Of Fallen Wings and The Six Tails

--=Profiles and Terminologies of Act 1=--

 

 

!!! Spoiler Warning ahead for those who haven’t read the story up till now !!!

 

Hello all, I thought I'd do a LARGE and exhausting info-filled chapter that's just their profiles(of those with names revealed so far) and the terminology used in the story since Act 1 ended during the last chapter. I'm sure some people were confused on some stuff so I made a list of all the things that I think people wanted to know. While I didn't put the profiles of Villains(and certain characters) up for story reasons, if there's anything else in the story you wanted to know, I don't mind updating this if asked. I wanted to put this up earlier but considering how much different AUs I work on, it's hard to juggle what I want to finish at the moment of time.

For those who've read the story, you don't have to read these but you’ll find lots of new tidbits/stuff/lore on various characters here and there but of course, it’s not everything about the character since I don’t want to spoil everything about them. There are some hints of a small things though...

For the Profiles, since this is just the end of Act 1, don’t expect them to stay the same by the end of Act 2 once more of the story opens up in the upcoming chapters...also forgive me on my photoshop pictures, I don't have enough time to perfect them or high enough skills to make them look professional. Sorry if I mess up some sentences, I've proofread this 3 times but I might miss some things.

 

The next chapter is coming up soon, either by the end of this week or the beginning of next week and will be the start of Act 2!

 

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Profiles:

Sakuya

"The Fallen Tengu"

(Appears in Chapter 1)

Age: 1439

Birthplace: Mount Sakurajima, Nippon

Species: Tengu (Daitengu class)

Story: A playful and once cheerful Tengu who passed away in the year 1383 AD due to unknown circumstances, knowing only that it was 'Divine Punishment' from the gods above. Woken up 141 years later in 1524 for unknown reasons, he now has amnesia and questions why. Despite having it, he remembers small parts of his past like passing away and vaguely remembers some memories of a situation similar to his past. Upon waking up, he found out that his long time friend, a massive black dragon named Kuroryu, was told to look after him but never explained why. Because of his unexpected awakening, Kuroryu told Sakuya to find a Dragon Pearl as a mission despite not telling why he needed to. From what he gathered so far, the Dragon Pearl holds extraordinary powers but is a very rare item to come by.

Sakuya is a highly skilled fighter who’s an expert at trickery, deception, wind and lightning powers. His earring is a Khakkhara staff in disguise, which he uses to form and shape the earth beneath him in a fight while also allowing him to control the element of Water. While being able to hold boulders thousands of pounds heavier than himself, he chooses to be a more nimble fighter than one that relies on pure raw strength. Able to weave in and out of an attack, he often plays with his opponents and makes them mad, allowing him to win easier because of their state of anger. Despite his playfulness, he fights with honor and detests whenever opponents who uses cheap shots or tactics that seems dirty. He would often conjure up lightning bolts across the sky, riding on them as a way to travel around the continent of Asia at a blinding speed.

Being a Tengu, they train their bodies and powers for hundreds of years and often spar with each other daily. While not remembering much about his clan because of his amnesia, he still remembers the lessons he’s learned because of the amount of muscle memory that is etched into his being from all those years of training. Nowadays, he spends most of his days meditating since it allows him to vaguely see his past at times.

In the beginning years of his awakening, he tried multiple times to go back to his country of Nippon but failed every time. Something was keeping him from reaching the shores, tiring him out rapidly whenever he gets too close. Because of his early awakening, a unknown condition forces him to recharge in thunderclouds by lightning to regain energy. He didn’t find out why he needed to do it until much later. He can eat, sleep or meditate to regain energy but not as much as recharging himself in the thunderclouds.

For years, Sakuya and Kuroryu traveled around the continent of Asia to find the elusive pearls but never managed to get one even after 3 decades of searching. Kuroryu learned that the Kingdom of Joseon had dragons above that dropped Dragon Pearls around the country and the sea surrounding it. And thus, Sakuya began focusing his search for the elusive pearl across the Kingdom of Joseon, where he saw countless amounts war throughout the country just as much as his own.

During one night of his journey, he met a Kumiho named Hyewon and helped her escape from Hunters that were chasing after her. After saving her, he saw how she was scared of him, being a being that wasn’t from the land, so he left her and continued his journey. From there, he continued meeting her and it caused him to become a bit fond of the Kumiho, becoming friends with her due to her interest in him. He met an frightful and unknown being one night, warning him of his life that he shouldn't be living since he was living on false terms. He's unsure on how to feel about the warning since it wasn't his choice to live again, keeping the message in the back of his mind as he continued his journey.

As he continued his search, he felt a pulse of a Dragon Pearl in the nearby city of Pusan, a port city by the sea. While waiting for it until dawn, a male Kumiho fought with him, causing him to lose control of his mind for a bit as his ego and anger gained control for a short while. He transformed into his Daitengu state because of this, unleashing a large red lightning bolt as a warning to the Kumiho, scaring him away. He used the little remaining bit of his sanity to teleport himself from doing any more damage.

As he found himself in another part of the mountain, he tried to meditate his anger away but it left him unable to think. Hyewon’s voice called out to him a little over an hour later, snapping him from his thoughts and dissipating his unknown rage. Because of the energy he used while summoning a large lightning bolt, he found himself weaker than usual, unable to teleport to Kuroryu instantly like he usually did. As he found himself freefalling in the sky, he tried to teleport again using the last bit of his energy before passing out.

He awoke and found himself in the clouds, now lying in an unknown stranger’s lap. He found out that she was an old friend of his named Eunbi and that she knew of his past. From her, he found out that he passed away 175 years ago and that she and another person resurrected him for reasons she didn’t want to tell him as of yet. She told him that because of his unexpected early resurrection, a process that takes over 200 years fully, he wasn’t functioning fully as he used to. Because of it, his mind and body was still in a state of slow decay, a decay that accelerates if he uses too much of his energy. From what she told him, the decay is the reason why he has amnesia and why he needs to charge his body in thunderclouds. 

She fed him some special recovery Mooncakes to regain some energy and told him a little bit about his past. Due to his low energy at the time, she forced him to go back to Kuroryu and charge his body back fully. Because of her knowing his past, he wishes to see Eunbi again once the Full Moon comes.

Powers and Skills:

Flight

Teleportation

Wing Manifestation and Manipulation

Daitengu Form Transformation

Claw Retraction

Wind Manipulation: Lightning, Thunder

Super Strength, Speed

Enhanced Vision, Balance, Endurance, Reflexes

Shapeshifting

Possession and Telepathy

Illusion Manipulation

Avian communication

Master at Mystical Martial Arts and Swordsmanship

Master Stealth

 

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Hyewon

"The Cursed Kumiho"

(Appears in Chapter 1)

Age: 1323

Birthplace: Honam, Joseon

Species: Kumiho (6 Tails) (formally 8 Tails)

 

Story: Hyewon is a mysterious, quiet and reserved 6 tailed Kumiho who wants to become human to be freed of the curse plaguing her. Because she’s a Kumiho, she doesn’t have a surname like Humans do. In the past, she was an 8 tailed Kumiho who was close to becoming a 9 tailed Kumiho but due to an unfortunate event almost 200 years ago, she was converted back into a 1 tailed Kumiho. For her, it is now a curse to live and she is willing to do anything to break that curse and become human instead of becoming a 9 tailed Kumiho.

Due to restarting her tail growth, she’s had to kill many people despite despising it and gained notoriety in the Kingdom of Joseon as a wanted Kumiho on numerous bounties from Hunters. Because of her extended time as a Kumiho, she has a higher number of kills in comparison to normal Kumiho and it has caused her despair of living life. If she was to kill her ownself, she would be cursed beyond what she already was. She continues her journey day by day, living a life that brings her misery because of her endless hunger for energy. Due to all the energy she’s absorbed as a Kumiho for over 300+ years of becoming one, she sometimes has a hard time telling what’s her own memories and what her victims were.

From what she remembers, she had a close friend that she used to travel with but lost her because of the event. It is unknown what really happened but sometimes she has nightmares of it that changes every time she sleeps. She’s always on the run, traveling here and there while being chased constantly by Hunters on her tail. She’s an excellent fighter, fierce and deadly that usually ends fights in one hit kills but she has grown tired of it, often avoiding conflict unless she has no choice.

After meeting Sakuya, being a Kumiho, she attempted to get his energy but found him to be very intriguing since he was always coy about his past and what he is. Upon kissing him the first time, the massive energy he stored in his body amazed her since he was not a human but a being of almost god-like powers. She also saw a memory that intrigued her greatly since it was not from a Human origin, but from a being much more powerful. In that one memory, she saw a story played in her mind that showed a death of a powerful being. Waking up from it, she questioned if it was Sakuya since it couldn’t be….he was still alive in front of her. It raised questions about his history and because of it, she wanted to forgo killing all together, thinking that Sakuya would be a better way to gain energy and also to learn of his past.

Unfortunately for her, she doesn't know much of Sakuya’s circumstances and wonders why he seems to forget things easily. She began growing fond of Sakuya soon after and after her last meeting with him, she began sensing that there was something deeper within him that troubled him greatly. After he left, she was left with a dilemma in her mind: slowly getting his energy to free herself from her own curse or to help him solve his problems that conflicted him while learning more about him in the process. She is now unsure of what to do but eagerly hopes to meet him again, to tell him the truth and to find out a better way to help the both of them.

After their meeting, she sneaked into Pusan as it was still in chaos, hoping to plan about what to do next when a friendly merchant called out to her. The merchant was named Yena and she, along with her friend Chaewon, wanted to help her out. They knew that she was a Kumiho and warned her about a troubling event that was happening to Kumiho around the city. Something was causing Kumiho to go feral inside the city and it was happening often enough to worry the merchants into letting Hyewon stay with them for the time being.

Powers and Skills:

Life Force Absorption

Fire Manipulation: Fox Fire Level 6

Super Strength, Speed

Claw Retraction

Enhanced Hearing, Balance, Sight

Shapeshifting

Possession

Illusion Manipulation

Dream Manipulation

Tail Manifestation

Master Stealth

Master Assassination

 

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Choi Yena

"The Merchant, The Informer, The Yena"

(First appears in Chapter 3)

Age: 26

Birthplace: Hanseong, Joseon

Species: Human

Story: A bright, sneaky yet informative merchant who has her own occult shop in Pusan, called ‘Yena’s Shop of Occult Wonders’, that sells various things of the occult kind from talismans, weapons, enchanted jewelry, etc. She opened her shop in 1556, 2 years before the current events in the story. Being a merchant for an occult shop, she speaks with many types of people from villagers, physicians, nobles, Hunters and even beings of the supernatural at times. She sells information to people for a right price but if someone is close to her, she’ll tell them info for free.

Despite her casual way of talking, she’s very smart and tricky at times, oftentimes haggling people whenever they try to sell her objects of various kinds. She has a way of words and loves to play pranks on people by making them think her store is haunted. Her favorite prank is throwing a paper ball near customers and making them move using trickery. She sometimes throws the paper balls at their head and if it hits, she makes it levitate for a bit, causing the customer to buy one of her products that would protect them from spirits, which does despite her trickery.

Due to her friendly nature, she’s friends with many people, including Kumiho that secretly resides in Pusan. They would often talk to her and ask her for advice since she was a walking information book on things that were occuring around the city or area. During her free time, she would often go outside the city and find ingredients to make concoctions, antidotes and remedies for her store.

Yena never fights and leaves it to Chaewon if she ever needs someone to bonk scoundrels on the head. That doesn’t mean she’s defenseless though since she is a master at trickery and the use of incantation spells, confusing anybody who tries to do anything bad against her. She carries talismans with her at all times and her hands are extremely quick, able to make hand signs of various spells to help her out whenever she does get into trouble.

Not much is known about her past.

Powers and Skills:

Duck Mimicry

Expert Haggling

Expert Sleight of Hand

Expert Trickery

Expert Magician

Spell and Incantation Mastery

 

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Kim Chaewon

"The Thief of Hearts, Bonker of Heads"

(First appears in Chapter 3)

Age: 24

Birthplace: Wonju, Joseon

Species: Human

Story: Yena’s longtime friend who lives with her and works around the shop. A very friendly, charming and bright woman who has a cold demeanor on the outside while is also being fluffy on the inside. Despite being charming to everyone who meets her, she has a harder time making friends compared to Yena due to her more reserved nature. She would often go out and find customers for Yena, listening for people who are searching for ways to deal with the supernatural and then inviting them to the shop. Oftentimes, she would find people who just wanted to flirt with her, much to her chagrin and dismay.

Unknown to other people besides her friend Yena, she’s an expert thief who's never been caught...or so she says. Anything shiny and valuable that catches her eyes would be hers if she chooses. She’d never steal from people less fortunate from her, only nobles or snobby people who look down on others. If she found a target she wanted to steal from, she would track the person for days, finding vulnerabilities in their schedules and striking at the right moment.

Even if she doesn’t look like it, she is a pretty crafty fighter but doesn’t fight since she has a reputation to uphold in the city, especially since she doesn’t want to give negative publicity to Yena’s store. If someone tried to steal anything in the store, they’d get a quick bonk on the head with a pan she keeps close by under the counter. Yena and her have various code words to each other that they use whenever they want to talk in secret.

She despises people of Nobility for reasons unknown and would often steal valuables from them without them knowing and would leave in a smirk.

Like Yena, not much is known about her past.

Powers and Skills:

Expert Thievery

Expert Sleight of Hand

Expert Trickery

Expert Stealth

Expert Charmer

 

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Ahn Jin

"The Elite Protector"

(First appears in Chapter 3)

Age: 21

Birthplace: Hanseong, Joseon

Species: Human

Story: A tall young man with a huge sense of justice and duty. A very hard worker in everything he does, he often finds himself tired by the end of the day because of his willingness to help everyone he can. Because of his height and strength, he would often end fights in a flash due to his training in being an Elite Hunter. He’s very protective of anyone close to him, especially his teammates, and would often take hits for them because of his resilience and endurance.

He found out about his heightened sense of smell at the age of 17 after searching for multiple missing humans in a village near his hometown. A powerful and troublesome group dokkaebi kept them hostage within their hideout, hidden by their goblin cloaks that made it look invisible to the eye. He told the village chief and gathered with a force of hunters who finally were able to free some of the missing humans. What he witnessed within their hideout was terrible, with some of the missing villagers being dead already and being eaten by the group of dokkaebi. The fight afterwards showed him how vulnerable people could be in a world filled with supernatural unknowns.

From then on, he wanted to protect people so he traveled to the Capitol to join the army but was scouted by a group of specialized Hunters that wanted to train him in the arts of hunting supernatural beings. He managed to train and learn from various Hunters from around the world and committed himself to make the world a safer place for humans.

He became trained under Lee Chaeyeon, his superior, and would go on many missions together, solving cases here and there as a duo for the past 2 years. He viewed her as a reliable older sister and one of his closest friends after she saved him this one time against a rogue Kumiho.

Powers and Skills:

Enhanced Strength

Enhanced Smell

Expert at Close Range Martial Arts

Swordsmanship

Expert Archery

Spell and Incantation Mastery

 

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Lee Chaeyeon

"The Fierce Noble Feather"

(First appears in Chapter 5)

Age: 25

Birthplace: Hanseong, Joseon

Species: Human

Story: A happy go lucky woman who loves to train in everything she does. If there was something she couldn’t do, she would try to learn it and become great at it. Born from a noble family, she was raised into privilege but never wanted to be one since all the noble customs were boring and annoying to her. She would often hang out with people below her society standards and helped them out in any way she could, teaching them skills nobles would refuse them.

Her family didn’t mind her ways since they loved her free spirit very much. Despite being looked down upon by other noble families, they wanted Chaeyeon to live her life as she wanted and she did. She became interested in becoming a Hunter at age 18 when a few of her friends died from violent Kumiho attacks that left their families grieving and full of fear. She despises fighting but for the greater good, she joined a group of Hunters and helped track down the Kumiho and took it down.

Her power of being able to see energy signatures in the world activated at age 19 after she was ambushed by notorious dokkaebi who hunted humans by a remote village. She managed to kill it by reading it’s movements from the energy it gave in advance before it even moved. From then on, she could activate her power whenever she can but must rest a bit afterwards as it makes her body fatigued.

Not soon after, she went to Capitol to learn more about supernatural beings and met a group of Hunters that helped her learn whatever info she needed, along with info on various other supernatural beings that existed outside of Joseon.

Powers and Skills:

Enhanced Speed

Enhanced Acrobatics and Reflex

Enhanced Eyes: Able to see energy signatures

Expert at Close Range Martial Arts

Expert Swordsmanship

Archery

Spell and Incantation Mastery

 

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Nako

"The Prodigy of The Sakurajima Clan"

(First appears in Chapter 4)

Age: 1205

Birthplace: Mount Sakurajima, Nippon

Species: Tengu

Story: One of Sakuya’s 3 siblings, Nako is his younger sister who’s as feisty as a sparking thundercloud. Nako was very fond of her older brother and was a bit of a tsundere towards him in the past since he loved to a lot. Despite being younger than Sakuya by over 200 years, she learned her powers much faster than her brother and is considered a prodigy among her clan. Sakuya was always very proud of her and praised her often whenever he came by from his many journeys around Asia. He’d bring her various gifts from whatever country he journeyed to, which she kept in a collection in her house. 

Nako was well loved among her clan, even among other Tengu clans because of her hard work ethic and willingness to learn new things. Despite being small and feisty, she was extremely friendly and would become friends with Humans and other Yokai beings such as the Kodama, Kitsune, Bake-danuki, Bakeneko, Oni, Kappa, among countless others.

She would often make a small cloud to sit on, surveying the land hundreds of feet above the ground for whatever interests or catches her eyes at the moment. Whenever she gets bored, she would play pranks on humans, being a Tengu and all. Nako would often ride her cloud above unsuspecting humans and make random thunderclaps out of nowhere to scare them.

Nako would sometimes travel with Sakuya for fun, traveling to places to eat different foods from around the land. A few years before he died, Sakuya told her about a place called the Joseon Kingdom where he made some friends, surprising her since he was always so shy. She learned the language of Joseon from them and would often travel there until he passed away.

When Sakuya passed away, she wasn’t in aware of it until days later because she was traveling abroad. When her clan told her, she cried endlessly for days that caused thunderstorms to last on the island of Mount Sakurajima. They didn't tell her the details of his death so she soon left to find answers afterwards, hoping to know why he passed away.

Powers and Skills:

Flight

Teleportation

Wing Manifestation and Manipulation

Claw Retraction

Wind Manipulation: Lightning, Thunder

Super Strength, Speed

Enhanced Vision, Balance, Endurance, Reflexes

Shapeshifting

Possession and Telepathy

Illusion Manipulation

Avian communication

Expert Archery

Master at Mystical Martial Arts

 

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Hitomi

"Lovely Kitsune of Shimotsuke, Celestial White Fox, The Light Guardian"

(First appears in Chapter 4)

Age: 1205

Birthplace: Shimotsuke Province, Nippon

Species: Kitsune (4 Tails)

Story: A bright and reserved Kitsune friend of Nako. Hitomi met Nako shortly after Sakuya’s death, seeing her grieve for reasons unknown at first, she attempted to cheer her up since her rain clouds wouldn’t go away from where ever she went. Seeing the crying Nako sitting alone near her Shrine, Hitomi sat beside her for days in the rain until she finally stopped crying. After hours of silence, they talked afterwards and quickly became friends after finding out they were born the same year despite being over 1200 years old. Nako never talked to her about Sakuya so she never knew what she was crying about when they first met. They became attached to each other and would often visit one another to speak of whatever was going on in their locations.

Considering she was a Kitsune, they are often solitary so she was by herself for most of her life, causing her to be shy around creatures she didn’t know. She would try to befriend other Kitsune but many of them would be Yako Kitsune, the type of Kitsune that often caused trouble for humans and other Yokai. From there, she found out that she was a Inari Kitsune, the type of Kitsune that were more like guardians and protectors.

While not one to fight much, she had to since her willingness to help Humans made her want to live a more peaceful life. They grow very fond of her and would often come to the Inari Shrine where she stayed, worshipping her daily because of her thoughtful actions. The villagers around the area gave her the nicknames “Lovely Kitsune of Shimotsuke”, “Lake Chuzenji’s Celestial White Fox” and “The Light Guardian of Kegon Falls” as she frequented the surrounding area often to help people in need.

Hitomi would often train her powers, finding new ways of utilizing them in ways other Kitsune wouldn’t. Her Fire Fox form glows a bright celestial peach white color, becoming a beacon of light and hope to Humans who see it since they know she uses it to ward off evil spirits in the area she’s in. An older male villager who used to be a warrior long ago, became a mentor to her of sorts. He wanting to thank her for all the help she’s done by teaching her the art of Swordsmanship, which she learned for over 10 years. She gained much discipline from his teachings, allowing her to control her slashes with pinpoint precision and also evolving her own powers in the process. Hitomi visits him from time to time, thanking him for all that he’s teached her and even still, he gives her ideas for new ways to use her powers.

Powers and Skills:

Fire Fox Form

Life Force Absorption

Regenerative Healing Factor

Fire Absorption

Fire Manipulation: Fox Fire Level 4

Light Manipulation

Sound Manipulation: Sonic/Kinetic Manipulation

Super Speed

Claw Retraction

Enhanced Hearing, Sight

Shapeshifting

Possession

Illusion Manipulation

Dream Manipulation

Tail Manifestation

Master at Swordsmanship

 

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Eunbi

"Daltokki: The Beautiful Messenger of the Moon"

(First appears in Chapter 5)

Age: ???

Birthplace: ???

Species: ???....???....;)

Story: A mysterious woman who Sakuya meets that knows much of his past, even knowing how and why he passed away. From her actions that she showed him, she’s very fond, loving and affectionate of him, calling him a certain nickname and even telling him that she taught him the language of the Joseon Kingdom when he first met her. She knows Nako as well but haven't met up with her ever since Sakuya's death, afraid of facing her since she cherishes her dearly and as much as Sakuya.

Being one of the 2 beings who resurrected Sakuya for reasons unknown, she was surprised to feel Sakuya’s energy from a large lightning bolt he conjured on Geumjeong Mountain while fighting a male Kumiho. Considering it was only 175 years after his passing and a Resurrection being 200 years to do at minimum, she grew extremely worried and rushed towards the spot where he was at.

Using her powers, she located Sakuya as he was freefalling in the sky, capturing his unconscious body within her arms and teleporting to a nearby cloud to rest on. As Sakuya woke up, she found that Sakuya had forgotten most of his memories and even memories of her. Reading his body and energy through her powers, she saw that Sakuya was slowly decaying, one of the effects from waking early. As they talked, she told Sakuya that he’d never summon a bolt of that size before, finding out that Sakuya lost control of himself when he did it. That was also an after effect of his early resurrection and it worried her more.

While he seeked information from her, because of his condition, she refused to tell Sakuya much because of his remaining energy. Eunbi forced him to recharge his energy back first or he would rapidly decay due to his low amount during the time. She told him that she’ll reveal his past the next time they meet once he recharges, telling him to look at the Full Moon whenever it comes to communicate with her again. Eunbi revealed that she was a very busy woman with important duties to fulfill so she couldn’t talk to him as much as she really wanted to.

Powers and Skills:

Teleportation

????

 

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The terms below is from various info I’ve gathered around the web along with some of my own changes for some things. Basically 95% info is from the web and 5% is my own spin on things. It was hard to write and research so much info.

 

Terminology of Fallen Wings:

 

Kumiho: (First mentioned in Chapter 1)

Legendary creatures from Korean folklore. Kumiho are foxes that are said to live up to 1000 years, granting them powers of shapeshifting. They are often depicted to be evil creatures as they tend to eat Human hearts and livers, even going as far as getting into cemeteries at night for a chance to eat when they can. Because of their origins as a fox, they don’t have surnames and take names that they’ve taken a liking to from the memories they’ve consumed.

They often sought out energy from Humans, with killing being the easiest method to gain energy. Another way is from absorption from deep kisses, often involving the tongue. Because of this, it is able to easily make a Human fall in love with it in just a single kiss...often causing the victim to become infatuated because of its power. From this, they also gain memories from the Humans and it will forever be part of their own. The reason for that is because the Kumiho possess a Fox Bead(Yeowoo Guseul) at the back of their throat, a bead that possesses knowledge from the hundreds of years they’ve lived and all the energy they’ve absorbed. They insert the bead into the unexpecting human and as it absorbs their energy in the process, the Kumiho must it back before the kiss finishes. If a human manages to steal the fox bead, they'll be able to gain all the knowledge the Kumiho possessed.

It is said that depending on a Kumiho’s ways of thoughts, living and methods, they can either become a 9 tailed Kumiho, a human or even something more sinister.

For becoming human, It is said that they can become one if they fulfill different conditions, ranging from not eating any hearts/livers for 1000 days or not killing anything for 1000 days. This was a grueling task for the Kumiho as it leaves them in a very weakened and vulnerable state. Another method is finding a rare Yeoiju(Dragon Pearl) and absorbing its energy/essence.

To become a 9 tailed Kumiho, they simply need to absorb energy. A tail grows itself without eating hearts/livers by living 100 years. To accelerate tail growth, they consume human hearts/livers since it is said that those organs are the lifeforce of a human. As they grow their tails, they gain more powers and become stronger until they gain the final 9th tail, which grants them almost god-like powers at that state.

Besides being able to shapeshift, they gain the ability to control the element of Fire. The fires first start off by being illusions at first, also known as Faux Fire/Fox Fire, which isn’t real fire but can be if a victim believes it to be so. With each tail they add, the fire becomes stronger and becomes real fire after their fourth tail. You can tell how strong a Kumiho is by the color of their fires, from faint ghostly white to an orange to crimson red to a dark purple and finally to vibrant blue. It is said that the flames of a 9 Tailed fox is seen to be the colors of rainbows, showing it’s mastery of the element. Other powers it gains as it grows stronger is the ability to possess a human through eye contact and making illusions.

For their shapeshifting ability, it is limited to become human at first. As they gain more tails, they are able to transform into more things. Even once they transform, they will still have fox-like qualities to them, ranging from their ears, eyes, face or even tail. The only way to tell one is a Kumiho is once all their clothes are removed, revealing a fox-like feature in one way or another. Another way to tell is simply by having a dog nearby, who’s able to sniff the Kumiho out. Kumiho are deathly afraid of dogs and will actively try to stay far away from any that are nearby.

As for the 3rd form a Kumiho can gain, if a Kumiho chooses to continue killing/eating human hearts/livers without remorse, they are to become Demons within a 1000 years. Their powers are almost equal to those of 9 tailed Kumiho but the corruption of their mind prevents them from reaching it’s status, causing them to have an insatiable hunger for power and death.

 

Feral Kumiho: (First mentioned in Chapter 6)

A term that Elite Hunters made up after finding violent and almost rabid-like Kumiho’s with bloody scars on the back of their necks. The bloody scars secretes an unknown black substance alongside the blood. It is unknown what creature causes the scar.

 

Journeying Kumiho: (First mentioned in Chapter 7)

A term Yena made up to describe Kumiho’s on their journey of becoming a Human. These Kumiho are those who’ve started their journey of not eating Human hearts/livers or killing for 1000 days. They are peaceful and keep themselves hidden well from Humans, slowly losing their powers along the way since they stopped using their abilities fully. Because of their journey, they gradually become weaker as time goes on, making them vulnerable.

 

Tengu: (First mentioned in Chapter 4)

Legendary creatures from Japanese folklore. Powerful Human/Avian-like creatures that are considered Kami(Gods) or Yokai(Supernatural beings) that are fierce protectors of the Mountains and Forests from humans with evil intent or evil spirits in general. They usually wear a traditional Yamabushi (Warrior Monk) garb and often carry a feather fan(ha uchiwa) and a Khakkhara staff.

The fan is able to conjure up strong winds on its own even if Tengu already possesses the ability themselves. The Khakkhara staff has rings that wards off all animals, warning smaller animals to move away from it’s users path, to avoid being stepped on, while also scaring larger animals. If the ground is struck with the Khakkhara staff, it is strong enough to form the earth and even summon forth underground water, creating springs or ponds depending on what the Tengu wishes.

They possess god-like magical powers that allow them to control the element of Wind and manipulate it in any way possible, which makes them able to create thunderstorms, hurricanes/typhoons, rain, hail and snow instantly if they choose to do so. There are some varieties of Tengu that are able to create Faux Fire, which isn’t real fire but can be if a victim believes it to be so. Other powers include flight, instant teleportation without the use of their wings, the ability to talk to humans with just their minds and even the ability to appear in dreams.

Tengu are masters of Martial Arts, Stealth and Swordsmanship, training for hundreds or even thousands of years depending on their age. It is said that Ninjas of Nippon, known for their steath and assassination techniques, learned the art of stealth from the Tengu. For the amount of battle prowess they possess, noble warriors would seeked them out to learn of their tactics and knowledge of the battlefield to fight against warlords. More wicked Tengu would often teach war obsessed humans just because they want to see war.

It is said that people who had excessive pride during their Human lives are often reincarnated as Tengu. Very crafty and playful tricksters, most Tengu loves to have fun and play pranks on Humans but can also be very protective/vengeful deities if there are those who try to harm forests. Even if they are tricksters themselves, they can be fooled very easily which is one of their weaknesses. It is said that some Tengu may even kidnap boys, raising them to learn their ways of life and their skills of the Martial Arts, Swordsmanship and can even make them learn the power of flight.

Tengu have their own clans/flocks and will always have a single leader among them, usually sporting a fierce crimson body with a demonic face, complete with long nose and long snow white hair. Not all Tengu are created equal and are often split between Daitengu(Greater Tengu) and Kotengu(Small Tengu). Even among them, there's a distinct variety of Tengu from the Yamabushi Tengu, who have more human-like appearances and are often guardians, to Karasu Tengu who have more avian-like qualities with heads of birds and are often more violent than the Yamabushi Tengu. The Karasu Tengu sometimes possesses humans and causes them to do harmful things to others, oftentimes making them go insane afterwards.

 

Kitsune: (First mentioned in Chapter 6)

Legendary creatures from Japanese folklore. Kitsune are foxes that are said to live up to 1000 years, granting them powers of shapeshifting. Unlike the Kumiho, they are considered more benevolent than evil. Kitsune don’t seek out energy to eat human hearts/liver like the Kumiho, living a more carefree life than their Korean counterparts.

Like the Tengu, they have different classes of Kitsune: The Inari, the more benevolent and guardian-like Kitsune, and The Yako, the mischievous tricksters who love to cause trouble and harm. Inari are often brighter in color like yellow-white or sometimes even black in comparison to Yako’s mostly fiery red and orange colored fur.

Inari Kitsune are often guardians of Inari Shrines, shrines dedicated for them that’s made from devotees and priests, who leave offerings for them often and view them as gods. The devotees often ask for help against evil presence, spirits or even Yako Kitsune, who are often causes of many troubles for Humans.

Yako Kitsune often tricks travelers into getting lost, using their Fox Fire and leading them into dangerous territory. Some would even possess humans, mostly young women, causing them to go insane. The only way to help them is to go to an Inari Shrine, exorcising them from a priest. If no priest is available, the exorcising will cause bodily harm to those involved.

Like the Kumiho, as it gains tails, it’s powers grow along with it but in comparison, the Kitsune possesses a wider array of powers that also includes flight, invisibility and even the ability to create illusions. Once a Kitsune gains it’s 9th tail, its fur becomes white or gold and gains the ability to see and hear anything that’s happening in the world alongside other godly powers.

Kitsune also has Fox Beads(Hoshi no Tama/Star Balls) but unlike the Kumiho, a Human isn’t granted knowledge from them but if they manage to steal the Fox Bead from a Kitsune, they can use it as a way to get a favor/promise from the Kitsune. If the Kitsune isn’t able to get their Fox Bead back, they will weaken and die if separated from it too long since it’s said that it contains the Kitsune’s soul.

 

Dokkaebi: (First mentioned in Chapter 1)

Legendary creatures from Korean folklore. Korean version of Goblins, they are deities or spirits of nature that are formed from inanimate objects being stained from human blood. They vary in appearance, coming in all shapes and forms, from small friendly creatures to huge burly bloodthirsty monsters. They often come out at night, often blocking paths on the roads from humans unless they beat them in a wrestling contest. They possess magical items, the goblin cloak/hat, which makes them invisible and the goblin wand, which allows them to summon objects from anywhere they want.

 

Vampires: (First mentioned in Chapter 4)

Legendary creatures from European folklore. Vampires are not native to Asia but there are similar variants/creatures such as the Jiangshi of China, Aswang, Mandurugo and Manananggal of the Philippines, Pontianak of Indonesia and Penanggal of Malaysia.

Vampires are undead nocturnal creatures that feed on the blood of the living, whether it’s another creature or a Human. Their appearances vary greatly from location to location, with some being completely pale with monsterous features such as long fingers and bat-like ears to some being human-like in every way to even those that look like large humanoid bats. The most common feature a Vampire has is that it usually has some kind of fang or similar piercing object used to in a victim’s blood.

 

Hunter: (First mentioned in Chapter 1)

A human that hunts animals for a living. They often hunt supernatural beings who cause trouble even if they’re often not well equipped for it. Because of this, they often hunt in groups to destroy any that cause trouble for them and their village.

 

Elite Hunter: (First mentioned in Chapter 4)

An organization of Specialized Hunters that are called in to take care of really troublesome cases of the supernatural. They possess greater skills than normal hunters and often carry items and weapons that are enchanted with divine/holy powers. They have a building in the Capital where Hunters from other parts of the world share information on various supernatural beings that live in the world. Rumors are that they possess supernatural abilities themselves but it is not known how they have the powers.

 

Joseon dynasty: (First mentioned in Chapter 3)

A Kingdom in the Korea peninsula that lasted from 1392 to 1897, which was replaced by the Korean Empire.

 

Pusan: (First mentioned in Chapter 4)

The city of Busan in the Joseon dynasty, located on the southeast tip of the Korean peninsula by the sea. Pusan is an old way of saying the name of the city.

 

Nippon: (First mentioned in Chapter 1)

An old way of saying Nihon/Japan in the past.

 

Mount Sakurajima: (First mentioned in Chapter 3)

An active and mountainous stratovolcano island located in the southwest of Nippon.

 

Gwisin: (First mentioned in Chapter 4)

Korean word for ghost.

 

Imugi: (First mentioned in Chapter 3)

Giant serpents that live in the ponds, rivers, lakes and seas in Joseon. They are lesser dragons that must live 1000 years to become a fully fledged Dragon, which finally grants them the power of flight among other powers. There’s a way to become one faster if they are able to catch (Yeouiju) Dragon Pearls that fall from the sky but considering how rare they are, it often leads to Imugi fighting each other once they do find one.

 

Yeouiju/Dragon Pearls: (First mentioned in Chapter 2)

Dragon Pearls that contain enormous amounts of energy. Imugi often search for them to become fully fledged Dragons.

 

Kuroryu: (First mentioned in Chapter 2)

Kuroryu(Black Dragon) is an extremely large shiny black dragon that lives above Nippon. It is bigger than a mountain and is over a hundred miles long. It’s history and age is unknown but it lived for thousands of years and is longtime friends with Sakuya and knows of Eunbi. The scales from it shines in the sunlight, glowing in a rainbow like color when the light reflects off of it. It carries an enormous thundercloud around its body, spreading it around the Nippon area from time to time. While mostly living in between the Stratosphere and Troposphere, it goes into the ocean every hundreds of years to rest for centuries. Upon its return into the sky, it can cause a downpour of rain that lasts for days or weeks.