Raia is an Ancient Egyptian Priestess who is highly devoted to her faith. Ever since she woke up on the Desert Ark, Raia has gradually earned followers of many diverse backgrounds. When Nosti fell, Raia became a vigilante and swore that she would protect anyone from repeating her fate until she falls.
Alias
- Raia
- Wali al Aswad
- Priestess
- Your Highness
Background[]
Raia grew up in the city of Luxor around the time of Ancient Egypt. Her curiosity about the deities comes from older priests and priestesses who declare the existence of them, although they are false to her. Ever since then, she wakes up on the Scorched Earth ARK with a heart full of faith.
Personality[]
Raia is kind and perhaps too naïve when facing different situations. Her desire to bring in any helpless person justifies her personality. Above all else, she is a pacifist who doesn't like violence but hates it even more when it becomes unnecessary. Ever since she became the leader of her city, Nosti, Raia prioritizes her duties to keep the city well and thriving. In terms of its progress, Raia takes great care to make sure her people don't get hurt. By far, her stubbornness rubs off on many survivors.
From time to time, Raia tends to argue with the captain of her city guard: John Dahkeya. She develops intense feelings for John that turn into unconditional love. When Nosti fell into the sand and John died to protect her from wyverns, she feels bitter and angry at anything that tries to take from her.
Even though she brings in wyverns as children, she feels scarred and forever hurt to a point where she notes that her kind self is forever gone and only a determined core to keep living remains intact and save the innocent. Over the years, she has become a wise hermit, guiding those who want to know about the ARK.
Relationships with Other Survivors[]
- John Dahkeya
- The Captain of the Nosti guard, Raia first witnesses his strict training with the city guards. Raia notes that she takes a naïve approach to the world while John takes it brutally. Both of them are at the core of the city's integrity against inside and outside problems.
- When John Dahkeya rescued Raia from bandits that tried to kidnap her, Raia argued with John about using unnecessary violence to prove that Nosti isn't a soft target.
- When Dahkeya was wounded by a mantis, Raia did everything she could to heal him up. She even threatened to tie him to the bed if he tried to leave. Raia soon gets conflicted about whether she should tend to John and let her duties waver a little bit or do her duties with a heart full of guilt. She decides to tend to John, letting her feelings for the Captain bloom. As John woke up, he saw Raia as extremely caring, and unlike anyone he considered beautiful. In time, their relationship blossomed as the city prospered. But when disaster struck and John died at the hands of wyverns, Raia's view of peace broke and realized she deeply loved him.
- Their love for each other was like a desert flower, it is strong, and can endure anything no matter how difficult the road is in their relationship.
- Helena Walker
- Even though her past self is gone, she is reminded of who she used to be through Helena, the last survivor to appear on the Desert ARK. Helena was a reminder of what she once was: a kind and naïve person who put people in danger because of her own actions.
- Upon their initial meeting, Raia told Helena that the "Gods" have long forsaken the ARK. Helena's knowledge of the fact that the ARK is a floating island in space and the obelisks being sources of power didn't surprise her because her long time of experience made her see every piece of the ARK. The most prominent thing she trusted Helena with was the knowledge of her past life on the ARK and how the ARK "wouldn't allow anyone to master it".
- According to Helena, Raia just stares at her and scoffs at her dossier book because to her, Helena is doing something she thinks is irrelevant.
- Based on how they interacted, it is as if Raia saw Helena as the child she and John Dahkeya could never have, since Raia took Helena wyvern riding, told stories to her over a fire, and warmly answered Helena's questions and curiosity, notably on the mysteries of the Scorched Earth ARK.
Appearance[]
Being an Egyptian, she has light brown skin, black eyes and hair. According to Dahkeya, she is very beautiful and had feelings for her. Even the most beautiful women he knew when he was an Apache didn't give him the same feelings he had for Raia.
As a priestess, she seemed to have worn white cloth in an Egyptian style to help her deal with the heat. When she became a vigilante, she wore black clothes and a black veil the moment she decided to raise wyverns as her children. Many years later, the heat made her age faster, giving her wrinkles all over her face, which, according to Helena, made her look older than Edmund Rockwell of the Island ARK.
Survival Skills[]
| “Just who or what Wali al Aswad is depends on who you ask. Some of the villagers have attached a religious connotation to the figure, believing it to be some sort of heavenly guardian who appears to worthy in their time of need, One villager is even convinced Wali is an extraterrestrial.„
~ Helena |
Even though Raia started out as a weak and naïve priestess who constantly set up offerings to practice her religion, many years turned her into one of the most hardened survivors on the ARKs.
When she started out as a priestess for a small village, she was able to rally a decent number of survivors to worship the obelisks daily. Her leadership skills were so great on the ARK that many survivors, good and bad, all took the long trek to the village. Survivors with contradictory religions that she had never heard of are living in harmony, even survivors that used to raid the village now aid in expanding the city. Around this time, she also got marksmanship training from John Dahkeya even though she never saw guns in her natural life.
When her city fell under the desert and when John was killed by wyverns, Raia was so mad, yet sad at the same time that she was able to kill all of the wyverns present. Being a novice with animals, Raia didn't trust bringing in baby wyverns as tames but with time, she was able to bring destruction on dangers that threaten new villages.
Tamed Creatures[]
Scorched Earth
- 3 Wyverns
- Radar (Helena's Jerboa)
Tribal Affiliations[]
- Egypt (Priestess)
- City of Nosti (Tribe Leader/Priestess)
ARK story[]
Refer to the explorer notes
Gallery[]
Raia and John Dahkeya declare their love for each other. Both of them have strong feelings for the other.
John Dahkeya's depiction of Raia
Raia kills all of the wyverns in anger of losing John when remembering her training at the firing range.
Raia dons her black veil with her three wyverns. With her former identity and John Dahkeya gone, Raia gives in to her hate and anger and vows to never let anything take from her again. This is when Raia became Wali al Aswad.
Helena's depiction of Wali al Aswad/Raia
Helena meets Raia under the name of Wali al Aswad for the first time in-person.
Edmund Rockwell's depiction of Raia
Helena sees Wali al Aswad for the last time before heading off to the Aberration ARK. Wali also reveals to Helena her real name: Raia.
