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"I am not a god. I am a mortal who has woken up."
"Supernatural is a word for anything that doesn't fit your present understanding of the world."

BASIC

NAME:	Jiang Ziya
CANON:	The Poppy War trilogy
AGE:	Unknown; probably 60+
DOB:	Unknown
GENDER:	Male
SPECIES:	Human(?); shaman
ACTIVE:	kenoscomm
FACTION:	Unattuned
ASPECT:	TBD

PLAYER:	Pixi
PLURK:	pixisticks

APPEARANCE

VISUAL:	One; Two; beware of spoilers in the pics!
HEIGHT:	Canonically unknown so I will say 5'7" / roughly 170cm
BUILD:	Very strong, but doesn't look it. Willowy; he has a "reedy, whimsical frame"
HAIR:	Long and white
EYES:	Pale blue
FEATURES:	"His face was a riddle; it was neither lined with age nor flushed with youth but rather invulnerable to time, like a smooth stone." // "Jiang had always had an ageless quality about him, like he'd been ripped from a place out of time. But now he seemed solid. Powerful. He had a different look in his eyes--less whimsical, less placidly amused, and more focused than she'd ever seen him." **For his canonpoint, he will be teetering between these descriptions!
DRESS:	Loose, plain, comfortable robes. Nothing fancy.
VOICE:	Surprisingly soft and soothing, at least when he's not being purposely annoying. "He spoke oddly, always a little too quickly or a little too slowly, with strange pauses between his words. He laughed in two ways; one laugh was off-kilter--nervous, high-pitched, and obviously forced--the other great and deep and booming. The first kind she heard constantly; the second was rare, and startling when it burst forth."
MORE:	TBA

"The point of every lesson does not have to be to destroy."
"When man begins to think that he is responsible for writing the script of the world, he forgets the forces that dream up our reality."

BACKGROUND

CONTENT WARNING: The following section contains a reference to sexual assault.

Not much is known about Jiang's origins. He is a war orphan from the first Poppy War, when the Federation of Mugen--previously a tributary state--invaded and occupied Nikan, with aid from the western country of Hesperia. His appearance more closely resembles the northern Hinterlanders than it does typical Nikara, but the novels reveal little about his early life, other than the torment of growing up in a Nikan that had been war-torn and ravaged for twenty years. It is implied that he, Su Daji, and Yin Riga grew up together, or at least met when they were very young and stuck together.

"Rin squeezed her eyes shut, but the images wouldn't go away. She saw a beautiful little girl standing alone before a heap of bodies, soot across her face, tears streaming down her cheeks. She saw a young boy lying in a starved, broken heap in the corner of the alley, curled around jagged, shattered bottles. She saw a white-haired boy screaming profanities and waving his fists at the retreating backs of soldiers who did not care." - The Dragon Republic, 579

-

"Rin saw a beautiful young girl--Daji, it had to be--in a huddled heap on the ground, naked, clothes clutched to her chest. Dark blood dripped down pale thighs. She saw the young Riga sprawled on the ground, unconscious. She saw Jiang lying on his side, screaming, as a man kicked him in the ribs, over and over and over. [...] She leaped forward in time, just a few minutes. The soldier was gone, and the children were clinging to each other, crying, covered in each other's blood, crouching in the shadow of a different soldier." - The Dragon Republic, 582

While still young, Riga took Daji and Jiang and fled the occupied zone up to the north, where they were taken in by the Hinterlanders. Tseveri, The daughter of the Sorqan Sira (the tribe's leader), had an especially strong bond with Jiang, teaching him the secrets of the cosmos, the language of her people, and more. For years, Jiang and the others studied shamanistic arts and learned to access the Pantheon; eventually, they each formed a connection to some of the strongest gods in the Pantheon. However, shamanism--especially utilizing the gods for warfare--comes with a steep price; it typically requires the use of addictive psychedelic drugs, and the influence of gods tends to erode the human mind, slowly driving the shaman mad. Once the shaman is lost to their god, they are locked in the Chuluu Korikh, or Stone Mountain.

A shadow puppeteer tells the story to children in this way:

"The people prayed for heroes. They prayed for twenty years. And finally, the gods sent them. [...] [The three children] trained for many years with the monks of the Wudang temple. By the time they matured, their martial arts skills were prodigious, and they rivaled in skill fully grown men who had been training for decades. At the end of their apprenticeship, they journeyed to the top of the highest peak in all of the land: Mount Tianshan. [...] The third hero was the humblest among his peers. Weak and sickly, he had never been able to train to the extent of his two friends. But he was loyal and unswerving in his devotion to the gods. He did not beg a favor from any deity in the Pantheon, for he knew he was not worthy. Instead he knelt before the humble tortoise who had let them in.

'I ask only for the strength to protect my friends and the courage to protect my country,' he said.

The tortoise replied, 'You will be given this and more. Take the chain of keys from around my neck. From this day forth you are the Gatekeeper. You have the means to unlock the menagerie of the gods, inside which are kept beasts of every kind, both creatures of beauty and monsters vanquished by heroes long past. You will command them as you see fit.' The Gatekeeper’s shadow raised his robed hands slowly, and from his back unfurled many shadows of different shapes and sizes. Dragons. Demons. Beasts. They enveloped the Gatekeeper like a shroud of darkness." - The Poppy War, 168-170

Jiang, Riga, and Daji--later known as the Trifecta--eventually performed a ritual to anchor their souls to each other. This not only enhanced their powers and made them nearly immortal, but helped Jiang, specifically, regain control over his mind and his powers, as he had been steadily deteriorating into madness.

Determined to take back their country from the Mugenese and the Hesperians, Jiang and the others betrayed the Hinterlanders. After a skirmish between the Warlord of Horse Province and the Hinterland tribe they'd been with, Jiang ripped the heart of the Sorqan Sira's daughter out of her chest, and the Trifecta fought with the Hinterlanders (and presumably won).

Back in Nikan proper, the Trifecta reunified the Warlords of the Twelve Provinces, who had until then been busy squabbling with each other. Through fear, political maneuvering, and shamanistic abilities, Jiang and the others fought the Mugenese and the Hesperians, eventually rallying the Empire. Ultimately, however, even their strength was not enough for victory. Instead, Riga (and presumably the Warlords) made a deal; they sacrificed Speer, an island tributary whose shamans worshiped The Phoenix god and wielded fire, to the Federation. Mugen committed genocide, slaughtering almost everyone on the island--this led to Hesperia's intervention, and with Western aid, Nikan officially won the war.

Riga--who had also become known as the Dragon Emperor--did not inform Daji and Jiang of the impending massacre. Jiang, who had been in love with a Speerly general named Hanelai, was especially devastated. The night of the massacre, Jiang confronted Riga and they fought. Afraid that they were going to kill each other, Daji intervened, haphazardly placing a Seal on both of them. This led to Jiang losing many of his memories and his powers, and Riga sleeping in stasis.

After the war, Daji took over as Empress, and still rules the Empire at Jiang's current canonpoint. She hid Riga away, and had Jiang stationed at Sinegard military academy as Lore Master. Jiang has only ever had a handful of students; likely less than 10, before Rin, all with disastrous results. Because of this, and because of his memory loss, Jiang is a completely different person from his past self. He is flighty, placidly amused, and never riled. He does not show up for class, and he harasses the students on campus. He is violently averse to warfare, and when pressed on topics that lead to talk of his past or weaponization of the gods, he backpedals and flees. His teaching style is haphazard and unconventional; despite his memory loss, he retains his understanding of the cosmos and his shamanistic and martial arts abilities. He convinces Rin that the gods are real through convoluted research, and he teaches her how to beat her classmates in combat by teaching her the historical fundamentals of the watered down, militarized techniques her peers learn. He is adamant that their role as shamans is to prevent shamanism from being completely wiped from history; he is adamant that they only remember, and that they use their knowledge to deepen their understanding of the universe, like the Hinterlanders.

The first book in the trilogy covers the Third Poppy War. When Mugen once again invades Nikan, they launch an attack on Sinegard. Rin and her classmate, Nezha, are nearly murdered by a Mugenese general. To save them, Jiang appears and taps into his powers as Gatekeeper; however, despite the destruction, he does not kill the general. When Rin recovers consciousness, Jiang has disappeared.

As Nikan steadily loses the war against Mugen, Rin follows her commander, Altan, to the Chuluu Korikh to free the Gatekeeper and ask for his aid. Jiang had immured himself, as his Seal had begun to erode and he was starting to remember his past. It is implied that this erosion continued even within the mountain, and that through the spirit world, he has seen at least some of the events of the war. In the mountain, she gets confirmation that Jiang is the Gatekeeper; however, Jiang refuses to join their cause, insisting that the price of calling the gods for warfare is far too high. He begs Rin to stop before it's too late, but she refuses. Disappointed, he seals himself back inside his plinth. His canonpoint in Kenos is directly after this event; as such, he believes that his world was destroyed as a consequence of Rin and Altan unleashing mad shamans/destructive, powerful gods.

PERSONALITY

Because of the effects of Daji's Seal, Jiang effectively has two (technically three) completely different personalities.

The Jiang that Rin first meets in the Poppy War is sealed, with few memories of the atrocities he once committed. He laughs in an odd way, and he has a reputation for being a doddering, eccentric madman. He is playful, easily entertained, and peaceful; he prefers the scholarly pursuits of shamanism, wishing to keep shamanistic history alive for culture history, and to use connections to the gods purely to reach enlightenment. He is often described as seeming removed from the physical world, as though he is a bystander to his own conversations, or a visitor from another planet. It is implied that this is also partially because of his understanding of the universe; most of Nikan does not believe shamans exist at all, and while Jiang understands that there is no point in trying to convince the masses, he still moves through the world with a deeper understanding of its workings than most other people. He doesn't bother with the majority of the students at Sinegard, most of whom are nobles and elites training to join the various divisions of the Nikara military. He is much smarter, wiser, and more attentive than he seems, but he mainly enjoys bothering the kids and his fellow teachers with pranks and shenanigans. Only when Rin starts studying Lore under him does he act more serious, though even then, he is calm and whimsical.

"Jiang's voice, always so quiet and soothing, had been putting her to sleep. [...] Jiang, on the other hand, could meditate indefinitely. He became like a statue, serene and tranquil. He seemed like air, like he might fade away if she didn't concentrate enough on him. He seemed like he'd simply left his body behind and gone somewhere else." - The Poppy War, 190-191

The other Jiang is his past self, the one he is slowly beginning to remember. Young Jiang grew up in occupied Nikan, and was subject to abuse from his oppressors as a child. Though he is still capable of love and is not entirely heartless, he is driven by anger and a deep desire to liberate his country. Combined with the poisonous influence of his god, Jiang commits merciless, horrible acts like ripping Tseveri's heart out of her chest and slaughtering Riga's enemies in public spectacles. He, Riga, and Daji ruled the Warlords with viciousness and total control; they were feared and hated, even though they are treated as legends.

Currently, Jiang sits somewhere between the two. As Jiang regains these memories over the course of the third book, he makes casual references to past murders, and easily suggests mass murder and ruthless wartime techniques to Rin. He calls his past self a monster and is terrified of what he's capable of, and he admits that the memories he regains are devastatingly painful. He carries massive guilt and heavy regrets. He is fiercely willing to defend his loved ones, and he aids Rin in her revolutions. But he repeatedly admits that calling on the gods is always a mistake, and says they should have let Nikan fall to Mugen and Hesperia.

The following examples are from later in the series than Jiang's actual canonpoint; however, they are essentially what Jiang is (and will be like) in Kenos, as he is no longer in the Chuluu Korikh. His personality is currently still very affable, eccentric, and whimsical, but as his Seal continues to erode over time, he will regain his memories and his personality will shift.

"The Jiang she knew liked to blow bubbles in the creek with a reed for fun. This Jiang discussed murder as if relaying a recipe for porridge." - The Burning God, 223-224

-

"'Things got a lot easier after that,' Jiang said. 'I used to snatch [the airships] out of the sky like mosquitoes. Riga and I made it a game. Record time was four crafts in five seconds.'

He said this so casually that Rin couldn't help but stare. Immediately, like a gnat had buzzed into his ear, he shook his head quickly and looked away.

Whoever had emerged from the Chuluu Korikh was not the man she'd known at Sinegard. The Master Jiang at Sinegard had no recollection of the Second Poppy War. But this Jiang made constant offhand references about it and then backpedaled quickly, as if he were dipping his toes in an ocean of memory just to see if he'd like it, then cringing away because the water was too cold. [...] She couldn't predict the switches in the timbre of his voice, the sudden sharpness of his gaze. Sometimes he was affable, eccentric. And other times he carried himself like a man who had fought and won wars.

[...] He would tease her [...] he would tilt his head back at the clear sky and belt out bawdy, ribald songs whose lyrics made Daji snort and Rin blush. Occasionally he'd even spar with her, teetering back and forth on the uneven raft, teaching her mental tricks to fix her balance, and jabbing her in the side with his staff until she corrected her form. [...] But inevitably, his smile always slipped, his shoulders tensed, and the laughter went out of his eyes, as if the ghost of who he had been had abruptly fled." - The Burning God, 231-232

-

"'It's like seeing a warped reflection in a mirror. Sometimes we are the same and sometimes we are not; sometimes he moves with me, and sometimes he acts of his own volition. Sometimes I catch glimpses of his past, but it's like I'm watching from far away like a helpless observer, and that--' He broke off, wincing, and pressed his fingers against his temples. [...] 'Other times the memories are from my perspective, but it's like I'm experiencing them for the first time. For him, it's a memory. He already knows what happened. But for me, it's like watching a story unfold, but I don't know its ending. The only thing I do know, with absolute certainty, is that I did it. I see the bodies, and I know I'm responsible.'" - The Burning God, 233

ABILITIES

As a shaman and the Gatekeeper of the Trifecta, Jiang has a variety of extremely strong abilities. He is often described as moving through the physical world like he doesn't actually belong there. He is a powerful martial artist, and he is able to access the Pantheon of the gods, typically via psychedelic drugs like poppy seeds. He also has control over the menagerie of the gods; this typically takes the form of shadowy creatures or wraiths.

As described in the books:

"Jiang did things that no human should be able to do.

The first time, he made the leaves at his feet spin without moving a muscle. She thought it was a trick of the wind. And then he did it again, and then a third time, just to prove he had utter control over it. [...] He made the wind howl at his command. He made trees rustle by pointing at them. He made water ripple without touching it, and could cause shadows to twist and screech with a whispered word." - The Poppy War, 184-185

-

A deafening clang shattered the air—the sound of metal against metal. The air itself shook with the unnatural vibration of a great force stopped in its tracks. [...] Jiang stood before them, his white hair hanging still in the air as if he had been struck by lightning. His feet did not touch the ground. Both his arms were flung out, blocking the tremendous force of the general’s halberd with his own iron staff.

The general tried to force Jiang’s staff out of the way, and his arms trembled with a mighty pressure, but Jiang did not look like he was exerting any force at all. The air crackled unnaturally, like a prolonged rumble of thunder. [...] The general responded with another massive swing of his halberd. Jiang waved his staff and blocked the blow as effortlessly as if he were swatting away a fly. He dispelled the force of the blow into the air and the ground below them. The paving stones shuddered from the impact, nearly knocking Rin and Nezha off their feet.

'Call off your men.'

Though Jiang spoke calmly, his voice echoed as if he had shouted. He appeared to have grown taller; not larger, but extended somehow, just as his shadow was extended against the wall behind them. No longer willowy and fidgety, Jiang seemed an entirely different person—someone younger, someone infinitely more powerful. [...] When Jiang spoke again, his voice contained the echo of itself; he spoke in two pitches, one normal and one far lower, as if his shadow shouted back everything he said at double the volume.

[...] The air behind Jiang was warping, shimmering, turning darker than the night itself. Jiang’s eyes had rolled up into the back of his head. He chanted loudly, singing in that unfamiliar language that Rin had heard him use only once before. [...] Behind him sounded a keening wail, too high-pitched for any beast known to man.

Something was coming through the darkness.

Beyond the void, Rin saw silhouettes that should exist only in puppetry, outlines of beasts that belonged to story. A three-headed lion. A nine-tailed vixen. A mass of serpents tangled into one another, its multitude of heads snapping and biting in every direction.

[...] Jiang convulsed in the air before them, and then lost control altogether. The void burst outward, ripping the fabric of the world, collapsing the gated wall around them. He slammed his staff into the air. A wave of force emitted from the site of contact and exploded outward in a visible ring." - The Poppy War, 246-248

-

"[Jiang's] shadow writhed madly against the bright sand. The shape was not Jiang's own, but something terrible--a myriad of beasts, so many in size and form, shifting faster and faster, with a growing desperation, as if frantic to break free.

The beasts were in Jiang, too. Rin could see them, shadows rippling under his skin, horrible patches of black straining to get out." - The Dragon Republic, 387

-

"The visions shifted again. Rin saw a naked girl shrieking and crying beside a cave while snakes writhed over her body. She saw a tall boy crouching on the shore while a dragon encircled him, whipping up higher and higher waves that surrounded his body like a tornado. She saw a white-haired boy on his hands and knees, beating his fists against the ground while shadows writhed and stretched out of his back." - The Dragon Republic, 580

-

"He wielded no weapon and carried no shield. He loped casually with slouched shoulders across the field, hands in his pockets, as if he had just stepped out his front door for a mild afternoon stroll. He didn't stop until he reached the very center of the line of dirigibles. Then he turned around to face them, head tilted sideways like a fascinated child. [...]

Jiang raised one hand into the air. His fingers splayed out. The air around him shimmered and distorted. Then the sky exploded into shadow like an ink bottle shattered on parchment.

Rin saw the effects before the cause. Bodies fell. The entire archery line collapsed. The dirigible closest to Jiang careened to the side and struck its neighbor, sending both crashing to the ground in a ball of fire.

Only after the wave of smoke cleared did Rin see the source of the destruction--black, mist-like wraiths snaked through the air, shooting through bodies, weapons, and shields with uniform ease. At times they hung still and, ever so briefly, she could just barely make out their shapes--a lion, a dragon, a kirin--before they disappeared back into formless shadow. They followed no known laws of the physical world. Metal passed through them as if they were immaterial, but their fangs ripped through flesh just as easily as the sharpest of swords.

Jiang had called down every beast of the Emperor's Menagerie, and they were tearing through the material world like steel through paper. [...]

He was so open, so vulnerable. But no bullets seemed able to pierce his skin, and every arrow aimed his way dropped harmlessly onto the ground long before it reached him. Everywhere he pointed, explosions followed." - The Burning God, 283-285

He does have limits; he can only summon and control a certain number of beasts at the same time. His powers also have consequences. Whenever he opens the gate, the gap between the spirit world and the material world thins; this can result in things like supernatural creatures escaping and wreaking havoc if he is not there to close the gate again. Use of his power also erodes his mind; his memories get jumbled, and he forgets when and where he is and who he is talking to. He is convinced that Riga is coming to kill him, and occasionally calls Rin by the names of other Speerlies, profusely apologizing for his actions. He sometimes passes out after using his powers, and is lost to terrifying, horrible memories for uncertain lengths of time.

PERMISSIONS

BACKTAGGING:	✔
THREADHOPPING:	✔ - Just check for permission first, please!
FOURTHWALLING:	✘ (joking in brackets is fine)
ROMANCE:	✔ - You can try! I can't guarantee it will go anywhere, but knock yourself out.
MINDREADING:	✔ - Just check for permission first, please!
MANIPULATION:	Let's discuss first! I'm usually down, but it's something I'd want to hash out, especially since Jiang is pretty old and smart.
INJURY:	✔ with discussion for serious injury - Again, I'm usually totally fine with it, just check with me. I'm fine with non-serious injuries, especially in silly threads.
FIGHTING:	✔ with discussion for anything serious - Same as above! You don't need permission to start a fight, but Jiang is a very strong, very talented fighter, so if you have anything specific and serious in mind, let's chat about it first. I should note that Jiang does not typically start fights and will generally turn down spars or attempts to engage, but not always.
KILLING:	Let's discuss first! It's not a hard no, but this is definitely something I'd want to hash out first.

feel free to contact for further details!

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I'LL SLAP STH HERE LATER AUGHGHGHGHH

PLAYER INFO

NAME: Pixi
CONTACT: pixisticks#4977 @ discord, pixisticks @ plurk, or dm!!
OVER 18?: LOL yes

CHARACTER INFO

NAME: Jiang Ziya
SERIES: The Poppy War trilogy
CANON POINT: Book 1 (The Poppy War), around Chapter 23! Shortly after Rin and Altan try to get Jiang to unseal himself from the Chuluu Korikh to help them fight back against the Mugenese Invasion. However, his personality is similar to that of Book 3 (The Burning God).
AGE: THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. Probably older than 60; definitely over 45. There are hints that he's not really fully human, but either way, he's definitely well above the minimum age requirement.

CHARACTER SUMMARY:

When you first meet him, Jiang is the eccentric, absentee Lore Master at Sinegard military academy. His classroom is a drug garden, he never shows up for class, and he harasses the students and faculty alike just for fun. In truth, Jiang is one of the most powerful shamans in the history of his country. Known as The Gatekeeper, he and his two closest companions (Su Daji and Yin Riga) helped take back their country during the Second Poppy War. He seems eccentric because he understands the cosmos; he is an incredibly strong martial artist; he is living proof that the gods exist, and he can tear a hole in reality and unleash creatures from the gods' menagerie. He is vehemently opposed to weaponizing the gods, insisting that the purpose of shamanism is to reach enlightenment.

Jiang used to be very different. Once, he was vicious, merciless, and driven by fury. As war orphans, he, Daji, and Riga were subject to abuse and assault from the foreign soldiers occupying their country, and they were willing to do anything to get it back. Calling the gods comes at a price; they constantly poison and erode the minds of their shamans. Additionally, Jiang and the others (famously known as The Trifecta) were ruthless and cruel as they reunified Nikan. In flashbacks and later conversations, Jiang rips out the heart of someone he'd loved, he talks about making a public spectacle of murdering dissenters, and he casually recommends brutal wartime strategies. In order to strengthen themselves (and to stop Jiang from losing his mind), the Trifecta performed a ritual to anchors their souls to each other when they were young. For Reasons, Daji ended up spiritually Sealing them, and Jiang lost many of his memories. Over time, the Seal erodes, allowing the whimsical Lore Master of Sinegard to steadily regain his memories and old personality.

((Here is his fandom wiki page and here is my detailed info sheet if you want to read more!))

POWERS:

As a shaman, Jiang has the ability (usually via the power of psychedelics like poppy seeds) to traverse the spiritual realm and access the Pantheon of the gods. He can also break the laws of physics in various ways. As the Gatekeeper, specifically, he has control over the Emperor's Menagerie; essentially, this allows him to summon and control supernatural creatures (typically in the form of shadowy wraiths); because of his anchor bond, he is also basically immortal. Some examples from the book:

"[H]e made the leaves at his feet spin without moving a muscle. [...] He made the wind howl at his command. He made trees rustle by pointing at them. He made water ripple without touching it, and could cause shadows to twist and screech with a whispered word." - The Poppy War, 184-185

^ I assume stuff like that would be considered social abilities; he doesn't use them much anyway but I will definitely be sure not to do anything gamebreaking. As for the rest:

The air behind Jiang was warping, shimmering, turning darker than the night itself. Jiang’s eyes had rolled up into the back of his head. He chanted loudly, singing in that unfamiliar language that Rin had heard him use only once before. [...] Behind him sounded a keening wail, too high-pitched for any beast known to man.

Something was coming through the darkness.

Beyond the void, Rin saw silhouettes that should exist only in puppetry, outlines of beasts that belonged to story. A three-headed lion. A nine-tailed vixen. A mass of serpents tangled into one another, its multitude of heads snapping and biting in every direction.

[...] Jiang convulsed in the air before them, and then lost control altogether. The void burst outward, ripping the fabric of the world, collapsing the gated wall around them. He slammed his staff into the air. A wave of force emitted from the site of contact and exploded outward in a visible ring." - The Poppy War, 246-248

-

"Jiang raised one hand into the air. His fingers splayed out. The air around him shimmered and distorted. Then the sky exploded into shadow like an ink bottle shattered on parchment.

[...]

[B]lack, mist-like wraiths snaked through the air, shooting through bodies, weapons, and shields with uniform ease. At times they hung still and, ever so briefly, she could just barely make out their shapes--a lion, a dragon, a kirin--before they disappeared back into formless shadow. They followed no known laws of the physical world. Metal passed through them as if they were immaterial, but their fangs ripped through flesh just as easily as the sharpest of swords.

Jiang had called down every beast of the Emperor's Menagerie, and they were tearing through the material world like steel through paper. [...]

He was so open, so vulnerable. But no bullets seemed able to pierce his skin, and every arrow aimed his way dropped harmlessly onto the ground long before it reached him. Everywhere he pointed, explosions followed." - The Burning God, 283-285

Jiang only ever uses these as last resorts, but obviously they will be capped!! And of course he's no longer immortal. As far as his godly shaman powers go--well, first of all, whether he has access to them or not depends entirely on how the gods work here/if there's a Pantheon that he can access, whether it's his own or Kenos's or what. He will want to investigate Kenos's gods/spirituality so I'm happy to thread this out if needed!! If he loses all access to them, that's fine. Otherwise, if he gets to keep them, I can reduce their power; maybe he can summon less wraiths, and it takes a harsher toll on his mind to do it, or something like that (since it already has consequences; you can check here under abilities if you'd like!). Let me know if that works or if you'd like me to make further adjustments.

Jiang is also a very powerful martial artist; while some of this has to do with his shamanistic power, partly he just also trained with monks for a really long time lmfdkjhg so I assume??? That wouldn't be nerfed.

GAME INFO

ASPECTS:

Probably The Advocate or The Stargazer! For the Advocate, I was caught by "easy-going, finds joy in simple things, faithful"--this especially describes Sinegard!Jiang. And Jiang, in general, is pretty driven by love and loyalty to those he cares for; he stands up against Riga despite their soulbond when Riga basically genocides Jiang's girlfriend's island, and storytellers claim he asked the Great Tortoise just for the strength to protect his country and his friends. For the Stargazer, I noticed "curious, exploratory, free-spirited"--kinda for similar reasons to The Advocate! I will say I think the strengths for this one suit him better, but the weaknesses for The Advocate fit better, so... handweighing motions. But I'm happy to go with whatever you decide. In general he favors wisdom over ambition and enlightenment over power, if that helps.

ANTICIPATED FACTION:

Jiang is more likely to lean towards Zenith! Not because he necessarily trusts Yima or Cyrus, but because he believes the universe is essentially dreamt up by the gods and that even if it were possible to bring back a dead world, the cost of doing so would be unimaginably high. Unless he's told otherwise, he will believe that his world was destroyed by Rin and Altan trying and failing to weaponize the gods, so he doesn't really doubt that part. Jiang would rather focus on trying to build a new world because anything else is beyond what should fall on mortal shoulders.

SUITABILITY:

Basically he's just going to hide in the greenhouse and get high and do nothing--

no I'm kidding. Since Jiang doesn't really need much convincing to believe his world is dead and gone, he's willing to help with building a new one! He's especially the mentor type; he's not necessarily interested in persuading Meridians over the Zenith, but like, if there are people undecided who might need swaying or people (especially teens or young adults) who might need help coping, he can try to deal with that. Again, it's not because he trusts Yima or Cyrus, but because he does believe his world is dead and he's willing to support efforts to move past that. Even if he learns his world isn't actually gone forever, I'm not sure he'd agree to go back; he would be conflicted and hesitant as he regains his memories, torn between going back to the anchors who need him and keeping his power out of mortal hands. This attitude may also vary depending on his access to the Pantheon/what the gods are like here in Kenos!

He is also pretty good with plants, though. Especially the drug ones.