Ignatius Ren

Ignatius Quatuor Alzonus Ren (the third) is a phoenix from Escaelius and student at Fitherington's School for the Magical. He is the son of Tarquin Ren and Li. Ignatius detests his name and prefers to go by Ignace.

Personality
Ignace is aloof, openly rude, and all-around cynical. He sees the worst in people and is quick to judge without knowing someone. He is very detail-oriented and a bit of a perfectionist. Some people call Ignace pompous, and they are probably right. His good qualities would be his loyalty and insight.

Appearance
Ignace is tall and skinny, as phoenixes usually are. He has an angular face, long nose, and the feathery ears typical of birdlike humanoids. His eyes are almond shaped, slit-pupiled and pale orange; they tend to look like flickering flames. Ignace's clothing choices consist of robes, vests, and tunics, and he likes bright colours. His clothes tend to hang akwardly on his body. Ignace's skin is naturally a light tan; his face is usually sooty because of the whole phoenix/burning thing. He has a faint marking on his forehead indicating that he has had his first real burning. Ignace has messy, long-ish red hair, which is usually flickering with sparks, especially at the tips.

He is never without his beautifully decorated golden wing-cloak, which allows him to transform into his true phoenix form under certain circumstances.

History
Parents and Birth

Ignatius' parents met in a dingy open-air market on the outskirts of Escaelius. His father, Tarquinius Seneca Casior Ren (Tarquin) was descended from one of the most influential families in the city- it was said that the Living Flame had smiled upon the Ren family for nearly ten centuries. Tarquin was rich, intelligent (he studied ancient history, with a particular emphasis on language), and extremely powerful. Like many of the wealthy in Escaelius, Tarquin had been involved in numerous romantic exploits- all with women of other powerful families. It came as a shock and a scandal when he married Ignace's soon-to-be mother. She was known simply as Li- nobody knew whether it was a nickname, a pseudonym, or her real name. Li was very poor and moderately good looking; she earned a meager living as a street artist. Tarquin took the girl under his wing (literally) and the two were quickly married. About a year later, Ignace was born. Li disappeared the night after her son was born, and nobody has seen her since.

Early Childhood
Ignace lived with only his father in a large, drafty house in the center of town. He hated it there- as respectable and wealthy as Tarquin was, he was in no way supportive or even friendly, and belittled the young Ignace on many occasions. The phoenix's plight came to the attention of a few 'society' ladies, older (in phoenix years) women who tended the flame at the Temple- specifically Caligula Glauce, Septima Cruscellio, and Fulvia Balbus. They spoiled him with good intentions and encouraged his artistic talents, or lack thereof. Although the Temple women would never really become Ignace's mother figures, they helped to coax Ignace out of his antisocial shell. During this time of his life, Ignace became the close friend of Sophronia "Phronsie" Viridian, the griffin daughter of a kitchen maid. She would one day save his life.

The Aurelia Years
Shortly after Ignace met Phronsie, his father was met with startling news- Aisha Aureolin, a high-class socialite, had died after a long illness. In her will, Aisha trusted care of her daughter Aurelia to her father, Tarquin, whom she had never met. At first, Ignace looked forward to meeting his half-sister. He thought that perhaps, in time, Aurelia would become a good friend. He often spent time imagining what she would be like, hoping she would be perfect.

And when she finally arrived in Escaelius, both Ignace and Tarquin were convinced she was perfect. Aurelia was witty, well-mannered, and intelligent, and she could spend hours listening to Tarquin talk about the similarities and differences between the ancient Phoenix language and that of the griffins, which Ignace had never had patience for. She had inherited her mother Aisha's poise and confidence, contrasting with Ignace's reserved ways.

In private, however, Aurelia often mocked Ignace. She would steal books from Tarquin's enormous library and blame it on Ignace (or the servants). She would mock Ignace for coming from a low background. Ignace's image of a perfect sister came crashing around his ears as Aurelia grew worse and worse.

Exams and Banishment
If Ignace had hoped Aurelia would become nicer with time, he was desperately wrong. His half-sister's pranks and plots became crueler and crueler, although they didn't cause any direct harm to others until she turned fourteen. At this time, Ignace and Aurelia were at just the right age to begin training and someday become memebers of the famous Escaelius council. To do so, the siblings would have to pass the Council exam, an extremely difficult test that ensured all Council memebers knew enough about Escaelius to keep the city prosperous. Ignace had been carefully studying for the test (although he disliked reading dusty old scrolls, it gave him the oppurtunity to avoid people) with a bit of "help" from Phronsie, but Aurelia did not take it seriously and felt that studying was unecessary.

During the week of the exam, Ignace was cosntantly working to catch up. He hardly ever ate or slept, and he would study for the next day's exam portion late into the night. On the last day, Ignace left the examination hall feeling confident in his achievements and hopeful that his father would approve. A fancy party in celebration of the end of exams was scheduled that evening.

It came as a complete shock to Ignace when, preparing for the evening events, he was forced to appear before the current Council for a formal hearing. The Council accused him of bribing and blackmailing the examiners and ordered him to leave the city of Escaelius; if he came back he would be imprisoned. Ignace left as soon as he could, noticing that the elderly flame-tenders who had once felt sorry for him had become his accusers. After packing everything he could in a leather bag given to him by Phronsie, Ignace headed out of the city, pursued by most citizens of the town. He ran as fast as he could away from Escaelius's marble columns and flickering flames until he fell asleep.

Life After Banishment and Fitherington's
After lots of walking and stowing away on wagons (Ignace had little faith in his flying skills) and small carts, Ignace arrived in the city of Esinthium, where he knew his father's sister lived. Theodora Ren was an elderly eccentric and agreed to let Ignace stay with her, as long as he paid his keep. Ignace began work as a portrait artist along the busy streets, sketching customers for a coin or two. After a year and a half, Ignace collected enough money to pay for passage to Fitherington's School for the Magical. He was fifteen years old. The rest you know.

Lira Amaranth
Ignace met Lira a few days before the Halloween dance and considers her to be little more than a nuisance. She has hexed (or attempted to hex) him on several occasions and he despises her for it. Ignace always tries to one-up Lira; his fatal mistake was when he challenged her by asking her to the dance. Perhaps in time (and with the combined meddlings of Kya and Lazu), Ignace and Lira will grow to appreciate (or at least tolerate) one another.

Alternately, it's been a suspenseful relationship teeming with bellicose sexual attention ever since she hexed him on her first day of school.

Tarquinius Ren
Ignace dislikes his father's overbearing attitude and the feeling is mutual. Tarquin has always seen Ignace as withdrawn and unintelligent, a view that was compunded when he began caring for Aurelia. Ignace's supposed blackmail put him beyond redemption entirely in Tarquin's eyes.

Sophronia Viridian
Sophronia "Phronsie" Viridian is probably the bravest person Ignace has ever known. In a city where status was everything, she showed Ignace that it didn't matter who his family was. Phronsie was far friendlier towards Ignace than anyonce else he knew, and probably saved his life; after Ignace had left Escaelius she convinced the council not to pursue him further.

James Flint
James could be considered Ignace's friend or at least his confident, as he is one of the only people who seems to understand Ignace's dry humor and tsar-chasm. Ignace is completely unaware of the faerie's secret crush on him and thinks of him only as a commiserator.

Aurelia Ren
Aurelia is Ignace's half sister and the bane of his existence. Although Ignace initially hoped she would be a good friend, Aurelia quickly became his worst enemy and eventually saw him banished from Escaelius.

Kya
Ignace's supposed "muse" may or may not exist. If she does, she is a rather whiny being who tends to make Ignace's life miserable. If not, she's a figment of Ignace's deranged imagination.

Lazu
Doesn't exist, lol.