Ignix

### Height

Mentioned to be a lot bigger than most phoenixes, otherwise unknown, but bigger than a 17-year-old Val, a lot larger than any other. Upon rebirth a chick.

### Weight

As she was huge, most likely a lot, now as a chick, very little

### Skin colour

Feathers: Most likely orange and red like others, purple tail feathers of a female phoenix.

> "*Daughter of Ashfires, prepare yourself. Forget your human foes. The true battles will be fought not on the earth, but in the sky. Avalkyra lives, and she is hungry. Like the devourer before her, she can do naught but consume. The light will not have her, so she will turn to the darkness instead.*"
> ― Ignix to Veronyka.
>
>

*Not to be confused with Xatara, a famous phoenix from before. Ignix was captured and was also named Xatara by Commander Cassian.*

Ignix is a very intelligent phoenix who hates Ashfires, due to Val leading to the murder of all phoenixes, excluding Veronyka.

## Personality

Ignix is mentioned to have a lot of shadows to her mind, which implies she is troubled, as a very old phoenix. She has lived through a lot, for millenia, which added to that. Ignix is very lonely, and having seen her comrades, lover, and everyone else she knew die--by the end of the Pyrean Queendom, it can be inferred that all of her original phoenix siblings had died, judging by the monuments in Aura's condition. She felt that her Apex abilities set her apart from the world, a world who she needed to protect.

After Val's Blood War, she grew to hate her former bondmate's bloodline due to the slaughter of phoenixes caused by the aftermath. She uses sarcasm and plays with words in a way most phoenixes don't.

After she was captured, she was named Xatara, and along with Xolanthe, she rejected all male phoenixes. In the Invasion of Azurec's Eyrie, she ran off, where Val found and binded her. This caused her immense distress, only adding to her Ashfire hate. She trusts Sparrow, and had no problem nearly killing Val and Veronyka, showing her distain for the blood of Val.

After she was freed from the bind by Veronyka, she began to trust Veronyka, but still vehemently hated Val. She warmed up to humans more with Sparrow, who she ultimately bonded with.

Ultimately she is rather haughty and proud (as expected of an apex), but also bears years of grief underneath it all. She views herself as the sole protector out of everyone against Nox's children.

## Relationships

### Sparrow

Ignix at first views her as trustworthy, but a fragile girl who cannot protect herself, as Ignix is prone to viewing people this way. She later grows an admiration for Sparrow's passion and capability.

Eventually, when Ignix dies, she seems hesitant to ressurect, until Sparrow waits for hours for Ignix. Ignix ressurects as a chick and her bondmate. Ignix became known for sneaking over to hang out with Sparrow.

### Nefyra

Nefyra and Ignix were inseparable until Nefyra died. This threw Ignix into a ton of grief and loss, which contributed to her depression.

### Val/Avalkyra

Ignix holds immense disdain for Val, as her war caused the genocide of her kind. It also made her hate Nefyra's recent descendants. In her interactions with Val, she has no problem mocking Val, having exactly zero respect for Avalkyra.

Val's binding of her makes her even madder. When Veronyka frees her and she incinerates Val with Heartfire, she senses Val's insanity at hatching a strix.

### Veronyka

She initially hates Veronyka, but after the bind is removed, she ends up trusting her, Sparrow's trust in Veronyka helping. Her respect for Veronyka as a leader leads to her passing her Apex status onto her, and even sacrificing herself for Veronyka.

### Callysta

Her view on Callysta isn't quite known. She had a good impression, however.

## History:

### In the Mythical Era of the Dark Days

Ignix is bonded to Nefyra, the First Rider Queen and a First Rider, as chosen by Axura. Her egg was created when Axura imbued her essence into rocks, hatching into phoenixes. She helped fight Nox and strixes, plus Deathmaidens. After Nefyra did, she never bonded again, and disappeared into history after about 200 years. As Axura tied Nefyra's life to the Dark Days, she died soon after it finished. She later moves around, living with many people and phoenixes, and travelling the world. All the original phoenixes died before the Pyrean Queendom's fall most likely (based on the decaying First Rider monument in Aura displaying postmortem representations of all the First Riders except for Ignix).

### The Blood War's Aftermath:

She grows to hate Nefyra's bloodline (Also called Blood of the First by herself), after Avalkyra's war ends and in the Empire many young and old phoenixes were mercilessly killed.

### As Xatara

She is captured by Commander Cassian, and thrown inside cages along with Xolanthe, rejecting any males who try and mate with her. Xephyra is later added to the cages too. When the Invasion occurs, she flees.

### Binded by Val:

She is forcefully binded to Val, and forced to be a phoenix mount. This causes her much distress. She nearly kills Val, as well as attacking Veronyka by way of Veronyka being in proximity of her fire. She meets Sparrow after, and takes a liking to her, begrudgingly letting Veronyka into her mind to remove the bind.

### Post-Bind

She begins to trust Veronyka, and the bind is removed. She tells Veronyka that "The light won't have her, so she chooses darkness instead.", referring to Val. She is correct, and Val goes crazy, bonding with a Strix instead, and forming the Black Horde.

### Sacrifice and Rebirth

Seeing Veronyka as a true heir, she gives her apex power to her. This costs Veronyka dearly, but she is reborn by Val and Ignix herself sacrificing themselves.

Many pay respects to their pyre, but Sparrow and Elliot stay the longest. Just as Elliot was preparing to break the idea that not every phoenix ressurects, Ignix returns and bonds to her.

As a chick, she tries to stay with Sparrow at all times.

## Etymology

'Ignix' is a play on 'Ignis', in Latin meaning 'fire'.

'Mundi Apex Phoenix' is canonically Pyrean, however the phrase comes from Latin. 'Mundi' means world, 'apex' means first', so it means first phoenix of the world, or world's first phoenix.