Ashguard is the volcanic country in Nimia's north. It spans the icy tundras and the barren wastes to the north and east, down to Hawk Bay in the south. The capital of Ashguard is Havenal, which is ruled by queen Crysanthe Ducrane in the absence of the King Davian Ducrane, who is ill. Notable politics include the legality of slavery; much of Ashguard functions on slave labor. Only humans and tieflings live in Ashguard. Other races are strongly discouraged from visiting, and monstrous races such as drow, goblins, and kobolds may be attacked. Ashguard's primary economy is powered by the refinement of volcanic rocks, minerals, gems, medicine, and military strength. Ashguard has many strange customs including the submissive role of women in society. Daughters are discouraged and it is common (though unspoken of) for families to discard female infants rather than raise daughters. Women are unable to hold property in most cases. Ashguard's primary interest is in colonizing Sedona and the outlying islands. Ashguard has a fraught history with their neighbor Wilt, but are tense allies. Ashguard permits same-sex couples openly, only male.

In Ashguard, the role of women in society is heavily stratified. Female slaves are equivalent to male slaves but are marginally more valuable, as for breeding. Commoner and merchant class families will prevent daughters from marrying below their station and will prevent an education, believing women are not intelligent enough. These commoner and merchant class women are often sold in arranged marriages for dowries. It is common for commoner families to discard infant girls and leave them to die to prevent having to raise a daughter. In noble families in Ashguard, women are considered inferior and are actively hidden or suppressed. Noble women are rare and usually come from arranged marriages outside of Ashguard. Noble families in Ashguard who have daughters actively cull their infant babies, intentionally killing female infants to prevent the shame of having a daughter, which is seen as a genetic failure. The few women who do survive in noble families in Ashguard are often uneducated and trained to be entirely subservient. Women in Ashguard are considered property, as it is believed they are incapable of taking care of themselves. Striking or harming a woman in Ashguard is not considered a crime, but a property crime. Murdering a woman in Ashguard yields only a fine paid to the man who owned the woman. Women in Ashguard who are menstruating are forced to sleep outside of their family homes, as they are believed to be dirty. Women in Ashguard are rarely in positions of power or control. 

Ashguardian culture is heavily influenced by high fantasy and the cultures of pre-revolution France, the Han Dynasty of China, and American Industrialism. 

Born to the Baronette family fortune, Amarantha was the only daughter of famed wine makers and slave trainers. From a young age she excelled in the arcane arts and showed her intelligence and cunning, winning her popularity and influence. As cousin to the Ashguard Queen Crysanthe, Amarantha holds significant political influence. It's unknown how Amarantha came to secretly worship Cyric, the god of lies & trickery, but Amarantha is a high ranking member of Cyric's secretive cabal of followers in Nimia. She commands a dozen red mages, including Honerva, her prime mage. Amarantha herself is a powerful sorceress who derives her power from blood magic, harvested from her experiments on slaves, the astral plane, and raw arcana. Amarantha is about 80 years old, but appears perpetually young due to her arcane skills, and often says she is 25. She is sly, cunning, and highly intelligent. Amarantha is a skilled politician and dignitary. She enjoys fine things, like gold, wine, and music. Amarantha openly owns slaves and is a collector of rare and uniquely beautiful individuals. 

The sole daughter of the Widowghast family, Circe is a disgrace for being born a woman. She has recently been engaged to the Butcher of Iron Lake, Lord Rafe Althin. Circe possesses the sharp mind of her family legacy, but her exposure to the world has been suffocated under Ashguardian custom. 

The Widowghast family is headed by Edmund, the patriarch and Circe's father. Her mother, Lucretia, died by suicide some fifteen years ago. Circe is largely ignored by her brothers, save for the youngest, Cassian, who believes Circe's birth as a girl drove their beloved mother to her suicide. 

Rafe Althin, also known as the Butcher of Iron Lake, is an infamous military officer in the Ashguardian royal army. He is famed for his ruthless tactics in quashing the protests and rebellions of slaves and miners in the north, helping enforce law during colonization, and his brutal tactics in fear and terrorism. Rafe's first wife Mhairi died in childbirth along with their child about ten years ago and he has never been the same. A cold and stoic man, Rafe values logic and results over morals and ethics. He is a soldier first and a man second. He is engaged to Circe Widowghast but has never met her. The engagement was an arrangement between Lysander and Cassian Widowghast to encourage Rafe to purchase his arms for his men from the Widowghast Arms Company.

The over-enthusiastic hunter-for-hire is an outcast from one of the many Orc bands wandering Sedona. Kahl is admittedly an experienced and skillful hunter and tracker, though his boisterous personality and flippant attitude show his youth. He is accompanied by a massive direwolf named Hopper, who Kahl considers his only true friend. Kahl's relationship with the natural world is deep and complex, but he's just as likely to be found half-drunk in an inn as in the forest.

Crysanthe Ducrane is the current Queen of Ashguard. She has twelve daughters, each who has married for power and helped fund the Ducrane royal family's colonization efforts of the northern islands off Nimia's coast. She is not inherently evil, but her indifference to evil (such as Amarantha) make her just as cold. She upholds the legality of slavery in Ashguard. She is a misandrist and a close friend to her cousin, Amarantha. Her husband, Davian, has been ill for several years and has not been seen in public in eight months. Crysanthe rules Ashguard with an iron fist despite the country's inherent sexism against women, and commands the continued colonisation efforts and subjugation of poorer nations, such as Wilt. With the Widowghast Arms Company bolstering the power of the Ashguardian military, Crysanthe seems an unstoppable inevitability as she quests to choke the world of its resources for reasons unknown.

The Witch of the Wilds, Frey, is a mysterious woman who resides in the far edges of Wilt. She is Circe's aunt, the sister of the late Lucretia Widowghast. Frey is an accomplished warlock and arcane practitioner, though she is extremely secretive. Frey is cold, quiet, stern, but not evil. She is perfectly neutral in all things, though she does love her niece, Circe. Frey is pragmatic and collected, tall, and ageless appearing. She wears her dark hair in a low bun and favors grey clothing. She uses crows and ravens as her familiars, often using them to scry on the events of the world outside her tower. Frey can planeshift and cast powerful spells. She isn't heartless, but she is disengaged from the world, and prefers the company of her familiars, spirits, demons, and fae to humans and other mortals.