Xianghua
From Soulpedia
| Xianghua | |
| |
| Fullname | Chai Xianghua |
| Nickname | Flower in the Breeze |
| Voiced By | Wendee Lee/Aya Hisakawa (Soulcalibur II - Soulcalibur IV) |
| Weapon Type | Jian |
| Weapon Name(s) | Krita-Yuga (Soulcalibur), No Name (Soulcalibur II - Soulcalibur IV) |
| Fighting Style | Sword techniques passed down from her mother (Probably Ling-Sheng Su Style Chinese Sword) |
| Age | 20 |
| Birthdate | April 2 |
| Alignment | Good |
| Family | Father Kong Xiqiang, Dead, according to her mother. He's actually in the Korean Coastal Defense Force Mother |
| Birthplace | Ming Empire (Present Day - Peking, China) |
| Height | 5'0" |
| Weight | 101 lbs. |
| Hair Colour | Brown |
| Eye Colour | Brown |
| Blood Type | B |
Chai Xianghua (チャイ・シャンファ, Chai Shanfa, Chinese: 柴香華 Pinyin: Chái Xiānghuà) made her first appearance in Soulcalibur and has returned for Soulcalibur II, Soulcalibur III and Soulcalibur IV.
Contents |
[edit] Weapons
[edit] Krita Yuga
Xianghua's treasure was her mother's keepsake Chinese Sword. Whenever Xianghua gazed upon Krita-Yuga, she heard her mother's final words:
"You were born to complete an important task... Cut your own path through and uncertain future."
With her treasured sword in hand, Xianghua embarked on her quest.
The Krita-Yuga, along with Kali-Yuga and Dvapara-Yuga, formed the sacred trinity of the Ling-Sheng Su Temple. Separated for over 10 years, something momentous would come to pass when the three treasures were reunited.
[edit] Soul Calibur
When Xianghua fought Inferno in the end of Soul Calibur 1, Krita-Yuga
became Soul Calibur. Soul Calibur is the sword destined to destroy evil. It
is some what of an evil twin to Soul Edge. It has many of the same
properties, such as the fact that it changes shape depending on who holds
it, but it doesn't control it's user, and it is obviously good.
[edit] No Name
After Xianghua defeated Soul Edge, an old man came to visit her. He
claimed to be a master swordsman, and offered her a nameless sword as thanks
for defeating Soul Edge. After giving her the sword, he immediately left for
parts unknown. He was probably Edge Master.
[edit] Stages
[edit] Story
What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything? - Vincent Willem Van Gogh
The emperor was displeased with the search for the Hero's Sword, so he sent out his royal guards to aid in the quest, Xianghua included.
The guards traveled under the guise of a traveling opera troupe, as not to raise suspicion of their true motives. Xianghua, who was trained in martial arts since she was a child, was to be the main attraction.
As she prepared for her journey, she recalled her mother's last words:
"You were born to complete an important task... Cut your own path through and uncertain future."
With her mother's keepsake sword in hand, Xianghua left on her own, with the sense the invisible forces of destiny were pushing her onward.
[edit] Ending
Krita-Yuga becomes Soul Calibur and is used to destroy Soul Edge.
[edit] Canon Ending
Krita-Yuga becomes Soul Calibur, and defeats Soul Edge, but it is trapped in the void with it.
After destroying the sword that she was sent to find, Xianghua fell into disfavour with the emperor. She was stripped of her rank and reassigned to a menial position.
One day, news reached Xianghua that the emperor had attacked a castle that supposedly housed a member of the search party that found the Hero's Sword, but refused to hand the weapon over to the emperor. (See Mitsurugi's bio.)
After the castle fell and the sword wasn't found, Xianghua was summoned for her knowledge and experience.
Xianghua had destroyed Soul Edge. It was gone, but investigation proved otherwise. Xianghua heard rumours that pieces of Soul Edge existed in this place.
If it were true, then Xianghua needed to find every fragment and destroy them. Xianghua left on another journey with the words of her mother echoing in her head:
"Cut your own path through and uncertain future."
[edit] Ending
Xianghua gets Soul Calibur back, and uses it to destroy Soul Edge. She then vows to never lie again.
[edit] Canon Ending
She loses against Zasalamel.
His ending description clearly states: "Her graceful sword dance cuts through enemies." "She stands again before the start of a new legend."
"I couldn't do anything..." The pain she had felt since they had lost squeezed at her heart. In the end, she hadn't been able to help at all. She, who had said that she would destroy the cursed sword, hadn't even been able to stand up against a threat in their path...
She had been reunited with Kilik, but had then lost in the fight they had fought together. No, perhaps it would be better to say that the fight had been between Kilik and the man with the scythe. The man had shown no interest in Xianghua. After defeating Kilik, he had left without even a glance toward her. The only thing she had been able to do was fight back her tears and run away, carrying Kilik.
She had tended his wounds, and his life was no longer in danger, yet Kilik did not open his eyes. Frantically wondering what to do, Xianghua remembered Kilik's teacher, a man who lived in a hermitage. Since Kilik had no family, she couldn't think of anyone to whom she could turn besides that old man, Edgemaster.
When she arrived at the sword master's hermitage, the old man welcomed her warmly. He informed her that if he dedicated himself to tending him, Kilik would recover. Relieved by the old man's words, Xianghua entrusted him with a letter to Kilik and left the hermitage that same day.
After returning to her country, she followed the Edgemaster's suggestion and placed herself in the care of a certain retired general. Having run away from the military, Xianghua would normally have been arrested, but upon reading the letter sent by Edgemaster, the general said that he would shelter her. He had spent his younger days in training at the Ling-Sheng Su temple and remembered the old man who had taught him.
"I must become stronger." Xianghua pleaded with the general. He was surprised to hear this. He had thought that her skills, though self-taught, were nevertheless more than sufficient. Regardless, he did his best to aid her. Even though he had retired, skilled warriors still gathered under him. Amongst them was an exceptionally skilled man whom he had employed as an instructor. Noticing the swordsmanship of the Ling-Sheng Su temple in Xianghua's style, he became interested in her and approached her himself about becoming her training partner. Devoting herself wholeheartedly to her training, Xianghua increased her skills considerably in a short time.
Ever faster, ever sharper...Each time she swung, her power grew stronger and her aim surer. Despite knowing this, she was unable to wipe away the uneasiness that had fallen over her heart.
"Even if I increase my power, if I can't use it when I need it...When I fought against the cursed sword, Kilik was with me. But if I'm alone..." Xianghua thought to herself, but forced her doubts aside. "No. I mustn't fear. I have to keep my spirits up!"
"Your blade is keen. However, it appears that you are forcing yourself." One day, the instructor cautioned her. She was focusing too exclusively on her strength. Xianghua told him of what troubled her. After hearing her concerns, he began to speak softly.
"In combat, it is inevitable that one's heart will waver. But it is not wise to try only to reject and refuse these feelings. Sometimes, the path of the warrior requires letting in dark feelings, weighing them, then letting them go."
From that day forward, Xianghua began to train not her swordsmanship, but her soul. Her heart would be as water. A hard, solid heart will shatter upon the sharp point of fear, but when water is pierced or cut, it does not resist--by permitting everything to pass through, it does not break.. This was the truth which she had found. She no longer feared the swaying of her heart.
It had been several months since she had come to visit the general's mansion. Xianghua's blade now possessed both its past elegance and a newfound strength. She had grown strong. She now felt comfortable believing that.
Feeling that the time had come, she politely thanked those who had helped her and set out on her journey once more. Xianghua turned her thoughts to that which awaited her in the west. Inside her heart, she made a small promise to herself. When she met Kilik, she would proudly announce, "Sorry to keep you waiting! My skills have finally caught up with yours!"
[edit] Ending
Xianghua has Soul Calibur. Soul Edge is there. She's hesitating. She's afraid. Kilik goes to do it, but Xianghua does it anyway. She attacks, and her sword gets stuck.
[edit] Input Ending
Screen fades to white. Kilik and Xianghua are in a grassy area. Kilik is training. Xianghua asked where he wants to go next. He say's he might go back to his master. She say's that it's fun to travel with him. He age’s, since she's a good sparring partner. She tells him that there's someone she's interested in. Kilik is, of course, completely oblivious. She say's that she's not going to give up on him that easily. Kilik say's that it's time to go, Xianghua pretends to be asleep. "Just kidding!"
[edit] Non-Input Ending
Soul Edge shatters and she's thrown back. She wakes up in Kilik's arms. She asks if Soul Edge is destroyed. She picks up Soul Calibur. Soul Calibur and Kali-Yuga disappear. "So it's finally over."
The training Xianghua had undergone in her homeland gave her the strength to conquer her own psychological frailty. She hurried west along the Silk Road and soon found Kilik.
Happily reunited, the two headed for India, hot on Max's trail. But while they found their old friend just as they had hoped he would not join them. Was Maxi looking for the cursed sword in oreder to seek revenge? If so, Xianghua would do everything in her power to stop him.
Using that cursed sword to avenge the fallen would bring her friend no salvation. And Kilik... she turned to glance at him standing beside her. She had no idea how he felt about her, but her feelings were quite clear about the matter. But as long as so much still remained to be done, she could never say the words. They had to stop Soul Edge.
The last time they faced it, they had lacked the power to destroy the weapon outright and their failure was to blame for every tragedy the cursed sword had wrought since. And so having turned remorse into resolve, Xianghua pressed on. When she saw the meteor shower shooting west across the sky one night, she knew: the final battle was at hand.
[edit] Ending
[edit] Trivia
- Since Xianghua had deserted the military, she should have been arrested when she went to train with the general. It was only Edgemaster's letter that convinces the general to shelter her. He had studied at the Ling-Sheng Su temple, and remembered what the old man had taught him.
- It is tradition in the Chai family for everyone to become a great warrior and serve the country. A long time ago, one son of the Chai family settled in the Ling-Sheng Su temple to become a great swordsman. His daughter, Xiangfei, was born in the nearby town and was sent to train at the temple. She was a great swordswoman, and surpassed many of the monks at the temple. If she had been a man, she would have inherited the Krita-Yuga. After the death of her father, Xiangfei trained even harder and fell in love with a monk named Kong Xiqiang. He was thought to be the best candidate for the Succession of the Rod, Kali-Yuga. Sadly, their love was forbidden. Not until the birth of their daughter, Xianglian, was their love known to the monks. The monks were very strict about following the pure path, and the Temple took the child when it was two years old. Xiangfei was too sad to stay, so she left to never return. A family friend, Han Dongxiu, asked Kong why he stayed. He told him to create his own future with his strength. With Han's help, Kong was able to sneak a sword (Krita-Yuga) to his lover, as a promise that they would one day meet again. When Xiangfei left, she was pregnant with her second child. She never told Kong, with hopes that he would continue his training, and focus on becoming the successor to the Kali-Yuga. She secretly returned to her homeland, where she became a soldier. She gave birth to her second daughter, Xianghua, and never told her about her lineage. Meanwhile, the temple had realized that Kong had stolen the Krita-Yuga, and he was excommunicated and driven from the temple. Xianglian was left behind, where the monks decided to raise her as an orphan. Kong managed to trace down Xiangfei, discovering her links to the Chai family. However, the family asked him not to see Xiangfei, as she believed that he was training, and she would be heartbroken to see him there. Kong agreed that it was best for him to leave, so he did, never knowing about his second daughter. Meanwhile, the temple was searching for the sword. Their first suspect was Xiangfei, but when they arrived, all they found was Xianghua playing with an old sword. After many years, they gave up the search. Nobody, not even Xiangfei, suspected that the sword that little Xianghua was playing with, was actually the Krita-Yuga in disguise. It turned into a battered old sword, in case it was ever separated from the other two temple treasures. Only Kong knew the truth. As time passed, Xianghua learned to use the sword. After her mother's death when Xianghua was ten, she was driven to train even harder. At sixteen, Xianghua became a member of the royal guards, never knowing that she had an older sister at the Ling-Sheng Su temple.
- Kong is still alive (game time). He is an alcoholic now. He actually trained Seung Mina for a year.
- For a little more Kong info, see Seung Mina's bio.
- Xianghua uses sword techniques that her mother taught her, and her mother was a student at Ling-Sheng Su temple, so it's pretty safe to assume that Xianghua uses Ling-Sheng Su style sword techniques. Now, this raises the question of why Kilik doesn't seem to recognize the style as Ling-Sheng Su style.
- Xianghua was asked by her best friend, Meimei (Ming's Imperial Maid of Honour), to check on the health of her brother, Li Long.
- Xianghua personally found a piece of Soul Edge amongst the rubble of the castle.
- The Ming empire wants Soul Edge to protect itself from pirates.
- There were two search parties that looked for Soul Edge before Xianghua's. Neither of them returned.
- Xianghua was researching a rumour about Soul Edge, when she met Kilik.
- Xianghua looks a lot different than she did in Soul Calibur 1.
- "Xianghua" is Chinese for "Sweet Smelling Flower."
