Rigdzen Tao

Elite Novice Posts : 42 Age : 35 Join date : 2016-05-22

|BASICS|
Name: Rigdzin Tao
Age: 23 years old
Birthplace: Born to the Eastern Air temple, he would simply say he was from the temples, choosing not to call any one particular place home.
Current Residence: Nomadically wandering the Si Wong Desert, he would like to find the lost Library of Shi Tong – until he is so lucky, the young man carves his paths through sand dunes and often rides the harsh landscape using sustainable airbending currents and a unique sand-skating board and sail.
Rank: An adept Airbender, he was never able to master his craft due to the loss of his family and fragmented separation of his people. Though his abilities to manipulate air have room to grow, his spirituality and connection to the fauna of the world could make him even more masterful in time.
Occupation: When he is not charting and mapping the expansive desert and connecting mountain ridges, Rigdzin brings food and messages between villages.
Element: An avid Airbender and spiritual wanderer, his abilities seem to be numerous but without perfection. Able to manipulate air to control his immediate surroundings, Rigdzin is not afraid of any height or depth. As a monk, he learned the strengths of spiritual connectedness which aid in his desire to communicate with every creature he meets. Spending so much time in the desert, travellers have often mistaken him for a sandbender due to his easy movements through the wasteland. Perhaps with the help of a master earth bender he could begin to understand this discipline, but in his solitude it is not as likely that he’ll learn this ability.

|PETS/MOUNTS|

Name: Monty, the Sugar Glider is a small rodent akin to flying squirrels.
Age: Monty is nearly 12 years old, which is incredibly odd for such a small creature. The care of his master appears to allow this furry creature to live without aging.
Picture: (What does your pet/mount look like?)
Personality: Monty is like most rodents – curious (to a fault!) and ultimately driven by a desire to eat everything.
Brief History: Rigdzin had never been alone – though his circles had always been small and his family even smaller, he’d always know the comfort of having someone near. Before his teenage years, his wandering band of wanderers had become smaller and hardened. Though petty crimes seemed to plague every corner of the world they remained a peaceful people only looking to live and prosper and share whatever they could. Never losing their compassionate toward each other, the nomads found strength in eachother..
When the worst had come to pass and Rigdzin was completely alone, something greater than his own sorrow called to him. The chatter of life in the trees above. Three long years without speaking a word – three long years without hearing his own voice – had changed the boy. He could hear the Sugar Gliders speak, even if he couldn’t understand their words. It was their intent that he could read – it spoke louder than his memories of language and voices. They danced among the branches and laughed together and sang together – each leap, rustling leaves and sound of scratching bark was a line to the chorus of life.
They could airbend like his family, they could laugh like his friends, and they welcomed him to their branches as he gave chase with joy that he’d long forgotten in his heart.
Monty chose Rigdzin when it was time for the boy to move on, and Monty has never left his side since.

Though Rigdzin does not keep a traditional mount as a pet, he has been known to trick sandworms and badgermoles into helping him carve through sand and stone. If he finds himself in the forests and meadows of the world, he will undoubtedly charm one of his favourite creatures - the Foxantelope.

|WEAPONS|
Name: Simply referring to the weapon as his ‘staff’, anyone with knowledge about the earliest airbenders would recognize it immediately.
Brief History:The staff has been augmented over time – what was once only two and a half feet in length had been given several additions to reach its now full height of over six feet.

|OPTIONAL|
Hobbies: Rigdzin loves animals – some wouldn’t consider this a hobby, but the bender has researched or tried to mimic and learn from nearly every animal he has met. Traveling far and wide, that is no small statement to his knowledge and interest. Rigdzin is often so absent mindedly interested in this hobby that he’s likely to greet a person’s mount before the person riding it.
Quirks: Rigdzin is startlingly silly when the moment arises. Such a stoic face seems to change entirely when he laughs – something he’d love to do often but, respectfully, chooses his moments carefully.

|APPEARANCE|
Hair: Perhaps the oddest trait of the young man, his hair is completely white. Not a single strand seems darker than the rest, nor does the pigmentation seem to relate to his age. Youthful, full and thick, the white and shaggy crop of hair hangs over his ears, across his brow, and down the back of his neck.
Eyes: Appropriately sized eyes boast light green hues. Quick and clear, his sight is impressive.
Height: 5’ 11”, but often slouching lazily.
Clothes: The desert heat and sand have taught Rigdzin the benefit of his element. The ability to use his chi and temper the air around himself makes his clothing seem fitting. A loose Hanfu robe wraps most of his body. The neutral grey material is lined and seemed with an interesting sandy brown. The same sandy brown colours the very baggy samurai-like pants he wears beneath. A hood is attached to the Hanfu but is rarely worn.
Skin: Soft and youthful skin that is yet untouched by age is tanned deeply by the sun and heat of the desert. When he was younger, the olive undertone would be pink from the exposure, but now it has adjusted well. Some have mistaken him for being from the water tribes in the past.
Body Type: It’s difficult to say that he’s physically imposing – barely 160lbs and not particularly tall, Ridgzin seems thin and weak. Beneath his robes, his body is lithe but firm. Years of wandering and foraging had kept his body and mind in great shape, but his modesty and willingness to share even mere scraps of food with any animal he meets have ensured that he remained thin. His strength comes from his reflexes and speed – his ability to move and bend however he needs has maintained his physique.
Also notable are the tattoos on the inside of his palms. The centre of each hand has been adorned with intricate layers of circles, all seeming to connect together despite winding through and around each other. The whirlwind centres are centre to each palm, a reminder to himself of the flow of chi in his body, and a statement of respect to the ancient airbending masters.

|CHARACTERISTICS|
Personality: There’s too much that can be said – trying to explain the complexity of a nomadic airbender would be nearly impossible without telling his whole story. Maybe that’s true of everyone, though. Our ability to change and grow through all the trials that face us is what can truly define us. That’s a good place to start – the people who have met him would know who he was to them – but therein lies the difficulty. He can only ever be what others perceive him to be. Alone, he simply is – there is the will to speak to all life, to taste every fruit, to hear every laugh and see every smile. Rigdzin, if ever asked, would say that he was a kind person, an animal lover, and a sucker for a game of Pai Sho.

Personal Strengths: Rigdzin’s greatest strengths are mostly mental. He is calm, analytical, strategizing, compassionate, and intelligent.
Personal Weaknesses:Ridgzin’s weakenesses outweigh his strengths, but so too should any real individuals. He is far from complete and still longing for a home he never knew. He would give the last of his food to keep another from starving. Risking his own body to save entrapped or hunted creatures had earned him more scars than any battle. Passive and unwilling to fight unless given no choice, he has often been the recipient of abuse in order to try and maintain harmony for others. This constant giving has left him feeling rather empty and lonely, making him too trusting of anyone new and interesting.
Hamartia: Ridgzin’s greatest downfall is his reckless desire to save everyone.
Dreams and Ambitions: His greatest wish is to find, tame, and train a Skybisson – a seemingly impossible task since the trials of the world have shattered their symbiotic relationship with the air nation. Also, even more ridiculous, he wishes to find the Shi Tong Library.

Likes: If there’s anything in the world that can bring him out of his shell, it’s Pai Sho. The game brings him to life – the challenge of a good opponent seems more satisfying to him than any victory. A second great love, shared by Monty of course, is for the different kinds of fruit in the world. Though he is an avid pacifist, Rigdzen has an affection for competitive bending. Watching others at the height of their discipline is almost like being able to bend every element himself. Animals are ultimately Rigzen’s greatest love.

Dislikes: Unfortunately for most of the people and animals he meets in his travels, Rigdzen is a vegetarian. For his own spiritual practice, and to uphold some of the traditions of his people, he refuses to eat meat or prepare it for others if he is cooking. Spending too long at sea can make the young man very uncomfortable – the water element has become the most foreign to him, and for the same reason he tends to avoid the poles of the world. The fire element reminds him too much of the destruction and chaos and death that circles the world, and so he tends to be leery of firebenders – especially those of significant rank and royal bloodlines.

Brief History: No one’s history is truly understood except by the individual who has lived through it. This young man is no exception, and he can only account for what he remembers, or perhaps what he chooses to remember instead. Birth, his formative years, his parents – these are the faintest memories for him. Born under the eastern air temple, he can’t remember if it was before or after peace began to reign. Though he’d spent several years in the ancient temple, it was the paintings and the statues that he could recall. Airbending had come to him when he was very young. Mimicking the stances of the shadows cast by statues and trying to pose in the forms painted within the grand halls – he didn’t know what he was learning, but when the first surges of chi began to ripple through his body, he was surprised to feel the air around himself change and was hurled backward out of the temple doors. Familiar faces for which he has lost names greeted him with laughter and explanation. “You’re an airbender!” They said, joyously welcoming him into their training. For a few short years, he studied his bending daily and his interests nightly. Spiritual growth was important for his people – to remember how many times they had come back from the edges of death and disaster and still remain happy and hopeful. Respect for life and the desire to participate in all aspects of it came next – the creatures taught him what it was to communicate without words, and he learned to listen with his eyes and heart more than his ears.
There were changes in the sky and clouds, but there wasn’t an explanation behind the knowing that crept into the hearts of the Eastern Temple. The world was set to change again, and instead of remaining dormant atop the mountain ranges, Rigdzen’s closest kin decided to begin an unending journey.
The forests, the mountains, and the bountiful fields were kind to his people. The creatures of the world rarely feared them, and even more rarely did they threaten. Life was peaceful so long as they kept moving, and so they did for nearly two years. Transporting goods and messages between villages was a good way to earn steady coin – being able to cross through the world with the speed of air gave the nomads purpose – it gave them a way to help.
But hardship was never far behind anyone in this world, and their efforts to maintain balance were interrupted nearly everywhere they went. Being a peaceful group, refusing to fight unless the circumstances fell to life and death, Rigdzen’s party began to crumble under the weight of their responsibilities. Their supply runs had been under attack for months and the loss of their promised shipments was met with anger rather than understanding.
Vagabonds, bums, wretched lowlifes, thieves – the number of things they were accused of being after their second year outweighed the thanks they received for their efforts. Most were killed or imprisoned before Rigdzen had turned 15.
There was no more unity between their group – no one was willing to put themselves in harms way to help the ungrateful. With heavy hearts, the remaining few split apart to find themselves again.
Rigdzen, instead, found Monty.
Though there were many encounters and trials between, at the age of 18, Rigdzen finally found a place so full of life but absent of living – the Si Wong Desert. Stories told him that the greatest library lay buried in the sand, between this and the spirit world. Since discovering the fount of obscure life and the strength and intrigue of the great sandworms, Rigdzen vows that he will map the entire desert and find what his heart desires.

Moderator Posts : 191 Age : 30 Join date : 2012-12-27

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