>>4906959

Breaking the proud slaver's conceit by forcing the revelation of the inevitability of death and time's unconquerable passing, you drove him to a panicked frenzy and thus lead him to his ignominious defeat. Interrogating him and stealing away his memories with the Lotus Scepter, you learned of the two champions he mentioned before you began to enact retribution for his countless crimes. And learned they were heading for Stubborn Ox's Rest, as if drawn to your presence there earlier.

Gripped by cold fury, you released the dragon from its suffering and began to free the numerous captives taken by the raiders from the stars, unable to leave the innocent in the clutches of such sadist even whilst your own friends and oath brothers may be battling for their lives.
-

The cages broke easily, the Guandao forged of Kanzeon's flesh cut through their bars with contemptuous ease. The electricity coursing through the alien materials sparked and flew freely into the air in great arcs and sickles of death. The night was illuminated by the dread glow of the Aeldari's broken technology. The native captives rushed to your side, the moment they were able to perceive your eyes through the shroud of fog both natural and artificial. And it was then you saw the true depth of the raider's unrestrained cruelty. Eyes were plucked out, tongues were shorn off, and men, women and children alike hobbled forward on broken legs. Red marks of lash marred the skin on their backs and chest. A young boy lead his blind mother or elder sister forward, his remaining eye glimmering with hope as he stumbled forward on a leg twisted at a thirty degree angle from its natural placement

You stood in silent fury, shepparding the abused away from the conflict between the panthers and the monsters from distant stars. Helping a man pull the metal wire that had been sewn between his lips, you lift your head to look upon the cages holding men from other worlds seeded with humanity. Decendants of survivors of the long night. They beheld you with equal parts dread and awe, unsure of what to make of you

They could tell at a glance you were not ordinarily human, but they could also discern with the very same glance you were not the kin of their tormenters

"Oh a thousand praises to you Lieren!" the man cries as soon as he is able to move his jaw "Most virtuous under the heaven! Benevolent son of nothing, valorous hero of prosperity! I am indebted to you for a hundred life times"

An Aeldari hears his wild praises and the quiet sobs of children and brutalized mothers and fathers. The fool doesn't get within ten paces of your flock before you cleave him in twain with a flick of your Guandao

"Save your praises for when you are safe and away from this bloodshed, now is no time to prostrate yourself and applaud my heroism. The deed has not yet been done! Stand! and walk in my shadow. There are worse beasts than panthers stalking these fogs!" You command, lashing your arms outwards
cont

>>4906961

Accidentally knocking unconscious a Aeldari fleeing from the jaws of an infuriated panther.

Kicking the alien's not so suspiciously malfunctioning dark lance away, you whip your head to the side. Iron strands of hair fall before you eyes as you motion for the devastated victims to move onwards. Lifting a young man, whose had both of his leg's fractured in at least a dozen areas, into your arms you look towards the foreigners and smile gently.

And send them a message spoke through wind whispering
-
Ol Winchester had seen a many strange things in his long life on the prairie. But none were queerer than the feller who stood before him, all smoke and fire, looking like he jumped out of a locomotives engine more than he did his mother's belly. Big ol boy, standing taller than a crooked tree came out oh the mists and fogs like a seething specter of justice manfest in flesh. Now Ol Winchester has been around for many years; perhaps a few too many, but in all his days he had never seen a man quite as peculiar as the giant that stood before him clear as a spring rain.

Even them sky devils were ordinary compared to this colossus of a man. Was easier on the eyes than any girl he had seen on the ranges in his time to! Yet he stank of the threat a hard drinking and hard fighting slinger gave off when they road into town from the wastes. Hair like wrought iron, eyes like the blazing sun, scars that showed he knew his way in a brush, and a bladed crook that looked to be able to sunder a mountain from its roots up!

Spoke like a saloon's sweet singer, but moved about like he had caught lightning in his veins. Obviously this titanic belvidere was a bull round here, wherever here was. Cause he was giving the sky devils a thrashing unlike any other. Nah Ol winchester had been caged with a bunch of youngin abandons, and he took it upon himself and his withered hide to bare their sufferings in their stead. Keeping the next generation safe from harm as it were. And they were right frightened out of their britches at the sight of this big ornery bull raging about, snapping wrought iron like he was breaking apart tumbleweeds and tossing the varmints around or cutting clean through them like they was butter.

But Ol Winchester knew he was nothing to fear, even though those eyes of his blazed with the fires from ol scratch's own cottage, he was a good feller. Had real gentle eyes, like a father or lover. Despite how tall he stood, or how broad he was, he was a man like any other, if only ten times as brave and mean.

The old rattle handler turned to his charges and cooed for them to be quiet, and ignore the overgrown cats leaping to and fro like sparks from an anvil. They knew who was boss round here, and he wasn't intending to do them no harm.

Though it was hard for the old man to feel certain of that when the fiery eyed bull stepped to him and look at him with a stare that could shoot a hole through a wall.
cont

>>4906962

"Do not fear, I bring salvation as the rains bring life. Tell your charges it is safe to leave their cage. No harm shall come to them from man, panther or devil whilst I still stand" A voice trickled in Winchester's skull like old rain "Come grandfather, allow this humble hunter to lead you to safer quarters"

"Ah hell!" He exclaimed, reaching to grab the giant's hand.

And he ain't never seen a more confused look in any eyes be they set in a man's head or a critters, than he did when he took the giant's hand and gave it a mighty shake.
-

The foreigners are an odd breed. They walk weirdly and speak strangely, and holler like mountain apes as they gather on the Raider you've "procured" from a group of Aeldari attempting to flee the mayhem you have sown. The Shangralans in your care give the outsiders a wide birth, as any man would to see men so broken down suddenly dance and cheer with such ferocity! The eldest among them, who you've found to refer to him as "Old" Winch Ester from brief contact with his thoughts, waves a straw woven hat in the air as his flock of dirt speckled faced children gather with together and make rather rude seeming gestures towards the aliens being devoured alive in front of their very eyes.

The majority of the captives, which near a thousand count by your estimates, are these odd foreigners who smell like the dust filled air of the lands formerly held by the Cui.

"What odd men" The man whose lips had been stitched shut mutters.

"I've think their minds have been addled by their interment, the poor souls" A woman sighs, clinging tightly to her daughter as an anchor of sanity

"So they're crazy then? or are they just born from monkeys?" A young boy innocently asks, scratching at the bandage hiding his empty eye socket "They're certainly hoot enough to be monkeys"

"Maybe they're vishnu turned pale from fear?" An older man suggests

You uncomfortably squeeze yourself on the dagger tipped throne that sits at the end of the Raider, and tap you fingers on the numerous switches, buttons and runes that dot its arms. The raider rises from the surface, thrumming with an unseen energy as it levitates and floats like a leaf in water.

Stray spears of dark light pierce the fog, as explosions rumble the canyon walls of Heavens Warning Writ in Thunder. With all the grace of a swallow in flight, you escape from the Aeldari's encampment with every life you could save huddled before you, pressed together like salted eels.

The slaves have been freed, but now there's much worse to contend with and overcome. The mysterious warriors Cearnarch tracked to Stubborn Ox's rest. A chill washes down your spine from the base of your neck. There is no time to be wasted, you must return with haste!
cont

>>4906962

What shall you do, Lieren?
> Tend to the wounds of the captives and find them secure shelter, before returning to Stubborn Ox's rest

>Block of the canyon's exit with the explosives you have left, to ensure any surviving Aeldari do not escape to prey upon the countryside again.

>Just race as quickly as the Raider you pilot is able to back to Stubborn Ox's rest, landing it a safe distance away from the town itself

>Attempt to aid your friends spiritually by reversing the "Mien of the companion loyal and true", thus performing the "The golden sea's aura fills a thousand vessels", the same technique you utilized a variation of to guard your disiples in their trek into your memories and the empyrean!

>write in

And here we are, at the quest's tenth thread. incredible!

>>4906968
>>Attempt to aid your friends spiritually by reversing the "Mien of the companion loyal and true", thus performing the "The golden sea's aura fills a thousand vessels", the same technique you utilized a variation of to guard your disiples in their trek into your memories and the empyrean!

>>4906968
>>Just race as quickly as the Raider you pilot is able to back to Stubborn Ox's rest, landing it a safe distance away from the town itself
>>Attempt to aid your friends spiritually by reversing the "Mien of the companion loyal and true", thus performing the "The golden sea's aura fills a thousand vessels", the same technique you utilized a variation of to guard your disiples in their trek into your memories and the empyrean!
>>write in
Use the onboard mounted weapons and strafe/destroy the remaining vehicles here. Without transport, the rest will be easily hunted down by us when we have the time.

>>4906983
Support

>>4906968
>>Just race as quickly as the Raider you pilot is able to back to Stubborn Ox's rest, landing it a safe distance away from the town itself

>>4906968
> Tend to the wounds of the captives and find them secure shelter, before returning to Stubborn Ox's rest
>Attempt to aid your friends spiritually by reversing the "Mien of the companion loyal and true", thus performing the "The golden sea's aura fills a thousand vessels", the same technique you utilized a variation of to guard your disiples in their trek into your memories and the empyrean!

>>4906983
I'll support the write-in.
No reason to make the deldar's life easier.

So we have some wild west guys it seems.
Dunno how to feel about that.

>>4906983

Supporting.

>>4906968
>Just race as quickly as the Raider you pilot is able to back to Stubborn Ox's rest, landing it a safe distance away from the town itself
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-
HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

>>4907005
If Hollywood has taught us anything, it's that chinamen and cowboys get on like beef and rice.
A goddamn great pairing on either end of the Earth.

>>4906968
>Just race as quickly as the Raider you pilot is able to back to Stubborn Ox's rest, landing it a safe distance away from the town itself

>Attempt to aid your friends spiritually by reversing the "Mien of the companion loyal and true", thus performing the "The golden sea's aura fills a thousand vessels", the same technique you utilized a variation of to guard your disiples in their trek into your memories and the empyrean!

>write in
Rapidly bombard the canyon end and destroy the engines of the other ships. Blocked here the remaining Aeldari are all likely to be wounded or killed by the beasts, and when we return they will be easy pickings.


Comms Jinhai if we understand enough of the ship, if not we will do it later after killing the two champions. This people we saved and the Aeldari loot need to be taken away to safety afterall. And ask the Shangrilians and this odd humans to not hurt eachother while we leave for fight the champions.

>>4906983
+1

>Attempt to aid your friends spiritually by reversing the "Mien of the companion loyal and true", thus performing the "The golden sea's aura fills a thousand vessels", the same technique you utilized a variation of to guard your disciples in their trek into your memories and the empyrean!

We won't be able to help them if we do anything else.

>>4906968
>Attempt to aid your friends spiritually by reversing the "Mien of the companion loyal and true", thus performing the "The golden sea's aura fills a thousand vessels", the same technique you utilized a variation of to guard your disiples in their trek into your memories and the empyrean!
>write in
Brothers! There is no obstacle our bonds cannot overcome! Let me help you, as you've helped me!
Can we juice them up as high as we can? Like almost to the point where its almost hazardous for their health? They shall be like true Panthers of the fog....no idea if we can challenge our power into our Null brother though.

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New spehss muhreen art. By the way, what do the tiger folk look like, Malal? I know the basic shape and stuff but I’d like more detail, maybe a reference photo if possible.

>>4907159
based, well done

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4.37 MB GIF

>>4906968
>>4906983
I'll support this

>>4907159
i might make something for the tigerman in some days. After other stuff is done

>>4906968
>Blow up the paths out
>Aid friends

Then
>Speed to their aid.

If we leave the speeder a few hundred meters from Ox's rest then they will be safe while we kill and hunt.

>>4907177
Change this vote to this one.>>4906983

Much more effecient

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>>4906968
>Just race as quickly as the Raider you pilot is able to back to Stubborn Ox's rest, landing it a safe distance away from the town itself
I'm not even concerned about the Drukhari coming back; by the time they do, Shangrala will be hardened against foreign invasion and probably have tech to match standard IG (and that's not even counting whatever bullshit Lieren can pull out of thin air, or psychic shenanigans on the part of our mystic sect).
>Attempt to aid your friends spiritually by reversing the "Mien of the companion loyal and true", thus performing the "The golden sea's aura fills a thousand vessels", the same technique you utilized a variation of to guard your disciples in their trek into your memories and the empyrean!
This isn't even a question; the power that Lieren holds within himself is a sea meant to nourish and safeguard those who bind themselves to him through ties of valor, love and loyalty.

>>4907005
Clearly we need to introduce them to our nameless Cui war stallion, his beautiful mare and their downright Astartes-quality foal Kanti.

Also Lai Song, because if there's one language he speaks better than war, it's horsemanship.

>>4907159
I would say they're khajiit-esque, given that they seem to be *mostly* human in shape, but they have a bunch of feline features like claws, elongated canines, fur and tails. The common mutation of extra arms does remind me a bit of Rakshasa though.

>>4907180
>Astartes-quality foal Kanti.
>wild west intensifies
I cant wait to talk to the foreigners and learn more about their culture.

>>4907190
their cultural intergration into Yan is going to be hard.

>>4906983
+1

>>4907192
Their cultural integration into Long Jia is going to be funny as fuck. Lieren, being the troll he is, will learn how to improperly say cowboy expressions with a heavy chinese accent, and it'll be beautifuru.
>Fox daemon: AT LAST, MY NEMESIS, AFTER PLANNING MY VENGANCE FOR A THOUSAND YEARS, YOUR SUFFERING WILL KNOW NO END!!!
>Lieren: YEEEEEEHAAAAAAA! [Starts ritmically blowing inside a Primarch-sized alcohol bottle]
>Fox Daemon: I hate you so much.

>>4906968
>>4906983
Support

>>4906968
>Attempt to aid your friends spiritually by reversing the "Mien of the companion loyal and true", thus performing the "The golden sea's aura fills a thousand vessels", the same technique you utilized a variation of to guard your disiples in their trek into your memories and the empyrean!
>write in: Use the onboard mounted weapons and strafe/destroy the remaining vehicles here. Without transport, the rest will be easily hunted down by us when we have the time.

>>4907212
I'm going to keep calling the land Yan, since it's easier than saying Long Jia. Maybe just Jia? I'll go with that.

Integration into Jia will probably require some keeping in an institute like our schools to get them oriented with our ways, or perhaps a seperate settlement altogether.
But I loved his perspective.

>>4907194
perhaps perhaps.
But i think it will help the future shangrilian society in the long run, since it adds more to their culture and knowledge. As well creating a future relation with another planet, when Shangrila will be able to travel the stars and make contact with it.
that said it s not impossible either, vishnu are integrating and there are plans for integrate even with the other peoples.

>>4907192
sorry meant this one here

>>4907192

>>4907247
Probably both, may even set them up near the School and then give them a tour after introducing them to the new Emperor.
>>4906968
Seconding this>>4906983
>>4907005
It's gonna get hammy up in here.
>>4907159
Saved.

>>4907273
>>4907275
You having a stroke?
>>4907212
It's going to be a trip and a half to introduce them to our kids at the Temple.

>>4907279
no just misclick

>>4906983
+1

>>4907276
We would have to school them in our hierarchy and language, though we can pick up theirs with ease.

We dealing with real isakai peoples.

>>4907287
And they came in just in time to shoot some Vishnu bloodgod worshipping savages. If they live up to the cowboy meme and are better shots with our own guns the soldiers use, that is going to be hilarious. And useful.

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>>4907291
> Cowboys and Apache intensifies

>>4907190
Considering how well we've handled the Vishnu, I think the only obstacles to making friends (not for Lieren, he's basically bullshit made manifest) will actually be faith and those little flourishes of culture that you never learn about in classes. The kind that have to be lived and breathed and eaten and occasionally bled.

It'll certainly help that they seem a hardy folk; that old man Winchester apparently endured the lash several times for those kids. They ought to get along well with the craftsmen and farmers.

>>4907247
I have no idea what Jia means, but I know that Long means dragon.
They need to live either near the Kang or the Lai, since is were the plains and horses are.
>>4907180
I see them all looking like the Cathay-Raht, maybe the women lookig like the Cathay, but all of them with four arms and shining fur, of course. It's a bit fitting, given that Cathay is also a name for China.

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>>4906968
>>4906983
>>4907112
Can Lieren just take out the engines? My heart cries when we consider blowing up glorious salvage and the future fleet that Lieren shall use to assail the wicked Vishnu fortresses.

I also want Lieren's Primarch senses to learn their language and gauge how similar it is to derivatives of High Gothic. Lieren will be the People's Primarch and this why he is redacted

>>4905674
>>4905634
I might be slow on the uptake, but craftworlds freely wield D-cannons that send chunks of enemies into the warp. Wouldn't this be a warcrime by any standard of Exodite/Deldar/Craftworld/Corsair culture?
Like, wouldn't they be more terrified of such weapons than any others are a passage directly to getting their soul taken as a dessert?
I have never seen this mentioned in any book or fiction yet, for D-cannons nor vortex grenades.

>>4907312
Using power of deductions, If his sigil is Dragon and carp, what do you think Jia is?

>>4907313
that'll happen later, the language thing

>>4907323
That's is what I tought, that it would be Carp, but he said how much he didn't like how everyone called him Carp, and the translators can't identify what Jia means, so I'm not confident in tgat theory, even though is the one that makes the most sense.
>>4907313
Craftworlds are hypocrites, so it's perfectly in character for them. Harlequins are insane, Deldar are sadists, Exodites are isolationists, and the Corsairs don't give a shit, so there's no one to stop them.

>>4906968
>Just race as quickly as the Raider you pilot is able to back to Stubborn Ox's rest, landing it a safe distance away from the town itself
>Attempt to aid your friends spiritually by reversing the "Mien of the companion loyal and true", thus performing the "The golden sea's aura fills a thousand vessels", the same technique you utilized a variation of to guard your disiples in their trek into your memories and the empyrean!

>>4907324
>and the translators can't identify what Jia means
Best I can tell, it literally just means "Jia" since it's almost always used as a surname now.
That said, according to Wiktionary, it could also mean
>merchant
>to trade; to do business
>to buy
>to lead to; to incur; to bring about
>to sell
>"In ancient China, 賈 (Jiǎ)/贾 (gǔ) specifically refers to non-travelling merchants and 商 (shāng) specifically refers to travelling ones."

>>4907333
So Jia is probably from a merchant family then.
That makes his rise to emperor even more impressive, since the confuncian structure from ancient China saw traders as the bottom of society.
The Yan probably were organized different though, but I like to imagine Jinhai rising from the very bottom to the top, it makes for a better story.

>>4907297
We'll need to have them visit Kanzeon first. Maybe stabilize them now, then after we've dealt with all internal threats we can stop the production of the bad warp rocks, then levitate the mountain off our WAIFU- I MEAN our very good friend.

>>4906968
How many air crafts were there, and can we simply destroy their engines without destroying the majority of the ships? I worry that some captive es remain in some of them.

Are any of you not worried that there might be more slaves in the other ships? We'll have to come back here later. Our brothers will be coming with us this time.

>>4907399
Dark Eldar need psyker slaves for webway travel.

>>4907159
Great one

>>4907159
Awe shit man we space marine chinamen now. Did you make that or commission that?

>>4907180
Thanks for the picture. I kind of imagined them as like the ohmes-raht but with four arms, bestial yet clearly humanoid. On another note, I hope TES6 includes multiple types of Khajiit. It would be cool.
>>4907462
I made it, along with some others. I’ve got another in the works right now using the Maximus pattern helmet.

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>>4907159
Excellent work anon.

Here's a golden edit. I've done it for every image you drew, so it feels like a tradition now

>Accidentally knocking unconscious a Aeldari fleeing from the jaws of an infuriated panther.

Ha, briliant.

Calling the vote now.

Attempt to aid your friends spiritually by reversing the "Mien of the companion loyal and true", thus performing the "The golden sea's aura fills a thousand vessels", the same technique you utilized a variation of to guard your disciples in their trek into your memories and the empyrean!: 19
-Brothers! There is no obstacle our bonds cannot overcome! Let me help you, as you've helped me!: 1


Just race as quickly as the Raider you pilot is able to back to Stubborn Ox's rest, landing it a safe distance away from the town itself:17

Use the onboard mounted weapons and strafe/destroy the remaining vehicles here. Without transport, the rest will be easily hunted down by us when we have the time.:13

Tend to the wounds of the captives and find them secure shelter, before returning to Stubborn Ox's rest:1

Rapidly bombard the canyon end and destroy the engines of the other ships. Blocked here the remaining Aeldari are all likely to be wounded or killed by the beasts: 1

Total votes:21

So, As Lieren leaves the canyon, he'll strafe and disable/ destroy the remaining Aeldari vehicles, thus depriving them of their only method of escape.

And then he shall reach out to his possibly endangered companions, via the technique
"The golden sea's aura fills a thousand vessels" to aid and empower them

Then, with much haste, he'll pilot the raider to the outskirts of Stubborn Ox's Rest, seeking to directly aid his friends if the champions have indeed found their way to the Traveler's town.

Writing now.

>>4907159

Amazing work as always, love the battle damage on the armor, the details on the flamer (Especially the dragon and the chip above it) and the green jade placed on the helmets forehead makes for a unique but subdued bit of decoration which I think fits wonderfully.

The background and lighting is also phenomenal

A+ work

>>4907476
Great editing work as always

I have the feeling this quest will go full gun-fu soon.

However, your work in the canyon named Heavens Warning Writ in Thunder is not yet complete. As your stolen vessel nears the boundary of the encampment, with a few quick taps and traces of your finger, you cause it to drift to face the chaos consuming the raider's camp once more. The Raider slides, the engine still powering its back half as the first is halted by tilting it gently forward so as to use the sickle blade needlessly attached to its brow to act as a brake. Stones and sparks fly as you command the stationary throne you've pressed yourself into to swivel and turn around. The freedmen and women shout in surprise, clinging tightly to one another or the railings. But the it would appear this maneuver is recognizable to the foreigners from off world, for the elder and more rugged of them start cheering and hooting with even greater excitement than before.

A keening cry of metal sheering through the stony soil heralds your parting strike against the slavers from the stars. Striking one arm outwards, you aim your upturned palm towards the center of the camp and the eight ships that encircle it. Raising your arm towards the heavens, you ball your hand into a fist and tighten it to rival the strength of steel itself.

"The fate that awaits all men immoral, wicked and evil heart befalls you now! Wayward children of Isha! Your doom hastens to embrace you! Upon baleful winds, rides your judgement! With your own tools in my hands, I met out righteous punishment upon you "Lords of the Stellar Hunt"" You proclaim hatefully, the volume of your words increased by the conviction and belief fueling them as you brush you open hand over the controls of the raider, rapidly tapping down a sequence of commands you learned from Daighear's memories.

A maneuver she knew as the Blossom of Malice. Half theatric show of light and sound, half ruthlessly efficient form attack. The onboard armaments roared and whirred to life. Beneath the dueling fogs, radiant light pierced as you quickly adjusted the targeting parameters of the mounted weaponries automatic firing systems. As if possessed by malevolent spirits, Disintegrator Cannons and Dark Lances honed in on the stationary vessels and began to unleash a barrage that could rival if not surpass those unleashed by "Firestorm" Dandan. Grinning amidst the glow produced by the bombardment, you once more adjusted the parameters of the targeting systems, the moment you were satisfied with the state of smoking ruin you had inflicted upon the Aeldari star ships. Now, you focus your fleeing barrage directly on the most abhorrent feature of the encampment.

The cauldron of boiling blood and roasting flesh.

"Let your atrocity be cleansed from the world! WASHED AWAY, LIKE THE ASHES OF WAR MET BY THE CLEANSING RAIN OF PROSPERITY!" You bellow, whipping you arm down and to your side. A mournful, hateful cry echoes through the camp, modulated into the wails of those damned to hell's abyssal depths.
cont

>>4908196

A great geyser of steam and frothing crimson liquid spills into the sky as the crucible of cruelty is split in two, the wiring of its advance technology spewing black and violet smoke as sparks and flashes of light erupt from its shorn surface. Rivers of boiling blood and fat flow from it, carpeting the camp's floor. The artificial fog flickers away as the systems producing it shut down, and it is replaced by a great quantity of steam and Shangrala's natural shroud rushing to replace its defeated adversary.

Laughing boisterously, you tap on the Raider's armrest bound piloting controls and whip the Raider back round to continue its flight from Heavens Warning Writ in Thunder and towards Stubborn Ox's Rest. From the joyous cries of the foreigners, you'd have thought they were never enslaved to begin with! The native captives, meanwhile, watch with quiet dignity as the smoke and screams fade into the distance.

Entering the command for the levitating vehicle to pilot itself, you turned your gaze towards the mist veiled horizon and faced once again the dread festering in your heart. Its cold, draining grasp had wrapped itself around your chest, and fevered your mind. Vivid imaginings and horrid fantasies of what may await you at Stubborn Ox's Rest clouded your mind. Worry enough to curdle any man's bowels.

Bowing your head, you began to meditate. Emptying your mind of all unnecessary thought and distracting emotions, you entered the void within and beyond all life. A spark of gold disrupted the serenity of nothingness, and acted as focus for you to lend aid to your companions even though you were many Li from them. Casting the sparks you knew to be their souls, you cast the light of the golden sea of your own soul upon them swathing them in its radiant protection and imbuing them with the heat of its roaring fire. Filling the vessels that fill the sea themselves, they would find themselves host to a temporary power, a transient might caused by the brilliance of their souls growing and shining with force beyond themselves.

Thus is the power of the psykerist technique "The Golden Sea's aura fills a thousand vessels". An ability gleamed by a portion of the fragment of enlightenment you beheld.

"I empower my allies who in turn empower me"
-

Bai snarled silently, standing defiantly before the blood stained madman who stood before him with arms held open. It was as if he was elated to be wounded. Bai's spear head had become lodged in his side, a wound that would cripple any man with agony. A mortal wound that would sicken the guts and allow them to become putrid as they still lived. A killing blow. Yet the Vishnu lunatic stood still, as if he felt not pain.

Bai had no such blessing, as the stinging sensation of flesh torn apart and shredded rippled through his body, unsteadying his stance and weakening his grip upon the haft of his sundered spear.
cont

>>4908198

A deep gouge had been ripped through the leg of his armor, and the toothed axe wielded by his opponent had bit deeply enough to reach the bone within. He could feel himself paling, weakening. His mind was hazed by fury, mounting bloodlust and a blistering agony so potent it threatened to consume ever conscious thought.

Whipping his makeshift staff forward, he spun it and stuck it under his arm. Raising his other palm in the air before his face, he beckoned the masked warrior to continue his assault, calling him onwards. Vapors rose from the ashen haired freaks mask, his eyes narrowing with glee as he smacked one hand on his chest.

With the sound of boiling water being poured into porous clay, the vials and tubes connected to his veins plunged their payloads of vile elixirs and stimulating chemicals into the barbaric half giant. The frothing liquids hissed as they were forced into his bulging, pulsating veins!

The Vishnu berserker made the folly of charging forward, assuming his greater stature and strength would all him to easily slay Bai! But he was smaller than a panther, and Bai had slay many such beasts on his lonesome! Ducking below his wild swing, Bai nearly lost his head as he staggered upon his wounded leg. Blood spurted from the wound and he was only able to avoid the axe's backswing by jabbing the sharpened end of his staff directly into the unprotected armpit of the drugged killer. Blood flooded out, and painted Bai's face and chest crimson.

If his leg wasn't wounded, he'd have been able to push the length of wood into the blackguard's heart or angle it to slide into his throat and thusly end him. But the injury slowed him, and weakened his thrust. So he was forced to abandon the two parts of his treasured gift in his opponent's flesh.

Gripping his leg, Bai swallowed the pain and hobbled away from the drug frenzied screamer. Who simply stood there, toothed axe screeching as he left it in the ground, and with the indifference of a man brushing a petal from his hair plucked the spear haft from his beneath his arm and tore it free. Bai looked on in horror as the man ponderously observed the primitive weapon and watched his blood slough from it. With the same ease, he tore his oversized and whirring axe from the ground.

Bai was only able to twist around and raise his arms to guard his throat as the brute threw himself at him. Instead of the axe's bite, Bai felt the blunt force of a massive shoulder slamming into his gut. The ground left his feet.

His back met lumber. The Vishnu's callused hand gripped his throat as he barreled through the same wall he had just shoved him through. Bai locked his legs around the muscled limb that held him, and forced himself to sit up as he was carried off like a doll. The Inn began to collapse around them, but Bai paid it no mind. He focused all of his attention and energy in pounding his fists bloody against the bastard who made him bleed's boiler plate mask.
Cont

>>4908201

His knuckles were scrapped clean of their skin, and two of his fingers broke before he even so much as put a dent in the sheet of metal his opponent hid behind. His repeated ringing strikes against the steel face where enough to stagger his foe, and he did not miss the opening. Striking out with another flurry of strike and punches, he deepened the dent he made, locking his fists together to hammer them on the weak point to attempt to concuss his attacker long enough to free himself and reach the Aeldari saber!

However, the Vishnu was not phased, and merely lifted his arm and Bai alongside it and with a mighty swing, threw the hunter from him against another wall. It broke, pulses of dull pain throbbed on Bai's back as he flew through the air, blood trailing from his tattered knuckles and bruised fingers.

He hit the ground like a hammer strikes and anvil, the air was forced from his lungs and a searing sensation trickled down his spine and rippled from his leg. He struggled to stand. His vision was hued crimson, shadows crept at the edge of his sight. He was barely clinging to consciousness.

The brute kicked what was left of the wall down, and took a single step forward. Bai rolled to the side, feeling the backplate of his armor being shorn through as he narrowly avoided death's embrace. Clenching his jaw, he dug his hands into the loamy soil beneath himself and willed his injured body to rise. He leapt to his feet, but was slowed by his injury. The sound of metal tearing echoed in his ears, as he felt a hundred blades rip through his back. He endured it, and ran forward. The axe slid from his flesh, narrowly missing his spine as it slammed into one of the supports of the stables.

Where Bai now stood.

"Damnations" He hissed, as the structured creaked and threatened to collapse. His blood coated opponent stepped into view, gripping the roof of the stables, holding it steady as he stepped beneath it and roased his axe to life once more.

"And damn the vishnu for their durable bodies!" Bai shouted indignantly, glancing down the stalls to each of his side. A smile spread over his lips. The outsider's blade was just two stalls the left. He had a chance to claim victory, to survive and fulfill his oath to Xin.

The brute chuckled, laughing from his belly as he straightened his back and renewed his relentless assault. Bai clumsily dodged to the side, the back wall of the stall being torn to splinters and fractured nail as he scrambled over the opposite wall.

Which collapsed as soon as he had slid off of it, the Vishnu axe chewing through it like it was made of waxed paper rather than sturdy lacquered wood! Kicking his leg out, he pushed his spear's head deeper into the harlot's son's gut. It didn't even manage to make him flinch. Bai stumbled back, aghast at the gross display of fortitude. The Vishnu swung his axe, cleaving it into Bai's breastplate.
Cont

>>4908203

The steel held long enough to save Bai from being cloven in two, but the sheer force of the strike sent him careening through the air for a third time.

His decent broke the table where the Aeldari's weapons had been collected and laid out. The strange rifles and blades take to the air as if they had become a flock of startled sparrows. Bai crumbled against the table, out of breath. His back stiffened and refused to move, a river of blood flowed from his leg and shouldered while a lake pooled from his back.

Willing him to sit, he saw that his stomach had been cut through, and he could see his entrails glistening beneath the wound. Fear slowly trickled in his dazed mind. The fear of death, the desperation of survival, the sickening horror of realizing his wounds. His vision grew redder. Deep inside him, the killing instinct he had been born with rose up, the dark urges ousting all sensible thought as his mind turned to slaughter. It was who he was. A violent child, a cursed man. A warrior who exulted in blood shed.

But now these desires had a voice. They told him to give in, to allow himself to be consumed by his hunger to spill blood and make bruises, to learn the melodic sound of breaking bones. To survive, to fight for his own glory, to fight for killings sake. However, he swore he saw Lieren standing beside him, calming sharpening a blade with a look of acceptance on his face. The scarlet haze began to lift, and the voice in the dark of his mind began to quiet. He realized what madness it had spoken of.

The same madness that afflicted his foe, the worship of slaughter, killing and battle. It hadn't been his own thoughts, but another's. Some form of mental trickery, to turn him into a monster he knew he wasn't! Fighting was exciting, battle was exhilarating, dueling was fun! But killing for killings sake? What great form of foolishness existed in the hearts of men!? He felt ashamed he even listened such baseless temptations to begin with.

The Journey's teachings replaced the gospel of butchery, and he felt the pain dull and recede from his flesh.

"Do not fear death, do not hate death. All things are transient and will one day end" He chanted, conviction and belief empowering his wounded body, bolstering his injured form enough to rise to his feet and grip the Aeldari saber that lay at his feet "but they shall remain."

The Vishnu charged, but Bai was calm. A soothing sense of serenity had washed over his mind, he faced his death and accepted it with open arms. After all, death was unavoidable. why fear it?

Jumping up, he avoided the axes blow. With one hand he held his bowels inside, with the other he activated the Aeldari's saber's concealed power. A violet flame erupted along the flame, becoming as brilliant as falling lightning. The Vishnu over extend and charged into the stall's western wall. Bai landed on his feet, and turned to face his opponent.

The Vishnu hefted his axe free, and turned to face him as well.
Cont

>>4908205

The stables began to collapse. The Brute narrowed his eyes, as if sensing Bai had refused to give into the temptation of power? And why would he? Who would serve a master who'd sell his own follower's lives to another in the attempt to lure them to his worship!? the very concept disgusted Bai, who believed in the strength and bonds of brotherhood beyond all else. Even the Yan tyrants wouldn't stoop to such low forms of treachery.

"A mountain may be ground to dust, but the field that stands where it once stood remains" Bai chanted serenely, eyes cast downwards as he stepped forward unafraid, a killer's glint in his gaze "A farmer may die in his field, but his children will tend it."

"THEN DIE UPHOLDING YOUR WEAKLING'S PHILOSOPHY!" The brute bellowed, enraged. He charged forward, Bai raised his blade along his cheek and dropped his left hand to his side.

He had laid a trap for the fool, the strange magically glowing sword was naught but a distraction. Bai would end this fight with the gift given to him by Lieren, even if he had to dig it out of the barbarian's stomach to do so.

Shouting filled the air. Sounded like Fat Chen and the others. Bai had to be quick.

He caught the toothed axe with the edge of his shimmering saber. The brute gasped as the flimsy looked weapon cut cleanly through his titanic axe, and lulled it to its slumber once more. Roaring in a fit of rage, the giant swung to shatter Bai's spine, as Bai reached at to retrieve his spear's head.

Bai could not see it himself but in his eyes a pale golden light shone from within.

"A warrior may die, but his final breath can change the course of nations." Lieren's voice seemed to whisper upon the gently drifting breeze.

But, though Bai accepted death, he did not intend to die here. Though he had never thought to die peacefully, he wished to see his child's face before he passed on, at the very least.
-

"Crab's claw! Dragon's fall!" Zian spat, commanding his two brothers to move into position as a rain of stone and wooden splinters fell around them. He fell to one knee, and aimed his rifle, slotting a bullet into the back of its barrel as he raised it and fired. The bullet was caught in the strange cage of winds surrounding the sorcerer.

"Carps scatter!" Zian roared, diving behind a cart, as Rong slid on his knees to seek shelter behind a bush. Dong had drawn a revolver, and sprinted closer to the sorcerer "DONG! FLEE!"

Dong snorted and raised his side arm, holding it in both hands. With a press of his thumb, the hammer was cocked, and he opened fire. The sorcerer threw his hands as if to guard himself, as a storm of projectiles whirled and fell upon Dong. Zian's heart raced, he rose from cover and with a flick of his wrist, pulled the lever to fling the empty cartridge to the ground. Loading another bullet in record pace, he took aim and fire again, yelling at the valiant fool to retreat.
cont

>>4908208

Logs, foundation stones, barrels, pillars , roof tiles and clods of dirt rained around Dong, who continued firing without a single sign of timidity in his expression. His unkempt, greasy hair covered his eyes. The sorcerer was afraid of him, despite the power he wielded. Was there some weakness in his heretic arts that Dong knew that was unknown to others? As far as Zian knew, dong lived in a ditch in the wilds somewhere! How would he of all men be knowledgeable of sorcery?!

Dong remained undaunted, as spears of wood torn from pillars and barrages of daggers of stone shorn from the larger blocks still suspended in the air. A storm of wood and stone surrounded him, even as his face and arms were cut and small ribbons of blood stained his dress uniform, he marched on, reloading his revolver. One of the bullets he fired before caught him in the shoulder, be he barely acknowledge it. Snorting, he slammed the chamber back into place with his palm.

Rong rose from his cover, and emptied his revolver in the sorcerers direction. The bullets caught in the air, but began to shudder as Dong walked close to them. Stones fell from the skies, followed by spears. The sorcerer shrieked and flew higher. Dong followed him, adjusting his aim.

A look of revelation became clear on his face. And he reached for something at his side, and tossed it behind him toward's Zian's cover.

"Lieren's coming" Dong whispered , as in in great pain "Be prepared brother Zian, seems he's chosen you"

Then he started firing as stones and crude spears fell, as the sorcerer once more cloaked himself in darkness and gloom. Dong's expression did not change as a boulder fell a foot from him, nor did he cry out when his leg was pinned to the ground by a spear of twisted steel. Nor did he wince as a rain of daggers fell upon his shoulders and face. He just kept firing, shooting the bullets suspended in the air and pushing them forward.

Rong yelled out, and tried to draw the enemy's attention to himself, firing and throwing stones at the Shuni devil. Zian fired again, managing to nearly hit the sorcerer in his shoulder, before his round was spun and ejected through the air. Cursing, he leapt from his cover, and charged to stand beside his brother in arms, reloading as he ran.

And nearly tripped on the odd, leather sack said brother had tossed in his direction moments ago. Zian stooped to pick it up, and felt the rattle of bones inside. His blood ran cold as he felt the outline of half of a human jaw inside of it. Dong reloaded, cursing as his arm was pinned to the boulder next to him by a second spear. The sorcerer was focusing all of his attacks on Dong.

Zian struggled to open the bag, and had his fears confirmed as a sun bleached jawbone fell into its hands. It was carved in a queer manner, with symbols and characters that seemed to be gibberish to his eye. But Zian had seen them before, Lieren carved them on his strangely made Guandao.
cont

>>4908210

And he had seen those monks who follow behind him wearing trinkets with similar characters before as well.

"The null denouncement charm!" Lieren called, as what appeared to be an illusion of his shade appeared before dong, arms outstretched as the unhygienic hunter only then began to cry out in agony "it wards against the energies of the empyrean, creating a shield against evil! The forces wielded against you are denied in its presence!"

Zian felt a surge of courage rumble into his heart, steeling his resolve as he gripped the jaw bone. It burned in his hand, and became lit aflame by golden light. Dong was firing every round in his revolver's chamber, struggling to keep standing as more stones fell around him, to form a cage of steel barbs and half carved stones. The sorcerer had grown bolder, as if his abilities had become stronger as Dong bled.

The symbols burned through Zian's hand, as if fed by his will, by his desire to save his junior not matter how unsettling strange he was. He didn't want to know where Dong had gotten the jaw bone, but it was clear he had prepared it for a scenario exactly like this one. Golden flames surrounded the scarred guardsman's hand, and he felt hands guiding his rifle.

He knew what he had to do. With wordless battle cry, he continued his charge, tightening a knife to the end of his rifle. Gripping the blazing jaw bone to the barrel of his rifle, he stood beside Dong in the midst of the storm of stone, steel and lumber.

Falling to one knee, he took aim and winced away as a spear's head cut through his cheek, opening his mouth to reveal more of his teeth and further marring his mangled visage.

"Tyrant's dog!" Zian roared as he leveled his rifle on the back of his wrist to keep it steady "I'll get you for that! Verminous worm! Child of filth! Devil's harlot! weak willed worshipper of the night! You will die for that!"

"Oh, that's what that script is supposed to do" Dong muttered, placing a unexpectedly slimy hand on the base of Zian's neck. Rong was screaming, and judging from the claps breaking through the wailing wind surrounding the two of them was now firing two revolvers at once in an attempt to ward away the sorcerer from them. How valorous! how heroic! It brought tears to Zian's eyes.

"Wonder what happens..." Dong pondered as Zian pulled the trigger. The bullet fired through the golden flames coating his arms and rifle.

They wrapped around the bullet as it carried on wards, as it passed by dong the flames flickered and then roared to a greater intensity than before. The sorcerer waved his arms, the eye amulets dancing from his sleeves as shadows coalesced
and rose to life, standing as a ghastly horde before him. A legion of gnashing teeth, slicing claws, crushing tails and sun blotting wings. The flaming bullet cut through all of them like they were straw dolls.

Lightning fell from the shadows, like sparks from flint and iron.
Cont

>>4908212

The arcs danced like whips and twirled spear heads. The bullet flew on, Zian could see it through the glare of lightning and the stygian hordes that threw themselves in its way. He could see it in the fog. The lightning arced away from him and Dong, as if reflected from a unseen shield held above both of them.

The bullet became as a falling star, and struck the sorcerer in his collar bone. He fell from his orb of maelstrom winds and living shadows and hit the ground with a resounding thud. Zian rose, and charged him, knife lowered as Dong raised his revolver and Rong leapt from his cover firing with a rapidity Zian had only seen reproduced by Lieren or Liang's foolish twin Jiang!"

The dagger fastened to the end of his rifle became a lance of light and golden tongues of flame. The sorcerer levitated to his feet, floating above the ground as he drew two daggers from his side which erupted into great arcs of violent lightning, twisting themselves into the shape of sickles.

"NIGHTFALLS! LIGHT DIES! SHADOWS REIGN!" The wretched shrieked in their minds "I SHALL NOT FAIL MY LORD'S COMMAND!"

"ALL YOU WILL ACOMPLISH IS FEEDINGTHE RAVENS AND WORMS, FOOL!" Zian bellowed in reply, stabbing his rifle upwards, aiming for the sorcerer's blackened heart of ice. His sickle's danced, Rong's hail of bullets flew over head, Dong snorted again.
-

The air is heavy with malevolent qi, the darker energies of the empyrean. The corruption it carries, the stench of wicked spirits and devils a like. The air smells of blood and burnt feathers, shadows fall thicker and stand taller.

Walking from the raider's ramp, you approach the village with Guandao in hand.

And find two corpses hanging at it's boundaries.

One dressed in brass armor, decorated with elephants and scenes of slaughter, augmented in a similar way to the "Men steeds" of the Celestial Incarnation Palace. His eyes bulge from his skull in silent surprise, a spears head lodged through his jaw into his skull. His hair was washed free of ash, to reveal its natural ruddy red color. In his hands was clenched some idiotic mingling of a battle axe and a chainsaw, cut in twain. His entrails spill from a ghastly wound in his gut.

And across the road, lays a man dressed in Shun fashion. His multi colored robes of silk and cotton stained crimson from the numerous bullet holes dotting his chest, the knife lodged in his neck and his sliced throat. His cloak has been pulled back, revealing a face infested with eyes as black as onyx. A serpent hangs from his mouth in place of his tongue. His hands have been nailed together by two dirks styled in the shape of a peacock's feathers.

Both of them reek of evil, of vileness, of corruption. They were acolytes of dark powers, and merely looking upon their corpses makes your eyes water.

A Night Crane watches you, standing on one foot as it pecks at the Shuni's many eyes. Its luxurious black feather's shimmering as dawn's light rises.
cont

>>4908213

You fall to your knees and sigh openly in a show of relief. Tragedy had been avoided. But doubtlessly, some of your dear companion were injured in the cataclysmic battles that must've taken place here mere hours ago.

What shall you do, Lieren?
>Task the uninjured with securing the Aeldari's encampment with reinforcements sent by the imperial army and immediately take the injured to Kanzeon

>Use all of your skill and knowledge to heal the injured in this town, using the supplies and medicines you carry with you at all times, and discuss the night's battles with them.

>Burn the champions of darkness bodies, and take the injured to a medical facility in the nearest fort or waystation upon the giant's road.

>Radio Jinhai, and tell him to summon lady Huang to inform her the crisis afflicting her lands has been ended and you shall return to his court to accept whatever position he deems appropriate for your abilities, once you've tended to the injured

>Write in

>>4908214
>What shall you do, Lieren?
>>Task the uninjured with securing the Aeldari's encampment with reinforcements sent by the imperial army and immediately take the injured to Kanzeon
>>Use all of your skill and knowledge to heal the injured in this town, using the supplies and medicines you carry with you at all times, and discuss the night's battles with them.

>>4908214
In that order
>Radio Jinhai, and tell him to summon lady Huang to inform her the crisis afflicting her lands has been ended and you shall return to his court to accept whatever position he deems appropriate for your abilities, once you've tended to the injured
>Use all of your skill and knowledge to heal the injured in this town, using the supplies and medicines you carry with you at all times, and discuss the night's battles with them.
>Find the time to heal and talk to our friends about their fight
>Burn the champions of darkness bodies, and take the injured to a medical facility in the nearest fort or waystation upon the giant's road.
>Task the uninjured with securing the Aeldari's encampment with reinforcements sent by the imperial army and immediately take the injured to Kanzeon

>>4908214
>>Task the uninjured with securing the Aeldari's encampment with reinforcements sent by the imperial army and immediately take the injured to Kanzeon
>>Use all of your skill and knowledge to heal the injured in this town, using the supplies and medicines you carry with you at all times, and discuss the night's battles with them.
>>Burn the champions of darkness bodies, and take the injured to a medical facility in the nearest fort or waystation upon the giant's road.

We should be able to secure their wounds before transporting them to Kazeon. In the waystation we can do some controls for ensure they don t open again before arriving at the mountain.


>Write In
Make note of the equipment the dark champions used (for find weak spots, in preparations for the war), as well all the loot in the Aeldari camp. While most of it can be transported by carts, the larger parts cannot. It would be ideal to set up a temporary rail for transport it all in a secure location for study. In regard to the beasts inside the cages, that s another matter to decide. Many of them are injured, tortured and completely alien making their release in the wild of certain death or dangerous to nature. In regard to the surviving wounded Aeldari they are to be captured if possible, and brought to us. If not possible, simply kill them on sight.

>>4908270
I wonder if we are straining Kanzeon's supply too much. All these injured in need of her help must be taxing her reserves. I'd hate to see her mutilate most of the components and corridors in her body to build other people new functioning limbs. We must remove the mountain and solve the mystery of the warp stone she creates.

>>4908233
I will support this. We cannot leave any of the whoresons alive to cause havoc.

>>4908233
+1

>>4908278
Well, maybe.
But honestly we still didn't give orders for dispatch prospectors in the lands for find rare resources that she could need. And the kingdom is increasing in industrial capacity. On the matter of resources, excavation and repairs, we can probably help her in all now. Having a road and rail connected to the mountain would make this even easier. This isn t a problem of time, more if to do it before (and likely during) the next liberation wars, or after them.

Still we can use more common materials for body parts replacements, but still strong ones. Like steel, titanium and so on. Maybe some plastics as well. They would be very good prosthetics, though without rare materials used.

>>4908314
Funneling lesser resources to Kanzeon in a small quantity for her to determine what is and isnt useful is an idea.

But next up on our miracle list to pull out are prosthetics. If we increase the tech base and get some reverse engineering going we could easily have our injured allies repaired completely, as well as turn some of these Deldar weapons to more benevolent uses.
The venom spotter for example, if we were to replace the venom with a sedative, you would have a long range and rather effective tranq option. And even if the technology itself rebels against your intent the methods of its construction are ours to study.

Also good on Bai, giving khorne the middle finger

>>4908316
Understanding their machinery, equipment and ships should expand our knowledge and the one of Shangrila on numerous scientific fields, if we can create new things with them it would be beneficial for all. If we could create more advance weapons/armors and equipments before the wars it would be great, though it s unlikely it will take some years before we can have them produced in large quantities. But i recon we have around already simple prosthetics, more advance ones shouldn't be a problem with the minds we have and the pool of scholars and inventors we have gather.

In regard to Bai, i think he had good chances to defeat him without many wounds, even if the champion was buffed by negative Qi, drugs and machinery. But an unknown enemy is difficult to fight even for a brother of the panthers. Still he has gain more experience now, so he would be prepared next time.
i want to domesticate some of the animals

I always love it when warpy beings interact with blanks.

from their perspective it is an eldritch unknowable abomination without equal or superior, except amongst its own horrid kind.

It is one of the most viscerally horrifying things they can ever even come close to imagining, an endless toothy maw of almost unstoppable darkness that doesn't feel, doesn't hesitate, it just eats and eats and eats.

The only way to truly best it, is hope you can either kill its weak material presence while it eats you alive, or feed so much of yourselves into the meatgrinder that it can't eat anymore, and hope it doesn't get hungry again before you can kill it.


You've done a rather good job of conveying (from an outside perspective) the sheer horror the, not even a deamon, sorcerer felt upon noticing it. magnificent.

>>4908214
>>Use all of your skill and knowledge to heal the injured in this town, using the supplies and medicines you carry with you at all times, and discuss the night's battles with them.

>>4908233
+1

Wait the Vishnu came on a archeotech air vehicle. Did he come alone or is the plane still there in the forests?

>>4908214
>Burn the champions of darkness bodies, and take the injured to a medical facility in the nearest fort or waystation upon the giant's road.
>Radio Jinhai, and tell him to summon lady Huang to inform her the crisis afflicting her lands has been ended and you shall return to his court to accept whatever position he deems appropriate for your abilities, once you've tended to the injured

>>4908214
>Use all of your skill and knowledge to heal the injured in this town, using the supplies and medicines you carry with you at all times, and discuss the night's battles with them.
>Burn the champions of darkness bodies, and take the injured to a medical facility in the nearest fort or waystation upon the giant's road.

>>4908454
Well remembered, I add this to my vote here >>4908291


>Task the uninjured to search for the Vishnu's method of transport
even if it flees, I'd like to know.

>>4908354
I agree. The only issue is if the materials are too advanced for us to replicate.

>>4908489
>The only issue is if the materials are too advanced for us to replicate.
Seems to be something that's only gonna come up more and more until we get our industry up to snuff or link up with the rest of the Imperium.
For now though, we can at least observe the properties of the captured equipment and try to replicate them on our currently available material.
We should also think about making Null Denouncement bayonets and barrels standard issue after we learn about what happened while we were gone.

>>4908496
I heavily disagree. For elite's and elite officers perhaps, but consider that the more widespread those bayonets are, the more likely they are to be reverse engineered or seized and then turned against us, Our students and any other psychic shinanigence we use.

The material matters, eh, I'm sure we can try to find some similar material composites once we analyse the alien shit.

>>4908214
>Burn the champions of darkness bodies, and take the injured to a medical facility in the nearest fort or waystation upon the giant's road.
>Investigate the crane, see if it's tainted in any way. If it isn't capture it to study it, if it is, take it out of it's misery.
>Use all of your skill and knowledge to heal the injured in this town, using the supplies and medicines you carry with you at all times, and discuss the night's battles with them.
>Task the uninjured with securing the Aeldari's encampment with reinforcements sent by the imperial army and immediately take the injured to Kanzeon

>>4908233
+1

>>4908703
ACCEPT LIEREN'S PURE GENESEED

>>4908703
Considering the folk tale version of Lieren's meeting with Nurgle and Isha I think your subconscious is thinking of Dark Imperium Lieren.

>>4908730
>Dark Imperium Lieren
What I mean is Lieren after his post-heresy MIA time.

>>4908233
Yeah this

>>4908214
>Use all of your skill and knowledge to heal the injured in this town, using the supplies and medicines you carry with you at all times, and discuss the night's battles with them.
>Burn the champions of darkness bodies, and take the injured to a medical facility in the nearest fort or waystation upon the giant's road.
>Personally deal with what's left of the Aeldari and their encampment.
Sending people to handle the encampment seems like a meat grinder even if everyone who goes is decked out in looted Aeldari gear, the incubi would not be killed or seriously hurt by mere animals and they would slaughter our buddies if they only had looted gear. Lieren can't constantly juice them up with soul power without killing them so it would be best if he delegates the healing after immediate first aid then takes care of whats left himself, also we don't want to forget the dragon horse which is likely special.

File: Kanzeon Shipfu.png (779 KB, 1000x750)

779 KB PNG

>>4908703
Be wary anon, Isha is sending coomer toughts into your head.
Be strong for the one and true Waifu.

>>4908590
I'm changing my vote for taking the i jured to Kanzeon and sending the army, and ibstead supporting anon's write-in here.
>>4908763

>>4908763
I’ll go with this.

>>4908763
fair point, I'll support that over my previous of sending the uninjured.

Still think the uninjured should hunt down the Vishnu though

>>4908214
>>Burn the champions of darkness bodies, and take the injured to a medical facility in the nearest fort or waystation upon the giant's road.
>>Radio Jinhai, and tell him to summon lady Huang to inform her the crisis afflicting her lands has been ended and you shall return to his court to accept whatever position he deems appropriate for your abilities, once you've tended to the injured

>>4908214
>>Task the uninjured with securing the Aeldari's encampment with reinforcements sent by the imperial army and immediately take the injured to Kanzeon
>>Use all of your skill and knowledge to heal the injured in this town, using the supplies and medicines you carry with you at all times, and discuss the night's battles with them.
>>Burn the champions of darkness bodies, and take the injured to a medical facility in the nearest fort or waystation upon the giant's road.

Calling the vote now.

Task the uninjured with securing the Aeldari's encampment with reinforcements sent by the imperial army and immediately take the injured to Kanzeon:9

Use all of your skill and knowledge to heal the injured in this town, using the supplies and medicines you carry with you at all times, and discuss the night's battles with them.:15

Radio Jinhai, and tell him to summon lady Huang to inform her the crisis afflicting her lands has been ended and you shall return to his court to accept whatever position he deems appropriate for your abilities, once you've tended to the injured:8

Burn the champions of darkness bodies, and take the injured to a medical facility in the nearest fort or waystation upon the giant's road.: 15

Make note of the equipment the dark champions used, as well as those fielded by the Aeldari:1

Task the uninjured to search for the Vishnu's method of transport:1

Personally deal with what's left of the Aeldari and their encampment.: 5

Total votes: 17

So Lieren will give first aid with the medical supplies he carries with him at all times and ask them of their battles, before burning the champion's body and moving the injured to the nearest white Lotus outpost along the giant's road to give them proper treatment.

Where he shall also radio Jinhai, and inform him that the crisis afflicting Lady Huang's lands has been ended, and that you shall return to his court to accept whatever position he deems to offer you after you've tended to the injured.

As well as requesting the aid of the imperial army in securing the Aeldari encampment, equipped with artillery and as many explosives as can be fielded. Since they only weapon that has proven able to injure Aeldari outside of Power swords and their own weaponry (And fog panthers) has been high yield explosives.

He will only take the injured to Kanzeon if they cannot be stabilized otherwise or their wounds prove to be crippling.

Writing now

>>4908703
Sounds like a neat dream

>>4909400
When we finally deal with all this bullshit, we WILL free Kanzeon. From there we can work towards defeating the chaos forces and finding her sisters. I hope at least one of them are savable.
If we can't save them, would Kanzeon have any idea on how to, you know.

It could've been a lot worse. A mantra that serves as most ineffective salve as you look over the injured forms of some of your closest and dearest companions. Small Chen's corpse stands before your mind's eye like a morning mist but you push away such sorrowful recollections to focus entirely on the present and those who can still be saved. The captives require aid just as much as Bai, Dong, Zian, and Rong. The others had the good fortune the escape evil's siege with nothing more than bruises and minor non life threatening cuts.

Bai suffered the most, and seems to have become delirious from blood loss. If his wounds had not been staunched he would have expired before your arrival. However Bai is a strong and hardy man, he will recover with proper treatment. If the Vishnu's chain toothed axe cut even a millimeter deeper only Kanzeon would be able to preserve his life. His guts had been spilt but not sliced into, if they had been the injury would be nigh impossible to mend even with your expansive knowledge and supplies. Dragon's spit acts as a anesthetic , which he imbued before your work began.

Dong awaits his treatment next to the red cheeked and rambling Bai, while Red Faced Wei and Fat Chen help you stabilize Bai's condition. Most their assistance takes the form of sanitizing your tools and keeping Bai still as you stitch and staple his wounds shut. His leg will need a cast, and may need to be amputated judging from the fractures in his bone. But there is a not insignificant chance that it will recover to full functionality, which is preferable to simply hacking the limb off and replacing it with a prosthetic.

Bai tries to regale to you his tale, but his slurred speech brought upon by bloodlusts and intoxication make it hard to follow and comprehend. It's clear that he fought the Vishnu Berserker on his own, only receiving aid as the brute was in his death throes. But he also speaks of a voice in the haze of combat and "Bloody reverie" that would seem to be the ramblings of a drunkard struggling to make his story dramatic. However, his disjointed account and description sounds eerily like the temptations of a wicked spirit and a form of Empyrean corruption that Guozhi spoke of only in hushed, terrified whispers as if he feared speaking openly of it would call the attentions of Kǒng Nüè.

A Demon lord that was of equal standing to the vile Nà Gòu, but while the patriarch of all things foul and putrid preached a gospel of nihilistic stagnancy and decay, Kǒng Nüè was the Sovereign of slaughter and the High minister of murder. Knowing that the veil between the world of the living and the spiritual realms is thin upon Shangrala, makes it all too possible that Bai was tempted by such a being. And that he resisted it by accepting the possibility of his own bloody demise and refining his innate killing instinct from cold bloodlust to the thrill of combat alone.
cont

>>4909480

In a way he mimicked your own battles against the unliving servants of the lords of hell, by denouncing their purpose and existence, in this case by inverting their ideology. He fought as madly as their slave, but he did so out of a sense of duty to his brother's in arms and unborn child, rather than to merely shed blood for the glory of an unseen master. Honor and responsibility defined his actions, and so he withstood the temptation of killing for killings sake.

You could not be more proud of Bai. He had matured into a fine young man, a far cry from the ruffian you recruited from Gao Liwei's guard force. He has fulfilled his potential.

However, when you set Dong's bones and wrapped his wounds in bandages, hearing his tale proved to be a much more difficult endeavor. Dong seemed to suffer under your gaze much quicker than others, ever since you had discovered a fragment of enlightenment and awoken your psyker nature from nothing. You had begun to realize, as your perceptions both broadened and deepened that this was because Dong lacked "Something" that other men had by birth. Many would name this missing thing the soul, or spirit. But that seemed odd to you, certainly there was an empty expanse in his beings that brought a chill to your eyes as if you were staring into a winter's starless night .

But he must have a soul, surely. He wasn't an automaton even if he spoke rarely and interacted with others only when necessary. Surely all men must have a soul and yet.

Dong's grunt turned you from pondering his nature any deeper. He was scratching at the hole in his leg, opening the wound withou so much as wincing in pain. Sighing and exhausted from struggling to pull details from the stubborn simplicity of his recollections and keeping him from try to touch and caress his exposed bones and veins was starting to become rather troublesome.

Thankfully Zian was nearby to explain the happenings that Dong merely hinted. When Dong said the "Freak threw things at us" he meant to say that "The sorcerer became terrified of his mere presence, calling him soulless before dropping half of the town on him in a desperate attempt to halt his advance" or when he said "We shot and it didn't work until it did, but you should know that" He truly meant that "The heretical priest would catch any bullet fired by suspending them in the air with his will alone, while calling upon legions of living shadows" and that "Your spiritual aid gave us a weapon in the form of a null denouncement charm I carved from my own father's jaw bone!".

Which is something even you didn't know about Dong, that he carried such a gruesome charm on his person for all the nine years you've known him! And to think it was sturdy enough to serve as a conduit as a flicker of your golden sea soul's fire. Incredible.

Rong is next to useless in your desire to hear of your friend's glorious battles and defiant stands against heinous enemies that fell upon them like rabid.
Cont

>>4909481
dogs.

If only because he is by nature irreverent and stretches the truth of his account, telling tall tales and exaggerating the events of their combat. Zian, the more earnest and stoic of the two, proves to be the only one of the three who together slew a practioner of dark arts with rifles, blades and grit alone. Excepting of course your minor intervention.

And, you see a rare thing as you speak to the three men as Bai rests, listening as intently as yourself. You see Dong smile when you praise his skill and ability to retain the tranquility of his mind amidst such wild mayhem! Bai, who is perhaps one of three or four living men who surpass Dong in the killing arts, joins in your praise, but his are much less graceful because the hardy liquor has replaced most of his lost blood.

If only you had the tools for transfusion or an IV drip. You do not envy him, the hang over he'll suffer come morning will make him beg for the peace of death.

Zian and Rong's wounds are much less severe than Bai or Dongs. They only need a little washing and stitching, though Zian enters a dark temper when you begin to stitch the tear in his cheek. His visage is further marred, and his mutilation worsens. In a quiet show of kindness, you do all that you're able to lessen the scar the wound will become. If it healed naturally, most of Zian's jaw would be exposed by the second scar through his other cheek. Though the stitching extending from his lip is still gruesome, it is fairer than it would be otherwise.

Leaving the four to rest through the morning, you turn your attention to the captives you've saved. Their injuries, while horrific, are much easier to mend. Infection is the most pressing danger they face, and so they can be treated with antibiotics, diluted medical alcohol rubbed in their wounds, and bandages soaked in a tincture that encourages and expedites the healing process. The chemical salve reeks and stings hellishly, but its effective.

So you spend some times acting a fool to calm children and keep them from crying. The treatment also allows you gather an accurate count of the survivors you were able to liberate from the stellar raider's camp. In total they number a thousand and eighty five, and of that count a total of Seven hundred twelve were not born upon Shangrala. The remaining three hundred seventy three are made up mostly of traveling merchants, survivors of the unit that held Stubborn Ox's Rest and inhabitants of isolated communities.

For all their pride, the Aeldari didn't strike against anything that would be more dangerous to them than a Leech. Such cowardice.

However, almost as surprising as Bai's fortitude or Dong's macabre keepsake, is how injured Grandfather Winch Ester is. He's a man nearing your father and Guozhi's age! Yet he bears as many scars as Feng! And at a glance at the children who flock around to watch his care and treatment, reveals to you why that is. He bore their torture upon his back.
Cont

>>4909482
>>4909482

A quiet pride smolders in his mud brown eyes as you spread the stinging tincture upon his back, brushing it into the crags and rivers of exposed flesh craved from his shoulders to his hips. Like crimson topped mountains and rivers churned white. There is a beauty to the scars he bares, for he suffered them in place of the defenseless.

You can only imagine the colorful language he uses, as judging from the tone of his voice and his expression it naught by obscenity and the most vulgar of curses.

When the labor of treating wounds and providing medical is done, you gather your men and the freed captives to abandon Stubborn Ox's Rest for the time, taking with you the four who held it against all odds as they desperatly need treatment you are in no position to give. Treatment and mending of the mind, as their experience has addled them greatly. Piloting the Raider to transport the hundreds in your company, you allow Bai to ride your unnamed steed as even in his weakened state he is one of few who can manage to remain saddled upon the magnificent beast.

Your convoy reaches the White Dragon's path by noon. Following your map of the region, you lead them to a waystation connected to a fort, one constructed by one of Dai Niu's son judging from the make of its walls. One that you had marked early to be the staging area of the Huang regions revitaliation efforts.

Lead by the White Lotus Corps, who keep a well stocked infirmary within the way station's walls.

Your arrival causes quiet the scene, both by your appearance and the vessel you pilot. But, after a brief explanation tailored so the common folk and less educated amongst the White Lotus volunteers, you calm their confusion and hand over the refugees from the stars to their care, alongside those stolen from their homes and YOUR road. An insult against your work for the people's comfort and safety. If you could kill Cearnarch a dozen times, your hatred for the wretch not even begin to wane. How dare he and his ilk defile the road that has brought such bountiful prosperity to the lands and people! It sickens you to your very core, curdling your blood.

Personally taking command of the doctors and surgeons you've trained, some of whom you recognize as students of Shirong or former servants of Cay Yunru, you continue Bai and Dong's treatment. Having already set Bai's fractured leg and shoulder into place, all that remains is to set a proper cast and brace. Though you take the chance to replace his bandages and begin him on a regimen of a specialized diet and anti biotics. Bai will have to remain here or in Kanzeon for some time before he recovers, and you'll approach him with the offer of cybernetic healing if his condition does not improve or he is rendered crippled from his wounds.

Dong is much easier to deal with, a forced bath and tightening of the bandages along with a sling for his arm and a temporary brace for his leg as both of them heal.
Cont

>>4909483

He will have a much easier recovery than Bai, who has to remain bed bound until his gut wound heals and also be treated gently lest it begins to necrotize.

While you linger by his bed side, he shows you a painting of his wife he commissioned. and you recognize from her dress that she is one of Akanksha's people, as she wears a similar though less ornate feather cloak to the one that the long chieftain wears. instead of the feather of exotic song birds and peacocks, she is dressed in a mantle of night crane wings and hawk feathers. Dull, but beautiful. Her ears are pierced through with pins and nails and she has a scar along her nose and a claw mark upon her neck.

One you recognized as having been inflicted by one of the Tiger folk. The prior generation. The ones whose doom your orchestrated. Perhaps it was Ananya's Cousin who inflicted it, or Avinash's mother, or perhaps Sandip's elder brother. Monsters that could've been men. A slaughter that had to be committed so their children would be free of their taint.

"Lovely people, the Vishnu. I feel more at peace among them than I ever did the Ya...Long-Jia" Bai muses lovingly, his eyes smoldering with passion as he looks upon the features of his wild wife "Like they are a family I was torn away from, as if I had been a part of them in a previous life. Gauri fills a void of my heart, that had remained unfilled even after I met you and Xin, brother Lieren. The passion of love, the comfort of affection. It surpasses the thrill of any battle"

"She must be a most extraordinary woman to tame the wild heart of Bai the White tiger" You chuckle, as Bai nods wistfully and reclines in his bed, kicking on leg over the other "For a time I thought Xin would be the one to..."

"Your more of an old woman than a warrior at times, with your love of gossip and teasing" Bai laughs "And no, Xin and I are closer than brothers, but though our affection is deep it is solely platonic. Though I've heard rumors of that sort about you and the old monk..."

Bai laughs weakly, showing his incisors sharpened to reflect the ritually chipped teeth of the Vishnu Screamers. You cross your arms, lean back in the chair you've taken and laugh loud enough for the both of you. Soon, both of you are wheezing and coughing in a fit of brash and ill mannered guffaws.
-

Long-Jia Jinhai looked over the lakeside of his soon to be bride's manse through the thin morning fog.

Upon its distant shore, his own palace was being constructed. It was a bizarre feeling, to watch the construction of the seat of power of his children. To have children who would rule the kingdom. to rule the kingdom himself. By Lieren's teachings, he demanded the lake be unaltered and maintained, even though a town was already beginning to grow beneath the partially built spires and walls of the home he shall keep until the day of his death.
Cont

>>4909485

Where his body shall repose and decay, where his children will live and rule, where they will be interred alongside his bones. For generations, for centuries, for ages, for eons. It is daunting to imagine, but in a way it is romantic, The Long-Jia and the reborn Gao shall remain intertwined, their seats of power separated only by a body of water. By his side, shall rest his mentor's line, the Southern Yin. Three families, intertwined by their pasts and their shared service in freeing the lands. The servant turned teacher, the guard turned king, the tyrant beast turned auspicious ruler. How poetic it was, Lieren would surely find humor in the situation or writ a poem describing the beauty of such bonds forged through the fires of war to flourish in the time of peace and prosperity.

Perhaps he could have the architects construct a three bridges connecting the three houses lands together, allowing travel between the palaces across the quiet waters of the lake gifted to his beloved Daiyu, whose beauty surpassed even the natural splendor of the lake. Sapphire waters, and pearlescent foam could not compare to her jade like beauty. How soothing it was to look upon, both lake and lover.

Perhaps the bridges could be made of clear glass so one could observe the fish swimming beneath their fish.

Jinhai was shaken from his day dream by an aid, one of Cao Yunru's men judging from the colors he wears. A short cropped vest over slacks with split bottoms are the uniform of this messenger, along with a towering hat with a single agate ring wrapped around it in silver twine. He's kneeling upon the boardwalk Daiyu had constructed over the shore of her family's island.

"Greetings my most auspicious and benevolent lord, Long-Jia Jinhai, forgive this serfs intrusion upon your meditations. A message has been received from the renowned architect and hero of the revolution, The esteemed philosopher Lieren of Nothing" The man says, smacking his head upon the fish scale carved stone beneath Jinhai's feet "He begs forgiveness for the belatedness of his report concerning the Huang province crisis, and requests to speak to his imperial majesty personally"

Jinhai took a moment to respond, as he noticed the messenger had a piece of his breakfast caught between his teeth and that he trembled before him as if the rolling mists of the lake chilled him to the core.

"Well he doesn't need permission to speak to me, no one does, but especially not my old friend and mentor, lead me to the transceiver. I'll shall give him the distant audience he requests without delay" Jinhai said, resisting the urge to pick at his own teeth as the Man ceased blooding his forehead upon the previously pristine pathway. It looked painful, Jinhai decided the man would share drinks with him and his master to calm his nerves later that day.
Cont

>>4909486

Walking along the stylized path way, to the tower that rose outside of the manor's walls, Jinhai entered, waited for the operators to stop bowing and praising his virtues and then sat down in the chair offered to him before some fool could drag a throne up the numerous flights of stairs leading to the radio theater.

Struggling against his ornate robes of Azure and pink, lined and hemmed with golden scales and numerous bracelets and bands of black and mutton fat jade. Pearls jangle from his sleeves as he struggles to find a comfortable posture. Finally, he manages to reign in the ostentatious display of his new station, feeling a servant setting the Mian Guan he had been fitted with two day. Eleven strands of eleven beads of jade hung from its front and back an obscured his vision, the azure and pink cords that hung from its side tickled his shoulders.

He had left it at the boardwalk, hoping it'd be forgotten there until some pale faced servant returned it. It was irritating.

"Lieren? my brother?" Jinhai asked into the transceiver after he tore it from a servant holding it at a distance of three paces "I have been told you've solved the mystery bedeviling the Huang region, Lady Huang will be most pleased. However your report could've waited until you return"

"Ah. Ah. Forgive me my friend, but my investigation lead me to stumble upon a matter most dire, its urgency demanded that I present my findings immediately!" Lieren replied, Jinhai could hear Bai's raspy laughter in the background, alongside Xin's hooting chuckle. A great lifted from Jinhai's shoulders as he heard the good cheer of his brothers in all but blood.

"What trouble have you found now, that is so grave it must be brought to imperial attentions?" Jinhai asked curiously "I expected you to be able to solve any mischief you've found. How grave of a mystery did you uncover in your travels?"

"A grave mystery indeed, a secret that perhaps should not be spread. I encountered slave takers from the stars, and warriors glutted on the same foulness as the Yan Tyrants" Lieren answered as if such things were mundane affairs "I fear the imperial army's presence may be required in ensuring the subjugating of the stellar raiders and in securing their campsite, as for the wicked warriors I encountered, I fear they are of Vishnu and Shuni decent"

Jinhai bowed his head, his eyes sharpening as a stern expression replaced his worry.

"Trouble some news indeed" He answers, simply to keep the surrounding servants from panicking "I take it you had no difficulties in overcoming such challenges then"

"Only in scattering and thinning the numbers of the alien raiders. Bai bested the Vishnu, Zian, Rong and Dong brought the Shuni to heel" He answered stoically "Though I've found another flock of wayward souls, men from another planet"
cont

>>4909488

"How curious!" Jinahi said, unable to hide his glee as he struggled to maintain the façade of a mundane conversation "I will have to meet them soon, when can I expect a physical audience with you, oh wanderer of the fog?"

"Soon, as Soon as I am certain Bai and Dong are on the road to recovery, then I shall accept any position or office you deem me worthy of being assigned, I shall give a more detailed report then as well. May the coming dawn bring bounty and joy to your life, Jinhai"

"May your fortune ever follow behind you, Lieren" Jinhai laughed

And with that, Lieren's voice was replaced with static. And only then did he allow his confusion and dread to find root in his mind. Bandits from the stars? A Vishnu and Shuni warrior? This was all so confusing, and unsettling as well.

"Summon the Black General, the Lord of Cavalry and the Firestorm" Jinhai commanded, mimicking Lieren's habitual arm lashing as he stood from his seat
-

"I told you, I'm fine" Dong muttered as you checked his pulse and temperature. Bai, was swinging his shoulder and stretching his injured leg.

"I think my flesh is remains sturdy enough" Bai spoke, kicking his stiff leg out and testing it under him "No reason to replace it with Iron and steel. Machinery can't compare to a living limb, I'll adjust to this injury like scar face did"

"Feng or Zian" Dong asks bluntly as you sigh and shake your head. Both would bloody Bai's face if they heard him say that.

"Well, the offer will remain. My friend is far more trained in the medical arts than myself, and she'd be happy to lend her aid" You say cheerfully, rising to your feet and turning to leave "But if you refuse, I shall leave you both here to recover"

"Fine by me" Dong snorts

"If you see the little bird, tell her to tell my wife I still draw breath!" Bai barks.

And with that, you take your leave.

What shall you do now, Lieren?
>Delay your audience with Long-Jia Jinhai to aid in securing the Aeldari encampment with your able companions and the imperial army.

>Quietly take a detour in the Bone Devouring forest to speak with Kanzeon, and present to her the advance materials you've scavenged from the Aeldari

>Delay your audience with Jinhai by taking the time to study the off worlders and learn their culture and language.

>Simply ride to the new Gao Palace and discuss how you shall serve Long-Jia in the future and the unsettling happenings of the Huang region

>Write in

>>4909489
Sorry for the late update. Woke up late. Also in reality the Mian Guan worn by emperors had twelve strands of twelve beads rather than the eleven worn by Jinhai.

>>4909489
>"Feng or Zian" Dong asks bluntly
Fuck, Dong got me good.

>Simply ride to the new Gao Palace and discuss how you shall serve Long-Jia in the future and the unsettling happenings of the Huang region
>Write in
Radio in Kanzeon and ask if she can tell us about the Aeldari. Let's speak in Imperial to keep the conversation extra secure. We can possibly have the materials from their ships be shipped to her in due time to aid in her own recovery.

>>4909489
>Secure the camp
>Detour to Kanzeon
>Learn the language of the off worlders, should only take a few moments, and promise them an audience with the leader of the lands.

Then we can ride to the gao Palace.

>>4909489
>>Delay your audience with Long-Jia Jinhai to aid in securing the Aeldari encampment with your able companions and the imperial army.
Gotta make sure nasty deldar tech doesn't get circulated, or worse picked up by enemies, also would probebly be wise to be around when our army gets thier first contact with aliens to spin it the right way and avoid panic and inauspicious rumours.

>Write in
Bring the off-worlders along back to the new Gao Palace and learn of them on the way, possibly see if we can't teach ol' Winchester our language telepathically.

>>4909506
Oh yeah, should bring the offworlders with us.

>>4909489
>Delay your audience with Long-Jia Jinhai to aid in securing the Aeldari encampment with your able companions and the imperial army.

>>4909489
>>Delay your audience with Long-Jia Jinhai to aid in securing the Aeldari encampment with your able companions and the imperial army.
>Delay your audience with Jinhai by taking the time to study the off worlders and learn their culture and language.
Once that is done
>Quietly take a detour in the Bone Devouring forest to speak with Kanzeon, and present to her the advance materials you've scavenged from the Aeldari

>>4909488
>Jinhai entered, waited for the operators to stop bowing and praising his virtues and then sat down in the chair offered to him before some fool could drag a throne up the numerous flights of stairs leading to the radio theater.
Kek


>>4909489
>>Delay your audience with Long-Jia Jinhai to aid in securing the Aeldari encampment with your able companions and the imperial army.
>Delay your audience with Jinhai by taking the time to study the off worlders and learn their culture and language.
>Quietly take a detour in the Bone Devouring forest to speak with Kanzeon, and present to her the advance materials you've scavenged from the Aeldari

Inform of the delays Jinhai, they are unfortunately a necessary thing, and it will help us in the council we will shortly attend to. It might be wise to invite Guozhi to this council as well, afterall this "champions" if one can call this brutes and deranged such, where clearly filled with darkness and negative Qi... and are pawns of evil spirits.

>>4909489
>>4909489
>>Delay your audience with Long-Jia Jinhai to aid in securing the Aeldari encampment with your able companions and the imperial army.
We gotta learn whatever English-equivalent the offworlders speak soon though. Each day we go without our Teddy Roosevelt-equivalent is a day wasted.

>>4909489
>>Quietly take a detour in the Bone Devouring forest to speak with Kanzeon, and present to her the advance materials you've scavenged from the Aeldari
>Simply ride to the new Gao Palace and discuss how you shall serve Long-Jia in the future and the unsettling happenings of the Huang region

>>4909506
Support.

>>4909489
>Delay your audience with Long-Jia Jinhai to aid in securing the Aeldari encampment with your able companions and the imperial army

>>4909489
>Delay your audience with Long-Jia Jinhai to aid in securing the Aeldari encampment with your able companions and the imperial army.
>Quietly take a detour in the Bone Devouring forest to speak with Kanzeon, and present to her the advance materials you've scavenged from the Aeldari
>Delay your audience with Jinhai by taking the time to study the off worlders and learn their culture and language.

>>4909489
>>4909489
> Delay your audience with Long-Jia Jinhai to aid in securing the Aeldari encampment with your able companions and the imperial army.
> Describe the cruel Drukhari weapons, xenos technology and alien materials to Kanzeon over the radio whilst doing so.
I'd bet good money she'll recognize their vicious craft and depredations. An in-depth examination can happen after all the refugees and wounded are taken care of.
> Look for a potential leader, besides the tough elder Winchester, who can represent the offworlders in a meeting with Jinhai.
He wants to know about them just as badly as Lieren, and introducing them to the new lord of the land is just proper etiquette. It's just another duty of the Emperor to give succor to good, innocent foreign peoples in need.

>>4908233
+1

>>4909489
>Delay your audience with Long-Jia Jinhai to aid in securing the Aeldari encampment with your able companions and the imperial army.
This is the most important by far, Incubi are no fools so they won't let themselves be taken by surprise or stand around to be shelled.
>Quietly take a detour in the Bone Devouring forest to speak with Kanzeon, and present to her the advance materials you've scavenged from the Aeldari.
Dark Elder technology is not only high quality but as a general rule it doubles as a crime against humanity so I imagine much of it would be unusable aside from some partial reverse engineering Kazeon can do while she eats it all to self repair. Hopefully we didn't truly total the engines of the bigger ships so we can park it all for disassembly atop the bone forest mountain.
>Delay your audience with Jinhai by taking the time to study the off worlders and learn their culture and language.
Only Lieran or maybe the cultivators can quickly get the off worlder language translated, the sooner that happens the better since they might have valuable information.

>>4910253
I forgot about the soul stone Cearnarch had, does anyone think we should try to use that and the secret from Lierans pod to make that dead craft worlder a body that can hold their soul? We have plenty of proto dark eldar bodies to attempt to grab genetics from. Has to be better then the alternative for the elf in question if it would work.

>>4910289
We should probably try communicating with it, but cloning them might not be a good idea, the deldar have to use a lot of pain to be able to stave off the attention of Slannesh to put their souls back into their bodies in orders to be ressurected, but they also don't use soulgems, so they have to het it back from the warp first.
We probably should ask first, cucking Ynnead is getting rid of a potential ally in the future.

>>4910289
I don't think so no.

We have the monks of Dai to do so first, then possibly get it to work for Kanzeon.

>>4909489
Simply ride to the new Gao Palace and discuss how you shall serve Long-Jia in the future and the unsettling happenings of the Huang region

>Write in
1) Recover soul stone from the dead Hunt master
2) Hug Dong and give him a personal pep talk about the who Xeno calling him souless thing. how he is now and always will be our brother then hug the dude.

Calling the vote now.

Simply ride to the new Gao Palace and discuss how you shall serve Long-Jia in the future and the unsettling happenings of the Huang region:3

Radio in Kanzeon and ask if she can tell us about the Aeldari, while describing their weaponry and technology. Let's speak in Imperial to keep the conversation extra secure.: 2

Delay your audience with Long-Jia Jinhai to aid in securing the Aeldari encampment with your able companions and the imperial army.:11

Quietly take a detour in the Bone Devouring forest to speak with Kanzeon, and present to her the advance materials you've scavenged from the Aeldari: 6

Delay your audience with Jinhai by taking the time to study the off worlders and learn their culture and language.:7
-Bring the off-worlders along back to the new Gao Palace and learn of them on the way:3
-Ask if they would like to to meet a king: 1

Inform Jinhai of the delays: 1

Look for a potential leader, besides the tough elder Winchester, who can represent the offworlders in a meeting with Jinhai.: 1

Recover soul stone from the dead Hunt master: 1

Hug Dong and give him encouragement: 1

Radio Kanzeon and talk to her until you meet Jinhai: 1

total votes: 15

Alright, so Lieren will Delay his audience with King Long-Jia Jinhai to aid the imperial army and his veteran companions in securing the encampment.

And then after learning the off worlder's language (Which will not take long at all, considering how quick he learned the Wild Vishnu's dialect and Aeldari) he'll travel to Jinhai's court as promised to accept his new station and job

Writing now

>>4909489
>>Quietly take a detour in the Bone Devouring forest to speak with Kanzeon, and present to her the advance materials you've scavenged from the Aeldari

>Lieren gleans the off-worlders' language via telepathy
>suddenly he has a noticeable twang to his accent in every language he can speak

>>4910580
>"Now yall best be playin' nice, else like the coming rains o' the risin' season that wash'way tha' sin and grime oh the dang Yan, y'all gonna be in for some riiiiiiiiiiiightious retribution!"

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>>4910580
>>4910638
Kek

Also update inbound, Its a big one. Over ten posts by my reckoning.

It will take some time for the imperial army to be assembled and march to the Huang region, even with the Giant's Road expediting the time and easing the dangers travel throughout the kingdom and the slowly expanding railway system further lessening. Though their arrival will be far hastier than it would've been in years past and safer as well, their duty is a dangerous one indeed. It is unlikely that every Aeldari died in the chaos you designed and brought about and even a single of their number could sow death at a rate unmatched even by the Gatling guns, mortars and cannons fielded by the army. Even if Jinhai has chosen to introduce the hot air balloon innovated by Shirong, the Aeldari hold the advantage; even if only a fraction of their number still remain.

And that is merely concerning the killing capabilities possessed by the mundane among them. The standard warrior, the unskilled raider, a veteran of a few battles and nothing more. If even one of the four incubi still lingers in the world of the living, securing the encampment will soon become a festival of slaughter and wanton bloodshed. And of all the Aeldari, those four acolytes of the killing arts would have the greatest chance of surviving the mayhem you concocted to strike down Cearnarch. Your hunt has not yet ended, though you do not doubt the capability of the men you have personally trained for years, nor that of the imperial army that struck down the old regime with unmatched efficiency without suffering a single defeat; It would be the height of foolishness to assume they would be able to emerge victorious unbloodied. Though jackals may be able to devour a panther if their numbers are great enough, few would be able to indulge in the spoils of their victory.

For once your companions and the army they serve are completely outmatched. Even the most indolent and untrained Aeldari would easily prove to be a match for ten men at minimum. While high yield explosives and artillery may be enough to slay the "mundane" stock of the alien raiders, The Incubi would find surviving such an assault effortless. Even the Panthers and Tigers only slew as many as they did, due to treacherous nature of the Aeldari and the panther's existence as predators beneath the fog and man eaters. The Incubi, by what you know of their ability and your in-depth knowledge of how panthers hunt, would in all probability have lost not even one of their number to the crushing jaws large enough a man's chest in a single bite. In fact, by your estimation the chances of even a single Incubus being devoured is less than a fraction of a percent.

Thus, to ensure the army is not weakened by the advance opponents they ride to meet, you must delay your audience with Jinhai to aid in their efforts. If only to personally challenge the Incubi to mortal combat. Such proud warriors devoted to the dogma of battle would be unable to refuse such a challenge.
Cont

>>4910666

You can only hope Jinhai has seen fit to command Feng or Aruna to take part in the army's operation. As they are two of three men who could possibly emerge victorious in single combat against an Incubi. Even with his limp, Feng is a frightful opponent. And Aruna is the pinnacle of his society of warriors. The third is Jinhai himself, who holds the distinction of being the only man you've encountered who could have provided a challenge to Cui Fu and his peerless martial mastery.

If they are not part of the force raised to secure the extraterrestrial bandit's camp, then the coming battle will prove ever more difficult. And you would not allow Jinhai to take part in the short yet deadly skirmish. The kingdom of Long-Jia could not endure losing its first king so quickly, and would become vulnerable to invasion in the period of confusion that would surely follow in the wake of such a tragedy.

Committing yourself to this course of action, you radio Jinhai's temporary court at Gao Palace to inform them you'll be delayed and to issue a formal request to be allowed to participate in the military action soon to be preformed. Within half an hour, as the horizon becomes painted in vivid scarlet and tangerine hues, you receive your reply in four words.

"Permission granted, Good hunting" spoken by the black general, the unbroken thunder's howl. Yin Lei, one of your most staunch supporters and zealous practioner of the Journey. Grinning ear to ear like a jackal would, you feel emboldened. With Yin Lei's tactical genius, the favor of the battle soon to be waged has swung in the imperial force's favor.

Through the short conversation with the black general, you learn that Lai Song and Tao Dandan will be leading their own regiments beneath Lei's command. If only Yan Zihao and Dai Niu were not so disgraced as to be considered an unseemly sight upon the battlefield. The Old Fox and Old Turtle would have all but condemned the Aeldari to being outmaneuvered and trapped beneath a wall of steel respectively. As it stands, even though an Aeldari may be able to outpace a man on horseback, the horses and men bred by the Lai are in no way ordinary, and Tao Dandan, though somewhat over enthusiastic in her work, has become a maestro in conducting bombardments and pin point artillery strikes. She's even divined the tactic of suppressive fire, and refined it!

Though the gap of technology is still a nearly insurmountable obstacle for the forces of Long-Jia to overcome, with these three exceptional geniuses leading the army and yourself acting as a Vanguard to draw the alien's attentions away from the bulk of the imperial forces, victory may become decisive rather than pyrrhic.

All that must be done now, is to await their arrival to march upon what remains of the Aeldari encampment, to secure the remains of their ships, weaponry and technology and to decide the fates of the numerous alien lifeforms still caged within.
Cont

>>4910668

And to free the majestic Qirin that still lays trapped in the clutches of cruel men. It would be a suitable gift for Jinhai, for if legends are to be believed, Qirins only emerge to herald the arrival of a great sage or illustrious ruler or their passing. While that is just superstitious folklore to explain the rarity of such beautiful and strange creatures, it would serve to further cement the Long-Jia dynasty and Jinhai's own rule

While many will attribute the Qirin's arrival to that of a sage named Lieren, history may remember it differently. Especially if it accepts Jinhai as its owner

There's also the mystery of the soul containing pearl you spotted upon Cearnarch's tongue. You should retrieve the odd gem for study after the encampment has been secured. Planning the assault will not take long, especially with Yin Lei and Lai Song's experience to aid in its conception. That leaves you without much to do, besides to ponder what remains unknown, tend to Bai and Dong, and of course come to understand the foreigners language and culture

They are ever so strange in their manner, and their language is unlike any upon Shangrala. There were some words you recognized as descending from the Language spoken by Kanzeon, your distant father and the men who surrounded him in your dream. Perhaps their language has its roots in the tongue of spoken by humanity's past and future?

Turning your eyes to a gang of youths rough housing despite their injures, you walk up to the mustachioed man watching over them. He starts, yelling and lifting his hat with his thumb as you observe him with a casual interest. Tilting his head, you begin to study every syllable he utters, connecting them to the closest relative meaning you learned from your conversations with Kanzeon. Walking away from the startled man, you walk among the portion of the way station the foreigners have claimed as their own and absorb their conversations, studying them and learning from them

By nightfall, you're able to approach Old Winchester, who've you spoken to solely through wind whispering, and call out to him in his own tongue. When the ruddy faced man finally calms down from the initial shock of hearing you speak in a flawless imitation of his own accent, you sit down next to him like an old friend

It would appear his people have a similar beverage to coffee on their world, as Winchester will not stop raving and talking about how relieved he was to find a "Cup from Joe" instead of the "Murky water he was beginning to get sour on". Which you assume he means the broth and tea offered to aid in their recovery. Which would explain the pile of smashed pottery in the muddy grounds at their feet

"Ain't know how you mist folk found it, sure the star devil's ain't have no interest in it, but I'm glad you did, even if you don't know how to brew it up right' Old Winchester proclaims with a whistle between the gap of his teeth, as he drinks a heavily watered down slurry of coffee beans

>>4910669

Ironically preparing it more like tea.

Late into the night, you converse with Old Winchester and others who join to sit around the fire they've built outside of the way station, listening to their stories and inquiring about the society of their native world and the planet itself. At first they're confused, having assumed they were merely taken to a different part of their own world, and many of them become panicked as you explain the truth of their situation to them.

But they adapt quickly, and start asking why a "Star man" looks so much like themselves and how your people can stand to live beneath the fog or stand how wet the air is. So you tell them of Shangrala first, gathering a crowd as they listen enraptured by your stories of adventure and hunting, though only the adults care to listen about the history of the world they've been taken to. While it is amusing and endearing, the children's demands to hear how you bested the "Toady dragon" or "That there furred harlot", it does prevent you from learning about them for the night.

It isn't until next morning that you're able to stop telling stories and ask the elders amongst them about their home and way of life. Though they grumble and complain childishly that you've woken them up at a perfectly reasonable hour, they relent once one of the nurses brings a pot of stewing cliffjumper meat and medical bark and herbs. While their lack of manners and etiquette is appalling, and watching them toss away the hardy rice noodles in their broth for "looking like worms" draws your ire, you have a certain bile fascination in watching them dip the steamed buns brought out to feed the workers into their breakfast broth. They tear them to pieces and let them soak in the broth, turning it into a slurry dotted with grease and fat. Only then do the offworlders seem pleased with the offering.

And they begin to regale you with their own "Tall tales" of home as they refer to their stories, in-between asking for forks to compliment their spoons, and inquiring when the fog will let up.

Sitting bow legged on the floor, a man with a beard only on his cheeks and his hair parted down the middle, slicked back with grease from the bottom of the cooking pot, reveals to you the mystery that has been gnawing at the back of your mind since you first laid eyes upon his people.

New Varo, is what they know their planet as. A place "without much rain or wetness" consisting entirely of dried grass lands, plains as far as the eye can see, inhospitable deserts and canyons that "Reach for heaven and don't have the good sense to look back down". A world of red rock, and howling winds, connected "The old rails" which sound to be a remnant of humanities past judging by how the trains that run them are described as floating and running without a conductor that "They ever seen".
Cont

>>4910670

Their world is ruled by a council of governors, who each rule a region but elect amongst themselves a ruler for life who unites the whole planet together except for "The red savages in the yonder". Who seem to be an off shoot of humanity "as they don't got no skin, and have fangs like a Snapjaw, and claws like a skinner's knife". They laugh when you ask what a snapjaw is, and after much mocking, you learn its a form of reptilian predator "Bout as half as tall as yourself, with a crooked smile and hands for peeling misbehaving youngins".

The more you learn about New Varro, the more you're convinced that these men are of an exceedingly hardy stock to be able to survive and flourish upon a world that sounds as inhospitable as the Cui region was made to be. There are giant "Thundering birds" That are known to snatch up whole herds of "Rattle", Rattle being a form of gargantuan snakes kept in a similar fashion to oxen, or simply pluck a man from the prairie never to be seen again. And there's the "Shaggy spooks", some form of de-evolved strain of humanity who dwell in "that old bastard scratch's chamber pot", that prey solely upon "Settlers and traveling salesmen". Salesmen being a particularly aggressive form of merchant who barge into people's houses to demand they purchase their wares. Even the weather of New Varo seems exceptionally hostile, dust storms that "can flay a man as easy as he peels off his long johns" and heatwaves that "Sooner melt the nails from the house and turn the sand to glass than let up".

You also learn they have a similar tradition to the Wild Vishnu, of only naming their children after they have survived for a certain period of time. Though they wait until adolescence to bequeath their children with anything besides nicknames and passing monikers, as in Winchesters own words "Don't do no good to know them by anything else till your certain they gonna be around come tomorrow, ya hear?"

Such a fascination for this strange, deadly world flourishes within you that you while away much your time asking about it, and exchanging stories to hear new and exciting "Tall tales" and "Tear Squeezers" from New Varo, devouring each with a gusto similar to that of the children hearing your own stories.

In fact, when Yin Lei arrives, he catches you as the audience of one of these stories, concerning the storyteller's encounter with the desert bandit "Ironback Michael" A mutant cyborg who was infamous from his daring raids and assaults upon civilized society.

"So, these are the men stolen from the heaven?" Yin Lei asks, as the storyteller grimaces upon being interrupted "how strange their manner is, I've seen the Vishnu act with more grace. But how curious it is as well, to know their exists a society as unconcerned with societal mores. Perhaps the Long-Jia could learn from such rowdy freedom?"

"He a friend of yours?" He asks, as you nod and stand to greet Yin Lei with cupped hands "He stands like a ranger, he a ranger?"

>>4910671

"A general, whose name alone has won battles and ended wars" You answer in hushed whispers "If any man deserves your respect, it is the black general"

"But he's white?" the man bemusedly states

"It isn't because of the color of" You begin to explain, before giving up and turning to face Yin Lei again, whose observing the story teller curiously "My apologies my friend, I was merely explaining your profession and wide spread renown to Gallager, who was regaling me with an most intriguing encounter of his with infamous brigand upon his world"

"Fascinating, judging from his shocked tone he is surprised that I'm a general whose name and deeds are storied and praised wildly, despite how many of my accomplishments achieved nothing in the end beside senseless bloodshed?" Yin Lei questions

"No he thought your epithet of the black general was given because of the color of your skin" You explain as you excuse yourself from the audience and walk as Yin Lei's side.

"Men can't have black skin" Yin Lei chuckles "How queer of a misunderstanding, do men of such dark hides live upon the world he was taken from"

"A number do actually, though I'm not sure if black is the correct name for the tone of their skin. It is not so shocking when you consider how exposed their world is to the rays of their sun" You explain as Yin Lei stops midstep

"Their home is unshrouded by fog? Queerer yet!" Yin Lei laughs, folding his arms over his officer's coat "I cannot imagine how they are not blind from the constant exposure to such intense light! I have desire to learn more of these strange people and this odd world they call home"

"Then I shall share my knowledge after our work is done, Yin Lei" You sneer and cackle as your lead to Lai Song and Lady Dandan who stand inside the boundary of the open gate. Lai Song is dressed in the new uniform armor of the army, customized to allow himself and his riders to retain their mobility and more easily maneuver on their horses without losing the protection of their steel armor. The armor you designed in your grief of Small Chen's death

"AH LAI SONG! TAO DANDAN! IT HAS BEEN TOO LONG SINCE WE LAST MET!" You proclaim merrily, cupping your fist in greeting as the two return the gesture.

"And here I've thought you vanished into the fog like a fading dream!" Lai Song laughs boisterously, eyes glinting with excitement at the prospect of fighting an unknown enemy "I've heard you've had quite the adventure since Young Jinhai was crowned king"

"I wouldn't name it an adventure, it was merely an undertaking of my continue responsibility to the kingdom and her people" You humbly explain

"Killed a bandit lord from the stars and slew the first dragon seen in two centuries, and it was just a continuation of your endless philanthropy?" Lai Song sneers as Dandan cools herself with a fan designed to resemble flames and sparrow tails.

She snaps the fan shut and taps it on her wrist.
cont

>>4910672

"That's just Lieren's character. His humility prevents him from realizing the glory of his deeds and splendor of his actions" Dandan teases.

You smirk.

"I see no reason to fluff my feathers and strut around like a courting sparrow over a single victory, when there is work yet to be done" You speak, making the fiery Lady Tao fluster and turn away as she blushes.

"Your wisdom shines brilliantly as always, my young friend. We should cease such pointless talks and see to the task entrusted to us by the Illustrious Lord Long-Jia" Yin Lei speaks sternly as Lai Song sighs

"Wonder if we'll meet another dragon" He muses to Lady Tao who shrugs her shoulders with a dramatic sigh.

"If any dragons still live, they'd know to avoid stepping into Lieren's path" She jests "Though I would like to examine the...enhancement you spoke of over the radio, Lieren, the flame sprayer"

Oh dear and she's made such progress in reigning in the uglier and unseemly side of her personality as well. Dandan with flamethrowers is a terrifying thought indeed.
-
<Recorded Passage from a rare 4th edition of the <Data redacted>, interred in the personal collection of <Data redacted> Item is a collection of stories and poems once commonly found within <Data Redacted>, the item is bound in a covering formed of pulped leather, many of its pages have become compromised by the passage of time and exposure to the elements. Currently out <Data redacted> Only <Data redacted> pages are complete enough to remain somewhat legible>

The victory at Heavens Warning. A rousing tale of Lieren's life after the rebellion, in the dawn of the Long-Jia Era. One immortalized in theater, and I would be remise to fail to mention my favored interpretation of the legendary battle, though it is one of the most divorced from reality I've found in my years long study of Lieren's esteemed and eventful life. Penned and performed by the Playwright Pan An, a contemporary of Lieren himself, one would expect that the reality of the event would be recorded by a man who is reputed to have personally shared the Golden Eyed Giant's company but that is not the case.

For this play, while it is a treasured and much beloved account of our great kingdoms past and one of the eleven great works created by Pan An in his life time; It is clearly a wild exaggeration and wanton fantasy, here we see Lieren's reputed sorcerous talent leave the oral tradition to be seen upon the stage with pyrotechnics and effects that are traditionally still employed in retellings of the encounter with the "inhuman" bandits. Which in all likelihood were merely an especially inbred breed of hermit survivalists who had flourished in the chaos that afflicted the Huang region at wars end. And the Qirin saved from their clutches was clearly propaganda devised to reinforce Long-Jia authority in the volatile times following the defeat of the Yan Tyrants.
cont

>>4910673

This humble chronicler shall regale the tale to you now, as I had seen it performed by the "Peahen Queen's Entourage" A renowned traveling entertainment troupe

<Access pending approval by higher authority, contact Magos <Data corrupted> to present your credentials to be bequeathed the key code to receive further access>
-

"Courts above!" Lai song cries out, as you rally the army to march forward with Long-Jia war banner in one hand, and Power Dao in the other. The Flag is flecked with blood, when you used it as an improvised spear to run through one of the Incubi when you met him and challenged him to single combat before the entire army, before his entourage attempted to cowardly cut you down, and were slain to the man by your hand.

Having thus cut down one of the greatest threats presented to the imperial army, you had led them forth and overcame an ambush of eight Aeldari led by another of the Incubi, that came from the cliffside.

Dozens of casualties were sustained, and in the midst of the assault the Incubus leading the charge made for the Artillery at the back of your formation in an attempt to halt its non stop barrage on the canyon pass. However, you had foreseen such a gambit after the first encounter with the Aeldari remnants at the outskirts of the canyon and advised Yin Lei to prepare for such a bold assault upon the backbone of your crawling advance.

Cutting a bloody path through the force, he met his end when Aruna emerged from beneath the banner flown by one of the lesser generals, disguised as a Tao officer. A terrible conflict ensured, which ended when Aruna, bearing a large wound across his chest caught the Aeldari in his hands and lifted him into the air and strangled the life out of wretch. Emboldened by seeing the monstrous foe slain, the army rallied, and surround his unit, and slaughtered them to the man in close quarters.

The sparrows devouring a lion. It was the great glory of the Tao house, and would doubtlessly be remembered as a point of pride in their history.

Your next obstacle took the form of Cearnarch's last son of any talent. The beast master who named himself Stollaire, who road upon a tamed fog panther, armored in the electrified caging it was kept in. Enraged by the mere sight of a proud beast made the bow before such a villain, you entered a black rage and butchered the rider and his flock of thrall creatures, Impaling him upon the banner you carried. Throwing the impudent lording to the ground, his life was ended with a solid stomp of your foot upon his neck. But, he had been followed by a unit of sharp shooters, and in the lull of Dandan's artillery reloading and calculating the angle of their mortars, they had had stolen away the lives of numerous Valiant men.
cont.

>>4910674

Lai song brought them to heel with a bold manuever; a cavalry charge amidst a bombardment. Suicidal, but the Lai Riders are peerless in their skill and no amount of armor can protect you from being trampled by a regiment of astride Cui Warmongers. Miraculously, the only causality of the charge was a horse who broke its leg upon one of the Alien Sniper's chest.

The remaining Aeldair gathered in the encampment, which they had fortified with the wrecks of their ship. Breeching the wall was the most costly maneuver in the skirmish to secure the camp. By time sappers were able piece the wall of steel, nearly three hundred men lie dead in front of it.

Furious, you were the first to charge through the breech, carrying the names of the dead on your lips.

The Aeldari stood no chance before the combined might of a wrathful giant, Dandan's ceaseless orchestra of destruction, and Yin Lei's masterful maneuvering of the army through the choke point, and Lai Song's cunning decision to cause a rockslide via sustained fire upon the canyon walls.

Having buried one Incubus in stone, you emerged to battle the other one, stripped of your armor and smoking from the incendiary shells that had fallen around you. Red Faced Wei and Aruna joined in the fray, and proved to be vital in securing victory; as while the other incubus was buried beneath the weight of a cliffside, he had survived and struck at your exposed back as you slowly war down his peer's stamina.

Aruna, who you had temporarily gifted the other prince's Dao to as you struggled to break open the wall the Aeldari hid behind, hamstrung the coward, while Red Faced Wei fired a recovered dark lance on his back, rendering the fearsome warrior little more than grease and drifting ashes.

Taking the final Incubus' head with decisive stroke of your saber, you lead the army forward and by the Black General's command, squashed what little resistance remained.

A terrible price of lives was paid to subjugate the aliens, the army had lost nearly an fifth of its number, for the small force of three thousand raised by Jinhai's orders, the dead numbered close to six hundred. An inexcusable loss of life, and the tally could not be accurately given until the camp was secured and the dead were gathered.

Near six hundred men gave up their lives to slay fifty three Aeldari. You regretted not coming alone, you could've dealt with all of them single handedly if you abandoned caution. Those braves souls would've survived to see another dawn if you had.

Among their number, were members of the Tao family, Aruna's tribe the first, Lai riders, volunteers who just joined the imperial army and many others, including one of Dai Niu's younger sons who came seeking glory to redeem his families name.
cont

>>4910675

What caused Lai song to exclaim in surprise was the sight of the alien creatures still kept caged within the canyon's well, the sight of the arcane technology surrounding his sights, and the visions of atrocity that lay before his eyes.

The soldiers marched by, with murder in their eyes and curses on their tongues. But they two, halted in their search for retribution, when they spotted what drew the horselord's attention.

A half starved Qirin, kept caged, bound in spiked changes and wearing a razor collar. With its Antler's snapped in two, and its incandescent scales torn from its back, its mane dirtied with blood and filth, the creature still stood majestic amidst the carnage.

Lai Song falls to his knees and for the first time since Yin Lei introduced you to the man, weeps at the sight of the abused and defiled majesty of the magnificent creature. A man who bore witness to the atrocities of man and Alien alike, who had seen the men he had trained and lead for years fall before him did not cry for either. But seeing such beauty tarnished, caused the hardened veteran to cry as if he was seeing his own brother tortured and shamed.

"What an auspicious sight after such bloodshed" Yin Lei mutters, his voice rattling with sorrow as he looks to the pitiful creature, riding through the throng as the breech is widened to allow the army through into the encampment "Such a soothing presence, to save such a beautiful creature from these devils' grips make me feel the hero I am oft told I am"

"It's just a scaled and horned horse" Tao Dandan observes, fanning herself as she scans the camp ground, lingering on the ships and vehicles you crippled on your earlier flight from it "Does it truly deserve to be regarded so highly?"

You approach the beast, and bow your head to it. With an intellegent glow in its eyes, it returns the gesture.

"I shall personally investigate the vessels that carried the Aeldari to our world" You state to Yin Lei "Who knows what dangers could be lying in wait, no more lives shall be spent this day"

"You're after something" Yin Lei observes "Some secret you don't want others to uncover"

"Of course, I battled Cearnarch in one of these star ships, and forgot something curious when I escaped with the captives they had taken" You explain, bowing your head

"I trust your judgement, you have my permission to carry out this undertaking" Yin Lei says with with a nod "I will need your expertise to decide how to deal with these...things they've brought to our planet, so recover whatever it is you seek with the utmost haste"

You lift your head in affirmation as Dandan begins to explore the encampment with a guard of Vishnu, Red faced Wei and Aruna himself

"Lai song, watch Lady Dandan and ensure she doesn't loot anything that will cause us trouble in the future" Yin Lei sighs as you leave to retrieve the curious gem from Cearnarch's decaying tongue
-
cont

>>4910676

"Six hundred and forty seven lives lost" Jinhai mutters solemnly as he reads the report you've penned personally. He's demanded you stand by his throne rather than kneel before it as custom would dictate "Such a terrible price to pay for the deaths of fifty three criminals, how terrible a power they must've possessed"

His watery eyes raise from the gilded script in his hands, to the collected weapons and armaments taken from the sight of the battle, to be presented before him as proof of victory.

"It could only be devilry, for such cruel tools to exist in this world" He sadly muses as he turns his eyes back to the report. The weight of those men's lives is weighing heavily upon him "An additional two hundred and twenty eight captives were found recently imprisoned, and were thus released and returned to their homes under the protectrion of imperial forces, additionally a total of sixty eight aberrant creatures were retrieved, with twenty eight proving too wild to transport and were humanely put down. This count includes a..."

Jinhai pauses, a look of childlike wonder filling his tear stained eyes.

"A qirin" He whispers in awe, he turns to you to see if it is true, and you smile and bow your head in answer.

Swallow his sorrow and amazement, he continues reading the report.

"A total of eight vessels with twelve auxiliary vehicles, were captured. the vessels were crippled and non functional without repair, they include a vessel believed by former administrator of the Gao region, Lieren of Nothing, to be ships capable of traversing the heavens. Also found were a dozen smaller vehicles intended to act as personal transport and moving assault platforms" Jinhai reads, slumping back in his throne with a exhausted sigh "I can only pray this will be the last battle the imperial army will have to wage for sometime'

Regaining his composure, he stiffens his back and addresses you formerly in a manner befitting a king.

"But that is merely the wish of this young, naïve king. We have another matter to discuss, that of your formal assignment within the new government and the responsibilities you shall take on, Brother Lieren" Jinhai says with a gentle smile beneath his sad eyes "there are numerous stations you may take, but only one so as to not centralize influence and power under one man. Though if you believe there's a vital position that does not yet exist, speak of it, and I shall create it for you to fill, my most valued friend."

Which office shall you take, Lieren?

>Master tactician and organizer of the imperial army

>Grand architect and head of the ministry of development

>Head of the ministry of agricultural and medicine

>High diplomat and head of the ministry of foreign affairs.

>A different office (Write in?)

>>4910677
>A different office (Write in?)
Master of Whispers, we will have agents in the fog listening and watching we will be the unseen watcher and guardian bringing news from all over.

Added bonus of not having to deal with to much court and some free rein of movement

>>4910677
>Grand architect and head of the ministry of development
Honestly the lack of good advanced tech is a major problem.

>>4910677
>Grand architect and head of the ministry of development
This leaves us much more room to innovate the kingdom as a whole.

>no nignogs in Chinaworld
Kek
>complaining Remembrancer
Oh, I see. So when our brother push them away they try to record everything, but when we let them they think it's all just tall tales. Aight.

>>4910677
>Head of the ministry of agricultural and medicine
Muh crops

>>4910677
>>Grand architect and head of the ministry of development
>Write In
"I will accept this title, most humbly .... though, sometimes i may be needed in several other matters. For example in case of war, or for resolve other difficult problems or emergencies, such as the one we have resolve in the Huang province, or even more peaceful ones, such as giving new military ideas. Which i would be enthusiast to aid in."
"Of course i have even minor tasks, such as leading the brotherhood or the wanderers, but I should be able to do so without many problems."

>>4910677
>>Grand architect and head of the ministry of development
Supporting telling him we'll be happy to broaden our focus if needed.
If we don't innovate and improve our technology, death tolls like the one we just faced will become all the more common, especially against the Vishnu and their Sandskrit epic-levels of tech. And we can embezzle funds and materials for best girl.

>>4910677
>Grand architect and head of the ministry of development
Perturabo would be proud.

>>4910834
>And we can embezzle funds and materials for best girl.
Alternatively we could just introduce Jinhai to Kanzeon personally so he can actually see just how much tech we're sitting on.

File: 2acd424d9c9aebd85a658352b(...).png (191 KB, 392x336)

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>>4910846
>Not wanting to embezzle from the government

>>4910848
WE ARE THE GOVERNMENT HERE ANON

>>4910849
THE GOVERNMENT EMBEZZLES FROM ITSELF ALL THE TIME, ANON
TWO YEARS AGO SOME CONGRESSMAN GOT BUSTED FOR USING CAMPAIGN FUNDS TO BUY STEAM GAMES

Honestly is there even a point to diplomacy on this world if every other nation is ruled by extremely hostile demon worshippers?

>>4910853
Not until we purge corrupted citizens from the Vishni, Shuni, and Bask. Presumably there are good people there, as there were in Yan, though we can appoint Aruna as king if we're not thrilled by the native Vishnu prospects.

>>4910677
>Development
And unofficially, head of "Freak occurances" like warp craft and other unexplainables.

>>4910677

>Grand architect and head of the ministry of development

>>4910677
> Lord Inquisitor, though the actual Long-Jia title will probably be much more flowery
Yes, yes I am voting for this. Though besides the obvious, I'm imagining that Lieren's actual office would entail both addressing major crisis alongside the great generals themselves, but also working to prevent such things from happening in the future during peace time.

Instead of an army, he'd be commanding a first-response force that's smaller, faster and stealthier, investigating any serious flare-ups to determine whether the main military forces will need to be mustered or if it can be resolved quietly or even in a bloodless manner; I of course speak of the Brotherhood.

Aside from that though, he'd also have doctors, scholars, architects, psychiatrists/psychologists, mystics and a myriad of other advisors providing the kingdom with the knowledge it needs to blunt the damage of disasters and war alike. Kinda like a mash of FEMA, the CIA, and a smattering of other alphabet agencies in a compact unit that can move quickly and efficiently.

>>4910941
Fair point but I have no idea what it would actually be called.

>>4910677
>The Royal Treasurer, the man that heads the Department of Prosperity and is responsible to allocate the resources, administer the lands and stop corruption.

>>4910846
Presenting her to him could be a good idea yes. Though Kinhai as absolute trust of Lieren anyway, and Lieren explains what he does most of the time. But them knowing eachother could be cool

>>4910677
>Grand architect and head of the ministry of development
>Grand Inquisitor if one is needed

>>4911246
*jinhai
Got the word wrong

>>4910677
>Grand architect and head of the ministry of developmen

>>4910677
>Grand architect and head of the ministry of development
>Grand Inquisitor if one is needed
Not surprised at the casualties, dark elder don't fuck around, it's sad the ship engines were totaled so we are going to have to drag most of it to Kanzeon to be recycled for her.
We could have possibly poked around our solar system as well if the big one didn't get smashed.

>>4910941
inquisitor is a great choice actually, I second this along with >>4910902

>>4910941
I guess I’ll support this too.

>>4910677
Do we get to keep the Qirin? Can we keep one and name it Sparkle Pants?

>>4911538
Nah, we gifted it to Jinhai to secure his claim to the throne

>>4911540
But can we pet it?

>>4911549
What a stupid question.

How else do we let it know it is a good boy?

>>4910677
>Grand architect and head of the ministry of development

>>4910941
+1 to Lord Inquisitor option as runner-up.

>>4910941
Seems fair, I'm voting this

>>4911561
>hand feeding the qirin
>belly rubs
>boop it's half horse lizard snoot
>give it cute qirin sized cloaks for winter
>make various top hats and accessories for it

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Finally finished these boys. Even in the grim darkness of the 41st millennium, there is still camaraderie. I used a messier technique this time around and I’m happy with how it turned out, though I’ve got a ways to go yet.

I also realised that they kind of look like Captain Small Chen and Sergeant Sandip as mentioned in the last thread, but seeing as this particular tiger dude is wearing IG gear and the IG didn’t exist at this point it doesn’t really work. The cybernetics are a bit off from what was described too.

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>>4911598

>>4911598
I always imagined their faces more bestial/forms more hulking but i dig it

So how about we get a list of technology to develop.

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>>4911598
Well, Sandip was told to be a sergeant of the benevolent wings regiment, and flak armour existed back then, so it's not impossible.
But he would probably be wearing azure and plum, not Cadian colours.

can we use some of the ships as parts for repair? our shipfu could use it.

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I always thought they were more like this but with 4 arms Mortal kombat style

>>4910677
>>Grand architect and head of the ministry of development

Thought about Win-Chester. when we invade other planets do we allow the Native culture to thrive or do we move it more towards Shangrala culture/society.

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>>4911598
Damn that's a tall cat. As always good shit.

Calling the vote now.

Master of Whispers: 1

Grand architect and head of the ministry of development:12

Head of the ministry of agricultural and medicine:1

"I will accept this title, most humbly ....":2

Lord Inquisitor: 7

The Royal Treasurer:1

total votes: 17

So Grand architect and head of the ministry of development wins.

However, Jinhai not restrict Lieren's many talents and will entrust other duties to him that he believes only the Giant could carry out or offer his aid to other officials should the need arise.

But his official position will be the grand architect and head minster of development, and his usual responsibility will be focused on such.

Writing now

>>4911598
Incredible work once again anon! Like the decorations on the Marine. Lots of jade, the azure crest is also nice, as is the plume mantle which adds its own subtle flair.

Your interpretation of the tiger folk is also neat. Love how their sword looks like a cleaver, and the design of their cybernetics (Especially the little wires going from the eye, just marvelous. The organic eye is also really captivating, I just adore small details like that. Top knot framed by the ears makes for a very wild look.

>>4911807
That's how I picture them and have been writing them, but how they look in your imagination has just as much precedence as what I see in my mind's eye as I write.

Also, they are beast men. So a variety of "Beastness" wouldn't be out of the question. especially since not all of them have four arms, so there is a precedent for it!

>>4911920
Remember, the tiger folk are of Vishnu Stock, and the Vishnu are themselves BIG

Presented before you upon cushions held by four servants dressed in their own unique uniforms, lay four jade slips of varied color. the first is a deep, expressive green that catches light like the arms of old trees. The second, polished black like ink or river stone, unsullied by discoloration or lighter hues. The third carved from rare lavender jade that holds a brilliance akin to a plum cultivated upon celestial waters, the gem's rich hue softening towards its latter half. And the last, Mutton fat jade with a swirl of pale gold that darkens to a rich fertile brown

Resting beside each slip is a ceremonial badge of the position they offer. For the green jade slip, it is a simple pin with rice stalk and lotus blossom bound together by red twine; lovingly painted upon its porcelain surface. It is the symbol of the head minster of the joint agencies of agriculture and medicine. For the black, it is a rifle and spear crossed above a cricket, the symbol of the master tactician and organizer of the imperial army's forces. The lavender sits besides the badge of the grand architect and head of the ministry of development, its symbol being a cog set around a stone setting mallet as if to mimic the appearance of a windmill. The white slips lays beside the token of the high diplomat and ministry of foreign affairs, a bat resting atop a branch bearing a peach and peach blossoms

Jinhai rings a small bell, and a fifth man, dressed in a white shroud joins the other four kneeling before you, and presents an empty cushion. You smirk, instantly recognizing the symbolism behind the gesture. Jinhai sits behind you, curiously watching as you study each badge and slip of jade, inspecting them for flaws or intricacies in their design that you missed at first glance. The servants struggle to keep from turning their eyes in your direction as you stand before them. They're in awe of your presence, and merely standing before such a figure as renowned and venerated as yourself. The same way men stand before Yin Lei or Yan Zihao. The way man cower in the company of a legend

Except for one. The third in the row. The man presenting the symbols office of grand architect. You recognize him at a glance even if you do not know his name. Even behind the veil he wears and the brocade he has dressed himself with, it is obvious who he is. The "nameless" assistant whose aid had been vital in the construction of the White Dragon's Path from the first stone hammered in place to its most distant of branches

"I see, I see" You half chuckle as you kneel before the stubbornly unnamed man "You've presented to me one of my oldest followers amongst strangers. A man I know to be diligent in performing his duty and dependable in all circumstances"

"It would be an honor to serve beneath your command forevermore, Lord Lieren" He says, speaking out of turn to show the great admiration he holds for you, raising his head even as the masked guards surrounding the five men visibly bristle
Cont

>>4911991

They see it as an attempt to sway your decision. The fools, they served in your army, they should know how difficult you are to manipulate.

"The honor is all mine. It is the highest privledge to command men as able and talented as yourself, if all of the ministry's officials are half as proficient as yourself, if they host even a drop of the genius and natural aptitude you are blessed with my friend" You proclaim, uncrossing your arms and pulling away from the gargantuan brocade one of the Lady Daiyu's retainers presented to you as a gift upon your arrival "Then truly I would be blessed with unmatched providence! For the fortune of overseeing such skillful workers is rare indeed"

"Your praise is humbling my lord, but all I am is a nameless servant towards your designs. The continued spread of prosperity is tantamount, let us join hands and bring the most eminent and merciful King Long-Jia a harvest of Jade, Let us bless the lands with the rains of progress and till the soil of society so it may flourish to yet unseen heights of grandeur" He proclaims as if speaking to a god descended from the heavenly courts

"I take this conversation to mean you shall be my Grand Architect then, Lieren?" Jinhai questions, much more amused by the exchange than his imperial guards, who are clearly upset by the breach of protocol, that Jinhai himself had not even paid the shortest attention towards

"Of course, I am builder by nature. I prefer to construct rather than tear down. Though setting a field ablaze may be necessary to facilitate new growth, I have always been happier tending to gardens than I have been hanging corpses from trees" You proclaim excitedly, turning to face your friend, and dropping down to one knee "I, Lieren of nothing, swear an oath to serve the Long-Jia dynasty with all of my passion and energy, until the day comes that my service is no longer required. Upon this promise, I shall loyally serve the imperial edicts and the orders given to me by Lord Long-Jia Jinhai, in encouraging the development of the lands beneath his rule and heading the construction of any project he sees fit to begin"

"There's no reason to be so formal, Lieren" Jinhai laughs, standing from his throne and walking down to meet you "Though your flair of dramatics is in its own way, rather soothing. However it would be a wasteful to expend your vast intellect upon construction and progress alone"

Setting a fan upon your shoulder, Jinhai looks you in the eyes.

"I know I can trust you to do what is required, and to act virtuously when all other men would now. I know if ever my lineage were to step upon the path of darkness, yours would be the first to take up arms against them. That is your nature, a man whose entire life has been a battle against the evil in men's hearts and the tyrants who spread such filth. I will utilize your abilities to their fullest extent, it would be foolish to constrain a man of your talents to a singular labor."

Cont

>>4911993
Taking a deep breath, Jinhai's chest rises and then slowly falls as he exhales ponderously and turns his eyes towards the ceiling and the heaven's beyond it.

"When and if the time requires, I shall call for your assistance in any matter that requires it. For I know you well enough to realize that the moment the innocent cry out for aid, you shall be by their side. Your gentle nature would not allow you to ignore the responsibilities you have long chosen to bear, Your loyalty would be to the people and the lands before any other, as it was before. So I shall give you my blessing to continue such endeavors, and carry them out however you wish" Jinhai states blithely, grinning ear to ear "For what man could stop you from walking from your chosen path. Though, the office you hold does expect you to fulfill the tasks I give to you, in a timely manner"

"Of course, I know what I am getting into accepting this job, and I expected to you to allow me and any other official to act freely in the name of efficiency and the prosperity of the common man" You state, standing and rolling your shoulders as you take the pin of your new position and hold it towards the light of the lanterns hanging from the ceiling of Jinhai's temporary throne room, admiring the design painted upon t.

"I would not be king if I did not have their best interests close to my heart, after all" Jinhai says with a sly wink. You smirk, peeling your lips back to show your teeth

"Of course, they chose you after all" You say, resisting the urge to chuckle "So when shall I begin my service to you, my brother? what project shall I oversee first?"

"Once I have such ambitions, I shall issue the edict, as it stands I suppose you should keep in contact with Xue Liang to ensure his land's burgeoning industry does not poison his lands, though from the documents you left concerning the advancement of the Xue Marshlands, that should be of little concern. So you must ensure that the technological renaissance spreads throughout my kingdom comfortably." Jinhai says, speaking his stream of thought as he returns to his throne and raps his knuckle on his chin "So long as you fulfill these twin responsibilities, I shall allow the leave to act freely until I issue the mandate to construct or influence the development of the nation in a direction of my choosing. Until then, I expect you to invent what you will, and build what you know will benefit the masses!"

Jinhai claps his hands

"You may take your leave Lieren" He says, before a gleeful, mischievous glint flashes through his eyes and a grin slowly curls and twitches across his features "However, before you set off to begin your work, I wish to offer you a most generous prize besides your new station"

He leans forward, resting his chin on his knuckles as he sneers at you

"Nobility, a title, a house, and lands" He says cheerfully

The silence in the room is deafening. The tension is so thick it has turned the atmosphere suffocating
cont

>>4911994

What is your answer, Lieren?
> Accept Nobility with a genial smile
> Deny the gift with a laugh

And how shall you spend your "free" time?

>Construct both an office of development and architectural school near Nothing

>Build a monument for those who died at Heavens Warning Writ in Thunder, and ensure no wicked spirit lurks in the air there.

>Spend time with one of your relations (who and how?)

>Track down Kamakshi and Akanksha and put an end to their pursuit of your heart.

>Some other way (write in)

And yes, Jinhai offered Lieren nobility because he thought it would be funny

>>4911997
Cheeky fucking carp man.
> Deny the gift with a laugh
>“My liege and dear friend, in response to this great gift I must offer my humblest thanks and deepest apologies. For I am but a simple hunter and farmer at heart, and what need has a farmer for more land than he can farm? What need has a hunter for a title beyond that which his friends call him around the campfire? I apologise, most noble and benevolent King Jinhai, but I must decline this bounty.

As for free time,
>Build a monument for those who died at Heavens Warning Writ in Thunder, and ensure no wicked spirit lurks in the air there.
Shangrala ain’t gonna purify itself.

>>4911997
> Accept Nobility with a genial smile
"...well played my King. Well played"

>Build a monument for those who died at Heavens Warning Writ in Thunder, and ensure no wicked spirit lurks in the air there.
Once we have

>Some other way (write in)
Meditate, we have not done so in awhile and we will be doing much building soon. Maybe we shall speak to magnus or see what secrets are within the Gem? Maybe something else.

> Deny the gift with a laugh
"I must decline. the offices Grand architect and head of the ministry of development will keep me far and away from the lands you seek to award me with old friend"

>Track down Kamakshi and Akanksha and put an end to their pursuit of your heart.

>>4911997
> Deny the gift with a laugh
>Construct both an office of development and architectural school near Nothing
and
>Meditate about the currents of the Empyrean.

>>4911997
> Accept Nobility with a genial smile
"...well played my King. Well played"

>Build a monument for those who died at Heavens Warning Writ in Thunder, and ensure no wicked spirit lurks in the air there.

Any house and land we get should be used for public benefit like an orphanage.

>>4911997
>> Accept Nobility with a genial smile
Can't dodge it forever, I suppose. Hopefully it's more of a game warden type of job, where we get a house and a bunch of undeveloped wilderness and just scare the shit out of poachers.
>>Build a monument for those who died at Heavens Warning Writ in Thunder, and ensure no wicked spirit lurks in the air there.
>>Dong's fight against the Shuni warlock was most puzzling, it's as if he is a void in the Empyrean. The thought of what would happen should you attempt to utilize his mien is most intriguing...

>>4911997
> Deny the gift with a laugh
We denied kinghood to have to spend our time administering lands and dealing with political bullshit, becoming a noble is just the same shit, but with less power.
>Spend time with one of your relations (who and how?)
> Kanzeon and Ghuonzi, study how it would be possible to transfer a soul or conciouness, and how to clone and create a body. Maybe discuss about the ghosts and the nature of the emperor.
We got to start on our plan to get Kaz a body, or give the seconded chance to old sect.

>>4912128
Fucking dammit, to nat have to spend our time.

>>4911997
>> Accept Nobility with a genial smile
we can get him back by making him governor of the system once dad picks us up
>Track down Kamakshi and Akanksha and put an end to their pursuit of your heart.
tell them to have lots of vishnu kids to keep the bloodline strong

>>4911997
> Accept Nobility with a genial smile
Literally no good reason not to, even if it gets on Lieren's nerves. If anything we can be a good example to the other nobles with how we interact with commoners.
> Return to Guozhi's side and discuss the fate of his former sect, asking if their lingering souls might be condensed and reborn in a new vessel

>>4911994
>DENY AND PAUGH
no. Give us another name if you must but we cannot be bound to a single land. We will not be there to care for it and we have no line to succeed us. NO.

>School, 2 vishnu women and then work with Kanzeon about materials and widespread prosthetics

> Deny the gift with a laugh

>>4912186
to further elaborate, because I remember the first thread, Malal wanted to use the surename Tianshang whenever we warrented another name.

So I'd say something to the effect of "I'll accept a surename and that's it of you" with the intent of allowing for surnames to be given as a mark of exceptionalism to further bridge the divide between nobility and the common folk.

>>4912260
If we take any surname, why not Wenyans?

>>4912267
Take the name of our dead brother as tge surname.
I feel guilty for flattening him.

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>>4912267
Because Weyan is a commoner. He has no surename. If you are proposing taking his name as our own, ie Weyan Lieren then sure. The specific name doesn't matter to me, it's the proposed plan.

This is why I am proposing the acceptance of "A" surname but refusing every other noble privilege. A way to remove the surname as the sole property of the noble class and make it a sign of exceptionalism.
And to see if this gets enough notice, lets see if the image trick does it.

>>4912295
Did we ever tell Wenyan that, by the way? I feel like we should go home, sit him down and explain our extraterrestrial (or rather, terrestrial) origins. He deserves to know, at least.

>>4911997

(2)
>Construct both an office of development and architectural school near Nothing
>Spend time with one of your relations (who and how?)

Weyan spend time with him and assist him in his day to day needs

>>4911598
This is fucking amazing holy shit

>>4911997
>Accept Nobility with a genial smile
>Get to work designing better weapons, vehicles and armor.
>drop off research materials to Kanzeon
>develop psyker powers more
>develop martial arts that will compliment our powers
Reminder war is coming.

>>4911997

>Accept Nobility with a genial smile

I feel like we can lead by example here, to show how a noble SHOULD act, and give other noble lines the ability to emulate how we go about it going forward. Noblesse Oblige and all that.

>Build a monument for those who died at Heavens Warning Writ in Thunder, and ensure no wicket spirit lurks in the air there.

>>4912316
I don't think we ever did tell our origin.
He probably has already connect the fact that a meteor la ded and a super child appeared at the same time, but having a talk with dad about it, and our kbowledge of our other father is a good idea to do eventually.

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POV: you’re a fucking tyrant.

>>4912375
Excellent work anon.
But isn't Lieren's skin a bit too dark? I don't know much about black and white, so it can just be how it is supposed to look.

>>4911991
I swear to fuck. This nameless guy is either:
>A) Malal
>B) a lesser demon of Malal
>C) one of those immortals dudes that got stuck on this planet
>D) Yo'rumum G'hay
>E) a warp entity
>F) commoner dude who's slowly evoloving into a demon of Lieren
Seriously it's driving me up the wall, and not in an erotic fashion.

>>4911997
> Accept Nobility with a genial smile
"...well played my King. Well played"

>Track down Kamakshi and Akanksha and put an end to their pursuit of your heart.
This first, the longer this goes on, the more they're go yandere. I want them to be happy and all, but Lieren won't be the answer.

>Some other way (write in)
Interact more with the Deathworlders and ensure their intergration into society is seamless, in addition to learning more about their world, culture, and everything in between.

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>>4912400
You may have a point there. I was trying to give the eyes as much contrast as I could but I think I may have gone overboard what with how light the hair was anyway. I also fixed the jaw and neck a bit so he looks like less of a bobblehead.

>>4912418
Doing it for contrast makes sense actually, making details stand out when working with tones of gray sounds hard.

Just realized I wrote Tantamount when I meant to put Paramount in the update. The heat is frying my brain it seems.

>>4912375
>>4912418
Oooh now this I adore. Reminds me of the art in a collection of Conan stories I've been reading. Think its the greyscale, fierce eyes, and strong jaw. Also like how messy/ untamed the hair is, and the burning/ glowing effect you did with the eyes is incredible. Can't imagine how hard it is to depict light of that manner in grey scale.

And the way the edges seem to fade into smoke/fog feels really artsy to me

Good job all around

>>4912405
Took me longer than I care to admit to get the joke

>>4911997
> Accept Nobility with a genial smile
>Construct both an office of development and architectural school near Nothing
>Build a monument for those who died at Heavens Warning Writ in Thunder, and ensure no wicked spirit lurks in the air there.
>Communicate with the soul in the stone.

>>4911997
>> Accept Nobility with a genial smile
he's expecting a No, we should go the other way
>Some other way (write in)
Cut down the Bone Devouring Forest and begin plans for the excavation of Kanzeon

>>4912487
Do not destroy nature.

>>4912487
>Cut down the Bone Devouring Forest
That’s not very prosperous of you.

>>4912487
How about taming the Bone Devouring Forest instead of destroying it?
As much as I would want to keep the natural defense it provides, with the Xue being the center of the induatrial revolution, we are going to have to put the road through it.
Maybe we ahould built walkways so anyways could migrate from on side of the forest, that way railroads will impact it less.

>>4911997
>> Accept Nobility with a genial smile
>Build a monument for those who died at Heavens Warning Writ in Thunder, and ensure no wicked spirit lurks in the air there.

>>4912496
>>4912505
>>4912522
Kanzeon is directly underneath it, i don't see how we get her out without doing that.

>>4912571
Slowly, Carefully, without hypocricy. Lieren's current calculation says "Telekinesis"

>>4912496
>>4912505
>>4912577
Essentially the same as destroying the Forest since we'll be breaking it down and putting it back together, just at different stages. It's not a very good forest and it's need of cleaning anyways. Once we're done we can replant twice as many saplings, right after we dig our shipfu out.

>>4911997
>Accept Nobility
"An unexpected move my friend. I will be sure to be an example for such a title."

>Construct both an office of development and architectural school near Nothing
>Build a monument for those who died at Heavens Warning Writ in Thunder, and ensure no wicked spirit lurks in the air there.
>Track down Kamakshi and Akanksha and put an end to their pursuit of your heart.


>Write in
>Get to work designing better weapons, vehicles and armor.
>Work with Kanzeon for begin the mountain works. Good time for bring some of the drukhari equipment there too.
>Have the dust worlders be given unused land near us, so we can visit them and help them to integrate, and live alongside the long jia

>>4912327
>>4911997
forgot the first option
> Accept Nobility with a genial smile
"...well played my King. Well played"

Shit, 6 to 13 on becoming a nobleman. Why?

>>4912591
No. One is breaking a mountain open and doing so without disturbing the jungle rainforest [because I'm pretty sure that's what it is] outside of the immediate area, the other is wiping out a massive swathe of land, ruining miles of ecosystem and running directly contrary to a direct tennant of our own beliefs.

Taming is making it easier and safer to traverse, as well as driving back hostile wildlife.

Breaking the mountain open is tedious but will provide enough rocks and materials for many projects without seriously harming the devouring forest

while cutting it all down is going to both take a while, cause massive ecological issues with the ground and its surrounding area and is immensely wasteful. This option is not at all comparable to the others.

Why not just lift the whole mountain and move it?

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>>4912651

>>4911997
> Deny the gift with a laugh

>Construct both an office of development and architectural school near Nothing
>Track down Kamakshi and Akanksha and put an end to their pursuit of your heart.

>>4912571
She is under a mountain, not the forest.
>>4912591
A part of the forest will have to be cut down to build a road, and to carefully mine out a path, but leveling the whole place and replanting is an entire diferent level of destruction.
>>4912634
No fucking clue. If we were going to deal with the bullshit of nobility, lands, ruling and having our time eaten up, we should have just become king, atleast we could actually do something.

>>4912665
>>4912668
Did you just try to vote again without ya trip?

>>4912669
I think if this goes through, we should make Weyan the official patriarch of our family and let hi deal with this crap.

Or maybe adopt Feng as our blood brother, then fest it off onto him.

>>4912695
>>4912669
Sounds like you guys fear responsibility.

>>4912706
Not responsibility. Being tied down and stuck having to care for and deal a small parcel of land personally. Which is such a stupid and worthless waste of our time, talents and proclivity that I'm astounded people are choosing this option without any further explanation of their intentions, plans or goals.

The other anon was right, If we wanted to deal with nobility and ruling lands we should have become the king instead of Jinhai. So if we accept the option we will have to find someone else to rule our own lands for us while we deal with bigger and much more important projects, not including more miracles and the conquering of the neighbouring lands to bring prosperity and weed them of the wicked.

>>4912260
>Malal wanted to use the surename Tianshang whenever we warrented another name
I don't recall Malal ever showing favor to one surname or another, he's pretty good about not letting us know if he prefers something over something else. The prospective color schemes for our legion are one example of that.

>>4912706
Mate, we are the head of psyker sect, technological inventor, daenon hunter and architect.
Spending our time doing taxes and solving political dispustes is a waste of time we could be soending developing new techniques, planning how to free Kanzeon or discovering the misteries of Shangrala
Not only that, but we would be a noble, someone that takes care of the small scale stuff. We either would leave everything to administrators, therefore making beinf a noble pointless, or take care of a small part of the land while the rest gets left behind.
Either we went with being a king and could micromanage the enitre kingdom, or be a bureaucrat with freedom to develop our projects, being a mid rank noble is the woest of both options.

>>4912685
I just wanted to remove the name

>>4912727
Let me get the things up, but it wasn't a "Oh that's something I really really want to do." it was more a "that's a really neat name".

>Shit meant it was 3 for claiming a surname already
>but I'll probably go with the Surname Tianshang when You, you know, become big dick king over everything, and before any ancillary names you give yourself or earn
>Cause I like the Name Tianshang Lieren

First thread. Keyword search Tianshang.

>>4912730
Exactly. But I guess we can't undo this mismatched vote without a landslide and a miracle by this point.

>>4912765
But that was if we were going to be chinese god emperor, not chinese local lord.

>>4912771
You mean a Gao or a graced Yin vs a Cui or a Mao?

Still a massive waste of time, and even worse is that any person we choose to succeed us by blood will not have had the courtly trainings or connections to weed out the bad from the good and so on.
It's just a fucking ballache.

>>4912792
I think the Gao were the biggest noble house there was, if the unnoficial map is anything to go by, they were the overlords of around 1/3 of Yan, and the Yin were powerful because they were their right hand.
Jinhai is a smart guy, after this mistake passes, he is probably only going to give Nothing to us, and we just turn Weynan from village / town elder to lord and continue ignoring it.