Rayla

Rayla was born on the 31 July to the warriors Lain and Tiadrin.[1] However, her parents were later recruited into the Dragonguard, an elite force of eight elfin warriors- four from the Moonshadow and four of the Skywing tribes- sworn to protect the egg of the Dragon Prince, as he was the first dragonling hatched in millennia.[2] As a result, she was taken in by the head assassin Runaan and his husband Ethari, an expert metalsmith. For years, Runaan trains Rayla to be an assassin like himself, in order to protect those she holds most dear.[3]

Four months before the start of the series, Avizandum, the king of the dragons, is slain by King Harrow and Lord Viren. Frightened by this, the Dragonguard abandon their duty, apparently including Rayla's parents. This allows Viren to supposedly destroy the egg of the Dragon Prince. Ashamed of her parents' alleged cowardice, Rayla joins a small group of assassins on a mission to avenge Avizandum by killing King Harrow and his heir, Crown Prince Ezran.[2]

As a young girl, Rayla is angry at her parents' decision to leave her at home with their closest friends, Runnan and Ethari, so that they can return to their commitment as members of the Dragonguard. She soon learns that Runnan is harbouring a secret. Curious, she follows him and witnesses him teaching a pupil of his, Andromeda, how to tap into her innate Moonshadow abilities to achieve her Moonshadow form.

When the Bloodmoon Harvest finally approaches, Rayla leaves quietly to try and confront the Bloodmoon Huntress and save the Skywing Elf Suroh and his parents from being used as sacrifices for an annual blood ritual. However, the Bloodmoon Huntress overwhelms her and causes her to fall into the river. Runnan and Ethari later pull her out, and she explains that she had to take matters into her own hands.

With the help of Runnan, young Rayla makes a present from a Lunabloom flower for Ethari's birthday.

Soon after arriving in the human kingdom of Katolis Runann's team of Moonshadow assassins is discovered by Marcos, a soldier in the Crownguard. She is sent by Runaan to kill him, but although Rayla manages to corner the soldier, she hesitates upon seeing his fear, allowing him to escape. Fearful of Runaan's reaction, Rayla deceives him by staining her swords with deathberry juice. Per Moonshadow elven custom, Rayla and her fellow assassin literally bind themselves to their mission by tying ribbons round their wrists. Her deception is later revealed[4] and Runaan takes her off the mission. Determined to make up for her mistake, Rayla sneaks into the castle to kill Harrow and Ezran, but finds Callum instead. To protect his younger brother, Callum lies that he is Ezran, but his deception is soon revealed when Ezran shows up. The two princes lead Rayla to Viren's secret underground room, where he has hidden the egg of the Dragon Prince.[5]

Rayla abandons her mission to kill Harrow and Ezran, deciding that since the Dragon Prince's egg survives, revenge is unnecessary. However, even when shown the egg, Runaan refuses to back down and Rayla engages her former mentor in a duel to protect the princes. The two seem evenly matched, but Runaan deserts the fight to focus on killing Harrow. Rayla, Callum, Ezran and Bait (Ezran's pet Glow Toad) flee the castle, resolving to take the Dragon Prince egg home together. As they escape, however, one of Rayla's ribbons falls off, symbolizing Harrow's demise, but Rayla doesn't tell the princes.[6] Because Callum now has a Primal Stone (an orb containing magical energy), Rayla educates the prince on the six Primal Sources of nature. Callum asks Rayla to help retrieve a cube which has the Primal Sources' symbols on it, and Rayla agrees only reluctantly. However, while retrieving the mysterious item, Rayla is captured by the princes' elf-hating aunt, General Amaya. Callum, Ezran and Bait rescue Rayla, but are soon cornered by Amaya and her soldiers. Desperate, Callum lies that Rayla wants to kill him and Ezran, hurting the elf's feelings. Rayla pretends to hold Callum and Ezran hostage in order to escape.[7] Rayla realizes that her remaining assassin ribbon is getting tighter and will continue to do so until her hand comes off. Whilst travelling on a boat, Rayla eventually admits that she is afraid of water, but overcomes her fear to save Bait from being eaten by a giant fish. Rayla then explains her reasons for being here.[2]

The next day, Rayla is attacked by Corvus, a soldier sent by Amaya to track them, and defeats him. Later, while travelling up a mountain, an argument between Rayla and Callum about the former's trustworthiness, coupled with a burp from Bait, causes an avalanche. The trio end up on an unstable frozen lake, where Rayla reveals the true nature of her wrist ribbon, but before she can reveal the death of Harrow, Callum desperately shoves the Dragon egg into Rayla's hands, causing her to drop it due to her dying hand. Ezran rescues the egg, but the freezing water leaves it severely weakened.[8] Later, the group travels into a human town, where Rayla disguises herself as a human and unsuccessfully attempts to cut off her wrist ribbon with a Sun Forge blade, a super-heated dagger made by Sunfire elves.[9] The group then travel up a mountain called the "Cursed Caldera" to find a mysterious "miracle healer". During the trip, they work together to slay a giant leech.[10] The supposed "healer" turns out to be a female Moonshadow Elf Moon Mage named Lujanne, who specializes in illusions. By unleashing the storm inside his Primal Stone, Callum manages to hatch the egg of the Dragon Prince, who then bites off Rayla's wrist ribbon.[11]

Though delighted to have both working hands again, Rayla wishes to move on immediately, but the others do not. Rayla is later attacked by Viren's children, Soren and Claudia,[12] but the fight is stopped by Callum. Rayla distrusts Soren and Claudia, and suspects the former of trying to kill Ezran, but Callum doesn't believe her because he hasn't known her as long as Soren and Claudia. Feeling guilty, Rayla decides to tell Callum about Harrow's death, but Claudia does so first.[13] Rayla's secret damages her friendship with Callum, but they reconcile after the latter finds himself unable to tell Ezran. Still mistrustful of Soren and Claudia, Rayla arranges a trick to reveal their treachery, and she, the princes, Azymondias and Bait escape.[14] Later, the group hires a blind ex-pirate, Captain Villads to take them across an ocean.[15] During the trip, Rayla admits to Villads that she no longer believes that being an assassin is for her.[16]

After finally making it to shore, Rayla and the group witness a dragon being shot down after burning a town. Wishing to break the cycle of revenge, Rayla goes to save the wounded dragon, and, aided by Callum using dark magic, helps her escape.[17] Afterwards, Corvus arrives and reveals Harrow's death to Ezran, devastating him. Ezran goes off to grieve and Corvus soon goes after him, leaving Rayla, Zym and Bait to watch over Callum, who has gone into a coma as a result of using dark magic.[18] As Callum's condition worsens, Rayla becomes increasingly distraught over the possibility of losing him. She is about to confess something to him, but is cut off when he wakes up. Callum reveals he can use sky magic again, thus becoming the first human to use primal magic on his own. Ezran leaves the group to take the throne of Katolis. Rayla, Callum and Zym continue their trek into Xadia, but soon find their path blocked by a massive dragon, which Rayla fearfully identifies as Sol Regem.[19]

Rayla reveals that Sol Regem is the former King of the Dragons, left a bitter and hostile shadow of his former self after being left blind during the wars between humans and magical creatures but not before putting an end to the first dark mage Ziard. The trio attempt to sneak past the ancient dragon, but Zym's fearful whimpers expose their presence. Rayla reluctantly attempts to convince Sol Regem to let them pass, but the attempt fails when the dragon detects dark magic on Callum. The trio manage to outwit Sol Regem and finally make it into Xadia.[20]

Rayla, Callum, and Zym travel through Xadia, and the two teenagers grow noticeably closer.[21] However, when they reach Rayla's birthplace, the Silvergrove, Rayla is devastated to learn that she has been made a "ghost", a magically cursed outcast, for abandoning her mission of assassination. They manage to make contact with Ethari, Runaan's husband, who gives them animal mounts in order to reach Queen Zubeia, Zym's mother, more quickly.[3] They soon encounter a rogue Skywing elf named Nyx, who offers to guide the trio through the dangerous Midnight Desert. While the group takes a rest in the oasis, Rayla's grief over her banishment boils over, causing Callum to comfort her by giving a number of compliments. Unfortunately, Rayla mistakes the compliments for advances and kisses Callum, who in his surprise, accidentally rejects Rayla, angering her. The pair then discover that Nyx has stolen Zym.[22] Rayla and Callum pursue Nyx, retrieve Zym from her and Rayla saves the Skywing elf from Soulfang serpents; cobra-like snakes which drain people's souls. Callum compliments Rayla for her courage, calling her a hero, and soon is lost staring into her eyes and kisses her. He then realizes he has gone too far and tries to move away, but Rayla forces him to kiss which he surrenders to happily, beginning their relationship.[23]

Rayla, Callum and Zym finally reach the Storm Spire, the mountain home of the Queen Zubeia, where they reunite with Ezran and Bait.[24] When the group reaches the top, however, they discover Zubeia has gone comatose in her grief over losing her mate and her egg. When a repentant Soren arrives and warns them about Viren's invasion, Rayla decides to stay and protect the Dragon Queen as an act of redemption for her parents. Using moon magic, Callum learns that Rayla's parents actually stayed and fought until overpowered, and convinced Viren not to destroy Zym's egg, thus saving him. Joined by Amaya, Janai and the remnants of the Sunfire Elves' army, Rayla and her friends prepare to make their stand against Viren and his army of magically enhanced soldiers.[25]

During the battle, Rayla stays in the Storm Spire to protect Zym. They are later attacked by Viren, who attempts to harvest Zym's power for himself. In an act of self-sacrifice, Rayla throws herself and Viren off the pinnacle. Callum leaps after them, developing the ability to fly and saving Rayla, while Viren falls to his death. As they fly back to the Storm Spire, Rayla and Callum finally confess their love for each other in the form a midair passionate kiss. Afterwards, Rayla, Callum and the others watch as Queen Zubeia awakens and reunites with her infant son and heir.[26]

About two weeks after the Battle of the Storm Spire, Rayla is now living in the human realm of Katolis with Callum and King Ezran. However, she is still troubled by the loss of her parents, Lain and Tiadrin, and foster father Runaan, and doubts that Viren is dead, as his body was never found. The trio travel back to the Cursed Caldrea in order to perform a rebirth ritual for Lujanne's pet Moon Phoenix, Phoe-Phoe.[27]

Rayla's dwelling on the fate of her parents, Runaan and Viren puts a strain on her relationship with Callum, who wishes to move on. However, Callum, remembering that the Moon Nexus can be used to enter a world between life and death, comes up with an idea to rebuild the Moon Henge to allow Rayla to enter it and find closure. Rayla agrees, albeit reluctantly after learning that the ritual involves swimming in water. With the help of a large and strong man named Allen, Lujanne's new boyfriend, they succeed in rebuilding the ruins and Rayla enters the portal. While inside, she encounters the spirits of her four fellow assassins, who attack Rayla for failing her mission. However, they allow her to proceed after they notice her missing binding and conclude that she has carried out her mission after all, despite Rayla's attempts to correct them. Eventually, Rayla discovers a large cocoon, which contains a sleeping Viren inside (unknown to her this is the cocoon of Aaravos's caterpillar familiar, which is apparently metamorphosing into a clone of Viren). The souls of fallen soldiers then attack Rayla and attempt to trap her in the Spirit World of Xadia forever, but Callum manages to save her by casting ancient moon magic.

Rayla reluctantly concludes that her family is dead. Although Callum tries to comfort her, Rayla confesses that she saw Viren inside a cocoon, and concludes that this means he is alive and must be stopped from destroying further loved ones. Not wanting her to go alone, Callum insists they search for him together and Rayla promises him that they will before the two confess their love for each other once more. Fearing for Callum's safety, however, Rayla remorsefully breaks her promise and departs alone, having left Callum a heartfelt love letter on his fifteenth birthday.

Set in two years taking place between the events of Through the Moon and the fourth season, Rayla and her infant cuddlemonkey "daughter" Stella arrive in Bright Hope Cove (Scumport) in hope of finding information that could potentially lead to Lord Viren himself. After encountering a fellow ghosted Moonshadow elf called "Redfeather", Rayla agrees to fight for her in the fighting pit as the codename "New Moon" in exchange for the information the former has regarding a dark mage in Scumport. It is during this that Rayla thinks of Callum; wonders what he could be doing now and begins hearing his voice inside her head and hallucinates seeing his Katolian red scarf in the arena. It is her deep unwavering love she has for Callum that causes her to lose the final round.

Although disappointed that she could not hold her end of the deal, Redfeather tells Rayla where to find this dark mage, but then tells her to hand over anything the dark mage has in his own study. That night, Rayla thinks she has finally caught her target, only to find a dark mage from the human realm Neolandia, not Katolis. Redfeather asks if Rayla would stay in Scumport, as she can never return home being a ghost and can never be the elf she was before and wonders who she can be. Rayla then recalls the sweet sentiments Callum had said about her in the Midnight Desert:"Selfless, strong, caring. That's what makes her a hero. That's what makes her Rayla."

Given further resolve from Callum's words, Rayla tells Redfeather that she is Rayla and will remain so. intrigued, she gives Rayla a brown coin with a male Tidebound elf and a crab on its sides called "Finnegrin's Favor" as a token should she ever feel the need to return.

Following her departure, Rayla spent the next two years in search of Lord Viren, but failed to find any trace of him. During her search, Rayla found and adopted Stella, an orphaned Cuddlemonkey. Rayla returns to Katolis and reunites with the group, joining them on their new quest to find the clues to Aaravos's prison and prevent his imminent release.

However, Rayla and Callum's relationship remains strained as Callum is still deeply hurt by Rayla for leaving him. Rayla regrets her actions and attempts to renew their romance and make amends but with little success. While confronting Claudia in Rex Igneous' lair, she learns that her long-lost parents, Lain and Tiadrin, and her guardian Runaan were imprisoned by Viren within cursed coins. After receiving these coins from Claudia, she reunites with Callum who forgives and gives her a relieved hug.

Rayla sneaks into Viren's hideout and discovers Runaan's bow and ultimately decides to keep the cursed coins a secret until Aaravos is dealt with. After being arrested for trespassing, Callum expresses his trust in Rayla and sets her free. She later tells Callum about the cursed coins while in the great library of Lux Aurea, who discovers a spell to fully restore her parents' spirits to their physical selves but requires the Corona of the Heavens, a magical artifact found at the Star Scraper.

As Rayla's journey across Southern Xadia progresses as they head towards the Sea of the Castout, she takes Callum, Ezran and Soren to the Scumport, a port town she previously visited during her quest to locate Viren. When she is later captured by the pirate captain Finnegrin, she is fiercely protective of Callum and is thrilled when he forms a connection to the Ocean Arcanum. After reaching the location of Aaravos' prison, despite her fears, she dives into the sea and fends off Claudia during a brief confrontation which ends when she slices off Claudia's left leg.

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. In early concepts, Rayla had an additional marking on her forehead.[28] It was Giancarlo Volpe's idea to put in Rayla's "Naruto-run" with encouragement from Lulu Younes.[29]

Rayla is described as courageous and sharp-witted.[30] Despite being raised to be an assassin and possessing all the skills required for the profession, Rayla is very moral and compassionate, and thus lacks the ruthlessness needed to take a life, especially the life of one who hasn't wronged her personally.[4]

Rayla initially has a rather black-and-white perspective on the conflict between humans and magical creatures,[5] but she later comes to view it in a more complex light.[17]

Rayla suffers from aquaphobia; she is terrified of water and often gets seasick when she's on a boat, the direct cause revealed in the graphic novel Bloodmoon Huntress.[2]

In the world of The Dragon Prince, only magical creatures can use magic because they have magical energy within them.[31] All magic originates from one of six Primal Sources; the Sun, the Moon, the Stars, the Earth, the Sky, and the Ocean.[32] As a Moonshadow elf, Rayla is naturally connected to the moon, and while she has never been seen performing any spells, she can use her primal connection to assume her "Moonshadow form" during a full moon. In this form, she is nearly invisible.[4] The novelization of season one reveals that Rayla rather ironically dislikes using this ability, as she finds it disorientating.[33]

Rayla is a master sword-fighter, especially with dual-blades, and is believed to be the fastest and strongest of her fellow assassins despite her young age.[30] Rayla's weapon(s) of choice are a pair of twin blades that reflect her fighting style. These weapons were forged by her foster guardian Ethari, and are capable of switching between lethal blades and curved hooks even in mid-air, allowing her to catch an enemy off-guard. They are based on real-life balisongs or butterfly knives in their way to function.[34]