Istiana is a campaign character that gives several quests in the main questline. She can always be found in the city of Epicrotea. She is diametrically opposed by Arzagos, a similar campaign character who instead tasks the player with undermining and ultimately eliminating the Calradic Empire.
Lore[]
Nothing is known about Istiana prior to the events of Mount&Blade II: Bannerlord. At one point she came to work for the Bureau of Barbarian Affairs, a state institution of the Empire responsible for espionage and manipulation of non-Imperial peoples and factions in Calradia and its neighbouring regions. She was apparently very good at her job, having become Drosios Neretzes' spy-master in all but official appointment, which, it is said, was due to her being a woman. This made Istiana resentful of her liege, so much so that, after the Emperor's untimely death, she regretted not poisoning him while she had the chance.
After Neretzes' death and before the civil war, she continued working for the Bureau, contacting various individuals such as scribes, doctors, hunters, and anyone else who "noticed things" to gather intelligence. After the Empire's division into three warring factions, with the Bureau becoming disarrayed, she shortly ceased contact with her informants. She eventually resurfaced, continuing her previous activities, now also planning to end the civil war and reunite the Empire under a new ruler, whoever that might be.
At some point after the year 1084, she met an individual whom she perceived as one of the few people capable of reassembling the late Emperor's Dragon Banner, in order to save and preserve the Empire. She believed the Empire was and always will be the prime guarantee of stability and peace in Calradia. To her, it did not matter who sat on the Imperial throne so long as the Empire was reunited and made strong again.
What became of her afterwards is unknown.
Skills[]
- (v1.x.x)
| Tactics | 160 |
|---|---|
| Charm | 130 |
| Trade | 140 |
| Steward | 130 |
Quests[]
Trivia[]
- Outside the main quest, Istiana makes a second appearance in the Bannerlord Digital Companion's 'Travels in Calradia' entries. Here she is identified as an official of the Bureau and sends the scribe Asaios around Calradia to contact her spies in the different kingdoms. She is described as an individual appreciative of honesty and one that pays fairly, seemingly in spite of her in-game 'Closefisted' personality trait.