Jin Karasu

Error creating thumbnail: File missing  Jin Karasu
Error creating thumbnail: File missing
Gender	Male
Race	Au Ra
Clan	Xaela
Citizenship	Limsan
Age	21
Height	7' 2"
Profession	Mage-Hunter
Server	Balmung

Appearance

Jin is tall and thin as most male Au Ra often are. He bears the black scales of his Xaelan heritage and naturally black hair, which he sometimes recolors to fit whatever color he fancies at the moment. His limbal rings were originally a pale green, but have shifted into red hues as of late as he gains mastery over the aether manipulation that dark knights are known for. His skin is far tanner than most Xaela, a trait he owes to his mother, who herself was born to a mother of Raen decent and a Xaelan father. He bears tattoos upon his chest and back, a reminder of the disciplines he carries with him from his tutelage in a monastic order.

Biography

Born to a half Xaelan, half Raen mother and a full-blooded Xaelan father, he wandered with the Karasu tribe of Doma for the first several years of his life. When he was six years of age, he participated in his first hunt and began training with a short sword with his father, Gorou. Gorou aimed to prepare his son for participation in the warring lifestyle of the Xaela, and sought to instill within Jin the fierceness and anger that saw the tribe victorious through many generations. It was two years into his training when the Hayashi clan sprung an ambush as the Karasu were traversing a large bridge over a canyon. During the skirmish, Jin was knocked from the side of the bridge and tumbled into the rapids below. He was found twelve hours later by a elderly Hyur couple living in a small village down the river. Seeing his injuries, they scooped him up off the bank and cared for him in their home. As the couple were kind, and having no idea how to return to his clan, Jin elected to stay with them.

He spent the remainder of his youth in the quiet village, attending the lectures given by the village elders at the behest of his new "grandparents" Ricket and Vinya, and leading what amounted to a simple peasant life although he could never quite give up the sword. His father had done well to drill the need for battle into young Jin's mind, and it was soon apparent to Ricket that he needed an outlet. As Ricket had observed Jin watching the town's defenders many times, he sought out Giro to humor Jin with a bit of training. As the first few sessions came and went, and Jin's aptitude grew, Giro began to train Jin in earnest.

It was not long after his twelfth birthday that a strong feeling of wanderlust began to simmer in his heart. He was of a nomadic people, and he needed to travel. He gathered his belongings and was seen off by the village, who had been expecting him to make the decision soon for his scouting treks around the village had been growing in distance and time in the last few years. Giro had given him a small gift, his personal sword, freshly sharpened. While it was no expertly forged blade, it had served Giro well and he hoped it would do the same for Jin.

He spent the next eight years as a wandering mercenary. Simple jobs at first, retrieval of items, errands, and scouting among them, they quickly grew more complex and less lawful. It was not long until he began to take any job for money, to include assassination, extortion, and espionage, though he learned to loathe jobs requiring stealth.

Soon after the eighth anniversary of his departure from the village, he had joined a trading caravan as hired protection from bandits and the like, and received tutelage in using a shield from some of the more permanent members of the caravan's warriors. Though he did not know the destination at first, he found it exciting that the caravan was soon to board a fleet of ships to a new land, far away from Doma. Eorzea he heard them call it, and they were heading there to avoid the might of the Garlean Empire that had been making it's way through Doma.

Jin was 20 when he arrived in Limsa Lominsa, a seaport town built on the very pillars of stone that would deter most sailors from drawing near for fear of shipwreck.

By this point a new feeling had been growing in him. While sword and shield did well to curb his aggression, as well as the many kill-requests he completed, he felt the need to lash out more often than not lately, and he needed to find a new outlet. It was with a fair amount of hesitation that he stowed the sword Giro had given him, and had gone to Ul'Dah to learn the ways of the fist. It was with fascination he had listened to the elders of his village speak of the discipline that martial arts could grant, and it was with that discipline in mind that he sought out the pugilist guild in Ul'Dah.

After a sennight they rejected him from their ways, for he was far too rage filled to be considered teachable. In his anger, Jin began to destroy the alleyway nearby the guild, breaking boxes and jars, and venting his frustration. A stranger clad in a grey robe approached him and Jin froze on the spot. The thought being arrested flashed upon his mind. To his surprise, the man simply raised his hand in greeting and spoke: "I am Triskar. You seek training in the ways of the fist? Those fools following an impotent god were wrong to reject you. Come. I will train you."

He set out with Triskar that night with a bag of his only belongings and began to train. It was not unlike his mercenary work when he thought on it: certain tests requiring him to seek out and harm the students of the pugilists. He progressed quickly, learning the ways of the Spider style - a low to the ground fighting method, near prone sometimes - and unlocking his first shadow chakra. A grueling eight months passed, and he had gained the use of four chakras at this incredible pace, but by this time the conflict between his calm village persona and his tribal warmongering persona had reached its zenith, and the unbalance prevented him completely from unlocking any more. Triskar grew enraged, spiteful, and bemoaned his wasted time. For the wasted eight months, he announced he would kill Jin for failing as student. Blow for blow, Jin stood no chance, and was losing ground quickly. Fortune saw fit that the site of their battle was happened upon by a group of Maelstrom soldiers on their way back from Ul'Dah to return to Limsa. They began to shout and blades were drawn to combat what they confused as a mugging, and Triskar fled. After a quick check-up by their medic, he returned to Ul'Dah to contemplate.

He was sitting on a bench behind the quicksand, sitting in silent rage, when he was approached by another strange man, this one cloaked in red. "What now? I've had enough of you cloaked men." Jin muttered, but was caught off guard by the new man's words. "You're unbalanced. In the extreme. Anger- no. Rage. And peace. They fight within yourself, no?" Jin curtly nodded. "Seek the thaumaturges. Tell them Xirven sent you," and within a moment the man was gone.

Jin sat and thought on the subject for seven more bells, getting up and washing dishes in the quicksand in the meantime for a quick meal, before he finally gave in. At three in the morning, he ventured into the thaumaturgy guild and met with the only man there. ".. Xirven sent me?" he said curiously. Without so much as a minute movement the Hyur with a scarred face was brief. "Haukke Manor. Blood of the creatures there. The ones that fly. Each vial." The man held out his hand with a small crate of five crystalline vials. Jin took them and left.

It wasn't the easiest job he had ever done. Not by a long shot. Many of the voidsent there traveled in packs or in pairs, and it was several suns of waiting before he found an opportunity to kill one: A succubus wandering in the main hall alone. He sprung from his hiding place behind a curtain and jumped upon her back. She began to shriek and jerk wildly to free herself before the short sword crossed her neck. Quickly, he let the fount of blood fill his vials, barely getting enough to consider the last one 'full,' but he had not the time to collect more as more voidsent came into the hall. He ran as quickly as he could, stoppering the last vial as he made his way away. Replacing them into their crate, he refitted the lid on top of it and made his way back to Ul'Dah.

On his return, it was two in the morning, and he was too curious to wait. He made his way back to the guild and stepped into the hall only to find no one there. "Hello?" He called out, listening for a response. When none came, he opened a door far in the back. "Anyone here?" He stepped through carefully before feeling a dull thud on the base of his skull, and his vision went black.

He opened his eyes slowly, a headache ringing through his head. "What the fuck.." he said, looking around. Trying to sit up, he discovered his predicament was far worse than he initially guessed. He was chained to a stone table, not an inch to move from his spread eagle position. The footsteps shook him from his confusion, as several men in clean white robes surrounded the table he was on. Before he could shout or yell, a mask was placed over his mouth and tightened. His eyes darting around wildly, he watched as they withdrew blades and medical supplies, and watched with muffled screams as they systematically vivisected his limbs and torso, exposing raw muscle, bone, and organs still moving within him. He shook violently as he tried to endure, seeing the flaps of his skin pinned to the table with small spikes to keep it open. Another man walked in with the vials he had collected, with one open. He passed out from the pain before he could see what became of them.

It was four days later he awoke naked in the Sagolii amongst a pile of corpses. What he could only assume were failed experiments. But why was he here? Had he died? He didn't have the concentration to dwell on these thoughts as the need for water was immediately apparent. He looked at his body and saw the myriad fresh wounds of the experiment, neat lines tracing along most major parts of his body, where he was cut into then later sewed back in the same place. He found a water flask on the hip of another unfortunate soul and drank heartily from it. Dressing himself in the scraps of clothing he could find from the pile, he wandered in the heat of the desert sun until three days later he found the forgotten springs. The town took pity on him and gave him a clean set of clothing and food for the night, as well as a place to sleep in an inn free of charge.

A single thought crossed his mind. "I need a place I can stay." before he ammended it, "And somewhere to work that's safer.. for now." The image of the Maelstrom company that saved him from his old master came to the surface of his mind. With a gracious goodbye to those that had helped him, he left with the next merchant bound for Limsa Lominsa. It was several suns into the trip he first heard another voice in his head. It was.. him, but different. No reservations. It was as though his tribal instincts and predisposition for violence and bloodshed were given a persona. He dismissed it as a temporary symptom of his harrowing first cycle in Eorzea.

Personality

When outside of battle or duty, Jin's lighthearted and mischievous. He spent a great deal of time playing with several of the miqo'te children in his new village, which had imparted on him a slightly lazy attitude and a knack for sarcasm. What he can't fight with his sword, he fights with a smile and a joke. His trust is difficult to earn, and has many acquaintances but few actual friends.

In battle, he prefers to charge in first and unleash everything he can on the obstacle before him, and he's not much for words.

His wandering tendencies and lazy attitude have seen him taking up residence for the night on a bench in Limsa or Ul'Dah more than once.

Likes

• Sleeping
• Sharp jokes
• Puns
• Training
• Combat

Dislikes

• Extended periods with large crowds
• Overly complicated plots or plans in his contracts
• Subterfuge
• Puns
• The bench near the Rising Sands

Strengths

• Extremely durable
• Easy to talk to
• Decently cheap hiring cost

Weaknesses

• Would rather take a nap than work
• Prone to going overboard when pushed too hard in battle, becoming reckless
• More likely buy something than put in the effort to make it
• Dense about relationships
• Can go overboard with the snark without realizing it

Other Notes

Storm Seargeant First Class, Working with the Maelstrom for 11 months in total as a contractor. Main role: Anti Piracy

Quirks

Goofy and snarky, quick to make a joke at the expense of others.

Equipment

• Great-swords
• Suit of heavy layered armor
• Light weight sparring clothing

Rumors

The following rumours can be heard about Jin, predominantly in Limsa and Ul'Dah. (If your character has an opinion about him, feel free to add it here.)

Common

• "He's a good enough lad. Lazier 'an a goobbue after eatin' a mountain o' food tho'." - Patron of the Rising Sands
• "Looks tough, though I haven't seen him in a fight. He looks pretty angry all the time." - Dock worker in Limsa
• "For simple jobs I've had good results! He never charges much. Looks like he makes more than he charges.. nothing I'd concern myself with." - Dockmaster in Aleport

Uncommon

• "I haven't found a task he hasn't been willing to put a price on yet."
• "He.. he prefers the head-on approach. Be specific about your contract with him, or he might be liable to hurt those he has no instructions for."
• "Charges double for anything sneaky like. Sometimes worth it. Others, not so much."

Rare

• "I saw him snap once. We was in this job and got ambushed. Started going wild, cuttin' them down, but earned a lance through his chest in his carelessness. That wasn't the end though, and he picked me up by the collar demanding I heal him after he had finished them off.. Something's off about him. Not many out there that can fight through a mortal blow like that." - Vince, wandering conjurer for hire

Known Locations

You might have run into or otherwise know Jin from:

• Sleeping on benches in Limsa until he decided on joining a free company.
• Everyman Guild: The guildhouse of the Pathfinders

OOC Inspirations

Vash the Stampede