High Ashina

High Ashina (formerly Ashina before renaming) was founded by KnightOfNotch November 19th 2020. It is the capital of Ashina and the Second oldest standing town in all of Alathra predating nearly every and all settlements. It is host to many old secrets and has held some of the worlds most fascinating relics and artifacts.

Pre High Ashina
The City of High Ashina sits upon the peaks of the unnamed mountains in Ashina. Prior to founding KnightOfNotch had sought far and wide for where to settle his home and when he came to the valley and grove that sat between the mountain peaks here, he had seen nothing more beautiful. Unfortunately however, the founding of this town came at a cost. Elder creatures had found this place of beauty long before he had and made it their own home. Dragons infested these summits, in caverns and in woods if you looked closely you could see clear as day the scaly texture added to the dark wings amidst the fog. Using the Bane of Winged Beasts along with [Redacted] he cut down and slew each and every one of these beasts. Only one that he knew of had escaped those mountains, it was larger than the rest of them with purple flame it blew. Ashina never saw it again with the last glimpse of it flying to the west before a cosmic flash and it disappeared. The tools used that day caused a horrendous spectacle that KnightOfNotch never wished to see again.

Founding
KnightOfNotch dug a hole in the side of the mountain on Nov.19th 2020 where the main castle now stands. He made himself a farm for food and used the hole for shelter; It was rainy and dark most days since he arrived in the mountains with clouds that seemed to never leave since the dragons were all but eradicated. This settlement was very poor and alone there couldn't be much done. The only thing to keep him company were his weapons and his crops as no animals seemed to live up here, this was probably due to how impossible it was to climb up here and the fact that any animals that probably did make the climb were swallowed by dragons. Almost by chance though, it wouldn't take long for company to arrive.

Old Ashina
Late during that night in the rain there was a group of travelers who noticed the light coming from KnightOfNotch's settlement and sought shelter from the elements; Still shaken up he was hesitant but hopefully these were friendly faces. ImmaNotScope, 00sandwich, Greyfelli, bassyalla35, and XxGhostReconxX2 had all come with a caravan of supplies, this included cattle and swine as well. ImmaNotScope, a warrior and architect. 00sandwich a warrior and farmer. Greyfelli, a fisherman and scholar. Bassyalla35 a lover and a fighter. Finally XxGhostReconxX2, a farmer and architect. These players would play a big part in the founding of Ashina as a whole. Shortly after came a farmer and business man who would come to shape much of the nations future and play a big part in the world as well, Shepsicle. Ashina found itself growing very quickly with the addition of these founding members, ImmaNotScope and 00sandwich would keep monsters at bay and also building up infrastructure while Shepsicle would learn the importance of Bees along with how good chicken can taste with the right flavours. Greyfelli made in the original hole dug by KnightOfNotch a place of comfort for the gang called "The Pit" where the members of the town would drink and eat together after a long days of work. Bassyalla35 made his home in the corners of the castle away from others with a memorial to his late wife who passed prior to arriving in the mountains, "she would have loved it here" he would always say. XxGhostReconxX2 helped develop a place of storage as our town began to grow and even designed a bridge that helped close the gap between the summits. The town quickly grew to be the largest in Alathra at its time only rivaled by a town who would come to be visitors soon...

Early Ashina, renaming to High Ashina and Skirmishes with Hindarfjall clans
It wouldn't take long for more notable members of Ashina to join High Ashina such as shalom1211, redglover, and Ineptcircle. It would also not take long for one of the most notable civilizations in Alathra to come knocking, Lothridge and that of Acquendevia. Grandpa boob had arrived with Ripesack they had an ultimatum for Ashina, to join Acquendevia willingly or unwillingly. The people of Ashina were given much time for thought on this while Acquendevia campaigned through Prospit and were given early copies of the virtue rhetoric. KnightOfNotch was baffled by this ultimatum and him and his fellow Ashinans began to think many things over. ImmaNotScope was sent over to survey lands to the west in the province of Rennentis, Shepsicle was sent to the south west to the Límíng province, and redglover was sent to survey lands in the south east in the province of Hindarfjall the cold, snow covered lands of Ashina. At this point the people of Ashina decided it was time to stand our ground and keep what we hold rather than to lose it or give it away. Ashina became more than just a town stretching into a nation, the town was then renamed "High Ashina" for not only its height in the mountains but to signify it is the pinnacle and founding place of Ashina.

Later in the years redglover had stopped returning from the Ashina settlements in the province of Hindarfjall, Ashina would later discovered this to be due to viking type clans pillaging our outposts and villages as scouts would be sent to survey the land. Many moons later the unfortunate news would become reality, redglover had not returned because he had been the one to start his own clan to own the lands, wars broke out and there would be a new province named in the continent, the "Province of Ash". Years of war would pass but in the old age of Hindarfjalls leader he was usurped by his son greenglover and his friends including that of the notorious "WreckerPrime". This overthrowing would bring peace to the continent as greenglover and KnightOfNotch shook hands welcoming the newly named capital of Hindarfjall "Snowpoint" into the Empire of Ashina.

Ashina-Lothridge conflict
Ashina had grown to be the largest nation in Alathra by this point and Acquendevia had gone over prospit and was coming to High Ashina to discuss the ultimatum. This meeting between the 2 nations didn't go peacefully, it ended with those from Lothridge leaving with words of war and times and locations were decided on in a gentlemens battle. The profane "Cum Zone" a town that used to exist along the river just south of Ashinas mountains was decided for the battleground and the forces of Ashina gathered along with some allies, these allies included Hargreevs, KnightOfNotch's sworn sword and that of RaptorJ6 whos settlement of Senza-Nome occupied northern prospit where Acquendevia had been waging war through. The battle was well fought on both sides with each side suffering equal casualties but Ashina had outnumbered them. Nearing the end of the fight it was brought up the mountain towards High Ashina threatening the peace that resided there, this wouldn't fly with the Ashinan warriors and so, with WreakerPrime landing the killing blows on both Ripesack and Grandpa Boob the battle was over.

See Ashina-Lothridge War for more on the battle.

High Ashina expansion - today
High Ashina hasn't seen any conflict come close ever since the war with Lothridge/Acqendevia and such has remained at peace ever since. In the following weeks after the war with lothridge a throne room was constructed in High Ashina, on top of the tallest plateau. To this day it has remained the Capital of Ashina, it is by all means no longer the largest city in Alathra by far but it stands to remain as the 2nd oldest standing city. Much expansion has gone on over time but as the population spread throughout the empire High Ashina has not nearly as many people working it as it used to.

Sacred Ground
"Ashina is sacred land. War or not. We fight in the field." -Shepsicle, May 7, 2021

The city of High Ashina is considered sacred ground by its inhabitants, having never been touched by an invading army. As such, any violence is prohibited within the city walls, and any physical disputes, from a petty scuffle to a full-scale war, must be settled outside. As an example, in the Ashina-Lothridge War, the Ashina-led coalition elected to leave the relatively defensible city walls and instead occupied the profane Cum Zone, a crumbling, prehistoric fortress riddled with crude representations of male and female reproductive organs. The citizens of Ashina and especially KnightOfNotch take this precept extremely seriously, expelling anyone who dares to break it, even if it means using older weapons from pre-Ashina as a means to keep the peace.

Jiseishin
"Fate is not something anybody can control and it is not something anybody can determine or claims to know. All we can do in its presence is accept." ~KnightOfNotch in his book "Teachings"

The city of High Ashina follows the culture of Jiseishin. It's not a religion but rather more of a philosophy to keep ones self happy and health in body and in mind. Simply meaning "Self control" or "Self restraint" having power over yourself is all you need in order to feel well and do well because at the root of every decision and every impulse in your mind. Controle that and nothing will bother you again.