Ember Agbayani

Ember has always been quiet and analytical; her parents, while good to her, always pushed her to be the first of their generation to go to college, and she turned all the pressure internally, forsaking friendships, a social life, or other healthy grade school-age behaviors in favor of studying and succeeding in school, at any cost. After the incident that caused her to flee from her ordinary life, she became gruff and grouchy, avoiding human contact in favor of maintaining her own survival. Small triggers had the capability to send her spiralling into flashbacks that made her feel helpless. She was intrenched in her own anxieties, and weighed every decision and their possible consequences more than she ever had before. In addition, Ember felt that it was necessary to repress her emotions; it was her anger that had gotten her in trouble, so she never again wanted to fall victim to the fire-user stereotype of being quick to anger and destructive when fired up. After being recruited and integrated into Lythios' group of Catalysts on Eranocta, however, Ember found herself finally able to mellow out for the first time. While still an introverted individual with the tendency to second-guess herself, she began to gradually understand that she didn't have to try and tackle life all alone. She developed a slightly sarcastic sense of humor, and started opening up to others more. She experienced what it was like to have people genuinely want to care for and help her, and began to feel the desire to pay that happiness forward in her relationships with others. Another facet of her personality grew stronger as a result of her new experiences—she became more outwardly justice-driven. Rather than letting things that bothered her go, she grew more eager to investigate incongruities and protest things that went against her morals. Her powers still scare her, but she is eager to use them for good.

Before Arriving on Eranocta

Ember grew up a single child in a lower-middle-class Pennsylvania household. Neither of her parents were college educated; her father encouraged her to spend time outside and her mom encouraged her academically, so she always felt the pressure to be the first to go to college. A girl named Mara was her oldest friend, but they grew apart interest-wise in middle school. Then Mara turned antagonistic and went out of her way to demean and downplay Ember’s achievements due to remaining bitterness—she felt as though Ember made time for everything but their friendship. Ember later befriended Rebecca in middle school after Becca’s former best friend moved schools, but the two never had much in common. In sophomore year gym class, Keith (a student who had been harassing her for her size since she was young) kicked a gash into her leg, causing her to go to the hospital for stitches and being out of commission for several days. A girl named Zoey helped her catch up, but their budding friendship started straining Ember and Becca’s friendship, as the latter was mistrustful of Zoey. Eventually, junior year, Ember got a note in her locker that asserted that Zoey had a crush on her. Not sure what to do, Ember avoided her for several days while she sorted out her feelings. She vaguely asked Becca for advice, and she advised Ember to be upfront with Zoey and break off their friendship, assuming Ember didn’t feel the same way. Ember got another note the next day, presumably from Sam or Mara, demanding she help them with schoolwork or this secret would be leaked to the school. In a panic, she asked Becca for help. Even she thought Mara was taking it too far, so she decided to accompany Ember to some sort of parlay in an attempt to resolve things. They negotiated a meeting in a shed used for a late-year chem project. When Becca and Ember arrived, they found that the girls were joined by a lot of the boys who also bullied Ember, adding pressure to the demands. Ember didn’t know what choice to make, but just in time, Zoey burst in and began defending Ember physically. Things turned into an all-out brawl, with Sam’s crew and the guys rushing in. Ember's fire powers activated for the first time; she set everything aflame and felt that she had no other choice but to go into hiding, finding an abandoned cabin in the middle of the woods that she took over as a new home. It being December, and the cabin being completely without power, she was quickly forced to use the fire powers she so desperately wished to avoid in order to survive. Worse, she needed supplies, so every few months, she would head out to a supermarket, set a fire, and steal what she needed. She lived like this for nine months, until one day, she was discovered by Lythios and Tida and convinced to join their cause: saving the people of planet Eranocta from the return of the evil Kaltath.

The Fire Within

Ember had trouble adjusting to life on Eranocta at first. For one, she had to get used to being around people again; and even worse, she had to get used to being viewed as a savior. Tida and Val, the two Catalysts her age, were monumental in helping her. Also, for the first time, she was having to use her elemental powers to fight, both against the mindless monsters called Beings of the Seal and also in training against her fellow Catalysts. For the first month or so, using her powers in this way would dredge up flashbacks of what she'd done in the shed, and this slowed her progress, much to Aeran's disgust. Every step forward, from her successes in helping defend towns from natural disasters to her eventual victory against Aeran, seemed to be met with an equal step back, such as the massive fire she accidentally causes on the day of the earth festival. Notably, during the darkness festival, she met a mysterious stranger named Syn, who advised her to trust her nightmares. Ember wondered if he was connected to an ominous warning the crew had discovered a few days prior: six lines and the image of a sun. But as the months went on, she soon grew used to way things were, becoming an asset to the team. She also found that her gratitude towards Tida in particular was manifesting into something greater—a crush on Tida, which she felt deeply ashamed and terrified about. In March, Lythios tasked her with aiding him in a search for the Light Catalyst, whom they discovered was Solyss. He helped distract her from her inner turmoil; being younger, he was much less experienced, and Ember took it upon herself to help him master his power. Ember and Tida finally had the opportunity to earn their elemental partners, and Ember's was a hummingbird she called Fireheart. Growing tensions in the group in addition to increased frequencies of the disasters caused Lythios to split the team, and after they regrouped in June, Solyss recieved his elemental partner. The experience seemed to take a toll on him, and when Ember goes to check on him, she finds that he is, in fact, fine, and merely stalling. He tells her that he is a traitor, and that his is an ally to Kaltath. Everything he'd done was leading up to him refusing to give up his power at the Seal and allowing Kaltath to return to Eranocta. He insisted that Kaltath is not the villain and that Lythios had been hiding a lot from them. He told Ember Kaltath's side of the story, and said that whether she tells Lythios about him is irrelevant, as he will do everything he can to ensure they don't succeed. Solyss encouraged her to join him, and if not, she should at least confess her feelings to Tida. Ember found herself in a mindless daze, and does as he recommended, but Tida guiltily told her that her feelings were not reciprocated. The group is forced to flee the temple as elemental disasters, larger than ever before, shake the world—the final signs of Kaltath's return. Each disaster corresponds to an element, which greatly affects the Catalyst connected. During Val's event, he feels compelled to confess to Ember that he adores her, but terrified of what the darkness is making him do, Ember hides from him. During Solyss' event, the two get into a fight over loyalties, which is broken up by Gravel. When they reach The Urdythsh on the day of the summer solstice, they are swarmed by Beings of the Seal, and Solyss announces his betrayal to the group. Ember makes her choice and decides to defend him, as does Gravel, to their surprise. Lythios seems about ready to eliminate them all, but before a battle can break out, Kaltath appears, protecting his allies and whisking them away.

The Fire Unleashed

After Kaltath's group makes their escape, he brings them to Ardrakk, the place of his old, ruined base, and answers their questions about him. Ember in particular is nervous about her decision, but Kaltath manages to assuage most of her fears—unlike when she spoke with Lythios, she doesn't get the impression that he is attempting to hide things or manipulate them. In fact, he leaves all duties of leadership up to them, expressing his disgust for Lythios' way of feeling the need to tell humans what to do all the time. They start rebuilding the base and recruiting—many of Kaltath's supporters were still in the area. Ember meets a shy boy named Cato, who helps her feel more at home. Solyss comes up with the idea to launch an attack on nearby Mendrus' supplies in order to cripple them passively. Their attack goes smoothly, and Kaltath leaves to find more allies. The day after, their base is seiged by two other nearby towns in revenge for Mendrus, and they are forced to hide until Kaltath returns. They manage to drive off the beseigers, and begin expanding south. They come across a hurricane-ravaged town and decide to help, but cross paths with Lythios' crew, who is currently tending to the town. They call a temporary truce, but after the town is saved, Aeran and Val go after Kaltath's crew, and they are forced to escape into the jungle. They find that many people neutral to the conflict reside there and work to earn their trust—however, a forest fire causes them to retreat north, to the Hemi Mountain. Kaltath explains that the one thing that can stop the wars and the disasters is the object known as the Scepter of Hope, and that the world is on a search for it now. As they head back to Ardrakk, Ember finds herself growing weary of the petty god drama, and speaks of it often with Cato as they travel. When they return, she is surprised to find Val waiting, insisting that he's decided to turn traitor with them. He makes her uncomfortable, so she tries her best to give him a wide berth. He insists that it's in their best interest to lead an attack on Lythios' temple, so they decide to follow through, only to be ambushed by Aeran in addition to Val, who had been lying to them. Returning home reveals that Val had sabotaged their base, but Kaltath had anticipated all his tricks; not only does he have a secret underground valley as a backup location, but he also had been feeding Val false info about their movements. While Kaltath leaves for the island Jhu, Ember and the others commence construction on the underground valley, though they have more free time to bond as a group, Cato even being included as an honorary Catalyst. She starts to wonder here if she is having feelings for Cato, and talks with Gravel about it. He confesses that there is a woman he's been seeing for years at Lythios' temple, whom he hopes is safe and well. They assume everything's going well on Jhu, but one night, none other than Tida finds Ember, warning her that the volcano on Jhu erupted, potentially killing Kaltath, and that her group is planning to ambush theirs the following day. They share regrets and memories that night, and Tida asks her hesitantly how she's coping with them being on opposite sides. Ember finds that while she still longs for Tida dearly, her renewed focus is giving her the strength to keep going. Also, she tells Tida about Cato, who Tida encourages her to make the first move on. Tida leaves, and the next morning, a battle commences, which tragically ends with Ember knocking Tida comatose, to her horror. Lythios calls for a retreat, but Solyss manages to prevent them from making off with Tida's body. Everyone is in shambles, and despite her earlier conviction, Ember doesn't know what to do. Thankfully, Kaltath returns, informing them that the Scepter is on Earth in a museum, and they'll need to pull off a heist to nab it. Their adventure is successful, but they return to the terrible scene of Ardere, Cato's healer younger sister, defending Tida from an onslaught of Lythics. Kaltath calls for a final battle at Urdythsh for control of the Scepter, on the condition they leave Tida with them to heal. Ember is deeply grateful, and to her joy, Tida revives (though without her powers anymore), deciding to join them. Ember and the others fight hard, and by the end, Kaltath's team is victorious. After the demise of the two gods, she and the others must rebuild society and trace down the rogue Catalysts (Val, Aeran) in order to force them to give up their powers forever. Cato asks her out, and she accepts; Ember decides to stay on Eranocta rather than returning to Earth.