Character concept by Sam Deutsch, all rights reserved.
Born: circa 1300-age Avard.
Current Status: Spring, 1332. On the road north of Teras, seeking the Mage Academy, an Elf named Aust (another of Xoriah's Chosen, who Ignacio knows lives somewhere in Rakore) and a staff made of Red Steel
Ignacio is a full-bred and well-built Tiefling, from the tips of his short, curved horns to the point of his long, powerful tail. His skin is reddish orange, and the only hair that he has on his entire body is on his head. The color of Ignacio’s short-cropped hair is a deep red that resembles that of dried blood. Like all Tieflings, Ignacio’s eyes are more like bright-burning coals, with no whites or pupils.
Standing at 6 feet tall, Ignacio has striking beauty as well as what many would call presence, or force of personality. He appears to be in early manhood, perhaps his early twenties. Ignacio's physical form has shown no signs of age in the 12 years since he has been awoken, but there is definitely a sense of gravity, maturity, and experience about him.
Ignacio always dresses in fine cloth clothing, and most often wears a custom-made set of ebony black regalia embroidered with fine needlework of black, orange, and red. The trim of the garment is a red the color of dried blood, as are the fine laces that can be tied to close the full collar at the top of the garment. (In short, this cloth regalia looks like a slightly less formal gi of a Shogun, but much easier to move in). Underneath his clothing, Ignacio is chiseled, handsome, and truly a sight to behold. Physically fit and healthy-looking, Ignacio can draw the eyes of any onlooker, female or male to his beauty.
A reddish glow can sometimes be perceived around Ignacio, and he sometimes emits a dim, red light from his body.
With Ignacio is his companion Char, a fire-born black stallion of beauty and power to match Ignacio.
When fighting, Ignacio primarily uses a martial artist’s staff, and wields it as such. However, instead of striking with this weapon, Ignacio channels his flame through his body and into this weapon, which magnifies his power. (for a demonstration of what it is like to see Ignacio in battle, follow this link and imagine fire being emitted from the fighter’s staff, hands, feet, body, and breath: http://youtu.be/CNcHB3KU_3w)
Ignacio is a Firelord, the progeny of the Flame Goddess, Xoriah. That is not to say he is arrogant or egotistical. On the contrary, to Ignacio this means that he fully recognizes and understands the immense power that he wields and the incredible responsibility that accompanies the acceptance of Xoriah's gifts. In addition to “spreading the Flame of Xoriah” (a mild, unobtrusive form of proselytizing) Ignacio is searching for Xoriah’s lost city. Thus, the traveling lifestyle suits Ignacio well, and he has fallen in with a group of arcane travelers – some refugees, and some adventurers – who understand, or at least tolerate, Ignacio’s personal mission. He has been with these gypsies for six years.
While he and others sympathetic to Xoriah’s cause call Ignacio one of Xoriah’s Chosen, there are others who look upon his red skin, horns, and tail and mistakenly assert that he is a demon. These people, as well as others who seek to destroy Xoriah, do not call him Chosen, but Forsaken. Ignacio has battled many people in the 12-year period since his awakening. He has done so with flame, with fists, and at many times with wits. Over the years he has had numerous experiences and encounters, both violent and peaceful, that have turned a newly awakened elemental into a mighty and powerful Firelord.
As for personality and style, Ignacio is, for the most part, candid, direct, affable, and accessible. He is generally good-natured and loves to meet people. When it comes to encounters (either violent or peaceful) he rarely favors the shadows. Rather than “sneaking around like a miscreant,” as he calls it, Ignacio seeks to play to his strengths, open up, and use his force of personality when meeting new people, be they friends, enemies, or strangers. This is not to say, however, that Ignacio will not use below-the-board tactics. His value system can be characterized as chaotic good: Ignacio will always do what he believes is right and just. He will pursue and abide any means to accomplish his virtuous ends, even if it means braking laws, personal sacrifice, collateral damage, or not conforming to accepted standards of society. Alas, such is, and has been, the case every so often.
Ignacio believes that everyone is well aware of fire as a destructive force. However, when he encounters those who seek to unjustly harm him, those he loves, those whom he respects, or anyone he feels a kinship toward, he provides them with a reminder of how deadly fire can be. In fact, Ignacio believes that it is his divine mission as the progeny and Chosen of the Flame Goddess to show such deviants the ruinous nature of Xoriah’s flames.
Ignacio’s other demonstrations of power are more benign, with many considered to be life-changing. To witness Ignacio “Dance the Flames,” as he calls it, is an awesome experience in every sense of the word. Ignacio’s forms are similar to those of a martial artist, but his are infused with the Gift of Flame. They involve his whole body and his entire spirit, and they become his entire focus. Ignacio’s forms can be dramatic, sorrowful, playful, regal, or full of rage. But Ignacio knows other forms too.. These are forms to be demonstrated only in private and with the proper participants. These can be seductive, tender, loving, erotic, and sometimes, unapologetically banal. To take part in those demonstrations is to transcend reality. Still, regardless of the form, the audience, or the target, Ignacio considers these and all of his exhibitions to be only the means to his ends, which is to have all who live know and respect Xoriah’s Flame.
Ignacio is a Tiefling, born into the world by Tiefling parents. Later in life, in early adulthood, he was “awakened” by the Goddess of Flame, Xoriah, and was transformed into a fire elemental. While there are many elemental sorcerers in the world (as well as elementals), Xoriah selected Ignacio to be one of her Chosen. As such, he was granted the title of Firelord. Ignacio remembers nothing of his life before his awakening.
“Awake”
He opened his eyes and stared upwards into the night sky. Countless stars looked down on him, alive and winking. There they shone until, gradually, almost imperceptivity, the stars began to move. Their subtle shifting quickly gave way to more erratic behavior, with each star flying off into different directions, leaping, swirling, and hurdling through space. He closed his eyes tightly, shook his head, and took another look. The flying objects were no longer stars, but were now fat, red-orange sparks lifted by the heat of the ravenous fires that surrounded him. He had lived this moment before. It had been real then. This was The Dream.
He was in the midst of a town engulfed in a great blaze. Most of the dwellings were already burned out leaving charred stone chimneys and still-smoldering wooden frames. The scene was a panic. Children were clutching their blankets screaming for their parents. Their cries fell on deaf ears – the townsfolk were too devastated to notice anything but the fires that were consuming everything they owned. Some stood soot-faced watching their houses burning, dumbfounded, while others openly wept in each other’s arms. And then there were some, only a few, who were offering up a prayer, invoking the name of the Fire Goddess, Xoriah. And although the Goddess of Flames was indeed present, the townspeople’s prayers fell on deaf ears, for Xoriah’s attention was turned elsewhere. Her focus was on the naked Tiefling laying on the ground.
“Rise, Ignacio.” That voice… Even in The Dream is was musical. The Tiefling could not tell whether he was hearing Xoriah’s voice in his head or through his ears, but in the next instant he found himself on his feet, face to face with his creator. Physically slight, yet tall for a woman, Xoriah wore tight-fitting leathers of red and white over her slender frame. She was of a similar height with the Tiefling, and he had a direct view of her beautiful pale white face, framed by hair the color of a blood-red moon. Many stray wisps fell to her cheeks, but the bulk of it was tied in a thick braid that ran down her back to her waist. Still, anyone who looked upon Xoriah was immediately drawn to her eyes. Blazing like glowing embers, they burned with such unwavering intensity that anyone who stared into them for more than a moment would be forced to turn their gaze aside, or else risk blinding themselves by the light and heat of a divine inferno. The Tiefling recognized the gravity of this instant, and his eyes left Xoriah’s as he bowed his head and stooped to one knee.
“My son,” she said proudly, “I have bestowed upon you, on this night, the Gift of Flame.” Xoriah touched Ignacio’s shoulder, and he felt intense warmth wash over him, radiating from where the Fire Goddess’ hand remained on his skin. She waited, watching the Tiefling’s reaction to the gift she had just given him. He shuddered as the divine power entered his body, and then she felt his soaring spirit as the Gift of Flame touched Ignacio’s soul. After a time, Xoriah continued. “Ignacio, you must know that this gift is also a burden, and with it, you must be careful. Fire must be respected, for it is a living thing. It breathes, it feeds, it kills, and it can die. A trained firelord with a skilled hand can cleanse with fire, making room for life to begin anew, but if one is careless, control over this most deadly element can be lost, and the very flames used to cleanse can bring destruction, pain, and utter ruin. One may pass for being a novice of any of the other elements, but only an expert can wield fire responsibly.“
Ignacio managed to lift his eyes from the ground, and he looked around at the burning village. The flames were everywhere, consuming everything they touched, living or dead. How, he wondered, could he control powers such as these? Ever hungry, ever deadly, the flames would surely consume him too.
As if she were reading his mind, Xoriah said, “You may believe that you are not ready for this responsibility, or even that you are undeserving of my gift. It is true that you are inexperienced in the Way of the Flame, but over time you will learn to master the abilities I have bestowed upon you.” Xoriah shifted her stance, and for a moment, for only a fleeting second, seemed at a loss for words. “Ignacio.” She paused. “Son,” she whispered, more closely. “I have selected you for a reason, and that reason is my own. I know you have no recollection of your life before I claimed you as my elemental prodigy. That is something that you may come to learn in time. But know this.” Her voice suddenly became stronger. “You are bound to me by forces greater than any you have ever known – our bond is greater than family, than love, or by law.” Xoriah burst into flames and seemed to grow, just as her ethereal voice grew into something more fearsome, more commanding, more loving, and, if possible, even more beautiful. “Ignacio of the Tieflings, you are one of my Chosen. You will spread word of my Flame as far as your feet will carry you, and you will aid me in the search for my city that was lost.”
Xoriah maintained her blaze in order to ensure her message was received, and then she returned to her normal form. “And now, my Chosen, I must go.” Ignacio opened his mouth to speak – he had so many questions, but Xoriah cut him off. “I will be with you, Ignacio. I will test you, and I will guide you, but the decisions you make will be your own. The road ahead will be difficult, but I will always be with you.” She paused, and said, “Remember me, and be faithful.”
And with that, the Fire Goddess Xoriah burst into flame and vanished from sight.
Ignacio looked around the village and bathed in the glow of the firelight. The heat warmed his red-orange skin. He looked down to find that where he had lain was a silhouette of pure red embers. Ignacio reached down into the fire and scooped up the burning earth with one hand. He let the flaming soil filter through his fingers slowly, relishing the sacrosanct sensations of the fire’s light, heat, grace, and purity. When all of the soil fell from Ignacio’s hand, the flame lingered, burning in his fist just as strongly as if he held was holding a fistful of burning coal. It was beautiful.
Tears suddenly welled up in Ignacio's eyes, and he realized who and what he had become. Ignacio had never been so alive and full of raw emotion. It was sheer ecstasy, and he could barely stand. A red-orange hue the color of his skin began to radiate from his chiseled, hairless, and naked body. And there he stood amid the flames: Ignacio, Firelord.
At length, he meditated on the words he knew would wake him. And then, in both The Dream and in the waking world, he intoned, “I, Ignacio, am faithful to you, Xoriah, Goddess of Flame.”
…And he was Awake.
More stories of Ignacio's encounters prior to his arrival in Rakore are forthcoming and will be posted here.
Scale
0 = Can barely tolerate this person's company, and must do so actively
10 = A friend. Enjoy's this person's company from time to time, but not all the time
20 = A kindred spirit. Would lay down his life for this person without a second thought
Ignacio has traveled for six years with these and other companions. He has fought alongside a few of them before, and now he has left the lands he knew with this particular group to spread Xoriah's Flame and seek new adventures. As such, he has built up a base concordance of 12 with all of them. Modifiers are applied to give the final concordance rating.
Ryn = +3 = 15
Sric = -3 = 9
Iris = +4 = 16
Sariel = +6 = 18
Dannamai =
Tempest = +4 = 16
Kruj = +0 = 12
Raike = +4 = 16
9th Level Tiefling Elemental Sorcerer
To be updated