Vasily
Vasily is an intellectual con-man, skilled both in the arcane arts and the subtleties of diplomacy and deception.
He is part of the Cult of Loki, seeking a way to restore his "dead" god back to life.
He casts through a Cherkess spelldagger.
He has a strong dislike for goblins and their god Volos. Though he isn't unreasonable about doing so, he will go out of his way to foil their plans.
Background
The early years
Even as a youth in Novgorod, Vasily styled himself both a con artist and a scholar. His glib tongue and rapier wit went a long way towards convincing others to do what he wanted them to do. But he was more than just a con man, Vasily styled himself an artist. He wasn't just charismatic, he was smart... smart enough to pick up an arcane trick or three while paging through the occasional tome of ancient legends. He loved the books. Oh, he didn't own any himself, he was far too poor for that. Yet, he was able to befriend many of the scholars and lorekeepers who dwelt in the great city of wizards. Often, after pulling off a particularly satisfying con, he would visit one of them and settle in with a musty old tome about some battle or ancient hero. Of these, his favorites were the ones that spoke of the dead Norse gods - especially Loki?. The trickster was an idol to him; after all, Vasily did make a living cheating others of their worldly possessions.
A burning question
Yet, something was missing. Loki was smart and interested in self-preservation... but at the same time, he was responsible for Ragnarok. Could Loki have been the cause of his own demise? It was a nagging question that Vasily could not rid himself of. More and more of his spare time became devoted to his interest in history. He resolved to learn all he could of Ragnarok and the destruction of the Norse pantheon to understand what Loki had done and why. With his knowledge, he might even be able to help bring Loki back, granting him a role in one of the greatest cons of all time. This was an opportunity he could not pass up.
As Vasily got older, this opportunity turned into an obsession. His efforts got him inducted into a cult of like-minded individuals, working to help restore Loki to his rightful place. He also befriended another scholar, Nikolai, a former follower of Sigurd the Wise. Soon, he was delving deeper and deeper into ancient tomes, often going for days without sleeping or eating
Dark realizations
Vasily's 28th birthday was a dreary day. By this point, Vasily had lost all but a few friends. Lars (Vasily's sole remaining childhood friend) had taken him out to the local tavern for some drinks. It was here that a realization dawned on Vasily. He had no steady source of income, and his network of contacts in Novgorod had all but evaporated. His response was simple: take a glass of vodka and repeat until symptoms disappear. His drunken ranting that night became the stuff of legends.
The next morning, it became clear to Vasily that Novgorod was no longer a suitable place to conduct his business. He considered his friend Lars' suggestion that he travel to Kiev. The political intrigues of the newly reborn city were sure to require a man of his talents. When he found out that his scholarly friend Nikolai had already made similar plans, he took it as a sign and began the trek through the Pripet Marshes?.
Development
The world's a dangerous place
(... or how Vasily became a Rog1,Wiz3)
Vasily's early experiences with the real world were less than satisfying. A strange shopkeep named Arkadiy Norkin had offered Nikolai, him, and several newfound companions a job. "Weasel your way into a caravan and turn on the guards." "It's easy money." he had said. It was anything but.
Vasily had spent most of the last 10 years in libraries. He could still pull a con with the best of them, but when it came down to the fighting... he was beyond useless. He could barely lift a smallsword, let alone one of those monstrosities the Greek he traveled with carried. Fortunately for him, myths and legends weren't the only thing Novgorod's wizards had in their libraries. Over the years, he'd picked up a trick or two... how to fire blasts of arcane energy at his foes, how to convince people they really wanted a nap, things of that nature.
Thus, out of necessity rather than desire, Vasily began to take the arcane arts seriously. As a youth, he had thought of magic as nothing more than a simple tool, a blunt object at best. It was a source of power, to be certain... but it was based upon the uncontrolled release of chaotic elemental energies. Vasily's fondness for precision had led him to rely on the spoken word and his skill for planning. However, the world he had been thrust into was a dangerous place where words often failed. Goblins and wild boars generally weren't interested in negotiation. The arcane arts were the most effective means he could defend himself with, and so he reluctantly began learning everything he could from Nikolai.
A struggling diplomat
(... or how Vasily became a Rog3,Wiz3)
As his group's status in the world began to rise, Vasily found himself and his comrades facing far less tangible dangers. The Mongols? to the south, powerful scheming merchants and sorcerers to the north. In this world where talk was preferable to violence, Vasily's long ignored skills as a con artist began to reassert themselves. He renewed acquaintances in Novgorod. He turned his studies towards clever sleights of hand and breathing exercises to help himself lie more convincingly. Before long, he was standing before some of the most powerful men in Kiev and Novgorod, looking them in the eye and lying to their face.
His arcane talent sufficiently developed to defend himself on the road, Vasily's obsession with style and precision also reasserted itself. Nikolai's focus had shifted towards rituals and rites that would allow him to steal power from the gods. He didn't have much time to discuss the arcane arts with Vasily, and so Vasily's focus had turned in the opposite direction; his perfectionism urging him to master those spells he had already learned. Vasily worked on improving his mediocre aim, on various ways to tweak his spells for effect, and on adding flair and panache to his spellcasting. He would even occasionally spar with group's tracker Boris, learning to appreciate (and eventually emulate) the Kievan's stealth, speed, and precision.
Path of the Trickster
(... or how Vasily became a Rog3,Wiz3,ArTr1)
Despite being on the road, Vasily remained interested in history and ancient lore. A book on Draconic once owned by the great Ivan Kerensky (who annotated the text considerably) spurred him to resume his studies. However, it wasn't until his group realized that the treasure they'd been seeking was Zmei Gromovoi's Journal that Vasily truly came to appreciate how useful ancient lore could be. Still surrounded on all sides by unpleasant forces (all apparently struggling for control of the journal), his group finally learned how to obtain it. This knowledge came as a shock to Vasily's superior in the Cult of Loki. The journal was believed to be a clue to Loki's return and if Vasily could find the book, his place in the cult's leadership would be assured.
Vasily's arcane studies had also progressed well. Feeling that his control over magic's immense power had reached a sufficient level, Vasily began once again broadening his horizons. Nikolai was able to offer a few pointers, but the old scholar's mind would often wander towards the power of the divine. The god's power was "Right there for the taking!" he claimed. "If only one has the wits to see it." At times like this, Vasily would just nod. Though he managed to pick up a thing or two about the various gods Nikolai stole power from, he learned more from his own experiments. In particular, his work on precision magic had sparked an interest in various applications of telekinesis. Vasily took a very simple telekinetic spell and learned to wield it with uncanny accuracy. True, it was little more than a parlor trick, but Vasily strongly believed that he would find a proper use for his "third hand" one day.
Through Fire and Storm
(... or how Vasily became a Rog3,Wiz3,ArTr2)
The months following the group's return from the underworld were hard on Vasily. He had made a bargain with Volos in good faith. He kept his word, tricking several poor saps into taking the place of his friends, but he didn't like it. A comfortable afterlife is something everyone was supposed to be entitled to. His comrade's souls were worth the discomfort, but he couldn't help the feeling that he was becoming less... human. To add insult to injury, the demands came from Volos, the god of the goblins. The god of the very same goblins who had stripped him naked and tortured him for days on end; the very same goblins who were at this moment planning to invade Russia... HIS nation, HIS people. Kiev wasn't exactly his birthplace, but he'd spent enough time wandering its streets to feel at home there... and if Kiev fell, Novgorod wouldn't be far behind.
Unfortunately, these were all frustrations that would have to wait for another day. For now, the book occupied the forefront of his thoughts. They'd gotten it out of its trapped holding place, but what secrets lie within? They'd need a live dragon to have any chance of copying the damn thing - to say nothing of deciphering its hidden meaning - but the important thing was that they had it. He had his ticket into the higher echelons of the cult. The prospect excited him.
Vasily's skills in both the martial and arcane arts were rising. He continued his training with Boris, occasionally taking time to observe his movements as he sparred with the mammoth Albrecht and the feline Sven. Vasily also continued to regularly discuss the arcane arts with Nikolai. Though he managed to pick up a few more tidbits about the ordering of the heavens, his greatest breakthroughs came instead from a chance meeting with a Tmutarakan? merchant. By performing a few simple arcane favors, Vasily was able to convince a bazaar stall's owner to part with several ancient tomes and historical documents. Though he obtained the books solely to satisfy his hunger for historical trivia, nestled in one of the tomes was a simple conjuration. The spell conjured up several magical knifes and flung them at his foes. Over the days the group spent studying the Demon of Fire and Storm's lair, it occurred to him that if he could conjure up and control a simple knife, why not something more complex?
Nikolai had been trying to teach him a crude technique for opening a rift to the elemental plane of fire. Though the flames that poured out of the rift were very effective, the chaotic release of energy was exactly what Vasily hated about magic. As he was playing with his knife conjuring spell, it occurred to him that he had the ability to limit the elemental energy's release. With a little bit of effort, he began to apply his telekinetic trickery to the containment of elemental energies, focusing first on channeling the frozen might of the elemental plane of cold and then (perhaps Nikolai's religious leanings were getting through) on the focused release of pure light drawn from some positive energy plane.
Shadowplay
(... or how Vasily became a Rog3,Wiz3,ArTr3)
Vasily returned from the Demon of Fire and Storm's lair triumphant. Not only did he have his key to power within the cult, he had also learned a great deal about the mongols and their magic. More importantly, he had tricked the leader of an entire empire out of his most prized possession. Truly, a feat worthy of note.
The subsequent meetings with his superiors in the cult were no less satisfying. The party was congratulated and assigned an entire base of operations from whence the book could be deciphered. One problem... Isidor had gotten to the base first. One of the cult's members had once operated out of a nice isolated cavern, sealed off by magic. A perfect site for their research, the damned merchant prince had stumbled onto it and sent some party of adventurers in. Worse yet, any direct assault on the base would require the party to reveal their duplicitous nature to Isidor and would encourage him to further investigate the lair. Despite this, with the cult's assistance, the party began a lengthy campaign to convince Isidor that the property was worth less than it was costing him to explore it.
Thanks to Vasily's friend Lars, the party was able to set up shop in a small abandoned watchtower South of Novgorod. While here, Vasily had time to practice several new bits of telekinetic trickery he had been mulling over. His ability to precisely manipulate objects telekinetically was improving dramatically. He turned his eyes once again to the telekinetic manipulation of elemental energies. This time he began analyzing how to guide elemental energy in flight. After weaving several subtle telekinetic enchantments into his gloves, he taught himself to gently deflect his blasts of fire, acid, and evil around allies who'd keep getting in the way. At Boris' suggestion, he also considered a more forceful application of telekinetic force. By the second week they spent in the tower, Vasily had learned to pull off several extremely impressive trick shots. Though doing so was extremely draining, Vasily could make his scorching rays boomerang and strike at his mark from any angle imaginable.
After several weeks of idling interspersed with subtle assaults on Isidor's camp, Boris came to the party and announced that he had found them a job. It was "simple". Break into the church housing the seat of the Russian Orthodox church, and kill one of their strongest warriors. Vasily jumped at the opportunity. Here was the chance to strike at Volos. Through a sequence of subtle clues left behind and gossip spread through Kiev's populace, the party could begin to convince the town council that the Goblins were more active than previously thought. It wasn't much, but it might serve to convince the merchant council to expand the Kievan guard or to start looking for allies among its neighbors.
Unfortunately, the assault was a mistake. Breaking in through the catacombs beneath the city was a mistake. The party encountered a shadow demon, a creature of such despicable darkness that it all but slew three party members. Boris and Albrecht were able to escape by the skin of their teeth, and the group spent a day recovering and bolstering their strength before attempting another assault. Vasily felt vulnerable once again. He'd had the life sucked out of him, so he sat down and began to research ways to stop this from happening in the future. His search for defensive spells was in vain, but he did find a musty old tome that described how his touch could drain the life out of a foe. Further discussion with Nikolai turned up a vision enhancement spell Nikolai had pulled from the divine ether. With relatively little effort, the two were able to convert the spell to a form they were both able to understand.
The next day... the party ventured once again into the dank musty catacombs...
A goblin did it!
(... or how Vasily became a Rog3,Wiz3,ArTr4)
When an operation goes south, it goes south. It was supposed to be a clean assault... What happened? Who knows. After the multi-day mess that the assault on the cathedral turned out to be, Vasily was just glad to be alive. As Nikolai's dimension door opened up onto Kiev's skyline and light washed over Vasily's face, Vasily breathed a sigh of relief. The mission had succeeded. They'd planted traces to misdirect the church's attention towards the goblins, and not a soul alive had seen any of them. ... or so they thought. A furious archbishop Satyros was waiting for them. It was only by the barest skin of their teeth that they were able to get out.
Vasily's superiors were no more pleased with this unfortunate incident than Vasily was. Yet, both took it in stride. The secret base had been completed, and while the group was laying low of necessity, at least they could study the book while doing so. Though his primary interest was the book, Vasily also took the time to continue his magical and martial studies. In addition to his increasingly frequent target practices, he began studying an invisibility spell he would frequently use. Though the spell did not require much magical energy, the field it created was unstable; violent magical or physical energies leaving the field caused it to collapse in on itself. Equipped with a more significant library of arcane lore than he'd ever had access to, he discovered a more powerful invisibility spell... though it took an extreme amount of effort, and even then he could only sustain it for a minute at most, it was stable. He began practicing its creation. In doing so, he also began to learn a spell he'd seen one of his fellow cultists, a sorceress named Taisiya? cast. She showed him how to summon a wave of cold. Though Vasily was hesitant, he discovered that with effort he could control the wave's propagation with extreme precision. Little by little, Vasily began to grasp the intricacies of both spells.
It was during these studies that Albrecht received a message from his Grandfather that urged him to pay his family a visit. Meeting the Von Scherbach elder a pleasure, as was the discovery that he had a potent viewing device. Due to rising political tensions in Germany, as well as general feelings of antipathy at spellcasters, the party decided to return to Russia. Their visit was cut short by an argument between two of the cult's leaders.
As it turned out, the secrets of the Demon's journal were not for humankind. It would take a full dragon to be able to read the secret writings. There was debate in the cult's leadership as to the best way of procuring a dragon. Recalling several dragons they'd encountered during their journeys in the Cuman lands South of Russia, the party set off to investigate. On their way out, they encountered the sorceress Siran. Gritting his teeth, Vasily led the rest of the group in greeting her cordially. Unpleasant as ever, she demanded that the party stir up hatred between the Cumans and the Kievans. The Cumans were getting too powerful for her tastes, and pitting the Kievans against them would weaken both. It didn't take Vasily long to decide that this was a bad idea. The party shortly agreed, and they continued on their mission.
The attempt to find a dragon was a bust. However, the party discovered a powerful storm of fire and electricity swarming over the forests. Sven (and, as it turned out, a number of his kinsfolk) had been having dreams about the destruction of the world. These dreams bound this storm of fire and electricity to the great devourer, and a yet unknown mysterious force. All were poised to destroy the world. Vasily had little love for people he did not know, but this was his world as much as anyone's. He liked it as it was, in one world-shaped piece. Thus, after handily defeating several of Siran's minions (she discovered the party's betrayal) and returning (without a dragon, but with substantial information to report), the party set off to investigate the power of the Dark Devourer...
Shadows Abroad
(... or how Vasily became a Rog3,Wiz3,ArTr5)
... which turned out to be a mistake. Aegir's realm overwhelmed the group. Dragging themselves back by the skin of their teeth, they recovered and set off for Cherkessia. It was not Vasily's finest moment, not by a longshot. Yet, the task ahead was clear, the party needed a dragon. There were Dragons in Cherkessia, so that's where they had to go. Deciding to evade the lizardmen to the South, the party headed through Chernigov. It was there that they first encountered the strange shadowy spy.
Though it took some preparation, they were able to capture and interrogate their tail. What he revealed horrified Vasily. Isidor was the head of a spy network that spanned all of Russia, and perhaps more. The orthodox church faced him with bent knee, and it was if all of Russia followed Isidor's command. Chiding himself for not seeing it sooner, Vasily began to reconsider the direction his life had been taking. Though he knew a great deal about the streets of Kiev and Novgorod, he was not familiar with their politics; Though he knew much of magic, he knew little of the world. He had been blind to the big picture and knowing that, he could not let it stand. Vasily resolved to learn more about the politics and people of the world that he lived in so that one day he could stand toe to toe with Isidor.
The rest of the journey into and through Cherkessia was uneventful. A few trolls and scattered creatures later, the group made their way into the Cherkess city of Maikop. The party made found an unlikely ally in Salim, of one of Maikop's merchants, and continued on their way, successfully retrieving Mzistvala's children and returning them to the cult's lair. It wasn't until they returned to Salim to negotiate the purchase and sale of some equipment that trouble began. Carelessness finally caught up with Vasily and his companions: the shadowy spy had been the son of Anton Saratov? a powerful cleric of Svarog. As if to spite the party, an archer the party had slain while retrieving the dragons was a close ally of the spy's father. As the party laid low in Maikop, Anton and his compatriots plotted and executed an ambush, sending Vasily on a (temporary) trip to the nether realms. Taking breath once again, lying under Nikolai's holy symbol, Vasily chastised himself for not properly covering up either death.
Allies and Assassinations
(... or how Vasily became a Rog3,Wiz3,ArTr6)
But there were more important matters to attend to. Boris had been hired to investigate an assassination attempt; The guild had been hired to strike at Said, but several members felt edgy about the scope of the mission. Thus, the party was tasked with finding out why and by whom. Using simple divination magic, the party soon discovered that the guild had been hired by Said himself (and not Dmitry Dolgorukiy?, as the guild was led to believe). Once in Kiev, the party was able to verify this; the guild had been hired by Tatiana Dolgorukiy?, apprentice of Said and granddaughter of Dmitry. Vasily's smug joy at this discovery faded rapidly as the party reported this fact to the guildmistress. "We're going to kill him anyway" she said. "Are you crazy, he's ready for you. You'll be playing right into his hands." retorted Vasily. The ever-confident guildmistress quickly mistook Vasily's friendly glibness for condescension, and the situation went downhill. Thinking quickly, Boris quickly apologized for Vasily and suggested that the party leave.
Wanting to protect not only the guild, but Kiev - Said's assassination could cause unpleasantness in relations between Kiev and Cherkessia - Vasily pondered how to recover the situation. Consulting his superior, General Bodrashov), Vasily discovered the name of one of the Cult's contacts in Kiev, a former Spellkeeper of Odin named Leonid Fokin?. Invaluable information indeed, for not only was Vasily able to use Fokin's contacts to set up a meeting with Dmitry Dolgorukiy, but Vasily was able to arrange a meeting between Nikolai and a member of his order.
Finally having some face time with the eldest Dolgorukiy, Vasily was able to convince him that his granddaughter was part of a plot to slay Said and frame Dmitry. Convincing him was however, uncharacteristically easy, and Vasily soon found out why. Said was a sham. He had no ambassadorial status whatsoever. The council had brought back a random Cherkessian sorcerer who wanted money and a ticket elsewhere. Was it any wonder that he'd turned out to be a bastard? This was excellent! Not only could he be killed without fear of reprisal, but the party now had a weapon to use against the Kievan council as well!
That's as far as Vasily got before his senses took a hold of him. The sorcerers were still Kiev's best hope against the impending doom from both North and South. With Said dead, Kiev would likely suffer... and that was given the assumption that the guild would be competent enough to slay Said permanently. No, a diplomatic solution was still the best one, and working with Dmitry, the party was able to achieve just that. In the end, Tatiana was forced to spy on Said, and the Assassin's Guild was held off with promises of great riches if they discovered one of Said's plots before Tatiana.
Fired Up
(... or how Vasily became a Rog3/Wiz3/ArTr7)
So with Said put in his place, Dolgorukiy satisfied, Kiev secured, and useful knowledge gathered, the party set off for the town of Rhzev. The party had once visited this quaint little village on the belief that the Spellkeepers of Odin might have hidden a tome of great importance there. They had, but the planar rift that granted access to the tome had since been sealed. Having gained sufficient magical power to re-open the tear, the party made their way to Muspelheim, realm of the fire giants and the dwarves. It was here, in a Dwarven outpost that they found a great library that was home to a Dwarven prophet named Ulfr?. Hoping he might have knowledge of the tome, Nikolai spoke for hours on end with the prophet. Unable to understand their speech, Vasily instead busied himself perusing several of the runes and transcribing the map of Muspelheim located on the ceiling of the library.
It wasn't until the end of their conversation when Vasily heard the name of Loki entangled in the prophet's speech. As Nikolai moved to depart, Vasily quietly asked Nikolai what the prophet had said of the trickster god. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it." said the protege of Odin. Raising his voice slightly, Vasily insisted "I'd really like to know." Nikolai responded "He just said that someone in the party was in the service of Loki." "And you didn't ask why?" queried Vasily. "What if he knows something about Loki's plan?" By now their dwarven escort had begun to notice Vasily's agitation and was slowly reaching for his weapon as Vasily's speech grew louder. Noticing this, Nikolai glanced down at Vasily sternly. The glance was enough to make Vasily to stand down, but Vasily sensed an opportunity. "Don't you remember how Loki's followers persecuted my family in the past?" he said, hoping the Dwarf hadn't understood the first half of his conversation. Catching on, Nikolai explained how Vasily wished to know more about the ancient enemy of the dwarves, in the interest of revenge.
The prophet responded "I have seen it in the runes. It is without doubt. One of you will serve the cause of the Trickster, and help to bring about the chaos and darkness that lies ahead." On hearing Nikolai's translation, Vasily's jaw dropped. He had been planning something of the sort, after all, he wanted to convince the dwarves that someone in the party serving Loki was unbelievable... Yet, when Nikolai uttered the words "chaos and darkness", Vasily was struck. He served Loki the trickster, a god of cunning and guile, the one who bluffed his way out of one tight spot after another. On some level, he'd always known there was more to Loki than trickery, but the full realization struck him like a giant's greatclub. Just barely remembering to fake suspicious glances at his comrades, he trundled out of the library to the quarters the dwarves had prepared for them.
Tipping the scales
(... or how Vasily became a Rog3,Wiz3,ArTr8)
Though Vasily was shaken by the dwarven prophecy, other more pressing prophecies and concerns soon reared their ugly heads. There were impending invasions of both Goblin and Lizardfolk varieties. Isidor's shadow cult continued to menace Novgorod and the Cult of Loki. To top it all off, despite General Bodrashov's entreaties, the Cult of Loki's inner circle had been rushing ahead blindly with plans to restore Loki.
The first problem, at least, was easy to deal with. The goblins were held together under one banner with spit, glue, and Siran's undead. Enticing Siran to come out to meet the party was a simple matter. Though the fight was challenging, Vasily and his comrades were finally able to ambush and bring her in - dead, unfortunately. Before long, the goblin armies began to fracture.
Taking a pause to gather his breath, Vasily briefly turned his mind to the dwarves prophecy again. Realizing how important the plane of shadow was, both to his future and to Loki's return, he began to study it. As he had discovered with his studies of divine radiance in the past, his studies into shadow taught him how to entrap pure darkness and bend it to his will. Cautiously, he began to put these techniques to use.
Vasily was not alone in his research. He could not condone Nikolai's reckless magical exploration, and the the divine energies the spellkeeper called forth were beginning to scare Vasily. When they later decided to assault a Lizardfolk city, Nikolai brought this power to bear, leveling the entire site. Fortunately, however, this act addressed several problems troubling Vasily. Not only was a major Lizardfolk outpost leveled, Vasily obtained several lizardfolk clerics for sacrifice in the Cult's restorative efforts. Furthermore, the clerics would have not only endeared him with the cult, but he could use the party's success as leverage to get the cult's attention away from harvesting human spellcasters - and instead help deal with a serious threat to midgard.
Blackmail and Black golems
(... or how Vasily became a Rog3,Wiz3,ArTr9)
And that's where things went horribly wrong... or horribly right. Ironically, Vasily, who swore by the notion that one word could topple a nation, was himself toppled by a single word. He had always been good at reading people - but cold, lifeless liches were another thing entirely. A critical misstep in dealing with the Archmage Chernovsky cost Vasily his body. When Vasily awoke (if you can call it that) and was subjected to the rawest form of interrogation possible, his hatred of wizards only increased. Magic was not a cudgel... tearing open a person's brain to peer inside and examine every minute detail of the person's life was a humiliating breach of privacy, and an unnecessary one at that. However, Vasily was no fool. He knew what they were doing, and carefully, subtly began to subvert their investigations. As his brain was ransacked, by sheer force of will and simple mundane trickery, Vasily managed to keep a hold of precious secrets, subvert the memories the lich and his vampire friend saw, and even managed to use the magical connection to look into their minds.
Of course, the interrogation eventually ended (none too soon for Vasily), and the lich decided to give Vasily a new perspective on things... twelve of them to be precise. Drawing Vasily's already tenuous grasp on reality to the brink, the lich spread his consciousness across twelve identical golems - and tasked him with creating a spatiotemporal map of the entire plane of Archeron. Vasily saw the opportunity and seized it: In exchange for completing the task without interference, he demanded admission to the cult's ruling council. Chernovsky agreed, knowing that Vasily's fragile mental state would never survive the ordeal.
But again, Vasily brought his mundane talents to bear on the issue. He formed alliances with adventurers seeking entrance to areas he was tasked with exploring. He spent his idle time optimizing his exploratory paths. He sat there, an intelligence spanning an entire plane, and thought. And in the end, Vasily returned, still clinging to the last bits of his sanity. Vasily's mundane talents brought him success, membership in the council, and leverage over at least one other member.
Knowledge is Power
(...or how Vasily became a Rog3,Wiz3,ArTr9,Lore1)
Taras. Another cult member in the group. While Vasily's attention was divided elsewhere, another cult member managed to sneak into the group. And making things even more preposterous, he claimed to be some sort of time-traveler. Though Vasily's friends assured him of Taras' loyalty, Vasily continued to question it; it certainly didn't help that Taras also claimed loyalty to the vampire Illyana. Still, someone like Taras was better to have up close - where Vasily could keep an eye on him.
The time-traveling bit, at least, turned out to be true. In an ill-fated rescue attempt, the party managed to send themselves spiraling forward in time to a distopian future where at at least three apocalypses had happened (if not more). Loki had returned, but the fate of Midgard kept most of the cult isolated, turning it into little more than a small cabal of rogues in exile in Archeron. This was less than ideal. Fortunately, the party had also returned with allies; letters from the future brought them into an unlikely alliance with an angel, and several of her close personal human friends. Together, they slew Jergal, son of the Demon of Fire and Storm, and (at least temporarily) managed to avert the Demon's return.
Meanwhile, Vasily's pursuits and priorities began to shift. Recent events had convinced him that his personal and leadership skills, though effective, were stunted by a lack of understanding of the world around him. He knew a great deal about Kiev and Novgorod, but little about the world outside the core of Russia. Isidor's business in Chernigov concerned him. German culture frowned on the use of magic, but only as a cudgel that the clergy used to seize power. Said's actions in Kiev were connected to his presence (or rather absence) in the Cherkess royal court. So, Vasily began to study. He used his contacts within the cult, as well asfriends from his youth on Novgorod's streets, to keep an eye on Novgorod while he turned his attention elsewhere: to the study of foreign languages, of foreign cultures and places, and redoubled his study of the past and the arcane.
Included in this study was the party's discovery of the famed Book of Bones. The corruption in the book was palpable - Careful analysis showed that the book contained a shard of the demon Azrashak. However, (at least in the council's mind) the book was the key to recovering Loki. Though learning the book's secrets would require a number of morally questionable experiments (mostly the creation of undead) - Vasily knew that in the council's hands, the book could be used to do far worse. So he and (a perhaps slightly too gleeful Nikolai) began reading...
Spy Network
- Novgorod
- Misc Agents
- Kiev
- Misc Agents
- Chernigov
- Lars
Goals
Having recovered Zmei's journal, Vasily is currently attempting to (with the support of the cult of Loki) decipher its meaning and figure out how to restore his dead god back to life. The next step in this process involves locating a cooperative full-blood dragon.
His long term goals are more expansive. Since hitting the road, he's been exposed to new ideas... new people... new forces. As before, he believes himself to be better, smarter, faster, more charismatic than all of them. He seeks power for power's sake. He has seen a lot, and he thinks the disorganized manner in which all the countries are being run is silly; with all the threats that abound, the children of Rurik should be working together (even if they don't know it). To this end Vasily plans to subvert the Cult of Loki and direct its resources (once Loki is restored of course) towards Russia. By the effective use of assassination, illusion, and good old fashioned diplomacy, he plans to become the man behind the curtain, the one person with control over everything. Once he has this, he plans to retire to a nice suburban town and live out his days... without a single soul suspecting that agents working for the "kindly old wizard" control every aspect of Russian life.
On a more personal note, Vasily doesn't like goblins... and he has a personal dislike of their god Volos. He's professional enough not to let this dislike interfere with his goals. However, he refuses to cooperate with the goblin's invasion plans... and will (when it doesn't conflict with his other tasks) take time out to work against the interests of both Volos and the goblins. This includes taking every opportunity possible to slay the undead agents of Volos. This also includes Siran, an agent cooperating with the goblin forces of Volos.
Motives
Vasily is above all else, a con artist. He's charismatic enough to have people eating out of his hand, and has the skills to back it up. On the other hand, though he puts immense stock in his people skills, he knows that what separates him from the common con man is his brains. Knowledge, after all, is power. In his Novgorod days, he supplemented his con-artistry by knowing who to strike and when and even used the occasional spell to help here and there. Now that his life is in danger on a daily basis, he has taken to using his arcane arts to defend himself.
On Evil
Vasily doesn't consider himself to be an "evil" person. In many respects, he isn't. He's generally willing to go out of his way to help people, and puts considerable value in trust and reliability. When dealing with people he considers to be his friends or peers, he always deals in good faith. Even when dealing with those not as fortunate, he will generally take the path that causes the least suffering and hardship for those he robs. However, there is a limit to his generosity. If pressured, placed in a difficult situation, or if someone stands in the way of his goals, he is more than capable of doing any number of unpleasant things to get what he wants/needs.
On Magic
Magic has always been a blunt instrument to him. Such immense power is hard to direct, hard to channel properly. He's a businessman... and magic has a habit of mucking up business relationships when used forcefully. Why charm someone into giving you their life savings when you can convince them that it's for the benefit of needy displaced Kievan orphans. This way, they don't try to kill you when the spell wears off. It even provides a setup for you the next time you need money.
This mentality extends to his use of magic. He dislikes the chaotic nature of area effect magic. Rather, Vasily exhibits a preference for versatile spells involving subtlety as well as for the elegance of precise, single target strikes. Since being forced onto the road, he's even picked up a trick or two, learning exactly how to target his spells for maximum effectiveness.
I find magic to be a blunt instrument not because of the power it grants, but rather because of the power it doesn't grant. The right word whispered into the right ear at the right time can topple a kingdom just as easily as it can bring me a bottle of vodka. When I will something to be done, it happens - not because those involved are compelled to act against their natures. It doesn't happen because they fear for their lives, the lives of their kin, or because of past debts. The players (be they puppets, pawns or actors) play the roles I set out for them by making a conscious and willing decision to do so. My will extends not just to their minds or hearts, but their very souls. That. That is power that magic can not grant. --Vasily