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.
Do we actually know that? Yeah we are pulling ahead of him sect rank wise, but historically he hasn't been trying that hard for rank. Heck he slept through his first year tournament. We know Ling Qi seems to think of him as a peer, maybe he has progressed behind the scenes like Ji Rong has.
That is besides the point though. Doing SL actions with him is about the exploration perks as he gives exploration bonuses. I do want to do this SL with him...but i kinda want Li Suyin to also go with as its exploration underground and I want these social activities to be more than one on one. Li Suyin should probably wait until she is fully green so i will vote
[X] Hanyi came to her, complaining about being bullied while playing on the mountain. Something about her claim makes you dubious though...
I also want to do the music one but I would rather do it when we are at a music skill breakpoint.
[X] Hanyi came to her, complaining about being bullied while playing on the mountain. Something about her claim makes you dubious though...
[X] Ruan Shen sought her out, seeking musically inclined help for a particularly troublesome elder's challenge he has discovered.
[X] Ruan Shen sought her out, seeking musically inclined help for a particularly troublesome elder's challenge he has discovered.
The narrative would be more like "I must go to that small child in the dangerous storm!" *dies trying*
Cloud Tribesman Depicition
EternalObserver
eYe Gaze baCk
- Location
- The Void
Making more character art. This time, making a Cloud Tribe barbarian (or at least what they look like in my head)
Made sure to make this one more warrior-ish, added with a few wooden and bone armor (though they may not look like it), along with lots of animal fur and hide. Finally with the bone mask. Also added horns because I feel that Cloud tribes would try to emulate their spirit beast companion. In this case, his would be a type of horned animal. (unfortunately not skilled enough to draw horses, much less a Qilin)
I'd imagine that for shamans, they'd be more light armored with more knick-knacks and talismans around them, maybe visible body paint.
@yrsillar here's some more, and expect me to spend points soon.
Made sure to make this one more warrior-ish, added with a few wooden and bone armor (though they may not look like it), along with lots of animal fur and hide. Finally with the bone mask. Also added horns because I feel that Cloud tribes would try to emulate their spirit beast companion. In this case, his would be a type of horned animal. (unfortunately not skilled enough to draw horses, much less a Qilin)
I'd imagine that for shamans, they'd be more light armored with more knick-knacks and talismans around them, maybe visible body paint.
@yrsillar here's some more, and expect me to spend points soon.
- Location
- The United States
- Pronouns
- He/They
I'm not sure of that, as a noble of the Emerald Seas I'm sure Cai can get his family to "voluntold" him into it if he's best in slot for one of the teams rolls.
With Him and his spirits helping us and ours, we could make ONE HELL OF A TARPIT for Cai to throw AOEs into, for example.
I'm not sure we know that. He hasn't been on screen in a LOOONG time, and last mentioned he was a useful sparring partner for LQ.
His rank is lagging, sure, but if there's anyone to not bother with challenging for a long time then jump 100 ranks, he's the one.
- Location
- The United States
- Pronouns
- He/They
Just realized we're in the same incentive tier as the three monsters. Get hyped boys.
I can feel the anticipation for the day we rematch SL with Green 4-3 to her Green 3-4
[X] Shen Hu approached you for once. He has found the abandoned lair of an underworld dragon, but is not confident that he can face the scavengers that fill it unopposed.
[X] Hanyi came to her, complaining about being bullied while playing on the mountain. Something about her claim makes you dubious though...
I asked @AbeoLogos who to vote for and he said Ruan Shen.
[X] Hanyi came to her, complaining about being bullied while playing on the mountain. Something about her claim makes you dubious though...
I asked @AbeoLogos who to vote for and he said Ruan Shen.
Making more character art. This time, making a Cloud Tribe barbarian (or at least what they look like in my head)
Made sure to make this one more warrior-ish, added with a few wooden and bone armor (though they may not look like it), along with lots of animal fur and hide. Finally with the bone mask. Also added horns because I feel that Cloud tribes would try to emulate their spirit beast companion. In this case, his would be a type of horned animal. (unfortunately not skilled enough to draw horses, much less a Qilin)
I'd imagine that for shamans, they'd be more light armored with more knick-knacks and talismans around them, maybe visible body paint.
@yrsillar here's some more, and expect me to spend points soon.
I like the art, however the cloud tribes generally use a the sort of peaked and fur lined helmets that mongols did something in this general shape except done with bone and fur. The masks provide full face coverage, because for their lower cultivation folks they provide protection from high winds and cold during flight
That aside, I've updated xp and arts on the front page. Haven't gotten to the derived stats yet
- Location
- The United States
- Pronouns
- He/They
So I've always thought the name Shen Hu sounded familiar, and I just now realized why.
@yrsillar , did you name his Clan after the Barons of the Garroulous Mire I mentioned off-handedly in Refinement?
I thought I was fooling myself at first, but the dates line up and his arts match up with having a swamp for a fief quite well.
@yrsillar , did you name his Clan after the Barons of the Garroulous Mire I mentioned off-handedly in Refinement?
I thought I was fooling myself at first, but the dates line up and his arts match up with having a swamp for a fief quite well.
Hmm not concsiously, but it was probably a bug in my ear at the time
eternal-potato
He who vegetates
- Location
- Moscow
[X] Ruan Shen sought her out, seeking musically inclined help for a particularly troublesome elder's challenge he has discovered.
- Location
- The Space Between
I think our recent times doing random dungeons has colored our perception as to what is better loot, Random Adventure or Elder Trial.
If we're concerned about getting loot for ourselves and really pushing ourselves, an Elder Trial that our tutor Ruan Shen is struggling to do without us is *definitely* going to have great returns on it. I'm not too excited to eviscerate a ton of chaff rn, but an Elder Musical Challenge? Hell yeah we should book that!
Oh wait, lil sis needs help. One sec Ruan, we gotta help our sister
[X] Hanyi came to her, complaining about being bullied while playing on the mountain. Something about her claim makes you dubious though...
If we're concerned about getting loot for ourselves and really pushing ourselves, an Elder Trial that our tutor Ruan Shen is struggling to do without us is *definitely* going to have great returns on it. I'm not too excited to eviscerate a ton of chaff rn, but an Elder Musical Challenge? Hell yeah we should book that!
Oh wait, lil sis needs help. One sec Ruan, we gotta help our sister
[X] Hanyi came to her, complaining about being bullied while playing on the mountain. Something about her claim makes you dubious though...
[X] Ruan Shen sought her out, seeking musically inclined help for a particularly troublesome elder's challenge he has discovered.
[X] Shen Hu approached you for once. He has found the abandoned lair of an underworld dragon, but is not confident that he can face the scavengers that fill it unopposed.
[X] Shen Hu approached you for once. He has found the abandoned lair of an underworld dragon, but is not confident that he can face the scavengers that fill it unopposed.
- Location
- USA
[X] Shen Hu approached you for once. He has found the abandoned lair of an underworld dragon, but is not confident that he can face the scavengers that fill it unopposed.
[X] Ruan Shen sought her out, seeking musically inclined help for a particularly troublesome elder's challenge he has discovered.
[X] Ruan Shen sought her out, seeking musically inclined help for a particularly troublesome elder's challenge he has discovered.
- Location
- Florida
[X] Hanyi came to her, complaining about being bullied while playing on the mountain. Something about her claim makes you dubious though...
Inserted tally
Important Memories
- Location
- United States of America
Important Memories
Zu Bing was jolted into conscience by the feeling of her body violently shaking. Panic flooded her and she quickly grabbed the knife hidden under the pillow to fend off the attack. Slashing upwards, towards the blurred shadow's throat, Zu Bing attempted to ward off the threat. The shadow simply stepped backward with a laugh reminiscent of soft wind chimes.
"My Zu Bing, morning does not agree with you, does it?"
Blearily rubbing her eyes, Zu Bing was finally able to focus on the figure in front of her.
"Ling Biyu… what in all the Great Spirits possessed you to wake me up this early in the morning?"
"Well, if you must know, I was going to celebrate our friendship, and your breakthrough to the red soul, by dragging you off to a wonderful cultivation site that I know of! I know that you've been doing a little exploring around the Outer Sect for some, and so I thought that this would be a great present for you."
Something about the explanation triggered alarm bells in Zu Bing's mind, and it was with a hoarse voice when she figured out what bothered her so and asked, "When… when did we become friends?"
"The moment you agreed to be my roommate! Now come on, the sun won't hide beneath the horizon forever so we need to get a move on. I'll be in the dining room making some treats we can have on the way there."
There was a moment of fleeting happiness for Zu Bing at knowing that someone considered her a friend before her pragmatism crushed it. She knew that Ling Biyu was a noble, likely from a family of some import given how many of the other nobles tried to introduce themselves to the girl after the opening ceremony. Being unilaterally declared a friend by Ling Biyu just meant that more enemies had been made. It was… frustrating, not to have any control. But better to have some protection while gathering strength than to have no protection at all. With a grunt of dissatisfaction, Zu Bing began the process of getting ready for the day.
The sun's warming rays still had not crested the horizon when Zu Bing and Ling Biyu began their adventure. And, to the surprise of Zu Bing, they didn't actually start heading into the wilderness around the sect, but rather towards the small town at the base of the mountain. While she didn't pry into the direction, something must have given her curiosity away to Ling Biyu.
"We are heading to the town because, you see, the sites directly around the Sect proper are… lackluster and lots of people find and use them due to their convenience. But more powerful sites are a bit further out from the sect that people don't always find. Don't worry though! Only the rarest sites around the Outer Sect could be considered actually powerful and those are far too dangerous for us to work towards right now. No, this site is wonderful because it's decently potent but the spirits attracted to it are young and weak."
"That doesn't actually explain why we are going to the town though. Couldn't we just cut through the forest to get to this site quicker?"
"We could," Ling Biyu began hesitantly, "but the territory between the Outer Sect student housing and the site is going to have a lot more spirit beasts. And, quite frankly, we are neither fast or strong enough to avoid or beat all of those spirit beasts. Eventually we will be though!"
Zu Bing traveled the rest of the way to the town in amicable silence while Ling Biyu continued chatting about anything and everything. It was a trait Zu Bing had noticed about Ling Biyu, that the girl would not stay quiet as long as there was someone to talk to. It passed the time quickly enough, even if the conversation topics could turn uncomfortably quickly to gossip.
Eventually, they reached a fork in the road, just before the town proper, and Ling Biyu took the path leading towards some of the fields that surrounded the mountain. It was here that the one-sided conversation revealed something that Zu Bing had never realized.
"Your family actually lives here? At the Sect?"
"Hmm?" Ling Biyu paused in seeming surprise at the question. "Well," she began, "my Big Sister was the first to attend the Argent Sect, and she was successful enough to bring Mother and me from Tonghou all the way here. But we don't live here anymore. No, we have a wonderful estate to the west of the Argent Sect where our family currently resides. Although… if Big Sister keeps being successful our family might have to move again."
"What does your Sister do anyways?"
"My Big Sister," Ling Biyu said proudly, "is the Head of the Ling Clan and a Baron who is a direct retainer of Lady Cai, heiress of the Emerald Sea's Province. Although," Ling Biyu whispered conspiratorially, "she should soon be promoted to the rank of Viscount. Her promotion has, apparently, been delayed for a while due to some political machinations."
Zu Bing noted that in some distant part of her brain screams of terror were resounding. She had known that Ling Biyu was nobility, but to actually be related to a direct retainer of the Cai was… incredibly frightening. It was strange, to her, that someone with this much influence and prestige would be associating with a simple commoner as herself. Strange and worrying.
"Your, ah, Big Sister won't mind you making friends with a... commoner?"
The look Ling Biyu gave her was one of confused puzzlement. She opened her mouth, closed it again, snorted, and then began laughing hysterically. In between her peals of laughter, an actual answer came forth.
"You thought…, you thought that we were, that we were some ancient noble house? No…, no our family, our family became nobility because of Big Sister. We're first, first-generation nobles."
"Wait, a commoner can become a noble!"
That exclamation seemed to set off Ling Biyu again, and this time all she got from the laughing girl was her head shaking in the affirmative.
It took some time for Ling Biyu to settle down and wipe away the tears streaming down her cheeks before they set off again down the road. Strangely, there was little conversation now, only Ling Biyu humming a strange song. The song seemed happy and carefree, but with hints of nostalgia intermingled. It was… relaxing. Soon enough though, the paved path ended at the spirit barrier that encompassed the fields, and dense untamed wilderness spread out before them.
"We're here," Ling Biyu said with a smile, "only about thirty minutes of walking in a straight line before we reach the site."
"By the way Ling Biyu," Zu Bing inquired, "how did you originally find the site?" I've looked for days around the Sect and haven't found anything."
"Oh," Ling Biyu responded, "I didn't find this site. My Big Sister took me here when I was three or four. It's one of my most vivid early memories, playing with my Big Sister, Hanyi, and the young spirits in the area. I remember running around Zhengui while the lazybones slept, making crowns of flowers which Hanyi eternally preserved in ice, and listening to my Big Sister sing. It was… wonderful."
Then, with a shake of her head, Ling Biyu grabbed Zu Bing's hand and darted into the dark wilderness.
A/N: Another omake for the omake throne @yrsillar. This idea would not leave me alone, so I decided to just write it out and post it. As for questions regarding how Biyu remembered the way to the site, she knew she wanted to go back there and so asked for some help from Sixiang to remember the way there. One particularly lucid dream later, and some time to jot down the directions in her dream journal, and she has an easy way to get back there! Well, I hope people enjoy the omake. As always, critiques and criticisms are welcomed. This, in particular, was an experiment of having a lot more dialogue than I normally have.
Zu Bing was jolted into conscience by the feeling of her body violently shaking. Panic flooded her and she quickly grabbed the knife hidden under the pillow to fend off the attack. Slashing upwards, towards the blurred shadow's throat, Zu Bing attempted to ward off the threat. The shadow simply stepped backward with a laugh reminiscent of soft wind chimes.
"My Zu Bing, morning does not agree with you, does it?"
Blearily rubbing her eyes, Zu Bing was finally able to focus on the figure in front of her.
"Ling Biyu… what in all the Great Spirits possessed you to wake me up this early in the morning?"
"Well, if you must know, I was going to celebrate our friendship, and your breakthrough to the red soul, by dragging you off to a wonderful cultivation site that I know of! I know that you've been doing a little exploring around the Outer Sect for some, and so I thought that this would be a great present for you."
Something about the explanation triggered alarm bells in Zu Bing's mind, and it was with a hoarse voice when she figured out what bothered her so and asked, "When… when did we become friends?"
"The moment you agreed to be my roommate! Now come on, the sun won't hide beneath the horizon forever so we need to get a move on. I'll be in the dining room making some treats we can have on the way there."
There was a moment of fleeting happiness for Zu Bing at knowing that someone considered her a friend before her pragmatism crushed it. She knew that Ling Biyu was a noble, likely from a family of some import given how many of the other nobles tried to introduce themselves to the girl after the opening ceremony. Being unilaterally declared a friend by Ling Biyu just meant that more enemies had been made. It was… frustrating, not to have any control. But better to have some protection while gathering strength than to have no protection at all. With a grunt of dissatisfaction, Zu Bing began the process of getting ready for the day.
******
The sun's warming rays still had not crested the horizon when Zu Bing and Ling Biyu began their adventure. And, to the surprise of Zu Bing, they didn't actually start heading into the wilderness around the sect, but rather towards the small town at the base of the mountain. While she didn't pry into the direction, something must have given her curiosity away to Ling Biyu.
"We are heading to the town because, you see, the sites directly around the Sect proper are… lackluster and lots of people find and use them due to their convenience. But more powerful sites are a bit further out from the sect that people don't always find. Don't worry though! Only the rarest sites around the Outer Sect could be considered actually powerful and those are far too dangerous for us to work towards right now. No, this site is wonderful because it's decently potent but the spirits attracted to it are young and weak."
"That doesn't actually explain why we are going to the town though. Couldn't we just cut through the forest to get to this site quicker?"
"We could," Ling Biyu began hesitantly, "but the territory between the Outer Sect student housing and the site is going to have a lot more spirit beasts. And, quite frankly, we are neither fast or strong enough to avoid or beat all of those spirit beasts. Eventually we will be though!"
Zu Bing traveled the rest of the way to the town in amicable silence while Ling Biyu continued chatting about anything and everything. It was a trait Zu Bing had noticed about Ling Biyu, that the girl would not stay quiet as long as there was someone to talk to. It passed the time quickly enough, even if the conversation topics could turn uncomfortably quickly to gossip.
Eventually, they reached a fork in the road, just before the town proper, and Ling Biyu took the path leading towards some of the fields that surrounded the mountain. It was here that the one-sided conversation revealed something that Zu Bing had never realized.
"Your family actually lives here? At the Sect?"
"Hmm?" Ling Biyu paused in seeming surprise at the question. "Well," she began, "my Big Sister was the first to attend the Argent Sect, and she was successful enough to bring Mother and me from Tonghou all the way here. But we don't live here anymore. No, we have a wonderful estate to the west of the Argent Sect where our family currently resides. Although… if Big Sister keeps being successful our family might have to move again."
"What does your Sister do anyways?"
"My Big Sister," Ling Biyu said proudly, "is the Head of the Ling Clan and a Baron who is a direct retainer of Lady Cai, heiress of the Emerald Sea's Province. Although," Ling Biyu whispered conspiratorially, "she should soon be promoted to the rank of Viscount. Her promotion has, apparently, been delayed for a while due to some political machinations."
Zu Bing noted that in some distant part of her brain screams of terror were resounding. She had known that Ling Biyu was nobility, but to actually be related to a direct retainer of the Cai was… incredibly frightening. It was strange, to her, that someone with this much influence and prestige would be associating with a simple commoner as herself. Strange and worrying.
"Your, ah, Big Sister won't mind you making friends with a... commoner?"
The look Ling Biyu gave her was one of confused puzzlement. She opened her mouth, closed it again, snorted, and then began laughing hysterically. In between her peals of laughter, an actual answer came forth.
"You thought…, you thought that we were, that we were some ancient noble house? No…, no our family, our family became nobility because of Big Sister. We're first, first-generation nobles."
"Wait, a commoner can become a noble!"
That exclamation seemed to set off Ling Biyu again, and this time all she got from the laughing girl was her head shaking in the affirmative.
It took some time for Ling Biyu to settle down and wipe away the tears streaming down her cheeks before they set off again down the road. Strangely, there was little conversation now, only Ling Biyu humming a strange song. The song seemed happy and carefree, but with hints of nostalgia intermingled. It was… relaxing. Soon enough though, the paved path ended at the spirit barrier that encompassed the fields, and dense untamed wilderness spread out before them.
"We're here," Ling Biyu said with a smile, "only about thirty minutes of walking in a straight line before we reach the site."
"By the way Ling Biyu," Zu Bing inquired, "how did you originally find the site?" I've looked for days around the Sect and haven't found anything."
"Oh," Ling Biyu responded, "I didn't find this site. My Big Sister took me here when I was three or four. It's one of my most vivid early memories, playing with my Big Sister, Hanyi, and the young spirits in the area. I remember running around Zhengui while the lazybones slept, making crowns of flowers which Hanyi eternally preserved in ice, and listening to my Big Sister sing. It was… wonderful."
Then, with a shake of her head, Ling Biyu grabbed Zu Bing's hand and darted into the dark wilderness.
A/N: Another omake for the omake throne @yrsillar. This idea would not leave me alone, so I decided to just write it out and post it. As for questions regarding how Biyu remembered the way to the site, she knew she wanted to go back there and so asked for some help from Sixiang to remember the way there. One particularly lucid dream later, and some time to jot down the directions in her dream journal, and she has an easy way to get back there! Well, I hope people enjoy the omake. As always, critiques and criticisms are welcomed. This, in particular, was an experiment of having a lot more dialogue than I normally have.
- Location
- UK
Laughs.
Laughs harder.
Cute omake, wonder what Bing will think when she finds out Biyu's big sister was a street urchin before coming to the sect.
Thinking of it, if we do gather some decent amount of fame there's a good chance we could be viewed as a sort of inspiration to common born. We need to write a book, 'Ling Qi's Guide to Nobility and Cultivation, for Dummies' a half guide half journal of our early difficulties when coming to the Sect, with answers and tips. Cultivation Basics, Nobility Basics, Spirit Beasts and Spirit Blooded, Great Clans, Great Spirits and Ascension, etc.
It could be a comedy too for the Nobility who don't believe anyone could actually be this ignorant xD
Lucerna
Follow the Two Rules
- Location
- United States, Iowa
- Pronouns
- He/Him