Annotations from "Ode to Reignbow Path"

[Source Text] In thriving, the Xianzhou piloted the Ice Toad. In meticulous care, the Xianzhou drove the Six Dragons. [†1] The vast fleet sailed through time and space, and the title of Heaven's Mast a ship had humbly taken.[†2] Many miracles the divine blessing conducted, blurring reality with myth. True liberation. Elevated, the wild horses in eloquence spoke, and Xianzhou's fog and clouds to words hearken. [†3] The jade abacus carefully was wrought, calculating all mysteries. The world reduced to a deliberation. The Reignbow merged with the jade, seeking epiphany, and the Wisdomwalker in dreams showed premonition. [†4] Yet everlasting prosperity and wisdom Reignbow did not see. There would be fields of corpses, blood soaken. Crippled, defiled, unending agony. Maddened, mutated, total forgetfulness, never to waken. [†5] The Reignbow bounded with futile warnings, but was thought mad against diviners, mocked in derision. [†6] Then the poor and nobles joined forces against the Reignbow. In scorn, ridicule, pity, or lamentation. Reignbow in a rage scolded the nobles, calling greed for immortality as foolish as the ancient sovereign's obsession. [†7] The arbor branches were mere axles to the war chariot, and the Reignbow's fleeting arrow found the divine plantation. Turning, the Reignbow released their flashing arrow to the tree, and fear and horror in human hearts stricken. Yet exiled to cold coffins for long watchful sleep, this warrior of yesteryear all forgotten.[†8] [Editor's Notes] [†1] The people of the Primeval Imperium once believed that the Moon was an "ice toad," while the Sun was "six dragons." This refers to Reignbow (and the Xianzhou) sailing across the cosmos. [†2] "A ship" refers to the Xianzhou Luofu, indicating that it was the highest-ranked ship in the Alliance. "Heaven's Mast" refers to the Ambrosial Arbor. This is describing how the seeds of the Ambrosial Arbor took root aboard the Xianzhou Luofu. However, the Xianzhou Luofu only became the flagship of the Alliance after receiving the Ambrosial Arbor. Here the sequence is reverted, probably out of artistic license. [†3] The people of the Primeval Imperium used "wild horses," "fog," and "clouds" to refer generally to clouds, air, and dust. The structure of this sentence is inverted, with the gist being "even clouds and dust grew eloquent through the Ambrosial Arbor's Elevation." According to historical records, the Xianzhou experimented with the Arbor's fruit, "Elevating" animals to the point of mimicking human sentience and speech. The line is probably referring to this event. [†4] The motif of "merged with the jade" originated when the sage Xuan Yao embedding the jade abacus directly into the human skull to peer into the future. This is evidently a misappropriation. The "Wisdomwalker" is the one who presides over the Path of Erudition. [†5] "Crippled," "defiled," "maddened," "mutated," and "forgetfulness" are the five symptoms of being mara-struck. "Crippled" means that, after suffering grave injuries from external violence, the body must utilize its self-healing capacities to undergo long and painful periods of repair. "Defiled" means that, due to the immortality of the flesh for the Xianzhou people, the body may be forced to eternally co-exist with incurable alien viruses or bacteria. "Maddened" means the person starts to feel anger and violent desires, and starts to have extreme mood swings. "Mutated" means the flesh is starting to produce mutated organs and can no longer maintain a stable humanoid form. "Forgetfulness" means the person's mind is taken over by a sense of emptiness, and spends their days in an oblivious daze. This section describes how, after the Reignbow became one with the jade, they saw the tragic future of the Xianzhou residents, where the people became mara-struck due to their immortality. [†6] "Mad against Diviners" originates from a Xianzhou folk legend about a person who believed the Ambrosial Arbor to be an alien monstrosity. Opposed to longevity, they feigned madness to publicly express their ardent opinion. Here, "Diviners" generally refers to the Xianzhou aristocrats, and can be extended to include the Arbor's fruit, as the aristocrats were the first Xianzhou residents to receive the sacred fruit. [†7] "Ancient sovereign's obsession" refers to the nameless sovereign who united the Primeval Imperium. The Reignbow believed that the Xianzhou residents were blinded by the seduction of an endless lifespan and were no different from the nameless sovereign's rapacious fear of death. This drove Reignbow furious. [†8] This section describes the Reignbow's opposition to immortality, and how they shot an arrow into the Ambrosial Arbor to show their resolve. The Xianzhou aristocrats who had eaten the fruit of immortality grew enraged and convicted them. However, awed by the Reignbow's heroic exploits and prestige, they could only sentence the hero to continual hibernation. "Watchful sleep" refers to the rotating cryo-sleep system used when the Xianzhou Alliance first left its home world. "Cold coffins" are the cryo-sleep pods.