[Spirit Class 5] Vanyel Xiaoyang

○ Name: Vanyel Xiaoyang ○ Alias: ▕ Dragon of Kyushu ▕ He Who Has Walked With Devils ○ Age: 28 ○ Birthday: November 3 ○ Gender: Male ○ Race: Human ○ Affiliation: Gracen Arms (Bodyguard/Assistant) ○ Marital Status: Taken ○ Ethnicity: Chinese ○ Special Skill: Power analysis ○ Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual ○ Height: 5'11 ○ Hair Color: Black (bleached white) ○ Eye Color: Blue

Stubbornness & Iron Will: Throughout his life, one of Vanyel's most definable traits was, and still is, his extreme stubbornness. Even if battered and broken, there is little that can make him give up. It is what drove him to pursue improving himself over the years, to develop his powers, to do the work that he needed to in the yakuza, and ultimately, to find a reason to keep going after it all fell apart. Even if someone were to beat him bloody or tear him limb from limb, he would still find a way to keep going.

This trait, overall, is one that leaks into the entirety of his personality. From his nature of going above and beyond for his friends and family, to his inability to back down even if he might lose, and even his endless desire to better himself for the sake of those same friends and family. His own stubbornness and will acts as both a detriment and boon to the various facets that they affect, leading it to be something of a pillar to the rest of his character.

Analytical: A byproduct of his experience with other powers, martial arts, and general paranoia and anxiety, Vanyel is a man who is typically very wary and analytical, particularly when it comes to combat and general social settings. He understands how personal powers tend to be when it comes to other individuals as well as himself, and by looking at that, he is able to discern a general idea of what a person potentially could be like, though it is far from perfect.

A Fighter at Heart: Through his upbringing in martial arts and period of time in the criminal underworld, Vanyel came to understand his enjoyment of combat, brought into a further light due to his friendship with Kenichi. He loves to utilize his martial arts, to feel the rush of adrenaline, as well as to test his capabilities and push past them. Furthermore, it keeps him active, in shape, and doing something, alongside with being something that pairs well with his job as a bodyguard for Gracen Arms.

Above and Beyond: Vanyel, to his own detriment, believes that he has to be going above and beyond for his friends and family. A caring man by nature, he is always trying to overachieve and overcompensate, because if he isn’t, he will feel that it isn’t enough. An aspect that bled into his time with the yakuza, his relationships, and even his work and personal life, as a result, he doesn’t treat himself as much as he does his friends and loved ones. For him, that effort should go toward the people in his life, to show that he appreciates and cares about them.

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Likes: Mangos/mango flavor (especially ice cream/milkshakes), dragons, mythology, martial arts, the beach, dragon/lion dances

Dislikes: Sour stuff, being lied to/manipulated, flakiness, controlling people


Calypso Asthavon-Vael: The woman he loved, yet knew so little of. A woman who saw something in him, yet disappeared all the time. Even with her passing, Vanyel still holds nothing short of pure love for the woman, and misses her dearly. At one point in time, he would have given anything to get her back, but now, that feeling is slowly fading away, a numbing acceptance taking its place, alongside a bitter, sorrowful confusion.

Algos Asthavon: Arguably the most complicated relationship he had. A woman that caused him and Calypso so much pain and suffering, yet someone he can't bring himself to hate. He doesn't really understand why he feels this way, and even with the torment that she has caused, there is a strange soft spot for her. He's tried his hardest to hate her, to spite her, to curse her and everything that she is, but, for some reason, he just can't bring himself to do it.

Arianda Vael: At first, he was apprehensive to her, unsure of how to feel about the other parent that bore Calypso, given the nature of the Asthavon family and how they treated her. But, as the time went on, the two became something akin to friends, with Arianda being another source of comfort in his grief. They lean on one another for comfort, living together to try and continue on.

Mana Asthavon: Despite how she treated Calypso initially, she still attempted to reconcile and repair their relationship before her death. She was one of the only people that comforted him in Calypso and her child's death, and someone who respects and cares for him in all the tragedy that has unfolded. To that, he views her with a somewhat equal level of respect and care. He visits her and keeps in contact with her through the Eris Seal. She's one of the last things left from what he had before, and he's loathe to let it go that easily.

Rita Grace: He doesn't know much about her currently, but, he has a deep level of gratitude and respect toward her for being able to turn him back into a human. Working for her as repayment for the hell that they went through, he hopes to be able to learn more about her, even if just to satisfy his own curiosity.

Kenichi Murata: While he may be wild, unpredictable, and energetic, he has an appreciation toward Kenichi not just as a fighter and a martial artist, but as a person who guided him to the person who helped him regain his humanity. A friend and sparring partner, he views Kenichi as something akin to a brother, someone to help refine his skills, test out new techniques, and a rival to challenge each other to do their best and reach the top.


Vanyel never had the chance to experience a normal, happy family. His father, a man with an endless thirst for adventure, his mother a widely renowned martial artist in China, and his older brother idolized their father. Despite his father naming him, he and his brother left Vanyel and their mother to continue traveling, to make his mark on the world.

But, nevertheless, Vanyel was left in the outskirts of mainland China, largely kept away from the chaos of the world. Raised by the mother, he grew up in blissful ignorance of the whereabouts of his father, though she made it no secret that she held bitterness and resentment toward him. Despite never showing his face, he would send the occasional present, along with money to ensure they could stay afloat. One of those gifts was what would become his most prized possession in all the world: a copy of a Journey to the West.

A book with so many stories of the mythology and culture of his home, enthralled by the tales of Nezha, Ao Guang, and Sun Wukong, his mother often had to quite literally pry it from his hands. In addition to that, as his mother and father were both martial artists, he was taught the Chen style of Taijiquan, mainly as a form of self-defense. At first, he approached it with enthusiasm, but, as time went on, things...changed.

His mother became increasingly bitter and stern, taking extra steps to punish him for the smallest errors, ceasing any and all talk about his father. She became more and more upset, and, it bothered him. He started to feel like less of a son, and more of an obligation and burden. An object, not a person. His needs, his wants, his feelings no longer mattered.

His enthusiasm and excitement toward Taijiquan lessened, instead choosing to secretly study Southern Dragon Kung Fu. It was aggressive, fast, and liberating. In time, that style and his mythology were the only safe places left he had to go. Any family or friends had distanced themselves because of his mother, and his practices in Taijiquan felt like chores that he never did well enough. Home didn't feel like home anymore.

"Why does she hate him more than she loves me?"

Eventually, to try and become less of a burden to her, he ran away. He gathered what he could, and slipped away in the night, stowing away and fleeing to Japan, living his life in the gutters and shadows of Kitakyushu. A life like this lead him into all forms of trouble with stealing wallets or scamming people. But, such a life eventually caught up to him. One day, being careless, he ended up in Kudo-kai territory, a notoriously violent yakuza clan.

While he hadn't gotten in trouble too high up the ladder, he ended up getting into hot water with the subsidary family that owned the area he was in. He was brought before the patriarch, and Vanyel believed that his life would end there.

But, the patriarch spared him. Rather than beat or kill him, the patriarch simply extended a hand to the teen.

"Come, join me. Someone like you shouldn't be left to rot in the gutter."

While he did not understand why, from that day onward, Vanyel Xiaoyang was brought in as a member of the family, a member of Japan's criminal underworld. At first hesitant, yet obedient, he eventually became a brutal, savage fighter. It was something that never truly sat well in his heart, but, his loyalty and admiration toward the boss, the man who took him in, took precedence.

In this time, he began getting an irezumi on his back of a red dragon, something that coincided with the name murmured throughout the family's territory, "Dragon of Kyushu," in attribution to his growing violence and short temper. However, it was not to last, as, one day, the clan fell apart. A set-up from a rival family targeting the entire Kudo-kai in exchange for their territory and business, as well as cooperating with the Japanese police.

The heads of the family and clan were arrested, and the rest of the lower members scattered, either in hiding within Japan, or across the globe. Vanyel didn't understand what he felt as he fled, but...he wanted it to stop. So, he joined many of his brothers, and ran away, fleeing to Norway. There were extreme changes, and they shocked him, but, he adapted, and stayed in a small, isolated place in the country.

He lived quietly and normally for three years, making a small life for himself while developing powers to help him live in that environment, learning to manipulate his energy to create a bubble of heat in the frigid winter months, to see animals that he was hunting in the forests, to protect him from anything that might go wrong. Yet, all the while, guilt tugged at his heart.

It was a quiet life, one that perhaps he would have never relinquished, had he not been desiring to go back to Japan, a second home to him. He returned, avoiding Kitakyushu, and was just in time for a tournament in Greece. Signing up, he was matched against two people notably, women named Yuki and Mirja. Both ended in losses, and the latter ended up taking an arm as well. It was infuriating to lose, to be weak, and at such grave costs.

Meeting with Mana after the fact, she saw his desire for power, offering the Seal of Eris as she restored his arm, and in exchange, requested him to join the ranks of Shadow Fall. Accepting the devil's deal, he obtained the seal, as well as the Child of Eris, The Phonoi, daemons of murder and killing. He paid his due, and joined Shadow Fall, though he did little to nothing, remaining a nameless grunt within the ranks. While there were some that met him with a begrudging acceptance, he could hear the comments made about a human joining Shadow Fall.

Nevertheless, he kept going, trying to build his strength, practice and master his martial arts, eventually developing his own personal style, the Dragon Dance, taking aspects of Southern Dragon Kung Fu and creating something of his own. Yet, he would continue to study other forms over the months and years, becoming even more fearsome with his skill in martial arts than in his time during the yakuza.

In all of this, he met someone who would eventually come to change his life in just about every single way: Calypso Asthavon, the daughter of Arianda and Mana. At first, their time together was rather awkward, with how Calypso was skittish and afraid. But, in time, she began to open up a bit. The two lost contact for a few years, but met up once again, talking of the changes between them, and coming to something of a friendship between them.

For him, it felt nice to talk to her. He felt comfortable spending time with her, tried to listen as best he could. He thought she was beautiful, and someone enjoyable to be around. But, more than anything else...he wanted to protect her. A unique warmth flickered in his heart from that day onward. But, tragedy was never far behind, and that warmth only intensified after he saw the news of the events in Minatumi. Calypso's sister, Algos, had come to try and murder the mayor of the harbor.

But, what had set him off was what she did to Calypso -- tortured, beaten, drugged. It was a sight that he had seen from his days in the yakuza, and to see that happen to someone he valued so much ignited a rage in him unlike any other. As Algos was ejected from the city and sent to the Demon World, those who bore the Seal of Eris and contained the Children of Eris were gathered, Vanyel included.

Even with him tearing into Algos with every last fiber of hate in his body, she was but an afterthought to him. Seeing Calypso clawing desperately at Algos, begging to bear the brunt of her actions, to see her so delusional from the torture and brutalization of her body and mind at the hands of Algos, yet still she clung to her...

It hurt. His heart hurt at seeing it, knowing that there was nothing he could do to stop it, and he hated it.

He was weak, powerless, and alone.

Just like when the clan dissolved.

Just like when he ran away.

The rest of the gathering was nothing but white noise. Haze and static, a time he could hardly remember outside of seeing Calypso in such agony. Returning home, he entered a dreamless slumber, only to wake with these feelings becoming even stronger than before. It went on for days, and he wanted it to stop. So, he took a knife to himself, letting his own blood spill, passing out from the pain and loss of blood.

He awoke to his door slamming against the wall, hinges sharply clattering to the ground, and Calypso coming in with tears in her eyes. Healing him and taking him to meet Ulv for help, the two eventually returned to his home, and, in spite of his self-harm, the sight of Calypso and spending time with her meant the world to him.

But, he would soon learn of and confront his feelings toward her as Algos summoned him, wanting to know what he wanted from Calypso and how he planned to love her in a way that she could not. It was then that he realized what he was feeling toward Calypso, of wanting to be around her, to protect her was love. Yet, he didn't feel that someone like him could be loved, and certainly not by someone like Calypso. She was a ray of light, one that he wanted to follow to the ends of the Earth.

In addition to sparring so that he could grow stronger, become more accustomed to fighting demons, Algos also instilled an idea in his head -- in order to grow stronger, to be able to protect her, she proposed the idea of shedding his humanity and becoming a demon. Days after, with the thought in his head, he called Calypso to him, and he told her of his encounter with Algos.

He confessed his love for her, sharing a kiss. In spite of his uncertainty, Vanyel chose to convert, spending his last night of humanity drowning in blissful sin. The next morning, with even more doubt in his heart, the two began the process. His humanity gradually, painfully melted away, and his deepest demons came to light. But, with Calypso by his side, he was able to gather the strength to push them down and overcome the trials before him.

Yet, it did nothing to soothe the anxieties and doubt. It didn't take long for the feelings to grow even stronger, for him to realize that it changed nothing. But, there was no going back. He was stuck, trapped in a body that didn't belong to him, as a species that the world hated.

But, even then, Calypso had been disappearing constantly for extended periods of time, only to come back having changed. This was no different after his conversion, as she came to him one night with an entirely new appearance. She was expecting their child, and she was leaving the Asthavons, adopting her other mother's surname. She presented him with a choice: stay or leave.

It was hardly a choice. He left the Demon World behind, taking shelter in Sierra Nevada with Calypso and Arianda. Things hardly changed much. Rather than helping him herself with trying to adjust to his new body, she had him train and practice with Arianda, while she continued disappearing and reappearing without explanation.

He felt more alone than ever before.

It was only made worse when Mana came to him when Calypso was gone, telling him that his child was dead. He thought she was lying at first, but, what reason would she have to lie? His denial began to bottom out, only to be replaced by sorrow and anger as the Demon Queen comforted him in his grief. Something he had been scared of, yet was now looking forward to, now ripped away from him.

Not long after that, Calypso herself would pass on. He didn't know how or why, but the bond that held them together as maker and and progeny could not lie. Crushed, alone, and trapped as a demon, Vanyel wondered what was next? Even with his heart and mind being drenched in despair, he had one goal in mind that he wanted more than anything else: become a human again. Even when told by another Danava, a woman named Ajita, there was a chance that he could not turn back and that the change was permanent, he persevered.

Calypso would want that from him, to keep living on and do the best he could, even without her.

So, he constantly looked into it, meeting others who wished him well on the journey and offered their support, until he met Kenichi Murata. Originally just attending his tournament to get his mind off the tragedy in his life, he became far more involved and excited for the matches than he intended. Eventually fighting Kenichi himself, the spar between the two dragons reawakened the man's love for fighting.

Insisting to treat him to a meal, Kenichi took Vanyel to his favorite restaurant. There, he finally found a lead, a woman named Rita Grace who could have the power and/or resources to restore his humanity. He met with her, and, with another long, painful process, the demon blood that had plagued him for well over a year was burned away, and his humanity was restored. His powers from before, seared away, with only the two seals remaining of what was before.

Now weak, he's working to recreate his old powers, develop new ones, and use this new chance to live this life for all its worth, with his friends and allies by his side.



Strength: While for the first chunk of his life, strength was hardly something that he was very focused on, only enough to aid in his practices in Taijiquan. After running away, he became far more invested in the idea of power, cultivating the skill and building his strength alongside the development of his own martial art, Dragon Dance. He holds the discipline, skill, and technique of a martial artist, but fights ferociously, utilizing overwhelming power when in combat.

Durability: A trait born from struggle and trials through his life, much of his durability has come from more recent years. He's had his fair share of fights and beatings during his time in the yakuza and on the streets, but a majority of this comes from his time spent with demons. Going up against Algos, the pain, suffering, and torment of turning into a demon and back again. With all of these experiences, Vanyel is more than capable of taking hits and punishment beyond what a normal human would be able to, and is something he has intent of letting grow even stronger.

Martial Skill: Weapons and martial arts is something that has been a part of Vanyel's entire life. Initially learning the Chen style of Taijiquan for self-defense as a child, as well as studying Southern Dragon Kung-Fu. After running away from home, he soon started learning how to use weapons, becoming formalized and familiar with knives and bladed weapons. During his time in the yakuza, he learned of and occasionally used firearms alongside his martial arts and other weapons, though it hardly become common use during those times. After fleeing to Norway, he became familiar with other firearms for the sake of hunting to put food on the table, but, nowadays, he mostly keeps to his fists and bladed weapons.

Dragon Dance / Dragon Style: With his skill set largely being defined and inspired by the dragons of eastern myth, Vanyel ended up creating his own martial art during his time in the yakuza. Basing and combining aspects of martial arts that he learned during his life, he created the Dragon Dance, or Dragon Style. The style uses a variety of fast low kicks, high punches, and “middle ground” strikes to overwhelm an opponent using ferocity, speed, and raw power. It takes a stance similar to the Forward Stance of Shaolin Kung-Fu, with a lot of weight being focused on the front leg, with the front knee bending forward and the back leg kept straight to allow the body to easily move forward, generating power and further forward movement.

Multilingual: As someone who’s traveled across the world in his life, it’s only natural that he’d have learned some of the languages over his time. Born in China, the native language, Mandarin, was his first, and what he used for a large majority of his life until moving to Japan, where he slowly learned both Japanese and English under the tutelage of the yakuza clan that took him in. After the clan fell apart and Vanyel moved to Norway, Vanyel had to learn some Norwegian during his time there to communicate in certain parts of the country, albeit not always perfect.

Cooking: While he is no professional, Vanyel has dedicated well over a decade of his life to learning the craft. Even with scraps, he's capable of making something at the very least serviceable and decent A skill honed over most of his teen and adult life to provide for himself in the harsh times, Vanyel holds a fairly large amount of pride in this, even if he is more than aware that he isn't the best. He simply wants to be able to make good food for himself and friends.



Power Control

• Huánglóng Jīchǔ [黄龙基础, Yellow Dragon Foundation]: Based in the myth of the Yellow Dragon and its associated element in wuxing, this primarily grants him the ability to move earth telekinetically, or through movements and gestures, as well as transmute his energy to mimic the properties of Earth. Such examples include the ground's natural poor conductivity, allowing him to nullify half of the power of electric abilities as well as physical density and sturdiness to allow him more refined defenses and offense.
  
  
• Jīn Jīng Huǒ Yǎn  [金睛眼火, True Sight]: Named after the Monkey King's "eyes of truth" from A Journey to the West, Vanyel channels Reiryoku into his eyes, augmenting his vision in a manner similar to Reikaku. This grants him the ability to see energy capacity and type as a dense aura around someone, even through obstructions.
  
  Furthermore, these auras have particular colors to distinguish the different races: white for Hollows and Arrancar, green for Shinigami or Quincy, and yellow for humans. While this does not have a time limit, the longer that it is used, the more strained his eyes become, risking damage, should he use it for too long, as well as just being a general utility/information gathering tool, rather than an offensive one.
  
  

  Meaning of the Colors:

Mediumship

• Yùqīn [玉皇欽, Jade Veneration]: A basic application of Vanyel's mediumship, named in tribute to the Jade Emperor of Chinese mythology, this allows him to telekinetically control objects imbued by or affected by his energy. Furthermore, this also allows him to imbue his spiritual energy into weapons, clothing, and objects, repairing them and restoring them to pristine condition. Additionally, it allows him to funnel energy into vehicles, substituting gas for energy.
  
  
• Zao Jun Dàcān [灶君大餐, Zao Jun’s Banquet]: Drawn from the domestic Chinese god of the kitchen; by putting energy into the things that he cooks, Vanyel is able to imbue restorative properties into his food. Reminiscent of an Arrancar's Regenerar, it follows the same scale, except using Mediumship instead. In general, it allows him to heal non-lethal wounds, restore stamina/energy, and boost the metabolism of the body to allow the recipient to become healthier and reach their peak fitness.
  

Physical Augmentation

• Jīn Dǒu Yún [筋斗云, Cloud Surfing]: Through channeling energy into his body, Vanyel can utilize high speed movement akin to Shunpo or Hirenkyaku, named after one of Wukong's abilities in A Journey to the West. This allows Vanyel to access a burst of movement or action speed, allowing him to cross distances quickly, or speed up his attacks, though this can only be used a handful of times before beginning to show strain.
  

Literature: A lover of mythology and culture, Vanyel keeps a book of Chinese mythology near him at all times, as well as possessing various books on Chinese, Japanese, and Northern Germanic mythology and culture. His first gift from his father, a copy of A Journey to the West in Mandarin, never leaves his side.

Kuro Komo: Vanyel's most notable and signature weapon, commissioned during his time in the yakuza. The weapon is in the design of a Chinese imperial Jian with golden tertiary additions, and a notably sharp blade, so much so that even lightly running one's finger across it can create a cut. This is because one of the most notable aspects of the weapon is the unparalleled cutting power compared to any of his weapons, capable of cutting through defenses of Advanced level and below.

Knives: Outside of Kuro Komo, the biggest piece of Vanyel's arsenal is his fascination and love of knives, something that led him to collect a large variety of different kinds of knives to have and to use in combat. Balisongs, gut knives, throwing knives, switchblades, folding knives, and countless other types of pocket knives, Vanyel has several different types of pocket knives on his person at any time, allowing him to use them for either ranged combat with throwing knives or close-quarters combat.

Upgrade List:

General Attributes

• Durability: C
  
• Speed: C
  
• Strength: C
  
• Soul: C
  

Human Skill Sheet

• Power Control: Beginner
  
• Physical Augmentation: Beginner
  
• Spiritual Adaptation: Beginner
  
• Mediumship: Beginner
  

Will Skills

• Willpower/Determination: Elite
  
• Mental Deduction: Adept
  
• Focus: Adept