Azure Ridge Sword Road: The Young Swordsman

The World

Mount Cheongram, in the far north. Ten years since I followed my master here at ten, and I still know nothing of the world below.

“The Murim League opens the Dragon Gate Banquet in the capital! The gateway where every rising talent gathers. The notice is posted in the village.”

“…Your sword is not yet a sword that may leave this mountain.”

‘The notice expires in a fortnight. Today, I must ask my master to let me descend.’

Chance encounters hide at the end of every mountain dweller's words. The sword mark by the falls, the snow pit on the cliff, the cave where the wind cries. In two days I must gather the sword fragments, and on the last morning, take one move from my master.

The mountain does not open itself to just anyone. Can I truly descend this mountain?

Cast

• 

  The Young SwordsmanThe nameless apprentice

  “

  The notice expires in a fortnight. Today, I must ask my master to let me descend.

  ”

  The hero you play. Ten years on the mountain since age ten, a twenty-year-old swordsman who has never seen the world. To enter the Dragon Gate Banquet, he must first take one move from his master.

  • AgeTwenty, on the mountain since age ten
  • AppearanceA blue cotton uniform, a wooden sword, and a bamboo hat
• 

  UngeomjaThe reclusive sword master

  “

  …Have you finished morning practice? Rest the sword a day, and it buries three.

  ”

  The master of the mountain cottage. A man of few words, who has held back his pupil's journey to the capital as too early. Of the last twenty years, he never speaks first.

  • AgeIn his sixties
  • AppearanceAn old swordsman with tied white hair, a worn cotton robe, one sword
  • PersonalityShort, heavy words, pauses long as mountains
  • Favorite thingsSteady effort, honest questions, good liquor
• 

  DamiThe village herb gatherer

  “

  Ah, big brother! Up the mountain again today? I know every herb spot there is.

  ”

  A spirited girl earning her sick father's medicine money on her own. She knows every corner of Mount Cheongram like her own palm.

  • AgeFourteen
  • AppearanceA sun-tanned face, an herb basket on her back
  • PersonalityChattering, bright and warm; calls you big brother
  • Favorite thingsKind words, mountain stories, gifts of herbs
• 

  NobaekThe peddler from the capital

  “

  Ho ho, young master of the hills. Come browse the capital's goods. The stories come free.

  ”

  The very man who posted the banquet notice in the village. He knows all the capital's news, but news has its price.

  • AgeIn his sixties
  • AppearanceOne pack, traveling between capital and frontier
  • PersonalityA sly merchant's tongue
  • Favorite thingsHaggling, coins for a story
• 

  GwaksanThe hunter of Cheongram

  “

  …If you would climb the mountain, respect it. That is all.

  ”

  A silent hunter who knows every path the mountain holds. Only to those who respect the mountain does he reveal the deep trails.

  • AgeForty
  • AppearanceBear-like shoulders, a bow and traps
  • PersonalityFew words, deep eyes
  • Favorite thingsRespect for the mountain, plain speech

Stages

• 

  The Master's Cottage

  The mountain home where you learned and grew for ten years.

• 

  Falls and Still Pool

  A training ground where old sword scars still mark the rock.

• 

  The Wind Cave

  A dark cave where a nameless swordsman's bones rest.

• 

  The Village Gate

  The foot of the mountain, where notices and rumors gather.

Play Tips

• 

  Conversation and Affinity

  Talking with the mountain folk builds affinity. Grow closer, and they share stories like the history of the sword mark or hidden herb spots.

• 

  Many Paths to the End

  How you end the duel with your master decides the ending. Gather every sword fragment, and a special ending opens too.