Hsieh Han Liu

Mandarin Hsieh Han Liu was the Imperial Minister of Spices that served Emperor Kao Tsao Shou Tang of the Shou Lung empire during the mid–14 century DR.

Description
Hsieh was an older man with distinguished features and graying hair. He dressed in clothes that proclaimed his dignified stature along with a yellow eye patch that covered one eye.

Personality
He was an authoritative man that commanded respect, even among the Shou royal. While he was truly appreciative of those who aided him, and was generous with his profound wealth, Hsieh demanded the best of those that worked for him. Hsieh would not tolerate lying among his subordinates or close associates and would not offer them leniency.

Abilities
Despite surrounding himself with many guards, Hsieh was an exceptionally skill combatant. He was particularly adept at unarmed fighting techniques and moved with lightning-fast reflexes.

Relationships
Hsieh was the cousin of Lady Feng, third wife of Emperor Kao Tsao Shou Tang, and the same once removed to Prince Kao Chou Tang. The two could not abide one another, and it was actually Minister Hsieh who arranged for Lady Feng to be exiled to Faerûn after some unfortunate event involving her lemur familiar Winter Blossom.

The minister was well-served by his loyal attendant and scribe, Yu Po.

He had something of a rivalry with the head of the imperial Ministry of Magic.

History
In the, Minister Hsieh's caravel, the Ginger Lady, was transporting ylang blossoms and other spices across the Dragonmere, when it was attacked at sea by the black dracolich known as Cypress. The ship was was saved by the efforts of the crew of the Storm Sprite, its skipper Captain Fowler, and the Harper sorceress Ruha. Ruha managed to destroy the undead dragon's physical form, albeit at the cost of the Storm Sprite. Minisher Hsieh and his crew rescued their saviors from waters of the Dragonmere, and gave them safe passage to the coastal town of Pros.

Minister Hsieh was late for his arrival at the Ginger Palace for several days, as his caravan was intercepted by Vaerana Hawklyn and the Maces of Elversult. Vaerana and her forces discovered the Shou caravan was smuggling illicit plants used to formulate poison, and accompanied them to the palace under armed escort. Upon his arrival, Hsieh allowed himself to be traded for the release of Ruha, who had been apprehended herself by Prince Tang and Princess Wei Dao.

Ruha did not leave however, instead taking the time to explain to explain to Minister Hsieh and Yu Po that the dracolich had abducted Lady Feng, the minister's cousin and missing matriarch of the Ginger Palace. During their conversation, Wei Dao had revealed herself to be dishonest to the minister, and willing to take any action to suppress knowledge about her involvement with the Cult of the Dragon. With that revelation, and Ruha's skillful persuasion, Minister Hsieh agreed that action had to be taken to find Cypress' lair. He ordered his soldiers to make a convincing chase as Ruha, Vaerana and their allies "fled" from the Ginger Palace to Elversult, awhile palace guards kept safe the valuable ylang blossoms that were sought out by the dragon and its cult.

Some time later, Vaerana Hawklyn returned to the Ginger Palace to negotiate with Minister Hsieh how the two groups could best work together to defeat the dragon. While the talks went quite poorly for some time, at one point leading to the minister throwing hot tea into Vaerana's face, they agreed both forces would guard the oil in Elversult while they sought out dragon's lair. Hsieh and Ruha fought alongside one another on horseback until they became stranded in a small tenement on the north base of Temple Hill, and had a final confrontation with Cypress, destroying the undead dragon's form once again.

Before Cypress could reform into a new undead body, Minister Hsieh used Shou magic to contact Prince Tang and Lady Feng, who were all-but-lost in the caverns of the dragon's lair in the nameless swamp. By means of Lady Yenseldara's spirit, and the spirit gem attached to her staff, Hsieh tried to tell them the gem had to be destroyed but could not send the message out in time. Fortunately the prince came to the same conclusion and destroyed the gem on his own, allowing Ruha to finally and permanently destroy the dracolich Cypress.

Along with the others involved in saving both Elversult and the Ginger palace, Hsieh attended the grand feast held to celebrate the occasion. At the banquet Hsieh wished for the sorceress Ruha to join the Shou royal family, and accept the proposal of marriage set forth by Prince Tang, even though she had to politely refuse.

Appearances

 * Novels
 * The Veiled Dragon