"Igne"

January 2022

~ Droid Bishop, Through the Fire

One of the biggest changes to Aravasti Gemini as "Echoes of Aravast" becomes "Westfall" is her power type... she is no longer a time-manipulator, but a FIRE-wielder - aka an Igne! There were a few reasons for this:

• Her time powers were kind of... well, overpowered. When presented with the beasts that are attacking Westfall, she could easily stop time, kill them, and start time again and watch them all fall down. Even in early drafts for Echoes, her power was blocked off for most of the story so the plot could actually happen ^^'
• Westfall gives her the "Wildfire" nickname because of her ability to summon fire with her blade. ORBIT blocks off her power when she's under their control, so the source of the fire is now her own power; crafted to link to the inhibitor so she can at least blast fire out of her blade. It's not as controllable, but it's better than nothing in her eyes.
• There's a 'stigma' against Igne in Aravast since "anyone can make fire, pff" and it's considered one of the lowest powers. This just makes Gemini want to train harder to be the most powerful Igne (along with her grandmother, who was also an Igne).
• Gem now ages like a normal human would, but she heals a little faster from general injuries - and MUCH faster from fire because that's her power; even when it's blocked off, her body doesn't allow the burns to stay for very long.

The diamond-shaped mark on her chest is the source of her power; for women, it's over their heart, and for men, it's on the back of their neck. The marks look like a pattern of veins, and each mark is unique to an Aravasti. When their power is summoned, it glows from the source and spreads through their veins. In Gem's case, she can generate heat, fire, or both.

Aravasti children are born with their marks, but their power doesn't "activate" until they're around 10 years old. At this point their dull/normal hair gets its white streaks, and their type of power is revealed. Gemini's parents were a Nox (darkness) father and a Zephyr (wind/air) mother... so imagine their surprise (and unfortunately, disappointment) when Gemini turns out to be an Igne... She's more or less passed off to her grandmother to raise while they focus their attention on her younger sister, Polara - a Zephyr.

I've wanted to use this Droid Bishop song for something for Gem/Wildfire, but I already had an image called "Through the Fire"... so I just called it "Igne" after her power. ^^

Tags: Westfall