LI, JINHAI [SHAMBALAN]

[Jinhai Li]

JINHAI LI

20 ♦ MALE ♦ STRAIGHT ♦ DRAGON ♦ DIVINE GUARD ♦ ZEL

HISTORIA

Night fell on the Temple of the Bai-shi, and the moon rose over the still pool dominating the courtyard with the roar of drums and the thunder strike of a gong. The din died down, and the five Bai-shi Masters, standing on the steps of their temple, seated themselves, and torches burned in a ring around the water as a young cadet approached with a smooth, soldier's gait from the temple gate.

At the foot of the steps, the cadet fell, kneeling, with one fist pressed against the courtyard floor and the other crossed over his chest. The third Master, sitting a step higher than his fellows, nodded. The gong struck, the drums exploding into being again, and the cadet met his master’s gaze—squarely.

“I am Jinhai Li, bowed in eternal reverence to my Emperor and my clan!” the cadet shouted above the storm. “And I beg my masters to accept my humble body into the honored ranks of the divine guardsmen: the Bai-shi!”

The third Master lifted his hand, and the drumming stopped.

“Jinhai Li,” he said, “long has your clan served the Bai-shi, and given up its noblest sons to carry out the Judgment of Heaven. And so, it is my honor to oversee the petitioning ceremony of such a worthy candidate.” Jinhai did not look at the overseeing Master, as the Master lit a copper lamp and passed it to the Master at his right. As each master spoke during the ceremony, the flickering lamp would change hands.

“We of Earth are all honored to oversee this petition,” the second Master said, setting the lamp on the stone step before him and swinging out his arms, “and Heaven honors us with its clarity tonight!”

“Jinhai,” said the first master, taking the light. “Years ago, you came to the Bai-shi as a boy; in your training, you have never lacked for purpose, and no skill has evaded you for long. And so, we, five masters, permit you to join the ranks of the Bai-shi.”

“Our judgment is given, but if Heaven should decline your petition,” the fourth master said, as the first master handed him the lamp, “we are confident a worthy future awaits you. We have prepared you, as our pupil, for whatever fate awaits.”

“Now, cadet, look inward before you turn to Heaven,” the fifth master said, holding the lamp at last, “and petition the stars for your right to these ranks of Bai-shi.”

Jinhai closed his eyes, smoke burning in his eyes and nose, as he squeezed his eyelids shut, darkness bubbling up from his heart as he opened them again, looked up at the blurring stars above the orange haze of torches reflecting off the temple pool.

“I am Jinhai Li!” he shouted again, forcing his voice to carry above the clutch of the temple and the trees, up into the vault of the night sky. “And I beg Heaven to accept my humble soul into the honored ranks of the divine guardsmen: the Bai-shi!”

OTHER

• POSITIVE TRAITS. Devoted, dedicated student, instructor, and warrior. Gives it all. Excellent memory. Black and white. Pragmatic, a planner. Respectful of rules and authority. With his students, patient, firm, encouraging, stern, a teacher with high expectations.
• NEGATIVE TRAITS. Terribly unhappy with liars. Radical. Dogmatic. Black and white. Picks and chooses subjects of his empathy. Loud. Impatient with dissenters and jokesters, especially class clowns who cannot deliver. The Fun Police/'No Fun Allowed'. Somewhat hyperactive; low tolerance for idleness.

• Jinhai often goes by his nickname 'Jin' with equals and family. His formal title is Journeyman Li.
• Jin’s mother married into the Li family, and her son is a cousin distanced from the family’s central column of decorated commanders, soldiers, and even a defense minister centuries ago. This did not dissuade him from pursuing a dream for a spot in the ranks of Bai-shi.
• Jin won his petition and his right to the ranks of the Bai-shi when he opened his box, on the night of his ceremony, and an unbreakable weapon, an iron, single-headed meteor hammer, emerged from the darkness. Heaven passes the final judgment on candidates for Bai-shi by conferring on them unbreakable gifts, so that they might reasonably fight people with dangerously cursed items.
• In addition to the meteor-hammer, Jin fights with an iron long-staff worn typically across his back. He wears the uniform of all Bai-shi officers: a long black coat with silver buttons and mandarin loops, over a black vest with no extra shirt underneath and buttoned with silver bars, dark pants and boots, with black wrist-cuffs. The Bai-shi prefers a very pragmatic, homogenous look.
• After passing his petitioning ceremony at age 18, Jin taught incoming classes of Bai-shi cadets for two years. He was a firm, knowledgeable, and well-respected instructor, and his students were disappointed to see him leave on his first mark at the end of term.
• Jin leaves the temple complex, at the insistent command of heaven, and his mark will take him deep into the Shangdi countryside.

PLAYER BACKGROUND. N/A.

PLAY BY. AXIS POWERS HETALIA - PRUSSIA - JINHAI LI

[Jinhai Li]

ITEMS & ABILITIES

STATUS. Non-cursed

THEME. Obedience, dedication to an organization, learning to live beyond 'the rules', thinking for himself.

ABILITIES. Smacking folks.

SUGGESTED EFFECTS. The meteor-hammer does not break, ever. Otherwise, it is an ordinary weapon of typical length for such devices. Its effectiveness depends on the wielder.

AVERSE EFFECTS. N/A. (I dunno—it’s boring?)

OTHER

RANDOM EVENTS. N/A.

CURRENTLY POSSESSED BY. Jin.

[Jinhai Li]

BAI-SHI WORLD-BUILDING SPIEL:

The Bai-shi are a selective order of warrior monks who ally themselves most closely with the Astrologers' Tower. They respond to threats brought on by Cursed items of Fate, but they are not part of any government body and do not answer to the Emperor's military or his judges. (If addressed personally by the Emperor, they will cease or follow through with whatever special thing they were working on.) They call themselves the 'divine guardsmen,' warriors ordained by Heaven to quell the rage of viciously Cursed individuals. Some victims of ill fate are too dangerous to be allowed to live in Shangdi society, and the Bai-shi generally watch these individuals as they grow and, based on the social context, will make a call whether to execute the afflicted person or not. Depending on the circumstances, execution can be both a punishment for attacking and killing innocents or a preventative measure with incredibly deadly Cursed. The Bai-shi generally only enforce the Shangdi population; they do not travel abroad, ignore Sidhe and Unseelie matters, and will only strike at Nibiri Cursed if they wander into the vinicity and threaten one or more people. The Bai-shi are a small force, numbering just a hundred men, considering they handle the entirety of Shambala.

As such, the Bai-shi concern themselves very deeply with fate, mercy, obedience, and efficient fighting styles, to render opponents unconscious or dead as quickly and painlessly as possible. When a warrior applies to enter the Bai-shi, he must be graded and passed on two counts: the Bai-shi commanders, and 'Heaven.' Basically, a cadet's instructors must grant him clearance into the order, and then he must beg Heaven to grant him a special item conducive to fighting Cursed from his box. As such, candidates who have already opened their boxes are generally not considered. The fate items sought are typically unbreakable weapons with a finesse for bloodless combat.

Heaven is viewed and discussed as a blind, impartial force, and the final say in all debates. Even if the top cadet of a given class is not chosen by Heaven, Heaven's choice remains final, and he will not serve in the Bai-shi. Heaven obviously has other plans for him. Heaven is talked about as being not personal, and the ill-fated are not cursed for any sin. Just--unfortunate, but the Unfortunate cannot be allowed to cause havoc. 'Remember the Judgement of Heaven' serves as a reminder to Bai-shi cadets that Heaven chose them to protect the people, and Bai-shi should not take action that compromises (or discredits) that choice.

As an organization, Bai-shi are culty, and training wrecks mind and body. Candidates for Bai-shi often train their entire lives before petitioning Heaven and the Masters for admission. It is rare for a candidate to be denied admission from the Masters during the petitioning ceremony (candidates found to be unfit for service are typically expelled long before this point), but Heaven is much more fickle. Candidates not selected by Heaven are sent to careers in the military and the Imperial police with glowing recommendations. (These men almost always do well in their new roles, but the psychological damage of being rejected by Heaven is lasting.) As such, successful candidates are rare, and the Bai-shi even have cats among their ranks. (Cats are not considered for training unless a gift appears.) The Bai-shi has three ranks: Masters, Journeymen, and uninitiated 'Cadets'. Once a cadet wins his petition, he becomes a journeyman, a ranking that will last him 10 to 15 years, if he intends to become a Master. Masters differentiate from Journeymen in that they do not leave the Temple on marks (missions to follow dangerous Cursed) and they concern themselves primarily with running the Bai-shi organization itself, selecting which Journeymen to send on marks and which to keep in-house to train recruits.

After training, Bai-shi monks are closer to their brothers than they are to their own families; while there are sporadic affairs, most do not marry. Living for anything beyond the Order, like love, family, and even other Bai-shi, is not expressly forbidden but not looked highly upon either. The Order often picks their candidates from blue blood families, and such men have lines to carry on. The Order specifically seeks candidates unlikely to want to pursue many other goals since the close work of studying the Ill-fated has led to complications between monks and their targets. (Rule #X: 'Remember the judgement of Heaven, and feel no softness of the heart or weakness of the soul for the Suffering,' or 'We don't care if ze's pretty, Don't Develop Romantic Feelings for the Target.')

[媽祖]

Gosh, I must accept this profile straight away! Don't forget to do your claims! - Zel