Profile
Squall Fangshou
29 • Male • He/him, They/them
The Dragon Priest
- VERSE Champions of the Sky
- YEAR CREATED 2019
- FULL NAME Wu-Lian Fangshou
- TITLE/NICKNAME Squall
- BIRTHDAY October 4 (Libra)
- RACE Tiefling (Zariel ancestry)
- ALIGNMENT Neutral Good
- CLASS Tempest Cleric
- BACKGROUND Guild Artisan
- SEXUALITY Gay
- BIRTHPLACE Shou Lung
- ANTHEM Castle of Glass
- Beach days
- Dragonology
- Thunderstorms & rain
- Opera
- Fine arts
- Dishonesty
- Arrogance
- Ambivalence
- Deep sand or mud (hooves :( )
- People thinking he's frightening (mostly form his appearance)
CREATIVE • DIPLOMATIC • TRANQUIL
Although he is often seen as intimidating from his appearance, Squall is calm and very approachable and a lover of creature comforts. He loves a good laugh but preferably not at someone else’s expense, and feels best when giving others advice or being a shoulder to cry on. He is an incredibly pious person, given his status as a warrior priest in service to the Deep Serpent.
He believes in diplomacy first, violence second. He wields incredible power and opts uses it only when necessary since he knows how destructive the Tempest — and his temper — can be. This heasitance stems from years of efforts to stem his temper after a childhood frought with bitterness and rage from his tiefling nature.
BACKSTORY
Being the firstborn of the new generation of Fangshou children did little for Squall's standing in the family. Ancient infernal blood had awakened just in time for his birth, resulting in a cloven-hooved, hot-blooded child with ties to the tumultuous layer of Avernus. He was terribly unruly, and his parents' dislike of him only furthered this rage. The birth and adoration of his younger sibling — an aasimar — only made his relationship with his family worsen. As he aged he seemed to get "better", but his distain merely manifested in different ways. Blatant rule-breaking, subtle slights against his family, etc. He struggled to find a healthy outlet for his frustrations.
Squall elected to join the Order of the Deep Serpent at 16 because he was disenfranchised with haughty pseudo-royalty life that he rarely actually got to benefit from. He ran away from the family estate and joined the order only seeing its surface: a cult that had a lot of public festivities and fascinating rituals.
When he joined he was inundated with scripture reading, history, meditation techniques, and gruntwork. He didn't care much for the actual religious part for a long time. It was such a departure of what he thought it would be, but it was better than having to deal with existence at home.
Over time he really grew into it. Much to the surprise of the other Order members, Squall found a lot of satisfaction and joy in carving instruments and other ceremonial pieces for the Order, and ultimately valued knowing the significance behind the festivals beforehand when he was finally able to participate in them. As he aged in the Order he saw that the work in the beginning was necessary to mold his temperament from someone tactless and shortsighted to someone who is always thinking of the bigger picture and how things affect others.
When his sister showed up unexpectedly at the temple gates a fundamentally changed person, now aware of the corruption and falsehoods she previously benefited from, Squall left the temple and sought adventures elsewhere with Wujian to rebuild their relationship. As far as he's concerned, they're the only family they have, and they need to watch each other's backs.
FAMILY
Wujian Fangshou — Sister, Eldritch Knight Squall is working to repair his relationhip with Wujian, and it has largely paid off. Traveling together has helped them get to know their new selves and he is thrilled to finally have a piece of "family". He can sometimes be too overprotective of Wujian thanks to her reckless irreverence, but he knows he can handle herself.
Squall often wears a calm smile or a stern, cold face. His tail is unusually long, even for his height. He almost always dons dragon imagery and is rarely seen in colors other than blue and purple. Four of his front teeth are curved sideways but aren't long enough to be visible unless he smiles with teeth. His casual wear is mostly lose robes and hanfu fashion, often with cloud or ocean motifs/patterns.
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- 6'6" tall, muscular build
- One lobe piercing and one cartilage piercing in his left ear
- Cloven feet do not have fur; they're more similar to hairless horse legs
- Skin is very warm to the touch
- No visible iris or pupils
- LANGUAGES: Common, Infernal, Draconic
- TOOLS: Woodcarver's Tools
- INSTRUMENTS: Dizi
- WEAPON: Greataxe
- MAGIC FOCUS: Storm medallion (holy symbol)
- OFF-WEAPON: Spear
- ARMOR: Chain mail
- Squall's incredible focus affords him the unique ability to maintain his melee combat while also utilizing holy magic to smite his opponents with strikes of divine lightning. Though his physical speed leaves something to be desired, he makes up for it in raw strength. He can widthstand most anything. While he is primarily damaged focused, he never enters battle without a healing spell or two prepared for emergencies.
- Bamboo carving & wood carving
- Painting
- Calligraphy
- Playing the flute
- Cooking
- Meditation
- Sewing (his newest hobby)
- Ether flute
- VIRTUE Temperance
- SIN Wrath
- ANIMAL Fresian horse, sea snake
- FLOWER Acanthus
- GEMSTONE Amethyst
- COLORS Purple, blue, indigo, gold, black
- LOVE LANGUAGE (GIVING) Acts of service, quality time, gift giving
- LOVE LANGUAGE (RECIEVING) Gift giving, physical touch
STRENGTH
DEXTERITY
CONSTITUTION
INTELLIGENCE
WISDOM
CHARISMA
HP
DEFENSE
PERCEPTION
MAGIC ABILITY
COMBAT
SOCIAL
Wen Shi took a particular interest in Squall once he learned of his internal struggles with anger. Having gone through the same thing in his own life, Master Wen was able to earn Squall's trust and bond with him, and guided his emotional and spiritual healing. Squall respects the man immensely and thinks of him often.
- ORDER OF THE DEEP SERPENT
-
A small, regional cult of monks, clerics, warriors, and occasionally bards that dedicate themselves to the Deep Serpent, a eity of storms and thunder that takes form of a great serpentine sea dragon. Members are trained in equal parts combat and meditative/creative skills.
To the common folk, the Deep Serpent is sometimes prayed to by sailors, fishermen, sea adventurers, and certain kinds of warriors. He is equal parts loved and feared. During storms, its said the Deep Serpent rises up to the sky from his castle at the bottom of the sea, the Palace of Ten-Thousand Fathoms, in order to create thunder with his booming roars and lightning with his claws. When he leaves the sea to perform his duties it becomes rough and tumultuous without his presence. When he returns at the storm's end, the ocean is again at ease.
The main point of the order is to teach exercising control over oneself and ones surroundings, and balance between the necessities of peace and conflict, and in turn control over thunder and lightning-based magic to unleash when necessary. They are known for their performance art (namely music and feats of danger), creative arts, and displays of celestial-granted power. Their members are encouraged to go out of their way to support the common folk, as protection and temperance are key tenants.
The temple Squall attended was the Temple of Rushing Waters. A medium-sized temple with a tall pagoda tower that doubles as a lighthouse, with a large blue magelight at the top with a huge dragon-shaped horn that “roars”. It’s on an island only few hundred meters from the shoreline, with a bridge connecting it to the mainland. It has outside stairs that descend directly to the water and some chambers dug underneath the island that lead into underwater caverns and waterfalls. There’s four large ceremonial balconies facing in the cardinal directions.
- FANGSHOU FAMILY
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The Fangshou clan are a long line of retainers to the Shou Lung emperor. Often, they'd supply the imperial family with things like bodyguards, officials, and the occasional scholar. They live close to the Shou Lung imperial palace, and have moved capital along with the emperor when needed. They are quite poor in terms of landowning, but have a great deal of prestige, and are still well-off from their salaries from the emperor. Their clan crest is a swirling vermilion bird.
The Fangshou clan largely disregard him, with his parents keeping his name out of court if they can help it. The general opinion is that they are glad he "saw himself out" when he did instead of continuing to give them a bad reputation.
