| Velasca | |
|---|---|
| Melinda Clarke as Velasca | |
| First appearance | The Quest |
| Last appearance | A Necessary Evil |
| Created by | Robert Tapert |
| Portrayed by | Melinda Clarke |
| Information | |
| Species | Goddess Human (former) |
| Occupation | Amazon |
| Affiliation | Amazons (formerly) |
Velasca is a fictional character in the popular TV series Xena: Warrior Princess. In her tenure on the show, she served time as the Amazon Queen after defeating her adoptive mother Queen Melosa for the crown. Also during her time as a deity, she dubs herself the "Goddess of Chaos". She is portrayed by actress Melinda Clarke.
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The Amazon Velasca was raised as the adopted daughter of the Amazon Queen Melosa. At one point in time, Velasca challenged Melosa to a duel for the role as Amazon Queen. Velasca lost and left the tribe to become a rogue warrior. Later, she returns and challenges Melosa again, this time winning.[1] What she does not know is that Melosa's sister Terreis had previously died and had given her "Right of Caste" to Gabrielle before death.[2] This means that Gabrielle is, by tradition, the next in line to rule over that tribe of Amazons. When the Amazons discover that Xena has died, they come to Gabrielle and offer to give Xena's body a traditional Amazon burial as she was an Amazon in spirit.[1] Ephiny, one of the tribe's most trusted members, then asks Gabrielle to return to the Amazon village to take her position as their queen. Before the official ceremony, Velasca speaks to Gabrielle and tries to convince her that she was not raised an Amazon and thus would not be happy leading them. She offers the opportunity for Gabrielle to pass the ceremonial mask of their tribe's queen to her when Gabrielle is offered the mask before the entire tribe. Gabrielle tells Velasca that she would think about it.[1] During the ceremony when Gabrielle is handed the mask, Velasca steps forward to receive it. Instead, Gabrielle begins to pull the mask forward to place it on her head. Enraged, Velasca throws her blade at the mask, causing it to stick to a post. Velasca then stands before the tribe and denounces Gabrielle as she is not Amazon born and has no real hold to the right to be queen. Gabrielle silences her and offers Velasca's blade back and puts the mask on, showing that she holds no ill will toward Velasca but that she intends to fulfill her promise to Terreis.[1]
Later when Velasca discovers that the thief Autolycus is attempting to steal Xena's body in order to revive it with ambrosia, Velasca battles the spirit of Xena in both Autolycus' and Gabrielle's bodies in order to steal the Ambrosia for herself to become a deity. During the battle Velasca falls on a row of spikes and is mortally wounded. Thinking her near dead, Gabrielle, Autolycus and the now revived Xena leave her to die. What they don't see is that a piece of Ambrosia fell to Velasca's side.[1]
Returning to the village just after Gabrielle is officially crowned as the Amazon Queen, Velasca, bloody and bruised holds up the piece of Ambrosia and proceeds to eat it before everyone's eyes and is quickly transformed into a god. She unleashes her new powers against her former Amazon tribe for protecting Gabrielle, but discovers that she is still weak from the severity of her rapidly healed injuries and the intense effort of using her powers for the first time. The Amazons and Xena take this opportunity to retreat and get their bearings. Resting for a moment, Velasca travels to a temple honoring the goddess Artemis, who is the chief Amazon goddess. Velasca then says, "Artemis, you fake! Where were you when our nation died?! Where were you when the many Amazon tribes were scattered and destroyed?! Where were you when the word 'Amazon' became a joke told by old men in taverns?! I was once your subject, now I'm your equal... and your enemy!", and proceeds to destroy the temple.[3]
Meanwhile, Xena and Gabrielle ask the now immortal Callisto for help against Velasca. Callisto reluctantly agrees and the three attack Velasca but it proves to be no small task as Velasca's new goddess abilities continue to grow. Xena tells Gabrielle to give Callisto the last remaining piece of Ambrosia in order to stop Velasca and Callisto becomes a goddess as well. During Velasca and Callisto's battle, Xena cuts the rope bridge they are on and the two of them fall into an enormous lava river. It is there, encased in stone, that Velasca remains. Alive, but confined forever.[3]
Velasca is a trained Amazon warrior since childhood. Thus, she is an expert in hand-to-hand combat, as well as a wide variety of hand held weapons. As a goddess, Velasca possesses superhuman strength, can release lightning bolts and fire blasts from her hands, and transform into wind. She also has a heightened sense of vision and hearing, is impervious to pain, has virtually unlimited stamina and endurance and also immortal. She declares herself to be the "god of chaos". As a deity, her eyes also became an unearthly shade of pale blue due to the effects of consuming ambrosia.
Although the character of Velasca appears in only two Xena episodes, she proved to be so popular among fans that a toy action figure of the character was made in the late 1990s. She is also one of the playable characters on the Nintendo 64 game Xena: Warrior Princess: The Talisman of Fate.
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