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lemonsdaily-artdump · 2 months ago

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So funny story with her family: Kasia has Sending. She still has yet to tell her parents Dalenka died. It has been 3 months. (Cue Tom Cardy's "Call your Mother" with "ghost" dalenka haunting Kasia)

OH I NEVER EXPLAINED! Dalenka is a vampire spawn now. Apparently Strahd took her corpse and turned her and now she's in Ravenloft as like... general help. He brought her out for the dinner to try and put Kasia on edge.

Which... didn't work to upset her too much. Kasia believes she received a vision of her sister's soul at peace despite her death/no burial rites. So while it was upsetting to see her sister used like that, she feels "there's no soul in there. that is not my sister"

We haven't interacted with her brothers. I imagine Marek is probably... conflicted about her. Cause ya know... she's kinda charged with domestic terrorism in vallaki... cause of the... you know... assassination and incitement to revolution...

The rest below for spoilers

Kasia is a Cleric of The Morninglord. In fact she is now the defacto Abbess of The Abbey of St Markovia. IN FACT, she is actually THE REINCARNATION OF ST MARKOVIA

So... it is... tricky. As far as she is aware the morninglord is not upset with her for her deal with Yog. She's successfully gotten off divine intervention, her powers are still growing, etc. She has learned how to undo her contract with Yog, but I still don't know if she's gonna yet or not.

See, she does have the majority of her memories as Markovia unlocked. She remembers being stronger, leading a larger army against strahd, AND STILL FAILING. Kasia expects to die in this fight again, but learning to fates of her previous followers/loved ones really fucked her up. Part of WHY she took the deal in the first place was to have the best shot she can against strahd. So like Kasia rn is just playing chicken with Yog, in essence. Like "you can't kill me if i die killing strahd first" which probably wont work.

Also then... it would feel like such a waste of Izek's death to just... give up yog's blessing.

But IDK what the full complications would be with releasing Yog but uhhhhh see our group also uhhhh..... released Zhudun....... which...... is not good. And so the pocket dimension that is barovia is.... unstable now. since Zhudun is fighting for control over Vampyre/Strahd.... so I don't think cage match free for all of the dark powers would be very practical....

The wedding was Strahd's to Vasilka. He didn't even show up!

So kasia's relation to strahd is she fucking hates his guts so much. He is the oppressor, she wants her people free and will do damn near anything to free them. Her whole "she is st markovia reincarnated" plays into this. Markovia opposed strahd strongly, acted in essence as Avatar to the Morninglord and nearly beat strahd. My DM narrated their final battle briefly to me of as she went for killing blow he pulled out a real dirty cheat move and blinded her, then got cheap blows in and ultimately won.

So, again, i love leaning into WEIRD dynamics. and they got some WEIRD IMPLICATIONS.

Our Ireena has been lead out of barovia, freed of the cycle of reincarnation, never to be claimed by strahd. He will NEVER be able to have her. He is unhinged because of this.

Then bam who the fuck is here but the reincarnation of his enemy? Someone who nearly bested him? who beat him so bad he has a LIMP?

WAIT MORE MARKOVIA STUFF I GOTTA OUGH

So in raw I believe Strahd never released her body from ravenloft. In our campaign Markovia had a proper grave at the abbey.

Which is tasty...

Cause who buried her there?

Strahd drove back all her followers. Rounded up all her loved ones. Anyone who spoke kindly of Markovia. And locked them all away in the abbey. Torturing them to madness and starvation. All out of retaliation for her daring to go against him.

*WHO* would have be there to bury her?

Her grave was off to the side of the graveyard. Alone. Under a tree with a pretty view over the cliffs. Her gravestone engraved with the *same flowers* that a monument strahd erected to Marina had on it (another tatyana reincarnation).

My brain pieces all this together to mean that strahd himself returned markovia to her home and buried her there.

SO I JUST.... they;re so weird coded. so "i'm strangling you with the red string of fate binding us together", very "I will find you in every life, every time, I will kill you", very "the red means i love you" very "to my enemies" by saint motel, very "i'm gonna win" by rob cantor

So yeah ALSO Strahd got so mad at Kasia (for trying to use the holy symbol of ravenkind aka his mother's amulet against him) during one fight he pulled out a 9th level spell to kill her with. Beheaded her with blades of disaster. The party took her to the abbot to get revived, now she has a big ol scar around her neck.

So even when she isn't wearing her "devotion" necklace with the lock of Strahd's hair in it, she still wears his mark around her permanently.

She got all dolled up for his wedding to reveal that like a damn cockroach she was back baybeeee. To be dramatic in her home and reveal to him she is markovia. (and to rally the ghosts in the abbey to fucking attack him). AND THEN HE DIDN'T EVEN SHOW

She has in game used sending to send "Fuck You Fuck You Fuck You Fuck You Fuck You Fuck You Fuck You Fuck You Fuck You Fuck You Fuck You Fuck You" directly into his brain before.

Aw shucks!!!! (ꈍᴗꈍ)♡ Okay okay I'll keep sending asks because I'm positive I can't be the only person with questions so that way you can compile em in some way here with all your lovely art! I guess! God okay I guess I should say that the game I played in was SUPER homebrew and my DM changed a lot from the main module, but I have sorta read through the original too. So some of my questions might be a little left-field.

I think, I'd like to hear her backstory first? She's from Vallaki? And also HOW does she get Izek's demon arm??? That's so freakin cOOL!!!

What is great is the demon arm is very recent so in essence I will be explaining a good CHUNK of what has gone on in game. Or at the very least her and Izek's interactions.

Note to others it will contain spoilers. My dm plays cos pretty close to raw. This is going to have spoilers for festival of the blazing sun and the amber temple.

Her backstory: kasia is one of 4 kids from a farming family outside of vallaki. When she was a kid her family found they couldn't afford to feed all the kids so set their eldest 3 up with different positions in vallaki. Her eldest brother got an apprenticeship, and her sister dalenka and kasia got given over to father lucien in the church of St andral. Both girls had shown promise and so were trained up and educated as priestesses. The campaign starts 10 years after this.

Originally I was playing this campaign as dalenka, and kasia was meant to be plot bunny for my dm to use if she wanted. But dalenka died like 3 sessions in. So I asked if I could just reroll stats and still play a cleric cause I never had before and my dm said okay.

Dalenka and kasia were very close so her death absolutely destroyed kasia and she vowed revenge. She joined the party to find the vampire spawn that killed dalenka and ultimately "avenge her death" but not really knowing what that would be. Just very grief fueled.

In terms of her relationship with izek, kasia is a spitfire little shit who wants to fight the world. The horrible condition that is living in barovia has her frustrated. She wants change but has no outlet to change things. So while she's a good girl priestess, she also would be a snarky little shit all the time and there's a history of her picking fights with izek.

This is a combo of her nature and also a weird crush she has on him that she will never admit to, even to herself. I had wanted this little factoid to be like "Well I remember being a teen and getting crushes on guys older than me who were shits and how weird it was" and didn't quite realize how old my dm placed izek as. Like I figured izek to be in late 20s, which is still a large age gap and weird, but then my dm is like "nah he's middle aged" which I don't think my dm knows what middle aged is cause lager she was like "yeah he's in his 30s" so anyway izek is a good twice her age. So yeah. Weird crush times.

Also note my table is not really interested in romancing. Just our table dynamics. As much as I would love to romance izek, I actually have 0 interest in pretend flirting with my dm. Especially when her boyfriend is also at the table. So there was never going to be any relationship pay off for these two, but I like how having feelings can be motivation to do odd things.

Kasia likes that izek doesn't treat her like glass. He doesn't hold back his punches. She can take out her energy and rage at him and it feels like appropriate pay off. There's an adrenaline rush there.

So anyway back to campaign.

We are on the quest to find the bones if st andral/investigate the party's near tpk that got dalenka and others killed. We had gotten an anonymous note to check the sewers. So when heading to town Square we see a bunch of people in the stocks overnight. One has died of exposure. Kasia, grief fueled and numb from a night of crying, decides she is letting them out. Fuck the consequences.

So she has our rogue lockpick the locks and stands by in case guards come.

And low and behold here comes izek and some guards.

Kasia: good morning captain!

Izek: little priestess what are you doing?

Kasia: I'm on official church business. Run along

Izek: I've not gotten any word from the burgomaster about "official church business"?! Who gave you authorization to let criminals loose?

Kasia: I answer to the gods first, not the burgomaster. I am on a holy mission.

(Rolls a successful persuasion check)

Izek leaves to go check with vargas about letting criminals go. Kasia bribes the remaining guards to not look as they continue to break the people out.

After that we go to sewers, have some fun shenanigans, and return to the church with the bones of St andral.

Where izek is throwing a giant tantrum.

So kasia after changing from her sewer soaked clothes gladly greets izek all snarky as shit.

Kasia: good afternoon captain!

Izek: you BITCH! I went to the burgomaster and he said that he never gave any permission to release those criminals!

Kasia: I never said that was my church business

There's a moment where you could hear a pin drop. Lucien off in the corner STARING at the gall of his young ward. Then izek gets so fucking mad he starts breaking pews. Before s fight proper can break out he sees ireena in the corner and goes quiet. He doesn't say anything else and just leaves.

That night he breaks into the girls' room and kidnaps ireena. Kasia and the party try to fight him and he nearly tpks us. The guards arriving to the commotion stabilize the dying and drag us all, minus our druid and wizard, off to jail.

Wizard and druid follow izek to see where he takes ireena then come to the jail to break us out. Kasia suggests the wizard use disguise self to make herself look like izek and just walk us out of jail. The wizard does and successfully rolls intimidation checks on the guards so they believe she is izek, and we are let free. We go rescue ireena, and piss izek off even more. We get out of vallaki for a day to try and cool down the heat.

While visiting the vistani camp and helping them find Arabella, arrigol tells us to visit Fiona wachter to help us take care of izek.

Notably, kasia does not get that "taking care of izek" means killing him and she and the party agree.

Back in town we meet Fiona, who tells us to kill the burgomaster and izek. That with those two gone the people van be free of all the bad shit vargas does and not fear the guards terrorizing them. Our rogue had broken into Fiona's basement while we had lunch and bursts upstairs spooked by what he found and DOES NOT TRUST HER. Kasia doesn't either, and tries to get the rogue to calm the fuck down. Shenanigans later the party leave having agreed to kill vargas and izek.

Kasia is conflicted. She has not intentionally murdered before. She also thinks vargas should be disposed, that he ultimately is the evil leader making bad laws and without him perhaps vallaki people will not be so subjugation. But she doesn't want to kill izek. Not just because of her crush on him! But he is, in essence, following orders. Do they kill every guard then too???

So come the festival day, kasia leaves in disguise to go pick up the wolf pelt her sister had left to get processed with the tanner. While there she visits rictavios wagon and talks to him. She asks if he knows about fionas plot to let his tiger loose in vallaki, and he does not. Fearing that many crimes may be pinned on an innocent (and foreign) man, kasia tells him to take his wagon and leave the city.

Which means she just sabotaged the plan in place for a distraction needed to kill izek.

She returns to the party and tells them what she did and pleads with them to let her try to convince izek to leave vallaki. If he's out of the way they can easily dispose vargas and it will be fine! With no other choice the party agree to give her a chance. They make up a poison to lace on a weapon to paralyze him incase she is unsuccessful. read more here for what happened: https://lemonsdaily-artdump.tumblr.com/post/724030531893886976/kasia-tried-to-warn-him-he-was-gonna-die-izek https://lemonsdaily-artdump.tumblr.com/post/731013697271676928/um-i-totally-didnt-forget-about-strahdtober-so after this the party leaves vallaki. later upon returning Kasia visits the graveyard to pray and pay respect to vargas and izek. she finds izek's grave empty. She learns there was never a body to collect. Something had happened to his corpse and Izek may be out there. Her learning what happened: https://lemonsdaily-artdump.tumblr.com/post/737183783404568576/sitting-out-alone-on-watch-kasia-decides-to-use God this is long. Okay so as the party went to the amber temple we found a bunch of amber sarcophagi containing old gods and dark powers. Thru pure fucking LUCK, Kasia chooses to investigate one that contains Yog the Invincible. A giant man covered in black hair, forever cutting down trees in his own little pocket barovia. He looks at her and is like Yog: Oh, how curious that it would be YOU who finds me. Kasia: Why's that Yog: You killed my last champion. Decades ago, a young Izek strazni, filled with anger and resentment, and lusting for power, made a deal with Yog. It was this park power who gave him his Demon arm, giant stature, and indomitable strength. Yog offers a deal to Kasia. He will gift her some of his power. in return she must Kill Izek. Kasia, knowing she can't put off her rematch with izek forever, takes this as sign from the universe, and agrees. Upon leaving that space, returning to the amber temple, Kasia finds she is covered head to toe in oily black fur. A sign of her deal with Yog. (she also got a permanent 30 hp added on to her total)

(never finished this one) She keeps avoiding the fight with izek, but eventually the party has time, and she's leveled up enough she thinks she is strong enough to fight him. She had always planned to fight him alone, but because she took so long now she is required to by Yog. She goes to fight izek where he is hiding up on mount baratok. She proclaims to him that she is here to reap from him what he owes Yog. That every person, every god, the fates themselves, all have directed that his blood must be spilled. and that she must kill him. Who is she to defy? They fight. No longer is kasia the scrappy teen he could throw around so easily. She is stronger, more tricks up her sleeve, and filled beyond compare with strong magic bestowed by the gods. As the fight progresses and izek surrounds them in demonic fire, the spots she is hit with flame lose their fur. Nearing the end of the battle, as Izek is close to death, he releases one last all encompassing blast of fire to engulf them both, collapsing in the process. Kasia does not recoil from the fire, and instead catches him as he falls. The blast singes off the last of her fur. (shhh about how that works with her clothes still on. don't worry about it) Mirroring his first death, she kneels in the mud, holding him in her arms. But no longer is this the giant beast of a man she has known since her childhood. In her arms is the Izek that was before his deal with Yog. A 17 year old boy, scrawny and tired and scared, looking back up at her. He is breathing his last breaths. Kasia weeps, repeating her words from the start of the fight. Their meaning now laced with the desperate fear and hurt she has felt this whole time. Who is she to defy the gods, the very fates? She seems to be the only one who wants him not to die, and she doesn't know how to save him. She drives her spiritual weapon home, killing him. As he dies, her right arm erupts in firey pain. It morphs and breaks, growing grotesque and blackened. She is ripped into that pocket dimension that Yog resides him. He congratulates his new champion and instructs her to hunt down the remaining people who hold his blessing. To kill them all, and release Yog. Restore him to power. Kasia, fully grief stricken and broken and angry yells her defiance, that no she will not. Yog lays it out for her. If she does not, he will kill her. Set her very blood alight and burn her from the inside out. She is wracked with a fraction of that pain, and sent back to reality. Kasia then, in forever teenage defiance mode, pulls out her diamond she spent all her fucking money on, and tries to revivify izek. She's fulfilled her deal, fuck you. But Izek's soul does not wish to return. (shh, yes this is technically not how revivify works, but shhhhhh) So she performs death rites, and buries him. And that is how Kasia got her demon arm.

#curse of strahd #kasia of st andral #curse of strahd spoilers #cos spoilers

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lemonsdaily-artdump · 3 months ago