Ashlynn

**Ashlynn** is a mysterious black Haxorus and a formidable knight of the Crusade. She lurks in the shadows and listens more than she speaks. Still, she stands as one of the Crusade's strongest fighters, surpassing all but the Legendary membership in power and even some of them in skill. Known as the **Black Knight** in some circles, Ashlynn is a warrior with a fearsome reputation. She is the wielder of the divine sword Ashtongue.

## History

Almost one thousand years after the fall of Tiamat, an Axew red about the collar was born into a tribe descended from the tyrant's army. Upon her discovery, the patriarchs of the nostalgic tribe deigned the hatchling's coloration a portent of greatness, signifying that the universe had delivered a new ruler unto them who was destined to rebuild their ancestors' empire. The patriarchs seized custody of the infant Axew and sequestered her in their ancient temple, intent on turning a child into a conqueror.

For years, she toiled in evil circumstances. She was called Ashlynn in reference to the tribe's origin in Tiamat's flames, and she underwent brutal training at a young age. From basic swimming technique to treading over hot coals, the Axew was strategically hardened from the moment she could walk on her own. She quickly came to hate her captors, but she was completely dependent on their support and attention. Furthermore, they were her only connection to the outside world—a world about which they lied to convince Ashlynn her purpose was a righteous one. A young Haxorus named Yacatli, the son of a particularly ruthless patriarch, served the so-called "Dragon Princess" as her chamberlain and ensured that she was kept tidy and well-indoctrinated. Under Yacatli's guidance, Ashlynn grew to direct her frustration towards the heathens beyond her gates and the Tower who reportedly killed her predecessor Tiamat, to whose tale she was sympathetic.

Princess Ashlynn was taught to take lives too. As an Axew, she slaughtered smaller captives as part of her training. This custom transformed following her first evolution—as a Fraxure, she was forced into battle. She wrangled and cut down gradually stronger opponents, starting with common rodents and advancing to powerful enemies of the tribe. By the time she evolved again into a malevolent Haxorus of jet-black scales, Ashlynn could hold her own against an entire swarm of Beedrill; following the event, a herd of Tauros.

Soon, she was a veritable army of one. The tribal leaders were both delighted and terrified—they had raised an indomitable warrior fit to restore the supremacy of dragons, but they could not realistically hope to control her any longer. At last, they ceded full authority to her. They crowned Ashlynn to confirm her succession of Tiamat's mantle and her right to rule. Only then did she take her first steps outside of the hellish temple and look upon the faces of her subjects. For a short time, she was pleased to be free from her torment. However, the tribe took care to remind her what they expected of their ruler. Their words moved her to action, for the fully fledged Dragon Princess intended to avenge the Dragon Queen who came before her.

Ashlynn and her dragons first struck when Tower was out preaching, incidentally right after he talked Piper down from her suicide attempt. The warrior princess easily thrashed both Piper and Agneta when they stood at Tower's defense. She battled the prophet and dealt him a grievous wound before Clarice arrived to rescue the holy beetle and his company, and even Clarice found her life threatened by Ashlynn's immense draconic power. There was little choice for the gentle ice titan but to flee.

The Dragon Princess could not hope to keep up with Clarice's flying speed, but ultimately she pursued Tower and his Crusaders to their headquarters at the Iron Abbey. There, Ashlynn fought the Crusaders to a stalemate, for Bellatrix was her match. Clarice begged Ashlynn to cease the attack and explain herself, and only after much violence did the Fused Dragon's pleas reveal that Tiamat still lived within her. Ashlynn was skeptical, so Clarice demonstrated her uncanny knowledge of truth and, with great reluctance, her power over fire. She also informed Ashlynn that she deemed her actions as the Dragon Queen reprehensibly evil.

This turned Ashlynn's world on its head. However, upon the dispelling of her tribe's falsehoods, upon learning that the Dragon Queen not only lived but also condemned her own empire's evils, Ashlynn remembered her long-buried frustration over her earliest traumas. With incomparable fury, she turned on her own forces and then left the Iron Abbey to recover.

Princess Ashlynn returned to her tribe alone. She harbored no love for her subjects, and she showed no mercy to any who stood in her way as she cut down her former captors. An older Yacatli escaped the wrath of the Dragon Princess, but his father and many others were not so fortunate. Ashlynn crushed Tiamat's altars, collapsed the temple, and burned the surrounding village to the ground. When anger finally yielded to exhaustion, Ashlynn departed from her former home without a purpose and without a plan. She took up mercenary work for a short while afterward, in which time her consistent successes and brutal methods consolidated her notoriety.

However, the priestly Tower heard of her violence and sought her out again. Ashlynn was surprised to hear he had forgiven her attacks. They talked for a time and shared their respective stories. Tower took pity on the aimless dragon, who knew only violence and whose suffering had resulted from his past deeds. He offered her a home at the very Iron Abbey she nearly demolished. Weary from her travels, Ashlynn accepted his invitation.

Ashlynn did not immediately earn the other Crusaders' forgiveness. It was not until the Crusader Piedmont passed away and his widow Piper took his place in the Crusade that Ashlynn began to support their efforts. The dragon who had never known love and the snake who had lost love too many times to bear—they found similarly unfocused and bitter spirits in one another. From then on and to this day, Ashlynn has worked alongside Piper and the Crusade to protect the world around them. Tower knighted Ashlynn a Crusader soon after her friend.

## Personality

"*Maybe you're strong. Maybe you aren't. But I'll be damned if that alone is worth committing your name to memory.*"
— Ashlynn to Zealot after defeating him in duel
Ashlynn is a tough and stoical warrior who keeps her emotions to herself. She seldom ever smiles, and very few individuals even in the Crusade can claim to have heard her laugh. Her warlike ferocity often shows through her stony-faced exterior in her Outrage attack, but even then she keeps a cold-blooded disposition. Nevertheless, she makes a point of trying not to frighten children with her menacing aura.

Being a dragon, Ashlynn is somewhat tightfisted. She is also the youngest and least discreet of the Crusaders. It was she who first told Soir of the society when he threatened Piper, for she values the individual members' lives far more than the secrecy of the whole. Ashlynn often takes it upon herself to fight others' battles on their behalf, most frequently the ladylike Piper and the pacifistic Clarice, who both have more conflicted feelings about combat. Having been raised a powerful warrior, Ashlynn embraces what deadly talents she has honed and uses them in defense of her gentler companions.

Other Crusaders like Agneta sometimes fear for Ashlynn's dispassionate brutality, finding her too quick to destroy evil and apathetic to the good things in life.