THE HOUSE OF THE JADE FOREST

about the house
the house of the jade forest professes itself to be one of the oldest houses in salem, ancient and noble and rich in tradition. all members of the house uphold the values of honour, loyalty and discipline at all times no matter what the degree of their relation, and many members serve their duty in the ranks of the helios knights. it is their duty to protect and defend the commoners for the rank and privileges they are afforded as nobility; and it is their responsibility to conduct themselves as befitting a member of their noble house.

about the plot
unwilling to let traditions stifle her or be slated to be married off, meifon lin, the second-born of the main line, has been secretly switching places with her cousin xinmei on and off since childhood so that she can learn to fight while xinmei can read in peace. recently, xinmei has decided to leave sundial on a trip, with meifon taking her place under a permanent appearance-altering potion. now, 'meifon' has been declared missing and the house is in uproar, all the while certain factions within the house are stirring...

there are six specific characters wanted (as listed below), but anyone who wants to make someone connected to the house feel free to dm me!

the details
jiayi lin - THE HEIR, THE SUN
27 - fox familiar - earth - enchantment - taken
the oldest of the main line and the heir to the house, jiayi has heavy responsibilities on his shoulders and the attention of the house on him at all times. he is raised with wealth at his fingertips and a superior status from birth, arrogance in his posture and rightful superiority in his bones, but responsibility and oath and honour are inseparable from his blood and he is his house's perfect heir. sometimes he must be cruel to be kind, even to his siblings, especially to his siblings, but he cares, he truly does. even if his siblings and cousins are insane, even if they are probably driving him towards becoming an alcoholic and an early grave, family above all is the creed and it is not one he will falter by.

meifon lin - THE AZURE DRAGON
23 - snake familiar - air - augmentation - taken
the second-born to the main line, a weak frail girl destined to be married off for the good of the house, meifon is fierce even when her house demands tranquility, wilful even when she is told to be quiet, be polite, be pretty. she is determined to make her own path where the world does not let her, has hatched a plan with her favourite cousins where she and her cousin regularly switch places with potions and magic. recently, she has taken the place of her cousin permanently, leaving her cousins as the only ones with the knowledge of where she truly is.

taoyang lin - THE BLACK TORTOISE
20 - tortoise familiar - water - illusions - taken
the youngest of the main line siblings, he is the 'spare' heir, the overlooked, unimportant in the face of his older brother. quiet and soft-spoken and kind, he looks like the quintessential noble princeling who has never done a hard day's work in his life, underestimated and dismissed at a mere glance. but he has eyes sharper than a blade's edge and ruthless steel at his core; you'll never guess he knows how to fight ferocious and dirty, never guess that he has disguised himself regularly to sneak out onto the streets, never guess he can slip a digger between your ribs if you so much as think about bringing harm to his siblings, his house.

xinmei lin- THE VERMILLION BIRD
24 - bird familiar - fire - alchemy - taken
the older of the branch line twins, she and meifon have been switching places with potions and magic since childhood. she likes her books more than she does fighting, likes information, knowledge; she looks sweet and kind and gentle like a perfect noble girl but she has a tongue like silver and steel and a mind for tactics and games. she doesn't always show it though, because you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar (but don't mistake this for weakness, for passivity); people look at her in her skirts and coifered hair and forget that she grew up with zhihao as her twin and meifon taking her place, forgets that she is an essential part of their plans, she is their enabler making potions and plans for all their needs. people look at her and forget she has a bird of fire as her familiar and fire in her soul, that alchemy can be for poisons too. she has her dreams and she's not afraid to chase them; she didn't let her family stop her from going backpacking through all of salem learning about plants and stones and history, and she's not going to let anything stop her now. you don't look at her and see a spymaster, a master of disguise, and that's the most dangerous thing about her.

(dm me for more info / possible lev and/or spy related plots because this is already getting too long rip)

zhihao lin - THE WHITE TIGER
24 - tigon familiar - earth - transfiguration - taken
the younger of the branch line twins, zhihao has been a conspirator from the very start. he's the louder of the twins, the one with fight in his blood and steel in his hands; the earth shakes at his feet and his eyes burn bright in battle. he is war, he is conquest, his familiar looms behind him like living myth; but people forget he is not just brawn, that he is born as noble as the rest of his house and that he has been cunning since childhood.

yawen lin - THE MOON
25+ - any familiar - any element - any affinity - taken
this want is much less specific than the others, much more open. this is a person from the house that is in opposition to the heir, the sun; perhaps they want to be the head themself, perhaps they desire to see the downfall of the house, perhaps they disagree with the direction the house is taking. whatever the reason, whatever the truth, this person is a rival to jiayi lin in some way or form.