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.
- Pronouns
- Shhe
[X] Coordination, making the disparate cacophony into a cohesive melody
- Location
- USA
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
Nice...
You monster!No more funny numbers
- Location
- scrabbling
Very pleasing update. FoD has always had its best moments when it gets into the complicated details of cultivation, as the metaphor of thought. Conversations with higher level cultivators, worldbuilding moments, foreigners, and friends - everything else remains a bit banal.
kfrar
Aspiring Encyclopedia
Just archiving our active quests.
These are active:
These are ostensibly active, but haven't been mentioned outside of their initial votes:
And these are inactive, but may become active in the future:
These are active:
These are ostensibly active, but haven't been mentioned outside of their initial votes:
And these are inactive, but may become active in the future:
Last edited:
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Alright lets dig our teeth into some of this juicy lore update.
Let's start with what we learned about Time and the Xi
This lines up with what we've heard about the start of the world and time. That the nameless Father and Mother created Time to point out as a blade to the things that were not of the Father and Mother or their creation. The creation of the in-group and out-group, us and them. Fast forward an indeterminant amount of time to the Weilu disappearing, the end of the Strife and with no Duke the Emerald Seas is liable to fracture. Unity of Blades and the Xi step in and say "Hey, no need to fight each other we're all part of the Empire's Emerald Seas, we need to fight the barbarians because they aren't us and want our stuff." This works but also makes it easier to define the in-group and out-group as hostile to each other thus only reinforcing the oldest tale. This of course continues a chain of events that will give rise to Ogodei.
So! Let's try to pin down some time lines here!
We are specifically told that the beginning of the Dreaming Way happens after Tsu but before the Great Sage. The events seemed to happen in the order of Tsu ascends, time passes, Mason's War, some more time passes, Pure One shows up, a small amount of time passes, Qin the Sage shows up, a bit more time passes and then the Horned Lord disappears. We've also gotten WoG that the Weilu didn't wake up the Horned Lord to deal with the Sage and while part of it may have been that they didn't think it was a big enough issue to wake him up it could also be that the last time he woke up the ruling class was essentially wiped out. Also interesting to note that this was the last time the Horned Lord spoke but not when he left, was probably sticking around to make sure the Weilu followed through on the Dreaming Way, at least a bit.
Interestingly this seems to line up with with something from the Seven Chakra's side story about the Great who conquered the land of a Thousand Princes but then came to regret his conquest. Coincidence? I think not. I think theBuddha Pure One probably talked to the Great there before coming on over to Emerald Seas.
I think our high roll got us not the nice sanitized fable of bedtime stories but the tale closer to the actual truth. Probably not the full truth, the story is far to old even for Huisheng to know exactly what happened. Though it's interesting to note here that he does call the first story a lie for children but not long ago he had also said
On a cosmic scale aren't we all?
Was... Was Huisheng originally the Arch-Heretic of the Dreaming Way because he was trying to turn himself into a story? An idea? Is that why he was put in time jail? Because they couldn't kill him?
Also I have a feeling that the titles of Thief of Minds, Hearts, Stories and Breaker of Ways may all be somewhat the same actually. I mean you can steal a story without actually taking the story away from someone else. You take it, change it, make it yours, the original story is still there but now you have your own. You can also steal the hearts and minds of people but that's a saying that means you swayed people over to your side or to follow you. Is not breaking someone's way just convincing them that it's wrong? I'm becoming both more and less suspicious of Skele Uncle here.
All in all I think we can safely say this: The Pure One came to teach in the Emerald Seas, one thing lead to another and now the Fourth Realm gays can have babies with each other.
Let's start with what we learned about Time and the Xi
This lines up with what we've heard about the start of the world and time. That the nameless Father and Mother created Time to point out as a blade to the things that were not of the Father and Mother or their creation. The creation of the in-group and out-group, us and them. Fast forward an indeterminant amount of time to the Weilu disappearing, the end of the Strife and with no Duke the Emerald Seas is liable to fracture. Unity of Blades and the Xi step in and say "Hey, no need to fight each other we're all part of the Empire's Emerald Seas, we need to fight the barbarians because they aren't us and want our stuff." This works but also makes it easier to define the in-group and out-group as hostile to each other thus only reinforcing the oldest tale. This of course continues a chain of events that will give rise to Ogodei.
So! Let's try to pin down some time lines here!
We are specifically told that the beginning of the Dreaming Way happens after Tsu but before the Great Sage. The events seemed to happen in the order of Tsu ascends, time passes, Mason's War, some more time passes, Pure One shows up, a small amount of time passes, Qin the Sage shows up, a bit more time passes and then the Horned Lord disappears. We've also gotten WoG that the Weilu didn't wake up the Horned Lord to deal with the Sage and while part of it may have been that they didn't think it was a big enough issue to wake him up it could also be that the last time he woke up the ruling class was essentially wiped out. Also interesting to note that this was the last time the Horned Lord spoke but not when he left, was probably sticking around to make sure the Weilu followed through on the Dreaming Way, at least a bit.
Interestingly this seems to line up with with something from the Seven Chakra's side story about the Great who conquered the land of a Thousand Princes but then came to regret his conquest. Coincidence? I think not. I think the
I think our high roll got us not the nice sanitized fable of bedtime stories but the tale closer to the actual truth. Probably not the full truth, the story is far to old even for Huisheng to know exactly what happened. Though it's interesting to note here that he does call the first story a lie for children but not long ago he had also said
It's interesting to see how Huisheng is seemingly using the truth. Not as facts per say but more like an idea. It does call to mind things like Aesop's Fables where a truth is taught but is dressed up in lies. It's certainly an interesting thing to do, playing around with the boundaries of lies, truths, facts, secrets and narratives. I think it's good for Ling Qi to get some more exposure to those ideas, at least a bit.
On a cosmic scale aren't we all?
Was... Was Huisheng originally the Arch-Heretic of the Dreaming Way because he was trying to turn himself into a story? An idea? Is that why he was put in time jail? Because they couldn't kill him?
Also I have a feeling that the titles of Thief of Minds, Hearts, Stories and Breaker of Ways may all be somewhat the same actually. I mean you can steal a story without actually taking the story away from someone else. You take it, change it, make it yours, the original story is still there but now you have your own. You can also steal the hearts and minds of people but that's a saying that means you swayed people over to your side or to follow you. Is not breaking someone's way just convincing them that it's wrong? I'm becoming both more and less suspicious of Skele Uncle here.
All in all I think we can safely say this: The Pure One came to teach in the Emerald Seas, one thing lead to another and now the Fourth Realm gays can have babies with each other.
Hmm, and the next story the "Breaker of ways and thief of stories" is asking for is our own...
Sounds like heart demon/tribulation bait
- Pronouns
- He
Now that we're getting complexity does that mean we'll be able to disguise a scarecrow as ourselves with a dream construct and make it attend formal receptions in our stead while we go party with Sixiang in the liminal realm?
Hmm, and the next story the "Breaker of ways and thief of stories" is asking for is our own...
Sounds like heart demon/tribulation bait
"Goddammit, the Moon got to you first"
Turn 15: Arc 1-3
Li Suyin had been diligent in expanding her workshop. The complex of chambers and tunnels beneath her little manor were at least as expansive as the grounds above, and went down some three floors. The chamber her friend had lead her too was dense with tools and furniture. There were multiple workbenches of varying size and every imaginable carving and etching tool, arranged in neat rows. The ceiling was concealed by a dense layer of webbing, and scores of artificial limbs, body parts and internal components dangled from thin threads.
And at its center crouched a spider. Bright pink, covered in a thick layer of fuzz, Li Suyin's spirit beast had nonetheless grown large, she was comparable now to a sizable dog, and that ignored the bulbous sack of webbing bound to the arachnid's plump abdomen. It bobbed and shook with every twitching motion, but also pulsed with something internal.
Her suspicion was confirmed as the tall, gangly figure standing underneath the crouching spider spoke. "Good, seems the elixirs are having the proper effect, growth is on track, feeding frenzy should be curtailed, increase survival rate some fifteen percent."
Bao Qingling's head twitched in their direction as they entered the room. "Li Suyin, Ling Qi."
"Senior Sister," Li Suyin said, bowing her head. "Zhenli is well?"
"Lady Bao's is most experienced, her elixirs will do my first brood good," Zhenli replied, rubbing her pedipalps together in a way that conveyed satisfaction. Ling Qi met eight glassy black eyes unperturbed. "My apologies for not being available to tend to you and your guest, Mistress."
"It's fine, I was able to entertain Ling Qi on my own, wasn't I Ling Qi?" Suyin said lightly, approaching an empty workbench.
"Yes," Ling Qi agreed a little awkwardly. "Ah, congratulations?"
"Mistress's guest honors Zhenli," spoke the spirit beast, spreading her forwardmost limbs in a way that dragged at the trailing webbing, and made it seem like a curtsey.
Don't, please, Ling Qi thought to Sixiang.
"Yeah no, I'm good, though I wonder who the lucky fella was," Sixiang said blithely.
She saw a spark of pride in the spiders black eyes, and Zhenli preened. There were many clever and graceful males who tried. Thanks to the Mistress I was well fed enough that I was able to keep my favorite!"
Ling Qi definitely didn't feel her expression going a little stiff.
"Why bring her down here?" Bao Qingling said gruffly. "I was going to come up when the examination was finished."
Ling Qi was never so grateful to the blunt girl for something to distract herself from Sixiang and the spiders… gossip. Even Li Suyin had the grace to huff and look a little embarrassed. "It's my fault, I brought her a present… a master's puppet construct from Xiangmen. I wanted to watch her examination."
Bao Qinglings head tilted, her gaze going somewhere just past Ling Qi's head. "It's not the same."
"It's not, but some of the philosophy may be applicable," Ling Qi agreed. "I have been looking for greater control and versatility in my arts. I… am not going to able to keep following templates forever."
"Your near to the fifth step. Understandable," Bao Qingling agreed.
"Besides, its a good conversation piece. I don't think either of you have had the chance to speak like this," Li Suyin chirped cheerfully. "Ling Qi is quite clever in her way Senior Sister."
Ling Qi raised an eyebrow, what kind of compliment was that.
"...I suppose discussing the mechanics and differences between talismanic automata and pure qi constructs is an interesting subject," Bao Qingling grudgingly acquiesced.
Li Suyin gestured toward the open workbench, and Ling Qi nodded. Mentally she reached into her storage ring and pushed. The puppet appeared on the table. It was a sleekly crafted thing, It's skin, its shell was all polished slats and panels of wood jointed to give it full range of motion, formations were carved and inked across the whole of the thing with great complexity. It's face was a mask of ivory, with an articulated jaw and mouth and wide green glass eyes.
"Domestic use primary, minimal combat or labor reinforcement?" Bao Qingling said, after little more than a glance.
"Heat resistance, subtle power projection nodes, some concealed components. Bodyguard unit?" Li Suyin said absently, running her fingers along the smooth wooden chest. "Here, here, and here."
Bao Qingling grunted. "Likely then. Illusion projecting formations?"
"Confirmed," Li Suyin said, tilting the construction's chin up to expose the jade and ivory components under the shell.
…Ling Qi felt a little inadequate. The symbols and lines carved into the figure weren't entirely incomprehensible squiggles, but she would probably need to sit down with some charcoal rubbings and a reference book to get even half of that.
"What is your bottleneck," Bao Qingling asked, not looking up from the table.
"Control," Ling Qi said consideringly. "My original technique was the Forgotten Vale Melody, it summoned phantom beasts via the memory and feeling of being hunted in the dark. I didn't really control them, or even think about them. The second was the Lunar revel, and the whole point of that is random chaos."
"Lower realm arts are typically like that. At those levels of cultivation, mortal flesh can't withstand the level of information processing required for active control of multiple bodies well," Bao Qingling said absently.
"It's not impossible," Li Suyin noted as she carefully loosened the puppets chest plate and set it aside, exposing a nest of gears and framework, a cluster of metal ports which would likely hold the green stones which would power the automata sat in the chest. "But it requires encoded routines in the construct, minimizing the need for multiple concurrent thought processes."
Ling Qi nodded absently, considering her third art, the Beast King's Savage Dirge. Each of the main techniques generated a construct which performed one particular action without much nuance. "Why do most automata seem to have their powering devices where the heart would be?" She asked absently remembering the puppets of Yan Renshu, from back in her first year.
"Sympathetic inertia. A body constructed in the manner of a human should follow its conventions. Reduces spiritual drag on its operation," Bao Qingling replied. "The world fights less against your work, and this increases efficiency."
"The ribcage and torso are simply the best for defending internal components. The same reason those organs are where they are in our bodies," Li Suyin said. "Trying to be clever with a working template often results in merely weakening the product."
"You're saying it's best to stick to nature then? That's surprising," Ling Qi said. Her eyebrow twitched as she caught a bit of Sixiang and Zhenli's conversation. Even if nature could be quite the horror on its own.
Bao Qingling pursed her lips. "No."
"What is best, is to change a constructs internal workings only when there is a deliberate purpose," Li Suyin clarified. There was a faint grinding sound, unlubricated gears groaning as Li Suyin carefully disassembled the interior.
"Purpose, patterns. These are the keys to crafting constructs," Bao Qingling glanced up, and Ling Qi saw a shimmer in the dim workshop, an expanding fractal web of thin threads, perfect fractal triangles.
"We are far from the great spirits, we can't make a new life entirely through artifice. A construct can't be intelligent, the way a person or a spirit is."
"Unless I give it a bump," Sixiang said absently.
"Just a shell for a spirit then," Bao Qingling dismissed. "An automaton must follow a relatively simple list of behaviors, encoded into it during construction. For Arts, you encode this pattern into the meridians you have attuned for the technique."
Ling Qi nodded, though she couldn't help but think of Liming and the works of the Duchess. But, the highest realms broke many rules. That was after all, the point. To become a self sustained set of physical laws, which could contradict the Laws of the world.
To change the world through creation.
+1 Creation XP
"I need to contemplate the part each piece will play, how each construct contributes to my story, whether as character or scenery, or event," Ling Qi said under her breath.
"Not a framing I have heard, but if that is your Way, remain on it," Bao Qingling said.
"I think of it through the lens of the body. Our physical forms are composed of many distinct components, remove any one and there is cascading failure. At the same time, we do not need to think for our bodies to operate," Li Suyin offered, studying the removed faceplate before setting it aside.
"To be able to consciously operate all aspects of the self is a defining trait of the fourth and higher realms, so it is a good analogy. I do not know storytelling."
"I come to it via song," Ling Qi admitted. "But you are right, much it comes down to what feels right in conjunction with the other elements."
"Frustratingly inexact, but such is life in the lower realms," Bao Qingling said sourly, and Ling Qi saw her fiddle with something on her wrist, a band of pale green jade, carved like a circling serpent.
Yes, Ling Qi supposed, life was often like that.
But, songs and stories could only ever approximate life. Life didn't have to make sense, but stories did.
Polish each piece and component to perfection, and the story she wanted to tell would come out in the end.
She remained with Suyin and Bao Qingling for another hour or two, discussing more the mechanics of construct function. So many concepts were left swirling around in her head, things she did not consider much with more static formations. The true monstrous complexity of what Li Suyin was doing had never struck her so hard before, and she came away feeling prouder than ever of her friend.
After a time though they returned aboveground and the conversation turned toward other things, plans for the future, what each of them intended. Ling Qi found that she was not the only one with a great deal looming ahead on her schedule.
As they moved out into the gardens to take a small lunch, conversation turned to the recipe she had provided Suyin, for an elixir that would aid in the fourth realm breakthrough coming in her-their, future.
"Have you made anything of it?" Ling Qi asked as she took her seat at the polished marble topped outdoor table, allowing the serving constructs to pull out and push in her seat. Beside her, Bao Qingling did the same, crossing her arms over her chest.
"The writer was certainly a twisty mind," Li Suyin said absently, gesturing for her attendants to bring forth the plates stacked with with sweets and dumplings and snacks. "I've found three places where the recipe is ciphered, where following the openly listed instruction would result in a terrible poison."
It was a good thing that Suyin was a cultivator, or she might really end up being a little round, Ling Qi thought wryly as she observed the spread. "I trust you'll get it all figured out, is there anything I can do?"
"Well I will need some funding once I have everything worked out," Suyin said tentatively.
"Enough ingredients for two elixirs," Ling Qi said in a tone that brooked no argument.
Bao Qingling snorted into her teacup.
Li Suyin grimaced under their combined stares. "...Yes."
Ling Qi gave a satisfied nod.
"What you can do now though," Li Suyin said firmly. "Is look for a core of the proper type. Something that resonates with you."
"Resonates?" Ling Qi wondered.
"I think I see where she's going," Sixiang offered from thin air. "She means something that reflects your domain. You need a matching beast or spirit core."
"Yes," Suyin agreed. "Elixirs like this… they have recipes, but they require personalization for each user. It will need to be from a beast that is at least on the cusp of fourth realm itself, if not in that realm for proper potency."
That was a tall order, but for something so important Ling Qi would have to begin keeping an eye out.
"Also…" Li Suyin trailed off, fiddling with a tea stirrer.
"Also?" Ling Qi wondered.
"Well, I wanted to know if I could help…"
Bao Qingling leveled a flat look at her.
"If I could offer my services at a reasonable price," Li Suyin pouted back at the older girl.
"Hn," Bao Qingling grunted, chewing on a bun.
"For what?" Ling Qi asked curiously
"Surveying your lands for impurity, places with easy passage to the underworld," Li Suyin said. "Um-That is, I've developed a device for it, and it requires some training to use, but I could offer that as well as the device to your surveyors…"
[X] Obviously. Why would you refuse?
AN: I was honestly thinking of a vote here with varying levels of assistance but honestly it works better as options in the fief management bits coming up.
And at its center crouched a spider. Bright pink, covered in a thick layer of fuzz, Li Suyin's spirit beast had nonetheless grown large, she was comparable now to a sizable dog, and that ignored the bulbous sack of webbing bound to the arachnid's plump abdomen. It bobbed and shook with every twitching motion, but also pulsed with something internal.
Her suspicion was confirmed as the tall, gangly figure standing underneath the crouching spider spoke. "Good, seems the elixirs are having the proper effect, growth is on track, feeding frenzy should be curtailed, increase survival rate some fifteen percent."
Bao Qingling's head twitched in their direction as they entered the room. "Li Suyin, Ling Qi."
"Senior Sister," Li Suyin said, bowing her head. "Zhenli is well?"
"Lady Bao's is most experienced, her elixirs will do my first brood good," Zhenli replied, rubbing her pedipalps together in a way that conveyed satisfaction. Ling Qi met eight glassy black eyes unperturbed. "My apologies for not being available to tend to you and your guest, Mistress."
"It's fine, I was able to entertain Ling Qi on my own, wasn't I Ling Qi?" Suyin said lightly, approaching an empty workbench.
"Yes," Ling Qi agreed a little awkwardly. "Ah, congratulations?"
"Mistress's guest honors Zhenli," spoke the spirit beast, spreading her forwardmost limbs in a way that dragged at the trailing webbing, and made it seem like a curtsey.
Don't, please, Ling Qi thought to Sixiang.
"Yeah no, I'm good, though I wonder who the lucky fella was," Sixiang said blithely.
She saw a spark of pride in the spiders black eyes, and Zhenli preened. There were many clever and graceful males who tried. Thanks to the Mistress I was well fed enough that I was able to keep my favorite!"
Ling Qi definitely didn't feel her expression going a little stiff.
"Why bring her down here?" Bao Qingling said gruffly. "I was going to come up when the examination was finished."
Ling Qi was never so grateful to the blunt girl for something to distract herself from Sixiang and the spiders… gossip. Even Li Suyin had the grace to huff and look a little embarrassed. "It's my fault, I brought her a present… a master's puppet construct from Xiangmen. I wanted to watch her examination."
Bao Qinglings head tilted, her gaze going somewhere just past Ling Qi's head. "It's not the same."
"It's not, but some of the philosophy may be applicable," Ling Qi agreed. "I have been looking for greater control and versatility in my arts. I… am not going to able to keep following templates forever."
"Your near to the fifth step. Understandable," Bao Qingling agreed.
"Besides, its a good conversation piece. I don't think either of you have had the chance to speak like this," Li Suyin chirped cheerfully. "Ling Qi is quite clever in her way Senior Sister."
Ling Qi raised an eyebrow, what kind of compliment was that.
"...I suppose discussing the mechanics and differences between talismanic automata and pure qi constructs is an interesting subject," Bao Qingling grudgingly acquiesced.
Li Suyin gestured toward the open workbench, and Ling Qi nodded. Mentally she reached into her storage ring and pushed. The puppet appeared on the table. It was a sleekly crafted thing, It's skin, its shell was all polished slats and panels of wood jointed to give it full range of motion, formations were carved and inked across the whole of the thing with great complexity. It's face was a mask of ivory, with an articulated jaw and mouth and wide green glass eyes.
"Domestic use primary, minimal combat or labor reinforcement?" Bao Qingling said, after little more than a glance.
"Heat resistance, subtle power projection nodes, some concealed components. Bodyguard unit?" Li Suyin said absently, running her fingers along the smooth wooden chest. "Here, here, and here."
Bao Qingling grunted. "Likely then. Illusion projecting formations?"
"Confirmed," Li Suyin said, tilting the construction's chin up to expose the jade and ivory components under the shell.
…Ling Qi felt a little inadequate. The symbols and lines carved into the figure weren't entirely incomprehensible squiggles, but she would probably need to sit down with some charcoal rubbings and a reference book to get even half of that.
"What is your bottleneck," Bao Qingling asked, not looking up from the table.
"Control," Ling Qi said consideringly. "My original technique was the Forgotten Vale Melody, it summoned phantom beasts via the memory and feeling of being hunted in the dark. I didn't really control them, or even think about them. The second was the Lunar revel, and the whole point of that is random chaos."
"Lower realm arts are typically like that. At those levels of cultivation, mortal flesh can't withstand the level of information processing required for active control of multiple bodies well," Bao Qingling said absently.
"It's not impossible," Li Suyin noted as she carefully loosened the puppets chest plate and set it aside, exposing a nest of gears and framework, a cluster of metal ports which would likely hold the green stones which would power the automata sat in the chest. "But it requires encoded routines in the construct, minimizing the need for multiple concurrent thought processes."
Ling Qi nodded absently, considering her third art, the Beast King's Savage Dirge. Each of the main techniques generated a construct which performed one particular action without much nuance. "Why do most automata seem to have their powering devices where the heart would be?" She asked absently remembering the puppets of Yan Renshu, from back in her first year.
"Sympathetic inertia. A body constructed in the manner of a human should follow its conventions. Reduces spiritual drag on its operation," Bao Qingling replied. "The world fights less against your work, and this increases efficiency."
"The ribcage and torso are simply the best for defending internal components. The same reason those organs are where they are in our bodies," Li Suyin said. "Trying to be clever with a working template often results in merely weakening the product."
"You're saying it's best to stick to nature then? That's surprising," Ling Qi said. Her eyebrow twitched as she caught a bit of Sixiang and Zhenli's conversation. Even if nature could be quite the horror on its own.
Bao Qingling pursed her lips. "No."
"What is best, is to change a constructs internal workings only when there is a deliberate purpose," Li Suyin clarified. There was a faint grinding sound, unlubricated gears groaning as Li Suyin carefully disassembled the interior.
"Purpose, patterns. These are the keys to crafting constructs," Bao Qingling glanced up, and Ling Qi saw a shimmer in the dim workshop, an expanding fractal web of thin threads, perfect fractal triangles.
"We are far from the great spirits, we can't make a new life entirely through artifice. A construct can't be intelligent, the way a person or a spirit is."
"Unless I give it a bump," Sixiang said absently.
"Just a shell for a spirit then," Bao Qingling dismissed. "An automaton must follow a relatively simple list of behaviors, encoded into it during construction. For Arts, you encode this pattern into the meridians you have attuned for the technique."
Ling Qi nodded, though she couldn't help but think of Liming and the works of the Duchess. But, the highest realms broke many rules. That was after all, the point. To become a self sustained set of physical laws, which could contradict the Laws of the world.
To change the world through creation.
+1 Creation XP
"I need to contemplate the part each piece will play, how each construct contributes to my story, whether as character or scenery, or event," Ling Qi said under her breath.
"Not a framing I have heard, but if that is your Way, remain on it," Bao Qingling said.
"I think of it through the lens of the body. Our physical forms are composed of many distinct components, remove any one and there is cascading failure. At the same time, we do not need to think for our bodies to operate," Li Suyin offered, studying the removed faceplate before setting it aside.
"To be able to consciously operate all aspects of the self is a defining trait of the fourth and higher realms, so it is a good analogy. I do not know storytelling."
"I come to it via song," Ling Qi admitted. "But you are right, much it comes down to what feels right in conjunction with the other elements."
"Frustratingly inexact, but such is life in the lower realms," Bao Qingling said sourly, and Ling Qi saw her fiddle with something on her wrist, a band of pale green jade, carved like a circling serpent.
Yes, Ling Qi supposed, life was often like that.
But, songs and stories could only ever approximate life. Life didn't have to make sense, but stories did.
Polish each piece and component to perfection, and the story she wanted to tell would come out in the end.
She remained with Suyin and Bao Qingling for another hour or two, discussing more the mechanics of construct function. So many concepts were left swirling around in her head, things she did not consider much with more static formations. The true monstrous complexity of what Li Suyin was doing had never struck her so hard before, and she came away feeling prouder than ever of her friend.
After a time though they returned aboveground and the conversation turned toward other things, plans for the future, what each of them intended. Ling Qi found that she was not the only one with a great deal looming ahead on her schedule.
Personal Quests:
Long Hand of the Law(1/3)- Having received cooperation from Diao Hualing and the Ministry of Law, your next step is to apprehend the likely patsy in the Ministry of Communication
Old Road New Road (1/???)-When the Secrets of the Bleeding Mountain have been plumbed, the quest may move forward.
Organization Influence Quests:
-Labyrinthian Lords-Meng
-Mountain Halls-Wang
-Garden of Sinners-Diao
Liminal Locations:
- Bleeding Mountain
- Burrowing Behemoth
- Nightmare of the Long Knives
(Recommended Dreamwalker Skill of 10)
Will be added to the front page shortly and expanded as we go along
Long Hand of the Law(1/3)- Having received cooperation from Diao Hualing and the Ministry of Law, your next step is to apprehend the likely patsy in the Ministry of Communication
Old Road New Road (1/???)-When the Secrets of the Bleeding Mountain have been plumbed, the quest may move forward.
Organization Influence Quests:
-Labyrinthian Lords-Meng
-Mountain Halls-Wang
-Garden of Sinners-Diao
Liminal Locations:
- Bleeding Mountain
- Burrowing Behemoth
- Nightmare of the Long Knives
(Recommended Dreamwalker Skill of 10)
Will be added to the front page shortly and expanded as we go along
As they moved out into the gardens to take a small lunch, conversation turned to the recipe she had provided Suyin, for an elixir that would aid in the fourth realm breakthrough coming in her-their, future.
"Have you made anything of it?" Ling Qi asked as she took her seat at the polished marble topped outdoor table, allowing the serving constructs to pull out and push in her seat. Beside her, Bao Qingling did the same, crossing her arms over her chest.
"The writer was certainly a twisty mind," Li Suyin said absently, gesturing for her attendants to bring forth the plates stacked with with sweets and dumplings and snacks. "I've found three places where the recipe is ciphered, where following the openly listed instruction would result in a terrible poison."
It was a good thing that Suyin was a cultivator, or she might really end up being a little round, Ling Qi thought wryly as she observed the spread. "I trust you'll get it all figured out, is there anything I can do?"
"Well I will need some funding once I have everything worked out," Suyin said tentatively.
"Enough ingredients for two elixirs," Ling Qi said in a tone that brooked no argument.
Bao Qingling snorted into her teacup.
Li Suyin grimaced under their combined stares. "...Yes."
Ling Qi gave a satisfied nod.
"What you can do now though," Li Suyin said firmly. "Is look for a core of the proper type. Something that resonates with you."
"Resonates?" Ling Qi wondered.
"I think I see where she's going," Sixiang offered from thin air. "She means something that reflects your domain. You need a matching beast or spirit core."
"Yes," Suyin agreed. "Elixirs like this… they have recipes, but they require personalization for each user. It will need to be from a beast that is at least on the cusp of fourth realm itself, if not in that realm for proper potency."
That was a tall order, but for something so important Ling Qi would have to begin keeping an eye out.
"Also…" Li Suyin trailed off, fiddling with a tea stirrer.
"Also?" Ling Qi wondered.
"Well, I wanted to know if I could help…"
Bao Qingling leveled a flat look at her.
"If I could offer my services at a reasonable price," Li Suyin pouted back at the older girl.
"Hn," Bao Qingling grunted, chewing on a bun.
"For what?" Ling Qi asked curiously
"Surveying your lands for impurity, places with easy passage to the underworld," Li Suyin said. "Um-That is, I've developed a device for it, and it requires some training to use, but I could offer that as well as the device to your surveyors…"
[X] Obviously. Why would you refuse?
AN: I was honestly thinking of a vote here with varying levels of assistance but honestly it works better as options in the fief management bits coming up.
Moments Between Pages
- Location
- Canada
I honestly didn't have a goal when writing this. I just felt like writing for once and asked Discord for some ideas. With the stipulation the focus stays on my usual self-indulgent, fluffy themes.
BTW this hasn't really been looked over, I'm just gonna post it and worry about an edit later.
Anyway...
@yrsillar
Edit: huh, well that's some timing. Ninja'd by an update.
"Tell me, does this not feel unreal to you at times?" Ling Qingge says, turning away from the scenery to give her eldest a slight, teasing smile. "Or mayhaps such sights no longer register as fantastical to my worldly daughter?"
In front of the pair, a lake shimmers with the rays of the sun high above them. Light refracts off the still, calm water's surface, varnishing the world with a dazzling kaleidoscope of light and color. In the shallows, small water sprites dance between reeds swaying to the tune of a gentle breeze. The unnatural clarity of the lake allows for the sight of mundane fish chasing each other along the lakebed. And most fantastical of all to any passing mortal's eyes, a young child clamors roughly to the top of a legendary Xuanwu's shell, only to throw herself off it into the water, shrieking with joyous, carefree laughter.
"There is some truth to your words, mother." Ling Qi admits wryly.
"Oh?" Ling Qingge raises a brow inquisitively. "How so?"
Tucking her legs underneath herself, Ling Qi brings her chilled tea to her lips for a contemplative sip before speaking. "When I came to the sect I admit I was so concerned with survival I do not believe I ever truly absorbed the sights I found myself surrounded with. Not to a degree they deserved at any rate."
"And now?"
"It is as you say, I find myself inured to visions of wonder that would surely make most mortals gawk and marvel at the beauty on display. Though…" Ling Qi trails off, a gentle smile overcoming her features. "That's not to say I've lost the ability to appreciate my surroundings completely."
Turning to her mother, Ling Qi waves her hand at the scene before them as if in proof.
"I have spent countless hours composing and contemplating in quiet moonlit vistas, and lonely mist filled valleys. And there is a serene beauty in those stolen moments that I cannot fully express without the aid of my music, but that is equally true of moments like this isn't it?"
Ling Qingge looks over the sparkling lake framing her youngest daughter as she frolics and splashes through the shallows, a giant tortoise lumbering behind her guilelessly, and a swaying serpent mindfully eyeing any curious minor spirit that gets too close with a gimlet eye.
"Yes," the older woman murmurs, eyes fixed on the scene. "You're right."
The two women sit there for a time, neither feeling the need to fill the comfortable silence that grows between them. Though not all present are so understanding.
<Must you always make things so gloomy, Ling Qi?>
Ling Qi gives a mental harumph at her nosey muses interjection. 'I'd hardly consider the mood gloomy.'
<What would you call it then?>
'Solem? Complentative?'
<Pssh!>
Ling Qi scrunches her nose at the phantom sensation of a raspberry being blown against her ear. 'Don't be so crude, Sixiang.'
<But Qiiiii,> Sixiang whines playfully, <aren't those words simply another way to express gloominess?>
Ling Qi doesn't bother responding verbally, instead sending her muse the mental equivalent of an eye roll.
Turning back to her mother, Ling Qi reaches into an expanded basket she'd brought along for the outing. Pulling out a steaming plate of noodles, she breaks the silence. "Should we eat now then?" Looking up at the sky she remarks. "It's well past noon and I imagine Biyu will be getting cranky soon if she doesn't get something in her stomach."
"I don't know where that girl gets her appetite from. She'll eat until she bursts if you let her." Ling Qingge shakes her head in exasperation. "But to answer your question, yes, I think now is a good time. Let's get everything set up then call your glutton of a sister over."
Ling Qi laughs but tellingly doesn't offer words in her sister's defense.
Instead she continues pulling food from the basket. Fragrant bowls of soup steam the air as mouthwatering dumplings tempt the senses. A pot of earthy tea is set down alongside jugs of fresh fruit juice and crisp, cool water. Next, plates of succulent meat and exotic vegetables join the spread, and though Ling Qi declines to retrieve them until after the food is cleared away, bowls of sweet desert remain hidden in stasis inside the basket.
Ling Qi and her mother place the food around where they kneel on a comfortable tarp inlaid with formations to keep it dry and warm. Ling Qi could have of course had a proper pavilion set up for the afternoon, but she'd decided against it in the hopes of keeping the occasion as informal as possible. An endeavor supported by the decision to not bring along any servants or nannies. It was just the Ling family today.
With the food prepared, Ling Qingge raises her voice to call her youngest from her play.
"Biyu!"
Yet, the young girl remains ignorant of her mother's calls and the waiting food, too busy splashing after a small school of minnows that remain tauntingly out of her short reach.
"BIYU!" Ling Qingge calls again, her tone sharp in a manner instinctively feared by misbehaving children.
A shrieking giggle is the only response as the youngest Ling dives forward. Her tiny targets scatter, but that hardly seems to matter as Biyu gets to her knees, the water splashing up around her chest, and throws her head back in laughter even as she readies herself for another graceless lunge.
Ling Qingge motions to stand, apparently deciding a physical retrieval would be needed for her distractible child, but Ling Qi places a quelling hand on her mother's shoulder.
The elder Ling looks curiously at her eldest, but settles back into her spot with no complaint.
"Biyu." Ling Qi speaks calmly, voice raised no louder than it would be if Biyu was sitting next to her. "Come. Lunch is ready."
Using her qi, Ling Qi captures the gentle afternoon breeze and uses it to carry her words directly to her sister's ears. Biyu perks up at the familiar voice, turning quickly towards where Ling Qi and Ling Qingge are seated.
"Sissy!"
She makes for an amusing image, scrambling from the water like a skittish colt. Meanwhile Zhengui remains behind, clearly in no rush to retreat from the cool water lapping at his feet. In contrast, sprinting her way up the shore, Biyu's robes clings to her wet skin as she sends droplets of water flying in every direction. Wet strands of hair clump and stick to her neck, and her eyes are rimmed red from keeping her eyes open underwater.
Coming to a dripping stop in front of the now food ladden tarp, Biyu blinks innocently up at her sister, who hides a laugh behind her sleeve, and mother, who openly shakes her head in loving exasperation.
"Biyu," Ling Qingge sighs, "you're sopping wet. You'll get sick." Despite the scolding, one hand is already reaching for a dry towel.
Biyu's drowned puppy look strangely brings to mind Renxiang in Ling Qi's thoughts. Not because of any similarity of course, but because of the humorous idea of what her liege's reaction would be to the state of her disheveled sister.
<Come now, you know full well that girl is not so inflexible as to scold a child for her mess.> Sixiang chimes before teasing. <Though she may scold you for allowing her to devolve to such a state.>
Moving forward, Ling Qi wordlessly takes the towel from her mother's hands, allowing the older woman to instead begin combing her sister's locks free of tangles.
'I did not say she was! It was simply an amusing fancy, besides, we both know Rexiang, while as unyielding as ever, is nonetheless much less rigid than she was when we first met.'
<Again, don't those words mean the same thing?>
Ignoring her muse for the moment, Ling Qi infuses her qi into the air around her and commands a warm, comforting breeze to buffet her sister from all sides. The water that clung to Biyu is evaporated unnaturally by the qi-powered wind, and despite her robes now being toasty and warm, as if only recently dried over a merrily smoldering fire, Biyu pouts up at her sister, cheeks puffed up in aimless indignation.
Seeing the expression, Ling Qi chuckles and tucks a now dry strand of hair behind Biyu's ear, before stroking her cheek tenderly. At the same time, she responds to Sixiang's earlier remark.
'You are the last being I want to hear claim that words have only a single meaning—I'd almost think it'd be entirely against your nature.'
<You'd be correct, but fortunately, tormenting—or rather—inspiring you is even more central to my nature, so I can make an exception.>
'It seems an artist's muse truly is their greatest foe.' Laments Ling Qi sarcastically.
Sixiang's taunting laughter is their only response, and Ling Qi focuses back on her sister and mother.
Still pouting up at her big sister, Biyu crosses her arms in a playful huff as she exclaims. "Sissy! I didn't need that! It tickled and Biyu wasn't even that wet!"
"Oh? That tickled did it." Ling Qi leers playfully, extending her fingers in mock threat. "Are you sure? Should we test your resolve?"
"Sis no! Sissy!" Biyu squeals in protest as Ling Qi lunges at her.
The elder girl wraps her arms around her little sister, picking her up and tucking her close to her chest. The vibrations of Biyu's squirming giggles run through Ling Qi's body as she sends her fingers questing along Biyu's sides.
"Sissy Biyu is sorry! Very sorry!"
Ling Qi looks at her mother who's features mark her as the personification of exasperation. "Well, mother? Do you think she's really sorry?"
"Ling Qi…" Ling Qingge sighs, shaking her head and doing her best to look serious. Her resolve crumbles when a desperate cry of "mommy help!" is aimed her way, and a fond smile edges its way across her features like the sun shyly peeking out behind the towering mountains of the Wall. "That's enough, I think your sister has learned her lesson."
"Somehow I doubt that." Ling Qi remarks wryly as, when let back down onto her feet, Biyu scrunches her nose up at her cutely while simultaneously maneuvering to hide behind the safety of her mother's body.
"Maybe so." Ling Qingge agrees ruefully. "Though your constant spoiling may have something to do with that."
Ling Qi conspicuously doesn't respond right away as she sits herself back down, shooting a smile towards the approaching Zhengui who has decided to join the rest of the family on the shore. As the legendary spirit beast arrives and settles down next to her, Ling Qi turns to answer her mother's gripe.
"Maybe you're right." Ling Qi reaches up to stroke Gui's snout as he dozes in the afternoon sun, the motion soothing in its familiarity. "But Biyu will have plenty of opportunities to make mistakes in the future. For now I'll enjoy being there to catch her."
"Mhmmph!" Biyu harrumphs. She's seated properly now, a plate of food on her lap and utensils gripped tightly in her small hands, and through a mouthful of food she lets her opinion be known. "But Biyu doesn't make mistakes sissy!"
"Oh? Ling Qi asks, amused.
"Ummhm." The little girl hums in consent, self-assured in the way only a child can be. "Mommy says I'm a very sweet girl." She finishes matter of factly.
"Well that's true. Maybe it's all the sweets you eat?"
"Sissy…" Biyu sighs, exasperated with her silly sister. "That's not how food works!"
Ling Qi deposits a spoonful of flavored ice-chips into her mouth and raises a brow, amused. "Oh, how does it work then?"
"It's obvious! Nanny told me that food goes down into the tummy where it gets chewed up and makes Biyu big and strong."
"Hmm." Ling Qi mimes thinking about it for a moment. "Then something must be going wrong."
"Huh?"
"How come you aren't big and strong yet?"
"Sissy!" Biyu throws her hands up in disbelief. "It takes time! I'll be big and strong soon, like sister Hanyi, big sis and mommy!"
Ling Qi chuckles, ruffling her sister's dark locks before demuring. "Yes, I'm sure you will be."
Biyu seems to think that's the end of the conversation as she turns back to focus on her food. In her place, Ling Qingge, who had been watching the back and forth over a steaming cup of tea, speaks up.
"And where is Hanyi today if you don't mind me asking?"
Ling Qi turns to her mother and shakes her head. "Of course I don't mind. She declined the invitation to focus on a new song she's composing. She's up on the mountain top now." Leaning on her little brother's shell, Ling Qi continues. "She is really quite diligent about her performances."
<I'm not too surprised, that little rascal loves being the center of attention after all.> Sixiang chimes in cheekily as their current form, a small, androgynous doll-like silhouette that blurs at the edges, pops up on Ling Qi's shoulder.
Ling Qingge exhibits her acclimatization to the strange happenings of her daughter by only allowing a brief tightening of her fingers around her teacup to betray her surprise at the sudden appearance.
The topic of Hanyi also stirs the final member of their outing to speak.
"Hanyi has been too busy lately, this Zhen will scold her later." The snake tailed head hisses, displeased, while Gui cracks a drooping eye open to admonish his other half. "Selfish Zhen should not distract Hanyi from her music!"
Ling Qi smiles and runs her hand across the rough surface of the giant snake-tortoise's shell. "How about once we get Biyu settled down at home we go visit Hanyi on the mountain's peak?"
"Gui would like that." Her little brother states guileless. And while Zhen declines to answer, his lack of denial is, in of itself, an answer.
Ling Qi turns to her sister as Zhengui settles back down and Sixiang dematerialises back into her dantian.
"You hear that Biyu? Almost time to go."
"But-but dessert?!"
"What about dessert?"
"Sissy don't tease!"
Ling Qi looks around at the spread of food arrayed on the tarp, much of the plates still half full. She made a mental note to ask her mother to offer the leftovers to her friends in the manor so as not to waste the high-quality fare.
"But I don't see any dessert."
"Sissy! Don't tease! It's in the magic box."
"Very well…" Ling Qi sighs, slowly reaching into the expanded basket. "Dessert then we'll call it for the afternoon, okay?"
"Hmm." Biyu nods once in compliance.
But when Ling Qi withdraws her hand from the basket, Biyu's eyes widen in shock.
"Sissy! That's not dessert!"
"Of course it is. Carrot sticks are tasty, and very healthy too."
"No! No! No!" Cries Biyu at the indignity. "Mommy, sissy is teasing me!"
Ling Qingge shakes her head, shooting a stern look her eldest's way. "Don't torture your sister so. Besides, I thought you were looking for her to wind down, all you've managed is to rile her up."
Ling Qi smothers a laugh, but nonetheless reaches back into the basket to pull out a platter of crumbling pastries glazed with jams and icing. Placing the plate in front of her pouting sister, Ling Qi shoots a small smile her mother's way, a contrite expression on her features. "I'm sorry, I know you are going to be the one that has to deal with her later."
Her mother waves it off. "Think nothing of it. The sugar would have done the same regardless."
"I really do make your life harder, don't I?" Ling Qi jokes lightly.
"Oh you worry this old maid to be sure, but this is a trait shared between all daughters and mothers, not just you and I."
The words bring to mind Renxiang's situation, but Ling Qi wrenches her mind from those troubles and responds in the proper lighthearted manner.
"Yet, I'd wager I bring more worry than most."
"Mayhaps that's the case, but I find myself not minding."
The two share a quiet smile that says more than a hundred books could, and they silently agree to leave the conversation there.
The rest of the afternoon is absorbed by Biyu's insistence that she should get another chance to swim in the lake before she gets taken home, but it's an argument she loses to Ling Qingge's experienced handling.
So, as the sun begins to lower, edging closer to twilight, the Ling family packs the food and tarp away and climbs onto the back of Zhengui to begin the trek back to the manor.
The trip passes peacefully with Biyu nattering on about her friends in the village, and Ling Qi and her mother idly discussing household matters.
Biyu does make something of a fuss when it's time for Ling qi to leave, but her nanny takes her away to clean up, and the two elder Ling members share a quiet goodbye before Ling Qi slips into a shadow and begins her journey to the snowy mountain top where Hanyi awaits
As the world flashes by around her, and with Sixiang and Zhengui tucked safely in her dantian, Ling Qi reflects on the idyllic lakeside day with her mortal family.
The world she finds herself increasingly a part of is endlessly complicated, with feuds, intrigue, and constant competition. And it is because of this that Ling Qi is unable to put into words the gratitude she holds for those serene moments where all her external worries slip away for a time, and all that's left is the comfortable reality of her family, both mortal and spirits.
Ling Qi vows to herself she won't allow these moments to slip away from her, regardless of what's to come.
BTW this hasn't really been looked over, I'm just gonna post it and worry about an edit later.
Anyway...
@yrsillar
Edit: huh, well that's some timing. Ninja'd by an update.
xxXXXxx
"Tell me, does this not feel unreal to you at times?" Ling Qingge says, turning away from the scenery to give her eldest a slight, teasing smile. "Or mayhaps such sights no longer register as fantastical to my worldly daughter?"
In front of the pair, a lake shimmers with the rays of the sun high above them. Light refracts off the still, calm water's surface, varnishing the world with a dazzling kaleidoscope of light and color. In the shallows, small water sprites dance between reeds swaying to the tune of a gentle breeze. The unnatural clarity of the lake allows for the sight of mundane fish chasing each other along the lakebed. And most fantastical of all to any passing mortal's eyes, a young child clamors roughly to the top of a legendary Xuanwu's shell, only to throw herself off it into the water, shrieking with joyous, carefree laughter.
"There is some truth to your words, mother." Ling Qi admits wryly.
"Oh?" Ling Qingge raises a brow inquisitively. "How so?"
Tucking her legs underneath herself, Ling Qi brings her chilled tea to her lips for a contemplative sip before speaking. "When I came to the sect I admit I was so concerned with survival I do not believe I ever truly absorbed the sights I found myself surrounded with. Not to a degree they deserved at any rate."
"And now?"
"It is as you say, I find myself inured to visions of wonder that would surely make most mortals gawk and marvel at the beauty on display. Though…" Ling Qi trails off, a gentle smile overcoming her features. "That's not to say I've lost the ability to appreciate my surroundings completely."
Turning to her mother, Ling Qi waves her hand at the scene before them as if in proof.
"I have spent countless hours composing and contemplating in quiet moonlit vistas, and lonely mist filled valleys. And there is a serene beauty in those stolen moments that I cannot fully express without the aid of my music, but that is equally true of moments like this isn't it?"
Ling Qingge looks over the sparkling lake framing her youngest daughter as she frolics and splashes through the shallows, a giant tortoise lumbering behind her guilelessly, and a swaying serpent mindfully eyeing any curious minor spirit that gets too close with a gimlet eye.
"Yes," the older woman murmurs, eyes fixed on the scene. "You're right."
The two women sit there for a time, neither feeling the need to fill the comfortable silence that grows between them. Though not all present are so understanding.
<Must you always make things so gloomy, Ling Qi?>
Ling Qi gives a mental harumph at her nosey muses interjection. 'I'd hardly consider the mood gloomy.'
<What would you call it then?>
'Solem? Complentative?'
<Pssh!>
Ling Qi scrunches her nose at the phantom sensation of a raspberry being blown against her ear. 'Don't be so crude, Sixiang.'
<But Qiiiii,> Sixiang whines playfully, <aren't those words simply another way to express gloominess?>
Ling Qi doesn't bother responding verbally, instead sending her muse the mental equivalent of an eye roll.
Turning back to her mother, Ling Qi reaches into an expanded basket she'd brought along for the outing. Pulling out a steaming plate of noodles, she breaks the silence. "Should we eat now then?" Looking up at the sky she remarks. "It's well past noon and I imagine Biyu will be getting cranky soon if she doesn't get something in her stomach."
"I don't know where that girl gets her appetite from. She'll eat until she bursts if you let her." Ling Qingge shakes her head in exasperation. "But to answer your question, yes, I think now is a good time. Let's get everything set up then call your glutton of a sister over."
Ling Qi laughs but tellingly doesn't offer words in her sister's defense.
Instead she continues pulling food from the basket. Fragrant bowls of soup steam the air as mouthwatering dumplings tempt the senses. A pot of earthy tea is set down alongside jugs of fresh fruit juice and crisp, cool water. Next, plates of succulent meat and exotic vegetables join the spread, and though Ling Qi declines to retrieve them until after the food is cleared away, bowls of sweet desert remain hidden in stasis inside the basket.
Ling Qi and her mother place the food around where they kneel on a comfortable tarp inlaid with formations to keep it dry and warm. Ling Qi could have of course had a proper pavilion set up for the afternoon, but she'd decided against it in the hopes of keeping the occasion as informal as possible. An endeavor supported by the decision to not bring along any servants or nannies. It was just the Ling family today.
With the food prepared, Ling Qingge raises her voice to call her youngest from her play.
"Biyu!"
Yet, the young girl remains ignorant of her mother's calls and the waiting food, too busy splashing after a small school of minnows that remain tauntingly out of her short reach.
"BIYU!" Ling Qingge calls again, her tone sharp in a manner instinctively feared by misbehaving children.
A shrieking giggle is the only response as the youngest Ling dives forward. Her tiny targets scatter, but that hardly seems to matter as Biyu gets to her knees, the water splashing up around her chest, and throws her head back in laughter even as she readies herself for another graceless lunge.
Ling Qingge motions to stand, apparently deciding a physical retrieval would be needed for her distractible child, but Ling Qi places a quelling hand on her mother's shoulder.
The elder Ling looks curiously at her eldest, but settles back into her spot with no complaint.
"Biyu." Ling Qi speaks calmly, voice raised no louder than it would be if Biyu was sitting next to her. "Come. Lunch is ready."
Using her qi, Ling Qi captures the gentle afternoon breeze and uses it to carry her words directly to her sister's ears. Biyu perks up at the familiar voice, turning quickly towards where Ling Qi and Ling Qingge are seated.
"Sissy!"
She makes for an amusing image, scrambling from the water like a skittish colt. Meanwhile Zhengui remains behind, clearly in no rush to retreat from the cool water lapping at his feet. In contrast, sprinting her way up the shore, Biyu's robes clings to her wet skin as she sends droplets of water flying in every direction. Wet strands of hair clump and stick to her neck, and her eyes are rimmed red from keeping her eyes open underwater.
Coming to a dripping stop in front of the now food ladden tarp, Biyu blinks innocently up at her sister, who hides a laugh behind her sleeve, and mother, who openly shakes her head in loving exasperation.
"Biyu," Ling Qingge sighs, "you're sopping wet. You'll get sick." Despite the scolding, one hand is already reaching for a dry towel.
Biyu's drowned puppy look strangely brings to mind Renxiang in Ling Qi's thoughts. Not because of any similarity of course, but because of the humorous idea of what her liege's reaction would be to the state of her disheveled sister.
<Come now, you know full well that girl is not so inflexible as to scold a child for her mess.> Sixiang chimes before teasing. <Though she may scold you for allowing her to devolve to such a state.>
Moving forward, Ling Qi wordlessly takes the towel from her mother's hands, allowing the older woman to instead begin combing her sister's locks free of tangles.
'I did not say she was! It was simply an amusing fancy, besides, we both know Rexiang, while as unyielding as ever, is nonetheless much less rigid than she was when we first met.'
<Again, don't those words mean the same thing?>
Ignoring her muse for the moment, Ling Qi infuses her qi into the air around her and commands a warm, comforting breeze to buffet her sister from all sides. The water that clung to Biyu is evaporated unnaturally by the qi-powered wind, and despite her robes now being toasty and warm, as if only recently dried over a merrily smoldering fire, Biyu pouts up at her sister, cheeks puffed up in aimless indignation.
Seeing the expression, Ling Qi chuckles and tucks a now dry strand of hair behind Biyu's ear, before stroking her cheek tenderly. At the same time, she responds to Sixiang's earlier remark.
'You are the last being I want to hear claim that words have only a single meaning—I'd almost think it'd be entirely against your nature.'
<You'd be correct, but fortunately, tormenting—or rather—inspiring you is even more central to my nature, so I can make an exception.>
'It seems an artist's muse truly is their greatest foe.' Laments Ling Qi sarcastically.
Sixiang's taunting laughter is their only response, and Ling Qi focuses back on her sister and mother.
Still pouting up at her big sister, Biyu crosses her arms in a playful huff as she exclaims. "Sissy! I didn't need that! It tickled and Biyu wasn't even that wet!"
"Oh? That tickled did it." Ling Qi leers playfully, extending her fingers in mock threat. "Are you sure? Should we test your resolve?"
"Sis no! Sissy!" Biyu squeals in protest as Ling Qi lunges at her.
The elder girl wraps her arms around her little sister, picking her up and tucking her close to her chest. The vibrations of Biyu's squirming giggles run through Ling Qi's body as she sends her fingers questing along Biyu's sides.
"Sissy Biyu is sorry! Very sorry!"
Ling Qi looks at her mother who's features mark her as the personification of exasperation. "Well, mother? Do you think she's really sorry?"
"Ling Qi…" Ling Qingge sighs, shaking her head and doing her best to look serious. Her resolve crumbles when a desperate cry of "mommy help!" is aimed her way, and a fond smile edges its way across her features like the sun shyly peeking out behind the towering mountains of the Wall. "That's enough, I think your sister has learned her lesson."
"Somehow I doubt that." Ling Qi remarks wryly as, when let back down onto her feet, Biyu scrunches her nose up at her cutely while simultaneously maneuvering to hide behind the safety of her mother's body.
"Maybe so." Ling Qingge agrees ruefully. "Though your constant spoiling may have something to do with that."
Ling Qi conspicuously doesn't respond right away as she sits herself back down, shooting a smile towards the approaching Zhengui who has decided to join the rest of the family on the shore. As the legendary spirit beast arrives and settles down next to her, Ling Qi turns to answer her mother's gripe.
"Maybe you're right." Ling Qi reaches up to stroke Gui's snout as he dozes in the afternoon sun, the motion soothing in its familiarity. "But Biyu will have plenty of opportunities to make mistakes in the future. For now I'll enjoy being there to catch her."
"Mhmmph!" Biyu harrumphs. She's seated properly now, a plate of food on her lap and utensils gripped tightly in her small hands, and through a mouthful of food she lets her opinion be known. "But Biyu doesn't make mistakes sissy!"
"Oh? Ling Qi asks, amused.
"Ummhm." The little girl hums in consent, self-assured in the way only a child can be. "Mommy says I'm a very sweet girl." She finishes matter of factly.
"Well that's true. Maybe it's all the sweets you eat?"
"Sissy…" Biyu sighs, exasperated with her silly sister. "That's not how food works!"
Ling Qi deposits a spoonful of flavored ice-chips into her mouth and raises a brow, amused. "Oh, how does it work then?"
"It's obvious! Nanny told me that food goes down into the tummy where it gets chewed up and makes Biyu big and strong."
"Hmm." Ling Qi mimes thinking about it for a moment. "Then something must be going wrong."
"Huh?"
"How come you aren't big and strong yet?"
"Sissy!" Biyu throws her hands up in disbelief. "It takes time! I'll be big and strong soon, like sister Hanyi, big sis and mommy!"
Ling Qi chuckles, ruffling her sister's dark locks before demuring. "Yes, I'm sure you will be."
Biyu seems to think that's the end of the conversation as she turns back to focus on her food. In her place, Ling Qingge, who had been watching the back and forth over a steaming cup of tea, speaks up.
"And where is Hanyi today if you don't mind me asking?"
Ling Qi turns to her mother and shakes her head. "Of course I don't mind. She declined the invitation to focus on a new song she's composing. She's up on the mountain top now." Leaning on her little brother's shell, Ling Qi continues. "She is really quite diligent about her performances."
<I'm not too surprised, that little rascal loves being the center of attention after all.> Sixiang chimes in cheekily as their current form, a small, androgynous doll-like silhouette that blurs at the edges, pops up on Ling Qi's shoulder.
Ling Qingge exhibits her acclimatization to the strange happenings of her daughter by only allowing a brief tightening of her fingers around her teacup to betray her surprise at the sudden appearance.
The topic of Hanyi also stirs the final member of their outing to speak.
"Hanyi has been too busy lately, this Zhen will scold her later." The snake tailed head hisses, displeased, while Gui cracks a drooping eye open to admonish his other half. "Selfish Zhen should not distract Hanyi from her music!"
Ling Qi smiles and runs her hand across the rough surface of the giant snake-tortoise's shell. "How about once we get Biyu settled down at home we go visit Hanyi on the mountain's peak?"
"Gui would like that." Her little brother states guileless. And while Zhen declines to answer, his lack of denial is, in of itself, an answer.
Ling Qi turns to her sister as Zhengui settles back down and Sixiang dematerialises back into her dantian.
"You hear that Biyu? Almost time to go."
"But-but dessert?!"
"What about dessert?"
"Sissy don't tease!"
Ling Qi looks around at the spread of food arrayed on the tarp, much of the plates still half full. She made a mental note to ask her mother to offer the leftovers to her friends in the manor so as not to waste the high-quality fare.
"But I don't see any dessert."
"Sissy! Don't tease! It's in the magic box."
"Very well…" Ling Qi sighs, slowly reaching into the expanded basket. "Dessert then we'll call it for the afternoon, okay?"
"Hmm." Biyu nods once in compliance.
But when Ling Qi withdraws her hand from the basket, Biyu's eyes widen in shock.
"Sissy! That's not dessert!"
"Of course it is. Carrot sticks are tasty, and very healthy too."
"No! No! No!" Cries Biyu at the indignity. "Mommy, sissy is teasing me!"
Ling Qingge shakes her head, shooting a stern look her eldest's way. "Don't torture your sister so. Besides, I thought you were looking for her to wind down, all you've managed is to rile her up."
Ling Qi smothers a laugh, but nonetheless reaches back into the basket to pull out a platter of crumbling pastries glazed with jams and icing. Placing the plate in front of her pouting sister, Ling Qi shoots a small smile her mother's way, a contrite expression on her features. "I'm sorry, I know you are going to be the one that has to deal with her later."
Her mother waves it off. "Think nothing of it. The sugar would have done the same regardless."
"I really do make your life harder, don't I?" Ling Qi jokes lightly.
"Oh you worry this old maid to be sure, but this is a trait shared between all daughters and mothers, not just you and I."
The words bring to mind Renxiang's situation, but Ling Qi wrenches her mind from those troubles and responds in the proper lighthearted manner.
"Yet, I'd wager I bring more worry than most."
"Mayhaps that's the case, but I find myself not minding."
The two share a quiet smile that says more than a hundred books could, and they silently agree to leave the conversation there.
The rest of the afternoon is absorbed by Biyu's insistence that she should get another chance to swim in the lake before she gets taken home, but it's an argument she loses to Ling Qingge's experienced handling.
So, as the sun begins to lower, edging closer to twilight, the Ling family packs the food and tarp away and climbs onto the back of Zhengui to begin the trek back to the manor.
The trip passes peacefully with Biyu nattering on about her friends in the village, and Ling Qi and her mother idly discussing household matters.
Biyu does make something of a fuss when it's time for Ling qi to leave, but her nanny takes her away to clean up, and the two elder Ling members share a quiet goodbye before Ling Qi slips into a shadow and begins her journey to the snowy mountain top where Hanyi awaits
As the world flashes by around her, and with Sixiang and Zhengui tucked safely in her dantian, Ling Qi reflects on the idyllic lakeside day with her mortal family.
The world she finds herself increasingly a part of is endlessly complicated, with feuds, intrigue, and constant competition. And it is because of this that Ling Qi is unable to put into words the gratitude she holds for those serene moments where all her external worries slip away for a time, and all that's left is the comfortable reality of her family, both mortal and spirits.
Ling Qi vows to herself she won't allow these moments to slip away from her, regardless of what's to come.
Fin
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the horror!
- Location
- United States of America
Ling Qi: Hey Suyin...
Li Suyin: Yes?
Ling Qi: How do you feel about water?
Li Suyin: Water? How did that come about?
Ling Qi: Well, we found a passage underwater inhabited by... something that seems in the fourth realm that seems to have a connection to impurities. Either that or it's really gross.
Li Suyin: How...?
Ling Qi: How did we find it? By poking it. Obviously.
CedeTheBees
Probably high right now
- Location
- Somewhere
- Pronouns
- They/Them
[X] Obviously. Why would you refuse?
May as well
May as well
Hmm, looks like we'll be hunting for a creature similar to our domain. Now it's probably gonna be some creature that we've never met, but out of the spirits that we do know, uncle skelly and what's left of Zeqing would probably fit if uncle skelly let's us and taking Zeqing's old core doesn't hurt her reincarnation. Also there is that cyan moon stag but I highly doubt we'd wanna hurt that.
What's more likely than any of that is hunting down a fitting nightmare like some people have suggested. And the best place for that is probably in the nightmare of long knives. By the time we have a G10 dream step we should be around the point that we'll need the elixir soon.
TimEd
Meteor maker
Li Suyin!
If there's somethin' strange in the neighborhood
Who ya gonna call (Li Suyin)
There's somethin' weird and it don't look good
Who ya gonna call (Li Suyin)
I ain't afraid a no impurity
I ain't afraid a no underworld
Who ya gonna call (Li Suyin)
Who ya gonna call (Li Suyin)
If there's somethin' strange in the neighborhood
Who ya gonna call (Li Suyin)
There's somethin' weird and it don't look good
Who ya gonna call (Li Suyin)
I ain't afraid a no impurity
I ain't afraid a no underworld
Who ya gonna call (Li Suyin)
Who ya gonna call (Li Suyin)
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kfrar
Aspiring Encyclopedia
not even waiting for the moratorium smh
- Location
- the internet
I'm pretty sure he made it clear there isn't a vote right? lol
