| abstract | - Miras Vara was a 24th century Cardassian woman who studied agriculture at the Cardassian Science Ministry. On a trip to the Obsidian Order's storehouses to obtain Bajoran soil samples for her project, she was directed to a Bajoran religious artifact that had the encrusted samples she required: an Orb. With no prior knowledge as to the nature of the Orb, Vara had an overwhelming response to it and shortly thereafter began to research into the Oralian Way, whose tenets and customs she had previously had almost no knowledge of. She returned to encounter the Orb again, this time experiencing a powerful vision in which she met with generations of women who had taken the name "Astraea" and served as guides of their Way. She came to understand that she was to become the new Astraea and lead a revival of the ancient Hebitian faith. At this point, Vara dropped out of sight and was considered to have disappeared. (DS9 - Terok Nor novel: Night of the Wolves) Eventually a former friend of hers from the Science Ministry, Kalisi Reyar, heard about the rise of the Oralian Way and realized that Astraea had made her first appearance at exactly the same time Miras Vara had disappeared, never to be seen again. Reyar attempted to betray Astraea to the Obsidian Order, but as Astraea was warned to relocate by a believer within the Order's ranks, the information she passed along to agent Dost Abor turned out to be out of date, and infuriated at having his time "wasted," Abor shot Reyar. Sadly, the death of her former friend guaranteed her safety for the time. Also around this time, she began a relationship with Glinn Thrax Sa'kat. (DS9 - Terok Nor novel: Dawn of the Eagles)
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