[citation needed] Teyla Emmagan is the leader of the Athosians, a human race of farmers, hunters, and traders from the planet Athos in the Pegasus Galaxy.

[2] Teyla stays with Sheppard's team, but later helps with evacuating the Athosians from the mainland several times in the face of various threats.

[citation needed] Despite initially being distrusted (mostly by military officials), Teyla is left in charge of Atlantis in the absence of the expedition's regular leadership.

[7][8] In the third-season episode "The Return", Atlantis is reclaimed by a group of Ancients and the Athosians are asked to leave Lantea, settling on a planet they name New Athos, which is unknown to the Wraith.

[9][10] Although Teyla notes that she has often felt like an outsider among the Atlantis Earth crew, the rescue of fellow reconnaissance teammate Ronon Dex convinces her of the team's loyalty to one another.

In the meantime, the Athosian people have gone missing, and the search for clues to their disappearance proves a season-long arc for Teyla.

[4] Due to the constant threat of Wraith attack, Athosians consider it a privilege to know when and where one is about to die, and have a ritual prayer for the occasion meant to prepare that person for death.