Tianxia:Kouki Fukui

Background
In the mountains of Japan, there once was a powerful, nearly all-female (be it by freak coincidence or quirk in blood, none of the offspring of the women were ever male) clan known as the Kouki clan, who referred to themselves as 'Shrine Maidens.' Though they took upon many of the same tasks as the Mikos of Japan, and stylized their wear after them as well, the family did not often perform rituals or blessings, and served more as contracted exorcists then anything else - they had no patron deity, instead relying upon the power that was carried down their bloodline to grant them power to both hunt Youkai, and perform blessings. Though decried for their brazen nature, and perhaps more rightfully loathed for their tendency to 'steal' the techniques of other clans, they none-the-less managed to garner quite a lot of success in their heyday.

The reason for the strange ability that flowed in their blood, and ultimately, their success? An long time ago, within the mountains of Japan, there once stood a magnificent Genius loci. Named the Tower of Babel, after the famous structure of myth, it was crafted by a family of sorcerers, whom aimed to bring enlightenment to the world. Crafted as a testament to man and god alike of their ingenuity and creativity, it housed an enormous amount of tomes and countless knowledge, accumulated over the span of many. A wondrous structure, it was said that a man could spend but five minutes within its gilded halls, and emerge with knowledge of the subject they studied indistinguishable from mastery.

Though exaggeration, the structure was still an incredible work of art, thanks in part to the nature of its birth. Knowing that no mere building could possibly house the knowledge they wished to gain, they crafted a knowledge spirit, a Genius loci, and made the tower to house it. Born to house, retain, and impart upon others the knowledge it held, the spirit was gifted with both a spiritual and corporeal form, allowing it some degree of autonomy. The plan was to allow it to eventually travel the world, gather knowledge, and return. A plan that would never come to fruition.

As with all good things, eventually it had to come to an end. As is inevitable with these kinds of things, a number of the family grew corrupted by power, and sought to use the Tower for greedy ambition. Styling themselves after gods, and calling themselves the "Council of Babel," they fought the rest of the family, resulting in a (rather short) conflict that lead to, surprisingly enough, the council winning. In the aftermath of the feud, the Genius loci refused to bow to the victorious members of the family who sought to use its power to lord over Japan, and instead chose to self-destruct. The resulting implosion resulted in the family getting wiped out, and tower sinking underneath the earth, falling dormant for many, many, many years.

However, as the ruins of the shattered tower sank into the earth, the sole surviving member of the Council of Babel managed to unwittingly absorb a large amount of the tower's remaining essence. Unaware of the power they now carried within their veins, the human went into hiding, eventually coming to settle upon a far corner of the globe, and unwittingly passing the very power they had waged civil war over down their bloodline. For hundreds upon hundreds of years afterwards, the Tower slumbered, until one day, as fate would have it, four sisters built a shrine upon the (long since buried) ruins of the Tower of Babel.

After but a few weeks, the remnants of the Tower's power began to leak into the sisters. Granted a fraction of the power that lied dormant, the sisters were, at first, confused. Then, confusion turned to realization, and with realization, came the seizing of an opportunity. Using these newfound powers, they carved out a name for themselves, establishing the Kouki clan as one of great renown for quite a few years. In turn, the faith (in the form of confidence and gratitude from those they aided) they unwittingly gathered in their clan fed the dormant Tower, causing it to stir after so many years.

But, like all good things, that renown came to an end. Over the years, as civilization began to modernize, youkai became less and less of a threat - and as a result, so did the Kouki line begin to fade into obscurity. On top of that, the clans which managed to more successfully make the tradition to the modern-day world also paid back the dishonor they felt, tenfold - using their influence, they effectively wrote the clan out of history, erasing what legacy the remnants of the clan once had. So far from grace have they fallen, that there is only a single member of the bloodline left alive.

And, in a surprising turn of events, he is not a female, nor a member of the bloodline.

Though a female was always supposed to succeed the bloodline, in Kouki's case, there was very little choice. Of the final two heirs to the clan, one was infertile, and the other unwilling to attempt to produce a child, in spite of the badgering of her sister. Realizing that its very existence was in danger as a result of tis, the Tower chose to take a last-ditch gambit. Prematurely resurrecting itself, it appeared upon the shrine's footsteps one day, resuming its personified form after so many years. Of course, as the result thousands upon thousands of years of slumber combined with a last-ditch seat-of-the-pants plan, the tower's conscious memories were unintentionally wiped in the process, leaving the knowledge spirit with amnesia. Seeing the memory-less boy who appeared upon their shrine as an opportunity, one of the sisters took him in, and raised him as her own.

Dressing him in the clothes of the shrine maiden, and teaching him their ways, Kouki's mother brought him up as the heir to the bloodline, teaching him how to use his abilities (Which, unsurprisingly, were the exact same that Kouki's presence had granted to the clan, his adoptive mother deciding to write it off as merely a 'happy coincidence'). This continued for a time, until upon his fifteenth birthday, his mother fell prey to illness, leaving Kouki as the sole remaining member of the Fukui clan. At least, the sole remaining member willing to still practice the art, and uphold the name - his aunt had left the shrine a number of years before his mother's death, decrying the continued attempts to 'keep a dead legacy going'.

Nonetheless, Kouki carried on. For the next two years years, he dutifully carried on with his duties, with a work ethic that would make most green with envy. The boy constantly strove to continue to propagate the Fukua name - though, with the continuous decline of faith in Youkai, it became an increasingly difficult task. It did not help matters that his shrine was/is located in the mountains of Japan - while back in the heyday of the clan's fame, it had helped to propagate a "mysterious" image to add to the clan's reputation, in the modern day it is an utter inconvenience which gives the shrine extremely few visitors.

Try as Kouki might, the outside world simply had no more need for exorcists, or shrine maidens, or anything of the like - it has little to fear from youkai, and the arts of the past are decried as nothing but placebos. However, one day, Kouki was contacted by a secret organization, one dedicated to preserving, teaching, and expanding on the arcane arts - the University of Arcadia. Hungry,and tired, the offer came as a surprise - and a new hope for both the boy, and the legacy of his clan. Offered a choice between living a hard, broke, and miserable life of hunger and irrelevancy, or carving out a newfound name for both himself and his lineage, in an institution that would give him food, shelter, and perhaps even respect, Kouki accepted.

Power/Combat
Gate of Babel

Kouki has the ability to duplicate techniques and create temporary copies of weapons/tools that he witnesses. Though for only a short period of time, with a higher cost to him (conservation of matter and all that), and at considerably reduced effectiveness (For example, a mighty Meteor might turn into a mere Fireball. An enormous great-sword would likely smash to pieces upon contact with a real sword.). due to a combination of having forgot how to use said powers properly, and thus being taught secondhand, as well as innumerable years spent in slumber, leaving him more then a little rusty.

Though he is unaware, there is also a second facet to his powers - a nearly photogenic memory for facts. Places, herbs, books...He's basically a walking Wikipedia, due to being a knowledge spirit crafted for the sole purpose of retaining knowledge.

Personality
Hardworking and diligent are the first two things that come to mind for Kouki - once the boy starts a task, he sees it through to the end. He is quite devoted to his studies in the university, both within and without, and badmouthing either it or the arcane arts as a whole is a good way to get upon his shit-list rather quick (inversely, membership in said organization/giving a good word to either it or magical practices will earn one quick points).

Sociable enough, and friendly too, the boy is quite quick to trust, and aside from prior-mentioned sore spot, it's actually rather difficult to get on his bad side. However he is somewhat more initially reserved about Youkai, though still refrains from undue aggression, and is still more then willing to give them a chance.

In conversation, he will take a quite soft-spoken voice - yet oddly, speak with enthusiasm, and attempt to oftentimes lead the conversation, showing not even a hint of timidness or shyness. It would be a mistake to call him passive - yet, with his mannerisms, and gentle tone of dialogue, one could be forgiven for assuming that he is reserved. Even while angered, upset, or even overjoyous, his tone of voice will barely change - which can cause something of an odd disconnect between wording and intent.

Spellcards
Currently both possesses none, along with no real knowledge of the spellcard system.

Major
Hateshinai Wakari - Teacher, mentor, the one who originally invited him to the University.

Trivia
He carries the light scent of cherry blossoms upon his hair - a byproduct of his hand-made shampoo.