[right][h2][color=ed1c24][u]Scarlet Ruler[/u][/color][/h2]
[h3][i]"Get busy or get dead."[/i][/h3][/right][hr]
[b][color=ed1c24]Class: Scarlet Ruler[/color][/b] 
	[color=ed1c24][b]True Name:[/b][/color] Shi Xianggu, or [b]Ching Shih[/b] of the Red Flag Fleet
[color=ed1c24][b]Gender:[/b][/color] Female
[color=ed1c24][b]Appearance:[/b][/color] [hider][img]https://i.imgur.com/DoKokwH.png[/img]
Currently a work in progress![/hider]
	[color=ed1c24][i]Height:[/i][/color] 5'11''
	[color=ed1c24][i]Weight:[/i][/color] 157 lbs.
[color=ed1c24][b]Personality:[/b][/color] Swift, sassy, and socially sagacious, Ruler lives by the pirate's creed, through and through: ill-gotten gains still spend the same. 

Fearless to a fault, Ching Shih appears, at first, to be [i]completely indomitable.[/i] Then, upon peeling away her outer layers of brusque bravado and uncommonly sharp snark, many come to realize that she is [i]peerlessly unshakeable.[/i] She is a woman of tenacity. Of risk and reward. Of clever gambits. And, perhaps above all, Ching Shih lacks that human quality normal folk seem unable to do without:

Dignity. Certainly, she cuts a good rug and talks a big game--she'll dress herself to the nines, but when it comes to it, Ching Shih has no pride to shake. She just has [i]ambition.[/i] She would garrote a puppy for her own goals, should it serve her.

And then, perhaps, eat it, just to prove that she could.

Like a crocodile, she'll swim through shit-caked waters, taking on creatures of far greater size, simply to catch a bite. Teeth, nails, poison, bullets, knives, ball-peen hammers, freshly eaten puppy skulls--she will use everything at her disposal to bring a foe to their knees, and she will do so unimpeded by a concept so paltry as human decency. 

An absolute joy at parties, though god help you if you ever invite her to one. She will quickly commandeer the festivities and drink your cabinet through. Seemingly never without her wit at her side, but ferociously quiet in a fight; for her, every duel is a matter of survival, not a matter of success or defeat. There is something ineffably primal inside of Ching Shih, and she knows it.

[color=ed1c24][b]Strengths:[/b] [/color] Ching Shih is a peerless tactician. Fearlessly brave among her comrades, she is a forceful soul--but patient, taking no more than a reasonable share of risk. She is clever and careful, a sly devil through and through. A force to be reckoned with, especially when backed by her underlings. 
Moreover, she is a fighter with an unbelievable amount of grit--even in combat situations where she is outmatched, she is not above fighting dirty to prove victorious over her opponent. 
Negotiation is possibly, however, the greatest strength the Pirate Queen carries. Countless secrets have passed through her ears, from the men she's bedded to the Chinese government, who, fairly, she really should have bought dinner for before forcing their ass to the air and their teeth to the dirt.

[color=ed1c24][b]Weaknesses:[/b][/color] It is important to note that, in life, Ching Shih was rarely a direct combatant--she often worked as a commander, rather than a soldier, so to speak. As a result, while her skill in combat is greatly enhanced by her status as a Ruler and her adopted status as a Lancer, it leaves her wanting in most conventional forms of one-on-one combat. She works best when she fights [i]dirty.[/i] 
Moreover, she struggles without leverage. Prone to dangling carrots--or dangling blackmail--she tends to have difficulty without an army on her payroll. Rarely ever appearing without backup, she is quick to crumble when backed into a corner without cohorts with which to turn to.

[color=ed1c24][b]Fatal Flaw:[/b][/color] Treachery. In life, Ching Shih carried a draconian code that the entire Red Flag Fleet was to follow, and it would be by that same code that she came undone. When one of her subsidiaries--the Black Flag Fleet--took a pardon and sided with the Chinese government, it became the first domino that would later remove her from piracy. As a result, she is especially vulnerable to Servants who were betrayers--such as Brutus or Judas.

[color=ed1c24][b]Origin:[/b][/color] 
[hider="Pretense and prose are for eulogies and limericks. Bother me with neither."]
Shi Xianggu was a whore.

However, she was a [i]very[/i] good whore indeed. Hailing from Canton, her early life was characterized by prostitution, and the secrets she derived from the pillow-talk whispers of dignitaries and officials. It wouldn't be until she came across Cheng I that her career in piracy would begin in earnest. 

Shi Xianggu didn't just espouse herself to Cheng I, she espoused herself to a life of pillage and plunder. Of course, her times with Cheng I were mostly lost to history--but Ruler herself tells a different story of how she came to be known as Ching Shih.

[i]'Bodies are best removed in a thunderstorm,'[/i] she'll note. Cheng I's body was lost to the South China Sea, along with his lead of the Red Flag Fleet. With Cheung Po Tsai as his only living successor, Ching Shih knew exactly what her next move must be--solidify a relationship with her own stepson.

Fearless and undignified to the bitter end. 

There were a variety of folk up to lead the Red Flag Fleet, a combined force of pirate factions that terrorized the China Sea--but many saw Cheung Po Tsai as the next true leader. As a result, her relationship with her stepson was twofold--one, to gain him as a lieutenant, and two, to seize control using him to vouch for her efficacy. 

The leader that blossomed from their union would go down as the greatest pirate in history. 

Ching Shih did not simply steal--she [i]ruled[/i] the ocean from Canton to Macau.  Imposing taxes on the towns and offering 'protection' to the coast, she was nothing if not an efficient pirate. She was a manipulator; the type of person who could easily and efficiently command legions of men, all ruled by a single iron code. 

Ching Shih was not some simple pirate. She was a ruler, all her own. Battles came and went, but Ching Shih saw her way through skirmish after skirmish--she, as captain of the Red Flag Fleet, contended with and routinely defeated the Portuguese, the British, and, of course, the Chinese government. 

Her code of laws were strict--often ending in beheadings and undersea shackles for the violators. This led to an army of pirates who were tenacious in offense, and desperate on the defense. Ching Shih lived an at-all-costs life, where risk was, often, its own reward. 

It was seldom explored by history what the dread queen did with all of her wealth, but Ruler is rarely so tight-lipped as the annals of history. She would often spend the money on refitting and manning her ships--300 strong makes for a hefty maintenance fee--and, of course, keeping a public fund for any dire needs that any one ship might need.

However, it is her personal fund that went to interesting proclivities. Exotic food. Rare wine. Secret flavors from all across the eastern seaboard. Her desires were--in many ways--gluttonous, but none nearly so as her greed for the more damaging delights of the world. She would often dabble in a variety of substances, ranging from bitterly strong alcohol to opiates to cocaine--all with not so much as a batting of an eyelash. 

All legends must end, though. For Ching Shih, it was a battle on her home turf. After the Black Flag Fleet abandoned her--taking a pardon from the increasingly exacting Chinese government--she was found with enemies on all sides, with her back to the wall. 
The Portuguese were the ones who would finally corner her. Trapping her in the inlet where she made her home, they sent bombing platforms--tiny rafts filled to the brim with explosives and set alight--to take her down from afar. Even then, though, it was Ching Shih's expert maneuvering and tactics that would send each and every one to shore--waiting for her moment to escape.

Then, the winds turned. The explosives were suddenly headed towards the Portuguese, and with them, Ching Shih. She quickly maneuvered between the ships, riding out safely onto open sea.

But she knew that her luck had run out. On that week, Ching Shih would enter into negotiations with the Chinese government--but her hand had not yet been shown. The government pleaded with her to take their deal--but she had her demands.
Freedom for all her crew, a fleet of ships, and all the treasure she'd amassed.

And with those demands came not a threat, but a promise.
In one, last-ditch play, Ching Shih sent all of her men on canoes into the delta of Canton and ransacked all the towns along the riverbed, leaving the government in an awful position. Their citizens were restless, and so was Ching Shih. 
She would, in the end, get every last thing she wanted. She was able to [i]retire[/i] from piracy in luxury.

And so, Ruler came to be born. How she came to be the Scarlet Lancer is up to a great deal of scrutiny; perhaps being a queen among her people, but never truly a queen created some sort of strange flux in her position? Perhaps there was some secret knightly tale of whom she was the protagonist? Perhaps the love of the sea goddess Mazu simply lent her the position.

Perhaps Ching Shih stole it for herself.

[/hider]


[color=ed1c24][b]Attributes:[/b][/color]
	[color=ed1c24]Physique:[/color] +
	[color=ed1c24]Skill:[/color] +
	[color=ed1c24]Agility:[/color] -
	[color=ed1c24]Mana:[/color] -
	[color=ed1c24]Luck:[/color] +
[color=ed1c24]Skills:[/color]
[b][color=ed1c24]Honor Among Thieves: A+[/color][/b]
[hider="Penitence is for the dead, not the guilty."]
A Skill expressing Ching Shih's iron law that she heralded over the Red Flag Fleet. These laws were draconian in nature, often ending with the loss of life and limb for lawbreakers. It is by these laws that she built her empire, and it is by these laws that it stayed. This Skill substantiates a variety of Skills related to life at sea and, more specifically, the handling of money and men. In the Class of Rider, this Skill would have allowed for an immense power surge beyond even the norm whenever a Command Spell was enacted upon her, but as Ruler, it is a Skill far greater, and befitting of a queen among pirates:

As she uses her Command Seals, she will slowly grow in power--every edict that she passes, backed by a Command Seal, allows her to reclaim some of the might of the Red Flag Fleet. This is best seen in the growth of her combat capabilities, which grow more refined and deadly as the Seals are used.
[/hider] 
[b][color=ed1c24]Charisma: A[/color][/b]
[hider="You don't get to be a pirate queen without having a personality."]
The manifestation of Ching Shih's peerless content of character. Few could command a fleet so prodigious, let alone one manned by pirates. 

Ching Shih happens to be one of those few. As a result, she is more than capable of leading an army and keeping every mouth happily fed. A maestro of favor-currying and logistics, this Charisma is something more insidious than the usual brand; it also heavily relates to her skill with manipulating people. During her time as a prostitute, she often shared beds with government officials, taking their secrets and using them as the foundation for her more criminal proclivities.

Her ships were manned by man, woman, and children alike, and all worked in harmony under her charismatic leadership--and her iron laws. 
[/hider]

[b][color=ed1c24]Battle Continuation: B[/color][/b]
[hider="A battle where both sides survive is a draw."]
The personification of her losses and trials, Battle Continuation serves as the truest recollection of the Red Flag Fleet: indomitable, even at the bitter end. Ching Shih carries with her a frightful ability to continue the fight, refusing to crumble even in the wake of wounds that would cripple lesser men.

Ruler is not one to simply give up in the face of a fight. She is tenacious. No matter what, she will always--in some way--come out on top. It is simply the way things are. It is no longer some opinion--it is a fact of life. Ching Shih is indomitable.
[/hider]
[b][color=ed1c24]Man-At-Arms: C+[/color][/b] 
[hider="Don't fret about the condition of your weapons. They'll be mine soon enough."]
While Ching Shih wasn't particularly known for her combat skills--though they were more than present--her status as a Ruler has granted her a particularly odd Skill: she can quickly adapt her martial skills to new weapons, especially Treasure Phantasms. Some of this might be attributable to her prowess over the concept of plunder--ruthlessly stealing martial talents is not above her. No pirate ever lives so long at sea without learning how to fight--it is, possibly, that Ching Shih learned more than just a thing or two about combat.

It is, moreover, a statement of her understanding of the value of treasure--there is a beauty and a strength to be found in the objects few have ever held. 
[/hider]
[b][color=ed1c24]Divine Favor: D[/color][/b]
[hider="The tides all turn, eventually."]
A surrogate blessing from Cheung Po Tsai, and his religious predilections. In this case, a blessing from Mazu, the sea goddess of Chinese folklore. On the open ocean--or any body of water--Ching Shih is capable of turning the wake to favor her.

Moreover, it is also related to how she went essentially undefeated in life; to some degree, divinity had to favor her. To that end, there is some divine gift that lies within her, though it is--as all things are with her--perhaps less a gift than something she took for herself.
[/hider]
[b][color=ed1c24]Antimagic: B-[/color][/b]
[hider="Ruling has its benefits."]
A weakened version of the Antimagic conferred by Rulership and the status of being a Lancer, but still formidable in and of itself. As Ching Shih is a strange manifestation of a Lancer, albeit incredible in strength, she has none of the knightly qualities that substantiate the magic-dissipating nature befitting either Class. Thus, she carries a substantial amount of Antimagic, but not to the quality befitting either Class. Single-action magecraft hardly fazes her, and she has little trouble avoiding greater spells. However, if she gets caught, she's like to take a great deal of punishment for her folly.

Unlikely to faze her too much, though. She'd be like to take the spell on the chin and simply soldier through it. Angrily. Perhaps she should have been a Berserker...
[/hider]
[b][color=ed1c24]True Name Discernment: D[/color][/b]
[hider="And look at what the tide has washed ashore!"]
Perhaps in part because of her lack of saintly stature, or even because of the strange form the Heavenly Grail War takes, Shih's True Name Discernment is left wanting. She must first see a Noble Phantasm before being able to discern the nature of a Servant--but once she does, their True Name is immediately revealed.
[/hider]

[b][color=ed1c24]Noble Phantasms:[/color][/b]
[b][color=ed1c24]Canton Pardon, Parting of Fool and Purse:[/color][/b]
[hider="What's mine is mine, and what's yours will soon be mine."]
This Esoteric Phantasm is the manifestation of a single, inviolable truth: Ching Shih was never truly defeated. She was allowed to retire with all of her money, a small fleet of ships, and not a single one of her crew members went down in chains. This occurred due to her clever tactics and knack for applying pressure, leading one final massive-scale assault on the Canton-Macau coastline during negotiations for her surrender. The Chinese government eventually conceded.

With that, of course, came her treasure--the treasure that was, rightfully, that of the Chinese people. This Noble Phantasm is less a true Noble Phantasm, and more a right to the concept of plunder.

Any Treasure Phantasms that she comes into contact with become, by all rights, [i]hers.[/i] Once a Servant falls by her hands, she may exert control over the Treasure Phantasms that they once owned, and use them as an extension of the Canton Pardon. However, she must understand how these Phantasms work; as such, knowing the Servant's True Name is usually vital to the effective use of the Canton Pardon.

There are, moreover, [i]other[/i] things that she can steal. It is only a matter of her having to attempt to do so. Tout your belongings at your own risk; she is a slavering dog in the face of a glistering coin.[/hider]

[b][color=ed1c24]Cheung Po Tsai, Ersatz Lance of the Pillager's Beloved:[/color][/b] 
[hider="You don't come to be a pirate captain without breaking a few enemies."]
Ching Shih's personal Treasure Phantasm. As she lacks the strength of her Red Flag Fleet backing her as a Ruler and Lancer, its might has been concentrated into a lance that bears the name of her lover, who was believed to be blessed by the gods. This Treasure Phantasm has no activated effect, but rather, is a passive Noble Phantasm--as her treasure trove of Noble Phantasms from the Canton Pardon grows, so too does the might of Cheung Po Tsai. In this, its nascent state, without a single Phantasm to its name, Cheung Po Tsai is capable of piercing through thaumaturgical defenses with relative ease. Just as both Ching Shih and her lover came from small beginnings, so too does this fabricated Phantasm.
[/hider]

[b][color=ed1c24]???[/color][/b]

[b][color=ed1c24]Belongings:[/color][/b] Ching Shih's garb is that of a dread pirate. An amalgam of flavors of courtesean's finery and the striking form of a pirate captain, it also incorporates elements of the navies she routinely struck down. These clothes are essential to her knightly silhouette and are, of course, a deeply-rooted part of her personal aesthetic. 

It is important to note the skull that she wears; it is that of a ram, her birth sign under the Chinese Zodiac. It is unknown if this odd accessory is some sort of Mystic Code or merely an odd substitute for a codpiece. 

Her eyepatch is completely functional in purpose; she isn't missing an eye, she merely uses it to quickly switch from day to night vision. As such, she always keeps one eye covered--preferably the left, so as to better display the Chinese character emblazoned on its front. 

She also keeps a derringer--a flintlock pistol that, despite its appearance, is actually a Mystic Code--a treasure she herself took with her to the grave. Instead of lobbing bullets, it acts as a curse-throwing mechanism, firing off rounds fashioned from her personal supply of mana. She also keeps a pair of knives meant for throwing, in the case she's caught unarmed. 

Ching Shih is almost never seen without the comforts of her home--she always seems to have a flask and some rice, if not enough rations to feed herself and a few others. She is, moreover, a decent cook--though it is a skill largely irrelevant to life as a Ruler. Even though she doesn't need to eat, drink, or sleep, she is often found enjoying any of the three, usually to gluttonous excess. 

On the subject of excess, all of her metal belongings seem to be crafted from gold or other such rich materials; one could hardly expect anything less from her. Ching Shih is the queen of conspicuous consumption, and--in being so--is certain to make everyone know just that.