Zhǔ
Race:
Human
Appearance:
Zhǔ is a well built man standing in at a towering 193 cm and weighing a solid 82 Kg. His body type is slim and limber, but still possesses a distinct strength and robustness that evokes a sense of strength. Zhǔ's body is exceptionally fit and well proportioned, almost to an unnatural extent. His body appears to have no imperfections, his limbs and frame all forming a cohesive whole that can well be called the paragon of a human body. His skin is of a mellow and lightly tanned shade, but is without any blemishes intruding upon it as if Zhǔ has never been subject to injury. Zhǔ's complexion has a distinctly sinister tone about it, with sharp, angular features granting him a piercing ferocity further enhanced by crimson red eyes. Zhǔ's hair flows in a long black stream that drops down to his shoulder blades, always in impeccable condition as if constantly cared for with meticulous nurture.
Personality:
Zhǔ appears to embody the character that his features suggest. A sinister, manipulative man wreathed in darkness of mind and heart. At first glance, Zhǔ appears to be a malevolent man holding ruthless calculation at heart, with a firm, sharp and imperturbable aura accentuated by his piercing complexion which suggests both rejection and critical contemplation of others. Zhǔ sees the world around him through dispassionate lenses. He does not particularly attach himself to anything nor does he attempt to empathize with others. Zhǔ's resignation can be seen as a cruel stoicism against others, but it can also be seen as a deeply reflective and insightful nature that simply places Zhǔ on a path of pragmatism unblemished by the rigors of sentiment. Zhǔ is highly rational and down-to-earth, waving away any superstition or exaggeration with an utter trust in what he himself can see and analyze. As such, Zhǔ is somewhat obstinate, quite unwilling to stray from his norm.
However, Zhǔ is not the perfect manifestation of ruthless calm nor does he ever intend to be. He has at core, a heart of noble bearing that refuses any truly depraved ways. Nothing that Zhǔ does can be seen in the context of pure evil or pure good, much like the dual nature of human nature itself. In complement, Zhǔ himself does not see himself through a simple one dimensional view of "good" or "bad", both views he considers to be fickle and subjective ideals enforced by norms, pasts and biases. He is not ignorant of emotion, and is as human as the next man in that he is able to understand the joys and anguishes of other sentient beings.
Backstory:
Zhǔ was born in a dense forestland completely devoid of human intrusion in the land of Heidif. His parents were from the city of Vecafan, but were forced to flee upon wronging one of the nobles that utterly controlled the city. Pursued by antagonizing forces endlessly, they eventually ended up in the remote forestlands of Heidif at their wits end. With death biting at her heels on a chariot driven by hunger, torment and injury, Zhǔ's mother gave birth to him in the depths of this forest. Already driven to the brink of death, Zhǔ's parents succumbed to the rigors of nature after enduring the cruelty of fellow man after two years. Defenseless, Zhǔ faced inevitable death in his harsh conditions. However, by apparent miracle, he was discovered and taken by the very few men that lived within the peaks of the harshest Heidif mountain ranges where chilling snow and biting winds tore asunder any sort of life but those conditioned to the extreme conditions. People that led a near mythical existence, completely isolated from the outside world in their world surrounded by mountain ranges. The people there eked out an existence within the peak of the highest mountain, almost completely unknown to the other people of Heidif. They were monks and ascetics that had sought out the harshest of nature's threats in order to ascend and achieve a greater understanding of spirituality.
The monks resided in one imposing monastery nestled within the constantly blizzard riddled peak of a mountain, and within this sanctuary among a landscape of barren ice, Zhǔ was raised. Those that came to the monastery were often those escaping authorities or those that had embarked on the same journey of spirituality that the men there had undertaken, or perhaps one of those exceptional few that found the monastery's existence and decided to take up its ways. It was perhaps the first instance that a child had been raised under the roof of such an austere environment, and it molded Zhǔ's life utterly.
He grew within its confines, enduring the same agonizing harshness the monks around him endured such as starvation and endless cold. The monks on more than one occasion thought of ending Zhǔ's life when he was still young to cease his suffering that they endured with heightened physical condition empowered by their unique magic which drew from such extreme conditions, but they were collectively astounded when Zhǔ naturally surfaced their unique magic by embracing suffering as the monks had done. Inspired by this, the monks raised Zhǔ with a new fervor and imparted their whole knowledge unto him. The thousand year old tradition the monks had endured was all immersed within Zhǔ who managed to bottle it all within himself through his natural capability and aptitude. It is said that young minds learn the best, and such was the case for Zhǔ. When he reached the age of twenty, he already had the mastery of magic to become the head of the monastery, a position he took when the head passed on. Thus Zhǔ received his name, which is merely a title that signifies authority. He does not remember the original name given to him, and the monks had never christened him with one when they took him in.
Yet Zhǔ never had the motivation to stay within the monastery. He was not an old man that had lived through so many experiences and thus only had the nature of the soul to comprehend, nor was he a desperate outcast that only had the monastery to turn to. He was a young man, eager with a full life ahead of him. He eventually left the monastery after three years to experience the world and resolve his own internal questions and problems.
Skills/strengths:
Zhǔ is a resourceful and crafty man who can use the calming effects of his magic to its utmost extent by formulating effective strategies on the spot.
Zhǔ is incredibly hardy and survivable, easily capable of sustaining himself off of nature by himself.
Weaknesses:
The biggest weakness to Zhǔ is that he must breathe to generate energy. Cutting off his breathing removes his physically enhanced state and prevents him from generating energy to power his attacks. In addition, ragged breathing hinders energy production so paralyzing agents or long and extended fights can wear down Zhǔ's breathing. Zhǔ is also centered almost entirely on melee combat, utilizing a mastery of martial arts in conjunction with his enhanced physical state to defeat opponents. Naturally, ranged combat is a direct counter to Zhǔ. His only real ranged attack is his beam eyes, but they come at a heavy cost and can be predicted against if encountered for a second time.
Zhǔ has no idea what is going on in the world around him due to having lived on a rock for most of his life. As such he often puts himself in unintentional danger or is incapable of acting with others with normality. Due to this, Zhǔ is currently on the run from Vecafan authorities after he insulted a noble and killed several guards not knowing that the city was controlled by the nobles who held considerable power.
Fighting style:
Zhǔ fights with his bare hands, utilizing a highly specialized unarmed fighting style designed to kill an opponent as soon as possible.
The crux of the fighting style is to keep his arms flexible like whips while quickly moving at unexpected right angles in order to keep it from having a concrete shape. He keeps his arms and stance steady like a rock while waiting to strike, and he is able quickly close in without revealing any hints as to how he advanced. His arms quickly extend, and his forearms move even more quickly from that point to strike with his "mountain-like fingers." The strikes come from the outside to the inside, the swinging arms changing direction using the elbow as the fulcrum to strike from impossible directions. In addition, Zhǔ can break his bones, dislocate joints and tear muscles to rapidly change the course of his blows to make them almost impossible to dodge. He can easily strike the back of the head from a very close distance completely unbeknownst to the target. Even if that strike is seen through, he can easily alter the circular orbit of the path into a straight line directed from above to smash down on their head. He can quickly reach through an opponent's guard to strike them, and then use the "body of the snake", an elbow, to deal an additional blow. Each attack is accurately aimed at the target's vital points and weak spots, and are heavy and rapid in their intensity, rendering them almost invisible to an unexpecting fighter. Dodging the attacks does little, as his fists are "live snakes" capable of changing path to come back to the target. Zhǔ can also use the style in defense, making him able to react to a perfect surprise attack, in charging speed, footwork, timing, and the attack itself. All of the strikes up until that point are performed with only his left hand, as he doesn't use his right hand until the final strike when his opponent reveals an opening or is weakened. Unlike previous attacks that follow a arcing line, he executes the attack as a point and thrusts his fist like a lance directly at his target. Using precise accuracy, the attack can pierce through a throat, break bones, and smash a head to pieces. Even if the strike is dodged, he can instead dig his fingers into the target's neck, as they can easily forget that a hand is originally something used to grab rather than punch to perform a powerful throw or grapple. With this style, Zhǔ is a monumental foe in close quarters combat when augmented by his enhanced strength, speed and reflexes.
Zhǔ is also incredibly versatile and resourceful, complementing his flexible magic that has a huge variety of weak uses that collectively form a coherent and potent combative whole.
Special items:
A comfortable scarf weaved from life energy sensitive insect carapace. It can conduct life energy extremely well and its soft composition can instantly turn into a metallic and durable form when charged with energy. It's shape can also be freely altered and formed into a blade or a shield if needed by charging it with energy.
Enemies:
Vecafan authorities who have placed a bounty on Zhǔ's head after he slighted one and killed a few guards not knowing the importance of nobles. Due to the rather hefty bounty on his head, Zhǔ is sure to catch the attention of many bounty hunters as he did not bother to conceal his face during his unfortunate incident.
Allies:
None, as Zhǔ hasn't moved seen enough of the world to know much of it.
Magic (if any):
Aura
The magical style that Zhǔ possesses and has trained with for most of his entire life. A style completely unique to Zhǔ and the monks that raised him, an oddity that does not draw on any sort of arcane knowledge but rather the essence of human emotion and feeling. It is a "pure" magic that strengthens one's inner vitality and life force, bringing it out in material form as pure, unblemished streaks of energy resembling electricity. It is a magical style that does not require talent and is possibly one of the hardest to learn. It is developed by experiencing constant pain and developing a perfection of mind and body to overcome such adversity. A magic that relies on the user to develop in both mind and body and not simply retain stores of knowledge. It cannot be seen as true magic in that it lacks the sense of "supernatural" that magic has. It draws entirely on the wielder's inner strength of spirit and is trained by physical and mental conditioning.
The key philosophy to the magic is the art of breathing. By breathing, one draws in life to fuel his or her body. The oxygen that a practitioner of this magic breathes in is automatically converted into raw life energy which nourishes the physical body immensely. To Zhǔ who has used this special method of breathing for most of his life, his body can be considered a pinnacle of human capacity in form and outright supernatural in capacity. Zhǔ is immensely physically powerful, capable of breaking soft stone with light effort and evading the swiftest of blows with an elegance reserved only to wondrous creatures of nature. Practitioners with a certain level of experience can bring out an "Aura", a direct manifestation of their being. It merely appears to be a silhouette of energy around the wielder that grants enhanced cognition, awareness of surroundings, and perception. In Zhǔ's case, his aura appears to be a silhouette of crimson energy flowing and crackling like flames. His unnatural crimson red eyes are also a side effect of the magic.
A master of this magical art is capable of manipulating manifested life energy and using it to influence the outside world and not just his or her own physical body. Zhǔ is capable of doing such, and by focusing the energy generated from breathing, he is able to produce streaks of his life energy that appear to be crimson red streams of electricity. This energy is versatile and can be used for many applications. By streaking it through an object, Zhǔ is able to strengthen the most mundane of items into much sturdier constructs temporarily. It can be used as an adhesive, streaking it through the fingers and attaching the bolts of energy onto surfaces to latch onto them. Overloading an object can potentially destroy it. The adhesive effect can be used on the feet to increase the surface tension of water to walk on it, and so on.
The energy, as life energy, is unable to really harm other living beings by itself, so firing the energy through another human will not have a destructive effect, but rather a healing effect. Life energy can affect movement in objects, and as such the direction of a projectile can be curved by applying energy to it beforehand. In addition, stationary objects can be forcefully launched by overloading it with energy in an explosive manner. Broken bones and dislocated joints can be healed and realigned with ease and torn muscles can be healed. However, significant wounds such as harm to internal organs cannot be healed. With creativity, this healing effect can be used to strengthen combat capacity by allowing the user to perform impossible moves such as stretching arms or curving punches mid flight by dislocating joints, tearing muscles and snapping bones. The pain is dulled by manipulated energy, and the resulting damage is patched by healing. Mastering Aura grants one a full control of one's physical body, so one can perform impossible physical feats such as flexing muscles inwardly to crush bones or dislocate joints freely on mental will.
Stingy Eyes
A technique that Zhǔ developed as a lethal assassination attack. By concentrating an extreme amount of life energy on the centers of both eyes, Zhǔ essentially creates two localized but minute masses of intense energy that draws in surrounding air and moisture from the eyes. By then detonating the two masses of energy in explosive fashion, Zhǔ fires two beams of extremely destructive and thin energy that moves at high velocities rivaling that of bullets and are capable of slicing through stone. Since life energy cannot directly harm another living being, it is the liquid and pressurized air that piercing through matter for destructive effect. This technique renders Zhǔ blind for a few seconds and drains his energy considerably as it uses up all of his stored energy for one destructive attack. Since it is aimed with the eyes, it is almost perfectly accurate, which, coupled with its rapid velocity, makes this attack a superb last resort type one. The effective range of the beams are twenty five meters before the energy making them dissipates.
Other:N/A
