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*RUFFLUFFSONVASHU* heart

To start things on a pleasant note- good job! Three sources is the "magic number" for me; any less, and unless one of the sources is REALLY REALLY good, the concept is no where near researched enough to be filled out into a Fa'e profile.

As an interesting side note; there's actually a Gypsy tale that goes along a very similar story as Ivan Tsaverich and the Grey Wolf. It featured the same bird, at least, as I recall. I don't think I still have that book around, so I couldn't relate it to you, but that's just another tie-in that you can consider for Suraj, if you are so interested.

Why haven't you filled these out? It's all right to feel uncomfortable with the character, but the answering of these questions is what is supposed to help you create answers for the "why". If you know the answers already, that's good and all, but then the actual questions have little use to you.

I'd like to start off by making a similar point as I did with Addie; how, ICly, are you planning to justify Suraj receiving his name? The meaning of it makes sense, at least, but your OC is not only not Russian- they aren't even from a world that would justify a name from a culture like that. In fact, when it comes down to it, Ki'rentha is an elf. An elf, man. I don't know how they run elves where you come from, but from my section of the D&D world, being an elf means that, generally speaking, you are far evolved from greedy, short-sighted humans. Why would an elf from a world that probably doesn't even have a Russian culture look down at a strange, pretty child (that also isn't human) and give them a Russian human name?

If you are hooked on the name of Suraj, then I have a few suggestions for you. First off being to talk to Kali or Mouse and see if either of their characters would be into the idea of naming their child such a thing; for some reason, it's been tradition for the Guardian to name their Fa'e, but especially with Roth around, I don't see why that couldn't be waived for the sake of making IC sense. Secondly- I don't know how long Ki is going to be on Gaia before Suraj arrives, but if she has had time to get herself sufficently established, an IC influence could prompt her to name the Fa'e Suraj (such as meeting someone with a name like that that she liked, or being led to believe that that is a "normal" name for someone on Gaia, etc.) Thirdly, you can follow another tradition that a lot of Guardians have used to justify naming their kids weird things, and say that Ki just had a "sense" that that was the right name for the kid. I'd advise avoiding the third option if at all possible, however; it's definitely getting a bit overused, and while it is a means to an end, it's much better to try and actually justify the name than it is to go for a cop-out so you can name the Fa'e for strictly OOC reasons.

Now, as for the background section. Why is this not filled out? D: There are so many questions about Suraj's past life that need to be answered, and this is the place to do it. Was the firebird born, or was it created? How long did it live? Has it ever experienced any sort of community or friendship, courtship perhaps? How did it come to be sitting in that king's golden cage, and how did it escape to steal the golden apples? Why did it never return after it was almost caught- was that its decision, or the decision of its master? How intelligent was it, how emotional was it? What were its desires? Hell- screw all that. Just how did it LOOK?

Some of the accounts posted in the reference section don't make sense together. We know it had a bright red feather in its tail that glowed after is was plucked, but we are also told that its feathers shine like silver and gold. Is that literal, as in we're being told that its feathers look like silver and gold, or are they actually red and just have a shine to them? Does that mean that the creature's eyes are just sparkling like crystals, or are they supposed to be actual crystals? Even setting all that aside, there are plenty more details that can use filling out. I'd strongly advise that you sit down and decide exactly what traits you want the original firebird to have possessed; otherwise, how can Anya decide for you what traits Suraj ought to develop as a second gen?

When it comes to the "Before Death" tale, though, little warning signs start screaming around in my head. The way you are setting up your character is going to lead them down a one-way street of general "holier-than-thou", for lack of a better descriptor. In Suraj's past life, he has been effectively made flawless, blameless, and the ultimate victim. It is all too clear in this writing that the poor firebird committed no wrong! Their death was horrible and unfair, betrayed and struck down by the same person who they'd served so faithfully, in a fit of arrogant fury! It wasn't ITS fault that the prince was made so jealous, and how cruel was it for him to take away the firebird's ability to sing like that?! WOE!

Do you see the problem, a little? This is the true foundation of your character right here, and generally speaking, if you want to make a character with dimensions and flaws and all those traits that make them interesting and complex, you need to have a base that doesn't fall flat. Spread the blame around, here. Maybe the firebird egged the prince on in his jealousy; had a less-than-pure bird-smirk on its face when it upstaged the royal son, or made mocking sounds after him as he walked by. We know that the firebird was not pure-hearted. It stole golden apples, don't you forget! What do you think would be more interesting for you to play- a Fa'e based off of a good and pure-hearted creature that was wrongfully slain and needs a second chance so that it can... why, again?, or a Fa'e based off of a creature that, though perhaps basically good (or perhaps not even that >3 Roth would be pleased....), had a mean streak against a certain pompous prince and a weakness that led it to temptation, and might have that holier-than-thou attitude when it could have actually deserved what it got to some extent?

Consider now what you want to explore with Suraj. There are going to be a lot of interesting points in his personality that you will get to play with, but as he develops, you need to figure what parts of them relate to his past, and which ones can be affected as he develops and rediscovers himself. For Dusty, she's going to be exploring a lot of her own over-righteous nature in relation to Excalibur, whether or not she is justified for her sense of being wronged, and many more things I'm not gonna talk about for the sake of I CAN'T WAIT FOR HER TO GET TO PLAY WITH THESE THINGS OMGOMGOMG!

*koffs* Try to isolate those same things with Suraj. He will need to confront his past at some point; find the points that most affect him from his past, understand why they affect them and to what extent, and how engrained that will be into his personality by the time he begins to understand the implications of it himself. Will he ever be able to rise above those influences? If he does, what does that suggest; is his personality opting more Ancient, or Human?

"Proud and somewhat vain" how, is my first question? Depending on how this is worked, it could make a lot of sense for the character, or it could make none. Proud about what? Vain about his appearence? Does he hold himself as better than all others (which I would heartily approve of for this concept), or does he just feed his own ego and make boisterous claims (which I would not approve of quite so much, given his background)? When I consider the firebird, I see a creature that has an overinflated sense of self-worth based on how it was once held more important than even the king's son, who might look down his nose at other Fa'e (and especially on ordinary people). I could imagine things like saying "please" and "thank you" being all but exempt from Suraj's vocabulary, while at the same time, not being rewarded for the slightest of favors would draw his ire. As a result, maybe he wouldn't make friends as easily- but, naturally, since he doesn't trust people and they're so much more "lesser" creatures than him anyway, this would make perfect sense for him, right?

I love the insecurity where he wonders how he is valued. God, do I love that. How early do you think traces of that might come into play? Seeing traces of that, especially in the form of the avoidance of close bonds, coming in even as a baby or toddler... that would be so awesome. Particularly, setting that up in relation to his own parents, if that could be at all reasonable. The thought of Roth trying to win over the trust of his own son makes me giggle, right up there with the effects a baby's distrust might have on Raeith, who is for all else very preoccupied with having people trust her. Both parents could react in very interesting ways to a baby like that indeed, and provided they keep trying until they have Suraj's trust, that would make the parent-child bond between them that much stronger.

I do have to question, though, why he doesn't feel the need to be the center of attention in a large group. While I understand that he is not necessarily as show-offish as he once was, having learned his lesson in his past life, I don't understand why this would cause him to have no need for attention to the extent that is describe here. It might be that the sense of being the center of attention has been tainted by old memories, but this doesn't seem to be translating so much as "not wanting to fall into the same trap of betrayal" that makes sense for his character, as it is "having a distinct fear and insecurity of people not liking the actual person that he is", which is a whole different complex for his character to develop altogether.

With all of these antisocial traits he seems to be developing, I'd mention, something ought to be said about whether or not he gets lonely, and how he copes with that. A character that avoids meaningful relationships and has trouble making social contact really needs to be developed more on how they cope with being alone, or else it feels like they're missing a leg, developmentally. Delve a little more into what it is they try to get out of social interactions, and how they feel when they don't have anyone to talk to. How dependant are they probably going to be on their Guardian and parents in order to feel good about themselves? If they lose a friend or have trouble making them, how do they come to terms with it?

Skimming down a little, the next question to pop into my mind is- how does he react when people seem to be considering him as unintelligent? Does he bite his tongue and try to ignore it? Does he attempt to avoid the situation? Does he try to prove them wrong, does he get offended, does he make his displeasure known? How he handles insult, intentional or no, speaks a lot about his character, so it might be worthwhile to play through this scenario and sort out the details.

Why, exactly, is Suraj so smart? How does this play into his past life and his current desires? Does he like to read, or does he watch movies, or does he prefer to learn from teachers? What drives him to learn, and what parts of it best appeal to him? Does he like the sense of accomplishment when something "clicks", or is it the pursuit that he enjoys most?

One more thing I'd like to see considered- how will he learn English, given that he can't speak to explore the language? Obviously, with time, he'll be able to understand what people are trying to communicate to him and be able to sort out the meaning of words accordingly. When you get to start playing Suraj, I'd take this into strong consideration during his development as a toddler and child.

For the likes section, you mentioned that he likes "having his hair brushed and fussed over". Why is this, exactly? Suraj has a lot of traits in his personality that emphasize he does not like people to objectify him, or even to praise him in ways that would be reminiscent of the adoration he received in his past life; why, then, does he enjoy people fawning over his hair? Is this a "guilty pleasure", the one way he might indulge in those so-feared points of his past life, or is this something that doesn't actually make sense for his character?

In addition, I think one of these traits is left over from his character design as a Lost Child- "the sound of the ocean hitting the sides of a ship" is really something that would have suited him better when you were drawing him up to be reborn and live as a pirate, but doesn't make so much sense now that he's merely going to have one as a Guardian, and not necessarily get that same experience.

The dislikes all make good sense for his character, short of the asparagus thing- but I'm guessing that was a random trait, not necessarily something that's supposed to make sense. In general, that sort of thing is okay to include, but there's really no reason to write something like that down unless there's a specific reason for it. If Suraj gets to try it as a child and decides he doesn't like it, then it makes sense to write down. At this stage of character development, however, being that you are not creating a pre-existing character like your OC but instead the base for a character that you will be developing upon, there's no need to include flippant things like that.

I really enjoy the hobbies lined out for him. They all make good sense for his character, I think, and they help to fill out more of his interests and desires.

Why does Suraj avoid writing and established forms of communication? Does he not really care if people can understand him, for some reason? That's sort of the impression that the combination of his character is beginning to give, and I think giving that more development and thought can help to establish his attitude toward others.

The only question I have here is, where does the metal-manipulation power come from? Could you include the possible justification for that ability, because it doesn't seem to make much sense from where I'm standing. Otherwise, I'd suggest listing the abilities off one at a time and describing them more fully, so that you can sort out better the limits and uses of each ability. Right now, they're very vague and bare-bones; it'd be much better to get a little more detailed.