Assignment 4- After the response

I had a response where one person said they wanted to see some character interaction, and so I wrote an interaction. It was difficult, and I had to do a draft, but I think the final product shows off the characters personalities. It left on a rather unhappy note. It would be nice if everything was sunshine and rainbows, but under pressure people's true character shows.

They also asked for a page to see, so I used the first page I drew that took me days. it was A3 so I had to take a photo, the white balance was messed up and could not scan in. It might be difficult to see.

FMP COMPLETE

http://prezi.com/nnphu4coivzi/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share

Vlog 3

Vlog 2

Vlog 1

Shooter Profile picture

This is Shooter, one of the 3 main cast of characters in my proposed comic. He was difficult to draw, getting the shape right took a long time, and half way through my pens failed on me, and I had to buy more. I had been trying to draw Shooter full body for a few days and was getting nowhere, so I had to go with only the head. I am disappointed, but at least I have something to show he character off with. Although Shooter is missing most of his defining accessories, he still has his hat.

At first Shooter appears as a bad guy, a rival to out hero, but as time passes they join forces. in this picture Shooter looks very evil.

Asia Man Complete

Belt fina

Asia man with sword

There is a reason behind the swords bold and clashing colour set. The sword for one, is not his. it tells a bit about the swords true owner. Another reason is to show the sword is exotic and old, shown by the wood, bright colours and gold rings. The reason for this colour is to make the sword and asia man, two different entities. They are not one in the same. the sword reflects a more aggresive personaility, like Asia man in battle, while asia man's current demenor out of combat is calm, and peaceful looking into the distance.

Asia Man Skin Colour

                                                                                                                     
Skin colour can tell a lot of information about someone. Depending on the story and enviroment it can hold many contexts. In Asia Man's case I wanted to show he was of Asian decent, and that he was outside through much of his life. This is shown in the darker tone. If I chose an even lighter tone, it would show he was not outside often, and could sugest he is rich, or a noble, staying inside, and having others do their work.

Asia Man Belts and Clothing colours

Asia Man Final Green with shadow green

Asia Man Different Greens

Asia Man INK and COLOUR TEST

Here is the evolution of the Asia Man Character Profile drawing. This pencil took me 2 days, and some more for just the hands. I found this the easiest character to draw, due to drawing him so much already. i knew what i wanted him to be like, friendly, but strong, and on a journey. this drawing shows Asia Man in his training gi (underneath) and a larger heavier and warmer gi on top. In his hand is the Sword Of The Shrine, the legendary sword of his home. Over his eyes (hidden under his gigantic eyebrows, is a hand, shadowing the face from the sun, as he looks out. To make Asia Man appear strong I have him a wide stance, and a large upper body, with a smaller head. He is actually very tall, but there is no other character to compare with. His sword is 7ft long, too large for the ordinary man to wield.

At his time i was thinking about a colour pallete for him. Not only did i need to make him contrast with the rest of the cast (Shooter for brown, orange, silver) (Sammy for blue, red, yellow) I also had to show off his character.

 Here is an Inked version, sadly i could not rub all of the pencil out. It looks much better. During this time I was making adjustments. First i went over in a single ink outline, but the character did not retain this powerful outline from before, so i went over a second time, making sure to be thick, and make him larger. The ink added lots of detail. my favorite part of the picture is the eyebrows, they seem so wild. and they were the most fun to draw. I really like how they look bouncy, which is another thing that makes me wish I had the time, and skills to animate this character. 

Here I used GIMP 2, a poorman's photoshop, to add colour just to see what it would look like.

I wanted to show off Asia Man's gentile and quiet character, and so I gave him a green gi. I think green works, but I may have to change the shade a little. i had to make sure the green came off as a friendly green and not a sickly green, or evil green. I think I did okay. I made his training clothes an off-yellow, to make them look white, but old and worked in. I found it hard to not make his clothes look gross and sweat stained. I just realised i forgot to colour his bottle.

 

For his sword i wanted something that looked old, but exotic and dangerous. I made the sword's sheath and guard made of wood, and painted red. I then added gold rings to add an exotic flavour to it. The use of red and gold is inspired by Chinese weaponry and architecture. I like how it contrasts with Asia Man, looking dangerous, while he looks more calm. it mirrors how Asia Man acts in battle, turning into a destructive beast, at least when he has the intent to kill and unsheathes his blade. Noticed how the guard is square- most swords would of had circle guard but this does not. This style is inspired by the Ninjato, the rumored legendary sword used by the Ninja, although there is no historical evidence. 

For the sword i did a lot of research about Japanese and Chinese swords. I went with a Japanese style sword called a Odachi, which means (Large/Great sword). These were large sword that some samurai used. They were so large a new technique had to be developed to hold them out of battle. One way was to tie the sword onto one's back, however many believed this was stupid because drawing the large blade was difficult and slow from the back. Some just held the sword in one hand like Asia Man is now. Another way was to bring with you a second, another person, who would help you unsheathe the blade. These swords used to be very large, one said to have a 6ft blade, but after a takeover of the Dynasty, it was illegal to have a blade so long, and many were cut down to legal size. After a while the sword fell out of fashion, mostly being used ceremonially after that. Some places apparently kept their Odachi long by making them a treasure linked to a legend of some kind. This made it so the swords should be left alone, and no one was to clip it down to legal size (citation needed)

I am happy with the product so far, but the colour and blackness of the ink needs some work. i may have to use Photoshop, rather then by hand, because I do not want to ruin this drawing so far in. This also gives me more tools to use, since I do not have many inks, and i am not very good with them at all.

Asia Man Final Cocncept And Story Profiles so far

 

Here is my pencil drawing for Asia Man's profile. This was on A4. I plan to scan this image (done) and then print at A3 size, and then ink and colour it. Using Photoshop I will experiment with colours. After that i will decide how to colour it, perhaps staying with Photoshop.

Here is all the writing for the Story Profiles. The Sword of The Shrine is not finished yet, but is very close. Every main character will have a picture to go with their profile, and for the secondary characters if I have the time.

Asia Man

Asia Man is a nameless wanderer from 16^th century Japan; however this was not where he was born. He does not know this fact.

They say Asia Man threw away his name, saying that he must earn it back.

He is a master of martial arts, and with his giant sword, which he mostly uses as a staff with its scabbard always on. Asia Man sometimes talks to his sword, asking for guidance calling it Master. This creeps his party members out. Asia Man rarely unsheathes his blade, and defeats most enemies using the blunt sheath. He says he will only draw his blade to those select few who deserve the justice of death, and to fill this requirement takes quite a lot, because he believes everyone can change for the better. However later on in the story Asia Man is swept by his rage and kills those who he would later regret, even though to most they were evil: He still saw hope in them.

He is a quiet man, often speaking through his actions. He only speaks when something must be said, and even then he finds it difficult. Asia Man is also shy, and scared of his strength, due to hurting someone in his childhood. He is prone to overthinking, coming up with worst case scenarios, and being unable to forgive himself. He holds himself to a high standard, and anything that lowers him results in intense self-hate, and guilt, which stems from his past in which he believes, is the reason for all of his people’s problems. However due to his beliefs this does not stop him from moving forward, as this allows him to redeem himself.

Many of Asia Man’s beliefs stem from his faith- which is based heavily on Shinto, and Buddhism. Asia Man loves nature. Ever since he was a child he was infatuated by it, but most of all trees. Asia Man only takes what he needs, and will give to those who need it more. When Asia Man found a tree in the desert, flung from a different world, still upon green grass and blossoming, he gave it his water, knowing the tree would not last long in its new environment.

Asia Man is searching for his home- The Monastery, where he hopes to find his family.

HATE--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------FORGIVENESS

Evil Asia Man

Evil Asia Man comes from an alternate dimension in which Asia man turned out to be the bad brother. Evil Asia man shares our Asia Man’s lack of communication, however they are drastically different. Evil Asia Man seems to have a hate for everyone and everything, even going to far as to purposefully squish any insects he comes by, and goes out of his way to cause trouble. Evil Asia Man fights like a bloodthirsty animal, seen roaring and growling as well as biting. However don’t let that fool you, his skill with the blade is just as good as Asia man, if not better. Unlike Asia Man, mercy does not hold him back. Also unlike Asia Man, Evil Asia Man hardly has a moment where his sword is not out of its sheath, and seems to not care who he kills. His motives are unknown, but only one thing is certain-it can’t be good.

Henchmen and Bandits

The world is a dangerous place, and now more than ever. During difficult times there will always be someone willing to exploit the situation for themselves.

In this unique world different groups of criminals either fight against each other or group up and learn from each other, pooling their resources together to create an even more formidable force. In this world there are bandits who now wield both a katana and a six-shooter, or even more dangerous mixes, with even more exotic weaponry. The equipment they use is either stolen, or is handmade, which normally ends up with the end product of a weapon that is both useless and unconventional, however a few genius designs seep through. To make matters worse many robots from the 22^nd century have turned to life of crime, often driven with a hate for humanity due to their history as a slave race. Not only are they bulletproof, they often come with advanced technology, which may lead some cultures to giving such people divine status and the permission to exploit the people, due to their holy standing.

Masked Wanderer

The masked wanderer is a wanderer, with a mask! They follow Asia Man, and seem to have some connection to his past, however what this connection is, they will not say. The masked wanderer is cool, calm and intelligent, preferring to analyse an opponent, and then proceed to exploit their weaknesses. If they are good or bad is unclear, as they have been found working for an evil lord as a mercenary, but also saving townspeople from an attack, and at one point doing a Robin Hood, stealing food and water from the wealthy and giving it to the poor.

They seem to lack a moral compass, and some believe there is not one masked wanderer but many.

Uses an assortment of weaponry, but prefers weapons that need finesse and dexterity, rather than brute force.

Their body is covered head to toe with a long cloth, and so even their gender is unknown, as well their voice, which has rumoured to be unnatural, further adding to the mystery.

The Masked Wanderer possesses god given skill in combat, defeating Asia Man many times.

 

Sammy

Sammy is a 9 year old girl in the Wild West. She has wandered and there seems to be nowhere she truly fits. Asia Man and she cross paths and she follows him, wishing to be his student, thinking his sword skills are really cool. Asia Man trains her, and teaches her about everything he knows.

Sammy is easily swept by her emotions, which puts her into many dangerous situations. She follows her heart to a T. This results in behaviour others deem “not good”, and sure they are right. Stealing food others need just because you are the one who is hungry is not exactly nice. She lacks a role model until Asia Man comes along. She is light-hearted and naïve, trying to find the best in people and situations, and when everyone else has given up, she keeps on trying.

Loud and childish Sammy always wants to be the centre of attention, longing for people to care about her. This need to be cared about starts a rivalry between her and Shooter, who both want Asia Man’s attention. Sammy often jumps from a multitude of emotions in mere seconds shown in her fighting style which is mad and messy, with wide swings and unconventional manoeuvres that seemed good at the time, but ultimately leaves her in more danger than before. She dances on the line between recklessness and genius, and hopes that she lands on genius. She just does something, and hopes it works.

She is reckless, often doing something and thinking about it later. She wants people to stop treating her like a kid, and is always trying to prove herself to her friends.

At first Sammy is immature and can’t stand on her own two feet, and has no idea where she belongs or who she wants to be. By the end she turns into someone who is mature, who can stand her ground and knows her place in life.

IMMATURE----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------MATURE

Shooter

Shooter is a robot from the futuristic megacity of Wells of the 22^nd Century. Robots at this time are moving on from their past as a slave race, after an incident in which any robots applicable were given consciousness by an unknown entity. Shooter is one of these robots. Shooter used to be a cleaner in one of the many apartment complex towers that stand tall above the old city. During his cleaning time he caught a look across through the large windows hoping to see a film being played. His favourites were the westerns. After the Milkshake happened, Shooter found himself in the land of his dreams: The Wild West. He renamed himself “Shooter”, and began his adventure.

Shooter wants to be a hero. This is because he wants to be liked and respected. Back during his life in Wells, he was neither of these things- even amongst his robotic kin. Watching numerous films and interviews he thought that if he became famous- like a hero, people would automatically like him and gives him the time of day. This never comes to pass as later on this dream will bite him in the ass, where his fame actually creates more barriers between him and his fans, and he begins to live a lie trying to hide his true nature from his idealistic fans.

One day Shooter hears about this Asia Man, who seems to mysteriously go from town to town, solving their problems and leaving, without a trace. Nameless, mysterious and illusive, he captures the hearts and minds of many. Shooter is not pleased. Not only is there another hero on his turf, he is leaving no bad guys for shooter! Shooter hoping to leech of his fame wants to duel Asia Man, and win, showing everyone that he is stronger, and so is the better hero. However Shooter decides to follow Asia Man swept by his mercy.

Shooter represents some the insecurities of the mind. He wants to be liked and adored, and wishes he was some hero from a western, not some British cleaner-bot. Shooter is not very good at being a hero: he is cowardly, clumsy and uncoordinated, but comes up with ide3as that may just be crazy enough to work. Often Shooter tries doing something in his weird way, ends up failing that plan, and his mistakes end up saving the day, such as a rogue bullet that misses an enemy, and ends up hitting something that destroys not only the enemy that Shooter missed, but their entire posse too.

Shooter wears a hat full of holes. He is often teased by children who say it looks like cheese and he must smell like cheese. Shooter uses this to his advantage calling them his trophies or memoire of his enemies, who each are a single hole in his hat. In actuality Shooter is really embarrassed by his hat, because it shows how many times his hat has been shot off by his numerous enemies, and marks each defeat.

At first Shooter is selfish. Thinking only about himself, and only being a hero to get a reward. However as he progresses through the series he takes notes from Asia Man, and becomes selfless, doing good because it is the right thing to do. This new approach makes Shooter feel much better about himself.

SELFISH---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------SELFLESS

Sol

Sol is the reason for all of Asia Man’s problems. He is Asia Man’s brother; however Asia Man does not know this (yet).

He is envious, and hateful. He wishes he was just like his brother, often holding his brother to a godlike status, of which he himself could never reach.

He does not want to kill his brother- he prefers to torture him mentally, which is why Sol made the world the way it is in the first place, however he did not think Asia Man could have found any companions, and in the end these companions are what diffuse his evil plan. He likes to see Asia man under stress, often calling it payback.

Sol has an army of demons which from time to time mess with the Milkshake. Sol wants his brother to feel as he felt back in their youth, breaking him down, and eviscerating all of his hopes and dreams. 

Insecure and has a superiority complex.

Sol is the smaller brother in the tale of the two brothers.

The 3 Dragons

The Three dragons are an elite assassin group from China in the past. They can kill anyone and anything, for the right price, or if they are interesting enough. Although all three are different they all share this one trait- their insane prowess in battle of their respective style, a mask which hides their face and their armour: On their backs is a dragon, representing themselves, and on each shoulder are two other dragons, which represent their brothers. They stalk Asia Man, but each for their own reason. One wishes to test himself in battle, growing bored of the usual opposition. One wants the uncountable riches placed on his head by Asia man’s countless enemies. And one wishes to kill him, just so his brothers cannot, and then he can shove his victory in their faces and laugh at them.

The Brute

The Largest of the 3 Dragons, and the greediest. The brute can eat whole villages out of stock, and has on many occasions. Uses the crudest of weaponry, preferring the power of its own body over the quality of his weapons. It mostly uses a massive club covered in golden spikes. However inside the club hides a great axe, only able to be used when the brute faces an enemy strong enough to break its club. The Brute’s favourite weapon however is its own two hands, which have been rumoured to snap through bones just by clenching their fists around any of an unlucky victims limbs. The Brute is not intelligent, and has poor special awareness, and lacks speed, as well as balance.

The Lord

The Lord says the most peaceful place in the world is on the battlefield, because this is the only place where one’s body and mind truly work as one. The Lord believes in a fair fight, and rides of the trill of competition. The lord uses a long thin sword in which they can easily lop of limbs from a distance: However the Lord finds this boring and prefers to fight up close and personal, often mixing punches and kicks with swipes of his blade, to create a flurry of attacks. The Lord’s weakness is also their strength. They enjoy walking the thin line between life and death, often throwing themselves into harm’s way just to keep things interesting, which makes the Lord formidable as they are unorthodox and unpredictable. However this makes the Lord open to an opponent clever enough to catch the lord off guard, however with an enemy so unpredictable, it is almost impossible to read their moves.

The Pervert

The smallest of the 3 Dragons, but by no means the weakest. The Pervert is a truly disgusting individual, revelling in others pain and misfortune. Using dirty tactics and weapons designed to inflict the most pain rather than any practical use, The Pervert keeps their enemy alive as long as possible. They enjoy toying with their prey mentally and physically, often using a smoke bomb that lingers while The Pervert drills into the enemy by asking questions finding what makes the opponent tick. They find no greater pleasure then making an enemy give up fighting, and making them beg for death. The pervert uses a wide array of weaponry including shurikens, needles dipped in paralyzing poisons, and biting. The most common weapon is 2 Sickles, which are connected at their hilts to each other by chain. They say the pervert is addicted to the flavour of blood, and brings with them everywhere a limb of a fallen foe or captured animal to bite into and suckle from when they get bored during missions.

The Milkshake

The milkshake is where the story takes place. But why call it the milkshake? Let me explain.

When Asia Man’s brother, Sol, broke free from his prison, he unleashed his power upon the world; But not just their world, but every other time of their world, and every different timeline of their world. Pulling a thousand spate possibilities together into a single world, a mess all mixed up into one world- The Milkshake.

The Milkshake is the combination of the world at every different time, every different place, and every different dimension at the same time. Walk through 16^th century Japan, and find some of the 22^nd century megacity skyscrapers thrown into the earth like javelins, or find a small fishing town in Ancient China thrown into the centre of the desert in 18^th Century America. This world has limitless possibilities.

The world is dysfunctional. Different cultures clash, often violently, and the weak are preyed upon by the strong. Geology meshes messily, with sandstorms spiralling through rainforests, and snow falls for the first in the African Savana.  Everywhere is where it should not be. Supplies like food and water are precious due to many towns and cities being cut off from their old sources. It is rare to find different people working together and coexisting, and mistrust is at an all-time high. However in places, such communities do exist, although most likely not completely peacefully.

Different Timelines have also been thrown into the mix. Sometimes only simple things are different, but other times the world has taken a completely different course. Perhaps an evil counterpart to our hero Asia Man exists, or perhaps a world where Hitler won the 2^nd world war?

Who knows where our heroes could find themselves? The possibilities are endless!

The Sword of the Shrine

The Master had told this story to the two brother’s many times. It was the story on which the monastery was built after all: the story of the spirit that protects the monastery.

It starts at the birth of a child, at the time before the world was whole. In the forest that surrounds the great mountain, A human / was born- a / that would grow to be a hero. / mother died bringing them into this world. Alone in the dark the baby cried, spirits came to the baby. They did not trust humans- they were too young, unenlightened, blind, and stupid. They perhaps could change, if they had the time to mature. The spirits discussed with each other over what to do with the baby. Some said to take it and leave it with its own kin; some said to kill it- it would never grow to live with nature- it would destroy it like the others. The discussion devolved into arguing. As the argument reached its peak a voice cut through the rabble. The great dragon of the forest spoke from the clouds. The dragon said that the spirits will look after the child and raise it to be good- and it can teach the rest of man the right way. The child was raised by the spirits of the wild. The child grew to be wise and strong and protected the forest with the spirits, and lived with them. It seems that man can learn and see- and live with the world. There was peace in the forest. Man grew large and vast, and spread, and with them spread their conquest of fire- led by 7 great generals: 7 demons who commanded all of man like cattle, and these 7 generals had a master, who led them-The great evil. Together the generals and the great evil corrupted all they could find. They burned the forests and killed the creatures. They wounded the earth and harvested until the blood ran dry. Any spirits that met the conquest of man were driven mad devolved into beasts- tainted and corrupted, they turned on their own. They became the animals of the wild we know today- but pay them respect- they may be animals, but they once were spirits. And then they came to the forest.

The spirits tried to protect the forest, but were driven mad and killed each other. The hero tried to free them from their rage, but to no avail, and had to fight as they attempted to eat the hero. Their hate for man was too much, and destroyed them from within. It made them blind. The last to go was the great dragon. The dragon called for the hero, and told the hero that there will be a time when even it would be long gone. That there will be a time where man will own the earth and they must leave themselves forward. Only you can help them see the way. The dragon then gave the hero a gift. The dragon pulled from its chest, it’s still beating heart. And with the other hand called upon the clouds and the storms. Lightning strikes the heart, and creates a metal. The dragon races to the fires of the earth, and heats the metal. And with its claws cuts a blade into shape. The dragon pulls the sword from the fires and brings it to the sea to cool. It takes energy from the fish and all that drink the water, including the trees and all the creatures. Putting their power together the sword was made. The dragon gives the blade to the hero, and then the dragon dies, its own energy flows into the blade. The sword was long like the horizon, strong like the earth, could sense sin like a foul smell like a wolf, could grow like the trees and its blade was a mirror which shows the truth like water. The blade cuts through all, even the air. The hero vows to avenge everything lost.

In a vengeful rage with the sword the hero meets each of the 7 generals, and challenges them to battle. If they lose, they would release all man from their control. The 7 generals agree, but the hero using the blade saw they were lying. The only way to free man was to kill the demons. The 7 generals charge together, but the blade was as long as the horizon, and with one movement, blocked each of their strikes. The hero strikes and cuts of one of the general’s heads. Scared the Six remaining Generals hide as mountains, plants, fruit, and animals. But the hero was not fooled and using the mirror saw the truth and cut them down. The hero cut through a mountain to reveal a demon, and cut the demons legs which made the demon fall under the weight of the mountain, before being finished with a stab cracking through the demons head. And then the hero cut through a peach tree to reveal another which was then had each limb cut like branches. But then the hero came across a problem. One of the demons had disguised itself as a single blade of grass. The hero uses the mirror on each blade of grass but is unable to keep count. Unable to find the demon with the sword, the hero cuts through the air above the grass. The demon cannot hold its breath and is spotted gasping for air and quickly killed. 4 Generals remain. The hero searches but cannot find the others. The 4 generals leap from the sky disguised as clouds. The hero never thought to look up. The 4 demons try to steal the sword and break it. Surprised, the hero loses grip of the sword. The demons revel and rejoice thinking they have won, and decided to break the blade to anger the hero and begin trying to break the blade by jumping on it. But they cannot, it is too strong. The hero grasps the sword and flings the 4 generals into the air.

The generals flee in the sky, and they turn around trying to find the hero. But the hero hides under the clouds. The hero pounces on the unsuspecting generals and kills one. The generals run. One general sweeps his comrade’s legs to escape the hero, who cuts through the tumbling general who was unable to protect itself. The hero unable to stop, flies into the wound and gets lost inside the demon. But the hero finds the walls of the demon’s fleshy prison and breaks free. The hero spots one of the demons who has transformed into a falcon to fly too fast for the hero to hit. The hero cannot strike the demon, and makes the blade grow like the trees and swings in a circle, hitting the demon, and cutting through all the clouds. The hero drops to the earth to find the final demon general.

 The sword is caked in blood and can no longer be used as a mirror. The hero races to the sea to clean the sword but is stopped by a friendly monkey spirit who was part of the hero’s family. The hero is happy that one of the spirits survived. The monkey spirit says to give it the sword and then they can bring everyone back, and if you put it in the sea to clean it, it will go dull. The hero is unsure what to do. His family would never lie to him. So the hero says “oya ni ninu ko wa oni no ko, (which means literally "a child that does not resemble its parents is the child of an oni(demon)" however depending on the context this does not always mean physically. It can mean by their choice of actions.)” The monkey spirit nods in understanding but seems unsure of where the hero is going with this. “Perhaps that can work the other way around. You have helped raise me. Tell me what you did when you found me as baby”

The monkey says something the monkey would never do. This shows

Defeated, / enemy rested on their knees, and shouted at the hero to end it quickly. One great strike, the blade cut through, and cut the tip of the mountain and deep into the earth too. The head fell and rolled into the dark, swallowed by the mountain and the belly of the earth.

The hero vowed to chase him, no matter how many times. And so he stabbed and cut- a perfect cut at his gut-a perfect Hari Kiri and not a peep escaped his lips. Eyes focused on the rising sun, his head dipped, and finally his shoulders slumped, and the hero fell into a respectful bow, hand clasped tight around the great blades hilt. He left his body and his world, and left for the Sanzu River-for the next world. He met his enemy in each new world, defeated him, and then like before, killed himself, and left that world, to find his enemy and fight him in the next. Again and again a thousand times. To fight until the end of time.

His body rotted away, but the sword remains. Around the sword the monastery was built, and the sword remains till this day.

The Two Brothers

One day two babies are found, left at the base of an ancient monastery in Japan, wrapped in a single cloth (Or so Asia Man is told). The Master of the monastery brings the children in and raises them as his own. One grew to be small, but cunning, quick with his hands and his mind, and able to speak with a silver tongue. The other grew to be tall, large, and plump, with strength far beyond any other man at the monastery, and with a will even stronger; However he found it difficult to speak, and became prone to overthinking- often resulting in no action taken and procrastination- and now prefers to work more on what his heart says.

When the two boys grew up as children they were allies, using their strengths to cover the other ones’ weaknesses. They trained together as rivals, pushing each other to limits far beyond they believed possible. Together they were a perfect team, and overcame many obstacles. However as they grew older they drifted further and further apart, as well as battling to be the favourite son to the master, and of the love of the same woman, Hana. As they aged they became envious of each other’s strengths. The smaller brother wanted to be big and strong, but remained short and slender no matter the diet or training. The larger wished he was as witty and talented as his smaller brother, but remained slow, shy and reserved, and instead he dedicated himself to training with the master. He became even stronger, his body and willpower refined, completely dedicated to his Karate and service to the Monastery. However he had more to learn.

Hana, the one who two bothers loved, was not wooed by the smaller brother’s fine words, or Witt, but fell for the larger brother’s heart. The smaller brother saw this and hated his brother- not only was he so much better, he also was closer to their Master, and had taken his only love. The smaller brother became more distanced from the rest of the people living in the monastery. The larger brother worried tries to consult his smaller, but is pushed away, which drove the smaller to becoming a recluse. The smaller vowed he would surpass his brother. Alone the smaller brother sought for help outside the monastery walls and was found by a demon who had been watching him. The demon struck a deal. In exchange for his body, the demon would give him power to surpass his brother. The smaller brother agreed, and left for the wilds outside the walls. He would not return for many years. The smaller waited for his beloved brother to return.

During this time the larger brother helped the now older master train the youth to fight, and looked after the monastery. As the years crept by, his duties piled up until almost every one of the master’s duties was his- apart from one- the secret ritual each day in the room of the sword, which nobody but the master and masters of old have ever witnessed. The master grew weaker, and worried the larger brother suggested he take the mantle of master- however the master believed he was not ready- and it was a half-truth. The larger brother was skilled, kind and worthy to be master, but he believed he could not withstand the spiritual side of being master, and protecting the monastery. The ancient dark power outside the protection of the monastery was growing- taking more from the master each day. He could not bring himself to let his only remaining son suffer the fate of the ritual. He decided he would only let the larger brother join the ritual when he had no more strength to defend against the dark evil power. This upset the larger brother; He may not be strong enough, but seeing the master growing so weak worried him. He was willing to sacrifice himself, if it helped the master get better again. He missed his brother- and would have been alone if not for Hana. Their love blossomed.

Time passes and life was peaceful inside the monastery, however outside the dark evil grew- and the master had become frail and grey- the weakest he had ever been, and the dark evil had never been stronger. The smaller brother returned. Clothed in dark rags, and carried a dark sword once lost long ago in the mountains. The monastery began to rejoice and many ran to meet the long lost brother, everyone was very happy, and they held a celebration until the sun would rise the next day. However the brother seemed different, his eyes no longer held the sparkle they once did, but were matte and dark. The master sensed something was off about his newly returned son, but believed it was no more than the smaller brother’s own burdens he had returned with. Years away do that to a person. The celebrations continued as normal, until night came. The larger brother exhausted went to rest. However he did not know his smaller brother had been following him. While the larger brother slept, his smaller brother drew a blade and planned to kill the larger in his sleep. The sun began to rise, but was barely visible from the dark inks of the night. The master sensed something was off and decided to check on the smaller brother. Finding him about to kill the larger, he charges and saves the larger, using the great sword of the shrine. A battle ensues and their blades clash. The spirit of the monastery aids the master, and together they locked away the demon and the smaller brother in the fiery prison of the sun. The larger brother could not believe what his brother planned to do, and what had happened. He was distraught. There was no way he could live without his brother. The master and the spirit decide the only way to heal the larger brothers’ broken heart was to erase memory of his brother. All memory of his brother existing was wiped clean, but a faceless tormentor still stalks his memories- however the master and the spirit did not know.

Life was peaceful. The larger brother had married Hana, and a child was on the way. However the master’s condition worsened. Soon he would be too weak to keep the evil brother in his prison- but he still could not imagine bringing his son to sacrifice his life to keep the darkness locked away. He did not wish for him to suffer the same fate as he. The larger brother grew enraged at himself for not being strong enough to take the master’s ritual. He lost hope: perhaps he was never going to be worthy- perhaps he never was. Perhaps his destiny lay elsewhere.

In his fiery prison inside the sun, the brother had transformed into something terrible. Killing the demon in his mind, he stole its power. Horns grew from his forehead, housing a dark shifting ball of evil, and from his back he grew a thousand arms, like black hellish wings. His new form was more powerful than ever before. Bloodthirsty, in a rage, and waiting to strike, he watched the monastery. From up there in the sun he saw the whole world and grew to hate it, but most of all he hated his brother. He would have his revenge- and would destroy his brother’s heart and let him wonder alone like he had done- to make him feel as he felt. One day this came to pass.

The evil brother broke free from his prison and came to the monastery. He cut down all in his way with a blade of black fire. The larger brother tried to help everyone he could escape, but all exits had been blocked with dark magic. The master was holding off the evil brother. But the evil brother defeats the master, planting his fiery blade into the master’s chest-but does not kill him- he lets him suffer in front of the larger brother- his brother’s horrified expression pleases the evil brother. The larger brother takes up his master’s sword, and prepares to fight. The evil brother does not take up his blade, but instead flies up to the sky. With one hand he plucks up his brother and with the other he raised his hand ready to concoct his evil. He twisted the world in his image using a hundred arms that grew from his back. Looking down the world was a mess, like mixed paints. Swirls and colours were all the eye could see. A vortex of everything the eye could behold, but not understand. And then the evil brother dropped the larger brother into it all and laughed. He would destroy his brother, from the inside. He could not wait.

Some of these profiles may have pictures to go along with them. I may write more profiles for new characters and locations if I can manage