Narae

Miho, the Kumiho Divine Maiden, was ready to ascend to the heavens, but chose to pour all of her essence into giving birth to her second daughter, Narae, so that her firstborn, Mina, wouldn't be left alone in the world.

"Three years at most..." Whenever Narae heard echoes of her mother's voice, she'd remember the hushed conversation between her mother and Uncle Sangun she'd overheard as a little child. Even then, she'd had a vague understanding of how her very birth had cost her mother everything.

Carrying the weight of that sacrifice and love, Narae grew up with a heart full of longing and silent guilt. To ease the heavy burden her sister shouldered as the new Divine Maiden, Narae vowed to become stronger.

It was a crisp, sunlit autumn day when little Narae, just seven, returned home from an afternoon of carefree play around the foothills of Cloudcrest Peak. In the front yard of the Shrine of Nine Fates, she found her older sister Mina quietly carving something.

"Where's Mommy?"

At that, Mina burst into tears and hugged Narae tightly. Though confused at first, Narae could sense the grief in her sister's every breath.

As the tears fell, Narae began to understand that she would never see her mom again.

Only the little fox figurine, crudely carved by Mina, remained to watch over the grief of the two Kumiho sisters.

Even though Mina was always worried about her, Narae would sometimes slip away from the Shrine of Nine Fates and explore the world beyond, mingling with humans and other beastkin.

With her friends, Narae was very open about her feelings, but when it came to Mina, her only family, she stumbled. She would either joke, push back, or act out. But deep down, she cared for her sister more than anything in the world, and she was always searching for ways to ease the pressure Mina bore as the Divine Maiden.

Three years after their mother's passing.

During the memorial rite, Narae couldn't bring herself to face the figure of their mother that her sister had carefully carved. Knowing she'd never see her mother again, the sight of that figure only deepened her ache.

But at Mina's urging, Narae finally looked up, and in that instant, everything faded into darkness, save for a single beam of light. Narae saw her mother in that light, smiling radiantly.

"Mommy!"

That warm smile seemed to tell her not to blame herself and that everything was okay.

At that moment, the weight in Narae's heart vanished, and she felt the tender touch of water at her fingertips. Before she knew it, she was cradled in an orb of water, its embrace as warm and cozy as her mother's.

At last, Narae had awakened her essence, and Mina was happy to see her little sister grow; it was all just as their mother had foretold.

Narae had always looked up to her sister, who was devoted to her duties as the Divine Maiden. She prayed each day ahead of the Sacred Soul Ritual that Mina would be able to summon her own divine sword.

When the day arrived, Narae watched from the edge of the chieftains' seats as her sister began the divine summoning dance. The chieftain of the snake tribe, Nagi, who envied Mina, glanced away in dismissal... but Mina danced on like a delicate butterfly, sweat tracing lines down her face.

As the ceremonial music reached its peak, Mina lifted her arms to the sky, but the divine sword never appeared. Baffled, she lost her balance and fell, accidentally shattering a 3,000-year-old holy wooden censer. All the chieftains frowned, and Narae broke into tears.

Back at the Shrine of Nine Fates, Narae wrapped her arms around her sister's slumped shoulders. Mina whispered an apology, and Narae shook her head and silently vowed to do everything in her power to help her sister.

After much deliberation, Narae came to the conclusion that what she needed to do was to become strong enough to stand on her own, so her sister could live her life as the Divine Maiden without worrying about her.

Thus, she began training to master the Essence of Water. At first, even moving a tiny stream was hard. But Narae did not give up.

Through sheer determination, she improved day by day. One time, a reckless attempt at slicing a waterfall got her soaked from head to toe. Another time, a reversed current slapped her face so hard it made her nose bleed. To some, she might have seemed rash or short-tempered, but Narae was chasing her goal without hesitation.

Her most important goal was always the same: to share the heavy burden her sister carried.

Narae felt that training alone was not enough and sought out Jiwon in the hopes of finding a way to help her sister. However, Jiwon only gave vague advice about training her heart.

Narae set off back home, upset.

She'd traveled deep into the mountains when a thunderous shout rang out. Birds scattered into the sky, and a massive tree came crashing down. Narae bolted toward the fallen tree like the wind.

There, she found a woman with broad shoulders and a towering frame, cleaving a huge log in two with a single chop of her hand. She looked exactly like the muscular Nio guardians Narae had seen in her mother's art book.

The woman introduced herself as Chae-Ah of Dohwa Garden. Without hesitation, Narae immediately asked to be her student. For the next year, Narae trained under Chae-Ah behind Mina's back. Her stamina grew, and she could now handle the Essence of Water with ease. She felt proud.

When Mina left to seek Sangun for help dealing with Nagi, Narae saw her chance and headed straight for Dohwa Garden to for intensive training with Chae-Ah.