Lʜᴀᴍᴏ

» PLAYER INFORMATION
Player NAME: DJ
Current AGE: 21
Player TIME ZONE: EST, -5GMT (EDT, -4GMT)
Personal JOURNAL: whitelighter
IM & SERVICE: aim psitaniums
Player PLURK: biomagnet
Current CHARACTERS: N/A

» CHARACTER INFORMATION
Character NAME: Lhamo
Canon & MEDIUM: Avatar: The Last Airbender / Legend of Korra. Television series with supplemental comic books.
Character PULL-POINT: 170 ASC - LoK1x[insert episode here]
Character AGE: chronologically 516; mentally ~92; appears to be 26.
Character ABILITIES: At this point in time, Lhamo is what could be considered a master airbender. Due to his own psychological issues saying he doesn't deserve the title, he never committed to being branded with his peoples' arrows despite the fact that he did eventually finish his training after returning from the spirit world (having been three trials away from it before then). He has only refined and adapted his art from there. After living and training with Ken and other earthbenders for so long, he has become used to standing his ground and using air blasts as physical projectiles when necessary, although his instinct and first choice of a stance is still the Nomads' way of defense being a good offense... with the tweak that many of his defensive moves have retaliatory strikes just waiting to be unleashed. Much like how canon-example Iroh traveled the world and incorporated different philosophies into his bending, Lhamo has added pieces of other bending arts to his movements to make himself more unpredictable. Summarily, he puts himself at increased risk in fights by becoming too aggressive and placing himself in danger when he simply isn't built to take hits like earthbenders or firebenders might be.

He has invented the technique of anti-space, wherein he forces all of the air in a small area out and creates a pocket of vacuum where no air is contained. While he mainly uses it to put out and control the direction of fire, Lhamo also knows its value against living targets via asphyxiation.

With some life savings and dumb luck in finding a metalworker who doesn't ask questions, Lhamo has acquired a contraption that allows him to "firebend". By having small containers of compressed fuel in mist form hidden underneath his arms and near the concave joint of his knees, Lhamo is able to force the mist through flexible copper tubing affixed to his arms and legs, ending at his wrists and ankles, and past an ejector which automatically strikes a small flint and sparks flame as it emerges. Using combinations of feeding the fire, air flow and choking the flame to force it in separate directions, Lhamo is able to direct small blasts of fire. He wears this at most times to keep up the illusion of being a firebender to the public if necessary, but generally only makes use of it in the pro-bending arena so that he can compete. The flint can be shifted so as to not strike when the mist is ejected, much like a safety switch on an automatic handgun.

As bending is without power in the spirit realm, Lhamo also has plenty of experience in fighting mano-a-mano without reliance upon anything more than his pure skill. This ability has faded from its razor sharp edge from seventy years ago, but he still retains some of the muscle memory and will use it when bending in an area might be dangerous or otherwise detrimental to the situation at hand.

Due to his body being held in a state of suspended animation by the tree spirit that protected the vessel for nearly four hundred years, Lhamo's body has nearly forgotten how to age. It is so full of leftover energies from the greenery that it infuses him with life and forestalls the symptoms of aging at a rate that almost makes it stand still. Some might claim him as immortal. This is patently false and Lhamo will be the first to tell you: he still gets injured (his hair is a testament to the damage he retains) and dying is never something he would want to try out. Lhamo currently ages at about a physical year per chronological decade. As his human lifespan means he will still die when he reaches somewhere around 100 to 150 years old, he will run out of life before the energies ever fully dissipate.

These energies are, to the uneducated observer, a complete boon to whoever possesses them. Lhamo simply takes things as they come, because the energies are unpredictable and erratic: his metabolism can run on overdrive for weeks or months at a time, leaving him eating or nibbling near-constantly; periods of excess energy leaving him ragged at the edges to work it all off; periods of lethargy where it becomes highly difficult just to get through a day (sometimes resulting in episodes of somnolence or microsleep); and memories of his early life with the Nomads beginning to fade not from age but simply burning out. Lhamo has taken to writing and publishing whatever he can remember to preserve these memories, but text on a page will never compare to technicolor, surround sound memory.

The abundance of energies also seem to have an odd effect on his stalwart companion, Kentarou, who has also slowed in aging to a much lesser degree. As Lhamo was very notable for attempting to isolate himself from most people that are not Ken, the extra energy his body could not spend eventually began building up in Ken instead — over ten years went by without any effect, but it eventually began entering notice. At this point in 170ASC, Ken is chronologically nearing his 90s but physically appears in his mid-50s. This effect is impossible to replicate, as Lhamo becoming more social or otherwise surrounded by a larger sample size of people (even only 2 people instead of 1) for comparable lengths of time would diffuse the effect enough that it would never build up in the first place. It's both a blessing and a curse, as Ken never asked for such a thing and Lhamo already has to deal with ageless-angst for a very, very long time.

He also has the ability to grow honey blond hair (where it was naturally a shade of muddy brown) due to the damage done to his hair follicles when he was not in his body for those several centuries. He is also a vegetarian (though not vegan) which is totally an ability.

Character WORLD: Wikia article describing the general Avatar world. Here is a more specific article on the city he lives in, Republic City, with descriptions of specific culture inside it.

Lhamo is a member of the averagely-known pro-bending team, the Lion Turtles, taking place of the firebender using a combination of gadgetry and airbending trickery to make it work. He has also begun ghost-publishing works based on his fading memories of ancient Air Nomad history and practices, which has become popular in the right (read: nerdy) circles as historical fiction.

Character HISTORY: Born in the year 346BSC, Lhamo was an Air Nomad who lived and trained in the Northern Air Temple. There was not much to set him apart from the other youths he lived with — his nature coincided perfectly with the Air Nomads' philosophy for peace and freedom. Although his training seemed to progress slowly, Lhamo holding himself back until all of his friends and compatriots were of the same average level, he was adept enough at the arts and teachings he learned.

When he was 19, in 327BSC, Lhamo descended into a field of the nearby Earth Kingdom to meditate. It was the summer solstice and he wished to place himself in nearby harmony with the nature of the planet. He picked an extremely verdant field centered around a gigantic tree. The area was little-known as mountains and rough passages blocked entrance from most any foot-travel. Although leaving the temple mountain simply to meditate may not have been strictly condoned, Lhamo taking his freedom of spirit a bit beyond the pale as usual, no one had much problem with someone being so dedicated to finding his inner-harmony. This was most certainly a mistake. As the sun began to set, mischievous and terrible spirits heckled the spirit of the tree where Lhamo sat. Seeing a new toy to play with, they dragged him into the spirit world and carried the struggling Lhamo away into the bowels of the unknown plane. After some bullying, Lhamo managed to escape while their guard was down and got himself even further lost in the expanses.

(Outside of knowledge that Lhamo ever received, his flying bison, Jianna, returned to the Northern Air Temple and brought several elders to help him. However, they were powerless when the tree spirit sensed this and hid Lhamo under deep and impenetrable foliage. The elders returned to the temple with a new story to impart upon their students about Lhamo's folly. If nothing else, they made sure that no others made the same mistakes he did and lose themselves. Jianna returned to the field and guarded it, and Lhamo, until the end of her days.)

For untold years, generations, centuries Lhamo wandered like this. He had grown weary and paranoid from running so far and so often, having resorted to lashing out and fighting to protect himself where Air Nomads preached pacifism and never to strike first. Few friendly spirits sometimes aided him, but never stuck around and some only seemed to help to see him get his hopes up for them to be dashed once again. Whispers of Koh and other monstrous spirits wore down his attempts to be positive about the experience, leaving only a young man lost to the ravages of indeterminate time and whims of the self-perceived terrors around him.

By some unspoken act of providence, there was indeed an end to the nightmare in 97ASC. Lhamo had, by this time, rediscovered his body and visited it often as his paranoia would allow him to stay in one place. Without a proper measure of time, there was no way for Lhamo to guess when a solstice would arrive to try reentering his body. On the eve of the winter solstice, when the tree spirit was at its weakest for lack of growth, a young earthbender named Kentarou discovered the field thanks to terrain shifts over the centuries — the tall, empty boughs were clearly visible from where the traveling circus that Ken belonged to made camp. There, he discovered the unaged body of Lhamo and retrieved him from the clutches of the gigantic tree's spindly branches. Seeing this from the other side of the veil, Lhamo rushed to his body before it was entirely out of his reach... and awoke.

It was a disorienting and terrible experience to be back in his own body. However, the time to readapt was not now. The betrayed tree spirit began to cover the area in weak, thorny branches—either to trap them there or as a deterrent, the two never found out—and Lhamo gave Ken the best warning he could to get them out of there. He was too weak to think about airbending or walking without assistance. Ken took the instructions well enough, bending a barrier between them and the encroaching branches, and hoofed it all the way back to the camp with a mangy, wild-haired former monk on his back.




This is where we would like you to summarize your character's personal history and the major events that have affected them.

Character PERSONALITY: Lhamo is a man tormented by his own psychological weaknesses. With the support and guidance of the Air Nomads in his youth, it was extremely easy to stand up for his beliefs and remain pacifistic no matter the trials he faced. It was freedom beyond worry and the difficulties of unenlightened life, the exact thing sought by the Air Nomads in the secluded temples. As he had grown and trained, he only became stronger in those beliefs... until his entrapment in the spirit world. There, he faced the difficulty of an existence without bending, a world of strange, foreign and often dangerous spirit creatures who never took well to an invasion of territory.

The beginning of his 'exile' was spent staying strong in the teachings of the Air Nomads. He avoided conflict and attempted to focus on the idea of returning to his body and the mortal world. As time passed indeterminate, more and more threads made themselves known to the wandering human spirit and his lack of any sort of back-up began to rub him completely raw. His avoidance tactic evolved into fending them off with whatever he could find handy and fending them off soon morphed into fighting them off if any even looked at him funny. Paranoia, exhaustion and despair began to morph the acolyte from a hopeful and cheery young man into a defensive, solitary survivor. The old Lhamo was locked away into a safe space, flipped inside out to become his prickly shell rather than his inner weak points.

Of course, this was not the end of Lhamo. He was eventually woken from the nightmare of the spirit world and brought back to society by Ken. It was more than a little culture shock, learning that four centuries had passed and every single one of his people were gone. Guilt and self-flagellation became an internalized motivational force for Lhamo. He had betrayed the teachings so thoroughly that he no longer identified himself as an acolyte of the Air Nomads' monasteries, yet determined himself to be the sole keeper of their traditions and history. He keeps their livelihood and practices as best he can, but keeps his head unshaven as a mark of true shame that he can no longer be a proper part of that society. His anger has become a short fuse, pacifism being optional in the face of adversity Lhamo knows he can't handle, and worldly concerns are a pursuit to be followed until distraction. Besides, the Avatar's return and own cultural preservation have done far more for society than Lhamo ever could.

Interactions with the living brought out a side to Lhamo he'd forgotten he had. Previous cheeriness often emerged, slanted into the horrible habit of playing dumb to protect himself from being discovered by the Fire Nation or emotionally damaged by those around him. He truly enjoyed the people he ended up with, Ken especially, and a natural loyalty to those he would call family made it easy for him to devote his energy to joining their traveling circus — it also assuaged some of his guilt by transferring responsibility to the circus-runners and allowing Lhamo a scapegoat. Now that the circus has passed on to other performers as time has gone by, Lhamo has moved into Republic City and eventually created a pro-bending team as a fairly safe environment for venting frustrations and honing skills. It is definitely more of a hobby than a lifestyle to someone who sometimes has to forfeit matches due to erratic bouts of lethargy, but the ability to hide in society as a powerful and somewhat famous firebender certainly gives him a feeling of security to circumvent his usual defensiveness and anxiety over his identity.

Speaking of, cowardice is a large issue in his psyche. Giving into his temper and lashing out happens and, every time it does, it feels like a defeat. A punch in the gut. The only thing he can do is move forward from those moments, waiting for the next inevitable fall — lack of professional psychological help, and the inability to truly articulate his own issues — means Lhamo lacks every confidence that he can overcome and return to his original nature. He prides himself on his survival abilities, which is counter to the Air Nomad teachings of peacefully coexisting with nature and those living in the world. Basically, he has a lot of issues with being forced to grow in a direction completely opposite of what he wants to be and lacks the mental fortitude to put himself back on the proper path, as well as not having any of the right social structures (since, y'know, a genocide) that could help him.

Lhamo is, overall, a good man who was dealt a terrible hand. He takes care of the people he is attached to and can be quite fun to be around. His upbringing with emphasis on ingenuity has only been sharpened in his age and he uses it to seem appealing and well-adjusted to anyone, friends or strangers, who would not know better. Letting someone into his life for real is a serious commitment; if he's allowed you in, he trusts you utterly and expects the same in return. He loves children and gets a special joy in teaching or being someone's mentor, his natural state of nurturing breaking through with those he feels are not dangerous to him (i.e., not adults). In his effort to be a better man and find some sort of absolution, Lhamo often finds himself placed in the center of small conflicts like gang fights or a family's financial issues. Fighting a war for an entire, impoverished and downtrodden land of exiles is a step up and a cause he would gladly take up.

His relationship with Ken is a very positive one despite outward appearances to the contrary. Ken is the only one close enough to Lhamo to understand all of his idiosyncrasies and, in exchange for that trust, he puts up with absolutely zero of them. He pecks constantly at Lhamo's absentminded facade and pulls him out of his numerous distractions to face reality. At the same time, he is a grounding presence and a no-nonsense attitude that gives Lhamo peace and assurance — if he ever does lose himself again, Lhamo is sure Ken will do something about it in spite (or perhaps because) of how close they are. In return for Ken's ever-steady presence, Lhamo makes sure to introduce him to new things and concepts that he discovers to keep Ken from stagnating into a boring and directionless person. No matter how antagonistic their relationship may seem, it's obvious the two really do care about each other and are some form of life partners beyond words. Their meeting and subsequent trials to keep Lhamo hidden during the end of the Hundred Year War strengthened bonds that only continued to grow once peace was made. Even after they realized Lhamo's mere presence was extending Ken's life similar to Lhamo's own situation, Ken remained and Lhamo has pledged himself complete loyalty to Ken until the younger man's passing.

» EXSILIUM INFORMATION
Chosen WEAPON: Upon arrival, Lhamo will attempt to be a cheeky git and ask them to infuse his bending with the idea that he might eventually grow into some Avatar-like multibender (air > water > fire > earth in accordance to his own compatibility with elements). Assuming this outcome is not possible, his weapon will be as below.

Twin fans. Simple little things made of cloth and wood that he uses to accentuate his bending when necessary. Lhamo will be arriving with these. After the initial infusion, they will simply become more durable and less flimsy in order to stand up to more hardcore bending.

First evolution will have them begin turning into war fans with lightweight metal replacing the cloth. This will be useful for deflection and also add extra oomph to bending.

Second evolution will make the fans into semi-homing fans. If Lhamo were to throw or lose hold of them them, he would be able to call them back to him despite any simple obstructions in his way.

Third evolution will have the fans evolving sharpened spokes into the end of their ribs, now making them more of an offensive weapon. These edges will also be useful for bending sharp and precise blades of wind where finesse is necessary.

Fourth evolution will have the spokes changing from simple spikes into ridged blades. The purpose of this is to cut stone or other solid impediments for countering Lhamo's considerable weakness to being grounded or otherwise stuck in place.

(He will also look for a glider staff within the armory for personal use if allowed, with no intention of infusing it for the moment.)

Character INVENTORY: Aforementioned twin fans in his belt. Small, conical straw hat to hide his hair. Contemporary Republic City outfit with a loose overshirt to hide the machinery underneath, coloration mixed between reds, golds and greens. The pyrotechnic contraption strapped to his body and mostly-full of fuel (see abilities). Pouch with a modest amount of yuans tucked away into his pocket.

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» SAMPLES
First PERSON: We would like to see an example of how your character will interact with the network using voice, video or text and addressing the network in the first-person. This should be a minimum of 4 sentences, but may be longer. Those 4 sentences must be spoken dialogue. Links to previous posts and threads with this character may be provided if you are an existing player in game. If you are new to Exsilium, please provide newly written samples.
Third PERSON: We would like to see a prose example of your character's actions within the setting of Exsilium. It can be their arrival, or something set a few days, weeks, or months down the road into their stay. What we are looking for here is their own personal motivations, their thoughts, and their personal introspection. Must be a minimum of two full-length paragraphs. Links to previous posts and threads with this character may be provided if you are an existing player in game (if the sample is linked, there is no need for it to be set within Exsilium). If you are new to Exsilium, please provide newly written samples.
As of March 2013, the Third Person sample may now be linked from the Test Drive Meme, whether you're a new or current player.

» ADDITIONAL NOTES
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