Asche Fall

> *“These… ‘loyalists’ stain the name of the Empire. They refuse to see reason, or to negotiate from a position of anything less than absolute strength. It is that arrogance that will be their downfall.*
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> “I will crush them--every last one. I will show them what it means to be a true daughter of the Empire, even if I should stand alone in doing so.
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> “I am scum. I am nothing. I am the illegitimate daughter of what they call a traitor empress and a worthless, nameless noble house.
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> “I am Asche Heftig Fall, and I will show them the meaning of might.”
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> -Asche Fall, shortly after the Battle of Vacuo, 4 AIM

**Asche Heftig Fall,** also known as **Dominus Asche Fall** or **Commander Fall,** is a former member of the Empire of Mantle's Royal Executioner Corps, and a present member of the Coalescence Coalition for Freedom.

## History

### Prior to the Coalescence

In her home timeline, Asche is the bastard child of Empress Weiss Schnee and royal consort Cinder Fall. As a result of this union, Asche is considered illegitimate, and thus not eligible for Mantle's throne.

Asche did not know Weiss while growing up, and instead grew up with the caring but often-absent Cinder, which led to her developing a sense of incredible self-reliance from an early age. Her half-sister, Brennen Fall, was born not longer after her 9th birthday, and as the elder sibling, Asche was paid even less attention as a result.

A quiet but driven child, Asche believed that the Empire's ideals were unquestionably correct, and at the age of 15, she enrolled in the Royal Combat and Tactician Academy. At 17, she graduated at the top of her class, and was shortly thereafter enlisted in the Royal Executioners. Quickly rising to prominence within their ranks as well, she was assigned to the 1st Royal Executioner Corps, the Empress' personal bodyguard. Weiss, recognizing her name, was distant towards her at first, but after a few months in this posting, struck up a careful relationship with Asche that could perhaps be called something akin to friendship.

For the succeeding two years, Asche enjoyed a strange peace in her rigid military life. Empress Weiss would often talk to her while on duty, and while harshly-reprimanded at first for being receptive, Asche was ultimately let off the hook when it was revealed the Weiss was always the one to approach her first. Little by little, Asche grew to personally appreciate the woman she had admired from afar for most of her life, and little by little, she began to have a reason to smile.

Unfortunately, this was not to last. When Asche was about 20 years of age, the Vytal Symposium was held in an effort between Weiss and the leaders of the Sanus Federation to negotiate a cautious peace. However, in a desperate bid to keep the war between the Federation and the Empire going, the Symposium was attacked by a radical faction of Mantlian loyalists. This attack directly resulted in the death of not only the Empress, but Asche's half-sister, as well as many notable dignitaries and politicians from both sides. As one of the sole surviving eyewitnesses to the event, Asche was left in a near-comatose state after the harsh bombings.

By the time Asche recovered from her injuries six months later, the war had resumed with renewed ferocity. Asche's own anger had been stoked quite emphatically, and she was transferred to the Third Royal Executioner Corps to fight in the most brutal theatres of the war. That is where she spent most of her time for the remainder of her time until brought into the Simulacrum-Synchronous Coalescence Emulation State by Imitation Luna.

### Endless Awakening

Asche arrived along with Morgan Fall, Mikado Rose-Arc, Zisa Ren, and Copper Polendina near the ruins of Atlas. While initially shocked about the state of "Mantle" and incensed at Copper's defiance of Imperial mandate, Asche was one of the quicker among the groups brought to Axis to join Jiuweihu's faction. Sometime in August, she was injured by Zisa while in conflict with her and Luna, and spent much of her time until December in recovery.

In December, during Zisa's escape with Glasse, Asche located and attacked her, and would have killed her, were it not for the intervention of Copper, who explained the situation to both of them. In January, she formed a team alonside Krishna Belladonna, Zisa, Copper, and Glasse to kill Imitation Luna, and was one of the later members of the team to die. Much like the rest of the team, she was resurrected when Hirameku's *Logic Virus* crashed the simulation.

### Spirits Unbound

In Spirits Unbound, Asche joined with the Coalescence Coalition for Freedom shortly after hearing of Serafima's bid for power in Solitas. Her original intent was to act as a more moderate force in contrast to her cousin, but she has since begun to question the views she has held so strongly for all her life about the Empire's motives--and its very reason for existence.

As a gunnery sergeant for the Coalition, Asche's main duties involve the oversight, maintenance, and command of the Morningstar's seventy-two gun installations. She also provides drill training for ground teams, as well as acts in an advisory capacity to Captain Acacia Palmer and the other high-ranking members of the Coalition.

## Powers, Equipment, and Abilities

Asche is, perhaps, the most well-trained soldier in the Coalition, having one of the more impressive service records among its many distinguished veterans. Her command of battlefield tactics, close-and-long-range combat, and the particulars of military oversight make her an invaluable asset when dealing with other large and highly-trained forces.

However, in an actual combat capacity, Asche is no slouch, either. In melee combat, she employs **Teilt,** a massive blade that splits into a pair of shears. She is also known to employ a number of standard military armaments--in the Coalescence, she is fond of the Teravani AS-413.

Asche's Semblance is **Phoenix,** a legendary beast of Imperial folklore that is said to be the coalesced fury of fallen soldiers from years past. She can summon it in many capacities and sizes, and has been observed to be able to summon it in a size at least as large as a house.

## Relationships

* **Serafima Schnee:** Asche is not very fond of her cousin, and never has been. Serafima's seeming descent into insanity with the advent of the Coalescence has not improved things.
* **Weiss Schnee:** Asche is not sure how to feel about Weiss, and the feeling is mutual. They have not interacted since the beginning of the Coalescence.
* **Brennen Fall:** Though she was never terribly close with her half-sister, Asche still felt her loss bitterly, and she maintains a burning fury in her heart for her sister's killers.
* **Cinder Fall:** Asche is actually quite fond of her mother, though she would never say as such. The two of them get along quite well, though Asche is much more reticent by comparison.
* **Acacia Palmer:** Asche is one of Acacia's more trusted advisors, and one of her first consultants in matters of strategy.
* **Ayame Schnee:** Asche does not like Ayame, and in the wake of a particular punishment, the feeling is likely mutual. The former Executioner sees Ayame as whiny, petulant, and bratty, and is determined to teach her what "duty" and "respect" means, as she considers it her solemn duty to do so. Not that she won't enjoy the process.
	+ Because she will. Immensely.
* **Copper Polendina:** While their relationship may have started off antagonistic due to Asche's view of Copper as imperial property, they have something of a cautious agreement to leave the other alone at the moment, due to Asche respecting Copper's prowess as a fighter and his individualism as a person in the wake of the events of the SSCES.