[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/husKSXi.jpg?1[/img][/center] [b][color=ed1c24]Name:[/color][/b] Jin Zoulu [b][color=ed1c24]Date of Birth:[/color][/b] 38 BG [b][color=ed1c24]Description:[/color][/b] A career soldier, Jin is in peak physical condition; tall and lean, his body is filled with hard, utilitarian muscle. His hair is dark and lengthy, styled either in a traditional top-knot or left to hang free; a ridge of grey lines his temples, outing his age for the world to see. He is a handsome man, his jaw strong, his features sharp - though a certain gentleness is evident in his eyes. Scars won in battle mar his flesh, including a handful of healed burn wounds earned during Agni-Kai. [b][color=ed1c24]Skills:[/color][/b] Jin is an exceedingly talented fire bender, exemplified by his rapid rise through the Fire Nation military's ranks: he was, in fact, the second youngest man named Captain in the nation's history. By many standards, he is thought to have mastered the art of fire bending; Jin would insist that no man or woman alive could truly perfect their bending, and that they should forever strive to improve. Of his talents outside of bending, Jin is a trained cavalryman and proficient with a short blade and spear. His talent with martial weapons is nowhere near comparable to his bending prowess, but he recognizes that not every battle can be won by fire. [b][color=ed1c24]Biographical Timeline:[/color][/b] [list] [*][color=9e0b0f]38 BG.[/color] Jin is born in a remote Fire Nation village, Hira'a, the son of two livestock ranchers. [*][color=9e0b0f]33 BG.[/color] A rancher's son, Jin learns how to milk moo-sows, harvest pig chicken eggs, and shear wooly pig wool. He begins to attend Hira'a's single-room schoolhouse. [*][color=9e0b0f]31 BG.[/color] Jin's affinity for firebending manifests; he is sent to Hira'a's single bending master, Tai Zhong, alongside a handful of other young benders. [*][color=9e0b0f]30 BG.[/color] Hailed as the most talented firebending youth in Hira'a, Jin is made Tai Zhong's personal pupil, beginning private lessons with the firebending master. [*][color=9e0b0f]28 BG.[/color] Jin's prowess as a bender advances, and he is given the responsibility of teaching the youngest benders in Hira'a. [*][color=9e0b0f]23 BG.[/color] Now a young man, Jin accompanies Master Zhong to the Capital City on business. He is exposed to the splendor of aristocratic Fire Nation life and the grandeur architecture of the city, and develops a strong desire to leave Hira'a and explore the world. [*][color=9e0b0f]20 BG.[/color] Jin celebrates his eighteenth birthday and is considered a man. Against his father's wishes, Jin enlists in the Fire Nation military when a traveling recruiter visits Hira'a. Within a month he is training in a Fire Nation military academy. [*][color=9e0b0f]19 BG.[/color] Jin graduates from his basic training, improving his firebending and fostering skill with a spear and shield, the pu dao, and komodo rhino riding. On leave before his first deployment, Jin meets Jia, a young performing artist in the Capital City theater; the two are enamored with each other, spending almost every day of his two weeks' leave together. Shortly before deploying, Jin proposes to Jia in a traditional Fire Nation ceremony; despite her family's wishes she accepts, and husband and wife relocate together to Yu Dao, a Fire Nation colony in the Earth Kingdom. [*][color=9e0b0f]18 BG.[/color] Jin receives a promotion for his part in quelling Earth Kingdom rebellions in and around Yu Dao. Jia gives birth to a girl, whom they name Li. [*][color=9e0b0f]15 BG.[/color] Jin leads a sortie against an organized bandit clan plaguing Yu Dao and defeats their leader, a defected Fire Nation sailor famed for his talent as a firebender, in single combat. He is promoted to Captain, the second youngest soldier to reach the rank in Fire Nation history. [*][color=9e0b0f]14 BG.[/color] Jia gives birth to a boy. Jin proposes that he be named Hai, in honor of Jia's father. [*][color=9e0b0f]8 BG.[/color] Leader of the Fire Nation infantryman garrison in Yu Dao and master firebender, Gang Bo, grows disillusioned with the nationalistic attitude of his peers and flees east, into the Earth Kingdom. Dispatched to bring him to justice, Jin corners Gang outside of the commercial hub of Taku. The two battle, first verbally and then physically, engaging in Agni-Kai. Unable to return him willingly to his post, Jin is forced to kill Gang. Upon his return to Yu Dao, Jin is made leader of the city's garrison and, having defeated a firebending master, is considered a master in his own right. [*][color=9e0b0f]1 BG.[/color] Late in the year, Jin is informed that he will be leaving Yu Dao temporarily to assist another brigade of Fire Nation soldiers in an assault on hostile airbenders.[/list] [hider=Sample Post - 8 BG] "Good afternoon, my light," Jin greeted his daughter, Li, the pair laughing as he swept her into a dangling one-armed hug. His other arm behind his back, Jin inquired, "How was school, dear?" as he set her back on the ground. "Boring!" she whined, frowning. "We studied arithmetic [i]all day[/i], and now my head hurts!" Jin chuckled, stooping low to offer the girl his surprise: a tiny komodo rhino plush, cute as a button. She squealed, taking the toy from him; "Straight from the Capital City. Might that help with your headache, dear?" Before the girl could even reply, a pint-sized blur had shifted between them, and her rhino was gone! "[b]Hai[/b]!" she shrieked, taking off after the boy who had pilfered her plush. Jin watched the pair, grinning with amusement, as his wife slipped an arm about his midsection. "Hello, love," Jin greeted Jia, turning to peck her lips. "How was work?" she asked. Before he could answer, she bellowed at her children, now just about out of sight, "[b]Hai! Li! Supper soon![/b]" Jin pushed down the unease and frustration that work had brought; Gang Bo could wait one more day. "It was just fine," he replied, taking his wife's hand and starting towards the door to their home. "Something important has come up, though, Jia; I fear we may have to postpone my leave." Disappointment was plain on her face, and Jin sighed. "I'm sorry, my love. I know just how badly you want to see your parents. You know I do, too -" Jia interrupted him with a mirthless laugh. "[i]Please[/i]," she said, rolling her eyes. "If you and my mother bicker any more, you might have to settle your differences with Agni-Kai, Jin." After a moment's pause, her expression softened, and she placed her hands upon Jin's chest, kissing him. "It's fine," she insisted, after they had separated. "We'll visit my parents next month. What's so important that Commander Bo delayed your leave?" "I'd rather not talk about it," Jin lamented, shaking his head. "It's a sour subject. It can wait." Jia examined him at length. "Fine," she said, deciding not to pester him further. "Why don't you go gather up Li and Hai while I set out dinner, then?"[/hider]