#I would love hyrule historia equivalent for rayman but I'm afraid it'd just add even more questions

[woodsofblight]

Do you have any headcanons on either Ly or the People of Prhys you could share?

Oh boy do I ever!

I’m sure by now most people in the fandom know or has experienced it, but it can get exceedingly difficult to put together a reliable timeline, considering the conflicting events (god help you if you’re including Origins/Legends). Needless to say there’s a bunch of things in the Rayman universe I assume to be gross exaggerations, mainly for the purpose of not losing my mind. With that said, Ly and the People of Phrys.

First of all, I should note that a lot of the promo material, especially the artwork for Rayman 2, seem to suggest that the friendship between Rayman and Ly has been around far longer than just the events of 2/Revolution. Based on information from the old R2 website, it can also be reasonably assumed that the events of 2 weren’t the first time Rayman has come across the pirates (Razorbeard is another issue entirely if you wish to take the Animated Series into consideration). More on this later.

I believe Ly and Rayman are close to the same age, though exactly which of them is older is a frequent topic of debate, made all the more difficult by Rayman coming into existence as at the very least an older child (depending on how old you think he is in 1). 

Considering the People of Phrys are only every mentioned in an off-hand note, I personally think they were a fairly reserved society with not as much contact with the mainland of Polokus. Whether this is because they served a different god or were merely very prone to isolating themselves is anyone’s guess, though the note implying secrets would suggest the latter.

Taking their high status into account, the nymphs were probably one of the few people who could reliably set foot upon their lands (accompanied by the requisite amount of Teensies for transportation). As secretive as they may have been though, they probably did recognize the importance of gaining knowledge (or were merely convinced by the nymphs) and either through their recommendation, or Betilla’s decision, Ly is chosen as an envoy and, essentially, transfer student at a very young age. Young enough to still be receptive to the outside world and able to learn many things she could eventually bring home and help enrich their culture. 

Based on her promo material and general behavior she was likely an attentive and respectful child when learning, but wild and prone to exploring the forest for days on end, whenever she could.

Betilla has been shown to unlock Rayman’s abilities in 1, but Silver Lums are still something we’ve only ever seen specifically from Ly. This is more than likely an extremely rare talent, especially when you consider how instrumental Lums of all kind are to the fabric of the world. It is talent the nymphs would recognize as extremely important to cultivate. However, unlike with her teachers (especially Betilla, her primary mentor, Holly, who believes to this day that she has a beautiful singing voice, if only she could be more confident about it, and Anetta, who adores her despite Ly’s aversion to large bodies of water), she never quite got along with other fairies (apart from Tily). 

Whether this is because she’s so different, or if it’s envy because the nymphs favored her, is anyone’s guess. Still, no wonder she chose the depths of the Glade as her home, instead of the Council. Likewise no wonder that her other favored spots are a stele and a cave! 

Either way, she ended up finding kinship with other “odd” fellows of the Glade instead, such as Clark, Globox, and of course, Rayman. Another group she ends up befriending are the Teensies, whom she follows around with curiosity, as due to the isolated nature of her homeland, they were seldom found there. The Teensies find her curiosity adorable and they end up taking a liking to her. This grows into immense respect as she protects them during the Pirate invasion. So much so, that they have created several monuments in her honor, and out of pure affection, often in places fairies usually wouldn’t access on their own, so as not to fuel any existing animosity.

Going forwards in time, I believe she returned to Phrys at a certain time. The first skirmish of the Pirates is beaten, but either the main force, or a second attack comes rolling in and things quickly go out of hand. Ly breaks the isolation and calls upon her friends for assistance and while they are relatively successful, the sudden attack and damage to the land is too much for its inhabitants to bear. The People of Phrys panic, and turn to desperate measures, unearthing the secrets they held, the very ones Ly tried to help them protect (with spotty knowledge on what they even were). The results were… exceedingly bad.

It’s hard to place when or how this art piece occurs (if it does at all, since there’s some things that just didn’t end up in the main game), but after initially believing it just show the Pirate’s devastation, I now think it shows something different. I believe this piece takes place immediately in the aftermath. The People of Phrys are gone. Ly is devastated. Clark is waving goodbye to a land he once helped shape and Polokus is likewise distraught, whether they were his children or not (I don’t think Rayman realized who he was at this point in time, and he may only be there as a temporary manifestation, hence his introduction later in 2).

In any case, the people Ly wanted to protect are now gone. This is incredibly hard for her to swallow and while she does try to hide it, the (perceived) failure weighs heavily on her, for years on end. It drives her deeper into her studies, resulting in even further isolation from the Council and her other fairy kin, from which her friends work tirelessly to pull her out of. While she has no concrete proof, she desperately wants to believe that whatever happened to her people is just some kind of massive displacement, rather than eradication. After all, much of this world is centered on dreams, who can say they might not be out there somewhere? 

I believe this ends up being something that drives her to obsessively learn and sometimes even vanish for certain amounts of time, which is why she seldom appears following Rayman 2/Revolution. Whether this is good for her in the long run is anyone’s guess. Such frustration, combined with the magic she possesses, could prove volatile in some cases.

As for other things, I also think she would get along relatively well with Barbara, though the latter would likely consider Ly to be far too stuck-up and serious for her temperament. It would drive her tease Ly on occasion, to which she sometimes would respond in kind, though she would defer to her in most cases that cannot be solved by just planting the business end of an axe in them. 

I believe Ly might actually be a bit jealous even, considering how far Barbara has been able to go adventuring with Rayman and co.; something she would like to do as well, but unfortunately she just cannot cope with the extreme changes in temperature, such as in Gourmand Land or the Blue Mountains. Nevertheless, she would never outwardly show that.

~ ~ ~

I think that about covers it! I’m very fond of Ly as a character and really hope she’ll make another appearance in a future Rayman game. I wouldn’t necessarily count on finding out more about the People of Phrys, but Michel Ancel and his team are unpredictable enough that anything could happen. 

I may have forgotten about a couple of minor, flavor things, but those will probably end up appearing in some shape or form in my writing.

Thank you for tuning in to my essay on this lovable cat-fairy! All images are courtesy of the RaymanPC Wiki.