Avatar: The Wind of War

[hider=Kala Hishen]
[h1][center]Kala Hishen[/center][/h1]

[center][img]http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2012/226/2/7/lynn_by_sscindyss-d5b4xxr.jpg[/img][/center]

[b]Appearance: [/b]

Having the typical features of any Earth Kingdom woman, Kala has olive skin, and dark brown hair. Time training in the light of the sun has tanned her skin considerably, and lightened her hair slightly. Her wide eyes, though worn and tired, always with bags beneath them, are a pale green. She could be called pretty, but not beautiful- she has too many scars to be aesthetically appealing. On her back, she has a burn from the nape of her neck to the small of her back, jagged and dark. Due to this, she always wears high collared outfits, concealing her long, slender neck. Her body is built with strong bones, and very little fat, except around her hips and thighs; beneath her loose fitting clothes, she is incredibly muscular. 

[b]Age:[/b] 27

[b]Personality:[/b]

Quiet, and civil, Kala is a gentle person. Just by looking at her, and talking to her, one would never know that she is a master of swordplay. She is nothing if not modest, though she is very knowledgable in many subjects, especially history and military tactics. Her speech is ever so eloquent, as are her movements graceful. In battle, she is singularly minded, but able to manage multiple tasks at once. Her concentration and focus are unmatched by anyone she has ever fought in the past, no doubt due to her meditative practices.

[b]Master of:[/b] Non-bending skills

[b]Skills:[/b]

[b]Swordplay[/b] - Her mother was a master swordsman, and she trained Kala with swords from toddler to teenager. Eventually, she went on to forge her own swords, which she dual wields in battle. She is now one of the greatest masters of swordplay in the world, it being her primary talent, as she has developed her own style combining the movements of dance taught to her by her father with the traditional methods taught by her mother.
[b]Hand-to-hand Combat[/b] - Kala's uncle, an earthbender, taught her hand-to-hand combat, so that she would be able to defeat a bender one on one without being armed with sufficient weaponry.
[b]Dancing[/b] - As a professional dancer, Kala's father trained her from a young age in the art of dance. She was privy to excellent training from him, mastering styles known by the poor and the privileged alike, from all four of the kingdoms. Her favorite is water dancing, as the movements are the most conducive to swordsmanship.
[b]Blacksmithing[/b] - Kala travelled to the fire kingdom to learn the art of blacksmithing. Befriending one, she learned to forge her own swords, and did so from an alloy of steel and obsidian. Eventually, she married the smith, and during their short time together, became even more familiar with the skills necessary to forge and improve weaponry and armor alike.
[b]Meditation[/b] - In recent months, Kala has become more solemn and stoic, and has begun to meditate. This has greatly improved her concentration and focus, and has aided her when she finds it difficult to sleep. She has regularly practiced meditation since she was a child, she has simply increased the frequency as of late.

[b]Weaknesses:[/b]

[b]Fire[/b] - Kala was overtaken by the soldiers of the fire nation laying siege on her hometown, when one of them shot fire at her back, leaving a jagged and ugly scar that covers almost her entire back. Due to the traumatic event, she has developed an intense phobia, a fear of fire- more specifically, fire benders. If she is controlling the fire, it is much easier, but still hard for her. Smithing is difficult to do as well as she could before, and cooking is often impossible to do alone. Fighting against a fire bender is not an option.
[b]Her Daughter[/b] - Kala's daughter was stolen from her, by fire nation soldiers. She does not know the girl's whereabouts, but would do anything to see her, to save her, even though she doesn't even know if she's alive. 

[b]History:[/b]

Kala was born in the western side of the earth kingdom, to a dancer and his wife, a sword master. Her father trained her in the art of dance, styles from all four kingdoms, and her mother in the art of swordplay. Her uncle, an earthbender of the earth kingdom army, taught her the arts of hand-to-hand combat, and helped her train herself to the point where she could fight against a bender, and win. They all supported her, when she decided to follow in her mother's footsteps.

The first step of her journey to become a legendary swordsman required that she forge her own sword. The blacksmiths in the earth kingdom were fantastic, there was no doubt about that- however, their caliber was greatly exceeded by the fire nation. As a mere teenager, she made her way to a fire nation colony of the earth kingdom, disguising herself in fire nation clothes to hide her identity as a true born earth citizen. She did so against the wishes of her family, who insisted that the land was full of dangers. Once there, she began familiarizing herself with the layout of the land, with the people, and with their customs. Through this process, she was able to assume the identity of a fire nation citizen. 

After a year of intense study of the fire nation people of the colony, she felt ready to continue her journey, to the fire nation itself. Boarding a boat as a stowaway, meant only for soldiers of the fire nation, she remained undiscovered for quite some time. However, upon docking, she made the mistake of coming up early- one of the soldiers spotted her, and took her back to his cabin for questioning. As a lieutenant, he did not have much power, but he did act as her arresting officer. Kala did not fight back, as she knew that this would be seen as an act of guilt. Brought to a minor court, Kala was pardoned. The sign of an earth kingdom citizen, apparently from one of the colonies, sneaking to the fire nation was not seen as an illegal act, but as one that was expected by Sozin. She claimed that she wanted to become a fire nation citizen, and was welcomed into the small city with open arms.

Kala befriended a blacksmith, who taught her how to forge a sword. Over the course of a year, through constant trials and errors, Kala eventually forged two swords, deciding to dual wield, rather than using a shield of any sort. Her swords were made of an alloy of obsidian and steel, a beautiful black metal, both strong, and durable. After a year of working with the blacksmith, they became more than friends- the man proposed, and they were married.

She felt invincible, armed with her dual swords, and happily married, until she received a letter from her family. They were being attacked by armies sent by the fire nation. The soldiers were laying siege to their homes, trying to break through to the center. Though the earth kingdom was holding its own, her family was frightened, and they needed her to come home. Saying a teary goodbye to her husband, Kala promised to return, with her family in tow, to bring them to safety, as she had truly come to love the fire nation, and was sure that the 'siege' was a misunderstanding.

Once again, she stowed away on a fire kingdom ship, sending in reinforcements to lay siege to the earth kingdom. This time, she was smart, and escaped the ship unscathed. However, she was faced with the problem of returning to her city- after two years, much had changed. Namely, the walls protecting the city were now surrounded by fire nation soldiers, waiting, and occasionally attacking. Kala saw no option other than to use brute force to try to force her way back to her home.

In the dead of night, Kala snuck through the fire nation camps, hoping that sleep would keep them occupied. Taking out guards one by one, she was able to take out around three dozen of those stationed around the area before one slipped away. He blew a horn, and woke the infantry. Overwhelmed by firebenders all around her, Kala was overtaken. A soldier seized an opportunity, and sent her flying into a wall with a burst of flame to her back.

She woke up in a bed that was all too familiar- she was home again. Her parents, her city, they had all surrendered. Her hometown was colonized by the fire nation, and she began to see how truly horrible that was. For one thing, the taxes were tremendous; the fire nation soldiers also claimed military rights over the goods made by the citizens, taking things for free from hard working civilians. Kala felt idiotic for taking so long to see the injustice, and was about to set out to fix it, when she was given a reason why she could not fight.

Another year had passed since she had come to the city, and she had been comatose the entire twelve months. During that time, they had discovered that she was pregnant- that was the factor which convinced her family to surrender, and caused a domino effect. While in her coma, Kala had been cut open by the fire nation soldiers, and her baby taken into their custody. All she was told was that the child had been a girl, and was still alive. Kala swore vengeance on the fire nation- however, she found that she had two newly formed weaknesses; her daughter, as she did not want them to harm her, and a fear of fire. The trauma from that fight had been enough to create a newfound phobia, which she could not help. 

Upon receiving word from the fire nation soldiers that her husband had been accused of treason, and killed for it, Kala determined to set aside her fears, and do what she could. She caught wind of the avatar's death, and the subsequent birth of the new one, and set her mind on one new goal- to find and train the avatar as best she can, to help him defeat Sozin. She was smuggled out of the city by a wine merchant, and has proceeded to wander the world in search of the avatar.
[/hider]