So, on this and other Pandaren Monks I have several characters I may portray. I’ll go over a couple here:
The first character made for this Monk is Zhaoyang Cloudpaw. Zhaoyang was born into a legacy of fighters, dating back to the Zandalari Wars. Her family trains Monks in Mandori on the Wandering Isle, and this too was originally to be Zhao’s vocation. Eventually Zhao’s eyesight began to fail, growing exponentially worse by the year, then the month, effecting her training and life more and more. Her eventual blindness, and the difficulty that came with it, drove her to depression, which in turn stifled her training.
Following a fateful spar with her father Zhao was inspired to once more resume her martial training. Under her mother’s tutelage, she focused her study on a single weapon, the sword, in an attempt to compensate for her disability. Outwardly she pursued work as a masseuse, finding it to be manageable and fulfilling work. When the Alliance and Horde arrived on Shin zin Su, Zhao was given the sword Yo-nara, a family heirloom, as part of a mission to learn of fate of the Cloudpaw name on Pandaria.
Years later, after years of travel and combat experience, Zhaoyang endeavored to expand her martial knowledge; seeking once more to become a full-fledged Monk. After a pilgrimage throughout Pandaria and some time with her mother and other masters between Mandori and Boralus, Zhaoyang has now finished her training; ready to inherit leadership in her family’s martial style, the Wave. Until such a time comes, she continues to wander, giving massages and collecting coin and stories in turn.
Pingyang, Zhao’s mother and current Grandmaster of the Wave Style, is also a character I sometimes portray, but there is too little about her to be worthy of sharing in a thread like this, I feel. There’s also a fair bit of lore about the Wave Style itself and the Cloudpaw Shao’din as a whole, but I digress.
Next is Liangyu. Like Zhaoyang, Liangyu comes from a lineage of fighters and especially Monks; the Wintergales, vassals of the Winterclaw Clan, a collection of shamanic assassins dedicated to the protection of Pandaria. Liangyu was raised to serve this purpose, trained in several martial styles from the famous Tiger and Crane styles to clan exclusive styles. Her practical and occupational prowess soon earned her a place among the clan’s protectors as a General, and later the favored General of Yun Winterclaw, eldest daughter of the clan’s leaders.
A few years before the lifting of the mists, the Winterclaw Clan participated in an invisible war throughout Pandaria, acting against a cabal of Mogu warlords. Liangyu participated in many battles during this conflict, contributing to what could have a swift victory in the clan’s favor. Instead, the war was ended in a single final battle, an unexpected direct attack on the Winterclaw’s home compound using the full remainder of the Mogu’s forces. This marked the mutual end of both forces, leaving only scant scattered survivors on both sides, Liangyu and Yun among them. Seeking to exact vengeance and remove the threat of the cabal for good, Liangyu and Yun launched a vendetta against the survivors among their foes. Though mostly successful, their victories soon came at a price. The anger with which they pursued their task soon led to them nearly falling to the Sha. After the incident Liangyu and Yun parted ways, with Liangyu seeking to join the Temple of the White Tiger as a priest.
After years of service to Xuen Liangyu, along with several other priests, embarked on a pilgrimage together. They now travel Azeroth on a journey of discovery, seeking to learn more about the many fighters beyond their homeland; their methods, motives and philosophies.