#tara moonshield

Thinking that nothing she did would ever earn his respect, she decided to act out as soon as she entered Kal Asterock out of spite towards her father and a desire to finally express herself. Pranking other students, trespassing into highly-restricted areas, and even dangerous things like cartwheeling on the balconies of high places, most of her actions are mainly because she just wanted to get under Surya's skin in all kinds of ways. Almost every interaction they have in school always involves a messy argument between them, all of which ends with Tara walking away from him.

In reality, Surya's behavior is mostly the result of the trauma and grief over her mother's death. Because Tara bore a striking resemblance to his wife along with inheriting the same Tama as her, he has a difficult time looking at her without being reminded of his loss, taking it all out on his own child as a coping method. He was furious when Tara joined the Knights not only because it went against their family tradition of playing for the Bards, but because it was the same team as the son of his wife's "murderer". He is actually subconsciously overprotective of his daughter, but it's ultimately twisted by his own pride and narcissism because he literally can't seem to show it in a more healthier way and just spit it out to her.

The only times he ever shows concern for her is if she's in genuine danger from outside forces. "The Leech" would display his potentially best moments as a father because of everything that unfolds in the episode. For instance, when Mara attacked the Knights in the library, he was especially enraged when the other Goyens arrived to stop her because Tara was being forcibly restricted as well. Later, when Sugoi asks for a willing volunteer to test Ameline's Tama after copying it, instead of Sanga, Tara is the one to offer herself as a test subject in order to prove her teammate's innocence. As soon as the experiment is complete, Surya is quick to catch his weakened daughter in his arms when she temporarily loses her Tama, possibly being the most concerned for her safety than he ever has up until this point.

"Revelations" is when things get far more complicated between them, however, because it soon becomes glaringly obvious that his protectiveness of Tara only extends to her physical safety, not including her emotional needs. While he tells the Bards not to humiliate his daughter too much compared to the other Knights, he shows no hesitation in ordering the Ferreiro twins to target Key's life right in front of her, much to Tara's absolute disbelief because she never imagined her father would go that far. As soon as she realizes he has absolutely no regard for her feelings on the matter, she immediately tries to step in to prevent his plan during the match.

In doing so, however, she accidentally ends up being in the crossfire of Key's Tama, barely able to defend herself with her own power. Because of her natural weakness to bright lights, she ultimately got her legs severely scorched alongside Casper, genuinely horrifying her father and triggering his trauma over her mother's death. After angrily confronting Key and revealing the truth about Edina in the aftermath of the match, Surya then proceeds to carry away his unconscious daughter in his arms, seemingly making his decision about Tara's future with the Knights as it becomes clear that he now has a reason to make her cut all ties with her team.

Falco Sunspear (❤️‍🩹💜): Similar to her father, Tara has a strained relationship with her younger cousin. Back at their home, when she recently awakened her Tama, all of their family's attention and expectations was focused on Falco simply because she didn't inherit their Solar Rays Tama while her own cousin did. Despite being a few years older, Tara was forced to grow up in his shadow throughout her childhood and would even be constantly compared to him. Because of this, Falco would always mock his cousin for both her standing in their family along with her inheriting a Tama that was naturally weak against them, never missing the opportunity to tell her to "stay in the shadows". Tara, in turn, only feels annoyed by his very presence, calling him a "show-off" every time she watched him play. There were even some times when Falco would purposely fire his Tama into a nearby shadow where she was hiding in just to knock her out of it, finding smug delight in her frustration.

Their relationship subtly improves after the Knights' unofficial match with the Roses, in which Falco is slightly humbled by the experience after Ameline temporarily drains his Tama. While the two cousins continue to occasionally bicker, it is eventually revealed that he was mostly inspired by Tara's defiant behavior upon entering the academy to join the Roses instead of the Bards. Falco had always resented how his uncle treated his cousin in the beginning, but never had the strength to step in for her up until now. When they were younger, he once discovered Chikku's existence after witnessing Tara play with him, but never exposed her secret to the rest of the family because as poor as their relationship was at the time, he would never cross a line by having his cousin's beloved pet taken from her.

After Falco gets attacked and permanently loses his Tama, Tara personally visits him in the infirmary upon hearing about the incident. Although she was annoyed that his team was suspecting Ameline of attacking him, their current relationship has apparently improved enough for her to entrust him with Chikku and give him company by leaving the animal on his infirmary bed, jokingly threatening him not to tell Surya about this.

Ratri Sunspear/Moonshield (❤️‍🩹): Before her death, Tara vaguely remembered her mother to be an incredibly warm and gentle person, recalling the way she would hold her in her arms and entertain her with little tricks she did with her Tama until she fell asleep. Upon her unintentional demise from the attack of Edina's dragon, Tara was left suffering from the aftermath of her death because of Surya's emotional abuse due to the trauma of witnessing the tragedy. The only clear memory she had left of her mother was a lullaby she would hum to her daughter, which inspired her love for music in the future.

Tara never learned the details of her mother's death because Surya would always snap at her whenever she asked, harshly telling her to never speak of Ratri in front of him. All she ever knew about her was through the family pictures, seeing how she bore a striking resemblance to a woman she barely remembered anymore. When she discovered herself to have inherited her Tama, she felt as though she finally had a piece of her mother with her. Even though she ended up being ostracized in her own family because of the power she got from her, she never once blamed her mother.

Upon taking on Ratri’s maiden name during enrollment in Kal Asterock, not only did she do so to hide her true identity as a Sunspear, but also as an indirect form of honor towards her mother’s memory because although she barely remembers her anymore, it was still the closest thing she could do to keep her alive in her heart.

Chikku (💙): Chikku is a mischievous but friendly mothfox (a combination of a Venezuelan poodle moth and a fox) that Tara once found as a baby when she was much younger, having discovered the animal in her family's gardens while she was practicing outside. Wanting a companion but knowing Surya would never allow her to own a critter under their roof, she secretly took him in and cared for him behind her family's backs. The mothfox was quick to become her beloved pet and best friend, even considering him family. She even refers to him as her emotional support pet, believing that had he not appeared in her life when she needed a friend most, she would have most likely ended up for the worse.

When Tara became enrolled in Kal Asterock, she took Chikku with her because she could not stand being separated from her dear pet and it was far too risky leaving him alone at home. Because pets were strictly prohibited in the academy, she had to continue caring for the mothfox in secret and only trusted a select few with knowledge of his existence, such as the Knights and eventually Falco. Chikku is occasionally seen either riding on Tara's shoulders or getting into all sorts of antics in the background, only showing himself around people his owner trusted.

He is an overall trustworthy pet and faithful companion, doing little gestures to cheer up Tara and her friends like nuzzling Milo to comfort him with his anxiety and licking Key's cheek when he was expressing frustration over his inability to control his Tama.

The Knights

Key Nagatatsu (💙): Key first caught Tara's attention upon hearing that he was the supposed Dragon Striker and witnessing his performance in the Banner Trials. Although he was initially overwhelmed by the older student's tendency for chaos, the two were quick to befriend each other. Tara's interest in him only grew when she noticed Surya's apparent hatred for him, curious as to why her father detested someone like Key, especially when his reasoning was that the boy was a potential threat. When Key offered her a place in the Knights while they were gathering members, Tara initially accepted because she mostly wanted to provoke Surya by joining the same team as the boy he hated so much.

She then grew closer to Key because she saw a little bit of herself in him: a child who just wanted to live up to their late mother's namesake while enduring the tremendous burden of the family legacy. She found herself further connecting to him through their similar experiences, serving as a supportive older sister figure to him by encouraging him not to let his family and power be the one to define him as a person: something she wished she could be told herself. When he learned about her relationship with Surya, while he was initially shocked to discover that she was a Goyen's daughter, he did not change his opinion of her and instead admired her for her independence and defiance towards her family.

In the final moments of the match between the Knights and the Bards, upon hearing Surya's orders to the Ferreiro twins to kill Key, Tara did not hesitate to step in to attempt protecting her friend from them. She made an effort to dissuade him from losing control to the twins' provocations, only for it to fail when he ultimately gives into his anger and activates the full power of his Tama. Key was absolutely horrified when he saw that not only did he horribly burn Casper from his fire, but also Tara when she got caught in the crossfire of the attack.

His distress ultimately worsens when Surya confronts him in the aftermath and bitterly reveals the truth about Edina: not only did her dragon attack Kal Asterock, but she was also indirectly responsible for the death of Tara's mother in the past. Devastated and guilt-ridden over the fact that his own mother was the one who (accidentally) murdered his friend's mother, Key ultimately begins to distance himself from Tara in an attempt to protect her from himself. Despite her efforts to reassure him that she doesn't blame him for both her legs being burned and what Edina had done in the past, he is unable to understand why she would still want to remain friends with the son of the woman who took her mother away.

Ssyelle Tournefeuille (💙): Tara is impressed by Ssyelle's loyal and hard-working nature after watching her performance during the Banner Trials, complimenting her potential as a goalkeeper upon witnessing her Tama in action. While she likes to occasionally tease the 1st-year student, it is always out of playful mischief and she sometimes takes the opportunity to encourage her when she needs it most.

Ssyelle, in turn, admires Tara for her cool-headed demeanor and resourcefulness with her Tama, even in environments where it is supposed to be at its weakest. She even thought that the 3rd-year was the one most fitting to be the captain of the Knights, only to be shocked when she turned down the offer because she believed Ssyelle was suitable for the position despite being younger, admitting that even she herself wasn't crazy enough to form an entire Banner team just to let her friends participate in Gorotama.

Milo Stonegarden (💙): When Tara first met Milo, her first impression of him was that he was a gentle but fragile person due to his timid and anxious nature. She was tempted to make him another victim of her pranks just to get him to loosen up, only to change her mind because she figured that simply being herself around him was enough to set him on edge. Much to everybody's shock and disbelief, she seems to genuinely enjoy the taste of the jellies he creates with his Tama, casually stealing a bite of them every time he accidentally creates some.

Milo was initially intimidated and overwhelmed by Tara due to her outgoing nature and pendant for mischief, along with being constantly startled by her entrances whenever she teleports next to him through her shadows. He was genuinely flustered when she complimented his Jelly Tama and even its flavor because she was the first and possibly only person to actually stomach the taste of his jellies. Although it took quite some time, he eventually grew comfortable around Tara enough to grow used to her antics (to an extent), and Tara, in turn, sometimes shares Chikku with him to comfort the younger boy whenever he gets nervous.

Odward Stonegarden (🖤💙): At first, Tara and Odward did not get along with each other because of their differing approaches to Gorotama. She disliked his massive ego along with his initial position with the Bards, viewing him as a representation of everything she hated about her father's team. As such, she would always retaliate against his condescending behavior by inflicting all sorts of pranks on him during the past years, earning him his ire. Even after joining the Knights, Odward continued to have a low opinion of her not only because of her record, but her casual and mischievous attitude indicated she was being far too carefree and didn't take anything seriously, especially Gorotama.

When he overheard an argument between Tara and Surya and learned about their relationship, he initially thought that the reason for her behavior and continued enrollment in Kal Asterock was because of her family connections. However, Tara snapped back at him for the accusation and angrily confessed that her family was exactly the reason why she tried to hide her identity in the first place. Odward eventually realized that despite her carefree demeanor, she is actually enduring a lot from her family and copes by hiding just as much stress as every experienced Gorotama player, including himself.

Once he saw that her nonchalant but optimistic behavior was her way of putting up a strong face for the younger teammates, he gradually develops a begrudging respect for her encouragement towards them, which becomes more sincere once he witnesses her skills on the playing field. They also subtly connect with each other over their shared experiences with breaking up with their own respective boyfriends and harboring bitter feelings towards them.

Although Tara continues to occasionally annoy him with petty antics such as stealing his wallet and making witty remarks, their relationship significantly improves during their time as members of the Knights. They even become close enough to perform a powerful combo move together with their Tamas during the match against the Bards.

Ameline (💙): While they do not personally interact much together, Tara is just as fond as Ameline as she is for the other younger members of the Knights. She is fascinated by her ability to temporarily drain Tamas, viewing it as one of the most powerful Tamas she has personally witnessed in her life. Ameline mostly reminds her of her younger self where she was forced to be more reserved and stick to the shadows by her own family, which subconsciously prompted her to be more protective of the girl in general.

When Ameline is accused of permanently draining Falco's Tama, Tara immediately volunteers to have Sugoi copy her power and use it on her because she had full faith that her teammate was innocent. Although the process left her completely drained for a few moments, Tara was visibly relieved to have all suspicions on her friend removed, while Ameline was grateful towards her for helping clear her name, affectionately nicknaming her "Shadow Lady".

The Dragons

Noreen Sugoi (💜): Sugoi serves as a stern figure in Tara's school life, showing resigned exasperation towards her pranks with the amount of damage they had caused to the environment over the years. While she personally views the woman as someone to annoy with her antics, she doesn't go so far as to directly target or involve her in her pranks, respecting the woman enough to spare her compared to everybody else.

Although Sugoi is repeatedly exhausted by Tara's misdemeanor, she believes that the young girl has tremendous potential as a Gorotama player because of her resourcefulness with her Tama, feeling as though she was wasting all of that talent on pranks alone. Upon seeing that she had finally joined a team of her own, she was pleasantly surprised and gave a genuine smile at her for finally putting her skills to good use.

It is eventually revealed that Sugoi personally feels guilty for not only Edina's death, but Ratri's as well because she believes that the absence of a mother in a household like Tara's was what led her to act out in the beginning. The reason why she refused to have Tara expelled from Kal Asterock for all the pranks and misdemeanor in the first place was because she wanted to find the right opportunity for the girl to find a place of her own, thinking that it was the least she could do for indirectly having a hand in her mother's death.

Ragno Garanthar (💝🖤❤️‍🩹): Tara first learned about Ragno after attending one of his matches during her second year while he was a 3rd-year, mostly out of curiosity about the supposed Dragon Striker she kept hearing about. She got to properly meet him in person after bumping into him during practice, and although their interactions were awkward at first, she somehow managed to befriend him despite his unapproachable behavior. A year later, they became romantically involved with each other, with Tara trusting him enough to tell him her secret identity as a Sunspear and a Goyen’s daughter.

Things started to fracture between them when the pressure and high expectations of being the Dragon Striker began to weigh down on Ragno. As time slowly passed, he grew increasingly distant and irritable towards others, even pushing away Tara as he started to treat her like a distraction because he was so focused on living up to the mantle as Dragon Striker.

When Ragno got suspended in the aftermath of a match gone wrong because he used Dragon Fury, Tara gave him one last chance by trying to comfort him about the suspension. Everything immediately broke when he instead just lashed out at her and even accused her of enjoying his situation, and at that moment, he became no different than everyone else who knew about her circumstances. Tara had trusted Ragno with her heart and secret because she thought he wouldn’t see her any differently if she did, only for him to prove her wrong by destroying everything between them.

That was the end of their relationship, and ever since then, things were never the same between them. Tara started giving Ragno the silent treatment and became bitter towards him in general, thinking that everyone else must be as blind as she was to look up to someone like him. She also stopped attending his matches and would even use her Tama to slip away every time they saw each other.

Ragno, on the other hand, never apologized for what he said to her in the heat of the moment, even though he was clearly in the wrong in the first place. Despite this, a part of him still seems to care about her enough to not tell anybody her secret identity as a Sunspear, even after their painful breakup. While he could have done that out of revenge for her dumping him, she is still one of the only people he doesn't actively harass or torment.

During the Dragons' match against the Roses in "Out of Their League", Tara was annoyed that she had to attend it along with the rest of the Knights because she basically had to watch a match between her ex-boyfriend and her own cousin. She didn't show any concern or sympathy for Ragno when she caught him being harshly berated by Sugoi, thinking that being humbled was exactly what he needed. But when Ragno sees her in the crowd for a brief moment, all she does is turn her eyes away with a conflicted expression, indicating that she still cares about him deep down.

Skadi Savarog (💙): Tara first saw Skadi during the Banner Trials and was genuinely impressed by her performance despite the latter being disabled. At some point after the trials, they occasionally meet up around the school grounds every now and then to hang out, despite Skadi now being in the Dragons. Other than that, they aren't seen interacting much, though sometimes Tara mentions she likes to pick up a few souvenirs from the marketplace of Mestras for her.

The Bards

The Ferreiro Twins (🖤): Tara has an antagonistic relationship with the twins, especially Callista. During her first year at Kal Asterock, she was once bullied by them for refusing to participate in Gorotama. In retaliation, this was what helped prompt her to push herself into both openly defying her father and fighting back against the twins with pranks of her own. Much to their chagrin, whenever she encounters them now, she pretends to not remember their names or faces whatsoever, refusing to let them find any satisfaction in bothering her in any way.

It is soon revealed that they are some of the very few people outside of the Goyen and Tara's friends who are aware of her true identity, having been personally ordered by Surya to not reveal it to anyone. However, despite her being their coach's daughter, they continue to hold her in sheer contempt because they believed that since she originated from such a luxurious household and was related to a Goyen, she looked down on them because they had to work twice as hard in "poorer" environments such as their hometown to get to where they were. They especially hate how she always outthinks them in terms of pranks with the resourcefulness of her Tama, which often leads them to try to find any dirt on her whatsoever to get the upper hand.

The Shadows

Sanga (💜): Tara is often irritated by Sanga because he expressed a strong interest in her and her Tama due to its compatibility with his team. He is the only Goyen who never shows annoyance towards her for her pranks, but is instead genuinely amused and intrigued at how she incorporates her powers in her antics while making use of her environments. He has repeatedly extended the offer to her to join the Shadows for the last two years, even granting her the position as captain because of how especially powerful her Tama was in the dark. Tara always turns him down despite her natural potential with the team, even referring to Sanga as a "creepy old man" on several occasions.

Their relationship briefly takes on an antagonistic turn when the Shadows attack the Knights under the assumption that they stole their diadem. Tara manages to overpower them with her Tama for a few moments due to the dark environment of their confrontation at the time, only for Sanga to swiftly overwhelm her with his own power, taunting that she could have had the strength to give even a Goyen such as himself a challenge if she had simply accepted his earlier offer to train under his wing. Once Ameline returns the diadem to the Shadows, Sanga retreats along with his team, expressing mild disappointment in Tara's choice to remain with the Knights to the end as he remarks, "What a shame. You would have made an excellent Shadow."

In the aftermath of the confrontation, the two do not seem to share any negative feelings between them anymore, though Tara admits that Sanga still creeps her out to this day.

Pregrina Freaks (🖤💜): Tara apparently shares a one-sided rivalry with Pregrina over on the latter's end. The 2nd-year resents her for seemingly wanting to replace her position as captain of the Shadows due to Sanga's numerous offers to her, causing her to try to pick a fight with the older student every time they see each other. Tara, on the other hand, doesn't pay much mind to her because she is mainly unaffected by her threats and her own Tama is on equal grounds with hers. She even attempts to comfort Milo over his fear of her by bluntly calling her "tiny" compared to him, though it only worsened the situation because Pregrina was within earshot and overheard her. They seem to stop interacting after the Knights' victory against the Shadows, though Tara briefly hears from Brunelca that she might be plotting her revenge against them for her humiliating defeat.

The Roses

Mara O'Gargine (🖤💜): Mara was usually one of the more strict Goyens towards Tara for her numerous pranks damaging the school on multiple occasions, to which the latter always reminded her that despite her antics, none of her tricks ever really harmed anybody. Besides that, they did not interact much outside of the woman occasionally berating the 3rd-year student for her misdemeanor every now and then.

Mara becomes much more antagonistic in the wake of Falco's incident when Ameline becomes the main suspect for draining his Tama, extending her suspicion towards the entire Knights team in general. Upon confronting them, while struggling to immobilize Tara with her power, she initially accuses her of seemingly ordering Ameline to attack Falco in the first place as another one of her pranks. This was quick to upset the teenager because it was one thing to be wrongly accused for a "prank", but she was especially offended that she would be assumed to be the type who would willingly harm someone to a severe degree, especially if the victim was her own family.

The confrontation eventually dies down when the other Goyens arrive to help clear Ameline's name, though it is heavily implied that there may be lingering bitter feelings between Tara and Mara due to the woman's apparent hatred for the Knights in general.

Lilas Glasmearin (💙): Tara shares a friendly relationship with Lilas because although she can be slightly annoyed at her pranks, the 4th-year student is surprisingly one of the only people who is genuinely amused at the chaos it brings. They apparently hang out with each other outside of Gorotama every now and then, and Tara even trusts her enough to keep secret about Chikku's existence, although they are not seen interacting a lot.

They briefly become rivals during the Roses' unofficial match with the Knights, but do not hold any hard feelings between each other when the latter becomes victorious. Lilas even compliments Tara's skills on the playing field and remarks that it was nice to see her finally decide on a team to join, supporting her decision to play with the Knights and maintaining their friendship with each other.

Others

Edina Nagatatsu (💜❤️‍🩹): Tara only heard of Edina through Surya as the original Dragon Striker, but never quite understood why he despised her so much to the point where he refused to talk about her and always spoke of her name with pure hatred. She initially thought that her father hated her because the woman had once soundly defeated him during their school years, which inadvertently kickstarted the Bards' losing streak for the championship. Since then, she displayed a strong interest in the name of the Dragon Striker, intrigued by those who work to live up to the legacy of such a powerful Gorotama player.