“Wen healers have techniques we don’t – ways to knock a person in terrible pain out, apparently without doing harm. Rikard wouldn’t have survived the ride to Haven if he’d kept thrashing.” Crathach whistled. “Think about what that would let us do for soldiers on the battlefield. Or anyone off the battlefield in a limb-crushing accident. So many people die because pain and shock kills them – from the injury, or from the amputation. If we could keep them unconscious without a Healer doing a pain-block….”
“Then Healers can save their strength for more Healing,” Talia finished. “Good. I can use that. The Bardic Circle doesn’t have much power on its own, and the rest of the Council can’t think too much about magic – but everyone wants Healers to use their Gifts more widely.” She drummed her fingers against the arm of her chair, thinking. “And everyone knows the war with Ancar is leaving so many of the Guard injured and in pain. Spiritual pain, not just physical injuries; Father Gerichen isn’t the only priest who’s noticed.” She took a sharp breath. “If we can bring up that the Wens know how to ease some of the worst effects, and they’re willing to spread their techniques….”
“Which brings us to your third string.” Crathach held up three fingers. “They have the language and knowledge of the Jianghu. The only other place we know of in the entire world that’s seen armies like Ancar’s. And defeated them.”
“Valdemar can’t afford to miss the opportunity to learn how to end Ancar’s armies once and for all,” Talia agreed. “That should sway even those lords who can’t see the benefit of foreign Healing techniques.” She counted down on her own fingers, likely solidifying each point in her own mind and sketching out how to present it to Council as a whole and various stubborn members of it individually. “Advantage to the Heralds, advantage to the Healers, advantage to the Army. I can make this work.”
“And when you ask the young Wen in reach to demonstrate for the Healers what his people can do for us?” Crathach grinned. “We introduce Wei Wuxian as Wen Qionglin’s assistant.”
Talia’s eyes went wide. She sputtered, then buried her face in her hands to giggle. “Oh. Oh, no….”
Crossover Queen's Creative Chaos 
AHHHHHHHH!!! WWX IS GOING TO HAVE SO. MUCH. FUN.
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YEEEEEESSSSS!!!!
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Which is why he’s going to be All In on this plan — the lulz!
Crathach has obviously managed to figure out WWX’s other Achille’s Heel: he’ll do almost *anything*, if it’s funny enough. The Dread Necromancer just can’t resist a good joke.
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Hah! Wei Wuxian is going to LOVE that tho. Oh nooo, me? I’m just a humble assistant! No necromancy here! *bats eyes and smiles winningly* (I feel like poor shy baby Wen Ning is NOT going to like it nearly as much, even if he can see the logic. I feel for him in his inevitable moments as the center of attention, i really really do)
lols, I’m just picturing the Jianghu being part of the eventual alliance (For people unfamiliar with the greater Velgarth universe; there was a major magical cataclysm a looooong time ago in canon. A few years from the point of this fic, the ‘ripples’ from that magical cataclysm start rippling back, only they got a lot stronger on the repeat instead of weaker. A lot of bad stuff happens and an alliance is formed to try and pool knowledge and resources to deal with things, meeting in Valdemar bc that’s where the author likes to set everything tbh) and whomever the sects send as envoys doing double takes when they see Wei CLEARLY THE YILING PATRIARCH Wuxian wandering around and freaking out even more when everyone is like, “Oh no that’s one of the Ashkeveron cousins. Sweet young man, lifebonded to one of the heralds. Works as a healers assistant mostly, though he’s started taking over the youngling’s introductory weapons class now.”
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WWX getting the opportunity to pull a prank on two countries? He’ll be all over it! And I second the person saying that most of the major orgs would be FIGHTING to have him, to his consternation. Although I wonder how Talia’d soothe Wen Qing/Wen Qionglin that we’re not going to force you to work for us like Wen Ruohan did, we swear! Maybe an entire passel of Healers descends on Rabbit Hole?
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No forcing, lots of pleading eyes.
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It’ll help that Valdemar is VERY about proper payment for services rendered too. Like, the nobles on the council may angle for as much in writing as they can, but there WILL be proper payments for whatever the Wen (and Wei Wuxian himself) are asked to provide.
And as they’re down there starting a whole village from scratch basically, I’m sure Wen Qing and Wen Ning will be happy to share once there’s a contract drawn up everyone agrees on!
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Oooh, and for the more insightful lords– they’ll recognize the whole expert-with-shattered-health dynamic, and some are likely to even feel for someone that can save others…but can’t save himself, and if someone gets close enough to be told
:thinks:
how long it was before his sister, whose skill is greater than his, to reach him– and yet he’s still this side of the dirt–
well, some of them are going to get Suspicions about any accusations against THEIR healers as being “necromancers” as jealous attempts to stop them from having a good thing. Everybody Knows that healers KEEP people from dying, they don’t bring them back.
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The Ashkeverons as a group have a horrible sense of humour. Mimi’s parents can adopt WWX.
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*Snrk*
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Bardic, college, not going to crawl over glass to get their hands on a non-Herald Magic Music Maker? I don’t think so. All these people interested in what Wei Wuxian can do, you’re going to have to attempt to pry him out of the kitchen gardens/baby training classes. He has no interest in politics, and that’s all he’s going to see if two or more Colleges start arguing over him. And then the army is going to want to get involved when they realize the one who stopped Wen Ruohan’s army is right there. And then whoever they have for agriculture is going to get involved when ‘farming the Burial Mounds’ and what that means comes up.
And let’s be honest, that’s going to come up because he’s busy slapping down talismans to keep any resentful energy/blood magic from ruining his brand new potato field. No, Wen Ning, he is not risking this. He likes a grand total of one (1) radish, the rest need not apply.
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Now, come on. It is hard to keep a musician out of a jam session or a party, or especially both together.
Plus new songs. Everybody wants to hear new songs, and steal… er, obtain… ideas for one’s own music and songs.
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Also, the better a musician you are, the more you can appreciate other people who are just as good or better, or differently exciting. Not every good musician in Valdemar is at the College, but that is where the biggest percentages are, depending on time of year.
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Different language and tones? It’ll only slow them down a bit….
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He needs a whole field of growing little seedlings. The Radish is the best seedling, of course.
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Absolutely the best. But Wei Wuxian deserves to get swarmed.
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cheerful giggles!
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The Monarch’s Own has extended the offer for asylum. The planning of the sales-job to the Council … is to make them happy so they don’t cause *trouble* because they are unhappy with what has been done?
(Checking on the procedure, checking that Selenay does *NOT* need the Council’s approval, it is just that getting buy-in is a good thing, to keep them cooperative – right?)
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teeeechnically no, I don’t think Selenay needs council approval to accept refugees (since iirc she accepted the Tedrel Orphans without any kind of council knowledge beyond the heralds and healers that were with her on the front lines?) but in PRACTICE, having a nice neat list of good things the Wen will bring to Valdemar via skills and know how to wave at the council (plus things that will get the Wen some MONEY) will make things SO much easier for them all.
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This. So long as people agree to follow the laws, refugees settling land in the West is something the Council would only worry about if they need funds diverted for their protection.
But as observed, in practice having bulletpoints of “and here is how they’ll be Great Help, really” will soothe a lot of ruffled feathers. And the Council deserves to have ruffled feathers, honestly, they’ve been in a war no one asked for years and now they’re going to have to bring in mages and it’s Not How Things Are Done and…. you get the idea.
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Plus, if it’s an “all of us together got this GREAT windfall” type situation, you have them wanting the folks there– which means they’re pulling *with* you, which is very helpful.
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Its about time that Herald Avril’s report should show up, showing that most of the work has been done. Also Wen Qing can give a seminar and accept interns and patients. Lan Wangji and Kellen can offer musical cultivation to calm mental wounds. WWX can specialize in pediatric care.
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Arvil’s report will show up this chapter.
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While several of the various issues seem to be getting tied up but there’s still one element/plotline that’s been gnawing at me:
/“Worse.” Gerichen grimaced. “Apparently, no one has to summon demons to Jianghu. In the right places, under the right stars, they summon themselves.” The priest breathed out. “And some of them, old friend, can be mistaken for creatures – fair. Divine. Blessed, as Companions are.”/
Because from what I understand while there are Jianghu critters/demons that do this, there are times when entities that would be considered divine in origin (similar to the Companions), harm the locals. Either due to them being slighted or because they were sent down to do a job and the mortals are not performing as they are supposed to (in the being’s eyes).
I’m just wondering what would happen to the locals if one or more of said divine spirits showed up in Valdemar for whatever reason.
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Valdemar had the dual advantage of being heavily invested in by multiple deities so they can help keep each other in check, and their nodes and dragon veins aren’t torn to shreds still. The Jianghu has magic so naturally violent that cultivators making a tiny node inside themselves was deemed safer, even with the chance for exploding all over the surroundings. (Metaphorically, but Niè Mingjue’s final qi deviation was, pretty close.) So I think that there’s not enough ‘wild’ magic to get those kinds of things.
And demons can appear fair. Thalkarsh had a cult and even though he tortured his ‘brides’ to death on the alter in front of everyone including the rest of the sacrifices they all ran to him. It’s not an either or thing. Besides, Valdemar arguably has embodied angels already present so any deity could at least pass on the message that way.
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