Sarah Stormwind

Warrior of Light.
Scalekin enthusiast. Alchemist.
A woman stripped of home by fate.

Please click the buttons below for more information. Be warned, there are story spoilers on two of these pages: the third (marked), and the sixth (entire page involves spoilers). Please navigate with caution.

Fianna de Valhourdin

Name: Sarah Stormwind
Age: Two clusters and two years (26 years)
Gender: Female
Home: The Holy See of Ishgard
Registered City-State: Ul’dah
Currently Lives In: The Empyreum
Guild(s): Gladiators’ Guild, Skysteel Manufactory, Alchemists' Guild
Free Company: The Twilight Brigade
Grand Company: The Maelstrom
Canon Job(s): PLD (ARR), MCH & DRG (HW), RDM (STB/SHB), RPR (EW), VPR (DT)
Height: 5 fulms, 8 ilms
Weight: 140 ponzes

The Boreal Witch

Sarah's story mostly follows the main scenario. While certain events remain the same, some events have changed due to the decision to make her the inheritor of the Warrior of Light title, rather than the initial Warrior of Light.

Dear Fianna

The Sixth Astral EraYear 1553
• Lady Celica de Valhourdin, aunt to Ser Zephirin de Valhourdin, and matron of the house, engages herself in a moonlit tryst with a Hyuran man by the name of Artus Stormwind. They find each other’s company intoxicating, and Celica allows Artus to stay in her family’s house, though they are not married. Several months later, she “gives birth” to a half-elezen, half-hyur daughter, and named her Fianna de Valhourdin.Year 1554
• Despite the difficulties of keeping the circumstances of Fianna’s birth secret, Celica gives birth to a second half-Elezen daughter. She is named Ness de Valhourdin.• The Lesser House of Valhourdin’s association with hybrids comes to light, and for a time, they suffer scrutiny and criticism for the matron’s actions.Year 1556
• Artus, finding his presence unwanted in the halls of House Valhourdin, decides to leave Ishgard. He leaves behind his daughters, Fianna and Ness.Year 1557
• At 4 years of age, Fianna begins her academic and practical studies. She is taught alongside her cousin, Zephirin. Though clearly outmatched against him in swordplay, she is determined to catch up as quickly as possible.Year 1560
• Thordan VII is appointed Archbishop of the Holy See.Year 1562
• Nidhogg reawakens, and Ishgard enters a state of high alert.Year 1563
• Ishgard withdraws from the Eorzean Alliance.• Fianna discovers the nature of her birth after horrid treatment she receives from children of other highborn families. Her mother finds no other choice but to explain to her two daughters.Year 1564
• Fianna’s cousin, Zephirin, enters the Temple Knights’ grand tournament. He achieves victory, earning his house some much needed respect. Fianna is more determined than ever to catch up with her familial rival.Year 1565
• Fianna and Nessa begin exhibiting a natural affinity for magic. Fianna’s studies take her to learning advanced swordplay, and aetheric theory.Year 1569
• Fianna enlists herself in the Temple Knights, following in Zephirim’s footsteps. She shows aptitude for combat, displaying impressive technique with the blade and the spear.Year 1571
• Having proven herself worthy after several years of service, Fianna is considered as a candidate for the Knights Dragoon. While Zephirin has carved his own path into the Heavens’ Ward, she believes this to be her way of making a name for herself.• Later that year, she is accepted into the Knights Dragoon, and begins training in their unique fighting style.• Ness joins the ranks of the Scholasticate, under the recommendation of her uncle, Zephirin’s father.Year 1572
• In the years leading up to the Calamity, tensions between Fianna and her mother cause discourse within the household. On the verge of leaving, she is halted by the onset of Dalamud’s fall and the implications of the realm’s destruction.The Seventh Umbral EraYear 1
• Dalamud falls, and the Elder Primal Bahamut lays waste to the realm of Eorzea.Year 3
• Taken on an expedition into the Coerthas Western Highlands, Fianna and her squadron of Dragoons are set upon by an incursion of dragonkin. In the ensuing battle, all but three of the seven knights survived, including Fianna. The events of this battle remain with her for the rest of her life.Year 4
• With the difficulties at home not improving, Fianna decides to leave The Lesser House of Valhourdin. On the night of her departure, Fianna sought out Ness to take her with her. By this time, Ness had joined the church and become rather distant. Whether due to discrimination or her sister's request, she was denied a visitation with her sister by the church's representatives. Hurt, and alone, Fianna leaves Ishgard, heading south toward Ul’dah. She takes the name Sarah Stormwind, the first name taken from the young knight who died in her arms the year prior, and the surname taken from her estranged father.Year 5 (A Realm Reborn)
• Sarah boards a caravan to Ul’dah, and finds little difficulty in starting a new life in the city. She enlists herself in the Adventurers’ Guild, and the Gladiators’ Guild and begins making a name for herself among the seasoned warriors.• She meets and befriends a Viera, who gives her the "name" Strider. She learns he suffers from amnesia, and as a way to express kinship, she gives him the name Rin.• Upon a chance encounter with the mysterious rogue, Thancred, she finds herself in contact with the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. Her exploits had extended her an invitation to the organization, and, with the Antecedent Minfillia’s guidance, she learned about a gift she had been blessed with, called the Echo.The Seventh Astral EraYear 1 (A Realm Reborn)
• As it turns out, Rin emerges as the Warrior of Light, a hero who aided the allied forces in the Battle of Carteneau.• The surprise attack against the Scions of the Seventh Dawn awakens a dark inclination in Rin that Sarah has never experienced before. This is the beginning of his path to becoming a Dark Knight.• An encounter with the Keeper of the Lake, Midgardsormr, left her connection to Hydaelyn cut off, and her power greatly diminished.• The events of the Bloody Banquet and the Scions supposed deaths cement Rin's path to the Dark Knight. With Sarah's power diminished, she was unable to stop the events from happening.

Dragonsong

The Seventh Astral Era**Heavensward Main Scenario Spoilers**Year 1 (Heavensward)
• Returning to Ishgard carried with it a lot of anxiety and dread. She kept her distance from the Lesser House of Valhourdin, and found an interest in the unique mechanisms of the Skysteel Manufactory. With her power weakened, firearms offered a momentary boost to her strength that was desperately needed.• Along the way to speak with Hraesvelgr, Sarah bonds with Ysayle in particular. Their connection fosters Sarah's interest in scalekin.• Sarah faces off against her cousin in the Vault, which ends with her defeat, and allows him the opportunity to slay Haurchefant.• She learns about her sister's place in the Inquisitors, which explained why she was unable to meet with her two years ago. Their reunion is strained by Ness's standoffish nature. She is now known as Claire, a name taken for similarly rebellious motives against their mother.• Sarah's inevitable confrontation with her mother does not go well, but the first steps necessary to overcome her resentment are taken.• Over the next few months, she notices her roots start growing in colored white. She wonders if she is stressed enough for it to happen, and begins artificially coloring her hair auburn.• With the arrival of Doman and Au Ra refugees, Sarah meets an Auri woman who would become one of her closest friends. The woman wants to take on an Eorzean name to better blend in to her new home and decides on Althaea.

For Those We Have Lost

The Seventh Astral Era**Stormblood Main Scenario Spoilers**Year 2 (Stormblood)
• The summoning of Shinryu and the loss of Papalymo set the stage for a grueling and exhausting campaign. Sarah, Rin, and Althaea, alongside other echo-blessed adventurers, are asked to lend their aid to the Ala Mhigan Resistance on the front lines in Gyr Abania.• At Alphinaud's suggestion, Sarah, Rin, Althaea, Alisaie, Lyse, and Tataru make for Doma in an attempt to separate Zenos' forces to two fronts.• Reuniting with Yugiri in Yanxia, the adventurers learn that Zenos is returning to Doma to stifle any attempt at an uprising. Yugiri wishes to assassinate Zenos from the shadows, but some of the others hesitate. Even after acknowledging the group's decision, Yugiri still decides to sneak out with Althaea and Sarah and attempt an assassination. Despite the element of surprise, Yugiri falls against Zeno's attack, and the two manage to hold their own for a time, especially so after Rin arrives to reinforce them, until Zenos switches weapons and dispatches them. Sarah, pushed to her limits, awakens a new power. The immediate area flash freezes as her hair turns a frigid white. The viceroy, momentarily pushed back, shatters the ice and dispatches Sarah. Zenos, noticing the difference in strength since their previous encounter, spares them all, asking that they continue to live and grow stronger so that they may fight once more.Year 3 (Stormblood)
• The battle for Doma Castle results in a horrible scene on the way to the throne room. New to her acquired abilities, Sarah slaughters the advanced forces by encasing them in a solid sheet of ice. Similar occurrences across the Gyr Abanian front later in the war earn her the moniker "The Boreal Witch".• A Garlean deserter, Duna Almar, joins forces with Sarah and the Scions. Her brash personality makes friendship with her difficult, but their common hatred for the Empire makes them fast to cooperate together.• Rin, who has also been growing in strength, becomes the final warrior against Zenos, who had fused with Shinryu. In a climactic battle in the skies above Ala Mhigo, Rin defeats Zenos and the rebellion takes control of the city-state.

The Seventh

The Seventh Astral Era**Shadowbringers Main Scenario Spoilers**Year 3 (Shadowbringers)
• Rin and Sarah are transported to the First.• Plenty of things had been kept secret from Sarah for her whole life. As Emet-Selch made himself more readily available for conversation during the events that took place on the First, he revealed to her more aspects about the truth behind her existence. To start, she learned that she was not a native to the Source. Emet, who had operated rather autonomously in attempts to experiment with new ideas to bring about the Rejoining, kidnapped a youth from the Seventh Shard before it's destruction during the Seventh Umbral Calamity. He delivered her into the hands of an Ishgardian highborn whom he had connections with to be able to coerce into adopting the child. All he details about her home is that she was the princess of a kingdom on the farside of the star, far away from the events that doomed that world. Her mother was quite similar to the one she knows now.• Subsequently, after learning that sentient beings are sundered Amaurotian souls, she discovered who on the Source shared her soul: the Elezen woman with whom she had shared a bond with during the final year of the Dragonsong War, Ysayle. The extent of what this meant, however, was never revealed to her before Emet-Selch's death, and still, she struggles to figure out if she will ever come to terms with the realization that she and her sister are not related, and that she will never meet her birth parents.• The final battle against Emet-Selch results in the light which Rin had absorbed from the Lightwardens and Ardbert's soul merging with the Warrior of Light and allowing him to finally emerge from the dark that clouded his heart. He takes up Ardbert's axe and strikes down the Ascian.• One day, Sarah wakes up to find that her eyes had brightened in hue and started to glow. She picks up her ruby-lensed glasses and makes her way to ask the scion, Y'shtola, what it could mean.

Loss, Fire, and Faith

The Seventh Astral Era**Endwalker Main Scenario Spoilers**Year 3 (Endwalker)
•Y'shtola revealed there was an aetheric disturbance in Sarah's soul. It was nothing negative, in fact, it was similar to Rin's awakening. However, it was tempered by the attachment of a rogue voidsent that had latched onto her aether.• Duna pointed Sarah to a reaper enclave in Ul'dah which helped her tame the voidsent's hunger.• Rin and Sarah ventured into the past to Elpis. There, they learned the names of their ancient selves, Helios and Nike. Helios held the title of Azem, the fourteenth seat of the Convocation, and Nike was responsible for hunting down rogue and powerful creatures that were not approved for creation. Helios was apprenticed to Venat.• After seeing the discourse and resolution played out with House Leveilleur, Sarah resolved to finally make peace with her mother. Through a long moonlit discussion, she told her sister about her plans, and through her determination convinced Claire to join her. Together, they reach an understanding. Sarah also explains that she's learned about her birthplace, and she thanks Celica for giving her a place to stay, even if it wasn't perfect.• Traveling to the Aetherial Sea, the Scions met Hydaelyn herself. Hydaelyn reveals to Sarah, who had been harboring feelings of self doubt, that she was always meant to be the Warrior of Light. Nike was planned to become the successor to Azem's seat, and she had planned it since they met in Elpis. Rin, while hosting Azem's sundered soul, was an artificial construct created by Hydaelyn before the events of Dalamud's fall. Rin learned a part of this in Elpis, namely Nike inheriting Azem's title. Hydaelyn revealed the rest after their return via the Echo. She rejects this initially, saying she's unworthy. The Scions tell her that they had always seen her as a Warrior of Light from the beginning, which gives her the encouragement to accept Azem's crystal once the universe had been saved.• Rin was left to battle the Endsinger alone, though Azem's magic summoned facsimiles of his friends to aid him. The final battle against Zenos at the edge of creation forced him to burn most of his soul's aether.• Rin passes Azem's crystal on to Sarah.• Through the events of the Myths of the Realm raid series, Sarah learns that Nike's mother was the Ancient who became the core of Halone. She and Venat were close friends and she initially introduced her and Venat. Over time, Nike and Venat fostered an intimate relationship.• In the void, Sarah discovers that the voidsent attached to her was a sworn enemy of Cylva the Shadowkeeper. Sarah's aether was incredibly similar to hers, and so the voidsent latched onto her.• After Golbez's defeat, the voidsent attached to Sarah annuls the pact with her and joins Zero's efforts in attempting to restore the Void to its former state.• Wuk Lamat arrives in Sharlayan and Sarah is asked to join the would-be ruler to sponsor her in her ascent to the throne of Tuliyollal.• Before she makes way to Tuliyollal, Sarah needed to pick up a new martial practice, and learned the way of the Viper.

The New World

The Seventh Astral Era**Dawntrail Main Scenario Spoilers**Year 3 (Dawntrail)
• Sarah and Duna make their way to the New World, Tural alongside Wuk Lamat, Erenville, Alphinaud, and Alisaie.• Sarah becomes rather infatuated with Xak Tural culture.• Sarah and Duna help Wuk Lamat defeat Zoraal Ja and the Endless Sphene.• The two join the Arcadion and take part in the Arcadion raid series. Sarah learns a bit about herself through her interactions with the other champions and Retsarra, the Howling Blade. Namely, that she has come to enjoy the heat of battle and the chance to challenge herself.• Sarah becomes the target of Calyx, an endless scientist who wishes to continue Sphene's directive of turning as many people of Solution Nine into endless.• Sarah discusses the feelings fostered in the loss of a kingdom she never knew on the Seventh with the real Sphene. This initial point of connection allows the two to bond.

Trusts

For those we have lost. For those we can yet save.Sarah is quite the charismatic individual, and has made many lasting friendships, established a few romantic relationships, and maintains multiple professional connections.

Rin StormwindSarah met him in Ul'dah, lost without memory. She gave him his name, presuming falsely that he was from Doma. He kept the name, and when later asked for his surname, he proudly exclaimed "Stormwind!" reasoning that she was why he had a name at all.The original Warrior of Light. He passed on Azem's role and title to Sarah.

Saya TokikazeSarah's best friend is her go-to healer. A fellow adventurer she met along the way who became a consistent ally. Someone that she can share a drink, a good laugh, and a tear with.

Thorgrim MordraA good friend met through adventuring. He's secretive about his past, but his moniker suggests a bloody one.

Duna AlmarThey were at once both enemies and friends for a time, but now they are staunch allies. They are close enough that she was invited to Tuliyollal to aid Wuk Lamat in her succession.

AlthaeaAn Auri refugee she met before the Ala Mhigan resistance. She is now the lead director in Sarah's business operations, including her cooperation with Tataru Taru.

More to be added as the journey unfolds...

Facts

• Her favorite food is sea salt ice cream.
• She prefers red wine.
• Dragons are her favorite research subject in her free time.
• She really, really, really likes the explosions firearms and gunblades make, despite what she may say.
• She's become infatuated with Xak Turali culture.

• In an attempt to remain anonymous in certain circumstances, she's adopted alter egos with the aid of her own brand of Fantasia. These alter egos are as follows:

Fianna Tswarra, a cheerful, motherly Veena Viera.

Y'mraiha, a flirtatious Seeker of the Sun Miqo'te.

Nanashi Nashi, a business-oriented, enterprising Dunesfolk Lalafell.

The World Unsundered

Sarah and her company of friends also had bonds before the Sundering. Below is a list of some of Sarah's trusts (found here) as they were before their souls were scattered.

New Azem - Nike, Lady of Promised Victory

Azem - Helios, the Traveler, Child of Light

Thanatos, He Who Resides Over Death

???Duna being a recipient of the Resonant makes her original soul difficult to pinpoint.