Folklore and Legends of Goguryeo

Man-Wol was named for the full moon that she was born under, that being what her name means. Her family hunted and fished, sticking to the forests away from other people and taught their daughter to avoid Spirits as this was the time before the Spirit Emperor. But one day, young Man-Wol with her bow at her side encountered another person in the wood. For a moment though, she had been certain what she saw was not a person but a bear. She spoke to them, uncertain at first, and learned that their name was Hakja. The two became fast friends, promising to meet again.

And they did. For months, Hakja and Man-Wol met in secret in the woods, talking and hunting together. Hakja had a talent for tracking and knowing the ways of the animals but Man-Wol was the far better shot. They also taught her about the plants of the forest, the ones that could heal and the ones that could harm.

One day, Man-Wol entered the forest alone as was her habit, but on the way her father warned her that he’d seen a bear in the area and taken a shot at it. Wary now, she kept her bow in hand and an arrow on the string. She heard a sound and froze as something large was coming near. She could spy the bear between the trees, moving quickly towards her. In a moment of terror, she loosed an arrow and caught it solidly… just as Hakja let go of that form and took on the appearance of a human again.

They fell backwards, the arrow protruding from their chest, and Man-Wol ran forward, her bow falling from her fingers to lay abandoned on the forest floor. Instead, it was the pouch of medicines at her waist that she reached for. Bandages, a knife, a poultice they had taught her to make.

When she was sure they would live, Man-Wol gathered her things to leave with tears on her cheeks only to hear Hakja calling her back. It had been an accident, they said. She need not take on guilt for that.

Still, Man-Wol couldn’t help but blame herself. So she took up a vow to never take up her bow again and to spend her days instead wielding only the mortar and pestle, the herbs in her pouch, and the knife that only cuts away the bad. Hakja stayed with her and the two wandered Goguryeo studying the plants that could be found and what they could be used to treat. And eventually, two became three as the pair started their own family. 

The stories also say that one day, Man-Wol and Hakja came to the court of the Spirit Emperor to present their learnings and it was there they were given the gift of writing so their discoveries would never be forgotten.

It is said that there was a time, long before Man-Wol and Hakja encountered the Spirit Emperor, before he had unified the land, that the two were wandering from place to place to seek out the plants there and they were attacked on the road by bandits. Unable to wield a weapon lest her vow be broken, Man-Wol could do nothing but stand by as Hakja changed shapes and defended them both as a bear. The bandits, though, were cunning and they caught Man-Wol to force Hakja to take human shape once more. With both held captive, their fate certainly seemed grim. At least until one of the bandits asked why Man-Wol had so many leaves in her things. She began to tell them about her medicines and one young bandit showed a real interest, particularly after she was able to apply a paste that soothed a long gash on his arm. That young man told her that he wished he could just let her go for that, but that the bandit leader thought she was beautiful and planned to kill Hakja and keep her prisoner. Man-Wol asked the young bandit if the bandit leader ate the same food as the others. When told no, she asked if she could help with the cooking.

And that night when her special ingredients were sprinkled into only one bowl of rice and stew, the bandit leader died. It was sudden and violent, leaving the other bandits to scramble to decide who would replace him. While they fought, Man-Wol, Hakja, and the young bandit who would be their first student, escaped into the night.

Once a very long time ago, a Turtle Spirit named Kkeobdegi found a human child nestled in among his eggs. While Kkeobdegi didn't know where the child had come from, he also couldn't bring himself to leave it to the wilds and the elements, seeing how the child wasn't protected from the world the way his eggs were and his children would be one day when they hatched. Instead, he named the child Mun Kang-Dae and raised him among the young turtles that hatched from his nest. 

Kang-Dae was a good boy, learning patience from his father and siblings. Eventually, though, he knew he would have to reach out into the mortal communities around him because that was what he was. So, one day the patient young man who spoke slowly and listened more than spoke arrived in what would, one day, be the shining city of Unknown on the coast. In those days, it was barely a fishing village and constantly beset by the forces of Jeogjo, a fierce demon of the seas. 

Kang-Dae was surprised to find the other mortals bending the knee to this demon that burned their ships and killed their families, to find them leaving offerings of their catch to his forces. So he took up the armor and shield his father Kkeobdegi had given him and ventured to the House of the Dragon with a promise. He would show them how to fight back against Unknown as the turtles fight, with patience and cunning and preparation, and above all else, with a shell.

What he designed was the first Turtle Ship, the pride of the Goryean fleet. Standing personally at the helm, Kang-Dae led a group of soldiers out into the water in his new ship, all protected under the spiked shell, and they poured smoke through the mouth of the turtle to use as a screen to get as close as they could to Jeogjo's flagship. Then they lobbed spells of fire and launched volleys of arrows from within their protection. Only then did Kang-Dae venture forth with his shield upraised and a club in his hand. He found the demon Jeogjo left amongst the ruins of his fleet and slew the demon, freeing the people of Daeyang from his influence forever.

It was after this that Kang-Dae took the surname Mun for himself and for his children.

Once long ago, before the House of the Dragon stabilized Unknown and ended the Warring House period, there were two young men, Unknown and Beom Yuon. They were opposing generals, one from the House of the Dragon and one from House of the Tiger. When their families met on the field of battle, Young Master Yuon would always look for the flags that told him the second son, Hee-Jun, was across from him rather than his older sister, never knowing that Young Master Hee-Jun was doing the same. 

One day, the two encountered each other on the field of battle. It was a clash of swords and fury, the sound of thunder ringing in the air around the two as well as the image of the Tiger wreathing Young Master Yuon. At least, until their eyes met and the two young men paused. This was not their first meeting, not by any stretch. They had known each other long before, had seen each other a few times since, and now here on the field of battle, Yuon lowered his weapon and held out a hand to Hee-Jun.

Their hands clasped tightly, Hee-Jun and Yuon turned to the others, their intention to put a stop to the fighting. Quickly, though, they realized that their words were falling on deaf ears. They were, after all, both of them younger sons and their Houses answered to parents and older siblings, not to them.

Rather than stay and risk having to once again turn their weapons on each other, they fled. For years, they traveled together and avoided their homes and their families, at least until such a time as the Duke of the House of the Dragon was killed in battle and Hee-Jun's elder sister took up that mantle. She called her brother home, begging for his help and support so their House would not fall. Unknown was under siege, the enemies at the gate. So Hee-Jun went, promising Yuon that he would return as swiftly as a shooting star.

Hee-Jun made it to Daeyang before the siege had broken and prevented the fall of the city, bringing a unit of his own to bear on the enemy from the sides and the rear to crush them against the gates of the city and the mountain range there. In the battle, though, Hee-Jun was ambushed by a group of archers and their arrows penetrated deeply into his armor. As he lay bleeding out, he begged the Spirits to let him keep his promise to Yuon. Byeong-Ho heard the pleading of her descendent and reached out to raise both Hee-Jun and Yuon into the sky where they have become a pair of stars that travel the sky together.

When the Houses were still at war, there came a battle between the Dragon and the Phoenix, both Houses fierce and ferocious while their Guardian Spirits dueled in the heavens above. The Duke of the Dragons was  Park Chang-Min, one of the greatest of all those born under the Dragon’s influence. It is said that he had a connection to the sea deeper than any before or since, that scales rippled over his skin when he was in a fury and that he raged like the tide. He rode the waves with ease, each stride over their surface sure. On the side of the Phoenix stood their own Duke Myeon-Mog Ki-Jung, the most powerful mage that Unknown has ever seen. He bent flames to his will and strode upon the sky as easily as his foes stood upon the waves.

The battle between them raged for seven days and seven nights, neither giving way, and all around them their soldiers stopped in place to watch rather than continuing the fray. 

It was Ki-Jung who made the fateful choice, they say, and when his own magic wasn’t enough, he called out to something else. Whatever it was reached back and Ki-Jung changed before everyone’s eyes. His skin charred as the flames inside him ate their way out and he seized his foe, forcing those same flames into Duke Chang-Min to burn the ocean out of this son of dragons. 

Both of them died in that battle though their Houses carried on. Ki-Jung’s first and only child, a baby girl, was born the day after the death of her father with the grey skin and horns of a Tiefling as well as hair as red as flame and the House of the Phoenix has born those markings since. It wasn’t until she was older, her own children only just past into their teenage years, that the other result of her father’s actions became apparent when her magic tore out of her in the same way his had. And every member of the House has followed on this tragic course.

During the beginning of the age known as the Warring Houses, there was born a young man named Suk Su-Kang. He was a solemn child, silent and always watching the world around him. He was the son and only heir to the Duke of JaJeong and there was much fuss made about the fact that the boy would not speak.

Until, that was, a visitor came from another of the Houses. Stories vary on who or which House, but they all agree on one thing. During dinner that night, when the visitor tried to ask the Duke of Unknown why he did not seek with the others to take the Waterfall Throne of the Spirit Emperor for himself. Crow alone was standing aloof. What did the House of Crow know that the others did not?

It was not the Duke who responded but the Young Master seated at his own small table who stood, looking small but determined. And for the first time, the halls of JaJeong heard the heir speak.

“Because the House of the Crow will no more claim that seat than you will. We know the way the tides turn. And to vie against fate would be to bring ruin upon yourself.”

His piece spoken, the eight year old sat once more. And true to his word, the House of the Crow did not enter the conflict, fighting only when others infringed upon the borders of JaJeong province. And the House of the Crow stood firm when others suffered.

(including transcription notes from Yeo Ji-Tae)

The beginning part of this record is missing. Sorry, I copied it from where it picked up.

- when the dust settled, the Feral Hound knelt, her chest heaving and her fur and flesh soaked with blood. Over her, His Auguste Majesty, the Mugunghwa Sovereign, Ruler of the Waterfall Throne, the Spirit Emperor of Goguryeo, stood with his blade still bared and held to her throat. And then with the grace of the wind and patience of the mountain, he sheathed his blade once more and offered his hand. The Feral Hound snapped at the hand he offered and he only offered it once more. Again and again, His Imperial Majesty offered the hand instead of the blade. And all the while, he spoke. The seasons changed around them and the fight resumed. Winter to spring and spring to summer. The Feral Hound snapped and bit, lunged and charged. Each time she was subdued, he offered his hand and she rebuffed it. Then came the day when she lay at his feet, her breath heaving. Then, he knelt too, and spoke to her.

Hey I’m really sorry but this part is missing too. Sorry.

And when she stood again, her eyes were clear. He placed a hand on her forehead and healed the wounds his celestial blade had wrought in their seasons of battle. And the Loyal Hound swore to him that she would never again walk that darkened path.