Mulan backstory ideas
Mar. 18th, 2013 09:25 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
woman_of_valor In outline form until I can write it in prose:
Her full name is Hua Mulan, as in the Chinese poem but she rarely uses her family name for fear of dishonoring it. Plus it pains her too much, see below, to be reminded of what she has lost.
Mulan's father ran a school of fighting. It taught swordsmanship, archery and hand to hand. It also taught tactics and philosophy as well as herbology for plants which might be useful for the wandering warrior (edible, general medicinal, magical). Mulan studied with other students and her father was proud of her.
One day she finds a fortuneteller in the nearby village whom has eyes on her palms. This fortuneteller predicts Mulan's father's dream of the noble warrior will perish is she does not take up it's banner.
Mulan thinks nothing of it, since she already trains and studies as her father teaches, until months later when the Emperor's army comes to the Academy's Gates looking for men to fight in the Ogre War (the second?). Mulan's father does not see the wisdom of the War but says all are welcome to do as their heart dictates. Mulan leaves with the army.
After the War, Mulan returns home to find the Academy and nearby village destroyed by the Orges. She spends a week or so burying the dead to give them a proper burial. During the day she digs graves, at night she repairs her father's prized armor (what she wears in the episodes). The armor represents her ancestors to her, sort of a traveling shrine.
Sometime later, she comes across a scroll describing how a truly great warrior can get an invincible weapon by facing a dragon and forging said weapon from a scale or whisker (going with the Asian theme for dragons here). This can also be the final test for graduation from her father's Academy. Mulan finds a dragon and instead of killing it, succeeds in pulling a whisker out. The dragon congratulates her on her skills and wisdom in not trying to kill him, on focusing on the goal and not the challenge and offers to help her forge a sword from the whisker. This becomes the strongest sword of the realm which can even deflect magic.
Mulan goes a questing, eventually running into Belle and Philip.
Her full name is Hua Mulan, as in the Chinese poem but she rarely uses her family name for fear of dishonoring it. Plus it pains her too much, see below, to be reminded of what she has lost.
Mulan's father ran a school of fighting. It taught swordsmanship, archery and hand to hand. It also taught tactics and philosophy as well as herbology for plants which might be useful for the wandering warrior (edible, general medicinal, magical). Mulan studied with other students and her father was proud of her.
One day she finds a fortuneteller in the nearby village whom has eyes on her palms. This fortuneteller predicts Mulan's father's dream of the noble warrior will perish is she does not take up it's banner.
Mulan thinks nothing of it, since she already trains and studies as her father teaches, until months later when the Emperor's army comes to the Academy's Gates looking for men to fight in the Ogre War (the second?). Mulan's father does not see the wisdom of the War but says all are welcome to do as their heart dictates. Mulan leaves with the army.
After the War, Mulan returns home to find the Academy and nearby village destroyed by the Orges. She spends a week or so burying the dead to give them a proper burial. During the day she digs graves, at night she repairs her father's prized armor (what she wears in the episodes). The armor represents her ancestors to her, sort of a traveling shrine.
Sometime later, she comes across a scroll describing how a truly great warrior can get an invincible weapon by facing a dragon and forging said weapon from a scale or whisker (going with the Asian theme for dragons here). This can also be the final test for graduation from her father's Academy. Mulan finds a dragon and instead of killing it, succeeds in pulling a whisker out. The dragon congratulates her on her skills and wisdom in not trying to kill him, on focusing on the goal and not the challenge and offers to help her forge a sword from the whisker. This becomes the strongest sword of the realm which can even deflect magic.
Mulan goes a questing, eventually running into Belle and Philip.
