Post by Qing-Yu on Dec 31, 2010 0:10:47 GMT -5
Full Name: Qing-Yu, daughter of Amarok
Gender: Female
Age: 19
Birthplace: Northern Fortress
Loyalty: Water Tribe
Status: Immigrant; she was born to a prestigious Northern family, but she left the Water Tribe after the end of the War and moved to the Fire Nation, and is trying to find work as a healer and mercenary/bounty hunter.
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 142 lbs.
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Blue
Distinguishing Features: She is slender, fit, and quite pretty; but none of her features are outstanding. Unless one counts the birthmark on her back, but nobody ever sees that.
Appearance: Qing-Yu is slightly tall, mainly due to her long limbs. She is lithe and athletic, not really muscular but obviously fit. Her skin is fair, paler than the average Water Tribesmen, and without a blemish except for a blue blotch in the small of her back.
Her face is narrow, with a pointed chin. Her dominant feature -- probably her most attractive feature as well -- are her large eyes, deep blue in colour. Her hair is black, and straight. Most of it is pulled back behind her ears, loosely tied with a white ribbon at the nape of her neck and allowed to fall to her shoulder blades. However, two locks fall in front of her ears, bound by silver rings at the level of her eyes. She almost always wears a silver fillet, holding a sapphire on her forehead; short bangs fall to either side of the gem, framing it while hiding the band.
Her outfit is always based on a light, sky blue shirt and matching trousers, tucked into black leather boots and gloves (reaching her knees and mid forearms respectively. Over this she ordinarily wears a tunic, slit down the sides from the waist and falling to her mid-calves. Most commonly they are blue, but she has a few black ones, and most have decorative designs in gold or silver.
When on the job as a mercenary, she wears a hardened leather cuirass over the tunic, with an attached leather skirt to protect her upper legs, coloured dark blue. Her shoulders are protected by black leather spaulders. Over either tunic or armour, she wears a strong silk sash around her waist, tied in a bow behind her with the ends trailing down. She has three -- plain black, and ones with gold or silver stitching to coordinate with her tunics. In addition to her fillet, she normally also wears a silver chain with a sapphire pendant around her neck.
Personality: Qing-Yu is a fairly cheerful and confident young woman. While she misses her childhood home, she does not dwell on it, nor regret her decision. After resolving a conflict between her upbringing and the norms of her Tribe, she is quite comfortable with who she is, and while she tries to be respectful of her elders and tradition is not dominated by them.
She is not overtly confrontational -- she does not tend to start fights. On the other hand she is not shy about her own thoughts, and will defend both herself and her point of view. She is strong-willed and intelligent, and is also capable of using female charm to get her way (though she is a little of a tomboy).
Her views on the world are fairly simple. She still feels a bond of loyalty to her homeland, but she has more-or-less adopted the Fire Nation and views Zuko as her rightful lord. Her basic goal is to support Zuko through her mercenary work (she abhors the idea of actually joining the Fire Nation military, both because of the bad associations and because she does not want to be under another's authority). She would lay her life on the line to prevent the return of Ozai or anyone like him to power.
Family:
- Amarok, father, deceased
- Rana, mother, deceased
History: In his youth, Qing-Yu's father left the Northern Fortress and traveled the Earth Kingdom. Unable to bend, he became a weapons-master, selling his skills to the Earth Kingdom or anybody who would fight the Fire Nation. Not only did he develop unparalleled talent, he also picked up quite a few odd trinkets and a much wider appreciation of the world than the rest of the insular Tribesman.
However, he grew tired of this life, and in his late thirties he returned to the Tribe and settled down. He married a younger woman, and after a few years they had a child … a daughter. Amarok had really wanted a son, for he desired to pass down what he had learned. However, he did love his daughter; naming her after a legendary heroine of the Earth Kingdom and resolving to train her in self-defense no matter what the Tribe's customs were.
As time passed, and it seemed that they would have no more children, Amarok taught his daughter more and more, passing on his knowledge to her. As he was one of, if not the best, warrior in the Northern Fortress, no one dared openly criticize him. Qing-Yu did suffer for it, though; she was tacitly shunned by the families of her peers for her tomboyish ways and foreign name. Despite her cheerful demeanour, she had only one girl who was truly her friend.
She didn't spend all her time with her father, of course. Her mother did instruct her in more feminine ways, and when at the age of five she manifested waterbending she was sent to Yugoda to learn healing. She became fairly proficient in the healing arts, and she would manifest a rare compassion when called upon to use them. However, the ability was not enough to save her mother from a devastating illness that swept through the Fortress, and Rana died when Qing-Yu was sixteen.
Life continued after that, but it was not as easy. Amarok became far more grim, growing even more estranged from the rest of the Tribe and often falling into dark moods. Qing-Yu did her best to cheer him, but she herself felt a growing wistfulness. She would have been happy enough to make her life in the North Fortress, but it seemed even more that the Tribe did not want her.
Then, as her nineteenth birthday approached, the Avatar arrived in the North Pole. It was a cause for rejoicing, but he also brought change with him. The Southern waterbender who claimed to be his teacher demanded that Pakku train her as if she were a boy. A good many Northerners, men and women, were outraged and insulted by this, and oddly enough Qing-Yu was one of them. Martial waterbending was for men, healing for women -- that was how the world was. Qing-Yu was not unaware of the paradox of her beliefs, however, and it distressed her to no end.
She soon had something far worse than an identity crisis to deal with, though. Zhao was hot on the Avatar's heels, and soon the Fortress was under attack. Amarok, perhaps seeing a way out of his depression, took the front lines. In the panic caused by the lunar eclipse, he was slain. Victory was granted the North, thanks to Aang's intervention, but Qing-Yu was left an orphan and practically friendless.
Now, Amarok had been quite wealthy. Qing-Yu would have been set up for life -- but she couldn't inherit as long as there was a male heir. And there was: a distant cousin. Fortunately, although a bit of a wastrel, he was quite generous and good-natured. He offered to marry Qing-Yu and provide for her, and when she declined he let her stay on without pressing her.
She was not content to just "stay on", however. Without her father to protect, the ostracism grew even worse. She fell into depression herself, spending the dark months of the Arctic winter contemplating her life, her place in the world, and her future.
When spring finally came, she had made a decision. She would not worry about what others thought of her; she would make her own life, with her father's teachings as her guide. She began gathering information about the War, intending to follow her father's footsteps and fight the Fire Nation in the Earth Kingdom. Thanks to her brother's largesse, she was able to purchase a ship and hire a crew to transport her and sufficient funds to set her up in her desired position. However, by the time she found enough men willing to man the ship, the War was over.
She modified her plans slightly. Knowing that the new Fire Lord would need support in establishing his rule (and secretly admiring the strength of the Fire Nation she had seen displayed, and just maybe attracted by the Fire Nation's egalitarianism) she decided to head to Kazan instead. Since there was no overt danger, she was able to take along many more of her possessions, saving a good deal of her inheritance from her cousin's profligacy.
She arrived safely in the Fire Nation capital and was able to purchase a nice enough house in the suburbs. She was bemused to find her predictions about the Fire Nation's instability much more accurate than she wanted. At least, as the Fire Nation careens towards civil war, she has no shortage of work.
Skills:
- Fencing: Qing-Yu is a master swordswoman, with or without her buckler.
- Waterbending: While a fairly powerful waterbender, Qing-Yu is completely ignorant of fighting techniques and is perfectly happy that way. She is, however, a proficient healer, and carries a flask of clean water for medical purposes.
- Spear: While she never practiced with the spear as much as with her beloved jian, her father was an excellent spearman and insisted she at least learn how to use the weapon.
Weaponry: Jian: Qing-Yu is never without the slim jian that her father commissioned for her. The blade is three feet long, and the hilt five inches, including the wing-patterned crossguard and pommel ring. The hilt is gilded, and a turquoise set on either side at the crux of blade, guard and grip. The grip itself in bound in black leather, and a blue tassel is affixed to the pommel ring.
Buckler: Less of a buckler, perhaps, and more of a small shield; almost rectangular in shape, with rounded corners, it one foot by sixteen inches. There is a single grip, which when held causes the long portion of the shield to cover the forearm. The shield is made of light steel, and reinforced on the inside by ribs of sturdier metal. The rim and boss in the centre are silvered, while the rest of the outer surface is painted blue.
Spear: A five foot wooden haft and ten inch steel head make up this simple instrument; it also features a steel counterbalance and a tassle where head meets haft, dyed blue. It is a lighter version of one of her father's most treasured spears. She does not often use it, but will carry it when she's expecting to fight a lot of foes in an open place.
Strengths:
- Charming: Qing-Yu is quite friendly and engaging. She does have some feminine graces, as well, despite her general reputation as a tomboy.
- Confident: Qing-Yu is self-assured and unshakeable. She is not easily frightened, or thrown into doubt. Her confidence is inspiring, making her a natural leader.
- Quick: In battle, Qing-Yu's most devastating weapon is her speed. Agile and light on her feet, she wields her jian with such dexterity that she can dazzle her foes.
Weaknesses:
- Impatient: When actually engaged in doing something, Qing-Yu is quite focused and calm. However, when forced to wait, she quickly loses patience and may act rashly.
- Lightweight: The flip side of being so slender and agile is that she has very little mass or strength. Her blows have little stopping power, and she could be literally knocked aside by a heavier opponent.
- Overconfident: Qing-Yu's faith in her own abilities can sometimes extend too far. She does not normally underestimate an opponent, but she does overestimate herself.
Your Name: Flammifleure or Vulpes.
Other Characters: Masamune, Kelaj, Ozai, Ren, Hei Li and Long Feng.
Gender: Female
Age: 19
Birthplace: Northern Fortress
Loyalty: Water Tribe
Status: Immigrant; she was born to a prestigious Northern family, but she left the Water Tribe after the end of the War and moved to the Fire Nation, and is trying to find work as a healer and mercenary/bounty hunter.
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 142 lbs.
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Blue
Distinguishing Features: She is slender, fit, and quite pretty; but none of her features are outstanding. Unless one counts the birthmark on her back, but nobody ever sees that.
Appearance: Qing-Yu is slightly tall, mainly due to her long limbs. She is lithe and athletic, not really muscular but obviously fit. Her skin is fair, paler than the average Water Tribesmen, and without a blemish except for a blue blotch in the small of her back.
Her face is narrow, with a pointed chin. Her dominant feature -- probably her most attractive feature as well -- are her large eyes, deep blue in colour. Her hair is black, and straight. Most of it is pulled back behind her ears, loosely tied with a white ribbon at the nape of her neck and allowed to fall to her shoulder blades. However, two locks fall in front of her ears, bound by silver rings at the level of her eyes. She almost always wears a silver fillet, holding a sapphire on her forehead; short bangs fall to either side of the gem, framing it while hiding the band.
Her outfit is always based on a light, sky blue shirt and matching trousers, tucked into black leather boots and gloves (reaching her knees and mid forearms respectively. Over this she ordinarily wears a tunic, slit down the sides from the waist and falling to her mid-calves. Most commonly they are blue, but she has a few black ones, and most have decorative designs in gold or silver.
When on the job as a mercenary, she wears a hardened leather cuirass over the tunic, with an attached leather skirt to protect her upper legs, coloured dark blue. Her shoulders are protected by black leather spaulders. Over either tunic or armour, she wears a strong silk sash around her waist, tied in a bow behind her with the ends trailing down. She has three -- plain black, and ones with gold or silver stitching to coordinate with her tunics. In addition to her fillet, she normally also wears a silver chain with a sapphire pendant around her neck.
Personality: Qing-Yu is a fairly cheerful and confident young woman. While she misses her childhood home, she does not dwell on it, nor regret her decision. After resolving a conflict between her upbringing and the norms of her Tribe, she is quite comfortable with who she is, and while she tries to be respectful of her elders and tradition is not dominated by them.
She is not overtly confrontational -- she does not tend to start fights. On the other hand she is not shy about her own thoughts, and will defend both herself and her point of view. She is strong-willed and intelligent, and is also capable of using female charm to get her way (though she is a little of a tomboy).
Her views on the world are fairly simple. She still feels a bond of loyalty to her homeland, but she has more-or-less adopted the Fire Nation and views Zuko as her rightful lord. Her basic goal is to support Zuko through her mercenary work (she abhors the idea of actually joining the Fire Nation military, both because of the bad associations and because she does not want to be under another's authority). She would lay her life on the line to prevent the return of Ozai or anyone like him to power.
Family:
- Amarok, father, deceased
- Rana, mother, deceased
History: In his youth, Qing-Yu's father left the Northern Fortress and traveled the Earth Kingdom. Unable to bend, he became a weapons-master, selling his skills to the Earth Kingdom or anybody who would fight the Fire Nation. Not only did he develop unparalleled talent, he also picked up quite a few odd trinkets and a much wider appreciation of the world than the rest of the insular Tribesman.
However, he grew tired of this life, and in his late thirties he returned to the Tribe and settled down. He married a younger woman, and after a few years they had a child … a daughter. Amarok had really wanted a son, for he desired to pass down what he had learned. However, he did love his daughter; naming her after a legendary heroine of the Earth Kingdom and resolving to train her in self-defense no matter what the Tribe's customs were.
As time passed, and it seemed that they would have no more children, Amarok taught his daughter more and more, passing on his knowledge to her. As he was one of, if not the best, warrior in the Northern Fortress, no one dared openly criticize him. Qing-Yu did suffer for it, though; she was tacitly shunned by the families of her peers for her tomboyish ways and foreign name. Despite her cheerful demeanour, she had only one girl who was truly her friend.
She didn't spend all her time with her father, of course. Her mother did instruct her in more feminine ways, and when at the age of five she manifested waterbending she was sent to Yugoda to learn healing. She became fairly proficient in the healing arts, and she would manifest a rare compassion when called upon to use them. However, the ability was not enough to save her mother from a devastating illness that swept through the Fortress, and Rana died when Qing-Yu was sixteen.
Life continued after that, but it was not as easy. Amarok became far more grim, growing even more estranged from the rest of the Tribe and often falling into dark moods. Qing-Yu did her best to cheer him, but she herself felt a growing wistfulness. She would have been happy enough to make her life in the North Fortress, but it seemed even more that the Tribe did not want her.
Then, as her nineteenth birthday approached, the Avatar arrived in the North Pole. It was a cause for rejoicing, but he also brought change with him. The Southern waterbender who claimed to be his teacher demanded that Pakku train her as if she were a boy. A good many Northerners, men and women, were outraged and insulted by this, and oddly enough Qing-Yu was one of them. Martial waterbending was for men, healing for women -- that was how the world was. Qing-Yu was not unaware of the paradox of her beliefs, however, and it distressed her to no end.
She soon had something far worse than an identity crisis to deal with, though. Zhao was hot on the Avatar's heels, and soon the Fortress was under attack. Amarok, perhaps seeing a way out of his depression, took the front lines. In the panic caused by the lunar eclipse, he was slain. Victory was granted the North, thanks to Aang's intervention, but Qing-Yu was left an orphan and practically friendless.
Now, Amarok had been quite wealthy. Qing-Yu would have been set up for life -- but she couldn't inherit as long as there was a male heir. And there was: a distant cousin. Fortunately, although a bit of a wastrel, he was quite generous and good-natured. He offered to marry Qing-Yu and provide for her, and when she declined he let her stay on without pressing her.
She was not content to just "stay on", however. Without her father to protect, the ostracism grew even worse. She fell into depression herself, spending the dark months of the Arctic winter contemplating her life, her place in the world, and her future.
When spring finally came, she had made a decision. She would not worry about what others thought of her; she would make her own life, with her father's teachings as her guide. She began gathering information about the War, intending to follow her father's footsteps and fight the Fire Nation in the Earth Kingdom. Thanks to her brother's largesse, she was able to purchase a ship and hire a crew to transport her and sufficient funds to set her up in her desired position. However, by the time she found enough men willing to man the ship, the War was over.
She modified her plans slightly. Knowing that the new Fire Lord would need support in establishing his rule (and secretly admiring the strength of the Fire Nation she had seen displayed, and just maybe attracted by the Fire Nation's egalitarianism) she decided to head to Kazan instead. Since there was no overt danger, she was able to take along many more of her possessions, saving a good deal of her inheritance from her cousin's profligacy.
She arrived safely in the Fire Nation capital and was able to purchase a nice enough house in the suburbs. She was bemused to find her predictions about the Fire Nation's instability much more accurate than she wanted. At least, as the Fire Nation careens towards civil war, she has no shortage of work.
Skills:
- Fencing: Qing-Yu is a master swordswoman, with or without her buckler.
- Waterbending: While a fairly powerful waterbender, Qing-Yu is completely ignorant of fighting techniques and is perfectly happy that way. She is, however, a proficient healer, and carries a flask of clean water for medical purposes.
- Spear: While she never practiced with the spear as much as with her beloved jian, her father was an excellent spearman and insisted she at least learn how to use the weapon.
Weaponry: Jian: Qing-Yu is never without the slim jian that her father commissioned for her. The blade is three feet long, and the hilt five inches, including the wing-patterned crossguard and pommel ring. The hilt is gilded, and a turquoise set on either side at the crux of blade, guard and grip. The grip itself in bound in black leather, and a blue tassel is affixed to the pommel ring.
Buckler: Less of a buckler, perhaps, and more of a small shield; almost rectangular in shape, with rounded corners, it one foot by sixteen inches. There is a single grip, which when held causes the long portion of the shield to cover the forearm. The shield is made of light steel, and reinforced on the inside by ribs of sturdier metal. The rim and boss in the centre are silvered, while the rest of the outer surface is painted blue.
Spear: A five foot wooden haft and ten inch steel head make up this simple instrument; it also features a steel counterbalance and a tassle where head meets haft, dyed blue. It is a lighter version of one of her father's most treasured spears. She does not often use it, but will carry it when she's expecting to fight a lot of foes in an open place.
Strengths:
- Charming: Qing-Yu is quite friendly and engaging. She does have some feminine graces, as well, despite her general reputation as a tomboy.
- Confident: Qing-Yu is self-assured and unshakeable. She is not easily frightened, or thrown into doubt. Her confidence is inspiring, making her a natural leader.
- Quick: In battle, Qing-Yu's most devastating weapon is her speed. Agile and light on her feet, she wields her jian with such dexterity that she can dazzle her foes.
Weaknesses:
- Impatient: When actually engaged in doing something, Qing-Yu is quite focused and calm. However, when forced to wait, she quickly loses patience and may act rashly.
- Lightweight: The flip side of being so slender and agile is that she has very little mass or strength. Her blows have little stopping power, and she could be literally knocked aside by a heavier opponent.
- Overconfident: Qing-Yu's faith in her own abilities can sometimes extend too far. She does not normally underestimate an opponent, but she does overestimate herself.
Your Name: Flammifleure or Vulpes.
Other Characters: Masamune, Kelaj, Ozai, Ren, Hei Li and Long Feng.
