Overview
Zhang is a fire and lightning mage from Thundermarch, a former Cloudrift Temple student, and a close friend of Jin. He trains under Master Han, leaves Thundermarch with Khoradyn, and becomes a cheerful, formidable commander in Kaldaryn under Khoradyn and Garrik.
Zhang is also a member of the Order of Thalion Zenith. As an Order member, he operates around Varnhallow, the Varnhallow timerift, and Garrik's attacks on Blackcrag positions and Rahmavir's forces. He dies during the Battle for Cyndarel, where he fights beside Khoradyn and Aldar against Raphael and Gabriel before Alistair detonates a hidden weapon over Raphael's body.
Appearance and Temperament
Zhang has a slim, lean build, spiked hair, and battlefields around him flare with fire, lightning, sparks, and plasma. During the ambush near Arcanis Village after Varnhallow, he wears a red robe adorned with a golden dragon. His arrivals often carry the same energy as his magic: flame bursts beneath his feet, sudden motion, and an easy grin.
He is cheerful, teasing, blunt, loyal, and emotionally open. With Jin, Kren, Vianna, Maia, and Garrik, he often uses humor to break tension. In command, he relies on strong battlefield instincts and a clear willingness to die for Kaldaryn's peacekeeping cause.
Abilities
Zhang is a powerful practitioner of Thundermarch's dragon arts. During his early Cloudrift Temple years, he is about level seven, ahead of Jin at that stage, and his fire-and-lightning mastery far exceeds Jin's own.
His combat style combines fire, lightning, and plasma. He uses flame bursts for movement, flies or hovers with fire at his feet, casts plasma balls and lightning arcs, and can surround himself in a crackling fire-and-lightning vortex. He also commands mages in army-scale engagements, including lightning-mage storms, aerial charges, and fortification-breaking logistics with Khoradyn.
History
At Cloudrift Temple, Zhang trains beside Jin as both friend and rival. He accompanies Jin back to Stormbrook after the village is attacked, keeps him alive through the miasma and corrupted dead, and stops him from rushing blindly toward Stormpeak. After Khoradyn's group arrives from beyond the mountains, Zhang trains directly with Khoradyn and chooses to leave with him. Zhang later fights the shapers of Shroudvale and helps build Kaldaryn.
Zhang commands forces alongside Khoradyn, Kren, and Garrik as they fight the shapers of Shroudvale and build the movement that becomes Kaldaryn. He joins Vianna's rescue and training after Hengzhou's destruction, later serves on Kaldaryn's fronts, and becomes a reliable commander for Garrik.
When Jin returns to Thundermarch as Tianlei's shard wielder, Zhang greets him warmly as Tianlei's return becomes visible to the gathered soldiers and refugees. During the defense of Raindawn, Zhang warns the city that the shapers have arrived, fights in the city's defense, and remains afterward with Yingshui and Isrynn during rebuilding after Master Han's death.
Zhang is taken by a timerift in Kyranthos with Kren, Ivan, Svanhild, and other displaced companions. Inside Varnhallow's temporal collapse, he develops a bond with Maia, fights Vianna in the Grand Court tournament, and obeys Isaac when Isaac invokes the Order. Zhang and Anshar destabilize the temporal barrier so the escape group can leave Varnhallow, then fight white-clad attackers after the return. Thalena later reaches him while he is barely alive, heals him enough to survive, and throws him clear of the battlefield before continuing the fight.
After Varnhallow, Zhang and Lysander brief Garrik on Isaac's apparent death, the Order's losses, and the danger posed by the hostile faction targeting the displaced mages. Zhang returns to Garrik's forces, takes part in planning the Siege of Omberion, mourns Maia, and continues serving among Kaldaryn's strongest commanders.
At Cyndarel, Zhang scouts the city with Garrik and Khoradyn, locates the foreign airship and Raphael, and stays with Garrik's reduced force as the confrontation with Raphael develops. During the Battle for Cyndarel, Zhang and Khoradyn fight beside Aldar, strike Raphael and Gabriel with plasma, lightning, and earth-coordinated attacks, and drive Gabriel back. Alistair's hidden device then detonates over Raphael's body, killing Zhang and Khoradyn and devastating the crater.
Relationships
- Jin: Zhang's closest friend from Cloudrift Temple and his first serious rival.
- Khoradyn and Kren: Zhang follows Khoradyn from Thundermarch into the Shroudvale, Kaldaryn, Varnhallow, and Cyndarel fronts and serves alongside Kren through the Varnhallow timerift.
- Garrik: Garrik values Zhang as a commander, and Zhang shares Garrik's commitment to a unified, peaceful Valrindor.
- Vianna and Maia: Zhang trains with Vianna after Hengzhou and later becomes emotionally attached to Maia during the Varnhallow timerift.
- Order of Thalion Zenith: Zhang serves the Order during the Varnhallow timerift, the Fall of Malverand, and the present-era fronts around Shroudvale, Kaldaryn, and Cyndarel.