Death: Known to some for his habit for inserting himself into matters where his involvement was often seen as a gross intrusion, Citizen Zhan Kona's personality led to his demise while on the trail of what he suspected to be "a person of high interest to the Ministry". Perhaps believing himself to be doing the City a service with his nearly vigilante-like activities, Zhan trailed a mysterious, business suit and fedora-wearing ape male into the deep, uninhabited and little-traveled Architect Hollows of the Undercity.
Zhan Kona was never seen alive again, though three months later an unusually ornate, diamond-edged Heat Katana was discovered encased within a solid slab of stone by a pair of puzzled drillmen working in a syndicate mine. A week after this seemingly impossible discovery, the entire syndicate was inexplicably annihilated by the Ministry.
Player: ShadowClaw
Character Name: Zhan Kona
Age: 34
Sex: Male
Species: Snow Leopard/Long Tail Weasel
Height/Weight: 5'10 184 lbs
Social Status: Uniclass
Physical Description:
Coming to Einheit looking as if he had mange, Kona has become much better looking after a few weeks living as a uniclasser. Before where his fur had been falling out, the patches have grown in again, making for a seamless pelt of white and grey. His emaciated look has faded completely, good food an excersize replacing it with a fit form, a vague outline of muscle able to be seen across his thickly furred body. His face, once hollow and sickly, is now full and lively. Unfortunately the improvement in his looks hasn't seemed to effect his interaction with people any.
Light gray rosettes accent his white coat, dotting him nearly everywhere but his stomach, the pure white extending down to his groin and inner thighs. His tail is quite long, compared to most snow leopards by about a foot and a half, and is tipped with a black cap at the tip. His muzzle was another symbol of his hybrid heritage, not quite so short as is common in felines, his nose much more round than the triangular shape of most cats. His ears are tipped black, and small, almost completely hidden in his long blonde, almost white hair, pulled back into a loose ponytail.
His clothing has changed a bit, still wearing his usual casual gear around the city, but when he is out in the nightlands or on a mission, he now wears a skin tight thermal suit, specially made for him. The full body suit, which zips from the groin up, is completely white and grey, able to blend in seamlessly with the snow that is found nearly everywhere in Einheit. Along with this he wears a pair of light boots, easy to move in while making little, if any, noise. One thing that might look strange is his large circular wicker hat, which almost completely shadows his face beneath it's wide surface. Strapped to his back is a sheathed sword, ornate guard resembling the face of an eastern style lion statue. A bit lower is another sword, slightly shorter than the first, placed horrizontally across his back.
In a casual setting he wears a more comfortable samue, looking much like loose pajamas, over which he wears a haori, often decorated in extravagant designs of cherry blossoms and other asorted flowers. He also wears a pair of Geta, the two teeth raising his height another four inches easily. When in his casual outfit he keeps his sword at his side, his second sword usually not present.
Background:
Kona was born into a small colony, predominantly feline, with very few exceptions. His mother, a purebred snow leopard, was the leader of a small specialized task force that took on missions that were better suited for stealth.
During one of her missions she was captured, kept as a prisoner of war by the enemy colony. She shared a cell with another prisoner, a long tail weasle whose name she never learned. The man, who had been there for quite a long time, took advantaged of the bound female, raping her numerous times. Before the enemy was able proceed with their plans to torture her into divulging information about her home colony her people attacked, using the information gathered from her mission to take their enemy by suprise, leaving none alive. When they found her, they took her back to the settlement. A couple months later she would find that she was with child.
Deciding to keep the child, Kona was born, raising much controversy among her community, not wanting a hybrid involved in their colony. Due to her high rank, though, she was allowed to keep her child, much to the dismay and disgust of many of the purebreds. As Kona grew, he was regarded as a disgrace, his peers mocked him for what he was, and their parents encouraged the behaviour. Noone did this in the presence of his mother, because they knew that a strict punishment would follow if she ever saw something happen to him. Eventually Kona learned to deal with the ridicule, becoming quiet around most people, not responding to the insults and degrading comments of the narrowminded purebreds.
As he grew he was trained in the way of war, and in his mid-teens joined the same special task force his mother had once been a part of. His mother, over the years, climbed up the political ladder, eventually seating herself as leader of the colony, due to her excellent combat skill and strategic prowess. This only caused tension to grow between Kona and his fellow citizens. They were appauled that someone such as his mother could rise to such a level in the eyes of their leaders, and felt as if Kona was somehow deemed special or more important than the rest of the colony.
Eventually the tension grew into hostility, a young man of similar age confronting him in an attempt to goad him into some sort of arguement. Enraged at the lack of response Kona broadcasted, the man attacked him, attempting to strangle the hybrid. Out of reflex, Kona quickly did what he was trained to do, piercing the purebred through the neck and killing him. In a rage, witnesses to the short fight rushed in, assaulting the vulnerable hybrid as he laid shocked upon the ground, the body of his attacker draining onto him. The angry mob brutally beat him, before taking him to their leader and demanding harsher punishment, an execution. Bloodied and beaten, compared to the dead purebred's body he seemed in much worse condition. Since noone would possibly confess to beating Kona, the killing was ruled as an act of self defense and no punishment was given.
Outraged at this decision, many of the citizens began to question their leader's ability. Surely she was putting her son before the good of the colony, and this wasn't something they could have. A few days after the event, Kona's mother was assassinated, her food poisoned. Kona, who had been preparing to leave the colony of his own free will, came to give his mother one last visit before he went on his way. Finding his mother dead, he rushed to her side, as men came in behind him. They'd been waiting for him, weapons already drawn, they meant to kill the hybrid to enact their justice for their fallen comrade. Barely able to escape with his life as the entire colony turned against him, he fled into the nightlands with just the small pack he'd brought when he'd gone to see his mother.
Since his departure from his colony he has travelled the nightlands alone, the only company for him being the odd nomadic community he would run across every now and then. Using these for a short stay and refilling rations, before leaving them again. As he travelled he'd hear tales of a place, a city utopia for those such as him that had been discovered. After hearing quite a few good things, he'd decide that it should be his goal. It would be impossible to survive forever in the nightlands..He travelled by word of mouth. Eventually, after 10 years of nearly solitary existance, he'd found what he was looking for. Einheit, the city of unity, a place he could hopefully call home, shining like a beacon in the barren nightland's darkness.
Shortly after coming to Einheit, Kona met Agni, a minister. Infact, unknown to Kona when they met, Agni was the minister he first met at the Vorhang. Because of this, Agni is held in high regard by Kona, moreso than any other citizen currently. He's grown to admire Agni's position in the ministry and contemplate joining himself, if allowed. Another person he met became his first employer, Armin Richter, but after some unsavory happenings in the nightlands, Kona chose to relieve himself of that position.
Personality:
During his childhood he became very withdrawn, having no friends and only his mother to talk to. He was very quiet, even when the purebreds of his colony would torment him, he never made a fuss, knowing that they would find something even worse to taunt him.
These experiences shaped him to be resentful later in life, associating most purebreds with the death of his mother and the cause of his exile to the nightlands. Though he doesn't have the best feelings against purebreds, he does not seek revenge on them, having been taught that such a thing will only lead to greater turmoil. He also doesn't seem to display his anger towards purebreds, often seeming to feel sorry for them. Not because they are impoverished, but because they are so ignorant and racist, and as a result, must be phased out of existance.
As a subconscious way of filling the gap where he was never stood up for when the purebreds would torment him, he feels a strong urge to protect other hybrids from purebreds. If he witnesses a conflict between hybrid and purebred, he is often inclined to side with the hybrid and defend them until the conflict is solved in one way or another.
On the topic of Unity and The ministry, Kona dislikes the idea of Unity, but highly supports the ministry in their actions. This might sound strange, coming from a uniclasser. His reasoning is that Unity is an ugly thing, designed to destroy all the beauty of diversity in the different species and "turn everyone into gray blobs." Though he feels this way, he believes that Unity is a neccessary process, due to the ignorance and racist behaviours displayed by many purebreds, for hybrids to live safely and happilly. Due to him being a relatively new citizen still becoming familiar with UniClass society, for the time being such opinion is met with correction from the Ministry rather than punishment.. Though only time will tell if firmer measures must be taken to ensure Kona properly conforms to Unity.
Gear:
Heat Katana - Taken from his mother's body when he found her dead, the blade's razor sharp edge is constructed of diamond, to permanently retain it's keen edge. Used to sear and cauterize any flesh it cuts, a switch on the side of it's ornate hilt allows it to become heated, the blade quickly becoming red hot. Surprisingly, once deactivated the blade is just as fast to cool down, allowing it to be easily sheathed once it's job is finished.
Tesla Rope-dart - A rope dart just like any other. Or is it? Connected to Zhan's wrist by a small wrist brace which houses it's power source, it has the ability to stun, or even kill it's target with it's high voltage, delivered by the small weighted dart at the end of it's tether. It's voltage is adjustable to fit whatever situation it might need to accomodate.
A smaller sword, a wakazashi, usually seen strapped horizontally across his lower back.
A respirator mask for use in the nightlands, voice modulator to make it easy to speak through the mask.
Whicker Jingasa