Yon Lok
Qijiulan of the Precious Grove
Hsien-jin of the Lin Fu
Hou-Chi of the Exquisite Prism
Advisor of the Court of Emerald Eyes
Description
Hotei: ~A pure and healthy young college kid is the image Yon Lok portrays. The Korean appears to be in his late teens or early twenties. An unassuming air envelopes Lok’s long legs and arms, clothed most often in casual attire like jeans or khakis, t-shirts or sweatshirts. No matter what he wears over his slender torso, a necklace is strung over his shirt. It’s a silver chain with a blue jade locket inscribed with strange or obsolete kanji or hangul characters. Bright and lively brown eyes, slanted as typical for Asian folk, regard the environment with compassion and warmth. He confidently sweeps a hand back through traditionally cut short black hair. A friendly smile lightens his boyish features even more. All in all, Lok comes off a nice guy with much potential to do the world right before his time is up.~
OOC: Appearance 3; Pakua 2; Rank 11
Wani: ~Of course, when might Yon Lok’s time end when he is such a noble immortal? His hair deepens to a darker, pitch black and lengthens to the middle of his back. His skin whitens almost bleach-white, save for a number of black streaks that striate up and down his taller form. Though more imposing, the Hou-Chi’s relaxed smile does not fade. If anything, he seems more expressionate and luminous, as if super-charged with the energy of the earth itself. His human attire vanishes as well, save for that jade charm. A rich green robe of silk, trimmed with silver and embroidered with kaja script, tumbles down his lean frame now. Lok seems to be a little god of gentle persuasion and honest presence, like the forests of themselves. But when pressed to summon the Mask of Shintai, he becomes as frightening as a tree bent and withstanding the gales of a typhoon. His white beech bark-like skin lightens until it is almost pure blinding light, mind reeling and terrifying. Those verdant eyes deepen to heart-stopping flashes of ancient strength. Even the nicest of guys has limits to his patience. Clearly someone just found Lok’s, and now must suffer his elemental wrath.~
OOC: Appearance 3; Pakua 2; Rank 11
"There's something about love that throws all philosophizing right out the window."
History
Seoulmates
While some families were meant to be torn apart, others would cling closer together when tragedy struck. Yon Lok was born in 1985 in Seoul, Korea. His father, Bok, was a a diplomat at the North Korean consulate. Lok was a very caring brother, looking after his younger sister Ha-Neul all the time. When their mother, Soo-Neul, died from brain cancer in 1998, Lok looked after Ha-Neul even more. Their father was just too busy to raise them properly, so they were largely left to their own devices.
At least the Yons lived in a nice modest home in Seoul’s suburbs. Lok and his sister enjoyed an upper-middle class lifestyle. His father (and mother prior to her untimely death) did their best to bring Lok up with Buddhist morality and national pride. There was just one Korea, and it should all be free, his father insisted. Lok was also well educated at public school.
Admittedly, he had few friends, but the few he had were good ones. Ha-Neul was counted among his friends, too. They were just all smart geeks, so were often picked on. On top of being intelligent, Lok was especially sensitive and romantic, prone to crying when hurt even as he grew older. He wept when his mother died, but he took that change in life to focus on Ha-Neul's safety and welfare.
The Gift of Chien
And that was what led to young Lok’s death. He was sixteen years old in 2001 and Ha-Neul not much younger. He came upon his sister being harassed; a gang of suburban punks was cornering the young teen. Lok to the rescue! Yeah, right. He got himself and Ha-Neul beaten mercilessly by the angered teen punks. They were both landed in the hospital with critical injuries. In the hospital’s ICU, Lok and Ha-Neul died at the exact same time, succumbing to their wounds as if linked. But the instruments flat-lined only for a moment. Hsien spirits lingering nearby slipped into their passing bodies before they were all gone, reanimating their young forms with the holy Kun Shou rite.
Both Lok and his sister recovered many memories of their past, though most were hazy at first. There was no dormancy period in the young Shinma, and they were restored to their father’s care once they could leave the hospital. But father was too busy with work still, so even injured Lok looked after his sweet songbird, Ha-Neul.
Thanks to their memories, the pair were able to return right to their hsien court in local Seoul, from which they parted not long ago due to old age. Little seemed to have changed in the Court of Crowded Lanterns. Only the “well-earned” pride of the kamuii nobles who ran this Yu/Li Shen institution changed…by increasing, that was. As Lok and Ha-Neul studied together at the court (after school hours) to replenish their knowledge with that which they could not merely recall, they grew closer and closer. They knew that in their past lives, they were always close lovers and often married. But they weren’t sure what to do now that they inhabited the bodies of brother and sister. For now, the two simply agreed to stay platonic.
After a couple years of intensive after-school studies, Lok was able to remember all the things he forgot between the incarnations. He graduated from the Court’s program, regaining his ministerial rank in the Lin Fu. He also received a jade charm as a gift for his successful study. He finished high school in Seoul, too. And that was all just in time, for his father was asked to transfer to the South Korean Consulate in Los Angeles, America! Ha-Neul would have to finish her school there. They vowed to stick together, knowing in L.A. they might be the only hsien they see at all!
The EPA
While out of school now, Lok continued to nurture Li Shen academics and classics. He still wanted to set an example for his younger sister, even though the Utaki was as wise as he. While she finished her high school, Lok got a job. He worked at the EPA office as a mailboy. With Lin Tan, he was able to magically scan the contents of letters. That was how he learned of Agent Marc Stafford’s bribery. A major real estate developer paid off this EPA investigator to keep him out of the parkland pollution happening from a nearby industrial firm.
So with Ha-Neul’s help, Lok orchestrated an “uprising” of the parkland flora. Trees and brush, with his Lin Tan sorceries, were made to appear more menacing and animated whenever the EPA agent made his scheduled visits. Over months of such subtle manipulation, Stafford cracked before the real estate deal could be finalized. This round went to the Lin Fu, huzzah!
College Kids
Not long after this episode, Ha-Neul graduated from high school. Lok observed that their father had grown more distant with his diplomatic work. So he and his sister agreed to break off from their father to pursue collegiate careers. A message from the Court of Crowded Lanterns mentioned that Little Asia in Kansas City had a healthy dose of shen dwelling there.
So both Lok and Ha-Neul transferred from Los Angeles to Kansas City. They attended CAS (College of Asian Studies). Lok decided to major in Oriental History with a minor in Cultural Preservation. There Lok pursued his academic studies while working with the Court of Emerald Eyes (and other wood-aligned Shinma therein) to protect city parks. But most interestingly, Lok and Ha-Neul decided spontaneously, while in college, to deepen their love in these lifetimes. Their romance re-blossomed despite their physical kinship, and despite any lingering guilty, they have decided to remain together henceforth. Lok was proving that nothing could deny the power of love!
Remembrance
Lok can tap some excellent memories of his previous incarnations dating back through the early years of the Fourth Age. However, he must meditate in a grove of trees, preferably a copse of beeches, to get the most superb recall. Furthermore, Lok has found that his memories are limited to courtly events regarding the Yu and especially the Lin Fu. At least, his ages-long romance to Ha-Neul has not faded from mind!
Jade Talismans
Blue
Level: 2
Chi: 2 Yang
Origin: This piece of jade was a recent gift from the Lin Fu as a reminder of his dedicated ages of service. The wondrous jewel was crafted and meant only for a Hou-Chi bearer.
Description: This piece of jade has been etched with magical sigils of kaja and worked into a simple locket (inside is a picture of Ha-Neul). It dangles from a silver chain that Lok wears around his neck at all times.
Fortunes Favored
Style: Folk Magic
Examples: Herbal remedies, feng shui, Taoist alchemy, saju
Significant Other
Ha-Neul may be Lok’s younger sister in this life, but he remembers their love from past incarnations. Their romance was a thing of envy to every court in Korea. And so romantic is Lok, and so romantic is his Utaki sister, that they could not deny their love for one another even now in this inauspicious life. In fall of 2004, their first semester in college together and here in Little Asia’s College of Asian Studies, the two consummated their romance in their dorm rooms. While children were always out of the equation due to the curse of the hsien, even marriage seems denied to Lok and Ha-Neul this round. Perhaps an informal ceremony would be a possibility, but neither of them want to consider it until they graduate from college. After a sabbatical from her education and relationship, she returned from Korea to her brother's arms, keeping their ages-long love a secret still.
Ha-Neul
Weakness
True Romance
Lok is the pinnacle of Hou-Chi compassion. One can see how that is a weakness, too. For when it is appropriate to hurt someone if only to defend oneself, even then he has difficulty to act. He is too much of a sweetheart.
Likelihood of Corruption
Low.
At least his generous and compassionate nature, combined with his elemental savvy and presence in the Li Shen, insures that Lok is not subject to easy corruption. Neither his own temptations nor outside wickedness can easily sway Lok from the path of righteousness. To date his greatest sin is the seduction of his sister, but that sin is only in the flesh, since their romance long predates the mortal bodies their hsien spirits borrowed.
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