Threads Of Destiny(Eastern Fantasy, Sequel to Forge of Destiny)

[Neshuakadal]

10 Years Later
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Chin Yan panted as he balanced on the ancient wood that tilted precariously over a valley. His argent disciple clothes hanging loosely off of his frame as the soft breeze slipped through the rents and tears that made his clothes look like rags. Disturbing that black steel bear had not been the smartest choice he had made and running through the treetops had ruined the clothes he brought. For now though he should be safe having not heard the bears roar in the last hour. As he gazed over the valley his thoughts turned away from his mistakes to the valley before him. The glare from the sun forced him to squint as he continued his quest to gain advantages over his year mates. The glimmering of the stream promised him a refreshing drink and the old growth trees tilting over the valley provided a great deal of shade along the edge. Nothing so far seemed interesting or likely to provide a hidden edge. Nevertheless his instincts screamed at him that this valley was the breakthrough he needed. Leaping from tilted tree to tilted tree he began to notice strange things about the valley. For one it was as if something had lifted a perfect circle out of the ground and all the trees growing inside the valley were much younger than the ones surrounding the valley. With the qi circulating in his eyes Chin Yan could see that this valley was far newer than anything else in the area. He felt it in his bones, this spot could be a be a big break for him. It was far away from the mountain so he should be safe from the chaos that had erupted last week when the truce ended. Pan Jie's dream of surpassing the government made by Cai Renxiang was getting decimated and Chin Yan wanted as much space between him and the roving bands of older students dueling anyone even suspected of helping Pan Jie.


As Chin Yan's dark thoughts started to curse Pan Jie and the trouble he was bringing to the outer sect his eyes caught the first sight of civilization in this valley. Three squat stone pillars stood vigilant in what seemed to be the deepest section, barely visible through the trees. There seemed an almost ominous air to those pillar, as if they chained down some terrible curse. Excitement burned in his chest though as Chin Yan slowly worked his way across the valley. This was his chance! His chance to prove that a commoner like him could rise above nobles! That excitement slowly soured as he crept closer and closer to the pillars. There appeared to be nothing here. No great locus of qi to be found. No glimmering treasure hidden between these pillars. No advantage to be gained. Chin Yan looked glumly about the clearing. A crack in the earth was the only thing here. He could see nothing in that abyss and felt no locus of qi hiding down in that darkness. With an explosive sigh Chin Yan started searching for a good way to climb down the hole. He had not outrun a black steel bear just to turn around at a little hole in the earth, dammit! There must be something here or the pillars would not have been put here. He would just have to brave some darkness and he would surely find it! Just as he was about to start down the crack a voice as soft as silk interrupted him.


" I can not suggest the action you are about to do."


Chin Yan's eyes flashed towards the voice and he saw a beautiful lady standing by him. With a pale green dress and pale blue hair she held an exquisite air about her. Her graceful beauty only marred by the eye patch she wore. However it was not her beauty that had Chin Yan's heart in his throat, it was the power that he was now feeling creeping up on him. Like someone with infinite hands slowly pulling him apart to see what made him work. He knew for a fact that whoever stood gazing at him was a mountain to his mole hill. As his heart pounded he stood up and bowed low. With his stomach curdling Chin Yan stammered out a greeting.


"This junior brother greats senior sister. I hop..hope that I haven't caused any annoyance to senior sister."


"You have caused no annoyance junior brother. I am simply warning you since I see you have not made the necessary preparations for exploring the twisting caverns beneath us."


Some primal part of Chin Yan's mind decided that he was now going to die as the words to his question tumbled out of his mouth.


"M..M..May I ask senior sister what steps I should have taken before adventuring down this crevice?"


With a voice of silk his senior sister decided to answer him.


"The most important thing is a source of clean air. The air below is poisonous and you will need to supply your own either through pills or formations. Next you will need the ability to see. Either an art to pierce the darkness or a form of light."


A whisper was all Chin Yan could manage for his thanks.


"My thanks senior sister for your warning and advice."


A soft hum surrounded him as his senior sister stood there apparently thinking. Chin Yan remained bowed with his muscles trying their best to snap with tension as he awaited the next action of his Senior Sister. When that soft voice spoke again it filled Chin Yan with hope that he had found his lucky break.


"As a red soul I would suggest not going past the first level. After the first level the creatures get far more aggressive and stronger. If we happen to see each other down in those caverns I would be willing to give some small advice on combat down there and the uses for the materials you would find."


With those words she vanished along with the power suffocating him. Chin Yan stayed bowed for several seconds to ensure that his Senior Sister had indeed left. As he straightened he grew determined to explore the caverns that were apparently below his feet. He would need to brave the combat of the outer sect first but if he could get advice from such a powerful Senior Sister it would all be worth it.

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An Omake for the Omake throne @yrsillar !

 

[Thor's Twin]

The Inquisition has Arrived

First Lieutenant Garush felt the vibrations from his footfalls reverberate throughout the eerily silent halls. While the hall was decked with the appropriate iconography befitting a vessel of the Imperium, it felt like there was an absence in every shadow, a hunger in every flickering candle, a crawling whisper in every whiff of incense. Normally he would brush it off as an errant thought and promise to devote more time in prayer to the Emperor, but with who lay in wait at the end of this stretch of hallway, he couldn't say for certain that it was simply his mind playing tricks. Eventually, he stood at the door leading to the Inquisitor's chambers and knocked politely. He felt the chill down his neck as a soft voice spoke from inside the room.

"Please come in First Lieutenant Garush, the door is unlocked."

Opening the door revealed a sparsely decorated room. The expected furnishings were there: skulls, candles, Imperial Aquilae, incense, and the Inquisitorial symbol dotted the room, but they all seemed lesser compared to the woman sitting at her desk before him. Clothed in dark midnight purple accented with silver, she had a quiet unassuming air about her. A cup with a frosted lip was to her left on the desk, and a deck of the Emperor's Tarot was being shuffled in her hands. It was almost hypnotic the way the cards moved between her fingers as if dancing to an invisible melody. He saw Inquisitor Ling look up from her shuffling and smile. A cold sweat broke out upon his back at the sight, which was never a good sign.

"Come in First Lieutenant Garush," the Inquisitor beckoned, "have a seat."

With a deep breath, he began his rehearsed line, "I'm sorry Lady Inquisitor, but I've been sent to escort you to the bridge upon the Captain's order. He wishes to consult with you about possible entry plans into the system and we are soon exiting the warp."

"And he need not worry First Lieutenant, you shall do your duty as soon as you have sat down for a couple of minutes. It would be impolite to barge into a lady's quarters and demand she leave immediately when there's not a true emergency, would it not?

He looked at her smiling face and knew that she would not budge before he sat down. With a swallow, he nodded and pulled out the chair in front of the desk and sat down. This was going to be simply terrible, wasn't it?

"Tell me First Lieutenant, have you ever had your fortune read with the Emperor's Tarot?"

"Ah… no, I haven't Lady Inquisitor"

"Hmm… such a shame," Inquisitor Ling whispered, "let's take a moment to see what your fortune is, shall we?"

With dawning horror, First Lieutenant Garush watched as four cards darted out of the rhythm between her fingers and laid face down in front of Inquisitor Ling. They were elegant cards, finely crafted, and represented information that he was better off not knowing. Knowing the future always made the present duty harder. The other cards were set down on the desk, and then she cupped her hands in her lap

With no hesitation, Inquisitor Ling began her reading, "The first card is the past, the second card is a present struggle, the third card is a potential solution, and the fourth is a future tragedy. Let us begin shall we?"

He tried to rise to his feet and give protest, but his muscles refused to move and his voice died in his throat. The pressure in the room had become immense, the candles swirled erratically and shadows danced in response. A chill permeated his bones as the temperature dropped precipitously. Inquisitor Ling seemed to pay it no mind as she flipped over the first card.

"The Dishonored Scion, but inverted. Intriguing. You're not nobility yourself, so you must have attached yourself to a rising star amongst the nobility to gain the rank you hold today. Perhaps the Captian of our fair vessel? No? Then the Flag-Lieutenant. You seem to have friends in high places."

The Inquisitor flipped the next card over, and all but one candle were suddenly snuffed out. There, on the table lay The Shattered World.

"The Shattered World," she murmured, "it seems that your friendship with the high and mighty is nearing its end. He is taking actions you disagree with, actions which you deem to be ruinous. Yet you stand helpless to stop it and should he succeed you will be damned but should he fail your time in the navy will end. I would imagine you find neither outcome particularly attractive."

He knew that already! But each solution he had would cost him everything. His position in the fleet, his status amongst the nobility, his wealth, and his privilege! It would likely even cost him his fiancee! As the Inquisitor reached for the third card, he prayed to the Emperor, that something, anything, would stop this nightmare. Suddenly the cabin lurched, and the candles reignited banishing the shadows and casting everything in warm light.

"It would seem that we have exited the warp slightly ahead of schedule. Hopefully, we have entered the Uivis system and nothing even more unexpected occurred. Now, First Lieutenant, I do believe you were to escort me to the bridge? It appears that now would be an excellent time to do that."

He swallowed, stood up, and gestured towards the door, "After you Lady Inquisitor. I am positive that the Capitan will be delighted to see you."

The Capitan was pleased to see the Lady Inquisitor. He was even more pleased to have a ready reason to send an officer to supervise the party heading down to the Mechanicus research center on the Deathworld of Uivis. An officer who had dallied in bringing the Lady Inquisitor to the bridge.

A/N: I do have more planned for this but I felt like this was an adequate place to end the scene. Ling Qi is an inquisitor in Warhammer 40k, a setting where there is nothing but war and the dream of peace is a lie. She is a powerful psyker who has trained extensively in the divination arts, specifically using the past to predict the future. As a tidbit to the next section, there is a familiar face in charge of the Mechanicus research lab which deals extensively with the horrors that live, kill, and die on this death world. This character doesn't know Ling Qi well and as such sees the side of her that most people in the outer sect saw. Which is to say not a pleasant person to those who aren't part of her in-group. However, she has plans for First Lieutenant Garush.

As always, I hope that you enjoy the read, and critiques and critisms are welcomed.

Also, @yrsillar another omake for the omake throne!

 

[Thor's Twin]

The Art of Horror

Shi Wu walked underneath the looming shadow of a mountain as the sun was setting, and with sunset's arrival, the sky glowed in reds and purples. The valley he traversed, however, did not share the sky's enthusiasm for the day's end. It was well shaded with twisted and gnarled trees covering the slopes contrasted by a single path of striking white winding through the valley's floor. And with each step on the trail Shi Wu was reminded what, exactly, the trail was paved with. Bone. Bleached bone distorted and warped to provide a well-made path to Sect Brother Li's workshop.

The disturbingness of the bone trail was only heightened by the clear effort and care that went into making sure it would have some semblance of beauty. But that was the way of things with Sect Brother Li, horror transformed into beauty and beauty twisted into horror. While anybody with sense was careful in their dealings with Brother Li, his products demonstrated the efficacy, efficiency, and potency that had made Clan Li's products sought after for generations. Which meant, of course, that people sought Brother Li's products. And while Shi Wu would have killed to get one of the vaunted Corruption Cleansing Tablets, there was a bigger prize to be sought. An apprenticeship under Brother Li.

Meeting him in person though, was quite different than ordering his products through letters. There were few people who had actually walked this path of bones, which meant that Shi Wu didn't have a lot of information to plan his first impression. Even though the sect had given their blessing to pursue this apprenticeship, it would require actually getting the attention, acknowledgment, and acceptance of Sect Brother Li. This would not be a simple matter of showing up to the workshop though. In addition to himself, there were seven of his fellow brothers had shown the skill and talent with the mysteriously corrupted beast cores to be given the Sect's blessing in pursuing this opportunity. However, it was likely that only one of them would be chosen, making this entire experience more stressful than it already was.

Even now Shi Wu's senses were telling him of unnatural things creeping and hidden among the gnarled trees. Constructs crafted from flesh and stone tended the twisted groves and ensured that none disturbed their growth while providing, presumably, an early warning system against intruders and guests. The sight of those soulless eyes embedded in marble faces sent shivers down his spine. He knew, however, that these constructs would be the least of the horrors that lay in store within Brother Li's workshop, and so with firming resolve, Shi Wu locked his head in place and muted his senses and simply walked. Eventually, he would reach the entrance of the workshop and then the real trials would begin.

As the sun fully set behind the horizon, a cave roughly hewn from the side of a cliff appeared at the end of the trail. From within the cave, an unearthly blue glow emanated casting sickly light on the ground. Standing guard in front of the entrance were two large constructs of stone and iron. A full head and shoulders taller than Shi Wu, they wielded rough spears and shields. Halting before them, Shi Wu materialized his instructions to reassure himself of the specific greetings needed, and then proceeded to begin introductions.

"Greetings guardians, my name is Sect Brother Shi and I am here to present myself to Sect Brother Li for the apprenticeship trials."

With the sound of grinding bone, one of the guardians looked at him and responded, "You are early, the Master expected arrivals for his trial when the moon reached its zenith."

"I am aware."

There was a beat of silence that stretched uncomfortably long in Shi Wu's opinion, but then the guardian resumed his scanning of the valley and said, "Proceed until you reach the vault door, then wait until the trial begins. Do not disturb the fungi."

And with those instructions, Shi Wu entered the cave. The only illumination at first was a strange bioluminescent lichen which made strangely hypnotic patterns on the ceiling and walls of the cave. However, other light sources soon began appearing in the form of mushrooms as he proceeded deeper into the cave. All were giving an unearthly blue glow. Eventually though, the cave opened up into a large cavern with vaulted ceilings. Stalactites hung from that ceiling and the sound of slowly dripping water could be heard. At the opposite end of the cavern stood a vault-like door made of polished ebony wood. To either side of the room grew groves of large other-worldly mushrooms. Washed in sickly blue light, the mushrooms had flourished in the damp dark conditions that existed in the cavern.

It would be hours until the trial began, and so, with nothing better to do at the moment, Shi Wu began to inspect the tools he brought. There was likely nothing wrong with them, but it was better than letting his mind wander and ponder what lay behind the door. Other competitors soon began percolating in, and with each, he would give a nod of acknowledgment and then return to his self-assigned task. After a couple of hours had passed, all eight of them stood in front of the vaulted door. Some, like himself, were nervously doing habits to pass the time while others simply stood placidly by and waited. No one talked.

A chime reverberated throughout the cavern, and everyone hastily stopped what they were doing. Slowly the wood door rolled open revealing a tall man who appeared of middling age clothed in the uniform of a Core Sect Disciple. Light blue hair was kept short on his head and his green eyes seemed hard and jaded. Sect Brother Li had arrived. Behind him came eight lumbering giants, seemingly crafted from ivory and jade, each carried a chest made from the same black wood as the vault door.

"In these eight chests are some of the reagents you have demonstrated skill at utilizing," began Sect Brother Li, "while also containing reagents that you likely never have seen. Identify the ones you should know accurately while categorizing the ones you do not know by how dangerous they could be if improperly handled. You have one hour. Those who do not show satisfactory results will be dismissed. Begin."

Shi Wu nervously gulped as the ivory giant placed a chest in front of him, and then stepped back. It was time to shine, and demonstrate that he deserved to be an apprentice of the Artesian of Horror.

A/N: @yrsillar have another omake for the omake throne!

This one is inspired by the idea of Li Suyin's clan in the future being focused on production work and this descendant really going after the idea of contrasting horror and traditional beauty. I hope that people enjoy the omake, and, as always, critiques and criticisms are welcomed.

 

[Thor's Twin]

The Darkest Revel

A Waning Gibbous shone down upon an endless forest, beset by shadows and darkness. Cool winds blowing down from the Wall rustled the emerald leaves on the branches, causing some to relinquish their grip and float gently to the ground. A small path, paved with sticks and leaves, was dappled by the moonlight as it twisted through an endless woodland. Illuminated by that same light was a tall man, cloaked in undulating shadow. With each step on the trail, he treaded on the detritus of the forest floor. Fallen leaves and snapped branches crumbled underneath his weight, and yet no sound was heard by his passing. Senses both mundane and exotic scanned the forest around him, ensuring that nothing would be able to surprise him. However, even in the darkest parts of this forest, he could sense that he was not alone. No, the shadows created by the moonlight shining above wept darkness. Small, insignificant spirits of envy, jealousy, and desire. Knowing nothing but the darkness from which they were born, they still desired that which they did not have and coveted it desperately.

Even though they were newly born spirits, with no knowledge or skills that he needed, there was still a connection between them. A desire for more, to have, and to covet. So, he offered them his emotions, emotions of happiness, joy, sadness, lust, and loneliness. With a ferocity seen in only the truly desperate, they came to him. Craving what he had to offer. Swarming over him like a school of fish, they created a cloak of hunger around him. And as they fed on him, so too did they feed Xianmu. His spirit companion was always hungry for more, and while consuming newly born spirits was hardly filling, with enough of them any appetite could be satiated for a time. It was fitting, that spirits of desires would be consumed in seeking to achieve them.

Other things lurked in the shadows as well. Twisted treants consumed by a thirst for blood. Mocking monkeys, coaxing and cajoling each other to try and steal his billowing cloak, swung on branches around him. Shambling fungal monsters from the swamps and marshes to the west made appearances as well, but never for long. All but those poor newly born dark spirits knew enough to stay well away from him though, which was just as well. He didn't have the time to waste dealing with chaff tonight. There was a schedule to keep, and even if he desired to be fashionably late, it would still be giving a slight for which he would have to answer for.

Soon enough, as the waning gibbous each the apex of its path in the sky, the man saw the end of the trail. An arch of boughs delineated the forest and a perfectly circular clearing. At the center of the clearing was a crumbling house, built from wood and stone, although the building was so ancient that the wood had become more like stone than the material gathered from the surrounding forest. Even with the destruction caused by neglect and age, it still stood as a monument to beauty in the midst of the forest. Fountains long run dry and overgrown with moss stood at tasteful locations around the clearing. Paths of cobblestone, cracked and uneven, still showed the way to the entrance of the manor and spiraled in exotic patterns. His senses even found something at the back of the manor that in better times could have resembled a hedge maze. With age, it had become completely unusable and it was difficult to determine whether paths had ever existed in the overgrown interior.

And to the naked eye, that was all there was to this place. A manor broken down with neglect and age as the forest tried desperately to reclaim it. But there was a hint in the man's qi senses that this was simply a film of reality. Underneath the image presented was something grander, a swirl of laughter, color, music, and dance. Stepping to the gates of the manor, he pushed the film of reality away while he stepped past the boundary gates. What greeted him inside was a revel of the Dreaming Moon. Colors swirled around him as moonlit maidens danced past him, other fairies stumbled out of the manor's doors only to be swept even further in the festivities gathered around the lawn. Gone was the decrepit manor as well, and replaced with a dreamlike version of what it could have been.

Crystal clear water flowed out of polished fountains, the babbling of its flow providing a calming backdrop to the chaos in the fields surrounding the manor. The pathway of cobblestones was now perfectly even and polished, reflecting the shimmering colors that permeated the air. Even the hedge maze in the back was now properly trimmed, even if the paths changed and shifted to form patterns rather than an exit. Much to the consternation of the drunken spirits attempting to solve it. The most radical change, however, was to the manor itself.

Now, instead of a crumbling derelict building, the manor was shining in all of its splendor. Radiant colors shimmered from the walls and shingles creating exotic patterns. His senses couldn't pierce the walls to see the space within, but it was likely that more entertainment, refreshments, and revelry were inside. Smiling to himself, the man began to weave through the crowd, Xianmu diverting the desires and attention of the spirits around him so that he could move through relatively undisturbed. These were the weaker spirits, easy to distract and misdirect, the true challenge would begin when he entered the manor proper.


A/N: Just a little something I thought would be cool. A thief trying to steal from a Dreaming Moon Revel in the Emerald Seas. @yrsillar another omake for the omake throne! I hope that people enjoy the read, and as always, critiques and criticisms are welcomed.

 

[commando2341]

Ling Biyu Quest Negaverse
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Ling Biyu hummed as she approached the central building, both excited to experience the sect where her sister had taken her first steps and anxious to live up to the large reputation her sister had left behind on this mountain. Her own time here would be significantly different though - as a member of a new born baronial house her sister had entrusted her with additional duties in continuing to make ties with clans Ling Qi had reached out to and attempting to recruit talented commoners. She knew there were quite a few noble scions attending - not quite as varied or significant as her sister experienced, but still notable. A Bao member, Bao Hai was noteworthy, in addition to Luo Xian, Ruan Jie and others from the Emerald Seas province. There would be foreign scions too that she was less familiar with, given that the Argent Sect had their profile raised significantly in the Empire in the wake of her sisters year group.

Her cultivation too was different - as her sister was not awakened when she entered the sect, Biyu had her Qi awakened at 12. She sat in the late stage of Red and Gold, with a wide range of arts and talents to her name. Though Ling Biyu had been content with the pace of her progress prior to entering the sect, she desired a much more rapid pace now upon entering the Sect. She refused to disappoint her sister.

Entering the central hall, Ling Biyu casually moved, grey disciple robes shifting around her, to the specific disciple hall - Hall 1 - she was allotted to. As she crossed the threshold to the room, she could immediately see a range of people there, all the way from noble allies to sit with, scions of clans in opposition to her own, common-born cultivators of city guards and mortals with locked Qi. Who she sat next to was possibly one of the most important choices she could make in her time here.
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Voting blocks!
Talent:
{} Talent 6. Reliable, safe.
{} Talent 4 + d3. Reach a little higher.. or have a slightly more difficult time.
{} Talent 2 + d7. For the risk-takers.

Elemental Alignment (primary)
{} Lunar. You follow your sister's path. Slightly better starter arts as Ling Qi can provide her own. May feel like you're re-treading FoD.
{} Solar. Though you tried, the lunar qi you tried to absorb was an exercise in futility. You tend to the opposite end of the spectrum - shining, vibrant solar qi. Starting art quality might be lower. Will carve a new path of your own.
{} Other. Write in a good justification, as the Ling Clan has a reputation for celestial Qi cultivation from your sister. Your sister and her liege will need good reasoning to allow you to change the Baron House of Ling's still-tenuous steps as a Weilu successor in spirit if not blood.

Art techniques.
{} Musician.
--{} Flute.
--{} Other instrument.
{} Archery.
{} Other. Write in.

Where to sit?
{} Bao Hai. Ling Qi desired you to try and form ties with him.
{} Ruan Jie. A rising clan under the Bao.
{} Luo Xian. A fellow Weilu clan, they are neutral towards you mainly due to your sister also following the Weilu path. Perhaps you could improve the relationship?
{} A foreign scion you're unfamiliar with. Her hair is of shimmering jade, a sharp contrast to her pale skin.
{} A mortal. Perhaps a diamond in the rough?

@yrsillar, an omake. If anyone'd like to vote for any future instalments, I'm not sure how to do it to avoid cluttering the thread. Perhaps PM me?

 

[commando2341]

The Result of Greed

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Ling Qi blinked as the grey time frozen world began to dim, and then felt her eyelids droop, a deep exhaustion setting in. Between the running, the flight and the studying, she was suddenly so very tired. As the world grew dark, the three great spirits dissolved into motes of glinting light that surrounded her like a cloud of fireflies. As Ling Qi's eyes drifted shut, she reached out and grasped…

Click to shrink...

… No. Ling Qi's success had been borne largely on the back of having an opportunity presented to her and wringing every bit of cultivation-related material out of it, even unintentionally. From the start she wanted to room with both Sun Liling and Bai Meizhen - certainly an ambitious request, particularly when they would rather murder each other in their sleep. Even after, when rooming with Meizhen she stumbled into bonus resources just by being herself. Elder Zhou's test was her next step on this path by joining Han Jian's group and then succeeding at finding the doctor in the test that would pass on the first examples of the Moon's favour to us, arising from burning an incense stick to the Grinning Moon one cold night in Tonghou. Those arts and scripts would last her to this day and into the near future.

On two unrelated sect jobs, she would dance with the daughter of a fourth-realm spirit of winter, opening a door to receive personal tutoring from the spirit herself after impressing the spirit with her musical talent and . Equally unlikely, whilst investigating disappearances caused by an assumed illusion spirit, herself and Su Ling find a rogue Cloud Tribe cultivator planning to curse a wide area of the valley below the sect. Exposing the plot netted her a week's tutoring with an Elder and a potent defensive art.

These situations would continue - excelling in an elder's test to gain a month of his personal tutoring, seizing resources from an enemy cultivator that tried to frame her during a quest granted by her Moon-aligned cultivation art. Stagnation was inconceivable to Ling Qi, ever since becoming a cultivator. Few matched her dedication to improving herself and grasping what came her way, by providence or by her own efforts. Perhaps the only time she'd slipped in this path was meeting the King of the Forest, and though the experience had shaken her deeply, it was still better, she felt, to fail aiming high than to succeed aiming low. And Ling Qi had set her sights very high, so high in fact that even her failure would have in it echoes of glory.

So when given a choice of choosing one of the lights, Ling Qi, even through the exhaustion, reached out and swept one arm that weighed far more than it should have through all three of the lights.

Then several different things happened all at once.

/
The Grinning Moon burst out in raucous laughter, even as the other two Greater Moon spirits held some amusement themselves. As Ling Qi passed out, the lights coalescing into slips in her hand, a final parting comment, the voices of the Three blending to one harmonious whisper, slips into her mind. "A person's worth is no greater than the worth of their ambitions. Yours have granted you these three arts."

/

The Grinning Moon applauded her efforts, even as Dreaming nodded her assent but Hidden disagreed, retracting her light from her grasping hand. Two slips formed into being, Ling Qi barely registering the weight on her palm before slipping into unconsciousness, her mind finally relaxing after the taxing experience.

/

The Grinning Moon laughed gaily at her efforts, even as Hidden waved her hand permissively whilst Dreaming disagreed, her light disappearing from view with a tinkle of speech on the wind. Two slips formed into being, Ling Qi barely registering the weight on her palm before slipping into unconsciousness, her mind going blissfully silent after the taxing experience.

/

As her hand grasped all three lights, they joined in her hand before rejecting the other's presence, annihilating each other in mutual destruction. Casting her eyes at the now-severely disapproving faces of the spirits, one final comment resounded, laced with castigation. "Our favour is not so easily used to progress personally, little cultivator. If you push your luck too hard, fortune's muscles might tear."

/

These futures came and went, but as Ling Qi swept her hand through each, the light that stayed was Grinning's laughing, boisterous light, although as she touched Hidden's gleam, a faint memory of a sturdy mantle formed of starlight itself entered her mind with the slightest hint of a smile. As she passed out, slip clutched in her hand, her final thought was that when time came, she may be able to use that final gift from Xin as a basis of an art to make herself.

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@yrsillar, an omake.

I was originally going to write this as Ling Qi succeeding at taking all 3 lights (hint hint yrs, Ling Qi would totally try to do it and then succeed because LQ runs on weaponised bullshit) but on Discord Henkalv brought up the idea of LQ failing to get any.

So I figured that Grinning would be impressed at her ambition whilst the other two would be less so but still possible to have them acquiesce to taking more than 1 art, so I said for the purposes of this on a D10 roll the DC's for each art would be DC2- GM, DC5- HM, DC9- DM. The possible futures are the results of other persons' rolls (@Xepheria nailed the roll to get all 3 if anyone was wondering) whilst the eventual result was my roll. I rolled 6,4,7, so while I passed GM roll, the 4 being only a slight fail and Xin being fond of us personally meant she was willing to leave us with an impression of the Hidden Moon's art as a final nod to us.​

 

[Maladictus]

Omake for the omake god, ink for the throne of Khorne!

==THREADS==
Once she had been whole, but then her former mistress had rent her from her greater self, and spliced her to a vessel so inferior it was akin to comparing hemp to silk. The entity beginning to call herself Tuòqì was resilient however. She had found a new mistress, whose spirit was much more accommodating to spirits than she had known whilst whole, and was refashioning herself from the skeins and scraps of awareness that had remained. And her mistress made for such a welcoming loom.

Tuòqì had to be careful however - Mistress had three other spirits already bound to her, and the newest one was every bit as jealous and proprietary as she herself. Carefully she had attached herself to the mistress with gossamer thin threads for Mistress' past experiences had taught her that great predators are ever watchful for competition.

And times had been good - she had remained in constant contact with Mistress for over a month nurturing herself on her qi; mapping out the weft and design of its flows, and patterning herself on Mistress' personality.

And then suddenly it happened. The spirit of chaos had been subdued lately, spending all its time and essence weaving an elaborate tapestry. It had overreached itself, requiring Mistress to urgently reinforce the skein of its essence. Having expended herself so greatly, Mistress then retired to bed, pausing only to abandon Tuòqì to the wardrobe.

Tuòqì was initially overcome by the void of Mistress' absence, but she soon realised that Mistress was merely deeply asleep and that her anchors to Mistress remained intact. Expanding her perception to find Mistress had however revealed other less welcome discoveries - she was not alone in the wardrobe. Two lesser garments dared to share the wardrobe with her, and one even made to compete for Mistress' favour and attention. This could not be allowed stand.

The first was a drab and simple uniform, worn by the Mistress when she first attended the sect. Its timid essence was suffused with loyalty to Mistress and its barely present protospirit - more potential than reality - longed only to serve her. Which was absurd - it was made of the simplest of cloth and was clearly unworthy of Mistress.

The second was a brazen thing of minimal craftsmanship and tawdry materials. It was dyed in gaudy colours, and its essence still bore the traces of Mistress' excitement and astonishment when she was first gifted it, and her fear from when she fought Princess Sun. Tuòqì did not fail to notice how its protospirit vainly attempted to attract Mistress' attention by accentuating the garish colours of its serviceable brocade. Tuòqì could even discern the coarse stitching at a glance - the Lady who had woven her greater whole would have incinerated anyone who had dared bring such shameful workmanship within a mile of her radiant presence.

That this strumpet's rags would dare to try lay claim on Mistress was provocation beyond any Tuòqì could tolerate. Realising she had the attention of both protospirits, she swiftly formulated a plan to allow her to best serve Mistress, and deal with the upstarts daring to try lay claim to what was hers! Mistress deserved only the finest, and she would see to it that that was what she had.

First she extended a thread and caressed the sect uniform. Its simple loyalty made it easy to placate into quiescence before she struck. Lightning quick, the thread stabbed into the core of the uniform's weft and the stunned protospirit was quickly assimilated into her pattern. The harlot's protospirit now regarded her with undisguised terror and horror, and once Tuòqì was assured of its complete attention, she began to slowly shred the uniform in a pattern matching the slattern's weaving before purging the sundered remnants of their imperfections and repurposing them into her structure.

Once she had finished absorbing the uniform, Tuòqì paused to savour the palpable fear the remaining garment was radiating towards her, before slowly extruding multiple threads and caressing the cloth of her would-be rival, highlighting the imperfections in her weave, the subtle mis-stitching of her embroidery and the discontinuity in the joins. As Tuòqì savoured the the despair and terror in the other dress she felt Mistress' Qi begin to stir to life and she retracted her threads with the certain promise of annihilation the next time they were left alone together, confident that the other dress would never be a threat to her now. As the door to the wardrobe opened, Tuòqì was gratified to note that her prey's colours now seemed faded and drab.

====

Ling Qi awoke refreshed from aiding Sixiang and padded across to her wardrobe before slipping on her dress again, which seemed subtly different this morning. She felt a warm feeling of satisfaction which she ascribed to helping Sixiang form their domain. As she closed the door to the wardrobe she wondered where she had left her old uniform, missing from her wardrobe as it was, before she put it out of her mind and set her mind to the week's challenges, fretting that sleeping the night away would leave her struggling to catch up.

 

[commando2341]

Ling Biyu Negaverse Quest 2
So before I start, I wanted to clarify a few things from the previous vote. Firstly, since Ling Biyu is not in the same situation as Ling Qi was when she arrived, she's grown up in a cultivation household and therefore is able to have some kind of rough path she'd want to follow. This was the vote for solar/lunar - she'd know what her sister was doing and decide whether she wanted to tread a similar path or if it was not for her. You won't start out with solar qi arts, just like LQ didn't have Moon arts up until Green, the earliest being PLR. That said, your elemental portfolio is a bit tidier because you're not grabbing every art that comes your way, like LQ had to do.
Winning vote:
{} Talent 2 + d7. For the risk-takers. (Interestingly, only by 1 vote. Thought it'd be a bigger difference.) Dice were rolled on Discord and it turned out 9. Good thing this is apocrypha and not ascended fanon.
{} Archery.
{} Solar
{} Foreign scion. These all crushed their votes.
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Moving over to the foreign scion, Ling Biyu took in her visage as it came into focus. Her hair, her most noteworthy feature, a lovely gradient of hues with a deep emerald green at the roots shifting to a lighter serpentine colouring at her tips just reaching to dust her shoulders. Her face, on the other hand was a surprising monotone white - even her lips were the same porcelain tones as the rest of her features. The only standouts were slit-pupilled eyes surrounded by striking irises that could have been carved from jade themselves, framed by a line of green scales flowing up the girls' jawline and lower cheeks, where a man might have a beard instead. Ignoring the slight frisson of fear that shifted down her spine as those jade eyes locked onto hers, Ling Biyu introduced herself as her tutors taught rather than the way she wanted to introduce herself, noting the unsurprising hint of Wooden qi emanating from the girl.

"Greetings, I am Ling Biyu of the Emerald Seas province. Might I have your name?"

The as-yet unnamed girl blinked, a hint of amusement passing through her eyes before answering. "Indeed, I am Wu Tielin of the Thousand Lakes province. It is good to make your acquaintance, Ling Biyu."

Ling Biyu promptly lost her admittedly poor self control and started immediately asking a whole barrage of questions - ranging from "Why did you decide to come here?" to "What kind of weapon do you favour?" and "What do you think the Sect will be like?" She hardly gave the now-befuddled girl a chance to answer before giving her own thoughts "I'm an archer! My sister told me a whole bunch of stories about the sect and I can't wait to see whether I can get into as much trouble and make as many friends like my sister did with Bai Meiz - oh."

Ling Biyu then realised what she should really have realised earlier - that firstly this girl was obviously from a branch of the Bai family and secondly her sister was never going to let this one go. Ever. Not after her spirited protests to not follow the Moon and saying she wanted to be different, then immediately finding a member of the Bai clan in her first day at the sect.

She sighed. The hint of amusement in Wu Tielin's eyes grew larger, though now joined by an equal serving of total confusion as she tried to parse her jumble of words.

Pushing past the internal awkwardness she was feeling - awkwardness was never a barrier in the face of relentless cheer (Auntie Sixiang shouldn't have grumbled about her attitude to life when she was in earshot! It was a good motto and she immediately adopted it) - she struck up a light conversation with Wu Tielin before listening to the Elders' speech on the rules to follow for the first 3 months and confirming they were the same as what her sister had told her to expect.

Receiving the Argent Soul script and her allowance of red soul stones in addition to her set of resources in her storage ring meant to last her 3 months, she exited the disciple hall and walked towards the path to find the female residences, flitting from clique to clique. She quite enjoyed socialising, mostly because it let people pay attention to her when she led the conversation. Not that she was brash about seizing the conversation, that would be rude. Much easier to make a suggestion or side comment and let the others follow along, like the sun illuminating the path ahead. Before crossing the divide to the residences fully, she turned back to Wu Tielin beside her, realising she hadn't yet asked if she'd like to room with her yet, too caught up in the chatter and bits of gossip they were exchanging. Opening her mouth to speak, Ling Biyu was abruptly cut off by Wu Tielin herself.

"We're supposed to pair off for housing. Would you like to join me?"

Smiling, she nodded at Wu Tielin, answering affirmatively. "I was about to ask you the same thing. Where do you think we should choose to stay?" The housing provided, of course, clearly shifted in both size and comfort as one moved further away from the central large mansion, separated roughly by tiers. This was another facet of the various games nobles played to improve their relative standing and put down rivals.

"No less than the first street of homes. I am disinclined to try for the mansion, but the next level of housing is adequate."

Ling Biyu nodded agreeably, before pointing out one. She'd noticed that Ruan Jie had entered the house next to it, and she definitely wanted to form a friendship with her, if possible.

The house itself was expansive, with two floors delineated between sleeping areas on the second floor and floor and living and cultivation areas on the first floor. The first floor had a small entry hall leading to a wide combined kitchen and guest room, before two doors branching from each other into private meditation halls with comfortable mats made of cotton. The second floor had their sleeping quarters, two private bedrooms each containing sturdy, sanded trunks of wood and simple cots with thin woven mats to sleep on or under.

Ling Biyu unpacked somewhat hastily, placing her belongings in the trunk, before heading off to her meditation room. She was going to focus on the Argent Soul, as she wanted to cultivate it to the penultimate technique before attempting to breakthrough to the next realms of her cultivation. She took a moment to review her art suite before sinking into meditation, however.
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Okay, so this vote will work a bit differently to the previous one. To reduce the thread clutter, each vote option will correspond to one rating option on the post. Choose each as appropriate. The vote itself is on your favourite archery art, since that's the weapon you chose. Ling Biyu will have access to each of these 4 to learn, and indeed may well learn all 4 if wanted, but will enjoy one the most and start with that one already partially learned. This will affect your personality and cultivation going forward. As you chose Solar, I am assigning you starting elements of Fire, Heaven, Light and Wind in your chosen area of weaponry. Choose 1 art only, unfortunately no write-in as that would somewhat defeat the purpose of the vote scheme. The highest rating will let me know the path you find most interesting/fitting for Biyu. I'll also be generating supporting arts like movement or perception arts in the background.

{} Heaven's Dancing Fury Art
Yang, Heaven/Wind
Arm/Leg
Physical
A melee archery art designed to use both bow and arrow as a weapon. Channel the fury of Heaven through your bow and arrow, using both to strike at your enemy whilst the wind carries you around them, a floating dancer bringing ruin from above. 7 levels.

Rate this post 'Hugs' if you'd like this art. On a meta level, if you know what 'gun-kata' are from places like Equilibrium or RWBY - that is, the art of infusing martial arts and ranged weaponry - this art is the start of a Xianxia version of that style.

{} Windblown Searing Flame Art
Yang, Fire/Wind
Arm/Spine
Physical
An archery art designed to burn your enemies in a searing flame from afar. The power of Wind flows through your body, enhancing the speed and range of your Fire-enhanced arrows as they strike and burn your enemies over time. 7 levels.

Rate this post 'Informative' if you'd like this art. If you like watching your enemies die from afar and sniping from the backline, this is your art.

{} Trickster's Shining Bluff Art
Yang, Light/Wind
Arm/Heart
Physical/Spiritual
An archery art based on bluffing and trickery. Arrows spring forth illusions formed of light around the target, reducing their perception and defences. The light is deceptive, making targets think an arrow missed when it hit, and blinding them to the pain when it does. 7 levels.

Rate this post 'Insightful' if you'd like this art. This art could lead to Biyu having a secondary interest in Formations like Ling Qi did for a bit, only instead of using it to steal stuff Biyu would start making trick arrows in and of themselves - arrows with formations to billow smoke everywhere, or spring forth roots of light to bind and so forth.

{} Rapid Arrow Blitz Art
Yang, Fire/Heaven
Arm/Heart
Physical
An archery art based on the simple idea of an overwhelming rate of fire at short range. Heaven breathes energy into the user, hastening the user such that it appears they are firing multiple shots at once whilst fire increases the damage the arrows do to the target. 7 levels.

Rate this post 'Funny' if you'd like this art. If you like solving problems with more and more levels of Dakka, this is the art for you.

And finally give this post a like, but only if you liked the omake.

Can't like it if you voted for an art. I see a pickle. Well, whatever.

And a tag for @yrsillar , to add to apocrypha.

 

[Thor's Twin]

Family Honor and Monumental Tasks

Sunshine cascaded over the land as the sun leisurely began to rise over the horizon. Light from the sun banished the darkness covering the Yundong encampment, as well as the silence which had so comfortably smothered the camp. With the break of dawn, individuals left the safety and comfort of their respective yurts to begin preparations for the day ahead. Fires were quickly encouraged to flare and burn from the embers they had rested in, scouts were sent out to ensure that nothing dangerous moved closer, and the night guards were relieved of their duties. The entire clan, and their servants, had successfully maneuvered from the previous resting ground to the current one, and all but one family had made it on time as well. With the arrival of that family late in the previous day, today was a day of celebration and relaxation, to revel in another successful migration and spread tales of tricking, bargaining, or fighting terrestrial spirits which grew more outlandish and ridiculous with each telling. And as with all good and proper revels, it began the moment after the morning meal was finished and would likely last long past dusk.

Yundong Caifu avoided the revels and outlandish tales, however. Even though his family had been the first to arrive, due in part because the bargains he had struck last year had continued over to the current year or were easy enough to re-establish, and as such should have been central to the merriment. Instead, he watched as rays of sunlight played over the southern mountains, casting the eastern faces into sparkling light while painting the valleys and western faces of those same mountains in the deepest shadows. The contrast was beautiful, made all the more interesting as the light slowly moved, shifting the colors and shadows as if the light was flowing honey.

Even still, indignation churned in his gut. Tradition dictated that the first family to arrive at the gathering grounds was to be honored by the head of the Yundong family. That hadn't been the case this year though. No honor was given to his family, no rewards or encouragement, not even acknowledgment that they achieved what few families of the Yundong ever could, continuous treaties of passage with the terrestrial spirits. The Head had made it clear long ago his disdain for Yundong Caifu, and disgust at the methods he employed to acquire lasting passage for a pittance of the cost, and now that disdain and disgust were corrupting and twisting the traditions which had been established generations ago.

Even now a thread of unease and disquiet could be sensed from various members of the Yundong clan, buried underneath the joy and excitement of the day. His uncle was a fool if he thought that refusing to hold to the traditions would have no consequences for him. Tomorrow was another day, and already some elders had conferred with him their intention to confront Yundong Zhenshi about his actions in refusing to grant honor to the family first to arrive. Yundong Caifu didn't think that anything would come of it, not right away. But the seeds were being planted that when his uncle passed away, another family would be chosen by the Elders to lead the Yundong. It was ironic, that the seeds which would reduce his uncle's family would be sown by that very same uncle, all in an attempt to increase the prestige of that same family.

Turning back to the sight of the mountains, Yundong Caifu resolved to push such unfilial thoughts out of his mind. Today was a day of relaxation and the enjoyment of life, and it was not suitable for plots and lies. He listened and enjoyed the laughter of his children playing with their cousins, and took amusement from the fact that his wife and her friends were shielded by laughing winds from eavesdropping. She did so enjoy the trading of gossip with the wives of other families. However, he was content, for today, to simply watch the interplay of light and shadow on the mountains and commit them to memory. Perhaps he would paint the memory and gift it to the Ling for a favor or two, or perhaps sell it to a member of the Bao clan he was familiar with for the wealth to support his family even further. But that was another day's decision.

Hours flittered by, like sand passing through cupped hands. The sun had long ago reached its peak and was slowly sliding past the horizon to the west. With the dying of the light, the merriment of the Yundong only grew. Blazing bonfires born from precious wood lit the evening, and rowdy circles gathered around them laughing, cheering, and dancing, their shadows playing an eerie mockery of their actions behind them. Yundong Caifu still sat gazing at the mountains, watching the light retreat, deepening the shadows within the Wall. Some cousins of his had attempted to pull him into the revel and enjoy the merriment after the mid-day feast, but he gently refused and deflected their attempts. Enjoying the festivities would have been difficult for him knowing the honor that had been refused his family, and he was loath to sour the joy others were expressing.

However, something did pull his attention away from the mountains as the last light fled their peaks. A commotion of some kind had suddenly begun at the edges of the encampment. Even though his senses should have been able to pick out who, or what, caused the commotion, there appeared to be nothing there. Standing up, Yundong Caifu turned towards the commotion and saw a woman being escorted to Yundong Zhenshi. While the spiritual identity of the person was blended expertly with the background qi of the encampment, they had, likely as a courtesy, not shrouded their physical features. The woman was tall with tan skin and hair which sparkled like the midnight sky. Such features only appeared in one clan in the Emerald Seas. It would appear that the Ling had a task of some importance for their vassals if one of them had come personally to deliver the news.

Yundong Zhenshi took her personally to the Head Family's yurt, to have some modicum of peace and privacy for the communication. This unusual event only slightly disturbed the revel though, and soon enough the majority of families had forgotten about the Ling cultivator in their midsts, memories dulled with an excess of alcohol. Not Yundong Caifu, though. As the moon rose and shined an entirely different, softer, light on the mountains which made up the Wall, he pondered as to the news the Ling had which required one of their own to approach a baronial clan such as the Yundong. All the possibilities led to a singular conclusion though. There was going to be a lot of work in the near future.

As night fled the day after the Yundong revel, the head brought together the core families of the clan to discuss the news that the Ling had given him. The great Living Mountain, Zhengui, had awoken from his 1,000-year slumber. With his awakening, Zhengui had declared his next destination and the route he would take had been mapped. Growing tired of being a solitary mountain in the depths of the Emerald Sea, the Living Mountain decided to be closer to the Wall and disguise himself as one of the many mountains there. The Yundong had been tasked with bargaining with some of the weaker spirit beasts which held territory in Zhengui's path to ensure that no undue conflict would arise from the journey. Resources which would be needed to bargain and persuade those spirits would be handled by the Ling, but as few resources as required was preferable.

To Yundong Caifu, it seemed that there would be little time for painting with the monstrous amount of work this task would require. However, to be a part of history, of easing the Living Mountain's travels, was sure to be a magnificent reward itself. Songs would be sung in the Clan of this task and their completion, or failure, of it. And, if he was clever and hardworking enough, the songs might even mention him by name. To be remembered for as long as songs were sung for his accomplishments, what better and greater honor was there?

A/N: This omake has taken many different twists and turns in my mind. However, I'm pretty happy with where it ended up. Taking place in the far future, the Yundong clan is a baronial clan dedicated to traveling and appeasing the terrestrial spirits which inhabit the earth through clever wordplay, tricks, riddles, and gifts. This omake was inspired by the moon quest that Ling Qi undertook last arc as well as Ling Qi's new cultivation art. I hope that you enjoyed the omake as much as I enjoyed writing it. As always, critiques and criticisms welcomed.

Also, @yrsillar another omake for the omake throne!

 

[deadcrystal]

Terrifying Gang Fight in the streets of the Fief
​

As the rooftops of her new home came into view and the sounds of a town's residents in their everyday lives came into earshot Ling Qi felt a knot of tension unwind in her gut. Intellectually she knew that nothing was likely to have happened, she'd gone to extensive lengths to make sure that would be the case. She'd made acquaintances with the local powerful spirits capable of speech and settled into good terms with them, she'd spared no expense on the wards surrounding the village, and she'd made sure the small local temple had the resources they needed and the respect that they could keep any nature and death spirits quiescent and content. More than that, the cultivators who had elected to come with her after her time in the army were loyal, well trained, and she'd made sure that enough of them had the spiritual defences that were uncommon amongst those guards who were only Red or Yellow.

All the same every time she had to leave, whether it was just a quick jaunt to check on a border outpost or a longer trip to serve Renxiang in the Capital she found she worried.

As she alighted on a low rooftop on her way to her own residence her eyes fell onto the alley just below her, on the spectacle of two groups of children facing off at each other. They were young, no older than ten at a guess, and posturing at each other in ways she'd seen before, like the children of craftsmen in Tonghou she'd watched from a distance. The two little groups were clustered around leaders facing off against each other, and she would have dismissed them and moved on but for what she overheard them saying.

"Nuh-uh! Gui is best! He's all strong and tough and nuffin can get past his shell!"

The speaker was a boy, quite bulky for his age, with massive eyebrows and dressed in hard-wearing fabrics. He also had a crude shield on his back made of sticks and leaves with a turtle-shell pattern daubed inexpertly across it.

"Nuh-uh! Gui is slow and lazy! Zhen is best! He can shoot a bird right out of the sky with his venom! Gui can't do anything nearly that amazing!"

This was said by a shortish girl, who looked a little younger than her counterpart and had a stick belted to her waist. Both she and those behind her had markings painted on their faces that looked to be inexpert scales.

"That's stupid! You're stupid! Gui's Phalanx will show you that Gui is best!"

"Zhen's Battalion will beat you all!"

As the two groups drew swords and shields made of twigs and attacked each other in exaggerated poses and making sword noises at each other, Ling Qi reflected that it was critically important than Zhengui never found out about this.

((Written on the basis that; Zhengui will be a very visible part of the fief defending it, Zhen and Gui bicker constantly and also boast whenever there's someone around to listen, and this is exactly the sort of shit that kids play stupid games about. This result seemed not merely likely, but an unquestionable truth about what games kids will play in LQ's fief. Also Zhen and Gui are both critically weak to flattery so hilarity abounds.))