Asha a.k.a. The Spider Queen (Goddess), a.k.a. Multifaced is the primordial dragon, creator of the world of Ashan, sister of Urgash and mother of the six elemental dragons: Elrath, Malassa, Sylanna, Arkath, Ylath and Shalassa.
Background[]
While she is well-known as the "Dragon of Order", Asha appears in many different forms. Asha and Urgash fought against each other in the Genesis, during which Asha banished Urgash into the heart of her world. However, she was wounded in that battle, and hid in the moon in order to heal herself.
Asha renders the fate of all mortal beings—she spins forth their destiny upon their birth, measures it throughout their time in the physical world, and then embraces their life force upon death. Asha is neutral; she shows favor to neither good nor evil men. She does not bless any race above another. Angels, Faceless, Elves, Dwarves, Humans and Nagas, all stand before her in equal measure, much like she's does to her children. She does, however, hold her insane twin brother, the Dragon of Chaos, in eternal disdain and is opposed to the principles that drive both him and the demons, the beings he created to oppose her own.
Today, Asha is worshiped by the Blind Brothers, Silent Sisters, White Weavers, Dragon Knights and Necromancers, in different forms and aspects. Asha herself rests in the moon and doesn't really know what happens on her beloved world, though she does actively communicate with Shalassa, however it is unknown why she only communicates with the Dragon of Water and not the rest of her children. Every creature, except the demons and (mainly) the wizards of the Silver League, respect the worshiping of the Dragon of Order, except her aspect as The Spider goddess. The rest of Ashan doesn't worship her directly, she is above such things, but they pay their respects to the Mother Dragoness.
The Moon is in fact the cocoon she wove around herself. It is an image of the cosmic egg, a means to measure time, the final resting place of the dragons and the gate to the Underworld (where all souls come from and where all they go back after death).
Enlightenment of Sar-Elam[]
When the war between Urgash's and Asha's creations began, Sar-Elam, later called the Seventh Dragon, touched Asha's consciousness and became a being with the powers and abilities of a Dragon-God. Sar-Elam used his new power to end the Elder Wars between her eldest children, Elrath and Malassa, and to banish the demons into their infernal prison of Sheogh, sacrificing himself in the process. Sar-Elam's bravery and selflessness in his sacrifice for the good of Ashan caused Asha great sorrow, in a way she lost her Seventh Child, as Sar-Elam had to not only sacrifice his life but also his soul to create the magical seal over Sheogh, forever sacrificing his place in her cycle of Life, Death, Rebirth. In her deep sadness, Asha shed Tears across the lands of Ashan.
General View[]
Asha is all facets of the wheel of existence; the triple-faced figure of birth, life and death.
She is the Faceless Maiden, Destiny's herald, stitching here and there, unseen, to make sure that all the living creatures fulfil their purpose.
She is the Mother, who regards all things as her creation and her children. By giving birth, she set chaos into form and gives meaning to potential.
She is the Crone, wizened and old, who snips the web of life, with a sickle held in gnarled fingers, when the time has come.
The Spider Goddess[]
Even if their cousins from the Seven Cities laugh about this reality, the Necromancers are more religious than some other factions. They believe, that Asha sits in a gigantic web, made of the souls of all things, that were, are and will be alive. If a person dies, the thread would be divided in two or more and the threads would be weaved to another thread, another soul. So, this process of dying and reincarnation is eternal. A Deathlord could be saved from his fate if , when he is given to Asha and then, he's taken from the web, so that he is able to weave the other threads to Asha's will, the souls of the deads and their dead bodies. When a Deathlord died, his thread is not divided and sent to Ashan, where Asha wants it. A Deathlord could only be defeated with very strong magic or the Chaos Magic of Urgash, this is called the "Final death". The creed of the Necromancers is "Asha uses all!" The view of the necromancers is often misunderstood and necromancers and other servants of this aspect of Asha are often hunted and killed. The greatest servant of the spider goddess was Arantir, Highlord of Heresh and Chosen of Asha, who captured the holy town Flammschrein, a blasphemous place of the new Red Church, that Biara founded in her time as Queen Isabel.
Still Necromancers view a Spider Queen as a primordial dragon.
Symbols[]
All cults of Asha hold that Asha's holy number is 8 (eight heads, like Tieru says, and the eight legs of a spider). Sometimes, in the earth player can find a very mighty artifact, a Tear of Asha, which is full of very powerful magic.
Gallery[]
