Aśla hatched in the late winter of the year 1619 in the era of Ascension, a member of the Ox kinship and of the Narise tribe. Their home was nestled amongst the dense forests of the northwestern region near Daivas’ Crossing, a region in which the Narise had found much wealth due to their proximity to the rich westerly realms, with whom they traded with at times, and at other times raided. At the age of two, Aśla was taken in as a ward of Ekriṣi, the Narise king, and received their name as they were introduced into the royal household.

Ekriṣi was one such dragon that had grown wealthy through plundering, a practice that they had taken up when they were young, and had continued throughout their life, earning infamy amongst the peoples of the west as a notorious reaver-king. It is easy to see how figures such as Ekriṣi were responsible for the proliferation of stories about ‘barbaric’ dragons that brought fire and death to countless villages, all to add a few more drachmae of gold and silver to their hoards. A favoured target of Ekriṣi was the island of Gilane, peopled mostly by humans, as well as a lesser number of wyverns. The city of Hagiosleon, the largest on the island, had been subjected to a few raids over the preceding years, and had bolstered its defences significantly in anticipation of further attacks. Thus, when Ekriṣi attempted to assail it once more, they came up upon these defences and suffered a disastrous defeat, in which their elder wards were slain in battle against the forces of the Theskaian Anaxia, and the king themselves was captured. In this, the Theskaian king saw an opportunity, and he extended an offer to pardon Ekriṣi under the condition that they cease their attacks on the Theskaians, and send their heir to the city of Theskai as a hostage. Ekriṣi accepted, and Aśla, now the eldest of the king’s wards, departed for the august city at the age of six.

Theskai was (and remains) a formidable city with a strong reputation. The city bears many names, such as “The Painted City”, for the vibrant hues that colour its magnificent structures of brick, concrete, and marble. Often, it is simply referred to as “The Great City” – certainly an apt name, as the city was the birthplace of an ancient and venerable empire, and remained for much of its existence among the largest cities in the world. Yet even as the centre of such a cosmopolitan realm, most of the city of Theskai had been built with the stature of humans in mind, and its often narrow streets and passageways proved to be crowded and confined even for a juvenile dragon. Aśla was a somewhat large dragon, likely standing by the end of their time in the city at over seven feet tall at the withers, and about twenty-six feet in length from the chest to the end of the tail. One can readily imagine how they may have been forced to contort themselves in order to navigate the dense city. The cramps in their wings aside, Aśla still saw the city as a place of great opportunities, committing full-heartedly to their tutoring at the Great Palace, provided by the Theskai in the hopes that they could make a useful vassal out of the dragon. In addition to being educated on matters of statecraft and warfare, Aśla put effort into forming connections with prominent Theskaian noble families. During this time, Aśla formally declared their faith in Rhodism, the state religion of the Theskaian Kingdom, likely part of their bid to ingratiate themselves with the Theskaian nobility. However, the extent to which they truly viewed themselves as an adherent of the Alithomantis Rhodas' teachings later in life is a matter up for debate.

At the age of twenty, upon the death of their ostensible mentor Ekriṣi in the year 1640 A., Aśla finally made their return to their homeland. They were coronated as king of the Narise in a great ceremony, merging the native customs of the Arani with elements evidently inspired by Theskaian coronation practices. For instance, the king was anointed as in the manner of the Theskaian kings, though anointed with milk rather than with oil, in a manner more reminiscent of certain Arani ceremonies. Furthermore, this ceremony was overseen by both Rhodist and Prakasakah teachers, paying respects to both the western and eastern faiths that the Arani now found themselves residing between. Such a syncretic ceremony was likely intended as a message to the Arani tribes of the new era that Aśla sought to bring about to their people, as one that would retain local traditions while establishing a new state inspired by the westerly kingdom. Aśla called upon their connections in the west to secure the service of mercenary bands, consisting of Rokic and Takhic dragons, in their wars against the other Arani tribes.

Within only a few years, the Ḍeska submitted fully to Aśla’s authority, with the other four tribes becoming tributaries of their now-expanded realm. Yet the other tribes chafed under the obligations of this tribute, and so it was that the Ehrne, Adankh, Knase, and Aykene united forces in an attempt to throw of the yolk that had been placed upon them. The culmination of this war was the battle of Eskala in 1647 A., proving to be a decisive victory for Aśla, who defeated the forces of the four tribes in quick succession. Calling a great assembly between the Arani tribes, Aśla demanded their full subjugation – that all tribes should be under their rule, the current kings should forfeit their claims, and a dragon from each of the tribes should become one of their wards. Most other tribes, utterly defeated, chose to submit and spare themselves from further devastation. Yet the Aykene refused, their king crying out indignantly, “It is better that I should die than live as a king without a kingdom!” Aśla launched a ruthless attack against the Aykene in retribution, slaying the defiant king, all but destroying the tribe, and scattering the remnants of the Aykene towards the steppes of the south-east. With the remaining tribes now firmly cowed, Aśla was formally declared king of Arana, the united Arani homeland. Such was the first time since the dissolution of the Lohae Kingdom that all Arani tribes were united under a single ruler, and the first time in recorded history that this ruler was Arani themselves.

After an impressive reign of sixty-six years, Aśla died in the royal bedroom in the palace at Eskala, in the year 1706 A., and at the age of eighty-seven. Those that remember Aśla fondly point to the stability and peace brought about by their reign, while those that scorn the king’s legacy ask what peace they brought the Aykene, the hundreds that died on their campaigns, or the hundreds more that were killed on their orders even at peacetime. Aśla’s wards – Graha of the Narise, Ikros of the Ḍeska, Dekhsi of the Ehrne, Tsaiti of the Knase, and Kharas of the Adankh – each became kings of their respective tribes. Despite the absence of a central ruler among the Arani, these kings had pledged to follow the words of their mentor on their deathbed, that they should “Continue to cooperate with each other, and avoid dividing the tribes’ power so that they may thrive in concordance with one another”. And so began the period of the Arani Confederation.

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i'm literally just like suetonius if he was a scalie