Zhou Tai "One slash.....one kill"

[Zhou Tai]

Name: Zhou Tai
Nick names:
-The Loyal Flashing Blade
-Five Blades
-Ascended Blade of Wu
Age: 31
Relationship Status: Single
Current Occupation: bodyguard to Sun Quan
Current Status: At home providence, Wuchang
Family:
Hua Gui - Martial Arts Master
unknown Master swordmen - Sword Master
Current Residence/Home: Castle Barracks
Current income: unknown
Current Wealth: unknown

History: he beginning of Zhou Tai is unknown but it is known to have been born somewhere in Xiacai in the Kiukiang Country however his childhood is a mystery. Nothing is known afterwards until he was a young adult where he joined a crew of pirates and lived on the sea's plundering any ship or port in sight. Zhou Ti did this for a great amount of time though over time, he felt little more then a barbarian with no purpose which  vegan to eat at hime slowly at first but quickly overwhelmed soon enough. Eventually he had enough and left and wondered for a time to find his answer and met many people and there ways of life and ideals. Over one summer, he boarded a ship and went across the land to the east to how there ideals and there ways of life. While he traveled the land of the east, Zhou Tai met a warrior claded in silver armor who was said to have slain a dragon using his mastery of the sword. Zhou Tai became interested in the man and pleaded with the man to take him under his wing. The man hesitated at first but eventually agreed after seeing the warrior within Zhou Tai's eyes. For over four years, Zhou Tai stayed with his master, learning the way of the sword and the code of a true warrior, making him one of the deadliest warriors by the time of his completion of training was finished. During his time under his master's training, Zhou Tai learned and forged his own Kai Ma Dao, Dusk and with over six months of refining crafted a sword of mastery. Even after his training was finished, he never learned his master's name and soon afterwards his master disappeared without a trace, only telling to find the The Wolf of Amne Machin to complete his training.



Zhou Tai soon returned to China and after traveling into western china for many months afterwards, finally hr arrived at  Luoyang where he heard of the monk's reputation as a warrior and traveled to the school to challenge the monk to a duel of martial abilities. The monk agreed on the condition he stay to train under him if he was too lose. Zhou Tai agreed and short heated battle began but quickly ended as soon as it started as the monk was able to use a Technique to quickly disarm Zhou Tai by shutting down his chi gates. Zhou Tai became fascinated with this ability and asked to be tought how to aquire, falling to realize he had lost the duel in the first place which allowed him to train under the monk. The monk happily accepted Zhou Tai as a student and promised to make him a great warrior on the condition he uses this ability for an honorable cause, Zhou Tai agreed and after many years of the most intense training possible he finally was able to fully open his Chi gates and transformed into his Ascended form however he still had great difficulty with this ability and would never master it. Though he did not master this ability, he believed he learned all he could from his master and gave him his farewells and contiuned his travels. Even after years of traveling and learning many skills and abilities, he still did not find his purpose until one day he was at Xuancheng where he saw a great battle taking place. During the battle, near one of the walls became heavily damaged and sever dozens of bandits used the damaged fortifications to there advantage to kill Sun Quan. Sun Quan tried to run off on his steed but he was quickly surrounded. His attackers were able to cut off his horse's saddle and he was isolated. While the rest of the army's attendants were shocked by the situation. Without hesitation,without thought, Zhou Tai on horseback charged towards the dozens of bandits and faced death and alone to rescue to save the helpless man. He rode through there ranks, slaying as many as he could before his mount was killed and rushed to the man as soon as possible, showing skill and determination. His courage while facing the bandits was enough to inspire the rest of the noble's army to hurry to their aid. By the time the bandits fled, Zhou Tai was deeply wounded in twelve different parts of his body, which would take many years to fully recover. Hearing that his heroics inevitably saved his brother's life, Sun Ce greatly praised Zhou Tai and appointed him as the Chief of Chungu Prefecture but Zhou Tai denied saying he was a simple warrior. Not taking a no for an answer the person he saved was no other then Sun Quan himself who asked Zhou Tai to serve him directly as a Warrior and bodyguard. After a few moments Zhou Tai agreed and was quickly made a Captain in Wu's army though he often take his bodyguard duties more seriously. He served for many years afterwards, eventually being named a Flash Bladed General although Zhou Tai often disliked fancy titles.



Personality and traits
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Zhou Tai is what you expect from a man like him, He is calm under pressure in battle and through conversation although often mute. Rarely does he speaks as only speaks when necessary and usually only says one liners.
 His tactics demeanor is one of the highest degrees, undoubtfully loyal and kind to Wu and those he serves with, he is one who cares little for his own life and cares greatly who around, often putting there safety before his own, especially Sun Quan to the point he wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice himself for his lords safety. He is a man who cares little for personal gain and possessing an indomitable presence, his lord admires his bravery in return. Though Zhou Tai is often merciless on the battlefield, he is honorable to those worthy, He will not kill the weak, innocent, those who honestly admit defeat or those who are no longer threats.


Weapons
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Although Zhou Tai was a Master of the sword and expert with most weapons, he choose to carry the weapons of his master whose origins lay unknown. These sword designs were called  Kai Ma Dao. The design was radical for it's time and while extremely expensive to produce due to it's highly experimental technique in smithing used to make them, it created a near perfect weapon for slashing. The Design was based off three sword primary, the blade itself oriented from the Chinese Jian and the Japanese Chokuto who used techniques from both to create a stronger blade then by using a a mold so when the blade cools and takes form, it creates a slight curve then by folding of the steel, where the swords are made by repeatedly heating, hammering and folding the metal into shape and give it strength. The process of folding metal to improve strength and remove.

When the blade is finally completed, a heavily modified hilt based on the dao hilt is then crafted into the blade, given a suba/cross guard to protect the user from the blade then finally a griip is put on to finish the sword.




Dusk - Master Crafted Kai Ma Dao - Zhou Tai crafted this weapon as part of his training under his master, as a result he spend months crafting and refining it to his specifications.

Armor
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Like his Master, Hua Gui, He choose to wear an advanced variant of cataphract armour

This cataphract armour often called Mountain pattern cataphract armour was a highly modified suit that on the outer layer, the surface armor was covered by steel plates with large metal strips and smaller plates covering the second and third layers of the armor under the main plate. There are steel chest plates in the front,back, waist, knees and shoulders.He also wears a steel helmet with steel strips and three large steel plates on each side. His greaves consist of steel scales and smaller experimental steel plates while he wear's leather boots with steel toe, covered with steel scaling to protect from arrows or blades.



Abilities
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Swordmenship-

Martial Arts- Despite almost no one knowing Since Zhou Tai trained under a monk of great skill and abilitiy, he also became a master of martials where he was tought the 
-Shaolin style, a form on unarmed hand to hand combat
Gatka Style, a form for specifically targeted for sparring in duels
-juélì Style, his most favorite style, a style that focused heavily on quick, precision strikes and immobilization of the target though pressure point attacks. The form also tought how to manipulate joints.
-Hard Soft Style, Hard trains the body to meet force with force, either with a linear, head-on force-blocking technique, or by diagonally cutting the strike with one's force. Although hard techniques require greater strength for successful execution, it is the mechanics of the technique that accomplish the defense. Soft training is deflecting the attacker’s force to his or her disadvantage with the defender exerting minimal force. The defender uses the attackers force and momentum against him or her by leading the attacker in a direction to where the defender will be advantageously positioned and the attacker off balance.T he defender uses the attacker's force and momentum against him or her, by leading the attacker in a direction to where the defender will be advantageously positioned and the attacker off balance.
-Five Animals style, a form based on animal movements for dodging evading.
-Rue Hi Style, a form specifically made for manipulating the chi in one's body, to make self temporary faster or stronger, trained to sense Chi in another body and can tell by one's Chi how powerful they become.

Guandao- as with most weapons, Zhou Tai is considered an expert on wielding with Guandao although it isn't usually a weapon he would wield in battle, rarely when he deploys on horseback, he will use a Guandao for further reach. Tai was trained by Hua Gui in many techniques with Guan Dao that would prove highly effective in the correct situation.

Kwan Tao - neutral stance for both defensive and offensive, this form focuses on quick but heavy thrusting and choping power attacks for offensive but defense the Guan Dao is kept close to the body for quick blocks or parries.

Kwan Kao - a more aggressive form of Kwan Tao, This form focused more on your legs apart in stance to cover the most area with quick slashes and thrusts to keep the opponent on guard on all times. This form could also be extremely effective in mounted dueling or hooking enemies.

Kwan Poi - An extremely aggressive form focusing entirely on quick but deadly power attacks with slashes and chops, the user would also form acrobatics to be extremely evasive, although extremely effective, it is a form used solely in short burst and cannot be used entirely as strains the user's stamina and strength quickly.

Kwan Guan -  A pure defensive style with emphasis of blocking and evading, performs very well in holding off an opponent and tiring them but using  light slashes aim for the head however a battle or duel cannot be won solely using this ability alone. 

Kwan Ma - a form focusing entirely on taking mounted opponents on horseback. the wielder holds the weapon in a upper state and focus on chop attacks from above to crashing down on the horses head at the right moment.

kwan Kai - emphasis on speed and evasion with this form, a form used for when sprinting, the wielder focuses on jump power attacks and barrel rolls while performing quick slashes on the go.

Kwan Juyo - an exotic form that focuses on throwing opponents off guard with power spinning attacks, highly effective for disarming or immobilizing opponents 

Archery- though not a master, Zhou Tai has been trained extensively during his travels to japan and currently wield a Yabusame bow that is often kept under his cloak or kept on a horse if he parted on horseback. Although he considered bows as unhonarable weapons in combat, he could not argue there effectiveness when used correctly and has used one himself on the battlefield at times. Even though he dislikes bows, he understands there place on the battlefield and must be used. Much like his sword training, Zhou Tai used the same Philosophy as his "Way of the Sword" where You must practice diligently whether it be outdoors or in a house. You must criticize every element of your technique so that you can eventually develop your form into a master piece while also being open-minded and receptive to good advice.

Using what he learned from across the sea and his home lands, Tai had taken both forms and created the Tai Style - a form that combined Cinnabar Style and the Torikake Style. Using the Thumb and 3-finger draw with a glove/gauntlet , the Thumb ring and the torikake stance, While takes longer as the user draw back the arrow near centimeters from there ear  to shoot then regular chinese styles of archery, the shots are extremely precise and deadly, often killing the opponent instantly or causing fetal bleeding. 

If Zhou Tai is made a dedicated Archery before battle for one reason of another, he will bring a Chu mou Bow,

a huge steel bow that at 6 feet tall, it is meant to be planted into the ground or some with stability and shot from the ground, firing steel arrows, when used effectively with the Tai style, shots are fetal as they become almost bolt like screaming through the air,creating a unique scream like sound when fired and are easily able to tear thrown flesh like paper and even thin layer walls.

Mount riding- Although Zhou Tai has never enjoyed Cavalry warfare, seeing it as unhonorable combat, he learned from an early age to ride horses and used them extensively when he was a pirate surprisingly. While he trained in Japan with his sword master, he was extensively trained and drilled in Cavalry ware and horse riding then when he Joined Wu, Sun Quan had him complete his training and is considered a expert horse rider. Zhou Tai has a unique look on horses, While he hates using them in combat, he does enjoy riding them and even raised a few when he was young and looks at them as majestic animals that should be looked as partners, not tools.

In his rare deployment on horseback, Zhou Tai used the Endurance Style, a style where horses and riders focus on there fitness skills such as Endurance rides which can consist of anywhere between 25 and 500 mile rides. With endurance style , it emphasis is put on not only the fitness of a horse, but overall health.

Horses and riders are required to go through certain checkpoints during their ride to ensure that both horse and rider are still in good physical condition. It trains both in endurance and cooperation.

Ascended Warrior - Through deep meditation before battle, The user can enter a state of enhanced awareness and uses there Chi to power up drastically, increasing there strength, speed, stamina and reaction time for a time depending on the user's will and determination. The user can continue to increase there power to be nearly unlimited however furthering there power will put far more strain on there body which could result in serious injury or death. When used, an aura appears around the user like a flame often taking color on hows the user feels at the time.
 Although through training, it can be contained and activated at whim, Often Ascended Warior is triggered



by in response to a need either desperation indignation such as the person about to die or a need to save someone or even recalling a horrible event which has mentally damaged them such as losing a close friend or by being forced to watching an entire village destroyed.



Overview

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Ascended Warrior is a extraordinarily and very powerful transformation assumed by the greatest monks of Amne Machin that by throught years of intense training and discipline are able to temporary open there Chi pathwath points/flood gates, completely removing the limit the overflow of the Chi within a person's body. By doing this, They far surpass there physical limits depending on how many Chi pathwath points/flood gates and how much Chi Energy they can control. Although incredibly effective in battle for a time, After the body weakens and can no longer control it's Chi, it will the body very weak and possibly extreme damage to their own body depending on the level of Chi Energy released.



The Chi levels that be unleashed from 3x the user's abilities to an uncountable number however the more the person pushes there body, the quicker the technique will end, possibly causing injury or death. However the user is essentially a Glass cannon, while they can dish out huge amounts of damage and cause havoc, they must constantly control there bodies Chi and keep it monitored at all times, For every hit recieved, they will lose control of there chi(%)


Known Forms

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Chi level will begin at 100% to represent how much time is left



Ascended Form MK 1

First form of Ascended Warrior, Increases the abilities( strength, speed, stamina and reaction time) of the user by 2x there default. This form uses 10% of Chi Energy(Basically ten turns then its done after)



For every hit received, they will lose control of there 10% of there Chi,If defeated or run out of Chi during Battle roll a 5 dice



1-5 Passes out



6 Heavily injured, exhausted, pass out and captured











Ascended Form MK 1 Mastered

Mastered First form of Ascended Warrior, Increases the abilities( strength, speed, stamina and reaction time) of the user by 1x there default. This form uses 5% of Chi Energy(Basically twenty turns then its done after)



For every hit received, they will lose control of there 5% of there Chi,If defeated or run out of Chi during Battle they Passes out







Ascended Form MK II







More advanced form of MK II,  Increases the abilities( strength, speed, stamina and reaction time) of the user by 3x there default. This form uses 15% of Chi Energy(Basically six/seven turns then its done after)







For every hit received, they will lose control of there 15% of there Chi,If defeated or run out of Chi during Battle roll a 5 dice



1-5 Passes out



6 Heavily injured, exhausted, pass out and captured


Relationships
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Sun Quan-

Sun Ren-

Sachi-


Romances
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WHAT ZHOU TAI KNOWS ABOUT ROMANCE?