Post by SlivSoul on Apr 24, 2012 8:24:43 GMT -5
[/center]YANG, SHEN
Conquer or be conquered.
Name: Shen Yang
Age: 20
Gender: Male
Alignment: Lawful
Nationality: Earth Kingdom
Bender: No
Height: 6"2
Weight: 233lbs
Birthday: September 23rd
Items:
Personality:
Shen is a very patriotic young man. Having grown up in a household with a family that had a long line in the military he grew up with strong beliefs about the Earth Kingdom and will always try his best to defend it. He has pretty good communication skills, often outright with his opinions and ideals unless in a very bad situation. He doesn't hesitate when getting information out of someone too. He can be described as somewhat impulsive, especially if someone is in the way of his goals.
He doesn't back down to benders either, eager to prove himself in combat and try to dodge their techniques. He is disciplined in both swordsman skills and through parkour but the non-bender is still wary of bender's abilities. Shen is very quick on his feet in battle too, usually focusing on dodging bender's attacks. He does not dislike benders, only those who do not appreciate the power they possess. Especially if they are still treated higher than him because of these powers. The man also enjoys training, having many exercises in the morning to keep fit.
Shen is also quite power-hungry, although he hasn't acknowledge it yet. His strive for power is only just beginning, he has a desire to control others and the entire Earth Kingdom. In fact, he wants the war to start so that he will be able to prove himself, thinking that if the Earth Kingdom struck the other nations first, they would be on their sure way to victory.
He has an obsession with his own heritage, being a crossbreed of fire and earth nation genetics, though not displaying bending talent in either of them. It haunts him while the rest of his family finds it alright, of course, they don't look foreign to Earth nation, while Shen obviously does. He has a slight dislike to other nationalities as a result of his own self rejection but won't act hostile towards him. Heck, Shen will probably not even lift a finger to them if they surrender outright.
There is also a loyalty to allies in him. Though he goes forward to do what he deems right, Shen would never betray someone close to him, if it comes to a point where there is only do or die then this would be a reluctant turning, depending on who it is. It would most likely haunt his thoughts as well. He also has a sense of honour he learned from his family, where one on one he doesn't surprise attack and gives the opponent a chance to fight back. The art of war is a different subject matter though.
He strives to conquer everything and work himself up the ladder, being the ruler of the nations is an unrealized goal that he is trying to work towards. Shen wants to prove that non-benders can be competent as any type of bender to the population. His goals are to his show his family he was right, fight alongside his elder brother, win the eventual war for his nation and give non benders more independence.
Appearance:
A man of well built stature, Shen stands tall with a firm and noble stance. He is lanky yet strong, not exactly very thin but far from fat. He looks swift and agile from the way he moves, unlike most Earth Kingdom inhabitants that are known for their bulky yet strength oriented bodies. His shoulders are wide but the rest of his body allows for swift movements, perfect for sword wielding. Unlike most if not all earth kingdom inhabitants, Shen has a pale shade of skin, he does get tanned easily though, making him become a light brown colour. If this had not been enough warning of mixed blood then just looking at the rest of his body would be easier to tell.
Fire nation blood flows through him, most of the time the man considers it a curse of some sorts, even when looking at his siblings it is fairly obvious that the wrong traits were brought out in him. He has dark black eyes, that are narrow and thin at the edges which are again like the inhabitants of the fire nation. The man's nose is also very pointed, while his lips are thin. His hair is a coal black, shaggy most of the time but is pulled back when going to formal events or training in a top knot. He is typically dressed in earth kingdom wear, usually wearing a tunic and loose pants with a variety of green or yellow shades. For serious battle wear he dawns tighter clothes, similar to fire nation style but in a black colour. He does this so that he will be more fluid when moving.
History:
His life began in the Earth Kingdom, more specifically Ba Sing Se. He was always a city child, growing up in a home with middle class earth benders. He was born to a proud military family with earth bender parents and siblings. His two elder brothers and sister were a big influence in his young life, usually hoping that one day he too could train with them and learn how to fling rocks at others and even build stuff from the ground up.
However there was a conflict in matters of his appearance. Unlike the rest of his face that consisted of tan skin and brown hair, Shen possessed a pale complexion and black hair. Visiting their elders the mother learned about her parent's mixed marriage and in a rare chance, their son took after his grandfather's traits. They didn't fret though, even with the tension beginning to start between nations. He would one day be a great earth bender and loyal to his country.
They had the loyalty part right. Shen grew up very patriotic in his childhood, having a father apart of the Dai Li. His elder brothers left for the military while Shen continued school in one of the many schools near the university. He learned the basic fundamentals to learning, he was praised for being quite intellectual though he was no child prodigy. When the time came to learn how to earth bend, the boy was only met with disappointment. The teachers encouraged him, making the kid try all of these different styles in desperate need to appeal to his parents. Nothing worked, each time not a block failed to move.
His parents weren't going to give up though, their son might not have been an earth bender but fire was still a possibility because of how he looked. They even dragged the boy in secret to meet with a fire bender but still no such luck came. The child knew now that he would never be like his family, he was an outcast to everyone in the higher class and more importantly to his highly esteemed brothers and sister. He figured that his eldest brother must have gotten word about his younger sibling's trouble for when he came back to his house, the older boy quickly found Shen, sitting on a rock in the dojo, looking rather ashamed at himself.
'Listen, I know someone that will make you feel proud of yourself. He won't help you learn earth bending but you won't be disappointed with what you could learn.' Were the words of his older brother, who then hugged the boy and walked him over to a dojo looking place. It was smaller than any place for training the boy had ever laid eyes on and it being in one of the lower class parts of the city only made the boy grip the hand of his brother harder.
'This is one of my friend's father's training academy. Here he'll teach you to defend yourself with techniques other than bending. Plus, I'll buy you a cool looking sword.' They entered the building, being met with an old man of a strict nature. Shen had dealt with many uptight teacher's in his time, but it would be this one that would shape everything he knew. The man looked at the 11 year old kid in front of him, then to his older and much more bulkier brother. Quickly saying yes to the deal because of he high class nature of the family and family relations, Shen's training started.
It started with wooden katanas, capable of leaving a serious bruise whenever they hit. It was easy to say in those first few weeks that most of Shen's body was covered in purple and blue patches. 'You may not have the body of an earth bender but with the way you're growing than you might have an advantage over others in terms of speed.' Was what the man told him.
It was mostly parkour training that happened, or developing his swordsmanship. It was rigorous training between the two but alongside that the man taught the boy the history between the nations and more importantly, the legends of the avatar. The sensei and Shen continued like this until he reached the age of 14, where he was awarded an actual Katana by his family. The teen had practiced with the old ones that the sensei had left but this one was shiny and new. He loved it.
At age 18 the male completed his training and entered the military promptly. It was easy getting through training but right before graduation something stopped the male. The majority of the new recruits were benders, some of them enjoyed showing off to the weaker non-benders but hardly touched Shen because of his name and fact that his elder brother was high ranking. Finally, they told him something that changed his mind around joining the army. 'You will never get passed being infantry.'
Upon hearing this so called fact, Shen contacted the higher ups, only to hear a long and drawn out explanation that benders were usually the only people to move forward. Filled with rage that had not been previously seen in his ego, Shen walked away from the training grounds and kept walking back to his home in Ba Sing Se. His parents were furious, his father even refusing to acknowledge his son's disgrace.
The male tried to make them see how it was unfair that he would never be recognized for his help, that others would always put him down and he would never be in the same rankings as his two older siblings but again, they gave him no acknowledgement of his reasons, saying that he was just after power and not serving the honour of Earth Kingdom. He stormed out of his once home in more of a rage. Shen had always felt loyalty to his home, but he could never aide it by being nothing more but fodder.
Believing there had to be another way, the man fled from the higher class districts and went to the lower class, only having his katana and his savings. Plans began to hatch in his head as he rented a small room for himself and applied for a job being an assistant in a blacksmith's shop. With two years past and war looming over everyone's heads, Shen wonders why the Earth Kingdom hasn't taken the advantage, striking first.
