App | Kenos

[whatlore]

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.