Xune Coal, new character needs approval

Note: For the purpose of this character
creation only, I will be doing the entire
thing from first person. I will be writing in
third person for actual posts, as described
via rules and regulations.

|BASICS|

Name: My name is Xune Coal
Age: 17

Birthplace: I was born in the Northern Air Temple, where my mother and father met.

Current Residence: I am currently seeking my fortune as a traveling mercenary on the road to Be Sing Se and the Earth Kingdom, the land
of my fathers ancestors.

Rank: Since I'm not part of the military or any organization for that matter, I have no rank.

Occupation: As stated before, I'm currently seeking employment and training as a free range mercenary. But back at the Northern Air Temple, I was an apprentice glass blower for an air nomad named "Tonashi Bowyi", an elderly Nomad and a master glass blower. Coincidentally, he was also a good friend of my father.

Element: I possess the ability from my fathers to bend the Earth around me, but I have very little interest in such things.

Pets: Any animals that I come across can be my new pet, I just don't take them with me. They'll still be there if I ever decide to
come back later.

Weapons: I have a four foot bamboo staff which is reasonably sturdy, but I mostly just use it as a walking stick, since I couldn't convince anyone to give me a sword. I did, however, manage to get a hold of my Great grandfather Ordan's sheath knife, which I keep tucked away inside my kimono, but I think you might be able to see it bump against the inside of the cloth occasionally.

Inventory: As I leave my home town, these are the possessions I own.

-A large burlap sack w/tie
-Four days worth of preserved, dried foods
-A chaste amount of money in a small coin purse, which I keep on my side at all times, probably enough to pay for a night or two at the average inn.
-1 Two liter water skin (goat)
-Ten meters worth of hemp rope
-1 thick blanket
-1 Tarp


|OPTIONAL|

Birthday: July 4th
Blood type: I'm O positive

Hobbies: I've recently started making a game I like to call "Clacks", and I would love to spread its popularity amongst the nations. My
fathers side have been chefs since my great great great grandfather Ordan Coal became successful, breaking the line of coal workers
and laborers that had been for generations. I spent a lot of time cooking from Ordan's own cookbook, which is actually rather funny when
you consider he was supposed to be a master warrior and a famous bender. In my off time, I would sometimes go around the temple trying to catch the different insects and bugs I could find and giving them names.

Quirks: I don't like it when people get real dependent on their bending skills. It's almost like you've been born into some exclusive club, like the upper class or royalty. What's the fun of just having everything handed to you?

Family: I am the great great great grandson of the famous "Ordan Coal", son of Amelia and Saot Coal. I have one older brother, Richard
Coal, who is an Air Bender currently studying at the Northern Air Temple.

Theme: I've often heard a song being muttered by some of the people that visit the village. One of travels and distance places.
"The road goes on, ever ever on". Once or twice, I summed up the courage to ask one of the merchants to sing the entire thing, but
not nearly enough times to have memorized it. I'm not exactly sure what the name of the song is or who wrote it, but I often find myself humming it when the road starts to feel like it's dragging on longer than it should.

|APPEARANCE|
Hair: My hair is a reddish brown and curls out a lot. I don't mind the curls, but no matter how hard I try, it won't stay neat for more than twenty minutes, and it shoots out in every direction, so I usually just keep it pretty short.

Eyes: I have dark hazel eyes that from what I understand have been passed down from my favorite grandfather.

Height: I am 5 '8", which is pretty tall compared to most of the people at the Air Temple. It's probably the Nation blood in me he would say, looking up at me from his 5 '3".

Clothes: I managed to free myself of the traditional looking Air Nation clothing and bought a good kimono made of silk, which is dark
tan in color (I'm told these are traditional travelers colors). I also managed to acquire a leather cuirass by..er, "borrowing" some
money from my mentor (don't worry, I'll pay him back eventually, he won't even notice). I wear it over top of my kimono, unless the weather is just too hot, in which case I stow it with the rest of my stuff in a large burlap sack I bought from a local farmer.

Skin: It's...white with hair? I don't know how to answer the question. Normal, I guess.

Body Type: I'm pretty fit, and I like to run a lot. I've had a bit of weight training to keep me healthy, running up and down steps
with heavy buckets, pull ups. You know, stuff that I can do without a real "trainer". But I don't have the bulk that some of the warriors I've seen do. But when I get to Ba Sing Se, I'm going to try and find an actual mentor to change all that.

|CHARACTERISTICS|

Personality: I've been told many, MANY times that I don't back down often, especially from challenges that uh..may or may not have actually BEEN challenges. I've also been told I'm headstrong, but what's wrong with that? I'm proud of it. Better than being a pushover!

Personal Strengths: I won't back down from a challenge, but that doesn't mean I'll rush straight into it either. Thinking ahead keeps
you ahead my old master always said. I like to constantly be on the move. Sitting still is just too boring, and I love looking for new things to learn and do.

Personal Weaknesses: Sometimes if I know I can't win, I just butt my head into it, which needless to say has gotten me into trouble a few times. I don't accept things just because someone says they are right or there way is better. I um, may cheat from time to time, but that's a legitimate strategy! They're just mad they didn't think
to do it first.

Hamartia: I'm really hard to pin down to any certain place for long, and once something has lost my interest I tend to leave for newer, greener pastures.

Personal Hero: My great great great Grandfather Ordan Coal, who inspired me to leave the Air Temple through the stories I've heard of him from my father.

Dreams and Ambitions: I want to be successful without using my bending abilities and to see the world and everything in it. I'd also like to find a way to help people in whatever ways I can.

Likes: I love adventures of any kind, be it new experiences, knowledge, places, or people. I like bugs and insects, and catching them, but I always let them go. Flirting is a particular interest of mine, especially when the girls flirt back. I like being the hero, even if only for a short moment. I have a taste for good food and learning new recipes and such.

Dislikes: I can't stand it when people abuse things that can't help themselves, be it women, children, the elderly, or whatever, but it's not like abuse is necessarily "physical" abuse. I don't like bullies. I'm not big on strict regulations and rules trying to tie me down. I don't like a defeatist attitude, but who does? Ladybugs freak me ou-er...don't interest me, though I'm not quite sure why. I don't use a lot of salt in my recipes, and I don't like food that has a lot of salt in it.

Brief History

I was born in the Northern Air Temple on July 4th, 691 years after the Fall
of Ozai. My father was a trader from Ba Sing Se, selling whatever goods that the Air Nomads and the villages couldn't themselves produce (an Air Nomad still has to eat, you know). During one of his visits, he met my mother, the daughter of an Air Nomad, though she herself was not a bender. They were married in the year 682, and a couple years later had their first child, my brother Richard, a current Nomad at the Northern Temple. Six years later, they had me. By now, my father had settled down from the life of a merchant and took up the family trade of a cook near the Northern Temple, opening up an Inn for the local populace and visitors.

I don't have a lot of memories of my younger years, just the usual blurry and seemingly random incidents, like the time I broke my leg or when I showed my mom that toadmoth* (which, by the way, was totally worth the spanking my father gave me). When I was seven, my father convinced an Air Nomad friend of his to teach me glass blowing. Being the apprentice of an Air Nomad means you get to work inside the temple. "Work" being the operative word. At first all I did was sweep, scrub the walls, stuff like that. After a while he started letting me handle the actual pieces he made, and I watched the inventory and such from time to time. I was probably 12 years old before he actually even let me start making anything. Turns out, Nomads believe heavily in patience, though I didn't really have any (still don't, come to think of it). I tried more than once to quit, but dad stayed firm and always sent me back. Master Tonashi didn't just try to teach me glassblowing. He would give me constant lectures. You know, the Nomad type. How all life had meaning and the balance of things and such. I admit, I didn't listen very well at the time, but some of it must've taken, because I grew up with an appreciation for nature and all kinds of life..cept for ladybugs. Nothing should have that many spots...*cough*.

Anyway, I think maybe Tonashi knew that I didn't plan to stay
around forever in the peaceful Temple, and it's probably why he gave me so many lectures about the importance of home and family.

When I was around 13, I met a Nomad from the Southern Temple, Kuyai. He had lost his parents and decided he didn't want to stay
there anymore, so he relocated to try and find a fresh start (with permission of the Elders of course). We were around the same age and had a lot of the same interests, including sparring, stories, and exploration. I can't tell you how many bruises I had to explain to my mother (and hide from my father). The worst one was when we went down to the lake and got jumped by a platypus bear. It probably wouldn't have been a big deal, except for two things. First, I wasn't
supposed to go to the lake without some kind of adult. Second..we..more or less unintentionally lured the thing back to the village. I spent the rest of May, June, and half of July repairing every bit of damage that thing caused, with Kuyai right by my side. It was probably around the same time I started noticing girls. I mean, REALLY noticing girls. With all the sneaking out and wandering off I did, the platypus bear was just enough to send me over that fragile edge into the "bad boy" category. Adults didn't trust me as much, and I had this mindset that I had to prove to the
other guys just how tough I was. Fueled by the need to prove myself and the stories of my Grandfather Coal, I began training under Master Tonashi, who showed me the basics of sword play, with my strict word that I would never use it to harm others, just to defend myself. I didn't really mean the promise when I first took it, but as the years went on my respect for Tonashi grew, and so did my promise and restraint.

The years went by, and things continued the same they they always had. I trained under Tonashi, learning how to defend myself and glass blowing. Going on adventures with Kuyai around the village (and sometimes outside the village), and helping my parents at the Inn. Within the last few years it had become the most popular Inn in the village, fueled by the stories and relics of my Grandfather. I think I probably would have stayed here, content to become a master glassblower, taking over my fathers Inn when he grew too old, have a family young (I know PLENTY of women for such a task), settle down early like my parents wanted. But that part of my Grandfather just never died. I think the final push was the death of Tonashi, who died at the age of 98 peacefully in his sleep. He had "never been outside the monastery", they said at his funeral. I did a lot of thinking while I mourned his passing. What if that was me years from now, only knowing the small perimeter that I was born in? After a while, I finally made up my mind

I started doing odd jobs here and there, discretely buying the supplies and equipment I would need to defend and feed myself on my journey. Unfortunately, weapons of any kind are rare in the village. Even with my lessons, I had never held a REAL sword aside from my Grandfathers katana. Lord knows I tried to pry that thing from the wall the night I left. I ended up settling for his old sheath knife of his and bought some leather armor by more or less borrowing from my old masters hidden stash (I guess he thought I didn't know about it, or he just trusted me).
I told you already, I'll pay him back!

With the armor, a bamboo pole I found while adventuring with Kuyai, and the supplies I had managed to scrimp together, I left my parents Inn, leaving behind only a note describing my intentions to follow the path my Grandfather had. So, that's where my story picks up from here, as I start towards Ba Sing Se!