Circa 645 CE – Goguryeo Kingdom, Korea
Snow fell silently over the mountains of Goguryeo, where Marcus found himself wrapped in a thick, fur-lined coat, sipping from a steaming gourd of fermented rice wine. He'd come in search of the legendary General Yeon Gaesomun, the man who had defied the mighty Tang Dynasty.
But Marcus didn't begin his journey at the palace. He spent weeks in a small mountain village, helping repair homes and swapping stories by firelight. The locals called him Mago, a wandering monk with a laugh that could split stone and a punch that once did knock a boulder down the hill.
He helped a young boy named Seo-jin learn to read, taught a blacksmith how to refine his steel with strange techniques that "hadn't been invented yet," and danced with an old woman who swore he looked like a forgotten mountain god.
Then came the summons.
General Yeon, having heard of a strange foreigner who outran a tiger for fun and healed wounds with just pressure points and humming, invited him to the capital.
"You are not from this land," Yeon said when they met. "But the fire in your eyes… I have only seen it in men who've survived hundreds of battles."
"I've been in more bar fights than I can count," Marcus said with a wink. "And a few actual wars too."
They grew close. Marcus trained with Yeon's elite guards, helped fortify mountain passes, and taught unorthodox strategy that helped Yeon win several impossible battles. His carefree nature even lightened the fearsome general's mood.
But he never stayed long.
"I'm just passing through," Marcus would say, shouldering a pack filled with scrolls, gourd wine, and sometimes a curious chicken named Bob.