Where Winds Meet is set during one of the most turbulent periods in Chinese history: the fifty years between the fall of the Tang dynasty and the rise of Song, from roughly 907 to 960. In the north, five short-lived dynasties took turns ruling the imperial heartland. In the south and west, ten smaller regional kingdoms operated independently. Beyond the northern frontier, the nomadic Khitans ruled the state of Liao.
The critical geopolitical flashpoint was Yanyun, a cluster of sixteen frontier regions including modern-day Beijing and Tianjin. Controlling this high ground gave a massive defensive advantage; losing it gave the Khitans a straight path into the Chinese heartland. In 936, a general named Shi Jingtang made a deal that would haunt China for four centuries: he traded Yanyun to the Khitans in exchange for help seizing the throne, even calling the Khitan Emperor "father" despite being a decade older.
This betrayal opened the door to the Battle of Zhongduqiao, a defining tragedy in the game's backstory. [spoiler]A respected general named Wang Qing led a small vanguard unit deep into enemy territory, expecting the main army to follow. It never came. His senior officer surrendered. Wang Qing and his men fought to the last, but the defeat ended the Later Jin dynasty and handed the throne to the Liao Emperor. After this battle, Wang Qing's adopted son Jiang Yan rescued a baby from the battlefield. That baby becomes our protagonist.[/spoiler]
The Bright Tide storyline follows the player character from Qinghe to Kaifeng. [spoiler]Jiang Yan hid in Qinghe under a changed name, raising the protagonist in secret. Years later, a letter from Grand Minister Wei Daoji draws Jiang Yan south to resolve a biohazard crisis in Southern Tang and rescue Tian Ying. He departs, leaving the protagonist behind.
When the main story begins, we visit Jiang Yan's old house and are immediately attacked by a disguised figure who takes our jade and vanishes. We return to Blissful Retreat and meet Aunt Han, whose real identity is a master of disguises working with a clinic that secretly performs surgeries to create spies capable of infiltrating Khitan territory. The Aureate Pavilion attacks, burning down Heaven's Pier. Ruby sacrifices herself to save everyone. Yi Dao dies protecting us. A pastoral beginning ends in ash and grief, launching us toward Kaifeng with nothing but questions.[/spoiler]
*Based on analysis by [WWM Girl (Goose Girl Stories)](https://www.youtube.com/@GooseGirlStories).*
