Astra Arbias

"*Patience Tyr. We will have our chance. A revolution cannot be formed overnight. We need people, supplies, resources and… A trump card. Something my father will never see coming. I know you want to help me, but… For now… Patience.*"

— AStra to her first true friend, Tyr.

**Astra Arbias** is a Human living in New World, currently acting as Lord of Hashigin alongside her husband Roth Durns. While theirs is a political marriage, there is no love between them. for the most part, they operate completely independent of one another. This is both a blessing and a curse. It alowes Astra to act with impunity, however most, if all of the guards within the town answer only to Roth, making it hard for her to get anything done on her own. She does have one ally however, in the form of Tyr Ryugu. She was the first person Astra feels she could truly trust, and despite on the outside being master and subordinate, Astra sees her as her closest friend. Above all, Astra's goal is to get out from under her father's thumb, the current king of the Lazuli kingdom. How she achieves this is no mater to her, but she would prefer it of she could keep casualties to a minimum. At heard, she simply wants to be free.

## Appearance

Astra is a young woman of nineteen years. She stands a little over five and a half feet tall with a slender, almost scrawny build. She has light caramel skin, and silver, shoulder length hair. Her eyes are a brilliant shade of crimson, and always appear to be half closed in a dreamy sort of way. Her only other notable feature is a dull red magic crest on her stomach, in an ornate design that somewhat resembles an insect.

Dress wise, Astra prefers to keep it rather simple, especially compared to other lords or ladies of Lazuli. This often consists of a light grey gown with puffed shoulders and no sleaves It hangs down to just below her knees, but has a diamond shaped window at the front to expose her stomach, displaying her curse mark for the world to see. The neck and opening are both hemmed with a dull gold color, and the back of her dress cuts down between her shoulder blades. She wears a similar styled pair of stockings, and a pair of jet-black shoes that buckle around her ankles. Though rare, on the occasions when she ventures out, she typically wears an ivory-colored overcoat with double breasted buttons.

## Personality

Due to her age, many assume Astra is just another naive girl playing lord due to her family lineage. This couldn’t be further from the truth however. Astra is cunning, observant, and knows how to bend the truth without fully lying. She is very good at playing her part, knowing that people more often than not overlook her, and almost enjoys sitting back and letting people assume she is no threat to them. She uses this to her advantage, gleaning information, or wondering places where she rightly shouldn’t be, all to keep herself one step ahead of those around her. In short, she has a keen insight into how people think and react, and can be very good at manipulating others. She does all this while wearing a small, innocent smile that she long since learned makes people drop their guard around her.

This is not to say that she is malicious. On the contrary, she dislikes causing others harm, but accepts it is a necessary part of trying to break away from her father’s, the king of Lazuli Xerius Arbias, influence. The King’s legacy of using his own offspring to prolong his own lifespan sickens her, and from a young age she told herself she wouldn’t be just another child he’d sacrifice throughout his rule. It is for this reason that the smile she greats people with is two-fold. Smiling to herself, even in dire situations or when terrified allow her to put off the fear of dying along the way, a feat that many of her fellow offspring have succumbed to over the years. Despite all this though, she genuinely cares for the people of Hashigin, and is unwilling to negatively effect their lives simply to further her own goals. It Is for this reason that the citizens view her in a better light than any other lord that has overseen the city, as she has on more than one occasion worked to better their lives during hard times, while her husband Roth Durns would not.

While she largely keeps herself at a distance for fear of being manipulated herself, she does have a friend in Tyr Ryugu. While Tyr acts as both a bodyguard, messenger, and personal spy, Astra views her as more of a companion than anything else. The only thing they would change between them is for Tyr to regard her as a friend as well, and not just her lord. The two no doubt care for one another’s well being, but Astra wishes they could speak on less formal terms once and a while. Others she trust include Aeirfin Theocrie, who’s sense of duty impressed her enough for her to request he and Tyr work together. Moreso, she also holds her alliance with the nearby Church of Metal in a high, if suspicious regard. The various skills and specialities of their many have been a godsend in her quest, and she maintains a somewhat friendly relationship with Rob Zombie's Beard. Despite his monstrous appearance, his straightforward manor of speaking to her and willingness to help have endeared him to her. Even still she feels even closer with Isabella Bathory Though the two haven’t talked nearly as much, Astra views her as a kind of kindred spirit, even after being made aware of the maid’s immortality.

## Background

Astra was born to the king of Lazuli, Xerious Arbius. She was one of two twins; the other being named Daria Arbius. From the outset the two sisters were held in a very high regard, and much was expected of them. THe custom in Lazuli was for the king to take many wives and produce several offspring, and Astra and Daria where just two of many children the king had sowed. Their birthmother had already given the king Toria Arbius, a warrior prodigy who was quickly rising through the kingdom’s ranks.  As such, the twins were expected to, if not surpass her, at least perform well enough in the furtherment of their country.

This however, was not an easy feat. Their birthmother was struck ill when the twins where only four, and died not long after. Due to the harsh competition for favor many in the king’s harem partook in, the twins were left to a small army of touters and servants to raise them. Even then, it became clear that any who approached them only wished to earn favor from the king, either for themselves or for their family. Even their father, the king, showed very little interest in their upbringing. From a very young age it became clear that the only ones they could rely on where each other.

Which made it all the harder, when the two where informed that they where destined to be split up. Going along with the Lazuli royal tradition, each of the king’s children would be given a city or domain to rule over as a sort of trial by fire. Should they survive into adulthood, they would be granted accolades but the king. However, the king placed a curse mark on all of his heirs, one that would activate when they die. Should any of his heirs fail their trial, the curse mark would activate, and transfer the bearer’s remaining lifespan to the king.

Horrified by this, the sisters swore that they would not be pawns, and attempted to flee the capital at the age of just thirteen. However, the two did not make it very far before they were tracked down by a hunting party led by one of their half brothers Viers Arbius. He brought the two back to the king, demanding retribution for what he, and many of the other nobles, viewed as treachery. The King however, disagreed, and decided to split the twins up for their trial once they turned fifteen. Until then they’d essentially be prisoners in all but name, but were given free reign to use the years until then to study or train in any way they saw fit for their upcoming trial. Daria began learning how to hunt, farm, and forage for herself, fully intending on abandoning any domain she was sent to the moment she was able. Astra, meanwhile, took a more studied approach, fully intending to build a home for her and her sister as soon as her trial began. Along he way however, the two developed a deep seeded hatered for the kingdom. Not so much in the common people, but in the nobils and their father for upholding such a barbaric system.

Two years went by like it was nothing, and the instant the two turned fifteen, they were spirited away to their chosen domain. Daria was sent to a domain to the far north, while Astra was sent west to the city-state of Hashigin. The two bid farewell to one another, swearing that they’d meet up again. For Astra however, many described that her trial was over before it began. Hashigin was a trading city overseen by the Durns family. A low cast noble family with little to nothing to their name. What’s more, to boost their status, she was betrothed to their heir, Roth Durns, once she was of age. Once again, Astra found herself a prisoner. Roth run the city as his own personal treasure trove, drinking and whoring his nights away and doing very little to keep the city going. Any authority Astra had was largely superficial, and any attempt to exert it was met with stark, often violent response. She did her best to try and oversee the people of Hashigin, ensuring they didn’t have to endure any undue hardships, but her status overall amounted to nothing more than a connection between the Durns family to the king.

Worse still, only a few months after her trial began, she heard that her sister had already failed hers. After months of trying to run from her domain, she’d began growing frantic, not eating to sleeping for days on end. Eventually this took its tole on her, and she passed away only three months into her trial. Astra was devastated by this, locking herself up in her room for a full month cursing her family, and the fate her and her sister had been born into. For the first time, she felt truly alone in the world. She was too angry to simply give up however, swearing that she’d somehow find a way to burn the kingdom to the ground. She had no idea how she’d do it. The king had surrounded himself with powerful offspring, including her elder sister Toria, and he himself was a creature of unearthly power. She was just one person with no means of production. She knew she was smarter than most though, and hid her hatred behind a small smile and carefully chosen words.

Later into her seventeenth year, the Durns family had begun planning for her wedding to Roth. Astra’s position had yet to improve, but one day a ship came to port in her city with an unusual cargo. While slavery was frowned upon in Lazuli, it was not outright illegal, and this ship came with an offer of a girl to sell. This girl was a young woman named Tyr Ryugu, who was being offered to the Durns as a sort of wedding present. Astra insisted that Tyr be put in her custody, and none from the Durns family cared enough to question her. Astra secretly began nursing her back to health, getting to know her over the months. Apparently, Tyr hailed from a far away country, and was trained since birth as both a spy and assassin. After failing a mission however, she’d been disowned and left to her own devices, eventually coming to be captured and brought to Hashigin.

While Astra’s initial intentions where to simply keep Tyr from becoming another woman for Roth to toy with, she felt a strong kinship with her after hearing her story. Tyr likewise wished to repay Astra’s kindness, and agreed to be her personal bodyguard and spy. Finally, Astra had her start, she had someone she could trust. And once the majority of the Durns family departed Hashigen to live in the capital, she was left to her own devices. Roth cared little for running the city, and less for what Astra did. The two didn’t even elope after their marriage. But it was just the opportunity Astra needed.  Over the next year she grew to become an integral part of Hashigin’s day to day running, and worked to gain favor with the citizens of the city. Waiting for an opportunity to strike back at her father, and the kingdom that destined her and her sister to death.