ximilia | text | un; zewu.jun

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the untamed: wei wuxian

text | un; zewu.jun

[ one week into the mission, the orbers will have a video stream pop up on their network feeds. the footage shows the inside of a large dome surrounded by large structures which appear to be manufacturing machines.

there are people dressed in white, all wearing collars, working all around. it is difficult to see what the machines are making. ] this is what is going on inside the seventh circle, from within the dome.

[as the view pans, it's clear lan xichen isn't alone; wei wuxian and yennefer are with him. ]

[the feed of video continues until xichen arrives at a cell and then, well, it isn't quite as useful. still, one more message follows. ] the collars worn by anyone in the dome are set to detonate if they attempt to leave.

be careful if you are tying to go undetected and leave. we used invisibility talismans and were still detected immediately.

[ooc: based on this request here for what they see, but set before they're interrogated. more to come within replies from the trio! ]

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No details on that, and no. He died a while ago I think.

I can speak to the dead. His spirit shared his experiences with me.

a while ago? .... how? [ what. ]

Didn't get to that part when we were drinking, hmm? I'm what's called a cultivator in my world. In short, we harness spiritual power. [Or you know, other kinds of power.] I have an ability that allows me to see into the memories of the dead that aren't at rest, and Sadir is not at rest.

spiritual power? [ this sounds familiar.]

that's useful. [ terrifying. ]

only the dead that aren't at rest? [ asking for a very concerned friend. ]

Edited (i did not use the same icon. nope.) 2022-06-24 01:07 (UTC)

I'm afraid the questions you're asking warrant a longer explanation. I've got the time if you do.

And yes, only those who aren't at rest. If they're at rest, they've moved on from this plane and there is no one to call.

i've got time, yeah. and just the dead?

no, I can also speak to the living. I have been known to do it quite a lot, so much in fact, that some people say I do it too much.

no. [ saints. he's rolling his eyes at that. ]

can you see into living people's memories then? the restless dead and the living?

[Ah, he understands.]

No, just the dead. It's called Empathy and it involves a type of energy that only the dead carry.

In my world I'm something called a cultivator, and one of the main purposes of cultivators is to set the unrestful dead back to rest. Many of them are angry or bitter about the way they died or something left unresolved in life. My ability to see into their memories is one they welcome because it gives me insight into what will bring them closure.

It's not intended for the living, and quite honestly, it's not even possible to use Empathy that way.

[ and to say he's relieved to read that is an understatement. ]

does everyone from where you're from know how to do that? oh. all your magic is to help the dead?

Edited 2022-06-26 23:20 (UTC)

No, not everyone. Most cultivators rely on a different kind of energy for cultivation. Lan Xichen, if you've met him, can ask questions of the dead directly but even that technique is specific to his clan and fairly rare.

And cultivation works differently than the way I've heard magic described here. It comes from inner energy that all living things have. People work hard to harness that energy and become cultivators, and in theory anyone has the ability within them. A cultivator's duty is to protect the world from unsettled spiritual forces. Usually that means the dead that have become corrupted, but sometimes plants and animals can become corrupted too. Cultivators are supposed to seek out justice and protect the innocent, but. Well. I'm sure you remember our talk on the train.

guy with the headband that said he can make force people into calming down? [ someone mal is actually suspicious of, along with anyone else who said they can manipulate feelings and minds like heartrenders can. ]

so i could become a cultivator if i wanted to in your world? it's the people in charge that are usually cultivators? i can see why there is less interesting in protecting the innocent.

[He actually laughs.]

Yes, that one. And technically if you had started young enough, you could have become one here. I am teaching one of the younger members of the crew.

The problem with cultivation is that it requires dedication and focus from a very young age and a proper cultivation master if not a cultivation sect to teach properly. What farmer can afford to send of their children to study cultivation when they need their help in the fields? What beggar can? So, those with the time and luxury to train as cultivators are always the ones who already have money and power.

There are a few exceptions and some masters accept students from all walks of life.

My mother's master was like that, and I'm not gentry by blood, but was adopted into a family that allowed me the luxury.

Edited 2022-06-26 23:58 (UTC)

so no one is really special for having that ability? if anyone can learn it. at least if they have money and time. it's always the rich that are lucky like that. that get all the food, the luxuries. your mother was a cultivator too? does having cultivators in your family make it easier to learn?

Both of my parents were, though they died when I was very young. I was just a very lucky orphan. The man who took me in was a dear friend of my mother's and he was the leader of a cultivation sect.

And no, it doesn't impact a person's abilities at all, though I suppose cultivator parents might be able to offer more realistic support to someone undergoing training. [He thinks of the Jiangs and flinches. Or maybe not.]

Are there people with spiritual or magical abilities in your world, Mal? [He has an inkling based on the precise direction of some of these questions.]

you're an orphan too? [ it must have been nice, mal thinks, to be taken in by someone who knew your family. he wonders if there's anyone out there left that knew his or if everyone's been lost to the fold. ]

magical powers, yeah. i don't know about spiritual. grisha. they can manipulate fire, wind, water. sunlight... lots of things. people are born with it though, no one learns it.

["Too" he says, and Wei Wuxian softens a little. It's a point of connection that's always been important to him and not one he found often. The Wen siblings, Lan Wangji, and now Mal.]

I am. My parents were cultivators who died on a night hunt. I was so young though, I hardly remember them.

Are you one of these grisha?

mine died near the border... we're at war on all sides. borders aren't safe anywhere. [ and if you aren't trying to cross the borders to get to safety, you're trying to cross the fold.

that's a fool's errand too. ] plenty of orphans back home though. i'm not so special. i'm not. just nothing special. one of say fifteen soldiers in the first army that's considered a reasonable loss if one grisha makes it out alive.

[The mention of war has him sighing softly. As horrific as the war had been, it had been quick and there had been one common enemy. If Mal's parents died in the war when he was young and the war is still ongoing—a war with multiple enemies—he can't even begin to fathom living like that.]

I understand the strategy behind valuing the people who have a better chance of bringing an end to a war, but does that mean that all other soldiers mean nothing?

Your wars would already be lost without those fifteen soldiers, I'm sure.

in the eyes of the king and his general, yes. [ there's a lot general kirigan doesn't value, though, and mal's not about to get into that right now.

wei wuxian does not have the hours. ] we'd be worth more if we had better weapons, i think. hard to fight when your guns don't shoot half of the time and you can only carry so many arrows. some enemies have guns that can keep firing a hundred rounds without being reloaded. a grisha can keep going as long as they can use their hands.

[One hundred rounds without a reload. He'd already known that guns were something to be wary of, but this...he closes his eyes and imagines the way weapons like this would change warfare. It's a horrifying thought.]

So guns versus grisha and every other soldier is only a human shield.

Your kings and generals need a new strategy.

i get a shot in sometimes. [ but, yes, basically. ]

i think the king's strategy is just stay in power.

Another commonality across all worlds. Those in power care only to keep it.

[But then, on a lighter note]Do you only use guns?

Not surprising. I can shoot a gun or use a bow and arrow. Arrows are easier when hunting for food in the wilderness.

[He blinks, surprised. He's so used to people here using guns.]

Are you any good with a bow?

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