eonhwa (Virtuous Harmony)
A surviving former provincial capital, held together by the Suhodan, where new recruits begin their training.
Seonhwa (선화) is one of the most resilient cities left after the Fracturing. It sits in a defensible valley with a river and fertile land, far enough from the worst of the broken pillars but close to the wilds. It endures because of the Suhodan (수호단), the Order of Guardians, who push back corruption, protect the trade routes, and recover lost knowledge. Players begin here as new Suhodan recruits.
The valley and its defenses
The city’s setting does much of the defensive work: a valley, a river, and fertile ground that can feed the people inside the walls. Its distance from the heaviest pillar fractures keeps the worst Maggi at arm’s length, but the wilds press close, so the land beyond the walls is corrupted and dangerous.
The Inscribers maintain most of the protections that keep Maggi from entering the city, and their talismans (부적, Bujeok) seal the caves and the crypt so the corrupted creatures within cannot spill out.
The Council
Seonhwa is not led by a single martial figure. It is governed by a council of the five paths, each leader carrying their own motive. Even in a dying world, people remain selfish, which keeps internal conflict alive within the council itself. (See The Council of Seonhwa for the council as a faction.)
The path leaders are tied to the council and its seat:
- First Shield Beom-Seok, Head Guardian, is often found in the council chambers rather than the room set aside for the Guardian leader.
- Master Tracker Yoo-ri, Head Hunter, is considered an outsider to the council both figuratively and literally. When she is near the Manor she stays outside it, by a tree or at the outskirts, refusing to be contained.
Districts and places
The Manor. The seat of the council and the leaders. Beom-Seok works from its chambers; Grandmaster Tae-Sung, when offered a room, instead set up a martial courtyard for training.
Training grounds. The recruits train in and around Seonhwa. The Inscriber workshop sits near the Hunter training grounds. (The full layout of the training grounds is otherwise unspecified.)
The Gwimak (귀막, “Spirit Hall”). The home of the Danja, at the eastern edge of Seonhwa, close to the wall and set apart from where people live and trade. It stands between the city and the land beyond. Two carved spirit posts (장승, Jangseung), one male and one female, mark its entrance, and the Inscribers keep its outer walls warded with Bujeok. (See Danja and the Danja Manuscript for the hall in full.)
The crypts and caves. Dangerous places sealed with Inscriber talismans. The crypts hold corrupted life and old spirits, and a great corruption forming deep within them is tied to the story of Gloth. (See The Crypts.)
People of Seonhwa
Han-Gyeol, before he became Gloth, was a member of great influence in Seonhwa and a devout follower of the five spirits. He was the first to note that Maggi forms more strongly around places of emotional disturbance, loss, or sadness. (See Gloth.)
Outside the city walls are smaller settlements that kept older spiritual traditions the formal Suhodan structure had mostly left behind, including communion with the mountain spirits. Seon-Woo came from one of these settlements, and the Danja founder Mu-Yeong drew on their folk rites.
See also
- The Suhodan
- The Council of Seonhwa
- The Crypts
- Danja (Jeopsindanja)
- Inscriber
- Gloth (Han-Gyeol)
- The Age of Endurance
- Maggi
Source: bible sections “The Council,” “Path Leaders” (Beom-Seok, Tae-Sung, Yoo-ri), “Inscriber,” “Seon,” “Gloth,” and “The Gwimak”; foundation doc “The World Now (Age of Endurance).”