Part I, Beginnings

"This is not the way I saw anything happening
I'm only older, screaming over destiny tonight
Don't hear my laugh echoing through your jealousy
I just hear my voice, I just hear my voice

Come on and jump in the fire, the first one's on me
Feel the burn of missing every opportunity
If you stand the heat, we can play loud enough you'll agree
You haven't see the last of me."
-Lucky Boys Confusion, When Bad News Gets Worse

The story began years ago, high in the mountaintops of the Hidden City- Treve to its people. His mother named him Aashe. It was a curious name, one more fitting for a slave girl than a full-blooded Gorean male. Perhaps she wished Aashe were a girl...or perhaps she gave him that name so he would be deemed unfit for the Scarlet Caste of his father so he would become a powerful Scribe in his mother's making...or perhaps she gave him a name that hinted at so many different meanings but in the end, meant nothing...or perhaps the Scribe who recorded his name was simply drunk.

He was born fifth (and last) to the House of Vieria. While he was the second son, his parents had high ambitions for him. His father Malice was now First Sword of the city, while his mother Sabina had risen to the position of Chief Scribe. Aashe was now royalty in the city; the two most powerful Castes were intertwined forever. His birth ushered in the Golden Era of the city. Every city raid was successful without the loss of a single man, replete with spoils and riches of their conquests. It was a prosperous time; no one in the city was wanting for any possible need. The coffers swelled, the warehouses filled and the population grew. No other city dared challenge the Trevans in battle for they knew they were no match for the mighty tarnsmen. For the first time, the lawless city enjoyed a historic period of piece; he was the city's son, destined to be Ubar one day.

But somewhere along the way, everything changed. As he grew older, he began to look odd. Different. His appearance resembled neither parent; he was darker than normal, uncovering the dark secret of his father’s Schendi heritage. His demeanor seemed alien to native Trevans. Trevan men are known for being brash, arrogant raiders who can handle a tarn like no other. Aashe was none of these things: he was soft-spoken and could barely ride a tarn by himself. The Golden Boy, who represented so much hope to the city, was anything but. Rumors swirled, suspicions were raised about the future of the city in the hands of someone who seemed Earth-born and not Gorean. It was becoming clear that he would be lucky to survive into adulthood. Something seemed off.

And then the bad times came. Raids started becoming less productive and more dangerous. During one raid, Aashe's older (and only) brother Dodge left by tarnback on a raiding mission and never returned. He was never heard from again. From then on, every raid came back with fewer men and even fewer goods. No one could explain this change in luck.

Later, a caravan convoy of Trevans was highjacked just outside of Minus; the hijacker had an irrational hatred of the citizens of the famed Hidden City. All the women in the party were savagely beaten and brutally raped before being left for dead on the roadside. Aashe's oldest sister, Cilla, was amongst them. Rather than returning home for protection and revenge, she fled to the forests to seek refuge in the wilderness. She was not alone. These women never returned. The political stability in Treve began to slowly deteriorate. Aashe's mother tried to hold the city together with her instincts, silver tongue and natural inclination for politics. The only solution required her to dissolve her companionship with Malice and join forces with the Ubar, Theodoric. Unraveling the threads of family did not stop the bleeding. By the time Aashe came of age, the stench of war and rebellion hung in the air. No one could explain the sudden and swift changes of events. But they had a guess: the city had no future leader to inspire it.

Officially, he was sent to "the Academy" to pursue his Caste training in the harsh climate of the North. His father hoped the bitter cold would toughen his soft, peculiar behavior. His mother privately hoped that Aashe would discover a passion for literature and follow the path of knowledge to becoming a Scribe. Both knew that training at the edges of Torvsland would keep him safe from the brewing war between Treve and the Vosk Delta Alliance. Midgaard was too far north for tarns to survive, a perfect cover to obscure the reason why a native Trevan could not skillfully handle a tarn. The "Jewel of the North" also represented a potential powerful ally to Treve. Its position on the coast and its superior navy would give Treve a tactical advantage in the coming wars. Entrusting Midgaard with the education of a member of Treve's "nobility" would signify a momentous and lasting bond between the two cities. Politically, the move was strategically sound. Aashe would live in Midgaard until he finished his training.