Jaya

[Jaya]

Jaya
26. Sandbender, Earthbender, Metalbender 
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ALIAS(ES): The Shadow 
BIRTHDAY: April, 24th
BIRTHPLACE: Si Wong Desert
CURRENT: Republic City
FAMILY:

• Mother: Name, aged __. ____
• Father: Name, aged __. ____


ALLIANCE:  The Black Hand Triad 
Rank: Leader 
STATUS: Bender
POWER: Sandbending, Earthbending and Metalbending
ORIENTATION: Heterosexual


SCARS AND MARKINGS: Several scars along her back and legs from sand glider accidents and scuffles, as well as some smaller knicks and scars from her early years of thieving.  Jaya has tattoos around her wrist and forearms, symbols from her old tribe.  After the explosion the left side of Jayas face was badly burned along with the rest of her body.  The scars have healed somewhat thanks to Siku's help but they will never go away and they hurt and ache with any movement which causes Jaya great pain. 


UNIFORM: Given her 'rebirth' as The Shadow Jaya has decided to play the role.  She will dress in all black making sure it covers every inch.  Because of her extensive burns Jaya wears floor length dresses or pants and long sleeves with black gloves.  Jaya has also taken a page from The Ghost's handbook and has found a mask that she wears.  While she doesn't hide her identity from those in her inner circle Jaya likes the fear and mystery it causes in the lower ranks of The Hand as well as the public. 

Weapon: Jaya wears metal bands of varying sizes all over her person.  Some look like decorative accents on her clothing while others are concealed under her clothing on her wrist and ankles.  Jaya is able to manipulate the metal in various ways but her favorite is to take small 'slices' or strips of metal and use to as projectiles to slice and kill.  Jaya uses this mostly in place of regular bending for smaller task because its less painful for her. 

DESCRIPTION: Tall, slender and fit, Jaya is typical of what comes out of the desert. Brown eyes, long straight black hair and tan skin, having been darkened by the sun. Jaya doesn't really stand out within the Earth Kingdom, the only thing that can easily give her away as coming from the Si Wong Desert are tattoos across her arms that represent her heritage.  Her natural beauty has been scarred by burns and Jaya is more than a little bitter about that. 

PLAY-BY: Aruna Shields

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Fear: Jaya's biggest fear is having someone get too close to her. She puts up a tough, independent front but when someone gets close to getting past those defenses Jaya will close up and more often than not disappear and start over somewhere new.

While this fear is still a underlying one its not something she worries much about anymore.  Jaya has had a sort of epiphany since her accident.  She doesn't need to fear anyone getting close to her if everyone fears her and Jaya uses that fear to keep her new Triad in line.  However, The Hand is new and her power hasn't completely solidified yet and she fears uprising and rebellion. 

Desire: To live the life she feel she deserves

HABITS: Jaya used to crack her knuckles out of boredom but given her injuries now it hurts too much to do so.  In place of her old habit Jaya will pace slowly when she is thinking. 

PET PEEVE: Jaya is not a fan of people that try to tie her down, she likes her independence.

STRENGTHS:

• Strong willed
• Fast learner
*Can think on her feet
*Lives in a moral gray area
* Has little to no emotional attachment to anyone or anything.

WEAKNESSES:

• Refuses to let anyone get close to her
• Can sometimes over estimate her abilities
* Trusts no one
* Jaded
*Doesn't work well with others

TRAITS: Quick witted and able to think on her feet Jaya is street smart and dangerous. She is quick to throw up defenses and uses sarcasm, condescending remarks and low blows if it means it keeps herself protected. Jaya has a uncanny skill to throw herself in any situation and blend in and during her many years of thieving Jaya has picked up a variety of skills, most notably being able to read people and to observe her surroundings.  Incredibly jaded, Jaya sees things in black and white, if you have no use to her then you have no use at all.  She uses people to help further her own gains and any 'friends' she may have are strictly superficial.  Jaya's one and only concern is looking out for her and her best interest.  Over the years her jadedness has grown into something more sinister.  She believes in things as black or while.  Either you side with her and her desires or you are in the way and need to be removed. 

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HISTORY:


Then:

Jaya was born into one of the three sandbending clans in the Si Wong Desert, her mother was a native and her father a Beetle-Headed merchant. During complications with birth Jaya's mother passed, leaving the infant in the care of her father and grandmother but due to the demands of the trade business Jaya rarely ever saw her father growing up and was raised primarily by her grandmother. During her youth Jaya learned the basics of thievery, Sandbenders were well known thieves and would steal from travelers and strangers, this is where her education began and she and the other children would often go out to the trade areas and pickpocket the foreigners while the merchants did business.

As the years went on Jaya honed her skills (in theft and sandbending) and quickly became known as one of the best thieves her tribe had to offer at just 13 years of age. Many turned to her for help when it came to hard to acquire items and Jaya always rose to the challenge. When she was 15 a misunderstanding between herself and the chief of her tribe led to her banishment from her tribe. It seemed something valuable that belonged to the chief had come up missing and all evidence pointed in her direction. Jaya tried to argue that she was innocent but with her reputation no one would hear what she had to say.  As was tribe law theft and murder among each other was the worst crime one could commit and such a crime had to be punished in such a way that everyone the accused would encounter would know their crime.  The branding wasn't the worst part, Jaya could handle the pain but it was the looks she got from the people that she had grown to love as her family..that, that was the worst of it.  It was seeing the looks of disappointment on their faces that crushed her soul.  After that she was driven into the desert with limited supplies and left on her own.

Being on her own was a harsh lesson. Despite their unsavory reputation the tribes of the dessert had always taken care of one another and Jaya had never been on her own before. During the first few months on her own she quickly learned just how cruel the world was and what she needed to do to survive. It was a harsh lesson but the worst and most important one came some time later.  After being alone, barely surviving and holding on to the thought that perhaps one day her injustice would be corrected and that she would once again be welcomed home news reached her of just who was responsible for framing her and something snapped in Jaya after.  Her mentor and oldest friend Gopan had been the one to steel the item and pin it on her, figuring her to be a easy target since everyone knew of her rising reputation.  Knowing who had betrayed her and why had sent Jaya into a frenzy and that night she returned to her tribe in the cover of darkness and took her revenge, figuring if she had to wear the mark of a traitor and then she may has well earn it.   It was a hard lesson to learn but Jaya left that night a changed woman, one that would never trust or get close to others again and one that would only look out for her own interest.

After that Jaya wandered the Earth Kingdom and stole from anyone she crossed and after a few years on her own Jaya came across a young man that had been passing through and she quickly went to work. When she had picked his pockets clean Jaya made her getaway but the young man, wise to her tricks began to follow her and so began the chase.

All around the Earth Kingdom they went, Jaya always one step ahead and after awhile it became like a game. She began leaving little hints and clues on where she would be going next..just to see what this guy would do. When her finances started getting low Jaya returned to the Si Wong Desert to the Shady Palm Oasis and waited...it didn't take long for the young man to catch up with her and Jaya being the person she is bought them both a drink (with the last of his money) and had it waiting and so began a partnership.

Kenji was a quick learner and Jaya taught him everything she knew and in turn he taught her earthbending and some Di Li tricks. The two of them would routinely pull off heist and near impossible thefts that left the police baffled thanks to Kenjis Di Li background. Eventually, the two of them started a romantic relationship and things were going well for Jaya for the first time in a long time.

The honeymoon phase so to speak didn't last long however. As time went on Jaya realized just how close she was getting to Kenji and how much like her old self she acted around him...and that scared her. She had learned the hard way that the people closest to her would only turn on her and cause pain and Jaya would not let that happen again. It was then that she made the decision to leave and her chance came when a job went wrong. Jaya had left Kenji to take the fall for their crime and she ran (she never knew if he actually got caught bc of her set up but she didn't really care, either way he was behind her now and that was where he would stay)

After a few years of traveling Jaya eventually ended up in Republic city when she was 20, with money tight Jaya needed a job with a big payoff and she quickly searched out the criminal element in the city and began doing high end robberies for the Triads.  At first Jaya remained unaligned, renting out her services to anyone that was willing to pay but there was one Triad that always used her more than the others.   Jaya had become a favorite of the Terra Triad and eventually after reciveing a offer that she couldn't pass up she joined up with them, helping when it came to boosting cars and teaching others to become more efficient criminals.  With her reputation and expertise Jaya quickly moved up the ranks and she now sits as a favorite of the Terra leader and enjoys a lofty position.  No one is really sure what she does; some say its security and is the personal body guard of the head man, some say she is the right hand, others say she is nothing but some trophy and is there to please the boss and that is how Jaya wants it, the less they know about what she does the easier it is for her to work her own angles.  She does all of these things to some extent, finding it puts her in a position of power that no one else has and something that will pay off in her favor when the time is right.


Now:

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ANYTHING ELSE?

The branding Jaya received when she left her tribe is the desert dwellers symbol for thief, consisting of two slightly vertical wavy lines with another line through the center.  The brand is done somewhere on the face so the world will know and Jaya's mark is on the left side of her face near her eye.  It's was small enough but still noticeable.  The scar is gone now but has been replaced by burns. 

Jaya has a bit of a femme fatale air about her.  She has destroyed many lives to get to where she is and will continue to do so if it suits her needs.  Those that she happens to get involved with along the way are just collateral damage

Jaya suffered permanent nerve damage from her injuries during the explosion which causes her great, almost constant pain.  She uses a variety of methods to keep the pain at bay from herbs, medicines, vices and her regular healing sessions with Siku.  Bending is also extremely difficult and painful and while she is still a formidable bender Jaya only does so when necessary. 

The bands she uses are similar to those that Kuvira and her metalbenders use in the series.