Sun Qi

**Sun Qi** (Traditional Chinese: 孫氣, Pinyin: Sūn Qì), courtesy name Zhandao, is the General of the Agile Cavalry for the Tianxia Empire. She hails from the Sun Family of Shui in Jiangnan. She is the daughter and only child of General Who Conquers the West Sun Mo, the niece of Shui Marquis Sun Qian, and cousin of the General Who Calms the Waves Sun Jiang.

## Biography

### Early Life

Sun Qi was born in the city of Shui in 209 3E to Sun Mo and Zhou Ren. As is custom for all in the Sun family, she was educated at the Academy of Advanced Warfare in Shui, taught by her militarily successful family members. At an early age, she showed proficiency in horsemanship and archery, and was apt at forming coherent strategies by the time she was twelve.

At fourteen, she was assigned to the Patrol Corps in the small town of Tianhe, which had been under attack from bandits. On patrol, her force was ambushed, and her commanding officer was struck by an arrow. Rallying the troops, the patrol withdrew, her carrying the commander back to safety. She taunted the bandits for being scared to fight a teenage girl, drawing them out. She challenged their leader to a duel on foot, who agreed. She quickly slew him, taking his head. The chu-ko-nu troops in the patrol opened fire on the remaining bandits, who were still in awe of her victory.

### Court Official

Her heroics, leadership, and prowess earned her a promotion, taking her commander's job of Patrol Commander as he died only a few days after his injury, then the role of County Magistrate less than a year later. At eighteen, she was recommended by her family to the Imperial Court as a military advisor. The court looked down on her for her age, and many officials harassed her publicly.

### Military Service

Trying to avoid courtly duties, she requested Emperor Zhang Yue appoint her to serve on the front in Zhakria as an officer's secretary. She was sent to serve under Liu Bai, General of the Agile Cavalry in 229, and the two formed a close bond, Bai requesting of her family that he become her godfather. After receiving a crippling injury, Liu Bai recommended her as his replacement.

She now leads the Agile Cavalry, having augmented it to include a detachment of Royal Guards from the Sun family to serve her as specialized shock troops.

## Personality and Traits

Sun Qi is ethnically Nanren, with black hair with red highlights (tracing back to Yueh heritage) and the signature dark green eyes of the Sun family. She stands at 6 chi (1.62 meters) tall. Along her right arm she has a simple Yueh tattoo, though most have never seen it. She is considered by most to be beautiful, and is highly sought after as a wife by high-ranked officials hoping for an inclusion to the powerful Sun Family. Due to this, she feels the need to prove herself as a warrior and leader to both outsiders and those with higher station, which often comes off as arrogance. Her subordinates look fondly on her as a caring mentor. She is proficient at mounted archery, and is skilled with lance and sword.

## Equipment

### Weapons

As General of the Agile Cavalry, Qi was given the Silver Winged Dao, a silver and white cavalry saber passed down from Liu Bai after his injury and withdrawal from the front. For personal use, she wields a red and gold hilted jian that was forged for her coming of age ceremony. Trained as a mounted archer, she uses a 100 jin laminated bow made of bamboo and mulberry wrapped in red and white silk. For cavalry charges, she uses a qiang with red dyed horsehair around the spear point, signifying her officer status.

### Armor

Qi wears double layered shanwenkai (shanwenjia or suozijia) armor riveted on ox leather and lined with red cord that covers her torso, arms to the elbow, and cuisses that protect the thighs with additional mail protection underneath. Her torso is further protected by plaque and cord armor with iron mirror plates. She also wears iron gauntlets and greaves over ox leather, with black leather fingerless gloves and ox leather boots tied together with red silk. Her helmet is made of iron with a shanwekai aventail, and is decorated with gold wings around the cheek guard. For use against enemy cavalry, she has fake wings on her back to help frighten their horse during her high speed charges. She applies facial paint that forms three red lines running from just below her right eye in homage to her family's Yueh ancestors.

### Guangcai

Qi rides a white horse armored in iron lamellar named Guangcai. The horse was a gift from her father on her twelfth birthday, and has served her faithfully in combat since she was fourteen.

## Details

### Retinue

Song Qinting - The daughter of Sun Mo's first officer and now the Commander of the Rear Guard of Sun Qi's Flying Cavalry. She is Qi's closest friend and ally, as well as her most senior advisor.

Zhou Hongtian - Sun Qi's cousin on her mother's side, Hongtian is the chief strategist of the Flying Cavalry, in charge of organizing the various subunits. He is young and eager to earn respect as a competent officer.

Zhongli Yanmou - Sun Qi's childhood friend, who served with her as a patrol officer on their first assignment, and now serves as the Watch Commander when the the Flying Cavalry is resting. He is more defensive by nature and challenges Qi's decisions often, though she appreciates the opposing views.

Xiahou Mande - The Forward Scout of the Flying Cavalry, he served with Sun Qi during her time under Liu Bai. The two became close friends, but extremely competitive, often challenging each other in sparring, archery contests, and horse races. They often drink together, and Qi considers his advice and company while drunk to be the most enlightening, but not the most sound or realistic.