Invented Original Characters: Shi Yan Chen

Growing up my dream job was to be a comic book artist/writer. But with very little artistic talent that dream died pretty quickly. Now I do my best to bring my characters to life using apps like factory of heroes, swordmaker, armormaker, you doodle and photo cutout. They don't always turn out looking very good but I get more excited about the concepts and stories behind the characters than how well I can make the character look good. Sometimes my characters are from cultures I am not a part of because I think it fits their story or other aspects about them. I am not a cultural expert but at the very least I hope no one is upset by me using aspects of cultures I'm not a part of and find interesting. That said below is my original character Shi Yan Chen.

Renamed using the Shaolin naming tradition Shi Yan Chen is a Chinese vampire hunter who specializes in hunting leech vampires. He is the oldest of his order and the group's leader. And while they all train to hunt vampires Shi Yan Chen is typically the only one in the field risking his life as he ussually refuses to risk their lives before his own. In the event of his death the other members will be mobilized to continue his dangerous missions. When hunting leech vampires Shi Yan Chen exploits the leeches two main weaknesses to salt and Jade. Due to the leeches multiple hearts Shi Yan Chan prefers using blunt strikes to destroy them. His weapon of choice is a jade meteor hammer that can pummel both amphibious and terrestrial leech vampires. Although durable, jade is not indestructible and is quite expensive, so the meteor hammer is typically saved for sea leeches who have used science to minimize their weakness to salt. For leeches without that tolerance Shi Yan Chen dusts his hands in salt and dispatches them with strikes and throws.

For decades Shi Yan Chen's order has worked closely with a Japanese group called the Owls who specialize in hunting moth vampires. In this arrangement the groups both attacked vampires directly and pitted the moth and leech vampires against one another through deception. Recently when the last Owl died Shi Yan Chen thought about working without the Owls but decided the vampire threat was too great to not have a new Owl.

Introducing himself as Chen, he approached Shinji Miyazaki who had recently inherited his estranged father's successful company. Chen explained that Shinji's father kept his distance to keep him safe from moth Vampires and convinced Shinji to become a new Owl. From then on Chen strategized how and when him and Shinji would attack moth and leech vampires and how Shinji can leverage his company's resources for their war. Their most common method is to leave none alive in a vampire den and plant evidence that would make moth and leech vampires falsely retaliate against each other. At times Chen feels an immense guilt for involving Shinji in this mission before involving his group but Shinji's financial resources and (after a few missions) his combat prowess has made him far too valueble against vampires to keep him on the sidelines. Despite the seriousness of their mission and Chen's somewhat stoic nature Chen and Shinji are at times like best friends and at times like father and son. And while Chen is terrified that Shinji's recklessness may catch up to him one day, he remembers what it's like to feel young and invincible and tries to guide Shinji gently. On Chen's birthday each year he gives Shinji one guess of his age. Shinji is 0 for 2 so far.