Honnoji Burlycloud

Honnoji Burlycloud is a neutrally-aligned Mainland Panderen from the Cradle of Chi-ji in the Krasarang Wilds. Unbeknownst to allies of the Four Winds Trade Company, she is Bakuzan's older sister and the rightful owner of the Burlycloud family land and titles.

On the surface, the Pandaren woman in front of you has a gentle yet firm smile and radiates a warm demeanor; she speaks highly of the power of Hope and the Light, giving advice to the curious, alms to the needy and guidance to those that need it. Honnoji is an exemplar of the August Celestial's teachings, able to focus her powerful faith into waves of healing and restoration to aid the deserving. Hope's fire grows when we work together, after all.

However - the surface isn't everything.

Honnoji is in reality a master manipulator and cunning strategist; a true psychopath, she is able to blend in seamlessly with those she needs to exploit for a plan or gambit without a hint of remorse, using any means necessary to accomplish her goals. Her zealotry for the Crane and Light alike is so strong that it easily negates any suspicions one might have regarding any true motives, making keeping the facade of  'merciful priestess' up for as long as is necessary.

At a Glance

 * Her body could be described as 'carved out' - thick, taut muscles line her entire wiry frame; she lacks the traditionally wide curvature of female Pandaren; comparatively slender hips and a wider bustline make up for her lack of chubbiness in comparison with others of her race.
 * Most strange of note is Honnoji's voice - her accent and speaking is heavily Dwarven-influenced, having very quickly picked up the Common language from a cadre of Bronzebeard Anglers that had taken up camp near the Crane temple. Her linguistics were only further enhanced by the Alliance's aid in driving out the Horde, and subsequent teachings to those in the Alliance staying back in Pandaria, wishing to learn more of the Celestials' teachings. Honnoji's tone is dulcet and even-tempered, commanding attention when speaking without needing to raise her voice; an almost ethereal sound that captivates her audience when lecturing initiates and colleagues in the Light alike.
 * In that same vein, she speaks fluent Dwarven, and even prefers to spend leisure time in Ironforge when in the Eastern Kingdoms; the sweltering heat of forges working at all hours of the day may drive off the lesser races and even those more heavy-set of her own kin, but Honnoji appears to enjoy the heat and humidity - likening it to being back in the Wilds.
 * Honnoji's regalia is adorned with inscription scrolls, bright citrine-hued prayer beads and varying levels of Crane iconography. Manifestations of her projected faith surround her in the form of her patron's spread wings, exemplary of her strength in Hope and wielding of the Light.
 * Has a branding of the Crane's full wingspan spread across her back in lieu of tattoos, along with thick, ropey burn scars threading down her inner thighs. Three lines of heavily raked scars trail across her left collarbone and shoulder. Otherwise untouched by combat blemishes, with well-kept fur and hair done up in ornate, eye-catching styles.
 * Steady, stoic and stone-faced expression with eyes half-lidded at all times; extremely hard to surprise or catch off-guard. Ears constantly twitch in both directions at any and all sounds, percieved threats or otherwise. Her eyes blink slowly, giving the impression of a dulled countenance or inattentiveness.
 * Honnoji carries with her a one-handed sickle with the Burlycloud family insignia engraved on the handle; proof of her blood lineage to Bakuzan's family, and heir to the ancestral lands they own by birthright.

Brief History
Honnoji is an accomplished priestess in the style of the Crane, having spent many years in solitude meditating and living off the land, as is the style of their worship and practice, before ascending to a leadership role and accepting the duty of training initiates much like herself. Much of her cubhood and subsequent rise to High Priestess is shrouded in whispers, stories swapped between newly initiated members of the Temple that have evolved into myth and legend.

After the arrival of the Alliance to the Wilds, she and the other devotees accepted the help of adventurers willing to purge their recently-cleansed temple of Horde filth - and inciting her to follow a new path; one of mastery over their cleansing, blinding fire they called the Light.

An incident with a unknown Silver Hand Paladin and Crane initiate resulted in Honnoji being put to a trial - the details of which are shrouded in mystery, much like her own past. She keeps the Paladin's now-bloodstained tabard on her person at all times; claiming that carrying its physical burden as a penance that weighs heavily on her soul.

Attempted Assassination

In 625 K.C., Bakuzan Burlycloud sent out letters of request to the Temple of Chi-ji, requesting a representative from their order for the newly established Light's Accord. Honnoji was the priestess that answered the call, having recognized the surname and lotus emblem on the letter. During this time, however, Bakuzan had an attempt made on her life by an unknown assailant and had fallen into a deathlike sleep, rendering a reunion between the two impossible by conventional means.

In the midst of Bakuzan's illness, Honnoji has stepped forward to reclaim the Burlycloud ancestral lands outside of Stoneplow as the eldest and thus rightful owner, tending to them and her business in her stead. In addition to the family lands, Honnoji also straightened up the Four Winds Trade Company, clarifying paperwork filed and ensuring everything was on the legal up and up for Bakuzan to continue operating. These events have served to unhinge Bakuzan's then-fiancee, Barsos Ironhide, who was working with Honnoji and Finley C. Cheales - another high-ranking Winds employee - to develop an antidote for the necrotic poison running through Bakuzan's veins, seeing Honnoji's actions and duplicitous behavior as warning beacons that something has gone very wrong with the Burlycloud family line.

Honnoji then privately shared with Fin her suspicions that Barsos was behind the attack on Bakuzan, citing the sneak attack (so far from his normal blunt attack style), his knowledge of the poison used (a very faint necrotic strain, all but held off from enveloping her organs by well-trained Paladins and wielders of the Light) and even knowing the ingredients for the antidote - bringing up her studies on Azeroth's inhabitants leading her to the knowledge that Death Knights need to inflict pain in order to retain their sense of self and sanity.

Fin was only lead to believe the priestess more when Barsos went off the rails even more than usual - attacking civilians, threatening allies and receding into something almost primordial, unseen since the days before the Lich King's grasp on his brothers and sisters in death loosened. The family drama came to a head as Honnoji and Finley aided Barsos in recovering the ingredients needed for the antidote. During an expedition to Grizzly Hills for the rare plant wolfsbane, the group stumbled upon Drakkari ruins - unearthing an old troll relic that reeked of shadow magic. Honnoji took it for herself, absorbing the energies contained within, alerting Finley's aunt Penelope and a new employee, a Worgen priest by the name of Morrel.

After the wolfsbane was acquired, only one ingredient remained - a healthy sample of Honnoji's blood. She vehemently denied Barsos access to her blood, accusing the Dwarf of subterfuge and vanishing to the Crane Temple, where she was tracked down by both Barsos and Finley. When they arrived, however, Honnoji was no longer 'Honnoji'. The troll relic had given whatever was inside Honnoji's host body enough energies to break free, reclaiming total control over the Priestess. The shade that appeared revealed itself as Kazue Lotusheart, Honnoji's mother and Benjiro Burlycloud's first wife. He had abandoned her in the Crane Temple when Honnoji was a cub, and Kazue intended to make his daughter suffer tenfold the amount Kazue had, even if it meant using her own daughter's body to do it.

After a grueling battle on top of the Crane Temple's highest spire, Barsos was able to forcibly separate Kazue's soul from Honnoji's body as Finley drew Honnoji's unpolluted blood. As Barsos prepared to destroy the soul, Kazue projected onto him fleeting glimpses of her own life, explaining wordlessly what she did and why. Kazue had been wooed at a young age by Benjiro Burlycloud of the Valley of the Four Winds during the Temple's weekly vegetable deliveries; they were soon with child, but Honnoji was born weak, and Benjiro deserted the pair in apparent cowardice. Kazue was forced to raise Honnoji alone, filling the cub with tales of the Crane, helping her to grow into a strong Priestess. Honnoji's command over what would be associated with the Light was great, and with her mother's verve, the two were indomitable

Kazue was the one that had murdered the Silver Hand paladin in cold blood - a Dwarf, much like Barsos, had been caught in a compromising position with one of the Crane initiates, enraging Kazue to the point of murdering the pair; incensed in her hatred against both Benjiro and the attack of the Horde on the Temple post-Sha purge, and what was seen as a defilement in a temple that the Alliance took advantage of. In a rage, she stole the Paladin's tabard as a sick trophy before incinerating their bodies, then dragged a younger Honnoji up the steps to the top spire of the Crane temple; forcing her daughter to watch as she threw herself to the ground below, proclaiming just before she fell that hope was an illusion.

Kazue's tormented soul rose up and came to rest inside Honnoji's body, but the younger Pandaren was able to fight off its total control by drawing on, of all things, the Hope that was preached to her; keeping her infuriated mother's spirit dormant for years - until answering the letter, learning of Bakuzan's Company, meeting Barsos and learning of his emotional connection to Bakuzan, which had awoken the rage and anger inside Kazue - forcing it to the surface in a constant battle of shadow and light. With the help of the Drakkari totem, Kazue had finally won. She was the one that had hired the assassin to attack Bakuzan without leaving a trace; also the one to influence Finley and Bakuzan's allies to distrust the Company and Barsos, driving him further away from his love until she died alone in a destitute warehouse. Her plan, obviously, failed.

Sensing Kazue's hesitation when shown a last memory of a declined opportunity to murder an infant Bakuzan, Instead of completely obliterating what was left of the soul, Barsos drew upon his unholy powers and simply purged what evils remained dormant inside the soul; allowing it to finally pass peacefully in a rare moment of mercy.

Honnoji herself was left to her own devices on the spire; it's currently unclear what's become of her. 

Weapons and Combat
She is not meek, demure or comical in combat, as one would expect from either a Pandaren or a practitioner of the Light or the Crane; Honnoji prefers a 'scorched-earth' approach with her opponents, and will not hold back when incensed.

Honnoji favors using her abilities offensively with bolts of holy energies and pillars of righteous fire seeking out her targets, as opposed to defensively shielding herself in bubbles. Nothing fills Hon with Hope more than the idea of completely decimating her opponent with the grace and majesty of the Crane style. The unorthodox method in which Hon channels this belief is purely spite-based, giving her the mental fortitude to call down upon the Light and funnel her strength into a glass-cannon fighting style. In essence, she's physically the polar opposite of her sister, Bakuzan; heavy on the offense, weak physical defenses once an assailant is able to breach any and all shields.

Musical Influences
Keep these in mind if you are actively interacting with Honnoji; they help set the mood in context!
 * ODESZA - It's Only (feat. Zyra) [ MAIN ARRANGEMENT ]


 * Kill la Kill OST - Shinra Koketsu [ LOTUSHEART REVELATION ]