Laksha Indiri Arvanti

Laksha is a figure who was practically bred for war and for combat. She is a master at what she does, and makes for a powerful, imposing, and sometimes intimidating leader, even to those who follow under her. She is charismatic, confident, cool, clever, cunning, and collected, to name a few adjectives about the way she behaves. On the battlefield, she is a calm and cool character who keeps a level head even when the odds are against her.

She is fond of and familiar with directing people, not out of an entitled sense of authority, but more because of the way she devises complex and intricate plans to accomplish her goals and keep those who have been entrusted to her safe from harm.

Despite her young age, Laksha is strict and ruthless, although those who follow her orders are treated well. Those that don't are disciplined, but not painfully so. After all, dead or incapacitated soldiers are of no use to her, and so she wants to keep her warriors in ship shape so they are ready for anything. Thus, despite her commanding nature, she is actually very friendly to her underlings, treating them like her own children, for she cares deeply for them and grieves any time one is lost.

Off of the battlefield, however, Laksha is a completely different creature. Having been in military affairs her entire life, now that the wars are over, she hardly knows what to do with herself. She is a bumbling fool, to use the term, and she can barely string three words together without stumbling over them, unless it is military related. She has to catch herself from speaking to people as if they were her higher-ups or her grunts, and so her mindset is considered somewhat wacky to many.

She is so bad at what she does off of the battlefield that she comes off almost as an awkward baby. Having no knowledge of how to even make small-talk, Laksha can bumble up most things, which in turn makes her feel embarrassed, which in turn makes her even more awkward, which stacks up brutally. However, the discipline that she obtained from the military also renders her to be a very polite soul, and so she will often try to sweetly apologize for her painfully numerous number of awkward blunders. Similarly, when discussing military matters, she is polite and respectful enough to disagree when necessary, but not enough that she gets pushed around, and she stubbornly holds her ground, be it physically or metaphorically.


To put it simply, all of Laksha's abilities are combat-related. Earthbending, metalbending, hand-to-hand, Martial Arts, Weaponry... all of her talents have been fully dedicated to the art of war and defense, leaving the rest of her development quite lacking. On the battlefield, she is a fierce warrior whose powerful earthbending, massive strength, and cunning metalbending prowess often overwhelm enemies before they can even begin to decipher her tactics. In front of a war map, she moves like a chessmaster, and unsurprisingly, that is one of her favorite games--a cunning battle of wits and military might that does not end in bloodshed. She still enjoys the game, and plays it a lot during her down time, which, without the war, is quite abundant now.

She is adept at numerous types of weapons, and can proficiently wield almost anything that is thrown into her hands. However, she is the strongest with her bladed Kyoshi fans, a standard issue nowadays.
Laksha is physically strong and agile, and is even good at hand-to-hand combat, with the strength and precision to knock someone out cold if she aims her punch right--an easy thing to do in crowded places like taverns.
The toughness, vulgarity and brutality of the military has also given her a strong tolerance for alcohol, which she drinks frequently, spending her lavish military salary on plenty of the stuff. Of the various things she has tried while stationed throughout the world, her favorite was probably the Fire-Whiskey.

Famous for being one of the generals in the War of Tipped Scales, as well as various Earth Kingdom skirmishes during the succession crisis that Queen Meili presumably ended, Laksha's tactical prowess is great, and some of her strategies are legendary. She has had a few named after her because of the way she has skillfully led soldiers in the past, and this, combined with her leadership skills, has made her a legend in some places, mostly smaller villages.

however, once again, off the battlefield, all of her abilities become for naught. Any charisma she has in leading troops and directing grunts and forming tactics is blown away like a leaf in the wind when confronted by real world situations. Obviously her combat skills do not go anywhere, but outside of sparring and perhaps training others, they are of little use. Training is only made more complicated by the fact that she keeps her strict military regiments when teaching, which often scares her students, who are mostly civillians.

Laksha is about average height, but is muscular, and so has a very sturdy build, even outside of her armor. Despite being clothed from head to ankle most of the time, her skin is still dark, and so perhaps there is some mixed stock in her heritage. However, she has the build and eyes of an earthbender, with them being green and her body being solidly constructed.
She is almost always seen in her armor, even at formal events, and she keeps it and herself very well-maintained, especially now that she is not in combat any more. It is just another way for her to pass the time, and so she takes her sweet time on her looks and her makeup, which she only removes when she is going to sleep, and it is the first thing to go back on in the mornings.
Other than the back of her neck and her feet, she is clothed entirely, with the makeup and the headdress hiding her face. While her feet remain uncovered, she wears pants, as well as braces on her shins that are all hidden by the large and loose dress that was inspired by the Avatar whom the Kyoshi Warriors were named after. Her dark brown hair is very long and almost wild; extending almost to her knees. However, it is tied at the end to keep it all in one place.
Ultimately, the only thing most people ever see of Laksha is her feet, although she sometimes also wears shoes or boots depending on the situation. Few have even seen her without her makeup or wearing anything but her armor. She is dedicated to her old cause, and lost in a world where she does not know what to do with her life.
Despite her somewhat intimidating demeanor, Laksha is actually very calm and gentle off of the field, where she becomes a different person completely. This is not done on purpose, but it happens nonetheless.
BONUS: Black and White image

Laksha's life began 23 years ago in the city of Gaoling. As the daughter of a powerful general and an influential politician, Laksha's life began to quickly be entangled in both fields. Since military and politics were often bedfellows, she became entangled in both webs by her parents, who were just doing what they thought would be best for her.
Sent off to the nearby Kyoshi Island at the age of 4, her training as a warrior would begin at the basic  level of discipline. She would commence proper Kyoshi Warrior training at the age of 9, where her ambition, discipline, and dedication would continue to keep her as one of the top students and warriors.

She joined the military at the age of 14, her disciplined behavior and mature demeanor getting her past the age limits or whatever other ethical barriers there might have been. She had been training for this moment her whole life, and so this was not some kind of culture shock for her. If anything, it was just like home, only slightly easier. She spent other parts of her day training at Kyoshi Island proper, and so her day from dawn till dusk was combat and military over and over. She did not mind it, although it did affect the way she turned out as she grew older.

Despite their strict regiments and rules that Laksha was subject to, her parents did sincerely love her, and Laksha never felt any differently. While politics were often a horrible and shady business, Laksha's father (the politician of the two) was an honest and disciplined man as well, and so strong adherence to law and justice was part of the philosophy he passed down to his beloved daughter. Diligence and dedication were the virtues she inherited from her military mother, who had taken Kyoshi Warrior training years before.

Her first battle was when she was 16. it was a minor skirmish, but it gave her her first taste of war. She succeeded, and in other conflicts that rose up throughout the Earth Kingdom. Laksha's cunning and combat skills helped elevate her through the ranks, where she was promoted to the rank of general at the age of 19, one of the youngest to do so.
Outside of conflict, Laksha kept to herself, studying historical wars or playing chess and/or Pai Sho with various people or even with herself. She was not very social, but once the wars and battles started, she was the charismatic and powerful commander that everyone knew and loved (or at least respected and feared, in cases of her enemies).

As the wars intensified, so did the type of combat that Laksha got involved in, but she upheld the virtues of her father and mother, making them proud with conquest after conquest for the Earth Kingdom, ensuring that southern regions like Gaoling, Omashu, and Kyoshi Island stayed safely in Earth Kingdom hands. In smaller cities where she led her forces against the Fire Nation in the War of Tipped Scales, she was revered as something of a legend. however, she was simply doing her duty to her people and her country. It was all in a day's work.

After the wars ended, however, Laksha's life took a spin that she could not understand. Without any civil wars, succession crises, invaders, or rebellions... there was no need for armies, and so while they were not disbanded, they were mostly put on reserve, which meant a lot of soldiers and warriors went and found other things to do with their lives until the call of duty summoned them back to the battlefields again. Laksha, who had literally dedicated nearly her entire waking life to military-related activities, was now completely at a loss as to what to do with herself. Here was that mighty earthbending master and deadly military commander that was decorated from her many wars and revered as a hero by so many... and there was nothing for her.

She visited her family every now and again, which were some of the only people that she could really relate to, although they too began to understand the magnitude of what had happened to their daughter. Occasionally, she would just come to them so she could cry. The real world was so much different from the battlefield, and she did not understand it, to the point where she felt so out of place in it. Here was the mighty leader, feared by many, respected and revered by others still, and yet underneath it all was a girl who was confused and lost in a world she did not understand.

Laksha was and remains confident enough to hide what little fear she has, but the awkwardness of her trying to integrate into normal society still shows. However, her politeness and military discipline are a saving grace for her, as her frequent apologies serve to help people understand what her problems are. What she requires from others then... is patience.

Sample RP: See Character Box

Character Box: (Word count: 404)

Laksha Indiri Arvanti

Two years... it had been two whole years since the War of Tipped Scales. That was two years too long for Laksha, who almost felt restless, among other things. Her emotions were mixed, and she did not know what to make of them. Strolling along the coasts of Kyoshi Island helped her sort of, but at the same time, made her feel forlorn. As she gazed out into the open seas, she almost longed to see enemy warships appear on the horizon so she could draw her weapons again and sound the horn to gather her troops to prepare for battle. But why? Death was not a pleasant thing, and Laksha had been taught that. War was an ugly thing, but sometimes was a necessary evil to work as a solution. Digging her bare toes into the sand, the decorated Kyoshi Warrior sighed, sitting down on a rock that she bended out of the ground, without lifting her feet or freeing the sand that had gotten caught between her toes. "And for what? I do not wish death upon people... but what else am I useful for? Do I even have any purpose in this strange and foreign world now that there is no use for people of my kind? I was built for war... my uniform, my weapons, and even my body visibly reflect it." she glanced down at a few decorations that her Kyoshi armor had received during her years of dedicated combat for the Earth Kingdom. Laksha was known for going off by herself all the time, and few understood why. She would take long strolls, mumbling to herself to musing inside her head. She was almost never seen wearing anything but her uniforms, of which she had many, all of which cared for with utmost devotion. "everything I put into my hands... I was trained to use nothing but instruments of death." she ruminated as she spread out her fans, holding them in her gloved hands as she looked down at them. "the moment something comes into my grip, those around me know that someone is about to die. Is this really who I am? Am I nothing but a ruthless killer?" She sighed again, gazing hopelessly out onto the horizon. Maybe one day things would change. However, to try and get over 21 years of military out of a woman's head was a task that was easier said than done.

Mood: Confused Condition: Healthy

Link:

This profile is glorious. Little more on the matter needs said, and so I gladly APPROVE!

ADDENDUM: Noko said she trusted you, and so there's your (tentative?) two approvals for master-tier.

Lovely, also approved.