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.
Hmm, not sure how I feel about about Garden of Mists. Replacing Fire for Dream is really nice, but Music getting swapped out for Formations? I believe that's a net loss in terms of extra successes towards WHR's art projects; while we're gaining one from Dream, we're losing two from Music. If it was Expression instead of Formations, to broaden the art as a whole, I'd be elated, but as it stands...
I don't know. Maybe it'll be better to turn it into some sort of talisman art in the long run, but considering how much better we are with our flute than our formation craft, it's hard to consider this a change for the better.
I don't know. Maybe it'll be better to turn it into some sort of talisman art in the long run, but considering how much better we are with our flute than our formation craft, it's hard to consider this a change for the better.
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Music is transient, formations are permanent. Thats why it fits better as a defensive anchor for a home.
Such devistation! (to Zhengui's reputation)
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The trouble is that Liminal Carver isn't actually very good at securing a location. Rather its strength is securing the transitions between them.
That's not to say that we can't make it difficult to enter our home, it can definitely protect the threshold. However it is going to struggle keeping the people who are already in the place safe. We could probably overcome some of that by use of time-based boundaries: trying to break into our holdings during twilight could be made to be a very bad idea. The same would be true of nights with a new moon, the end of one year and the start of another, the day of a festival, and so on and so forth. Unfortunately that inherently leaves gaps that our enemies could exploit.
The traditional task that Liminal Carver really shines with is road wards.
Why would you even want to? He now fits right into our collection of perverts! Hanyi is a true man-eater while Sixiang gets their kicks from voyeurism.
- Location
- Staring into the void
They are compensating for LQ's prudishness.
kfrar
Aspiring Encyclopedia
I feel like a Dream-based boundary-focused art would be really good for securing a location, though? Regardless of the time of day or year.
Like, the trait description calls the skill out as being effective with borders, so given the Dream theming I feel like it would be entirely on-brand to set up wards that sent anyone who attempted to cross into our territory with hostile intent to the other side of the property without ever setting foot in the interior. Or turning them around and sending them right back where they started, sort of like the Hui dream formations we dealt with.
Or sending them to a particularly hostile pocket of Dream. That feels like it'd be pretty on-brand for Ling Qi to me.
And the same redirection might also be possible for, for example, an explosion, if we were worried about that sort of thing.
Liminal Carver may not be able to lock the doors, but controlling the doorways still gives us plenty of ways to keep people out of our house. Not much it can do to protect our people from anyone who manages to bypass our wards, at least that I've thought of in the last 10 minutes, but Zhengui might be able to come up with something for that in the long run? Seems like it's more his field than ours.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Hm, I very much like almost all of our options here. But I would like to wait a bit with
Reason being, if we can expect these
To also result in an option to get "Moon attention", we can make the ultimate Moon turn with 3 Options that (maybe) all have 80% (100% if we want to) chance of Moon attention.
If that doesn't get us some nice shinnies, I don't know what will.
Reason being, if we can expect these
To also result in an option to get "Moon attention", we can make the ultimate Moon turn with 3 Options that (maybe) all have 80% (100% if we want to) chance of Moon attention.
If that doesn't get us some nice shinnies, I don't know what will.
- Location
- United Kingdom
Omakes can add up to 20% to projects which with the Vent gets us to 70%, so it's probably best to complete some other SNR projects first and hope that helps as well.
OTOH if the other moons are like Hidden then that means we can raise them to 100% if we do one a turn.
What you are describing isn't good security. Keeping out bad actors sounds like it should keep an area safe but I assure you, it very much doesn't. Plenty of stuff is going to happen by accident or from locals. Given the difficulty of travel, that's likely to be the biggest source of danger. Now add in the fact that defining "hostile intent" is really awkward (say some merchant absolutely hates the guts of the local tailor, are we going to spit him out into the middle of the wilderness for that?) as well as sort of irrelevant (Yuan He was the one that flooded the Sect town).
Going back to time-based boundaries, we can use that to do stuff like "the only consequences for this festival will be memories" to run containment, basically creating pseudo dream realms like Jiao does. That's excellent for exceptional cases like an annual festival but a really bad idea to have running constantly. A Green might not be able to that very well, but we can grow into it and presumably its easier to affect mortal stuff than cultivators.
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Fleeting Dream
It was the smell that bothered her most, He Qingge thought. She had accompanied her mother to the city market before, and felt the press of a crowd. But here, outside the walls of the inner city there was no perfume or incense to mask the smell that arose from the outer city. It was the scent of unwashed bodies, of animals, and cut wood, along with less savory things that didn't bear thinking about. He Qingge found herself hunching her shoulders and covering her face with her hand, missing the wider sleeves of her proper clothes.
But even He Qingge knew that wearing her usual outfits in the outer city was just asking to be tracked down immediately by her Father and her family. She hunched her shoulders further as her thoughts wandered back, her emotions shifting between shame at the position she had put her family in, and determination that she was right to do so. She knew, in her mind, that she had been offered a great honor. To be an official concubine to a young master of the great house of Liu was far more than a girl of a serving clan could hope for. She would have many luxuries, and her children would be allowed to take the Liu name.
In her heart, she could only see the eyes of her 'suitor'. Despite the high summer heat, magnified by the press of the crowd, she shivered. He Qingge was young, just past her fifteenth year, but she still understood the way that a man would look at a woman. If it had been just that she could have been convinced, would have been convinced, she thought. But Liu Fong did not have the eyes of a stableboy or a young soldier. When he looked at her, she felt like a thing, an object that he was considering the worth of, and nothing more. An object he might one day decide to break.
He Qingge ducked her head as she felt a stinging in the corners of her eyes. She had always been good at reading people's intentions. She had to believe her Father had not seen what she had seen at that meeting. Of course, he had been certain she was just feeling overwhelmed and hysterical when she had tried to tell him. How could he not? She had no proof.
That was why she was out here now, wearing clothes stolen from the stables, with her jewelry and every other small thing she thought might be valuable stuffed into a few sacks, and her late mother's flute tucked into her sash. She had a plan, she would get away. It would take some time before her clan would notice her gone and even then they would not want to alert the Liu, for the shame of it. If she could just find transport before the master'sof Tonghou decided to search for her, surely she could make it to another city, where it would be too troublesome to search for a mere mortal girl.
He Qingge let out a startled sound as she ran into a man who had stopped suddenly in front of her, sending the bag at her waist jangling. The man's back was broad, and he was more than two heads taller than her. When he turned his scarred visage to glare at her, He Qingge let out a squeak of alarm and ran down the sidestreet to their left, drawing more grunts of annoyance and alarm as she brushed past people and wove clumsily through the crowd. She didn't stop until she found an abandoned market stall it's awning intact, to catch her breath under.
She had no idea what she was doing. She had no idea what any of the rough people of the outer city would do to her if they could, she couldn't go to the guards after all. He Qingge squeezed her eyes shut, pressing a hand against her chest as she caught her breath. Wasn't she beeing foolish? Did she really think she could make a living with only her flute? That a mere mortal could catch a patrons eye, even if her tutors assured her that she was very good.
If she went back now, it wouldn't be too late. Father would be angry, but he would understand. Just nerves he would say, no harm done. Maybe she was being hysterical. Her cousin's were all jealous of her after all.
But then she remembered the clockwork cold that cut beneath her skin from behind a charming smile and laughing eyes. Liu Fong's regard peered out from her memory, and firmed her resolve.
...She wouldn't go back.
There was music playing He Qingge realized, standing in the shade of the ratty awning. With her heart beating so loudly in her ears, she hadn't heard it before. Now it was hard to miss. The sound of a drum and bells, and a sound like a flute, but deeper. She realized that the side street she was on had far fewer people in it.
Perhaps she was just distracting herself, but she found herself curious. She began to walk down the street, following the flow of the remaining traffic. She soon came to an open square, filled with people. At its center it was clear. There in front of a canvas covered wagon there were three people performing. They were all strange looking, dusky skinned with hair woven and braided with colorful beads. They wore colorful but worn clothing, stitched with intricate patterns and more beadwork. On the right was a man beating a rhythm upon an octagonal drum, hung on either side with a ring of bells that rang with each beat. In the center was a smiling woman, who sang and moved through the steps of a dance.
On the left was a young man, who seemed only a year or two her elder, with a handsome face, playing an instrument she didn't recognize. It resembled a Dizi, but the shape of the cap and placement of the holes was wrong. Although the sound was much deeper than her flute, she found it surprisingly captivating.
However, just as she was reaching the edge of the crowd, the performance reached its finish, the last notes echoing through the square. There was some appreciative sounds from the audience, and He Qingge heard the clatter of chipped copper coins falling into the humble crate which sat in front of the performance area as they began to disperse.
She stayed, watching the musicians turn to one another, speaking with smiles on their faces too low for her to hear. The older man with the drum turned and left, entering the back of the wagon.
"Well, what's your business little lady? I'm afraid the performance is done for now. We'll be starting again in about an hour though," A friendly voice shook her from her thoughts, and He Qingge realized that she had approached the performers wagon without thinking.
Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment and she looked up at the speaker… and then further up. How was he so tall?
"I am sorry," she said hastily, bowing even quicker. "I was just curious about your instrument, I've never seen one quite like it before."
The two performers left glanced at each other, and the man spoke. "Well, I think you folks call it a Bang Di, I suppose it's a bit deeper toned than what's in fashion around here."
"I think your part of the performance was very well done. It was a fascinating melody," He Qingge said. Something about the way his clear blue eyes twinkled with good humor made her flush even further.
The woman rolled her eyes, and said something in a strange foreign tongue that made him look her way. Something about her tone made He Qingge feel very irritated. She had a feeling she'd just been insulted somehow. The woman turned and walked away.
"Don't mind Sangge, she's always a bit of a grump," The man said, seeming to sense her irritation. "She's just a little stressed out. Our elders are performing for your city lords right now you see."
"O-oh, I see," he Qingge responded, feeling a little alarmed. Still these people, this man, maybe they could help her?
"Your band must be very skilled then," Qingge complemented. "If you have some time Sir…"
"Tulishen," he supplied good naturedly.
"Tu Lingshen?" She muttered with a frown, what a strange name.
"Close enough," he laughed, gesturing for her to continue.
"I could dearly use some insights on what is needed to live as a musician," He Qingge asked, bowing her head again.
Tu Lingshen regarded her curiously, and He Qingge squirmed under his gaze, she was being terribly forward.
"Well, I don't see why I can't give you some pointers," he mused.
But even He Qingge knew that wearing her usual outfits in the outer city was just asking to be tracked down immediately by her Father and her family. She hunched her shoulders further as her thoughts wandered back, her emotions shifting between shame at the position she had put her family in, and determination that she was right to do so. She knew, in her mind, that she had been offered a great honor. To be an official concubine to a young master of the great house of Liu was far more than a girl of a serving clan could hope for. She would have many luxuries, and her children would be allowed to take the Liu name.
In her heart, she could only see the eyes of her 'suitor'. Despite the high summer heat, magnified by the press of the crowd, she shivered. He Qingge was young, just past her fifteenth year, but she still understood the way that a man would look at a woman. If it had been just that she could have been convinced, would have been convinced, she thought. But Liu Fong did not have the eyes of a stableboy or a young soldier. When he looked at her, she felt like a thing, an object that he was considering the worth of, and nothing more. An object he might one day decide to break.
He Qingge ducked her head as she felt a stinging in the corners of her eyes. She had always been good at reading people's intentions. She had to believe her Father had not seen what she had seen at that meeting. Of course, he had been certain she was just feeling overwhelmed and hysterical when she had tried to tell him. How could he not? She had no proof.
That was why she was out here now, wearing clothes stolen from the stables, with her jewelry and every other small thing she thought might be valuable stuffed into a few sacks, and her late mother's flute tucked into her sash. She had a plan, she would get away. It would take some time before her clan would notice her gone and even then they would not want to alert the Liu, for the shame of it. If she could just find transport before the master'sof Tonghou decided to search for her, surely she could make it to another city, where it would be too troublesome to search for a mere mortal girl.
He Qingge let out a startled sound as she ran into a man who had stopped suddenly in front of her, sending the bag at her waist jangling. The man's back was broad, and he was more than two heads taller than her. When he turned his scarred visage to glare at her, He Qingge let out a squeak of alarm and ran down the sidestreet to their left, drawing more grunts of annoyance and alarm as she brushed past people and wove clumsily through the crowd. She didn't stop until she found an abandoned market stall it's awning intact, to catch her breath under.
She had no idea what she was doing. She had no idea what any of the rough people of the outer city would do to her if they could, she couldn't go to the guards after all. He Qingge squeezed her eyes shut, pressing a hand against her chest as she caught her breath. Wasn't she beeing foolish? Did she really think she could make a living with only her flute? That a mere mortal could catch a patrons eye, even if her tutors assured her that she was very good.
If she went back now, it wouldn't be too late. Father would be angry, but he would understand. Just nerves he would say, no harm done. Maybe she was being hysterical. Her cousin's were all jealous of her after all.
But then she remembered the clockwork cold that cut beneath her skin from behind a charming smile and laughing eyes. Liu Fong's regard peered out from her memory, and firmed her resolve.
...She wouldn't go back.
There was music playing He Qingge realized, standing in the shade of the ratty awning. With her heart beating so loudly in her ears, she hadn't heard it before. Now it was hard to miss. The sound of a drum and bells, and a sound like a flute, but deeper. She realized that the side street she was on had far fewer people in it.
Perhaps she was just distracting herself, but she found herself curious. She began to walk down the street, following the flow of the remaining traffic. She soon came to an open square, filled with people. At its center it was clear. There in front of a canvas covered wagon there were three people performing. They were all strange looking, dusky skinned with hair woven and braided with colorful beads. They wore colorful but worn clothing, stitched with intricate patterns and more beadwork. On the right was a man beating a rhythm upon an octagonal drum, hung on either side with a ring of bells that rang with each beat. In the center was a smiling woman, who sang and moved through the steps of a dance.
On the left was a young man, who seemed only a year or two her elder, with a handsome face, playing an instrument she didn't recognize. It resembled a Dizi, but the shape of the cap and placement of the holes was wrong. Although the sound was much deeper than her flute, she found it surprisingly captivating.
However, just as she was reaching the edge of the crowd, the performance reached its finish, the last notes echoing through the square. There was some appreciative sounds from the audience, and He Qingge heard the clatter of chipped copper coins falling into the humble crate which sat in front of the performance area as they began to disperse.
She stayed, watching the musicians turn to one another, speaking with smiles on their faces too low for her to hear. The older man with the drum turned and left, entering the back of the wagon.
"Well, what's your business little lady? I'm afraid the performance is done for now. We'll be starting again in about an hour though," A friendly voice shook her from her thoughts, and He Qingge realized that she had approached the performers wagon without thinking.
Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment and she looked up at the speaker… and then further up. How was he so tall?
"I am sorry," she said hastily, bowing even quicker. "I was just curious about your instrument, I've never seen one quite like it before."
The two performers left glanced at each other, and the man spoke. "Well, I think you folks call it a Bang Di, I suppose it's a bit deeper toned than what's in fashion around here."
"I think your part of the performance was very well done. It was a fascinating melody," He Qingge said. Something about the way his clear blue eyes twinkled with good humor made her flush even further.
The woman rolled her eyes, and said something in a strange foreign tongue that made him look her way. Something about her tone made He Qingge feel very irritated. She had a feeling she'd just been insulted somehow. The woman turned and walked away.
"Don't mind Sangge, she's always a bit of a grump," The man said, seeming to sense her irritation. "She's just a little stressed out. Our elders are performing for your city lords right now you see."
"O-oh, I see," he Qingge responded, feeling a little alarmed. Still these people, this man, maybe they could help her?
"Your band must be very skilled then," Qingge complemented. "If you have some time Sir…"
"Tulishen," he supplied good naturedly.
"Tu Lingshen?" She muttered with a frown, what a strange name.
"Close enough," he laughed, gesturing for her to continue.
"I could dearly use some insights on what is needed to live as a musician," He Qingge asked, bowing her head again.
Tu Lingshen regarded her curiously, and He Qingge squirmed under his gaze, she was being terribly forward.
"Well, I don't see why I can't give you some pointers," he mused.
NoxOfUmbra
Shadow of the night
- Location
- Colombia, South América
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
A name at least
ImperatorV
The Laughing One
- Location
- The Voyaging Realm
Now to track down the etymology of those names.
- Location
- Spain
- Pronouns
- He/Him
That hurts ... 😭😭😭
- Location
- Cali
"Hrmm, He Qingge? Qingge is Ling Qi's mom's name, but the He clan seems kinda familiar."
"Oh. Right. Oh."
"Oh. Right. Oh."
- Location
- Canada
I know I've seen it discussed before on the discord, but it's slipping my mind now. So, what is the situation with the He?
- Location
- The Star Kingdom of Manticore
The He are the servant clan that Ling Qingge came from. Since they are a servant clan they are no longer applicable to Ling Qi's story.
?..