- Location
- New Brunswick, NJ
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
You mean balaclava. Baklava is a Mediterranean dessert made from phyllo, honey, and nuts.
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.
Thebigpieman
I've got this, I think.
- Location
- United States
It's also fucking great, if a bit dry.
- Location
- Finland
No, in Baklava's, this will be the sweetest heist ever.
- Location
- Florida
They raided all the dessert shops before goin to the bank, next their planning on goin to the buffet
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Then the bakery to really rake in the dough and finally the butcher to bring home the bacon.
*Excited Zhengui Noises*
You know, Liling's perspective in this bonus chapter suggests that she actually somewhat respects Ling Qi, and not in the condescending way she'd claim it as a reason to go all out during the pursuit or the tournament, which kind of reframes the "warning" she gave Ling Qi before the whole bandit issue.
TimEd
Meteor maker
Yeah, I also believed that she really was regretful of brushing Ling Qi off early on.
If we had succeeded though, imagine the absolute shitstorm of having CRX be our opponents especially since we're in Cai!Mom's backyard.
Also the dynamic between the three of them would have made Sixiang positively giddy.
If we had succeeded though, imagine the absolute shitstorm of having CRX be our opponents especially since we're in Cai!Mom's backyard.
Also the dynamic between the three of them would have made Sixiang positively giddy.
Well I finally finished catching up with this quest and I've got to say I've been enjoying this quest(and its prequel) Quite a bit! Thanks for running it yrsillar!
[X] Focus on your cultivation, let Meizhen lead the conversation. [Coming discussion will focus on Sect matters and Ling Qi.]
[X] Focus on your cultivation, let Meizhen lead the conversation. [Coming discussion will focus on Sect matters and Ling Qi.]
TimEd
Meteor maker
Now that the votes are locked, can I juzt say that Ling Qi is being a bad host? She invited Meizhen, and then focused on cultivation and made Meizhen carry the bulk of the coming conversation.
Yes, yes, I know they are close friends and all, but still. LQ just made Meizhen into a cultivation aid to practice conversation and cultivation at the same time, and didnt even lead the conversation!
I just find that fact kinda funny.
Yes, yes, I know they are close friends and all, but still. LQ just made Meizhen into a cultivation aid to practice conversation and cultivation at the same time, and didnt even lead the conversation!
I just find that fact kinda funny.
- Location
- Florida
Thought it was implied there would be a dream dance party after she finished touching up a few things cultivation wise, then were just partying like it's a rave
TimEd
Meteor maker
That is after this bit I think. LQ is currently cultivating amd talking with Meizhen at the same time.
I think it's a sign of how close they are. Ling Qi is an introvert, it takes effort for her to be with others and while she forces herself to stay connected that doesn't mean she isn't constantly being pulled back into herself. But here she is relaxed enough with Meizhen that she can be at peace in her own head while effortlessly keeping up a conversation with her friend, where with anyone else she'd have to drag herself out of her thoughts to pay attention to them.
Cultivating Loneliness gives her an appreciation for being alone and being with people, but with Meizhen she gets the benefits of both and pays the cost of neither.
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Turn 8: Arc 4-9
Ling Qi closed her eyes for a moment, centering herself as she viewed the world through the lense of spirit. The whorls and eddies of qi that gathered in this place where the world was thin. The streaming curtains of silver lunar qi that wafted down from the night sky mingled with the free flowing streams of wind and water, and streamed down to permeate the stolid earth beneath her feet. She hummed the melody of harmony, and it came into even sharper focus.
She glimpsed the immaterial, fleeting traces of dream that hung over the silent stones like a curtain of invisible lace. She traced the dissolving current of one, and took the first step of the dance, as Sixiang had instructed her many times.
"Jesting aside, are you truly well, Qi?" Meizhen's voice reached her ears on subtle rhythms of thunder, emanating from the pillar of black water which occupied her friend's place in the spiritual world. The predatory plate sized golden eyes which stared out from those depths, implying a horror that lay beneath. Ling Qi knew those slitted eyes held only concern for her though, and so the primal fear washed from her mind like the water from a duck's feathers.
"Of course," Ling Qi replied, stepping to the unheard rhythm that Sixiang was humming in her head, following the phantom guidance of immaterial fingers tugging at the sleeves of her gown as she tried to match the flow of the dream. "Why do you ask?"
Her friend was silent for a moment, and Ling Qi twirled along with a whirl of energy, feeling her skirts fly out with the motion. "You cannot tell me that Gu Xiulan's exit from the Sect did not affect you. That the danger to your mortal family from the attack left you unruffled."
Ling Qi faltered for a second, and the wave of dream qi escaped her. She kept her eyes closed, but put on a smile. "Mother actually broke through to Red you know," she replied, deflecting.
"I am pleased for both her and you," Meizhen replied tersely. "But that is not the point."
Ling Qi took a shuddering breath and reset her stance to the start of the dance. "It hurt to see Xiulan go. It hurt even more to know that my family was in danger and I was nowhere nearby," Ling Qi replied, forcing herself to resume the exercise. She felt Sixiang's arms around her shoulders, and her friends genuine concern, and the cold feeling that had arisen receded. "But what can I do?"
"Little," Meizhen replied sadly. "But I worry Ling Qi, what I have heard from you recently… You have always been adaptable, for the most part, but it is a large change. Are you certain that you are not haring off with new cultivation and arts to bury other concerns."
"Maybe a little," Ling Qi said, the honest words coming easily. Because it was Meizhen. It was easier to keep advancing, to keep marking off tasks from her mental checklist, to keep going with her day.
"Don't be unfair to yourself," Sixiang said quietly, their voice, tickling her ear. Her volume shifted, clearly addressing Meizhen. "I wasn't helping. I had my own troubles, and she helped me out, but the realization she had in doing it was genuine."
Again she stepped and she spun, riding out the whorl to glide across the ruined stones as her friend replied. "Is that so? And what realization was that, spirit?"
"That I had been making a lot of mistakes," Ling Qi said wryly. "Out of apathy, out of pride, out of a lot of things. The art I dug out of the archive helped a lot, but I doubt the lessons it's trying to teach would have sunk in without Sixiang."
The pillar of black, poisonous waters which represented Meizhen in her vision shuddered and swelled as the eyes within cut through her like knives, peering past her words and into her heart. "...I am not unhappy that you are no longer emulating my poorer habits," Meizhen said quietly. "If you feel that what you are doing now is truer to the self you wish to be, than I will merely be happy for you."
"I chose to walk the path I do now. I'm just going to make myself miserable if I keep treating dealing with others like a chore. It'd be doing a disservice to Lady Cai too," Ling Qi said, she felt the tingling feeling of dreams currents curling about her ankles, and for a second, her feet touched polished flagstones rather than yellow grass and crumbling rock, but the moment passed, and she lost the eddy which had briefly carried her there. This was surprisingly tricky.
"Then that is good," her friend agreed. "Yet, I still sense that you are troubled. Please, Qi, I would know what it is that weighs on you. Is it that Heart Demon which you mentioned at our last tea?"
This time, Ling Qi avoided missing a step, and continued to pick up the tempo of her dance, whirling more quickly in the eddies of dream, but Meizhen's words still struck home hard. She had been avoiding thinking about it, focusing on other things. She was working with Zhengui and Hanyi more, but it wasn't helping. It made her feel like she was missing something. "I don't know what to do about it," Ling Qi said quietly.
"Is it something you are willing to speak of?" Meizhen asked cautiously.
If anyone else had asked, she would have said no. She wouldn't have mentioned it at all. Only Sixiang was really properly aware of her trouble, and that was because it was incredibly difficult to hide something from someone living in your head.
"You try though," Sixiang chuckled silently. "You goof."
"I can't stop pushing forward. I can't slow down. There's still so much path to travel," Ling Qi said frustrated. "But… I feel like I keep hurting the people I care about in pursuing my goal. Zhengui wants to fight beside me, but I keep leaving him behind. Because it always seems like the best option in the moment. My mother wants to be part of my life, but she's only barely a cultivator and there's so little she can do. And, if it keeps going like this, I'm going to leave others behind. Li Suyin just barely reached full third realm and I'm already heading for the fourth step. Xiulan almost killed herself trying to keep up with me!" The words poured out in an ugly torrent, and she lost the step of her dance, stumbling as reality reasserted itself. "She opened her eyes, turning to look at Meizhen seated upon the stone, looking at her with worried eyes.
"I don't want to be alone again, but I can't stop growing stronger."
In a way, Meizhen's own unceasing growth was a great comfort, as much as it frustrated her in spars, knowing that her friend would always be there, a step or two ahead, was a balm in other ways.
Meizhen stared at her for a long moment, her eyes fractionally wider than usual, an expression that would have been gaping in surprise for anyone else. "...Ling Qi, you cannot expect everyone in your life to match your cultivation. That is a path which holds only pain."
"I know that," Ling Qi replied, frustrated. "But… what would you do, if Cui stalled out in the third realm? How would you deal with that?"
"Do not ever let her hear you posit such a thing," Meizhen huffed. "But… I would make room in my life for my cousin, no matter her strength. Those who rule must be the strongest, else we would collapse into warlordism and chaos, but there are many roles in this world which are not ruling. You cannot remain connected to others without giving of yourself. To imagine otherwise is utter selfishness, more than even you have displayed at your worst."
Meizhen's words cut, but… she wasn't wrong. "I don't want to hurt them," she whispered. "I know I can't be like that, but how do you reconcile that with cultivation?"
Meizhen pursed her lips, looking away. "It is impossible to relate to others without hurting and being hurt in turn. We fear, and we are feared," her words sounded final, as if to her it was some absolute truth. "But pains and fears have worth, when they bring us the happiness of companionship. There is more to strength than raw might."
Ling Qi looked back at her friend, her hands curled into fists, but slowly they loosened. "...I get it, but I don't know how to accept it yet," she said tiredly.
"You will find your answer. You are not one who will falter long. That I believe," Meizhen replied sincerely.
Ling Qi sighed, looking ruefully upon the scattered Lunar qi, disrupted by her turbulent emotions. "Looks like I might need to resume cultivation tomorrow evening."
"You got pretty far, despite the distraction," Sixiang said encouragingly. "You probably just need a few more nights practice."
"Maybe," Ling Qi said, flopping down upon her favorite stone. "We're running out of time though."
"What do you mean by that?" Meizhen asked sharply.
Ling Qi blinked, and then she grinned sheepishly. "Ah, that was the other thing I wanted to tell you. It looks like I'll be joining one of the first expeditions going… down," whether it was simply her skills, or if Su Ling's recommendation carried weight, she didn't know.
"Of course you are," Her friend said, squeezing her eyes shut. "Please, Qi, do not be reckless."
"I won't be," Ling Qi chuckled. "How about you, what is the Bai's take on the Sect's mobilization?"
"I will not be participating in any offensives," Meizhen looked conflicted about that. If Ling Qi had to guess… she was pleased at the clear indication that she was valued, but displeased at being prevented from raising her clan's name. "But I will fully cooperate with any defensive measures the Sect wishes to take. I will be receiving some training in Argent Sect's tactics and warfare under a core disciple for the next month."
"Congratulations," Ling Qi said sincerely. "I hope you do well."
"You as well. Let your enemies be driven before you," Meizhen replied, looking up at the sky.
Ling Qi nodded, following her gaze up to the clear night sky. Well as clear as it could be, with the titanic dragon floating up there. "Ah, you know, are you still up for a little shopping?"
"Hmm?" Meizhen gave her a questioning look.
"For Hanyi," Ling Qi said. "She's going to be performing with me, at this weekend's party, and Lady Cai got together some equipment funds," of course, her new dress and talismans would be more useful for the expedition, but she didn't want to ruin the girl's fun.
"I do not see why not," Meizhen said with a touch of amusement. "I suppose someone will have to take the place of your taste, with Gu Xiulan absent."
"I am not that bad," Ling Qi scoffed, leaning back in her seat. It was good to spend time with her best friend.
You will be contributing to the selection of Hanyi's Talisman's, she will be receiving a new dress and an accessory. Hanyi will determine the form these take, but Ling Qi may encourage her toward certain functions. Please vote for the derived attributes you wish her talismans to focus on. The dress may have two derived skills, the talisman may have one. The dress will be the more potent item.
[][Dress] Skill 1, Skill 2
[][Talisman] Skill 1
She glimpsed the immaterial, fleeting traces of dream that hung over the silent stones like a curtain of invisible lace. She traced the dissolving current of one, and took the first step of the dance, as Sixiang had instructed her many times.
"Jesting aside, are you truly well, Qi?" Meizhen's voice reached her ears on subtle rhythms of thunder, emanating from the pillar of black water which occupied her friend's place in the spiritual world. The predatory plate sized golden eyes which stared out from those depths, implying a horror that lay beneath. Ling Qi knew those slitted eyes held only concern for her though, and so the primal fear washed from her mind like the water from a duck's feathers.
"Of course," Ling Qi replied, stepping to the unheard rhythm that Sixiang was humming in her head, following the phantom guidance of immaterial fingers tugging at the sleeves of her gown as she tried to match the flow of the dream. "Why do you ask?"
Her friend was silent for a moment, and Ling Qi twirled along with a whirl of energy, feeling her skirts fly out with the motion. "You cannot tell me that Gu Xiulan's exit from the Sect did not affect you. That the danger to your mortal family from the attack left you unruffled."
Ling Qi faltered for a second, and the wave of dream qi escaped her. She kept her eyes closed, but put on a smile. "Mother actually broke through to Red you know," she replied, deflecting.
"I am pleased for both her and you," Meizhen replied tersely. "But that is not the point."
Ling Qi took a shuddering breath and reset her stance to the start of the dance. "It hurt to see Xiulan go. It hurt even more to know that my family was in danger and I was nowhere nearby," Ling Qi replied, forcing herself to resume the exercise. She felt Sixiang's arms around her shoulders, and her friends genuine concern, and the cold feeling that had arisen receded. "But what can I do?"
"Little," Meizhen replied sadly. "But I worry Ling Qi, what I have heard from you recently… You have always been adaptable, for the most part, but it is a large change. Are you certain that you are not haring off with new cultivation and arts to bury other concerns."
"Maybe a little," Ling Qi said, the honest words coming easily. Because it was Meizhen. It was easier to keep advancing, to keep marking off tasks from her mental checklist, to keep going with her day.
"Don't be unfair to yourself," Sixiang said quietly, their voice, tickling her ear. Her volume shifted, clearly addressing Meizhen. "I wasn't helping. I had my own troubles, and she helped me out, but the realization she had in doing it was genuine."
Again she stepped and she spun, riding out the whorl to glide across the ruined stones as her friend replied. "Is that so? And what realization was that, spirit?"
"That I had been making a lot of mistakes," Ling Qi said wryly. "Out of apathy, out of pride, out of a lot of things. The art I dug out of the archive helped a lot, but I doubt the lessons it's trying to teach would have sunk in without Sixiang."
The pillar of black, poisonous waters which represented Meizhen in her vision shuddered and swelled as the eyes within cut through her like knives, peering past her words and into her heart. "...I am not unhappy that you are no longer emulating my poorer habits," Meizhen said quietly. "If you feel that what you are doing now is truer to the self you wish to be, than I will merely be happy for you."
"I chose to walk the path I do now. I'm just going to make myself miserable if I keep treating dealing with others like a chore. It'd be doing a disservice to Lady Cai too," Ling Qi said, she felt the tingling feeling of dreams currents curling about her ankles, and for a second, her feet touched polished flagstones rather than yellow grass and crumbling rock, but the moment passed, and she lost the eddy which had briefly carried her there. This was surprisingly tricky.
"Then that is good," her friend agreed. "Yet, I still sense that you are troubled. Please, Qi, I would know what it is that weighs on you. Is it that Heart Demon which you mentioned at our last tea?"
This time, Ling Qi avoided missing a step, and continued to pick up the tempo of her dance, whirling more quickly in the eddies of dream, but Meizhen's words still struck home hard. She had been avoiding thinking about it, focusing on other things. She was working with Zhengui and Hanyi more, but it wasn't helping. It made her feel like she was missing something. "I don't know what to do about it," Ling Qi said quietly.
"Is it something you are willing to speak of?" Meizhen asked cautiously.
If anyone else had asked, she would have said no. She wouldn't have mentioned it at all. Only Sixiang was really properly aware of her trouble, and that was because it was incredibly difficult to hide something from someone living in your head.
"You try though," Sixiang chuckled silently. "You goof."
"I can't stop pushing forward. I can't slow down. There's still so much path to travel," Ling Qi said frustrated. "But… I feel like I keep hurting the people I care about in pursuing my goal. Zhengui wants to fight beside me, but I keep leaving him behind. Because it always seems like the best option in the moment. My mother wants to be part of my life, but she's only barely a cultivator and there's so little she can do. And, if it keeps going like this, I'm going to leave others behind. Li Suyin just barely reached full third realm and I'm already heading for the fourth step. Xiulan almost killed herself trying to keep up with me!" The words poured out in an ugly torrent, and she lost the step of her dance, stumbling as reality reasserted itself. "She opened her eyes, turning to look at Meizhen seated upon the stone, looking at her with worried eyes.
"I don't want to be alone again, but I can't stop growing stronger."
In a way, Meizhen's own unceasing growth was a great comfort, as much as it frustrated her in spars, knowing that her friend would always be there, a step or two ahead, was a balm in other ways.
Meizhen stared at her for a long moment, her eyes fractionally wider than usual, an expression that would have been gaping in surprise for anyone else. "...Ling Qi, you cannot expect everyone in your life to match your cultivation. That is a path which holds only pain."
"I know that," Ling Qi replied, frustrated. "But… what would you do, if Cui stalled out in the third realm? How would you deal with that?"
"Do not ever let her hear you posit such a thing," Meizhen huffed. "But… I would make room in my life for my cousin, no matter her strength. Those who rule must be the strongest, else we would collapse into warlordism and chaos, but there are many roles in this world which are not ruling. You cannot remain connected to others without giving of yourself. To imagine otherwise is utter selfishness, more than even you have displayed at your worst."
Meizhen's words cut, but… she wasn't wrong. "I don't want to hurt them," she whispered. "I know I can't be like that, but how do you reconcile that with cultivation?"
Meizhen pursed her lips, looking away. "It is impossible to relate to others without hurting and being hurt in turn. We fear, and we are feared," her words sounded final, as if to her it was some absolute truth. "But pains and fears have worth, when they bring us the happiness of companionship. There is more to strength than raw might."
Ling Qi looked back at her friend, her hands curled into fists, but slowly they loosened. "...I get it, but I don't know how to accept it yet," she said tiredly.
"You will find your answer. You are not one who will falter long. That I believe," Meizhen replied sincerely.
Ling Qi sighed, looking ruefully upon the scattered Lunar qi, disrupted by her turbulent emotions. "Looks like I might need to resume cultivation tomorrow evening."
"You got pretty far, despite the distraction," Sixiang said encouragingly. "You probably just need a few more nights practice."
"Maybe," Ling Qi said, flopping down upon her favorite stone. "We're running out of time though."
"What do you mean by that?" Meizhen asked sharply.
Ling Qi blinked, and then she grinned sheepishly. "Ah, that was the other thing I wanted to tell you. It looks like I'll be joining one of the first expeditions going… down," whether it was simply her skills, or if Su Ling's recommendation carried weight, she didn't know.
"Of course you are," Her friend said, squeezing her eyes shut. "Please, Qi, do not be reckless."
"I won't be," Ling Qi chuckled. "How about you, what is the Bai's take on the Sect's mobilization?"
"I will not be participating in any offensives," Meizhen looked conflicted about that. If Ling Qi had to guess… she was pleased at the clear indication that she was valued, but displeased at being prevented from raising her clan's name. "But I will fully cooperate with any defensive measures the Sect wishes to take. I will be receiving some training in Argent Sect's tactics and warfare under a core disciple for the next month."
"Congratulations," Ling Qi said sincerely. "I hope you do well."
"You as well. Let your enemies be driven before you," Meizhen replied, looking up at the sky.
Ling Qi nodded, following her gaze up to the clear night sky. Well as clear as it could be, with the titanic dragon floating up there. "Ah, you know, are you still up for a little shopping?"
"Hmm?" Meizhen gave her a questioning look.
"For Hanyi," Ling Qi said. "She's going to be performing with me, at this weekend's party, and Lady Cai got together some equipment funds," of course, her new dress and talismans would be more useful for the expedition, but she didn't want to ruin the girl's fun.
"I do not see why not," Meizhen said with a touch of amusement. "I suppose someone will have to take the place of your taste, with Gu Xiulan absent."
"I am not that bad," Ling Qi scoffed, leaning back in her seat. It was good to spend time with her best friend.
You will be contributing to the selection of Hanyi's Talisman's, she will be receiving a new dress and an accessory. Hanyi will determine the form these take, but Ling Qi may encourage her toward certain functions. Please vote for the derived attributes you wish her talismans to focus on. The dress may have two derived skills, the talisman may have one. The dress will be the more potent item.
[][Dress] Skill 1, Skill 2
[][Talisman] Skill 1
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