Mei Chai

Mei Chai is the Right Hand of the Stormbringers. Born Chai Meilin to a wealthy family in Asabahd, her lineage claims descent from the Yellow Emperors who ruled Yi Ti a thousand years ago. Chai Gong raised his sons for leadership and his daughters for marriage, but Meilin quickly proved more talented than her indolent twin. She was frequently charged with assisting him in his studies, and in the process learned much of swordsmanship and battlefield tactics.

In the year 410, Meilin’s father attempted to usurp the imperial throne. After many initial successes, Chai Gong’s fortunes were rapidly reversed, forcing him to flee west. Desperate to gain a new foothold, the Yellow rebels foolishly marched toward Qarth, where mercenaries brought their aspirations to a bloody end.

After slaying her father, Selwyn Storm found Meilin defending herself against several sellswords. Impressed by her skill, he offered her a place in his company – and with no the other recourse, she accepted. Effectively exiled from her home land, Mei distinguished herself among her brothers in arms, putting her unique education into practice. She eventually became a lieutenant of the Stormbringers, commanding their flank throughout western Essos.

Appearance and Character
Meilin’s Yi Tish features easily distinguish her among other Essosi; she has almond eyes, dark hair, pale skin and a round, flat face with full cheeks. While not particularly imposing in her form, she has an above average height and a subtly toned physique, a figure well-suited for fighting. Typically sporting a fitted tunic of boiled leather, Mei opts for chainmail before battle and simple gowns for formal occasions, rare as they may be in her life. At her hips, she usually carries a castle-forged longsword and a parrying dagger, with another knife concealed within her boot.

Even in her rugged attire, Meilin maintains a groomed appearance, always ready to leverage the charm of her exotic beauty. Where she lacks a poetic grasp of the common tongue, she instead utilizes a graceful demeanor to inspire her allies and disarm potential foes. With her subordinate sellswords, however, Mei can be unrelentingly stern, often keeping the men in line with a heavy hand.

After several years as a sellsword, Mei’s lifelong fascination with foreign (if increasingly familiar) lands and cultures lingers. She is always eager to hear the stories and opinions of others, though her open mind and curiosity seldom stand in the way of her selfish ambitions. Already molded into a callous mercenary, Mei ruthlessly seeks the renown that once seemed well beyond her reach.

Early Life
More than a thousand years after the downfall of the last Yellow Emperor, a Chai claimant emerged in the strange city of Carcosa. Better known as the "Sorcerer Lord", Chai Choq's ambitions never came to fruition. After his assassination, his sole surviving son, Han, returned to Yi Ti and amassed a great fortune in his own right. Though he and his son were content with their station, his grandson developed an obsession with his legendary ancestry. Even as a child, Chai Gong plotted his bid for imperial power.

After marrying into the wealthiest family of Tiqui, Gong relocated to the port of Asabhad, just outside of Yi Ti's western border. He sired a set of twins, Meilin and Jianjie, raising the son to become a crown prince while expecting the daughter to someday secure a marriage alliance. As the two began their formal studies, however, Meilin revealed herself to be a diligent learner where her brother was lazy and dull. She was reluctantly allowed to share in Jianjie's "princely" education, if only to serve as his secondary tutor.

Though Meilin's assistance only aggravated her twin, she retained everything she was taught. She practiced swordsmanship, studied the great battles of Yi Tish history, and became fluent in High Valyrian. However, her education was never fully coherent; lessons in statesmanship alongside her brother were interspersed with lessons in feminine propriety. To Meilin's unending chagrin, her parents took no pride in their daughter's talents and continued to expect her to become little more than a submissive and dutiful noble woman.

With Chai Gong traveling frequently throughout Yi Ti and the Jade Sea, Huidai struggled to rein in her headstrong daughter. Meilin circumvented her restrictive upbringing by constantly sneaking out of the house to explore the worldly city around her. She mingled freely with the foreign children who resided near Asabhad's harbor, including an Andal boy who taught her the fundamentals of the Common Tongue. This exposure to the world at large was balanced by her yearly visits to her mother's family in Tiqui, where she became equally appreciative of her own culture.

The Yellow Rebellion
In the year 410 AC, Chai Gong decided to at last exploit the perceived instability of the Golden Empire. After assuming control of Asabhad in a bloodless coup, he called upon the many allies he'd cultivated in western Yi Ti and incited a widespread insurrection. Wildly successful at first, Chai Gong's fortunes reversed two years later when an imperial army rapidly pushed the Yellow rebels back to Asabhad. Expecting to lose the city, Gong fled with his family, fleet and forces, intent on establishing a new foothold beyond the reach of his enemies. Meilin knew her father was doomed when he decided to march on the virtually impregnable city of Qarth, but his large and sophisticated army posed a formidable threat nevertheless. The Pureborn of Qarth enlisted numerous sellsword companies to their defense – most notably the Stormbringers, whose leader Selwyn Storm was given command over the combined forces. After a decisive victory at the Battle of the Red Waste, Selwyn personally slew Chai Gong, wielding the same Valyrian sword that befell his ancient ancestor Chai Duq, the last Yellow Emperor.

In the aftermath of the battle, four sellswords cornered Jianjie and Meilin, effortlessly cutting down the former and attempting to rape the latter. To their fatal surprise, Meilin picked up her fallen twin's sword and defended herself, killing three before a bloodied man shot an arrow through the last. Revealing himself to be Selwyn the Stormbow, he was impressed enough by Meilin's swordsmanship to offer her a place in his retinue. She accepted, knowing fully well that she could never return home.

Right Hand of the Stormbringers
For the convenience of her western comrades - and to symbolize her indifference to her family - she reversed and shortened her name, presenting herself as "Mei Chai." Though the sellswords initially struggled to accept a distantly foreign woman as one of their own, Mei soon earned their respect and affection with her talents and charms. Within a year, she was appointed "Right Hand" of the Stormbringers, taking up command of the company's flank.

As a sellsword, Mei traveled throughout Essos, experiencing cultures and places that she'd once only dreamed of. She relished in the freedom her new career allowed, as well as the luxurious and decadent lifestyle afforded by her success. When the Stormbringers were briefly joined by none other than Rhaegar Targaryen, she found in the prince a quick friend and a formidable sparring partner, and she was endlessly fascinated by his royal roots.

Mei Chai has since remained with the Stormbringers, ever loyal to the Captain who saved her life and slew her tyrannical father. Her men recognize her beauty and brutality in equal measure; they seldom doubt the exotic woman's fitness for leadership.

Family

 * Chai Choq, "Sorcerer Lord" of Carcosa b. 267 AC d. 312 AC
 * Chai Han b. 303 AC. d. 374 AC
 * Chai Yuan b. 332 AC d. 401 AC
 * Chai Gong b. 366 AC d. 412 AC
 * m. Wu Huidai b. 372 d. 412 AC
 * Chai Meilin b. 391 AC
 * Chai Jianjie b. 391 AC d. 412 AC
 * Chai Qian b. 393 AC d. ???
 * Chai Daiyu b. 396 d. ???