Another big change, was admitting to Lady Cai Renxiang that she had sabotaged those projects in order to repay what's-his-name for saving her from Sun Liling.
I'm curious, what votes do you wish had different outcomes?
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.
Another big change, was admitting to Lady Cai Renxiang that she had sabotaged those projects in order to repay what's-his-name for saving her from Sun Liling.
I'm curious, what votes do you wish had different outcomes?
- Location
- FR
- Pronouns
- He/Him
To be more exact, CRX already knew ad told LQ so point-blank that she wouldn't accept this from a retainer.
Turn 18: Arc 5-5
To use the same framework by which she examined the previous Beast Gods, then the Vermin God was Power which arose from emptiness of the self. From consumption without thought, building nothing, only taking. It was the same sort of Power Su Ling's mother had, which Bleak Sky's yearning had, a bottomless hunger that could know no satisfaction.
Of course, Ling Qi thought, continuing to observe the rodents in their burrows under her feet, there was another element to that. She had heard what other nobles said about common people. Heard the whispers of what they thought of her. It was not so different. If the Eagle God was a critique of overweening pride it was still a comment made from a place of strength. The Vermin God on the other hand was ironically a character clearly created by one looking down.
"And a million million bodies boiled out, hungry without end, a lake of gnashing teeth and hideous hunger, so easily guided by one cruel mind. But their unity was a lie, such base beasts could not comprehend the ugliness of their own existence, could not help but bite and claw their neighbor as fervently as their foe. A hundred million minds made the mighty Vermin God, and every single one dreamed itself the one and only mind of the swarm.
Yet there was something to be found in it. There was a truth there, Ling Qi thought. There were vermin flew as well, after all. And she of all people could not deny that the Vermin Gods hunger both existed and tempted.
It was all too easy to stand among many, and still be alone. She did not think that the Western Territories suffered this. The easy bonds Ji Rong had formed put the lie to that. Or rather, perhaps one could say it took place on a higher stage. Where the whole of the Empire was the God, and each province its own rat.
…That was much more difficult to refute though. She was not even sure she could, save to say that such a state was not the natural resting point.
"And brave Tsu, mighty Tsu bade his warriors to battle with their brothers in their hearts, shoulder to shoulder and back to back,and withstand what came. No man could bear the weight alone, not even he. And Yet great Tsu rode out before his men, atop his brothers back, and declared.
"O God of Vermin, O God of Hunger look upon the meal before you! I am power, but power shared, given unto the earth and the waters and the sky. Xiangmen's blessing flows in my veins. Come then ye mighty, and devour mine flesh if you can."
And though the vicious one, the Vermin God feared a trap, he could not deny the truth of these words. The Power of Tsu was one easily taken, easily devoured, digested. And Mighty Tsu was devoured, flesh and blood and bone and all. A rat would feast upon blood and spirit, swelled and bloated with stolen power… and would be torn apart by its fellows in turn. None could stand another above them, a neighbor less hungry than they.
And the blood and power spilled into the dirt, more lost than gained.
And when the Vermin God had devoured so much, had been left only two squirming gorged rats struggling for the final scraps did the warriors of Tsu come and strike them down with sword and spear.
And they wept for great Tsu, only to be amazed as he rose again from the earth, wan but unbowed…
Ling Qi smoothed her gown and sat down upon the grass. That was at the crux of it too. Tsu united the tribes, the peoples of the Emerald Seas with words. He was tricky. He was rarely the one to lay an opponent low, rather inspiring others or bringing defeat through their own foibles. However, Tsu the Diviner was not a pacifist, he did not admonish against violence. As was made clear in the next section, in the death of the Bear God, he did not shy from personal violence.
Violence, Ling Qi thought, was intrinsic to Power. That part of the Nightmare King's words were not wrong. All battles could not be avoided. She considered again the scurrying rats under the earth. They were peaceful too, nuzzling and crawling around their kin in the warren. It was not nonviolence which raised men above beasts, nor violence which degraded men, because neither men nor beasts were unique in violence or peace. Rather, the wisdom of Tsu as expressed by the play, the art, was to be deft in its wielding. A sword was a tool made for the slaying of men. A spear for slaying beasts. The staff was a support and a tool first, and a weapon last.
"Of course I'd find you cultivating."
Ling Qi was on on her feet startled, in an instant. She did not stand up, she was merely on her feet between eyeblinks, eyes open, senses extended."
Only to be face to face with Sixiang, floating before her upside down. The Muse had donned colorful pink and purple garment, to open across the chest to be a gown, too loose and layered and lacey to be a man's robe. The muse's hair hung down in a long tail from their head, shimmering rainbow color shot through with twinkling strands of black and white.
"Of course you'd startle me," Ling Qi sighed, crossing her arms. "Was it fun?"
"A little, yeah," Sixiang said. They dissolved into smoky mist, reforming atop a fallen log, arms wrapped around their knees. "Ahh man, deep thoughts. Maybe I should have waited a little?"
"I don't think so," Ling Qi said. Here away from anyone, she ignored pretense herself and simply materialized on the log beside Sixiang, leaving a fading ghost of possibility where she had stood before. "I think I need to find a moment for demonstration to complete the technique. It won't be useful to call upon it without a foe."
"Ah, that kind of thing huh?" Sixiang said. "Fraid I can't help. I'm delicate you know. I'd pop like a soap bubble at the first bite."
"Can you still read what I'm thinking so easily?"
"I can't look, no."
Ling Qi nodded and fell into silence. So did Sixiang. The air was still… awkward.
"Did you have fun, making trouble at the Sect?" Ling Qi asked, tilting her head back.
"Honestly it was really tough. I actually kinda care what people think now, if only cause if they get too mad, it'll blow back on you," Sixiang said. "Ah well, I might have tricked a few bozo's into humiliating themselves. Promise I didn't get caught though!"
"Then for deniability, I won't ask for details," Ling Qi sighed. "But…"
"I hung out with that Suyin girl a bit. Or rather, her spider buddy let me crash in her web," Sixiang said, not looking at her yet. That was one of the ones I was actually introduced too. Spooky girl says hi."
The question she'd been about to ask died on her lips.
"You know the cute little thing has a bunch of babies scurrying around already. None of 'em are smart or awake, but dang do the buggy types live fast. Zhenli's such an earnest little thing. If she had less legs I'd wonder if they really were sisters you know?"
Earnest was definitely an accurate description of Li Suyin. Too much so sometimes even. "That does sound like her. Did you get wrangled into any projects?"
"Oh, I got to puppet around some of her bone dolls," Sixiang said. "Helped her figure out some flaws in the animating formations by telling her where moving it felt hinky."
"Oh no, please tell me you won't be using her aesthetic from now on."
"Nah, I don't steal styles."
"You take inspirations."
"That's my girl! You think I could pull of black and purple?"
"You can change yourself until you do," Ling Qi said dryly.
Sixiang chuckled, resting their chin on their hands. "Would you like it?"
"I think we look better contrasting," Ling Qi said.
"Fair," Sixiang said, falling silent after.
Ling Qi closed her eyes, listening to the sounds of the forest. "I've missed you. I'm glad you spent some time with Suyin though."
"Yeah, that was… fun," Sixiang said, frowning. "Not gonna lie, I kinda hated this. It felt like just stretching out the goodbye"
Ling Qi was silent, letting Sixiang work through their thoughts.
"But, I think it was good, walking around, poking holes in peoples privacy screens, riding jockey on some crazy transforming bone dolls, talking to spooky girl about spirits and dreams while she figures out how to corrupt and melt 'em with impurity toxins…"
What in the world was Suyin developing.
"...Yeah. I like her. Spending time with her is fun, even if you're my favorite," Sixiang said.
Ling Qi lowered her head. She was happy to hear that. A little part of her wanted to cling on, to dig into what Sixiang had been doing and tell them to stay close. That they had been apart long enough. "I see, I'm relieved to have you back. I've gotten so used to having your help, everything feels twice as hard without it."
"Hah, I can't make fun of that Li Suyin too much, turns out I'm a hard worker too," Sixiang said. Ling Qi startled a little as Sixiang laid a hand on her knee. She didn't pull away though. "What's the plan?"
"Will you stay here at the summit with me? I won't ask you to get back in my head, but just having you to talk too again…"
Sixiang chuckled. "That so? Need me to do the voices again?"
"By the spirits yes. Reading official correspondence without you makes me want to cry."
"Well how can I say no then?" Sixiang laughed. "Oh but, I have a condition."
Ling Qi blinked, looking at them in surprise.
"So, Li Suyin is working on these giant doll suit things, and its got all sorts of attachments, and I think if I work on it, I can run it myself, I just need you to buy it for me…"
Ling Qi rested her face in her hand, trying not to imagine the mischief Sixiang could get up too in that. "...We'll talk about it. I bet we'll have to argue with her to let me pay at all."
"Probably!" Sixiang said, bounding to their feet. "Whats the plan now though?"
"Well I am going to meet Jaromila to talk, and she is going to vouch for me in getting a meeting with the Twisted Pine Emissary. Now that I've met with the Sun, I really need to get a handle on her too."
Sixiang tapped their chin. "Ah right, the cutey with the iron teeth. She seemed friendly."
Ling Qi flicked Sixiang across the ear. Standing beside them without moving at all. "Professional."
"Ah, jealous?"
"No."
Why did she imagine Cai Renxiang taking a long, satisfied drink from her tea cup there?
Of course, Ling Qi thought, continuing to observe the rodents in their burrows under her feet, there was another element to that. She had heard what other nobles said about common people. Heard the whispers of what they thought of her. It was not so different. If the Eagle God was a critique of overweening pride it was still a comment made from a place of strength. The Vermin God on the other hand was ironically a character clearly created by one looking down.
"And a million million bodies boiled out, hungry without end, a lake of gnashing teeth and hideous hunger, so easily guided by one cruel mind. But their unity was a lie, such base beasts could not comprehend the ugliness of their own existence, could not help but bite and claw their neighbor as fervently as their foe. A hundred million minds made the mighty Vermin God, and every single one dreamed itself the one and only mind of the swarm.
Yet there was something to be found in it. There was a truth there, Ling Qi thought. There were vermin flew as well, after all. And she of all people could not deny that the Vermin Gods hunger both existed and tempted.
It was all too easy to stand among many, and still be alone. She did not think that the Western Territories suffered this. The easy bonds Ji Rong had formed put the lie to that. Or rather, perhaps one could say it took place on a higher stage. Where the whole of the Empire was the God, and each province its own rat.
…That was much more difficult to refute though. She was not even sure she could, save to say that such a state was not the natural resting point.
"And brave Tsu, mighty Tsu bade his warriors to battle with their brothers in their hearts, shoulder to shoulder and back to back,and withstand what came. No man could bear the weight alone, not even he. And Yet great Tsu rode out before his men, atop his brothers back, and declared.
"O God of Vermin, O God of Hunger look upon the meal before you! I am power, but power shared, given unto the earth and the waters and the sky. Xiangmen's blessing flows in my veins. Come then ye mighty, and devour mine flesh if you can."
And though the vicious one, the Vermin God feared a trap, he could not deny the truth of these words. The Power of Tsu was one easily taken, easily devoured, digested. And Mighty Tsu was devoured, flesh and blood and bone and all. A rat would feast upon blood and spirit, swelled and bloated with stolen power… and would be torn apart by its fellows in turn. None could stand another above them, a neighbor less hungry than they.
And the blood and power spilled into the dirt, more lost than gained.
And when the Vermin God had devoured so much, had been left only two squirming gorged rats struggling for the final scraps did the warriors of Tsu come and strike them down with sword and spear.
And they wept for great Tsu, only to be amazed as he rose again from the earth, wan but unbowed…
Ling Qi smoothed her gown and sat down upon the grass. That was at the crux of it too. Tsu united the tribes, the peoples of the Emerald Seas with words. He was tricky. He was rarely the one to lay an opponent low, rather inspiring others or bringing defeat through their own foibles. However, Tsu the Diviner was not a pacifist, he did not admonish against violence. As was made clear in the next section, in the death of the Bear God, he did not shy from personal violence.
Violence, Ling Qi thought, was intrinsic to Power. That part of the Nightmare King's words were not wrong. All battles could not be avoided. She considered again the scurrying rats under the earth. They were peaceful too, nuzzling and crawling around their kin in the warren. It was not nonviolence which raised men above beasts, nor violence which degraded men, because neither men nor beasts were unique in violence or peace. Rather, the wisdom of Tsu as expressed by the play, the art, was to be deft in its wielding. A sword was a tool made for the slaying of men. A spear for slaying beasts. The staff was a support and a tool first, and a weapon last.
"Of course I'd find you cultivating."
Ling Qi was on on her feet startled, in an instant. She did not stand up, she was merely on her feet between eyeblinks, eyes open, senses extended."
Only to be face to face with Sixiang, floating before her upside down. The Muse had donned colorful pink and purple garment, to open across the chest to be a gown, too loose and layered and lacey to be a man's robe. The muse's hair hung down in a long tail from their head, shimmering rainbow color shot through with twinkling strands of black and white.
"Of course you'd startle me," Ling Qi sighed, crossing her arms. "Was it fun?"
"A little, yeah," Sixiang said. They dissolved into smoky mist, reforming atop a fallen log, arms wrapped around their knees. "Ahh man, deep thoughts. Maybe I should have waited a little?"
"I don't think so," Ling Qi said. Here away from anyone, she ignored pretense herself and simply materialized on the log beside Sixiang, leaving a fading ghost of possibility where she had stood before. "I think I need to find a moment for demonstration to complete the technique. It won't be useful to call upon it without a foe."
"Ah, that kind of thing huh?" Sixiang said. "Fraid I can't help. I'm delicate you know. I'd pop like a soap bubble at the first bite."
"Can you still read what I'm thinking so easily?"
"I can't look, no."
Ling Qi nodded and fell into silence. So did Sixiang. The air was still… awkward.
"Did you have fun, making trouble at the Sect?" Ling Qi asked, tilting her head back.
"Honestly it was really tough. I actually kinda care what people think now, if only cause if they get too mad, it'll blow back on you," Sixiang said. "Ah well, I might have tricked a few bozo's into humiliating themselves. Promise I didn't get caught though!"
"Then for deniability, I won't ask for details," Ling Qi sighed. "But…"
"I hung out with that Suyin girl a bit. Or rather, her spider buddy let me crash in her web," Sixiang said, not looking at her yet. That was one of the ones I was actually introduced too. Spooky girl says hi."
The question she'd been about to ask died on her lips.
"You know the cute little thing has a bunch of babies scurrying around already. None of 'em are smart or awake, but dang do the buggy types live fast. Zhenli's such an earnest little thing. If she had less legs I'd wonder if they really were sisters you know?"
Earnest was definitely an accurate description of Li Suyin. Too much so sometimes even. "That does sound like her. Did you get wrangled into any projects?"
"Oh, I got to puppet around some of her bone dolls," Sixiang said. "Helped her figure out some flaws in the animating formations by telling her where moving it felt hinky."
"Oh no, please tell me you won't be using her aesthetic from now on."
"Nah, I don't steal styles."
"You take inspirations."
"That's my girl! You think I could pull of black and purple?"
"You can change yourself until you do," Ling Qi said dryly.
Sixiang chuckled, resting their chin on their hands. "Would you like it?"
"I think we look better contrasting," Ling Qi said.
"Fair," Sixiang said, falling silent after.
Ling Qi closed her eyes, listening to the sounds of the forest. "I've missed you. I'm glad you spent some time with Suyin though."
"Yeah, that was… fun," Sixiang said, frowning. "Not gonna lie, I kinda hated this. It felt like just stretching out the goodbye"
Ling Qi was silent, letting Sixiang work through their thoughts.
"But, I think it was good, walking around, poking holes in peoples privacy screens, riding jockey on some crazy transforming bone dolls, talking to spooky girl about spirits and dreams while she figures out how to corrupt and melt 'em with impurity toxins…"
What in the world was Suyin developing.
"...Yeah. I like her. Spending time with her is fun, even if you're my favorite," Sixiang said.
Ling Qi lowered her head. She was happy to hear that. A little part of her wanted to cling on, to dig into what Sixiang had been doing and tell them to stay close. That they had been apart long enough. "I see, I'm relieved to have you back. I've gotten so used to having your help, everything feels twice as hard without it."
"Hah, I can't make fun of that Li Suyin too much, turns out I'm a hard worker too," Sixiang said. Ling Qi startled a little as Sixiang laid a hand on her knee. She didn't pull away though. "What's the plan?"
"Will you stay here at the summit with me? I won't ask you to get back in my head, but just having you to talk too again…"
Sixiang chuckled. "That so? Need me to do the voices again?"
"By the spirits yes. Reading official correspondence without you makes me want to cry."
"Well how can I say no then?" Sixiang laughed. "Oh but, I have a condition."
Ling Qi blinked, looking at them in surprise.
"So, Li Suyin is working on these giant doll suit things, and its got all sorts of attachments, and I think if I work on it, I can run it myself, I just need you to buy it for me…"
Ling Qi rested her face in her hand, trying not to imagine the mischief Sixiang could get up too in that. "...We'll talk about it. I bet we'll have to argue with her to let me pay at all."
"Probably!" Sixiang said, bounding to their feet. "Whats the plan now though?"
"Well I am going to meet Jaromila to talk, and she is going to vouch for me in getting a meeting with the Twisted Pine Emissary. Now that I've met with the Sun, I really need to get a handle on her too."
Sixiang tapped their chin. "Ah right, the cutey with the iron teeth. She seemed friendly."
Ling Qi flicked Sixiang across the ear. Standing beside them without moving at all. "Professional."
"Ah, jealous?"
"No."
Why did she imagine Cai Renxiang taking a long, satisfied drink from her tea cup there?
Last edited:
- Location
- United States of America
Sixiang's back! Even if she's not going to be in our head for a bit, it's good to have her back.
kfrar
Aspiring Encyclopedia
Ayy, Six made a friend who isn't a part of our family! And it looks like Suyin decided that reanimated flesh and bone isn't cool enough anymore and has moved on to corrupted spiritual energies for her newest projects. Frankly, I'm here for it.
Inconsistent pronoun use
Abby Normal
High Clerk of the Ymaryn
- Pronouns
- He/Him
God, my heart skipped reading this, thinking it was leading in to 'so i'm going back to dream land byeee"
👏 Let 👏 Sixiang👏Get 👏Into 👏Shenanigans! 👏
Putting responses to others in a spoiler to avoid another giant post for the sake of anyone on mobile or the like:
-[Zheng] Ahh, that makes sense. Have any Huang other than Huang Da and <Huang that Ji Rong killed> been mentioned/seen?
-[Bai] On one hand, yes, but it still doesn't fully make sense to me when combined with the Throne at the time (and for a while after) being pro-Sun/Anti-Bai. Like, yeah, the Bai would claim what you do, and i'm sure that would end up muddling things, especially by the time it reaches Ling Qi's ears, centuries and however many cases of rumors later. But it still just strikes me as weird that (again, assuming i'm not misremembering) the Sun/Western Territories, and the Throne, and any other anti-bai influences wouldn't be pushing the "the duke admitted to Sun Shao's face that Bai <name(s)> had sabotaged defenses and arranged for barbarians to kill the Sun family as political revenge, and that they'd face only a slap on the wrist" line. If nothing else i need to go back and reread any time Sun Liling talked about it/ranted about the bai, because surely *she* at least would have no trouble making part of her argument to Ling Qi "the bai had my great-grandfathers family killed because he embarrassed them at court", right?
1. oh, did i miss a sidestory or the like here? or just some WoG? cause i dont remember hearing the explicit 108 number... i remember stuff about... elder ying i think was the name? bringing a meteorite down on ogedei's head, and some other snippets mentioned, but i'd at least had the impression it was like. a few dozen high realms, and some larger number of 3rd/4th realms for holding off ogedei's forces, not specifically 108 5-6 realms just for ogedei
Ah right that was what i was thinking of! Yeah, i liked that better, and the one minor awkwardness of it is entirely a matter of 'i read the forum version so i know this didn't *actually* lose resources for LQ', in the actual RR/ebook contained narrative thats not an issue lol
Votes i wish had different outcomes...there were definitely some votes i had different preferences for, and i think overall the combat and more straightforward ones would have been half and half better or worse than how the thread did
As for major ones... knowing only what we knew at the time i think i would have voted for Sect Path over Cai path, but with the power of retrospect im glad you all went with Cai. I do think the Sect Path would have been very interesting, and i wish i could glance over at an alternate timeline where it was being written, but i think i prefer how being Lady Ren's left hand has worked out Oh, i think i would have chosen the... moth? butterfly? whatever the other option was at the moon revel that led to sixiang. But uh. considering Sixiang is one of my favorite characters, and how powerful that shared tribulation was, narratively? I'm again quite glad it went the way it did Err, shouldn't that be 'they'?
Winged One
Not the Simurgh
- Location
- definitely the ground
- Pronouns
- They/Them/It
I would not be surprised if Sixiang went with alternating gendered pronouns.
Sixiang is back! I've missed them so much! I can't wait for them to get back in Qi's head and see their gains after the tribulation (maybe new nightmare powers).
I am also curious on what they've been up to! Sounds like a lot of fun and good commission bait!
Plus we are gonna buy them a robot body which is fun
This looks like foreshadowing for either a battle or spar coming soon since we didn't get the mechanical change or anything like that yet. Looking forward to that!
I am also curious on what they've been up to! Sounds like a lot of fun and good commission bait!
Plus we are gonna buy them a robot body which is fun
This looks like foreshadowing for either a battle or spar coming soon since we didn't get the mechanical change or anything like that yet. Looking forward to that!
kfrar
Aspiring Encyclopedia
Nah, I wasn't sure which one was right there, but they were definitely supposed to be the same - those quotes were right next to each other without any form changing from Six in between, and Yrs already edited them to match.
It was no accident. Cui set it up.
Cui didn't understand that you could NOT like someone romantically if you did all the romance steps.
This is a neat trick.
Whats she doing with melting dreams!?
...I think she might be more prepared for the Li mountain expedition than we expected
Sixiang: "I am Gundam"
- Location
- The Star Kingdom of Manticore
If Sixiang begins to ride around in a dream mecha I will be 10000% for it.
Winged One
Not the Simurgh
- Location
- definitely the ground
- Pronouns
- They/Them/It
Foreshadowing the man literally becoming agriculture. I like it.
The beauty of Multitudes is we can all be wrong. Each perfectly, beautifully unique in our foolishnesses.
One might even argue the individual can only be incorrect, though that is of course the merit of, the bounty produced by, individuality.
The argument is wrong, obviously, but that aspect of it conveniently aligns with itself.
One might even argue the individual can only be incorrect, though that is of course the merit of, the bounty produced by, individuality.
The argument is wrong, obviously, but that aspect of it conveniently aligns with itself.
SCIENCE!
You nudged them into being a mad scientist, now they are doing it LQ.
Even in Early Modern English, use "my" unless it's before a vowel, just like we still use "a" vs "an" and "the" vs "the".
- Location
- his hidden lair
One could even say Tsu was Divining the future, with his own entrails no less
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Yrs was asked about it on Discord, this is from March 2021.
(changed the names of the questers, don't know about the etiquette regarding this)
There are a lot of little WOG's about World building stuff on Discord, and it all gets archived in a separate channel.
Winged One
Not the Simurgh
- Location
- definitely the ground
- Pronouns
- They/Them/It
I wonder what principle Ogodei was becoming. Unless that's only how it works for Imperial cultivation?
So, it looks like we're probably going to be Emissary debate-sparring with Dzintara, since I don't think Yrsillar wants this BKSD project hanging over all our heads for too long if he can help it. And he can!
Honestly, it makes a pretty decent amount of sense. We're going to be trying to get Dzintara to take our assurances on the Western Territories seriously, but she thinks we're soft and spoiled coming from a land of temperate weather, easy abundance, and tame wilds. Skepticism towards our judgement on a threat like their Flower Demon is pretty reasonable.
The Vermin Lord project should do a pretty good job of demonstrating our familiarity with savagery/conflict/consumption/etc., at least enough to earn Dzintara's begrudging ear. Something we should recognize is that her skepticism and hostility towards our overtures is rational; the Emerald Seas really is a threat to one of the major pillars of Tangled Pines' role and way of life within the Polar Nations. Not immediately, but down the road our natural resources could really seriously undercut their own internal exports.
And while Khadne(sp?) disapprovingly indicated that Dzintara is supposed to be representing her tribe's White Sky interests rather than her sister-people's in the Tangled Pines, in the current context, I don't think it's that simple. Dzintara is an Emissary of both sides of a border, with responsibilities to each, but also responsibilities to her role in embodying that conduit. In perpetuating that conduit. Her position is the relationships between the White Sky and the Tangled Pines, though it's other things as well. If she perceives an existential threat to the future of that relationship, then it's not unreasonable for her to act as though ALL her oaths and obligations demand she act to curb the threat.
Thankfully, we're in a pretty good rhetorical position imo. Ling Qi's meditation on polities being not wholly different from self-destructively gorging vermin is a good foundation to build from, here. Ideally, Ling Qi gets across that she's a credible enough thinker to at least somewhat allay anxieties about Sun Shao's army, while also making it clear she recognizes the potential for conflicting interests between Emerald Seas and Tangled Pines and that she personally thinks actually conflicting would be big dumb.
Honestly, it makes a pretty decent amount of sense. We're going to be trying to get Dzintara to take our assurances on the Western Territories seriously, but she thinks we're soft and spoiled coming from a land of temperate weather, easy abundance, and tame wilds. Skepticism towards our judgement on a threat like their Flower Demon is pretty reasonable.
The Vermin Lord project should do a pretty good job of demonstrating our familiarity with savagery/conflict/consumption/etc., at least enough to earn Dzintara's begrudging ear. Something we should recognize is that her skepticism and hostility towards our overtures is rational; the Emerald Seas really is a threat to one of the major pillars of Tangled Pines' role and way of life within the Polar Nations. Not immediately, but down the road our natural resources could really seriously undercut their own internal exports.
And while Khadne(sp?) disapprovingly indicated that Dzintara is supposed to be representing her tribe's White Sky interests rather than her sister-people's in the Tangled Pines, in the current context, I don't think it's that simple. Dzintara is an Emissary of both sides of a border, with responsibilities to each, but also responsibilities to her role in embodying that conduit. In perpetuating that conduit. Her position is the relationships between the White Sky and the Tangled Pines, though it's other things as well. If she perceives an existential threat to the future of that relationship, then it's not unreasonable for her to act as though ALL her oaths and obligations demand she act to curb the threat.
Thankfully, we're in a pretty good rhetorical position imo. Ling Qi's meditation on polities being not wholly different from self-destructively gorging vermin is a good foundation to build from, here. Ideally, Ling Qi gets across that she's a credible enough thinker to at least somewhat allay anxieties about Sun Shao's army, while also making it clear she recognizes the potential for conflicting interests between Emerald Seas and Tangled Pines and that she personally thinks actually conflicting would be big dumb.
- Location
- FR
- Pronouns
- He/Him
If you squint, we're in a position to form a multinational cartel: if both sides refuse to sell to potential partners on the other side of the frontier goods the other can provide in exchange for preferential rates for specialty products (think Emerald Seas Spider Silk, for example), both regions would profit even if/when bulk trade becomes possible.
globalwarmth
ruining the weather.
- Location
- Polar ice caps
Get in the Eva shinji Sixiang!