Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca

Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca, otherwise known as Ashe and by the alias Amalia, is a player character in Final Fantasy XII. She is the former Princess of Dalmasca and the only daughter of King Raminas. She is the last true descendant of King Raithwall, the Dynast King.

Ashe's Early Life
Ashe was raised as the Princess of Dalmasca, the sole heiress of the Dalmascan Royal Family. She had a relatively easy early life, but was raised with the duties and responsibilities of her rank. Besides being raised in royal etiquette, Ashe was no stranger to the defensive arts. Married at the age of seventeen to Lord Rasler of Nabradia, both Ashe and Rasler understood that the marriage was intended to cement an alliance between Dalmasca and Nabradia against the conquering empire of Archadia. Ashe said that she was "willing to play her part" in the marriage, and despite the political nature of it, both parties genuinely cared for each other. She was widowed shortly afterward, when Rasler was killed at the siege of Nalbina Fortress. This devastated the Princess and also fuelled her anger and hate towards the Archadian Empire.

The Resistance
Not long after this, Archadia made a full-scale assault on Dalmasca. Though Raminas intended to surrender willingly (though reluctantly) to save his people, he was killed immediately after signing a peace agreement with Archadia. Ashe's suicide was publicly announced by her uncle, Halim Ondore IV. Now unable to seek Ondore's aid, Ashe retreated underground and assumed the name Amalia. She was joined by Vossler, a captain in the Dalmascan army, and they formed the Resistance to try and win back Dalmasca's independence. The resistance moved slowly, not winning any major victories or causing enough unrest to be notable until Vayne Carudas Solidor traveled to Dalmasca to assume his position as consul.

The resistance made plans to attack the palace, unaware that the apparent opportunity was a trap set by Solidor. Coincidentally, a street thief by the name of Vaan and two sky pirates, Balthier and Fran, had both infiltrated the palace to loot it. The resistance's attack was quickly broken up by Archadian forces, and Ashe was separated from her companions and forced to retreat through the sewers. She and the thieves made a temporary alliance, fighting through the sewers but they were quickly captured by Archadian soldiers. She was taken into custody by Judge Ghis on the Leviathan, who discovered that she was indeed Dalmasca's princess.

Eventually, Vaan and his companions joined her in captivity on the Leviathan. When they made their way to the bridge, Ashe immediately struck Basch fon Ronsenburg, outraged that the man believed to have killed her father was alive after all (but the true killer of her father and Vaan's brother was Basch's brother, Judge Gabranth/Noah). This matter was forced aside when it became clear that Ghis planned to execute her as an "impostor." Without the Dawn Shard or the Dusk Shard to prove her identity, there was no reason for Archadia not to execute her. When Vaan revealed he held the shard, it reacted strongly to her presence. Ghis immediately took it, again removing the means of proving her identity. However, Vossler and the Resistance soon revealed themselves, having infiltrated the Leviathan with Ondore's help. The party escaped after defeating Ghis in battle. Ashe reaffirmed her determination to free Dalmasca, despite the seeming impossibility of such a task. After discussion with the others, she decided to speak with Ondore, whom she had mistrusted since the announcement of her suicide.

However, Ondore told Ashe that it would be impossible for Bhujerba to openly join the Dalmascans in resistance without proof that Ashe was Queen--which could not be obtained without the Dusk Shard, or the missing Dawn Shard. He advised her to "do nothing until the time is right," counsel that Ashe immediately rejected. She walked out of the meeting, and attempted to comandeer the Strahl, Balthier's airship, in order to seek the Dawn Shard on her own. She was quickly discovered in the attempt by Vaan and Balthier. Both tried to persuade her to remain in Bhujerba, where she would be safe, and that it would be foolish to pursue such a quest on her own. Ashe suggested that--as a sky pirate--Balthier "kidnap" her, offering him the treasure of the Dynast King's tomb as payment. He agreed, but demanded one of her rings as further payment (contrary to popular belief, this was not her wedding ring, as she is seen wearing it later in the game, notably triggering a flashback about Rasler at the Phon Coast). Though disgusted and unhappy, she reluctantly handed the ring over, to be returned when Balthier found something "more valuable." She silently accepted the aid of Basch, who was determined to protect his queen.

While retrieving the Dawn Shard from the tomb, Ashe saw an apparition of Rasler, and she vowed to avenge him. Vaan was the only other one in the group who saw the ghost, although he thought it resembled his brother Reks. Directly after leaving the tomb, the party was again abducted by Ghis. He revealed that Vossler had struck a deal with the Empire. Vayne would allow Ashe to return to the throne of Dalmasca as a puppet ruler in exchange for the Shard. When she hesitated, Ghis threatened to execute her companions. With no other choice, Ashe handed over the stone. The scheme was derailed when Ghis inadvertantly destroyed the Eighth Fleet by experimenting with the Dawn Shard's power. Ashe and her companions narrowly escaped, and she witnessed the apparition again when it returned the Shard to her.

Throughout the journey, Ashe began to open up to her companions, including Vaan and Penelo (whom she had initially viewed with contempt). She started to trust Basch and became more accepting of Balthier. Her strengthening relationship with the party deepened her resolve to free her country.

In the weeks that followed, Ashe found herself caught up in a much larger struggle than simply breaking free of Archadia. Larsa warned Ashe that Rozarria would use her and the Bhujerban resistance as an excuse to invade Archadia. Though Ashe was initially resistant to the idea of an alliance with the Empire for any reason, she soon realized that she had no alternative if she did not want to see Dalmasca destroyed in a war between empires. But when Emperor Gramis was killed, this possibility disapppeared. Vayne, the new Emperor, would never allow Ashe to reclaim the throne. Ashe's goal became to destroy the Dawn Shard with the Sword of Kings so that the Empire could not use its power. Refusing to travel to Rozarria with Al-Cid Margrace to talk the empire out of war, she went to the Draklor Laboratories and confronted Dr. Cid. He lured the party to Giruvegan, where the Occuria spoke with Ashe.

Ashe's Destiny
The Occuria chose Ashe as the new Dynast-King, and granted her the Treaty Blade to cut a new shard of nethicite from the Sun-Cryst. They gave to her the task of destroying Venat and the Archadian Empire so that they could guide history as they wished it. Accompanied by the pirate lord Reddas, Ashe and the party traveled to the Pharos at Ridorana. Ashe was still torn with indecision, whether to destroy the Cryst and prevent its usage by any party, or to carve out a new piece of nethicite to use it to take revenge on the Archadian Empire, as the Occuria had wished her to. The reappearance of Rasler's apparent ghost this time had her realise that his ghost was a mere illusion, created by the Occuria to manipulate her. Defying the Occuria's orders, Ashe destroyed the apparition with the Sword of Kings and was about to destroy the Sun-Cryst when Reddas intervened. He destroyed the Sun-Cryst himself, sacrificing his own life as the party escaped.

As the Resistance airship fleet engaged the Sky Fortress Bahamut and the Twelfth Fleet, Ashe and the party infiltrated the Bahamut. Although Ashe and Vayne's goals--to determine their own history without Occurian interference--were nearly identical, Vayne was still set on war. The party confronted and defeated Vayne, and did so again when he merged with Venat to become the Undying.

Escaping back to the Strahl, the group immediately contacted both sides. Impersonating his fatally wounded brother, Basch ordered all forces to cease fire. Larsa, now Emperor, declared the Imperial fleet to be under his command. Ashe confirmed what the former two had said, declaring that the war was over:

"I confirm what Judge Magister Gabranth and Larsa Solidor have said here. Please stand down your attack. The war is over. Ivalice looks to the horizon. A new day has dawned. We are free!"

Ashe was overcome with emotion at the end of the long struggle. When, seconds later, Balthier contacted them from the ruined Bahamut, Ashe pleaded with him to leave the fortress immediately and was horrified when it crashed, apparently killing him.

Afterwards
One year after the end of the war, Ashe is to be crowned Queen of Dalmasca. According to Penelo, her new duties necessarily force her to distance herself from her former companions, and she presumably retains little contact with them. Penelo also believes that she misses Basch and, in her letter to Larsa, expresses a wish that he would someday return to serve her. Balthier also returns Ashe's ring, which he encloses with the message he leaves for Vaan and Penelo after taking back the Strahl, having found a more valuable treasure in the Cache of Glabados.

Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings
Ashe is a playable character in Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, arriving to the others' aid with Basch and Larsa besides her in the Dreadnought Leviathan.

Ashe is a Time Mage, and she equips bombs for a weapon. She has several time magicks for skills that are both offensive and supportive. Her Quickening, Empyrean's Edict, stops the enemy team from summoning any Yarhi for a set amount of time. It can be obtained by defeating Famfrit.

Fortress
Ashe is set to appear in this game which takes place in Ivalice (or was, as the game has a hectic development and its storyline is still subject to change). Two outfits were designed for her, and are less revealing variants of her original Final Fantasy XII outfit. Since she wears in one of these designs a headdress similar to the one that was worn by King Raminas, Ashe is likely to be a slightly older queen at this point in Ivalice history.

Stats
Ashe's HP growth is average, and her MP growth is potentially the highest of the party. Her Magic is tied with Penelo as the highest, and her Strength, Vitality, and Speed are average. Likely because she is the last of the six playable characters to join the party, she begins with more Licenses than they do. Ashe begins with the Licenses "Swords 1", "Swords 2", "Shields 1", "Shields 2", Light Armor 1", "Mystic Armor 1", "Heavy Armor 1", "Heavy Armor 2", "White Magick 1", "White Magick 2", "Accessories 1" and "Accessories 2". She is equipped with a Longsword, Escutcheon, Bronze Helm, Bronze Armor, and a Bangle.

Musical Themes
Ashe's theme is simply titled Ashe's Theme. It is a powerful piece that draws from other themes from the game.

Itadaki Street Special
Ashe also appears as a character in Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Special, a game which was released before Final Fantasy XII, alongside Vaan.

Itadaki Street Portable
Ashe appears alongside the other five main cast of Final Fantasy XII.

Trivia

 * Ashe is the only playable character in Final Fantasy XII whose portrait in the menu is not taken from her official render. Instead, her portrait is derived from this image.

Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca アーシェ・バナルガン・ダルマスカ