Jingfu: The Downward Spiral

Name: Jingfu Zhou
Age: 24
Race: Khitan
Family Social Standing: Zhuhou Nan (Noble Baron)
Family Relations: Disowned


Jingfu was born as the third daughter to the Paikang nan, Jung Zhou. Her birth was seen as an unfortunate event since the baron wanted a son to become his heir. Another daughter was frowned upon. Still she was raised with a privileged life as a noble Khitani in the city-state of Paikang. Jingfu showed an early aptitude for the sorcerous arts and, instead of having a useless daughter who wouldn’t even garner a decent social and political tie with marriage (due to her being the third daughter), Jung sent her to apprentice under Sheng Po of the Scarlet Circle. Sheng Po was loathe to take on another apprentice since he already had one in his service but he owed a debt to the zhouhou nan; so he could not refuse.

Jingfu was five years old when she left her father’s home for the home of Sheng Po. For the next three years she was little more than a house servant for the crotchety old sorcerer. She could do little more than watch from afar as Sheng Po taught the darker arts to Pan Lee, the older apprentice. After her third year of apprenticeship, Sheng Po began to teach Jingfu about the basics of magic; namely its history in Khitan and the hierarchy of sorcerers in the land. Along with those studies she was tutored in academics such as writing, languages, mathematics, and world geography. Since she was still expected to behave as a noble woman should Jingfu also had to take instruction in etiquette, dance, singing, and estate administrations. Along with all of her studies the young girl was still expected to keep up with her household chores. Life as an apprentice was not easy for Jingfu but she was a focused, serious, and obedient child. Soon, it became very apparent to Sheng Po that she was also very bright. Jingfu excelled in her studies. Within six years of apprenticeship she surpassed Pan in skill and knowledge. Sheng Po began to teach Jingfu the dark arts of summoning the ancestor demons which was something she took to with a fiery passion. Not long after, Sheng Po began to show favoritism towards Jingfu, calling her his little protege. It was then that a deep hatred for the girl began to churn in the heart of Pan Lee.

As the years wore on Jingfu and Sheng Po grew closer and closer, until he became the father figure in her eyes that her real father had never been. Pan Lee felt like he was an outsider and he blamed it all on Jingfu. His heart grew black and twisted with his resentment and hatred of the girl. The final straw was when Sheng Po was weak and dying from old age. The old man had taken to his bed and everyone knew that he was in his final days. Pan Lee knew that it would be Jingfu that Sheng Po passed his most secret knowledge to. That fact threw the young man into a fit of rage. Pan knew that the only way to gain what he thought to be rightfully his was to remove Jingfu from the picture. Remove her from Khitai all together. Pan hired a group of thugs and slavers to subdue the young woman, eighteen years of age at the time, and take her out of the country to be sold into slavery. They attacked Jingfu while she was walking to the market to buy herbs to ease Sheng Po’s aching joints. Even with her skill in sorcery there were too many thugs for Jingfu to fight off and she was knocked unconscious. That was the last time Jingfu would see Khitai for four years.

The thug slavers took Jingfu across the Great Wall and towards Khemi in Stygia. During their travels they kept the young woman drugged with lotus, bound, and gagged so she couldn’t use her sorcery against them. Once in Khemi she was sold to a wealthy Stygian aristocrat whom had her fitted with an ensorcelled collar to subdue her magic.

For four years Jingfu labored as a slave for her master doing many things she would never speak of in the future, things that would forever bring shame to her soul. She witnessed all the horrors that Stygian society had to offer. It was an experience that would change her outlook on the world for the rest of her life. After four years of slavery Jingfu was blessed with an opportunity for freedom in the most unexpected of ways. Her master had managed to garner the ire of a visiting priestess of Set and, in a fit of panic, he randomly chose the nearby Jingfu to be the sacrifice to appease the priestess. Jingfu was handed over to the Setites and imprisoned until her sacrifice the next day. In his hurry to get the angry priestess out of his house Jingfu’s master failed to mention that her collar kept her from casting magic. On the day that was supposed to be her sacrificial day, priests came to prepare her for the sacrifice. They removed her clothing so she could adorn the white sacrificial robes and took her collar off with them. Jingfu instantly called on the aid of an ancestor demon and ran while the demon was slaughtering the priests of Set. A great chase after the slave was given throughout the city of Khemi. Just when Jingfu thought there was no hope of escaping the city, fate decided to bless her again. Jingfu ran straight into the arms of Nerysankh, the mistress of a Stygian house of pleasure.

The mistress took the frightened woman into her place of business (once she’d convinced the struggling Jingfu she wasn’t an enemy) and explained to her that she wasn’t like many other Stygians. Nerysankh lead an underground movement that helped free Stygian slaves and also fought against the vile corruption that plagued Stygia, namely everything that had to do with the theocracy of Set. Nerysankh was a follower of Ibis. Nerysankh kept Jingfu hidden from the eyes of her pursuers for nearly a month until the hunt for her subsided. Then the mistress had Jingfu smuggled out of the country. From there, Jingfu was on her own.

It took Jingfu nearly a year to find the funds to travel all the way back to her homeland of Khitai. Unfortunately, in Khitai, to have become a slave is the worst shame of all. Friends and family disown them completely. Though Jingfu begged and pleaded with her father he refused to allow her into his house or back into the family’s lives. He declared her disowned and said that she was dead in his eyes. Jingfu found herself without a home, a family, a friend, or even a pot to piss in. As a disowned former slave she had no place in Khitani society so she, once again, found herself crossing the Great Wall and leaving her homeland. She traveled west again, avoiding Stygia, and found coin by giving her services as a translator and scribe. She’d traveled this way a little over a year when she had the good fortune of finding herself in the company of a woman named Callesto. Callesto told her of an alliance of people she led called Sealladh. The woman convinced Jingfu that Sealladh was a source of camaraderie, support, strength, and protection. Callesto explained that with Sealladh there was no prejudice against race or religious belief as long as one kept in mind the Sealladh Standard and remained true to their Sealladh family. After a few days of consideration Jingfu decided to join so she would have a place to call home. She is still introverted and doesn't yet trust her new “family” but as time passes she is warming up to them and, perhaps, will finally find herself at ease in the future.


[OOC: Sorry for that wall of text. My name is April and I'm a returning player to AoC. I played back in 2008 and ran the RP guild Keepers of Prophecy. I was also a member of the RP guild The Desert Rose. I'm twenty-nine years old and have been gaming for about sixteen years. I'm a slow leveler because I like to take my time and enjoy things instead of rushing through just to get to 80 (also because I tend to spend half or more of my time in game doing rp Razz). There are four children in my house, of which two are mine, that I take care of on a daily bases so I tend to afk a lot. This means I can't usually raid or be in big teams until after their bedtime, unfortunately. Anyway, if there is anything else you would like to know about me then just chat me up. : ) )

Very nice story Jingfu. Welcome to Sealladh!