Ash

Introduction
Ash is a Red Priestess originally from Lys often in the company of the Priest, Soot.

Appearance and Character
Despite her namesake, Ash’s skin is pale and flawless almost impossibly so as if her life has seen no real hardship. Save for her skin and her grey eyes, she lives up to the term as “red priestess” having hair of a bright red with a length near to her waist.

Often enough she’s seen in a long, flowing dress of red silk wrapped up tight around her feminine curves and cinched off around a narrow waist. A deep, plunging neckline reveals all too much of her hefty bosom, but it is shamelessly meant to entice those that look upon her pleasant features.

Early Life
Ash was born as no one. She was just another bastard child born to another wench who could hardly afford to feed herself unless she was opening herself up to all who reached under her skirt. Ash was an unwanted child seen as another mouth to feed, and at the age of four she was sold to a Lysene whore house as a serving girl.

For years she served, washing linens and dresses until her fingers bled. She served meals, poured wine, and -for the most part- stayed invisible. Thoughts and dreams of a life beyond the one she had been sold into hardly occurred until the day she started to grow into her figure. Everything about her life seemed to change in a sudden whirlwind. Her calloused hands were pampered until they were soft, rough linens became silk, and her skills were trained for service of a different type.

The life she made in that whore house would not last. In fact, soon after the coming of her fourteenth year, a priest of R’hllor put his coin down on the girl. A night turned to a week spent entertaining him and Ash learning more of the Lord of the Light than she had known in her simple life. When it came time for the priest to leave, she accompanied him to Volantis where she found herself dedicated to the temple as one of its prostitutes. However, her zeal for the Heart of Fire became unshakeable and allowed her the opportunity to rise above her fate.

She learned the art of healing and commit the passages of her god to heart. While she had not given up the ways of the whore, committing them into her own method of conversion and worship, she learned the art of healing and ascended to her place as a Red Priestess.

Soot
In 402 AC, Ash is turned over to a mission to investigate the inner court of the Three Kings with a priest named Soot. At the same time that she looks into the rumors of dragon eggs, she uses her skills to spread the word of the Lord of Light. Unfortunately, this entire mission only resulted in failure for the priestess and she was forced to flee the Stepstones with the aid of Soot.

The Scarlet Winter
After her return to Volantis with Soot, Ash departs once more with the priest to serve the temple and Red God in Westeros. However, in 404 AC she ventured off on her own with her eyes set upon the prince of fire, Rhaegar Targaryen. While she never directly confronts or addresses his grace, she manages to keep herself on the edge of perception. Always visible without being tangible.

Though during her time of traveling Westeros, she preaches the word of the Red God using her skills to find her way to public figures and speak to the crowds of people. In these times, there are several rumors of people being burnt alive to appease the Lord of Light in a desperate attempt to push away the terrible winter.

407 AC and Onward
After their arrival into the city, Ash and Soot integrated well into the temple largely in part to Soot's ties to a priest named Mirim. Ash's natural charisma aided the transition, and before long new followers started to frequent the halls of R'hllor's temple. Though it was no where near as grand as the Red Temple in Volantis, it would serve as a home to watch over their flock.

Poor and noble alike came seeking the priest that offered the chance at visions and sensation that the Lord of Light had meant for his people. Soot had even drank deeply of the vision tea himself, seeing the fire rising high into the skies and streets painted with blood. Their interpretations of this vision turned out to be incredibly different.

Although there was much praise on upon her charismatic sermons and her work to the people, Ash was better known for her skills as a healer. Soot had more than a few injuries that she patched up, as well as a number of acolytes that had been involved in street brawls. It was a clear show that they would not be provided peace within the city walls unless they had a much more powerful intervention.

Rise of the Black Princess
It took letters and inquiry, as well a certain boldness for Ash to reach out to the royal family. She had done so once before to Prince Jaecarys, but he denied her help. To risk being turned away again?

Ash threw caution into the wind and wrote again, seeking the Princess Rhaenys Targaryen. Rather than asking for favors, Ash sought to give her own and her blessing.

She waited and she prayed. Day after day until finally a dragon descended from the skies to their temple. A brief moment of fear was replaced with joy when the princess came forward, announcing she had accepted Ash's request. However, what came out of the procedures to grant her arm use again was beyond anything the priestess had expected. Use to the limb was restored once more, to everyone's delight, but her arm's skin had become blackened with fragmentation of what looked like dragon glass formed from flesh. Cracks gave way to red veins that glowed like magma from the Doom, and for a moment, Soot and Ash held their breath.

The blessing was most unexpected, and with it came the promise of reward. Ash only asked that her people be safe within the city, but Rhaenys had other rewards in mind.

Splinters and Fissures
With fear of word reaching Volantis of what Ash had done, the small church in Fleabottom had made a decision to stand on its own. They would become a splinter of the Red Faith, operating on their own in King's Landing in order to avoid the recall to Volantis. A true worry given that Ash was still owned by a priest from across the sea.

Differences in the ideals of ownership and freedom unfortunately festered, and for weeks, Ash harbored a deep feeling of betrayal for Soot. This had come after Princess Rhaenys returned for a second time, and he quickly submitted her to the Black Princess' desires. While Ash was grateful towards Rhaenys, the very concept that Soot would sell her over so easily for the sake of gaining royal favor never settled within her. In those weeks, she turned to teaching, healing, and preaching to devote herself more fully to R'hllor's people. Many within the faith began to see her as a motherly figure, especially as she raised and taught several of the orphans they had taken in.

Eventually words had to be shared with the priest she had served with for so long, and the discussion revealed Soot's intent for their congregation. Sacrifice of every man, woman, and child. Rather than seeing the streets painted in the blood of heretics and unbelievers or those that would do harm to the faithful, he had seen it spilled from their people.

Ash argued that he was mad, but his mind had already been set so firmly into the path that he could not be swayed. The priestess fled into the night, weeping for the Soot losing his way, but as dawn began to crack across the sky, she returned. A new hope burned brightly inside her that he could see his path was not the right one, but she returned to find Soot was gone.

Growing Light
The loss of the priest was one she avoided, and as inconsolable as she was for Soot's departure, she would not let it hinder her work. The others would not speak his name in her presence, and she too never made mention of him again. For ten years, it was as if he were but a stranger that passed through the halls.

Life would go one somehow. The growth of the Red Faith in King's Landing served as an excellent outlet to bury the void she felt as Soot's absence. In time, their numbers had grow nearly six times over, and with the construction of a new temple, they had more room than before.

Connections and Allies

 * Soot the Red Priest - Companion in Traveling and the Lord of Light
 * Rhaenys Targaryen
 * Robin Penrose