Sandra Wu-San is a woman who has had the unique fortune of having her true passion thrust upon her at a relatively early age. She has discarded her previous life and reinvented herself with all of the unnecessary parts sheared away. Sandra is not running away from her life — at least not anymore. She simply prefers to focus on what she has, not what she lacks.
The Lady Shiva sees a fundamental distinction between artists and laborers. While it is an unavoidable fact of this world that artists must sometimes detour into labor to achieve their greater goals, she exists to practice her passion without regard for the mundanities of the world. Shiva is most alive when communicating through her passion, and is always eager to find fellow artists. Inspecting their efforts is typically illuminating, but she lives to find the rare artists who manage to surprise her.
Despite her past traumas and current reputation, Shiva is an idealist. That not everyone has sense of possibility enough to pursue their potential merely means that she must occasionally expand a person's worldview. This imperfect world crushes so many spirits before they have a chance to know themselves. Shiva will not free them all by following her passion, but she may free a few.
Above all else, Sandra is confident and in control of herself for the first time in her life. She does what she wishes, when she wishes. She is comfortable with allowing others to do what they wish. She is fully aware of the consequences of her actions and is prepared to the accept the results without argument.
All of this sounds very pretty and nice until one recalls that her passion is a killing art.
Her Lifelong Art |
Shiva is an artist consumed by passion for her art. She spends every waking hour furthering the practice of her chosen medium. Everything, every thought, every experience, she considers within the framework of how it relates to her obsession. It is very unfortunate for those of peaceful ideals that Shiva's favored artform is beating people to death with her bare hands.
As far as 'normal' humans go, most experts in the field consider it a defensible position to argue that Lady Shiva is the best martial artist in the world, even if they might not agree. Experience is part of this determination. As a child, her martial arts were a precocious hobby; as a teen, she was forced into the business of assassins; as an adult, she became the world-wandering killer of masters and prodigies. Focus is another part, as her tireless dedication on physical matters motivates her to understand new styles in record time, even when she is offered nothing but a chance to observe.
The true thing that makes Shiva dangerous is her obsessive creativity. The knowledge of styles, forms, and techniques she has learned over the years is unknowable to others, especially when one considers that she is frequently the only person on the planet left with certain information (and often because she killed everyone else who knew). Shiva respects her art too much for rote repetition. She constantly synthesizes new forms and approaches, testing and re-testing, pushing the boundaries of what is possible. Shiva does not fight to kill. She does not fight to be the best, or because she loves violence. Those things are incidental. Shiva fights to fight.
For most, it suffices to say that one should not attempt to fight Shiva fairly. |
Barbarism |
There was a time in Shiva's life where she eagerly incorporated melee weapons into her activities — especially her beloved single-bladed swords — as a natural extension of her martial practices. As her understanding of her art grew, Shiva found such implements too easy to master in comparison to the deeper challenge of mastering herself.
Shiva maintains her extreme capability with traditional weapons (or 'low-tech' if one prefers), but uses them as tools in the unfortunate instances where she is acting as a laborer rather than an artist. It is not wise to mistake Shiva's disinterest in weapons as having a bred a lack of practice.
This disinterest does grow to an extreme for any weapon that Shiva judges as being completely unworthy of her time, which predominantly includes guns and the like. Shiva eschewed such weapons even in her younger days, and her experiences have only settled that they are weaknesses that would take her attention away from her true interest. Horrifyingly enough, her refusal to use modern weaponry does not seem to be much of a stumbling block.
While Shiva does not use these weapons, she is a wildly successful assassin who has plied her trade for many years. Her knowledge of the bleeding edge of fighting technology and associated fields is highly developed. She probably knows how to take apart your laser cannon even if she'll never use one herself. |
Mistress Of Shadows |
Sometimes, Shiva wants to kill someone and they do not want to die. This gives life interest. Shiva has pursued this interest by becoming one of the world's most bafflingly difficult people to track. It has only added to her ghastly semi-mythical status that she seems to appear wherever she wants, whenever she wants.
In truth — though perhaps an unhappy one — Shiva's methods are a matter of skill. Her ridiculous level of attention and self-mastery allow her to exploit flaws in perception and planning to pierce defenses that seem like they should have stopped her. Even those who consider themselves to have high situational awareness may find her appearing and disappearing from within their midst.
Some of the stories are true, however. Though she has no interest in magic herself, she does have mystical support from the League of Shadows. What a world to live in that one can make a place literally impossible for a human to enter and the Lady Shiva may yet find her way there all the same. |
Everywhere And Everything |
Shiva was uprooted from her home long ago. Since then, she has wandered the world, getting into an increasingly more complicated set of circumstances involving many people, countries, governments, and conspiracies. Her freakish perceptiveness and obsessive discipline have allowed her to consume a truly massive amount of information in her time.
The breadth of Shiva's practical knowledge is impressive. She is conversational in numerous languages, and knows enough customs to make her way in any part of the world. Her bizarre lifestyle has introduced so many unusual situations in her path that it is rare for her to be surprised. Some are expected — the paraphernalia and methods of killers, the esoteric secrets and magics of the League of Shadows — while others may be much more random. Shiva appreciates fellow artists enough that she can recall that morning she spent talking to a very inspired construction worker about the particulars of building demolition.
Fundamentally, Shiva is a smart woman with an amazing memory and many experiences to call upon. She wouldn't be able to do what she does if that wasn't true. |
The Human Canvas |
Shiva's obsessive exploration of her physical limits has allowed her to develop an intuitive understanding of body language. Combined with her voracious consumption of existing knowledge, she is one of the world's foremost experts on the human body. It is a shame that she uses this gift to kill people. While Shiva is primarily concerned with human bodies, she is intelligent enough to adjust for near-human cases given enough testing. Besides, the world is full of metahumans and supernaturals and they sometimes won't get out of her way.
If Shiva is able to observe a person's movements, she can deduce a significant amount of consciously and unconsciously displayed information. Of greatest concern is her ability to know a person's movements before they make them — really, guessing what they are going to do based on subtle physical tells. She is accurate enough in her predictions that dodging point blank gunshots is a small feat for her.
Shiva is an adept torturer, when she chooses to be one. She knows how a body breaks. Her knowledge of pressure points allows her to perform invasive manipulation: Shiva can induce paralysis, cause intense pain, or disable organs and limbs with a touch. When she wishes, her strikes are guided by tremendously specific knowledge on the exact minute angle that will cause the most damage on impact. As it is sometimes flippantly put, she can see death.
If one wishes to harm without being crude about it, one must unavoidably learn how to heal. Shiva's intimate knowledge of the body allows her to work miracles in certain situations. Though setting a bone or banishing a stiff neck is useful, the greatest value of Shiva's knowledge is in non-obvious injuries. Where modern medicine may find nothing wrong with a person, she may see the scars of past trauma — and a way to heal them. There is an odd truth to stories of Shiva the Destroyer sometimes choosing to bring a person 'back to life.'
All of Shiva springs from her willpower. Through willpower, a girl from Detroit named Sandra went from a relatively normal life to being seriously discussed as the greatest martial artist of her time. Her mental discipline is rigid and extreme enough to be functionally alien when compared to most humans. Shiva is self-aware and rigorously trained to the point of being able to control her mind nearly as easily as her body. |
A Laborer's Wage |
Shiva's lifestyle, which vacillates between aesthetic and lavish depending on mood and desired outcome, is supported by a truly ridiculous amount of money and resources built up over her career. Shiva does not hire out her services regularly, but typically commands exorbitant prices when she does — unless she's pretending to not be herself for amusement purposes. Someone with her skills is never in want of gainful employment. |
Cult Of The Destroyer |
The persona of Lady Shiva was not created by Sandra, but instead by those who came to admire her in the first years of setting out on her path. As the story of a no-name woman fighting her way through the underworld grew increasingly more ludicrous and apocryphal, some of her admirers began referring to her as an incarnation of Shiva — though perhaps flippantly. The name caught on regardless of initial intentions. After learning of it, Sandra took on the mantle so that she could use the reputation to further encounter interesting fighters.
Shiva — or, often, Lady Shiva to those who hope to honor her — continued to build a reputation and therefore a kind of fanbase. Shiva's most fervent admirers literally believe that she is a spiritual entity worthy of worship, while some slightly less fervent merely think acting worshipful is a good idea. Shiva typically ignores the cult that has sprung up around her, but few people attracted to this kind of devotion are interested in a loving, personable goddess anyway.
Occasionally, it has suited Shiva to use her followers to one end or another. If Shiva desires, she can muster a significant army of the martially inclined for little to no cost, counting not only the true believers but also those who would join out of a chance for glory.
Outside of the cult, Shiva enjoys a reputation as possibly the best martial artist in the world. 'Enjoy' is the key word, as such a position draws challengers to her and makes others take her challenges seriously. People who do not believe in her capabilities are generally those who consider her to be at least partially mythological. |
The League Of Shadows |
While Lady Shiva is certainly one of the most feared associates of the League of Shadows, she is hardly one of the most consistent. Her initial contact with the League soured her on the organization for many years, during which she sometimes served as their enemy. As she continued upon her path, Shiva was enticed to perform work for the League in return for access to things she desired.
Shiva occupies a strange place within the League of Shadow's hierarchy. The leadership of the League finds her to be one of their most prized collaborators, but also the most frustrating due to her preference for following her own whims. Still, the 'impossible' missions Shiva has completed for the League over the years has earned her enough credit to readily call upon their resources even if she isn't exactly the picture of obedience. Many of the League's elites have spent at least some time being instructed by Lady Shiva, and it is difficult for some to forget the patronage of their 'master.'
Through the League, Shiva can access a wealth of information, personnel, and physical assets. However, excessive use of this connection (apart from being uncharacteristic of her) will likely draw the attention of Ra's, who may very well request recompense. |
Shadows Within Shadows |
The League of Shadows has a practice of executing its own operatives when they irreversibly betray or fail the organization. There is an apocryphal story of a group more secretive than the League itself, one tasked with destroying any part of the League should it become too corrupted to police itself.
Some consider the story too ridiculous to exist. It is the perfect conspiracy theory: a group whose proof of existence is that no one can prove their existence. It is possibly that Ra's al Ghul, perennially annoyed with unfaithful followers, made it up in the distant past to frighten his lieutenants into obeying him without question. It remains uncomfortably plausible for many of the rank and file of the League, who see only partially into the shifting intrigue swirling around them.
The story has become fanciful in retelling, with this group said to have undetectable sleeper cells all over the world, each composed of immaculately trained killing machines ready at any moment to drop their disguises and die for their cause. They orchestrate their activities with such cruel brilliance that no one is given reason to even consider an unknown force might be involved. They are everywhere and nowhere, they can be anyone and no one. That is what it would take to keep the League of Shadows awake at night.
If this group did exist, their leader must be someone of unparalleled brutality and cleverness. |
Those Surpassed |
Shiva has left a trail of shattered lives behind her. Many people like her have done similar things. Such behavior inspires enemies of varying levels of capability. What makes Shiva different is that she intentionally cultivates the most promising enemies, desiring that they grow in ability and return later to attempt to strike her down. While Shiva enjoys this lifestyle very much, it does sometimes force her to alter her schedule. A small sacrifice. |
Her Cherished Students |
Shiva has a problem. She wants to explore the utmost extremes of what the human body and martial arts are capable of. However, she long ago discovered that she lacked the ideal materials for her to explore her craft. In this case, materials means fellow martial artists. Shiva decided that she would make them.
This means engaging in elaborate games to coax people in which she sees potential to obtain their fullest skill, so that she may test herself against them when they are at their apex. She is loathe to waste a worthy opponent, and will therefore go to great lengths to ensure that they remain alive as long as she sees an opportunity to cultivate them into something greater. Shiva will sometimes spare a life even when it is disadvantageous, or even go out of her way to protect her investments when they do something stupid. |
Only Human |
Though skilled to the point that many believe her to have supernatural powers, Shiva is very much a human being with human weakness. This is not by curse nor lack of opportunity. There are many methods of ascension that a person may pursue.
Shiva is disinterested in becoming anything more than human because her interest is specifically in humans. Her beloved martial arts were created to help clumsy, frail humans become dangerous. She will not leave her current state until she is satisfied that she has reached the absolute limits of humanity. This does not seem to be an immediate concern.
Shiva's idealism nevertheless leaves her at a disadvantage against many kinds of powers. That she is very experienced working around this disadvantage does nothing to erase its existence. |
Her Beloved Master |
If there is one person who continues to anchor Sandra to the world, it is her adoptive father and first trainer, a nameless man whose students refer to him as O-Sensei. O-Sensei has all but retired from training new pupils, and currently lives his days in quiet contemplation. Sandra feels more than a debt to O-Sensei, and will go out of her way to honor his requests and wishes. Though she does not feel compelled to watch over him constantly, she is invested in his general well being and would retaliate against anyone who threatened him. |
Rogue Agent |
As a one-time asset of a disavowed SHIELD subsidiary called GOOD, the woman once called Sandra is technically a rogue agent. That she walked off with what is relatively speaking now a trivial amount of classified information is secondary to her crimes as a member of the League of Shadows. (And also just for doing Lady Shiva things.) For anyone who cares about organizational pride or cleaning up old messes, bringing Lady Shiva to justice is a frustrating final loose end to a sordid chapter in clandestine government activity. It doesn't help that Shiva has sometimes intentionally targeted SHIELD's operations for seemingly no other reason than malice — or perhaps, more frighteningly, affection. |
A Warrior's Death |
Shiva believes that the natural aim of her chosen art form is to cause death. She freely inflicts this ending upon those who claim to practice her art alongside her. It is only obvious that she accept that, one day, she may be killed under the same principle.
Shiva does not actively seek death, but to outsiders it may seem like she does. It is a consequence of her outlook that she only feels the closest to making good art when she is at high risk of dying. A death unrelated to her art would disappoint her, because it would (in her mind) mean that she was caught doing something outside of focusing on what is most important to her. If she found death at another artist's hands, she will have successfully found her limit.
No matter how single minded she may seem now, it is also true that a part of Sandra is still that reckless and self-destructive young woman who rebelled against her circumstances by taking any opportunity to throw herself into the path of danger. |
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