[hider= Wu Dan] [b][h3] O-Dan / Wu The Grandmaster/ Spirit of the Mountain[/h3][/b] [img]http://pre13.deviantart.net/c7db/th/pre/i/2005/272/3/5/monk_study_5_by_crying_man.jpg [/img] ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ [b]Description[/b] Raw power meets stern discipline. Wu Dan meditates upon the universe, listening carefully to the cosmic cycles as the seasons pass. An immortal with time to spare, endlessly pursuing that which eludes his kin: Death. Beneath the flowing white beard and solemn expression upon his long brow, the old master has let time touch his appearance, but not his body for few could challenge him physically even now in his old age. Yet in the irony of it all, despite the overwhelming amount of power exerted by his presence, Wu Dan is content with watching the flows of the universe going in and out rarely interceding unless to defend those who revere him as their guardian. It is his sacred duty to protect his people, for they are only beginning to learn to defend themselves. Taking the appearance of an elder, though hardly decrepit as one may expect from an old man his age, Wu Dan is still an epitome of physicality. Only steadfast bones to bear deceptively wiry muscles under gaunt sagely skin, blood vessels which easily explode out, visible as he moves barefoot swiftly across a battlefield doling out thunderous blows. His balding crown hidden underneath his conical hat, and his white facial hair impressively making his pure-white eyes that much more intimidating. One glance at him, and one knows this was no ordinary old hermit as he sits holding his prayer beads in a two-toned robe. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ [b]Powers[/b] The Grandmaster is amongst the more powerful of the children, yet despite this, downplays his abilities for the sake of his philosophy. His body explodes with physicality hidden beneath the modest monk robes. The iron prayer beads around his wrist deceptively heavy as they aid to weigh him down, it is said that only the virtuous could ever hope to hold the beads without being pulled under by their tremendous weight. It is true, for the beads represent the weight of the burdens upon one's morality, the more innocence that is lost, the heavier they become as the ultimate device to punish the wicked. Of which, why the Grandmaster finds them heavy enough to restrain him should raise a question. There is also a form of magic Wu Dan dabbles in from which stems the art of the Death Monk. The power of the mind over the body, and the spirit over the mind, and the body over the spirit culminates in the obscure magic of the Calling. A technique where one's voice becomes a projection of one's will, and one's will becomes a physical force, and the physical force becomes one's voice. Speak, and the universe listens, ask, and it shall tell, but shout? Shout and it will quiver. Legends say the first Death Monks could kill people with a whisper, are probably grossly exaggerated, but they can force you into submission by merely speaking to you. And by speaking, they have harnessed the power of the universe. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ [b]Original tribe[/b] The in the farthest reaches of the mountainous north, the oldest of the Qayu remember the tales of their ancient patron. The first tribe of the region, who remain upon the tallest peak in all the land, towering over the constructs of man as the mountains pierce the morning clouds. Here they believe the spirit of the mountain protects them from harm by the majesty of its might. Who dared to attack the mountain when it could fall upon you? This spirit was Wu Dan, who built his temple from the sacred peak and in days of old, taught the Qayu the ways of combat. The spirit of the mountain patron dwelt upon the peak of the mountain in Shangrila, also called Valhalla, where Shangrila is the temple itself, and Valhalla is the name for the arena of the temple grounds. And the mountain was the highest peak in all the land frozen in high clouds, yet actually a long dormant volcano, with Shangrila being found in the crater, allowing for sacred hot spring well fed from the melting mountain snow to nourish the hidden temple garden from which the tree of the mountain grows the golden peaches of nirvana. Beneath the high temple are 8 temples dedicated to learning the ways of killing, as opposed to the normal settlements lower on the mountain which are pleased with learning the arts of war, women, and wine. These 8 temples are home to the Death Monks, fearsome warriors which dedicate their lives to the study of death. The monks train to become experts in combat, routinely getting themselves seriously injured or killed in tournaments to progress their ranks and maybe one day become the master of their school by taking the pilgrimage to the peak and impressing the Grandmaster in a single-bout duel. To do so would be to blow the horn of Valhalla, a fabled horn carved from ancient wood that sits frozen within the temple and announce the newest Master of the 8 schools, and calls for the ritual suicide of the last master who shall throw himself off the mountain to make way for his successor. Although the true horn is actually a smoking pipe carried and used often by the grandmaster, and anyone who he shares a smoke with shall be given authority over the mountain and take his place as he ascends to the heavens until the death of the latest mortal protector. Of course living on a cold mountain, there is little to no vegetation, and certainly while ores were readily available from the mountain, wood was a rare commodity. There is also few in the name of animals, merely wolves which come from the foot of the mountain, rams which avoid the wolves from the bottom by surviving in the upper parts of the cold mountain, ravens which pick the frozen flesh off the dead and the occasional fish from the frozen rivers. From these animal aspects, the schools of the Wolf, Ram, Raven and Fish were created in two flavours, the white and the black, each specializing in a unique style of killing and philosophy. Since food is scarce, the society is slightly twisted in a sense that, in this polygamous patriarchy, men and women were expected to settle down and have a family within their 25th year, and women were to bear many offspring to continue their tribe's survivability in their remote mountain nation. This of course leads to plenty of inbreeding and bad genetics, so most of its people have some degree of albinism and other rare genetic diseases, some good some bad. But essentially there are 4 major noble families ruling the mountain, with one Khan ruling as administrative king of the mountain. The men of course are graded by the number of wives they have had, thus concubines are plenty, along with strong fermented alcohols which will keep your body warm in the coldest nights surrounded by your multiple women. And women are graded by the number of children they have produced, for a barren women was considered useless. And all citizens who did not marry and have children by the age of 25, or those who are too old (and not important enough) to be of child-bearing capacity are slaughtered for meat in the cold seasons. Yes, ritualistic cannibalism was practiced as it was necessary to sustain the population. Those who feared death by slaughter could venture up the mountain to be taken in by the monks, only perhaps to die in one of their tournaments. Either way, it is a hard life, but easy death for everyone. But not all of the Qayu preferred death. Only the oldest of the Qayu remain dedicated to their sacred mountain, despite the disappearance of the grandmaster. As the generations go, tradition was forsaken in fear of death. Thus in lieu of dying with the monks, the younger generations fled south, to where the mountains were not as harsh and gave way to greener valleys. Those who remain in the mountain are doomed, clinging on to their old "barbaric" ways. in modern times, after being conquered by the Repbulic, The old mountain is in a state of political turmoil. 4 factions vying for power over the sacred mountain, and the rest of Qayu. There is the Khan and his court who is in charge of the militant branch, the 4 Noble Families who are exerting socioeconomic pressure, and finally the Eight Masters who have lost their mythical leader and are now barely able to control their own schools let alone their spirituality. And of course there is the Etruscian Republic which wants to keep the entire region under control as they puppet the 3 factions into destroying themselves. As such geopolitical landscape is essentially changed into one of a cold war between all three. The Nobles having enlisted the Etruscian forces to back them against the Khan in a political measure. The Khan in turn seeking authoritative mandate against the Nobles from the Monks who have none because their Grandmaster is gone. And the Monks crumbling internally as the 8 schools are dying off with their internal affairs in attempting to produce a substitute for the grandmaster. It is at this time, where the Grandmaster needs to make a return and justify everything before the entire mountain erupts and destroys the world or so the legend goes that the Mountain erupts only at cataclysm, and will herald the destruction of everything, Angels, Demons, and Mortals. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ [b]Anecdotes[/b] During the Dawn, and the never-ending clash between the Angels and the Demons, Wu Dan the Grandmaster was among those Children who desired to protect and nurture humanity, arrayed against those that sought to enslave it. He was a force to change the tides of battle upon the on battlefields, obliterating the ranks as an unstoppable force that tore the enemy ranks apart. Yet, it was never in an offensive action, but rather in the defense of the mortals he swore to protect, and did so with the fury of a winter storm. His wrath against the enemy was swift, and terrible, an avalanche which swept them away and buried them into their frozen tombs. But now he is locked in his one tomb, meditating upon the many ways to punish the one who had locked away him from his people. The one who betrayed them all, and lusted for her own power. The one who must experience what it was like to be away from one's sworn duty. Death would be too good an end for her. For despite his more fervent youth, in his old age Wu Dan has become enlightened to know that not all are deserving of death, life can be a punishment just as well, as demonstrated by the story of the peaches. Years ago, a Death Monk who had killed hundreds, approached his master, challenging him to a duel to be granted the right to ascend the mountain to learn from the grandmaster. The master accepted, and the challenge was simple, for the master was old and tired of life. Letting the younger man take him easily within moments of the bout beginning. A flurry of blows, punches, kicks and grapples, before the final punch sent the master flying back against the temple wall, bloody ,bruised, and broken. Blessings were given to the risen student as he bowed his head in respect and died in peace. And upon the star pupil's visit with Wu Dan, he had plucked a golden peach from the hidden garden, amazed by the abundance of greenery and foliage, seduced by the charm of the shapely fruit. He ate the peach, and returned as the new master of his school. decades passed and the very same student was challenged by his own pupil, to which he had to accept just as his master did years ago. But this time, there was a different story. For you see, the peaches conferred immortality on those who would die upon it. And though the old master was vastly outdone by his challenger, the student would not let up for he could not finish it. To sit there and endure, every painful attack, to have your breath punched out of your lungs, your heart squeezed to spurt out blood from your arteries, and back broken such that each individual vertebrate fell into your gut and punctured your colon. The torment did not end, until the master crawled to the edge of the temple, and flung himself off the cliff in hopes of the fall splitting open his skull and rendering him comatose. Perhaps on a cold night, one can still hear the unfortunate master, still wishing he was dead, or perhaps it was merely his spirit as his bones were picked clean for meat by the creatures down below. How immortality drives one to madness and to embrace death. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ [b]Opinions[/b] [hider=Eyra, the Seer] Death is a mercy for those who fail to atone, Discipline for betrayal and punishment will come. Know this, it is karma of fate itself. [/hider] [hider=Kinion, the Fool] Only fools disregard the wandering minstrel, but the wise should not listen to the song, Follow not, for disharmony is the tune. [/hider] [hider=Wu Dan, the Spirit of the Mountain] Too old to fight, Too young to watch, Another puff, meditate upon the pipe. [/hider] [hider=Nod, the Great Beast] A worthy foe to be respected, A beast to be tamed and bested. Once more, to the fight. [/hider] [hider=Kozz, the Forgemaster] He who makes the sword of war, He too must must make the spades, For now, the living must bury the dead. [/hider] [hider=Azoth, the Faceless Wanderer] A false face like a mask worn, A snake which shed its many skins, Firmly grasp, before it slips away. [/hider] [hider=Therelon, the Keeper of Knowledge] A raven which thirsts for water, Shall drops stones into the well, Scholars bow, for enlightenment is gained through observation. [/hider] [hider=Chinasa, the Pallid] One whiter than the fallen snow, Everything else pales in comparison, Though inside, a heart blacker than the night. [/hider] [hider=Tarthus, the Three-Faced Lord] Those closest to death live in fear, The living trinity is closest to death, Embrace death, for it will bring about peace. [/hider] [hider=Ash, the Changing] Water freezes into ice, Ice melts into water, But wait, what of steam? [/hider] [hider=Aylin, the Huntress] The arrow flies to meet its mark, Soar true under the moonlit night, Pray tell, what is the quarry? [/hider] [hider=Kilgarrah, the Honorable] For respect is earned, Thus great respect given, A reflection, One dragon to another. [/hider] [hider=Kalikmalo Bramah Thalmen, the Titan] A moving mountain crushes the weak, The innocent flowers trampled, By duty, stand atop the mountain. [/hider] [hider=Nefas Sen, the Sunken Queen] Beneath the waves lurking, writhing, twisting, spawning, Dive deep, mother of horror. [/hider] [/hider]