Phoenix

(*Aves phoenicis*)

A Pheonix of Chima

The Phoenix are a supernatural species hailing from the central star of Chima's solar system. The planet's creators, the Dragons, drew the Phoenix' essence from the solar flares in order to create them some 1,000,000 years before the events of the Roleplay, first as primitive beings, but with the ingrained instinct to protect and guide; a living embodiment of the Dragons' "holy fire". Due to their origin, the Phoenix had fire powers, so nature itself responded to their existence in southern Chima by permanently giving a large part of the north eternally cold temperatures, creating a balance between the elements of fire and ice. Like most other species, the Phoenix were evolved into sapient, humanoid forms in 1,000 BR, after the event that would later be named the First Great Illumination. Most of the Phoenix Tribe's history is somewhat of a mystery, even to the other two Fire Tribes.

The Phoenix have claimed that they do not like war, and that they try to stay neutral as often as possible. However, there are exceptions to this more often than not, such as their species' parts in the Avian Triumvirate—Mammalian Confederation War (see the Avian Triumvirate page), the Sabertooth Tiger—Lion War of 163 BR (which resulted in the Phoenix initiating the Second Great Illumination). Though the Phoenix did not explicitly engage in the Icebear—Leopard War of 125 BR, they helped the Leopards' effort by providing them with fire chi. The end of this war resulted in the Phoenix being put into a stasis under The West Sea (see the Fal'qar page), as well as Leopard King Leodus using magic to erase all memory of the Phoenix, Leopards, Tigers, and Ice Tribes from the minds of Chima's southern populace.

Despite these unforeseen events resulting in no southern tribes remembering their existence, the Phoenix worked to restore the populace's faith in Chima's guardians after awakening from their stasis 121 years later. Returning to their "neutral" roots, they helped Team Stinger and the Imperial Remnant by providing them with fire chi during the Crawler—Ice Hunter War. The Phoenix provided fire chi to various other factions during the Fire—Ice Wars, of which they ended up taking direct part in; during this time, they also joined the alliance Primordium and took part in the Second Chima Civil War, though they eventually left that alliance. The only known HQ of the Phoenix Tribe is the temple and city spread across their islands.

## Eternal Duty

Unbeknownst to anyone at first, including the Phoenix themselves, all Phoenix exist in a perpetual state of reincarnation; while Phoenix birth their children the same way other avians do, the newly-hatched phoenix child will always have the soul of a deceased phoenix, his or her memories wiped clean (with the exception of some that are carried over in a subconscious way, such as combat skills learned by the first generation) to start life once again. This is unlike all other species' in Chima, who have new souls from conception, and only live one life before becoming part of the Upper Domain, or the "Chi Ghost Realm"; while the Phoenix' souls do go to the Chi Ghost Realm with their memories intact, they only remain there temporarily, until a newly-conceived phoenix body becomes "available" to reincarnate into.

This eternal cycle of reincarnation was implemented by the Dragons due to the Phoenix' unique role as Chima's guardians; the carry-over of leadership and combat knowledge prevented them from needing to train in those areas after the first generation of evolved Phoenix, making it so that any Phoenix could jump into battle or a leadership role from around adolescence onward. In time, the Phoenix began to notice this aspect of themselves, and theorized if there was some sort of rebirth at play. While they couldn't prove this claim, this speculation evolved into "rising from the ashes", a half-joking myth in the Phoenix Tribe's personal folklore.

## Tribal Ranks

(Originally posted by FelipeDutra on the topic "The Crimson Citadel ~ Phoenix HQ".)

* **Emperor/King**

The leader of the Phoenix in most matters, the Emperor (sometimes alternatively called King) is chosen by the twenty senators, though there is occasional selective bias for the offspring of a previous Emperor; such was the case for the Emperor of 163 BR. His action is limited, but in dire times he can receive emergency powers.

* **Senators**

Elected by the people, Senators form a council of 20 known as the Senate. Generally, they are men with great experience in administration and warfare, or just bearers of great wisdom. They govern the different districts of the Phoenix lands.

* **Legates (3)**

Legates command portions of the Phoenix Army, and are sometimes seen pursuing careers in the Senate. They are the highest military rank attainable, but possess no power other than military if they choose to neglect a career as a Senator.

* **Centurion (5)**

Under the command of Legates, Centurions command sections of the Legates' armies. They only possess military powers.

* **Decurions**

Under Centurions, Decurions are sub-unit Commanders, and often see great action in the field.

* **Legionnaires**

The vast majority of the Phoenix Army, legionnaires are highly skilled warriors, but bear practically no power other than that of their body and weapons. Through good service, they can be promoted if they so wish, and are oftentimes seen pursuing other interesting careers after their service.

Although the military and council may seem like the most apparent parts of Phoenix society, there are many other cogs that contribute to it, and that are often forgotten.

## Leaders

Febuar— The first Phoenix Emperor, and creator of the Fire Wing Harnesses; secretly one of the Dragons, having taken on the form of a Phoenix to have an active role in the early history of Chima's tribes (it is rumored that the first generation of Senators knew of Febuar's identity, which is why they immediately elected him in 1,000 BR); ruled the tribe from 1,000-980 BR; assassinated by Faerin in 980 BR, and didn't reincarnate; the month of February on Chima's calendar was named after him.

Fal'qar— Librarian born in 1,023 BR; founder and leader of the rogue Phoenix Triumvirate; reincarnated before 824 BR, and was killed by a then-insane Faerin in 819 BR; one of his later incarnations became the Phoenix Emperor who ruled from around 163-122 BR (or to the time of the RP if the years in stasis are counted); exposed for stopping the Second Great Illumination from being a "complete" one, and overthrown by the Senators after his hasty stasis wore off; killed by Malgus at the time of the RP.

Winslow— A Legate who was selected to become one of the nine Harness-bearers of the Second Great Illumination in 163 BR (at which point he took on the title "Set-Ra"), but was knocked unconscious by Fal'qar before being able to do so; elected Emperor by the Senate at the time of the RP, after eventually exposing Fal'qar for this; dissappeared, but later returned and retook control of the tribe as its King; currently still leads the Phoenix.

Fiona— A "phoenix" who took over the tribe as its Queen when Set-Ra dissappeared, outright overthrowing and disbanding the Senate; secretly a rogue VSI agent disguised as a phoenix; her identity was exposed by Vamprah and Galvanor, who helped to usurp her and reinstate Set-Ra; Viona was then brought back to the Brotherhood of Vultures.

## Members

Faerin— A self-proclaimed "sorceress" born in 1,023 BR; a former member of the Phoenix Triumvirate, who discovered a way to reincarnate with all memories carried over; was killed for the first time after assassinating Febuar in 980 BR; a later incarnation of her formed the rogue Avian Triumvirate with Phoenix followers in 824 BR; frozen in 819 BR, revived by the Rays in 219 BR, and then killed again in 215 BR during the Imperial Civil War; her current incarnation is unknown.

Zarak— An alchemist (the first in Chima's history) born in 1,023 BR; originally named "Farak" after his evolution; a member of the Phoenix Triumvirate who provided Tenebrae with his own method of "immortality"; reincarnated before 824 BR, and was killed by a then-insane Faerin in 819 BR; reincarnated as Scorponok in 26 BR, but was forced out of the body and essentially killed by Malgus at the time of the RP.

Williamus— A renowned warrior of the Phoenix Tribe during the age of Fal'qar's kingship, and at the time of the Roleplay; he may have been the one to convince Set-Ra/Winslow that he was being manipulated by Galvanor.

Octavius— Another great warrior during the Fal'qar age and the time of the RP; he built a new fighter plane for the Phoenix Tribe with Williamus, and may have also played a part in exposing Galvanor's manipulations.

## Trivia

* While FelipeDutra initially led the Phoenix Tribe and greatly developed its leadership structure, he didn't actually create a named Emperor before departing from the Roleplay, leaving the Phoenix without a known leader until Guru took over with his character Set-Ra. This absence of a leader for the Phoenix before Set-Ra was later explained by JGREAD in his story "The Last Reincarnations".
* After Guru changed Set-Ra's name to Winslow, this discrepancy was rectified in "The Last Reincarnations" and afterward by implying that Winslow had been the character's original name, and "Set-Ra" was a sort of ceremonial title Winslow had taken on when he'd been selected as a Harness-bearer.
* The addition of the reincarnation cycle was introduced in "The Last Reincarnations" in order to provide a more grounded, yet still spiritual interpretation of the Phoenix species' "rebirth". It also served to fix the discrepancy of Bliston summoning a Phoenix Chi Ghost earlier, despite the "rising from the ashes" trope having been implied.
* In "The Last Reincarnations", Fal'qar stated that he'd been lucky to reincarnate as a "Phoenix Prince" who was next in line to be Emperor. This was due to JGREAD forgetting that the Phoenix Senate elected the emperors, rather than it being a dynasty. This continuity mistake was rectified here by explaining that Senators were known to sometimes have selective bias, leaning towards the biological offspring of the previous Emperor during the election process.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 The Last Reincarnations: A Chima Roleplay Tie-in Story