Kastia, before ascending

Kastia, Goddess of War and Justice is a currently sleeping Goddess. She was the Goddess that founded the Republic of Kastia. The desire that led to her ascension is her conviction of wanting to create a world where all people are born equal in political rights and where there is no slavery.
This entry despicts her life as a human and her conviction that led into her ascension into Kastia, Goddess of War and Justice.

Youth and life as a slave

Kastia was born as a slave in the old Kingdom of Tabha. Her mother died at childbirth and her father is unknown, but assumed to be an aristocrat and friend of Kastia’s owner. She was brutally beaten, even as a child. During her time as a slave, the young woman fostered not only a great hate for her tormentors, but also for the legal order of Tabha that enabled so much suffering.
One of the other slaves was a man called Seymor, who is believed to have been a Dunarian trader. He taught the children of the slave-owner of history and the functioning of the world. Seymor also taught Kastia and the other slaves of the world outside Tabha and the many different ways people could live together. Seymor was like a father to Kastia and Seymor loved her like a daughter. From his teachings and her grim life, Kastia acquired her conviction of equality.
Another slave, an ex-soldier from Eandal called Yeera Almeira, taught Kastia about how to control her Will to get a better control of her body and become faster and stronger. In Tabha slaves weren’t allowed to possess elemental magic, but there was no way to stop them from training their Will in secret. And Kastia realised very soon that to change the world, you need strenght.
Yeera also told Kastia about the military in the Kingdom of Eandal. Yeera was like a mother to Kastia and Yeera loved her like a child. From Yeera she learned the importance of strength and how to obtain it.
When the Kingdom of Eandal conquered Tabha and killed all its aristocracy, Kastia just turned seventeen cycles. Kastia killed her slave-owner in the chaos. She swore to create a world where everyone is born equal in rights and slavery is strictly formbidden. She joined the military of Eandal from which she had heard so much from Yeera. Yeera herself also rejoined and became a mentor to Kastia in the military. They rose in the military ranks together. Seymor settled in Eandal too and became a teacher. Kastia often visited him when she needed advise or help about her conviction. Yeera was Kastia’s mentor and Seymor her advisor. Kastia loved them like parents and they loved her like a daughter.

Kastia’s conviction and the principles of Kastia

Kastia wanted nothing more than for all people to truly be born equal at least in political power. Seymor's teachings and Dunarian philisophy likely influenced her in that regard. Her desire and conviction that led her into ascension was her desire for the abolishing of all slavery in the world and for all people to be at least born with equal political rights.
Even though Kastia was deeply grateful to the Kingdom of Eandal for freeing her and giving her a way to obtain her desire, Kastia realised that the Kingdom also had a legal regime that conflicted with her conviction. The Kingdom allowed slavery on some provinces, the ruling class was almost exclusive aristocracy. Most poor people could never obtain certain functions. Later when God Bolar’s conquest became more aggressive, the poor were the first group of people that were forced to conscript.
To attain her desire, Kastia decided she needed to start her own regime and that she needed to unify the world under her regime. Together with Seymor, she drafted a regime based on certain principles, later called Kastia’s principles. Seymor was the first person Kastia told about her potentially turning against the Kingdom. Seymor advised her to tell as few people as possible. Instead, Kastia should always voice her desire for equality and her suggested principles to make sure the miliary units and the people of the provinces she went through under her knew of it. That way they would be easier to convince later. Seymor was the one that proposed the name ‘Republic of Kastia’.

Kastia’s rise to power and strength

Kastia accumulated a lot of both magic powers and control over her Will during her years as a soldier. She became incredibly powerful. Due to the unpolitical nature of the organisation of the Eandalian military, she could climb the military ladder to the top. She always acted loyal to the Kingdom and brought them many victories over the free world. She also often helped local regions with dangerous monsters and criminals.
It is said that Kastia was one of the three people in known history that ever slayed a dragon elemental alone. Kastia was often considered a Demi-Goddess before her ascension and was the hero of many tales, even in the current time.
Her mother and mentor Yeera always watched over her. Yeera always looked for new mentors and possibilities to give Kastia more elemental power and training of her Will. Kastia considered her the main source of her strength. Yeera knew about Kastia’s desire for equality and her principles and she did agree with them and encouraged Kastia to tell them. Still, Kastia also knew Yeera was also fiercely loyal to the Eandal, so she could never tell Yeera about her desire to turn against the Kingdom and found her own Republic. Yeera always though that by telling everyone about Kastia’s principles, the people of Eandal would change the Kingdom themselves. Yeera would have never allowed her daughter to turn on the Kingdom. Kastia knew that and feared the day she had to betray her own mother for her conviction.
Kastia became a military veteran and legend. Kastia became a High Commander of a part of the southern front of the Eandalian conquering of the Free World. A High commander was the highest military function possible. The military of the Kingdom of Eandal was of non-political nature and the Eandalian aristocracy never appointed miliary functions and didn’t need to agree with new appointments. They couldn’t even forcefully retire military personal. All the aristocracy could do was kill a military leader to remove them forcefully. Kastia knew all of that and realised she needed to wait with spreading her principles to the public until she held enough power to not be easily killed.

The Movement of Kastia

Once she deemed herself strong and powerful enough, Kastia started spreading her principles to her military and to the southern provinces that her army mainly visited. Wherever she went, she would tell the people of her principles and dreams for a better world. This is where the Movement of Kastia started. Many commoners agreed and started spreading the principles of Kastia themselves. Kastia was a legend already before her ascension. She had not only won many wars, but also helped many local communities. Sometimes local communities or bards made up stories about her heroic deeds. Each province had many tales of Kastia helping them, even if some of them were not true. For scholars it was difficult to research which of her deeds were true and which were fiction or falsely accredited to her. Due to her being a national hero, especially in the southern part of Eandal, and her attractive proposed regime, her movement gained many, many followers.
The local aristocracy wasn’t too happy about that however. But the aristocracy was also very decentralised and very busy with the political troubles of the Kingdom. Many of them didn’t paid too much attention to the early beginnings of the Movement of Kastia. Some aristocrats even agreed with her approach.
The greatest aristocratic follower of Kastia was Lord Greor Limway, a Kosar of a province called Talia. He tried to implement Kastia’s principles in his province. Lord Limway often invited Kastia to talk with her about her principles and how to implement them in his province in a way the Kingdom allowed. Many of the Maesters and Maestra in his province also agreed with him and those that didn’t were easily taken care of. Many Limway family members were very powerful and great supporters of Kastia thanks to her many good deeds around the area.
Kastia would often join him. Greor was, just like Yeera, a supporter of the idea of changing the Kingdom of Eandal from the inside. Kastia enjoyed listening to his ideas how to make Eandal a better place for everyone. Even if Lord Greor Limway was an aristocrat, Kastia saw that his heart was good and his intentions noble. Kastia and Greor fell in love and married five cycles later.

Kastia’s doubts

Kastia’s conviction always was great, but even she had her doubts. Her mother Yeera was very loyal to the Kingdom of Eandal and always taught Kastia about the importance of loyalty. Eandal’s military structure even gave them a way to power and to influence the Kingdom through the Movement of Kastia.
Kastia realised Yeera would be loyal to Eandal until her last breath. She also realised just how much the Kingdom had given them. Kastia also agreed with her mother about the importance of loyalty. Still, in the end Kastia told her mother about her intentions, to see if she could convince her. Her mother couldn’t be convinced. Yeera told Kastia she loved her and that is why she wouldn’t allow Kastia to throw away everything Kastia built for herself. Yeera told Kastia to stay loyal or Yeera would tell the aristocracy of her plans. Yeera would never had done that and risk Katia’s life. Kastia knew it was an empty threat. But Yeera would never stop to try to convince her daughter to refrain from her plan. Yeera wanted Kastia to be loyal.
In the end Kastia didn’t want her mother to continue to try to weaken her resolve. And that was why Kastia decided to let go of her mother. Kastia was loyal. She simply wasn’t loyal to the military or to the Kingdom of Eandal. Kastia was loyal to her conviction. And because of that she couldn’t allow Yeera to try weaken her intentions. Kastia killed her own mother for her own conviction.
Heartbroken by her own actions, Kastia went to her father Seymor to tell him about it. Her father was shocked. He had told Kastia that no matter what her convictions were, they shouldn’t allow Kastia to become a monster. Seymor loved Kastia deeply. The old man only wanted for Kastia to be happy. He already was old, so he would die soon. He would love to see the Republic of Kastia one day, but he didn’t want it to turn Kastia into a heartless monster. He had begged Kastia to promise to stop herself if her conviction would ever turn her into such a heartless monster.
Kastia never promised him. If her conviction needed her to be a heartless monster, then Kastia would become a heartless monster. That is why Kastia realised she needed to let go of Seymor, her father. Kastia left her father’s house that day and never returned to him again.
Kastia had realised her conviction to create a world where everybody is at least born equal in political rights and could live freely without the fear of slavery had turned her into a heartless monster. She tried to honour her parents, even if she already had let them go of them. She only could become close to her goal because of them. Still, all she had left in the world now was the love of her life, Greor Limway.
Greor knew of Kastia’s plan of turning against the Kingdom and while he preferred a different approach, he still supported her decision. Still, he loved Kastia deeply and was worried about what she had become. Greor wanted a revolution in the Kingdom from the inside out. A revolution from the people, supported by some aristocrats like himself. Any change of regime would bring death and pain, but Greor considered a revolution to be less bloody then a war. While the Movement of Kastia already was very powerful in the south of Eandal, the realms in the other area’s of the Kingdom didn’t have that many followers yet. Greor wanted to wait and spread the principles of Kastia more and then initiate a revolution.
Kastia had listened to his advise initially. It seemed like a reasonable approach. Kastia and Greor loved each other and were very happy together. Neither wanted children, since it might weaken Kastia’s strength. Both of them considered their common cause their child. Their life was very dangerous. Since the Movement and the principles of Kastia received more and more following, the aristocrats feared their power more and more. There were several unsuccessful attempts on Kastia’s life.
That was when Kastia realised that waiting for the Movement to spread more in order to initiate a revolution might take to long. If Kastia died, her movement might die too. That is why they needed to declare the Republic of Kastia before she would die. Kastia considered her life much less important than her conviction, but she also realised her life was needed to reach her goal. They couldn’t wait too long or an assassination attempt on Kastia might actually fulfil its goal.
Greor Limway understood what she meant but disagreed. The attempts on Kastia’s life made him reconsider their mission entirely. In the end Greor wanted a happy life with Kastia. If their mission threatened Kastia’s life then he would rather abolish their plan of a Republic of Kastia. Kastia said that she had risked her life for so long on the battlefield and still wasn’t dead. She wondered why did Greor suddenly worried so much for her. Greor reminded her that it was Kastia herself that had realised that the assassination attempts were threatening her life. Greor said he never feared for her life because he knew of her strength. But these assassination attempts were different form a fight on the battlefield. No one could kill Kastia on a battlefield, but a poisonous meal still could. Greor then told Kastia that he was tired of living in fear for her life. No matter how big his conviction was, Greor’s love for Kastia was bigger.
Kastia then realised that Greor is what was holding her back from her conviction. That he might try to stop her from her turning on the Kingdom.
No matter how big her love for Greor was, Kastia’s conviction was bigger. She had killed her mother that wanted to stop her from fulfilling conviction and abandoned her father that wanted to stop her from doing whatever it took for that fulfilment. Kastia realised her conviction had made her a heartless monster. She wouldn’t let her love for Greor cloud her judgement and weaken her resolve.
So Kastia killed Greor.
And ascended.

Parents (Adopting)

Yeera Almeira

Related Historical Events

• 1100
  Founding of the Republic of Kastia