Natsumi Kensaki, also known as "Warrior of Light", "Warrior of Darkness" and "The traveler beyond stars", started out as an adventurer after arriving to Eorzea. Born in Nagxia and then taken to Garlemald by the Empire when she was still very young, Natsumi fought her way to escape and survive. All alone, she soon found family along with the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. And now, after having saved the star from its doom, she still travels with her companions, to help other people in need. She is one of the fourteen shards from Iris (Azem).

backstory

Natsumi Kensaki was born in a small village in Nagxia in 1550. She was one of 4 children, the second to be born. Her parents were fishers, and the village they lived in was a peaceful one. However, 2 years after Natsumi’s birth, Garlemald had successfully invaded and conquered Doma. It was only thanks to how remote their village was that Natsumi and her family were spared the worst treatment. If they stayed in line and never raised any trouble, they would continue to live in peace.

However, in 1562, Garlemald failed to conquer Mor Dhona. As a result, much of their ire was taken out on their conquered lands, like Ala Mhigo and Doma—and by result—her village in Nagxia. Natsumi’s family no longer knew peace, and in 1563, Imperial soldiers attacked their village, killing the rest of her family and kidnapping her and her youngest brother, Haru.

Natsumi was kidnapped at age 13, and was one of many children taken to serve the Empire that day. They were taken to Garlemald, while Natsumi suffered hardship and abuse, even having to kill innocent people just to survive. These memories would mark her for life.

She and the other children would spend many years serving the empire, with many of the children being too young to fight back or know any other life. Natsumi, however, never lost hope of one day leaving that place and finding a way out for her and her brother.

• Final Fantasy XIV

During the years that Natsumi would spend serving the Empire, there was one point where she made what she considers the worst decision of her life. After seeing how her brother and their friends were being brutally punished, she tried to step in and protect them. The soldier punishing them was a high ranking officer, who threatened Natsumi as well. Natsumi would do anything for her brother, however, and told the officer as much. Anything he asked for, she would do it. The officer took advantage of her offer and of her by telling her he’d only leave them alone if she would lay in bed with him.Natsumi rejected the proposal at first. But when it was her brother and friends’ lives on the line, she reasoned that it would be worth it to save them. She did as the officer requested that night, but when the morning came, the officer was already gone. She was disgusted with herself, but felt as though it was the right thing to do to protect everyone. Despite all she was put through though, she came back to the training grounds and found that her friends were killed by that very officer. Assuming her brother was among those killed, Natsumi snapped. In a blind rage, she attacked the officer with her lance, killing him. Though she would get revenge for her fallen friends and family, she knew this would be her own death sentence. She was alone now, and made the decision to flee that place once and for all. Thanks to the training she’d been given the past 10 years, she was able to escape.

• Final Fantasy XIV

Natsumi knew that she would be hunted down for killing a high ranking officer, so she spent a year all by herself, hiding from everyone to not be perceived. During that time, she dyed her hair and changed her clothes to avoid being recognized. And slowly but surely, she made her way towards Eorzea.It was her only hope to flee there and start a new life, and so she found herself settling down in Gridania. While she was there, she knew no one. She didn’t know where to go, and she couldn’t trust the strangers around her. It was there that she first heard Hydaelyn. When Natsumi discovered that she was the new Warrior of Light, she found a new resolve and trained even harder. It was from this resolve she also met her new family— the Scions of the Seventh Dawn.Natsumi would go through many changes in her life after that. During the time in which the Scions had to flee the Crystal Braves, Natsumi found love with Lord Haurchefant in Ishgard. It was a moment of happiness during a dark time for Natsumi, which would end in tragedy when Haurchefant gave his life to protect her. This is what caused Natsumi be too afraid to let others become close to her. Why would she continue to love others if they would be taken away from her in an instant?Her exploits wouldn’t stop there, as she would continue to save the realm, and even the other shards like the First. During that time, she finally started to open up again. She realized that despite the despair and loss we may experience in life, we cannot go through it alone. And most importantly, her friends would always be there for her, even when they aren’t around anymore.She soon would meet Fandaniel, the Ascian, whom she could feel something off yet familiar, something about his soul drawing her closer to him. And she would soon come to realize, he felt the same.

• Final Fantasy XIV

When Natsumi and her companions visited Thavnair, they stopped by the alchemist village called The Great Work. She discovered upon arriving that her little brother, Haru, was also an alchemist living there. For the past several years, she thought he had been killed, but learned that he too took a chance to escape the Empire. He’d been living in Thavnair this whole time, even believing Natsumi had been killed herself. Even so, they were able to reunite, working together to help save the star.When confronting the Mighty God of Darkness Zodiark, after defeating him, the Ascian Fandaniel fell from his heart onto the ground. Now almost powerless, and Zodiark gone, he was subjected to suffer the consequences of the Final Days (even if he didn't care at the time, as it was his plan). Natsumi took him with the Scions, and continued her journey to save Etheirys, except Fandaniel followed her and the Scions wherever they went. Natsumi's and Fandaniel's relationship grew, through their bickering and arguments, until she soon learned about Hermes, Meteion and Iris (Azem). Through her journey, she and Fandaniel grew closer and, when encountering the Endsinger and sending everyone back to the ship to safety, they both realized what they meant for each other. Upon returning to the ship after her battle with Zenos, on an ilm of her life, Fandaniel used the last of his power to heal her, thus their souls finally connecting again. Fandaniel, now reunited with Meteion once again, got his answers finally delivered and is on his own journey to heal and grow now that his and Meteions research has finally ended, and can live in peace.

• Final Fantasy XIV

Soon after their safe return to Etheirys, Fandaniel traveled to Azys Lla, where he used his knowledge in Allagan technology to remake a clone of his old body, which he then took over, returning as body, mind and name as Amon. Natsumi and Amon are now dating, and are engaged. While Natsumi is traveling to the Thirteenth and trying to save the world once again, Amon is now working as a technologist and scientist, helping discover more about other shards, along with helping Natsumi with some of her duties.They will soon travel to Tural, where Natsumi's help was needed, and Amon and Meteion will travel along with her.

• Final Fantasy XIV

personality & more

Natsumi is gentle, warm and helpful. People have often described her as "light coming into the room as she walks in", and they would not be entirely wrong. Due to her body containing more dynamis than other beings in the Source, even if it's not her primary energy source (her primary energy is aether), she reacts to strong emotions, both negative and positive altogether, such as entelechies or Elpis flowers. That is apparent on her scales, which are different color from the usual Au Ra scales. Though they don't change color when a strong emotion is present, the color they have would remind of an Elpis flower. She's able to bend dynamis to her will, and though she's not capable to use it as freely as Meteion can, Natsumi is still capable of feeling other people's emotions, and help them in their time of need, and thanks to that, she's able to manipulate the Starcaller jobstone and class, which she inherited from Azem herself. Though she or no one really knows why was she born with this gift, Hydaelyn implies that when sundering everyone, including Azem, since the ancient would wear an Elpis flower on her hair, she believes the flower became part of Natsumi, making her, in a way, absorb the unique trait these flowers have. No one else in her family was born this way, neither the other shards have anything similar, making Natsumi truly unique.

relationships & bonds

Iris, also known as Azem, was one of the many ancients that lived in Etheirys before it was sundered into fourteen shards, and before she was sundered herself. Iris was a member of the Convocation of Fourteen, hers being the fourteenth seat. An adventurer since young age and people associating her with the sun, Azem traveled all around the star while it was still whole, exploring the larger world of Etheirys and becoming intimate with its myriad peoples and cultures. As the Final Days arrived, she took a difficult decision: to leave the Convocation and aid people on her own, until her final moments.

personality & more

Even if she was mostly known by everyone in Amaurot as Azem as she joined the Convocation of Fourteen, her real name was Iris. She was always cheerful, always helping people, and just joy to have around. She was born in Amaurot and lived with her older brother Hades (Emet-Selch), but as she got older she went to live and travel with Venat, her lover and Azem at that time. They decided to end the relationship in good terms, and they stayed really close friends. Soon Iris moved closer to Elpis as she started to work there, where she would meet the Chief of Elpis, Hermes and his familiar, Meteion. Iris' was passionate as she worked there, creating up to four concepts. As time passed, love blossomed between Hermes and Iris, even after she moved again when she started to work at the Convocation as Azem, when she finally took the Seat. Traveling was her passion, but one of her travels was cut short as she got noticed of an incident in Elpis. Heartbroken after Meteion's loss, she decided to move forward and help Hermes with his decision to take Fandaniel's Seat. They got married not much later, alas their happiness was cut short as the Final Days started months after. When summoning Zodiark was on the table, Azem left her Seat and the Convocation, and so did Hermes. They fought and tried to find a way to save everyone, but soon exhaustion took over them. Finding a place to rest, they held each other as Iris promised Hermes they'd find each other again, no matter what, before they were all sundered by Hydaelyn.

relationships & bonds