Tatyana Gorevitch-Woszlany
by Ohad ShahamSister of Prince Morphail Gorevitch-Woszlany of Boldavia
AC 1010
"Hurry, hide in this coffin! Don't let my brothers find you."
Appearance
Tatyana Gorevitch-Woszlany used to be a very beautiful and vibrant young woman. She is still very pretty, but her "death" has taken with it all of the joy she once radiated to her surroundings.
Tatyana was born in AC 695 and was killed by her brother Morphail Gorevitch-Woszlany in AC 720, which froze her as a young woman in her mid-twenties. She is a fairly tall woman (175 cm, 5'10"), but she seems smaller to mortal eyes, making her look smaller and not as impressive. She has shoulder-length blond hair that she does not bother to arrange according to the fashion, and she has blue-grey eyes that seem to possess no spark or vitality. Tatyana wears fine Boldavian gowns, although some of them are almost a century old, and even falling apart. On occasions when she has to show herself in public (which happens rarely), she will wear whatever her ladies-in-waiting tell her to. She cares not about what people will think of how she looks.
Personality & Quirks
Tatyana is very unique among the undead. She hates being a vampire and still has a high regard for life. She does not even prey upon humans, and she has found a way to nourish on animals using magic. Tatyana can even stay in the sun for an hour without being damaged. She is often found looking at the sun, biting her lips with pain. She also tries to lose herself in magical research, which sometimes helps her forget her state.
For Tatyana is trapped in a very horrible situation. She has realised that there is no way for her to return back to life, but she cannot put an end to her own "unlife." The reason for this is that Morphail has told her about the horrible things that happen when a vampire dies, something called The Red Death. Although Tatyana despises Morphail, she knows he is telling the truth.
Tatyana has resigned herself to secretly finding way to end the Boldavian Bloodline. She dares not confront Morphail or Boris directly, for she knows of their superior powers.
Tatyana always tries to save mortals that end up in the Tower of Igorov. She cannot intervene when her brothers are actually feeding, but she will try to set victims free when she thinks nobody is watching. Unfortunately, Morphail is always watching...
Background
Tatyana was once a happy and popular girl among the Traladaran nobility. She was very romantic and intelligent and well read. She learned magic from her parents, mostly from her mother Anya Gorevitch, and enjoyed it very much. She was even supposed to marry a petty king of Demetrov.
But everything changed when Morphail has made a pact with darkness. The night after Morphail turned into a vampire, he killed Tatyana and their broth Mikhail, making them vampires under his control. Tatyana almost lost her mind when she realised what she had become. In a fit of rage, she tried to kill Morphail but found she could not harm him.
Frustrated, she then tried to kill herself, by exposing herself to the sun. Minutes before sunrise, Morphail found her on the castle roof. He then told her about the Red Death, the horrible event that occurs when a vampire dies for the second time. That convinced Tatyana to come down from the roof, and scared her from any other attempts at suicide.
A few months later in AC 721, facing a coalition of the other small kingdoms, the Gorevitch-Woszlanys had to flee Traladara. Tatyana refused to leave the ancestral lands (and secretly wanted to be captured by the enemy). Morphail just nailed her shut in her coffin and carried it with the family caravans.
In the highlands, Tatyana confined herself to the tower, taking only short excursions to feed on the peasants. In the early 800's Tatyana found a way to feed on animals alone, using a spell she designed for that purpose.
All this was changed when she saw Claude d'Ambreville. In AC 995, there was a huge ball in the capital that was very important for the Gorevitch-Woszlanys. It was hosted by Princess Carnelia de Belcadiz, and she insisted that Sir Boris bring the Prince and their charming sister ("What was her name again?"). Carnelia specified that if they didn't come, she would extremely offended-meaning she would vote against House Igorov at a crucial voting. Boris convinced Morphail that he must drag Tatyana to the ball, even if it meant locking her in a coffin again. After a lot of threats ("There will be a lots of innocent blood spilled if you won't attend!") and persuasion ("I am the Master of Undeath, you will go to the ball!"), Tatyana agreed to go.
That evening Tatyana wandered the many rooms of the Alhambra Mansion, unnoticed by the other nobles who had more important and interesting people to meet. Reaching a stylish veranda, she noticed a young noble looking depressed and watching the canals of Glantri City. She approached and introduced herself.
Claude d'Ambreville was at first startled by the mysterious woman who made no sound coming from behind him, but after that he became fascinated with her sad eyes, which always seemed to avoid direct eye contact. Tatyana asked Claude the reason for his sadness, and Claude confessed all his feelings about his cursed family, about his father who was never there, and about how he feels he never belongs anywhere.
Tatyana felt she had much in common with this handsome troubled man, but she knew they could never be together. Feeling the blood coursing through her veins and the dark desire to feed, she turned back and ran, not hearing Claude's pleas for her to stay. She climbed a tower turned into a bat and flew away as far as she could, then turned into a wolf, and cried at the moon. Minutes before sunrise, she was found by Morphail, who teleported them back to Igorov.
Tatyana turned her attention to magic now. She had to find a way to make that mortal love her-really love her-the way she loved him. After a year of trying, she found a way to make her vampiric charm power into a love spell called Tatyana's droplet of blood. Tatyana than sent a letter to Claude inviting him to a secret rendezvous in a tavern in Rymskigrad.
Claude, knowing he has to be there, asked his grandmother Dame Camille d'Ambreville, the only member of his family whom he trusted, to teleport him to Boldavia. Dame Camille, being in one of her senile periods gladly did what he asked (and by pure luck got him to where he wanted to go). Later, when her mind cleared, Dame Camille realised the consequences of what she had done, and hasn't forgiven herself to this day.
In Rymskigrad, Tatyana has slipped a droplet of her blood to Claude's drink. Tatyana however was not aware that Prince Étienne d'Ambreville, Claude's father, had cast powerful protective magics on his sons, and in actuality, Claude was never affected by Tatyana's spell. Nevertheless, Claude fell in love with Tatyana, and they confessed their mutual love for each other.
Tatyana wanted to run away with Claude, but realised that it was not possible, as Morphail had repeatedly warned her in the past of the consequences of such an act. Their only hope was to stay in Igorov together. But the only way to do that and escape Morphail's domination was for Tatyana to drink Claude's blood and make him a vampire. The idea was actually Claude's and Tatyana declined at first, but soon realised that if she would not kill her loved one, one of her brothers would.
From then on the two lived their unlife together in Tatyana's chambers in Igorov. They are secretly seeking ways to find a cure for vampirism, to find more vampires who want to end their situation, and to save mortals from being victims of vampirism and vampiric feeding. They have not succeeded yet in any of these goals, but they have eternity for trying.
Web of Intrigue
Tatyana's only friend in the world is her lover Claude d'Ambreville. She tries to find more vampires who will join her in her quests, but to no avail.
Tatyana has earned the enmity of House Sylaire, because some of them blame her for abducting their son, although Claude hates his family, and advises Tatyana to keep away from those lunatics. (It is ironic that lycanthropy is quite widespread, even accepted, among the Averoignian nobles. Tatyana is not aware of this, and Claude does not want to talk about it.)
Tatyana hates all of her brothers. She hates Morphail for what he has done to her and the world. She hates Boris for not standing up to Morphail and for being the scoundrel that he is. And Tatyana hates what Mikhail has become; she feels he was once a good man, but something snapped in him when he became a vampire. Tatyana does know, however, to keep away from Mikhail in this current condition.
Statistics & Style of Magic
12th-level vampire mage.
Str 16 Int 16 Wis 10 Dex 17 Con 10 Cha 9; AL N (D&D), CN (AD&D).
Languages: Traladaran (Boldavian dialect), Thyatian (Glantrian dialect).
Skills: etiquette, reading/writing, spellcraft, undead lore.
Weapon Proficiencies: none.
Tatyana does not care for combat magic, as she always avoids combat. She is reluctant to study necromancy, as she feels it is an evil and forbidden art. In the past years though, she has been trying to find spells against undead, such as the first circle protection from undead, and magic that will rid her of her vampirism. She is very close to find the first one but doesn't have a clue about the second. Tatyana casts her spell in the most unobtrusive way possible.
Tatyana has all the powers of Morphail's Bloodline.
"Je suis sūre que la garce boldavienne a mon petit Claude!"
(Camille d'Ambreville, saying that she is sure the "Boldavian whore"
has her grandson)