Niya

Niya is a sylvar protector of Heartwood Grove located in Ardenweald and a major character in the Ardenweald storyline. She is good friends with Korenth, Wagonmaster Derawyn, Te'zan, and eventually Ara'lon. Initially facing severe tragedy, she eventually finds the strength to help save Ardenweald from the Drust invasion.

Ardenweald storyline
After the Drust begin attacking Heartwood Grove and possessing the fae, Niya manages to resist until an adventurer comes to her aid. She joins the adventurer and Te'zan in battling the possessed forces, attempting to retrieve the anima-rich Heart of the Grove back from the Drust. When they find Wagonmaster Derawyn dying from her wounds, Niya wishes to use the animacones they found to revive her, but Derawyn refuses, claiming the anima must be used for the wildseeds and would be wasted on her, allowing herself to die.

Niya then joins the adventurer in slaying the possessed Droman Krelnor, but is unsuccessful in saving the Heart of the Grove from turning to ash from the Drust's magic. She begins to weep, knowing that without the Heart's anima, many wildseeds will wither and die. Shell-shocked by the sheer amount of death surrounding her, she is unable to return to Tirna Vaal without resting for a while. Te'zan volunteers to stay with her until she is okay, asking for her to recount light-hearted stories of her deceased friends to help her through her trauma, which she does.

After taking some time to recover, Niya is asked by Dreamweaver to help escort the nightmare-plagued wildseed to the Hibernal Hollow to help it find peace and grow. Dreamweaver lends Niya his harp to play and soothe the wildseed's nightmares. Niya and the adventurer are briefly halted by Ara'lon and the rest of the Wild Hunt who are battling the Drust. The adventurer helps in the battle while Niya keeps the wildseed calm. As the battle ends, Ara'lon and his platoon help escort the wildseed. Ara'lon and Niya share their respective tales of tragedy, Ara'lon revealing that he only joined the Wild Hunt recently when his grove and the spirits under his charge had to be sacrificed for Adenweald. Both lament that the sacrifices they've made were necessary to ease the Winter Queen's burden.

Seeking to take back the anima stolen by the Possessed gathered at Tirna Noch, Ara'lon and Niya travel with the adventurer to battle the Drust forces there. As they fight their way through, they find that the stolen anima has been housed within the Heart of Tirna Noch. While Niya suggests using the anima to revive their dead groves, Ara'lon claims that their groves are truly dead and the Heart must be used to help save the living. After being flown back by Lady Moonberry, Niya fights in the Battle for Hibernal Hollow, granting speed buffs to players. She follows Droman Aliothe's procession as they bring the dying wildseed directly to the Winter Queen. The Queen proceeds to revive the wildseed and allow its spirit, Ysera, to be reborn, giving hope to the future of Ardenweald.

Night Fae Campaign
When the Maw Walker returns to Ardenweald to join the Night Fae Covenant, Lady Moonberry scans their memories to put on a grand play to honor their joining. During the reenactment of the Third invasion of the Burning Legion, Niya played the roll of Xavius in the Emerald Nightmare raid, initially forgetting her lines. During the subsequent reenactment of the Fourth War, she played Magni Bronzebeard with a comically exaggerated dwarven accent.

Returning to the Heart of the Forest, Niya serves as the adventurer's first Soulbind, claiming it will be an honor to fight alongside them.

Objective of

 * The Way to Hibernal Hollow

Quotes
On-click, post-Heartless (quest)

Greetings
 * I'm so glad you're here.
 * Hello.
 * What do you ask?
 * Where shall we go next?
 * The forest needs us.
 * How can I help?
 * There's a lot I have to learn.

Pissed
 * Hey! Go chase your own tail!

Farewells
 * Until next time.
 * Watch your step.
 * I'll do my best.
 * Farewell.
 * Eyes to the stars.
 * Ardenweald will endure.

Trivia

 * Niya's generic name in Heartwood Grove is Heartwood Grove Survivor and Sylvari Huntress in Tirna Noch.
 * Niya is also the name of the Lechitic (Polish) deity of the underworld Navia, the realm of the dead in Slavic mythology. It remains unknown if the Slavic deity's name inspired the name of this character, however, both are associated with death and afterlives.
 * During The Fourth Wall, er, War, Niya's pronunciation of "wounds" as "woonz" is likely a reference to the "heal her woonz!" meme that became popular among players during Battle for Azeroth.