Lin Zi

Biography
Lin Zi, (styled 激姝), was of noble birth. From the village of Changshan; she is of both Chinese and Japanese decent and fluent in both languages. Her father, who was called Lin Jin was a high court minister with exterior affairs and was a well respected and admired man. His mind was like a book of strategy and all that listened were taken back by his thoughtful words. He was a strict man however and demanded the best from those he worked with. Because of this he was given the name “Mindful Teacher” However because of his ways. He was hated as much as respected. Lin Zi’s mother, who was named Kun Akiko, was also well known to the people. She was a scholar who loved to travel. She loved Japan and its rich culture. She was also born there so it was only natural that she would feel that way. She was one of the sweetest people you could meet. She never could say a bad thing about a person. She met Lin Jin when he was ordered to Japan by the Emperor and immediately fell in love with him. They soon married and Kun Akiko changed her last name to Lin to honor her new husband. She left Japan with him to return to China. Not long after she bore three children, all of which were girls.

Lin Zi was the youngest of the three girls. The eldest was named Lin Zhi, and second eldest was named Lin Mei. Being the youngest of the three Lin Zi was often picked on by her sisters. However this turned into jealousy one day when a renowned mystic saw the three girls and upon one look at Lin Zi asked to meet with their father. After seeing that it was Lin Jin, the mystic knew what he had seen would indeed be truth. He said to Lin Jin that while the two eldest were indeed great daughters that Lin Zi had a remarkable gift for strategy and even the most complex things in life would be made simple by this child. He said Lin Zi would surpass her father ten fold with proper training and the right atmosphere. The mystic left after these words, never once giving his name. At this time Lin Zi was only nine years old. Her two sisters, Lin Zhi, who was 12 and Lin Mei, who was 11 became insanely jealous of Lin Zi thus after, wanting to prove that they were much better then Lin Zi.

Lin Jin wanted nothing more then to see his daughter's abilities surpass his own. He doted on Lin Zi the most, though he tried terribly not to show it especially in front of Lin Zhi and Lin Mei. Lin Zi was ordered to study daily, every book her father had. He had her tutored by some of the best teachers within the land. He often refused to let her leave the house to play or do anything else but study. This strict treatment would develop a deep resentment in Lin Zi towards her father. Lin Zhi decided to stop competing with Lin Zi and took a liking to the sword. Lin Mei still burned to surpass her sister and it showed.

At fifteen Lin Zi was indeed living up to what the mystic had foreseen of her. She was now a beautiful young woman and had many marriage proposals but no matter how much her father pushed marriage upon her she would refuse quite sternly. This never did stop her from having fun those, which got her into much trouble. The beauty of the sisters became renowned through out the city in which they lived however, never could the three sisters get along and commonly argued and even fought in public. This earned them the name "The Violent Maidens of Changshan" Though Lin Zi was kind hearted by nature she began to become rather arrogant by all the praise she would get and because of her forced studies.

As she grew older this arrogance grew with her age. And did it ever show. She would often talk about how great her mind was and loved the attention she got by doing so. She continued acting this way mainly to annoy her sisters and anger her father. This is when she met a young boy by the name of Zhao Ren. He was only ten years of age and even being nine his senior Lin Zi grew to like the boy. She would many times sneak away from home to teach Zhao Ren what she knew and she enjoyed listening to his stories; something different then repeatedly reading the same books. The two developed a close friendship however this was cut short when Lin Jin was ordered once again to move to Japan. Though Lin Zi's mother loved the idea Lin Zi wiped and pleased with her father to reconsider the decision. She didn't want to leave the town she grew up in and the friends she made. Through tears she would continue to beg her father to stay but to no avail. They moved away the following month and Lin Zi said a tearful good-bye to Zhao Ren and the city she had grown up in. The two lost contact with one another when their home town was attacked.

Lin Zi was forced into a strong disciplined school once arriving in Japan, as her father despised the way she acted. She wouldn't listen to him and mainly hung around the taverns. Having no choice her father sent her to a strict and disciplined school for the serious discipline he couldn't seem to give her. At first she refused to go and even skipped but this stopped when her teacher's anger reached its limit and she was whipped across the back ten times. She loathed her teacher and hated her father even more then before because of this. Wanting nothing more then to whipped her teacher back the way he had done to her. This is when her true arrogance became to show. Once she learned the sword and mastered a few of the abilities she actually did whip her teacher and laughed about it. However the weapon she enjoyed using the most was the Japanese fan. She had learned to dance while staying in Japan and took a liking to that weapon. She was quite good with it also.

Many saw her whipping of the teacher an unimaginably dishonor, but that didn't bother Lin Zi in the least. She would brag about the title given to her, that being called one of "The Violent Maidens" and refused to believe she could make a mistake. No one paid much attention to her, which annoyed her but she got the chance to prove she wasn't just an arrogant ***** when she was assigned as a strategist against a rogue bandit army. She single handily used strategy only to defeat the bandits, with her sister finishing the fight with force. Now with this on her record she would often brag that she was unbeatable.

When the news of the civil war in China reached Japan, Lin Zi decided that perhaps she would return to her home country. Both her father and mother disapproved but Zi ignored their repeated pleases for her to stay. She commented how her father wouldn't listen to her when she begged to stay in China so why would she now hear his pleases for her to remain in Japan. She left that night with a sword, her favorite twin fans and her father's horse. She now travels around China searching for a Lord she thinks is worthy of her talents and loyalty.

Lin Zi's journey had brought her to the wonderful city of Jian An. It was hear she was stopped by a guard. He then mentioned the name Zhao Ren. The same Zhao Ren that Lin Zi had once called her little brother many years ago. Lin Zi was beyond overjoyed by this and demanded the guard show her where her brother resided as of now. The man would do just that and finally after nearly ten years Lin Zi was reunited with the only person she ever truly called her family. Zhao Ren was then kind enough to offer Lin Zi a place to live by sharing his house. In return Lin Zi swore to serve Lord Shinjin Reiki. The very lord Zhao Ren served. This would begin Lin Zi's new journey. She would work hard to gain favor in Lord Shinjin's court.

Her very first proof of this was when she created two strategies. She named the first, ”The Phoenix’s Rise in the Heartlands” and the second "The Dragon’s Flame Burns Northbound". However she was checked for her first strategy by a man named Doni Jin, because Wei Jen and Shinjin were allies. Doni Jin wanted no part in betraying her trust. Even though Lin Zi explained in great detail as to why betraying Lady Wei Jen might prove a good move, Doni Jin wouldn't hear of it. However everyone was of one mind upon hearing Lin Zi's second strategy. Lin Zi was quite impressed by her work. She had made her mark in this kingdom and proven she was truly a talented young woman in the field of strategy.

She would later present the same strategies to Lord Shinjin himself. He was away from the war meeting because of an illness, however now that he was once again well. Lin Zi came to see him. She wanted to know where his loyalties laid about the Han. Shinjin claimed to be loyal to only the people and didn't wish to the throne. This made Lin Zi feel she was helping a truly worth while lord and that her abilities wouldn't be wasted. She then presented the strategies. However Shinjin didn't even want to think about betraying Wei Jen. He also had a few problems with Lin Zi's northern campaign, however she proved once again that she knew what she was doing and it was decided that for the current time. Shinjin was going to follow her second strategy.

Lin Zi, having proven her worth in a good fashion decided to return to her old habits. She dressed in a rather revealing and seductive outfit and made her way to a local tavern. She was unaware that Doni Jin had been following her. Once she entered the tavern. She ordered a single drink and started dancing. The way she was dressed easily caught the eyes of many foolish drunks, who would by her more and more drinks. Lin Zi slowly became more and more drunk. This is when a new man came up to her. He was called Zhou Wei; however Lin Zi addressed him by his style, Kuangying. He got the foolish drunks to leave her alone and although she at this point was so drunk she could hardly stand. Kuangying still tried to talk with her and even was kind enough to help her. He let her ride his horse and brought her safely home. Lin Zi waved off the guards and allowed Kuangying to come into Zhao Ren's house and brought him to her room. Through all this time Doni Jin had followed Lin Zi and now Kuangying. He was quite angered by Lin Zi's quick dismissal of the guards but decided to leave for the night and bring this to Zhao Ren's attention. That night Lin Z; still drunk as ever. Would sober herself up as much as possible and soon after she ended up in bed with Kuangying.

Such a peaceful and enjoyable night for the young woman, however Doni Jin had kept his word and informed Zhao Ren of what he had seen. Zhao Ren being a caring brother went to see if Lin ZI was alright but because Kuangying was still in her room and she wasn't dressed. She threw on a bed sheet and quickly got rid of her brother. He came back repeatedly and even called his friend Zhou Ying to check on her. Zhao Ren thought she was sick and Zhou Ying was a doctor. However this just caused more problems. Lin Zi tried to explain the problem to Zhou Ying and although Zhou Ying was annoyed. She wasn't angered by what Lin Zi had done. Although she really didn't know what exactly happened, once Lin Zi came out of the room. She saw Doni Jin and knew he had talked to Zhao Ren. She had noticed him following her nearly every time he was. What gave Lin Zi away with ease was she had her make up and jewelry still on. Also Kuangying made himself known to everything. A heated argument began between Doni Jin and Lin Zi. The argument lead to Doni Jin going too far and received a slap across the face because of it. Zhou Ying also berated Lin Zi and was mocked in return. Zhao Ren was disappointed in his sister and said nothing to her. Kuangying left soon after and it would be some time before the two lovers met a second time.

From that moment on, Doni Jin and Lin Zi hated one another and could never be in the same room without having a fight. In a war meeting the two once again blew up on one another, resulting in a repeated numbers of insults used against each other. Shinjin himself demanded their silence of the matter but it would never actually be closed. Lin Zi continued to prove her worth and was given an even greater rank then she had. Shinjin had put much trust in her and her abilities and she didn't want to disappoint him. She worked much harder to increase her abilities and was given the task of meeting with new recruits to test their worth. After many months however it seemed Shinjin wasn't making a single move. However things were peaceful and that's all that mattered.

The time had finally come. Lin Zi's little brother was about to be married. He had talked about his wife endlessly to Lin Zi, although she had never actually met the girl. Lin Zi felt she knew nearly everything about her. It was time and many people came to join the wedding and share in the joy of the union. Lin Zi was more then happy for her brother. It got her thinking about her own life and if she would ever marry. Lin Zi would meet a very strange girl at the wedding party. Her name was He Ler. She was beyond stupid. The girl couldn't grasp even the simplest knowledge and Lin Zi decided to play with her mind a little bit. She met the same girl again later on, and again tried to play with her mind but it before she could the weird girl hit her head on the wall and it turned into a huge deal. Lin Zi ended up getting annoyed by everything and didn't bother with the girl after that.

However terrible news would hit Lin Zi quite soon. She finally got the chance to meet with Kuangying. She had wished to see him again ever since that night. However he seemed difference to her. Somewhat cruel even, however it was later proven to be just an act. After much talking Kuangying had to cut the meeting short but agreed to me with Lin Zi again. Sadly that meeting would never happen. It seemed that Kuangying had left Lord Li Jia in a bad way and was being hunted. Taishi Guang ordered his men to shoot Kuangying on sight and they did just that. However he managed to avoid most of the arrows. Then Taishi Guang himself went to deal with Kuangying and brought about his death. When news reached Jian An; a messages informed Lin Zi. She had never felt such pain in her entire life. She broke into endless tears at the news and was soon comforted by Zhao Ren. However Lin Zi wouldn't be the same after that. She wanted the war to end more now then ever before. For the first time in her life; the one thing she wanted, she would never he able to get.

After the death of Kuangying; it seemed problems from within Shinjin's kingdom arose. It seemed Zhao Ren and Shinjin, two great friends where no longer seeing eye to eye on things. Zhao Ren, who had ruled in Shinjin stead for sometime, had been doing well but it seemed Shinjin wasn't happy about the decisions Zhao Ren was making. Not too long after these problems, Shinjin would promote a braggart named Sao Mao to the rank of Directing Instructor. This rank would out shine even Zhao Ren, the man who had ran Shinjin’s kingdom in his time of illness. Subsequently Zhao Ren was able to push reason into the mind of Shinjin and show him the mistake this. No soon was the man, Sao Mao not granted this undeserving rank; did he later flee to the north, never to be heard of again. This was only the beginning however. As this continued there was a rebellion in Xia Pi. The man who led it was Wen Xu. He claimed to have a list of rebels and even named Lin Zi and many others who had no intentions of rebelling as he co-conspirators.

This man would be quietly arrest when Shinjin was informed. However as the guards came to arrest him, three people came to help them. Zhao Han, Wen Shen and Wu Zhen; However in a cruel twist of fate the gates actually attacked these three. The later of the three of a girl, mid-way through her first pregnancy and as she tried to run and hide she was captured and beheaded. The two remains were killed quickly as they had no idea what was happening. Upon learning of this, Shinjin Reiki turned the other cheek, as if nothing had happened. Among the dead was Zhao Ren’s own brother. Yet Shinjin didn’t even care to give him a proper funeral. Thus it was set and Zhao Ren decided his uncle would pay with his life.

Lin Zi would finally be informed of this decision and asked to aid her brother. At first she was quite reluctant to help her brother because of the betrayal of loyalty to her lord. She would soon regret this feeling and swore to uphold whatever Zhao Ren had decided. She choose the path of being a loyal sister over being a loyal officer and would never come to regret that. Thus it was set and Zhao Ren explained his plan. Lin Zi was given the main unit, which would descend upon Shinjin’s household. Before Lin Zi had been informed, Zhao Ren had the area under siege and was now going to send in the main army under his command. With Chen Si, a servant under Zhao Ren helping to rally the soldiers against Shinjin; they had all they needed and stormed the household of the Shinjin family. Before Lin Zi had arrived a report came that Doni Jin, her long standing rival had been slain in the first wave of the onslaught. She sighed slightly for his lose but pressed on. Her goal was to make sure not a single Shinjin lived on this day.

Lin Zi met little resistance and the resistance she did have was quickly cut down by her guards. They would then move towards the house and enter, upon doing so, Zi would find Shinjin Reiki, his eldest son and his servant all in the room. The guards rushed forward and try as he might Kenjin was cut down as was the servant and Reiki himself. Zi ordered the guards to search far and wide for the location of the last remaining Shinjin, Jiro; they eventually found the lad and killed him. Next the whole city of Jian An was put under a lock down and all former vassals of Shinjin Reiki were arrest. While a few joined forces with Zhao Ren, others refused his offers. Zhao Ren would only later of the death of Kenjin and Jiro. Being young and inexperience in the art of warfare, he didn’t understand his sister’s motives to murder those two young boys and actually slapped her. She explained herself and he forgave her and begged her to forgive sudden acts.

Soon after the news of Shinjin Reiki’s death traveled and while everyone expected Bai Gui to be the great annoyance for the new ruling. It was actually two lowly vassals who both had quit Shinjin’s service but were related to him. These two were Cao Zhong and Xiao Yu. Lin Zi’s brother and sister-in-law; The two were nothing fools that couldn’t let go of the past. Cao Zhong repeatedly sent his close friends to harass Zhao Ren and later Lin Zi, however they were coldly banned from the city of Jian An by Lin Zi’s orders, who was chief of Military and Civil as she was promoted to Directing Instructor. Xiao Yu decided to be less direct in her way to defame Lin Zi. Instead of talking to her herself she would go to many rulers and defame Lin Zi to them, making judgmental opinions based on things the warrior woman had no knowledge. This would lead to others questioning Lin Zi’s intentions and even had Dong Yan test her to see how long she was. This greatly angered Lin Zi when she did indeed pass. To have wasted her time however did not please her. Li Bao was another that lettered Zhao Ren warning him to watch the actions in which she took. This only led to her having a dislike to Li Bao as well.

During all this time something unfortunate happened. Wei Baoshu, the governor of Xia Pi had decided Zhao Ren’s cause was wrong and thus rebelled taking control of Hui Ji as well as Xia Pi. Wei Qilin and Zhou Ying both decided to aid him. Neither knew why Zhao Ren had did what he did and so they thought of him as a tyrant and refused to speak with him. Lin Zi decided to make the first move and sought to create alliances. First she would do so with the Lord of Tian Shui, Li Jia. Although much hatred burned within her for a man named Taishi Guang, who was within Li Jia’s service. Lin Zi kept her composer well and an alliance was made. Her next target was Lady Wei Jen. This did not go as planned. Wei Jen refused to take part in any alliance that would result in her having to war with Bai Gui. Her fears of Li Jia were too much for her. Even at pressing proof and repeatedly stating that Li Jia would align with her if she agreed; Wei Jen refused to believe Lin Zi’s words. Lin Zi had a strong dislike for this woman now and believed a foolish child was put into a position she had no idea how to control.

The wait was over, war would begin but it was Zhao Ren who struck first and marched the whole of Jian An against Hui Ji. He knew full well that if he left anyone behind that Bai Gui would simply invade hi,. Bai Gui also struck out with his new lapdog, Wei Baoshu and together they rushed upon the city of Wu. The total force they commanded was vastly superior to the prefect Yuan Shao, who had surrendered Wu to Zhao Ren. However Wei Baoshu’s actions proved how much a fool he was. He had given Shi Hei Long his only siege equipment and the strongest unit he could muster. The mistake in this was that Shi Hei Long’s oath brother, Shen Rong Bao was in service to Zhao Ren. So with much convincing, Shi Hei Long realized how weak Wei Baoshu, as his kingdom was in shambles and defected on the battlefield. Thus the largest and most powerful unit on the battlefield became Zhao Ren’s and Yuan Shao gave Wei Baoshu a crushing defeat, of which he would never recover from. Bai Gui’s commanders feared the worst and decided to try again some other time. Truly they showed their cowardice on that day.

Subsequently Wei Baoshu was taken prisoner but as Zhao Ren was about to ready an axe to have his head removed. Lin Zi’s came up with a shroud and cunning plan, which she used to trick Wei Baoshu into surrendering both his lands to Zhao Ren in exchange for his life. Lin Zi had already worked out another defection with Wei Baoshu’s general, Tang Pu and thus the rebel force of loyalist to Shinjin were united as one. Cao Zhong continued with his interfere day in and day out. He even had the obesity to letter Zhao Ren demanding he execute his sister, which Zhao Ren refused out right. Cao Zhong’s pestering continued but he was made to look the fool by Lin Zi and left refusing to admit his defeat. Time would pass by and Jian An had fallen. There was nothing Zhao Ren could do to stop the armies of Bai Gui. However try as he may. Bai Gui could not take Wu after two failed attacks on the city from Mo Ling. Unable to defend Xia Pi well Zhao Ren had given it up and thus saved it from falling into the Bai family hands. Pao Gong was the one to take control of the city and began tightening up defenses.

During this time the young girl by the name of Li Mei would visit the city of Hui Ji. She was the adopted daughter of Zhou Wei, the man Lin Zi had fallen in love with but was murdered. Zi took an immediate liking to the girl because she reminded her of Zhou Wei. Her reasons for coming where to find out why Shinjin was killed; this Lin Zi explained, however Li Mei wanted to speak with Zhao Ren as well; afterwards the three decided end official business and enjoy each others company. Li Mei loved the idea of a drinking game and set one up. Lin Zi didn’t mind the idea but upon being forced to drink she found that no matter what she couldn’t stomach any of the wine without a strong feeling of sickness. This seemed quite strange for Lin Zi but she figured she was just ill. Li Mei however and drank quite a bit and being small in size. It caused her to become intoxicated and eventually the young girl passed out. Lin Zi had her bodyguard, Xiang Ling carry Li Mei back to her private chambers and bid her brother good night.

Li Mei would however have a horrific nightmare where she was eaten alive. This completely terrified her and she screamed in horror and caused Lin Zi to check upon her. The girl was in tears, sobbing because she thought she had become someone’s concubine because of the silk robe Lin Zi had her changed into, which she had removed. Lin Zi would rush over and comfort the girl by gently rocking her as Li Mei hugged her tightly. She was quick to wipe away her tears and reassure her that nothing was wrong. She would protect her if anything happened to her. Lin Zi stayed with Li Mei the whole night to make her feel as safe as possible. Although Lin Zi had swore she never wanted to bother with children because she had no interest in such. This girl she loved like a daughter that moment onward and later that day would adopt her after finding out that she was also pregnant with Zhou Wei’s son. Lin Zi had just become a mother of two and was overjoyed by something she had once said was pointless and unnecessary. Time can indeed change a person’s way of thinking.

Months would pass and the city of Hui Ji fell. However Lin Zi would try to counter this by visiting the city of Chang Sha to meet with Li Bao. Not long before they tried to create relations with the Peng Chao kingdom but the envoy sent made a fool of himself and ruined all chance for them. Lin Zi was here to repair the damage. She would meet with Li Bao and first explain that what Xiao Yu said was nothing more then lies. Zi would later learn that her judgmental attitude was truly a bad thing for Li Bao wasn’t the man she thought he was. He was truly polite and treated her well. They were able to repair the damage but although Li Bao wanted to aid us. His lord, Peng Chao was nervous to do so and decided against it. Not long after this Bai Gui, the reining Grand Commandant of Mo Ling decided he had enough of a ruling life and retired, leaving his empire in the hands of Liu Sun.

Because of these events, Lin Zi felt she had to visit her daughter in Gui Yang to calm any fears she may of held for her mother’s safety. Li Mei was overjoyed to see her mother but also shocked her when she told her that Wei Jen was her elder sister, thus making Wei Jen, Lin Zi’s daughter as well. A person she at one time had a dislike towards was now her daughter. Although the dislike feeling had changed, the two did not get along well. Wei Jen refused to acknowledge Lin Zi as her adopted mother, although Lin Zi wasn’t surprised at that fact. Wei Jen did however offer to help Lin Zi by using her political pull and current alliance with Liu Sun if she could. However Lin Zi would have to apologize to Wei Baoshu was the murdering of his friends. For when Zhao Ren created his kingdom, two men tried to stop Yuan Shao and put the city into chaos. Lin Zi had respect for one, Chen Dan, who swore loyalty but barked threats. So he was executed. Huang Shang was the other. He mouthed off and tried to make Lin Zi look like a fool. This attitude angered her and he continued to act as if his life couldn’t be taken. Lin Zi proved him a liar when she ordered his death. This was the only way Wei Jen would forgive Lin Zi and thus end the strong tension between them. It was the only way Lin Zi figured she had a chance at living and decided to take the risk. Li Mei was near tears as she watched her mother leave Gui Yang, fearing it would be the final time they ever see one another again.

Lin Zi would letter Wei Baoshu and he agreed to meet with her during the final battle of Wu. This is when she indeed asked him to forgive her. Although shedidn’t expect he would. He indeed gave his word that he did. She was surprised after the harsh insult she spoke to his ‘friend’ Huang Shang. Her comment is not one to forget easy. “Huang Shang was a useless fool. I did Heaven a great deed by sending back their mistake.” However Wei Baoshu seemed to have taken pity upon Lin Zi because she was now seven months pregnant. Not only that and her attitude had indeed changed greatly since becoming a mother. However he wanted to test her. Baoshu wasn’t exactly sure if she was just trying to use her child to save her life or if she actually cared for the child. Of his demands, he first threatened to kill her right then and there, second he said he would allow the child to be born but still take her life, the final was for her to come up with something of her own. Lin Zi never once thought of shielding her life with her child’s and thus was willing to give up her own life to save that of her child’s.

In the end however Lin Zi’s unit was defeated at Wu, as was Zhao Ren’s and the glory of the Zhao Ren kingdom lay in shambles. The two were put on trial where Li Bao requested permission to be present. Man Chong, an envoy from Wei Jen also came. However while Li Bao truly tried to save Lin Zi’s life and her brother’s. Man Chong did nothing at all. Cao Zhong was also present and all he did was create a scene and make a fool of himself. The last time Lin Zi dealt with him was in Zhao Ren’s audience hall. He tried to make Zhao Ren write a proclamation begging all the lords of the land to forgive him for killing his uncle. Lin Zi was in shock by this. What fool would suggest such a tactic? That would be political suicide. Thus she berated the fool and still refusing to admit his defeat, Cao Zhong left in defeat once more. Here at the trial he was begging that Zhao Ren deserve death or to be forced into being a monk, while Lin Zi a nun. He claimed his loyalty to the Shinjin family yet Lin Zi once more made him look foolish by pointing out he left Shinjin over a year ago. Cao Zhong completely ignored her, thus proving his error in judgment.

Fate would not be kind on this day however. Lin Zi was allowed to live, being saved by the child growing in her stomach and the words from Li Bao and her brother. Sadly her brother Zhao Ren was not granted that same freedom and was ordered to be executed. While begging and pleading with Liu Sun. He refused to change his mind and Zi’s watch as her brother was beheaded by Wei Baoshu. In great rage she slapped Wei Baoshu as hard as she possibly could and vowed to never again set foot in his kingdom again. Lin Zi would first however travel back to Wu for someone. Zhao Ren had long ago taken his friend Dai Ren’s child to keep her safe. Upon Dai Ren’s death, Zhao Ren adopted her. Now that Zhao Ren had passed, Lin Zi couldn’t leave her alone and decided to become her mother and raise her as her own.

Now Lin Zi would return to Gui Yang and this brought Li Mei the greatest joy possible. Her mother had lived and was forever with her. However upon being told of Zhao Ren’s death, Li Mei became lost in the world. She started to blame herself for his death and the pain anyone else felt. She had fallen into a deep depression. Both Lin Zi and Wei Jen tried to snap her back into reality but at first nothing seemed to work. However finally she came around. It was Lin Zi’s pleas that she needed her that one would think brought her back. At that moment Lin Zi felt an agonizing pain in her stomach. Could it be? Was she about to have her child? Indeed that was the case. She was rushed to the guest room and aided by a midwife while being told what to do to. After long and very painful hours Lin Zi gave birth to a healthy boy, who she decided to christen Lin Wei. In honor of the man who she loved and who saved her live even in death.

After finally settling in Gui Yang with her son and daughters, Lin Zi felt she could relax and at long last put the wars in her life to rest. So much had changed for her in such a short while and she had much trouble accepting it all. Mostly the death of her brother, Zhao Ren, which had taken a heavy toll on her, both physically and mentally; Lin Zi felt as if she was alone but this would not be the case. Many months before Lin Zi had met the young woman named Sun Cai (styled Pingbao). He had asked her lover, Shen Rong Bao to save Zhao Ren should Bai Gui take the city and leave Lin Zi to defend it, thus giving up her life for her brother’s. This was not to be their last meeting however as the two would speak off and on many times during their stay in Wu. Seemingly the two had a great respect for one another even though they barely knew each other. Things changed quite drastically during the Lu Jiang trial. Sun Cai showed that she truly cared for Zhao Ren. Perhaps it was hidden feelings she had just never expressed or just complete loyalty to her lord. Whatever the reason was she pleased for his life to be spared and even defeated Lin Zi, neither of which was that close with at the time. However she knew Zhao Ren perhaps better then many thought. However her pleases just like Lin Zi’s fell on deaf ears as Zhao Ren was sentenced to death. After this Sun Cai asked if she could serve as an aid to Lin Zi, too which Zi was rather surprised. Cai claimed that Zi was the only person she knew and thus wanted to stay by her but first wanted to return home. The matter was never actually closed and Lin Zi hated this idea. She however had something different in mind and before parting ways with Sun Cai; Zi asked if she would come to Gui Yang later on.

Time would past by but Sun Cai did indeed honor Lin Zi’s request. Upon coming to Gui Yang she learned Lin Zi had given birth to a baby boy and was rather delighted for her. This is when Lin Zi revealed her intentions and reason for asking Sun Cai to visit her. Lin Zi had so much respect for this woman that she couldn’t’ bring herself to think of her as an aid. Zi instead asked Sun Cai if she would be willing to be her sister. Sun Cai tearfully agreed and an equally tearful Lin Zi embraced her new sister. The two had a bond stronger then even the heavenly mountains and seemed like the perfect sisters.

Such was rare between to people that were at a time mere strangers but yet could form a bond so strong so easily. Truly an impressive sight for anyone to behold; not a single person would ever believe the two were not sisters from birth. Sun Cai became the comfort that Lin Zi needed to finally get over the loss of her brother. To this day Lin Zi claims she has doubts she would have made it through that depression if it wasn’t for Sun Cai’s determined mind set and how much she comforted Lin Zi.

There bond however would reach a testing level and could very well have been shatters in moments. Sun Cai had been quite ill for some time now. It was only a month after she and Zi and become sisters and this worried Zi immensely. However Cai soon learned that it wasn’t an illness per say. She was pregnant… she however didn’t rush to joy like many soon to be mothers would. No instead she worried and feared telling Lin Zi because there was a secret that followed. For Sun Cai had done something at Lu Jiang that no one knew about. For whatever reason it was… Sun Cai and Zhao Ren had slept together and the results were she became pregnant. This became a problem because Zhao Ren was married to the young Xiao Mei, who was currently within Li Jia’s service. She was Lin Zi’s little sister basically, however the two were rather distance and not overly close because of this. Sun Cai finally had enough courage to explain everything to her sister. This would be something Lin Zi did not take well.

Upon learning that her sister was pregnant with Zhao Ren’s child; Zi blew up and in a fury called her sister selfish and even slapped her. Sun Cai did defend herself and her actions but Lin Zi refused to listen and stormed out of the room and house, leaving the now crying children to cry and leaving her sister in the room. Zi would soon realize the stupidity of her out burst and she leaned against the wall of the house in the front yard and began to cry. She thought she had forever destroyed the bond with her sister, someone she loved and cared for a great deal.

Sun Cai would come and find her sister outside crying. Cai had firsted calmed the crying Hua and was able to get her back to sleep, however Wei wanted his mother and thus Sun Cai brought him to Lin Zi. She then asked her sister… if she wanted her to leave and never bother her again. Lin Zi was still angry inside and was too proud at first to admit she couldn’t live without her sister with her. She played around with the subject and never gave a straight answer. However Sun Cai would faint for unknown reason. At first Lin Zi actually had the thought to leave her there but she couldn’t imagine being so cruel and crawled her to her. Lin Zi cried and begged for Sun Cai to come back, Zi had indeed overreacted and feared that something serious had happened to Sun Cai. She feared that they last thing the two would have ever done together was fight and Zi didn’t want to live with that. Sun Cai came to after hearing her sister’s pleas. Lin Zi would hug her tightly and almost never want to let go. She feared the worst and much regret had built up within. The two would soon settle this argument however and Cai would reveal that she saw Zhao Ren when she fainted. He stated that she would have twin boys. Sun Cai and Lin Zi swore afterwards to protect one another again and as such their bond strengthened.

Not long after the sisters had fought and made amends, did Lin Zi find herself visiting the famed Hall of Enlightened Scholars. She had heard many rumors that Kuangying, her lover had been a great hero and this was the place he made his name. For a long while Lin Zi was too afraid to find out in any sort of detail as to what really happened. She didn’t wish to think about Kuangying too much; otherwise it drove her to cries, for she missed him dearly. Finally she forced up the courage to make the journey and nervously came upon the temple. The very first thing she saw was a grand statue of the man she loved. The moment her eyes focused on this, she began to cry and fell to knees, the whole while her hand was touching the statue. Perhaps it was foolish but for her it was a small chance to touch the man she loved. An older woman had indicated for her to speak with a man by the name of Xu Yuan. Lin Zi would do so and she soon when into a spiral of depression. She refused to believe the deaths of both Kuangying and Zhongyue were entirely her fault. She believed that had she stopped Kuangying from leaving that day or perhaps going with him, he would still be there with her. For Zhongyue she believed she didn’t protect him like a sister should. Xu Yuan would comfort her and reasoned with the young strategist.

He explained to her that neither of the deaths were her fault. Kuangying was a stubborn man and would have gone eventually even if she had convinced him to stay at that time; and her going with him might have been even more painful for her or worse, Kuangying would suffer the lose of her. For Zhongyue he explained that he didn’t believe he thought she was a failure. He asked her what Zhongyue’s last words were to her and it triggered her to remember what he said. That was for her to life her life and that he loved her and did the best job protecting him a sister could for her brother. After this counseling, Lin Zi finally was able to accept that the two people she cared about greatly didn’t lose their lives because of her. She would be forever grateful to Xu Yuan and repeatedly asked if she could do anything. He asked her to join in the debates that could begin and thus she did, even if she wasn’t sure about it. Everything seemed as if it was going well. Lin Zi had regained some of her self-confidence but it would be a long road one would think before it returned completely. Unfortunately fate had to play it’s cruel hand and Lin Zi’s disease returned and caused her to faint when she and Sun Cai were visiting Xiang Yang.

Lin Zi had a serious illness ever since she was a child. It kept her bed ridden from days, even a full month when she was twelve. The dieses is either fatal or can go away but no cure is actually known. In Lin Zi’s case she just became much weaker when taken ill. A cold would be much worse for her but this seemed to almost pass after her last attack when she was Twenty-two. However due to the pregnancy the dieses showed itself once again. It was unsure if she would even survive this time. A week passed by leaving this question unanswered to Lin Zi’s sister, who was beside herself with worry. Sun Cai had spent next to every second by her sister’s bed side, talking with her in hopes she would wake up. During this event Lin Zi found herself in her own subconscious. She would then see an image of herself but it was her teenage self. The spirit taunted and provoked her saying how she couldn’t believe she grew up to be so weak. The spirit blamed the older Lin Zi for allowing herself to become weak and refused to give into the thought that it was because of Zhao Ren’s or Kuangying’s death. After much taunting the really Lin Zi, the fiery, arrogant personality many knew her for, resurfaced and she lashed back at her younger self. This seemingly awaked Lin Zi and made her realize that perhaps she was being too hard on herself. This wasn’t something she completely sure of however.

This vision one might call soon faded and finally, after what seemed like forever Lin Zi opened her eyes, to the sheer joy of her sister. It seemed once again Lin Zi had managed to survive this disease of hers, despite the fact that many with the same disease rarely live past their childhood. Lin Zi wouldn’t fully recover for a while. This is also when she finally accepted Zhang Co as her brother by oath. Sun Cai had previously made an oath with him and at first Lin Zi thought of it as a betrayal to Zhongyue to call anyone else brother. Lin Zi had regained her strong will and her sister’s worries didn’t stop her from going to a council and creating another strategy. It had been some time since she did but she wasn’t at all rusty. The strategy was to block Wei Jen’s advance by defeating both Cao Cao and Lu Ying, taking their time with the latter. In a much more detailed approach this strategy was agreed about in the end. Lin Zi would leave that meeting feeling slightly bothered by the amount of hostility that it had. She escaped her sister’s rather watchful eye and went to a tavern in the Xin Ye area. This is when she met a man that ended up bring out her former personality.

In the end she returned home the following morning and slept until mid-afternoon. This is when her little sister; Zhang Sian, younger sister to Zhang Co, came to speak with her. She was with a strange marked guard but Lin Zi didn’t make much of a note of this. She was still fighting off a hangover. Just then Zhang Sian screamed and pushed Lin Zi to her feet; she had been lying in her garden when Zhang Sian had arrived. The reason for this was because the ‘guard’ was an assassin or so Zhang Sian and was there to kill Lin Zi. The two would hide themselves but the man gave himself up. No one would really know what his true intentions were that day, nor who hired him but Lin Zi was now doubtful of just who she could trust. Zhang Sian knew beforehand about the plot and the assassin was able to go through the city rather easily. Such things made Lin Zi quite nervous as to the safety of where she was. However…she needed to prove this and for the time being that was impossible.

Lin Zi’s demanding suspicion and curiosity would force her to discover the truth of why she was the target of an assassin. However before she went into searching about for such evidence, Lin Zi wanted to clear her mind of the subject. She just didn’t want to think of all the possible what ifs that could have been. She found herself at the Qing Di Hu whereupon she would run into Li Mei and Han Shao. These two had now become a couple surprisingly after Lin Zi told Li Mei she was no longer allowed to treat Han Shao as a slave. Lin Zi however didn’t know of this and it was doubtful she would find out anytime soon. She didn’t talk with either long before noticing a young girl lying in the grass. It seemed that Li Mei had come to talk to this girl about possibly joining Wei Jen’s force. Lin Zi at the time didn’t think very much of the girl, who name she would find out to be Tai Lin Mei, Tai Li for short. This opinion soon changed as Zi talked with the girl and seemingly developed a strong bond. Tai Li and Li Mei would end up getting themselves drunk during the evening and both children passed out soon afterwards. Lin Zi would instruct Xiang Ling to carry Tai Li, while her carriage driver would take care of Li Mei. For some time Lin Zi had forgotten all about the attempt on her life. She however told Han Shao after putting both girls to bed. He vowed to protect and begged to search for answers. While Lin Zi refused she had thought he might still try, who knows if he will.

Later as the night came, Tai Li would wake up and found herself in Li Mei’s bedroom. Lin Zi came to check on her while she held Hua. Tai Li ended up playing with the infant child, causing Lin Zi to become more attracted to this girl. Zi finally learned bits and pieces of Tai Li’s life before they met. She seemed to have a difficult childhood and it reminded Lin Zi of her own. As the two continued to converse, Lin Zi felt herself becoming more connected to Tai Li and was treating her like a daughter. Lin Zi noticed how reluctant was to show much emotion and would repeatedly put herself down because her looks weren’t up to standards. The only reason for this was because Tai Li was never taught how to care for her appearance, Zi also learned Tai Li was never taught to read or write. Lin Zi decided that she would take in one more child and offered to not only allow Tai Li to live with her but she agreed to teach her how to read and write as well as offering to be her mother. Tai Li would begin to cry and hugged Lin Zi tightly. Thus Lin Zi would now have a fourth child at the age of Twenty-seven. This from the woman who never wanted children to begin with; proof that over time opinions change.

Lin Zi would spend the entire night with her new daughter, talking about different things but Lin Zi also showed Tai Li a few words and had her write them out. Zi would also do something to help build up Tai Li’s self-confidence. She picked out new, quite lavish clothing and changed Tai Li into the new robes. She also did her hair and makeup. This was all to show Tai Li how pretty she actually was and it worked, as Tai Li couldn’t believe at her reflection in the mirror. Lin Zi spent much time reassuring her and trying to build up Tai Li’s confidence. The two would spent the whole day traveling the city of Jiang Ling, Zi wanted to show Tai Li everything and would have taken her to Xiang Yang but Li Mei was still asleep back at home and thus Lin Zi wanted to return in time to talk with her concerning her drinking.

After the rather interesting past few days, Lin Zi went to the second place she had intended to visit. This is when Lin Zi was ready to deal with the assassin trying to rob her of her life. She would have told Sun Cai but there was a difficult problem. Lin Zi had a small feeling that Zhang Co, her brother by oath was behind the attack. Lin Zi met with Xu Yuan and after much talking she had broken down. Lin Zi had buried her emotions and fears of death for sometime and didn’t show them in front of Li Mei or Tai Li but she couldn’t resist any longer. Xu Yuan once again was there to comfort her and she told him everything. Xu Yuan agreed it was likely Zhang Co that was the caused and this only hurt Lin Zi more. Xu Yuan suggested Lin Zi live a life of seclusion; being that she wouldn’t be harmed. Lin Zi refused the idea for she wanted to live her life, not hide from it. Thus it was suggested she return to Wei Jen or Peng Chao. Lin Zi wasn’t sure if she would because of her sister. Zi made a suggestion of her own. She wanted to confront Zhang Co at the temple with what she believed happened. At first Xu Yuan agreed but Lin Zi became reluctant at her own proposal. She feared Sun Cai wouldn’t believe her and their sisterhood would be damaged. Oh if only Zi knew of the future to come.

Xu Yuan then suggested Lin Zi give Zhang Co a second chance. He stated that it was possible Zhang Co wasn’t completely at fault. He may have been given false information and acted rashly. Lin Zi wasn’t sure if she believed this but for her sister she ended up agreeing that perhaps Zhang Co was worth another chance. During this meeting something else happened. Lin Zi had long admired Xu Yuan, ever since he made her believe she wasn’t the reason Zhao Ren and Zhou Wei died. At first this was just admiration she felt but it was developing into a small crush. Lin Zi hinted about this when the suggestion of leaving to go to Dao Long Wong came up. She replied she wouldn’t be able to see Xu Yuan anymore. It is unknown if he realized this yet.

Lin Zi would return home and at first let her emotions get the better of her. She looked like she was packing but ended up calming herself. This is when Sun Cai came into her room. Sun Cai had asked to know where Lin Zi went but received a rather vague answer. Cai became irritated by such a reply; she had been asking many questions regarding Lin Zi’s past that Zi just wouldn’t answer. Zi would either change the subject should it start to sway towards this topic or become very avoidant. Sun Cai turned quite hostile because of both her pregnancy and the fact she wanted to know yet Lin Zi wouldn’t lower her shields. Sun Cai only became more anger and began yelling at Lin Zi. This caused Zi to break down and she finally told Sun Cai about her past; about abusive her father was to her as a child; about how he made her bleed from how hard she was hit and about how he tried to choked her. Lin Zi also mentioned the assassination attempt and she broke down further, which resulted in her crying.

Whether Sun Cai was getting unusually because of anger or her pregnancy is unknown but she didn’t receive Lin Zi’s confession well. She instead berated Lin Zi in many ways and showed no signs of sympathy towards her sister. Sun Cai brought up her difficult past and furthered berating Zi for allowing herself to become so pathetic. The fault wasn’t only on Sun Cai’s shoulders, far from it. The way Lin Zi choose to tell Sun Cai about her past was poor. She acted as if she was being forced but more so she became her former more arrogant self and made a number of sarcastic remarks. Sun Cai questioned Lin Zi’s parenting in a very poor manner, which was a damning reason to fuel Lin Zi’s anger. Lin Zi became very cruel in her replies. She berated Sun Cai equally and even worse as they argued onward. Zi made fun of how Cai had fallen to her knees and bowed to Liu Kang, who had just joined Zhang Co’s force. She did this in spite of the fact it had absolutely no bearing on their current argument. Basically Lin Zi did it just to make Sun Cai feel like a fool because Lin Zi was mad at being called pathetic.

Lin Zi also mocked Sun Cai when Cai brought up her past. She did this because Cai had made a tremendous deal out of honesty between them and when Cai mentioned her past, she left that part of. Whereas Zi wouldn’t have let it bother her, Cai was quite angry about Zi not telling her about her past. Both women tried to use Zhongyue as an excuse in to favor there side of the argument. Both of which would regret doing so afterwards. Lin Zi had only truly felt hurt by this when the talk of the assassin was brought up further. Sun Cai showed no concern or anything towards Lin Zi, as if she didn’t care. This is what truly hurt Lin Zi more then anything. Inside she felt horrible but why she didn’t give it words was because of Sun Cai. Cai’s own words would be what damned her.

Sun Cai had told Lin Zi to get over her past and all the pain within it. Thus Lin Zi twisted those words and was thinking of simply getting over Sun Cai, which would mean breaking their oath. The pain Lin Zi felt from Sun Cai more harsh verbal attacks only continued when Cai stated Lin Zi thought low of her. Lin Zi defended this by claiming Sun Cai saved her life and that she was the best thing that ever happened to her. Unfortunately both women didn’t quite grasp the concept of those words and they were lost in the continuing verbal war. Lin Zi by now had lost any interesting in caring if their oath was ruined and the possible fatal straw came when after Lin Zi threw letters from her mother at Sun Cai saying their was proof she wasn’t lying, seeing Cai couldn’t trust her. This pushed Sun Cai too far and it resulted in her slapping Lin Zi. Normally Lin Zi would have never reacted the way she was about to but because she had spoke of her father and his repeated abuse to her, Zi took the slap far more painfully then Sun Cai probably intended for it to be. So in retaliation Lin Zi spit in Sun Cai’s face, which could quite possibly be one of the most insulting things a person could do.

Thus the bond looked completely shattered. Sun Cai stormed out of the room and Lin Zi pitched a hand mirror at the door, breaking it upon impact. Sun Cai had already started to cry and left without ever letting Lin Zi know. Cai knew she and Zi had just destroyed one another emotionally that recovering would be difficult, if not impossible. Xiang Ling saw Sun Cai storm out of the house and he went to check on Zi. Lin Zi had thrown her jewelry box at the mirror in her room and demanded Ling ready the carriage and find Tai Li. Lin ZI packed up a good deal of her things but not everything; she took both Hua and Wei and left the house. Tai Li was brought by Xiang Ling and all of Lin Zi’s guards and maids left with her and Lin Zi simply vanished. She left no possible way to be reached and returned to where everything began. She returned to where she was born, Changshan. The problem was… no one besides Zhao Ren and Shi Huang knew that Lin Zi would head there. Was this truly the final dagger that slashed through the once indestructible bond between Lin Zi and Sun Cai? Indeed a theory is proven here, secrets between family, even those kept because of fear or regret can still be the most damaging of all weapons…

Personality
Lin Zi thinks there is no one better then her when it comes to strategy. Even when she knows she is proven wrong she will argue her way out of taking the blaming for being wrong. Interesting enough she actually does take blame for things but only things she dubs as her fault. Getting her to admit she is wrong is about as likely as a person moving the heavens and the earth. She has blind loyalty to those that she believes are worthy of her abilities and will not question them even if she believes they are wrong. She has quite the attitude and can be a completely ***** to people, even prefect strangers. She demands respect when in command and will voice stern warning of execution if she doesn’t get it. She also is a well talented dancer and enjoying hanging around taverns from time to time. Not overly fond of drinking, she will when pushed. She can be kind hearted but rarely shows this type of emotion, expect with those you loves.

Something seems to have changed Lin Zi personality quite significantly. Whereas she use to be quite hostile and in some ways cruel, she had show a much softer side; this came to light not long after Kuangying was killed and Lin Zi adopted his daughter. However she was still arrogant. Zi however went into a complete depression after the death of her brother Zhao Ren. Thus a new personality was born. She had finally gotten over the fact that her brother’s death wasn’t her fault, thanks to friendly advice from Xu Yuan. However while she had returned to her arrogant way of thinking, she shows much more compassion to those around her than ever before. Perhaps there is hope for this young mother yet.

Appearance
Lin Zi isn't very fond of armor and mostly will wear her civil robe. She has even gone to battle in her robe and only put on her armored boots. The robe is colored dark orange with violet colored flowers all across the robe. Her hair is rather long, reaching mid way down her back. Its color is jet black as with her eyes. She has an elegent face and a slim figure. She will often have two fans on her. Though it looks harmless one is a deadly bladed fan, while the other is normal paper. They look nearly the same. She wears straw sandles but will often travel bare foot.

Lin Zi’s appearance has also made a noticeable change over the years. She has gotten over her disliking to armor and has found a comfortable set that she often wars even when there isn’t any sign of battle She now dawns a piece of leather that acts as a breastplate but does not cover her stomach. She has a long green sash that is decorated in silver tags of various origin and also jewelry. Both arms are covered by a long leather armguard that connections to the breastplate. A red cape is hung around her neck. She has done away with the use of a helmet. Many believe she likes this look because it is somewhat revealing. She has never admitted nor denied this however. Lin Zi has also changed her civil robe. She now wears a dark green robe with various patterns on I, the two most noticeable would be a phoenix and. the symbols of 长邬 “Forever Wu” is sewn into the garment. She has also put away her fans, rarely using them it seems anymore. It doesn’t look as if she keeps a weapon on her at all times; perhaps just a simple sword by her waist.

Lin Jian
Lin Jin - Father - A rather arrogant man. He wished to have a son his whole life but instead was blessed with three daughters. He thought of this as a curse and because of that, he was quite harsh to his children, more so to his youngest child; Lin Zi. This harsh treatment was in the form of abuse to her. He would slap and hit her often but never in public, where his image was at risk. He forbid any of his children to cry for it was a weakness in his mind. He wasn't always this way but alas being a father was something this man should never have become...

Sanyu Akiko
Lin Zi's loving mother. She is Japanese and thus is why Lin Zi is semi-Japanese, although neither never had problems because of that fact. Akiko loves her daughter greatly and is the only member of Zi's family that keeps in touch as often as possible. In almost every letter she writes she begs Lin Zi to come home to Japan. She doesn't mind if Lin Zi doesn't want children or a husband. However she isn't one to shy away from trying to convince her daughter to have both.

Lin Zhi
Lin Zhi took up becoming a general instead of following the path her parents or siblings choose to. She is quite a fierce fighter but neither her nor Lin Zi ever got along well as children. They were able to fix up their relationship as sisters as the two grew older and matured. However both do not talk to one another much.

Lin Mei
Lin Zi and Lin Mei have had a sibling rivalry going since the two could talk. Even at such an early they were very jealous of each other. No one quite understands why they developed this attitude but regardless it was there. Although try and try again, their parents could not make the two get along. Their relationship worsened when Shi Huang named Lin Zi's talent. Lin Mei works now as a politician and yerns for the day she can claim she is better then her little sister. Even though the two have different paths in life.

Xiang Ling
Xiang Ling is the personal bodyguard of Lin ZI and her good friend. He was assigned to guard her during the Shinjin Reiki rebellion and brought down the famous Doni Jin. Thus was why he was promoted to guard Lin Zi and become her unit's captain. However the two became good friends having worked together. Their friendship never escalated to anything more than that. Even now that Zhao Ren's empire fell. Xiang Ling remains loyal to the woman she swore to protect.

Shi Huang
Shi Huang was asked to teach Lin Zi would he knew. This was the man that visited Lin Zi when she was only nine years old and told her and her parents that she would become a famous strategist. This was what made Lin Zi even more arrogant then she already was. Shi Huang taught Lin Zi much about strategy but didn't teach her about becoming a mystic. He didn't believe it would be any good for her. Of course this very stopped him from scaring her as a child with his tricks.