Assorted Avia Info

Avia's birth was... unexpected. Her biological parents Haruhiro Hagane and Ilinne Gradort had their hands full enough risking their lives to offer assistance to subjugated peoples of the Garlean Empire looking for a means of reaching asylum in Eorzea. Those hostile territories were no place for a child. So upon Avia's birth, she was entrusted to the care of Felsig, the couple's close friend and comrade, to be raised away from the sites of conflict. It cut them deeply; though a child was unplanned Hiro and Ilinne fell deeply in love with their daughter, and over the course of Avia's first two summers of life they made it a priority to visit her and Felsig as often as they safely could, whenever their obligations brought them close to the nondescript port village the Hrothgar and young Au Ra called home. However after one such visit Hiro and Ilinne bid their farewells and... never returned. Felsig, through various connections he had within the Resistance, made desperate efforts to locate his missing friends, however they seemed to have disappeared into thin air. Every effort was made to try and find them, no connection or lead left unchecked. But after three years of no answers, Felsig had to make the difficult decision to admit that they were killed somewhere in the line of action. With a heavy heart Felsig took to raising Avia as best he could on his own as her sole guardian.

Which proved difficult to do, as the older Avia became, the more of a handful she was to deal with. Felsig himself never fancied himself father material, though he tried his best. Balancing his own work of relocating refugees along with keeping an eye on the spritely young girl was a task he alone could not do. But thankfully the village of Thend, all filled with residents working for the same secretive service, helped by lending eyes and ears. The concept of a singular 'nuclear' family is a foreign one to Avia as she grew up under the care of the entire village, considering all of them part of her family. And she caused a ruckus. Very much her parent's daughter, Avia inherited all of their inquisitiveness and bold nature in spades. The villagers never lacked for funny stories of the young girl's antics, be it her scaling 25 fulms up a palm tree, getting a fishing hook stuck in her tail after a poorly judged fishing, or stealing a whole ass coeurl kitten from a trade ship right under everyone's noses. ‘Danger’ never seemed to be a deterrent for her, being heartily spurred by her curiosity. The girl literally never sat still.

When she wasn't causing small scale havoc she helped out the village in what ways she could. Felsig never hid the nature of his job or the true purpose of Thend from her. For as long as she can remember Avia’s home has always been host to refugees fleeing Garlean subjugation. Often arriving sick, injured, and exhausted she was tasked with making sure they felt as comfortable as possible by cooking meals,cleaning their linens, among other things. It was a… formative experience, one that pulled on her heartstrings and developed a maturity in her at a young age, even by Au Ra standards. Not all her days were spent doing such somber duties though. A good portion of the time she spent out doing odd jobs around the village: feeding livestock, hauling small lumber, oiling wagon chassis, whatever townsfolk asked of her really. Being a port village the main job she took on was fishing which (surprisingly) became one of her favorite pastimes. The only thing that can ‘give us and her legs a godsdamned break’ in Felsig's words. She’d spend hours on fishing vessels hauling catch or casting lines from the shore. In fact Avia loved it so much that when she got a bit older she was gifted her own skiff upon which she would spend endless hours fishing in the company of her dearest friend Damon.

But really, when wasn't she in the company of Damon? From the day he arrived in Thend as a Garlean refugee the two kids got on like a house of fire. Wherever one went, the other followed, and the persistent illness that plagued Damon most days didn't slow down their friendship one bit. They were a tag team, Avia at the helm leading the adventure while Damon sweet talked their way out of punishment when they inevitably got in trouble. Villagers noted that they stuck to each other like burrs, which wasn’t too surprising as they were the only children staying permanently in the village. Every day they had a new escapade exploring the wilds beyond the village limits, and often returned laughing with at least one of them needing nursing for a minor wound. They were a joyfully fearless duo bounding to-and-fro who had the spirit of grabbing everything by the horns.

There are many times they stayed intimately close within the village however, whenever new refugees were due to arrive. Those of Garlean descent especially the kids stayed at home for; being a Garlean himself Damon served as a sight for sore eyes and a comfort in foreign lands. He and Avia would tag team taking care of their needs while Felsig and the rest of the adults tended to the more logistical matters. Many nights were spent with the two children listening to each traveler's story of home, Avia and Damon both enraptured by their tale. The circumstances leading these refugees to flee were always horrible, it became a skill for both kids to swallow that horrid pill at a young age. However happier tales of lands far away, of Doma, Gyr Abania, and Garlemald spurred their imaginations with vivid visions of wondrous new places so different from their small fishing village. They both yearned to see the rainbow springs and rocky pillars and snowy peaks for themselves. Thus spurred their desire to sail the world together, a dream they were determined to accomplish come hells or high water.

Unfortunately they never got the chance to put that dream to sail. Avia was fourteen summers old when an innocuous trade vessel came to port. Nothing was amiss as the ship's crew came to shore to speak to Felsig, but the air quickly changed once a gun was drawn. They were bounty hunters who heard rumors about the ‘valuables’ Thend secretly shipped out and demanded they hand over the refugees they were hiding. Rightfully, the demand was refused, an answer the ‘captain’ was not fond of hearing. The sound of a gunshot rang out, and in an instant the peaceful air of the village turned to chaos as raiders swarmed the port. Avia was on the outskirts of town with Damon when they heard the gunshot and knew instantly what it was; Felsig warned Avia a day like this could happen. To jump into action is in Avia's nature, so without so much as a thought she charged into the fray of powder smoke and screaming, rushing to lead the refugees into a safehouse with Damon at her heels. Together they quickly rounded everyone up into hiding while the sounds of the adults fighting grew louder. Once they all were in a secure bunker Avia set her mind to join the fight. Damon among others pleaded with her to stay, but she adamantly refused. Without giving them a chance to say much more she left them to race back into the fray, earnest on defending her village.

Avia grew up on the stories of real life heroes; Felsig often recounted tales of the people he, Hiro, and Ilinne courageously defended back during his fighting days, refugees described those of the Resistance who helped them escape from the danger and strife of their broken homelands. She always admired their bravery and, like any child, envisioned herself accomplishing the same feats of heroism. However stories of battlefields do not prepare you for the brutality of real combat nor the loss of people you know; people that you love. The reality of the situation didn’t hit her until she made it to the heart of town, where time seemed to slow. One moment Avia spotted Jo, the kindly baker in yellow, fighting for her life down the street as invaders pinned her demanding the location of the refugees. Jo shook her head and fought back. It was during this struggle that she and Avia locked eyes. Avia was startled by the look of terror on Jo’s face, a feeling which morphed into horror when a gunshot sounded, red erupted from the baker’s head, and she fell lifeless to the ground.

Avia’s senses seemed to snap to attention then, hyper aware of everything around her: screaming, smog, gunfire, blood… Avia then locked eyes with the invaders that slew Jo when one stated “That kid was with a group running away up the hill earlier. I bet she knows where they are.” An unfamiliar deep chill ran through Avia like Shiva’s ice, heart and mind suddenly racing as they started toward her. She tried to conjure up her fire magic, a skill she always pridefully boasted about to anyone who would listen, but the aether sputtered in time with her pounding heartbeat, unable to form. She tried again but to no avail. No matter how much aether she tried to conjure it just wouldn’t spark to life. During her flailing the raiders were nearly upon her, and in that moment Avia’s bravado failed her. She turned and ran.

A gunshot sounded, pain splintered from her leg, but she kept running. Turning corners, knocking over boxes, she fled like prey from the hunter. Rounding another corner she scrambled into a mostly empty barrel, closed the lid, and held her breath. Avia could hear her pursuers frighteningly close and, to her horror, hear them slamming open doors and tossing over containers. They were going to find her. All of the sudden the air split with their shouts of rage, and the sound of a brawl erupted. Swearing, pained gasping, and thudding. Avia was frozen in place, too afraid to move, all she did was stay hunkered down and listen as the fight continued until, after painful minutes, it finally stopped. The silence scared her, all she could imagine was another villager like Jo, crumpled on the ground. She could hear the victor wheezing, and after a few seconds, they called her name. Avia didn’t know what to make of it, she could barely make out the sound of her name on their wheezing breath when they called it again. It was only after the third call that the ice freezing Avia in place finally thawed and she moved to peek out of the barrel. The two raiders were motionless on the ground, and above them Damon stood, peering around as if looking for something. The hazy feeling of relief Avia felt realizing she was safe swiftly died in her chest as quickly as it came.

Damon was injured; badly. Her leg erupting with pain, she climbed out of the barrel and went to him only for her blood to run cold upon seeing his grievous injuries. She hurriedly laid him down and tried to cauterize his wounds with her magic, it only half worked as her magic still sputtered. Instead she took to packing the gashes with whatever spare cloth she could find, though it became quickly apparent her efforts were not enough. She thought about running for help, but there was still fighting happening, she had no idea where anyone friendly would be, and she might get spotted by an invader again. She tried to move him to safety instead, but her tugs caused her leg to alight with pain and elicited wheezing wails from Damon so she stopped. His strength was quickly faltering. Not knowing what else to do, Avia simply stayed with him, hoping no one else would come across them. Eventually the sounds of fighting slowly subsided and Felsig found them, but it was too little too late. The adults tried their best to heal him, but it simply wasn’t enough. Damon succumbed to his wounds shortly after.

Following the sudden attack the adults and refugees alike worked together to rebuild, and in time the village and its people slowly began to heal. Avia, however, did not. The loss of Damon left her reeling, and the weeks following his death was a turmoil of emotion: grief, exhaustion, anxiety, and overwhelmingly… anger. The visions of him coming to save her constantly played in her mind, and the more she lingered on them the angrier she became. A single truth burrowed into her: he died because she was a coward. In all of their misadventures and excursions together she never once ran from anything; their dynamic was built upon her being the fearless trailblazer, her being the one to protect HIM, not the other way around. She was more than capable of protecting herself. Felsig made sure of that by training her from a very young age, and she could conjure magics without the aid of a weapon. But she let fear consume her, quench her magic, freeze her body, and Damon paid the price for it. Hell even without magic she could have gone to help him, maybe he wouldn’t have suffered the injuries he did if she helped him. But she didn’t, and he died. All because she was a thrice damned coward.

This revelation greatly altered Avia’s self-perception, deeply disgusted and ashamed of herself, and vowed to never be so weak ever again. She’s always been a daredevil, however her attitude shifted from being simply reckless to throwing caution to the wind entirely, conflating bravery with foolishness. Before she was even fully recovered from her wounds Avia was out fighting the strongest, scariest monsters she could find. She wanted to hone her magic so they’d never fail her again, and it was also an impulsive way for her to train herself to not be a ‘spineless chickenshit’ in her own words. Any sense of trepidation or hesitation was met with instant anger at herself, something that would very quickly develop into a self-destructive habit of jumping headlong into a fight without care or thought to its consequences. Her presence within the village decreased and her chores mostly went abandoned, instead spending dawn until dusk in the wilds picking fights with vicious beasts all in the effort of ‘bettering’ herself.

Of course her absence and change in attitude didn’t go unnoticed, least of all by Felsig who was none too pleased with dealing with Avia’s shortened temper and reckless abandon. He took his role as her guardian extremely seriously, and nearly losing Avia during the attack made him become quite over protective. Her constant disappearances out of town only to return with significant injuries due to her ill-conceived stunts deeply angered him. Not a day would go by without the two of them arguing, he for her safety and she for her independence. It became a vicious cycle; the more Felsig tried to rein her in, the more Avia rebelled. It was a critical misunderstanding that plagued their relationship for the next year and a half, growing more exacerbated over time.

Avia’s reckless ‘training’ never slowed, and she soon felt like she had hit a wall. She had taken to sneakily stealing arcanum tomes from trade ships and practiced on her own, but there was a limit to what she could do without a proper teacher and weapon. And she had exterminated every remotely dangerous creature in malms; there was nothing left for her to fight. So she began stating her desire to travel to Limsa Lominsa to study, a desire Felsig sternly denied. He wanted her home, within his eyesight and ability to protect. Of course this just stirred up their arguments even more, Avia feeling patronized believing he thinks of her as a helpless child. She was sixteen summers old, very much an adult by Au Ra standards, and believed he could have no say in what she did. Felsig on the other hand, as her guardian, believed he did. Her parents entrusted her safety to him, and there was no way he’d let that go. Neither would let the issue go or compromise, tempers flaring until they reached a crescendo. In the heat of their verbal fight Avia referred to him as ‘otec (father)’, a term Felsig always adamantly detested being used for him, and it became the straw that broke the camel's back. He spoke without thinking, asserting he was not her father and never would be. Her real father was dead. He was tasked to be her guardian to keep her safe and would be nothing more.

Silence fell over both of them, an invisible line breached. That admission cut Avia down to her core. Without another word both of them turned away, and that night ended with grave silence. For Avia it was like she just lost someone else to death, and in a way she kind of did. She had always viewed Felsig as a father despite his dismissal, and in her heart of hearts she thought that maybe one day he would reciprocate. The fact he did not shattered her. This altercation only bolstered her resolve to leave; he openly admitted he wasn’t her father, and she was an adult anyway, so that was extra reason to not listen to him. If he didn’t want to be part of her life like that then she didn’t either. That night Avia solidified her plan to leave Thend, and a few days later when the next ship chartered for Limsa Lominsa arrived, she snuck aboard without a word goodbye.

It was a very long journey to the seaside city-state from Ilsabard, but she managed, and by the time the crew discovered she was there it was too late to turn back. So on to Limsa she went, finally arriving after two moons of travel. Upon landing Avia immediately took to establishing roots in the city by joining the Arcainist guild and enlisting in the Maelstrom. Her settlement was greatly aided by Chief Admiral Merlwyb Bloefhiswy. Unbeknownst to Avia, Merlwyb had already been warned of her impending arrival from Felsig as Merlwyb was not only a part of the Resistance assisting with relocating refugees to La Noscea, but was also a good friend of his. There was nothing to be done about sending Avia back, she was an adult after all, and the two agreed to let her live her life. However Merlwyb did keep a watchful eye on her and kept Felsig up to date about the Au Ra’s wellbeing to assuage his fears.

Avia’s stay in Limsa was a greater boon than she could have ever imagined, and she was the happiest she’d ever been since the attack on Thend. She was getting the training and independence she desired, got to sustain her own living via fishing, got to hone her skills and explore the continent with her Grand Company Squadron, and really challenge herself like she always wanted. She positively ran wild. It didn’t take long for her to grasp her arcane studies and climb the ranks in the Maelstrom. Soon enough she was hunting down high-ranking marks solo and taking on mercenary work in the country lands outside of the port-city. It was during some of her excursions that Avia kept bumping into a Miqo'te named Y’shtola who commended her battle prowess and bravery, This was the exact thing Avia craved to hear, so when Y’shtola offered a chance to possibly join a group called the Scions of the Seventh Dawn to broaden her horizons, Avia immediately accepted. Unknown to Avia at the time, that is when her journey to becoming a Warrior of Light would begin….