Cronicle Asher

"One can't rule over children and civilians with strength alone."

A relatively fresh graduate of the recently-established Zanscare Empire's military academies, Cronicle Asher serves as a lieutenant in BESPA's specialized Yellow Jacket squadron. With his sharp mind and innate piloting skills, Cronicle has the makings of a competent commanding officer, a fact that is only supplemented by his unswerving loyalty to Zanscare's ideals of a society based upon maternal love. Though Cronicle is an undoubtedly skilled officer, he is also an incredibly serious and proud man who has difficulty letting go of grudges, leading him towards easily developing vendettas. Unknown to many outside of Zanscare's high command, Cronicle is the brother of Queen Maria Pia Armonia, a fact he actively hides through the use of a white mask so as not to affect his standing in the military.

Background Information
In life, the greatest of leaders and revolutionaries are the ones who have gone through the greatest of hardships. Cronicle Asher might have been one of these things.

But destiny favored his sister.

Born in the Side 2 colony of Pia Albania, Cronicle Asher and his sister, Maria Pia Armonia came into a world of poverty and misfortune. Orphaned early on, the two only had each other; every day was a struggle to survive, every day was like living out the last day of one's life.

And yet, throughout all of it, Maria never abandoned her younger brother. Even when he was sick, even when he was a burden, even when they were at a loss for food or shelter -- even when practicality would say to cut her losses and abandon him to increase her own chance of survival, Maria Armonia continued to tend to her brother, to care for him like a mother. It was here, in such dire circumstances, that Maria first forged her beliefs in a system of maternal rule -- and it was here that Cronicle pledged himself to protect Maria and her ideals just as much as she protected and nurtured him.

Cronicle and Maria's salvation from their tragic life came not from divine providence -- at least, not in the strictest sense, It was while they were living out their weary life in Pia Albania that Maria discovered something special about herself: she possessed Newtype abilities, and more than that, the supernatural ability to heal others through her fantastic power. Maria was seen as a miracle worker to the disenfranchised of Pia Albania, and it wasn't long before the upper crust caught wind of her unusual talents, too. Maria soon used her abilities to bring in a profit -- money, for the first time ever, for herself and Cronicle. It was the first time that Cronicle had ever truly seen Maria as anything more than his sister -- but now, she was something entirely more.

With Cronicle's assistance and the profits she drew in from her miraculous work, Maria soon opened a consultation bureau within Pia Albania. Thanks to her miraculous gift, her popularity spread through the colony like wildfire. Throughout this time, Cronicle worked diligently, spreading Maria's message of an ideal, maternal society -- a society without war, without the cruelty of men at its helm. She rapidly became like a sacred figure to the masses of Pia Albania... and to Cronicle, as well.

Eventually, through Cronicles help, Maria's teachings were published and spread throughout the colonies; they even spread to Earth upon Cronicle and Maria's visit to the mother world. It was during this time, living in a simple cottage in a small town called Kasarelia, that Maria met a man, and fell in love. They had a child -- a daughter, who they named Shakti. Cronicle would not remember much of this time -- most of his time on Earth was spent abroad, attempting to gain political support for Maria. But despite this, the memory would be ingrained in his memory, brief as it might have been -- a taste of binding chains of Earth's eerily familiar gravity.

Eventually, however, Maria's responsibilities to the people of space would have to call her back, and she left her love and her daughter in Kasarelia, a place of peace where she knew they would be safe. The Maria group was founded shortly thereafter, an organization dedicated towards Maria's matrilineal ideals and towards creating a political party for Maria within Pia Albania's government. The colony's governing body was, however, ultimately corrupt, and even though Cronicle tried, even though he put everything he had into attempting to achieve his sister's ideals through legitimate means... he fell short.

The man who would exploit that shortcoming called himself Fonse Kagatie. An influential member of the Jupiter Republic Alliance, the Federation-affiliated governmental body of Jupiter, Fonse found a copy of Maria's teachings and saw within them an opportunity -- and even more than that, saw a greater opportunity within Maria's phenomenal Newtype potential.

Leaving the bounds of Jupiter, Kagatie extended his tremendous political support to Maria under the guise of charity -- under the guise of caring for her truly selfless cause. From the very beginning, Cronicle did not like or trust Kagatie. He knew what sort of man Fonse was -- the type who used and exploited for their own gain, the type who wanted to rule simply for the sake of ruling. The disgusting type of man that Maria's philosophies condemned. And though he tried to protect his trusting sister, Cronicle found himself woefully impotent; they were stuck in too immovable a position, and Kagatie's influence was too vast to simply cast aside... and Maria was wholly convinced that Kagatie meant only good, no matter how much Cronicle tried to persuade her otherwise.

And so, Cronicle Asher was left helpless to watch as Kagatie put Maria under his subtle control and slowly but surely transformed her into his eager symbol. With Maria bringing the support of the masses, Kagatie was in a prime position to seize true, absolute power for himself. The Gattle party was formed in the Side 2 colony of Amelia soon after, but it wasn't enough: the people cried out for Maria to lead them.

And Fonse Kagatie, pulling the strings, gave them what they wished.

In a sudden show of force, the Gattle party quickly seized power within Amelia as their influence ballooned under Maria's banner. It was here that Kagatie put into motion his own methods of gaining influence: as a demonstration of the power of the Gattle party, the corrupt officials within Amelia were overthrown. Kagatie paraded each one out to Amelia's grand government center... and executed each and every one through a tried and true practice of ancient times: the guillotine.

Through the guillotine, the Gattle party earned fear; through Maria, they earned admiration and reverence. And through a combination of the two, they soon spread their influence deep into the roots of Amelia, and beyond. Yet, Cronicle still despised Kagatie and his barbaric use of the guillotine -- and his use of Maria who, despite her own misgivings about the use of the guillotine, had become little more than a puppet for Fonse.

It was that day that Cronicle resolved himself completely. No matter what happened, no matter how long it took, Cronicle would save Maria from Kagatie's grasp. He would protect her, like she did for him, but as time went on, he found it increasingly more important not only to protect /her/... but to protect her /ideals./ To see a true world be founded with a matrilineal society, a society that Maria so longed to truly realize.

Eventually, a society masquerading under that name was formed. In NCA 116, the Gattle party announced the establishment of the Zanscare Empire, encompassing its new capital of Amelia and many of the outlying colonies of Side 2 that had fallen under the Gattle party's influence. Using the Federation's preoccupation with ZAFT, and then later the Divine Crusaders, Zanscare built up its military might; a branch of the Federation's Strategic Naval Research Institute (SNRI) gave their allegiance to Zanscare, forming their official armed forces in the name of the Ballistic Equipment & Space Patrol Armory, or BESPA. It was here that Cronicle found his own opportunity. Enlisting in BESPA's military academy, Cronicle resolved himself to rise up the ranks of Zanscare's army of his own power, to gain influence and authority separate from Maria -- separate from Kagatie, so that one day... one day, he would be able to overthrow the Federation he viewed as inefficient and corrupt, overthrow Kagatie, and create Maria's ideal world.

Personality Traits
Cronicle Asher is, at his base, a good person. He is a man who has gone through countless hardships and seen the cruelest sides of life, both from enemies and comrades. But more than this, he is a man who has defined his life by the ambitions of others, such that his loyalties, his desires... are all the accomplishment of someone else's ideals.

Cronicle is a serious man. He is serious, and a professional. In every walk of life he strides with a distinct air of efficient professionalism, and very rarely does he indulge in nonsense and whimsy. This is in part due to his past; his failures to protect his sister from the machinations of less-than-savory men and politicians have left him with a distinct and lingering feeling of inadequacy that he feels he must constantly make up for. He must be the best, the smartest, the strongest he can possibly be -- if not for his own sake, than for the sake of the sister who helped him to survive to this point.

Thanks to this, Cronicle has a very strong sense of pride, and this pride complements a surprisingly noble exterior. Cronicle very much believes in the ideas of honor and fighting war without the need for involving citizens, and the ideal of keeping one's end of any bargain. Of course, though, Cronicle is human like any other person, and if pushed far enough he will besmirch his valued honor -- especially if it is for a cause or person he truly believes in.

A part of this pride and honor is Cronicle's belief in succeeding in life under one's own merit. It is why he wears a mask in battle -- to distinguish himself not as the brother of the Queen of Zanscare, but as a soldier made of his own skills, his own talents. To Asher, all of his accomplishments must be of his own making, or else they are simply hollow. It is another method of compensation; more than anything, Cronicle wishes to accomplish great things... and while he may want to accomplish great things for someone else, and while his ideals may not be his own, he wants his victories in their name to be entirely his doing.

Unfortunately, this nobility and honor makes Cronicle somewhat easy to manipulate, especially by women who, thanks to his past with Maria, hold a special value to him. While his rough life means he is hardly naive, he is still an idealist at heart; he will almost always assume children and women are inherently innocent if they make claim to it, and despite this outdated way of thinking, it is a rather inseperable part of him.

Ultimately, despite this particular naivete, Cronicle is an exceptionally cunning individual who is capable of perceiving things that many others do not. Ironically, however, his overly serious nature and his need to overcompensate either means that people simply will not listen to him because he is the upstart brother of the queen, or he simply will not tell others in order to take care of the things and potential problems he sees himself, in order to gain his own personal sense of accomplishment.

Cronicle gives the appearance of a man who is kind and noble. He respects women, he is kind to children, and he treats his enemies and captives with respect. But this kindness hides a wealth of hatred that Asher holds within him. He hates Fonse Kagatie. He hates what Zanscare has been warped into. He hates the guillotine. A part of him even hates Maria for allowing such things to happen. He hates his enemies, he hates the Federation, but most of all -- Cronicle Asher hates his own weaknessses. It is this which constantly makes him strive to go higher and higher, to be at a point where he is no longer disgusted with his own failings... and to be at a point where he can finally take revenge on all those who have done him wrong.

As said before, Cronicle is a proud man; this pride leads him towards having a difficult time letting go of grudges. When he is defeated, he will often linger on the defeat until he can avenge his would-be wounded honor. This is especially so for particularly embarassing defeats, whether it be on the battlefield or otherwise; thanks to his rather prominent, if not noticeable, anger issues, Cronicle is quick to form grudges, and quicker still to form everlasting vendettas. Enmity is Cronicle Asher, and if he cannot funnel it onto people who truly deserve it, he will displace it onto others.

He is a weak man. Cronicle's weakness is what defines him in everything he does, in all his actions. His attempts to move past his weaknesses: his inability to protect his sister, his inability to achieve a pure Zanscare Empire, and his basic inability to become a separate and distinct individual with ideals of his own drive him to extremes to compensate, to the point that he will recklessly throw himself into battle for the sake of proving himself. This weakness, paradoxically, makes him strong. Strong of will, strong of heart, Cronicle has the very makings of a true leader in himself -- and yet, the violence and hatred that fills his heart make it so that he will inevitably never be as great as he could be.

There are two things that Cronicle holds most dear in this world: his sister, Queen Maria Pia Armonia, and her ideal of a maternal society. This is largely what has molded Cronicle to this point: Maria's protection of him fostered a deep respect for women and their capacity to lead more efficiently than men. Maria is his sister, but she has also been like a mother to him, and now, Cronicle feels obligated to protect her -- to protect her against the ambitions and manipulations of men like Fonse Kagatie, to protect her from her enemies who would see her dead, and to make sure, most of all, that she is happy.

Because of this, he treasures her ideal of a society run by women... but of late, the line of his priorities have begun to blur. The importance of Maria's safety and future have begun to play second fiddle to the achievement of her ideals as Cronicle assumes them as his own. While he would prefer to keep Maria safe, to avenge the injustices and manipulations placed upon her, if a situation were to emerge in which Cronicle had to choose between Maria's life, or the achievement of the true Zanscare-- at this point, it is entirely debatable what route he would take.

Cronicle Asher is not a bad man, but he is not a good man. Ultimately, he is a man who has led his life by the ideals of other people... but a man who has begun to slowly but surely subsume those ideals as his own.

Talents & Abilities
Cronicle is very skilled at shooting people, punching people, abusing little children, getting abused by little children, and wearing masks for literally no reason.

Cronicle is also very good at getting manipulated by certain crazy women.

Logs
Logs go here.