Xiang Yuan

"A true man stands with both feet firmly on the ground. Stay. Stay like a rock in the water - facing its tides head on. And may that path lead us to victory." - Xiang Yuan

Xiang Yuan on the outside is a silent young man who seems to attempt to project an elders wisdom. Captain of the Elemental God Battleship SuiKyosha, which contains the men and women from his olden village which once stood beneath the Spiral Kingdom’s badlands. Joined by his XO, he travels now through the Earth Sphere - taking on contracts through the Trailers, seeking for the knight to his ship, and gaining valuable combat experience to prepare for a massive war that one day will surely involve his ship and his crew.

Background Information
Once upon a time. Many years ago. Beneath the plains of La Gias, there was a great underground city. A city which was lucky enough to have been built floating upon a large lake found beneath the ceiling of what was essentially an enormous natural cave. There was a reasonable source of food, as they grew strange bio-luminescent vegetables and hunted the fish that thrived within that very lake. Their city expanded as time progressed, for the water slowly eroded away at the walls of the cavern. New building materials would be hewn from the cavern walls, while sometimes strange otherworldly things would float in from the darkness beyond the city. So, it was that this city - run by a lineage of emperors - lived in harmony and health. With rules in place to prevent overpopulation, they rarely suffered from hunger; it was a peaceful life, a community where most knew each-other, yet were unaware of the world above. Long ago, they had been banned from that place after the coming of the ‘great beast’ Lord Genome and over time the surface world became nothing more than a myth.

What they also were unaware of, was that many many years ago, there had been a great war. A great war far away from where they now lived; in one of the corner realities of La Gias. One that resulted in a mighty barrier, and the creation of 5 elemental ‘keys’, each shared amongst a knight and an elemental god ship. And it would be one of those exact god ships - stranded far away from the barrier... lost to the ages - that would change their lives, However... before that change could came - a series of important events would first take place. For fate is not without its twists and turns.

The first event, that set everything in motion, was a disturbance within the community. For many decades, a single family had ruled the city of Lǎoshí Quán. But through disease and bad luck, there was no new heir by the time the last emperor had died. It was decided by will of the former emperor that a lottery would take place, to select a new emperor, as opposed to a democratic choosing of a proper candidate. When the lots were cast, it was a young man named Jiao Long who ended up chosen as the new emperor. Of course, at his age, he didn’t have the wisdom to properly lead the village - so his parents ended up helping this young man in his decisions - though doing so behind the curtains. This boy, however, was not without some support. When he was very young, his parents took in a strong willed and talkative girl named Yǔ zhī wǔ who had lost her own family. The two children, raised side by side, came to quite close friends. So much so that many suspected they would be betrothed as adults, although neither Jiao or Yǔ ever saw the other that way.

The harvests of fish began to slowly dwindle, and less and less building materials remained available. More and more pressure was placed upon the young man, mostly from his parents, to loosen up the rules on their city. This meddling lead to the changing of many laws and rules that had protected the city, and in turn, the comfort and stability of their civilization began to dwindle. Over time, it got to a point where the people could no longer stand it. Their anger exploded, leading them to charge the royal castle, removing the entire family by force.

Dragging the royal family to the harbor, Yǔ included, the people had every intention of placing them into the most simple of boats and sending them to their doom in the darkness beyond. Somehow, though, Jiao’s parents were able to convince the villagers that they were not the ones at fault. While this spared them from the same fate as the children, it did not save them from the village’s wrath. Never more would they reach any position of power, relegated to the most lowly of jobs. So it was only Jiao and Yǔ placed into a single small boat and given the deemed due to them - exile.

So it came to be that Yǔ and Jiao Long set off into the darkness, hoping together that they would find life, rather than death, beyond. With the distant sound of rushing water and the sudden plummeting movement into what seemed like a continuous spiraling descent, the two however soon were faced with what was an obvious fate: Death. As they were sucked into a deep into a whirlpool, their ship capsizing, the breath was knocked out of them, consciousness fading, overcome by that terrible feeling of not being able to breathe...

Of course, this story would go nowhere if our two heroes would die, now would it? Not only were they ignorant of the surface world, but also of what lay below the waters their city was built upon. Beneath the waves was a grand battleship which had laid at the bottom of the lake for many years. A battleship which had a consciousness - as a great spirit of water lived within that ship, at its very core. It had watched the curious civilization which had formed on the lake’s surface. It was within this ship that Yu and Jiao would awaken, laying upon a metal grate, water dripping from their bodies. Confused and hurt they were further disturbed by a voice that filled their minds as the very ship - called SuiKyosha - spoke to them. It needed a captain. It needed a crew. But it recognized that these young people were in no way ready for such a thing.

It had waited for a long time, a few more years could not hurt.. So instead of taking them up to be its crew, it told them to go to a world called ‘above ground’. A world they could never have imagined. A place without a ceiling above their heads. A world filled with danger and excitement. After giving them a means to get there, the ship gave them one last set of instructions. They would be set to travel, each to a different part of La Gias, to see and learn from those they met. Then, at the appointed time, they would return to this place where an azure piece of metal lay in the sand. With the trust that comes from true friendship, they promised to meet again, no matter what trials fate had in store for them.

Many adventures would soon follow for both of them. Yu would visit the empire of Zaibach and the Kingdom of Langran, whilst Jiao found himself roaming the lands of Gunmen until he found himself a master who would share his wisdom, within the realm of Byston Well. It was at this place that he soon learned that there was a place beyond the world of La Gias. That there was a place called ‘Japan’ out there, on the planet ‘earth’, and that they - in fact - lived on the inside of that planet. After finding out one had been living underground for so long, that there was so much more to the world than one once believed, Jiao’s mind was open enough to simply accept this. In the years to come, much knowledge was shared between the old master Xián Zhě Shuǐ and himself - including that of Martial Arts and how to lead people, and the young man’s personality slowly changed. At the end of this journey through ‘life’, he was given a new name; Xiang Yuan.

Whilst this was all going on, the people of Lǎoshí Quán were trying its hardest to get back on track. Without an appointed emperor, the people decided to live by the rules the emperor before Jiao had set, which led their life to one of recovery... but stagnation. While things improved, the food problem remained.. They had to rely more on the vegetation, but the supplies of fish kept dwindling. Several bad omens appeared and the village soon began to panic as it realized something; the water was rising and they were slowly being lifted towards the ceiling! Buildings began to fall apart... whilst the ship of water patiently watched on.

Many years passed, by the time the promised day came. they both arrived, Yu in a carriage and Xiang on foot. Upon arrival, they were quickly returned to the ship and learned of the fate of the village. They both agreed, in their eyes, there was but one option: to take the village on-board, and begin a new life. From there-on, the ship came to the surface, crashing through the ceiling and soon floating above the plains of Lord Genome... whom had disappeared. The Spiral King left behind a series of beastmen and broken Gunmen during his departure, some of which were picked up and partially repaired by the crew of the SuiKyosha after hearing stories that humans were capable of using them as well. Something about a ‘Gurren Brigade’. Through this, Xiang gains a own personal Gunmen - painted blue and jury-rigged with some modifications by breaking apart other Gunmen - leaving just a few untouched in their hangars for the crew... along with large pile of scraps and the Knight of Water. However! That particular mech is unmoving to anyone in the village, and has been presumed broken by the technicians. However, Xiang knows better. SuiKyosha has told him a simple thing: She awaits the coming of that knight’s true pilot. Which is also one of the reasons they travel so much now.

And thus began the adventures of the SuiKyosha and its crew. Led by this new ‘mysterious’ captain, whose name and appearance had changed so far that he was not recognized, and soon was pushed to take up a position as the new ‘Emperor’; an irony not lost to the captain and Yu; his XO, who had grown into a beautiful woman, but not without her own scars.

Those adventures would take them through a portal to earth by demand of the ship itself. A decision made because the ship wished for the crew to learn about combat, to grow as a people - a desire that matched with its captain - in preparations for the great war that was to follow: surrounding the creators of that very ship, and the barrier behind which they warred. Through this decision, they found themselves amidst the war that brewed between the many factions. As they took on contracts through the Trailers, they would find themselves in the very midst of that conflict. For they had just joined: the Super Robot Wars.

Personality Traits
Xiang Yuan was once an excitable and curious youth. Qualities he no longer shows, as he’s grown up and attained a certain level of wisdom through Xián Zhě Shuǐ’s teachings. That man taught him to be patient and careful in his choice of words, to know when it is the right time to speak - how to empower those very words - and how to become someone who can be relied on. And that was not all. One of the most important things was something he was missing as a person: to study all the elements of a problem; not to make rash decisions, or let other people influence him so easily. After all, the world was not as ‘simple’ as he’d once seen it. And he was taught the consequences to rash judgement and foolish behavior.

But in the end, the saying of being ‘a stone in the water’ became something for the young man to live by, and was the thing that had stood out most amongst Xián’s teachings; to work on becoming someone who others could rely on at all times. No matter the challenge.

So in short, even though he is still in his mid twenties, his personality is that of an older and patient person who sounds like they have seen much in this world. A person who tends to show up out of nowhere to rile people up with hotblooded words of wisdom, whilst normally entirely calm and patient. In addition, he was the only amongst the crew, aside from the XO, who knew of the world ‘outside of’ La Gias.

However, that is in a ways a facade of sorts. Whilst, to his crew and those not considered closest to him, he will never show weakness, it is people like his XO who /truly/ know him. Perhaps it has to do with the link they share to the SuiKyosha, which telepathically interconnects the people who have severely tight bonds with its captain and the ship itself. In reality, he is still young, and he knows that he will be wrong once in a while. Behind the words of wisdom given to him by another, and the knowledge attained from this very same person, hides a young man who is afraid to do the wrong thing once again. Never again, does he want to repeat the time as a clueless young emperor of his village. To make up for that period of time, even though in many ways it would be unfair to claim it was his fault, he has put the protection of his people, his village, to be his number one priority. In a ways, one could say that guilt compels him to do it.

What was once his village, now his crew, gets treated with silent respect. Though he has once claimed to his XO that he carries no resentment for his parents’ actions, he also has not tried to favor them in any way; leaving them to be regarded as a ‘lowly people’ aboard his ship, as per the results of the events during his own banishing. Many of the villagers sometimes wonder who he is, and why he took them aboard his ship so selflessly, and this is why he tends not to expose his true self to them if he can help it. He feels they are his responsibility though, and acts not just as the acting captain, but also as the ‘emperor’ of his people. As judge, as law-maker, where the ship fares next, and most importantly: which contracts they accept and which they do not. The latter often being a judgement on whether or not he feels right about exposing his crew to the elements listed, but also the demands of SuiKyosha.

The XO herself has changed from her previously youthful, sweet and innocent personality as well. Now, a more hardened young ‘woman’, she has learned about the art of war and how things fare between states and politicians. She knows how battle fares in reality. She has the experience, she is the one who gathers Intel, and she is the one who often gives the orders on the battleship when the captain is being his usual silent self.

She understands what is truly going through Xiang, and what rests on his shoulders; SuiKyosha had shared with them what lay ahead; that it was not just the lives of his own crew on the line when he travels, but also of those beyond ‘the barrier’ in La Gias - living in constant war which must be finished within the years to come.

In social situations however, Xiang seems to come through fairly well. If he manages to relax, he will drop his silent and serious demeanor and interact casually. He’s not one to shy away from the occasional drink, and is rather welcoming of new faces. But there is always a disturbing element to this when he tries to socialize with the people on board of his ship, since SuiKyosha is of the opinion that at times, he needs to know every little detail about what is happening on board. And sometimes ‘disturbing’ isn’t even the right word to use. Somehow, he is aware of the rumors, and knows of people’s troubles. This explains his somewhat mystic-like tendency to appear out of nowhere with wisdom that applies to people’s trouble - and his ability to see through people’s lies. But it can make certain conversations awkward. And sometimes he suspects that SuiKyosha is trying to unnerve him at times with those kind of things.

Talents & Abilities
(to be written up)

Logs

 * 2011-03-09 - At The Arm Pit