User:Zaphael/Hinjo subpage

Hinjo is a Paladin in the webcomic The Order of the Stick.

History
Hinjo first appeared when the Order of the Stick arrived at Azure City, helpong Miko escort them to their trial. He was much more easy going than Miko, and we hear the punchline of some joke he was teling. ("Rectum?! I darn nearly killed 'im!"). Miko's disapproving of this causes him to mock her to the Order, and says that there's a reason she is sent on the long missions. During the trial, it is revealed that Hinjo is Shojo's nephew and heir to the throne. After the trial, he shows Elan round the city.

When the Order of the Stick return to Azure City after their conflict with the Linear Guild, Hinjo and Miko are waiting at the gate for Shojo. This means that they overhear the conversation, in particular the bit about "I've gone to a lot of trouble to get you hear behind the collective back of my loyal paladins...". Miko and Hinjo then enter and confront Shojo, who backs down and tries to use the senility deception again, but Hinjo tells him to drop the act. Although it is Hinjo who starts the accusations, Miko takes over, and they become more serious, amounting to treachary. Hinjo didn't like what Shojo had done, but believed he was still working for the good of the city. Miko, however, declared everyone evil and struck down Shojo, causing her to lose her paladin abilities.

As a confused Miko tries to understand what had happened, Hinjo tells her she made a mistake. She runs at Belkaar (who cannot defend himself), but is blocked by Hinjo, who tells her "I'll stand between any two murderers I wish." He fights Miko, but is slowly beaten until Roy intervenes. Afterwards, he hires Roy to protect him, and is crowned as the new lord of Azure City, when Shojo refuses to be resurrected.

Almost as soon as he is crowned, Hinjo has to deal with Xykon's hobgoblin army which is about to attack. He lets three people (at least) out of prison to help, including Belkar, and tries to prepare Azure City for the attack. Hinjo himself fights on the walls, where his "warhorse" is first revealed. Like Miko, he summons his Dire Wolf with a poke-ball, and rides Argent through a great deal of the battle, until he is forced to return the poisoned dog to the Celestial Realms.

Personality, Traits and Abilities
Hinjo is more of the positive aspects of a paladin, without the holier-than-thou attitude that Miko has. However, he has a serious attitude towards some things, and refuses to break the oath he made to better ensure the safer of Azure City, as Shojo did. He is shown to be a competent fighter, but only fought with one sword, unlike Miko who had a paired Wakazashi and Katana. However, he has a much better warhorse, implying that he focussed more on mounted combat. Miko described him as the "second most powerful paladin" in the Sapphire Guard, with her as the most powerful. He was beaten even though Miko had lost her Paladin powers, meaning that she is a number of levels above him. He has a cold iron sword (though the first comic with his sword in had a much darker blade, which has been explained as a colouring mistake) and seems to have greater knowledge of the Sapphire Guard than Miko did: he was not surprised by the revelations of the Snarl, and had foreknowledge of the Guard's ability to rise as ghosts when slain by Xykon in the throne room. Unlike Miko, Hinjo has never demonstrated non-Paladin powers, implying that he is not a multiclass character.

Relationships with other characters
Despite her slaying of his uncle, Hinjo does not allow any anger he might feel against Miko to show, and tells her that she needs to pray. When she refuses and attacks him, Hinjo declares that "you've lost it, Miko!". He gets on better than Miko did with most characters, although the Azure City noble class have twice tried to assassinate him, and continually considers Roy a "dumb fighter" (a cliche which Roy tries hard to rise above.)