A'leigh Duran's Biography

A'leigh is born under the name Aesc to a Dran Myhk mother and a Keeper of the Moon father in a trading town in Gaspard territory.

A'leigh's twin siblings, Jhuni Duran and Koha Duran, are born on a bright summer day.

The beginnings of a plague begin to stir in the highlands, taking villages and townships alike. The church sends out some of its priests to give succor to the poor and dying.

Brought along to the town by tradesmen, it is not long before the villages in Gaspard territory begin to feel the pains from the plague. Lord Chatwyn Auberi de Gaspard convenes with the goddess, and is given the insight through his prayers to block off the territory until the plague burns itself out. A'leigh's parents die not long after the initial outbreak despite prayers from the clergy for their recovery.

The survivors, mostly children, are brought back to Ishgard and adopted out the best they can.

A'leigh, finding no such family waiting to take him in in Ishgard, is left to care for his newborn siblings. He takes on many an odd job in the Brume, but settles quickly into thievery in order to make ends meet. His home base, of sorts, is the attic of a brothel within the slums of the city. During this time he was known to be kind to the other street rats and had taken sibilingly interest in a particularly feisty one, ultimately letting him rest with his family up in his little attic.

Around thirteen summers A'leigh attempts and fails to pickpocket a knight from Gaspard Territory, bringing him to the attention of Lord Lonato. The nobleman purchases him and his siblings from his employer shortly after, leaving their street sibling behind.

A'leigh is swiftly brought into the Gaspard family with open arms, and goes from having nothing to living in the life of luxury. To celebrate his newfound birth, he is given the name Ashleigh and is cherished by Lord Lonato for being the first daughter in their family. A'leigh gets along well with his adoptive older brother, Christophe de Gaspard, who indulges him in his more rowdy behaviors when he comes to visit while on leave from the Temple Knights. While Christophe is away, it is not common to see A'leigh far from Lonato's side, who teaches him how to read, write, and integrate into Ishgardian high society.

During a routine heretic removal mission, Christophe turned his blade on one of his own partners rather than on the enemy. Those present say that he was spouting heretical beliefs, and with a victim nearly on deaths door to a claymore blade to the neck, Christophe was quickly executed by the Holy See for treason. He was hung for his crimes, and his body was disposed of by being tossed over the side of the city. Only Lord Lonato was present at the execution, bidding his adopted children to stay home and watch the homestead.

After Christophe's hanging, Lord Lonato fell into what could only be described as despair. While kind to his adoptive children, he became distant from them and the comfort of the Halonic church. Despite A'leigh's attempts to be by his side, Lonato would only humor his company if he were to sing.

Rebellion in Gaspard breaks out and the Temple Knights are sent by the The Holy See Of Ishgard to smother it. The vast majority of the villagers are slain and Lonato is killed for conspiring against the church. A'leigh and his siblings are briefly detained by the Temple Knights, though through A'leigh's magic they are able to break out of their makeshift confinement.

A'leigh and his siblings, after successfully escaping from Gaspard territory, cross the border into Gridania on chocobo back. He returns to old habits of trickery and thievery to make sure ends meet before they make it to the city, where A'leigh signs up to be an adventurer for the Gridanian Adventurer's guild. A few months in, A'leigh is picked up by an adventuring group for his prowess with a bow and lock picking skills.

Spending time with his rag tag adventuring party was one of the brighter times in A'leigh's life. They were quite a bit older than him, but they treated him like an equal and enjoyed the songs he played for the group around the fire. Perhaps that is why A'leigh did not think twice when he was offered something to drink one evening by a friend, only to wake up bound in the back of a cart alongside more animalistic spoken races.

A'leigh and others are passed between cruel hand to cruel hand, facing many an atrocity during his captivity. Here he met Oliver Wu and his younger sister, where they plotted their escape whenever they were able. It is here where A'leigh's fingers are damaged, leaving him unable to bend the majority of them. In a fit of despair close to the end of the year, A'leigh managed to kill his captor and obtain the key to his cell. He proceeded to free the other prisoners, instigating a minor uprising that resulted in the majority of the gang keeping them slain. Returning to Gridania to reclaim his siblings, the vast majority of the newly freed followed him for they had no where else to go.

Realizing that Gridania had no love for them, A'leigh and his new companions headed back towards the boarder of Coerthas. They found an abandoned village to settle in, and quickly set to work making it their home. A'leigh and the others put their skills to work foraging and gathering, to make items to sell a few towns over.

On a scouting mission, Oliver Wu comes across a heavily injured C'laude Rahna. Oliver brings the miqo'te back to the village, where his injuries were tended to by A'leigh. Once the diplomat was able to stand on his own, he left the community, promising to return A'leigh and company's kindness.

C'laude Rahna makes good on his promise and returns to the village with supplies and goods to last the outcasts a good while. A'leigh brokers a deal with the merchant, offering to become business partners to offset the charity. The two discover they have quite the synergy, and quickly take their budding merchantry to new heights bolstered by C'laude's envoy status.

Dalamud Falls. Ishgard isolates. A'leigh spends the first few months diligently working under C'laude to save and preserve who and what they can. He relocates his siblings and people closer to Ishgard. During this time, A'leigh falls back into old habits of trickery and cunning to slide his way into the lives and beds of noble and knight alike.

The Verdant Wind Company is founded under the hands of C'laude and A'leigh as an effort to consolidate their efforts over the years. Many of A'leigh's people become the first employees.

With the embargo lifted on travel and trade from Ishgard, Verdant Wind Mercantile Company's freight and operations expands into Erozea in full. A'leigh takes this step back from being a co-founder to operating under the title of secretary.

With the war now over and the House of Lords and House of Commons presiding over Ishgard, A'leigh and C'laude bring their idea of bolstering Ishgards natural resources to the table. Using C'laude's silver tongue and A'leigh's documented cases of blackmail on some of the members of congress, A'leigh is recognized as the rightful heir to Gaspard lands and ownership is restored.

The newly lorded A'leigh brings his people to the manor and surrounding village where his siblings once grew up. It required a lot of work, effort, and tears to restore it to some manner of livable, but as the months go on, it becomes more and more like home. With greenhouses in place and the elevator to scale the cliffs now in motion, the young lord has turned his gaze to more ambitious projects at the village's center..