Name: Lee Shen
Age: 24
Sex: Male

Element: Fire
Home: Lower Ring
Profession: Thief

Personality: In a word, Lee is witty. Some would consider him overconfident, as he has a habit of taunting anyone chasing after him. He tends not to take things too seriously, one of his greatest flaws, as it has gotten him in trouble more than once. Always ready to crack a joke, and overall a friendly person to those who'll actually dare to speak to him, Lee tries to find the best out of any situation, using his jokes and his sense of humour often as a means of getting through more difficult situations. He is open and accepting of most people, even those who may be his initial enemies, as he believes change or circumstance may mean they can become future allies, or friends.

Getting to know Lee can be difficult, while he is generally friendly and something of a joker, he prefers to keep a great deal to himself still, never really sharing much about his past, or about how he may really feel in a situation. However, one who actually manages to get to know Lee well enough to be let into his inner circle can expect a friend for life, he's drastically loyal, and will protect those close to him fiercely.

Stance on Benders?: Lee has no view one way or the other on benders or bending. He understands the benefit that come from the ability of bending, being one himself, but he understands that they could be dangerous overall if they were left unchecked, considering their general power over non-benders.

History: Born and raised by a single mother in the slums of the lower ring, Lee had to learn to fend for himself from a very young age. His mother had been left along by Lee's father, who had been killed in gang violence, and she was too sick to work herself so Lee had to steal food and medicine for her from quite a young age. Lee got caught a few times when he was younger, but was usually let off with a slap on the wrist considering his age, however as he got older and gained more experienced, he was better able to avoid and escape the Republic's guards and anyone who caught him red-handed.

By the time he had turned eighteen, Lee's mother had passed away from her disease, and his thieving became less focused on just food and medicine, he began to steal luxuries, every now and then taking a trip up to the middle ring to take bolder jobs stealing from businessmen and families. When he came to the lower city, most of the luxuries he'd sell off, keeping some of his cash for himself while he gave out a fair amount of it to younger, poorer families and their children. Eventually, Lee became aware of his ability with bending, beginning to use it when necessary to frighten off any of the lower and weaker guards or gangsters who tried to apprehend him.

Unfortunately, while his crimes as a thief tended to draw some attention from the guard, his identity as a bender drew considerably more. Travelling to the middle ring to steal was less and less viable, and overall things became more difficult for Lee as the guards made more of an effort to catch him. Had it not been for the families he helped giving him safe haven, Lee would have had nowhere to hide, and no way to protect himself from the guards.

Now, Lee's life is very much a trial for survival, still attempting to steal for himself and the families keeping him safe while avoiding the constant attention of the guards. Unfortunately, as time has gone on it has become more and more clear to Lee that the city will not remain safe for him, and that he must eventually set off into the wilds.

Other: N/A

Name: Feng
Age: 26
Sex: M

Element: Air
Appearance: Feng typically is clothed in some type of jacket, preferably denim, and slim straight fit black jeans.
Home: Middle Ring
Profession: Illegal and Legal Arms Dealer

Personality: Feng is extremely skilled in knowing what's good for himself. His general attitude reflects that accurately. While he knows how to relax and compose himself in a professional manner, he's also acutely aware of how to appear intimidating in order to get what he wants. In his mind, he likes to think of it as a subtler type of bullying. Because of this mindset, people on the more sensitive side may be offended with the way he conducts himself, and those who are familiar with him know he doesn't mean any harm through his demeanor. At his core, Feng has a business man's integrity. Despite his desire to move up in the world, and to accompany his independent mindset, he swears by a "you-scratch-my-back-I'll-scratch-yours" motto. His moral compass is cloudy, at best, and he will most likely take his own well-being into account before someone else's.

He knows how beneficial friends can be and makes an effort, if only to improve his standing as a business man. In a similar vein, while he considers himself a business man, he is not afraid to get his hands dirty. In fact, he enjoys confrontation with people he deems are "unbecoming". As stated before, he is a man of integrity and judgement, but his reactions to those he judges negatively can be fairly severe.

Stance on Benders?: War is fuel for an arms dealer like himself. He welcomes anything that will profit him.

History: One of Feng’s earliest and fondest memories involves the contraband ring he’d orchestrated in his far-too-strict private school. Candy, soda, you name it. Anything that wasn’t allowed on school grounds, he saw to it that his peers gain access to it. The militaristic values of the school only fed his desire to break the rules. Upon his graduation into the equivalent of high school, his level of contraband followed suit. Obviously, new substances were in demand, and he was determined to be the supplier. None of this really bothered his parents. Thorough discussions were had between him and his parents, verifying a protocol if he were ever caught, and taking precautions to avoid having to use that protocol. It was never brought up, but Feng was well aware his father had his hands in something less than legal in addition to his job as a Future Industries Inventory Manager.

Despite their set precautions, nothing really could be done to prevent an antsy teen squealing on his entire operation. Investigations were done by the administration and the police were involved. The amount of evidence against him was just barely the amount needed for administration to act against him. Being a minor, nothing stuck to his legal record, but he was promptly expelled from the school. Having no record of violence, the snitch didn’t even consider Feng’s reaction. Feng caught him on his lunch break, taking a short walk to his house. No words were spoken when Feng ran up to the unknowing rat and threw his fist into his jaw. By no means was Feng a large or strong figure, but the blow seemed to launch the other boy into the air, ramming him into a nearby fence. A moment of disbelief came over him before he came to the dreadful conclusion – that was air bending. Nothing was for sure at that moment, but he knew he had to cover his tracks. Feng knelt by the broken boy on the ground and muttered six words. “This was a hit-and-run”.

Nothing ever came out of that besides his satisfaction of his revenge and his newfound knowledge. After speaking to his parents, his father decided high school was a waste of time for his business-inclined boy. It was time to let him in on the family business: arms dealing. His father was getting old and had the means to retire early, which meant it was Feng’s turn. Throughout his life, he always knew his father was a sort of gun enthusiast. It was from him he learned how to shoot his first handgun, and graduated to larger and larger weapons. He never expected that the illegal salesman trait he had was inherited. It was also from his father that he’d learned the trade of arms dealing both legal and otherwise.

The bending, however, was a solo endeavor. He was well aware of the illegality of the practice and elected to not make his parents an accomplice to that particular activity. He found he was able to recreate the ability to push something, much like he did with the snitch. At first, only by already pushing and making contact with an object, but slowly improved till he could push over a trash can a few meters away. He also found that his anger aided the power of his bending, but always unintentional. Because of this, he became known in the black market for his “inhuman strength” and allowed the rumor to stick. Mostly because it was just smart to keep his bending abilities under wraps, but also because it was simply badass.

Other: Seemingly appropriate for an arms dealer, he considers himself a "gun nut" and prides himself in his illegal collection of firearms. He's trained fair extensively in marksmanship as a hobby and is proficient in handling most firearms. He always carries two .45 Future Industries Handguns: one under his left shoulder and one tucked behind his right hip.

Name: Nana
Age: 18
Sex: Female
Element: Water
Home: Middle Ring
Profession: Student

Personality: Nana is youthful and innocent. She carries herself with confidence and honesty at all times. There are a lot of things in the world to be frightened of but Nana tries her best to emulate herself as someone who can persevere through even the toughest of times. With such a positive outlook on life and eagerness to learn the girl is always prepared for whatever comes her way.

Being a very young star, Nana is also still very naive to the dangers of the world, but she does her best to be a charming, twinkling light that others can look for in their time of darkness. Sooner or later she will be able to be that star that shines brighter than the rest.

Stance on Benders?: Nana has no real stance or preference on benders. She sees them as harmful as other people. Her father carries large prejudice against them but she knows he just grew up being taught to hate rather than to understand.

History: Her story begins with a man named Ren. He was a hard-working gentleman who lived in the Middle Ring. He lived and made enough to live comfortable by himself, being complacent with his life. Things didn't seem too hard until he had found himself a woman to call his wife. He met Hinoka and the two were immediately married soon after their first meeting. It was an arranged marriage brought on by his parents when he was a child. The two finally met after his twenty-eight birthday and married two months later.

Soon enough Hinoka gave birth to a bright and beautiful daughter who was the apple of their eyes. Ren had grown to be excited about his life as it wasn't as complacent as it once was. Now it was exciting with each new step that his daughter, Nana, took. She was a doe-eyed girl full of curiosity who always reached for more.

As the years passed by, Ren's youthful excitability about life dwindled with the on-coming problems of adult and parenthood. He loved his family, but soon all he ever did was work. He wanted the best for the women of his life so he worked as hard as he could to make enough money for them. He wanted them to be happy and to be able to reach whatever they wanted. Ren wanted his daughter to be able to dream and to be able to help her achieve those dreams, whatever they may be.

Nana was a bright student and Ren knew that one day she would be able to make it into the Upper Ring. He was going to do whatever he could to make that happen. He knew what was best for her as she was and still is too young and naive to know better.

Other: N/A

Name: Mizuko

Age: 19 years

Sex: Female

Element: OMITTED

Home: Upper Ring

Profession: Herbalist

Appearance: Standing at only 5'1" with a petite build, Mizuko is a small, delicate young lady. Her hair is a silvery grey, unique for her age, often pulled up away from her face and pinned with a hair ornament or flower. Her bright amber eyes are the most defining of her slender facial features. Her eyes are always clear and appear to look right through you. On a typical day she wears a traditional kimono, preferably with a flower pattern.

If she is traveling or doing particularly strenuous work she changes her attire to a simple yukata cut above the knee, a leather corset cinches her waist with two belts to carry supplies. Instead of geta she wears boots up to her knees. However she will often keep her hair pinned up with a decorative ornament no matter where she is.

Personality: Mizuko is not an emotional woman. Much of the time she is unphased by her surroundings, her wide eyed face remaining expressionless like a porcelain doll. She is ever calm and might be mistaken as cold or unfeeling. Though she doesn't passionately express emotions, she does have things she cares about. She is a woman of few words choosing instead to observe her surroundings with her clear amber eyes. Her voice is quiet and soft on the rare occassions when she does choose to speak.

Stance on Benders?: Mizuko believes bending is an interesting evolutionary development that warrants studying. She also believes that bending could be useful for furthering scientific developments. She believes bending when combined with her knowledge of herbs and minerals could be used to create poisons, healing poultices, and truth serums.

History: Mizuko was born to a fairly wealthy herbalist and his wife and was raised in the Upper Ring. When she started school it quickly became apparent that she was gifted with intelligence. She completed her curriculum with ease and even moved on to lessons years above her. When she was around nine years old the LSF took an interest in her intelligence and decided to test her to see if she might prove useful. She passed their initial test and went through their training specifically focused on healing. She also specialized in poisons and truth serums drawing from an extensive knowledge of herbs and minerals. She soon became their best and youngest healer at the age of sixteen.