Behold, the placeholder...which shall be completed piecemeal.<br/><br/>Name: Wu Zhishen ("Sagacious Wu")<br/>Concept: Disillusioned Scholar<br/><br/>Appearance: Wu Zhishen is not a very impressive fellow, being a little shorter and a little plumper than the average Chou.  He has a round face and unruly hair that invariably resists any attempt to keep it neat.  His sartorial arrangements are much simpler than the used to be--he now favors hard-wearing, practical garb to the fancier robes of his days at the school of his ex-master.<br/><br/>History:  Wu Zhishen used to be, in another life and another name, the youngest son of a well-to-do minor nobleman.  When he showed some promise as a scholar, his father reluctantly changed his plans and allowed  the boy to attend a distant school.  While there, he became acquainted with Mohism and, in a burst of youthful enthusiasm, abandoned his studies to fall in with a local temple dedicated to the pacifistic way of brotherly harmony.  This got him expelled from his studies, disowned by his family, and generally in hot water after he found out that he wasn't really cut out for a life of virtuous poverty.  Still, he did his best to stick to it and live by his new creed, he really did.<br/><br/>At least until the attack.  It might have been bandits, or a raid, or a local warlord who didn't care for Mohists, but one day he returned from an punitive errand to find his compatriots all slain and their home in flames.  He did what he could for the dying, buried the fallen, and wandered away.  For reasons he himself cannot clearly articulate, he set aside the pen and scroll for the sword that day and went in search of a truly just realm to serve.<br/><br/>His ambitions are barred by three things: legalism is too harsh, mohism is too idealistic for this chaotic age, and he is no longer blind to the costs of living the good life he desires.  Nightly his former fellows visit him to chastise him for his failings, for not being there, for not having done enough...and his old master is the worst of these!<br/><br/><br/><br/>Aspects:<br/>Metal - 3<br/>Water - 3<br/>Fire - 3<br/>Wood - 4<br/>Earth - 3<br/><br/>Balance 1<br/><br/>Gift and Weakness:<br/>Favorite of Wen Chang (Literature)<br/>Haunted Soul<br/><br/>Skills (by Aspect):<br/>Metal: Art of War 1, Hand to Hand 1, Improvisation 1, Jianshu 2, Qiangshu 1, Gongshu 1<br/>Water: Dodging 1<br/>Fire: Eloquence 1, Etiquette 1, Heraldry 1<br/>Wood: History 2, Calligraphy 1, Literature 1, Science 1<br/>Earth: Legends 1, Empathy 1, Meditation 1<br/><br/>Taos: (11 points total)<br/>Tao of the Light Step - Sure Footed 1<br/>Tao of the Clear Mind - The Tranquil Mind 2<br/>Tao of Yin and Yang - Controller of Energy 2<br/>Tao of the Inner Eye - The Keen Eye 1<br/>Tao of the Thousand Bees - Throw 1<br/>Tao of the Sudden Lightning - Vigilance 1<br/>Tao of the Breath of Power - The Improvised Shield 1<br/><br/>Combat Techniques:<br/>Hand to Hand Throw 1<br/>Jiangshu: Direct Hit, Total Block, Trap<br/>Qiangshu: Repel<br/><br/><br/>Breath of Life: 19<br/>7 - Normal<br/>5 - Bruised<br/>4 - Slightly injured<br/>2 - Serious injured<br/>1 - Fatally injured<br/><br/>Chi: 18<br/>Passive Defense: 9<br/>Reknown: 2<br/><br/>XP Log<br/><br/>Qiangshu (spears, etc): spears and polearms 1 (4)<br/>Gongshu (archery): any bow but not crossbow. 1 (4) 52<br/>Metal 3 (15 )  37<br/>Earth 3 (15)  22<br/>Meditation 1 (4) 10<br/>Jianshu 2 (8) 2<br/>Empathy 1 (4)<br/>Spear Technique: Repel (4)<br/>2 banked<br/>