Right! Only took me a couple of hours. Hopefully this doesn't sound too much like Mulan. I only ripped off some themes. >_> <_< Let me know what you think and if anything needs changing... [b]Name:[/b] Chu Kyang [b]Gender:[/b] Female [b]Age:[/b] 18 [b]Appearance:[/b] [hider=Appearance] Without looking closely or regarding her hair or face, Kyang's state of dress would suggest that she is a young man. Her build, though slighter than an average soldier, holds strength and skill to hold her own in a fight. Her clothing reflects this intent. She wears a coat of metal scales that covers her body and arms, over a long, vibrant blue robe. Grey foot wrappings and sandals cover her feet and a plumed, hide and steel skullcap with leather skirts to cover the neck sits under her arm wherever she is out of a fight. On her back is a knapsack with a few mementos and up her sleeve is a dagger, but her most precious personal item is the Chu family's polearm, the Dragon Ship Tiller - a glaive with a broad reclining blade, a circular hilt, and a tassel. The base of the blade depicts the head of a boar in bronze. [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/gvwaCZJ.jpg[/img] Kyang's grey eyes tend to glint with what could either be daring madness or simply knowing something that others do not.[/center] [/hider] [b]Can Manipulate Qi/Ki?:[/b] Nope. [b]Abilities (if any):[/b] [hider=Abilities] [i]Combat Training:[/i] Much to the chagrin of her family, Kyang practices her martial arts forms regularly. The original rationale was 'self-defence', but it has since grown to the point where mere muggers or kidnappers are the least of her worries. Her hand-to-hand and knife fighting techniques are rudimentary, while her real skill lies in polearm techniques. [i]Historical and Military Knowledge:[/i] Kyang idolises her great grandfather, the renowned general Chu Chihun. She has not only poured over the historical documents that made up his career, but has expanded her voracious reading to military doctrine and the international histories of Kanami in general. [i]Unflappable Cunning:[/i] It is difficult enough to surprise Kyang, but if she shows any fear at all, she is almost inhuman in her ability to obscure it. She is instead resourceful and tries to plan on her feet in clever ways. [/hider] [b]Personality:[/b] [hider=Personality] Kyang tends to be blunt and vocal about most things, but could not be described as prideful or impatient. Arrogant, maybe, but she likes to deliberately get a rise out of those who act serious in particular. That said, she is not this way out of ignorance for common decency, she just prefers open honesty rather than unnecessary subtext. The two things that frustrate her the most are people who overcomplicate things and those that doubt her abilities. She is fiercely independent after travelling for so long and is insulted by people who presume to do things for her. This, in turn, makes it difficult to admit that she needs help when such occasions arise. Despite her banter or her gripes, Kyang is a loyal friend and an encouraging presence. Her loud, confident, and direct nature lends a sort of courage in the face of adversity. As well, her quick plans, whether they are sound or not, give an aura of certainty about her. [/hider] [b]History:[/b] [hider=History] In the last war of significant scale taken part in by Daeyang-Gug, few versed in its history could pass over the exploits of the legendary general Chu Chihun. On record for winning countless battles, breaking daunting sieges, and commanding the defence of a city against a force twelve times his garrison's number and still achieving victory. His name became immortal and his family was well rewarded. Three generations later, the Chu family's military legacy has changed forms. Their calling has instead been edged into the realms of politics to remain relevant the prevailing peacetime. The current head of the house is indeed still relevant, being a high ranking governmental official and only two degrees of separation from the king. The family's youngest adult daughter, however, was never a flatterer. Kyang grew up in a stifling, cloistered childhood amongst her family. The only friends she could have were delicate flowers of young girls, brought to tears by the mildest of chilly winds. She grew up with her family's intention to marry her off and slot her into the role of a lady of the house. Unfortunately, Kyang was more interested in watching the guard drills in the courtyard than learning to pour tea. She liked their dances more than any others. With not much to do but study and practice etiquette, Kyang spend her free time reading, eventually becoming entranced by the stories of her great grandfather. Age granted Kyang more freedoms, but she was still tied to the family. Whenever she could, she slinked away to find libraries of friends’ houses or kingdom records for more material to worm through, she found herself a tutor to teach 'self-defence', and she would disguise herself and train with the household guard at times. Their cameraderie and blunt nature rubbed off on her. By the time she approached her adulthood, she could never resemble the noble lady that her family needed her to be. It wasn't even Kyang's eighteenth birthday before she was informed that she would marry a man she had never met. While living with the conveniences of her family was manageable, Kyang knew that she would have fewer freedoms and more responsibilities in matrimony. She knew she had to leave without notice. What was to be a birthday feast in Kyang's honour found her absent. She had taken the family glaive (disused for decades by this point), a guard uniform, a fistful of coin, and a few personal items, and then disappeared in broad daylight. No one spotted her leaving and no one searching found her since. Kyang's plan was to head to Mingdu and assume a new identity. If she could, she wanted to become a librarian, or translator, or a scribe, or something similar. If all else failed, she supposed that she could become a nun. Her primary objective was to avoid the stifling and stilted lifestyle she left behind, instead gaining more independence. There was no chance of Kyang getting a career in the military, which was what she really wanted. She considered trying to cross-dress her way into an army, but she didn't believe it would work like that one tragic story from Yunshou about the girl who took his sick father's place in the draft. She reached Mingdu within the year, for better or for worse. [/hider] [b]Other:[/b] Legends suggest that Dragon Ship Tiller, the Chu family glaive that Kyang carries, holds the soul of a powerful patron creature or ancestor. While it is an exquisite weapon in and of itself, there does not appear to be any outward power imparted by it. However, more than one historical source has attributed General Chu Chihun's tactical prowess to the powers of the glaive, which may explain Kyang's quick thinking.