Xun Wen, the Lady of Fractals

Talents

Skill: 2
Intelligence: 4
Body: 1
Perception: 2

Xun Clan (Great Clan Branch)

Wardens of the Northern Province, the Xun Clan were once a sovereign nation before the Empire absorbed them. Wen's cousins in the central family would have been Princes and Princesses, instead of Lords and Ladies, in a different time. The colder reaches and mountains appealed to the Xun who conquered the harsh land because of the difficult of invasion, hoping that they would be left alone to pursue mysticism and greater understandings of the universe. However, proximity to the Ghost Domain forced them to adopt a martial tradition as well, making them a Clan best known for their warrior poets.

Xun Wen was called to the great understanding, with a mind that noticed and read the patterns in the fabric of the world: Mathematics. Within the pursuit of mathematics she discovered a love of the visual arts and architecture, not as pursuits unto themselves but as ways to express otherwise ephemeral calculations onto the physical world. When Xun Wen tried to turn her talents towards military uses by designing fortifications for the Clan's holdings, she was rejected, as military matters are not a woman's place. Ever since the Ghost Domain as begun stirring and border towns have begun to fall, Wen feels a quiet vindication.

Far from as progressive as her common-born husband, Wen views commoners as belongings, even as she pines for more recognition for her efforts. She feels responsible for the people under her family's charge, no mistake, but individual persons of low blood can scarcely be measured against the needs of the many. And as those who preside above, her family are the centralization of the many - just as they were, when they spoke in the Royal We. At first, Wen was disgusted at the idea of being married off to a foreign commoner, even if he and his family should happen to be very wealthy. However, she has warmed up to Heinrich since coming to understand his great intellect, one that she would (begrudgingly, and only to herself) admit exceeds her own. Some of his views have begun to soften her views of the common-blood as individuals, though she still believes firmly that the masses require a stern ruling hand.

After the first border town fell, Xun Wen set out to investigate the situation herself. In her estimations, even the rising danger in the Ghost Domain should not yet have penetrated the Northerners' defenses, raising concern of rot beneath the surface of their defenses. With her keen-minded husband at her side, she seeks other investigators and warriors to aid in turning the tide. As a branch of the Clan, she feels it is her duty, as her richer-blooded cousins and their parentage are concerned with the internal politics of the empire and maintaining their territory's overall well-being. Delegation begets specialization!

Pristine Mirrored Verglas Foundation (Greater Elemental Spirit)

A Water-based qi foundation. Like a perfectly smooth layer of ice, Verglas qi is slippery and difficult to control, but when guided through Wen's carefully calculated pathways moves with an easy and efficient swiftness matched by few alternatives. While ice is often considered a yin-aligned aspect of Water, verglas can only be created through refinement by rapid melting and refreezing. Thus, it has absorbed yang-alignment from the sun, becoming a more balanced expression. The foundation cannot tap into the sun's energy to produce true Fire, as the Water qi naturally snuffs it out, but can generate a cold light by reflecting or refracting the sun's radiance.

Perks

Attractive 2
Alchemist 1
Talisman Master 2
Innovator 1
True Will
Mathematical Insight

Techniques

Ghost Gradient Barrier (Free Clan Earth-Rank Defense Technique)

An ancestral technique developed by the Xun Clan to protect themselves from the evil powers that exist within the Ghost Domain, allowing themselves to carve a domain along the grim border. After annexation to the Empire, the Xun Clan's central family was forbidden from teaching Yellow-Ranked or greater techniques to commoners, and were no longer permitted to teach many useful techniques such as the Ghost Gradient Barrier to their rank and file soldiers, leading to the decline of the northern border's strength.

The Ghost Gradient Barrier technique weakens qi strongly aligned with a yang or yin nature, by creating a spiritual filter that forces a gradient of energies. It is primarily used to prevent or exorcise possessions, but can also dampen particularly yang- or yin-infused techniques. Spirit beasts with a strong yang or yin nature find the barrier offensive to their senses to be around.

Fractal Tower Method (Earth-Rank Cultivation Method)

Inspired by the fractal patterns of snowflakes, Wen created this cultivation method by calculating the mathematically ideal arrangements of qi within her own meridian pathways. Fractal Tower excels compared to other cultivation methods by ensuring an optimal level of qi can quickly be focused in any part of the body at a moment's notice, just as a snowflake is balanced perfectly, making it exceedingly fast. However, because the method demands a balance of yang and yin within all parts of the system, it is incompatible with strongly yang- or yin-aligned techniques.

Any user of the technique would need to make mathematical calculations to apply to their own meridians, and the method must be fully recalculated with any significant shift in or damage to the meridians.

Grand Talisman Realm Manual (Heaven-Rank Wisdom)

A collection of schematics Xun Wen has created utilizing entire architectural structures to create what she refers to as Siege Talismans. Many of these designs are massive patterns generating near-permanent effects within their bounds, limited only by the durability and maintenance of the material components. These effects would be similar in essence to Refined Items, but would require only basic materials, bypassing one of the greatest limitations on mass production of Refined fortifications. Other designs are structures that act as directed amplifiers for energy-projection Talismans, enabling them to be used as anti-army methods on a grand scale. Xun Wen's military ideas were considered outlandish for a woman to propose, and too dangerous to attempt on her word alone.

Items

Fractal Lotus Gown (Free Clan Yellow-Rank Item)

Utilizing Wen's methodology, her seamstresses created this gown to her exact specifications. There were several attempts at its creation, with the failed seamstresses sent to her husband to be grafted with additional arms and fingers to make up for their deficiencies. The gown contains only mundane silk, but possesses Talisman patterns which connect each design to its opposite. Stabbing weapons such as spears and arrows pass through the gown and out the other side, never coming into contact with Wen's body. Weapons with a larger striking area capable of hitting more than one pattern at a time will by impeded only as much as if it were a regular silk dress. Pushing on the edges of a design while within the fractal passage it contains can throw Wen around, another flaw of the design.

Wings of the Migratory Duck (Earth-Rank Item)

This cloak operates similarly to the Wings of the Sun Crow, but is powered by the water element. It is capable of generating jets of water powerful enough to lift and propel the user, and is more efficient for travel when in the rain or snow, as the water qi it uses will self-replenish.

Bracelet of Calculable Depth (Earth-Rank Storage Vessel)

This bracelet's internal realm has a sizeable storage capacity.

Qi Replenishment Pill
Wound Mending Pill
Mosquito Pupil Talisman:: This talisman grants the user increased Perception by allowing them to 'zoom in' their vision like a microscope or telescope. Takes a lot of getting used to.
Compounding Fly-Eye Talisman: This talisman grants the user increased Perception via all-around vision. Also very disorienting for new users, who often vomit when trying to walk.
Armament Talisman x10: She carries a lot of them, mostly containing water- and ice-based techniques for self-defense. A lady can hardly be expected to partake in hand-to-hand combat.