Casavir

"I do not have faith in a city or a nation, but the people within it."

- Casavir

Casavir, also known as Katalmach was a paladin of Tyr who participated in the Shadow War as a companion to the Kalach-Cha.

Description
Middle-aged, Casavir was a well-built and dignified human with a handsome physique and sophisticated aura. Black haired and blue eyed, Casavir would have been a powerful figure to behold were it not for the resigned expression that so often crossed his face. Dour and serious, Casavir was rarely exuberant but instead measured and calm in both verbal and body language. Casavir was often dressed in full plate armor and his weapon of choice when the Kalach-Cha encountered him was a large warhammer, paired with a shield.

Personality
Virtuous by just about any measure, Casavir took his duties as a paladin very seriously. Adhering to his code by the letter, Casavir held himselves to very high standards, standards that he himself, in spite of his constant vigilance against evil or temptation, often failed to meet. His high standards were likely in part due to his past, which involved his self-exile from Neverwinter and his estrangement from a lost love. Because of these personal failures and past mistakes, Casavir took it upon himself to fight injustice at all times, even to points that were sometimes unwise or overly brash, such as his crusade at Old Owl Well.

This attitude put him at odds with the openly selfish and pragmatic Bishop, whose cruelty and evil ways disturbed the paladin as much as Casavir's refinement put Bishop at unease. Casavir would also cause the tiefling Neeshka no small amount of discomfort, though the paladin seems to himself have held no grudge against her.

History
Details on Casavir's early life are sparse, though it is presumed he was a native Neverwintan. At some point in his life, Casavir took up arms in the service of Neverwinter, the Jewel of the North. A noble either by birth or by virtue, Casavir served honorably as a knight alongside Callum, a dwarf who would later take on the mantle of the Neverwinter Nine. However, due to certain circumstances, Casavir would later leave Neverwinter in disgrace. The precise reasons were never revealed to the Kalach-Cha, though Bishop speculated it was because of a woman. Many within Neverwinter would view Casavir's departure as treacherous and Casavir himself would look with shame upon the incident in later years.

Campaign at Old Owl Well
After his exile from Neverwinter, Casavir would wander southwards to the outpost of Old Owl Well. There, he would discover the increasing strength and organization of orcish raids upon the settlement, a phenomenon he would later determine was due to increasing unification of the mountain tribes. Determined to prevent the outpost from falling into enemy hands and the settlers from being massacred, Casavir, determining that aid from Neverwinter was unlikely, took upon the job of defending Old Owl Well for himself, believing that one man could make a difference.

For the next few years Casavir would carry out numerous guerrilla strikes against the orcs, first on his own and later with the help of several warriors and mercenaries, including his sergeant Katriona. So successful were these raids that the orcs would come to fear Casavir and his men, nicknaming him katalmach, a title describing orcs who lose control of themselves in battle. Eventually, Casavir would learn that the orcish chieftain Logram Eyegouger was behind the attacks and would plan his attacks appropriately.

Though at first Casavir's campaign received little to no aid from Neverwinter, the orcs would draw the city's attention when an ambassador from Waterdeep disappeared as a part of a plot by Black Garius and other allies of the King of Shadows. Determining the orcs of the Sword Mountains might have something to do with it, Neverwinter chose to investigate the matter and sent an expedition. Incidentally, this expedition was led by Callum though it would be quite awhile before either Casavir or Callum became aware of the other's part in the campaign.

The Shadow War
The aid sent to Old Owl Well by Neverwinter would include a hero known as the Kalach-Cha. As successful if not more so than Casavir had been initially, the Kalach-Cha attracted the paladin's attention shortly after destroying one of the orcish encampments. As the hero returned to Old Owl Well, they were ambushed by a group of Logram's warriors and it was then that Casavir made his appearance, counter-ambushing the orcs and lending aid to the Kalach-Cha that ultimately allowed the orcs to be defeated. Impressed with the Kalach-Cha's work, Casavir offered himself as an ally and loyal soldier, which the Kalach-Cha expressed.

Although initially the two joined together only to defeat Logram, after the orc chieftain's defeat the paladin chose to stay with the Kalach-Cha. Promoting Katriona to take his place, Casavir would leave Old Owl Well and return to Neverwinter, this time as the Kalach-Cha's ally and companion. There he would hope to make up for his past failures and would prove an important part of the quest, lending an aiding hand in many of the major portions of the Kalach-Cha's quest and potentially becoming close to the hero.

Casavir would later join the Kalach-Cha and their other companions in the attack on the King of Shadows fortress within the Vale. During the collapse of the ruins following the King's defeat, Ammon Jerro would later claim that he saw Casavir crushed beneath a pillar as he held it up so that his fellow survivors could escape.

However, while Casavir would indeed be gravely injured by the pillar, he was not killed. Instead, he was found by Luskan's agents, captured, and brought to the City of Sails in chains. There he was evidently tried for murder and imprisoned.

Trivia

 * Casavir is voiced by Paul Schoeffler in Neverwinter Nights 2.
 * The only fully viable romance option for female player characters (the Kalach-Cha), Casavir, like most characters, had a large amount of deleted content removed from the final release of Neverwinter Nights 2. A deleted quest in the final release of the game would have shed more light on the reason why Casavir left Neverwinter. It seems that he was a former lover of Ophala Cheldarstorn, but instead he chose his duty as a Paladin over his love for her and somehow ended up murdering his rival for Ophala's affection. His rival also happened to be a lord's son.
 * In final version of the game, Bishop did drop hints that he knew why Casavir left Neverwinter when both were competing for the player's affections (if the player is female). He hints that Casavir left Neverinwter because of a woman, and taunts him that he is about to go down the same path again.

Appearances

 * Neverwinter Nights 2
 * Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer (mentioned only)
 * Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir (mentioned only)