The story of BNS

[HNNNNGGH]

I've been playing BNS TW for a while now but never got a good grasp of the story. Anybody care to explain it to me? I know I can just enjoy all the cutscenes and the dialogues (which I will) but I'd just like to know the story beforehand.  Thank you

[FieryPassion]

This is as much as i can gather from what part of the story we currently have. But i think a SPOILERS warning is still a good measure in case i said something that is a spoiler.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So dark lord tries to do evil stuff and a battle begins. The four guardians (Jiwan Iksanun Hong Mushin) drive him off with mushin like sacrificing himself in order to seal away the dark lord. Do to a failed divine mandate ritual (the same one Jinsoyun is now trying to perform not that she has this anchor thingy in the form of the twilight's edge) instead of the dark lord coming back evil chi spreads out corrupting people into fiends. A battle is staged at highland necropolis where jiwan finds kid jinsoyun and like absorbs her bad chi weakening her a bit but saving jinsoyun in the process. Some time passes and all 4 of the guardians go on to have different lives.

Hong has his school where you train until jonsoyun gets stabby with him over him protecting the twilight's edge.

Mushin comes back vengeful and hateful over what happened to him and eventually kills jiwan and blames the stealing of the twilight's edge (jiwan's weapon) on the still good jinsoyun and everyone tries to kill jinsoyun but fails because jiwan sacrifices herself.

Jiwan goes on to train jinsoyun and for the most part all is well but because of jiwan saving jinsoyun shes grown weaker and then shes killed.

Iksanun does stuff with brightstone and realmwalking and then tries to help cure you of your mark until his son gets used by jinsoyun to kill him with a false promise.

Talus army im not entirely sure whats up with them. something about dissent causing them to splinter off into another group which yunma kahn/fei think do not have honor?

 

[ThePrelate]

I am a lore nerd and enjoy exploring it in a lot of games. So, here come SPOILERS (those who don't like it, beat it!) of my version as I understand it.

 

 

So, the world of Blade and Soul consists of three major realms the Earthen Realm (you are here), the Dark Realm (basically, the realm of demons) and the Divine Realm (where divine beings, gods or enlightened beings are, not quite sure about that part). Now, Chi is an energy which permeates the Earthen Realm and is ever-present in this land. The Divine Realm has its Divine Chi which I will come to later and why it's so important. The Dark Realm has Dark Chi which corrupts the normal Chi and is diametrically opposed to Chi.

 

Now, the Naryu civilization ruled the Earthen Realm in the past, with its mighty architecture and knowledge. They ruled over the whole known (and unknown) world. They relied heavily on Soulstones, the same thing Warring Factions are fighting over and the same thing you use for your equipment upgrade. The thing is, Soulstones have a high amount of Chi and are somehow connected to the Earth. Nary civilization was proud and greedy so they were mining more and more Soulstones what eventually drew the attention of the Dark Realm (this reminds me a lot of Warcraft lore) and the Dark Realm invaded the Earthen Realm because Dark Lord has basically nothing to do but invade other Realms. This big war happened on the spot where now Scorching Sands lie.

 

During that time, the Divine Realm took pity on the Earthen Realm and blessed four individuals with Divine Chi (so, normal Chi is all but powerless against the Dark Chi, except when you have strong Chi, strong willpower and have walked the path of Enlightenment to purge yourself of it. On the other hand, Divine Chi is all-powerful Chi which cannot be beaten neither by Chi nor by Dark Chi) which made those four individuals (later known as the Four Guardians) very powerful, defy death and super effective against the forces of Darkness. They were also bestowed by a weapon, the Twilights Edge, which is said to be most powerful of all weapons ever created (very important later).

 

The Four Guardians were powerful martial artist, Mushin the Divine Fist (KFM, *cricket* son of Nryu king), Jiwan the Righteous Blade (BM), Iksanun the Realmwalker (I'd guess he's kind of a Summoner or FM) and Hong Sokyun the Earthbreaker (he is the most powerful of them all and embodies all martial arts). Now, they fought the Darkness successfully but they couldn't beat it completely, not while the gate to the Dark Realm was open. In the moment of hopelessness, Mushin sacrificed himself so that his comrades could close the gate. And that plan succeeded, albeit under great sacrifice.

 

This spelled the end of Naryu civilization and the formation of Scorching Sands. In its stead, a new empire was formed form its ashes on the Southern Continent. It's the Stratus Empire. Now, they were special because they have learned to perform the Divine Mandate ritual which opens the gate to Divine Realm and this act blesses individual with divine right to rule, meaning the family is forever blessed by Divine Realm and should rule. The Stratus Empire was over the years well on its way of reaching the same status as Naryu Empire and they were unchallenged as nobody but them knew the secret to Divine Mandate Ritual. And probably for the best, because the Divine Mandate Ritual is extremely sensitive. It not only opens a gate to the Divine Realm but can also open the Dark Gate. The Divine Mandate Ritual, as you can find in-game, requires a lot of Soulstones (figures), a catalyst to direct the ritual, a divine blood and a host to be filled by divine power, a host who would then bless the family or person with the divine chi and the right to rule. But if the gate is opened on the bad side, the host will become to the Dark Lord who will through it wreak havoc upon the Earthen Realm.

 

Now, the Stratus Empire faced a lot of internal conflict in the family, because it was too big and eventually it crumbled upon itself when the emperor father died and left the southern throne (where the capital is) to his youngest son. Now the son in the Eastern Continent grew jealous and fell prey to demons (Yura) who made him perform the Divine Mandate Ritual. However, as he didn't know anything about it, he didn't have the host nor the catalyst (the Twilight's Edge). The ritual went haywire and the gate swung open towards the Dark Realm. This disaster became known as the disaster of Highland Central (nowadays it's known as Highland Necropolis). That happened some 30 years prior to BnS events. There we find out that Mushin managed to survive in the Dark Realm and returned back home, although the circumstance on how he managed to survive were unknown.

 

This becomes clear later on, in the Mushin's Tower andthe Peak of Jiwan. For now, suffice it to say that during that catastrophe, we find out about Jinsoyun. She was a girl, very ordinary girl until that moment, when all this Dark Chi left her corrupted. Now, Jiwan took pity upon her and bestowed upon her a part of her own Chi to suppress the Dark Chi which would eventually turn her into a Fiend. Years later, she would also come to know Yunsang, the leader of Lumang and there we find out that she is struggling with her emotions, much like we are on our character and ofc, the Dark Chi feeds on it.

 

Unknown period of time has passed and we finally see why Mushin survived in the Dark Realm. He wasn't pure of heart as we all initially thought. He was prideful and envious because he was a *cricket* son and in no way an heir to Naryu Empire (not that it would matter anyway, eh?). In fact, he strived to become the Guardian only to prove everyone that he is not just a *cricket* son but something more. The Darkness took advantage of this pride and corrupted him beyond measure. He wanted now even more power and it lay in the Twilight's Edge, which was in possession of Jiwan. He staged a coup on Jiwan and managed to beat her easily. However Jinsoyun was there and she saw everything. He attacked her before she could reason with the rest of Guardians, then Jiwan interfered and was finished by Mushin, while Jinsoyun was convicted of treason in the eyes of Guardians and fell from the peak, very much like you do in the beginning. She was then consumed by thoughts of revenge and the Dark Chi in her grew and took over. Having lost faith in the world, she became the agent of Dark Lord, swearing to get revenge on all Guardians and that's basically how the story starts. She wants this world to end and started off with Master Hong.

 

As for the rest of world, after the incident in Higland Central, the Stratus Empire completely crumbles and looses its authority over eastern Continent due to Junma Khan's rebellion. Basically, Stratus became too weak (as I am sure you could see in the Cinderlands, a bunch of no good hypocrites looking only after their asses) and the Talus arose from that.

 

Interesting enough, you wind up on exact the same path as Jinsoyun, what adds up even more to the beauty of this arc's ending. And I think she is aware of it. She is there, this whole time taunting you to get better to grow that hate inside you, ultimately hoping that you would stop her but that she would win. She would win by showing you that you are the same as everyone else, when killing her for the sake of revenge. However, you are shown mercy by the Eight Masters (an act which makes me sad that they didn't get more story coverage in the game) and you decide that you should show the exact same mercy to Jinsoyun, even though you would rather kill her. In the end she looses everything and sees the error of her ways, an act which earns her a place in Divine Realm or back on Earthen Realm as a child.

 

Now I don't know how the story continues as I have heard that a certain demon Julie becomes a new villain and I honestly don't care. This part made a huge impact on me and I can't wait to get to that part of the story on my own character. Now excuse me, I am going to watch that sacrifice scene and cry a bit just because I can't believe how beautifully done it was and how cathartic it was for me. Hope you got more insight into the story though.

[HNNNNGGH]

Thanks for the replies. Now I'm more into this story than ever.

[EdwinLi]

Continuing what ThePrelate ended....

 

Season 2 covers Cricket's life several years after the defeat of Jinsoyun. Word had spread that the Hero who defeated the Dark Lord was rebuilding the Hongmoon school but this "Hero" is a imposter pretending to be Cricket. After tracking down this imposter Cricket soon meet the grandson of Old Man Cho named Bunyang as he has been tricked by the imposting into helping him find more "recuits". After dealing with the fake Hongmoon school word soon reach Cricket that children from Sandstone Refuge have gone missing Cricket head there only to discover the Black Dragon Cult is behind the kidnappings and among them is a old enemy back from the dead the former mayor of bamboo village Daygu. With the help of Ho Wul-Ryung and Eunak the children are saved but the the mystery to how the Black Dragon Cult kidnap the children and why remains a mystery. Meeting with Namgung Sun-Jae and Taegwang in Zaiwei City to control the man behind the kidnappings being Aksin Yo Ma-Ma who uses a pipe flute to hypnotise the children. With the kidnapping solved Cricket heads to meet with a old friend being Do Chun as he has a letter from Jiwan involving a important matter. Mean while in a unknwon location Daygu is discussing events with Julie about the promise of obtaining strong Dark powers for his actions. Julie rewards Daygu by giving him Dark powers but it also turned Daygu into a powerful mindless demon. 

 

Back in Zaiwei, Cricket has met up with Dochun and Dochun advised Cricket to prepare for what Jiwan is asking Cricket to do. Dochun then begins reading the letter from Jiwan which holds a request from Jiwan for Cricket to protect Little Jinsoyun, now reborn as a child, from people who would seek to kill her for her actions in her past life and to train Little Jinsoyun in the ways of Hongmoon so she can grow up to be good. Dochun knows Cricket has doubts about raising Jinsoyun in her new life due to the memories of past events but a part of Cricket knows this is no longer the same Jinsoyun. Not long after Cricket sees a advertisement from Bunyang as he is attempting to scam people but Cricket put a stop to it fast by telling Bunyang he will tell his grandfather Old Man Cho about his action. However, things do not remain peaceful for long as Ho Wul-Ryung, Eunak, Namgung Sun-Jae, and Taegwang have learned that Jinsoyun has been reborn as a child and is now attempting to assassinate her for what she had done in her past life. Dochun speaks with Cricket about the event stating he hold strong regrets that he lead Cricket on a Dark Path for Revenge againt Jinsoyun which lead Cricket to turn away from the Path of Hongmoon during the events of Season 1 and fighting to protect Little Jinsoyun was his atonement for she is now a innocent child in this new life. On this moment Cricket turns to his former allies in a attempt to convince them to stop there revenge on Jinsoyun but fails and is forced to fight all four of them. Now willing to accept Jiwan's request to raise Little Jinsoyun in the Path of Hongmoon Cricket proceeds to open a dragon pulse to teleport them all back to the Hongmoon school. Dochun also introduce a young boy named Ryu who would become the 2nd member of the next Hongmoon students trained by Cricket and during the process of creating the Dragon Pulse Old Man Cho's grandchildren runs into the Dragon Pulse as well thus becoming the 3rd and 4th students. Once they have arrived in the Hongmoon school Cricket soon meets Chin the Orphan from Sandstone Refugee as he has arrived in the Hongmoon School to fullfill his promise to become a student of Hongmoon thus becoming the 5th student.

 

One year has passed since Cricket has become the new Master of Hongmoon and trained his or her 5 students. During a morning traning session Chin informs Cricket that Jinsoyun is sick. Cricket and the 5 Hongmoon students head to Bamboo village so they can find Jinsoyun a doctor only to discover the Black Ram is attacking Bamboo Village.  Right outside the dock where they land Cricket sees Chengun and Chengun informs Cricket that the Balck Ram assault is none other lead by Poharan and Captain Dodan, now succeeded his father Dochun as Bamboo Guard Captain and a Master in Kung Fu, is doing his best to fight the Black Ram off. After rushing to get Jinsoyun to the safety of the Dr. Gwak house the Black Ram corner Cricket but Dodan saves Cricket. The 1 year reunion is cut short as Pohawan appears in the center of Bamboo Village bombarding the place with her gatling gun and grenades. After a breif fight they Cricket and Pohawan are interrupted by Chef Tae Jang-Geum and Barrack Officer Mak Sobo. Tae Jang-Geum apologise for Pohawan's action in attacking Bamboo village for they did not expect Pohawan to take matters this extreme and explains the reason behind her hasty actions. Tae Jang-Geum explains that the East Fleet of the Black Ram has been attacked by Demons and majority of the members are now either dead or turned into Demons. Hae Mujin took a final stand alone to fight off as many demons as possible so Pohawan, Tae Jang-Geum, and Mak Sobo can escape. Pohawan then explains after that this event was no coincidence for it was the beginning of a massive demon invasion from the Dark Lord himself. Warning Cricket that ignoring to save the East Black Ram Fleet would put the world at risk. 

 

The next day Jinsoyun has recovered from her illness but once again the peace remain short as Sandstone Refugee is now under attack by a demon army. Tae Jang-Geum appears soon after offering to help Cricket as redemption for Pohawan's actions. Pohawan also arrived to Sandstone Refuge to aid Cricket despite denying that she wants to help Cricket save the Sandstone Refuge.  With the help of Pohawan, Tae Jang Geum, and Mak Sobo the citizens of Sandstone Refuge are saved. Soon word arrived that more demons have appeared in Moonwater and once again Cricket heads there to fight off the Demons with Tae Jang Geum and Mak Sobo but Pohawan does not join as she is mad that Cricket still refuse to help her save the East Black Ram Fleet. After defeating the Demon, Cricket heads back to the enterance but the Demon was not dead yet. Just before the Demon can kill Cricket from behind Pohawan saves Cricket. Despite being saved by Pohawan, Cricket still refuse to save the East Black Ram Fleet and then ask Pohawan what happen to her grandfather Hae Mujin after they fleed. Pohawan reveals that he is still alive but is now a host body to a Demon and hoped Cricket would reconsider but Cricket still refuse to help save the East Black Ram Fleet. Angered Pohawan attacks Cricket in hopes of forcing him or her to save the East Black Ram Fleet but is easily defeated. Once defeated Pohawan breaks down and begins to cry explaining her real reason for asking for help was to save her grandfather Hae Mujin. Cricket soon realize that he or she has gone a bit too far and finally agrees to help save the East black Ram Fleet. After making preparation Cricket heads towards the destroyed East Black Ram Fleet fighting through Black Ram members now turned into Demons. Finally reaching Hae Mujin it appeared he has been fighting off the demon corruption for days and has finally become consumed by it. After weakening the Demon possessing Hae Mujin, Cricket performs a purification thus separating Hae Mujin from the demon and saving him. However, the demon still remained a live and now enters a berserk rage against Cricket. After the demon is defeated Pohawan finally has her happy reunion with her grandfather Hae Mujin.  Hae Mujin remains grateful to Cricket for keeping his granddaughter Pohawan safe and saving him along with the East Black Ram Fleet offering that if Cricket ever needs help the East Black Ram Fleet will be there to aid him or her. Pohawan, however, still remains a tsundere.

 

After returning to land Cricket recieves a letter from Bunyang asking why he or she has been gone for so long. Once Cricket returns to the Hongmoon School he or she finds it being attacked by Demons and his or her student's life are now at risk thus events from the story returns to past events. This time, however, Cricket is able to save his or her students from the demons allowing Bunah, Bunyang, and Chin to escape to safety. While saving Bunyang, Cricket learned that Ho Wul-Ryung, Eunak, Namgung Sun-Jae, and Taegwang aided in the attack lad by Julie in a attempt to kidnap Jinsoyun. Rushing to save Ryu from a horde of Demons Julie appears to take matters into her own hands. After toying around with Cricket she finally decided to stop playing around and attempts to kill Cricket only to have Ryu interfere sacrificing his life to save his master. Angered by the death of Ryu, Cricket blindly charges at Julie only to be defeated and sent falling into the once thus the story returns to events of the Prologue as Cricket see memories of his or her time with his or her students. Cricket wakes up a few days later in Bamboo Village seeing that Bunah, Bunyang, and Chin are still alive and Pohawan there due to being worried about Cricket despite denying it. Now Cricket begins a new journey to save Jinsoyun and this time he or she is not alone as his Hongmoon students Bunah, Bunyang, and Chin will be by Cricket's side. 

 

(This part is where the story may get messy since not many people have posted Act 7 or bother translating it yet so I'm only using what little information I have so far)

 

Before Cricket could begin his or her journey it has appears Sandstone Refuge is under attack again by demons. After Cricket defeats the demons the leader of the Demons revealed himself to be Lusung. Lusung explains that after Jinsoyun corrupted him into a demon he remained trapped in the Dark Realm. There he thrived and obtained the power he longed for from the Dark Lord himself. Cricket attempted to defeat Lusung but failed due to Lusung's new found dark powers and right before Lusung could kill Cricket, Miryung attempted to stop him hoping there was still some good but Lusung quickly knocks her causing Miryung to drop the mirror that once belong to Lusung's sister. Seeing the mirror Lusung begins to have flash backs about his sister forcing him to retreat. Cricket soon wakes up learning that Lusung has disappeared and Sandstone Refuge is safe. Soon after Cricket learned that the Black Dragon has taken Jinsoyun to the western continent and with his students Cricket travels there. Meanwhile in the western continent Ho Wul-Ryung, Eunak, Namgung Sun-Jae, and Taegwang are trying to detain Jinsoyun as she is causing them trouble as a little girl. They begin preparing to bring Jinsoyun to a alter in order to execute her for her past life crimes but Ho Wul-Ryung, Eunak, Namgung Sun-Jae, and Taegwang do not know Julie is using them for a ulterior motive that would benefit the Black Dragon Cult and the Dark Lord's plans. 

 

After locating the alter where they have taken Jinsoyun, Cricket and the students of Hongmoon went to seek the aid of the West Black Ram Fleet. The Admiral of the West Black Ram Fleet is greatful for saving the East Black Ram Fleet and agrees to help. Cricket ask how they would manage to reach the alter location since the area is surrounded by mountains and the West Fleet Admiral reveals that the ship he has is special. Activating the main Engines of his ship it is revealed to have powerful engines allowing the ship itself to fly. As Ho Wul-Ryung, Eunak, Namgung Sun-Jae, and Taegwang walks to the alter with Julie to execute Jinsoyun a guard spots the West Black Ram Fleet ship flying over the fortress guarding the Alter. The West Fleet Admiral leaves the rest to Cricket and his companions thus Cricket begins his or her assault on the fortress to save Jinsoyun. After defeating Ho Wul-Ryung, Eunak, Namgung Sun-Jae, and Taegwang and making his or her way to the alter Cricket is once again defeated by Julie. As Cricket remains defeated on the group Julie taunts Cricket forcing him or her to watch helplessly as she stacks Jinsoyun with her hands and reveals that a pieve of the Twilight Edge is in side Jinsoyun. As Julie walks away laughing over her victory, Cricket attempt so reach Jinsoyun who is now laying lifeless on the floor but passes out. Waking up in the West Black Ram Fleet ship Cricket finds that Jinsoyun is now in a critical condition due to the loss of the Twilight Edge piece from in side her. Ho Wul-Ryung, Eunak, Namgung Sun-Jae, and Taegwang are also there feeling deep reget for what they have done and for allowing Julie to manipulate them to farther the Dark Lord's plans thus they promise to one day make up for their mistake and when the time ever arrives when Cricket needs help they and their clan will be there to aid Cricket.

 

(This is where the story ends in Act 7. I know it is a long read but Season 2 is quite interesting as we see events fall into full circle with past events unanswered from Season 1 storyline.)

[HNNNNGGH]

Thank you for this.

[LovlessLady]

Thank you Theprelate and EdwinLi

Login just to like, good read thanks.

[ThePrelate]

@LovlessLady glad you found it to be entertaining and useful. I am amazed by the story and find it better with each piece of info I uncover.

@EdwinLi thanks for sharing the season two with us. I was wondering when the Ebondrake Cult would come in as I see them all over the Hogshead Pastures.

 

For all the people who love the story of this game, after each chapter you complete, press J, go to Completed section and select the chapter. There is always a paragraph or two about the behind story of the chapter. I have found pretty neat things in it.

 

I haven't said anything about it in my previous post but there are a few things I have found out about the story, especially about Mushin and his backstory from the Cinderlands storyline. Apparently, once Mushin sacrificed himself for the rest of the world and passed through the Dark Gate, the Divine Chi which courses through the Four Guardians left him, because (according to the Three Sages), the Divine Chi is unable to enter the Dark Realm, just like the Dark Chi is unable to enter the Divine Realm. Mushin, therefore was no longer a guardian once he entered the Dark Realm and his power, his Divine Chi... Well it became Mushin's Legacy, the exact same thing that you are trying to find during the entire Cinderlands storyline. Now I haven't gotten that far but Yura was already quite old during the Highland Central disaster and as we can see, she works with Mushin. There is a part which describes Mushing witnessing the Dark Gate opening in the Dark Realm which I believe was during the Highland Central incident when Yura opened the Gate with that Stratus prince. Yura is probably the same kind of demon as Julie in season two, as far as I can see it. Also, the story of Gubong, Jinsoyun's second accomplice is sad as well. Gubong, although I didn't pay too much attention to his story the first two times I did the story, was a general of Stratus Empire and he was from Clear Sky Village (where we have to clean his statue) and he, while a good man, was betrayed by corrupt officials and  executed. Or so we thought, as he is clearly alive and uses his immense chi to get revenge on the Earhten Realm. Basically, Jinsoyun gathered a group of misfits and people who cave revenge around herself to exact the ultimate revenge upon the Earthen Realm for being too clad in corruption and most of all, on the Four Guardians. For instance, Yunwa was supposed to be killed by Lusung, because she's Mushin's heir and hence the only one who can enter the Tomb of Mushin (apparently Mushin couldn't enter the tomb for some reason to claim his Divine Chi). This would mean revenge for Jinsoyun because Mushin would be cut off from his Divne Chi and wouldn't be able to use it for anything. As we can see, Lusung was power-hungry and decided to have Mushin's Legacy for himself. But with the intervention of us, his plans, Jinsoyun's plans and Mushin's plans were foiled, as we gave the Legacy to Yunwa. Now, idk what happens with her later on (I know that she is in a trance or coma caused by Mushin and was to be a host or something for the Dark Lord but after that?). Also, Namsoyoo and Yunma Fei are sisters. Dochun was a guard, along with Gubong, to Yunma Khan before the rise of Talus Empire and, even though I still haven't confirmed it, it seems that their mother was a Stratus princess (possibly the one that was injured during the Highland Central incident).

 

The story is simply amazing. Anyone who says otherwise is simply oblivious to the entire backstory and side quests and everything.

[Shilen]

1 hour ago, ThePrelate said:

Also, the story of Gubong, Jinsoyun's second accomplice is sad as well. Gubong, although I didn't pay too much attention to his story the first two times I did the story, was a general of Stratus Empire and he was from Clear Sky Village (where we have to clean his statue) and he, while a good man, was betrayed by corrupt officials and  executed. Or so we thought, as he is clearly alive and uses his immense chi to get revenge on the Earhten Realm. Basically, Jinsoyun gathered a group of misfits and people who cave revenge around herself to exact the ultimate revenge upon the Earthen Realm for being too clad in corruption and most of all, on the Four Guardians.

Sorry, but of parts of this is a bit off. Gubong was ressurected using dark chi by Jinsoyun. Upon ressurection, he partly lost his memories and his conscience. As such, he is now a demon, and isn't really aware of what he's doing. So yeah, he's not out for revenge or anything like that. It's completely explained by the end of act 4 though, so I won't say more than that :) 

 

I don't really think this has been... elaborated on (and since there seems to be some confusion surrounding the subject?), I'll just throw this out here. Something I posted on reddit a while back..

 

Before the rebellion Nam Sol-Lyn was married to the emperor of Stratus, Sup Hwan. They had one child together, which they named Sup So-Yoo. A short time after the incident at Stratus Haven, rumours began to spread that Nam Sol-Lyn and Yunma Khan were lovers. This was partly true, as Sol-Lyn and Khan had been in love since youth, and had planned to marry (but couldn't since Sup Hwan and Sul-Lyn were forced to wed). However they never acted on their feelings. Empress Dowager Ak was unsatisfied with the state of the empire/Nam Sol-Lyn & Sup Hwan's marriage, so she ended up spreading the rumours and tried to have So-Yoo killed. Disgusted by the rumours, and because in recent years Sup Hwan had become more and more like a tyrant (killing his owe generals etc) Yunma Kahn led his forces to rebellion and claimed large parts of the eastern continent, which later became know as the Talus Empire. Afterwards Yunma Kahn and Nam Sol-Lyn married, and Sol-Lyn later gave birth to their only child Yunma Fei. However, she soon after died of illness/issues with the birth. 
So yeah, Nam So-Yoo (being given her mothers name after going into hiding) and Yunma Fei are half-sisters. Thus, Nam So-Yoo is the true heir to the Stratus Empire, while Yunma Fei is the heir to Talus.

 

------

For those interested in the timeline of the game, a great thread can be found on the dojo here. It might not completely match up with what we have on na/eu servers though since some lore has been removed from our version (like saeshin/religion, or faction stuff), but in general it's pretty much the same.

Do note though, as the writer said, that this isn't the entire lore, just the most important parts. 

 

[Valenix35]

Thank you all for taking the time  and posting all the lore/story it was an awesome read

[Yolie]

Excellent breakdown of story and lore elements!  EdwinLi, I did not read too much of yours simply because I did not want to spoil what is to come here in NA, but the page is marked and I'm quite sure I will be back here often to digest your comments.

 

I would like to also add my appreciation of the story and lore in this game.  The depth and complexity are quite unexpected.  I fear many may not marvel at the work because of the way the story has been chopped up between release, the xpac, and the conclusion to come.  I think the transitions are so abrupt that many will fault the story and choose to ignore it and skip it my spamming F.

 

I hope I'm wrong because the story and the lore surrounding it are epic.  Yes, I mean that it is great, but I also mean that in scale.

 

I'm very curious about the time frame after Jinsoyun's literal and figurative fall.  That must have been one hell of a return if The Mark of The Black Rose is common knowledge among Masters, Sages and Guardians.  I'm also puzzled as to why the two remaining guardians did not meet her threat head on.  I'm not suggesting they need to take her down as it were, but certainly after what happened on Jiwan's Peak, they should have wanted to talk to her and at least try to ascertain what happened.  Think about the aftermath there.  Jiwan is dead by their own hand.

 

And of course, there is Mushin.  It is obvious he disappeared.  But wouldn't Hong and Ik at the very least be wondering about him?  And yet, it seems as if they wanted to ignore and forget that anything ever happened.

 

Is there any lore or story pertaining to The Black Rose specifically?

 

 

 

[Shilen]

2 hours ago, Yolie said:

Excellent breakdown of story and lore elements!  EdwinLi, I did not read too much of yours simply because I did not want to spoil what is to come here in NA, but the page is marked and I'm quite sure I will be back here often to digest your comments.

I would like to also add my appreciation of the story and lore in this game.  The depth and complexity are quite unexpected.  I fear many may not marvel at the work because of the way the story has been chopped up between release, the xpac, and the conclusion to come.  I think the transitions are so abrupt that many will fault the story and choose to ignore it and skip it my spamming F.

I hope I'm wrong because the story and the lore surrounding it are epic.  Yes, I mean that it is great, but I also mean that in scale.

I'm very curious about the time frame after Jinsoyun's literal and figurative fall.  That must have been one hell of a return if The Mark of The Black Rose is common knowledge among Masters, Sages and Guardians.  I'm also puzzled as to why the two remaining guardians did not meet her threat head on.  I'm not suggesting they need to take her down as it were, but certainly after what happened on Jiwan's Peak, they should have wanted to talk to her and at least try to ascertain what happened.  Think about the aftermath there.  Jiwan is dead by their own hand.

And of course, there is Mushin.  It is obvious he disappeared.  But wouldn't Hong and Ik at the very least be wondering about him?  And yet, it seems as if they wanted to ignore and forget that anything ever happened.

Is there any lore or story pertaining to The Black Rose specifically?

 

It is hardly mentioned in the western localisation at all, but when Jin Seo Yeon attacked Mushin and Ik San Un at Jiwan Peak, both of them were wounded, which resulted in their chi and inner force to be exhausted/drained. As for the four guardians attacking JSY recklessly, it’s a bit more complicated than that. Basically Ik San Un had distant relationship with both Jiwan and Hong Seok Geun (sorry, dont know english name), as he thought Jiwan was too distant and Hong Seok Geun too rigid. This resulted in him becoming closer to Mushin, and Ik San Un started to blindly trust everything he said. Given that he already had misgivings towards Seo Yeon (not against the girl herself,  but because she’s corrupted), he didn't question what Mushin said. 

As for Mushin, it was said he died a short time after the incident at Jiwan Peak. It’s never confirmed, but he supposedly went to the netherworld, and resurrected towards the end of Act 2.

There isn’t really much said about the mark of the black rose, beyond that it attracts demons and exhausts the users chi, body, and mind. The chi becomes all tangled up and twisted, while the person is prone to hallucinations and becomes extremely fatigued.

 

There isn’t really much story/lore related to it though. Currently, there is only 3 persons with the mark: the pc, Hae Mujin, and Yahwang Yukson (mushin fl 15 boss). Hae Mujin never really explains how he got it, he just says that he had "fallen into darkness, due to a mistake in the past", but he never really elaborates. Yukson however, inflicted the mark of the black rose upon himself in order to become the strongest martial artist in the world. 

 

And now, this is just a suggestion, but for those of you that are interested in the story/lore, I really recommend watching through Dun1007’s fan-translations of the story. First of all, it clears up a lot of the plot holes/alterations that ncwest added to the game that might have been confusing. It’s also a direct translation, so nothing is cut like in na/eu. As some of you may know, NCWest removed a great deal of story aspects, foreshadowing and lore when they localised it, so some of you might be interested in knowing the original story. Act 4 is very different though, compared to the story we have in the game currently, as it was rewritten when China got Silverfrost. If nothing else, watch through those. It’s a way better story then whats currently in the game.

[Crimsonjrjr]

Basically when Yuna did the ritual that caused Necropolis to turn into a Dark Chi play ground. She was bringing back Mushin from the Dark Realm. That's the reason why she didn't do a full ritual and just opened the door a little bit.

[Lurkios]

These are not the story of B&S, these are the stories B&S tells.

 

The real story of B&S is a short one, taking place over only 7 days.

 

On the first day, the lighting was added.

On the second day, the clouds and water.

On the fourth day, the 3D devs got off their lazy bums, gave the texture guys a break and added some polygons here and there for a world and some other stuff.

On the fifth day, the skybox was created along with a slew of invisible walls.

On the 6th day, the 4 races were created and NPCs set fourth to populate the land.

On the 7th day... well, the 7th day was slated for optimization and dealing with bots/hacks, but everyone was very tired and instead they rested.

 

This is the story of B&S.

[Shilen]

Just now, Crimsonjrjr said:

Basically when Yuna did the ritual that caused Necropolis to turn into a Dark Chi play ground. She was bringing back Mushin from the Dark Realm. That's the reason why she didn't do a full ritual and just opened the door a little bit.

No, Yuran's intensions had nothing to do with Mushin. The fact that he came back through the portal was a coincidence. She wanted to bring the demon emperor back to the world, but it was also a test to see what was required to do so. 

 

They completely messed up her dialogue in na/eu, but in kr she says: "So the dark gate did open, but it wasn't enough to summon the demon emperor down to the earth, huh. It wasn't time, just as calculated."

[Yolie]

3 hours ago, Shilen said:

It is hardly mentioned in the western localisation at all, but when Jin Seo Yeon attacked Mushin and Ik San Un at Jiwan Peak, both of them were wounded, which resulted in their chi and inner force to be exhausted/drained. As for the four guardians attacking JSY recklessly, it’s a bit more complicated than that. Basically Ik San Un had distant relationship with both Jiwan and Hong Seok Geun (sorry, dont know english name), as he thought Jiwan was too distant and Hong Seok Geun too rigid. This resulted in him becoming closer to Mushin, and Ik San Un started to blindly trust everything he said. Given that he already had misgivings towards Seo Yeon (not against the girl herself,  but because she’s corrupted), he didn't question what Mushin said. 

As for Mushin, it was said he died a short time after the incident at Jiwan Peak. It’s never confirmed, but he supposedly went to the netherworld, and resurrected towards the end of Act 2.

There isn’t really much said about the mark of the black rose, beyond that it attracts demons and exhausts the users chi, body, and mind. The chi becomes all tangled up and twisted, while the person is prone to hallucinations and becomes extremely fatigued.

 

There isn’t really much story/lore related to it though. Currently, there is only 3 persons with the mark: the pc, Hae Mujin, and Yahwang Yukson (mushin fl 15 boss). Hae Mujin never really explains how he got it, he just says that he had "fallen into darkness, due to a mistake in the past", but he never really elaborates. Yukson however, inflicted the mark of the black rose upon himself in order to become the strongest martial artist in the world. 

 

And now, this is just a suggestion, but for those of you that are interested in the story/lore, I really recommend watching through Dun1007’s fan-translations of the story. First of all, it clears up a lot of the plot holes/alterations that ncwest added to the game that might have been confusing. It’s also a direct translation, so nothing is cut like in na/eu. As some of you may know, NCWest removed a great deal of story aspects, foreshadowing and lore when they localised it, so some of you might be interested in knowing the original story. Act 4 is very different though, compared to the story we have in the game currently, as it was rewritten when China got Silverfrost. If nothing else, watch through those. It’s a way better story then whats currently in the game.

 

Awesome.  I appreciate the link and the info.

 

Just to clarify, I'm not saying that Hong and Iksanon should have warred with Jinsoyun when she returned.  What is puzzling to me is that they didn't try to understand what happened at Jiwan's Peak.  Clearly things were not as Mushin had described to them.  And Hong, at the very least did not strike initially because of it.

 

I can understand Iksanon taking the word of Mushin for the reasons stated, but it seems to me that despite his bias ,the death of Jiwan would have made him want to investigate the matter fully.

[Yolie]

3 hours ago, Shilen said:

No, Yuran's intensions had nothing to do with Mushin. The fact that he came back through the portal was a coincidence. She wanted to bring the demon emperor back to the world, but it was also a test to see what was required to do so. 

 

They completely messed up her dialogue in na/eu, but in kr she says: "So the dark gate did open, but it wasn't enough to summon the demon emperor down to the earth, huh. It wasn't time, just as calculated."

 

It seems like we are losing quite a bit in the translation.  And it seems that some of the story has been changed as well since the official release.  

[ThePrelate]

8 minutes ago, Yolie said:

It seems like we are losing quite a bit in the translation.  And it seems that some of the story has been changed as well since the official release.  

Yeah I agree.

[Brand X]

31 minutes ago, Yolie said:

Awesome.  I appreciate the link and the info.

 

Just to clarify, I'm not saying that Hong and Iksanon should have warred with Jinsoyun when she returned.  What is puzzling to me is that they didn't try to understand what happened at Jiwan's Peak.  Clearly things were not as Mushin had described to them.  And Hong, at the very least did not strike initially because of it.

 

I can understand Iksanon taking the word of Mushin for the reasons stated, but it seems to me that despite his bias ,the death of Jiwan would have made him want to investigate the matter fully.

Good friend was killed.  Another good friend put the blame on someone.  Distraught, he quickly agreed to it.  After the fact, likely to late to investigate, and if he did, Mushin would have set it up to look how he wanted it to.

 

Hong is the one who surprised me.  He seemed to wise, to be fooled so easily and not ask questions first.

[ThePrelate]

8 hours ago, Brand X said:

Good friend was killed.  Another good friend put the blame on someone.  Distraught, he quickly agreed to it.  After the fact, likely to late to investigate, and if he did, Mushin would have set it up to look how he wanted it to.

 

Hong is the one who surprised me.  He seemed to wise, to be fooled so easily and not ask questions first.

I don't think there was time for questions. Iksanun trusted Mushin, Mushin was playing them all and Jinsoyun wasn't really in a position to be trusted, what with the fact that she was corrupted by the Dark Chi and also caught 'red-handed'. Plus, Mushin manipulated the whole situation in his favor so that Hong really wasn't able to do anything aside from watch. But you can see he clearly did try to stop emotions among the four of them from going haywire.

 

As for the Black Rose, I always thought that it was simply a mark (like something that villain Orochimaru has placed upon Sasuke in Naruto) that tears the bearer from inside. And it's called Mark of the Black Rose, because Jinsoyun is known as Lady Black Rose. Am I rite, or am I rite?

 

P.S. I am so glad you revived the thread with fresh views on the story :D

[KatHead]

The story of BNS:

 

A great game was released. Hackers and Bots flooded it causing a huge drop in the player base. NCSW responded by doing nothing.

 

The End  (Literally)