yrsillar

Threads Patron preview Chapter 76 (Red+)

As she raised her head and began to turn away, her eyes fell on her liege again, sitting stiff in her chair. She considered the last subject they had spoken of, everything that had happened, and the frayed feeling of Renxiang’s spirit.

“We’ll be having tea later,” Ling Qi said. “Meizhen and I, that is. You should come.”

Cai Renxiang had stood as well, moving to seat herself behind her desk. The other girl barely glanced her way. “There are too many tasks that need my...

Threads Patron Preview Chapter 75 (Red+)

Ling Qi was in a good mood by the next morning. After her friends had left, she had spent more time with her mother and sister and discussed what they were going to do.

The offer to fund a trip back to a settlement of their choice had been extended to the staff, and to Ling Qi’s mild surprise, no one had taken it. Given what the women had been doing before, Ling Qi wasn’t too surprised. Ling Qi reminded herself to budget for extra space when it came time to design a proper “panic ...

New Commission: Kingdom of Sands

Type: Worldbuilding. RR Friendly

Found in the Interlude-Spoilers channel on Discord

Threads Patron Preview Chapter 74 (Red+)

“So that’s the situation,” Ling Qi finished, standing beside her mother near the fireplace. She had told her mother everything important of the battles she had fought, what was happening at the Sect, and why Ling Qi had not come sooner. Ling Qi had brought her here; she deserved to know.

Beside her, Ling Qingge hugged herself tightly, a faint tremble in her shoulders, and Ling Qi looked down. Of course she was afraid given everything that had happened.

“You - you foolish g...

Threads Patron Preview Chapter 73 (Red+)

“Are you sure you want to be doing this now?” Yu Nuan asked.

“Would you prefer that I forget the favor I owe to you for another month?” Ling Qi asked back tiredly as they walked the steep mountain path, ascending toward the peak and the clouds.

“No, just…” the girl began awkwardly before shaking her head, her piercings jingling in the wind. “Y’know what, fine. Not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth. Not like I can afford to stay without a spirit the way things ...

Threads Patron Preview Epilogue: Rivers and Rain (Red+)

Enemies surrounded Heizui, thick as water weeds. Pikes came down, and the young dragon roared, his water shadow frothing white as they rebounded from it. Hooked blades snatched at his limbs, and Heizui coiled his body and launched forward. The river roared, and trees toppled as he emerged, snakelike, from the waters.

They were still all around him, moonlight glinting off of scale-patterned armor, unblinking eyes looking pitilessly down as they moved in lockstop, changing formation to br...

Threads Patron Preview Chapter 72 (Red+)

It was weird how something as grating as stone scraping across metal could seem tranquil. Then again, thought Su Ling, before today, she’d never really thought about what higher cultivation meant.

She breathed in time with the scrape of the whetstone across the blade laid across her lap and glanced up at the tremendous barrier of stone a few meters beyond the border fence she had parked herself on. It curved up and up, a vast dome that contained the whole town and its immediate outski...

Threads Patron Preview Chapter 71 (Red+)

There were no caskets at the funeral service.

Some families had requested the remains be sent back to their estates, but those who remained in the Sect’s care had been given the usual treatment. Their bodies had been destroyed. The foul things that could be done with a cultivator’s corpse were more than enough reason for tradition to reign. For those who could see the spirit, there were no illusions about the value of an empty shell to the fallen.

Instead, deep in a misty vall...

New Commission: Glittering Halls

Characters: Bao Qian and Bao Bao QIngling

RR Friendly. Found in Interlude Spoilers on Discord

Threads Patron Preview Chapter 70 (Red+)

Ling Qi jerked her head back, buying herself bare millimeters of space, and the knife sparked where it met the threads of her gown. Uncaring for the expense, she flooded her spine with vital wood qi, and her aura flared violently as it rippled out over everyone nearby. Ancient strength seeped into her skin and flesh, the strength of One Thousand Rings Unbroken.

But it would not be enough to just survive this strike; she had to make sure that this assassin would not be able to strike lik...

Threads Patron Preview Chapter 69 (Red+)

Chaos awaited her return.

In the flight south, she had seen the first signs. Great flocks of birds had been rising from the forest, raptors and songbirds flying side by side to escape the growing weight in the air. Beneath the canopy, beasts howled and yowled in fright as the earth shook and the wind gusted, and the pounding of a multitude of paws and hooves against the dirt added to the cacophony. As she flew further, she began to sense the disturbance in the trees themselves. Heavy br...

Threads Patron Preview Chapter 68 (Red+)

“What happened here?” Ling Qi asked bluntly as her feet touched the ground in the village square in front of the bowing second realm wearing the marks of a lower officer. “Where are my fellow disciples?”

With her qi ebbing a little low from the use of so many powerful techniques in quick succession and the events of the day churning in her thoughts, Ling Qi’s grip on her power was far more frayed than usual. The ground frosted under her boots, and the wind whispered a cold and...

Threads Patron preview Chapter 67 (Red+)

Ling Qi’s eyes snapped upward, a familiar feeling of pure expression grabbing her attention. Rain began to pour, and deep within the darkening clouds, thunder rumbled, indistinguishable from the beat of drums. Above, the cloud-wracked sky tore open, unleashing a torrential downpour.

None of that noise succeeded in muffling her mournful and lethal melody. However, the song that echoed down from those clouds was not drowned out as well, and it clashed with hers. Deep, guttural, and stra...

New Commission: Tomb Raider

Character: Gu Tai

RR Friendly

Found on interlude spoilers in Discord

Threads Patron Preview Chapter 66 (Red+)

Ling Qi flew, clouds streaking by overhead and the earth blurring away beneath. The wind did not touch her, did not tug at her hair or snap the hems of her gown, and the fur-lined cloak that hung about her shoulders did not so much as ripple in the breeze. She flew in utter silence, a streak of grey and black across the sky, no more than a passing shadow.

Where her passage was silent and tranquil though, her thoughts churned. Despite her sureness that this was the right decision, doubt ...

March Patron Bonus Poll

Heyo everyone sorry I wasn't able to do one of these last month. I'm in the midst of a move to a new home and so my schedule has been a bit tough. We're back on track now though!

Threads Patron Preview Chapter 65 (Red+)

“I believe I could serve best in the defense of the river valley,” Ling Qi said as her turn to speak came around. “Given the wide area of effect which my arts have and my mobility, I will be able to effectively screen the outskirts of the valley for threats, and my spirits are more effective on the defense.”

She spoke as confidently as she could manage and felt a twinge of relief as Guan Zhi nodded once in agreement. “I find your assessment sound enough. Your post will be the ...

Threads Patron Preview Chapter 64 (Red+)

“To think, you finally choose to change your style, and I am left out of it,” Xiulan said, aggrieved. “Ling Qi, am I truly so poor a friend that you would not even ask my advice?”

Ling Qi rolled her eyes at Xiulan’s dramatics. “And I told you that it was something that got sprung on me suddenly. Who am I to refuse the advice of an apprentice to the Duchess?”

“You could have at least angled to get me an invitation, you terrible girl,” Xiulan grumbled, looking over...

Threads Patron Preview Chapter 63 (Red+)

Ling Qi looked down at their destination, tucked away at the end of a winding river valley. Trees grew thickly at the riverside, and the branches hung heavy with cocoons. The silken wrappings were a riot of colors and glittered like jewels under the morning sun. Some were tiny, barely the length of a finger, while others were large enough to hold a small child. In the dark shadows of thick canopy, she heard the susurrus of thousands of wings and spied the movement of many fuzzy insect bodies....

Threads Patron Preview Chapter 62(Red+)

Soon, they arrived on Cai Renxiang’s doorstep, and the door swung open on its own as they arrived. Heading inside, they followed the beacon that was the other girl’s qi toward her study. Inside, Ling Qi found her liege seated not at her desk as was usual but in the more comfortable chair on the other side of the room. She was putting aside a rather thin volume bound in blue leather.

“Welcome,” Cai Renxiang said evenly, lowering her head slightly toward Meizhen. “My apologies f...

Two new Commissions Complete

The Lord of Heavens Peaks and the Horned Lords of the South.

Both worldbuilding, both RR friendly. Foun in the interlude Spoilers channel of the Discord.

Threads Patron Preview 61 (Red+)

Now that she had settled into her routine, Ling Qi began each morning at her family's home, helping her mother take the first fitful steps with a cultivation art. Following that, she lingered long enough to have breakfast with her mother and sister, though she rarely had more than a few bites. Then it was time for a spot of private cultivation working on her arts, and after, it was either off to the lessons she had earned from the Sect, cultivating her body and spirit under the watch of an el...

Threads Patron Preview Interlude: Outer Sect (Red+)

“Your support was invaluable as always, Miss Ma.”

“You really are too kind, Sir Gun,” Ma Jun replied, twisting a strand of her hair between her fingers. Gun Jun, Lord Gan’s second, was very handsome; it was difficult to look him in the eye from so close. “I am but a poor replacement for Lady Ling.”

Walking beside her under the dappled light that fell through the canopy of the trees, Gun Jun shook his head. “You do yourself a disservice, Miss Jun. Lady Ling was admi...

Threads Patron Preview Chapter 60 (Red+)

There was no hurry in her search so when Ling Qi took to the air, she flew at a lazy pace, rising up past the tree tops with the hems of her gown gently fluttering in the wind. Soaring up into the sky, she took a moment to enjoy the feeling of the wind on her face and the sound of Hanyi’s joyous laughter in her ears. The young spirit was light on her shoulders, a far cry from the immense weight she had carried the last time they had done this.

Glancing back, she took in her companions...

Threads Patron Preview Chapter 59 (Red+)

“So, with the correct arts and knowledge, metals and minerals can be induced to grow, restoring themselves in a time useful to humans,” Bao Quan explained.

They had been traveling for some time and at last, polite small talk had turned into something a little more interesting, that is, a discussion of why they were out here and what Bao Qian was doing.

“Secret family arts, I assume,” Ling Qi pointed out shrewdly.

“Of course,” Bao Quan chuckled. “We are not the ...

Comission: Pheonixhome

Characters: Gu Xiulan and Siblings

Not RR Friendly

Found on Discord in the Interlude Spoilers Channel

Threads Patron Preview Chapter 58 (Red+)

The days passed quickly with Ling Qi splitting her time between home, cultivation, and time with her spirits. She spoke with her mother about the trip, and the lessening of the older woman’s worry when she spoke of going along with her friend as well as the Bao scion made her feel better about her somewhat selfish choice. Zhengui was happy to come along anywhere she went, and Hanyi was just glad to get the opportunity to get away from the mountain.

As a result, when the day of the mee...

Threads Patron Preview Chapter 57 (Red+)

AN: Sorry guys, fixed the mistake!

Landing outside the town’s walls, Ling Qi took a moment to smooth her gown then entered town, briskly moving through the outermost sections. It was a little ironic, Ling Qi could admit to herself, but she wasn’t doing it out of disdain, but rather because she did not want to hold on to her qi suppression so tightly for long. She soon reached the inner town where cultivators were in greater numbers. She took a moment to r...

Threads Patron Preview Chapter 56 (Red+)

Ling Qi felt as if she were on the cusp of a realization. Meizhen used her mannerisms as a nigh invulnerable armor to deflect unwanted social advances, and for a time, emulating her had been helpful. But just as she had found her own combat style, Meizhen’s social style was not hers, and continuing to cling to that false face was only doing her harm in her interactions with others. She would have to figure out her own approach in the future, an approach that was more honest to herself. For ...

Threads Patron Preview Chapter 55 (Red+)

“I think I find the appeal of a more challenging hunt greater,” Ling Qi answered carefully. She kept her eyes on Luo Zhong, but she didn’t miss some of the frowns that her answer brought among the disciples on the other side.

“Then, as my honored guest, I will defer to you,” the young man replied with a faint grin. Ling Qi had to restrain herself from showing her irritation. There was no need to place that kind of responsibility on her! She had only agreed with half of his own...