Ember

Ember is a Red Priestess in service to R'hllor who has taken up control of The Stepstones following the death of Vyrmidon Melos; she rides the mercurial dragon Stormsong and rules from Bloodstone in the name of the Lord of Light.

Appearance and Character
Unlike many who live out their early life behind temple walls, Ember is unmarked by her faith; she has no tattoos, and platinum hair is bereft of dye. Coupled with crystal clear blue eyes, even in the absence of an accent one would be hard pressed not to identify her as a pure blooded Lysene.

Calm, collected and outwardly empathetic, she is all one would expect from a woman charged with the proliferation of the Red Faith - while passionate, fiery words are tempered by a silver tongue that always seek to make themselves into what the recipient wishes to hear.

Childhood
Once known as Rhaena, as a young girl she hailed from an unusually wealthy background when compared to many who wind up joining the red temples. Much of her history has been obscured by time, effort, and the turbulent upheaval ongoing in Essos during her upbringing.

In time, Ember has become a figure as subtle and strange as her childhood origins; while appearance may betray her as hailing from the Fair City, her true origins lay in the Temple of the Lord of Light in Volantis.

A lavish childhood saw her sealed away from the violence that accompanied major political changes in Lys; the reformation of the Kingdom of the Three Daughters and, later, the ascendancy of Lysarus Rogare to First Magister. As the latter was underway, Rhaena was sent from Lys to Volantis and there began her training to serve R'hllor.

The Red Temple
A quick and able student, throughout her training Rhaena heard much of the bloody political bedlam that still consumed her home, and had spread rapidly to Myr and Tyrosh.

She took a particular interest in the defeat of Aeryn Targaryen in the Stepstones, and stories of what ensued in the power vacuum he left behind reach even the Black Walls. Dragonriders were always people of particular interest, but none more so than those that brought chaos. No more so than those that bore the name Targaryen, and were reputed to rule the west atop the great beasts in more than mere handfuls. It seemed odd that they possessed a thing lost even to the first child of Old Valyria; where were the dragons of Volantis?

In time, the name Rhaena was shed in favour of another. When the Red Priest Soot returned from his pilgrimage, his stay in the temple saw them forge a bond of friendship. He sought visions in the flames, and until he found one, Rhaena was a shadow that darkened every door he passed. There was something grand in the stories he brought back, from what occurred in the War of the Three Thieves to tales of the faraway King's Landing. Already she had caught the eye of several other, elder priests for her devotion even from so young an age; so she came to be called Ember. No matter how the fire faded in others, or how it struggled to ignite, when only embers remained it was they that stoked the fire anew. A name taken to symbolise that she would always breathe life back into the belief of R'hllor, a tribute to a child's innocent devotion and undying belief that could be entirely wholehearted in a way an adult's rarely could.

When her tutelage came to an end, there were some few who were quick to prescribe the word 'zealot' to a woman now grown. Where some saw a negative force, the High Priest saw only an enthusiasm prime for the wielding. Sent back from whence she came, Ember was charged as a missionary for the Red Faith in the Free Cities. Primarily Lys, where she experienced the greatest success integrating herself with the people who welcomed her as one of their own returned, but later spread her travels to Myr and Tyrosh.

The Razing of the Red Temple
It was in Lys that she first heard rumours and more from Westeros, first of the Second Hammer Uprising that gripped their country - and later, of the razing of the Red Temple in King's Landing. The violent scouring of R'hllor's worshippers did much to harden Ember, and she did all within her power to help resettle those who fled across the Narrow Sea to avoid persecution. Those who formed her most permanent congregations were largely composed of these souls who found her there, waiting to help, as soon as they stepped out on to the Fair Lady's docks.

Despite hoping she may once again see her old friend Soot, she suspected he had been killed at the hands of the mob who tore down the temple. The only remembrance left were the journals, delivered as part of the few belongings rescued before the downfall.

The Alliance of the Narrows
It was in 436 A.C., as the early political union of the Alliance of the Narrows began to take shape, that Ember began to question the wider role of the Red Faith in emerging political developments. Or more importantly, their lack of it. Though she would never admit it, Ember began to wonder if she was not destined for something more than expanding the flock of faithful in the Free Cities. While certainly a worthy calling, she could not help but feel that she could better serve R'hllor in a more active role.

For years she had been bereft of a vision in the flames, charged only with the word of the High Priest. Her mission, her bond, was what he desired of her; but a gift from R'hllor changed that and more. In seeing for the first time a flickering message somewhere within the fire of her night's hearth, Ember saw all she secretly desired and more. A greater calling - one that saw her sat atop a dragon whose scales were a deep, charcoal grey and cracked with a cobalt brighter than lightning.

This was the first of many things that Ember saw, and though her interpretation was often skewed, she eventually found her way to Bloodstone to start upon the path she whole-heartedly believed was carved out for her by none other than the red god.

A False Rider
In a most unexpected twist, the prize sought was not hers to take. Vyrmidon Melos rode the dragon Stormsong, whose scales she recognised as soon as she saw them overhead. Though it was in her mind the undeniable will of R'hllor that she sit upon his back, it was not within the capabilities of a Red Priestess to challenge the rule of a pirate lord.

She instead employed her talents in integrating herself within Bloodstone's court. Earning favour with the natives was easily done, men and women who were regarded as the lowliest in society; simple herbal and alchemical recipes made her popular, and a willingness to help earned her loyalty. Ember bide her time, and did nothing more than she had always done - she proselytised.

The pendulum was slow to swing, and there was more than one night where she doubted what she had seen. The first sign that she had not been foolish, and hasty, and uprooted herself against what she was sure was the High Priest's will, came with the death of Mira Sunderland. It brought a fracture, a tear in a seam that was otherwise strong, and even Vyrmidon Melos could not rightly wrest control of Last Refuge so easily after his altercation with the woman. They resisted, and once he proposed the Stepstones join the Triarchy to incorporate themselves into a Tetrarchy, the holdouts once loyal to Mira were not the only ones.

Dissent began to stir, early in the Fifth Moon.

Riding the Storm
The uprising came without her hand, for the to and fro of control within the Stepstones was always shifting. Alone within his halls, and Vyrmidon Melos had become too comfortable. He had not the protection of his dragon to rely on, and the incursion of those who opposed his rule was swift and brutal. Melos' end was more so, and as his head was mounted on a spike as the dragon Stormsong tore across the isles in rampant fury. The descent of chaos was the only thing quicker than the cobalt dragon reining fire on any who dared come too close.

Ragtag bands of pirates were only ever controlled by brute force, and the ambitions of subordinates rose like wildfire. Daily life descended into debauchery and every new dawn brought temporary gains and losses for the rival factions battling over Bloodstone in the Fifth Moon; not unlike how it had been when Aeryn Targaryen met his end. Ultimately, the Stepstones were never a power alike the Free Cities, and they had no similar political factions. The new rules imposed by forming the Tetrarchy had stirred the drudges and the dregs, and they were unhappy with their lot.

A combination of this chaos, the destruction wrought by Stormsong and the political manoeuvrings of the various pirate lords saw the Stepstones undergo isolated turbulence. Vessels did not pass freely, and trade was circumvented away from the waters around Bloodstone. Little news came from the isles, but it was known the dragon in the Narrows still ruled there.

It took several weeks before he settled, high up on a hill that overlooked his dominion. Order could not be restored until someone rode the dragon, and Ember was convinced it would be her. She went unarmed and unafraid, seizing the opportunity to present herself before the now-nesting dragon before any other had the opportunity. Without hesitance she went boldly, and for her bravery - or her foolishness - returned with her prophecy fulfilled.

Restoration
Order was difficult to recreate, let alone maintain. Through a combination of force, fire, political machinations and a dose of luck, Ember restored some semblance of it throughout the course of the Sixth Moon. The depths of her zealotry had been proven to near suicidal levels, and this frightened many. Most simply feared the dragon, and in truth, and she was careful to be mindful of the precarious position; Bloodstone was sealed off from outsiders for some time. Only the inexplicable influx of faithful was tolerated, those refugees who once fled from Westeros sailing from Lys to the Stepstones, where Ember called them home to the banners of R'hllor - and they came, much like moths did to a flame in the darkness.

The Saan Family were the first port of call. Instrumental in supporting her initial rise, they who had tangled with Vyrmidon Melos and been burned by him had learned well. Though no great supporters of the faith, they were allowed their space in exchange for help; Grey Gallows saw little of the faithful, and less of the dragon Stormsong. Their alliance was one of convenience, but it suited both parties well. Saan soldiers helped deliver a new order to Bloodstone, and wrest control of the unruly elements that still defied the woman who controlled the throne.

Most fell in line, given a little time, and a few burnt ships. The Sworn of the Kraken were amongst those who proved most troublesome; where others had long since learned to accept the will of whoever ruled, be they Targaryen, Volantene or otherwise, the Ironborn were stubborn. The Drowned God did not so easily bow before R'hllor, and this incensed Ember more than any other who defied her newfound ambitions.

The men of the Lost Legion who were forced to flee Bloodstone took refuge with the pretenders to the Seastone Chair, and even in the Seventh Moon Ember struggles to control and diminish their meddlesome behaviours. Many of their brothers paid the price for refusing to abandon loyalties to their now-dead leader, and though their numbers are thinned, her own forces lack the unity to discount them as a threat. Despite scouring several kraken ships, she has not the naval experience nor prowess to properly combat the masters of the sea.

Her grip yet remains tenuous on the isles at large. She focuses on solidifying her control of Bloodstone, Last Refuge, Grey Gallows and Dark Den, shielding them beneath the red banners of R'hllor - in the form of dragonfire, unleashed upon any who do not respect the new hierarchy.

Many question her motivations, as rumours begin to slip beyond the barricades. For the faithful on Bloodstone, however, Ember tells them that they await a guest; one who will see the Red Faith restored to Westeros, and the insurgents who cast them out punished.