I went through this already as well, I finally read the quest text for basic survival 8 and it tells you to scrap your torch for the initial ember. If you play a nomadic style like I do, don't forget to always have a torch or craft another ember from the fire so you can craft campfires on your travels.
There really should be another way to craft an ember. I get that you can't make fire from nothing in a survival situation, but man has made fire from sticks, rocks and dry leaves for hundreds of years.
Still, really enjoying this playthrough, so big thanks to Crater Creater for the mod.