Ashuran History

The History of the Ashuran Monks By Daijin Reyn, Ashuran Tiger Much of the events leading up to the founding of the Ashuran monks on the 4th of Lupar, in the year 267 AF, are shrouded in mystery as not much was written down. At the time, the world was booming despite the war raging across the lands between Ashtan and Shallam, markets were flooded with low-price goods just as the first trade laws were being implemented, (Venom prices etc). But as most warriors tend to think of the present rather than their own posterity, nothing could be found of our opening ceremonies or initial city honors. Beyond generalities and an announcement by Tranquility (ASHTAN NEWS # 1317), nothing specific was stated publicly of our rise into guildhood at all save for one remark:

Elder Statesman Napoloen, Sage of Darkness, now known as "Protector of Ashtan" welcomed the Ashura into the city of Ashtan:

"I (would) like to welcome the Ashura to Ashtan. While I believe they were all already part of Ashtan, it is a pleasure to see that they have officially become part of the city of Ashtan. I wish Tranquility, and the rest of the Ashura founders fortune in their future endeavours."

Yes, we were already a part of Ashtan well before our official founding, but the land we call home used to belong to another organization, the Church of Achaea. With much of the Divine's attention previously where we now stand, one could call the area surrounding our guildhall almost blessed, or cursed..... More of this will be discussed in the next chapter.

One thing I did find that seems odd, is another group of monks that were formed in the same year as the Ashura, calling themselves the "Telusian Monks". No further record of their existence can be found at this point, though at the time they were headed by "Dominic Greywind, Light of Oneiros", now known as the "Grandmaster of Peace". Of course the warlike, in a world of Divine rivalries will prosper and those calling for peace will be largely ignored and this could explain their disappearance.

Origins
Long ago, the Church of Achaea had an outpost on the hill north of Ashtan. After the construction of the highways, funded by the church, the ancient cities of Shallam and Ashtan were grateful for the increased trade revenue the project had brought to them and allowed church outposts to be built within their walls. Ashtan's simple laws, allowing freedom of all kinds played a role in their presence as they sought to actively recruit from the population, but these same laws also secured their eviction from the city....

It is written that Servelan de Vermiis was the greatest of the Occultists and perhaps the greatest mortal in modern Achaea. Being overlord of Ashtan and a skilled manipulator of men and women alike she had free reign for personal experimentation, building the Vermiis Orphanage, or the "Loving Hearts Orphanage". It was in this place that children were (are?) subjected to experimentation aimed at extracting fluids from their pineal glands so arcane magics could be performed with them. "It was ..., in the presence of Isildur, that she performed the seminal experiment that would merge her with the Unnamable Horror, father of Humanity, and thus become the first mortal to achieve Ascension. She is now known as Eris, Goddess of Chaos." But there were those who took a stand against these experiments, notably a man named Gawain. It is possibly the greatest irony that the man credited with trying to save countless orphans was also the first mortal to kill another man, slaying Harlequin, an occultist deeply involved in such experiments. He built a halfway house in an attempt at saving these children but to no avail. The great founder of the Templars, now called the Paladins ended his career as a broken drunk.

The Templars' ties to the church need no explanation, and backing Sir Gawain and his project, the church drew the Ire of Ashtan's ruling class at the time, many of them deeply involved with the occult. The church's vocal opposition to the occult practices, and it's attempts to stop them did in fact break the laws of Ashtan detailing one's freedom to do as they like as long as no citizen is harmed. As orphans are not official citizens they weren't protected by the laws of the city, and hence, the church was evicted for unlawful actions. This sparked a chain of events that would eventually lead up to the shrine wars between Ashtan and the church's host city Shallam.

And so it was that the land passed to an order of monks called the Kharon. Nestled deep in the seclusion of the Dakhota Hills, they were a war-like order, and continuously fought with Ashtan. Legend has it that the guild often besieged the city and after one such war they were offered a settlement. They would stop attacking the city and join it, gaining free access in exchange for helping defend it from southern invaders. They accepted the offer and relocated their monastery within the city walls and took over the old church grounds. Being only 39 years old at the time, the guild was relatively young and the offer of a city home and support system was gladly accepted. For years the Kharon fought for the city helping to repel many attacks and joining in offensives alike. But after a time they began to disagree with city politics. Some in the city were pushing for peace with Shallam and the warlike Kharon rejected this attitude. After many chose to ignore their position, they finally broke ranks with Ashtan and the Kharon monastery was removed stone by stone and relocated to the village of Hashan in Lupar, 238 AF. It seems odd now that being upset about a movement for peace would make one move to a peaceful village out of protest, but it wasn't their first choice. Originally planning on a move back to the Dakhotas, they were thwarted when the Gods decreed that all guilds belong to a town and Hashan was the only option. Regardless, this was a devastating blow to Ashtan, one of it's fighting guilds leaving for a peaceful village in the middle of nowhere. Seeing Ashtan weak for the first time Shallam used this as an opportunity for many sieges. But not all of them left. Some remained behind, still loyal to Ashtan, though their monastery was now half a world away.

Empty once again, and with only a building foundation, the land went unused for 29 years.

Foundations
In an almost constant war with Shallam for decades, the city of Ashtan, bolstered by the power of many remaining Kharon monks showed great strength, but their soldiers were leaving. Over time, one monk after another chose to leave for Hashan to be with their brothers...

Hashan was the child of Lord Twilight who insisted that all guildmasters and new inductees be citizens of their host town... and so it was. Existing guild members were allowed free choice of allegiance but becoming guildmaster of the Kharon in 251 AF, Skarash was forced to leave his position as Archon of Ashtan for the quiet little village. This left Tranquility as one of the last of the powerful Kharon with Ashtani citizenship. Eight years later, Skarash abandoned Hashan for his true city, gladly handing the title of guildmaster of the Kharon to Tranquility. But Tranquility refused to leave Ashtan. Drawing outrage in Hashan for his blatant disregard for Hashanite law he was branded a fugitive. Now Napoloen and Neokove (the leaders of Ashtan and Hashan at the time), were both high ranking members of the order of Lord Twilight and it may only be coincidence that the two immediately drafted laws stating that they would not harbor fugitives from the each other's cities. Tranquility, now in violation of the new Ashtan law was cast out. With nowhere else to go, he joined the Kharon in Hashan. This was a time of much infighting in Ashtan, as old laws were being tested by new situations, new laws were suddenly being applied to old situations, and many great warriors were beginning to leave, fed up with underhanded politics getting in the way of their swords. ASHTAN NEWS # 1045 In the year 259 AF, returning to Ashtan, Skarash found the city he had left behind was hardly the power it had once been. Years of petty bickering and constant shifts in city leadership pitted one agenda against the next as the power hungry waged a constant war of words in every medium available to them. With such a high turnover in leadership positions no city work was actually getting done as those in power had an average of a couple weeks to implement their agendas, and often were cut short before their plans for the city had any result as another took over their position. So instead, they spent their time looking over their shoulder constantly, afraid that with the slightest show of weakness and with one minute spent NOT campaigning, ten people would be ready to contest for their position. All the while, as the city's mortal enemy, Shallam, continued its assaults, weakness was beginning to show in the great city of warriors. ASHTAN NEWS # 1087 Then in 261 AF, as if things weren't bad enough, many of the infernals suddenly abandoned the city after their guildmaster, Raajin was evicted for killing a citymate. Raajin had crafted an alliance with Tarlin, head of the Paladins of Shallam. This very well could've ended the long and costly war and he insisted Ashtan honor a brief truce while they met with city officials. But Mordyval would have none of it. This man's hatred for Shallam and all of it's inhabitants boiled over when he heard that a shallamese knight was actually going to be allowed within the city walls... with his head still on his shoulders! He immediately attacked Tarlin and Raajin jumped to Tarlin's aide, killing Mordyval, and condemning himself to being outcast. Furious at their leader's expulsion a large group of infernals, showing solidarity, joined their leader in exile. They eventually called themselves the Exodus Battalion and lobbied to form a knights guild in Hashan to no avail. It is perhaps the greatest irony that the most evil of all knights, now the Maldaathi, were nearly torn apart after they chose to defend a Paladin.

These events left Ashtan's once great armies gutted and in a pitiful state. Time after time Ashtan was defeated by Shallam at every turn. Landmarking (claiming important landmarks for either good or evil) became an effort in futility as Church members greatly outnumbered the Ashtani and frequently claimed every last landmark. This increased their power while hindering Ashtan's, who's guilds often require dark forces for their skills. ASHTAN NEWS # 1269 Contests for Archon positions continued at a feverish pace as greed and loyalties divided the city and turned people on each other. It was in these turbulent times that those once loyal to Ashtan, regardless of it's current condition began to return. As the only fighting guild in Hashan, the Kharon were expected to defend the entire city, and the rest of the peaceful citizens weren't expected to reciprocate. They found no defense or comradery in Hashan, only service. And that service never seemed to be rewarded as most Hashanites chose to live in the village to avoid the war. If a Kharon was attacked, nobody would come to their aide or speak up for them as peace was their only defense. Fed up, Tranquility and a group of other Kharon monks finally left Hashan, never quite getting along with its leadership, and returned to Ashtan. All was forgiven as this was possibly the most critical time in the city's modern history and great warriors were direly missed. The law that had forced Tranquility out was immediately declared "null" and in the year 267 AF they formed the Ashuran monks, named after and ever loyal to the great city. It was not entirely coincidence that the war between Ashtan and Shallam turned around suddenly when Ashtan began to work together again, it's armies strengthened by some of the most powerful monks in the world. On or about 273 AF, a treaty was signed ending formal hostilities though sporadic skirmishes continued for decades after. ASHTAN NEWS # 1317, 1415

To some it would seem a fool's task. To leave a powerful guild of monks, disenchanted with their leadership and their loyalties, and to form another guild with but a handful of war hardened warriors. But this is exactly what Tranquility and a few intrepid souls, his founding secretaries Skarash, Kindral and Aedessi set out to accomplish. They would form a guild with values not based on some code of humility or benevolence. The Ashura were bred from the oldest of warriors, it's leadership knew only war since they could remember and this showed in the training of young applicants. Strict and harsh methods were employed that not only turned away some novice recruits, but some younger Kharon that had switched sides as well. One of these methods was not telling a new applicant where the initiates journal was located, allowing them to wander the city streets for as long as it took to find it. Some never did. It was this type of methodology that weeded out the weak and those who could not think for themselves. This was a guild of war.. not a tea club. ASHURA NEWS #4

Lord Aegis, God of War personally favored the Ashura as its patron and a new monastery was built on the foundations of the old Kharon hall. Atop the same hill that the church once held just before the Shrine Wars, the Ashuran monastery now sits, having symbolically captured the hill of their ancient enemies in the church.

ASHURA NEWS #1 Life wasn't easy in the beginning. Mistakes were made by many parties and as we lost several of our brothers back to the Kharon, a secretary named Enoc stepped up to fill the position of Archdragon as Tranquility was stepping down. Formally contesting in 278 AF, he won. It was agreed that the portrait of the founder would remain in the guildhall after very little debate, as Tranquility was still highly respected and quite esteemed. Without him the monastery itself wouldn't exist. ASHURA NEWS # 30 Time passed and many battles were won. Guild laws were hardened, as were the warriors within, and many new Deshi arrived at the monastery, having heard that the Ashura were considered the most powerful of all monk guilds at that time, as it is in the present. A rivalry with the Kharon was cultivated and a guild war quite nearly broke out between the two as Gijan and Element, two Kharon, resented the upstart outdoing them in every way imaginable. ASHURA NEWS #7 But as time passed, Enoc was seen less and less frequently and soon Xandu challenged him as Archdragon. Sunrise followed suit and after a quick election, came out as the winner. Others would follow and our line of succession has seen many great leaders, Shusen, Ryukishi, Galrog, Revelation, and currently Rennyn.

Notables
As time stops for no man.. we are here today, the same as before. A powerful guild, the greatest monks in all of Sapience, but we are slipping. Now is the time that we must return to our core values and uphold guild ethics and laws. The future looks bright for us all, but let us not be swayed by the insignificant. Every day fades into night.. and every night is shattered by the light. We have not always been.. but we will always be as long as what is important to us, remains important. A look into the past grants visions of the future, and now is the time to honor those who have come before us, with the hope that their strength continues to linger and their voices continue to echo through the halls of our monastery. Below is a list of notable Ashuran Monks in no particular order.

Azzazzello - A past guild secretary, known throughout the land as a legendary fighter with near perfect technique.

Shlymysten - A past guild secretary, a tenacious and outspoken warrior and an excellent tactician. He was a fine leader.

Xandu - A past guild secretary, he was an adventuresome sort, was always trying new things in combat, even poisoned weapons to assist with telepathy.

Tranquility - The guild founder, and first Archdragon. The reason we are here, he is known as one of the most feared warriors in existence. He was also a former Guild Master of the Kharon.

Aedessi - One of the founding group of Ashura and an original secretary. Her skills at organizing guild functions helped get the Ashura started quickly, and her skills as a mediator solved many problems.

Enoc - The second Archdragon, replacing Tranquility. He was an excellent leader and former OrderHead of Lord Aegis' Order.

Sunrise - The third Archdragon and organizer of many guild events. He resigned, taking up a quest for the Staff of Divination, never to find it.

Shusen - The fourth Archdragon, he was an outstanding motivator with skills in organization that helped smooth out a rough guild structure. He oversaw many guild events.

Ryukishi - The fifth Archdragon, was an excellent fighter and a rolemodel for the guild.

Galrog - The Sixth Archdragon and a former Renshi. He was an excellent fighter, even though his role as Archdragon didn't last very long.

Revelation - The seventh Archdragon. One of the guild elders, wise and knowledgeable, he oversaw many changes in the training structure of the guild.

Skarash - A former Guild Master of the Kharon monks and overseer of Ashtan. Leaving the Kharon and Hashan behind, he has returned to Ashtan and currently basks in the glow of retirement as a senior Ashuran monk.

Kindral - One of the founding group of Ashura and an original secretary.

Rennyn Eigth Archdragon of the Ashura. He served the longest term of all, so far. Also oversaw the guilds transition into a house.

Zircon The ninth Archdragon. Though his term was relatively short, he oversaw the events for the 150th anniversary of the house.

Gaetano- Eleventh Archdragon, well see what happens.

Credits
Thanks to:

Selene's Beloved Beauty, Alynna Le'dominae- For information about the Kharon occupation of the guildhall lands. Skarash Azon For handling a countless number of questions regarding pre-founding Kharon monks and the Shrine Wars. Patience comes with age and Skarash has an abundance of both. Tranquility, Founder of the Ashura Monks For his accounts of history and explanations of city allegiance. Kohai Aswan Darkwind, Wandering Tiger For helping me find relevant information. Sempai Oburi Kimura, the Rising Dragon For his remembrances of great Ashuran monks.

And finally I would like to thank Jaemon. Had he not given me this, or rather, allowed me to undertake this task, you'd be bashing right now instead of learning. Long live the Ashura!