audio | un: yiling patriarch

[weifinder]

We've just heard from our friend Haltham about the fighting between Unhalad and Anurr forces nearby, so here's a question for everyone, brought up originally by our companions who got themselves drugged and fight-happy against the second living: what actions do you think we should or shouldn't take?

In Haltham's encouraging words, think wisely. Whatever we're doing or not doing has an effect by merit of choice. Also, a reminder that we still need to not end up in either's hands or revealing our location, given the reason we were summoned here has not changed, and our deaths can be a benefit to either side. Our lives benefit ourselves and our rescuers and the peoples here, by keeping us out of warlord hands.

( He's not opening up with his thoughts because he doesn't want it as a discussion against his take, but as people offering their thoughts after he asks the question. )

Comments

[weifinder]

... Ghosts, huh?

( Wait, give him another moment. )

Heavenly Officials?

[scrapgege]

Well, a Ghost King.

And well, I guess you could call them gods? People who have ascended to Heaven?

[weifinder]

A Ghost King?

( He's fascinated immediately and also this, itself, does not explain much of anything except in guesswork. )

I... uh, really? People ascend to Heaven where you're from? ( A pause. ) You ascended to heaven. You're a god. They summoned a god.

( He wants to laugh so badly over this, pls, just, if it's true. )

[scrapgege]

Haha, yes... That's a little embarrassing, isn't it?

[And worrying, because he's not sure how they did it and that weird mirror in the ship sure was a very powerful artefact to affect him the way it did.]

I haven't been in the Heavenly Realm much, though. I... things happened and in the end I ended up spending most of my time down in the Mortal Realm.

[weifinder]

Or frightening, I'd say, given what this summoning appears to be doing...

( Though as the man keeps talking, then: )

Unless part of it was taking you from the Mortal Realm, who knows? Either way, it's where things happen, spending time there must keep you more in touch with the world than otherwise. Or the worlds... now that you're here! Ah, still, what kind of, ah, god are you?

[scrapgege]

Ah well, when I first ascended I was a Martial God, but after this and that happened and I ended up in the Mortal World for a good long while, I had to find some odd jobs to sort of take care of myself, and I'm not extremely lucky, so in the end, the best I could do was collecting scraps.

So now, people call me the Scrap Immortal.

and sets this before Alina comes shouting at Wifi

[weifinder]

Ah, the way you say that... are you not now a Martial Scrapper Immortal? That's also far from what we use Immortal as back home, though as far as I know, there's only one person who has cultivated to true immortality...

( He sounds more speculative than anything else. )

What's your name, though?

[scrapgege]

Well, no one's ever called me that before. Most people don't really remember me from back then.

[Thankfully, he would say.]

I'm Xie Lian.

[weifinder]

I'm Wei Ying, courtesy name Wuxian, originally from Yunmeng Jiang. Well met, Xie Lian the Martial Scrapper God. Have you, ah, dealt with the undead before in the mortal realm you wandered?

[scrapgege]

I've been sent to investigate hauntings and demons and ghosts before.

[weifinder]

Oh, good, then you'll fit right in here! Though we might have more possessions, hauntings, and twice-living than demons, strictly speaking, at least so far. The ghosts... mm, at least the energies of those who passed with resentment are everywhere, as might be expected.

[scrapgege]

It seems very active, yes.

Normally, I really wouldn't do anything unless they're directly attacking humans, or if someone has prayed for the situation to be solved. But this is just... I've never seen so many undead people in one place, except on a battlefield.

[weifinder]

In what way is a region at war after war not itself a giant battlefield?

[scrapgege]

Hm, I guess you're right. This is... well except for the climate, it's a bit like several civil wars I've seen before.

Except for the undead people, that's new. At least undead that retain a body.

[weifinder]

Yeah, I haven't seen anything like this before... possession, certainly, but not the dead walking in physical form.

[scrapgege]

Yes, usually, you'd see spirit first, and maybe if some of them grow stronger, they might be able to manifest a physical form... but those are corpses.

[weifinder]

Mm, and you might be able to help them manifest too, but it's not the same thing as... wait, fully physical form at will, or...?

[scrapgege]

If they're powerful enough, yes. They'd even be able to change the appearance at will. but that's only for higher level ghosts. A spirit that juts died would be small wisp of energy. They'd need years of cultivating and a strong will before they can manifest.

[weifinder]

Ghosts cultivating? Huh, you know... I can see how that'd work, though I hadn't run into anything quite like it back home. Maybe because the strongest spirits I dealt with were ready to be sent on after relieving their pent up resentments, or were sent on forcibly before then.