Name: Lao Zhou

Age: 78 years since enlightenment

Gender: Male

Race: Animal Spirit (Crow)

Appearance:
Crow: Before enlightenment, Lao Zhou appears as an adult crow or raven with plummage that is as dark as night. His eyes are a pristine blue that glows when framed by the black of his feathers.
Human: Lao Zhou's human form usually is in the age range of 8-17, preferably dwelling in the lower numbers. He retains his blue eyes. His hair becomes a raven-black, nearly feather-like in appearance that falls over his eyes and ears in an untamed manner. His frame is thin and height varies between 4-5 feet depending on the age he decides to adopt. His dress usually adopts the culture and style of the land around him, varying in shades of blue to purple to black. Even if he adores armor, however, the effect is merely an illusion and acts as nothing more than cloth. He has no human name, therefore when asked, people have called him Nameless.
True Form: Lao Zhou's most favorite form to retain is similar to that of a raven, which actually makes it easier to maintain since it's so close to his actual form, except larger. The neck is enlongated to allow a nearly 180 degree turn and his tail feathers become larger, boasting feathers almost like that of a peacock. He usually envelops his feathers in a blue flame. People who have seen this form have claimed a rising of a black phoenix.

Personality: Due to his crow-like nature, Lao has spent most of his time watching people, whether it be perched on a rooftop or seated below at a tea house. However, due to superstitions about the crow, many have concluded his ever-watching stance as plotting. Many times has Lao Zhou come across as mischievous and thus it becomes hard for anyone to ever trust him, child or not. However the same cannot be said of him. Zhou is very easy to befriend despite his suspicious appearance. He has the innocence and curiosity, and quite possibly the naivety of a child. But like a child, Zhou can become frustrated very easily and can be distracted by menial things that many people would take for granted. However, like a crow, Zhou's intelligence is superb, even if he doesn't show it sometimes.

History: It had taken him five years of meditation before finally ascending to an immortal of which Luo Feng spiritualists dubbed him as Lao Zhou the Watching. It's a name he has never really taken a liking to, which is why his human form hasn't taken the same name. It is said that the people have accepted him as a deity not because they favored his protection, but instead feared his wrath. The icon of a crow is a harbinger if death or doom where his dark feathers seemed to indicate omen. Paintings of him have shown him with black feathers that seem to absorb sunlight. It is said that if a person gazes upward at the night sky and sees a black patch of space unoccupied by stars, they're actually gazing upon Lao Zhou's dark body. A person unfortunate enough to discover Lao Zhou's body must quick avert their gaze and bath themselves in pure light or they'll take upon a thousand years of misfortune and misery. Any person who gazes longer would attract the raven's attention. Blue stars would begin to shine down on gazing person in that void which are said to be Lao Zhou's judging eyes. Supposedly, the person would die the next day. It is this very superstition that the spiritualists have created a religion of him, tempted the deity to descend from the heavens and trapped him in an altar where a sacrifice is made every full moon to appease his supposed wrath.
No doubt Lao Zhou had disliked this new religion of his and thus left his homeland of Luo Feng.

Weapon: none.

Ability: His abilities vary depending on the form he takes but generally his strength and reflexes are his strong points where his defense is lacking. His stamina is generally average. Lao Zhou, however, has two abilities that he uses very frequently.

Shapeshifting: All animal spirits are capable of changing form. So Lao Zhou can take the form of any animal that comes to his mind. All animals take on similar traits of his crow, whether they adopt a black coat or his blue eyes. His forms take generally less than a minute to transform into of which he must be giving his full concentration. At top performance, he can retain that shape for as long as his magic lasts (about a hour, more if he has been fed). He can change into different forms during this period, but like before, he must give it his full attention. Transforming in the middle of another form usually takes up more energy than changing back to a crow, which leaves him slightly vulnerable as he adjusts to the new form. Changing into his true form gives him greater strength and speed but drains his energy twice as fast. So at top performance, he can only retain the body for half an hour.

Magical: Most of his magic is channeled into changing forms, but he can conjure up a black flame (which he uses in conjunction with an attacking animal, usually his true form). This flame lets off a dim glow and emits no heat, rather it absorbs heat and feels frigid to the touch. This flame only burns what the user whats to burn and leaves no traces of soot or ash behind. Instead the flame changes the consumed object into energy which then becomes an everlasting black flame. This flame doesn't actually consume material items. Instead it feeds off of the spiritual or magical essence which dwells in all things. The object must be in contact with Lao Zhou for 3-5 seconds before actually catching aflame. It takes approximately one minute for the flames to seep into an object's magical or spiritual reserves. The sensation is close to a light tingling feeling and increases to a gentle 'warmth' once they have reached an object's magical reserve. About the only physical change is that the object turns black as if scorched. Aside from that, weapons that happen to become consumed by this flames still retain their edge until the flames have eaten up all their energies. Living organisms generate a large amount of energy and the flames could burn for hours to an entire day. Of course, they would feel the effects of dwindling energy which includes exhaustion and nausea. Inanimate objects, on the other hand, hardly have any and thus would only burn for a hour at most, depending on the condition of the object. These flames can be extinguished like normal flames via slapping.

Roaming Flames: Flames that have departed from Lao Zhou's body are considered 'roaming'. This flame does not spread and is beyond the user's control, meaning this flame simply continues to burn on said object until the spiritual forces/magical energies have run out or water extinguishes it. Coming into contact with this flame will have no effect.

Bursting Flames: The only way for flames to detach from Lao Zhou's body would for either him to be in contact with the object (the easiest and most pain-free way) or for the object to be a foot away from him. In that case Lao Zhou would have to channel energy into a blast of flames emitting in one direction (whose radius is one foot). A ring of fire (a harmless visual effect) would appear before him and it would take five seconds of charging before the foot in front of him with an area of 4x4 feet would combust instantaneously like a miniature explosion. The attack is smokeless and odorless but anything within the 4x4x1 feet of combustion would instantly bet set aflame. Magical energies (spells) caught in the explosion would immediately be consumed no matter their degree. Any person caught inside this would have all their energies instantaneously drained, thus resulting in death. Limbs that linger in this area would combust and would 'die' and become useless. At this time, any other flame that happens to be on his person would become harmless and continue so for the next ten seconds. He must wait an entire minute before attempting another burst in which he cannot change forms but can still move about. An attack of this magnitude usually depletes a great deal of energy. He can only attempt ten in any given day at top performance. Using all ten would obvious deplete his energy and leave him with little option but to flee.

Flame Shield: Lao Zhou can create a flame skin over half of his body (referred to here as a flame shield). It takes 3-5 seconds to create a shield which appears as a flaming black drape which absorbs light. Magic cast on a shield of flames would be more affected than physical weapons. Since magic is a raw force sent forward violently, the flames would eat away at any magic directed at it and nullify the magic. This is indicated by a bursts of flames exploding upon contact. Of course if enough magical energy is channeled against the flames, they could break through and thus hit Lao Zhou. However the attack would be weakened since the flames would consume some of the energy. Strong magic casters could easily break through his flames. Those inadaquate or mediocre in magic would have their spells eaten away. The shield can also be breached if fired rapidly at the same area which at least three mediocre shots are needed to break. The flame shield can be moved about his body but the movement is rather slow. Lao Zhou can maintain this shield as long as he has energy but nothing else will burn. He cannot initiate a burst while using a shield nor transform. While this shield is active, Lao Zhou's movements and reflexes are slowed. Because of this, Lao Zhou never keeps this shield up for longer than five minutes.