- Location
- Required Location
IIRC yrsillars new schedule is wednesdays and saturdays. so an update should be out in the next 24~ish hours.
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.
Either today or tomorrow, the usual schedule places updates on Tuesdays, but Yrs has had to do the last couple updates a day later. It depends if he is going to keep the Wednesday-Saturday schedule for now or if he is going to attempt to return to the Tuesday-Friday schedule. In terms of time updates usually come around 4-7pm EST.
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To Paint an Ancestor
- Location
- United States of America
To Paint an Ancestor
Motes danced across beams of moonlight as the wind lightly rustled leaves outside of the room. Cushioned from the tiled floor, Ling Jun sat crosslegged with his eyes closed and breathed deeply the scent of canvas, inks, dyes, and brushes. His senses once again scanned the references he had acquired for this project: books containing details of his subject's person, prior sketches and drawings, and his primary source, a jade slip recording of a report given to the Cai in front of the Emerald Sea's Court. This painting would be the work of many years, perhaps even a decade, but, he hoped, the end result would be pleasing to the eye. Well, it would be pleasing to his eye at least, he wouldn't let others see the painting if it wasn't.
Opening his eyes, Ling Jun stared at the grey canvas in front of him. Qi had settled into it like water into sand, infusing the whole canvas with potency equal to that of its large size. And it was large, covering the entire wall in front of him from wall to wall and floor to ceiling. Bringing down a beast this size would have been no small task, yet he could not see any blemishes on the hide. Hair had been meticulously scraped off, the offending chemicals needed to tan the skin washed away. All that was left was possibilities that had yet to be realized. Now, though, was the time to whittle away all that potential to one exquisite reality. Standing up, he dipped his brush into the mixtures of paint around him and began to paint.
During the days he would instruct the youngsters in the noble art of painting, listening to the wishes whispered on wind and the secrets sulking in shadows more than the blithering of children to grasp who had the potential to move on and those who should choose different vocations. During the nights he secluded himself in his studio, cultivating and painting a dream yet to be realized. Some days he was forced to leave for weeks or a month to deal with entitled nobles who disagreed with the representation of a subject painted for them or negotiate with providers of materials to fuel his passion and the Sect's artistic talents. But every night he was in the clan compound, he was in the studio, and from that studio, if one strained their ears, a soft melancholic song could be heard.
It took him only a few weeks to finish the first layer, but it was only the base of the painting. With a wisp of will and a breath of dream, Ling Jun pushed the paint deeper into the canvas until a fresh layer was available to paint on. Then with the whispers of his soft melody, he stabilized the paint and connected it to the fresh layer, and began the process again. Night after night, week after week, month after month, and year after year he painted. His qi molded the paint to his will, sometimes taking away movement, other times giving it a dream of grandeur things. But always with purpose, to complete the painting. Scenery splayed out across the canvas, still people that would begin dancing once all the layers were complete. One hundred layers were painted, each connected to all the others by the links he had forged.
Six years had passed before he was done, each of the one hundred layers finished. With a final motion, Ling Jun collapsed the distance between the layers and activated the primed paints that had been brushed across the canvas. It took all but a moment before the painting came to life before his eyes. Standing back, he looked at the completed painting for the first time and marveled. It was everything he had wanted from this painting, everything he had dreamed about.
The subject of the painting was sitting upon a snow-covered boulder and was holding a flute while looking down into a vale below her. Skin darker than the imperial standard of beauty contrasting with the pure white powder that drifted around her. Hair speckled with stars flowed backward, dissolving into a mist that seemed to flow between the frozen pine trees behind her. The trunks of these trees were large and gnarled, some sparkled with frozen sap that had been exposed to the frigid world. Needles gently swayed in the breeze which, if you strained hard enough, whispered secrets of the world with every movement. In the swirling mists, phantasmal beings prowled, long of tooth and sharp of claw. Always in the corner of one's vision, but disappearing when sought after. More visible, though, were the dancing wisps of light that spun through the forest in seemingly chaotic patterns.
The boulder was positioned on the edge of a cliff, overlooking a vale nestled between snow-capped mountain peaks. Mists fell of the edge like a waterfall and blanketed the forest of pine trees below. Amidst the fog, however, stood a small home atop the shell of a Xuanwu. The green eyes of the turtle peered ahead, while the snake portion curled protectively around the structure. Both heads swayed to the sound of a barely sensible song and cheer coming from the house. Inside the home, drifting to and fro, were dancing figures, cheer radiating from every movement made to the melody. It was a homely, warm scene, existing despite the frozen land that surrounded them.
And… if you looked for long enough, the subject would smile at you from her position on the boulder, and then disappear from view. Those of keen eye would see, though, that another figure had joined the festivities inside the home, enjoying the warmth, comfort, and company offered by the home in the midst of such a cold and harsh world.
A/N: @yrsillar Another omake for the omake throne! When the muse speaks, I find it hard to resist. I hope you enjoy this rendition of a future painter painting a scene of Ling Qi.
Motes danced across beams of moonlight as the wind lightly rustled leaves outside of the room. Cushioned from the tiled floor, Ling Jun sat crosslegged with his eyes closed and breathed deeply the scent of canvas, inks, dyes, and brushes. His senses once again scanned the references he had acquired for this project: books containing details of his subject's person, prior sketches and drawings, and his primary source, a jade slip recording of a report given to the Cai in front of the Emerald Sea's Court. This painting would be the work of many years, perhaps even a decade, but, he hoped, the end result would be pleasing to the eye. Well, it would be pleasing to his eye at least, he wouldn't let others see the painting if it wasn't.
Opening his eyes, Ling Jun stared at the grey canvas in front of him. Qi had settled into it like water into sand, infusing the whole canvas with potency equal to that of its large size. And it was large, covering the entire wall in front of him from wall to wall and floor to ceiling. Bringing down a beast this size would have been no small task, yet he could not see any blemishes on the hide. Hair had been meticulously scraped off, the offending chemicals needed to tan the skin washed away. All that was left was possibilities that had yet to be realized. Now, though, was the time to whittle away all that potential to one exquisite reality. Standing up, he dipped his brush into the mixtures of paint around him and began to paint.
During the days he would instruct the youngsters in the noble art of painting, listening to the wishes whispered on wind and the secrets sulking in shadows more than the blithering of children to grasp who had the potential to move on and those who should choose different vocations. During the nights he secluded himself in his studio, cultivating and painting a dream yet to be realized. Some days he was forced to leave for weeks or a month to deal with entitled nobles who disagreed with the representation of a subject painted for them or negotiate with providers of materials to fuel his passion and the Sect's artistic talents. But every night he was in the clan compound, he was in the studio, and from that studio, if one strained their ears, a soft melancholic song could be heard.
It took him only a few weeks to finish the first layer, but it was only the base of the painting. With a wisp of will and a breath of dream, Ling Jun pushed the paint deeper into the canvas until a fresh layer was available to paint on. Then with the whispers of his soft melody, he stabilized the paint and connected it to the fresh layer, and began the process again. Night after night, week after week, month after month, and year after year he painted. His qi molded the paint to his will, sometimes taking away movement, other times giving it a dream of grandeur things. But always with purpose, to complete the painting. Scenery splayed out across the canvas, still people that would begin dancing once all the layers were complete. One hundred layers were painted, each connected to all the others by the links he had forged.
Six years had passed before he was done, each of the one hundred layers finished. With a final motion, Ling Jun collapsed the distance between the layers and activated the primed paints that had been brushed across the canvas. It took all but a moment before the painting came to life before his eyes. Standing back, he looked at the completed painting for the first time and marveled. It was everything he had wanted from this painting, everything he had dreamed about.
The subject of the painting was sitting upon a snow-covered boulder and was holding a flute while looking down into a vale below her. Skin darker than the imperial standard of beauty contrasting with the pure white powder that drifted around her. Hair speckled with stars flowed backward, dissolving into a mist that seemed to flow between the frozen pine trees behind her. The trunks of these trees were large and gnarled, some sparkled with frozen sap that had been exposed to the frigid world. Needles gently swayed in the breeze which, if you strained hard enough, whispered secrets of the world with every movement. In the swirling mists, phantasmal beings prowled, long of tooth and sharp of claw. Always in the corner of one's vision, but disappearing when sought after. More visible, though, were the dancing wisps of light that spun through the forest in seemingly chaotic patterns.
The boulder was positioned on the edge of a cliff, overlooking a vale nestled between snow-capped mountain peaks. Mists fell of the edge like a waterfall and blanketed the forest of pine trees below. Amidst the fog, however, stood a small home atop the shell of a Xuanwu. The green eyes of the turtle peered ahead, while the snake portion curled protectively around the structure. Both heads swayed to the sound of a barely sensible song and cheer coming from the house. Inside the home, drifting to and fro, were dancing figures, cheer radiating from every movement made to the melody. It was a homely, warm scene, existing despite the frozen land that surrounded them.
And… if you looked for long enough, the subject would smile at you from her position on the boulder, and then disappear from view. Those of keen eye would see, though, that another figure had joined the festivities inside the home, enjoying the warmth, comfort, and company offered by the home in the midst of such a cold and harsh world.
A/N: @yrsillar Another omake for the omake throne! When the muse speaks, I find it hard to resist. I hope you enjoy this rendition of a future painter painting a scene of Ling Qi.
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Turn 11: Arc 4-5
Curiosity was a funny thing, Ling Qi mused, reaching out to touch the shimmering fabric of the tapestry. She'd never cared much for any ancestors further back than her own mother, but she just couldn't fight back the urge to know.
Beside her Meng Dan had withdrawn his hand, flipping rapidly through the pages of the tome in his hand, but she saw him glance up as her fingers brushed the tapestry. Ling Qi felt a little electric tingle in her fingertips and a faint pressure as the object tugged at her qi, she didn't resist, letting the energy flow as if she were activating a formation.
The embroidered names rippled, and the leaves of the great tree depicted shook, whole flocks of birds taking flight from its bows as names blurred by too fast to read. The tingling grew stronger as the names continued to move, seconds ticking by. Five, then ten, then thirty. Ling Qi raised her eyebrows as it went on, it was taking much longer than it had for Meng Dan. She felt the spirit of the tapestry rumble in the spiritual realm, a noise much like the harrumph of an elderly man.
Finally, the names blurred to a stop. Under her fingers was an archaic name, Duosi, connected to the name of a woman, Liangyu. There were many names above and below, so it seemed that he must have been…
Before she could finish the thought or scan other names close by, the fabric under her fingers rippled and the names jerked to the side. From the man's name a single crimson thread tugged itself free, weaving into the fabric to spell out a single word.
'Illegitimate'.
Ling Qi frowned. That was, well about what she should have expected. If there was going to be a tangential connection to her, it would have to be something like that, wouldn't it? Her great however many times grandmother had probably been a handmaiden or a servant who had caught this Duosi's eye. Ling Qi could feel the tapestry spirit practically glowering at her.
"Wow, jerk," Sixiang startled her a little, leaning over her shoulder to stare at the names. "She's still around, pretty sure that makes her more legitimate than a bunch of dead people."
Ling Qi rolled her eyes but smiled withdrawing her hand. "I'm pretty sure you know that's not how this kind of thing works," she said dryly.
The Tapestry let out another spiritual grumble as the names reset, once more showing Tsu and his immediate descendants.
"Indeed not," Meng Dan agreed. "Still, isn't it interesting how even the most unassuming lineages have their ties to the original Kings of the Forest?"
"I suppose," Ling Qi said. "I'm still a little curious. Is there anything about this Duosi in that book?"
"There are several dozen," Meng Dan replied with a chuckled. "Luckily for you I was able to note the context to identify which one he was." He glanced down at the book, briefly thumbing along the pages before flipping open to a section about a third of the way through.
"Just like that?" Ling Qi asked curiously.
"Could you imagine how long it would take to research anything if I could not navigate my sources instantly?" Meng Dan replied lightly. "There is some advantage to being able to commune politely with book spirits."
"That is definitely an advantage," Ling Qi mused. "What does it say?"
Meng Dan hummed, scanning a thin finger along the line of neatly inked characters. "Born under the reign of the third Weilu duke. The fifth son of a general. Married to Liangyu, seventh daughter of the petty king Mulu, a favor to his father. Achieved martial success in the central valley campaigns, subjugating dissident tribes. Granted overseership of a small region in the valley in recognition for his deeds and bloodline," here, Meng Dan's smile became more of a grimace. "Sixty five years into his rule neighboring chieftains presented a suit to their king and he was reprimanded for excessive cruelty against his subjects, causing spiritual pollution in the region, and dishonouring his lady wife. Removed from his position and his son elevated. Died at the age of two hundred eighty seven in the fourth realm, slain on a campaign against the Cloud tribes."
He spoke at a rapid, but easily understandable clip, and Ling Qi found herself slowly smiling. It really was nothing, she thought in amusement. Some mediocre warlord who had never stepped beyond the fourth realm, despite the resources of a ducal house. She chuckled, and Meng Dan gave her a curious look.
"Miss Ling?" he asked, studying her face. "It is not the most pleasant reveal, I agree-"
"No, I'm not distressed or anything. It's just funny, how little things change," Ling Qi said, fighting a laugh. "You know, now I'm a little curious about the other side of the lineage."
Meng Dan, blinked, his smile becoming a little awkward.
"The grip of the past is strong," Yinhui said, startling her a little. The spirit had been silent for quite awhile, perched atop a stack of lockboxes that contained a great deal of jewelry and ornaments. Her blindfolded face was turned toward the tapestry, regarding it with a certain hunger that seemed out of place on her youthful seeming face. "Only truly terrible struggle ever sees it broken."
"You don't necessarily need to break something right away," Sixiang replied, resting their chin on her shoulder. "Time is the enemy of tradition. Even folks who think they're keeping to it will change it a little at a time, same as a dreamer will never dream the same dream twice."
"Well aren't you getting philosophical," Ling Qi said dryly. "I'm curious though. Sir Meng. You mentioned dissident tribes. What were those, a rebellion of some sort?"
All this talk of petty kings and tribes, it occurred to her that she was still kind of unclear on how the Weilu organized themselves. She'd been assuming it was just the same as now, but with the titles switched out.
"On that matter I can pontificate with some confidence," Meng Dan said graciously. He was still looking at her with considering eyes, despite the easy smile back in place on his lips. "The thing you must understand, Miss Ling, is that our ancestor, the Weilu were not truly one people. Even the name, Weilu was an imperial moniker, and the conception of them as a single clan quite modern, only becoming truth in the final millenia of their reign."
Ling Qi frowned, eying the names descending from Tsu on the list. She'd thought it odd that the names didn't carry a surname for the most part. "They had a high king though."
"And, Great heroes such as the Diviner aside, the position of High King was often more spiritual than secular," Meng Dan replied. "He was the head arbiter between man and spirit, the master of rituals and a settler of disputes between Kings. It is true that he often had significant temporal might, but this was often the cause of achieving the high kingship, rather than the effect of the high kingship.
That still did not sound so different than how things were now, but the demons were in the details, Ling Qi supposed. No doubt Cai Renxiang could give a long lecture, if she liked. "So by dissident tribes, it meant other Weilu, and rather than being a rebellion, it was just the normal shape of things."
"A loyalist under one High King, might be a dissident under the next," he agreed. "We of the Emerald Sea are not like the Bai, who mastered the Thousand Lakes with an iron fisted Queen ruling by rivership and serpentine spies. Nor do our people have the near fanatical community of the Zheng, to allow their lazy anarchy to reign for tens of millenia without visible internal dissent. What many choose to ignore is that the people of the Emerald Seas have always been many tribes. Even after the Sage came, and demanded a King who could kneel to him, this did not change."
"What of the Mason's war then?" Ling Qi asked, shooing Sixiang aside to give her room to sit atop a stack of dusty notebooks. "Why was it so…"
"Because it was a war of belief," Meng Dan said quietly, peering down at the pages of the book in his hand. "It was not merely a thing of petty rivalry and resources, of honor against honor, but an open challenge to the shape of the region's society and structure as a whole. Such challenges only ever end with one side trampled to mud and dust."
As he spoke, Meng Dan's smile faded by inches, and his voice became grave.
"Either the seekers of change are defeated, and their hopes of a different world are broken, or the holders of tradition break, and their way of life disappears," Yinhui said, idly kicking her feet. "But even in victory, tradition weakens with every challenge. It breaks eventually, if not always the way the challengers like. '
"Ideals aren't so easy to break," Sixiang sniffed, folding their legs beneath them to sit in midair. "It's not like it's ever just one big fight."
"You are not wrong," Meng Dan replied with a chuckle. "You can choose to give up bits and pieces, little things to prolong the coming of the 'big fight'. But to resist change forever? You can, after all, ask the ghosts of the Hui how that went."
Ling Qi was silent in the back and forth between them. Knowing such things, was it any wonder that Emerald Seas was a splintered mess? Still she wondered that meng Dan"You know, I've never looked into it, but does anyone know what actually happened to the Weilu?"
"There are many theories, most of them quite fantastical," Meng Dan chuckled. "The facts are that the population who bore clear marks of the Horned lord's blood were shrinking century by century, and the Weilu in turn came together more and more in their secret palaces, leaving administration to their vassals. Then, after ten years of complete silence, all realized that they were gone in truth."
"Then came war, and much knowledge became secrets, sealed in ash and blood," Yinhui said.
"Just so," Meng Dan said. "But, before we go on, might I ask you a question, Miss Ling?"
Ling Qi raised an eyebrow, curious at what he wanted to ask. "You may."
"Her Grace is unlikely to confiscate such things, as other rulers might," Meng Dan said, gesturing to the book and tapestry. "And while I cannot speak for the Meng clan as a whole, I do believe I speak for my Grandmother in saying that our branch of the family would be most interested in them."
"Are you seeking to buy treasure from me already?" Ling Qi asked, cheered by the change in topic.
"Right of first refusal at least, on behalf of my family." Meng Dan said.
"I do have to split this, Xia Lin might end up owning it," Ling Qi pointed out
"If that is your prerogative, I will speak with her," Meng Dan replied.
Ling Qi considered. She had no doubt that she would end up entertaining many offers if she took the item as part of her share… but for that reason, it would take up a lot of her share.
"I think we should review the rest of the contents, before I answer that," Ling Qi said.
"You are certainly practical," Meng Dan laughed. "Very well, let us organize, and I will begin searching information on our erstwhile mountain prince and his lineage."
Sorry guys, this one was getting rather long, gonna need to chop it.
Beside her Meng Dan had withdrawn his hand, flipping rapidly through the pages of the tome in his hand, but she saw him glance up as her fingers brushed the tapestry. Ling Qi felt a little electric tingle in her fingertips and a faint pressure as the object tugged at her qi, she didn't resist, letting the energy flow as if she were activating a formation.
The embroidered names rippled, and the leaves of the great tree depicted shook, whole flocks of birds taking flight from its bows as names blurred by too fast to read. The tingling grew stronger as the names continued to move, seconds ticking by. Five, then ten, then thirty. Ling Qi raised her eyebrows as it went on, it was taking much longer than it had for Meng Dan. She felt the spirit of the tapestry rumble in the spiritual realm, a noise much like the harrumph of an elderly man.
Finally, the names blurred to a stop. Under her fingers was an archaic name, Duosi, connected to the name of a woman, Liangyu. There were many names above and below, so it seemed that he must have been…
Before she could finish the thought or scan other names close by, the fabric under her fingers rippled and the names jerked to the side. From the man's name a single crimson thread tugged itself free, weaving into the fabric to spell out a single word.
'Illegitimate'.
Ling Qi frowned. That was, well about what she should have expected. If there was going to be a tangential connection to her, it would have to be something like that, wouldn't it? Her great however many times grandmother had probably been a handmaiden or a servant who had caught this Duosi's eye. Ling Qi could feel the tapestry spirit practically glowering at her.
"Wow, jerk," Sixiang startled her a little, leaning over her shoulder to stare at the names. "She's still around, pretty sure that makes her more legitimate than a bunch of dead people."
Ling Qi rolled her eyes but smiled withdrawing her hand. "I'm pretty sure you know that's not how this kind of thing works," she said dryly.
The Tapestry let out another spiritual grumble as the names reset, once more showing Tsu and his immediate descendants.
"Indeed not," Meng Dan agreed. "Still, isn't it interesting how even the most unassuming lineages have their ties to the original Kings of the Forest?"
"I suppose," Ling Qi said. "I'm still a little curious. Is there anything about this Duosi in that book?"
"There are several dozen," Meng Dan replied with a chuckled. "Luckily for you I was able to note the context to identify which one he was." He glanced down at the book, briefly thumbing along the pages before flipping open to a section about a third of the way through.
"Just like that?" Ling Qi asked curiously.
"Could you imagine how long it would take to research anything if I could not navigate my sources instantly?" Meng Dan replied lightly. "There is some advantage to being able to commune politely with book spirits."
"That is definitely an advantage," Ling Qi mused. "What does it say?"
Meng Dan hummed, scanning a thin finger along the line of neatly inked characters. "Born under the reign of the third Weilu duke. The fifth son of a general. Married to Liangyu, seventh daughter of the petty king Mulu, a favor to his father. Achieved martial success in the central valley campaigns, subjugating dissident tribes. Granted overseership of a small region in the valley in recognition for his deeds and bloodline," here, Meng Dan's smile became more of a grimace. "Sixty five years into his rule neighboring chieftains presented a suit to their king and he was reprimanded for excessive cruelty against his subjects, causing spiritual pollution in the region, and dishonouring his lady wife. Removed from his position and his son elevated. Died at the age of two hundred eighty seven in the fourth realm, slain on a campaign against the Cloud tribes."
He spoke at a rapid, but easily understandable clip, and Ling Qi found herself slowly smiling. It really was nothing, she thought in amusement. Some mediocre warlord who had never stepped beyond the fourth realm, despite the resources of a ducal house. She chuckled, and Meng Dan gave her a curious look.
"Miss Ling?" he asked, studying her face. "It is not the most pleasant reveal, I agree-"
"No, I'm not distressed or anything. It's just funny, how little things change," Ling Qi said, fighting a laugh. "You know, now I'm a little curious about the other side of the lineage."
Meng Dan, blinked, his smile becoming a little awkward.
"The grip of the past is strong," Yinhui said, startling her a little. The spirit had been silent for quite awhile, perched atop a stack of lockboxes that contained a great deal of jewelry and ornaments. Her blindfolded face was turned toward the tapestry, regarding it with a certain hunger that seemed out of place on her youthful seeming face. "Only truly terrible struggle ever sees it broken."
"You don't necessarily need to break something right away," Sixiang replied, resting their chin on her shoulder. "Time is the enemy of tradition. Even folks who think they're keeping to it will change it a little at a time, same as a dreamer will never dream the same dream twice."
"Well aren't you getting philosophical," Ling Qi said dryly. "I'm curious though. Sir Meng. You mentioned dissident tribes. What were those, a rebellion of some sort?"
All this talk of petty kings and tribes, it occurred to her that she was still kind of unclear on how the Weilu organized themselves. She'd been assuming it was just the same as now, but with the titles switched out.
"On that matter I can pontificate with some confidence," Meng Dan said graciously. He was still looking at her with considering eyes, despite the easy smile back in place on his lips. "The thing you must understand, Miss Ling, is that our ancestor, the Weilu were not truly one people. Even the name, Weilu was an imperial moniker, and the conception of them as a single clan quite modern, only becoming truth in the final millenia of their reign."
Ling Qi frowned, eying the names descending from Tsu on the list. She'd thought it odd that the names didn't carry a surname for the most part. "They had a high king though."
"And, Great heroes such as the Diviner aside, the position of High King was often more spiritual than secular," Meng Dan replied. "He was the head arbiter between man and spirit, the master of rituals and a settler of disputes between Kings. It is true that he often had significant temporal might, but this was often the cause of achieving the high kingship, rather than the effect of the high kingship.
That still did not sound so different than how things were now, but the demons were in the details, Ling Qi supposed. No doubt Cai Renxiang could give a long lecture, if she liked. "So by dissident tribes, it meant other Weilu, and rather than being a rebellion, it was just the normal shape of things."
"A loyalist under one High King, might be a dissident under the next," he agreed. "We of the Emerald Sea are not like the Bai, who mastered the Thousand Lakes with an iron fisted Queen ruling by rivership and serpentine spies. Nor do our people have the near fanatical community of the Zheng, to allow their lazy anarchy to reign for tens of millenia without visible internal dissent. What many choose to ignore is that the people of the Emerald Seas have always been many tribes. Even after the Sage came, and demanded a King who could kneel to him, this did not change."
"What of the Mason's war then?" Ling Qi asked, shooing Sixiang aside to give her room to sit atop a stack of dusty notebooks. "Why was it so…"
"Because it was a war of belief," Meng Dan said quietly, peering down at the pages of the book in his hand. "It was not merely a thing of petty rivalry and resources, of honor against honor, but an open challenge to the shape of the region's society and structure as a whole. Such challenges only ever end with one side trampled to mud and dust."
As he spoke, Meng Dan's smile faded by inches, and his voice became grave.
"Either the seekers of change are defeated, and their hopes of a different world are broken, or the holders of tradition break, and their way of life disappears," Yinhui said, idly kicking her feet. "But even in victory, tradition weakens with every challenge. It breaks eventually, if not always the way the challengers like. '
"Ideals aren't so easy to break," Sixiang sniffed, folding their legs beneath them to sit in midair. "It's not like it's ever just one big fight."
"You are not wrong," Meng Dan replied with a chuckle. "You can choose to give up bits and pieces, little things to prolong the coming of the 'big fight'. But to resist change forever? You can, after all, ask the ghosts of the Hui how that went."
Ling Qi was silent in the back and forth between them. Knowing such things, was it any wonder that Emerald Seas was a splintered mess? Still she wondered that meng Dan"You know, I've never looked into it, but does anyone know what actually happened to the Weilu?"
"There are many theories, most of them quite fantastical," Meng Dan chuckled. "The facts are that the population who bore clear marks of the Horned lord's blood were shrinking century by century, and the Weilu in turn came together more and more in their secret palaces, leaving administration to their vassals. Then, after ten years of complete silence, all realized that they were gone in truth."
"Then came war, and much knowledge became secrets, sealed in ash and blood," Yinhui said.
"Just so," Meng Dan said. "But, before we go on, might I ask you a question, Miss Ling?"
Ling Qi raised an eyebrow, curious at what he wanted to ask. "You may."
"Her Grace is unlikely to confiscate such things, as other rulers might," Meng Dan said, gesturing to the book and tapestry. "And while I cannot speak for the Meng clan as a whole, I do believe I speak for my Grandmother in saying that our branch of the family would be most interested in them."
"Are you seeking to buy treasure from me already?" Ling Qi asked, cheered by the change in topic.
"Right of first refusal at least, on behalf of my family." Meng Dan said.
"I do have to split this, Xia Lin might end up owning it," Ling Qi pointed out
"If that is your prerogative, I will speak with her," Meng Dan replied.
Ling Qi considered. She had no doubt that she would end up entertaining many offers if she took the item as part of her share… but for that reason, it would take up a lot of her share.
"I think we should review the rest of the contents, before I answer that," Ling Qi said.
"You are certainly practical," Meng Dan laughed. "Very well, let us organize, and I will begin searching information on our erstwhile mountain prince and his lineage."
Sorry guys, this one was getting rather long, gonna need to chop it.
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Ling Qi reacted exactly as predicted. "Neat," then moving on to the actual interesting (to her) bits about provincial history.
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...That actually is funny, that Ling Qi's closest Weilu connection is derived from an unfaithful jerk. Possibly even one like the young master that tried to take Ling Qi's mother as a mortal concubine.
Actually...
Wouldn't doing something like what happened with the pill furnace last year work out better? That is, putting the tapestry and book in the care of the Cai archivists, and charging for access. Not only would that permit Meng scholars to use the tapestry, scholars from across the entirety of the Empire could reap the benefits of Ling Qi's find.
Surely allowing the secrets of this treasure to be (somewhat) freely shared is an act sacred under the Hidden Moon, no? And from Xia Lin's words after the talk with Elder Lang's sword, she might be sympathetic towards letting knowledge gained by clans and individuals be freely shared. (And letting plebeians see this work of art a great refutation against the corpse Hui's exclusionary philosophy.)
(That a portion of the fees would naturally be funneled toward Ling Qi is, of course, only a bonus.)
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- Location
- Third planet from the star named Sol
- Pronouns
- He/They
Honestly, I kind of...love this? It's just, you wove Duosi into the overall theme of 'everything's different, yet still the same' together so wonderfully.
Ling Qi's ancestor was just a minor part of the fractal federation that made up Emerald Seas, and the Seas as a whole has never really fit comfortably into the Imperial mold. I don't know, maybe I'm tired, but I really like how you tie it all together. The past informs how the present came to be, but other than that it is, in many ways, irrelevant and inconsequential.
Ling Qi's ancestor was just a minor part of the fractal federation that made up Emerald Seas, and the Seas as a whole has never really fit comfortably into the Imperial mold. I don't know, maybe I'm tired, but I really like how you tie it all together. The past informs how the present came to be, but other than that it is, in many ways, irrelevant and inconsequential.
- Location
- his hidden lair
I mean, 'renting' the tapestry isn't a necessarily bad idea if we can avoid offense doing so- but I imagine what we'd se it for would be less hard currency and more relations, Arts, Talismans and various things incredibly useful to establishing a lasting house that aren't easily priced.
Hard currency is probably something we can establish for ourselves relatively soon between Zhengui'd agricultural products and our direct service to the Cai- especially when we'd probably be considered good for a loan. We probably want to diversify our portfolio so to speak with this tapestry. Either trading it for something priceless rather than capital, or keeping it to try and play into making it a major boon to our clan. And I don't really see us being able to leverage this tapestry directly all that well. Being blatantly mercantile isn't something we're necessarily super suited to, and we're not going to be among the more competitive archivists and historians even with it.
Given the potential lack of urgency to make a sale, I wouldn't actually mind asking Bao for his opinion. It'd be an interesting take on the situation.
Hard currency is probably something we can establish for ourselves relatively soon between Zhengui'd agricultural products and our direct service to the Cai- especially when we'd probably be considered good for a loan. We probably want to diversify our portfolio so to speak with this tapestry. Either trading it for something priceless rather than capital, or keeping it to try and play into making it a major boon to our clan. And I don't really see us being able to leverage this tapestry directly all that well. Being blatantly mercantile isn't something we're necessarily super suited to, and we're not going to be among the more competitive archivists and historians even with it.
Given the potential lack of urgency to make a sale, I wouldn't actually mind asking Bao for his opinion. It'd be an interesting take on the situation.
I can see why Ling Qi is laughing because it is also deeply funny to me she's descended from a noble jerk who couldn't keep it in his pants and her present circumstances are because some noble jerk couldn't keep it in his pants. Dan and I both laugh because Time is a flat circle
Deadly Snark
Tryhard As Fuck
That's probably the best bet. Bao has a better head for this and while we like Meng Da, he's not a business partner, so we need to keep some distance when we talk about this sort of stuff.
Hm. This seems like the outcome that CRX, and based upon her desire to make the list of honored dead shorter Ling Qi are trying to avoid. Basically to thread the needle, and give a way for those with strong traditions a path forward into the future.
This seems like this will be reoccurring theme between noble faction conflicts, and especially within the Cai loyalist themselves. Because the CRX interlude had the general commenting about her continued collusion, and collection of outdated elements lends insight into why CRX was so worried about her mother having a spare as she was already walking a path a majority of the reformist faction find dubious before LQ was on it.
Hm. So this makes me wonder if the Weilu in their pride tried something reckless, and were wiped out as a result of doing so, but perhaps weren't entirely unsuccessful in their attempts. Basically they failed to alter the Fate of the Weilu, but were successful in altering the Destiny of the Emerald Seas in the distant future via giving say Shenhua protagonist rockets, and is perhaps an in universe explanation for LQ having plot shields in regards to her getting outright killed.
I don't think Meng Dan is very skilled such matters, beyond maybe academic understanding of economics. He is a scholar, not a merchant, and he is not someone to give advice on such matters
fictionfan
Please sir, may I have some Meows?
- Location
- Tempe, AZ
Wish we had picked the songs now.
Deadly Snark
Tryhard As Fuck
??? I'm talking about asking for advice from Bao.
I LIVE for snobbish tapestry spirit 😂
Me too, fictionfan, me too. However, give it more chapters, I expect Yrsillar will do more cool things with the tapestry to make it satisfying even for us music lovers 😊
Whoops, seem I misunderstood you
So based upon Meng Dan's original reaction, and the fact that he is asking to buy it for his grandmother/family... I'd speculate that there is some pretty hefty internal politics within the Meng about bloodlines that Meng Dan might've been given a task to gather relevant information while attending the Blue Mountain Sect. So I'd say take it as part of the loot, and sell it for strengthening a faction of the Meng whose interests appear to align with our own.
- Location
- Washington
Sell it to the Meng and we strengthen one faction whose interests appear to align with our own. Keep it for ourself and we can strengthen multiple internal factions whose interests appear to align with our own. More than that even, any internal faction that wants to strengthen their own bloodline claims might actively decide they want to make their interests align with our own, in order to gain access to the tapestry.
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