The five spirits that arose from Giun, shaped the world, and anchored it with the Celestial Pillars. Each is the patron of one of the five paths walked by the Suhodan.
Before time, the world was a sea of spiritual energy called Giun, the Breath of All Things. From it arose five Celestial Spirits. They shaped Giun into the world, then planted five Cheonseokju, the Celestial Stone Pillars, beneath the earth to anchor and purify Giun and hold the Gyunhyeong, the Great Balance between the spirit and mortal realms. The land they made was Haneul-ttang, the Sky-Earth, and it flourished.
The Spirits and Their Domains
- Cheolbyeok (Iron Wall), protection and endurance.
- Jeonghwa (Purification), healing and sacred light.
- Noeho (Thunder Tiger), discipline and inner power.
- Cheongan (Sky Eye), precision and the wild.
- Yeonghwa (Spirit Flame), knowledge and elemental force.
Patron of Each Path
The five paths of the Suhodan each align to a spirit, drawing their methods from that spirit’s domain.
- Guardian, Cheolbyeok. Endure and hold the line.
- Cleric, Jeonghwa. Heal and repel the dead.
- Monk, Noeho. Inner Giun and martial discipline.
- Hunter, Cheongan. See everything; hunt corrupted beasts at range or with dual blades.
- Wizard, Yeonghwa. Elemental Giun, fire, ice, lightning, and arcane.
(An earlier draft of the world named the Cheongan path “Ranger.” The current canon calls it Hunter.)
Becoming an Avatar of a Spirit
To become great enough to take on the burden of the spirits, to become one with a chosen spirit, a player takes in a shard of one of the broken Celestial Pillars. The shard gives a direct connection to the spirit and lets the bearer transcend the limits of humanity. By taking a fragment into themselves, they become part of the pillar holding the world together, an avatar of the spirits. Doing so is not taken lightly: death loses its grip on the bearer, but they give up what made them human and take on a task that never ends. Taking in more than one fragment (il-san, ee-san, and beyond) deepens the connection further, though attempting it before the body is ready is deadly. Details of the progression marks are covered under Transcendence.
This is not far from what the Cheonmugwan attempted. Where that order tried to use the pillars to seize power, the bearer of a shard takes the place of the fractured pillars themselves, and not everyone sees this in a positive light.
See also
- Giun
- Maggi
- The Celestial Pillars and the Gyunhyeong
- Haneul-ttang (The World)
- The Creation
- The Fracturing (Cheonha Bunhae)
- Guardian
- Cleric
- Monk
- Hunter
- Wizard
- Transcendence (Beyond Level 99)
Source: bible “Transcendence (Beyond Level 99)” section; foundation doc (Creation, the Five Paths and Patrons, the bible’s Hunter and pillar-shard corrections).