Threads Of Destiny(Eastern Fantasy, Sequel to Forge of Destiny)
- Thread starter yrsillar
- Start date
- Original Users' Choice!
Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
- Location
- Chicago
- Pronouns
- She/They
I honestly do not trust mystery box options to fit into that paradigm. This could be a one-off treat, or it could be something like a clue to one of the other civilisations that will play out over years.
Sure. Do we want to explore current themes or grab for novelty?
We aren't really doing more with the fief here, we are just getting to see a few recurring minor characters interact who have not previously, at least is how I see it. I want to know more about the people whose lives have been shaped by shenhua.
Winged One
Not the Simurgh
- Location
- definitely the ground
- Pronouns
- They/Them/It
[X] Her first meeting, observing the courses of the Gold Autumn School with Xia Lin
Site mechanics
So, we've now gotten things a bit further than intended but I will now explain the updated site mechanics, which will keep them relevant as we move further to freeform art cultivation. The new mechanics work similarly to the drug mechanics in that sites provide additional dice toward cultivation.
Xiangmen, The Heavenly Pillar, Tier 1 benefits
+1d10 Physical and spiritual cultivation XP(General)
+1d6 Physical Cultivation for each Wood Aligned Art in cultivation(Art)
+1 Spiritual Cultivation for each level of Persistence Concept(Insight)
This was the example site, shown to you earlier as you see it has three categories of benefit. General, Art and Insight, indicating where their bonus derives from. For the sake of my sanity Insight benefits are only shown for concepts you have and are not an exhaustive list.
In addition Note the 'Tier 1'
Site's especially powerful sites have multiple tiers, some like veins of the earth need to be developed, others merely only provide benefits when certain requirements have been met, typically a minimum cultivation realm or a certain number of meridians attuned to one or more elements. Better benefits are accessed by developing the site and meeting the requirements for the next level.
Once you return from Xiangmen, you will be able to choose two sites for cultivation in each monthly period.
Xiangmen, The Heavenly Pillar, Tier 1 benefits
+1d10 Physical and spiritual cultivation XP(General)
+1d6 Physical Cultivation for each Wood Aligned Art in cultivation(Art)
+1 Spiritual Cultivation for each level of Persistence Concept(Insight)
This was the example site, shown to you earlier as you see it has three categories of benefit. General, Art and Insight, indicating where their bonus derives from. For the sake of my sanity Insight benefits are only shown for concepts you have and are not an exhaustive list.
In addition Note the 'Tier 1'
Site's especially powerful sites have multiple tiers, some like veins of the earth need to be developed, others merely only provide benefits when certain requirements have been met, typically a minimum cultivation realm or a certain number of meridians attuned to one or more elements. Better benefits are accessed by developing the site and meeting the requirements for the next level.
Once you return from Xiangmen, you will be able to choose two sites for cultivation in each monthly period.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
No cool but potentially overpriced loot for us it seems, at least not right now anyway. Oh well, such is the nature of things.
Lost Legends: Shadows Cast by Webs
New
- Location
- United States of America
Lost Legends: Shadows Cast by Webs
Walking along the roots, Lu Tian tapped his cane against the wood, letting soft clacks echo down into the darkness. This area was vacant, but the dark shadows that the Hui had let grow here ensured that even the despondent avoided these roots, which suited him just fine. Crowds made him uncomfortable. Too many possibilities, too many avenues of attack, and too many faces to keep track of. Here, in the dark, was where he belonged. With the grudges and horrors that millennia of abuse had spawned.
A tendril of hatred coiled down from the darkness above, giggling and weeping and screaming. He ignored it, even as it caressed his face and tried to strangle his throat. It failed, of course. The body he was borrowing was only a shell, and he cared not for the purpling of his throat or shuddering efforts of frail mortal lungs. Lu Tian just kept moving, his cane keeping the rhythmic tapping in the dark. The strand of hatred retreated, whispering secrets of how it would kill him, poison for the ears and toxins for the heart. A tenacious little thing. He ignored it. Deeper and more vile venoms boiled within his soul already.
Another turn, a different rhythm being tapped. If any watchers were observing him, they would note down the frequency and strengths of the taps, spend time correlating a pattern, and derive an answer to questions they had. He cared not what the questions might be, the answers would always be wrong. A simple trick he learned in his years of work, if you wanted to trick a glutton, feed them until they had no room for anything useful, and then feed them more.
Although, if he was being watched this far down in the roots, then the ploy was already over. But, the Hui were not subtle in their displeasure, especially when in the place they perceived as their own. He would have already been picked up and disposed of.
Taking a turn again, he saw a figure leaning against the walls. Cloaked in shadows with a wooden mask painted purple and black creating the illusion of a face leering into the darkness.
"Ah," Lu Tian said, "you did make it. I'm glad. It's been decades since we've last met. It's good to see you are doing well. You had something you wanted to report though?"
Sighing the figure nodded. "Yes. You've heard of the Youshan Activists, correct?"
"A time or two."
"Just learned it's a ploy by Lord Hui Zhelan. A seed of rebellion to draw out the dissidents and troublemakers. Any who join will be… processed or reeducated."
"A pity. I was hoping to make contact with them soon."
"A pity!?" The man said with quiet disgust. "That's all the emotion you can muster? You need to inform them, get the righteous out of there to fight another day!"
"To what end," Lu Tian calmly said, leaning against the wall. "So they can fight another day? Reveal to the Hui that their plans are leaking to ears outside of Xiangmen? No, it is good information, certainly, and I appreciate you informing me. But that's not all you wanted to talk about, is it?"
"The Hui are getting wary of that Cai girl, down south. Her rapid cultivation is clearly propaganda, but that just means someone is propping her up. Fingers are pointing everywhere, and suspicion is running rampant."
"Good, the longer the Masters worry and nip at each other's heels, the more time Cai has to build her base up. I have a source, in the Meng Fens. She'll claim under duress that it is a Bai plot. Yu My is her name. I'm sure that Lord Hui Song will appreciate someone with solid evidence about who is supporting the Cai. Appreciate that person enough to elevate them to an even higher position. He'll raise you far."
"You're giving up one of your people?"
"Of course," Lu Tian said dryly. "Her value was the information I was feeding her about fake Bai plots. The plan was always to sacrifice her at an opportune time."
"Just like you'll sacrifice the Youshang Activists?"
"They will serve the cause more with their deaths than with their lives. Martyrs, we'll spin it. Honorable freedom fighters against Hui terror. It'll rile up the eastern cities, make them more likely to support Cai, or at the least leary of supporting the Hui. It'll be a good story."
"Those are people's lives you're using! Fathers and mothers and sons and daughters! Do you not care about their families?"
"No," Lu Tian said softly. "I don't."
There was a silence then. Deeper and darker than the horrors that lurked around the twists and turns of the roots.
"If I cared," Lu Tian continued after a moment, "then I would not be strong enough to move forward. To eat at the rotten roots of the Hui and swallow the bile long enough to take another bite."
"So you'll sacrifice everyone to bring the Hui down? What about our oaths? Our oaths to bring about a better world? How can we bring a better world tomorrow if we sacrifice innocents today? Where is the justice in that? How can our actions be right when we choose the easy route of sacrificing others?"
"Easy? What is easy about our choices? Easy is having a choice about what to sacrifice. But…I have no CHOICE. I have already imbibed the poison that will kill me, the rot that the Hui use to control the Emerald Seas I have grafted to my flesh. My family has been forsaken, my dreams drowned, and my hope has been hung. There is nothing left for me to sacrifice! So I sacrifice others! So that the war can be won!
"Because war… war does not care about who is right. Or who is just. War does not care for who weeps the most or even who has sacrificed the most. All war cares about is who is left standing. Centuries ago I understood this truth. Centuries ago you and I began preparing for this war.
"I will sacrifice a city to keep you safe. The knowledge you glean has been, and continues to be, crucial for the overthrowing of the Hui. And you have risen far with the information I provide you. And with Yu My's sacrifice, you will rise further still, gaining access to more of the Hui's plans and contingencies. Access that will be crucial to ferment a successful rebellion.
"Who knows, maybe this Cai will succeed. Maybe we'll live to see the day that the Hui have fallen from Heaven's throne. I'll certainly work on making sure that happens. Will you?
"I hate you," the shadowed figure growled out. "I hate you Lu Tian. You're more twisted than the Hui now."
"I know," Lu Tian said softly. "But that means we'll win."
"I'll take Yu My's name to the Hui and we'll go from there. But, I hope to all the spirits that when this is over, you'll be put out of your misery."
"Wouldn't that be nice," Lu Tian said with a smile as he turned away. "No longer having to be miserable? A better fate I couldn't imagine."
A/N: @yrsillar another omake for the omake throne! Man, it's been a long time since I last wrote an omake for Threads. A ton of unfinished ideas and concepts, but nothing really seemed to flow. Except for this idea brought to you by the show Andor. Because many times, rebellions have a darker and more violent shadow than the charismatic leader lets people believe.
Walking along the roots, Lu Tian tapped his cane against the wood, letting soft clacks echo down into the darkness. This area was vacant, but the dark shadows that the Hui had let grow here ensured that even the despondent avoided these roots, which suited him just fine. Crowds made him uncomfortable. Too many possibilities, too many avenues of attack, and too many faces to keep track of. Here, in the dark, was where he belonged. With the grudges and horrors that millennia of abuse had spawned.
A tendril of hatred coiled down from the darkness above, giggling and weeping and screaming. He ignored it, even as it caressed his face and tried to strangle his throat. It failed, of course. The body he was borrowing was only a shell, and he cared not for the purpling of his throat or shuddering efforts of frail mortal lungs. Lu Tian just kept moving, his cane keeping the rhythmic tapping in the dark. The strand of hatred retreated, whispering secrets of how it would kill him, poison for the ears and toxins for the heart. A tenacious little thing. He ignored it. Deeper and more vile venoms boiled within his soul already.
Another turn, a different rhythm being tapped. If any watchers were observing him, they would note down the frequency and strengths of the taps, spend time correlating a pattern, and derive an answer to questions they had. He cared not what the questions might be, the answers would always be wrong. A simple trick he learned in his years of work, if you wanted to trick a glutton, feed them until they had no room for anything useful, and then feed them more.
Although, if he was being watched this far down in the roots, then the ploy was already over. But, the Hui were not subtle in their displeasure, especially when in the place they perceived as their own. He would have already been picked up and disposed of.
Taking a turn again, he saw a figure leaning against the walls. Cloaked in shadows with a wooden mask painted purple and black creating the illusion of a face leering into the darkness.
"Ah," Lu Tian said, "you did make it. I'm glad. It's been decades since we've last met. It's good to see you are doing well. You had something you wanted to report though?"
Sighing the figure nodded. "Yes. You've heard of the Youshan Activists, correct?"
"A time or two."
"Just learned it's a ploy by Lord Hui Zhelan. A seed of rebellion to draw out the dissidents and troublemakers. Any who join will be… processed or reeducated."
"A pity. I was hoping to make contact with them soon."
"A pity!?" The man said with quiet disgust. "That's all the emotion you can muster? You need to inform them, get the righteous out of there to fight another day!"
"To what end," Lu Tian calmly said, leaning against the wall. "So they can fight another day? Reveal to the Hui that their plans are leaking to ears outside of Xiangmen? No, it is good information, certainly, and I appreciate you informing me. But that's not all you wanted to talk about, is it?"
"The Hui are getting wary of that Cai girl, down south. Her rapid cultivation is clearly propaganda, but that just means someone is propping her up. Fingers are pointing everywhere, and suspicion is running rampant."
"Good, the longer the Masters worry and nip at each other's heels, the more time Cai has to build her base up. I have a source, in the Meng Fens. She'll claim under duress that it is a Bai plot. Yu My is her name. I'm sure that Lord Hui Song will appreciate someone with solid evidence about who is supporting the Cai. Appreciate that person enough to elevate them to an even higher position. He'll raise you far."
"You're giving up one of your people?"
"Of course," Lu Tian said dryly. "Her value was the information I was feeding her about fake Bai plots. The plan was always to sacrifice her at an opportune time."
"Just like you'll sacrifice the Youshang Activists?"
"They will serve the cause more with their deaths than with their lives. Martyrs, we'll spin it. Honorable freedom fighters against Hui terror. It'll rile up the eastern cities, make them more likely to support Cai, or at the least leary of supporting the Hui. It'll be a good story."
"Those are people's lives you're using! Fathers and mothers and sons and daughters! Do you not care about their families?"
"No," Lu Tian said softly. "I don't."
There was a silence then. Deeper and darker than the horrors that lurked around the twists and turns of the roots.
"If I cared," Lu Tian continued after a moment, "then I would not be strong enough to move forward. To eat at the rotten roots of the Hui and swallow the bile long enough to take another bite."
"So you'll sacrifice everyone to bring the Hui down? What about our oaths? Our oaths to bring about a better world? How can we bring a better world tomorrow if we sacrifice innocents today? Where is the justice in that? How can our actions be right when we choose the easy route of sacrificing others?"
"Easy? What is easy about our choices? Easy is having a choice about what to sacrifice. But…I have no CHOICE. I have already imbibed the poison that will kill me, the rot that the Hui use to control the Emerald Seas I have grafted to my flesh. My family has been forsaken, my dreams drowned, and my hope has been hung. There is nothing left for me to sacrifice! So I sacrifice others! So that the war can be won!
"Because war… war does not care about who is right. Or who is just. War does not care for who weeps the most or even who has sacrificed the most. All war cares about is who is left standing. Centuries ago I understood this truth. Centuries ago you and I began preparing for this war.
"I will sacrifice a city to keep you safe. The knowledge you glean has been, and continues to be, crucial for the overthrowing of the Hui. And you have risen far with the information I provide you. And with Yu My's sacrifice, you will rise further still, gaining access to more of the Hui's plans and contingencies. Access that will be crucial to ferment a successful rebellion.
"Who knows, maybe this Cai will succeed. Maybe we'll live to see the day that the Hui have fallen from Heaven's throne. I'll certainly work on making sure that happens. Will you?
"I hate you," the shadowed figure growled out. "I hate you Lu Tian. You're more twisted than the Hui now."
"I know," Lu Tian said softly. "But that means we'll win."
"I'll take Yu My's name to the Hui and we'll go from there. But, I hope to all the spirits that when this is over, you'll be put out of your misery."
"Wouldn't that be nice," Lu Tian said with a smile as he turned away. "No longer having to be miserable? A better fate I couldn't imagine."
A/N: @yrsillar another omake for the omake throne! Man, it's been a long time since I last wrote an omake for Threads. A ton of unfinished ideas and concepts, but nothing really seemed to flow. Except for this idea brought to you by the show Andor. Because many times, rebellions have a darker and more violent shadow than the charismatic leader lets people believe.
Cecylene
Eternal Idea Engine
- Location
- Massachusetts
- Pronouns
- He/They
This is absolutely a man who walked up to look Cai Shenhua in the eye to thank her even as his entire being boiled under her light until all that's as left was a very tired man.
- Location
- Third planet from the star named Sol
- Pronouns
- He/They
sure
edit: hot damn!
edit: hot damn!
- Location
- Washington
Lol. Lmao, even.
- Location
- United States of America
Fantastic! And the rolls keep coming!
Were their any Hui policies that were superior to Cai's? Facets of their rule that was positive and Cai struggles to replicate?
Like the story goes to paint the Hui sucking at literally everything and the Cai takeover was an improvement in every possible way.
The only complication is the long term effects of Cai rule being unstable because it's matriarch has a way that requires her to be partially restrained by her wife and is a ticking time bomb.
Like the story goes to paint the Hui sucking at literally everything and the Cai takeover was an improvement in every possible way.
The only complication is the long term effects of Cai rule being unstable because it's matriarch has a way that requires her to be partially restrained by her wife and is a ticking time bomb.
Rolling for cultivation manpower
There probably where at some point. Gotta remember that we saw the Hui at their end point, after millennia of drinking their own Kool-Aid.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I mean, it rather depends on who you are. If you were one of the more powerful Hui or even their favored servants, and avoided drawing the attention of any of the more unpleasant Hui, life looked pretty sweet under them due to the fact you could do basically whatever you wanted to lower class people with no repercussions, make a fortune on bribes, and so on.
The current system is a vast improvement for everyone else, of course.
Damn, our mining industry is going to POP OFF
Year 46: Month 1 Arc 1-1 White Plume
New
Out under the sun shining through Xiangmen's opaque canopy as if it was not there, the shadows left clinging to Ling Qi's mind seemed far lighter, particularly after a good rest.
"Does it really count as resting when we just sat on my shore playing go? I didn't even know you liked go."
She didn't have any particular fondness for it, but Cai Renxiang did. Focusing on the patterns of it was a good way of clearing her mind of anything more tangled and complex.
"So that's your excuse for why you kept losing?"
It wasn't about winning or losing, Sixiang. Cai Renxiang always beat her too, it was a meditative exercise.
"That twitch you got in your eye after the third game says otherwise."
"Is there something amiss? Your eye just twitched violently," Xia Lin asked, frowning at her.
"Just my spirit being cheeky," Ling Qi sniffed.
"...I see? Well, please direct your attention outward, we are here."
Ling Qi huffed. She was perfectly capable of multitasking. She turned her attention to the dimmer interior space before them, a knothole nook opened at the base of one of the main branches of the heavenly pillar, wide enough for a dozen horses to enter side by side, it was still minuscule compared to the broad base of the branch.
Within the nook were the grounds of the Gold Autumn school. It had a fairylike dreaming quality to it. Rays of light shone down through pinprick holes in the bark and dimmer lights glowed from lanterns set along the paved stone paths that wound through the gardens. They were well appointed, full of flowers of soothing hues. The school had a two-tiered peaked roof and sprawled out through its knothole grotto with wings extending into the interior.
In the distance, down the gently sloping path that led into the grotto, on the porch that wrapped around the central building, Ling Qi could see Mei Lanfen, the administrator they had spoken to on their last trip to Xiangmen, waiting for them at the entrance. She felt a brush and pulse of the woman's light papery qi, and both she and Xia Lin let their own pulse in acknowledgment.
"Let's not keep her waiting then," Ling Qi said pleasantly. Xia Lin let out a huffing sigh, and followed her down the path, matching her stride. They soon reached the bottom of the slope and the steps leading up to the porch of the school, offering Mei Lanfen their bows and receiving her own once they were at the proper distance.
"Welcome to the Gold Autumn school, Baroness Ling, Lieutenant Xia," Mei Lanfen said, straightening up. She wore an austere earth toned gown, chased with threads of gold embroidery that evoked falling autumn leaves. "I am honored that you accepted my humble invitation."
"Of course, Madam Mei, your students have been such a boon to Shenglu, we of Lady Cai's court would of course wish to hear what you might have to say now that circumstances allow it," Ling Qi said diplomatically.
"And I am interested in why you specifically requested me," Xia Lin said more bluntly. "I appreciate the skills of your students, but quartermaster aside, I have had little interaction. That is Lady Cai and Baroness Ling's role."
"It is, but I have some news and a proposal that may interest you," Mei Lanfen replied. "Will you follow me inside?"
They both nodded, following as the elderly woman swept open the doors to lead them into the school.
They did not tour the facility, not yet at least, but merely passing through it gave some impressions. Ling Qi knew the Gold Autumn had more than one facility. There was one further down the trunk, a school for smaller children meant to teach reading, writing, and basic sums, to channel young minds toward the ministries. This then was the main school where those who showed some ability and also common cultivators and the children of minor court clans were educated and given some basic cultivation resources.
The classes were small, by most standards twenty or so students to a teacher, from what Ling Qi could see. What she saw being taught was behind her now, but all of it was useful.
"Not that behind. Pretty sure I see at least five people at a glance with better calligraphy than you," Sixiang needled playfully.
Was. Behind. Her.
"Sheeesh, touchy."
But there were smaller classes too, she could feel them up on the second floor as Mei Lanfen led them past the classrooms, toward the administrative offices in the back. The whole building had the air of cleanliness that Ling Qi knew Cai Renxiang loved. It was no wonder that the graduates had fit in so neatly under her hand.
"I hope what you see is to your satisfaction, though I will provide you a full tour later, should you wish," Mei Lanfen said.
"I should enjoy that," Ling Qi agreed.
"I am not an academic, but it is pleasant to see a place so dedicated to self-betterment," Xia Lin added. "I commend the inwardly focused atmosphere you have cultivated here."
Ling Qi tilted her head. She could taste the meaning of what Xia Lin meant there on the tip of her tongue, but she wasn't exactly certain what she was referring to.
"Ah? Miss Xia noticed? It is true that we foster a calmer environment than the orthodoxy in these things," Mei Lanfen agreed.
"Orthodoxy? I was under the impression that schools like these were too rare to have such a thing," Ling Qi said.
"In the Emerald Seas that is true," the older woman replied. They passed from the classrooms to the offices now. These were small but well appointed, and Ling Qi noticed many of the sorts of things meng Duyi had been pointing out to her, quirks of architecture and decor which kept the energies of the school circulating, not letting Yin nor yang pool too much in one place. "But there have been some efforts in other provinces. Her imperial highness in particular has been offering support to those who meet her specifications. Which are themselves informed by the more developed system in the Alabaster Sands."
"I had heard something of the sort. The Hundred Schools system?" Xia Lin said.
"Just so, there are many more than a hundred, but only those schools that produce the best results for Duke Jin receive support and accreditation," Mei Lanfen replied. They had reached her office, and the administrator led them inside. It was a cozy sort of room, with the furnishings feeling close in without seeming cramped. She motioned for them to enter, and they did. The two of them found seats in front of the dark wooden desk which Mei Lanfen settled herself behind.
"It is a fiercely competitive system, it produces many driven individuals, but I am afraid I find the mindset it encourages among students a bit too…" the old woman trailed off, looking toward the window that faced outward to the gardens. "... Familiar."
Mei Lanfen was a survivor of Cai Shenhua's purge of the Hui-run Ministries, following her ascent to the throne of the Emerald Seas.
"Well, I have to say I'm a little embarrassed to not be more knowledgeable," Ling Qi said, with a small laugh."
"You are rising fast, but you are young still if you do not mind me saying so, Baroness. Seventeen years is only so much time for reading, even as a cultivator."
"Particularly when I did very little of it, before the last few," she said wryly. "I'm surprised you knew of it though, Xia Lin?"
"I spent some time speaking to Jin Tae during the summit. We were required to coordinate on security concerns," Xia Lin shrugged. "Conversation sometimes turned to the principals behind our ways of doing things."
"I see, I hadn't the time, unfortunately," Ling Qi said, frowning. Well, she had many things on her plate, and learning more about domestic interests in the Empire was only one of them. "But we are wandering afield I think, Madam Mei."
"Only a small amount, education standards in the Empire are my interest," the older woman chuckled. "But is true that my mind is more on matters of the Emerald Seas. I am very glad that my students are meeting the young lady Cai's requirements even so far from the amenities of the capital."
"There has been some adjustment to that life needed," Ling Qi said. "Some were quite unprepared for the cold."
"I can only imagine," Mei Lanfen replied, amused.
"But, little adjustments aside, Lady Cai is confident in the crop of administrators and clerks you have sent us. She has entrusted them with the running of day-to-day operation in Shenglu while we are away after all."
"Which I am certain is keeping sweat on many brows right now."
"Doubtless," Xia Lin said. "But, I am curious about your proposals. We cannot support more ministry and bureaucratic work until the population grows. I have no doubt Lady Cai will keep you in mind. There are very few institutions such as this unaffiliated with any clan."
"There are not," Mei Lanfen agreed. "A poor situation."
Ling Qi tilted her head curiously.
"Heres the sales pitch…"
"Knowing our quality, I would like to arrange sponsorship from the Young Lady Cai. What exists between her and the Gold Autumn school now is… implicit. I would like to see it become explicit. There will be many expanding towns and fiefs in the south in coming years, thanks to Lady Ling's success."
"You wish us to popularize the idea of expending resources on classically trained administrators rather than just making do with the mortals available locally?" Ling Qi asked curiously.
"Nah not just that I suspect. What's the word… subsidize? I think she's tryin' to catch Renren's urge to spread her systems around."
"...Or rather, you're hoping she might subsidize such a program," Ling Qi said aloud.
"The Baroness is insightful," Mei Lanfen agreed. "Yes, if the young Miss Cai could make such a thing normal… the lands in the south are all under the Cai yet after all, I think this will have good effects."
Ling Qi considered it, breathing out feeling the flickering lights of the many many students throughout the building and grotto. "You do not have enough to meet demand if we were successful. Not without increasing your class sizes greatly."
Which would likely hurt the… atmosphere of this place.
"I could convince my fellow old donors to give more to this, expand somewhat, but no we could not. But such a program from the heir implies a continuing demand."
She stared at the old woman. That was…
"Huh, guess that's expected of someone who could go under that light and not melt."
"You think it will encourage others to create their own schools such as this."
"It is unlikely such competitors would all be the mold you have cast here," Xia Lin said, furrowing her brows.
"Not all, but success breeds imitation," Mei Lanfen replied. "Do you believe this is something Lady Cai would consider?"
"I do not doubt that she would, " Ling Qi said. She knew Renxiang well enough for that. There were a thousand little details that would need to be hashed out. She knew Renxiang had an almost overwhelming allowance now, the cultivation budget for an adult ducal heir, someone expected to be in the fifth realm. More than a third realm could possibly spend on cultivation without blowing their meridians out from all the elixirs and enhancers it could buy. So something like this was certainly possible.
Ling Qi had a thought. "Mei Lanfen, you mentioned your other donors, how much is the usual contribution?"
She raised an eyebrow. "There is nothing so formal among we old men and women. This did begin as something informal, for all that some of us are more dedicated than others. I would say between fifty and one hundred green stones in a year.
Cai Renxiang had told her she should consider investing in things other than her own cultivation…
Float the idea of making your own contribution over and beyond any official subsidy Cai Renxiang arranges.
[ ] Do not
[ ] 50 Green Stones per year
[ ] 100 Green Stones per year
"Does it really count as resting when we just sat on my shore playing go? I didn't even know you liked go."
She didn't have any particular fondness for it, but Cai Renxiang did. Focusing on the patterns of it was a good way of clearing her mind of anything more tangled and complex.
"So that's your excuse for why you kept losing?"
It wasn't about winning or losing, Sixiang. Cai Renxiang always beat her too, it was a meditative exercise.
"That twitch you got in your eye after the third game says otherwise."
"Is there something amiss? Your eye just twitched violently," Xia Lin asked, frowning at her.
"Just my spirit being cheeky," Ling Qi sniffed.
"...I see? Well, please direct your attention outward, we are here."
Ling Qi huffed. She was perfectly capable of multitasking. She turned her attention to the dimmer interior space before them, a knothole nook opened at the base of one of the main branches of the heavenly pillar, wide enough for a dozen horses to enter side by side, it was still minuscule compared to the broad base of the branch.
Within the nook were the grounds of the Gold Autumn school. It had a fairylike dreaming quality to it. Rays of light shone down through pinprick holes in the bark and dimmer lights glowed from lanterns set along the paved stone paths that wound through the gardens. They were well appointed, full of flowers of soothing hues. The school had a two-tiered peaked roof and sprawled out through its knothole grotto with wings extending into the interior.
In the distance, down the gently sloping path that led into the grotto, on the porch that wrapped around the central building, Ling Qi could see Mei Lanfen, the administrator they had spoken to on their last trip to Xiangmen, waiting for them at the entrance. She felt a brush and pulse of the woman's light papery qi, and both she and Xia Lin let their own pulse in acknowledgment.
"Let's not keep her waiting then," Ling Qi said pleasantly. Xia Lin let out a huffing sigh, and followed her down the path, matching her stride. They soon reached the bottom of the slope and the steps leading up to the porch of the school, offering Mei Lanfen their bows and receiving her own once they were at the proper distance.
"Welcome to the Gold Autumn school, Baroness Ling, Lieutenant Xia," Mei Lanfen said, straightening up. She wore an austere earth toned gown, chased with threads of gold embroidery that evoked falling autumn leaves. "I am honored that you accepted my humble invitation."
"Of course, Madam Mei, your students have been such a boon to Shenglu, we of Lady Cai's court would of course wish to hear what you might have to say now that circumstances allow it," Ling Qi said diplomatically.
"And I am interested in why you specifically requested me," Xia Lin said more bluntly. "I appreciate the skills of your students, but quartermaster aside, I have had little interaction. That is Lady Cai and Baroness Ling's role."
"It is, but I have some news and a proposal that may interest you," Mei Lanfen replied. "Will you follow me inside?"
They both nodded, following as the elderly woman swept open the doors to lead them into the school.
They did not tour the facility, not yet at least, but merely passing through it gave some impressions. Ling Qi knew the Gold Autumn had more than one facility. There was one further down the trunk, a school for smaller children meant to teach reading, writing, and basic sums, to channel young minds toward the ministries. This then was the main school where those who showed some ability and also common cultivators and the children of minor court clans were educated and given some basic cultivation resources.
The classes were small, by most standards twenty or so students to a teacher, from what Ling Qi could see. What she saw being taught was behind her now, but all of it was useful.
"Not that behind. Pretty sure I see at least five people at a glance with better calligraphy than you," Sixiang needled playfully.
Was. Behind. Her.
"Sheeesh, touchy."
But there were smaller classes too, she could feel them up on the second floor as Mei Lanfen led them past the classrooms, toward the administrative offices in the back. The whole building had the air of cleanliness that Ling Qi knew Cai Renxiang loved. It was no wonder that the graduates had fit in so neatly under her hand.
"I hope what you see is to your satisfaction, though I will provide you a full tour later, should you wish," Mei Lanfen said.
"I should enjoy that," Ling Qi agreed.
"I am not an academic, but it is pleasant to see a place so dedicated to self-betterment," Xia Lin added. "I commend the inwardly focused atmosphere you have cultivated here."
Ling Qi tilted her head. She could taste the meaning of what Xia Lin meant there on the tip of her tongue, but she wasn't exactly certain what she was referring to.
"Ah? Miss Xia noticed? It is true that we foster a calmer environment than the orthodoxy in these things," Mei Lanfen agreed.
"Orthodoxy? I was under the impression that schools like these were too rare to have such a thing," Ling Qi said.
"In the Emerald Seas that is true," the older woman replied. They passed from the classrooms to the offices now. These were small but well appointed, and Ling Qi noticed many of the sorts of things meng Duyi had been pointing out to her, quirks of architecture and decor which kept the energies of the school circulating, not letting Yin nor yang pool too much in one place. "But there have been some efforts in other provinces. Her imperial highness in particular has been offering support to those who meet her specifications. Which are themselves informed by the more developed system in the Alabaster Sands."
"I had heard something of the sort. The Hundred Schools system?" Xia Lin said.
"Just so, there are many more than a hundred, but only those schools that produce the best results for Duke Jin receive support and accreditation," Mei Lanfen replied. They had reached her office, and the administrator led them inside. It was a cozy sort of room, with the furnishings feeling close in without seeming cramped. She motioned for them to enter, and they did. The two of them found seats in front of the dark wooden desk which Mei Lanfen settled herself behind.
"It is a fiercely competitive system, it produces many driven individuals, but I am afraid I find the mindset it encourages among students a bit too…" the old woman trailed off, looking toward the window that faced outward to the gardens. "... Familiar."
Mei Lanfen was a survivor of Cai Shenhua's purge of the Hui-run Ministries, following her ascent to the throne of the Emerald Seas.
"Well, I have to say I'm a little embarrassed to not be more knowledgeable," Ling Qi said, with a small laugh."
"You are rising fast, but you are young still if you do not mind me saying so, Baroness. Seventeen years is only so much time for reading, even as a cultivator."
"Particularly when I did very little of it, before the last few," she said wryly. "I'm surprised you knew of it though, Xia Lin?"
"I spent some time speaking to Jin Tae during the summit. We were required to coordinate on security concerns," Xia Lin shrugged. "Conversation sometimes turned to the principals behind our ways of doing things."
"I see, I hadn't the time, unfortunately," Ling Qi said, frowning. Well, she had many things on her plate, and learning more about domestic interests in the Empire was only one of them. "But we are wandering afield I think, Madam Mei."
"Only a small amount, education standards in the Empire are my interest," the older woman chuckled. "But is true that my mind is more on matters of the Emerald Seas. I am very glad that my students are meeting the young lady Cai's requirements even so far from the amenities of the capital."
"There has been some adjustment to that life needed," Ling Qi said. "Some were quite unprepared for the cold."
"I can only imagine," Mei Lanfen replied, amused.
"But, little adjustments aside, Lady Cai is confident in the crop of administrators and clerks you have sent us. She has entrusted them with the running of day-to-day operation in Shenglu while we are away after all."
"Which I am certain is keeping sweat on many brows right now."
"Doubtless," Xia Lin said. "But, I am curious about your proposals. We cannot support more ministry and bureaucratic work until the population grows. I have no doubt Lady Cai will keep you in mind. There are very few institutions such as this unaffiliated with any clan."
"There are not," Mei Lanfen agreed. "A poor situation."
Ling Qi tilted her head curiously.
"Heres the sales pitch…"
"Knowing our quality, I would like to arrange sponsorship from the Young Lady Cai. What exists between her and the Gold Autumn school now is… implicit. I would like to see it become explicit. There will be many expanding towns and fiefs in the south in coming years, thanks to Lady Ling's success."
"You wish us to popularize the idea of expending resources on classically trained administrators rather than just making do with the mortals available locally?" Ling Qi asked curiously.
"Nah not just that I suspect. What's the word… subsidize? I think she's tryin' to catch Renren's urge to spread her systems around."
"...Or rather, you're hoping she might subsidize such a program," Ling Qi said aloud.
"The Baroness is insightful," Mei Lanfen agreed. "Yes, if the young Miss Cai could make such a thing normal… the lands in the south are all under the Cai yet after all, I think this will have good effects."
Ling Qi considered it, breathing out feeling the flickering lights of the many many students throughout the building and grotto. "You do not have enough to meet demand if we were successful. Not without increasing your class sizes greatly."
Which would likely hurt the… atmosphere of this place.
"I could convince my fellow old donors to give more to this, expand somewhat, but no we could not. But such a program from the heir implies a continuing demand."
She stared at the old woman. That was…
"Huh, guess that's expected of someone who could go under that light and not melt."
"You think it will encourage others to create their own schools such as this."
"It is unlikely such competitors would all be the mold you have cast here," Xia Lin said, furrowing her brows.
"Not all, but success breeds imitation," Mei Lanfen replied. "Do you believe this is something Lady Cai would consider?"
"I do not doubt that she would, " Ling Qi said. She knew Renxiang well enough for that. There were a thousand little details that would need to be hashed out. She knew Renxiang had an almost overwhelming allowance now, the cultivation budget for an adult ducal heir, someone expected to be in the fifth realm. More than a third realm could possibly spend on cultivation without blowing their meridians out from all the elixirs and enhancers it could buy. So something like this was certainly possible.
Ling Qi had a thought. "Mei Lanfen, you mentioned your other donors, how much is the usual contribution?"
She raised an eyebrow. "There is nothing so formal among we old men and women. This did begin as something informal, for all that some of us are more dedicated than others. I would say between fifty and one hundred green stones in a year.
Cai Renxiang had told her she should consider investing in things other than her own cultivation…
Float the idea of making your own contribution over and beyond any official subsidy Cai Renxiang arranges.
[ ] Do not
[ ] 50 Green Stones per year
[ ] 100 Green Stones per year