Character Name: Tao-Zhen Tsong
________________________________________
Apparent Age: 24
________________________________________
Origin: China
________________________________________
Race: Hydra Demon
________________________________________
Height: 5'7" (Hydra - 30'6" long)
________________________________________
Weight: 148lbs (Hydra - 6 tons)
________________________________________
Physical Description: Despite the actual temperature outside, Tao-Zhen will dress warm or cold as she pleases. Her demon form initially has seven heads and the scales carry a deeper shade of blue (close to black).
________________________________________
Known Relatives:
Xue Tsong (Adoptive Mother - Alive)
________________________________________
Skills: Basic domestic skills. Advanced Tai Chi-evolved martial art (think water-bending). Dancing. Able to speak and write in both the Chinese and English languages.
________________________________________
Abilities:
Water Adept: Ability to breathe, speak and fight underwater.
Temperature Control: Ability to alter her own bodily temperature at will.
Energy Sense: Ability to detect nearby energy signatures and strength.
High resistance to Water attacks. Immune to poison. Able to absorb water and poison.
________________________________________
Alignment: Neutral Good
________________________________________
Personality: Tao-Zhen is strange, but can generally be seen bearing a bright disposition. At times, she can be excitable, reclusive, bouncy or just plain odd. Her mind bounces from topic to topic as if it were constantly firing on all cylinders. This likely attributes to her clumsy, and sometimes forgetful, nature. Tao-Zhen never shows fear, a promise she made to herself and her mother bars her from doing so.
________________________________________
Powers: Superhuman statistics, Demon Form, Advanced Water & Poison manipulation, Regeneration, Multiple Heads.
________________________________________
Restrictions:
Stats double whilst in Demon Form. Water and poison (both in liquid and mist form) can be created and controlled. Water manipulation and creation becomes difficult, but still possible, in especially arid regions. Higher water pressure requires higher concentration.
When submerged in bodies of water (lakes or larger) her regenerative properties excel. Extended rests within water allow greater recoveries, such as replacing limbs. An injury that extensive would take a couple days, however. Normally, in her humanoid form, she cannot regenerate limbs; only injuries such as broken bones, cuts, wounds, etc. This regeneration may take minutes to hours depending on the injury’s severity.
Tao-Zhen’s blood and bites are poisonous, and thus, does not affect her. The blood is caustic enough to burn flesh and tough skin. Tao-Zhen is immune to poison, but purifying her blood within causes immense pain. Recovery from this takes time.
Multiple Heads is the hydra’s legendary ability to grow two heads in the place of one severed head. Tao-Zhen does posses the Hydra’s ability to regrow multiple heads, but ONLY in her Demon Form. Each head can attack individually and coordinates with the others. Each regeneration costs her energy, making this ability limited in its use. After reaching the point of exhaustion, Tao-Zhen will revert back to her humanoid form in a weakened state.
________________________________________
Stats:
Strength: 33
Durability: 25
Speed: 30
Agility: 35
Stamina: 20
Natural Ability: 45
________________________________________
Special Techniques:
Melt: While in humanoid form, she can hide her presence entirely when she is submerged in water. She cannot attack while hiding herself; she must reveal herself to launch any sort of attack.
Hydroplane: Tao-Zhen creates water to skate upon at high speeds. Typically used to move quickly across short distances or use the water in her wake to attack.
Water Pressure: Ability to create small and large quantities of water or poison. Smaller sized attacks can be used for cutting, piercing or blunt damage, and are usually used in close-combat. Large quantities deal impact damage and are used in medium/long range combat. Water and poison can be created with hand & leg motions, or from the mouth.
White/Green Mist: Instead of a liquid, she emits a mist that can be used as cover. White mists consist of water vapor, while green mists are coated with poison. Tao-Zhen can see through the mist, and detect presences within its proximity.
Life Spring: Tao-Zhen uses her own energy to heal another. Quick healing allows for status recovery. With proper concentration and enough time, she can heal ailments such as broken bones, deep gashes and severe injuries.
________________________________________
Super Techniques:
Aqua/Acid Bomb: Tao-Zhen gathers energy at the mouth of each of her heads and jettisons massive balls of high pressure water or acidic poison bombs. Not to be confused with spitting water/poison. These bombs burst on contact with massive condensed energy of its type. Depending on her current number of heads, this attack may exhaust Tao-Zhen (See Restrictions for exhaustion).
________________________________________
Super Forms: Demon Form. Tao-Zhen takes the shape of a massive Hydra with seven heads.
________________________________________
Weapons and Precious Items:
Tao-Zhen prefers not to use weapons of any sort. She has no issue with others using them, but strongly declines them herself. She wears a hairpin on her left side; it is a memento of a lost mother figure. She protects it with her life.
________________________________________
Phobias: None
________________________________________
Illnesses: None
________________________________________
Sexual Preference: Straight
________________________________________
Occupation: Traveling Healer
________________________________________
History: Tao-Zhen never knew her family; she was orphaned at birth. She was adopted by a human as an infant. Xue was a kind mother who brought Tao-Zhen up with love comparable to a blood-related mother and daughter. Xue even bestowed Tao-Zhen with her name. Neither Xue nor Tao-Zhen knew of her demon blood until she turned 3. Tao-Zhen injured herself while playing and it was discovered that her blood burned when in contact with others. Xue had her promise to keep this a secret, as they lived in an oblivious human settlement.
When Tao-Zhen turned five, her village was raided by a band of powerful demons. The villagers who weren’t slain outright were captured as prisoners and sent off to be sold as slaves. Xue and Tao-Zhen were quickly separated, as she still had the body of a child. For five years, all Tao-Zhen knew was the interior of a cell. Her captors were cruel and neglectful. She would often face beatings and lessened food provisions for simply speaking. She closed herself in, showing no emotion. She only waited, feeling helpless against the army that stood at the prison’s walls; powerless in the face of her jailors.
This period was finally ended when she turned 10. One of the guards attempted to force himself on her. Apparently she was only to be kept alive as livestock, a breeding toy for their enjoyment and procreation. She was scared. She thought she would be killed. Death was of no consequence to her; she simply wanted to see her mother again someday. This brought forth her first transformation. Tao-Zhen became a large Hydra dragon. She devoured and murdered each the demon villagers within minutes. Her rage could not be quelled with simply escaping. When she came to, she lay within the shambles and ruins of the village. She started off immediately to locate her mother, praying she was still alive.
Two years passed before Tao-Zhen found her mother. Xue had undergone much harsher duress in their time apart. Her body was worn from physical and sexual abuse, her personality that once shined had dulled to a disparaging silence. As she had years ago, Tao-Zhen destroyed the demon’s village. This time, she did so in her humanoid form. She wanted to exert control, to show she had risen above the scum she laid to waste.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sweat trickled down Tao-Zhen's face. Her vision began to blur and her body felt weak. Her hands commanded a watery sheet that flowed over Xue's body in its entirety. Her skin returned to its beautiful, yet pale luster. The blemishes and bruises appeared to wash away. Her bones were mended and muscles were sewn back into place. It was as if the horrors of these past seven years were being driven out of her by some divine force. With an exhausted sigh, Tao dropped her hands to her mother's side to support herself. The woman before her lay eerily still in her bed.
Why? She had done everything. Everything that she could. She should be stabilizing. She should wake up. Was she too late? Tao hung her head in defeat. Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes. Nothing had changed. She was as helpless as she had been back in that damned prison cell. She clenched her fists and began to sob.
Soft. Something soft and warm brushed past her face and lifted her head. Tao's widened crystal eyes met with eyes of jade green.
"A girl as pretty as you shouldn't be crying..." She said weakly. Tao embraced her. The sobs only grew louder. The room was filled with the sounds of sorrowful, yet joyful cries. Minutes passed before she broke the hug.
"I'm so relieved... I thought you were going to die." Tao's voice was a mix of sadness and overjoy.
"I've been told I am too resilient for my own good." It was another of Xue's lame jokes. How she had missed them.
"All this time. I've wanted to see you so much!"Xue's smile shrank, but remained intact.
"Oh! Have we met before?"Tao-Zhen's world crumbled around her. What was that? What did she mean?
No... No no no... What the fuck is this? Some kind of twisted joke?! Everything she had gone through, all that waiting, all of the beatings, the torture, the degradation... What was it all for if she couldn't meet her mother? What the hell was it all for...
"Miss...?" Before she knew it, Xue had moved to the side of the bed and sat in front of her. Tears were again streaming down her cheeks.
"Oh, come now. What did I just tell you?" She wiped Tao's face dry. Tao brought her hand up and held Xue's.
"I'm sorry. I'm just glad you're alive." Her body trembled at the lie. At the situation itself.
"I thank you for taking care of me, but I don't know if I can pay you. I've lived a sufficient life, you see. What happened to me?"Each word pierced through Tao's heart like a dagger. She couldn't bear to see her like this, but she had to.
"...You fell from a horse and lost consciousness. You should be alright after some rest. Do not worry about payment. Your health is priority." All of her strength was concentrated toward not running. She had to stay and see what had become of Xue.
To this, the stranger smiled warmly.
"You are so sweet. Are you the doctor's daughter? I was to have one myself years ago... If she were still with me, I wonder if she would have your beauty?" She pulled her hair back to reveal a light blue hairpin. Tao gasped upon seeing it. She had given her mother that very pin; a mere two days before they were separated. Xue removed the clip and adjusted Tao-Zhen's hair.
"There! Keep that pretty hair out of your eyes. Your face deserves to be seen!"Tao dove into her mother's chest. All this time, she had been waiting. Both of them thought only of each other. Xue held out as long as she could. If only she hadn't been so afraid. If only she hadn't been so weak...
"I'm sorry... I'll won't ever be afraid again! I promise!" She hadn't lost everything. She hadn't found what she wanted, but she was alive. That was enough.
Xue hugged the girl with a soft, confused expression.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
This was centuries ago. To this day, Tao wears her mother's pin.
________________________________________
Status: Alive
