Atlantean Firekit

Alternate names

Fire Cat
Fire Kitten
Rubyhunters

Overview

In legend the Fire-kit, often called a Flamekitten, or Fire Cat iwas born from the flames of the forge of Hephaestus. Whilst helping Artemis create a new lunar metal, Mithril. The fire of his forge burned white hot in its attempt to melt the ore and in that creative moment - a flash of flame said to be split from the Plane of Elemental Fire struck one of the cats that had accompanied the Goddess in her visit to Hephaestus's Forge. In an instant the animal was ablaze, and transformed the animal, fusing the animal with the elemental fire. The result is a living flame with a feline temperament and a high temperature.

Capabilities

AC: 5
HD 2 + 1
Attacks and Damage 3 attacks
INT: Average
Movement: 30'


A Firekit will normally move as a normal cat. But is able to enter the Ethereal Plane at will - allowing it to keep up with any mount.


A Firekit will remain invisible to unknown individuals until it gets to know them through observation. It takes great interest in anything sparkling and especially any thing that is a semi-precious stone of red coloriing but especially likes rubies. Owners often keep red gems around to feed/gift to the animal on a regular basis.


Fire Kits have 60' Infravision and as a familiar will give their masters this ability innately. They can also cause the area to glow around them to the same level as a torch if so needed. They can affect normal fires within 60' allowing them to either double them in size or reduce them completely down and extinguish them.


They eat the same food as a normal cat but to replenish and enhance their fire - powers they need red gems of different types. Without it even their Infravision lapses in power. They communicate with their masters telepathically through cat meows that only their owners can hear.

Fire Kit Summary

A Fire kit'ten' retains its cat like form, and can burst into flame at any time that it is above -04-Degrees Celsius. When in flame form - the entire creature is composed of fire (it's physical form phases into the ethereal and touches on the Elemental Plane of Fire - allowing the firekit to enter through any small or narrow space. If that space contains flammable material then it will catch fire, but the fire kit will extinguish that fire as it goes - only singeing the area. Even paper can be passed by without it completely burning if the Fire Kit so chooses.
A fire kit normally does not start fires, rather they seek to put fires out. Communications with them have shown that they take normal flames and return them to the Elemental Plane of Fire, making them a type of fire fighting service. If a firekit must extinguish a fire more than three times it's own body sizes, then it will succeed in taking 3 times its body size X 1D100% of the fire with it - but will pass to the Plane of Fire permanently in order to do so.

A Fire kit will start a fire if asked but normally must be paid in rubies to do so.


The Fire Kits love the to play with rubies, and will always seek them out as a priority - even when faced with other tasks. Their love of the gems is said to be what led to their partial domestication.

Working Animal Status A Fire kit'ten' is often present on farms as a fire-control and vermin control animal in the rural areas. In the cities, it is common to see a Fire Kit shadowing Guard Units that move about their patrols, and many Guard Patrols have a Fire Kit as a pet in their barracks.
In Atlantis itself there is a separate Fire Service, this Service has several families of Fire Kits that it maintains as a part of it's fire fighting service.
In addition to this, the Fire Kit is a popular Druid and Mage familiar.

Chronic Aberration Effects

The fracturing of time allows access to some records of events that have yet to occur when they appear within the Library of Atlantis. Fire Kits and their linkage to Artemis appear in two 'Time Distorted Fragments'.


According to Pseudo-Hyginus... some poets say that once when many gods had assembled in Egypt, suddenly Typhon, an exceedingly fierce monster and deadly enemy of the gods, came to that place. Terrified by him, they changed their shapes into other forms: Hermes (Mercurius) became an ibis, Apollo, the bird that is called Thracian, Artemis (Diana), a cat.” - Pseudo-Hyginus’s Astronomica 2.28

This indicates a link between Artemis and the Cat Form in Egypt.


The second, account, from Herodotus, noted that in Egypt, from that time: "when a fire occurs, the cats seem to be divinely possessed; for while the Egyptians stand at intervals and look after the cats, not taking any care to extinguish the fire, the cats slipping through or leaping over the men, jump into the fire; and when this happens, great mourning comes upon the Egyptians."


The Egyptians believed that a cat running through a building on fire would draw the flames out.


This is interpreted to mean that the Fire Kits at this time would extinguish the flame, at the cost of their Prime Material Connection.

Basic Information

Anatomy

When not coodinating with the Fire Element, the Fire Kit appears to be a small black or grey cat, although other colors have been witnessed. Anatomically the animal is identical to a normal house cat, and differs only in a light smoky smell about them occurring when the Sun or Moon first alights on them in the mornings and evenings.

When in Fire-form the animal is composed totally of living fire with no corporeal body itself. The corporeal body is said to phase into the Ethereal Realm. In this condition, the cat emits a constant heat that can set fire to flammable materials. 

Genetics and Reproduction

The Fire Kit can normally breed from the age of 10 months, and will have its kitten(s) (only 1 or 2 at the most) in High Summer when the temperatures are at their hottest. 

Growth Rate & Stages

Fire Kit Life Stages
Birth to 6 months: Fire Kitten life stage, fastest growth period and no fire control ability
7 to 24 months: Fire Kit Junior life stage, slower growth and fire control starts
7 to 10 years: Mature life stage, no more growth and full fire powers developed
11 to 14 years: Senior life stage, starting to age 15+ years: Geriatric life stage, weight loss and power loss.

Ecology and Habitats

Fire Kits live in domesticated bliss, wandering around cities, towns and villages hunting down vermin and fires. The Fir Kit seeks out small fires in order to remove them to the Fire Elemental Plane, making their presence on farms a blessing. 

Dietary Needs and Habits

The same as a normal cats, but the fire kit always 'heats up and cooks' its food. When in fire form, it needs no sustenance, and often seeks out fires to 'put them out' - absorbing the fires into itself, but rumors continue that the cat likes to eat rubies, as it always seeks them out.

Biological Cycle

In Winter the Fire Kit has a hard time managing itself, it becomes more lethargic and slower in movement. During this time it will often sit in a fire place and set the area ablaze to sleep in the embers for an extended time period. 

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

The Fire Kit is able to perceive the presence of fires within 60' (180m). Otherwise the cat is able to perceive it's surroundings just like a normal cat with excellent night vision.

Scientific Name

Felis Ignis

Origin/Ancestry

Felis Catus and Ignis Elementum

Conservation Status

The species is under the direct protection of both Hephaestus and Artemis. It is also the patron animal of the Atlantean Fire Service, giving it complete protection within the Kingdoms of Man, Elves and especially Dwarves.

Geographic Distribution

• Atlantis