Profile
Intro
Qīn is a loyal jiang shi servant, employed by Everton's own local necromancer Merle. Qīn dutifully performs any task given to her by her adoring master; the little zombie strives to satisify Merle and is eager to carry out her chores as soon as possible.
Qīn behaves similarly to a dog; she is faithful to her master to the end, and one of her sole duties is to protect her. She is eager to please Merle and enjoys recieving headpats and praise as a reward for quickly and successfully completing her tasks.
Appearance
Zombies in Abirelle can vary greatly in appearance, factoring in their cause of death, state of decomposition, and methods used by the Imp resurrects them. Qīn is a jiang shi, a subspecies of zombie typically resurrected via usage of Taoist incantations. The fulu talisman on Qīn's forehead, handmade by Merle, signifies her jiang shi origins.
Qīn's hair is long and black, with her often obscuring her eyes; due to Qīn relying primarily on her sense of smell versus her sight, this doesn't hinder her work. Qīn's eyes are red and unfocused, usually staring at nothing in particular.
When Qīn was first discovered by Merle, her limbs had been severed at the joint; using her less-than-stellar stitching skills, Merle reattached Qīn's limbs, and employed the use a fulu talisman to allow the zombie's limbs to function despite the shoddy sewing job. In order to cover up Qīn's stitches, Merle dresses her in clothing resembling that of a butler, including blazers and large bowties. Qīn wears thigh-high stockings and sandals adorned with roses.
Design Notes
- The seal on Qīn's forehead reads, "封印" or "sealed".
About
History
Whilst on an routine herb run, Merle stumbled across the hastily discarded remains of Qīn, her limbs severed at the joint. The sight broke Merle's heart-- perhaps if she resurrected this unfortunate stranger, she'd be giving her a second chance? Though it went against her morals, and she understood the repercussions of doing so, she had yet to put the true extent of her necromancy to the test. Inevitably, Merle's sympathy and loneliness got the better of her.
To help ease her conscious, Merle took it upon herself to repair Qīn's injuries using surgical staples and sewing needles. Merle's necromancy and usage of fulu talismans allow Qīn's body to function properly, provided that she is within a certain distance of her master.
Merle unfortunately never met Qīn before her death; her remains were discovered with no identification, leaving Merle with little to go off of regarding her name or origins. Thus, much of Qīn's history is entirely unknown.
Personality
One of the many repercussions of zombification is the absolute loss of most prior personality traits. While its not uncommon for a zombie to exhibit old habits, their personality in general is reduced down majorly. For some Imps, this is not entirely a bad thing; zombies make good servants because of their lack of willpower. Zombie servants are under no circumstances allowed to disobey their master; the only exception to this rule would be if their energy is too low to attend to their duties. If their master has a task for them, they're unable to perform tasks of their own until it is completed. This is in part due to the Imp's abilities.
Qīn's personality has been boiled down to one that is similar of a dog's; she is bound to her master and dutifully preforms any task Merle provides her, and in the meantime enjoys simply staying in Merle's company. When left to her own devices, Qīn is likely to wander outside and attempt to pick flowers. Qīn looks forward to dinnertime every night, as Merle makes a special dish just for her!
Trivia
- The name Qīn, characterized as 亲, is actually a Chinese nickname meaning "honey" or "dear". It is shorthand of the word 亲爱的, romanized as qīn ài de.
- Try as she might, Merle can't mask Qīn's smell of decay. No perfume is strong enough to overpower that, unfortunately.
- Qīn is incapable of speech, however she understands commands in both common and Death's Whisper. Imps are one of the few living mortal species that can speak Death's Whisper. This language is usually reserved for ghosts and spirits. Imps typically give commands to their servants in Death's Whisper, rather than their primary language.
- Jiang shi are terrified of their own reflections.
- For some reason, Qīn finds Merle's friend Cole to be untrustworthy.
- Qīn behaves much like a dog. This is common for undead zombie servants, with some Imps bonding with them as pets rather than servants.
Magic and Abilities
The primary difference between a jiang shi and a traditional zombie are the methods used to resurrect and subsequently seal them; Merle, being of Abirelle's equivalent of Chinese descent, specializes in fulu talismans and put this knowledge to use in reviving Qīn.
Vampirism
Zombies in Abirelle are different from traditional zombies; they function similarly to vampires. Rather than consuming flesh as conventional zombies do, Abirelle's zombies exhibit the ability to absorb, or "suck", the life force from living creatures including both mortals and wildlife. This process in turn provides the zombie with nutrition and energy to continue functioning. Although this is essentially the same as eating, a lack of nutrition will not kill a zombie, it will however leave them unable to preform their duties until they are provided with a meal. Being as witless as she is, it is Merle's responsibility to track Qīn's life force intake.
Zombies absorb life energy from their victims through physical contact; the victim must remain still for a short period of time for the undead to properly finish their meal, although they can stop whenever they'd like. The amount of time required for a proper life drain varies depending on the size of the victim, although larger victims often provide for more fulfilling meals. An adult mortal may require more time from the zombie than a smaller creature, such as a fox, would. Due to Merle's passive nature, she encourages Qīn to absorb life energy of woodland animals rather than that of mortals'.
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