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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.
I think that it could actually be his mother who asks us to take care of him. Seeing how Heizui was just lazing about until we "motivated" him.
Not only that, but in Heizui's last interlude his mother warned him about the threat of humans in general and the Cloud tribes in particular. And explained that is why herself and the Sect Head's companion are bound to a human.
And who would be better for Heizui than the rising star of the Argent Sect, disciple of her friend Xin, famous for dealing with spirits beasts, who already has a link with her son?
If it ever actually happens and it comes to a vote, I'm voting YES.
Not only that, but in Heizui's last interlude his mother warned him about the threat of humans in general and the Cloud tribes in particular. And explained that is why herself and the Sect Head's companion are bound to a human.
And who would be better for Heizui than the rising star of the Argent Sect, disciple of her friend Xin, famous for dealing with spirits beasts, who already has a link with her son?
If it ever actually happens and it comes to a vote, I'm voting YES.
- Location
- Staring into the void
I don't expect to see Heizui in the story again. He's not a relevant character for any of the storylines we're doing now.
EternalObserver
eYe Gaze baCk
- Location
- The Void
Apologies, but I don't plan to accept on adding more characters to our already bloated cast, especially considering we're already on our way to getting another sapient spirit in the form of our dress.
My big question is why would we want to be around Heizul? He's a creepy tsundere suitor.
We can. Actually, due to the recent rule changes, we would even get the same discount for them. That used to be limited to three...
Epsilon Rose
The King of Unrest
I think the bigger issue is that we're trying to do diplomacy at the Cloud tribes and they're very anti-dragon.
Turn 14: Arc 1-4
These deep halls were quiet, whether this was because of the party above, or a regular occurrence Ling Qi didn't know. Worked stone and polished tiles gave way to more natural stone, organic formations of rock shaped by eons of dripping water taking over for the artificial decor from above. They descended a little slower now, the mad dash of the opening moments behind them. Though Yu Nuan now rode on the back of Qiu, grown to his full horse-like size.
"How did you find out about this, by the way?" Ling Qi asked quietly skirting along beneath the damp 'teeth' of rock that lined the roof of the passage.
"The Leigong took me down here for a lesson, a reward for a song," Yu Nuan whispered, over the happy panting of the thunder hound she rode, voice carrying on only Sixiang's breeze.
"Seems strange for a spirit of storm and thunder," Ling Qi said dubiously.
"He said it was about understanding the origin of the storm," Yu Nuan said lowly, hurrying along at a swift jog. "And I… kinda get it. It all comes back to water. Hey don't touch anything off the path!"
Ling Qi blinked, immediately banking to the side to fully avoid a curtain of gleaming stone that seemed like a cascade of water, frozen in time. She'd not have touched it physically but a trail of her qi would have. "Alarms? Traps? I don't sense anything."
"No," Yu Nuan whispered. "But if you get your qi into the stones here, it'll piss off the gardener, we need him sweet to get what we need."
Ling Qi nodded absently, dropping a little lower and pulling in her aura further, tight against her skin, she focused now and could see the 'path' Yu Nuan had mentioned, a corridor of stone with silent, static qi. She vaguely remembered Bao Qian speaking of stone gardens in regards to his clan. "Got it, a big spirit then?"
"Pretty sure the Leigong's still the boss, but he treated the guy down here with respect," Yu Nuan whispered back. "C'mon."
Down down through winding caverns of increasing beauty, past pools lined with living crystal and strange, alien formations of stone, until at last they came to a wide chamber, filled with water that bubbled and boiled, an underground lake, spotted with isles of stone. There were dozens of isles each overgrown with glittering crystal in many hues, and in the center was a small stone hut, humble, and inconspicuous. Above steam rose into a shroud over the caverns roof, and the air was thick with humidity.
Ling Qi grimaced at the dampness weaving a tight web of cooler air around her to keep it off. Soft snow fell in her wake, melting instantly when she stepped away. "No lava?"
"Not that kind of stone," Yu Nuan replied. "Like I said, it's all about the water. The way it changes, rises, falls, how heat influences the storm. Least that's what I got out of it. A storm comes from a lot of things, needs a lot of things to be born."
Ling Qi hummed, she wasn't going to gainsay another cultivator on something core to her methods, even if she didn't entirely get it. "Good, what's our plan, call out, make an offering?"
"Well since it looks like the headstart got us here first, this should be easy," Yu Nuan said, unlimbering her lute. "This guy liked my songs too so I think I've got this one, can you prep us to get out though. There's a vent up here and we can probably go up quick if you protect us from the heat and do that… thing."
"Dreamwalking," Ling Qi corrected absently, spinning up a bit more icy qi. She kept an eye and an ear on the passage with a trailing silver wisp, while Sixiang kept their attention on the air currents.
Yu Nuan grunted an acknowledgement as she strummed a few testing notes. She then launched into a song. It wasn't the usual blazing inferno and striking lightning of her works, but more like a spring flood put to music, what it lacked in volume and thunder it made up for with a tonal discord that nonetheless managed to be coherent.
And out on the bubbling lake the little stone hut rattled and its door drifted open, revealing a single crystalline eye larger than Ling Qi. Two stony lids appeared as it first squinted at them and then shut as the music washed out, a moment of song.
"Little cloud," the voice reverberated from the rock around them, grinding and heavy. "You were passing. Not fools to slap away from my gardens. Why do you come. The revel roars, be there the quiet is not for you."
Yu Nuan bowed her head. "The Lady Dianmu set us a hunting game, and I think one of your crystals is an answer. Could we bargain for one?"
"That woman," the stone spirit rumbled. "So thoughtless, sending drunkards to gambol in my gallery. Hmph. Take one then, and get you gone. One less hoodlum fighting down here will only make it easier to keep order."
The eye shifted to Ling Qi, squinting. "And take that one with you, the cold will upset the pool."
"Please, I'd like to not trouble you long sir," Ling Qi said, bowing low.
"See that you don't, and keep this one out of trouble, you hear?" the curmudgeonly rock gardner rumbled, his voice felt in her bones. One of the crystal filled islands floated closer, parting the waters like a ship, allowing Yu Nuan to pluck a bright red crystal, still sparkling with superheated qi.
The girl hissed, tossing it from one hand to another for a second before Sixiang snatched it from the air with a gust of wind, sending it to storage.
"We'll not trouble you any longer sir," Yu nuan said bowing hurriedly, Ling Qi began to detect some noise coming down the tunnels. "May we use the vent?"
The eye squinted. "If you'll not burn up."
"We'll be fine," Ling Qi said, bowing as well. "Yu Nuan?"
Her companion nodded and they dashed off above the lake, kicking up ripples as they flew into the cloud of steam, Ling Qi spread her aura, a careful application of the lessons lent by her mentor to render it merely hot and uncomfortable rather than heated beyond mortal reason. They passed swiftly through the layer of moisture, following the curvature of the ceiling and flying up and up until they were moving straight up a tube only five or six meters wide.
"The dragon's breath is probably on the mountain peak," Yu Nuan called. "You got an idea for the others?"
"Maybe," Ling Qi called over the hiss of the steam. "Does this place have a library or a poet?"
"Why?" Yu Nuan's face screwed up for a moment. "Ah I get it, I was thinking of the little weasels that run around this place with the sharp claws. Yeah there's a library. Why'd you think of that?"
"Oh because Lady Cai's sword is named, Cifeng with the characters 'cutting words'," Ling Qi replied absently, getting a feel for the folds of dream in this narrow space, catapulting them straight up shouldn't be too hard.
"What," Yu Nuan said dully.
"Nothing wrong with a good pun," Sixiang said cheerfully. "Or a bad one! Hold onto your insides!"
"Oh n-" Yu Nuan began hunching down on Qiu's back.
And then they were within a scintillating rainbow steam and flames, surrounded by dancing shards of rock and crystal, rising toward roiling thunderheads shot through with kilometers long spans of golden scale. Again, just for a second, before they blinked back into the vent, just in time to erupt from its exit in a cloud of superheated vapor.
The chamber they emerged in was all polished wood, save for the stone floor, filled with benches and buckets, and hanging plants, all manner of spirits lazed about in a state of ill dress, and… did she spot a disciple or two scattered about. Was this kind of sauna?
Ling Qi flushed a little and spied an exit, flashing toward it in a twist of wind and shadow, leaving a burst of frozen air and outraged yelps behind as she darted off down the passage. Qiu thundered after her, paws striking sparks in the air as he galloped after her with his tongue out, Yu Nuan holding frantically to her back.
"Oh man, your face," Sixiang cackled in her head."I kinda feel bad for those folks."
Just ask Yu Nuan where the library was, Ling Qi thought grouchily. And what was up with Yu Nuan, she didn't look scandalized at all. Had she known where they were going to come out?
Honestly, how shameless.
They ran into their first spot of trouble on the way to the Thunder Palace's Library. Their flight path took them through a rowdy brawl spanning a whole palace hall, ogres and bird men clashed there sending the whole passage rocking with the thunder of clubs and the beating of wings.She didn't even think they were other hunters, the brawl might have been part of the chase game, but that didn't stop the lightning and diving claws that came their way.Ling Qi and Yu Nuan gave as good as they got, refusing to let it slow them down by much as they move, dodged and sprinted through the chaotic riot of bellowing spirits, leaving shocked and half frozen foes in their wake.
Finally, they escaped down a side passage, and found their way to the wide doors of the library.
What they found there was a foggy expanse, shelving visible only as shadows in the mist, and what Ling Qi could only assume was the libraries keeper, behind a too small desk. Unlike the other spirits she had seen up close thus far, this one did not seem like a man with some features of a bird, but rather a bird with some features of a man.
He seemed old, sagging jowls and flaps of skin on his long neck wobbling as the library keeper bent to look at them. In one talon he held up a hand held eye glass as he turned his head to the side to peer at them. Magnifying his own rheumy black eye in their view.
"What is this then?" he asked, beak clacking out of time with the scratchy words. "Another hunter?"
Ling Qi grimaced, of course someone else would have this idea. "Yes, have there been many so far?"
"Just two pair so far," the keeper said. "They've not come back yet. S'pose I'll have to check the books tonight, no use letting them get off their diets."
Yu Nuan coughed into her hand, she was a little more singed than Ling Qi from the brawl. "Do you have a section for satire?"
She glanced toward Ling Qi for approval, who nodded, that kind of dissident writing would definitely be the most cutting.
"A few scrolls, a few poems," the library keeper said."This is the Thunder Palace though young lady, you should know we don't just give things away. If you'd like your poems, you'll hunt them down and subdue them yourself like a proper scholar."
Ling Qi and Yu Nuan both simply nodded, stone faced. Naturally, it wouldn't be that simple.
"C'mon," Sixiang chuckled."Pretty sure I got the scent of something good."
Giving their respect to the Library keeper, they set off into the mist. The shelves were, Ling Qi noted closed and locked cases,with fronts of wood or glass.Ech one rattled and shook as they passed, and Ling Qi felt dozens and dozens of qi signatures. This was far beyond the curated sect archives where the tomes and scrolls were curated to limit and control their development as spirits, the things here were wild and alive.
But she hadn't yet sensed something sufficiently sharp and so they went on, deeper into the winding stacks, guided by Sixiang's sharper sense for these kind of things. Eventually Ling Qi could feel in the air something of what Siiang was following, muffled whispers that cut winding trails through the mist, churning and carving short lived tunnels through it, and they came upon a high and ornate case with sturdy copper shutters over its shelves locked and barred.
"Hm, it doesn't look so bad," Ling Qi mused, peering down at the formations inscribed on the metal, she could probably open this, though it might take awhile."Although… not sure I want to just open it."
The shelf rattled violently, straining the chains keeping it bound to the wall and floor, There were a lot of fairly potent auras inside of that case.
Yu nuan squinted. "I think we can take 'em if we have too, but your right, might not be a good idea. Hunting or know the Keeper might be testy if we make too much of a mess. You think you got this one."
Ling Qi nodded. "Let me try something, if it doesn't work, I'll unlock it.You catch the sharpest one you can sense, then we run for it."
Yu Nuan blew out a nervous breath glancing down the stacks as she settled in to wait a moment.
Ling Qi stared at the cabinet doors as if trying to burn a hole in them. She'd done a little practice with this technique, and it wasn't so far from dreamwalking. But the tricky part was… not leaving entirely, but sort of reaching through? It was hard to frame interactions like this in human words. Biting her bottom lip Ling Qi put her hand to the sealed doors and concentrated circulating dream and wind qi through the meridians in her arm, she just needed to sort of wiggle her hand between the spaces in the physical matter like slipping through infinitesimally small bars.
She felt something sharp prick her fingertips the edge of page, and she took in a sharp breath as she grabbed onto a struggling scroll and yanked it back through without triggering the formations locking the cabinet."Hah, that's not so bad!"
Though it was a long way from the real thing, given that this was still a physical container. "Alright, Lets-"
She cut off her words as she sensed something, a shift in the air, a thread of qi, not her own, intruding on her aura. And then a sharp yank, tearing the scroll from her grasp as a booming cackle rang out.
Ling Qi looked up in time to see a blur of blue and white carving through the mist on a trailof lightning, and one of the Leigong's sons laughing mockingly as they zoomed away, the trailing scroll already snapping into the cloud-like brother's outstretched hand on a glittering diamond thread.
That wasn't going to stand.
"How did you find out about this, by the way?" Ling Qi asked quietly skirting along beneath the damp 'teeth' of rock that lined the roof of the passage.
"The Leigong took me down here for a lesson, a reward for a song," Yu Nuan whispered, over the happy panting of the thunder hound she rode, voice carrying on only Sixiang's breeze.
"Seems strange for a spirit of storm and thunder," Ling Qi said dubiously.
"He said it was about understanding the origin of the storm," Yu Nuan said lowly, hurrying along at a swift jog. "And I… kinda get it. It all comes back to water. Hey don't touch anything off the path!"
Ling Qi blinked, immediately banking to the side to fully avoid a curtain of gleaming stone that seemed like a cascade of water, frozen in time. She'd not have touched it physically but a trail of her qi would have. "Alarms? Traps? I don't sense anything."
"No," Yu Nuan whispered. "But if you get your qi into the stones here, it'll piss off the gardener, we need him sweet to get what we need."
Ling Qi nodded absently, dropping a little lower and pulling in her aura further, tight against her skin, she focused now and could see the 'path' Yu Nuan had mentioned, a corridor of stone with silent, static qi. She vaguely remembered Bao Qian speaking of stone gardens in regards to his clan. "Got it, a big spirit then?"
"Pretty sure the Leigong's still the boss, but he treated the guy down here with respect," Yu Nuan whispered back. "C'mon."
Down down through winding caverns of increasing beauty, past pools lined with living crystal and strange, alien formations of stone, until at last they came to a wide chamber, filled with water that bubbled and boiled, an underground lake, spotted with isles of stone. There were dozens of isles each overgrown with glittering crystal in many hues, and in the center was a small stone hut, humble, and inconspicuous. Above steam rose into a shroud over the caverns roof, and the air was thick with humidity.
Ling Qi grimaced at the dampness weaving a tight web of cooler air around her to keep it off. Soft snow fell in her wake, melting instantly when she stepped away. "No lava?"
"Not that kind of stone," Yu Nuan replied. "Like I said, it's all about the water. The way it changes, rises, falls, how heat influences the storm. Least that's what I got out of it. A storm comes from a lot of things, needs a lot of things to be born."
Ling Qi hummed, she wasn't going to gainsay another cultivator on something core to her methods, even if she didn't entirely get it. "Good, what's our plan, call out, make an offering?"
"Well since it looks like the headstart got us here first, this should be easy," Yu Nuan said, unlimbering her lute. "This guy liked my songs too so I think I've got this one, can you prep us to get out though. There's a vent up here and we can probably go up quick if you protect us from the heat and do that… thing."
"Dreamwalking," Ling Qi corrected absently, spinning up a bit more icy qi. She kept an eye and an ear on the passage with a trailing silver wisp, while Sixiang kept their attention on the air currents.
Yu Nuan grunted an acknowledgement as she strummed a few testing notes. She then launched into a song. It wasn't the usual blazing inferno and striking lightning of her works, but more like a spring flood put to music, what it lacked in volume and thunder it made up for with a tonal discord that nonetheless managed to be coherent.
And out on the bubbling lake the little stone hut rattled and its door drifted open, revealing a single crystalline eye larger than Ling Qi. Two stony lids appeared as it first squinted at them and then shut as the music washed out, a moment of song.
"Little cloud," the voice reverberated from the rock around them, grinding and heavy. "You were passing. Not fools to slap away from my gardens. Why do you come. The revel roars, be there the quiet is not for you."
Yu Nuan bowed her head. "The Lady Dianmu set us a hunting game, and I think one of your crystals is an answer. Could we bargain for one?"
"That woman," the stone spirit rumbled. "So thoughtless, sending drunkards to gambol in my gallery. Hmph. Take one then, and get you gone. One less hoodlum fighting down here will only make it easier to keep order."
The eye shifted to Ling Qi, squinting. "And take that one with you, the cold will upset the pool."
"Please, I'd like to not trouble you long sir," Ling Qi said, bowing low.
"See that you don't, and keep this one out of trouble, you hear?" the curmudgeonly rock gardner rumbled, his voice felt in her bones. One of the crystal filled islands floated closer, parting the waters like a ship, allowing Yu Nuan to pluck a bright red crystal, still sparkling with superheated qi.
The girl hissed, tossing it from one hand to another for a second before Sixiang snatched it from the air with a gust of wind, sending it to storage.
"We'll not trouble you any longer sir," Yu nuan said bowing hurriedly, Ling Qi began to detect some noise coming down the tunnels. "May we use the vent?"
The eye squinted. "If you'll not burn up."
"We'll be fine," Ling Qi said, bowing as well. "Yu Nuan?"
Her companion nodded and they dashed off above the lake, kicking up ripples as they flew into the cloud of steam, Ling Qi spread her aura, a careful application of the lessons lent by her mentor to render it merely hot and uncomfortable rather than heated beyond mortal reason. They passed swiftly through the layer of moisture, following the curvature of the ceiling and flying up and up until they were moving straight up a tube only five or six meters wide.
"The dragon's breath is probably on the mountain peak," Yu Nuan called. "You got an idea for the others?"
"Maybe," Ling Qi called over the hiss of the steam. "Does this place have a library or a poet?"
"Why?" Yu Nuan's face screwed up for a moment. "Ah I get it, I was thinking of the little weasels that run around this place with the sharp claws. Yeah there's a library. Why'd you think of that?"
"Oh because Lady Cai's sword is named, Cifeng with the characters 'cutting words'," Ling Qi replied absently, getting a feel for the folds of dream in this narrow space, catapulting them straight up shouldn't be too hard.
"What," Yu Nuan said dully.
"Nothing wrong with a good pun," Sixiang said cheerfully. "Or a bad one! Hold onto your insides!"
"Oh n-" Yu Nuan began hunching down on Qiu's back.
And then they were within a scintillating rainbow steam and flames, surrounded by dancing shards of rock and crystal, rising toward roiling thunderheads shot through with kilometers long spans of golden scale. Again, just for a second, before they blinked back into the vent, just in time to erupt from its exit in a cloud of superheated vapor.
The chamber they emerged in was all polished wood, save for the stone floor, filled with benches and buckets, and hanging plants, all manner of spirits lazed about in a state of ill dress, and… did she spot a disciple or two scattered about. Was this kind of sauna?
Ling Qi flushed a little and spied an exit, flashing toward it in a twist of wind and shadow, leaving a burst of frozen air and outraged yelps behind as she darted off down the passage. Qiu thundered after her, paws striking sparks in the air as he galloped after her with his tongue out, Yu Nuan holding frantically to her back.
"Oh man, your face," Sixiang cackled in her head."I kinda feel bad for those folks."
Just ask Yu Nuan where the library was, Ling Qi thought grouchily. And what was up with Yu Nuan, she didn't look scandalized at all. Had she known where they were going to come out?
Honestly, how shameless.
***
They ran into their first spot of trouble on the way to the Thunder Palace's Library. Their flight path took them through a rowdy brawl spanning a whole palace hall, ogres and bird men clashed there sending the whole passage rocking with the thunder of clubs and the beating of wings.She didn't even think they were other hunters, the brawl might have been part of the chase game, but that didn't stop the lightning and diving claws that came their way.Ling Qi and Yu Nuan gave as good as they got, refusing to let it slow them down by much as they move, dodged and sprinted through the chaotic riot of bellowing spirits, leaving shocked and half frozen foes in their wake.
Finally, they escaped down a side passage, and found their way to the wide doors of the library.
What they found there was a foggy expanse, shelving visible only as shadows in the mist, and what Ling Qi could only assume was the libraries keeper, behind a too small desk. Unlike the other spirits she had seen up close thus far, this one did not seem like a man with some features of a bird, but rather a bird with some features of a man.
He seemed old, sagging jowls and flaps of skin on his long neck wobbling as the library keeper bent to look at them. In one talon he held up a hand held eye glass as he turned his head to the side to peer at them. Magnifying his own rheumy black eye in their view.
"What is this then?" he asked, beak clacking out of time with the scratchy words. "Another hunter?"
Ling Qi grimaced, of course someone else would have this idea. "Yes, have there been many so far?"
"Just two pair so far," the keeper said. "They've not come back yet. S'pose I'll have to check the books tonight, no use letting them get off their diets."
Yu Nuan coughed into her hand, she was a little more singed than Ling Qi from the brawl. "Do you have a section for satire?"
She glanced toward Ling Qi for approval, who nodded, that kind of dissident writing would definitely be the most cutting.
"A few scrolls, a few poems," the library keeper said."This is the Thunder Palace though young lady, you should know we don't just give things away. If you'd like your poems, you'll hunt them down and subdue them yourself like a proper scholar."
Ling Qi and Yu Nuan both simply nodded, stone faced. Naturally, it wouldn't be that simple.
"C'mon," Sixiang chuckled."Pretty sure I got the scent of something good."
Giving their respect to the Library keeper, they set off into the mist. The shelves were, Ling Qi noted closed and locked cases,with fronts of wood or glass.Ech one rattled and shook as they passed, and Ling Qi felt dozens and dozens of qi signatures. This was far beyond the curated sect archives where the tomes and scrolls were curated to limit and control their development as spirits, the things here were wild and alive.
But she hadn't yet sensed something sufficiently sharp and so they went on, deeper into the winding stacks, guided by Sixiang's sharper sense for these kind of things. Eventually Ling Qi could feel in the air something of what Siiang was following, muffled whispers that cut winding trails through the mist, churning and carving short lived tunnels through it, and they came upon a high and ornate case with sturdy copper shutters over its shelves locked and barred.
"Hm, it doesn't look so bad," Ling Qi mused, peering down at the formations inscribed on the metal, she could probably open this, though it might take awhile."Although… not sure I want to just open it."
The shelf rattled violently, straining the chains keeping it bound to the wall and floor, There were a lot of fairly potent auras inside of that case.
Yu nuan squinted. "I think we can take 'em if we have too, but your right, might not be a good idea. Hunting or know the Keeper might be testy if we make too much of a mess. You think you got this one."
Ling Qi nodded. "Let me try something, if it doesn't work, I'll unlock it.You catch the sharpest one you can sense, then we run for it."
Yu Nuan blew out a nervous breath glancing down the stacks as she settled in to wait a moment.
Ling Qi stared at the cabinet doors as if trying to burn a hole in them. She'd done a little practice with this technique, and it wasn't so far from dreamwalking. But the tricky part was… not leaving entirely, but sort of reaching through? It was hard to frame interactions like this in human words. Biting her bottom lip Ling Qi put her hand to the sealed doors and concentrated circulating dream and wind qi through the meridians in her arm, she just needed to sort of wiggle her hand between the spaces in the physical matter like slipping through infinitesimally small bars.
She felt something sharp prick her fingertips the edge of page, and she took in a sharp breath as she grabbed onto a struggling scroll and yanked it back through without triggering the formations locking the cabinet."Hah, that's not so bad!"
Though it was a long way from the real thing, given that this was still a physical container. "Alright, Lets-"
She cut off her words as she sensed something, a shift in the air, a thread of qi, not her own, intruding on her aura. And then a sharp yank, tearing the scroll from her grasp as a booming cackle rang out.
Ling Qi looked up in time to see a blur of blue and white carving through the mist on a trailof lightning, and one of the Leigong's sons laughing mockingly as they zoomed away, the trailing scroll already snapping into the cloud-like brother's outstretched hand on a glittering diamond thread.
That wasn't going to stand.
Last edited:
- Location
- United States of America
We do the stealing! We don't just let people steal our stuff!
It's time for retaliation. It's time to steal everything that spirit owns! There is no reaction like gross overreaction when it comes to stealing!
Reads weird to me
mentor to
glass. Each one
Sixiang
awhile. "Although… not
Yu Nuan
you're
"Hunting or know" I don't know if this means something but I think it's a typo?
it. You
trail of
Time to steal that spirit's existence * evil laugh *
- Location
- Canada
I sort of love that Ling Qi is probably the most traditionally proper character in the story. It goes against the stereotype of the street urchin entering high-society. If she was less traumatized by her childhood, she would be fun to tease.
- Location
- United States of America
Interesting that other disciples of the Argent Sect have found their way here. In retrospect, that shouldn't be surprising, but I was not expecting to meet any, however briefly, during our visit.
Stealing the honest work from another thief in the middle of a heist?!?!
The nerve!
The nerve!
- Location
- The Space Between
This is a fascinating update.
It appears that the Leigong has been training Yu Nuan in a more hands on manner than I expected.
and this is suddenly a very fascinating collection of lore bits to boot
This is our first example of the Imperial Eight feeding into one another in a system of balance!
We already know that Conflict is a key component of advanced cultivation, but in this system we can witness what that means.
The sky has Wind, Water, Heavens and Thunder.
The land has Earth, Fire, Mountain and Lake.
without the "Storm" these things would still exist, if in a much weaker form. However,
The Fire stirs the Lake and releases Earth, Water and Wind. The Wind and Water carry the heat towards the sky, while the Earth crystals may be used by the Mountain.
The heat agitates the sky. The Wind and Water up there have their strength renewed, and the Heavens are empowered as the Thunder roils in the motion.
The Heavens guide the Thunder to crash into and carve the Mountain.
The Wind makes use of whatever Earth and Water it can reach to smooth out the impacts of Thunder and Heavens by eroding the edges. This brings in new Water and Earth, while unwanted detritus gets scattered.
What Earth that is wanted is then dissolved into and picked up by the Water, which takes that Earth and drips it into the Mountain. This is what forms the internal formations and designs, the Water that deposits some Earth as it passes.
The Water will eventually pass back into the Lake, renewing it with only that Earth which the Water has kept hold of. Then, the Fire separates everything out again and that special Earth forms beautiful crystals.
What I'm saying is that this conflict is, functionally, cultivating both the Mountain and the Storm as a singular system (that has two main regions). The Mountain and Lake fuel the Storm. The Storm uses its destructive power and reach to carve what is wanted, disperse what is not, and pull in new resources that the Mountain would not be able to reach on its own. The Mountain then channels those new resources into internal designs, the stalagmites and stalactites, as well as the production of unique resources like the crystals. Ultimately the Lake and Mountain are renewed by that Water and Earth which the Storm threw at it, and then they are ready to release more energy with which to fuel the Storm.
I hope Zhengui is watching this from inside the Dantian. Otherwise, a visit to learn from the Stone Gardener might be a good/fun idea c:
or perhaps Yu Nuan will learn from them, and we shall begin to include our sister in the Ling Gardening stuff c:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time for some speculative ideas:
this system is very reminiscent of the Argent Arts, isn't it? It's a balanced system that fuels the cultivation through a cycle of Destructive Progress feeding Renewal.
Yuan He is bonded to the dragon at the top of the hierarchy of Storm in the sky, those golden coils laced through the clouds?
I feel like this Palace is an example of where Yuan He's Band of Heroes would have gathered inspiration, right? The way that all the disparate elements improve and support one another, even through conflict. And the way that it's fun. It makes me feel like bonding the dragon was probably one of the culminations of a character arc, or something like that. Understanding the power of friendship enough to convince the mighty dragon to join the merry band of hero-friends c:
This recontextualizes the super-great roll Yu Nuan got 7 months ago into "not only do you get Qiu, but also that Leigong is going to show you some Big Deal Stuff" like. Dang. This might actually be one of the kilns that forged Yuan He that she's been performing/learning at! Holy moly!
It also makes me feel like Jiao's pranking is actually something needed for the Sect going forward. This little expedition is so fun and freeing and the Sect today is a military outpost of drill, rigor and very serious pressure. While that's needed, Yuan He's band of Heroes were friends that came together to have fun, and ended up being so powerful from that that they were the only ones willing-and-able to intervene and stop Ogodei. We see that the immensity of the pressure on Renxiang almost crushed her ability to be her own person, almost crushed her ability to grow into her own individual. Her ability to create, which is something that we're cultivating this turn c:
It appears that the Leigong has been training Yu Nuan in a more hands on manner than I expected.
and this is suddenly a very fascinating collection of lore bits to boot
This is our first example of the Imperial Eight feeding into one another in a system of balance!
We already know that Conflict is a key component of advanced cultivation, but in this system we can witness what that means.
The sky has Wind, Water, Heavens and Thunder.
The land has Earth, Fire, Mountain and Lake.
without the "Storm" these things would still exist, if in a much weaker form. However,
The Fire stirs the Lake and releases Earth, Water and Wind. The Wind and Water carry the heat towards the sky, while the Earth crystals may be used by the Mountain.
The heat agitates the sky. The Wind and Water up there have their strength renewed, and the Heavens are empowered as the Thunder roils in the motion.
The Heavens guide the Thunder to crash into and carve the Mountain.
The Wind makes use of whatever Earth and Water it can reach to smooth out the impacts of Thunder and Heavens by eroding the edges. This brings in new Water and Earth, while unwanted detritus gets scattered.
What Earth that is wanted is then dissolved into and picked up by the Water, which takes that Earth and drips it into the Mountain. This is what forms the internal formations and designs, the Water that deposits some Earth as it passes.
The Water will eventually pass back into the Lake, renewing it with only that Earth which the Water has kept hold of. Then, the Fire separates everything out again and that special Earth forms beautiful crystals.
What I'm saying is that this conflict is, functionally, cultivating both the Mountain and the Storm as a singular system (that has two main regions). The Mountain and Lake fuel the Storm. The Storm uses its destructive power and reach to carve what is wanted, disperse what is not, and pull in new resources that the Mountain would not be able to reach on its own. The Mountain then channels those new resources into internal designs, the stalagmites and stalactites, as well as the production of unique resources like the crystals. Ultimately the Lake and Mountain are renewed by that Water and Earth which the Storm threw at it, and then they are ready to release more energy with which to fuel the Storm.
I hope Zhengui is watching this from inside the Dantian. Otherwise, a visit to learn from the Stone Gardener might be a good/fun idea c:
or perhaps Yu Nuan will learn from them, and we shall begin to include our sister in the Ling Gardening stuff c:
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Time for some speculative ideas:
this system is very reminiscent of the Argent Arts, isn't it? It's a balanced system that fuels the cultivation through a cycle of Destructive Progress feeding Renewal.
Yuan He is bonded to the dragon at the top of the hierarchy of Storm in the sky, those golden coils laced through the clouds?
I feel like this Palace is an example of where Yuan He's Band of Heroes would have gathered inspiration, right? The way that all the disparate elements improve and support one another, even through conflict. And the way that it's fun. It makes me feel like bonding the dragon was probably one of the culminations of a character arc, or something like that. Understanding the power of friendship enough to convince the mighty dragon to join the merry band of hero-friends c:
This recontextualizes the super-great roll Yu Nuan got 7 months ago into "not only do you get Qiu, but also that Leigong is going to show you some Big Deal Stuff" like. Dang. This might actually be one of the kilns that forged Yuan He that she's been performing/learning at! Holy moly!
It also makes me feel like Jiao's pranking is actually something needed for the Sect going forward. This little expedition is so fun and freeing and the Sect today is a military outpost of drill, rigor and very serious pressure. While that's needed, Yuan He's band of Heroes were friends that came together to have fun, and ended up being so powerful from that that they were the only ones willing-and-able to intervene and stop Ogodei. We see that the immensity of the pressure on Renxiang almost crushed her ability to be her own person, almost crushed her ability to grow into her own individual. Her ability to create, which is something that we're cultivating this turn c:
I can also use confirmation bias to support what I believe Xin was hoping for at the Argent Sect. This place needs to take itself less seriously in order to thrive, and so does Sima Jiao. Release the burden of the world from your shoulders, with the confidence that you and your friends will be Free enough to choose to intervene once you're strong enough. Free yourself to pursue your own Power, Connections and Responsibilities. Build yourself up, and make your choices from a place of Power rather than a place of Necessity. You'll find it hard to advance very far in cultivation if you don't earnestly enjoy what you're cultivating, and who you're cultivating yourself to be.
This is why I think an eventual return to Jiao and Xin is almost guaranteed. We're going down a path in which we steal things from the Context of their Past so that they may exist more fully in the Present. That's what Jiao really needs, and I think what Xin wants for him. A way for him to be freed from the constricting Past, so that he may embrace the Present with her. He's almost certainly the most experienced "Left Hand" in the Empire, almost certainly the most broadly-experienced chosen of the Greater Moon in the Empire, and is an authority on Dream Talismans to boot. While we'll be saying goodbye to him soon, I expect him to circle back around later.
Much later. Like. Don't bother thinking about it amounts of later c:
Intervening in the memory of Renxiang to shield her just enough to be able to ask "why" is just the start of our escapades! I've no idea what/who we'll be stealing at the diplomatic summit, but I've got a feeling it'll be fun either way!
This is why I think an eventual return to Jiao and Xin is almost guaranteed. We're going down a path in which we steal things from the Context of their Past so that they may exist more fully in the Present. That's what Jiao really needs, and I think what Xin wants for him. A way for him to be freed from the constricting Past, so that he may embrace the Present with her. He's almost certainly the most experienced "Left Hand" in the Empire, almost certainly the most broadly-experienced chosen of the Greater Moon in the Empire, and is an authority on Dream Talismans to boot. While we'll be saying goodbye to him soon, I expect him to circle back around later.
Much later. Like. Don't bother thinking about it amounts of later c:
Intervening in the memory of Renxiang to shield her just enough to be able to ask "why" is just the start of our escapades! I've no idea what/who we'll be stealing at the diplomatic summit, but I've got a feeling it'll be fun either way!
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Epsilon Rose
The King of Unrest
Isn't diplomacy just the act of stealing victory/job security from both sides' militaries?
Can you imagine being one of those sauna goers? You are just sitting in the steam, minding your own business and enjoying the heat seeping into your bones. Then this one girl bursts out of a geothermal vent and just runs out, leaving behind only arctic coldness.
Ling Qi is the worst!
Ling Qi is the worst!
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- Location
- Leeds
Zhengui agrees.
You know, have LQ and CRX ever bonded over their love of bad puns?
As somebody who worked in a gym with a dry sauna and steam room, nothing makes a old man madder than letting cold air in.