Post by Admin of Genesis on May 17, 2013 2:19:55 GMT -5
As a general rule, RPers are not allowed to have a character with any real political power out of the gate. National leaders, leaders of influential orders, generals, royalty, advisors, etc. will not be allowed for new characters. Low to mid-level government positions will be allowed assuming that the RPer demonstrates sufficient skill with their bio, or an established character if making an alt. There will, however, be a cast of characters that will not make regular appearances and are only to be controlled by admins. These NPCs will largely be used and appear for plot reasons. No RPer may make a character that fulfills the same or a similar role to the ones listed below.
List of Key NPCs:
Avatar Xuan Wu
The current Avatar and native of the Earth Kingdom, Avatar Xuan Wu has only become a fully realized Avatar within the last few years. He is twenty-two years old, with the yellow-bronze skin typical of many Earthbenders, and brown eyes. He has long, unruly black hair that extends to his waist that refuses to stay tied or in any kind of formal style. Like many Earthbenders, Avatar Xuan Wu prefers to go barefoot and bare-chested whenever possible. Wears a pair of faded, deep green pants that look nearly ragged, as well as traditional jade cuffs on his wrists and ankles. Often referred to as "the scruffiest Avatar since the Cycle began."
Avatar Xuan Wu has seen the danger of the invading spirits during his travels among the people, and is thus the strongest proponent of providing a unified front to combat their spreading influence. This is often problematic for the Avatar because he has no patience to put with all the rampant bureaucracy when any and all wasted time puts more innocent people in danger. Like all the Avatars, he is a genuinely good man, though his lack of patience and blunt way of dealing with problems makes him enemies at times. He often tries to take on too much responsibility on his own, often pushing himself to exhaustion.
Fire Lord Zujin
A clever man who is more than willing to make the hard decisions, Fire Lord Zujin has been on the throne for more than three decades. He rules justly and with fairness, but is a tough master that demands excellence from his servants and his people. He doesn't stymie his people's cultural expression, but will not stand for any challenges to his power or the right for one of his children to succeed him on the throne. He recognizes the threat of the invading spirits and supports the Avatar's efforts. However, his inherent ambition has compelled him to seek the position of commander of any allied forces while the Avatar is in the field. He takes great pride in his accomplishments and the accomplishments of his family in the past and present. He cares a great deal how history will remember his reign and his family's reputation. He is a very powerful Firebender, and is recognized as the third most powerful Firebender in the world behind the Avatar and one other.
Earth King Shi Huang
The Earth King is an old, stubborn, and very intelligent man. He rules very effectively, and often travels around the city and speaks to travelers to make sure his orders are being followed around the Kingdom. While effective, no one has any particular love or hate for their king. He gets the job done and he doesn't abuse them like some past monarch have done, but neither does he coddle or go out of the way to assist his people that are in need. While described as a pleasant and rather jovial man to those who know him well, he believes that overcoming hardships are the only true way to build strong people and trying to help them only harms them in the long run. Important to note, however, is that Earth King Shi Huang does not tolerate the strong preying on the weak and taking more than their fair share, despite the complaints of the nobility and richer merchants that they deserve more. This has led to a strong economy and allowed most of the people to flourish. Still, there is a persistent, non-insignificant poverty issue throughout the Kingdom, people who could be great but can't move beyond their circumstances through no fault of their own.
The Earth King does not micromanage the Earth Kingdom, instead providing a broad vision and overarching set of standards and then allowing the regional governors a fair degree of autonomy. He requires all government officials to pass an extensive and thorough Civil Servants Exam to earn their positions, the ones who score the best earning great power (like "king" of the second-greatest city in the Kingdom, Omashu) and the lowest-scoring examinees only earning low titles like magistrate of a provincial town. The Earth King also has a habit of removing someone forcefully from their position if they fail to live up to their service.
Typically gets along well with the Avatar, and the two are good friends. However, they clash often and repeatedly on the King's treatment of the destitute citizens (the Avatar himself was born into a poor farming village) and his position on allying forces against the invading spirits. The Earth King had some of the Earth Sages and nuns from the Eastern Air Temple place warding seals within the outer walls of Ba Sing Se to keep out the Spirits. He is confident that the walls cannot be penetrated and that his people need only to flee within the massive space within the great walls to be safe if it ever came to that necessity. (The walls have never been tested, however.)
While not an Earthbender himself, he possesses many of their traditional attributes, like their stubbornness and adherence to tradition and protocol.
Northern Chief Anawak
Chief of the Northern Water Tribe, Anawak is an elder man bound to tradition and at the same time an inspiring leader and warrior for his people. While capable of dealing with changing circumstances, the Northern Chief is primarily concerned with keeping his people safe and finding a way to maintain traditional values of the Northern Water Tribe, including traditional gender roles. He isn't a bad man, he just believes that you shouldn't change a system that has worked for centuries and invite in chaos. He does his best to meet with his people and hear their complaints directly. Is aware of the problem with the incursions from the Spirit world, but rejects the Avatar's efforts for a unified force. He believes every Nation and Tribe should focus only on keeping themselves safe.
Southern Chief Karetak
Chief Karetak is young man that trained in Waterbending alongside Avatar Xuan Wu and became fast friends with the Avatar. Having only recently taken over the mantle of Chief from his ailing father, Karetak is primarily concerned with consolidating his power and winning the trust of his people at the moment. He is a master sailor and strong Waterbender, and is the leader of the Southern Water Tribe's Navy and the first to rush to his Tribe's defense. He is often described as the polar opposite of Northern Chief Anawak, seeking to go with the flow and promote positive change among his people. He has even allowed girls gifted in Waterbending to learn the Southern style of the martial art instead of limiting them to only learning healing like they do in the Northern Tribe. Chief Karetak even welcomes women from the Northern Tribe who want to seek greater freedom or to learn Waterbending to his Tribe, something that puts him at constant odds with Northern Chief Anawak. He fully supports the efforts of his friend, the Avatar, in creating a unified force to combat the incursions from the Spirit World. He believes strongly in not just adapting to change, but in being a force for change and growth in the world.
Southern Elder Tsultrim
Leader of the Council of Elders leading the Southern Air Temple and the head of the Air Sages, Tsultrim is an Airbender like all of his people. While fiercely intelligent and unfailingly wise, Tsultrim is one of the most eccentric of the Air Nomad Elders. He loves games and spends a great deal of time mentoring and playing with the young Airbenders-in-training. He guides the boys as they grow and helps them retain a sense of wonder and joy even as they explore a dangerous and cynical world. He loves to have a good time, and is the only Air Nomad Elder to organize and throw parties outside of established festivals. His presence is welcomed at all the other Air Temples and the courts of the other Nations' leaders. He personally trained the Avatar in Airbending, and the young Xuan Wu looks up to Tsultrim as a treasured mentor and source of counsel. Tsultrim supports the Avatar's efforts to create an allied force, but stresses that only hostile spirits should be fought, and even then only in defense. He gets along especially well with Southern Chief Karetak.
Northern Elder Keizang
Leader of the Council of Elders leading the Northern Air Temple, Keizang is an Airbender like all of his people. He is a deeply spiritual and serious man, believing that being alive is such a serious gift that no moment should pass by in frivolity. He does not force those ideals on the other Air Nomads, not even the men of his Temple, but demands that everyone be serious and respectful when seeking his aid or his wisdom. He has instituted a mandatory one hour of silence for meditation two hours after dawn, and two hours after dusk. Elder Keizang helped the leader of the Earth Sages teach Avatar Xuan Wu to learn discipline and master the Avatar State. Keizang does not necessarily oppose the efforts of the Avatar, but thinks that the time for martial force is too soon. He advocates that the Avatar and other spiritually-inclined individuals seek to contact the Spirit World and get them to cease hostilities through negotiations.
Western Elder Sonam
Leader of the Council of Elders leading the Western Air Temple, Sonam is an Airbender like all of her people. She is a kind, gentle woman that abhors all forms of violence. She teaches the girls of her temple the principles of charity and compassion, and often leads humanitarian expeditions from all four Air Temples to help the poor, sick, and downtrodden of the world. She treats practically everyone she meets with grandmotherly affection, especially the Avatar, who she treats as her own special project. She does all she can to nurture the tender warmth in his heart during this trying time. She doesn't want her Temple or people to fight with the Avatar against the invading Spirits, but will not stop anyone wishes to help. Sonam merely urges her charges to provide aid and help the innocents afflicted by the Spirits' wrath, only to fight if there is no other way to immediately prevent the loss of life. While she abhors violence, and won't even fight to save her own life, she is one of the fiercest Airbender warriors when her charges are threatened.
Eastern Elder Yonten
Leader of the Council of Elders leading the Eastern Air Temple, Yonten is an Airbender like all of her people. She is a strict and tenacious woman who works for the benefit of all her charges. She is kind and will do anything to help someone who needs it, but rarely shows any outward signs of that inner caring. She is a gracious hostess, but will not put up with any lying or other forms of bullshit. She has a lot of patience despite her temper and will never truly give up on anyone, traits born from a lifetime of helping to raise the Sky Bison that all the Air Nomad children receive. While she reveres all life and adheres to the principle of violence only for defense, Yonten has no problem with attacking an enemy that will definitely attack innocent people or her charges. She fully supports the Avatar's efforts, and has often worked beside the Avatar on diplomatic journeys to build the allied forces. Beyond colleagues, Yonten often acts like the Avatar's surrogate aunt, supporting him and giving him encouragement when he needs it. When not helping the Avatar build the allied force, leading the Eastern Air Temple's Council of Elders, or assisting with the raising of Sky Bison, Yonten has been researching the Air Nomad archives to find a way to take the fight to the Spirits to help prevent the loss of innocent life.
This list is NOT exhaustive and will be added to as other influential characters are revealed in the story. Also, we are aware that in the original series a Grand Lotus was merely a high rank and not the Order's leader. However, we needed a title for the leader and this is what was chosen.
List of Key NPCs:
Avatar Xuan Wu
The current Avatar and native of the Earth Kingdom, Avatar Xuan Wu has only become a fully realized Avatar within the last few years. He is twenty-two years old, with the yellow-bronze skin typical of many Earthbenders, and brown eyes. He has long, unruly black hair that extends to his waist that refuses to stay tied or in any kind of formal style. Like many Earthbenders, Avatar Xuan Wu prefers to go barefoot and bare-chested whenever possible. Wears a pair of faded, deep green pants that look nearly ragged, as well as traditional jade cuffs on his wrists and ankles. Often referred to as "the scruffiest Avatar since the Cycle began."
Avatar Xuan Wu has seen the danger of the invading spirits during his travels among the people, and is thus the strongest proponent of providing a unified front to combat their spreading influence. This is often problematic for the Avatar because he has no patience to put with all the rampant bureaucracy when any and all wasted time puts more innocent people in danger. Like all the Avatars, he is a genuinely good man, though his lack of patience and blunt way of dealing with problems makes him enemies at times. He often tries to take on too much responsibility on his own, often pushing himself to exhaustion.
Fire Lord Zujin
A clever man who is more than willing to make the hard decisions, Fire Lord Zujin has been on the throne for more than three decades. He rules justly and with fairness, but is a tough master that demands excellence from his servants and his people. He doesn't stymie his people's cultural expression, but will not stand for any challenges to his power or the right for one of his children to succeed him on the throne. He recognizes the threat of the invading spirits and supports the Avatar's efforts. However, his inherent ambition has compelled him to seek the position of commander of any allied forces while the Avatar is in the field. He takes great pride in his accomplishments and the accomplishments of his family in the past and present. He cares a great deal how history will remember his reign and his family's reputation. He is a very powerful Firebender, and is recognized as the third most powerful Firebender in the world behind the Avatar and one other.
Earth King Shi Huang
The Earth King is an old, stubborn, and very intelligent man. He rules very effectively, and often travels around the city and speaks to travelers to make sure his orders are being followed around the Kingdom. While effective, no one has any particular love or hate for their king. He gets the job done and he doesn't abuse them like some past monarch have done, but neither does he coddle or go out of the way to assist his people that are in need. While described as a pleasant and rather jovial man to those who know him well, he believes that overcoming hardships are the only true way to build strong people and trying to help them only harms them in the long run. Important to note, however, is that Earth King Shi Huang does not tolerate the strong preying on the weak and taking more than their fair share, despite the complaints of the nobility and richer merchants that they deserve more. This has led to a strong economy and allowed most of the people to flourish. Still, there is a persistent, non-insignificant poverty issue throughout the Kingdom, people who could be great but can't move beyond their circumstances through no fault of their own.
The Earth King does not micromanage the Earth Kingdom, instead providing a broad vision and overarching set of standards and then allowing the regional governors a fair degree of autonomy. He requires all government officials to pass an extensive and thorough Civil Servants Exam to earn their positions, the ones who score the best earning great power (like "king" of the second-greatest city in the Kingdom, Omashu) and the lowest-scoring examinees only earning low titles like magistrate of a provincial town. The Earth King also has a habit of removing someone forcefully from their position if they fail to live up to their service.
Typically gets along well with the Avatar, and the two are good friends. However, they clash often and repeatedly on the King's treatment of the destitute citizens (the Avatar himself was born into a poor farming village) and his position on allying forces against the invading spirits. The Earth King had some of the Earth Sages and nuns from the Eastern Air Temple place warding seals within the outer walls of Ba Sing Se to keep out the Spirits. He is confident that the walls cannot be penetrated and that his people need only to flee within the massive space within the great walls to be safe if it ever came to that necessity. (The walls have never been tested, however.)
While not an Earthbender himself, he possesses many of their traditional attributes, like their stubbornness and adherence to tradition and protocol.
Northern Chief Anawak
Chief of the Northern Water Tribe, Anawak is an elder man bound to tradition and at the same time an inspiring leader and warrior for his people. While capable of dealing with changing circumstances, the Northern Chief is primarily concerned with keeping his people safe and finding a way to maintain traditional values of the Northern Water Tribe, including traditional gender roles. He isn't a bad man, he just believes that you shouldn't change a system that has worked for centuries and invite in chaos. He does his best to meet with his people and hear their complaints directly. Is aware of the problem with the incursions from the Spirit world, but rejects the Avatar's efforts for a unified force. He believes every Nation and Tribe should focus only on keeping themselves safe.
Southern Chief Karetak
Chief Karetak is young man that trained in Waterbending alongside Avatar Xuan Wu and became fast friends with the Avatar. Having only recently taken over the mantle of Chief from his ailing father, Karetak is primarily concerned with consolidating his power and winning the trust of his people at the moment. He is a master sailor and strong Waterbender, and is the leader of the Southern Water Tribe's Navy and the first to rush to his Tribe's defense. He is often described as the polar opposite of Northern Chief Anawak, seeking to go with the flow and promote positive change among his people. He has even allowed girls gifted in Waterbending to learn the Southern style of the martial art instead of limiting them to only learning healing like they do in the Northern Tribe. Chief Karetak even welcomes women from the Northern Tribe who want to seek greater freedom or to learn Waterbending to his Tribe, something that puts him at constant odds with Northern Chief Anawak. He fully supports the efforts of his friend, the Avatar, in creating a unified force to combat the incursions from the Spirit World. He believes strongly in not just adapting to change, but in being a force for change and growth in the world.
Southern Elder Tsultrim
Leader of the Council of Elders leading the Southern Air Temple and the head of the Air Sages, Tsultrim is an Airbender like all of his people. While fiercely intelligent and unfailingly wise, Tsultrim is one of the most eccentric of the Air Nomad Elders. He loves games and spends a great deal of time mentoring and playing with the young Airbenders-in-training. He guides the boys as they grow and helps them retain a sense of wonder and joy even as they explore a dangerous and cynical world. He loves to have a good time, and is the only Air Nomad Elder to organize and throw parties outside of established festivals. His presence is welcomed at all the other Air Temples and the courts of the other Nations' leaders. He personally trained the Avatar in Airbending, and the young Xuan Wu looks up to Tsultrim as a treasured mentor and source of counsel. Tsultrim supports the Avatar's efforts to create an allied force, but stresses that only hostile spirits should be fought, and even then only in defense. He gets along especially well with Southern Chief Karetak.
Northern Elder Keizang
Leader of the Council of Elders leading the Northern Air Temple, Keizang is an Airbender like all of his people. He is a deeply spiritual and serious man, believing that being alive is such a serious gift that no moment should pass by in frivolity. He does not force those ideals on the other Air Nomads, not even the men of his Temple, but demands that everyone be serious and respectful when seeking his aid or his wisdom. He has instituted a mandatory one hour of silence for meditation two hours after dawn, and two hours after dusk. Elder Keizang helped the leader of the Earth Sages teach Avatar Xuan Wu to learn discipline and master the Avatar State. Keizang does not necessarily oppose the efforts of the Avatar, but thinks that the time for martial force is too soon. He advocates that the Avatar and other spiritually-inclined individuals seek to contact the Spirit World and get them to cease hostilities through negotiations.
Western Elder Sonam
Leader of the Council of Elders leading the Western Air Temple, Sonam is an Airbender like all of her people. She is a kind, gentle woman that abhors all forms of violence. She teaches the girls of her temple the principles of charity and compassion, and often leads humanitarian expeditions from all four Air Temples to help the poor, sick, and downtrodden of the world. She treats practically everyone she meets with grandmotherly affection, especially the Avatar, who she treats as her own special project. She does all she can to nurture the tender warmth in his heart during this trying time. She doesn't want her Temple or people to fight with the Avatar against the invading Spirits, but will not stop anyone wishes to help. Sonam merely urges her charges to provide aid and help the innocents afflicted by the Spirits' wrath, only to fight if there is no other way to immediately prevent the loss of life. While she abhors violence, and won't even fight to save her own life, she is one of the fiercest Airbender warriors when her charges are threatened.
Eastern Elder Yonten
Leader of the Council of Elders leading the Eastern Air Temple, Yonten is an Airbender like all of her people. She is a strict and tenacious woman who works for the benefit of all her charges. She is kind and will do anything to help someone who needs it, but rarely shows any outward signs of that inner caring. She is a gracious hostess, but will not put up with any lying or other forms of bullshit. She has a lot of patience despite her temper and will never truly give up on anyone, traits born from a lifetime of helping to raise the Sky Bison that all the Air Nomad children receive. While she reveres all life and adheres to the principle of violence only for defense, Yonten has no problem with attacking an enemy that will definitely attack innocent people or her charges. She fully supports the Avatar's efforts, and has often worked beside the Avatar on diplomatic journeys to build the allied forces. Beyond colleagues, Yonten often acts like the Avatar's surrogate aunt, supporting him and giving him encouragement when he needs it. When not helping the Avatar build the allied force, leading the Eastern Air Temple's Council of Elders, or assisting with the raising of Sky Bison, Yonten has been researching the Air Nomad archives to find a way to take the fight to the Spirits to help prevent the loss of innocent life.
This list is NOT exhaustive and will be added to as other influential characters are revealed in the story. Also, we are aware that in the original series a Grand Lotus was merely a high rank and not the Order's leader. However, we needed a title for the leader and this is what was chosen.