Profile
"in ancient history there was a tree called ta-khun
whose spring was 8000 years, and its autumn the same."
OKTAI TÖMÖRBAATAR
The current and second head of the Tengu Sect. Formerly the fourth prince of Urdu-Balik's royal family, he has since disowned himself to form his new identity after an incident that permanently transformed him into a youkai. A powerful and self-made man who doesn't tolerate any nonsense, he is one of the east's most reliable non-military defenders.
"sow the seeds of green, and embrace the golden fruit."
- Age200+
- Gender Male-presenting
- Height 5'5" (170cm)
- SpeciesYOUKAI (KODAMA)
- Occupation tengu sect head
- Alignment. neutral good
Theme: Akiko Shikata - Aya
Oktai, or more commonly known as Lord Taichun in the east, is the head of the Tengu Sect. Having been Souseihou's disciple, Oktai possesses the most pure form of the former monk's teachings. Compared to others in the Tengu Sect, Oktai is considered to be more uptight and strict than most, but he does indeed preach self-improvement through becoming one with nature. A serious teacher, he dislikes slackers and those who against the word of his sect's scriptures, and is known to have a horrific temper. He relaxes around people he's come to trust, though earning it in the first place is a difficult task. Because he says what he thinks, Oktai comes off as a little rude and condescending.
As a child, he was an individual who let his heart control his actions, and never thought before he acted. But Oktai was a kind-hearted boy who also wore his heart on his sleeve, and did anything to try and squash down his growing inferiority complex and to get his father’s attention. Jealous of his older siblings and his younger siblings alike, he could only ever connect with the one that was the same age as him - Chulunbold, until he ran off to pursue some criminal, beginning his own legend. Oktai didn’t necessarily blame his brother, because they shared their mutual feelings on not being able to stand out.
However, his curse transformed this genuine love to into false beliefs of betrayal. He struggled to battle his inferiority, and wavered between accepting his inevitable death and continuing to live. After having met Souseihou, Oktai eventually grew humble under his wing. As Souseihou believed in becoming more peaceful at heart by removing all worldly desires, Oktai’s innate greed eventually disappeared under the monk’s teachings. While not a saint when he emerged as a graduate, Oktai was clearly more forgiving, less pessimistic and saw himself in a more confident way, even if he was permanently trapped in the form of a non-human.
Despite his change in personality, Oktai never fixed his relationship with his brother nor his family. He eventually disowned his family name, to take on the task of taking the helm from his teacher, who eventually started a sect to continue his teachings.
In the far north, there exists the northern capital city - Urdu-Balik. It is a city filled with toughened warriors and master craftsman, who carve legendary figures out of stone and jade. They revere the brave and loyalty, and turn their noses up at cowardice. It is this mindset that drives their sons and daughters to achieve their very best.
Prince Oktai Tömörbaatar is one of many sons, a middle child and only a few months younger than Chulunbold, who would later become a legend in the period they currently lived in - the soon to be named Period of Fire. Like his brother, as a child trapped in between many sisters and older brothers, he always felt he need to get recognition. He thirsted for the attention he so desperately needed, and he didn’t get any from the carvings he made no matter how beautiful or how highly praised they were by the elders in the city. Each time his father would walk past, and Oktai would hang his head low. Compared to his older brothers, his swordsmanship was pitiful, and compared to his sisters his works of art were like glorified pebbles.
The only way he could get his father to look at him was to do something daring, and completely unheard of in their family name.
Ascend the mountain ranges.
Behind their city of Urdu-Balik, the mountain ranges spread across the north side of the continent. Urdu-Balik was cold but the mountains were even colder. They say if one were to close their eyes even once then you would never wake up again. Only the experienced could ever hope to climb it, or the Pon’yamume people that lived in their frozen villages inside it.
In the middle of the night, Oktai left his house with a sack of supplies, slipping into the night and scaling the walls that encased his city. When he looked back, he saw the ring of heroic statues with their jade tipped staves. Their green eyes winked in the light as if they were encouraging him. It filled Oktai with immeasurable courage.
The journey was bitter and tough. Once or twice he heard men shouting his name behind him, and assuming his father had sent out a search party for him, fled even deeper into the mountains. His goal? The Fuzou Tree, the tree of life that grew in a cove deep within the mountains. A single berry from its branches could fill the stomachs of men for a whole day, and the waters never froze over no matter how cold it was. A mini paradise trapped within the snow. And at last, the young prince slid down the cliff face, landing in the so called Mulberry Cove. Growing from a small hill covered in startling green, the tree stood mighty and proud. Its branches were sagging from how many berries were growing. Greedily the prince reached his hand out for it and tugged. But not only did he take a bunch of berries, he had taken the branch with it too. And at that, the air began to hum with anger. The spirits within the tree hissed with anger, at the boy who had no intention of giving back to them, when he only took. The Fuzou Tree cursed him, transforming him into a creature of nature.
“You shall be a sprite with no loyalty,” the spirits said. “A creature destined to die.”
For when a tree sprite is born not tied to a tree, their life force could not be used to grow fruit. Eventually, it would grow out of control, fester, and consume him whole. He will give back to the earth as a tree, a tree that was once a human.
Afraid and filled with horror the young prince fled. Scared of how his father would react, he never returned to Urdu-Balik. The signs of coming chaos waned high in the sky as he ran far, far away, seeking refuge in the east side of the continent where he found refuge in a forest growing healthily beside the capital. There he met carefree monk who seemed to understand Oktai’s feelings with a single glance, whose body was covered in painful, red berries that sprouted from his body.
“Come,” the man said, as he removed his mask. He was surprisingly young, those his eyes were wise. “I will refine your body, it will be even better than the finest stone of Urdu-Balik.”
And so this was the beginning of a long, long story, of how Prince Oktai of the Urdu-Baliks became the inheritor of the then not yet formed Tengu Sect, the finest student of the legendary monk Souseihou.
Manipulation of plants: Oktai's innate ability; he cannot force plants to appear out of nowhere, but can manipulate anything from seeds to existing flora. His magic can manipulate plant growth, the potency of any attributes, restore life to dying plants and use them offensively or defensively. By reading Streams of plants, he is able to 'see' things from far away as long as he still has physical access to the plant from elsewhere (eg. he can see what is happening in the south if there's a tree root that goes from that far from his own home.)
Five-feathered fan: A tengu fan with five leaves. The mark of the Tengu Sect's leader, it is a fan that can only be wielded by the leaders of the sect. It produces powerful winds that can flatten forests.
Plant Generation: His curse causes random growths to occur on his body, and although he cannot choose when this happens, it will no longer overpower him and cause his death. Flowering crabapples that come from his body contain juice which is made from his blood, and is both poisonous and slimy. Branches that occasionally grow out like spikes are like poisonous quills, and the flowers' scent causes nausea.
※ uses 'watashi'.
※ tomorbaatar was his father's name, it means 'iron hero'.
※ even though Souseihou gave up almost every desire, the one thing he couldn’t was alcohol, meaning he dragged his dear green pupil to drink with him. Oktai could never take more than one shot.
Comments