#34. Caspian

Lore

The Master Thief

"I give up, how did you steal the Queen's necklace?"

– English detective


"Mr. Holmes, I left all the clues you could possibly need."

– Caspian

As the story goes...

The Mad King of Batavia was a demanding father, and his lunacy honed his son into the greatest thief ever known. "Steal me the Royal Sceptre of Hamburg, the nose of the Sphinx, and the beard of the emperor of China!" his father would rave, and Caspian would deliver them all.

But his father's rule descended from capricious to diabolical, and when the Order of the Exalted Lion stepped in, the young prince quietly vanished.

On his own, The Great Caspian's showmanship and thirst for danger only grew. His theatrical heists left his targets applauding more often than calling the police. He replaced the Mona Lisa with a portrait of himself with an enigmatic smile. He stole the Crown Jewels of Britain with one hand actually tied behind his back. Citizens of Kiev woke up one morning to find he had somehow stolen their entire city and was now, in every legal way, their Mayor.

Emboldened by cheers of the people, Caspian stepped up his game. He won the Battle of Trafalgar disguised as Admiral Nelson. He won the Kentucky Derby disguised as a horse. He decided to take some time for himself, and August 32nd was never seen again.

In Valhalla he has not slowed his larcenous ways. He disguised himself as Vraxx for an entire tournament – a tournament Vraxx was in. He stole Thatch's beard and replaced it with bees. He stole Cross's coin and quickly gave it back. None doubt that the Grand Tournament is his stage now, and he's here to give them a show.

Connections

• The only one who calls Volkov "Gramps"
• Wu Shang says that Jiro is hiding behind the grand tapestry in the Great Hall as a part of the yearly hide-and-seek tournament with Kaya and Caspian

Context

Ah yes, Caspian. The thief. The charming rogue. The prince of Batavia. To learn more about Caspian's homeland, look at the Mad King of Batavia page. We can be certain that Caspian was alive between 1805 (Battle of Trafalgar) and 1875 (first Kentucky Derby). That must mean he was in his 80s or 90s--at least--when he ran the Kentucky Derby as a horse. Another thing to consider is Caspian's interaction with Sherlock Holmes. Although a fictional character, Sherlock Holmes has a certain date of birth, according to the Sherlock Holmes Museum: Jan. 6, 1854. If we assume Sherlock was at least 20 years old when he worked in detective work, then we can be certain Caspian was pulling his spectacular heists in the 1870s.

Katars and gauntlets are suitable weapons for a charming showman rogue like Caspian. Katars are as good as daggers (I like to imagine that he is just as good at throwing playing cards as he is trowing daggers). Gauntlets are suitable because a rogue lives off of their dexterous fingers. It is interesting to note that all of Caspian's gauntlet sigs involve bombs (as well as his mischievous smile and a condescending bow or glance at his opponent).