Tychi was born to a very poor Tengu couple in the Forest of Spirits in Tian Xia. The couple were not in any way special, they were typical Tengu, living day to day, feather to feather, and trying to survive. They failed, falling to Oni but leaving their strange white-feathered son Tychi behind. The small tengu walked out of the Forest of Spirits a few days later, hungry, but with clear eyes in his young head.
Two days later, he walked up to the gates of a monastery, populated by the Brothers of the Four Truths. The four truths, were, of course, the four elements, Earth, Wind, Fire, Water. The almost exclusively human monks had no intention of taking in a filthy Tengu, much less a freakish white one.
That was, until the gates simply fell off their hinges, allowing the Tengu to simply stroll in. He walked in and to the small temple, his eyes open but unseeing. The child knelt in the temple, at the exact center of the four elemental altars. For 24 hours, the child just knelt there, unmoving, before finally falling over on his side, unconscious.
Even the xenophobic monks were not going to deny one who the elements obviously wanted in the monastery, and so the child was cared for and fed, until his eyes were clear and bright again.
For the next 10 years, the Tengu child trained with the monks, learning every lesson without complaint. Finally, on his 10th year in the monastery, he had completed his training and presented himself to the temple altars, to find out his fate.
If the Fire Alter began to show flames, he was to be one of the Warriors of the Temple. If the Water Alter dripped water, then he was to be among the Guardians, those who go forth and provide succor to the common folk. If a pebble fell from the Earth Altar, then he was to be a Teacher, remaining in the Monastery, teaching others. Finally, if the Air Altar begin to make the sounds of air flowing through it's reeds, he was to travel the world as a wandering monk.
The monks were shocked when, after 24 hours of meditation, the Fire Altar burst into a 6 foot pillar of fire, the Water Altar flooded the floor with water, the Earth Altar shattered, and the Wind Altar gave off a shriek of woodwind powerful enough to deafen those standing too close to the temple. In the center of the chaos knelt the Tengu, calm and listening to the cacophany around him.
When it finally died down, the Tengu stood up, and left the temple. He bowed before his elders, and informed them he had heard the voices of the Four Truths, and that they had told him what he was to do.
The next morning, he put a saddle on the best horse in the monastery, and rode it out the front, the great red beast snorting and prancing eagerly.
Over the next 10 years, the Tungu travelled the lands, a stranger to all entering a town, when it was about to be in need, giving help to those who deserved it or asked for it, and then when the evil had been defeated, he would leave town, the great red beast he rode prancing in eagerness.
Finally, his travels took him to other continents, and his path traced a mix of chaos and comfort, as he came to the rescue of others, saving them. So it was he found himself in Ustalev, in a great haunted forest, fighting a Necromancer who kidnapped locals and raised up zombies, threatening to destroy the peace of the unstable country.
