Casca

Introduction

Image Gallery

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Casca (キャスカ Kyasuka) is a female protagonist of the series, and was the only female member in the original Band of the Hawk.

Appearance

Casca is a small woman with dark skin. She has short black hair, which is generally seen as spikey. After the eclipse her hair grows to a length just past her shoulders.

Personality

Stoic, hardened, and immensely loyal to Griffith to the point that no one would ever disagree if one were to claim she would not falter to lose her life for his cause, Casca's strengthened demeanor hides a vulnerable young woman in her whose personality was marred by the tough times she had as a child. Incredibly devoted to Griffith's cause after the latter rescued her from her attempted rape, she immediately despises Guts for overtaking her as Griffith's strongest subordinate and has even claimed that she has wanted to kill him for taking everything from her. True to this, the one year she spent acting as leader of the Band of the Hawk in Griffith and Guts' absence caused her to turn bitter and weak, yet still reverent of Griffith; the two however reconcile 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 was with predatory intent, bring back the only thing she now remembers: her violation at the site where she lost everything. When several bandits strip and attempt to rape her, she even kills all of them in cold blood and attacks Guts, though under Farnese's wing she has mellowed down.

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 sexual desires, something Casca did not want. Casca attempted to escape, but was overtaken by the lord, who attempted to rape her.

Casca was rescued by Griffith and members of the Band of the Hawk; interestingly, Griffith did not rescue her directly, but lent her a sword which she used to kill the noble. With nowhere else to turn, she learned to wield a sword and joined the Hawks, eventually rising to the rank of commander. Until Guts arrived, she was Griffith's second-in-command and is a skilled sword fighter

Golden Age Arc

Casca has a very prominent role during the course of the Golden Age arc. This is when she is introduced as a central member of the original Band of the Hawk, and we follow her character grow and mature; first as Griffith's right hand woman, then as Guts' lover.

Band of The Hawk

Casca is first introduced as Griffith's second in command and his right hand woman. She is seen as 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 (The Hawks' encounter with Zodd), and says that he is to blame for Griffith's injuries.

During a battle, Casca and Guts would accidentally fall off a cliff. Hiding in a nearby cave, Casca would tell Guts about her childhood, and how she became a member of the Hawks. During this time they grew closer to each other.

After the victory at Doldrey, the Hawks gained much fame. This is when Guts would eventually leave the band of the Hawk because he didn't want to be crushed under Griffith's dream. When Guts was about to leave, Judeau told him to take Casca with him, but Guts refused because he thought he wasn't good enough for a woman like her, and because she had Griffith.

Guts' Return

After Griffith had sex with the princess of Midland, the King ordered the execution of every single member of the Band of the Hawk. Having been taken capture, Griffith's hands were bound. This caused Casca to take over the leader position among the Hawks, who were now fugitives and considered a mere band of thieves. Wounded and exhausted, the Hawks would come 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, suddenly returned and helped the Hawks fight them off. Casca then told Guts that he shouldn't have left because Griffith couldn't do anything without him. She said that there was no place for her around Griffith and that Guts is the one who always bleeds for her (e.g. when he fought 100 men by himself to give Casca a chance to run away). The two of them then made love, which was complicated by Guts flashing back to his childhood sexual assault by Donovan and nearly strangling Casca to death before snapping out of it. Guts' unburdening of his soul to Casca and Casca's acceptance of him led to the two falling in love. Soon afterwards, Guts helped Casca and the others rescue Griffith, who had been tortured for well over a year. This rescue, and their following 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

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, and was almost raped by the demons 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 he was doing this to her. 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.

Millennium Falcon Arc

Witch of the Forest

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.