Tao Ru

A scholar of creatures and nature, particularly those found in the Jade Empire and Nobumori.

Personal History

Tao was born in S264 to an upper middle class family in Galu. Tao read everything he could get his hands on and in particular enjoyed reading about creatures and nature.
As soon as he was old enough he started wandering outside of the city to observe creatures in their natural environments. Depending on the direction, it was possible to reach plains, mountains, and even the sea within a few days of traveling on foot from Galu. Tao visited them all and over time discovered that he could replicate some of the abilities of the creatures he observed. He knew that magic was strictly forbidden in the empire, but these abilities of his were unlike anything he had ever read about in a book. He wasn't sure if it was magic, or if it was something else. Feeling conflicted, he decided not to develop the power further. In time he came to hear about a school in Shudan, called the Cobalt Daiga, where students studied this exact thing.
In S284, on his twentieth birthday, he set out to cross the Redwind Mountains so that he could visit Sanwen and see the school for himself. For the next twenty years of his life he studied there, under Mythea of the Cobalt Scar.
Tao suffered a crisis of conscience about it more than once. He had grown up hearing that magic was an affront to the dieties that created the world, and those who practiced it were wicked and evil. He had once viewed Shudan as a place full of horrible sinners, but living and studying there began to slowly change his mind. He found it especially hard to see how magic that mirrored the natural world like this could truly be evil. Nevertheless, he focused his gift on observation and learning from nature, while trying to suppress other manifestations of the power.
When he finally departed in S304, he traveled back to the Jade Empire with his new found knowledge and point of view. He was saddened to find that opinions within the empire had not changed at all, and it was nearly impossible for him to study and continue to learn at his old home in Galu. Instead he began traveling south, away from the imperial capital and towards Nobumori. He thought it might be a good chance to encounter new environments, new creatures, and maybe be inspired by the same things that had once inspired Mythea decades before.

Ethnicity

Li Qu

Date of Birth

S264

Year of Birth

520 54 Years old

Gender

male

Master/Instructor
Mythea of the Cobalt Scar