| By Ezvil | Part of the The Mayor's Downfall continuity. |
Basic Info[]
The current mayor of Republic City, Jiàn is a very enigmatic person who isn't afraid to speak his mind. He refers to himself as a "mind-bender," claiming he can essentially manipulate his own words and predict the speech of others in order to accomplish his tasks.
Age has treated Jiàn well, as evidenced by Bolin's remark that "There is no way Jiàn is almost the age of Tenzin." His dark hair has started to fade to grey, but his face does not look quite as defined as Tenzin's. Jiàn's navy, gold trimmed cloak and his decorative sword give him an almost regal appearance. However, the simple leather "armor" Jiàn wears beneath his cloak gives the impression that Jiàn can relate to the common man. In addition, Jiàn wear a simple, bluish-grey "tailcoat" and keeps his hair straight when out in public, partially to help him seem more approachable and partially to mask his identity slightly.
Childhood[]
Jiàn was orphaned at a very young age when a bloodbender killed both of his parents in front of him. Jiàn was then tortured through bloodbending daily for a few months, as the bloodbender wanted an artifact that belonged to Jiàn's father. However, Jiàn eventually built up an immunity to bloodbending, and, as a result, managed to break free of his bonds and scream just loud enough for Avatar Aang to find and rescue him.
After being rescued, Aang allowed Jiàn to stay at Air Temple Island and be raised by the Air Acolytes, although Aang eventually began taking Jiàn with him on a few of his trips with Tenzin when Tenzin once came to Air Temple Island with Aang. Tenzin and Jiàn became very fast friends, mostly as a result of how Tenzin did not get along too well with his own siblings.
When not with Aang or Tenzin, Jiàn spent a lot of his time reading and developing his own knowledge. He became intrigued by the idea of swordsmanship and eventually took up learning it, although he refused Aang's offer to have Sokka teach him, as he wanted to be more independent.
Personality[]
Jiàn's personality usually depends on the person he talks with. With Tarrlok and other people he dislikes, Jiàn is often sarcastic and appears to be a kind of cocky elitist. He even speaks sarcastically to Tenzin as well, but in a far friendlier manner due to their long friendship. When speaking on more unfamiliar terms, Jiàn speaks seriously and diplomatically with as eloquent of a tongue as Amon when speaking publicly (in private conversations, he does not use as fancy of language). Jiàn will do anything to keep Republic City safe for its people, even if it means siding with the Equalists.
Combat[]
Jiàn is an incredibly talented, self-trained swordsman. According to Tenzin, his skills were on par with Sokka's, some even saying his skills surpassed Sokka and even Pian Dao. However, in combat, rather than killing his opponents by slicing them, Jiàn usually cripples or knocks his opponents unconscious by utilizing the hilt or broad side of his sword. He does occasionally use chi-blocking as well, but swordsmanship is his forte. Despite his age, Jiàn is pretty nimble, more nimble even than some benders. However, he is not capable of covering great distances with jumps or dodges due to his lack of access to either fire or airbending.
Abilities[]
Part of the reason Jiàn is able to combat so many benders at once is due to the immense reading he undertook during his youth and adolescence. Having studied nearly every style and movement for each of the four bending disciplines, Jiàn is able to accurately counter and even sometimes predict nearly all of his opponent's strikes.
Jiàn is also nearly immune to bloodbending as a result of the long-term bloodbending torture he experienced as a child. He is currently the only non-bender and the only non-waterbender besides Mako who has resisted bloodbending.
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