DreamLand
12-25-2010, 10:24 PM
Name: Amleth (No known surname)
Age: Exact age unknown (Likely 25-30)
Gender: Male
Race: Alk; mostly a technicality of sorts, as his world knows not of the term "human".
Build: Amleth stands at just under 6 feet tall, with a medium build given the physique you would come to expect of a miner. His skin was once a pale white as a child, but time has now rendered it stained with a faint tinge of black.
Hair: This Alk's hair was naturally white but years in the mine has rendered it stained gray. For the sake of pragmatism, he never wears his thick, straight hair any longer than his neck
Eyes: His eyes are hazel, so pale to the point that those who see his face often mistake him as blind. Round, with very small pupils.
Distinctive features: Over the years, Amleth has been endowed with a number of scars, ranging in placement from his toes to his head. While most of these scars are relatively small, he possesses a burn scar on the lower-left side of his face, which wraps neatly around his left eye. One will likely never see these scars, however.
Clothes: Amleth's clothing is far from fashionable.
His most interesting piece of attire is the primitive gasmask that he always wears into battle. It has an appearance rather similar to that of the Italian plague doctors, and works under much the same principle. The herbs in the beak serve to null most toxic fumes, while the glass eyepieces help somewhat improve his poor eyesight.
He is always wearing his black duster, for it is within it's inside that Amleth's equipment is carried with the dozens of leather straps. The duster itself is made of fire-resistant fabric, lined with a thin layer of lead that weighs the miner down, but adds extra resistance to flame and electricity.
Amleth can also be seen wearing a simple, black workshirt, black flame-resistant blacksmith pants, leather gloves and steel-toed workboots.
Weapon(s):
Explosives
Dynamite: Amleth's bread and butter. Dynamite is a simple enough explosive, but just about as powerful as it gets. The fuse on a given stick can be shortened in order for it too go off sooner, but obviously, it can't be lengthened. The normal fuse length is set to go off in twenty seconds of being thrown, but most typically will be reduced to ten. The strongest part of the blast radius is the first ten feet, but it can still cause direct damage within twenty. Can be used in individual sticks, or more cumbersome, but incredibly powerful, bundles.
Flambe: The flambe is easy to make, but fragile. It's composed of lamp oil mixed with various toxins, stored in a beer bottle, and using a small cloth as a fuse. Upon impact the glass will shatter, causing the Flambe to ignite and set ablaze whatever it comes into contact with. The added toxins make the produced smoke highly poisonous.
Shrapnel: A shrapnel bomb may not posses the sheer destructive power of dynamite, but it makes up for it easily. Stored in a thin, hollowed ball of iron, a mixture of gunpowder, glass shards and infected nails can be found. Upon detonation, the bomb will produce a small blast radius of five feet, but the shrapnel that flies forth can go as far as twenty.
Firecrackers: A mild explosive incapable of causing any more than minor burns. However, it is also very lightweight, and the flash produced from it's explosion makes it an excellent tool for distractions and momentary stunning. Goes off within three second of being lit, and has a blast radius of one foot.
Firework: Rarely brought into a fight due to it's impractical size, fireworks are traditionally implements meant for entertainment purposes. However, in the hands of Amleth, they are a fast and powerful weapon. Upon launch, fireworks can travel 10 feet per second, up to over 100 feet. They never travel in a straight path, making them highly unpredictable, and upon contact will explode in a dazzling and blinding array of burning light. Fireworks have a fuse of five seconds.
Traps
Bear trap: An excellent choice. Originally meant for hunting, the bear trap is a small metal construct, capable of causing dangerous amounts of bleeding. The trap takes a turn to properly set-up, but will go off instantly once the switch is triggered ideally by the opponent's foot. Should the trap go off, it will snap instantly, driving the trap's "teeth" into the unsuspecting victim's leg. Depending upon the person's strength and/or knowledge of traps, it can take anywhere from one turn to several to remove. Often camouflaged.
Razor wire: Razor wire is just that; long strands of metal wire, sharpened to the point where they become thin blades. Razor wire is coiled, and held down into either the ground or objects using small spikes. Razor wire is capable of slashing through weaker armor with little difficulty, and given that it holds rather strong, can also serve as a means of tripping someone. Razor wire take a turn to set-up three feet. Often camouflaged.
Barbs + Marbles: A small leather sack that contains within it an assortment of solid metal ball bearings and barbs. The bearings are easy to slip on, and tumbling over ensures that the victim will receive a nasty fall upon these solid chunks of metal. The barbs may hurt to fall upon, but will also latch onto flesh, cloth, or even leather with ease, creating a literal prick in one's side that can take up to an entire turn to remove. These can be released while running, and under most cases will not consume an entire attack phase.
Pranks
Exploding Cigar: A trick that tries to take advantage of a smoker. Either at the beginning of a fight or when begging for mercy, Amleth may offer the opponent a cigar. Upon lighting such a cigar, the gunpowder stored within will go off immediately, with enough force to potentially blow off fingers or a jaw.
Flower Bouquet: A trick that tries to take advantage of a more naive or narcissistic opponent. Immediately before the start of a fight, the devious one may offer his opponent a bouquet of flowers, whereupon accepting, Amleth will use his minimal telekinetic powers to spring a substance within the bouquet into the foe's face, which, if it fails too render an opponent unconscious, will leave their body numb for an uncertain amount of turns depending upon the person's constitution. (Opponent's discretion)
Buzzer: A trick that tries to take advantage of a person's good sportsmanship. A magic ring charged with a small amount of electric charge. Upon shaking hands or otherwise touching an opponent's bare skin, the charge will be sent from the ring into the other person's body with violent force. The shock acts much like a taser, leaving the opponent largely incapacitated on their next turn, and stunned for up to an additional four turns. (Opponent's discretion)
Blood: A desperation measure that plays off of eagerness. If in dire straits, Amleth may douse himself in a vial of his own blood, giving the impression that he is severely injured. Begging for mercy and crying out in pain, Amleth hopes to draw to him either someone who wishes to show him mercy or a coup de grace.
Misc.
Warpick: Lacking any formal combat training, the miner makes use of the most similar thing that he can find to a pick axe. The war pick is a curved, sharpened, steel blade, easily capable of puncturing even plate mail if swung with both arms. It is forged from the grey mineral known as Tratite, incredibley formidable in strength, and while heavy, is not so to the point that it is unwieldy. Having little idea how to use one professionally, Amleth will simply swing, swing, swing. Can be swung with one hand, but far more deadly if used with both.
Blast shield: Quite possibly Amleth's most crucial tool. It is a tower shield forged also from Tratite, lacking any sort of decoration. It provides a great deal of protection, being able to withstand even dynamite. It repels more force than it absorbs, meaning that Amleth will suffer only small amounts of recoil. Always worn on his wounded left arm, the shield is somewhat difficult to maneuver with.
Flaregun: A tool originally meant to save lives, the explosive's expert uses it to take them instead. It is capable of firing a flare at 10 feet a second, up to 100, projecting itself on an upward curve. The flare will strike anything it makes contact with using considerable force, and if what it makes contact with is flammable, it will ignite. Can be reloaded, but due to the size of the flare, usually only a few will be brought into a given fight.
Smokebomb: A small, round ball with a single second fuse. Upon ignition, it will quickly envelop the surrounding fifteen feet in a thick, black smoke. Said smoke is toxic, and the smell, comparable somewhat to rotten eggs, will cause weaker stomachs to churn if not outright upchuck.
Abilities
Telekinesis: Amleth possesses very minimal ability in the magical field of telekinesis. He is capable of only very small feats, such as lifting a five pound rock two feet in the air, from two feet away; worthless as far as Alks are concerned. The demolitonist has found a way to make this talent useful, however, as he is able to pull from his jacket a device into his hand without having to actually reach for it. This may sound trivial, but it is far quicker than fumbling about with both hands.
Pyrokinesis: While Amleth may lack any noticeable capabilities in telepathy, he does have some non-outstanding ability in pyrokinesis. He can create only sparks at best, but these sparks can be triggered at a target from twenty feet away or (unreliably) up to thirty. While a spark may not seem like much, it is all that is needed to light a fuse, making Amleth able to "remote detonate", to some small extent. The target must be easily visible however, so any explosives will usually be easily seen by enemies, unless they are placed very strategically.
Other abilities/attributes
Strengths - While coming with great penalties, his planet's catacombs have left him with some strengths. His skin has become tough enough to endure lashes without complaint, furthering his already high tolerance to pain. He has developed a moderate resistance to heat and cold, having come across pockets of both. He retains some nimbleness despite his equipment, having needed such to survive many cave-ins, sudden dropoffs and terrible creatures. His stamina and sheer will to survive is impressive, being able to carry on despite much pain and fatigue.
Working with explosives has given him an impeccable sense of timing and distance, and after having escaped to the surface, has acquired a phenomenally accurate throwing arm.
Weaknesses - Life as a miner has taken its toll on Amleth. Living in constant dimness has rendered his eyes underdeveloped, which becomes even worse should his gasmask lenses be damaged or destroyed. Fumes have made his sense of smell and taste weak, and constant explosions without proper protection has left him with less than adequate hearing. From one of these said explosions Amleth lost two fingers on his left hand, leaving it with little other use than to hold a blast shield or help swing his warpick.
Despite his equipment being well hidden behind his coat, it all still leaves him quite vulnerable, especially at close-range. Should one of his explosives be ignited, he will have little time at all (if any) to swiftly abandon his coat and all that comes with it, likely leaving him with only his warpick and blastshield. Needless to say, while this loss of equipment will serve to increase his hampered speed, the penalties involved can make a match almost certainly unwinnable.
Personality:
Amleth is for the most part, a quiet, patient and collected individual. He is an introvert of which you will have little chance of getting a conversation out of, never mind having him fully remove his mask. He prefers having little company and typically will only speak when he finds it necessary. While he can be considered relatively intelligent by other means, he lacks a refined tongue or higher vocabulary.
One should do well to beware him, for he is quite the cunning man. He is an excellent deceiver, relying more on subtlety and ambiguity than actual persuasion. One will find it nearly impossible to determine what he is thinking should they try, while he in turn, will pay close attention to everything you say or do, while making it appear as if he isn't. He holds no belief in honour or that foolish notion of "fighting fair", nor is he above using underhanded methods of coercion or blackmail to attain things on a diplomatic level.
There is a lighter side to Amleth's personality, though it is rather rare that you should see it. He does in fact possess a strong sense of humour, be it a witty response or a clever prank and he is not above laughing aloud either. The ex-miner can take pleasure in the simple things such as nature or a good rest. He has some sympathy for the downtrodden and has gone out of his way to help those wronged by others in times past. While he is an opportunist, Amleth still prefers to take the more ethically sound route, if it is available. While attaining his genuine friendship may seem a feat beyond many people's patience, you will find him to be an invaluable and fiercely loyal ally should it be done.
Remember this if nothing else: he is hellbent on achieving victory, so that his dearest wish can be attained. His life has no meaning without the possibility of this desire being made reality, so rest assured this passion will not stop in the face of your adversity. You have been warned.
Background:
Amleth (Athejan for "muddle") was born the sixth child to a family renowned for it's capabilities with magic, or in their case, psi. From an early age Amleth was determined to be embarrassingly weak and certain to never see much improvement. In a world where a lack of magic meant one was a second-class citizen, this was tragic. He was a blemish on the family's name and in turn, received only minimal education and frequent abuse. He eventually escaped from his family at age thirteen, joining a resistance group of the non-magical, known simply as "the insurgence". A freedom fighter or terrorist, depending on whose side you found yourself on, the boy was trained early on from his recruitment to handle explosives, the insurgence's greatest weapon.
He made many friends among fellow members, the closest of which was a woman of his own age, Sanary. The girl was ever optimistic and cheerful, and when things did not go as she had proposed, she offered comfort and sincere words of sympathy. She introduced to Amleth and his friends much in the way of entertainment, be it games, tales, or song. She was silent of her past to all but Amleth, of whom she had taken a particular curiosity with. Unbeknown to himself, for he was unfamiliar with emotion, but Amleth had become infatuated with her. The bubbly lass gave him happiness and the insurgence gave him purpose, so to both he would remain forever loyal.
On the night of an impressive operation, Amleth's squad was betrayed and captured. Amleth was the only one tortured, for he gave his captors all the information the wanted, as so to spare his friends from the pain. Rather than his squad being executed, the men were sent to work n the Ry'jal mines, which had a shortage of workers due to a large cave-in, while the women went on to fates probably best left unknown. Sanary was the exception, for she capitalized on her androgynous appearance so that she could help those being sent there.
Amleth spent the remainder of young adulthood as essentially a slave, seeing the light of above only once every year. Amleth nearly met his end many, many times, be it to cave-ins, sudden drop offs, fire geysers, "discipline", a bevy of monstrous creatures and other such threats. While friends died around him constantly, a sense of companionship among his fellow insurgence members kept him going strong. Sanary was especially important in maintaining morale, and it was because of this that her comrades all took a vow to protect her from harm. They failed.
A psychic delegate of the government had been sent to inspect the progress of the mines, and upon his visit, happened upon Sanary. Having caught his interest, the telepath entered his mind in private, and determined that Sanary's true nature as a woman. Women were forbidden from the mines and thus for her "infiltration" she was punished by the foreman. Amleth and his friends could do nothing as she was raped. As for her actual execution, the foreman thought himself clever for figuring out that Sanary rhymed with canary. She was locked away in a cage in a recently discovered pocket, of which had not yet been deemed safe to enter. While Amleth's group did their best to outwit the guards and make their way down to the pocket later that night, they were unable to break open the cage quickly enough; Sanary died while muttering comments to the terrified Amleth.
Her death struck a terrible blow to their morale, from which they would never recover. With little else to lose, all the miners in his group sans Amleth made an escape attempt, although he did help with the preparations. The escape attempt failed, and all three dozen of his comrades died. He himself couldn't help abandon the place were Sanary died, and thus remained in the mines so that he could sneak off and visit her cage every night, unconcerned with his own health. Amleth had receded to melancholy complacent, when one day (or night, for he had little sense of time) the miner coincidentally burrowed into a new pocket. He tumbled dozens of feet, surviving only because he crashed into a pool of water below. There, he came across a slumbering being of great power: me. After giving him a demonstration of my power, the two of us made a pact. If he was to serve me, then after obtaining what I desire, I would return the favour in kind...he accepted. He has served me for some years now, but I am not yet satisfied. Perhaps victory in this upcoming clash of the greats should be enough...perhaps.
DreamLand
02-19-2011, 08:24 AM
Entry for Rumble Year XXXX
Name: Anna Chan Yi-Blanc
Age: 26
Gender: Female
Race: Human (Chinese/French)
Hair: Straight, smooth and thin black hair. Stretches down to lower back, but often worn in elaborate buns or braids.
Build: Exact weight is unknown, but estimated to be over 300 pounds, much of which is a result of her iron-reinforced skin. Possesses a smaller body, but a very athletic build.
Height: 5"6
Eyes: Copper brown and slightly narrowed, with relatively thin eyebrows and longer eye lashes
Distinctive features: Anna Chan regularly accumulates small scars on her journey, but few last any longer than a year. Her body is also entirely hairless, besides that which adorns her head.
Clothes: While Anna Chan is interested in beautiful garments and accessories from all over the known world, she most often wears practical clothing that reflects her Chinese heritage and profession. The young cook wears the same outfit for cooking as she does for fighting; simple and efficient, albeit somewhat revealing. It is a red, silk, Chinese style dress with no sleeves and trimming no longer than her thighs. Underneath the dress she wears sarashi which wraps around chest, waist and hips. For her feet she wears light but sturdy traveling shoes made of black leather, which provide her with moderate friction. Adorning her hands are white linen wrappings, providing her with additional grip and protection when utilizing her equipment. Around her waist is a golden silk sash, serving a purely decorative role.
Perhaps most important of all however, is the wok she wears perched atop her head. Although to most people it is little more than a peculiar fashion statement, this light-weight cooking implement is where she stores most of her many belongings. A gift from her current sponsor, Dreamland.
Weapons:
Equipment
Within that little pocket dimension of her enchanted wok, the young chef carries an impressive array of cooking supplies from all across the world. However, for the sake of brevity, only those items with likely combat potential will be addressed here.
Knives: Incredibly sharp, these blades are just as useful for preparing food as they are hacking through people. Anna Chan's knives have been created through a formidable ancient method of metal folding, leaving them nearly impossible to break. The aspiring cook carries a collection of over two dozen knives, the most dangerous of which are her chief's knife, cleaver, and fillet. Although primarily used as melee weapons, these knives can be thrown short distances as projectiles, with fair - but not exceptional - accuracy; by throwing several at once, this attack becomes far less accurate, but dangerously unpredictable. Stained in blood, these tools help add a distinct taste to her food.
Fork: Inspired by Western cutlery innovation, Anna Chan adapted the shape of the common eating utensil, crafting herself a version that functions as a working weapon. Essentially functioning as a large, three pronged sai, this sturdy tool makes for an all-round effective short-range melee weapon, with an especially potent capacity for sword-breaking. Like most of her utensils the fork is capable of supporting her own weight; the cook always travels with two forks, just in case she feels the need to scale a cliff side.
Tenderizer: A large, oak mallet that weighs roughly 50 pounds. Although the handle is large enough to support two hands, its excessive weight renders it Anna Chan's slowest weapon. However, this tool essentially functions as a mace meant to pound meat and bone into mush, and as could be expected, makes up for speed with crushing power that could shatter small boulders. One side of the mallet head is spiked, while the other is flat - either can kill a man in one well-placed blow.
Skewer: A four foot needle-like spear, with a width no greater than a few centimeters. This weapon may not be especially durable, but it is capable of surprising flexibility, able to support the full pull of Annachan's weight once driven into a solid surface. Can be utilized in melee combat as a light-weight double-edged spear or with a throw, converted to an accurate long-ranged weapon, similar to a javelin. Although lacking any sort of a blade, the points on either end are easily able to penetrate chain mail.
Frying Pan: Made of a formidable iron, this pan can be swung easily with both hands. While it's weight is a concern, this weapon serves function as both a sturdy mace and hand-held shield. The blows can crush skulls, and block most direct physical strikes. With a well-timed strike, she can even reflect most projectiles, launching it back at her opponent with increased velocity.
Ingredients
Bon Sake: An alcoholic wine made from grapes, rices and an untold number of other specialized ingredients, this incredibly potent drink is stored in a large gourd strapped around the cook's waist. Highly flammable and low in viscosity, it makes an excellent trap with or without a source of ignition. Its' high alcohol content is not for the easily impaired. A drink will increase Anna Chan's pain threshold considerably, but with equal measure damage to her reflexes, senses and inhibitions. Given sufficient opportunity (and desperation), the entire gourd can be consumed, sending Anna Chan into a drunken rage, amplifying her strength and durability to tremendous levels, but such will also leave her with very little intelligence or restraint; with all discipline discarded, she will become unable to use any chi techniques.
Hot Sauce: Sauce so spicy that people of lesser constitutions have known to die from consumption of minor amounts. Edible only by a trained stomach, exposure to this sauce can cause intense skin discomfort and temporary blinding that may last the entire duration of a fight. Hot enough to ignite alcohol.
Pepper: Kept in a small grinder, Anna Chan's preferred variety of black pepper can be used to spice foods and create small pepper clouds occupying the space of a few cubic feet. These clouds are irritable to both eyes and nose, causing sneezing and eye watering. The effect of a pepper cloud can last from one round to an entire fight, depending upon the opponents sensitivity. Used to disorient and create distance.
Abilities:
Chi Techniques:Eager to begin her life before it was already over, Anna Chan left home before her martial art training was complete. Consequently, she lacks an understanding of many of her family's more advanced techniques, particularly in regards to the utilization of chi. Despite her apprenticeship never properly concluding however, Anna-Chan's limited mastery of chi was recognized as being underlined by an abnormally high potential to manifest Chi; the sheer quantity of her Chi acts as a crutch for her weak control.
It must be noted that as chi is essentially inner energy, it is a limited resource; use of any chi techniques will serve to weaken her and thus are only used sparingly. Weakened Chi techniques can still be performed when low on energy, but with great risk to the user, to the point of likely reducing their life span.
Iron Palm: By taking a few seconds to channel her chi into either of her palms, Anna Chan can deliver a palm strike capable of shredding plate mail like paper. Given the slow start-up and large amount of chi required, this attack is usually reserved for a finishing blow, an armour breaker, or some utility function that her utensils can't fulfill. The most draining of her techniques.
Iron Heel: Channeling her bodies chi into either of her feet, Anna Chan can deliver a powerful stomp to the ground beneath her. Although the range of this attack only extends about ten feet, the strength of its shockwave has been compared to a small earthquake. Easily capable of sending standing foes flying several feet, but as the attack is heavily telegraphed, a quick-witted foe can make a swift evasion, for the attack cannot connect with those who have already taken to the air. Roughly half as draining as iron palm.
Iron Breast: Focusing her chi into her chest, Anna Chan can deflect a single mighty blow with a mere flex. Although this technique can be used as a near instant counter, a sufficiently powerful attack may put a strain on her heart, momentarily stunning her; such a sudden release in her chest cavity does an already weakened heart no favours. The chi output is dependent upon the strength of the attack.
Channel Chi: An advanced technique that utilizes any melee weapon in Anna Chan's vast arsenal. By concentrating chi through her hands and into her weapon, Anna Chan can deliver weapon attacks twice as powerful as normal. Although less draining than a massive single output technique like iron palm, it is considerably less powerful; on both counts, 5 swings of a weapon are equivalent to a single iron palm.
Sense Energy: As a result of her chi training, Anna Chan is not only able to detect particularly potent chi energy, but other forms of spiritual energy as well. Even if her other senses have been pacified, Anna Chan is rarely truly blind when fighting a powerful foe. This ability is of limited use however, as its' range does not extend past ten feet and requires focus to use correctly. Although high-level chi users can passively utilize this ability, Anna Chan lacks the required discipline.
Cooking:The crossbreed is a dedicated and talented cook, already well known throughout the lands of West and East. Never one to fight on an empty stomach, Anna Chan will typically cook a meal prior to a fight. Although she does not believe in utilizing food as a weapon, any left overs she has during a fight can be quickly consumed for a small boost in chi and morale.
The cooking equipment that she uses gives certain properties to her food. The knives give her food a hint of blood in every dish, while the iron of her pan rubs off into her food. This rub-off helps upkeep and reinforce the toughness of her skin.
Other Abilities/attributes:
Strengths: For centuries, Anna Chan's family has practiced a mysterious and extreme training regiment designed to reinforce the body into a living weapon. The most famous aspect of this tradition is the regular consumption of a specially made iron-spiked wine, consumed regularly by every generation with the intent of making the next even more formidable. This strange practice has proven itself to be something of a double-edged sword: the boons are many, but due to toxic amounts of iron in her bloodstream, a more generous estimate places her life expectancy little past age 30. Having said as much, the benefits of an iron-strengthened body in a world of constant battle means she will live far longer than most other would-be warriors. Her bones are very difficult to break, able to withstand half a ton of pressure before buckling. Her skin is strong enough to deflect blows and outright break lesser weapons. Her stomach is almost impossible to irritate, allowing her to venture into areas of cuisine few else dare to travel. Her general health is also improved, as a higher red blood cell count means she can recover from injury and fatigue quicker than the average human. The added weight also makes it more difficult for foes to upset her balance, whilst giving her an edge in delivering more powerful blows. Additionally, the cook possesses rather strong lungs as a result of her intensive training, and is able to hold her breath for up to three minutes.
Above all else, the young woman has an eternally optimistic attitude, rare and brief moments of brooding introspection not withstanding. Her morale is difficult to damage and easily repaired. Always itching for a fight, the young martial artist approaches every confrontation, no matter how dire, with an eager bravado. And in the rare instance that she may be led into a drunken rage, her strength becomes nearly unstoppable.
Weaknesses: On Physicality: As mentioned prior, chi is a limited resource; every time Anna Chan taps into this inner power, she weakens. Although her skin is capable of resisting slashes and irritability, she is still ill-equipped to combat piercing attacks, such as from a spear or arrow. The same added weight that provides Anna Chan with an abnormally strong centre of balance also leads her to have a difficult time coping with large bodies of water (she can't swim), mud and other such restrictive terrain. However, as Anna Chan regularly coats her skin with a thin layer of zinc (an admitably fictional variation of galvanization), exposure to water does not normally cause her iron skin to rust, lest she be totally submerged; acidic liquids however, are capable of eating through her armour, causing rusting and severe pain. Rusting alone will not finish Anna Chan off, but it will drastically reduce both the durability of her skin armour and mobility, making it a crippling liability. Although rust can normally be removed through a good wash with an iron-wool scrub, such removal takes an impractical amount of time in battle. Lastly, Anna Chan is slow to recover from an attack that has knocked her prone, as the added weight of her skin makes "ukemi" nearly impossible to perform; as stated earlier however, knocking the girl prone is easier said than done.
On Mentality: Powerful as she is, Anna Chan faces few opponents worthy of her time. As of such, she tends to underestimate feeble looking opponents, assuming they don't fit the archetypal look of "squishy wizard". Additionally, Anna Chan's unconventional weaponry may be considered unfair by some, but the girl has a strict code of honour (or perhaps it's just pride) that forbids her from finishing off surrendering or otherwise unworthy looking opponents, barring the circumstance that they have already tried to take advantage of her mercy; of course, this will not apply if she enters a drunken rage. Lastly, the girl's own desire to face strong challengers can sometimes work against her, as she would sooner allow an opponent to reach full strength than finish them off mid-power-up; of course, she herself would never think "pursuing the strongest battle!" to be much of a character flaw.
Personality:
Anna Chan constantly seeks to challenge and improve herself and to this end approaches life with an eager stride and competitive vigor. The girl is full of youthful pride befitting any warrior, but occasionally her self-confidence borders into arrogance, or when sufficiently flattered, even slight egomania. Although she will never take this as far as an outright narcissism that seeks to exploit others, she does have a tendency to occasionally overestimate her abilities and bite off a little more than she can easily chew; but as she would likely tell you, "you can't learn without a good challenge". Understanding combat to be the greatest challenge, Anna Chan believes that fighting provides its' own meaning and so takes no conflict with fighting for the sake of fighting. When pushed to her limits Anna Chan's demeanor changes, a playful expression quickly transforming into a desperate and powerful intent to survive; when combined with alcohol, desperation becomes a mad fury that only the rare (and extremely fortunate) man walks away from alive.
Sometimes eagerness becomes impulsiveness, wherein Anna Chan's lack of discipline will become readily apparent. More interested in taking the "exciting" route than the practical one, Anna Chan is not above putting herself into dangerous or difficult situations for the sake of entertainment. The traveler would sooner visit a new nation without knowing anything about it beforehand than do any sort of research, understanding the mystery to make things more exciting. As one would expect, Anna Chan is often unfamiliar with the world around her and by some accounts has been described as something of a distracted, naive airhead; she seems hardly any more exploitable for it, for few would dare try crossing one with such a reputation. Regardless of all the trouble her under-informed wanderings bring, Anna Chan remains constantly optimistic and cheery. After all, the ideal day has equal parts pain and pleasure; negative experiences are a chance to grow, so why complain? On rare occasion she can't help but be depressed by mortality or her own loneliness, but such sentiment has only ever proven fleeting.
Although not above taking payment for her services inside the kitchen or out on the battlefield, Anna Chan considers herself as more of a "freelance hero" than a mercenary and so restrains herself from engaging in morally dubious behaviour. On the contrary, the would-be heroine does her best to be a good samaritan, protecting the weak and helpless from undue suffering; on more than a few occasions, this has resulted in hostile attention. Having said as much, she is not without her vices; stories of her gluttony, drunken bouts and promiscuity are famous, if not a bit exaggerated. Some would call her a hedonist, but again, the simple truth is that she wishes only to cherish as much of life as possible, good or bad. As of such, she becomes subsequently anxious and bored when her life is stagnant for too long, leaving her prone to constant wanderlust.
Background:
In an alternate earth time line...
There was a clan of Chinese martial artists, renowned for their seemingly godly strength; the Guanyin. Although the Guanyin were few, It was said that one clan member could turn the tide of an entire war. Despite word of their magnificent feats having spread across the lands of east and west, the family was known for being notoriously seclusive, emerging from their hidden mountain abode only on event of a visit from the royal family. It was in the season of falling leaves when Mei Lei, the “iron maiden” was summoned to the royal court. The empress, riddled with internal threats of dissent and mutiny, ordered to his service the most powerful fighter the Guanyin could spare: to his mild surprise, the slender beauty proved formidable enough to defeat an entire troupe of assassins alone. Although the internal affairs were soon elevated to civil war, foreign aid from the industrial French empire helped secure a decisive victory. In a sign of good will, the French royal family was invited to visit the empresses' court, which was accepted. Mei Lei, having lived here entire life in the mountains and royal court, could not help but find herself fascinated with the unfamiliarity of these strange visitors. The one that took her greatest interest was a young and handsome french chef, who wooed Mei Lei into a brief but passionate courtship. By the next fall he had returned with his liege to the land a world away, leaving Mei Lei pregnant with child. Although the Guanyin originally planned to execute mother and womb for her unsanctioned love tryst with a foreigner, this punishment was ignored when the yet-to-be-born infant showed promise of unusual Chi levels; although Mei Lei's training helped her to control the massive chi disruption in her body, she ultimately died in childbirth.
Before the child was even given a name, she was submerged in water for a full minute, so as to test whether or not the child was worthy of inheriting the ancient art of Tiě Shén Fènnù (literally, “Iron God Wrath”). Able to survive this baptism, the child was named Chan; her training began immediately. Although only an infant, the young-ling was exposed to heat, cold and the regular administration of small pains, so as to numb the child for the greater pains that come with formal training. By age four, the child was already expected to engage in rigorous daily exercise and combat training, which left her broken near the point of death more than once. She managed to endure the suffering and for it, became strong enough to kill an oxen with a single blow by age eight. Even though most details of Tiě Shén Fènnù training remain a closely guarded secret, it is understood that at age ten, an aspiring practitioner must survive a rite of passage; six children fight to the death – the victor gets to bask in their first taste of the legendary iron-spiked wine. Deemed a tool to root out the weak that somehow managed to survive training up until this point, Chan survived being culled once again and so was deemed worthy of beginning her true training. This extreme training hardened her body and mind further, transforming her into a living weapon. However, before her ten years of training could be completed, her presence was requested in the royal court for an unspecified time period. Although the Guanyin made their dissatisfaction clear, they did not deny her divine will.
Although at first humbled to meet the woman who she had trained all her life to serve, the empress – with some difficulty – managed to somewhat relax the sixteen-ear-old's rigid formality. Within a month's time, the two were on close terms, the empress having treated the girl with as much respect as she had her mother, the woman to whom she owed her life several times over. Although Anna at first had difficulty coping without the constant application of pain and stress, the taste for suffering became faintly lessened as time went on. The empress slowly revealed her intentions to Chan in small fragments of information, primarily about the late great Mei Lei, knowledge that was now considered taboo among the Guanyin. But her lessons also included knowledge of art, literature, etiquette, morality and the world beyond China. Chan slowly grew warm to her conversations with the empress and as time went on, she slowly began to emerge from the iron cocoon she carried since birth. Having been kept for over a year in her service, the Guanyin became agitated that the girl's training still laid incomplete and were becoming convinced that life in the palace would serve to soften the girl. Hearing word of this, the empress finally explained to Chan her intentions; as a favour to Mei Lei, she promised that her child would be given the choice to escape China when she came of maturity. Explaining that her father awaited a reply from the palace of Versailles, the queen apologized for leaving her with such a sudden decision. Chan went into her chambers to meditate for a week's time. Upon return, Chan exited her chambers with a single “yes”. With a strange feeling welling up inside her that she could not yet explain, the girl left her only friend forever. As the Guanyin punishment for setting so much as a foot outside of “blessed” Chinese soil was a painful execution, the girl knew she could never return.
Three months later, Chan arrived at the palace of Versailles in France. Everything, her father included, seemed too foreign for her to truly comprehend, despite the French lessons the empress had provided her with; a book could only reflect real experience so much. Although granted a place to stay in the palace, Chan had problems adjusting to the confused hospitality of this place; it was confused and twisted, a show of reluctant obligation without much sincerity. Her own father, Jean Le'Blanc, struggled to communicate with the hardened living weapon, whilst Chan could not help but hold a feeling of resentment for the man who had abandoned her mother. Chan quickly became bored with life at the palace, wherein the women were expected to perform nothing but menial tasks; when told that this was how it was in all nations, Chan became severely disillusioned with her choice to leave the cruel, but familiar Guanyin. However, her father eventually brought her into his all-male kitchen on permission of the king, in a desperate attempt to communicate with her in some way. Surprisingly, the girl took to cooking with fascination and passion. Although she had cautioned away from french cuisine up until that point, she had now gained an insatiable desire for the gourmet food that she prepared, often needing to be scolded away from eating any. Under her father's tutelage she became quite talented and in some way connected, despite their inability to hold a real conversation. Chan spent two years studying her craft under her father and was expected to eventually secede his position upon eventual retirement. But when he caught her in the courtyard experimenting with cooking utensils as if they were weapons, Jean knew that it would always be in the girl's blood to fight, much as her mother had predicted; he then understood that it would be cruel to keep her in a gilded cage any longer. Explaining what even the empress had kept secret from her, Jean revealed the reality of Tiě Shén Fènnù tradition kept secret from those who have yet to complete their training; all born into the Guanyin bloodline were doomed to a lifespan shorter than the last, due to the ultimately toxic effects of their greatest weapon. The girl froze in a mixture of emotions she could never quite understand – but then, an epiphany. Chan decided that she had no time to complain about her short life, and so set off into the world that very same night, a small kitchen worth of supplies in a bundle on her back. When Jean cried at her departure, Chan felt that same strange feeling again, but could not bring herself to describe it.
The young girl departed into the world adopting the moniker of “Anna Chan” as a tribute to the French ethnicity she had grown to accept as part of herself. The girl became a vagabond, travelling from town-to-town, nation-to-nation, in search of new experiences, particularly in the form of recipes and other fighters. Her odd (but alluring) femininity, extreme strength and gourmet cooking slowly attracted her a great deal of fame, which she did little to avoid. With the ever-present possibility of death looming over her head, Anna Chan became more open in her personality and looser in her inhibitions. Oftentimes not distinguishing harmful experiences from sensual ones, the girl became more bold and forthright in her personality, slowly becoming accustomed to the many tall tales that began to accumulate about her nomadic life. Although she has improved as a martial artist and a cook, her discipline has all but deteriorated; many delicate sensibilities would go so far as to call her something of a degenerate. A polarizing figure to the lands of both west and east, Anna Chan has earned countless admirers, would-be suitors and enemies in her eight years of travel. Eventually though, the girl began to feel a nagging on her soul. Her new found pride and arrogance desired for her to return to China, so as to test herself against what she thought must be the most powerful warriors alive. Uncertain if she was ready to face the test, she wandered in frustrated contemplation for months...that's when, across the distant planes, in her strongest moment of burning desire, I found my next dreamer. I hardly had to explain anything before she agreed to my proposal. “A fight against otherworldly beings...I'm so dammed excited!”
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