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The Radiant Dragon of Celebration

Happy Lunar New Year!

In celebration of The Year of the Dragon, I’m going to tell you the story of one of my oldest OC’s. He was originally made for a Rise of the Guardians fic in 2012, but his back story and personality was rather stereotypical and shallow back then. I nearly forgot about him for a while, until I started getting into LEGO Monkie Kid in 2020. As he was a dragon of Chinese descent, he eventually resurfaced in my memory and I decided to revamp his entire character. He’s still primarily a Rise of the Guardians OC, but I would be able to add him into any LMK fic with very few changes needed.

So without further ado, this is the legend of Xin Zhiqiang, his discovery that would change the world, and his ascension into Ao Huang, the Radiant Dragon of Celebration.

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Our story begins in a small, rural village in the mountains during the late Tang Dynasty era (~800 - ~870 AD). Here, a boy is born to a pair of farmers. His life is simple yet happy, growing up loved and cared for by his parents and the other villagers. Tragically however, he looses both parents at a young age. He is taken in by a good friend of his parents, the local apothecary.

This man not only provides medicine for the village, but is actually a well studied alchemist and aspiring magician. He teaches Zhiqiang everything he knows, and Zhiqiang takes to the teachings like a duck to water. Curious, studious, and never one to let failures keep him down, Zhiqiang is a dutiful apprentice who’s efforts help the village thrive.

Zhiqiang soon surpasses his master’s skill, who in his old age retires. On top of keeping the village healthy, Zhiqiang begins to experiment with his alchemy and magic. During his tests, he accidentally creates a powder that reacts violently when exposed to fire. While not what he was trying to create, Zhiqiang is intrigued and replicates the powder to experiment further. He creates many different containment devices and ways for the powder to explode.

It has the potential for destruction, but Zhiqiang is more compelled by the potential spectacle. The hissing and fizzing as trail of the powder burns. The bright sparks and flames that are given off. The loud yet satisfying burst that he can feel in his bones when a packet of the powder is ignited. He begins to work on this powder in his spare time with a fervor, trying many combinations over a few years.

He eventually unveils his masterpieces to the village during one festival. Long sticks with bits of the powder on the end that fizz and spark as they’re waved around. Small bits of condensed powder wrapped in rice paper that snap and crackle when thrown against stone. But his greatest accompaniments were the tubes of bamboo that he would ignite and launch over the lake. They produced bright blasts of sparks and fire that lit up the night sky.

The villagers were amazed and awed by Zhiqiang’s inventions and insisted they be used for every festival or celebration. Pleased that his discovery was well received, he agreed, and continued to research and experiment with what he had named fire powder. Some villagers suggested he go traveling, showing his “fireworks” to the world and selling them to become rich. Zhiqiang declined, happy with his experimentation in the village he grew up in and loved.

His fireworks grew more complex and spectacular over the next few years and he began experimenting with using magic in their creation. Colors and shapes and even simple sounds not normally possible with alchemy alone began to appear much to the delight of the villagers. He even developed the ability to create the signature sparks and blasts with his magic alone. His master joked that he worked with the fire powder so much it now ran in his veins.

At some time in his mid twenties, the village seems to be struck by a strange ailment. It wasn’t a physical illness, but people would just… stop caring. They became listless, uninterested with anything beyond the basic necessities of staying alive. Simply surviving, but no longer truly living.

Alarmed by this malady, Zhiqiang does his absolute best to counter it. It seemed to affect the adults first, so he moved the children up the mountain to his workshop and home so they would not catch whatever this disease was. None of his medicines or magics seem to do anything to alleviate the symptoms. Work to provide food was still being done, so their village was not in danger of starving, but its spark of life was gone.

Zhiqiang refuses to give up and keeps trying. A few weeks go by, and then a month. He begins to grow anxious because while he has taken every precaution, he worries that he will eventually succumb to the sickness as well. The children manage to keep him in high spirits as they live with him. They manage to convince him to help them throw a festival in the hopes that maybe that will cheer up their parents.

He goes along with it, helping prepare food and decorations. He delivers them to the adults who give halfhearted thanks. He gets everyone afflicted to meet by the lake and with the assistance of the children, puts on a spectacular fireworks show.

To his shock, this seems to temporarily rouse the adults back to their old selves. They describe the feeling of wading through thick water, all their senses dulled. Nothing seemed to matter until the bursts of light and color and sound reawakened them. However, the following morning, they seem to slip back into their subdued state.

More determined than ever now, Zhiqiang sets to work. He installs magical stalls around the village that would constantly give off sparks. Every night he put on a fireworks show. Children and adults alike would carry around bundles of the long “sparklers” and light them if they noticed someone seeming to slip back into their listlessness. As his supply of fire powder began to deplete, Zhiqiang began relying more and more on his magic to create the fireworks, slowly exhausting him as he continued to search for a permanent cure.

Two weeks after discovering that his fireworks warded off the illness, a stranger who hid their features under a heavy cloak arrived. They walked through the village and wherever they passed, the sparklers and stalls would be snuffed out. The children, noticing this strange person and seeing their parents immediately fall back into lethargy, ran up the mountain to inform Zhiqiang.

Zhiqiang tells the children to remain in his home and goes to confront this intruder. He meets them halfway down the trail and demands who they are. The stranger simply begins to talk about the illness. How it has spread to every corner of China, and is rumored to have even seeped into the Heavens. How none have seemed to escape its grasp. Except here. Here where strange sticks give off sparks of fire and light.

Zhiqiang again demands for this person to reveal their identity. The person chuckles and remarks how curious it is that Zhiqiang hasn’t fallen ill himself. Usually its the children who take the longest to succumb. But succumb they do. They all do. They would make sure of it to ensure his ascension.

Alarmed at this, Zhiqiang asks if this person is responsible for the sickness. The stranger ignores him a third time and says how troublesome these strange fire sticks are. How he’ll need to get rid of them if he wishes to rule over the Heavens and Earth. How to ensure that they do not spread beyond this village, everyone here must die.

Zhiqiang, realizing this person is a threat, instinctively launches a magical firework at them. They manage to barely dodge, but their cloak catches fire. The person tosses it aside, revealing a demon with toad-like features. They laugh, realizing Zhiqiang is the one responsible for countering his Idle Mist. They’ll have to kill him first.

They fight, Zhiqiang attacking with his fireworks and the Idle Mist Demon spewing out clouds of fog to conceal his location. Zhiqiang, still exhausted and untrained in combat, is forced to give ground to the Idle Mist Demon. He retreats up the mountain, heading for his storage shed where he keeps a stock of fireworks that he hopes to use to change they tide of the battle.

Unfortunately, the Idle Mist Demon manages to catch him off guard as he’s preparing a large firework. He launched into his shed, where it immediately catches fire from him unfinished firework. Time seems to stop as Zhiqiang realizes he’s about to die. The amount of fireworks that have just been lit going off all at once will create a blast he could not survive. He’s failed.

Light from the full moon seems to pour in from the damaged wall and roof. A voice speaks to him.

What are you fighting for?

Zhiqiang immediately thinks of the children he told to stay in his home to keep them safe. Of the other villagers that are family to him. How the Idle Mist Demon would kill them just for a chance at ruling everything. How if they do win, life would be over. There would still be people left living, but the things that made life worthwhile would be gone forever.

He could not allow any of that to happen.

I can help you. But you will be forever changed from your fellow man. You would be able to walk amongst them for some years yet, but eventually you would have to live apart. Rarely seen or heard except by those who believe. Would you willingly give up your humanity and your place amongst them in order to save them?

Filled with new resolve, Zhiqiang unhesitatingly answers yes.

The moonlight grows impossibly bright and fills him just as the shed explodes. The Idle Mist Demon laughs over his triumph, when a enormous pillar of sparks and fire bursts from the wreckage of the shed. It flies through the air before solidifying into a dragon.

He had bright crimson scales, a mane of fiery orange, glittering black horns and claws to match his fire powder, whiskers that were lit at the ends like his sparklers, and glowing eyes that burst between every color imaginable.

Zhiqang looks down at the now terrified demon and roars. He has newfound control over his fireworks now and give the Idle Mist Demon no quarter. The Idle Mist Demon does not go down easily, but Zhiqiang manages to grab them in his claws and flings them into the air. He blasts them with a powerful firework from his mouth, launching them further upwards and ending them once and for all in a massive blast of rainbow flame.

His foe defeated, Zhiqiang surveys the land and sees what was hidden from his mortal eyes before. A thick mist covered everything, with more being spewed from horse-sized toads. He blasts one with a fireworks and it burns away swiftly. Zhiqang, now with a way to end the sickness apparently affecting all of China, goes first to his house to let the children know it is safe.

The children, awed by his new dragon form beg to go with him. They insist he’ll need their help finding all the toads in the nooks and cranny’s of the big cities. He gives in, and together they fly around the country, destroying any of the Idle Mist Demon’s toads they come across and dissipating the mist. A messenger of heaven approaches them and begs for some of his fireworks so they could free the Heavens from the mist as well.

It takes them nearly three days to find and destroy all of the toads and clear the mist. Zhiqiang flies them home to their village once their task is done. Exhausted, he reverts to a human form, and passes out.

When he awakes a few days later, he is met with a huge celebration from the villagers and a procession of messengers from various nobles. They wish to have him come to their cities so he may be honored and that their alchemists can learn of his incredible invention that cured them all of the idle sickness. He politely declines but says that he would happily teach anyone who made the journey to the village instead.

So many come to the village to learn, that a college is built nearby and the village grows into a bustling town known for its alchemists.

Zhiqiang teaches at the college for many years, taking on many apprentices who would go on to invent incredible things. Over time, it becomes apparent that Zhiqang does not seem to be aging. As the years pass and the people he knew as a human grew and aged and died, Zhiqiang began to think more and more of the words of the moon. It was when a new group of students walked through him, neither seeing or hearing him, that Zhiqang knew that his time among the humans were over.

Saying goodbye to those few who could still see him, he traveled to the top of the mountain to look down at his home for one last time. When the sun set, he gave one last fireworks display in tribute. As the last firework faded, he was approached by a person claiming to be a dragon like him. They explained that they’ve been keeping an eye on him, waiting for the right time to take him back to his master who wished to invite Zhiqiang into his court.

When Zhiqiang asks who this master is, he’s shocked to hear it is Ao Qin, the Dragon King of the South. He accepts the offer and follows the messenger to the Southern Dragon Palace. There he meets Ao Qin, who explains that Zhiqiang is the last living descendant of his first born son. He had fallen in love with a human woman and renounced his immortality to be with her. Ao Qin had been keeping an eye on their children and was pleased that Zhiqiang managed to awaken his dragon ancestry.

Ao Qin informally adopts Zhiqiang, renaming him Ao Huang in honor of his invention and his deed in saving all of China. Huang is taught the politics and customs of the Dragon Courts. He is also given his own domain withing a mountaintop valley rich with the materials to create his fireworks that just so happens to be close by to his human town. He is even put in charge of a fireworks show during every Solstice and Equinox council the four dragon courts have every year.

Huang grows into his new role with ease. Over time, he meets and befriends certain individuals. The sole survivor of the Sisters of Flight. A man made of golden sand. A loud and boisterous adventurer. A being that looks like a giant rabbit, but has an air of ancientness around him. He eventually meets a young Winter spirit as well.

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How he meets each Guardian and what occurs after I will leave out for now as they are relevant to a potential fic I may write with this character.

Unfortunately, while I have his back story all figured out, his personality is still a bit nebulous at the moment. I know he enjoys marbles and marble runs. He even creates little marble with perpetually exploding fireworks trapped within them to give to his close friends. But beyond that, Xin Zhiqiang/Ao Huang is still very much a work in progress.

Still! He’s come a long way from just being a modernized repeat of Jack’s back story.

I hope you enjoyed this little look into my oldest character! Until next time!

-Ink

#Ink Writes #The Radiant Dragon of Celebration #Rise of the Guardians #RotG #LEGO Monkie Kid #LMK #Xin Zhiqiang #Ao Huang #Fanfiction #Lunar New Year #Year of the Dragon

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inksmearedpages · 4 months

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Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Sages of Balance

Concept

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon meets High Fantasy Isekai Anime with a focus on Political Intrigue, Mysteries, and Action.

Summary

Jay awakens in the world of Pokemon as a Buizel and must learn to fit into this surprisingly organized society he's fallen into. Things only become more complicated when a betrayal awakens the powers of a Sage within him. Moving to the Capital, Jay strives to adjust to his new role as a Keeper of Balance on top of navigating the uneven political landscape that seeks to trip him up at every turn. What adventures await him and his allies? What mysteries will he unravel? And what shadowy secrets lurk just beneath the surface of the Capital?

(The World Building and Story Beats sections will be under the Read More Link to prevent this post from taking up your entire dashboard.)

World Building

Society

Medieval/High Fantasy society with a Pokemon flavoring that focuses on keeping a balance between civilization and nature. Most accommodations such as food, shelter, education, and medicine are freely provided or traded for. Of course, being Pokemon, some may be more comfortable sleeping outside and various public spaces are set aside for this purpose. Money is mostly for luxuries, public works, and assistance programs so the shadow of capitalism doesn't hang over this world. There are rich Pokemon still, but they don't hoard their wealth for the most part. Many Pokemon choose to go by nicknames in this world as with the rapid development of society, the chances of you knowing more than one Pokemon of the same species is rather high. Pokemon choose these names for themselves once they are old enough and can change them throughout their lives is they so choose.

Magic and Technology

Typical high fantasy levels of technology, but catered towards Pokemon design sensibilities. Carts and taxis where the Pokemon pulling them are paid employees. Mail delivered by bird and Flying type Pokemon. Psychic and Fighting types working side by side as the primary construction and repair crews. Grass type apothecaries and Fire type bakers. High production of goods such as farms and plantations for seeds and berries. Enchanters specializing in creating orbs, rods, and accessories. Ethically sourced materials for building and crafting. Research into Frisms has resulted in the invention of sound broadcasting similar to radio and personal communication devices. Devices similar to still image cameras are common, but their version of video cameras are very expensive and are reserved for the rich or Law Enforcement Guild.

Guilds

Guilds are the lifeblood of society and come in various types. Adventuring Guilds sponsor Rescue and Exploration teams who brave the wilds and Mystery Dungeons of the world. Supply Guilds focus on providing various resources such as food through farming and gathering or collecting raw materials for building, making medicine, and crafting enchanted items. Crafting Guilds use the products from Supply Guilds to create the necessities of life from the mundane such as bricks and cookware to the fantastical such as the enchanted orbs, rods, and accessories often used by Adventurers. While the Adventurers keep the peace in the wilds, the Law Enforcement Guild keeps the peace within settlements. There is only one Law Enforcement Guild that has branches in every settlement and answers only to the High Council so as to prevent any potential schisms or power grabs.

Government

The government of this world is comprised of Councils. These Councils determine laws and policies through debate and voting. Council Members, known as Representatives or Councilmon, are determined by a mix of voting campaign and battle prowess. There are four levels of Councils. The Local Councils for towns and cities. The Provincial Councils for provinces. The Eighteen Councils which determine type-specific policies to be submitted to the High Council. The High Council which determines country (world?) wide policies and laws. Local Councils are made up of residents of the settlements they serve. Typically made up of town elders and leaders, membership is less about battle and more about local knowledge and trust. Provincial Councils have at least one member from each settlement within their province. Again, membership is less about battle prowess and more about local trust. The Eighteen Councils are a set of councils that reside in the Capital. One for each type, these Councils determine type-specific policies to be introduced to the High Council so that as many voices can be heard and represented as possible. Each typed Council has a single seat for each duel type. A Representative of a duel type, Rock/Fire for example, would sit in that seat for both Councils. They would represent Rock Types for the Fire Council, and Fire Types for the Rock Council. Members are determined by nation-wide voting campaigns and battles. While it is possible to win a campaign if you lose your battle, it requires a vast majority of the popular vote. There are also mono-typed Head Council Members on each typed Council that serve on the High Council and are elected in the same way. The High Council is comprised of the Head Council Members of each of the Eighteen Councils and the High Master of the Law Enforcement Guild to act as mediator and tie breaker. (Local, Provincial, and the Eighteen Councils also have members of the Law Enforcement Guild as members to perform the same duty.) This is the top authority of the lands and determines major policy changes, disaster responses, public project fund allocation, and acts as a High Court for high profile crimes.

Sages

There are certain Pokemon in the world born with extraordinary powers. These mono-typed Pokemon have their moves of the same type boosted beyond normal. They can also learn any move a Pokemon that shares their type can learn. For example, a Fire type Sage would be able to learn Incineroar's signature move Darkest Lariat. This makes them incredibly strong and versatile in battle. It is also said that these blessed Pokemon are able to hear the Voice of Life, the very will of the planet. It guides them to where they are needed and warns them of danger. Lead by the Voice, these Pokemon historically went on to protect others and defeat various evils as they arose. Over time, these Pokemon banded together and formed the Order of Sages. Known also as the Keepers of Balance, this order would use their abilities to protect those who could not protect themselves and offer their wisdom to those who would listen. Basically, they're the Jedi of this world, but with members being in the single digits and less corruptible. They even provide advice and opinions to the High Council.

Story Beats

WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD! If you wish to wait on the chance that I might turn this into a full fledged fic, be aware the following lays out most of the story.

Jay awakens as a Buizel and is found by an elderly Simisage.

Simisage takes him and gives him a place to stay/work on his seed and berry plantation.

Jay learns about the world and society he's in and makes a few friends.

On friend in a fellow worker on the plantation, a Floatzel a bit older than him who takes him under his wing and teaches him lots of useful things like battling.

Jay follows Floatzel one day and discovers he's been running a very illegal smuggling and wild Pokemon trafficking ring.

They fight, but Floatzel is more experienced.

Jay refuses to give up, and awakens the powers of a Sage, defeating Floatzel.

The experience traumatizes Jay, who vows never to evolve.

Jay moves to the Capital (maybe one of the local friends joins him?) and is inducted into the Order of Sages.

He meets the other sages: Master Granbull, Second in command Zangoose, Marowak, Bayleef, and Rockruff.

Jay has adventures around the city, making new friends, new rivals, and just trying to adjust to his new politically sensitive role.

He also goes to therapy to deal with his trauma of his experience with Floatzel and dealing with the stress of being a sage.

Some fun things happen, such as a talent show and festival.

Over the course of the story, a mystery of missing and vanishing Pokemon begins to unfold.

The Mind Healers Guild is broken into, and personal secrets are being read over the city's broadcast system.

Jay's secret of being human is revealed, leading to a lot of scrutiny and prejudice.

Granbull's previously kind yet gruff manner becomes cruel as his hatred of humans gets the better of him.

A conspiracy is revealed: a certain group of Pokemon wish to erase certain types of Pokemon from existence.

They lay siege to the city to try and get to the defense systems that would allow them to cast a spell powerful enough to engulf the country.

Battles all over the city as the Sages, Councilmon, Adventurers, and the Law Enforcement Guild fight back this army that seems to have been formed overnight.

Jay and some allies manage to face the leaders of the cult in the chamber that would allow them to cast their spell.

They stalemate, and the spell goes off.

The other Sages create a protective ring to slow the advance of the spell, but are losing ground.

Jay digs deep and pulls upon forbidden and tremendous power, managing to break and undo the effects of the spell.

When he wakes up in the hospital, the cult has been apprehended, and his status as human is no longer a sore point as he quite literally saved the world.

Potential sequels include:

Ultra Beasts and Type: Null and the prejudice of being human-made Pokemon

The Treasures of Ruin and the dark emotions in the hearts of all.

That's all for this overview! I've had this story idea for a really long time and I might delve into more specific details in the future. Be aware that any of this is till subject to change. I hope you enjoyed!

-JayInk

#Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Sages of Balance #PMD: Sages of Balance #PMD: SoB #Ink Writes #Outline #Fanfiction #Pokemon #Pokemon Mystery Dungeon #Writing #World Building

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