Backstory
Ayashi wasn’t always called by that name, for as you may have gathered it is not very Vieran and deeply influenced by Othardian culture. This reflects an unexpected adventure once she set out to see the world...Her story begins in the folds of the Golmorian Jungle, in a tribe of Rava Viera women, hidden away from the Garlean conquest. At peace in their little world, untouched by the warfare that was shaking the Dalmascan Kingdom in its conflict with the Garleans.The tribe focused on their day-to-day life and the oral passing on of their traditions and rituals, tending to their bond with nature. They couldn’t care less if it was now contained in some ‘province Inferior’ and the few soldiers that had found their way into the Jungle were easily vanquished and sent running when faced with the aptitude and lightness of the wood wardens, that is if the wildlife and fauna hadn’t gotten to them first.It is in this very ‘cradle’ that Neisti was born about 29 years ago, by Eorzean measure or 324 moons ago or over 3 epochs, whichever is more comprehensible to you. The night was quite memorable for the tribe as a bright orange meteor had crossed and illuminated the skies above them, which lead to her being named after it of sorts in part, and because of the small tufts of orange hair on a newborn head.Neisti always had a fascination for seeing her ‘aunts’ with their bow and arrows, for all older Viera were a caring relative to all the young ones and the care readily shared among all of them, not putting emphasis on who the birth mother was, which was not shared, but often a likeness would of course be a clear hint. Among them none however had the fiery orange waves that Neisti spotted and so she'd come to assume that it must have been her father who had gifted her this colour.It came as no surprise that she would take up the self-same weapon once she was allowed to. Other arts were also taught, but she was drawn to the focus and exactitude of archery. She listened diligently when they were told the stories of the past and how the Green Word is the connection between their heart and all that surrounds them.She helped out in the healing spaces and learned to prepare a variety of potions, among them a green tincture that had a rather peculiar taste and would later become her specialty when beginning to serve a variation of it in Eorzean establishments.In her free time, she enjoyed running and jumping around in the trees and observing the wildlife, occasionally sneaking a look at the wood wardens, who were only permitted to interact with the female Viera every 4-5 years, depending on the population size.While some of her ‘sisters’ had previously also attracted her and it was not uncommon at all for women to lie with each other, rather it was common practice for they felt that this pleasure was natural and healthy, she couldn’t help being curious about the male Viera, for she had not participated yet, being too young to carry offspring safely. The idea of childbirth itself however was not appealing to her, for she had seen the risks and consequences of it several times and she enjoyed her freedom and eventually found that her heart was yearning more so for the outside world.On one of her regular excursions into the jungle, she came to observe a young man hunting a pack of wolves in their territory. She did not take kindly to it and shot an arrow at him, barely missing her mark. What she had not expected was that he was handsome, with a long red ponytail cascading down his shoulders, now that the hood was gone.
In that moment he was about to be attacked by the pack leaders and she threw caution to the wind and raced down to assist him. Later they took shelter together and become closer to each other than either would have anticipated.
Curiosity turned passion and they shared their first experiences with each other, hidden away from their tribes who were at odds and the perceptions of others.
This continued for quite some time with secret meetings, until word reached her of an outsiders attack with fire in the area that his tribe resided, her heart ached and as soon as she could, she slid away and raced in the direction of his home, praying to the jungle that he be safe.
Alas, all she found was destruction and charred bodies and she had to assume the worst. She would scream his name into the quietness that was now laying over this destroyed land, but no response came and so she grieved his loss in secret...She later participated all but once in the mating rites, but it felt too ceremonial for her and made the wound of her loss ache so much more.
In her tribe they drew their partners, hoping to diversify the offspring thereby and spent a week with their assigned partner, before going their separate ways again. They had not cared much for each other, him being one of the more experienced wardens and so they did their duty and parted. Thankfully she did not bear any children from it and he had been gentle, but there was no connection between them and it felt like her whole body and being rejected the idea of bearing fruit from such a functional intertwining.So two moons later she informed her chief Debroye, a proud and tall woman with long wavy hair who still was taller than Neisti and the rest of the tribe, that she would set out to experience the world, thereby taking the custom of a self-proclaimed exile, which was to last at least one hundred years before she could return, thus ensuring that what she had learnt on the outside, would be worthwhile sharing with newer generations.She knew what she would give up in return, the safety of the jungle and the community with her sisters and aunts, but the eagerness to see more of the world would not lessen. A ceremony followed, in which her name was sealed in communion and spoken for the last time.It had been some weeks of travel, ever since she had left the Golmore Jungle for good, travelling through what was left of Dalmasca, to Nagxia where she would pay for passage to Kugane in the North. It had been her first journey by ship, and while she considered herself mature and brave in the aspects taught in her tribe, nothing had really prepared her for the unknown enemy that was sea sickness. She spent most of the trip bent over the railing and did not get to take in as much of the view as she had hoped.She did not have any particular goal at that moment, other than moving on. As connections to Thavnair were lost on that side of Othard, she had no other choice but to first move eastward, finding the biggest port on Shishu to rest and figure out what she would do next.She had had some early run-ins with people of all races, rarely coming across another Viera outside her old home. She felt sad at not having a connection to the Green Word anymore, a price she was willing to pay to stride outside and see the vast world for herself. She promised to herself that she would find a way to connect to it again. She had heard word of the archers in Gridania specialising not only in archery alone, but also bardic talent and she was looking forward to perhaps requesting training by them, if given the chance.Once finally arrived in Kugane, she took a deep breathe and noticed how wobbly she was on her usually steady legs. She hated this sensation. In her now old home she had been nimble, jumping and climbing the huge trees, but she didn’t have the benefit of putting her skills to use here, nor the protection of a leafy entourage as she started to notice eyes on her, now that she was standing in the harbour proper.
She looked behind her, but there was no one there, so she looked at herself. Maybe people were not used to Viera, but she had been told that this was the biggest city in Othard and assumed many of her kin must have passed trough.She made a note to find more local clothing as soon as possible, but as she had emptied her stomach into the sea, food seemed the more dire need. She headed for the building in front of her, which seemed to have some sort of food or drink service, before she was about to pass out. So she shouldered what few belongings she had on herself and headed inside. The local currency wasn’t something she was aware of, and this would spell trouble for her in the coming hours as well as her inability to read…In the following hours the scrupulous tradesman by the name of Hancock almost had her arrested, if it hadn't been for the kind elderly Au'ra woman, by the name of Tsuyashi, who had stepped in and explained the misunderstanding. Neisti was in her debt and one thing led to another and she found herself in what was left of Doma in the province of Yanxia a few days later.She had taken to the life there and after some time, not feeling comfortable sharing her tribal name with others as it had been left behind, she was given the locally influenced name 'Ayashi Kirameki', still maintaining the name 'spark' in the last name to retain her heritage.She assisted her now adoptive mother, whom she cherished, at the school that had been established and Tsuyashi was very patient to teach her writing and reading and thus opening a whole new world for her.Ayashi fell in love with the written word and would henceforth be a lover of poetry. She also learnt sign language as some of the children were using it due to unfortunate circumstances brought on more often than not by the gruesome war with the Garleans.As the fighting continued, she began to help out in the make-shift infirmary where the wounded came in from the battlefield and everything was constantly understaffed. This is also where she met her second love, Seiki, a male Viera who had been putting his life on the line for the resistance and paid a bitter price in potentially losing his arm.
He was a swordsman who had been griefly wounded and she took care of him for weeks, before letting him stay with her to free up a bed in the infirmary for others in more need and they inevitably came closer and she learnt much of his growing up in the Red Light District of Kugane, with a mother who had a strong distain for males of her kind and taken it out on the child she had birthed...Despite their feelings, he was eventually compelled to leave first, with a promise to find her again in the future, asking her to make her way in the world eventually as well, and to not remain in the now established Enclave too long, lest she had only moved from one enclosed space to another without having lived to see the breath of Eorzea.She promised and after a few years, feeling more prepared for the hardships and intricacies of the world, she set out to conquer Kugane once more, before travelling further. She found work in an establishment and quickly learnt the art of cooking and preparing beverages, which eventually led her to her true love of bartending, which she took with her to Eorzea and which enabled her to establish herself as staff in some places and later as a manager of some.Before leaving Kugane, she had met a troupe of dancers and learnt their craft, feeling a pull to it, akin to her connection with nature in her songs.