Name: Hong "Adeem" Zhu
Age: 25
Affiliations: Assassins
Appearance:
-Chinese
-5'9
-Average build
-Black hair tied into a topknot
-Black Turkish Assassin Robe w/ mask
Personality:
-Knowledgeable
-Kind
-Humorous
-Dedicated
-Patient
Favorite Weapons:
-Chinese Sabers
-Crossbow
-Hook Sword
Strengths:
-Proficient fighter
-Agile
-Adaptive
-Trilingual (Chinese, Arabic, Italian)
Weaknesses:
-Less than average stamina due to a half lung
-May underestimate situations
-May joke around too much
Background/Biography:
Zhu was from a village near Beijing, China. He was the son of a Chinese merchant family that was also from a long line of Assassin's since the rule of the Mongols. At the age of ten, his father trained him to become an Assassin in the Chinese forests. Born with asthma and half a lung he struggled to conserve his energy, especially when it came to free running. He studied diligently to understand the Creed and the war against the Templars. He trained in athletics, martial arts, sword fighting, and archery. However his Assassin activity was quite little only dealing with petty criminals and muggers due to living in a village. He spent more time reading throughout scriptures of previous Assassins such as Altair. Since Emperor Yongle's assassination, the Chinese Brotherhood was at its time of peace.
At the age of 18, already initiated into the Assassin Order, Zhu and his father travelled to Tianjing Port where he boarded a merchant ship via Constantinople to trade goods and make a profit . They had brought a cart of porcelain and fabrics along with a chest containing weapons. Nearly a year at sea, the ship reached the Red Sea and another ship awaited them at Alexandria. They boarded the ship and finally made it to Constantinople. Them along with other Chinese merchants set up shop in the Grand Bazaar.
Six months later, Zhu's father took him for a walk around the city. He gave his son a lecture about the history of Constantinople and how it became the center of international trade. However, trade wasn't the only reason why he brought the family here. He revealed to Zhu that the city was the residence of the Turkish Assassins. The confessed that he never gave his son the proper training and hoped that he could train with the Ottomans while he returned to China and continue to overlook the Chinese Assassins. He teased him also adding that he fancied the women better than the ones in China. The two went to the Galata District and met up with Master Assassin Yusuf Tazim. Zhu’s father left him the chest of weapons containing two Chinese Sabers, and a Crossbow. Yusuf greeted Zhu as a brother and introduced him to the rest of the Assassins. The Assassin’s gave him a new name since Hong was considered difficult to pronounce. He was given the name “Adeem” meaning “rare” due to being the only Chinese in the Turkish Order.
Within the years, Adeem Zhu rose to prominence as one of the many talented Assassins in the Turkish Order. He showed a dedication for the Creed and valued its meaning. He became one of the most agile fighters of the Brotherhood and easily adapted to the streets of Constantinople. As he lived with the order, he met more foreign faces who joined the the Assassin cause, especially Italians due to being recruited by Ezio Auditore, the Mentor of the Italian Assassins. He assisted Ezio and the Assassins in defending the many dens of Constantinople and fighting the Templars. He was also one of the Assassins who joined the fight to rescue Sofia Sartor. After Ezio's disappearance and Yusuf's death, he took a role as one of the leaders of the Assassin's dens.
Zhu is of course different from other Assassins. He was brought up through the training of the Chinese AND the Turkish, and he managed to combine the two practices into unique, deadly form of combat. He isn't the stealthiest of Assassin and mainly focuses on close combat and guerilla tactics. Chinese Assassins rarely used Hidden Blades (or Hookblade), and when he was introduced to it, he found it rather unusual and somewhat unnecessary.Through his training in China, he learned martial arts and it gave him the advantage in hand-to-hand combat. His main weapons are a Chinese Sabers which he uses them to swiftly hack away at his enemies. He owns a crossbow for ranged/stealth attacks and has a Hook Sword, a Chinese weapon mainly for grappling and disarming. It's his utility weapon for zip lining, hook-and-runs, climbing, sweeping, and combat as well. When not in use, it's slung onto his back. He carries a knife belt for assassinations, combat, and throwing, rifles while on sentry duty, and bombs, which he carries in a satchel.
He is a good natured person always there to encourage, support, and protect his friends and allies. He cares about his fellow Assassins willing to fight beside them whenever he is needed. He is quite a social person. His skills in three languages allows him to communicate with many people, beneficial for possible Assassin recruitment. Outside the field of Assassins, he works as a merchant still trading porcelain and Asian cloths. And outside of work he socializes and gambles with friends he met through trade and once in while flirts with women.
Constantinople is basically Zhu's home but he still misses China very much. Sadly, the Chinese Assassins are being hunted down by the new emperor, however, a Templar puppet. At the moment he has to stay put in the Middle East where it's safer. He hopes that when he returns, he could reunite with his family, safe and unharmed. However, it would be years before he could. Though worried he holds those emotions inside and focuses on serving the Turkish Brotherhood and the rest of the Assassin Order.