1. Why was the comb retconned.
2. It looks like the Relationship page was updated recently, but I don't see any of the Social Links we made before the edit date like Bao Qian and Wang Chao.
3. How in the world did you manage to keep a consistent writing schedule for 3 years?? I applaud you
1. Why was the comb retconned.
2. It looks like the Relationship page was updated recently, but I don't see any of the Social Links we made before the edit date like Bao Qian and Wang Chao.
3. How in the world did you manage to keep a consistent writing schedule for 3 years?? I applaud you
1. Iicr, there were too many hanging plot threads so Yrs decided to cut some. Comb was one of them.
2. The front page is often not updated. We need to update our character sheet stats, our SLs like Wang Chao and Bao Qian.
3. Yrsillar is incredible.
"In the emerald Seas there are considered to be three primary schools of musical style. Only two if you ask some," he harrumphed. "I do not truck with it, but certain types do not consider Grandmaster Fu's style a school of the Emerald Seas. He achieved his greatest works in the Imperial capital you see."
"The more traditional clans then," Ling Qi replied carefully.
"Not just the clans, you would be amazed at the snobbery found among the small circle of those who follow musical trends," Bao Qian said wryly. "But regardless, I will begin with Grandmistress Lei. She was a musician of the early Xi period. Her original home lay in the west of the province, the name and location are no longer precisely known, lost in the chaos. She was a lone cultivator, preferring hermitage to society. Her style was raw and some say uncivilized, emphasizing the elements in their more primal form and often carried themes of the inevitability of natural processes and the fundamental beauty and ugliness of the world. Her preferred instruments were woodwind."
Ling Qi supposed that she could understand the comparison. Someone from so long ago… well Zeqing or some incarnation of her had been around for a very long time. Idly, she wondered if this GrandMistress Lei had learned her early songs from some spirit of a remote and lonely fen. "You said she was a hermit cultivator. How does anyone even know about her then?"
"Oh, she married into the Meng eventually," he chuckled. "It is a bit hard to call tales from that period history, but it is said that Patriarch Meng Hao heard her songs while on a journey to the south and wooed her for thirty days and nights, offering gift after gift until he was left in naught but rags. It was only his final gift, a poem written from his own lifeblood and shen that she acquiesced."
Ling Qi smiled politely that did sound a little ridiculous. She quashed the part of her that wanted to think it was merely a cover for a less pleasant story. The patriarch of a clan would after all have a great deal of power over a mere hermit musician
"Dunno if it's all true, but Grandmother still has that poem," Sixiang whispered.
Well, maybe she was letting her own cynicism put blinders on her. Still it was difficult to match the recalcitrant and xenophobic Meng she had read of with that kind of thing. "I suppose I won't be able to find any recordings of her songs lying around."
"Not unless you intend to marry into the Meng," he joked, "And even then it seems unlikely. But many arts descend from the teaching of her disciples. Your song, the Forgotten Vale Melody was it? I have heard others say that there are strong elements of her teachings in that. A dozen odd generations removed, but still."
Yeah it is nothing that needs to be considered as an immediate decision. I personally have nothing against him and have to admit that there are some merits to the proposal. However what I really want is to see more of the narrative action between Bao Qian and Ling Qi because she's making slow progress, but progress nonetheless, in facing her fear of men. One aspect of Ling Qi's whole story that I've really enjoyed is the slow but real healing of her psychological trauma. She's come very far from the paranoid kid in Forge. She's come to really trust her friends and be not completely paranoid about men in general. However, a courtship? It broaches on topics she instinctively avoids, due to the things she witnessed as a child. We recently saw how much of her fearful behavior is an echo of her mother's fear. Personally, I haven't found much fiction exploring this sort of healing of trauma and learning the building blocks of trusting relationships.
She doesn't necessarily have to overcome her fear through just this courtship. I'm looking forward to her realizing that a man can be an actual close friend via Xuan Shi. Shen Hu is clearly off the table (yes I agree, it is very sad). Another consideration is the hint that Liao Zhu was purposefully being the playfully flirty type without going too far, in order to get her to loosen up and relax. Lets hope he recovers so they can continue to be friends and she can come to realize that men can actually be trusted.
My educational background and interest in trauma psychology is clearly showing.
I don't think she's afraid of men in general. more like she thinks relationships are repulsive, violent and disgusting. she did kinda avoid bai meizhan and felt repulsed by her instinctively, and she had no problem interacting with men and making friends with them when she first started. Bao might be a good shot for helping her in her fear of relationship, but turtleboi is the ship I'm behind. I hope they're both gonna make it out of their shells (lol).
I don't think she's afraid of men in general. more like she thinks relationships are repulsive, violent and disgusting. she did kinda avoid bai meizhan and felt repulsed by her instinctively, and she had no problem interacting with men and making friends with them when she first started. Bao might be a good shot for helping her in her fear of relationship, but turtleboi is the ship I'm behind. I hope they're both gonna make it out of their shells (lol).
Yeah i am pretty sure the issue with Qi is that she's internalized that all relationships are like the ones her mother had with the Customers.... which is not great. She instinctively rejects relationships with romance due to that aversion while simultaneous being drawn to guys who fit a possible prince (or at least noble) Charming. Which is why Ji Rong did nothing for her, because while he ahs the muscles and the face for it, he's literally an upjumped thug that she would have run from a few years ago, but with heavenly power.
Yeah i am pretty sure the issue with Qi is that she's internalized that all relationships are like the ones her mother had with the Customers.... which is not great. She instinctively rejects relationships with romance due to that aversion while simultaneous being drawn to guys who fit a possible prince (or at least noble) Charming. Which is why Ji Rong did nothing for her, because while he ahs the muscles and the face for it, he's literally an upjumped thug that she would have run from a few years ago, but with heavenly power.
Don't forget the fact that literally her first experience with desire being aimed in her direction was one of her mother's clients trying to buy time with her. When she was ten. And then her mother being all smiles and not kicking the dude out or otherwise making her displeasure known.
That was the incident that made her run away from home, and why she finds the notion of people being interested in her inherently frightening. It's fundamentally connected with an experience that made her feel terrified for her life, so scared she'd rather live on the streets by herself than risk it. She's done a lot of work processing and moving past that trauma, but it's really hard to blame her for being extremely jumpy.
Don't forget the fact that literally her first experience with desire being aimed in her direction was one of her mother's clients trying to buy time with her. When she was ten. And then her mother being all smiles and not kicking the dude out or otherwise making her displeasure known.
That was the incident that made her run away from home, and why she finds the notion of people being interested in her inherently frightening. It's fundamentally connected with an experience that made her feel terrified for her life, so scared she'd rather live on the streets by herself than risk it. She's done a lot of work processing and moving past that trauma, but it's really hard to blame her for being extremely jumpy.
It was a frightening thing to have the attention of the court of Emerald Seas. It was a pressure weighing down on her. A static skittering across her mind and a prickling on her skin. It reminded her of the last time she had faced power like this. It made her wonder what in the world had possessed her to want to speak here, and why Cai Renxiang had agreed to allow her to.
But Ling Qi did not intend to let fear control her again.
"Because of my role as scout, I was able to observe the barbarian meeting in more detail than may have made it into reports," Ling Qi began smoothly. She kept her eyes fixed downward, using the point where the branch holding the throne pierced the floor to hold her gaze. Ling Qi kept her voice clear and steady. "I believe that I may be able to share some details which may have been judged beneath notice, your highness."
They had practiced this part. There was no avoiding the appearance of going over the Sect in some degree. However it could be mitigated with the right words.
"You consider your judgement superior then?" Diao Linqin asked mildly.
"My lady and I believe that viewing certain matters from multiple points of view is valuable," Ling Qi said humbly. She did not raise her eyes, or even shift her posture. She held totally and respectfully still under the scrutiny of the court.
Cai Shenhua's chuckle was deep and throaty. Ling Qi hoped that the approval she heard in it wasn't just her imagination. "That is enough justification young lady. Speak, and I will decide whether you were correct."
"The meeting was not simply between tribes," Ling Qi continued without missing a beat. "Two of the groups present specifically referred to themselves as 'confederations' and made no mention of tribal affiliation. The last group was the tribe which had brought the Underground people to the meeting."
Shishigui was a local name, she had no idea if anyone at the capital would recognize it.
"It is not unusual for the tribes to form alliances," The Luo representative grunted. "But she is correct that such terminology is not common. The last time the barbarians spoke of such a thing…"
"Ogodei," The Wang representative grunted.
"But the meeting was not harmonious," Ling Qi continued once she was certain that there were no more interjections. "The underground allied barbarians were suing for the aid. The Starstone was their bargaining piece. The Twelve Star confederation seemed intrigued by this. It is the other, who called themselves White Sky, that I wish to speak of though."
Ling Qi had to stop herself from licking her lips. This was the tricky part.
"The White Sky had the least numerous representation. There were only two. One was a Cloud tribesman, whose mask style and equipment led me to believe belonged to the furthest south tribes. The other was a woman who was clearly not of the Cloud Tribes. I do not believe her to have been a prisoner either, given the disparity in power between the two."
"What makes you certain of this," The Meng woman asked. Her voice was soft and whispery, barely audible behind the fluttering fan which shielded her face.
"She lacked the beast bond of the tribes, and her features were foreign. Neither imperial nor tribe," Ling Qi continued carefully. "Her garments as well, bore the marks of civilized hands. Nothing to match imperial finery of course, but not the rough rough furs and stolen patchworks which the barbarians use. She did not seem to speak their common tongue either."
"Of those, only a lack of beast bond is convincing," Diao Linqin said. "And even then it is known that some of the southern tribes behave strangely, compared to their kin."
"If it were only such circumstantial things, I would agree, Prime Minister," Ling Qi replied. "However, the White SKy also showed little interest in the starstone, and what is more not even slight interest in alliance. In fact, the Twelve Stars seemed to regard the woman in particular with the same distrust with which the underground envoy was viewed. Together, this gave me an inkling that she may have been an outsider as well."
"But," Ling Qi continued swiftly before she could be interrupted. "I only became firm in belief after the foreigner attempted to speak to me in the middle of the battle, using a maneuver that made it appear as if she was containing me, but which conveniently shielded both myself and my spirits from attack."
There was silence in the wake of her words, and here Ling Qi could not help but swallow nervously.
"Hoh, interesting."
Cai Shenhua's words echoed in the vast hall, and Ling Qi felt her shoulders buckle as twin beams of radiance fixed upon her back. She didn't have to look up, she could see the limitless pools of radiance in her mind's eye, the punctures in the human face worn by the Light that was Shenhua.
"It is my belief that the foreigner saw some similarity in our arts. "Ling Qi croaked. It was hard to breath, sweat broke out on her skin. It felt something was intruding in her skull, precise and clinical. "If it may please the court to know, I practice an art passed down directly from the ice spirit of White Cloud Peak, and am as a sister to that spirit's daughter, now that my teacher has passed. I think the foreigner mistook me for kin of some kind."
Someone said something, but it was hard to hear. One of the representatives murmured something about honorable lineages. The Imperial Ambassador, said something less kind. Someone else said something sniping back. Tears sprang up in the corners of her eyes as the pressure mounted. Ling Qi's arms shook as she struggled to stay upright and kneeling.
She didn't bow.
"You stated that this barbarian did not speak the tribe's common tongue. How then did you communicate?" A voice, Diao Linqin's cut through the pressure, pale pink rose petals closed around the burning radiance that threatened to crush her, loving and covetous.
Through bleary eyes, Ling Qi saw the throne. Shenhua's radiance had grown less diffuse. Ling Qi could see her now, leaning forward in her seat. She wore a sheer and scandalous gown, a pure white thing with a deep cut out that could not be called a neckline. A deep 'V' that went all the way down to her navel, with only thin strips of fabric preserving a hint of modesty. A feathery white pibo floated around her shoulders, and coiled around her bare and muscular arms.
Diao Linqin's hand rested on her back. Or at least she thought it did. Nothing aside from blazing light was visible above the Duchess' shoulders.
"Due to some good fortune and scholarship, this one had reason to learn some of the old hill tribe tongues," Ling Qi whispered. "Though the language the foreigner spoke was not the same, I understood enough to have some comprehension."
The worst part, Ling Qi thought absently was that she was almost certain that the Duchess had not been angry, or even excited. Her words had said it all.
That had only been interest.
"She offered aid I think, and asked after my…. Lineage," Ling Qi continued, despite the dryness of her throat. "I did not have time to decipher much, Lady Cai was battling the underground beast even then, but I sang my teacher's Name, and it seemed to distress her. She threw a sliver of iron from her weapon at me before disappearing to flee the battle."
"I do have to wonder why you bothered with even that much for a barbarian," the Imperial Ambassador said.
"We were already outnumbered," Ling Qi said. "It seemed foolish to bring another peak third realm into a battle in which we were already struggling."
"Reasonable enough," the Wang representative grunted. "No use holding principal above effectiveness."
"An intelligent action," agreed the Luo, casting a sour look at the ambassador.
The ambassador sniffed dismissively. He obviously disagreed.
"Produce the sliver," Cai Shenhua spoke and all other conversation stopped.
Ling Qi didn't hesitate. She was only an image, here in the court, but she doubted that would matter to Shenhua. The sliver appeared, painfully cold in her palm as she presented it. Before Ling Qi's eyes, it jerked into the air, and radiance crawled across the iron, it sunk into invisible imperfections and cracks, suffusing the item.
However, so close to what was happening, Ling Qi saw Shenhua's radiance pause, stymied if only for a fraction of a second by the cold darkness that slept in the metal. She might have imagined it really, so brief it was. The sliver dropped back into her hand.
"It is good that you brought this matter to my attention," Cai Shenhua pronounced. "It is interesting. An organically developed escape talisman, meant to draw the smaller piece the larger one. Mistaken for kin indeed."
Her amusement was echoed, if less enthusiastically by the court. Ling Qi felt Cai renxiang's eyes on her back. This was going to be the hard part.
"Is it possible that she was not wholly mistaken?" Ling Qi said quietly. She steeled herself against the returning pressure of the courts attention. "Speaking the tongue she did, her civilized accoutrements… The tribes of the hills are ancestors to many of us, are they not? Enemies of the Cloud tribes, even before they were brought into the fold by the Weilu and the Hui."
Ling Qi felt the whisper of steel on her skin first, the caress of a blade, whisper soft yet lethal all the same. She caught movement from the figure in gleaming steel in front of her. The General Xia Ren was looking at her now, rather than staring straight ahead.
"You are suggesting something absurd, young lady." Diao Linqin said cooly.
"Not so much," Whispered the Meng woman, the fan in her hands fluttering. "It is simply a truth too many are eager to forget."
The Luo representative gave the Meng a sidelong look, and gave a grunt of agreement.
"Young Miss," spoke the man with the Jia, who seemed uncomfortable. "It is true that the lotus grows from mud, but it is not the mud, to suggest otherwise is insulting."
"Pfa, fancy nonsense," the Wang representative. "Truth is truth. You're thinking we need not fight these "White Sky' yet girl?"
"I think they may be amenable to peace in a way that the cloud barbarians are not," Ling Qi said carefully. "It is true that we are not primitive tribesman, like our ancestors, but may the same not be true? If, as it seems, they grew from the same mud which we did… I only believe the evidence of my eyes. They are not friends of the Twelve Stars and their monster. Perhaps we might find common ground in shared ancestry and enemies?"
"It is known that the Xuan, our allies, have dealings with foreigners of sufficient culture," Cai Renxiang said quietly. Her support had been clear, but putting it into words helped. "Even if it proves impossible, it may give us time to finish our first foes."
"It is a tenuous link at best," Diao Linqin said. Her lips pursed irritably, and she looked down toward Shenhua. "However…"
"It is difficult to say that it is wholly wrong, given our recent conquest. Is it not, my rose?" Shenhua chuckled.
Diao Linqin looked like a woman who had recently lost an argument, and was still less than pleased about it.
Ling Qi just felt confused. She was happy to see that others in the court all looked confused too.
"It was my intention to save this announcement for years end, timed with the arrival of the first year's tribute" Cai Shenhua said idly, leaning back to lounge on her throne once more. "But given recent events, it seems necessary to alter the timetable."
"Your highness, might I ask you to clarify?" The Bao representative, who had previously been silent and smiling asked. He looked a touch worried. It was the sort of look Cai Renxiang had worn when Ling Qi mentioned this whole matter.
"I have secured the surrender and tribute of the foes beneath Xiangmen," Cai Shenhua said as if she were discussing the weather. "The people of Ha'yth'kai, as they call themselves. The barbarians of the underground lands organize themselves into city states. These have surrendered and agreed to become tributaries of the Emerald Seas. Others will follow. The words spoken during my strolls have been most effective."
"Obviously, negotiating surrender and integration is possible," Diao Linqin said, sounding aggrieved. "However, treating barbarians as kin is a step too far."
"Perhaps," Cai Shenhua said lightly. "Baroness Ling, do you truly have confidence in your words?"
Ling Qi swallowed, but she could hardly say no. She tried to keep her thoughts clear of the questions bubbling up. "Yes your highness."
"Then, you will have a prominent place in the delegation. That sliver is bound to a location in the central wall. A meeting point no doubt. You will begin making preparations for a journey," the Duchess said easily. "General Xia?"
"Yes your highness?" Xia Ren answered, and it was as deep and echoing that it seemed as if she spoke from the bottom of a well.
"Prepare One hundred of your warriors and begin heading south. "Regardless of this matter, it is clear that the south of the province requires my direct attention," The Duchess lax tone hardened into steel by the time she finished. "And, select one of your adjutants to accompany my daughter and her retainer."
"As for you Renxiang," Cai Shenhua said. "You continue to perform well. This pleases me. I shall see to providing further resources for your growth and cultivation of subordinates. Should this diplomatic effort bear fruit, I shall consider granting you a boon."
Left unsaid was how badly failure would reflect on them.
Ling Qi finally lowered her head as attention left her. Behind her Cai Renxiang gave her thanks.
AN: So hope everyones ready for a roadtrip next turn. In any case, this is a good place to put a vote for what precisely you want for your new accessory talisman your purchasing. Vote for a derived statistic and a form for the talisman to take.
[] Derived Statistic
-[] Form
An example would be
[] Physical Armor
-[] Bracelet
You won't be voting for exactly what it ends up looking like but pictures and discussion may influence that outcome.
This update did a lot to convey the sheer, raw, terrifying force of a White.
She wasn't mad. She wasn't even excited. She was just paying attention to Ling Qi, from a distance of literally over a thousand miles, and that by itself was enough to bring tears to LQ's eyes and nearly push her onto her face.
And I think the thing in particular people were particularly worried about was stealth detection?
Design ideas I posted previously were these:
With the top three being the best ones IMO (and the bottom ones are urgh).
The simple black gem calling to mind the hidden moon is both thematically appropriate and plays off our hair nicely. Otoh, for a more wind/music vibe the chimes also work well, and might be good for something focused on stealth detection. And then if we like both the combination option actually looks pretty good too.
That went slightly better than expected. I am both surprised and pleased.
I think in the end, this approach will strengthen Cai Renxiang's hand.
The in-depth view of the relationship status makes it pretty clear that this approach played damn well with the Weilu Moderates, as expected, and should provide a channel for communications with them without forcing them to go directly to Renxiang or forcing her to openly choose a side.
Interesting. I seems that Meng was at a -2 with us before this, so maybe it's a very good thing we picked the route we did. Perhaps this will allow us to start drawing the Meng away from the Sun.
Also, the reason we got hit with a penalty from the Diao is they don't like the implication that they could come from the same roots as foreign barbarians. Also the Imperial representative really doesn't like us lol.
And another thing: aren't higher level energies supposed to be impossible to use in the Shisigui areas? Wasn't the whole point of the underground fort front to build structures to allow Elder Jiao to even operate period down there? And Cai Shenhua just strolled in and conquered an entire city-state? Just more Shenhua things I guess...
That went slightly better than expected. I am both surprised and pleased.
I think in the end, this approach will strengthen Cai Renxiang's hand.
The in-depth view of the relationship status makes it pretty clear that this approach played damn well with the Weilu Moderates, as expected, and should provide a channel for communications with them without forcing them to go directly to Renxiang or forcing her to openly choose a side.
