Template:Featured Article Template:Character Casca (キャスカ Kyasuka) is the female protagonist of the series, and was the only female member in the original Band of the Hawk.
Appearance
Casca is introduced as a beautiful shorter, slender woman with dark skin, brown eyes and short black hair. Post-eclipse, her appearance is only altered by shoulder length hair and the Brand of Sacrifice on the left side of her chest.
Personality
As a young lowborn girl Casca considered hardships such as starvation and abduction to be a normal fact of peasant life. However, after having nearly been raped by a noble she chose to fight back before being aided by an onlooking Griffith who offered her a sword to defend herself. Killing the noble herself she then insisted on following Griffith becoming a stoic, hardened, and immensely loyal warrior in the process. Such was her dedication that it was little secret that she would willingly give her own life for his cause. Casca's cold demeanor masks her own inner personal demons resultant of her traumatic childhood and the challenges faced to her because of her gender. Incredibly devoted to Griffith's cause, she immediately despises Guts for overtaking her as Griffith's most trusted subordinate even going so far as to claim that she once desired to kill him for taking everything from her. Subsequent to Griffith's imprisonment she spent a year as acting as leader of the the outlawed Band of the Hawk in Griffith and Guts' absence which caused her to grow even more embittered with the latter; the two eventually reconcile however and come to acknowledge their relationship as more than just that of mere comrades fighting on the battlefield.
Following the Eclipse, Casca's personality is completely erased, her speech and sanity robbed, and any approaches made by a man, whether or not it with predatory intent, trigger violent flashbacks to her violation at the hands of the demon Femto. When several bandits set upon her and attempted to rape her, she frantically killed all of them in response and even attacked Guts in a fit of panic. Casca was shown to have felt relatively safe around Guts having recognised him as a protector, but later grew to fear him after he attacked her while possessed. She also seems to possess a strong maternal instinct, as shown when she attempted to protect her child from an enraged Guts who didn't know that the child was his too. She seems to have regained partial lucidity over time; this was seen when the party was hiding from the enemy and they needed to be quiet; she hushed Magnifico when he raised his voice.
History
Past
Casca rescued by Griffith.
Casca was born and raised in a poor mountainous farming village along an unspecified border between two warring nations. Her parents sold her at a young age into the service of a local lord who wanted a new serving girl. En route to the lord's estate, Casca learned that the noble did not want her for domestic duties, but to fulfill his own depraved sexual desires. Casca attempted to escape, but was overtaken by the lord, who attempted to rape her there and then.
She was aided by Griffith and other members of the Band of the Hawk. Rather rescuing her directly, Griffith lent her a sword with which to defend herself. Upon killing the noble she insisted on joining the Hawks eventually rising to the rank of commander. Until Guts arrived, she was Griffith's second-in-command and most trusted lieutenant. She is known to be an incredibly skilled swordswoman.
Band of The Hawk Arc
Casca is first introduced as Griffith's second in command and his right hand soldier. She is shown to be very protective of Griffith. After Guts joins the Hawks, he frequently gets into arguments with Casca because of his reckless attitude. She blames him for a series of unfortunate events such as The Hawks' encounter with Zodd, and says that he is to blame for Griffith's injuries.
During a battle, Casca and Guts accidentally fell from a cliff. Hiding in a nearby cave, Casca told Guts about her childhood and how she became a member of the Hawks. During this brief time they bonded and grew closer to one another.
After the victory at Doldrey, the Hawks gained great fame and reputation. Guts eventually decided leave the band of the Hawk because he didn't want to be crushed under the weight of Griffith's dream. When Guts was about to leave, Judeau told him that he should take Casca with him but Guts refused because he thought he wasn't good enough for a woman like her, and because she had already devoted herself to Griffith.
Rescuing Griffith Arc
After Griffith had sex with the princess of Midland, the King ordered the execution of every single member of the Band of the Hawk. With Griffith captured, Casca took over the position of leader among the Hawks, who were now fugitives and considered a rogue outfit of bandits and marauders. Weakened and exhausted, the Hawks eventually came under attack by another mercenary band led by Silat. Guts, who only recently became aware of what had happened to the Band of the Hawk returned to help the Hawks and aided in fighting them off. Casca accused Guts of being responsible for Griffith's fate when he abandoned the Band. They reconcile however and find comfort in one another's company before making love with one another. This was complicated however by Guts' own traumatic childhood sexual assault by Donovan and nearly strangled Casca to death in a trance-like state before snapping out of it. Guts' unburdening of his soul to Casca and Casca's acceptance of him eventually led to the two falling in love. Soon afterwards, Guts helped Casca and the others rescue Griffith, who had been tortured as a prisoner for well over a year. This rescue, and their subsequent escape from the Black Dog Knights ordered by the King to hunt down and find Griffith, would lead to the Eclipse initiated by Griffith's wish and use of his Crimson Behelit.
The Eclipse Arc
Casca was one of the many Hawks who was branded with the Mark of Sacrifice during the Eclipse. Losing many of her men before her very eyes during the initial demon attack, she was about to be eaten herself when Pippin, in an act of sacrifice, held off the Apostles long enough for Casca to be whisked away by Judeau, who has always had an unrequited crush on her, astride his horse. She and Judeau attempted to escape the horror with their lives, but when Judeau's horse was eaten alive by another Apostle, Judeau threw himself on top of Casca to protect her from the whiplike tentacles of another Apostle, taking several mortal wounds meant for her but putting out one of its eyes with his last throwing knife. Casca killed the Apostle in a furious rage, slashing its body in half with Judeau's sword, but despite her pleas for him to live, Judeau would die in her arms. Casca took up Judeau's sword and made a final assault upon the Apostles surrounding her, only for them to break the sword and capture her.
Casca was stripped naked and tortured by numerous Apostles before Griffith was reborn as Femto. Femto commanded the demons to bring Casca down to him just before proceeding to rape her directly in front of Guts, staring directly into Guts' eyes the entire time. The horror of the violation, combined with the supreme agony of her Brand being in close proximity to a member of the Godhand, was too much for Casca, and in her last moments of sanity, she begged Guts not to watch. Femto's demonic seed corrupted her and Guts' unborn baby, causing it to be born prematurely in the form of a demonic fetus. Casca was driven insane by the attack, and is currently unable to speak other than incoherent gurgles and often acts childlike and unaware of her surroundings. Rescued along with Guts by the Skull Knight, she lived for a time with Godo, Erica, and Rickert. There, she spent her nights in a cave that had previously been inhabited by elves, and was protected by the demon child from the evil spirits drawn by her brand from their lingering influence.
The Tower of Conviction Arc
Casca holding the demon child.
Casca then ventured out of this safe haven and by chance went into Albion, where she met a group of prostitutes led by Luca. Luca, in sympathy of Casca's mental state, decided to take her in with her friends and look after Casca, whom she would name "Elaine". Nina, another member of Luca's group led Casca by accident into a goat worshipping cult group that she was a member of. During the ceremony, they were to kill Nina and rape Casca. The ceremony soon took a dark turn as the Holy See's army, evil spirits brought on by Casca's Brand and Guts arrived culminating in a massive battle between the four sides. Casca was then mistakenly believed to be a witch by both the Holy See and the heretics. Casca managed to escape with the help of Isidro, but it was not long before both Nina and Casca were once again captured, this time by the Holy See. Being captive in the dungeons, Nina was taken down to the torture chamber to admit that Casca was a witch, whom succumbed even before any torture actually took place. Casca was then taken down to the chamber, and placed inside a tomb, however her dark aura once again saved her from certain death. Casca was then taken away by the high priest of the Tower of Conviction, Mozgus who was now desperate to put an end to the evil forces plaguing his citadel and attempted to burn her at the stake. Guts however arrived on the scene and after a long battle, saved Casca from death and was reunited for the first time in over two years. Guts then decided to take her on his travels, promising to protect her.
At the climax of this arc, Casca's child would fuse with the Egg-Shaped Apostle, causing Griffith to be reborn into the material world.
During her travel with Guts, the strain of watching over her in her state and fighting against evil spirits for nights on end drove a possessed Guts to succumb to his inner beast and nearly rape her. Due to this, she now detests Guts and has found comfort in the only adult female traveling with them: Farnese. Casca travels with them completely oblivious to her surroundings, with Guts and company keeping close watch over her. Casca's well being is the driving force for Guts to keep himself from reverting back to a revenge-obsessed wanderer. It has been revealed outside the city of Vritanis that her mental state may be cured at their final destination, Elfhelm, by King Hanafubuku. She also have shown flashes of her former self when in extremely dangerous situations.
Skull Knight cryptically hinted about the nature of Casca's mental illness, claiming that "being healed" may not be what Casca truly wants.
During their travels, Casca has come to the aid of an unnamed boy. Oddly attracted to the child, she looks after him like a mother would and is fiercely protective of him. It's implied the boy is actually her son by Guts, somehow being reborn after Griffith came into the material world via the ritual at the Tower.
Trivia
- In the Anime series she is voiced by Yuko Miyamura in Japanese, and by Carrie Keranen in English.
- In the Berserk Film Trilogy she is voiced by Toa Yukinari in Japanese, and by Carrie Keranen in English.
- In Sword of the Berserk: Guts' Rage she is voiced by Yuko Miyamura in Japanese, and by BJ Ward in English.
- Her name means shell in Portuguese, referencing her status as a Hollow shell of her former self later on the story.