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.
- Location
- NY
[X] Xiangmen, City of Art. The explosion of art, low and high, in a city long-chained. What dreams bubble in the spaces between?
[X] Xiangmen, City of Wonders. Vast production, treasures beyond counting, the engine of riches which had kept even a corpse alive long after all vitality was gone.
[X] Xiangmen, City of Wonders. Vast production, treasures beyond counting, the engine of riches which had kept even a corpse alive long after all vitality was gone.
Last edited:
EternalObserver
eYe Gaze baCk
- Location
- The Void
- Location
- Shakopee, MN
[X] Xiangmen, City of Art. The explosion of art, low and high, in a city long-chained. What dreams bubble in the spaces between?
Trials of the Pagoda
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Trials of the Pagoda
Hu San did her best to not to show any fear in front of the tall woman standing before her, carefully reading the note Hu San had handed to her. It took physical effort to keep her tail from tucking between her legs and her ears from pinning back onto her head. She would not show fear or run away before she had even started. Hu San's cultivation had well and truly plateaued now in the Outer Sect of the Blue Mountain after three years and being here on the scholastic scholarship she could not participate in the yearly tournaments to try and advance into the Inner Sect.
The young wolf-blooded girl had broken into the third realm in both body and soul but could go no further it seemed. Where once red spirit stones given to her by the Sect had felt bursting with qi they now felt like but drops of water to a man dying of thirst. Her cultivation sites that had been rivers of power to drink from were nothing more than trickles trying to feed a lake. The Outer Sect could help her no longer. So, Hu San now waited to be allowed into one of the two ways she could advance. The Eight Maidens Pagoda loomed above her, its eaves of dark wood hanging over her blocking her sight of all eight levels.
Finally the Maidenguard in front of Hu San spoke up as she tucked the letter she had been holding behind the leather armor she wore. "Junior Sister Hu San, you have come to the Eight Maidens Pagoda today to undertake the trial presented within. Is that correct?"
"Yes, ma'am." Hu San was quick to reply. She had already answered this question from the previous two guards that had stopped her. And this was after she had gotten all of the proper paperwork and permissions from the necessary Sect Officials and Elders. If she wasn't so afraid she would surely be extremely annoyed by this point.
"Do you understand that this trial must be undertaken alone? That no spirit or person, immortal or mortal, may help you with it? That there will be no intervention from the Elders or your Seniors should you fall into danger?"
Hu San already knew all of this, had read and signed the waivers for herself as no one else could. Why were they still trying to scare her off with all of this again? "Yes."
The taller woman continued to look at Hu San and the girl was unable to determine if it was concern or pity she was being looked at with. "And do you understand the dangers? That you may lose your life, mind, or even spirit? That you may fail and be irreparably maimed? That you may succeed but your Way broken?"
Holding back the growl of frustration that was beginning to bubble up in her chest Hu San replied again, "Yes."
A softness entered the Maidenguards look. "Know that there is no shame if you choose to step back now. None here shall think less of you if you do not take the trial. There are always other paths to achieve your goals. So, I ask again, do you understand the dangers and wish to continue onto the trial?"
It would be shameful to not go through with this though. There were no other paths for her. "Yes, I understand and wish to continue." Hu San tried to keep the frustration and fear out of her voice but her words did come out more biting and clipped than she wanted.
The guard only nodded and stepped out of her way, gesturing to the doors of the pagoda that were now beginning to open. "I see your resolve and shall bar your way no longer. Go forward Sister Hu San and good luck." Giving a nod in acknowledgement Hu San rushed to the doors as fast as she could walk, as if the doors would suddenly swing shut if she didn't. As soon as her feet crossed the threshold the doors behind her shut with nary a whisper.
Candles burning with a soft silver light lined the hallway Hu San found herself in and seeing no other doors or intersections she began to walk forward. The hall was lined with murals depicting the Moon in all its phases and several different stories of the Moon, its Great Spirits, various heroes and spirits and spirit-beasts all related to it. Hu San's steps faltered as she saw one of a pack of wolves, howling and gallivanting beneath bright moonlight but she continued on, ignoring the clenching feeling in her chest.
Eventually she came to a paper-sliding door. Having seen no other doors or hallways Hu San assumed this was the way forward and carefully slid the door open and entered the room. Inside was what appeared to be a tea room, eight sided much like the tower itself. No one else was in the room but in the center was a table with a tea set, a low burning fire with a teapot and a few plush chairs for lounging. Hu San hesitated before taking a seat in one of the chairs, all she had heard about the trial was keeping her on edge, waiting for the horrors that had been hinted at to pop up and attack. She did not expect… tea.
"Don't know why more of you don't expect tea, it's the polite thing to offer one's guest."
Between the spans of a heartbeat Hu San launched herself from her seat, toppling it over, and had her spear pointed at the old woman now occupying the other seat. Hu San was sure she hadn't been there before and she wasn't sure she was there now besides the fact she could see and hear the gray haired woman. She gave off no qi besides the same ambient moon qi that was thick in the air, the slightly hunched form and wrinkled face betrayed no intent, gave off no aura or presence.
As the woman moved and began pouring tea for the both of them Hu San was still on high alert, spear at the ready still. "Put that toothpick away and have some tea with Granny child." Hu San hesitated for a few seconds, not daring to move yet, and then this… Granny… leveled her with a stare. "Sit."
With that single word she felt an immense pressure, an immense power weighing down on her, as if one of the Sect Elders had begun to let their power loose while she stood next to them. Whatever Granny was, it was being polite in its request. Hu San was an ant in front of a mountain. Putting the chair she had knocked over back up, Hu San retook her seat with her tail between her legs and a soft, "Yes ma'am, sorry ma'am."
"No need to be so formal deary, just call me Granny." The old woman said with her voice that creaked like old hinges needing to be oiled. "I just want to have a bit of a chat before we start things properly." With practiced movements Granny pushed a cup of tea over to her. "Just a few questions really. Let's start with an easy one, why do you wear that cloak?"
"My cloak?" Hu San said, reaching up to run her fingers along the edge of her wolf skin cloak, feeling the warm and soft fur run between them. Granny gave a nod for Hu San to answer. "It was a gift from my grandfather and made by my mother. It's a strong talisman that has kept me warm and protected more times than I can count."
Taking a sip of her tea Granny seemed pleased with her answer, "Good good. Gifts shouldn't be squandered for sure. Keep good care of it and I'm sure it will last you for a while still. A question that's a bit more important than. Why are you challenging the Pagoda?"
Hu San looked at the steam wafting up from her tea and took a small sip. It didn't taste bad, somewhat bland and forgettable though. After another moment to get her thoughts together she gave the basic answer she had kept giving everyone else that asked her. "It's the only way for me to get into the Inner Sect."
Shaking her head and tutting softly, Granny replied, "Ah, you misunderstand child. You must answer the root of the question. Why must you get into the Inner Sect?" Suddenly Granny's eyes were firmly on Hu San's and the spirit blooded girl couldn't help but shiver as she suddenly felt naked, stripped of any defenses.
"I-I…"
"Is power all you're pursuing?" Granny asked with a tilt of her head. Hu San began to feel memories, ideas, her own thoughts begin to bubble to the front of her mind unbidden. She was more than naked she realized. She was being dissected piece by piece, her mind split open to be read like a book, so finely and precisely there was now way to tell when Granny had started or if she had started at all. "No, no, that's just what you think isn't it? Ah, I see! You've blinded yourself foolish child! But not to worry, that's what Granny is here for. Now finish up your tea, you have a hard day ahead of you."
With a shaking hand that felt like the skin had been peeled away under Granny's (it had to be a spirit of some sort) gaze Hu San took another sip. With the taste of the tea the moments of agonizing scrutiny she had just undergone was nothing more than a bad dream fading from memory. Hu San gulped as she took another drink of the tea but felt no other changes or differences in herself or her surroundings.
Granny just nodded and smiled before standing up. Her bones creaked like an entire house's structure settling into place as she hobbled over to a sliding door opposite the one Hu San had come in through. "As soon as you're done with your tea, come meet me up at the top. Don't forget to think about why you're really here on the way." With that she walked through the door and was out of sight.
As she slowly drank the quickly cooling tea Hu San was finally starting to realize why there had been so many warnings about taking the trial.
—
Hu San did as the spirit that called itself Granny had asked. The second floor was easy enough, man and beast had barred her way and were willing to kill to stop her so she tore through them with claws and spear. She was determined to see this through one way or the other.
The staircases between floors were unnaturally long and winding, seeming to take the same amount of time to ascend no matter how fast she ran up them. It gave her time to think. To think about what Granny had said and to reflect on why she was really here. Hu San did want power but it was never for power itself, it was supposed to be a means to an end. When had she lost sight of that?
The third floor had a tight beam buffeted by winds that told Hu San she could take whatever she wanted if she fell. That she could fly free from this place if she simply took hold of the wind. Be free from the shackles of civilization and the stifling obligations it burdened her with. But she remembered a trip into the city with her mother. How her mother had told her she would always be of two different worlds and would probably end up like her, a protector of the civilized but never truly being a part of them. She had been so ecstatic to hear she would be like her mother one day. Hu San was happy to bind herself, even if some of the other children she had played with that day had looked at her with fear.
'That's right,' Hu San thought as she came to the fourth room, 'I had wanted to be like my mother.' Old dreams from her childhood started to come back to Hu San as she was guided by a faint light through a seemingly endless dark void. Memories of her telling her father she had wanted a hundred children of her own someday, of her mother showing her how to tell good land for expansion from bad, learning what diseases ailed the different plants and animals, wrestling and playing with cousins day in and day out.
The fifth floor had a door with a riddle and massive stacks of scrolls Hu San had to look through to find the answer. As she ascended the stairs to the sixth floor her mind wandered to less happy memories from her days before the sect. A boy she had approached calling her a monster and running away, the uncomfortably blunt and detailed description of where babies come from her mother had given her, cold nights spent alone as she waited for her family to come back from a hunt.
The sixth floor was a riot of colors and smells. People laughing, dancing, playing music and reciting poetry. Hu San weaved through the crowded room as phantoms tried to drag her into dances or pushed food and drinks into her hands. She didn't like the press of the crowds and the masks the phantoms wore, it brought back some of her darkest memories. Unfamiliar city streets, the forest too dangerous for her to stay there anymore, greedy merchants stealing from her naive self as if they were doing her a favor, a woman in a white mask offering to take her to one of the Grand Sects as she began contemplating taking her chances in the wilds again.
As Hu San opened the door to the seventh floor she was met with her own reflection. A twisted version of what she could be in the future, proud and regal, on the arm of some noble. She turned and was met with another mirror, this one showing her in the ceremonial garb of the Maidenguard. She continued to wander through the maze seeing different paths she could take, a bloody warrior, a grizzled commander, a lonely hermit, a medicine hall healer but none of these actually fit her. How had she known what her path was when she was so young? How had she forgotten it over the years?
She finally found herself standing in front of what she knew was to be her. Silver-gray hair carefully braided and yellow eyes piercing in their stare, hardened leather armor for moving in the wilderness but well maintained silk shirt underneath it. She looked so much like her mother, well, except for the tail, ears, eye and hair color she thought. Vague shapes surrounded her that she could only think of as family as they stood ready to keep the wilderness safe for those that cowered behind the walls. Hu San touched the reflection and it slid aside to show the stairs to the last level.
She had done it, Hu San thought to herself as she reached the large double doors, reminiscent of the entrance to the tower. The doors opened easily with barely a push and Hu San crossed the threshold expecting to see the spirit that called itself Granny again. What she did not expect was to find herself in the middle of a forest, the setting sun casting everything in reds and shadows.
Spinning around Hu San could no longer see the door she came through. Then there was the roar of a bear and the baying of wolves and Hu San's blood ran cold. She looked around again. She knew this forest! She knew those cries! Like an arrow she was off.
Quickly she found the scene of the worst day of her life. A massive Mountain Bear, a beast in the fourth realm. A woman, graceful and lean, firing arrow after arrow and nimbly dodging claws and teeth. A girl, barely a teen, already being carried off by a bleeding wolf. Just over half a dozen other wolves, fur like moonlight, being directed by the woman. Tears began to prick at Hu San's eyes as she knew what happened next.
Her father, proudest and largest of the pack, out of formation and too close to the bear, having gone for a desperate attack to try and end the fight quickly, no time to dodge as the claw falls on him, tearing him to shreds. Hu San screams in anguish with her younger self before the younger one vanishes into the dense foliage. Her mother does not cry or scream at the loss, a twitch of her mouth is all the recognition she can give in the moment, she has a daughter, a pack, and a city to worry about.
Hu San falls to her knees as she watches the rest of the events that she knew of but never saw. First one cousin and then another tire and make a mistake, bodies broken beneath the mass of the other spirit beast. Then another and another until all that remains of her family is a wounded mother.
Her mother grins and declares, "I win," as the bear finally succumbs to its wounds and the poison coursing through its body and falls over dead. The next words from her mother make Hu San burst into tears again. "I'm sorry, Hu San," is what she utters before the last of her life leaves her body. Hu San isn't sure for how long she cries until she feels a presence behind her.
"Is this as far as you can go? Does your resolve end with you crying like a babe?" There is no heat or malice in Granny's words but they sting all the same. More tears fall from Hu San's eyes as her claw-like nails dig gouges into the hardwood floor beneath her. She wipes her eyes and lifts her head to see the door to the eighth floor again.
Standing on shaking legs that get firmer with each passing moment Hu San replies, "No. No! It may only be a memory or a dream but I won't let it end like it did before! I'll protect my family! I'll protect those too weak to do it themselves!" A grin appears on Hu Sans's face as she takes up her spear. "This is a blessing in fact! Who knew I would ever have the chance to fight alongside my father and mother! With my pack!"
With no more hesitation she rushes through the door.
—
Night has fallen and the moon hangs in the sky still waxing to full. Hu San stumbles from the Eight Maidens Pagoda's entrance. Bloody and beaten but victorious she is greeted by an Elder. "Well done, Hu San. Welcome to the Inner Sect."
A.N. @yrsillar an Omake for your Omake throne! I shall continue to speculate what the Blue Mountain Sect is like until I'm told what is. Drew most of the inspiration of what the trial is from the Darkest Night side story about Jiao. Also wanted wolf-girl. That is all.
Consider the population dynamics:
-High realm spiders - Some are bound to influential Hui partners, and those will die in the revolution. However, the spirit beasts that outlived their original partners are more independent, they just settle down somewhere and fulfill whatever quotas they still have. Regardless, their potency means long term stealth is impossible owing to the effects of potent spirits on their environs, they'd bend or be broken.
-Mid realm spiders - These are mostly bound, bug type spirits don't live very long unless they hit this stage, but at the same time spiders don't naturally trend to great power either. This chunk probably got cored out, and the worst part is these are the bread and butter of production.
-Low realm spiders - Given their lifecycles, almost certainly fully replenished wherever their biomes are still intact. But they don't produce much of the actually good stuff, and their lifespans are too short to develop much skill. With the fall of the Hui, finding the willing partners to jump the cultivation gap needed for longevity is going to be challenging.
[X] Xiangmen, City of Wonders. Vast production, treasures beyond counting, the engine of riches which had kept even a corpse alive long after all vitality was gone.
??? I think you're missing a bit of your vote.
No, no, I'm just being indecisive.
Loved the imagery this chapter Xiangmen is really living up to the hype!
Zhengui is such a good boy, taking cues from Qi. Nobody is gonna starve with him around!
- Location
- USA
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
I think we should look into the arts inspired by such a unique and towering being.
[X ] Xiangmen, City of Art. The explosion of art, low and high, in a city long-chained. What dreams bubble in the spaces between?
[X ] Xiangmen, City of Art. The explosion of art, low and high, in a city long-chained. What dreams bubble in the spaces between?
Have we gotten any clarification about whether, for the purposes of law/contracts (which are based on Imperial thought), bonded spirits count as separate beings or not, at least by default?
My brain is itching about back when Hanyi was causing trouble, but I'm too lazy to go check again. (Sixiang also caused plenty of trouble but that was before bonding)
[X] Xiangmen, City of Wonders. Vast production, treasures beyond counting, the engine of riches which had kept even a corpse alive long after all vitality was gone.
Because we are greedy girl, remember.
I'm not really opposed to Art though - but we've been thinking a lot about that, and I'm not sure how much we'd really gain out of this kind of dream. (but see quote below)
Light isn't really our thing at all, and might even be dangerous.
This did move me more toward Art ... but Wonder is currently losing so I'll still vote for it.
Yes, but we really need the Geomancy before we begin building. Retroactive fixing is much worse, so we can't afford to delay very much at all. (There's nothing more permanent than a "temporary"
Even if we don't fill out the 6 for a couple years (which is plenty of time to meet people, especially off-screen), we're still getting them most of the 10 years of training.
Deposing the Hui likely did a lot of damage to the broader economy of the Emerald Seas, and with the Cai being a relatively small count clan (at best) before ascending the Ducal throne and the Bao taking much of Hui territory in the wake of the Cai ascension, Shenhua would need some kind of income stream to support her rule. So it probably is policy.
PowerLeca
Rapidly aging
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] Xiangmen, City of Art. The explosion of art, low and high, in a city long-chained. What dreams bubble in the spaces between?
Doramas made an excellent point about Ling Qi's dismissal of art in general as indulgence, and I think she needs to be reminded that she kept the Flute with her all that time on the streets for a reason. Others have their own "flute" that they cling to. Art is fun!
[X] Xiangmen, City of Wonders. Vast production, treasures beyond counting, the engine of riches which had kept even a corpse alive long after all vitality was gone.
Ling Qi also loves her dress and drugs, and cool stuff is so good for heisting. Ling Qi has SUCH good fun heisting things!
Doramas made an excellent point about Ling Qi's dismissal of art in general as indulgence, and I think she needs to be reminded that she kept the Flute with her all that time on the streets for a reason. Others have their own "flute" that they cling to. Art is fun!
[X] Xiangmen, City of Wonders. Vast production, treasures beyond counting, the engine of riches which had kept even a corpse alive long after all vitality was gone.
Ling Qi also loves her dress and drugs, and cool stuff is so good for heisting. Ling Qi has SUCH good fun heisting things!
[X] Xiangmen, City of Art. The explosion of art, low and high, in a city long-chained. What dreams bubble in the spaces between?
[X] Xiangmen, City of Light. The glittering luxury above, unchanged and unchanging, or so goes the tale they tell.
I kind of wish we'd brought Meng Dan with us to the Dreaming Gala.Skeletor Huisheng mentioned the Dreaming Court and the Gala's of the Moon so I kind of expect it'll be a courtly party even in the days of Cai. Would have been a cool event to have Dan with us exploring the old histories, and ever since it was reveal he can hold his liquor I've wanted Qi and him to be drinking partners in a Moon revel.
[X] Xiangmen, City of Light. The glittering luxury above, unchanged and unchanging, or so goes the tale they tell.
I kind of wish we'd brought Meng Dan with us to the Dreaming Gala.
If by date you mean a platonic sibling outing then I agree
Of course it's platonic rn, Ling Qi's years off being ready for romance!If by date you mean a platonic sibling outing then I agree
I suppose it's fitting that the only place where Six/Qi could happen is in your dreams.
- Location
- France
[X] Xiangmen, City of Art. The explosion of art, low and high, in a city long-chained. What dreams bubble in the spaces between?
Ling Qi does a lot of stuff with Six in her dreams
