[attr="class","field"]

[attr="class","field"]

[attr="class","field"]Ying Zheng was the 31st king of Qin who ended the Warring States Era by unifying China and ruled as the First Emperor, Shi Huangdi. His supposed father, King Zhuangxiang, was the last in line to inherit the throne and ruled for only three years before dying and passing the crown to his thirteen-year-old son.

Prior to becoming king, Zheng was a political hostage in Zhao, where he and his mother, abandoned by Zuangxiang to escape back to Qin, suffered years of violence from the locals who harbored a grudge against the Qin Royal Family for the Changping Massacre. Despite being the only two persons who could share their miseries together, Zheng's mother was devoid of any love for Zheng and attempted to kill him several times out of resentment for their situation. This hatred stemmed from the fact that she was originally to be wed to the merchant Lu Buwei until Zheng's father became smitten by her beauty and asked Lu Buwei to take her as his wife, to which Lu Buwei conceded.

Zheng desired to end all conflicts in order to put a stop to the vicious cycle brought about by constant war. For that, he set his sights on unifying China no matter the sacrifices. Zheng walked on a path where he believed each life used for his goal and survival was to sharpen the blade he swung to cut open a path of life. But as a young king who was practically powerless, Zheng's reign prior to his coming-of-age ceremony was playing the role of a naïve king and being the puppet of Lu Buwei, who rose to prime minister from his efforts and power in the court.

Lu Buwei was his constant adversary, pulling strings to ensure Zheng's downfall and cutting him off from any potential allies. Including this was his half-brother, Cheng Jiao, who was historically reported as a rebel and usurper when in truth, he had been framed and died with the truth never to be revealed.

Zheng was forced to constantly fight in losing battles but Zheng always managed to live for another day, stronger than before. Aiding him was his friend, Li Xin, a former peasant who would slowly rise through the ranks and become a general in the future. Zheng also won the favor of the mountain tribes after centuries of animosity between them and the flatland denizens. This alliance would be one of the greatest forces in Zheng's and the state of Qin's side.

Seven years in Zheng's reign, two years before he would be considered a man, Lao Ai, a eunuch from the harem, started a rebellion. Lao Ai was a man Lu Buwei had inserted as a eunuch to be Zheng's mother's, the Queen Dowager's, pleasure partner after rumors of Lu Buwei's affair with the Queen spread. The plan backfired as Lao Ai intended to put his two sons from the queen into the throne. The plan failed and Zheng was forced to illustrate the gravity of the crime by having Lao Ai be dragged by horses in the courtyard. He and his children were reportedly executed, but Zheng was merciful and per his personal stance, he did not desire for children to suffer from their parents' crimes. He spared them both and allowed them to live the rest of their lives peacefully with his mother, who he banished to a far and remote region.

Zheng's kindness pushed the Queen Dowager to confront Lu Buwei that Zheng was his son, not Zhuangxiang's. Rather than the change of heart the Queen Dowager was expecting, Lu Buwei had a “change of mind.” After a confrontation with his own son, Lu Buwei deemed the results profitable and gave Zheng his full support, starting by providing him education in governance and sponsoring for scholars to discuss the best ways to rule a country.

Although Lu Buwei's sudden support of the king was cleverly disguised, the rumor between their relation and the king's illegitimacy began to spread. Lu Buwei foresaw this and convinced Zheng to exile him under the crimes of having an illicit affair with the Queen Dowager. To bring the secret to his grave, Lu Buwei drank poison and killed himself.

Upon becoming king, Zheng relentlessly spearheaded the unification of China, sending generals to conquer lands right after another. He was also known to come and join the front lines where he effectively turned his armies into unstoppable forces due to his presence and charisma. In a span of nine years, Zheng was able to realize his dream.

But true unification was far from over. Zheng established new laws and systems, began projects to connect regions, and standardized currency. Upon the suggestion of his most trusted adviser, Meng Tian, Zheng ordered the construction of the Great Wall to protect China from the nomadic barbarians. Though peaceful, many were discontented by Zheng's rule from expectations that the new era would bring ease in living, but to Zheng, the battle continued.

With the flourishing of minds and the rise of the Hundred Schools of Thought, Zheng's harsh implementations was viewed to be tyrannical and his rule was a constant target of criticism. Zheng did not falter and continued with his bloody methods, all to make sure that everything would end in his generation.

But Zheng's life and the whole of China's took a turn when Li Si, Zheng's legalist instructor and China's prime minister, desired Zheng to be China's first and eternal emperor. Li Si revered the emperor, but had a low opinion of Zheng's eldest son, Fu Su, who Li Si believed to be unqualified to fulfill Zheng's legacy. When Zheng showed no interest of seeking the Elixir of Life, Li Si decided to bring bits of it to the king himself. He had alchemists brew concoctions which used mercury as a main ingredient and, with the help of Zheng's favorite concubine, sneaked them to his daily meals. For five years, Zheng ingested mercury unknowingly until physical effects began to manifest. When his concubine confessed the truth, Zheng set off to find cure at the guise of searching for the elixir, but to no avail. Tragedies such as history detailed struck right after another.

With Zheng occupied and absent due to his conditions, Li Si initiated the burning of all books, save for books related to warfare, medicine, agriculture, and divination. Hitting the limit of what he could handle, combined with his unstable mind, he had swept the country of shamans and false magicians and had them buried alive. The incident left Zheng haunted and eventually drove him mad. He began to hear voices and see faces of vengeful spirits cursing him for their deaths. Fearing he would suffer their wrath upon his death, he became more determined for immortality, sending expeditions to search for the fabled elixir.

During a trip with his youngest son, Huhai, his instructor, Zhao Gai, and Li Si, Zheng succumbed to old age shortened by his intakes of mercury. Following his death, his will naming Fu Su as heir and Meng Tian as head of military was hidden and replaced by a false one that named Huhai as heir. Fu Su committed suicide to prevent civil war and Meng Tian, having no salvation for justice, drank poison as well. Huhai became a puppet king for Zhao Gai and followed after his brother in despair. Fu Su's son, Ziying, was able to kill Zhao Gai and surrendered the royal seal to the rebels to avoid more bloodshed. But to quench the anger of the people, Ziying had to be killed. Upon his martyr death, the Qin dynasty fell.

[attr="class","field"]Zheng’s depiction in history follows his ruthless and questionable actions with the underlying objective behind them twisted or mistaken. The few fragments of truth that lingered point merely to the surface, failing to objectively recall the complex trials and tribulations along with situations beyond Zheng’s powers that he went through his entire life.

Zheng had been a broken boy abandoned by his father, the king of Qin, and neglected by his mother while they were politic hostages in an enemy state. Prior to his emotional trauma, Zheng had been earnest in becoming a good king, but his innate, good conscience haunted him for the crimes of his forefathers. He broke free from the curse through a realization that he should not bear these sins and should move forward to create a path where hatred would stop breeding, though this did not happen without a price.

With his spurt of precociousness, Zheng emerged as a strong-willed young man who had his eyes fixed on an impossible dream, taking strength from the sacrifices that had been done for him to live. Through meeting certain people, Zheng also developed more humanity in him, learning to express mourn and mercy, something that had been stripped from him during his childhood. He became noble, understanding, and faithful, all the while lamenting his inabilities, his flaws, and his cruel choices. But Zheng understood that no matter what, he must continue or all would be for naught.

Zheng did not forget his objective and lived calculating his reactions and words, as he required them in order to survive from his political enemies in the court and to win the hearts of his people. He was always guarded and vigilant - rarely at ease - but would appear calm to the point of insolence as he hardly showed fear even at the face of despair and death. This did not mean that he never showed genuine emotions, however. He was blessed with few but great, honest people he could trust.

Many consider Zheng’s ambition to be admirable, foolish, or mad, or a combination of all three. Zheng himself did not seem to honestly think so and thought it was an obvious choice. His sureness in things otherwise impossible often catch others off-guard, but as a great, charismatic leader, not many would doubt his claims, especially since he saw his dream to fruition.

Zheng has no other desire left except see to it that the peace will continue. Though certainly, he isn't without any possible ideas.

[attr="class","field"]

• Zheng is an exact representation of a typical king: loyal subjects doing his bidding. His main muscle are his own version of Servants. Unlike the Servants summoned by the Grail, they are weaker and are not simply spirits. They have clay bodies turned flesh which their souls are anchored in. The power responsible for this is Bingmayong, while the one that allows Zheng to act as a Master and provide classes for the Servants is the Mandate of Heaven.
• Doesn't know any form of magecraft. Reliance on Noble Phantasms. So much. He has a ceremonial sword and knows swordplay, but he's not a real warrior.
• His playing field is to sit cozy in his territory, like any other king.
• Without a territory for mana replenishment, Zheng is severely limited to five Servants at the same time, assuming he only needs to keep them materialized.
• He cannot summon an army all at once as it actually involves the use of two Noble Phantasms, so he has to bid his time building them. The mana capacity of having thousands of soldiers under him is not normally possible without his generals who help mitigate the strain. As such, killing them can effectively destroy a portion of his army.

[attr="class","field"]

• [attr="class","stat"]STRENGTH
  ▬ E
• [attr="class","stat"]ENDURANCE
  ▬ ▬ ▬ C
• [attr="class","stat"]AGILITY
  ▬ ▬ D
• [attr="class","stat"]MANA
  ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ A
• [attr="class","stat"]LUCK
  ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ B
• [attr="class","stat"]NOBLE PHANTASM
  ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ EX
  Bingmayong - Army of Terracotta Warriors. From his city-sized mausoleum is the world-renowned army of terracotta warriors, life-sized clay figures carved with a master's hand and armed with real weapons of the finest quality. Roughly numbering to 10, 000, Zheng can make the clay flesh for them to fight for him again. As such, these soldiers have bodies as Noble Phantasms. When without prana to sustain their forms, they will return to clay. Similarly, if killed in the flesh, the body crumbles. The army does not consist of just soldiers. There are merchants, doctors, scholars, shamans and even normal civilians among them. He also has an armoury and horses to aid in combat.
• [attr="class","stat"]NOBLE PHANTASM
  ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ EX
  Mandate of Heaven - Son of Heaven. Acting similarly to a Grail, the Mandate of Heaven is the selector of kings, which assigns Servants under the king it chooses in a class. Being selected as king by the heavens allows Zheng to serve as Master to his subjects in his previous life.
• [attr="class","stat"]NOBLE PHANTASM
  ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ A
  Fen Shu Keng Ru - The burning of books and burial of shamans. An absolute form of censorship, tyrannical in every way. The black flames spouted from Zheng's left hand are physically harmless. Instead, they erase any living or non-living that Zheng desires from existence. The effect varies from one's ability to resist it, making the damage gradual rather than instantaneous in some like Servants or their noble phantasms. Damage from the flames has no side-effect, but it is more vulnerable to it if not completely healed over time. The curse vanishes upon Zheng's death or by the cutting off of his left hand.
  
  Originally mistranslated as "the burning of books and the burial of scholars" and an act that had been put under Zheng's name, the power centred on censorship and became a curse for Zheng to bear.
• [attr="class","stat"]NOBLE PHANTASM
  ▬ ▬ D
  Imperial Library - Archive of Lost Knowledge. Contained in one of the miraculous structures in the world, the Epang Palace, is the imperial library housing the state's archives and copies of illegal books, particularly books brought forth by the Hundred Schools of Thought. Zheng has access to all these lost knowledge, but they appear blank to him due to the censorship he'd caused. Anyone else with the capacity to understanding the book's contents will be able to read it in full Chinese. The books count as a Mystic Code, serving as a tool for potential enlightenment. Once read, the characters vanish from the scroll.
• [attr="class","stat"]NOBLE PHANTASM
  ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ EX
  Wanli Changcheng - The Great Wall of China. The symbol of Zheng’s life and purpose - the unification of China and protection from outside forces. It’s not his dream alone, but also of the future generations that follow up until today. The Noble Phantasm is not literally a wall, but an impenetrable mineral that can be shaped to any form and grown infinitely according to the will of the king. To hide his identity, Zheng turns it into the form of an earth dragon. Ordinarily, the phantasm has a major weakness. The destruction of the area it was summoned in will result in the de-materialization of the wall. While in China, however, the area reaches to the entire of China, making the weakness practically obsolete.
  
  The construction of the Great Wall was from the mind and effort of General Meng Tian, but since it had been large attributed to Zheng, it became his Noble Phantasm.
• [attr="class","stat"]ITEM CONSTRUCTION
  ▬ ▬ ▬ C
  Zheng can only make one thing: the false Elixir of Immortality, which contained the mercury that shortened his life. In Zheng's time, the concoction is commonly used by true magicians to enhance Magic Circuits at the expense of their lifespan, but the distorted knowledge of it fell to ordinary humans, who believed it to be key to immortality. Repeated consumption of mercury can increase Zheng's Mercurialism.
• [attr="class","stat"]TERRITORY CREATION
  ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ A
  Given it is underground, Zheng can recreate the tunnels and rooms of his mausoleum rigged with traps. In his tomb is the mythical ocean of mercury facing a ceiling punched with precious gems. While in his territory, Zheng has extremely high mana replenishment that the rate he gains them makes it quite unlikely for him to run out.
• [attr="class","stat"]CHARISMA
  ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ A
  Through speech, Zheng can inspire valour from others. They gain fortitude, breaking away from any form of mental interference such as pressure, mind control, and fascination, and gaining an increase in Endurance.
• [attr="class","stat"]COUNTER ASSASSIN
  ▬ ▬ ▬ C
  Zheng was a walking miracle. From the circumstances of his birth as a political hostage to his outrageous ambition to unify China after 500 years of endless conflict, Zheng, favoured by the heavens, lived through multiple assassinations, rebellions, and of course, war, having been able to die a natural death. Servants of the Assassin class have their Luck reduced by a level. Will also apply to those launching a surprise attack albeit temporarily (until their presence becomes known).
• [attr="class","stat"]MERCURIALISM
  ▬ ▬ D
  A curse from his previous life. Zheng continues to experience the effects of mercury poisoning in occasional attacks, impairing his vision, hearing, and speech, and inducing uncontrollable shaking as well as bouts of paranoia and irrationality. At a higher rank, Mercurialism provides prana. While under the state of Mercurialism, his Charisma decreases to D.