Fenghuang

**Yao Si Long** (龍 姚斯) is an alchemist and magus, originating from the late Zhou-dynasty era of ancient China, an active mystic during the Warring States era, and was the sole survivor of the Fusang expedition commissioned by Qin Shi Huang Di. Whatever secret to "immortality" she found during that expedition was kept a secret as she ended up causing the First Emperor of China to believe that the secret to longevity was ingesting Mercury, leading to his death. Known to many as "Fenghuang" for her alleged immortality in Ancient China, she isolated herself from humanity by meditating atop an inhospitable mountain for 442 years, before returning from solitude and exploring the world. Gathering artifacts, allies, and followers, she eventually joined an organization in the Philippines and became the leader, turning the Snake Tong into the notorious organization it is known as today. Centuries of introspection and then putting her plans in action has all led to her goal of a "Utopia".

## Background

    *“Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”*

The past of the woman known as Fenghuang will forever be shrouded in mystery, and she is more than happy to keep it that way. The earliest records of her were found from the Bamboo and wooden slips written about her involvement with the court magi of the states during the Warring States era in Ancient China. A Daoist Alchemist of the Crimson Court, a thief, a charlatan, a vigilante, a martial artist, she was viewed differently by several people. But one thing remained constant. Her alchemical knowledge was powerful and vast.

Later records show that her talents as an alchemist and mage led her to the involvement with Emperor Qi Shi Huang Di’s expeditions to find “Immortality”, most notably the sea expedition to find the island housing the “Fusang Tree” one of the possible sources for an elixir of immortality. Out of the hundreds of men sent to said mysterious island, only Fenghuang returned alive, Feng would tell cryptic stories about what happened during that fateful day. What was certain was that the tree killed everyone, but Fenghuang left with her life and with new-found knowledge. They say she caught a glimpse of the universe’s secrets from the primordial tree, others say she simply survived a vengeful tree and stole a branch from the Fusang, creating her own source for immortality elixirs. Only hearsays and rumors would remain. Despite the rumors, she does not confirm or deny any involvement with the death of China’s first emperor.

*“Alchemy is not for fools who believe everything and understand nothing”.*

Centuries would pass and her name would continue to be shrouded in mystery. Her actual name was mostly forgotten by many, and many referred to her as Fenghuang. Indeed, she completely cut herself off from humanity by the time, spending centuries in meditation. As an alchemist, she was by nature a mage of “Flow”. She studied the flow of magical energy with the mixing of specific ingredients, the flow of the newly crafted sorcery into the body, and the flow of this affected body in the physical world. One would say she was cultivating this new form of immortality by hyper fixating on the concept of Flow as she meditated. Her encounter with the Fusang tree left her with new-found knowledge that to this day she rarely shares. She meditated upon the flow of the world, how it drifted in the cosmic river and how everything else followed the flow of “The Way” or “The Dao” of existence. Her revelations made her develop the ability to manipulate the Physical and the Metaphysical concept of Flow in her body, allowing her to drastically slow the Flow of time and age within her, turning her effectively immortal as long as she focuses on slowing down and stopping that Flow. And even after she achieved a form of longevity, she continued her meditation, reflecting on the mysterious knowledge she learned with the Fusang, and remaining detached from the rest of the world.

She finished her meditation after 442 years, reemerging into an unfamiliar China. With her acquired insights from centuries of meditation, the old Fenghuang was ashes and a new one emerged in her place. Gone was the woman who pursued power for power’s sake. Fenghuang had a new purpose after acquiring what an Emperor desperately failed to get. She traveled the world and saw it for what it is, a den of humanity’s imperfect nature doomed to follow the Flow of Calamity and Degradation as time marched on. She saw countless die for no reason, countless selfish souls in power sacrificing the weak to carry on their whims, she saw the world shaped to continue and accommodate this imperfection by man. The more she saw, the more she realized how inescapable this is, for every good deed, there will be a two evil deeds done by others that causes harm. This was the Flow of Humanity. While there were people who she saw trying to make things better, they eventually fall to corruption from within or destruction by another group. And that’s when she started taking matters into her own hands and ceased this detachment from humanity. She saw herself as a being who defied the Flow of time, so it is only natural for her to defy this flow of humanity’s path to irredeemable nature. If the world and humanity decides to follow the flow of dystopia, she will defy it and create the Flow of Utopia, creating a paradise that was once an impossible dream of a beloved lost to time.

The martial arts and the arcane she learned thanks to the time she had turned her into a formidable magus and warrior as she traveled the world. She challenged many sorcerers and usurped many of their artifacts.  She gathered a few disciples who wished to learn her arts, seeing as finally creating new bonds with people is one of the vital steps to her quest. Accumulating wealth, power, influence, and most importantly, trusted disciples and allies, Fenghuang revealed her goal. “The Flow of Time is inescapable, I too will finally degrade one day, but I will make sure that when the world inevitably follows the Flow of Calamity and utter destruction, we will be there to rebuilt, if the world is fully irreparable, we shall find and make a new world, and with a head start, we shall guide the future to a path of utopia”.

A naïve dream for a perfect future was something she remembered, a dream told to her by an old beloved whose bones now embrace the Earth, a dream she thought folly, an ideal that can never be realized thanks to the path humanity followed, until Feng herself realized how she herself defied metaphysical flow. Such idealism garnered many like-minded individuals, but it truly was a tall order. The world of magi and non-magi was and still is divided. To achieve her grand and intoxicating goal, she needed to consolidate power and become the major players of the world. In the chaos of the late 19th century, Fenghuang and her followers saw opportunity in the land of the Philippines, the Martyrdom, the magi of the Spanish regime, the rebels, and not to mention the surviving isolationist magi were all caught in a war that left the place sundered, and the best place to finally put Fenghuang’s plans forward. Arriving during the Philippine Revolution, Fenghuang arrived in Manila, and quickly began exploring the nation she had never explored before. She learned of the people, who held power in the world of magi, and who were the groups she could potentially strike an accord with. The ever vigilant Martyrdom, who she had many encounters with in Europe for centuries, did not trust an “affront to God”, nor did the isolationist Balete magi who viewed her as another outlander. The groups she did ally herself with were the rag-tag bunch of rebels in Manila known as the “Lungsod Ahas” or the “City Snakes”.

Gaining the trust and recognition of these City Snakes, she eventually rose to power as their leader, and it was renamed to “The Snake Tong”, or the “The Snake Kin”. With her charisma, knowledge, and power, she turned the Snakes into an organized group of agents, magi, and non-magi that consolidated power in the capital of the Philippines. She recruited new members as she scouted magi and other people who she saw potential in, she defied the Martyrdom, the Spanish, the Americans, and the Japanese as they wrestled control of the underworld in the Philippines from her. She contended with the powerful Balete mage-lords and their hidden sanctuaries, forcing a stalemate that makes them share the land their groups both called home, Fenghuang has strived to make all of this happen. Now as the turn of the century arrived, the Snakes, or the “Sneks” as some of the members endearingly call themselves, have expanded their grasp upon the world, based in the Philippines. Fenghuang reminds her Snakes that all their actions are all part of a grand plan, a plan for a better tomorrow. And even the lowliest ranked members are viewed by her as a key player in this grand strategy of hers. Veiled as a vain madam who has lived a decadent life from the wealth and power accumulated from all those years, Fenghuang prefers to keep it that way, since she wants those outside to know that she is just like them, simply hungry for wealth and power, and are unaware of her true motives.

*"And yet life is brilliant. Beautiful. It enchants us, to the point of obsession, A Thrice-cursed tyrant’s quest for eternity led to oblivion. A Fool’s desire for revenge ended in emptiness. A dreamer chased absolute peace, however elusive, All were driven, however helpless to the Flow of Existence. What is it that drives you?"*

## Appearance

Fenguang has jet-black hair, and a very pale complexion, unnaturally so that many used to mistake her for a ghost, a vampire, a ghost-vampire. A result of her “Immortality” has left her eyes to appear hollow and pitch-black, which adds to her mysterious and intimidating appearance. A woman of refined taste, she has many dresses from different eras stored, as well as modern outfits that help her blend in. She has a single mole under her left eye.

## Personality

Fitting for an ancient magus, Fenghuang still has an aura pride not unfounded due to the accumulated knowledge and skills she has acquired throughout the years. She enjoys presenting herself with an air of mystery, a dangerous beauty with that ominous yet charming smile of hers. While she is ever a pragmatic person, never hesitating to kill someone or steal something to further her goals, she has this side of idealism within her. Deep down, in her youth with her friends and her lovers, they shared this dream of a better tomorrow, a future where humanity has put aside petty divisions and greed for a utopia where hunger and war no longer haunted the world, something she saw was almost impossible as she lived through countless wars and massacres throughout history. However, her raw determination to defy the metaphysical flow the world is following made her realize that she will go against the world if it meant seeing that past naiveté vindicated.

When alone or with people she really trusts, she shows her introspective side. She has read up on a lot of philosophy and history, even meeting historical figures in the past, and learning about the many figures and ideas that have shaped the world in order to try and hone her mind even more for what is to come in the future. If one wishes to engage in philosophical discussion with a very well-read conversation partner, the boss is your best bet in the organization. Someone with a lot of time on their hands has a lot of things to offer

All the spare time she has as a two-millennia old magus has made her quite the dedicated person when it comes to continuously exercising her mind and body, to the point that regular martial arts training and introspective meditation are common entries in her daily schedule. Because of this, she is the strongest martial artist in the organization, considering the amount of techniques she learned from different styles, and the fighting experiences she acquired occasional mischievous and teasing side if she particularly grows fond of certain individuals.

She has made a lot of friends and lovers throughout her lifetime. At first she detached herself from everyone else, knowing that it would be pointless to create relationships of she were to outlive them anyway, but overtime the solitary lifestyle got to her and as she was still a human that craved social intimacy, she eventually withdrew from this asceticism and reconnected with society. She realized that she shouldn’t dwell on the loss but instead cherish the memories she made.

*”I knew that to love another was to watch the world move past them. But the short years make centuries worth living.”*

Deep down, even she gets lonely after all.  She treats other members of the organization with a rather graceful and refined disposition, and views them as her family. Although there were times she had lovers who were part of the Snakes, in that case she does not view them as “relatives' ' since from her own words “That would be weird”. Although someone calling her “mommy” during the throws of passion are exceptions. Those lucky enough to have spent the night with the b0ss will tell you that she is very skilled in certain arts, and can augment herself with certain… medicine to create a lot of “possibilities''.

She remembers everyone in the organization, their pasts, their personalities, and their lives. It is one way to hone her mind after all. Fenghuang’s air of mystery makes her a rather deceptive woman, an expert at the intrigue from her times with the ancient courts of China to the medieval world of magi. This made her lie as naturally as she breathed, making her a master of infiltration. She is also quite the polyglot after years of meeting people from different places around the globe, be it in the Snaeks, during her travels, or her missions. She never forgot the ancient dialect she spoke in her youth, and most of her private writings and journals are all written in the old language.

## Abilities

### Magic

Fenghuang is a master of alchemy, be it Internal or External.  She can make medicines and potions on the fly as long as she has the tools and ingredients needed within her grasp. From cures to tonics that empower even the weakest person into a juggernaut, it is within her repertoire.  Her knowledge in several forms of magical arts is vast since expanded her repertoire, combining the magic of both the Eastern and Western world, from European Witchcraft to Ancient Chinese Daoist Thaumaturgy. However, these are all tools to her, and the main source of power lies in her ability to manipulate “Flow”.

#### 流动改变 - Liúdòng Gǎibiàn, Flow Manipulation

The nature of her alchemical study involved the flow of magical energy and how it changes upon mixing and matching different ingredients, different temperatures, and different states of matter. It was only natural for her to base her main magical studies in the very concept of “Flow”. As an ancient Daoist alchemist, she followed the idea that everything in existence by “The Dao”, this “Way” is to her a cosmic river of everything, where every concept flowed into one vast expanse. This ideology was only reinforced when she peered into the mind of an ancient tree known as the Fusang during that fateful day. When others tried to analyze the primordial plant, their minds were fried. Others panicked and tried to fight the tree.  While chaos unfolded, their Fenghuang simply saw a flow of knowledge steadily pouring into her mind, what felt like eons flowed into her memories, something she was able to due to her affinity with “Flow” due to her studies as an alchemist.

Further meditation and research into what she received from the Fusang tree led to her being able to grasp and alter the metaphysical “Flow” that permeates across the world by localizing her personal Dominion. **"The Pheonix's Flow"**, within her body. She kept the exact details on how she acquired the ability a secret. Feng is able to manipulate how “Flow” affected her body. After years she was able to drastically slow the flow of aging and time in her body and soul, allowing her to retain her youth and survive the 4 centuries of further isolation and meditation she performed. Further honing of her abilities allowed her to alter the Flow of what’s immediately in her vicinity, the Flow of Light hitting her could be altered to make her appear invisible, the Flow of vital fluids in another living being’s body could be halted to induce death, or accelerated to make them temporarily empowered, she has learned multiple ways to apply her ability. She can even do “short range teleportation” by accelerating her body’s “Flow of Movement” on the ground, making her look as if she skipped several steps and ended up teleporting behind you for example. Combining these offensive applications with her martial arts, she became a deadly magus and allowed her to accumulate all sorts of artifacts across the world.

Her immortality is not absolute, however, as she constantly has to keep her focus in order to keep the Flow of Time slowed in her body. Centuries of training has allowed her to will the Flow of Time in her body to a near-stand-still as natural as her breathing. However , this does not mean that she is invincible. Being incapacitated will make the flow of time catch up to her, however she has trained her body to keep the Flow manipulation going while asleep. Although she rarely even sleeps thanks to again, manipulating the Flow of fatigue in her body to a near-standstill. Killing her also invalidates her Flow Manipulation, which resulted in Fenghuang having all sorts of tricks and contingencies up her sleeves. She boldly declared that she will stay even when the world reaches the end point, when Calamity and Destruction finally leads humanity to its end. She’ll be there with her people, and she will be the one to rebuild, to start humanity a new and lead them down the "Flow of Utopia".

### Martial Arts

Fenghuang has acquired expertise in many martial arts, following the *Lim Ga Kuen* philosophy of utilizing the most effective techniques from different styles and combining it into a system that works greatly for an individual. Technique-wise, she can go toe-to-toe with foes she is not equal in raw physical prowess. She is a dangerous foe to engage in hand-to-hand combat, being able to combine her Flow Manipulation into physical attacks that will spell doom to many in only a few touches. She usually holds back when fighting weaker opponents, wishing to prolong the fight and make things entertaining, but she does not hesitate to eliminate a foe as fast as possible if the situation calls for it.

Despite the oldest living veterans and the b0ss, Fenghuang is not against wearing the standard suit uniform, in solidarity with her organization’s members. For formal occasions, however, she likes to flex her outfits to show them that she means business.

### Artifacts and Equipment

**Huohuan Bu (火浣布) Dress**

A black dress made of pure Huohuan Bu Silk, a material produced by a Spider Yaoguai known as Yùchú or "The Brood". Also known as Fire-Washed Cloth, the dress' material is spun from the Yùchú's silk, The Silk has made the dress durable (enough to withstand modern gunfire and magical projectiles), easily enchantable with magic, and has innate fire resistance. If the dress was stained, one simply needs to burn the area with the stain and the mess will soon disappear without damaging the cloth. Huohuan Bu is used for the Shiai-shi suits along with other materials, and a dress made primarily of the silk alone is worth a lot, and acts as a status symbol, and of course, the b0ss is expected to have one.

**Tikbalang Anting**

A protective charm made with ancient Filipino Materia magic appearing under the form of a hand fan. A combination of many materials, one of which is a stiff hair from a Tikbalang, a half-horse humanoid beast of myth. It is said to grant luck in wealth and power to the one who possesses the hair-fan. The Tikbalang known as “Kidlat” or “Lao Song” pledged loyalty to Fenghuang after being the only mortal to survive fighting and stealing a lock of hair from his mane, as a sign of respect from one warrior to another, and now serves as one of her body guards. The Protective charm fan Fenghuang possesses serves as a token of his loyalty, and while it technically is used to force Kidlat into obeying her command, his fealty to her is enough and no forced commands are needed. The fan just acts as a symbol between the two's mutual respect for one another.