Willow

Willow
Current Residence	Cheong-woon Valley
Gender	Male
Status	Alive
Name (Other Servers)
KoreaMS	버들 (Beodeul)
TaiwanMS	柏德 (Bǎidé)

Willow is a wandering poet who currently resides in Cheong-woon Valley.

Story

Fiends in Cheong-woon Valley

After beginning his mission to capture the fiends which had escaped from Taotie, Hoyoung traveled to a local tavern of a marketplace and began overhearing a conversation between Willow and his drinking partner, Ironhide. As he listened in, Ironhide mentioned to Willow that, several days ago, one of the mountains in the area had quaked and shook, and that a river nearby had changed its course entirely, with several townspeople claiming that they had begun to see many more monsters around the area since then. As Hoyoung realized that Ironhide was referring to the day that the fiends had escaped, Ironhide mentioned how the town's Information Broker Bureau were looking for answers, and that though they were expensive, their efficacy had made them local heroes.After Willow mentioned that the Handsome Monk of the local temple had gone into seclusion to pray for the town's safety, Hoyoung decided to become a private investigator and find the missing fiends.

Several months afterwards, Hoyoung - after successfully capturing the fiends in Cheong-woon Valley - began eavesdropping Ironhide and Willow's conversation once again, learning how Willow had used the experience of the fiends as inspiration for his next novel. Willow also mentioned that the Handsome Monk had been responsible for saving the town, as Hoyoung had given him the credit while keeping his own involvement anonymous. Taotie then asked Hoyoung why he didn't simply publish his own account of what had really happened. Hoyoung replied that it ultimately didn't matter, as even Master Tai Yu would occasionally work behind the scenes. He laughed to himself, wondering if he had finally earned the chance to use Tai Yu's catchphrase, “I am but a simple wanderer”.

Aftermath

Following the Black Mage's defeat, Hoyoung and Taotie overheard Willow and Ironhide talking about rumors that a new Transcendent was preparing for war in Grandis, as well as a warrior in Pantheon with dragon horns and a tail who was gathering forces to stand against them, though they wondered if even a Nova Guardian had the power to take on a Transcendent.

Grandis's Foreshadowings

After Hoyoung completes his class storyline in Cheong-woon Valley, he can visit Willow and interact with his NPC to learn about Grandis's foreshadowings, which are stories collected by Willow during his travels, serving as Easter eggs and teases for future story content.

An Anima I Encountered

It's generally understood that the Anima aren't fond of fighting.

But I did encounter a noble exception--an Anima performing as a gladiator in a coliseum.

Their skill in taunting their opponent and making a fool of them showed that not only were they a skilled combatant, they actually enjoyed it.

Of course, they were concealing their features, so I couldn't tell which animal they took their lineage from.

But there was no mistaking their wild movements. Only someone with the keen senses of an animal could pull off those kinds of athletics.

Currently, there is no character whom this foreshadowing could refer to.

The Princess's Castle

In my wanderings, I came to an ancient castle, complete with a grand garden that looked pretty as any painting.

A princess lives there, attended by her many servants.

But the princess never sets foot outside her castle, preferring to remain within.

Even I don't know when the City Gates will open.

Still, I enjoy walking around the castle grounds, whenever I find myself in the area.

Although unconfirmed, it is speculated that this could refer to Asha the gardener in Sefirot, the sanctum of Grandis' Transcendent of Life, after she is revived by Darmoor. As Asha is considered to be the ideal "noble life" that Darmoor seeks for his paradise, it is speculated that Sefirot has been given to Asha as her new home, with the Monks of Life whose return she had been awaiting being given to her as her attendants.

A Mechanical Body

In certain places, technology has advanced far enough that people can replace parts of their bodies with synthetic parts.

But the knowledge necessary to create such technology is considered a great secret, and very few people know how to do it.

The rumors say there's even someone who went as far as to replace their entire body with mechanical parts.

Do you think that means they'd get a mechanical brain, too? How would they know they were still themselves?

The character referred to in this story is implied to be Senya, and by extension, the entire Angler family.

The Boy Who Didn't Age

One day, on my travels through Grandis, I got hopelessly lost in the forests near Pantheon.

I had no idea where I was, and wondered if I might actually die out there...

Thankfully, that didn't happen, because a young boy--a magician--appeared and saved my life.

He might've grumbled a bit, sure, but he did heal me.

As soon as I had recovered, he used his magic to send me away.

I never got to ask his name, and I don't know that I could find that particular area of the forest again even if I tried.

The character referred to in this story is implied to be Melange, based on his mannerisms.

NPC

Cheong-woon Valley

Willow
Location	Marketplace

Gallery

• 
  NPC Portrait of Willow

Trivia

• Willow's name in KoreaMS, 버들 (Beodeul), translates to willow.