[centre][b]Name[/b]:
Miyamoto Sakura

[b]Age(Prior)[/b]:
15

[b]Appearance (Former)[/b]:
[img]http://i.imgur.com/DVF2J2Z.jpg[/img]
She was 1.67 metres tall

[b]Appearance (Current)[/b]:
[img]http://i.imgur.com/svcXM1V.png[/img]
She is a mere 0.3 metres tall in terms of height, twice as tall and proportionate in measurements to an ostrich egg. In terms of Ling maturity, she is still a child.

[b]Race[/b]:
Ling

[b]Personality[/b]:
Sakura is a very lonely young woman who just wants company. The one thing she fears most is utter neglect, which she has lived through a great deal of her life save for her Butler and Maid. She wants to stick to her friends and does not wish to part with them, for such situations will make her feel great fear.
She is socially awkward, and finds it difficult to initiate conversations. She will jitter if others try to converse with her.

Sakura has an extent of claustrophobia. Being trapped in a small space gives her the trauma of being locked in that room. Her will is most weak, and is easy to shatter if placed in a dangerous situation. Her low self esteem tends to restrict her from performing actions.

[b]Skills[/b]:
Being a sheltered young lass, she has few to no skills beyond moral support.
She has previously taken dance lessons, and she can improvise these into her battle style. Generally, a rookie Ling can be rendered helpless by grasping it firmly with two [i]hands[/i] and facing its crack away from you, until it struggles out eventually. However, she can actually spin herself out of such a situation, smacking the hands away.
She has basic self defense skills. Very basic. The one she tends to prefer is 'headbutt the stomach'. Using her diminuitive height, she jumps and bashes into an opponent's stomach.

[b]History[/b]:
Miyamoto Sakura was born as the last child of the Miyamoto family, which was a wealthy family that had much authority and influence. You'd think she was some sort of princess, getting everything she wanted. Well, that was not entirely true, unfortunately for our young lady.

The Miyamoto family was successful and busy, which meant that Sakura was usually alone at home, accompanied by maids and butlers, the only 'friends' she really had. Her parents wanted her to be a successful person, much like her three older brothers, and not associate with 'lesser ones', in other words, middle class or poor people who couldn't make ends meet. Her father forbade her from speaking with boys apart from her family, for she already had an arranged marriage, prepared even before she was born into this world. The world for Sakura was lonely. It was cruel. It was brimmed by despair. She wanted to escape the wrath of being pulled by strings, being her parents' puppet for the rest of her life.

Barred from friends, destined to be violated by one she did not love, producing an heir for someone else. Was this her destiny?

Over the years, she had wanted to leave this very world. She tried to commit suicide, but each time, she was halted by her maids and butlers, and during that one time her parents found out, they locked her in the room for a few days.

Her maids and butlers reminded her that there was more to life than her bird cage. They assured her that some day, but not soon, she would be free. But when was this 'one day'? What if it never came?

It was just another bright night under the full moon as she fell asleep on her bed after following her daily, boring routine. What she didn't realise was that she was not being pulled into a dream, but something else. Was it a sign of freedom? That depends on how you define freedom.

[b]Other[/b]:
Young Ling are naturally imbued with magic usage. However, this is limited to regular elemental spits of Water, Earth, Fire and Air that hurt as much as a punch, kick, or sword slash. These are instinctive, so if Sakura tries to hurl a punch on reflex, these will occur instead until she learns to control them. The 'usual' magic will have to be learnt and improvised.

[hr]

[b]Ling Trivia[/b]

Ling are a rather unique beast race with some extent of varied plumage. In their child stage, they remain in their sturdy shells because their limbs have not been fully developed, neither do they have their egg teeth, which are present in baby animals such as ducks and turtles, as a temporary structure to break out of the egg.

Their egg shells are coated with some sort of magic-like barrier. Until ready to fully hatch, they will be as unbreakable as steel. However, Ling still feel the pain phasing through these egg shells.
When ready to hatch, this magic barrier will be absorbed to be used as magical energy to break from the egg shell.

Ling are viewed as very odd and mysterious to other races. They're practically talking, living eggs in their eyes.

Once they do fully break out of their shells with their egg teeth, they will resemble one of these four varieties of Ling. Mature Ling are known as Jinling. Jinling are big in size, and even the smallest are large enough to use as mounts for a large human, while the larger Jinling might find rather mild trouble fitting through a human door. It should be noted that all four varieties are still the same species.

[img]http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110928000041/megamitensei/images/a/af/Suzaku.jpg[/img]
[color=ed1c24]Red Jinling[/color] are skilled in fire magic. They are similiar to the 'Zhuque' of Chinese mythology. They have flight capabilities. They tend to be the ones with most hope and will. In Eastern lands, it is a belief that if one sees them flying across the skies, luck will be granted. However, people tend to be terrified should they come face-to-face with them.

[img]http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20111001011506/megamitensei/images/0/03/Byakko.jpg[/img]
[color=6ecff6]White Jinling[/color] are skilled in metal-themed earth magic, as well as melee offense with their claws. They are similiar to 'Baihu' of Chinese mythology. They have vast speed and dexterity, as well as great sense of smell and sight, like the predators they are. They tend to be the ones with most bravery. They are said to be untamable beasts.

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v252/HlySd/Genbu_by_Vyrilien-1.jpg[/img]
[color=440e62]Black Jinling[/color] are skilled in water magic, as well as the art of defense and close-ranged attack. They are similiar to 'Xuanwu' of Chinese mythology. They cast attacks via their snake-like tails. They may be slow, but their defensive shell is near impenetrable. They tend to be the ones with most wisdom. While people are most astonished upon seeing these creatures, they do not see them as a threat.

[img]http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080808003355/megamitensei/images/3/38/SeiRyuSMT2.jpg[/img]
[color=0072bc]Blue Jinling[/color] are skilled in the power of the air and some extent of nature-based earth magic. They are similiar to 'Qinglong' of Chinese mythology. They have flight capabilities They tend to be the balanced ones, a mix of bravery, wisdom and will. They are very mysterious in the eyes of other races.

There is one more kind which will be revealed later - the [color=fff200]Golden Jinling[/color], which is a rare occurrence with currently unrevealed conditions. The status of Golden Jinling is much like King Arthur and Excalibur - a Jinling must be worthy in order to reach this state. Despite its rare occurrence, they are neccesary to decide a worthy ruler.
The Jinling and Ling inhabit the Shenqi Canyons. You can see giant ochre or grey-hued rock-based pagodas around the area, and other forms of Chinese Architecture. It's basically feudal China, except the buildings are more spaced out. In the centre lies the gold-hued jewel-encrusted king's palace, which houses Emperor Huanglong, a Golden Jinling.

Jinling are a peaceful race, but they see many other races, including humans, as harbringers of war. However, they are understanding to some extent. If they see an abandoned human child, the kinder ones would adopt it and raise it. Even the crueller Jinling spare children and only harm grown adults should wrong be done.

In order for Ling to mature, these egg-bound juveniles must go on a journey to decide which of the four they will mature into, much like a carp to a dragon, or Pokemon evolution.

If a Ling stays in its child state for more than 25 years, they will die prematurely, and that happens 20% of the time, which in kind of a big chunk. From the time they abandon their shells until they mature into their Jinling states, they can live for potentially five hundred years, maybe take or give a few decades. Should a Jinling enter the phase of Golden Jinling, they will have a thousand more years of life, but will die a decade after another Golden Jinling is chosen.

Jinling will recognise a Ling even after they have metamorphosised into Jinling. This may not be the case for other races, unless they can identify things such as old traits from their time as egg-bound Ling.[/centre]