[@Sep] This is my submission, and I am in Discord if you have questions.

[hider=Siyu Wuzhou][h3][b]Siyu Wuzhou[/b][/h3]
[sub]'I can't tell you what is reality because I don't know myself.'[/sub]
________________________________________


[b]Age:[/b] 19
[b]Gender:[/b] Male
[b]Race:[/b] Sandbender Tribes

[b]Physical Description:[/b] Siyu is a mud-eyed, burnt caramel-skinned, unusually tall and lanky young man with sinewy muscles that is routinely clothed in the sand-colored robes of his people, meant to protect against the heat and sunlight. His face is adorned with patchy black facial hair, a clear sign of his age that makes him uncomfortable, while the charcoal hair atop his head is kept extremely short.

[b]Bending:[/b] Earth; Sandbending Focus

Siyu is an intermediate Earthbender, focusing on Sandbending. His fighting style, like many Sandbenders, is far more 'whimsical' and flow-oriented than most Earthbenders, entailing many acrobatic and aerial movements. In his training, Siyu has sought to acquire balance between offense and defense, preferring versatility as well as well-timed strikes to win. Despite this, he is still an Earthbender and has endeavoured to master more than just his native techniques.

[b]Skills:[/b]
[list][*]Exceptional Sandsailer: Growing up in Si Wong desert, a person learns to sandsail if possible. Such is Siyu's skill in this matter that he can turn a small stretch of wood and cloth into a personal sandsailer.
[*]Desert Folklore: Born of desert people, Siyu naturally understands survival and navigation within the Si Wong Desert.[/list]


[b]Weaknesses:[/b]
[list][*]Unconfident: Siyu is young, really young. He lacks confidence in himself in many ways; body self-esteem, ability to connect with others, and his fighting ability.
[*]Tormented Visions: From a young age, Siyu has been tormented by seemingly unrelated visions, dreams and apparent apparations. One of these is nearly always present and took upon itself the name, 'Avante'. The visions can at times become so intense that Siyu loses sense of reality.
[*]Si Wong Kong: In the course of his life, Siyu discovered that a native plant smoked by his people to calm the nerves helps with his visions, though his use of the plant has generated a reliance upon it.[/list]

[b]Possessions:[/b]
[list][*]Personal Sandsailer: Similar to a skateboard without wheels, instead being attached to a sail.
[*]Sandbag: Like most Sandbenders, Siyu keeps a bag of sand on him at all times as sand is what he is most comfortable bending.
[*]Si Wong Compass: A compass that points directly to Si Wong Rock, crucial for navigation within the desert.
[*]Crucial Desert Survival Tools: Other small, assorted tools Siyu keeps with him since the desert is a harsh mother.[/list]

[hider=Biography]Siyu was born alongside his twin Ishou among the Lanata Tribe of the Sandbenders to two loving parents with a total of seven siblings born in total. But the desert is a harsh mother, and one of his brothers died while he was just a baby of disease. Thankfully, Siyu's young age spared him for the most part from this loss.

At three, Siyu was discovered to be an Earthbender when he tripped and fell while the family was travelling on their sandsailer. Busting his nose, the toddler cried out, blowing away the sandstorm powering their sailer. The entire family was proud to have another bender, and even more proud when Ishou was discovered to also be gifted.

The training of the twins was taken up by the eldest sister, Mei. Mei was one of the better benders in the Tribe, and indeed the Wuzhous had been known for years to produce capable benders. His eldest sister was described as, "a sandblaster," producing high velocity sandstorms and bending that could be likened to having your body stripped layer by layer. Cockiness was perhaps Mei's greatest downfall.

When Siyu was eleven, the Lanata Tribe found itself embroiled in a conflict with the Daiyu Tribe, a tribe well known for endorsing raider tactics against foreigners. Mei was called up along with most of the other benders of the Lanata. Siyu cried for days when he saw she was not among the warriors who returned. A quarter of the Lanata warriors died in the battle, including the Chief. Multiple survivors who had been captured for a time and escaped reported witnessing Mei's gang rape and then murder at the hands of seven Daiyu men, but the Lanatas were so broken it was unlikely anything could be done.

The resulting power struggle split the tribe in two, each claiming the name of Lanata but agreeing to simply separate. The chaos and loss crippled Siyu, who recoiled into himself and ceased practicing his bending. Ishou tripled down, training almost endlessly under her new master, Rattlebreath, a Lanata shaman that was now practically second-in-command and known as a crickly old ass hole who'd whip you without a second though.

Ishou had, up until this time, been one of the brightest stars in Siyu's, and the tribe's, world. Wherever she went, she spread joy. There have been tribesmen who have said that everything the Gods took from Siyu, they gave to Ishou. Mei's death was a turning point for the young woman though. While she still spread joy across the world, it seemed lessened, and Siyu often wondered if his twin wasn't pretending at times. It was impossible to get Ishou to talk about her deeper feelings, so Siyu had little choice but to simply watch.

After two years of watching Ishou endure, overcome, and blossom, Siyu finally returned to his training as well, taking Rattlebreath as his new master. Siyu struggled under the old man's barrage whilst his twin overshadowed him at the same age of fifteen by beating twenty year old tribesmen in duels. Deep feelings of inadequacy and inconfidence bore themselves into the boy.

The only relief Siyu had from the training, the tribe, and his family was sandsailing. Whenever he had free time, Siyu would be out on the dunes, screaming through the desert. With little more than the sound of his sandstorm and the wind, it was precious time to think and reorganize before once more being drowned.

And drowned he was. Ishou's abilities seemed endless, whilst Siyu's abilities were, in comparison, not in the same league. The nickname 'Wasted' became popular for Siyu, implying he was wasted time. In contrast, Ishou finally defeated Rattlebreath when they were seventeen, declaring that night to Siyu, "I am going to right the wrong of Mei's death, Siyu, join me!"

Ishou revealed that she had been planning for years to hunt down the seven men who killed Mei and enact her revenge. Despite Siyu's protestations, Ishou made it clear she would go with or without him, and so he left with his twin.

The first man was easy enough to find, track, and then ambush while he was travelling. Siyu spent the man's last moments attempting to convince Ishou not to take the man's life, but she looked at him with incredible disbelief, "This man raped and murdered Mei, and you want him to live? No." Ishou resolutely ended the man with the coldest face Siyu has yet witnessed.

Three more men the pair successfully kill before coming upon the fifth. Railong Qent, now the leader of his own small band of sandraiders. In total it would be five on two. Those were shit odds in Siyu's opinion, but again, Ishou didn't care. Three of Qent's underlings died in the battle but Siyu was shot through the abdomen with a rock bullet whilst Ishou was wounded four times with rock bullets. Both received numerous other small wounds, the battle ending with Siyu making a desperate retreat with Ishou in tow.

For thirty-eight hours he sailed, and sailed, doing what he could to stem Ishou's bleeding. But it wasn't enough. Ishou Wuzhou passed away in that desert in her twin's arms. The pain is utterly unbearable, Siyu's cries and screams generating a sandnado. He returned to his people with Ishou's body, giving it to the sands with his family.

Siyu did not say another word for months after Ishou's death, preferring instead to lay in his sleeping bag. None could make Siyu stir, not his parents, siblings, or Rattlebreath. When he finally began to speak again and return to normalcy, Siyu spoke of a world of utter madness and insanity, stating that still haunted him constantly. There was even a strange vision that called itself 'Avante' and had taken to jeering at him, calling him names and laughing whilst Siyu was bedridden.

Consulting with Rattlebreath about these strange visions and voices, Rattlebreath called on a number of other Shamans, but Siyu found no relief. He could do little but endure this new world he had been thrust into. It was a world full of Ishou's touch. He could see her in his parents and siblings. Hear her in Rattlebreath's orders. Even the tribesmen who lessened their teasing reminded Siyu of his twin. It was unbearable.

And so he left.

To Si Wong City he went, hoping to the Gods that he could find someone could help him, or perhaps a new life free of his baggage. But life is not easy, even in Si Wong City. A man without connections, money, or real skills beyond sandsailing and sandbending combined with prejudices against sandbenders ended up wrapping Siyu up in a minor theive's gang. It was among these thieves that he discovered the herb known colloquially as 'Si Wong Kong', 'Kong', 'SWK' and 'Shwick'. When smoked, Si Wong Kong causes relaxation in the user, relaxation that turned out to directly lessen the visions and voices. It wasn't long until Siyu began regularly using Kong, a habit that required more and more money. Slowly but surely, Siyu turned more and more to thievery, until the present day.[/hider]


[b]Supporting Cast:[/b]
[list][*]Avante: A 'being' visible only to Siyu as far as he knows, Avante's visual form is that of a small mongoose covered in black and white fur. Only the colors are constantly shifting, blending, birthing new colors, and ending those colors. It sits upon Siyu's shoulders, often whispering to him. Avante's motivations and even whether or not it actually exists are still unclear to Siyu, who isn't sure if Avante is an actual spirit or a figment of his imagination.[/list][/hider]