General Zhan the Peaceful
"You have light and peace inside of you. If you let it out, you can change the world around you"M Y T HO L O G Y
General Zhan was a great war hero from the East. It is said that, heading the armies of the Kingdom of Kai in the name of his brother, King Izoh, he successfully led the sieges of dozens of cities, ultimately seeing the rise of the Empire of Kai. However, during the ultimate years of the expansion period, news reached Zhan of the death of his son, Tenlu. He returned to the capital and stayed there for years, renouncing his title and spending the next decades at rest, a hero, but a minor one.
It came to pass that when Zhan reached the age of 57, the son of the Emperor, Kuzon, was shamed by the Emperor and exiled. As Kuzon's uncle, Zhan felt that it was his duty to see that Kuzon would complete the now unknown quest that the Emperor sent him out to do as penance for his transgressions.
In the following years, Kuzon gained fame as a prominent rebel and claimant to the throne, his younger sibling now the crown prince. Zhan remained by his side, giving sagely advice, and would become recognised as much of the reason as to why Kuzon was able to pull off his coup and reclaim the throne that was rightfully his.
At the age of 61, Zhan led an army of rebels against the Empire, using powerful sorcery and a genius grasp of strategy to cut his way through droves of loyalist forces. Leading a three-year siege against the capital, he finally worked with a small team of agents to enter the city undetected and assassinate the Emperor and capture the crown prince. The city quickly fell and Kuzon was crowned Emperor. Zhan is said to have devoted the rest of his life to meditation, and finally died at the age of 106, ascending to the spirit world.
There, not truly dead, he has remained for millennia, practicing his sorceries and meditating, giving sagely advice to all those who would seek him out in his new home. His legend has only grown in this time, spread by those minor heroes who would use his advice to do great deeds. He is known in many places as a powerful spirit of wisdom, and some households in what was once the Empire of Kai still lay offerings of tea leaves at small shrines with statues of him, meditating.
It is said that if you would seek him out, you need only travel to the spirit world and call out for him. It is said that you will soon come across a plain blanket with a modest campfire, a cracked teapot and an old man, making tea for two people.
Zhan is not a global legend. He is not an all-powerful omnipotent demigod. He is a war hero, and a teacher, and a guide. His legend has grown through constant retelling, as heroes come back from their journeys and tell of a fat, tea-loving sage in the spirit forests who gave great advice and encouraged them to be the best that they could be.
A P P E A R A N C E
Zhan is an elderly man, who appears fat and out of shape. His beard is long well-kept, though his head has long since balded and only some of his white, thin hair remains. His teeth are stained a very pale brown from the constant ingestion of tea, and his hands are gnarled and tough where years of practice of martial arts have strengthened and calloused them.
His appearance has not been exaggerated in legend, but it taken for what it is. When heroes return and tell of his advice, they only speak of how calm and relaxed he seemed at all times, a paragon of serenity. Statues of him are as serene and calm as he is, exemplifying beauty on the interior, not on the exterior.
A B I L I T I E S / E Q U I P M E N T
Zhan has always been gifted with control over the elements. He can create gusts of wind to evade his enemies. He can move the ground beneath him to guard against their blows. He can raise walls of water to divert them from their course. He can generate gouts of fire to light the error in their path.
In addition to this, Zhan is a gifted martial artist, having had millennia to practice his art.
Zhan has spent millennia in meditation, turning his attentions inward. His soul has become like diamond, uncorruptable and unbreakable. His mind, similarly, has become like adamantium, his willpower infinite.
Zhan has retained his knowledge of strategy and tactics from his mortal life, long ago. He is a brilliant strategist.
A G E O F L E G E N D
Approximately five thousand years ago.
