- Location
- The Temple of the Winds
i'm sad i can't give your post two likes
Threads Of Destiny(Eastern Fantasy, Sequel to Forge of Destiny)
- Thread starter yrsillar
- Start date
- Original Users' Choice!
Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
Black Noise
Curious
- Location
- About 1AU from Sol
@yrsillar Vote-wise, few things that can make the options more palatable:
- Make a better case for why "search and rescue" is an option instead of like "link up with the local force and regroup" or more generic "deal with aftermath" wording since we don't particularly have a marginal advantage in those things.
- Be more specific about what "out of position" means in s&r; is the worry that we'll be at the fields trying to put out fires while the raiders come down from the clouds to attack the village, and we won't be there for like 20 seconds? (or however long it takes us to fly that far at full speed), or are we worried the warband will go attack another village while we're dealing with aftermath in this one.
- As @Erebeal said, make the wording/intention clear on chase if we're trying to quickly finish them off while in this area (hard to sell given the showing/risk) or something more tactical like sneaking after them and picking them off one by one.
I've been chewing on things for awhile, and I think part of the challenge with vote options is where the update leaves Ling Qi hanging. The low-impact charge followed by the barb's maybe withdrawal Ling Qi can't gauge, while she's so far out, has her twisting in wind. There's also the issue of the Shen Hu co-op and village defence themes that got dropped for the pursuit of the barbarians which is ending on an anti-climax. If those were themes that were important for @yrsillar to expand on, and they probably are since there's just limited narrative space in general, they can still be worked in with some tweaks. But it might be controversial.
Instead of Ling Qi's attack ending in little damage to herself and the enemies fleeing(maybe?), yrs could have her start losing steam as the Nomads continue to adapt to her efforts and spool up their own interlocking techniques in response to a singularly powerful combatant. The situation starts to reverse, with her getting bloodied and having to fall back to the village for her own safety as the barbarians continue to prosecute their raid now that they believe they've gained a handle on the newcomer. This leads back to a defensive hook-up, where the appropriate themes can be developed as the overall situation gives an ideal opportunity for. It doesn't actually erase what she accomplished by her efforts either- the breathing room she created did allow Shen Hu to accelerate his evacuation, even if it didn't progress as hoped. Arguably, it justifies a lacking offensive success better because it less ambiguously establishes the threat profile of the barbarians as one that's relevant.
Vote options could balance focusing on trying to grab the Green scout vs syncing up with Shen Hu vs delaying the barbs pushback, or something. There's a number of factors that can be played with, including how unified the barbarians remain in their formations and how strongly we want to make sure no groups, or groups of a certain caliber, get around us. Most importantly, in this case we're given a concrete if broad enemy motivation to anticipate in prioritizing between different choices; the uncertainty of what they're trying to do at all makes all options seem like losing propositions. That can have its place, but I don't think the groundwork has been done here for it. You would want successive mounting failures, losses, or settling for least bad options, and the currently standing performance of Ling Qi during her challenge of the enemy strongest just doesn't fit that tone.
tl;dr: have Ling Qi's advance stutter to railroad village-relevant thematic development, clearly confirm Cloud Nomads as dangerous threats, and give players concrete events to respond to.
Edit: ACTUAL most importantly, doing something like this means the actually-fighting-as-an-army/with allies themes get developed regardless, rather than being something we continue to accidentally trip past. Ups the tension too, ya know? Main downside is it might reduce the canniness of the barbarians as portrayed- currently they've got mysterious tactics which are bleeding our side while they take minimal losses; pushing an attack makes them risk greater loss, which may not be justified based on their (unknown) motives.
Instead of Ling Qi's attack ending in little damage to herself and the enemies fleeing(maybe?), yrs could have her start losing steam as the Nomads continue to adapt to her efforts and spool up their own interlocking techniques in response to a singularly powerful combatant. The situation starts to reverse, with her getting bloodied and having to fall back to the village for her own safety as the barbarians continue to prosecute their raid now that they believe they've gained a handle on the newcomer. This leads back to a defensive hook-up, where the appropriate themes can be developed as the overall situation gives an ideal opportunity for. It doesn't actually erase what she accomplished by her efforts either- the breathing room she created did allow Shen Hu to accelerate his evacuation, even if it didn't progress as hoped. Arguably, it justifies a lacking offensive success better because it less ambiguously establishes the threat profile of the barbarians as one that's relevant.
Vote options could balance focusing on trying to grab the Green scout vs syncing up with Shen Hu vs delaying the barbs pushback, or something. There's a number of factors that can be played with, including how unified the barbarians remain in their formations and how strongly we want to make sure no groups, or groups of a certain caliber, get around us. Most importantly, in this case we're given a concrete if broad enemy motivation to anticipate in prioritizing between different choices; the uncertainty of what they're trying to do at all makes all options seem like losing propositions. That can have its place, but I don't think the groundwork has been done here for it. You would want successive mounting failures, losses, or settling for least bad options, and the currently standing performance of Ling Qi during her challenge of the enemy strongest just doesn't fit that tone.
tl;dr: have Ling Qi's advance stutter to railroad village-relevant thematic development, clearly confirm Cloud Nomads as dangerous threats, and give players concrete events to respond to.
Edit: ACTUAL most importantly, doing something like this means the actually-fighting-as-an-army/with allies themes get developed regardless, rather than being something we continue to accidentally trip past. Ups the tension too, ya know? Main downside is it might reduce the canniness of the barbarians as portrayed- currently they've got mysterious tactics which are bleeding our side while they take minimal losses; pushing an attack makes them risk greater loss, which may not be justified based on their (unknown) motives.
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- Location
- United States of America
I disagree with this. I think that the whole idea portrayed here comes from a place of picking a single theme that may or may not be present and then expounding on how that theme should have been developed. In the process, it ignores all the other possible themes that have been developed in this update.
It's even mentioned in the post, that the appropriate themes are railroaded so that we can see them develop. I mean, at that point why have choices that impact any of the arching themes? There shouldn't be voting options here in that scenario because if we choose to do another strike against the barbarians after being forced back to the village we are, again, ignoring the themes of village defense. Choosing to link up with the beleaguered scout officer? That shouldn't become an option because, again, it ignores the themes of village defense for helping an officer. It might be a cool value choice in what Ling Qi values, but that choice undermines the whole point of the proposed rewrite giving focus to the themes of village-relevant thematic development.
It feels like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Perhaps the solution to this whole kerfuffle is to stop and consider what themes are trying to be developed by our choices rather than try and fit the theme we want to develop into choices that don't support those themes.
As an example, the last vote we had a choice, protect a clearly delineated objective through area denial of the Barbarians or try and chase the Barbarians off by being aggressive. We choose to be aggressive, and that fits perfectly in line with Ling Qi's ruminations on holding ground or retreating in the last thread when she contemplated TRF.
It's not the ground that is important, it's not the space that matters, it is the people attacking or being protected. In this exercise, rather than set up a more static position and attempt to zone out the opponent through sheer force, Ling Qi went to push the threat way, to make them flee. This way we have a continuity of Ling Qi's mindset about space and now we can see the ramifications of that mindset. Either we can keep trying to push the opponents away or contemplate the cost of freely giving up ground. The people were able to retreat, their lives spared, but their livelihoods destroyed and their homes burned to the ground.
And this creates an interesting conflict within Ling Qi and her own themes regarding distance and holding ground. How much destruction is Ling Qi willing to accept in the retreat to "win" and can such a result be considered a victory? This has been a continual theme that has flowed throughout Ling Qi's story, from the very first of Elder Zhou's trials where he communicated the value of retreat and standing ground, all the way through the Outer Sect Tournament. And now it is revisited again here, but in the reverse. Is pushing away the threat worth the destruction of the property?
Maybe the other choice would have resulted in the same outcome, with fields burning all around us but the villagers safe. But we don't know that. We can, however, look at what has happened and see the themes that are developing from our choices rather than trying to railroad "appropriate" themes.
Right now, the end is anti-climatic. The barbarians might be retreating and we have a choice. Do we pursue them and seek a climatic finish where everyone knows where the barbarians and Ling Qi stand, as either winners or losers, or do we let the moment slide away and contemplate the cost of philosophy at the risk of the Barbarians choosing to make a climactic finish with us out of position.
I think that village related themes would have been cool to develop if we had chosen to develop them, but we choose rather a more consistent choice with Ling Qi's philosophy on holding ground. And now we can choose to further develop an internal struggle with Ling Qi or seek a final resolution with the Barbarians. But I don't think trying to fit village-themes is will, or even should, work given our choice in the previous vote.
The problem with this is, while it's a neat idea, it wasn't actually developed in the update. It's a possible future development that could be tacked on, but it wouldn't have deliberately established thematic language or imagery to build off of from this update or the last. You pulled it wholesale out of your ass, no insult meant.
The reason I raised the specific set of themes that I did is because groundwork for them clearly was set down in the prior update, and then it didn't go anywhere. There's a lack of coherent thematic development in the most recent update. There's the notion that lower realm cultivators are dangerous, there's interesting tidbits as to the conflicting viewpoints of the Cloud Nomads vs Imperial cultivators, and the matter of Ling Qi's own pride, but other than that the events have been too isolated from other factors to amount to much. My musing points at continuing to incorporate all of those, but with the previously developed hooks.
Black Noise
Curious
- Location
- About 1AU from Sol
Frankly speaking, having something like that happen would necessitate the local barbarian forces to be a peg or two higher. The current outcome and sustained damage on both sides fits what we know about LQ's abilities and the barbarian forces as presented (stats, numbers). Especially since the was no assistance from our domain weapon and Sixiang, which would logically make the coordinated effort necessary to prevent us from just steamrolling them harder.
Other than that, I'm of the opinion the vote breakpoints and choices should be placed in such a way that we get narratively significant developments either way, instead of the current mix of options that obviously lead to narrative/thematic progress and others that just cover sensible tactical choices in the moment.
Teamwork is supposed to be a big deal. It oozes out of the seams of the setting. All you'd need for it to work would be to extend the length of the chase a little bit and have the enemy commander take a more active role, to add more to the collective efforts of the barb-blob. Plus, yrsillar kind of hinted he was taking it easy on us, though ambiguously. He shouldn't.
And that was part of why I laid out what I did. Forcing a narratively significant ground change above which all choices continue the relevant themes is a solution to the problem. Disjointing the thematic from tactical decisions further is a perfectly workable fix.
It's a bit odd that you're presenting it as "mix of options that obviously lead to narrative/thematic progress and others that just cover sensible tactical choices in the moment." It depends on how you intend "just" to be read here, but it seems to imply two distinct categories. But in the same post you're implicitly arguing that Ling Qi is a match for all the enemy's realm 2+ cultivators at once, while implicitly dismissing the impact of tactics to change that. These positions would support the prior vote as being a) narrative/thematic progress + sensible tactical choice vs b) sensible tactical voice, since if she's that much of a match then both choices were logically tactically sound. You might have meant that though, depending on your "just", as I said.
I'm nitpicking because I've seen the implication brought out to justify our results, when we don't have the evidence to make the claim that this was the tactically advantageous route. We technically can't say the other would have been the more thematically fulfilling either, but in hindsight it's pretty obvious which hooks got dodged on our way(most of them).
I'm nitpicking because I've seen the implication brought out to justify our results, when we don't have the evidence to make the claim that this was the tactically advantageous route. We technically can't say the other would have been the more thematically fulfilling either, but in hindsight it's pretty obvious which hooks got dodged on our way(most of them).
- Location
- Espoo, Finland
Overall I have a feeling that Ling Qi was needed due to narrative reasons (as she has to be shown to be unskilled in War) to not use her position and skills (such as stealth) to benefit of Imperials. Nevertheless she was successful enough in that horde of enemies withdrew and she wounded presumably equal foe while at it. Generally I am feeling 'meh' about this arc.
Value of teamwork is important, but you don't have to be holding hands with each other to support each other. Ling Qi has previously been able to use stealth and mobility to support larger goals - and I was sort of expecting to see something like that since she has shown herself to be able to avoid notice of Cloud Barbarian scouts of same general cultivation level just few arcs back. Overall she did pretty well - cultivators are persons of mass destruction after all.
Let's hope Ling Qi will train War skill now that she has noticed it is important.
Value of teamwork is important, but you don't have to be holding hands with each other to support each other. Ling Qi has previously been able to use stealth and mobility to support larger goals - and I was sort of expecting to see something like that since she has shown herself to be able to avoid notice of Cloud Barbarian scouts of same general cultivation level just few arcs back. Overall she did pretty well - cultivators are persons of mass destruction after all.
Let's hope Ling Qi will train War skill now that she has noticed it is important.
Black Noise
Curious
- Location
- About 1AU from Sol
Team support only takes them so far with the numbers they have here, that and their tactical superiority is what let the greens take shots we had to take seriously and burn EDD/deepwood on, especially with their focus split on keeping out of the mist and running mutual perception buffs. There's also approximately zilch they could do against the revealed aces we used to first close the gap (SCS tech) and land a telling blow (stealth/ENM).
If there's any way yrs went easy on us here it's by making the current forces too weak to effectively stall a spooled up LQ without taking casualties or pose more than minimal risk without sufficient buildup time from their own bard. If you want an outcome different from what we've seen the barbarians need to be flat out stronger than they are here, because (mechanically at least) LQ would just blaze through anything less (especially with Sixiang and the domain weapon in play properly).
As for the nitpick, I'm using "just" in the context of "without taking as much advantage of already set up hooks for thematically interesting developments", with the argument that all available options should lead to taking up similar levels of those.
Also yes LQ could totally match a group of yellows+ the size of the (local) enemy force, and it's only excellent tactics, teamwork, and their own strong scaling bard that let them take minimal casualties, make it risky to trade blows, and eventually make it unsustainable once their side ramps up enough.
- Location
- Finland
Ling Qi needs a better war score to better understand tactical situations she finds herself in.
But she should not, ever, need it to think about ambushing her enemies.
Being sneaky should be part of her core skillset, just remember the combat trial back in Forge, sneaky is what she does.
I can easily chalk up this one on overconfidence and being angry.
But in general, sneak tactics should be always on top of Ling Qi's mental toolkit.
But she should not, ever, need it to think about ambushing her enemies.
Being sneaky should be part of her core skillset, just remember the combat trial back in Forge, sneaky is what she does.
I can easily chalk up this one on overconfidence and being angry.
But in general, sneak tactics should be always on top of Ling Qi's mental toolkit.
- Location
- New Brunswick, NJ
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
It's too late to change a skill plan for this turn (and that feels rather like closing the barn door after the cows have already run free), but next turn's skill plan is an excellent chance to train War, as we'll have a relevant art and I think we're due to raise our physical cultivation this turn, so that means our cap on dice for a single skill goes up from 3 to 4.
EDIT: Ignore that last bit, I thought we were at 7 going to 8, but in fact we are at 8 going to 9.
EDIT: Ignore that last bit, I thought we were at 7 going to 8, but in fact we are at 8 going to 9.
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- Location
- The Temple of the Winds
The issue with "teamwork is important" or the talk of how an army can stand up to powerful enemies is the utter lack of any benefit of it when Ling Qi is concerned so far. It seems like it only applies when it's enemies that make use of the idea. First in the BINO event where the large group of yellows almost managed to flee and then now where even reds end up fine. What's next ? an army of non-cultivator mortals?
The Arts we hold all have heavy Qi costs when we want to affect even just a pitiful amount of allies. For example, just imagining using TRF on a 150+ army even just a single time would make the Qi cost completely out of reach of any green in existence. And that's for one time effects rather than the ongoing speed boost these barbs seem to have.
Similarly, whenever Ling Qi acts with allies, be it with her spirits or cultivator allies, basically all the benefits they bring are their own active skills rather than any form of group buff or effects. It's always about the individual, never about the group.
Take the story arcs where we were adventuring with Xiulan or Suyin: there's absolutely no teamwork mechanic anywhere in sight. Same thing for when Ling Qi is leading a (tiny) army group. Similarly again when in large(er) groups like the scout training or the party/hunt.
Seriously, if gathering a large group allows you to survive/flee someone that is two full realms above you i'd like to see it actually happen on our side.
The Arts we hold all have heavy Qi costs when we want to affect even just a pitiful amount of allies. For example, just imagining using TRF on a 150+ army even just a single time would make the Qi cost completely out of reach of any green in existence. And that's for one time effects rather than the ongoing speed boost these barbs seem to have.
Similarly, whenever Ling Qi acts with allies, be it with her spirits or cultivator allies, basically all the benefits they bring are their own active skills rather than any form of group buff or effects. It's always about the individual, never about the group.
Take the story arcs where we were adventuring with Xiulan or Suyin: there's absolutely no teamwork mechanic anywhere in sight. Same thing for when Ling Qi is leading a (tiny) army group. Similarly again when in large(er) groups like the scout training or the party/hunt.
Seriously, if gathering a large group allows you to survive/flee someone that is two full realms above you i'd like to see it actually happen on our side.
On the other hand, all large scale battles we were involved with until now were just ad-hoc mobs, not trained armies.
I presume that if we had stayed grouped with the rest of our red and yellows (who should have already went through some years of group training, unlike us) we would have noticed a difference in the buffs available to us.
I agree with Yrs that it should be absurd for Ling Qi to be able to destroy a two hundred strong warband by herself (even if she can deal with a ferw dozen bandits). And being able to move fast is a characteristic of nomadic raiders after all, so getting out of the way of our fog and playing keep away is not absurd. It would have helped if the descriptions gave a better picture of the battlefield, to better understand who was where and who could reach where. Granted, it is more difficult to do in a 3D battle.
Of course, if we were micromanaging the battle we would have insisted on getting precise positioning of every unit in order to craft the best possible strategy, keeping Ling Qi under stealth untli she reaches the perfect place to catch as many foes as possible in her mist ball, preferably reds that will be eliminated in one strike which should keep some of the yellows busy rescuing them, etc.
But since Ling Qi is BAD at war, she will not make perfect battle strategies and those details will escape her. It is reasonable that she comes across as a rather blunt instrument that can warrant a tactical retreat, rather than a mass-killing juggernaut.
I presume that if we had stayed grouped with the rest of our red and yellows (who should have already went through some years of group training, unlike us) we would have noticed a difference in the buffs available to us.
I agree with Yrs that it should be absurd for Ling Qi to be able to destroy a two hundred strong warband by herself (even if she can deal with a ferw dozen bandits). And being able to move fast is a characteristic of nomadic raiders after all, so getting out of the way of our fog and playing keep away is not absurd. It would have helped if the descriptions gave a better picture of the battlefield, to better understand who was where and who could reach where. Granted, it is more difficult to do in a 3D battle.
Of course, if we were micromanaging the battle we would have insisted on getting precise positioning of every unit in order to craft the best possible strategy, keeping Ling Qi under stealth untli she reaches the perfect place to catch as many foes as possible in her mist ball, preferably reds that will be eliminated in one strike which should keep some of the yellows busy rescuing them, etc.
But since Ling Qi is BAD at war, she will not make perfect battle strategies and those details will escape her. It is reasonable that she comes across as a rather blunt instrument that can warrant a tactical retreat, rather than a mass-killing juggernaut.
- Location
- Finland
Ling Qi should, due to her background, be favoring stealth attacks and ambushes even when not the best plan, not the other way around.
And no, i don't think Ling Qi dealing with couple hundred strong warband is that absurd when the warband is almost all reds and yellows with only 3 greens, especially if she has element of surprise and/or help from a fellow green or two.
Having most of the warband escape is not really an issue, but the seeming ease with which reds, not yellows or early greens, reds, managed to avoid her is a bit absurd.
Maybe if the attacks from greens felt more threatening? Something that forced her to stall or change her path?
But again, making a bad call here and just rushing in is not really that bad narratively, she was angry and having flashbacks at the forest king adventure.
And no, i don't think Ling Qi dealing with couple hundred strong warband is that absurd when the warband is almost all reds and yellows with only 3 greens, especially if she has element of surprise and/or help from a fellow green or two.
Having most of the warband escape is not really an issue, but the seeming ease with which reds, not yellows or early greens, reds, managed to avoid her is a bit absurd.
Maybe if the attacks from greens felt more threatening? Something that forced her to stall or change her path?
But again, making a bad call here and just rushing in is not really that bad narratively, she was angry and having flashbacks at the forest king adventure.
Turn 7: Arc 1-4 (Re-release)
Ling Qi would not allow them time to think, or time to regroup. They had the numbers, but whatever others said, Ling Qi had seen how useless numbers were against her. When she had assaulted those bandits, it had only been the interference of a higher cultivator that was a threat. Here and now, she could drive them back, force them to scatter, if the barbarians retreated, it would be all the better. The unknown presence in the clouds worried her, but fighting defensively would not save her if it was strong enough to overwhelm.
Without further thought, Ling Qi darted forward, dragging the massive bank of fog and mist that poured from her flute with each note along. Behind her, she felt Shen Hu shift focus from defense, the earth rippling under the feet of villagers and soldiers alike to speed their retreat to the tunnels he had made. Many hundreds of meters ahead of her the main body of barbarians wheeled and flew, retreating before her mist. The scattered bands of first realms and their horseman leaders scattered as well. The wind howled as Ling Qi felt the barbarians activate their techniques, dozens upon dozens resonating and boosting one another far beyond the normal capacity of their realm. Even so, some were far out of position, gusts of wind snatched some, flinging them away from her mist as if hurled by a giant. The horsemen unleashed a volley of whirling vortexes, and though they did not hurt her, they did slow her down, just a fraction.
Still, they scattered before her like leaves, swooping and galloping away from the advancing wall of mist and fog. Not all could escape however. Young men in their heavy furs and masks screamed as her mist phantoms tore at them leaving them spinning out of control in the eddies of her mist as they lost focus and orientation, fighting fruitlessly against the illusory nightmares Ling Qi had conjured, easy pickings for her darting blade to strike, it's echoing song the last thing they heard.
However, the tribesman were not nearly as disordered by her charge as Ling Qi had hoped. They had regrouped, the core of second realms forming a curved line with the war leaders at its center, while the younger warriors formed up into a pair of flocks on the flanks. Even retreating from her at top speed, they managed this organization, and, as Ling Qi prepared her next technique, she felt her enemies qi flare as one. The short horn bows in the hands of two score first realms fired as one, launching their wielders backward, upward and downward at great speed with a faint rumble of thunder, carried out and away from her mist by churning currents whose origin she could not pinpoint. The missiles flew wildly through her mist, sparking and rumbling and what few approached her by chance passed through her wraithlike form like mist or shattered against her gown. The longer bows of twelve horseman thundered next, the screaming winds that shrouded the missile's flowed and merged, until three massive vortices of wind bore down on her.
Shadow trailed from her limbs as she darted through the first, spiralled around the second, and slapped aside the third with a spinning kick that sent the hem of her gown fluttering as the churning qi construct shattered under her will. As she emerged unharmed from the broken technique though, she saw that they had gained distance in even those mere few moments where she had been stymied. A flight of gliders had darted below, sweeping beneath her mist, while another went high above, skimming the belly of the clouds. Two smaller groups swooped through the skies to her left and right.
For a fraction of an instant, Ling Qi hesitated, but before she could so much as think, a blinding bolt, a meter wide jagged lance of lightning boomed through her, impaling her through the chest. Ling Qi narrowed her eyes, black mist wafting from her limbs and hair as the image she had left behind dissolved into so much fog and shadow, and felt the pulse as a crackling sphere of snapping lightning shot through her mist, lighting the dark interior and shredding phantoms as it tore toward her.
When it detonated a moment later, she emerged, emerald light flaking away as the remained of her Deepwood Vitality technique faded. She could not get distracted chasing down first realms, the pack of horseman before her were the real threat, Shen Hu and the soldiers would have to handle the gliders, if she swerved to catch them, the main group would gain more room to maneuver, possibly even circling around her themselves. So Ling Qi flew forward again, driving them back. They were afraid to enter her mist, she could use that.
The next several seconds were a blur, the air around her grew cold and heavy echoing with the melody of winter and stealing the energy from lightning and wind alike, strengthened by the accompiment of a melancholy muse. Her foes refused to oblige however, their command of the wind resonated between them, and men who strayed too close to her mist were swiftly dragged back by whipping currents of air. In less than a minute they had moved more than a kilometer, and Ling Qi had yet to land a decisive blow.
It was frustrating, Ling Qi admitted to herself, even if driving them back was part of the plan, already they were much closer to the beleaguered scout officer, and she could sense that he had changed tactics, falling back toward her, clearly able to sense her unfettered qi. Still, it did not sit right with her that the barbarians were yet unscathed, and so when the next bolt of lighting forked through her mist Ling Qi stared it down, not moving to dodge. She had a plan.
In the next instant as the heavenly energies exploded within her mist, her whole form became black, a silhouette like a hole in the world, and she moved. In a single step, she crossed the distance between herself and the line of horseman, leaving the ground far behind. She met the wide eyes of the man who was now only a few meters from her and played the Haorfrost Refrain. Fog and moisture froze for tens of meters around, and horses reared and screamed. The absolute cold carried upon the strains of her flute met with a tempest of heated wind as the two barbarians warleaders let out a guttural shouts, It was the summer sun, shining on high mountains, life giving warmth in the depths of high clouds and Ling Qi found her technique foiled, parts of their horses bloody mane's froze and shattered, and flesh blackened, burned by the terrible cold, but as Ling Qi flitted away from the rearing red furred horse, none of the barbarians had fallen. Even if it had failed though, the barbarians were now in her mist. All around her horses whinnied in rage and fright as they were assailed from all sides by shadowy phantoms in the shape of birds of prey.
Lightning struck, a cage of light seeking to pierce her from all sides but her liege was far more effective at that tactic, mere lightning did not match the scouring light of Cai. Reflexively, she activated her deepwood vitality technique, and emerald radiance shattered as heavenly energy crashed down, leaving her unharmed, and she moved like smoke through the arrows that followed, doggedly following the barbarians as they continued to retreat.
The sharp eyed tribesman showed no trouble in navigating her mist, much to her annoyance, she could sense the woven strands of qi resonating from each of the riders to enhance the others, weak effects building and building upon each other, until even the second realms could navigate with ease. However, that was not her only tool any longer, not by a long shot.
In her thoughts, Hanyi giggled excitedly as the young spirit sensed Ling Qi's intentions, and a bare instant later, a light weight settled on her back, and a new voice joined her performance, sweet and childish. One of the riders faltered in his saddle mid turn, falling out of line with the others, his eyes wide and entranced behind his mask. Then, in the moment where he flew too far, leaving the safety of his band, Ling Qi pulsed her qi through the roiling mist, and it swallowed him up, the mournful dirge of the Elegy leaving the man lost and alone. Cut off from his allies, he and his steed slowed to a crawl, and barely managed to react before her Mist blade carved open his horses throat, leaving him to fall.
Pride of dragons, so easily lead.
Ling Qi's eyes snapped upward, a familiar feeling of pure expression grabbing her attention. At the same instant that rain began to pour, and deep within the darkening clouds, thunder rumbled, indistinguishable from the beat of drums. Above, the cloud wracked sky seemed to tear open, unleashing a torrential downpour. None of that noise however, succeeded in muffling her mournful and lethal melody.
The song that echoed down from those clouds however, clashed and was not drowned out. Deep, guttural and strangely resonant, the foreign words wove a song of storms and violence, determination and retribution. Against the pouring rain, the ragged leading edge of her mist flowed and deformed as if had met a mountainside, and Ling Qi felt her qi clashing and straining against the will that suffused the rain.
Through the storm, she spied her last opponent. Tall, even for a barbarian, and with a thick cloak of black and grey fur around his arms and shoulders. His mask was more ornate than the others, painted with more markings, and his helm carried a plume of crimson horsehair. He rode a powerful stallion, whose black hooves sparked electricity as they struck the air. In his hands was no bow though, but a two stringed instrument, a primitive erhu. Even as she took it in, he drew the bow across the string, a sharp note ringing out in time with his voice, and lightning flashed.
The men fleeing her mist let out a ragged cheer, raising their own voices to join his refrain, but Ling Qi was not merely going to stop and stare. No, this man… was he a shaman? It did not seem quite right, but regardless, his presence meant that things were serious. She felt Hanyi shift on her back, no words needing to be spoken as her spirit shifted from the enticing melody of the lonely maiden to the cold Aria, layering the effects with Ling Qi's own, their voices echoing from the depths of winter, until the very air itself around her stilled, made lethargic by the cold.
For just a moment longer, she stared down her opposite. The high, cold song of the frozen vale met a song of stolid, unbreakable mountains stretching up into the infinite sky.
There are only endings here, flee, flee and live, winter is here the warmth of the hearth is not for you
Unbroken we ride, spawn of dragons so filled with pride, you will see that you still bleed. Your peace is a lie and your safety a ruse.
Brigands out in the cold so far and alone, ragged breaths and frozen lungs await, a death so lonely and far from home.
Let winter rage and rage, we together and you alone. Ten strike as thunder, and one hundred the storm.
There were no words, not really, she could not speak the tribesman's tongue and the noise of battle would have drowned them out regardless, but music was speech without speech, without the impurity of words. His song was foreign to her but some understanding was inevitable, and she was more than certain that it was the same for him.
Ling Qi dove into the teeth of his rain, downpour and fog mingling and clashing chaotically as their techniques struggled against one another. Lightning flashed as she bore down on one of the two war leaders, and in the space between raindrops, she vanished from sight and memory alike, a forgotten phantom. She had not yet fully mastered the Ephemeral Nights Melody Art, but it was enough for this.
The tribesman could not so much as raise his arm in defense as she played the Hoarfrost Refrain, her voice joined with the young spirit on her back. She felt the man's flesh blacken and freeze, and his mount screamed in pain as veins froze and ruptured. Yet her attack did not go without reply. The twang of strings was overlaid with a deepthroated song, and Ling Qi found herself buffeted by a tempest, tossed like a leaf on the wind despite her efforts, Emerald light encased Hanyi and Ling Qi both, keeping them from the worst of harm, but disoriented by the storm. As time slowed in her perception, she saw men drawing back bows and for the first time the galloping horses slowed, and the twang of bowstrings echoed with the furious cries of their steeds. Ling Qi did not react in time half a score arrows shrouded in shrieking wind and crackling lightning struck as one.
She felt cutting wind slice across her cheek, a bone arrow sliced through her gown, cutting through flesh and rebounding off the bone of her ribs, and she threw up a hand, a bolt of lightning striking her palm as a veil of rippling green shimmered across her and Hanyi both. More concerning than a few paltry scrapes or even the deeper wound however, was the fact that the combined force of their techniques flung her back a hundred meters and more through the pouring rain as they regrouped.
She glared up through the storm at the tribesman musician, feeling his strength flowing through the rain, resonating from each voice raised to join his chant.
...Perhaps she had been a little prideful.
In the moment of stillness that followed the clash, she felt the state of the battle overall as well as she could. Far in the distance, she spotted her counterpart bounding through the trees, slumped on the back of a bounding stag, blood soaked through his pants on one leg, and he clutched his own bow tightly in burnt fingers. There were two less second realms chasing him, and a third lagging far behind the others, but even they were splitting off.
In the village, she spotted their own soldiers fighting. No longer disorganized and desperate, in small squads arrayed along the walls and the tunnel mouths, squads huddled close together, batting away harassing arrows and while their own archers returned fire at circling gliders. Shen Hu stood near the center of the conflict, his qi spreading in ripples through the earth and fields and up through soldiers feet to stiffen their resolve and endurance, sharpened shards of rock crsystal fired into the sky in endless volleys preventing the gliders from approaching the village proper, and the few fires that had started within the walls were already being quelled.
The village was safe, but all around farms burned, unhindered by the rain and crops withered, the first realms she had scattered were wreaking havoc across the abandoned fields, and the torrential downpour flooded out neatly laid ditches and dikes.
So fragile.
The rain seemed to whisper, full of self satisfaction. Ling Qi scowled up at the musician, recognizing the taunt for what it was. They were still falling back, but the tenor of his song was changing, and all around she could see and feel gliders spiralling upward on thermals of wind rising from the fires rising and scattering into the clouds. They were retreating, or so it seemed. It looked like she had succeeded… so why did she feel so frustrated?
Looking north, there was not yet any sign of reinforcements. Unless things were far more dire than they seemed, the sect should be mobilizing, however, they were still on their own for awhile yet. She had to decide what to do. The wound in her side throbbed, but the blood was already clotting, blood dissipating into black mist. She glared at the retreating rainstorm, she knew what she wanted to do, but...
[] Hunt them down
[As long as they are out there, the barbarians could circle back at any time, let them retreat, make contact with Shen Hu, and then go dark and end this threat. You are stronger than any one barbarian, you are sure of it. Trail them as a shadow and strike the moment their guard is down, putting down one or more of their warleaders before they can get defenses up. Very high risk of overextension and injury. Leaves villages to their own defense. Ends threat of group. Loot?]
[] Help the other village
[This village is as secure as it can get, all things given, but the other will have had no reinforcements. While she had to hope that this had been the main force… she couldn't be certain. Approach less obviously this time though. She would not give the barbarians the benefit of seeing her coming again. Stealth approach to the final village, unknown enemy composition. Aids defense, but leaves first and second village to their own devices]
[] Return
[If the tribesman launched an attack even half as strong back at the first village, Ling Qi worried after Zhengui and Xiulan. Return and aid them as quickly as possible, though a less obvious approach will be better. Stealth Aproach to first village, leaves the second and third to their own devices. Unknown enemy comp. Aids Zhengui and Xiulan.]
[] ...Wait
[As galling as it is, you have no idea of what the situation is like in the other villages or the greater region at the moment. You do not know if the enemies are going to circle back and return or fly back to the Wall. Stay here, get your wound treated, help where you can, and wait for further intelligence, the messenger corps are still out there, and you told the man you left in charge of your scouts where you were going. Avoid haring off without knowing what's going on. Possible increased casualties due to delay. Possibly avoids wasting time or ending up out of position. Frustration.]
Without further thought, Ling Qi darted forward, dragging the massive bank of fog and mist that poured from her flute with each note along. Behind her, she felt Shen Hu shift focus from defense, the earth rippling under the feet of villagers and soldiers alike to speed their retreat to the tunnels he had made. Many hundreds of meters ahead of her the main body of barbarians wheeled and flew, retreating before her mist. The scattered bands of first realms and their horseman leaders scattered as well. The wind howled as Ling Qi felt the barbarians activate their techniques, dozens upon dozens resonating and boosting one another far beyond the normal capacity of their realm. Even so, some were far out of position, gusts of wind snatched some, flinging them away from her mist as if hurled by a giant. The horsemen unleashed a volley of whirling vortexes, and though they did not hurt her, they did slow her down, just a fraction.
Still, they scattered before her like leaves, swooping and galloping away from the advancing wall of mist and fog. Not all could escape however. Young men in their heavy furs and masks screamed as her mist phantoms tore at them leaving them spinning out of control in the eddies of her mist as they lost focus and orientation, fighting fruitlessly against the illusory nightmares Ling Qi had conjured, easy pickings for her darting blade to strike, it's echoing song the last thing they heard.
However, the tribesman were not nearly as disordered by her charge as Ling Qi had hoped. They had regrouped, the core of second realms forming a curved line with the war leaders at its center, while the younger warriors formed up into a pair of flocks on the flanks. Even retreating from her at top speed, they managed this organization, and, as Ling Qi prepared her next technique, she felt her enemies qi flare as one. The short horn bows in the hands of two score first realms fired as one, launching their wielders backward, upward and downward at great speed with a faint rumble of thunder, carried out and away from her mist by churning currents whose origin she could not pinpoint. The missiles flew wildly through her mist, sparking and rumbling and what few approached her by chance passed through her wraithlike form like mist or shattered against her gown. The longer bows of twelve horseman thundered next, the screaming winds that shrouded the missile's flowed and merged, until three massive vortices of wind bore down on her.
Shadow trailed from her limbs as she darted through the first, spiralled around the second, and slapped aside the third with a spinning kick that sent the hem of her gown fluttering as the churning qi construct shattered under her will. As she emerged unharmed from the broken technique though, she saw that they had gained distance in even those mere few moments where she had been stymied. A flight of gliders had darted below, sweeping beneath her mist, while another went high above, skimming the belly of the clouds. Two smaller groups swooped through the skies to her left and right.
For a fraction of an instant, Ling Qi hesitated, but before she could so much as think, a blinding bolt, a meter wide jagged lance of lightning boomed through her, impaling her through the chest. Ling Qi narrowed her eyes, black mist wafting from her limbs and hair as the image she had left behind dissolved into so much fog and shadow, and felt the pulse as a crackling sphere of snapping lightning shot through her mist, lighting the dark interior and shredding phantoms as it tore toward her.
When it detonated a moment later, she emerged, emerald light flaking away as the remained of her Deepwood Vitality technique faded. She could not get distracted chasing down first realms, the pack of horseman before her were the real threat, Shen Hu and the soldiers would have to handle the gliders, if she swerved to catch them, the main group would gain more room to maneuver, possibly even circling around her themselves. So Ling Qi flew forward again, driving them back. They were afraid to enter her mist, she could use that.
The next several seconds were a blur, the air around her grew cold and heavy echoing with the melody of winter and stealing the energy from lightning and wind alike, strengthened by the accompiment of a melancholy muse. Her foes refused to oblige however, their command of the wind resonated between them, and men who strayed too close to her mist were swiftly dragged back by whipping currents of air. In less than a minute they had moved more than a kilometer, and Ling Qi had yet to land a decisive blow.
It was frustrating, Ling Qi admitted to herself, even if driving them back was part of the plan, already they were much closer to the beleaguered scout officer, and she could sense that he had changed tactics, falling back toward her, clearly able to sense her unfettered qi. Still, it did not sit right with her that the barbarians were yet unscathed, and so when the next bolt of lighting forked through her mist Ling Qi stared it down, not moving to dodge. She had a plan.
In the next instant as the heavenly energies exploded within her mist, her whole form became black, a silhouette like a hole in the world, and she moved. In a single step, she crossed the distance between herself and the line of horseman, leaving the ground far behind. She met the wide eyes of the man who was now only a few meters from her and played the Haorfrost Refrain. Fog and moisture froze for tens of meters around, and horses reared and screamed. The absolute cold carried upon the strains of her flute met with a tempest of heated wind as the two barbarians warleaders let out a guttural shouts, It was the summer sun, shining on high mountains, life giving warmth in the depths of high clouds and Ling Qi found her technique foiled, parts of their horses bloody mane's froze and shattered, and flesh blackened, burned by the terrible cold, but as Ling Qi flitted away from the rearing red furred horse, none of the barbarians had fallen. Even if it had failed though, the barbarians were now in her mist. All around her horses whinnied in rage and fright as they were assailed from all sides by shadowy phantoms in the shape of birds of prey.
Lightning struck, a cage of light seeking to pierce her from all sides but her liege was far more effective at that tactic, mere lightning did not match the scouring light of Cai. Reflexively, she activated her deepwood vitality technique, and emerald radiance shattered as heavenly energy crashed down, leaving her unharmed, and she moved like smoke through the arrows that followed, doggedly following the barbarians as they continued to retreat.
The sharp eyed tribesman showed no trouble in navigating her mist, much to her annoyance, she could sense the woven strands of qi resonating from each of the riders to enhance the others, weak effects building and building upon each other, until even the second realms could navigate with ease. However, that was not her only tool any longer, not by a long shot.
In her thoughts, Hanyi giggled excitedly as the young spirit sensed Ling Qi's intentions, and a bare instant later, a light weight settled on her back, and a new voice joined her performance, sweet and childish. One of the riders faltered in his saddle mid turn, falling out of line with the others, his eyes wide and entranced behind his mask. Then, in the moment where he flew too far, leaving the safety of his band, Ling Qi pulsed her qi through the roiling mist, and it swallowed him up, the mournful dirge of the Elegy leaving the man lost and alone. Cut off from his allies, he and his steed slowed to a crawl, and barely managed to react before her Mist blade carved open his horses throat, leaving him to fall.
Pride of dragons, so easily lead.
Ling Qi's eyes snapped upward, a familiar feeling of pure expression grabbing her attention. At the same instant that rain began to pour, and deep within the darkening clouds, thunder rumbled, indistinguishable from the beat of drums. Above, the cloud wracked sky seemed to tear open, unleashing a torrential downpour. None of that noise however, succeeded in muffling her mournful and lethal melody.
The song that echoed down from those clouds however, clashed and was not drowned out. Deep, guttural and strangely resonant, the foreign words wove a song of storms and violence, determination and retribution. Against the pouring rain, the ragged leading edge of her mist flowed and deformed as if had met a mountainside, and Ling Qi felt her qi clashing and straining against the will that suffused the rain.
Through the storm, she spied her last opponent. Tall, even for a barbarian, and with a thick cloak of black and grey fur around his arms and shoulders. His mask was more ornate than the others, painted with more markings, and his helm carried a plume of crimson horsehair. He rode a powerful stallion, whose black hooves sparked electricity as they struck the air. In his hands was no bow though, but a two stringed instrument, a primitive erhu. Even as she took it in, he drew the bow across the string, a sharp note ringing out in time with his voice, and lightning flashed.
The men fleeing her mist let out a ragged cheer, raising their own voices to join his refrain, but Ling Qi was not merely going to stop and stare. No, this man… was he a shaman? It did not seem quite right, but regardless, his presence meant that things were serious. She felt Hanyi shift on her back, no words needing to be spoken as her spirit shifted from the enticing melody of the lonely maiden to the cold Aria, layering the effects with Ling Qi's own, their voices echoing from the depths of winter, until the very air itself around her stilled, made lethargic by the cold.
For just a moment longer, she stared down her opposite. The high, cold song of the frozen vale met a song of stolid, unbreakable mountains stretching up into the infinite sky.
There are only endings here, flee, flee and live, winter is here the warmth of the hearth is not for you
Unbroken we ride, spawn of dragons so filled with pride, you will see that you still bleed. Your peace is a lie and your safety a ruse.
Brigands out in the cold so far and alone, ragged breaths and frozen lungs await, a death so lonely and far from home.
Let winter rage and rage, we together and you alone. Ten strike as thunder, and one hundred the storm.
There were no words, not really, she could not speak the tribesman's tongue and the noise of battle would have drowned them out regardless, but music was speech without speech, without the impurity of words. His song was foreign to her but some understanding was inevitable, and she was more than certain that it was the same for him.
Ling Qi dove into the teeth of his rain, downpour and fog mingling and clashing chaotically as their techniques struggled against one another. Lightning flashed as she bore down on one of the two war leaders, and in the space between raindrops, she vanished from sight and memory alike, a forgotten phantom. She had not yet fully mastered the Ephemeral Nights Melody Art, but it was enough for this.
The tribesman could not so much as raise his arm in defense as she played the Hoarfrost Refrain, her voice joined with the young spirit on her back. She felt the man's flesh blacken and freeze, and his mount screamed in pain as veins froze and ruptured. Yet her attack did not go without reply. The twang of strings was overlaid with a deepthroated song, and Ling Qi found herself buffeted by a tempest, tossed like a leaf on the wind despite her efforts, Emerald light encased Hanyi and Ling Qi both, keeping them from the worst of harm, but disoriented by the storm. As time slowed in her perception, she saw men drawing back bows and for the first time the galloping horses slowed, and the twang of bowstrings echoed with the furious cries of their steeds. Ling Qi did not react in time half a score arrows shrouded in shrieking wind and crackling lightning struck as one.
She felt cutting wind slice across her cheek, a bone arrow sliced through her gown, cutting through flesh and rebounding off the bone of her ribs, and she threw up a hand, a bolt of lightning striking her palm as a veil of rippling green shimmered across her and Hanyi both. More concerning than a few paltry scrapes or even the deeper wound however, was the fact that the combined force of their techniques flung her back a hundred meters and more through the pouring rain as they regrouped.
She glared up through the storm at the tribesman musician, feeling his strength flowing through the rain, resonating from each voice raised to join his chant.
...Perhaps she had been a little prideful.
In the moment of stillness that followed the clash, she felt the state of the battle overall as well as she could. Far in the distance, she spotted her counterpart bounding through the trees, slumped on the back of a bounding stag, blood soaked through his pants on one leg, and he clutched his own bow tightly in burnt fingers. There were two less second realms chasing him, and a third lagging far behind the others, but even they were splitting off.
In the village, she spotted their own soldiers fighting. No longer disorganized and desperate, in small squads arrayed along the walls and the tunnel mouths, squads huddled close together, batting away harassing arrows and while their own archers returned fire at circling gliders. Shen Hu stood near the center of the conflict, his qi spreading in ripples through the earth and fields and up through soldiers feet to stiffen their resolve and endurance, sharpened shards of rock crsystal fired into the sky in endless volleys preventing the gliders from approaching the village proper, and the few fires that had started within the walls were already being quelled.
The village was safe, but all around farms burned, unhindered by the rain and crops withered, the first realms she had scattered were wreaking havoc across the abandoned fields, and the torrential downpour flooded out neatly laid ditches and dikes.
So fragile.
The rain seemed to whisper, full of self satisfaction. Ling Qi scowled up at the musician, recognizing the taunt for what it was. They were still falling back, but the tenor of his song was changing, and all around she could see and feel gliders spiralling upward on thermals of wind rising from the fires rising and scattering into the clouds. They were retreating, or so it seemed. It looked like she had succeeded… so why did she feel so frustrated?
Looking north, there was not yet any sign of reinforcements. Unless things were far more dire than they seemed, the sect should be mobilizing, however, they were still on their own for awhile yet. She had to decide what to do. The wound in her side throbbed, but the blood was already clotting, blood dissipating into black mist. She glared at the retreating rainstorm, she knew what she wanted to do, but...
[] Hunt them down
[As long as they are out there, the barbarians could circle back at any time, let them retreat, make contact with Shen Hu, and then go dark and end this threat. You are stronger than any one barbarian, you are sure of it. Trail them as a shadow and strike the moment their guard is down, putting down one or more of their warleaders before they can get defenses up. Very high risk of overextension and injury. Leaves villages to their own defense. Ends threat of group. Loot?]
[] Help the other village
[This village is as secure as it can get, all things given, but the other will have had no reinforcements. While she had to hope that this had been the main force… she couldn't be certain. Approach less obviously this time though. She would not give the barbarians the benefit of seeing her coming again. Stealth approach to the final village, unknown enemy composition. Aids defense, but leaves first and second village to their own devices]
[] Return
[If the tribesman launched an attack even half as strong back at the first village, Ling Qi worried after Zhengui and Xiulan. Return and aid them as quickly as possible, though a less obvious approach will be better. Stealth Aproach to first village, leaves the second and third to their own devices. Unknown enemy comp. Aids Zhengui and Xiulan.]
[] ...Wait
[As galling as it is, you have no idea of what the situation is like in the other villages or the greater region at the moment. You do not know if the enemies are going to circle back and return or fly back to the Wall. Stay here, get your wound treated, help where you can, and wait for further intelligence, the messenger corps are still out there, and you told the man you left in charge of your scouts where you were going. Avoid haring off without knowing what's going on. Possible increased casualties due to delay. Possibly avoids wasting time or ending up out of position. Frustration.]
Okay, obviously not going to make people happy but the votes options are better I think, should tighten up the arc pacing.
Also, I hope in addition to the domain weapon stuff being added I hope it made it clearer that the barbs mounts are in fact combatants as well and thus contributing to the buff network.
Also, I hope in addition to the domain weapon stuff being added I hope it made it clearer that the barbs mounts are in fact combatants as well and thus contributing to the buff network.
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- Location
- United States of America
For what it's worth, I think that these choices are much stronger than the previous choices.
- Location
- California
There should be. There's definitely a need for discussion here.
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- Location
- The United States
- Pronouns
- He/They
- Location
- Spain
Now we have 3 sites to protect, and only the current site has gotten us intel on the local enemy forces.
Hunt them down stil doesn't look good to me. But all the other ones have their things for and against. We... we chose to trust Zhengui and Xiulan, so I don't think we should go back to them.
On the other hand, Staying here vs going to the next village...
I think we should go, and hopefully try to do a better ambush. I have a suspicion that the last village will also boast the strongest group, so making sure not to botch that one ambush will be necessay. With a bit of luck we already know their modus operandi, learned in this one fray, so we should be more prepared to tackle the attacking barbarians. Maybe coming at them from behind and pinning them between the defense forces and us, so that they have nowhere to retreat?
Hunt them down stil doesn't look good to me. But all the other ones have their things for and against. We... we chose to trust Zhengui and Xiulan, so I don't think we should go back to them.
On the other hand, Staying here vs going to the next village...
I think we should go, and hopefully try to do a better ambush. I have a suspicion that the last village will also boast the strongest group, so making sure not to botch that one ambush will be necessay. With a bit of luck we already know their modus operandi, learned in this one fray, so we should be more prepared to tackle the attacking barbarians. Maybe coming at them from behind and pinning them between the defense forces and us, so that they have nowhere to retreat?