Some of you may or may not remember that a while back I had created a Phoenix character using Furcadia's template-based character maker and then sorta left him limbo while other characters got art and I created Zephyr, mostly because I felt like he needed to be altered a little bit from how... chipper Furcadia's artstyle tends to be, among other changes.

 Cannibalistic-Tendencies was recently doing a small art opening where she'd take a character and redo them and I couldn't help but jump in to finally give this guy the attention he should have had. Most obviously, he's now an Anthro phoenix and will be 99% of the time, as when it comes to furry stuff, I tend to like anthro birds a bit more than feral ones. Also, I gave her full reign over diversifying his color patterning and making it look, well, generally speaking WAY better.

I have also changed his name, mostly thanks to making a friend that knew actual Mandarin Chinese who was able to tell me that his old name didn't make a ton of sense, and helped come up with a new one that moreso got across what I had mentally envisioned.

All in all, he's gone from a red-headed stepchild to as much of a beloved character as the rest thanks to her redesign, I fully look forward to playing around with him in the future.

Kun Fei belongs to me.

Art by  Cannibalistic-Tendencies.

___

As for character info...

Backstory:

Phoenixes of his type don't breed normally, being infertile even to other Phoenixes, the only way a new one is born is when the "parent" reaches the end of their natural lifespan and dies, when they leave behind an egg that will create new life while their soul crosses the threshold. Kun Fei's birth was much the same, hatched from his mother's egg only to find that she had become a respected guardian of a large village and well-known shrine. The local villagers and priests, a superstitious lot at the best of times transferred their feelings to him, and as he grew and time passed, he changed from being a Guardian to being a God to them.

As he grew older enough to learn how to fight, he found that he ironically had a strong gift for earth magics, something that did and does still annoy him to the present day as his fragile frame means his own magic could easily hurt him if something goes wrong, and he's forced to land if he wants to fight with any degree of competency, stealing away his natural advantage of flight. Nonetheless, he was able to serve as defender for his home when common, petty threats would approach.

Having grown up worshiped and pampered, Fei became a spoiled brat used to living in luxury and lavished in expensive gifts and the finest foods and drinks, and even a few "sacrifices" (though he despises the idea of eating a thinking creature, so he would often take them romantically and say his fertility would grant them boons). However, tied as he was to his mother's legacy, it often filled him with a sense of longing for the lands beyond, lands he couldn't reach as he was tied, perhaps for his entire life, to his temple. As the years carried on, this become something of a source of resentment towards his home, and his paradisaical lifestyle slowly turned into a gilded cage.

One night though he got his wish in the worst way possible when a freak earthquake struck the town and ruined the temple, in the process killing several monks and innocent villagers. As one who should have been able to sense and stop it, responsibility fell on his shoulders, and after debating his idle words damning his home, they quickly determined that he was the one who even caused it to happen. Fei's own protests that his powers weren't enough to cause the earthquake, or even stop it, fell on deaf ears. Now branded a fallen guardian and an evil god, he was forced into the wide world beyond his home to protect his own life.

Personality:

Having been raised how he was, Fei is a brat at the best of times and smug, arrogant and disinterested at the worst. Quick to act as the noble he had been raised as, he has a habit of looking down on people who look to be more cut from common cloth, even on occasion using the word "commoner" when especially annoyed by someone. However, when speaking to someone who presents a higher class, or someone it'd be an immediately poor idea to offend like a dragon, he's quick to be polite and courteous and show that he's if nothing else rich in knowledge, poor in sense and world wisdom. This attitude on the road has, on more than one occasion put him into very dire circumstances.

Despite his taught-from-birth mannerisms and attitude though, he does generally try to do what he believes is best. He's quick to offer to help someone who's under threat even if he'll look down on them if they're a dirt-and-cloth villager, and generally tries to leave a place happier than it was when he arrived. However, due to his naivety, he's also easy to manipulate and deceive into doing things that don't benefit who he would like for it to.

Abilities:

As Earth elemental first and foremost, Fei's powers involve manipulating stone to do whatever he wishes. To those who see him in the heat of combat, it often appears as though he's using his wings as an elegant fan dance as he barrages with daggers made of stone and spike pillars rising from the enemies' feet. Though he's also as prone to use his powers for a mundane capacity, mostly raising up pillars to use as seats so he doesn't have to dirty himself by sitting down.

And as a legendary firebird, he does have the powers inherit to his species as well. Fei's wings can easily cast off sparks of phoenix fire when he wills it too, turning from small sparks into massive supernatural blazes in a few instants. His down feathers, if plucked and used on an unconscious or wounded and dying individual, will stabilize them and fend off death, but can't itself heal them to a better condition. As well, he is fundamentally immortal and will only die in truth when his natural lifespan ends, if he ever is slain by whatever means, he'll reform a distance away as a true fire elemental, ready to rain down burning destruction - at least, he would were he braver, as he still actually feels dying, and naturally doesn't like it, he'll usually use this period of incredible power to put as much distance as possible between himself and his killer.

Given his mixed elements of earth and fire, he can, if pushed all the way to the brink combine the two to create burning magma kept ignited by his flames and turn it into an absurdly dangerous weapon, though naturally this takes an incredible amount of energy.

Misc:

Fei is a male-intersex, which means he has both parts but lacks breasts and physically presents, vocalizes and overall identifies as a male. This contrasts his mother, who was more female-leaning in her life.

He has no fingers or forelimbs, but rather uses cartoon physics to "grab" things with the end of his wings. In more realistic settings this is interchangeable with innate telekinesis.