Taijitu
01-21-07, 11:11 PM
Name: Di Guan
Age: 42
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Eye Color: ?
Hair Color: Auburn, comes down to his shoulders but is hidden under his mask’s veil.
Occupation: Taoist Priest, Journeyman Xian [Ascendant]
Languages: Nihongo, Fallien, Tradespeak, Zhengshian, and struggles with Raiaieran.
Description: Di, despite his age, does not appear to be much farther then his early twenties. After taking on the vows of the Ascendant, the aging process of his body slowed to a near halt. It takes his form nearly one hundred years to age a single year physically. Di is not the most handsome of all people but most do not see much of his face. As an Ascendant, he wears a mask. His mask represents who he is, and his was carved from wood, smoothed, and varnished to be a deep and dark brown, almost black. It covers only the top half of his face, ending in a curving line in the middle of his cheeks and the bottom of his nose. The nose of the mask, however, protrudes a little like the beak of a raven. At the head, the mask has been attached to a thick black cloth that falls down around the sides of his face and continues until about the middle of his back. It is split down the back, and covered with sewn-in with raven feathers. Over the eye slots, to hide his eyes and thus the portals to his soul, are sown a thin black cloth. Due to the closeness to his face, he can see out perfectly through the cloth, but nobody can see in. The mask is carved so that the eye sockets almost perfectly come around his eyes and are angled outwards so he retains almost all of his peripheral vision. The rest of his outfit consists of usual Taoist Priest uniform. This comprises of a white robe-like shirt that has baggy sleeves but a snug torso, tied with a red rope with a bow tie in the back. There are slits in his robe at the shoulder to give more movement freedom, and under it a black undershirt can be seen. On the sleeves there are black cherry petals and gray flower designs flowing along the sides. On the back of the shirt is a massive black and gray cherry petal flower with a Taijitu [Yin-Yang] in the center. The 6 petals, three gray and three black, form a circle around the Taijitu in the center. Then he has long dark blue baggy pants that have similar petal-and-flower gray and black designs along the bottom rim and growing thinner as they come up his leg. The pants come down to where his feet would be if he stood flat. However, instead of shoes, he wears black socks and block shoes [similar to wooden sandals, except they have a single block across the middle, about one inch wide, and adds four inches to the height. They are a signature piece of equipment for Ascendants, since it takes skill to walk easily on such foot wear.]. However, on the bottom of his block shoes is a thin black cloth that absorbs the vibration of his wooden shoes hitting the ground and help mask Di’s footsteps.
If anyone were to, in strange circumstances, strip Di bare, his chest, back, arms, and legs are covered in deeply disturbing and stomach-turning tattoos. The tattoos don't seem to made from ink, but from the flesh becoming black from rot, and they seem to move and give off a dark spiritual aura.
Weapon[!?]: Cheng Huang/”Pillowtalk”: The Cheng Huang is a wooden flute but it has some unusual and powerful qualities. First of all, as all Ascendants carry instruments, it is Di’s emissary to the Gods. The Flute is about one and a half foot long when extended, but it can telescope inwards to make it only about six inches long. Just by looking at the flute, it is impossible to tell that it can telescope, for it isn’t made in layers but seems one complete piece. When Di places his hand on the end and pushes in, the flute simply disappears into itself. However, the music that comes from it when at full length is beautiful indeed.
When at its shortest length, the flute becomes a solid wood cylinder and allows the channeling of Yin Chi. When channeling of Chi begins, all other activities that were being fed Chi from Di are instantly aborted and all Chi is focused into the Cheng Huang. Then Di places both hands on the Cheng Huang and draws one hand outwards, as if running it along the blade of a sword. As he does so, his chi solidifies into a vibrant purple energy blade resembling a Chinese Long sword. The energy blade has been dubbed “Pillowtalk” by Di and is currently the strength of steel. When Pillowtalk is active, no other Chi activities may be used. This has already been said, but it must be emphasized.
Another strange property of Pillowtalk is that it slightly enhances the skill of its owner. If Di were to pick up a normal Chinese Long Sword, he would be below average in skill. However, when wielding Pillowtalk, he is of an average skill in wielding weapons and can keep up with any average swordsman. He has had training, but his training has only just begun.
Items:
Amulet of Taijitu: A special amulet that currently appears to be the white teardrop of the Taijitu that represents Yang. This amulet is made from a magical clear crystal-like material that cannot easily be destroyed. However, when worn by a Taoist Priest, it will demonstrate their level of Yin and Yang. If the amulet is white with a growing black core, then they are currently still a being of Yang. If the black grows to consume the white and a white core grows, then they are being a Yin and their Hac Tao will show this. Deeds that change one’s karma can often be confusing, and depends on not what one thinks is right, but what actually assists another creature in earnest nor not. Good intentions are not the road that leads to Yang.
A Yin Taoist Priest, or Dark Priest, will use Hac Tao, which distorts and twists nature. If they call forth a flame, it’s color will be twisted to purple or black. Any plants they grow will be poisonous and tainted. Sometimes their touch alone can taint or poison nature.
Chi Kung:
Chi Kung is, in the simplest of terms, the Chi ‘magic’ that Taoist Priests have been granted by the Gods to do their duties. As a training Xian, Di has much different Chi Kung then most Taoist Priests, and his is geared more towards battle. The main part of his Chi Kung is, like any other Taoist Priest, the ability to control nature to an extent. For example, if he wished, he could walk out onto a calm pond. It takes concentration of Chi and thus if someone hit him or surprised him to break his concentration, Di would fall in the water. However, the greater the change of nature, the more concentration it requires. There is a limit to how much Di can change right now, and the greater half of what he changes requires a moment of meditation before performing the act. Such more powerful changes would be such as taking a seed, planting it, and then expending almost all of one’s own chi to make the plant grow to full adulthood in a matter of seconds. This takes a while of meditation before hand, to align one’s own Chi and make sure that a reserve is made so that the Taoist doesn’t kill him or herself in the process. [However, due to the sealing that Dresden performed, Di would only be able, even at his best, to grow a sapling.] If a task ends up being too much for their current capabilities, they will simply momentarily faint and the change will stop wherever it is. If they are properly prepared, it is impossible for a Taoist to die from Chi Kung. However, trying changes without preparation can be deadly even in moderate amounts. Taoists cannot command nature, but can ask nature to do things, however beings of Yang nature will not harm other beings of Yang nature, nor will assist directly in harming any Yin creature. But, for another example, a Taoist may ask a tree to give him an apple. The tree would gladly agree, for when the Taoist is done he would plant the apple seeds somewhere safe nearby so that a new apple tree may grow. Simple things, like asking a flower to bloom, take no concentration and unnoticeable amounts of Chi. Most other Chi tires Di out rather quickly, for the seal on his body drains his Chi faster then it used to.
The aspect of Di’s Chi Kung that is different and more specialized however is his ability to move to places and areas with greater ease then most humans can. For example, he has more practice controlling water and wind then he does living plants, animals, and earth. Using his powers in specific ways, Di has been able to leap onto a wall and then ask the wall to hold him as he asks the winds to propel him, producing a wall jump that normally wouldn’t be possible. In this way, he can scale moderate to tight spaces rather quickly, or move up even a vertical wall simply by running up it. It takes extreme concentration to run up a wall or along one, however, and if his concentration his broken or disturbed in some way then he can seriously hurt himself and cause Chi backlash, making it so that he cannot use Chi again for a day or two. Along the water path, Di has improved his ability to an average where he can jump onto a calm or slightly disturbed body of water from a height and use the water to cushion his fall and still stay aloft. Also, he can run on the water at almost full speed. Again, broken concentration can cause him falling in rather comically.
Hac Tao, such as cursing, healing, and such, changing the nature of things, is beyond Di’s current ability.
Banishing, Releasing, and Sending
The true calling of Taoist Priests, and side job of Xian, is that of an exorcist. If a spirit has taken a physical form, they will attempt to battle it to release the spirit, and then use their instrument to call upon the eyes of the Gods. There are three options for the Taoist when they have the attention of the gods. They may call upon Gao Yao, the God of Judgment, to help the soul ascend into its own part of Heaven. The Taoist can also call upon Chi Jiang to banish the spirit to its appropriate Hell. Or, they may simply call upon the Ba Xian, the Immortals, to send the spirit into its own path of spiritual enlightenment. Depending on its actions and the Priest’s knowledge of the spirit, they will make their decision. A Sending is the choice taken if no prior knowledge is known about the spirit. Spirits cannot be released, sent, or banished unless they are in a greatly weakened state or wish it. If a spirit possesses an item or being that can’t or shouldn’t be destroyed, then they can be lured out by the music of the Cheng Huang if they are weak.
The New Hunt
[Please keep in mind that even though some of this hasn’t happened, it is approved and will happen soon. Liquid time is fun! Also this history does not reflect my writing skills because it is half rushed and not a full account of history, just a summary.]
Zhengshi.
Valley of Death, but home of the Tao.
It was a home that Di Guan would not see for a very long time. His first mistake was coming to Underwood, the second mistake was finding and challenging a certain Demon to a hunt. Though he was being helped by a Paladin, Elves, and two other Taoists from Zhengshi, it turned out in the end that none of them were truly up to par with the dark cunning plots that the Demon could throw out. What had been an arrogant and egotistic remark in the beginning, telling of the Dark Ward that he carried with him to seal off powerful spirits, had in fact being Di Guan’s demise. For this Demon was vengeful, and didn’t simply let him die. Instead, as a personal bit of revenge, he used that seal that the Master Xian had so blatantly advertised on the Taoist himself. Slamming it deep into his soul and spreading the tainted seal tattoos over his form. With a decaying soul and almost all of his connections with the Divinity cut off, he was left in the fields to die.
But…despite all the mistakes that Di Guan made that fateful day, the Demon did make one blunder. It must have seemed nothing to him, an act of disgrace, but he told the ruined Taoist his name.
Dresden Myrmidos.
Thus, the hunt begins again. Alone, he would set out. Alone, he would find the Demon. Alone, he would break the seal and break the cold hearted fool’s soul at the same time. Revenge was a gift that can always be given back, twice fold. With his fellow Hunter’s deaths to avenge, and his own destruction to seek renewal of, this broken spirit was one toy that the Demon should have never left behind.
Age: 42
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Eye Color: ?
Hair Color: Auburn, comes down to his shoulders but is hidden under his mask’s veil.
Occupation: Taoist Priest, Journeyman Xian [Ascendant]
Languages: Nihongo, Fallien, Tradespeak, Zhengshian, and struggles with Raiaieran.
Description: Di, despite his age, does not appear to be much farther then his early twenties. After taking on the vows of the Ascendant, the aging process of his body slowed to a near halt. It takes his form nearly one hundred years to age a single year physically. Di is not the most handsome of all people but most do not see much of his face. As an Ascendant, he wears a mask. His mask represents who he is, and his was carved from wood, smoothed, and varnished to be a deep and dark brown, almost black. It covers only the top half of his face, ending in a curving line in the middle of his cheeks and the bottom of his nose. The nose of the mask, however, protrudes a little like the beak of a raven. At the head, the mask has been attached to a thick black cloth that falls down around the sides of his face and continues until about the middle of his back. It is split down the back, and covered with sewn-in with raven feathers. Over the eye slots, to hide his eyes and thus the portals to his soul, are sown a thin black cloth. Due to the closeness to his face, he can see out perfectly through the cloth, but nobody can see in. The mask is carved so that the eye sockets almost perfectly come around his eyes and are angled outwards so he retains almost all of his peripheral vision. The rest of his outfit consists of usual Taoist Priest uniform. This comprises of a white robe-like shirt that has baggy sleeves but a snug torso, tied with a red rope with a bow tie in the back. There are slits in his robe at the shoulder to give more movement freedom, and under it a black undershirt can be seen. On the sleeves there are black cherry petals and gray flower designs flowing along the sides. On the back of the shirt is a massive black and gray cherry petal flower with a Taijitu [Yin-Yang] in the center. The 6 petals, three gray and three black, form a circle around the Taijitu in the center. Then he has long dark blue baggy pants that have similar petal-and-flower gray and black designs along the bottom rim and growing thinner as they come up his leg. The pants come down to where his feet would be if he stood flat. However, instead of shoes, he wears black socks and block shoes [similar to wooden sandals, except they have a single block across the middle, about one inch wide, and adds four inches to the height. They are a signature piece of equipment for Ascendants, since it takes skill to walk easily on such foot wear.]. However, on the bottom of his block shoes is a thin black cloth that absorbs the vibration of his wooden shoes hitting the ground and help mask Di’s footsteps.
If anyone were to, in strange circumstances, strip Di bare, his chest, back, arms, and legs are covered in deeply disturbing and stomach-turning tattoos. The tattoos don't seem to made from ink, but from the flesh becoming black from rot, and they seem to move and give off a dark spiritual aura.
Weapon[!?]: Cheng Huang/”Pillowtalk”: The Cheng Huang is a wooden flute but it has some unusual and powerful qualities. First of all, as all Ascendants carry instruments, it is Di’s emissary to the Gods. The Flute is about one and a half foot long when extended, but it can telescope inwards to make it only about six inches long. Just by looking at the flute, it is impossible to tell that it can telescope, for it isn’t made in layers but seems one complete piece. When Di places his hand on the end and pushes in, the flute simply disappears into itself. However, the music that comes from it when at full length is beautiful indeed.
When at its shortest length, the flute becomes a solid wood cylinder and allows the channeling of Yin Chi. When channeling of Chi begins, all other activities that were being fed Chi from Di are instantly aborted and all Chi is focused into the Cheng Huang. Then Di places both hands on the Cheng Huang and draws one hand outwards, as if running it along the blade of a sword. As he does so, his chi solidifies into a vibrant purple energy blade resembling a Chinese Long sword. The energy blade has been dubbed “Pillowtalk” by Di and is currently the strength of steel. When Pillowtalk is active, no other Chi activities may be used. This has already been said, but it must be emphasized.
Another strange property of Pillowtalk is that it slightly enhances the skill of its owner. If Di were to pick up a normal Chinese Long Sword, he would be below average in skill. However, when wielding Pillowtalk, he is of an average skill in wielding weapons and can keep up with any average swordsman. He has had training, but his training has only just begun.
Items:
Amulet of Taijitu: A special amulet that currently appears to be the white teardrop of the Taijitu that represents Yang. This amulet is made from a magical clear crystal-like material that cannot easily be destroyed. However, when worn by a Taoist Priest, it will demonstrate their level of Yin and Yang. If the amulet is white with a growing black core, then they are currently still a being of Yang. If the black grows to consume the white and a white core grows, then they are being a Yin and their Hac Tao will show this. Deeds that change one’s karma can often be confusing, and depends on not what one thinks is right, but what actually assists another creature in earnest nor not. Good intentions are not the road that leads to Yang.
A Yin Taoist Priest, or Dark Priest, will use Hac Tao, which distorts and twists nature. If they call forth a flame, it’s color will be twisted to purple or black. Any plants they grow will be poisonous and tainted. Sometimes their touch alone can taint or poison nature.
Chi Kung:
Chi Kung is, in the simplest of terms, the Chi ‘magic’ that Taoist Priests have been granted by the Gods to do their duties. As a training Xian, Di has much different Chi Kung then most Taoist Priests, and his is geared more towards battle. The main part of his Chi Kung is, like any other Taoist Priest, the ability to control nature to an extent. For example, if he wished, he could walk out onto a calm pond. It takes concentration of Chi and thus if someone hit him or surprised him to break his concentration, Di would fall in the water. However, the greater the change of nature, the more concentration it requires. There is a limit to how much Di can change right now, and the greater half of what he changes requires a moment of meditation before performing the act. Such more powerful changes would be such as taking a seed, planting it, and then expending almost all of one’s own chi to make the plant grow to full adulthood in a matter of seconds. This takes a while of meditation before hand, to align one’s own Chi and make sure that a reserve is made so that the Taoist doesn’t kill him or herself in the process. [However, due to the sealing that Dresden performed, Di would only be able, even at his best, to grow a sapling.] If a task ends up being too much for their current capabilities, they will simply momentarily faint and the change will stop wherever it is. If they are properly prepared, it is impossible for a Taoist to die from Chi Kung. However, trying changes without preparation can be deadly even in moderate amounts. Taoists cannot command nature, but can ask nature to do things, however beings of Yang nature will not harm other beings of Yang nature, nor will assist directly in harming any Yin creature. But, for another example, a Taoist may ask a tree to give him an apple. The tree would gladly agree, for when the Taoist is done he would plant the apple seeds somewhere safe nearby so that a new apple tree may grow. Simple things, like asking a flower to bloom, take no concentration and unnoticeable amounts of Chi. Most other Chi tires Di out rather quickly, for the seal on his body drains his Chi faster then it used to.
The aspect of Di’s Chi Kung that is different and more specialized however is his ability to move to places and areas with greater ease then most humans can. For example, he has more practice controlling water and wind then he does living plants, animals, and earth. Using his powers in specific ways, Di has been able to leap onto a wall and then ask the wall to hold him as he asks the winds to propel him, producing a wall jump that normally wouldn’t be possible. In this way, he can scale moderate to tight spaces rather quickly, or move up even a vertical wall simply by running up it. It takes extreme concentration to run up a wall or along one, however, and if his concentration his broken or disturbed in some way then he can seriously hurt himself and cause Chi backlash, making it so that he cannot use Chi again for a day or two. Along the water path, Di has improved his ability to an average where he can jump onto a calm or slightly disturbed body of water from a height and use the water to cushion his fall and still stay aloft. Also, he can run on the water at almost full speed. Again, broken concentration can cause him falling in rather comically.
Hac Tao, such as cursing, healing, and such, changing the nature of things, is beyond Di’s current ability.
Banishing, Releasing, and Sending
The true calling of Taoist Priests, and side job of Xian, is that of an exorcist. If a spirit has taken a physical form, they will attempt to battle it to release the spirit, and then use their instrument to call upon the eyes of the Gods. There are three options for the Taoist when they have the attention of the gods. They may call upon Gao Yao, the God of Judgment, to help the soul ascend into its own part of Heaven. The Taoist can also call upon Chi Jiang to banish the spirit to its appropriate Hell. Or, they may simply call upon the Ba Xian, the Immortals, to send the spirit into its own path of spiritual enlightenment. Depending on its actions and the Priest’s knowledge of the spirit, they will make their decision. A Sending is the choice taken if no prior knowledge is known about the spirit. Spirits cannot be released, sent, or banished unless they are in a greatly weakened state or wish it. If a spirit possesses an item or being that can’t or shouldn’t be destroyed, then they can be lured out by the music of the Cheng Huang if they are weak.
The New Hunt
[Please keep in mind that even though some of this hasn’t happened, it is approved and will happen soon. Liquid time is fun! Also this history does not reflect my writing skills because it is half rushed and not a full account of history, just a summary.]
Zhengshi.
Valley of Death, but home of the Tao.
It was a home that Di Guan would not see for a very long time. His first mistake was coming to Underwood, the second mistake was finding and challenging a certain Demon to a hunt. Though he was being helped by a Paladin, Elves, and two other Taoists from Zhengshi, it turned out in the end that none of them were truly up to par with the dark cunning plots that the Demon could throw out. What had been an arrogant and egotistic remark in the beginning, telling of the Dark Ward that he carried with him to seal off powerful spirits, had in fact being Di Guan’s demise. For this Demon was vengeful, and didn’t simply let him die. Instead, as a personal bit of revenge, he used that seal that the Master Xian had so blatantly advertised on the Taoist himself. Slamming it deep into his soul and spreading the tainted seal tattoos over his form. With a decaying soul and almost all of his connections with the Divinity cut off, he was left in the fields to die.
But…despite all the mistakes that Di Guan made that fateful day, the Demon did make one blunder. It must have seemed nothing to him, an act of disgrace, but he told the ruined Taoist his name.
Dresden Myrmidos.
Thus, the hunt begins again. Alone, he would set out. Alone, he would find the Demon. Alone, he would break the seal and break the cold hearted fool’s soul at the same time. Revenge was a gift that can always be given back, twice fold. With his fellow Hunter’s deaths to avenge, and his own destruction to seek renewal of, this broken spirit was one toy that the Demon should have never left behind.