L A L O Z H E N G
'Wise men don’t share their secrets in superficial proverbs.'
Character Age: 33
Character Gender: Male
Character Race: Fire Tribe - Southern Isles
Bending: Firebending - Proficient but not a master.
Skills: Lalo had lived rough for a time after being left behind by his raiding party due to a very bad wound in his abdomen. He retains most of his combat training and knows how to get by with little money and few belongings. He's had to be his own doctor at times but he's nowhere near as good as a professional. He's not a stranger to manual labour such as farm work, carpentry and quarry work. Since he's recently been making money as a brawler he knows how to throw a few punches and hold his own in combat.
Weaknesses: The aforementioned war wound affects his bending. It'll never be as diverse as it used to be and can hurt him to push himself too far. His lack of professional employment keeps him bordering poverty all of the time. He's stubborn and won't open up without plenty of prodding, which can lead him to disregard advice that would work in his favour.
Posessions: A pair of brass knuckle dusters.
Biography:
Lalo grew up on stories of fame and glory through raiding. His tribe ran under the Warlord Toz as he swept through the southern isles. Growing up in a patriarchal family structure made the young boy dismissive towards women and those he considered ‘weak’ whilst pushing him to take on the mantle of his father and stand by his side on the beaches, taking over villages and burning dissidents into ashes. A vivacious firebender since he was very young, Lalo had to be quickly and cruelly taught to keep in line lest he burn down his family home whilst goofing around with his paltry little tricks. There was no formal teaching; he learnt through experience and the stiff hand of the veteran elders who watched over his hometown whilst the men were overseas.
Just like many of the men in the tribe Lalo was loud, misogynistic, mean-spirited and rowdy. He was just fifteen when he went on his first raid. Even though his stomach churned at the slaughter and the screaming, the oppressive status quo of his people labelled any hesitation in the face of violence to be cowardice. He swallowed his fears and followed the pack. The celebration afterwards seemed to make everything worth it and the s udden influx of wealth only consolidated his belief that this was the path to honour and prosperity. For several years he’d stagnate amongst these ruffians. His firebending became sharper, more focused, with more intensity and complexity to strike fear into his enemies. The high stakes of life-or-death combat honed his skills with a weapon; usually he had no say on what blade fell into his hands but preferred light, one-handed weapons that gave him plenty of movement to work in tandem with his bending. He became desensitised to death and gore. He made a name for himself and separated from his father’s shadow to the skirmishes in Diyu’s territory, fighting for his warlord and his pride.
How could he recover, then, when his first raid abroad to the eastern isles was so devastating? The warriors waiting on those shores were not peasants with pitchforks. Lalo’s raiding party was decimated, those that were left returned to their boats in tatters. Lalo was one of the few who were unlucky enough to survive albeit with a monstrous wound in his gut. He was defeated in battle yet humiliated by the village folk, who took him in and nursed him back to health with what little they had. There he learnt of compassion, the importance of domesticity and that strength could come in many forms. Most of it was dwarfed by his bitter embarrassment. He considered his treatment to be humiliating - worse than death. Less of a hothead but still a foolish man, he left in the quiet of night during a self-imposed exile. He was too ashamed to return home and paid a trader to sail to the mainland in the hopes of finding a better life on those unfamiliar shores.
What Lalo found instead was poverty and homelessness. He had little to bring to the table and his fierce pride wouldn’t let him take on ‘peasant work’ over bounties - at least, not until the lack of food tempered his arrogance. He wandered his way to Omashu and then further into the Earth Kingdom, relying on the kindness of strangers and odd jobs that needed doing to get by. When he couldn’t find a room in an inn, he put up his tent somewhere quiet. Some people, like Qian Fan, took him in for upwards to a year in their homes until he couldn’t stand their generosity and his restlessness spurred him onward. Lalo began to learn of humility but couldn’t shake his cruelty either. When money was urgently needed, he didn’t shy away from joining bandits, robbers and mercenaries in order to get what he needed.
Something continued to gnaw away at Lalo’s conscience. It took him until his late twenties to realise he didn’t simply want a better life, he wanted to be a better person. He couldn’t manage that in the countryside so he moved towards Si Wong city. Unfortunately, his optimism struck him down once more; life in a big city was no less merciless than the wilderness, only the people were harder to beat into submission without gaining the ire of the city guard. He was roped into an underground brawling ring shortly after his arrival and, through complicity, couldn’t find a clear way out of his obligations to the sleazy ringleaders. Things were not entirely dismal. Lalo now had a designated outlet for his anger and spent the rest of his time helping the needy and the ‘weak’. The guilt of his youth has almost entirely consumed him. He presently atones for his actions and repays his debts through any means necessary, even if it means taking one of the little girls from Qian Fan’s family into his home long enough for her to find her way.
Supporting Cast:
Qian Fan: Lei Fan’s father, owner of a radish farm. Though only tangentially involved in Lalo’s youth, he remains one of the most prominently generous strangers that he ever met.
‘Slim’ Lin: One of the two ringleaders of the Si Wong Rat Ring, a moderately sized, no holds barred illegal fighting ring taking place in the slums of Si Wong City. Mostly looking out for himself but acutely aware that throwing his patrons and brawlers into the line of fire when he gets caught is probably going to end with his body floating in a sewer.
Daisu: The second of the Si Wong Rat Ring leaders. Blackmails his brawlers into compliance but staunchly refuses to reveal their real names or identities to the law. Likes to eat and put on a show. Rigs most of the matches.
The Silent Blizzard (Yan Shu): One of the brawlers. Southern Waterbender, usually keeps to herself.
The Immutable Pillar (Ton Yen): One of the brawlers. Earthbender who likes to show off a bit.
The Gasping Cricket (Iso): One of the brawlers. A disgraced air nomad, fully investing into his love of material wealth.
Old Tsuki: Runs the ramen shop underneath Lalo’s apartment. An indomitable old crone with a big heart and a dislike for authority. An excellent secret keeper.
More to be added by the GMs if necessary.
