User:Ashram Narse
In the Sixth Astral Era, year 1552, the small city of Ala Mhigo came under attack by Garlean ruler Theoderic, the King of Ruin. Theoderic came to eradicate the Fist of Rhalgr, the feared monk fighting force, and cement a strong Garlean presents in the area. The Monks fought fiercely and to their great credit inflicted heavy casualties on the Garlean forces, but the Garleans magitek and machina where to much and they were nearly whipped out. One monk by the name of Eld Stoness and his pregnant wife escaped the carnage before the tide of battle turned against the monks. They made their way north to Camp Drybone, there the young wife gave birth to their son, Ashram Stoness. His name comes form Eld’s grandfather. Unfortunately, his mother disappeared shortly after his birth, she left no note or reason. Eld became inconsolable after this, even to the point of forgetting to look after his infant son. Eventually, after a few weeks, he came back to his son a different man. His eyes were empty of emotion and he always walked with a heaviness on his shoulders.
For the next several years, Ashram was raised by Eld as a monk. Even before he could walk he was learning to channel his Chakra, a strict life of meditation, physical training, dieting, and learning followed. The two kept to themselves, rarely leaving their small apartment, accept to get supplies or to travel into the surrounding wild for days of survival training and learning about the forces of the world. On his 13th birthday, Ashram awoke to find Eld gone and the apartment was empty. All of Eld’s clothes, equipment, and most of the food was gone. Not even a note explaining anything was found. With no money, nothing of value to sell, and being to young to get gainful employment, Ashram took what little he had left and walked out of Camp Drybone forever.
Over the next few years, Ashram traveled all over Eorzea, taking on dozens of odd jobs to make ends meet. He was a cabin boy for a freighter Captain out of Limsa, a field laborer for a herbal gist in Gridania, and even managed to be a hired merchant hand in Ul’dah. He wouldn’t stay for more than a few months at any one place for long. Often leaving after he had earned enough gil to travel again. He also spent as much of his free time learning whatever anyone would teach him. Fencing, fighting, strategy, proper armor care, blacksmithing, even some magic (he isn’t very proficient in it though). By the time he was 18 he had learned more than most his age and already traveled the breath of Eorzea several times over.
A few months after his 18th birthday, Ashram met someone that would change his life forever, both in a positive and negative way. While traveling beyond the South Tidegate to track down a group of Reaver Raiders that had hit a merchant caravan moving from the gate to Swiftperch. As he was moving he was ambushed by the very group he was tracking, the fight was fierce but overwhelming and as Ashram tried his best, he was soon over taken and will trying to fend off an attack and Reaver spear found its way across his face, leaving a deep cut that scared across the bridge of his nose and cheek. He felt all was finally over for him when out of no where a brilliant white light burst from somewhere in between the raiders. He recognized it, Holy, the White Mage spell, and when the light faded and his eyes had focused, he saw her standing there. Her pale blue eyes showing concern as the wind kept her hair dancing around her face. Ashram only remember thinking that he must have died since angels aren’t seen on Eorzea. He passed out from the pain a second later.
Over the next two days, his Miqo’te saver helped him recover. He found himself constantly asking her name to which she would only say, “Does it matter?” She had set them up in a small inn room at Aleport. No matter how many times Ashram offered gil she would refuse it and say that she didn’t help for the gil only for the helping. Every moment with her was like a dream for Ashram. When he could get her to talk she talked about her White Mage training and growing up in Gridania. He would talk about his travels and stories he had heard on the road. He found himself always trying to make her laugh, it was his new favorite sound, she seemed to always get a laugh out of making him taste her cooking, trust me she was bad at it. When he was fully recuperated, they left the inn together. As they walked out under the rampart of Aleport he looked at her and asked for her name, when she started her old comment about it mattering, he replied firmly, “Yes to me it does” She laughed harder than she ever did before in those two days. “Sirenia is my name and I’m sure you will get to say it more in the future.” with a wink and a smile she walked off towards the South Tidegate to finish her training trial. Ashram had to get to Limsa to report on the riaders. They wouldn’t be apart for to long he knew it.
The two kept running into each other more and more. Seems she always knew where he was and he would chase any wild rumor of the pale eyed Migo’te that he heard. After several months of meetings, countless adventures, and even a dinner with goblins hiding in Urths Font, this friendship that started out as a rescue turned to something more, something deeper. A full mooned night, a bonfire on the shores of Costa Del sol, flowers, wine, and a gentle breeze gave their first kiss the perfect setting. Or at least that was what Ashram wanted, in reality it was a cold, rainy night out near the Camp Tranquil. They were huddled under a blanket, wet, cold, a little hungry, and watching a campfire barely holding on to its flame. But they didn’t seem to mind, nothing seemed to matter at that moment.
In 1572 the two decided to join the Eorzea Alliance to battle the Gardean army invading deeper into the lands. As the battle ranged on the two where inseparable, the front line was their front yard and they never stopped fighting side by side. On the day that Bahamut was released from his prison and all seemed to be going bad, Ashram had just cut down a Garlean swordsman when he turned just in time to see Sirenia, his love, his very reason for wanting more out of life besides the ability to scrap by…her eyes were empty as she stared at him. The spear was clear through her chest and he knew she was gone. Rage, pure white hot rage was all he knew in those seconds. With a burst of blue aether forming a swirling dragon around him he pushed forward towards her killer. Anyone, friend or foe, that got in his way was swept aside. When he reached her he couldn’t contain this force and with a primal yell of anger he unleashed a Geirskogul, killing her murderer and several others in the area. When he could regain his composure he knelt down and held her close. Even this moment of peace and sadness was taken from him as a light appeared out of nowhere and engulfed him, pulling him up and into the void. He tried in vain to hold onto her, then her arm, her hand, her finger, but then he was gone.
Ashram awoke near Camp Drybone, lost, disoriented, and trying to understand what had just happened to him. He stumbled into the camp to find it different than he remembered. He asked where some people where that he remember living there. When he was told what the year was and that the war had been over for 5 years now, he couldn’t believe it. Had he slept that long? Had he been in a magical prison? All he knew now was that he was alone again, starting over like before, and ironically in the same place he started his life alone the last time. He used what little gil he had on him and boarded a caravan heading for Ul’dah. The passengers where and old merchant and two twin kids with long white hair and pointed ears. And so the story begins again………..
