Tian Kai

Tian Kai is a medical student at United Republic University. He is 19 years old and is one of the top students in his class. The child of a poor family from Ba Sing Se, Tian Kai grew up in the outer rings. His family lived day-to-day, surviving however they could. They left Ba Sing Se when he was eight years old, relocating to a farm in the southern Earth Kingdom. Kai was trained as an earthbender by his father, though his incredible mind developed at a rapid pace. His family sold him to the local Earth King for money where the young Kai worked as a healer to the king at the age of fourteen. The king was impressed by his natural ability to absorb information quickly and, when he was sixteen, recommended him for enrollment at United Republic University to better train himself. The university accepted him, making him one of the youngest students to be sent to university at this prestigious institution. Kai is interested mostly in medicine, specializing in the practice of herbology and surgery. He is one of the top students in his class and is close to earning his doctorate.

As he prepares to write his thesis for his Master's Degree, tragedy struck. His apartment was ransacked by gangs, most of his money taken and his thesis notes destroyed. Now, with no money to feed himself, much less make tuition payments, Kai is going to have to get his hands dirty if he wants that Doctorate degree.

Childhood
Tian Kai was born nineteen years ago to Nongmin and Daioke Kai in the outer ring of Ba Sing Se. Nongmin was a member of the Earth Kingdom Military until an injury forced him to retire from the military before Tian was born. The family lived off of Daioke's commissions as she made pottery for local businesses and families. Due to the business struggling many times, the family was poor and had to live day-to-day. Tian's siblings constantly stole food to feed their family. Nongmin worked at random jobs, but was unable to keep them for long due to his employers seeing his injury as a burden and choosing to fire the Earthbender veteran. Nongmin taught his children how to Earthbend in their home, which led to much property damage. When Tian was eight, a bout of plague struck the area where the Kai family had taken residence, driving Daioke's business into bankruptcy. Nongmin chose to move his family out of Ba Sing Se, relocating to a farm run by his brother, Lan Kai. The business was sold at a very low price. The Kai family had just enough money for the ride to Lan's farm.

Lan Kai was a very lazy man. When Tian and his family arrived, the farm was in disrepair. With Nongmin's help, the farm was renovated. The Kai farm supplied food to the nearby village of Fen Lu. The farm was one of the few in the area due to the land being relatively poor for growing crops. Since Nongmin seemed to have somewhat of a green thumb, the farm thrived. Uncle Lan was once a librarian in the middle ring of Ba Sing Se and he had kept a number of scrolls in his house. Tian constantly read these scrolls, taking an interest in medicine and herbology. He set up a small garden for medicinal herbs and sold these herbs to the village doctor with his father's help.

When Kai was fourteen, a dust storm took Fen Lu by surprise. The Kai Farm was reduced to a barren stretch of field nearly overnight. Desperate for money, the Kai family sold Tian to the local king for money.

Service Under King Sha Shu
King Sha Shu was an obese man with two daughters. He cared much for his daughters and for his kingdom, though he rarely left the palace. When he did, he usually contracted some form of painful infection or another, from toe fungus to tooth decay. He could be very crude at times and crass to people he did not personally know. His temper was extremely short around what he perceived as 'incompetence' and he did not tolerate tardiness.

Due to Nongmin's sale of his own son, Tian grew to resent his father. He entered King Sha Shu's court with nothing but the clothes on his back. His familial past was completely behind him. Life under the service of King Sha Shu started rough. Kai mistakenly insulted the daughter of Sha Shu on his first day and nearly destroyed a very expensive decorative plate. King Sha Shu stuck Tian Kai where he wouldn't break or offend anybody; the archives. Kai became a caretaker of the archives, reading as much as he could. Three months into his service, Sha Shu developed a nasty case of gout. Kai, upon hearing news of this, offered the king medicinal advice. Sure enough, the advice worked, impressing the king and his court. King Sha Shu began to open up to Kai. A month later, he recommended another herb to the king to ease a toothache. As Tian Kai's service under King Sha Shu continued, the king continually warmed up to the young archivist. Before long, Tian Kai found himself as the king's personal medical assistant, catering to every health issue King Sha Shu would encounter. Due to an increasing age and waistline, these health issues became constant. At least once a month, Kai found himself treating foot fungus, trench foot, gout, or any other ailment of the foot.

As King Sha Shu opened up to Tian Kai, he became a happier, more jolly person towards the young assistant. Tian Kai became one of King Sha Shu's greatest friends over the span of their time together. Though his daughters absolutely despised Tian Kai, the courts and other members of the royal family began to see him as one of their own.

When Tian Kai was sixteen, King Sha Shu had a heart attack. He survived the heart attack, but required immediate surgery to remove a blockage. The chief medical specialist in the palace was away getting supplies, leaving Tian Kai as the only man in the entire local kingdom that could save the dying king. Kai rose to the occasion and, with what knowledge of surgery he had, operated on the king who had become like a father to Kai. The operation was a success, impressing Sha Shu beyond belief. The king believed that Kai's talents were wasted in his kingdom and recommended him for a spot at United Republic University. Though Kai initially objected, he eventually saw eye-to-eye with King Sha Shu. Tian Kai's application was accepted and he bade his farewell to King Sha Shu as he moved on to bigger and better things in Republic City.

United Republic University
The United Republic University was a campus located in Republic City. After the civil wars, it was completely renovated and ready to accept new students.

Tian Kai registered as a Pre-Med student at United Republic University. He stayed in Soto Hall his freshman year and immediately distinguished himself. His roommate absolutely despised him, almost as much as King Sha Shu's daughters. Despite the animosity Tian Kai faced, he worked hard to earn as much credit as he could within a limited time. He did work to make connections, however. He caught on quickly with an Earthbender favorite: Ultimate Frisbending. This game required agility, strength, and the ability to be hit with a frisbee made of clay moving at high velocities. It was much more intense than whatever weird hockey sport Waterbenders enjoyed or whatever psychotic, fire-related sports firebenders played. Ultimate Frisbending was a very fun way for Tian Kai to pass the time, though he spent most of his time hunched over a scroll. When he was eighteen, he earned his Bachelor's degree and moved on for his Master's.

While he worked on his Master's degree, Tian Kai earned an internship at Republic City General Hospital, earning money for tuition. He had enough money to purchase an apartment close to the University, though a Satomobile was still a few paychecks away. His apartment was a small, shabby workshop with two rooms. It wasn't much, but it was home. Tian Kai kept in frequent contact with King Sha Shu, though he never bothered to contact his family, still resenting them for selling him. He did miss Uncle Lan.

Working for his Master's took about a year. Tian earned his Master's Degree in seemingly no time. He began working to earn his doctorate, though his was soon to prove much harder than Tian had initially anticipated. As he worked to write his dissertation, disaster struck. His apartment was broken into while Kai was at work. His valuables were stolen, his apartment was ransacked, and his dissertation was destroyed. Evidence pointed to firebenders, though the police were completely useless at finding the suspect. Tian Kai took it upon himself to do what he could to earn money for tuition and rent and to track down those responsible for frying his dissertation.

Personality
Tian Kai is an intelligent, witty young man. He is known for being sarcastic at times with a very dry sense of humor. He is a relatively kind person, though he has somewhat of a temper, especially after his dissertation was destroyed. When he sets his mind to something, he gets it done. He is not above breaking the law to achieve his goals, which are to finish his dissertation and find those who destroyed his first copy. Kai values loyalty and intelligence the most in a person. He does not handle betrayal well at all and holds grudges against those who do betray him, including his own family. He is, at times, egotistical and arrogant, believing himself to be one of the best at what he does, true as that may be. He can grow snappy when this is disputed. Kai has resorted to alcohol on numerous occasions to drown his sorrow out, though he also goes to the Earthbending range to blow off steam constantly as well.