Tradition
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Akashic Brotherhood, Vajrapani Sect
Spheres
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Life, Forces, Mind
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Man Jianghong
Age 27
Outlook:
Man Jianghong is angry. Angry with a system that doesn't acknowledge her existence, a world that couldn't care less, a universe shaped and run by wicked old men and stupid young ones. Man Jianghong isn't even her real name, it's the title of a poem written by a man who for all his valour and intelligence couldn't see his way through to bucking the system that was about to kill him. Not a lot of people get the irony involved here, but it's a good way to figure out who's an idiot.
For all the foolishness in the world, though, there are people who get it. The ones in the Akasha, the voices that whisper to her, the ones that taught her the art of the breath when nobody else would. The ones who realised that here was someone who could show the world a different way.
Never mind that she was a girl. Did that cross Avalokiteshvara's mind when they became Kuanyin?
And sometimes, if a fool won't listen, you just have to punch him in the face until he will. That's a whole lot easier when you have a thousand fists to punch with. Call it comprehension through pugilation. One way or another, someday people will listen. | Personal History
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Man Jianghong used to be known as Ouyang Lan, a girl from an obscure rural village in Chaozhou province, China - a place remote and poor enough that even the Cultural Revolution hadn't touched it much. Because of that, her family - Wulong mages of an ancient lineage - had been able to hole up there, somewhat safe from the Technocracy's burgeoning hold over Chinese society.
They got complacent though, and careless. Started training the heir to the line, Lan's brother. Demonstrating what could be done, and how. Underestimating just how savvy and persistent the Red Guards could be.
They came through the village with both conventional and arcane arms. The Ouyang clan didn't stand a chance, and they knew it. Surrendered meekly and got sent for reeducation, instead of being executed out of hand. Having your frontal cortex burned out and your connection to the Akasha sundered forever wasn't as bad as death, if you were a coward.
Lan had hidden away. The local fox spirits, vile things though they were, had even less love for the Technocracy than they had for human mages, and their leader was old and cunning. She could smell the incipient power in Lan, taste the strands of fate that tied the girl to the elder spirits. Made a bargain with them. The girl would live, have a chance to learn the secrets of the universe; the foxes would live, shielded from the Technocracy.
Neither side had a lot of choice. It wasn't a great deal for anyone. But it worked.
Ouyang Lan became Man Jianghong. The rest isn't history, but maybe someday it will be.
Plot Hooks
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Man Jianghong is a scion of the Ouyang clan, whose main line still survives in exile. They aren't fully aware of her existence, and aren't likely to be best pleased if they discover the whole truth.
She's obligated to the foxes of Chao'an, and if they decide to call on her help it would be hard and costly to say no. |
