The influence flows the other way (courtesy of Tsu overthrowing the Beast Gods). The Sunflower Goddess has been brought into the empire by a blood bond and its either extremely difficult or outright impossible for her to act against the empire while the Sun are loyal to it.
That said there are substantial forces at play that put the Sun's continuing loyalty to the imperial project in question.
Sun Shao is no Tsu.
And i doubt the situation is anyway similar here, Tsu made a coalition that killed the Beast gods, he very much did not just adopt them.
And that was pre imperial days, when the world was much more malleable.
Sunflower Goddess can't act freely, as long as Sun Shao is around, which is going to be, what, few hundred years tops?
Unless Liling hits white before that happens, and possibly even if she does thanks to the whole blood bond doing something to her, jungle is going to revert back pretty soon.
Sunflower Goddess can't act freely, as long as Sun Shao is around, which is going to be, what, few hundred years tops?
Unless Liling hits white before that happens, and possibly even if she does thanks to the whole blood bond doing something to her, jungle is going to revert back pretty soon.
What if Sun Shao ascends when he feels Liling is ready to take over, and his Law is something that'll restrain the jungle from acting against his family?
What if Sun Shao ascends when he feels Liling is ready to take over, and his Law is something that'll restrain the jungle from acting against his family?
Possible, though somewhat unlikely, feels like a bit weird ougrowth of his current "everything for family" thing, but not impossible.
How does that affect the whole "jungle turns against the empire" thing?
Like, Liling has already tried to spread the jungle with those sunflowers, i would not expect getting blood bound to the Sunflower Goddess make her less willing to try shit like that.
What if Sun Shao ascends when he feels Liling is ready to take over, and his Law is something that'll restrain the jungle from acting against his family?
its only Sun Lilings bloodline thats really protected.... and unless she can reach white before Shao leaves, one way or the other, i doubt the Sunflower Goddes will be aiming for a similar dynamic like with Shao....
Possible, though somewhat unlikely, feels like a bit weird ougrowth of his current "everything for family" thing, but not impossible.
How does that affect the whole "jungle turns against the empire" thing?
Like, Liling has already tried to spread the jungle with those sunflowers, i would not expect getting blood bound to the Sunflower Goddess make her less willing to try shit like that.
I think its pretty clear Shao already forgot where to draw the lines.... after all, he threw his only descendant to the Bloody Jungle.... with even warning her.
Sure, it will protect her on the long run..... but it also destroyed most chances of Liling getting out of the Jungle, ever.
As for the sunflowers in the tournament.... that was just a technique, no?
Imo Shao got blinded by both his revenge and his grief that he entrusted the wolf to protect the sheep.
hm..... i think his thoughts could be summed up as: "everything for family, family for revenge" though, it might break him if he heard that.... well, after he killed whoever told it to him
Sun Shao is no Tsu.
And i doubt the situation is anyway similar here, Tsu made a coalition that killed the Beast gods, he very much did not just adopt them.
And that was pre imperial days, when the world was much more malleable.
He did actually adopt those who fought beside him as family. The Horned Lord is the most obvious, for they are blood brothers, but the legends are extremely clear that those who fought alongside him are kin to his descendants.
Then there are our beasts, and O does the hypocrisy burn. The great clans are exempt from your distaste naturally, as you dare not face their strength. But for consorting with our kin, whose chains Tsu himself shattered the skulls of their gods, we are savage. You tell us it is a foul thing for children to see our companions as kin, that it degrades their humanity, degrades their loyalty to their own kind. In this the extent of your ignorance is revealed. The beasts which live beside us, which have helped us build,which have defended our homes against nomad, enraged spirit and conqueror alike, and have died beside us when we failed are far more our kin than men such as you in your far away mountains and keeps, ever and always taking from us.
this is all despite the fact that these beasts (and almost certainly spirit blooded) were the descendants of the Beast Gods and thus would be bond as firmly as bloodlines could.
Its also not unreasonable to say that Bountiful Earth would carry on Tsu's breaking of the power that ancestors have over their descendants.
He did actually adopt those who fought beside him as family. The Horned Lord is the most obvious, for they are blood brothers, but the legends are extremely clear that those who fought alongside him are kin to his descendants.
He declared those who fought with him kin.
He did not go beat up the Beast Gods, eat the previous inhabitants of the Emerald Seas, and then have the Beast Gods forcibly adopt his descendants.
Situations is so different that it is not even apples to oranges, it's more like apples to some weird rock with orange paint on it.
She's clearly a genius loci spirit here, born from the Red Sun's High Priestess, the Sage Emperor, and the blood from sacrifice committed in jungle.
There's no mention of any previous Jungle spirit, only that the things really started to mutate and get fucky after all the blood that was spilled during the war, and seeing as how the Goddess is the great spirit of Bloody Evolution, this really feels like a precursor to her birth.
So, I rather think that there wasn't any previous Jungle spirit. One may have formed later on from all the blood and killing that happened in the Jungle if it kept on happening, or one was in the process of forming already. But then the High Priestess did the sacrifice to kill the Sage Emperor, speeding up and supercharging the spirit's formation, and changing its nature (you know, the whole, it was a blade stained with dragon blood thing).
"Of course. How did it compare to the other toxins collected?" Meizhen asked, changing the subject.
"Manufactured for certain," Bao Qingling said. "Similar enough compositional traces that I suspect a master alchemist somewhere in the enemy's supply chain."
"You think someone in the Empire is supplying them?" Ling Qi asked with alarm.
"No," Bao Qingling replied bluntly.
"An unpopular opinion, to ascribe such sophistication to mere barbarians," Meizhen mused.
"And I already told you where they can stuff their popular opinions. I'm not going to underestimate my enemies." Bao Qingling's lip curled in disgust. "Regardless, I need to get back to my workshop. The antidote projects won't finish themselves. I'll leave you to your friend, Bai Meizhen."
"Big Sister! I bet you've been in all sorts of trouble without me!" Hanyi yelled gleefully, all but jumping into her arms for a hug.
"Maybe a little, I'd like to hear what you've been up too though," Ling Qi laughed, hugging her back. "Ah, and what's this?"
She pinched a few strands of Hanyi's hair between her fingers, on top of getting longer, the tips had darkened to a pale icy blue rather than white.
"Hm, it just started to change a little, I like it though!" Hanyi said, stepping back. She was still grinning. Ling Qi took a moment to look her over. Hanyi's features were getting sharper, a little more like her mothers, losing the last shreds of childish softness, and she was taller than Suyin or Meizhen was now. "Oh! Check it out big sis, I got a bunch of presents!"
"That she did," Bao Quan huffed, finally stepping down from inside his wagon himself. The big vehicle was parked here some distance from the outer sect village, in the clearing he had rented from the Sect. It had been repainted a bit, blues and whites and silvers. "A most successful venture indeed." He set the heavy trunk in his arms down on the ground with a thump.
"Thank you for taking care of my junior sister, Bao Qian," Ling Qi said politely as said sister ran over, crouching down before the trunk, she pulled an iron key from her pocket, unlocking and hauling it open.
"It was a bit of a trip," he chuckled. Lowering his voice a little he added. "She is precocious isn't she?"
"That is a word," Ling Qi agreed. "Was there any real trouble?"
"Some ruffled feathers and offended priests. We weren't welcomed warmly everywhere, but the impression was better than not. I have some correspondence from a Viscount Tian, who mentioned Meng Diu's name. He may wish to schedule a proper festival come next winter," Bao Qian said.
Ling Qi nodded absently, filing away the name for later. There were three, no was it four-
"It's four, four viscounts on the scheduled route. Small one, farthest south," Sixiang helpfully provided.
Yes, that, she would worry about that later though. The trunk lid popped open, revealing a massive pile of trinkets and objects, without any organization. Hanyi beamed up at her.
"See, see! So many presents, and these are the ones I couldn't eat!"
Ling Qi glanced at Bao Qian who shrugged. "Food and libations are common sacrifices."
"Mhmm, even the really plain stuff tasted so good with the incenses burning and everything," Hanyi agreed, digging around in the trunk. Ling Qi saw everything from rough wooden figurines to folded furs and clinking bottles, polished river stones and pouches of herbs and more.
Sixiang, what do spirits normally do with offerings to them? LIng Qi wondered silently.
"Depends, most just kinda absorb them, but some keep some around in their spaces. I suspect the little gremlin's gonna be a hoarder."
"This one's my favorite!" Hanyi exclaimed, turning to her with a bundle of soft cloth, which fell open revealing fine figurine of blue frosted glass, shaped like a girl dancing in mid whirl. She felt like it was probably supposed to be Hanyi. "I was so happy! And the glass guy was so happy when I said so and gave him a blessing. Cause he had a little baby and he asked me to help make sure they didn't get sick this winter and…"
Ling Qi listened as Hanyi went on, a nonstop stream of words describing interactions with people from low commoners up to minor nobles. She'd never seen Hanyi so animated about talking to people, but it seemed the mass of praise was downright intoxicating to the young spirit. It seemed as well that she had taken instinctually to giving blessings and fortune as a worshiped spirit. However unusual her origin. Hanyi seemed to have slid into the role without a thought.
"Anyway, it was great, lots of people loved me! Its super weird, hearing people even when I'm not around, and like, feeling the wind and the clouds and other weather stuff. Nudging it around is kinda tiring, especially when other spirits are being grumpy losers about it and pushing back,"
"Did you actually pick any fights?" Ling Qi asked concernedly.
Bao Qian coughed into his hand, and Hanyi paused, looking a little abashed. Ling Qi gave her a flat look.
"...It was only one time! There was a hail spirit, and I had to make her go away, I had just promised that those fields would be okay, she can do her thing before the early planting from now on," Hanyi said, turning up her nose. "Even that priest guy who followed us around agreed that I'd uh-"
"Established dominance," Bao Qian sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "While I am not a priest myself, I understand that this isn't too unusual for spirits to compete and push against one anothers interests. Managing and tracking these relationships is a part of the Ministry of Spiritual Affairs duties."
"But there was no offense given to any greater spiritual courts?" Ling Qi asked.
"Such things are partially brought about by human interaction, inspiring spirits to… coalesce into recognizable organizations," Bao Qian said. "The south of the Meng lands is-"
"Kind of a mess, it felt like a place where everybody only stopped fighting cause they were too tired to keep going," Hanyi said. "And none of the really big spirits there care about people."
Given it was among the most heavily raided regions in the south, and having suffered back and forth conquest during and before Ogodei, she supposed that made sense.
"I'm glad then," Ling Qi said, stepping up to give Hanyi another hug. "Sounds like you've really found something for yourself."
"Mhm!" Hanyi agreed, hugging her back. "I wanna check out things at home now too, I bet I can see stuff better now."
"I'll take you later." Ling Qi said, resting a hand on her head.
"Later- Oh," Hanyi said, pausing. Her features screwed up into a troubled expression. "O-oh, I almost forgot."
Ling Qi felt Sixiang wince, but didn't comment herself, leaving her hand on Hanyi's head as she looked over to Bao Qian. "Thank you again, your help has been invaluable here.
"Its been beneficial to me as well, so I 'm not troubled. Who knew religion could be so profitable," he joked. "I'd like to speak with you, both of you talk about coordination and next steps, but that can come later."
"Yes," Ling Qi agreed. "I'd also like to speak with you, about negotiations, and people, I'd like as many perspectives as I can get on my tactics, going forward. So perhaps we can do a little of both."
"Most agreeable," Bao Qian replied stroking his chin. "But please, don't hold yourself up any further on my account. I know conditions on the road made us a bit late."
Ling Qi nodded. "Alright, Hanyi, get your things. I bet she'd like to hear about your trip as well."
Her junior sister nodded once. "Yeah, I wanna tell Momma too."
***
The mountain peak was not very different than they had left it. The Rimefruit tree had been transplanted elsewhere, but the windswept rocky snowfield where Master Zeqing had dwelled had changed little otherwise. The small pile of rubble which had been left in the wake of her passing and the collapse of her domicile even remained as it was, cold stone dusted with snow that should have been impossible here above the clouds.
There air was thin and icy, the wind sharp and insistent. It's sound was a low, melancholy wail that tugged at the fur trimmed hem of her gown and grasped and tugged at her hair. The two of them had not set up any kind of shrine, nor a place to give offerings. Zeqing was not even the slightest bit human after all. There was no point in using human rituals for her. Instead, they had come and for the first day spoken before the rubble, spoken and sang. Offering thanks and memories to the Zeqing that was. Ling Qi couldn't see into Hanyi's heart, but in her own, she hoped that their offering would bring some shape to the new spirit that came, that the lessons they had taken and given would not be wholly lost.
And, as night fell they turned to learning.
On a table, set out in the snow, Ling Qi spread some of the fruits of her labors. Documents, scrolls, neatly bound books, the studied arts of master musicians acquired from the Meng clan. Spread across the table, they were held in place against the high winds by an absent flex of Ling Qi's will.
Because the role Zeqing had taken on at her End, that of the teacher, meant that there was no better way of celebrating what she had been than learning, and creating something new.
Successor Art Potency: Successor Arts begin with a base potency equal to the ending potency of the original art.
Studies and Notes acquired from the Meng add a +1 to the Base Starting Potency of Frozen Soul Serenade's Successer and possibly other arts depending on choices made.
The Minimum Starting potency of your new art is therefor G3.
"If you take it all, eat it all, there's nothing left for later."
Ling Qi looked up from her scroll, a set of notes musing on the complexities of light passing through water frozen in the midst of falling. Hanyi sat across from her on a high flat stone, kicking her bare feet freely. She was less interested in the writings in Ling Qi, though she had spent time reading and singing poems and songs with her, getting a taste and feel of the new music.
But, talking, that they had done. But this was new.
"Where is that coming from?" Ling Qi asked.
"I think its what I learned," Hanyi said, looking down at the churning clouds below, over the edge of the cliff they sat by. "People have lots of warmth, lots of life. But if you eat it all, you can only eat it once."
"That's true," Ling Qi said quietly. "You really like being praised, huh?"
Hanyi gave her a grin. "Of course! I'm great! People are really generous when you offer something back. I like it. I don't have to be scary all the time, I can just be pretty and nice, and people will love me!"
That seemed kind of shallow, but Ling Qi chuckled anyway. "I think that's a little too simple."
"Welll, that's true," Hanyi said thoughtfully. "Honestly… I really like it but its not the same as taking everything, not as good or potent. I miss it, but I don't mind saving it for bad guys and spirit stuff. I think I'll always be a little scary. It's part of my appeal!"
"Your appeal? Do I have to start assigning Zhengui to chaperone?" Ling Qi asked. There was a twinge of real worry, tempered by what Hanyi was, and inflamed by what her Father had tried to do with Zeqing.
Hanyi stuck out her tongue. "Don't be weird Big Sis."
"What is this sass?" Ling Qi complained, looking out over the cliff herself. "But, that's a good lesson to take. Winter isn't just deathly cold or the frozen night."
"Mm, yeah. I think Momma thought the same thing at the end, kinda," Hanyi said, losing some of her enthusiasm. She really liked teaching. Seeing us grow, but it meant she couldn't keep us. She couldn't take everything. Maybe she coulda done what she did with Papa, but that isn't real. I think she knew."
"...I don't think she would have accepted my words about that if she wasn't thinking it herself on some level," Ling Qi said slowly. The broken shards of the man Zeqing had devoured, propped up and held together by ice and spite were not a person, just a disturbing marionette. "But acknowledging that was another crack."
"You know, I'm kinda glad that nasty old witch in the mountains said I was broken, that Momma messed up. I don't think I'd like it if something like that approved of me," Hanyi said, flopping back to lay out inelegantly on the rock. "She's boring. Basic."
Ling Qi frowned at the memory of Black Skies Yearning, the spirit that had accosted them on the journey south. "That's a little flippant."
"It's not like she's here to punish me," Hanyi laughed, rolling over onto her side.
"Well it's not bad to be a little cocky now and then," Sixiang said, breaking their silence. Their manifestation hovered over the table,belly down as if lying on a divan, a book of poems was open in their 'grip'.
"Its not, you'll never get anywhere without confidence," Ling Qi said.
"Mhm!" Hanyi agreed. So what about you Sis, what do you think you've learned since Momma's been gone?"
AN: So, was originally thinking of having a vote around here, but I think I need to go into some conversation about themes and ideas before a good vote can be had. To that end I'll post this today, and get into a second part of this update on tuesday, the Wind Thief options will also go in that because I think they fit better with what I have in mind there. Thanks for your patience everyone!
I think it's about time I leave this post here for other people to look at considering the upcoming vote/s for FSS+. It's a compilation of fanmade arts compiled and headed by @Erebeal , among them being ideas for FSS+.
Haha would be funny if she started her own spirit court. I could see it happening find some juniors and bully the spirits into joining her performances.
Does Jaromila's story bonus do anything? ([] The tale of a daughter and mothers. A tale of loss and a tale of growth. (Jaromila bond up, Hanyi gains insight/bonus towards FSS successor))
Haha would be funny if she started her own spirit court. I could see it happening find some juniors and bully the spirits into joining her performances.
I think that's more or less inevitable once she hits 5th tier of cultivation.
Big spirits attract smaller spirits, and if she is to become the main winter spirit of southern Emeral Seas, she is going to end up needing lesser spirits to send as messengers.
Does Jaromila's story bonus do anything? ([] The tale of a daughter and mothers. A tale of loss and a tale of growth. (Jaromila bond up, Hanyi gains insight/bonus towards FSS successor))
Does Jaromila's story bonus do anything? ([] The tale of a daughter and mothers. A tale of loss and a tale of growth. (Jaromila bond up, Hanyi gains insight/bonus towards FSS successor))
