| “ | Casmetra: We have to stop the Tatalians immediately. With magic. Jeremy: Won't you hurt Patris's galley? Casmetra: I don't know. What happens happens. Jeremy: Wait, we cannot risk his life! |
„ |
| ~ Casmetra to Jeremy before killing the enemy along with Patris. |
| “ | Casmetra: What? Do you honestly believe that I would doom my own apprentices and a handful of excellent soldiers just because of one grumpy old man? Jeremy: I...I'm sorry, I hadn't thought about that. It's just...I keep going around and around this. Patris is dead. My brother is stuck in the underworld, and gods only know whether he'll make out of there alive. I've been getting drunk every night just to get some sleep. Casmetra: You are tired, Jeremy. You need to take a break. |
„ |
| ~ Casmetra to Jeremy about Patris' death. |
Casmetra is the main antagonist of Heroes of Might and Magic III: Horn of the Abyss. She is a seductive sorceress who seeks to acquire the titular artifact.
Biography[]
None is known about her past, but Casmetra was a High Hydromancer, member of the Noraston Sorceress Guild from the nation Enroth, and the leader of a mysterious cult of priestesses that worshiped the sea. She was a powerful sorceress, especially in water magic, and had a reputation of being beautiful. It is believed that she joined the pirates in pursuit of her own goals. Casmetra was also the keeper of a secret library on the island of Evermorn, where she and her fellow priestesses were stationed. They defended their land from the necromancers (as well as mercenaries from Tatalia and Krewlod), who hoped to pillage the library for its knowledge about water magic and related artifacts.
The Noraston Sorceress Guild searched for rare artifacts. Casmetra organized an expedition to obtain a powerful artifact known as the Horn of the Abyss and hired a pirate mage named Dargem to recover it for her. Using his services as a mercenary, Casmetra had her subordinate Stella send Dargem on a series of tasks that helped prepare the expedition. Casmetra met with Dargem for his final mission before the search from a magic window. She informed him that the Ironfist Royal Court was unable to help the sorceress guild with their research due to the Kreegan invasion and they needed a reliable source of knowledge to determine the location of the Horn. She jokingly suggested Gavin Magnus' library, before sending Dargem to seek the library of Archibald Ironfist in Deyja.
Casmetra and Dargem discuss the Horn of the Abyss.
After Dargem returned, Casmetra confirmed that the resting place of the Horn was in a dungeon on the Island of the Vengeful Serpent, which was part of a mysterious archipelago. Casmetra provided Dargem with instructions to find the keys that open the entrance to the dungeon's Guardian and defeat the Guardian, as well as a scroll containing a map which she instructed him to only read after he was close to the target. She promised to check on his progress over time. While Dargem headed toward the archipelago, the fleet of Casmetra and her sorceress sailed for the coast of Tatalia to distract the lizardmen from him. They promised to help create the diversion, but that was unlikely to last for longer than three months. 15 days after Dargem started his journey, Casmetra sent a message reproaching him for progressing slowly and sparingly describing her first encounter with the Tatalians. A week later, Dargem saw traces of her battle with the Tatalians on the horizon, in the form of lightning flashes. Dargem was pleased by Casmetra's annoyance, even finding it a pleasure to imagine her face contorted with anger. During his search, he grew increasingly suspicious of Casmetra and her motives. Dargem wanted to keep the Horn of the Abyss for himself rather than give it to her and began believing Casmetra had previously sent others to find the Horn of the Abyss after hearing about people who died looking for it. When he learned that the legendary pirate Black Balfour had also been traveling in the islands, Dargem suspected Casmetra had sent Balfour to kill him so he would not take the artifact for himself. He decided to exact vengeance on Casmetra once he finished his quest, thinking of ripping off her iron claw glove from her hand, finding out how old she really was, and killing her. As Dargem continued to look for the Horn, he was imprisoned during the attempt.
When the pirate Jeremy Albatross and his crew were traveling to Erathia to find a new ship, they arrived on Evermorn instead and were welcomed by Casmetra and the priestesses. Jeremy was instantly attracted to Casmetra upon seeing her. The two had a brief exchange, before the island came under attack by a force of the necromancers. The priestesses defeated the party with help from the pirate crew. Jeremy decided to help Casmetra and the priestesses in their war against the necromancers, though his first mate Patris was unwilling. When Patris expressed his opinion on the matter to Jeremy, Casmetra happened to approach them and asked why Patris was insubordinate, to which Jeremy told her he was his first mate. Casmetra introduced herself to Patris and advised Jeremy to be stricter about the hierarchy under his command. She was also not fooled when Jeremy flattered the typical nature of pirates, before disappearing in a magical flash.
Jeremy and Casmetra.
After defeating the necromancers and their allies, Casmetra and Jeremy met with the latter's brother Bidley, a fellow pirate, in a tavern. She assisted the pirates when they decided to find the Horn of the Abyss. To gather enough men, ships and supplies for the search, Casmetra suggested they obtain the Cornucopia, claiming that Archibald Ironfist had such an artifact during the Second War of Enrothian Succession. When Jeremy asked how she knew of this, Casmetra dismissed his question. They were soon targeted by the Kreegans, who believed they were working for Erathia. Jeremy, Bidley and Casmetra defeated them and eventually acquired the Cornucopia, with which they financed the mission.
Bidley, Jeremy and Casmetra on the Island of the Vengeful Serpent.
En route to the group of islands where the Horn of the Abyss was located, they were attacked by the Tatalian royal fleet and took heavy losses. When Patris' galley was the only one left and being boarded by enemy forces, Casmetra destroyed the galley and the Tatalian frigate through a spell that summoned icebergs from the water, overpowering the enemy at the cost of Patris' life, despite Jeremy warning her against this action. Following the battle, the crew arrived on the Island of the Vengeful Serpent. Casmetra cast a spell that turned her words into blazing numbers and letters that flew toward one of the craggy mountains surrounding the island and disappeared into it. A passage into the underground labyrinth where the Horn of the Abyss was hidden opened between the mountains as a result. Bidley and a band of sea dogs ventured inside, but the mountains then sealed up the entrance before Jeremy and Casmetra could follow. Casmetra unsuccessfully tried to open the passage again with her spell. With no choice, they returned to camp to wait for Bidley. Through a magical globe, Casmetra observed that the Tatalians were planning another assault on them. As she and Jeremy made preparations, Jeremy became open with Casmetra about his suspicion that she had intentionally killed Patris, but she firmly insisted otherwise.
While Jeremy and Casmetra dealt with the Tatalians, Bidley found Dargem in the labyrinth and freed him, and together they searched for the Horn. Upon finding it, Dargem betrayed Bidley and seized the Horn from him, before taking him prisoner. Jeremy and Casmetra watched as Dargem escaped with the artifact and the captive Bidley on his ship. They chased him for a while, but lost Dargem when he disappeared behind an island. They then encountered Regna's fleet and fled, before setting up a camp on a small island and beginning to gather forces for a strike on Dargem's fortress. Jeremy and Casmetra found allies in the nix, as well as the sea serpents which guarded the Horn of the Abyss; Casmetra enchanted the serpents in such a way that the creatures would help retrieve the Horn for them. Weeks later, Jeremy wrote a letter to Dargem, demanding him to release Bidley and give them the Horn in exchange for safe passage. Dargem later replied, refusing to comply and claiming he would free Bidley. Although Jeremy considered retreating for Bidley's safety, Casmetra vehemently reminded him the importance of obtaining the Horn and convinced him that Dargem would not keep his promise. When Jeremy agreed with her, Casmetra embraced and told him she loved him.
Battling the forces of Dargem in addition to the Tatalians and elementals, Casmetra and Jeremy stormed his castle. While Jeremy freed Bidley, Casmetra pursued Dargem and yelled at him to give her the Horn. Dargem refused, believing Casmetra had betrayed him when she sent him to find the Horn. He was about to blow the Horn when Casmetra yelled "STOP!!!" and threw a magical spell at him, causing an explosion that destroyed half of the fortress and created a whirlpool underneath it which separated Casmetra, Dargem, Jeremy and Bidley into different locations. Amid the chaos, Casmetra managed to acquire the Horn of the Abyss.
Casmetra using magic with the Horn of the Abyss.
Possessing the Horn, Casmetra escaped to her castle, from where she took advantage of its power, possibly to carry out a ritual. Her island was guarded by many minions, with four castles. Over time, Casmetra's use of the Horn began to cause disturbances in the sea, marked by trembles and a moaning sound coming from the ocean depths, and storms that grew stronger by the minute. After Jeremy and Bidley reunited, joined by the nix prince Tark, they sought out to take revenge on Casmetra and reclaim the Horn of the Abyss. Although Casmetra's motives were mysterious, Jeremy studied the treatises of the ancient mage Joycraft and concluded she was a member of an ominous cult which served the Dormant, an ancient god who slept on the bottom of the sea and could be awaken by blowing the Horn of the Abyss. The heroes eventually journeyed into a secret cavern under the isle, where they found Casmetra hiding and defeated her. Casmetra then dropped her possessions and leapt into a portal which instantly collapsed. She was never to be seen again. Although she may have survived the events, she was likely killed in the Reckoning that followed years later.
Personality[]
Casmetra was a charming and devious woman who used her attractive beauty and charisma to sway and manipulate others into trusting her. She frequently flirted with Jeremy, who was immediately seduced by her when they first met, and pretended to requite his love when she was simply using him to gain the Horn of the Abyss. Before Jeremy, Casmetra likely exploited Dargem's greed to lure him near the artifact and set a trap on the islands to have him killed. Even as she presented herself to be an amiable ally to Jeremy, she foreshadowed her true nature when deliberately causing Patris to be caught in the crossfire of her spell and killed, as he was growing distrustful of her and the priestesses, and losing her temper when Jeremy began to suspect this.
Powers and abilities[]
Casmetra was a powerful witch that mastered many forms of magic, especially water magic. It is possible that she magically appeared younger than she actually was. With the Horn of the Abyss, she brought upon what appeared on the surface to be thunderstorms and natural disasters affecting the sea. In addition to her magical powers, she was a skilled strategist, devising many beneficial plans along the way to drive her closer to securing the Horn. Casmetra was an intelligent master manipulator, often using the feelings of people who were drawn to her as was the case with Jeremy.