Ayida

Ayida was born into a closed society of blind dragons in the Sanctuary situated on the Mirrorlight Promenade. She had been told by the Sanctuary elders that it was the Holy Light that blinded them and that it was a sign of their superiority, of their closeness to the Lightweaver, so if she was of the "true bloodline" she would be just as blessed as they were. She could even live forever.

She had hardly been old enough to truly understand what they meant before a mask had been placed on her.



"A mask of gold hides all deformities..."

A Light dragon consigned to darkness at such a young age... They said it would help "nurture" the Light within her until she was of age and bring out her true innate abilities. Just because she wasn't presenting any obvious signs now didn't mean she wouldn't later on.

But what would happen if she didn't?

Well, the Sanctum elders simply hummed at that.

It wasn't long before she and her siblings were being told to prove their worthiness to the Mother. Ayida hadn't been born with an overwhelming amount of Light magic like her sister had, she couldn't hear the Lightweaver's voice like the oracles could, she couldn't even tell if she knew how to see behind the mask that had been enchanted to grow with her. She had been forbidden to remove her mask before the chosen day and hadn't dared to disobey. Now that the time for judgement was here, would she finally receive the answer to her question? She found herself stalling, frozen with indecision mere steps away from the ceremony she was expected to attend. Though she had been taught to love and revere this Saint Light, deep down she feared it and maybe just a little bit hated it.

"Psst, you know there is another way," a voice spoke quietly to her.

"Who are you?!" she nearly gasped.

"I'm a friend," it tried to reassure her. "You don't have to listen to them. You could go somewhere else."

The voice couldn't possibly be the Lightweaver speaking after all this time, so it had to be one of the rejects from the Ruins she had been warned about.

"Don't let the Light blind you," it spoke more urgently. "This isn't what you really want for yourself, is it?"

If there was any weakness within her, they would use it to turn her against the Mother.

"If you stay here, Tabitha will throw you to The Arena for sport like all the others. You could go somewhere else... or you could come with me. With my family."

"No."

No no no no no. It was a trick. A trap. She was too scared to test her eyes and face the possibility of rejection - despite the reflexive denial ingrained in her upbringing, she knew that The Arena was a place of misery that no dragon returned from - and she knew that if she stayed here she would have to face it, but she also knew that she couldn't trust words that pretended to care.

So, in that moment, she decided that she would go. She didn't know where or how she would find her way, only that she must survive.





Somehow, aided by some traveling dragons from the Tempest Spire, she had managed to escape and not stop until she was safely in the shade of the Shrieking Wilds.


she was pointed in the right direction by the dragons who helped escort her across the water into Glademama territory (figuring that would put a decent enough divide between her and the Sanctuary), and I imagine she just kept going until she realized she was surrounded by trees. she's just Distressed and Tired and kinda sitting there under the trees like "now what?" though she's calmer than she was when she decided to run, there's still that panicky voice in the back of her head being like "but what if this was the wrong choice? what if it's not safe here either?" and now she's sorta stuck.


Blizz is gonna find her
and be SWEETLY FERAL
until she agrees to come and rest for a while


Blizz and Vela (the healer of the Mirror pack) wind up teaching her some self-defense while she's in the adjustment phase. Ayida initially asks Blizz about it and they get Vela involved because she's more used to teaching than Blizz is, helping to train new recruits and all.

Blizz'll be like "and then you do this!" and execute all the parts of a complicated fighting move all at once
and Vela's like yes very good
so stEP ONE
LEARN TO FALL


The Glade was the first place she ever felt comfortable taking off her mask. She eventually threw away the gold one she had been given by the Sanctuary and, when she felt like she needed one again, she got her own to better suit her.

It was then that she discovered that her eyes had atrophied behind the mask, leaving her with a sensitivity to light and blurry vision. She can see faded colors and vague shapes, but none of it makes much sense to her, so she learned to adapt.


Note: She joined the clan there around the same time that Zinfandel did, so she was there to witness the harpy invasion and all that happened after it.

Besties: Arnurna, Alouette, Kunzite, Moth

she would probably be closer to Alouette, because Alouette is peaceful to be around and quiet [unless you get her started on birds]
and Arnurna would mostly try and be a friend and try and give Ayida the friendship she maybe never had in her home clan
so sleepovers, girl talk, etc.
Kunzite is a diviner, so she may have ~seen~ something around Ayida when she first arrived
and probs would've given Arnurna a gentle suggestion [really all she had to say is "do you think she'd like a friend?" and arnurna was oFF]

Moth, Glade's lamp rights activist and light source enthusiast, is there for Obvious Reasons. Despite the darker aesthetic she adopted, Ayida is still pretty shiny and bright.

Also, while she was in the Glade, George tried to flirt with her and Arnurna during one of his impromptu (and unwelcomed) visits to seek out a queen. That did not go over well.





She came to Haven from the Behemoth.


Ayida had tried her best to be strong enough to survive. They had taught her how to, and she appreciated each and every one of them so so much. She had learned how to listen for danger and fight back even when she was scared - because she had to survive if she wanted to help the ones she cared about. She had learned how to navigate and fly confidently on her own in such a big big world she hadn't previously been able to conceive of before she met them. But it was harder to hide her tension during the moments it slipped out from under her control. She had learned how to survive and she loved them for it, but she was tired. She wanted to learn how to live.


so Blizz sends her to Haven
Blizz considers Ayida her Responsibility
and after everything, the harpy attacks, etc.
and Blizz sees Ayida looking more afraid and tense, for example
she would sit down and be like

"Listen, I rotting love your stupid glowy face, and it's the best rotting part of my morning to see your blinding shininess in the sun. But sometimes the places we love are poisonous in their own way. And I think you need a place where you can just Be, not where you can only survive. And I know a borin- I mean calm place. The calmest place. Boring as all rot I MEAN PEACEFUL. And good. For you. Maybe. Better...better than we've been, for shells sake."

Through it all, Ayida could hear the quiet shuffling of claws and she knew that this was just as hard for Blizz to say as it was for herself to hear. The recent loss of Parvana and Limbani leaving the Glade was still weighing heavy on Blizz's heart, so having to let someone else go so soon...

She wanted to apologize for disappointing her dear friend, but she knew that wasn't true. No one was saying she had failed here. It had been clear from the start that Blizz cared about her, and they both knew that sometimes liking people means having to do the best for them and that best isn't what you can give. This was just one of those situations.


Ayida and everyone else who lived in the Glade could see that there was life being lived all around them, but it had become clear that this wasn't the environment she could thrive in. She had needed her time here and it had helped her, and now it was time for her to move on to the next stage of healing.


Finally, she had begun to find solace in the darkness, where the Light couldn't find her.