Lia Duan

Lia Duan is a Pandaren monk aspirant.

Growing up in Kun-Lai
Lia Duan was born and raised in the Kun-Lai Summit, on a farmstead that raised yaks and cultivated crops.

During her childhood, Lia was close friends with a boy named Baodam Mu. As they both grew up, Lia and Baodam became closer. Lia began to develop affectionate feelings for her friend, though he did not reciprocate.

During the conflict in Pandaria brought by the Horde and Alliance, Lia's family backed the Horde as they began to establish themselves in Kun-Lai. As the Yaungol began to invade the region, they ultimately came to assault the farmstead owned by Lia's family.

The Horde came to provide aid, but only after the Yaungol had raided the property and set fire to much of it. Despite their late arrival, Lia would come to admire the Horde, wanting to help it in the future.

The Vale's destruction by Garrosh Hellscream drove something of a wedge between Lia and Baodam, as Baodam was angered by the Horde, despite Lia attempting to defend them. Baodam decided that the best way to use his time was to help with the relief efforts across Pandaria to repair the land after the war the Horde and Alliance had brought. This surprised Lia, who still had feelings for Baodam, as he abruptly left for the next few years to help rebuild. Having no contact with her friend, Lia stewed in frustration over her unrequited affection.

The Bloodletter Warband
Five years later, Lia finally decided to take her life into her own hands and left the farmstead to travel to Orgrimmar and join the Horde. Her fondness for the Horde had not wavered as she remembered their assistance from the Yaungol years ago. Not long after entering the Orcish city, she met with Caewyn Strongspear.

Lia challenged Caewyn to a duel that ended in Lia's victory. The two praised each other's strength and fighting prowess before returning to the Wyvern's Tail where they had met.

The young Pandaren eventually met Caewyn's adoptive father, a Thunderlord Mag'har Orc by the name of Graul Strongspear. Graul kept what appeared to be a large frostsaber as a companion, but revealed it to actually be a Night Elf druid by the name of Reyan. Lia quickly befriended Reyan, giving the meek and abused elf a pleasant reprieve despite Graul's ire. Lia eventually challenged Graul to a duel, betting that if she won she would be allowed to bring Reyan to visit Pandaria with her, and if she lost she would owe Graul two worgen pelts.

The duel ended in Graul's victory, but he decided to change the conditions of their agreement by recruiting Lia into the Bloodletter Warband. Lia would be a new unblooded member for a short while before the abuse Reyan suffered in her enslavement finally became intolerable to the pandaren. As she stood between Graul's punishment and Reyan, a paladin by the name of Aelenicus stepped in to duel Graul for ownership of his slave. Aelenicus was victorious, and used his "ownership" to free Reyan to her Kaldorei people. Reyan's parting wish was to meet Lia in Pandaria one day.

Graul called Lia back to the Wyvern's Tail, and promptly exiled her from the Bloodletter Warband. Despite her frustration with being cast out and her mistake in confronting authority, she was content with her part in freeing Reyan.

Mercy is for the Weak
Lia began to spend her time outside the Warband in attempting to help the Horde wherever she could in combat. She showed great restraint, never killing her enemies but instead leaving them incapacitated. This ultimately backfired, however, when an enemy she spared proceeded to shoot an ally next to her, leaving her with incredible guilt.

The guilt only compounded when Caewyn confronted Lia with the revelation that her daughter, Xenara, had been kidnapped by Reyan, the slave that Lia had defended and helped set free. Lia suddenly became distraught and confused as her perceptions of mercy were being challenged to such an extent. Turning to Caewyn for advice, the words "mercy is for the weak" became central to her as she began to train herself to believe those words.

As she trained, Lia began to prepare herself for what she thought what be a suitable act of redemption: killing Reyan. To prepare herself, Lia captured a Night Elf priestess. Wanting to be ready to kill a Night Elf like Reyan, Lia engaged in a brief discussion with the captive that drove the pandaren into a violent rage, pummeling her foe to death and coating her in elven blood. She came to the conclusion that Reyan had betrayed her trust and was not the good person that she had believed her to be.

Having made her first kill, Lia gradually became more agitated and quick to anger. Her anger began to manfiest as violent, destructive outbursts that made her almost feral in behavior. One day, at the Wyvern's Tail, a half-elven monk by the name of Quiren Springcrest was able to sense Lia's pent-up anger and took her under her wing to train Lia to put her anger to more productive use. Lia was successfully taught how to summon Chi, and agreed to become Quiren's student.

As part of Lia's training, Quiren brought Lia on one of the Bloodletters' missions to rescue Xenara. Lia was ferocious, snapping the neck of an Alliance soldier before the Bloodletters moved on to the next objective. They battled the nobles Lady and Lord Ashbury, who held Xenara captive. The battle wounded Lia heavily, progressively driving her into a feral rage that ended with her violently mauling Lord Ashbury even after he had died, creating a gruesome mess that only ended with Lia's exhaustion.

For her involvement in rescuing Xenara, Lia was allowed back into the Bloodletter's camp, and Graul accepted her presence. Lia mentioned that had been training to eventually kill Reyan, and Graul stated that he wanted her to do the deed and bring her heart to him for consumption.

Time passed as Lia carried on her training and helped the Bloodletters before a letter was delivered to her by Reyan requesting to meet in the Kun-Lai Summit. Seizing the opportunity, Lia made the journey to meet Reyan. The druid was ecstatic to reunite with her friend, and pleaded with Lia to join the Alliance, claiming that she did not belong among the savagery of the Horde.

In response, Lia lashed out at Reyan, attempting to strangle her to death. Reyan retaliated in self-defense for only a moment before trying to escape, which Lia denied. She soon begged Lia to stop, only for the pandaren to choke the life out of her, with Reyan's last words being a drawn out "Why?"

At the end of the fight, Lia was surrounded by a dark, monochromatic aura. The Sha had taken hold of Lia, and she screamed in unadulterated rage. Under the corruption, she was compelled to wander for five days without rest or sustenance, seeking an outlet for her rage and thirst for violence against the Yaungol she had grown to hate.

Worried for her student, Quiren followed the Pandaren's trail to find her student under the Sha influence. The two battled, only for Lia's feral ferocity to overwhelm Quiren's skills as a monk. Though Quiren expected the deathblow, Lia did not deliver one, instead collapsing due to fatigue.

Using her mother's ability, Quiren was able to purge the Sha infestation within Lia. The two shared a lengthy discussion in which Lia revealed her regret in killing Reyan and her shame in becoming infested by the Sha. The two agreed to bury the Kaldorei, and that her body would not be desecrated further by removing her heart. Instead, they decided to present a goat heart to Graul as a substitute, and made camp for the night.

A Calming Presence
With Reyan's death and the false trophy delivered, Graul welcomed Lia back into the Bloodletter Warband as one of its members. Lia was deeply troubled by the events in Kun-Lai, but was able to put them behind her and return to enjoying herself among her friends in the Warband.

Shortly after Lia's venture to Kun-Lai Summit, Baodam Mu arrived in Orgrimmar. He had heard that Lia returned to Pandaria, but was too preoccupied to meet with her before she left, and decided to visit the Horde capital to try to find her. He was successful in meeting Caewyn, who seemed to admire Lia's ferocity and determination to kill Kaldorei without remorse or restraint. The description perturbed him as he moved on to locate his friend.

Baodam and Lia reunited in the Bloodletter's camp, where the former expressed his concern that Caewyn was a bad influence upon her and that he was worried about what she had said. Though the two overtly agreed that there was no immediate problem, Baodam decided he would stay among the Horde to keep a watchful eye on Lia.

At the suggestion of Cas Autumnwing, Lia was expected to confront a dangerous Silithid in the ruins of Ahn'qiraj. The exact reason for it was mostly unknown to Lia, though in reality it was suggested because it would test the extent of her strength and her seeming need for a fight, whilst giving her an outlet for her rage and frustration.

Before she made her venture out into Silithus, Lia decided to visit the Wyvern's Tail for a drink and encountered her first Pandaren outside of her homeland. She approached the Pandaren woman, who had been gathering materials from a cactus. Her name was revealed to be Akania, and the two bonded quickly as they shared tea in the Wyvern's Tail. As they talked, their conversation soon shifted to talk of Pandaria. Lia suggested that they take the nearby portal to visit the Jade Forest, and the pair did so. They decided to rest on a hilltop overlooking the Jade Forest, introducing Lia to a side of her homeland she had never before seen.

Lia and Akania enjoyed the moment and took in the sight of their locale. As they got to know each other, Akania eventually suggested what she referred to as a date. Much of Akania's behavior was clearly flirtatious towards Lia, catching the latter off-guard but not disturbing her in the slightest. Lia agreed to see Akania again in the future on their would-be date.

Lia joined Quiren and Jolon Stormrunner - one of Cas' "Bloodhawks" - in Silithus to confront their quarry. The battle was quick and decisive, with the group ultimately slaying the Silithid. Cas arrived to collect her desired prize, with Lia and Quiren returning to the Bloodletter camp.

A few days after Lia's trial, she went to her date with Akania in Sri-La Village. She decided to be as formal as possible, wearing a Pandaren dress instead of her trainee garb, much to Akania's pleasure. The two went to the small tavern owned by Smiling Waiyu, sharing a meal of soba noodles before leaving to stand on the bridge. There, Akania confessed to romantic feelings for Lia.

Lia was hesitant, both unfamiliar with any form of love that was actually requited and also the fast rate that their relationship was developing at. However, Lia did not feel any objections to Akania's advances, and the two shared a kiss before Akania vanished, promising to meet with Lia again in the future.

Having no time to change out of her date wear, Lia hurried to join the Bloodletter Warband in the Eversong Woods, where supposedly they were to meet. She was met with a grisly sight of void creatures murdering a child. Though the void apparitions were destroyed, the deceased child spewed void all over the gathered Bloodletters, driving all of them to attack one another.

In Lia's case, she instantly became feral, assaulting Graul and almost tearing out his throat with her mouth alone, as well as tearing off flesh from his face. After defeating Graul in her wild rage, Quiren attacked her and drew her attention. Lost in her murderous drive, Lia once again ferociously assaulted Quiren, and was defeated only by being shot at point-blank range when Quiren fired a loose tooth from her mouth using Chi.

Quiren and her fiancee were able to help Lia recover from the void's influence, but the experience left Lia feeling immense guilt once again for losing control. Having been reminded of what it was like to lose control under the Sha, Lia decided to pay a visit to Reyan's grave.

WIP

Description
Lia is a Pandaren of black and white fur, with black rings around her eyes. White fur covers her face, chest and stomach, the rest of her body bearing black fur. Her eyes have a blue coloration. Her hair is very long, often tied into a braid with a strand falling over the left side of her face. Oftentimes she wears garments not unlike what most Pandaren understudies would wear.

Personality
Lia typically possesses a positive and compassionate demeanor, and shows a lot of energy in her behavior with a fondness for sparring between friends. She often tends to show herself to be naive or inexperienced. However, she is very easily agitated, which can drive her to become aggressive, if not completely violent. When pushed to her limits this rage can often result in almost feral behavior, such as clawing and biting at her enemies.

After killing Reyan, Lia cemented her willingness to kill, but also develop a sense of self-loathing, which would escalate whenever Lia was unable to control her anger. At one point she even admitted to hating herself for her actions whilst mourning at Reyan's grave.