[Male| 25 | Earth Kingdom]Tao is a pacifist who would rather suffer harm than be the cause of it. He hates violence and war, and even avoids eating meats. He's a calm man who appreciates the good things in life, even when so many terrible things are happening in the world. He places a high value on wisdom, serenity and being good to your fellow man. He's patient and thorough, and often ues a lot of time on doing the simplest of things. Rushing things only delays the mind, he believes, and causes stress and makes it easier to do mistakes. Like the rock, he's vigilant in all his beliefs. However, this also makes him stubborn and often difficult to deal with socially, as he's not likely to be swayed by others.
TraitsTao is an Eartbender who chose to embrace the creative aspect of his gift rather than exploring its destructive capabilities. He's skilled in building houses and other large-scale stone constructs. He also pays great attention to detail, which can be seen in his smaller work such as stone statues, bowls, etc. He will avoid combat if possible, but if someone attacks him, he will never fight with the intention to harm, but rather stay on the defensive. In the face of danger he would either escape or try to pacify the opponent. A skill he invented himself is to create stone statues of himself to confuse his opponent, while he himself escapes.
RelationsThe person who has had the most impact on Tao's life was his uncle Chaman, who he hasn't had contact with since he left his home village. His mother, Yahshi, was rarely around, as she worked tirelessly to pay the steep taxes while feeding their family. He has one brother and one sister, but Tao never got a chance to get to know them. A Firebender married his sister and brought her to the Fire Nation. His brother was imprisoned during the rebellion, and nobody had seen him since.
HistoryTao has seen first-hand the might of the Phoenix Kingdom. When he was young, his village was party to a rebellion happening in its province. In a collective effort to establish renewed independence, the villagers had refused to pay taxes and had forced out the Phoenix King's law enforcers. For a while, they had enjoyed uninterfered freedom, but it only lasted a couple of weeks. A small army had swept across the province, retaking village after village. But it had been a slow process, as the people had stubbornly held their ground. Yet it wasn't a fight they could win, however much they fought. It became a bloody affair, which Tao remembers all too well. The streets of his home were red with the blood of the villagers once the Phoenix King's forces were through. Many of those who resisted had been wounded or killed, and the rest had been imprisoned. Tao's own father, a strong Earthbender, had died fighting. It had been one of the most defining moments of Tao's life. Seing where it had led his father and the other villagers, he vowed he would never take up arms against the men of the Phoenix Kingdom, or anyone else for that matter.
When he discovered that he was an Earthbender like his father, he wanted to hide it at first. He didn't want to be trained to fight, and was afraid he'd be forced to. The province in which he lived had been under careful supervision since the rebellion. Most of the young Earthbenders were conscripted into the Phoenix Kingdom's military to prevent another uprising. This was what Tao feared would happen to him. Wanting to avoid such a fate at all costs, for a long time he neglected his Earthbending skills, being for all intents and purposes just a normal non-Bender. However, it wouldn't last forever. As time went by, he felt a stronger and stronger inclination to use his ability. After a while, it became increasingly difficult to suppress his urge to Earthbend. It became like trying not to eat, or not to breathe. But he kept viligant, until he was taken as an apprentice by his uncle.
It was his uncle Chaman, a stonemason and hobby-sculptor, who first introduced to him the possibility of using Earthbending for something else than violence. For many years, Chaman had been Earthbending with the intent on creating; not destroying. He'd been using it to make houses, furniture, statues, figurines, and all other manner of things one could think to mold out of Earth. It was a turning-point for Tao, as he could readily acknowledge himself as an Earthbender. As Chaman's apprentice, Tao found new purpose while he was trained to form and create stone in many different ways both with and without Earthbending.
Several years like this pass, and Tao remembers these to be the best in his life. Chaman also taught him of the world and of the different philosphies that existed. Tao was particularily interested in the Air Nomads, whom seemed to be the most enlightened of all. They became his inspiration, sort of, and although he'd never met an Airbender he felt a kinship with them, since their people had also suffered at the hands of the Phoenix Kingdom, but also because they were strong believers of pacifism. Trying to mimick their traditions, he had begun meditating and had stopped eating meat. While meditating, he felt he could sense the Earth beneath him more accutely, as if everything was a part of him, and he was a part of everything. He never achieved the spiritual part his uncle had spoken of in detail, but he felt an inner peace he hadn't felt before. Instead of everything weighing him down, he felt free.
The good years wouldn't last, though. Inevitably, it was discovered that Tao was an Earthbender, and he was conscripted into the military, as he had feared. Knowing full well the price of ignoring it, he still ran away. He would sooner die than join the Phoenix King's military, and was prepared to, when he left. Yet he'd never really been far outside of his home village, never mind his province, and he knew he'd have to travel far, and that he wouldn't be able to live among people anymore. On foot, he traveled north, living off his trade, and didn't stop until he was far away from everyone. When he had reached the mountains in the north, he created an underground home for himself. Here, without distractions, he contemplated on a lot of things. He understood why the Air Nomads distances themselves as such. It gave them room to think.
But Tao was no Air Nomad. He stayed there for a long time, but began to feel a longing for people. He could think clearly, but he had no one to talk to. When he thought it was safe, he returned to society. He knew he could never return home, so he decided he'd take up residence in a place so populated nobody would notice another fugitive. Within the walls of Ba Sing Se, he resumed his trade on the streets. When he had earned enough coin, he bought his own shop, which included living quarters. He found a different sort of peace here than he had found in the mountains, but peace all the same. He had to live under a different name, but he acknowledged that names didn't really matter. As time went by, more and more came to him with work. He was even given work in the upper ring sometimes, though this was seldom. It paid well, but he prefered the anonymity of the lower ring. Even so, his renown as a sculptor and stonemason began to grow.
It was while he lived here that he heard of the Rising. For a while, he thought them to be another rebellion bound for failure, but he learned that it was much bigger than that. Tao didn't believe in revenge, but he did believe that the Phoenix Kingdom had to fall in order for the world to return to normal. If he could have a say in it, he would have. He could live out his life in peace as a simple stonemason, but the unfairness he daily encountered was getting to him. However, he had no notion of how to aid the Rising's efforts. The Rising was only whispered of, as if it was a tale, but despite the lack of proof, Tao knew they existed. Wherever there was unjust power, there was resistance.
Just when Tao had about given up hope to find them, it was he who was found. A man named Uquolaan had entered his shop one late night, and invited him to help the Rising. Uquolaan had apparently heard of Tao's masonry prowess, and had said he wanted help with the construction of an underground base. Tao didn't know why he was entrusted with this information, but he readily accepted the plea. The next day, he left Ba Sing Se together with Uquolaan, leaving the safety of his regular life behind.
The Rising became Tao's new calling. He felt he served a greater purpose, aiding them. More so, since it felt like they needed him, and in turn, that he needed them. The Underground City of Omashu, as the base was named, wouldn't have been as easily constructed without his help. He had taught the other Earthbenders in his trade, and together they had crafted a whole new city. The process was a long one, as they had to do it in secret as well as being highly undermanned. Yet they grew in number, and the city grew in size, and soon it was just what Uquolaan first had intended it to become; a habitable place close to the heart of the Earth Kingdom where the members of the Rising could live in safety.
Tao's efforts had earned him respect, and the members of the Rising had become his family of sorts. After a while, some began looking at him as a teacher of sorts, and he was happy to oblige. He taught people not just in the way of stonemasonry or sculpting, but also in philosophy. Some members of the Rising were young and relatively uneducated. After the city had been built, he took it upon himself to teach what he knew to those who would listen. The city had become his home. It was much like when he'd lived in the mountains, except it wasn't as lonely. He lives here to this day.
MiscellaneousTao always carries with him a hammer, chisel and riffler, which are the tools needed to make stone sculptures.
