I mean, Ji Rong has always been contemptuous of those weaker then him, referring to the guys with him when he got jumped as fodder. It's not hard to see being surprised at him a little at changing, even if Ling Qi saw his first inkling when they were in the archive.
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.
Black Noise
Curious
- Location
- About 1AU from Sol
War also currently falls under social skills and thus can benefit from the water/lake site, letting us have a +2 on turns we train BKSD and a Water or Lake art.
- Location
- The Star Kingdom of Manticore
I mean water arts so boo. But I believe that SND is an icky lake art so at least we can get something out of the site.
This message has been sponsored by the unbiased element purity party.
Diomedea
A piece of the continent
- Location
- The interblag
- Pronouns
- She/Her
We have both Starless Night's Reflection which is a lake art, and Unstoppable Glaciers March which is water. We're also super likely to grab CDE+ moving forward, which should also be a water art.
We are going to wring a lot of value out of mirror basin, don't you worry.
- Location
- Fabulously Rainbow Ireland
vote's closed
- Location
- Finland
On topic of war.
We know nothing, as in, we don't even know what we don't know.
We need to learn war, we don't need to master it, necessarily, but we need to learn enough to atleast understand the depth and shape of our ignorance, so that when we next are put in charge of soldiers, we are atleast able to meaningfully ask for for their advice.
We know nothing, as in, we don't even know what we don't know.
We need to learn war, we don't need to master it, necessarily, but we need to learn enough to atleast understand the depth and shape of our ignorance, so that when we next are put in charge of soldiers, we are atleast able to meaningfully ask for for their advice.
Lanhua
EternalObserver
eYe Gaze baCk
- Location
- The Void
Right, so since I'm having a hard time conceptualizing my other drawing (through sheer muscle mass), I decided to go ahead with this one.
Featuring Lanhua in her battle mode (in case anyone forgets, Lanhua is Shen Hu's mud spirit)
Now with a sleeping Shen Hu tacked on it. Anyways, I feel that I might have tacked on a bit too many branches.
Now hopefully I can get my other work done *headache*
@yrsillar done with this one
Featuring Lanhua in her battle mode (in case anyone forgets, Lanhua is Shen Hu's mud spirit)
Now with a sleeping Shen Hu tacked on it. Anyways, I feel that I might have tacked on a bit too many branches.
Now hopefully I can get my other work done *headache*
@yrsillar done with this one
Last edited:
Just one thing @EternalObserver, Lanhua is a she.
Where is that stated? I always thought had vaguely thought that Lanhua wasn't gendered.
- Location
- United States of America
Hmmm... so, any guesses what our domain bonus will be for slotting SCS? Given that it is about action and motion I kind of think that it will be a speed boost for us and our allies of a certain rank near us. Or perhaps it will be a speed boost only for us.
Well, whether it is a speed boost or something else, I'm excited for it!
Well, whether it is a speed boost or something else, I'm excited for it!
Black Noise
Curious
- Location
- About 1AU from Sol
To call this
I'm expecting something Wits focused in combat and progression speed (skills it cultivation) outside of it.
An effect focused on speed is to grossly misunderstand it; the insight is about adaptability and growth, not merely motion.
I'm expecting something Wits focused in combat and progression speed (skills it cultivation) outside of it.
- Location
- The Star Kingdom of Manticore
I agree that focusing on speed only doesn't encompass everything that this insight is about. However I really doubt that it would increase the progression speed of anything. That seems really really too powerful.
I do like the idea of a wit boost though.
My best guess is this insight will decrease the time that movement related debuffs can effect us for.
Not quite. Ling Qi HAD learned the very basics, back with Han Jian. Its just that she's never learned the Officer stuff before. She's actually quite decent with small unit tactics when she knows the full competencies of every participant on her side, and they're all peers.
She's not good when she has to deal with allies that she can't trust to deal with their segment on their own, but she's capable of understanding instructions and implementing it on a personal level. In other words she has the War skill of a typical D&D party.
What she lacks is strategy. That takes time and actual formal learning in terms of doctrine and principles more complex than force on force.
Naw, Ji Rong has always been contemptuous of everyone on the other team. Even when they are stronger than him.
Shen Hu spends all his time inside her.
Oh my.
- Location
- Somewhere
- Pronouns
- They/Them
It was a joking exaggeration.
Turn 5: Arc 2-2
Ling Qi sped along a narrow ledge, no wider than her arm. Shimmering silver lights winked and glowed from within the folds of her gown, peering out like eyes in every direction, and the quiet hum of the Spring Breeze canto, gave her brief flashes of imagery from both the birds overhead and the beasts in the valley below. Each time a cloud passed over the sun, Ling Qi skipped forward, flickering a meter or two ahead without taking a step or missing a beat.
Crossing distances without moving had never been easier and more instinctive. She had been using the Sable Crescent Step technique since almost the beginning, and the movements and qi flows came to her as naturally as breathing. She had come so very far since those first stumbling practice steps, and Ling Qi would never allow herself to stop here. She had seen the heights to which she still had to ascend, and she could not be satisfied with herself as she was now.
So although she felt lighter on her feet than ever, Ling Qi still felt troubled. Over the past months Liao Zhu had taught her much about how to scout and track, as well as procedures and etiquette, but she had not really learned too much about commanding yet. She let her perceptions drift to her 'subordinates', running along a wider path below. She had decided that they should stay together until she had a better idea of what they were facing, but now she had no idea how to interact with them properly.
"You could just talk to them, you know?" Sixiang pointed out. "Like maintain the formalities I guess, but just jump down and have a chat?"
Ling Qi worried that letting on just how out of depth she was would undermine her supposed authority though. While that did not bother her much, wasn't that sort of thing supposed to be important for soldiers?
"Ling Qi," She winced, feeling as if Sixiang was giving her a flat stare. "You're making excuses."
"Dunno why your so worried Big Sister, it's just a bunch of weaklings, and they're not even family either. Who cares what they think," Hanyi drawled, sounding bored.
"Hanyi is really proud for someone who hides under Gui all the time," her little brother grumbled.
Ling Qi frowned as they descended to bickering again. She was making excuses, why though? Even as she leaped across a gap in the path ahead, the answer came to her. She had no idea how to interact with them. Was it even worth spending extra time on them? As long as they stayed together, she could take care of any difficult parts herself, and just let them take care of easy issues.
In her own mind, Ling Qi could not ignore the conclusion that arose. She wasn't really thinking of them like subordinates. She was thinking of them like charges to care for, or obstacles to be worked around. Ling Qi closed her eyes and sighed, ignoring Sixiang's knowing chuckle.
A moment later, she flickered, and her feet touched the ground at the eldest soldier, Chang He's side. To his credit, he didn't so much as flinch as she materialized beside him, keeping pace with his run effortlessly. "Trouble Nearby Ma'am?' He asked crisply.
"No," Ling Qi replied, maintaining a stoic impression. "We are approaching the destination. I wanted to know if you were familiar with the area already, and if you had any recommendations on how we should proceed."
"Very dignified. Nine out of ten on the effortless poise," Sixiang murmured.
His eyes flicked in her direction as his boots continued to pound the ground, and though his expression remained even, she felt a fluctuation in his spirit that seemed to be wary surprise. "I have not made this run myself in some time Ma'am. I believe Mo Lian and Chun Yan are more familiar."
She glanced back, and a moment later, she was beside the younger man, who stiffened in surprise but didn't stumble. "You heard the conversation?" She asked, knowing perfectly well that he had. They were all running in a loose formation only a few meters apart.
"I did," he replied stiffly. "I had some hand in writing the reports you were furnished with Ma'am."
She gave him a sidelong look, there was the faintest hint of something accusatory there, well hidden behind discipline. "I am not asking you to repeat the report. I have read it. I wanted to know if you had any recommendations for how to proceed based on your experience with previous runs."
She felt a faint ripple of qi from her left, and glanced toward Chun Yan, knowing that the woman had restrained herself from laughing. "I may be more powerful, but I should not waste your experience. I would like to hear anything the three of you have to say before we begin."
Seeing them from all angles, it was impossible to miss the faint shifts in body language and expression that passed between the three scouts. It looked like she had managed to avoid embarrassing herself
The man beside her dipped his head slightly, despite not slowing his run in the slightest as she flickered and floated beside him. "...The most consistent danger is the river spirit that inhabits the main waterway. It is a volatile creature that is often difficult to predict. However, if it is calmed first its calm passes to the lesser water spirits as well, and makes the scouting simpler."
"The fat fish is bad tempered though and proud. Killing it will just makes things worse though. It'll have reformed by next season, and the fights always flood the valley's and make it harder for the ones coming behind. Puts it in a worse mood for the next run too," the woman added.
"...The last one to come through definitely killed it, didn't they," Ling Qi sighed knowingly.
"Amazing prediction," Sixiang chuckled.
The two soldiers shared a glance. "Yes Ma'am," the younger soldier replied, sounding mildly chagrined. "I was asked to leave the matter out of the report so…"
"Well don't stop there," Ling Qi said. "Any other surprises?"
She spent the rest of the trip there listening to details and anecdotes about past runs, both here and elsewhere. It took some time for the soldiers to begin speaking more freely. Conversation died down as they reached their destination. The region Ling Qi had been assigned to survey was a network of river valleys that lay between high cliffs, flowing down from glacial headwaters further south. It was much greener than most landscapes that lay this far south, rich with vegetation and beasts alike. Soon, they arrived at a cliff overlooking the main span of the river that ran through their assigned region.
Perched atop the cliff, crouching with their qi suppressed and their shimmering cloaks wrapped around them. Ling Qi might have mistaken her subordinates for large stones, if her senses had been less sharp. She herself stood in the shadow of an old and gnarled tree, clinging to the cliffs edge, her aura muted and out her outline wavering into the shadows.
"Will you be proceeding with the plan you outlined then ma'am?" Chang He asked in a low voice, she had a feeling he was not confident that her plan was wise.
Ling Qi considered, gazing down at the river and getting a sense for its qi. "The disciple who slew it. Were they above the foundation stage?"
"He was not," the old man replied.
"And he was not the scion of a great house?" Ling Qi asked evenly.
"No, Ma'am," Chang He said, lowering his eyes.
"Then I am confident," Ling Qi replied. "Hold position and keep yourselves hidden. I do not want the spirit to think it is being ambushed."
They did not salute or shout agreement this time, for obvious reasons. Hopefully when this was over, the doubt she sensed in their postures and words would be curbed, if not silenced.
"You've got this," Sixiang murmured.
Ling Qi appreciated the encouragement as she leaped lightly down from the cliff, floating like a leaf on the breeze. As her feet touched the damp grass on the rivers shore, she stopped restraining her qi, and her flute materialized in her hand. The moment she did the lazy ripples of the slow flowing river churned and thrashed. She had a bare instant to glimpse a piscine silhouette forming beneath the surface before a jet of extremely dense pressurized water shot out, and cut straight through her chest, carving a gouge in the rock behind her.
Ling Qi raised her flute to her lips as her form wavered back into solidity, unperturbed by the attack. The shape in the water thrashed to the surface, and she heard the spirit speak, in a warbling, bubbling voice that trembled with indignant rage. "You impudent savages. You dare return to challenge this river again! Do not think that this resplendent one will fall for your underhanded tricks again!!"
The spirit was very large, at six meters long, it was the largest fish she had ever seen. It's scales gleamed like sapphires in the morning sunlight. It had a wide flat head, with thick fleshy whiskers that trembled like a rotund man's jowls as it spoke. "O master of the valley," Ling Qi spoke formally, even as she sidestepped another cutting jet of water. "Please be calm, this humble supplicant wishes only to offer apologies for the indignities laid upon you."
"Yoooooou," the river spirit rumbled in its' quivering voice. "Do you really think , this mighty one is so easily tricked? Fool, Trickster, Charlatan!"
"Man, this guy is making a mess of the scenery in more ways than one," Sixiang said drolly as Ling Qi jumped, and dashed along the rising top of the wave that emerged from the river, circling to pull its attention away from her subordinates hiding place.
"Right? Are you sure we can't just ice this big dumb fish over?" Hanyi huffed. "Like some lazy carp deserves one of sister's songs."
Ling Qi had no time to respond to the musing in her head though. Instead, she continued speaking maintaining her formal and respectful tone even as she danced atop churning waters that sucked at the soles of her shoes. "A thousand apologies, resplendent master," she began, careful to keep the grin out of her voice. "Please allow this humble one to make an offering. Long have I contemplated your flowing waters and rich depths, and I have composed a song in your honor!" She was lying, but she had been composing a song about a different river, and it was not so hard to switch out some details in the piece on the spot. "I beg of you to allow me to make an offering and begin giving amends!"
All the while, as she spoke, she continued to avoid the spirits efforts, landing back on the far shore only as she spoke her last words. The massive carp regarded her balefully, whiskers shaking and gills fluttering with exertion. It reminded her of a fat red faced merchant giving up on catching a fleet footed thief. "...This magnanimous one will give you one chance, savage. But if this is treachery…!"
"Of course not," she said with a smile. "Thank you so much for your understanding. I call this piece. Shimmering Vale…" Ling Qi raised her flute to her lips, and began to play, and soon, the valley was filled with music, and the world seemed to grow still as her notes painted a melody that spoke of a rich and vibrant river, carrying life across the land. It was, Ling Qi thought, not one of her best pieces, given the hasty alterations, but the spirit was swiftly entranced anyway. It looked like her subordinates reports of the creatures pride were not inaccurate.
Later, after the waters had receded and the spirit dispersed back to its resting state, Ling Qi was joined on the shore by her subordinates. "I think that went well," Ling Qi commented lightly.
"It did indeed. I was not aware that you were so prodigious a musician, Ma'am," Chang He replied, dipping his head respectfully. "Spirits of the land often desire devotion and respect. The purity of your expression will serve you in good stead in such dealings."
Mo Lian nodded, nervously tugging at his beard as he glanced at the waters. "Still, without more material offerings, it is a stopgap. We should proceed."
"Yes, Ling Qi agreed, her feet lifting off the ground. "Chun Yan, take point as we fan out."
"Yes Ma'am," the older woman replied immediately. Ling Qi was gratified to see that there was little doubt left in her voice.
From there, using Liao Zhu's advice, they fanned out, not separating far, but enough to cover ground more efficiently. Ling Qi took on an overwatch role, soaring overhead as the three of them combed the paths and trails in the region. Many had been washed out by flooding, but the damage was not too bad.
As the sun began to descend from its zenith, they came back together atop a high cliff overlooking the river to compile what they had found over the course of the morning and early afternoon.
"It looks like we'll have to update the maps quite a bit," Ling Qi mused, seated in a tree branch. "Is that normal out here?"
"It is not natural for rock spirits to move so much in a single year," Cheng He said, from his position by their small fire. "One or perhaps two passes shifting is normal enough, but we have already discovered four that have closed, and the earth spirits are agitated."
There had been a certain majesty to watching whole cliffs and hills groan and crawl, shifting visibly before her eyes. However, Cheng He was right, it was an unusual and worrying phenomenon. One not so easily solved as a single rowdy and vengeful river spirit.
"New paths open when old ones close, its annoying but not real trouble" said Chun Yan. "The desolation in the southeastern valley is more worrying. Last time I saw withering like that, my village lost its whole harvest to the Black Earthworms. Something been letting them grow beyond their normal numbers and size."
The valley Chun Yan spoke of was a withered heath, trees were bare of leaves and even the grass and weeds were withered and shrunken. She had seen all to familiar worms poking their eyesless heads out of the earth, the actinic scent of lightning drifting from their maws. She had only glimpsed Yan Renshu's real spirit beast once, but the worms that she had seen there dwarfed it in size.
"The tunnels I sensed were worryingly large," Mo Lian said, tugging nervously at his beard, "But I am more concerned about the Old Watch. The ruin has been silent for as long as I can remember, but you all saw the dancing bones and heard the cries in the air."
"The dead should not walk," Cheng He said darkly. "It shames those who still live."
The Old Watch was a fortification which had belonged to the clan which had technically owned this land before Ogodei. It had been the site of one of the early battles in the war. The people there had been slaughtered, and later a second group sent to recapture the site had been ambushed and killed by barbarians as well. According to the report the site had been thoroughly exorcised and and was now quiescent… if still uninhabitable, due to the malice infecting the air.
Ling Qi hummed to herself, they would no doubt find more trouble in the days to come as they filled in the holes left by their general exploration today. However, none of them needed rest just yet, so it occured to Ling Qi that before they were forced to begin splitting up to address smaller problems, perhaps they could solve one of these larger issues, and she could get a stronger feel for the capabilities these three had.
Idly, she glanced toward the setting sun, and wondered where Liao Zhu was. She supposed it didn't matter. Which issue then, should she try to address, and which could she simply mark down and leave for the main group?
[] Investigate the migrating earth spirits. Together you can try to tease out the source of their agitation, and save the cartographers some work.
[] Exterminate the worms. Though there were some third realm specimens, it is something that you are sure can be handled easily.
[] Seek to quell and disperse the malicious spirits gathering at the Old Watch, and find what is causing the quelled spirits to rise again.
Crossing distances without moving had never been easier and more instinctive. She had been using the Sable Crescent Step technique since almost the beginning, and the movements and qi flows came to her as naturally as breathing. She had come so very far since those first stumbling practice steps, and Ling Qi would never allow herself to stop here. She had seen the heights to which she still had to ascend, and she could not be satisfied with herself as she was now.
There is no peace in emptiness, no content in stillness. Stagnation is death; act, change, move, think, and grow until the very end.
Domain Effects:
Allies in a scene with whom Ling Qi has at least four ranks of positive relation receive a one rank bonus to Spiritual Avoid, Armor and Combat Perception(Boosted Rank cannot exceed Ling Qi's), So long as at least one such ally is in the scene with Ling Qi she receives a half rank bonus to resisting or avoiding effects which would induce immobility or helplessness. In addition, when within a space Ling Qi considers to be 'hers' she receives a half rank bonus to Social Perception. At all times, Ling Qi receives a bonus of twenty to Speed and Initiative, and a bonus of ten to Physical Avoid. Ling Qi is immune to effects which would reduce speed, Initiative or physical avoid if the effects rank is less than or equal to her domain rank(modified by potency).
Ling Qi and allies within close range receive a free dispel attempt against effects which would force them to act directly against someone with whom they have at least 2 ranks of positive relations.
Domain Effects:
Allies in a scene with whom Ling Qi has at least four ranks of positive relation receive a one rank bonus to Spiritual Avoid, Armor and Combat Perception(Boosted Rank cannot exceed Ling Qi's), So long as at least one such ally is in the scene with Ling Qi she receives a half rank bonus to resisting or avoiding effects which would induce immobility or helplessness. In addition, when within a space Ling Qi considers to be 'hers' she receives a half rank bonus to Social Perception. At all times, Ling Qi receives a bonus of twenty to Speed and Initiative, and a bonus of ten to Physical Avoid. Ling Qi is immune to effects which would reduce speed, Initiative or physical avoid if the effects rank is less than or equal to her domain rank(modified by potency).
Ling Qi and allies within close range receive a free dispel attempt against effects which would force them to act directly against someone with whom they have at least 2 ranks of positive relations.
So although she felt lighter on her feet than ever, Ling Qi still felt troubled. Over the past months Liao Zhu had taught her much about how to scout and track, as well as procedures and etiquette, but she had not really learned too much about commanding yet. She let her perceptions drift to her 'subordinates', running along a wider path below. She had decided that they should stay together until she had a better idea of what they were facing, but now she had no idea how to interact with them properly.
"You could just talk to them, you know?" Sixiang pointed out. "Like maintain the formalities I guess, but just jump down and have a chat?"
Ling Qi worried that letting on just how out of depth she was would undermine her supposed authority though. While that did not bother her much, wasn't that sort of thing supposed to be important for soldiers?
"Ling Qi," She winced, feeling as if Sixiang was giving her a flat stare. "You're making excuses."
"Dunno why your so worried Big Sister, it's just a bunch of weaklings, and they're not even family either. Who cares what they think," Hanyi drawled, sounding bored.
"Hanyi is really proud for someone who hides under Gui all the time," her little brother grumbled.
Ling Qi frowned as they descended to bickering again. She was making excuses, why though? Even as she leaped across a gap in the path ahead, the answer came to her. She had no idea how to interact with them. Was it even worth spending extra time on them? As long as they stayed together, she could take care of any difficult parts herself, and just let them take care of easy issues.
In her own mind, Ling Qi could not ignore the conclusion that arose. She wasn't really thinking of them like subordinates. She was thinking of them like charges to care for, or obstacles to be worked around. Ling Qi closed her eyes and sighed, ignoring Sixiang's knowing chuckle.
A moment later, she flickered, and her feet touched the ground at the eldest soldier, Chang He's side. To his credit, he didn't so much as flinch as she materialized beside him, keeping pace with his run effortlessly. "Trouble Nearby Ma'am?' He asked crisply.
"No," Ling Qi replied, maintaining a stoic impression. "We are approaching the destination. I wanted to know if you were familiar with the area already, and if you had any recommendations on how we should proceed."
"Very dignified. Nine out of ten on the effortless poise," Sixiang murmured.
His eyes flicked in her direction as his boots continued to pound the ground, and though his expression remained even, she felt a fluctuation in his spirit that seemed to be wary surprise. "I have not made this run myself in some time Ma'am. I believe Mo Lian and Chun Yan are more familiar."
She glanced back, and a moment later, she was beside the younger man, who stiffened in surprise but didn't stumble. "You heard the conversation?" She asked, knowing perfectly well that he had. They were all running in a loose formation only a few meters apart.
"I did," he replied stiffly. "I had some hand in writing the reports you were furnished with Ma'am."
She gave him a sidelong look, there was the faintest hint of something accusatory there, well hidden behind discipline. "I am not asking you to repeat the report. I have read it. I wanted to know if you had any recommendations for how to proceed based on your experience with previous runs."
She felt a faint ripple of qi from her left, and glanced toward Chun Yan, knowing that the woman had restrained herself from laughing. "I may be more powerful, but I should not waste your experience. I would like to hear anything the three of you have to say before we begin."
Seeing them from all angles, it was impossible to miss the faint shifts in body language and expression that passed between the three scouts. It looked like she had managed to avoid embarrassing herself
The man beside her dipped his head slightly, despite not slowing his run in the slightest as she flickered and floated beside him. "...The most consistent danger is the river spirit that inhabits the main waterway. It is a volatile creature that is often difficult to predict. However, if it is calmed first its calm passes to the lesser water spirits as well, and makes the scouting simpler."
"The fat fish is bad tempered though and proud. Killing it will just makes things worse though. It'll have reformed by next season, and the fights always flood the valley's and make it harder for the ones coming behind. Puts it in a worse mood for the next run too," the woman added.
"...The last one to come through definitely killed it, didn't they," Ling Qi sighed knowingly.
"Amazing prediction," Sixiang chuckled.
The two soldiers shared a glance. "Yes Ma'am," the younger soldier replied, sounding mildly chagrined. "I was asked to leave the matter out of the report so…"
"Well don't stop there," Ling Qi said. "Any other surprises?"
She spent the rest of the trip there listening to details and anecdotes about past runs, both here and elsewhere. It took some time for the soldiers to begin speaking more freely. Conversation died down as they reached their destination. The region Ling Qi had been assigned to survey was a network of river valleys that lay between high cliffs, flowing down from glacial headwaters further south. It was much greener than most landscapes that lay this far south, rich with vegetation and beasts alike. Soon, they arrived at a cliff overlooking the main span of the river that ran through their assigned region.
Perched atop the cliff, crouching with their qi suppressed and their shimmering cloaks wrapped around them. Ling Qi might have mistaken her subordinates for large stones, if her senses had been less sharp. She herself stood in the shadow of an old and gnarled tree, clinging to the cliffs edge, her aura muted and out her outline wavering into the shadows.
"Will you be proceeding with the plan you outlined then ma'am?" Chang He asked in a low voice, she had a feeling he was not confident that her plan was wise.
Ling Qi considered, gazing down at the river and getting a sense for its qi. "The disciple who slew it. Were they above the foundation stage?"
"He was not," the old man replied.
"And he was not the scion of a great house?" Ling Qi asked evenly.
"No, Ma'am," Chang He said, lowering his eyes.
"Then I am confident," Ling Qi replied. "Hold position and keep yourselves hidden. I do not want the spirit to think it is being ambushed."
They did not salute or shout agreement this time, for obvious reasons. Hopefully when this was over, the doubt she sensed in their postures and words would be curbed, if not silenced.
"You've got this," Sixiang murmured.
Ling Qi appreciated the encouragement as she leaped lightly down from the cliff, floating like a leaf on the breeze. As her feet touched the damp grass on the rivers shore, she stopped restraining her qi, and her flute materialized in her hand. The moment she did the lazy ripples of the slow flowing river churned and thrashed. She had a bare instant to glimpse a piscine silhouette forming beneath the surface before a jet of extremely dense pressurized water shot out, and cut straight through her chest, carving a gouge in the rock behind her.
Ling Qi raised her flute to her lips as her form wavered back into solidity, unperturbed by the attack. The shape in the water thrashed to the surface, and she heard the spirit speak, in a warbling, bubbling voice that trembled with indignant rage. "You impudent savages. You dare return to challenge this river again! Do not think that this resplendent one will fall for your underhanded tricks again!!"
The spirit was very large, at six meters long, it was the largest fish she had ever seen. It's scales gleamed like sapphires in the morning sunlight. It had a wide flat head, with thick fleshy whiskers that trembled like a rotund man's jowls as it spoke. "O master of the valley," Ling Qi spoke formally, even as she sidestepped another cutting jet of water. "Please be calm, this humble supplicant wishes only to offer apologies for the indignities laid upon you."
"Yoooooou," the river spirit rumbled in its' quivering voice. "Do you really think , this mighty one is so easily tricked? Fool, Trickster, Charlatan!"
"Man, this guy is making a mess of the scenery in more ways than one," Sixiang said drolly as Ling Qi jumped, and dashed along the rising top of the wave that emerged from the river, circling to pull its attention away from her subordinates hiding place.
"Right? Are you sure we can't just ice this big dumb fish over?" Hanyi huffed. "Like some lazy carp deserves one of sister's songs."
Ling Qi had no time to respond to the musing in her head though. Instead, she continued speaking maintaining her formal and respectful tone even as she danced atop churning waters that sucked at the soles of her shoes. "A thousand apologies, resplendent master," she began, careful to keep the grin out of her voice. "Please allow this humble one to make an offering. Long have I contemplated your flowing waters and rich depths, and I have composed a song in your honor!" She was lying, but she had been composing a song about a different river, and it was not so hard to switch out some details in the piece on the spot. "I beg of you to allow me to make an offering and begin giving amends!"
All the while, as she spoke, she continued to avoid the spirits efforts, landing back on the far shore only as she spoke her last words. The massive carp regarded her balefully, whiskers shaking and gills fluttering with exertion. It reminded her of a fat red faced merchant giving up on catching a fleet footed thief. "...This magnanimous one will give you one chance, savage. But if this is treachery…!"
"Of course not," she said with a smile. "Thank you so much for your understanding. I call this piece. Shimmering Vale…" Ling Qi raised her flute to her lips, and began to play, and soon, the valley was filled with music, and the world seemed to grow still as her notes painted a melody that spoke of a rich and vibrant river, carrying life across the land. It was, Ling Qi thought, not one of her best pieces, given the hasty alterations, but the spirit was swiftly entranced anyway. It looked like her subordinates reports of the creatures pride were not inaccurate.
Later, after the waters had receded and the spirit dispersed back to its resting state, Ling Qi was joined on the shore by her subordinates. "I think that went well," Ling Qi commented lightly.
"It did indeed. I was not aware that you were so prodigious a musician, Ma'am," Chang He replied, dipping his head respectfully. "Spirits of the land often desire devotion and respect. The purity of your expression will serve you in good stead in such dealings."
Mo Lian nodded, nervously tugging at his beard as he glanced at the waters. "Still, without more material offerings, it is a stopgap. We should proceed."
"Yes, Ling Qi agreed, her feet lifting off the ground. "Chun Yan, take point as we fan out."
"Yes Ma'am," the older woman replied immediately. Ling Qi was gratified to see that there was little doubt left in her voice.
From there, using Liao Zhu's advice, they fanned out, not separating far, but enough to cover ground more efficiently. Ling Qi took on an overwatch role, soaring overhead as the three of them combed the paths and trails in the region. Many had been washed out by flooding, but the damage was not too bad.
As the sun began to descend from its zenith, they came back together atop a high cliff overlooking the river to compile what they had found over the course of the morning and early afternoon.
"It looks like we'll have to update the maps quite a bit," Ling Qi mused, seated in a tree branch. "Is that normal out here?"
"It is not natural for rock spirits to move so much in a single year," Cheng He said, from his position by their small fire. "One or perhaps two passes shifting is normal enough, but we have already discovered four that have closed, and the earth spirits are agitated."
There had been a certain majesty to watching whole cliffs and hills groan and crawl, shifting visibly before her eyes. However, Cheng He was right, it was an unusual and worrying phenomenon. One not so easily solved as a single rowdy and vengeful river spirit.
"New paths open when old ones close, its annoying but not real trouble" said Chun Yan. "The desolation in the southeastern valley is more worrying. Last time I saw withering like that, my village lost its whole harvest to the Black Earthworms. Something been letting them grow beyond their normal numbers and size."
The valley Chun Yan spoke of was a withered heath, trees were bare of leaves and even the grass and weeds were withered and shrunken. She had seen all to familiar worms poking their eyesless heads out of the earth, the actinic scent of lightning drifting from their maws. She had only glimpsed Yan Renshu's real spirit beast once, but the worms that she had seen there dwarfed it in size.
"The tunnels I sensed were worryingly large," Mo Lian said, tugging nervously at his beard, "But I am more concerned about the Old Watch. The ruin has been silent for as long as I can remember, but you all saw the dancing bones and heard the cries in the air."
"The dead should not walk," Cheng He said darkly. "It shames those who still live."
The Old Watch was a fortification which had belonged to the clan which had technically owned this land before Ogodei. It had been the site of one of the early battles in the war. The people there had been slaughtered, and later a second group sent to recapture the site had been ambushed and killed by barbarians as well. According to the report the site had been thoroughly exorcised and and was now quiescent… if still uninhabitable, due to the malice infecting the air.
Ling Qi hummed to herself, they would no doubt find more trouble in the days to come as they filled in the holes left by their general exploration today. However, none of them needed rest just yet, so it occured to Ling Qi that before they were forced to begin splitting up to address smaller problems, perhaps they could solve one of these larger issues, and she could get a stronger feel for the capabilities these three had.
Idly, she glanced toward the setting sun, and wondered where Liao Zhu was. She supposed it didn't matter. Which issue then, should she try to address, and which could she simply mark down and leave for the main group?
[] Investigate the migrating earth spirits. Together you can try to tease out the source of their agitation, and save the cartographers some work.
[] Exterminate the worms. Though there were some third realm specimens, it is something that you are sure can be handled easily.
[] Seek to quell and disperse the malicious spirits gathering at the Old Watch, and find what is causing the quelled spirits to rise again.
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Aranfan
Team Plasma Grunt
I suspect the surprise is that a the green LT is actually listening to the sargent.
- Location
- UK
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Looks like disciples were meant to ask for the experience of their subordinates or remain uninformed of relevant issues. Guess caution was a good decision. Worms seems the easiest choice to test our trio but I suppose LQ's also pretty good at speaking to spirits.
fictionfan
Please sir, may I have some Meows?
- Location
- Tempe, AZ
I would think that we should Exterminate the worms just because we don't have any special skills in the other areas.
- Location
- United States of America
The thing is, I feel like the Worms and the Old Watch are more maintenance issues, while the moving hills could actually slow down the operation. Which means I'm more inclined to see what is making the hill spirits agitated.
EternalObserver
eYe Gaze baCk
- Location
- The Void
[] Investigate the migrating earth spirits. Together you can try to tease out the source of their agitation, and save the cartographers some work.
Leaning towards this one atm
also
Leaning towards this one atm
also
Love the freakin banter
fictionfan
Please sir, may I have some Meows?
- Location
- Tempe, AZ
Wish that we had enough Spirit Ken to have a chance of for spealization.
- Location
- The Core
I agree with Thor's Twin somewhat - its not just about playing to our own strengths, but also to everyone else's. Killing zombies or worms is probably something that anyone can handle, but as evidenced by the river spirit issue, these folks are less adept at not murdering their problems. So earth spirits, while no particular affinity of ours, are still something that LQ is better suited to handle than most.