Character is still in WIP, but figured it would be best to keep people up to date on the progress. Probably get some stuff simplified or cut to make the character concept flow better. [hider=Life in Wood] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/22ZgR7Z.png[/img][/center] _____________________________________________________ [b]Name:[/b] Kāi Chū [b]Titles:[/b] Maiden with the Wooden Heart [b]Sex:[/b] Female [b]Alignment:[/b] Lawful Neutral _____________________________________________________ [b]History:[/b] Long ago, the Kāi family served a mystics for the usurper of China, Dong Zhuo. Dong Zhuo was a tyrant. A cruel man, and the Kāi family's documents say little on the matter of how or why they served under him. Know only that this was a choice made from cowardice. So too was the choice made to serve under Dong Zhuo's killer, a man known as Lu Bu. There, is equally little documentation of why, or how they came to serve under Lu Bu, though family members believe the choice was made due to encouragement from Chen Gong, Lu Bu's primary advisor. Having mystics to help out in guiding his actions would have been a boon, if Lu Bu had actually ever listened to his advisors. While the reasons may be gone, the Kāi family saw Lu Bu as a mystical force. Impressed by his and Chen Gong's ambitions, they sought to understand, and perhaps reach a similar lofty goal alongside Chen Gong. So that Lu Bu might be reborn as a war god. Unfortunately, Lu Bu's death did not allow for this, and despite many attempts the Kāi family was unable to acquire his body from the capital of Xu. Instead, they retreated from society. Wandering off into Northern Wei, where they offered their services to Cao Cao but in truth were more interested in the security his empire offered over that of the rising Shu and Wu factions. There, they began to create a garden. Taking the bodies of soldiers who died in the ongoing war of the three kingdoms, they sought out valuable corpses to plant underneath their gardens. Using divination and geomancy, they would let these trees grow for a hundred years, and then carve free the soul of the soldier into a new, puppet body. Detached from society as they had become, they avoided the main troubles of several dynasties to follow, and in time would serve as on and off again mystics in council to kings. Regardless, stories began to form a garden filled with silver and white plants. Where men and women would travel, and then be overcome by a crushing sadness. They would go into the garden, and end their lives. Some whispered that they would see their great grandfather, who had gone missing one day walking through town on errands for the Kāis. Kai Chu is the latest member of that family, born in the fallout of the second world war, she grew to see the the rising pressure of these... Grail wars. Remaining detached from it all though, she merely watched, and stayed with her family. Focused on the task of tending to the garden and perfecting the family's craft. Even then... She felt there was something missing. A frustration growing as she approached her eighth birthday. What was missing? Ah yes... Despite the centuries of work, the family had yet to complete the ambition they had set for themselves. Perhaps... there was a chance a different approach might work. [b]Personality:[/b] The Kai family are not royals, but one might mistake them for such. They have remained deep in their homeland, and have relied on their puppets as an army of servants to serve under their every whim. They are royals in all but name, and they act like it. Simply how one lives when you have those who serve under you like eternal servants who do not question your will. Kai Chu is no different. She has lived her life living, breathing, and working on wood as a regal task, and takes great pride in it. She adores the time and effort that goes into 'real art' and looks down upon other forms of creation as inferior artistry. In that case... There is nothing she hates more than homonculi. Disgusting, filthy, lazy constructs pretending to be human. They are devoid of true artistic merit, as mass produced false objects. _____________________________________________________ [u][b]Magecraft[/b][/u] [b]Quality of Circuits:[/b] B [b]Quantity of Circuits:[/b] B [b]Elemental Affinity:[/b] Water, Wood [b]Attribute:[/b] Nurture _____________________________________________________ [b]Magecraft:[/b] [i]- General Magecraft[/i] [i]- Puppet Craft:[/i] The creation, carving, molding, and training of puppets is one of mankind's oldest magics. Since the days of old, they have attempted to create the image of man from stone and wood. Even the gods are said to have created mankind from clay, and the legends of Enkidu and Gilgamesh still carry to this day. As such, mankind's desire to create its own eternal image in wood is the ultimate core of their existence. To leave something truly great behind. This is true of Chu, who has spent countless years practicing her craft. On certain days of the year, she will plant the body of a dead man beneath the soil. Years later, a tree shall grow from that spot, carrying with it the memories and skills of the deceased. The puppet must then be carved in a single day and night, in order to create a replication of the one who once lived. As such, while each puppet reeks of the highest quality of mystery, each is a generation of prep time, work, and patience. Their value is beyond measure to most mages. [i]- Geomancy:[/i] A method of divination that interprets markings on the ground or the patterns formed by tossed handfuls of soil, rocks, or sand. In this case, it has been slightly adjusted to focus on the grooves of tree bark and branches to find the "form of the soul within the wood." This method brings the ideal form out of the wood, and allows for specific roles to be emphasized. Thus creating puppets that exhibit the true strength of the soul within. [i]- Yuanhai Ziping:[/i] Balanced with Geomancy, it is another form of divination utilized by the Kāi family. The method involves manipulation of the Four Pillars, each consisting of the two Chinese characters for the date and time of a person's birth. By combining this with the family's alchemy and botany, it is possible to create circumstances that allow for the creation of puppets that are idealized to their peak form. [i]- Alchemy:[/i] The potion of immortality was made using mercury. It is mercury that Chū uses to nurture the trees within her garden. Under this circumstance, the mercury helps create a pathway from the body buried under the tree, through the root system, and into the form of the tree itself. This mercury becomes the cage of the soul, helping to tighten the hold it has upon the construction of the tree, and giving each tree a unique white wood. Alluding to the name "The garden of ghosts." Even outside of this usage, Chū is an accomplished alchemist who concocts various poisons and medicines to give to guests. _____________________________________________________ [b]Mystic Codes:[/b] [hider=Mystic Codes] - [b]Four Auspicious Beasts (Azure Dragon/ Vermilion Bird/ White Tiger/ Black Tortoise):[/b] There are four mythological creatures appearing among the Chinese constellations along the ecliptic, and viewed as the guardians of the four cardinal directions. They are the Dragon, Bird, Tiger, and Tortoise. At the center is the Yellow Dragon, the Emperor. Chū has constructed four puppet limbs, using the corpses of each of these animals in her garden. These four trees grew for a hundred years, and carved during the seasons under the most exact conditions. As such, they are united, separate, and bound forever to the Yellow Dragon at their center. That dragon is Chū. Each of these limbs is capable of acting under their own will, but all four work in complete unison as if they are a single entity but each with its own senses. Like the heads of a hydra. With these limbs, it is possible for Chū to carve a puppet in a single day, a task that is so labor intensive that many consider it nearly impossible. - [b]Puppets (Elite):[/b] (20) Constructed from the bodies of the emperor's elites. The Chinese emperor, of the Han Dynasty. Soldiers who fought for the emperors, all bound eternally to serve under Chū, who while wearing the Four Auspicious Beasts, is the Yellow Dragon (Emperor). While there are over a hundred puppets created by the Kāi family over centuries, Chū has brought only twenty with her to the war, with the intent to have more shipped in from her homeland if the situation becomes too unstable. Their skills vary from spears, to swords, to bow and arrow, and even to horseback riding. They are they elite though, and there is plenty of overlap in what skills they have mastered, though some are more specialized than others. In several test runs, the puppets have a 100% win rate in battle against trained mercenaries of the modern era. - [b]Puppets (Inferior):[/b] (50) For some reason or another, whether the soul doesn't set properly, or the dates don't line up properly, not every puppet is perfect. In truth, for just about every perfect success, there is a likelihood of one or two failures to come before. While inferior to the Elites, they are still quite capable of following simple, pre-programmed actions and tactics. They follow after the elites, acting as guards or general soldiers. It is not unexpected to see an elite leading a squad of at least five or so of these inferior units. - [b]Weaponry:[/b] There isn't really a single weapon, but rather a collection of weapons. Weapons forged by a metalsmith, who has sequestered himself away in a cave from all society for the last thousand years. Or so the stories say. Chū doubts he's that old, but he clearly remembers the time of Qing China, so he's quite old. The weapons are made using Red Copper, a metal found only in a single mountain that the Yellow Emperor fought to control. It possesses supernatural elements that draws strength from the soul, amplifying the power of each strike. The soul connects to the body, and the body connects to the weapon. The soul is the weapon, creating a perfect synchronization with their weapon of choice. Several of these weapons include, Bows, chains and sickle, mace, shield, halberd, and sword. - [b]Connection Rods:[/b] In China, Chiyou once ruled the land as a God of War. Since then, it has been the ambition of the Kāi to complete the work of Chen Gong in bringing a new war god to this world. But, without the body of Lu Bu they had craved for centuries, they have attempted a new method. By using connection rods, it is possible to reconnect and merge several of the Elite Puppets together. Each specialized in a different weapon, and thus becoming the form of the six armed war god. [b]BUT[/b], despite the family's best attempts, over several centuries, they have only been able to merge up to five puppets, rather than six. This creates an elite among elites, but even then... It's not complete. [/hider] _____________________________________________________ [b]Non-Magecraft Abilities/Items:[/b] [i]- Botany:[/i] General knowledge of plant life, raising plant life, and tending to the Kāi family garden. Which is a massive forest, so one must have a good understanding of how to tend to an extensive garden. [i]- Shipping Lanes:[/i] The Kāi family put money into China's early shipping companies, and thus holds a great deal of power on importing and exporting to and from their homeland. These shipping lanes are important for Chu to send in a request for more puppets, and receive them within a short number of days. [/hider]