Ayane Kato

Legend has it that Hraesvelgr, the white dragon of Zenith, fell in love with a mortal, an Elezen maiden by the name of Shiva. However, her lifespan is remarkably shorter in comparison to the ageless dragons, to which she besought Hraesvelgr to devour her so that her soul may be forever entwined with his for all eternity and although the dragon found himself to be reluctant at first, Hraesvelgr honored Shiva’s request and she became known as “Saint Shiva” for her diplomacy and sacrifice.

As a result of this union, an alliance between the Halone-worshipping man living within the Coerthas and the dragons of Dravania was born and the peace amongst the two groups lasted for two centuries.

Yet the peace between man and dragon would end just as quickly as it began, as man became restless about the power that the Dravanians wielded and believed that with access to the power of a dragon, they would be able to protect and defend their lands against any foe and gain control over potent forces of magic that no other nation could.

King Thordan I and several warriors hailing from the Coerthas joined forces together as the Knights Twelve in order to slay the great red worm Ratatoskr. But by consuming her very own flesh and eyes, they became something more than human. This single act of betrayal alone put an end to the peace treaty between man and dragon, causing Nidhogg to seek vengeance and strike down upon the people of the Coerthas.

In response to such savagery, Thordan and the Knights Twelve arose from the men gifted with Ratatoskr’s unnatural power and fought against Nidhogg together. Thordan and four of his knights fell to the wyrm, however Thordan's son, Haldrath, successfully managed to take both eyes from the dark dragon yet left Nidhogg to suffer in a greatly weakened state depraved completely from the dragon’s source of power. Haldrath returned back to the coliseum within the Churning Mists and presented both of Nidhogg’s eyes to his knights as a sign of their victory.

With four of the twelve dead, eight still remained standing and of those eight, only four were willing to stand with Thordan. These four erected a new nation based off of power granted from the eyes and began a legacy for the Four High Houses of Ishgard: Haillentarte, Fortemps, Dzemael, and Durendaire. The remaining four knights would later begin the first families which would later become the lower class living in the Foundation.

Haldrath renounced the throne, ending the monarchy out of remorse and became the first Azure Dragoon, fighting off Dravanian attempts at revenge until he was laid to rest in his grave buried alongside Nidhogg's right eye; and the left eye kept for future Azure Dragoons to use in the defense of Ishgard.

Hraesvelgr healed the dying Nidhogg by giving him his right eye. While Shiva's spirit prevented Hraesvelgr from entering the war against the surviving members of the Knights Twelve, his horror at the betrayal of Ratatoskr led him willing to aid Nidhogg in his quest for revenge.

The Holy See of Ishgard eventually blotted out most of these details; according to their revision of history, Thordan was noble and guilty of no crimes when he was slain by Nidhogg in a week-long battle, Haldrath only pierced out Nidhogg's left eye, and Shiva was a dangerous heretic who committed the mortal sin of laying with dragons.

Born in the Azim Steppe and given the name Tarqun by her mother Nomin and father Bayan Malaguld with the assistance of Sumi Kato, a Raen who sought refuge amongst the Malaguld tribe from her captor and given birth a few months prior, to take upon the role of their doula. However, it is noted that Nomin was a woman shrouded in mystery and kept many secrets even from her beloved Bayan although he seemed to pay no mind to it. Nobody seemed to know who had sired Nomin, let alone how many summers she had been. The Malaguld tribe happens to be a rather close-knit, diverse community made up of both Xaela and Raen refugees and naturally has never been pressed for details and they accepted her as one of their own.

Sumi on the other hand, had taken an interest in the Xaela woman and she was determined to learn more about her. She had repressed her romantic feelings towards the other, knowing that Nomin had been happy with Bayan and felt indebted towards the couple for giving her a second chance at life. On that fateful day, the Raen crept into the shadows keeping a close eye on her as she gathered herbs, little did Nomin know that everything would change from then on. In a moment of brief respite, she sang an incantation that transformed into her natural state - a young dragon.

Taken aback by the sight of the beast before her, the Raen acted on instinct and pierced her blade deep into the creature fearing for her safety. The dragon extended her claw outward, swiping at the woman with an ear-piercing screech, yet this hadn’t deterred Sumi from continuing the onslaught as she continued to stab indiscriminately until it had been slain. Coated in the dragon’s blood, she screamed out for Nomin, frantically scouring the area for any signs of the Xaela.

Sumi named the child Ayane.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed hendrerit fermentum lacus eu tempor. Duis id velit congue, tincidunt neque ac, molestie dui. Maecenas a mauris dolor. Sed diam mi, gravida non blandit sit amet, ultrices eget lorem. Vestibulum vehicula dolor ut pharetra egestas. Aliquam non tristique nibh, sed cursus arcu. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Cras id neque ut ex ornare aliquam vel ut nulla. Curabitur non tortor accumsan, pretium nisl at, semper tellus. Nam leo dolor, aliquet nec viverra at, posuere in est.

Nullam rhoncus ex nec nisl pulvinar semper. Curabitur congue fringilla orci, non dapibus massa maximus pellentesque. Suspendisse mi est, condimentum a est vel, sagittis cursus lacus. Ut pharetra suscipit magna, non molestie ante convallis nec. Nullam lacinia pulvinar quam in euismod. Quisque ut cursus enim, vitae tempus neque. Donec iaculis aliquet mi, nec interdum ex condimentum eget. Aliquam sit amet scelerisque felis. Nullam quis metus auctor, facilisis elit non, accumsan nisl. Etiam non arcu nisl. Aliquam odio enim, suscipit ac convallis a, porttitor in lacus. Praesent luctus metus sed arcu sodales tempor. Curabitur sollicitudin eu lorem in viverra.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed hendrerit fermentum lacus eu tempor. Duis id velit congue, tincidunt neque ac, molestie dui. Maecenas a mauris dolor. Sed diam mi, gravida non blandit sit amet, ultrices eget lorem. Vestibulum vehicula dolor ut pharetra egestas. Aliquam non tristique nibh, sed cursus arcu. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Cras id neque ut ex ornare aliquam vel ut nulla. Curabitur non tortor accumsan, pretium nisl at, semper tellus. Nam leo dolor, aliquet nec viverra at, posuere in est.

Nullam rhoncus ex nec nisl pulvinar semper. Curabitur congue fringilla orci, non dapibus massa maximus pellentesque. Suspendisse mi est, condimentum a est vel, sagittis cursus lacus. Ut pharetra suscipit magna, non molestie ante convallis nec. Nullam lacinia pulvinar quam in euismod. Quisque ut cursus enim, vitae tempus neque. Donec iaculis aliquet mi, nec interdum ex condimentum eget. Aliquam sit amet scelerisque felis. Nullam quis metus auctor, facilisis elit non, accumsan nisl. Etiam non arcu nisl. Aliquam odio enim, suscipit ac convallis a, porttitor in lacus. Praesent luctus metus sed arcu sodales tempor. Curabitur sollicitudin eu lorem in viverra.