Houmei the Hateful (Formerly Koumyo Sanzo)

[Houmei the Hateful]

Name in Life : Koumyo Sanzo Name in Death : Houmei the Hateful Occupation in Life : Sanzo Priest (priest/warrior) Occupation in Death : Death Knight Race : Undead (human) Likes : Smoking, drinking, avoiding violence (though that can't be helped under Anesidora's control), slacking off, sleeping, warm and sunny days, flying paper air planes. Dislikes : The cold, violence, mostly negative things in general...Of course as a death knight that is a little contradictory.

Powers Spheres of Bone and Fire (General DK ability) An ode to his master's own, the death knight is accompanied with two twisting spheres of mystical energy that follow him by a couple feet. He never handles them physically. The Sphere of Bone is ghastly and dense, the very soul of death which permits the Death Knight to raise those he has killed in undeath and control armies of the unliving. The Sphere of Fire churns like molten lava with the heat of the sun and allows the Death Knight to utilize a variety of fire-based spells. The Spheres can only be put to use once each day. Staff of Death Houmei the Hateful wields what looks like a traditional staff of a high ranking monk, but he is capable of transforming it into a black instrument of destruction that causes unholy damage to his enemies. Life and Death Once he is out of the light of the sun, Houmei the Hateful can heal himself, even from the brink of destruction. Paralyzing Touch The touch of his clawed hand freezes even the hardiest warriors for a matter of seconds...Which can make all the difference. Waves of Exasperation Waves of negative energy cause all living creatures around him to become both physically and mentally exhausted. Contagion Undead are not very sanitary to start with...But Houmei the Hateful can infect a target with the following, which all have an incubation time of one to three days : Blinding Sickness, Cackle Fever (Symptoms include high fever, disorientation, and frequent bouts of hideous laughter), Mindfire (Feels like your brain is burning), Red Ache (Skin turns red, bloated, and warm to the touch), The Shakes (Causes involuntary twitches, tremors, and fits), or Slimy Doom (Victim turns into infectious goo from the inside out). The disease given is random. These can be cured by a healer.

Personality Until his dying day, Koumyo was a very laid back and flaky individual. His whole approach to life was rather light-hearted though he had been known to drop surprisingly deep gems of wisdom in the laps of those he spoke with. When tending to his duties, other monks had often said he walked with a quiet majesty that left them in awe and even years after his passing still remember him in such a light. Those who had known him on a more personal level would complain that he was quite the nuisance and very frustrating, but he had been a good man. Back when he studied to become a Sanzo priest, Koumyo was the main monk racking in demerits and always getting punished for his outspoken and happy-go-lucky demeanor. He often slept through classes, contradicted some of the instructors and infuriated his competition. After being brought back from the dead, Koumyo, now Houmei the Hateful as he is no longer a Sanzo priest can be seen being less cheerful than he had been previously (though for a very good reason) and can often make short, incredibly spiteful statements that are speckled with some grain of truth. Where once he seemed infinitely patient, he is more prone to moments of anger or frustration. His face maintains the ever-permanent mask those who knew him in life he had always worn, but he tends to open his eyes more often than he normally did. When put to a task, he sees it through though at a more lackluster and slower pace then his new found master particularly enjoys. Unless he is threatened with some severe punishment for slacking, he takes his time, often enjoying a stick of nicotine and lazing about along the way. In order to combat his sluggish behavior, Anesidora drew out untapped reserves of bloodlust, which helps to particularly motivate him in battle. Those who knew him in life may become doubtful that he is the same man, but on occasion some facet of the old Koumyo shines through, suggesting he may not be entirely beyond redemption...

Appearance Having done away with his priestly garb, Houmei the Hateful wears an ensemble mostly consisting of black cloth with a burgundy tabarb draped over his shoulders which is lined in a darker shade of the same color. Dark burgundy leather padding is wrapped around his forearms and calves, riddled with black spikes and acts as some manner of protective armor. Due to his undead state, his hair isn't as healthy a shade of light gold-brown as it once was and looks dull and lifeless. His skin is pale and almost sickly looking in it's white color. There is some shadowing around his eyes and cheekbones suggesting that the flesh is slightly sunken in. For being dead well over twelve years, his body is in somewhat good condition due to the combination of magic and science used to restore him. But under the clothing and armor, much of his form is much more skeletal then the outer appearance would suggest. However, despite his rather frail appearance, he can still prove to be quite dangerous.

Background One of the earlier chapters of Houmei the Hateful's past life involved his training to rise to the position of a priest who guarded over the Founding Scriptures of Heaven and Earth. Others were skeptical that he would even make the cut as he was overly laid back and was constantly raking in the demerits due to his slacking behavior. Yet despite the odds, he became the Sanzo charged with the Seiten scripture and took up the name and title, Koumyo Sanzo. Shortly after the death of the youkai (demon) Sanzo, the Maten scripture was also placed in his possession. Some years later, he bore witness to his comrade's death and named Goudai's successor Ukoku Sanzo, with whom he had taken to traveling with for at least a year. What happened during those travels and where they had gone is anyone's guess. Afterwards, Koumyo returned to his resident temple and there he stayed. Eventually, a calling had drawn him to the nearby river, where he wound up finding an infant child placed in a small boat afloat on the water. There was nothing with the child besides a set of beads, leaving Koumyo to give the orphan a name. The name he gave him was Koryuu, which was chosen because of the river. The monks of the temple were less then friendly with the boy, often calling him a demon child. None of this fazed Koumyo, for many reasons that shall not be disclosed yet. The boy was his pupil and his adoptive son and he came to care a great deal for him. On the night Koumyo called Koryuu to him in order to present him with his title as Sanzo and place the Maten scripture in his care, a band of demons attacked the pair. For whatever reason, Koumyo had placed a paralytic spell on the boy and did not permit him to help fight the demons. Koumyo was killed, effectively torn apart and the Seiten scripture stolen. Many found it strange that such a powerful priest would fall so easily to what could be considered a simple pack of bandits but the reason(s) why are known only to Koumyo. It was also strange that the boy was left relatively unharmed as well. Since then, the late priest had been enjoying his dirt nap and the comforts of Heaven...However, a strange visitor to the pleasant if not boring planet in Other World arrived just recently and trapped his soul in an odd jar. With only the darkness of the jar to keep him company, Koumyo waited the situation out before he found himself being placed in what seemed like his old body and yet it was not. And while he was less than pleased with the turn of events, he cannot bring himself to break the will of the one responsible for resurrecting him...

RP Sample It was a strange sensation, to feel ones body rotting around them. Or was it rotting? Perhaps it was already rotten and that was where the feeling of being half a man was coming from. It wasn't very pleasant. In fact, the longer he sat there, staring at the ghostly hands before him and taking note of every groove in the bone...The shortage of flesh really bothered him. Bringing the remaining shadow of his right hand up, he carefully scratched the side of his nose. His sense of touch was somewhat out of whack. He could feel the dry, tightened skin brush against skin which was stretched over the bone. It seemed his face had a little more flesh and fat to it then his hands at least. So there was comfort in the fact that he did not look entirely like a ghoul that just crawled out of the grave. There were other things he became aware of...His own scent, which was stunk of decay and sour earth. There was a chilling echo in his voice which rattled it's way out whenever he decided to speak. He felt cold outside, which he really hated, yet his core was like an inferno powered by the fires of Hell. He could live, or unlive, with that. Well, there wasn't much he could really say about the situation except one thing. "Oh. ...Shit."