Ruacu

> *"Everything is one. What lies above lies below and what lies below lies above. The Above is on Gaiga and Gaiga is in the Above"*
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> -*Ruacu* on the mysteries of the world
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## Biography

*Ruacu* was born on the ??th of ??? in the year ???? after the War of Day and Night He was raised by a loving father and loving mother, yet he always was a loner and rarely played with anyone.

### Early Child Life

*Ruacu* was a very strange child from the beginning. He, as an air elf was put in the usual restrictive system of behavior that distanced itself from the world and so did he. He quickly learned about morality and etiquette. He did like to focus on stuff that did not need to be approached with the understanding of emotion, but with intellect. So he quickly learned how to use math and linguistics. With time, however, his father grew iller and iller and his mother began to take over the household and cared for *Ruacu*. It appeared as if an unknown curse struck him and he became strangely distant to the world. The mother, incapable of any magic and lacking the understanding of magic never considered bringing the father to a magical inspection and treated him with medicinal knowledge. The mother, being of the opinion that her son should not be taught in the art of magic, but rather rely on his natural abilities as an Air Elf.

### Temple Life

When *Ruacu* came into the temple school called the "Temple of the cloudy Ocean", he didn't really fit in the group of newcomers and avoided contact with everyone and sometimes even refused to talk with people who weren't his teachers. He quickly discovered his longing for books and silence when he was introduced to the library of the temple and spent even entire nights, sometimes without actually reading but enjoying the atmosphere provided by the basement in which the library was located in. At the time the important meditation lessons started, *Ruacu* was fascinated by the idea of emptying the own mind from everything and did not only take the usual lessons but also asked the teacher to give him extra lessons in meditation and school him in the various ways meditation can benefit one or the surroundings. He was granted the request and when he was taught the many different kinds of meditation he would often meditate before going to bed or during his free time, completely different to what the other students of his year did.

A very special honor was proposed by his teachers that were surprised by his devotion towards the element of air and his mastery of meditation. A ritual that had been held in the earlier days before it was deemed too cruel and abandoned by the previous grandmaster of the temple. The ritual involved taking one's own eyes and completely trusting the air and winds to "see". *Ruacu* took the ritual and under extreme pain sliced his own eyes and took a blindfold from that day on and was taught in the abandoned skill of Air Sensing.

### Adult Life

As an adult and free from the temple, *Ruacu* continued his life as a monk, devoted to the temples of air and went on to travels that would lead him through the mountains from temple to temple. Having read about the older temples, even those from before the War of Day and Night, he wanted to see one of them for himself and meditate in the spiritual ambiance of one of these old structures. Sadly, for most of his life, he wandered around aimlessly as the map he used to find these temples was written by someone who had no clue about the mountain ranges and so his only gain during that time was the trust of air and the meditation times which he used for exploring the mysteries of the world. Rarely he would come down from the heights, as everything he needed was to be found on high and as a monk he did not desire much. His eyes lost his other senses developed more and so he began to hear and smell better than usual [[]]

### The Temple of Heaven and Earth

When *Ruacu* traveled around the mountain ranges from known temple to known temple, he was on the search for the more ancient ones. One day it happened that he looked through the maps that showed the old positions of temples and the grandmaster of the temple he sought shelter in during a storm, looked over his shoulder and told him that his maps were completely wrong and seem to have been drawn by someone who did not really know the surroundings. The master corrected the map and when the storm cleared sent him in the direction of the oldest. When *Ruacu* arrived at the place the map showed he stood before a massive wall of stone with cracks all over it. Figuring that the master cannot have been wrong *Ruacu* tapped into the field of magic and laid his hand on the wall and demanded entry to the sanctuary. The supposed cracks lit up and the gate that was the wall opened up to him. When having entered the temple, *Ruacu* asked for the protective spirit of the temple and as it appeared the spirit made him the new head of the temple. So *Ruacu* refounded the "Temple of Heaven and Earth", a temple of both the air and the earth element and opened it up again.

### Ruacu and the White Dragon

It happened that during the time as he was still the leader of the "Temple of the cloudy Ocean" he got to know news about a village that was continuously terrorized by a dragon spirit that demanded the sacrifice of a newborn child every half of a year or it would burn down the entirety of the village and devour everyone. When this news reached *Ruacu*, he gave the lead of the temple to his next master and set out to the village to view the situation with his own eyes. Compelled by the misery the villagers had to suffer, *Ruacu* marched towards the dragons home on a mountain that rarely has visitors. The dragon, his mind corrupted since the day of the dragon turnover, sought to attack *Ruacu* the instant he sensed him. *Ruacu* faced down with the dragon and during the fierce fight, *Ruacu* managed to break down one of the long, hollow, ivory horns of the dragon and had an idea. he transformed the horn with the help of magic into a flute and under the usage of highest concentration and skill played a melody of such harmony that it forced the mind of the spirit to clear out and regain the balance it had lost. The balance regained, the melody managed to cleanse the mind and the dragon became his usual self, seeing what he had done to the villagers and what was necessary to stop him, a monk to fight a beast, he deeply apologized to the villagers and decided to act from that day on as the protective spirit of the mountain village. *Ruacu*, however, the dragon allowed to keep the horn he made the flute from and invited him to the "Trial of the heaven-born spirit".

## Personality

From the very early days of his life, *Ruacu* as a very retreated person and did not like to talk to anyone. He usually was found alone at tables or in the temple's halls. When the students were introduced to the library, *Ruacu* quickly started this as a place to come to when the outside world became too much for him and he found joy in the ancient writings and teachings. As the time came and the students were taught the way of meditation, contrary to most other students, he loved leaving the reality and sinking into the nothingness of thoughtlessness.

When he took his eyes in a ritual, he did not much change, but surprisingly he turned more open to people and now, that he did not see them was more found of talking to them. Indeed, he began to find friends and wasn't that lonely anymore. After some time, he began to train not for himself anymore, but for competition and took part in the versus matches of the school.

When he left the school to embark on a journey of his own, he traveled, driven by the curiosity invoked by the books he read in the temple's library, to the old temples of the mountains. There he found the connection to the sky strongest and moved on to the meditation practice.

## Fighting Style

While *Ruacu* is a monk and laid down the Oath of Life, he still uses martial arts taught at the  he went to. There he was educated in not only constructive usage of body and spirit but also the art of defense against attackers without ever needing to harm them or take their lives.

### Physical

Since *Ruacu* had taken his eyes in a ritual of devotion towards the Arts of Air at a very early age, he developed the skill of aerial view, which relies on constantly being able to feel even the slightest change of vibration in the air. This allows *Ruacu* to "see", yet he is unable to see colors.

The main weapon of *Ruacu* is a long stick with metal covered endings. His fighting style is derived from personal experimenting and the basis he was taught in at the temple, he spent most of his life. The stick is often chosen by monks who took the Oath of Life as he allows for taking out enemies from a distance, without coming in too much of contact and its metal cover is able to both stun or knock out opponents who fall not at the touch of wood. Thereby he can defeat foes without ever having to kill them.
He was taught the style of "The dancing serpent of the winds", a very defensive style which focuses on tiring out the opponent by performing confusing evoking steps around the opponent like a storm surrounding a giant.

The secondary weapon of *Ruacu* is not really a weapon at all, but yet its powers are not to be underestimated. A lot of time *Ruacu* spent on learning the effect of music on the mortal beings. He focused on both harmony and disharmony to find out what combination of tunes cause which reaction on both him and visitors of the temple. Having helped a village in need that was terrorized by a dragon from which *Ruacu* took an ivory horn, *Ruacu* made a flute out of it and freed the dragon whom's mind was corrupted. The flute accompanied *Ruacu* since that day and he created songs on it that have multiple effects that can also be used in battle like making someone dizzy or deflect the attention of a group. Also, the flute allows for beautiful compositions in the name of art, harmony, and peace.

### Spiritual

While comparably strong in the physical aspects of fighting, having spent many many decades at the art of general meditation and having mastered the difficult art of Battle Meditation, *Ruacu*s powers in the mind are sharpened like a sword that can cut through the air without making a sound.

*Ruacu* first focused on the technique of dispositional voice. This technique allows for someone to project their voice from any point in a radius that depends on the user's magical capabilities, allowing for surprise attacks if the opponent thinks you are coming from the other direction. When a place is already known to a person and not too far off, an air-magician, when in a state of meditation, can also use the Dispositional Voice to speak to people that are in that location, however, this only works in one direction and the performer of it can't hear them.

The next thing he tackled was Amplification with nothing but the mind. This very complex technique is used to enhance an already existing spell, movement or even natural event. This is where he transcended the Elementari barrier and widened up his field of skill. Mostly used for speeding up or helping the growth process of nourishment the skill can also be used to make a mighty storm from just a little bit of wind.

The final major part of his spiritual combat training he educated himself in was the very special "Trial of the heaven-born spirit". A test that required an unimaginable focus on not only the mind but also the surroundings. When *Ruacu* took the test, he spent three weeks on a mountaintop and on the last day he threw himself off the cliff and a spirit took him. It was the dragon he freed. From that time on, *Ruacu* and the dragon became partners, but not only that, they became friends. The dragon helps him in combat and has far greater dominance over the air than *Ruacu*, but he only calls his help when he sees no other way.