Asha

Asha is the daughter of the king of Firgaard and the protagonist of The Last Namsara.

Appearance
Like her mother, Asha has black hair and black eyes. Eight years prior to the events of The Last Namsara, Asha acquired a burn scar down the right side of her body from the incident with Kozu. The scar tissue runs down her face, dipping into her hairline and deforming her ear, then travels down to her torso and leg. Asha believes this scar makes her ugly; however, several men have indicated that they find her physically attractive.

Personality
Even since childhood, Asha has displayed defiant tendencies, curiosity, devotion, and an impressive mental acuity. Her catastrophic encounter with Kozu and its subsequent havoc rendered her a social pariah as she was deemed to be the Iskari and manipulated by her father to harbor a great deal of guilt for her past. She's fierce and unwavering- the greatest dragon slayer in the lands- but under that fierce armour lies a lost girl tired of fulfilling society's expectations of her. Asha is deeply lonely and craves human contact, but views herself as unworthy of love- letting her label as the Iskari and her duty as a daughter to cloud many of her personal desires. She's guarded and constantly keeps her walls up but is fiercely loyal to those she loves, one example of this being her caring attitude towards her half-skral cousin Safire.

As The Last Namsara progresses, Asha begins to shed her armor and allows herself to be loved, and her view on slavery changes from unquestioning acceptance to rejection of it. She grows into a strong woman who is confident on her morality and finds strength within her true self to do what must be done. Asha also demonstrates that she will fight for what is right and is willing to sacrifice her own safety and happiness for those she loves.

The Last Namsara
Asha loved the old stories as a child, even though they were extremely forbidden. Her mother would recount the old stories to her to ease her nightmares. For Asha's happiness, her mother paid a steep price: As a consequence of telling the old stories, she sickened and died.

Asha would spin these tales to the dragons, and the mighty dragon Kozu took a great liking to her. When Asha declared to Kozu that she was done with the old stories, Kozu flew into a rage, severely burning Asha and laying waste to about one-third of the city. Asha was then found by Jarek and was taken to the healing hall; miraculously, she survived, but the people of Firgaard despised her because they blamed her for the destruction of the city. To atone, Asha became the Iskari and was charged with slaying dragons.

Eight years later, Asha is on a dragon hunt. She grows impatient, so she slips away from camp and tells an old story to lure her quarry out. A battle ensues. The dragon, to almost everyone's surprise, is able to breathe fire. Asha throws her axe at the dragon, fatally wounding it. As the dragon dies, Asha scolds Safire for not remaining behind the shields. Safire, however, is unfazed by her cousin's lectures. In its final earthly moments, the dragon nearly burns Safire, but Asha steps in front of her, acting as a shield. Because she lent her fireproof gloves to her cousin, Asha sustains a nasty burn on her hand. Safire urges her to treat the wound immediately, as dragon fire is toxic. Asha did not bring any burn treatment because she has not needed it for eight years, but she pretends to riffle through her back for it anyway. Safire believed that dragons did not breathe fire anymore and wonders aloud why this one did. The truth is that dragons only breathe fire if they are told the old stories. Asha momentarily regrets bringing Safire with her, but quickly remembers that she did so to ensure her cousin's safety from unsavory characters at home. As the slaves harvest materials from the dead dragon, Asha begins to experience symptoms of dragon fire poisoning and nearly collapses. Safire moves to catch her, but stops short, mindful of the social code prohibiting her from touching her cousin. Asha recovers enough to speak, and their conversation turns to Asha's upcoming wedding. Safire wryly suggests that Asha present her cruel betrothed with a dragon's heart, since he lacks a heart of his own.