Kaika

Kaika is the Yuriban goddess of fire. She is associated with flames and justice. Her favored colors are red, orange, and yellow, the colors of a crackling blaze.

Kaika is one of the younger goddesses. Only recently has information begun to surface about her, though her doings seem to go back quite a long time.

Associations

Being the goddess of fire, Kaika has a number of associations. Her foremost value is justice. Ancient Yuriban tradition holds that any legal trials be overseen by a large bonfire, so that Kaika herself may watch if it so pleases her. She is also frequently associated with the hearth, cooking (especially with the use of a stove), and warmth, and is often said to watch over lost travelers in the night.

Her favored animal is the mythical salamander, from whose shed skin she is often said to weave and wear garments. The colors of fire, red, orange, and yellow are her chief choices - she is said to love the times of sunrise and sunset. She is also a great lover of dance, especially more energetic, lively dance.

Of all the goddesses, Kaika is perhaps the most aloof - she is friendly with all others, but while she has harbored crushes on one or another from time to time, she never truly grows closer to any of them; preferring instead to offer the warmth of close friendship. Her closest ties are with Kikoutei and Zansho. Surprisingly, she also considers Fuyuzora a close friend. On infrequent occasions, she also displays a bit of a playful streak; she's not above playing a prank on one of the other goddesses, sometimes with the help of another.

Mythology

Kaika is believed to have come into being when The Lady's warmth was needed where she was not present. The Lady cut a lock of her hair, and gave it to Kikoutei, who imparted on it some of her light, to carry it with her to help banish doubt. And then it was given to Amanohara, who blew upon it, so that it would dance, and move, and take graceful form; and from this emerged Kaika.

Kaika is famous (or perhaps infamous) for her temperament - her moods tend to change quickly, and can slide from a simmering warmth to a fiery passion and back again with relative ease. She's quick to anger, but just as quick to forgive, and her grudges burn out before very long.

Because of her purview, Kaika is one of the goddesses more directly concerned with the people of Yuriba. Many of the myths surrounding her are fables, revolving around her tricking, or otherwise punishing wrongdoings in early Yuriban civilization. She is often portrayed as harsh and scornful when she is not being subtle about such things. One such tale speaks of a spiteful young woman who stole a wood-carved statuette of The Lady from another girl within the village, and cast it into a fire intending to destroy it. Kaika stoked the fire high enough to burn the woman's home down, but the woman herself and the statuette were left unharmed.

Kaika is also associated with the more favorable aspects of fire. The warmth and comfort of the hearth is on occasion referred to as 'Kaika's blessing', and travelers gathered 'round a campfire are often said to be under Kaika's protection. Even those who have lost their way sometimes come to her attention; more than one story tells of a lost girl in the mountains collapsing to sleep, only to wake up the next morning dry and warm, untouched by snow - with only a bit of ash or a salamander scale as evidence of what's happened. Stoves made in native fashion are often emblazoned with Kaika's likeness or subtle fire motifs, and symbols of flames can often be found on cooking pots and pans used by the native populace, a custom proven to date back as far as the years of the Lily Civilization by pottery unearthed from the soil near several standing ruins. When cooking with a wood stove, a common custom among native cooks is to gently invite the energy of the element of flame and ask for Kaika's blessing to keep the flame from behaving irregularly, and to blend the flavors of the ingredients to a favorable balance and temperature rather than undercooking or burning them.

Lore and Teachings

The foremost of Kaika's teaching is justice and fairness: take into consideration all others alongside oneself when acting. Remember that they are as deserving of happiness as you. Kaika also teaches that one should strive to be fairly level-headed, and not act callously, as those who handle a fire carelessly assuming that they are incapable of being hurt, or without paying attention, often wind up burned.

Kaika is also a great lover of dance. Certain forms of dance are considered sacred to her; generally energetic, up-tempo dances that imitate and honor the appearance of a fire. They are commonly individual, and seldom choreographed - fire dances as it wills, and the best dance partner is said to be a fire to dance around.

Temples and Relics

The Isolated Shrine on Akibimi has been stated to contain a sacred shrine to Kaika, one of three on that site; at its heart burns a great bonfire tied to Kaika's worship. While Hokuto Sumeragi once acted as the caretaker of the shrine, for many years the temple has been tended to by Rylia and breisleach when needed. More recently, Meichen Long has also been dedicating time to the care of the fire goddess's hearth. However, Kaika is said to favor most any decent fire, and a good-sized bonfire is quite enough for proper worship of her. She is associated with the Yannyanniichuan spring, which she is rather protective of.

A sect of her followers are known as Firewatchers, their numbers small and ritual secretive.