Han Xu Liang

I envisioned Xu Liang is from a shadow where the Chinese empire continued to flourish and grow in a 'best path' because of their understanding of Chi forces. They merged or conquered all the surrounding empires including the Japanese, Korean, SE Asian, Indian and they were working their way towards Europe when the Black Road appeared.

The Black Road forces came from the north and required the resources of the entire empire to hold back. The final defeat of the Black Road forces cost the Empire almost all of their leaders, Scholars (Chi Magic Users) and armies. It remains to be seen whether the empire could piece itself back together with the remnant that remained. Thus mirroring what occurred in the Corwin saga.

Xu Liang's part was small as he was just a Junior Scholar, albeit a powerful one. After the war he received visions and began his quest to find Amber. Now he is a young man who is looking for an honorable path to adventure.

In other games he was older and more central to the war efforts and eventual defeat of the invaders. Gerard comes and gathers him up at the end of the battle (In this game when Oberon returned he sent many of the family to retrieve these lost Amberites) and he fakes his death to leave with him. (This is much closer to the historical Zhuge Liang that he is patterned after who actually died while on campaign.) After the war my character was so tired of bloodshed that he refused to use a sword, instead using his fan as his only weapon. He plays more of a wise sage in those games, often counterbalancing the younger characters. He was working to slowly build a power base among the lower classes by bringing in cheap labor from his home Shadow and in the intellectuals with a University. In another game he was also the Harbormaster, a post of considerable power when you think about it.

I decided to go with a younger less Machiavellian character this time.