Mai Tsuchiya

Background

Mai Tsuchiya (土屋 舞) is a priestess at Seichi ("Sacred Earth") Temple (Seichi no Miya (聖地宮)) which belongs to her family. She is the intended heir and will become its kannushi some day. Her parents are currently on a pilgrimage to Japan leaving her and her older brother to mind the temple and the family dojo.

Aether

Mai has powers to manipulate the elements of nature—air, fire, water, and earth—and after meeting The Guardian, who found her for her ability to communicate with the earth thus making her the Omnipath, she honed her skills as one of the Prime. Considering herself the fifth element of Japanese philosophy (sky or spirit (空)), the power underlying the other four elements, she developed the identity, Aether. She has minor training in martial arts from her father and opts to fight with war fans when faced with hand-to-hand combat. She also uses her natural grace she developed over several years of dance classes and makes every fight look nearly like a performance.

Seichi Temple

Located on the three-and-a-half acre formal Japanese garden, located within the Washington Park Arboretum, Seichi Temple is a traditional family-run Shinto shrine. Originating in Japan’s prehistory, Shinto is the natural spirituality or the practice of the philosophy of proceeding in harmony with and gratitude to divine nature. The shrine is an enriched environment where people can feel deeply refreshed and renewed. The Tsuchiya family welcomes everyone to make an omairi (visit) and they can conduct the oharae (purification ceremony) as well as many types of shinto ceremonies for individuals, families, groups or businesses. The shrine is also affiliated with the karate dojo just outside the arboretum.

Seichi Temple

Temple Grounds

Tome of the Omnipath

Issue #2

6月19日1999年 Weather: EARTHQUAKE!

After 5,000 years, Liam must have finally accrued enough vacation time for he decided to take the day off to visit a godson in Yakima.

Jun, Mikhail, John and I went out to the Fremont Fair. As I was admiring pieces of jewelry at a vendor's booth, I felt the ground shake a little. Alarmed, when I looked towards the skyline, I saw that the buildings were swaying. Moments later, the tremors exploded and we were in the middle of a massive earthquake! I ducked for cover underneath the table and tried to secretly control the earth to stop shaking. I was also able to tell that the epicenter was far from here. The PCC grocery store was in bad shape with plenty of people trapped inside. The guys went right to work trying to rescue people, but given that I was easily recognizable in my priestess clothes, I didn't think it was my place to advertise my New Man abilities. So instead, while everyone seemed preoccupied, I manipulated the air around me to take me southward. I was hoping to find whatever was causing this.

I landed myself near South Lake Union and taking cover in an alley, I used a mystic device created for me to be able to change clothes at a click of a button. I changed into a kung-fu uniform (sorry, Dad, these are just more flexible than a karate gi!) with a hooded, short-sleeve robe, and a face mask to hide my identity. I had been thinking, since devising this costume, to call myself Aether since I feel like I'm the underlying power behind the four other elements. After "transforming", I stepped out to the street and it looked like firemen and medical personnel were trying to get into Gillian's, but the entrance was blocked due to the building being jostled. I put my hands on the wall and willed it to pull forward to straighten it out. The EMTs rushing in thanked me and asked for my help in other places. After a few hours I had done all I could and a good thing too, for I was drained of energy. I went back to Fremont to meet up with the others.

According to rumors and the media, it sounded like the earthquake had started south of Seattle near Federal Way.