Huian, the Tranquil Mistress (Hui-an)

Summary

Born to a family of nomads, Huian crossed the breadth of Maika with her tribe all throughout her youth. A quiet and unseeming child, she spent more time thinking and looking around than socializing or playing with others. She developed an affinity for 'listening' to mana itself, somehow discerning meaning where no others could. It beget simple things, like guidance, a helping hand in a pinch, and other niceties one would thank spirits for. Her talent reared its head when the manas she listened to warned her of impending doom.
Her family, wisened to know Huian never lied, took her warnings gravely. With some effort, they convinced the tribe to migrate westward, toward the lands of Tomu. Fortune revealed the prudence of such a course, because a massive Relentless herd swept across the plains behind them. The tribe's guardians fought as they were followed, desperately buying time. A race unfolded as the lands underneath them changed, the verdant vibrance of Tomu and its mountainous lands surrounding them. Cultivators who dwelled on the border took note of the tribe's arrival, and of the Relentless behind them.
Descending from their vaunted home, the cultivators swept the Relentless away. A fair dozen did what hundreds couldn't in a matter of minutes, stunning Huian at the sight of it. In speaking with her tribe, the cultivators realized Huian possessed some sort of gift. Seeing opportunity, they extended an invitation for the tribe to settle on their sect's lands. Huian herself, after an examination, had the makings of someone great. The tribe elected to stay for only a few years, enough to recuperate losses. Huian and her family, however, joined the Clear Skies sect proper.
A so-called 'virtuous' sect, they were closer to an order of monks than traditional cultivators. Their penchant for deep philosophy, intellectual discourse, and studying the ways of the world fit right in with Huian. Her appetite for knowledge and understanding far outstripped her peers, catapulting her ahead year after year. Her reputation as an unshakeable mountain arose after, a presence of personality so strong her seniors couldn't stand against her. In time, however, the halls of debate fell away, and her gaze turned to the broader world once more.
At her heart a peace loving person, Huian never understood what sort of evil could birth the Relentless. Long after her tribe's nearly-fatal escape, the harrowing memory of those abominable creatures remained. Armed with great power and the blessings of her sect, Huian went out into Nerzin to hunt the truth for herself. As she had in her youth, she crossed the lands, exploring, confronting evil, and slaughtering the wretched creatures she found.
Huian's journeys brought fame and recognition to her name. With a sharp mind and capable words, she became an advisor to countless conflicts. Moreso, unwilling to leave towns or cities besieged by corrupt nobles or evil rulers, Huian brought them to justice. By the time she returned to the Clear Skies sect, her name stood tall across Nerzin. Something that again and again saw troubles cast before her feet, for others could not resolve them.
A rift formed between Huian and her sect. She, who wanted to help the world, and them who chose seclusion from it. Eventually departing from her sect properly, Huian resumed journeying. For as unanswerable as the Relentless were, people poised an altogether different problem. More and more Huian saw ancient traditions cast aside, honor scorned and broken, and the good folk put to the spear. Great powers moved to claim lands and take more for themselves, all too much like the horrors she saw far back in history.
Knowing what would come of it, Huian pushed hard back against it. She rallied supporters far and near, even moving the likes of jiuweihu and karsoru with her deeds. Upon a tide of affirmation and return to righteous ways, Huian swept through Tomu. A few great powers did resist, only to be destroyed as they refused to disarm. At the end of it all, Huian's work saw terrible wars averted and peace returned.
For a hundred years, she thought her work well and truly done. It wouldn't be until Velandra, Sovereign of the Heavens' uprising that her idyllic ignorance shattered. Huian, afraid of what history warned her, never saw the newer, malformed evils that arose in its stead. Oppression of the many peoples became the norm, bound by the invisible chains of society. Tradition had become the spear that kept them in line, and the blade that cut them down otherwise. The virtuous harmony she believed so intrinsic and important to life turned into a perverse monster of itself.
Humbled from her arrogance, Huian gazed upon the many lands once again. Knowing all too well she couldn't turn away, she set forth. Although mocked and ridiculed, belittled and scorned, she endeavors to learn once again. To understand where and how she went wrong, and what might be the path to saving Tomu. Whether or not such a thing is even possible remains a doubt deeply buried in her heart. Perhaps in the end it might not be, but Huian refuses to accept such an idea.

Physical Description

Body Features

A fine example of a human woman, Huian's continual martial practice has left her in exemplary health. She has a slightly rounded physique, giving her a softer silhouette while maintaining her distinctive muscles. Her hips are slightly wide, generally closer to a strong core. A moderate bosom adorns her chest. Years of magical refinement and medicines have imparted an ethereal quality upon her whole aura and body. Combined with Huian's maturity, she embodies the ideas of physically excellence and feminine form.

Facial Features

Somewhere between a round and a heart shape, Huian always carries a pleasant expression even when at rest. Her eyebrows are generally thick but plucked, being well defined and kept. Two round, slightly curving backward ears adorn the sides of her head. Huian's refined control means she rarely makes large or dramatic expressions, almost giving her a stony feeling. Its easy for others to project what they think she's feeling rather than what she shows.

Identifying Characteristics

Her attire is her most uniquely defining feature at a distance. Huian's peaceful presence is, itself, quite distinct to feel. Even if she is not immediately recognizable by reputation, she is set apart from other people. In time, carrying emblems of her ideology or political faction(s) also helps to identify her.

Special abilities

Martial Mistress – Huian has trained, practiced, fought, and achieved the skills of a martial mistress. Her styles epitomize efficient and flowing work, minimizing wasted movements while maximizing energy spent. It could be called a very water-like and beautiful manner of combat.
The Four Elements – Governed by harmonic thinking, Huian trained in a variety of magical arts around the four principle elements. She's exceedingly capable with fire, water, wind, and veltron magics. While perhaps not to the extent of a true singular specialist, her unique combinations gives her incredible versatility.

Apparel & Accessories

Huian's traditional attire can be broken up as follows:
A silver circlet wraps around the crown of her head, and upon her forehead rests smooth, rounded gemstone. It's a white and clear crystal, generally showing off different hues of mana depending on the invoked magics. The style emphasizes smooth and sweeping, but simplistic design.
A yellow undershirt sits beneath her white dress, which has narrow-yet-open sleeves down to her wrists. There is a loose, painted pattern of birds and a forest wrapping around her dress, stylized in a simplistic but evocative manner. The painting makes use of four colors, which represent the four elements Huian has trained in. Her criss-crossing collar unfurls neatly, playing neatly around Huian's neck to evoke a curved bell flower shape.
Two smooth, form-hugging iron pauldrons adorn her shoulders, sweepingly angular at the corners off her arms. They connect to a simple, half-breastplate which decoratively protects her chest. Both parts together are stylized with a tone of light-weight and regal simplicity.
A bazahn loosely wraps around her armsl, floating slightly off of her body. The ends of it hang freely around her wrists, then loop upward over her forearms, then sprout off of her biceps. The bulk of the bazahn hovers behind Huian, at around shoulder height, where it helps to frame her head and appearance. Its texture is silk, and its painted in a beautiful three tone color scheme: the ends start off in reds/oranges, then translate into veltrony yellows/golds, meeting in the middle with windy whites/blues.
She has two wrapping, lightly green colored vambraces upon her arms. Iron plates plates neatly meet the cloth wrapping underneath, extending down to the fingerless-gauntlets that protect her hands. While made for some protection, they're built to obviously allow maximum flexibility without interference.
An interlocking, wrapped sky blue belt tightens her waistline. It has small holster hooks on the sides of her hips. Her dress continues downward, forming into two stylistic, slittled spirals. They twist around Huian's legs, meeting with her pants and tucking in with her boots. The pants themselves are somewhat baggy/cushiony, emphasizing comfort before other ideas. Their ends are tucked into her solid, veltron-brown sandal-boots. The boots themselves are protective and functional, covering her feet, but their topside covering maintains the traditional Nerzin sandal motif.
Two large, bladed discs forged from mana-steel hang upon her belt's hooks. A lustruous, brown wooden handle along the inner disc have deep, gold engravings. Stylized in the flowing manner of water lilies, the relief of the lilies themselves are embedded with tiny, high quality gems representing the four elements. The weapons themselves are, while functional, treated with such care and attention to detail as to become works of art themselves.

Mental characteristics

Gender Identity

Female

Sexuality

Heterosexual

Education

A strong appetite for knowledge built off a strong, take-care-of-business mentality has ever aided Huian. The hardship of nomadic living sculpted her, and the Clear Skies sect's vast libraries are what fed her. To read and study, more than any other, defined her work within the sect. Since she demanded relatively little and respected the works, she soon had almost all of the sect's knowings to herself. Combined with teachers all too glad to help such a bright mind, and she achieved probably one of the best educations one could ask for.
Pursuing immortality of any kind requires constant willingness to learn, though. So Huian continued even after venturing beyond her sect, reading and consuming all sorts of incredible works. Combined with her newfound hands-on experiences, and she has a depth of knowledge well beyond her years.

Intellectual Characteristics

Highly analytical, Huian's studious mind dissects the world around her. She perhaps spends more time in the workings of things than the actual, practical reality they exist within. So it is she's incredibly capable of breaking apart situations, problems, or other things and getting to the root matter. When things start working outside of her understanding or expectations, though, it can blindside her.
She does, however, enjoy new things coming and changing her understandings. A vital willingness to explore, encounter, and interact with these is what helps keep her in motion. Huian can, however, come to quickly categorize things in ways that aren't all that helpful. That is, without holistic understanding of what a thing is, or its contexts, she may misinterpret how it actually exists.

Morality & Philosophy

The entirety of Huian's worldly views concern the idea of harmony. All things coming into an accord where 'discord' (violence, strife, disruption, etc) is minimal or nonexistent. To such ends, a structured understanding of existence followed, trying to place everything somewhere 'proper'. It is a very common idea within Nerzin's cultural minds, but one that ever expresses itself differently. Like magic, what harmony is changes greatly upon the person trying to realize it.
Her approach fundamentally fell apart when Velandra's uprising began. When the extent of how much corruption and evil came from her ideals was revealed, it shocked her deeply. Rather than believe people had failed, Huian believed her design had instead. She returned to meditation, contemplating what had gone wrong. While she still continued to reject discord, she understood a measure of it was necessary.
Nature, after all, had both in equal and harmonious parts. It is from that realization she began reshaping her philosophy, and building a new ideology.
The harmony she sought required an interchangeable nature; a way of adjusting to problems that time wrought. Such an approach may be simple to hear, but it dramatically opposed the status quo Nerzin existed under. Huian's struggle ever since has been to find what needs changing, and how to handle the discordant nature it entails. Doing so has made her countless enemies among the hardliner traditionalists. The new generations, however, have taken to her words like a lifeline.

Divine Classification

Immortal – Heavenly Core

Current Location

Nerzin

Honorary & Occupational Titles

Tranquility as an idea is one of spiritual and intellectual harmony, achieving an undisturbed state upon the mind. Huian's diligent practice and introspection bore her great success in achieving it, so much so it's as natural as breathing to her. Such a capable regard is indeed the hallmark of a mistress, and Huian stands among her highest peers in such a regard.

Year of Birth

2238 TD 197 Years old

Gender

Female

Eyes

Round, slightly curved eyes; Amber iris with hints of red, white sclera

Hair

Dark Golden Brown; Chin-length bowl cut styling. Two braided bundles frame each side of her face; left is fiery red and windy gray, right is watery blue and veltrony yellow.

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Richly brown with slight tones toward the lighter spectrum

Height

Medium

Weight

Medium