ARIAL KAIRYU
BACKGROUND
Arial was born June 8 in the Tenryu Shrine, Chou district, Nakano ward, Tokyo. For most part, her childhood was unremarkable. The first born child to the shrine keeper, she was expected to do all the normal chores associated with that position. When she was four years old, her brother Daiki was born, and he would be the one to inherit the shrine. As the years passed, both children grew, and so did the beginning of a life-long sibling feud.
Arial attended the local all girls school where she had few friends; her chores at the shrine severely limited her free time. Arial, more of a tomboy than her classmates, actually preferred spending her free time in study than with her friends. Due to this, many classmates came to the conclusion that she was standoffish and that she thought that she was better than them. This resulted in her classmates mostly ignoring her, which caused her to spend more time by herself studying, which lead to a circle that didn't end until she entered middle school.
Arial also spent one day a month at her Aunt and Uncle's dojo, which is located in the Nishihara district, Shibuya ward. There she would be watched over by her elder cousin Akika, pestered by her younger cousin Mirin, and harassed her only male cousin, Seiji, who was one year and one day older than her and the only other blond in the family. Here she first started to practice the Arts. After several years of study, Arial decided that she would take up the bo, but she did continue to practice kendo, though she never would reach dan level.
Things remained as such for Arial for many years, up until her twelfth birthday, which was when she discovered what fate had in store for her. The morning of her birthday, while taking a morning stroll through the Shrine's gardens, she encountered four strangely dressed young men, ranging in age from early twenties to early teen. They introduced themselves to her as the Four Dragon Gods of the Tenkai, the Gods that her families shrine was dedicated to. Before the shock of that wore off, the eldest of the Dragon Gods, Toukai Suryu-ou Gou Kou (The Dragon King of the Eastern Sea Gou Kou) proclaimed her the chosen Avatar of the Dragons, the focus of their will on the Ningenkai.
Arial did not take it well. After she was convinced that they were on the level (by some judicious usage of magic) she valiantly protested that they had to have made a mistake, that she could in no way be their earthly servant. They had to have mixed her up with her brother.
They were adamant in their announcement, saying that forces beyond her had proclaimed her destiny as the Dragon Avatar. To prove this, Gou Shou, Nankai Kouryu-ou (The Dragon King of
the Southern Sea) summoned a glowing sphere in front of her and asked her to reach in. If she
wasn't their Chosen, nothing would happen. If she was, the weapon of her office would come to her. With trepidation, Arial hesitantly reached into the sphere. Inside, she felt something, and took it into her hand. The light condensed into a golden staff, four intricately carved dragons of different colors twined about it. The Staff of Colors. At this point Arial conceded that they were correct, and then promptly fainted, much to the Dragon Gods' distress.
When Arial regained her senses, she was back in her room, with one of the Dragon Gods in
attendance, Gou Shou. He apologized for him and his brothers, for bringing such a shock to her.
Then he disappeared.
Over the weeks, as she gradually accepted what fate had planned for her, the Dragon Gods appeared to her more often and they began to teach her what she, as Avatar, needed to know. Her skills in the martial arts were satisfactory, and they began to teach her the mystical elemental arts that she would need to know. She excelled in the study of the Black (water and weather) and White (wind and air), competent in Blue (earth) and a complete mess in Red (fire). Strangely enough, she got along with Gou Shou better than the others, and soon looked to him as though he was an elder brother.
The invasion of the Youjakai and the battle between them and the Samurai Troopers occurred the spring before her thirteenth birthday. Due to the threat, Arial was brought to the Tenkai prior to the first invasion, and for the second, shorter invasion in which the Samurai Troopers were victorious. During her stay in the Tenkai, she received the Golden Dragon armor.
After her return to the Ningenkai, her training went on as normal.
Arial first met Mouri Shin, her betrothed, a month before the 'Kikoutei Densetsu' incident, and was introduced to his friends some time later. {Arial's Interlude} Sometime after that, Arial found out who the Samurai Troopers were. {Arial's Interlude and Shu's Interlude} It was also at this time that Arial discovered that she and Shin were soul bound, enabling them to hear each others thoughts. Due to the circumstances involved, Arial ended up telling the Samurai Troopers the story behind her armor, but was not believed. As of the beginning of 'Troopers ½', the Troopers have only seen one of the five armors, the White Wind armor, and two of her attacks.
ABILITIES
Arial possesses as of yet undefined mystical abilities. She has a feel for magical items and can sense the presence of demons and nether beings. Arial can also sense passive and active curses and spells. She may also have some undefined psychic abilities.
Due to her training under the Dragon Gods, she can create ofuda (wards) that draw on the power of the Dragon Gods. These ofuda can be used in a number of ways. She has also studied incantations, but has not much practice in using them.
Other abilities - Arial is a dan ranked martial artist, specializing in the bo. Her speed, strength and agility are normal for one with this skill ranking. However, her endurance is incredibly high, and her rate of healing is highly accelerated for a human.
FAMILY
Arial has a rather small family. Her father is an only child. Her mother is a second child. She has only one sibling, her younger brother, whom she is not on good terms with.
Tahomi - Father. Head of the Tenryu Shrine. He has no idea of his daughter's destiny.
Mika - Mother. Second daughter of the Date family.
Daiki - Younger brother. The perpetual thorn in Arial's side. He lives (it seems) to make Arial's life miserable.
Seiichiro - Grandfather. Head of the Date house.
Saeko - Grandmother.
Naoko - Aunt.
Soichiro - Uncle. Adopted into the Date house, married to Arial's aunt.
Akika - Elder cousin. A responsible girl.
Seiji - Elder cousin, future head of the Date family and wearer of Korin.
Mirin - Younger cousin. Seiji's version of Daiki. Arial doesn't get along with her very well either.
THE DRAGON GODS
The Tenkai Shrine is dedicated to the four ancient Dragon Gods.
Gou Kou - Toukai Suryu-ou (The Dragon King of the Eastern Sea). He is the Blue Dragon, Head of the Ryushu, and his element is the earth. His azana is Hakukei.
Gou Shou - Nankai Kouryu-ou (The Dragon King of the Southern Sea). He is the Red Dragon. His element is fire. His azana is Chukei. Acts as Arial's elder brother.
Gou Jyun - Seikai Hakuryu-ou (The Dragon King of the Western Sea). He is the White Dragon. His elements are the wind and air. His azana is Shukukei.
Gou En - Hokkai Kokuryu-ou (The Dragon King of the Northern Sea). He is the Black Dragon. His elements are water and weather. His azana is Kikei.
Due to an ancient pact, the Dragon Gods cannot act directly on the Ningenkai, and so have an Avatar on earth to serve them and to protect them when they appear in human form. Naturally enough, the Dragons are highly involved with her welfare, treating her like a loved member of the family. Gou Kou protected her from Ryo's soenzan attack back in 'Arial's Interlude'. Arial generally refers to them by their azana.
THE DRAGON ARMOR
To serve the Dragon Gods properly, the Avatar has a special set of mystical armor based on each of the Dragon Gods.
Blue Earth Armor - The Earth armor.
Red Flame Armor - The Fire armor.
White Wind Armor - The Wind armor.
Black Typhon Armor - The Water Armor.
Each armor gives the wearer increased speed, strength, and agility. The armor also protects from damage from mystical and mundane weapons and attacks. Each armor has specialized attacks, based on each element. The combined form of the four armors is called The Golden Dragon Armor, which combines the power of all four armors into one. Arial has never used this armor, and its powers and abilities are unknown.
As of 'Troopers ½' the only armor we have seen in use is the White Wind Armor, which is the armor Arial normally uses in skirmishes. She has used two attacks associated with this armor, and displayed that she can manipulate the air around her. The abilities of the other three armors are currently unknown.
THE STAFF OF COLORS
Arial has one weapon at her disposal, the Staff of Colors. It is used with all five armors, and can be summoned and used sans armor.
Though used to focus her elemental attacks in her armor, the staff is used primarily as a normal weapon. The staff is five and a half feet long, one and a half inches in diameter. It can be separated in the center to create two battle staves, and at each end are retractable two foot blades which can be used in both staff and stave form. Arial is adept at using it in both forms, with or without blades. The staff is near indestructible and can ward off blows from weapons such as Korin-ken without damage.
As was briefly mentioned before, the staff is decorated with four dragons twined about it and each other. The dragons' colors are naturally enough blue, red, white and black. The staff itself is made of a golden colored material, looking much like wood.