Games - Chai Xianghua

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Chai Xianghua (柴　香華 Chai Shanghwa; pīnyīn:Chái Xiāng Huà ) is a fictional character designed for the Soul Series of fighting games. Xianghua made her first appearance in Soul Calibur and has returned for Soul Calibur II and Soul Calibur III. She was also one of the few characters to have a consistent voice actor, as many characters got new ones in Soul Calibur III.

Biography

Throughout generations of the Chai family, there have been many seasoned warriors of China, men and women alike, as was the family's custom. A few decades previous to the events that transpire in this series, it was time for the eldest son to succeed his father's estate, and for the remaining children to branch off and form their own lives and families, as always. The second son settled in the Ling-Sheng Su Temple in the pursuit of great swordsmanship. He was intent on following the family's custom to serve his nation, and the Ling-Sheng Su Temple was the greatest martial arts school in China. A few years later, his daughter, Xiangfei, was born in a nearby village, and she was sent to the temple to learn the art of swordplay. She diligently trained and became supremely skilled with the tai chi jian, surpassing many of the monks at the temple. But she was a woman, and thus ineligible to become inheritor of the Krita-Yuga, the holy jian artifact of the temple. Following her father's passing, Xiangfei began to train even harder, and eventually fell in love with a monk at the temple, Kong Xiuqiang, thought to be the most prominent candidate for inheritor of the holy bo staff, Kali-Yuga; but their love was expressly forbidden, because a candidate for holy artifact inheritance was never allowed to stray from the "true path". Not until the birth of a bastard child--a daughter they named Xianglian--was their love made known to the other monks. The monks remained very strict regarding the temple's edict, and the child was taken from them on her second birthday. Xiangfei became too wrought with grief to remain at the temple and left, never to return. Han Dongxiu, a sworn brother of both Xiuqiang and Xiangfei, urged Xiuqiang to leave with her and start a family with his lover; but Xiuqiang told him that he must stay to create his own future with his own strength, and Xiangfei agreed that that was best. But as a final goodbye, Dongxiu helped Xiuqiang sneak the Krita-Yuga to his lover, to serve as a promise the two would one day meet again; and they returned to the temple. And Xiangfei walked away for good, telling no one her destination.

Unknown to Xiuqiang, however, was that when Xiangfei had left the temple, she was pregnant with a second child; she never told him so that he would continue his training, and focus on becoming inheritor of the Kali-Yuga instead. She secretly returned to her homeland, and was taken in by the Chai household there; and she became a soldier in the Ming Dynasty Imperial Guard. Months later, she gave birth to her second daughter, Xianghua, but never revealed anything about the girl's father or his lineage to her. By this time, the temple had realized that the Krita-Yuga was missing, and found that Xiuqiang had stolen it. He was exiled from the temple, and Xianglian was to remain there to be trained as an orphan, where she would become a great friend to Kilik, the eventual successor of Kali-Yuga. Xiuqiang eventually discovered Xiangfei's whereabouts and her links to the Chai family; but the family asked him to leave her alone, as she believed that he was training and she would be happier in her ignorance. Xiuqiang agreed and left, never finding out about his second daughter, Xianghua. Meanwhile, the temple was frantically searching for the Krita-Yuga. Their first suspect had been Xiangfei, but when they arrived, all they found was young Xianghua playing with a battered tai chi jian; and they gave up the search years later. Only Xiuqiang had known that the jian Xianghua would have been holding was actually the Krita-Yuga in disguise, as it was wont to transform into a battered jian if separated from the temple's two other holy treasures to protect itself. As time passed, Xianghua learned to use the jian just as well as her mother had. Xiangfei passed when Xianghua was only ten, driving her to train much harder; and six years later, she had become a member of the Imperial Guard, never knowing of her older sister or her tragic death on the night of the Evil Seed at the Ling-Sheng Su Temple.

Eventually, the emperor of Ming Dynasty China had become displeased with the search for the "Hero's Sword"; he never heard back from any that had ventured out, including Li Long; so he sent members of his Imperial Guard to help the quest advance more quickly. Chai Xianghua was included among that group. The guards traveled under the guise of a traveling opera troupe, so as not to raise suspicion of their true motives. Xianghua, who was trained in martial arts since she had been a child, was to be the main attraction. As she prepared for her journey, she recalled her mother's dying words--that she was born to complete an important task and that she must cut her own path through an uncertain future. With her mother's keepsake--an old tai chi jian--Xianghua left on her own with the sense of invisible forces pushing her onward. On her journey, she encountered a member of the Ling-Sheng Su Temple in China, Kilik, and a Japanese pirate of the Ryukyu Kingdom, Maxi. Told of the Soul Edge's evil nature by Kilik, she agreed to aid both of them in their journey to destroy the evil blade, unknowing all the while that she had had a sister, Xianglian, at Ling-Sheng Su Temple and that her sister was eventually killed by Kilik in self-defense on the night of the notorious Evil Seed. With Kilik and Maxi's help, Xianghua stormed Ostrheinsburg Castle. Maxi stayed behind and defeated the castle's guard, Astaroth, but his life was lost in the process. Kilik and Xianghua together entered the castle, where Kilik used his holy bo staff Kali-Yuga to defeat the azure knight, Nightmare; but the battle left him too weary to fight the Inferno. As Xianghua readied herself for the fight, her mother's keepsake unveiled itself as the holy sword, Soul Calibur, and she plunged it into the Inferno's heart, banishing it into a void; although the Soul Calibur became trapped in the void along with it.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Chai Xianghua ]

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