Knight Errant A
趙客縵胡纓, The man of Zhao wore unadorned robes and a simple tassel,
吳鉤霜雪明. his scimitar was bright as frost and snow.
銀鞍照白馬, The silver saddle illuminated the white horse,
颯沓如流星. its wild galloping was like a shooting star.
十步殺一人, To kill one man within ten steps,
千里不留行. and not leave a trace within a thousand miles.
事了拂衣去, To leave with a flick of one's robes after the deed is done,
深藏身與名. to deeply hide one's body and name.
(from 俠客行, Ode to Gallantry)
In his youth, Li Bai was something of a knight errant (遊俠,
youxia, lit. wandering vigilante). These men wandered China with a sword in hand, using both physical force and political influence to correct wrongs wherever they found them. From all sorts of backgrounds, ranging from princes to paupers, sharing the ideology of Mozi to be compassionate to all, these men required freedom above all.
By the age of fourteen, Li Bai had taken his father's Longquan[1] sword and begun to challenge men to duels; he claims to have killed before he was twenty. It is therefore with some experience that he claims "that only with a longsword in one hand and a cup of wine in the other is a man alive." In fact, Foreigner could easily also be summoned as a Saber, an Assassin or even a Berserker.
As a Servant, Foreigner still carries a sword on his hip and wields it as skillfully as he does a brush. By forcing the Authorities of Cthulhu into the sword, Foreigner retains his human shape, but the sword is continually wet with indescribable ichor.
Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup B
處世若大夢, Life in the world is but a big dream;
胡爲勞其生? I will not spoil it by any labour or care.
所以終日醉, So saying, I was drunk all the day,
頹然臥前楹. lying helpless at the porch in front of my door.
覺來盼庭前, When I awoke, I blinked at the garden-lawn;
一鳥花間鳴. a lonely bird was singing amid the flowers.
借問此何時? I asked myself, had the day been wet or fine?
春風語流鶯. The Spring Wind was telling the mango-bird.
感之欲嘆息, Moved by its song I soon began to sigh,
對酒還自傾. and, as wine was there, I filled my own cup.
浩歌待明月, Wildly singing I waited for the moon to rise;
曲盡已忘情. when my song was over, all my senses had gone.
(from 春日醉起言志, Waking from Drunkenness on a Spring Day)
The "Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup"[2] were a group of scholars who were famed for their knowledge, their skill, and also their love of wine. Li Bai was among their number, and in fact it is sometimes said that "some may have drunk more wine than Li Bai, but none have written more poems about it."
Take note, however, that it is not really the state of "drunkenness" that the Immortals pursue by drinking wine. Rather than drunkenness, intoxication or inebriation, what Li Bai pursues is zui (醉), which carries the connotation of being mentally carried away from one's normal life. He has mastered the fine art of knowing exactly what to drink, when, and even how. To make sure he is never sober he perpetually carries at least one flask of wine with him at all times.
By sipping at his drink and infusing his voice with magical energy, Foreigner can make his audience drunk "merely on the atmosphere", as if they had drunk together with him. He cannot push his targets into becoming blackout drunk and, even if he could, feels no need to; it is more an invitation to come share a drink with him. After all, wouldn't it be a waste to not even taste the wine?
The Dead Wait Dreaming EX
庄周梦蝴蝶 Zhuangzi in dream became a butterfly,
蝴蝶为庄周. And the butterfly became Zhuangzi at waking.
一体更变易 Which was the real—the butterfly or the man?
万事良悠悠. Who can tell the end of the endless changes of things?
乃知蓬莱水 The water that flows into the depth of the distant sea
复作清浅流. Returns anon to the shallows of a transparent stream.
青门种瓜人 The man, raising melons outside the green gate of the city,
但日东陵侯. Was once the Prince of the East Hill.
富贵固如此 So must rank and riches vanish.
营营何所求? You know it, still you toil and toil,—what for?
(from 庄周梦蝴蝶, Zhuangzhi's Butterfly Dream)
Another blessing from Foreigner's "patron", named after a short fragment from the famous chant
Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn ("In his palace at R'lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming"), expressed as best as Foreigner can through the story of the butterfly dream of Zhuangzhi. In this story, a man dreams of being a butterfly. On waking, he wonders: is he the real Zhuang Zhou, or merely a dream in turn?
By blurring the barriers between dreams and reality, Foreigner can walk through the dreams of others as freely as he wants, although he must assume spiritual form to do so. To his eternal regret, the fact that this is an ability of his patron means that he taints the dreams merely by entering them, turning even the most pleasant dream into a horrible nightmare by showing the dreamer scenes from R'lyeh.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by TheTruthWhale
