Cinder Svantnif (Admiral Firejaw)

## Cinder Svantnif

### Aliases

Blaze, Blazey, Admiral FireJaw, Miss Fairweather, Sovereign Flame of the Open Skies, Mrs.Svantnif

### Relatives

Rose Fairweather (Mother-Deceased)Gwenivere Fairweather (Twin Sister)Asura Wildfire (Daughter)Fia (Daughter)Umbra (Daughter)Cyndarin (Adopted Son)Yaja (Great-Great Ancestor)Slifar (Wife)

### Affiliation

Fangs of Dawn - Owner //BlackCloud Trading Co / Ashfall Pirates - Former Owner // Monster Horde - Erimitus/Former Overlord

## Biographical information

### Date of birth

Vessel: 04/14/1746 | Summon Date: 06/21/1796

## Appearances

### Portrayed by

Izzy! (Izzy Heartsong)

TL;DR: Cinder is a Tiefling (Beastkin-born) who leads the Fangs of Dawn as Admiral Firejaw. She's a shark with a big-ass cannon and explosion magic. She fights for Freedom, Equity, Kindness, and Self-Fulfillment.

# **HISTORY // PRE-SAGA**

## The Beginning // Rose and Her Daughters

In the year 1746 CE, there existed a sickly woman by the name of Rosalyn Fairweather. "Rose" was a shark-like beastkin from the Northwestern coast of Sha'an. She was born in 1712 and was given twins by a man she only ever referred to as a monster with a powerful bloodline. Rose never mentioned much about him but at the few times she was asked, she only mentioned that he was a necessary means to an ends, and the only hope she'd have to have children that could live a long life. Much to her dismay, at the twins' birth, it was mentioned that they had also been afflicted with the same illness as their mother, and it was predicted that neither child would live a very long life due to such. This did not stop Rose from trying to defy fate, however, and so she took to teaching her children about magicks, hopefully setting them both up with the means to extend their own lives with such. Their names were Quinnifred and Gwenivere, and since they were old enough to understand, Rose made mention of a powerful bloodline from their dad, which she hoped would give them the means to successfully pick up magick. While "Quinn" was quick to pick the fundamentals up and begin reading and learning on her own, "Gwen" wasn't as adept, and would oftentimes require further training or explanation for things. The twins, despite the defects that were mentioned at their birth, seemed relatively fine for their primary years. It was clear that Rose had nothing but undying love for the two, and often looked to Quinn pridefully since she seemed to be the one more likely to overcome her odds. Gwen, while a sweetheart, seemed to start slowly falling to her affliction at an early age, causing her to need long periods of sleep and be weak while she was awake. Despite the trio's illness, though, they lived a rather happy life under the Union's banner.

#### The Spark of Rage

This was until one night, a terrible commotion aroused the twins from their beds, Quinn springing into action with Gwen shadowing behind her. They would follow the sounds of struggle and pain to their Rose's room to find a large, demonic-looking monster with long horns and tail, assaulting their mother. The traumatic sight awakened something within Quinn, and almost unconsciously, she opened up the spellbook she fell asleep reading the night before, and was prepared to defend her mother if it meant dying, herself. Of course, a 12-year-old pipsqueak of a mage was no match for an ancient-blooded menace with likely hundreds of years of experience, and so the entire family was left nearly dead before the attacker left in a fit of laughter. This would be the first time that Quinn had met her father, and the last time that Gwen or Rose would ever see him again. Perhaps it was the deep-seeded monster blood from that very man, or just having already been tired of being weaker to circumstances beyond her control, but the event only caused Quinnifred to crave one thing: Power.

#### Vengeance is a Dish

Quinn began to study and train her magikal prowess thrice as intensely, starting the very next day. The lack of care she seemed to have for her sister and mother would soon cause resentment, despite her devotion to her craft being in the spirit of protecting and avenging them. Over time, Gwen understood this, but the trauma of that night took a significant toll on Rosalyn's mental health, and she eventually began to lash out at her daughters- Quinn especially. The magikal affinity that she was once praised for, was now used as a weapon against her since it reminded her mother so much of that monsterous man. Even worse so, Quinn was so laser-focused on her study that she constantly just seemed apathetic to it, which made her mother even angrier. Resentment turned into Anger. Anger turned into Fear. Fear turned into Abuse. And so on. Gwen did her best to mitigate the anger towards her sister, but that only ever resulted in her own abuse from their mother. After a few years of vigorous training and increasing ire from her mother, Quinn left home without a word after her eighteenth birthday, leaving her sickly mother and sister to take care of each other. Seven years would pass without any hint or word of where Quinn ran off to. Then, one day, a package appeared at Rose and Gwen's doorstep. Inside, the severed horns and tail of a fearsome-looking beast. A few days later, the hands and hooves. And a week after that, the head of the man that had caused the family so much pain. Nothing else was heard from her until rumors of a witch on the coast practicing large-scale non-Primal magics circled around.

#### Madness

A little over a decade later, Rosalyn had passed, leaving Gwen to fend for herself. With no further ties to that old home full of memories; both happy and painful, she would leave to go find her sister. Quinn was 41 when her sister finally found her, and had the look of a very tired, very unwell individual. Gwen wasn't doing amazing herself, but she seemed much healthier than her sister did for the first time in their lives. Quinn had spent every waking moment since killing their dad, seeking power in any way she could. She was at some point along her journey, introduced to The Six as her patrons of magic, taking a particular interest in the chaotic magics of Flame, Air, and Darkness. She said she'd been working on something that might help the Union in the future, while also revitalizing herself. The research, tests, and failures were evident with the sickly visage of a woman who didn't know when to stop. Gwen, despite her better judgment, decided to settle down with her sister and hopefully even learn a thing or two from the powerful Sorceress and Warlock she had become. The goal that Quinn had in mind? It took another nine years before she saw any success, and by then she was nearly a walking corpse, her lifeforce only held to the mortal plane by a variety of spells, and sheer, unfettered, willpower.

The 'helpful' idea, or goal, was to summon a powerful, destructive spirit to help assist with the possible oncoming war, knowing full well that such a spell might be her own downfall. Gwen consistently contested the idea, knowing this, plus the fact that The Union very likely would \*not\* appreciate a being summoned or bound to this plane by any other means besides Primal Force. Quinn couldn't be moved, however. Any deviation from her course would likely break the willpower that had kept her going this long. In 1796, at age 50, she finally hit her goal. One morning, she would tell her sister to head to the next town over for some spell supplies while she attempted a ten-years-researched summon. Though her summoning spell was a success, the being she summoned was much too powerful for the frail, sickly Quinnifred. What's more was that by either the favor or scorn of Fion, it was full of rage, vigor, and fire. The power it brought tore through Quinn's body as one might expect from pure, unfiltered, Aether. As this overcharge continued, the spells that were keeping Quinn barely alive fizzled, and gave way to the newfound power that was overflowing through her. Her secondary goal would be achieved: Revitalization, but at what cost?

> `Iz’Baal’e, Bringer of Cinders`
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> `Use your wisdom to learn our plight.`
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> `Use my body to live it.`
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> `Use your fire to cleanse and fight.`
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> `Use your rage to fix it.`
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> `With these goals, I bind you here;`
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> `Amongst the realm of men.`
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> `I give my will for the greater good.`
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> `And set my knee to bend.`
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## A New Life // Izzy Fairweather

Quinn's ancient bloodline awakened to its full potential, and the very first things that she had removed from her father all those years ago, became defining features on herself. Horns grew, the once plump tail of a shark twisted and warped into something more imp-like. In a desperate attempt to keep herself tied to this world, Quinn channeled as much of this newfound power as she could into regressing the body back to a healthy age that could withstand the magikal trauma. She saved her body, but at the expense of her mind. Quinn, the Coastal Witch of the West, was too weak to preserve her sense of self, and thus a new persona was born in her stead from the swirling, untamed Aether that still remained in her form. This new persona, an Aetheric echo of what Quinn had summoned, was called Iz'Baal'e. As for the *real* Iz'Baal'e that was summoned that day, perhaps it went back to Fion's domain after the spell was finished and the summoner was no longer conscious. Or, perhaps, its energy became the person that woke up in a warped body the next day. Nothing is clear about that day, and the entire life Quinn had beforehand was a mystery to her. All that mattered to this new mind now, was survival. When Gwen eventually made her way back to their home, she was once again left in the wake of her sister's mad obsession for power, finding only ruins of the house she had lived in days prior.

#### Iz'Baal'e

A Cinder/Izzy Reference Sheet from Saga 1

Iz'Baal'e (Izz-Bahl-eh) was found the next morning by folks from town who had heard what they described as a volcano going off on the coast. What they found was no volcano, but what looked like a Shark-like Tiefling of some sort. Horns poking from the skull, a thin, spaded tail with fins, and black sclera behind fiery, glowing eyes. No one was quite sure what to make of her until she woke up and began speaking in Infernal. This was not a language commonly spoken in this part of Malm, and after managing to identify what it was, the townsfolk decided that whatever this creature was, it was the cause of the noise as well as the disappearance of Miss Fairweather. The new version of her begged and pleaded for them to let her go peacefully but to them, her language was monstrous in nature. They took up arms against her, and Iz'Baal'e took her first lives in a fit of rage and retaliation. She fled the area as quick as she could to find a world that only saw her a a monster.

The Sharky Tiefling quickly grew tired of the narrative that was constantly thrown at her. She learned Common and Elven, even made her name into something short and cute like, "Izzy", in attempts to seem more like a person than a monster, but it was to no avail. She'd spend a few years running, bleeding, and killing in order to stay alive, and a few more years after that simply killing in the name of ridding Malm of people who looked down on other races. She thought of discrimination and prejudice like an incurable, unreasonable, infectious disease that needed to be eradicated before it could spread but no matter what she did, it kept spreading. For decades, she continued to kill in the name of her belief that this mentality could be snuffed out but with powers like the Empire and Dynasty around, who knew if she ever really made a difference. Eventually, she became so good at murder that she decided to start doing it for profit. Her jobs were normally rather sleazy and shady. Kill this man. Cut this woman's fingers off. Burn down the neighbor's garden. This continued until she landed the biggest job she'd ever get. It had a gold phoenix embroidered over a crimson seal. The Lyllalean Dynasty had caught wind of her work, and they wanted to hire her. This may have very well been a chance to cure some of the world's illness.

#### Love and Lies

The morality of the job was questionable at best, however the Elves were willing to pay handsomely for a job with plausible deniability. This task involved a several-month expedition through Lesicia and surrounding areas, lead by Izzy, a Knight named Irah Wildfire, and a small task force. Izzy made sure to grind down her horns, make armor for her tail that made it indistinguishable, and glamour her eyes to look white and bright as opposed to the black and fire they were by default. During that expedition, she planned to kill every last one of her teammates but, perhaps it was the proximity in which they worked, or simply because they truly enjoyed one another, Izzy and the Knight fell in love. Even after the job was finished, they continued seeing one another in the shadows, free from the judgement Irah would face from his faction. This particular ongoing was... strange for Iz. Aside from Irah, she'd never looked at a man- let alone an Elf -with anything other than disdain. She didn't mind, though. Despite the strange exception to her love of women, she was happier with the Elf than she had ever been. This would not be terribly long-lived however, as Izzy was reminded of the risk one takes when doing certain actions, which was her pregnancy in 1823. While at the beginning, Irah promised to be there and support the child, his promises fell short upon the delivery of a half-elf, half-"beastling" child. Izzy had neglected to mention the complexities of her existence, however it was clear that some sort of monster blood ran in her if she was bearing a tiefling child. A Beastkin, Irah was able to accept as his lover. But a Monsterkin? And whats worse, one he loved who had never told him the truth of her existence? It was too much for him to bear. Izzy was given a hefty sum of Zill as a parting gift, and then told to take the child and never return or speak of her origins. Izzy reluctantly agreed to the terms, understanding the culture, despite the pain it caused her. The age-old narrative had struck the shark down once again, and thus began the story of her daughter; Asura Wildfire.

#### The Regret of a Mother

Of all the things a fire-baptized tiefling with a long history of bloodshed SHOULD BE, a mother is not one of them. Izzy's love for her daughter alone, sadly wasn't enough to raise a good kid. She became too hellbent on trying to raise Asura to be her prodigy and chance to bridge the gap between species. It was an unhealthy relationship between them, where the line between child and legacy often blurred for Iz. She'd constantly drill Asura on magic and combat as if she were trying to raise a warrior from birth. The warmth she felt as a mother faded before erupting into flames of impossible expectations for her child, eventually turning into resentment from both ends. It lead to complications between them as Asura's grew older. Between the constant scolding, abuse, and impossible training goals, Iz'Baal'e had finally pushed her daughter too far. Fifty years after her birth, Asura ran off with nigh a hint as to where, leaving Izzy alone. For weeks, the Sharkling wept and yelled at the sky, angry at no one but herself. She wanted nothing more than to redo the last fifty years, to be easier and kinder to Asura. She researched time magic and re-learned the basics of wind, only to backburner it when finding out that travelling back and reversing time to that extent was impossible. With no other options remaining, she used her inner turmoil to travel Malm where she could, and snuff out prejudice when she saw it. She would slowly return to her own ways, but this time worse.

## Fallen Ashes // Jaws of Flame

### The Gaze of The Devil

Hell hath no fury greater than a mother's scorn, and boy was Iz'Baal'e scornful. She blamed herself for pushing her child away, but she blamed the Dynasty for the problem in the first place. If it wasn't for them, she'd have never known the love she had received and built, only to have it torn from her. This was one of her motives behind her descent into a new world of crime. She had everything taken from her, so it was time to share her misery with the rest of the world, and what better way of taking, than to raise sails and cannons to the seas? Izzy left a trail of blood with her blades and flames, earning herself a local title from those who had only seen the wake of her destruction. This was by design, and the name that was on the lips of every elf, human, or beastkin that had seen her work was, "Flaming Mantis", characterized by the use of dual blades and burnt-down villages. Eventually, that name got big enough to catch the eyes of several criminal groups, which was the plan all along. One group was a pirate crew known as the Storm Sails. The Storm Sails were lead by an infamous pirate, known only as Firehound the Wicked. Firehound has gotten their name by being a canine beastkin whom seemed to specialize in fire-oriented attacks of non-magikal means. A collector of guns, cannons, blunderbusses, even flamethrowers. Anything they could get their hands on to turn the waters they fought in, to oily expanses of flames and shipwrecks. It was rumored that Firehound was born in the pits of hell and crawled their way up from the deepest trench of the ocean to bring havoc to Malm's oceans. Of course it was only a matter of time before they heard of "Flaming Mantis," and the stories surrounding the name, and looked to offer her a position.

It was a set-up. The village of tyrants that Izzy had heard of was one that was completely abandoned. There were no cruel, unkind people to slay or steal from. Just a band of pirates that quickly surrounded her. It wasn't until the fifth or sixth pirate that was felled, that Firehound themselves, made an appearance, one such confirmed by a mask. It was an iconic mask which covered the top half of their face with glowing, fiery, emotionless eyes etched into it. To this, Izzy was pleased that she had caught the attention of such a famed name, and the two locked into a battle that nearly cost them both their lives. While Firehound was acrobatic and agile, able to shoot and dance around their enemy while barraging them with bombs, explosive shuriken, and more, Izzy was strong, fast, and most of all; unrelenting. It wasn't until a near-fatal strike tore through Firehound's chest, that they surrendered, the damages from the battle revealing them to be a woman, but most of all: mortal. She was impressed by Izzy's abilities and the small name she had gained for herself, and offered her a spot in her crew. Izzy accepted this offer, and thus the local legend of Flaming Mantis disappeared over time.

### The Devil's Daughter

Upon joining the Storm Sails, Izzy very quickly grew to know the crew. Her utility in combat was often an easy segway into conversation, and over a few years, she even began to open up to these people and call them her family. One particular crewmate stood out, however, and that was a little canid tiefling, named Infernis. Infernis was the daughter of Firehound, and reminded Izzy very much of her own child. Over time, this relationship would become a very mother-like one, which brought Izzy close enough to Firehound for the two to become lovers. The two fiery souls razed the seas together as a force to be reckoned with while also raising a sweet, but fierce little hellhound to be a prodigy. This time, Izzy was using the mistakes she learned from Asura to properly be a mother figure, and it worked. While Infernis never fully did see her mother's lover as another mom, she loved and respected her as an elder and generally safe person to be around. On her twentieth birthday, Infernis was given her very own ship, which she named The Ashfall. Izzy finally felt some semblance of happiness and security for the first time in half a century, since Asura had run off.

### The Devil's Dues

Iz'Baal'e , Firehound, and Infernis were a force of pure fear. The moment ships saw the Storm Sails colors fly, they fled, often times not escaping. As things go in that life, though, it was not long-lived. The life of a pirate was not one lived without danger, and in being a danger themselves, the Dynasty eventually decided that they were too big of a threat to trade routes to continue sailing. A fleet of ships met with the Storm Sails in an epic clash of pirates vs. navy, the likes of which resulted in only two ships remaining: The Ashfall, and a Dynasty vessel being sailed by none other than Captain Irah Wildfire. Firehound's ship was at the bottom of the ocean, along with her corpse. Despite Izzy pulling her above the surface, being a shark who was able to rescue her, Firehound was too proud to let herself not go down with her ship and crew. It was a painful decision to respect, but ultimately it would have been better to let her lover lie in a grave of everything that made her, her, than to be resented for denying her the death she wanted. This was an act that Infernis witnessed, and never truly grew to understand. A parley was called between Irah's ship and The Ashfall, and Izzy negotiated to be allowed to live, due to Irah's genuine guilt over causing her heartbreak not once, but twice in the same life. It was his mistake, however, letting her know that Asura was alive and well and in his care. A mistake he would later regret. Despite Infernis' protests, Izzy was still the Commander of the Storm Sails, and so the leadership fell onto her shoulders with the passing of Firehound. The Ashfall would be spared to sail away, and thusly fell under the command of Iz'Baal'e and the young hellhound. A service was held for Firehound, and her title would be divided amongst her lover and daughter, thus giving birth to two new names that would later draw fear into the hearts of their prey: Firejaw and Ash Hound. The mask that Firehound once wore was left with Izzy as a parting gift, one which she would keep close to her, if not wear, at every waking moment to hide the tears that would flow for years to come.

### Best Served Cold

The name, Storm Sails, would be left to rest with its original Commander. Firejaw and Ash Hound would start a new crew, and call them The Ashfall Pirates. Of course, no one knew the names Firejaw or Ash Hound yet, and so it took a while for them to gain tread. The two spent a long time recruiting, training, and building a small fleet of ships with a single goal in mind: Revenge for Firehound. They took to Draxington and joined The Horde to accomplish this goal, and after a couple decades of building a network of whispers and sea-fairers, their mark was found. Captain Wildfire would be accompanying a Dynasty cargo vessel carrying some very experimental and classified materials which were rumored to be very valuable. While the allure of the loot was enough to gain the support of the Ashfall crew, the real prize was Irah, himself. Captains Firejaw and Ash Hound lead a raid onto this transport detail, quickly conquering the day and finally getting face-to-face with the man that they both felt justification to kill. Though as he begged and pleaded for his life, Firejaw decided death would have been too merciful. She didn't want him to die, she wanted him to suffer. She wanted him to be known as a failure to his peers- to not even be able to return to them. She wanted him to be the one that abandoned Asura, just as he did to her all those years ago. More terrified of what Ash Hound was going to do to him than anything else, Irah agreed to a set of conditions in exchange for his life. The first condition? A piece of this experimental "Aethertech" that was being carried on the cargo vessel. The second condition? This one was a bit more brutal. Never return to the Dynasty. And if he did, she'd know. She'd have eyes on him for the rest of his life if she could help it and IN the event of him returning to his previous life, not only would he likely be branded as a traitor for giving away Aethertech, but Izzy would make sure that Asura found out about her birth, and her father being the one to turn her away.

### Birth of a Queen//Rise of an Overlord

Firejaw and Ash Hound returned to Draxington with a successful haul of experimental Dynasty goodies, most of which were discarded because no one knew how to use Aethertech. The moment they got back, however, Ash Hound finally made her feelings clear, accusing Firejaw of being a coward for not killing Irah. There were years of built-up resentment, bordering on hatred for what she saw as letting her mother die, only further amplified by the lack of vengeance. Infernis stepped down and out of the Ashfall Pirates for the time being, to gain strength and eventually try to get her revenge on Firejaw when she least expected it. The rest of the Ashfall Crew though? They were elated by what they considered a great victory, and their infamy began to grow within The Horde as they went on more raids and came back with more loot. Over about 30 years, Captain Firejaw became renowned as one of the best pirates that Malm had ever seen, using her wrath alongside with the Aethertech Cannon she slowly learned how to use to earn her the title of Queen of Pirates. The notoriety and attention went to her head, which soon inspired her to challenge the standing Horde Pirate Overlord to a naval battle. Fleet against fleet.

The naval battle between Captain Firejaw and the Pirate Overlord raged for days, each leader constantly out-maneuvering or out-gunning the other at every turn. The Overlord had a trick up his sleeve though: His last stop to pull; three Airships. The airships managed to take out most of Firejaw's remaining fleet, but in the moment of certain doom, she used the experimental AetherCannon to its full potential, cutting the three ships in half with one arc of an aether beam. A new Pirate Overlord now reigned within The Horde, and her name was Captain Firejaw. Still, even with the new position, she had a whole fleet to rebuild, but wanted to first learn about the intricacies of airships, so her first act as a Horde Overlord was to go under the radar and learn how to fly. It had also been several decades since she traversed the lands of Malm, so she'd go to where there was supposed neutrality between nations: Lesicia. Along the way, her informants told her of a Half-Elf with a shark tail being spotted there in Dynasty colors.

# **START OF CW // SAGA I**

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## Physical description

### Out of the Frying Pan // Arson

Very shortly after her arrival in Lesicia Village, Izzy became aware of her daughter's presence nearby. For a short time, she was trying to lurk in the shadows and figure out how she could apologize and make up with her from afar. This was cut short when Asura learned of her mother's presence, and used earned favor to send people to attack her. During one particular attack at the hand of a Sea Elf; Petra Mako, a deal was struck for Izzy to stay out of her daughter's life so long as Petra swore to keep her safe and loved. The battle ended with a large-scale Meteor spell which set the Lecisia wheat fields ablaze and somehow managed to get both Izzy and Asura put on the wanted board. After learning of this, Izzy attempted to plead with the town guard to take her daughter's name off the board and to repent for the crimes by tending the field as payment. If nothing else, she just wanted Asura's name clear of a crime she didn't commit. This went poorly and the Human guards were sent to immediately to kill her, also being told to kill the half-breed if they saw her. Izzy could have fought and killed the guards easily but in her time doing that over and over, she figured it would be pointless at this point. She'd run out of town and ignite the wanted board, eventually making her way to the Sol Great Plains.

### Into the Fire // Introductions and Yes, More Arson

Now that she had committed grand-scale arson and was a wanted criminal, Izzy took time to consider her next moves. It was time to again try to turn the tides on the Humans and Elves who may look down upon Beast and Monsterkin. But she wouldn't do it alone this time, and created BlackCloud Trading Co. BlackCloud was a "High-Risk Trading Group" that was to be the cover for the real plan; the Ashfall Pirates. Izzy rode the desert sand on a skiff using her fire and explosion magic as thrust, and fought monsters to build an inventory and funds. She knew in order to accomplish her goals she'd need supplies as well as a crew of Beast and Monsterkin. It was also time to don a new name that wasn't on a bounty list; Cinder Fairweather. It just made sense at this point. Miss Fairweather opened a shop in Lesicia Village where she hired some "employees" to do trading with the townsfolk, usually having "exotic goods". While this façade remained intact for a bit, Cinder decided it was time to finally make the next move. One day , while sitting at the tavern, she made her move, climbing atop it and yelling out across the town. "Its time to rise up and fight back against this oppression! My name is Captain Firejaw, and we are the Ashfall Pirates!!" And with a meteor spell cast to level the town Helman church, Firejaw began to rise in infamy while her crew got larger and larger. It wasn't long before she had several Captains and a massive fleet of stolen Airships that she called, "The Armada." Being the head of multiple ships, she donned the title of Admiral instead of Captain, and caused chaos and destruction in her plight to riot against oppression.

### The Woman Behind the Mask // Gold Scales Shine Brightest

Cinder realized she had a thing for a certain golden dragonkin who always saw her as herself, and not the pirate she was parading around as. In the same venue, Slifar would always just be Slifar to Miss Fairweather, and the title of Archmage was seldom seen as anything other than just a job. The two spent a few instances working and talking together, and one night atop the bell tower in town, Cinder asked Slifar to be her girlfriend. She was hit with a "not now" and so the sharkling promised she would one day ask again.

### Ironic Allies // Ilvarra's Booty

During her campaign of fiery wrath, Firejaw at one point struck a non-aggression agreement with the Dynasty. This was partially due to her bias since her daughter was a knight there, but mostly due to their overall acceptance and progression of views towards Monsterkin. There were a few times that Firejaw had even opted to help the Dynasty at Princess Ilvarra's behest. This agreement eventually ended, however, when Infernis returned to the crew, and aided an army of Minotaur in a raid on De'pesche village. While Firejaw, herself, was not blamed, she took the blame nonetheless as it was one of her own crew. She never attacked the Dynasty, and instead turned the full ire of the Ashfalls upon the Empire and their significant lack of progression towards her kind.

### The Rise of The Ashfalls // Playdate with Chelsea

The aggression towards the Empire had reached a peak when the Ashfall crew had kidnapped Empire Commander, Chelsea Roseberry, holding her hostage for a few days before returning her unharmed in an act of what was supposed to be good tidings. Firejaw had hoped that if she didn't fill the narrative and do anything to injure Chelsea, perhaps it would count to the credit of Monsterkin. This did not work, though and eventually lead to Firejaw's capture later on (after an attempt to steal an Empire Spider-tank), to which she was released under the condition of having to run through the Great Glacier under cannon fire.

### Return of an Old Friend // Infernis and the Minotaurs

Firejaw made a deal to team up with Jah'shah of the Minotaurs to do some damage to the Elves with an alibi of sorts. Jah'shah wanted to go after the Dynasty and the Forest, an idea that the Admiral wasn't super fond of, but considered anyways. At around the same time, a Rear Admiral showed up from a different branch of the Ashfall Armada. She had quickly risen the ranks in favor of her brutality and fearless nature. Stepping aboard the Ashfall's flagship, the Rear Admiral was none other than Infernis, who quickly challenged Firejaw to a duel to 'usurp the crown' and claim the Ashfalls as her own! In her mind, she was supposed to have this crew, since they were born out of the death of her own mother oh so many years ago. Begrudgingly, Admiral Firejaw accepted the duel, but it was over in seconds due to a massive gap in skill levels between the two. Firejaw offered to take Infernis under her wing but the young Hellhound declined the offer, claiming she'd do things her own way. Following this would be a bank robbery in Lesicia, and then the eventual support of the Minotaur raid, the Ashfall division being lead by Infernis. The threat was quelled and Infernis was taken prisoner by the Dynasty. Upon her retrieval and release back into Firejaw's care, the Rear Admiral was blinded by divine light; a spell cast onto her by Princess Ilvarra. After such, Firejaw threw her out of the Ashfalls under the pretense of insubordination and not waiting for an order to act within the Admiral's zone of influence. She was thrown into Baklatavesh, blind and angry, to live out the rest of her days.

### Monsterkin Lives Matter // Tetra

Admiral Firejaw attempted a couple of "town halls" in an attempt to unify her kin to fight back alongside her. This went poorly, as uniting the Horde for a cause of "equality" wasn't exactly an easy task. So instead, she got involved with a Zom fanatic and tyrant, Tetra Mako. Tetra was the older sister of Firejaw's Vice-Admiral, Petra aka Razorfin. The Admiral originally attempted to join forces with Tetra to get her hands on a powerful device known as an Aetherengine. In the process, she was also trying to break Tetra free from Zom's hold on her, as she would have proven a valuable ally and shipmate for the Ashfall cause. Again, her plans fell short and Tetra lead an army of aquatic Monsterkin and Sea-Elves to attack Lesicia. The pirates showed up to assist Tetra's escape... and almost failed before the reverse happened. Firejaw pleaded with the other Monsterkin woman to try and break from Zom's control once more and to her surprise, they managed to hatch a plan.

The plan was to down Tetra in a last stand and have her presumed dead whilst storing her Aether in one of the Engines that she was using to fuel her powers. Firejaw only "aided" in the fight by telling everyone to go full throttle in their attack. As the battle drew to a close, she swooped in and grabbed the AetherEngines, giving two to the Dynasty for safekeeping, and the other... she'd hold onto for herself. In truth the ones she gave to the Dynasty were more or less overused and the one she kept had been the one that stored Tetra's Aether, which her and Slifar used to upgrade her cannon.

### The Drow // Plans to Double-Double-Double Cross

There were talks with the Drow Overlord to aid them in overtaking the nations and Lesicia, but behind their backs, Firejaw was in talks with the Dynasty and Union to try and get the Drow taken out of the picture for good, but then attack the weakened nations after the Drow fell to gain dominance in the area. Alas, this idea never fully came into fruition.

### Rebuilding Lesicia // Gaining Favor

After the Drow finally attacked Port Lesicia, Firejaw and the Ashfalls gathered resources to try and aid the town in rebuilding, in an attempt to gain better favor for Monsterkin in the town. The mayor, Kirstan, was pensive at first but overall accepted the offer of help from a strange source, and the Ashfalls were \*tolerated\* in town. After some time settling her own affairs, Cinder decided that maybe there were better ways to get her message across, such as helping instead of fighting. With little warning, she'd step out of the spotlight and disappear into the shadows.

# **The Island // Saga II**

## Letting Go // New Beginnings

In her step out of the scene, Firejaw decided to take the Ashfalls on one final mission: to find a safe spot to lay low and live off of some of the riches that they had acquired in their travels. What this lead to was a large-scale wipeout of a chunk of her fleet whilst caught in a terrible storm that surrounded a mysterious island, not recorded on any maps. Riddled with dismay for the mangled bodies of her other Captains, as well as the shipwrecks from more than half of her fleet, Cinder decided it was time to retire from the pirate life. She'd spend days, weeks, months possibly, trying to salvage what she could and all the while something seemed off. It was too quiet. No Echo chatter, no faction presence. This island was weird.... but despite the circumstances, she'd make the best of it and settle in, figuring she could live out the rest of her days here and fade off into a relaxed, natural meeting of her fate.

Nope.

The sound of chaos erupted on her Echo Stone as the fleet that was escaping Lesicia after disaster from the Shadow Lord seemed to meeting a similar fate to what she had gone through a short while back. While after some time, it calmed down and seemed that the incoming refugees made it through the storm, Cinder suddenly realized that her peaceful plan to live out her days on this abandoned island, was shattered. She'd continue to lay low for a good while until popping her head back up with a new idea to help Monsterkin out. She would try and unite the ones on the island and lead them on a path to aid the greater good. She hopes that if the factions see Monsterkin helping out on the same plane that everyone else was on, they would spread word of it when they escaped the island, and pave a path for future generations. She doesn't think she can change the world's view in her lifetime, but with enough effort and a bit of hope, she thinks its the right step forward.

### The Fangs of Dawn // Definitely Not the Ashfalls

It wasn't enough for Cinder to just help here and there. It was her nature to lead, it seemed. As things went, that's just what she would go forth and do, creating a new guild in the midst of chaos. That guild is the Fangs of Dawn. The idea came into her head as she saw plenty of Monsterkin and not a whole lot of representation for them on the island or in The Council. This had always been the case, but on a scale as small as this island, she might be able to do something about it. She hoped that if she could get everyone on the same page, and do GOOD things as a Monsterkin-oriented group, then the people on the island would remember that and spread the word when the Shadow Lord was defeated on the mainland. That was the idea, at least. After gathering a few more prominent Monster/Beastkin on the island at the time, including Ironfell, Slifar, Julahni, Q, Alari, and a couple others, she proposed this idea, and with a little bit of discussion, it seemed relatively acceptable. It was now just a matter of *when* to launch it. Cinder took a little bit of time to think some more on it and eventually figured out the perfect name f

or this group. Fangs would represent Monsterkin, as many species had them. Dawn would represent shining light on a new day, as in moving the world towards a wider acceptance of Monsterkin in the future. She knew that her plan would never be successful all at once, but over many years, it would likely gain much better traction. In this time, She also began courting the Archmage, Slifar. This becomes relevant rather quickly, due to the importance of the Archmage in the next bit.

### The Blood Moon // The Council

All Monsterkin and Beastkin should be familiar with The Blood Moon. This year's Blood Moon, at least on the island, was particularly bad. Cinder, at first, tried denying that it had any effect on her, but red eyes and irritability quickly disproved that to even herself. As other Beast and Monsterkin went through their various changes, one most noticeable was Slifar's. She became much more hyper and electrified and volatile, to the point where it was genuinely concerning to others. In the midst of this, and the Archmage and Cinder's new relationship, chaos spread even further when Amora lost control to her effects and murdered an innocent. Almost in direct response to this, and the general air of powerful parties wanting to kill Amora in response, Cinder decided it was time to launch her new guild, to provide a place for the afflicted to feel comfortable and belonging in. Past that, the general tension surrounding Slifar's increasingly chaotic energy resulted in a Bounty being called for her detainment. Not liking the idea of Monsterkin in cages, there was a general agreement that the Fangs of Dawn would set up a campsite on the Floating Isles floor in the Tower. The moon's effects would not reach within said tower, thus making it a safe place to reside in. Various shops and guilds, including the WMA and Adventurer's Guild, assisted in the setup and maintenance of the camp, as well as medicinals to assist in quelling the effects of the Blood Moon, such as Wolfsbane. It was time Cinder made a new title for herself. No longer The Pirate Queen or Firejaw, She would now be known as **Dawnbringer**. (lol) Through these means, she tries to fight alongside The Alliance and get a seat in The Council, an effort that proves fruitless.

### Growth and Love // The Archmage

Following up on an old promise, Cinder asks Slifar to be together once again, and this time her request is accepted. Of course, this happened during the chaos of The Blood Moon, and was... a lot to handle, but through growth and love together, the two overcame the odds, and became (the best) one of the most iconic ships in Crosswinds. (Self-proclaimed but you can't tell me I'm wrong)

### The Impostor // Ash Hound's Ire

Cinder's old Firejaw hat and Mask were stolen, followed by someone doing terrible deeds and claiming they ARE Firejaw! It wasn't long before the impostor was found out to be none other than Infernis, somehow having survived her exile and gained new sight. This turned into Cinder divulging her pirate stories involving Infernis to several folks, most of which backfired and alienated her further.

### Bloodlines // Apathy

Cinder meets an ancient, 10K year old Monsterkin named Yaja! She finds out that she is a direct descendant of Yaja, which means her twin, Gwen, must be too! Its at this point that Cinder begins to no longer care about fitting in with The Alliance or The Council, and so she decides to just do her own thing.

### A Fated Encounter // The Horde

Cinder meets Omecia in passing, and has a rather pleasant conversation with her. The idea pops into her head that there might be more to The Horde than whats just been going around on surface level. This hunch is only pushed further by previous mentions of their ability to be friendly, by Ravin Viper. This eventually turns into an opportunity to facilitate a meeting between Omecia and The Goddess, Mahna. One such meeting is overseen by The Fangs of Dawn and kept secret from everyone else. Eventually the Shadow Lord shows up and drops a meteor on everyone.