Gods of the Elements
Not much is known about the origins of the Celestials beyond the nature of their powers.
They are gods, each able to harness the elements, some by focusing on a single one while others can wield the power of multiple at once. They are ancient creatures who sometimes interact with the mortals of the world by honouring a great person’s legacy or by finding themselves someone with whom to bear a child.
The Celestials are currently known as the Spirit Brothers – Xin, Kaolin and Raijin, who are masters of Ember, Earth and Storm respectively – along with Mangix’s father, while the Brewmaster himself is of mixed lineage.
In Ember Fire
The story of Xin begins not with one of these Celestials though, but with a mortal man. He was a warrior-poet, a respected teacher of many and the master of the Fortress of Flares, hidden within the Wailing Mountains. He was a master of the Bonds of the Guardian Flame, mantras that trained the mind and body, allowing practitioners to face the harshness of the reality that was beyond the walls of their home.
With a warrior’s teachings came rivals, those who wished to best Xin and stamp out his ways. During the later years of his life, a worthy opponent managed to defeat him and the warrior-poet was slain. His followers stayed long enough to place his body on a pyre before putting his ashes in a cauldron within the temple that lay deep inside the fortress, before spreading to the wind.
Burning Legacy
When Xin was slain, his teachings did not die with him though. His acolytes still preached his ways, told in whispers and deeds to their descendants, wanting to keep the spirit of their teacher alive, even after his body had departed. It was this that impressed the Burning Celestial, an inquisitive aspect of fire, who was touched by how his legacy had lasted for such a long time.
Bringing himself to the place of Xin’s demise, the Celestial moved to reignite those same ashes with his own fire, allowing his energy to fuse with the remnants of the warrior-poet’s body. From those ashes came Xin, reincarnated into the world in a burning visage. Now a Celestial, the Ember Spirit went forth from what was once his home to train, teach and spread knowledge to those who sought guidance.
Among Others
The Ember Spirit (Xin) is one of four aforementioned brothers (Xin, Kaolin, Raijin and one unknown), each of them with the ability to display mastery over a single element. Only three of the four – Ember, Earth and Storm – are currently known, with the fourth Celestial sibling, along with the element they have mastered, remaining hidden.
However, we do know one thing they did together; their punishment of the Monkey King. Enraged at Sun Wukong removing himself from the Book of Life and Death, thus making himself immortal, they captured him and threw him into Ember Spirit’s Eternal Furnace to try and claim his life. He escaped this prison and so rather than destroy him, they chained him under a mountain, where he would stay for 500 years until given his chance at absolution.
All in all, the Ember Spirit has proven his worth as a skilled warrior and a patient teacher, both in his previous life as Xin, and his reincarnation as a Celestial. Although his followers are few, he wishes to bring his teachings to others, to show them that, just like a glowing ember, they too may spark back to life once again.
