Name: Feng Shiju
Age: 20
Gender: Male

Appearance:


Belongings:
-A pair of spiked gauntlets. Shiju has taken to lacing them with toxins in more serious fights.

-A tightly sealed satchel containing a nasty concoction Shiju created from a variety of psychoactive herbs. In small doses, it can cause people to feel strangely elated and rather loopy. In large doses, especially through the bloodstream, it can affect the mind so much people will find themselves incapable of processing a coherent thought.

Martial Art Style: Technically, Shiju knows two styles. The first is the one taught to him by his original master, a style dubbed “Resolute Soldier”. The style is centred primarily on basic combinations of punches and kicks with a limited amount of special manoeuvres like grapples and throws mixed in. To an observer, it would seem like such a plain and uninspiring style, with nothing to really make it stand out, like a simple, plain-clothed soldier. But the purpose of the style is not to rely on fancy tricks or flair of any kind; it is more about being confident enough in your own strength and training to defeat your opponent. That resolution, as Shiju was taught, is all a martial artist truly needs.

Shiju’s second style is self-taught, and has no official name as it is mostly just Shiju twisting Resolute Soldier to suit his new ideas. It makes use of the same stances and general feel, in order to exude the same confidence of the parent style. But in practise, the user begins to make use of feints and fake outs to surprise and overwhelm their opponent. The speed to change from the pure offensive nature of Resolute Soldier to a more defensive posture, and to quickly change attack patterns to confuse the enemy is the essence of this martial art. Shiju himself would likely tell people “It’s all about being the most dishonourable bastard you can be.”
Chi Abilities: Shiju has yet to develop any real abilities with his Chi.

Personality: Usually, Shiju is a fairly friendly guy. He likes to speak plainly with people, and often isn’t afraid to speak his mind, even if it might come across as rude. He does not like to brag or boast, but he will be assertive when he needs to be. He is rather fond of making observations. Usually very snarky observations about people and their actions, which hasn’t always endeared him to others. But for the most part, he does it all in the name of good fun.

However, at heart, Shiju is quite the cynic. He believes that underneath all the friendliness and politeness, everyone’s out for themselves. While he would never run around eyeing everyone suspiciously, he is unlikely to truly trust anyone, even those he might nominally refer to as his “friends”. As a baseline, his feelings are that when everyone’s backs are against the wall, he won’t wait up for someone to step in and help him, and might think twice about doing the same for another.

History: Shiju was born a peasant on a field, like a lot of young children were. Shiju’s father, however, happened to be a former martial artist himself. Shiju was raised on stories of his dad’s past exploits; tournaments, adventures, all sorts of tales. Shiju always expected that when he came of age, that he too would end up going out into the world to experience his own adventures. But as he got older, he started to realise all his dad had planned for him was to stay on the farm and work. He pestered his dad about this all the time. Although he had been told many times that he had settled down in order to raise a family away from all the dangers of the world, Shiju could never accept the idea of abandoning all that excitement for this drudgery. His incessant endeavours to harass his father over this carried on for a good few years, until one day his father told him that if he really wanted to lose himself to that life, he could go to the next village over and seek out his old master. Shiju gladly accepted the offer, and quickly set out to begin what he hoped was the start of an exciting new life.

He found his father’s old master quite easily. He was something of a local hero renowned for keeping the village safe. He met with him, mentioned his father’s name, conversed a while over what had come of his father, and eventually, was taken on as the man’s pupil. He didn’t know if it was for his father’s sake or not, but he was grateful either way. Something his father had never actually told him was what his martial art style was actually all about. Shiju realised he completely forgotten to ask more about it. This is why it came as something of a surprise to him to learn what “Resolute Soldier” actually was. When he first saw it in action, he thought it looked so plain and boring. But the old master explained to him that the style was less about flashy techniques and more about state of mind and personal confidence. It was about knowing that you had trained hard and had the skill to defeat any opponent no matter what tricks they relied upon. While he had yet to see the style in battle, the young Shiju was quite enamoured by his master’s way of explaining it. This sense of inspiration convinced him to continue with his tutelage under him for the next year to come.

One day that Shiju will always remember was the day word of bandits stalking the nearby roads reached him and his master during training. As the village’s protector, his master was the one they looked to during crises. Needless to say, he told them all he would head out to stop them immediately. Shiju wanted to go with him, but he told him to stay behind, as he was still a fairly fresh student. But Shiju was impatient that day, and wanted a chance to demonstrate his skills. He set out to follow his master a short while after he left. And when he finally came across him and the bandits, he couldn’t believe his eyes. Due to his status in the village, there had been many times people offered gifts to his master, as a sign of respect. And here his master was, handing over these very gifts as though trading casually with a merchant. Whether out of cowardice or greed, it seemed his master had an arrangement with these bandits. He did not confront his master then, and instead slipped back to the village to await his return. When he did, he clearly told everyone he defeated the bandits with his own fists. He was deceiving them all. And on top of it all, he was betraying the very thing he claimed his style stood for; confidence in the fact that you could defeat your opponent with your own skills.

Shiju wanted to punish his master for this deception. But he knew he couldn’t do so using the clearly false style that his master had taught him. It occurred to him that if he was to win against a man far more experienced than him, whether he was a fraud or not, he would need a trick of his own. Certainly, the man that had taught him to be confident in his own strength and not in tricks would not expect him to turn around and use those very tricks. After a month’s clandestine practise, Shiju worked up the courage to challenge his master to a very public duel. His master was expecting a friendly match. He quickly realised his student was not using the skills he was taught. While Shiju would assume the stances of Resolute Soldier, he would quickly change tactics, preform feints and strike at blind spots. Shiju swore he could’ve won, if his master hadn’t suddenly called the match. He then flew into a rage, admonishing Shiju for using dirty tactics and betraying everything he taught him. Shiju retaliated by accusing him of being a fraud that co-operated with the bandits. He denied this vehemently and claimed he was avoiding the issue. And so they argued in a circular and pointless fashion until Shiju stormed out of the village in a huff. He never turned back.

Shiju sometimes wondered if he shouldn’t have attacked his master further, but as he wandered for a time with no master at all, he felt it would bring him no more peace than his wanderings were. No matter where he went, the thought of deception always lingered in the back of his mind. He continued to build upon his bastardised version of Resolute Soldier, and even began to dabble in simple poisons and drugs as a way to defeat opponents. But no matter what drunken thugs or common bandits he found himself able to defeat, the whole experience felt empty. He felt like he needed more of a purpose. His thoughts then turned to the Dragon’s Peak Temple. Perhaps, under the eyes of a far more reputable master, he would be guided to a real cause. And so he went.

Shiju has not been at the temple for all that long, but he still hopes that he can find some purpose here. Of course, no matter how much he trains, he can’t help but wonder if a new betrayal simply lingers around the corner. Only time will tell.