NAME Seung Hae
ALIAS Namkha
MEANING Spacious sky, the energy of space.
GENDER Male
AGE 20
PLACE OF BIRTH Earth Kingdom
HERITAGE Air Nomad
OCCUPATION Monk
APPEARANCE Shaved bald, but if it grew out his hair would be straight and black. Blue eyes, light skin but with a warm tan. Slim, wiry muscled build with long limbs but is of about average height at 5’8”. As an ordained airbender monk, he is decorated in bright blue arrow tattoos. {
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BACKGROUND Seung Hae was born into an extended family, some actually related, some not, that made their living preying on others. They were a well organized group of bandits that made their home in the northern areas of the Earth Kingdom. Seung’s mother was the child of two monks who sought to settle down outside of the temple, and as a young woman she fell in love with Seung’s father. She had been taught airbending, and was thrilled to be able to teach her son as well. Seung himself as a boy participated in many raids and attacks on merchants, caravans and small villages where the bandits insisted on “protection” fees to be paid by the villagers. His father was one of the men higher up on the totem pole, and was able to pull strings to make sure his son was always seen and his bending was put to good use.
One day, 15 year old Seung was part of a raiding party targeting what looked to be a juicy prize. The large merchant caravan was attacked without any hesitation, but the bandits were caught off guard by a group of very powerful benders. It was even rumored than the avatar herself was among them. The bandits were quickly defeated by the traveling benders, and those that survived were arrested. Both Seung and his father made it and were taken off to be jailed for their crimes.
Seung, however, managed to use his airbending to escape as they tried to move him into the jail. He abandoned his father and family and ran, eventually finding his way back to his mother. She urged him to keep running and gave him some of his grandparents’ belongings, saying that he should go to the Northern Air Temple and ask them to take him in. Doing exactly that, Seung was made to work at the temple for a year to prove he was dedicated and not merely fleeing the law. He soon became very attached to temple life and made a smooth transition into becoming an apprentice. Seung then gave up his old name and was renamed Namkha by his teachers.
Nam spent the next part of his life living and breathing the life of a monk, becoming ordained and tattooed at the age of 19. Though a talented bender, after years of rapid improvement he suddenly ran into a wall. It seemed that he could not improve, and the monks felt it was because of a lack of balance in his karma and emotional issues tying him down. Nam was encouraged to go on a pilgrimage to seek balance and atone for his earlier life so that he can master airbending and find enlightenment.
Currently, Nam is wandering the world lending his hand to anyone in need of it, and throwing himself into conflicts and other peoples' business to right wrongs.
PERSONALITY Nam carries on the common perception of airbenders. He’s frequently smiling and is very laid back, and though he seems low-key he has an outgoing streak. Nam is quite the showoff and loves attention, admiration and praise. He has a flair for the dramatic, immediately followed by an attitude that clearly says “Oh, that was nothing.” He denies being vain, but likewise takes a lot of pride in his well-groomed appearance.
Seeking to make amends for the life he led before, Nam is actually anything but sympathetic towards those who lead a life of crime. He doesn't have patience for sad stories and can be excessively harsh on people who fall victim to vices. It seems that he has had it programmed into him for a long time to be spoiled and take pleasure in the material, but he is constantly fighting it. Though his religion dictates that the material world is not real and should be shunned, Nam occasionally slips up.
Nam is a prolific, guiltless liar. Talkative but unwilling to talk about himself, personal questions can get some very interesting answers. Nam tells amazingly over the top tall tales about himself that are obviously untrue and change with the seasons, or maybe just with his mood. He lies about himself so frequently that he can rarely keep his stories straight, but he seems totally unconcerned that he is both the descendent of the last avatar and an exiled prince who was orphaned at a young age and took a vow to avenge his parents. Some speculate that he could make it easier on himself by saying he was just like every other air bending student taken in at a young age… but Nam seems to enjoy being mysterious.
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