The Five Nations Discussion

If you want to have relations with another character then that's totally fine.

Name: Arina Larue

Age: 22

Gender: Female

Appearance:

She has mid-length, dark brown hair, and darker brown eyes, which almost appear black. She has a young face, which makes her appear to still be in her teens, despite now being in her twenties.

She favours light, loose clothing, wearing a short sleeved blue jacket over a white vest, and grey, three-quatre-length trousers. She also wears blue gloves and black open top shoes, both with a sort of criss-cross banding which lead up her arms and legs.

Element: Water

Training Received: As a young child, she was trained only by her parents, in a small farming village on an island south of Mizu. But around when she turned eleven, her father managed to get a well paid job in the city of Mizu, and they moved.
He kept this job for a year or so, before he was made redundant, that is.
During this year, she trained under a young master in the city. It wasn't the same master the rich kids went to, but it was much better than being trained by her parents. The young master taught her all of the fundemental basics, including how to form weaponry.

However, they were forced to move again, as her father could not afford to pay for her education nor the house.
But they did not move back to the island south of Mizu, they moved west instead. The town they moved to had a small school, but it did not have a bending master, just benders from the local community.
It was there she finished her training.

Skills: Cooking, tending animals, hunting.

Strengths: She is capable of protecting herself if she is attacked, but she is more of a pacifist than she is a fighter. Her clothing is loose and light, and this allows her to be light on her feet. She is a good tracker and hunter, and is quite knowledgeable about edible plants.
She knows how to hunt, and as such she knows how to use and throw a knife. She uses her bending to create the knives.

Weaknesses: She lacks the will to fight, which can make her an easy target. She also does not have much practise in fighting itself, as she only learnt the basics to bending in Mizu, and the local school taught the practical uses of bending, rather than how to protect yourself and how to fight.

She also does not wear any armour, just regular clothing. This does allow her to be light on her feet, but it gives her no protection, and as she has had no formal training in fighting, this is a major weakness for her.

Equipment: Clothes. She has a water satchel and a pouch attached to her belt.

Personality: She is a quiet girl. Having spent most of her time with animals as a child, she never had much reason to speak, and as such she only talks when she is spoken to. She very rarely engages in conversation.
As such, she doesn't make many friends. But the friends she does make are very dear to her.
Once people get to know her, however, she does become quite talkative.

She is difficult to anger, and wishes only for a peaceful life for everyone. She dislikes war, and strongly believes the world would be a better place if everyone were to just get along.

History: Though her family did not have its own farm, she used to work with the animals in and around her village's farming community. She earnt pocket money for doing so, and she enjoyed working with the animals.
Her father was not satisfied with living a famer's life, and he was always looking for a job in a big city.
He worked in a port-town north of the village, as a fisherman who sold his fish to the local fishmonger. He always kept an eye out for a job in Mizu, however.

One day, he did indeed find a job there, and they moved promptly.

Arina wasn't very fond of Mizu. There were no animals to care for, no quiet places to sit and think. She did not make many friends during her time there. The only friend she did make was her bending master, whom she greatly enjoyed spending time with.
But her time there was to be short lived. she was glad when they moved, but she was sad to leave her bending master and friend.


She was happier in this town. Though there were few farms there, it felt more like home to her. There was wildlife if one looked for it, and she began to go hunting. She returned to tending to nearby farms, and began to attend the local bending school.

A few years later, Arina left her parent's home and got herself a dog*, who she named Rida.
He is now six years old, and the two of them are rarely seen without each other.

She did not move away from the town, and she visits her parents occasionally.


*Name: Rida
Breed: Ainu-ken
Description: He is a thin, sturdy dog with a short, pale red coat. He is medium height, around 50cm/20" tall.
He is a loyal and well behaved dog, who is fearless and willing to protect Arina with his life. His breed is well known for attacking fully grown bears for the sake of protecting their owner, and he is no exception.
Despite this, he is a very gentle dog. He is friendly and gets along well with people.

Originally Posted by Rakshael

Appearance/clothing: Shingen stands at around 5' 7".

Weapons/equipment: Two 8 ft. yari spears. He always has one yari with him

I just thought, those things are like 2 and a half foot longer than him. How would he get around without it constantly dragging across the floor?

(writing my character now)

You ever seen Japanese spearmen? They normally have to just man up and carry these things around. Oda Nobunaga's nagae-yari ashigaru had upwards of 22 ft.-long spears, for crying out loud. Shingen's just got a little dinky thing compared to most Japanese spear-like weapons.

EDIT: And he's also taller than the average medieval Japanese guy. So I see no issue.

I'm guessing he carries it on his shoulders or something, right? So it doesn't drag on the ground.

I think later today I'm going to get the roleplay post up.

Originally Posted by Gamzee

I'm guessing he carries it on his shoulders or something, right? So it doesn't drag on the ground.

Yeah, precisely. And whatever other items he's got are in sheaths or satchels or what have you.

Name: Kadon (pronounced Kay-don)

Age: 14

Gender: Male

Appearance:

As with all earthbenders, he has a very masculine physique, standing at 5'6". He has a handsome face with hazel eyes. His dirty black hair is unruly and kept just short enough so as it doesn't obscure his version, cut jaggedly with whatever is around. He wears a loose brown vest and baggy pants, held up by a rope tied around his waist

Element: Earth

Training Received: Kadon was taught by a Mountain Spirit near Shadou

Skills: Kadon is an adept Fisher. He can also cook and hunt, as well as make conveniant shelters with his earthbending.

Strengths: Kadon has learnt from a true Earthbending Master. As such, he has an incredible knowledge of the ground and how best to manipulate it, teaching him skills such as how to seamlessly move through rocks. He has manipulated this technique to swiftly create weapons from nearby earth, using part of the earth he moves through as a weapon.
His Solitude has given him endless amounts of time to practise his earthbending. Due to this, he has advanced his focus and experience with manipulating the ground. Training against the dangerous wildlife living near Shadou, he has also increased his awareness of the suroundings.

Weaknesses: Kadon has very little experience fighting other benders, as the only bender he has lived near was the Mountain Spirit, whom was a master and would not bother with the semantics of human limits.
Another detriment of being taught by a spirit, he does not care about his limits. Spirits have none, and as such he has never been told to pace himself, often wearing himself out after minutes into a fight.
Kadon's solitude has kept him in a bubble, meaning he has doesn't keep up with the news, nor does he follow social expectations.

Equipment: Kadon doesn't believe in posessions. He wears his clothes for the conveniance of others, and uses the land around him to defend himself. He has never needed money, as he can sustain for himself

Personality: Kadon is very calm and peaceful outside of combat. His time with the mountain spirit has taught him to be patient, to be one with the world. He doesn't keep up with what goes on in the world, the politics and brutality of war is distasteful to him. While he enjoys fights, he rarely kills unless necessary, highly valuing life.

History: Kadon was born and partially raised in Shadou, the shadowbender's homeland. When he and his parents were attacked by firebender bandits at the age of 6, he performed his first act of earthbending. He caused a minor earthquake as part of a natural defence mechanism. This caused a reaction in the cave, and caused a large cave-in, killing an entire outpost in the cave.
He subsequently ran away, leaving the caverns and starving for days. Eventually, he happened upon a wandering Mountain Spirit. The spirit, bored with itself, took it upon itself to protect the boy. It taught him the ways of nature, how to be one with the earth, how to earthbend, to survive. It was never compassionate with the boy, or showed emotions towards him, distantly rearing the boy into a young adult.
Eventually, Kadon decided that he had learnt all he could from the spirit. He wished to be one with his people again. He had enjoyed his rare meetings with travellers, and he wished to rejoin with his community. He peacefully left the spirit, thanking him for the help. Getting no response, he set off in search of Hashama, the capital city. There, he could learn of civilisation, what it is to make a life for oneself. And there, he could train to fight.

Name: Ajabana Akira (Kira, from close friends)

Age: 23

Gender: Male

Appearance: Akira has a lean face, with a scar starting under his left eye and stretching down to his nose. His features are rather sharp; he has a curved nose, similar to a falcon's beak, and a thin mouth; his eyes are green.

Akira has light brown skin and black hair. His hair kept short and straight, and is usually neat. He wears a light brown cloak and tight brown pants that gradually get bigger as they go down. His shirt is the same color as his cloak, and ends in wide sleeves. He carried his blade on his right side and wears no shoes. His build is rather average, and most of his muscle is in his arms.

Element: Fire

Training Received: Akira was trained by Swordmasters and benders in the city of Yakedo.

Skills: Akira is a fighter; he's been fighting since a very young age. He boasts of strong arms and lightning-quick reflexes.

Strengths: In fighting, Akira is one of the best. He can match the masters blow for blow and deliver strong attacks at any given moment. He can switch from using his blade to bending in a moments notice, and sometimes even combines the two.

Weaknesses: Akira is rather bull-headed, and as such gets into many unnecessary fights. He will fight anyone, no matter their number, and will never run away from a fight. Whilst he will grant an opponent mercy, this willingness to go into battle often leaves him injured for long periods of time. He's not very good at making decisions regarding peace, and most of his solutions and plans involve fighting of some sort.

He finds it difficult to keep a level head.

Equipment: He travels only with his sword, any money he might have on him, and an extra set of clothes.

Personality: Akira is very bull-headed, and will try to fight someone on even the most minor circumstances. He very rarely gives ground on an issue, and will often do stupid things to get his way or restore his honor. He's very rash, and this shows with most of his decisions/plans in general.

While he can be a kind person, more often than not he gets into shouting matches with friends. He's the type of person who refuses to agree with anything if he doesn't agree or understand it. He's also bad at compromising.

He can get hot-headed at times, and finds it difficult to keep a level head when being mocked. He'll also attack people when they infringe upon his honor. He's not one for talking and likes to take action rather than wait and plan for something.

History: Akira was sent away from his family at a very young age, when he began to get into shouting matches with neighbors and beat one of their children up when he felt they had wronged him somehow (it turns out the child had been stealing from his parents, but this wasn't discovered until after he was sent away).

Once he was sent into the city, Akira was taken in by one of the local Swordmasters as his apprentice. Akira learned quickly, and was often sent back and forth between this man and a bender. When he was fifteen, however, a fire broke out within the city and the Swordmaster was killed. Akira left the city at that point, and began to roam the land.

Akira still roams the land, searching for something to do. He's been at it for around six years now, and has yet to find his calling.

Originally Posted by Sólsetur

Personality: Akiro is very bull-headed, and will try to fight someone on even the most minor circumstances. He very rarely gives ground on an issue, and will often do stupid things to get his way or restore his honor. He's very rash, and this shows with most of his decisions/plans in general.

While he can be a kind person, more often than not he gets into shouting matches with friends. He's the type of person who refuses to agree with anything if he doesn't agree or understand it. He's also bad at compromising.

He can get hot-headed at times, and finds it difficult to keep a level head when being mocked. He'll also attack people when they infringe upon his honor. He's not one for talking and likes to take action rather than wait and plan for something.

So, how does not liking to talk and also liking to get into shouting matches coincide? Not nitpicking, just wondering. Rash, bold, unthinking people may like action better than words, but usually do a lot of talking themselves into trouble to boot.

And good to have you on board solse.

Good job not reading the thread and seeing that I request all profiles to be sent to me first for approval.

Akiro is approved by the way.

hey so is anyone else planning on being in this tournament?

EDIT: Unlike Kadon, I'm an impatient ♥♥♥♥er so I'm starting this ♥♥♥♥.

EDIT2: wait, so is this a bending tournament? you mention that fighting with bending is generally dishonourable, but also that there are five benders of the different types. Is this just a "My Nation is better than yours" type of thing, or is it an individual bending tournament.

its a combat in which bending is acceptable

Originally Posted by Rakshael

So, how does not liking to talk and also liking to get into shouting matches coincide? Not nitpicking, just wondering. Rash, bold, unthinking people may like action better than words, but usually do a lot of talking themselves into trouble to boot.

And good to have you on board solse.

not talking meant that he doesn't like to talk out problems/negotiate

Originally Posted by Gamzee

Good job not reading the thread and seeing that I request all profiles to be sent to me first for approval.

i was tired, okay

.__.


EDIT: Posting tomorrow because I have a project to do. lol

I should like to propose a correction in the "Social Status" section of the OP:

****Samurai - A person who is enlisted into the army. Each of the nations has an officially established army, meaning there are five in total. Within the armies there are ranks.

A Samurai isn't just someone who's enlisted in the army. A Samurai is a high ranking soldier who has trained all his life in the arts of combat. Someone who's just "enlisted in the army" would be an Ashigaru, a peasant with a spear and a tin hat that they told to go kill some ♥♥♥♥ers. Anyway, not really important, just something that ground my gears a little bit.


Something of a little more importance, however, would be toponyms. As we stand now, none of the geography of Tokugawa has any names. I threw some names together, let me know if this is ok:

^He's right.

It's not a big deal though, this isn't supposed to be a duplicate of historical Japan. Conscripts in the army are just plain ashigaru, but I think it'd be safe to assume that an officer or nobleman would be considered samurai, as well as anyone who's earned the title through adequate means. Solsetur's fire ronin would be a samurai, even though he has no daimyo, no high social status, or military rank. He's just someone who earned it through combat prowess and possibly prior service to an army or daimyo.

Beastly map edit. I like the geographical additions, they flesh it out more.

In this world people enlisted in the army are given extensive training, both in physical combat, endurance, they are educated, and finally they hone their bending skills.

However we can change it a bit if its an issue.

I love the additions, however was lake yOkedo intentional?

Yes. It was between Yochi and Yakedo so I mixed the names together because I couldn't think of a real name for it

Aight.

Do you guys still want me to make it clear there's a difference between a samurai and a regular soldier, then?

Name: Nakamura Kenshin

Age: 36

Gender: Male

Appearance: Kenshin is a large man, massive with muscle, who stands a hand taller than average. His face is hard, with dark brown eyes and still darker whiskers. He keeps his hair meticulously well ordered in the Chonmage style.

He wears a set of black Tosei-gusoku armor. The heaviest of Samurai armors, it consists of solid plate rather than metal scales. Kenshin's armor is all black, but shimmers with a red-gold sheen when light graces upon its surface. The mon of his clan, an orchid, is painted on his cuirass in gold leaf.

Image.

Outside of battle, he wears a loose navy blue cotton shirt, comfortable white cotton pants and wooden sandals.

Element: Shadow.

Training Received: Kenshin has trained all his life in the arts of war.

Skills: Fighting, riding, tracking, battlefield tactics, sudoku

Strengths: Nkamura Kenshin is a formidable opponent in combat. A very large man, standing at six and a half feet, his strength and reach are matched only by his skill with a blade. He is also a master tracker, and can pinpoint the direction of a fleeing enemy simply by looking at the ground.

His prowess in battle is unhindered when mounted, and his riding skills allow him to use the strongest, wildest horses. His experience in battle makes him a good commander on the field.

Weaknesses: Kenshin's stubbornness is perhaps his biggest weakness. He is quick to judge and slow to trust, and will not work well with others if he deems them dishonorable. Despite his skill in combat he uses a very open, sweeping fighting style, with lots of strength and leverage behind his blows. This makes for extremely deadly blows when he makes contact, but it leaves him open to attacks from quicker opponents if they have the skill.

In addition, he does not bend. He finds shadowbending to be useless and never had the patience to learn it.

Equipment: In addition to his armor, he goes into battle with three weapons: a Naginata, a Katana and a Wakizashi (short Katana). Each blade is folded steel, coated with a copper colored finish. The shaft of his naginata is lacquered black as his armor, and inlaid with a lacy pattern in gold leaf and jewels. His swords are similarly ornate, with mother-of-pearl hilts wrapped in black silk and a black and gold jewel encrusted scabbard. They are sister swords, the only difference between them being the wakizashi's smaller size.

He uses the Naginata primarily, but will switch to the Katana in close quarters or if the Naginata breaks. The Wakizashi is only there for backup purposes. The swords are named Yori and Shinju ("servant of the public" and "pearl"), respectively.

His horse's saddlebags carry two night's worth of provisions, basic survival equipment, a few strips of silk for bandages, a yumi bow and a quiver of some 20 arrows.

Personality: Nakamura Kenshin is calm in manner, and does not speak much more than what is absolutely necessary. His words are blunt and fierce. He is a cold individual, and does not pay heed to the emotions of his companions, save his closest loved ones.

Kenshin is a very moral man, and lives his life on a strict code of honor. He will never commit any action that is thought to be shameful or evil. He does not like bending, shadow bending in particular, and thus does not use it.

Although he is usually calm and mild, when a rage consumes Nakamura Kenshin the whole realm will hear.

History: Kenshin was born son of a low-ranking lord in Hashikimi, the heartland town located on the road from Hashama to Yochi. His rich parents raised him a Samurai, and after his father deceased he inherited his lands. He is now one of the higher ranking Samurai in the land, heralded as one of the most powerful and renowned warriors in Ishigawa Country.

Horse: Kenshin's horse, Akihiro, is an enormous chestnut destrier. It is wild-mannered and it charges with nearly unstoppable force. Such a large, wild animal could only be properly wielded by such a large, focused individual as Kenshin.