Jinhai Shen

Once upon a time, the Earth was filled to the brim with magic...until almost all of it was used up. To protect what little magic remained, the Dragon King sacrificed his draconic form to trap the remaining magic in a well. He then proclaimed his family to be its protectors. Magic still ebbs and flows, but the King's descendants keep careful watch and control over how much magic is allowed out into the world. As a result, magic is much harder to grasp than it once was and its presence in the world has diminished. Magical beings are rare and tend to build their lives around magical hotspots, and people with the ability to use magic are few and keep their powers secret.

The Shen family are descendants of the Dragon King and are the current protectors of the well. Once every generation, someone from the family is chosen by the well as its protector. They're identified by the current protector through a shared dream, after which the chosen person gains extraordinary powers. Jinhai's father, Zhihao (Zhi), was chosen as the well's protector initially, but his older brother grew jealous and had him cursed and then later attacked.

The curse made Zhi's powers both unstable and dangerous, which meant he was no longer fit to remain as the well's next protector, leaving his elder brother to take over the position. Not long after, Zhi was attacked by the men his brother hired and barely escaped with his life. Realizing he wouldn't be safe with his family, he fled to America where he met and fell in love with a woman named Alyssa and started a family. Unbeknownst to him, she was descended from a clan of phonixes that had once helped the Dragon King seal away the world's magic.

Jinhai was their first born.

• Jinhai's early childhood was unremarkable. He grew up in a small town where his father ran a local bookshop, became a big brother, and was surrounded by the love of his growing family. That all changed when he was six and had a strange dream where he met a very angry man (his uncle, though he didn't know this at the time).


• Shortly after that dream, Jinhai manifested the ability to make anything he draws, paints, or otherwise creates real. His father knew what this meant: That he'd been chosen as the well's next protector. Uh-Oh!


• As this meant his brother now knew he survived and worried about his family's safety, Zhi forbade Jinhai from drawing/painting. This was devastating, though Jinhai continued his artistic pursuits in secret. This eventually drew his uncle's attention.


• Right before his High School graduation, Jinhai's uncle made his move and sent people after Jinhai. Zhi protected his son, though overextended himself in the process (thanks curse) and fell into a magical coma.


• Jinhai took over as head of the house, helping to bring in money and take care of his mother and eight younger siblings. It was hard work that left him with little free time, but he never once complained. He loved his family and would do anything to help them.


• He eventually realized that his presence was putting his family in danger and, after promising his mother he would return, headed out on a magical journey to defeat his uncle and save his father.

This is a work in progress, but I've put bullet points below with some basics about his personality.

• His default expression can only be described as aggressively neutral. Despite this, he's a chill guy and is usually pretty easy-going and easy to be around.


• Decisive. He will stand by his decisions even if they don't pan out.


• Self-assured and (usually) even-tempered. He's resistant to most kinds of stress.


• Will avoid things that have the potential to be annoying, assuming it's not something serious/major.


• Says he follows his head over his heart but is a damn liar.


• He's got a mischevious streak and likes to tease the people he's close to.


• Analytical/observational - Not a strategist, just good at figuring people out.


• Stubborn in the laziest way possible.


• Creative, likes art and art films.


• Seems like the type who would prefer to be alone/would be an introvert, but actually enjoys being in big groups. He just doesn't like drawing attention to himself/prefers to see what kinds of shenanigans his friends and family get up to.


• He feels things intensely but hides it behind a calm facade. This isn't his natural inclination, it's something he built up over the years to try and emulate his father and keep his siblings calm in stressful situations.


• Doesn't really care what people think about him, but does care about how people view his siblings/parents. If someone badmouths him he won't bat an eye, but the moment they say anything bad about his family he will end them.


• Takes his role as big brother very seriously. His family (and anyone he considers family) is his world.


• HOBBIES/LIKES: Art (painting, sculpting, leather-work, a few other things), flower arrangement, calligraphy, mahjong, motorcycling, dance. He also plays Weiqi and chess but is bad at both. He knows some martial arts. He likes face masks and other at-home spa stuff, and traditional Chinese cuisine is his all-time favorite style of food.

Jinhai is able to make anything he paints, draws, or otherwise creates real. He's unable to create people (If he tries, they're basically mannequins that can follow instructions for a short while before disappearing). He also can't create anything that's too large, as the magic required would put too much strain on him.

The first thing he ever created with his abilities was a German Shepherd he named Yina. She's able to change sizes at will and is the only thing with sentience that he's managed to create successfully (he chalks it up to the boundless imagination of childhood, since he was six at the time). Yina doesn't seem to age, so he jokingly calls her his immortal dog.

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