Ciara/History

## Story

### History

Ciara was a ruthless assassin and demon hunter. Her prowess with the blade rose her to the ranks of the elite warriors of the Netherbane, alongside her partner Kane, the Netherbane Captain.

Long before her massacre of the Piglins, Porkshire, the cowardly Piglin King, somehow antagonized Ciara. In vengeance, Ciara harbored an undying resentment towards the King and eventually looted his grand bastion in the Nether Wastes, to Kane's rebuke.

In fear and anger, Porkshire requested for his clan the protection of the Nether Princess and sent his elite warriors, under the command of General Tusk, to locate Ciara.

## Tales of the Netherbane

#### *Nightmares*

   In Nightmares, she raided a bastion run by the Piglin Kingdom and stole their gold, much to Kane's chagrin. She later attacked the piglin camp, slaughtering them all including General Tusk. She moved on to the Nether, where she slaughtered more Piglins, and attempted to kill the Piglin King, only to be stopped by the Nether Princess. The two would engage in a duel, with Ciara holding her own, and even getting a wound on The Princess, but she was no match for the power of Crysteffor, who ended her life in one swift stab.

#### *Poison*

Following her actions in the previous episode, Kane was barely able to strike a deal with the Nether Princess, allowing him to carry Ciara's dead body back to the Netherbane Tavern. After defeating Lance, he acquired a Totem of Undying, in which he uses to revive Ciara offscreen, albeit as an undead human. He also gifts her the Ender Karambits during this time.

## Fractures

#### *Wishing Dead*

During the last scenes of Wishing Dead, Ciara and her ally Kane had rushed to the location of Stella and Rain, following the demonized Stella's ear splitting shriek. Not knowing she had regained her humanity, Ciara had approved of Kane shooting down Stella, and seemingly urged him on despite Stella running off.

#### *Falling*

Following on in Falling, Ciara finds Rain underneath the tree, and alerts Kane. Kane quickly jumps down off the cliff, angered that his arrow only hit Stella's arm, letting her escape. Rain, however, stops him from pursuing, but fails to stop Ciara, who uses her karambits to teleport past and chase after Stella.

Upon deducing that Stella used a Nether Portal to get away, Ciara reactivated it and went on to slaughter all the mobs in the fortress she ran through. She soon gets ahead of Stella, who arrives at the campsite that she and Rain had camped at, and taunts her.

   Stella, in frustration, summons a second iteration Arcane Blade and fights Ciara with it, however Ciara's speed and warping powers give her the upper hand. As Ciara hurdles into the air, aiming to cut down Stella from above, she finds herself trapped by Stella's Telekinesis power, sending her hurtling into a tree, her arm being impaled with the Arcane Blade. She desperately tries to teleport to her Karambits, but fails, allowing Stella to escape.

Ciara is soon discovered by a now allied Kane and Rain, having resolved the misunderstanding. Rain frees Ciara with the Wither Book before the trio proceed after Stella. As they near the Coven Village, beacons from four End Chests light up the sky, alerting the trio to Stella's location. They notice Stella mourning a deceased Zeganirn upon approach, however when Ciara tries to pursue Rain, Kane stops her from interfering as they observe the reunion.

#### *Cold as Ice: The Remake*

―Ciara to Stella

Heading back to the Tundra Cliffs, presumably the following day, Ciara makes a minor appearance in Cold as Ice: The Remake at a campsite with Rain, Stella, and Kane. Experimenting with potions at a brewing stand, under Stella's supervision, she witnesses Rain's first outwards emotions of fear, having witnessed the death of Ceris through his Ender Eye.

#### *Be Afraid*

   Ciara's next appearance is in Be Afraid, where Rain and Stella told Kane and Ciara of their adventures, and how the Ender Watchers scattered the End Crystals across the Overworld to delay the Nether Horde's conquest. The four decide to embark on a journey to unite these Crystals against the Horde, and form an alliance dedicated to such a purpose called the Endstone Crusaders.

During the journey to the Frostbourne Castle, the squad stops at the Netherbane Tavern to get horses. Ciara attempts to relax on a couch, but looks down to see Stella lying childishly on it, annoyed and unamused. Embarrassed, Stella sits up and tentatively gestures for Ciara to sit.

The next morning, with horses gained, the group head out and encounter a Nether outpost. Ciara uses her karambits to teleport and kill numerous Pigmen, helping the group plow through. The morning after, Kane attempts to show Ciara what sleeps through the making of breakfast, but wakes up in time to listen to Kane's debrief.

Upon the group reaching the Frostbourne Castle, Ciara and Kane accompanied Rain to meet with Ser Patrick. In the Grandmasters' Quarters, Ciara listened to the others debating about why Ceris didn't give the End Crystals to Rain. After the prophecy was brought up, she uncomfortably dodged Stella's question about if the prophecy included her turning into a Netherkin. When everyone seemed stumped as to where to start looking for the Crystals, Lance, as an Ender Frog, teleported onto the table and began sharing a little bit of what he knew about Ceris and the Crystals. Ciara, in disbelief, asked if the frog on the table had actually talked.

#### *Eternal*

     Eternal gives Ciara a rare second chance to gain vengeance against Porkshire for her past experiences. Listening to Kane explain the Piglin Bastion and faction to Rain and Stella, Ciara declares that she will kill the Piglin King, much to Kane's chargrin. They both start arguing, when Ciara says that they are undead and the Nether Princess is now deceased, she seemingly gains Kane's acceptance.

While Stella waves goodbye to her horse and Kane shows Rain a golden flintlock, Ciara looks at them from a distance, presumably thinking about the events that would soon happen. When the squad goes over the plan again, Ciara looks at them in boredom, ignoring a worried Lance.

After getting into the Nether by a portal, Ciara with the rest of the Crusaders travel to the Piglin Bastion, where a small army of piglins is waiting for them. Ciara easily kills a large group of Piglin, and helps Kane kill the Piglin General, with a quick stab into the neck.

The group quickly make their way to the Piglin Castle, passing a small village, arriving to the castle without much issue. Upon their arrival, Ciara charges inside, killing all of the Piglin Guard and taunting Porkshire with her arrival. The Netherbane Assassin takes on Porkshire and his interior guards, being overwhelmed by Porkshire's strength. In a chokehold and disarmed, Ciara, on the brink of passing out, wills a karambit to hand, and stabs the Piglin King to death. She emerges from the throne room, End Crystal in hand as the others dispatch a Mutated Piglin, finally with her vengeance achieved.

#### *Clear Skies*

> "*Listen, my word of advice, fellow Undead to another? Revisit your memories with the Nether Princess. Go through everything one last time. Accept that she's gone from this world, only them you'll find peace within yourself.*"
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> ― Ciara to Rain
> Clear Skies
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Clear Skies shows a different side of Ciara to other episodes, one of compassion and empathy. Badgering Rain in the Frostbourne Tavern for gossip, she asks him about the Nether Princess, claiming that rumors about the two formerly dating have spread throughout the Netherbane. She starts to sympathize with him as he becomes irritated, already knowing that his mind is heavily conflicted, though continuing to badger and tease him. Once Ciara suggests that Rain could start pursuing Stella - using the fact Abigail and Stella are both Netherkin - Rain finally slips up, admitting he hasn't moved on. She advises him to go through his memories with the Nether Princess one last time, finally letting go of the past, and wishes him luck before departing. Minutes late, while talking with Kane, Ciara notices Rain sulking, facepalming as he pushes away Stella.

However, her guidance does pay off, as whilst on a walk with Lance later that night, she finds a more content Rain and Stella together on the stairs. She notices Rain waving to her, with Stella leaning against him, and nods approvingly, leaving them be.

She later enjoys a simple drink on top of the Frostbourne Castle, presumably reflecting on her own lost ones whilst Lance rests.

#### *Back into Darkness*

In *Back into Darkness*, Ciara listened to Azura's explanations about the End Crystals locations.