Kassandra

This article is about the legendary Greek misthios Kassandra. You may be looking for the occupation, Mercenary.

He who increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow.

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"'To the eagle-bearing Misthios.' That's you."

―Barnabas to Kassandra, 431 BCE.^[src]

Kassandra of Sparta (453 BCE – 2018 CE), also known as the Eagle-Bearer, the West Wind, or simply by her role as Misthios (English: Mercenary), was a Spartan mercenary who fought during the Peloponnesian War.

She was the older half-sister of Alexios and, through their mother, Myrrine, the granddaughter of King Leonidas of Sparta. Although raised by her step-father, Nikolaos, Kassandra was the biological daughter of Pythagoras. Through her relationship with Natakas, son of Darius, she was also the mother of Elpidios.

During her exploits as a mercenary, Kassandra came into conflict with the secretive Cult of Kosmos, an organization intent on controlling all of Greece and beyond. She later opposed the Order of the Ancients, who sought to hunt her down, due in part to her nature as a Tainted One, and also for her allying herself with Darius. For her opposition against the Cult and the Order, Kassandra is considered one of the early precursors to the Assassin Brotherhood.

Biography

Early life

As a child, Kassandra was presented with the broken Spear of Leonidas, an Isu weapon, as an heirloom by her mother. Because of her prestigious lineage, great hopes were placed upon her to live up to the strength and valor of Leonidas. Her step-father, Nikolaos, would often train her in hopes that she would follow in her footsteps.^[1] In 446 BCE, the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi gave a prophecy in which Kassandra's younger brother, Alexios (who was a newborn at the time), would bring about the fall of Sparta in the future. In order to prevent this, Alexios was to be sacrificed at Mount Taygetos, despite Myrrine's plea for Nikolaos to stop it. As a priest was about to drop Alexios, Kassandra attempted to stop the sacrifice, but instead pushed the priest and Alexios to their apparent death. Kassandra was condemned as a traitor to Sparta, leading her step-father to execute her by dropping her off the mountains.^[2]

Kassandra, however, survived the fall, and escaped to the beach with the spear. Refusing to be found by the Spartans, Kassandra fled out to the open seas, with an eagle following her. A storm later turned Kassandra's boat overboard and she woke up on the beaches of Kephallonia. There, she was greeted by Markos, who took her under his wing and tasked her to do errands for him.^[1]

Life as a misthios

Years after the incident on the mountain, Kassandra became a well renowned misthios. Thugs would regularly come to her to demand money on behalf of the Cyclops. Kassandra eventually tired of this lifestyle and defeated the thugs that came to her. Before Kassandra continued, she was greeted by Phoibe, an orphan, with whom Kassandra shared a close bond with. After the two finished talking about eagles, Phoibe told her to meet Markos at his new vineyard and then left leaving Kassandra to deal with the thugs. Coming across Markos in his new vineyard, she was initially angry at his purchase of the vineyard while he still owed her drachmae. Calming her with the promise of more, he directed her to Duris who owed Markos drachmae. Kassandra then took a horse and went off to find Duris.^[3]

Before Kassandra could collect her debt, she was informed that Phoibe had been kidnapped and was being held at Ktimene Beach. After making her way to the beach, she stealthily dealt with the three thugs guarding Phoibe. Assured that Phoibe was alright, Kassandra then went to find Duris in order to collect her debt. Heading back to Markos, she catches him in an argument with Drucilla about her stolen lumber shipment. Kassandra then got Drucilla to fix her bow before she went and fixed her stolen lumber problem.^[1]

Death

Kassandra eventually obtained the staff of Hermes Trismegistus and became immortal until she passed on the staff to Layla Hassan who in 2018 ventured into the Isu temple at the Caldera of Fate.^[4]^[5]^[6]

Personality and traits

As a mercenary, Kassandra had one prime goal - drachmae. She was willing to do anything to get it, and had no qualms about choosing sides in battle. She had a soft spot for children however, particularly Phoibe, a young orphaned Kephallonian girl. She was able to hold a grudge, as seen with how she reacted when she was reunited with Nikolaos, her step-father. Kassandra was also known to be impatient and quick to anger, easily intimidating those who angered her. Sharing a worship of the gods with Barnabas (although not quiet as zealous), Kassandra often prayed to Artemis for hunting prowess, and to Ares for strength in battle.

In 2018, when encountering Layla Hassan in Atlantis, Kassandra's personality seemed to have mellowed after having outlived everyone she had cared about.

Equipment and skills

"To shoot, you need to raise your elbow to be level with your ear, keeping your arm straight and relaxed. Your arrow needs to be just below your eye, then exhale on release. Try to aim for the eye so that you don't damage the rest of the meat."

―Kassandra, on the bases of archery^[src]

Trained from a young age to fight as a Spartan, Kassandra was a highly skilled warrior capable of defeating multiple opponents simultaneously. Kassandra was able to competently wield a variety of weapon types, including swords, bows, spears, and axes. Unlike most Spartan warriors, however, Kassandra did not rely on a shield for protection, instead being able to easily deflect enemy attacks.

A master of stealth, Kassandra was able to silently assassinate her targets undetected and was also able to utilize the foliage of bushes to remain hidden from her enemies. She also proved proficient in the use of the Spear of Leonidas which aided her in silent assassinations. The Spear also gifts Kassandra with Superhuman powers which includes enabling her to know what, when and how her enemies are going to attack, giving her a major edge over her enemies in combat. It greatly enhances her physical strength to the point where she can send normal and giant sized men to animals as large as grizzly bears flying through the air dozens of feet away from her in a single blow with sufficient force. Her blows could even stagger Legendary beasts like the Nemean Lion and a Cyclops with significant effort. She could also briefly enhance her speed and reflexes to the point where she can move faster then a human eye can see or react to and can also regenerate her injuries that would normally be fatal, although the Spear does have a limit, as shown during the flashback of Leonidas' death that Kassandra experiences upon visiting his grave. If necessary, the Spear can also turn her invisible for a short while, allow minor control over poison and fire, produce concussive shockwaves, charge arrows with raw explosive energy, phase arrows through solid objects, and very minor control over time, only allowing for time to be stopped for five seconds.

A skilled freerunner, Kassandra was able to scale the statue of Athena in Athens as well as natural elements with relative ease. She also proved to be a strong swimmer whilst searching the ruins of underwater shipwrecks and was capable of holding her breath for a relatively long period of time.

Kassandra shared a symbiotic relationship with her eagle, Ikaros, which aided her in reconnaissance thanks to her Eagle Vision. Unlike later generations who possessed the skill, her Eagle Vision was far more literal in the sense that activating the ability allowed her to see through the eyes of Ikaros.

With the Staff of Hermes, which was passed on to her by her father Pythagoras, Kassandra was rendered immortal and remained unchanged for far longer than two thousand years. With the staff she no longer required food or water as the staff sustained her needs. She could even cause the Staff of Hermes to transform into anything she chooses, such as a lantern. While never shown, it is assumed she could use everything the staff gave to it's user, including short range teleportaion and energy manipulation and projection.

By 2018, Kassandra had a great deal of knowledge of every innovation and discoveries which have happened in her immensely long lifespan, recognizing Layla's device. She also is aware of a great deal of historical information as well as the existence of many secret societies that have risen during her immensely long lifespan.

Trivia

Kassandra (Κασσανδρα) is an Ancient Greek name derived from possibly κεκασμαι (kekasmai) "to excel, to shine" and ἀνήρ (anḗr) "man", altogether meaning "shining upon men".
- Her name could also be a reference to the Trojan princess who was given the power of foresight by Apollo, but when she rejected him, he cursed these visions so that they would come true, but she wouldn't be believed (this is known as the "Cassandra metaphor", in which a figure with knowledge of the truth and/or upcoming disasters is ignored).
Kassandra is one of two selectable protagonists in Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, alongside Alexios. Regardless of who the player chooses, the two protagonists share the same story. However, the novelization of the video game confirms that Kassandra is the canonical protagonist.
- If the player chooses Alexios as the protagonist then he and Kassandra's roles in the story are reversed, with Kassandra becoming Alexios' younger sister.
Kassandra has a scar on her right upper lip.
As of January 2019, one-third of Odyssey players have chosen Alexios as the protagonist. During playtesting, the split was 50/50.^[7]