Country Affiliation: Kou Empire
Race: Magician
Tier: D
Class: Black Magician
Age + Birthdate: 23; June 25th
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Hetero
Personality:
Xiao is probably what one would more or less expect from a young noble. Possessed by a tremendous lust for life he enjoys trying new things and is absolutely not above the sensations of the material world. In no particular order he's known to have a love of wine, women and long languid naps in the sun, usually having quenched his appetite for one or the other first. He enjoys drinking, particularly fine wine, though he has a low tolerance for alcohol and though he has curbed his appetite somewhat he has a great... fondness lets say for many young women at court.
Generally considered to be nothing much more than lustful and lazy, Xiao is redeemed somewhat by his love of reading and literature, known to spend days alone in the Qing family estate's extensive library whenever something captures his interest. Heavily influenced by his grandfather, he believes the weapon most worthy of sharpening s the mind and that the most learned people are almost always the most dangerous. All the better then that people should think him nothing more than a drunken lecher, for possibly the only thing more dangerous than a learned personage is one everyone presumes to be a buffoon. As such he has a supreme confidence in his own intelligence which borders on arrogance, always endeavoring to keep one or two steps ahead of the competition and understandably does not react well when something completely unforeseen knocks him off course.
He tends to gravitate to the unusual or the unorthodox as a matter of course, broadly ostracized as a young man, he has a tender spot in his heart for the dispossessed, the downtrodden and the outcast. The kind of person who believes everything and everyone has a reason to exist even if it may not be readily apparent, he enjoys helping put people where they can be most useful, especially where they might be most useful to him down the line.
Though wherever possible he prefers to make peace with his enemies, ultimately turning them in to his allies, there is a somewhat ugly over-protective and possessive side to him which only asserts itself when someone either steals from him or seriously attempts to harm one of his friends or underlings.
Likes:
Having seemingly inherited his father's somewhat libertine sensibilities, Xiao is known to regularly over-indulge in wine, women and gambling, as a result he has a (not entirely undeserved) reputation as a soused skirt-chaser. While some would simply brush him off as a privileged party-boy the truth is that being a noble's son can get terribly boring. Vice at least breaks up the tedium and makes one feel alive.
As someone with a far-reaching and lofty ambition Xiao has a particular penchant for 'collecting' people of strength and ability. Usually when he meets someone that interests him he'll make an immediate and entirely forward attempt to secure their service whether they happen to be an ally, enemy or just a stranger in a tavern.
Dislikes:
As a broad rule Xiao mistrusts and holds traditions in contempt, not a generally very popular point of view within the Kou Empire, but he believes more than anything it is the reverence of and blind obedience to tradition which most holds people back. In rather the same mold he has no time to waste on etiquette or mindless procedure and can't stand being brow beaten about 'decency this' and 'custom decrees that,' he does whatever he wants, whenever he wants, always for his own reasons and in his own good time.
Believing himself to be fundamentally a man of peace, who just happens to be intermittently good at killing people, he dislikes needless violence and strives to only ever do what is necessary. The young man bears a great distaste for the methods of absolute power traditionally employed by the Kou Empire and believes them to create at least as many issues as they immediately solve. He has little patience for tyrants and bullies and he takes particular pleasure in laying any such individuals low. You get to do that kind of thing when you're a noble of Kou.
Aspirations:
The World Under Heaven
Let's be totally honest. Xiao wants to conquer the world. Though he doesn't share the Emperor Gao's fixation with absolute power he rather sees global unification as an eventual necessity. Viewing the squabbling states which presently exist as self-indulgent and wasteful, he wishes to spread the Imperial peace of Kou across the entire map and cease wars as a concern. In this respect reaching the destination is more important than who happens to be steering the ship and he has (thus far) expressed no interest whatsoever in ruling himself.
Or, uh, something like that?
In aid of his (admittedly slightly megalomaniacal) aim he wishes to integrate or pacify the tribes of the Great Plains to be ruled as an autonomous province of Kou and extend its reach further outwards towards Reim and Balbadd. This short-term more manageable goal is what occupies the majority of his time and effort at present.
Phobias/fears:
Poisoning:
When he was eight years old Xiao watched his mother choke and die on something which had been snuck in to her food by his father's wife. Ever since he has harbored a healthy paranoia in regards of something similar befalling him. Hesitant to accept anything which is offered him by anyone but those whom he trusts implicitly, he insists on having a food-taster with him wherever he goes and quite often wont eat or drink anything for long period when neither option is available. Though he professes that he is no man of honor he has a strong dislike of such methods and would never dream of doing likewise to someone else. This, incidentally, also manifests as a strong dislike of Purple Magicians and their toxin-like abilities.
Loss/Failure:
Xiao likes to think everything he does in pursuit of his goals is necessary, whether or not it is palatable. As such setbacks and delays irk him, but it outright failure that he cannot stomach. Never one to pick himself up, dust himself off and get straight back on the horse he instead feels that every time he messes up or falls short the goal of a unified world peace slips ever further away fro him.
Face-Claim: Sima Yi (The Ravages of Time)
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Lavender
Height: 155cm
Weight: 62kgs
Appearance: Xiao is a slight, pale skinned dark haired man who, despite his less than impressive physical stature holds himself always as though he were the tallest, strongest man in the room. His pride is communicated even through the way he stands and walks, head high, chin always slightly upturned with his inquisitive, piercing eyes forward, ever moving with direction and purposefulness. Strangely though he doesn't really go in for the outrageously ostentatious garments favoured by many of the nobility in Kou, preferring a dark palette for his robes of black, purples and blues to the rich vibrant and varied silks others cavort themselves in. The most extravagant thing he'll usually wear would be a gilded headpiece for the most formal of occasions, but since he prefers to let his hair down it's rare that he does.
In all things he seems outwardly reserved in fact, if he can help it he never allows a telling emotion to reach his face, instead wearing a mask of placidity and though he is fairly free in expressing when something amuses him he keeps all other emotions a closed book. Or that's the goal anyway.
Rukh Alignment: White
Special Features: N/A
History:
The Qing family finds its origins in a village of the same name close by to where the Shu-Fang River empties into the sea. The family's ancestor Xiaolong was one of Dao Shi Zu's most capable generals who was said to have served him in ninety-nine battles, never so much as being scratched. In his hundredth battle however Xioalong met his end and for his service was posthumously created Marquis of Qing, a title his descendants enjoy to this day and from which they took their family name.
Xiaohuli's paternal grandfather Xiaofeng was a prominent Commander under both Gao Yuan Zu and his predecessor, known for his fairness, cunning and acerbic wit. He retired and abdicated his title only a few years after Gao's ascension to Emperor supposedly due to medical matters, being unable to reconcile his own morals with the naked ambition and ruthlessness of the new Emperor.
Xiaohuli was born in the Imperial City to a military official and patriarch of the Qing family, Renshu Qing, by his concubine, Liqin Zhang. Though normally his birth would have been of little consequence his father's lawful wife, Baozhai, whom he had wed for purely political reasons had failed to bear him any children and Xiaohuli therefore became his heir apparent, something which quite naturally irked and concerned his wife. Life as a noble's son was quite naturally blissful, filled with tender affection and abundant distraction. With the slight caveat of a frosty and imperious stepmother one could not wish to grow up in a more idyllic circumstance.
Xiao began to shows signs of magic from an early age, often discerning details of goings on from the Rukh that he could not have otherwise known about. Indeed when he was presented with a Magician's staff to test the premise his innate penchant for Strength Magic manifested itself immediately. At great expense his father, though he disliked the idea of his heir being a Magician, engaged a magic tutor by the name of Master Wolong to help Xiao better control and harness his abilities. Though he was incredibly arrogant and an unforgiving taskmaster the young Magician could not help but respect his skill, even while they quarreled often Wolong had a profound effect on Xiao, impressing on him that Magicians were granted powers far beyond those of regular men and that there must be some reason for that power to exist.
Xiafeng in his young and naive way presumed that his Magic existed to aid and protect his family, not knowing that they bore one another not nearly nearly so much love as he did them. Unfortunately events were soon to transpired that would illuminate this shortcoming in his attitude.
Not long after he had turned eight Xiao and his mother were taking breakfast together as they often did when she began to choke and convulse violently, distraught the boy called for help, even as he tried desperately to aid her himself but it was to no avail as she passed then and there. It was quickly determined that she had been poisoned and though no trail could be found that lead to a suspect in the years following Xiao was able to trace the crime back to his stepmother. The loss of his mother and having witnessed it firsthand left a deeply traumatic mark on Xiao, making it difficult for him to completely trust anyone and also making him much more aggressive towards those who palpably threatened him or his. Mostly though it just made him sad and scared, how could it have done anything else? It would be fair to say that he never really stopped mourning her.
After the tragedy Xiaohuli was sent away to the family's Summer residence, a manor house by Ju Hua Lake since, as Renshu put it he could 'always find more wives or concubines, but had only one trueborn son.' It was here that Xiao remained for the next decade virtually uninterrupted, raised by his grandfather and tutored by his dedicated manservant Wong Fa. Ju Hua was as picturesque a place as one could hope to grow up but Xiaohuli often found himself unable to enjoy it. His position made it difficult to make friends, the nobles thought he was a mongrel and ignored him but the merchants and peasants felt intimidated by his station and wouldn't let their guard down around him. Mostly he elected to spend his time in solitude than endure one or the other.
Though he showed signs of becoming like his father, harboring many vices and few qualms about satiating them, he also possessed an empathetic soul and a keenness of mind which Renshu certainly lacked. Xiaofeng therefore instilled in his grandson the ideal that those in power should not seek to suppress or dominate those around them, but instead aid and uplift them where possible. It was this idea which planted the kernel of Xiaohuli's ambition of world unification, since subordination and stratification was much more necessary in a chaotic war torn world than in one which could know lasting peace. If nothing else, it would provide him a worthy challenge one day, but that day was yet far on the horizon.
Following his grandfather's death the Qing Summer residence was sold off in order to secure funds to buy his father a promotion and Xiaohuli returned to the capital with Wong in tow, now sworn to his service as per his former master's wishes. Xiao went about his days as normal, reading a few books, toying with a bit of magic, drinking plenty of wine and only occasionally causing a ruckus. To everyone's surprise he made no effort to seek revenge for his mother and though he paid his father's wife neither filial honor nor obedience it could not be said that he ever mistreated her, viewing her instead as another victim of his father's unpleasant lust for power and status.
Most recently his father was forced to retire from active duty after aggravating an arrow wound he'd received during the war with Reim, though unlike his father he did not pass on his position at court nor his title to his son, adamant to cling on to both until death it seemed. Xiaohuli highly suspects that this was merely a convenient excuse to recuse himself from participating in the Civil War until a decisive winner emerged, annoyingly it seemed to work. Regardless, it seems there may be space now for the latest heir of the Qing to show his mettle to the world.
Role-Play Sample:
'Well none of this is ideal,' Xiaohuli heaved a sigh as he said so, Wong was on hand pouring wine but he was really speaking to himself. Nevertheless the servant caught his eye, listening intently in full knowledge that it helped his young master to think, Xiao smiled softly. Most people did not have nearly so much patience for a youngster pontificating on matters of war and state and he was grateful to have someone on hand who understood him so well. Rolling the bamboo slit scroll from which he'd been reading he deposited it on the table beside the well upholstered coach he was lounging upon. The setting sun winked at him, reflected in the clear surface of his wine as he brought the cup to his lips, a sweet floral bouquet washing over his tongue as he quaffed it in one, loudly slamming the cup back in place as he rose from repose.
'Nothing for it then, forced out of Reim, frustrated by nomads, turning to devour one another,' grave as the news would sound to any citizen of the Empire and much as it did actually disturb him, Xiao smiled as he stood to gaze at the retreating sun. 'We'll probably never have another opportunity like this,' stretching out his hand as if over the land itself he closed his fist as if to grab hold of the flaming body before it could completely vanish as he now prepared to proclaim his intent. 'Let us go and make ourselves known then!'
Turning on his heel and striding back towards the house Xiao immediately regretted that last cup of win, pitching forward awkwardly, only able to catch himself as he had been mid-step. Waving his arms out aimlessly in an attempt to recover his balance the young man threw his head back to fully steady himself, near overbalancing in the other direction as he did. Quite apart from conquering the world, perhaps if he could conquer his own body the rest of the evening would not be ill-spent. 'That is after I... I'm gonna lie down...'
His bravado suddenly much deflated Xiao proceeded to slink off into the cool halls of his father's residence, cheeks burning only partially from having over-indulged. Mostly from the fact that he could practically feel his manservant smiling in to his back and knowing that he would never, ever allow his young master to live this down.
