Kashaw Vesh

Kashaw Vesh (, as in "cash awe") is a human cleric, a member of the Slayer's Take guild, and an ally of Vox Machina. Kashaw is played by special guest Will Friedle.

Appearance
Kashaw has a striking appearance; a notable feature of this being his heterochromia: one of his eyes is blue, but the other is bright yellow. He has a leather cord adorning his head. His right arm is covered in one-inch cuts..

Personality
Kashaw has a caustic personality and a scathingly cynical view on life, frequently making sarcastic remarks about friend and foe alike.

He has, however, proven himself to be a reliable ally, even a caring individual for those who can weather his personality long enough to become his friend.

Background
Kashaw was born with a pair of bright yellow eyes; the fact that one of them is now blue was not explained.

Kashaw was chosen to be the cleric of a dark goddess named Vesh who married him from the moment he was born. He was trained to be a healer in order to balance out Vesh's overly dark presence. During his fifteenth name-day, they consummated the marriage and, as part of a ritual called the 'bind’ach maano’, Vesh inflicted fifty one-inch cuts on her right arm, which Kashaw then repeated on his own right arm. This ritual showed him a "glimpse into the soul of his blushing new bride", which allowed him to see Vesh's memories and learn of her evil nature. Afterward, Kashaw attempted to kill her but was unsuccessful.

Kashaw is the only person left alive from his village who knows about Vesh, as she killed everyone else there—possibly related to his attempt to murder her, be it a cause or a consequence.

With nowhere to go, Kashaw dedicated himself to using his healing capabilities for good to stay away from Vesh's darker impulses. At some point during this time, Kash became indebted to the Slayer's Take in Vasselheim.

Assigned to a contract together for the Slayer's Take, Kashaw was unenthusiastic about working with Vox Machina initially. His demeanor suggested that he was an unwilling participant in the party and the task at hand. In particular, he seemed to disdain Keyleth's optimism about their predicament, establishing a catchphrase by repeatedly asking, "Is she always like this?"

After the completion of the Slayer's Take contract, Kashaw gave up his share of the reward money to be split among the others, saying that his obligation had been fulfilled and he had no desire to stay, though Huntmaster Vanessa told him he was welcome back any time.

Despite his initial impatience with her, Kashaw boldly kissed Keyleth as he parted from the party.

Kashaw, who had just returned from slaying a doppelganger with Vanessa Cyndrial and Zahra Hydris, reunited with Vox Machina when the party traveled to the holy city of Vasselheim to find allies to aid them against the Chroma Conclave. He also mentioned that he bet against Grog Strongjaw in his first match against Kern the Hammer.

In the chamber with Osysa, he offered to heal the sphinx as she was bleeding from looking too far beyond her veil.. He originally disagreed with aiding Vox Machina against the dragons, but Zahra persuaded him to help.

Kashaw apologized to Keyleth for stealing the kiss, as it wasn't his to take. He and Keyleth then shared a moment discussing how it was his second kiss and Keyleth's first.

Kashaw and Zahra later helped Vox Machina recover one of the Vestiges of the Divergence from the sunken tomb of Purvan Suul. Scanlan Shorthalt later had an awkward conversation with him over Kashaw's supposed affections towards Vax'ildan. When Vex'ahlia died from a trap in the tomb, Kashaw resurrected her with the aid of their allies.

Kashaw returned with Vox Machina to Whitestone. Vox Machina offered him and Zahra bedrooms in the castle and they went ahead to situate themselves. When Vox Machina caught up, they found Kashaw and Zahra in the middle of an argument with the castle staff, until Percy assured them they were welcome here. One of the staff recognized Kashaw as a religious man but Kashaw immediately brushed him off and walked away.

After being attacked by assassins in the middle of the night, Vox Machina went to check that their friends were all right, including Kashaw. Since Kashaw was actually part of the group that attacked Hotis originally, they discovered that one of the assassins had gone after him. Vox Machina found him in his room, sitting on his bed covered in gore. Vox Machina commended him on making such a mess out of a single assassin, and invited him for a drink. He said he was going to have a shower first, but would take them up on the offer.

Vox Machina found Kashaw training with the guards of Whitestone, acting as instructor for new recruits. The party debated sending him as their messenger since he was so busy, but ultimately decided it was worth a try. They approached him and he dismissed his recruits to talk to them. They asked him to take a letter to the Slayer’s Take for them, and he ultimately agreed despite his griping.

While the rest of the party was having this conversation, Grog grew bored and Vax decided to entertain him by initiating a sparring match. Scanlan noticed this and decided to get the recruits' attention by telling them that they were supposed to attack Grog. Grog was amused by their reluctance and cast Enlarge on himself, making the recruits back away. Kashaw noticed this and told them it was fine, that Scanlan was just messing with them. Grog and Vas resumed their sparring.

Percy then finished his letter and handed it to Kashaw. Vex asked him not to mention Whitestone’s existence to anyone. The party wondered how to bring him back, but Kashaw assured them he would be fine. He and Keyleth then made their way to the Sun Tree to send him to Vasselheim. They shared an awkward conversation about getting drinks once the Chroma Conclave had been defeated, and flustered and confused by the conversation, Keyleth cast Transport via Plants and shoved him through the tree.

After being informed of Kashaw’s return, Vex'ahlia and Keyleth went to find him. He was fast asleep in his room so Vex flicked his nose, waking him, and Kashaw nearly hit Vex in the face. He pulled out the two possible contracts for beasts that he had gotten from Vanessa Cyndrial. Vex and Keyleth then broke the news that the dragon was already dead and Kashaw told them to get out of his room.

Kashaw had an acquaintance named Dale who had joined in the larger-scale resistance against Thordak, the Cinder King. His relationship with Dale was friendly enough for Kashaw to greet him in a sea of people.

After their fight against Thordak and Raishan’s disappearance, Vex and Vax went back outside to check on the state of the battle. They returned to the gate where they previously had parted ways with Kashaw and Zahra, finding the two of them running towards them followed by another fire giant. Vex and Vax started to lead them back to the relative safety of the crater when Jarett and Kerrek took down the giant.

Vex and Vax informed them that Thordak was dead, but Raishan was still alive. Kashaw didn’t care much about that, and just wanted to go home. Kashaw and the rest of their allies then followed Vox Machina back down into the crater. They noticed that he was a little worse for wear, but Zahra insisted that he fought bravely and wasn’t knocked out. Grog halfheartedly commended him for his efforts, and Kashaw hit him on the shoulder. Vax thanked Kashaw for his help, slapped him on the cheek and used Lay on Hands. Kashaw kneed him in the groin in retaliation.

Later Vex asked if Kashaw had any healing left, and he somewhat begrudgingly healed Vex a little before returning to Zahra’s side. When Vox Machina were ready to leave, Kashaw and Zahra stuck with Kima and began talking to the combatants left in the city, trying to organize some sort of watch over the horde. Kashaw later accompanied Vox Machina back to Whitestone.

Zahra and Kashaw, riding a pair of wyverns, arrived at Entropis during Vox Machina's battle against Vecna. The duo managed to help out a bit, with Zahra attacking the newly risen deity and Kashaw healing the wounded members of Vox Machina. However, Zahra, Kashaw, and their wyverns were soon targeted by one of Vecna's Hold Monster spells, paralyzing all four of them. They were last seen falling past the tower, down into the mist below and out of sight.

During the collapse of the tower, Keyleth and Scanlan searched for Kash and Zahra. Keyleth, still in planetar form, raced down to where she saw Kash and Zahra barely conscious in the rubble. They had survived the fall as both had Death Ward. Keyleth grabbed them before they were crushed by the tower and healed them as she returned them to the others. Kash then performed a successful resurrection ritual on Velora, with aid from Zahra, Vex, and Vax. It was confirmed that Kash and Zahra were currently expecting the birth of a child, or possibly twins. They then bid goodbye to the others as they went to help the city deal with the last of Vecna's followers, with Kash joking about naming their child after Vax.

Zahra Hydris
Kashaw developed a deep respect and love for Zahra. He said that she saved his life even though she didn't have to, and that she has shown him what it means to have a family.

The friendship between the two eventually developed into a romantic relationship by the time of the liberation of Emon. Over a year later, the couple would be expecting their first child, which Zahra speculated might be twins.

Keyleth
Throughout the Slayer's Take Trial, Kashaw was mostly annoyed with Keyleth's optimism and upbeat attitude. However, as he was leaving after the completion of the trial, he kissed her.

The next time he encountered Vox Machina, the two of them cleared the air as Kashaw apologized for stealing her first kiss, saying that while it felt good, it was ultimately wrong of him. Keyleth herself said that he didn't have to, that she never meant to hurt anyone physically or emotionally.

When Vex'ahlia was killed due to a trap within Purvan Suul's tomb, Kashaw revived her because he knew Keyleth would have wanted him to. After Vex's resurrection, Kashaw told her that he believes not in Vesh, but in life itself. He later told Keyleth that he noticed the interest that Vax'ildan, Vex's twin brother, had in her and told her to stay near him, that the rogue would look after her in his stead.

Vesh
Kashaw dislikes and fears his deity. Vesh forced him to marry her and then slaughtered his entire village. Kashaw has been shown to be wary of using any power borrowed from Vesh. He hesitated to resurrect Vex'ahlia when she was killed in Purvan Suul's tomb, fearful that using his powers would summon Vesh to their location.

Notable items

 * Fire-Resistant Platemail
 * Ring of Protection
 * Sentinel Shield
 * Shadow Spear (+6 necrotic damage)
 * Spear (+2 to attack and damage)

Cleric abilities

 * Channel Divinity
 * Turn Undead
 * Divine Domain: Life Domain
 * Disciple of Life
 * Channel Divinity: Restore Life
 * Domain Spells
 * Ritual Casting
 * Spellcasting (Wisdom-based ability)

Appearances and mentions

 * Campaign 1
 * One-shots
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Quotations

 * "I am Kashaw Vesh. Call me Brother Kash. Everyone else does."
 * "Hey buddy, shake it more than twice and you're just playin' with it"
 * [to Tiberius about Keyleth] "Is she always like this?"
 * "I believe in life. That's all I was raised to believe in, was life. When you're married to death, it's pretty much all you have."

Trivia

 * Kashaw was the name of a villain in the fantasy book Will started writing when he was sixteen.
 * Kashaw has the highest wisdom score of any guest player character thus far, and is tied with Caduceus, Jester, and Pike for the second highest wisdom of any player character. While they all have 20 wisdom, Keyleth has 22 with her Circlet of Wisdom.
 * Kashaw was the winner of the first battle royale where he fought against Grog, Keyleth, and Zahra.
 * In the Critical Role Major Arcana Tarot Card Set, he represents V - The Hierophant.