Jin Karasu
Overview| Jin Karasu | |
| |
| Gender | Male |
| Race | Au Ra |
| Clan | Xaela |
| Citizenship | Othardian |
| Age | 25 |
| Nicknames | (Formerly) The Raven |
| Occupation | Guardian, Mercenary, Mage-Hunter |
| Guardian | Rhalgr, The Destroyer |
| Nameday | 23rd Sun of the 2nd Umbral Moon |
| Free Company | Prufrock Ventures |
Jin is the serious and protective guardian of his small family of friends as well as his wife. Standing 7'2" and well versed in combat as well as the dark arts of Dark Knights (or Dark Walkers as he understands), he is a formidable wall before those who would hinder or harm his companions.
The Ex-Slaver Mercenary turned loving husband and watchful protector has been a dramatic shift spanning the course of many cycles, and the transition has played havoc on his state of mind and emotional well being. While still an embodiment of vengeance when the sitation calls for it, he is no longer a soulless contract killer lacking in morality and emotions.
The acts of violence and atrocity he has comitted, while at the time of no consequence, have returned with ever increasing weight on his soul as the volume and potency of the sins he has wrought gain new standards to be compared to.
As he steps further into the light of compassion and empathy, so too does the darkness of his past gain new and pronounced contrast that eats at his new acquired conscious and forces him to inwardly question wether he is deserving of the life he has built with his wife and his friends.
A jovial yet stern attitude and a personality founded in logical assessment have helped to establish his friendships and roles taken in his life, with goals now aligned with assisting his family.
HistoryBorn to a half Xaelan, half Raen mother and a full-blooded Xaelan father, he wandered with the Karasu tribe of the Tail Mountain range 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 eleventh 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.
A year into this period a Garlean named Tacitus Pyr Decimius approached young Jin after observing the youngling handing in a bloodied sack for coin in a back alley. Tacitus was looking for a method of invading the steppes after the main fleet had been defeated attempting to fly over the Tail range by the mountain tribes and their primal summons, and saw in him an opportunity to set a long term plan into motion. Tacitus served as a mentor and friend for six cycles, instilling in Jin a sense of battlefield awareness and level headed decision making that shaped the rest of his adult life. He perished in a rockslide brought down on the pair by the Xaelan shamans they had been attempting to slay.
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 Othard. 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 days 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 escape. 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 was about to set off for safety when he felt an urge to check one last corpse. He couldn't identify why, but he felt he needed to. As he checked, the corpse seemed to be an Ishgardian, and in it's hand was a small dark purple stone. Without a second though he pocketed it before wandering 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.
After his terrible first cycle on the continent, Jin was alone and terribly spiteful of his circumstances. Having arrived in Limsa Lominsa, he was dissuaded from joining the Maelstrom immediately as the influx of Auri immigrants had recently flooded the ranks. Not wanting to get lost in a tide of new recruits or to be written off during that period, he wandered the La Noscean coasts as a sellsword to make due. It was during this time he ran afoul of a slaver captain based out of 'Executioner's Bay', a secretive privateer's dock that focused on plying the illegal flesh trade within Limsan and Ul'Dahn waters. At first marked as a target, Captain Brinnivette offered Jin work as a runner and procurer after he defeated the contingent sent to capture him. With the knowledge and practices instilled in him by Tacitus, Jin and Brinnivette drafted a contract and the deal was signed and shaken on.
Over the next year Jin had become rather infamous within the bay for his near one hundred percent success rate, Earning him the moniker 'The Raven' by the occupants of the bay. Only rejecting or breaking off contracts in which the employers had broken their written oaths to him, he worked coldly and without pause, amassing a small fortune in bloodied and immoral coin.
His final contract had been a high difficulty one, and would serve as a haunting reminder later in his life: The slain family and the young girl cursing his entire existence with the fury stoked flames of hatred in her glare as she was picked up by the others in the raiding party, his greatsword dripping with the final vestiges of their lives. While he felt this last job had been something terrible, causing him to cease contract work in the bay, he lacked the empathy to truly understand why.
Still on 'good' terms with his underworld contacts, he still accepted some contracts from them but never for slavers again. The strange feeling he experienced with the last job unsettling him and alienating him from the work.
After this period he returned to Limsa Lominsa, and after doing some investigative footwork to ensure his deeds behind the full plate face mask remained unassociated with him, enlisted in the Maelstrom. He rose fairly quickly in the shock squadron he joined, praised for his complete lack of fear and the brutal efficiency in which he assisted the 401st in their boarding of code-breaking privateers in open seas. Over the cycles leading to the present, he has climbed to the rank of First Storm Sergeant, and currently leads the 401st in their activities.
Not long after enlisting within the Maelstrom, he discovered the irregular need for the 401st to act lead to a lot of spare time. Without a place to truly call 'home' and a distaste for sleeping within the barracks among the other sailors, he took to sleeping on the benches in Limsa behind the drowning Wench and fishing. It was on a lazy afternoon with no bites he caught a flyer for "The Pathfinders" free company which had fallen off a notice board as he was walking by. Without much consideration, he applied for membership to fill in the spare time and possibly acquire a private living quarters.
His time with the Pathfinders proved fruitful, and with the bevy of new acquaintences to learn how to interact with he learned the social skills he was deeply lacking. The mock-mercenary-entrepreneur-general contractor group proved more engaging as time passed, and his contact with his underworld ties began to dwindle. The time both the Pathfinders and the Maelstrom demanded of him precluded most of his contract work, but he still looked into it here and there when there was a promising lead.
It was here he met his future wife Himeko Hasegawa, or simply "Hime." He first took notice of her when work with the pathfinders resulted in a wild goose chase of a rescue mission for an aloof member of the company, Talan. When it was discovered he was in no danger, combined with his blasé attitude about the situation, she released the pent up frustrations and all of her bottled anticipation in one furious meteorite conjured in his direction - only managing to miss him in a last inning moment of restraint - and hurtling it into a tree behind him. The attack was magnificent and shook a long sleeping instinct sleeping within him, taking an interest in her as a man does a woman unbeknown to Jin. Offering her one of his medicated bandages to sooth her hands, he soon after sought her out for conversation and free time activities like bar nights at the company or story telling in the company yard around the fire pit.
The two had obliviously began taking a vested interest in one another over the coming weeks, but it didn't reach a destination until a new member of the company, a male Raen by the name of Galgan, had openly flirted with her at the fire pit and Jin reacted by nearly challenging the man to open combat on the spot. A drink and some confused discussion with some of his fellows of the company, he at last understood his feelings and confessed them to her that eve. With an awkward set of kisses, their relationship was at last given a tangible status and their journey together began. With rings crafted for one another, a hasty but well intentioned proposal, and over a year engaged, they wed on the 21st Sun of the Second Umbral Moon last cycle (4/21/2018).
Life in the Pathfinders was hectic and entertaining, but often invited hardship and strenuous situations. With several rounds of cursed artifacts and weaponry driving members of the company to infighting and desparate struggles, Jin found himself in the trust of Madison Brookstone as a cornerstone for Guardianship of the company and it's members. He assumed the role of maintaining the order and defending the company members, and for a time he was the leader of the company itself when it's former leader was, in his eyes, corrupted and turned against them of his own volition and the burden became too great for Madison to bear. In these moons he became good friends with Ms. Brookstone and has since taken to ensuring her safety as well as Hime's and his own. The two have spent many evenings discussing their situations and hardships, and share a friendship based in mutual trust.
He has been treading careful waters with her in recent cycles, after she lost a majority of her memories involving her earlier years in the Pathfinders following a blow to the head by a rampaging treant. He works to fill in the gaps in her memory as she discovers them with carefully worded recollections of what she was doing or events that happened, giving her the truth but omitting facts that could trigger a painful and destructive sudden recall as he worries for her mental health should such happen
In the years following the collapse of the Pathfinders mercenary and general contract company, Jin has been in the company of Hime, Madison, and Ben primarily, with a few other friends and acquaintences. The ventures with them have greatly humanized him, giving stark contrast to the activities he actively worked in during his past employments, and currently serves as a guardian for his friends and a combat specialist with a focus on anti magick techniques and dark arts. His focuses with his career have shifted to relic retrieval and arcane research to understand the talk that Madison and Hime can get into that used to confuse him.
Appearance & PersonalityDemeanor: WIP
Nature: WIP
Religion: WIP
Common Appearance: WIP
Scars & Markings: WIP Voice: WIP.
Clothing: WIP
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AbilitiesWIP
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People & Places Name (♥) - Mentor
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Name (♥✖) - Father
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Name (♥●) - Brother
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Himeko Hasegawa ♥
Stoic Sage
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Benedict Walker ★
Comrade in Arms
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Madison Brookstone ★
The Bleeding Heart
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Basile Feurieux ≈
The Fancy Knight
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Sirius Arcanas ≈
Void of Certainty
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Common Rumors
Rare Rumors
PC Rumors
Gallery
OOC InformationFootnotes
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