Blackbeak Bio

History: Blackbeak was abducted as an egg by those in the employ of Zhang Liubei, a court eunuch in Dtang Ma. His aim was to prove to to the Wise Tiger Lord of Ramparassad, Kamraten Khemkhaeng that if raised as a human from a hatchling, a Tengu can be as civilized as a human. For the first seventeen years of his life, Blackbeak was raised by Zhang Liubei, and named Xún Shòu, a name meaning 'tame beast'. He was given a court education and trained in weaponry as an aristocrat of Dtang Ma. Zhang Liubei even played at being his father, but treated him more like a trained monkey than a son. He was stolen from his mother as an egg by this man to prove a point and to send a message, after all. However well intentioned, this act would have grave consequences for Zhang Liubei.

	Blackbeak knew he was not a human, and was perplexed by this fact and difference early in his life. He was subject to cruel bullying by the children of aristocrats. Scarcely a day went by when he was not reminded he was little more than a beast, and will never be human. Blackbeak took keen notice of this fact. Unbeknownst to him at the time, but like others of his kind, he was always more frail and prone to sickness than his peers. He was smaller and weaker. He knew their mockery had a bit of truth to it, and it stung. Blackbeak internalized the jeers and mockery, and took the lesson it taught to heart. He would not be weak. He would be better than that. He would be better than all of them.

	When he was not the sharpest at his studies, he was mocked for his slow wit and likened to a cow or a goat. When he was not the quickest and most adept at sparring, he was reminded he would never be as strong or as capable as a human. Bitterness tore Blackbeak apart from the inside, and he devised a plan. In a land ruled by sorcerer-kings, he was well aware of the probably consequences if he executed his plan, but driven by despair, he committed to its execution. Would a life of mockery and suffering be worth living? Is his only purpose to be a show monkey for a eunuch to impress someone far greater than himself?

	Blackbeak resolved himself to assassinating Zhang Liubei in his sleep, whatever the consequences may be. In his mind, he made a choice to die rather than to be a puppet for a decadent weakling who is so detached from reality he chose to abduct a sentient creature, capable of suffering, to prove a frivolous point. Shortly after his seventeenth birthday, he decided to execute his plan. He resolved to smother the eunuch in his sleep, and then flee the city in pauper's rags. Whatever the consequences might be, he would accept them. And so the first life he took was the man who deprived him of his rightful destiny. At least, that is how Blackbeak views things. He fled 	Ramparassad, penniless, without a weapon, in the rags of a pauper.

	Unbeknownst to him, the Wise Tiger Lord of Ramparassad, Kamraten Khemkhaeng knew of his plot and his deed. It bemused the ruler so to have the foolish stooge of a eunuch die of his own hubris, he decided to allow Blackbeak to live as a living testament of how it is not man's place to intervene in the natural order, and the consequences of doing so.

	Blackbeak soon found he did not appreciate many facets of court life, or his life in a proverbial cage. He swiftly found out what it was like to be hungry, and what it was like to want, and what it is like to not have a safe place to sleep. He soon realized it was he who was a foolish decadent brat, on some level. He did not forgive Zhang Liubei or reconsider his actions for a moment, but he realized he had much to learn. He spent many hungry nights lost and alone, without a clue or a plan.

	Starving, alone, and afraid, he decided to stowaway on a ship. He remained nearly motionless and hidden, sneaking food from the sailor's provisions in the dead of night. The ship took him to the floating city of Zo Piaobo. Blackbeak jumped overboard to avoid being spotted or apprehended. During the transit, he had time to reflect on his life and the options available to him. He resolved to survive and to be the greatest warrior he could be. One day, he would be without equal, and he would sacrifice anything in the pursuit of power.

	Zo Piaobo was a strange, dirty place in Blackbeak's eyes. He searched for any employment he could. After a series of menial, low paying odd jobs, he resolved himself to accept work he previously considered 'beneath his honor'. During his upbringing, as he was raised as an aristocrat, he had many mores and costumes that dictated a sense of honor and his place in the world. He realized quickly that things changed, and he had to adapt to his new life. There was no reason for him to stay in Zo Piaobo, and there were many captains searching for sailors.

	Blackbeak knew nothing of sailing, but at this point, he was an adequate liar. Desperation and poverty have a way of twisting ones morals, and he had slept many cold nights on the streets, begging for food. He would do whatever he needed to in order not to have another night like those again. He met a captain named Li Pengdu, of the Red Sails. Blackbeak convinced the captain to hire him as a deckhand. So began his life at sea.

	Blackbeak quickly realized the Red Sails were not ordinary sailors or conventional merchants. They left port without cargo, and all of his crewmates were armed lowlifes. He decided to blend in as best as he could. Soon, there would be no doubt of his new profession. He was to be a pirate. Blackbeak did his best to play the part, but would often struggle to attack those who resisted their demands, and grew resentful of his life and station. Was he to be a henchman for a criminal for the rest of his life? Again, he resolved to change his lot, and made a decision to defect as soon as possible. During his stint as a pirate, his crewmates dubbed him 'Blackbeak', as his name was difficult for the diverse members of the crew to pronounce. Either that, or they didn't care to learn or speak his name. It did not truly matter to Blackbeak, as the name given to him by Zhang Liubei was a demeaning name intended to assign a use to him. So far, Blackbeak has decided not to be a tool for others to use. It was he who would use the tools.

	Thousands of miles from his homeland, he saw his opportunity. After a stop to resupply at Magnimar, Blackbeak decided to abandon ship when he spotted a nearby settlement. He swam to shore, dried himself off, and continued on foot to the settlement without any food or a copper to his name. A sense of dread filled him. It was not unlike after he killed the man who played at being his father. The same sense of uncertainty filled him. This time, he resolved it would be different. He would not make the same mistakes.

During the journey, he heard tales from one of the other deckhands, a man named Horatio Aventus. Horatio was from the land of Cheliax, which Blackbeack judged to be quite exotic and interesting. This sun-bleached old-timer would prattle on for hours telling tales of 'Hell Knights' from his mysterious land of origin. He spoke of their deeds, and how they benefited the greater order. Blackbeak likened this to the concept of the Mandate of Heaven, or will of the divine from his homeland.

Blackbeak's favorite tale of Horatio's starred a Hell Knight named Lictor Enwar Shokneir, who the old timer spoke very highly of. He claimed Lictor Shokneir 'single handedly' put down the Chelish Civil War, and restored rightful order to the entire nation of Cheliax. In a grim twist of fate, after the rebellion, he was betrayed by the envious Order of the Scourge, who Horatio painted as 'craven lowlifes, more bandit than Hell Knight'. In recognition for his heroism, Horatio claimed, the gods themselves returned Lictor Shokneir and a few of his subordinates back to this mortal realm to continue their deeds of heroism for the greater purpose of order. Like most legends, this tale delved deep into the well of fantastical exaggerations, but a granule of truth was carried in his words, and it captivated Blackbeak.

One day, when he was strong enough, Blackbeak resolved to meet Lictor Shokneir, and enter into his service. He too, would be a warrior serving the Mandate of Heaven. To Blackbeak, these Hell Knights sounded like great, powerful heroes of a far off place, worlds away from the stifling subjugation and ostracization he suffered in his homeland. Blackbeak pined obsessively over the prospect of joining this order of heroes and becoming a great, exotic warrior in a far off place, fighting the agents of chaos, backing the Mandate of Heaven. These tales were fresh in his mind before he departed the ship, and perhaps motivated him to take action.

	The settlement's name he found to be Sandpoint, and there was soon to be a festival commemorating the local's gods. What could it hurt to investigate? After so long as sea, Blackbeak could use a break from the monotony of the waves.


Personality: Blackbeak is a deeply flawed individual. At his core, he knows he will never truly be Tengu due to the circumstances of his abduction, and despises, but accepts that fact. He channels this hatred to be superior to everyone else, especially humans like his former captors. He has convinced himself he must prove his worth to others and to himself, and the best way to do this is to be utterly unyielding. He must be the greatest fighter he can be. If he isn't, he is worthless. In Blackbeak's mind, he has 'lost his way', and he is determined to find that path, wherever it may be. He is absolutely intolerant of weakness in others, and even less tolerant of weakness in himself.

	While he has a degree of grudging appreciation for the court schooling and precise circumstances of his upbringing, he simultaneously hates the fat, decadent nobles that stole him away from the life he was supposed to live, in his view. This has soured his opinion of humans to a degree, but Blackbeak prides himself on a warped sense of 'fairness', and lets humans prove themselves by arbitrary measures and tests. The primary function of these tests is so Blackbeak can dismiss them as worthless decadent morons, to fit his worldview.

	Blackbeak is proud and somewhat cruel. He has a bone to pick with nearly everybody, but abides by a sense of 'fairness' and honor. If someone is his better, he will recognize it and use the resentment it causes him to better himself.