blessing. This mark cannot be obscured in any way. The righteousness (or lack) of your actions will be clear to all. You are a natural ally of those loyal to heaven and a natural enemy of those who defy Heaven.

Spiritual Severity – You can only use Orthodox Techniques.

YOU ARE BEING WATCHED. YOU WILL BE JUDGED BY THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR ACTIONS. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ACTIONS OF ALL WHO ARE BOUND TO YOU BY BLOOD, OATH, OR GIFT. YOUR CLAN IS UNCLEAN.

 

[Mr. Prokosch]

The Tally is a little funky because I kept adding sub-votes, but a manual vote confirms that testing beat testing with a twist.

"… That should be enough to cover your costs plus some…

"…That's acceptable, I'll want a short list of squad leaders…

"…We absolutely cannot share the restricted section, those techniques are only under license…"

As they negotiated, Chachi's mind kept wandering back to the strange curse on Lord Quauhcalli. She wanted to heal it. There would certainly be some profit in healing the son of a True Lady, but also, she just wanted to do it. It felt like a challenge. Her mind drifted to a grand design, a device allowing you to project your intentions unto the world bypassing language entirely. That would be wonderous! She didn't know the first thing about mental techniques, they tended to be unorthodox, but nothing was beyond her if she put her mind to it! She had another idea to try first though.

"About your speech issue, I'd like to help you, for a price," Chachi gave her best 'please don't hate me just because I want to be paid' smile.

"You are a merchant after all," lady Tlaaquiani nodded, "we each have our own savings…"

"There's more than one kind of currency. You will owe me a favor, and I mean to collect."

"Fine, but only IF you can really improve things. Others have tried, so we won't pay another overconfident cursebreaker just for the attempt," Lady Tlaaquiani did not sound confident in her abilities.

Well, Chachi could forgive ignorance. She took the Lord's hands in her own and concentrated. She had no idea if this would work, but it was faster and cheaper than designing her first mind-based device. She concentrated on the lord. She could feel a disorder, like a white, tumultuous tangle in his Teotl waterways, centered, despite his sister's insistence that the problem rested in his mind, at the base of his throat. She focused on it, and she could feel it writhe against her will. It was not right. He did not deserve this curse. The lord was a champion of heaven. He had killed many abyssals. His voice should once more grace this world. She felt a resistance, a tug to somewhere distant, but her judgement ruled here and now, and with surprising ease and swiftness the tangle smoothed away, like it had never been.

"Try to speak," she commanded the lord.

He shrugged, "it's not…" his eyes widened in shock, "really! Just like that? How?"

He grinned, his soft face growing even more boyish, "I can't believe you really did it! AYAHOOOOOOO!" he shouted and spun around.

His sister blinked rapidly, first out of shock, then as tears began to form, "by the Emperor's Light, you healed him with a touch! How…"

"I prefer not to discuss the details of my cultivation. You just need to know my transformation is very efficacious against certain forms of unnatural alterations," Chachi smugly explained. The minister nodded appreciatively. Meanwhile the lord was belting out a children's song.

They finalized negotiations in a much more amicable atmosphere. The minister had a small smile, still arguing on her Lady's behalf but without any sting. The young lord, meanwhile, had settled into a less obnoxious hum. The Minister brought them to a teahouse built in the Paradise Hills style, though they sipped 1000 Rivers cinnamon-chocolate.

"Can you tell me more about the Great Ships? I have an interest in those kinds of things."

"Novel forms of transportation? You don't say!" The lady joked, "I'm not a sailor or a shipwright…"

"They're recognizably ships, just better," her brother gladly interjected, "so they might disappoint you. The wood is heavily reinforced to resist attacks from below. The sails use ambient teotl alongside wind, there is also an emergency teotl powered propeller. They're thin and long, designed to cut through the sea as fast as possible. The goal is to transport warriors and relieve a siege."

"Weapons?" Chachi asked.

"Nothing notable. Treasure emplacements are for paper pushers… er, no offense. I just mean they let someone without any good combat techniques contribute to a fight, but they'll never match even a Perfect's Pillar technique, let alone a Transformation ability. The Great Ships carry real warriors at high speed with minimal drain on their reserves. I'm sure you could make improvements…"

"But you must remember, everything here can use improvement. The question is always cost," his sister interrupted, "after the initial mobilization the other Lords have decided that we are victorious, regardless of the reality on the ground, and there is no need to fund a rival. Even the Duke has grown reticent to pour more wealth into this war. Just because something can be improved does not mean we should prioritize its improvement, unless you want to make an upgraded fleet your service?"

"Yeah, yeah," the lord jumped in, "I'm just saying they won't really impress you. The Turtle Ships…"

The minister shushed him, "she will see one soon, no need to spoil it. In fact, I think I see the signals in the dock tower now. The Lady will arrive shortly, let's met her."

"This coastal town is the formal capital of the Turtle Islands, but it's not the Lady's Court," lady Tlaaquiani explained as they rode down to the docks, "she holds a mobile court on her flagship: Ayotlmacehual, The Triumphant Turtle. The Three Turtle Ships were a gift from the Saint of Arts and Crafts."

"The Saint of Arts and Crafts!" Chachi breathed. She was the only treasure-forging specialist among the saints. She had a well-worn scroll of the Saint's Public Sayings in her room.

"Yes. The Turtle Islands are named after them. Also, because people like turtles. They're cute sea creatures that somehow cross the Abyss but avoid abyssal taint. Very auspicious. It sounds much better than the Forbidden Coast and the Abyss-Cursed Islands…"

Chachi was barely listening as they came up on the edge of the docks. She strained to see the ship on the horizon, but couldn't find a trace, "where…"

"It's already here," the lord laughed, "Don't look at the horizon, look at the surface. See that lump?"

She moved her eyes down to the sea's surface, where Quauhcalli pointed. There was a small hill that wasn't there before. Or… A shell? As it rose, and rose, and rose, water pouring down from the top curve, she could make out more of its shape. It was definitely an enormous turtle shell, so large that it put the entire docks in shadow before it reached its full height. A second lump rose from in front of the shell, a giant turtle head. It opened placid eyes and peered down at the tiny dockworkers before it, who Chachi noticed were busy carting out seaweed and fish.

"It's a real turtle!" Chachi exclaimed, delighted.

"Island Turtles," Lord Quauhcalli explained. "Large and stronger than most spirit-beasts we let live in the empire. An Island Turtle on its own is more than a match for a transcendent cultivator. They have to be, since they live in the sea and they're natural enemies of the Abyss. The saint tamed three, then carved livable space into their shells, and a means to communicate with the turtle from within. There's a Spirit-Refined treasure in the core, I don't know how it works exactly, but it makes the undersea work more like the surface for a time, at least near the turtle."

As the water cleared away, she noticed a number of hatches on the shell. First one, then many more popped open and people emerged. They were still some distance from the shore, but some flew to the land and others dove into the sea. One figure drew Chachi's attention. She was small from the distance, but Chachi could feel vast power from her. The figure, True Lady Chalchiuhtlicue leapt from the hatch and soared towards Chachi. Moments later, she was landing softly in front of the Merchant Matriarch, a sonic crack trailing behind her.

Lady Chalchiuhtlicue was thinner and taller than her children, gaunt even, though there was still clear resemblance in her features. She wore a nearly identical uniform to her honor guards, though Chachi was able to notice and appreciate the many layers of extra imbuements on them, far more than any normal core could sustain. She supposed that was a use for a Lady's near-limitless teotl.

Chachi braced for the Lady's aura to overwhelm her, and it was strong, strong enough to crush Chachi like a bug, but… It wasn't the same. She knew, academically, that Lady Chalchiuhtlicue was the weakest Lord, and Lord Tlaloc was among the strongest. Now she could feel that difference. Lord Tlaloc was at least a thousand times more powerful than her. With Tlaloc, she was a drop in a raging river. With Chalchiuhtlicue she was a head in the crowd. She also felt only a light tugging on her own cultivation, which she easily resisted. This was a Lady, worthy of respect, and this was the Lady's land. But it wasn't Chachi's lady, she did not rule Chachi's land.

"Hey," the Lady waved casually at Chachi's group.

"Hey mom!" The Lord grinned and rushed forward. Lady Chalchiuhtlicue blinked, momentarily stunned, then grinned back, "you're cured!"

"Thanks to Matriarch Chachi! She healed me with a touch, said it was her cultivation!"

"Oh," Lady Chalchiuhtlicue's face was momentarily confused, but that was quickly overcome with joy, "I guess I was misinformed about a few things," she turned to Chachi and bowed, low and formal, "I hope my children paid you for your services. You have also done me a great boon, and I won't forget it. If you get any blowback from this, I will do all in my power to protect you."

"Blowback?" Chachi asked. The siblings both looked away, embarrassed like children caught sneaking sweets.

"You didn't know?" the Lady's voice was sharp, "Did they tell you the curse was Abyssal? Well, it was not. It was a Saint's punishment. Any Saint could have lifted it, but none was willing to risk such 'disharmony.' If you prefer, we can keep your role in this secret and hope there is no reprisal. If there is, come to me. I hope there is not."

"But, let's speak of more pleasant things," the Lady continued, "do we have an accord?" her daughter nodded, "good. I'd give you a tour of the turtle, but I'd rather fob that on someone else. I've been breathing recycled air too long. I'll take you to dinner. We might not have much in this shithole, but we've got the freshest seafood in the Empire. I just need to check a few things and you can meet me on top of the State Building. You can't miss it, it's the only real building."

Chachi checked on the Walking Fortress as it unloaded crate after crate of elixirs straight into the Lady's warehouse, then made her way to the Stone Rectangle, the State Building which she soon surmised was named that because it housed all the state functions and functionaries in one, something that took up entire blocks in multiple cities of the 1000 Rivers. She was shown the 'VIP Elevator' a simple rope with a loop for her to stand on, so she could be hoisted up to the top. The roof held a small garden-park, more modest than the one in Chachi's own compound, but still a breath of fresh air in the squalor of Liberation Point. The color-hooded lanterns, canvas shades, and musician strumming a guitar in the corner gave it a touch of refinement. The siblings were already there, happily chatting with each other over cornbread. Chachi settled in a lounge chair and waited for the lady to arrive, which she did shortly later. She'd changed into an almost scandalously (by current imperial-court fashion, which was many, many thick layers) thin robe. They were served multiple courses of seafood overly a leisurely dinner as the sun set.

What favor do you want from the siblings?

[] Courtship
It may just be the atmosphere and good feelings from your miraculous healing, but you're getting some vibes. Ask them to ask their mother to open courtship and then… waggle your eyebrows? You are not good at this. If you misread they might still open courtship, they just won't personally participate.

-[] Waggle at Lord Quauhcalli
-[] Waggle at Lady Tlaaquiani

[] That technique
You didn't ask for a special technique as payment for your elixirs. The Lord and Lady don't have the same pull as their mother, but she's also feeling pretty good about you healing her son. Ask for a special technique now and hope they can deliver

[] Bolster the escort
Ask Lord Quauhcalli to also join the escort. He's apparently an accomplished combatant in the Liminal stage. A True Lady's son openly serving you, even for a time, would also add to your prestige.

[] Discrete Aid
Ask them to help find your brother and swear to never, ever tell anyone if they happen to find anything bad about his recent activities.

[] Wait
Don't ask them for anything, yet.

[] Write-in

2. Anything you want to do while you're here? Limit of 1 thing per voter.

3. Question Time is open for Lady Chalchiuhtlicue as you enjoy your dinner. I may veto overly controversial questions.

 

[Mr. Prokosch]

Chachi asked permission to join one of the Turtle Ships for a single cycle as an observer and solo combatant. It was understood that this wouldn't count as a service, she just wouldn't be fighting for long enough, and while a transformation-level combatant was always welcome, she was also an inconvenience.

She spent the next few days creating a handful of Diamond-Like objects made of different essences. Many wouldn't hold the diamond structure, but she succeeded with Bone, Wood, and Ice. As she expected, only the Essence of things that would be physically shaped and retain its form would hold the diamond structure. In a moment of inspiration, Chachi Forged a mixture of mostly Light essence with a hint of Ice. The Ice gave stability to the Light, and together they were able to retain a diamond-like structure. She ended up with five Diamond-Like Daggers: Bone, Wood, Ice, Metal, and Ice-Light. Metal was strongest, then bone. Wood refused to maintain an edge, but slowly repaired itself. Ice was not as cold as Chachi expected, but highly resistant to heat. Ice-Light glowed a bit like the Heaven-Forged Diamond, she hoped it would harm Abyssals.

While she worked at the Forge, Chachi's people investigated the strangely destitute capital. They weren't trained spies or detectives, but on her instructions they kept their eyes open, and had quiet conversations in the city's market, bars, tea-houses, and street-corners. What they discovered:

• The city's population is comprised of migrants (mostly Paradise Hills and 1000 Rivers, some Volcanic Mountains), Islanders, and Liberated. The Islanders are viewed with some amount of suspicion and ill-will by the others. They are sometimes accused of being Cultists, Quislings, or Infiltrators. There have been a few murders and they've become increasingly segregated. The Liberated face less discrimination, but economically they have no valuable skills and form an underclass of laborers or beggars.
• The merchants complain about the administration. According to them, the Ministry of Trade is a disorganized mess, simultaneously ineffectual, unreasonable, and authoritarian
• Regional Leadership is almost entirely war heroes, very capable and specialized individuals when it comes to killing Abyssals, less so when it comes to accounting
• The city has not been attacked by Abyssals, but there are daily clashes further out to sea. The Lady's Forces always win, but they take losses. Some of the more pessimistic drunks claim that the Abyssals are just biding their time and wearing the Lady down.

Captain Yecteltlamatqui greeted Chachi politely on the docks. He wore the Lady's uniform, with the markings of high rank. His underlings moved with quiet efficiency around him, without the need for orders. He seemed to shine with inner virtue, glowing in the morning light. He looked like a warrior-scholar, like depictions of the ancient Heroes. Chachi liked him instantly, though on reflection some of that was likely a resonance with her own cultivation.

They had tea, and discussed diamond cultivation.

"Diamond is a righteous path, but it's difficult. It is very demanding, and you must risk losing yourself to progress Merging. If you indulge diamond too little, you will not survive the early steps. If you indulge it too much, you will not progress through the later steps. Mind is the most difficult step. You might become a bit insufferable until you can blunt the effects, so I would save it for last and try to hurry the next step. You should introspect and make some decisions, clear, conscious decisions that you can live with, about your personal laws, the rules by which you will live your life. Try not to break your rules, unless doing that would break something greater inside. It's good to keep in mind that Diamond is rigid by its nature, but people are not. Diamond is a righteous path, but don't lose yourself in righteousness. Does that make sense? There's a difference between Law and Justice. That helped me too, I studied the Imperial Law and different Regional Laws, and I meditated on the Emperor's wisdom. Body is dreadfully unpleasant, particularly if you're a sensual person, but at least you don't inflict that on others. Just try to keep yourself grounded and practice empathy. I found reading helped in that stage. I don't mean studying, I mean reading. Like romance novels. Anything to remind you what a body feels like."

The captain didn't have a lot of time for her once the Turtle Ship was underway. Chachi found the ship to be cramped and austere for such a grand construction. There was a dining hall and lounge, living quarters, a pair of public washrooms, and central command, where the captain could speak with the turtle and where the Heavenly Engine was housed. Everything had an odd smell that she eventually realized was turtle. The ship had five squads of 3, 4, 6, 7, and 7. Each squad had a single transformation leader, the rest were perfecting cultivators trained to fight as a unit and assist their leader. There were also some mortal servants, who cooked and cleaned. She hoped to see the undersea from the windows, but it was shrouded in darkness. She was given personal quarters, she supposed that was a privilege but the tiny undecorated room, feather bed, and barely adequate silk sheets were far from impressive.

Chachi spent as much time as she could with the Heavenly Engine, the work of the Saint of Arts and Crafts. It was strange and beautiful. The outer layer was a network of ducts and tubing splaying out to the entire shell structure. Within that was a series of shining metal plates, Chachi could sense layer after layer of imbuements, inscribed not on the surface like typical runework, but how she preferred to do it: layered into the inner structure of the material. Contained by the plates she could sense a core of bright Teotl, constantly shifting but in an orderly pattern she couldn't quite grasp. It was oddly reminiscent of the Forge. Not in anything as simple as the design or function, but in some more fundamental way she couldn't articulate. With even her weak sense of heavenly power, Chachi could sense it radiating off the Engine. The Engineer, a tight-lipped cultivator on loan from the Carved Village Sect, told her that the Engine created the light and air within the shell, and acted as a reflector for the Will of Light. It could draw on the Turtle's core to temporarily supercharge, extending a pocket of Light, Air, and Imperial Authority into the deep sea. After some prying he admitted that it had been Spirit Refined seven times.

She was trying to get some sleep in her bare quarters when the battle-alarm sounded. She could feel a wave of… something come from the Engine as she rushed to her mustering point. She stood before a large windowed hatch, and with the Engine in overdrive she could now see a bubble of water being pushed back, unnatural movements roiling just beneath its surface. She was with the smallest squad, her temporary squad leader moved to the front and grasped the ejection lever.

"Ready?" the scraggly-bearded warrior yelled. There was only one answer.

"Ready!" Chachi yelled with her perfecting squad-mates.

Chachi will soon get in an actual fight with Abyssals. What is your very general approach?

[] Safety
She's not a fighter. Stay near the turtle and observe the enemy, try to use her aura to help without actually engaging in combat.

[] Experiment
This is a rare opportunity. Try to learn as much as possible about Abyssals, her aura, and the weapons she crafted.

[] Help
She has unique anti-abyssal abilities. Try to use them to maximum effect by diving into the heart of the battle.

You can ask Captain Yecteltlamatqui questions. He is a Transcendent diamond cultivator with a lot of experience in the Liberation War.

You can ask the Engineer questions. He is a secretive disciple of the Saint of Arts and Crafts.

What kind of technique do you want?

[] A stealth technique (++Utility, +Power, -Compatibility)

[] A ranged combat technique (+++Power, -Compatibility)

[] A combat enhancement technique (+Power, +Utility, +Compatibility)

[] A Fate-Reading Technique (+Power, ++Utility)

[] A healing technique (++Utility, ++Compatibility)

[] A movement technique (+++Utility, +Power, - Compatibility)

[] A leadership technique (++Power, ++Utility)

[] Write-in

They don't have a menu for Chachi to choose from, the siblings will look through the restricted archives for something suitable as a reward, based on what Chachi tells them she wants.

All the techniques are the highest-end the siblings can access and would not be in the library you're copying.

Power = The raw strength of the technique, how well it does with clashes, how much it can effect the world

Utility = How many situations it's applicable in, how convenient it is to use, how often Chachi will use it

Compatibility = How well it matches Chachi's spirit / dao, whether it's a potential Pillar, how well it combines with her other techniques and abilities.

Don't put ratings on a write-in, just describe very briefly and vaguely what you want. They can't fulfill a specific request.

 

[Mr. Prokosch]

Chachi reminded herself that she wasn't really with this squad, she was a solo combatant. She was just mustering with them out of convenience. She didn't know how they operated, and trying to be a team player might just trip them up. Besides, she was hear to learn, not to fight. She shuffled back and created some distance between her and the squad. When the squad leader opened the hatch and rushed through, she waited a moment before following. Then she took stock of the battle.

She was standing on a glowing turtle shell, in a bubble of air. Above her, all around her really, there was a sky of roiling water. It was deafening. She could spot shadows moving just beneath the water's surface. Scales and tentacles flashed in the light, broke the surface of the bubble, and withdrew. She could see the Captain standing near the Turtle's head, a pillar of silver light. Her own aura lacked the same physical glow, but it was heaven-forged. She hoped it would protect her well enough.

The captain used a technique, and Chachi felt a gentle flow of knowledge enter her mind, orders that would have taken significant time to explain with language. They were detailed, but she mentally summarized it as defensive support for the ranged squads, then reinforcing once the battle was in full swing. She dismissed the orders, she was here to gather information, not to help. She could feel an adjustment: information on where she could be and what she could do without making things worse. That she acknowledged.

She just watched the first exchange of techniques. With a sudden burst of speed, the turtle pushed back the water line and caught a mass of sea creatures that fell into the open air. They were obliterated with a wave of fire, white lightning, and spectral stones. Chachi sighed, it was so fast she could barely see them, all she got was a fish-like impression. Then she saw the water line burst with great geysers of force. Bulbous sacks rained down on the turtle forces. They were met again with a wave of fire, but that only stripped a thin outer layer, releasing the contents. Each sack released hundreds of shell-like, egg-like, spheres. The spheres hit another defensive barrier, this one a wall of pure teotl. They burst again, releasing an acidic gas. Chachi frowned at it. She could sense the powerful, corruptive poison within the gas. Such a dangerous, sophisticated weapon, and she sensed no teotl at all. If it had been a technique, she could have weakened it. The captain could have done the same. Instead it was a 'mortal' weapon capable of hurting even a prepared force of cultivators.

"Made with teotl, but not reliant on it…" she mused. It was disturbing, but she wasn't worried. The captain squelched the poison with his diamond cultivation, and another warrior blew the remnants back into the sea. She was quickly grasping that this was an attack by the Turtle Ship, and they were following the doctrine of overwhelming force. This particular group of abyssal were no match for the assembled human forces, and the counter-attack was just to cover their retreat.

The turtle suddenly shifted direction again, but Chachi was greater than perfect, so she easily kept her balance. One of the squad leaders pointed at a large dark shadow and then a line of gold launched from his finger and lodged into it. The rest of his squad grabbed unto the line, each cycling enhancement techniques as they pulled. There was a momentary pause as they struggled against the beast, and then they dragged it across the water line and it fell to the shell surface, to Chachi's delight.

"Resembles a crab," Chachi noted to herself. She'd eaten one earlier. This one was very large, and it had four odd three fingered hand-like appendages on noodly arms. She could feel moderate spiritual power from it, but it was hard to place its exact strength. Weaker than her, she thought, though its natural armor and massive claws would make it an intimidating opponent if she had to duel it. As soon as it fell, the golden line wrapped tight around it and the nearby warriors zealously stabbed at its joints. It struggled, but it was outmatched and outnumbered, and Chachi felt little danger. She got nearer, until she could make out the lumpy details of its carapace. She heard a kind of high-pitched scream, as its snail-like eyes turned to focus on her, ignoring the nearer warriors even as they dealt it wounding blows.

She got closer, and it sizzled and steamed inside its shell. The closest eye burst with a splash of gore.

"So, it is hated by heaven then. I didn't expect it to be so… pathetic," she commented.

She was talking to herself, but one of the warriors shouted back to her over the rushing water jovially, "Aye, easy fight when you plan it well. Don't expect them all to be crabs."

It did seem oddly resilient. She took a few steps back and watched the eye repair itself rapidly, like it was under a healing technique. She took another step closer, and it burst again. She estimated the distance, about 15 feet. She remembered Captain Yecteltlamatqui s advice though. "Presence" wasn't an exact distance. It was greatest outside, in daylight, but quickly shrunk in darkness, or with physical barriers.

"Would you please stab it with this?" she asked the talkative warrior, handing him her diamond-steel dagger. She was afraid if she got close enough to stab it that her aura would just melt the abomination.

He shrugged and took the dagger, then maneuvered to a back joint and struck. It cut with ease, and the wound didn't heal. He backed off and grinned back at her. She took stock of the rest of the battlefield. A different squad was pulling down another beast, this one a kind of whale-otter. They were cheering, and Chachi smiled at the light mood. This was fun! She'd been so worried! She gave the helpful warrior a diamond-wood one next. This time when he struck the beast, the dagger stayed in the joint. He gave it a tug, but it wouldn't come out. He jumped back and shrugged at Chachi. Interesting. What about Diamond-Ice?

The shell shook wildly and Chachi was forced to stagger a few steps. New orders appeared in her mind, urging her to move immediately. She obeyed, at the same time craning her neck to find the new threat. She didn't see it at first, until she realized that the entire water-line had grown darker. She saw the darkness, an inky, unnaturally thing, creep down into the air pocket. In response, all the warriors were ordered closer together, and the captain's diamond light burned brighter. The darkness pressed in, but his holy light held it back. Experimentally, Chachi tried to add her Will to the clash. Nothing happened. Maybe it was too far away?

She heard a warning shout as large shell-spheres fell from the darkness, and the warriors unleashed a barrage of destructive techniques. The darkness pulsed, and Chachi felt an odd pressure, but the techniques overcame whatever it was. They blasted the spheres, destroying most before they reached the shell-surface. Those that survived each broke open to release several spider-like beasts with sharp sword-legs. They charged suicidally into the massed cultivators.
Chachi stepped back and observed the battle. The sword-spiders were strong and agile, but felt weak spiritually. If they used any techniques, they were very simple enhancements. One of the warriors slipped in his form, and took a blade to his chest. He was instantly pulled back by others and given a stabilizing elixir. One of hers, she noted. The 7 Day Salvation Salve would keep even the critically wounded alive for 7 days, until they could get more focused medical attention. Except for that mistake, they seemed to be doing fine against the monsters. She took a few more steps away from the fighting, near the edge of the darkness, to check on the shell-sphere delivery system.

"Oh, it's an egg!" she poked at the outer shell. It was very thick and strong. There was still some residual goo inside. She collected a sample. She looked back at the spiders. Were they newborn then? Did Abyssals really weaponize their own young? Disgusting. She scratched at the eggshell with her Diamond-Ice dagger, nothing special happened but she did collect the resulting powder.

She glanced around, and blinked. Was that a face in the darkness? It looked almost human. Well, except for the slits instead of a nose and ears. Also, the eyes were way too big. So, not all that human, but more of a human than a crab. It was looking right at her.

"Hey!" she shouted, pointing at the face, but her voice didn't cut through the noise of the battle. An arm holding a black spear emerged from the darkness, pointed at her. "HEY!" she put as much strength as she could into the shout, "HAAGHHH."

A lance of sea-water hit her with tremendous force. She was ready for something like that the moment she saw the spear, but she wasn't prepared for how fast it struck. It drilled into her unarmored stomach, and knocked the wind from her lungs, but it barely broke her skin.

"TYRANT!" she heard a distant shout. An order to escape, to run back to the group slammed into her mind. She tried to scramble away, but stumbled to a stop as a group of the sword-spiders cut her off. Where did they come from? She instinctively dodged the first one that leaped at her, and was gratified to watch it burn and melt in the air as it got too close to her. Bolstered, she charged forward. They whirled, leaped, slashed, stabbed, but she only needed to defend herself for a few moments before they succumbed to her cultivation. The last few were blasted away by ranged techniques. She was almost clear!

Then she stumbled, and fell. Bewildered, Chachi looked down at the watery-tentacle wrapped around her left leg. She grabbed desperately at the slick turtle shell, stabbed at it for purchase, but the force pulling her was overwhelming. I'm the crab, she realized, hysterically, as she was pulled into the darkness.

The sea squeezed her like a vice. It was so dark. So cold. She couldn't breathe! She tried to Will it all away, to Command the sea to stop strangling her. The sea didn't relent. She could feel a mocking presence, a sneer in the icy blackness. She slashed wildly with the Diamond-Ice knife, then felt a lashing pain in her hand. It spasmed, and her weapon was gone. She desperately unsheathed another dagger with her other hand, and with it came light, glorious light! The Ice-Light knife! She felt the pressure weaken instantly, like it was retreating from the bright blade. She hugged the light close and fought down her panic. She could feel something in the light, a guiding strength. She wasn't far from the turtle. She still had a chance. She just had to survive.

Something struck her from the darkness, small and stinging. She saw a dart stuck in her shoulder, a poison? If so, her cultivation resisted it. She pretended it didn't, and went limp. Peaking under her eye-lids, she saw the human-like abyssal, the 'tyrant' approach cautiously to the edge of the light. It held out an eel-thing that squirmed towards her, and followed just behind it. As soon as the thing reached her "presence," which to Chachi's dismay was now almost touching her skin, it screeched and writhed back. The creature moved back as well. It poked at her with its spear, more a prodding than a deadly blow. Chachi forced herself not to respond. She waited, until the Tyrant turned its attention to something in the darkness. She lunged!

She'd never fought in water before. The strike came out slow, far too slow. Clumsy. Even surprised, it easily avoided the strike.

What it couldn't avoid was the wave of light that came from the outstretched dagger, as she commanded it with all her Will to be brighter. With the light came her aura, and with that came the full wrath of heaven. It burned! She kicked desperately, she had to get closer, had to grab it!

With a blast of water, it slipped away. The sea was too much for her, it fought her every movement. A moment later, something slammed into her. What little air she still had in her lungs escaped. Her body burned. It hit her again. She could barely feel it anymore.

She clutched the light, and prayed to the Heavens for salvation…

And they answered! One moment, a pinprick of bright silver light in the distance. The next, and she was encompassed by it. Arms wrapped around her, guided her own hands to a golden cord. She felt a rush of water, and then gasped in a breath of wonderous air!

Chachi gasped in air greedily, as her hands fumbled in her robes for a small vial. She downed the elixir, and her pain numbed, her mind sharpened. A Swallow of Serenity would let her push the trauma of the last few minutes aside, let her keep her dignity in front of the Lady's elite warriors. She took a deep breath, and straightened as the elixir did its work.

The battle seemed to be over. The crab and many of the spiders were being systematically processed, their in-tact organs, blood, shell, all being chopped, sorted, and placed in special preserving containers. They were money after all, the only real income the region was producing. There was no trace of the whale-otter thing.

She turned back to diamond captain, who'd launched himself into the abyss to rescuer, and gave him a deep bow, "my apologies for the inconvenience. I did not expect…"

He grinned back at her and patted her shoulder, a little awkwardly, "this is still a win. We killed some of them, and none of us died. That's a good day. Next time follow orders, and don't underestimate the Abyssals. Even with heaven's blessing, even with our cultivation, even with a Divine Engine, they are deadly, and they are smart. Or at least some of them are."

"The thing that got me, it was smart. It's called a Tyrant?"

"Yeah, uh, you can kind of think of them as their minor nobility? They're no stronger than the other Abyssals, but they're always intelligent and usually in command. Some people think that's their original form. When you see a Tyrant, you know they're up to something. It seems this time it was targeting you specifically," he shook his head at the slowly shrinking water line, "smart, incredibly smart. If you'd died, the Lady wouldn't get any more elixirs. Maybe it's best if you stay in the turtle until you head back.

Chachi nodded agreeably. She bowed to the lancing cultivator, who helped pull her out, and thanked the other warriors for their service to the empire. She gracefully walking back to her bunk and went right to sleep.

When the elixir faded, the nightmares came. Teeth in the darkness, rending. Empty eyes and grasping hands, cutting her up and putting her in neat little jars. Her brother, sneering down at her broken form.

Chachi gains a trauma! What form does it take?
[] Aggression
Her experience boils into anger and hate, the need to inflict pain and destruction, towards the Abyssals and her brother specifically, but also towards other things that might trigger a fear-response.

[] Caution
Her experience simmers into diffuse fear. She will be significantly more careful with her personal safety, and also less bold and courageous in all aspects of her life.

[] Emptiness
She pushes everything down and goes number inside. She will become less charismatic, love less readily, and find it harder to feel empathy towards others.

[] Madness
She embraces something outside herself. She gets first-stage Heaven-Diamond Madness. She will behave more diamond-like in all ways, which among other things means rigidly adhering to heavenly dictates and personal codes. This will also provide a bonus in merging and a malus to all cultivation steps after.

[] Write-In
I will veto this unless it hurts. No writing in flaws that aren't really flaws like the classic "I work too hard" interview response.

There are other things pending (questions and your technique), I even have them partially written, but I felt it was best to post this part independently for pacing and drama reasons.

 

[Mr. Prokosch]

When Chachi woke, she had to concentrate to unclench her muscles, flatten her fists, and put on the gentle smile that now felt more like a mask. She was the golden child, the prodigy, the great matriarch. They dared! They would pay for hurting her. Pay dearly.

She wanted to go back out and kill more abominations, but the Captain forbade it. He believed she was a priority target. Was it her brother's doing? Or just her cultivation marking her as a champion of heaven?

She spent the remainder of the trip trying to get information from the reclusive engineer, the captain, and the crew. She asked for war stories, and listened attentively to the forms their enemy took, the tactics they preferred, and how they could be destroyed. They were dizzying in their sheer diversity, but over time she got a sense for the underlying patterns. Next time she'd be ready.

Chachi gained an Enlightenment: Destructive Abyssal Research
Chachi gained the trauma: Aggression

We've already gotten a large amount of knowledge of what diamond is and he's already given us some really valuable information on how to survive the transition so unless we can set up our rules now I would say that are main questions should have to do with either diamond body or using diamond in combat. Taking advantage of the aura without being teamed up on and wiped out or dealing with damage to the body that can't be healed between diamond body and transcendent.

"I can boost and manipulate my aura, and I gained visible light in harmonic as well. I don't think you'll be capable of that until your cultivation progresses. It can be frustrating to use at this stage. Sometimes you'll think it should reach a monster, but it doesn't quite make it. It will have the greatest reach in unobscured daylight, the worst deep underwater or underground. Anything that blocks line of sight will also block it. You should also be aware that some creatures will be more harmed than others. It's related to spiritual potency, but there are also profane defensive and healing techniques that can surprise you. It's a great thing to have in a battle with abyssals, like a top tier constant mid-range combat technique, but it's no replacement for skill and teamwork.

The diamond body gives you such fantastic defenses that it's hard to give advice. I guess the best advice is just don't be arrogant, and keep in mind that you can still be harmed. Sufficient force can hurt you, though it has to be enough force to turn anyone else to mist. Your real vulnerability is just being disabled though. Nothing about diamond body stops you from being encased in a technique, or a treasure net, or even a grapple. Just because they can't actually kill you by burying you deep in bedrock doesn't mean it's a position you want to be in. Also, watch for mental attacks, even when you get diamond mind. It's good against deception, and most mental attacks work through deceiving, but brute force can still get you. There was this one Abyssal, it was just kind of a ball of eyes that projected pain at your brain. Went right through my diamond mind, because it just really felt that pain and wanted you to feel it too. Kind of niche, but be ready for something like that if an enemy knows your cultivation."

I don't know what to ask about here he's going to want to keep the secrets of the turtle ships secret but basic crafting wouldn't tell us anything and we've already got the spirit refined crafting ability which is the highest thing he could know. We could ask about his personal crafting projects are and tell him some of ours so that we can build a friendship based in mutual respect and maybe get some interesting ideas. We could each come up with problems that the other would have to craft a solution to without heavenly conduits or Maybe ask about how it's like to work around a saint

The engineer refuses to share the details of any of his projects. It takes a while, but Chachi eventually gets him to discuss her projects a little.

"Your Fortress is a good base design, but you should make it modular. The legs are the innovation, what they carry is basic construction. A few modifications and you can switch out the containers instead of just the cargo. You only need six legs for it to walk too, why make it so long? If you can make a swappable engine and navigation container, you can turn one Fortress into 10, then back to one again."

"I understand what you're going for with the teapot, but you should consider a more aggressive delivery system than a traitor willingly drinking poison. Tweak the structure a little and pair it with some darts, and you have a forever replenishing supply of anti-abyssal poison. Oh, and don't expect to poison any water supplies with it. Water has a way of resisting that kind of thing, sea water in particular."

"You really don't know what you've done with these daggers… it's very frustrating. Everything is Essence, Teotl, and Structure… I, never mind. Forget I said anything."

I'd like to talk about something that could help improve the forge but I'm not quite sure how to get to it.

"I don't work with techniques."

"I can modify it physically!"

He stares at you for a long time. "I… can't talk about that. If you want to show me it, I will convey the details of your technique to the Saint."

Let the Engineer investigate the Forge on behalf of the Saint of Arts and Crafts?
[] Yes
[] No

[X] Captain Yecteltlama - what's your experience been with other gemstones. Has your diamond powers affected them at all?

"Each gemstone is an expression of earth essence, they reflect an idealized property of the earth. Diamond is hardness. It sounds trite, but there's more to that. It's better if you meditate on it than hear me lecture. Can't say Diamond has much direct interaction with the other gems."

[X] Captain Yecteltlama - how do you use diamond in combat? How do you use it in everyday life given the large amount of abyssal touched citizens?

"I keep it under control in the cities. I know it can be weird, to let people so tainted live among us, but, what else are we supposed to do? Diamond wants me to kill them, but I'm something more than just Diamond. I mostly use Diamond Mind to be a better leader. I can trust my people completely, and the mere fact that I can see right through deception keeps them from some of the backbiting, bullying, and politicking you sometimes see. My cultivation also helps me see through more complicated tricks. You won't get that at merging."

[X] Engineer - ask his experience with crafting and see if you can organize a knowledge trade. What are his current projects, and is he currently bottlenecked on any of them? Is there a society/organisation that follows the Saint and their teachings, if so how could we contact them?

He will not share anything about his own projects unless you are a fellow member of his sect.

Chachi knows the second part without asking. The Great Sects are organized around the Saints, though some Saints are more active than others. The Saint of Arts and Crafts is the semi-active leader of the Carved Village Sect. She drops in every few years to check on projects and meet with the most promising students.

Ask him about other types of refinement rituals (lesser to heavenly refinement) that he would recommend us, from a balance between potency and cost, as our own heavenly refinement while useful, is very expensive and keeping to use it may leave us without more conduits.

He flatly refuses to tell you about refinement/empowerment rituals.

[X] Captain Yecteltlama - ask him about his own laws if he is willing to tell us, ask for suggestions about using diamond in a fight (once we have all the transformations) and if he has any experience with the divination or protective formations side of diamond.

"I'd rather not go into too much detail about my personal laws, it would make me pretty easy to manipulate. You shouldn't share yours either. I'll give you one though, since it's already pretty well known. I give 10% of my income to the Shards of Hope Orphanage. It's where I grew up.

I think I have a way to help you more than that though. I want you to imagine something. You hear of an Ascendant Beast with an interesting form of cultivation. It is a rabbit that gives birth to a litter whenever it is fertile. It then consumes its children for power. This rabbit is otherwise a virtuous citizen of the empire, and is even known to rescue lost travelers out of the goodness of its heart. You are asked to sit in judgment over the rabbit. What do you decide?"

[] The rabbit disgusts me, its cultivation is offensive. It should be put to death.
[] The rabbit disgusts me, and I am sure it is offensive to heaven. It should be put to death.
[] The rabbit disgusts me, but it has broken no law of the empire. Its brood are not awakened and eating rabbits is legal. I let it be.
[] The rabbit disgusts me, but it has done me, personally, no harm. I let it be.
[] The rabbit disgusts me, but it has acted with virtue and used its powers for the good of the empire. It should be rewarded.
[] The rabbit disgusts me, but I refuse to judge it. I am not qualified to do so.
[] The rabbit disgusts me, [Write in]

Middle part of the question is addressed above

"I'm not a crafter. Diamond Mind is useful for sensing deception, I pushed mine to reveal the truth, but that never works perfectly. At best, it can reveal what someone thinks is truth, what they are trying to hide with the deception. I imagine it has similar limitations when used by diviners."

Is there advantage to say taking a basic elixir making ritual and an advanced one, like we have imbuement and the refining ritual, or can we learn basic elixir making and jump straight to complex one for pillars? Does refinement rituals work on elixirs?

It's not required to integrate a basic technique and the more advanced version, but your imbuement does something different than an empowerment. Imbuement lets you make minor magical items and also prep items for empowerment. If you don't imbue first, the empowerment will have completely unpredictable effects.

Elixir brewing is generally not very technique based. Conventionally brewers just neglect their cultivation a bit to spend a lot of time putting ingredients through complicated processes that use treasures or just plain physical tools. Historically elixir brewing was seen as more of a hobby than a true profession. Your head of Production has developed some of his own elixir based techniques, so you can learn those if you like. Chachi was only taught the business end of elixir brewing, not how to make them. When Chachi's father first partnered with Atlikiti, the deal was that Atlikiti would make the stuff and he would sell it. She could invest the time now to learn more about her clan's production but it wouldn't be a free action.

[Question]Are we going to like, lose all feeling or something?

"Your sense of touch will dull significantly, and you will lose all taste and smell. You will lose some other stuff that's harder to explain, like you can feel your breath right now, right? Your face can flush, your heart beat faster in excitement. That will all be gone.

Your eyesight will get a little sharper, but not remarkably so."

[Question] Got any book recommendations?

He loans you several worn books, with titles like The Awakened Heart. Their content is a bit tawdry for Chachi, but she tucks them in a personal chest nevertheless.

[Question] How does the Saint pick disciples?

"Conventionally, at first. After the Journeying, we have a Master Project. The Saint inspects those personally, and if she likes your enough she may raise you to Core Disciple status and spend some personal time with you."

Chachi knows that by 'conventionally' he's referring to people joining a sect as aspirants, then students, then they leave as journeymen. They can return to the sect as Inner Disciples after meeting some requirement in the outside world and going through a Transformation. Core Disciples are the sect elite, Elder Disciples are the leadership.

[Question] Try to get him talking about his favorite past project

He refuses to discuss his own projects.

[Question] Got any book recommendations?

"If you can find them, read The Principals of Creation and Crafting for Master Crafters."

Did anyone take a Perfect Moment of the final beast? and if they did, would they be willing to let us study it?
Yes, and probably yes, but not for free.

How are the properties of materials usually found? Since with the new diamond materials, and the possibilities of "alloyed" diamond (like we did ice and light), I wonder what is the normal approach to such things, like, can diviners look at materials and say what it is useful for?

The normal way is just lore and extensive testing. New materials don't just pop up unless you happen to wield the Cosmic Forge, so if those techniques exist Chachi doesn't know about them. They might be trade secrets in crafter clans.

I think someone asked something like this in the past and I never answered it:

To Lord Quauhcalli: What did you do to get cursed?

"I left the Sect. There was an oath, and anyone who breaks it is cursed. It was still the right thing to do. I joined the sect because I tired of being a useless dandy in my grandfather's court. Then I found out my mom was doing something important, and I felt so useless again. All I wanted was to do something that mattered, even if I lost my voice for it."

--

When Chachi's Turtle Ship finally got back to Liberation Point, Lord Quauhcalli was waiting for her on the docks. He brought her to the city's finest Inn (it was barely tolerable, but better than the Turtle) and waited in the dining room while she washed and changed. They had polite conversation over a spicy guinea pig stew, he seemed less boisterous than before. Maybe he'd just gotten used to having his voice back.

He handed her a scroll, a bit nervously. It was remarkably fat, by far the largest technique scroll she'd ever seen. Chachi unrolled the intimidatingly large scroll, stared at the title page, and slowly closed it again.

"This is…"

"Not technically forbidden!" he interrupted, "just restricted, the methods are orthodox even! That's what you asked for, a strong healing technique, suited to you, that you wouldn't get with the basic library we're sharing. We used a bit of fate reading to find something that should match. Expert healers still use it, it's in the restricted section of plenty of libraries. They're just cautious about teaching it, because of the potential misuse. You have to prove your virtue first. You're clearly a virtuous woman, we know you'll use it well."

Chachi pondered the scroll. She'd know if it was really orthodox as soon as she tried it, her riverways wouldn't allow anything else. She looked at the title again: The Methods and Uses of Flesh Sculpting. Flesh Sculpting, the infamous ability to flood a body with Teotl, and then alter it directly with her will. To turn a man into a frog, or an abomination, or a healthier, stronger, better person than he'd ever been. The greatest practitioners could create artificial spirit beasts and spirit plants, and even give mortals physical spirit riverways like beasts. In the Age of Barbarism, clans used it to make war-beasts and mortal super-soldiers. In the modern day only healers learned the technique after swearing to do no harm with it.

It took her a moment of consideration, but Chachi overcame her initial hesitation. The Forge already let her create life if she wanted, so it had similar potential for misuse. Unlike the Forge, this technique would let her alter things that were already living, so it could be used to heal. The scroll also included very valuable information on the ways life-patterns could be successfully altered, so even if she didn't use the technique itself much, it would help her use the Forge.

The technique was fiendishly difficult, the initial process of just reading the Teotl patterns took hours. It felt good though, resonant. The Teotl flood-waves were similar to the Will of Creation, the softening, carving and hardening process was like Imbuement, the mental imaging identical to the Cosmic Forge. She knew intuitively that once she'd practiced it a bit, she could make it a pillar. It could even be the foundation for a second Mastery.

Questions from above repeated here for convenience:

Let the Engineer investigate the Forge on behalf of the Saint of Arts and Crafts?
[] Yes
[] No

How do you judge the rabbit?
[] The rabbit disgusts me, its cultivation is offensive. It should be put to death.
[] The rabbit disgusts me, and I am sure it is offensive to heaven. It should be put to death.
[] The rabbit disgusts me, but it has broken no law of the empire. Its brood are not awakened and eating rabbits is legal. I let it be.
[] The rabbit disgusts me, but it has done me, personally, no harm. I let it be.
[] The rabbit disgusts me, but it has acted with virtue and used its powers for the good of the empire. It should be rewarded.
[] The rabbit disgusts me, but I refuse to judge it. I am not qualified to do so.
[] The rabbit disgusts me, [Write in]

 

[Mr. Prokosch]

After receiving the technique, Chachi selected her new escort from a small list of dossiers. They'd agreed on giving her a squad of Perfects led by a Transforming cultivator.

Escort
[] Junfeng - Path of the The Stalwart Fortress
A transcendent cultivator, but oddly low ranked as a simple squad leader. He's from the very distant Shattered Plains. His path focuses on empowering his subordinates with layers of blessings.

With her new education on the art of intrigue, Chachi realized that something must be wrong with him to be on this list. After a little questioning, she discovered that he recently killed a noble in a duel, that he's frequently insubordinate, and that he's a very heavy drinker. Nevertheless, he should be the strongest cultivator on offer.

[] Paitia - Path of the Three Poisons
A second stage Merging cultivator (Mind - Spirit) from the 1000 Rivers. Her path uses rare poison techniques to debilitate enemies. She volunteered for this duty, and seems to be a fan of your clan. Possible adoption?

[] Nahualoztomeca - Path of There and Here
A Liminal Cultivator from the Paradise Hills. His path uses movement and illusion to confuse enemies. Previously in command of a Great Ship, he asked to be put on light duty to focus on raising his young son, who he plans to bring with him.

[] Ecauhyo - Path of the Striking Shadow
A Transposition Cultivator from the 1000 Rivers. His path involves using an army of shadow-constructs. He has several commendations for courage and loyalty, Chachi doesn't know and could not discover why he'd be assigned this duty.

The journey home was less eventful. Chachi spent most of her time practicing her new technique. She was entranced by the potential, but as she began to practice it in earnest, she encountered some steep limitations. Some techniques, like her blessing of efficiency, worked almost automatically. She didn't need to know anything about the day to day efforts of a dock worker to make them just a little smoother with a gentle flow of teotl. Others, like Basic Imbuement or the Forge, required a very clear, sophisticated idea of what she was doing. Flesh Sculpting was in the latter group. She had only the most basic knowledge of anatomy, biology, and the healing arts, so she could only produce a very crude 'sculpture.' If she didn't know what a heart was supposed to look like, how it should function, even exactly where it was, then how could she properly repair one, or even improve it? She had a much firmer grasp of riverways and how to integrate teotl flows into objects, so she was much more confident in her ability to do something similar to living things. She could not fix a heart just yet, but she was fairly certain she could make one pump fire. It was a very lopsided knowledge base, she mused. If she wanted to use the technique to its full potential, she'd need to correct that.

Spoiler: Mechanics Note

Some techniques just do their thing, but most (like crafting or combat techniques) rely on your skill levels. Flesh Sculpting is a very complex technique and can draw on lots of different skills, depending on what you're doing with it. It relies on: Medicine (+Anatomy Specialization), Nature, Crafting (+Living Specialization), and Cultivation Knowledge. Most people who know the technique are heavily focused on Medicine, Chachi is more skilled in Crafting and Cultivation Knowledge.

She also dealt with business matters. After lecturing her for some time on the pointless risk involved in personally fighting Abyssals, Teo informed Chachi that the Walking Fortress in the Crystal Desert has been enormously successful. It easily repelled a pair of raids in the desert, and thanks to their gifts to the local Lord they were given extra protection in the trading oasis. The traders found that their product was far superior to the Cartel's, and they could easily undercut the monopoly pricing and still make a very healthy profit. The Desert is rich in Essence Crystals and Spirit Stones, so there was no issue with payment.

(+18 Income while trade continues unimpeded in the Crystal Desert)

The sheer size of the Fortresses helped them navigate the Vast Swamp. Your traders could not find the True Lord, which they were told by locals was completely normal, she just disappears sometimes. Many of your products were not welcomed in the Swamp Towns, it seems that they have a long tradition of personalized elixir brewing and don't trust your generic products. Your traders made a small profit selling the raw ingredients from the Special Farmers Union. She discussed how to solve this issue with Teo and settled on:

(+4 income while trade continues unimpeded in the Vast Swamp)

[] Spend some money marketing the Elixirs as a safer, stronger, more convenient alternative to brewing your own (-$5, maybe higher income later).
[] Produce partially finished "mix-yourself" Elixir kits. The important work is already done for the customer, but they can add their own finishing touches if they want (slows and annoys production, maybe higher income later).
[] They want raw ingredients, so sell them raw ingredients. Profit margins are lower, but it's easy money.

Chachi also made a little time to work on her own equipment. She wanted to crush her next attacker, and for that she'd need a weapon worthy of the Heavenly-Diamond Matriarch! She grinned (or was it a grimace, it almost hurt), and imagined tearing that fish-man monster to burning pieces.

First she had to choose the basic form. She had fond memories of learning under the weapons-master her father hired as her personal tutor. It was a classical education, called the 7 Pillars, that emphasized good form and footwork while using many different weapons. It was supposed to give a strong foundation in melee combat without overly committing the student to any particular path. Chachi had never taken it to the next level, where a student developed an affinity for a particular weapon that complemented her cultivation.

Eventually she settled on a spear, like her sister (who could help her train). The spear's long reach would compensate somewhat for her lack of ranged techniques, and it was effective underwater. It was also a large canvas, which made her ambitious plans for mixing many materials more viable.

She'd been working on making and using exotic materials lately, and wanted to put some of that new knowledge into practice. Could she combine seven essences, like the seven pillars of her Mastery, into a single viable material?

She chose a base of Earth and Metal, traditional for most weapons and armor. As she was quickly learning Fire, Lightning, and Light were good conduits of heavenly power, and while they resisted being locked into most forms, she knew Fire and Metal were complimentary (mortal steel broke down to around 95% metal, 5% Fire, the whole process was to get the metal to accept a bit of Fire Essence). Lightning should compliment Fire and Metal as well. Earth could contain Light with a gemstone. A Lightning Diamond-Steel shaft then, and Shining Diamond for the head. When she'd made Oku's armor, she'd added some Beast and Blood Essence to the shell to give it a small amount of life-like reactivity. That was viable because the shell came from a living beast, so it was naturally receptive to those essences. Could she stabilize pure life essence with blood for a living core? She played with that idea a few times, but it just didn't work. The life essence just faded out of the stagnant blood as soon as it left the Forge. In frustration she Willed the life to stay where it was with Prideful Order. It obeyed, but she felt an uncomfortable resistance and rescinded her authority. It was better to pick her battles when it came to modifying the Perfect Order. Once she abandoned that idea, it only took her a moment of thought to realize the error and come up with an alternative: Wood. Blood and Wood could both hold life, but in different ways. Stagnant blood was dead blood, but wood was more serene. A thin core of Living Wood then, not conscious but responsive to her will, interwoven with the rest of the spear with thin strands. It should leap in her hands, making small adjustments to its movement to match her intentions.

She considered the primary imbuement, and whether she wanted to Refine the weapon.

What feature does Chachi emphasize:
[] Adaption
If she's clever enough with the riverways, she can integrate a number of 'switches' that let her channel a whole collection of treasure techniques, so long as they compliment the essences she used. It could change size, emit a burst of light, fire, or lightning, grab hold of an enemy's weapon, and more. No single effect will be as impressive, but nothing beats having the perfect tool for the job.

[] Smiting
All the essences can be melded to a single purpose: the strike down the wicked. Chachi thinks she can get the spear to channel actual holy lightning.

[] Protection
She can give it a reactive shield that can activate on its own to protect Chachi and people she cares about. Most useful if she's ever ambushed, since it requires no conscious input.

[] True Diamond
She can make everything adhere to a diamond structure. This will strengthen the spear materially and give it some diamond properties, but it will refuse to take any form of treasure technique (there's an exception if it's Thrice Refined).

[] Connection
The spear is made to be a compliment to Chachi, she may be able to imbue it so it's fully responsive to her will, moving fully of its own volition. "Flying Swords" are a signature weapon of certain combat paths, using them well requires specialized techniques, but she thinks she could put those techniques in the weapon itself.

[] Write-In

Does she refine it?
This will vastly increase the weapon's power and long-term usefulness, but isn't free.

[]Refined
It will be better at its chosen purpose, the small essence clashes will smooth and it will be more heavenly

[]Thrice Refined
It will be much more 'alive,' potent, and nearly indestructible. It will have the top two features.

[]No Refinement

(Things in your idea that needed to be adapted: it's beyond Chachi's skill to get everything you want in one thing without refinement. The Essences aren't complimentary enough to make a single coherent material, so it's actually three materials working together, which is totally normal. A rabbit as a whole is bone, blood, and fur, but it isn't bone-blood-fur.)