#16. Asuri

Lore

The Night Stalker

"Where'd you pull that from? Catistan? Or was it Meownmar?"

– Lucien, to Brynn, who is not listening


"This place is mine now."

– Asuri, looking down into Valhalla

As the story goes...

The villages along the Arit river on the Punjab border were proud of their guardian. Proud and more than a little scared. The Tiger was a gift from Rama, they said, though a gift rarely seen. Years might pass with only a giant paw print in the mud of the riverbank to prove that The Tiger still prowled the forests between the villages.

But when raiders from the north or soldiers from the south came to steal and oppress, the signs of The Tiger would appear -- bodies of invaders high in the trees, a would-be warlord mauled in his tent, an entire brigand camp shattered as though a typhoon had struck. And the villagers would wonder that anyone was left in the world so ignorant or so arrogant as to be heedless of their protector.

As for the The Tiger, she barely remembered being a girl. She remembered being twelve and discovering with horror that her once noble family, anointed protectors of the valley, now grew richer when outsiders came to plunder. She remembered her wicked uncle lashing her to the temple altar and conjuring the tiger spirit to devour her. And she remembered fighting - fighting so long and so hard that in the end she didn't know who had devoured whom.

In Valhalla, Asuri has claimed the Tournament as her territory, and sets upon challengers to her domain with savage fury.

Connections

• Spoke with Jhala when Rayman arrived in Valhalla
• The enigmatic Asuri has a quiet bond with Yumiko

Context

Asuri the cat. This legend seems to have come from a concept of an anthropomorphic cat wielding a sword, as well as large claws that function like katars.

It turns out that "Asuri" could refer to several things, and most (if not all) of them come from India. The closest connection with the cat legend of Brawlhalla is the Rakshasa. "Asuri" is also the word that refers to the Austroasiatic language of the Asur people, based in India. The Rakshasa connection is probably the best one, and the likely source of inspiration for Asuri's character in Brawlhalla, especially given the fact that Asuri's lore often calls her "The Tiger." It is likely that Asuri's uncle conjured a Rakshasa to devour her, but then fought back and somehow became Asuri.

Asuri's origin story doesn't seem to have any direct ties or correlations with real-world stories or mythologies (that is to say, I haven't yet found any such connections). It is also difficult to pinpoint when exactly she lived in India. There's mention of brigands, warlords, nobles, and temple sacrifices, but that could apply to many older time periods, especially just about any time before the British occupation of India.

Lucien’s snide joke lets us know that Lucien was in Valhalla before Asuri was, and Lucien’s lore tells of his ruthless robberies in and after the French Revolution. Knowing that, Asuri would have been protecting the villagers up to the 19th century. The British occupation of said villages by 1850 probably would not have been possible with Asuri on guard, so Asuri probably would have died at least before 1850, if not earlier. It is not known how long Rakshasas live, which would be the most likely answer for her lifespan.

Sword and katars are Asuri's weapons. The type of sword often used by Indian infantry and cavalry was the talwar. The katar actually originated from the Indian subcontinent, but Asuri uses "claw katars" to continue the cat/tiger theme she has. BMG was actually a bit conflicted regarding the use of claws, because they weren't sure if the claws would make as much sense being used the way katars were used and moved in the game (such claws, they reasoned, only have points/blades at the tips instead of the side like normal katars). They decided to go ahead with it, however, and it is easy to see now that claw katars work quite well.