❖ NIAN ZU TSENG
Health Points: ████████████████
Energy Level: i████████████████
Male • 31 • Autumn 07 • Half-Elven
Studying Healer • Reserved • Pressing Flowers • Bisexual
Played by xx Omajinai
✎ Character's Tactics
Nian Zu's main tactic is not getting into trouble in the first place. He rather complete avoid any dangerous situation altogether, though that's not always going to be possible. His observation skills and sense of caution have done well to keep in away and out of trouble for the most part. He is fairly new at conflict in general, and even when it comes to things like arguments or disputes, his diplomatic nature makes it hard for him to so much as raise his voice. In the case of a battle, he worries he'd be completely hopeless, since you surely can't talk down a monster. In such a situation, his first instinct is to retreat to a safer location. If escape is not possible, he would survey the situation from a distance (if convenient) and consider options available. As a healer, rather than a fighter, if he were to have to fight or get trapped it would be a dire situation indeed. His offense and defense are limited to whatever he can manage.
His skills would come in most handy in the aftermath. His healing abilities are imperfect and he's still learning, so even what he could do by means of using his magic to aid his allies would be limited. Pain could be eased, small injuries could be stabilized, headaches could be helped, but any serious injury would be out of his league. Healing which requires magic tires him a good deal, and he always tries to be aware of how much he can do. Due to his beliefs in regards to nature and animals (monsters included) he, as a member of a group, generally remains neutral. Because winning or losing requires harm to befall both parties, he refuses to take a side since he doesn't agree with fighting of any kind, no matter the circumstances. He doesn't want his companions to be in danger, nor does he really want any monster or attacker to be hurt. Of course, this isn't how the world works, so he usually has to simply accept it and just try to mend what he can when the dust clears, usually with a frown and a somber mood.
✎ Character's Appearance
Nian is of half-human and half-elven heritage. He is pale in skin-tone, but with that sort of healthful glow that elves seem to possess. His eyes are deep gray, large and slanted upward slightly with dark eyelashes and naturally arched and delicate eyebrows. His ears are pointed, but not as sharply as full-blooded elves. He is relatively tall, at 5'11, and though somewhat lanky, is quite sturdy. His hair is white-gray, with darker undertones that are almost a light teal shade. In the sunlight, his hair looks more white than gray, and vice-versa. He keeps it shoulder-length and layered, for no reason in particular, and it has a tendency to be slightly wavy.
He is not at all a sloppy dresser, taking care of his appearance. He prefers to wear old-style high collars and tunics. He keeps his outfits simple, since fancy accessories and bulk could cause trouble. He will most often wear boots which are almost knee-high, with pants or leggings tucked into them. His attire will almost always be earthy colors, browns and greens and almost never a bright color such as blue or red. Though he lacks fashion sense (or care), he is cursed with elvish good-looks, pretty hands, and a natural grace that he couldn't do away with even if he tried (which he has). Additionally, he always smells good, has several piercings in one ear, and has a large bird's wing tattooed on one shoulder.
✎ Character's Personality
Nian gives off a first impression that can leave much to be desired. Some would consider him rude or arrogant, others would call it shy or aloof. He is reserved, quiet, and often motionless, giving him a bit of a statue-like demeanor. He is observation to the point of being creepy, and takes a long time to think about anything. He is a man of few words and few facial expressions, but excused a calmness and a peacefulness that can be picked up by some who stay around him often. He doesn't like people to be too close to him, doesn't like to waste words or make small talk, and doesn't particularly like loud or fast-moving people. When he does speak, he keeps his deep voice soft and calm with almost a song-like control to it. Though usually a polite and peaceful person, he is easily irritated and sometimes can't handle large crowds and over-stimulation of similar sorts. He doesn't have a temper really, but if you're acting like an idiot and it goes too far he won't have any problems telling you so. This would be a rare situation, since he tends to simply walk away rather than get into an awkward situation or risk conflict.
Despite the cold and collected exterior personality, Nian possesses a deeper and more philosophical/spiritual side that he wouldn't easily reveal. He is, in fact, quite a lonely and romantic sort of person who daydreams and wishes for things like any other person. He keeps a good bit of sadness with him, a few cherished memories, and longs to collect more happiness in the future. However, these sensitivities are kept locked away, since they would get in the way of his learning and safety, he believes, if he were to let them go. Though, sometimes he wonders if he could be a more efficient person if he were to relax a little bit. He tends to be anxious and somewhat self-conscious, and after a long day or an exciting event he will spend hours in the dark meditating or sleeping in order to regain the calm that he works so hard to maintain.
✎ Character's Background
Nian was raised by his Elvish father, a fairly well-off diplomat who traveled often and felt little. His childhood was quiet, but there was always some sense of worry for him. He was always tense, always wondering if he was going to get scolded for being 'too human' or 'too loud' or some extreme or the other. He knew his mother was human, and sometimes she would visit him when she could, but in time those visits got fewer and fewer, and by the time she stopped visiting he'd become too much like his father to realize. Though he learned, through his father's work, to understand and appropriately interact with humans, he'd always considered himself an elf, despite being shunned by most of his peers. He spent his days studying and reading, wondering at more foreign ideas and urges and taking care to learn to control them in order to fit in with his society. He had no siblings that he knew of, and his father's relative though he was a disgrace, never talking to him or saying anything about him at all. He made a few acquaintances of the more open-minded type in school, but never connected to any of them for long. He found most of his enjoyment in daily hikes through the forest where he'd watch birds and collect flowers which he'd dry and press and keep in a book, one or two of each species he learned.
Once he grew up, he continued traveling with his father, learning languages and soon acting as a translator. He enjoyed learning the languages and seeing the different people and places, but the constant travel and the business-like mood of it all wore on him, and his human side couldn't help but feel the need for more adventure and chaos. He grew bored, and took to learning about the plants and natural areas of the places he'd visit from the local herbalists and scientists. He became interested in using plants for medicines, something the elves had always done, and studied it in more detail. Having grown up with a reverence for nature, he couldn't help but be fascinated by nature's ability to heal. Humans and other beings liked to do harm, but healing was a skill for good and he began to take more and more trips on his own to learn about healing magic and techniques from around the continents.
Having some natural talent for basic magic, Nian decided to pursue this line of work when he was 29. Still quite young by Elf standards, he sought out a teacher who could help him, though by human standards he was at an age where he should've settled into a line of work years ago. He found a Healer in a place called Fairwood Forest, and moved there promptly. The Healer there was near his own age, but apparently knowledgeable, and he hoped he would be able to learn a lot despite her young age. Older Healers he'd met had no use or desire for a learner, and he'd just had to take what he could get. The location suited him, in the forested and secluded setting. His only issue with the village is it's monster problem, and the need for the people to fight in order to maintain their safety. He understands the issue, of course, but the conflict between man and nature is one he never learned to deal with properly. In his home, things were peaceful and symbiotic. His new home feels more like his childhood, with that tense sense of possible danger lurking here and there. He thinks of it as another learning experience, and rather likes the area otherwise.
