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--- readable:db.xl:annotations.ode.reignbow.path [2026/04/19 14:43] – [Part III] anadmin
+++ readable:db.xl:annotations.ode.reignbow.path [2026/04/19 15:03] (current) – [Part V] anadmin
@@ Line 129: / Line 129: @@
 ==== Part IV ====
+[Source Text]
+;#;
+The years came and went, as the fleet floated in uncertainty.\\
+Muldrasil the gigantic we first beheld, as it sucked the stars' energies till all were empty.\\
+Monstrous flesh thronged about, thick as fog. The divine race flattered their wings, like clouds aplenty.[✝1]\\
+All foresaw the coming catastrophe, but naught could repulse such an almighty.\\
+Invading branches cut to deter the tree from the ships, starskiffs surrounded by arms clashing in activity.\\
+Brilliant stratagem needed for dire plight, the Reignbow roused out of necessity.[✝2]\\
+Tell not the glorious to rest with their wine, but prays for the heliobus to encase their entity.\\
+Tell not the warrior to rest in slumber, but with the Flint Emperor to assault our nemesis, without charity.[✝3]\\
+Human lives are but a transient lightning. The fate of heroes never lies in their own hands, never with certainty.\\
+All the people rose to follow the Reignbow's example, daring to guard the sky and protect home and company.[✝4]
+;#;
+[Editor's Notes]
+[✝1] "Thick as fog" and "clouds aplenty" describe the vast size of the Denizens of Abundance's armed forces.
+[✝2] To repulse the invasion, the Xianzhou people decided to raise Reignbow from their slumber. Once awakened, the Reignbow analyzed the situation and concocted a strategy to break the deadlock.
+[✝3] Reignbow ignored common advice, heading into the prison deep within the Xianzhou Zhuming and persuaded the imprisoned heliobi leader, the Flint Emperor, to help the Xianzhou fight off the Denizens of Abundance. They made a deal and the Reignbow allowed the Flint Emperor to possess their physical body, in exchange for the power of the heliobi.
+[✝4] Inspired by the hero's sacrifice, many Xianzhou residents made the same heroic deal. They formed suicide squads and marched alongside the heliobi. They swore to shield the Xianzhou like the clouds veil the sky, forever aloft. This is the origin story of the name "Cloud Knights."
+[Postscript]\\
+This part describes the "Flaming Catastrophe," one of the Three Sufferings Era (approximately 3000-4000 Star Calendar). At the time, the Xianzhou Zhuming detected gravity waves from a massive object, but failed to capture any light signals. Only when the Xianzhou Alliance drew nearer did the stargazers realize that this massive object was a world of trees feeding off nearby stars. It was also the mortal enemy of the Primeval Imperium — Muldrasil, homeland of the Wingweavers.\\
+What petrified the Xianzhou even more was that the ship behemoths of the viscorpi also appeared. The viscorpi were directed by the Wingweavers, and the two races were living in a symbiotic relationship. As if attracted by the power of the Ambrosial Arbor, Muldrasil slowly began approaching the Luofu, and the most epic battle in the history of the Xianzhou soon broke out.\\
+Fatigued from the Civil War (the "Living Catastrophe" of the Three Sufferings), the aurumaton rebellion, and their emigration plan, the Xianzhou residents were powerless to counter such a crisis. They released all the prisoners in cryo-hibernation — including the hero of this epic ode, the Reignbow.
 ----
 ==== Part V ====
+[Source Text]
+;#;
+The Reignbow stood constant at the helm, steady with Xuanyuan, holding firm.[✝1]\\
+Forget life, and be convinced in your resolve for death. Now, in swift battle we shall rebuke the swarm.[✝2]\\
+In the future may we always triumph, and cleanse the enemy with courage and vigor and arms.[✝3]\\
+Dazzling jade whistled through space, as the full might of the arrow pierced the stars and gloom.\\
+The skies billowed in a lightning sea, and the planets cracked open in thunderous inky doom.\\
+The arrow fell from mountains' heights, and arrowhead whistling loud as valley gales that loom.\\
+Blood rain poured upon the Xuling and nights turned crimson on the Fanghu, all souls shaken to their very bone.[✝4]\\
+The sentient timber all shrivelled and collapsed, torn asunder with void forces in torrential streams.[✝5]\\
+When the clouds and dust had diffused, the fae king and the Reignbow were nowhere to be seen.[✝6]\\
+Only their arms did remain and were reforged, cast into ingots, committed to Jiyuan gloom.\\
+To electromagnetic cloud those were sent, to circle the skies and shine with stellar bloom.[✝7]\\
+Sorrow and lamentation amongst the stars spread, tears and cries for their end, unfathomed.\\
+Woe is the hero and all their shed tears. They no longer chase the Luofu, but other stars that roam.
+;#;
+[Editor's Notes]
+[✝1] "Xuanyuan" is a famed bow of legend from the Primeval Imperium. Here, it refers to the Reignbow's weapon.
+[✝2] This line transitions rather bluntly. Together with the next line, it is possibly a speech by the Reignbow to boost morale before the battle. Another interpretation is that the Reignbow knew their death was near, and deliberately left their final words.
+[✝3] This may be the origin behind the common battle cries of the Cloud Knights — "Xianzhou soars, Cloud Knight roars!" and "In valor and vigor, cleanse all ills!" but it's also possible that later generations amended this. Academics hold different theories, and the order of the lines is still up for debate.
+[✝4] The historical record shows the battle formation during this war was in this order, from the nearest to Muldrasil to the furthest: the Yaoqing, the Luofu, the Yuque, the Zhuming, the Fanghu, the Cangcheng, and the Xuling. The Xuling and Fanghu were far from the frontlines. Other records point to the Reignbow firing their arrow from the bow of the Yaoqing. This line describes the size of the impact from the Reignbow's star-shattering shot, and how ever ship in the Xianzhou Alliance was affected.
+[✝5] Based on historical records, the Reignbow's arrow smashed into the Ambrosial Arbor, penetrated the almighty beast, and severed the connection between the Luofu and Muldrasil. This ripped open a fissure into the void, and a monstrous wave of imaginary force spewed forth from it. This line describes that event.
+[✝6] Based on historical records, the Reignbow disappeared after shooting the arrow that turned the tide of battle, but the Flint Emperor had left behind part of their body. This line claims that the Xianzhou people could find neither of them. Perhaps this poem records mere rumor.
+[✝7] "Ingot", "Jiyuan", "electromagnetic cloud", and "circle" in these two lines describe how the people of the Xianzhou, in commemorating the Reignbow's sacrifice, embedded their relics into a Jiyuan ingot and launched it into Muldrasil's orbit, so it can shine as long as the star exists. There is no mention of such in existing records, and the incident may be poetic license from the author. Moreover, this is the first ever mention of the Jiyuan Ingot launch ceremony in the history of Xianzhou literature, but neither the time that this custom started nor the date of this ode's composition can be verified.