Castorice/Story

Profile

Castorice is Aidonia's Maiden of War, "blessed" with the ability to bring death to whatever living entity she touches. She is the twin of the previous-cycle demigod of Death, Polyxia, thus holding a deep connection to the Titan of Death Thanatos. Known as half of Experimental Factor "EpieiKeia216," among the Twelve Factors that make up the Amphoreus Experiment, she and her sister represent the Path of Equilibrium.

Appearance

Castorice has the appearance of a young woman with bright lilac eyes, pointed ears, and lavender, thigh-length hair that fades to a darker shade, styled into the shape of a ribcage which ends in twintails. Her hair is adorned with multiple accessories, including dark purple butterfly clips, a purple ribbon on her left side, white bows at the ends of her twintails, and a black, lavender gem-embedded crown and flowers atop her head.

Her outfit consists of a white and purple sleeveless dress, a purple and white frilled choker, asymmetrical purple gloves, and butterfly patterned, thigh-length white stockings attached with a garter belt. The style of the upper part of her dress is reminiscent of bones and bandages, with white, bone-like markings seemingly attached to her skin near her collarbone and a light purple ribbon at the center of her chest. The lower section of her dress is short in the front and long in the back, split down the middle as it fades into a deeper purple with some of the frilled edges appearing charred. There is also a thin, long white strip of fabric on her right side adorned with white bows. The glove on her left arm reaches just past her elbow and ends in a butterfly design, while the glove on her right ends at her wrist and is decorated in white frills and a black decoration similar to her crown. Much of her overall outfit is embellished with butterfly and flower accessories, including on her choker, chest, upper right arm, right thigh, and high heeled shoes.

History

Antepenultimate Cycle

Castorice and her sister Polyxia were born as the twin Chrysos Heirs of Death, though their exact Chrysos flaws are unknown. To pass the trial of death, one of the sisters had to take the life of the other to ascend, something Castorice made peace with. Polyxia, who ascended to demigod of Death, was wracked with guilt, going so far as to ask the demigod of Reason Calypso for a way to revive Castorice in the next cycle with alchemy. Despite Calypso warning Polyxia that it would lead to her death, Polyxia did not care, vowing to revive her sister no matter the cost.

Penultimate Cycle

Prior to the beginning of Eternal Recurrences, Castorice was a member of the Flame-Chase Journey, eventually ascending to the demigod of Death. Though not shown within the Immersive Theater depicting the Cycle, it is heavily implied that she existed, taking on her demigod authority prior to Year 4931, Month of Evernight.^[1]

Eternal Recurrences

In all Eternal Recurrences to feature Castorice, she was brought to Styxia via Pollux, who immediately died and dammed the River of Souls. Castorice was found by the Queen of Styxia before being sent to Aidonia, where she became their Holy Maiden of War under her adoptive mother, Elder Amunet. Her Chrysos flaw was the inability to touch anything that was living without it wilting away, causing her immense grief.

Eternal Recurrence #1

During the first days of the Flame-Chase Journey, Khaslana and Imperator Cerydra struck a deal in which Khaslana would take all the Coreflames into himself, provided that he could slay each of the remaining Titans alone. As a result of this agreement, Castorice was spared the duty of becoming the demigod of Death before she had even been born. Thus, when the black tide eventually swallowed the entire world, Castorice died as a mortal.^[2]

Eternal Recurrence #309,785

Castorice was able to ascend as the demigod of Death without sacrificing her sister in the process. With the help of Aglaea and Anaxagoras, she was able to transfer what remained of Polyxia's sanity into the Netherwing, allowing the sisters to be Thanatos together. Afterwards, they opened a flower shop known as "Spring of the Underworld," with Polyxia as the ferryman for the orders of the overworld. Castorice received many gifts due to Polyxia's ability to move between the realms, including postcards and clothing.^[3]

Eternal Recurrence #4,048,128

The Flame-Chase Journey was completed perfectly, with the Coreflames of Ocean, Earth, Strife, Death and Sky reclaimed. It is unclear if this means Castorice was not born in this cycle, due to needing Thanatos to facilitate her birth.^[4]

Eternal Recurrence #10,348,765

At the precipice of Era Nova, Castorice's apparition joined Phainon as he ventured into the Vortex of Genesis. She promised him that she and the other deceased souls would hold back the Flame Reaver so he could complete Era Nova.^[1]

Eternal Recurrence #33,550,336

Early Life

Before the Era Bellica, Castorice's soul was ferried to the mortal realm by Thanatos (Polyxia) in the form of Pollux the Netherwing. Upon delivering her to Styxia, Pollux immediately died, damming the River of Souls and "killing" Thanatos as a result.^[5] Castorice was found and adopted by the Queen of Styxia, who raised her for a few short years before the Black Tide drowned the city-state. The Queen was fortunately able to pass Castorice to Elder Amunet of Aidonia, who recognised her Chrysos flaw as a "gift" from Thanatos.^[6]

Amunet raised Castorice into the role of the Holy Maiden of War, but was unable to stop Castorice isolating herself due to her ability. Children like Kalista tried and failed to include Castorice in their games and celebrations, but Castorice's fear of her own self prevented that closeness from ever blossoming. After maturing to adulthood, Castorice was forced to lay Amunet to rest, which broke her faith in herself and her own abilities. As such, she fled Aidonia and begun travelling on her own, seeking to find Thanatos to undo the "curse." At some point later, she returned to Aidonia to find an elderly Kalista, who comforted her and offered her a hug, knowing it would kill her. To honor her friend, Castorice erected a tombstone for Kalista and draped her cloak over it, leaving Aidonia for good.^[7]

At some point after Year 4031 of the Light Calendar, Castorice arrived in Okhema and was greeted by the Council of Elders. They assigned her to Aglaea as an executioner, so that any use of Castorice's powers would reflect directly on the Flame-Chase lead. Aglaea, aware of this being a political move, still welcomed Castorice into the Flame-Chase.^[6][8] At another point after that, Castorice joined the Nousporists in the Grove of Epiphany alongside Phainon and Hyacine, graduating many years later.^[9][10]

Arrival of The Trailblaze

In Year 4931, Month of Balance, Nikador, the Titan of Strife, attacked Okhema in the absence of Tribbie and Phainon. Castorice aided in the efforts to repel his Titankin, eventually meeting with her fellow heirs. Amongst them were two outlanders, Dan Heng and the Trailblazer, who she briefly greeted before working to clear a path to the Marmoreal Palace.^[11] After the battle's conclusion, Castorice went to the dromas stables, where the two outlanders eventually met with her. When asked about her status as a Chrysos Heir, the socially inexperienced Castorice confirmed it, with the conversation falling into awkward silence a moment later. To break the ice, Trailblazer asked how to feed the Dromas', leading Castorice to guide them through the process and take photos of them doing such. With an apology about her social awkwardness, Castorice soon departed.^[12]

Hours later, Castorice was summoned by Aglaea to the Marmoreal Palace after learning of the outlander duo's encounter with Damionis. Castorice, worried that Aglaea would execute them for accidentally revealing the existence of other worlds, alerted Phainon before the outlanders arrived, unaware Aglaea knew of her actions. When they arrived, Castorice played along as executioner until Phainon could intervene, in which the two vouched for the outlanders wholeheartedly. After Phainon explained some more details of the Flame-Chase Journey, Castorice promised to help them in the future, but also reminded them that she had to remain distant due to her flaw. A day later, Castorice was ordered by Aglaea to stay in Okhema whilst Trailblazer, Phainon and Mydei went to Castrum Kremnos.^[13]

After learning of new information about the unkillable Nikador and his death-fueled weapon, Castorice accompanied, Phainon, the Trailblazer, and Dan Heng to meet with Oronyx. Whilst in the Abyss of Fate, Castorice translated the whispers of Oronyx, sharing in the Titan's pain as they went along. Once they arrived at the Scales of Justice, Castorice translated the challenge for the group, stating Oronyx wanted them to balance the scales with an item "with more weight than the fate of the world." Trailblazer and Dan Heng passed the trial by placing the camera of March 7th on the scale, as they valued their companion far greater than any world's fate. For this, Castorice and her companions were able to meet Oronyx, where she witnessed the awakening of Mem through Fuli's gaze.^[14] With Mem now on their side, Castorice and Trailblazer gathered memories of Castrum Kremnos for her across Okhema, speaking to Lipos, Chartonus, and Damionis.^[15]

Once they collected enough memories, Castorice and Trailblazer headed into the past of Castrum Kremnos, finding themselves in the final year of the Chrysos War. Alongside the warrior Gnaeus, Castorice and Trailblazer entered the Kremnos Festival, fighting their way through until they chanced upon a weapons merchant. Despite him looting the corpses of the deceased, Castorice intervened in Gnaeus' attempt to kill the merchant, reasoning his death was unneeded since he still feared death. Gnaeus spared him solely due to Castorice's courage in standing up to him, though he made it clear he did not agree with her assessment. As they traversed the fighting grounds, the trio uncovered the truth of Nikador's current state: Eurypon had deliberately split Nikador into five pieces, commissioning the death-fuelled weapon from Chartonus to strike at Okhema. After they liberated four of the five pieces from their seals, Gnaeus revealed himself as the fragment of "Reason" stripped from Nikador, sacrificing himself to bring mortality back to the Strife Titan. With Nikador's immortality broken, Castorice and Trailblazer joined the battle in the present day, slaying Nikador and claiming the Coreflame of Strife. As Nikador faded away, Castorice failed to discern the location of Thanatos through his words, opting instead to join Phainon in his reflections.^[16]

After a day had passed, Castorice witnessed Phainon's attempt in the Trial of Strife, though she expressed her worry about Phainon's mental state. Discussing her concerns with Trailblazer and Mydei, she questioned if vengeance meant more than fate to Phainon.^[17] She further theorized Phainon's reasoning for taking the Trial of Strife was related to Nikador's role in fending off the Black Tide, which had destroyed his home of Aedes Elysiae many years ago. Her suspicions were proven somewhat correct, as Phainon failed his trial and required Mydei, Dan Heng and Trailblazer to rescue him.^[18]

Attack on the Grove

A short while after the failed trial, Castorice met with the Trailblazer to escort them to the palace. Whilst walking through the Marmoreal Market, they spotted Tribbie and Trianne arguing over a Crimson Ruby, unaware of the connotations of the gemstone or the weight of the argument before them. Castorice, wanting to help Trianne, bought the gemstone to present to her later before returning to the escort mission at hand. With a brief pause to allow Hyacine to befriend the outlanders, Aglaea explained her intention to send Trianne and Castorice to the Grove to gain information on their black tide studies and the Grove's stance on trading for the Coreflame of Reason. Aglaea further suggested Trailblazer join Castorice and Trianne for the sake of tourism, which Trailblazer accepted.

As they were leaving, the group found an injured scholar at the gates of Okhema, leaving Hyacine behind to care for the man. After a few days of travel, Castorice, Trailblazer and Trianne arrived to find the Grove was attacked by the Black Tide. Trianne was able to get in contact with Tribbie, taking on Aglaea's order to find Anaxagoras. With some minor interruptions and the appearance of Cerces' mortal form, Castorice and the others found Anaxa on the Luminary Throne, held together by alchemy and the Reason Coreflame. As they went to help, the group was attacked by the Flame Reaver, who held the upper hand despite the efforts of Castorice, Anaxa (who ambushed him) and Trailblazer. Left with no choice, Trianne opened a Century Gate to banish the Flame Reaver away with Castorice's help. After Trianne collapsed for the exertion of her power, Castorice joined the rest in fleeing back to Okhema.^[19]

A short while after they returned, Castorice and Trailblazer discussed their original intention of visiting the Grove to Anaxa, agreeing not to bring him to Aglaea yet. Together, they talked to families of those who passed away fighting the Black Tide, witnessing the pain of loss one by one. These exchanges led for Castorice to ponder on her connection to Thanatos and death, though she did not share much about her musings.^[20] When Tribbie and Trinnon returned from their trip to the Abyss of Fate without Trianne, Aglaea sent Castorice to reason with the Council of Elders, who had begun making moves to wrest the emergency powers back from the Chrysos Heirs. After the defeat of the Flame Reaver and the ascension of Mydei to demigodhood, Castorice and the Kremnos Prince had a brief conversation, where Mydei offered to act as a messenger or hunter for Thanatos when he next died. Castorice was against this plan, but nonetheless bid him a warm farewell.^[21]

At the funeral for Trianne, Castorice presented the Crimson Ruby she bought to Trianne's doll form as a parting gift. Tribbie, noticing the gemstone, relayed the true meaning of the stone as an omen of misfortune, but was nonetheless thankful for Castorice's gift. Castorice took the time to ask Tribbie about their belief in seeing people "tomorrow," learning it was a phrase meaning to see the departed in the next cycle.^[22]

Uncovering the Past

For his work against the Flame Reaver, Aglaea assured Castorice that she would grant Anaxagoras time to find a way to de-couple himself from the Coreflame. In the meantime, their collective focus was drawn to the Trailblazer's Trial of Time, called about due to being the only soul capable of inheriting the late Oronyx's coreflame. A day before the trial, Castorice met with Trailblazer to discuss some things Trianne left behind, including a book that detailed an allegory based upon Castorice's birth (something she knew nothing about). Castorice shared her love of the arts to Trailblazer, as well as her wish to learn about the Rosy Celestial Maiden tales from the Trailblazer after the trial.

Trailblazer was ultimately successful in their trial, with one flaw: they had been dead since they landed in Amphoreus, and only had fifteen days until they would pass away. Aglaea, with knowledge of that and Castorice's hunt for Thanatos, sent word to Cipher via Bartholos asking for her help. While this was occurring, Castorice tested the Trailblazer's state for herself, finding she could touch the Trailblazer without issue. Using this chance, Castorice attempted to sense the location of the Trailblazer's soul, but was only able to discerne that it was still active and waiting for its body.^[23]

While waiting for Cipher, Castorice met with Anaxagoras, who had been using the Council to gain access to Kephale's body.^[24] After extracting the Titan's memories as part of his Trial of Reason, Anaxagoras discovered the nature of the demigods, as well as the true identity of Thanatos and her relationship with Castorice. Learning her previous-cycle sister Polyxia was the Titan of Death was a surprise to Castorice, but nonetheless she agreed to publicly oppose Aglaea to buy time for their respective lifelong goals.^[25][26] Castorice relayed this methodology to Aglaea, whilst also assuring Aglaea that her heart was still in line with Aglaea's goals for the Flame-Chase, and not Caenis' Era Chrysea pursuit. Though apprehensive, Aglaea agreed to dispatch Castorice and Trailblazer to find Thanatos, with the two heading for a walk while waiting for the arrival of Cipher.

Adventures in Styxia

During their walk, Castorice and Trailblazer discussed about Castorice's history, her prophecy from Trinnon, and the parting gifts Castorice made for each heir. Before she could give Trailblazer theirs, Cipher swiped it and begun a game of cat and mouse, which Castorice found irritating. When they finally caught up to the kitty thief, Cipher declared that she had been hired by both Aglaea and the Council to help secure the Coreflame, but wished only for Castorice to give up on the hunt for Thanatos. Castorice refused, forcing Cipher to take them to Styxia to look for Thanatos.^[27]

Upon arriving in the fallen city, Castorice and Trailblazer begun their search, finding spirits of the deceased had long been denied access to the afterlife. As they travelled, they came to realize the allegory in Trianne's gift was truly about Castorice, finding an alchemist's spirit who confirmed as such to them. They also encountered memory fragments of Aglaea, Amunet and the Queen of Styxia, slowly uncovering more of Castorice's past as they went. With the aid of Cipher (who claimed to be there looking for treasure), they found the spirit of Mydei, who had temporarily fallen fighting off the Black Tide. He journeyed with them "upstream" to meet with Trianne, who passed on the gift she and her sisters had been preparing to Castorice at last. After relaying the information she had learnt about their futures to Mydei, Castorice accepted her future role, vowing to live and die as a human as Aglaea had hoped. ^[6]

Ascencion

Castorice and Trailblazer swiftly arrived at Pollux's corpse, where Castorice revived Pollux with Anaxa's transmuted heart. The Netherwing went berserk the moment it awoke, forcing Castorice to fight it until it calmed down. As the Trailblazer begun to lose the last of their energy, Castorice rushed to the netherworld on Pollux's back.^[6] Arriving in the netherworld, Castorice finally met with Polyxia, who asked Castorice to call her Thanatos. Thanatos went on the explain the events of the Antepenultimate Cycle and the life of Castorice's previous incarnation, surprised that Castorice had known of some details of this story prior to meeting. In turn, Castorice explained her views on the role of Thanatos, stating they were merely observers of the cycle of life and death, not the ones who choose who live or die. Satisfied with this answer and happy to be reunited with a variant of her sister, Thanatos allowed Anaxagoras to percieve her form, before passing away in Castorice's gentle embrace.^[5][28]

Castorice's ascension allowed her to restore the Trailblazer's soul to their body, bringing them to life and fully enabling them to become a demigod of Time. With a brief embrace, Castorice let the Trailblazer and the Coreflame of Death return to the land of the living, remaining within the netherworld to shepherd the many new souls. ^[29]

Death

In Year 4932, on the hour of Era Nova, Castorice sensed the extinguishment of the Dawn Device by the flood of spirits to the Netherworld. She immediately used her powers to try hold off the Flame Reaver, only to be cut off with the deaths of Mydei and Tribbie.^[30] When Phainon merged with the Flame Reaver and initiated the Era Nova, Castorice finally passed away.

Eternal Recurrence #33,550,337

Castorice's life in the final Eternal Recurrence is unknown, but likely followed similar beats to the previous recurrences.

Before Year 4210, Castorice found her way to Okhema, helping to protect them with the other Chrysos Heirs. In Year 4210, Tribbie and Castorice succeeded Aglaea as defenders of Okhema following her death in the Third Siege of Okhema.^[31] For the next fourty years, Castorice tried in vain to kill Lycurgus indirectly, but was unsuccessful each time. In Year 4253, Castorice was forced to ascend as the demigod of Death, trapping her in the netherworld.^[32] She was succeeded in her duties by Cipher, who defended Okhema until her death in Year 4534. In Year 4602, Castorice was forced to assume the form of the Netherwing to repair damage done by Hysilens, the demigod of Ocean, in her attempt to seal Lygus' cognition.^[33]

Castorice's memories were witnessed by the Trailblazer in Year 4931, roughly three centuries after her transformation into the Netherwing.^[31] When Evernight tried to tamper with Era Nova by banishing the Trailblazer to the Memory Zone, Castorice worked with Hysilens and Dan Heng to rescue Trailblazer from the Memoria Tide.^[34] An apparition of Castorice manifested in the Demiurge Matrix at the end of the recurrence, wishing for embraces without regret for all in the next cycle.^[35]

The Final Cycle

In the Final Cycle, Castorice ascended to the seat of Thanatos, becoming the Titan of Death.^[36] In the Year 4931, Castorice appeared in mortal form within the Ruins of Time, with all memories of her lives in the Eternal Recurrence. Reuniting with her allies, she chose to turn herself into memories, allowing Cyrene to break Phainon's "Ego."^[37]

During the climax of the battle against Irontomb, Castorice and the other Flame-Chase Titans used their existences to help enact a cosmic-sized Era Nova on the world, reversing the damage done by the Lord Ravager.^[38] Castorice appeared once more on the Astral Express, where they took the time to reflect on all that had happened.^[39] Afterwards, she returned to As I've Written, awaiting the rebirth of Amphoreus in reality.^[40]

Cosmic Data Roaming

Castorice and her allies were able to briefly contact the Trailblazer during the events of Cosmic Data Roaming. During this period, she assisted in the script writing and filming of an Amphoreus documentary led by Aglaea.^[41]

Trivia

• The top right of Castorice's official introduction artwork reads "The place you reside is the gentle sea of flowers." in Amphoreus Script.
  • This refers to Castorice's decision to remain in the nether realm permanently, ferrying lost souls after her ascension as the demigod of Death in Trailblaze Mission Sea of Flowers, Adored Only by Death.
  • During the Trailblaze Mission Silver Chariot, Part With That Humanity's Epic, it is revealed that this sentence was the Trailblazer's parting words to Castorice as As I've Written was concluded.
• Castorice is the first playable character that triggers a unique combat initiation when attacking enemies with her Technique, Wail, Death's Herald.
• The plant Castorice holds in her splash art are snapdragons, which are known to turn into seed pods that resemble skulls as the flower withers, thus reinforcing her associations with death.
• Castorice has the following aliases:
  • Death (self-proclaimed)^[42]
  • Servant of Death (title in As I've Written, Amphoreus' Saga of Heroes)
  • The Maiden of War
    • The Maiden of War from Aidonia
    • The Holy Maiden
  • Goddess of Death (by Calypso)
  • Cas (by Tribios^[39] and Aglaea)
  • Cassie (by Hyacine)
  • Princess Homebody (by Cipher)^[27][43]
  • Okhema's Mortician (by Owlbert)^[43]
  • Dux Florum (by Cerydra)^[44]
  • Little butterflyfish (by Hysilens)^[45][46]
  • Sparklette (Chinese: 花花火) (online name working under Sparxie)^[47]
• Castorice is one of the few people who can understand and communicate with the Titans directly. After the defeat of Nikador, she also claims to be able to partially understand Mem.^[19]
• Castorice is at least a thousand years old.^[24]
• According to Evernight, Castorice's Myers–Briggs personality type is INFP.^[48]

HoYoverse Shared VAs

• Castorice shares the same Chinese voice actor, Ruan Congqing (阮从青), with:
  • The Dahlia
  • Vill-V in Honkai Impact 3rd
  • Charlotte in Genshin Impact
  • Hoshimi Miyabi in Zenless Zone Zero
• Castorice shares the same Japanese voice actor, Saito Chiwa (斎藤 千和), with:
  • Jean in Genshin Impact
  • Velina Airgid in Zenless Zone Zero
• Castorice shares the same Korean voice actor, Lee Serena (이세레나), with Lynette in Genshin Impact.

Etymology

• Castorice and Pollux refer to the Ancient Greek deities Castor and Pollux.
  • The suffix "-rice" is derived from the Latin suffix "-trix," often used to form feminine nouns or adjectives.
  • In-game, her name comes from the raven butterfly, scientifically called "papilio castor."
  • Castor and Pollux are additionally the names of two dromases in Okhema.^[49]
• EpieiKeia216 may be derived from the Ancient Greek word ἐπιείκεια epĭeíkeia, "reasonableness, fairness."
• 遐 xiá means "distant," and 蝶 dié means "butterfly."

References

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