Sagu was an event character villain. Perhaps the most legendary.
Character Biography
As with any kingdom, during any era, there is always a tale of love. And like any love story, there is always a tale of unrequited love. What better place to start the chronicles of King Yuri's reign than recounting this very tale..
Some say she was stunning, others disagree, but regardless of her visage, Mupa had the enchanting air of power about her. One might speculate it was this power that caught the heart and soul of King Yuri's brother, a mage named Sagu. Utterly devoted to her, despite the signs of wickedness that the citizens were beginning to notice, Sagu was willing to follow her to the ends of the earth.
Perhaps jealousy, perhaps pure spite, might have been the motive behind Mupa's dark scheme, but no one can know her intentions for fact. During the black night of a new moon, the enchantress infiltrated the palace gates, in search of Prince Mhul's betrothed, the gentle Princess Yun. M'hul accosted her before she got too far, defending himself with his knife when she suddenly vanished into a cloud of smoke to glide past, unseen, into the Princess' quarters.
The wisps of smoke roiling into solid form, she became a giant snake before the sleeping Princess, ready to strike. M'hul burst in, startling Yun and the serpent Mupa, and Mupa struck him a fierce blow, nearly taking his life. Fighting valorously, despite his wounds, the Prince managed to win the battle; the witch slithering off as M'hul went to comfort the frightened Yun.
The following day, upon hearing of the terrible assault, King Yuri declared to the kingdom that Mupa was a witch and was immediately banished from the kingdom for her attempt upon Princess Yun's, and Prince Mhul's lives.
In an utter rage for the woman he loved, Sagu cursed his brother, all those of Yuri's family, and the entire kingdom of Koguryo. His heart broken, he fled the kingdom in search of Mupa, embittered and blinded by his darkening heart.
It would be several years before either were heard from again. During this time of peace for the kingdom, Sagu's heart grew colder, and he learned much from Mupa in the dark arts. As their bitter hatred consumed their spirits, the two plotted their revenge, which would indeed come to pass.
Mupa's Curse
Reunited in their evil, Mupa had come to the aid of Sagu, threatening King Yuri with a curse upon Koguryo. In her letter, she would not state just what this terrible curse should be, but referred to an old poem .
Mupa demanded 1,000,000 coins of gold in ransom to lift this curse. Yuri sent word to Prince M'hul, who was fighting off would-be invaders from the West. No more was said about the curse at the time, though an offer of 50,000 gold coins was said to go to any who might remove the curse without giving in to the evil witch.
King Yuri would not stand for any more traitors like he saw during Sagu's invasion and declared that any citizens who shouted support for Sagu or Mupa would be branded as treasonous and banished from the kingdom.
His battle victorious, the prince received his father's urgent message, informing him of Mupa's threat. Upon his journey home, M'hul sought out the lagoon of the Sea Nymph, recalling old tales from his father of the mystical woman and her wisdom. He showed her the copy of the strange old poem and immediately, the nymph recognized it and said she might be able to unbind the curse. The stones were the key. It was part of a curse that had been used once, long ago. Someone's wickedness would cause them to turn into a creature that expressed that wickedness. The creature's heart, though, was made of stone. The nymph, eager to assist the son of old Yuri, said that she would come if these stones were recovered from the creatures to lift the curse.
The day came that Mupa kept her word, casting the curse of her threats upon the merchants of the kingdom. Suni, Beard, Walsuk - all of them, were cursed. Trapping their souls, Mupa summoned each into the Vale, the curse transforming them into monstrous violet wyrms, viciously attacking any mortal who set foot upon the bloodied land of the Vale. As the dragons attacked, Mupa pressed on with her violent bursts of fire, determined that the citizens would not save their merchants' souls. Each time she was thought dead, the trickery of her dark magic ressurected her into new life, stronger than ever.
Still, the Kogurians fought on, despite the slaughter and bloodshed. Through courage or plain madness, citizens charged forward and recovered the stone hearts, one by one, and saved each merchants' soul. It was only then that Mupa realized she could not win. Her curse had been broken. Humiliated and seething with anger, she fled the victorious cries of battle, leaving the kingdom, disgraced, for the second time.
The War of the Hearts
In the early days of Yuri's reign, the Trigram keys had not yet been unearthed. An old legend spoke of "leaves", and soon, one by one, determined adventurers discovered the mythic beasts which coveted these sacred keys. The only one not discovered was the Key to Mountain. Until Sagu's return.
In the years since he fled Koguryo after Mupa's banishment, Sagu bade his time, allowing his hatred to corrupt him into a vile warlock. He remained far from Koguryo, plotting his revenge when the time was right.
Rumors of a legendary weapon that might be formed upon gathering the keys spread throughout the kingdom, exciting many with the prospect of a great treasure. Sagu, knowing greed to be a weakness, set out to find the final key, searching the darkest caves and deepest woods. When he had finally discovered the location of the beast who guarded the key to Mountain, he risked and almost lost his life wresting the key from its claws.
His cold heart weakened, Sagu knew he must gather strength from the hearts of mythos to replace his own. When the stars became aligned, the powerful warlock used his powers to open the Vale, a land that had been hidden to mortal eyes for an eternity. To the East, lay Baekho, the great white tiger; to the North, was the black warrior turtle, Hyun Moo; to the West, was the mighty blue dragon, Chung Ryong; to the South, rose the fierce red bird, Ju Jak. In each of these directions, a heart lay hidden, though struck by the magic of Sagu's meddling, the hearts would appear on the mortal plane, vulnerable.
During this time, four clans were in existence - Sun Moon Sect, Heavens, Bear and the Holy Dragon Order. Each clan had been called upon to protect a heart in the Vale from not only those with dark intentions, but from the other clans. It was known that Sagu needed at least two hearts, and used the coveted Mountain key as bait, to lure one of the clans into helping him. Thus, the War of the Hearts began.
The field was bloody as kin stumbled over the deceased, fiercely protecting their hearts, or moving in to steal that of another clan. Hour upon endless hour, day after day, the battle raged on, until finally, the Sun Moon Sect claimed a second heart, and in exchange for the precious Key to Mountain, they delivered the two hearts to Sagu. Yet they bought more than they bargained for. Their mistake was underestimating the warlock's powers.
The Darkchild
Sagu, after the events of the War of the Hearts, vowed the downfall of Koguryo and the death of King Yuri. Through his mysterious dark powers, the warlock worked his magic and crafted a Darkchild; a vile creature of terrible destruction.
Darkchild called forth evil creatures to invade Koguryo. The streets were overrun with diseased rats; desecrated warriors within the lands returned to an unholy life, feeding upon the lives of the mortal. King Yuri sent his desperate men to search out the Darkchild and destroy it wherever it might lurk. There were even traitorous citizens amongst the invaders, swathed in dark clothing, the color of Sagu's heart. Yuri forbade any loyal Kogurian to wear black during this time, as they might be mistaken for the enemy. With a reward of gold being offered to the heroes who vanquished the source of evil, many brave Kogurians fought to the death, defending their kingdom.
Seeing his cause was defeated by so many men and women of the kingdom who fought with such valor, Sagu returned to the Darkchild, tormenting those in King Yuri's envoy who attempted to destroy it. Yuri sent M'hul to meet up with the heroes Cable, WinZip, and many others to destroy the vile creature. The death of his finest creation struck a hard blow to Sagu, who, broken and defeated, retreated back into the shadows from whence he came, licking his wounds to return for the vengeance that ate at his soul.
The Onyx
Prince M'hul sat within the palace, contemplating the recent events that had taken place. Since his return from the border to defend Koguryo's territory, he's felt the humiliation of Sagu's trickery, his invasion, and then Mupa's curse. He vowed he must stop Sagu's evil plots for good - blood or no. He made the kingdom-wide announcement of the attack, and called for lieutenants to guide the army into the Heart of Darkness.
Deep within enemy territory, the soldiers and volunteers of Koguryo plowed through, battling any foul beast or minion of Sagu that reared its ugly fangs. Hours passed, and the troops grew weary. Many had already been lost. Finally, rising out of the mists before M'hul's very eyes, was the vile warlock, Sagu. His eyes glowing red, he called forth flames and lightening to ward of the attacks of M'hul's forces. More lost their lives; poets fell and warriors burned. The Prince, drawing upon a final surge of energy, gave a mighty battle cry and plunged his gory sword deep into Sagu's black heart and vanquished him.
Dahmpeel, acting as a spy for M'hul, had discovered a stone very much like that which Mupa had used in her curse. Upon Sagu's violent death, his soul was trapped within the black onyx stone.
Knowing that death is not the end, especially for one who held such unimaginable power as Sagu, M'hul traveled back to the Sea Nymph, asking for her help once more. The nymph agreed to hide the onyx deep within the water, so no one might release it, and the evil soul that it enclosed.
With the nymph's oath to protect the stone, and bearing the color of her blessing, Prince M'hul traveled back to Koguryo to celebrate his victory, and pay tribute to the brave who sacrificed for the cause. He couldn't help but wonder, though, where was Mupa now?
The Shattering
The great Dream Weaver, Orb, told the kingdoms of the power of the subpaths that lay dormant within our realm. Three branches to follow from mage, warrior, poet or rogue. Twelve Circles appeared in various places within Koguryo and Buya, all waiting to have the power of the Elders released.
During this time of Yuri's 20th year, a mysterious sage visited the kingdoms. Dressed in strange robes, this man, Eldridge, was befriended by some, and looked at cautiously by others. He offered to help unlock the powers of the subpaths, but he needed to know how to do so. Fragments of a poem were found and pieced together, and it was decided that the Onyx that contained Sagu would have to be shattered to release the powers. But the consequences did not look promising.
Gathering the citizens of both kingdoms together at the Kogurian palace, Yuri and M'hul stood by as the Onyx was shattered. Simultaneously, the Circles were infused with power as Sagu appeared in his full form before the awed onlookers.
Wasting no time, the warlock took advantage of the confusion and struck down many with his dark magic. He created a black forest, called up ancient spirits, brought thunder with rain, and fire from below that destroyed people from miles around.
Imprisoned in the Onyx since the 17th year of Yuri, he claimed to have learned much during his introspection. Mumbling something about the Darkstaff, he continued summoning his evil minions, slaughtering countless innocents.
Meanwhile, the powerful force of the Darkstaff was growing, feeding off of Sagu's evils and helping him in turn. The warlock appeared in the Carnage Arena during a tournament and brought down a storm of fire upon the helpless citizens. Slags shook the foundation with their massive crushing steps. With the power of her fury, Bringer flew at Sagu with her Holy sword, but Sagu and the power of Darkstaff crushed her. Sagu vanished as the kingdoms mourned the death of the mighty. Yet there was no time to sink into despair. Sagu launched an attack upon the kingdoms unlike anything that had ever been seen before. There was not a room that was spared from the blood of carnage.
Having outlived his usefulness, Sagu was betrayed by the Darkstaff. In the depths of the Vale, Darkstaff drained all of Sagu's life essences, making it impossible for him to revive himself from death. With Sagu slain, Eldridge was forced to wonder if the legends had been interpreted correctly. The dark one was dead, but why were all of his minions and lackeys still plaguing the kingdoms?
Thousands still died desperately defending their homes. To the horror of citizens, Orb appeared soon after and slaughtered many of his own people. Within the Vale, several giant Slags appeared, crushing any who came too close. Thoth, the goddess of Wisdom, was stripped of her immortality and thrown into the pit of the Vale that the monsters encircled. Orb had been corrupted by the Darkstaff. Many tried in vain to save her, but the mortal body of Thoth could only bear so much and she was slain.
All the while, several poems and legends were being analyzed for some sort of answers. Crystals, Quartzes and "weapons of keys" were needed to create the formidable Spirit Arrow. Five honorable citizens sacrificed their Seven-leaf swords to help with the ceremony. In a ritual with the Elders, Eldridge formed the arrow. After much debate, it was decided: Orb had to be killed.
Thousands of dead bodies bloodied the grass of the Vale as Orb and the Darkstaff that controlled him slew every living being for miles. Many tried to kill Orb, though he merely used his godly powers to resurrect himself anew. Finally, he was surrounded in Kugnae, struggling with what was left of his own mind against the overpowering Darkstaff. Madog, Elder of the Chonguns, sent the Spirit arrow flying straight into the heart of Orb. He, along with the Darkstaff and the arrow, shattered. The flying shards struck nearby onlookers. The power released seared the ground. The mighty Orb had died.
The kingdoms safe from harm, mourned deeply for the profound loss that occurred with the deaths of Bringer, Thoth and Orb along with countless other brave men and women. The shards of the Spirit arrow were made into weapons for those who had sacrificed their treasures for the sake of the kingdoms and the citizens worked together to pick up the pieces of their lives. Eldridge, now known as the Spirit Guide, stayed on as an adviser to the realm. The Elders slowly gained power within their Circles as their subpaths began to grow. The ground that was seared by the explosion of Orb's death emanated strange powers, and gave respectful visitors glowing stones that contained the essence of Orb within. The Darkstones still exist today, as a reminder of a once mighty god, who like any of us, had his weaknesses.