Rayla

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Rayla
Professional Information
Occupation	Dragon Guard Assassin (formerly)
Affiliation	Team Zym Dragonguard
Former Affiliations	Moonshadow Elf Assassins Silvergrove
Known as
Other names	Moonberry (by Tiadrin and Lain) Little Blade (by Runaan) The Last Dragon Guard (by Janai) The Moonshadow Assassin (by Aaravos) New Moon (by the arena onlookers at Scumport) Junior Assassin (by Nyx)
Biography
Species	Moonshadow Elf
Nationality	Xadian
Age	15 (S1-S3) 17 (S4) 18 (S5)
Birthday	July 31
Gender	Female
Height	5'7" (5'8" with horns)
Hair Color	White
Eye Color	Violet
Relatives	Lain (Father) Tiadrin (Mother)
Status	Alive
Other Information
Debut	Echoes of Thunder
Portrayal	Paula Burrows

Rayla is a Moonshadow Elf originating from the Silvergrove. She is the daughter of Tiadrin and Lain, and was raised by Runaan and Ethari while her parents were on duty serving the Dragonguard. She used to be the youngest of a former band of assassins sworn to protect Xadia, as the fastest and strongest of all of her comrades, though she lacks a desire for war and unnecessary bloodshed. Rayla was also titled "The Last Dragon Guard", having followed in the footsteps of her parents in protecting the Dragon Prince.

Along with Callum, Ezran, and Bait, she returned the Dragon Prince, Azymondias, to his mother, the Dragon Queen Zubeia, to establish peace between the humans and the inhabitants of Xadia. Two years later, she regrouped with her friends to embark on a new quest of preventing the liberation of Aaravos.

Appearance

Rayla is very pretty, thin, and willowy with shoulder-length white hair, light purple skin, and purple/violet eyes that have indigo tear-like elven markings underneath them. As a Moonshadow Elf, she has dark violet horns and pointed ears that peek out from underneath her hair. Originally, she wore a braid on the right side of her head, which was later cut off by an arrow shot by one of Amaya's soldiers. She usually wears a form fitting teal and navy bodysuit secured by a black vest, dark brown straps, and a dark brown belt embellished with a silver brooch. The outfit is topped off with thigh-high navy blue boots and bracers.

As a sign of her pledge to kill Prince Ezran, she briefly wore an indestructible assassin's binding on her left wrist, which caused her hand to swell and began to show signs of necrosis from the lack of blood flow, following her refusal to kill him. It was eventually bitten off by Azymondias.

Two years after the battle at the Storm Spire, Rayla's hair has been tied back into a bun at the back of her head, while a braid is wrapped around her scalp. Two large strands of hair frame her face and are parted at the center of her forehead. She is dressed in a short-sleeved, purple shirt with a turtleneck that tops a dark purple centerpiece decorated with white lines. A dark, hooded coat hangs from her shoulders occasionally and is held together by a Moon pin. Her lower arms are covered with tight, blue bracers, while her feet are protected by brown boots and white bandages. Her leggings are colored in a light blue. Additionally, brown belts wrap around her waist, chest, and right leg, the latter securing a leather pouch in place.

As a child, Rayla's face markings extended over her eyebrows, while they are now only present underneath her eyes. She would sometimes style her hair in braided pigtails, likely something Ethari liked to fix for her.

Personality

Rayla is generally kind and compassionate, as well as a loyal friend and ally. She has a good sense of humor but can also be a bit judgy/suspicious or skeptical of people she does not fully know. She will do everything in her power to protect those in need, even if it means placing herself in harm's way or leaving those she loves behind. Even though she does not have the drive to kill, Rayla does have the dedication of an assassin to the point of being pridefully stubborn, as she was willing to die while defending Zubeia and Azymondias from Viren making up for her parents' past "mistake".

Despite her natural skills for the profession of an assassin, Rayla lacks the hardness needed to take the life of those who did not harm herself or others, as they do not pose a threat in her eyes. One of these times was when she was tasked with killing Marcos but found herself unable to kill him, feeling empathy for him once seeing the fear in his eyes. Instead, Rayla was willing to lie to cover her tracks and protect herself and others, returning her allies' camp with berry stains on her dual swords, deceiving Runaan by mimicking bloodstains. As such, she used to struggle to balance the duty to her kind and Xadia against her own moral beliefs.

Rayla has a strong sense of justice and, like Callum, has a sense for the morally right thing to do, immediately abandoning her mission to kill Ezran after discovering that the Dragon Prince was alive. She was also able to let go of her hate, anger, and prejudice towards humans after spending time with the princes learning that not all humans are bad. Even to Sol Regem, she described Callum as a wonderful human, despite the fact that most elves consider humans cruel and horrible.

Rayla also has a sarcastic sense of humor, as she is quick to make witty or snarky remarks, much to the chagrin of others. Like many elves, Rayla possesses a sense of arrogance and sometimes makes tactless comparisons on humans and her people, which sometimes annoys her friends. She is also a bit of prankster at times, as shown when she playfully asked Callum if he was taught any new spells, as well as when she got him to smell a fart flower. She also finds it humorous to pretend to be human and to recite their stereotypes. Ironically, she has the same humor as Callum, but was annoyed when he pretended to be an elf. She also does not like to fit in, finding it boring, and considers it more pleasurable to stand out.

Rayla is very cunning, clever and has good instincts when it comes to suspecting something about enemies, such as when she pinched herself with a rose when Soren and Claudia used a sleeping spell on her, and when she knew Soren tried to kill Ezran with a badly built zip line. Rayla also tends to disguise herself as a human to explore human villages without raising suspicion.

Rayla despises dark magic, as she knows its true nature and the consequences of using it. She can also come off as mean and harsh towards anyone who uses it as she was quick to blame Callum, despite being friends, for his corruption and sickness upon using the dark art. This means that, like the princes' mother, Sarai, she too values the life of other creatures. However, she is forgiving and means it honestly, as with Callum when she was worried about him after using dark magic left him unconscious. She used to be a little self-righteous when accusing Callum of using dark magic, even though it was the only way to save her life, and the life of the Fire Dragon Pyrrah.

With her kind growing up alongside dragons, Rayla seems to hold a deep respect for them, generally showing to be protective of Azymondias, risking her life to free the wounded Pyrrah, as well as doing whatever she can to protect the weakened Zubeia and her son from Viren.

Rayla is also a bit sensitive because of her knowledge of what humans think of her kind, though she knows that the truth is the opposite. When Callum told his aunt Amaya that she is a bloodthirsty monster in sign language, she was briefly hurt by what he said. When he asked about her parents, she originally stated that they were dead, but corrected that she wished they were after failing their duties in serving the Dragonguard. Repeated incidents led to Rayla becoming extremely sensitive to the point of breaking down in tears when she was banished from her home. She started to believe that she was a failure until Callum told her otherwise. With that sensitivity, Rayla is reluctant in revealing her feelings or opening up to others, especially when she is in bad shape, building up a tough façade, pretending to be unapproachable and violent to keep others away from her, and does not pronounce serious threats.

Rayla will often prefer to think or fight her way out of situations using irrational methods, as shown when worst came to worse when they were dealing with Sol Regem, where she said that she would finally have to use her least favorite method of getting out of trouble: reasoning with others.

After the battle at the Storm Spire, Rayla seems to have developed a form of post-Traumatic stress disorder, noticeable through reoccurring nightmares of her loved ones being captured and frozen by Viren. Haunted by the memories of him, she finds herself tortured by the idea that he might still be alive and pose a threat to the only family she has left. Despite her best efforts, her insecurities and lack of closure regarding her family overwhelmed her to the point where she became distant from everyone, even Callum, and broke down in tears after having her worst fears confirmed. Not wanting any more people she cares about getting hurt, she became determined to take Viren down once and for all, though believes it is for the best to undergo this task alone, unable to bear the idea of getting Callum further involved and possibly being taken from her as well.

Skills and Abilities

Moon Primal Connection

As a Moonshadow Elf, Rayla is born with a connection to the Moon Primal, which allows her to draw power from the Moon. As such, she is at her strongest at night, especially on the night of a full moon when the spirit and energy of the moon enhance her natural strength, agility, endurance, stealth, and speed. When the Moon is full, she is at her most powerful, and even has the ability to enter a "Moonshadow Form", which turns her body nearly completely invisible, allowing her to take her enemies by surprise. Her invisibility also extends to her clothes and weapons. Rayla is not fond of using this ability, as she feels it to be disorienting.

Moon Magic

Although she is not a mage, Rayla knows how to use magical artifacts to cast spells:

• "Mystica Canis": Rayla used this spell by crushing the Moon Opal that Callum took from the Crystal Labyrinth. It allowed her to disguise any living creature as a dog.

Speed, Agility, and Strength

Rayla displays extraordinary agility, endurance, and speed, giving her impressive parkour and free-running skills, as she was able to speed across difficult terrain, like sand and rocks, with ease and jump from tree to tree without missing a beat. Her natural agility allows her to use her inferior size to her advantage, being able to execute mid-air somersaults and flips with ease. These acrobatic abilities make her fast and agile in battle, able to outmaneuver almost any opponent as well as dodge their attacks, even when she is outnumbered.

Rayla also proves great strength in her arms and upper body, being able to scale virtually any surface of terrain quickly with the help of her blades. She can also jump exceptionally high and far, even from a stationary position.

Combat and Swordsmanship

Trained to fight from a young age by Runaan, Rayla is a skilled swordswoman, specialized in dual-wielding swordplay. She was able to defeat multiple foes using only her swords, even when her opponents required precision attacks, as demonstrated when she efficiently and seemingly effortlessly decapitated dozens of Soulfang Serpents to save Nyx. She was also able to fight on par with Runaan for some time in order to stall him from chasing Callum and Ezran.

Draconic Language

Rayla has limited knowledge of the Draconic language, knowing only some words.

Tracking

Although not as skilled as Corvus, Rayla picked up a few tracking skills throughout her life, allowing her to track Nyx's Ambler.

Riding

Rayla can ride a Shadowpaw with ease. It is unknown who has taught her or if she is self-taught.

Archery

Although not on par as her mentor Runaan, Rayla is skilled in wielding his bowblade and arrows.

Equipment

• Twin butterfly blades: Rayla's twin butterfly blades were forged from pure moonsilver by Ethari and are the only two of their kind. A combination of delicate, careful craftsmanship and clever gadgetry, these twin weapons reflect Rayla's fighting style, capable of switching between lethal blades and curved hooks. This ability to transform her weapon, even mid-air, gives her the chance to catch her opponent off guard, by switching from a sharp blade to a surprise hook to the legs, as well as scale nearly any surface, ranging from solid rock to hardwood. They are based on real-life balisongs or butterfly knives in their way to function.
• Bowblade: Rayla inherited Runaan's bowblade after she discovered it in Viren's chambers and used it as her secondary weapon ever since.

Trivia

• Although the name "Rayla" exists as an individual name, it is likely to be put together by two terms instead: "Ayla" is a Hebrew, Turkish name meaning moonlight, while "Rae" is the old English spelling of the word ray, or beam. This roughly translates to "beam of moonlight".
• Rayla was named after a close friend of the Wonderstorm staff.
• It was Giancarlo Volpe's idea to put in Rayla's "Naruto-run" with encouragement from Lulu Younes.
• Rayla suffers from aquaphobia and seasickness.
• Rayla's favorite dessert is Moonberry Surprise.
• Rayla's parents used to send her letters about their life in the Dragonguard on the morning of her birthday.
• Rayla likes sarcasm, making fun of how humans talk, Adoraburrs, and Moonberry Surprise. She dislikes Lujanne's kooky wisdom, and water, as she is scared of it and often made her seasick.
• In early concepts, Rayla had an additional marking on her forehead.
• Rayla's early designs pictured her as too confident and had to be adjusted. Her early expression sheets also served as a practice for Wonderstorm's artists to figure out the four fingers of elven hands.
  • When disguising herself as a human, the drooping pinkies on Rayla's gloves were fun additions added by the storyboard team.

Appearances

Book One - Moon

• 101. "Echoes of Thunder"
• 102. "What is Done"
• 103. "Moonrise"
• 104. "Bloodthirsty"
• 105. "An Empty Throne"
• 106. "Through the Ice"
• 107. "The Dagger and the Wolf"
• 108. "Cursed Caldera"
• 109. "Wonderstorm"

Book Two - Sky

• 201. "A Secret and a Spark"
• 202. "Half Moon Lies"
• 203. "Smoke and Mirrors"
• 204. "Voyage of the Ruthless"
• 205. "Breaking the Seal"
• 206. "Heart of a Titan"
• 207. "Fire and Fury"
• 208. "The Book of Destiny"
• 209. "Breathe"

Book Three - Sun

• 301. "Sol Regem"
• 302. "The Crown"
• 303. "Ghost"
• 304. "The Midnight Desert"
• 305. "Heroes and Masterminds"
• 306. "Thunderfall"
• 307. "Hearts of Cinder"
• 308. "Dragonguard"
• 309. "The Final Battle"

Book Four - Earth

• 402. "Fallen Stars"
• 403. "Breathtaking"
• 404. "Through the Looking Glass"
• 405. "The Great Gates"
• 406. "The Drakewood"
• 407. "Beneath the Surface"
• 408. "Rex Igneous"
• 409. "Escape from Umber Tor"

Book Five - Ocean

• 501. "Domina Profundis"
• 502. "Old Wounds"
• 503. "Nightmares & Revelations"
• 504. "The Great Bookery"
• 505. "Archmage Akiyu"
• 506. "Bait & Switch"
• 507. "Sea Legs"
• 508. "Finnegrin's Wake"
• 509. "Infantis Sanguine"

Book Six - Stars

Side Stories

• "Lunabloom"
• "Dear Callum"
• "Chasing Shadows - Part One"
• "Chasing Shadows - Part Two"
• "Chasing Shadows - Part Three"

Books

• "Book One: Moon (Novel)"
• "Through the Moon"
• "Book Two: Sky (Novel)"
• "Bloodmoon Huntress"