Escha Artaryan

## **Escha Artaryan***Empress of Asevia*

Escha Artaryan after becoming Empress of Asevia. The soul of the Mountain Tyrant induced visible changes to her appearance.

### Died

1416 B.E, Aldmarch Plains, Vesryn (aged 35)

## Game Information

### Played by

NPC

**Escha Artaryan** was an incredibly dangerous Asevian Human alive during the early years of the Blessed Era, and the Empress of Asevia during the time that its forces invaded the Western Astrian mainland.

She was resurrected by the Angel Epheriel after she suffered lethal wounds confronting the colossal dragon known as the Mountain Tyrant, responsible for the ruination of Asevia. The trauma of being brought back to life, however, along with Epheriel's corrupting words, ensured that she would be an entirely different person than before.

Under the influence of the corrupting magic of the Mountain Tyrant, by the time of the Asevian Invasion she had become a fanatical and highly obsessive matriarch leading vicious dragons at the head of an unnatural army.

She represented a tremendous threat to all free people in Esria. In pursuit of a mysterious orb held by five certain individuals, however, she grew increasingly desperate and eventually was defeated at the Battle of the Aldmarch Plains when the Mountain Tyrant was slain and her old wounds returned.

## Information

### Abilities

Escha was a terrifying and almost unmatched fighter, especially after her resurrection, possessing an incredible martial ability with the spear. As well as being able to raise an army of unnatural ashen soldiers, she commanded a fearsome collection of vicious dragons, creatures that at the time were so rarely seen that many believed them only to have been legends. The largest by far, an ancient red dragon named the Mountain Tyrant, was an unimaginably colossal dragon of far greater size and power than any other before it.

Until her last days, she was the last known wielder of the ancient spear Luin, having ordered the weapon stolen from the wanderer Cuthwin Tiller. It was awakened by her magic, taking on new properties before being broken and hastily salvaged by its former owner in the fight that ensued.

### Personality

Although little was known of her motives at the time of the Asevian Invasion, Escha had already shown very little remorse for those who had stood against her. She possessed no respect for the sanctity of life, putting countless soldiers and civilians to the sword and burning those that dared to defy her.

### Appearance

As a young girl growing up in Ortyan, Escha Artaryan originally wore the bright blonde hair of her father, with deep brown eyes and a smile that she would never again regain in later life. After having her soul bound to that of the Mountain Tyrant, her body would change to reflect the corrupting influence that the corrupted awakening magic of Elyn Vyr was enacting upon her.

As the Empress, newly returned from near death, her presence was far more intimidating than her stature would ever have suggested. Her eyes were an unnatural combination of burning oranges and deep blood red hues, with reptilian pupils and a threateningly magical glow. Dark red hair fell to her shoulders, falling over a cloak of black feathers and a deceptively soft, beautiful face.

## History

### Childhood

Escha was born just after the end of the Long Night, in 1381 C.E, although the effects that had manifested across the world had not taken hold in Asevia. The town in which she spent her earliest years was Ortyan, a very well guarded settlement established at the bottom of a deep valley and located safely outside of the Blacklands.

Her father was Emperor Veryon Artaryan, a man who commanded great respect and fear in equal measure. He kept a young but vicious black dragon bound in an iron collar and enslaved to his will, defeated in years past as proof of his right to rule. Escha was the youngest of his five children, and the only daughter among them. Because of this she rarely interacted with her father, who chose instead to bond with his sons and ensure that they would follow confidently in his footsteps. She was incredibly close to her mother, however, a beautiful and kind woman in stark contrast to her father's draconian manner.

Although Asevia had been badly burned, and calamity had ruined much of the land, Escha lived a comfortable life within Ortyan. As a child, she was largely ignorant to the struggle of her people and deemed far too young to learn of it. She simply played with her brothers whenever possible, and lovingly gave her mother not a minute of respite. Unfortunately, the relative peace of her life would not last much longer.

### The Burning of Ortyan

After Ortyan was ravaged by dragons, Escha was devastated to lose her mother. She lived in relative hardship alongside the survivors of the attack within the black obsidian depths of Khavos, a fortress constructed as to be impervious to even the fiercest dragon's fire. It was devoid of most luxuries, and made for a restrictive, unwelcoming backdrop for her earliest memories.

It was within fortresses just like these that the Asevian populace would be trapped for decades.

### Dreams of the West

As she grew older, Escha often felt trapped inside Khavos. She was not permitted to leave the safety of the fortress, not even during the hours that the roaring of dragons fell silent over the blacklands, and so she often grew restless and took to wandering the halls. In search of ways to entertain herself, she consulted the somewhat anaemic library deep beneath the earth, and became acquainted with the unusual old elven man that maintained it. His name was Caerion, one of the very last remnants of the elves of Elyn Vyr that had once lived in Asevia, and an old friend of her mother's.

An old man nearing the end of a very long life, Caerion had many stories to tell and was more than happy to share them with the incredibly eager young girl. She would take the chance to talk with him whenever she could, learning of myths and legends from across the world and from times long past. She became particularly enamoured with his stories from the western continent of Arcadia, where his people had come from, and the tales of heroic deeds that had occurred there. One of her very favourite stories was that of the Weeping Knight, and the story of how he defeated the black dragon Glimmerscale was one that Escha begged Caerion to recount more than a few times.

However, while the young Escha whittled away hours deep in books and conversation, dark clouds were beginning to gather over Asevia.

### The Arrival of Aelynvir

After using Escha's elder brother as a vessel for his increasingly maddened ambitions, Emperor Veryon began to grow increasingly obsessed with Sardan's newly acquired visions and the potential that they might one day be able to glimpse the future. Worse still, as he was growing older and his health was close to failing him, he knew he had little time left. Soon, he had resorted to truly desperate measures, following Sardan's visions in order to discern the location of an argent dragon and ally her to their cause.

Escha was wholly disgusted that her father would allow a dragon even one step into Khavos, much less associate with one. When she caught glimpses of the young Aelynvir in human guise and deep in conversation with her father, often sharing in pleasantries, her expression would darken. When she learned of the torture that her brother was enduring on account of the magic of Elyn Vyr and the will of her father, however, she was instantly enraged. Her anger began to spiral out of control, centred around the very creature that had burned Asevia black, slaughtered thousands and killed her mother. Soon, she had resolved to see the argent dragon removed for good, but not before sowing the seeds of the vengeance she would eventually bring to bear against Eliya, the Astrian mainland, and even her own family.

### Resurrection and Becoming the Voktyr

Emperor Veryon's health had been growing steadily worse for years, but it was only in 1399 B.E that his health would suddenly fail. He found himself bed ridden with little warning, unable to continue the relentless pace with which he had been living his life. At this time, his children grew concerned with who was to ascend to the throne and take his place, as not one of them had yet established any clear right to rule.

As it would turn out, however, Escha was the one to take the initiative. With Arman Valkiyan on her side, she sent him forth to find the legendary spear of the Weeping Knight, a hero that she had held in high esteem since hearing the stories of his deeds from Caerion. When she finally received it, she left the safety of Khavos to journey to the volcanic north of Asevia and deep into the heart of the volcano which was home to the colossal Mountain Tyrant.

Escha fought the tremendous dragon and stood her ground, and managed to weaken the beast for long enough that she could close in and demand its power. She was, however, too injured to use the awakening magic she had stolen. In the fight, she had lost her entire left arm, her stomach had been punctured by one of the dragon's claws, and her face was similarly scarred. She had won, with the dragon's heart bleeding badly, but her wounds were too great. The last thing she would recall would be a white light, before having no choice but to accept her failure and pass on from the world.

She did not perish for good, however. After passing through the gates of the Weighing Halls, her soul was not allowed to enter Heaven. Instead, it was forcibly returned to Esria and her body was reborn at the hand of the Angel Epheriel. Her soul was bound to that of the dragon she had sought to kill, and they both lived by sharing in each other's vitality. Epheriel spoke to her soon after of a divine right to Esria itself, and a promise that to lead her people out of Asevia would be their ultimate salvation, if not a great undertaking that would necessitate sacrifice and strife in equal measure.

When Escha returned to Khavos, she no longer resembled who she was before. She had the fearsome Mountain Tyrant shackled to her will, casting a gigantic shadow over all she sought to now take control of. With its power, she seized the throne of Asevia, slaying her father and her siblings without mercy. Soon after, she pursued the mysterious orb Aelynvir had created, after failing to obtain it but slaying the argent dragon in the process. Her will to reclaim the artifact would be a major contributing factor to the Asevian Invasion, though her primary motivation came from the words of the Angel Epheriel following her resurrection.