Mizu Mii-Miy

## Biography

Mizu is born in the 176th Year of the Reign of the Ling-Dynasty (371 AC) to Ake Ya, Imperial Tax Officer and scion of the noble House of Ha-Ya, and his third courtesan in the Central Province of Yi Ti. Lacking the approval of the House’s patriarch, the child is raised by wet nurses, local farmers and a priest in a village in the countryside. At the age of six, Mizu is given as a present to the Dragon-God of the Western Sky and taken to the Provinces of the West, to be raised and educated in the Monastery of The Dragon of the Western Sky. Recognizing his martial abilities at the age of 11 years, the monks send him further North, to the Monastery of The Flame that Never Ceases Burning Itself, to be trained in weaponry and warfare, and to devout his life to the Three-Faced God of Winter, War, Night and the End of Things.

Being 16 years of age, after years of training in a multitude of subjects, the Provinces of the West become subject to political upheaval: The followers of the former Brigand Prince are able to overthrow the reign of the local Council of The Wise and Holy Eight. With the usurpers being members of a different branch of the local faith, prosecution of the followers of the former Hen-Confession begins. The inhabitants of Mizu’s monastery try to escape, but it is too late: The ancient buildings of the monastery are burnt, most of its monks slain and the recruits and novices are forced to convert to the New Hen-Yiang faith. Unwillingly, Mizu accepts to convert because his old mentor made him promise this, and Mizu starts following the commandments of the New Faith devotedly.

The new rulers of the Western province send many of the recruits to the capital. Mizu becomes a guard in the Household of Shi’oun Ino Shuu, formerly known as the Brigand Prince. Soon he becomes one of Shuu’s personal guards. In an honour dispute, he fights for his master and earns a lot of reputation for his skills as a duelist. To a degree, even the Imperial Guard becomes aware of his talent and Shuu is asked to hand over Mizu into the service of the God-Emperor. Grudgingly, Shuu has to approve of this because it is considered an honour.

Finding his unit of the Imperial Guard in a state of complete disorder and bribery, Mizu spends a year doing nearly nothing at all except from training, prayer and meditation. At the age of 18 he is required to become the Youthful Lover of 51 year old Imperial Second-General of the White Army of the North Shi’oun Tana Ke. He starts serving him as one of his secretaries and adjutants, and follows him to the theatre of war in the North where the White Army is stationed for more than two years. Meanwhile a military coup has overthrown the ruling faction in the capital. Ke’s army moves on, dealing now with all kinds of local princes’ and warlords’ rebellions in the North. When they hear about the sudden death of the God-Emperor, they are forced to withdraw.

Back in the capital, the Ruling Faction blames General Ke on having lost the Provinces of the North. He denies this. During the concluding trial his honour cannot be re-established and he chooses to commit suicide. Mizu, now 21 years of age mourns his former general for half a year until he decides to commit suicide himself due to having failed to save his former master’s reputation. His pledge is denied by the Ruling Faction. He is required to continue to serve in the Imperial Guard, but then gets dismissed because his old spiritual mentor Master Shun Ryu has returned to the capital to rebuild the local monasteries of the meanwhile re-established Hen-Confession. He obliges Mizu to convert back to the confession of his childhood but Mizu is forced to reject because he is still amid mourning for his late master Ke who has been a follower of the New-Hen-Yiang-Faith. Thus, Mizu tries to return to the Imperial Guard, but is denied. Feeling hurt in his honour he feels forced to spend three months living, begging and sleeping below the walls and gates of the Imperial Guard barracks in the Western Great Water Districts.

With the onset of the Rainy Season regulatory authorities remove him due to local citizens’ complaints. Searching for a lawyer to fight for his right to live below the walls of the barracks, Mizu is offered a position in the household of said old lawyer and starts serving the House of To-Neng-Li, as a personal guard and secretary of old Master Tahii To. Due to the old master’s increasingly poor vision, he is forced to learn High Valyrian to assist his master in the archives and libraries. His master insists on Mizu becoming the Youthful Lover of some Mura Ka, Officer in the Imperial Guards, whom Mizu does not know. He refuses. His master insists. Mizu has to give in, but gets to know said officer and realizes he is just half a year older than Mizu. The two 23 year old young men start to appreciate each other soon, but then find out they are followers of different confessions. They feel the urge to split up, but Ayaka is then forced by his superiors to convert to Mizu’s confession - which he unwillingly submits to. A short time afterwards Mizu is again welcomed into the ranks of the Imperial Guard, is adopted by Master Tahii To and starts serving in the City Guards.

Half a year later the former First Courtesan of the late God-Emperor assassinates the Leader of the Ruling Faction. Upheaval breaks out in the capital. And during the next three years, Mizu follows his superiors throughout several theatres of war. Half a year before the end of the war, Mura is killed in battle, but Mizu has no time to mourn him. He keeps on doing his duty until the end of the war and then returns to the capital. Under the rule of the former First Courtesan, Mother of the Son and Heir of the God-Emperor, Mizu is offered a renowned position in the Guards of the Imperial Princesses. He refuses castration and has to leave the Imperial Guards again. He returns to Master Tahii To. Soon afterwards, however, his adoption is nullified because it is against the law of the Old Hen-Confession that becomes new State Confession. Being still in mourning Mizu denies converting to his former faith. He is granted to do so. After the official period of mourning has ended after twelve moons, Mizu still denies converting, declaring he would intend to mourn Mura until the end of time. His former religious mentor Shun Ryu beats him up and Mizu is forced to convert. Secretly he keeps on mourning. Until his mentor finds out and beats him up again.

Following his old faith again, Mizu joins the Old Capital’s Monastery of the Blossom of Night as a martial novice, withdrawing to a life of meditation, prayer and martial training, educating recruits and guarding the monasterial temples. Until the day when Shun Ryu has a vision. For seven months the old monk keeps wondering what this vision was meant to signify. Until he receives a hint to its potential meaning by old Tahii To. And together, both of them start figuring out a secret plan, on which they clandestinely work for months. Both insist on Mizu leaving westwards, to cross the Jade Sea and The Sea Beyond the Jade Sea. And even the next Sea Beyond. To find a man of Good Faith and Great Honour, sworn to the Dragon of the Western Sky. Musingly, they order Mizu to seek the advice of some Takeda Chen first. Mizu proves in a torn manner at first, but he cannot repel the will of two men as famous and reputed as those two, to whom he owes so much. In the end, the wife of Tahii To tells him to go and try to do his best, recommending him sincerely to set out for the journey to overcome his feelings of grief and senselessness. And, thus, in 398 AD, Mizu, who is by now known as Mizu Mii-Miy, boards a ship, bound to sail westwards.

## Appearance

He is of a youthful, muscular (but not overly) build with good proportions, but might appear slender or even slight in the eyes of western people. His normal height of hardly 5’7’’ might often appear distorted by the wearing of wooden pattens. His eyes are of a dark violet with a darker outer rim of the iris, shining with intense brightness in the seldom case Mizu is in an emotionally-stirred mood. His smooth, very thick hair, has currently faded to a dark ashen brown from sun light and salt water. It reaches to his thighs and is often worn in a traditional high bun, sometimes held by all kinds of fancy hairpins. He is clean-shaven and of pale skin, with no visible scars. To more western cultures, his face appears androgynous and youthful with its symmetrical features, the high forehead and plucked eyebrows. Back home he would have more often worn kohl, war or status related paint as well as vivid face masks sheltering his skin from the sun. As visible weapons he bears two curved blades around his waist – a shorter and a longer one – of very traditional Yitish design and excellent craftsmanship. His clothes are of traditional Yitish origin, featuring several attributes of his caste, class and profession that are hard to read to the western eye.

## Timeline

371 AC – Born in the Central Province of Yi Ti

377 AC – Joins a monastery in the Western Province

382 AC – Joins a more martial minded monastery nearby

385 AC – Is kidnapped and taken to the capital Yin. Starts serving in the Imperial Guard

389 AC – Becomes secretary and adjutant to a general and follows him to the Northern Provinces

392 AC – Leaves the Imperial Guard and becomes assistant to a lawyer

394 AC – Joins the Imperial Guard again and goes off to war

396 AC – Leaves the Imperial Guard and becomes a novice of the Old Monastery in Yin

398 AC – Leaves Yi Ti to search for a man called Takeda Chen in the Far West.

## Household

Shun Ryu (Zealot, 67)

Tahii To (Agent, 69)

Lingli To (Acumen, 54)

Feng To (Agent, 25)

Ni Hjam (Beauty, 17)

Ra Zu (Leadership, 53)

Hang Ra (Martially-Adept, 45)

No Weng (Leadership, 28)

Shen Shen (Leadership, 27)

Na Li-Liy (Leadership, 27)