Saya

Saya
ImugiAnima
Hometown	Vallora
Gender	Female
Race	Imugi Anima
Affiliations	Ren
Enemies	Lotusha Lotusha's Brother High Flora
Status	Deceased
Voice Actors
GlobalMS	Kelsey Jaffer

Saya is an Imugi Anima and a companion of Ren. Though Saya was meant to train for a thousand years to become a dragon, she abandoned her training after a century in order to travel the world with Ren until she was gravely injured by a High Flora Priest. Since that day, Saya and Ren came to settle in Vallora, where Ren worked to heal her friend until Saya eventually succumbed to her injuries.

Story

The Legendary Imugi

Saya was an Imugi Anima - a legendary species of proto-dragon - who possessed the ability to freely transform between her Anima form and her serpent form. Living at the foot of a mountain, Saya trained at the lake in the hope that she could ascend to the heavens and become a dragon after a thousand years. As she trained in the water, Saya began wondering what it meant to be a dragon, and whether such a thing was even possible simply by training in the lake for a thousand years. After a hundred years, however, Saya encountered a rabbit Anima named Ren, a mercenary who had been injured by a High Priest after helping the Vharga of northern Grandis escape the High Flora massacre.

After saving Ren's life, Saya came to believe that she could not become a dragon by training in isolation, and so she abandoned her training after a hundred years and decided to explore the world with Ren, meeting people and performing good deeds in the hope of truly becoming a dragon. During their adventures together, Ren and Saya traveled all across Grandis, visiting places such as Erimos and Ristonia, becoming close friends in the process. Eventually, however, Ren and Saya were discovered by the High Priest and his forces. In the battle, Saya was grievously wounded, though the pair were able to wound all the High Flora, with the High Priest eventually succumbing to his injuries. Since that day, Ren vowed to find a way to cure her friend, infusing her strength into Saya each day in order to sustain her. In Vallora, Ren joined the Traveler's Guild and undertook missions to earn enough money to buy medicine for Saya. To keep their home hidden, Saya used her magic to create a barrier around the house, preventing anyone except for herself and Ren from crossing the boundary.

Elixir for Saya

One day, as Ren continued infusing her strength into Saya, Saya stopped Ren and told her that was enough, pointing out that Ren was growing weaker from it, and that she would soon be so weak that she wouldn't even be able to catch a single squirrel, wondering how Ren the legendary red-eyed wanderer could be so innocent. Ren merely replied that she doubted that anyone would care, adding that Saya was the only one who even called her that. Saya asked Ren whether she really planned to give away all the strength she had accumulated over her life, to which Ren replied that it would be worth it if it could help Saya get better. Saya began teasing Ren for liking her so much, though she then wondered quietly to herself how Ren would be able to live on her own in the future. Ren asked Saya what she had been saying under her breath, to which Saya quickly dismissed her words as nothing. Ren then decided to go find more herbs, dismissing Saya's concerns about it being dangerous by claiming that she might not find what she needed come winter. Seeing that Ren was determined to leave, Saya decided to help her by bestowing what remained of her strength after her accident in the form of a glowing Imugi Gem. As Ren accepted the gem and headed out to find herbs, Saya noted forebodingly that giving Ren her power was the last of the preparations she needed to make before her time came. Ren then gathered the herbs and returned to Saya, who ate them and claimed that she felt much stronger now, though Ren was able to tell that Saya was clearly lying. As Saya decided to rest, Ren realized that normal herbs wouldn't be of any help, and so she decided that the only way was to use the special elixir that the leader of the Traveler's Guild had once told her about.

Traces of the Imugi

In order to buy the elixir, Ren began taking commissions from the Traveler's Guild and worked various jobs to earn money. Soon after, Ren returned to Saya after accepting a commission to find an Imugi scale to prove that the legendary creature truly existed. Fearing for Saya's safety, Ren quickly rushed back to their hideout. Ren then met with Saya and asked her in a panic whether anyone suspicious had come by the house, relieved when Saya told her that no one had dropped by. After Ren explained that someone was paying a large sum of money to find the Imugi, Saya told Ren that it was probably nothing, noting that perhaps they were a scholar, similar to one whom she had met long ago, who studied dragons. She explained that the scholar had been so annoying that she had chased them away. Saya consoled Ren and told her not to worry, adding that she would come to no harm with the red-eyed wanderer by her side. However, a troubled Ren replied that Saya could still come to harm when she wasn't around, adding that perhaps she may still even if she was. Saya once again consoled Ren and reminded her that the injuries she had sustained weren't Ren's fault, adding that all sorts of things could happen while traveling. Saya laughed that she really must have grown quite weak if Ren was so worried about her, jokingly noting that she could have easily swatted away anyone who bothered her when she used to be stronger.

In order to throw off any suspicion, Saya told Ren to give one of her scales to the guild and say that she had found it somewhere far away, believing that whoever was looking for the Imugi would end up chasing circles and eventually give up. Ren gladly agreed with Saya's plan and noted that with the money she'd earn from the commission, she would be able to buy the elixir, explaining to Saya that it was a special potion that could heal even the sickest people. At Saya's unexpectedly quiet reaction, however, Ren asked whether something was wrong, to which Saya quickly replied that it sounded like a good plan, and that everything would be fine once she drank it. Quietly to herself, however, Saya sadly noted that she hadn't wanted to lie to Ren and murmured a silent apology. Ren then took a scale from Saya and asked her whether it had hurt. At Saya's quiet response, however, Ren wondered whether she was getting sicker and offered to infuse more of her strength. However, Saya asked Ren not to and explained that she was simply feeling more tired than usual. She assured Ren that plucking out the scale had hurt less than pulling out a hair and promised that she would be fine before asking Ren to return quickly from town.

Farwell to Ren

While Ren was away, Saya - knowing that her time was growing short - wrote a letter to Ren in order to explain the truth about her condition and to apologize for not telling sooner, hoping that the letter would explain things if she were to pass away before Ren returned. After purchasing the elixir, Ren rushed home to a severely weakened Saya, panicked at the state that her friend had been reduced to. Saya was relieved to see Ren, explaining that she had been worried that she would die before Ren returned. Ren begged Saya to quickly drink the elixir, though Saya sadly laughed and told Ren that it wouldn't do her any good, as no elixir could save someone about to pass away so imminently. Though Ren protested and begged Saya to drink it, Saya replied that it was time for them to say goodbye. She explained that she had wanted Ren to drink the elixir in her stead, as she had known all along that she would never recover from her injuries. She revealed that even as she had trained to become a dragon, she had known that her life would come to an end. However, she asked Ren to leave their home and go on a new journey of her own without Saya, regretfully noting that she should have asked Ren to leave the moment she had known that she would die, rather than holding Ren back with her foolishness. A tearful Ren retorted that there was no way that she would leave Saya behind, to which Saya silently noted to herself that she didn't want to leave Ren either. She then told Ren that she had never wanted to be stuck in one place, and that when she had been in the lake training to become a dragon for years, she had always wondered why she had wanted to become one in the first place, and what the point of isolating herself for a thousand years was to achieve such a purpose. She had realized that even if she had become a dragon after a thousand years, she would still be no different from who she already was.

Saya then revealed that it was when she had met Ren that she had gotten her answer after a hundred years of training – that becoming a dragon was not done by staying in a lake for a millennium, but by traveling the world, meeting people, and doing good deeds. She explained that after they had met and she had saved Ren's life, she had finally resolved to leave her isolation, living a life that flowed without becoming stagnant. Because of this, she made one final request of Ren – to put the world into her Imugi Gem by traveling, helping people, and allowing that power to someday manifest as a dragon soaring high in the heavens. Ren tearfully agreed, with Saya asking her not to cry. She asked Ren whether she remembered when they had gone to the marketplace in Cheong-woon, where Saya had bought a ribbon, believing that it suited her, and how Ren had refused to wear any kind of accessory that made her look cute. She then gave Ren the ribbon that she had secretly kept for years and asked her not to feel sad for too long once she passed away. However, she asked that Ren wear the ribbon so that she would remember Saya when it fluttered in the breeze. With that, Saya passed along all the remaining strength inside her to Ren and asked her to be happy before scattering away into the wind. With Saya's death, the barrier around the house was lifted, allowing the High Flora - led by Lotusha, the brother of the High Priest who had injured Saya - to enter and surround Ren, who managed to defeat them with the elixir and Saya's gem.

Saya's Letter

Following Saya's death, Ren left Vallora in order to regain her lost strength. In her absence, a young girl named Lenna and her dog, Lili, took up residence in Saya's abandoned house until Ren - after visiting the house - gave the pair permission to stay there. After continuing to train in Maple World, Ren returned to Lenna, who had discovered Saya's letter to Ren. Ren read the letter from Saya, who explained that if Ren was reading the letter, it meant that she had passed away. Saya apologized to Ren for lying, explaining that she had always known that the elixir wouldn't heal her injuries. She revealed that she didn't have the heart to stop Ren from trying to obtain the elixir, as she knew that Ren would have blamed herself forever if Saya had died before she had been able to get it. Because of this, Saya told Ren that she was writing the letter with the last of her strength to explain herself. She noted that she wished that she could tell Ren herself, rather than leaving behind only words. She added that she wished that she could be there to dry Ren's tears, rather than simply asking her not to cry, and that she wanted to tell Ren just how meaningful their time together had been face-to-face. She then hoped that all of Ren's days were happy and enjoyable, because she had made Saya's days just like that. Finally, she requested that Ren not cry after reading her last words, calling Ren her eternal friend.

Limina

After the Adversary collapses into despair after failing to draw out the power of the Seal Stone, they are transported into a void created by Tana, who uses the power of creation to call forth a maple leaf made of light, with the voice of someone close to them providing them motivation to continue. For Ren, the voice of Saya asks her why she risks her life to save others. Ren tells Saya it's because everyone is that precious to her, to which Saya asks her why she cares so much for a world that isn't her own, noting that it has nothing to do with her. Ren explains that she hadn't cared at first, but she can now see their desperation to save something precious that's slipping through their fingers, adding that she, too, has felt it, and she knows the love that it's born from. Saya asks her if she can remember what she needs to do now, to which Ren begins to say hopelessly that everyone is already dead, and that there's nowhere she can go back to. She notes that despite all her convictions, she's failed, though she adds that there still has to be something that she can do for them. Saya then tells her that the only thing that any of them could do is to pick themselves up, brush themselves off, and do what must be done. Saya then tells Ren that she's proud of her and asks her to show everyone how a dragon soars. As the voice fades away, Ren recognizes the voice as belonging to Saya.

NPC

Vallora

Saya
Location	Serpent's Heartwaters

Gallery

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  NPC Portrait of Saya
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  NPC Portrait of Saya
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  NPC Portrait of Saya
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  NPC Portrait of Saya

Trivia

• Saya is the second known Anima capable of freely switching between her animal form and her humanoid form, with the other being Sino the Fox God. Although Sino appears to be an Anima, her true identity is a Great Spirit, making it possible that Saya, too, could be a spirit as well.
• It is possible that Saya's training to become a dragon is the process by which dragon Anima may come to exist. Ara and Chenyuan are the only two known dragon Anima, both of whom possess immense spiritual power as sages. If dragon Anima are not a naturally-occurring subspecies, it may be that this is a transformation that occurs through spiritual training that Saya attempted to do, allowing an Imugi Anima to become a dragon Anima.