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Ashley Riot

Kana	アシュレイ・ライオット
Romaji	Ashurei Raiotto
Age	late 20s
Height	181 cm
Affiliation	VKP
Vagrant Story Character

"Reinforcements? I am the reinforcements."

—Ashley Riot

Ashley Riot is the protagonist and player character in the game Vagrant Story. He is one of the most powerful Riskbreakers of the Valendia Knights of the Peace (VKP). As a member of the Dangerous Criminal Task Force, Ashley is conditioned to be a man of mere strength, following the orders of the VKP unquestioning. His curiosity was piqued when Sydney mentions Leá Monde, and even without further orders from the VKP, continues his hunt for the cult leader, slowly learning the events that transpired there.

AppearanceEdit

A man in his late twenties, Ashley is a calm and just soldier of the Riskbreaker militia. A loyal agent with a strong sense of duty, Ashley is a prized agent among the VKP as he had graduated valedictorian from the VKP Academy.

His long brown hair is tied in a knot, leaving some of it to flail in the open air. Strands of his hair appear like antennae on his head. He wears the Iocus Rood necklace, a memento once owned by his dear wife Tia. He also dons military gear equipped with gauntlets and a shield.

StoryEdit

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. (Skip section)

Tragic PastEdit

Years before the start of the game, Ashley Riot was a Riskbreaker working with Jan Rosencrantz to undermine the enemies of Valendia. Quickly he proves himself to be a powerful warrior of great use to the VKP. During one of Rosencrantz's and Riot's missions, they are spotted by a small civilian family out on a picnic. As the actions of the Riskbreakers must remain secret, Ashley is forced to slaughter them. He is then brought to great emotional distress, feeling that he has killed the very people whom he was charged to protect. Rosencrantz is disgusted with Ashley's moral complication, and works with the VKP to reprogram Ashley's memories.

Following the brain washing, Ashley believes that the people he killed were once his family. He places himself in the role of the husband, while the wife and child become his Tia and Marco. The killer is made to be anonymous bandits. Ashley thinks he transferred from the Kingsguards to the Riskbreakers to avenge his "family", not knowing that he would be working for the very organization that took their lives.

Assault on the Duke's HomeEdit

At the beginning of Vagrant Story, Ashley takes part in a meeting with the higher ups of the VKP over a recent attack by Müllenkamp, a religious cult believed to be behind many recent disturbances in Valendia, the recent being an attempt on the King's life. Müllenkamp, led by its enigmatic leader, Sydney Losstarot just invaded the home of Duke Bardorba, the very man thought to be funding the sect. VKP leader, Grand Steward LeSait sends Agent Riot off to investigate. Ashley reaches the mansion where his new rookie partner, Callo Merlose is already in position watching the events. Just then, fighting breaks out in the Duke's home as the Church's Order of the Crimson Blades moves in to crush Müllenkamp along with its leader. Ashley moves in alone, knowing himself to be enough to defeat all the enemies before him.

Inside the Duke's home, Ashley fights and defeats several Müllenkamp members before reaching their leader, Sydney. Though Riot points a crossbow at Sydney, the cult leader moves for his sword and allows himself to be shot. The wound seems fatal, but Sydney continues to move on as if it were just a scratch. To slow Ashley down, Sydney summons a wyrm to fight the Riskbreaker. While Ashley is distracted, the cultist escapes to his base in Leá Monde. Ashley and Callo follow in pursuit behind the Crimson Blades who are not willing to let Sydney escape from their clutches.

Powers AwakenEdit

The ruined city of Leá Monde is completely cut off from the world except for a single underground path through the Wine Cellar. Leaving Merlose behind, Ashley moves in to investigate what is going on. As he moves forward, he runs into several Crimson Blades whom he kills with ease. Finally, deep within the subterranean path, Ashley finds Sydney who has captured his partner Callo. Using his Dark powers, Sydney looks into Ashley's memories, uncovering first the false truth implanted by the VKP. Not one easily fooled, Sydney notes that Ashley's soul seems to be locked away. Though Riot is shaken by these visions, he continues on his mission to save Merlose, fighting monsters all the way.

Inside Leá Monde, Ashley listens in on several important meetings of the Crimson Blades and their leader, Romeo Guildenstern. While eavesdropping, Ashley is spotted by Father Duane, a Blades captain. Again, Ashley fells his opponent. Moving on, Ashley continues to battle monsters while a mysterious man begins to follow him.

Moving to the Snowfly Forest, Ashley discovers that he is gaining a strange new power. Somehow he is able to move into the mind of Crimson Blade, Lady Samantha, but his intrusion is not lost on Guildenstern who heartlessly beats his lover to knock Ashley out. Disturbed by these changes, Ashley is met by Rosencrantz, the man who has been following him throughout Leá Monde. Though Rosencrantz claims to be a Riskbreaker sent to support Ashley on his mission, Riot does not believe a word of his claims. To this, Rosencrantz begins to taunt Ashley on his ignorance of what is going on, then explains some things. Ashley is gaining powers from Leá Monde, which is a wellspring of Dark power. Every major power in Valendia is after that power, even Ashley's own VKP and the Parliament it serves. Annoyed by this story, Ashley moves into the forest, ordering Rosencrantz to flee the city if he values his life.

Inside the forest, Ashley comes upon another one of his pursuers, this time Father Grissom, the brother of the fallen Father Duane. Grissom is confronting Sydney, and tries to summon a monster to defeat both his enemies. Though at first Grissom fails, he succeeds in summoning a beast to attack Sydney and Ashley. Together, the two enemies work together to kill the Crimson Blade and his creature. Not long after the battle, Sydney shows Ashley a vision of him killing his own wife and child. Horrified, Ashley refuses to believe this truth, but almost comes to believe them.

Moving to the city keep, Ashley again finds Rosencrantz, now working with the Crimson Blades. Guildenstern orders Rosencrantz to get rid of the dangerous Riskbreaker. However, the battle ends in Ashley's victory. Rosencrantz refuses to accept defeat and instead uses psychological warfare by admitting to twisting Ashley's mind to believe in a false memory. As he leaves, Rosencrantz promises to kill his former partner next time they do battle.

Moving down into the Undercity, Ashley fights two Crimson Blades, Lady Neesa and Sir Tieger. Once again, Riot is proven unstoppable and forces them to retreat. When Ashley meets them next, they are shocked to see Grissom moving around as a zombie. The crazed Grissom charges at his comrades, allowing Ashley to move on.

Taking the Blood-SinEdit

After many battles with a seemingly endless string of monsters, Ashley comes to the Temple of Kiltia where Sydney has been caught by Rosencrantz. Rosencrantz has discovered that Sydney plans to pass off the power of the Dark in Leá Monde through his Blood-Sin tattoo to mere Ashley. Feeling that he is the true heir to the Dark, Rosencrantz beats Sydney to submit and name him heir. However, Sydney only names Rosencrantz "worm" and brings a statue to life to kill his foe. After Rosencrantz is destroyed, Ashley must fight the creature and defeat it too.

In the climax, Ashley reaches the Grand Cathedral where Guildenstern has taken the Blood-Sin for himself by force, literally skinning it off Sydney's back. He sacrifices his own lover, Samantha to turn on the Dark powers. Riot decides that he will not allow Guildenstern to rule Valendia with his evil ambition and goes off to fight his final enemy. During the battle, Ashley retreats into his subconscious where he is met by a vision of Tia and Marco. They tell him to believe what he knows is true in his heart regardless of actual events, then thank him for giving them happiness. Whether memory or fact, his love for his family was real and a core element of his inner strength. After this boost of confidence, Ashley goes off to destroy Guildenstern, even defeating his final demonic form. With Guildenstern gone, Leá Monde begins to crumble and the city collapses.

In the epilogue, Ashley has taken the full powers of the Blood-Sin and has become the new vessel for all the souls lost to Lea Monde. Not wishing to allow its powers to fall into the hands of some greedy power, Ashley moves to disappear from the world. From then on, he is known as "the Vagrant", for he wanders the world, tasking himself with the duty of stabilizing the places where the Dark has collided with Reality.

Spoilers end here.

AbilitiesEdit

Ashley, once his memories are unleashed, will be able to chain his attacks and defenses. Ashley is also able to use a range of weapons, and able to assemble and disassemble them.

Inside the city, Ashley gathers what is known as Grimoires; tomes of magic, where he could learn and memorize spells that fall into four categories: Warlock, offensive magic; Enchanter, elemental attribute magic; Sorcerer, status afflicting magic; and Shaman, curative magic.

He also gains "Break Arts", powerful weapon-dependent abilities that deal great damage at the expense of HP.