Wu Zetian

Despite her delicate appearance, Wu Zetian plays the role of close combatant on Unit C210 and shouldn't be understimated on or off of the battlefield! She is the crown princess of the Azure Dynasty, Tianlan Wangchao, which rules Zhongguo under the watchful eye of their recent conquerors, the Kingdom of Accia. Like a handful of other princesses, Zetian has set her sights on Prince Aldric Syltharis, hoping to marry into the throne of their unexpected sovreign. Among these women, she is the most persistant and conniving, endlessly ambitious and dedicated to becoming empress. Only princess Makeda Samrawit seems up to the competition, far more patient and subtle than Zetian. Despite both princesses having their eyes on Aldric, Zetian gets along well with Makeda and they share a mutal respect behind heated aspirations. But Zetian, raised amid the elaborate but cuthroat politics of the Si Xiang, craves a deeper rivalry to drive her forward. And, at least from her own perspective, she finds her destined rival in Tia Minx!

Zetian is a dangerous individual especially in combat, ready to fight anywhere and at any time. Whether taking on the features of a water dragon or melting away into molten lava, she appears hardly human flitting about the battlefield and inflicting terrible damage with both her martial arts and draconic claws! Damage rolls off of her azure scales and terrible heat seeps between this shimmering armor, ready to sear her foes as she dances across rain and fog. Neither delicate or defenceless, lightning, fire and water all roll over her harmlessly but her steely hide also disuades her enemies weapons. If one is truly unlucky, they may even feel the burn of her lava limbs! All of these abilities and more are possible thanks to her divine blood, allowing her to draw out more from her elemental connections than the ordinary human. Seemingly invincible to the common foe, she keeps her few weaknesses carefully concealed--especially her weakness to the cold.

Zetian is long limbed and feminine, her frame slender and elegant. She has a comely face, not as striking as Shi Yang but beautiful all the same. While her natural hair and eye color are an ordinary black, she prefers manifesting parts of her her magic form almost constantly, granting her keen yellow eyes and alabaster locks.

Because Zetian has inherited two rare and powerful manifestations, she is endlessly proud of her dynamic and fantastical magic form. In fact, her form is so fluid her appearance can change drastically between which parts of her form she manifests. Casually, she flaunts azure scales along the edges of her face alongside a long, slender tail with tufts of white fur running down its spine and yellow horns and eyes. An orange searing glow may peek from beneath her scales if they aren't lined with a golden yellow sheen.

Zetian emits considerable heat at all times but when emotions run high, this heat can grow severe and a rusty crimson hue will burn in her eyes! And when Zetian wants to show off her volcanic heritage, she can present the markings of Ralgotar's Body. Rusty yellow-orange stains her scales or skin and a hot glow mimics the path of a meandering lava flow—reserved for special occasions.

In battle, Zetian makes ample use of her sharp white talons and might fully armor her body with shimmering dragon scales, able to manifest them accross every inch of her skin. Most of these scales are azure blue but the stretch of scales from her chin, down her neck and along her belly are actually yellow. The molten gleam flowing underneath her draconic hide become more apparent in combat, burning those foolish enough to touch her scales. But her most drastic transformation is granted to her by her divine ancestor--transforming herself entirely into lava! It starts within the core of her body and, when shifting completely, lava spills from beneath her scales until they are overtaken, seeming ot melt away.

Zetian is the crown princess of Tianlan Wangchao, the Azure Dynasty ruling Zhongguo under the watchful eyes of their recent conquerors, the Kingdom of Accia. They are among the four Si Xiang which descend from Ralgotar himself, governing in his stead as their eternal emperor hibernates. Each time he chooses to take the long sleep, he appoints one of these dynasties to rule—whichever of the four that have pleased him the most. As such, the politics withing the palaces of Penglai Shan are highly competive if not cutthroat, competing for Ralgotar's favor with one single restriction: they cannot kill members of the Si Xiang! Instead, they must find more clever and elaborate ways to compete and impress their sovreign when he awakens--all carefully designed for the entertainment of their ancestor who detests boredom.

Tianlan Wangchao, the Azure Dynasty which Zetian belongs to, was chosen by Ralgotar during his last awakening. Recently, there have been signs indicating Ralgtar's iminent return and, given their loss to and subjugation by the Kingdom of Accia, her clan has been desperate to regain autonomy. To this end, they have been preparing young Zetian fastidiously for her military service in the Accian Military Training Program. In addition to the traditional training and education of a Huaren princess, she has been trained by the best martial artists from across Zhongguo! Determined and ambitious, Zetian values nothing more than her dynasty and the future of Zhongguo. She aims to distinguish herself in service and to secure an engagement to Prince Aldric, believing if she can marry into the throne of this massive empire Tianlan Wangchao might still impress Ralgotar enough to retain his favor. After all, it is more than the right to rule she and her kin have at stake. If their patron emerges before they can regain some semblence of sovreignty, Ralgotar is almost certain to eradicate their line completely!

Zetian is endlessly ambitious and cunning, believing in the superiority of her dynasty and at times, herself over those around her. She is naturally competitive, seeking out challenges and chances to prove herself superior at every turn—a tendency which is commonplace within her palace walls. However, the competitions between members of Si Xiang have endless rules and stipulations, tools for Ralgotar's descendants to compete without being able to resort to direct violence. This has left Zetian naturally polite, tenacious and shrewd in order to conceal her brooding, scheming and over-confident nature. Whether a product of her environment or simply part of her persona, Zetian fails to see how she can come across as dramatic, arrogant and self-indulgent.

Despite all of her ambition, she is still a cautious soul and enjoys clever schemes to get what she wants—but one should never forget her enduring and ruthless temper. For when she does fight, few can stand against her! And despite all of her theatrics, plots and overconfidence, there is a single purpose which lies at the core of every passion and scheme: her devotion to Tianlan Wangchao. Zetian truly reveres and believes in her family and in her calling to serve them. She believes it is her purpose and destiny to marry Aldric, to restore her clan to their divinely appointed power. And above all, she reveres Huangdi, the Huaren name for Ralgotar.

Zetian led an extremely pampered lifestyle in Penglai Shan. In fact, because of their divine ancestry, members of Si Xiang are viewed as divine themselves. This has given her an inflated sense of superiority, expecting the same reverence from all she meets and recognizing very few as her equal. Those she will ever view as on her level must meet high if not impossible standards, including that which none can control—their ancestry. Despite all of Tia's distaste for politics and disregard for her position, Zetian comes to see her as a legitimate threat and rival thanks to Tia's own Syltharian heritage. After all, she even holds a high position as the sole heir of one of the Ten Houses, the very house which rules over Zhongguo at that!

Upon learning of Tia's lineage, she immediately recognizes that Tia is her greatest threat to marrying Aldric (especially when she spots Tia leaving Aldric's secret hideaway!) Yet a little part of her enjoys having a real rival. Up until Tia appeared, she found the competition between she and the other princessess lukewarm at best. Unlike the rest of her kin, Zetian had always been untouchable amid the volatile politics in Penglai Shan. Since she is the same age as Aldric, she has been considered their best hope to claiming the throne of Accia as she would train alongside him in AMTP. No one would dare oppose her openly, the status of crown princess all but assured—so long as she was victorious. She watched while her kin were ever vying against each other and the other dynasties, Zetian alone never able to sharpen her own political wit. Never able to prove herself superior by cunning or cleverness. So despite her bad temper, she comes to enjoy her supposed competition with Tia to win over Aldric, no matter how frustrating an opponent she proves to be.

Besides her war of the heart with Tia, Zetian has come to enjoy the company of another vying for Aldric's hand: Makeda Samrawit. Both girls are far more deliberate in their pursuits as compared to the blatant and overzealous flirting of Eshana and Yang. In fact, these two seem far less resolved to secure Aldric as a fiance and pursue whoever they choose in the meantime. Zetian and Makeda respect each other's dedication to their roles and have found quite a bit in common, despite some occasional nastiness. Outside of members of unit Unit C210, Zetian lets few others approach her. In fact, because of religious reverence, there are recruits of Huaren descent who tend to her needs as though she were still residing within the palace. This has served to retain her royal insulation and sense of superiority. Yet as she schemes against Tia, she forms a peculiar relationship with Andrea Stahlmann who has her own qualms with Tia.