Cassiopea

Cassiopea
General Information
Alias:	Mata (Eye) Sinaunang Reyna (Ancient Queen) Sinaunang Sang'gre (Ancient Sang'gre) Hara Duri-e Bunggaitan
Royal Title(s):	Hara of Lireo
Gender:	Female
Race:	Diwata Etherian
Home kingdom:	Lireo
Position:	Founding Queen Deity of Encantadia
Affiliation:	Lireo Devas Emre
Status:	Immortal
Relatives:	Mitena (Twin Sister) Cassandra (Daughter)
Powers and Abilities
Fighting style(s):	Various
Weapon(s) of choice:	Kabilan Mother Gem
Powers:	Clairvoyance Immortality Healing
Portrayal in Encantadia
Actor(s):	Solenn Heusaff
First appearance:	Episode 1; Chapter 0
Death:	Episode 215
Resurrection:	Episode 218
Final appearance:	Episode 218

Bathalumang Cassiopea (formerly Hara Cassiopea of Lireo), also known as "the Eye of Encantadia" (Mata ng Encantadia) is the first queen of Lireo and was responsible for dividing the Mother Gem into five separate parts.

She was assigned by Emre to help prepare the Diwatas and other denizens of Encantadia in case Ether returned to sow chaos once more after the downfall of Hathoria.

Imaw refers to her as Bunggaitan, the most powerful Encantada in the realm, due to being the first caretaker of the Mother Gem and the oldest among the first Encantados. Her powers are said to be greater than that of the natural power of the Sang'gres themselves. Being a Bunggaitan makes her a legitimate candidate to become a Bathaluman just like Emre, Arde, and Ether.

However, upon Ether's blessing, Avria was able to takeover Cassiopea's body as a vessel. But she was able to take control of her body once more after defeating Avria's spirit out of her desire to save her race

She is formerly the mentor of the seven new saviors of Encantadia until the deaths of Lira, Mira and Gilas. Cassiopea currently helps Emre in liberating Devas from Ether and Arde.

Cassiopea is resurrected from her death by Emre and he has granted her divine powers in order to fully become a Bathaluman.

She is Bathalang Emre's main love interest.

Appearance

Cassiopea has pointed ears. The only other race with such ears are the nymfas.

When she speaks telepathically, a shining symbol appears on her forehead.

Cassiopea's color scheme is purple.

Personality

As a seer, Cassiopea's disposition is shaped by her visions.

Cassiopea is known for her seemingly amoral personality, willing to use underhanded methods for the greater good, such as disobeying Emre's will by using the Mother Gem for combat, moreso when she cleaved it into four separate parts; and when she withheld information about Pirena's direct involvement in Alena's disappearance, believing that it would help fulfill Pirena's purpose in Encantadia.

It is revealed that she desires to become a bathaluman, by defeating and killing Ether in combat, in order to protect her race, the Diwatas, and their allies.

History

Cassiopea was the founding Queen of Lireo. At some point before or during her reign, Emre gave Cassiopea the Mother Gem, which may have contributed to the Fall of the Kingdom of Etheria. She later adopted LilaSari, a diwata of humble birth whose face could petrify those who look at her. She trained LilaSari in swordsmanship and may have considered her for the succession to the throne, but she saw LilaSari's innate brutality. She therefore decided that LilaSari would never succeed to the throne, unless she changed. LilaSari got angry and attacked her, killing a number of diwatas in the process. Utterly disappointed, she sent LilaSari to Carcero using the Mother Gem.

After her reign, she resided on the island of Capade near the palace of Lireo, to continue to protect her kingdom from invaders.

Some time after, a rebel Sang'gre named Adhara stormed at Cassiopea, insisting on her claim to the throne as Demetria's successor, since Demetria's only daughter, Esmeralda, was killed before she succeeded her mother. Cassiopea said that Demetria's true heiress is Mine-a, daughter of Esmeralda. Fuming, Adhara engaged the ancient queen in battle, where Adhara injured Cassiopea. However, Cassiopea's wounds quickly healed, after which she threatened the rebel Diwata not to kill the true successor, or she will feel the full extent of her wrath. Cassiopea then cursed Adhara not to be able to reenter Lireo until Mine-a's coronation.

At some point after Mine-a's coronation, the Island of Cassiopea was attacked by Adhara's forces who sought the powerful Mother Gem from Cassiopea. Unleashing a massive wave of energy, Cassiopea used the Mother Gem to destroy Adhara's entire invasion force, even though it was against the will of Emre. Further defying Emre's will, she cleaved the gem into four and distributed it among the four leaders Encantadia:

• The Water Gem to Imaw, the leading elder of Adamya;
• The Earth Gem to King Armeo of Sapiro;
• The Air Gem to Queen Mine-a of Lireo; and
• The Fire Gem to King Arvak of Hathoria.

As punishment for perverting the Mother Gem, Emre cursed her with immortal life to make her witness the effects of her actions.

She returned to her island only moments after Adhara had captured Amihan. She defeated Adhara's minions but Adhara had already escaped. She predicted that troubles would befall Encantadia.

At some point after the division of the Mother Gem, King Arvak attacked Adamya and took the Water Gem. Cassiopea went to Hathoria and chastised them, warning him of a prophecy that Arvak's death will coincide with the birth of a great leader who would one day defeat Hathoria utterly.

Years later, Cassiopea advised Mine-a through a dream to take her daughter Amihan to the human world, following Hagorn's assassination attempt. Because of Mine-a's duties as queen, only Amihan and Prince Raquim, Amihan's father, escaped with the assistance of Aquil and Muros. Cassiopea saved the two Diwata generals when Hagorn found them at the Tree of Asnamon.

Cassiopea warned Mine-a of her impending death.

After Lira and Mira were born, Cassiopea said that the one she had been waiting for had been born. She was enraged to see that Mine-a had died, perhaps expecting that she would survive because of her warning, for she noted that there was a "change in destiny."

Cassiopea fought off Hathor attacks when Hagorn ordered them to terrorize the vassals of Lireo. She tells some of those she had saved to inform the queen.

Cassiopea found Ybarro's body washed ashore. Noting that Ybarro still had destinies to fulfill, and Encantadia still needed him, she revived him by pouring her blood into his wound. Cursed by Emre with immortality, her blood has the power to revive the dead. She took Ybarro's gold as payment for his second life. She predicted that he will revive the Kingdom of Sapiro, and counseled him to return there.

While in the forest of Lireo, the goddess Ether confronted her for acting like a god for reviving the dead. Despite Cassiopea's reasoning, Ether, an enemy of Emre, the god the Diwata race worshiped, cursed Cassiopea never to be able to leave the forest again.

Many years later, Mira wandered into the forest. Cassiopea introduced herself as the Eye, and tells her she had been waiting for her for a long time.

Book Two

Cassiopea's last task to become a Bathaluman is to overpower the spirit of Avria from her body that she may ascend to Devas. Cassiopea is able to get out of the body of Avria and she drags the Air Gem and Earth Gem from her, before Asval could rescue the weakened Avria. However, Danaya, Pirena, Ybrahim and the company accuse Cassiopea of stealing the gems while she explains to them that it was someone else (Avria) who had possessed her all the time. Cassiopea is sent to the dungeon in Lireo. However, Danaya, Pirena and Ybrahim learned through the judgment of gems that Cassiopea is telling the truth after all and she is freed.

She brought Nunong Imaw with her at Isla Cassiopea in order to help her find the new keepers of the five elemental gems, aside from Sang'gre Lira of Lireo and Diwani Mira of Hathoria, in case something bad happens to Hara Pirena of Hathoria, Hara Danaya of Lireo, and Sang'gre Alena of Lireo. The new keepers will be trained by her and Nunong Imaw.

Cassiopea was blamed by Hara Pirena and Rama Ybrahim for the death of their daughters Mira and Lira, two of the keepers chosen by the symbol of Water Gem and Earth Gem. Ybrahim said he would not let her approach his daughter again, or any of the new keepers. Cassiopea questions Emre about the misfortunes of Encantadia, and if he had forsaken them. She, together with Imaw, decided to go to Devas. They used the sky ship of Lira when they traveled to Devas to ask help from Emre. When they approached the gates of Devas, the two deities, Arde and Ether, suddenly appeared before them. Ether tells Cassiopea that Emre is not in Devas anymore, and they were the ones in charge now.

Cassiopea went back to Lireo where Lira's interred body is. She took a lock of her hair and stated that upon this will rise the new hope of Encantadia - a direct descendant of the fallen Sang'gre Lira of Lireo.

Abilities

Powers

Cassiopea is a very powerful diwata. She is one of the most ancient beings alive, and is considered by Imaw as the Bunggaitan (most powerful encantada). She is capable of shooting energy blasts and can cast spells.

Cassiopea can only speak in Enchan. However, she could telepathically speak in Filipino — she does not open her mouth but the Wisdom Symbol appears and shines on her forehead instead. Upon being possessed by Avria, she speaks Filipino.

Cassiopea's trademark ability is to accurately foretell the future, giving her the nickname, "The Eye of Encantadia." She uses this ability to warn others of impending peril. There are at least three known methods which Cassiopea uses to predict the future:

• Water from the Stream of Truth, in her cauldron
• Prophetic dreams
• Whenever the Kabilan glows purple

Aside from the ability to see the future, she can also see the past through her eyes by making an explicit command to view a specific event. Her eyes glow purple and then white when she does so.

The only known limits of Cassiopea's clairvoyance:

• Destiny itself is mutable, so there could be some unexpected deviations from what she had seen
• She cannot perceive something unless she specifically looked for it, though she could dream about things that she cared about
• Whenever a god(dess) directly hinders her abilities

As an immortal, Cassiopea's blood has the power to revive the dead. By putting drops of her blood on a mortal wound, she was able to revive Prince Ybrahim, who had been killed by Asval. However, this is still subject to Emre's approval. When she tried to do this to the new saviors, they were not revived since Emre has fallen from Devas and lost all his powers.

In a flashback, the wounds inflicted by Adhara on Cassiopea healed quickly, even before she was cursed to be immortal. She can also heal the wounds of others.

As the first queen of Lireo, the crown of the queen still answers to her command, seen when the crown teleported away when Adhara attempted to take Lireo for herself.

Cassiopea could also make others remember their past. This ability was performed on the amnesiac Alena when she returned to Encantadia from the mortal realm.

She could transform into other creatures, such as Mancao, as part of training of Lira and Mira.

She can make vegetation grow from barren soil. She can also summon Hadezars to do her bidding.

As the original keeper of all the elemental gems, Cassiopea can contest their possession, but she only does this when they are in the hands of a really powerful enemy.

Being the first keeper of the Mother Gem and its shards, Cassiopea may request the gems to seek their new keepers.

Cassiopea has the power of ivictus. She may also use her power to summon beings who are at her island.

Bathalumang Ether remarked that Cassiopea's power has grown so immensely that it is already almost godlike. Ether is not pleased with this.

• She successfully avoids detection by Ether
• She was able to imprison Haliya
• She was able to enchant and to enslave the Hadezars
• She was able to kill the Hadezars an ability that is not present to any living encantados this was shown in episode 214.

After Emre blessed her with divine powers that could turn into a Bathaluman, Cassiopea successfully heals Lira from Arde's curse and plague on her. She is also able to create a living encantado when she uses her blood, Amihan's ashes and Lira's strand of hair to create Cassandra, daughter of Lira.

Other skills

Cassiopea is a highly skilled fighter, being able to fight unarmed or using a variety of weapons as exemplified by her proficiency in using her Kabilan's various forms. She is also the first known Encantada to land a solid strike on the goddess Ether, being able to stab her with her Kabilan.

Weaponry

Cassiopea's weapon is the Kabilan, which, depending on her need, can transform into one of four weapons: a dagger/boomerang, a wand/scepter, a sword and a spear.

Relatives

Cassiopea

Mitena

Ursula

Demetria

Sang'gre

Esmeralda

Adhara

LilaSari

Hagorn

Raquim

Minea

Enuo

Amihan

Amarro

Deshna

Gamil

Pirena

Azulan

Amihan

Ybrahim

Alena

Memfes

Danaya

Aquil

Mira

Flamarra

Cassiopea

Lira

Kahlil

Adamus

Terra

Cassandra

Trivia

• According to Suzette Doctolero, the reason why Cassiopea has pointed ears is that she is the last of the pureblooded Diwatas. This implies that the Diwatas have intermarried with the other races early in their history.
• Cassiopea's exact relationship with the reigning dynasty of Lireo is unknown. All other queens and Sang'gres of Lireo are closely related.
• Cassiopea seems to have a close relationship with Minea. She often mentions her name when referring to Minea's descendants.
• Cassiopea's purpose for demanding gold as payment for anything she does is to have enough material to forge the golden sword of Lira. With the sword created, she no longer collects gold as payment.
• Cassiopea has the features of several Encantado races — the ears of a nymfa, the ivictus ability of diwatas, and the healing ability of a Sapiryan.
• Cassiopea made a cryptic statement when Helgad bowed before her as recognition to her supremacy as the first Queen of Lireo implying the possibility that she is a candidate for being goddess; Episode 142 revealed Cassiopea's desire to become goddess in order to protect Lireo and her allies. Her statement implies anyone can ascend to godship by defeating any of the deities of Encantadia.
• Cassiopea is the most powerfull diwata because of certain factors one of them is that she have pure diwata blood and the other one is that when Emre curse her she was in her young development stage and she stayed in that stage for long time reaching an accumulation of energy that is much more bigger and purer than most being in encantadia practically reaching the level of a deity in raw power.
• Cassiopea is the second living diwata whom Emre revealed himself in order to challenge Ether.
• Cassiopea is the first diwata to become a Bathaluman.

Version differences

• Cassiopea was played by Cindy Kurleto in the 2005-2006 series, and the young Cassiopea was played by Empress Schuck in the second book.
• Cassiopea has become more ancient in the 2016 version than she was in the 2005 version. Whereas in the 2005 version, she was younger than Minea, she now appears to be even older than Minea's dynasty. It is even possible that Cassiopea is among the first Diwatas created (i.e., without parents).
• In the original series, the young Cassiopea was blind, until she gained her sight.
• In the original series, Cassiopea has an Etherian blood due to her father Hera Memen of Sensa, being half-diwata and half-Etherian. In this series, she has no Etherian blood.
• In the original series, Cassiopea, along with Evades, was killed by Arkrey, who was tasked by Ether to kill the diwatas' most powerful allies.