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Name: [Yakumi] Kwan Kingyo
Where she hails from: Michad, a clear, quiet pond beneath a waterfall near the source of the Lùthmhor/Mallachd, in the mountains near where they meet Talamh. The pond empties into a larger waterfall, and is inhabited by some rather pretty goldfish, not to mention Michad City, the underwater community of aquatic talasiths.
Physical Description: Kwan has delicate, lacy orange fins on her back, as well as on the backs of her arms and legs. She needs to use a special lotion on her fins when she is out of water--if she doesn't, they get dry and ichy. Most of her skin is hairless, though she does have eyebrows and eyelashes. She's somewhat skinny and short (even among goldfish talasiths).
Attire: While she is in Michad, Kwan wears clothing that allows her to swim freely and not irritate her fins. She often wears a short, sleeveless gold dress that dips low in the back to allow for her back-fin and has a thick stripe of dark blue at the bottom. Her slippers cover her ankles and are gold at the top and dark blue over most of the foot. When out of the water, she wears a long purple coat with silver trim, both to keep warm and to meet modesty expectations. In or out of water, she wears a necklace with seven mahou-ishi on it.
Character Description: Kwan's life hasn't been especially exciting up to this point. Although her brother and sister often excluded her from their games when she was growing up, Kwan did not lack friends, and as they grew up she learned to get along with her older siblings. Kwan is actually her middle name; she was born Yakumi Kwan Kingyo, and her parents still call her Yakumi, as do some of her other relatives. She doesn't like the name; it sounds too sweet and vulnerable, and Kwan knows she is neither. She would rather that people saw her as someone that shouldn't be trifled with.
Kwan is concerned with money above anything else. She's not a thief, or obsessed with shiny things; she just likes the idea of becoming rich and being able to live in luxury. Her philosophy hasn't won her many friends, but she supposes that when she is successful, she can buy friends if she needs them. Deep down, she doesn't worry much about being accepted or liked; however, she would like to fall in love one day, though she doubts that it will ever happen, or that anyone would really love her in return. Still, she judges it a small price to pay for success.
Kwan attended school, like most children in Michad, until the age of twelve, when she was apprenticed to Dannel Koi, a maker of jewelry and mahou-ishi (enchanted stones). It looked like a lucrative business to go into, and although Kwan has learned much about jewelry, she has much more to learn before Dannel passes on the secrets of mahou-ishi to her. He says that she must mature more before he will teach her, and encourages her in her journey into the forest.
Few talasiths from Michad like to go into the forest; being out of water is uncomfortable, and there are many cultural differences as well. However, Kwan had sold some of the jewelry she'd made during a visit to Sparrow in Cadalach Glen, making more money than she could have in Michad. Her greed (er, self-interest) overrode her fear and discomfort, and she decided to take her operation to Tannas Hollow in hope of larger profits.
Kwan met Sparrow when the faerie nearly drowned in Michad; after that, the two became like sisters--bickering like sisters as well as being friends. Later on she met Rikou, and her parents and Rikou's parents decided that the two of them should get married. Kwan is attracted to his wealth, but can't stand Rikou as a person. George she meets even later on, after she has traveled to Tannas Hollow. She likes him, mostly because he admires her and knows when to keep his mouth shut.
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