Well, Shenhua did pretty blatantly say she was going to keep performing various forms of revolution until someone stopped her, so by the time our heroes are strong enough to do something about her she'll probably have overthrown the empress and seized the throne for herself and be plotting a war against the Great Spirits or something.
Threads Of Destiny(Eastern Fantasy, Sequel to Forge of Destiny)
- Thread starter yrsillar
- Start date
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Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
Honestly, I don't think so.
Ling Qi has always held grudges and thoughts of revenge - what she doesn't do is act on them if it would be risky to her. This was true when she was mortal and simply not strong enough, and true in the Sect where due to our cultivation talent the most efficient means to acquire safety was to mostly ignore our enemies and just out-cultivate them. So mostly she just has a list of people she doesn't like (like Liling).
In this case she can take action without real risk to herself. It's also about saving children, which triggers her burgeoning sense of wanting to be a good person - it's not just about revenge. And, most importantly of all, it's very important to her friend.
The last one I think is really the key thing here. Like, if this wasn't Su Ling's mother, would we care? No. We'd just report the bad spirit to the authorities to be responsible and then move on with our lives.
- Location
- the internet
Just wondering-- I can only think of one or two specific times Ling Qi has held grudges or had thoughts of revenge. What times exactly are you thinking of?
Mmm, Liling's probably the most notable instance of her holding onto a grudge. She's still really salty over Liling beating her. Revenge fantasies I think were most notably associated with her thinking about people back in Tonghou.
Like, LQ's not super vengeful or particularly obsessed with defending her honor or getting back at people. She is - at least from a more modern perspective - I would say fairly normal. She gets resentful of people who have wronged her, and occasionally has the odd revenge fantasy, but beyond that eh.
This stands out more because some of her close friends - and arguably the society she lives in - do care rather more about such things. Especially the Bai.
Her being pissed off at someone who's hurt her and wanting to hurt them back however isn't particularly abnormal.
- Location
- France
- Pronouns
- She/They
There's a whole arc about Li Suyin's own vindictiveness too, it's not just the Bai.
Honestly the empire is just a big pile of grudges ready to blow up. And the protagonist is one of the people in the story who has the least of that going on.
She could easily have taken her political efforts towards ruining the clan in charge of Tonghou, or the clan that expelled her mother. But she'd rather write her own story.
My angle on it is that the event was intended, the outcomes were not:
-Renxiang falling apart meant that the dress fitting had to proceed ahead of schedule to act as life support. This is bad because:
--It diminishes Renxiang's independence. Ultimately, she's reliant on the dress to stay alive. She would find it immensely difficult to successfully rebel against the dress' creator.
--The dress was not perfected, Shenhua had to splice in fibers of herself and rush-modify the dress to serve as life support, rather than what was planned.
--It reduced her range of emotional expression. Renxiang had too little, Liming had too much. Neither were useful.
-Renxiang's reaction to the meeting was to see Shenhua as an implacable, perfect god.
--This was very suboptimal for rebellion, as Renxiang could not even conceive of the god being flawed, only that she was incapable of living up to the god's needs.
--People are complicated, that the bits of Renxiang that fell off seemed to carry much of her emotions and what was left could, if you squinted, be approximated to a "Perfect Leader", I *think* Shenhua was attempting to ensure that her heir would find much of what she does is fundamentally wrong...except it also left Renxiang unable to muster any emotion about such a thing.
Shenhua was likely intending to scar Renxiang for life, but she did it too soon. Renxiang was too unformed at the time to have a reaction of "This is wrong", a Green teenager who had a budding Domain might have produced the correct result, but a child simply did not have enough of a sense of self to WANT to resist beyond the pain.
I think Qi's opinion of revenge stemmed heavily from the perspective of weakness.
As a lone thief child, when you are done wrong to, you do not seek revenge, because thats an easy way to fail to get any AND get punished on top of that. It helped that she had nothing to lose but the flute.
As a cultivator, she was always keenly aware that she wasn't strong, as her social circle were largely high nobility, and her more distant peers were often at least low nobility. It was always easier and more effective to just avoid entanglement, and its easy to move on when people largely fail to do anything lasting.
Rumors fade. Wounds heal. Broken tools repaired. Other things she did not care about.
The previous time she actually got mad was IIRC, Suyin getting maimed, but she calmed once Suyin said she could fix it herself. Xiulan's burns were her own fault, nobody to blame. Zeqing died, but she'd be reborn, and the faultlines were in her own nature.
This is literally the first time she took a loss that could never be made right, ever since she became a cultivator.
Ever since she was no longer truly too weak to afford vengeance.
Ever since she had anything to lose.
EternalObserver
eYe Gaze baCk
- Location
- The Void
While it wasn't really a major failure, you could argue that us not bringing that star child along with us (after they hatched) is a 'failed heist attempt'
Well, there was the spy mission on Sun Liling's faction way back when where she got spotted and had to abort the mission, but I think she did get *something* on that trip even if it wasn't as much as she wanted. So... maybe?
The People of the Black Trees
Bond Sister! Worry no longer, for your brother has finally had a chance to write again!
It has been quite a long few months, and I can only apologize for any distress you found in my silence. In my defense, I have had quite an adventure, sailing into the furthest north where the air itself teeters on the verge of freezing solid! I quite lost the trail of the Jing sadly, having to turn back from my course around the north of the continent. It was no cowardice that drove me, I assure you, but the ship and my crew simply could not push further. Truly the sons and daughters of Ji the Mariner were masters of the ocean to have made such a passage.
That is not to say that I do not have any interesting tales to tell. I admit with such a quarry ahead, I had neglected to make a thorough cataloging of the coast of the continent which lay across the narrow sea from the folk of Banu and Khem, which the scattered archipelago of the Bronze men seems a part. My previous hosts had not spoken highly of the place. Regarding it as a land of barbarians and savages. In Khem, they called this land's people Kasin 'The People of the Black Trees'. The people of Banu referred to a land of ruddy fair haired horseman who warred among themself in a thousand tiny tribes in a manner not dissimilar to the Cloud tribes of the Wall in the south.
Both were true enough, docking on the cold northern shore to resupply, my scouts came upon some of the latter folk, who rode about at a distance. They did not fly thankfully enough, but their steeds did move with the alacrity of the wind. Lighting a great bonfire on the shore, I was able to show my good intentions with a feast laid out before it, and tempt some to speak with me.
The fellow I spoke to, a chieftain who called himself Leucos, was a physically impressive fellow, barrel chested and ruddy, with a shaggy mane of yellow hair and a truly impressive mustache. He was not the most articulate fellow though, and the gap of languages proved difficult, but I was able to convey via the Banu tongue that I was only here to repair my 'Sea-Mound'. He was wary of me, I did not bother to hide my might, but my demeanor assuaged the poor fellows fears and he declared that he would allow me my berth on the land of his clan for a few days.
I did not learn much of value in interviewing him. He was an incurious sort of man, and his elders did not accompany the hunting bands. I learned the names of a dozen odd tribes, and I am quite sure at least half of the names were some form of insult or curse in his tongue. Not uncommon with such primitive folk. I learned that I would not be much welcome inland however, and was warned away from their mounds and monuments. Apparently, unlike our erstwhile nomad foes, these folks had no aversion to building, and their priestly caste had some mastery over the earth, allowing them to construct both temporary settlements as well as large sacred sites.
This was a partial misunderstanding I found as I sailed further south.
Away from the northern end of the continent, the eponymous 'Black Trees' became much more obvious. I have never seen a more tangled or ominous wood, outside the deepest recesses of the Emerald Seas. The places where even the horned folk did not lightly tread. Our forests in the south are often well spaced, there is an air of cultivation there, the lingering influence of the great diviner brings a certain order to the wilderness. It was not so here. The leaves hung thick and dark, the roots and trunks tangled, in many places there was barely space for even a small man to pass between the trunks.
Not that it seemed to impede the fellows we came upon while cutting lumber for some of the greater repairs. I will not lie, that night gave me a bit of a scare. I awoke from my cultivation to find my men's camp surrounded by what seemed like a legion of ghosts. They were men though, daubed in a white paint which gave them only the presence of the plants and trees of the wood, even to my senses. There was something of a scuffle, and I admit I lost my patience a tad.
Once the survivors had fled and the crew had begun to peel the bodies from the splintered trunks, I spotted another set of eyes watching us from the woods. I stood forth and offered a challenge. I was only a little surprised when a speckled owl emerged from the canopy and transformed into woman. She spoke in a broken form of the Bronze Men's tongue, and asked me of which city I hailed.
That was the start of getting some real dialogue out of these fellows. The woman and the white painted men were of rival tribes and it seemed the Bronze Men had some dealings with the nearer tribes. Minor colonies along the coast, trading of goods and most importantly weapons. The folk of the wood coveted the islanders' bronze and for good reason.
Now I say this in confidence not wishing to be killed by a golden eyed assassin, but the higher quality bronze in those isles is not unequal to that produced by secret smithies of the Bai clan, more than able to cleave iron and good steel. For a folk who still seemed mostly armed with bone and stone, you can see how this would be an advantage.
Which is how I came to be forced to explain to an owl woman in a broken forest that I was not in fact an arms dealer. She was disappointed, but we were able to make a deal. Having seen my strength, she offered to purchase my services as a warrior instead. That is how I acquired so much information. I certainly got some good exercise in those months!
I said earlier that there was a misconception with Leucos. The great structures of stone these people called sacred, which upon seeing I must admit deserve some reverence, are not built by them. Great artificial mountains they are, circles and inhuman fortresses overgrown with ten thousand years of growth.
They say in an age before the seasons began to turn and all this land was cloaked in ice, it was home to giants. These giants built and lived as men do and warred terribly with a race of creatures which I suspect are some far flung cousins of underworld dragons. Great reptilian creatures whose breath was poison and whose blood was pestilence. Their tales seem confused as to the origin of mankind in this. Some of them say they were the diminished children of the giants, made withered and sickly by the worms. Some say the giants shaped them from wood and clay when the pestilence rendered the giants all sterile.
I found that one an interesting parallel to our own stories of origin, our shaping by the Nameless Mother from river clay. Their gods and great spirit arise from these giants and early culture heroes as you might expect. The only name which came up almost universally among the tribes I spoke too is Tuiston, regarded as a father deity, something akin to the Sun or the Nameless Father.
Of their cultures and practices I can say less, since there are so very many of them. Scores of tribal groupings within which you see the divisions of clans. It is not so dissimilar to what you see in texts describing the period before the three heroes and their kingdoms. Hah! I wonder in a thousand years, will an Empire emerge here too? Will a mighty King or Queen seize an old palace of the gods and rule as Emperor? The land is certainly expansive enough!
I am on my way home Bond Sister, you can pick my mind for the rest of the details when I arrive.
-Zheng Lu, the King of Explorers
It has been quite a long few months, and I can only apologize for any distress you found in my silence. In my defense, I have had quite an adventure, sailing into the furthest north where the air itself teeters on the verge of freezing solid! I quite lost the trail of the Jing sadly, having to turn back from my course around the north of the continent. It was no cowardice that drove me, I assure you, but the ship and my crew simply could not push further. Truly the sons and daughters of Ji the Mariner were masters of the ocean to have made such a passage.
That is not to say that I do not have any interesting tales to tell. I admit with such a quarry ahead, I had neglected to make a thorough cataloging of the coast of the continent which lay across the narrow sea from the folk of Banu and Khem, which the scattered archipelago of the Bronze men seems a part. My previous hosts had not spoken highly of the place. Regarding it as a land of barbarians and savages. In Khem, they called this land's people Kasin 'The People of the Black Trees'. The people of Banu referred to a land of ruddy fair haired horseman who warred among themself in a thousand tiny tribes in a manner not dissimilar to the Cloud tribes of the Wall in the south.
Both were true enough, docking on the cold northern shore to resupply, my scouts came upon some of the latter folk, who rode about at a distance. They did not fly thankfully enough, but their steeds did move with the alacrity of the wind. Lighting a great bonfire on the shore, I was able to show my good intentions with a feast laid out before it, and tempt some to speak with me.
The fellow I spoke to, a chieftain who called himself Leucos, was a physically impressive fellow, barrel chested and ruddy, with a shaggy mane of yellow hair and a truly impressive mustache. He was not the most articulate fellow though, and the gap of languages proved difficult, but I was able to convey via the Banu tongue that I was only here to repair my 'Sea-Mound'. He was wary of me, I did not bother to hide my might, but my demeanor assuaged the poor fellows fears and he declared that he would allow me my berth on the land of his clan for a few days.
I did not learn much of value in interviewing him. He was an incurious sort of man, and his elders did not accompany the hunting bands. I learned the names of a dozen odd tribes, and I am quite sure at least half of the names were some form of insult or curse in his tongue. Not uncommon with such primitive folk. I learned that I would not be much welcome inland however, and was warned away from their mounds and monuments. Apparently, unlike our erstwhile nomad foes, these folks had no aversion to building, and their priestly caste had some mastery over the earth, allowing them to construct both temporary settlements as well as large sacred sites.
This was a partial misunderstanding I found as I sailed further south.
Away from the northern end of the continent, the eponymous 'Black Trees' became much more obvious. I have never seen a more tangled or ominous wood, outside the deepest recesses of the Emerald Seas. The places where even the horned folk did not lightly tread. Our forests in the south are often well spaced, there is an air of cultivation there, the lingering influence of the great diviner brings a certain order to the wilderness. It was not so here. The leaves hung thick and dark, the roots and trunks tangled, in many places there was barely space for even a small man to pass between the trunks.
Not that it seemed to impede the fellows we came upon while cutting lumber for some of the greater repairs. I will not lie, that night gave me a bit of a scare. I awoke from my cultivation to find my men's camp surrounded by what seemed like a legion of ghosts. They were men though, daubed in a white paint which gave them only the presence of the plants and trees of the wood, even to my senses. There was something of a scuffle, and I admit I lost my patience a tad.
Once the survivors had fled and the crew had begun to peel the bodies from the splintered trunks, I spotted another set of eyes watching us from the woods. I stood forth and offered a challenge. I was only a little surprised when a speckled owl emerged from the canopy and transformed into woman. She spoke in a broken form of the Bronze Men's tongue, and asked me of which city I hailed.
That was the start of getting some real dialogue out of these fellows. The woman and the white painted men were of rival tribes and it seemed the Bronze Men had some dealings with the nearer tribes. Minor colonies along the coast, trading of goods and most importantly weapons. The folk of the wood coveted the islanders' bronze and for good reason.
Now I say this in confidence not wishing to be killed by a golden eyed assassin, but the higher quality bronze in those isles is not unequal to that produced by secret smithies of the Bai clan, more than able to cleave iron and good steel. For a folk who still seemed mostly armed with bone and stone, you can see how this would be an advantage.
Which is how I came to be forced to explain to an owl woman in a broken forest that I was not in fact an arms dealer. She was disappointed, but we were able to make a deal. Having seen my strength, she offered to purchase my services as a warrior instead. That is how I acquired so much information. I certainly got some good exercise in those months!
I said earlier that there was a misconception with Leucos. The great structures of stone these people called sacred, which upon seeing I must admit deserve some reverence, are not built by them. Great artificial mountains they are, circles and inhuman fortresses overgrown with ten thousand years of growth.
They say in an age before the seasons began to turn and all this land was cloaked in ice, it was home to giants. These giants built and lived as men do and warred terribly with a race of creatures which I suspect are some far flung cousins of underworld dragons. Great reptilian creatures whose breath was poison and whose blood was pestilence. Their tales seem confused as to the origin of mankind in this. Some of them say they were the diminished children of the giants, made withered and sickly by the worms. Some say the giants shaped them from wood and clay when the pestilence rendered the giants all sterile.
I found that one an interesting parallel to our own stories of origin, our shaping by the Nameless Mother from river clay. Their gods and great spirit arise from these giants and early culture heroes as you might expect. The only name which came up almost universally among the tribes I spoke too is Tuiston, regarded as a father deity, something akin to the Sun or the Nameless Father.
Of their cultures and practices I can say less, since there are so very many of them. Scores of tribal groupings within which you see the divisions of clans. It is not so dissimilar to what you see in texts describing the period before the three heroes and their kingdoms. Hah! I wonder in a thousand years, will an Empire emerge here too? Will a mighty King or Queen seize an old palace of the gods and rule as Emperor? The land is certainly expansive enough!
I am on my way home Bond Sister, you can pick my mind for the rest of the details when I arrive.
-Zheng Lu, the King of Explorers
- Location
- France
- Pronouns
- She/They
It's there under a spoiler:
Threads Of Destiny(Eastern Fantasy, Sequel to Forge of Destiny) Original - Users' Choice!
I present to you all the past week's worth of effort - nothing less than a fully-realised world map for Forge. Do note that it's an equirectangular projection, so things at the poles appear much larger than their equivalents at the equator. Please note that the civilisations on here are not...
forums.sufficientvelocity.com
- Location
- A bed
Didn't the white sky also talk of giants in their history?
Edit: and the had a bunch of blonde people teleporting in their land. Me thinks there is a connection here.
Edit: and the had a bunch of blonde people teleporting in their land. Me thinks there is a connection here.
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- Location
- Spain
- Pronouns
- He/Him
YEEESSS!!! The Black Forest!! Amazing!!!
Infinite thanks for this update Yrsillar!! 🧡
Infinite thanks for this update Yrsillar!! 🧡
- Location
- France
- Pronouns
- She/They
Maybe both poles are connected by the gates?
Export: Violence
Xin *smug grin*: "That's my girl."
I'm a little confused why you would view it this way since Ling Qi textually said the overriding thing was her desire to hurt the fox above everything else and she's willing to start kicking over proverbial tables to get it. That Ling Qi is willing to expend social capital and more that she may not be able to afford given her precarious position for the desire to inflict suffering on that which tried to take from her is pretty unique given Ling Qi literally forgets the faces and names of people who insult her because she doesn't spare any thought for it.
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- Pronouns
- He
LQ ignored those insults because there were no adoptable waifs in mortal peril and there was nothing to steal.
And more seriously, she doesn't see insults to herself as dangerous beyond "I should deal with or transcend this". But being made powerless in the realm of dreams, her chosen specialty? By something threatening a dear friend? Oh, that cannot stand.
You can always steal somebodies dignity
- Location
- Brazil
... Wasn't there a drawing of Ling Qi doing a line of cultivation aids? I can't find it.
It's listed under media as "Ling Qi's Morning Routine".