Remove ads

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

Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
Reader mode
Karthak Urzak said:

Even if they accept that it had to be done, I don't doubt there are going to be a lot of Meng who will be very upset with Qi and Renxiang.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I think the vast majority of any resentment will be going towards Shenhua and Xia Ren, Ling Qi and Renxiang didn't act against them the most they did was basically self defense, plus blaming two baby greens for the actions and death of a sovereign sounds pretty crazy. Yeah they won't be logical but it's likely that any of the resentment would come from people already oriented to resent us already imo.
 
DeadmanwalkingXI said:
The MoI wouldn't do a damn thing about a Count becoming White. They'd coopt them into the nobility long before that point, but the nobility and being a member of a Ducal Clan are not the same thing.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
In most provinces, a loyal White vassal would be politically awkward and make the ducal clan antsy, since getting to that level means you think the world is fundamentally wrong and you've decided to make yourself into a hotfix to patch out the problem. For the people currently in power and benefiting from how things currently are, that's... concerning. In the case of Ling Qi and the Cai it's less of a concern, since Shenhua is actively encouraging her own overthrow, and CRX knows the general shape of what her retainer thinks is wrong in the world (people fighting instead of talking, and becoming enemies when they didn't need to) and she supports that changing.
 
Depio said:
Who knows, we might just wander into Shenhua's cheat, she was 50 or smth when she got to White so Ling Qi getting to White at 100 or thereabouts would be lit af.

Actually, what does happen when a White cultivator pops up into a non-ducal family?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Case by case every White is unique. However as a general rule Whites don't spring out of nowhere so everyone has quite a bit of time to prepare for or prevent that new reality.
 
Last edited:
BurnNote said:
I think the "White's want to change something about the world" is overblown, given that the Ducal clans consistently produce Whites.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
From our current sample of "did or could have become White" I can't think of any that were fundamentally satisfied, Ducal or otherwise. The changes they want might be compatible with their clan continuing to rule, but they are changes.
 
adaer said:
From our current sample of "did or could have become White" I can't think of any that were fundamentally satisfied, Ducal or otherwise. The changes they want might be compatible with their clan continuing to rule, but they are changes.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
My point is that the changes don't have to be world shaking, or irreconcilable with the ducal clan. They'll definitely be nervous, but it's less about the nature of Whites and more about the fact that people in general don't tend to settle for second place.
 
BurnNote said:
My point is that the changes don't have to be world shaking, or irreconcilable with the ducal clan. They'll definitely be nervous, but it's less about the nature of Whites and more about the fact that people in general don't tend to settle for second place.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
That one Zheng Great Spirit: "What's wrong with the world is that strong cultivators can be immune to alcohol! This will not stand!"
 
JowKeen said:
One interesting hook about BQ to me is just how far he's changed during the tours with Hanyi. Because not only is he having to treat a spirit like a person, he's also bumping into a lot of conventional clergy that are very uncomfortable with that. He's been a character for 4 years real-time, and had a very long time since his last appearance.

And here we are, in traction due to a historic-adventure-event that would make a Zheng drool (and definitely has made Zheng Fu and their master happy).

So how far will he go for his convictions?

We have a low amount of insight into the Bao. We know that they had an internal purge during Shenhua's rise to power, in which the elements that were angling to become part of The Peaks were removed. We know they've got some sort of Gem-Blood from a spirit of the earth. We know they're incredibly mercantile, and favor displays of wealth earned. We also have a little information about both BQ's childhoods not being great for them. So like.

What does he want? And how far is he willing to go for his convictions?

Because for someone not LQ, being a business partner might lead to a closer relationship on a "normal" cultivator timescale of longer years.
but LQ is a nutty girl.
If you want to be with LQ you're coming along for "Interesting Times". You will be exposed to adventures. You will be exposed to troubles well beyond what can be expected of cultivator averages. She's very serious about a greater Emerald Seas political project, and there's a lot of competition.

There's a few projects I can think of that'd make me interested in BQ. One would be a company that arranges things similar to what Hanyi is doing. Management of itinerant Spirits/Spirit-Courts. This would be very much in-line with the essence of Spirit-Seekers/YeOldeWays while being within the paperwork designs of The Empire. As part of a Neo-Weilu identity for Emerald Seas, having multiple traveling Spirit Courts that are beneficial would be something unique to the Emerald Seas (as far as we know). This would also align nicely with the legacy of The Hill Tribes, who were welcomed by Tsu during the founding of the province.

Another thing would be staking out a Southern Bao Branch right now, of his own initiative with-or-without us. The Bao are traders, yes, but their bloodline is from a Gem-spirit of the earth's bounty. While we could be interested in that expertise (and history), we're very much not interested in the Bao getting anywhere near our trade deals before we've established enough local advantages to hold our own. Having a splinter of the Bao assist us in gaining those local advantages, and negotiating with their clan to make sure we're not getting screwed would be an extremely helpful thing for both the Embassy Town as well as Snowblossom. Being able to engage with interesting Bao lore-bits without compromising our trade power is pretty vital to further Bao narrative investment. Otherwise they'll just be a business partner. An impersonal and distant relationship, which isn't ideal for the Greater Emerald Seas political project.

BQ needs to be present for more adventures if he wants a shot, he can't take the safe(r) route of being a business partner of many years if he wants to be the husband. Our Family means a lot to us, and if we're going to court he's going to need to figure out what Family means to him. Ideally he's already had some ideas, considering what we did for Hanyi (our Family). We're not really a business-match kind of marriage person, we're a Ride-or-Die kinda gal.

You wanna walk these twisting paths by our side you best get accustomed to adventure tales boyo. We're pretty intense
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Husband discourse! I love it.

I will admit I've been a bit less interested by Bao with ducal level bois like Turtle and Ape stepping up, but you make a lot of good points about what Bao can bring to the table. Ironically I was also team Moon Senpai who is "just" a Sect boy but he was flirty and hot and had one arm (which along with his Blood Moon theme was kind of metal).

Anyways, I didn't realize (or maybe forgot) the Bao were descended from a Gem spirit which sounds pretty neat. We also know from our last chapter of Bao that he's definitely interested in LQ and willing to put in the effort so I'm excited to read more about him!
 
BurnNote said:
I think the "White's want to change something about the world" is overblown, given that the Ducal clans consistently produce Whites.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

adaer said:
From our current sample of "did or could have become White" I can't think of any that were fundamentally satisfied, Ducal or otherwise. The changes they want might be compatible with their clan continuing to rule, but they are changes.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Consistently in this case being about 1 every thousand years. If Ducal clans are any size at all which they certainly are then there are going to be people in the clan who want to change how the clan runs things.

Which actually makes me wonder how the Bai clan has changed over the course of its very long history. They have consistently produced Whites who by definition were dissatisfied with the state of things and wished to bring about a new change.

It also makes me wonder what great spirits have ascended from the Bai clan.
 
fictionfan said:
Consistently in this case being about 1 every thousand years. If Ducal clans are any size at all which they certainly are then there are going to be people in the clan who want to change how the clan runs things.

Which actually makes me wonder how the Bai clan has changed over the course of its very long history. They have consistently produced Whites who by definition were dissatisfied with the state of things and wished to bring about a new change.

It also makes me wonder what great spirits have ascended from the Bai clan.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
We know of at least three: Yao became Inviolate Death, the first ascended White Serpent Queen who became Bronze Coils Unbending and fixed the Bai castes in place, and Fangs Burning Purity who stopped the dilution of their spirit blood.

And I think non-scrub Dukes like the Bai or Zheng produce Whites way more often than one in a thousand years.
 
Pretty sure that ducal clans have produce more than one white every thousand years on average.
Which is why there are more than a handful of whites at any given time.
 
It feels like to me that there are two basic "types" of ascended great spirits. Those who are just a law and those you actively invoke. Like the Moon and Sun spirits don't seem to do all that much unless people in this world actively invoke them. Well the Fangs Burning Purity seems to just make it so Bai bloodline is dominant without anyone actively worshiping them.

But I might be wrong. Maybe in Bai lands there are temples and rites to Fangs Burning Purity all over the place and Fangs Burning Purity does more then stated when involved.
 
fictionfan said:
It feels like to me that there are two basic "types" of ascended great spirits. Those who are just a law and those you actively invoke. Like the Moon and Sun spirits don't seem to do all that much unless people in this world actively invoke them. Well the Fangs Burning Purity seems to just make it so Bai bloodline is dominant without anyone actively worshiping them.

But I might be wrong. Maybe in Bai lands there are temples and rites to Fangs Burning Purity all over the place and Fangs Burning Purity does more then stated when involved.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I mean, the law of the Sun and the Moon is kinda 'there is a sun and moon' I think. they are just to big and primal spirits in their greater form for their lives to be deeply connected to mortal matters.
 
I mean the sun and the moon do do big important cosmic stuff.

The Laurent said:
Sure, but we don't know how long that is. Probably at least a few years, but frankly by Cultivator standards a decade or two spent managing a fiefdom would absolutely qualify as a brief interlude.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Generally we're thinking more around a couple of decades, but that's mostly because Renxiang's dream had it happen when we'd reached 5th realm.
 
On the husband note, Ling Qi's still too young and her cultivation is too low yet for any serious negotiations that will be in her favor, plus her hand in marriage can be used as a bargaining chip for a long while yet after all. Let the girl have some fun with some hunks before having to settle down yeah.

When Ling Qi gets to cyan sure, but not before then tho.
 
I'm pretty sure that Cultivators have long engagement/fiance periods for this and other reasons. As far as negotiations go, while I agree from a personal perspective that she shouldn't get engaged in the next year or two or whatever, people possess the skill of foresight. If she does wind up keeping up this kind of pace, people will in fact... assume that she's going to hit Cyan or maybe even 5th Realm given enough time.

Like, Ways are as they are, but it'd be a weird bet to assume she wasn't on track to hit Cyan, and sooner rather than later.
 
Depio said:
On the husband note, Ling Qi's still too young and her cultivation is too low yet for any serious negotiations that will be in her favor, plus her hand in marriage can be used as a bargaining chip for a long while yet after all. Let the girl have some fun with some hunks before having to settle down yeah.

When Ling Qi gets to cyan sure, but not before then tho.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I don't know how the thread would take youthful indiscretions*. In my experience posters get very attached to flings and are unwilling to move on ever. There is a amazingly powerful first boy advantage.

*After she turns 18 of course to comply with Forum rules.
 
fictionfan said:
I don't know how the thread would take youthful indiscretions*. In my experience posters get very attached to flings and are unwilling to move on ever. There is a amazingly powerful first boy advantage.

*After she turns 18 of course to comply with Forum rules.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

She's not old enough yet. Stop bringing the subject up until she is an adult.

Once she is old enough, Ling Qi should not have "flings".

1. She does not live in today's immorality is normal world. (It's still just as bad as ever, just accepted.)
2. It would destroy her way. She has very deep relationships, and involving intimacy with someone will bind them to her forever.
3. Have you not been reading this story? She detests the Zheng for having "flings" and wants a true family. One she knows will involve a husband and is coming to terms with what that means. She doesn't desire sex, nor should she until she is married and ready for children.
4. Let her have as many friends who are male as she wants, and then choose to marry the one who she's ready to spend the rest of her life with.
 
Brylowman said:
1. She does not live in today's immorality is normal world. (It's still just as bad as ever, just accepted.)
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I think its pretty close minded looking at this as immoral. morality is a very complicated thing, there are lots of moral system and no one can really judge. people seeking different types of bonds is a thing, and is perfectly fine(As long as both sides are on it, and no one is eploiting the other). this obviously isn't fitting for Ling Qi who seeks a bond and family. but other people in the real world where both side know its a fling? who are you or me to judge?
Tl:Dr- Morality is a rather subjective, and hard to define term no one really can say he owns. if no one is hurt by this there is no moral problem
 
Last edited:
Brylowman said:
She's not old enough yet. Stop bringing the subject up until she is an adult.

Once she is old enough, Ling Qi should not have "flings".

1. She does not live in today's immorality is normal world. (It's still just as bad as ever, just accepted.)
2. It would destroy her way. She has very deep relationships, and involving intimacy with someone will bind them to her forever.
3. Have you not been reading this story? She detests the Zheng for having "flings" and wants a true family. One she knows will involve a husband and is coming to terms with what that means. She doesn't desire sex, nor should she until she is married and ready for children.
4. Let her have as many friends who are male as she wants, and then choose to marry the one who she's ready to spend the rest of her life with.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Today's immorality is normal world? What in Russ's name are you talking about?
 
Reader mode
You must login or register to reply here.
Remove ads
Back
Top