Wenshen Cai

[Cai]

Player Name: James


Name: Wénshēn Cai

Age: 68 (The decent quality of life in Tian Xia allows half-elves a lifespan of 150-200 years)
Race: Half-Elf
Height: 6 feet, one inch
Weight: Approximately 140lbs/65kg


====Physical Description====

Traces of elven heritage are not very pronounced in Wénshēn Cai. Two generations of intermingled blood have resulted in an almost human appearance: a slight pointing of the ears, and higher cheekbones are the only physical traits brought to her by her elven blood. Years of service in the Jinyiwei have left her tanned, scarred, and as tough and stringy as old leather.

Unarguably, Wénshēn Cai's most distinctive features are the plethora of tattoos covering her flesh, and of those the falcon tattoo covering her bald scalp stands out the most. In strong illumination her eyes gain a golden sheen, a by-product of her pact with the Tianlong as a member of the Dragon Guard.

Cai could have been a rare beauty if her life had taken a different course. But for Cai duty to the Empire, and honour in service, come before vanity of appearance. Even her clothing is functional, worn for comfort and ease of movement more than any sense of fashion. From a distance she sometimes resembles a travelling monk. Only the official talisman of the Jinyiwei is a sacrosanct part of her apparel, and she wears that token with a profound sense of pride in the achievement.


====Possessions====

Due to her status, and the frequent travel her role dictates, Cai tends to travel light.

==Typical travel gear==
Thin bedroll
Thin sleeping bag woven with enchantments for warmth
Walking staff
Steel rainhat which doubles as a wok.
A ladle.
Formal clothing, woven with enchantments to resist stains and odors. (Rarely worn, except when formal occasions demand it)
Sturdy cotton clothing for day-to-day wear + spare sandals. Typically in plain earthen colours.

==Special equipment==
Official talisman of the Jinyiwei
Writing kit: three ink brushes, inksticks and inkstone, parchment, seal paste, and official seal for correspondence and writs of expense.
Razor-ring: A silver ring with a latch-release razor. Used to draw her own blood for use with the Binding Trigrams
Leather strap: To place between her teeth when she pays the price for using her tattoos.
Tattooing needles, and some specialist ink.

==Residence==

Cai has a small two-storey house in Yulongjing with a mirrored studio upstairs to practise martial arts and tattooing.

When travelling, though, as a member of the Jinyiwei she has the right to request hospitality from the village headman or local magistrate. Typically, she will compose a writ of expenses to cover their costs, which they then submit to the Ministry of Revenue for reimbursement during the tax collection season.

====Powers/Strengths====


==Status: Member of the Jinyiwei==

To become a member of the Jinyiwei is to prove yourself to be an elite within Tian Xia. Few have the combination of intelligence, insight, integrity, loyalty, physical and magical ability to qualify for entry into the Jinyiwei. Wearing the talisman of the Jinyiwei is a key to the door of any household of the empire in the name of service to Tianlong Huangdi. It is a privilege, and a responsibility with harsh penalties for those who abuse their authority.

To achieve this, after Wénshēn Cai graduated with from the Imperial University of Magical Studies, she then studied for and took the Imperial Examinations for the Ministry of Justice. Passing with merit, she was granted the honour of further training with the option of taking the Imperial Examination for the Jinyiwei. She was forty when granted her talisman, and has served the emperor as a member of the Jinyiwei for twenty-eight years.

==Incorruptible: member of the Dragon Guard faction==

Cai has taken the final step that a member of the Jinyiwei can, and drunk of the alchemical mixture known as 'The Blood of Tianlong'.
This gives her the privilege of being a member of the Imperial Household and brings her the trust of the Tianlong.
There is a cost, however, in that Cai's mind, thoughts and feelings are an open book which can be read by any Tianlong Shifter at will. There is no possibility of privacy in that regard.

Additionally, the golden sheen to her eyes as a result of drinking the potion marks her as one of the Dragon Guard, which can make her even more a target to those who harbour grudges against the Tianlong Dynasty.

==Martial Arts==

Cai is not a master of martial arts, nor has she the ability to used Qigong in the way of the Kunlun monks. Her training has been entirely as part of the Jinyiwei, though focused on more Huang-descended techniques.

Against a skilled martial artist, on a level playing field using physical ability alone, Cai is unlikely to prevail. But against the untrained or average exponent of martial arts Cai can hold her own.

She is slightly more skilled with the staff, but still no master of that art.


==Ally: Lóng Piǎo Bái==

(Ree's character)

Lóng Piǎo Bái is a small, young, dragon shifter similar in appearance (if not size or colour) to the Tianlong. Piǎo Bái was pulled through a weakness of the seal created by 'King of Ghosts' Wenli's attempt to resist Wénshēn Cai's efforts to bring him to Imperial Justice.

Their initial meeting was something of a misadventure, and resulted in Cai creating a tattoo of binding from Piǎo Bái's blood, acting as something of a mystical leash. Though Lóng Piǎo Bái can appear or disappear as he likes normally, he is compelled to the Jinyiwei's side if Cai activates the tattoo (at the cost of teeth-clenching physical discomfort). The tattoo, a white dragon twined around her left forearm, has also made it much easier for Lóng Piǎo Bái to communicate telepathically with Cai. The latter unintended side-effect has proven to be a source of frequent aggravation for the fierce woman.

(This section may need to be amended as Ree and I work out the precise circumstances of how Piao Bai and Cai's first meeting)


==Graduate of the Imperial University of Magical Studies==

Initially, before Wénshēn Cai's natural talents superseded the Imperial Curriculum, Cai was enrolled in the Yi Jing school of Talisman Exorcism. As the illegitimate grand daughter of Longmen Shenfu, and due to her human heritage, it was hoped to see if Yi Jing magic could be effectively taught to half elves as well as humans. These experiments, though a failure, were in many ways responsible for the way Wénshēn Cai's natural talents developed. The University's tradition of subtle indoctrination also worked to plant the seeds of fierce loyalty to the empire and the Tianlong Dynasty.

A sharp-minded student, Cai understood the rationale of the Yi Jing school, but her own internal logic suggested it was ridiculous to have to create a new talisman each time one interacted with the astral energies. If it only required a link to the material plane, such as human blood, why not tattoo the binding trigram into one's own flesh? She applied for official sanction to research her hypothesis. After much consideration, it was granted, along with a transfer to the more versatile branch of the University dealing in military applications of magic.

Eventually she graduated with merit, at which point her research and abilities earned her the right to commence studies for roles where she might better serve the empire. Cai took the opportunity to study for the Imperial Examinations pertaining to Magistrates.


==Journeyman tattoo artist==

Wénshēn Cai's first step was to incorporate study of tattooing into her personal curriculum, as her logic suggested it was likely that she'd need to apply the tattoos herself.

Cai's habitually compulsive attention to detail gave her talent in the art, but her primary career does not allow her the time to reach a master's level.


==Tattoo Magic==

Wénshēn Cai has spent several decades developing her hypothesis with regards to magic and tattoos, and made several breakthroughs in the development of her own talents. Her first success was the Trigram of sealing on her right palm. Over the years, Cai learned how to imbue tattoos with her own brand of magic even if someone else was applying them, which is how the tattoo on her back and skull came to be.

The logical basis of her magic comes from principals of Qi and the philosophy of Yi Jing. If blood represents the material plane, qi represents the astral plane. By drawing Qi into the tattoo, a harmony is achieved by which the tattoo's intrinsic symbology is activated to create a tangible effect incorporating both planes of existence.

Each tattoo has its own strength and weakness. Some significant tattoos of Cai's design and use:


=The Binding Trigrams=

The trigrams of sealing, tattooed on Cai's palms, allow her to interact physically with creatures of astral energy. Her very first tattoo, it was still deeply rooted in the Exorcist school's philosophy, and Cai still needs to have her own blood flow over the tattoos. Typically, Cai will open a small cut then rub her hands together.

Unlike the Yi Jing Talismans, though, which work at range - Cai must get close and grasp the astral form of her target with the qi suffusing her physical form. This drawback has been largely responsible for most of Cai's wounds over the years. Cai considers it a small price to pay in protecting those who are unable to fend off such creatures.


=Sight of the Falcon=

The most immediately obvious of her tattoos, the falcon is the work of the tattooist who originally taught Cai her art. Its head and body cover most of her scalp, with the wings sweeping down past the ears, its tail plumage draped down the back of her neck. Cai imbued the tattoo as it took form under the tattooist's precise movements.

Linked to the Shang (upper) Dantien, the tattoo passively enhances her ability to sense and perceive astral energies, a trait strongly linked to the elven part of her heritage. However, by deliberately distributing Qi to the tattoo, she can cast forth her sense of vision in a manner similar to an out-of-body experience. However, this can be risky, as Cai loses sight of her own physical form, and any attempt to move proves extremely disorienting. However, if she uses the sight to view her own body, she can move it. Cai resembles a sleepwalker at such times, but has trained herself to be able to perform feats of fine manual dexterity in the state, a skill which has proven useful in her own work.

Using the ability for more than ten minutes is a guaranteed headache. Half an hour of constant use will result in an incapacitating migraine which lasts for a couple of hours. Even in the short bursts of ten minutes or less, Cai needs a rest period equal to the length of time used, or risk painful symptoms. When using the tattoo she habitually adopts the posture of meditation so as not to risk harm to herself or cause others undue concern/suspicion.


=The Emperor's Protection=

Perhaps Cai's best work as an artist, and a profound expression of her devotion to the Tianlong. Created over a period of years, using the Falcon tattoo's powers in short bursts, Cai has inked a coiled representation of the Tianlong emperor in dragon form. The tattoo itself covers the majority of her frontal torso: rising from the Xia (lower) Dantien, and weaving back and forth across her abdomen, the serpentine form entwines around her breasts to display a roaring draconic head at the level of her heart and Zhong (middle) Dantien. The design was adapted to incorporate the many scars Cai had received prior to the work's completion and draws upon her bond as a Dragon Guard.

The tattoo has since been responsible for saving Cai's life on a handful of occasions, as dispersing qi through the tattoo serves to cover her in mystical scales of jade, protecting her for short periods from physical and astral damage. Cai pays a high price for its protection, however: after using the tattoo she is subjected to waves of agony throughout her entire body as her physical form and qi re-establish their equilibrium. The fit is on a par with an epileptic seizure, and Cai is rendered almost entirely non-functional during this period.

The length of time Cai suffers tends to relate directly to the length of time the tattoo is used, in a ratio of three to one. Thus five minutes of the emperor's protection leads to fifteen minutes of nerve-searing pain. The symptoms typically commence at a ratio directly equal to the time used: thus, ten minutes of using the tattoo will result in the symptoms setting in ten minutes after Cai has stopped using the tattoo (for a total of thirty minutes of writhing agony).

The tattoo is thus both blessing and curse, and something that Cai tends to use only when circumstances permit no other avenue of survival.


=Nature's Regrowth=

Another work commissioned from the man who taught her tattooing, this piece covers Cai's back. The tattoo is a beautiful rendition of a water feature found in Guang Wan, with Cai herself bathing under the shade of a willow, surrounded by chrysanthemums. The waters of the real pond in Guang Wan, tended by an elf with an affinity for healing magics, has restorative properties which help keep Guang Wan the place of healthy peace and tranquillity that it is. Cai obtained and provided the tattooist with a supply of the water with which to mix his inks especially for the piece.

When used, so long as Cai has some kind of direct skin-to-nature contact, the tattoo provides a link between Cai and the energies of nature around her. Doing so puts Cai in a deep, healing sleep while her body mends minor wounds and flushes out illness. Major wounds will not be sealed, but if properly bandaged the sleep will help with symptoms of shock and fight infection. Unfortunately, short of being roughly awoken, Cai will sleep for as long as her body requires to recover from its current ailments.

Small wounds, injuries, and minor illnesses are usually restored overnight. Larger wounds or serious illnesses could have Cai unconscious for a matter of days, having her awaken parched and hungry, though not physically worse for wear. Despite the time-consuming drawbacks, the tattoo has proven invaluable in prolonging Cai's life amidst the vicissitudes of fortune brought by her dangerous career.



====Weaknesses====

==Unmistakable appearance: Scars and Tattoos==

Whilst it may be nice for ordinary people to be easily recognised, sometimes it can be counterproductive to a member of the Jinyiwei trying to travel incognito so as to better obtain local gossip. Short of completely covering herself, veil included, the tell-tale signs of her falcon tattoo give Cai away for any who have a vested interest in knowing of famous or infamous Jinyiwei. And even with a veil on, the perceptive may notice the golden sheen to her eyes under direct light.

It can also result in a subtle discrimination amongst the more conservative members of Tian Xia's citizenry and government - though never to her face. The talisman of the Jinyiwei grants her that respect at least.


==Known Member of the Jinyiwei==

Partially covered in 'Unmistakable appearance', above, and 'Reputation: cursed' below.

Humans love the strange and grotesque, and such matters feature prominently in ghost stories, songs, and folklore. Wénshēn Cai has the misfortune of becoming the subject of several of the aforementioned over the previous couple of decades. As is common with that genre of entertainment, the stories have become greatly skewed, and stay that way no matter how much Cai may protest their accuracy.


==Reputation: Cursed==

Whilst Cai has tried to hide them, the painful side-effects of much of her magic use has brought with them an unpleasant reputation. Those who witness Cai's pain-wracked form after using her dragon tattoo tended to experience a lot of sympathetic discomfort, and speculation spread over the past decade that Cai was once cursed by a demon, now doomed to experience pain every time she vanquished one of its kin.

As with any colourful story, the rumour spread widely with travellers and merchants, and gained new variations along the way. Depending on where in Tian Xia she is, Cai might be greeted with irritating levels of sympathy or the frustration of having people shunning her for fear the curse can be transmitted.


==Aches and Pains==

Cai is fit, yes. Athletic, true. Physically capable of discharging her duties as a Jinyiwei with merit, undeniably. Healthy, with the aid of her back tattoo? Of course.

But as with everything, Cai pays a price. She did not always have the tattoos of protection and healing, and old wounds and old scars ache. Particularly so in cold weather, and the discomfort can sometimes impair Cai's ability to function: a reduction of mental focus and stiffness of movement being the most obvious signs.


====History====

==Timeline==
PW 190 - Wei Cai is born.
PW 179 - Recognised as having magical potential, and due to her mostly-human heritage, Cai is submitted to the Yi Jing School of exorcism at age 11
PW 173 - At age 17, Cai is granted leave to research the possibility of using tattoos in exorcisms
PW 168 - Cai graduates with merit from the Imperial University of Magical Studies at age 22, bearing two tattoos: the Binding Trigrams and Sight of the Falcon.
PW 167 - Cai accepted the opportunity to continue her studies, this time with the Ministry of Justice, as an applicant for the Imperial Examinations for Magistrates.
PW 162 - At age 28, Cai's studies and training bear fruit, and she passes the Magistrates' Imperial Examinations.
PW 161 - Cai's results, both with the recent exam, and her earlier graduation from the Imperial University of Magical Studies, earn her a scholarship to take preparatory training with an opportunity to join the Jinyiwei
PW 150 - After a decade of diligent training, both physically and with learning fine control over her tattoos, Cai is accepted into the Jinyiwei.
PW 146 - Cai becomes a member of the Dragon Guard
PW 144 - completion of Cai's magnum opus in tattoo magic: the 'Emperor's Protection' dragon tattoo.
PW 142 - Completion of the Nature's Regrowth tattoo.
PW 122 - Defeat of 'King of Ghosts' Wenli and meeting of Long Piao Bai

==Childhood; Enrolment in the Imperial University of Magical Studies==

Cai was born in Yulongjing to Imperial appointees within the Sānshěng Liùbù. Her father, Wei Cheng, is a half-elven scholar working in the lower rungs of the Secretariat. Her mother, Yan Bao, was a human working for the Ministry of Astral Influence.

Wénshēn Cai's ancestry is both august and lowly. Her elven blood comes from the famous Longmen Shenfu, the elf orphan who worked with the emperor to help found the Yi Jing talisman method of astral exorcisms. Her human heritage has no particular pedigree beyond what her ancestors earned by way of their deeds in life.

As a child, Cai was precocious and stubborn, with a tendency to try and bully her parents. Her behaviour earned her the nickname 'Little Empress' from parents who doted on her. Her childhood was, in no uncertain terms, a happy one.

At age eleven, in line with Imperial policy, Cai's parents submitted her to Ministry examiners to test for magical ability. Tests confirmed a burgeoning talent for astral manipulation, and Cai was enrolled in the Imperial University of Magical Studies.

Cai did not take the change well. She missed her parents, she missed the children she used to play with, and she missed her mother's cooking. 'The Little Empress' began her tantrums once more, and her rebellious demeanour earned Cai numerous rebukes and punishments in the first few months.


==Adoration at First Sight; Yi Jing School of Talisman Exorcism==

Emperor Huangdi was known to visit the University on occasion to visit his garden of talented souls. The presence of the Emperor, and his calming aura, also helped to assist in the pro-dynastic indoctrination of the students. For Cai, lonely and missing her parents, it was love at first sight. It would also become one of her most embarrassing memories. Cai, whose habit of speaking her mind loudly and clearly, cut through the serene wake of the emperor's passage with a statement of child's logic which almost caused her tutors to die of shame on the spot. In a tone of awe, the young Cai said "You're as pretty as my mother. I'm going to marry you when I grow up."

Perhaps it was the absurdity of the situation, or the way Cai's tutors flailed about internally looking for the most elegant way to save face, but Emperor Huangdi smiled. In Cai's mind she heard a warm voice say "Descendant of Longmen Shenfu, we are already family. Learn from your tutors well, and we shall meet again."

Cai's punishment lasted a month, but she didn't mind. Afterwards, her turnaround in behaviour seemed almost miraculous to her tutors, and she turned to her studies with an almost ferocious determination. Her studies brought out a talent for analytical thinking and academic ability. Her precocious personality developed into a strongly independent turn of mind which prided individual growth over fitting into a group. However, her ability with magic was not proving compatible with the Yi Jing school of talisman exorcisms.


==Tattoo Magic==

Cai understood the rationale of the Yi Jing school, but her own internal logic suggested it was ridiculous to have to create a new talisman each time one interacted with the astral energies. If it only required a link to the material plane, such as human blood, why not tattoo the binding trigram into one's own flesh? At age 17 Cai applied for official sanction to research her hypothesis. After much consideration, it was granted, along with a transfer to the more versatile branch of the University dealing in military applications of magic. Her research culminated in her first tattoo: the Binding Trigrams.

At this time Cai still had hair, the length of which reached the small of her back. Her appearance did not go unnoticed by her peers given her height and the delicate features granted by her elven ancestry. Cai often found that fellow students, mostly of the male variety, persisted in trying to distract her from her studies and research. For the single-minded young woman it was proving to be a nuisance. One can almost pity the poor young man whose compliment proved to be the grain which split the rice sack. Cai, upon having it explained how pretty her hair made her, glared at the young suitor and asked "Would I be as pretty without it, I wonder?" The young man's look of shock convinced her to move ahead with her next experiment.

In tandem with her master of tattooing, Cai shaved her head and the now famous falcon tattoo replaced her hair. Somehow, without her hair, Cai's acerbic nature was emphasised by her sharp cheekbones and sightly narrowed features. To her relief, and her parents' lament, the number of suitors dropped drastically. Her relationship with her parents also soured somewhat as her mother could not abide Cai's new appearance and desire for a solitary life.

Eventually, at age 22, Cai graduated from the University with merit. Her research, commendations, and natural talents earned her the right to commence studies for roles where she might better serve the empire. Cai, to her father's delight, took the opportunity to study for the Imperial Examinations pertaining to Magistrates.


==Imperial Examinations==

This period of Cai's life was intensely busy, but can be summed up by 'Study, Sleep, and Research'.
After a gruelling five years, Cai passed the Magisterial Examination at age 28.

By this time Cai had developed a reputation for both eccentricity and a ridiculous level of focus. She received one of the rare and coveted invitations to train in preparation for applying to the Jinyiwei. Cai accepted without hesitation.


==Training for the Jinyiwei==

If Cai had thought the previous five years hard work, the Jinyiwei trainers proved her wrong. They already knew her strengths: her sharpness of mind and ability to retain knowledge. Her magical talents. Her strength of will and determination.

However, while the mind and soul were strong, her flesh bore all the signs of over a decade of academic studies. The majority of her training, funded by Imperial Grant, was physical. For the first eight years of her particular training, Cai stayed as a live-in student with her trainers. She awoke early, completed her morning runs and exercises, would have a light meal, and then the training would properly begin. The final years were an integration of her physical training with her tattoo magic, including a year-long field-trip with an experienced member of the Jinyiwei.

At age 40 Cai was inducted as a fully fledged member of the Jinyiwei. In the ceremony, when the Emperor presented her the talisman, Cai heard the voice from her youth in her mind once more. "You studied well Cai, descendant of Longmen Shenfu, and bring honour to both your families." It was first time in over two decades that the prim and serious woman blushed. Speculation about that blush never died down, and it became a source of gentle humour between Cai's compatriots within the Jinyiwei.


==Dragon Guard; A Blade Who Preserves Balance==

For Cai, whose love of the Emperor never dwindled, her duties as a Jinyiwei were sacrosanct. In the first four years of her service her enthusiasm was zealous and sometimes crossed the line into fanatical. Most of her scars were earned in this period, as were some of her greatest successes. She doesn't often talk about them now, because to do so often draws immediate comparison to whichever folk song on the subject is most popular - a fact which inevitably sours Cai's mood. To turn her devotion to the emperor into cheap entertainment always struck Cai as vaguely disrespectful, though she couldn't quite explain how or why.

But despite her sullen disapproval, some of the songs and tales from her first four years of service still spread. Examples of the tales which make the rounds in households and taverns on a cold dark night include 'The tattooed magistrate and the headless murderer', 'The tattooed witch and the grudge of the well', 'The tattooed exorcist and the Huideshulin Yaoguai', 'The tattooed beauty and the ghosts of Heishan Temple'. For Cai, the lack of consistency in how she is described adds to her discontent.

In recognition of her devotion, at age 44 Cai was offered the choice to become one of the Dragon Guard. Cai accepted. She has never spoken of the ritual, or the thoughts which passed between her and the Emperor, and those memories are protected within a conceptual jade egg of the Emperor's crafting. However, not long after, Cai began work on the tattoo 'Emperor's protection'. The completion of that tattoo at age 46 was her greatest achievement as a tattoo artist.

Two years later, amidst her many tasks as one of the Jinyiwei, Cai completed the research and preparation for the tattoo of Nature's Regrowth.

Cai has worked tirelessly over the years in service of the Emperor Tianlong Huangdi, working both alone and with other Jinyiwei or Magistrates to help keep internal threats to the Empire at a manageable level. Most recently, her path brought her in pursuit of a Magistrate's killer to the north-western province of Jin. It was while recovering from the successful hunt and execution that word of Yunshan Village's plight came to her host, the regional magistrate.

[Darrik]

Mental note, for ease of reference, a link to Ree's character app:
http://www.tharshaddin.com/rp/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=3108

[Cai]

===Prologue to a Partnership: Dethroning Wenli===


Self proclaimed 'King of Ghosts' Wenli had held the remote mountain village of Yunshan in bondage for months. Shackles of sheer terror gave the wizened little sorcerer dominance over the small population of thirty three villagers. Wenli had chosen carefully: the village's own walls and gate, built to discourage bandits, made the village a virtual prison at night under the watchful eyes of his unseen retainers.

During the daytime, Wenli let out only those villagers required to tend the paddies. The stream-irrigated terraces carved into the earth around the village afforded little cover for one trying to escape Yunshan. The rest of the villagers tended to Wenli's demands or prepared for the homecoming of the others. At dawn and dusk Wenli held a roll-call to ensure the number of villagers remained constant, each villager's family held virtual hostage to ensure the return of the fieldworkers.

None dared oppose Wenli. All could remember the first day of the sorcerer's arrival, and his pronouncement of ownership over the entire village and its residents. Headman Guo's son Liu, taking insult on his father's behalf, tried to cut Wenli down with the headman's old sword. The result became scarred in the memory of those present for the occasion.

To the village, it appeared as if Liu had been halted in his tracks, wrestling with an unseen enemy as blood started appearing in broad stripes on his back and torso. Death came to Liu when his throat was turned into a slashed wreckage by no blade or claw visible to any present. It could almost have been a skilled pantomime, were it not for the evidence of arterial blood gouting into the chill afternoon air. After death, Liu remained dangling in the air like a puppet caught in its own strings, while Wenli repeated his proclamation.

That night, one of the village's men tried to leave the village to take word to the nearest town magistrate. His eviscerated body was found barely a hundred metres from the village wall the next morning, and his entire family dead in their sleep. No further attempts to escape were made by the terrified villagers.

In truth, it might have been possible for the status quo to have remained until tax time, and possibly longer, were it not for salvation in the form of bandits. Not the typical salvation one might have expected, given most of them were cut down by Wenli's ghostly retainers. But five of the brigands, witnessing their companions falling to unseen blows, fled on horseback. Only two managed to escape the reach of Wenli's guardians, and their flight brought them into the arms of the county magistrate's bailiffs, who had been tracking the bandits' passage. Impressed by the sincere terror behind the bandits' tale, the magistrate reduced their sentence by one grade, and forwarded a request for assistance to the regional magistrate. Wénshēn Cai, at that time a guest of the regional magistrate having completed one task and recuperating from her exertions, was approached with the report.

Which was how, a month after the abortive bandit raid, Cai was making her slow and careful way up the approach to Yunshan village. Cai was not particularly fond of mountains. It wasn't that she was unfit, or incapable of the climb. It was simply that the cold mountain air made mornings a hell of aching scars and old wounds. The astral seal was not particularly strong in the mountains here, and Cai took the precaution of keeping in tune with the influence of her falcon tattoo. The air seemed misty with the leakage of supernatural energies.

A mile from the village the woman's attention latched onto ripples in the flow of nature's qi. Instantly on her guard, Cai focused her awareness through the tattoo and sent her vision racing to examine the creature bearing down on her. A moment's look was enough, and Cai snapped back to her body, hissing "A Yaoguai. Emperors teeth, of course it would be, when is it not demon ghosts?" An impressive motley of man and mantis, the spirit's inhumanly jointed appendages screamed impending trouble.

Cai swiftly pressed a latch on the silver ring adorning her right hand, releasing the small razor. A swipe across her oft-scarred left hand released a thin line of red and Cai reset the ring's mechanism. Rubbing her hands together, the trigrams of binding tattooed on her palms were soon coated in a veneer of blood, and the Jinyiwei was ready to engage. As the intangible creature approached, bladed arms coiled like a mantis, Cai breathed deeply and waited.

The creature, its insectoid head mostly featureless aside from the gaping void where eyes should have been, was swift in its initial assault. Streaking through the astral energies like a fish through water, it prepared to slash into the tattooed woman. Cai breathed out and directed her qi through the bloodied trigrams on her palm. And thus began the twofold battle for Cai. The Astral energies flowing through her body were at odds with her Material Plane physicality, and what started as a mild tingling would soon become pain if Cai did not end things swiftly with the more immediate threat of the mantidean Yaoguai.

If the Yaoguai was shocked when Cai clapped the blade of its limb between her two palms it lacked the features to express it. But it was slow to respond when Cai's leg snapped up to plant a kick on what might have been its chin. The element of surprise was frequently critical to Cai's role as one of the Jinyiwei's veteran ghost hunters: few ethereal creatures expect a mere human or half-elf to physically engage with them. After all, magic users would typically prefer to attempt to deal with such creatures at a more safe distance. Cai would have preferred that option, truth be told, had she the ability. But one worked with the tools they had. But obtaining the initiative was but the beginning of the banishment.

With each strike, Cai focused qi through the Binding Trigrams, weakening the creature's hold on the Material Plane with the essence of the material plane itself. Had anyone been watching, they would have easily mistaken Cai's exertions as mere practice of technique. Cai moved with a calm grace, like a river flowing around a boulder, her hands the water lapping up against the stone. Had someone stayed to watch for long, they'd have noticed red smudges in the air, gradually increasing in number and giving a sense of form to Cai's otherwise invisible opponent. When Cai finally severed the creature's present link to the Material Plane the red smudges dropped to the ground in a spatter of Cai's shed blood.

Although successful in her first encounter with Wenli's minions, Cai's body burned with the contamination of qi required to interact with Astral entities. Sagging against a tree the half-elf grimaced, envying the humans whose pure blood allowed them to attain the far less painful, albeit less versatile, art of Yi Jing talisman exorcisms. Five minutes later, though, Cai forced herself to continue. There was a fine line between necessary rest and self-pity, and Cai had no time for the latter.

By the time Yunshan village was in sight the noon sun was granting a glimmer of warmth in both the air and Cai's bones. The ghost hunter was on edge, having had no further aggressive spirits, which as far as she was concerned meant more trouble. However, rather than an attack, Cai was greeted by a villager whose ingratiating smile could only be described as 'nervous'. The man, who introduced himself as Shun, extended to Cai the village's hospitality "...though we have few visitors, living in such a remote village as we do, we never turn away a guest." To Cai, it had the feeling of a practised recital, and the man positively exuded an aura of fear. Cai introduced herself and lied smoothly "I will be pleased to accept your hospitality. I am travelling into the mountains for the purposes of training and meditation, and your generosity is welcome to me."

As Shun led her into the village, Cai could see the workers in the paddy fields casting worried glances in her direction. Feigning the need for a brief rest and sitting on a roadside stone, Cai once more cast her senses adrift of her body, trying to ascertain from whence the next danger would arrive. Shun was looking far too jittery about the delay, in Cai's opinion, but she wasted no time lingering at the site of her body. A broad sweep over the village told everything that Cai needed to know: the largest building, likely the headman's, rippled with interference to the area's qi. That would be where the greatest danger lay. A quick sweep over the paddies caught Cai a glimpse of another Yaoguai, this one a creature resembling an elongated and distorted cat with long talons. Returning awareness to her body, Cai prepared herself for the mild headache which was the inevitable punishment from separating her senses from her body for even a handful of minutes. Hauling her self to her feet, Cai nodded to Shun "Thank you for your patience. The mountain air is thin, and I was in need of a moment's rest and meditation. Please, lead on."

Cai was not surprised when Shun led her directly to the Headman's house. It was the standard custom for an Imperial official newly arrived in a village to meet with its leader. The headman's building had simple but sturdy stone architecture: no doubt due to easy access to the raw materials yet little access to highly skilled stonewrights. Yunshan was just as rustic and backwards as every other village Cai had visited. It just had less flammable buildings. Shun led the way and then, standing to one side, bowed deeply and said "Wénshēn Cai of Yulongjing, travelling for the purpose of training and meditation, has graciously accepted our offer of hospitality. I am pleased to introduce Headman Guo of Yunshan Village". His duty done, Shun exited as quickly as propriety would allow, leaving Cai along in the room with two old men.

Seated in the headman's chair was a white-haired man who, quite frankly, looked miserable. Cai assumed this man to be Guo, and offered him a polite nod. It was the other, a wrinkled old prune of a man dressed in fine silk, whose sharp gaze caught Cai's attention. And it was he whom Cai focused her attention on when she presented her Jinyiwei talisman and stated "Prosperity to your village. I am Wénshēn Cai of the Jinyiwei, and my travels have brought me to your village." Old prune-in-silk didn't bat an eyelid, but there was a sudden spark of life in Guo. The headman rasped out a hoarse greeting "Guo of Yunshan Village extends the village's hospitality to you, Wénshēn Cai. Forgive me for not standing: age has brought illness upon me. Allow me to introduce Wenli, the village's doctor." There was an edge of something to Guo's voice with that phrase, but the old man continued "You are invited to use the guest room here, if you so choose." Wenli interceded with an alternative immediately "But my house is also empty while I stay here and attend to headman Guo's needs. Perhaps you would prefer my warmer abode, rather than risk illness: the nights get cold in a building this large." Wenli's smile didn't shift, nor did his tone change, but something in Guo's posture slumped ever so slightly.

Cai bowed slightly "The guest room will suffice. My needs are simple, so I thank you for your generous hospitality." The tattooed woman imagined a slight tension to Wenli's smile then. "If I may, I would spend some time in meditation. Might I impose upon your hospitality immediately?" A courtesy, that. Having revealed herself as a member of the Jinyiwei, it was Cai's right to make of it an order rather than a request. But it was a courtesy Guo seemed to appreciate, and the old man called for a servant to lead Cai to her room. Cai followed in the servant's wake and settled down on the mattress, requesting merely some tea to refresh her. When the servant left Cai immediately seated herself and sent her awareness forth to the Headman's audience room. It seemed Wenli was far less happy than the earlier smile had suggested.

The prunish old man was hissing at Guo "You are as great a fool as your son, Guo, if you think the appearance of this woman will save you and your village. By the time morning comes..." Wenli stopped, and tilted his head as if trying to hear something. Cai shifted her awareness to a new location as Wenli turned to look at the spot she'd first inhabited. The old man was now looking around the room, and Cai retreated to her body before Wenli could confirm whatever suspicions her presence had inspired. A few minutes later the servant returned with tea, and Cai breathed in its aroma. Tea was soothing, and would help with the onset of the headache even now hammering its way into her skull.

A quarter of an hour's rest later saw Cai recovered from her brief exertions with the falcon tattoo. The Jinyiwei was picking through her thoughts on the predicament she had voluntarily walked into. It was disconcerting to Cai that she had not been attacked by more of the Yaoguai during her approach, and she was forced to assume that a concerted attempt on her life would come during the night. The question was: should she prepare for the attack in advance, or beard the sorcerer in his den during daylight. Both had their difficulties. Daylight would prove easier for Cai, but provide Wenli the opportunity to attempt to use the villagers as hostages. Dealing with the creatures at night, with only the perceptions filtered through her Shang Dantien, would prove dangerous but with less risk to the villagers.

In the end, compassion won over practicality: there was little point rescuing the village from the sorcerer Wenli if the criminal were given the opportunity to cull its members in vengeance. Cai would deal with his spectral assassins first, then the sorcerer himself. So Cai meditated, occasionally casting forth her awareness to gauge the present location of the remaining Yaoguai. After a light dinner, eaten in the guest room, Cai waited for the inevitable. As night fell, the tattooed woman shifted a stool into the centre of the room, and perched atop it with razor ring ready. Whether the creatures came through walls, ceiling, or floor, Cai had created an opportunity to react. And so she waited, carefully tightening and relaxing her muscles to avoid cramp, as the moon rose and the temperature dropped.

It seemed Wenli was an impatient kind of man. Cai had barely spent two hours in readiness when she felt a rippling through the air's qi above and below her. The tattooed woman dived to the side, rolling to her feet as she slashed open a small line of blood on her left hand. Swiftly clicking the razor back in place, Cai rubbed her hands as she was once more forced to evade the assault of the two Yaoguai. She recognised the long-taloned cat demon from the paddy fields, but the second was new to her: an astral rendition of a headless man - as if formed of lumpy clay by a child learning sculpture for the first time. Where the catlike Yaoguai was swift in its assaults, the other moved slowly, using its limbs like clubs.

Cai wove between them, the circular Huang-style footwork aiding her in redirecting their attacks, while she tried to find a better position to begin a counter attack. However, while Cai was able to work around the brutish Yaoguai, the feline Yaoguai proved too swift to evade. Cai hissed as the creature's claws raked across her ribcage, leaving four bleeding gashes, and a cold burning sensation from the astral energy. Cai was left with no choice but to call upon the Emperor's Protection, and incur the costs of doing so. Cai focused her Qi from her Xia Dantien through the dragon tattoo on her chest all the way to the Zhong Dantien, and the air around her shimmered with the appearance of translucent jade scales. Knowing that every second guaranteed agony in triplicate later, Cai launched her assault, slamming strike after bloody-palmed strike on the feline Yaoguai.

The astral creature, which had attempted to skewer Cai during her frontal assault, found its claws gliding off her green scales. Furthermore it could feel the connection to Wenli and the Material Plane lessening. Though compelled by Wenli's sorcery to fight on, the creature was relieved when Cai's binding trigrams finally dissolved its painful and tenuous presence on the material plane. Wenli's sorcery was a vile thing, binding the Astral creatures by pulling some of their essence through weaknesses in the seal, forcing them to manifest a portion of their essence on the physical plane despite the pain such contradictory states caused the beings.

Soon afterwards the brutish clay-like Yaoguai was despatched in similar fashion, and Cai swiftly expelled all qi circulating through the dragon tattoo. With a haste born of need Cai reached into an internal pocket of her travel bag and withdrew a small length of thick leather, pushed the guest room's wooden desk against her door, and returned to her bed. She could only hope that the sorcerer would not come and physically ascertain her situation over the next ten minutes.

There was a strange kind of symmetry to the side effects of the dragon tattoo: the shorter the period it was used, the sooner the side-effects appeared, but they were also swifter in vanishing. Placing the leather between her teeth, Cai lay on the bedding, and soon the first tingles which warned of the hell to come arrived. Lightning, fire, and ice raced equally through Cai's veins and nervous system. Cai thrashed, teeth clamped tight on the leather, as the grave imbalance to her qi caused by the dragon tattoo's use restored itself to a state of equilibrium. When the seizure finally concluded, several minutes later, Cai's blanket was covered in sweat and blood from her wounds.

Through her pain-wracked thoughts, Cai heard someone trying to open the door, their first attempt thwarted by the desk. Cai grimaced, and crawled to her knees, forcing her unsteady legs to hold her weight as she used the wall for support. A moment later, the door was forced open, and Cai saw the silk-robed figure of Wenli highlighted by the room's flickering lantern. The sorcerer gaped a moment, then raged "No, you should be dead! The room reeked of your blood and ghostly energy, even from my chambers! I could feel your death throes in the floorboards!" Backing away, Wenli cursed "I'll be done with you yet, nosy Imperial whore." before hurrying off. Cai could feel the man slowly manipulating astral energies, and knew she had little time to stand around pitying herself, despite looking like she'd been bathed in her own blood.

As the shock of the dragon tattoo's after effects wore off, Cai found her ability to move less hampered, and taking up the lantern she raced off in the direction of where she could sense the sorcerer working his summoning. When Cai reached the top of the stairs she found Wenli already busy at work. Headman Guo lay slumped in his chair, blood pouring from his slashed throat, and King of Ghosts Wenli was hurriedly using a large calligraphy brush coated in Guo's blood to paint an octagonal arrangement of trigrams and symbols. Cai knew better than to try and interpret Wenli's gruesome calligraphy. What she did know was that she had little time to act. Wenli's mastery of calligraphy was astounding; the old man's brush gracefully and elegantly spread his design across the hall's floor, with a swiftness on a par with those masters of calligraphy Cai had herself witnessed in Yulongjing.

But Imperial justice took precedent over questions of art, and Guo's leaking throat was a silent cry for that justice to be dealt before Wenli could summon some new horror with which to defend himself. The shrivelled old man was powerful: with every stroke of his brush the astral energies in the room shifted, and the barrier between the Material and Astral Planes weakened a fraction. Cai took the option of expedience, and hurled her lantern to crash in the centre of his pattern, oil swiftly catching fire and spreading in a pool across the stone floor. The fire wouldn't last long but Cai was already on her way down the stairs.

Wenli screeched with outrage when the lantern ruined his work, and Cai felt a shiver when the old man simple pulled on as much power as he could and splattered a small and simple arrangement on the floor "Your interference matters not! I have opened a door, Jinyiwei! I don't care what comes through, for it shall be your destruction, and I its master!" Or at least, Wenli planned to be its master. He'd work on a proper binding while whatever came through presumably attacked the first thing it saw: the blood-drenched figure of Cai.

Even putting the slightest of cracks in the barrier between the physical plane and the material was a feat of immense capability, and Cai shuddered to think what could have happened if Wenli had been given more time. As it was, both Cai and Wenli were knocked off their feet by the magical backlash of the seal restoring its integrity. As the sorcerer clambered to his feet, Wenli shrieked "Behold your undoing, Imperial bitch!" Cai, also compelling her sore and bloody body to its feet, beheld.

What she beheld seemed to be a miniaturised replica of her emperor, though albino, about the size of a well-fed house cat. Wenli, too, blinked in surprise at what was perhaps the most underwhelming summoning of his career since he was but an apprentice to his long-dead master. Still, the surprise was not enough to stop him from screaming out "Kill her! Kill the Imperial Whore! Slash her and shred her!"

[Metarie]

Approved.

With great power comes great responsibility.