Fu Zen Taishan



Lord Aoren Taishan, more commonly known to friends as Fu Zen, is a Fire Nation swordsman and nobleman, and a player character in the first generation chronicle Wilting of the Lotus. He dies after a period of long illness in 26 AG, and does not return as an NPC in the second generation chronicle.

Physical Attributes
Fu Zen was a giant of a man, towering over everyone at a final height of 6'6, and possessed freakish strength paired with catlike reflexes to match. He was born of aristocratic Fire Nation stock and it showed in his sharp, aquiline features, jet-black, and amber-yellow eyes. He normally had medium-length, somewhat wild hair. There was usually a fringe of it which fell over one of his eyes, which lent heavily to his initially depressed appearance.

Due to his role as a brawler and protector, Fu Zen picked up many battle scars over the years, ranging from burn marks and criss-crossing cuts all over his body, to a crooked nose, to the missing tip of his right ear. He bore these scars proudly, stating that the vast majority of these were earned honourably whilst defending his 'family' - The Lotus Blossoms.

He was not normally fussy over what he wore, provided it fit him, but he often wore armour of some sort, having been trained to handle it like a second skin since a young age. As Lord Aoren Taishan, however, he took to wearing a red-and-gold robes in times of peace, and a similarly lacquered set of steel armour during times of war. Regardless, he was rarely seen without at least one sword (and usually upwards of six) on his person at any time.

Prior to The Festival, he had neglected to shave and had thus grown a scraggly, disorderly beard. As soon as his future wife, Xian, displayed her displeasure, however, this was promptly shorn off. Eventually, when they were happily married, he went on to grow a short, narrow beard that framed his face.

Personality
When the Lotus Blossoms first met him, Fu Zen was a morose, suicidal wreck of a man haunted by the presumed murder of his beloved sister, Aoko. As such, he frequently threw himself into the path of danger in an attempt to 'redeem' himself in the eyes of his companions, whom he assumed 'hated' him for being a kinslayer and a Fire Nation citizen. As time went on, though, he discovered that not only did his team-mates not hate him, they worried about his well-being and in fact considered him as part of their family. In a dramatic episode in the Spirit Realm, he decided to 'discard his armour' around his companions and revealed to them his past as well as his true nature - That of a cheerful, honest, and often horrifyingly tactless big-brother figure.

The true Fu Zen was selfless and (mostly) fearless in the face of danger threatening his loved ones, never hesitating to interpose himself between an attack, no matter the cost to himself. He was generally not easy to anger, but when provoked to violent action, his wrath, combined with his unnatural strength and his unrelenting approach to battle meant that he was an able combatant despite his inability to bend, even compared to ones such as the Lotus Blossoms.

Weapon Mastery
Fu Zen's sole contribution to combat was his skill at arms, but this alone was more than enough. While perhaps not the most naturally talented of individuals, Fu Zen made up for this with rigorous practice and an incredibly powerful body. Notoriously hard to avoid and almost as hard to meaningfully wound, Fu Zen was capable of fighting with almost any weapon in almost any situation. He was most famous for his mastery of swords, however, earning the title of 'The Sword Bender' during his time in Omashu.

His style of fighting was very straightforward and direct, favouring powerful blows that forced enemies on their back feet followed by a series of brutal strikes, all of which were meant to take the life of the victim although he certainly understood the nature of gentler, more subtle styles. By the time of his poisoning and gradual death, Fu Zen's knowledge of weaponmastery was one of the greatest in the world, and he had made a great attempt to transcribe it for the benefit of future generations. His general lack of literary brilliance or artistic skill, however, meant that most of it had to actually be done by Raikana, much to her exasperation.

Backstory
Before the Festival

Aoren Taishan was born the eldest son of Luzhou and Lyoko Taishan, the leaders of the large and influential House Taishan. Despite his line's tendency to produce talented, charismatic and graceful Firebenders and military leaders, Aoren was none of those things and led a largely lonely childhood lit up only by the love of his little sister, Aoko, and the clash of arms in Taishan castle's courtyard. While possessing a very poor sense of self-esteem, Aoren was inordinately proud of his little sister, who was held up as the pride of the family. By contrast, Fu Zen was shunted away, 'politely forgotten' by the rest of civilised society especially after his numerous social faux pas. He wished, many times, that Aoko had been born first.

In and despite this, Aoren and Aoko considered each other their best (and in Aoren's case, only) friend, and they often sneaked out of their castle to climb the hills near their home and laugh and forget about growing up.

This all changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Aoren was immediately drafted as a nameless foot soldier in a nameless brigade, surrounded by people who resented him for his aristocratic privileges and a sergeant who despised him for his irresolute nature. Aoko, by contrast, was immediately inducted into a prestigious officer corps. As time went on and as they were trained in the ways of war, they paths and personalities diverged. Aoren became more and more sullen and rebellious, and Aoko became more and more haughty and commandeering. They became distant, even cold, with each other. Aoren, to the shame of his military family, attempted and failed to desert many times, earning a reprieve from the noose solely due to his noble name. His increasing dissatisfaction came to a head when, in a training camp on what was technically Earth Kingdom soil, he finally snapped and beat his sergeant into a bloody pulp during a private 'disciplinary' session. Then, he ran, as far and as fast as he could, hoping that nobody could catch up to him.

By sheer luck, only one could, and did. By sheer luck, it was Aoko, who told him that she would have him hung for his disloyalty. Aoren responded by telling her that she'd have to kill him if she wanted to stop him. Aoko told him she might just take him up on that; and Aoren responded by swinging a mace directly at her face. To his immense surprise and horror, it struck true and left her still and unmoving on the ground. Horrified by what he had done, Aoren promptly retched and continued to run, guilt eating away at his already unstable psyche. He ran until he collapsed, laying there like a corpse till dawn came, before rising and running yet again. It was in this way that he managed to outrun the Fire Nation to Haru's Village, and it was, at this point, that he decided to 'forget' his true name and instead pick up the alias of 'Fu Zen', meaning 'Sin', after an old family legend about a man who committed an unforgiveable sin and was doomed to wander the world doing good deeds in an attempt to atone, never to know peace until the world's end. When he reached Haru's Village, it seemed an entirely different world; not a single hand raised in anger, laughs everywhere and people cooperating to build a better world rather than tear it down.

Little did he know the horror that would soon follow...

The Wilting of the Lotus

Life after the Phoenix Spirit:

It was clear that after the fall of Taishan Island, it was no longer possible for Fu Zen and Xian to remain at Taishan Island. Therefore, they removed to Omashu, where, secretly, Fu Zen was relieved. Here, he had no responsibility to be the noble Lord Aoren, and was free to be the colossal goof he normally was, and it was here that he was free to raise his son Piandao, unfettered by the vicious politics of the Fire Nation. Here, he functioned as a captain in King Bumi's guard, eventually earning the title of 'Sword Bender' after singlehandedly routing entire companies of Fire Nation soldiers. While he lived, the Fire Nation could not and did not approach Omashu with any degree of success.

For a time, Fu Zen was happy. His son was already growing up to be an amazing swordsman, and according to Raikana, Xian had twins on the way. Then, tragedy struck when Piandao disappeared. Hunting high and low for him, Fu Zen could not find heads or tails of him, and in his search, he missed the birth of his twins, Yasuo and Ayiana. These twins were born white as snow from head to toe; an ill omen in the Earth Kingdom.

Years passed, and Fu Zen and Xian moved on, but did not forget Piandao. They had two young children to take their place, and they learned to love them every bit as much as they did Piandao. The hurt had healed. And then...

It All Came Tumbling Down

For Fu Zen was the first petal of the lotus to wilt.

Just after Yasuo and Ayiana's fifth birthday, Fu Zen left on a mission to Taishan Island, after confirming that the rumours were true: that the entire island had been turned into one massive arms factory. It should have been a simple mission - And would have, had it not been for one thing that Fu Zen forgot.

He was not to return to Taishan Island.

Here, Fu Zen met his doom. He died here. Or, rather, should have died. He was ambushed and struck with a poison that, by rights, should have killed an ordinary man on the spot several times over. But, being Fu Zen, he survived. Survived, only to die slowly and agonisingly over the next twelve years.

Aoko
wip

Xian
wip

Yasuo and Ayiana
wip