Zanshi.Jian



And now I never thought I was enough,
I never thought I pulled my weight.
I painted the lines until I was drawn,
But I'm not sure that it looks like me.
I was born on a bad sign.
Saw the best in the worst times,
Singing all of the wrong lines all my life…

JUST THE BASICS
full.name: Zanshi Jian
aliases: Zan
seishi.name: N/A
age: 20
gender: Male
sexuality: Heterosexual
specie: Phoenix
birthplace: An island off of Konan
position.or.occupation: Traveling Bandit
seishi.symbol.and.location: N/A
affiliation: Himself, those who can’t look after themselves.

DON'T JUDGE ME
appearance: Zanshi is 6’2”, with a long, lean build. He is muscular, but not stocky, and though he is well toned, he is deceptively strong, though this is mostly thanks to his phoenix nature. In his human form, which is his preferred form, he has dark red hair that comes to about his mid back. It has a slight curl to it, especially at the ends, and Though he keeps it pulled back with a black ribbon, a few stubborn strands insist on falling into his face. He has bright, intelligent golden yellow eyes that seem to see more than what people expect them to. His skin is pale for one who spends most of his time outside. He usually dresses practically, in dark colored trousers, sturdy boots, and button up shirts.. He may or may not use a cloak, depending on the weather, and he always carries his pack and his katana. Occasionally, if he has settled in one place for a while, he will wear a yukata that is black and red with golden detailing, and will let his hair hang loose. He has the ability to partially transform into his phoenix form, which gives him a hybrid form. Basically, it is his human form, but with the addition of two large red wings sprouting from his back. Although red is their dominant color, there are little veins of orange, yellow and white scattered here and there that give them the look of living flame. His other form is a full phoenix, although size can vary (see powers).
Phoenix form: i1.sndcdn.com/artworks-000720552505-b0fymp-t500x500.jpg
face.claim: Shennong from "Honkai Impact 3rd"

EVERYTHING'S INSIDE
powers:
Transformation: Zanshi can shift quickly and easily between two total forms. These are his human, hybrid, phoenix and firebird forms. Human is his preference, as it lets him blend in the easiest, but if he’s got to cover a long distance in a short amount of time, one of the other forms is best. His hybrid form is good for any instance when he may need to use his arms or sword while flying. His phoenix form looks like a traditional phoenix, though he can choose to vary in size from something the size of a songbird to something as large as 23meters tall. The catch is that the larger he is, the less time he can maintain that size. Finally, his Firebird form is exactly what it sounds like - he is a phoenix made of pure, living fire. In this form, all of his other powers are at their absolute strongest, but this form is very hard for him to maintain for any substantial length of time. Holding it too long could even eventually lead to his death.
Superhuman Strength, Speed and Agility: He is stronger, faster and more nimble than the average human. Although there may be creatures that are stronger or faster, it is rare. His speed is greatest in one of his phoenix forms, but his strength seems to be better in his human and hybrid form, if only because having arms makes it easier to pick things up.
Healing Tears: As a phoenix, he has healing tears. That means that his tears can heal any injury or illness, no matter the severity. This excludes death, as not even his tears are strong enough to undo that. It is rumored that the older a phoenix’s tears, the stronger they are, and thus that if a phoenix can keep some of his tears - and survive himself - for a century or more, those tears can be used to reverse death. Unfortunately, no phoenix has yet to survive that long, at least to Zanshi’s knowledge. He has a bespelled bottle that he purchased from a demon magician that magically automatically captures his tears. It is a flat, clear glass bottle about the size of his hand that is currently about a third full of a translucent, shimmering liquid. In addition to this, he can heal by touch in his human or hybrid forms, but this healing is no stronger than any other person with a healing ability. It is easier to him than crying, but he will use more energy the larger the injury.
Fire Manipulation: As a phoenix, Zanshi has an affinity for - and immunity to - fire. He can create and manipulate flames with relative ease into doing any number of things he wants them too. As with most things, this is strongest in his firebird form, and the larger the act, the more energy it requires, and the shorter the length of time he can maintain it. If the fire is behaving in an unnatural way, he must continuously feed it energy to keep it going, but if it is behaving as normal fire (such as starting a campfire) he can leave it to power itself, saving his energy for other uses.
Regeneration: In addition to the healing properties of his tears, he has a level of invulnerability and self healing. He is harder than most to injure, and when he is injured, he heals faster from it - which is fortunate because he cannot be healed by others. This can even regrow a lost limb or organ - though not his head or heart.
Reincarnation: As a phoenix, Zanshi is able to be reincarnated. In addition, he recalls the previous lives he has lived. As a young phoenix, he has only lived one previous life so far, but he recalls it as clearly as he does this current life.
Limited Telepathy: to date. He has only been able to share telepathic communication with canine creatures, most strongly, his pet Fire Wolf, Kuro.
Piercing Screech: Zanshi is capable of emitting a screeching cry that is shrill and strong enough to cause physical injury. He can control the pitch and tone in order to receive a desired pitch. He can stun or knock out others, or he can even cause bleeding eardrums or physical impact type injuries.
abilities:
Pickpocketing and Thieving: Zanshi’s primary source of income. He has a few scruples, and will not steal from someone who cannot spare it, and he will not take from children or widdows. Quite the opposite, he tends to target corrupt nobles and leaders, and leaders, tending to give at least part of what he takes to those less fortunate.
Wilderness Survival Skills: Huntin, fishing, camping, tracking, and other skills needed for traveling through the many forests of the Universe of the Four Gods. Musical Ability: One of his main hobbies is playing a transverse flute while he walks, or idles away the time.
Knitting: In addition, he picked up knitting from an older phoenix woman during his past life, and it is a hobby that has persisted. It’s something he is a little embarrassed about, so he does not often showcase it. He works on it while sitting by the fireside at night, or when it’s raining and he can’t continue traveling. The things that he knits usually find their way to those in need in one of the small villages he passes through.
weapons: As phoenixes are sensitive to iron, he has a special copper katana that he uses. He also has smaller copper knives.
strengths: Zanshi has a quick intellect, often a lot smarter than others - and even himself - give him credit for.He is also very compassionate, all things considered, and even though he finds it hard to trust humans, he still tries to help them out whenever he can. He has learned to master all of his abilities - at least, as much as he can at his relatively young age. Another strength is his optimism, as he always tries to find the bright side of a situation, and he usually can.
weaknesses: Zanshi is claustrophobic - he does not like tight, enclosed spaces, and he begins to panic if he cannot at least see outside. He does a bit better in larger rooms even without windows, but he prefers to either have a window or to simply be outside. He also dislikes the rain. It is not a phobia, but given that his nature - and Kuro’s - are based in fire, he would rather seek shelter than try to travel in the rain. He has a weakness to iron, which can actually burn both himself and Kuro. For this reason, he carries specially made copper weapons. Another weakness - at least as far as he sees it - is that he considers himself a coward. He would rather run away from a fight than to face whoever is opposing him. What he tends to overlook is that he only ever runs away if the threat is just to himself or to others who can defend themselves. When the innocent are threatened, he stands his ground to protect them.
His powers and abilities have a number of limitations. One of the major limitations to his powers is simply that he is still very young. When he has a few different lives and a few centuries under his belt, he will be much more powerful than he is now. Likewise, there is the danger later in his life that he will begin to get all of his past incarnations confused with his current life. There is an instance among the very old of his species for insanity caused by the sheer number of memories one has to keep straight. Likewise, he can only reincarnate oonce dying if his ashes are left undisturbed until the egg is allowed to form, though his first birth more closely mirrors a human birth. Phoenix ashes are very highly valued in magic and medicine, and so many of his species have been hunted, killed and had their ashes instantly swept up so that they can be used, and thus they cannot reincarnate. The same is true for the ashes of Fire Wolve, though they have slightly different properties. Although his tears can heal just about anything short of death, it is very, very hard for him to cry. This is not because of some emotional detachment, but more a limit of his physiology. He has to experience extreme emotions (overwhelming sadness, jot, etc.) And even then, he will only cry a few dozen tears at most This does not stop him from feeling sadness, but it means he cannot express it as many humans do. As for his Screeching Cry, though he can control the severity of it, he cannot control the target, and every humanoid in earshot will be able to hear it. HE and Kuro are not affected, but he has started keeping a few pairs of wooden earplugs, should he need to use them, but doesn't want someone to suffer its effects.
personality: Despite having a mistrust for humans in general, he is quick to help others who need it. He is also generally easy going and friendly, enjoying teasing others, though not the extent that would be hurtful. He is not a fighter by nature, but he has a fierce protective streak that can force him to fight for the sake of others. Though he is a bandit, he lives modestly, and steals only for his own basic needs, or to help those less fortunate. He never learned to read or write, but is nevertheless very intelligent, having a good mind for figuring things out quickly.
He has become a loner out of necessity, as there are just not many phoenixes around anymore, and it is generally not considered safe for them to travel in groups. That said, he does return to his home island with some regularity to check for any new phoenix eggs or Fire Wolf Pups. He takes them to a trustworthy family in Konana to look after until they’re grown enough to survive on their own.

WHERE I COME FROM
how.do.they.feel.about.the.Four.Gods: He gives them the respect they deserve, but generally tries to stay off of their radar.
how.do.they.feel.about.the.Four.Fiends: He doesn't like them, because they harm innocents, but he also doesn’t think he can pose much of a threat to them, so he tries not to engage at all with them.
how.do.they.feel.about.the.minor.deities: He gives them the respect they deserve, but tries to stay off their radar.
how.do.they.feel.about.the.seishi.miko: No feelings one way or the other, at least until he meets Karasuko.
how.do.they.feel.about.normal.humans: generally wary, but he will help those in need.

important.NPCs:
Kuro: His pet Fire Wolf. He rescued Kuro in his past life, and the dog fetched and protected his eggs until he was reborn, staying devotedly by his side ever since.

history: Zansi is a fairly young phoenix, only in his second life. His first life was a girl called Zara, and was a fairly happy life - by and large - until Zara - at age 12 - went to play in some caves. There was a cave-in, and Zara was trapped for some time, unable to escape. Finally, she tried to use her budding powers to blast out of the cave, but instead caused a collapse and was crushed to death by the rocks. By the time the cve in was discovered, his ashes had formed into a new egg, that - when hatched - began his current life.

He grew up with Kuro by his sidem no lasting effects from his previous death - except for an extreme case of claustrophobia. Sadly, the peaceful times were short lived. Hunters attacked the Phoenix Island, killing many of the adults and gathering up their ashes before new eggs could form - as phoenix ashes have many rare magical properties - and collected any eggs or children to take back to the mainland to sell. He was only five at this time.

Zanshi was separated from his beloved pet during this time, as Kuro had been ordered to gide and not let them capture him Zanshi was sold to a minor lord in Sailo, and was forced to produce tears for him for a while before Zanshi finally snapped and used his piercing screech to kill the noble and escape back to his home island at the age of ten..

Arriving on the island, he found Kuro, but little else. He went through the things he could find, packed up what he might need, and took Kuro back to the mainland. With not many possible choices open to him at the time, he fell into a life of pickpocketing to support himself and Kuro, and got very good at it over the years. Now, he travels and gets along as best he can, though he does make trips back to his homeland frequently to check and see if any other phoenixes have returned to be reincarnated. He takes them to a young family to look after until they are old enough to live on their own.

RP.sample: See Hotori’s bio.

TAKE A BOW
hi.i.am: Hotori
and.i.know.the.code: Water Dragon
i.own.this.character's.copyright:This character, and all combinations of personal details and images created by Hotori for this site, June, 2022.

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One Firebird, RaRa approved!