@AWarriorMade

Ash Armina

 

Age: 32
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Personality: Daring, adventurous, cunning, resourceful, independent, goofy
Occupation: Freelance Fighter
Home Region: The Lykos Caves (Originally Valara)
Powers/Abilities/Skills: Fighting with swords, bow and arrow, hand-to-hand combat, and guns on occasion. Dancing.

Other Associated Regions: Steam City, wherever her work takes her.

Ash was born to an elf family in the forest of Valara. She was always brave and adventurous, and loved exploring with her best friend, Natalie. When they were 11, Ash and Natalie went exploring one night, and came across a cave. They wandered in, and deep inside, they found a strange altar. Despite Ash’s adventurous nature, Natalie was the more curious one, and approached, looking at the strange crystal on the altar. Ash became afraid, and begged Natalie not to touch it, but she didn’t listen. At first, nothing happened, and Ash breathed a sigh of relief. But then, the ground started to shake. Terrified, Ash ran out of the cave, desperate to find her parents and get help. She got lost in the forest, and slept in a clump of ferns crying herself to sleep.

When Ash finally found her way back, she simply told everyone that she had been out late, and lost track of time. Thinking about the previous night filled her with terror. Later on, she saw Natalie again, but they didn’t talk about what had happened. It turned out that Natalie had gotten some magical powers, and her parents sent her to the academy, leaving Ash alone. Before she left, Ash made her a bracelet to remember her by. She missed her friend. When she thought of that fateful night, she was ashamed at running away, and set out to find the cave again and face her fear. But she could never locate it, even though she kept searching.

After Ash turned 14, tragedy struck. The family went for a walk in the forest, and came across a cave. Thinking it could be the one she was looking for, Ash convinced her parents that it would be a good picnic spot, and they set up their things in the shade. Ash went to explore the tunnels. It turned out that it was an entrance to the Lykos Caves, and was on a popular smuggling route. A gang transporting drugs came across Ash’s parents. Wanting no witnesses, they shot and killed them. Ash heard the gunshots and came running. The gang’s leader shot at her, but missed. She fell over, and lay frozen in fear. Assuming she was dead, the gang moved on. Ash was left orphaned and alone.

Ash didn’t return home after that. She felt guilty, thinking her parents’ death was her fault. She ventured into the caves, and eventually came out near Steam City. She lived on the streets until she was 15, then lied about her age to join the military, hoping to find a way to avenge her parents. It was there that she learned to fight. She started with wielding a pair of swords and a bow, the traditional weapons of the elves, but she also quickly learned hand-to-hand combat, and it became a favorite fighting method. She doesn’t care much for guns, but knows how to use one if she needs to. She found a military career unfulfilling, however, so she eventually left.

Ash found herself in the Lykos Caves once more. She protected a group of travelers from a group of criminals, and saw them safely to their destination. They insisted on giving her some money, and she realized how she could make a living. She became a freelance fighter, hiring herself out to people traveling both through the caves and over land. She has even protected smugglers seeking protection from rival gangs. Ash uses these opportunities to spy out the gangs, hoping to find the ones who killed her parents.

Some of her favorite jobs, however, have been accompanying adventurers seeking treasure in the Ruins of Tahi. It is dangerous work, but it pays well, and keeps her fighting skills honed. And it is exciting. When the freelance work is slow, Ash likes to make a little extra cash by dancing in one of the bars in The Underground. While on stage, she goes by the stage name, Ruby. This is so that her enemies won't immediately recognize her while she's entertaining.

 

 Ash has all but forgotten the encounter in that cave. Now, her mind is on adventure and revenge.