THE OATHKEEPER
SANDARA SUNSTRIDER
To be a Paladin is to protect, and those who choose to walk this path will become the iron foundation upon which victory is built.
THE OATHKEEPER
Artwork
Art by QTori
Art by Lianeige
Original Art
In-game
THE OATHKEEPER
SANDARA SUNSTRIDER
🛇 RP | Viera | she/her | Azeyma, the Warden | Malboro, Crystal
According to Sandara, she was born in a small Feol settlement on the border between the Golmore jungle and Skatay range, within the Dalmascan Kingdom of Ivalice. As a Viera kit, she didn't feel a strong connection to the wood, and was never sensitive to her voice; instead, she could hear the faint echo of a voice she would later learn was Hydaelyn. Some time during the six-month siege of Nalbina Fortress by the Garlean Empire, she abandoned her home to embark on a grand quest to search for her true calling and escape the Garlean inquisition. Accompanied by a small group of Viera defectors, she would spend several years as a seafarer before reaching the great continent of Aldenard.Once she set foot on Western Thanalan soil, she could hear the Echo more clearly. Despite being a poor decision due to the political and economic climate of the city at the time, she chose to settle in Ul'dah. This choice separated her from the group she had escaped Dalmasca with, and despite her best efforts to find them later in her life, she would not hear from them again. Sandara took the surname "Sunstrider", and symbolically dyed her white hair black. Technically a refugee, she had little prospect by way of work, and was on the brink of starvation in the back alleys of Pearl Lane when she chanced upon meeting the First Sword, Mylla Swordsong. Mylla would enlist her into the ranks of the Gladiators' guild, enabling her to find her place in Ul'dah. She became a frequent challenger on the bloodsands of the Coliseum in many a tourney of warriors. Utilizing the unique fighting style of her native Viera homeland, as well as the enhanced combat sense afforded to her by the Echo, she was able to maneuver many of these battles with relative ease; this earned her notoriety among the spectators and patrons of the Coliseum, and was her primary source of income at the time.It was during Sandara's stay in Ul'dah that she met Mikahri Moonshade, a young Miqo'te Keeper of the Moon, who was there as a student of the arcane art of Thaumaturgy. Perhaps this was a fated encounter, as Mikahri also had the ability to hear the Echo. Eventually, she would take up arms as a Free Paladin, swearing a sacred Oath of Liberation. This would see her leave Ul'dah with Mikahri in pursuit of adventure, and to learn more about Hydaelyn. They would later run into the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, with whom they were affiliated for a time.
In addition to being a skilled swordswoman, Sandara is also learned in the art of conjury, although her skill is rudimentary at best.
Viera regard the color white as the purest and most beautiful color, which instantly drew Sandara's eye upon meeting Mikahri.
Sandara is a renowned bounty hunter and is known to target elite marks.
She and Mikahri have an established company of adventurers operating out of Kugane that deals in all manner of business. Mikahri runs a teahouse out of their base of operations in which Sandara assists when the pair aren't adventuring.
As with other Viera living among the humans, Sandara dislikes being asked her age and chooses to answer ambiguously. Whether she actually knows the exact number of her age is up for debate. It is said that she fled Dalmasca as a youngling of seventeen summers.
Sandara was instrumental in the reclaiming of the Alermuc Fortress on the Bozjan Southern Front. Although her participation was initially an answer to Lord Hien's call to the free companies operating out of the Far East, her decision to aid the war effort ultimately hinged on her own feelings of guilt and resentment towards the events of her past.
THE OATHKEEPER
