Asako Hamada's page

About Asako Hamada

Asako was born and raised in Sandpoint, the only daughter of two glass artisans who worked in the Kaijitsu Glassworks. Asako knew little of why her parents chose to leave Minkai until she discovered a beautiful antique Katana stashed in her family's attic. She was transfixed by its beauty and couldn't understand why her parents were so upset when they saw her with it.

In a fit of pique, Asako ran into the hinterlands with the sword, and was soon set upon by a horrible Bugbear. Asako's feeble attempt to defend herself using the katana only amused him, but before he could drag her off to unknown tortures, he was beset by a flurry of arrows. Quick as lightning, Shalelu grabbed the young Asako and flung her over her shoulder and escaped. Asako begged the elf not to take her home, fearing her parent's wrath, but Shalelu was adamant. Still, she took some time to talk to Asako's parents first, and it was then that the girl came to understand their feelings.

Asako's parents were descended from rival warrior clans in Minkai, and had initially met during a tenuous peace between their Houses. They soon fell in love, and knowing that their families would never allow them to marry, they forsook their duties and honor, as well as the practice of violence. Her father sold his sword to pay for the trip across the roof of the world, and they'd kept her mother's swords hidden away as a nest egg. Her parents remained uneasy with Asako's fascination with swordplay, but under Shalelu's advice they decided to allow her to choose her own path, as they had done when they were young.

Swordplay enhanced the young girl's focus, and she turned her keen intellect towards the study of magic at the academy in Sandpoint. Tragically, Asako's parents were slain when goblins attacked the Glassworks. She still feels guilty that she was not present to protect them, and has spent more time of late practicing on her own, in the wilderness. Secretly she hopes to encounter that Bugbear again, to prove to herself that her skills are more than simply empty performance.

Asako is a quiet, somewhat withdrawn young woman with very short hair and a lithe, athletic build. She is not anti-social, but seldom sticks out in a crowd or draws attention to herself.