Alhanyali "Ash" Ashrey

Would a rose by any other name smell quite as sweet? Perhaps!
But there's no other rose like the Red Rose of Manderville!

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Who is Ash? Let's see!

Name: Alhanyali "Ash" Ashrey
Age: 27 (ARR), 32 (EW)
Pronouns: he/him
Sexuality: Polyamorous Pansexual
Race and Ethnicity: Raen Au Ra
Class: Bard | Dancer | Red Mage
Height: 7'1" (216 cm)
Nameday: 9th Sun of the 2th Astral Moon
Personality: Extroverted, stubborn, creative, impulsive, clever.
Likes: Music, dancing, performing, swimming, storytelling, gossip, lavish clothing, lavish accesories, persimmon tea, alcoholic drinks, and nicknaming people.
Dislikes: Overly serious people, being underestimated, being told what to do.
Voiceclaim: Joey Batey as Jaskier (The Witcher)
Playlist: Red Rose on Spotify

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THIS SECTION CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR: STORMBLOOD

Ash's story doesn't really start with him.Like everyone else, his story sets in motion long before he exists in this world, by the thoughts and actions of others. The tale of who he'd one day be starts far from Eorzea, beneath the waves of the Ruby Sea.Two young raen look up to the glistening sunlight, filtering through the water into the secluded haven of Sui-no-Sato. The two auri youths have a dream: to thread the world and see far off lands unlike either of their ancestors ever has, showcasing their musical talents to all that would see; and together, they make a promise to one day leave their underwater home, as husband and wife.They're called foolish for this wish, of course, and are relentlessly reminded that if they were to leave, they must never return. There is no hesitation in the two raen youths, as one day they leave together and walk onto the Othard shores ready to take on the world.
Far did they travel, paying their fares through music and dance; a passion-filled duet that captivated onlookers in every port. Soon enough, the couple had made its way to the Eorzean continent, hearts filled with excitement and wonder.While their "exotic" origins proved attractive to their new western patrons, the raen couple wanted to better fit in the new environment, and shed their old names to reflect a new chapter of their life; as such, they became Corvus Gravewind and Helena Ashrey.
Corvus and Helena made a name for themselves as traveling minstrels, never staying in one place for long, and after so many years on the road, a third finally joined their little makeshift troupe.They named him Alhanyali. Yali, for short.
As soon as he could walk, he would join in with the dancing.
As soon as he could speak, he'd sing along.
Music was in little Yali's every being growing up, and his parents couldn't be prouder!As he grew up and traveled with his parents, their fame grew even more… However, not everyone would call this fame evenly divided.While everyone in the family got the admiration of onlookers, it would be Helena who would be most approached by would-be patrons, interested people of wealth, and charitable benefactors, while Corvus had to watch the love of his life network, and mingle, and become the face of their little joint endeavor.This was fine, for a time, but a man has his pride, no? A man can only watch so much before all that one-sided success becomes grating to witness.In the dead of night, as if a common bandit, Corvus took everything that they had —sheets, instruments, and every single gil— and absconded without looking back. He didn't care that their lodging wasn't paid for, or that this was a strange town they had never been to. Why would he?At 7 years old, little Yali woke up the next morning to his mother Helena bereft with betrayal. Of course, she didn't have time to grieve much, she had to find a way to pay for their inn room, their food, and then…Helena was desperate. Now she had nothing and no one but her son, and they were on their own in a continent they didn't entirely know. So, Helena made a choice: she would trekk back, along with her son, to the home of her youth.
She was willing to admit the people back home were right —that the fame and glory they had sought was but a foolish thought, that this world was treacherous and frightening, that leaving the Ruby Sea brought nothing but despair— and so maybe, if she begged, they would let her come back to the only family she had left, the only home she remembered.It was a slow process that stretched over the course of what was left of that year. Yali had to watch as his mother, devoid of the tools of her trade, had to beg for the both of them for either a job or some gil. She had to rely on other people’s kindness or pity to gather enough for fares, for chocobo carriages and ships, and not everyone was willing to go that far east. At that point in time, Garlemald’s control of Othard had been going five years strong, and making it to Kugane had already proven difficult enough.The Ruby Tithe proved a little more difficult to pay, but the Confederacy were more lenient than with most travelers… Perhaps they, too, felt pity upon gazing at Helena’s sad eyes, and allowed her passage into the Rasen Kaikyo while Yali waited by the shore of Onokoro.Through his childhood, Yali had heard stories of Sui-no-Sato; a wonder beneath the sea, where the sound of the waves would lull you to sleep, a truly fantastical place. When Helena returned, tears unmistakable on her eyes despite the ocean water drenching her, Yali knew he would never see the city. The laws of Sui-no-Sato were final. Of course they wouldn’t allow a deserter and her outsider son to stay… How foolish to think their desperation would move their hearts.So, what could be done now? They remained in Onokoro for a time, but Helena needed some distance from the shore lest her heart truly break into pieces, and so they kept moving and moving, until they reached the village of Namai. It was a quiet place, the people led a simple life, and though the Empire would come knocking now and then, what place was there in this world that they wouldn’t reach anyway?Helena settled nicely among the women who tended the rice fields, who asked very few questions and were kind-hearted to a fault. They weren’t the only au’ra in the town, though they were two of a very few, and Yali could finally lay roots and grow.Yet, things could never be quite so easy.As time passed, Yali grew into an older boy, and soon into a teenager. In this tumultuous time, he was eager to leave work unfinished, to sneak away from whatever trade he was being taught to do for the sake of climbing hills, pulling out a hidden instrument of his own making, and looking out to the horizon. He was at the age where he, too, was afflicted by the same wanderlust that had come over his parents long ago.
Despite Helena’s best efforts, Yali had one passion and wish for his future: to be bard, to play songs on the world’s biggest stages, to stand in front of a crowd. In her frustration, his mother had forbidden him from playing instruments in the house… so, he’d sneak away.
Then, she demanded that he never leave work unfinished lest he get grounded… so, he just simply didn’t start any work.Yali’s rebelliousness proved frustrating for Helena. She understood his desires, of course, but she also knew so keenly what it felt to fail in achieving your dreams, and she didn’t want that for her child! But Yali wanted at least the chance to fail! He wanted to try, and not be stifled into morose life by his mother’s fears.There were many fights, then. Some quiet and sullen, but many more were explosive and loud, spiteful and venomous. Things were yelled that would later be regretted by both of them, but Yali’s words and what followed echoed in their home clearer and louder than anything else before or after.
“Maybe Dad left you because you were a controlling bitch!”SLAP!And then, silence. For a time, anyway. Rageful tears brimming from her eyes, Helena sealed both their fates.“...Get out. Leave. Leave, get out of my house! I don’t want to see you again, you understand?!” Helena stormed away, perhaps to the privacy of her room to cry in peace, but Yali was nothing if not a dutiful son.In the dead of night, as if a common bandit, a 15 year old Alhanyali sneaked away from his home, with all he could carry in a little bag, and a fiddle. He would not be there in the morning to hear his mother become bereft once more, and he wouldn’t be there to apologize for breaking her heart again. Instead, he’d be back in Onokoro for the first time in years, trying to sneak past Confederacy pirates to board one of their ships.That didn’t work, of course. He was a child and a very noticeable one at that, but the pirates weren’t heartless. For the price of some entertainment, they allowed Alhanyali to hitch a ride to Kugane, if he promised to spin their tale as a band of heartless and ruthless men of the seas, once he had an audience worth some salt.Thus began a similar pilgrimage to the one his mother had done, gathering money in the day to travel as far as he could on his own, busking in the streets for hours on end, eating and sleeping as little as he could to pinch every gil as far as it could go. He went hungry for a few days, sleepless for some others, and once more relied on the kindness of those around him to make it as far as he got.Even after arrival on Ul'dah, his days were mired in difficulty, in hatred, in jeers and insults as he busked on the streets. One night, he even suffered a beating, a robbery, and the hands on an unruly group of men; and yet, the stubborn child was undettered.Ash' goal was singular: Gold Saucer. He would make a name for himself on the stage like he’d always wished to! He would show everyone he could succeed!Granted, arriving at Gold Saucer and getting hired at Gold Saucer were very different things… No matter who Alhanyali talked to, no one would even consider listening to his audition. He waited outside the employee entrance, pestered whoever would look his way, day after day after day, playing fiddle as he waited for someone to walk by.
Persistence is quite valuable, it turns out. One day, one of the employees finally cracked and took him to management.“You won’t be on stage, ya hear? Not right now… But you can work your way there, okay? You got a name, kid?”“A-Ah, yes! I’m Alhanyali… Alhanyali Ashrey!”“Mmm. Got something simpler?”“...Ash.”“Nice to meet you, Ash.”Washing dishes, mopping floors, and serving drinks are not very glamorous jobs when you’re trying to be a world-famous bard, but they’re necessary to climb the venue ladder, and Ash was ready to climb. In those years, he learned the ins and outs of the Saucer, the machines that paid out best and the employees that were easy to beat at games.
He worked the afternoons, not quite old enough to work the long nights, and every day after his shift he would go to his tiny room in the employee quarters and practice well into the morning, write music, and dance.Ash would never allow himself to get rusty, and he would learn the trades that he always wanted to. With his pay, he would buy flashy fabric and make his own costumes, under the careful guidance of one Masked Rose; he would repair and improve his fiddle, and occasionally treat himself to an accessory that would surely impress whoever saw him on stage.It took some time, of course. Ash wondered a few times if he’d ever actually get his chance to impress, and the older he got, the more he began to fear… But one day, an opportunity! A talent, getting delayed by some happenstance, and a crowd of patrons waiting impatiently. There was finally an opportunity, and Ash didn’t wait for it to be offered before he suggested it himself.Ash stood on stage, and to the waiting onlookers he was introduced.“Ladies and gentlemen, feast your eyes and ears on the one and only, the Red Rose of Manderville, Ash!”If he were asked today, Ash would admit it was all a blur. He stood on stage and did what he’d always wanted, he played his songs and danced along to the sound of his fiddle, but between the nerves and the excitement it’s all quite fuzzy nowadays… Still, he remembers the applause. He remembers the cheering and nearly fainting when he stepped off the stage, the celebratory pats in the back from stagehands and waiters and the people who he’d worked beside for so many years.He remembers Godbert Manderville praising him. Admittedly, he was VERY embarrassing during that particular conversation and he was shaking like a leaf the entire time, but Mr. Manderville was still impressed.The contract didn’t come that long after. As an opening act to other performers, of course, but a contract was a contract! Better pay, better duelings, and the two people that would truly support him from then on: Philomené Brucemont, his manager, and Hakka Linasch, his bodyguard.Though both remained very professional, it was easy for the three of them to fall into a very easy-going relationship. They were both supportive and permissive to a degree, and Ash was nothing if not appreciative of the given freedom to carry himself as he wished, which he paid in turn by following Phil’s rules or indulging Hakka’s paranoia.They were there for Ash after 8, 10, 12 hours of practice, after every performance, on days off to make sure he would rest, and when he was given the contract for main performer, Ash raised their pay to double what they’d been making, and took them out to a meal in Ul’dah, in the best place he could afford. They were his entourage, and if Ash was worth his weight in gold, they were worth theirs in platinum.Soon enough, Ash was the talent to speak of, the main show in Gold Saucer… But Ash felt some dissatisfaction. At 27, he finally had what he wanted, but if he was truly to surpass the dreams of his youth, he had to bring his talents to the rest of the world! Perhaps, bring his talents back home, too. Show his mother that he had made it…It was time to plan his first world tour! And who better to know all the best places to visit than a world trotting, nation-trekking adventurer? Ash could put aside the stages for a time, play adventurer for a bit, and truly explore the world without having to be hungry on the way!A little adventuring for fun!No way that could change his life in any significant way!

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What happens to Ash on each expansion?
THIS SECTION CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR: ARR, HW, STB, SHB, AND EW.

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Possible Plot Hooks

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