Tseng-Yao Blackpaw



Little is known about this enigmatic crime lord, apart from his direct Black Market affiliations and his position as the figurehead of the criminal organization known only as "Jushido". Suave and smooth-talking in most scenarios, he is capable of immense cruelty to match his cunning and wit. He is a well-connected and dangerous member of Pandaria's criminal underbelly.

=Appearance=

Tseng-Yao Blackpaw an intimidating member of his race, lacking in all the warm jovial disposition associated with most Pandaren. Indeed, his smiles are sinister and conniving, his gaze hard and focused, and he carries himself with a calm, smooth, poised sense of purpose and authority.

Black and white fur covers the entirety of his form, kept in meticulously fine condition at all times. His short raven black hair is always slicked back, thick tufts of fuzz growing from either side of his jowls with a thick short tuft adorning his chin. A pair of bight luminous blue eyes can reflect everything from insidious charm to barely-restrained murderous fury. His only adornments are a pair of white gold earrings and a black cloud serpent design dyed into the white-grey fur upon his back at all times. A pair of diagonal scars marr the right side of his muzzle, the only blemish to his otherwise perfectly-groomed appearance.

It's a rare sight to see the Pandaren let loose his temper and lose his composure, but such moments are terrible and terrifying, indeed. The majority of the time, however, an intense stare, a cruel grin, and a calm ominous tone are all he needs to get his point across. Still ... there's always a palpable sense of furious seething hatred just barely contained beneath the surface of his sinister smooth-talking facade.

When not in his casual silk and satin attire with his fine mushan-leather belt and boots, he can instead be found donning the ornate suit of dark armor he once wore as a Shado-Pan Blackguard, now turned into a symbol of intimidation rather than protection by those who behold it. A long broad-bladed lanseur is strapped across his back, the handle wrapped in alternating black and red satin in a decorative criss-cross pattern, a brass-capped tassel of yak fur hanging from a short braided satin cord attached to the butt of the weapon shaft. His maker's mark is engraved into the right flat side of the large blade--the exact same design as the "tattoo" upon his back.

He can often be seen in the company of his personal entourage or a pair of Yaungol bodyguards, often with his hozen personal lackey and messenger, Zik-Zik, accompanying him.

=History=

Tseng-Yao is a member of a clandestine order of organized criminals working for the Black Market and answering directly to Madam Goya simply called "Jushido". Operating within a strict code of criminal "honor", the Jushido acts as debt collectors, deal enforcers, informants, and smugglers for the Black Market and its clientele.

Once the highest-ranking lieutenant of his organization, Tseng-Yao took matters into his own paws and "fired" all the other members, when his former boss began letting power go to his head and began to play things fast and loose. Unwilling to reap the consequences of his leader's carelessness and increasingly sloppy work, Tseng-Yao launched an elaborate one-man coupe, slowly turning each of the other members against one another and allowing them to kill one another off, until all that remained was he and Jin-Hai.

His paws reddened with the blood of his former boss, Tseng-Yao now seeks to rebuild the Jushido from the ground up, learning from the mistakes of his late associates and employer.

Cunning, ruthless, and cutthroat, he stops at nothing to see to the interests of the Black Market and upholding the principles of the Jushido.

Tseng-Yao was not always a hardened criminal, however. Indeed, he had once pursued an illustrious career as a warrior of the Shado-Pan, inheriting his father's suit of armor and following in his footsteps. He trained hard as both a soldier and smith and brought pride to his family and father's legacy. This would not last, however, when his increasing power and skill began to inflate his ego. The life of self-control, patience, humility, and service to the people that were expected of a Shado-Pan warrior held no interest to the young Pandaren, and though eager to venture out into the world and tempt fate upon his own terms, the Shado-Pan was not an order so easily abandoned ... nor did he wish to shame his kin. His desires would cost him dearly, when his attempted escape from the Monastery was halted by one of his masters that discovered the would-be runnaway. Unwilling to face punishment and dishonor his family, Tseng-Yao slew him right where he stood, so that he could flee without consequence. Knowing full well that life as he knew it was over, Tseng-Yao fled out into the Steppes, panicked and unsure of what to do. Surely he would be caught for what he had done, likely executed ... what was he to do? It was in this moment of uncertainty that he was approached by a representative of the then-boss of Jushido, Jin-Hai Nightbrew, who offered him a solution. His organization would personally cover Tseng-Yao's tracks and ensure he would never be found, in return for Tseng-Yao's loyalty to the Jushido. Desperate to not to face retribution for his murder and risk disgracing his family, he readily agreed.

His family has no idea to this very day about Tseng-Yao's criminal affiliations, nor that he even still lives. In fact, "Tseng-Yao Blackpaw" is not even his true name, and this is a secret he guards closely, for obvious reasons.