Su Daji

Empress Su Daji, also known as known as the Vipress, is the current leader of Nikan, having come into power during the Second Poppy War, where her power and influence helped Nikan secure victory against the Federation of Mugen. She is the only known surviving member of the Trifecta.

Early life
Little is known about Su Daji's life before she became the Vipress. Folk legend has it that Su Daji was from humble origins. Like the other two of the Trifecta, she was an orphan in colonized Nikan.

According to folklore, Daji prayed to the Snail Goddess Nüwa when she arrived at the Pantheon, in the legend of The Trifecta. The goddess granted Daji the powers to bewitch and hypnotise, and she was reborn as the Vipress. She poisoned the Twelve Warlords at the banquet, so that the Warrior could take over as Emperor. Daji took over as Empress of Nikan when the Warrior disappeared or died.

Su Daji is the only remaining member of the Trifecta to rule in the public eye. After the war, she issued a mandate to enforce all households with less than three children to adopt war orphans. She also took a strong stance against psychedelic substances and recreational drugs after the Non-Aggression Pact was signed.

The Third Poppy War
Daji was the one who began the Third Poppy War, by collaborating with Emperor Ryohai of Mugen. She betrays the Cike, first by murdering their Commander Tyr before the Third Poppy War begins, and then again by directing the Mugenese to find Altan and Rin at Chuluu Korikh. The reason why she wasn't hesitant to ally with the Mugenese even after all the atrocities they had committed in Nikan, was because after she was raped by a Hesperian during the First Poppy War, a Mugenese soldier saved her and the rest of the Trifecta.

Personality
TBA

Physical Description
"The Empress's beauty did not require the soft fullness of young lips, the rosy red of young cheeks, the tenderness of young skin. This beauty cut deep, like a sharpened crystal. This beauty was immortal."

- Chapter 8, The Poppy War

Rin describes Su Daji as the most beautiful woman she has ever seen. The Empress has black hair 'darker than the night and glossier than butterfly wings'. Her skin is pale and smooth, and her lips were the colour of blood. Rin notes that although Daji's face is not perfectly symmetrical, she is undeniably stunning. Both Rin and the Cike Commander Tyr describe the Empress's eyes are especially hypnotic, like glittering obsidian wells.

Powers & Abilities

 * Hypnotism and Psychospiritual Attacks: The Vipress's mentioned shamanic abilities involve hypnotism and psychospiritual attacks, but she is implied to be capable of great powers.
 * Martial Arts: She is one of the most highly skilled martial artists in history. During the murder of Tyr, and again when she attempts to attack Rin in the Autumn Palace, it is implied that Su Daji has been possessed by a goddess.

"...so did she [take form]; no longer a viper but a goddess in the shape of Su Daji, the woman."

- Chapter 10, The Poppy War

Trivia

 * The Empress's name, Su Daji, came from one of the main antagonists in Fengshen Yanyi. Su Daji was possessed by a fox demon and under its influence, wreaked havoc of the Empire through cruel tricks and deception.
 * R. F. Kuang imagines that Su Daji looks like Zhang Ziyi.