A Pig in a Poke

Dressed in the garb of a commoner, lksanun searched Hogshead Pastures for signs of his old friend Laofu. Laofu was a Sacred Beast, wizened by centuries or perhaps even millennia of experiences. Now. as in centuries past, Laofu was the spiritual and diplomatic leader of the Hoglin tribe.

To many, Hogshead Pastures seemed like paradise. But the quiet villages and rolling hills belied a truly gruesome history. Centuries ago, the Pastures were the natlve homeland of the Hoglin people. Then humans came and conquered the land in a long and bloody war from which the Hoglin never recovered. In more recent times, the Hoglin people had become secretive and extremely territorial, keeping mostly to their hidden, fiercely protected dens. lksanun surveyed the landscape, and pondered the whereabouts of Laofu. The Sacred Beast's aid would be urgently needed in order to avoid catastrophe.

lksanun winced suddenly, and nearly fell forward as the pain of his old injury flared anew. While he had fully recovered physically, the terrible wound plagued him still. lksanun was lucky to have survived it, although purging the Dark Chi which once festered within had taken nearly all of the old Guardian's power. With a tear in his eye and a bitter sorrow in his heart, lksanun thought back on that tragic day.

Had it really been so long since that day? It was on that day that Jiwan‘s brightest pupil stole the Twilight's Edge and used it against the Four Guardians. That was the day that Jiwan died, and Mushin and lksanun were brought low by the mark of an impure soul wielding a weapon of power beyond reckoning. Had Jiwan's pupil succumbed to darkness, or were they simply showing their true colors for the first time? "I suppose it does not matter," thought lksanun. "The Four Guardians are no more. Jinsoyun threatens the world, and there is only one among us who can stop her."