Tao Shelong

"*Hey, Hey... You wanna play with me? What!? What do you mean you're busy? Chores!? I have chores all the tine, but i never do 'em. Hey... Hey, where are you going!?*"

— Tao's inquisitive, yet immature nature.

**Tao Shelong** Is an NCP of the Church of Metal and guardian of it's fifth floor Jade Gardens. Before the servers shut down, she was largely just a raid boss, but since the intro to New World she has become a constant thorn in the side of anyone at the guild trying to get any work done. She largely spends her days wandering the guilds many floors looking for some way to entertain herself, be that other NCP's to play with, interesting happenings she can inject herself into, or simply making conversation with anyone who will give her the time of day. She will before any task when called upon, but motivating her to do anything too strenuous is a constant struggle.

## Appearance

Tao usually appears as a slender young woman in her early twenties standing about five-feet ten-inches tall. She possess pail, almost prosocline skin, dull purple eyes, pointed ears, and silver hare with a few red highlights. She usually styles this in a loose bun or ponytail, but often keeps a small braid behind her left ear. Additionally, she has a few telltale features that betray her draconic nature. The most prominent of these is the long silver tail with a red plume at the end. Other features include a sat of tiny red horns adorning her head, and her arms begin changing from pail to a bright crimson from her bicep to her fingers, adorned with flame like markings.

As a human, Tao dons her Mithril Robe, a high-class item taking the form of a silver cheongsam that hangs down to her ankles, but with a side-slit that extends almost up to her hips. It is adorned with a red hem, jade buttons, and a red Chinese dragon effigy over the left breast and hip. She accentuates this with a par of dark transparent tights and silver Mary-jane shoes. He one other notable item is the Banana Leaf Palm, a platinum metal folding fan with a jade ring hanging from a tassel. When open, the fan displays a depiction of a set of dragon jaws that glow a deep red.

   However, as a dragonoid, Tao is able to take the firm of a mighty dragon. This form takes on a more eastern depiction of the creatures however, possessing a long, snake like body with shimmering white scales, and a set of clawed arms and legs. Red marking run along her body framing her underbelly from neck to tail, while a flowing white mane runs down her back and head, interlaid with the same red highlights as her human form. What’s more, her purple eyes are framed with red outlines, and a red yin-yang mark rests on her forehead. Three horns crown her head, each adorned with a gold ring at it’s base and marked with red. Lastly, magic circles form around her long body and slowly rotate. When she uses her magic, the circles will crackle with electricity as she flies through the sky.

Gold medallions adorn each leg, each trailing a red and white banner with various Kenji adorning them. Lastly, in this form, Tao utilises a pare of huge Katana. These come in a white scabbard, with an ornate black handguard, white wrapping on the hilt, and a Lilac colored cord adorning the upper part of the scabbard. When drawn, the blades appear a glistening silver, but with a lightning pattern adorning the back of the blade.

## Personality

Belaying her draconic nature, Tao is a very playful individual. She is only really motivated by finding a means to entertain herself, however this may come about. Playing games, finding new things, exploring new places, whatever keeps her from going to long being board is good enough. So long as there is something else to entertain her nearby when she tires of her current escapade. Should she fail to entertain herself, she will look to others to do it for her. This manifests in asking to play with passers by, or pester then into involving her in whatever task they set out on in that moment.

Her naturally inquisitive nature also means she can be a bit of a blabbermouth, often priding herself on being the first one to tell of new happenings around the guild. If she catches so much as a whiff that someone is keeping a secret from her, she will become unusually driven to find out what it is. Unfortunately for her, she isn’t exactly the brightest one around. She can be somewhat easy to trick, or surprised by even the simplest solutions to problems. Its also a common occurrence that she is the loudest one in whatever room she finds herself in, often speaking up out of turn or adding her own opinion

A majority of the guild views her as an annoying pest for this, or at the very least regard her as nothing but a child. This does not mean she is without friends. Her, Arti of the fourth floor, and Ragni of the third floor make up what many in the guild half affectionately call the mischief trio. The three often go on adventures throughout the guild, exploring the dungeons vast labyrinths for fun. By-and-large the three are welcome on any floor, so long as they don’t get into too much trouble. The one notable exception is Isabella Bathory, the guardian of the sixth floor. For reasons Tao can’t explain, Isabella and her butt heads on a near constant basis. She can’t remember when it started or why, all Tao knows is that their interaction often starts with Isabella making a not-so-subtle insult, and Tao reacting like a child. Tao has admitted that she doesn’t outright hate her, but won’t hesitate to say she doesn’t like her very much.