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2005-06-19T03:35:07Z

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== Tokumi's Family ==

Tokumi is the daughter of Peleps Nalin Bejan, a Water Aspect Dragon-Blooded and
high-ranking officer in the Imperial Navy. Her real father is Bejan's once-rival
and long-time lover, Tepet Tilis Hazult, a Fire Aspect who now serves as her
second in command. Her "official" father, the man Bejan married, is Ragara Geros,
a wealthy unExalted patrician in the Thousand Scales.

Bejan is a woman of regal posture and grace, with thick, glossy black hair down
to her waist, bluish-pale skin and almond-shaped eyes of aquamarine that seem to
reflect the myriad shifting shades of the sea. Her figure exhibits the lithe
suppleness of a dancer combined with the enduring strength of a mariner at home
with the rigors of life at sea. When out of uniform, she favors blouses of vivid
shades of scarlet, cobalt or emerald offset by slim pants of deepest black silk,
or close-fitting gowns of the same bright colors accented in gold. Her weapons of
choice are a razor edged war fan of interlocking blue jade plates, Gale Beater,
and a black jade, single-edged curved daiklaive, Shadow on the Water, with a hilt
guard forged into a stylized reprentation of seafoam and lotus petals. To her
subordinates she is keenly observant, cool under fire and impatient with
inadequacy, but rewards good work fairly and well. To her children she is much
the same, but she expects them to embody the same striving for perfection as she
has all her life, and to grow into future leaders themselves.

Bejan's parents are Peleps Nalin, whose comparatively small but stubborn branch
of the House emphasizes showing respect to one's competitors, and Peleps Calisor,
a distant relative who came to share Nalin's philosophies and married her to
propogate such beliefs through their family line. Nalin Exalted as an Air aspect,
a woman with an air of wisdom and patience seemingly impervious to the withering
scorn and scathing whispers of her less scrupulous peers; Calisor is a few
decades older than her, a Water Aspect trained as a master spy for the House who
has observed one too many an up-and-coming Peleps family ruined by cutthroat
competition that went too far. Bejan follows her parents' philosophy of
respectful competition to a point -- as soon as an opponent shows himself
unwilling to be respectful in return, she will gladly retaliate in kind. Nor is
she likely to show much consideration to those who dare challenge or cut a deal
with her but prove lacking in the skill, resources or pure breeding with which to
contend with her.

Hazult is casually, even chaotically handsome -- hazel eyes varying from grey to
green in the light, taut-muscled form bronzed by the sun, windblown reddish-gold
hair cut shoulder length. He carries himself with the easy stance of a man sure
of his talents, every move exuding a flair that could be mistaken as arrogance to
some and foolishness to others. He is used to being underestimated, and it has
often worked to his advantage. He has a quick, clever wit, a disarming
personality and a penchant for coming up with wild but ingenious ideas that work.
He treats friends and enemies alike with the same amiable demeanor until the
moment he is put in a situation in which his skills are called upon in all
seriousness. Then he becomes intensely focused, unshakable from his goal, a force
to be reckoned with. His favored weapon is a red jade reaver daiklaive, Crimson
Dervish, which he carries strapped on his back at all times.

Hazult comes from a primarily military-oriented line of ancestors; his parents
are Cathak Uzade and Tepet Tilis Xochis, both Dragon-Blooded (Earth and Water,
respectively) who served in command positions in their respective Houses'
legions. Xochis was killed during her participation in House Tepet's ill-fated
campaign against the Northern barbarians; Uzade, a son of Cathak Cainan, has yet
to remarry, opting instead to continue an active career in the Legion for a time.
It is said that Uzade was genuinely in love with his wife and continues to
command and fight in order to ease the pain of his loss, though he knows very
well that expectations and etiquette will soon call him home to address his new
marriage proposals. Hazult has, in some form, inherited his father's penchant for
enduring love, having accepted, in the end, a subordinate position to his lover
in order to remain close to her. He is deeply loyal to Bejan, and cares more
about his children than he would openly admit. He truly mourned Kizuko's death,
to the point that the subject became a frequent subject of argument with Bejan,
until she expressly forbade him -- as an order -- never to speak of it again.
Still, it festers in his heart, as does the fact that as close to Bejan as he has
become, he must share her with a man who provides her with the practical-minded
stability that she craves but that he, by nature, could not give.

Hazult and Bejan first met in primary school, two of the brightest students in
their class who competed neck and neck for several years. Hazult was deeply
attracted to her, but she responded to his initial advances with anywhere from
cool indifference to insufferable disdain. Bejan was a perfectionist and a
diligent student, always pushing herself towards new levels of progress, taking
every mistake as a sign of inadequacy she must train to eliminate. Observing
this, Hazult brazenly took on the challenge to win her heart -- or the very
least, her respect -- by emerging as her foremost challenger in every field she
excelled in, and besting her at those she did not. It was not long before Bejan
realized that not only was Hazult genuine in his efforts, he was enough of a
match for her to take seriously. They became favorites at school for their lively
-- and often heated -- debates, sparring matches and performances, attracting
spectators and followers with their distinctive but opposing personalities. No
matter who won or lost, though, they neither gloated nor scorned each other, but
saw each competition as an opportunity to better themselves.

As students in the House of Bells, Hazult and Bejan spent a great deal more time
on individual study and cultivating their own network of connections, but they
still paid close attention to one another's failings and achievements. They
learned much about each other in those final formative years of schooling, and
came to the conclusion that they would mutually benefit from working together,
as long as one of them would be willing to concede to the leadership of the
other. So it was that they entered the Imperial Navy as comrades, with Bejan
climbing steadily up the ranks and Hazult always one step behind -- but never
meekly, always pushing her towards daring opportunities to one-up her opponents
or vie for a promotion, never hesitating to question an order or suggest a better
course of action. Their arguments are explosive, their making up even more so.
Nonetheless, Hazult is Bejan's most valued officer and aide, and she would trust
him with her life; she would just rather keep that fact little-known.

Given the volatile nature of their relationship, Hazult has grudgingly agreed
that it is best that they marry elsewhere, but this has not kept them from
maintaining a discreet but very exciting affair. Hazult has yet to marry (and it
may be that he never will), but Bejan shrewdly chose to accept the marriage
arranged for her from childhood. Geros's position in the Thousand Scales provides
Bejan with a certain amount of political immunity she has come to regard as
invaluable, while his inherited wealth funds her interests in the Threshold,
including several holdings and Manses, as well as her endeavors in the black
market overseas. Bejan, in turn, backs her husband's policies with the might of
her command in the Navy, as well as her network of spies whom she has no scruples
about sending to sabotage enemies outside her House and family.

Geros is a solemn, serious man who places much importance on etiquette and
tradition. He tends to be straightforward and to the point in his dealings with
people, unimpressed by flashiness and unmoved by sentiment. Tall and dignified,
with dark brown skin and eyes, he keeps his grey-streaked black hair and beard
neatly groomed and trimmed and clothes himself in dark, sober colors. He has a
strong interest in the education of his children, believing it one of the
greatest advantages that seperate them from the children of ordinary peasants,
Exalted or otherwise. Though he recognizes the importance of combat training, he
is not himself skilled in such, and would not be displeased if his children opted
to concentrate on more socially oriented disciplines.

Geros's parents (and whom Tokumi would inaccurately claim as her grandparents)
are Ragara Thelos and Sesus Nara, both who live rich, decadent lives hosting
parties and maintaining contacts for House Ragara in the Imperial Palace. They
very rarely check on their one unExalted son, other than to cull favors from him
and his illustrious (they are quite fond of Bejan) wife once in a while -- for
good sums of jade, of course. When Thelos and Nara deign to visit in person, it
puts Geros in an atypical state of agitation, which he often takes out on the
children for as little as a slight error in posture.

In truth, only one of Bejan's three still-living children were fathered by Geros
-- her eldest and first son, Lejos, 20 years old, unExalted as well but poised
to inherit much of Geros' wealth and influence. Tokumi, at 14 years of age, is
in the middle, as was her twin sister Kizuko until her untimely death. Bejan's
youngest child is another son, Hakaze, currently 5 years old. Hazult does not see
much of his children with Bejan, but knows that they are his; Tokumi and Hakaze,
on the other hand, do not know to treat him as their father. Hazult has accepted
this fact, and remains a fringe influence in his children's lives, but he is not
particularly fond of Bejan's choice of Geros, even though he realizes how much
the marriage has been to her advantage. Bejan, to her credit, very rarely shares
Geros' bed, and Geros has his own seperate affairs Bejan cares little about --
though she has, once or twice, sent agents to "rid" him of a lover she feels is
below his station.

DarkSirenSally/TokumiFamily - Revision history

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