Note: Rujia will likely never REALLY be finished. Those interested may want to check back now and again for updates to her character!
__________________QUICK STATS
Name Rujia Heiki
Age 27
Gender Female
Species and Ethnicity Anathanati Rulastinian
Height 5'2"
Occupation Hunter/Shinobi
Residence Rulastinia, western outskirts of Oshiren, close enough to the ocean to smell salt on the breeze.
__________________IN-DEPTH STUFF
Physical Description Outwardly, when not dressed in combat attire, Rujia can be described in a single word: beautiful. Her face holds a captivating mix of beauty and determination, skin lightly tanned as if kissed by the barely-present sun. Her hair is jet black, straight and thick, cut to hang low on her neck, and meticulously maintained. When not dressed for combat, she prefers soft hued robes, blue being the most dominant color, though her outermost layer is always black.
Her eyes are her most striking feature, deep and expressive with a vibrant shade of seafoam green. In pleasant company, they are bright and cheery and shine with a hint of mischief. Alone, or otherwise in the company of those she cares little for, they are frequently narrowed and focused, and if one looks closely enough, one can find in their expression the experience and secrets of a well trained and seasoned warrior. When she locks eyes with someone, the other person may feel as if she knows exactly who they are, what they are doing, why they are doing it, and whether they're a threat. Nine times out of ten, this feeling isn't actually too far off.
When geared up, Rujia's combat attire seems unorthodox compared to other hunters, built for mobility over durability. From the bottom of her neck to her midriff she wears a breastplate of overlapping lacquered wooden plates, and held in place over these plates by short, tiny nails is thick black cloth, both to further darken her armor as well as to inhibit any unintended noises. Similarly constructed armor covers her upper and lower arms, while leaving her hands, wrists, and elbows otherwise uncovered, save for thick, dark blue cloth padding worn under the armor. Her legs are armored similarly to her arms, completed with form-fitting, waterproof tabi formed of leather, with a single plate going over the top of the foot. Geared as such, Rujia keeps her hair bound in a tight bun and covered with a black cloth that drops over her forehead in front, and all the way to her shoulders in back. A wooden mask, carved in the likeness of a snarling beast, as dark as the rest of her armor, covers her face from her nose to her chin. Her neck is covered in front by a wooden half-gorget, while the back of her neck is covered in chain, hidden under her hair covering.
Also, while not visible, there are other important aspects: always hidden from view, under her skin in the middle of her chest, next to her heart there is a pulsing blue light, just visible beneath the skin.
When one is around her and she is in a happy or neutral mood, one may detect the faint scent of salt spray, as if they are next to the ocean. If she's is angry or otherwise stressed, one may instead smell the harsh scent of ozone, as if lightning had just struck in the area.
Personality Rujia's personality is multifaceted and layered, her training allowing her to easily hide her true feelings. She is more than adept at concealing the truth, or outright lying and passing that off as truth instead with no one being the wiser. No one, save an extremely limited and trusted few, know what really goes on in her head.
Frequently, she puts off an easygoing, carefree and teasing air, building camaraderie with her compatriots and partners in arms, always willing to help and listen and joke. With others though, she won't interact unless absolutely necessary; she can't relate to normal citizenry, having hardly been exposed to the everyday life of a regular person, and finds it very difficult to speak with non-hunters in general.
When she's alone, however, the real Rujia finally makes an appearance. This is the girl with deep rooted fear, and a lack of understanding of many things, chief of which being, "what even am I?"
Magic/Abilities
Duality of Soul, Mind, and Heart
First and foremost, to understand Rujia one must first understand that she isn't the only inhabitant of her body. Some few years past, in an effort to create what could only be called the perfect hunter of beasts, Rujia was implanted with an imprisoned storm spirit, which, combined with the nature of this operation, has changed her on a fundamental level. The most apparent effects are that there is another that shares her mind and her senses; the spirit, named Sukoru, sees through her eyes, hears with her ears, feels with her skin, and knows what she knows and more. This offers several benefits, such as a second perspective of all things, a "second set" of eyes and ears that can focus on something other than what she sees or hears, and, above all, a suite of abilities borne from the storm. With Sukoru's power, she can command the elements of wind, water, and lightning at will, giving her a wide skill set.
Wind
Rujia primarily uses this to help her to achieve things that otherwise wouldn't be possible, such as creating a powerful gust to aid her in high and distance jumping, or creating a cushion of compressed air to slow a descent. She can also use blasts of air to quickly maneuver herself, even in midair.
Water
Rujia admittedly doesn't have much utility with this element as of yet, though there are some things she's been trying to perfect, such as creating and manipulating mist to hide herself and others. She can only create and manipulate water and not destroy it, so, unfortunately, the marshlands of Rulastinia will remain wet. She's handy when you're thirsty, though!
Lightning
Lightning, and the accompanying thunder. This is where Rujia truly shines, although using this element for too long or too often does have its drawbacks. She can use it to attack, both directly with bolts of lightning and indirectly by channeling it through her weapons, and she can also use it to fortify herself, hyper stimulating her muscles to give her extreme bursts of speed and strength, as well as shortening her reaction times to nearly instantaneous. Lightning is indiscriminate, however, and using it in either way does cause her some harm. She does have some resistance, thanks to Sukoru's influence, but attacking with it in any way causes minor burns, and repeated use can make them very debilitating. Channeling it through her body weakens and damages her muscles bit by bit, as well as overloading her brain, until she is quite literally unable to move.
Martial Training
Before having Sukoru implanted within her, Rujia was trained from early childhood both in the techniques of the samurai and the shinobi. As such, she had learned to wield the uchigatana and wakizashi in tandem for direct, frontal combat, as well as dual tantos for more a more evasive and acrobatic assault.
The Way of the Shinobi
Rujia's Shinobi training was perhaps the most grueling out of the two. Along with learning short-blade combat styles and the art of throwing weapons, this training imparted the arts of stealth, deception, and misdirection. It's trained her mind, allowing her to hide her thoughts and eliminate subtle body language. It's also trained her body, boosting her unenhanced strength and agility to levels that the common person could only hope to one day achieve.
The Way of the Samurai
The Art of the Sword has proven again and again to be useful. Where a short blade may stab or cut, a full length sword may impale, dismember, or decapitate. Rujia is trained extensively in iaijutsu, or quick-draw sword techniques. She has honed the art of single-strike kills to an impressive degree, especially when her strikes are empowered by lightning and quickened with wind. She's also capable drawn out encounters, though she will always seek a way to lethally end combat as quickly as possible.
Other Traits
The implanting of Sukoru within her has changed Rujia on a fundamental level in many ways, some of which she isn't even aware of yet.
-She does not need to eat or drink, though she does anyway in an effort to "fit in." As an aside, she's a total foodie.
-She heals quickly, recovering from injuries that would put most down for weeks in only a couple of days, leaving not a scar behind.
-She can sleep, though she cannot dream.
-Poisons and medicines have absolutely no effect on her.
Character Quirks
-Struggles with the question of whether or not she's even human anymore
-Absolutely hopeless in common social interactions
-TBD
Relationships
Family: Rujia has no idea if she has any family out there, only that her parents were killed, leaving her an orphan. And even if any extended family still lives, it's doubtful they'd recognize her after so many years, as even her original name has been taken from her.
All of her other relationships are with either fellow hunters, or those that trained and raised her from childhood. She doesn't even know who it was that made her what she is; that particular part of her life was apparently too traumatic for her mind to hold on to.
History
Orphaned at a young age, alone and wandering the streets of Tsubai, a young girl is taken in. A young girl has her name taken from her, in exchange for a new one: Rujia, a name with no meaning, and Heiki, a word meaning, literally, "Weapon." And so, the girl ceases to be. And so, A Weapon is born.
A Weapon is trained. A Weapon is honed. A Weapon becomes a most efficient killing tool. A Weapon never learns what it is to be anything but A Weapon.
A Weapon is taught that it is meant only to die. A Weapon continues its training for nineteen long years. A Weapon is given poison; A Weapon drinks it, willingly. A Weapon dies.
A Weapon lives again. A Weapon is more than it was before. A Weapon becomes powerful.
A Weapon fights. A Weapon kills.
A Weapon Kills.
A Weapon Kills.
A Weapon Kills.
But can A Weapon ever be more than just A Weapon?
Plot Hooks
What does it mean to be human, anyway?
Stay out when I'm in the bath.
Let's eat!
Let's go kill something.
__________________THREAD TRACKER
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