Post by zhi on May 12, 2008 19:08:23 GMT -5
Name: Zhi
Age: 17
Gender: Male
Group: Fire Nation Military (Army), Rank of Private
Nation: Fire Nation
Bender?: No
Physical Appearance: At first glance Zhi would appear to be just another Fire Nation Grunt. However, given a second glance, the young man does stand out amongst his fellow soldiers, even those his own age. Standing at only 5’ 3” and weighing around 135lbs Zhi is noticeably smaller in stature than the average soldier. He is slim, nearly scrawny, with long thin arms, small hands and feet. Fair skinned, even by Fire Nation standards, Zhi is hardly an imposing individual.
His face is pale, and heart-shaped with a smoothly rounded chin. His light brown eyes are quite large and reflect youth and enthusiasm; and generally possess a friendly and curious quality. He has a rather small snub nose and below it a thin-lipped mouth that seems to easily turn up into an awkward grin. Barely visible at long distance, Zhi sports a faint attempt at growing a mustache and sideburns.
The young soldier has a thick head of long, obsidian black hair that reaches down to his shoulders and collar when left unbound. It is usually pulled back and tightly bound by a crimson band in a large top-knot in the shape of an inverted triangle. Several strands of hair at the front of Zhi’s hairline aren’t quite long enough to reach the top-knot and, instead of allowing them to hang down the sides of his face, he tucks them behind his ears and out of the way, though they rarely stay in place for long.
Zhi’s appearance does accurately suggest a lack of brute physical strength, though he makes up for this with agility, precision and smarts. Running often to stay in shape; he is quick on his feet.
Clothing/Armor: Zhi is nearly always seen wearing his standard issue uniform and armor. Fortunately, most of the gear he received was fitted for one of smaller stature so the uniform fits him well. Like any other non-bending Fire Nation soldier, Zhi’s outfit is composed of several layers with only a few truly armored portions. Beneath the uniform Zhi wears a white linen short sleeved shirt and shorts. The first layer of the uniform consists of a slate gray, long sleeved uniform shirt and pants, parts of which are visible when worn with the rest of the outfit.
The Outer Uniform Layer is similar in appearance to overalls and a “gown” around the waist and legs. The chest part has light iron plates in between cloth layers to provide limited protection, but lacks these plates over the back. The “gown” portion is unarmored and consists only of thick cloth with dark gray cloth flaps in the center at the front and rear. The outer layer is maroon in color with cardinal trim. The “gown” and upper portions are divided at the waist by a dark gray belt with a polished iron buckle.
Over his shoulders Zhi wears a dark gray iron shoulder guard plate with collar; the semi-armored front of the Outer Uniform Layer overlaps this plate and tucks beneath it in the back. For arm protection; two iron spaulders stick out from beneath the plate, covering the bicep regions. Additionally, he wears two iron vambraces around his forearms and dark gray wrist/hand guards that cover the tops of his hands. The spaulders match the Outer Uniform Layer coming in maroon with cardinal trim and the vambraces come in solid cardinal.
Zhi wears lightly armored boots with slate gray leather vamps and dark gray iron soles, they posses the classic Fire Nation up-turned toes at the front. Around his shins, Zhi wears dark gray iron guards that wrap fully around his lower legs and reach from the ankle up to just below the knees where the uniform pants are tucked in under the shin guards.
The final piece of Zhi’s uniform would be his slightly oversized conical helmet. The Helmet is a darker shade of maroon with polished iron trim and a small spike at the very top. Its edges come down low enough to protect the back of the head and ears, and around the bottom, at the back and sides, there hangs a cardinal colored veil that reaches to the shoulder guard plate. The Helmet is held on by a leather chin strap, though Zhi rarely wears the helmet when not in combat.
The young soldier has added a small touch of personalization to his gear; written faintly in calligraphy ink on the side of the helmet small characters read: “Zhi’s Hat”.
He has been known to wear his uniform when off duty due to the pride he receives from being recognized as a member of the military.
Aside from his uniform Zhi has several other outfits, though; as he is currently deployed overseas in the Earth Kingdom, there would be really no reason for him to wear civilian Fire Nation clothing.
When at home in the Fire Nation or when an occasion presents itself that would require Zhi to wear something aside from (or more formal than) his armor, he tends to wear a presentable outfit that reflects his middle class status.
The outfit is made up of three layers, the first being a pair of light, white linen shorts with a similarly colored sleeveless shirt as underclothes. The second layer consists of a pair of semi baggy, khaki colored trousers and a matching long sleeved shirt with a rigid collar. The shirt’s cuffs small and do not hang down from the wrist.
Over this, Zhi typically wears a short, sleeveless robe that reaches to just below his knees. The robe is a medium carmine with burgundy trim, its right lapel folds over and angles downward to the right from the loose collar, through which the collar of the undershirt sticks up. The final piece of the outer layer is a dark gray sash around his waist, to hold the robe together.
On his feet Zhi wears typical Fire Nation shoes with the up-turned toes, primarily made of leather and wood in a dull maroon color. The shoes do not fully cover the upper part of the foot, revealing the tops of Zhi’s white cotton socks. From the ankle up to a few inches below the knee Zhi wears dark gray cloth wrappings, under which the legs of his pants are tucked.
Zhi keeps this simple, functional and semi-formal outfit along with other personal effects in his standard issue duffle bag, though he has yet to find any reason to wear it in the Earth Kingdom.
Weapons: Zhi’s weapons and fighting skills stem from his military training as well as practice he engaged in before he was old enough to enlist. For years Zhi practiced and later took courses in the use of spear weapons through a “Future Soldiers” program established at his secondary school.
This young soldier, like thousands of others, has been issues a standard warspear, the weapon is exactly seven feet in length from the tip of its iron point to the base of the Wax Wood shaft. The leaf-shaped spearhead blade is sunk into the pointed tip of the shaft between the wood and firmly bound by a thin band of bronze. Attached to the shaft, just below the blade, is a small red tassel that flits about while the spear is in motion, blurring the blade. The tassel makes the spear harder for an enemy to grasp by simply making the blade harder to see.
Despite the staff being nearly two feet longer than Zhi is tall he has practiced and learned with the weapon for many years and received several weeks of special training with the spears after enlistment. By Fire Nation Military standards Zhi is rated as “Proficient” in the use of the standard Warspear and meets all requirements to wield it effectively.
Along with this, Zhi carries a secondary weapon, a knife, incase his spear gets broken or lost in combat or he is forced into CQC. He keeps the combat knife in a small sheath attached by leather straps to his left shin guard (when in Uniform). The weapon can be used for many things besides combat as well and has proven quite useful. The Tanto style blade portion is seven inches in length, made of hardened iron and highly polished. The handle is four inches long and made of wood and iron tightly wrapped with leather bands.
Zhi is rated as “Adequate” in skill with the knife and under went practice and training courses with the weapon during basic training. The knife is more than a tool or weapon to Zhi; it was a gift from his Mother and Father on the day he graduated from secondary school and he takes especially good care of it.
The final weapon in this soldier’s arsenal is his basic hand-to-hand close combat training, derived from Firebending motions and moves. Having received nearly all of his knowledge in this form of combat from the seven weeks of basic training he underwent, Zhi’s skill is rated only as “Decent” in unarmed martial arts.
Personality: Generally quiet in public, Zhi seems to be a bit shy, perhaps even meek at first glance, especially around women near his age. However, around friends or fellow troops that he knows well, it can be difficult to get Zhi to stop talking. When in the presence of officers or other people of importance he remains silent unless spoken too, like a good soldier. When in a new place, he curious and enjoys seeing what new things there are to see.
He is thoughtful and kind to most everyone he meets - the kind of fellow who would help a stranger pick up their dropped possessions on the side of the street or the like. Zhi possesses an optimistic and confident attitude, confident in both himself and his nation. He is absolutely loyal to the Fire Nation, his family and the Fire Lord, believing fully in the March Toward Civilization.
Zhi doesn’t really view the peoples of the Earth Kingdom as racially inferior, feelings his mother shared with him, just that they are culturally and technologically backwards. He feels the Fire Nation’s influence could improve the world while simultaneously strengthening the Fire Nation itself. Though, this belief is only one of his reasons for joining the military.
He feels sympathy for the civilians who have suffered due to the war and believes that their strife will be alleviated once the Fire Nation is victorious. He lacks such feelings for those who actively oppose the Fire Nation and feels they are only prolonging the war and harming everyone.
However, after an ambush by Earth Kingdom rebels disguised as civilians, he has become rather paranoid while on patrol in occupied cities and towns.
He is intelligent, and knowledgeable in subjects that interest him, though he tends to procrastinate when confronted with an undesirable task… unless directly ordered to by a superior, then he snaps immediately into action. He enjoys reading, especially cheap clichéd adventure novels and books dealing with emerging technologies in the Fire Nation.
Zhi is not quick to anger and is open minded to a degree, but if one were to criticize his family or his Nation, Zhi would be quick to respond. Recently he’s begun to miss his family and friends, but strives to make them proud of him.
Background:Born October Fifth to proud parents in the Port city of Hokage, little Zhi was a quiet baby with wide eyes and a tuft of black hair upon his head. Both of his parents were employed in wartime industry, his mother Li working on maritime ducting and wiring at the nearby Jingong shipyards and his father, Cheng, a plant manager at an armor production factory.
Both parents were patriotic and proud of their work, though Zhi’s father had intended to follow his older brother’s example and enlist in the military, but they refused to accept him due to his poor eyesight. With Zhi’s birth, Cheng hoped that his new son might still be able to accomplish his goal of serving in the army.
Zhi’s mother loved him dearly and showed him off to her coworkers and friends. The happy family of three lived in a mid sized home surrounded by a short grass lawn and clay brick walls, sitting atop a small hill overlooking the city’s central marketplace.
The boy’s natural curiosity began early and, even as a baby, Zhi seemed fascinated by the world around him. At the age of three his mother took him to see the big warships in dry dock at the shipyards and the little boy’s eyes grew wide at the sight of the massive vessels. Several days after the visit, young Zhi learned there would be a new addition to the family.
A few months after Zhi turned four the family was blessed with a baby girl; Zhen. At first Zhi was nervous and afraid that the new baby would steal away the love of his parents but he quickly warmed up to little Zhen, often carrying her around the house and telling her stories that Li had told him.
When Zhi reached the age of five his parents enrolled him at a public school within walking distance of home, here he made several friends who he would remain in contact with even after he was deployed to the Earth Kingdom, years later. As the years went by, Zhi preformed and acted well in school. When he was six he went through the “Hawk phase” and desperately begged his parents for a pet carrier hawk but the bird was too much trouble and too expensive to care for and his parents would not allow him to have one.
He eventually settled for Koi frog-fish and dug a pond in their backyard where they kept three of the creatures, Zhi caring for them for the most part. When Zhi was eight and his sister four years old, two important things happened; Zhi’s uncle, his father’s brother, was killed in action during the six hundred day siege of Ba Sing Se. The family met with Zhi’s father’s family and they held a memorial service. At the service Zhi announced that he wished to join the army when he reached the minimum age - to honor his uncle, father and do his part for his county.
Around the same time it was discovered that Zhen possessed the ability to Firebend and her parents arranged for the little girl to begin training, even before she was old enough to attend a general education school. Zhi enjoyed watching his sister practice and she was pleased when he did, they had been always quite close since Zhen was born.
When Zhi turned ten, his mother arranged for him to take folk dancing lessons, an activity Zhi strongly disliked at first. Li, Zhi’s mother, was originally from the interior of the island nation, a descendent of an ethnic group of mountain folk whose history, living on the island that would become the Fire Nation, stretched back over thousands of years. Dancing was a rather touchy subject in the Fire Nation, having been recently banned in schools; however it was still allowed outside of places of education and government establishments, for the most part.
The dances Zhi was taught were traditional foot dances of his ancestors, the boy had no idea at the time, but the speedy and precise dance steps would later help him in his Warspear training and combat. While attending the dancing academy Zhi made friends with a girl around his age, her name was Ting. They became friends and as years went by Zhi developed some feelings for her, but her father was a merchant and the family moved away when Zhi was around thirteen years old.
Zhi’s early teen years, through intermediary and the first part of secondary school, were fairly uneventful. He was primarily occupied by training with a practice spear to accomplish his goal, spending time with his friends and sister, several failed attempts at dating and working hard in school to obtain good marks.
The last two years of civilian life were similar, though Zhi joined the “Future Soldiers” program in Secondary School, setting him on a path into the Army. Additionally, he took a few odd jobs, working primarily in different shops around Hokage. His least favorite job was that of a dock worker, tasked with unloading the catches of various fishing boats, which Zhi quickly grew sick of.
Only a week after his graduation from Secondary School, Zhi was leaving home for basic training. His family held a small celebration and wished their son well and then Zhi was off. Basic lasted roughly nine weeks with an additional three weeks for advanced Warspear training. Zhi was surprised by the physical effort required, but still managed to meet all requirements. He made a few friends during the training but lost contact with them when he was sorted into a field platoon.
Before he was shipped off to the Earth Kingdom he spend a few days with his family and friends, pleased to learn that his, now thirteen year old, sister would be attending a special academy for Fire Benders.
After a week long voyage the troopship reached a base on the coast in the western Earth Kingdom and Zhi’s first tour of duty began. He made friends quickly, despite the warnings by veteran soldiers. The young soldier soon learned what they meant when two of his close friends were killed in battle during a night offensive in a thickly wooded valley. Despite this, he finds it difficult to avoid making friends.
Sample RP:It was a peaceful and warm day, the rays of the sun filtering through the green foliage of the trees surrounding a small stream. The stream gurgled and whispered as it had for hundreds of years, its course never greatly changed by man or nature. The soft sounds of the forest were suddenly drowned out by the voices of men moving along through the woods.
Toward the head of the column of soldiers Zhi trudged along, the strap of his duffle bag over one shoulder and his Warspear resting on the other. The young soldier wasn’t exactly sure how long they’d been marching, but he could at least remember the time of day when they’d left the occupied EK village of Quae… dawn.
“How’re you holding up there, Zhi?” came a voice from behind the boy. Zhi immediately recognized the voice as belonging to the street smart Pai Sho expert; Corporal Hue. “I’m doin aright, I suppose,” replied Zhi, tiredly, “Sergeant says march that way and we march that way, just the way things are... can’t complain.”
“Very true, very true,” mused the Corporal, “at least there’s a stream coming up ahead.” Zhi looked up and around the fellow marching in front of him, his eyes darting to the cool, clear, flowing water only a few hundred yards from the front of the column. Zhi’s throat was nearly dry, he’d used up the last of his canteen a few hours earlier, but there had been nowhere to refill it in the forest muggy.
Before Zhi could respond the harsh toned Sergeant leading the men informed them that they could take a short rest by the stream. With this, the column broke apart as the weary marchers made their way to the waters edge. Zhi trotted over to the bank, setting his spear and bag on the dry sand before kneeling before the water. He removed his canteen from the bag and immersed it, holding it under until the steady stream of bubbles ceased.
Zhi brought the canteen up out of the water and gave it a quick look before recapping it and setting it aside, firmly setting it in the sand beside him. Not content with the canteen alone, Zhi remove his helmet and dipped his face down to drink straight from the stream. Once satisfied, he splashed a few handfuls of the cool water onto his face to wash away the sweat and dust.
He briefly considered taking off his boots and dipping his sore feet into the water, but the Sergeant was barking at the troops to gather their things and get ready to move out. Zhi sighed tiredly but understood fully why the Sergeant wasn’t letting them stay longer. Ambushes were common in heavily wooded country and staying put and disorganized for any longer than necessary was a risk not worth taking.
The young soldier put away his canteen, placed his slightly oversized helmet back upon his head and collected his things, before rising to his feet and walking closer to the Sergeant who was about to address the platoon. As he moved toward the Sergeant he passed one of the younger soldiers still sitting by the stream, a friend of his.
“Zhi, wanna help me up?” asked Private Shen from his seat by the water. Zhi turned around to face his friend, giving him a nod, “Sure,” he replied, sticking his spear into the sand and offering his now free hand.
After helping Shen up off the sand the two turned to face the Sergeant who cleared his throat for attention. “I’m sure you’ve all been wondering where we’re going” said he, “…well, the answer to that question is Ba Sing Se!”
A collective wave of surprise rolled over the platoon, shock striking Zhi especially. Ba Sing Se.. was it really true?
“In a few hours we’ll be reaching a rally point where our forces are forming up, not lets get moving!” barked the Sergeant, before turning to lead the reforming column up the stream. With the news, Zhi’s feet seemed to hurt a little less, his bag seemed a little lighter, he could think of nothing more glorious than being part of a second siege.
“Wow, Ba Sing Se… you think that’s why the Princess came out here?” asked Shen to anyone who would listen. “Could be,” replied Zhi with enthusiasm in his step.
Age: 17
Gender: Male
Group: Fire Nation Military (Army), Rank of Private
Nation: Fire Nation
Bender?: No
Physical Appearance: At first glance Zhi would appear to be just another Fire Nation Grunt. However, given a second glance, the young man does stand out amongst his fellow soldiers, even those his own age. Standing at only 5’ 3” and weighing around 135lbs Zhi is noticeably smaller in stature than the average soldier. He is slim, nearly scrawny, with long thin arms, small hands and feet. Fair skinned, even by Fire Nation standards, Zhi is hardly an imposing individual.
His face is pale, and heart-shaped with a smoothly rounded chin. His light brown eyes are quite large and reflect youth and enthusiasm; and generally possess a friendly and curious quality. He has a rather small snub nose and below it a thin-lipped mouth that seems to easily turn up into an awkward grin. Barely visible at long distance, Zhi sports a faint attempt at growing a mustache and sideburns.
The young soldier has a thick head of long, obsidian black hair that reaches down to his shoulders and collar when left unbound. It is usually pulled back and tightly bound by a crimson band in a large top-knot in the shape of an inverted triangle. Several strands of hair at the front of Zhi’s hairline aren’t quite long enough to reach the top-knot and, instead of allowing them to hang down the sides of his face, he tucks them behind his ears and out of the way, though they rarely stay in place for long.
Zhi’s appearance does accurately suggest a lack of brute physical strength, though he makes up for this with agility, precision and smarts. Running often to stay in shape; he is quick on his feet.
Clothing/Armor: Zhi is nearly always seen wearing his standard issue uniform and armor. Fortunately, most of the gear he received was fitted for one of smaller stature so the uniform fits him well. Like any other non-bending Fire Nation soldier, Zhi’s outfit is composed of several layers with only a few truly armored portions. Beneath the uniform Zhi wears a white linen short sleeved shirt and shorts. The first layer of the uniform consists of a slate gray, long sleeved uniform shirt and pants, parts of which are visible when worn with the rest of the outfit.
The Outer Uniform Layer is similar in appearance to overalls and a “gown” around the waist and legs. The chest part has light iron plates in between cloth layers to provide limited protection, but lacks these plates over the back. The “gown” portion is unarmored and consists only of thick cloth with dark gray cloth flaps in the center at the front and rear. The outer layer is maroon in color with cardinal trim. The “gown” and upper portions are divided at the waist by a dark gray belt with a polished iron buckle.
Over his shoulders Zhi wears a dark gray iron shoulder guard plate with collar; the semi-armored front of the Outer Uniform Layer overlaps this plate and tucks beneath it in the back. For arm protection; two iron spaulders stick out from beneath the plate, covering the bicep regions. Additionally, he wears two iron vambraces around his forearms and dark gray wrist/hand guards that cover the tops of his hands. The spaulders match the Outer Uniform Layer coming in maroon with cardinal trim and the vambraces come in solid cardinal.
Zhi wears lightly armored boots with slate gray leather vamps and dark gray iron soles, they posses the classic Fire Nation up-turned toes at the front. Around his shins, Zhi wears dark gray iron guards that wrap fully around his lower legs and reach from the ankle up to just below the knees where the uniform pants are tucked in under the shin guards.
The final piece of Zhi’s uniform would be his slightly oversized conical helmet. The Helmet is a darker shade of maroon with polished iron trim and a small spike at the very top. Its edges come down low enough to protect the back of the head and ears, and around the bottom, at the back and sides, there hangs a cardinal colored veil that reaches to the shoulder guard plate. The Helmet is held on by a leather chin strap, though Zhi rarely wears the helmet when not in combat.
The young soldier has added a small touch of personalization to his gear; written faintly in calligraphy ink on the side of the helmet small characters read: “Zhi’s Hat”.
He has been known to wear his uniform when off duty due to the pride he receives from being recognized as a member of the military.
Aside from his uniform Zhi has several other outfits, though; as he is currently deployed overseas in the Earth Kingdom, there would be really no reason for him to wear civilian Fire Nation clothing.
When at home in the Fire Nation or when an occasion presents itself that would require Zhi to wear something aside from (or more formal than) his armor, he tends to wear a presentable outfit that reflects his middle class status.
The outfit is made up of three layers, the first being a pair of light, white linen shorts with a similarly colored sleeveless shirt as underclothes. The second layer consists of a pair of semi baggy, khaki colored trousers and a matching long sleeved shirt with a rigid collar. The shirt’s cuffs small and do not hang down from the wrist.
Over this, Zhi typically wears a short, sleeveless robe that reaches to just below his knees. The robe is a medium carmine with burgundy trim, its right lapel folds over and angles downward to the right from the loose collar, through which the collar of the undershirt sticks up. The final piece of the outer layer is a dark gray sash around his waist, to hold the robe together.
On his feet Zhi wears typical Fire Nation shoes with the up-turned toes, primarily made of leather and wood in a dull maroon color. The shoes do not fully cover the upper part of the foot, revealing the tops of Zhi’s white cotton socks. From the ankle up to a few inches below the knee Zhi wears dark gray cloth wrappings, under which the legs of his pants are tucked.
Zhi keeps this simple, functional and semi-formal outfit along with other personal effects in his standard issue duffle bag, though he has yet to find any reason to wear it in the Earth Kingdom.
Weapons: Zhi’s weapons and fighting skills stem from his military training as well as practice he engaged in before he was old enough to enlist. For years Zhi practiced and later took courses in the use of spear weapons through a “Future Soldiers” program established at his secondary school.
This young soldier, like thousands of others, has been issues a standard warspear, the weapon is exactly seven feet in length from the tip of its iron point to the base of the Wax Wood shaft. The leaf-shaped spearhead blade is sunk into the pointed tip of the shaft between the wood and firmly bound by a thin band of bronze. Attached to the shaft, just below the blade, is a small red tassel that flits about while the spear is in motion, blurring the blade. The tassel makes the spear harder for an enemy to grasp by simply making the blade harder to see.
Despite the staff being nearly two feet longer than Zhi is tall he has practiced and learned with the weapon for many years and received several weeks of special training with the spears after enlistment. By Fire Nation Military standards Zhi is rated as “Proficient” in the use of the standard Warspear and meets all requirements to wield it effectively.
Along with this, Zhi carries a secondary weapon, a knife, incase his spear gets broken or lost in combat or he is forced into CQC. He keeps the combat knife in a small sheath attached by leather straps to his left shin guard (when in Uniform). The weapon can be used for many things besides combat as well and has proven quite useful. The Tanto style blade portion is seven inches in length, made of hardened iron and highly polished. The handle is four inches long and made of wood and iron tightly wrapped with leather bands.
Zhi is rated as “Adequate” in skill with the knife and under went practice and training courses with the weapon during basic training. The knife is more than a tool or weapon to Zhi; it was a gift from his Mother and Father on the day he graduated from secondary school and he takes especially good care of it.
The final weapon in this soldier’s arsenal is his basic hand-to-hand close combat training, derived from Firebending motions and moves. Having received nearly all of his knowledge in this form of combat from the seven weeks of basic training he underwent, Zhi’s skill is rated only as “Decent” in unarmed martial arts.
Personality: Generally quiet in public, Zhi seems to be a bit shy, perhaps even meek at first glance, especially around women near his age. However, around friends or fellow troops that he knows well, it can be difficult to get Zhi to stop talking. When in the presence of officers or other people of importance he remains silent unless spoken too, like a good soldier. When in a new place, he curious and enjoys seeing what new things there are to see.
He is thoughtful and kind to most everyone he meets - the kind of fellow who would help a stranger pick up their dropped possessions on the side of the street or the like. Zhi possesses an optimistic and confident attitude, confident in both himself and his nation. He is absolutely loyal to the Fire Nation, his family and the Fire Lord, believing fully in the March Toward Civilization.
Zhi doesn’t really view the peoples of the Earth Kingdom as racially inferior, feelings his mother shared with him, just that they are culturally and technologically backwards. He feels the Fire Nation’s influence could improve the world while simultaneously strengthening the Fire Nation itself. Though, this belief is only one of his reasons for joining the military.
He feels sympathy for the civilians who have suffered due to the war and believes that their strife will be alleviated once the Fire Nation is victorious. He lacks such feelings for those who actively oppose the Fire Nation and feels they are only prolonging the war and harming everyone.
However, after an ambush by Earth Kingdom rebels disguised as civilians, he has become rather paranoid while on patrol in occupied cities and towns.
He is intelligent, and knowledgeable in subjects that interest him, though he tends to procrastinate when confronted with an undesirable task… unless directly ordered to by a superior, then he snaps immediately into action. He enjoys reading, especially cheap clichéd adventure novels and books dealing with emerging technologies in the Fire Nation.
Zhi is not quick to anger and is open minded to a degree, but if one were to criticize his family or his Nation, Zhi would be quick to respond. Recently he’s begun to miss his family and friends, but strives to make them proud of him.
Background:Born October Fifth to proud parents in the Port city of Hokage, little Zhi was a quiet baby with wide eyes and a tuft of black hair upon his head. Both of his parents were employed in wartime industry, his mother Li working on maritime ducting and wiring at the nearby Jingong shipyards and his father, Cheng, a plant manager at an armor production factory.
Both parents were patriotic and proud of their work, though Zhi’s father had intended to follow his older brother’s example and enlist in the military, but they refused to accept him due to his poor eyesight. With Zhi’s birth, Cheng hoped that his new son might still be able to accomplish his goal of serving in the army.
Zhi’s mother loved him dearly and showed him off to her coworkers and friends. The happy family of three lived in a mid sized home surrounded by a short grass lawn and clay brick walls, sitting atop a small hill overlooking the city’s central marketplace.
The boy’s natural curiosity began early and, even as a baby, Zhi seemed fascinated by the world around him. At the age of three his mother took him to see the big warships in dry dock at the shipyards and the little boy’s eyes grew wide at the sight of the massive vessels. Several days after the visit, young Zhi learned there would be a new addition to the family.
A few months after Zhi turned four the family was blessed with a baby girl; Zhen. At first Zhi was nervous and afraid that the new baby would steal away the love of his parents but he quickly warmed up to little Zhen, often carrying her around the house and telling her stories that Li had told him.
When Zhi reached the age of five his parents enrolled him at a public school within walking distance of home, here he made several friends who he would remain in contact with even after he was deployed to the Earth Kingdom, years later. As the years went by, Zhi preformed and acted well in school. When he was six he went through the “Hawk phase” and desperately begged his parents for a pet carrier hawk but the bird was too much trouble and too expensive to care for and his parents would not allow him to have one.
He eventually settled for Koi frog-fish and dug a pond in their backyard where they kept three of the creatures, Zhi caring for them for the most part. When Zhi was eight and his sister four years old, two important things happened; Zhi’s uncle, his father’s brother, was killed in action during the six hundred day siege of Ba Sing Se. The family met with Zhi’s father’s family and they held a memorial service. At the service Zhi announced that he wished to join the army when he reached the minimum age - to honor his uncle, father and do his part for his county.
Around the same time it was discovered that Zhen possessed the ability to Firebend and her parents arranged for the little girl to begin training, even before she was old enough to attend a general education school. Zhi enjoyed watching his sister practice and she was pleased when he did, they had been always quite close since Zhen was born.
When Zhi turned ten, his mother arranged for him to take folk dancing lessons, an activity Zhi strongly disliked at first. Li, Zhi’s mother, was originally from the interior of the island nation, a descendent of an ethnic group of mountain folk whose history, living on the island that would become the Fire Nation, stretched back over thousands of years. Dancing was a rather touchy subject in the Fire Nation, having been recently banned in schools; however it was still allowed outside of places of education and government establishments, for the most part.
The dances Zhi was taught were traditional foot dances of his ancestors, the boy had no idea at the time, but the speedy and precise dance steps would later help him in his Warspear training and combat. While attending the dancing academy Zhi made friends with a girl around his age, her name was Ting. They became friends and as years went by Zhi developed some feelings for her, but her father was a merchant and the family moved away when Zhi was around thirteen years old.
Zhi’s early teen years, through intermediary and the first part of secondary school, were fairly uneventful. He was primarily occupied by training with a practice spear to accomplish his goal, spending time with his friends and sister, several failed attempts at dating and working hard in school to obtain good marks.
The last two years of civilian life were similar, though Zhi joined the “Future Soldiers” program in Secondary School, setting him on a path into the Army. Additionally, he took a few odd jobs, working primarily in different shops around Hokage. His least favorite job was that of a dock worker, tasked with unloading the catches of various fishing boats, which Zhi quickly grew sick of.
Only a week after his graduation from Secondary School, Zhi was leaving home for basic training. His family held a small celebration and wished their son well and then Zhi was off. Basic lasted roughly nine weeks with an additional three weeks for advanced Warspear training. Zhi was surprised by the physical effort required, but still managed to meet all requirements. He made a few friends during the training but lost contact with them when he was sorted into a field platoon.
Before he was shipped off to the Earth Kingdom he spend a few days with his family and friends, pleased to learn that his, now thirteen year old, sister would be attending a special academy for Fire Benders.
After a week long voyage the troopship reached a base on the coast in the western Earth Kingdom and Zhi’s first tour of duty began. He made friends quickly, despite the warnings by veteran soldiers. The young soldier soon learned what they meant when two of his close friends were killed in battle during a night offensive in a thickly wooded valley. Despite this, he finds it difficult to avoid making friends.
Sample RP:It was a peaceful and warm day, the rays of the sun filtering through the green foliage of the trees surrounding a small stream. The stream gurgled and whispered as it had for hundreds of years, its course never greatly changed by man or nature. The soft sounds of the forest were suddenly drowned out by the voices of men moving along through the woods.
Toward the head of the column of soldiers Zhi trudged along, the strap of his duffle bag over one shoulder and his Warspear resting on the other. The young soldier wasn’t exactly sure how long they’d been marching, but he could at least remember the time of day when they’d left the occupied EK village of Quae… dawn.
“How’re you holding up there, Zhi?” came a voice from behind the boy. Zhi immediately recognized the voice as belonging to the street smart Pai Sho expert; Corporal Hue. “I’m doin aright, I suppose,” replied Zhi, tiredly, “Sergeant says march that way and we march that way, just the way things are... can’t complain.”
“Very true, very true,” mused the Corporal, “at least there’s a stream coming up ahead.” Zhi looked up and around the fellow marching in front of him, his eyes darting to the cool, clear, flowing water only a few hundred yards from the front of the column. Zhi’s throat was nearly dry, he’d used up the last of his canteen a few hours earlier, but there had been nowhere to refill it in the forest muggy.
Before Zhi could respond the harsh toned Sergeant leading the men informed them that they could take a short rest by the stream. With this, the column broke apart as the weary marchers made their way to the waters edge. Zhi trotted over to the bank, setting his spear and bag on the dry sand before kneeling before the water. He removed his canteen from the bag and immersed it, holding it under until the steady stream of bubbles ceased.
Zhi brought the canteen up out of the water and gave it a quick look before recapping it and setting it aside, firmly setting it in the sand beside him. Not content with the canteen alone, Zhi remove his helmet and dipped his face down to drink straight from the stream. Once satisfied, he splashed a few handfuls of the cool water onto his face to wash away the sweat and dust.
He briefly considered taking off his boots and dipping his sore feet into the water, but the Sergeant was barking at the troops to gather their things and get ready to move out. Zhi sighed tiredly but understood fully why the Sergeant wasn’t letting them stay longer. Ambushes were common in heavily wooded country and staying put and disorganized for any longer than necessary was a risk not worth taking.
The young soldier put away his canteen, placed his slightly oversized helmet back upon his head and collected his things, before rising to his feet and walking closer to the Sergeant who was about to address the platoon. As he moved toward the Sergeant he passed one of the younger soldiers still sitting by the stream, a friend of his.
“Zhi, wanna help me up?” asked Private Shen from his seat by the water. Zhi turned around to face his friend, giving him a nod, “Sure,” he replied, sticking his spear into the sand and offering his now free hand.
After helping Shen up off the sand the two turned to face the Sergeant who cleared his throat for attention. “I’m sure you’ve all been wondering where we’re going” said he, “…well, the answer to that question is Ba Sing Se!”
A collective wave of surprise rolled over the platoon, shock striking Zhi especially. Ba Sing Se.. was it really true?
“In a few hours we’ll be reaching a rally point where our forces are forming up, not lets get moving!” barked the Sergeant, before turning to lead the reforming column up the stream. With the news, Zhi’s feet seemed to hurt a little less, his bag seemed a little lighter, he could think of nothing more glorious than being part of a second siege.
“Wow, Ba Sing Se… you think that’s why the Princess came out here?” asked Shen to anyone who would listen. “Could be,” replied Zhi with enthusiasm in his step.