February 07, 2025

Yokai New Year - Behind the Scenes

Year of the Snake - Inspirations

Cylisse here with another behind the scenes look at our latest release! If you haven't already, check out these design notes covering the year of the rabbit and dragon here.

It's the year of the Wood Snake, represented by Empress Ai No Miko herself! My mother happened to be born the last time the Wood Snake came around too. Savor this moment, because it won't come again for the next 60 years!

Like how Yue Huang is the descendant of the Jade Rabbit and Baoyu Lin is the descendant of the Jade Dragon, Empress Ai No Miko's ancestor was the Jade Serpent. Her diligence, refinement, and sensitivity embody the personality of the snake zodiac. 

The quests she gives concerning Lady Suzhen, and her guardian spirit form as the Zhēnzhū Shé, are heavily inspired by the Chinese Legend of the White Snake. 

Before you and Lady Suzhen spar, would you help me prepare another wedding gift for her? A Xionghuang Remedy is a universal cure that wards off evil and poison. I can make a jar if you could gather ingredients from /YokaiRiver for me. 

Children aren't allowed to drink the remedy, so we have them wear it in amulets. The drink is special to Lady Suzhen. While she was still a garden snake, her fiance tried to share Xionghuan with her, and panicked when she got lost in the jar.

 - Ai No Miko

In the Legend of the White Snake, drinking Xionghuang reveals Bai Suzhen's true form, which causes her husband to die from shock. In real life, this remedy is also called realgar wine which was shared during the Dragon Boat Festival in the past. It's said to ward off evil spirits, diseases, and even snakes…but maybe you should abstain. It's made with powdered minerals that I can't say are 100% safe. Make wise choices out there!

Meanwhile in AQW, Lady Suzhen's fiance accidentally lost her in a jar of that remedy, so it's more of a funny memory than a disaster like it was in the original story.

Calabash Elixir

It's the year of the Wood Snake, and those born during Water years tend to harmonize well with them. With that in mind, bring me some of the Elixir Etokuon's waters. I want to use it to fill a calabash gourd.

This is another gift for Lady Suzhen's wedding. In her new form, her fangs drip a deadly venom. That hasn't stopped her fiance from trying to kiss her. As long as he has this gourd with him, the cure will always be within reach.  

 - Ai No Miko

To revive her husband, Bai Suzhen from the original legend risked her life to find a magic herb guarded by the Xian of longevity. He carries a calabash gourd that contains the elixir of immortality. Likewise, Ai No Miko asks you to fill a calabash gourd with Elixir from the Etokuon Yue accidentally created.

Duàn Qiáo

This is the bridge where Lady Suzhen and her fiance first met. Ever since their story got out, Yokai from all over are flocking to find their own human match. The Oni from /HakuVillage have been especially rowdy. May I ask you to get them to behave?

Duan Qiao means "Broken Bridge," but it won't collapse. It's named because during the winter, half of the bridge is covered by snow but the rest gets melted by the sun. It merely gives the illusion of being broken, and now it has a reputation for romance.

 -Ai No Miko

This quest was named after a bridge near the West Lake in Hangzhou, China. In the Legend of the White Snake, this was where Bai Suzhen reunites and reconciles with her husband. I hear it's quite the tourist location for couples. Very fitting for a February release!

The background Crulon made is based on the appearance of the Duan Qiao as well!

As a side note, I find the Oni situation in the Yokai Isles to be an interesting basis for a story. The four Oni Clans of the Isles are led by Shuten-Douji, Hoshiguma-Douji, Torakuma-Douji, and Kane-Douji. Shuten-Douji happens to have fathered a family member of Ai No Miko's, but the Year of the Dog isn't until 2030. Oh well, I might bring it up early if we need to fill in a couple of free weeks.

Sangharama's Blessing

Lady Suzhen's deeds have earned her blessings from Sangharama - powerful spiritual guardians of temples built by Wuji descendants like myself. In thanks, I would ask for your aid in defeating Shadow Samurai from /ShogunWar in their name.

The masks the Shadow Samurai wore are an affront to the Sangharama because they were forged to mimic their faces. Offering the Menpo, and breaking them to pieces on the steps of the temples will assert that we only honor true warriors.

 - Ai No Miko

After Bai Suzhen's husband was revived, he still wasn't able to trust his wife, and ended up getting trapped in a temple. She had to rescue him with the help of a Sangharama. To summarize quickly, they're guardian deities that protect temples and monasteries. The Sangharama are depicted as powerful warriors. A major historical figure from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Guan Yu, is depicted as one. Or, Sangharama are depicted with Guan Yu's appearance. 

Lady Suzhen

I have a favor to ask of you on the first day of my Zodiac year. Transforming from a humble garden snake to a Guardian Spirit with pearlescent scales is quite the change. A spar with the Zhēnzhū Shé, Lady Suzhen's new form, will help get her used to this new body. I can't think of a better warrior for this task.

Beautiful! The way the shine of her scales danced with the spark of your blades are as vibrant as rain of fireworks. Thank you for helping Lady Suzhen and I celebrate the Lunar New Year. I hope we'll get to see you at her wedding.

- Ai No Miko

Lady Suzhen in AQW didn't have to go through as much trouble as the character she was inspired by. Tying into how the Yokai Isles sheltered immigrants from Wuji, being inspired by both Japanese and Chinese stories - the story of Mount Kurohime.

In Japanese folklore, a white snake fell in love with a princess from the Takanashi clan. Her father was against this union, but Princess Kurohime rebelled and went to live with her husband on the mountain that is said to be named after her.

The Pearl Snake is a newly appointed Guardian Beast of the Yokai Isles. She was once a garden serpent small enough to wrap around my wrist. A nobleman from my royal court saved her life. In return, the snake bit an assassin right before they could sink a knife into Lord Takanashi's back. Lady Suzhen and Lord Takanashi are set to be married this year. As an early wedding gift, I gave her a human form and a Guardian Beast form. 

- Ai No Miko

This isn't related to the folklore that inspired this release, but the year of the Snake is special to me in that this is my mother's year. She loves cherry blossoms and their shade of pink, so Alina made the Sakura version of Ai No Miko's goddess outfit:

That's it for this behind the scenes look at the Lunar New Year release! This was more of a relaxed journal entry rather than a big lore write up like the design notes I made for bigger releases. We've been real busy lately, so I quickly threw this together Friday afternoon. That's usually when Alina, Imomortal Joe, Yoshino, and I complete the final tasks needed before a release goes live (though sometimes they turn into impromptu design calls). Immortal Joe helped me with proof reading and typos along with the testers, which gave me enough time to organize things. Huge thanks to him!

I wish I could do more of these, but time has been tight ever since I got pulled on to help with AQW: Infinity's writing and revisions. Still, the Behind the Scenes: Rumbling of Cold Thunder's design notes is on the way. It'll be out before the Flame of the Beyond starts, so hold it against me if it doesn't :")

We've tentatively set May as the starting date of Age of Ruin's third arc, but Spring is still months away so that could change. Wait, it's February already? In that case, look forward to this year's Heroes Heart Day event, and the long awaited finale of Aranx's Celestial Saga!