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.
They should probably be hitting Green/bronze 3 in the coming months. But we are still at the first month out of the tournament and they where Green 2 then.
It's still a death world. When mortal kids go missing sect elders don't care, core sect members don't care, it's the job of the oiter sect to check on them.
Saying that this world isn't insanely dangerous is both a lie and dangerously irresponsible for our little sis. The fucking /tree/ are dangerous as seen with us being worried about them hurting our sister.
Varder
Tired Cultist
- Location
- Hell
They don't care about the kid, but they will care about the fuckery that's going on in their city. It's not about a person, it's about territory. If outer sect member won't be enough then higher ups will take notice, not because mortals are in danger but because that migh be dangerous for the Empire. As we perfectly saw in the barbarian shaman incident, where a Sect Elder took action about some missing children.
Saying that wilderness and Empire territory are the same in terms of danger is both a lie and incredibly dismissive to people who protect it.
- Location
- Washington
We're only going to be here for 2 more years. After that it's a crapshoot of how safe wherever CRX gets placed and I wouldn't bet on it being anywhere without a bunch of fires to put out.
fictionfan
Please sir, may I have some Meows?
- Location
- Tempe, AZ
The stages of green are really big.
Indications are that said dumb spirits spawn at least once per season. Sometimes more frequently.
Keeping in mind its a setting where spontaneous generation happens naturally, and that towns and cities require Red Guards patrolling the streets because every so often some back alley gets missed out on the sanctification cycle because someone parked a wagon in the wrong place and now theres a shadow spider monster eating the fear of children that takes a cultivator to beat up and disperse(or worse, the guards put the wagon there to encourage such things forming because whenever they pull off such a kill they get a cash bonus and its not REALLY that dangerous as long as you make sure to get to it before it grows too big). Or the family that moved out of their ancestral home and now people have to deal with a sulking house spirit growing angrier by the day which needs to be stopped before it tries to commit suicide by arson in depression.
Like, think, this is a place where farmsteads need garrison forces, and regular patrols by a Yellow on a seasonal or annual basis to make sure all is in order.
Our Sect jobs as we've seen thus far aren't just busywork. Individuals can and do get randomly killed pretty easily in even relatively safe parts of the world. The Cultivators and Sects hunt down the serial offending culprits and maintain an environment where people ie because they react wrong, rather than people dying because they are there. But they'd miss spots and thats normal, because these patrols are to keep small problems from becoming big problems, not preventing small problems entirely(at least, aside from those with Renxiang type overlords, but those have their costs elsewhere don't they?)
I'd note we'd potentially have been Green 2 by now if we didn't put most of our pure cultivation on hold to ready our tournament kit(since if we beelined Green 2 for the tournament we wouldn't have the time to learn anything that actually leverages being Green 2, we banked on having a very well developed Green 1 art suite being more beneficial, which is why right now we basically don't have much to cultivate from our core set until Green 2, we largely wiped out everything in range but the Argents). And if Han Jian wasn't holding back/stalling on his core cultivation he'd probably be Green 1 already by now.
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The thing is that we care about people not territory. A dead little sister is bad even if the spirit get pushed back.
And the sect elder only took action because it was a threat to the sect, she didn't care before about the missing mortals.
Lastly you are the only one saying that wilderness and cities are the same. What we defend is that cities are fucking dangerous still.
- Location
- earth
you saw nothing
Varder
Tired Cultist
- Location
- Hell
I'm attacking that the world is a deathworld. Assuming that the term comes from w40k it's not true for Empire at least.
Reminder that the swarms of worms from Renshu that overwhelmed quite a few Reds and Yellows are....agricultural aids. Literally the equivalent of earthworms needed to keep the land fertile, and they do, until they hit critical mass and start trying to eat people, crops and livestock instead of breaking down the soil.
Consider that an integral portion of your farm, if mismanaged, can become a hazard which takes a Yellow or a lot of Reds to stamp back down, and which you cannot exterminate because your farm will die with them.
We've seen only the safe, warded and managed residential zones kept that way by the work of cultivators from Indigo downwards, with massive investments in warding formations. And from a privileged position of a Hero character growing rapidly. Those rabbits from the Moonfill could probably kill a small village if they really wanted to.
Consider that an integral portion of your farm, if mismanaged, can become a hazard which takes a Yellow or a lot of Reds to stamp back down, and which you cannot exterminate because your farm will die with them.
We've seen only the safe, warded and managed residential zones kept that way by the work of cultivators from Indigo downwards, with massive investments in warding formations. And from a privileged position of a Hero character growing rapidly. Those rabbits from the Moonfill could probably kill a small village if they really wanted to.
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The argument was that having mortal are weak and easily killed so our little sister should cultivate. Beside us being the vassal of CRX do not change that danger, our sister doesn't get any special defense against getting killed by a spirit because of our vassalage.
I got side tracked but @Varder was originally defending that the cities didn't have danger and that the sects are sufficiently protected that nobody start shit with them. This despite multiple evidences of the opposite.
Catachan in wh40k has giant fortresses to beat back the jungle. Doesn't make it any less of a death world.
Varder
Tired Cultist
- Location
- Hell
On Catachan you're expected to die by certain age. It's not the same here for mortals afaik.
fictionfan
Please sir, may I have some Meows?
- Location
- Tempe, AZ
By that standard we live in a death world. We are all expected to die by 100.
- Location
- Europe
If this actually gets her protections I haven't seen them. Remember Ling Qi was wondering if spirits were messing with her sister's dreams, we have in character reasoning that makes it clear that safety is at best pretty limited, at worst an illusion.
Varder
Tired Cultist
- Location
- Hell
You're good. There's nothing I can oppose this impecable logic.
Gotta note that the noble families are aware of this and yet specifically state that starting cultivation early is expensive and dangerous, even in comparison to the world's hazards.
Mind you, the protection level over even a small city is necessarily lower than a noble's personal residences and transport on the basis of sheer difficulty of coverage.
Not TOO hard to ward one mansion and its compound to rebuff anything hostile below the fourth realm for at least long enough to bring in a fourth realm hitter with a personal stake. Particularly if one of the residents is skilled enough to inspect and touch up any wear and tear on the wards.
Very hard to ward city's much larger walls to the same standard. Especially if reserving room to grow.
Black Noise
Curious
- Location
- About 1AU from Sol
Citation needed.
Anyway, we know they generally wait till the kid is ten ish, but we were never given a reason why.
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Ling Qi was just being a busybody. Kids are taught not to ho wandering outside the wards, its like in real life with fairy stories warning kids not to go into the woods, except the fairies are real and sometimes need to be dropkicked into submission.
Your family is not in any significant danger from spirits in the sect village, on top of the guards that generally patrol the place the house itself has a small guard compliment and its own formations warding scheme. Biyu isn't exactly some random farmers daughter.
Forge is an incredibly dangerous world, but it's not quite catachan, at least not in the well settled bits.
Your family is not in any significant danger from spirits in the sect village, on top of the guards that generally patrol the place the house itself has a small guard compliment and its own formations warding scheme. Biyu isn't exactly some random farmers daughter.
Forge is an incredibly dangerous world, but it's not quite catachan, at least not in the well settled bits.
A suspiciously specific denial! Perhaps she's a random cobbler, cooper, tanner or even roper's child?
More seriously, does Qingge know Biyu's father's identity?
Turn 1: Arc 1-8
Ling Qi played, and Ling Qi listened.
The song was, to her nothing spectacular, among the pieces she had composed with Sixiang's advice over the course of the idle hours in the early morning, when the stellar and moon qi had grown thin, but the days lessons had not yet begun.
"Your welcome," Sixiang whispered.
Ling Qi restrained herself from rolling her eyes as her fingers danced along the length of her flute. It had turned out well, she thought, filled with the feelings of looking out over the mist drenched mountains and the lowlands below. Not cheerful, perhaps, but she thought she had managed to work in the faint wonder of the viewing in fairly well.
"It suits you, a song doesn't have to be peppy to be cheerful," Sixiang murmured, humming along in her head.
Ling Qi agreed, this was a nice compromise between their styles, she thought. It was still a simple piece though, and so she did not need her full attention to play its notes. Instead, she fulfilled the second part of her job.
While she was far from a master spy, and most of the guests were too well trained in basic caution to let anything truly important slip, there was still plenty of small talk and gossip to be had. Who was closed door cultivating, who was rumored to have had good fortune, or who was working on a new technique. While those things held some passing interest to her, it was the more social rumors she paid more attention to at Cai Renxiang's request. Who was friends with who, who was feuding and other such frippery.
She would be glad when it was over and she could write it all down. However, amongst all the idle noise of a noble gathering, there was one thread of information that she found most intriguing indeed.
Sun Liling was no longer the heir of the Sun family.
The position had been given over to one of her great-uncles, or so rumor stated. Word was fuzzy on the new heirs exact relation. The official word was that this was so that Sun Liling could focus upon her cultivation without the weight of the heir position distracting her. Ling Qi wondered what the actual situation was, but she could hardly follow up on it here. Still, the disciples were abuzz discussing the matter, even if was all useless speculation.
Presently, her current piece came to an end, and Ling Qi stood, offering a bow to the gathered disciples to the sound of scattered, polite applause. As she raised her head, she met the eyes of the one who would be taking her turn next, and giving Ling Qi a chance to both have a breather and mingle a bit.
"Senior Sister Bian," she greeted the girl who had once tutored her.
"A lovely performance, Junior Sister Ling," the pretty older girl replied, her smile hidden behind her veil. The Bian were the family which oversaw the rolling fertile hills formed by the capital cities roots, as such, she had aligned herself quite firmly with Cai Renxiang. "Will you allow me the stage for a time?"
"Of course, Senior Sister," Ling Qi replied with a smile that wasn't wholly false, the girl was nice enough when it came down to it, even if she didn't know her well.
Stepping down from the raised stage, Ling Qi wove her way into the crowd, as the older girl's rich voice began to ring out. She was doing a series of poetry readings, if Ling Qi remembered the planner right.
"And you aren't even going to listen," Sixiang huffed."Language has its beauty too you know?"
'Maybe so, but that's more your thing. You can recite it back to me later anyway, right?' Ling Qi thought, earning a jab of playful irritation from the muse in her thoughts before the spirits attention shifted away. She was interested in getting something to drink, before seeking out some company to unwind. She still had another performance to give later.
As she approached the refreshments table on the far side of the room however, she found her path blocked. Well not blocked per say, but… impeded. She would have to brush rudely past to ignore the young man in front of her. It was a tactic she was growing used too. So, she slowed her pace as she approached, just like a proper lady would.
"Junior Sect Sister Ling," he greeted with a mild dip of his shaved head. "A fine performance indeed, you shame musicians years your elder."
Ling Qi searched her memory for his face. Middling height, fairly handsome, expensive green robes embroidered with plant imagery and eyes that reminded her of… That was it, a peek at his aura, a still lake underlaid with a faint poisonous scent, confirmed it. "Senior Brother Wen," she greeted back, bowing her head a bit lower than he had, as was appropriate. "You are too kind."
She only vaguely recalled her conversation with him, he had been one of the well wishers at the reward ceremony for the tournament. Wen Cao, an older brother of Wen Ai's. It had been nothing but pleasantries and hadn't stood out to her then, except that he was related to someone she didn't much care for.
"And you are too modest, Junior Sister," he said, turning and moving from her path. It allowed them both to proceed toward the refreshments. He had a smooth sort of voice, the kind that old instincts made her instinctively distrust. "How have you found the Inner Sect?"
"I will accept Senior Brothers praise then," She replied evenly, pulling on her experience with Meizhen's demeanor, it was much easier to pull off than Gu Xiulan's style of chatting. "I have enjoyed it so far. It seems much more stable an environment than the outer sect."
"The outer sect is somewhat uncivilized isn't it?" Wen Cao mused as they reached the table. "Such is tradition though, and it does do its job of weeding out the unready."
Ling Qi nodded agreeably as she accepted a cup from the server, one of the sect staff made available for this kind of thing. She restrained a grimace at the scent. It was some kind of fruity drink. She vaguely recalled Renxiang mentioning it being popular in Celestial Peaks. A sip confirmed her thoughts, too sweet. "I expect things will grow more exciting once challenges resume," she said politely. "Does Senior Brother Wen have any advice in that regard?" She still had no idea what he wanted. The Wen's land sat across a major southern pass in Ebon Rivers, so maybe he was just doing the standard butter up Cai through her subordinates thing.
"Challenges are… an interesting thing," The Wen scion replied, weighing his own cup in his hand. "Given the unusual talent of your graduating class, you are somewhat more secure than the usual newcomers. I would suggest accepting the first few challenges which come your way. Proving your mettle will reduce frivolous attempts."
"I will keep your advice in mind Senior Brother," she replied politely.
He gave a shallow nod, looking back into the crowd. "Have you kept an eye on Junior Brother Yan, Junior Sister?"
Ling Qi frowned briefly. She had taken a glance or two his way over the month, but he seemed like an outright shut in. She suspected he was still rebuilding that 'face' puppet of his that had been destroyed in the raid Meizhen had taken her on. "I had hoped that the grudge between us was laid to rest. He has not made to cause any trouble," she replied neutrally.
Wen Cao hummed thoughtfully. "How merciful of you Junior Sister, appropriate for a retainer of Cai," Ling Qi almost narrowed her eyes, she felt like he was making fun of her a little. "I would warn however, that Junior Brother Yan is a petty and vindictive man, as I am sure you know. I implore you to keep an eye upon him."
"Senior Brother's concern is welcome. I will of course, remain cautious. Bai Meizhen did teach me something of how enemies are to be treated," she said cooly.
"Is that so?" he replied with a charming smile, he did seem genuinely concerned. "Then there is little to worry about. If you require advice on the matter, do seek me out. I would be glad to aid a retainer of the Cai."
"Junior Sister Ling thanks Senior Brother Wen for the offer," she replied. He had some other motive to be sure, but she didn't think he was hostile, she supposed she would have to remember his face though.
"I am glad," he replied, giving a brief bow. "If you will excuse me then, Junior Sister Ling," he said, moving off into the crowd after she had murmured the proper pleasantry back
Hah, she thought as she looked back into the crowd. She had gotten through that without coaching from Sixiang. She was learning. Still, she would rather find someone more familiar to talk to before she got roped into another polite back and forth.
Scanning the crowd, she found…
[] Gu Xiulan, chatting with an uncomfortable looking Shen Hu
[] Her one time music tutor, Ruan Shen, engaged in conversation with… Bao Qingling?
The song was, to her nothing spectacular, among the pieces she had composed with Sixiang's advice over the course of the idle hours in the early morning, when the stellar and moon qi had grown thin, but the days lessons had not yet begun.
"Your welcome," Sixiang whispered.
Ling Qi restrained herself from rolling her eyes as her fingers danced along the length of her flute. It had turned out well, she thought, filled with the feelings of looking out over the mist drenched mountains and the lowlands below. Not cheerful, perhaps, but she thought she had managed to work in the faint wonder of the viewing in fairly well.
"It suits you, a song doesn't have to be peppy to be cheerful," Sixiang murmured, humming along in her head.
Ling Qi agreed, this was a nice compromise between their styles, she thought. It was still a simple piece though, and so she did not need her full attention to play its notes. Instead, she fulfilled the second part of her job.
While she was far from a master spy, and most of the guests were too well trained in basic caution to let anything truly important slip, there was still plenty of small talk and gossip to be had. Who was closed door cultivating, who was rumored to have had good fortune, or who was working on a new technique. While those things held some passing interest to her, it was the more social rumors she paid more attention to at Cai Renxiang's request. Who was friends with who, who was feuding and other such frippery.
She would be glad when it was over and she could write it all down. However, amongst all the idle noise of a noble gathering, there was one thread of information that she found most intriguing indeed.
Sun Liling was no longer the heir of the Sun family.
The position had been given over to one of her great-uncles, or so rumor stated. Word was fuzzy on the new heirs exact relation. The official word was that this was so that Sun Liling could focus upon her cultivation without the weight of the heir position distracting her. Ling Qi wondered what the actual situation was, but she could hardly follow up on it here. Still, the disciples were abuzz discussing the matter, even if was all useless speculation.
Presently, her current piece came to an end, and Ling Qi stood, offering a bow to the gathered disciples to the sound of scattered, polite applause. As she raised her head, she met the eyes of the one who would be taking her turn next, and giving Ling Qi a chance to both have a breather and mingle a bit.
"Senior Sister Bian," she greeted the girl who had once tutored her.
"A lovely performance, Junior Sister Ling," the pretty older girl replied, her smile hidden behind her veil. The Bian were the family which oversaw the rolling fertile hills formed by the capital cities roots, as such, she had aligned herself quite firmly with Cai Renxiang. "Will you allow me the stage for a time?"
"Of course, Senior Sister," Ling Qi replied with a smile that wasn't wholly false, the girl was nice enough when it came down to it, even if she didn't know her well.
Stepping down from the raised stage, Ling Qi wove her way into the crowd, as the older girl's rich voice began to ring out. She was doing a series of poetry readings, if Ling Qi remembered the planner right.
"And you aren't even going to listen," Sixiang huffed."Language has its beauty too you know?"
'Maybe so, but that's more your thing. You can recite it back to me later anyway, right?' Ling Qi thought, earning a jab of playful irritation from the muse in her thoughts before the spirits attention shifted away. She was interested in getting something to drink, before seeking out some company to unwind. She still had another performance to give later.
As she approached the refreshments table on the far side of the room however, she found her path blocked. Well not blocked per say, but… impeded. She would have to brush rudely past to ignore the young man in front of her. It was a tactic she was growing used too. So, she slowed her pace as she approached, just like a proper lady would.
"Junior Sect Sister Ling," he greeted with a mild dip of his shaved head. "A fine performance indeed, you shame musicians years your elder."
Ling Qi searched her memory for his face. Middling height, fairly handsome, expensive green robes embroidered with plant imagery and eyes that reminded her of… That was it, a peek at his aura, a still lake underlaid with a faint poisonous scent, confirmed it. "Senior Brother Wen," she greeted back, bowing her head a bit lower than he had, as was appropriate. "You are too kind."
She only vaguely recalled her conversation with him, he had been one of the well wishers at the reward ceremony for the tournament. Wen Cao, an older brother of Wen Ai's. It had been nothing but pleasantries and hadn't stood out to her then, except that he was related to someone she didn't much care for.
"And you are too modest, Junior Sister," he said, turning and moving from her path. It allowed them both to proceed toward the refreshments. He had a smooth sort of voice, the kind that old instincts made her instinctively distrust. "How have you found the Inner Sect?"
"I will accept Senior Brothers praise then," She replied evenly, pulling on her experience with Meizhen's demeanor, it was much easier to pull off than Gu Xiulan's style of chatting. "I have enjoyed it so far. It seems much more stable an environment than the outer sect."
"The outer sect is somewhat uncivilized isn't it?" Wen Cao mused as they reached the table. "Such is tradition though, and it does do its job of weeding out the unready."
Ling Qi nodded agreeably as she accepted a cup from the server, one of the sect staff made available for this kind of thing. She restrained a grimace at the scent. It was some kind of fruity drink. She vaguely recalled Renxiang mentioning it being popular in Celestial Peaks. A sip confirmed her thoughts, too sweet. "I expect things will grow more exciting once challenges resume," she said politely. "Does Senior Brother Wen have any advice in that regard?" She still had no idea what he wanted. The Wen's land sat across a major southern pass in Ebon Rivers, so maybe he was just doing the standard butter up Cai through her subordinates thing.
"Challenges are… an interesting thing," The Wen scion replied, weighing his own cup in his hand. "Given the unusual talent of your graduating class, you are somewhat more secure than the usual newcomers. I would suggest accepting the first few challenges which come your way. Proving your mettle will reduce frivolous attempts."
"I will keep your advice in mind Senior Brother," she replied politely.
He gave a shallow nod, looking back into the crowd. "Have you kept an eye on Junior Brother Yan, Junior Sister?"
Ling Qi frowned briefly. She had taken a glance or two his way over the month, but he seemed like an outright shut in. She suspected he was still rebuilding that 'face' puppet of his that had been destroyed in the raid Meizhen had taken her on. "I had hoped that the grudge between us was laid to rest. He has not made to cause any trouble," she replied neutrally.
Wen Cao hummed thoughtfully. "How merciful of you Junior Sister, appropriate for a retainer of Cai," Ling Qi almost narrowed her eyes, she felt like he was making fun of her a little. "I would warn however, that Junior Brother Yan is a petty and vindictive man, as I am sure you know. I implore you to keep an eye upon him."
"Senior Brother's concern is welcome. I will of course, remain cautious. Bai Meizhen did teach me something of how enemies are to be treated," she said cooly.
"Is that so?" he replied with a charming smile, he did seem genuinely concerned. "Then there is little to worry about. If you require advice on the matter, do seek me out. I would be glad to aid a retainer of the Cai."
"Junior Sister Ling thanks Senior Brother Wen for the offer," she replied. He had some other motive to be sure, but she didn't think he was hostile, she supposed she would have to remember his face though.
"I am glad," he replied, giving a brief bow. "If you will excuse me then, Junior Sister Ling," he said, moving off into the crowd after she had murmured the proper pleasantry back
Hah, she thought as she looked back into the crowd. She had gotten through that without coaching from Sixiang. She was learning. Still, she would rather find someone more familiar to talk to before she got roped into another polite back and forth.
Scanning the crowd, she found…
[] Gu Xiulan, chatting with an uncomfortable looking Shen Hu
[] Her one time music tutor, Ruan Shen, engaged in conversation with… Bao Qingling?
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