[b]NPCs[/b]

[hider=The Golden Masters] 

[b]Master of The Shallow Step:[/b] Talia Iyo 
[img]https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4032/4631483919_ef0bc725cc.jpg[/img]
Talia Iyo is guided by the wind mothers of her elven religion. She brings elegance and grace to even the most cumbersome of students. She has unwavering patience, but does not baby her students. Talia is most famous for defeating Vetrus in an unsanctioned fight inside the mountains of the Grand Tortoise mines. She playfully holds this win over the master, who despises her very much for doing so. 

Some say she is the most powerful of the four as she has yet to fully reveal her true potential. Many martial artists have tried to ask her hand in marriage through combat, which may explain why she has the record for most wins. Talia loves sailing. She is the current champion of the Thirsty Fish Trail boat race. Many believe she is cheating by using her martial abilities (which is strictly forbidden) but no one is brave enough to openly accuse her. 


[b]Master of The Grieving Spider:[/b] Vetrus 
[img]http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080301231104/gauntlet/images/d/d1/Elf.jpg[/img]
Emperor Zetram often employed Vetrus for tasks that required a more subtler touch that outright combat could not provide. The Grieving Spider itself is known as the assassin's style, using the foundation of trickery as its most important principle. Such a style requires an intelligence and understanding for reading other fighting techniques, while accepting the limited identity of one's self. Vetrus is known for thoroughly outclassing The Jolly Tusk, a herculean mammoth man who was highly favored to beat him.

 You can never be sure of Master Vetrus' intentions as he is almost always plotting and scheming to test his students and those in his social circles. Painting is his favorite hobby. Several of his pieces are hung in the Emperor's hall and Vetrus makes it a point to give a painting to the other three masters every year for their birthdays. While the gesture may seem kind, almost all of the paintings he gifts them are fictional depictions of him standing over their defeated bodies in triumph.  

[b]Master of The Smiling Fist:[/b] Weretrigo Nightoak 
[img]http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2012/093/d/0/night_elf___monk_by_douglasdraco-d4ux4xe.jpg[/img]
Nightoak is a towering Elk Manbeast with immeasurable strength. He is most famous for sinking an island from the scorpion bay with a single punch. Master Vetrus and Gan Fang make it a habit to inform everyone that "the island wasn't necessarily huge..." and was "On its last leg anyway, what with the high tide coming in." Out of the four, Nightoak is the most laid back. He has a happy go lucky demeanor that rarely sways, even when Vetrus tests his patience. Nightoak loves singing and gardening. He is known to have one of the most powerfully operatic voices in the land, and his gardens at the Smiling Fist temple are tourist attractions. 

[b]Master of The Seeking Sword:[/b] Gan Fang
[img]http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2011/200/5/2/honorable_by_cristi_b-d40upg4.jpg[/img]
The Orc swordmaster is an old war dog. Even though he is by far the most strictest disciplinarian compared to the other Golden Masters, he produces great results. Most of his understudies move on to become grandmasters. However, because of the difficult curriculum, his school is also known for having the highest dropout rate. 

Earn his respect and you have the loyalty of a supremely intelligent, and focused individual. Earn his distaste, and you will know true fear. Gan Fang is most known for ending a duel in one move. Keep in mind that he was facing six opponents. Masters Vetrus and Nightoak however claim "It was a complete mismatch between a seasoned master and six intermediate students." Gan Fang likes to go fishing and is the undisputed fishing champion in Floating Leaf City. 

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[hider=Emperor Zetram][img]http://i532.photobucket.com/albums/ee321/TitusMclan/SamuraiElf.jpg[/img]
The sole ruler of unified Daozen for over 100 years. His generosity and kindhearted wisdom won the hearts of his people, but that was long ago. For reasons unknown to even those who are close to him, the peaceful Emperor became a dark and brooding tyrant. Taxes became steeper and more regularly enforced, and punishments for petty crimes grew from tolerable to severe. The execution of Venerable Boar of The Smiling Fist was the straw that broke the camel's back. Members of his counsel staged a coo, ousting him from the throne and proclaimed themselves as the Voice of Daozen. Emperor Zetram and his family are prisoners in a sealed off tower at The Halberd Jewel. 
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[hr]
[hider=Republic of Daozen]
[b]Prime Minister Lei[/b] 
[img]http://www.adamantentertainment.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/sample1.jpg[/img] 
Prime Minister Lei was originally Emperor Zetram's royal ambassador. He oversaw all foreign relations and policies with outside countries. The formation of the Republic of Daozen was entirely his idea, one that he had been plotting since Emperor Zetram executed Venerable Boar. Lei used his death as a rallying point for the people, gaining their trust as he promised to bring back the prosperity that Daozen once knew. Gaining support from the Emperor's counsel, he coordinated a secret campaign to produce steam-powered war machines and tech to combat the opposition that would surely follow their declaration of power. The transfer of power from the Emperor to the Republic of Daozen was abrupt, but not without resistance. Loyalists stood their ground, but even with their gifts in martial combat and magic, the sheer power and numbers of the Republic overwhelmed and conquered. From The Halberd Jewel, the Republic spread across Daozen and occupied every major city. The people were concerned about the militaristic occupation of their territories, but Prime Minister Lei ensured that it was all a precautionary measure to weed out the rest of the resistance. In truth, Prime Minister Lei was putting all of his chess pieces in order, waiting for the right time to carry out his next order of business: ridding Daozen of its old traditions for violent customs. Relics, statues, artifacts, manuscripts and scrolls were purged in the main cities, burning them in massive bonfires as if sending a signal to Daozen that the new age is fast approaching. Prime Minister Lei looks to advance on the School Temples next, waiting or the right opportunity to strike. 

[b]Isao The Fox[/b]
[img]http://www.adamantentertainment.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/sample3.jpg[/img]
Despite Prime Minister Lei's distaste for the world of martial combat, he understands that he needs powerful martial artists to take on The Golden Masters and their pesky schools. Enter Isao The Fox. The former prodigy of the Grieving Spider turned his back on the world and became Lei's right hand man. His deadly combination of quick gunslinging and quicker hand-to-hand-combat makes him the most dangerous Martial Artist in Lei's stable. Isao The Fox is willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done, even if it means killing innocent people. He leads a group of former martial arts masters turned bounty hunters under the banner of The Heartless Knife. They are equipped with armor and weapons forged from the science of steam-powered machinery, making them incredibly formidable. 

[b]Tinkerer Mortrican[/b] 
[img]http://www.adamantentertainment.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/sample4.jpg[/img] 
A foreigner from the Cities of Celeonia and vital asset of the steam-engine industry for the Republic's military. Prime Minister Lei sought out Mortrican many years before the declaration of the Republic. Fortune and fame was not the inventor's pursuit or motivation. The ability to watch his creations in action without repercussions is why he ultimately agreed to back Prime Minister Lei. He now teams up with the enslaved dwarven smiths of The Grand Tortoise Mines, brainstorming new ideas and inventions for Prime Minister Lei and the Republic Military. [/hider]