Lasko

Lasko is a lizardfolk Gloomstalker Ranger played by Adrian in Godkiller.

Birthplace: Barrier Forest, Elora

Birthdate: Harvest 27th

## Biography

### The Ascetic Ashram

Lasko and his community, referred to as the Ascetic Ashram, live deep in the Barrier Forest, secluded from the rest of Thalmenastran society. Long ago (around 75 years), a clandestine group of individuals from Lorelda abandoned society in favor of creating a more populist community. This 30-person community rests at the edge of the Astralis mountains, as far away from civilized culture as possible.

These people quickly developed a more primitive lifestyle - advanced technology and magic was seen as potentially corruptive, only using the most basic means to conceal their location, and completely refusing outside trade or assistance. The only skills required were hunting, foraging, enough farming to get by but not completely overrun the small parcel of land that they claimed.

An important aspect of the Ashram’s culture is, pretty obviously, their spiritual reverence for solitude and peace. When a young person reaches maturity, they take Hermitage into the more-untouched parts of nature, remaining alone until such a time that they achieve a level of enlightenment that will serve as guidance to them for the rest of their lives. This could be a mantra, or a *discovery*, or learning some deeper meaning about yourself or the world. The length of time Hermitage takes can vary wildly - as short as a few days, as long as a year.

Such was the case of Lasko. Born to two of the only lizardfolk in the Ashram, Lasko always seemed to have a knack for living in nature (probably due to his ancestors having lived in the area for hundreds of years). At a very young age, he quickly took to archery, and proved to be a natural at survival. This was celebrated by many adults in his commune, causing the lizardfolk to become somewhat arrogant and proud, much to the chagrin of his peers.

Lasko was one of the several children who took their Hermitage at a young age, having reached maturity at 14. Given his apparent adeptness, it was expected he would be gone no more than a week, and he planned to gain his enlightenment in a couple days.

It took him five years.

### The Hermitage

The first two years proved to be especially trying for Lasko. He felt frustrated, almost hurt by the universe - both emotions that he wasn’t used to. He learned so much back at the Ashram, he was practically dominating this Hermitage. But no matter how long he meditated, no matter how long he ruminated on his teachings, nothing came to him.

His 16th birthday was celebrated by himself - he sat on top of a waterfall the entire day, glaring up at the Astralis mountains that loomed above him. He had spent two years in this forest looking for an inner truth, but all he felt was impatience and a strange loathing. Lasko knew these feelings were what was stopping him from finding enlightenment, but he had no clue how to purge himself of these thoughts. Perhaps, he believed, the answer lies in the mountain peaks.

So for the last years of his Hermitage, Lasko thrived in the mountains of Elora. Though he had only ventured into them a few times prior to his seclusion, he found it surprisingly easy, as if he was meant to be there. The winters were bracing, but he found a way to survive them by entering a trance-like state, effectively going into hibernation (as lizards do). He began to grow comfortable with this new life; a part of him began to believe that he was simply never meant to return to the Ashram.

And then he made his discovery.

### The Discovery

It was on the day of his 19th birthday - he had strayed too close to a wolfpack, who had decided to attack him out of self-defense. These wolves were particularly determined (perhaps they had never seen a lizard-man and were curious as to the taste of him), and Lasko ended up getting chased all the way down to the base of the mountains. In desperation, Lasko jumped into the nearest cave, hoping to maybe lose the wolves in the darkness.

Surprisingly it worked - the wolves balked at the entrance of the cavern, stamping their paws for a few minutes, as if agitated, before turning tail. Lasko decided to wait a few minutes, in case the wolves came back, and as he stood in the cavern he noticed a peculiar, unnatural-looking crevice in the back wall.

Bow in hand, he squeezed through, stepping into a larger, square cavern. Before him was a neatly-stacked pile of metal barrels, filled with a strange and unsettling liquid. The surrounding cavern was unlike anything he had ever seen - long wooden tables, empty crystalline containers, and stacks of paper with writing he didn’t quite understand, discussing things like “explosive yield” and “hazardous components.”

It didn’t take him too long to put two-and-two together. The elders at his ashram used to warn him about “barbaric tools” the city-folk would use to kill and ravage other people. Though he had never seen these tools, nor would he have known what they may have looked like, Lasko’s reasoning and intuition were telling him one thing - those barrels are *bad news*. Concern began to settle in.

*How long had these barrels been here?*

*Who made them, and why? Were the owners going to come back? And what if they don’t - who else might find them here?*

*Plus, what if they decide to just go off by themselves… that can’t happen, right…?*

But perhaps most importantly… were these the only ones? Or were there other rooms like this hidden around the mountains and forest? The last question echoed in Lasko’s mind. If this had the potential to jeopardize his people and the forest he grew up in, he had to do something. There was no doubt this was his enlightenment, but at this point that was the last thing he was concerned about.

With the wind at his feet, Lasko sprinted back to the Ashram.

### The University

Lasko’s return to the Ashram was a shock to his community. After the first two years, everyone believed him to be dead. Dying during one’s Hermitage was rare, but not unheard of, though it wasn’t expected of Lasko to meet such fate. As overjoyed as his people were to have him back, though, Lasko did not have time to jubilate - he needed a meeting with the five elders.

Cloistered in the Elder Enclave, Lasko told his five-year story to his council, explaining in as much detail as he could the harrowing discovery he found at the base of the Astralis Mountains. He had known the elders his whole life, and so he was confident they would know what to do.

But to his dismay, none of them appeared to take his words to heart. They were convinced such devices didn’t exist in Elora, but most importantly, they were adamant about not wanting to cause the rest of the Ashram any panic. At any rate, the elders didn’t believe they were in any danger, dismissing Lasko and forbidding him from revealing this information to anyone else.

The rest of the day, Lasko found himself feeling utterly hopeless. He wanted to trust his elders, but the gnawing feeling inside him said that the situation could be more troubling than they realized. Conflicted, Lasko went to bed in his communal quarters, questioning everything he learned.

A sleepless Lasko rose in the middle of the night to walk the empty ashram grounds. To his surprise, he spotted the Head Elder, Luric Emberbreath, standing in front of the Elder Enclave’s front doors. Upon seeing Lasko, Luric raised a finger to his lips, beckoning him inside.

Lasko entered the Enclave once more, finding it empty save for himself and the high elf. Luric explained that he fully believed Lasko’s story, but knew the rest of the council would call them foolish for entertaining his notions. Though it was still important to keep this knowledge secret, Luric believed something indeed must be done about these dangerous weapons, for in the wrong hands they could cause great destruction.

However, to do this would require outside help, something the ashram has never done. Luric gave Lasko a daunting task - a “second Hermitage,” he jokingly called it. Lasko was to go to Lorelda’s university and enroll himself as a student, while seeking out anyone that would know how to safely take care of the bombs hidden in the mountains. If anyone knew how to handle alchemical weapons, it would be someone at an esteemed school. The Head Elder would take care of his tuition fees, something that surprised Lasko as nobody at the Ashram had any form of currency - they were always taught that money was the root of evil.

Luric also gave a stern warning to Lasko - be careful who to trust. These bombs were terrible weapons that have been used in the past to wipe away entire cities. In the wrong hands, they could cause great devastation, so conservation of knowledge was key. With that in mind, Lasko was quietly sent away to Lorelda where, after some trial and error, he managed to enroll himself in school.

Adjusting to city life proved to be unsurprisingly difficult for Lasko. There was so much that he didn’t understand, it felt like he would never have enough time to. It didn’t help that he was a lizardfolk from an “uncivilized” place, so for the first few months he drew plenty of strange looks. However, Lasko was determined to find someone to help him with his bomb problem, and continues to take classes at university to this day in the hopes of finding a promising lead.