[Poki] Tserin

Peace | Tea | Flowers | Generous and Strong-Willed People | Swimming | Water | Rain | Sword Dancing | Playful Teasing | Food

Violence | Cruel People | Meat | Arguments

Tserin is a relaxed, gentle Leader, forever concerned with the state of his village and his people. His days tend to be quiet and simple—caring for the temple, attending to pilgrims and village matters, meditating, and practicing swordplay (when Kronos and Kin aren't around to add an extra spin to his day, of course). He is friendly and approachable, preferring to allow his villagers (and indeed, all villagers) to see him as someone they can go to in their times of need. Despite the seriousness and care with which he goes about his duties as both priest and leader, he does like to take his breaks from all of that and relax, though he never really lets himself forget the weight of that responsibility on his shoulders. He enjoys festivals and all the joys (and food) that comes with them, especially since they give him a good reason to take some time off.

As a priest, and given the events of his past, he holds a fairly strict code of non-violence. Despite that, he is a master swordsman and practices daily, and he will never hesitate to protect his village and his people (after attempting a more peaceful solution, of course). Still, his code of non-violence has gotten him into trouble in the past. His righteous (some might even say self-righteous) nature and drive to protect, and his desire to always try to find another, peaceful way often clash, leaving him hesitant and self-doubting. When his hand is forced either way, he often feels lasting guilt, wondering if he shouldn't have tried to look for a peaceful solution to this problem, or if he should have acted more decisively with that problem. But it's a guilt and an anxiety that he bears along with the rest of the responsibility of leading a village, as well as the regrets of his past.

Tserin has a tendency to hide his true feelings, especially if they involve his own worries and well-being. He will always do his best to cheer up or reassure the people around him, even at the expense of his own peace of mind. His smiles and cheerful, often even playful bearing are always genuine around the people he loves, but when he's worried or upset, he makes an even better effort to try and hide it. Only the people he loves and trusts the most are ever able to see behind that facade—otherwise, he likes to keep a composed picture for his villagers as their leader.

Far to the west of Crystal Lake, well before the rampant destruction ravaged by the Kami War, there existed a small village that had long been isolated from the other major villages. Despite its isolation, however, the village had always managed well enough—thriving even—thanks, in no small part, to its own unique trio of guardians. Unlike the official guardians and leaders of the other villages, who occasionally moved around or relinquished their positions to new guardians, the guardians of this village remained forever constant—a trio continually succeeded by their own reincarnations generation after generation.


The trio consisted of a Cobalion, a Virizion, and a Terrakion. This small village had earned their constant protection and dedication by remaining faithfully embedded in an older, simpler way of life, keeping balance and peace with nature. In return, the trio made this place their home. Whenever the current trio reached their prime, a successor would be born to each—another Cobalion, Virizion, and Terrakion—to grow and learn from the current trio before the new generation took over as primary guardians. This ensured that the village always had its proper protection, and afforded each generation a respite in their older age, so that they could pass on in peace, knowing that the village would be in the capable hands of their successors. This constant cycle of reincarnation also left each generation of protectors wiser and more connected to the village than the last — their memories were mostly retained from their former lives, allowing them to grow and protect the village more securely than ever. It also allowed each guardian to be at once his own person and the reincarnation of his previous self.


The most recent trio was made up by the three brothers Takeshi, Hinata, and Daichi. Takeshi, as a Cobalion, was their natural leader, a stern, seemingly cold man with an utmost dedication to protecting the village. His brothers, though no less dedicated, were rather more laid back about the whole thing; Hinata, the trio’s Virizion, happily concerned himself with more frivolous pursuits, like clothes or flirting or gardening (though he was also easily the trio’s most approachable and level-headed member), and Daichi, the Terrakion, was content to be boisterous and prone to getting himself into good-natured brawls.


One winter, a food storehouse caught fire and began to spread dangerously. Of course it was the job of the trio to work as quickly as they could to save their villagers and put the fire out. It was a long and hard process, but eventually they were able to control and then put out the fire. Unfortunately, the grain stores were damaged and several homes had burned down. As the trio searched for survivors and injured, they heard a noise from the smoking shell of the house closest to the fire’s origin point. Takeshi hurried forward to look, his brothers close behind him, and what he found was a small child, no more than a newborn, crying amidst the ash. Immediately the three felt the power that slept within the child, and they grew worried. Could it mean that one of them was somehow near to dying, if a replacement had been born? But when they looked closer they saw that the child was not a Cobalion or Virizion or Terrakion at all, but some new kind of guardian. Together, they decided to raise the child to be one of them.



Traditionally, a guardian does not train a successor until they are near to the end of their life, so this was a new experience for them—all of them young and in the prime of their power, this new child was more like a brother than a successor or heir, and so they treated him as such. They named him Tserin, and took him under their wing. 

The Keldeo flourished under the care of his brothers. Where he might have come from, or who his parents might have been didn’t matter—his brothers were his family, through and through. Daichi, bit and strong and boisterous, was always happy to pick on him like any big brother should, but was always the first to get him out of any trouble, and the quickest to defend his little brother. Hinata was the only one willing to meditate with him, a habit that Tserin quickly grew to love, and together they would sit in the quiet of a candle-lit room, or a sunny clearing in the forest. Tserin got along the best with his Virizion brother, for his good humor and easy going nature, and Hinata doted on his baby brother. But out of all of them, Tserin admired Takeshi the most. His strong, noble, aloof brother, the one he aspired most to be like. The Cobalion and Keldeo were almost inseparable when Tserin was a child, and even though Takeshi found it difficult to change his stoic ways, it was clear to anyone that he adored and took pride in his younger brother.

Unfortunately, the older Tserin got, the harder it was for Takeshi to express his thoughts and feelings, and despite how much Tserin admired his brother, he also felt more and more frustrated with him. 

Of course, it was also a surprise to all of them how powerful the Keldeo was. They all took turns training him either one on one or all together, and he grew quickly. By the time he was thirteen, the brothers all decided that they would come together and teach Tserin a new, powerful move, something only he could learn as a new kind of guardian. The Secret Sword became Tserin’s signature move, and with it and further training, he eventually surpassed all of his brothers. 
While Tserin had always been the most peaceful of the brothers by nature, he was also the quickest to pick up his sword to any cause he thought needed defending. His righteous nature made him strong, but it also made him reckless. He was never the type to pick a fight, but he never hesitated to use his sword to defend anyone in the village from outside threats. His brothers worried that, eventually, he’d get into something too big for him to handle all on his own, and many times they’d begged him (Hinata and Daichi mostly, with Takeshi staring at him disapprovingly) to wait for them once in a while before jumping in headfirst. He always promised that he would, that he was sorry for worrying the, but he never seemed to remember his promise when it came down to it. And why should he? He was always fine.


During a particularly cold and harsh winter, a little more than twenty years after the fire that had brought him and his brothers together, something attacked the village. No one was sure what it was at first—it came at night, and left tacks that no one could identify. At first it only cause property damage, killing livestock, but soon villagers started to disappear, only to be found dead days later. The quartet was horrified that their village could be hurt like this, but no matter how many nights they stayed awake to patrol, they never seemed to be in time to do any good. 
Finally, Tserin decided that enough was enough, and that he would go out on his own to track down whatever it was and get rid of it, one way or another. He knew that his brothers would never approve, but he didn’t want them to get hurt, so he went off on his own. If it looked like it was going too much to be for him to handle on his own, he resolved, he would go back and get his brothers then.


In his search, Tserin came across a huge cave in the hills that lined their village’s might forest. inside was a vast cavern, and he could feel that, at the very bottom, was a lake of frozen water, though it was so deep he couldn’t see it with his eyes. He went in, forgetting his promise to go for help, and skirted the treacherous cave path down and down and down into the cavern.

At the bottom, sleeping nestled in the middle of a wide lake, frozen thick with ice, was a huge, beastly kyurem. Attacking while it was sleeping, Tserin thought, would be the best way, but it seemed like a cruel and unfair way of doing it. The creature needed to be defeated, he knew, and deserved to die for killing so many innocent civilians, but he couldn’t bring himself to simply sneak up on it. But before he could figure out what to do, the beast woke up, and immediately attacked. Tserin barely had time to defend, and though he was just as capable of fighting on the ice as the dragon, the wide, empty open space made for a poor battleground against a huge dragon.


Tserin fought, but the dragon was too powerful, and seemed inordinately enraged. Nothing he said to it would calm it, and in it’s anger it shrugged off any wound it received. When it seemed he could no longer fight, though, a blow hit the dragon from behind. Startled, both Tserin and the Kyurem looked to the cavern entrance. Takeshi stood there, sword raised, and the Kyurem immediately moved its attention to attacking the Cobalion instead. Then Tserin looked away from the fight, startled, as Hinata and Daichi seemed to appear out of nowhere by his side, having skirted around the dragon while it was distracted.


They’d followed Tserin, Hinata explained as he helped his little bother up. When he couldn’t stand, Daichi picked him up to carry him, intent on getting the wounded keldeo away from the fight as quickly as possible. Now that he wasn’t fighting, his fatigue and injuries hit him full force, and Tserin blacked out, the last thing he saw was Hinata running to help Takeshi while Daichi took him away.


Later, when Tserin finally woke up, he was alone. It hurt to move, but he knew he had to get up and look for his brothers—he’d never be able to rest, not knowing if they were okay or not. But before he could even get past the front gate of their home, he saw something coming slowly up the path ahead of him. Daichi must have left him at the house and gone back to the fight because he was coming back to the house now, his face grim, with Hinata at his side. Hinata was limping heavily, leaning against Daichi’s side, and the Terrakion was carrying something. They had to get closer before Tserin could see that he had Takeshi held in his arms. Tserin didn’t remember much after that because standing and walking to the front of the house had been too taxing and, once again, he passed out.


This time, when he woke up, Tserin had the sense that he’d been sleeping for a long time. He didn’t feel healed, but at least this time his wounds had been tended to, and when he moved he didn’t feel like he was about to immediately fall over. Unfortunately, his brothers had not been so lucky. Daichi, the least hurt of all of them, later explained to Tserin that Hinata and Takeshi had fought the Kyurem while he escaped with Tserin, and that, after he’d returned to the fight, the three of them had been strong enough to fight the Kyurem off from the village. Hinata, though, had suffered several broken bones, among other injuries, and Takeshi still hadn’t woken up from his injuries.


Tserin blamed himself entirely. If he hadn’t been so reckless, they could have all gone in together and, fighting as one, would have stood more of a chance. Because of him, his brothers had been split up, and Takeshi had taken the brunt of the attack to ensure that he was able to get away. He’d been foolish and rash, and he’d gotten the people he loved most in the world terribly hurt because of it.


It was several days before Takeshi was able to wake up, and Tserin only waited that long before leaving, to make sure his brother was going to make it. He couldn’t have born the thought of fighting with Takeshi, and he knew they inevitably would have once the cobalion had recovered enough. Of course they would have fought—Tserin deserved for his brother to yell at him, for putting himself and his brothers in such danger. 
On the night he left, Hinata was waiting for him just outside of their gate. Tserin asked that he not stop him, that he look after their brothers and to, eventually, tell them that he was sorry. The virizion only agreed when he’d gotten a promise from Tserin to eventually come back, when he was ready. None of them wanted their baby brother to disappear. Tserin reluctantly agreed, and Hinata caught him off guard with a hug before returning back to the house.

He lost his will to fight, after that. His resolution that fighting, that his power, was the right thing had broken irrevocably. Without that to guide him, and in his shame, he escaped into a younger form, a remembrance of the time just before he’d gotten his Secret Sword ability. But he was a guardian at heart, and even in the midst of his regret, he knew he couldn’t live long without something, or someone, to protect. When Crystal Lake put out the call for a new guardian, he answered it without hesitation, hoping that he might be able to find some peace there.

In the years that followed, of course, Tserin found purpose, among friendship and a home to call his own. The Kami Trio destroyed his home of Crystal Lake, but it also gave him a chance to find his courage and righteousness once again. It twas the first time he felt confident enough with himself to use the Sacred Sword again. With that power restored to him, he also found that he was able to return to his actual age and appearance, no longer needed to hide behind a younger facade. But he had already changed by that point, and found that his smaller self had become just as important a part of him as his true appearance, and he could not give it up. Now he is content to switch between the two appearances as he likes.

He had always been devoted to Arceus growing up (which Daichi had poked at him for but which Hinata had supported, teaching him prayers and meditation), and that devotion became one of the primary healing factors in his life for learning to live with his mistake. He takes his duty as a priest in the sacred temple to Arceus in Gale Spring very seriously, but he isn't above having a little fun now and then. And of course, a new, improved life wouldn't be complete without someone to share in his new joy with . . .

- - -

More recently, the villages' conflict with the mysterious organization that stole Noria, Makaze, and Koori from them has put him into contact with another set of Musketeers. Though this Cobalion, Virizion, and Terrakion are not his brothers, he can't help but feel like they're family, too. Their presence both comforts him and makes him anxious — they remind him of his pasts mistakes, and of his so-far forgotten promise to return home, but they also make him feel safe, and he enjoys having them around. He's careful not to project Daichi, Hinata, and Takeshi onto the new trio. They are their own people, and he doesn't want to make them into something they're not.

x Tserin can walk on water
x As a leader and someone who tends towards the formal, Tserin places a lot of importance on honorifics in his interactions with people. The honorifics he uses, and even the lack of one, often speak volumes about his true feelings.
x Despite his code of non-violence, he will not hesitate to fight to defend an innocent.
x Though he appears young, he seems much more mature and intelligent than his age. Even for his true age of 29, he can be exceedingly wise and insightful. It's possible that even that doesn't reflect his true age . . .
x His favorite pastimes are watching the rain while drinking tea, and practicing his Sword Dance.
x Tserin is very devoted to Arceus, and spends much of his time working as a Priest.
x Tserin is agendered, and doesn't particularly prefer any gendered pronoun over the other. However, "he" seems to be the pronoun most universally adopted by the people around him.
x He is also asexual, besides being celibate as a priest. He doesn't ever really even think about sexuality, and is even mildly uncomfortable when it's brought up. He's not necessarily aromantic, though . . .
x Aside from his more child-like body, Tserin also has his adult form, the true representation of his real age. However, since he's used his smaller body for so long, he's comfortable in both forms, and considers both to be essential parts of who he is.