Amaji, Shaman of the North

Full Name:
Amaji Hama Tenkara

Nicknames:
Ama or Ji (friends); Shaman Lady (usually from little kids); Shaman of the North (formal)

Gender:
Female

Age:
37

Element:
Water

Birthplace:
Northern Water Tribe

Position:
Shaman of the North

Training:
Master Waterbender
Master Healer



Personality:

Amaji is, first and foremost, a riddlemaker; she enjoys causing people to think upon their own questions by giving them another form for them, rather than give them the answers outright, although she usually already knows the right answer. Other than her enjoyment of making people think, she is a genuine and caring person, compassionate for every living thing and wanting to help all who are willing to seek aid.

She is an extremely calm woman, laid back although stubborn as an ox. The calm before the storm, as she is sometimes referred to, Amaji is not usually one quick to temper. When angered, she is a force to be reckoned with; many have also referred to her as a tsunami or hurricane, and within the first few moments of meeting her, many acknowledge the fact that she is not one to mess with.

Her kindness and generosity is well known, though she is best known for her mysterious ways. She's a secretive person, never delighting in revealing her own self to others. As well as this, she portrays the role of shaman quite well in her eccentric methods and

She is headstrong, and strong-willed, sometimes making her hard to deal with. Upon first meeting her, you'll either immediately adore the sweet, caring side of her, or hate her stubborn, secretive nature. Eventually though, even those who do not like her are usually won over by her kindness and generosity, if not else curious about her actions and her past.

Amaji has also seen death quite a few times in her life; while she is not uncaring nor unfeeling towards it, she will never let you see that she has been hurt by it. She remains calm and cool until she reaches a place that she feels is acceptable for letting go of grief and pain. She is a large believer in chakras, chi, and spirituality.

Last, but certainly not least, Amaji is a knowledge seeker. She is often spending her time recording her thoughts and findings in a large, yet delicate book that very few know exists. She is extremely studious and intellectual, and is constantly looking for ways to better the human mind.

Water: Master Amaji is a superb waterbender, taking forms of different elements. She uses the force of an earthbender, the passion of a firebender, the carefree love of an airbender and the fluidity of a waterbender. She is considered by many to be a "true" master, as she understands not just her own element, but has a vast knowledge of the other elements as well. With many styles and forms, she's a fearsome adversary, with the ability to do things to water that even most masters cannot.

Ice: Master Amaji has mastered the form of ice, as well. She does prefer to bend water, but when needed, she will use ice as a means of brute force if her water sources are limited. She also uses ice needles for acupuncture when needed; she finds the form of ice to be unique in and of itself, and will often bend with ice towards the end of a battle or treatment to really "seal the deal".

Healing: Master Amaji has also mastered the ability of healing; when she was four, she discovered she could heal, and therefore is the most experienced in this and probably would consider this her 'forte'. Other than her waterbending, healing is her greatest ability, and she cherishes it greatly. She's a wonderful healer as well.

Bloodbending: Intermediate Amaji has experienced the touch of bloodbending as well, although she doesn't enjoy using it and would never do so in a battle. Instead, she prefers to use it in aiding her healing by interpreting the blood through chi-paths, allowing chakras to open and increase the body's natural ability to heal.

Tomahawks: Expert Amaji's most preferred weapon to use--after bending--she is very loving towards her twin tomahawks. Both are exceptionally crafted by her hands alone, made of strong metals found in the earth kingdom and forged in the temples of the Fire Sages.

Scimitar: Expert Amaji also knows her way with a blade, preferring the curve of a scimitar over anything else; her scimitar was, again, exceptionally crafted by her hands alone. She does not trust any "weapons maker" and forged this weapon in the air temples, using their methods of created staff gliders and applying it to her own weapon. It is light and perfectly adjusted for her body; she uses it as if it were simply an extension of her own arm.

Daggers: Intermediate As well as tomahawks and scimitars, Amaji enjoys the use of daggers for self protection. She's not very good with her aim when throwing them, but if you get close enough, she will slip inside and out of your ribs in less than a second. Her knowledge of the body makes her fearsome to behold; she doesn't worry much about finesse or forms with her daggers, more just hitting vital points and being done with it.

Alchemy: Master With all of the knowledge Amaji has, she also picked up alchemy along the way. She finds it to be incredibly useful for her treatments of the human body and mind, and uses it for healing purposes alone.

Katana/Wakizashi Combo:Intermediate As well as the scimitar and daggers, Amaji is also fond of the katana and wakizashi combo. She does not use them often, but she does have her own set at home--forged by yours truly, as usual.

Archery:Beginner During her worldly travels, Amaji took up archery for a little while within the Earth Kingdom. She found it to be quite fun, but she was so small that it was difficult for her. She got to the point of an intermediate, but it fell into disuse and due to a lack of practice, her skill has fallen away from her.

Botany: Master Amaji is a master when it comes to various plants and herbs in the treatment of healing the body. She has studied and categorized every single plant and herb she has ever come across in a large book that she has named The Shaman's Guide. This book, only one in existence and under her constant guard, teaches about not just botany, but the methods of chi-bending, healing, and waterbending while using the forms of the other elements.

Persuasion: Master Amaji is known as a "silvertongue" when it comes to convincing others to bend to her will. This is usually for her own good, although it's gotten her out of a tight spot here and there.

Appearance:

Height: 4'11"  
Weight: 115 pounds; lithe and tiny, with small compact muscles
Eyes: Brown; they glow blue when she bends
Hair: Ebony black and soft, slightly curling, like a raven's feather

Amaji is absolutely tiny; her short stature and small weight often cause people to think of her as weak, until they see her prowess with bending and weapons. She has never allowed her size to hinder her, and often uses it to her advantage, able to weave in and out of crowds like it's nothing because no one ever notices. Her face is oval in shape, not quite a heart due to her cheekbones and chin not being very prominent; her nose is cute and button like, not too big, not too small. Amaji hardly ever smiles, but somehow people know that she is kind, right off the bat. Her eyes are almond shaped, and blue like the ocean tide when she bends. The reason for her eye change is due to her chi.

She never gets cold, no matter where she is, and is usually found wearing an off the shoulder belly-top with a long skirt, leaving her stomach, arms, and shoulders bare. A slit in her skirt allows her movement, and for one so small, her physique is quite impressive. She's quite  muscular for her teeny stature, her body toned and tan, with nice curves; her breasts are full, her bum round, her hips large, and her waist tiny. Her hair is long and black, a large strand tasseled over her shoulder with half of it up in a top-knot, Fire Nation style.

As well as this, she sometimes enjoys adding feathers to her look; she will sometimes tie feathers into her hair, or one across her right bicep for added effect. She wears the betrothal necklace of the man who loved her, but died in combat. Her nails are trim, her hands small with long fingers.

Weaponry & Other Gear:







History: (872)

Hatari Tenkara // Age 65 // Condition: Alive // Founder of the Tenkara House of Bending, now retired.
Akiya Tenkara // Age 63 // Condition: Alive // Seamstress for the Northern Tribe, now retired.
Hari Wi (Married) // Age 41 // Amaji's older sister by 4 years // Condition: Alive // Continues Akiya's tailor shop.
Meh-Ji Tenkara // Age 39 // Amaji's older brother by 2 years // Condition: Alive // Master and Owner of the Tenkara House of Bending (passed down).
Jinya Tenkara // Condition: Deceased
Jun-Ra Tenkara // Age 7 // Amaji's younger brother by 30 years  (adopted) // Condition: Alive // Student in the Tenkara House of Bending
Ren-Tu Tenkara // Age 4 // Amaji's younger brother by 33 years (adopted) // Condition: Alive

At a young age, Amaji was a girl thirsty for success. She discovered her abilities with water when she was four, after she had hurt her leg and healed it herself. She joined her father's school for waterbenders at the age of five, becoming one of the greatest waterbending prodigies ever known. She displayed success in most everything she did, and her father and mother were very proud of her. A well-off family, she was showered with gifts, and was favored over her older siblings.

As she grew into adolescence, the single-minded focus remained, driving her to skill levels seen by older and more experienced waterbenders; her bending was extremely powerful. With just sheer force, she was able to knock her father on his butt during one of their sparring matches. She became narcissistic and arrogant for a short time because of this. Her father served her a nice slice of humble pie by shoving her into one of the main waterways of the Northern Tribe.

After that, he sent her to study other bending elements, to understand the difference between water and the other three elements. She learned the forms and the mind-sets of the different bending styles, and what was once sheer force turned into slow, powerful mastery.

She returned home at the age of twenty-three, falling in love with a Water Tribe soldier. The two were betrothed within months of meeting, but he died in combat when the fight against Novai tore him away from his homeland. She wears the betrothal necklace he made her at all times, to remember what he gave up and sacrificed. His death drove her further into her intellectual side, causing her to be more ferocious in her want and need for new knowledge.

On the eve of her thirtieth birthday, Amaji was considered a grandmaster of waterbending; she was one of the few of the Tenkara House of Bending to have reached such a level at such a young age. She witnessed the adoption of her brother Jun-Ra, welcoming him into the family before preparing for yet another journey.

At this point, she went on a journey to the Southern Tribe which she refers to as the bane of her existence. During this time, her father recommended that she study bloodbending; Amaji took his advice. She went to the South, the home of the original creator of the skill (after whom she was given her middle name) and stayed there for a year. During this time, she was trained everyday in the forms and concepts behind bloodbending. Thirteen times during that year did she really use it. (The moon cycles every 28 days. 365 days in a year /28 days per lunar cycle = 13 full moons in a year. I'm sorry for not looking into that until now. ^^; )

Through the bloodbending, she found that she could heal. Strange, yes--she used this to open the chakras, increasing the ability for one's body to heal itself using the chi-paths. She felt particularly connected to chi, not just her own but others', and found that through practice, she could use that chi to heal wounds not seen by the naked eye. She is unable to use it often, as the full-moon just isn't around enough, but she does what she can..

At the age of thirty-two, Amaji once again traveled the world to study different types of weapons and expand her knowledge of botany. On this journey, she began compiling all of her knowledge into The Shaman's Guide, expanding it as she learned.

When she was thirty-five, she returned home to the North, content to stay in her homeland and aid her aging parents into their elder years. She was unable to witness the adoption of her youngest and final sibling, but does not let that hinder their relationship. She often takes care of her two younger brothers, as they can be a handle, and delights in teaching them different waterbending techniques as she does so.

At the age of thirty-seven, her reputation as the Shaman of the North has grown to be quite impressive, which she is fairly proud of. She continues to help those who seek it, and sometimes has to travel to different places to aid those who need her assistance. She now spends her free-time buried in adding new information to The Shaman's Guide, and practicing with weaponry, as she wants to master that as well. She has yet to take on any students, as she has yet to find one who would not abuse her knowledge, and that is quite fine with her.

Amaji has no need for rush, as she's accomplished so much in her life, and now sees this as a time to relax and finish The Shaman's Guide. Passing her knowledge onto another does not seem very important to her, because she doesn't really mind the fact that her knowledge could die with her.

Despite popular belief, The Shaman's Guide is not for anyone else to read and absorb, it is for her when she reaches old age and her memory isn't as good. She is content with her life now and has decided to bide her time in the North and let whatever happens happen.