//hello everyone sorry for the absence !! life has been cray and i haven't really been able to write much of anywhere but, going forward, to make things easier for when i can write, i've gone ahead and thrown tong on my multi fandom multi-muse @doomxdriven !!!! hope to see you all there!!
Tong doesn't say anything for the longest time, staying silent and observing Gabriella like he had before while she talked and talked. Tong had encountered many fantastical creatures in his time but never had he seen a living dragon in person until now-- he had heard the many legends of them from his homeland, seen some bones, and read many supernatural treatises that claimed to afford their readers great knowledge on the beasts, but that was it.
Safe to say, Gabriella was, to someone like Tong, a sight to behold, but to him she was much more than that. In Gabriella, Tong saw a plethora of opportunities and potential that were just waiting to be tapped, if she could be swayed to help and follow him, anyway. For anyone else, that might have seemed like a tall order, making an ally out of a dragon (who were notoriously prideful creatures) and all, especially one that was as fiery and observant as Gabriella appeared to be, but Tong figured that if he could trick a fallen, primordial deity into a Contract, he could convince a feisty dragon to join him and his friends.
"I didn't come out here lookin' for a dragon, no." Tong finally answers, his tone nonchalant and his posture relaxed, despite the hulking, somewhat agitated Gabriella barking before him. "Was actually expectin' one of those demonic beasts; that's what the villagers I spoke to claimed was up this mountain, but you obviously ain't that." Tong slowly paces toward Gabriella, letting out a small, snarky sounding chuckle, "Guess those stories about some dragons bein' able to gaze into people's souls weren't all bullshit if you can see my 'friend' so clearly, but don't worry about him, he won't be causing you any trouble, and I sure don't intend to either."
Tong goes on to casually take a seat on a large boulder that was sitting just a few feet away from Gabriella, and from here, he looks up at them from behind his mask, and claims, "As a matter of fact, I'm thinkin' I might be able to help you, dragon, if you're willin' to help little old me out, too. Nothin' sly or dull, I promise." Tong briefly pauses, and then shrugs, "Well, nothin' too sly, anyway, but definitely nothin' dull, not for someone like you."
(For a refresher on Artefact's in general, see HERE)
STORY
One of Tong's two Artefact's, and his main one, the Great Phoenix is a bladed stave with a storied past. Having been forged during the twilight years of the Xia Dynasty, the Great Phoenix was first wielded by Cheng Tang, first king of Shang, and was the very Artefact used to strike down the last Xia ruler, King Jie. From Cheng Tang onward, the Great Phoenix was wielded by each succeeding Shang ruler, until it made it's way into the hands of Shang's last king, Zhou Xin (the infamous King Zhou), where it was sold to finance the decadent lifestyle both he and his favorite consort were drowning in.
For years afterward, the Great Phoenix would show up in the annals of history in the ownership of various figures; generals of Peerless nature, sorcerers, bandits, and at one point, it would even find its way into the hands of China's first Emperor, Q.in S.hi H.uang. Inevitably, however, the Great Phoenix would be acquired by the Divine Transcendent S.ima Hui, founder of the Eight Enigma's, and from him, it would be bestowed upon Tong during his youth.
OVERVIEW
Being an ancient Artefact that has accumulated thousand's of year's worth of energy from it's previous owners and countless years of usage, the Great Phoenix is one of the most powerful Artefact's one can attain. Due to it's age and the power it possesses, the Great Phoenix has achieved sentience, and is one of the more difficult Artefact's to achieve Full Attunement with, being known for having quite an attitude, but this task was not insurmountable for Tong, who had fully attuned himself to it by age twenty, after a mere four years of possessing it.
Generally, however, when wielded by it's imprinted owner, the Great Phoenix passively enhances the usage of that owners wind / air magic, and depending on their level of attunement, an owner may also be allowed the usage of one or two unique spells (a specialized funnel-like spell and a special barrier). The Great Phoenix's blades also allows it to be used as a very effective melee weapon, being sharp and durable enough to carve through steel if swung the right way. These boons pale in comparison to the Great Phoenix's true power, however...
TRANSCENDENT POWER
The Great Phoenix possess a Transcendent Power of the Technique Variety called Relentless Whirlwind (無情旋風, Wúqíng xuànfēng), and it affords an owner who has achieved Full Attunement further enhancement of their wind / air magic, and also bestows upon them the usage of a very unique spell;
Aspect of the Phoenix / Wind Form - A unique ritual spell that when activated, sends magically charged air rushing around Tong that eventually forms an ethereal-esque, avian themed armor over his body, while a pair of likened wings and five long tail-like feathers sprout from his back.
-- Phoenix Armor: The magical armor covering Tong's body via Aspect of the Phoenix provides extra protection from attacks of all kinds, and can even perfectly reflect attacks back at opponents.
-- Phoenix Wings: The wings sprouting from Tong's back via Aspect of the Phoenix allow Tong to move at immense speeds and also affording him the ability to launch deadly projectile attacks consisting of magically charged air (magically charged air that is far deadlier than any of his usual wind / air based spells, even those already enhanced by the Great Phoenix's passive power). These aforementioned projectile attacks can pierce, as well as cause explosions of great magnitude.
-- Phoenix Feathers: The five tail-like feathers sprouting from Tong's back via Aspect of the Phoenix allow him enhanced effectiveness during melee combat, acting as five extra weapons that he can use to both fend off melee attacks and launch attacks at foes in melee distance. These five tail-like feathers, like the armor and wings afforded to Tong via Aspect of the Phoenix, consist of magically charged air, but when striking a target, they come off as immensely serrated, being capable of inflicting horrendous, deep, slashing wounds. These tail-like feathers, thanks to the air pressure around them, also carry great force when striking, easily being able to shatter stone and smash through steel, let alone the bones in someones body upon contact.
NOTES
-- The Great Phoenix's Transcendent Power, Relentless Whirlwind, and it's associated ritual spell Aspect of the Phoenix, are probably the greatest tools that Tong has access too without invoking his Contract with Fengbo-- his power from invoking his Contract with Fengbo is far, far greater, but the Great Phoenix's power is immense in its own right, and would be a terrible sight for most foes. Using the Great Phoenix's Transcendent Power and associated ritual spell also hurt Tong far less than invoking his Contract with Fengbo, so there is that as a plus, too.
-- Despite being able to stack the passive enhancement of wind / air magic afforded by the Great Phoenix and the same effect afforded by his Contract with Fengbo, Tong cannot activate the Great Phoenix's Transcendent Power AND invoke Fengbo's powers at the same time-- he can only ever do one or the other, because the Great Phoenix will no longer recognize Tong as it's owner when he has taken that form ):
//been watching demon slayer lately and mulling the idea of a demon slayer verse for tong for a min now. went ahead and added a tab to my verses page-- its still a hella wip as im still watching the series and learning more, but its there!...
Virgo Lilith: If your muse could control the minds or actions of others, would they?
Most definitely. Tong, in general, does just that kind of-- he's really good at manipulating and deceiving people into doing what he wants, and sometimes he's employed illusion magics to straight up just control people's minds and their actions directly, but being able to just plain control the minds and actions of everyone in general ALL THE TIME would be a neat power to have, one Tong wouldn't pass up on having. Such a power would be would be extremely beneficial to someone in Tong's position-- it would save him from having to exert even more effort than he already does, and leave him way more time for drinking, or napping, or any of his other lazy vices.
Virgo Lilith Have they ever been mean without a good reason?
Tong can sometimes be a asshole for no specific reason, yep! It's kind of in his nature-- he's seldom outright hostile to people, or mean to the point of making people cry (again, outright) unless you're an enemy or something, but its not uncommon for him to be snarky or mockingly sarcastic to people right off the bat. Again, unless you're someone he legitimately doesn't like or you're a legit enemy, he never means anything by it, and sometimes it just plays into his whole dry-ass humour shtick, but yep he can be like that.
Virgo Lilith: Would they ever do something unethical to get revenge on an enemy?
Tong, doing unethical things in general? 100%, always, you bet.
Tong, doing unethical things to his enemies? Tong doing unethical things TO GET REVENGE on his enemies? Oh you have no idea.
Tong's no Count of Monte Cristo, and he actually doesn't really develop or hold grudges against people very often, but in the rare event he does? In the rare event Tong wants to get revenge on an enemy? You can bet he's going to make it the most excruciating, drawn out series of events, and there will be absolutely nothing ethical about the whole ordeal.
Gemini Lilith: What is the worst lie your muse has ever told? Are they two-faced? What is their darkest or most morbid curiosity?
Black Moon Lilith Headcanons! (accepting)
What is the worst lie your muse has ever told?
Part of being a strategist / tactician is being manipulative and deceitful to some degree, and with the kind of person Tong is anyway, you can bet he's told a great many horrendous lies to people, be they enemies or otherwise. The worst lie Tong has ever told, though? Probably had to do with him lying to Si.ma Hui (his teacher and pseudo-father) and his own son that he would never delve too deeply into the dark sides of magic and demonology.... only for him to then go on and form a contract with a fallen, primordial deity. Irreparably broke his relationship with both Hui and his own son after that.
Are they two-faced
Depends on what you mean by that-- do they lie, betray, deceive, manipulate, and entrap people to get ahead or achieve success? You bet. 100%. Tong is about that life. Will they do any of those things to people they actually care about, however? Not at all, even if doing so would massively benefit him personally. So is Tong 'Two-faced'? Kind of, but he isn't where it counts.
What is their darkest or most morbid curiosity?
I've written before that on occasion, Tong has to engage in what amounts to ritual cannibalism to empower Fengbo, but what I didn't note was that.... there's a part of him that really likes it, the act of consuming another being, the taste, the rush, it's definitely piqued his curiosity more than once. Whether this has to do with being connected to Fengbo or if its something truly dark about Tong himself, isn't clear, but it's a thing he sometimes has to really resist indulging in.
“I was just screwin’ with you when I asked that, would’ve been surprised if you actually followed through...” Pleasantly surprised, perhaps. “But alright, ask like a normal person?”
Tong smirks lightly, and then in the most flippant voice he could muster, he pleads, “Please, please Lyric, you got a smoke for poor old me? Pretty, pretty please? I’m dyin’ over here.”
Send one of these dark astrological, asteroid signs and the mun will answer the questions attached to it.
Aries Lilith: Is your muse selfish? What is the worst impulse thought they've ever had? Would they consider ruining someone else's life to improve their own?
Taurus Lilith: What is your muse's biggest vice? Do they believe that it's a 'dog eat dog' world? Would they ever steal something they didn't need, just for fun?
Gemini Lilith: What is the worst lie your muse has ever told? Are they two-faced? What is their darkest or most morbid curiosity?
Cancer Lilith: Has your muse ever cried or thrown a fit to get what they want? Would they ever make someone uncomfortable on purpose, just to see their reaction? Does your muse hate anyone without good reason?
Leo Lilith: Is your muse obsessed with the way they look? How much money would it take for your muse to kill someone? Have they ever done anything that could be considered truly evil?
Virgo Lilith: If your muse could control the minds or actions of others, would they? Have they ever been mean without a good reason? Would they ever do something unethical to get revenge on an enemy?
Libra Lilith: Has your muse ever done something they're ashamed of? Would they cut off contact with someone completely if they pissed them off enough? If they could get away with robbing a bank, would they do it?
Scorpio Lilith: What could someone do to your muse that they would consider unforgivable? Would they ever take a promotion or opportunity that benefits them knowing that someone else deserved it more? Have they ever yelled at a minimum wage or service worker?
Sagittarius Lilith: Has your muse ever told a malicious lie or kept important information from someone for personal benefit? Has your muse ever gone to jail or prison? What is their worst habit that they would never give up?
Capricorn Lilith: Has your muse ever been ashamed of the way they acted towards someone? Does your muse yell at inanimate objects when they don't work the way they want? How many times is your muse willing to forgive someone before they get resentful?
Aquarius Lilith: Does your muse hold grudges? Have they ever inflicted bodily harm on someone out of anger? Have they ever wished death on someone in their life?
Pisces Lilith: Has your muse ever destroyed someone else's prized possession on purpose? If they could delete their worst enemy out of existence, would they? Have they ever intimidated someone into giving them something?
"For our sake now, I'm glad that it's usually abandoned." Autumn mentions, but leaves it at that. It could have been a good meet up spot for students; maybe some in the dark of night sneak around the area, but other than that, Autumn didn't bother trying to figure out. It was the quiet place Tong needed. For their benefit, that's what really mattered now.
A snort left Autumn, in good nature, as he demanded to not be rushed. Folding her arms over her chest, Autumn did just that. If he needed a moment, then she wasn't going to push. As antsy about the book as she felt, Autumn was certain no one would stumble across it within the fold of the forest too quickly.
"Huh...Useful little trick, I take it." She knew a little about mage craft, spells, and things in between, but had only lightly practiced. The path she had been taking was that of a scholar, that was that. Witnessing others use these spells; it almost made her regret her choices...
The thought was there and gone when the wind kicked up, first at their feet, steadily enveloping around them entirely. Autumn uncrossed her arms, turning slightly to watch that wind, the dust having kicked up around them. Her mouth hung agape, listening as he spoke.
"Wh-what, we're going to be suspended in the air?" Autumn stumbled, head whipping back to look at him again. There was nothing wrong with heights, she'd out looked from tall towers in the past- that wasn't the problem. The idea of simply seeming to float was what unsettled her. "The heights really aren't a problem, Tong, but I've never seen mage craft like this before." Autumn swallowed thickly before raising an eyebrow toward him. "I trust you of course, but don't drop me half way between here and the woods for making you work, alright?" Dry sarcasm to soothe her nerves. She would be fine, Autumn was sure...
Tong was a little surprised by Autumn's reaction to his proposed air-travel-- he didn't think she would have completely freaked out or anything but she was taking this far better than he had expected she would. This was great in Tong's eyes, he wouldn't have to waste the extra effort on calming her down, or holding himself back from (harmlessly of course) messing with her.
"We'll be way beyond suspended in the air-- suspended above the clouds will be more like it, at least for a few minutes," replied a nonchalant Tong, who begins to do a number of sluggish stretching motions, as if he were preparing for a run, "but yeah, we're goin' up high alright." Tong, shrugging at Autumn, calmly continues with a bit of teasing, "The thought did cross my mind, too, givin' you a little payback for torturing me like this, but I don't think i'll be droppin' you out of the clouds-- Dai would be heartbroken, and I definitely don't have the energy to deal with that mess." Tong, a shake of the head and another shrug given, dryly adds, "But who knows, anything can happen. Guess we'll just have to see."
Staff raised high, Tong quickly chants something in a language that would no doubt be foreign to Autumn's ears, and its at that point the torrent of air closes in on them both. Autumn would next find themselves quickly being lifted off the ground and propelled into the sky above, surrounded by that aura of whirling air the whole time, and while it could possibly be jarring to travel to such a height at such a speed, it would overall be a rather smooth process.
"Ok, I think this should be high enough-- if I take us up anymore, we'll probably start suffocating, or you will anyway." commented Tong, both him and Autumn seemingly floating, surrounded by nothing but the clouds and the aura of funneling air-- that is until Tong next waves his staff to the side, a large chunk of the clouds around them being blown away, an act that reveals the Monastery and Academy down below, which from their height, looked almost minuscule, putting into perspective how high up they must have been.
"It all looks funny from up here, don't it?" Tong, his masked visage turning in Autumn's direction, lets out a snarky laugh, "Almost like one of those doll-houses kids play with, except this one's filled with pretentious assholes and hopeless academics, among others."
the reaper in all black stared at him as he talked, a bored and unamused look on her face and watching his body and mannerisms while all while her blade to form back into it’s polished metal. “ it’s squad eleven, yes but i also have trained with the squad’s captain and seated chair. “ it may have been easy to see how she could have confused for a squad 11 member, just from how she battles alone.
she placed him back into her sheath as he spoke, pausing and doubtfulness painting her expression but also trying to hide how it did make her blush a bit. “ thank you .. but i am not one be a captain. “ she spoke without hesitation in her voice, like this was a fact that she had accepted at this point, something that was burned into her brain. she held back a bit of sigh when he asked for her name - she was exhausted of that question now a days. it led into more questions and it was never a fun time. she stared at him for a few seconds before speaking her answer. “ a-yeong desrosiers… “
"Maybe you’ll become Captain one day, maybe you won’t. Didn't say that you would for sure, or that it'd happen anytime soon, just that you had the potential. What you do with that potential is up to you." Heavens knows Tong had watched plenty of people waste what potential they had, but what people did with theirs was their business, Tong didn't really care either way.
What A-Yeong said next, however, would catch Tong's attention greatly.
"Huh..." Tong, upon hearing their name, clearly pauses for a moment, before turning and flashing them a knowing grin. "A-Yeong, that right?" replied Tong, as he briefly returns to inspecting the ground in front of him. "Funny, could've sworn I heard that name from someone before a while back, but maybe it wasn't that exact name. I'm probably just misremembering.." As Tong presses his hand to the ground, he activates some sort of Kido, sending a faint pulse of Reiatsu radiating outward, and while he's doing this, he mumbles something that's just barely audible, "Would make sense though, goin' off what I'm seein' here..."
Tong, seemingly finished with whatever it was he had been doing there on the ground, slowly stands up and lets out a yawn while he stretches, before he assumes a rather slacked posture and turns to fully face A-Yeong. "Good to make your acquaintance, A-Yeong. You can call me Tong if you want-- less of a mouthful than goin' by my whole rank and all that." Tong also just didn't like it when people called him 'Vice Kido Chief Pang', it was way too formal sounding for his taste.
“Were you in the middle of something before you stumbled upon me here? You busy?”
Her frame seems to relax slightly with the glow growing, her shoulders lowering and eyes closing. The change in scenery is welcomed, running her hand through her hair to pull it up into a messy ponytail. Golden eyes flick about to analyze everything in the immediate area. Her eyes pause as Tong explains not to touch anything.
After a few seconds, she glances to the arcane objects, then snorts. “If I manage to get cursed or die I’d be impressed. And your work is nice, don’t worry about it.” She’s humored with his insistence, weight shifting from one leg to the other. “Most of my questions are more about you than the plan, if I’m to be honest. You’re capable, more so than I expected.”
After a moment, she glances into her bag and rummages around. She pauses, then glances towards Tong. There’s several seconds of her debating her options, before she fishes out a vial of the glowing substance and uncorks it, downing it all in one swift motion. It’s more than enough to kill a human under normal circumstances, but it’s nothing to her. The vial is tucked away in her bag, and she wipes stray crystals from her lips.
It doesn’t take much for her body to feel the effects of it, though she’ll hold off on letting the burst of energy control her. She finds somewhere to sit, golden eyes seeming to glow faintly as she drums her fingers against her thighs. She’s antsy, anxious, but doing her best to focus on herself and not at how little control she has in the scenario.
“I have to admit, every mage I have ever met has somehow brought me trouble. You are no different but you’re at least interesting.“
Tong wasn't looking when Hokori downed that vial, but he could feel a considerable change in the room's energy. Tong figured Hokori must have taken a shot of Neon, a big one-- he couldn't blame her either, given the circumstances, he just hoped it didn't send her off the deep end before they finished their task.
"Capable, interestin’, you're just layin' on the praise aren't you? Suppose I should be thankful, most people say far less flattering things about me." A lot of times those people were right in disparaging Tong, too, he could be plenty variations of the term ‘bastard’. Tong did like to think of himself as capable though, his skill being one of the few areas he actually held confidence in, so minor as it was from Hokori, that specific comment did strike a relatively positive cord with him.
"Also, if I'm bein' honest," Tong continues, making his way over to a wall with a few strange apparatus' on it, where he then turns for a moment to look at Hokori, "you'd have to be really unlucky, or stupid, to get cursed by anything in here, let alone die, but I've seen it happen to a few guests, and it's not pretty." Gesturing to a display case situated a few paces from Hokori, Tong comments in an insouciant manner, "Like for example, that ring in the case over there, someone tried to put that on and got turned into a chair." Tong, pausing for a moment, eyes Hokori and where she was sitting, "Huh.. actually, I think that's them your sittin’ on." Tong makes a casual, sort-of half shrug of his shoulders, "Oh well, no harm, probably the best thing that's happened to them in a while." That is, if the person-turned-chair was still sentient after all this time-- he hadn't checked but he assumed so.
"Now what was I..." Tong, turns away from Hokori, yawning and then briefly pausing again before nodding his head, "Oh right, the scrying mirror." Tong reaches out to the wall in front of him, touching his hand to a large, cracked mirror encased in a rusted frame. Upon touching the mirror's glass, it starts to glow, and after Tong brushes a finger against one it's cracks, drawing blood in the process, it starts to emit a faintly audible humming noise. "Those questions you got? Let's hear them." Tong, still standing before the glowing, humming mirror, turns his head a bit to look at Hokori, "Can't promise I'll divulge anything too personal, but I'll answer the best I can while I'm messin' with this thing here."
