Lady Ping Ai

[Lady Ping]

"Religion is the opium of the people."
- Karl Marx

ABOUT THE PLAYER

Player Name/Alias: pShivam
Player Age: 16
Player Gender: Male
How did you find us?: Reference (from Sam)
What is the 5th bold rule point in section one of the rules?:
Out of Character (separate accounts for roleplaying and out of character affairs)

ABOUT THE CHARACTER

Name: Lady Ping Ai.
Age: 29.
Gender: Female
Style: Original
Residence: Han Zhong (she is constantly moving around though)

THE PERSONALITY

Lady Ping, born into an incorrupt noble family, was raised with all of the values expected of children at the time. As such, she regards others politely and takes their opinions into account before speaking in addition to her humble character. She is a fiercely religious character, a result of an emotionally scarring event (the death of her family); causing her to become a much more serious and quiet character due to the shock of the sudden loss of those around her. But be aware, as although she may be quiet, she is still observing the actions of those around her – and will take the opportunity to strike when given it. This event also gave her a reason to retreat into Buddhism on an endless journey to attain Nirvana.

Following Buddhism has given her a release for all of her pains and troubles and as such she attempts to bring others into the liberating journey that is Buddhism. In situations where one would become aggressive and difficult to work with, she instead tries to become the “better man” (or woman in her case) and makes sure that although she may not be treated fairly by all, that she treats others fairly, a trait that she has gained from her moral values and religious values. However, as she is one of the few Buddhists in the country, she has been subject to much prejudice and hatred from those who follow Taoism or the philosophies of Confucianism – and although she appears to be steadfast against this prejudice, it does in fact harm her emotionally as she yearns to be accepted in society.

Believing in the concept of ahimsa, Lady Ping always attempts to solve issues upfront with words rather than the use of force to get her will. Her constant use of words has given her a silver tongue; she is able to beguile her foes into believing what she has told them. The opposite could also be said; while she has a silver tongue, she has two left feet in combat and would be more worthless than a peon conscripted on his first day. Due to this, she prefers to stay secluded from the generals, socialising with the tacticians. Well, not really socialising, more of telling the tacticians her strategies for the upcoming battle, trying to convert them to Buddhism and then leaving the tent in a brisk, almost deceptively proud stride.

THE APPEARANCE

A humble character, she dresses very plainly in clothes which would have been worn by a typical nun at the time. She wears a white cloak (resembling a kimono) – with a hood which always covers the upper 20% of her face and often conceals her truth-seeing eyes. The Buddhist symbol is sewn on the centre of the back of the cloak. Hidden within the hood lies long black hair, strands often escaping from her ears. The cloak is long enough to cover just below her knees – the skin being smooth, soft, and clean.

Her height would be considered short by normal standard, and she would also be considered underweight by most standards due to fasting. Her skin is smooth and pale to the touch and could be considered (effectively) a white rose petal. Lady Ping’s eyes display both dark and light colours at the same time, illustrating the different layers of her character. Her face itself is slightly ovular in shape, complimenting her hair and making her eyes even more noticeable. Her nose is sharp, although small and is fairly unnoticeable from others’ perspectives (most of the time). Above Lady Ping’s eyes, lie her eyebrows which are like thin, black, angular strokes drawn by a master calligrapher. On her feet, she wears brown straw sandals and in her hands she carries an iron bo staff with the Buddhist symbol engraved on top (so it’s a bit like a spear except instead of the shaft there is a Buddhist symbol. I imagine it would look a bit like the weapon this woman is carrying)

THE HISTORY

Born into aristocracy, Lady Ping has had an easy and simple life. Her parents were well educated and owned a large estate in a village near Chang’An. Her father, once a farmer who cunningly saved his money and bought the farms of nearby farmers for cheap (using clever speech) managed to turn his farm into a business of selling rice to other businesses and cities. She was constantly berated by her tutor and mother at the same time for wanting to continue her father’s business, an inconsiderable feat for a woman at the time, and was instead told that she needed to focus on her studies and learning how to be a proper lady.

When she reached the age of eleven, she had secretly been learning of how her family’s business worked when her father was conscripted into service by the Han Army to put down the uprising of Dong Zhuo. At the time, she did not understand what that meant, as her father explained to her that it was a business trip to the capital. A few weeks later, a letter arrived informing that her father had been killed in battle. At the time, it was inconceivable to her that her father would have died in battle when she had been told he had been going on a business trip. It was at that point in time that she realized that she had been lied to by her parents. As a result of these lies, she found that she was unable to trust any of the words of consolation that her mother gave her, nor was she able to believe her tutor when he told her of the great feats that were once performed by legends.

In addition to this despair, her mother became unfaithful. She invited many men over and spent the money her husband had worked for all his life. Her mother ignored her children and was constantly acting improper like she had taught her daughter and it was then that Lady Ping realized that she had lost her mother as well. It was at this time that she fell into so great a despair that she refused to do anything, not even learn about her father’s business like she loved to or play classic games with her tutor or learn about the great heroes of age.

When she was fourteen, her mother finally received vengeance from her father, when she was assassinated by one of her lovers, seeking the now empty coffers of the Ping family. Lady Ping’s tutor, fearing for Ping’s safety, took her away from her family to a nearby temple so that she may live in safety among the monks. She initially ignored the monks, who in turn ignored her, however, she eventually met a nun who practiced Buddhism. Seeking the emotional companionship of someone – something – for the first time in years, she befriended the nun who taught her the basics of Buddhism. Ping found the exercises that she was taught to be refreshing and soothing. She immediately forgot the tensions that had plagued her for many years and became a religious zealot – hooked to the feeling that meditation gave her.

When she was 25, the nun whom she had befriended, perished from a severe illness, however, unlike the death of her father, or the sins of her mother, she did not panic. She simply paid her respects to her saviour and left the temple, her ambitions to spread the Buddhist ideologies across China through whatever means necessary.

[Sam]

Chapter
Approved
Soldier
You can hide in the foxhole!