Duc, a man in his mid-thirties, is an accomplished earthbender, though one with a troubled past.
He is a native of Gaipan, which is currently occupied by Fire Nation forces. He was a respected figure in his community until a few years ago, when he knowingly gave away his countrymen to the enemy.
Gaipan never was in any position to fight back, so they had to learn to live with the Fire Nation occupation. This worked out well for some time, until a new commander, Kenshin, became in charge and abused the trust that had been slowly built up over time. Having been promised prosperity, Duc gave away the locations of key ressources and routes, which the Fire Army quickly seized and took for themselves. Duc and his fellow earth citizens were dismayed, but felt that it was too late to fight back, even if they could.
Kenshin would rule with an iron fist, and coerced more information out of Duc and his friends. As much as Duc would believe that he was keeping him and his wife safe, each betrayal would feel heavier than the last, until it was too much to bear. After selling out a band of resistance fighters, he became a broken man, known as Gaipan's Betrayer. His wife left him in shame, and Duc could barely live with himself.
He left Gaipan alone, hoping to leave it all behind and start anew. However, he never could escape his guilt, even after crossing the Great Divide; a milestone he thought would have been symbolic. In his travels, he did hear rumours of a lost city in the mountains, which was said could not be found by anyone save earthbenders. Duc sought it out, using his advanced seismic sensing capabilties to find the hidden tunnel system. He finally found the place, and even discovered its name amid the ruins: Hujiang. If Duc could not flee his great shame, he may be able to hide from it there.
On the return trip to gather supplies, he found a group of people fighting off a unit of Fire Nation scouts. Among the resistors was, much to his surprise, a firebending woman. Duc, spurred by purpose he had not felt in a long time, helped drive away the scouts. In the heat of the moment, he offered haven to this woman and her friends: they can hide in Hujiang. Having seen with his own eyes that the people of the Fire Nation can fight back against the occupation, he started coming up with plans to find and recruit more people. Duc also praticed lie detection, using his earthbending sense and physical tells, with Ashani, the Fire Nation traitor.
Empowered by this newfound purpose, and the love he found in Ashani, Duc has unofficially lead this group of freedom fighters for the past two years.
History
Kenshin is the one who abused Duc's trust in Gaipan. At first, it was simply asking for some local information which he could use to his advantage. Later, he would obtain important intelligence and, eventually, get Duc to betray resistance members.
Nicknames & Petnames
Duc earned the name "Betrayer of Gaipan". Kenshin will not let him forget it.
Relationship Reasoning
Kenshin abused Duc's protective nature to gain an edge in Gaipan.
Duc fled Kenshin and Gaipan, but his past is now catching up to him.
History
Ashani and Duc first met repelling a Fire Nation scouting party, just after Duc rediscovered Hujiang. This rekindled the flame in him, not only in terms of having a purpose; he also fell in love with her. Ashani's feelngs are mutual, although maybe not as strong as Duc's.
Together, they are Hujiang's unofficial leaders.
Nicknames & Petnames
Ashani hates pet names.
Commonalities & Shared Interests
FIghting back against the Fire Nation's advance into the Earth Kingdom.
Shared Secrets
Ashani knows of Duc's past.
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