Gisen, known in Kozakura as Kuang, was an exiled prince of T'u Lung in 1358 DR.[1]
History[]
Gisen was born in the royal court of T'u Lung as the third son of the Emperor and tutored by the great sword master Tong Fu Mei. Even in his childhood, he had to contend with the various political intrigues of the T'u Lung court; at the age of five, he managed to slay an assassin with his own blade.[1]
One day, while disguised as a trader captain on a sea trip, he saved a girl who had been kidnapped by pirates; he would later discover after falling in love with her that she was a princess of Shou Lung, the eternal rival of T'u Lung. Under the auspices of the goddess Kwan Ying, they then loved each other in secret for some time until the traveling minstrel Tam Nong Hikong used their story as the subject of a song. While most of the Court never caught on, the Shou Emperor soon deduced the truth, and thus the princess was exiled far away as her eldest brother sent assassins against Gisen. Gisen escaped thanks to Tong and traveled to Kozakura and Wa in hopes of finding powerful allies for his cause.[1][note 1]
Disguised as a young eastern physician by the name of Kuang, he met Doin Sanehiro and The Wanderer just after the Battle of Kiroshima and became their companion in the fight against Jinchin.[1] After the conclusion of that adventure, Gisen returned to T'u Lung to fight for his princess.[2]
Personality[]
Gisen was an impatient individual who always acted before thinking, and despite always having his goals in mind, he was terrible at realizing them. His biggest weakness, in fact, was his arrogance. However, he was charming, clever, and fanciful. Gisen had a talent for disguise that allowed him to remain safe in many otherwise dangerous situations.[1]
Appendix[]
Notes[]
- ↑ An extremely similar account is retold in The Eastern Realms; however, there are some inconsistencies between the two versions. For instance, while Gisen is named in Hall of Heroes as the T'u Lung prince who fell in love with a Shou princess, that role is filled in the T'u Lung chapter of The Eastern Realms by Wai Anku (who is stated in other sources to have been born in 1352 DR, a mere five years before the events in question, contrary to The Eastern Realms (which makes no statement regarding his age other than that he is young but seems to imply he is an adult or at least a teenager)). Furthermore, in Gisen's backstory, Tam Nong Hikong fills the role played by Tan Hikao Nong in The Eastern Realms, and while it is very likely that Hikong is intended to be Tan Nong, if this is the case, it is unclear why his name was changed (though it may be a typo, perhaps tracing back to an early draft or synopsis of the unpublished novel Path of Stones, which Gisen was originally created for).
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Ed Greenwood, et al (1989). Hall of Heroes. (TSR, Inc), pp. 80–81. ISBN 0-88038-711-4.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood, et al (1989). Hall of Heroes. (TSR, Inc), p. 17. ISBN 0-88038-711-4.