The Secluded One

Summary

“When the Way prevails, reveal yourself; when the Way is lost, retreat into hiding. If the Way cannot be followed, I shall board a raft and drift upon the sea.” ​Recluses. The world’s mavericks, the omnipresent shadows behind the torrent of history—The Hidden. ​The Hidden are hermits who possess ancient, miraculous arts. Their methods are ever-changing, bridging the path to sagehood and preserving lost wisdom. They are Cultivators who “descend the mountain to save the world in times of chaos, and return to seclusion in the markets and courts during times of peace.” ​Nine of these Hidden discovered an ancient utopia left behind from antiquity (where legends say immortal “Sages” reside). There, they found traces of the Divine Tree of Immortality mentioned in ancient records… ​But little did they know… of the nine who entered the mountains, only one survived—and that survivor became something neither human nor ghost. Every single one of the others disappeared without a trace…