Post by Ze Flying Wraithetti Monstress on Nov 15, 2009 21:14:01 GMT -5
Name:
Ren’ichi Kichirou
Age:
Twenty-eight years
Race:
Human
Appearance:
Renn is often a shock to look at for most people. Being from Nihon, a land very far to the east, her race has developed entirely different characteristics than the blonde and blue-eyed Alagaësians. This is noticeable in her body just as much as her face- she is short, only 5’2”, and weighs about 100 pounds. She has small breasts and slim hips, not giving her much form, and making her seem rather frail at first glance. The only similarity to western women that Renn has is her skin- in both Alagaësia and Nihon, only those who work extensively out in the sun have dark skin, giving rise to the belief that tanned people are all of peasant stock. Because of this, Renn keeps her skin carefully pale, rarely going into the sun and religiously carrying a parasol whenever she does.
Renn’s face is often what draws most attention- her face is so different from western women that she normally hides it when on missions. She has high cheekbones and a tall forehead, giving her a heart-shaped, if flat face. Her lips are thin, and her nose is flat, but they suit her face shape. Her eyes are deep brown and shaped like small almonds. They are accented by short eyelashes and upswept thin, dark eyebrows. Renn’s face is framed by thick, straight black hair, which hangs to her mid-back when untied.
Renn doesn’t pay much mind to the shape of her face, but she does pay a huge amount of attention to how she looks on a daily basis. During the day, she only dresses in traditional Nihonese clothing, mostly made by herself due to the rarity of merchants procuring such garments. Renn wears wooden sandals that are raised on platforms called zōri, coupled with split-toe socks called tabi, which are very difficult to walk in for the untrained. However, her most notable clothing is the kimono, which is like a T-shaped, straight-lined robe with collars and full-length sleeves that are typically wide, and hems that fall to the ankles. They are usually so thick that they cause Renn’s female figure to entirely disappear. Kimono are wrapped around the body, always with the left side over the right, and secured by a wide belt called an obi, which is tied at the back. Renn’s kimono range from very casual to very formal, but the sleeves are typically long, showing her status as an unmarried woman.
Renn’s clothing is not the only oddity in her appearance- her hair and makeup are done exquisitely as well. Her hair is always swept up in a high chignon, a kind of bun, and decorated with elaborate hair combs and pins which are often very large and conspicuous. Renn’s makeup consists of a thick white base made of wet powder that she paints over her face and neck. Because her teeth often look yellow in contrast, Renn lacquers them black, making them ‘disappear’ into her open mouth. She uses black kohl to outline her eyes and eyebrows, and red pigments to paint her lips, but never her cheeks.
Renn also has some permanent makeup. Done in coloured ink with searing iron needles, these tattoos are all symbols of her eastern culture. On her back is a very colourful, elaborate painting of a woman called Amaterasu Omikami, who is a sun deity of long-gone Nihonese pagan worship. On her arms, going from shoulder to forearm, are two dragons, one white to symbolize purity and one red to symbolize power. Since eastern dragons are visualized differently than western dragons, they are long and snake-like with no wings. Renn also has an orange koi fish on her right thigh that symbolizes courage, and finally on her left thigh is a white lotus flower, symbol of the current Nihonese emperor. Renn, however, never shows these tattoos to anyone, as in Nihon, only prostitutes openly show their tattoos in public.
Renn never goes anywhere without some kind of weapon. They range from mere hairpins- demure by day, but effective tiny daggers and lock picks by night- to more ornate Nihonese weapons. These include the tanto, which are like double-sided daggers, katana, which are swords but much thinner, lighter, and more carefully made than western broadswords, and wakizashi, which is like the katana but shorter. Renn has a wide range of these weapons and holds them all dear to her. As opposed to sharp things, Renn also has an affinity for poison, although she doesn’t use it as often as her swords.
At night, Renn’s appearance changes completely. She dresses in tight black leather armour that allows movement and invisibility, and forsakes her white makeup for a mask that hides her exotic features except for her eyes. She usually has one or two katana strapped to her back, with a selection of wakizashi and tanto at a leather belt at her waist. Her hair is kept in a tight bun. Renn only dresses in a western or masculine way while on contracts or while on her own personal missions.
Personality:
Renn is different from other Imperial assassins in two ways- one, she works entirely alone rather than being in a squad, and two, she is not insane. To make up for her sanity, however, she has a very cold and neurotic view of life. Even more than that, all she wants is to see the world crash and burn. Though she’s cooled down about her parents’ deaths, it has affected her in a way that makes her believe the world owes her something. And so, she never hesitates to do anything to make it a little worse. Though she thinks both the Varden and the Empire are pathetic and easily swayed, she has joined the Empire’s side since it serves as a good backing for her activities. She strikes out at the Varden and Surda with her weapons and her tongue, cutting down well-loved figures, setting buildings ablaze, and spreading information that certain nobles wouldn’t want to go public. Renn has forsaken all her morals in order to complete her destructive mission. She has no compassion, no mercy, and no forgiving, but Renn still holds two things dear- rationality, and her honour.
Rationalizing is how Renn has managed to stay alive for so long. Her ability to put things together and quickly come up with a solution has kept her alive in countless tight spots. Honour is something that every Nihonese worth their salt has, and Renn would never do anything to sully hers. She never lies, is always polite, and doesn’t even kill without giving her victim a chance to defend themselves unless she believes they have hurt her honour already. Also, she allows anyone feeling raw about the death of a beloved one to seek her out and battle her.
When with people, Renn is unendingly courteous. Though totally emotionless, with a lack of facial expression and a level tone of voice, she will treat anyone with respect. This is due to Nihonese tradition, where people are always serious and courteous. However, Renn also strictly expects the same amount of politeness from the other person, and Renn can become angry very easily if her terms are not met. However, unlike most people, whose tempers can be compared to a fiery explosion, Renn’s anger is more comparable to a freezing blizzard. When made angry, her automatic response is to chop the offender’s head off. When she is unable to do so, though, due to being in public or not having a proper tool for chopping, she waits until a later time for getting suitable revenge.
History:
Renn was not born in Alagaësia. She was born in a land far, far to the east, one just as advanced as Alagaësia but worlds different. Her father, Shichiro, was an explorer who ventured into the west, and spent some time in Alagaësia. He returned to his land, called Nihon, with produce of the west. He grew wealthy off his profits and married Renn’s mother, Akemi, a weaver, although he married her mostly for her beauty rather than love. Renn was born three years later.
Renn was nothing like the cold, tyrannous woman she is today- she was just as loud and boisterous as any other little girl is, with very little cares in the world. Her mother taught her how to sew and paint, and she became a skilled artist and the pride of her mother. Renn didn’t see much of her father, though, and this was because he started to poke into things that weren’t his business. Shichiro had seen the orderliness of the Empire and many other lands, and he wanted Nihon, which was full of crime, to be just like it. He used his money to pursue roving gangs and get them in prison, which, needless to say, made him extremely unpopular in Nihon’s underworld.
Renn’s first taste of death was at the age of nine. Five members of a particularly large gang called the Poisons broke into their home, including their boss, Daisuke. Renn hid under her parents’ bed while Shichiro and Akemi were cornered in the room. One of the criminals held a knife to Akemi’s throat while Shichiro tried to beat off the other four. He managed to kill two of them, but was stabbed in the gut. Shichiro crashed beside the bed, where Renn watched in horror as her father was stabbed in the base of the skull and killed. However, she didn’t make a sound, so the gang was unaware that she was there the whole time. Daisuke himself pushed Akemi onto the bed and stabbed her through the heart. Renn was soaked in her mother’s blood as it poured through the mattress. As the three living criminals left, one of them lit the house on fire. Renn managed to escape the flames through a window. As she watched her house burn down, she swore revenge.
Watching her parents die made Renn see things in a new way. She was able to stay at a tea house instead of having to live in the streets, since she was already in training to be a geisha, a woman who was trained as a professional entertainer for high-class men. Renn was still a maiko, a kind of geisha apprentice. Life as a maiko was hard- she had to keep herself immaculate and her hair in place for a full week before she could bathe, and she could only sleep on the floor with a block of wood for a pillow. For a full year, Renn plotted, only wanting to kill the man who had taken away her mother.
Luckily for her, Daisuke was a pedophile.
Renn earned this scrap of information from some Poisons the geishas entertained. When she was ten, Daisuke himself visited the tea house she was staying at, and Renn earned his attention. Renn managed to lead Daisuke to an empty room. She crept into the room, and took Daisuke completely by surprise when she stabbed him through the chest. It took several minutes for him to die, and when he did, Renn felt as if she had just been cleansed. But she was still angry- she had murdered Daisuke, but she still didn’t have her mother back. Renn decided that if the world was going to screw her over by taking away the thing she’d loved most, she was going to screw it right back.
Renn fled the tea house, not really sure of what to do. She was reduced to life as a street child, and for several days, all she did was steal food and hide in crates. One day, she saw a middle-aged man walking alone on the street. Renn waited in the shadows, aiming to pickpocket him, until he approached, and then she jumped at him. She was caught by surprise, though, when he easily caught her and twisted her arms behind her back. She kicked and screamed until she realized that she recognized the man’s face. It was Shichiro’s brother, a man named Hisao. Hisao, who’d been looking for his niece for some time, took her home and gave Renn her own room as well as food and a bath. He promised to care for Renn if she became his apprentice. She agreed grudgingly.
And for fifteen years, Renn lived the harsh life of an apprentice. Hisao made swords as well as training in them, and he taught Renn the art of the katana as well as martial arts. Renn allowed herself to be swept up in the difficulty of her training, and became very decent in swordsmanship and martial arts. However, she still felt disturbed and unhappy with her lot. She needed more. Hisao was an excellent master, but Renn was tired of Nihon. She asked him permission to leave, and he, satisfied that she was somewhat better, allowed her to do so, and gave her some money. Renn thanked him and took a ship that went into the west. It sailed very, very far- the journey took a year to complete- but when she was twenty-six, Renn set foot on Alagaësian soil.
It took a while to learn the land’s politics, languages, and customs, though. Using mainly gestures, she managed to find a job working as a barmaid in Feinster while she learned the common tongue. Even today, though, her Nihonese accent is very noticeable. She learned about both the Empire and the Varden, and managed to adjust to western customs. When war reared its ugly head, Renn realized Feinster was no longer safe for her and moved to a manor in Urû’baen, where she offered her skills to the Empire. She has since served as an Imperial assassin.
