That sounds like a Production cultivator's thing.
Moon, Larceny, Arm, Luck
[Steal]
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.
[Steal]
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- Location
- United States of America
Well, unfortunately, I didn't have the time to sit down and vote this round, but I'm happy that LFotWT won. Outside of the fact that I am a huge stealth advocate, I really like the allure of mobility that LFotWT promises.
Ling Qi has always enjoyed being able to move. Heck, she even enjoyed toying around with the Boom Leap from Argent Storm, and, with no intent to disparage the Argent Sect, that technique was pretty terrible for us.
LFotWT promises to be much, much more enjoyable to use for Ling Qi than the Boom Leap ever could. To be able to dance, twirl, laugh and frolic amongst the eddies and swirls of the wind. To enjoy the act of moving between two distant places with nothing but the empty sky above and the limiting ground far below. I think Ling Qi will enjoy the art, and that is going to be very important as the stresses of cultivation and politics build upon each other.
Ling Qi has always enjoyed being able to move. Heck, she even enjoyed toying around with the Boom Leap from Argent Storm, and, with no intent to disparage the Argent Sect, that technique was pretty terrible for us.
LFotWT promises to be much, much more enjoyable to use for Ling Qi than the Boom Leap ever could. To be able to dance, twirl, laugh and frolic amongst the eddies and swirls of the wind. To enjoy the act of moving between two distant places with nothing but the empty sky above and the limiting ground far below. I think Ling Qi will enjoy the art, and that is going to be very important as the stresses of cultivation and politics build upon each other.
- Location
- Finland
Anything we can do with one type of art, someone else can replicate with another type of art.
Just because a thing can be done multiple ways does not mean one specific way is not valuable.
So a painter cultivator would need preparation.
But i would assume that a piece prepared over several hours, days or even weeks, would also have the power to match.
A middling painter might be able to create near perfect illusionary worlds that another type of cultivator would need to be much higher rank to do.
Hasty scetch summons a monster or an illusion that can be banished with relative easy, a masterpiece would be all but unbreakable outside very specific conditions.
Your quote ensures its the top of the page...
I WONT BE SUFFERING ALONE THEN!
- Location
- the internet
Yeah like I said, a prepared piece brought to battle could act as a sort of illusory trap. Ohhh I wonder if abstract art could be useful too? Maybe it would act as a sort of virtual puzzle. Once the opponent sees the abstract painting, he would be immersed and surrounded by countless, patterns shapes and colors which would be disorienting. The painter could even hide formations within the painting. Unless the opponent can overcome his disorientation and solve the meaning of the symbols/ the puzzle hidden within, he would be trapped. It would seem almost like a different dimension to the person trapped inside. Once again, the opponent spiritual stats would have to be high. But unlike realistic paintings which would project a realistic illusion, abstract paintings would act the same way Elder Jiao's challenges for LQ did in FOD. If I recall correctly, during his private lessons with her, Jiao sometimes left her trapped in a space with nothing but a puzzle she had to solve in order to get out. Her mind ached by the end of each one and she was mentally exhausted. But LQ thought she could feel her mind growing sharper and that solving formations was easier. That was a challenge for a Yellow realm student. Maybe an abstract painting with hidden formations done by an expert painter could be a challenge for someone Cyan level? I know abstract art isn't everyone's cup of tea but for those who love all sorts of different art, this could be so cool!!!
- Location
- Finland
One thing i would assume a painter cultivator would be, is versatile.
While we are limited by our meridians, learned arts and skills, a painter might be able to do almost anything given time.
Like, art to bring life to a painting, painting can be anything, art to trap someone inside a painting, again, that painting can contain almost anything, art to travel between paintings, those paintings can be anywhere.
It would be balanced by the need to prepare everything in advance, and being dispellable with right skills, possibly also needing exotic materials to make the paints.
While we are limited by our meridians, learned arts and skills, a painter might be able to do almost anything given time.
Like, art to bring life to a painting, painting can be anything, art to trap someone inside a painting, again, that painting can contain almost anything, art to travel between paintings, those paintings can be anywhere.
It would be balanced by the need to prepare everything in advance, and being dispellable with right skills, possibly also needing exotic materials to make the paints.
- Location
- the internet
Yeah I was thinking the materials and process of making a masterpiece would be pretty costly. The artist would have to be pretty stable financially, in most cases from particularly affluent nobility. I wonder how the different types of qi would factor in. Maybe for realistic landscapes, one would channel Earth or Mountain qi as they paint/or draw the ground and Lake qi for that sort of body of water. For different bodies of water, it could be Water qi...I bet a master artist could meditate among all sorts different elements in order to truly appreciate the essence of those elements.
Yes but a totally cool, new spin on it! Imagine if a master artist, who has already mastered this cultivation art throughout the centuries, spent months working on a painting and channeling qi into it...How hard would that illusion be to break? Could someone at Violet level do it? What if spiritual abilities and breaking formations wasn't their specialty--like Elder Zhao, for example? He's clearly focused on the physical, martial aspects of cultivation.Of course he probably hasn't neglected the spiritual side either--but if a Prism level master painter trapped him in one of those prepared works, could he break free? How long would it take? Idk what level Elder Zhao is on but even if he and the artist were on the same level, I would imagine it will still be a challenge for him.
...In case it wasn't clear, yes I am an visual artist heheh
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Turn 4: Arc 5-1. Foreshock
Ling Qi opened her eyes and her vision swam. Her knees felt weak and her stomach churned. For just a moment, the peternatural balance and poise that cultivation had granted her wavered and she stumbled dizzily backwards, landing on her backside in the the grass. The memories of her time with the spirits in Tonghous crashed home all at once. The joy of flight and running over rooftops, the melancholy of the streets, and the old horror of the brothel.
Ling Qi shuddered, her stomach turning as she saw those scenes again, stripped of the strange calm that she had felt throughout that journey. Somehow, being back in her body made her revulsion so much more real, but… as she quieted the pounding of her heart in her ears and regained control of her breathing, she couldn't say that the conclusions she had come to were wrong, that her observations were wrong.
In the end, Tonghou and it's hazards couldn't hurt her anymore, not really. Stripped of its threat it really was just… a very sad place.
"I definitely won't say anything about your theme choices," Sixiang whispered on the wind. "Well.. For a week or two at least."
"You ass," Ling Qi laughed despite herself, slipping so easily back into rough speech. She clenched her hands, and felt something hard a sharp edged there. Opening her hand and looking down, she saw twin jade slips, one a light ethereal green and the other pure white. It took only a moment's concentration to peer into them.
The White Jade held the Songseeker's Ceremony. It was the continuation of her cultivation art, the thing that she had forged through her spirit quest. Though its functions remained unclear to her at her current cultivation, she knew it would be an art that matched with her desires for the future.
The other was a gift from the Grinning Moon, the Laughing Flight of the Wind Thief, a potent movement art, too powerful for her to cultivate just yet, but with a great deal of promise. It seemed almost tailored to replace her Sable Crescent Step, once she had mastered the lessons of that technique.
More immediately relevant, as she closed her eyes again and concentrated, she could feel the missing piece of her current cultivation art filled in with an understanding of how to weave the threads of qi underlying the expression of music and art into cultivation, and how to improve her efficiency in cultivation she gained from working within the domains of her patrons.
Ling Qi stood up, brushing out the wrinkles in her gown as the fabric expelled dirt and grass stains with tiny bursts of wind.
"Biiiiig Siiiister!" She turned as Zhengui's voice reached, spying her Big little brother stomping through the ruins of the temple. Hanyi waved back to her perched on the edge of his shell, in a reversal of their roles in the dream.
As Ling Qi raised a hand to wave back, she caught motion out of the corner of her eye and changed the motion into a grab, snatching the blurring missile that had been flying toward her out of the air. She arched her eyebrows in surprise as she looked down and found… a mailing construct? It's paper wings were crumbled by her grasp, and its animation was already fading. Bemused, she prodded the seal in the center and a single tiny square of folded paper appeared.
Baroness Ling, I require your presence at my home. Do not delay.
-Cai Renxiang
Ling Qi stared down at the single line of characters in rising concern as Zhengui stomped closer. "...Sorry little brother," she said faintly. "It looks like we can't relax just yet."
Ling Qi arrived at Cai Renxiang's door only a quarter hour later, having flown straight here. As she stepped through the door, absently chewing a qi restoration pill her eyes darted around. There were no immediate threats that she could see, and the mountain had still seemed peaceful, so what was this about? Her liege just didn't normally send notes like that.
Yet, she could feel the other girl sitting her study, under no external stress at all.
"It's no fair, I wanted a snack and a nap," Gui grumbled.
"Like you even did anything you big lazy lump," Hanyi huffed.
"Keep it civil kids," Sixiang scolded. "I got a feeling she needs to be paying attention."
Sending Sixiang a silent thanks, Ling Qi stepped inside of Cai Renxiang's study and offered a low bow to the girl behind the desk. Cai Renxiang was seated in her usual place, resting her cheek on her fist as she stared down at the desktop. It held no stacks of forms and documents now, just a single long hinged box made of fragrant, expensive wood and a single open letter. "Lady Cai, I apologize for my delay. I arrived as quickly as I could," she said politely, keeping her head low.
"You are excused," Cai Renxiang replied. "I was aware of your activities," something they both knew, but acknowledging it was part of the game even if they were alone. Ling Qi was starting to get the hang of it. "You may raise your head. My honored Mother has given me a task."
Ling Qi straightened up, giving the letter on her desk a look of renewed concern. The page was pure white and without decoration, but the calligraphy she could see was exquisite. Ling Qi held back a grimace as she felt the echo of… displeasure that emanated from those perfectly inked characters. "I hope that I can be of assistance," Ling Qi replied carefully. "What task does the Duchess have in mind?"
"You are aware of the opening of relations between our province and the Thousand Lakes?" Cai Renxiang replied, drumming her fingers on the top of her desk. She continued at Ling Qi's nod. "There has been a disturbance on the border. A town in Meng lands has been sacked by bandits."
Ling Qi's eyes widened in alarm. But her liege continued speaking. "In addition, a shipment of goods bearing the Cai seal had been in the settlements Ministry of Communication outpost and is among the missing goods. Between the missing items, and the complaints of the Meng representatives at court, Mother is displeased."
"That doesn't make sense," Ling Qi said with a frown. "Surely something like that would have to well guarded for a bunch of thugs to access." Bandits, bands of deserters mostly, were a thing of course, but they were usually little more than starving gangs crouching out in the woods, quick to get wiped out the first time they made a mistake, or crossed into the wrong spirit's territory.
"There are places in the empire where the law has little reach, and the absence of order invites new organization," Cai Renxiang said calmly. "However in this instance you are correct. There are some… oddities. The towns baron was away visiting his liege, and the guards meant to guard Mother's goods, including an old third realm veteran were found drugged and murdered in their barracks, with no sign of conflict."
"That sounds like something a bit beyond bandits," Ling Qi replied shrewdly.
"Quite," Cai Renxiang replied in a voice as dry as the desert. "The Meng are… obliquely blaming the attack on the changes to security brought by opening the border. Between that and the theft, Mother requires that a point be made in our clan's name. To make that point herself would be excessive, you understand."
"Are we ready for something like that? Even with the baron missing, a group that could attack a town and get away with it… that's not going to be just a band of thugs. How are we even getting there in time?" Ling Qi asked.
Cai Renxiang stood, toying with the clasps on the box resting on her desk. "We will be making use of the Sect's emergency transport formations. It is a great expense, but one Mother is willing to cover," her liege said, staring down at the container.
She flipped the box open, and Ling Qi's hand twitched grasping for her flute at the ripple of aggression that emerged from the unsealed case. Resting inside, nestled in a cushion of velvet was an elegant saber. The metal was pale blue, with the edge fading almost to white. Etched into the base of the blade was a thumb sized butterfly, the grooves in the metal filled with powdered diamond. It glinted up at her, rippling through a rainbow's worth of color as well as awareness and the promise of violence.
When Cai Renxiang grasped the hilt, Ling Qi could practically hear the blade purr as she raised it to eye level, with a stoic expression. The blade gleamed with unnatural brightness, sending the shadows in the room dancing. The force given off by the saber was not inferior to Cai Renxiang's own recently achieved Foundation Cultivation. "I recognize Mothers personal touch. She does not give gifts without expectations. You understand the importance of this, correct?
Ling Qi let out a breath. It seemed the first real test of the responsibilities she had chosen had come. "I understand."
"It is likely that we will have watchers, ready to step in if we fail," Cai renxiang replied absently, staring at the blade in her hand. "However, if such a thing is required…"
"It will be a great embarrassment," Ling Qi grimaced. She could practically feel the resources drying up. Well assuming that the watchers would step in for her in the first place. She forced herself to cheer up, it wasn't like she was unfamiliar with danger. "A least I should finally get those arts once we prove ourselves, right?"
Cai Renxiang stared unflinchingly into the etching on her new saber a moment longer before lowering it. "Indeed, they were among the stolen goods."
Ling Qi blinked, shocked out of her worry. "What, why?"
Cai Renxiang arched an eyebrow. "Our exchange with the Bai included some access to their library of arts in return for a great deal of infrastructure investment and materials, the negotiations on what was exchanged took quite some time. Why did you imagine that it was taking so long?"
She had just assumed that the archivist was taking his time, or fighting a library monster, or...something. She hadn't even considered that. Ling Qi shook her head. "Well, all the more reason not to lose."
"Indeed," the other girl agreed, as dark blue threads spooled out of the swords hilt, swiftly weaving a scabbard over the bared blade. "You have one hour to make preparations. Meet me at the Governor's manse in the town below."
Ling Qi nodded sharply and turned to go. She had to let her Mother know what was happening and where she was going. As she moved to leave though, she heard Cai Renxiang clear her throat, and turned back to look at the other girl.
"Ling Qi," she said quietly. "Be prepared for the eventuality that Mother will be using my presence as a lure as well."
Ling Qi blinked, then grimaced. Given the sudden need to rush, she hadn't even considered that. "Of course, I won't be caught unawares," she said, dipping her head briefly. It was going to be a very long night, Ling Qi suspected.
"You'll be a long way from alone," Sixiang whispered.
"I, Zhen will obviously not let Big Sister be hurt!" Zhen scoffed.
"Yeah!" Agreed Gui.
"Yeah, lets go beat up some thieves!" Hanyi cheered.
Ling Qi smiled, but a worm of doubt and worry remained. She just hoped things went so smoothly.
The hour she had to prepare flew by, between fussing with her medicine stocks explaining the situation to her mother and giving her goodbyes, the time came all too quickly. She met her liege at the center of the Sect town, and they were lead inside by an exceedingly nervous mortal man in rich dress, who to her eyes was one moment of broken discipline from openly wringing his hands, into the building's sub basements, where the Sect kept a number of emergency transport arrays.
It only occurred to her after the formation had yanked them away through the aether that the man had probably been the governor of the whole town. By the time that she had finished having that thought, the sensation of air rushing over and through her had ended and the world once again resolved itself around her. They stood outside of a town still smoking and damaged by violence. To their left were torn up and damaged fields, looking as if a stampede of beasts and just passed through, to her right, the towns outer wall was breached, a crumbled cleft two meters wide at the bottom giving her a view of a damaged and bloodstained street.
Of more immediate concern was the ring of armed and armored men and women standing around them. Ling Qi's nervous alarm barely lasted a second however as reason reasserted itself. They wore the Cai clan's mark, a red cloak clasp for most, and a yellow pin for a few. There were twenty five of them total, armed with a mixture of swords and bows. Twenty of them were of the late red stage, while four were varying levels yellow. The last, an older man with a white plume on his helmet was at the peak of yellow soul, but with a physique of the bronze stage.
The very moment the flash of the transport formation faded, the men were already on one knee. Cai Renxiang did not waste any time in addressing them as Ling Qi scanned the area. "Captain, report."
The man with the the plume on his helm dipped his head lower. What little Ling Qi could see of his face was greying and marked by wrinkles and scars. "Lady Cai, we received notice and left the our outpost two hours ago. The town's guard is gutted but sufficient for maintaining order in the immediate term. I have set my best scouts on the trail of the criminals, they appear to be making for the border."
Of course they were, Ling Qi thought sourly. Even someone as inexperienced as Ling Qi could see the seeds of an incident with a capital 'I' here. Cai Renxiang's expression remained stoic. "And their force composition?"
"At least two combatants of the third realm, no more than appraisal stage, with a third being possible. One is a metal focused melee combatant, the other an illusion user. My scouts have counted roughly seventy lesser combatants, moving together, with notable discipline," the captain said quickly in a clipped and professional tone. "We cannot confirm the third elite combatant, but something is confounding and misdirecting our scouts' efforts at sabotage."
"Assume there is a third," Cai Renxiang replied, gesturing for them to rise as she began to walk forward, eyes tracing the same trail of disruptive qi that Ling Qi saw leading back into the thick woodland marsh to the north. The soldiers rose and fell into step around them without a hitch. "Captain, do you believe your men can outspeed the criminals?"
"It will be difficult, given their lead," the man admitted. "Our mounts would only slow us in the marsh, but they are also unfamiliar with the terrain and their larger numbers work against them."
"Ling Qi," Cai Renxiang said, glancing to her. "Do you believe that you can halt their advance."
"If that is really all they have, I can probably take them myself," Ling Qi replied with some confidence. "However…"
Cai Renxiang nodded sharply. Both of them expected something more dangerous lurking in their midst. "Allow me to rephrase, are you confident in advancing ahead to slow them?"
Ling Qi felt a little pride, knowing that Cai Renxiang thought well enough of her to believe that she could hold out even with the potential unknowns. "Yes," she replied simply.
"Then I will leave the details to you. Captain have your scout liaison provide Baroness Ling with the details of your maps and the enemies' trajectory."
Now, how would she handle this…
AN: So your goal involves engaging with an enemy group with seventy red and yellow cultivators with at least some degree of military discipline. There are two third realm cultivators and a potential third. Their goal is to reach the Bai border with their loot, your goal is to stop them long enough for Cai and the province soldiers to catch up.
However, both Ling Qi and Cai Renxiang suspect that there is more than they can see afoot here, so keep that in mind. You may assume that Ling Qi is capable of overtaking them in speed.
Plans should be no more than 4-5 sentences in length, keep it to general outlines please.
[] Vote Tactics
Ling Qi shuddered, her stomach turning as she saw those scenes again, stripped of the strange calm that she had felt throughout that journey. Somehow, being back in her body made her revulsion so much more real, but… as she quieted the pounding of her heart in her ears and regained control of her breathing, she couldn't say that the conclusions she had come to were wrong, that her observations were wrong.
In the end, Tonghou and it's hazards couldn't hurt her anymore, not really. Stripped of its threat it really was just… a very sad place.
"I definitely won't say anything about your theme choices," Sixiang whispered on the wind. "Well.. For a week or two at least."
"You ass," Ling Qi laughed despite herself, slipping so easily back into rough speech. She clenched her hands, and felt something hard a sharp edged there. Opening her hand and looking down, she saw twin jade slips, one a light ethereal green and the other pure white. It took only a moment's concentration to peer into them.
Songseeker's Ceremony
A cultivation art unique to Ling Qi, developed with the aid of three phases of the moon. Dreaming, Grinning, and Hidden combine to form the nascent steps of Ling Qi's own path. The cultivation art rewards feats of daring, self expression, and dealings with the spirits of the world. It is the art of one who seeks the powers hidden in the world, and the beauty of songs old and new.
Potency: Green 3
Potency Growth: Green 4(3), Green 5 (6), Green 6 (8)
Keyword:
A cultivation art unique to Ling Qi, developed with the aid of three phases of the moon. Dreaming, Grinning, and Hidden combine to form the nascent steps of Ling Qi's own path. The cultivation art rewards feats of daring, self expression, and dealings with the spirits of the world. It is the art of one who seeks the powers hidden in the world, and the beauty of songs old and new.
Potency: Green 3
Potency Growth: Green 4(3), Green 5 (6), Green 6 (8)
Keyword:
- Cultivation, Night, Moon, Stellar, Yin.
- Art, Dexterity, Manipulation, Music, Perceptiveness, Qi, Stealth, Wits
Laughing Flight of the Wind Thief
In this world there are a million tales long forgotten, great and small. In a time before the rule of men, before the arrogance of dragons, there were only beasts that called themselves gods. Yet strength breeds arrogance, and arrogance breeds complacency, and so long ago a cunning young girl plotted and planned and stole the Sovereignty of Wind from the gods. She flew beyond their reach, and mocked them with every league, the wind carrying her laughter across the land. In this art are the seeds of the way she forged, refined for the modern day, to inspire a disciples own flight. In mastering the dual powers of darkness and wind, that they might never be caught unwillingly again.
Potency: Green 3
Potency Growth: Green 4(3), Green 5 (6), Green 6 (8)
Max Level: 8
Needed Meridiains: Legx3, Spine x2(1), Spine(3), Leg (5), Leg (8)
Keywords: Athletics, Darkness, Dance, Dodge, Intangibility, Motion, Stealth, Wind, Yin
Experience Needed: 500, 600, 800, 1000, 1200, 1400, 1700, 2000
In this world there are a million tales long forgotten, great and small. In a time before the rule of men, before the arrogance of dragons, there were only beasts that called themselves gods. Yet strength breeds arrogance, and arrogance breeds complacency, and so long ago a cunning young girl plotted and planned and stole the Sovereignty of Wind from the gods. She flew beyond their reach, and mocked them with every league, the wind carrying her laughter across the land. In this art are the seeds of the way she forged, refined for the modern day, to inspire a disciples own flight. In mastering the dual powers of darkness and wind, that they might never be caught unwillingly again.
Potency: Green 3
Potency Growth: Green 4(3), Green 5 (6), Green 6 (8)
Max Level: 8
Needed Meridiains: Legx3, Spine x2(1), Spine(3), Leg (5), Leg (8)
Keywords: Athletics, Darkness, Dance, Dodge, Intangibility, Motion, Stealth, Wind, Yin
Experience Needed: 500, 600, 800, 1000, 1200, 1400, 1700, 2000
The White Jade held the Songseeker's Ceremony. It was the continuation of her cultivation art, the thing that she had forged through her spirit quest. Though its functions remained unclear to her at her current cultivation, she knew it would be an art that matched with her desires for the future.
The other was a gift from the Grinning Moon, the Laughing Flight of the Wind Thief, a potent movement art, too powerful for her to cultivate just yet, but with a great deal of promise. It seemed almost tailored to replace her Sable Crescent Step, once she had mastered the lessons of that technique.
More immediately relevant, as she closed her eyes again and concentrated, she could feel the missing piece of her current cultivation art filled in with an understanding of how to weave the threads of qi underlying the expression of music and art into cultivation, and how to improve her efficiency in cultivation she gained from working within the domains of her patrons.
Doubles success caps of previous moon abilities
User gains up to 100 successes to physical or spiritual cultivation(whichever is lower) when composing, teaching or performing musical or artistic activities.
User gains up to 100 successes to physical or spiritual cultivation(whichever is lower) when composing, teaching or performing musical or artistic activities.
Ling Qi stood up, brushing out the wrinkles in her gown as the fabric expelled dirt and grass stains with tiny bursts of wind.
"Biiiiig Siiiister!" She turned as Zhengui's voice reached, spying her Big little brother stomping through the ruins of the temple. Hanyi waved back to her perched on the edge of his shell, in a reversal of their roles in the dream.
As Ling Qi raised a hand to wave back, she caught motion out of the corner of her eye and changed the motion into a grab, snatching the blurring missile that had been flying toward her out of the air. She arched her eyebrows in surprise as she looked down and found… a mailing construct? It's paper wings were crumbled by her grasp, and its animation was already fading. Bemused, she prodded the seal in the center and a single tiny square of folded paper appeared.
Baroness Ling, I require your presence at my home. Do not delay.
-Cai Renxiang
Ling Qi stared down at the single line of characters in rising concern as Zhengui stomped closer. "...Sorry little brother," she said faintly. "It looks like we can't relax just yet."
***
Ling Qi arrived at Cai Renxiang's door only a quarter hour later, having flown straight here. As she stepped through the door, absently chewing a qi restoration pill her eyes darted around. There were no immediate threats that she could see, and the mountain had still seemed peaceful, so what was this about? Her liege just didn't normally send notes like that.
Yet, she could feel the other girl sitting her study, under no external stress at all.
"It's no fair, I wanted a snack and a nap," Gui grumbled.
"Like you even did anything you big lazy lump," Hanyi huffed.
"Keep it civil kids," Sixiang scolded. "I got a feeling she needs to be paying attention."
Sending Sixiang a silent thanks, Ling Qi stepped inside of Cai Renxiang's study and offered a low bow to the girl behind the desk. Cai Renxiang was seated in her usual place, resting her cheek on her fist as she stared down at the desktop. It held no stacks of forms and documents now, just a single long hinged box made of fragrant, expensive wood and a single open letter. "Lady Cai, I apologize for my delay. I arrived as quickly as I could," she said politely, keeping her head low.
"You are excused," Cai Renxiang replied. "I was aware of your activities," something they both knew, but acknowledging it was part of the game even if they were alone. Ling Qi was starting to get the hang of it. "You may raise your head. My honored Mother has given me a task."
Ling Qi straightened up, giving the letter on her desk a look of renewed concern. The page was pure white and without decoration, but the calligraphy she could see was exquisite. Ling Qi held back a grimace as she felt the echo of… displeasure that emanated from those perfectly inked characters. "I hope that I can be of assistance," Ling Qi replied carefully. "What task does the Duchess have in mind?"
"You are aware of the opening of relations between our province and the Thousand Lakes?" Cai Renxiang replied, drumming her fingers on the top of her desk. She continued at Ling Qi's nod. "There has been a disturbance on the border. A town in Meng lands has been sacked by bandits."
Ling Qi's eyes widened in alarm. But her liege continued speaking. "In addition, a shipment of goods bearing the Cai seal had been in the settlements Ministry of Communication outpost and is among the missing goods. Between the missing items, and the complaints of the Meng representatives at court, Mother is displeased."
"That doesn't make sense," Ling Qi said with a frown. "Surely something like that would have to well guarded for a bunch of thugs to access." Bandits, bands of deserters mostly, were a thing of course, but they were usually little more than starving gangs crouching out in the woods, quick to get wiped out the first time they made a mistake, or crossed into the wrong spirit's territory.
"There are places in the empire where the law has little reach, and the absence of order invites new organization," Cai Renxiang said calmly. "However in this instance you are correct. There are some… oddities. The towns baron was away visiting his liege, and the guards meant to guard Mother's goods, including an old third realm veteran were found drugged and murdered in their barracks, with no sign of conflict."
"That sounds like something a bit beyond bandits," Ling Qi replied shrewdly.
"Quite," Cai Renxiang replied in a voice as dry as the desert. "The Meng are… obliquely blaming the attack on the changes to security brought by opening the border. Between that and the theft, Mother requires that a point be made in our clan's name. To make that point herself would be excessive, you understand."
"Are we ready for something like that? Even with the baron missing, a group that could attack a town and get away with it… that's not going to be just a band of thugs. How are we even getting there in time?" Ling Qi asked.
Cai Renxiang stood, toying with the clasps on the box resting on her desk. "We will be making use of the Sect's emergency transport formations. It is a great expense, but one Mother is willing to cover," her liege said, staring down at the container.
She flipped the box open, and Ling Qi's hand twitched grasping for her flute at the ripple of aggression that emerged from the unsealed case. Resting inside, nestled in a cushion of velvet was an elegant saber. The metal was pale blue, with the edge fading almost to white. Etched into the base of the blade was a thumb sized butterfly, the grooves in the metal filled with powdered diamond. It glinted up at her, rippling through a rainbow's worth of color as well as awareness and the promise of violence.
When Cai Renxiang grasped the hilt, Ling Qi could practically hear the blade purr as she raised it to eye level, with a stoic expression. The blade gleamed with unnatural brightness, sending the shadows in the room dancing. The force given off by the saber was not inferior to Cai Renxiang's own recently achieved Foundation Cultivation. "I recognize Mothers personal touch. She does not give gifts without expectations. You understand the importance of this, correct?
Ling Qi let out a breath. It seemed the first real test of the responsibilities she had chosen had come. "I understand."
"It is likely that we will have watchers, ready to step in if we fail," Cai renxiang replied absently, staring at the blade in her hand. "However, if such a thing is required…"
"It will be a great embarrassment," Ling Qi grimaced. She could practically feel the resources drying up. Well assuming that the watchers would step in for her in the first place. She forced herself to cheer up, it wasn't like she was unfamiliar with danger. "A least I should finally get those arts once we prove ourselves, right?"
Cai Renxiang stared unflinchingly into the etching on her new saber a moment longer before lowering it. "Indeed, they were among the stolen goods."
Ling Qi blinked, shocked out of her worry. "What, why?"
Cai Renxiang arched an eyebrow. "Our exchange with the Bai included some access to their library of arts in return for a great deal of infrastructure investment and materials, the negotiations on what was exchanged took quite some time. Why did you imagine that it was taking so long?"
She had just assumed that the archivist was taking his time, or fighting a library monster, or...something. She hadn't even considered that. Ling Qi shook her head. "Well, all the more reason not to lose."
"Indeed," the other girl agreed, as dark blue threads spooled out of the swords hilt, swiftly weaving a scabbard over the bared blade. "You have one hour to make preparations. Meet me at the Governor's manse in the town below."
Ling Qi nodded sharply and turned to go. She had to let her Mother know what was happening and where she was going. As she moved to leave though, she heard Cai Renxiang clear her throat, and turned back to look at the other girl.
"Ling Qi," she said quietly. "Be prepared for the eventuality that Mother will be using my presence as a lure as well."
Ling Qi blinked, then grimaced. Given the sudden need to rush, she hadn't even considered that. "Of course, I won't be caught unawares," she said, dipping her head briefly. It was going to be a very long night, Ling Qi suspected.
"You'll be a long way from alone," Sixiang whispered.
"I, Zhen will obviously not let Big Sister be hurt!" Zhen scoffed.
"Yeah!" Agreed Gui.
"Yeah, lets go beat up some thieves!" Hanyi cheered.
Ling Qi smiled, but a worm of doubt and worry remained. She just hoped things went so smoothly.
***
The hour she had to prepare flew by, between fussing with her medicine stocks explaining the situation to her mother and giving her goodbyes, the time came all too quickly. She met her liege at the center of the Sect town, and they were lead inside by an exceedingly nervous mortal man in rich dress, who to her eyes was one moment of broken discipline from openly wringing his hands, into the building's sub basements, where the Sect kept a number of emergency transport arrays.
It only occurred to her after the formation had yanked them away through the aether that the man had probably been the governor of the whole town. By the time that she had finished having that thought, the sensation of air rushing over and through her had ended and the world once again resolved itself around her. They stood outside of a town still smoking and damaged by violence. To their left were torn up and damaged fields, looking as if a stampede of beasts and just passed through, to her right, the towns outer wall was breached, a crumbled cleft two meters wide at the bottom giving her a view of a damaged and bloodstained street.
Of more immediate concern was the ring of armed and armored men and women standing around them. Ling Qi's nervous alarm barely lasted a second however as reason reasserted itself. They wore the Cai clan's mark, a red cloak clasp for most, and a yellow pin for a few. There were twenty five of them total, armed with a mixture of swords and bows. Twenty of them were of the late red stage, while four were varying levels yellow. The last, an older man with a white plume on his helmet was at the peak of yellow soul, but with a physique of the bronze stage.
The very moment the flash of the transport formation faded, the men were already on one knee. Cai Renxiang did not waste any time in addressing them as Ling Qi scanned the area. "Captain, report."
The man with the the plume on his helm dipped his head lower. What little Ling Qi could see of his face was greying and marked by wrinkles and scars. "Lady Cai, we received notice and left the our outpost two hours ago. The town's guard is gutted but sufficient for maintaining order in the immediate term. I have set my best scouts on the trail of the criminals, they appear to be making for the border."
Of course they were, Ling Qi thought sourly. Even someone as inexperienced as Ling Qi could see the seeds of an incident with a capital 'I' here. Cai Renxiang's expression remained stoic. "And their force composition?"
"At least two combatants of the third realm, no more than appraisal stage, with a third being possible. One is a metal focused melee combatant, the other an illusion user. My scouts have counted roughly seventy lesser combatants, moving together, with notable discipline," the captain said quickly in a clipped and professional tone. "We cannot confirm the third elite combatant, but something is confounding and misdirecting our scouts' efforts at sabotage."
"Assume there is a third," Cai Renxiang replied, gesturing for them to rise as she began to walk forward, eyes tracing the same trail of disruptive qi that Ling Qi saw leading back into the thick woodland marsh to the north. The soldiers rose and fell into step around them without a hitch. "Captain, do you believe your men can outspeed the criminals?"
"It will be difficult, given their lead," the man admitted. "Our mounts would only slow us in the marsh, but they are also unfamiliar with the terrain and their larger numbers work against them."
"Ling Qi," Cai Renxiang said, glancing to her. "Do you believe that you can halt their advance."
"If that is really all they have, I can probably take them myself," Ling Qi replied with some confidence. "However…"
Cai Renxiang nodded sharply. Both of them expected something more dangerous lurking in their midst. "Allow me to rephrase, are you confident in advancing ahead to slow them?"
Ling Qi felt a little pride, knowing that Cai Renxiang thought well enough of her to believe that she could hold out even with the potential unknowns. "Yes," she replied simply.
"Then I will leave the details to you. Captain have your scout liaison provide Baroness Ling with the details of your maps and the enemies' trajectory."
Now, how would she handle this…
AN: So your goal involves engaging with an enemy group with seventy red and yellow cultivators with at least some degree of military discipline. There are two third realm cultivators and a potential third. Their goal is to reach the Bai border with their loot, your goal is to stop them long enough for Cai and the province soldiers to catch up.
However, both Ling Qi and Cai Renxiang suspect that there is more than they can see afoot here, so keep that in mind. You may assume that Ling Qi is capable of overtaking them in speed.
Plans should be no more than 4-5 sentences in length, keep it to general outlines please.
[] Vote Tactics
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- Location
- Elsewhere
Cai misspelled something? This must be very bad.
More seriously, probably a typo.
- Location
- Who Knows
AHhhhhhh this is interesting, and also exciting??
We're matching up against unknowns, but also unknowns that we can really go all out on. I'll....leave the planning to those who like that more~
We're matching up against unknowns, but also unknowns that we can really go all out on. I'll....leave the planning to those who like that more~
- Location
- Leeds
How close are we to being able to use the new movement art, seems to me that these bandits were a few weeks early of this being a forgone conclusion?
Just fly over and drop bro. ez pz
Oh shit boys and girls, we're playing for keeps.
I look forward to seeing how miserable it is to fight Ling Qi when she's got her full set of spirits ready to go.
I look forward to seeing how miserable it is to fight Ling Qi when she's got her full set of spirits ready to go.
Also, this is the top humor moment I've seen in the thread in a while. Truly some Michael Scott-tier self-unawareness.
"Gee, why would you expect Team Cai to be fucking with you by gating prizes behind arbitrary tests of competence?"
DarkLight140
Credit to Team
- Location
- Lost in my thoughts
"Two enemies and a bunch of snacks to make beating them easy" when translated into Ling Qi-vision. No wonder she thinks she can take them all on personally.
So if we're getting Bai arts that means water right ?
?
Varder
Tired Cultist
- Location
- Hell
I love everything about that art. It sounds amazing.
What do (1), (3), etc mean?
typo
Ling Qi is confident she can win 1v3 against 3 green cultivators and a lot of support behind them. I'm not sure if it's overconfidence or she's just that ridiculus. I mean, she's also Green 3, isn't she nominally equal to each of them?