Ashen

Appearance ✦

A horse that would be so easy to go unnoticed if not for his eyes.

He looks completely natural on first glance, with his cream-and-brown spots and flowing white mane. There's a black patch on his nose, not quite jet black but certainly close. A messenger bag is always slung over one shoulder, filled with the letters and notes he's supposed to send across all Silvarum. While it's been in use for many years, it's still in near-perfect condition. Ashen takes care of his bag well, because even though he might hate his job, it's a symbol of status. You can see your reflection in the buckle that keeps his bag securely closed, but most likely he won't let you get that close.

His mane is a flowing wave of white, with streaks of crimson red. You might think that it would get in his eyes all the time, but, surprisingly, it never does. Some strange kind of magic trick? It certainly could be, but you won't be focusing on that for long, because it's his eyes that really draw you in.

They're bright red and full of spirals, and when you look at them it's difficult to look away. There's a reason behind that - Ashen has the ability to hypnotize people. It's not incredibly powerful, but it's still a good tool to help him with persuasion. Don't look him in the eyes - it might not end well.

✦ Relationships

Malorin The darkness of Silvarum had ended up being Ashen's biggest inspiration and his biggest enemy. Both at once. Ashen knows that Malorin plans to be the ruler of all three kingdoms, but Ashen secretly thinks that the he himself would be far better. For now, the two are in a complicated alliance. Both are planning to betray the other when the time is right, because, after all, there can only be one King of the World.

Backstory ✦

Moonrise. The kingdom of the adventurers, the explorers, and the thrill-seekers. This was the home of Ashen growing up. He lived in the southern part of the desert, by a tiny oasis. A town had started to spring up there as people moved away from the capital to pursue their dreams. The original founders of the Moonrise kingdom had come to the desert to seek out the unknown - now, after several thousand years, this latest generation wanted to do the same. This is why Ashen's parents moved here to raise their son.

In comparison to other cities, this town was fairly lawless, so the people living there ended up calling it the exact opposite. The place came to be known as Peaceful. Ashen appreciated the irony... perhaps a bit too much. He quickly learned that shifting the truth helped others' opinions of you, and by the time he was 5 he wasn't quite lying on a daily basis, but he was certainly getting there. His parents tried to teach him otherwise, and they had many long discussions with the boy, but he never seemed to truly learn his lesson.

He was so good at lies, in fact, that no one was truly able to tell when he was twisting the truth. This proved very good for him, as he was able to easily trick the other children into doing things for him - doing bad deeds and then taking the blame, while Ashen got off scot free. It was when he was 12, though, that something interesting truly happened.

It was a dark night when the news came. A messenger ran to report the news, leading a group of haggard animals, but the fire on the horizon was news enough. Moonrise's capital was up in flames, and most of the advisors were dead. Worst of all... someone from inside the place itself had been the cause of its demise, and they had taken out the king. Melorin had done it, they said. Advisor's son, charming fellow, master of lies, how could this have happened?

Ashen was intrigued by the flames, and he listened quietly to the news before running to a dark spot outside the town to watch the flames without arousing suspicion. A lie had brought the capital to ruin. Lies seemed to be incredibly important in this kingdom. It wasn't that he relished in the destruction - he watched because it felt unreal, and the red and orange far in the distance was a soothing glow that cast aside his fears while he looked on.

Ashen watched for an hour from his spot under a trio of palm trees, as the fire grew and then, slowly, started to subside, until, quite suddenly, he heard subtle footsteps behind him. Scared, the horse turned around and looked into the shadows. There was a red and black creature, much the same color as the flames, smirking at him. His yellow eyes glowed in the darkness.

"Who - who are you?" Ashen asked, and when the other figure knew he wouldn't be attacked or sent away, he stepped closer.

With a mock bow the other said, "Surely you've been enjoying the spectacle? I've been waiting here, as you stared at the ruins of the capitol. Do you appreciate my work?"

It was then that Ashen properly noticed the horns on the creature's head, and the red scarf. This couldn't actually be - "You mean you're Melorin?"

"For now. Planning on changing it, but never mind that. Tell me what you think."

"I -" Ashen didn't know what to say. He was scared, but more intrigued than anything else. His first instinct was to lie again, to not let Melorin know how terrified he truly was. "It's kinda scary." 

"Good. It's supposed to be." Melorin was at Ashen's side. How - how did that happen? The dark creature had been twelve feet away, at least, and he had moved completely soundlessly. "You were thinking about lying there. Interesting. Most people here don't think of that when they're as young as you."

"Well I'm not most people." Ashen said it on impulse. Melorin was an intriguing figure, someone he wanted to impress despite himself.

Melorin laughed, a quiet, dark sound. "You bet you aren't." The silence stretched out beyond them for several minutes, Ashen shuffling his hooves nervously, until the other spoke again. "I'm going to the Shadowed Lands. This kingdom won't accept me as their leader for a long time coming."

"You want to take over Moonrise?" Ashen gasped.

A quiet nod. Melorin stared off into the fire. "The leaders of this kingdom are pointless. They aren't brave enough to lead us to victory. That's what I could do."

----

The words would stick in Ashen's head as he grew into adulthood. Malorin left, heading south for the Shadowed Lands, and though he offered a chance for Ashen to come along, the horse stayed behind in the dangerous town of Peaceful. Moonrise got a new leader - an ominous fellow with a dragon skull mask, and Ashen remained in his hometown until he was 25. That's when he got a job offer that he couldn't refuse.

The messenger's group was recruiting at the time, and Ashen wanted to get out. He wanted to see the world. So he agreed and soon after he was traveling across the kingdoms, delivering letters and eavesdropping on conversations.

The job was not as good as he had wanted it to be.

There was no point to being a mail carrier - it was an obvious, ordinary job. No, Ashen knew he was meant for more. Although this gave him many opportunities for travel, he never had the time to pursue his own endeavors. One day, though, he heard whispers of the Darkness of Silvarum, and then he remembered.

Over the past years he had almost completely forgotten about Melorin, but he had been delivering mail when he overheard a storyteller, telling about the destruction of the Moonrise kingdom so long ago. And Ashen remembered. Melorin had said he'd be heading off to the Shadowed Lands, hadn't he?

So Ashen quit his job, then and there, and went looking for the mysterious fellow he'd met as a child.

profile html by Hukiolukio