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.
A thought occurs, could the reason certain parts of the Ya-Lith-Kai having their city and life resources diminish be from the attempted Rejuvenation of the Argent vents?
The Argent vents are an outpouring of natural energy after all, destroyed and tainted by the careless hand of man. Perhaps the destruction caused the environs under the vents to be desirable to the Ya-Lith-Kai and now that they are being fixed, it's altering things to make the area far less ideal for them than it once was.
The Argent vents are an outpouring of natural energy after all, destroyed and tainted by the careless hand of man. Perhaps the destruction caused the environs under the vents to be desirable to the Ya-Lith-Kai and now that they are being fixed, it's altering things to make the area far less ideal for them than it once was.
Would the energy of the Argent Vents be that useful to the Ya-Lith-Kai? Maybe I've read this wrong but it's always seemed to me that they don't use Qi, but instead have some other 'opposite' energy. This doesn't mean that the vents can't be the cause, since we don't know what the relationship is between the two energies, but intuitively I'd expect that less Qi = better environment for the Ya-Lith-Kai. Wouldn't they want more argent vents to get rid of the pesky Qi?
Of course, it's all speculation. The sect interfering with natural processes causing the people literally living underneath them to become radicalised is just as plausible.
Of course, it's all speculation. The sect interfering with natural processes causing the people literally living underneath them to become radicalised is just as plausible.
The argent vents are rare to the point of being unique to the sect. It could very well be that given that are/were pure energy and easily digested coming, up that destroying them turned said energy rancid making it perfect for the ya-lith-kai. Their two cities suffering this are the ones under the sect after all, and the restoration is the largest scale energy adjustment in the region that isn't just higher end cultivators trading hands.
Remember they add and take said things from the river, and rivers inevitably flow, and this was flowing up. It could very well be that the Argent vents take the same materials the Ya-lith-kai need and uses it to fuel themselves, processing the toxic taint into pure unaspected qi that is easy for Humans to use to cultivate most anything with. This is just speculation however.
So I think it was implied that the idea of the argent vents causing harm to the ya - lith -Kai was a political manoeuvre on there behalf to create an enemy of the imperials that the whole city could be against. The ultimate goal being to align everyone's opinion (as their cultivation is based on agreement essentially) so they can form their god/white and eventually recruit the other city states into a pantheon to contest the empire. Might be all wrong not gonna lie 😅.
- Location
- The Star Kingdom of Manticore
It sounds like they can already form their god/white, it would just kill a bunch of them. From what the voice said it sounds like those under the sect dream of a great league, a vast number of cities united by their god.
To do this they attacked the empire because they judged that the empire would paint them all with the same brush, which they were right about. Now the other city states have a choice, join the growing great league, or be subjects of the empire.
I am unsure if the fact about the argent vents poisoning their land is true, but it does make a convenient excuse about why the city state attacked.
It probably is true to an extent, but something that can be negotiated or limited if both sides didn't find the other subpersons
- Location
- The Space Between
I've been thinking about our FSS successor, and the FSS insight we got, and the Seven Chakra's sidestory. Here's the insight:
"There are endings and Endings, only the very last one is final. Just as winter ends in spring, small endings are new beginnings. (Cycles, Ending Creation.)"
and here's the relevant quote from Seven Chakra's:
"The western people regard each individual as having been split from the same primal one-ness, and the eventual goal is to rejoin it. The world is damaged and incomplete they say, and it is only in achieving oneness with the world that the being which became the Mother and Father can be restored. It is this restoration which will mark the end of this 'kalpa' or cycle of existence. The world will end and be forged anew free of its flaws, and the godhead will split once again."
The endless process of destruction and renewal, whether ephemeral Dreams or seasonal Winter or Volcanic eruption these cycles all occur as echoes of the Cycle of Ending and Creation. At least, if you look at them through a Western (!notIndia) lens.
it'd be a neat way to tie a thematic throughline to us, and I think it's also similar to Progress so our boss's boss should approve haha
"There are endings and Endings, only the very last one is final. Just as winter ends in spring, small endings are new beginnings. (Cycles, Ending Creation.)"
and here's the relevant quote from Seven Chakra's:
"The western people regard each individual as having been split from the same primal one-ness, and the eventual goal is to rejoin it. The world is damaged and incomplete they say, and it is only in achieving oneness with the world that the being which became the Mother and Father can be restored. It is this restoration which will mark the end of this 'kalpa' or cycle of existence. The world will end and be forged anew free of its flaws, and the godhead will split once again."
The endless process of destruction and renewal, whether ephemeral Dreams or seasonal Winter or Volcanic eruption these cycles all occur as echoes of the Cycle of Ending and Creation. At least, if you look at them through a Western (!notIndia) lens.
it'd be a neat way to tie a thematic throughline to us, and I think it's also similar to Progress so our boss's boss should approve haha
Last edited:
I think this is one of those "From a Certain Point of View" things.
We know that:
-Many Argent Vents were broken by overexploitation two(?) ES Dynasties ago
-The Ya-lith-kai under the Argent Sect rely on a natural site of power, a vent that spews vast amounts of the black stuff they use for everything.
-The Ya-lith-kai settlements we've visited don't look hyper developed, this is not a reliable assessment as we don't know how much they build, but from the lens we have, we're looking at one resource extraction village, one holy site, and one military base.
-The Argent Sect was founded upon the research of Argent Vents. Its the basis of the Sect's name, the Sect's unique arts, and the Vents are a primary incentive method for disciples as powerful and numerous cultivation sites.
-The Argent Sect has been successfully working on the restoration of damaged Argent Vent geomancy, we know they have successfully restored some.
-Post-Ogodei, the Argent Sect's financing has greatly expanded as a Great Sect, a significant portion of this is almost certainly allocated to the Argent Vents, which is the Sect's lifeblood and claim to fame(at least prior to taking out Ogodei).
-Post-An, Jiao had joined the Argent Sect as an Elder. This grants them the benefit of having a Prism rank formations master on staff to fix the geomancy.
So my theory is that the Ya-lith-kai only colonized the area after the Vents were broken, creating a resource node on their side as the destroyed harmonic qi forms impurity rich black sludge at the roots of the mountains. This would be concurrent with the founding of the Argent Sect.
The coexistence happened for a long time, neither party had any reason to investigate each other.
The Argent Sect figured out how to revive dead vents, which started reducing the amount of Impurity flooding the underground. Slowly, at a trickle nobody noticed.
The Argent Sect became a Great Sect and the repairs accelerated.
The Ya-lith-kai investigated the diminishing Impurity fountain and traced it back to the Argent Sect's activity above.
Theres no way either party could come to terms, they're both founded upon the extraction and utilization of two streams of the same strategic resource. Which meant, essentially war. You can't even claim precedence - before the Vents were damaged, there was no resource node below, and theres no Argent Sect because it was a mining operation.
And on top of that point, the Argent Sect is 'upstream' of that resource, they can 'attack' the Ya-lith-kai's resource node simply by improving the geomancy of their home.
Which means essentially, the Ya-lith-kai was certainly going to need to make the first military attack, despite the expense and difficulty of operating in Sect lands for them, they're already under constant economic assault.
The rest is all about framing it so they could have help
Alright, got a bunch more fun art ideas that I've been kicking around on discord.
Firstly, an idea that @JohnnieBoy123 and I seemed to both have at the same time. A fun idea for a higher level summons art that would be much more personal to LQ. Sort of linked to BKSD in that it's built off the ideas of calling on those memories and stories, but instead focused on stronger individual summons with special abilities. Summons are good and something I think we want to continue to have, since they fit in well with community and group play stuff, allowing us to produce more allies to fight with where needed.
Second, an idea I had sort of kicking around the ideas of how to adjust SNR to be dream-based and more in our style. Ended up with something that's basically a cross between PLR, FVM, and SNR's blocking. From a potential build-fit/role standpoint, it would help support group play a lot, giving us that group defensive shield defenses as well as the moving people around that's so useful for PLR, allowing us to strategically isolate and focus down enemies in our mists. As well as ofc working very well with our general annoying SCS-based style of play.
Then another idea I had looking more at armor. Mysterious Mists above is really much more shielding rather than providing armor here, and I was trying to get something that could provide a good working option with, say, cool regeneration out of shadows but perhaps without getting into the difficulties that some of the older ideas had with wood-based aesthetics not necessarily fitting LQ well. This idea is very abstract and philosophical really (which makes working out the elements hard since their imagery isn't that relevant). The idea here built off Unbroken Will and our SCS insight, as well as playing off the historical stories thing with SSC.
And lastly, a possible development of LFWT focusing on the thief side of things. From a role perspective, the idea here was looking at something LFWT based that could cover the active blocking SNR does if we had an armor art like Thousand Year Faith above. This could be run as a separate successor to LFWT with the movement/stealth/dodge stuff on another branch (Laughing Flight of the Dream Thief
), or you could just stick everything together into one big art.
Also, I wanted to play around with how we could potentially use Liminal Carver to enhance our stuff there if possible. Lots of fun thief-based stuff we could potentially do, though my criticism here would be that it's less group focused than something like Mysterious Mists, and you'd want to be thinking about how to address that build-wise.
Firstly, an idea that @JohnnieBoy123 and I seemed to both have at the same time. A fun idea for a higher level summons art that would be much more personal to LQ. Sort of linked to BKSD in that it's built off the ideas of calling on those memories and stories, but instead focused on stronger individual summons with special abilities. Summons are good and something I think we want to continue to have, since they fit in well with community and group play stuff, allowing us to produce more allies to fight with where needed.
Lonely Maiden's Song
Music, Dream, Darkness
Community, Isolation, Power
Summons, offense, defense
The value of a friend is beyond compare. The maiden who has known the depths of isolation sings of her yearning, of the bonds she has made and clasps so tightly to her bosom. Of the paths they have walked, of the fights they have fought. Of the times they have laughed, of the times they have cried.
The maiden expresses the bonds within her heart through song, conjuring phantoms of her friends to support her. They are not as strong as the real people of course, and are restricted to specific uses of their powers – but may still provide able support. Summons count as allies for art and domain purposes.
Examples: Meizhen (defensively strong, powerful fear attacks, can put out fires); Xiulan (big fire, big dps); Renxiang (dispels, laser finisher); Zhengui (strong defense, plant/fire barriers); Suyin (personally weak, has skeleton army, can do basic first aid)
Music, Dream, Darkness
Community, Isolation, Power
Summons, offense, defense
The value of a friend is beyond compare. The maiden who has known the depths of isolation sings of her yearning, of the bonds she has made and clasps so tightly to her bosom. Of the paths they have walked, of the fights they have fought. Of the times they have laughed, of the times they have cried.
The maiden expresses the bonds within her heart through song, conjuring phantoms of her friends to support her. They are not as strong as the real people of course, and are restricted to specific uses of their powers – but may still provide able support. Summons count as allies for art and domain purposes.
Examples: Meizhen (defensively strong, powerful fear attacks, can put out fires); Xiulan (big fire, big dps); Renxiang (dispels, laser finisher); Zhengui (strong defense, plant/fire barriers); Suyin (personally weak, has skeleton army, can do basic first aid)
Second, an idea I had sort of kicking around the ideas of how to adjust SNR to be dream-based and more in our style. Ended up with something that's basically a cross between PLR, FVM, and SNR's blocking. From a potential build-fit/role standpoint, it would help support group play a lot, giving us that group defensive shield defenses as well as the moving people around that's so useful for PLR, allowing us to strategically isolate and focus down enemies in our mists. As well as ofc working very well with our general annoying SCS-based style of play.
Mysterious Moonlit Mists
Moon, Dream, Wind
Mystery, Motion, Boundaries
Field, movement, defense
If the arrangement of the board does not favour you, then the best option is to rearrange matters so that it is.
- Countess Ling, "The Art of Winning"
The luminal is endless and ever twisting. A realm of endless possibilities and mystery. In places where it bleeds into the real, space warps and bends, and travellers may find themselves lost far from where they entered.
Dreamlike fog pours into the world, thickening and thinning seemingly at random, warping the space around the cultivator. Foes find themselves trapped in endless maze. Arrows find themselves flying away from their targets, or simply vanishing into the mist. Even the greatest of heaven's blows may find themselves simply vanishing, scattered across a thousand endless journeys.
Yet at the same time, the mists need not be a foe. The cultivator and their allies move unhindered, a single step taking them to where they need to be. Assaulting their isolated foes, and vanishing back into the endless fog.
Uses: you got fog you can use to warp space, move people around, trap enemies, redirect attacks or block them with fog "portals", adjust the timing and placement of allies' attacks so that multiple volleys arrive at the same point at the same time…
Moon, Dream, Wind
Mystery, Motion, Boundaries
Field, movement, defense
If the arrangement of the board does not favour you, then the best option is to rearrange matters so that it is.
- Countess Ling, "The Art of Winning"
The luminal is endless and ever twisting. A realm of endless possibilities and mystery. In places where it bleeds into the real, space warps and bends, and travellers may find themselves lost far from where they entered.
Dreamlike fog pours into the world, thickening and thinning seemingly at random, warping the space around the cultivator. Foes find themselves trapped in endless maze. Arrows find themselves flying away from their targets, or simply vanishing into the mist. Even the greatest of heaven's blows may find themselves simply vanishing, scattered across a thousand endless journeys.
Yet at the same time, the mists need not be a foe. The cultivator and their allies move unhindered, a single step taking them to where they need to be. Assaulting their isolated foes, and vanishing back into the endless fog.
Uses: you got fog you can use to warp space, move people around, trap enemies, redirect attacks or block them with fog "portals", adjust the timing and placement of allies' attacks so that multiple volleys arrive at the same point at the same time…
Then another idea I had looking more at armor. Mysterious Mists above is really much more shielding rather than providing armor here, and I was trying to get something that could provide a good working option with, say, cool regeneration out of shadows but perhaps without getting into the difficulties that some of the older ideas had with wood-based aesthetics not necessarily fitting LQ well. This idea is very abstract and philosophical really (which makes working out the elements hard since their imagery isn't that relevant). The idea here built off Unbroken Will and our SCS insight, as well as playing off the historical stories thing with SSC.
Thousand Year Faith
Water, Wood?
Motion, Persistence, Contrast
Armor, Healing, Support
A meditation upon the history of the great and most long-lived cults of the Empire. To become great, one must have a strong core. An idea that resonates with hearts and minds and draws people together in shared purpose. But, at the same time, to flourish and grow and stand the test of time one must be flexible. To be able to continually adapt to fit the needs of different places and times, while never losing the core truth that binds everyone together. To be able to renew and regrow after inevitable hardship, and survive the harshest of repression.
To embody the spirit of these lessons the cultivator must strengthen their spirit, and become as an idea. Unbroken will held together by their ideals, yet always able to adapt to the situation. Should they be cut, they may regenerate, and adjust to flow around the blade without injury. Should they be burnt they may heal, and adapt to the heat. And these lessons they may share freely with their allies around them, supporting each other so that their shared ideals may live on.
Usage: it's active regeneration combined with adaptive armor. Get hurt? Regenerate and build (temporary) resistance to that type of attack. Potentially also have an Upkeep buff for preplanning so you can choose a specific thing you've already learnt to resist ahead of time. Can then also share the resistance with allies.
Water, Wood?
Motion, Persistence, Contrast
Armor, Healing, Support
A meditation upon the history of the great and most long-lived cults of the Empire. To become great, one must have a strong core. An idea that resonates with hearts and minds and draws people together in shared purpose. But, at the same time, to flourish and grow and stand the test of time one must be flexible. To be able to continually adapt to fit the needs of different places and times, while never losing the core truth that binds everyone together. To be able to renew and regrow after inevitable hardship, and survive the harshest of repression.
To embody the spirit of these lessons the cultivator must strengthen their spirit, and become as an idea. Unbroken will held together by their ideals, yet always able to adapt to the situation. Should they be cut, they may regenerate, and adjust to flow around the blade without injury. Should they be burnt they may heal, and adapt to the heat. And these lessons they may share freely with their allies around them, supporting each other so that their shared ideals may live on.
Usage: it's active regeneration combined with adaptive armor. Get hurt? Regenerate and build (temporary) resistance to that type of attack. Potentially also have an Upkeep buff for preplanning so you can choose a specific thing you've already learnt to resist ahead of time. Can then also share the resistance with allies.
And lastly, a possible development of LFWT focusing on the thief side of things. From a role perspective, the idea here was looking at something LFWT based that could cover the active blocking SNR does if we had an armor art like Thousand Year Faith above. This could be run as a separate successor to LFWT with the movement/stealth/dodge stuff on another branch (Laughing Flight of the Dream Thief
), or you could just stick everything together into one big art. Also, I wanted to play around with how we could potentially use Liminal Carver to enhance our stuff there if possible. Lots of fun thief-based stuff we could potentially do, though my criticism here would be that it's less group focused than something like Mysterious Mists, and you'd want to be thinking about how to address that build-wise.
Audacity of the Dream Thief
Defense, counter, movement?, dispel?
A successor to Laughing Flight of the Wind Thief, developing the arts of thievery with Ling Qi's work in the Liminal. Transcending the boundaries of base physicality. To steal the intangible, and line the poor starving girl's pockets with food. To baffle and bewilder with sleight of hand, tripping one's enemies with their own tools. To snatch lightning from the air with a flick of the wrist.
Supported by a finely crafted set of personalised magical dream pockets, the daring thief may even store attacks stolen for their own ends, either to hurl them back upon their foes, or breaking down the qi to feed their starving belly.
Uses: Active defences by stealing attacks out of the air to protect yourself and allies, or stealing the qi to disrupt techniques. Pickpocket defences to open people up to attacks. Steal from storage rings etc. Use pockets made by Liminal Carver to hold stolen things and either break down and absorb the qi like money you steel, or throw them back at enemies (though 'ware the pockets' durability). Anti-finisher: Thief of Winds – pick apart and release the qi being gathered by an enemy, causing their technique to explode in their face? Also potentially fold PLR movement stuff in here by snatching nearby allies to you with slight of hand, or stealing them away with you when you move? Steal things that you're obviously too far away from to steal from because you're just that good (and also lol dream).
Defense, counter, movement?, dispel?
A successor to Laughing Flight of the Wind Thief, developing the arts of thievery with Ling Qi's work in the Liminal. Transcending the boundaries of base physicality. To steal the intangible, and line the poor starving girl's pockets with food. To baffle and bewilder with sleight of hand, tripping one's enemies with their own tools. To snatch lightning from the air with a flick of the wrist.
Supported by a finely crafted set of personalised magical dream pockets, the daring thief may even store attacks stolen for their own ends, either to hurl them back upon their foes, or breaking down the qi to feed their starving belly.
Uses: Active defences by stealing attacks out of the air to protect yourself and allies, or stealing the qi to disrupt techniques. Pickpocket defences to open people up to attacks. Steal from storage rings etc. Use pockets made by Liminal Carver to hold stolen things and either break down and absorb the qi like money you steel, or throw them back at enemies (though 'ware the pockets' durability). Anti-finisher: Thief of Winds – pick apart and release the qi being gathered by an enemy, causing their technique to explode in their face? Also potentially fold PLR movement stuff in here by snatching nearby allies to you with slight of hand, or stealing them away with you when you move? Steal things that you're obviously too far away from to steal from because you're just that good (and also lol dream).
- Location
- The Space Between
Oh. I guess I can make a hypothetical FSS Successor along the lines of what I was talking about.
This Art builds an additional facet to our Song-Seeking. We Seek Songs in the Liminal, that place brimming with histories and hypotheticals, but what do we do with the things we don't like? Well we remind those things of the End, the inevitable annihilation of everything, and through The End convert them into raw materials.
This is part of a trio of Arts. Next is a Movement Art that leans into our Thief aspect. It grabs up all the base Qi left behind by Eulogy of Fates, allowing us to steal their ruined Fates to empower our own.
The third Art is a Field Effect that leans into our Creative aspect. A revelry of Existence/Creation of altered Fate for those involved, as we spin them away from the Fate they intended and disrupt their plans. Just as the Moon disrupts the plans of mortals seeking Ascension, as one that guards the Humanity of Creation.
These Arts are a Cycle that has our Movement Art between the other two. The Harsh Uncaring End can create fuel that we take for ourselves, and immediately use in our Creative Revelry. Or we can start with the Revelry, and carve horrifying dissonant End through it that unravels those trapped by that Creation alongside our Creation, and then we pass through to gather materials from both. If we don't fully annihilate our Creation Construct, from the inside it'd be like being at a party where the music has really messed up lyrics but so long as you're not paying attention it's alright c:
then the lyrics hit you and you're like "yo wtf"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anyway. This Art specifically is designed to punch down extremely hard while retaining Utility against more powerful foes by eating away at their Qi Constructs if they're personally resistant to it for some reason. Our Offense has to be threatening enough to be useful when we're working with just ourselves and our Spirits, but doesn't need to be the sort of Raw Power that, for instance, the Ducals would have access to.
The reason we want our Offense to be extremely good at aiming down is our focus on Offensive Isolation. Specifically our ability to Isolate targets, and use that Isolation to punch upwards through the power of Connection and "having more friends than you". The faster we can clear out the supporting forces the faster we can apply our devastating Finisher and the easier it'll be to get any of our groups' Control abilities to stick.
This is especially helpful when we're paired up with Renxiang, as she bolsters our supporting forces while we threaten a defeat-in-detail if too many of the enemy or too-important of an enemy get snagged by any of our prodding. Maybe they could hold off the hungry shadows if it was just us, but the Blazing Light of Cai really breaks any cohesion when it hits, and in those long shadows we snap up those that would otherwise survive and Eulogize those who thought the shadows would be a place of safety from the Light.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A note on the Movement Art, the Thievery. I want to shift the PLR group shift to that one, and flavor it so that we're stealing those we care about away from Inevitable End, if only for the moment. I want it to be the thing we can take into Renxiang's Dream of Shenhua The Tyrant so that we can have the best conceptual chance of getting lil Renxiang out of that memory by embracing the Present. Even if the Future or Past will be or have been painful, we can get you away from them and into the Present. A moment that won't last, but a moment is all we ever truly have. And oftentimes that interrupt is all one needs to recenter themselves in the Present.
We can't change the Past, but we also don't have to because the Past is a lie. Only the Present is real, and if we can bring Renxiang back to herself faster I think that'll be good should she have another dream like the one we saw on our journey south
Eulogy of Fates
Moon, Darkness, Music
Ending, Cycles, Inevitability
Offense, Dispel, Combo
A Eulogy for all those whose Fates have been taken from them by the uncaring advancement of forces beyond their comprehension. Song-Seeker, Thief of Fates sings directly to her target, slipping into their channels and singing of that deep desire to resist the ultimate End, even though it's futile.
The additional verses detail the endless cycle of Annihilation and Creation. Volcanic eruption, Winter snows, ephemeral Dreams, all things End to the Cycle.
the fertile Ash, the Spring bloom, a new Reality
the End of the target will feed the Arts and Constructs of Song-Seeker, Thief of Fates.
and it's a tragedy they crossed your path
Usage: Primary Offense
Song-Seeker, Thief of Fates attacks by singing of the impotent desire of existence in its attempt to resist the Inevitable End.
When attacking, all Qi Constructs struck by the attack are reduced to their base Qi and may be gathered by Song-Seeker, Thief of Fates to fuel themselves.
Targets slain by Elegy of Fates have their remaining Qi reduced to base Qi, which may be gathered by Song-Seeker, Thief of Fates
Moon, Darkness, Music
Ending, Cycles, Inevitability
Offense, Dispel, Combo
A Eulogy for all those whose Fates have been taken from them by the uncaring advancement of forces beyond their comprehension. Song-Seeker, Thief of Fates sings directly to her target, slipping into their channels and singing of that deep desire to resist the ultimate End, even though it's futile.
The additional verses detail the endless cycle of Annihilation and Creation. Volcanic eruption, Winter snows, ephemeral Dreams, all things End to the Cycle.
the fertile Ash, the Spring bloom, a new Reality
the End of the target will feed the Arts and Constructs of Song-Seeker, Thief of Fates.
and it's a tragedy they crossed your path
Usage: Primary Offense
Song-Seeker, Thief of Fates attacks by singing of the impotent desire of existence in its attempt to resist the Inevitable End.
When attacking, all Qi Constructs struck by the attack are reduced to their base Qi and may be gathered by Song-Seeker, Thief of Fates to fuel themselves.
Targets slain by Elegy of Fates have their remaining Qi reduced to base Qi, which may be gathered by Song-Seeker, Thief of Fates
This Art builds an additional facet to our Song-Seeking. We Seek Songs in the Liminal, that place brimming with histories and hypotheticals, but what do we do with the things we don't like? Well we remind those things of the End, the inevitable annihilation of everything, and through The End convert them into raw materials.
This is part of a trio of Arts. Next is a Movement Art that leans into our Thief aspect. It grabs up all the base Qi left behind by Eulogy of Fates, allowing us to steal their ruined Fates to empower our own.
The third Art is a Field Effect that leans into our Creative aspect. A revelry of Existence/Creation of altered Fate for those involved, as we spin them away from the Fate they intended and disrupt their plans. Just as the Moon disrupts the plans of mortals seeking Ascension, as one that guards the Humanity of Creation.
These Arts are a Cycle that has our Movement Art between the other two. The Harsh Uncaring End can create fuel that we take for ourselves, and immediately use in our Creative Revelry. Or we can start with the Revelry, and carve horrifying dissonant End through it that unravels those trapped by that Creation alongside our Creation, and then we pass through to gather materials from both. If we don't fully annihilate our Creation Construct, from the inside it'd be like being at a party where the music has really messed up lyrics but so long as you're not paying attention it's alright c:
then the lyrics hit you and you're like "yo wtf"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anyway. This Art specifically is designed to punch down extremely hard while retaining Utility against more powerful foes by eating away at their Qi Constructs if they're personally resistant to it for some reason. Our Offense has to be threatening enough to be useful when we're working with just ourselves and our Spirits, but doesn't need to be the sort of Raw Power that, for instance, the Ducals would have access to.
The reason we want our Offense to be extremely good at aiming down is our focus on Offensive Isolation. Specifically our ability to Isolate targets, and use that Isolation to punch upwards through the power of Connection and "having more friends than you". The faster we can clear out the supporting forces the faster we can apply our devastating Finisher and the easier it'll be to get any of our groups' Control abilities to stick.
This is especially helpful when we're paired up with Renxiang, as she bolsters our supporting forces while we threaten a defeat-in-detail if too many of the enemy or too-important of an enemy get snagged by any of our prodding. Maybe they could hold off the hungry shadows if it was just us, but the Blazing Light of Cai really breaks any cohesion when it hits, and in those long shadows we snap up those that would otherwise survive and Eulogize those who thought the shadows would be a place of safety from the Light.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A note on the Movement Art, the Thievery. I want to shift the PLR group shift to that one, and flavor it so that we're stealing those we care about away from Inevitable End, if only for the moment. I want it to be the thing we can take into Renxiang's Dream of Shenhua The Tyrant so that we can have the best conceptual chance of getting lil Renxiang out of that memory by embracing the Present. Even if the Future or Past will be or have been painful, we can get you away from them and into the Present. A moment that won't last, but a moment is all we ever truly have. And oftentimes that interrupt is all one needs to recenter themselves in the Present.
We can't change the Past, but we also don't have to because the Past is a lie. Only the Present is real, and if we can bring Renxiang back to herself faster I think that'll be good should she have another dream like the one we saw on our journey south
Last edited:
My boring idea for a defense Art is based around how air/smoke/mist enemies tend to be extremely resilient to physical harm. Attacks generally just go right through them, causing minimal harm along the way. This is actually codified in the Dominions video games as reducing the maximum damage an attack can do to 1. Add in some regeneration and you have a very effective defense.
Body of Mists
Water, Wind, Yin
Community, Isolation, Persistence
Armor, Healing
Each drop of water in mist is divided from the others, yet they appear as a whole. No matter what happens to any given one of them, the others surrounding it will be unharmed. At the same time the remnants of drops destroyed will join with the larger group, cared for by those around them.
By purposefully weakening the bonds between the parts of your body, you minimize the damage any particular hit can inflict. Once the strike is over, the unharmed parts of your body refresh the damage site, rendering the cultivator unchanged by the violence inflicted upon them.
Usage: Attempts to create a damage cap and adds regeneration. Injuries caused by strong strikes potentially appear horrific but ultimately don't matter.
Water, Wind, Yin
Community, Isolation, Persistence
Armor, Healing
Each drop of water in mist is divided from the others, yet they appear as a whole. No matter what happens to any given one of them, the others surrounding it will be unharmed. At the same time the remnants of drops destroyed will join with the larger group, cared for by those around them.
By purposefully weakening the bonds between the parts of your body, you minimize the damage any particular hit can inflict. Once the strike is over, the unharmed parts of your body refresh the damage site, rendering the cultivator unchanged by the violence inflicted upon them.
Usage: Attempts to create a damage cap and adds regeneration. Injuries caused by strong strikes potentially appear horrific but ultimately don't matter.
I think while we're all up on Mist Arts we could probably do a lot with misty Isolation. Like maybe a group stealth that sees Ling Qi shift her allies partially into the Liminal, leaning on the idea of a secluded home. A tech that lets her shift allies into a Dream realm, bring her friends with her wherever she goes representative of her not wanting to leave people behind both physically and in cultivation. A combat Isolation tech (the Technique Type not the Concept) that lets us continue on Lost Child's Elegy for some dramatic duels in this Dream realm, meditating on the danger of isolation and the power of allies. Or that lets us kidnap entire groups of enemies or create an Isolation Illusion that shows people outside a zone an inconspicuous phantom illusion while we play a metal concert for the unfortunates inside, finally combining Music with subterfuge. A social Screen tech fit for a girl better at one-on-one socializing and diplomacy who sees the value of reaching out yet also sees the good in isolation and secrets. There's so much that can be done mechanically and philisophically with an entire Art or just one or two compressed techs in a misty dream SNR+.
Turn 13: Arc 8-4
"You've already made it your own, haven't you?" Ling Qi said, looking over at Su Ling out of the corner of her eye. "We couldn't have gotten where we needed to go without your divination."
Su Ling grimaced a little bearing sharp teeth."I can relearn that the proper way. Got the tools, just need the arts, and the Sect has some pyromancy arts in the library."
Ling Qi nodded, it didn't quite sit right with her. She knew Su Ling was never really… happy with herself. She thought the other girl had found some equilibrium though. It bothered her a little, that she'd been inattentive. "Well, I just think that stealing your enemies' tools is a better form of spite," Ling Qi said after a moment. "They're yours now, no one else's."
"Not a terrible sentiment," Bao Qingling said, her eyes were fixed on the testing chamber being set up ahead, today would began the presentation of the examinees final projects, with the second half finishing tomorrow. A change from last year. More disciples had made it through the preliminary exams this year it seemed.
Or more were avoiding the combat tourney.
"I don't know your situation, junior sister," Bao Qingling continued. Her oddly relaxed demeanor continued to disturb Ling Qi a little. "Do whatever you do for yourself first. Anyone else should come second or third. That is what cultivation is."
Ling Qi chuckled. "Not quite how I'd put it."
Li Suyin smiled reaching over to pat Su Ling on the hand. "You know my sentiments, but you have my support. And my scalpels."
Su Ling snorted, Li Suyin's smile turned impish. Ling Qi covered her mouth to muffle a laugh.
"Right, thanks for the image Suyin," Su Ling drawled.
"You're welcome," Li Suyin said primly.
Some of the tension that had formed in the air dissolved away.
"Ling Qi blew out a breath of air, watching a disciple present a talisman shield inlaid with an intricate mosaic of jade. "If you don't mind me asking, what are your plans for the coming year? Mine are pretty well set at this point."
Li Suyin closed her eyes for a moment considering."I-I think I will be pursuing an apprenticeship under Elder Su. She has indicated that I might have the potential. So I will be working hard in the Sect's Medicine department."
"Proud of you," Su Ling grunted, nudging the shorter girl's shoulder with her own.
Li Suyin gave a little smile. "...I'd like to work on that project we spoke of though, Ling Qi. Making something so complex would be a great show of my abilities."
She nodded. The recipe for a fourth realm breakthrough elixir was one of the treasures she'd acquired on her trip. She'd already spoken of it with Suyin before. Bao Qingling glanced at them in mild interest. "I'll look forward to our cooperation then, Grandmistress Suyin," Ling Qi teased.
"Oh stop," Li Suyin laughed quietly.
They quieted down for a time watching the presentations go by, when Su Ling spoke again.
"...Just gonna keep studying. Learning. That asshole teaching me calligraphy… He's kinda rubbed my nose in how much I don't know," Su Ling said. "I dunno where I'm gonna go with that. Still got to do what i gotta do, but maybe started thinking of after."
Ling Qi gave a little nod, speaking quietly, no trace formality in her voice. "After. Yeah that's the scary part."
Being able to, having to, look beyond the next moment, the next meal, the next night. It could be paralyzing. She wished she could know she wasn't charging off into her own ruin. Surety, that too was the fruit of cultivation.
"Small problems," Bao Qingling grunted, her fingers laced together in her lap. She didn't look over at them.
"What do you mean, senior sister?" Li Suyin asked.
"Solve small problems. Break things down. One ingredient, one step. You can have a plan, but finish your current step before you start agonizing over the next one."
"And what's your next step, senior sister?" Ling Qi asked.
Bao Qingling didn't look at her, but ling Qi felt a crawling sensation on her skin that she knew was the older girl's attention. "I've gotten a contract with your friend. Will be the go between for the Bao and the Bai on your little trip. Medicines and cultivation supplies."
The corner of the girl's thin lips curled up in a smirk. "My brother's face when I gave him that contract."
"Congratulations senior sister!" Li Suyin exclaimed trying to keep her voice low. "Such a prestigious role."
Su Ling sniffed. "Good for you."
Ling Qi silently nodded. She was glad that Bai Meizhen and Bao Qingling had… worked something out.
Her gaze strayed back to the contests where she saw again the young man from last time she had been here, Jin Tae, presenting his project. It was a small automata, about the size of a cat, made of brass and steel. It was shaped like a tiny man with wings and an exaggerated birdlike face, like the great thunder spirit she had encountered with Yu Nuan. She watched as it performed various tasks, including carving new formations on tablets of clay, needing only a final infusion of qi from its maker to activate its work.
It was among the last of the days presentations, and soon things were over and she stood up with her friends as the audience began to move forward to speak with the disciples or move towards the exits. She walked beside Su Ling and Li Suyin with Bao Qingling trailing behind as they left the testing hall and the building.
It was as they were leaving, chatting about small things that Ling Qi caught the feeling of having another's attention. She glanced to the side, noticing the faint twitch in Bao Qingling's shoulders that told her that the other girl noticed too.
What she saw approaching them was a young woman seemingly in her early twenties. The woman wore a many layered gown in various shades of red and pink, and her aristocratic features bore subtle signs of cosmetics. Her honey brown hair was pulled up and arranged within a glittering net of fine silver chains, hung with many little gemstone ornaments, carved flowers no larger than a fingernail. Her skin was a shade darker than Suyin or Bao Qingling's but lighter than Ling Qi's.
A subtle nudge brought Suyin's attention as they stepped out of the exiting crowd and stopped politely.
"Baroness Ling, Baroness Li, Baroness Su," the woman greeted politely, inclining her head only slightly. Her gaze lingered a moment on Su Ling before moving to their companion. "Bao Qingling."
"Diao Hualing," Bao Qingling said shortly, sounding intensely disinterested.
It was slightly rude to give someone's name before they could give it themselves. Diao Hualing's stare bored into Bao Qingling's impassive face for a long few seconds. "It has been some time," she finally said, turning her eyes from.
"What might we be able to help Lady Diao with?" Ling Qi said swiftly, hoping she could divert things back onto track.
"I had hoped to meet a few young talents this day," Diao Hualing said formally. "The heiress' retainer, the Argent Sect's rising expert on the impure things under the earth… and the one who has shown such talents with the art of pyromancy a lucky convergence."
Su Ling shifted uncomfortably, Li Suyin smiled without guile. "It's an honor to be noticed so, but my humble studies can hardly be called expertise."
"I disagree. But it seems I may have caught you in another engagement," Diao Hualing said. "If-"
"I'm going," Bao Qingling grunted. "Li Suyin, be at my workshop tomorrow evening for the project we discussed."
"Yes, senior sister," Li Suyin said, glancing between them nervously. Even she caught the tension there.
Bao Qingling left, and Diao Hualing watched her go for a moment, before speaking in a considering tone. "In any case, do the three of you have plans at the moment?"
"I was going to escort Li Suyin around and introduce her to a few people," Ling Qi said humbly. "Nothing more."
"Well, that is convenient. Will you allow me to walk with you, Baronesses? I will not take up much of your afternoon." the older woman asked calmly. It had the air of a request, but Ling Qi glanced at her friends and saw that they understood just as well how rude it would be to deny a comital scion such a small thing. Particularly when she was giving them some face by simply walking with them publicly while Ling Qi introduced Li Suyin to people.
She saw Su Ling's ears flatten against the side of her head in irritation though. She'd have to help that girl out with how expressive she could be. "Naturally Lady Diao," Ling Qi said.
"Grand," Diao Hualing said, her eyes crinkling into thin slits as she smiled. "Let us descend then? I am afraid this high mountain air is not for me."
"Yes, thank you very much Lady Diao," Li Suyin said.
"...Yeah, you're welcome to walk with us," Su Ling said, she sounded wary, and once again the older woman's eyes fell on her, making her squirm.
"Such polite young ladies," Diao Hualing said blithely as they began to descend the stairs from the Sect's main plaza. "I believe I have some proposals which may interest all of you."
Su Ling grimaced a little bearing sharp teeth."I can relearn that the proper way. Got the tools, just need the arts, and the Sect has some pyromancy arts in the library."
Ling Qi nodded, it didn't quite sit right with her. She knew Su Ling was never really… happy with herself. She thought the other girl had found some equilibrium though. It bothered her a little, that she'd been inattentive. "Well, I just think that stealing your enemies' tools is a better form of spite," Ling Qi said after a moment. "They're yours now, no one else's."
"Not a terrible sentiment," Bao Qingling said, her eyes were fixed on the testing chamber being set up ahead, today would began the presentation of the examinees final projects, with the second half finishing tomorrow. A change from last year. More disciples had made it through the preliminary exams this year it seemed.
Or more were avoiding the combat tourney.
"I don't know your situation, junior sister," Bao Qingling continued. Her oddly relaxed demeanor continued to disturb Ling Qi a little. "Do whatever you do for yourself first. Anyone else should come second or third. That is what cultivation is."
Ling Qi chuckled. "Not quite how I'd put it."
Li Suyin smiled reaching over to pat Su Ling on the hand. "You know my sentiments, but you have my support. And my scalpels."
Su Ling snorted, Li Suyin's smile turned impish. Ling Qi covered her mouth to muffle a laugh.
"Right, thanks for the image Suyin," Su Ling drawled.
"You're welcome," Li Suyin said primly.
Some of the tension that had formed in the air dissolved away.
"Ling Qi blew out a breath of air, watching a disciple present a talisman shield inlaid with an intricate mosaic of jade. "If you don't mind me asking, what are your plans for the coming year? Mine are pretty well set at this point."
Li Suyin closed her eyes for a moment considering."I-I think I will be pursuing an apprenticeship under Elder Su. She has indicated that I might have the potential. So I will be working hard in the Sect's Medicine department."
"Proud of you," Su Ling grunted, nudging the shorter girl's shoulder with her own.
Li Suyin gave a little smile. "...I'd like to work on that project we spoke of though, Ling Qi. Making something so complex would be a great show of my abilities."
She nodded. The recipe for a fourth realm breakthrough elixir was one of the treasures she'd acquired on her trip. She'd already spoken of it with Suyin before. Bao Qingling glanced at them in mild interest. "I'll look forward to our cooperation then, Grandmistress Suyin," Ling Qi teased.
"Oh stop," Li Suyin laughed quietly.
They quieted down for a time watching the presentations go by, when Su Ling spoke again.
"...Just gonna keep studying. Learning. That asshole teaching me calligraphy… He's kinda rubbed my nose in how much I don't know," Su Ling said. "I dunno where I'm gonna go with that. Still got to do what i gotta do, but maybe started thinking of after."
Ling Qi gave a little nod, speaking quietly, no trace formality in her voice. "After. Yeah that's the scary part."
Being able to, having to, look beyond the next moment, the next meal, the next night. It could be paralyzing. She wished she could know she wasn't charging off into her own ruin. Surety, that too was the fruit of cultivation.
"Small problems," Bao Qingling grunted, her fingers laced together in her lap. She didn't look over at them.
"What do you mean, senior sister?" Li Suyin asked.
"Solve small problems. Break things down. One ingredient, one step. You can have a plan, but finish your current step before you start agonizing over the next one."
"And what's your next step, senior sister?" Ling Qi asked.
Bao Qingling didn't look at her, but ling Qi felt a crawling sensation on her skin that she knew was the older girl's attention. "I've gotten a contract with your friend. Will be the go between for the Bao and the Bai on your little trip. Medicines and cultivation supplies."
The corner of the girl's thin lips curled up in a smirk. "My brother's face when I gave him that contract."
"Congratulations senior sister!" Li Suyin exclaimed trying to keep her voice low. "Such a prestigious role."
Su Ling sniffed. "Good for you."
Ling Qi silently nodded. She was glad that Bai Meizhen and Bao Qingling had… worked something out.
Her gaze strayed back to the contests where she saw again the young man from last time she had been here, Jin Tae, presenting his project. It was a small automata, about the size of a cat, made of brass and steel. It was shaped like a tiny man with wings and an exaggerated birdlike face, like the great thunder spirit she had encountered with Yu Nuan. She watched as it performed various tasks, including carving new formations on tablets of clay, needing only a final infusion of qi from its maker to activate its work.
It was among the last of the days presentations, and soon things were over and she stood up with her friends as the audience began to move forward to speak with the disciples or move towards the exits. She walked beside Su Ling and Li Suyin with Bao Qingling trailing behind as they left the testing hall and the building.
It was as they were leaving, chatting about small things that Ling Qi caught the feeling of having another's attention. She glanced to the side, noticing the faint twitch in Bao Qingling's shoulders that told her that the other girl noticed too.
What she saw approaching them was a young woman seemingly in her early twenties. The woman wore a many layered gown in various shades of red and pink, and her aristocratic features bore subtle signs of cosmetics. Her honey brown hair was pulled up and arranged within a glittering net of fine silver chains, hung with many little gemstone ornaments, carved flowers no larger than a fingernail. Her skin was a shade darker than Suyin or Bao Qingling's but lighter than Ling Qi's.
A subtle nudge brought Suyin's attention as they stepped out of the exiting crowd and stopped politely.
"Baroness Ling, Baroness Li, Baroness Su," the woman greeted politely, inclining her head only slightly. Her gaze lingered a moment on Su Ling before moving to their companion. "Bao Qingling."
"Diao Hualing," Bao Qingling said shortly, sounding intensely disinterested.
It was slightly rude to give someone's name before they could give it themselves. Diao Hualing's stare bored into Bao Qingling's impassive face for a long few seconds. "It has been some time," she finally said, turning her eyes from.
"What might we be able to help Lady Diao with?" Ling Qi said swiftly, hoping she could divert things back onto track.
"I had hoped to meet a few young talents this day," Diao Hualing said formally. "The heiress' retainer, the Argent Sect's rising expert on the impure things under the earth… and the one who has shown such talents with the art of pyromancy a lucky convergence."
Su Ling shifted uncomfortably, Li Suyin smiled without guile. "It's an honor to be noticed so, but my humble studies can hardly be called expertise."
"I disagree. But it seems I may have caught you in another engagement," Diao Hualing said. "If-"
"I'm going," Bao Qingling grunted. "Li Suyin, be at my workshop tomorrow evening for the project we discussed."
"Yes, senior sister," Li Suyin said, glancing between them nervously. Even she caught the tension there.
Bao Qingling left, and Diao Hualing watched her go for a moment, before speaking in a considering tone. "In any case, do the three of you have plans at the moment?"
"I was going to escort Li Suyin around and introduce her to a few people," Ling Qi said humbly. "Nothing more."
"Well, that is convenient. Will you allow me to walk with you, Baronesses? I will not take up much of your afternoon." the older woman asked calmly. It had the air of a request, but Ling Qi glanced at her friends and saw that they understood just as well how rude it would be to deny a comital scion such a small thing. Particularly when she was giving them some face by simply walking with them publicly while Ling Qi introduced Li Suyin to people.
She saw Su Ling's ears flatten against the side of her head in irritation though. She'd have to help that girl out with how expressive she could be. "Naturally Lady Diao," Ling Qi said.
"Grand," Diao Hualing said, her eyes crinkling into thin slits as she smiled. "Let us descend then? I am afraid this high mountain air is not for me."
"Yes, thank you very much Lady Diao," Li Suyin said.
"...Yeah, you're welcome to walk with us," Su Ling said, she sounded wary, and once again the older woman's eyes fell on her, making her squirm.
"Such polite young ladies," Diao Hualing said blithely as they began to descend the stairs from the Sect's main plaza. "I believe I have some proposals which may interest all of you."
Being in the Sect shielded us somewhat to the politics of the Emerald Sea. We've poked our head out into deeper waters by appearing in court and now our mission has attracted sharks.
Excellent.
Excellent.
- Location
- Staring into the void
I wonder if it will be mostly a group project, or individual offers.
- Location
- The Star Kingdom of Manticore
What makes you say that? I didn't read anything like that in the update.
