She's once a male Manta Ray mermaid who lived with multiple brothers and sisters, learning how to use water based magic and a hint of electro magic, eventually he realized the reason why he was never comfortable in his own skin. He was born a boy and never felt like he should have. With this knowledge he's grown determined in his magic to find a way to fix his problems. eventually though crude, he was able to become what he's always desired, though only an illusion, a female. after many years of perfecting his illusion magic Raya had soon entered a magic school to pursue in her magic. Some shenanigans happened where she threatened the life of a human (as she, and many of her people, called land dwellers) due to his meddling with the coral reefs near her home, though he was given the ok by the government of her homeland, Push comes to shove and she was thrown onto land to learn her lesson, as a "land dweller" unable to go home to see her family again. One plus about this is due to the transformation magic used on her by the arch mages, she was officially a female. Years passed and she's finally grown fond of humans, and their culture, and even saved the lives and grown friendships and relationships with the humans (note: this took YEARS not just 3 like in the image) She eventually started to date an elven druid named Rose, and with her finally seeing her wrongs, she was given the chance to go back home, and live on land at the same time, her life now as a triton.

if you have any questions please ask! I can clear up any questions (btw. I didn't wanna say it out right but yes, for the longest time, raya was SUPER racist, she's still a bit but it took YEARS of pushing and pulling for her to ge out of that mindset. not just 3 years. It took a good 10 or so years of constant work to get her out of that mindset)