Cassandra Castille

Human, AKA ‘The Rose Princess’

Appearance

Cassandra is described as the spitting image of beauty. Fair skinned with long, wavy brown hair, chestnut brown eyes, and a warm smile.

Backstory

Seen, Not Heard

Cassandra was the only daughter of Baroness Victoria Bullmore, a ruling noble of the Bullmore family, bannermen of the royal Tyrell family. From an early age, Cassandra was taught how to carry herself with grace. What it meant to serve your husband and country. This lifestyle of prim and proper servitude to men never interested Cassandra, who instead challenge this sexist system of royalty and douchebaggery to her mothers discontent. Cassandra cursed, spit, and drank in secrecy until her mother caught her with a boy one night. Cassandra's mother had the boy beaten senseless, and Cassandra locked in her chambers for a considerable time. Eventually, Cassandra did surrender herself to a life of royalty, posh conversations, and powdered wigs.

An Officer and a Lady

Promised to be wed to Sir Loghain Bradley, Cassandra began spending her last free days with her friend Camilla. They would walk the streets of Meadowcraft and just talk as freely as they could. One walk, Cassandra had accidentally spat on an officer from atop a bridge. What ensued was a short chase away from the officer, who not knowing it was a royal noble, insulted and chastised her. If it weren’t for Cassandra’s mercy, the young Edgar Castille would have been cleaning latrines at the barracks for the remainder of his service. The two would meet at the same spot for weeks, speaking to their own experiences of being a lady with a title, and a young man with nothing truly to his name.

The Joust

Against all instincts and sound advice from Samson, Edgar challenged Loghain to a joust for Cassandra’s hand in marriage. Not a knight, Edgar’s challenge was mocked. It wasn’t until Baroness Victoria grew tired of the insistent annoyance before her, that she ordered Loghain to run him into the dirt in a formal joust for Cassandra’s hand. To everyone’s surprise, Edgar had run the joust into a 2-2 contest. On the third and final relay, falling victim to Loghain’s taunts, Edgar threw the contest and broke his arm in the process. As per their bet, Edgar was forbidden from ever showing his face in Meadowcraft again.

No Such Thing

Cassandra remained defiant throughout her entire marriage. Whenever Loghain asked her to cook, clean, service his armor, or attempt to bed her, she would simply respond with, "I shall do no such thing." Despite all the reprehension it earned her from Loghain and his family, and even from her own mother, Cassandra would not give in or serve a man she had no feelings for. Instead, Cassandra dedicated herself to public service by speaking with low-income families, creating affordable lunches for children at school, and establishing one of the first private orphanages in Meadowcraft. Cassandra saw the system that people like Loghain and her mother have rigged in their favor, and she would spend her very short marriage to Loghain, undoing the entire damned thing. Between defying her husband and serving the lower class, Cassandra had secretly been writing Edgar who by this point had become an adventurer.

My Lady

Almost three years after Edgar's exile, the young man returned with the heads of fallen beasts and demons at his side. It had been hard for anyone to argue against Edgar's accomplishments when he came strolling back into Meadowcraft. Edgar, who had barely a single coin to his name, returned a decorated hero to Meadowcraft and was swiftly knighted as Sir Edgar Castille of Meadowcraft. Before being knighted, before the honors of having his own coat of arms, his own manor, and an endless abundance of wealth, Edgar got down on one knee and asked Cassandra for her hand in marriage. They were married that same day.

The Castille Family

Cassandra had built a family with Edgar who had bought two modest estates within the city, one for him and Cassandra, and another for Samson and his wife, Camilla. Edgar and Cassandra had two sons, Matthew and Roland. Both young men followed in Edgar’s footsteps and became well known in the Meadowcraft military for their own heroic feats. While Edgar taught them duty, knighthood, and strength, Cassandra taught them how to be soft, vulnerable, and understanding. Between loving her family and continuing her service to the lower-class, Cassandra tended to a large, lavish garden. In the blistering heat, and stinging cold, Cassandra could be seen tending to each and every single flower.

The Boy from the Woods

Following a terrible hunting accident, Edgar and Samson had brought home a young, disheveled boy they found in the woods. The boy was Aiden Thorin, and was swiftly taken in by the Castille family. Like his sons, Edgar taught Aiden how fight and carry yourself with confidence. While Cassandra taught him love and what it meant to be a Castille. The patience and diligence their family was known for. This same boy would later kill Cassandra in a violent episode of lycanthropy one warm summer night. Cassandra's death sparked a wave of mourning across the kingdom, and was followed by the death of her oldest son Matthew not long after. Cassandra's orphanage, and her systems aiding the lower class continue to thrive in Meadowcraft to this day.

Relationships

Edgar "Oh, don't let that face fool you. He's more of a cub than he is a lion. At least with me he is. My husband is a stubborn, dedicated man who looks out for those he cares about. He's also never been one to shy away from a challenge, in fact he's likely to charge into it head on with a whole encyclopedia backing him. Edgar is nothing if not dedicated. Dedicated to his country and family. Everyone sees the Lion on horseback in his crimson-armor and helm, but they don't see the Edgar I do when he's home. The husband, the father. The poetry he'd write me on our picnics, that dashingly handsome smile. I love him with my whole heart. The very same one he fought so hard to earn, and protect."

Craig "My husband chooses very interesting company. When Edgar first returned to Meadowcraft, he was accompanied by his band of adventurers. When I first saw Craig, I thought Edgar had finally found someone to balance out his competitiveness. Instead he found a man to match it and compete with it at every turn. Craig is such a loud, boisterous, angry person that riles Edgar up for no reason whatsoever. But, he has kept Edgar alive for this long so I guess he can't be all that bad. I do beg people not to ask a question between Edgar and Craig, sometimes they disagree just for the sake of disagreeing."

Melanie "Craig's wife spent a lot of time catching me up to speed on all of their little adventures. Well...I wouldn't call dragon-slaying and Lich vanquishing little. Melanie reminds me a lot of myself when I was younger. She's so opiniated and unapologetic. She quickly became one of my best friends. Oh! And her daughter Hildr, such a little cutie."

Roland and Matthew "I've only seen Edgar cry on three occasions. Once when he lost the joust again Loghain, and again when Matthew and Roland were born. My sons are the striking images of their father and I'm sure they'll have all the chivalry, bravery, and cunning of him too. Matthew talks so much about following in his father's footsteps in becoming a knight. Roland said he wanted to be more like me, to help people without the sharp steel of a blade. I say that as long as they build people up, it doesn't matter to me what paths in life they choose."

Aiden "A quiet young man with so much...pain behind his eyes. I wish I could find who hurt him so and show them the man he's become. That against all the pain, suffering, and doubt they cast upon him, he rose above."

Camilla "My first real friend. Camilla shares the same views I do on this strange, one-sided system of knighthood and royalty. She has turned down many proposals from Admirals to simple Watch Captains. She says she likes to keep them wanting more. I was never that kind of girl. Camilla reminds me that we women have a much larger role than the one that the posh nobles at the capital have.."