Cassadea - Goddess of Justice

Her spirit will enlighten a darkened world!
Her will shall embolden the righteous!
Her power will cleanse the wicked and corrupt!

— Chant of the Cassadean Faith

I still remember her from time to time. A girl from nowhere that got thrust into events she should never have had to contend with. A mage with more power than any person should reasonably have. Today she is a symbol. Paragon of justice and angel of vengeance. Hated and loved by many. But I never think of that. Only of the lost little girl, I met all those years ago...

Born from Sin

"Like the light of the world was first forged from the Void by those above, so did our Saviour emerge from seed drenched in darkness. A most abominable creature, now only known as the Fallen, had captured a mage in service to the Light and forced himself on her in the most horrible of ways. What he intended to do with the offspring of this cursed union is not known, for the brave maiden escaped his clutches and hid her far beyond his reach. His Shadow, however, would remain with her forever."
A lot of flowery words to clad a lie. Calgen wasn't a monster, well back then he wasn't. Merely a Mage too powerful to be critical of anything the Arcane Council espoused and did. They, including the "brave Maiden", decided that his views should never be given onto an heir of any kind, hid Cassadea, claiming she had perished in the womb.

Elemental Rage

Emergence of a Hero

"Hidden from the vile notions of the outside world, Cassadea grew up under the tutelage of the finest warriors and wisest mages of the land. For they had foreseen that she would bring light to the world and banish a great evil as yet to be revealed. She flourished, soon surpassing those that taught her. And when she could learn no more from the Council, she set out at the head of a band of warriors, seeking knowledge and strength to further prepare her for her destiny..."

Training as a Mage

Way to make her more special than she was. The Council regularly took children to secretly train as their future personal guards. Her compound was a gilded cage in every sense, Cassadea's every moment planned and controlled. Add the constant silence about who her father was and you get a very frustrated girl. Frustration she pushed into her training, basically doing nothing else for over a decade. While the scriptures exaggerate, she was at the very least at Master level when she escaped.

And yes, I mean escaped. No matter what those decrepit fools claimed. An 18-year-old girl that combined the glacier-like stubbornness of her father with the fiery impulsivity of her mother and had been locked in a compound all her life? Surely she wouldn't have taken the first big chance to run. Sarcasm aside, it was the quite the blow to the Council as they probably planned to make her their new poster child.

by PabloFernandezArtwrk

Not a bad choice, I have to agree. Cassadea was beautiful by all accounts. A soft face, dazzling smile and straight-edged nose topped by two glacier-blue eyes that seemed to glow in a frame of smooth dark skin and a mane of almost ebony black hair. Her body a near-perfect mix of powerful and lithe. No matter how much might or sense the Council's words hold, it often takes an appealing frame to spread them throughout the world.

The name's Cassadea and you better remember it! Because all your problems have just found their solution!

— Cassadea entering the services of Basidias of Thenron

War Against the Fallen

Twelve Deeds

"Of her many deeds, it is perhaps those twelve done in the service of King Brasidias that stand above the rest. The ageing tyrant had wanted to humiliate her by posing one impossible challenge after another. Guided by destiny, she overcame them all and when the Tyrant, convinced by vile whispers that she would bring his end, tried to kill her, she deposed him and made his son King. Said son would rule justly for many years and become one of her staunchest supporters."

Liberation of Heidharon

"Many years and adventures later, our Saviour would once again find herself fighting against tyranny. Proud Heidharon had fallen under the sway of a vile Slaver Cult that worshipped strange serpentine beasts. At the head of a band of warriors, the Goddess battled the cult across the kingdom, freeing those enslaved and dealing justice to those responsible. Their reign of terror ended with a vicious battle under the capital, where she slew the scarlet abomination that served as the avatar of their god."

Duel over Tanis

"She was merely human still in those early years and too late did she truly realize how wicked the world had become. Perhaps it was her battle with Xathin, an Acolyth of Kugiren that had turned from the Hierarchy and cast unholy magic over the city of Tanis, making every last human inside into her puppet. Although victory did eventually come, it was not without cost and Tanis remained an empty ruin. It is here that the Goddess truly started on her path to create a just world."

"Brasidias, the Serpent Cult and Xathin were only agents of a greater evil, however. Tools to cause chaos and prepare Hemea for the wrath of the Fallen. Decades of planning finally culminated in a titanic invasion. At the head of an army of abominations and savage men, the Fallen sought to bring the world to its knees."
"A terrible struggle ensued and much blood was shed to stop the deranged mages' plans. The Goddess finally learned of her maker and made it her sole mission to end his reign. A trial that would last years and only end with her striking the beast down in its lair deep within the icy walls of old Teamar. On that day, a mortal girl perished to pave the way for a goddess to ascend."
As anti-climatic as it is, I do understand why they barely mention the Desecration War. Conflicts between Mages rarely end well and what Calgen unleashed proved more nightmarish than most. In the end, all that really matters is that Cassadea killed her father deep in the icy wastes of ancient Teamar. And as much as the scriptures want to tell you otherwise, I think part of her died that day as well.

Do not think you can threaten me, your majesty. There is nothing I would still dread. All I know is that your reign ends today. Either by your own will or by mine.

— Cassadea ending the Argorian Covenant

From here on out, I will spare you the scriptures' version of events. While at first, they do contain some truth and a "reasonable" interpretation of events, the later chapters are simply an exercise in adulation and sycophancy.

Just Reign

Cassadea came to the conclusion that the way the world currently worked was flawed to the core. That it needed to change. And since none of those in the position to change things seemed willing, she would have to take action. At first, only standard Mage stuff: aiding those in need, mediating between feuding nations etc. But Humanity is by nature chaotic and whenever she squashed one problem, another five would appear.
Where at first only words were needed, now violence became the tool. Armies that would not heed, were burned. Rulers that did not act in what she deemed a just manner, were removed. She acted freely and without worry, after all, there was no one that could have stopped her. And the people loved her for it.

by Franklin Chan

When in 859 HE, she disbanded the Argorian Covenant, the people of Hemea had lived under her "guidance" for over a century. And to be fair, she did manage to make the land safe and peaceful, even if this peace was kept alive by the threat of annihilation. Love turned to adoration and eventually worship. Within a few decades, the newly christened Cassadean Church was one of the main faiths in the west.
As 941 HE dawned, she had all lands in the west under her iron grip. Was worshipped by millions as divine. The young girl so full of energy and questions was long dead.
Replaced by a cold goddess that saw only her version of the world as the right one. Her end came the same year, the "goddess" vanishing from the world without a trace. No one knows of her final fate. Well, I know. But I will not...can not tell you. I cannot bear to visit that final moment again...

How I can claim to have seen events that happened millennia ago? Well, that would ruin the mystery, don't you think? I do love to leave people scratching their heads trying to figure me out. Gotta get me some entertainment once in a while.

— Darius Kaseidis when questioned on his existence

Divine Classification

Deity of Justice, Vengance and Lightning

Ethnicity

An-Matari

Church/Cult

Cassadean Church

Life

680 HE 941 HE 261 years old

Circumstances of Death

Vanished into thin Air.

Firecracker
Combine all the energy of a young Mage and a lack of social skills only two decades of isolation can provide and you get Cassadea. Brash, at times arrogant and prone to put her foot in her mouth, one might reasonably ask why she garnered so many friends and allies even before "ascending".
Despite all her flaws, she was a good person. Friendly and outgoing, easy to talk to. Sure she was prone to boasting, but if someone genuinely needed help she would go above and beyond to provide it.
She had this sense of hope around her, this rare ability to inspire others through mere presence. One can easily see how the masses would follow such a person...I just wish she hadn't changed by the time they did.

by kvacm

A Heroe's Journey
As much as I want to, I can't really add anything to the scriptures retelling of her journey. Except that it wasn't as special as her faith tries to make it out to be. Climactic battle with Calgen not counted. What they see as a "Heroe's Journey" is just part of a Mage's life.
Every Mage will go into the world to study and learn, help and heal, be a leader or soldier. It is a duty brought about by the power in our veins. A challenge to our character and a chance to find a place in the world. But the road is treacherous and just one small misstep may lead one on a journey into the dark...
Justinian Age
Of course the trouble only started with Cassadea's disappearance. It left a power vacuum and both a resurgent Hierarchy and the Cassadean Church tried to fill it. What ensued were nearly two-and-a-half centuries of war that saw nearly all of Hemea and large swaths of Aramea involved.
In the end, the Church lost and was largely destroyed. Surviving mostly in isolated pockets throughout western Aramea, it eventually crawled its way back into Hemea. However, the modern version has undergone several reformations and is much tamer than the original.

Fifty thousand people turned to dust. Without a trial. Without regard for innocence or guilt. How is that justice?

— Antian, King of Tebaia

Demise of a Nation
Her perhaps cruellest act was what became known as the Judgement of Gordia Itra. A city-state where Mages and Humans lived in harmony. A beacon of peace, technological and arcane progress. And as the biggest power in a post-Desecration War Hemea, the greatest threat to Cassadea's vision of peace.
In 912 HE, she seemed to have finally found a reason to act for on the third day of that year, Gordia Itra vanished in a display of blinding light. A lightning spell so powerful that it turned the night to day all over the world, its expansive tree-like form giving it the name Gordian Tree

by Alex Rommel