Born within sight of the legendary volcano Mount Storm-Top, she is the only child of the Lord of that province. In her first few years, she was raised as a dutiful lady, but it became more and more apparent that there would be no other heir. A physician was consulted, and he confirmed what everyone had come to believe. The Lady Yue could bear no more children. Her father was saddened, and Yue came to him and suggested she be put aside, and he take another wife, for the good of the land. He quietly told her that he would have none other than she, and then proceeded to make alternate arrangements.
She was 5 when he proclaimed before the court, and the visiting Khan, that his daughter would be training in the classic path of the warrior, as well as that of a lady. She really didn't understand what it meant, just that a lot of people made very funny faces, and she got to touch the shiny swords she had been told never to play with. This proved to be significantly less fun than she had expected.
The Khan grudgingly agreed to consider it, and held forth his blade for her to touch. As she was reaching out to the flat, he turned the edge to her, cutting her thumb deeply. Her eyes widened in shock as the cold steel slipped beneath her fur, but then a cold chill crossed her. Every lesson of courtesy that she had received played back and paid off in that moment. Rather than scream or cry, the little girl looked at her thumb, then at the sword, and finally into the face of her ruler.'
"Forgive this one, Your Mightiness, for her unspeakable rudeness. She seems to have made a mess, and gotten blood upon your blade. To prevent further mess, she shall withdraw."
So saying, she bowed, tightly clenching her thumb in a balled up fist, and backed away, then turned and strode from the room in a way that made her mother swell with pride. Once out of the court, she ran to her room and started to ball her eyes out.
The Khan was stunned, as was the court, by the girls actions. Tension rose as everyone watched the Lord and his eminent guest, and then came the laugh. Building from deep within him, a bellowing laugh came from the ruler and his muzzle cracked in a broad grin at QiQi's nerve and decorum. Switching the grip on his sword, he cut his own thumb, then let the blood mingle on the blade, declaring that as of that day, she would be considered an honored Prince, and that she would be allowed to train in the Arts of War, as befitted her station.
She spent many years training, both at home with the crow swordsman Teng who had trained her father, and at the high court with the half dozen boys whose birth was high enough to merit the Prince title. Being a girl was one strike against her in the court training, and having been elevated a social step was another strike. She did her best not to give them a third mark against her. As her parents taught her, she strove for excellence not by competing with those around her, but by competing with herself. She was equally graceful in victory and in loss, and in time won her fellow princes to acceptance.
When she was 10, her mother encouraged her to begin study in the ways of the warrior priest, as well as just the warrior. She knew that her daughter would never settle down to be a temple guardian, but great spiritual potential had been seen in her, awaiting awakening. She dutifully complied with her mother's wishes, and took well to the training, but to her it was always just that, training. She learned to focus her will into her weapon, to sense spirits around her, even to banish the weaker ones and fight the stronger ones, but it was all will and focus, not faith or love. Her mother watched his and despaired, fearing her daughter was forever lost to being a woman.
As the 7 Princes of Fortune (as they called themselves) grew, so did the scope of their adventure, and whenever they would hear of some wrong, they would sneak off and try to right it. In this way they stopped bandits, and, well, mostly bandits. But they were very good at it, and the roadways of the empire became quite safe as the Khan continued to arrange for them to overhear tasks.
Love and tragedy both struck when she was 16. One of her fellow Princes, Lian Shaiming, had invited them back to his lands, at the behest of his father. His sister was turning 16, and was to be betrothed, but the invitation was not couched in such terms. The Princes accepted, of course, and were housed and feasted as the honored guests they were. Lian Ming Ue was introduced to them, in hopes that there would be sparks. And sparks there were, but not from the source that they would have hoped for. QiQi and Ming Ue soon began walking out together, and worries rose. Protests were made, but her legal standing as a Prince made her courtship valid, and to object further would have been a diplomatic incident.
This stymied Ming Ue's parents, but not her brother. He had no personal problems with it, as both his friend and his sister seemed to be very happy, but he suffered to see the pain in his parent's faces. When he could no longer bear to watch them as they looked at the couple, he challenged QiQi to a duel. Calling her out as harshly as possible, he declared that only her death could wash away the shame. Mouthing many things he did not feel, he acted as the champion for parents he loved, but did not agree with.
He could not be dissuaded, and so they met shortly before dawn one week from the challenge, swords at the ready, and seconds at hand. Each waited for the first ray, hands at ready to draw. She knew her duty was to defend her honor, and the honor of her lover, but as she watched him prepare for the fight, she felt a twinge of something other than duty, other than her feelings for Ming Ue. She felt the stirrings of compassion. The result of the duel was an almost sure thing. The person before her was like a brother, she knew his strengths, and his weaknesses, and they were battling on ground to her advantage. He was their groups best archer, but was an inferior swordsman to the rest.
And then, in a moment of epiphany, she understood why he was acting as he did. He would die this day, freeing him from the pain of being torn apart by divided loyalties. She would have earned the unquestionable right to marry his sister, and so his death would serve his friend. He would have championed his parents, and so his death would serve his family. And he would not have idly stood by and allowed people to suffer, and so his death would serve his beliefs. It was the ultimate act of noble sacrifice.
And she took it from him. As the first ray of dawn began to rise, they matched gazes in the duel of gaze that precedes the duel of blades. Both knew who would draw first, and who would die. The rosy fingers of the sun touched then, and silver steel was bathed red in its light. QiQi had drawn her blade a fraction of a second faster, but it did not strike home. Instead, it buried itself in the ground where she had let it drop. Her hands, now empty, had clapped to either side of the blade, catching it before it buried itself in her throat. Staring up the blade at her fellow Prince, her friend, she sadly bowed her head.
"No one dies today, Shaiming. I yield. The battle is yours, please spare my life."
Ming Ue turned and fled the field of battle, and once relieved that her brother lived, shamed by QiQi's surrender, and horrified that she had let it come to this. Her parents brought her back in, and started spreading word that their daughter had been ensorcelled, and were soon demanding punishment on that score.
The Kahn, who had watched with regret as the drama unfolded, stepped in at this point. He did not punish the family, for to do so would have been to punish the noble son, but he did speak with them privately, after which a shaken silence followed on the subject.
Publicly, he exonerated QiQi of the sorcery charges, but let it be known that she had failed the obligation of the duel. As such, while she was to retain her title, and her rights, she would be exiled for not less than a year and a day, and forbidden to wield a sword for the term of her exile. Privately, he explained that he had arranged to send her to study abroad, at the Mobian University, feeling that it would broaden her education, and he commended her, noting that compassion and love are as much the hallmarks of a ruler as strength and honor.
Since then, she has attended the University. The gist of her story is known, although many feel it's odd that a girl is a Prince, they have found that calling her Princess meets either with deaf ears or a fight, and even barred the use of a sword, she is one of the more potent combatants there.
Xiao Lang Shen - Her father, and Lord of the Storm Top Province of the Empire of the Sun. He is a patient and devoted man who refused to betray his wife, instead finding a way around the lack of a son. His loyalty and solidity are his strong points, but his imagination is not. He solidly defends, and compassionately rules his province, but he can't be said to guide it. Instead, he simply keeps down the problems, and lets the people who know what they're doing do their jobs. All in all, not the worst ruler or father one could have. He has been shamed, somewhat, by his daughter's scandal and subsequent exile, but he hopes that the time will "straighten her out" and she will come back to the Empire, find a good panda husband, and settle down to await inheriting the province. In fact, he's so sure it will happen that way that he's starting to look at possible marriage arrangements.
Xiao Lang Yue - QiQi's mother. She is a striking figure of a panda, taller than her daughter and nearly as voluptuous. She was married to Shen by her parents, a fate which she accepted with grace, and duty, but not with love. In fact, Grace and Duty have been her watchwords for much of her life, as she worked at the subtle and incredibly difficult trick of seeming sedately delighted by life. When it was proven she was unable to have another child, she felt an odd relief, knowing that she would have served out her duty and be set aside so her husband could take a younger, more fertile wife. The fact that he refused to shook her world view to the core. In that moment, she took her first real look at him, and realized that he was not just the simple man who ruled by dint of fortunate birth, but a gentle and loving man. Her mask shifted after that, no longer hiding a regret at marrying him, but now a regret at not allowing herself to know him sooner. In the years since, she has even given up that regret, and looks forward to spending her life with him.
Khan Sying - Absolute ruler of the Empire of the Sun, he is the grandson of the first Khan, the great unifier of the eastern lands. A Boar-man, even in silks he has a slightly rough and wild appearance that leads people to assume he is the savage ruler of a barbarian land. This is a terrible underestimation. He IS capable of great savagery, if he feels there is the need. A powerful warrior and a master strategist, he is constantly vigilant for threats to his lands, and he can be brutal in their defense. This is less for bloodlust than it is because he is aware that a show of force at the proper time will cause others to hesitate. Far more clever and caring than he lets on, he is known for the occasional grand and magnanimous gesture, usually just enough to balance the people's respect with a bit of awe and the subtle hope that they might receive some of that rare generosity.
That, however, is his public face. He cares deeply, but feels that showing too much care will make others view him as soft. He feels that he best serves his people as a nearly monolithic figure. As such, rather than constantly basking in the glory of solving people's problems, he works to prevent the problems, moving with an iron fist and the look of eagles. If he sees that a drought in one province will hinder the economy there, he will start another road project. The majority of the able-bodied workers in that area will be pulled from the fields and conscripted to work, leaving enough to harvest the amount of crops his experts say can be salvaged. The work crews, though obligated to serve, do get paid, and thus money gets into that area despite the drought. He is seen by some as a bit of a tyrant, but no one can say he isn't fortunate for the empire.
Lian Ming Ue - Her ex-lover, Ming Ue was a princess of one of the 5 noble families of the Empire. While it wasn't love at first sight, it was pretty close to that, and the two of them became heavily involved, and expected to be married. Family and a duel came between them, however, and the combination of emotions at its end caused Ming Ue to break off the relationship with QiQi. She has been half convinced by her parents that QiQi had enchanted her, and has currently been engaged to another of the Princes. Deep in her heart, beneath the propaganda, she still loves her Panda-girl, but the maelstrom of other emotions makes that relationship an impossibility. Ming Ue was a squirrel-girl.
Lian Shaiming - One of the Seven Princes of Fortune, Shaiming was their greatest archer. Extremely noble, he plotted a course that would end in his demise, but be the most honorable resolution for everyone involved. Part of him regrets that it didn't happen that way. He enjoys still being alive, but he misses the days of the Seven Princes. Already, the group is breaking up as they take more of an interest in their own regions. Additionally, a few have started to look at the fact that the Khan has had no children, and has stated that he will choose his heir from their numbers. Given a chance to honorably do it, he would gladly pack up and head off to the Mobian University and be with QiQi. The one thing that she didn't realize in his duel plan was that he had had fallen in love with her, but knew her preferences and respected her enough to remain silent.
