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Rock the Cradle: A cultivation story

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it does read to me like ox is an explicitly good fit for working the orchards, and sky garden tender is an okay fit that gives him some more comfort about his past.

The question is which helps him more in the long run and which he's more insecure about, to me? measuring up to his new family or remembering the old?
 
[X] "It was... some kind of sacred pig."

"I found this annoying pig nosing through shit and immediately thought of you. Here you go!"
 
[X] "It's a Three-Fold Ox!"

Damn, Argen's path seems really good. The halfsilver disruption seems really strong. You can punch through it, it sounds like it's not as "complete" as Pure madra disruption, but even just passive disruption sounds annoying as hell to fight.
 
VagueZ said:
It turns out that the green dragon was the first one there, and you're the second, so when you get there, he's already waiting, all four legs tucked under his body like a loafing cat or rabbit, his huge wings mostly folded. The one that's not fully folded he's propped up in a kinda funny angle so he can scratch an itch with the wooden horns that grow out of his head. When he realizes you're there, he folds the wing back down and inclines his head. "Keras. I'm glad to see you've done well for yourself." You're sure he'd be giving a small smile if his face was well-constructed to not have that look like a threat.

You'd almost gotten used to teachers being human while you were in the Kingdom. Thantiriiz looks a little scarier than you remembered, though you know that's not the truth of the matter. Your Jade spiritual sense reveals... no secrets. He just feels like a teacher, and having claws like knives and a breath attack of living fire is an accident of birth. "Thank you," you say. "And thank you for all you've done for me, and the math books and all that. But Mister Than? Can I ask a question?" The dragon's head dips in a nod. You still glance over both shoulders in case any of your friends are close. "I know from all the letters that you're working with Argen, helping him get stronger. Why?"
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Thantiriiz is a teacher first and foremost, Keras is just able to sense the dragon parts better now that's all.

VagueZ said:
The dragon sighs. "Because it meets both of our needs, unfortunately."

"What do you mean, 'unfortunately'?"

"I am banished from the land of my Monarch until I can return with a human who will act like a dragon. An ironic punishment from a more powerful dragon. I have endeavored to ensure that Argen understands what he is getting into, but if he continues to pursue this, it will be a harder path than he yet realizes. It would be better if he were more content, like your friend Naia is." Than yawns and sits up on his haunches. "Actually, you were my first promising lead, though I'm pleased to see you are, instead, pursuing a calmer and safer path through a career in refining."
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So basically he's trying to find a dragon like student and Keras was his first lead but he's happy that Keras is walking their current path since it's good for them.

VagueZ said:
"When I take on a student, I want them to be the best and happiest that they can be. A life of contentment and peace is better than one of struggle and endlessly contesting strength against rivals and foes. However, some people, whatever race we are born to, cannot be happy without pushing themselves. I had thought your curiosity about secrets beyond your grasp might push you to want to see the dragon lands, but, instead, you've found a new foundation and opportunity. Argen, on the other hand, needs to measure himself against himself and against others, seeking endless victory. He will not find solace in watching an elixir refinery the way that you do. So, unfortunately, the best path for him may yet be to pit himself against dragons as a dragon himself." It's all said in a matter-of-fact bluntness that feels a little weird to you when contrasted to the strange logic involved. "If that is the case, I will facilitate that as best I can. Ah, and here comes Argen now."
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Than is a great teacher and wants what is best for his students. Also Argen fits the Dragon role really well and it's honestlly the best path for him.

VagueZ said:
You look over your shoulder to see Argen arriving. There's a swagger in his step and a confidence in his smile that's familiar, yet new in its depth. His rapier is on his hip, and his cheeks and neck are marked with a Goldsign of scales. You're pretty sure that they're also sharp, so halfway between razors and snake scales. "Keras. I see you're as eager for a match as I am."
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He's really confident from the looks of it.

VagueZ said:
"Good," Than says. "Everyone is here. For three of you, this is a chance for you to test your advancement and grow more familiar with your new capabilities. For Keras, I believe that this will still be useful. We will do a series of one-on-one fights, Keras against all of you in turn. I will step in before any serious injuries occur, either calling for an end to the match or intervening physically, so this will be full-contact. Hold nothing back save the full use of death madra." Draconic eyes flick between you and Olerac. "I cannot prevent internal injuries from its use, so you must be responsible for your own safety there. Now, who wants to go first?"
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Death madra is dangerous and that should be kept in mind.

VagueZ said:
It's only then that you both have a chance to even properly find your feet, as you whip around and settle into a fighting pose. Rather than immediately charge again, you throw out a Clinging Vine from your left hand, but Argen snatches the Forger technique out of the air with his bare hand—and his madra pierces and destroys it almost instantly. You blink in surprise: he's able to emulate the madra-disrupting nature of halfsilver with his own madra?
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Okay damn that's really impressive.

VagueZ said:
This is what Olerac meant, about you not being all the way ready for Argen. There's a fierce light in Argen's eyes and an assurance in his movements: he will be faster. He will be stronger. And the halfsilver will deliver victory the moment its chaotic disruption affects you.

It's not even particularly far wrong. He doesn't have Prachi's experience, but he's using the same sort of movements that gave the old soldier his successes, and Argen's weapon is even better for getting results. You may or may not technically be the more skilled weapon-user, but the halfsilver rapier is scary. He doesn't let up. You give ground, and he keeps adjusting his thrusts to try to land one hit with the tip, his right arm twisting like a snake to find difficult angles and unexpected targets on your body.
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Argen has the mindset to be a really good fighter.

VagueZ said:
This is why Prachi drilled you on using techniques even while being pressured. This is why you aren't just an axe fighter. The Desiccated Valley springs up around Argen. He grimaces, finding the field uncomfortable, though you're not pouring so much madra in that it will injure him. He probably thinks that that's the extent of it, so he doesn't notice when a pair of Striker seeds slip through the edges of his vision and land on the ground.
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But Keras is a lot more experienced with fighting and has Prachi who's a damn good fighter as a teacher.

VagueZ said:
He doesn't realize that, but he isn't simply committing to the vicious rapier barrage, either. From his left hand, a flick of his fingers launches Cutting Intent, his own Striker move. You take it on your left shoulder, trusting in the defense of Field's Strength... and your left Goldsign evaporates. It nicks your shoulder, and all down your left arm, Field's Strength evaporates, leaving you with just the power of your Iron body on that limb, no Enforcer technique to strengthen it.

Argen's techniques are all colored by the disruption of halfsilver and the consuming power of flame, it seems.
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Yeah that's a really nasty ability and he's using it well in combat.

VagueZ said:
Argen looks half disbelieving. "What did you even do?"

"I used a Ruler technique to dull your senses so I could drop Striker techniques behind you without you noticing, then attacked while you were distracted. If you'd just tried to tank the hits, my axe attack was meant to hit as you were knocked off-balance."
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That sensory dulling technique is really coming in handy and Keras went straight to taking advantage of it.

VagueZ said:
"How often do you win fights against other Lowgolds your age in the Seishen Kingdom proper, Keras?" Thantiriiz asks.

You keep feeling at your left Goldsign until the madra stabilizes and the extra hand comes back. "About half the time. There's a monthly—uh, monthly fights between two big groups there." That's just Great Crevasse, not the Kingdom as a whole, but that sort of fine distinction probably doesn't need to be explained.

You see Argen flinch when he hears that, for some reason, but then you see his jaw set and his eyes harden.
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Keras has been getting a lot of chances to fight peers and superiors that's not really something that Argen has access to the same extent.

VagueZ said:
You've seen it before: the longer he has it active on a charge, the faster it moves him. It gains power from rushing like an avalanche pouring down a hill. You match him, Enforcer-for-Enforcer, and both of you run at the other.

He swings the staff straight down at you as he gets close enough. It's a favored move for him, it seems. Unfortunately for him, you are expecting it this time. As it approaches your head, you drop your axe, and clamp four hands on the shaft of his weapon. It stops as if it had struck a mountain, and the force of the impact blows away much of the remaining dust.

His eyes widen, but you don't let him contest it. You twist your body and you heave over your shoulder with all your strength. You have better leverage just now, and, to his credit, Olerac doesn't let go. That only means he comes with it. He falls to the ground, shoulder-first, as you turn his overhead blow into your own overhead blow. That could seriously hurt if he isn't tough, but he's not an earth aspect sacred artist for nothing.

Still, you yank straight back, and he's too discombobulated to contest it. You pull the staff away, then hook a toe under your axe. You flip that up in the air and catch it, holding both of your weapons in a pair of hands each. You see Olerac pause, calculating, before he shakes his head and smiles. "I lose."

You toss the staff back to him and he catches it. "It's a good idea, but you can't use your madra to its fullest at the same time you're veiling yourself. You'll want something else to bring the whole concept together, something that disguises your own madra use, instead of just hiding behind a smokescreen."
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Keras is showing off they're a really damn good fighter and that their stats being higher then most Lowgolds matters.

VagueZ said:
The Fishers are just happy to have one more Gold. Apparently, they think that when Naia's a bit more seasoned, they'll be able to safely go after some of the old and powerful fish that lurk in the further corners of the Hinterlands. While cliff bears are basically not contested as the apex land predator, the greatest of the rivers and lakes have their own creatures.
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Golds are useful in the area they live.

VagueZ said:
The wedding itself isn't a lengthy affair. The Hinterlands have never bothered with a really formal thing. If two people say that they're married, then they are. Sometimes a couple gets labeled as a married couple even before they say it. For Jaylon and Bosc, it's a little more formal, with Thantiriiz the dragon giving a very fancy speech about the pride and individualism that is everyone's right, and how makes it special when people choose to join together in a new union. You hadn't heard this speech before, but it feels to you like it's quoting something that he's familiar with.
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Thantiriiz giving a Dragon speech is really sweet and he's likely quoting the philosphy/marriage vows of a dragon or at least an equivalent.

VagueZ said:
Your dad tries to give a speech, but he gets too choked up with emotion and just starts crying, unable to say the part of the ceremony he was supposed to do. That leads to Bosc, all dressed up in an unusually fancy red dress, turning to Jaylon and saying "Think that counts?"
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Man is so happy that he's blubbering that's really sweet.

VagueZ said:
All-in-all, it's a grand time, the sort of thing that keeps the community all together. You're finding it's an unwinding of anxieties for you, ones you hadn't even fully realized you'd held. You're glad you came back, glad you made the time to see your friends and family and been here for your sister. You're glad you had gifts to give to everyone.

But, on another level, it's also good that you'll be heading back to the big city soon. This little town is home, but you'd meant what you'd told Jaylon, too. This was a nice vacation, but you're also ready to return to your studies, to keep working on refining with Cheng, to tell Prachi what you've decided, and see what Gardenia and Damir and the rest are up to, too. There's so many interesting things you'll start to miss out on if you don't get back to Great Crevasse soon.
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Keras does like coming back but they like the life they've built for themselves in Great Crevasse.

VagueZ said:
"Remnants, for both," you tell them. Jaylon's eyes widen. Bosc's don't, but she's just leaning on his arm with her own arms loosely looped around him, so it's a little harder for her to give much away with body language. "Bosc, I know you'd talked before about not wanting a Goldsign that interferes with your aesthetics, so I found this." You pull out one of your last two scripted Remnant cages. "It's from a Well-Wishing Waterlily. The usual Goldsign people get from it is that your fingernails and toenails will change colors to match your mood. I think that's good for you. It's good, right?" You look at her a little uncertainly, and get just a small smile, so that's probably good.
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That fits Bosc really well.

[X] "It's a Three-Fold Ox!"

He's going to be part of what takes over the family farm so helping him with that and welcoming him in is nice.

[X] "This is from a sky-garden tender."

This is acknowledging him as a farmer and as his own person so I'm good with this to.
 
HeWhoLurks said:
Argen being able to channel halfsilver's madra disruption through his own madra serms like a very powerful ability. If he had a ruler techinque like Yerin's it would be very difficult to deal with.
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Tylansimov said:
Damn, Argen's path seems really good. The halfsilver disruption seems really strong. You can punch through it, it sounds like it's not as "complete" as Pure madra disruption, but even just passive disruption sounds annoying as hell to fight.
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His Path/Family was the original "Designated Protagonist" choice of the quest, so it makes sense that it would be powerful and straightforward.
 
Great, upbeat, happy chapter. Lots of character growth in a well structured play-fight.


[X] "It was... some kind of sacred pig."

Ox is probably, marginally better, but pig has merits.

It's a personal gift, focused on health and skill, and pigs are associated with luck. Dude-bro going to need luck.

Also it's funny. And I like underdogs.


VagueZ said:
You don't have to wait long. Olerac shows up next, a sturdy wooden staff in one hand and a Goldsign of granite-grey wolf ears and tail. They aren't yet in his control, so you see the ears swivel this way and that even as he's hurrying to join you all.
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Dog-boy Olerac!

*fan girls*

[X] Pet Olerac
 
VagueZ said:
It turns out that the green dragon was the first one there, and you're the second, so when you get there, he's already waiting, all four legs tucked under his body like a loafing cat or rabbit, his huge wings mostly folded. The one that's not fully folded he's propped up in a kinda funny angle so he can scratch an itch with the wooden horns that grow out of his head.
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What the heck why is this image cute. I have to engrave in my mind that Thantiiriz is a large dragon, because somehow I never seem to wholly comprehend it, especially when he does things like this!

VagueZ said:
Argen, on the other hand, needs to measure himself against himself and against others, seeking endless victory.
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Oh, this makes me sad for Argen. I know this is a cultivation setting, but I don't know if Argen is ever going to find happiness with this sort of mindset. On the other hand, he sure has a nifty ability now!

VagueZ said:
granite-grey wolf ears and tail
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Oh no Olerac is a wolf boy now this is gonna be too cute--
VagueZ said:
His tail wags
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--god damn it.

The three fights really showcase their personalities: Argen being aggressive and impatient, Olerac is happy (though he's going to always feel "gross") and respectful, Naia satisfied but always willing to learn. And shows just how much Keras has grown. That little cooking moment afterward was cute, though RIP about the lack of salt. Maybe Keras should think about carrying some, who knows, it might come in handy in the future lol.

I think the Remnant for Jaylon should be the one that lets him reclaim parts of himself he had to ditch to marry Bosc. While he looks up to and is intimidated by his now father-in-law, Jaylon is never going to fully replace or be him, and that's okay! Just like how Bosc made a version of Desiccated Valley wholly suited to her, I believe Jaylon should also forge a path more suited to him, instead of emulating someone else. Bosc chose to marry Jaylon because of who he is, not because he'd be the best fit to inherit the orchard with (which was not something Bosc was looking foward to, anyway). Melding his old self with his new without wholly rejecting it just feels like a healthier option.

[X] "This is from a sky-garden tender."
 
[X] "It's a Three-Fold Ox!"

Ultimately I think he needs to feel more confident that he can do the hard job ahead and match up to our dad, and this pretty directly handles that.
 
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