Hidden 1 mo ago 17 days ago Post by Kassarock
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Kassarock W O R L D E A T E R

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Z H O U X I A O L O N G


T H E Y O U N G D R A G O N , E M P E R O R O F G R E A T Z H O U


A P P E A R A N C E

Zhou Xiaolong is a handsome youth not yet out of his early twenties. He is tall and well muscled, but not stocky, with a lithe physique more suited to that of a runner than a wrestler. A wild mane of jet black hair tumbles down to his lower back when not bound and affixed with pins to hold it into place.

Despite being born of the highest of the nobility, there is a roughness and a ruggedness about his person. Xiaolong's skin is not the perfectly pale smooth complexion that most would expect of a royalty, instead he is lightly tanned from long hours riding under the open sky. It is also marked by two prominent scars, one creeps up across the left side of his high cheek bones to slash his dark brow in two, whilst another tucks under the right side of his sharp jaw, running down onto his exposed neck.

His eyes are dark, a brown so deep it also seems black until the light catches them. They're difficult to read, giving him a somewhat enigmatic quality unless he is overcome with particularly strong emotion. This, combined with his reputation, gives him something of an authoritative air, and he has been known to silence men with but a hard glance.

In his dress he strives for utility and function over aesthetics and ostentatious displays of wealth. He often dresses little better than a common solider when not at court, and even when residing at the palace he prefers his silks in muted tones of black and maroon. He rarely wears the full Imperial Mianguan Crown, preferring a small silver and jade Xiaoguan to hold his topknot in place.

P E R S O N A L I T Y

Command was something that thrust upon the Emperor from a young age. Xiaolong was leading armies and winning battles at eighteen, it has given him a commanding and domineering streak in his personality. He is used to getting what he wants, and bends the court and the imperial bureaucracy to his will despite his general unpopularity.

His callousness and ruthless nature is well known. Xiaolong is a man who has personally killed his own family members, and is responsible for the deaths of all but one of his siblings. Its whispered that he smiled as the Dowager Empress was forced to drink poison, a woman to whom he should have shown the upmost filial piety. It is widely believed he is a sadist who loves nothing more than wanton murder and destruction.

It is certainly true that the Emperor is most comfortable around men of bloodshed. He values the counsel of his generals much more than that of his civilian administrators, granting them greater privileges and favours. Those closest to him are all staunch loyalists from his days in the Northern Frontier Army, men who have fought alongside him for years, these are the few people he seems to genuinely trust.

Xiaolong is also in possession of an infamous temper, that has become the terror of many courtiers and ministers. He rages against the traitors and rebels that continually threaten the stability of his rule. His anger is also regularly directed at those who fail to enact his will through indolence, incompetence, or corruption.

H I S T O R Y

Third son of Emperor Zhou Longwei, Xiaolong was born of an affair he had with a common serving maid who was only later raised to be an imperial concubine. Xiaolong was always considered the least of the princes, being born half a commoner and under scandalous circumstances. His mother died young, when Xiaolong himself was still a child.

When he was sixteen Xiaolong was appointed a subcommander of the Northern Frontier Garrison, where he first gained military experience under the command of Guo Qiang, an old general who mentored the young prince. It is also where Xiaolong met his future right hand men, Marshal Fang and Commander Hu. Fang was another junior officer from a minor family serving with Xiaolong, whilst Hu was a common soldier under his command.

At eighteen his father, the Longwei Emperor, died and his eldest brother Honghui ascended the throne as Emperor. Not long afterwards Xiaolong took control of the Northern Garrison Army and declared war on his brother in order to place himself upon the Jade Throne.

After over a year of fighting Xiaolong slowly gained the upper hand in the conflict and faced Honghui in battle, ending in a decisively victory for his forces, with the Emperor being killed in the fighting. Xiaolong secures the capital with the death of yet more members of the Imperial Family, one of his first acts as Emperor is the execution the Dowager Empress, along with numerous former ministers and nobles who sided with Honghui. He is only twenty years of age.

The war is far finished however. Before the year is out, the Yan clan, former allies of the Zhou and the family of the Dowager Empress, revolt in favour of placing one of the former Empress’s descendants upon the throne. Together, along with the Prince of Chu and numerous other nobles hostile to Xiaolong's rule, the Yan declare Xiaolong's younger brother Zixin Emperor.

The fighting is particularly bloody, with heavy losses on both sides. In the end the Yan are slaughtered to a man, the Prince of Chu is killed in battle and his wife (Xiaolong’s older sister Lijuan) dies during the sack of the Chu capital. Many great families are brought down by the fighting. Xiaolong personally executes his younger brother. It is around this time Xiaolong earns the moniker, The Bastard Tyrant.

Sporadic rebellions and border incursions by steppe barbarians have marked the remaining years of Xiaolong’s reign, most of which has been spent on active campaign. The Zhou Imperial Family is a shadow of what it once was, with only Xiaolong and his younger sister Jiaying being seen in public. Rumours swirl about the fate of Xiaolong's nephews. Most assume they were quietly murdered by the Bastard Tyrant once he had them in his grasp.
Hidden 1 mo ago Post by sukikyoufu
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sukikyoufu Endwalker

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Xiang Yue

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Appearance


Xiang Yue the youngest of her siblings, with a slender physique and a smooth pale complexion appearing to be flawless that her sister envied. Effortless beauty that often caught the attention of eligible men from powerful families, which only fuelled the jealousy of her elder sister. Slightly above average in height with long dark brown hair that most assumed to be black until you caught it in the light and it revealed it’s secret, falling down past her waist when not pinned in an updo.

One major difference that sets her apart from her sister in looks is her eyes, Yue inherited her mother's eye colour. A deep dark jade green which often looked striking against her pale skin.

Before the Yan-Chu rebellion Yue was often dressed in the finest of clothing, garments befitting her status despite her hatred for it. It was only after the fall of her great family that she had more freedom in the outfits she could wear. Opting for looser clothing that you’d expect to see soldiers wearing when they trained. Previous hands that had not been scarred or blemished for not working a day in her life were now courser. No longer smooth or dainty that you’d expect from a high standing woman as after the fall of her family she began to train with her uncle in the art of the blade. Honing her skills, but it wasn’t without its drawbacks as she now had a long scar that danced across her entire back, marking the one flawless skin much to her sister's delight.

Personality


Despite the rivalry in her family and the jealousy of her sister, Yue is quite content with her own company. To others she appeared quiet and reserved, that she would not speak unless spoken to, but mostly it was down to the fact she did not wish to engage with others and their boring conversations. Polite to most she’d always find a reason or an excuse not to be around others, sneaking away to improve her knowledge with books or just exploring and being away from the public. Yue hated how fake people could be, how others would play nice just for their own personal gain so she decided to not engage where possible, more for her family's sake and to not ruin their high standing.

Yue was never one for the spotlight unlike her sister who would latch on to any compliment or laugh at any ridiculous joke, attention was something she definitely avoided. Even with the jealousy of her sister Yue was loyal to her family, she adored her father and she was certainly his favourite. The death of him had been hard for her, turning her bitter and seeking revenge for their death. Yue didn’t care that their family wealth had been stripped, titles gone and good standing now in the drain as that was material to her. Not necessary in life, but her father's death and her brothers disappearance had fuelled her anger and her uncle had made use of that bitterness and revenge. Fanning those flames, training her into an assassin and giving her an outlet to work through the pain for his own personal gain.

History


Youngest of three siblings, Yue has an older brother and sister with Yue only just hitting her twenties. Yue was the favourite of their father and everywhere her father went she was often trailing behind even from a young age.

The Xiang family having stood for generations, was a high standing family full of wealth, titles and everything at their fingertips that you could think of. Well known in the community and loved by a lot of people, with barely any rivals or those that wished ill on the family.

The eldest child of the family was Shaoruo. A very charming handsome young man in his late twenties, the cliche of tall dark haired and handsome and he alongside his father had both fought in wars and supported those lesser around them. Shaoruo was due to unite with another high standing family with a marriage that had been in the works.

The middle child Mei had just reached her mid-twenties, growing up jealous of her younger sister as she felt she always had to try harder to be noticed especially by their father. Mei loved the finer things in life, she could come across spoiled as she had an air of authority about her. Growing up with everything handed to her it became an expectation for her and she loved to be the centre of attention. Often Mei and their mother would spend days talking about finding love in a wealthy man, whilst training to be the perfect wife. It was one thing Mei was good at and often lorded over her younger sister who would rather learn how to fire an arrow.

Everything changed for Xiang family with the Yan-chu rebellion, unbeknown to the daughters of that family, their mother, father and brother had played an integral part to the rebellion against the new emperor. With the family's vast wealth, it had been used to help fund weapons and support the rebellion against its current emperor. They had also housed fugitives and tampered with trade routes. The consequences had been severe and it had brought a once great family down to ruin. Their mother and father had been publicly killed for their crimes and their brother had disappeared, believed to be dead.

The girls had been sparred, but stripped of any family wealth or titles and had been taken in by their uncle. It had been a blow to Mei who was so used to finer things in life and now felt like she had no prospects. Currently the surviving children of the Xiangs now lived on a farm with their uncle, Yue had adapted easily to the new lifestyle, but Mei was struggling.
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