| By Neo Bahamut | Part of the Republic City Renaissance continuity. |
Overview[]
The Purists were never intended to be the only villains, but Book 0's plot had little room for other Triads. Briefly, I perceive the Agni Kais as a relatively poor group concentrated in the industrial sector which has a loose organization based around democratic decision making, while the Red Monsoons are a more "high class" group of criminals focused around Yue Bay that occasionally engage in politically-motivated crimes like assassination. At the last minute, I changed how Euryale got her detective job from stopping a drug ring to putting the Red Monsoon boss in jail, so I could work out a joint backstory for both of them.
Background[]
Generations ago, the Rashevereks had lost political favor in the Northern Water Tribe, and so had to turn from being politicians to warriors. As such, they were never among the best, but were among the first to be sent to the Southern Tribe to help rebuild it. This all changed with Senthose, who was ruthless, cunning, and frankly seemed to enjoy killing. Perhaps he simply had nothing better to do after his father died in a hunting accident (Senthose was 10 at the time, and Korra had just been born) and his mother withdrew from the world. Tonraq initially sought to channel his aggression into something more productive, but became wary of the boy, and eventually seemed to give him assignments designed to take him as far away as possible.
Frustrated with this downward trend in his career, Senthose began taking side jobs, his most frequent employers being the local chapter of the Red Monsoons. Upon learning that Tonraq's daughter was the Avatar at age 14, he plotted to kidnap her, finally following through at age 16, only for some other schmucks to beat him to it. When the White Lotus swooped in to protect her, complete with a brand-new fortress, the Red Monsoons were less supportive of the plan than ever. Senthose was confident it could still be pulled off, but not alone. Between that and needing to disappear, he booked passage on a smuggling ship to Republic City—once he worked his way up to being the gang's leader, he could make them do whatever he wanted.
Book -1[]
A few years after he came to Republic City, he was finally noticed by Netzach while working as a dealer in a Monsoon casino and taken to train with the gang's upper echelon. When Club Voland, a front for the Monsoons, was attacked by rogue Agni Kais, the gang staged a counterattack on the person behind it. Forced to flee from the cops, Senthose found Netzach alone and assassinated him, using ice to burn his body and frame the firebenders. Soon after, he helped Euryale defeat the would-be leader of the Agni Kais and eliminated his other rivals to become head of the Red Monsoons. He planned to make Euryale his partner while destroying the Triple Threats and crippling the police in one fell swoop, but Euryale resisted, defeating him with the help of a spirit guide. In the process, Senthose became half-spirit. As he was arrested, she went on to thwart the rest of his plan.
Book 0.5[]
Thiera visited him in prison, seeking his help in destroying the Purist Leader. He refused, instead telling her about a Triple Threat conspiracy at the department. While he told the truth, he was also pursuing his own plan to control the Council. Both conspiracies were undone.
Book 3.5[]
When Unavaatu attacked Republic City, creating the Spirit Wilds, Senthose bent one of the vines on the prison building, busting himself out. He fled the city for Foggy Swamp, with a new plan to replicate the spiritbending technique he observed and use it to drain the power of spirits for himself. After a chance encounter put the United Forces Anti-Infiltration Task Force hot on his trail, he continued to the desert, where prophetic dreams informed him of a fortress in a repurposed ancient city.
There he discovered the mercenary army Sekhmet, and how Franz was its current leader. It was agreed that they would duel to death for the position, a fight Senthose won. As one of the conditions of the job, he stipulated that some of the force had to be made available to help his spirit search. The army's financer, Awbri, was elated to have him on, but the head spy, Malkuth, was distrustful, warning Senthose that he would be assassinated if he stepped out of line.
Instead, the bloodbender used his old tricks on a much bigger scale, subtly bending their plan to lure the task force into a trap so that the base would be destroyed and Malkuth killed in the process. Senthose and Awbri escaped to the sea, where he sent a decoy fleet to distract the Northern Water Tribe as his main fleet passed through the Southern Portal, attacking from behind.
During the battle, he infiltrated the city under cover of the cavalry, making his way to the Spirit Oasis to absorb Tui and La. A protracted battle with the AITF left him exhausted, the spirit powers taking a toll on his body, and he was axed from behind by an assassin sent by Awbri, paralyzing him. He meditated into spirit form to escape his fate, destroying his own body to sever his connection to it, but had little time to enjoy his immortality or godhood as the Dream Spirit that had been manipulating him hatched from his form.
Legacy[]
When the Dream Spirit was purified, more powerful spirits like Tui and La returned with no apparent ill effects. Senthose and the weaker spirits were presumed gone for good, but remnants of them lived on as a new wolfdove spirit. Sensing some of Senthose's traits in the young spirit, Shānshén decided to guide him, to avoid a new Spirit Eater ever rising again.
Personality[]
A psychopath, with all that entails—superficial charm, lack of empathy, propensity for anger and petty grudges, enjoyment of others' suffering, and diminished expression of other emotions. He also possesses a sardonic, scathing wit, particularly toward those he has bullied. However, Senthose is highly intelligent, so he can often use logic to suppress his impulsivity and better understand the feelings of those he seeks to manipulate. He also learned a great deal about strategy from his time as a warrior, and can form complex, long-term plans that foresee his enemies' reactions. He will not hesitate to eliminate anyone who stands in his way by any means necessary, unless cooperation will benefit him more.
On the other hand, he is not unprincipled, rejecting crimes of sheer sadism and considering there to be a fine, but important distinction between pragmatism and cowardice. At their core, his schemes are motivated by a belief that weakness should be expunged, and the best leaders prove their worthiness by seizing power. To this end, he despises loyalty for its own sake or promises of future promotion, viewing it as something akin to a pyramid scheme. He did eventually concede that a close-knit team of people who understood and sympathized with his goals was the best way to achieve them, but he abandoned them just as quickly when they were no longer useful.
Abilities[]
Waterbending[]
Already a master waterbender when he left the Southern Tribe, he favors precise and incapacitating (if not killing) attacks. He's able to draw water from thin air easily, which he uses to dangerous effect in a variety of tactics, one of his favorites being shooting spears of water as a firebender would shoot lightning. In his final snowstorm battle with Euryale, he used the blizzard conditions to create a complete sphere of attack, assaulting her with blades and spikes from all sides as he disrupted her footing using the snow. He was also adept with the water whip, able to use it similarly to a metalbending officer's cable.
He learned bloodbending quickly, and after a couple years of training, could subdue an entire squad of the Elite Waterbenders that the Monsoon family heads use as bodyguards with minimal motion, though the group's conformity made them easier to control. He's apparently internalized Selene's advice to hide his skills in plain sight, as he regularly uses his pockets or his grip on his cane to mask his bloodbending maneuvers.
He used his knowledge of the human body to develop new bending tricks, like sensing a person's intent from their perspiration, and to facilitate quick healing. At the same time, he is aware of the limitations of these abilities, knowing they aren't as effective as a trained healer's or real truthseer's. While confident in his own skills, he also sought to exploit weaknesses in an opponent, such as using bloodbending against an older but stronger opponent's heart condition. If the foe had no weaknesses, he would create them, using methods like spiking his bending water with cactus juice.
After witnessing the battle between Korra and Unavaatu, he mastered Spiritbending, though it took him several attempts.
Weaponry[]
Mindful of the dangers of being caught without bending supplies, he tends to carry backup weapons. Unable to bring his warrior's spear when he defected, he found a piece of driftwood on the way to Republic City and carved it into a cheap truncheon. Despite the weapon's low quality, it was sturdy enough for him to use in binding opponents' limbs, delivering vicious strikes to victims' joints, and even fashion a sword of ice, before it was finally destroyed. Never missing an opportunity, he made sure to use the broken end as a stabbing weapon one last time, precisely targeting the armpit gap in his enemy's armor even though he was pinned in a scuffle. He preferred getting up close to an enemy, using the weapon to neutralize their attacks before seamlessly going on the offensive.
His fundamental style remained the same after he obtained Nix's cane sword but became much deadlier between the blade and the water contained in the hilt, which allowed him to manipulate the weapon remotely. He was now able to target gaps in armor, use the sword as a projectile, or rotate it around himself while he performed other techniques. Against particularly dangerous foes, he used the sheath in his off-hand, in a manner similar to his old truncheon, and suffered no apparent loss in coordination doing so. Finally, he knows to combine his swordsmanship with his waterbending techniques, performing feats such as making ice spikes or blades of water follow the wake of his sword.
Strategy[]
Perhaps his most dangerous abilities are his powers of prediction and ingenuity. He regularly displayed an awareness of where his opponents would attack from, allowing him to set up elaborate ambushes taking the environment and weather into account. He eliminated rivals by gaining their trust and removing them while they were isolated, either by assassinating them and covering up the evidence, or by leaking incriminating evidence to the police. He made frequent use of diversion tactics to hide his real plans, even going as far as to employ body doubles.
Once he seized control of the gang, he took the opportunity to aggressively expand while also securing contracts with criminals not affiliated with any triad, especially other types of benders, to cover for jobs waterbenders alone couldn't do. A silver tongue and bribery often won allies to his side, threats if the price was too high. And threatening he was, as he would systematically ensure his enemies were slain, whereas most gangsters preferred more hit-and-run methods that often left survivors. But probably his signature tactic was arranging plans where even a loss would prove beneficial, such as how his capture led to there being enough Red Monsoons in prison to control the gang from within.
Half-Spirit Physiology[]
As with all possessed humans, his physical and mental abilities were augmented, including his bending, and he gained inhuman properties including immunity to toxins. He also gained powers particular to the spirit who possessed him, including retractable claws, night vision, and enhanced smell. Though his natural weapons were thought removed by a plastic surgeon, Senthose learned he could grow them back or retract them at will, a fact he kept secret until the time was right. Theorizing these powers would grow with more spirit energy, he began using spiritbending to absorb other spirits. The remnants of the spirit's voice in his mind whispers information to him sometimes, which can be indirectly helpful. In his final assault, he revealed he had the ability to "plant" seeds that would grow into faceless vine spirits.
The Third Avatar[]
Senthose eventually absorbed the powers of the moon and ocean, gaining a level of power not unlike that of the Dark Avatar. He had full control over waterbending and could bloodbend at any time at full power, being the moon itself, and could even tear open paths between the worlds. However, he was ill-prepared for this power, overusing his Avatar State to the point where he was on death's door.
Finally, he meditated out of his body to become pure spirit. In this form, he had full control over all of his spirit powers. He was immortal and could form a body out of water at any time. He could even bend other elements, having obtained them from the spirits he absorbed, although he had poor accuracy with them, due to lack of practice. This power did not last long as the Dream Spirit that was manipulating his actions took control of his body, using these powers to rebirth itself.
Origin[]
Senthose was created as a villain for an original story, which has since been lost to computer failure and disappointment. He has occupied various roles, from serial killers to kings, Roatha's brother to Lilith's lover—most with no bearing on the current story. His first name was made up on the spot, and much later I added his last name, which is derived from an obscure reference in an old demonology manual to "an assistant of Astaroth." Senthose, Barbatos, Aamon, and another character, Pruslas, share this name scheme and so are often associated, again with no bearing on the current story. When it came to the Avatar setting, Senthose's methodical, violent, and acrobatic fighting style made him most suitable as either a fire or water bender. Waterbending was less cliché at the time of his adaptation, as this was before the Noatak revelation. In this most recent version, his parents' names are supposed to sound vaguely Water Tribe and use some of the sounds in his given name, as if he were named after his parents. Though "Lisen" is apparently a Swedish name meaning "God's promise, God is my oath."
Trivia[]
- The intended pronunciation is as in SENtence, THought, and dOSE.
- His blue suit and duster combo was inspired by the Joker, from Batman the Animated Series. That's technically a 50's look, but it's not like Legend of Korra never fudges the timeframe. He changes to a more elaborate black outfit when he becomes the boss to help distinguish him from the growing number of Monsoon mooks, though black is actually the more commonly used color for him. He changes once more in Book 3.5 to his desert-appropriate attire.
- The cane sword was originally made of bone to establish a lineage to traditional Southern Water Tribe weapons. I changed it to platinum due to a combination of its backstory changing (see the Voland Family for more information), later episodes revealing the Southern Tribe has used metal weapons for years, and wanting to avoid the question of whether it could be "bonebent."
| Preceded by Nix Voland |
Boss of all Monsoons 160-171AG |
Succeeded by Unknown |
| Preceded by Franz |
Sekhmet Leader 171 AG |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
Reflections[]
I wrote myself a brief history of Sekhmet to give the organization context and Senthose ended up being the shortest-serving leader at only 4 months, but damned if he didn't accomplish a lot in that timespan. That's sort of the dual nature of psychopathy: It gives him the drive to accomplish so much at such a young age but the impulsivity eventually gets the better of him and destroys him. In fact, it's pretty rare for any version of Senthose to live into his 30's. But what's most fun about writing him is that his atypical morality always gives him an unusual perspective on events. Perhaps my favorite Senthose Scene was when he unloaded on Tonraq and Senna revealing that, despite his desire to kill Korra, he did feel sorry for her in his own way. Even so, having the final villain be Just Senthose But More Over-The-Top didn't sit right with me, so early on I decided on the Dream Spirit and began laying the groundwork for that reveal. It was also sort of my way of trying to do an ancient Dark Spirit villain better.
But this is supposed to be about Senthose, so the last thing I'll say about the Dream Spirit is that Senthose probably would have been defeated in much the same way if he hadn't been possessed. When it came to ending his arc, it felt like he evolved too much to just die and he already established that he couldn't be contained by normal spiritual means but, at the same time, it felt like it would be a cheat to just let him survive, even if he was weakened. It felt like there had to be some resolution to the struggle to bring him down and some price he paid by sacrificing so much of his humanity, so I turned back to the idea of reincarnation and decided he would be reborn as a new character who still had shades of his old personality but was also influenced by the other spirits he absorbed, especially Rudra.
I put a lot of thought in any character's ending, but Senthose was a particularly difficult scale to balance. One of my final edits was having him confront the vision of what passes as his conscience. I thought it was important to show that, even though nature predisposed him to a certain path, he still understood that he could have chosen a different one. I feel this let him have a resolution beyond just absorbing too much power and exploding without a kitschy last speech or moment of somehow seizing control inside of the Dream Spirit.
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