#jun li

The

Main

Li Family siblings at least, in the (no joke) huge family consisting mainly of their parental line (the Li family) and their maternal line (the Chen family). So, in the family of 40+ members in total, these are the siblings of the head of the family, Fa Li. And... no, the "40+ members" is

not

an exaggeration. I had to organize everyone on a make-shift family tree, and I counted every single member (the exact total--for now--is 43; of course, that doesn't mean they're all active members of the circus _{_{<strike>or even alive</strike>}}). I'm sure I'll make an

official

Family Tree for this big group one of these days... it's definitely going to take some time |D Also, because I know people will bring it up at some point: No, I won't be making that family tree "because everyone else has done that at some point for their OCs". I'll be doing it because I need my own reference for the story. Because, I kid you not, I constantly forget who is the father/mother of which kid(s), who is siblings/cousins with who, who is married to who, etc.

But, anyway. Yes, the family of both the Li and Chen are art of a traveling family circus in Xing, that also act as information gatherers, healers/Alkahestics, and suppliers for Shang Lin and Jing Hu. Originally, the family was independent and had no association with the Lin Clan. However, after a brief association between the family and the Lin Clan (because of their rebellious teenager--at the time--third daughter of the Main Li family; as well as the Hu family being a disbanded family/clan of the Chen family), they were sought after as a target from those who were enemies with the clan. After their "home" was burnt to the ground and all assets lost (including the life of the girls' mother), Fa Li offered his, his family's, and his company's assistance to the head of the Lin Clan--be it with weapons, supplies for war, or even healers. In summation, the Lin Clan told the suffering family to "screw off", because they had just lost the majority of their main family line heirs--Shien Lin, the head of the family, not caring much for his youngest son, Shang, despite him being the last surviving heir. Shang, of course, being more emotionally vulnerable at the time, offers the struggling family his protection. He enjoyed the brief time he spent with Jun and likes the family that she (and his servant, Jing, came from), so he makes a deal with them to offer the family

his

protection in exchange for them not underestimating him. From there, he vows to become stronger and not just keep the family safe, but also prove himself and his worth to his own family, in exchange for the Li-Chan's "servitude" (not really actual "servants"; just being the loving family that he never had). This is where the Li-Chen Family find ways with their healing and information gathering through travel to help Shang. They plan their tour route to areas that Shang is nearby and traveling in, just in case he needs to make a stop for supplies, information (on the area/town and specific individuals that he's searching for), or just "fixing up"/healing after a fight. Through this, of course, Shang sees the Li-Chen circus as his Home-Away-From-Home and the Li-Chen family as the family that he wished he had (because his actually family hates him and, sometimes, even tries to kill him).

I could honestly go on and on about the entire circus family and the details about how it operates and each members' roles and whatnot. But... we'd be here all day, and this Artist Description is long enough as is... |D If your interested, though, feel free to ask about the family, the circus, or even about one (or more) of the girls in the comments below. Or, if you wanna keep things simple, you can send me a Note and I'd be happy to explain in further detail about the family and their role(s) in

The Mustang Conspiracy