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Threads Of Destiny(Eastern Fantasy, Sequel to Forge of Destiny)

Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
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I'm somehow not surprised and still blown away by Xiangmen. What a beautiful place. What an indomitable bounty. What a gorgeous world.

it's able to spread branches with such a light metaphysical footprint that they don't starve the life beneath of light. Yet at the same time it's so solid that it appears invulnerable. The only way to live with it is through cooperation, old songs and chants and treaties allowing for bounty to be shared between human and spirit.

it really is a testament to ancestral misconduct that this place is anything but a paradise. Holy Moly.

I think I have an inkling of why the Weilu were so arrogant. Wow.
 
Absolutely loved that chapter. I have been waiting for Qi to visit Xiangmen ever since it and it's history was described and it did not disappoint. Eventually we should be thinking about getting a house here for when we need to be around the court, though obviously that's more of a long term goal after the fief is set up and CRX starts returning more to do politics.
 
yrsillar said:
Even when you begin to think of years as you do months and decades as years.
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Is that how the post-cyan sequel quests will be structured?

yrsillar said:
For Ling Qi's entire life, both on the streets of Tonghou and in the Sect, the dark line on the far northern horizon, visible on the clearest of days was as much a fact of life as the movement of the sun and moon. There was always some faint awareness that it was the far distant capital of the province, Xiangmen, the Heavenly Pillar.
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She could see it from the other side of the province?
 
The approach to Xiangmen is described as a pillar. But if it's a lone tree rather than a forest tree, isn't it likely to have a much more spread out shape? Isn't it more likely to be a dark blob on the horizon than a dark line?

Unless it doesn't follow any of the rules for tree shape and development and shoots up like it would if part of a forest, I guess?
 
Okay, I guess we all can agree that Xiangmen does live up to his nickname of "god tree". Its one thing to read about it as an abstracted thing in story, and now finally getting a real description of it.
But I would really like to see LQ take a stroll down the rootways, not in dream, just in person. To have a look and see the difference of mortal life in Xiangmen and mortal life of her birthplace.
 
Nyvis said:
The approach to Xiangmen is described as a pillar. But if it's a lone tree rather than a forest tree, isn't it likely to have a much more spread out shape? Isn't it more likely to be a dark blob on the horizon than a dark line?

Unless it doesn't follow any of the rules for tree shape and development and shoots up like it would if part of a forest, I guess?
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well we got a description that the lands beneath the branches aren't covered in shadow, with the sun instead being able to pass through the branches so that life beneath them doesn't starve. The Trunk still casts a shadow though.

My assumption then is that from a distance only the Trunk shows at all. The branches and leaves only becoming visible as you get closer, because they're somehow metaphysically dodging enough light so that the plants beneath don't starve to death
 
Xiangmen does put into light just how the Hui's arrogance and decadence came about. If you live your entire life among the branches of the God tree, then anything outside will likely become something unpleasant to avoid rather than anything real with impact.

And it looks like it would be very tempting to ensconce yourself among Xiangmen's leaves to the detriment of everything else.
 
I would assume that whole of the tree is visible, it's just that it does not cast a shadow, or its shadow is less light blocking than a normal shadow.
 
JowKeen said:
well we got a description that the lands beneath the branches aren't covered in shadow, with the sun instead being able to pass through the branches so that life beneath them doesn't starve. The Trunk still casts a shadow though.

My assumption then is that from a distance only the Trunk shows at all. The branches and leaves only becoming visible as you get closer, because they're somehow metaphysically dodging enough light so that the plants beneath don't starve to death
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My point is that lone trees don't have long straight trunks. The more space a tree has to spread its leaves, the more likely it is to branch out rather than shoot up. So you have thick stumpy trunks and a whole lot of branches in every direction rather than a pillar. Trees from the same species can have vastly different shapes depending on whether they have to compete for light or not. Though reaction to available space also depends on species. It's more marked on trees that can form large forests but will also be found isolated, like oak.

Of course the magic giant tree probably doesn't care :V
 
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Nyvis said:
My point is that lone trees don't have long straight trunks. The more space a tree has to spread its leaves, the more likely it is to branch out rather than shoot up. So you have thick stumpy trunks and a whole lot of branches in every direction rather than a pillar. Trees from the same species can have vastly different shapes depending on whether they have to compete for light or not. Though reaction to available space also depends on species. It's more marked on trees that can form large forests but will also be found isolated, like oak.

Of course the magic giant tree probably doesn't care :V
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ohhh the wiggly trunk trees I see. Yeah I'm thinking the species 1/1 "Xiangmen" must be a big ass pillar that doesn't care about heckin biology
 
Shamelessly changing the subject, how cool would it be if Su Ling got the patronage of the Mother Moon next once she starts taking care of her litlle fox siblings? It would be surprisingly fitting for her.

On that line, is it too late to add the Twin Moons to our cultivation? If our job id mainly going to be acting as a foreign diplomat it would be exceedingly useful. Like Moon Sempai's translator ring.
 
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JowKeen said:
ohhh the wiggly trunk trees I see. Yeah I'm thinking the species 1/1 "Xiangmen" must be a big ass pillar that doesn't care about heckin biology
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Though thinking about it, something like this (which is oak):



Does still have a pretty clear central trunk even if it's branching out a lot more than it would in a forest.
 
I'm thinking short thick trunk, with a canopy that is as wide, or wider, than the tree is tall, and thick enough to take a significant chunk of the height of the tree.
 
My guess is Xiangmen now is powerful enough to be shaped however it chooses, but during it's formative years it grew in a forest, and now retains that shape because it believes in the ethos of the forest.
 
Nyvis said:
The approach to Xiangmen is described as a pillar. But if it's a lone tree rather than a forest tree, isn't it likely to have a much more spread out shape? Isn't it more likely to be a dark blob on the horizon than a dark line?

Unless it doesn't follow any of the rules for tree shape and development and shoots up like it would if part of a forest, I guess?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

JowKeen said:
well we got a description that the lands beneath the branches aren't covered in shadow, with the sun instead being able to pass through the branches so that life beneath them doesn't starve. The Trunk still casts a shadow though.

My assumption then is that from a distance only the Trunk shows at all. The branches and leaves only becoming visible as you get closer, because they're somehow metaphysically dodging enough light so that the plants beneath don't starve to death
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I think of it in a few parts:
1) The trunk MUST be megatree sized to support the rest of megatree. However, the branches as described are tiny relative to the width of the trunk. Its like comparing mountains and rivers.
2) The Tree predated some graphics rendering Laws introduced later and refuses to install the update. It is powerful enough to refuse forced updates. Its still using legacy draw distances.
3) The tree is an exhibitionist and likes to show off its bare trunk
 
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