Name: Hosta Tessen
Age: 25
Gender: Female
Race: Human (eastern heritage)
Height: 5'5" (165 cm)

Appearance:
Some might describe Hosta as a warrior monk, while others might just call her a punk. Her body is muscular but very lean, honed from extensive training and enough to make a man think twice. She's often recovering from some kind of injury, usually bruises or cuts, but occasionally even stitches or broken bones. Some wounds left their mark, including a variety of smaller scars, some larger ones, and even one on her inner right bicep that appears to have been cauterized. Heavy callouses are present on the "striking points" of her body as well, including her knees and elbows, and her knuckles are noticeably flatter.

Hosta leaves her upper body very open so that it may "breath," while her lower body is covered but free floating. She wears a halter top with a wooden bead necklace, decorative rope arm bands and hardened leather vambraces. Below she wears loose, baggy pants, tied off with a cloth belt then with an open waist skirt over it. She also wears gauze wraps around her hands, wrists, feet and ankles in order to prevent injury, though no shoes or gloves. Tattoos cover the majority of her body, from her feet all the way up to the base of her chin, composed of some elven text, swirling winds and dancing fires.

As of late, Hosta shaves her head but leaves a mohawk down the middle, which she has dyed a woody orange. Her face has the same durable appearance as the rest of her body, and with an often furrowed brow her expressions can put people on the defensive. It might be with a cocky smile or with an impatient scowl, depending on her mood.

Personality:
As one might expect, Hosta is a bit of a hot headed individual. She's direct, confrontational and pushy about what she wants, but quick to lose her temper. Conversations with her often involve ranting, complaining, and lots of swearing. If appropriate (used loosely), violence is very much an option for her, as she frequently engages in bar fights and the like. Hosta can be a very driven though, once she decides she really wants something, and can be supportive of others as well. She has a strong sense of justice too, though has trouble seeing or accepting the big picture.

Hosta is also quite an attention seeker. While it sometimes involves boasting or acting out, she'll sometimes go out of her way to please someone, even if not asked. In some ways (or many) she's still childish, liking physical affection, playtime and whining. The more she is comfortable with someone, the more it shows. At the same time, some of her womanly instincts are still intact, as she's protective of the weak and sympathetic to the unfortunate.

Strengths:
Martial Artist, Surprising Strength and Durability, Acrobatic:
While Hosta does possess some weapon usage knowledge, her specialty is with hand to hand combat. Her particular style uses much of the body, notably the elbows and knees, focusing on brutalizing the enemy into submission. While some of it is mental, Hosta is quite strong for a woman and can take a hit very well, more so than a typical man. She's still very quick and acrobatic though, making it difficult to get a good hit on her while easier for her to do the same.

Fire and Wind Magic Practitioner:
Hosta utilizes simple fire and wind magic in tandem with her martial arts. The wind magic focuses on creating minor distractions in a fight, such as blinding dust, but with enough force could be used to knock someone down. Meanwhile, her fire magic is really just meant to hurt the hell out of the opponent, incapacitating them with pain, which she uses more frequently. Her fire magic also grants her some resistance to extreme heat. While she primarily uses her hands to conjure her magic, the rest of her body is also capable, including her legs and lungs.

She also has certain techniques that she refers to as “jutsu,” which usually involve incantations and hand signs. These are generally more powerful spells, but require more time and energy to cast.

Medicinal Knowledge, Farm Hand:
While certainly not an apothecary, Hosta possesses a fair amount of knowledge about medicines and how to help someone recover. She's also knowledgeable about some less savory substances, including alcohol, smoking materials and hallucinogens. Some of this knowledge she acquired from working the fields in the Wetlands, so she's handy with that stuff as well.

Theatrical Dancing, Playing with Smoke:
With her acrobatic skill and femininity, dancing wasn't hard for Hosta to pick up. She might not be overly skilled, but with some fire and wind magic thrown in she can actually put on an impressive display. She knows some smoking tricks as well, again aided by her magic.

Mostly Multilingual:
Hosta can read, write and speak the common Wholland and Eastern languages pretty well, though one might notice a little deficiency with either. She also speaks a small amount of orcish, maybe just enough to get her point across.

Neutral Aspects:
Proud and Dishonorable:
Hosta has little trouble starting a fight, even if it means sucker punching the other guy. Despite this, she has gotten her ass kicked enough times to know when it is better to run. Her pride is sturdy enough to take the hit, plus she's content to have ruined someone's day. These tendencies do reflect negatively on her character though.

Fire and Wind Philosophy and Puns:
While learning her fire and wind magic, Hosta also learned their associated philosophies, which she sometimes quotes and takes guidance in. However, she will also engage in painful fire and wind puns.

Weaknesses:
Limited Lethality and Protection:
Hosta's style of fighting lacks real penetrating power, making it difficult for her to put down someone quickly and for good. This is all the more if the person possesses any kind of protection, like armor or a shield. Weapons are an issue for her as well, as her blocking ability is limited. This usually forces her to either fight at a distance with her magic or close the distance quickly. The one benefit is that she can usually take people alive if needed.

Chemical Dependencies, Bodily Pains, Hallucinations:
Hosta is a frequent smoker, but has luckily retained her stamina by virtue of her fire and wind magic and general athleticism. However, the chemical addiction is still there, and her mood quickly depreciates if it is not satiated. Hosta also sometimes uses certain drugs before combat (or just personal enjoyment), enabling her to fight harder, but with building side effects over time. She then self medicates, which really only continues the vicious cycle. She's begun to have mental side effects, including memory lapses, dizziness and hallucinations. All of this combined is also pretty hard on her wallet too.

Self Centered, Limited Loyalty, Short Tempered:
While Hosta does like to be around people and is an attention seeker, she's usually really out for herself. She is as nice to people as they are useful or nice to her, defaulting to a bad attitude if someone takes the wrong tone. She can turn on people pretty quickly too if confronted, and doesn't like people prying into her problems. Because of her short temper, these minor issues can escalate to unnecessary proportions too and drive people away.

Notable Equipment:
Mismatched Tonfas:
A pair of tonfas of slightly different style and color (one was made from an old chair). They're both hardwood, so while something like a sword would initially have difficulty cutting through, damage accumulates quickly. Hosta uses them sometimes for defense against weapons.

Folding Fan:
A simple folding fan made from sheets of wood, about eight inches in radius. Hosta uses it to assist with her wind magic sometimes.

Blow Tube and Improvised Ammo:
A small hollowed tube about a foot long. Hosta mostly just uses clay pellets, but does have some cotton pieces, reeds and seeds she's contemplated using. In combination with her wind magic the blow tube can actually do some harm, enough to kill or stun small game.

Various Drugs, Medical Supplies:
Hosta has a number of herbs, plants and other stuff on her. Some of it is to make her own cigarettes, some of it is for medical purposes, and some of it is for personal enjoyment. The most notable would be what she sometimes uses before combat, allowing her to fight much harder at the risk of bodily harm and long term side effects. In addition to her medical herbs and whatnot, Hosta carries things like gauze and stitching in the event of injury. It's not a lot, but it's something.

Kukri Knife:
A somewhat large type of knife with an axe like head. Mostly just for utility.

Likes: Brewing tea, partying, boys or girls, fighting, improving her crafts.
Dislikes: Criticism, being ignored, expensive stuff, the wealthy.
Habits: Smoking, playing with her magic, throwing her knife.

History:
Hosta was unintentionally conceived by some young eastern immigrants on their ship ride over to Wholland. Just as the family started to get settled in their new home they were forced to move again, fleeing from the ever expanding Peas’mak war and eventually ending up in elven territory in the Valleys of Wind. Her parents struggled to make ends meet, making for a poor environment to raise a child in, and Hosta received minimal love and attention. Being socially awkward and rough around the edges from her home, plus being a human, Hosta was not well accepted by the elven children. The lack of supervision, lack of activities and perpetual hunger led Hosta to start stealing food.

An elven lawman soon found out about Hosta, then tracked her down and got her whole story. On something of a whim, he thought she could be raised into a good lawman, as she could relate to the poor and a human would add variety to the ranks. He proposed that Hosta be adopted by the temple he was trained at, eventually convincing her family that it would be better for everyone.

And so, Hosta was taken to the "Tessen Temple," a place originally established by eastern elven monks. She was put through schooling, overtime learning both the common human and elven languages, among various other skills. She also learned the temple's signature combination of martial arts and fire and wind magic, which was styled around subduing people with minimal harm. While Hosta still maintained her rough edge, she was diligent in her studies, enjoying the better conditions, second chance and actual adult figures in her life.

Hosta didn’t get involved with the war. By the time she was of age the Alliance had the upper hand and it was expected that Peas’mak would surrender soon (which wasn’t exactly the case). She continued her training and duties at the temple, but also began serving as a lawman, patrolling the streets and the like. The fateful day came though where she heard shouting and screaming from inside a house. She broke into the building and came upon a (human) man that had just murdered a woman. Knowing he was outmatched, the man quickly surrendered, but did so with a smug smile on his face, taunting because of his surrender he had to be taken alive. Young and not quite possessing elven scruples though, Hosta proceeded to beat the man within an inch of his life, then burn him to death.

Word spread quickly. Hosta was reprimanded for her actions, and her justifications were poorly acknowledged. Eventually she was expelled from the temple and local law enforcement, but did avoid imprisonment. Sensing she was no longer welcome in the area, Hosta moved on, becoming something of a nomad. At one point, she fell in with some orcs, where she refined her martial arts and picked up many of their skills and characteristics.

The Phoenix Rebellion then surfaced and drew Hosta in, as she was sympathetic to the unfortunate and hungry for action. That time passed as well though, and Hosta again returned to her nomadic ways. She's mostly been going from job to job, wherever her fighting skills might be of use, some not entirely legal. Her destructive ways sometimes catch up with her though, be it individuals she's pissed off or occasional run ins with the law. Besides that though, part of her wants to settle down, either for stability or to find a mentor to improve her crafts.