Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2010 5:46:05 GMT -6
Name: Zheng Su
Age: 28
Appearance:
Childhood and Early Teens
Zheng was born into a Fire Nation family of soldiers, so even when young his relatives expected him to grow up strong. Ironically, he was a very sickly child and spent most of his early childhood bedridden and locked in his room to stop him from going out (although his family did this more to prevent his illness embarrassing them than for his own health). At night, the young Zheng could hear his family fighting in the yard, sparring each other in no holds barred duals that often ended in one or both participants being badly hurt and screaming in pain. As a result of this practice, Zheng soon came to fear the dying of the day and developed an acute fear of the dark.
Since he had little contact with his family after the sun went down, his condition went unnoticed until his early teens. When discovered, Zheng's family decided that coddling him until he naturally got better was making things worse so choose to 'toughen him up' by training him with the family. This was little more than a ritualistic beating for the slight young man as his siblings and parents did not teach him anything, just hit him until he could no longer get back up. One time his father threw a knife to him and told him to use it on his brother. Having no love for his abusive family, Zheng tried his best to stab his older brother but still continued to get beaten up. As he lay in his bed recovering, it occurred to him that there might be another way than just running straight in wildly stabbing.
Over the passing months, Zheng trained his body when his family thought he was recovering. Every time they dragged him out to fight, he allowed himself to be beaten to a pulp so that when the time to strike came it would be unanticipated. They allowed him to keep the knife his father gave him, not really caring what he did with it when he was alone. As it was he trained with it as well as his body, teaching himself how to throw it with pinpoint accuracy. Finally, the day for him to show them what he was truly made of arrived.
He was matched up against his eldest brother who was the worst of his tormentors. When told to start the brother discovered that no matter how much he tried, he just could not land a blow against the skinny young boy. Zheng even managed to land a few shallow blows with his knife. After back flipping onto a rock, Zheng listened as his brother hurled abuse at him calling him a coward and to fight like a man. The young knife thrower calmly said "Why should I? You never did", before throwing the knife straight into his brother's heart. As his sibling's body hit the ground, Zheng turned to his father and said coldly, "Next".
Serving with the Yu Yan Archers
Surprised and impressed by the sudden appearance of skill and ruthlessness in his son, Zheng's father sent him away to train to be a Yu Yan Archer, an elite unit of bowmen of renown skill. Training with them was difficult. They were very harsh towards new recruits, wanting to weed out any weaker applicants as quickly as possible. Zheng was used to worse treatment however and was able to make the cut. The Yu Yan trained him not only in bowmanship, but in tracking and hunting as well, making him a very deadly force. The young man spent seven years with the Yu Yan, eventually being promoted and placed in charge of his own unit of archers.
Not long after that, the Yu Yan were taken from there current posting by an admiral. The admiral had heard of the return of the Avatar and was looking for him so that he could be removed as a factor in the war. Splitting up, another group found him first and brought the young boy in. The Avatar escaped with the help of a figure called the Blue Spirit before Zheng returned and the Yu Yan were tasked with tracking him until the death of the admiral in the Battle for the North Pole.
After this, they were given orders by a general to fight against Earth Kingdom rebels. This went on until there orders were changed to cut of a supply line to Ba Sing Se. It was a low priority mission but the Yu Yan were the closest Fire Nation force, so they accepted. As it turned out it was an ambush and, despite taking out over half of their attackers (who outnumbered them six to one), Zheng's unit was slaughtered. Stunned and blinded in the attack by a cloud of earth, the young archer was left for dead by the soldiers, leaving him to crawl out from under a pile of corpses.
Now in constant darkness, Zheng began to have a full blown panic attack. In this new state of helplessness, the young man's fear of the dark went through a metamorphosis and changed into a fear of blindness. Wandering about the roads for a few days blindly, half mad with fear and unable to process any threat that came by since he could not see, his sight eventually began to return. Calming down, Zheng decided to confront the general who sent him and his team on this mission with such bad intelligence to guide them.
Returning to the Fire Nation, Zheng discovered that the general who had been in charge of them was no other than his father who, upon discovering he had access to his youngest son's unit, had sent him ahead of a larger force to draw out any ambush units. Stating that he had thought his son was stronger, the general disowned him when Zheng refused to follow any more of his orders. Just as he was about to be escorted out, the young archer turned and threw a knife at his father, taking an ear off. Screaming and holding the side of his head, the general ordered the Yu Yan Archer to be executed on the spot but Zheng was already gone.
Turning To Bounty Hunting
After the episode with his father Zheng fled the Fire Nation, returning to the Earth Kingdom. Now without any income or friends, the archer desperately sought work. He became a hired goon, bodyguard and a hitman for various criminal organisations until he tried his hand at bounty hunting. Liking the fact that it meant that he was his own boss and the decent pay, Zheng decided that this was his vocation.
Since he no longer had his team to assist him if he lost his sight, Zheng started a new regime of training. Tying his headband around his eyes, the young archer began to make preparations in case he ever went blind permanently by putting strong smelling clothes on some targets and using only his other senses to tell where they were. Already a master archer, Zheng still found the initial stage of this training very difficult. However, after a year of ceaseless effort between jobs, Zheng could managed to shoot a bird out of the sky with his blindfold on by just using his ears and nose.
He became infamous after that, with stories being told about the deadly hunter who could track you down no matter where you went. Even in total darkness, no fugitive was save. When Ba Sing Se fell to the Fire Nation, Zheng decided to go there and see if there was any work going. Living in the Earth Kingdom for several years and fighting against them longer than that, he knew that the great city would not go quietly even if the walls where brought down. Resistance cells would form and Zheng was eager to hunt down any worthy opponents within them.[/blockquote]Personality:
Zheng's most prominent personality feature is his fear of going blind. Even though he has now trained obsessively so that he would still be able to function without his sight he still has not been able to shake his fear.
Despite his upbringing, he is still a fairly friendly person, polite and approachable. This does not interfere with his work and he keeps up the friendly persona even when chasing down a fugitive. While he takes no real pleasure from killing people he will still do so if the bounty is wanted dead. Zheng finds the hunt far more enjoyable than the kill, the thrill of the chase and the challenge of an elusive quarry bringing him all the joy he needs.
Zheng has no real sense of loyalty to anyone. He is likely to switch sides in a conflict if his foe can make a better offer than his employer and just as likely to switch back again if the offer is countered. He firmly believes in looking after number one above all others and finds it funny when people try to dress up their own greed as selfless acts. As a result of this, he is a neutral party in most situations, that is until one side pays him. But even then he remains aware of any short comings of his employer, even admitting it to any foe he might be fighting should they question his motives. However, so long as he is kept paid then he will continue to fight for them.
Zheng has a distinct dislike for authority, especially those in the military, but he is willing to work past this if it means he will get a big payment. [/blockquote]
Age: 28
Appearance:
Zheng is small person, in build as well as height. He is very wiry, with very little body fat and a rather gaunt face. As a result, he always appears as if he is weak and starving, but this is far from the reality. He is very agile and strong despite his thin limbs thanks to his many years of physical training in the Yu Yan Archers before he left them.History:
Zheng's eyes are a very dark brown, so dark in fact that they are almost pure black and very intense, making most people uncomfortable if they are directed at them. He has a sharp nose with black hair tied up in a top knot to keep it out of his face (and more specifically his eyes). His fingers are long and spindly looking but extremely strong from his years of archery training. His thin lips, thanks to years of anxiety of the dark, are very cracked and sore since he bites them constantly. As a result, when he smiles the skin of his lips often crack and bleed.
His clothes are similar to the ones Zheng wore while he was in the Yu Yan Archers and he still wears the face markings of his old unit, as well as the black headband with a red triangle. The only difference to his apparel is a hooded black cloak. He has several throwing knife compartments on his thighs, shins, belt and biceps that he uses in closer combat. He carries with him a selection of different types of arrows to deal with most battle situations, from arrows with ropes attached to chase targets down steep declines to thin arrows to help pierce through water.
[/color]"You can kill for your country, your freedom, your life. But in the end, killing is killing no matter how you try to dress it up".
Childhood and Early Teens
Zheng was born into a Fire Nation family of soldiers, so even when young his relatives expected him to grow up strong. Ironically, he was a very sickly child and spent most of his early childhood bedridden and locked in his room to stop him from going out (although his family did this more to prevent his illness embarrassing them than for his own health). At night, the young Zheng could hear his family fighting in the yard, sparring each other in no holds barred duals that often ended in one or both participants being badly hurt and screaming in pain. As a result of this practice, Zheng soon came to fear the dying of the day and developed an acute fear of the dark.
Since he had little contact with his family after the sun went down, his condition went unnoticed until his early teens. When discovered, Zheng's family decided that coddling him until he naturally got better was making things worse so choose to 'toughen him up' by training him with the family. This was little more than a ritualistic beating for the slight young man as his siblings and parents did not teach him anything, just hit him until he could no longer get back up. One time his father threw a knife to him and told him to use it on his brother. Having no love for his abusive family, Zheng tried his best to stab his older brother but still continued to get beaten up. As he lay in his bed recovering, it occurred to him that there might be another way than just running straight in wildly stabbing.
Over the passing months, Zheng trained his body when his family thought he was recovering. Every time they dragged him out to fight, he allowed himself to be beaten to a pulp so that when the time to strike came it would be unanticipated. They allowed him to keep the knife his father gave him, not really caring what he did with it when he was alone. As it was he trained with it as well as his body, teaching himself how to throw it with pinpoint accuracy. Finally, the day for him to show them what he was truly made of arrived.
He was matched up against his eldest brother who was the worst of his tormentors. When told to start the brother discovered that no matter how much he tried, he just could not land a blow against the skinny young boy. Zheng even managed to land a few shallow blows with his knife. After back flipping onto a rock, Zheng listened as his brother hurled abuse at him calling him a coward and to fight like a man. The young knife thrower calmly said "Why should I? You never did", before throwing the knife straight into his brother's heart. As his sibling's body hit the ground, Zheng turned to his father and said coldly, "Next".
Serving with the Yu Yan Archers
Surprised and impressed by the sudden appearance of skill and ruthlessness in his son, Zheng's father sent him away to train to be a Yu Yan Archer, an elite unit of bowmen of renown skill. Training with them was difficult. They were very harsh towards new recruits, wanting to weed out any weaker applicants as quickly as possible. Zheng was used to worse treatment however and was able to make the cut. The Yu Yan trained him not only in bowmanship, but in tracking and hunting as well, making him a very deadly force. The young man spent seven years with the Yu Yan, eventually being promoted and placed in charge of his own unit of archers.
Not long after that, the Yu Yan were taken from there current posting by an admiral. The admiral had heard of the return of the Avatar and was looking for him so that he could be removed as a factor in the war. Splitting up, another group found him first and brought the young boy in. The Avatar escaped with the help of a figure called the Blue Spirit before Zheng returned and the Yu Yan were tasked with tracking him until the death of the admiral in the Battle for the North Pole.
After this, they were given orders by a general to fight against Earth Kingdom rebels. This went on until there orders were changed to cut of a supply line to Ba Sing Se. It was a low priority mission but the Yu Yan were the closest Fire Nation force, so they accepted. As it turned out it was an ambush and, despite taking out over half of their attackers (who outnumbered them six to one), Zheng's unit was slaughtered. Stunned and blinded in the attack by a cloud of earth, the young archer was left for dead by the soldiers, leaving him to crawl out from under a pile of corpses.
Now in constant darkness, Zheng began to have a full blown panic attack. In this new state of helplessness, the young man's fear of the dark went through a metamorphosis and changed into a fear of blindness. Wandering about the roads for a few days blindly, half mad with fear and unable to process any threat that came by since he could not see, his sight eventually began to return. Calming down, Zheng decided to confront the general who sent him and his team on this mission with such bad intelligence to guide them.
Returning to the Fire Nation, Zheng discovered that the general who had been in charge of them was no other than his father who, upon discovering he had access to his youngest son's unit, had sent him ahead of a larger force to draw out any ambush units. Stating that he had thought his son was stronger, the general disowned him when Zheng refused to follow any more of his orders. Just as he was about to be escorted out, the young archer turned and threw a knife at his father, taking an ear off. Screaming and holding the side of his head, the general ordered the Yu Yan Archer to be executed on the spot but Zheng was already gone.
Turning To Bounty Hunting
After the episode with his father Zheng fled the Fire Nation, returning to the Earth Kingdom. Now without any income or friends, the archer desperately sought work. He became a hired goon, bodyguard and a hitman for various criminal organisations until he tried his hand at bounty hunting. Liking the fact that it meant that he was his own boss and the decent pay, Zheng decided that this was his vocation.
Since he no longer had his team to assist him if he lost his sight, Zheng started a new regime of training. Tying his headband around his eyes, the young archer began to make preparations in case he ever went blind permanently by putting strong smelling clothes on some targets and using only his other senses to tell where they were. Already a master archer, Zheng still found the initial stage of this training very difficult. However, after a year of ceaseless effort between jobs, Zheng could managed to shoot a bird out of the sky with his blindfold on by just using his ears and nose.
He became infamous after that, with stories being told about the deadly hunter who could track you down no matter where you went. Even in total darkness, no fugitive was save. When Ba Sing Se fell to the Fire Nation, Zheng decided to go there and see if there was any work going. Living in the Earth Kingdom for several years and fighting against them longer than that, he knew that the great city would not go quietly even if the walls where brought down. Resistance cells would form and Zheng was eager to hunt down any worthy opponents within them.[/blockquote]Personality:
[/color]"There are advantages to being morally flexible".
Zheng's most prominent personality feature is his fear of going blind. Even though he has now trained obsessively so that he would still be able to function without his sight he still has not been able to shake his fear.
Despite his upbringing, he is still a fairly friendly person, polite and approachable. This does not interfere with his work and he keeps up the friendly persona even when chasing down a fugitive. While he takes no real pleasure from killing people he will still do so if the bounty is wanted dead. Zheng finds the hunt far more enjoyable than the kill, the thrill of the chase and the challenge of an elusive quarry bringing him all the joy he needs.
Zheng has no real sense of loyalty to anyone. He is likely to switch sides in a conflict if his foe can make a better offer than his employer and just as likely to switch back again if the offer is countered. He firmly believes in looking after number one above all others and finds it funny when people try to dress up their own greed as selfless acts. As a result of this, he is a neutral party in most situations, that is until one side pays him. But even then he remains aware of any short comings of his employer, even admitting it to any foe he might be fighting should they question his motives. However, so long as he is kept paid then he will continue to fight for them.
Zheng has a distinct dislike for authority, especially those in the military, but he is willing to work past this if it means he will get a big payment. [/blockquote]