Spirits of the Earth

QUICK STATS

Name: Hui Chouyan, or Ember—a facename for her crimes, with an added perk of being easier to pronounce for most Le'raanians that speak of or to her.
Age: She looks to be in her early twenties, possibly 20 or 21.
Gender: Female, with she/her pronouns
Species: Part human (ish), part red phoenix
Ethnicity: On her human side, she has blood from Huohu. As for her phoenix side... she's super unsure.
Height: 5'6", or 167.64 cm.
Occupation: Pirate
Residence: Her ship, the Black Torch, is where she mostly stays, but will take some rest in the occasional inn across her travels when restocking.

IN-DEPTH STUFF

Physical Description: Ember's physique, though not exactly the tallest nor the most bulky, is nothing to balk at. She's fit, lithe, and flexible, with strong limbs that have no problem with going toe-to-toe with enemies in deadly dances of blades and a firm core that would be a boon in the water if she actually swam. Her skin is naturally a warm tan tone, further browned by the constant sun she sails beneath, seeming to never burn; her hair is just a touch wavy from the sea spray and exceptionally long, reaching her hips, the color seemingly a deep black on the outside—where the sun strikes—and a dark red on the underside of each strand. Her Huohu-ren heritage shows in the angular slant to her eyes, the two white dots on either side of her nose bridge, the slitted nature of her pupils, her pointed ears, and the very thin skin above her heart that shows the bright, glowing colors inside when she's particularly emotional. Her irises are completely heterochromatic—her right one, a bold orange-yellow, a thin lining of pale yellow surrounding her pupil and the edges of red at the outside of her iris, the colors seeming to dull when she's sad but intensify when she's angry or happy; the other, a dark, somber black, her pupil lined with a faint touch of dusty gray, like volcanic ash. Her features are sharp, her jaw defined and her shoulders steady, though her flatter nose gives a sort of gentleness to her otherwise knifelike smile.

She enjoys wearing brightly-colored, intricately-detailed clothing, commonly poet shirts or other kinds of lace-up tunics tucked into practical pants and a pair of sturdy but fashionable boots, a sleek pair of gloves and a waist sash sealing the whole outfit together. When physically active, she tends to tie or braid her hair back so that it doesn't get in her way, rolling up her sleeves and tossing off her large, tricorn hat as needed. The hat in question is black on the outside and red on the inside, just like her hair, with gold trim and a similarly-colored hatband on top with a bright orange-yellow feather stuck to it, seeming to glow and steam when wet. She has long coats that she puts to use when it gets too cold for her liking, but doesn't often have to wear them. She has a fondness for jewelry, especially if the clothes she's wearing are rather plain, usually seen with many piercings in her ears and dangling from her lobes, a gold ring piercing her bottom lip, a few necklaces tucked in or left on the outside of her shirt depending on what statement she wants to make, many rings adorning her nimble fingers, and the occasional bracelet or bangle. A multitude of scars and sporadic, dark freckles speck her body, with one particular beauty mark dotting her left cheek.

Ember's waist sash often covers her much less fashionable-looking belt, with many pouches, pockets, and holsters attached to it. Normally, she'll have two broadswords at her belt, one on each side, as well as a dirk to her right and a rudimentary pistol to her left. A small pouch of bullets, some money, and a handheld compass tend to take up the rest of the space.

Personality: Lively, bold, and just a little bit crass (or a lot crass, if she has one too many drinks), Ember is just about what most expect from a swashbuckling, adventurous pirate. A curious spirit at heart, her natural affinity for strong emotion and love for social interactions makes her an avid learner of just about anything, so long as it's presented in an exciting or passionate way. Her usual lightheartedness doesn't mean that she doesn't have her dark days, however, and has a temper that matches her fiery disposition when things go especially badly or the right (wrong?) buttons are pushed. Additionally, despite what some may think of someone who enjoys roughhousing and drinking until she goes blind, she indeed has the capacity for seriousness when the situation calls for it, and will show off her incredible command of her crew and her skill in battle to win the day if need be. All in all, she's a firecracker, that one, and lets every emotion flow through her fully, but is just as competent and intelligent as anyone else in dire times.

Magic/Abilities:

• Ember can manipulate fire and, to an extent, heat (mostly at will, though she's accidentally singed her bedsheets once after jolting awake from a terrible nightmare, and the air noticeably heats up around her when she's struck by especially strong emotion, with her hair sometimes smoking and eventually catching fire at the ends). This is usually limited to lighting torches, braziers, and really big candles, since she doesn't have a super-fine control of this power, but she's used it on more than one occasion to scare off a thug and blast someone right in the face during combat. It takes a lot out of her to use it frequently, though, almost as if the fire comes from her own energy. That being said, she's impervious to any fires she sets herself, but can still be harmed by fire that comes from, say, a flint and steel, though it does take a lot longer for fire and high temperatures to hurt her than many others.

• As a captain of her own ship and crew, she's obviously quite an adept leader, and can command a group of people with much skill. Of course, it's much easier with a group that she knows well, though.

• Ember is a fighter, that's for certain. She knows how to use every weapon on her belt with at least moderately competent skill (with her pistol being the one that "weighs everything else down," or so she says. It's fast, it's powerful, and it's cool, but she needs more practice with it than her blades). She's a menace with something sharp in her hands, and prefers to dual-wield, with some combination of sword(s), dirk, and fiery hand usually coming into play when she can. She's not too shabby bare-handed, either, and has fun sparring and horsing around with her crewmates

• She's a pirate and knows the pirate life for sure. She knows her way around a ship, whether it's tying a good sailor's knot, keeping her feet steady on a rocking boat, or looking over each decision of the navigator. She didn't become a captain just because she had a strong voice, after all—she works hard at everything she does, and believes that if she doesn't know at least basic knowledge of each job on the ship, she's not fit to lead

• She might not know everything, but she does have a rudimentary knowledge of alchemy, and keeps a good alchemist on deck to brush up on her skills every so often. She generally knows what things go boom when in contact with fire or water or air, and seeks to continue her education in this vein for the foreseeable future.

Relationships:

• Marlon Kenway: Her second-in-command. Born out of wedlock to a clever Serenian mother and a rebellious Connlaothian father, Kenway inherited both the quiet genius and fine-cut good looks of his mother and the strong-backed stubbornness and adventurous spirit of his father, growing up as an orphan that hid in wagons and slept in trees to have the chance to explore Le'raana. Eventually being picked up by a mysterious female pirate who raised him to be a captain of his own when he came of age, his love for the seas and exploration never died, even when he set aside his expectations for being captain to be second-in-command for someone that he truly thought deserved to lead. He's usually addressed by his surname and rarely gives out his given name, but Ember is one of the few that calls him "Marlon" or "Mar"... in private, of course, lest the rest of the crew tease him for seemingly having the name of a fish. He's about 6'0", taller than most Connlaothians, with a neatly slim but athletic build that holds strength well, his skin naturally fair but taking on a sunkissed tan (with some burns, when he's not careful) due to his life at sea. He has bold purple-indigo eyes and wavy hair that reaches his shoulders, normally tied up in a haphazard bun with many free-hanging strands, the color light and silvery with the faintest touch of lilac in the right lighting. He has a thin, dark scar that slices diagonally down his face, starting at his hairline and scraping off his jaw in a path of jagged, rough skin

• Pan Jinhai: A Gushui-ren with somewhat of a stick up his ass, but nevertheless an invaluable part of the crew as the on-ship alchemist. Paid handsomely, fed well, and exposed to many different places, people, and things along the Black Torch's travels, he has little to complain about (though he still nitpicks incessantly, as he'll settle for nothing less than total perfection—there could always be a more efficient way to divine how the winds will be for the next week, a better method to preserving food for storage). Will ignore anyone who does not refer to him with his full name, save for Kenway and Ember, as they're his superiors and have proven stronger than him. He teaches Ember some small bits of alchemy; though he will squeeze in the occasional teasing comment about how she doesn't know certain concepts, he appreciates her efforts and respects her leadership. Of course, he'll never teach her enough to be free to release him from her service, though—a man needs to eat. He's one inch shorter than Ember, which mildly irritates him, but his strong, sturdy build, scar-marred cool-toned tan skin, and sharply intelligent gray-blue eyes make him an intimidating figure nonetheless. His straight, pitch black hair only reaches his chin and is usually tied in a short, functional ponytail with two sidelocks in the front, marking him as a convicted, "recovering" criminal of the Shijie Empire. He refuses to disclose what his crime was, and Ember doesn't force him to—she has better things to do than piss off the man who could blow up her ship with the right combination of chemicals.

• Enara and Sibyl Pryce: The Black Torch's dual alarm system and fact-checking machine. A pair of Adelan twin sisters that, upon attending a magic school in Serendipity to try and bolster their powers and return home to help their community, found that they were trapped in debt with few ways out. Naturally, rather than being stuck as labor mules for a nation they held no love for, they ran off to gain riches through piracy to pay off their student loans instead. After getting enough money to pay off their debts, though, they found that they both fell in love with the pirate's way of life and truly enjoyed sailing the seas with people they considered friends, and continued to sail on with Ember under a new contract. Enara is an adept beastspeaker, whereas Sibyl is skilled at divination. Both are about 5'11" (though Enara slouches often and could potentially be taller than her sister), with olive-undertoned, light-medium brown skin dotted with many freckles and long dark hair that reaches their mid-backs. Enara's eyes are large and somewhat sad-looking, colored a soft, doe-like brown, while Sibyl's eyes are usually half-lidded and mysterious, its hue a bright amber, almost gold in its sheen. Enara's physique leans to the slender side, but is clearly agile, strong, and quick, contrasting her sister's svelte yet pronounced curves, with little muscle definition. Enara's wavy hair is usually tied back in a ponytail, but Sibyl lets her loose curls run free.

History:

It would be deceptively simple to say that Ember simply has no history. She woke up one day without memories in a place she did not know with a man she had no recollection of sitting outside of the room of the inn, and that's as far back as she knows. Everything else was filled in for her—she was a pirate, and a captain to boot, with a crewless ship but many riches to her name. She had a second-in-command who stood by her through the accident that induced her amnesia, she had a strange muscle memory for how to handle a sword, and she could stick her hand in boiling water without flinching, but who was she? Where had she been? Who did she know, and where did she come from?

As she gathered her new crew and restocked her docked ship, she found that, while she apparently knew Kenway since he was a young boy, there were still parts of her that she didn't tell him while she still had her memories, entire facets of her past and her self that may never be recovered again, because if the person that seemed to know her best didn't know it, then who else would? Certainly not herself.

Despite that, she hoisted herself up by the bootstraps to explore the world, ruin the lives of people she disliked, gain riches, and seek out any bits and pieces of her past that she could get—a quest that she's still on, even through toil, trouble, and fire.

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