I doubt he'd be able to influence the entire barony at once, influencing upwards of a thousand square miles or more is a big deal, but the significance of that benefit would see the most use by having Ling Qi's baronial estate close to either the worst lands in the fief (to raise total throughput), or her best lands (to raise the average quality of crops) so Zhengui's influence can sink deep into the lands, but this really depends on what the lands and the agricultural situation is once the fief is actually relevant rather than some distant obligation.
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.
- Location
- Brazil
I got that, too.
Qi is matter and energy itself, Shen are rules that Qi follows, and Truth/Law is to Shen what Shen is to Qi: the rules which the previous rules follow.
LucidProp
Pocky Eating MafiaDoka
The Tyrant of Radiance seems to be a good fit for such a figure as far as how fiction treats the Abrahamic Religions.
Barons seem to generally control only one village, not dozens of them. So, our future fief will probably be less than a hundred square miles.
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
There are villages and there are Villages.
I imagine a fully established Baron can pull a respectable Town out, but you can't really support a City until you've got a viscounty's economy at your back.
- Location
- London, 1935. August.
- Pronouns
- She/Her
The Tyrant of Radiance seems to be a good fit for such a figure as far as how fiction treats the Abrahamic Religions.
I'm thinking the religions of the book would be based around one Sage-Emperor-level cultivator who built a sort of spiritual multi-level marketing scheme around a system of humans bonding like spirits to each other, allowing power to be transferred between people and, ultimately, up the hierarchy to grossly overinflate his own power. Essentially, a cultivator that focused incredibly narrowly on his family (the stand-ins for the Jews), to the point that they became a spiritual extension of him when he ascended. This means cultivation among the feux-Jewish tribes would be more focused on bringing yourself closer in the hierarchy to God by doing things that made you more like him.
Christianity could then be explained by another high-level cultivator among his descendants discovering a rather morbid way to expand who was considered part of God's family - by regularly consuming the flesh of someone who was already a part of the clan. His branch of the family began forcing the technique on as many people as they could, because the overall power of their society grows based on how many people become part of the collective. Because of how pivotal of a change he made in the system (and the way he focused on making himself the primary source of feux-Jewish flesh, which meant all the power from converts went through him) Christ ascended as an aspect of the original Abrahamic God.
I honestly don't know enough about Islam to figure out how it fits in, but I'm fairly sure the Abrahamic religions make the most sense in this setting if they're all part of a Cultivation MLM that's giving the Great Spirit at the top a lot more metaphysical weight than spirits without an entire civilization built around empowering them.
I just googled "size of baronies" to get a size estimate, but I also don't think a thousand square miles is going to be a lot of villages, since before modern farming practices and their effects on yields you needed a lot of space for fields to feed people. Zhengui's improvements to fertility mean Renxiang will consider assigning Ling Qi to whatever lands are either currently farms or can be converted to farms.
- Location
- New Brunswick, NJ
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
While discussion of RL religions is obviously somewhat fraught, I will point out that the three major Abrahamic religions all have their own mystical traditions about pursuing the maximum amount of enlightenment/holiness/touched-by-God-ness that can be found in this life, which are similar in some ways and very distinct in others. To mention some examples, though obviously I am not claiming that these are not the only ones or even particularly representative ones: Kabbalah, Hesychasm, and Sufism.
I do basically like this idea, though, uh, I think our Egyptian friends already have the notion of "pyramid scheme" on lock
Turn 8: 4-1 Peaceful Days
"So, how are things with your new spirit anyway?" Ling Qi asked as she entered the archive with Yu Nuan.
Yu Nuan had changed a little since the last time she had seen her, streaks of blue and white marked her spiked hair and a few of the little metal studs that pierced her ears and other parts of her face had been switched out for nodes that crackled with thunder and lightning qi. The other girl still seemed a little out of her depth. She had taken Ling Qi's sudden invitation to join her at the archive with bewilderment and hesitant acceptance. Ling Qi wondered if this was what it had felt like to be Xiulan early last year.
"He's a good boy," Yu Nuan replied, glancing at her with uncertainty. "I expected something more rambunctious, but he's actually kinda…"
"Kinda what?" Ling Qi asked absently as they passed the entrance desk. They both had permissions for the first floor so there was no reason to stop. She searched the trails of qi drifting through the air before turning down one of the narrow halls between the towering book shelves.
"Kind of a big friendly doof," Yu Nuan sighed. "Slobbers on everything, leaves scorch marks everywhere. I come outta cultivation and find he's decided to sprawl on my lap like a giant electrified sandbag."
Ling Qi gave her a side eyed look. "Not quite what you were looking for?"
"S'not that bad," Yu Nuan grumbled not meeting her eyes. "Got into a scuffle in the woods 'n he pulled his weight. Just not what I expected."
"Well, I'm glad your getting along," Ling Qi said absently, glancing at the intersection ahead before turning left.
"...What are we here for anyway?" Yu Nuan asked cautiously, trailing a step behind her. "I know I said I was going here anyway, but I kinda need the upper floor, and the stairs are the other way."
"Obviously we have to head up," Ling Qi replied with a snort, first floor arts are no good for us unless it's for tinkering," which she hadn;t had a chance to really do yet. Too many obligations getting in the way, like setting aside the afternoon and evening for Bao Qian. "We're meeting some people."
"Who-" Yu Nuan began.
But Ling Qi interrupted her as they emerged into one of the sitting areas, and raised her hand to wave. "Senior Brother Ruan!"
The older boy raised a hand to wave, closing the slim volume he had been scanning through as he stood up from one of the comfortable study chairs. "Junior Sister, was I ever surprised to hear from you," he chuckled.
"I've been getting some things straightened out," Ling Qi replied. She was getting the hang of the rhetorical lessons in the Playful Muse Rapport, and she liked to think it was beginning to show. She didn't have to spill her guts to every person she met, but an air of friendly openness served better than what she had been trying to do. Though it tied with the same lessons of affected confidence she had learned on the street, it took her in a different direction than her previous efforts.
"And a more natural one too," Sixiang murmured. "Ain't it more comfortable than walking around with a metal pole tied to your back?"
"Well glad that's working out for you, you're looking good these days, Junior Sister," the handsome boy chuckled. "Who's you're friend?"
"This is Yu Nuan," Ling Qi said brightly. "I thought she might have an interest in this too. Is Senior Sister Bian not available?"
"She's deployed at the moment," Ruan Shen replied, his grin slipped just a bit and the strumming strings of his spirit wavered. He was worried. "I'm sure she'd love to come some other time."
Ling Qi frowned a little, that wasn;t ideal, but needs must, if…
"So, it's nice to meet you and all," Yu Nuan said, dipping her head briefly to Ruan Shen. "But what exactly are we doing here?" It seemed that the relaxed atmosphere was finally loosening the knot of tension in the other girls shoulders.
"Workshopping, I believe was the plan?" Ruan Shen asked, looking to Ling Qi.
She nodded. "I thought it might be fun to get together with some other music cultivators and talk shop, maybe discuss compositions and arts. I'm thinking I need to replace some arts with better fitting ones soon, and I thought why not ask some advice."
"That's weird, you gonna let other people talk you into what arts you're gonna use?" Yu Nuan asked, bewildered.
"It's not really that strange, though it's usually more of a family thing," Ruan Shen chuckled, setting his book aside. "Think of it more like using the conversation as an avenue of reflection."
"Yes, that," Ling Qi replied confidently, the Carefree Mantle singing in her meridians. She still wanted to complete her cultivation of the Harmony of Dancing Wind Arts too, and it's lessons on the nature of connections seemed like the sort of thing that could use more active study. "I'm not going to tell you what to do, but if we each talk a little about what we're doing, there might be some insights, right?"
"I've already learned that it looks like my cute, shy Junior Sister is like to outgrow me within a year or two," Ruan Shen sighed as he moved to join them. "It's been a real blow."
She gave him an unimpressed look as she began to head for the stairs. "And how do you think I feel, seeing my Senior Brother slacking off?"
He winced. "Hey now, that's just mean," he laughed, sheepishly scratching his head. "I'm working on it, you know?"
Yu Nuan was still watching them with a frown on her lips. "...You two are weird."
"If being good humored is weird, I'll happily claim the title," Ruan Shen replied lazily as they made for the stairs. "Anyway, I'm mostly looking to refine my arts into something personal. What are you girls up to?"
"I'm looking for a new movement art. I'm feeling kinda deficient with that right now," she said, giving Ling Qi a look.
Ling Qi smiled sheepishly. "I'm-"
Let the art wars begin.
More seriously, we've done this a few times now. Please vote for up to three keywords or skills. I will create arts based on the most popular ones. This is not a strict majority vote, so please vote based on what you want to see rather than strategic concerns. In addition please vote for the build role you would like the arts to fulfill. This should be something like Offensive, or Resist Support, etc.
One new rule however, please do not include 'music' as a vote. All arts developed will involve music in some way. Derived skills like woodwind and vocal are okay though.
[][Role] Build role
[] Keyword1
[] Keyword2
[] Keyword3
Yu Nuan had changed a little since the last time she had seen her, streaks of blue and white marked her spiked hair and a few of the little metal studs that pierced her ears and other parts of her face had been switched out for nodes that crackled with thunder and lightning qi. The other girl still seemed a little out of her depth. She had taken Ling Qi's sudden invitation to join her at the archive with bewilderment and hesitant acceptance. Ling Qi wondered if this was what it had felt like to be Xiulan early last year.
"He's a good boy," Yu Nuan replied, glancing at her with uncertainty. "I expected something more rambunctious, but he's actually kinda…"
"Kinda what?" Ling Qi asked absently as they passed the entrance desk. They both had permissions for the first floor so there was no reason to stop. She searched the trails of qi drifting through the air before turning down one of the narrow halls between the towering book shelves.
"Kind of a big friendly doof," Yu Nuan sighed. "Slobbers on everything, leaves scorch marks everywhere. I come outta cultivation and find he's decided to sprawl on my lap like a giant electrified sandbag."
Ling Qi gave her a side eyed look. "Not quite what you were looking for?"
"S'not that bad," Yu Nuan grumbled not meeting her eyes. "Got into a scuffle in the woods 'n he pulled his weight. Just not what I expected."
"Well, I'm glad your getting along," Ling Qi said absently, glancing at the intersection ahead before turning left.
"...What are we here for anyway?" Yu Nuan asked cautiously, trailing a step behind her. "I know I said I was going here anyway, but I kinda need the upper floor, and the stairs are the other way."
"Obviously we have to head up," Ling Qi replied with a snort, first floor arts are no good for us unless it's for tinkering," which she hadn;t had a chance to really do yet. Too many obligations getting in the way, like setting aside the afternoon and evening for Bao Qian. "We're meeting some people."
"Who-" Yu Nuan began.
But Ling Qi interrupted her as they emerged into one of the sitting areas, and raised her hand to wave. "Senior Brother Ruan!"
The older boy raised a hand to wave, closing the slim volume he had been scanning through as he stood up from one of the comfortable study chairs. "Junior Sister, was I ever surprised to hear from you," he chuckled.
"I've been getting some things straightened out," Ling Qi replied. She was getting the hang of the rhetorical lessons in the Playful Muse Rapport, and she liked to think it was beginning to show. She didn't have to spill her guts to every person she met, but an air of friendly openness served better than what she had been trying to do. Though it tied with the same lessons of affected confidence she had learned on the street, it took her in a different direction than her previous efforts.
"And a more natural one too," Sixiang murmured. "Ain't it more comfortable than walking around with a metal pole tied to your back?"
"Well glad that's working out for you, you're looking good these days, Junior Sister," the handsome boy chuckled. "Who's you're friend?"
"This is Yu Nuan," Ling Qi said brightly. "I thought she might have an interest in this too. Is Senior Sister Bian not available?"
"She's deployed at the moment," Ruan Shen replied, his grin slipped just a bit and the strumming strings of his spirit wavered. He was worried. "I'm sure she'd love to come some other time."
Ling Qi frowned a little, that wasn;t ideal, but needs must, if…
"So, it's nice to meet you and all," Yu Nuan said, dipping her head briefly to Ruan Shen. "But what exactly are we doing here?" It seemed that the relaxed atmosphere was finally loosening the knot of tension in the other girls shoulders.
"Workshopping, I believe was the plan?" Ruan Shen asked, looking to Ling Qi.
She nodded. "I thought it might be fun to get together with some other music cultivators and talk shop, maybe discuss compositions and arts. I'm thinking I need to replace some arts with better fitting ones soon, and I thought why not ask some advice."
"That's weird, you gonna let other people talk you into what arts you're gonna use?" Yu Nuan asked, bewildered.
"It's not really that strange, though it's usually more of a family thing," Ruan Shen chuckled, setting his book aside. "Think of it more like using the conversation as an avenue of reflection."
"Yes, that," Ling Qi replied confidently, the Carefree Mantle singing in her meridians. She still wanted to complete her cultivation of the Harmony of Dancing Wind Arts too, and it's lessons on the nature of connections seemed like the sort of thing that could use more active study. "I'm not going to tell you what to do, but if we each talk a little about what we're doing, there might be some insights, right?"
"I've already learned that it looks like my cute, shy Junior Sister is like to outgrow me within a year or two," Ruan Shen sighed as he moved to join them. "It's been a real blow."
She gave him an unimpressed look as she began to head for the stairs. "And how do you think I feel, seeing my Senior Brother slacking off?"
He winced. "Hey now, that's just mean," he laughed, sheepishly scratching his head. "I'm working on it, you know?"
Yu Nuan was still watching them with a frown on her lips. "...You two are weird."
"If being good humored is weird, I'll happily claim the title," Ruan Shen replied lazily as they made for the stairs. "Anyway, I'm mostly looking to refine my arts into something personal. What are you girls up to?"
"I'm looking for a new movement art. I'm feeling kinda deficient with that right now," she said, giving Ling Qi a look.
Ling Qi smiled sheepishly. "I'm-"
Let the art wars begin.
More seriously, we've done this a few times now. Please vote for up to three keywords or skills. I will create arts based on the most popular ones. This is not a strict majority vote, so please vote based on what you want to see rather than strategic concerns. In addition please vote for the build role you would like the arts to fulfill. This should be something like Offensive, or Resist Support, etc.
One new rule however, please do not include 'music' as a vote. All arts developed will involve music in some way. Derived skills like woodwind and vocal are okay though.
[][Role] Build role
[] Keyword1
[] Keyword2
[] Keyword3
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- Pronouns
- He/Him
I have no idea why we're here. So I will wait for a bit.
I do know that I'm holding out hope that Qi won't have to learn Savage Dirge later, because the thematic implications bother me.
I do know that I'm holding out hope that Qi won't have to learn Savage Dirge later, because the thematic implications bother me.
EternalObserver
eYe Gaze baCk
- Location
- The Void
Let the salt wars begin
Just as a reminder: the archive AP was included because we need a new resist art that can replace SES.
There were several ideas about secondary effects, elements, themes and whatever else. but we really should end up with some resist arts at the end of the dive
Edit: there were for example ideas about having some kind of Qi/health regeneration effect. or something to heal/dispel poison effects or maybe a general buff to our other music arts or whatever else. just as long as we still get resist too.
There were several ideas about secondary effects, elements, themes and whatever else. but we really should end up with some resist arts at the end of the dive
Edit: there were for example ideas about having some kind of Qi/health regeneration effect. or something to heal/dispel poison effects or maybe a general buff to our other music arts or whatever else. just as long as we still get resist too.
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- Location
- the internet
I agree with everything except for Spring. I don't remember any majority consensus on discord or SV for that keyword.
- Location
- New Brunswick, NJ
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
My knee-jerk reaction:
[][Role] Resist
The math nerds say we need a resist art, and I believe them.
Thematically, I've been pushing for some sort of tide-based thing for a while. People have been talking about wanting some sort of cyclical recurrence theme in our next art, so that we can connect to Zhengui on a thematic level even if we don't have an elemental one. I really like the tides for this: they're a natural cycle, but not one that is on a static schedule. Specifically, it's influenced by the Moon, which means it ties into us and our themes in a useful way, and also allows for bullshittery (spring tides are hella bullshit) instead of a boring obvious cycle of Tech 1 -> Tech 2 -> Tech 3 -> Tech 1 -> etc. I'm imagining techs based on deliberately withdrawing effects in order to surge back more strongly later (low/high tide), for example. Also, a Water art would be convenient for our upcoming Water turn, to make use of the Trench Swimmer's Pill.
(I don't want to get too specific, like I'm asking yrs to make an art to order, but I want to lay out the sort of themes I'm thinking about and how they might translate mechanically.)
[] Tides
[] Renewal
[] Cycles
[][Role] Resist
The math nerds say we need a resist art, and I believe them.
Thematically, I've been pushing for some sort of tide-based thing for a while. People have been talking about wanting some sort of cyclical recurrence theme in our next art, so that we can connect to Zhengui on a thematic level even if we don't have an elemental one. I really like the tides for this: they're a natural cycle, but not one that is on a static schedule. Specifically, it's influenced by the Moon, which means it ties into us and our themes in a useful way, and also allows for bullshittery (spring tides are hella bullshit) instead of a boring obvious cycle of Tech 1 -> Tech 2 -> Tech 3 -> Tech 1 -> etc. I'm imagining techs based on deliberately withdrawing effects in order to surge back more strongly later (low/high tide), for example. Also, a Water art would be convenient for our upcoming Water turn, to make use of the Trench Swimmer's Pill.
(I don't want to get too specific, like I'm asking yrs to make an art to order, but I want to lay out the sort of themes I'm thinking about and how they might translate mechanically.)
[] Tides
[] Renewal
[] Cycles
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- Location
- the internet
I'm reposting what I wrote earlier about the Resist art we're looking for:
I'm alright with Water or no Water for our resist art. While I'm not too crazy about Wood--thematically TRF always felt out of place with LQ's build, it was so random--I agree that we also need overlap with ZG. Idk how Yrs will make a Wood resist art that feels more in line with LQ's whole musical moonlit wraith shtick but I have no doubt he can do it. Yrs comes up with the most creative amazing stuff. Maybe he can do a Wood+Water art or a Wood+Wind art, idk.
But not a Fire resist art, like some people on discord are arguing for. I really feel like Fire is the opposite of LQ's whole theme at this point and it would feel even more random than TRF. When Gu Yanmei flooded our body with Solar qi and purged the poison from our body, our body reacted really badly with it. I'm not saying that that's what would happen with LQ obviously, I'm just saying...stuff like Fire, Solar, Heat as themes for arts seems really random for LQ. I really want her to have a cohesive build and a coherent theme in her arts. Stuff like SNR is awesome and feels so right for LQ. I know other people don't really care about the thematic stuff but I do. I guess if we did a Yin Fire thing, that would be fine but wouldn't that be about the hunger of Fire and how it consumes everything IICR? That doesn't really seem to overlap with best boy ZG.
Also I don't really buy the whole argument that we need opposing stuff to balance LQ out b/c we're too much about the Darkness+Cold theme and LQ should lighten up and be happier. I think that even if that's partially true, we could just lean into other elements we already have like Wind or Water. I know some other people want a Contrast resist art, the way Coldstar contrasts Heat and Cold and I suppose that's fine. So long as we don't do an art that's all about Fire.
I'm alright with Water or no Water for our resist art. While I'm not too crazy about Wood--thematically TRF always felt out of place with LQ's build, it was so random--I agree that we also need overlap with ZG. Idk how Yrs will make a Wood resist art that feels more in line with LQ's whole musical moonlit wraith shtick but I have no doubt he can do it. Yrs comes up with the most creative amazing stuff. Maybe he can do a Wood+Water art or a Wood+Wind art, idk.
But not a Fire resist art, like some people on discord are arguing for. I really feel like Fire is the opposite of LQ's whole theme at this point and it would feel even more random than TRF. When Gu Yanmei flooded our body with Solar qi and purged the poison from our body, our body reacted really badly with it. I'm not saying that that's what would happen with LQ obviously, I'm just saying...stuff like Fire, Solar, Heat as themes for arts seems really random for LQ. I really want her to have a cohesive build and a coherent theme in her arts. Stuff like SNR is awesome and feels so right for LQ. I know other people don't really care about the thematic stuff but I do. I guess if we did a Yin Fire thing, that would be fine but wouldn't that be about the hunger of Fire and how it consumes everything IICR? That doesn't really seem to overlap with best boy ZG.
Also I don't really buy the whole argument that we need opposing stuff to balance LQ out b/c we're too much about the Darkness+Cold theme and LQ should lighten up and be happier. I think that even if that's partially true, we could just lean into other elements we already have like Wind or Water. I know some other people want a Contrast resist art, the way Coldstar contrasts Heat and Cold and I suppose that's fine. So long as we don't do an art that's all about Fire.
- Location
- the internet
I
I'm assuming when you say sucking techniques, u either mean qi drain or what Wavering Mind Strike from ENM does?
Jensaarai
Sing Victory Everlasting
- Pronouns
- They/Them
You don't want LQ to start playing Celtic Metal music?
- Location
- Earth
I was not aware of that, thank you.
Now...
[] Heartbeat (as Drums)
as the Drums and bass are the most resistant part of a tune. You hear those even if everything else is gone or drowned out, and using your own Heartbeat for it is just common sense.
[] Overcome
[] Outgrow
For the wooden tones. A hearbeat that serves as drums to our tunes that overcomes and outgrows those that try to drown it as a form of resistance. There are our Roots, in the Image of a Bird Carrying a Big Tree. Having both roots and being free.
And there's just a hint of feeding on the dead and defeated. Maybe some
[] Roots/Renewal
as well. For those plants that can burn down and not be truly harmed because most of their body isn't actually above ground. That would fit with Moon, deception and wraiths. Enemies that aren't where they seem to be.
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Diomedea
A piece of the continent
- Location
- The interblag
- Pronouns
- She/Her
In the context of a resist art (the main purpose the the dive), you'll want [consumption] and/or related elements for something like this (so darkness and/or fire).