The Story

Story so far

Each chapter in a few lines of ours, every line pointing to the game's words it comes from; the game's own entries are one click below.

1. Chapter 1 Parting Tale

   Yingying summons you to the Incomparable Tavern with news of the Water Lady's whereabouts, and a mechanical bird that springs to life leads you to a warehouse.¹¹² There you hear of a perilous escort that a lady in crimson issued after Blissful Retreat fell, bound for the elusive Haven in the Hidden Mountain.² You wake Feng Jisheng, who must prove himself a Mohist disciple to the escorts, and when the guide never arrives the two of you set out for the Haven with the Yama Escort in tow.²²² You reach the ferry of Floral Expanse Beyond, where a group of villagers lingers by the river.³

   1 Journal · Yingying's Invitation2 Journal · The Yama Escort3 Journal · Shore of Beyond

   Spoiler · Chapter 1Show

2. Chapter 2 Haven Astray

   Heavy fog and swirling mist throw your crossing to the Haven off course, and you drift back to the shore.¹¹ A lone boat and meager firewood cannot brave the river, but together with the displaced villagers, your torches blaze as one and burn the fog away.²³ On the far shore Feng Jisheng bolts off, and to clear the Gasping Cliff he rides the wind on a Wooden Chicken, as Mohist disciples once built herons of wood and stone.⁴⁵ You board it with him and soar toward the cliff, until the unexpected strikes.⁶

   1 Journal · Veiled Crossing2 Journal · Fire Against the Fog3 Journal · The Fleet Breaks Through4 Journal · Search for Feng Jisheng5 Journal · A Stony Ascent6 Journal · To Defy the Cliffs

   Spoiler · Chapter 2Show

3. Chapter 3 Muted Skies

   At the Mohist Cliff Pass, a trial of mechanisms stands between you and the Immortal Haven.¹ In the Hidden Mountain you follow Jin Zhongyuan, Elder Peng's guest, into a hall already split into two camps, and the arrival of Grandmaster Swallow makes the conflict burn even more fiercely.²³ After driving off the Lodestar Swordmaster, you realize Jin Zhongyuan came with a hidden agenda, and you part ways.⁴ With Big Feng you gather word of Black Gold and secretly follow the Grandmaster's disciple, Lei, and you aren't the only ones watching him.⁵⁶

   1 Bright Tide · Mountain Unveiled2 Journal · Guest from Beyond3 Journal · Spark of Rebellion4 Journal · Righteousness or Ruin5 Journal · The Fuel of Dreams6 Journal · Cold Comfort

   In the game's words · 3 Bright Tide entries

   1. Mountain Unveiled Bright Tide 2

      "So towering and steep, one can only sigh in awe." Thus stands the Mohist Cliff Pass. To break the unbreakable, to achieve the impossible, all relies on a single word: "Link." This is the essence of mechanisms. Pass this trial, and the Immortal Haven shall reveal itself.

   2. Dream of Soaring Bright Tide 3

      The dream of soaring has never faded through centuries unending. The Mohist disciples have never ceased their toil through generations unbroken.

   3. Mohist Assembly Bright Tide 4

      Grain is given in spring, and clothing in winter. Even a dwindling spring is drained to nourish neighboring fields. But when the grain is gone and the waters run dry, what then remains?

   Spoiler · Chapter 3Show

4. Chapter 4 Gold Crow Fall

   Below the cliff you gather the scattered parts of a wooden bird that holds memories of Swallow's past, when she was not alone.¹² After shared trials, Swallow comes to see you as a friend.³ You chase Jin Zhongyuan into the Evershift Labyrinth, whose heart holds a treasure of the Grandmaster that the Lodestar Swordmaster has also guessed at.⁴⁵ The Lodestar Swordmaster vanishes in an instant, but Swallow seems to understand something, and you hurry back to the main hall with her.⁶

   1 Journal · Birds of a Feather2 Journal · Plus One3 Journal · A Flock Reunited4 Journal · Lost in the Labyrinth5 Journal · Buried Truths6 Journal · Hidden in Plain Sight

   In the game's words · 2 Bright Tide entries

   1. Starfall Night Bright Tide 5

      One must cultivate oneself and set one's house in order before governing the state and bringing peace to the realm. Yet now, the hearth grows distant, while the stars seem ever closer.

   2. Evershift Labyrinth Bright Tide 6

      Though mountains and rivers remain, the vows of old endure. Yet the tides of the world have turned, and brotherhood undone. Now we meet again amid familiar scenes, but across the board, black and white, we face each other as foes once known.

   Spoiler · Chapter 4Show

5. Chapter 5 A Bitter Winter

   With the mountain defenses destroyed, starving and freezing outsiders flood into the Hidden Mountain, and a sudden snowstorm upends all plans.¹² Swallow lays down her Grandmaster authority, and when Elder Peng means to keep you trapped, you, Swallow and Jin Zhongyuan slip past his scouts to look for clues about the Lodestar Swordmaster.³⁴⁵ By the hearth on a snowy night, “Uncle” visits with Lei, and the family is unexpectedly reunited.⁶ Then smoke rises from the mountain, and Swallow's accidental movement turns out to be the source of the disaster.⁷⁸

   1 Journal · Ultimate Dilemma2 Bright Tide · A Bitter Winter3 Journal · Trapped by the Heavens4 Journal · Settling the Score5 Journal · The Great Escape6 Journal · Visitor from the Cold7 Journal · Where There is Smoke...8 Journal · Forged by Mistake

   In the game's words · 2 Bright Tide entries

   1. A Bitter Winter Bright Tide 7

      A sudden snowstorm upends all plans, as malicious schemes close in with peril.

   2. Hearth in a Snowy Night Bright Tide 8

      Love all as yourself, and see no friend or foe. Who are they?

   Spoiler · Chapter 5Show

6. Chapter 6 Sea of Sunfire

   You meet Swallow to head for the Black Gold, but Skyward City has launched, and only Swallow can stop the furnace exploding and the city falling.¹² Together you cross a bridge of wooden birds onto Skyward City, where someone is waiting at the far end.³ With the city teetering, you and Swallow must decide at once where to steer it.⁴ Thanks to everyone's help the reconstruction is mostly complete, and on a fine day everyone gathers.⁵

   1 Journal · A Borrowed Self2 Journal · Stairway to Heaven3 Journal · Answers from Above4 Journal · Forging a New World5 Journal · A Swallow's Promise

   In the game's words · 1 Bright Tide entry

   1. The Expansion Bright Tide 9

      The human heart is a tangled web, yet the sword strikes but a single path. Now, schemes coil around you, blurring friend and foe. When you draw your blade, are you not afraid?

   Spoiler · Chapter 6Show