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Zhuo Aikune
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Name: Zhuo Aikune
Nationality: Fire Nation
Age: Twenty-two
Gender: Female
Bending?: Fire Bender
Personality: Zhuo is the Daughter of a General and of a Member of the secret police of the Fire Nation. Raised to believe that Honor and Duty are the highest virtues any one person could aspire to Zhuo has taken those ideas to heart, basing her own moral code around those ideas. Their is Duty to ones family, then to the Fire Lord and his Lady, and lastly to the land and people themselves. All of that being said, though her father has had a great influence on her personality, it can be said that her mother though long dead has also left her mark on the young woman. Because of her Zhuo sees that people are people, not infallible constructs of the heavens, that every man decides his destiny, and that she should not stand in the way of progress or change.
Those high minded ideas being said, Zhuo is still a human being, and as such not all of her personality is based off of questions of moral rightness or of any sort of code she might or might not follow. For instance Zhuo is a daddy's girl through and through. His opinion matters most to her, and she takes his word above all others. In her eyes he is very close to infallible, her teacher and mentor through the hardest points of her life. She worries for him, in his older age running around with Dariu and the others, but she understands that he is a warrior and a warriors life is the one he wishes to live. So she lets him run out and get hurt in the name of "The Phoenix Prince", and tries to help him when she can, and when he allows her to do so.
Aside from all of her love of her parents and her reverence for the code by which she lives Zhuo is a diehard "tomboy". Unlike many of her her peers back in the royal court Zhuo has never been very interested in the "feminine" pursuits. While many of the matrons of the court bemoaned that one of the "purest of flowers to ever grace this court" was more interested in swords and bows than boys and dresses Zhuo has never felt that what she is is wrong in any way. Even when her mother yet lived she encouraged her young daughter to pursue the things she wanted and not to care one bit about what the court "lovelies" had to say about her. So to this day she stays independent, wild, and a little bit masculine in mannerism and dress.
Stemming from her time living among a large group of rowdy men Zhuo's developed a bit of a, crude, sense of humor to match the men's. Though she rarely participates in the Units lewd humor matches she is well known to have a sharp wit and and uncanny knowledge of when to insert just the right kind of barb or joke, and can slip into the right pause in a conversation for any means necessary. It is most often with the men that she works with that she cracks her rare truly real, lopsided smiles.
At the same time the young woman inside Zhuo is a very real entity of her person, though it manifests itself in a few very select ways. Zhuo allows her hair to grow long and thick keeps herself clean and well groomed, and she wears armor it is of a beautiful make, if not ostentatious in design or execution. She enjoys gardening and playing the Shamisen, a long three stringed banjo like instrument, in her free time, but feels that it is inappropriate and a little embarrassing to reveal such things to any of her fellow soldiers.On the small estate that her father owns Zhuo enjoys taking care of the small gaggle of Ostrich-Horses and even has brought one of them along as her personal mount, Charon, an ornery beast who seems to only listen to her or her father. General Akiune claims that its because Zhuo has a way with animals, but she generally claims its just because she managed to feed the animal enough treats that it no longer wants to peck her eyes out due to bloating.
Though Zhuo is, in a sense, a member of a military unit, she dislikes taking orders, or being told what to do by people she doesn't respect. This makes some of her dealings with those in power a little bit rocky, noble's in particular. The General was born a commoner, and even now is barely considered a noble by most of the "old families" and as such Zhuo must still, on occasion, deal with Nobles who feel entitled and on occasion order her about like a servant. On the same hand Zhuo's relationship with her "commanding officer" Dairus can also on occasion be fraught with arguments and trouble. She is much closer in age to the "Phoenix Prince" than her father, and thinks no where near as highly of him as he does. She thinks he's an arrogant fool half the time and a condescending jerk the other half, but is forced to admit that he is a strong leader, if slightly disconnected from the world and out of touch with more common down to earth ideas.
While a very independent woman Zhuo also longs for something nearly unattainable in the deepest parts of her heart, a family. A happy functioning family to love as her own. Her own past and her own family are as dysfunctional as they come, her mother a dead secret police enforcer, her father a sometimes ruthless army commander with too little time for his only daughter (though he loves her so). That being said she's unwilling to compromise who she is, and what she does, and that knocks most of the men in the kingdom of her station out of the park, and even further she seems at the current time, unwilling to conceive of the notion on any sort of conscious level, and if asked would vehemently deny the fact. At the heart of the matter she wants companionship, be it platonic or romantic to ease the loneliness in her heart.
Physical Appearance: Zhuo is rather short for a woman who aims at being a warrior, standing around the grand height of five feet and a bit of spare change. She makes up for this, slight, by being compact and wiry weighing in at around one-hundred and twenty five pounds, almost all of it muscle. She has a slender heart shaped face with full lips, a roman nose, a deep cat like wolf's gold eyes. The pink lips are more often than not twisted into a sort of sardonic scowl and she rarely, if ever, seems to smile. Dusky skin and long feminine eyelashes top off a face that for all its beauty seems to be in a constant state of disrepair, wither it be small scratches on her eyebrow ridge, blueblack bruises across her chin, or most usually perfectly normal chapped lips.
Her long thick blue black hair is almost always held up in a low knot at the base of her neck, but she has been known to release the pins whenever her father commands her presence at a formal dinner, though the instances of such an occurrence are rather rare. Her fingers are long and thin, an artist or perhaps a dancers, but are covered in clauses and small scratch marks, her nails chopped short but meticulously kept clean. Her bust-line is modest in proportion but never displayed at all, and it has been told by the few women who meet her that the General's daughter tends to bind them down to allow for ease of movement.
Their is a rather large scar underneath her right eye, that looks slightly like a crescent moon if viewed in the right way. She received it from a childhood accident wherein she fell from a tree after a bout of slightly to intense and unrestrained play with a few others small children. Though it has mostly faded, and she can easily hide it with makeup when the need is present, she usually chooses not to bother with hiding it at all. Of her more recent scars those that dot her arms and knuckles are usually the most obvious, though most are now faded, and only one or two is pink and newly healing.
One can tell from the way that Zhuo walks, a sort of loose sway of the hips and easy swing of the arms, that she is something of an acrobat. Ready to tumble or run, lash out or defend at any moment. It sets her in stark contrast to many of the men within her fathers unit, who all walk with the typical swagger and stomp of infantry style fighters. At the same time unlike many of the supposed "assassin's" who wander the world Zhuo is also obviously military trained, preferring a hit and run style of attack but disfavoring straight assassination or trickery to achieve her motives. During fights she has been compared to a bird with quick sharp moves, twists, gravity defying stunts, and swiftness of both foot and blade.
It has been said the resemblance between the mother and daughter is uncanny.
Clothing: Like many of the men she works with Zhuo is hardly ever seen outside of her armor. Unlike many of the men she works with Zho's armor is not made of hard plate metal and articulated joints. As a warrior who's style relies on swiftness and flexibility and so unlike the others armor her's tends to be lighter made out of cloth and light metals.
Starting from her skin, Zhuo wear thick cotton winding strips around her chest to serve as a binding agent for her breasts and what amounts to thin cotton underwear. Over this she usually wears a thin long sleeved white shirt, terminating in thin leather vambraces with articulated leather pieces sewn in as well as thick leather gloves. Over the thin shirt comes a red sleeveless lamellar cuirass and spaulders that fit tight around the body leaving as much freedom of movement as possible and over that a wide leather belt over a thin white scarf tied about her waist that peaks from the sides and dangles down her back. The scarf has delicate embroidered fire nation red scroll-work on the edges, a last cherished gift from her mother that she wears even to this very day. Underneath the curiass, attached to her shirt is a white hood also with embroidered red scroll-work that she flicks up and down depending on the weather.
Her normal pants are of a similar white material to her shirt though thicker. Over them she wears thick leather boots made of a dark wine color, wand matching greaves that overlap the top of the low boots. Luckily the lamellar cuirass is long and segmented at the bottom giving her a minimum of protection on her upper thighs while still allowing her to run and jump as if she were some sort of grasshopper. Around her neck she wears a thick padded red leather gorget to protect her neck, ostensibly to prevent anyone from sneaking up from behind and slitting her neck in battle.
Like her father Zhuo also owns, and wears on occasion a thick dark red cloak, but her's is usually sitting folded at the bottom of her bag because she considers the length far to long, as it brushes the ground with every step.
Zhuo carries several types of weapons on her person at all times. Several small flat handled knives are tucked discreetly into the sash at her waist as well as the top of her boots. These knives are used primarily for ranged attacks as well as a means of distraction in tough situations. Tucked into the sash at her waist in a much more prominent position is a short thick blade with a turn towards the end and with the edge facing inward,called a Sirupate. This blade operates as both a weapon for combat as well as simple utility work such as cutting rope. Her largest and most prominent set of weapons is a a pair of Dao blades slung across her back in a dark wine red lacquer with a dark red sling that crosses her waist and a set of black handles.
While these are the weapons are always on her the dark haired woman also owns a Mughal Bow of dark wood. The bow is a recurved composite bow renowned for its military effectiveness, and is smaller than many of the other bows carried in the company to make it more. When on the move the bow is slung across her back atop the swords strung and ready, but can usually be found unstrung in the long wooden lacquered scroll case on the back of her mount, Charon. She has a small quiver of arrows attached to her saddle, and is usually seen using the bow when mounted.
Though these are the only weapons Zhuo seems to own her father has also trained her moderately well in many others, such as pole-arms and long weapons. She prefers those that she carries, and as such is a far bit better at them than any other. She is also an expert in hand to hand combat, more as a result of learning from her mother than her father. Anhui Aikune was a master of the small blade and close combat styles, and augmented her daughters firebending lessons with her own odd little moves and quirks originally taught to the Fire Nation secret police to whom she belonged. As such her daughter is never without a weapon, her own body.
Now let it be said that though Zho is very rarely seen outside of her armor she does own at least one set of "non military" style clothing at all times, never knowing when she might need to be dressed more casually, or for those rare times when the Unit stops at a hot spring or inn.
Her "casual clothing" is made up of a thin cotton Yukata with a red base and a white repeating branch theme. The Obi, or waist tie, is thick covering most of her lower waist and is a dark blue color with dark grey accents. With this particular set of clothing Zhuo tends to wear thick white tabi, or single toed socks, and a pair of geta which are wooden sandals with raised platform soles. When dressing as such Zhuo does nothing different with her hair save perhaps a single flower or Tsumami-kamzashi hair decoration to top the whole look off.
Any sort of "Court" garb that Zhuo might wear is stored back at the family estate or sometimes in the train of the Unit. As she very, very, rarely ever wears such a costume it will not be detailed in this article unless deemed necessary.
Biography:
"I'm not in the business of being stupid Dairu. Go try that trick on a willing woman."
-Zhuo Aikune to Dairu Hoshi
"Zhuo is beautiful, and her caustic wit is nearly as deadly as her prowess on the battlefield. In short the quintessential Aikune maiden."
-Court Gossip
Zhuo Aikune was born on a cold night in the middle of winter in a small estate far from the bustling court and palace of the capital city of the great Fire Nation. She was a squalling infant, red in the face, and her father declared to all who could hear that one day she would be a truly great warrior. Her mother had, she had been told, simply sighed and rolled her eyes at her husbands loud boasting. She was sure, yes, that her daughter would one day be truly formidable, but she was sure that the young woman would excel in the arts of the secret police and not those of the front-line warrior of battle. The servants were merely happy that the small child had finally found its way into the world and they would no longer be sent on strange errands for their lord and lady late in the night to eating houses in the town below for the oddest foods.
Zhuo was a small child bright of eye and manner, always crawling this way and that, interfering in the strangest things. Their was not a week that went by that the young infant did not crawl to parts unknown, raising an awful stink in the house, only to be found hiding in the dojo or crawling among the stables with the bemused kimodo-rhino's watching over her. It was a hectic childhood, both of her parents often being called to the capital or away on missions to aide the nation. She was usually cared for by one of them, or in times where both of her parents were away an old crone from the nearby village.
At around the age of five, a year after her unfortunate fall from the garden tree during a bout of play, her parents unilaterally decided that it was time for their daughter to learn how to defend herself. She was started slowly, as she was still very small, and her lessons in combat were interspersed with the lectures and teachings of a private tutor on language, writing, history, and more. her days were filled to the brim, morning calligraphy lessons afternoon tea with her mother, learning social graces, all of it mixed liberally with teachings on the many ways of killing a man and hiding the evidence if need be. She was an apt student, picking up lessons like a sponge absorbing water. She loved what she was learning and she found that the lessons made her parents just as happy as she was. The first time she cut her father, she cried with shame at her sloppiness, but her father only smiled, chided her lightly, and then professed how proud he was that she had caught him in a blunder.
Her mother was the brightest spot in her life in her early years, a dark haired dusky skinned woman of great beauty and even greater vivacity of life. She had been recruited for the Nations "secret police" program when she was a young tailors daughter living in the lower city of the Capital, and had still retained her prowess in marriage, and began passing it on to her young daughter. Teaching her of court manners and dress, and how to flatter while sticking a knife in someones back. Though Zhuo did not take as readily to these court "powers" she learned as much as she could or the sake of her mother, and took much more readily to the combat techniques she was taught. Of slinking silently through the shadows and of rooftop climbing.
It was when Zhuo was nine that her father sat her down and told her that he was going to be gone a whole lot form now on, and when she asked why he explained. The Fire Lady had sent him on a special mission to find her long lost son, and he didn't know when he would be able to come home and stay. It was her sort of luck that she never saw Dairu at any point in that point of her childhood. He tended to stay at the monastery when he wasn't out with her father, and the few times he did visit Zhuo was so supremely busy or not even present on the grounds that they never crossed paths. It was around this time that General Aikune became distant, more preoccupied with matters of state and the "prince" than his daughter or wife. It was a sad time, and one of the few where she resented her father for his many absences.
Zhuo was seventeen when her mother died while she was away from home, and three months later her desolated father shipped her off to the Royal Court. To this day her father has never told her the manner in which his mother died, only that it was an honorable one. Sent off in the wake of her mothers death Zhuo became something of a recluse at court, showing up at court functions but rarely ever talking to anyone. She met the high and mighty of the Kingdom and felt nothing but unimpressed. Save for the Lord and Lady, and their son. Though she had only the most passing of acquaintances with any of them they struck her as good and just rulers, and she could understand, just a little, why her mother had done what she had done.
While living at court Zhuo continued to practice and drill, learning as much as she could under the arms-masters of the court. Out of the half dozen or so students there were only she and two others of the female persuasion around. So it was inevitable that she would garner quite a bit of attention. Rebuffing men was, by this time, second nature and she did so quite readily, until Ozar introduced himself. He was the son of a high noble, already on a path to greatness in the army, and he was charming and good looking to boot. He propositioned, she refused, they traded insults and jibs for months, until he cornered her inside the stables one afternoon. She was in love, and though he was as well, and their courtship went public after their kiss in the stable.
It lasted six months before he was ordered to marry a simpering court lady, and did so without a second look at her. She was devastated, utterly and completely, rumors flew abound. She had been in love, and she had been worthless to him. Life within the palace went on, and Zhuo went with it, growing and living, always careful now, always watchful. She was not ruined by the relationship, not like any loobie in a book might be, she knew why he had done it, and knew why it was wrong, and she would never forget him.
It was with relish that she left the Court at the age of twenty-one when she was summoned back to the estate by her father. He wanted his daughter to work with him in his Phoenix Guard. She didn't ask why their was this sudden attention but she was touched non the less. She loved her father, and she was happy to come work with him.
Now a year later she has settled in with the Unit, and come to an uneasy sort of pseudo-peace with their leader Dairu, whom she doesn't dislike but who she also isn't exactly best friends with.
Extra Notes?:
Read more: http://forgottenavatar.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=fnn&action=display&thread=70#ixzz15RSqkSZa
