Asralyn

**Asralyn** was born 543FE, the first and only daughter of Emperor Harris VII, the last ruler of the Qwe'tsn Empire. Her father's generation had experienced a humilating loss handed to them at the Battle of the Crimson River, where they lost to an army of Jeannes' Parrots. Born out of wedlock, by her father and an unknown peasant, she was shunned by the Nobles of Qwe'tsn, who tormented her with remarks about her father and her peasant mother. Emperor Harris was also a heavy alcoholic, having turned to it after his defeat at the Crimson River. Because of this, he would often go into drunken rages and hurt her. She was known after her death in 108 *SE* by the quote "What happened in our pasts does not define our futures."

## Formative Years

Asralyn was born in the Harris Estate, a large castle to the eastern foothills overlooking Yuv'aen. Her father, Emperor Harris, killed her mother right after Asralyn was born, so no one would know her identity, then ordered her body to be disposed of into the nearby Elgaia Lake, but instead, it was brought down to the Castle dungeon and stored, by order of the High Mage, who thought he could use her body as political leverage. Asralyn was named after Emperor Harris' great grandmother, Emporess Asralyn the Dark. It means "*to bring glory*" in Proto-Highlandic.

From an early age, she was trained in medical aid and healing alchemy, eventually progressing to become very skilled at the art. She was also trained in combat and archery, but those did not go as well for her as medical aid and healing alchemy, and she eventually dropped them.

Asralyn was not expected to be the successor to the imperial throne, but as time progressed, and her father not having any more heirs, it became increasingly clear she would have to take on the mantle. She began training to become the Emporess Regent of the Qwe'tsn Empire, and was taken to the Imperial Court in O'ron'a (modern day Hussarias) to learn. Meanwhile, her father began acting even more irrational and violent, once stabbing a servant for bringing his tea just 30 seconds late. Due to this, she decided to take over the throne, as Emperor Harris was deemed severely unfit for the throne.

However, on the day of her coronation, her first crisis emerged. The Sky Elves of Umakwa decided to push further into the Qwe'tsn heartland than ever before, sweeping past the Leilani farmlands (modern-day Albora), and took Ogon's bay (modern-day Solhom). She acted quickly and decisively, gathering her forces in the Straits of Solhom, and launched a full-on assault on the captured city of Po'rev (near modern-day Solhom).

## The Umakwan War

In the first few days of the assault, she led her armies into battle, nearly dying several times as her army attempted to ride up the steep hills of Po'rev. She eventually called for a 3 day ceasefire, and helped her medical corps attend to the wounded, gaining the respect of those around her. She would later use this respect to lead soldiers to their deaths. During this period of ceasefire, she called in reinforcements from Yuv'aen, totaling to about 4500 soldiers.

But, the day before the ceasefire was supposed to end, she decided to use the element of surprise and launch an attack on the eastern gate, which had been undefended since the start of the ceasefire. Nearly 850 soldiers were pushed through the gate and entered the city. Meanwhile, as the full Umakwan army charged towards the Eastern Gate in a desperate attempt to seal it, Asralyn saw her chance and ordered her remaining 5500 soldiers to storm the Northern Entrance, which was deserted in the wake of the attack. The Umakwan Sky Elves suddenly saw themselves being pushed in on both sides.

The Umakwan General, General Dannesze, decided to put the full might of the Umakwan military against the weaker, 850 strong, Eastern Army, and escape via the Eastern Gate. And he did just that, managing the cut the Eastern Army clean in half as his cavalry charged right into their ranks and confused them. The Northern Army decided to give chase and followed the Umakwan Army. However, General Dannesze was waiting for them just outside the Eastern Gate, with his archers set up on the hills. The Umakwan archers rained hell on the Qwe'tsni Army, and they had to retreat back into the city.

However, that would not be the end of it, as shortly after, the Umakwans decided to retake the city. The Umakwans decided to make a direct assault on the gates, pushing directly through Qwe'tsni defences, all whilst their archers continued to rain arrows on the Qwe'tsni army. They eventually slogged all the way to the city centre, and massive fighting broke out. From here on, historical logs get a little bit confusing. Some say due to the presence of a Shrine nearby, the Gods descended from the heavens and stopped the fighting. Others say the Qwe'tsni and Umakwan leaders came to a peace deal. And some even suggest that both armies were worn out and had to retreat.

After this, the historical accounts differ even more. Some say that Umakwa took Qwe'tsn's land up to just past the Leilani Birches. Others say that Umakwa fully retreated and never returned. However, eventually, all these accounts merge back together to confirm that just 3 months after the war, the Qwe'tsn Empire fell. All historical accounts say that Asralyn disbanded the empire, following its humiliation after the battle.