Ember Wildfyre

Ember Wildfyre is a trans-female tiger born in 276 ADD in the temperate cliffside city of Oasis at the Gateway to the Alnamari Desert. She found her calling as a fitness instructor, but the secrets of the desert would eventually reveal her as the key to finding a lost civilization that could harmonize with the natural elements.

Personality

Ember is a very strong and take charge tiger who prefers tackling problems head on. She has no hesitation speaking her mind regardless of the situation, believing that people will either accept her or they won't and that it shouldn't be her problem how they see her. She is very good at seeing the potential in people, having confidence in them even if they don't have it in themselves. She is extremely loyal to those she cares for, and will always put herself in front of them to protect them.

Abilities

Ember is trained in martial arts and close combat.

She is exceptionally strong, and can handle massive objects with ease.

She has a prehensile tail that keeps her balanced when facing opponents.

She is poison resistant, learning how to counteract their effects while trekking in the desert.

Design

Ember has a very toned body shape, with bright orange fur and a white belly beginning at her snout and running down to her thighs. She has similar glowing orange eyes and a soft pink nose. Her white hair tufts just at the top of her head like a cloud. Her ears are black, with symmetrical lightning-shaped stripes on her cheeks and a black diamond symbol on the bridge of her nose. A series of jagged stripes run down her back, thighs, and legs. Arrowhead stripes run down her biceps, and a series of curved stripes run down her forearms. The base of her long tail is orange, before transitioning to white a third of the way down. The stripes on her tail form a specific tribal pattern, ending in a black tip. The interior of her ears is the same pink as her nose.

Attire

Ember's standard attire consists of a short white schenti with sky-blue highlights that ties in the back over the base of her tail. A matching pair of white cloth straps cross over her chest, with a pink lace tying them together.

Ember's casual attire consists of a coal-gray sports top and matching gray booty shorts, with a white tiger logo emblazoned on the left leg.

Story

Early Life

Ember was born as Ashen Wildfyre in the temperate cliffside city of Oasis at the very northern point of the Alnamari Desert, also known as the Gateway to the desert. There she grew up with her father Burnan after he divorced her mother a year after she was born. Not willing to speak to Burnan any longer, Ember's mother cut ties with her daughter. Burnan soon remarried to a tigress named Angelene, and two years later their son Pyro, Ember's half-brother, was born. Burnan raised Ember emphasizing the importance of their family legacy, as the Wildfyres had been among the first to connect to the Elemental power of Fire, and Burnan expected both of his children to become great Fire Elementals. And while Pyro was not yet old enough, he enrolled Ember into martial arts training to prepare herself for the trials she would go through as a teenager.

As Ember and Pyro grew up, their family's relationship became strained as Burnan grew more obsessed with the Elemental trials his children would soon face, often neglecting giving them affection and only focusing on training them. When Ember was thirteen, Angelene confronted her husband about his treatment of their kids, but Burnan urged that they had to be ready to become Fire Elementals, as his own trials had not been successful and didn't want his kids to bring shame on their family. During this time, Ember struggled with her own mental turmoil as she felt increasingly uncomfortable in her own body. A year later, her Elemental trials began, and while she was proficient in the Air and Water trials, she excelled in the Earth trial. But when the Fire trial came, her insecurities about herself and the fear of disappointing her family overcame her, and she floundered, scoring lower than any other trial. The Wildfyre family determined she was not destined to be a Fire Elemental. Afterwards, her father publicly scorned her for her failure, finally pushing Angelene over the edge. Horrified by how Burnan treated his children, she filed for divorce. And while she was able to retain custody of Pyro, Burnan insisted he keep Ember, saying she was not even her real child. As a result, despite their closeness, Ember and Pyro were not able to contact each other as easily.

Ember's time as a teen were some of the roughest years of her life. Her parents' divorce and her failure at the Elemental trials left Burnan emotionally cold and resentful of her and his family, with Pyro being his last hope. Spending more time on her own and thinking introspectively Ember came to realize she never felt right being Burnan's son, but found comfort in identifying with femininity, and had the epiphany that she was transgender. She experimented with names for herself, eventually settling on Ember. Her father was not supportive of her name change and instead saw her new identity as further proof she was to be nothing more than a disgrace to the Wildfyre name. Fed up with his abuse, Ember ran away from home, eventually escaping to where Angelene and Pyro were now living elsewhere in Oasis. After explaining the situation, Angelene welcomed her into her home, embracing her true name and telling her she would always be her daughter. Once Ember turned eighteen, she was able to change her birth certificate to include Angelene as her true mother.

At One With Herself

Pyro had failed his Elemental trials as well, and Burnan officially lost faith in his family. Angelene struggled to support the three of them without the backing of the Wildfyres, and with Ember of age she realized she would need to find a career that would suit her. She decided to pursue fitness instruction, as her martial arts training growing up had been a genuine passion of hers, and as she became more comfortable with herself she needed to work on maintaining her health. Eventually she was hired as an apprentice at a gym in the town of Terrani Coast to the west. She took her work seriously, and her manager acted as a representative to get her approved for hormone replacement therapy. Several years went by, Ember having moved up in the business to hosting her own fitness and martial arts training classes. She'd also taken up mountain climbing in the range that divided the Alnamari Desert with the northern country of Middeas, where she met fellow nature enthusiast, a snow leopard named Cobalt Skye.

One day after her classes, Pyro arrived with a gift. He'd since become an explorer, helping cultures rediscover their lost artefacts in the Alnamari Desert. The royalties from his first expedition were enough to cover the cost of Ember's gender reassignment surgery, and several months later Ember had the body she'd always imagined she could have. Her relationship with her brother never stronger, and with her life finally stable, she was able to find peace with her past.

Relationships

Ember is very close with her brother Pyro, occasionally adventuring into the desert together.

She has taken a liking to Pyro's adventuring partner, a kangaroo named Peppermint Mist.

She is romantically interested in Cobalt Skye.

Trivia

-She drives a rally race truck for easy transportation through the terrain of the desert.

-She loves all kinds of exercise, but swimming is her favorite.

-She is not too fond of clothing, as she put a lot of hard work into her body and prefers to show off her stripes instead.