Yu-Mai Ashawa
The Great Queen Mai Ashawa
Yu-Mai Ashawa was one of the greatest monarchs of her time. She was one of the few ruling queens seen in Bashurian history and she stood as an example for monarchs to come. She preferred to use her cleverness and cunning to play her enemies against each other and to prevent and/or win fights. She was known as a master of deception. However, she was a competent fighter who was better trained than most soldiers that one usually meets on the battlefield and she could call on her training when she needed to.
Her having to fight for the throne and during her reign made her strong and gave her a fearsome reputation. She beat her uncle in a series of competitions to win the title of heir to the throne and eventually became a ruling queen. She had to flee Bashur when it was conquered by the Berini, but she fought to free it and eventually succeeded. She brought up her children to exceed her abilities in which she had some success, but she wasn't able to restore Bashur to it's former strength (it was the best naval power in the gulf of shuban before Berlintini I's great coalition war) and the power vacuum was filled by Shuban and Ushar. Yu-Mai Ashawa died a few years after the war and was succeeded by her eldest son who worked with his siblings to try to restore Bashur to it's former glory.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
In her prime
She is beautiful and very tall for a Bashurian woman (most averaging at about 1.55 meters tall) and she is also pretty muscular and tough. She hides it so that she could use her strength when needed and make it look it's coming out of nowhere (I'm not yet that skilled an artist to nail all these features yet. I need more practice...).Physical quirks
Left handed, walks tall. She has incredibly high pain tolerance (more than any man she knows, a side effect from childbirth which is very painful).
Apparel & Accessories
Wears a lot of purples, golds and some whites. She likes wearing clothes with designs on them. She wears the Bashurian crown almost all the time in order to show that she is the queen of Bashur and that she intends on returning to Bashur and retake the throne. She likes wearing various jewelry and she wears so many bracelets that they sometimes cover half of her forearms. She also wears quite a bit of makeup which suits her well (when you are the queen and have professionals to put on your makeup for you this is quite obvious).
Specialized Equipment
She started walking everywhere with a sword and a dagger in her second year in exile. In 175 A.B she acquired a gorgeous sword with a blade engraved with aspects of Bashurian mythology and had a crossguard with elaborate designs as well as a handle with pieces of lapis lazuli. The pommel was peened onto the the tang and had this pear shape that fit into the hand really well. The balance was also really good and made a sword that was very lively in the hand and was good for both cutting and thrusting. The medium width blade had a very slight tapering in width two-thirds down the blade and then had a stronger taper that led to a narrow but small point that could deal with mailie. The sword was hardened and tempered in such a way that the point was very stiff and the edges and the point were very hard, but the majority of the blade was able to flex and endure a lot of stress and then return to it's original shape without breaking or bending. This sword was pretty light for a longsword (about 1.2 kilograms) and was made specially for her by the king of Shuban. She also had a suit of plate armor made for her in 178 A.B to go to war and lead her troops in. This suit was extremely expensive since it was literally state of the art technology and it exhausted most of her funds at the time. She had to go on many raiding expeditions to get more funds for her cause.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Early Life
Yu-Mai Ashawa was her father's first born child out of 15 children. She was born to the queen like her brother and not to one of the concubines like most of her siblings. Though she was a unique girl who was highly intelligent and she recieved a good education (like every princess), her life wasn't really anything special compared to her other 13 sisters. When her only brother, the heir to the throne, who was 2 younger than her, died when she was just 15, her life changed forever. Her father, Do-Yu Ashawa who was the eldest of his siblings, wanted to declare his youngest brother, Do-Han Ashawa who was just 1 year younger than Yu-Mai Ashawa, to be the new heir. Yu-Mai had none of it. She saw it as a disgrace that her father's bloodline couldn't continue just because he doesn't have any sons to inherit his title, and that her uncle who was less competent than she was inherit the throne after her father. According to the rules of succession she was just as elligible as her uncle and according to how she saw things, she was the better choice. She convinced her father to hold a competition between the two in three years time to see who would be the heir[1]. The competition would test the mental, religious, spiritual, physical, intellectual as well as skillful abilities of the contenders. Yu-Mai Ashawa trained very hard and very intensively for the competition, she learned martial arts, did a lot of physical training and learned the mechanics of how the court ran. The training was very hard for her and she felt like giving up many times, but she kept on training. She was fighting for what she saw as her father's honor. When the big day came, she had reached competent levels in her training, but she wasn't a master by any means. To become a master you need a lot more time and practice. Do-Han Ashawa had the edge when it came to physical strength and martial arts and weapons training. This was partially due to the fact that he had been training from the age of 9 like all royal boys and partially due to the fact that he was naturally stronger. The competition was very close and Do-Han Ashawa was in the lead for most of the competition. Yu-Mai Ashawa's edge was her strong spirit and mentality of never giving up and her higher intelligence and education (he wasn't a genius, but he was by no means unintelligent). In the end, those were what allowed her to stay in the lead for the rest of the competition after she won won a sparring match where her uncle's headgear fell off and exposed his hair to the public. Yu-Mai Ashawa eventually won and received her hard fought title. With the competition over, she went through grueling training like before alongside her standard education, but this time it was to prepare her for her reign and not just for a competition. She did it it even to the extreme when she was tested on a high level in different subjects while sparring with her martial instructers and having 20 kilograms worth of sand filled bags tied to her body. This time however, her father was the one who instated it to her. He had a feeling that she would have a hard time ruling the kingdom because the political scene was changing with the third pig war raging on as well as the Berini conquest of the Western Horde and that more people would dare to face her or challenge her because she was a woman. He taught his daughter to use her wits more than her physical attributes because strength doesn't last forever and that wits can both prevent and win battles while strength merely assists the path to victory. These lessons would prove their value for the rest of her life because it made her strong and calculating.Early Reign
Do-Yu Ashawa's glorious reign came to an abrupt end when he was assassinated by Gurbazi-hired assassins. The assassins, members or the Sikari order, were hired by the king of Gurbaz to kill Do-Yu Ashawa to destabilize Bashur and thus cause Shuban to be without it's most powerful naval ally. He knew of the tension between Yu-Mai Ashawa and Do-Han Ashawa and he meant to cause their fighting to deprive Shuban of the naval support it needed from Bashur's powerful navy. The assassins, twelve in total, snuck into the palace with weapons. One of them snuck into the throne room with a loaded crossbow and managed to clear a successful headshot to Do-Yu Ashawa's head, straight through his left eye. He was eventually caught and arrested, but he committed suicide in jail whilst awaiting trial. Most of the other assassins got away (the alarm was sounded before they really got into the palace) while two more were caught during the attempt, and they too committed suicide in jail whilst awaiting trial. The Nobility quickly crowned Yu-Mai Ashawa as the new monarch and swore allegiance to her before Do-Han Ashawa could try to attempt to seize the throne first. Thus a war of succession was prevented before it got a chance to start (though Do-Han would have probably lost it anyway since he didn't have much support). The young queen sent Do-Han Ashawa to the town of Humbari (norteast of Bashur a few kilometers south from the bank of the Yagruz) to command the garrison that guarded the the bridge that spanned the Yagruz. She also doubled the size of the royal palace guard from 200 Eunuchs to 200 Eunuchs and 200 Elite soldiers with confirmed loyalty to the crown. Her husband, who she married two years prior and had a very deep and dedicated relationship with (he was also one of her most trusted people) served as her viceroy and assisted her in her duties where and when she needed help. She was a very competent ruler even though she had a lot on her plate and managed to handle most of the problems she encountered without too much struggle. Her training and advanced education in her early life gave her a vast amount of knowledge and tools she could use to run the kingdom and cope with a lot of East Hu-Balai geopolitics and drama. It really helped with administrative and especially with all the court drama that plagued the kingdoms in the region (it was very stressful and a lot of kings in the East Hu-Balai occasionally let their viceroys, viziers and siblings run their kingdoms at times of peace because of this). She ruled in her own style. She didn't try to imitate anybody, but used whatever she saw worked best for her, and this made her a very efficient ruler. Because she was aware of the Berini Empire's strong presence to the south, she strengthened her ties with Shuban by marrying off one her sisters to the son of the aging Shubanese king and adopted one of his grandchildren as one of her own children. She also married off one her sisters to Eldanfan the Outcast to tighten her hold on him and give him more incentive not to switch loyalties. She also tried to keep him away from Do-Han Ashawa by making sure they were never deployed in the same place at the same time and that they were never even taking the same route for fear that Do-Han would kill the really useful mercemary. In early 170 A.B Do-Han Ashawa fled from Bashur with a bunch of Bashurian deseters south into the Berini provinces in what used to be the Western Horde. Do-Han then asked Arquado Barbarossa who was there on vacation if he would put him on the Bashurian throne in exchange for the secret of making crucible steel. Arquado, who was shocked that someone was willing to provide the Berini empire with a method of making purer steel[2] packed up his things and rushed to the Berini emperor Berlintini I. The emperor was very ecstatic about this and he appointed Arquado to fullfill the request and conquer some more land in the East Hu-Balai as well. In mid 171 A.B, Arquado arrived in the East Hu-Balai with the Entire First Campaigning Army (1.2 million soldiers along with 400,000 logistics personnel) and some 67,000 levied auxiliaries. The Berini army included a massive armada of Berini ships and expert engineers who knew how build siege equipment and fortifications. The Auxiliary troops included tens of thousands of Guntartar warriors (horse archers and light lancers) as well as a few thousand Palii phalangitaes, a few thousand Saniri warriors and a few hundred Usharasan marines and sailors. In late 171 A.B Arquado took 300,000 regular troops and 9,000 auxiliaries to besiege Bashur Itself. He built a large wall around the city within 16 days and blockaded the harbor. Bashur had been stockpiling resources for 17 years since Do-Yu Ashawa was aware of the possible Berini threat and his daughter continued this preparation until the seige. While the Berini were setting up camp Yu-Mai Ashawa started a strict rationing regime that gave slightly more food to the soldiers so that citizens would enlist to defend the city. She also had soldiers constantly harassing the Berini and had her engineers strengthen the fortifications and add large earthworks and ditches 500 meters from the massive city walls and even more earthworks 200 metres beyond those. the suburbs were leveled to be used as farms and people with questioned loyalty were evicted from the city. She also sent a message to Eldanfan to take his mercenaries and some 5,000 bashurian soldiers to harass the Berini from the rear and draw their attention eastwards so that when the East Hu-Balai Defense Pact's(EHBDP) troops will gather in a few months or years, the slow moving army won't be very far from the Bashurian forces and tension on the city will be relieved (more about this war and battles on Berlintini I's Great War of Coalition and Siege of Bashur: 171 A.B - 174 A.B). When the Berini army Broke through the walls of the upper city and started to pour in, Yu-Mai Ashawa started to prepare an escape from Bashur because after the upper city will fall the palace won't be very far behind. She took her husband, 75 of her guard, 10 horses and 5 mules, some food, 33 kilograms of gold and some of the most valuable treasures (including the crown and the royal scepter), her 4 children and her father's sword. She gave the orders to surrender a week after her departure and she proceeded to the palace dock where her envoy snuck with her out of the harbor and through the blockade on a cargo ship. When Bashur surrendered, Arquado accepted it and placed Do-Han Ashawa on the throne as a "puppet" king. (Do-Han Ashawa wasn't very stupid and had a reason for accepting his status. He drew the Berini into a war of attrition he thought that they couldn't win so he would be a sovereign king when they lost).In Exile
Yu-Mai Ashawa rode on a horse with her group from the palace to the lower city to tell her people that because they are losing the siege she needs to leave the city so it won't be wiped out. She then promised that she will return one day to retake the throne and save her people. After her speech, she returned to the palace and snuck to the docks during the night and took a cargo ship from the docks with her escape party. Two months prior, the royal Bashurian secret police learned from a smuggler of a way to slip through the Berini blockade into the gulf. The smuggler and his associates were then arrested and thrown in jail so they won't tell anyone or use this knowledge to flee or desert. They then reported their deeds and the information to the queen in case there may be a need to flee the city. The escapees used this information to sneak through the blockade not knowing if it was still up to date. Luckily, the Berini never found the flaw in the blockade and they successfully escaped and slipped through the blockade unnoticed. Besides relying on this information, the escape party also planned their escape on the night of new moon and with them nearing the blockade about 15 minutes before the Berini senries changed shifts. This plan relied heavily on intelligence gathered by Bashurian spies and members of the secret police (The Bashurian crown had a secret police that gathered information and monitored suspicious activities. It was felt necessary because assassins and foreign spies were a real concern)). On the 1st day of the 8th month 174 A.B, in the dead of night, Yu-Mai Ashawa snuck with her party out of the city. They snuck through the blockade where their intel said the smuggling spot was. Once they were out of sight of the blockade, everyone wept, but no one wept as hard as the queen. Everyone was weeping because they had to flee their home and leave some of their loved ones behind not knowing if they will ever see either of them ever again. The queen wept over those, but she also wept because everything she had fought so hard for was gone. Her youngest uncle betrayed her and brought upon her an army as vast as the sea, another one of her uncles (one she liked and trusted) was captured, the walls built by her and her ancestors were damaged and breached and over a fifth of the people in the capital were dead. She, who had fought so hard to make sure that they were safe, that all was well, failed. She was forced to flee with her tail between her legs in order to spare her and her people. She really wanted to go back and smite her enemies, but she couldn't, so she wept. She could still hear the cries and the screams of her dying people in her head, but, as she had learned and experienced, she had to come back up. She knew that she would have to rise from the ashes one day and take what was rightfully hers and rebuild what was destroyed and mend the broken. She would have to stay the in exile to regather her strength though, she would need all the strength she can gather so that she could attack her enemies like an angry bear fighting for it's cubs. The food they took with them on the boat wasn't much and it wouldn't last them the entire voyage to Shuban. They probably couldn't dock elsewhere in Bashur because the capital was besieged for three years and that was probably enough time for the Berini army to conquer the entire kingdom. The Bashurian queen had some grasp of the Berini army's size and speed because her father had that on his mind when the Berini were bringing the Western Horde to it's knees. They had to head for their close allies, the Shubanese, to to start rallying forces for the next round. They met some Bashurian ships on after a few days at sea. These ships have been wandering about since the battle of Humbari. These included 4 transport ships and 8 warships, Each transport had 5,000 soldiers and a few horses along with the crew of 30 sailors, 500 oarsmen and 9 commanders including the captain and navigators. One of these transports had Kai-Shal Khazai and a war elephant. The warships each had 300 oarsmen, 30 sailors, 2 navigators, a captain, a first mate, 4 lesser crew commanders, 10 ballista operators for the ballista and 50 marines. Yu-Mai Ashawa climbed up to the top of the mast of her ship and shined a makeup mirror in the sun to signal to the ships. One of the warships came forward at full speed and nearly rammed the cargo vessel when they saw the queen and narrowly missed the ship. After the forces joined, they exchanged accounts of events decided to stop at a Shiis port town. They needed to stop there to resupply before going to Shuban and speaking with the king Khil Sharamt. They met another transport ship and a pair of warships on the way there.Education
Very varied. She learned some martial arts and war strategy as well as art, history, philosophy, literature, etc. She had both the education of a princess and the traditional education of a Bashurian monarch.
Accomplishments & Achievements
She learned how to trust people and be more open minded to those she hated and believed were out to get her. It was physically hard for her as well as mentally hard for her.
She learned to deal with really rude and annoying individuals who liked giving her trouble (like Eldanfan the Outcast).
She picked up herself, her people and her kingdom up from the ashes of destruction and despair.
She built a formidable reputation of being unbreakable and wound up not having to fight very much in her later years and became a role model for many people across many countries and cultures.
She earned the respect of her enemies which she didn't have before.
Her children learned from her that as a team they are even stronger than their mother and can aspire to many heights. They inherited her value for deep intimate relationships and their close unconditional bond as well as the idea that you never stay down enabled them to do many great things.
Works
A military handbook called The doctrines and methods of fighting with deception and through assymetrical warfare.Failures & Embarrassments
She had to flee her besieged city and live in exile for 17 years.
She was ashamed at having to fight beside the king of Gurbaz whose father arranged the assassination of her dear father.
She seriously demoted the most capable general in Bashur during the siege which led to the miserable defeat in the battle in the suburbs. It also led to his eventual capture and being taken to Berin as a prisoner never to return. Said general was her uncle Major General Do-Ke Ashawa. He had years of experience under his belt and she demoted him to a captain because he was doing some shady things. The things he did may have been a little shady, but he did it with his niece's best intentions at heart. She still felt like her trust was betrayed and she demoted him.
In exile, supplies sometimes got so scarce that she resorted to the raiding and banditry of small unprotected convoys and villages.
Mental Trauma
She lost her only brother whom she was very close to when she was still a teenager.
Her father who was very close to her was shot right in front of her.
Eldanfan had a thing for her since she was 14 and he wasn't afraid to show it.
Her uncle Do-Han Ashawa betrayed her and usurped her throne.
Intellectual Characteristics
Well educated in history, art, philosophy, Economics, etc.
Morality & Philosophy
She believes that must do anything possible to keep her nation alive and proud as well asensuring the continuation of hers and her father's bloodline. if there is any dirty work needed to be done for this cause, it must be done.
Betrayal isn't to be taken kindly.
Taboos
Walking around in public when her hair isn't covered like all the Bashurian kings and queens.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
The continuation of hers and her father's bloodline on the Bashurian throne. She is a devout Bashurian nationalist.
Savvies & Ineptitudes
Not a very good battle-strategist but very good at motivating and manipulating other people to do her biding. Her ability in battle improved drastically during her time in exile however. Still, she had good and talented people who could do this for her while she listened, learned and asked questions that occasionally helped bring other considerations to planning in the long term. As a result, she could eventually command troops without a confirmed professional commandor by her side.
Likes & Dislikes
She despises anyone who isn't her father, her or one of her children who sits or gears to sit on the Bashurian throne.
She likes spicy food.
The poleaxe is her favorite weapon.
Virtues & Personality perks
She is very strong willed and bringing her down is very hard.
During her early twenties she learned how to pull out before all gets lost.
She has an excellent aesthetic taste.
She is clever and knows how to work her way out of poblems.
She is both physically and mentally capable of withstanding a lot of pain. This neans that she doesn't come down easily and is capable of outlasting opponents.
Vices & Personality flaws
She believed the that the Gurbazi were always out to get her and thus she had a very strong prejudice against Gurbazis.
She thought that she was the best monarch in the world for having to go through what she has.
Her trust is very hard to earn but easy lose and she doesn't take betrayal very well at all. She also tends to overreact when she feels that her trust is being betrayed.
Though very intelligent and rather smart, she isn't smart to the level where where she can see all the problems coming to her and avoid them. Meaning, she may be clever, but she isn't unusually smart and runs into trouble.
The trust issues (her having trouble trusting people as well as occasional paranoia) she developed in her 20s and they remained with her until her early 50s. They made forging alliances and interaction with other people a little more difficult than necessary. These issues did get worse at times and made working with her difficult as well as strain her marriage on a few occaisions, something that she had to resolve. However, starting in her 40s these issues were steadily moderated until they were dealt with. This took her many years.
Her negative feelings towards her uncle Do-Han Ashawa fermented and matured as the years passed and resulted in a distorted view of him and his actions (he thought he was doing the right thing) to the point where she had no problem publicly humiliating him, killing him without trial, mutilating his body and then hanging it in the street for a week before someone sneaked his body away and buried it between the Yagruz and the Algen. The brooding feelings of hatred and betrayal that distorted Yu-Mai Ashawa's view of Do-Han Ashawa is not an uncommon occurance and happens to many people on different levels with different things.
Hygiene
Cleans herself regularly and never misses putting on her makeup and grooming herself properly.
Social
Contacts & Relations
Close Friends
Her husband, Ke-Sao Ashawa (he is a very fine man. She had good taste) Shon-Sho Ashawa Khil Sharamt of Shuban Sharamt Sha of Shuban (Khil Sharamt's son and heir) Thal KhambruzFamily Ties
She belongs to the Ashawa clan.
Her sister Yu-Yi Ashawa was married to the Shubanese heir to the throne Khil Sharamt who later became the king of Shuban.
She married her sister Yu-Lao Ashawa to Eldanfan the outcast to cement his loyalty to her (which ultimately worked and made his behavior slightly more bearable).
Do-Han Ashawa, her uncle (her father's youngest brother), is one year younger than her and he usurped the throne from with the help of Arquado Barbarossa. She later killed him herself without a trial and left his mutilated body to hang in the streets for a week. She hated him like nobody's business.
Do-Ke Ashawa is one of her older uncles. he was one of the highest ranking veteran commanders of the Bashurian army. She stupidly demoted him and he got captured and exiled to Berin.
Religious Views
She is very religious and a devout follower of the Bashurian religion. In her years in exile she adopted the Aurukshukan, Shubanese, Galani and Yu-Baii gods and started to worship them as well as her native Bashurian religion. Some people saw her as the 13th god-dragon's human incarnation. This was only believed by a lesser few and she herself felt it was b******* but good for establishing legeimacy. The fact that the story was similar to hers made it easier for people to legitimize her as queen even if they didn't believe it. once she returned, she also had a scuffle with the Bashurian priesthoods who believed that she faithful enough to their faith and had to compete with new foreign priesthoods that came and established themselves in Bashur when she returned. Her descendants continued with this path for a few generations. 147 years after her death the king converted back to the "pure" Bashurian faith and purged all of the foreign ones from the kingdom with the backing of the Bashurian clergy. This also included him killing off most of the royal family and a large number of aristocrats.
Social Aptitude
She is very confident and has very good manners across a few cultures including Bashurian and Shubanese manners. She is also very composed and a very good listener who waits for the right time to speak.
Mannerisms
She is usually very composed and makes sure that her clothes and makeup are perfect. However, when it comes to situations like commanding her troops, these priorities are cast aside as more important matters receive focus instead. In conversations, she waits for the right time to speak and knows how to say the right thing at the right time (becoming a strategist and tactician in battle for a long consecutive time in an area where people prefer you dead can has some effects on your life). She is a master of deception and she uses her skills of deception to avoid fights she doesn't want, fight on her own terms or simply manipulate the situation. She knows and puts to use most of the political nuances and intricacies needed in an area with hundreds of bickering city states and to prevent powerful neighbors from moving against her. On the external level, she manages to find a balance between all these needs and her just being herself to prevent her life from becoming difficult or miserable. How she manages to pull off showing her feminine personality, her mastery of deception and politics as well as strategy and tactics would always intrigue her peers and made her a very interesting character that was also intimidating, friendly and awe inspiring.
Since she had gotten her sword from the king of Shuban, she made a habit of wearing it everywhere as she was in exile and always needed to watch her back. She continued this practice until she died. She took great care of that sword which she usually wore as a decorative piece (it was supposed to function both as a weapon and as a piece of jewelry).
Hobbies & Pets
She trains regularly. It helps her feel strong.
Relationships
History
Eldanfan was Do-Yu Ashawa's employee and he did a lot of loyal service to him and Yu-Mai Ashawa. She became Eldanfan's employer after her father died.
Relationship Reasoning
Yu-Mai Ashawa needs a fast moving elite force in her army. Eldanfan wants his money and his families to live.
Shared Acquaintances
Yu-Lao Ashawa. She is Yu-Mai Ashawa's sister and Yu-Mai Ashawa married her to him despite him being about twice her age so that she could control him more easily.
History
They had a good relationship until the death of Yu-Wa Ashawa. Both of them then quickly tried to sieze the title of being heir.
Relationship Reasoning
Each one believes that they are the rightful heir. They both believe in almost the same values, and it's also the explanation as to why they changed from being like close siblings (Yu-Mai Ashawa, Yu-Wa Ashawa and Do-Han Ashawa were this inseperable trio) to the most bitter of rivals. Neither one would have allowed the other to get or keep the throne because of a few key points that they believed important. Their extreme sense of righteousness, revenge, nationalism and duty stoked up the fire between them to the point where it caused millions to die as an indirect result of it. If Do-Han would have become the heir and ascended to the throne instead, Yu-Mai would probably have tried to seize the throne from him. Something that would have had a smaller chance of succeeding because she was a woman in a patriarchal world.
Commonalities & Shared Interests
Shared Acquaintances
Do-Yu Ashawa, Eldanfan the Outcast (Do-Han Ashawa hated him more than Yu-Mai Ashawa), Yu-Wa Ashawa, Arquado Barbarossa, Mariani Cornelius, Do-Ke Ashawa
Relationship Reasoning
Yu-Mai Ashawa and Mariani Cornelius obviously don't like each other. For the majority of the time that that they had been interacting they had been at war with each other. Mariani is one of the highest ranking officers in the Berini First Campaigning Army which is responsible for conquering Bashur and forcing Yu-Mai Ashawa to flee from the city. Add to that that Mariani is a war profiteer who managed to steal and sell some valuable Bashurian artifacts (much to Do-Han Ashawa's dismay) it's quite plain as to why she doesn't like him. Yu-Mai Ashawa is a renegade queen who will just not stay down and keep on nipping at the ankles of Arquado Barbarossa and Mariani Cornelius and causing damage. Mariani also kind of saw her as out of her rightful place. Perhaps because he comes from a royal family that was stripped of it's power and influence twice. However, it's unclear as to how much he cared about the whole royal family stuff he carried around.
Shared Acquaintances
Do-Han Ashawa, Arquado Barbarossa, Eldanfan the Outcast, Do-Yu Ashawa, Do-Ke Ashawa
History
They didn't really interact during the reign of Do-Yu Ashawa. During the reign of Yu-Mai Ashawa before Berlintini I's Great War of Coalition, they had a decent relationship because Arquado was a learning nut and with endless curiosity. This relationship manefested itself with Arquado would visiting Bashur and taking notes about it's history, culture and architechture to add to his personal library. Of course, she hid a very great deal of things from him for security reasons, it didn't prevent him from conquering the kingdom. When the war started, Yu-Mai Ashawa felt a bit betrayed as the very smart and intelligent Arquado utilized the info he had of Bashur (like how it won wars in the past and the layout of the city) to conquer the city. Throughout the war they wished each other dead but had a great deal of respect for each other. He admired he unbreaking and self-reviving spirit that made sure she always had a way out and was never down for very long. She admired his extreme skill, intelligence and tactical genius. When she heard of his death she said that he was a truly strong and smart adversary who was to be feared when at war with, and a geek at times of peace.
Relationship Reasoning
They had a lot of respect for each other and saw in each other qualities they admired. Yu-Mai Ashawa was extremely clever and would always bounce back up even during the hardest of times. Arquado had the curiosity and joy of a little boy when it came to learning anything new and he was also a master strategist and tactician who was always playing his cards well and outclassed his peers. They were both very skilled in politics and deception of which she became the one the most superior one of the two in this field. People always found it puzzling that she loathed her uncle as much as one could imagine and still respected Arquado. Perhaps because she was very much like her uncle and only similar to Arquado.
Commonalities & Shared Interests
They were both very interested in adding to their skills and knowledge as well as a very strong sense of duty. They Both became very skilled and competent practitioners in the ways of war. They both hated Eldanfan the Outcast as he was a very unpleasant person (he was very rude and in-your-face). This is the reason why Arquado deliberately broke his spirit and why neither of them were really bothered by his death.
Shared Acquaintances
Mariani Cornelius, Do-Han Ashawa, Eldanfan the Outcast, Do-Yu Ashawa, Do-Ke Ashawa.
Wealth & Financial state
In the beginning of her reign she was very rich, but the Siege of Bashur: 171 A.B - 174 A.B took a massive toll on these funds and the majority of the royal treasury was seized by the besiegers. She still escaped with a lot of money which helped her out in exile, but when she returned a lot of the treasury was gone (such is the price vassalty) and she had to use what was left to rebuild the kingdom (of what the Berini had a chance to rebuild a good portion was destroyed during the war). The treasury was still rather depleted when she died.
[1] Declaring your heir near the begining of your reign as king was common practice in the East Hu-Balai because there was always the fear of assassination and resulting anarchy as the children fought over the title of king. Hence the reason why Do-Yu Ashawa did this when he was young, healthy and strong.
[2] The crucible steel that was used in the East Hu-Balai was a lot purer than the steel that the Berini made. In a bloomery furnace you get the iron ore hot enough that the slag melts out. This still leaves a lot of slag in the left over iron chunk and when that is turned into steel, it doesn't mix all too well and it winds up being very varied with some parts having higher carbon than others and some parts being purer than others. However, in crucible steel you use a furnace that can get hot enough to melt the iron ore in a crucible. This causes the slag to seperate much more effectively and float to the top where it can float and then be poured out. It also allows the production of much purer and much more homogenious steel that doesn't need to be folded over and over to squeeze out the slag. Steel that could vastly improve the infrastructure and advance the technology.
Species
Ethnicity
Honorary & Occupational Titles
The Great Queen
Life
143
225
Circumstances of Birth
First born child of the king, and to the queen at that.
Circumstances of Death
Old age. Heart attack.
Birthplace
Bashur
Spouses
Siblings
Children
Gender
Female
Eyes
Green
Hair
long straight dark brown hair
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Light tan
Height
1.71 meters
Weight
65 kilograms
Quotes & Catchphrases
"Wars are fought by deception." Yu-Mai Ashawa
"Father, your royal and mighty highness, don't you see it as a disgrace to have your youngest brother succeed you instead of one of your own children!? Your only son and heir may be dead, but you have me, your first born child who was born to the queen at that, through which your bloodline can continue to rule the kingdom." Yu-Mai Ashawa on the day her father was about to declare Do-Han Ashawa as the heir to the throne
"I'm back! Now, you can either open the gates and let your queen in with her forces, or, me, said queen will execute you all for treason." The words of Yu-Mai Ashawa when she approached bashur with her coalition forces in 189 A.B
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