Dashiin ai-Yakur

''ai-Yakur is an inherited title. Yakur is the family name.''Lord Dashiin ai-Yakur is a member of the Yakur clan and the most infamous ruler of Cloud Mountain. His reign was regarded as the "golden age of mercenary rule," and his untimely death hastened the end of the Mercenary Age at the hands of the Hussar Regiments.

Ascension
Dashiin ai-Yakur was born the nephew of the current clan head, his uncle Tserleter ai-Yakur. In his youth, Dashiin led a raiding band of other young, adventurous soldiers, who would come to form the core of his forces. At the age of eighteen, he staged a coup with the assistance of the wealthy Rhaetian exile Iyerian, killing his uncle and assuming the title of ai-Yakur. In one fell swoop, he became leader of the entire clan and nominally Cloud Mountain. Since much of the clan disputed his accession to the title, he went on a bloody rampage, nearly wiping out the Yakur clan overnight.

Rule
With his power secured, the young Lord ai-Yakur began to work on the task of transforming Cloud Mountain into a proper military capital. Keeping Iyerian at his side as an advisor, he and his six lieutenants from his bandit days feverishly expanded Cloud Mountain's armies and coffers, and within three years he commanded a force superior to any of the older, more established eastern raider kings. With Iyerian's pockets exhausted, he began a campaign of territorial expansion, subjugating the majority of the region in hard-fought campaigns. The East secure, he began to look into the rich central lowlands.

Pacts
Upon securing the citadel of Cloud Mountain, Dashiin ventured down into the sacred depths of the mountain itself, taking only Andraste. Deep in the caverns below the mountain, something transpired that neither he nor Andraste speak about, and they returned flanked by the three Serpentguard. The curious case of his son Serha's death indicate that Dashiin must have made a pact with the Undying to ensure the survival of his line.

Personality
Dashiin is both supremely confident to the point of arrogance, ambitious, passionate, and naturally suspicious. This combination was excellent for a ruler, but rather poor at making friends. As a result, much of his following in Cloud Mountain are followers rather than friends.

He fears that the bloody culling he performed on the Yakur clan will be avenged by any surviving members, and as a result does not trust Serha Yakur one bit, the similarities between them only adding to his distrust. However, he understands that everyone has their uses, and seeks to make use of what he believes to be the gifts of a Seer.

Andraste
Andraste was a witch who tended to he and his bandit raiders' wounds, and sought to join them out of her own ambition. She became his court witch with her powerful gifts, and remained a mysterious figure to everyone except Dashiin's inner circle. At the time of Lord ai-Yakur's death, she was pregnant with his child.

Serha Yakur
Lord ai-Yakur's son born to Andraste after his death. They meet at similar ages due to the curse placed on the Yakur family line snatching Serha from the grasp of the Reaper, though neither knows the truth of their relation at that point. Dashiin does not trust him, as a mystery Yakur who stands to benefit greatly from Dashiin's untimely death.

Iyerian
Rhaetian strategist and wealthy exile, Iyerian assisted Dashiin in his coup over his uncle and now occupies a top spot in his circle. Though Dashiin has the utmost respect for his ally's competence, a tension grows between them as Iyerian seeks to strengthen Dashiin's power by more unconventional means, such as those that forced Conchobar into exile.

Conchobar
Dashiin's greatest failure and greatest success, Conchobar was a brilliant and talented sorcerer in the art of illusions. However, when Conchobar reached into forbidden territory with manipulating his victims' very minds with his illusionary powers, Dashiin was forced to drive him from Cloud Mountain, nearly killing him in the ensuing struggle.

Maeve
Conchobar's younger sister, she is a trusted soldier and lieutenant of Lord ai-Yakur. As he has rode with the siblings since long before his accession, Lord ai-Yakur knows them intimately well, and continues to believe in her loyalty long after the rest of Cloud Mountain has turned against her. He assigns Serha to her care as a heavy-handed attempt to help with her depression after the death of her squad.

Appearance
Lord ai-Yakur is a tall man, with hair dyed a brilliant red in the fashion of the Yakur clan.

Trivia

 * "Dashiin" is the patronymic name of a former Mongolian Prime Minister, and may come from the Tibetan name Dashi meaning 'blessed'.