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Prince
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[ Admin: Prince | Genre: Fandom, Dark Fantasy | Status: Open ]
◊ Introduction ◊
| Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, the four nations lived in harmony. But then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them, but with her on their side, the world had only hope. A hundred years past and the former Avatar did with it. My brother and I founded the Rising, a united a rebellion against the Fire Nation and Phoenix Kingdom. And although our numbers are great, we have a lot to prove before we can save anyone. But I believe we can save the world... |
A
The characters within this roleplay may come from a variety of paths, several walks of life, whether they travel the road of strict tradition or an avenue of self-fulfillment. Although unique bending styles and techniques have been formed, the most powerful and most capable bending styles are those practiced by the fundamentalists and masters that have tirelessly worked at them for a lifetime. Even Phoenix King Ozai, the central figure of oppression and power, is so because of his years of practice and dedication towards bending - not just natural talent. No one is truly born a master and with no Avatar, there is no one alive with the potential to master an element in a decade or less, and even then there are different degrees of mastery. Cultural ties and adherence to strict tradition will also often be symbols of power, and that is simply how this world works.
This world is also not one of constant war. Although small skirmishes and police brutality do exist, there is no huge conflict. That happened in the past. The Hundred Year War did not last a Hundred Years; it lasted just over twenty-five. In this world, the Fire Nation won. The Phoenix Kingdom was built on a treaty that gave birth to a Kingdom of flame that outshines all others, and the Fire Nation was the spark for that kingdom. The Phoenix King rules over all, including the Fire Nation. That is the nature of this roleplay. The Southern Water Tribe has no interest in resistance, the Fire Nation is the enforcer outside the impregnable palace of the Phoenix King and the portions of the world still resisting are deprived through trade or oppression, if not both. This roleplay is not about a war of mass destruction. This roleplay is about rekindling a resistance. It is about starting a war in hopes of bringing down the Phoenix King and making sure he never returns from the ashes.
◊ Looking to join the Legend? ◊
[padding]If you're interest in joining the Legend, then let's take a look at the current Staff!
...unfortunately, that's basically just me acting as GM. There are positions called Creative Advocates available! A Creative Advocate is a position of minor management and narrative leadership during in character events. Creative Advocates are not obligated to analyze character sheets or assist in out of character moderation. The responsibilities taken by a Creative Advocate are of trust to enhance and further their own sovereign narratives and integrate them with the over world plot. Creative Advocates are leaders of writers, not secretaries of a forum.
Basically, Creative Advocates get to lead a groups and add to the plot in more interesting, dynamic ways! In the past, entire additions and parts of the roleplay, such as the Patola Mountains and Foggy Swamp Tribe, have been added by Creative Advocates, or at the very least helped me design them! These are all the benefits of being a Creative Advocate, but it is a position with responsibilities. Leading a group means plotting for them and communicating with me for anything you're unsure of. Either way, it's an outlet for creative influence on the roleplay, and I suggest anyone interested go ahead and ask!
Presently, there are two available spots opening up in Group Two, and beyond that I'm looking for new Creative Advocates and roleplayers for the summer! Basically, I'm looking for a whole new group of roleplayers and some in-character leaders for them! As of now, the posting cycle is fairly lenient, but once finals are over and responsibilities die down, I will reinstate the 4 day post cycle. I look for roughly 1-2 posts per week, but if you want to make a group that posts faster (or slower), then go ahead! The purpose of making multiple groups is to have them cater to not only your character, but to you as a writer!
If you're looking to create a character, I would consider their culture likely most important of all. I emphasize culture possibly the most in this roleplay, however, that doesn't mean you're set in stone. If the identity of your character contrasts their culture, then embrace it! Create a magnificent character, but make sure they are tied to this world. The Resources section of this post has information such as the character sheet template, my personal rules, links to the show and a couple guidelines I made for the roleplay in general. As always, if you have any ideas or questions, PM Me! I'll be more than happy to help.
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◊ Alternate Universe ◊
This roleplay is obviously an alternate universe, but from where does that start? What is the first and most fundamental difference? Well, it's rather simple:
Avatar Aang died in the storm as he left the Eastern Air Temple instead of being suspended.
The question now becomes: how did the death of Aang change the world? Well, it did in quite a few ways. First and foremost, the dating system changed. In canon, the dating system is rooted in a single epoch: the genocide of the Air Nation. In this world, that didn't exactly happen. The Air Nation, under intense pressure and with only a few thousand left of their nation, conceded to the Fire Nation and sent forth representatives to prove that the Avatar was dead. They willfully handed over the half-frozen corpse of Aang and all children that could have possibly been of age to be the Avatar; all of whom were executed simply to make sure the Avatar was, in fact, dead. Alongside the most fundamental changes, what else happened in this world?
Well, Fire Lord Sozin started his campaign with brutal assaults on the Western and Southern Air Temples, leaving them in ruin and their people massacred as he attempted to kill the Avatar. He was capable of doing this with use of his incredible naval fleet and a surprise attack on the otherwise peaceful nations. With the Southern Air Temple being used as an access point through its newly built docks, Fire Lord Sozin was capable of using the power of Sozin's comet to conquer the Southern Water Tribe easily, but at the suggestion of the Fire Sages, killed no child younger than four years of age, although they did slaughter all other Waterbenders. The Air Nation surrendered far before the use of Sozin's comet, having known that Avatar Aang had perished in the storm. The remaining Air Nation was taken prisoner by the Fire Nation, held within the Southern Air Temple as if it were concentration camp, thus intimately changed the course of history.
The Fire Nation began its campaign by pressing North. Fire Lord Sozin was in control of the East, West and South with the largest and most powerful navy in the world as well as the most prosperous Nation of the era. In a short decade, the only Earth Kingdom City that had not fell was Ba Sing Se and the Fire Nation had yet to successfully assault any farther North or through the mountains due to an alliance between the Northern Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom that made the waterways and land North of Ba Sing Se almost untouchable. But, a stroke of luck fell onto the Fire Nation. Within the battered remnants of the Southern Water Tribe was born Kiareu, the Avatar of her generation. Three years into the stalemate, she was identified as the Avatar at the age of thirteen and taken by the Fire Nation. The entire period while Avatar kiareu was being trained was considered a cold war where the Fire Nation attempted to put a chokehold on the Earth Kingdom. They had few outposts in the Northwest aside from the destroyed Taku and could not match the might of Waterbending sailors in their home water.
By order of Fire Lord Sozin, the Avatar was not only trained in all four elements by masters acquired at times through force more than persausion, but had her brainwashed so thoroughly that she believed she was truly spreading prosperity to the world. In addition to that, Sozin was capable of using Chi Blocking via acupuncture to prevent Kiareu from entering the Avatar State, thus keeping her out of contact with her former selves. In short, Fire Lord Sozin procured the perfect weapon to conquer the rest of the world. Unfortunately, he did not live to see the task completed. It was not until Avatar Kiareu was twenty-six, thirteen years after she was found, that she aided the Fire Nation in finally breaking through the Northern Water tribe. At that point, Fire Lord Sozin had died and his son, Fire Lord Azulon, had taken his place. It was at this time, what would have been 26 AG, that marked the new epoch: the birth of the Phoenix King.
Now this year was 0 APK (Age of the Pheonix King) and the Fire Nation effectively controlled all four nations. The home of the Phoenix King was made Ba Sing Se, the most impenetrable city in existence - made even more so by leveling the ground to its Northeast so much that it could only be accessed by sea and expanding its borders to the mountains. Nearly a decade was put into creating the Fourth Outer Wall and the deep trench of seawater that surrounded it like a moat, but in the end, the Phoenix King succeeded in creating a Capitol more impregnable than the one before it. This would lead up into the world we know today. 84 APK with Phoenix King Ozai inheriting the throne from Azulon in 79 APK and the death of Avatar Kiarue two years prior to the beginning of the roelplay at the age of 98. Her death was kept a secret from the world, but as the Phoenix Nation scoured the remnants of the Earth Kingdom for the next Avatar, the secret escaped. Now is the first time in eighty years that the nations of the world have had a real chance against the Fire Nation.
- The Rising
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Heads Ukoda, Uquolaan
Branches Jet, Master Zhing
"The Rising is not just a rebellion, my friends. No... when that treaty was signed, the Phoenix Kingdom tried to take a part of every nation and replace it with a warped perception of prosperity / We are those that refused! We are those that will not have our homes taken and our ways changed to suit them! We are those that will not give up any part of who we are! We will knock them down from the pedestal they have placed themselves upon and take back what was stolen from the world! We are the Rising, and we will make sure they fall!" — Uquolaan, Northern Water Tribe, 61 APK
[padding]The Phoenix Kingdom
is like any regime in that there have been rebellions and resistance to it all throughout its existence. Few rebellions, if any, have ever provided a complication for more than a few weeks. Most were quelled within a few days of the mobilization of the Fire Nation Army if the Phoenix Kingdom Police force didn't suffice. Essentially no rebellion has ever lasted long enough to or left any impression on the Age of the Phoenix King. It is the goal of The Rising to change that. The Rising itself isn't just a rebellion. It is a unification of all those oppressed by the Phoenix Kingdom. Founded by two Northern Water Tribe brothers, Ukoda and Uquolaan, the Rising has gained allies all throughout the Northern Water Tribe and remnants of the Earth Kingdom in the six official years it has existed. The Rising has members from every nation, although some not from their homeland, and people from many walks of life. Although some only lend support, some have promised their arms. The Rising itself has even ended several rebellions so that they could add those rebels to their rosters instead of having them become Phoenix Kingdom prisoners. The Rising, although young, has spent its time making allies and growing in influence among those that with for liberation.
[The brothers that head the Rising are both powerful waterbenders, but to far different degrees with significantly different skills. Ukoda is considered one of the most powerful waterbenders of his time, practicing the chauvinistic and traditional ways of waterbending and warrior principles taught by his people. Additionally, he is capable sailor and effective tactician, but as his skills are set around war, so is his mind. Ukoda believes that just as it was sheer force that brought down the Northern Water Tribe, it will be sheer force that returns it to its glory, and many support him. In person, many consider him a brute and his attitude to be poor, but behind a podium or in armor, many consider him more charismatic than his brother.
Uquolaan, often called Uquo, is a talented waterbender as well. Versed in the traditional ways of water bending from his tribe, he has found he has an odd affinity for manipulating the characteristics of water, making it less or more viscous as well as being able to change its form from water to gas and condense it into clouds easily. Uquo often uses these techniques as he travels. Uquo is the voice of the Rising, recruiting allies as he travels across the Earth Kingdom as he can. In person, many consider Uquo to be charming and witty. His ability to solve problems and his tactics are not weak, either, as he with just a small band of benders, has ended rebellions that could have cost the Rising potential allies.
While Ukoda uses his influence in the Northern Water Tribe and by extension the colonies within the Northern Water Tribe Colonies that support him, Uquolaan has spread out into the world. While the Rising was once a mere thought between he and his brother, it has become far more. It has become a culture of people that have been brought together under the oppression of the Phoenix Kingdom. Uquolaan has traveled the world and see how the Phoenix Kingdom has not only influenced his people, but all those of the world. Although the Rising was born in the Northern Water Tribe, it has grown into the Earth Kingdom and its limbs reach as far as the Southern Air Temples. Powerful allies like Jet and his Freedom Fighters, thousands of Earth Kingdom inhabitants, the former Earth Kingdom royal family and countless more that were sent into disarray when the Fire Nation Attacked have lent their support to the Rising. The entire west coastline of the Earth Kingdom is riddled with the Rising, and it has spread into the world without ever truly coming to light. Shadowy Inns and taverns act as secret safe havens, buildings that are never and establishments that have hidden intentions disguise the Rising and its presence within the world. In short, the Rising is far from short of natural talent and with its supporters are growing every day; it is only a matter of time before they take action. The Rising accepts anyone from any walk of life, any bender from any nation and refuses to discriminate against anyone wronged by the Phoenix Kingdom. The Rising is the source of hope for the world, and many believe their success - or failure - will dictate the fate of the four nations.[/padding] - Phoenix Kingdom
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Phoenix King Ozai
"The Phoenix Kingdom has ushered in an era of prosperity unlike any other! My Grandfather, Fire Lord Sozin, saw a world that shared the same fortune and bounty that the Fire Nation of his era had to offer. My father worked to achieve that dream, and I stand here as the next Phoenix King to tell you, New Ba Sing Se, that their dream has been achieved! Never has the world seen such glory as it does today."— Ozai, New Ba Sing Se, 79 APK
Established by The Treaty of the Phoenix in 0 BPK, the Phoenix Kingdom spans the world over with representatives in every town as well as large embassies in every larger city. The Capitol of the Phoenix Kingdom is New Ba Sing Se and is currently ran by Phoenix King Ozai. The Phoenix Kingdom was originally founded by Fire Lord (soon-to-be Phoenix King) Azulon after his successful march into the Northern Water Tribe. Using Avatar Kiarue to overwhelm any forces his armies could not, Azulon used sheer brute force to conquer the world and spared no detail in securing it. New Ba Sing Se was created on the foundation of the city he formerly laid siege. It was fitted to become the new Imperial City and expanded outward so much that the Phoenix King used thousands of benders to carve the sea and mountains to fit the fourth wall of New Ba Sing Se. This alone is a testament to the Phoenix Kingdom mentality. Lavish spending, brute force and the creation of idols in their image.
The Phoenix Kingdom has one of two formal armies left in the world and it acts as a police force in every major city that assists as local embassies see fit to help. The actual army of the Phoenix Kingdom is fairly small as most soldiers either become Agents of the Dai Li, which now take any bender to be trained by masters and act as the personal guard and secret police force of the Phoenix King; or become part of the militant police force and set out to an embassy barrack to be used as they see fit. That said, the actual forces of the Phoenix Kingdom are spread relatively thin with a large concentration within New Ba Sing Se. This makes the Fire Nation often considered the actual enforcer of the Phoenix King as they wield the only other army and can be mobilized at any time outside the impregnable walls of New Ba Sing Se.
With a fortress so great the landscape was altered to fit it, an army of elite soldiers, a police force the world over and a secret police of the elite-of-elites, Phoenix King Ozai is easily the most powerful man on the planet. His entire family line have always been powerful benders, as are his children and brother, Iroh. The Phoenix Kingdom was built on the Fire Nation and its desire to bring its prosperity to the entire world. The Phoenix Kingdom has done that by ushering the world into an era of industrialization, dissolved all monarchies and consolidated power into a single facet. Whether or not the actions and behavior of Ozai and the Phoenix Kingdom are dubbed tyrannical or not, there is no denial of the power and influence the Phoenix Kingdom has had on the world and will continue to have.
- Air Nation
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"]It is said that we must forgo our Earthly attachments, my brothers... so we must let go of our past, both what we have lost and the tragedy that struck us. Let go, my brothers and sisters, and let us rebuild." — Monk Gan-roa, Eastern Air Temple, 19 APK
The Air Nation stands several thousand strong and is broken up into two groups. The fundamentalists that returned back to the Eastern Air Temple after their release and those that took advantage of the titles and advantages given to them throughout the world by the Fire Nation. Those in the Eastern Air Temple search through the remnants and ruins while they rebuilt their civilization and attempt to achieve enlightenment once more after the destruction of their culture. Although many Airbenders traveled the world, the second largest concentration of them is actually within the Fire Nation itself where they have been granted titles of nobility and work as secretaries of the Fire Lord. Iroh has provided them their own section of the city, known as the Little Air Temple, to practice their culture as they see fit, although most fundamentalists would call their practice a bastardization of their former nomadic culture. The third largest is in New Ba Sing Se where they have received similar grants, but none to the degree of those in the original Fire Nation.
Although the fundamentalists and the immigrant airbenders are almost two factions, they both identify with the Air Nation and both act to bring new life into the Air Nation. The fundamentalists hide away in the Eastern Air Temple, rejecting all of the outside world they can. Aside from the embassies created by the Treaty of the Phoenix, all those whom enter the Eastern Air Temple must adapt to the Air Nomad culture or be ejected from the community. This cultural rejection of others often leads to tension between even the fundamentalist Air Nomads and their more Western cousins.
There isn't a huge rift between the two yet, but it does exist and with the numbers of those in the Little Air Temple and other Air Temple replicates growing larger every day, it does present a conflict for the future. The fundamentalists have, in almost every other respect, preserved the Air Nomad culture and have almost completely rebuilt their temple.
Much of the Air Nomad culture was destroyed. With only a few herds of flying bison left alive after their slaughter, the Western Air Temple being almost completely annihilated and the Northern Air Temple renovated into a bastion for the Fire Nation while they assaulted the Northern Water tribe, very little was left for the Airbenders. Ultimately, the Northern Air Temple became the schematics for later Little Air Temples, the Western Air Temple was left in ruin and the Eastern Air Temple was rebuilt by Fire Lord Azulon for the Airbenders. With the destruction and relocation during the war, as well as the peaceful tendencies of the Air Nomads, little to nothing stopped the Fire Nation assault. What was left over for them was "gifted" to them by the Fire Nation whom "preserved" Air Nomad texts during the war, most of which were historical documents or journals from former monks, masters and gurus. Much of the oral traditions and Air Nomad hierarchy was destroyed, leaving their remnants in relative disorder even with a rebuilt Temple and several Little Air Temples in major cities.
The Western Airbenders do not identify with a group name, but more so identify as an airbender of their temple. The largest replicate temple is the Little Air Temple in the Fire Nation made to promote peaceful relations between the new Fire Nation and the once-detained Air Nation. Many seeking to embrace the grants and prosperity of the Fire Nation decided to live in the Little Air Temple or other Air Temples scattered throughout the entire Phoenix Kingdom. The Western Airbenders have deviated from the Air Nomad lifestyle, often opting to teach their history from textbooks and teach more functional, technical airbending. Many of those that opted for this level of integration have become highly respected individuals and have even became close to the leaders of the Fire Nation serving as lighthearted and aloof secretaries, marketeers, accountants and a variety of other professions.
- Fire Nation
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Fire Lord Zuko
Fire Lord regent Iroh
"Zuko, you must never forget that our grandfather Sozin wanted nothing more than to share the wealth and prosperity of the Fire Nation. He saw the beauty of our land and of our people. I know you never met him, but I did and he was a great man. He wanted nothing more than for the beauty he saw in his people to be seen by the whole world." — Iroh to Zuko, 82 APK
While Fire Lord Zuko is being tutored by his uncle Iroh, now the Fire Lord regent, and being trained alongside his sister by their prodigious cousin, Lu Ten, the new Fire Nation has prospered greatly. With the assistance of the Airbenders that were rewarded greatly by Fire Lord regent Iroh, the Fire Nation has become a peaceful, complacent place where an army of firebenders is constantly honed and improved using methods of enlightenment integrated from Airbender society. This new army is often considered far more effective and skilled than the one Sozin and Azulon used to take over the world, thus making the already-prosperous nation a huge player in the world as well as the cultural root of it due to the rule of the Phoenix Kingdom. Some say that the Fire Nation has gone soft in comparison to when Ozai led it, but the use of the Fire Nation Army to quell and uprisings has kept that word at bay for decades.
]The Fire Nation still acts as the root of almost all of the culture being forced onto other Nations. Their progressiveness, their prosperity and their pride have become worldwide traits. The Fire Nation brought forth industrialization to the entire world, but still acts as the leading nation for such progress. Although the Fire Nation is in fact sovereign from the Phoenix Kingdom just as all other nations are, the rest of the world sees the Fire Nation as nothing more than an extension of the Phoenix Kingdom. The Fire Nation itself struggles with its identity as most forget its accomplishments and favorable living standards prior to the Great War.
The Fire Nation now is in many ways the shadow of the Phoenix Kingdom, only truly brought in when the Phoenix Kingdom requests its forces. Considering the Fire Lord is none other than the brother of the Phoenix King and someday will be the son of that said king, these relations are even easier to maintain. The solid bond between the Fire Nation and Phoenix Kingdom may leave the Fire Nation ambiguous in its own image, but its responsibilities are well known.
Under the leadership of Iroh, the Fire Nation has made even greater leaps and bounds in medicinal and educational fields. Iroh, although once considered to be a great leader and general, is now considered one of the greater politics for the people. The Fire Nation itself is virtually devoid of poverty and each generation has gifted the world with more brilliance than the last. Not only that, constructions like tanks, advanced ships and even war blimps from the genius of the engineers raised in the prosperity have given the militant nature of the Fire Nation even more power. Iroh has also made efforts to integrate the Little Air Temple more into Fire Nation culture, and has created a bridge between the two. Although the fundamentalists will forever reject this, most other airbenders worldwide see these actions as penance and the actions of a new era. Unfortunately, Ozai runs the Phoenix Kingdom far different than his brother does the Fire Nation.
- Earth Kingdom
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"The Earth Kingdom is a tough place, kid. If you think a few bandits is bad, you ought'a just go turn yourself in to those dogs right now 'cause a Phoenix Kingdom cell 'll'be the safest place for ya." — Jet to a wannabe Freedom Fighter, 79 APK
The Earth Kingdom and its social hierarchy was essentially dissolved by the Phoenix Kingdom, and was continually oppressed by such. As the Earth Kingdom is the single largest territory and Earthbenders technically outnumber all other benders, those of this land are often the ones that stand up and from time to time create small rebellions that are ultimately quelled by the Fire Nation Army. That said, the Earth Kingdom has no rulers or formal government.
It is mostly a loose coalition of farmers and Earthbenders that make crude towns and settlements, while paying taxes and living under the harsh rule of the Phoenix Kingdom's militant police. One could consider the system of the Earth Kingdom to be a feudal one, but even then there is almost no real social hierarchy. Of all lands, the Earth Kingdom is the most war-torn and the most oppressed.
Towns and villages are often riddled with bandits and thieves that the Police Force ignore. Whether it is because their forces are too thin or they simply have no desire to help the Earth Kingdom is unclear. There is no true force leading the Earth Kingdom and its great numbers. Most live in fear of crime or the Police - sometimes both. There are places in the Earth Kingdom where the line between the two is so blurred that it's pointless to discriminate. The few good people of the land that actually try to make an honest living often have to work even harder to pay extortion fees, taxes and then live off whatever they can at the market. This chaotic oppression has created the tyrannical perspective of the Phoenix Kingdom and the mentality of the Earth Kingdom inhabitants that the world is an abysmal, corrupt place.
- Water Tribes
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The Northern Water Tribe
Chief Arnook
The Southern Water Tribe
Chief Kiroka
The Northern Water Tribe Colonies
Chief Khandu
"Whether we all agree or not, we are brothers and sisters of the Water Tribes. Nothing will ever change that" — Ukoda, Southern Water Tribe, 71 APK
[padding]
The Northern Water Tribe Colonies are the remnants and of the colonies and alliance made by the Northern Watertribe and the Earth Kingdom during the twenty-five years of war before the creation of the Phoenix Kingdom. Seeing an opportunity to create disharmony in the powerful Northern Watertribe, Phoenix King Azulon spared most of the colonies and forts of the time if they surrendered after the fall of Ba Sing Se, and later bound them together in a far lower taxing range than the Northern Water Tribe itself and paid them well for their assistance in creating the fourth outer wall of Ba Sing Se. Ozai even went as far as granting the title of Chief to the representative of the colonies. This caused those in despair and those more willing to forfeit their culture to leave the Northern Water Tribe to take refuge in these colonies. Waterbenders from these colonies still hold an incredible endurance and level of skill as they helped carve out the waterways for Ba Sing Se for nearly a decade. Additionally, traditions such as the exclusion of women and need for betrothal necklaces have died out in these colonies. The Northern Watertribe itself considers these colonies as debauch as their Southern sister, but does keep trade routes and open negotiations with them.
While Chief Khandu does technically lead the Northern Water Tribe colonies, the trade business - ironically wealthy due to a monopoly and the same reasons as the Southern Water Tribe - of Ukoda has allowed him to gain so much influence and integrate The Rising so deep into their society that a divide amongst the people exists there. While the Western colonies generally support, and quite fervently so, Ukoda, the Eastern colonies tend to be in favor of Khandu and the Phoenix Kingdom in general. It is believed this is actually due to those in the Eastern colonies being from families that worked for and were greatly rewarded by the Phoenix Kingdom during the construction of the fourth outer wall. Those in the Western Colonies are thus closer to Ukoda and often are hostile around boundaries to even other colonists as they try to keep The Rising a secret. As each colony is essentially ran like a state that pays taxes to their capitol colony that then pays the Phoenix Kingdom, this setup has gone on for years without major conflict and without forcing the hand of any official. Despite that, the Northern Water Tribe colonies are still as tense as the Northern Tribe itself, and many consider the hostility there to be an extension of that.[/padding]
[padding]
The Southern Water Tribe has not given birth to a waterbender since Avatar Kiareu as Fire Lord Sozin had wiped them out. The tribe now exists as the largest commercial fish distributor in the world, but aside from that has no real notable traits. Few waterbenders in recent decades have came down in search of talent and to extend former waterbending culture, but most efforts have been fruitless as the Southern Water Tribe shares the prosperity of the Air and Fire Nation. The boats and fishing techniques of the Southern Water Tribe are always evolving and becoming more finely tuned. Remarkable advancements in technology have been made in the Southern Water Tribe, and a direct line of trade have made industry from the Fire Nation easily accessible to assist in the mutual trade.[/padding]
[padding]
The Southern Water Tribe is an example of capitalistic enterprise taking a stranglehold on government. The wealthy fishermen and transport owners have essentially bought out the Chief Kiroka, and thus use his political influence to create a better environment for them. It is true that there is a huge amount of profit and stability have flooded into the Southern Water Tribe, but at the same time, there is a lack of labor laws and inhibition that keep the progressive nature of the tribe from becoming a detriment. Many of the world's greatest engineers travel to the Southern Water Tribe from the Fire Nation in an attempt to make cold water vessels more advanced or use the more lax laws there to their advantage for dubious experimentation. Unlike the two divisions of the Air Nation, the two main water tribes do not identify with each other.[/padding]
[padding]
The Northern Water Tribe was the last to fall and is the nation that has managed to preserve its culture as well as its animosity toward the Fire Nation the most. Although Chief Arnook was born in the Age of the Phoenix King, he is not blind to the abuse of power and consolidation of wealth found by the Phoenix Kingdom. Additionally, while he has not seen first-hand, he believes that the Earth Kingdom lives in squalor while the Phoenix Kingdom resides behind ivory walls. He believes the Fire Nation exploits the depleted and debauch Southern Water Tribe. Because the Northern Water Tribe is the hardest Nation to reach, the embassy and militant police there is the largest, but least used. Most of the police act as guards for the embassy and the Phoenix King allows the Northern Water Tribe to essentially run itself with its own policing and preserve its culture without interference, aside from the taxes imposed on every Nation. The Northern Water Tribe, to this date, has not provided any more resistance to the Phoenix Kingdom, but many believe the Phoenix Kingdom and Fire Nation will inevitably be forced to bare down on them again.
The Northern Water Tribe is also the birthplace of The Rising. It is here that brothers Ukoda and Uquolaan had seen the Earth Kingdom and the Northern Water Tribe Colonies through their family trade business. The Northern Water Tribe has become so poorly observed by the Phoenix Kingdom that the people there live their lives actively disgracing the Phoenix Kingdom. Those in the Rising rarely have to hide their status due to the lack of Phoenix Kingdom officials. As a matter of fact, the few officials within the Northern Water Tribe generally stay holed up in their embassy - for their own safety. The Northern Water Tribe, despite being beaten, has not truly accepted defeat, and even the Phoenix Kingdom knows this. The entire North has become a ticking time bomb, albeit most of it was defused with the creation of The Rising. Ukoda and Uquolaan now lead an organized resistance, allowing for the frustration of their people and their desire to remove the pathogen that is the Phoenix Kingdom to be channeled in a productive manner. [/padding]
- Foggy Swamp Tribe
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Council Members Due, Huu, Kim, and Yen
"The Foggy Swamp Tribe is a small, peaceful group of backwater people residing in the marshlands of the southwestern Earth Kingdom. They believe in equality for all genders and all benders and non-benders alike, but they remain uneducated about matters in the world at large. Though the Foggy Swamp can hardly be called a nation unto itself, it is the last location in the world to truly maintain autonomy from the Phoenix Kingdom. This is due to their being so deeply tucked away in the Foggy Swamp that neither knew of the other's existence. It wasn't until the Phoenix Kingdom began a deforestation project on the Swamp that awareness came. Because of the dense maze of flora and the superstitions about monstrous Spirits that protect the place, soldiers have not been able to access the Tribesmen easily enough to force their surrender. Unfortunately for the Swamp natives, their numbers are too low and their weapons aren't sophisticated enough to altogether halt the destruction of their homeland." — Thought Manifest, assistant designer
Within the swamp lands, familial units are broken down at around the age of eight. The next four years of their life will be spent with several families learning different trades until they become thirteen, at which time they choose what they want to learn. The foggy swamp, in that respect, doesn't have traditional marriage nor does it practice a completely solid image for a family. Everyone is kin, and everyone - women and men - can provide equally for the whole tribe. Although simple and only truly effective on the small scale of the isolated swamp - if considered effective at all - the culture of the Foggy Swamp is arguably the most unique. Recently, however, the weak communication skills of those within the foggy swamp has led to friction with the Rising. Normally, no one even takes notice of the Foggy Swamp, but the "living swamp" proved a complication for the Police Force and the inability to effectively recruit them as allies created a complex dynamic for the Rising. As of now, the Foggy Swamp is still a mystery to most and is at odds with everyone.
- The Army, Police Force and more
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[padding]
The Fire Nation Army is truly the only Army left in the current world. In the years of relative peace, the Fire Nation has been given a chance to truly train their soldiers as an art form, only using them to quickly dissipate rebellions that the common Police Force could not. The Fire Nation Army is a body controlled entirely by the Fire Lord, and is considered the most feared force in the current world. Heralded as the army that conquered the world, most fear the wrath of the Fire Nation Army being brought down on them. They are highly mobile, very skilled and far more intimidating than even those of the generation that fought to conquer the world. Those that join the Fire Nation Army do so for honor, often to hone their skills and rise through the ranks by proving themselves. In the last few decades, the Fire Nation Army has become a purist meritocracy, where those with high ranks are often the most talented soldiers or most tactical minds. Titles within the current Fire Nation Army are rarely given out without reason. The Fire Nation Army is comprised of its main force, its Army, and a secondary Force, its Navy. Both are equally feared throughout the world.
This directly contrasts the Phoenix Kingdom Police Force. Although the Police Force out numbers the Fire Nation Army, they are vastly less trained and act as the more common brute force of the Phoenix Kingdom. Prone to corruption, greed, and even illegal activities such as underground fighting rinks, gambling and other crimes, the Police Force is the primary reason the Phoenix Kingdom has developed a poor public image. However, the Police Force is a necessity. Through sheer numbers, the Police Force essentially moderates the entire world and all four nations as we know them. The Fire Nation Army has nowhere near the numbers to truly moderate the entire world, even though they could defeat any other body of arms that might rise up. The Police Force often grants ranks based on favor, although skill is still a factor, and whom is allied with who. Even worse, it is often the ruthless whom excel, as those in power tend to favor others that will do whatever it takes. The Police Force is modeled, almost disrespectfully, after the Fire Nation Army. A rank within the Police Force is feared due to the corruption or deceit accompanied by its holder while a rank in the Fire Nation Army is feared for the skill required to attain it.
Army and Police Force (highest to lowest)
- General | The highest ranking officer, currently held by Fire Lord regent Iroh.
- First Lieutenant | Hand-picked by the General, the second in command of the Fire Nation Army.
- Major General | Soldiers of incredible tactical minds and skills, proven by combat experience.
- Brigadier General | The officer in charge of an Army Brigade of Specialists, assigned directly by the General.
- Colonel | The most senior field officers, often discussing tactics with generals or above.
- Lieutenant Colonel | An experienced field officer, often delegating tasks to others. Normally proven leaders.
- Major | The first field officer rank, placed in full control over a battalion. Earned by more than skill.
- First Commandant | The final junior officer rank, normally attaining experience or developing in combat tactics.
- Captain | The rank most Cadets eventually achieve after proving their capabilities in combat.
- Lieutenant | A cadet placed in the lowest rank of Officer, generally considered the weakest or without tactics.
- Cadet | An Officer in training. Can be placed as high as First commandant after training.
Non-Officer Ranks
- Sergeant Major | The Highest Rank of a non-Officer, often a combat-hardened soldier without a desire to lead.
- Sergeant | A rank achieved normally through displays of skill. Those in this rank are considered for cadet.
- Corporal | The first rank of leadership within the non-officer ranks, considered the stepping stone.
- Private First Class | The highest rank of private, generally earned through experience.
- Private II | The rank most high-potential soldiers attain right out of the academy.
- Private | The lowest rank within the entire army, common foot soldiers and often the youngest.
Navy (highest to lowest)
- Admiral | The highest ranking naval officer, equivalent to a General.
- Vice Admiral | The Naval equivalent of the First Lieutenant.
- Rear Admiral | A Naval Leader with proven leadership capabilities. Often left to lead defending fleets.
- Commodore | Used as naval specialists, Commodores are highly skilled and given special aquatic missions.
- Captain | Often owning their own ship and attaining a name, Captain's are the bulk of naval leadership.
- Commander | The first field Officer rank, normally earned through experience and in charge of at least one ship.
- Lieutenant Commander | The final junior officer rank of the navy, normally working under a Commander.
- Ensign | Generally the leader of a single deck of a larger ship. Ensigns are officers in need of leadership development.
- Midshipman | A naval cadet. Can be placed as high as Lieutenant Commander after training.
Non-Officer Ranks
- Chief Petty Officer | The highest rank a seaman can achieve without becoming a Midshipman.
- Petty Officer | The rank prior to Midshipman, often recruited to become Officers later in their career.
- Leading Seaman | A Seaman often proving his capable communication skills with his crew.
- Seaman | Trained in combat, but primarily trained in keeping a ship running; the lowest rank of the Navy.
Other organizations, such as the Yuyan Archers, Dai Li and Mercenaries still exist, but are kept more secretive. The Yuyan Archers are generally nonbenders that are highly skilled and trained in archery as well as stealth. The Dai Li are trained similar to Yuyan Archers, but are now open to all bending practices and teach stealth and subtly over raw power. Mercenaries, as always, are wildcards of their own - and all are forces at the hands of the Phoenix Kingdom.[/padding]
- The Underground City
-
The Underground City of Omashu, often merely referred to as the Underground City, is a city found deep underneath the actual city of Omashu. The Underground City is hidden within and under the sewer systems of Omashu, using elaborate tunnels and ventilation techniques to keep the city highly active. Forges and fires exist in the city due to the running water from an oasis similar to the one that feeds Omashu itself and the highly oxygenated air caused by drafts made by hot air and the cool outside air of the cliff overhang. The Underground City, although remarkably large and hidden, is still only a fraction of the size of Omashu, but acts as a one of the primary headquarters of the Rising. Founded by disgruntled former-aristicrats originally as well as former criminals and the unfairly persecuted, the Underground City has became an unseen beacon for the Rising. As the fire that burns within Omashu heats the air for ventilation and provides the primary sources of the still-admittedly dull light, its source is changed seasonally to alter the hue of its fire, which has became a type of celebration to those living in and working out of the city, making the Rising itself a culture of its own as well as bolstering morale. The only methods of entering the city are through underwater passages via its oasis feeds and/or underground springs, the highly secretive sewer systems of Omashu or cave entrances scattered between one and two miles outside of Omashu itself.
To the Rising, Omashu is considered the "Gateway to the South" and is often a step between refugees, fugitives or merely members of the Rising before they reach the Patola Mountains. Of the outposts of the Rising, the Underground City of Omashu stands out as the only one completely created with the resources of the Rising. While many consider the frigid North ran by Ukoda to be the true head of the Rising, many see the Underground City as its capitol. Created in just a few years by hundreds of Earthbenders, engineers and funds from the former royal Earth Kingdom family, the Underground City proves to be the most elaborate outpost of the Rising. There are several secret ways to enter it, including cave entrances from any series of nearby oasis, the sewer systems of Omashu or even a cliff side entrance where running water is used to cleanse hot air of smoke and debris before it exits. Those whom have stepped into the other outposts have seen how the Rising can bring people together or rebuild what has beenn destroyed, but only in the Underground City can one truly see the identity and creative force of the Rising.
- Patola Mountains
-
The Patola Mountains is a mountain range and series of valleys located in the South Sea north of the South Pole once considered part of the Air Nation. The Patola Mountains have such high peaks they were once believed only accessible via flying bison and were only made habitable through landscaped plateaus for housing and agricultural purposes. The Patola Mountains housed the Southern Air Temple and were large enough to become a home to thousands of airbenders, once thought to be the only possible people capable of calling such a place home. The Southern Air Temple was the first Air Temple assaulted, resulting in the utter annihilation of its Airbender residents. This same Temple, now under the occupation of the Fire Nation, was used as a detainment camp for all remaining Airbenders from the Western and Eastern Air Temples. At the time this Temple was used as detainment center, the Northern Air Temple had not yet been conquered.
After the release and reintegration of airbenders into the world conquered by the Fire Nation and newly established Phoenix Kingdom, efforts were made to rebuild the Eastern Air Temple and create several smaller Air Temples, notably called Little Air Temples, in major cities such as the Fire Nation Capitol and New Ba Sing Se, using designs from the mostly-intact Northern Air Temple. This ultimately led to the Southern Air Temple becoming vacant, and with it being poorly habitable for anyone aside from Airbenders, the Fire Nation essentially left it alone. Even with the newly carved staircases and access to the mountain tops, there existed no purpose for the Fire Nation or Phoenix Kingdom to keep this piece of territory, and with their forces thin as it was, there was no upkeep on the Temple. When Airbenders returned in secret to the Temple in search for lost culture, they found the Temple a perfect place to live without the oppression or influence of the Phoenix Kingdom, and thus the first true inhabitants of the current Patola Mountains came to be.
Since the first new inhabitants of the Patola Mountains and Southern Air Temple, hundreds have amassed. Most disgruntled Airbenders with intense grudges against the Phoenix Kingdom and Fire Nation for the near-genocide and almost complete destruction of the Air Nomad way of life. The Southern Air Temple receives almost no traffic (the only way to even reach the valleys is by ferry) and for decades was only inhabited by the Airbenders that called it home. Eventually, the Rising stumbled upon the lively mountain range while looking for an effective way to house refugees and fugitives from the Phoenix Kingdom. Uquolaan, having considered the valleys of the Patola Mountains, was surprised to find Airbenders now inhabiting the area. Ultimately, Uquolaan was capable of forging an alliance between these Airbenders and thus integrated them into the Rising. The Southern Air Temple is a secret and completely non-combative outpost of the Rising that houses any enemy of the Phoenix Kingdom or ally of the Rising. This has led to the vast expansion of the Patola Mountains with the integration of several other benders. While the Airbenders, for the most part, are the only true inhabitants of the Southern Air Temple, hundreds of refugees have made its misty valleys home, and conduct trade with the Air Temple. The Southern Air Temple, as part of the agreement, delegates and regulates all those within its territory, which generally involves resolving petty disputes. The downfall is that those imprisoned are often executed by The Rising, as the secret nature and seclusion of the outpost is paramount. While this does conflict with the Air Nomad way of life, it has become standard that the Air Nomads of the Patola Mountains and their leadership, while still peaceful, are far more stark than their predecessors.
- Treetop Village
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The Treetop Village began as a small treetop hideout near the village of Gaipan in the Earth Kingdom and has now became a network of towns and outposts - all considered to be part of the Treetop Village - spanning from the shores of the Mo Ce Sea to the Great Divide. Unlike any of the other outposts, the Treetop Village is essentially its own regional presence with a single capitol located near the Great Divide, which is how the outpost itself has attained its name. The entire western region that divides the Northern and Southern halves of the Earth Kingdom is essentially under control of the Rising using small treetop hideouts scattered throughout the area to house members of the Rising that assist in overseeing safe shipment of goods or people, transport of Rising-related objects and at times sabotage those of the Phoenix Kingdom. This area specifically is tense and requires careful forethought due to its vicinity to the outskirts of New Ba Sing Se and many trade ports with the Fire Nation.
Although the Treetop village is a massive effort maintained by hundreds, the original treetop hideout was started a band of misfits and rebels known as the Freedom Fighters all led by Jet. Although the Freedom Fighters of this world were established before Jet, it wasn't until Jet came to leadership that they aggressively expanded. Turning from a few hideouts that assisted nearby towns into a massive effort to help everyone possible, the Freedom Fighters eventually allied themselves with the Rising and made their Treetop Village their main outpost Once the Freedom Fighters merged with the Rising, they branched out entirely and assisted with the transport routes used between the Underground City and New Taku Jet also proved to be a capable and charismatic leader; through his passion and even aggression he was capable of uniting hundreds of people and earning the respect of Uquolaan. It took time for Jet to temper his rage, but once he accepted his role as a leader, he created part of the Rising culture Uquolaan had aspired for.
As the influence of the Rising and the Freedom Fighters grew, Jet was capable of allying himself with the Zhang and Gan Jin tribes of the Great Divide that were outcast there by the Phoenix Kingdom for being cowards when they fled to Ba Sing Se during the Great War. While the Zhang Tribe had become powerful earthbenders out of necessity, the Gan Jin tribe had tamed the canyon crawlers and together with Jet they were capable of improving standards of living for both tribes while also opening up travel through the Great Divide. After seeing the success with the formerly warring tribes, the Beetle-headed Merchants and other sandbenders of the Si Wong Desert pledged their assistance to the Rising and allied themselves with Jet. Thus, Jet brought together emissaries from the Si Wong Desert, the Great Divide and his own local area to establish safe passage for the Rising and bring together multiple cultures in the mixing pot that is the true Treetop Village. The Location of the Village most specifically is very near the Southwest border of the Great Divide near the Northern tip of the Si Wong Desert, making the outpost a stop between the Underground City and New Taku as well as a cultural center for those Jet had brought together.
- New Taku
-
Taku was once one of the richest and most prominent towns of trade and commerce in all of the Earth Kingdom. Although many towns, such as Omashu and Ba Sing Se were left standing and even renovated during the war, Taku was essentially destroyed. All of its vast riches were taken, many of its former inhabitants slaughtered and its lands used as a camp of high value during the march through the Earth Kingdom due to its strategical placement. Taku stood as a phantom of its former self, littered with debris from both the ruins of its former glory and the Fire Nation camps that were made there. Some considered Taku to be one of the most ghastly sites left by the entire campaign, and for decades even the Fire Nation didn't return there due to simply not wishing to face what they had done. No one had ever hoped Taku would attain the status it had now, even when the Northern Water Tribe Colonies were established.
Despite the advantages Taku had, no colonists wanted to rebuild it. This made it, despite its ghastly nature, a perfect outpost for the Rising. As a matter of fact, many consider it the 'first' outpost of The Rising. Established to extend the influence The Rising by Ukoda, Taku became the first and for a while only place The Rising convened outside of the Northern Water Tribe. Taku continued growing as the familial trading and shipping business Ukoda and Uquolaan came from expanded, and their funds soon became met by those that donated to support the Rising. Even if it was mere local support, this was the first step the Rising took in attaining support outside the frozen walls of their Northern homeland.
Ukoda continued to expand his influence in the Water Tribe colonies, essentially using his trade influence and financial capabilities to run the Western portion of the colonies, some whom even sided with him over Chief Khandu. It is this secret alliance with the Rising that created the civil rift in the colonies.
New Taku, as it has been dubbed, still remains a secret as no one visits, and the area closest to the shoreline is left in intentional ruin. The Fire Nation, whom have no purpose to travel there anyway, consider the entire town a bad omen, and the ruins to be haunted. The entire area is shrouded in ghostly superstition met by the traditionalists of the Northern Water Tribe. While it is assumed that Uquolaan has the most influence over the other three outposts despite Master Zhing and Jet being their respective branch leaders, Ukoda essentially owns and leads New Taku. In this sense, New Taku is the bridge between The Rising of the Earth Kingdom and The Rising of the Northern Water Tribe, and is the city that brings the two together. Although one does have to travel through the Northern Water Tribe colonies to each the port to the Northern Water Tribe from Taku, travel is generally safe and the colonies of the surrounding areas are allied with The Rising. New Taku, formerly a phantom of the Fire Nation, is now one of the most powerful statements The Rising has made in its existence; they have rebuilt what the Fire Nation destroyed.
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[tabs]
[tab=Karan-Giri (Cerulean)]
Male | 23 | Earth Kingdom[/tab]
Karan-Giri is a buff bard from a tiny village in South East Earth Kingdom. He is an emotional (for better or worse) people person. Karan has a good heart but a bull head. Making jokes and earthbending are his favorite pastimes. Eating is right up there too. He is a "first man in, last man out" kind of person and always seeks to help his friends. He loves to fight. Whether it is a person, tyranny, or for love, he will be there, if he can.
Traits
[BCOLOR=#331800]Earthbending[/BCOLOR]
He had been pushed to train in earth bending, since he was able to walk. While Karan is very strong, and has been trained well, he so far lacks the refinement to be able to move on to master-level bending. His style tends to be more brute force than anything else, by being able to lift more earth than most benders of his level. If compared metaphorically to military terms, he would be a trebuchet.
Two Handed Weapon Proficiency
If it is a weapon that requires to hands, he is most likely familiar with it. Of course, he does tend to lean more towards heavy axes and maces.
Poetry
Karan loves to write, in his spare time. Specifically, he like to write poems for people. Most often, they are a pick me up for a friend of just something to help him get his feelings out and on paper.
Musical Performance
For a man that looks like all he does is lift heavy things, he is actually a great love of art in general. Including poetry, he has artistic passion for singing. Thanks to his mother being a singer herself, she helped honed this love more than anything else.
Relations & Relationships
Father: Bahadah (Living)
Mother: Vichine (Living)
Older Brother (4 years older): Hisne (Living)
Little Brother (6 years younger): Lahram (Living)
History
He was born just Karan, to an Earth Kingdom family. Giri didn't come until much later. The middle of three sons and ended up being the one with the shortest frame. His family genes would put in somewhere in the 6 foot mark but he drew a total of 5'9'' when he was done growing. Both of his brothers? Lahram is 6'4'' and Hisne is 6'2''. "Bastards." Karan would often say.
His parents were a cross-town love story. Both Earth Kingdom and knew each other a long time. Vichine was a frequent performer in the village square and traveled out to other parts of the kingdom. She was very worldly and made coin off of her musical talent. His father was often a fighter in tournaments that was often overseen by the Phoenix Kingdom Police Force and allows illegal betting, gambling, etc. to go on through it. There were two divisions: Bender or Conventional. Conventional just referring to fighting with weapons such as swords and clubs. And either he was good or the competition sucks as he was always a favorite to win it all every time they were held. It was how they met. She performed after one of the tournaments and just took Bahadah by surprize.
They played cat and mouse for months until anything worth noting came about. When they finally married, and she became pregnant with Hisne, they began to argue about his current job. While able to keep them afloat, was not safe for a future father. They argued for weeks, until he gave it up. While they were let go, they always felt the need to look over their shoulders. From there, he become a landscaper, primarily useing his earth bending to give rich, snooty nobles the yard of their dreams. Of course, the upside being that most night could be spent with the pregnant wife.
By the time Karan came into the picture, his father had become a prominent supervisor and saved up large amount of money that half went towards running a music shop Vichine had set up. The other half was stored away from a rainy day. They stayed in their minimal lifestyle. It is how they preferred it.
Much of his early life involved 3 things: Eating, Music, Earthbending.
Both his mother and father took pride in their work and so passed it on to their boys. When they weren't at school, his father encouraged him to come play Earthbending with his brother. When he didn't feel like doing that, there was always Mom who could use help in the shop or taught him a thing or two about music. He was very determined to be the best at both, or at least music since Big Brother had a few years head start in training which was bad when their father let them use actual weapons.
When Lahram was born, Karan felt relieved. He wasn't the baby anymore. Of course, when he outgrew him in height, he became the Little One again. He was often teased for it in school. Instead, he decided that if he couldn't be the tallest, he would be the stoutest. Which is when people started attaching the Giri to his name.
Many nights he would be out lifting large rocks, working himself to the point of exhaustion. And when it wasn't heavy anymore, he moved something heavier. It is what he did. By the time he was 18, he was starting to look like a gladiator. Let us just there were few people who said anything that wasn't nice by that point. Life was simple, but good. Even with all of the tyranny (which his parent stayed out of the best they could), they managed to build a good home. Of course, this was about the time Hisne was getting into some trouble.
Karan's older brother had made his way up the ranks in "The Ring" and was now a regular. It was how he paid for his shack two towns over. He wanted out, but he knew what would happen if he did. They knew his father and where his family slept. The last who even got off scot-free was his father himself. Anyone else were encouraged to come back mysteriously after their house burnt down or they ended up missing for a month. So he ran. Hisne went home.
It wasn't even a week before the shop was smashed. Their father assumed it was them coming back to get him. Mother cried. They tried to fight and it was unfortunate Karan was not there at the time. Fortunately, he only got to see the aftermath. Momma cried. Lahram had his head smashed in. Father's arms were too broken to hold his wife and it was raining. Hard. Windows smashed, earth was broken apart and there was a trail of slight red coming away from the whole scene.
And they way Lahram was going, the shop was going to have a successor. But with the head injury, there wasn't much he could do other than whine and moan at Momma. Karan was at a loss on where his road took him, because he wanted to blaze his own path but didn't know how to. Taking a giant leap of faith, he packed his things and went out to see the world to try and find something else other than hardship.
Years of travel brought him much joy and friendship. However, time and time again he always seemed to Fire or Phoenix or whatever they call themselves doing something that just pissed him the hell off. It inspired him to find his path. That path...lead him to The Rising. Karan-Giri had reached out to them and was given a location to go to, if he was serious. Everything fell into place from there. The Rising has plenty of Earthbenders that go out and create secret huts or bases using their Earthbending to create a secret network for travel. If he learned anything from his father, this would make him perfect for this particular role.
Miscellaneous
I like garlic mashed potatoes.
[tab=Makki (RainDash)]
[Female | 18 | Southern Water Tribe]
Makki is a sarcastic and laid back girl from the Southern Water Tribe. Her first response to anything is a sarcastic quip and a quick smile, which more often than not hides the fact that she stole your purse. Unsurprisingly perhaps, she has a habit of stealing, even unconsciously. IF asked she'll usually return stolen or taken items, but it's very rare that she ever returns them without being prompted to. Makki is very street smart, despite her words and lies about just arriving off the ship. Makki doesn't like talking about her feelings and often prefers actions to words.
Traits
A waterbender of some repute and a masterful thief. Her studies about airbenders has allowed her to be quicker on her feet, but not as quick as anyone who's trained under the master airbenders themselves. She also knows some healing, though it is greatly limited.
Relations & Relationships
Father: Injuquaq (Estranged)
Mother: Siku (Deceased)
Sister: Miki (Estranged)
Mentor: Gomi (Deceased)
Friends:
Ratna (Deceased)
Akane (Deceased)
Pukiq (Deceased)
History
Makki was born to a Northern Water Tribe woman who had come to bring waterbending back to the south pole. While there she met a man named Injuquaq and quickly became engaged to him after several years of dating and both moved back to the Northern Water Tribe. However, he could not bend and was extremely against benders.
Siku, Makki's Mother, was part of the faction that believed that waterbending should be a part of the Southern Water Tribe once more, and she also wished to escape the constricting sexist traditions that circled the entirety of the Northern Water Tribe. Siku had been trained as most women waterbenders were in the north pole, using water for healing and not attacking. Despite this she believed that she could teach others how to use this power in the south pole. Siku was just off the ship to arrive when she ran into Injuquaq, a man who was selling fish at the market.
Injuquaq grew up in the Phoenix Kingdom clutches, and had nearly been burned by several firebenders who claimed to have been part of the Phoenix Kingdom. As time went on, Injuquaq began to connect bending to power, and he believed that power was corrupting good and honest people into filth and criminals. He voiced this opinion only after Siku and he were married and with child.
When Siku discovered this, she vowed to keep the fact that she was a waterbender a secret from him, however long it took. Makki was born first, and as soon as she showed promise with waterbending at five years of age, her mother quickly told Makki to never allow her father to know about her waterbending. Siku trained Makki in healing and medicinal uses for waterbending, teaching her in secret from her father. When Makki was six, Miki was born and Makki's mother died from childbirth, leaving Makki without a teacher for waterbending in the whole tribe.
Makki decided to run away when she was ten, frustrated by her inability to learn more about waterbending on her own, only to be caught by her father shortly before she left the house. Makki, in a fit of rage accidentally water bended her father into their wall. She tried to explain it was an accident, but her father quickly told her to simply leave and never come back. With her little bag on her back she headed for the Northern Water Tribe colonies. There she found a mentor and a way of living.
Her mentor taught her how to use waterbending for attacking and fighting, which Makki quickly grew skilled at. He also taught her how to steal without being caught and how to live on not much money. Her mentor had always believed the current Avatar, the one under influence from the Phoenix Kingdom, to be the false Avatar and that the real one was out there somewhere. Makki picked up on this belief quickly, thinking that maybe she was the avatar. Her mentor become more of a father figure as she grew older and Makki believed that her old father was just a nightmare...
Until she reached fourteen. That was when her mentor passed away, leaving Makki alone and without a home once more. The young vagabond headed for the air temples next, hoping to find relaxation with the monks, as well as trying to find out if she could bend air. She knew that airbending after waterbending was out of the cycle, but she wanted to know if she could do it or not, because the Avatar could bend any element without training.
After a few months of trying to airbend, Makki grew frustrated with herself, having not bended the air at all in her time there. Her delusion of grandeur had reached it's end, and Makki didn't want the monks to know her true purpose at the air temple. So she blamed them for being too weak in the war with the old Fire Nation and left in a huff, never looking back.
She decided to go to the Earth Nation next, simply because it had more Phoenix Nation presence to annoy and hide within and held possible work for her to do. She didn't care about any particular destination to go to, and simply boarded the soonest ship she could book.
That was when she arrived at Omashu, the city that was rife with fun, other bender kids, and a way to live without having to do too much manual labor. As she stayed in the city, she picked up younger kids who had been thrown out of their homes or ran away as she had. Slowly they became her new family, they stole together and Makki showed the ones that could waterbend how she learned.
Everything was going well for three years in Omashu. Makki managed to steal enough for everyone to eat every night and she enjoyed the feeling she had when they all worked together to steal or get food. One day Makki went out for cabbages -half to annoy the peddler and half because they needed them- and returned to discover that Phoenix Nation troops had stormed the home, leaving no one inside alive. Her entire gang had been wiped out, leaving Makki alone again.
Makki vowed vengeance against the troops for her once again broken family. She vowed that she would make every Phoenix Nation imperial pay for what they did to her family, and has been on the warpath ever since.
[/tab]
[tab=Krane (Prince)]
[Male | 16 | Nomad (fugitive)| Airbender]
Krane Elba is a confident and intelligent young airbender that was originally from the Fire Nation. Harped on for his attention to the physical beauty of the opposite gender and his inability to focus on the enlightenment of air, Krane never could quite follow the traditional methods of airbending. He didn't share their mentality, either. He loved the finer aspects of palace life, the influence he had due to his connections, but most of all, he found a personal amount of enthrallment by none other than Princess Azula herself. While she was undoubtedly manipulative and malicious at times, Krane spent his childhood with her and was able not only to outperform her in several fields, but was capable of easing her down from her moments of manic insanity.
It was actually this influence over her in combination with his beliefs that caused him to become a fugitive. Krane is intelligent, easily on the level of the prodigious Azula, but he was not completely enamored by the life he lived. He enjoyed it, but he could see how the Fire Nation prospered off the toils of the Earth Kingdom and efforts of the Southern Water Tribe, even if the latter benefited as well. He believed that everyone should be able to live like them or at least live on a closer level. Upon sharing these ideals with Azula whom shared them with Lu Ten, Krane was ultimately attempted to be arrested. He fled for his life, leaving the Fire Nation and now firmly believing in their corruption.
Traits
Krane has a unique variant of airbending developed by training alongside firebenders for a majority of his life, most notably Azula. Krane is quite capable with the airbending basics, but his most notable skills come from compression. Krane was able to replicate master-level firebending techniques through Airbending, most specifically jet propulsion and pressurized fire streams. Creating these techniques and mastering them himself, Krane has a unique fighting style using compressed air. His 'air beams' can slash through trees and solid rock. If charged into a ball, then shot as stream, they can even penetrate rock, metal and ice. Additionally, Krane can augment his own speed and force to amplify his regular techniques greatly with pressurized air and even isolate all damage to one point. This technique is further proven in his ability to create air slashes with a sword, techniques that the weaponless airbending masters would have never considered. Although he is far from a master, his destructive force may be on par with one. Krane once boasted to have developed the first advanced airbending techniques since former Avatar Aang nearly a hundred years prior.
Relationships
Karen Elba is his mother, and takes care of his siblings. Estranged.
Tolaf Elba is his father, and serves as a secretary to Iroh. Estranged.
Princess Azula was once a close friend and arguably a romantic interest.
Prince Zuko found himself jealous of Krane for his skill and Azula's admiration.
Lu Ten has a deep disdain of Krane, as he is a liability from a militant perspective.
Krane is a third-generation airbender born in the Fire Nation. He spent almost all of his young life in the Little Air Temple within the Fire Nation Capitol, and for eight years was thought to be the only child his parents would have. The Elba family had served the Fire Lord since Ozai ruled, and was kept around faithfully by Iroh whom even moved them closer to the palace and allowed them more important duties. It made sense that the oldest son of the Elba family, Krane, would become a friend of even the Prince and Princess, albeit Zuko was far less enthralled by him than his sister. Zuko was a proud firebender, albeit not an expressively good one, thus an airbender hardly interested him. It remained that way until recent years when Krane and Azula became prodigious in their respective bending styles and particularly close. At that point, Zuko had became jealous of Krane as he almost always had the attention of his sister, whom only gave him attention to prove her superiority or torture him.
Krane spent his youth playing with and training alongside Zuko and Azula. Trained by their older cousin, Lu Ten, both were pushed through hard, diligent training. Krane spent his time training within the Little Air Temple, but he spent almost as much time learning about firebending and being subjected to the same training Lu Ten put his royal cousins through. Iroh himself saw no harm in this. Educating the allies of the Fire Lord in firebending, in his opinion, would only prove to strengthen the bonds between the two as the styles provided a deep understanding of their culture. Although not a firebender, Krane understood how firebending worked as a martial art and as a bending style due to this, and attained the admiration of Azula due to his perfect execution of techniques despite the obvious lack of fire. Lu Ten also became increasingly aware of Krane and his relationship with Azula over the years.
As those same years past, Krane took up duties within the city and gained an understanding of the internal affairs, realizing Azula and Zuko were quite ignorant to how the city was actually ran. He was incredibly close to Azula by this point; they spent a significant amount of their spare time together. So close, in fact, that they sparred intensely and both revealed their more advanced techniques, and even learned to fight against them. Azula could use her agility and knew to keep close to Krane while Krane developed a technique to ionize air to derail Lightning. They complimented each other well, and Krane generally only won due to his age. It could be speculated there would have been a blooming romance or there in fact was one at this point. One so much that Krane thought he could confide his feelings about the Fire Nation to Azula. Azula, however, hardly understood this and expressed her questions to Lu Ten.
Lu Ten was enraged by these questions and the audacity of the young airbender. Lu Ten caught Krane unaware, arresting him for treason and intending to take him to Iroh himself to see what would need done. Azula, frantic in fear for Krane, turned on Lu Ten, disabling him with a bolt of lightning. It wouldn't matter. Krane was a wanted individual now and Azula had assaulted Lu Ten. This type of internal dispute would be solved simply by eliminating the problem. On that day, Krane ran. He fled the Capitol, he fled the nation and he became a fugitive. He didn't say goodbye to his parents. He didn't get watch his younger brother, Seru, or his younger sister, Tali, grow up. His old life was over. After his chase and a year of soul searching, Krane joined the Rising through Uquo himself. One might say Uquolaan reached out to him. The information that Krane possessed and familiarity with the Fire Nation made him an especially useful asset, as well as his airbending techniques. Krane has spent the last year of his life assisting Uquo with the resistance, and contemplating what he left behind.[/tab]
[tab=Tanvi Avil (Capt. Blu)]
[Female | 16 | Wanderer - Chi Blocker]
Tanvi Anil though lazy by nature, has a rare intellect that consistently allows her to prevail in combat. She isn't too stressed out to excel. She can be disappointed when she falls short of her goals, but she is never devastated. She is rather accepting of failures. It may cause a short irritation only because she took the time to put effort into that goal, but it only lasts a short period of time. Normally, she'd much rather watch a fight or sleep than partake in something so strenuous. Tanvi is pretty even tempered and she lives less of a stress free life, well at least tries too. With her pet, Fei, a fire ferret she enjoys travelling the world and learning about the different nations and element styles. Don't hurt her ferret and you won't feel her wrath.
Traits
Tanvi is quite agile. Because of this, she is also very fast and agile in battle, able to outmaneuver almost any opponent she has come across. Some of it was due to being overly underestimated, which she uses as an advantage. Her agility and limber form can be paralleled somewhat to that of Ty Lee's own skill, that's no doubt because she trained along side the girl. Her abilities were inspired because of a run in with a circus. Ironically, the same one Ty Lee was in. She thought it was a good idea considering she wasn't born a bender like her father and mother and it wasn't like she had anything better to do. Her training around the world has led her to develop many formal skills in the art of bending, she just lacks the actual element to bend- which she makes up for with Chi Blocking. So far, her favorite style has to be in the Tai Chi field, probably because of the meditation it requires.
Relations
She was born into the Fire Nation by a store merchant and a father in the army. There were times at a young age where she was caught, dozing off under and sometimes in a grand tree a little "too close to the royal family".
Acquaintance of Ty Lee.
History
Tanvi was born to a status-less family. Her mother was a store merchant, selling herbs and fresh vegetables and fruits while her father took up being a soldier in the army. One harsh and surprising winter, Tanvi's mother had gotten severely sick when she was around the age of seven, only to die the next few days. It hit Tanvi hard, considering her other parent was always being pulled away from them. It made nothing better when her father had returned home only three days after to hear the horrible news. "Why weren't you here to save her?" That was the only thing she said to him for a few weeks.
Tanvi lived with a neighboring family, getting visits from her father every time he could. By this time, she had forgiven him and they had a healthy relationship. It was safe to say that her life had fallen into routine for awhile (Help around, Schooling, Doing nothing more) and thus began the development of her new, more laid back personality. Around the age of 9 she was taken to the circus, witnessing the fantastic acrobatic performances, that's where her practice in agility had began to bloom. Over the next few years she spent all her time learning the art and everything about it, along with joining the circus. She was an exceptional student and practically mastered the skill in three years or so. To be so young and to be taught by a Ty Lee's teacher and occasionally a bubbly child (Ty Lee being around 14 or a little older) (She occasionally missed a few practices here and there due to oversleeping- or...some other excuse)- impressive.
A few gigs in the circus later, Tanvi realized....The circus was too much work! So, she quit and went back home. After she was fourteen (and a half) she decided to start her travels. It indeed was a young age and when her father found out, he definitely did not approve, but it was too late. Late one night, with a bag packed, she went off to start her journey. And there was no stopping her. She occasionally writes to her father, telling him about her travels and mainly just mentioning she is still alive. Tanvi plans to circle the whole world, hopefully twice in her lifetime and learn everything she can about it.
One thing she did learn about was the terrible history of how the Fire Nation came to power. She doesn't approve of such a corrupted leadership and believes that all elements should live in harmony of each other- it was one reason why she left in the first place. She had only heard rumors about the rebellion when she returned to pay her father a visit, but of course she mentioned it not to him. After all...he is in the Fire Nation army.
Miscellaneous
She has a pet Fire Ferret named Fei. Fei is normally seen with a white ribbon around her neck just for identification. Tanvi sometimes hides the ferret in her kimono like sleeves when going through cities or trying to find a place to stay.[/tab]
[tab=Tao (Valhala)]
[Female | 17 | Earth Kingdom - Wanted]
Tao Shěn is passionate young woman from the village of Gaoling. Holding great confidence in herself she doesn't take, much less allow any form of insult or criticism to hinder her from reaching her goals. Not exactly the brightest of the bunch, she makes up for her lack of book-smarts with optimism, and a trust-worthy nature. Unfortunately, at times she can be a little too trusting. She's been conned multiple times by supposed 'magicians', and 'unfortunate travelers' passing through town. Despite the trouble, Tao still thoroughly believes everyone deserves to be heard, or given a second chance.
She has a strong mindset of right and wrong, a trait her parents made sure to educate her and the rest of her siblings on from day one. Thankful, and aware of her privilege as middle class -- or rather, was middle class -- she's come to resent the oppression, and struggle the Phoenix King has brought upon her people, and nation. Active in her community, especially with the lower-class and less fortunate, she and her family have put money and efforts into aiding her town in as many ways possible.
Her family, and friends mean everything to her and she'd be willing to put her life at risk for them no matter the situation. A true social butterfly, it doesn't take long for Tao to associate herself with others. Enjoying the company of others, and meeting new people she's known for stirring up friendly conversations with some of the most unlikeliest of strangers who've sailed or traveled through Gaoling.
Talking, and eating are two of her favorite things to do. So with a stomach as big as her mouth, the quickest way to heart has ,and always will be, through her stomach. No matter the attitude, or nature of a person, Tao has a knack for talking someones ear off however she stays vigilant of others own needs, and boundaries. Her goal is to make friends after all, not push them away.
Never afraid of hiding it from others, especially towards those who've shown her disrespect, Tao holds a temper that's placed her into tense situations more then once. Unapologetic, blunt, and unafraid of letting someone know how she really feels about them--she'd be ready in a heartbeat to take a few hard punches if that meant beating some sense into whoever disrespected her, or those close to her. Unsure of how to deal with loss, or failure, Tao hides her struggles and stress behind a smile and terrible excuses. Refusing to face her problems head on, much less admit them, she allows her issues to fester and grow until they burst in the form of a tempered, or drawn attitude.
Ultimately a loyal, and warm-hearted person, Tao attempts to be the best person she can be. While her actions may cause trouble those around her trouble, her intentions are always good. Keeping an open mind, and an open heart, she's struggled to come to terms with her situation but with her head held high, Tao still stands strong and hopeful.
Traits
EarthBending:
Tall, strong, and sturdy both in mind, and body, Tao is a force to be reckoned with. EarthBending has always been her true passion besides her physical health. Training beneath her parents in basic techniques, she eventually went under the wing of Master Kǒng at her parents school to further her skills. Stressing neutral jing, and traditional methods, he encouraged Tao to find her own individuality in her bending. With this advice she's come to lean towards defensive techniques, and counter offensive attacks.
By allowing her opponents to make the first move she can typically assess their style, and adapt to their technique before countering with strategic, and thoroughly thought out moves. Her connection to the ground is the most important piece to her technique, so while most of her fighting style revolves around strong kicks, punches, and leg movement, Tao is always sure to stay grounded.
Seismic Sense:
A technique passed down to her from Master Kǒng, Tao is able to sense the vibrations in the earth around her in a 360 view through her connection to the ground. As one of the first advanced level techniques she was taught, Tao trained her skills acutely. Through sensing others physical reactions, be it through heart rate or breathing, she can almost always tell when someones lying. With focus, she can also discern certain people through the way they walk--although it's much easier for her to identify someone if she's been around them before.
One on One Combat:
Depending mostly on her bending, Tao is capable of handling herself in one on one combat. While her bending uses a mix of all her limbs, her one on one combat revolves around her legs, and grappling skill. Flexible, and versatile, she can easily reverse and escape most grips, or locks.
Versatility:
While naturally quirky, and kind towards most, Tao isn't afraid of dirty jobs, or grunt work. If it means getting the information she needs she's willing to show a little force, and play the bad cop if the situation calls for it. Not exactly a master of strategy, she can lie her ass off and put on a number of faces when given clear instructions and a role.
Relations & Relationships
Lan Hua Shěn | 45 | Owner of Shěn Academy - EarthBender Teacher | Father | Alive - Incarcerated
The Shěn family have lived in the Earth Kingdom for generations. Known for their mastery in EarthBending, and eventually the Academy that called home in the mountain range village of Gaoling, Lan has often boasted about their distance relationship to the late Earth King through a marriage between his great uncle, and Lan's great great great grandmother. Through this old reputation the Shěn family have lived their lives as Nobles and eventually middle-class citizens in modern times. Friendly, loud, and as strong as a ox, Lan Hua is a respected man amongst the community. Likable in many ways, be it due to his overly friendly nature, or his ever rare speeches of wisdom, Lan lived his life comfortably and happily. Lan Hua is currently incarcerated in the Boiling Rock for the charges of his daughters crimes.
Jian Shěn | 43 | EarthBending Teacher | Mother | Alive - Incarcerated
Formally Jian 'Truong' before marriage, her reputation as an Wrestler in the Underground Ring was known about Gaoling and eventually caught the attention of her soon-to-be-husband, Lan Hua. Their meeting was 'destiny' as her mother put it. Mistaken for a mugger, her father had been punched in the face and promptly knocked out by Jian due to a startling touch to the shoulder. After hitting it off with one another, they eventually began to date and soon married. Jian is currently incarcerated in the Boiling Rock for the chargers of her daughters crimes.
Shang Yu Shěn | 23 | EarthBender | Brother | Alive - Incarcerated
Tao's older brother, and a passionate EarthBender like her parents, Shang has dedicated his life towards the teaching, culture, and history of his people. Rambunctious during his youth, he's become passive and wise with age, the only sign of aggression or sternness he ever shows is during his training and mentoring of the younger students in his parents Academy. Shang Yu is currently incarcerated in the Boiling Rock for the charges of his sisters crimes.
Master Fang Wú Kǒng | 82 | EarthBending Master - Teacher at Shěn Academy | Family Friend | Deceased
A man of honor, and tradition, Fang Wú Kǒng was a highly respected man amongst Gaoling. Rumors of his past often spoke of him as a key member of the Earth Kingdoms resistance during the Great War, while some have even claimed him to be ex-Dai Li for the formal Earth King. However his history has, and always will remain a mystery as he was executed for aiding Tao, and the Kanei twins in their escape.
Iokua Kanei | 37 | Fisherman | Northern WaterTribe Colonies WaterTribe - Earth Kingdom | Father of Sitqa, Mato, and Tahani | Deceased
The Kanei Clan originates from the Northern WaterTribe with generations going back to the first settlers. Relocating to the Colonies during the great war, Iokua met his wife, Situ, in his early childhood. Marrying her, and soon having kids by his early twenties, they relocated to the Earth Kingdom to focus on their family and their shared passion of the ocean, and fishing. Despite his lack of activity and presence during his children's rebellion, he and Situ were executed within their homes due to the 'crimes' of their children.
Situ Kanei | 37 | Fisherman | Northern WaterTribe Colonies WaterTribe - Earth Kingdom | Mother of Sitqa, Mato, and Tahani | Deceased
Kind, passive, and compassionate, Situe Kanei was a friendly and likable woman. Beautiful inside and out, her love and passion for her family, and culture was evident in everything she did. Without an aggressive bone in her she was executed with her husband in her home due to the 'crimes' of her children.
Sitqa Kanei | 17 | WaterTribe | Girlfriend | Deceased
The eldest child, and twin, Sitqa Kanei was a stubborn and enthusiastic youth. Easily tempered, and highly passionate of her own beliefs, her witty antics and lack of self-control over her own mouth was often the source of her problems. Trying to act cool in front of her siblings and Tao, her antics would often lead her to looking like a fool, but deep down Sitqa was as innocent as any other child. She was full of curiosity, and held was a role model to Tao.
Killed in the swamps, her death has left a huge impact on Tao's way of life, leaving her questioning many of her own morals and life decisions. Instead of facing her grief she uses Sitqa's death as a crutch to help her move forward, and strengthen her will to avenge her, and the rest of her friends.
Mato Kanei | 17 | WaterTribe | Friend | Deceased
The most reserved amongst his siblings, Mato Kanei was a quiet and reserved young man. His reclusive, and abrupt nature was often seen as disrespectful or suspicious. The main target of the towns more prejudice citizens, he's come to be proud of his culture, as a WaterTribe native. While hard to anger, his life was ended due to his own blinding rage. Executed at the gates of Gaoling, his last words have forever been etched into the back of Tao's mind.
"Down with the King.."
Tahani Kanei | 14 | WaterTribe | Friend | Deceased
The youngest of the Kanei children, Tahani resembled her mother in every way. Gentle, respective, and lacking any sort of bad bone in her body, Tahani was a sweet girl. Lacking the heart to raise her voice at anyone, or even to kill a fly, she was executed in public due to false claims of thievery.
History
Born and raised in Gaoling, Tao Shěn was the youngest child, and only daughter to Lan Hua, and Jian Shěn. A stubborn, and troublesome girl, her parents were aware of their daughters abundant curiosity, and absence in fear from day one. Allowing her to explore and grow into this eccentric nature, Tao grew to become much like her older brother, and the rest of the boys he hung around. Becoming tom-boyish with age, she returned home with bruises and scrapes from wrestling, and fighting with the other boys. While other girls held interest in clothing, and jewelry, Tao loved getting dirty, and collecting insects. She was an oddball by all standards, but was still accepted amongst her family despite these differences.
As her brother and his friends matured and aged, her time was soon spent practicing Earth Bending or causing trouble with her other friends, the Kanei Siblings. Children of local fishermen that lived by the port, Tao's parents were close to their parents, and naturally she got along with their children. While she bonded with each of the siblings, her interests and time was primarily focused on the eldest daughter, Sitqa. As best friends the two were practically glued to the hip, constantly together, and always causing a ruckus somewhere.
Growing up with one another their bond grew with time, and while they stayed friends, Tao and Sitqa eventually came to acknowledge their feelings for each other. Despite the approval from both of their parents, some of the more prominent members of town protested their relationship. Their differences in race, and similarities in gender were questioned and insulted, but this was criticism they fought against together.
Even with these obstacles, Tao couldn't have been happier. Life was working out in ways she could have never imagined, and as she dreamed of her future with Sitqa, her days took a sudden turn for the worse.
Caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, Tahani was falsely accused of stealing food and jewelry from a merchants stand. In fear she had attempted to flee, but was struck down, burned alive, and unnecessarily executed in public. This fueled Mato's retaliation as he had been at the scene and attempted to reassure the firebender of his sisters innocence. Sitqa and Tao arrived just as the Phoenix Kingdom Officer was killed. In fear for Mato's safety and ultimately Sitqa's as well, she attempted to help the twins escape town, her name eventually pulled into their resistance and made out to be a criminal.
Seeking shelter with Master Kǒng he hid them till nightfall before assisting them out to the Swamps, a fool proof plan had it not been for the guards patrolling the front gate. Apprehended and eventually surrounded by Phoenix Kingdom Officers, Master Kǒng, and Mato were killed in the struggle leaving a severely injured Sitqa, and Tao to escape into the Swamps. Despite their efforts to escape, the two were eventually caught and surrounded. Fending off their attacks as best she could, Sitqa was struck down. Burned alive like her sister, and brother before her. Consumed by rage, and loss, Tao broke her vows and killed the five remaining Phoenix Kingdom Officers before fleeing the scene, and heading deeper into the Swamp.
After the incident her name and face was demonized amongst the community while lies were spread of her friends, and family, further tarnishing their reputation. It was said she had 'joined forces' with the perpetrators and brutally executed the Officers during their confrontation. The remaining Kanei in the village were executed and while Tao could not pay for her 'crimes' in person, her family unfortunately paid the price. Sent to the Boiling Rock without trial and awaiting a date for execution, Tao has sought out the Rising not only for their aid, but to join alliances in efforts to rescue her family, avenge her friends, and save her nation.
Miscellaneous
Body Type:
- Standing at a towering 5 foot 11 inches, and weighing in at a hefty 174 pounds, Tao is muscular and toned. Her body shape and athleticism is her pride and joy, and she'd be willing to reassure anyone of her strength with an arm wrestling, or sparring match. Actively training and keeping up with her figure, Tao uses working out as a hobby to not only pass the time, but as a coping mechanism as well.
Love:
- Young and curious, Tao has always been interested in love and the feelings surrounding it. Her feelings are not restricted by gender, or race, but lay dependent on her own bond with a person, as well as her own feelings towards them.
Goals & Motto:
- Despite her love for her town, and people, she has always been interested in traveling the world and learning about the Four Nations and their. While she never anticipated her travels to begin with such a tragic start, Tao is still desperately searching for the positive side of her situation. 'Everything happens for a reason', as she always says. Or at least that's what she used to believe.
Vows:
- No matter the situation, Tao made a vow while under the wing of Master Kǒng. Her bending and strength was never meant to mortally harm, or maim another living being. This moral code was broken during her escape from Gaoling, leaving the weight of a broken promise, and the death of seven men on her shoulders. Since then she has once again vowed to never break the code, and kill another person.
Habits:
- To increase her level of connection to the earth, Tao has a habit of removing the soles from the bottom of her shoes. New shoes never last her more then a few hours as this habit has grown on her making the constriction of her feet uncomfortable. Not a fan of shoes anyway, she can often be found walking barefoot entirely.
Singing:
- Outside of her fighting, and aggressive nature Tao has a hidden love for singing. Keeping her voice to herself, she'll only sing in an empty room and away from others due to her own self consciousness. Not much of a hobby as it is a habit when she's bored, her parents, and even Sitqa had encouraged her to hone in on her singing skills.
[/tab]
[tab=Zarina (Aeronfarron)]
[Female | 19 | Fire Nation]
Zarina Lian was always the dutiful daughter. Stuck in the middle of a messy noble family, she is the product of a love affair between a Fire Nation General and her Northern Water Tribe lover. Her entire life has been shadowed in military life and and stained with the unavoidable rumors that could be found in her social circle.
Traits
Firebending
Zarina is a rather accomplished firebender. While she is not a master, she is able to create fire blades, fire whips, and fire streams, amongst a few other things. As a fire bender, her fighting style is highly aggressive and fast paced. She is constantly on the move, and uses flips and various acrobatic maneuvers to add extra swinging force to her attacks.
Plasmabendimg
Zarina discovered this incredibly rare anomaly of a talent when she mistakenly added fire to her waterbending meditation forms at the age of 14. This advanced and versatile bending skill requires a high level of control, finesse, concentration and inner balance to use it most effectively. Currently, Zarina has managed to use two forms of the plasma: hot plasma and cold plasma.
Plasmabending: Hot Plasma
Hot plasma is highly destructive, and is the fully activated form of plasmabending. Hot plasma is a bright green color. This form is closer to fire bending than Cold Plasma, and is used in Zarina's highly mobile, highly aggressive fighting style. The main difference is that her movements become more fluid, and focused on counter-attacks and hard hitting attacks.
Plasmabending: Cold Plasma
Cold plasma is the inactivate form of plasmabending. As such, care must be given to entice the plasma to into moving. This form uses waterbending forms almost exclusively, and can be used to heal. Cold plasma is light red in color. The plasma entices the body to speed up the repair process by exciting the cells with the dense chi energy within it. Of course, this requires a lot of concentration, as exciting the cells too much can lead to death. This form can be weaponized as well, but Zarina's code keeps her from using such a gift for destructive means. But codes can be broken under the right circumstances...
Hand-to-Hand Combat
Zarina is a capable fighter, even without her bending. The mix of hard hitting fighting (capoeria) and versatility (Muay Thai) makes her a dangerous opponent. She has been trained extensively to keep her inner peace and a cool head to prevent accidentally killing someone. She uses this combat style for her firebending and hot plasmabending.
Relations & Relationships
Lee Lian Jr.- Elder Brother
Jet Lian- Younger Brother
Pao Lian- Elder Sister (deceased)
Tien Lian-Younger Sister(deceased)
Li Lian- Younger Sister (deceased)
Lee Lian Sr.-Step Father
Sarina Lian- Mother (deceased)
Hazing Kyogin- Father
[Optional themesong]
History
Her mother was, and still is, a well liked Commodore due to her unique bending style and tactics. She held a position that oversaw the day to day operations of a naval base near a well known Northern Water Tribe Colony that served as a gateway for goods and trade. Zarina idolized her mother, and often competed with her half-siblings for her attention. This, of course, led to dissent within the family as her step-father disliked that the young firebender inherited her looks from her mixed father. He believed, unlike his wife, that purity would lead to an heir worthy of his wife. He also hated that the girl carried the name of her mother without his approval. Her mother, Sarina, disagreed vehemently, but sent the young girl to live with her maternal grandparents when the man threatened to dissolve their marriage over the girl. This led to Zarina resenting her stepfather and half-siblings, while it strengthened the connection to her mother as the woman did not want her to go.
Sarina sent her daughter by ship back to the Fire Nation with a personal guard. Her grandparents met her at the port and welcomed the child with warm smiles, hugs, and chocolates.
Zarina grew strong, under the careful guidance of her grandparents, and often received letters of love and encouragement from her mother. Her grandparents, whom were wealthy nobles, paid for an Air Nation mentor as well as a Northern Water Tribe Colony teacher so that the combined cultures could help temper the girl's hot headed passion. Regardless of the outside influence however, Zarina remained loyal to her mother and the Fire Nation, and was always excited to hear the stories of her mother's bravery and heroism whenever she put down a rebellion. She did, however, grow to love the customs of the Northern Water Tribe, despite her disagreeing with many of them. She was quite enamored with the idea of receiving a betrothal necklace, or maybe even giving one. As someone that worked with her hands, she felt that the idea of carving a meaningful symbol of the pair was quite the expression of love and care.
During her a long stretch of meditation, Zarina's firebending manifested as she went through her forms. Her mentors swiftly notified her grandparents, and a firebending mentor was added to her daily routines. This led to increased curiosity from her mother whom demanded to be kept up to date on the events.
As she grew into a teenager, Zarina found that she held a fluidity and flexibility naturally, which had been enhanced by years of meditative forms and stretches. She worked on incorporating that into her firebending and then added strength training with her mother's approval. After some time, her mother sent for her to return to the Northern Water Tribe to show what she learned.
Zarina's chosen style led to more discussions and fights between herself and her siblings as well as her mother and step-father after her arrival. Sarina eventually decided that her daughter's skills would be better honed under her direct, personal tutelage. Her husband was furious, as their kids had developed their firebending without much input from her. In light of this, Sarina kept a close eye on her pupil, but allowed her to make mistakes and forge her own style of bending.
Much later, Sarina named Zarina as her successor shortly before she retired. Zarina, whom had always been at her mother's side since becoming her protégé, took over the day to day operations of the family while a new general was set to be appointed. Weeks later, Zarina approached her mother and told her of her intentions to join the Fire Nation's Army.
Seizing his opportunity, Lee Lian challenged his half-sister for the title of "Successor". Despite her mother's warnings to not involve herself with petty disputes, her hot-headed persona appeared after a few well placed insults. The fight was dreadfully one-sided, and the duel was ended early when Lee could not stand. Nonetheless, Zarina was ready to kill him when her mother commanded that she stop. She lost her head for a second and whirled on her mother in fury. After all, as she pointed out, she'd never been accepted by her step-father and step-siblings, despite the affair not being her fault. The wiser woman demanded her daughter to not kill her kin, and stressed that family was more important than a petty argument. She argued that Zarina was above such things, and that as Successor, she had to show her future soldiers that she knew the value of mercy.
Upset by her wording and how flippantly his mother dismissed his feelings, Lee attacked his mother from behind while she confronted her heir. Zarina made to take the blow herself, but was blown back by her mother. Sarina blocked the attack with a flippant wave, then burned Lee's arms badly in reprimand at trying to attack like a coward. Following the rebuke, the rest of her kids stood by their brother, united against their mother and step-sister. Sarina realized that her husband had turned her own kids against her after a very twisted declaration of a coup attempt by the man. Zarina stood at her mother's side and begged them to not split their family. Her mother slapped her across the cheek only enough to sting, something the woman always did when words couldn't bring her daughter to herself. Sufficiently reprimanded, Zarina apologized for her wavering loyalty and stood at her mother's side. The woman placed a gentle kiss on her cheek, a first for the stoic woman...
Regardless, her siblings didn't listen and seized the opportunity to take their own part of the woman's legacy. Zarina fought tooth and nail for as long as she could, as did her mother. But the power of five, vengeful, angry firebenders was too much for the conflicted Zarina and slowly failing Sarina. The general was killed, overwhelmed by the combined fury of her traitorous children. Despair was quickly replaced by sheer hatred and rage within the injured Zarina's heart, and she ended up killing three of her half-siblings before she was subdued.
For her loyalty to her mother and murder of her siblings, Lee Senior sentenced Zarina to a public execution. The Chief of the village stepped in, however, and declared that no execution would take place. While the two men fought verbally, Zarina managed to use her waning strength to blast her two captors back with her plasma bending before she ran off. Guards loyal to the coup creators ran after her, only to be rebuffed by those still loyal to Sarina. Zarina turned when she heard those good men and women dying, and struggled to go back to help. However she collapsed in the snow and lost consciousness.
Due to the efforts of her mother's personal guards, Zarina was rescued and kept hidden in the later months while she recovered. Over this time of recovery, Sarina's army was split, as some decided to follow certain siblings on their quests to unite the territory under their name. Her step-father seized power for himself though, and split the territories amongst his two remaining children.
Her biological father later sought out the young woman out during these months to offer support for her own bid of power. While she disagreed and wanted nothing to do with it, he reminded her that she had a duty. If nothing else, she had to avenge those that were killed, including Sarina, as well as those who had died in her name. She agreed. In exchange, however, she would need to help fan the fires of rebellion in the Northern Water Tribe and beyond with the few forces she managed to escape with. Reluctantly, the young woman agreed, if only as a duty to her murdered mother.
Now though, she grapples with her loyalty to the Fire Lord over her new allegiance, as well as her own raw grief and self-hatred due to her inability to protect her mother. She has become the traitor now, and she isn't sure how she feels about it.
Other:
-Zarina stands at 5'6" , though her long legs and arms make it quite deceiving. She is well muscled and is capable of lifting quite a bit of weight. Her frame is built to meld strength with flexibility and agility though, so she will rarely trade blows from a standstill.
-Zarina is a closet romantic. She gives off an air apathy but is very shy. She hasn't had many positive interactions with people her own age, so she is easily flustered but cynical.
-Animals intrigue Zarina, to the point where she can be entertained for hours just watching them.
-Zarina typically wears a sleeveless blue shirt with black and white vest, black pants, and light, leathery boots. Her hair is typically pulled back into a tight ponytail.
-Zarina holds multiple citizenship privileges in the Northern Water Tribe, Fire Nation, and Northern Water Tribe Colonies.
-She holds no love for the Phoenix King, simply due to having few interactions with those related to him. She doesn't hate him either.[/tab]
[tab=Naomi (Winter)]
[Female | 24 | Water Tribe Colony]
Naomi Yuki appears as a calm and gentle young women who would sooner be found among the beauty of the countryside rather than the heat of battle. However her serene demeanor should not be misconstrued as she is not without the capacity to endure and apply herself where harsher environments and struggles can be found. Though she tends to be more observant she can often be found to apply herself in group conversations when a subject matter appears which has peaked her interests, though at times she might prefer to listen and only interject with an opinion or when she's asked directly. Naomi enjoys deep philosophical conversations and will not hesitate to engage in these discussions as she finds it quite interesting to gather the perspective of others, even more so when a person comes from a culture she isn't familiar with.
Naomi does have the capacity for a temper, although it is hard to provoke and will rarely be seen unless she is consistently pushed. Once her temper comes to surface she will very likely express it in the form of a lecture or verbal scolding before walking away to calm herself, though this is assuming the person who has upset her is a friend. If she has been made upset by a stranger or someone she deems an enemy, her bending becomes far more aggressive and relentless in it's consistent offensive display. This can sometimes result in her becoming tired quickly, however her attacks are generally stronger and cast with more ferocity. Those who claim to have witnessed her temper have commented that to be on the receiving end of her bending is near guaranteed defeat, unless of course her opponent is greater in skill.
In general life, she tends to enjoy the beauty of the world around her, favoring nature and quiet locations to enjoy. She has a great love for tea and is quit partial to delicious fruits, usually berries of some kind. Naomi actively seeks to retain a physical fitness and athleticism and can sometimes be found to meditate in order to either settle her mind, or to think on a situation which has recently occurred. Naomi will often greet you with a smile and should you ask her for advice or help in a matter she will rarely decline as long as what you're asking is something feasible. Lastly to note is how Naomi talks. Despite her young age Naomi seems to present herself as a women of wisdom, appearing much older for her age especially in regards to advice, situational awareness and problem solving. Her demeanor may sometimes falter if she's fearful. In these times she will often look to her friends for confidence.
Traits
Waterbending - Naomi possesses the skill to bend water and has been training from an early age. She has not yet mastered the skill, however she is quite adept and is not afraid to perform the more sophisticated moves during combat. Her teaching and upbringing on the art has been very traditional with the only exception being that her teaching was not the traditional teachings for female waterbenders. She was taught traditional waterbending which would have been taught to the men of the tribe. It is this reason that Naomi never learned the healing side of waterbending.
Icebending - Naomi has a basic understanding of Icebending and so is able to perform some of the lower move sets relating to Icebending. This is an avenue she wishes to pursue and hopes to learn more in the ways of mastering this skill.
Phase change - The ability to alter the physical state of the water they manipulate, between liquid, solid and gas, at will. Changing the phase of water allows for multiple techniques in the course of a battle, from encasing an opponent in ice to hiding behind a wall of mist. Ice and steam/fog can also be molded in a diverse range of shapes
Elemental Water Cannon - This technique requires other benders and so is her least used ability. It's nothing all that special in terms of how she uses her bending. However with allies in can prove a deadly combo when done correctly. Naomi will anchor herself to the ground by freezing her feet to the floor before projecting a highly pressurized and concentrated blast of water feeding from a nearby source such as a lake or river. Other bender will be able to feed their elements into the cannon, creating a potential weapon for all elements. For example:
An Earthbender can throw rocks into the path of the cannon, allowing rocks to be accelerated at high and devastating speeds.
A Firebender can heat the water to create something similar to superheating without requiring more focus from Naomi.
An Airbender can redirect the cannon, making it more accurate or funneling the water in a way to give it more spread or more precision.
Relations & Relationships
Kaito Yuki is her mother however her location is unknown.
Umikei Yuki is her father, his location is also unknown.
History
~"In the beginning I was a happy child with ambitious dreams. How I wish I could go back to being so innocent"~
Naomi was born in the Water Tribe colonies to a loving family. Her father Umikei had been a fairly high ranking officer before moving to the colonies and her mother Kaito, was the women who had healed him after he fell during the initial conflicts between the tribe and the Phoenix Kingdom before the sea finally settled between both nations. After they married and settled down, Naomi entered their lives as an only child and her parents gave her all the love she could need as she grew, both feeling gifted to receive her as their daughter.
When she turned ten, her father began teaching her how to waterbend despite her mothers protests as she believed Naomi was far too young to be learning how to fight. Her father however felt it was necessary, especially given the way that the world was changing and had been changing over the previous years. Her father believed that it was important to teach her how to use her bending to fight so that she may protect herself, though he prayed she'd never have to. He'd seen so much fighting in his years and it was not the life he wanted for his daughter.
But still, he taught her everything he knew and everything he had learned as an officer of the Northern Water Tribe before he moved to the colony. They spent long evenings together practicing, starting with the basics and moving up all the way to the more sophisticated moves. As Naomi grew, so did her strength and her bending as she soon began to manipulate the water in ways that were even beyond her fathers skills, changing the water from solid, to liquid and even into a gas at will. As she reached the young age of fifteen she was soon performing even more advanced moves with successful precision while also maintaining her stance and control. Before long they began sparring together, simulating real life scenarios limited only by the promises that they'd never truly hurt each other.
Naomi continued to flourish as a waterbender as she began to get older and while she was learning how to master her bending, her mother would spend time with her in the early mornings teaching her about their rich cultural history as well as the history of waterbending and where they drew their power from. Her mother of course also would ask that she help her with the chores as her parents felt it was necessary that she should help out around the house, though Naomi didn't mind as she felt it was apart of what families did to help each other out.
When she turned the age of sixteen her family traveled away from the colony towards the earth kingdom, deciding to see more of the world together as a family and perhaps find some place new to settle down. Or as her father would say, "A place where there was more to look at than a large chunk of ice". They journeyed far, moving between small towns and trade routes, sometimes even moving with trading caravans for the sake of safety in areas where the wildlife could be a problem, or bandits were known to operate in the area.
During their travels through a forest from Makapu village they came across a patrol of Fire Nation guard who demanded they pay a toll for using the route, even though these guards were not at a toll gate and made it painfully clear they were just looking to rob them of their coin. Unfortunately being from a colony meant they had little money and was unable to pay the fine the guards imposed upon them. The guards quickly became violent and one of them struck her mother across the cheek when she tried to reason with them, provoking her father who responded by blasting him into the nearest tree with a jet of water.
Her father realized his mistake too late as the guards attacked, quickly demonstrating their fire bending strength as they overwhelmed him. Her mother took Naomi by the hand and attempted to flee with her, however it seemed the guards had noticed and began to chase after them to cut off their escape as they ran between the bushes and trees, desperately trying to put distance between them. However it seemed they were starting to catch them up and thinking desperately her mother threw Naomi into a bush and told her to sit quietly, telling her she must not come out till it's safe. Looking back on it Naomi guessed her mother might have known what was going to happen. And it made what happened next all the more painful as a memory.
Naomi could only sit and hug her legs as she listened to the sounds of her fathers begging, followed by her mothers screams as they burnt her, scarring her face before dragging them both away and leaving Naomi alone and scared in the middle of a Forrest. She'd never felt so alone and for a while she merely sat and waited as if expecting that her parents would return at any moment and everything would be ok. But as the hours drew on the illusion began to fade and Naomi was forced to except the fact that her parents were gone. She'd heard their shouts and screams through the echoing of the trees, but it was gone now, leaving the rustling trees and leaves as her only company.
A few years latter Naomi had settled at a small earth kingdom village where she made a small profit working at an Inn, using her waterbending to wash clothes for the guests and water the plants around the gardens. It was boring, but it gave her just enough coin to get by as she used some of her pay to rent a small room at the Inn. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great and there were many times when Naomi wished she could leave and find something more for herself. Though fate soon answered her wishes as she set herself upon a path which would change her life forever.
Naomi never forgot what had happened to her family that day and as she grew she developed a deep hate for the Fire Nation and the Phoenix Kingdom, blaming them for the loss of her parents and for the loneliness she now felt. Her disdain for them took a hold of her, crippling her heart and disturbing her mortal core till her resentment grew and simmered till it could no longer be withheld any longer. She embraced her feelings, allowing them to take her deep into the forest along a Fire Nation trade route where she began to... sate her longing to vent her anger to those who had taken so much from her. She would phase change the surrounding forest into an eerie mist and began to ambush fire nation patrols and trading caravans, discriminately going after any and all who staked claims to supporting the Phoenix Kingdom.
Under the cover of her mist she would strike, creating shapes in the dark to confuse and spook her prey before taking them down. The patrols got the worst of it and it wasn't long before the route was investigated by larger Fire Nation forces after word has spread that the route was under attack. It went on for months and still she continued to strike against the patrols and Fire Nation caravans. Until one day something changed, something unexpected.
Naomi had accidentally created stories, some believing the forest to be cursed or haunted by an angry spirit. Of course this couldn't have been further from the truth and while this legend became enough to scare most away from the route all together. One small group was not convinced and headed in to investigate and find the truth.
Eventually they found their answer and confronted the would be spirit. Naomi had never seen such strength nor the skill of such men and women without the ability to bend an element and after a few short minutes she found herself pinned against a tree, her limbs disabled with a blade held to her throat. They explained to her how they knew of her and after seeing her skills and witnessing her anger first hand for the Phoenix Kingdom they decided to offer her a position and a chance to put her skills to something greater, to make a difference. Naomi accepted the offer and it was then that she began to learn about The Rising. It had been everything she'd wanted, to be apart of something that might actually serve a bigger purpose.
What was perhaps more impressive about the situation was the non benders ability to apprehend her so easily. Although Naomi is not a master bender and has allot to learn, she is still considered an adept and fairly powerful waterbender who appears highly versed in the art of deception. Any regular benders and military units found her too difficult, yet they bested her in an arena she'd built from her own bending. It served as apart of the reason she agreed to join them, she could almost sense that these were not like the regular bandits and patrols she'd taken down over the months.
Since then Naomi has been serving The Rising, using her skills to cover her allies and keep The Rising hidden from the eyes of their enemies. She's valued greatly for her talents and skills and very recently it has been decided that she is to serve as apart of a new group in order to take on a new mission for The Rising. Naomi has accepted this and is willing to do whatever it necessary.
It was then that Naomi met with a man named Jet who felt it appropriate to meet with her before tasking her with this new and important mission. He was unlike anyone she'd met and allot about him reminded her of the way the non benders had overcame her back in the forest. She had to wonder if those men had been trained or taught by him, though she never asked the question. Jet saw allot in her, not just in her talents but also within her as a person. He sensed trouble inside her, like a pond full of ripples that couldn't yet be calmed. He asked her if there was something troubling her though Naomi couldn't seem to provide him with an answer. She felt like she'd perhaps gotten over the past. Jet seemed to disagree and spent a little time speaking with her about her time before The Rising.
It was a short time she spent with the man, as he had allot to do for The Rising and would be unable to continue providing her council for the trouble that lurked within her. Fortunately she has managed to find some peace thanks to Jet and The Rising, though she remains some what troubled still and is burdened by the past unbeknownst to her as it seems she is merely trying to forget about it. But that being said she is in a better place now, or at least, better than she was those years ago. Although Jet never mentioned it, there is a reason he had placed Naomi with the Earth Bender known as Duhne. He believed the Earth Bender might help her to find the inner peace she so desperately seeks and while Duhne may not have all the answers for her, there was perhaps a chance he could help her find them. He could do that for her at least.
Miscellaneous
She wears her mothers ring. It's a simple silver band with a rich blue gem in the center. Sometimes she can be seen rubbing it with her finger when she's feeling down or lonely.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~[/tab]
[tab=Duhne (Prince)]
[Male | 27 | Earth Kingdom (Great Divide)]
Duhne Zhang is a young and powerful Earthbender from the Zhang tribe of the Great Divide and originally served as one of the Freedom Fighters for Jet. In recent years, Duhne has became known as The Hundred Man Army due to his unique capability to create semi-sentient golems. A large bounty has been put on his head by the Phoenix Kingdom due to this, making Duhne one of the few widely-known members of the Rising. Despite his capabilities, Duhne is genuinely respectful, honest and even shows polite courtesy. Growing up in the Great Divide as part of the Zhang tribe before the Freedom Fighters or alliances, Duhne survived by earning his way through life with the help of others. For that, Duhne has became extremely appreciative and honest to others, to such a degree he himself is somewhat gullible.
All in all, Duhne is a kind and gentle soul that was tamed by the Spirits of the Great Divide. Ever since his spiritual encounter, Duhne has been giving a great understanding of life through the Earth itself. He has the bloodshed, violence and tragedy of the world through the blood that has been spilled into the ground. When red iron mixes with brown dirt, he could feel the agony of the Earth as it wept for its children. Because of this, Duhne dislikes violence and killing despite his capabilities. Duhne, to an even greater extent, dislikes using his own golems as they can and will kill due to their semi-sentience. Although he can control who they fight, he cannot truly control how they fight - only how 'well' they fight. That said, Duhne is a man with a clear set of beliefs.
Traits
Earthbending Duhne has been trained in the powerful and excessively forward bending style of the Zhang Tribe. Although Duhne has no real level of finesse, he has been trained to bend massive amounts of Earth and Stone at once. Alone, Zhang is capable of stopping rock slides and avalanches with relative ease. Duhne doesn't use fancy or complex techniques. He uses the basics, and he pours such raw strength into them that they are as fearsome as those of a master. Duhne can create barriers to defend an entire platoon. He can hurl boulders at such size and density that their sight alone is daunting.
Canyon Spirit Teachings Duhne joined a spiritual sect of his tribe that believed through fasting and becoming one with the Great Divide, they could speak to the spirit or spirits that lived there. Duhne was one of few to successfully encounter this spirit and live through it. The result of this was a significant increase not only to the mental and physical fortitude of Duhne, but to his chi and chakra itself. Invigorated by his spiritual experience, Duhne became physically strong even while malnourished. The teachings granted him great focus and enhanced his bending, but it truly put him in touch with nature. Duhne can feel the earth wherever he is and communicate with it, even see its past and the blood spilled into it.
Earth Golem Technique As a result of the Canyon Spirit Teachings, Duhne has developed a bending style that utilizes regular bending and the living spirit of the Earth. From almost any earth or stone, Duhne can create various golems in various sizes do complete various tasks. Most notably are the humanoid golems that act, joint for joint, precisely like a person would. They are capable fighters and incredibly durable, being made of earth and stone. More notably, even if destroyed, they can be reconstituted. Duhne can use one golem for each tattoo on his chest and back. This adds up to 98 total golems, however, the more golems in use, the weaker each individual one gets. Finally, Duhne can control two larger golems or combine them to a final golem that towers two stories high, and doing so creates black rings around his eyes.
Hand-to-Hand Combat Originally a mere bender, after the Canyon Spirit Teachings occurred, Duhne had a desire for more. He explored the world and eventually came into contact with Jet. One of the first of the Zhang tribe to align with him, Jet had Duhne trained in hand to hand combat which subsequently empowered his golems greatly. Although he doesn't follow a set art, he was initially taught Sān Huáng Pào Chuí before making it his own. Duhne uses a very strong style with powerful thrusts and strikes that avoids moving and throwing around weight, which makes it not only hard to counter but very effective in combination with Earth bending in general. Although a simple style, Duhne has used his speed, strength and training to make it formidable through sheer practice and passes this trait on to his golems.
Relations & Relationships
Jet - Duhne holds Jet in high regard, despite Jet being junior and a nonbender. The time Duhne spent with Jet was that of watching a smart-mouthed kid that led a group of wannabe rebel punks become a group of organized freedom fighters under the guidance of a charismatic leader. Duhne became a martyr in a sense for Jet's cause as he used his golem technique to take the blame for several missions Jet conducted, and through that a strong bond of trust and respect was forged between them.
The Freedom Fighters - More than any group within the Rising, the Freedom Fighters respect Duhne as a hero. At times, Duhne and his moniker "the hundred man army" servce as an icon for the Freedom Fighters. This respect extends to nearly every Freedom Fighter, and they tell stories of Duhne round campfires as if he were living legend.
History
Duhne was born into the somewhat barbaric Zhang Tribe of the Great Divide. His parents were of the first generation punished by being forced into the Great Divide on their own, and both had to use their Earthbending to survive. Similarly, Duhne was born into a life where his Earthbending soon dictated if he lived or died. Duhne could remember children his age, some even his friends, being incapable of stopping the dangerous rocks from slipping beneath them or the Canyon Crawlers from viciously tearing them apart. Duhne could recall being told there was not time to shed tears for the weak. And, Duhne rejected it.
Duhne went on to become a powerful Earthbender, even among the Zhang tribe. In his adolescence, he joined a sect of the Zhang Tribe that believed the Canyon was far more than just a place of death. They believed that the Canyon held a tremendous amount of life energy, and sought to come into contact with that energy by depriving themselves of all of their energy until the Canyon itself offer it some of theirs. Of the dozen or so sect members, only four survived the fasting and came in contact with the spirits. Almost immediately, those four separating, never speaking a word of their experiences.
With his new spiritual side, Duhne fully believed that the Zhang mentality was wrong. He rejected that there would be no sympathy for the weak. Duhne set off to find a way to create a safer environment for his people, and through that he eventually came into contact with Jet and the Freedom Fighters. Duhne saw how Jet wanted to create a safer place for his people, oppressed by the corrupt Police, and he fought to overcome it. Duhne took it upon himself to help. Using his golems to overpower huge sums of Police, Duhne helped Jet reshape the central Earth Kingdom.
Duhne became known as the Hundred Man Army by the Phoenix Kingdom, even though often times it was an entire team of freedom fighters that completed a task. While Jet was allowed to hide in the shadows, Duhne took the entirety of the blame. This allowed Jet to reach out and secretly create alliances with the Beetle-Headed Merchants, Tribes and the Rising. Duhne had assisted in in creating a large network that was eventually used heavily by the Rising, but this came at a huge cost. The bounty on his head became so immense that Dai Li assassins threatened his life, and almost killed him. Duhne decided it was too dangerous for him to live so close to the Phoenix kingdom, so he faked his death.
Duhne took on a new role as a covert assailant and thief for the Freedom Fighters. Duhne learned to mold his golems into the shape of men far greater than he previously could, made them don clothes and focused on using less of them from afar. With this method, he could conduct stealthy night missions - sometimes without the need for even clothes on his golems - that resulted in the theft of supplies, stolen money or simply scared police from the Phoenix Kingdom without alerting flags as to who he was. Coupled with Suna by Jet to create a traveling group of traders as their cover, and actually act as a small-scale distributions of good and contraband, Duhne yet again became a beacon for the Freedom Fighters. He also became a mentor to Suna, who was slowly becoming a leader himself with his natural vigor. As new members were added to the group, Naomi for her utility and Rae-Lee to be trained by Duhne, the leadership role truly grew for Suna while Duhne acted as his spiritual adviser and the representative of Jet.[/tab]
[tab=Suna (Damien Kriez)]
[Male | 24 | Earth Kingdom - Sandbender Tribes]
Suna is a cunning Earthbender with an indomitable will and a calm albeit troubled frame of mind. He utilises sand as his weapon of choice, being able to make weapons out it and crush rock and earth to make more sand. Like a Waterbender or Airbender, Suna isn't a melee fighter, and chooses to wait and strike rather than be fully offensive or defensive.
Personality-wise, he can be a silent jerk to others but kind to his female compatriots. His male compatriots, he acts as a stereotypical male - insulting them when insults are due. He could be, if he wanted to, serious and very observant. Suna's life and experiences moulded him to be a dirty fighter - one who is very confident, sometimes overconfident, in his skills in the battlefield, in the marketplace, and even the ladies. When he isn't fighting, he spends his time sewing, which is calming. He doesn't care if people think it's a girly hobby, but it reminds him of his family - any chauvinistic male who insults him for doing this will get what's coming for them. Some would even say his sewing is better than his Sandbending, as he can make the finest rugs, clothes, curtains, and other fabric-based products. It is unknown why, but Suna shares a connection with the different fauna of the world. Even the most dangerous or vicious of beasts do not want to kill Suna right away, as the young man has a sort of allure when it comes to animals from the smallest to the biggest. Of course there are some animals or beasts that, when hungry or provoked by Suna, would attempt to kill him. Suna is very partial to meat and desert foods, such as Camelephant meat and Cactus Juice, but has since learned to be exotic due to his time travelling. He is undoubtedly street smart and knows his stuff. Usually walking with both hands in his pockets or whistling various tunes, it is no doubt that Suna has a sort of cocky, badboy vibe. In spite of changing for the better, Suna shows a lot of his delinquent side. His biggest negative trait, however, is his materialism and apparent greed - overpricing his fabrics and stealing big bags of coin from Phoenix Forces. He doesn't admit this to anyone, but he has stolen from people of the Rising once or twice, to appease himself of his needs.
Though Suna can be cynical, insensitive, rude, violent, greedy, flirtatious, and willing to kill and steal, Suna is a good person at his very core. He would never betray his friends or the Rising, or sell them out to the Phoenix King for money. He wouldn't steal from his friends and hurt them, and hates when the innocent are oppressed. He is a familial young man, and misses his mother dearly. As a leader, he takes his job very seriously but is still prone to brutal honesty and criticism. This benevolence is put to the test when it comes to the Phoenix King and his forces, however, as he finds it hard for anyone to be good to come out of that kingdom, as he has a deep-rooted hatred for the Phoenix King.
Traits:
Sandswimmer: Whereas Toph found herself learning most if not all of her Earthbending techniques in the hands, or rather, claws of large Badgermoles, Suna found himself under the tutelage of Sandsharks, creatures native to the Si Wong Desert. Actually, he's only ever met one. He did not learn Earthbending from it, but it was through observing it, and riding along its large hide did the great predator of the Earth Kingdom accept the young man as if it was its mother of some sorts. It was also through the creature that Suna was able to master the art of travelling, hunting, hiding, stealth, and speed. Because of his beast of a friend, the Sandbender can move as fast as an average sandsailers both above and underground and has the potential to outrun even the speediest of benders.
Earth Disintegration: Suna possesses the ability to freely manipulate sand and is more comfortable using sand rather than large boulders and rocks, as sand is adaptable and can freely be shaped. If he wills it, Suna can crush rocks and boulders into a countless mass of pebbles, little rocks, and sand-sized grains to use in place of sand, as he utilizes speed more than the average Earthbender's strong style. He is proficient at crushing a large boulder into a countless mass of grains and sand-sized pebbles. He has developed many "capture and crush" tactics, but can also fight formidably if need be. Much like a waterbender, Suna can create tsunamis, waves, spikes, and tentacles of sand, pebbles, and soil - compacting it further to achieve a harder, more dangerous form. In spite of never having Waterbending or Airbending training, he lives by many Waterbending and Airbending principles such as adaptability and change, waiting, tiring opponents out, since he was born and raised in a very harsh environment. Many of his unique traits that are equal to the Waterbender and Airbender peoples are a result of his upbringing. In light of his stealth tactics, Suna can even break rocks and sand apart into dust-like particles to make a dust cloud. The dust cloud is a less subtle substitute for Naomi's mist technique.
Shequan: Also known as Snake Boxing, or Fanged Snake Style, Shequan is one of the five archetypal animal-based fighting styles of Chinese martial arts. Shequan makes use of flat palms with all fingers pointed forward, ever moving in unpatterned, erratic, serpentine fashion with bent elbows. Strikes are painful whipping motions that cause the force of the strike to travel up the arm and exit through the fingertips. Users of the Snake Style aim for all of an opponent's weakest pressure points much like Chi Blocking, although not completely. As this fighting style's efficiency is centered around speed and precision rather than power, Suna uses this style as his most dangerous weapon being an agility and speed-based combatant. Unlike normal snakes, Suna's arm movements mimic a Sandshark's movements when swimming, hiding, hunting, and diving in and out of the sand. Suna incorporates Shequan in his Earth and Sandbending whenever he fights long range.
Southern Dragon Style: Suna's close-quarters style revolves around yet another archetypal animal-based Chinese martial art. Here, the user bends his fingers to imitate a draconic talon which can then be used to strike both hard and fast at the head, chest, and stomach, whilst still being able to strike certain pressure points. Southern Dragon Style also makes use of heavy legwork which is described as following a zigzag motion that mimics the imagined movement of the mythical Chinese dragon. This also allows Suna to use floating and sinking movements which are very important in generating power and stability, making his body calm and relaxed. Unlike traditional Earthbending Hung Gar, which emphasizes standing strong in the midst of adversity, Southern Dragon users stand strong and stable whilst pressing on and disrupting an opponent's balance. Footwork is then manifested in zigzagging steps, strong stomps, and powerful lower kicks. This style has less erratic and irregular hand strikes than Shequan, though prides itself in equally erratic footwork.
Charismatic Marketeer: Suna makes use of his silver tongue mainly to goad people into buying his usually overpriced fabrics, which is understandable since he makes high-quality products. His selling ability isn't limited to things he makes, as he can talk about objects and people efficiently. He has a keen eye, observing objects and people. His ability to masterfully "describe" objects and people is what makes him such a good salesman. As a black marketeer for various people who aid The Rising, he is also a great contraband dealer, selling weapons and armor to people who are in line with the Rising's cause.
Sewing: Suna prides himself in his ability to sew things together - a skill he uses both to calm himself and to appear sensitive to women he fancies. A skill learned from his mother Bast, he is often found sewing rugs, mats, carpets, curtains, and even dresses to give as gifts to people.
Relationships:
Sobek: Suna's father is is a grizzled survivalist of a man. As an assassin, he was a dangerous mercenary and assassin during his time due to both his proficiency in Earthbending and combat skills. Fleetfooted and silent, Sobek wielded many bladed weapons with earthen handles. Though he knew of the Rising, Sobek did not care much about their existence. He harbored a strong dislike for the Phoenix King and his regime, but it wasn't enough for him to join the revolution against him. What drove him to attempt to assassinate Ozai was a very large amount of money offered to him by a wealthy bidder, perhaps from the Rising itself. He met Bast along his travels. As a father, Sobek was a strict albeit friendly and loving man who disciplined Suna as best as he could, in spite of the rebelliousness that grew within his son. He held within his mind many pieces of marketing information that he needed to know when he quit his job as an assassin. After Suna's abandonment, his psyche and emotional state heavily deteriorated since he could not bear to lose his son. Because of the emotional and mental trouble, his business failed and he and Bast ended up near bankrupt. He then died miserably.
Bast: Suna's mother is a silent woman who was as dangerous as her husband in her years as an assassin. Unlike her husband, whose finesse with the blade and Earthbending was somewhat unmatched, Bast did not wield a blade in the heat of battle or in the dead of night. She was a more "hands-on" type of killer - making things look like accidents, suffocations, Earthbending burial from out of the blue. In short, she hated being seen. It was both fortunate and unfortunate that Sobek saw her in one of their missions, prompting them to fall in love. While attempting to break in Ozai's castle, both she and her husband were found out by the more skilled benders and soldiers under the Phoenix King's control. When they escaped, it was Bast who forced Sobek to quit this life of darkness due to her spilling the beans; she was with child. As a mother, she taught him everything he knows about sewing, which was her passion since she was a little girl. She was beaten and was then either dragged seemingly dead to the Phoenix King's courts or killed on the spot. Suna doesn't know a thing.
Ghashiun: A character from the original series and Suna's childhood best friend and one of his Sandbending teachers whom he had a falling out with. Ghashiun grew up from a gung ho youth to a rebellious thief and liar. Ghashiun was just as low here as he was in the series; he was low enough to try to turn Suna's mother Bast in to the Phoenix Kingdom for a petty bag of gold pieces. Suna's rage ultimately led to his downfall, proving to both himself and Ghashiun who the better Sandbender was. A bladed pillar of compacted sand through his stomach was what ultimately killed him.
Sha-Mo and Yulduz: Ghashiun's father and mother from the original series, respectively. Yulduz later dies of a serious illness. Sha-Mo acted as one of Suna's Sandbending teachers and taught him the many differences of Sandbending to traditional Earthbending, the principles of Sandbending and how similar it was with Airbending and Waterbending, and the art of desert-based combat. He believes his son, Ghashiun, was unjustly murdered by Suna and thus forbade Suna from ever seeing him and his daughter ever again.
Haruki: Sha-Mo and Yulduz's adopted daughter whom Suna had a crush on when he was a boy. Though they never got together, Suna wished they could have. Along with Sha-Mo, she ended up hating Suna, believing he killed her brother.
Smellerbee: A character from the original series. Smellerbee is currently a prominent figurehead in the expanded guild of Freedom Fighters under Jet. She is arguably his second-in-command, or at the very least, one of the most important people fighting for the Rising. Proficient in bladed weapons, she is Suna's recruiter, mission handler, and go-to-girl. She briefs Suna and his team of any covert missions, Phoenix Forces trade markers, and informants that need to be met.
History:
Suna was born to Sobek and Bast, two Earthbending assassins turned fugitives after a failed uprising against the Phoenix King and his oppressive regime. After their failed attempt on Ozai's life, Sobek and Bast became two of the many criminals that the Phoenix King wanted dead or imprisoned. Indeed, the hunt for the Earthbending runaways was relentless, but the two assassins were too sly and crafty for the former Fire Lord's enforcers. Escaping to the Misty Palms Oasis, Sobek and Bast led completely different lives, turning away from their old profession and becoming carpet and fabric merchants instead. It was in these dull years of Sobek and Bast's lives that Suna was born, giving the young Earthbender a pretty boring childhood filled with naught but learning the simplest Earthbending techniques like how to geokinetically lift earthen materials, playing with the local children, enduring Sobek's physical training sessions, and even learning how to sew fabrics and sell them. In spite of the tediousness of those years, Suna learned many necessary traits in life, such as valuing hard work and family, whilst retaining the happiness of his childhood. At the age of six, Suna grew up to be an average Earthbender, but a proficient marketeer - being able to sell many of his parents' goods for a very high price. He was a child with a silver tongue for business, using his adorable youth to his advantage.
One night, while Sobek and Bast were closing their shop, they witnessed a ruined sand-sailer traversing the great dunes of the Si Wong Desert, parking in the outskirts of the small desert town just in time to escape a Si Wong Sandshark. Benevolently, Sobek rushed towards the ruined sand-sailer and offered the man, his wife, and his two children, Sha-Mo Yulduz, Ghashiun, and the adopted Haruki, some food, water, and a place to spend the night. It was Sobek's kindness that garnered Sha-Mo's trust and almost instantly, the adults and their children became good friends. The next morning, Sobek offered Sha-Mo a thick and strong fabric for the Sandbender's sand-sailer. While the two fathers repaired the vehicle, the two sons were sparring in the centre of the town. The match was far from being stalemate, as Suna could not fight lest he chips pieces of the town buildings - relying on his innate speed and agility, as well as his basic melee skills instead. Ghashiun defeated Suna almost immediately, being experienced in the art of Sandbending combat. After the two men had repaired the sailer, Sha-Mo and his family left the Misty Palms Oasis. Visiting the Misty Palms Oasis then became a recurring event for the Sandbending family, as Bast's fabrics were the best in the town. These visits were also important, since Suna learned the ways of Sandbending in the heart of the desert from Sha-Mo and his son, and their tribe. He learned that Sandbending was akin to Waterbending or Airbending, using more fluid-like motions and following change-based principles when using the art. The child of the former assassins was quick to adapt to this desert-bending. Suna, whose Earthbending was unexceptional at best, excelled in this new type of bending.
Suna, Ghashiun, and Haruki spent their seventh year venturing out into the desert, playing and sparring from days on end. Suna and Ghashiun's relationship flourished into a sort of rivalry, always knocking each other down using sand and other earth materials. They laughed about the most shallow things and helped each other grow in their combat skills. Suna also had a slight crush on his friend's non-bending older sister, but tried his best to hide it from them. It was, however, pathetically obvious. One day, after venturing too far out into the desert, the three children were attacked by a vicious Sandshark. While Ghashiun and Haruki ran, Suna stayed behind - unexplainably drawn by the beast's movements. In return, the Sandshark was drawn to Suna. For some unknown reason the Sandshark and Suna locked eyes as if drawn by each other's spirits. Ghashiun and Haruki could do nothing then, but stare in awe. What was happening was a phenomenon that none could explain. When they returned home, the three children talked to their parents about their experiences in the desert enthusiastically. This was the beginning of Suna's desire to sneak out at night only to meet his animal friend. These nights often had Suna hunting wild jackalopes to give to the sandshark for it to eat, regardless of its size. In return, the giant beast would allow Suna to ride on its back as it dove and swam underground - perhaps the best type of adventure, according to Suna.
As the years went by, Suna's bending and combat skills were on par with his best friend's, being able to defeat Ghashiun on some occasions. It was even through Sandbending that Suna was able to further realise his normal Earthbending, combining the two styles and principles to compress and harden sand and systematically crush pieces of rock to create more makeshift sand, as well as form sand-made constructs. Also, thanks to his nights with the Sandshark, Suna also learned how to swim in sand and earth as if it was water. At seventeen years old, Suna was an able-bodied fighter, bender, and even the best fabric-maker and salesman that the Misty Palms had to offer, thanks to his parents and friends. In these years, the adolescent Suna became more of a rebellious teen rather than the obedient son that Sobek and Bast once raised. Due to the many nights sneaking out to meet the Sandshark, fighting Ghashiun, and being with Haruki, Suna found himself ditching his shifts and spending the nights in the desert. Suna's familial relationship wavered during these years as he yearned to be more independent from his parents who grew tired of him always spending his nights with Sha-Mo's tribe. After a heated argument with his parents, Suna ran away from home, grabbing his sewing tools and some fabrics, stealing some money, packing his clothes. Before leaving, he met up with Ghashiun and Haruki and they shared one last night together. He confessed his feelings for Haruki, but said he did not wish to stay. Suna attempted to get them to come with him but unlike the rebellious teen, Ghashiun and Haruki wished not to abandon their family.
The seventeen year-old ventured throughout the Earth Kingdom, spending his days and selling his fabrics in Omashu, Kyoshi Island, and other small, unnamed villages. Of all the villages he's visited, his favourite is Gaoling because it is there that Suna's combat skills greatly improved. He became an avid fan of the Earth Rumble tournaments, cheering loudly for the Boulder, who was then the champion. He trained and honed his Sandbending for a year in order to be strong enough to fight in the tournaments and, one day, he defeated the Boulder using cunning evasion and surprise attacks with his sand, utilising its adaptability to whatever situation. Against the Boudler, who fought using basic "strongman" tactics, Suna's smart and impromptu way of fighting, as well as his sandswimming technique, earned him an Earth Rumble Belt and the winnings. The fans baptised him as the Si Wong Ghost, since Suna wore his white cloak as his wrestler's outfit. From ages nineteen to twenty, the Sandbender became Earth Rumble's youngest champion twice, as his skill was unlike any other. Being the champion of the tournament made Suna an arrogant fighter whom the ladies loved. Still, he could not let go of his childhood crush. It was during these years Suna began missing his family. Still, his pride prevented him from returning to the Misty Palms Oasis. The longer he stayed in Gaoling as the Earth Rumble Champion, the more depressed and detached he got. Upon reaching the age of twenty-one, he lost to another Earth Rumble participant, as his head was not in the game that tournament day. He still had some fans and amassed a small fortune due to selling his fabrics and winning the Earth Rumble two times.
One night, after a fight in the arena, Suna walked towards Gaoling and encountered a man that looked extremely like his father, only slightly older. Upon seeing him, Suna's mind was filled with memories of his adventure-filled childhood, his nights with the Sandshark, the times he and his family bonded over their business, his training sessions with Ghashiun, his small encounters with Haruki, and his life in the Si Wong Desert. In spite of the harshness of the environment, the vision of his father reminded him of his home and his life back in the Si Wong Desert and, without thinking, followed him into the Foggy Swamp. As it turns out, it was an apparition that led him to the Banyan-Grove Tree. After about five days lost in the swamp, the Sandbender met a tribe of Swampbenders who explained that the Foggy Swamp was a place of spiritual escape as many of them had achieved spiritual enlightenment underneath the tree's leaves. They explained that enigmatic weather patterns and visions of the past, present, and future were commonplace in the swamp and seeing a vision of his father could mean that the real Sobek needed him. The Swampbenders taught Suna to sit down and meditate, to focus his emotions and spirit into the roots of the Banyan-Grove Tree. Since Suna did not have seismic sense, he could not see what was happening in the Misty Palms Oasis. He could only feel the despair of the people and the chaos that has befallen the little town. At once, he returned to Gaoling, packed his things as well as money, and left. With his mastery of Sandbending, Suna created a platform of makeshift sand from the rocks and flew forth to the Misty Palms Oasis.
From a far off distance, Suna could see naught but the vastness of the sandy desert and the lowly town where he grew up. The day was peaceful but there was a sombre feel about it. Upon landing in the outskirts of the town, Sha-Mo's tribe, his two children, his mother Bast, and some locals were holding a funeral for Sobek. They burned incest and offered fruits and hunted Jackalopes to the spirits, burying them with the corpse of Suna's father. Suna ran to the group and asked them what happened, weeping on his knees. Everyone was also shocked to see Suna back, but the Sandbending prodigal son could not think straight. Embracing the crying boy, Bast and Haruki exclaimed that he died of depression because of Suna's departure. He abandoned his business, became violent with the Phoenix King's policemen, and drank his depression away, for what father can handle the loss of his son? Suna told them of how the roots of the Banyan-Grove Tree led him back home and it was unfortunate that, five days ago, his father was still alive. Later that night, Ghashiun, Haruki, and Suna hung out and out of sheer sadness, told the two of his parents' secret - that they were assassins who almost ended Phoenix King's Ozai's life. Now, they live in constant hiding. The Phoenix King's men still put up wanted posters of Sobek and Bast who looked nothing like their past selves as their skin had darkened and their hairstyles had changed as they lived in the desert. The Phoenix King would still pay a hefty amount for it, however. Upon hearing this, Ghashiun's eyes sparkled with greed - in the years without Suna, Ghashiun's life also went downhill as he became a thief. Thievery was looked down upon in Sha-Mo's tribe, but Ghashiun couldn't care less. He hid his pastime from his family and acted as if he was still an obedient son.
A week later, Ghashiun arrived in the Misty Palms Oasis with a troop of Phoenix King Ozai's policemen in the dead of night. He had the wanted poster of both Sobek and Bast in his hands and demanded the money. Suna, who was out in the desert to find the Sandshark that he missed so much, returned home with a weary heart, since the his great beast of a friend did not show up. He witnessed the group of the Phoenix King's men break and enter his old home and tie Bast in metal chains so she could not bend. In the nick of time, Suna arrived and bent the sand around the enforcers, trapping them in the sand and freeing his mother. Ghashiun, who was obsessed with getting the bounty, attacked Suna and exclaimed his hatred for his former friend. Ghashiun was embittered by Suna's departure, his mother, Yulduz's death, and his family's financial problems - the factors why Ghashiun turned to thievery. Suna and Ghashiun battled each other while Bast fought the Phoenix King's men. His mother, who was then old and grey, still had her skills but could not hold her own against the battalion of benders that thrashed her with everything they had. It was a flurry of elements - one that she was overwhelmed by. With her body broken and battered, the men dragged her dying body and ran off with their Komodo Rhinos. Suna, who was too caught up in his emotions, was buried in Ghashiun's sand as he failed to rescue his mother from the wicked forces of the Phoenix King - throwing the bounty in a bag of cloth for Ghashiun to get. In a fit of thoughtless rage, Suna escaped his prison of sand with his own bending. It was then that Suna and Ghashiun fought for the last time. Sha-Mo and Haruki arrived in the Misty Palms Oasis at the exact time when Suna fatally struck Ghashiun down, proving once and for all who the greater Sandbender is. The sight of this broke their hearts and, no matter how Suna tried to tell them of Ghashiun's treachery, they did not listen. Ghashiun's final words were that of anger towards Suna, telling his father that Suna attacked him in cold-blood because he had a father, and Suna didn't. Sha-Mo and Haruki believed Ghashiun almost immediately, and exiled Suna, telling him that if he ever shows his face in the Si Wong Desert again, they will surely kill him.
Suna ventured out into the Si Wong Desert once more to be greeted by his Sandshark friend. They exchanged looks before turning away from each other. Driven by hatred for the Phoenix King and sorrowful longing for his home in the Si Wong Desert, Suna found himself lost in the thickness of the woods that, unbeknownst to Suna, housed a group of Jet's Freedom Fighters. Upon seeing Suna stumble to and fro, possibly due to hunger and lack of rest, the merry men scaled down and engaged the Sandbender in battle. The Freedom Fighters were adept at their respective fighting arts, but it was through sheer cooperation and chemistry were they able to overwhelm the former Earth Rumble Champion. Though Suna put up a fight, his exhaustion had eventually taken a toll on him and was thusly captured.
After a day, Suna found himself bound and interrogated by one of Jet's emissaries, Smellerbee. It was during this interrogation did she find out about Suna, his story, and most importantly, his drive and anger towards the Phoenix Kingdom. Because of this newfound knowledge, Smellerbee eagerly invited Suna within their ranks, knowing full well he and her leader Jet could use a man like the Sandbender. Through these roughhousers Suna's non-bending skills were tested. He remembered the martial arts his father taught him, and he learned how to incorporate his blows and kicks needed for Sandbending into mere hand-to-hand fighting. He was even taught in the ways of various weapons such as, swords and axes. His favorite weapon and most difficult to learn, however, was the bow and arrow, taught to him by Longshot, who handled archery training sessions as well as went on various missions. Smellerbee and Suna began training with her faction of the Freedom Fighters for about two or three weeks before he met their charismatic leader, Jet.
Suna was also amazed when, after weeks of being with Jet and his people, he discovered that many Sandbender Tribes shared Jet's goal of bringing the oppressive Kingdom down. However, Sha-Mo's Tribe was one of the many that chose peace over war, which meant that Haruki would be gone from his life, forever. This troubled him greatly, but it was because of countless nights dining and training with Jet and listening to his philosophies did he accept that love was not an issue, because they were fighting for something far greater than themselves.
One thing about Suna that Jet admired was his drive - Suna was not the strongest Earthbender, nor was he the best fighter. Suna was built for speed and cunning, rather than power. However, Suna had the potential to be a great leader and combatant, especially if rage was added into the concoction. Because when it came to one-on-one, unarmed, no bending combat, Suna could overpower Jet, especially if he was reminded of his past. As stated earlier, Suna spent a lot of time brawling. Jet wished for his new friend to focus the anger, for it was a deadly force for both Suna and his enemies. But, but focusing the unvented anger and bitterness of life towards a single target, Suna could become just what the Rising was looking for. That is why Jet referred another Earthbender named Dhune to mentor the Sandbender, as his calm exterior and collectedness could rival Suna's temper, which was as short as a Firebender's. The duo trained as well, but unlike Suna's past experiences in the field, Dhune taught him more on how to open his mental and spiritual side. Suna attempted to fast, much like how Dhune fasted, but was not as able bodied and strong willed in fasting as his fellow Earthbending compatriot. By age 24, Suna's state of mind and heart was far better than it was when he left the Si Wong Desert, though his temper and overconfidence was still sort of a problem. In the eyes of Jet and Dhune, Suna could become a leader. His skills in leadership only needed to be polished. Dhune, who was himself an Earthbender, took note of Suna's strange but nonetheless effective style of stealth and speed based bending, and remarked Suna's ability to break rocks and earth apart. Dhune challenged Suna to hone this talent more and, after about a month, Suna was able to master the art of Earth Disintegration.
Currently, Suna is a part of their cause as a thief, weapons and contraband dealer, information and arms broker, con artist, and covert operationalist who, along with Dhune and two other compatriots, pick the Phoenix King's forces in the cover of the mist as assassins, interrogators, and even saviors.
Miscellaneous:
Suna's Sandbending, though skilled and unorthodox, can be easily disrupted by extreme heat or flames. He is weak against skilled Firebenders, as sand can be easily turned to glass and thus, unbendable. His counter for this is normal Earthbending. Waterbenders also weaken his Sandbending abilities, as wet sand becomes soft and virtually useless when he intends to create weapons of compacted sandstone. He can still, however, use wet sand to some degree and efficiency. Finally, it is futile for the Sandbender to use his Sandswimming/Earthswimming technique when battling an Earthbender with the ability of Seismic Sense, seeing as they can see Suna's position right away. Airbenders can also disperse his sand, but Suna's control over sand and little earthen materials is proficient enough to withstand the influence of air currents.[/tab]
Against traditional Earthbenders, Suna's Earth Disintegration can destroy rock and earth instantaneously.
Suna stands at 5'9" and weighs 134 lbs. He is slender albeit with a toned physique. He sports a black Freedom Fighter outfit and light armor (shoulder and knee pads), Sandbender bandaged gloves, and a scarf made of Sandbender cloth. He carries his father's earth-handle knives for show, but isn't skilled in them. He usually uses them to peel fruit and vegetables and carve wooden images.
He has standard green Earthbender eyes. His skin is pale despite his life in the Si Wong Desert.
[tab=Rae-Lee (Lilly)]
[Rae-Lee| 19| Earth Kingdom]
Rae-Lee is not someone a stranger would ask for directions for a couple of reasons, one being she has a terrible sense of direction. The second would be her lack of care for the other person. Rae-Lee has a short temper and little patience for trivial matters. Spending little time thinking about her appearance and attire, these things don't matter to her. She views those who would take advantage of others as cowards who can't help themselves. She has a lot of respect for those who stand up for what they believe in and would gladly offer her assistance. Rae-Lee is all spice and no sugar. Acting on impulse and nothing but last minute decisions. She refuses to sugar-coat anything in the slightest bit and lacks the ability to be tactful. She will likely come across as rude and disrespectful to those who don't know her that well.
Traits
Air-Bending: Rae was born an air-bender but has very little skill and understanding of what it means to be an air-bender. She understands the basic of Air-Bending but is unable to demonstrate her understanding with her bending. Her grandparents sought out many tutors for her but she has yet to be able to demonstrate the skill and grace an air-bender possesses.
Dagger/Knife Usage: Rae is surprisingly more skilled when it comes to throwing knives and daggers. She has a steady arm and a good amount of force behind her when it comes to being able to throw her blades around. Her aim is quite good, only being off an inch or two depending on the distance.
Hand to Hand Combat: Rae succeeds in hand to hand combat like she does with her blades. She is quick on her feet and quick to dodge a punch. She is good with punches and kicks, not quite good with evasive maneuvers. Rae is good in a scrap and can hold her own with little to no problem.
Silver Tongue: Rae-Lee has a prominent talent as a trader due to her ability to use words effectively and cleverly. She is able to disguise the truth with a mixture of pretty words in order to lure people to her. Rae-Lee also weaves her skill in manipulation to prey on the weaknesses of others to get people to buy her goods. She is very persuasive speaker, bringing liveliness into her skill as a trader. Rae-Lee can tell a quite a story and can captivate her audience with tales of adventure. She can figure out what they want and why before they any even notice her stand.
Relations & Relationships
Myra Fren -Mother (Alive)
Eal Fren -Father (Alive)
Avana Fren -Older Sister (Alive)
Nervi-Zre - Half Brother (Alive)
History
Rae-Lee was born into a middle class family in the Earth Kingdom. An outsider would notice nothing special about her family. Her mother was an Earth-Bending Teacher and her father a non-bending merchant. On her mothers side of the family who were benders and her fathers side held non-benders. Her fathers side of the family although non-benders held the dormant gene of Air-Bending. Rae-Lee's grandparents on her mothers side were both very skilled Earth Benders who wanted to see their daughter marry into a well known Bending family but were disappointed when she married a simple non-bender.
Her mother taught Earthbending until she had Avana, Rae's older sister. The girl was spoiled while she was the only child andwas held to high expectations. Ultimately, they were disappointed.
Avana was a non-bender.
Her mother was now considered a disgrace and her parents considered Avana a mark against their family. They went out of their way to utterly ignore the little girl who could not yet understand why her grandparents treated her in a such a way.
A year later Rae-Lee was born, her mother and grandparents only had one thing in common; they both wanted Rae to be a bender. But even though they had the same hopes, it was for different reasons. Her mother wanted to be redeemed. Her grandparents wanted to save their reputation. This time, they were not disappointed.
Rae-Lee was an Air-Bender.
They were soon to be disappointed again. Rae-Lee was an Air-Bender who was a weak at Air-Bending. Her mother became pushy and demanding, giving the four year old Rae-Lee little time for herself. It was unacceptable. Rae's inability to meet expectations infuriated her grandparents but they were determined to save their reputation. Countless tutors were pushed onto her in the hopes that she would learn to Air-Bend. But Rae still failed to Air-Bend at the level she was expected to be at.
This was a turning point in her life. Rae-Lee lost her mothers affection and was regarded as a bratty child. The seven year old Rae-Lee was beginning to misunderstand her mothers reasons. Mistaking her mothers own choice to ignore her for something that was Rae's fault. Rae tried several times to please her mother but always failed.
Rae was now beginning to see her father. Her father who was always trying to make Rae happy and after seven years of being ignored was now important to Rae. She started to spend more time with her father, volunteering to go out in the village to help sell his goods. This was her escape. Meeting new people in the village and seeing some of the villagers in fear of Police Force. This started to open her eyes.
Rae had her first encounter with knives and daggers around this time. An entertainer from one of the more well off villages was effortlessly juggling knives which had captivated her attention. The way he juggled the knives was almost mystical to her. It was dangerous and thrilling, something she wanted in her life.
It also caught the attention of bandits who decided to pay the entertainer a visit. Rae-Lee ended up getting caught in the bandits attack on the entertainer, now a hostage to the bandits. Catching the bandits off guard and sending the one who held her hostage to the ground. Startled by the sudden discovery of a bender in the midst the bandits ran off. Rae was shocked, but begged her father not to tell her mother or grandparents. She was afraid that she would lose spending time with her father.
Her family's expenses had to be cut due to the newly raised taxes. There were to be more taxes and less money for recreational purposes. Her father could no longer support their family by selling goods in the village or in the Earth Kingdom. Rae-Lee begged him to take her with him and against her grandparents wishes, he did. It would seem the eleven year old girl attracted more attention to her fathers business.She had a silver tongue at a young age and would quite often lure people to her fathers business. People would come around and smile at her before realizing she didn't care for them. Despite her lack of care for other people, they still came around and purchased her fathers goods.
She and her father returned home only to discover that her mother had been unfaithful. What was worse than finding a unfaithful mother was finding out that her mother had been unfaithful with someone in the Police Force. The Police Force that kept everyone in fear and that forced unfair taxes on the hard working members of the village had now further infuriated her. Her father offered her the chance to leave with him to live his parents to avoid her mother.
Rae accepted.
For two years she helped with her fathers business, learning the trade. A fate encounter had her meeting the entertainer from when she was eleven. Rae managed to convince him to teach her. She had a knack for it, she listened and paid enough attention to be able to effectively practice. Rae continued to practice after he left the village, honing her newfound skill. Over the two years Rae had worked to hone her talent for knives and daggers. Her skill as a trader also became prominent and distinctive over the two yeas as well.
When Rae was fifteen years old, she woke up to shouting and the sound of things crashing against the dirt floor of the house they resided in. Upon investigating she found that the Police Force was accusing her father of selling stolen merchandise. Out-raged by their accusations, Rae engaged them in a fist fight and if it had not been for her lack of air-bending skills she would have won easily. Even being able to utilize her throwing skills, she was not enough to win the fight. Her father surrendered, begging them to leave his daughter alone and they did but not before knocking her unconscious along with her father. Rae woke up the next day in a wagon with her hands tied, learning that she was being taken as a prisoner to the Fire Nation for assaulting their officers.
Unable to use her hands or feet to help her escape she was left with no choice but to go quietly. The Fire-Benders taking her had kept her unconscious as often as possible so she wouldn't draw attention to them. However, she woke up one day on the way to prison with her hands and feet freed. A group of strange people surrounded her but didn't attack, they just told her to not say anything and she didn't.
She knew that she was now a wanted prisoner for the Fire Nation. Rae didn't stay any one place for too long but became intrigued with rumors of a rising and often pried bits of information from those who tried to keep their mouths shut about it. Exploring her skill in persuasion and manipulation as she asked her questions. She began openly searching for its members and inquiring about it when she got the chance. Still being quite open with her persuasion and manipulation causing her to get in some trouble from time to time.
She kept up her search with information about the Rising and encountered very few who willing spoke about it. There were many false leads. Many people denied even knowing what the Rising was. It wasn't until she found someone on the outskirts of the Earth Kingdom and offered to give her the answers she wanted. Following this person to the Treetop Village where she met the Freedom Fighters, she figured out that they were the ones to save her that day. Rae was offered asylum in exchange for helping the freedom fighters and she agreed.
A time or two she was almost recaptured by the Police Force but managed to escape each time as her skills improved. Each time she alluded capture the more the Police Force wanted her captured as she always damaged something else along the way. By this time she was a skilled a trader and was considered to be quite useful to The Rising. Her Air-Bending skills improved only slightly and still remained poor. Confronted by a higher up who asked what she hoped to gain from the Rising she had answered to find her father.
The Higher-Up had seemed to like her answer about finding her father and although she was not terribly committed to the Rising her skill set was one they needed. Her skill as a trader had gotten her a permanent place among the Rising to join a group in the hopes she would further develop her skills. She was not thrilled with the idea but agreed to the terms without much complaint.
Miscellaneous
Body Type: on the shorter side of the height spectrum, limber.[/tab]
[/tabs] - Inactive Character List
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[Female | 41 | Southern Air Temple(Originally Fire Nation)]
Zhing-Taoh is a firebending master, raised in the Fire Nation Capital, but who now resides in the Southern Air Temple, situated in the far flung Patola Mountains. Far away from the Phoenix King's interests, and subsequently left unchecked by his forces, the Southern Air Temple, the mountain range on which it sits and the surrounding islands all act as The Rising's most secret haven, though the Temple itself is no doubt the epicenter. There she guides and teaches many of the younger and more recent arrivals to "The Temple", instilling in them her unique philosophical outlook, with a strong focus on personal freedom, and a general disdain for forced organization, or authority in general. This initially put her at odds with the Air Nomads who had already been residing there, though, now, she has all but become the rebel outpost's mascot, and, ironically, one of it's de-facto leaders.
Traits
Firebending Master: Zhing-Taoh has, since a young age, exhibited a strong talent with bending, as well as an admirable perseverance in regard to her training. At the age of 24, Zhing had already been ordained a master of her art and is considered one of the most powerful firebenders of her age.
The Dancing Dragon: Master Zhing has found the lost original civilization of firebenders, and has had the pleasure of studying under the firebending masters Ran and Shaw, learning the truth behind fire, and it's integral connection to all life. During her time with the Sun Warriors, she was able to master the ancient form of The Dancing Dragon, a flowing yet powerful and direct approach to firebending. Her combat techniques are defined by flowing movements and strong, singular punches and kicks, as opposed to the flurry of jabs and sweeps usually employed by firebenders. Master Zhing is also disinclined to utilize jets of flame for propulsion, and has not trained in the creation of lightning. This is not because she is unable to learn such techniques, but, rather, unwilling, seeing such applications of bending as out of touch with the teachings of the Sun Warriors
Fire with Fire: One of Zhing's most notable skills is her incredible ability to redirect and disperse fire, even explosions, with the use of her bending. An effect of her training with the Sun Warriors, Zhing-Taoh is able to feel an empathy with the fire itself, allowing her a greater control over it, even when wielded against her.
Relations & Relationships
Jikyan: Zhing-Taoh's partner and confidant, Jikyan is a powerful airbender who stands as a voice for those of his people sickened by those who have chosen to abandon their heritage in favor of privilege within the hierarchy of the Phoenix Kingdom.
Zen-Laan: Zen-Laan fled the Earth Kingdom years ago, fearing for his family's security in the war torn province of his birth. Zen-Laan is one of Master Zhing's most trusted friends, as well as a highly skilled bender.
Galerru: One of her greatest assets, on or off the battlefield, Galerru has supported Master Zhing since her arrival at the Temple. Like all Air Nomads, she has exhibited talent with airbending since a young age, but also boasts a particularly strong connection with the spirits.
Iroh: Although the Fire Lord Regent is certainly no friend of the defected firebending master, fate has, on more than one occasion, seen Zhing-Taoh and Lord Iroh seated within the same room, though those days are now long past. Master Zhing holds a bitter disdain for the Fire Lord and his crusade against the majestic dragons, yet, through her encounters with the man, has gleaned a certain notion of reason and respectability not normally found in those inhabiting the upper echelons of the Phoenix Kingdom.
History
Master Zhing has changed much over the years. Beginning life and living out her youth in the lavish court of the Fire Lord, a stark contrast to her current home, Zhing was brought up to cherish and respect the majesty of royalty. Being a prodidous talent in the bending arts, young Zhing was soon taken from her home to be trained as a soldier in the Fire Nation Army, much to the joy and excitement of her parents. She was less enthused.
Though the separation from family and home still pained her, Zhing-Taoh grew to enjoy her training, transitioning from a merely talented individual into a skilled and studied practitioner, ravenously soaking up techniques and lore alike. As time went on, her skill would increase at a rate that astounded her masters and frustrated her peers to no end. By the time Zhing was fifteen, she had already been in five Agni Kais, not to mention countless sparring sessions that were more akin to true battle than training. Around this time, Zhing began to question what the nation had in store for her, what her destiny was, and if the two were one and the same. She had a feeling they were not.
As she grew, Zhing-Taoh was pressed into true military service, sent to participate in a joint effort with the Phoenix Kingdom Police to put down spats of rebellion and insurrection in the provinces around Ba Sing Se. The young bender found the operations they engaged in and the tactics they employed highly distasteful, at times even vicious and cruel. Though her many years in the service of the Fire Lord and his nation gave her pride, from the very first day she set foot in the "Earth Kingdom", serious misgiving began to surface in her mind.
Now a grown adult, and with years of recognition and a lifetime of training to her credit, Zhing-Taoh was christened by her masters "Master Zhing", one of the youngest firebending masters in recent memory. With the title came a certain amount of freedom and time to set aside for herself, and so the young master eventually decided to, as much as possible, leave the ugly business of putting down riots to others, and, instead, pursue one of the few things that had made her truly happy: studying ancient lore. Using her new-found influence along with the modest amount wealth of she had obtained over the years, Zhing scoured the Fire Nation's libraries, absorbing their scrolls and tomes as if they were the most exciting and enthralling tales one could imagine, though most bore but simple and mundane knowledge that seemingly didn't apply in this world. She delved deep, and soon these ancient writings became her obsession. Her entire life became devoted to studying long dead gurus and poets, drifting further and further from the ridged teaching of her youth, and ever more toward philosophy so old and rudimentary that it had been lost to this world, so lost it would be labeled radically new were she to apply it in her age.
Desperate for more secret knowledge, Master Zhing sought out the ancient city of the Sun Warlords. Learning the Dancing Dragon from the statues there, though, being alone in her travels, she was unable to summon the Sun Stone. She surmised the tiles corresponding to the steps of the Dancing Dragon must unlock SOMETHING when pushed in sequence, but, after hours of pressing the entire sequence herself, she soon realized she would require a partner to make anything happen. As she was about to depart, Zhing was out in the courtyard packing her thing, when, looking up, she suddenly found herself surrounded by fifty or so tribals, some who were holding small fires in their hands as lamps; these were the Sun Warriors themselves! Talking to the young master, the tribe's chief laughed as he told Zhing how they took pity on her for not realizing that she needed a partner sooner, telling her they had been watching the entire time, viewing her frustration as high entertainment. The tribe ended up empathizing with the young firebender's sentiments gleaned through their short conversation, and deemed her worthy to be trained by "The Masters", Ran and Shaw.
After completing her training with the masters, who turned out to be two very old, wise dragons, Zhing decided to stay for an extended period, casting her responsibilities as a military instructor and commander to the wind altogether. Over the next eleven years, Zhing would truly learn the ways and teachings of her adopted people, all but completely assimilating into their culture. There she learned the ways of respect and harmony, and saw it as a stark contrast to the "prosperity" the Phoenix Kingdom sought to bring about through harsh domination. Once she had learned all she believed possible from her new brethren, she bid them farewell, promising to return before her death. As a token of their esteem and affection for the foreigner who had become as their own, the Sun Warriors bestowed Zhing with a beautiful white dragon. The young dragon, named Lo-Kai, had already formed a bond with Zhing-Taoh during her time there, and would grow to be one of her closest friends.
Now well into middle age, the much wiser, more balanced Zhing-Taoh left her adopted home and traveled north to the Western Air Temple, deciding to continue her learning by studying the culture of the Air Nomads in the world's air temples. Over the next two years, Zhing traveled around the rim of the world, slowly making her way from the first temple to the last. While passing through the Earth Kingdom, Zhing found that she had been officially discharged from the Fire Nation's Army, and that there was a sizable bounty on her head for desertion. Here, she also heard rumors of a growing group of rebels known as the rising, which intrigued her.
Finally finding herself at, to her surprise, a particularly bustling Southern Air Temple, Master Zhing quickly befriended many at what she soon found to be an out of the way refuge used by the Rising as a hideaway for those seeking permanent sanctuary from the Phoenix Kingdom. She saw this as providence, and set down in the new community. Now, with a burgeoning life in yet another adopted home, Zhing again sought spiritual enlightenment, this time from the wise monks and even the other refugees who have found their way to The Temple. -
[Female | 26 | Asylum Seeker]
Xue Li is so quiet that people often wonder if she was mute. Even in the most awkward situation, she'd prefer to reach out and comfort you rather than say a single word. Yet there is something rather arresting about her. She has the most expressive eyes anyone has ever seen. Their deep plum colour reflects the tumultuous emotions raging deep within. Just by looking into them, you can read her like a book. However, in the recent months, she has been trying to talk a lot more. It is a slow uphill battle given her preference to remain silence.
Traits
Gentle by nature yet fearless in battle – this is the essence of who she is. Never ever assume that she is a pushover, because once you have driven her into a corner, she'll fight back. Even without her firebending and fantastic sword skills, she is able to hold her own in battle. Assuming, of course, that you are fighting her one-on-one or two-on-one. She is never foolish enough to try and take on a three people at once.
Firebending
Losing her family affected her so badly that she finds it hard to maintain a steady flame. Everything comes in short fits and bursts only to fizz out quickly. Despite all that, the small bit of flames she managed to produce indicated that she had been quite a remarkable bender long ago.
Martial Arts
Realizing that she was an almost non-bender in her current state, Xue has been focusing a lot more on improving her prowess. She prefers using fast, rapid kicks rather than throwing punches. To her credit, her kicks are not just fast, but they are very strong as well. She is capable of smashing a board with one well-aimed kick.
Sword Arts
Xue is an almost novice when it comes to using the sword. She would wave it around clumsily or drop it the moment she tries to swing it. She gets extremely nervous when someone attempts to swipe at her with their sword. Most of the time it takes less than five seconds for her to be disarmed.
Singing
When she believes no one is around, Xue would sing to herself. She enjoys it so much that she would be semi-oblivious to her surroundings. Her voice is strong and clear with a good vocal range.
Relations and Relationships
Father – Deceased
Mother – Deceased
Sister – Deceased
Brother – Deceased
Fiancé – Deceased
Master Zhing – Xue is devoted to the older bender and clearly idolizes her.
History
A Simple Girl Leading a Quiet Life
Xue may have been the eldest daughter of her family, but she spent her youth hiding behidn her younger sister. She appeared so timid at times, especially in comparison to her sister, that most believed her to be the youngest of her sibling trio. No matter how much her parents encouraged her or she developed in her firebending abilities, she was always woefully shy. In fact, shen asked, she admitted to be content remaining with her mother and learning housewifely arts instead of honing her firebending capabilities.
Unfortunately, her admitted content would not be the case. When she was just seven, her oldest brother died in a training exercise gone wrong. Without a true heir to their firebending name, and more prominently her own blooming skills, her father pushed her to try and take on a military role and perfect her firebending. His goal was to sculpt a proud Fire Nation soldier that would have followed in his foosteps, and for a while, this goal seemed attainable. Xue, despite her disdain for her position, excelled at it. She was a talented firebender, although her skills were more suited for displays of power over actual combat where she often broke down.
While she was a capable firebender, she was a terrible duelist. Her sister grew as the opposite. With the true Fire Nation passion burning inside her, her sister was capable of winning duels despite having nowhere near the natural talent Xue had exhibited. Over time, the losses to her sister grew greater and greater and eventually their father began training her more. Even though Xue was a far better bender, her sister was a far better fighter. She had a militant mind, quick reflexes and the bravery to go on. Xue was proud of her sister and enjoyed seeing her smile, so she felt nothing but relief when her sister took her place.
Xue, for the most part, was alotted a normal life after that. While she hadn't been formally trained anymore since she was fourteen, she was still talented and still often sparred with her sister. As a matter of fact, when their father was gone, he instructed Xue to train her sister in the bending arts. It was during a session just like this that Xue attracted the attention of one of the young men that happened to be the son of one of her mother's friends, and their incurring friendship ultimately became a romance that bloomed into a purposal when she finally turned 18. For a while, Xue lived a normal life.
'Till The Flames Devoured Everything
There was no time to ask questions. There was no time to wonder why. There was no time to even cry. Recent accussations and tensions in the local outposts where her parents worked escalated to an all out attack. Xue tried to run, she tried to pull her fiancee - set to be married in just a few months after three years of waiting - and her sister out of the conflict. At first, it was meant to be a simple hearing. Her parents were to be taken into custody, but they fought. Both of them. She had never seen her mother bend like she did before and she had never seen her father so ferocious. Xue had never seen anything like this.
Her parents were greatly outnumbered and struck down swiftly. Xue and her sister were in constant pursuit while her fiancee had alreafy attempted to forfeit himself peacefully, only to be struck down indiscriminately. After nearly an hour of pursuit, Xue attempted to rest. In just a few minutes, any gap that existed between the two and the Phoenix Kingdom police had closed. This time, however, her sister refused to run. She was a fighter. She carried on the spirit of their parents, and in that moment, she decided to take the conflict to them. Outnumbered skill twelve-to-two, her sister alone managed to kill three before being struck down.
Time seemed to slow down. This was impossible. Her sister had cut down several of them successfully. She jumped through the trees, stabbed them with her knives and stolen their blades. One flip through the air and the girl had been blasted down. All of her momentum stopped as she was pushed back in the backlash. The red, burning bloom on her chest was the sign of what happened and her alreadty lifeless eyes showed the tragedy that had just struck. Xue had just lost everything. Her parents. Her sister. Her lover. Xue felt rage.
In the next few blinding moments, Xue was capable of harnessing her rage into a tempest of flame. She incinerated nearbly trees, absorbed the weaker flames of the soliders and burnt them down quickly. She wanted to know why. She left a guard alive because she absolutely had to know what could have caused all of this. She held fire to the guard, melting his skin and forcing him to confess. Her parents were conspirators with Master Zhing, thought to have been a Fire Nation defect. When questioned by the Police, her parents reacted violently.. because it was true. Her father had assisted Master Zhing through the outposts in the coastline just a week ago, and that was enough to get him killed.
What Was Left in the Ashes
Xue knew exactly where Master Zhing would be because she had known where her father took those he had harbored. Most of the time, they were down and out drunks that owed money, or old friends that needed a place. She had never thought his criminal actions were so great they would have led to this. A single safehoust just off the coast of the Fire Nation outpost that, at the time, was used as a police station by the Phoenix Kingdom. That safehouse contained Master Zhing until her convoy would arrive, and that wouldn't be for another week. Xue knew who to go to.
Still pouring out rage, Xue met Master Zhing. She realized she had no idea what to say. No idea what to do. She had just murdered for the first time in her life, but she killed them with such blind rage there was no thought. Now, all she had was thoughts. Blasting through the door and causing a moment of silence, Xue forced Master Zhing to confront her... with nothing. It all accumulated to this point, and Xue could do nothing more than break down. All the firebending fury she had dissolved into despair and what looked to be a battle became a consolation.
There, on the wooden floor of the charred safehouse, Xue poured out her laments as to what happened. Master Zhing knew everything that had just happened was her fault, but coulldn't afford to do anything about it. Master Zhing knew exactly who her father was, how he escorted her and the damage she had caused. Master Zhing, in a moment of raw human sympathy, shed her own tear and offered Xue a place beside her as they traveled. Xue would be wanted at this point, and needed refuge just as much as Master Zhing. With no other alternatives, Xue chose to follow Master Zhing.
The two ventured through the Earth Kingdom together, seeing the damage and abuse of power the Phoenix Kingdom caused - even to the Fire Nation. Of course, Xue was Fire Nation when her tragedy fell. They went to the Patola Mountains together. Xue learned that Master Zhing had underwent a spiritual journey through the Sun Warriors, although Master Zhing never explained anything about or even the name of the culture. Xue forgave Master Zhing and eventually became her most trusted confidant while Master Zhing became all that Xue had left. -
[Male | 19 |Air nation/traditionalists]
Suzzio from a young age the values of traditionalists has been forced down his throat and has shaped how he sees the world, but not to the way the traditionalists want. To them he plays along and he never talks back, but he has his own head and nothing they say or do will change that. Suzzio has never seen the outside world he knows very little other then what he has been told and what he has been told paints a grim picture, but he still wants to see it.
To be a firebender has not fallen in good soil and often has this lead to people speaking their mind about what a disgrace he is, how he should be cast out and how he should never have been born. This has left some pretty nasty marks on Suzzio's soul and this has lead to a lack to self confidence and a nasty habit to doubt himself.
Traits:
Flame weaving: A firebender trained in the ways of airbending, it has resulted in something he calls flame weaving.
Move ability: As he has been trained by them he knows a fair share about the fighting styles of airbenders and it has made him pretty nimble and agile.
Relations & Relationships
Grandmother: Grenelda (dead)
Grandfather: Fendak (dead)
Mother: Verna, traditionalist
Grandmother: unknown
Grandfather: unknown
Father: Terno (unknown location) solider for the firenation
Friends:
Tarsin
Akrta
Kotha
History
His father had been trained for the army and was among many firebenders that had learned skills from the ways of airbenders to enchant their battle style. He had through this developed a strong interest for the culture and ways of the airbending people, so much he often could be seen hanging around the Little Air Temple. Never once did he sett foot in the temple itself, but for Suzzio's mother it was another story.
His mother however was a traditionalist and the only reasons she was at the Little Air Temple was as a spokes person. Her job was to try to get people to join the traditionalists and she hardly every stopped talking about the culture and how it should be preserved better.
A few years went and Suzzio parents saw each other every so often, but never anything beyond a few fleeing moments when their eyes lingered on one another. Up until the event that brought Suzzio into existence, but Suzzio never meets his father as his mother quickly fled the city and went back to her home with the traditionalists
An upbringing in the air-nation was relatively peaceful and Suzzio was taught the ways of the airbenders from a young age and has lived peacefully. Suzzio trained for years and mastered a fair share of movements connected to airbending, but he never once managed to actually bend air, this was for good reason.
One day the airbenders and Suzzio was training and as more and more people around him started to bend the air he grew angry His blood boiled, his heart ran rampant and then it happened. Flames shot out of his hands and scorched several airbending students.[/I]
His mother was furious, the town was furious and Suzzio was furious. This had not been what he trained for, this was not who he was and soon the town called a meeting to decide if Suzzio would be allowed to live with them or become an outcast. They decided that he would be allowed to stay, but only if he kept training with the airbenders.
After only 4 years of additional training Suzzio was thrown out as he was now seen as grown up enough to take care of himself. He was given a tiny bit of money and a ticket to the Phoenix empire and was told to never return.
He has kept this promise and has lived a semi okay life in the Phoenix Kingdom, but if anything he has grown to dislike the Kingdom. He has seen rebellions rise and fall for no reason other then that they wanted to have their mind heard. Suzzio has always wanted to speak up about the kingdom, but he fears the consequences. He also fears anyone finding out how he firebends.
However now he has the chance. Through whispers on the street he picked up that the Rising is recruiting and Suzzio has decided he has nothing to lose, so why not try to make a change ?
He is currently heading through the swamps where he has heard the recruiting is taking place.
Miscellaneous
He is rather good at dealing with airbenders as he has learned a lot about their fighting style. -
[Male | 68 | Former Air Nomad]
Rabten Long was born among the Air Nomads near the end of their time in captivity. He returned to the air temple with the fundamentalists, training and learning the ancient ways of airbending until he parted ways with the Temple ideals in his teenage years. His powerful thirst for knowledge outstrips his thirst for spirituality, and that doesn't mesh well with the Fundamentalist's point of view. That being said, he is respectful of their customs, and is ill-disposed toward the Airbender secretariat for their lack of dedication to the old ways.
His many years wandering the globe have given him a calm outlook on life. He's seen much, learned more, and practiced his craft at every opportunity. Technically, he doesn't belong to any one group or nation, and in his intellect and isolation, he's become a touch condescending, conscious of the fact that others don't share his knowledge, but unable to dull the tinge of arrogance that has seeped into his voice. Those who deliberately control knowledge or manipulate it for their own gain have no place standing beside him.
Despite his strong opinions and quiet self-assurance, Rabten has never lost his drive to learn. He once heard tell of a legendary library, hidden somewhere in the Si Wong desert. To find it is his latest goal, but the libraries of the Air Nomad people are mysteriously void of any scripts relating to the Avatar, including and knowledge of this desert. Either it does not exist, and is mere myth, or the library is heavily involved with the Avatar cycle. Regardless of the answer, Rabten is stuck in a rut, a rut he blames on the Phoenix Kingdom for suppressing and controlling the Avatar, and with her the information tied to her.
Traits
Having had many, many long years to train and hone his skills, Rabten is the epitome of an Airbending master. Few who enter into direct contest with him can win, or even hold their own. The outliers are the prodigies and the other masters of bending: Rabten isn't getting any younger, and any person with his level of skill and more than his level of physical fitness could easily overwhelm him. Rabten also is reluctant to fight, seeing it as a waste of time, and he cannot kill. Not ever.
Aside from his physical fitness and technical skill, Rabten is a storehouse of knowledge, philosophy, and tradition. Though he knows the traditions well, he is reluctant to actually follow them, as the Airbender's concept of earthly attachments involves both books and his closest two friends, both things he cannot ignore or release. His knowledge is impressive, but his resolve is somewhat lacking.
Good muscle memory is Rabten's boon as well. He learns quickly, mentally or physically, and retains that learning. One of Rabten's other skills is speed reading. His eyes can soak up a scroll or a book faster than anyone. He learns quickly partially because of the ridiculous rate which he can obtain information
Rabten enjoys painting, too, as well as calligraphy. He's hardly any good at either, but it relaxes him, and to such a stressed out soul, that's important.
Relations
Monk Teyri-yhama was one of Rabten's fellow students at the Eastern Air Temple. The two grew close during their many years of studying and working, and, even with Rabten parting ways with the Temple, the two remain on good terms.
Arnook was born during Rabten's eighteenth year, and Rabten attended the ceremony after his Master was invited to take him, along with Teyri-yhama. Since then, Rabten has maintained contact with Arnook, calling the chief "one of the few intelligent men of the era", and conversing with the man on his rare visits to the Northern Water tribe.
General Iroh once passed through the Eastern Air Temple during a perfunctory observation, and Rabten was visiting as well. The two spoke for a short time, and since then Rabten has had respect for the gruff, but generally kind man.
Kema is Rabten's closest friend at current time, a spry and well-versed waterbender that he met during his various travels. The young woman challenges Rabten's morals, worming into his mind every time they speak. He sees her as almost like a daughter to himself, and she has admitted to feel similarly to him during their long arguments. If there's one person in the world he would die for without hesitation or even thought, it would be her.
History
Rabten was born during the last year of the Air Nomad's imprisonment. He grew up in the new age, never knowing anything other than the Phoenix Kingdom. That being said, during his childhood years, the Kingdom was far less stable than it is now, and Rabten heard plenty about chaos, rebellion, and harsh use of excessive force to burn said resistance to the ground. The end result of this being Rabten's ingrained dislike of the Phoenix King and his soldiers.
For the thirty years of his life, Rabten remained in the Air Temple, studying the tomes and learning the ways of the sky. It was a very slow process that he realized his difference from the others. One by one, all of his friends and fellow acolytes got their master tattoos. Rabten remained unmarked, consistently failing the Elders' strict spiritual guidelines. "You're too focused on what is known about the outside world. You must know yourself." That was the phrase Rabten heard, over and over and over.
After thirty years of failing, having exhausted all knowledge the monks would teach him as a monk, Rabten politely disappeared in the middle of the night, telling only Teyri-yhama and his master where he was going.
For the next thirty eight years, Rabten became a nomad in the true sense of the word, wandering the world, studying, surviving, and doing whatever he could to eat his next meal. He heard of the death of the Phoenix King, and watched from the rooftops as Ozai was crowned in Azulon's place. He visited the Water tribes, learning about their customs while he spoke with Arnook. He lived a simple life, not bothering with the Phoenix army, and not being bothered in return.
For a long time, Rabten had few people to share his time with, and as such became more and more arrogant in his knowledge and his correctness. That all changed when he met Kema, the woman who shattered his self-confidence when her sharp tongue pushed through every flaw in what he though was an unstoppable argument. The two became friends, growing closer over Rabten's time at the North Pole. It was here, arguing with Kema, that Rabten decided for the first time that the Phoenix King was suppressing knowledge he wanted to learn.
So he left the North Pole, traveling to find answers. He found them in Omashu. The Rising, a group dedicated to overthrowing the Phoenix King. He didn't much care about overthrowing the Phoenix King, but if the Rising could at some point free the knowledge being kept secret, then working with them would be well worth the risk. And so he joined the Rising.
Miscellaneous
Rabten carries an Airbender's glider, using it when his bare hands cannot or will not suffice. It also allows him to travel between places incredibly fast, effectively eliminating his need for something like an Air Bison.
He wears robes often, but he will wear whatever is available. -
Sennoq is a prodigal water bender from the Northern Water Tribe. Sennoq tends to be rather laconic, preferring only to speak when necessary. He believes fervently in the adage, "A fool speaks because he must say something, while a wise man speaks because he has something to say." His most defining trait is the strong determination that flows within him. It is a quiet determination, but any observant person would find it hard to miss.
However, Sennoq still has not fully risen from the grasp of youth, which sets his heart aflame with passion, sometimes leading him to foolhardiness. Generally, he is agreeable to most, unless he is one of his moods. During one of these idiopathic fits, Sennoq usually stalks off to some place where he can be alone and clear his head. Aside from these common trends, he is as variable as the arctic wind.
Traits
- Water Bending Prodigy - While not yet a fully-fledged master, Sennoq has attained a level of capability in water bending not usually seen by most his age. He is an extremely motivated and driven bender, committed to excelling in all areas of water bending.
- Drinking Habit - Although still quite young, Sennoq has already developed quite a taste for the Devil's nectar. After he moved to New Taku, Sennoq was no longer being constantly supervised by his masters or parents, and he found that the town had an extensive list of bars. I am sure you can imagine the rest of the story.
- Humorous - Although it is true that Sennoq remains largely reticent in social situations, one thing that is sure to lighten his mood and get him talking is a good joke. Sennoq has even purchased five joke books from the New Taku Library for his own personal enjoyment.
- Oblivious Towards the Fairer Sex - Sennoq never really had a chance to date any of the girls in the Northern Water Tribe, despite the fact that there were some that fancied him. Even when he reciprocated these feelings, Sennoq was always so absorbed in his training that he never seemed to have time to engage in any sort of relationship. As a result, Sennoq can be a bit starry-eyed when it comes to attractive females.
- Nature Lover - Sennoq spent a lot of time during his youth camping out on the tundra with his father and grandfather. It was a rite of passage, of sorts, within their family, whose heritage included a long list of seal hunters from both the North and South. It was during these rare, yet highly anticipated trips that Sennoq was ingrained with a deep appreciation for the beauty of the tundra, the glacier, and the snowstorm.
- It Must Be That Time of the Month - While Sennoq is usually good-natured, if a tad on the quiet side, he is given to sudden fits of anger. In truth, the young man still wrestles with his own inner demons, most of which stem from the death of his grandfather and his own feelings of guilt and shame. Sennoq tries his best not to take his anger out on others, but some people are just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Afterwards, Sennoq is always sure to apologize.
Relations & Relationships
Note: Deanok's parents were natives of the Southern Water Tribe that were slain during the invasions by the Phoenix Kingdom. Deanok speaks of them rarely, and his family respects his need for privacy.
History
Sennoq was born on the night of a Full Moon, when the elements of water are at their strongest. His early years were normal enough, a happy child with a very loving family. He was the pride and joy of his two young parents, and when his sister was born he dealt with the petulant jealousy of accepting a new child into the family. Up until the age of seven, there was nothing to distinguish him from any of the other children in the city. However, it was at this point that his life changed drastically.
From a very young age, Sennoq recalls knowing he could bend, and quite well at that. Despite this, he had decided to keep it a secret, mainly because he loathed the thought of spending countless hours training with the elders as he had seen many of the other children forced to. It was his grandfather, Tarlok who first recognized the signs of a great water bender within the boy. His first clue was the way the boy moved, flowingly and almost as if he were composed solely of liquids. After this, Tarlok always payed special attention to the budding water bender. One afternoon, Tarlok caught Sennoq in one of the many alleyways of the city, sculpting water into the form of small, toy soldiers and then freezing them so they would maintain their shape. He would then use these icy soldiers to stage battles between the Water Tribe and the Phoenix Kingdom--the Water Tribe was always the winner.
Tarlok noticed the effortlessly-crafted details in each of the figurines and marveled at the level of skill shown by the young boy. Despite his pleas, Tarlok, who had mastered water bending long ago, decided to take on training the young boy himself. They spent long nights practicing underneath the Moon's pallid rays. The Full Moon was when the litany of postures and poses Sennoq was forced to learn grew most tedious. This was, of course, intentional, since Tarlok knew that this was when the boy's power would reach its zenith. Indeed, the boy initially loathed practicing, but grew to love the hours spent with his grandfather; the two became quite close.
By the age of 14, Sennoq had progressed miraculously. Whereas the boy once could hardly last a minute with his grandfather in a sparring match, he now began to push Tarlok's increasingly apparent limits. He fought with poise and voracity, seeming to become semi-fluid at times. Unfortunately, it was during one of these matches that tragedy struck out at Sennoq's life. While consumed in a whirlwind of ice, water, and squall, Tarlok suffered a serious heart attack. Within the span of a few days, his life had fled despite the efforts of the North's very accomplished healers. "The injury is not a product of accident, but of age. It is the way of things," said the wisest among the healers.
Despite the comforting words of the elderly women and his family, a part of Sennoq always blamed himself for the death of his grandfather. His mind would run rampant with the phrases, "What if..." and, "If I had just..." Little did Sennoq know just how drastically his life would change after this event. His grandmother moved in with his family, as Sennoq's mother feared she would be lonely given the passing of her husband. Sennoq returned to training with a renewed determination, since he knew it was what his grandfather would have wanted, but there was something much more deeply agitated about his style of bending. None of his peers would agree to spar with him for fear of being seriously injured.
Unsure what to do, the masters of the Northern Water Tribe held a meeting to decide the fate of the young, prodigious water bender. The young man obviously had immense potential, but could no longer progress within the North. In desperation, the council of masters reached out to the one of the leaders of the Rising, Ukoda. After some time, it was decided that Sennoq would be sent to New Taku. He would train among Ukoda's militant ranks, where the boy could harness the full extent of his untapped power.
The departure was an especially emotional one, as Sennoq's family was still fragile after the loss of the patron of the family. Now, they would suffer more as they said goodbye to one of only two of their children. However, Sennoq's parents decided to trust in the judgement of the masters. They felt that the training and discipline Ukoda offered could benefit Sennoq, who had grown rather unwieldy in his bending styles. Sennoq still recalls his father saying, "You make us proud, son." In response, Sennoq promised to try his best.
Currently, he resides in New Taku where he is just beginning his training to fully master water bending.
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[Gender: Male| Age: 32 | Nationality: Fire Nation]
Name: Sen Zeshin
Personality description:
"I'm not sure what I am. I just know there's something dark in me. I hide it. I certainly don't talk about it, but it's there always, this Dark Passenger. And when he's driving, I feel alive, half sick with the thrill of complete wrongness. I don't fight him, I don't want to. He's all I've got. Nothing else could love me, not even... especially not me. Or is that just a lie the Dark Passenger tells me? Because lately there are these moments when I feel connected to something else... someone. It's like the mask is slipping and things... people... who never mattered before are suddenly starting to matter. It scares the hell out of me."
Zeshin is a quiet, and serious man. Basic human interactions, are hard to understand for him, but he had learned to fake them very well. His ability to pretend as a normal human, had led him to the high and respected position of an Admiral in the Fire Nation navy respected by all of his soldiers. Although he acts normal most of the time, people say that in the midst of battle he completely transforms, having sudden rushes of madness and completely losing control over his actions, state in which he slaughters his enemies without a second thought.
Traits
Firebending
Zeshin have been studying and practicing firebending since he was 9 years old, first he was taught by his Father and later assigned to one of the most elite firebending academies in the Fire Nation. He spend most of his life, honing his firebending skills, and trying to achieve new heights in the art. Although his firebending isn't in any way beautiful, every master would agree that it's extremely powerful and sharp. After 20 years of training, he could do any orthodox firebending technique known to man, and is considered a great and powerful master by anyone who ever saw his art in action.
Blue Firebending
[work in progress]
Intelligence and Strategic Mind
During his academic days Zeshin didn't shine with his firebending as much as he did with another trait, much more important to the military than the bending, his intelligence and strategic prowess. He was believed to be the one with the most success in the military once he graduates. Although he didn't like games of the mind like Pai sho, when he wasnt practicing his firebending, he spend most of his time over the strategist table, where he was playing wargames invented both by himself and his teachers. In his late years of the Fire Nation Military Academy, nobody could challenge him, no matter what the game, he could beat anyone in the school, even his teachers.
The out of mind experience
The ouf of mind experience (as Zeshin himself describes it) is a state in which he is at his absolute best, and absolute worst. During the time in which it occurs, he is completely overtaken by madness and bloodlust, his instincts are at their highest but he doesn't have a real control over what he does, although he can stop it if he really tries, he chooses not to, because he had found out that it satisfies a hunger, that cant be relieved in any other way. He has learned to tame the hunger for long times, using meditation, but during battle he chooses to release his demonic side, and satisfy the need to kill. Enemies and allies alike, feel great unease in his presence while he is in this state. Many foes have chosen to run away or even take their own lives, rather than becoming his prey.
Relations & Relationships
Sen Kyoto - father(deceased)
Sen Atsuko - mother
Sen Zeshin - grandfather(deceased)
Kamogawa Khan - best friend, "brother", prey
Kyazaki Yao - firebending master, master at the Bluefire Academy
Captain Djin - first man, mentor
Around 500 soldiers and officers from Navy Division 7, containing 14 ships.
History
Zeshin was born in a family with a strong military lineage. His family line predates even Fire Lord Zouzin, and all of his predecessors were well respected officers. His father was one of the most prominent Fire Nation Captains, and his grandfather was a legendary general, who led one of the biggest divisions during the siege of Ba Sing Se, his soldiers were one of the first to enter the impregnable city with the lead of the Avatar.
With this kind of lineage Zeshin's future was determined from the first time he gazed light. His first memories were of his grandfathers military stories, and since he was able to read, he started to study military strategy and tactics. While the most of what he studied was Fire Nation military tactics, he was fascinated by the small amount of Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom war strategy he could find. Until this day he haven't stopped researching as much as he could. From young age he admired fire lord Azulan, and his battle plan for taking Ba Sing Se. He grew up gathering as much knowledge of the great generals of the past, and their ways in combat, as he could find.
At the age of 9, when he could produce any promising amount of fire, he was put through his fathers strict and harsh training. His father wanted him to become the best firebender he could. Without thinking about any damage he could cause in the process his father was putting him through a hellish training everyday.
At age of 12 when he was finally of age for a firebending academy, he was assigned to an academy that was famous for its strict dogma, and practice of the old ways of firebending, where he was supposed to learn how to be the best Fire Nation Soldier as he could. The academy he was put in was The Bluefire Academy. The main goal of the academy was to produce a firebender who could master the forgotten art of Blue Fire. For the public the academy was a prestigious school for young firebenders. But the darkness that was within, changed Zeshins life forever.
During his first year in the academy Zeshin met his first friend. A young boy from a small family of a common soldier. His father had died in a small operation in the seas of the fire nation, fighting pirates. The boy was cheerful and full of energy. They became really close. The hopes of the Bluefire Master were very high for Zeshin but because during his first 2 years, he didn't make any big progress, they thought that his friendship is holding him back. The Master arranged a duel between Zeshin and his friend, where he told him to go all out, even cripple the boy if needed. Zeshin won convincingly, leaving no chance to his opponent, but he didn't follow the orders of his master. In the next morning the boy had disappeared. Zeshin was told that he left the academy, but he knew the truth, his friend was probably dead.
The thought that he might be responsible for his only friends dead, was following him for the next 3 years of the academy, impregnating darkness in his hearth, darkness that led to countless sleepless nights. Combined with the hellish training that the master was putting him through, and punishing him heavily every time he couldn't complete a task or exercise, the darkness started to grow, reminding him of the unfair training his father was making him do every day although he was just a child. Soon enough the darkness have consumed him completely, and he was scarred, he felt a cocktail of emotions he couldn't understand, and one desire that he was terrified of, the desire to kill, the desire to kill his master, the desire to kill everyone at the academy who didn't wanted to be his friends because they were scared of him, the desire to kill his father. He was the hopeful of his generation of students, he was progressing faster than he ever did before, but he didn't feel happy.
When he was 16, his father died, there was a big rebellion from the Phoenix Kingdom citizens, the biggest one until now, and his father was summoned to assist in the suppression. An earthbender managed to crush his leg and ultimately kill him. When Zeshin went to his own fathers funeral, he didn't feel anything, for the first time any emotion had left him, he was looking at his fathers own body, bruised and deformed, with missing foot, and didn't feel anything. He wasn't happy, nor he was sad. That's when he finally realized that the darkness will never leave him. That if he wants to continue his life, he has to learn to live at peace with his darkness, to control it, and make it a weapon. The hopes of the Bluefire academy to make him the perfect fire nation soldier, were finally realized. But he still couldn't produce blue fire.
At 18 years old he left the Bluefire Academy, still not able to bend blue fire. He was the hope of his generation, and now he was the failure of his generation. His next stop would be the Fire Nation Military Academy, where he would get ready for his life as a soldier. Every other feeling left him, but he still could feel his pride for being a Fire Nation, he still wanted to live and die for his nation.
He quickly became one of the best students in the academy, his knowledge of military strategy, combined with his intelligence and cunning put him at the top of all studies. In the academy he discovered his new fascination - War games. War games were, games played on the strategist board, recreating battles, and putting two tacticians in a battle of risk and domination. Zeshin was incredibly good at them, almost no student in the entire academy could challenge him. According to all of his teachers he was heading towards a bright military future, proving his name. During his first year of the academy, Zeshin put his firebending studies on the background, he was preoccupied with becoming a great leader and tactician. He thought that he didn't need the firebending, he had failed in his desire to master blue flames, and perhaps it was too late for him to keep trying. Other study Zeshin was enjoying a lot, was his meditation and spiritual studies, he could finally calm his mind and tame his darkness for a while, he knew that he won't be able to get rid of it, but he thought he will be able to conceal it, and even control it.
During his second year, just when he was close to driving himself to the peace he so strongly desired, something that would change his life happened. A young boy, from a noble family, bended blue fire. The boy was in his second year of the Bluefire Academy and he managed to to what Zeshin couldn't do for six. For the first time in a long period Zeshin felt anger, he thought he had lost that emotion, but now it was stronger than ever. He quickly wanted to meet the boy, he wanted to prove to himself and everybody else that the blue fire is meaningless, that it doesn't make you stronger. He went to the academy, to meet the prodigy, and challenged him to an Agni Kai. His opponent was fierce, he used his fire in a beautiful way, almost like it was an extension to his body, but his lack of experience, finally became apparent, and Zeshin defeated him. He went back to the academy with the feeling that he had proven himself. He was the stronger one. Or so he thought.
Year later, the young firebending prodigy, "the master of the blue flames", was accepted into the military academy, 2 years earlier than he was supposed to. And the first thing he did was find Zeshin and challenge him to another Agni Kai. Zeshin accepted without hesitation, thinking that, even if the opponent became stronger, he had grown too. This time he was crushed, the boy was so much stronger, like he had trained for several years, not just one year. But instead of ridiculing the person he just defeated, he offered him a friendship. The prodigys name was Kamogawa Khan.
Although Zeshin didn't like Khan at first, his insistence, finally broke the trust issues, and they became friends. Not only any friends, Zeshin grew closer to Khan than he ever did to any other person in his life. He called Khan his brother. But one thought never left him during their time together, he was jealous, jealous of Khans abilities as a firebender. Khan had accomplished the one thing Zeshin wanted the most. Even though he didn't realized at the time, Zeshins darkness grew stronger by his jealousy, controlling it was even harder. Although Khan was a prodigious firebender, he was always second to Zeshin in any other study, his ability in War games was high but it was never enough to beat his brother. On the other side Zeshin was never able to defeat him in a firebending battle. As their friendship strengthened, the more the grip of Zeshins darkness loosened. For the first time in years he felt affection towards another human being. For the first time he felt like he can be normal again. Although he knew that his darkness would follow him forever, for the first time he thought it could be tamed.
Once he felt like he can't control his darkened heart and mind, Zeshin tried to meditate on it, try to bend the darkness within himself, try to control it, and use it. Perhaps that was the reason he couldn't bend the blue fire before, he couldn't take control of the darkness, he couldn't channel it, and use it as a weapon. As the meditation became more intense, he started having visions. Visions of other dimension he thought. He was seeing a comet, splitting the skies, flying with an amazing power. He could feel something, he could feel the energy that this comet was containing. The more he meditated on his darkness, the more clear the visions were becoming, but he felt more disconnected from his physical form. His own darkness was consuming him, but the power of the comet was so tempting, he felt like it promises him a power that he would've never imagined having. Soon he felt like his whole being is turning into a trinity of power - His Spirit+His Darkness+The Comet. He felt like he could draw power from it, but he was losing himself in the process.
In one of his more intense meditation sessions, he was lost into the visions of the comet, for almost 4 days, he forgot about the outside world, and his physical body was slowly losing its life. That's when Khan found him, worried about him. It took Khan a long time before he could snap his brother out of it, when he finally did, Zenshin was feeling eerie, like he lost a big chunk of his life. During his recovery, for days, when he closed his eyes he could see the comet. His darkness almost consumed his entirety, but a ray of light was there, to stop him from going completely insane, to stop him losing his life. That ray of light was his friend Khan.
After his recovery, he could still feel the power of the comet he was seeing. He stopped doing the meditation sessions, because he feared that they would ultimately kill him. But he felt a strange power inside of him, one that he never felt before, one which nature was unknown to him. The Zouzins comet was a legend told by old and young firebenders alike. Legend of a comet that augments the power of any firebender. During the time of its arrival, firebenders experience a huge boost in power. Was it possible that he was seeing this comet? And he was drawing power from it ? He never confirmed that, but at the age of 23, he finally bended his first blue fire. He wasn't happy, perhaps the darkness was too strong for him to feel any happiness, or the comet was telling him it was only natural that he would do it. But now he had stronger spiritual connection with his own demons than ever.
When Zenshin was about to graduate the academy, at age of 24, the academy was visited by General Iroh, scouting for new talents, he had heard about Zenshin, and his incredible tactical mind. Zenshin admired the general, and had studied many of his battles, so he wanted to meet him. They had a long conversation, and played a few War games designed by Zenshin himself. He defeated the general in all of them. Iroh was impressed with the talent that was sitting before him, so he offered him a low officer position in a division of the Fire Nation army of his choice, once he graduates. Zeshin chose the Navy, the one that he thought it had the biggest tactics and logistics of all.
After 4 months Zeshin finally graduated from the Fire Nation Millitary Academy, he had done anything he ever wanted in life, but he paid the prize tenfold. Finally a master of the blue fire, becoming part of the Fire Nation Navy, and ready to do his duty for his nation, he had no regrets, his jealousy of Khan had disappeared, and their connection was stronger then ever. But it was the time they finally split up. They split up with the promise that they'll meet again as highly ranked Fire Nation Soldiers. Zeshin went on, not only keeping his promise, but he became one of the youngest people to ever become an Admiral, his prowess in logistics and strategy, had proven useful in countless operations against pirates and pillagers in the Fire Nation seas.
Six years after they split up, Khan finally called for Zeshin. He wanted to talk to him for something very important that he "had been holding up for very long". Once they met Khan told him that he is going to leave the army. He told him that he was tired of the Fire Nations and Phoenix Kingdoms oppression, and that he will use his abilities to help the people. It was a shock to Zeshin, his own best friend, his own brother, with whom he swore that he will live and die for the Fire Nation, was talking such a non-sense. The only person that kept him from destroying himself was now going to fight his own nation, he was going to fight Zeshin himself. He was crushed and disappointed, but this didn't stop him from reacting fast and trying to arrest the traitor. He engaged in the first fight he had with Khan in years, he had forgotten how strong Khan was, he had forgotten about the monster he is facing. And he was destroyed, Khan was stronger than ever, and his determination was real, he fought to kill. But in the end he didn't finish the job. He left his brother lying on the ground, and ran away. Khan was a traitor now. It would've been easier if he didn't tell Zeshin about his plan, but he did, and now he was a prey for the Fire nation. And Zeshin couldn't forgive his brothers betrayal. He was going to be the hunter. -
[Gender: Male| Age: 23 | Nationality: Earth Nation, Phoenix Kingdom]
Name: Tai Long| Pinyin: Tài lóng| Chinese characters: 太龙
Personality description: Tai Long is rather unsophisticated young man of questionable morals. Although he lacks in some basic social skills, due to the details of his upbringing, he quickly makes up for that by virtue of his violent cold and calculating personality as well as his rational decision-making.
Traits
All of the standard earthbending techniques (including the Dai-Li specialty: Earth gauntlet and Rock handing), trained painfully many times. The latter means that using any of the standard techniques comes as natural to him as walking, requiring very low amount of concentration and allowing for him to react with these abilities as naturally and speedily as he would have had he used his own body.
Remote earthbenging: If an he is suspended from the ground, but is aware that there is earth somewhere near, the earthbender can focus his energies and bend that earth out of his physical reach out of sheer concentration.
Earth bomb
Earth wave: the ability of raising a large wave of earth, sometimes as high as 3 meters, which can be used both as transportation, or to knock around, since it moves at great speed. Nevertheless, this technique requires a great concentration to perform.
Magnetization - One of the fundamentals of the Dai-Li training is to be able to magnetize earth particles, such as his earth shoes, in order to make them stick to to ceilings or walls and move around them as easy as over earth itself.
Seismic sense - because of the circumstances of his earthbending education, Tai Long couldn't help but to some extend pick up this ability, as he had had to find his way in pitch black tunnels. This ability, however, is quite weak in him, especially when compared to the others and he wouldn't normally even consider it an ability.
Metalbending - (to be developed through the course of the RP) the ability to bend metal, similarly to earth. I imagine him developing this ability during a very clutch situation where it is absolutely necessary that he does something to either save or free himself.
Dust cloud - breaking off a rock in pieces, he can command the dust to remain aroudn a certain area, covering it in a veil and decreasing the vision of everyone inside
Relations & Relationships
Lu Long - father
Fei Long - mother (deceased)
Yizhou Long - older sister, perhaps the only person he knows so far, that he could call a friend and really likes. Ironically, she would also be the first person to hate what Tai Long had grown up to become
Xu Wei, High Agent of the Dai Li [NPC] - Tai Long respects (or even admires) him for his sly and cunning mind, but in the same time hates him as a person and wants to surpass him, believing himself to be greater
Other Dai Li members [NPCs] thinks they are decent benders, but generally looks down on them and frowns on their abilities
History
Tai Long was born into the family of the wealthy Earth Nation merchant Lu Long. The latter had been a poor kitchenhand early in his childhood and spend some quality time bringing supplies to chefs of famous restaurants. Using his keen intellect, Lu Long listened and memorised all sorts of expensive spices and their prices, as negotiated with the dealers. One day, luck smiled at him, as he was approached by a bunch of criminals at a backward alley, asking him to undo the doorknobs of the restaurant's backdoor, so they could come in in the night and beat the money out of the owners, who lived on the second flood of the same building. Lu Long did as the gang asked, in spite of the measly few coins that they gave him. His real prize was something else - the very same evening, he waited for the criminals to be occupied with the owners, snack into the warehouse and grabbed all the most precious ingredients and spices, disappearing into the nights. As the city guards were busy investigating the more serious breaking in, Lu Long was quick to sell off his catch, before anyone was really aware of it. With the small fortune he had acquired, the he started his spice-trading business which was quite successful. Some say, nowadays, that his success is partially due to him bailing out his previous criminal associates and employing their services at securing competitive advances from time to time. Whatever the case, the spice business was so successful that, in fact, as Lu Long amassed quite a fortune, he managed to marry off to a woman names Fei, the daughter of an impoverished former earth nation nobleman, Qin Sun.
From this marriage, Lu Long had two children, a daugher they called Yizhou and, four years later, a boy they called Tai. Unfortunately, Fei died as Tai Long was only three, so he has no real recollections of her, apart from what he is told - a kind and loving mother. Tai Long had a pretty good childhood - he never needed anything and lived in relatively stable environment. His father had hired private tutors from him and demanded high results and, as soon as he was old enough to show he was a bender, his father considered it advantageous to make him have lessons with his sister's private bending tutor. In only a few months of training, the young boy not only surpassed his older sibling but also did it with such ease, that it was as if the bending styles came as natural to him as walking. It came to the point that he would earth swim his way to wherever he was going.
His father, of course, didn't even need his tutor to inform him that his son was a prodigy - it was all quite obvious to everyone in the household. And for that reason, it was forbidden for all of them, servants and family members alike, to even mention it. Tai Long's earthbeing lessons were also ceased, to his great pain and disappointment. No matter how much him and his sister pleaded, Lu was adamant - Tai wouldn't learn or do earthbeing. He would concnetrate on his studies and help his father in running the business instead. While most considered Lu's decision to be stupid, he was aware, thanks to some of his (already latent) contacts that highly-talented boys in their early teens were headhunted by the Phoenix King's Dai Li, never to see their families again. Naturally, Lu didn't want such fate for his only son, so he yelled at and even beat up Yizhou, when he caught her showing advanced techniques to Tai.
Funny enough, men often meet their fate the very ways they try to avoid it. Tai had ample free time, in which he was allowed to go wherever he wants and his walks often led him outside the Fourth wall. In the dusty plains, he encountered what would shape his destiny and abilities alike, a colony of bangermoles. Well, he encountered an entrance to a tunnel, to be precise, and following his natural curiosity, he dove right into it. The animals somehow showed affinity towards him and him bringing some tasty sweep potatoes to them the next day surely helped speed up the building of a relationship. The animals bended earth in the same manner he did - naturally, not conforming to a certain structure or technique, simply going with the flows, doing whatever is necessary at a certain situation. By simply spending time with them, Tai Long realised he had found his best earthbending teachers as of yet.
That went on for a few years, until one fateful evening, Tai Long and his sister were asked by Lu to go pick up a shipping of spices at a village not too far away from the capital. As they approached the village, they noticed people running away and reached the center of the place, just to hear a bald earthbender claim that the whole place would be crumbled down, as a punishment for villagers not paying him and his men a ransom. Tai was mindful of his father's prohibition and would have probably not acted, but his sister was a different story. Inheriting much more of her mother's traits than the questionable morality of her dad, her sense of justice simply made her engage the man in combat. Seeing his sister getting overwhelmed, Tai simply bended the earth underneath the man's feet, making him fall and lose balance, enough for Yizhou to abuse the chance. The bandit, however, managed to still escape, despite getting entrapped in earth by her beinding. Him and his three associates were furious at what has happened and bended a huge landslide from the nearby hill, to cover the whole village with all the people living in it. Tai knew he had to act, breaking the stampeding landmass into three parts and stopping two of them with earthen walls of his own, he simply "held off" the last part from sliding over the houses and dropped it over the edge of the populated area. What was even more impressive, he had to struggle for control over the landslide with the other four seasoned benders throughout the whole time. The men attacked him as soon as they had lost the battle for the landslide, each striking from a different side. Being absolutely engulfed by the thrill of the battle and already oblivious ot his father's command, Tai Long signaled Yizhou to stand aside and proceeded to not only hold his group, but also dismantle his opponents, one by one.
The occasion had begun so famous that for a couple of days it was the most hotly-debated news in the capitol. Lu Long was both proud of his son and terrified. His worst fears soon materialized, as two Dai-Li agents showed up at his doorstep, to ask if he had a fourteen year-old boy. Despite his sturn denial, the two men just marched in, asking Tai Long to come with them. The scene was quite dramatic - his sister screaming and begging, to this day Tai Long still suspects she blames herself for his fate, his father yelling, neighbours coming to watch... and him - just quietly nodding, before following the two men. To be honest, he was actually kinda willing to go, he didn't want the life of a merchant and planned to enlist in the military at some point either way, though he never got to say that to his dad and his sister had urged him to reconsider.
Once inside the Dai-Li organisation, Tai Long was subjected to an insanely hard training schedule, both to break him and train him. The first thing never happened, though. For someone who though of bending and breathing as one and the same, whom was forbidden to earthbend for the largest part of his life, the training that made others faint in exhaustion was a bliss. It came to the point, where Tai Long shocked even his superiors with unyielding devotion. But the real chock came when combat practice began - with supervisors not bothering to control or limit his abilities, but instead encourage destructive behavior, Tai Long would simply dismantle other recruits, so much that sometimes they had to be healed for a couple of days until they recovered. The supervisors would eventually start putting three or four benders of different elements against him, just to keep him in check.
Xu Wei, High agent of the Dai Li at that time, came to hear of the prodigious talent of the recruit they had acquired and decided to try it himself. Naturally, the more experienced man quickly beat Tai Long, which was quite an astonishing even in the latter's life, since it was his only defeat so far. Nevertheless, Xu decided that the normal training was obsolete for Tai Long and appointed him in fulltime service, while himself training him in some of the finer arts of the Dai Li including advanced forms of bending. Xu considered it a waste to keep such a talent in the training program for long and was certain that the best place to train a prodigy was the real world. This meant that for the year to come whenever there was any specific work to be done, either individual or group assignment, he would send Tai Long, in a form of a steep learning curve that aimed to make him into one of the finest of the finest Dai Li operatives. Through these missions, Tai Long not only didn't shy away from, but also gained an appetite for violence, which somehow only complemented his skills.
Miscellaneous
All things considered, Tai Long's life so far has been one of ambition and hunger for mastery of the bending arts. Repressed at earlier stages, only to later be nurtured and encouraged, his allegiance lies with the Phoenix Kingdom and the Dai Li, the organisation that allowed him to do what he likes as much as he likes. A violent and driven man, there are little lines he cannot or is unwilling to cross.
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◊ Resources ◊
[Useful Links: IC, Avatar Wiki, Watch Avatar]
[Roleplay Theme (Brother my Brother by Blessid Union of Souls)]
[Useful Links: IC, Avatar Wiki, Watch Avatar]
[Roleplay Theme (Brother my Brother by Blessid Union of Souls)]
- Chi and Bending
- Rules
- Character Sheet Template
- Altered Timeline
- Reference Maps
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This is a quick mock up of the current status of the Avatar world. Includes rough boundaries and a better view of what Ba Sing Se will look like with its fourth wall. It is poor quality, but I made it quick just for reference sake.
Although this maps lacks edition, it is an effective reference to places and the use of color to display geographic climate and references to most major cities and places (most of which still exist) are useful.
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"The Foggy Swamp Tribe is a small, peaceful group of backwater people residing in the marshlands of the southwestern Earth Kingdom. They believe in equality for all genders and all benders and non-benders alike, but they remain uneducated about matters in the world at large. Though the Foggy Swamp can hardly be called a nation unto itself, it is the last location in the world to truly maintain autonomy from the Phoenix Kingdom. This is due to their being so deeply tucked away in the Foggy Swamp that neither knew of the other's existence. It wasn't until the Phoenix Kingdom began a deforestation project on the Swamp that awareness came. Because of the dense maze of flora and the superstitions about monstrous Spirits that protect the place, soldiers have not been able to access the Tribesmen easily enough to force their surrender. Unfortunately for the Swamp natives, their numbers are too low and their weapons aren't sophisticated enough to altogether halt the destruction of their homeland." — Thought Manifest, assistant designer
