GIVEN NAME  N'avani Apollonia Sol
 NICKNAMES  Vahn
 TITLES  the Archon of Song, Archon Sol, Professor Sol
 PRONOUNS  She/Her and Assigned Female at Birth
 NAMESDAY  32nd Sun ☀︎ of the 5th Astral Moon ☾ or 9.30
 AGE  28 at the beginning of a Realm Reborn and 33 during Dawntrail
 RACE  Miqo'te Seeker of the Sun ☀︎

N'avai Apollonia Sol, also known as Vahn, is a Miqo'te with few simple passions: her unending search for long lost ancient bard melodies and keeping those she loves safe. She grew up in her early years within the embrace of the Sol Clan in Gyr Abania but eventually moved with her family to Gridania. She would apprentice with the archer's guild and begin her musical studies in ernest while also learning to defend herself.Her instructors in Gridania taught her to be precise, structured, and disciplined in her art, but as the years passed she yearned for something more. She would often get into her "moods" when a melody was calling to her, it whispered like an old memory she couldn't quite uncover. It was that whispering that led her to independently study and uncover a long forgotton bard song. She published a treatise on that very song, and upon graduating from the archer's guild discovered that the Studium in Old Sharlyan had taken an interest in her research. Flattered, Vahn accepted an invitation to teach musicology at the Studium. She was in Old Sharlyan when the calamity brought Eorzea into a new umbral age.After the calamity, rather than staying at the Studium, she returned to Gridania and formed the first Grand Orchestra there by bringing together various musicians and friends she had made over time. She felt the world needed a little more joy and music as they entered a new astral era. She continued her research on bard songs in secret, and one day they whispered to her once more. She felt in her heart that a song was waiting for her in Limsa Lominsa. She packed her things and left the very next day.When happening upon Y'shtola in Limsa Lominsa, Vahn had no plans to join the Scions of the Seventh Dawn let alone become the Warrior of Light. Yet the bard songs whispered to her and told her this is where she needed to be to uncover the songs of legend. So she took that chance and joined the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. With them, she found warmth and joy and love, a home away from home. Learning the ancient songs of the ascians, the people of the first, those across the other shards, fashioning her own empowering bards songs... well that was just a plus. While not adventuring or feverishly searching for new bard songs to study, Vahn goes back and forth between Gridania and Old Sharlyan with her dearest Urianger and their black cat Sprig.

PLEASE NOTE THIS IS OUT OF DATE! THESE ARE VAHN'S CUSTOMIZATIONS FROM ENDWALKER, NOT DAWNTRAIL!

 SCULPT  Private Commission by SEPHA with Vanilla Face Tattoos
 MAKEUP  Two Private Commissions by SEPHA
 EYES  Delain Eyes by GWYNNE'S QUEUE
 CATCHLIGHT  Bubbles by POXI
 EARS  Sho Off by MILK with Personal Weights Applied
 TAIL  Gentle Tail by TESHIHARU with Highlights
 BODY  Lithe+ by LYE
 CANON HAIR  Vahn has quite a few hair styles that I often use, but these are her most worn: Personal Private Mashup of a Private Commission from KYARY and Marzipan by CHERRY and I also often use Ebyssia by NAORI

Over time Vahn has gone through many transformations. I hope the links that I have provided will help anyone who loves the customizations that I have brought together for her. Please note that I cannot guarantee that all of these options are still available. Some creators change their releases or take them down for whatever reason. Either way please enjoy and let me know if anything about Vahn's design inspired you! See below for some of my own inspirations!

east end, radiant in autumn tones on a sunny day

n'amide and elias enjoying each other's company

We begin our story with the Miqo’te of the Sol Clan deep within the woods at the Fringes of Gyr Abania. Sometimes referred to as Lost Souls Clan, it was formed generations ago by a group of Seeker and Keeper Miqo'te who considered themselves "lost souls." They were an eccentric rebellious sort who left the heirarchical rigidity of their original clans in search of a quiet life within the woods where they could be themselves. In East End the rivers are clear, the sky is bright, the earth fertile, and their hearts felt instantly lightened. They settled in those woods and took in whichever lost souls found their way to the Sol Clan. Though not held together by blood ties, the Sol Clan feels to many like a precious found family.Vahn's mother, N’amide Sol, grew up within the warmth of the Sol Clan. She eventually settled on the study of botany as her calling and spent many years tumbling about the Shroud as an apprentice to the Botanist’s Guild in Gridania. Apprenticeship completed, she moved back to the Fringes in her early twenties and fell madly in love with a fellow Miqo’te called Elias Tia. You see, N’avani’s future love of music can be traced back to her mother who could not resist Elias’s pretty voice and clever fingers upon the lyre. Afterall, he was a musician. Their romance was passionate but short-lived, and they parted amicably before Vahn was born in 1550 vowing to raise her together all the same. Even now N’amide and Elias remain dear friends and dote on their daughter whenever she allows.The Garlean Empire’s slow advance upon Ala Mhigo and Gyr Abania had been a concern for the Sol Clan for years. When Gaius van Baelsar finally captured the city-state in 1557, N’amide and Elias made the difficult decision to leave for Gridania. Many members of the Sol Clan joined them, and together they sought friends and allies within the shroud where they hoped to build a new home.Growing up in the Fringes, Vahn had always been a carefree child. She liked playing pranks on her friends, digging in the garden with her mom, and watching her dad play the lyre at the local inn. She knew it was a little odd that her parents were no longer together, but that never stopped her from having a full and loving childhood. War is a thing incomprehensible to a someone so young, but Vahn came face to face with it when her family fled the Fringes. To say she didn't leave happily would be a vast understatement. It would take a long time and the introduction of a new family member before she would see Gridania truly as her new home.

the sylphlands, a place shrouded in magic and wonder

vivenna sylphsong, the one who dances with sylphs

Vivenna is a Viera who made her home in the Sylph Lands of the shroud. Heartbroken, she left her small Viera village when she was quite young after her parents passed away. She lived in the woods on her own for a year before she encountered a lone Sylph dancing in the moonlight. The Sylph called out to her, and Vivenna thought what else had she to lose? She danced under the moonlit sky and cried the tears she never allowed herself and felt at peace. After that night, the Sylphs took her in and she adopted the surname Sylphsong to remind her of their kindness. In her teens, she became a liason between the Sylphs and Gridania. Her business would have her traipsing back and forth through the shroud which is where she encountered N'amide digging for plants as part of her Botany Apprenticeship. They soon became best friends and continued their correspondence even after N’amide moved back to the Sol Clan. It was Vivenna that N'amide and Elias sought when they arrived in Gridania.When Vahn arrived in Gridania, she made every effort that everyone knew she did not want to stay. She refused to pay attention to her tutors, make friends, and stopped playing music altogether. She would sneak off alone to the Twelveswood supposedly on her way to the Fringes. Her dad would usually find her shivering and alone and bring her home. On one of these nights, it was Vivenna who found her. Vahn’s mother had recently spoken to her about Vivenna, that they were courting each other and that one day she hoped Vivenna could be like another mother to her. When Vivenna appeared under the dappled moonlight, she bent her ears slightly and gestured for Vahn to follow.Vivenna led them to a small clearing and raised her face to the moon, sighed softly, and spoke, "This is where I would come when I was younger to be alone. You know I grew up with the Sylphs? They can be... wearisome, at times, and my thoughts would need time and space to stretch. Tell me, little one, where do your thoughts stretch now?" When Vivenna's eyes found her own, Vahn could not help the tears spilling out of them. "I want to go home," she sobbed into Vivenna's shoulder. They sat like that for a long time, Vahn crying and Vivenna softly stroking the top of her head.From that day onward, Vahn clung to Vivenna like a little shadow and learned how to express her emotions better. How to take time when she needed it. Vivenna asked her one day, "Why don't you write a song about the Sol Clan? Or the Shroud? Surely your emotions will show you the way?" Suddenly Vahn was writing and playing music again, feverishly. In time, her aching heart healed, and she grew to appreciate the place she now called her home.

the shroud, a forest that listens to the songs of all lost souls

IN PROGRESS