Encantadia 2016 Character Design: Danaya

Danaya is the youngest of the four siblings. Head strong and somewhat of a deviant, her choice of attire or armor sports a different texture inspired by organic flora and fauna which shows her lineage from SAPIRO.

Her command over the elemental Earth gem makes her the strongest or most resilient of the guardians, since EARTH can weather storms of fire, flood and hurricanes being able to rise up from the rubble after the chaos of any conflict.

Being the keeper of the Earth gem also gives her the emulated ability to heal wounds and drive out sickness. An ability that Sapiro royalty also has.

Originally, the idea was that the characters start with simple attires or garbs. As their skills grow, their persona would also level-up. The gamified idea is that characters improve after every story quest or side quest. Their armors get upgrades. Their skills in battle improve as also their capabilities in wielding the elemental gem given under their care.

In Filipino culture, our witch doctors or healers known to us as "babaylan" would conduct rituals with veils or cloths that cover their faces. It is said that it is to imitate the guardians of nature called collectively as "diwata". With that in mind, I figured that Danaya and her sisters would eventually have veils. These veils are used by the "diwata" and "babaylan" to shield their thoughts or intentions from other beings.

Showing the cultural connection between folklore and heritage would have been cool if we had that in the story.