Maru Bio

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Maru is the youngest of Dokura Ibeshi's two children. Unlike his older sister, Maru wasn't assigned a future job at an early age and as such lacks the specialized experience and training Rani had at his age.  He has been mostly left to his own devices, and is still in school trying to figure out what he wants to do when his schooling ends. He has a more distant relationship with his famous mother, who spends most of her time trying to keep Rani under control.  As a result he often feels more ignored and instead looks to his sister for advice and comfort as he tries to find his place in the world.

The Spider

Art by http://kopianget.deviantart.com/

Will skip the concept for this one for the time being, and give her brief bio. Not as indepth as some of the other ones but that is because of her role in the story.  

The woman known as The Spider was once a promising fighter in Zhu society, seen as someone who would one day becoming a legendary martial artist due to her unique abilities and skills.  But following problems in her life she turned away from society and became a deadly fighter feared in distant lands.  No one knows what exactly she was doing in her absence, but the woman that came back was changed and beneath her polite actions were always sinister undertones.  She hangs around high society once more, but many feel she is plotting something and all fear the venom that her name implies.

Empress Formal

And the finished pic of the formal/ceremonial Empress.

It will have it's own sprites for certain moments within the VN, and will be one of a few variants the character will have throughout the story.

Art by http://www.startwo.net/index.html

As always visit http://www.bookofzhu.com/

Ing Rao Bio

Art by http://kopianget.deviantart.com/

A Tribal by birth Ing Rao spent her childhood in the jungles outside of the Empire. There she was trained to be a hunter, not only to catch food but to help defend her tribe from the various beasts and monsters that roam the wilderness.  As a young teenager she was hunting by herself when she wandered into a nearby village, there her life was changed forever when she met a retired chef once renown all throughout the Empire.  She returned every day and soon became his student, learning the cooking art of his family and using her hunting skills to gain more exotic ingredients for them to make use of.  As the years passed she became both a master chef and hunter/tracker, soon picking up his former name as she began to travel the Empire crafting dishes desired by even the highest nobles and foreign leaders. She continues to do so despite constant requests to hire her permanently, she instead focuses on building her knowledge and skills and increasing the honor of her art by attempting to craft a dish worthy of going down in their peoples legends. 

Ing Rao concept

art by Kopi

As evidenced by some of the other characters I like to showcase different aspects of society with some of these characters.  With Ing Rao the idea was to showcase a few different things at once through her. For background wanted someone that had a connection with Tribals since otherwise they wouldn't have a real presence, so she was created to sort of be a bridge between tribal communities and the main society of the empire. Most of the Visual Novel handles the concept of honor and family traditions through martial arts but I wanted to have a way to show there are other aspects besides that.  So adapted an old idea for a monster hunter who hunts exotic beasts to use for her hobby of cooking, into Ing Rao who is a famous chef and hunter.  The darker skin and different dress style was made to help distinguish her from those from the main parts of the Empire.

Xiao Quan Bio

Art by http://kopianget.deviantart.com/

Born to two lesser nobles she was groomed from as soon as she could talk to interact with the various factions and nations that involve themselves with the Empire. She was schooled and trained by them to be an ambassador of sorts with other nations as well helping to broker deals with the various guilds and groups. Unfortunately for them she never had much interest in that or anything else they tried to have her focus on. She was instead fascinated by the world of martial arts, starting one she saw an exhibition match between two local heroes. She fell in love with martial arts at that moment and would do anything to see more; she collected countless books and went to every tournament and event that she could.  By the time she was 13 she had an encyclopedia like knowledge of the fighting styles of her region as well as the techniques and family lines of various fighters.  While her parents supported her interest as a hobby they didn't allow her to actually pursue her dream of being a fighter herself.  Eventually she had enough of not being allowed to chase her dream, and with the help of her loyal retainer she ran away from her home in pursuit of dream of a martial arts adventure.

Eraeli Bio

Art by Henry

From a land beyond even the farthest corners of the Empire, Eraeli is known to her people as a Vahun-Raat. Meaning Child of the Gods, the Vahun-Raat are individuals given blessings from the gods of the land which for Eraeli meant a third eye.  The only one within her clan she was at one point being primed to be a spiritual leader of sorts, but instead found her true calling as the Avatar of Crafting.  Using her third eye to perceive and understand the true potential of anything (or anyone) she sees, Eraeli has become the most respected blacksmith within her lands as well as an excellent coach for aspiring hunters and warriors.  Eventually growing bored with her Vahun-Raat life she set out to go on an adventure to see distant lands, experience new techniques, craft with more exotic materials, and bring home new ideas and philosophies to her people.   During her travels she has already made quite a name for herself in other lands, with her unique abilities making her in high demand among the rich and powerful seeking someone to create the perfect monument or weapon in their honor. She finds herself in the Empire in hopes of gaining an audience with the Empress to fully explore Zhu materials and forge a weapon as a gesture of friendship from her distant people in case they ever have official contact.

Keiji Bio

Art by http://mahenbu.deviantart.com/

The Shima Clan had traditionally stayed passive in the wars that ravaged their land, a collection of religious villages that focused more on dealings with the spirit world.  Over time they found themselves dragged into conflict more and more, the changing nature of war and politics of the region slowly building up more and more enemy clans that sought their destruction.  Shima had no choice but to embrace the old ways once more, their summoners and samurai retrained for war over the last few generations to face these new conflicts and more than capable of going on the offensive.  This new more war ready Shima clan was the one that Keiji was born into, one of Boss Shima's several sons his life was a mix of luxury and bloodshed.  While not next in line for control he was still expected to be a leader and began fighting in the wars of his clan when he was barely even a teenager.  He had received the best of training and been augmented with old Shima relics to further his potential, awakening a deadly killing machine beneath his soft girly appearance.  Outside of battle the young Lord always seems happy and cheerful and more focused on romantic pursuits than any glory.  Any familiar with him know however that regardless of his personality his loyalty to his clan means he will do anything to protect and hidden under his feminine gaze are the eyes of a hardened killer. 

Rin

Art by Henry

Princess Rin Yin Qiao, heir to the throne of Xerathis and niece to the Zhu Empress.  Developing nine tails as a young child she was considered a blessing from the Great Mother herself, the future queen being one of the select few to develop the holy nine tails.  Such a heavenly birth of course led to high expectations, made even higher by the fact that her mother was one of the daughters of the Matriarch Xing Yi Qiao.  Rin lived up to the expectations in terms of magic potential and beauty, but that was where it ended.  Instead of the driven young princess people expected Rin enjoys the perks of her status with none of the responsibility.  She is notorious for avoiding her studies and training, instead focusing on her own pleasure and entertainment at all times.  When it comes with politics and other important meetings she has to be dragged in, and even then she is more likely to spend the time flirting instead of seriously considering what is being discussed.  After a while her parents had enough and she was sent to stay with the Empress for a while, in hopes that her aunt would be able to force some discipline on the girl and make her see the seriousness of the future.

Rani Bio

Art by Henry

Rani Ibeshi is the daughter of legendary warrior and Imperial retainer Dokura Ibeshi, as such she was born into the high caste society and specifically spent her whole life around nobility.  Very early on it was decided she was be like her mother and be the retainer for Princess Aya, everyone expecting her to live up to the job and be great example of such an important and honorable role.  She was a little rough as a child but everyone assumed it was just natural energy from her father, but as she grew it became clear she was far from the perfect woman they expected.  She was violent, loud, foul mouthed, and all around thuggish.  She was nothing like her mother outside of both of them being skilled at fighting, and most people regarded her as yet another delinquent or hoodlum.  But she never does things that are overtly criminal, with most of her violence being directed towards other troublemakers and her high borne status and Imperial connections give her more leeway then the average citizen anyway. A lot of things get said about her, people on all levels of society speaking ill of her and even her mother is concerned with the person she became; but despite that there is one thing that is agreed on.  She is a great fighter and she always is there for the Princess when needed; she may not be the woman everyone wanted, but she is a good retainer and friend to Aya.

Rani Concept

For Rani I knew I needed someone that was one of the other Zhu races, to help show some of the diversity of the Empire. So an Ethera made the most sense for a bodyguard type character, a natural berserker with a notably different look from the others.  From that idea I merged the idea that each of the royals has a main retainer as well as wanting Dokura to have some more development so turned Rani into one of her children.  Taking elements from her initial storyline and my love of anime to create sort of a thuggish delinquent type character.  With all of that in mind the last thing was the design itself, which me and Henry tried to create something very different from the other characters to fit that if it wasn't for her bloodline she would be just another thug; the trouble making daughter of a well respected woman.  So taking inspiration from punk fashion and mixing it with a sort of anime bully look we got her outfit and hair.

Takuya Bio

By Henry

High Priestess Niang was always thought to be keeping things from the rest of the government, but no one was prepared to see just how many. The raid on her temple revealed hundreds of scrolls and evidence of secret experiments, many of which while not officially illegal would have been made so if it was known. But the one that sparked the whole investigation was the experiment that managed to escape: a young boy named Takuya.  Takuya selective breeding and experiments done on him from a fetus up until he escaped as a preteen, creating someone with so much magic floating through his body that he was partially a mana construct himself.  He managed to escape from the temple he was housed in during a chaotic battle between the priestesses and an enemy faction, and eventually ended up near the palace as the Empress was passing. 

Takuya's only knowledge of the Empress had come from Niang and the other priestesses at the temple, so when he came across her he  expected a fight. Instead the Empress saw what he was, and that he was hurt and went to help him up. Her guards were on edge but she stayed perfectly calm as she reached for his hand with a smile. Takuya looked up into the eyes of the most beautiful person he had ever seen, feeling a sense of caring and safety he didn't think possible. When he took her hand that day, his life changed forever. When his handler came demanding him back, the Empress defended him both out of wanting to know more and out of disgust from such things being kept from her. She fought and killed the handler before taking Takuya in for questioning. He explained what he was, and what he knew about their other experiments as well as what was planned for him in the future. He was given an offer he couldn't refuse, to stay in the palace and work for her against Niang. It was at that moment that he began to know what he now calls his real family, and he is forever grateful to Li Ling for giving him purpose and a home with her. Years later he still works for her with undying loyalty. Always ready to not only research for her to but to put his magical power to offensive use and kill those who would threaten his true mother, The Empress.

Kanak Sujah

Art by Henry

Kanak Sujah was a hunter in a small village on an isolated island, when a pirate attack destroyed his home he expected to die as well but fate had a different path in store for him.  An ancient phoenix spirit bonded to him in his final moments, restoring his body and granting him powers and martial arts skills beyond that of any mortal.  Wielding the cosmic flames themselves he erased the pirates from the world before leaving his ruined home, to travel the world and beyond.  Through the spirit he had gained knowledge of ancient fighting styles long forgotten from the world, and his body was reborn with every death stronger then before.  For decades he used his powers to spread peace, and grant the helpless the power to protect themselves and their homes.  As time went on though he often found peace rarely lasted more then a generation and those he helped often turned into the wicked themselves as years passed.  At first he didn't falter but with each of his deaths the doubt and anger grew within his new body, until after 100 years it consumed him.  He decided people didn't deserve the knowledge of war and combat, and together with a band of disillusioned heroes they decided they would remove the capability from the world by any means necessary.

Aya Li Qiao

Art by Henry

Princess Aya Li Qiao is the eldest daughter of Empress Li Ling Qiao and the heir to the Imperial throne.  Born for the sole purpose of one day replacing her mother, instead of a child out of love she has struggled with understanding her place from a young age. Her mother is very strict and constantly pushes for Aya to be better in everywhere and was never really there emotionally. Such a way of raising resulted in a young girl who always felt the only way to earn her mothers love to constantly prove herself. So she strives to learn and understand the political intricacies as well as mastering the family martial arts.  She has very little friends outside of her family and palace staff, any outside social interaction almost always being for the sole purpose of learning how to deal with people as a princess and sitting in on meetings regarding law or trade.  Most of her free-time is spent training instead of hanging out with others leading to a more introverted princess who rarely has the patience to really deal with those outside her circle and struggles to define herself beyond the fact that she is the daughter of a loved and feared Empress.

Ko-Shin and Nan-Su (The Zuni Twins)

Art by Henry

Ko-Shin and Nan-Su are twin Zhuni sisters and the sole students/daughters of respected martial arts master Ban "Cannon Fist" Liao.  They have a rather unique mutation of being born twins, their dantian and their very souls became connected to the point that neither can access the full extent at the same time as the other.  While this isn't a problem or even noticeable while just moving around and being calm, the moment one gets excited or expresses any big emotion the other feels less.  If one becomes filled with an emotion or feeling to extreme levels the other becomes a passive body just following her sister around and maneuver based on base instinct if danger comes until she calms down.  Doing this also transfer recent thoughts and feelings to the other, allowing them to send messages across any distance without speaking and if only one closes her eyes she can see through her sister's.  Due this level of a bond they are extremely close and always right next to each other unless they are needed by their father in two places at once.  Building on their bond their father has trained them in a variation of his fighting style built to be used by two people at once, the two sisters fighting as extensions of the other with every movement chained and built on.  They are capable of switching offense and defense as needed with no noticeable communication with the other sister chaining an attack off of the block or parry right as it happens.

Much like their father they don't have real jobs, though they do have a house and land thanks to their wealthy mother instead they let her handle everything and travel around fighting people and training in their martial art.  Much like him they normally pay off debts and bills via beating up trouble makers and doing shows.  Their goal in life is to become a legendary martial arts hero that is spoken about for generations, and to that end they seek out anything and anyone related to martial arts and constantly enter tournaments.  Their father having successfully convinced several high ranking officials that his daughters were one person with a chi technique that splits them in two, allowing them to fight in single tournaments if they want to.  Where they often develop one sided rivalries with people of great skill or children of other masters swearing to overcome them and prove that their father is the greatest master no matter if the other side cares or not. 

Twins Concept

Art by Henry

So early on when decided to do a Visual Novel dealing with the Empress's daughter (who will get her own profile soon enough) I decided she needed some good teenage rivals as part of the cast of characters.  After thinking of things that fit the martial arts theme I chose a pair of characters that would be out to prove themselves at every turn.  Being two of them kept the challenge up and gave a real obstacle to showcase where she is and where she still has to go as a martial artist and their goal having to do with family fit well with hers of what she has to live up to.  After that we thought of ways to make interactions cool and decided twins would be the cutest choice and based their quirks and stuff off of that decision.  And so we got what are actually my favorite characters design wise.

Dokura Ibeshi

Art by Henry

Xing Yi's most loyal follower and retainer, the woman known as Dokura is mostly an enigma to Zhu society. She is regarded as a hero and patriot but all records are very vague on her past with the only solid information being that she has followed the matriarch since she was a teenager.  Both a bodyguard and an assassin she puts her all into serving the Imperial family and doing what she can to ensure that Xing Yi is safe and her will is carried out.  A sense of duty and tradition that she tries very hard to pass on to her own teenage daughter to mixed success.  On the surface she maintains a strong presence and unwavering confidence and loyalty but beneath it she has her own set of issues. A daughter that forsakes tradition being at the top of her list, but there is also a creeping sense of doubt in regards to her Matriarch as she begins to wonder if Xing Yi is losing her way and becoming something other than the woman she'd give her life for. She had also been a symbol of Zhu strength and loyalty, and the problems she is starting to face may be signs of what is happening to her society as a whole.  

Hirara Bio

Art by Henry

Hirara is an anomaly, not a single person alive knows where she came from or has any memory of her being a child or even when she first appeared.  There are no records of her family or any jobs she held in the past.  All people know is that she tends to show up wherever large scale events happen, always offering her assistance for whatever is going on.  Outside of that it was more likely for people to encounter her at random, the woman seemingly walking towards and unknown destination always willing to help out anyone she meets along the way or at least talk to them.   While always known, Hirara reached Empire wide fame after effortlessly beating several high profile martial arts masters who challenged her to a duel over what they saw as a slight against them.  Her combat prowess soon being what she was most known for as people from all over the universe came to either fight her or to try and learn from her, very few actually being taken as students (most notable of which is Xing Yi)

Nowadays Hirara can be found hanging around the Heaven's Gate monastery as an unofficial monk of discipline, but she still wanders about from time to time and is always willing to speak to and assist people.  Although her and Xing Yi apparently had a falling out there has been no government decree against her, and the rulers who followed the Matriarch have all held a great respect for Hirara and used her insight on many occasions. While she is respected there are many who worry about what her knowledge may cause, fear that she may cause them to be an early target of the System or that she may attempt to control the strings of future herself.

Matriarch Xing Yi Qiao

By Henry

Years of studying with a shady mentor, and dealing with personal tragedy has brought changes in the once idealistic and eager princess.  When she became Empress she was much harsher than people expected,  her rule cold and deadly while still ensuring the prosperity of her people, often at the cost of several others.  The typical mostly hands off approach was gone, replaced with what many referred to as the iron fist of progress.  She soon became one of the most feared leaders on several worlds, a war criminal and heartless tyrant to seem a beacon of hope and restoring former glory to others.  While her presence was everywhere in her reign, what she actually did outsides of policies and punishments is unknown to the majority of people. But she would frequently vanish for a while leaving her followers to simply follower directions laid out, as soon as her daughter became of age she left the Empire for over a decade with no sightings.  Only returned after her granddaughter began to go through training, and leaving once more (with the granddaughter) when the then current Empress died.  Now in present day she sort of just floats in and out, rumors about her personally dealing with those who know too much or she holds a grudge against. Despite being retired she holds a lot of influence and many remain loyal to her and many believe that she may still secretly run the Empire and that Empress Li Hua could be merely a puppet following her grandmothers commands. 

Old Royal pic

An Old image I found on my computer of the Empress and her daughter Aya Li Qiao. It's outdated as aya was redesigned but I still like it.

Lines by http://eclectic-lights.blogspot.com/