Ashton Ramussen Hlairyn

(WORK IN PROGRESS, whenever I add more to his story, this will be updated ASAP)

Ashton Hlairyn is the former king of Drova, most known for his affiliation with the drow plague and the over all deterioration of the kingdom altogether.

Appearance
Ashton in his youth was a tall (5'10), lean, average looking drow. With stark-white, half shaven, absolutely wild hair and bright yellow eyes. He would be typically seen in his princely get ups. (Unwillingly wearing them.)

Nowadays, the years have caught up to him. He appears as a decrepit old man, hunched over and wrinkled. Clothed as if he was a peasant. You would have never guessed he was once royalty.

Personality
When Ashton was younger, he was the very definition of the word "careless". He absolutely hated his life of luxury and tedium, he longed for a life of freedom and adventure. This ultimately lead him to sneaking out to see the world around him, and make some thoughtless decisions. He was the more charismatic, energetic, one of the family.

However, now that he is older, he lives in a constant, reflective state. Quietly wondering what he could have changed. Always regretting every move he made in his past, and wishing he could go back in time to avoid the tragedies he has endured. He is a complete 180 from his younger, careless self.

Biography
During his short-lived years as a prince, Ashton was confined to a tedious cycle of studies after studies, after studies. (As well as meeting with Princess Rosalynn, his "boring, emotionless" fiance.) He craved excitement, and a break from the life he was born into. He only found minimal thrill in teasing his younger siblings, Tanmar and Tallrene, and his fencing classes. Aside from that, he was reduced to boredom constantly. He would often complain about it to anyone who could listen.

But as time went on, he became increasingly interested in the mercenaries his father would hire from time to time. He was able to sit at his father's side as Alruel would detail the quests given to them. Despite the fact it was not an often occurrence that he would see them, he still found their presences very entertaining. So much in fact, that Ashton had expressed his desire to join them, multiple times. Once in front of the mercenaries themselves, but no matter how hard he begged, both his mother and father would refuse.

After years of sitting by and watching the mercenaries come and go, Ashton decided he would have to take matters into his own hands. Over the course of five nights, Ashton spent his time memorizing the guard's usual routine, deceiving his parents and siblings, creating an escape route, and creating a persona, (for he could not be recognized so quickly); all for a plan to sneak out and find some fun in the nearby town. The plan also entailed him retrieving his personalized rapier in the event of a fight, a bit of food for the journey as well as some gold; however he only ended up with his sword and a loaf of bread.

During his first attempt, he was captivated by the world he was missing out on. He had never seen the common town in depth before. While he was there, learned how the commoners viewed the royal family, and how they ate up the gossip like cake. He also learned that the family had such an influence on them, that mothers would name their children after the Princes and Princess of Drova. (Which flattered Ashton to no end.) With a heightened sense of ego, he continued forward to a section of town, dedicated to guilds.

Unfortunately for him, this was where things started to go downhill. Word had spread that the oldest prince had disappeared, and that searches were underway. In an effort to escape the crowd, Ashton delved into alleyways, but he was recognized rather quickly. As a result, he had numerous parties chasing after him in hopes of cashing in the handsome bounty on his head. It took hours to lose all those who were after him, but just when he thought he was safe, a nearby blue tiefling rogue (Therai) was able to spot him. At first, Ashton feared the worse, but Therai assured him he had no interest in the bounty; in fact, he was willing to aid poor Ashton. As a result, Ashton was rather quick to confide in him; but that was a detrimental mistake.

Therai was "hired " (It was more or less a favor being cashed in.) by one of the king's mercenaries to lure Ashton into the local tavern, where then the mercenaries would retrieve Ashton and return to the king. Their plan was successful. And while Ashton suffered a minor loss, he was not too discouraged, for he was able to connect with the mercenaries and see a whole new side to the "stone faced" workers. Once the mercenaries returned to the castle, they all proceeded to explain that Ashton had not disrupted the peace or had stolen anything on his little journey. Because of this, the group kindly requested for Ashton to not receive a harsh punishment for sneaking out, in which the king and queen reluctantly agreed to. As well as for Ashton to take some time out of his day to listen to the mercenaries' stories whenever they returned to the castle, mainly to give Ashton a tale to hear to more or less deter him from leaving again.

(The rest is TBC, the lore is not complete as of now. I will update this ASAP)

Beriah Hlairyn
Beriah is the son of Tanmar, and the nephew of Ashton. Beriah acts a care taker to the elderly, immortal, Ashton Hlairyn. Beriah will occasionally make trips to Ashton's cabin to soothe his pains and make sure that Ashton can still walk. It means wonders for poor Ashton, for Beriah is the only family member he has alive (other than king Dakon, his grandson) and who is also willing to take care of him.

Ashton loves Beriah to no end, he considers him the son he never had. He also claims Beriah shares a resemblance to Tanmar, which feels bittersweet for both parties, but it leaves Ashton feeling a bit of peace. He feels that he can do right with his late family by having Beriah in his life. (Even if Beriah doesn't believe Ashton's stories on how the plague came to be.)

Shao W'Gatha
Ashton refers to Shao as the, "bane of his existence". For he has brought nothing but pain and misery to every facet of Ashton's life. Ashton lives with the constant internal conflict of whether or not the deaths of his family and all the women of Drova were his fault, but Ashton can never verbalize the specifics of his encounter with the mad god. Shao will also tear him down to make him believe it was his fault, even when Ashton is on the verge of a breakthrough.

Not only has Shao cursed him with immortality, he has also cursed him with dementia, that only Shao can control. Ashton fears he may forget Beriah and all the memories he had with his family.

Zezsa Maeep
Zezsa, the only remaining drow woman left, was forced by Shao to meet with Ashton. Ashton theorized that it was a way for Shao to torment him; but after their brief interaction, Zezsa gave Ashton a beacon of hope. She knew Ashton's story, and she assured him that what happened to the drow women was not his fault. Hearing this was exactly what Ashton needed to hear, another being who knew the truth. As a result, his overall mood increased, with her help, he able to stop feeling sorry for himself. Despite everything, he worries for her. He knows her fate, and wishes there was something he could do for her. All he can do, is take her advice, and feel happiness despite Shao's tyranny.

Quotes
(Bold of you to assume I have remembered anything he has said.)

Trivia

 * Initially, Ashton was never made to be royalty, at first it was a joke between Bagel and the DM, but since the DM was down for that idea, Bagel stuck with it. (Bagel all about that royal life)
 * Ashton was actually used as a one shot character, he occasionally makes appearances in TRE.
 * For her NaNoWriMo, (A writing event where you have to write 25,000/50,000 words starting at the beginning of November to the end) Bagel wrote Ashton's story about the events prior and after Shao's meeting. It is still a work in progress to this day.
 * The night after the one shot campaign, Bagel felt such strong empathy for her poor Ashton that she cried. (T'was the price of getting too attached too quickly) She had no clue as to how the one shot would end, which why it hurt more.