Profile
Zhao
Male
26 y.o.
Intimidating
Attentive
Somewhat mischievous
"...”
Basics
Likes
- His clan
- The Librarian
- Cats
Dislikes
- Outsiders
- Windy days
- Raccoons
About
Last edited: 19th September 2020
The leader of a clan known and feared for the vast number of Spirit-Touched people it holds. Whereas in regular areas the norm is for people to have no magic skill and an exceptional individual to be born as Spirit-Touched, for this clan it’s the opposite: being born with no magical skill is the exception. Since the clan has lived in the Silvermist Mountain Range for centuries, they are known as the Silvermist clan or Silvermist tribe. Since the common belief goes that Spirit-Touched humans are created when a baby is touched by a ghost while it’s still in the womb and it survives, people believe the Silvermist Mountain Range to be home to countless lost souls.
Having been forced to fight from a very young age (see story), his martial skills developed quickly and impressively, to the point that, even if they never managed to win a battle against their innumerable opponents, Zhao always made sure that the enemy suffered two, three times more casualties than them. Such a bloody reputation won him the name “Azure Blaze”, and, even today, he is feared by the inhabitants of the lands near to the mountain his clan used to live in.
Such an environment surely would create a cold and ruthless man- and he is, but only towards the people outside of his clan. To his clan members he is kind and helpful, always willing to take on any task that needs doing, no matter how trivial it may seem. His people are the most important thing in the world to him so, the Librarian, as the one who so selflessly saved them from their persecution and gave them hope for the future, has his undying loyalty.
Since, thanks to her, life is peaceful now and there’s little he needs to take care of, he likes to spend most of his time around the Librarian, giving her a hand whenever he can and just going along with whatever she wants to do. This acceptance and support to anything and everything she wants to do has led the woman to behave in an interestingly childish way when he’s around. Their closeness sometimes makes people think they’re romantically involved, but nothing further from the truth! They simply feel very comfortable in each other’s presence, as he would do absolutely anything for her to repay the debt she owes her, and she knows that he would never judge anything she wanted to do.
Trivia
- “Zhao” isn’t really his name. It means “claw”, and it’s the word that people from his clan use to refer to their leader, as they’re of a belic background. His clan’s names are mostly hard to pronounce to outsiders, so Zhao is the name that people have heard of.
- Outsiders usually think he’s cold and aloof, as he seems to refuse to talk to anyone. In truth, he’s mute, but that’s something that he makes sure to keep outsiders from knowing.
- His armor styling is made in the traditional fashion of his clan. The dragon-like theme it has is a reference to the belief that the Silvermist Mountain Range was formed by the remains of an ancient, giant dragon. It is said that the strange, glittery mist that sometimes forms in those peaks is actually the breath of the ancient creature, trying to return to life...
- He’s widely known as the Azure Blaze, due to the way his eyes seem to glow in battle and the blue-colored energy he releases, which resembles flames somewhat. The reason he dislikes windy weather is because it makes it harder for him to control those “flames”.
- Another popular tale from his clan tells that the earth deity in charge of the lands in which the Silvermist Mountain Range is found likes to employ raccoons as their spies, to keep track of the activities of mortals and punish or reward them accordingly. As a reward for their services, the deity would gift them with some wisdoms, like how it’s best to wash fruit before eating it. Before, this would cause for raccoons to be treated with respect by the clan members in deference to the deity; but, since the deity didn’t bat an eye as the clan was chased away and nearly exterminated, the clan developed a great hatred for both the deity and their servants. Though no one would dare to kill a raccoon and risk enraging the deity, they still chase them off whenever they see them and sometimes put out food with some sort of light, non-lethal poison just to give the animals a bad time. Whether the legend is true or not, truth is, raccoons from all over the world do seem to have learned to avoid the members of this clan...
HTML by lowkeywicked
Born as the heir of the Silvermist clan’s leaders, Zhao had a good education in both battle and magical skills.
When he was still very young, the fear that outsiders held towards his clan‘s natural ability to control magic, which was otherwise very rare in the rest of the world, escalated to the point that an assassination of the clan’s leaders was carried out, followed by a persecution of all the other members, with the clear purpose of exterminating every last one of them. The pain caused by the assassination of his parents made Zhao’s magical talent, a scorching flame-like blue energy, to go out of control, and while he burned down all those who were attacking them at the moment, he also fully charred his own throat, rendering him completely mute. The clan found themselves almost constantly on the run, never able to stay in the same place for too long before someone appeared to attack them again. It seemed that all other human clans in the land had decided either to join in the hunt, or to keep completely away from the conflict, not granting them any shelter. Although, as the proud warriors they were, they at first tried to stand their ground and face the attacks as they came, defending what territories they tried to make a home of, the almost constant fighting produced more and more casualties, up to the point that they were nearly wiped out. No longer able to afford risking more casualties in battles, they found themselves forced to wander constantly, hiding and erasing any trace of them so as to avoid being located by any hostile clans... until the day they met the Divine Librarian by chance.
Zhao was 18 years old by the time, still not fully grown, but already battle-hardened to the extreme. He was out hunting with other clan members in the area they were currently crossing, when they accidentally bumped into a small group of people. By the look of them, they were scholars, not warriors, and they seemed to be examining some ruins in the area. But, warriors or not, the group clearly recognized them as members of the Silvermist clan, and there was a high chance that, should they be allowed to leave, they would report their location to their clan, which would no doubt alert others and send a force to attack them once more... Zhao and his companions were readying themselves to kill the group, when a woman chimed in. Her aura was different from the others’, somewhat loftier, and she also seemed to have no idea what the hostility was about. Clearly thinking that the dispute was purely a matter of trespassing territory, she happily offered to take the whole clan to the area where she lived, thus avoiding any bloodshed on either side. Zhao and his companions were completely puzzled by the offer, but the other side seemed to be completely scandalized, saying words such as “unworthy” or “heresy”. The reason for this became obvious the next instant, when the woman introduced herself: she was the Divine Librarian, the keeper of the Gods’ Divine Library; and the territory she had just offered them was the one that surrounded said building. Usually, after hearing such names, belonging to legend, one would naturally think they were being messed with... but the obvious outrage in her companions’ faces really made them believe that what the woman had just said was nothing but the truth. Without any hesitation, they accepted the offer.
Their settlement into the Divine Library’s territory was not without its own problems. For starters, save for some timid plant life growing on the verges of the abundant rivers and meadows in the area, the terrain was completely barren, making it hard to make any living in it. Aside from that, the scholars that had been accompanying the Divine Librarian, as soon as they were left off, quickly reported everything to their clans, and the rumors of the Silvermist clan having been taken to holy lands spread like wildfire. And to top it all off, since the Librarian was a servant to a god, but not a goddess herself, she actually didn’t have the authority to invite anyone to live on the Library’s terrain... Still, this small hope was still the greatest the clan had had in a very long time, and they firmly clinged to it. And luckily, their hope was met with its reward: the god whom the Librarian served was kindhearted, and kind of a pushover, and after hearing her reasoning for inviting them up, and the clan’s testimony of their lives the past decade (which was clearly news to both him and the Librarian), he couldn’t get himself to send them off, and agreed to find a way to allow them to stay. Since the Library and its surrounding territory were holy lands, the other clans couldn’t enter to attack them (not only for religious beliefs or respect, but also because the lands literally floated a good distance above the ground), which, for the first time in years, guaranteed peace and safety for the clan. With a place to call home and no fear for any impending attacks, a barren land seemed like a very minor setback, and the clan quickly got to work to make the lands fertile and inhabitable. Since they’d lived in a mountain rage for generations before, where fertile land was achieved through hard labor and meticulous care, it didn’t seem so big of a challenge.
Eight years have passed since then and, although the lands are still far from lush, they allow for a comfortable enough living, and the Silvermist clan’s people live happily and carefree. Their gratitude and devotion for the Librarian and her lord are unmatched, so, with a whole clan of magically gifted people to wholeheartedly defend it with their very lives, the Divine Library is now actually safer than ever before. As for Zhao, now that the constant fighting is over, he has sworn himself to protect the Librarian and repay her, in any way he can, the incredible and selfless gift she gave to him and his people. Although he is wary of any and all outsiders due to the hate his clan was subject to, since the Library receives visitors from all over the world, some from regions that have never even heard of the Silvermist clan, he stays civil enough with outsiders to be allowed to accompany her whenever she’s required to go down to the human world for a task... Not that they’d be able to keep him from finding a way to follow her even if they didn’t allow him to.
HTML edited from Hukiolukio
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