Rayla

Rayla is a Moonshadow Elf and the youngest of a former band of assassins sworn to protect Xadia. Despite her age, she is the fastest and strongest of all of her comrades, though lacks a desire for war and unnecessary bloodshed. 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. Rayla is also "The Last Dragon Guard", following in the footsteps of her parents, Tiadrin and Lain, in protecting the Dragon Prince. She is currently in a relationship with Callum. Rayla is thin and willowy, with shoulder-length white hair and purple eyes with blue, tear-like elven markings underneath them. As a Moonshadow Elf, she has dark violet, stubby 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 dark teal and navy suit secured by a vest, dark brown straps, and a dark brown belt embellished with a silver brooch. The outfit is topped off with knee-high boots and bracers. As a sign of her pledge to kill Prince Ezran, she 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. As a child, Rayla's face markings extended over her eyebrows, while they are now only present underneath her eyes. Despite her natural skills, 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 is when she was tasked with killing Marcos but found herself unable to kill him. Instead, Rayla was willing to lie to cover her tracks and protect herself and others. She returned to the Moonshadow Elf camp with berry stains on her dual swords, deceiving her allies by mimicking bloodstains. As such, she struggles to balance the duty to her kind and Xadia against her own moral beliefs. Even as an assassin, Rayla is kind and compassionate, as well as a loyal friend and ally. She will do everything in her power to protect those in need, even if it means placing herself in harm's way. 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. This dedication was not fully selfless, however, as she wished to make up for her parents' past "mistake". Rayla has a strong sense of justice and, like Callum, is moral, 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 tends to annoy 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. Ironically, she has the same humor as Callum but is annoyed when he pretends 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 she accused 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 has a deep respect for them, which is demonstrated when she becomes very protective towards Zym, risking her life to free the wounded Pyrrah, as well as willing to die to protect the weakened Zubeia. 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 in sign language that she is a bloodthirsty monster, she was hurt by what he said. When he asked about her parents she stated that they were dead but corrected that she wished they were after failing their duties. She became 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 facade, pretending to be unapproachable and violent to keep others away from her, and does not pronounce serious threats. Rayla will always 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. She said that finally, she would have to use her least favorite method of getting out of trouble, that being reasoning with others. This is probably most likely why she does irrational things and sometimes seems to not think. 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.