Kaldena/Main

"*There are those in this world with sins far greater than my own...*" —*Captain Kaldena, prior to battle*
**Captain Kaldena** is a character in *Octopath Traveler II*. She is the captain of the Sacred Guard and is the main antagonist and final boss of Temenos' story.

## Profile

### Appearance

Kaldena had dark skin and long white hair that covered one of her eyes. On her forehead was a tattoo, representing the Sacred Flame of the Kal. She was wearing the Sacred Guard captain uniform, adorned with tyrian purple highlights instead of the usual royal blue, as well as a flowing black and purple cape and a mulberry-colored sash around her waist.

### Personality

At first glance, Kaldena was a tightly wound and dutiful captain who commanded her knights with great efficiency. She appeared to be well-liked and respected by everyone in the Sacred Guard, including her Deputy Cubaryi and Ort, who served as her bodyguard.

However, she was guided by ulterior motives when she climbed up to her position, yearning for power and revenge. The genocide of her people had filled her with a deep resentment towards the gods and their seeming indifference to their suffering. And so, she sought to destroy them and the world they created, no matter the cost. Consumed by her rage, she was willing to do anything to see her ambitions done, even if doing so meant killing several of her allies and breaking the law of the Kal, attempting to harness the power of the Shadow.

## History

### Prior to Story

Dena was born as one of the Kal, Keepers of the Sacred Flame, and grew up near Crackridge, in the place now known as the Fellsun Ruins. 30 years ago, when she was still a child, all of the tribe's members were brutally slaughtered by the Moonshade Order. Her father, too, was killed during the massacre, sacrificing himself and therefore allowing her to escape.

As she got older, she changed her name to Kaldena in memory of her lost ancestors and swore to fulfill her father’s dying wish — to avenge her people. In order to enact her plan, she joined the Sacred Guard, becoming one of its knights and eventually rising to the rank of captain.

At some point, she met Arcanette, who kept her identity as the leader of the Moonshade Order hidden. By her, she was told about the rite to summon the Shadow using the Book of Night. Furthermore, Arcanette introduced her to Vados, who was tasked with gathering the remaining pages of the Book of Night in an effort to restore it.

As captain of the Sacred Guard, she also oversaw the training of Crick and Ort, two promising cadets with talent. She eventually knighted them herself, taking Ort as one of her personal bodyguards.

### Story

After receiving word of a series of murders after the pontiff's death in Flameschurch, Kaldena arrived in Canalbrine to oversee the investigation in the deaths of a local apothecary and Lucian, a renowned theologian. Later that night, she returned to the Sacred Guard's Ship with a group of knights, among them Cubaryi, her second-in-command.

Onboard, they found Temenos, the church's inquisitor, and Crick, one of her own knights, having subdued Vados, the culprit behind the attacks. After placing Vados under arrest, she assigned Crick to be his escort back to Stormhail, and agreed to his request to have Temenos interrogate Vados upon his arrival at the Sacred Guard headquarters.

However, Temenos never got a chance to do so, as Kaldena discreetly had Vados murdered and all records of him erased. Before she departed for the Nameless Village and its ruins, Kaldena personally murdered Crick, who had previously discovered her hidden library and was about to inform Temenos of it. She also left instructions for Cubaryi to "put the hound to heel", wanting to stop the inquisitor from getting in her way.

Kaldena made her way inside the Rifted Rock with a squadron of knights led by Ort, telling him and a small group to follow her, while the rest stood watch in case Temenos showed up. Upon arriving at an old altar, Ort questioned her about Crick's death. Indirectly admitting to her crime, Kaldena subsequently turned on her followers, striking all of them down with her sword and critically injuring Ort.

With the help of their sacrifices, she then used the completed Book of Night to corrupt most of her remaining guards, but while she reveled in her achievement, she was confronted by Temenos, who had successfully tracked her down to the cave.

As Temenos interrogated her and told her what he knew, she offered to let him join her, but the cleric refused, prompting her to engage him in battle. During the fight, she attempted to gain more power from the Shadow to overwhelm Temenos, but was suddenly consumed by the force itself, transforming her into a creature of darkness.

Despite her monstrous form, she was defeated, her body disintegrating as she passed away. After Kaldena's death, the Sacred Guard lost its authority within the church due to the corruption within its ranks.

During the final chapter, Ori's journal reveals that the reason Kaldena lost control of the Shadow's power was because Arcanette had deliberately taught her a flawed rite, intending her to die once she was no longer useful to her. Following her defeat, the Book of Night was stolen by Ori and fused with Harvey’s Book of Demons, creating the Darkblood Grimoire.