Nikolai, "Crushes Injustice" Volkov
| Character Name | Nikolai Volkov |
|---|---|
| Pronouns | He/Him |
| Tribe | Get of Fenris |
| Camp | Fangs of Garm |
| Auspice | Philodox |
| Breed | Homid |
| Rank | Fostern |
| Sept | Sept of the Lonely Mountain |
| Faction | Gaian Alliance |
| Pack | The Sentinels |
| Position(s) | Guardian |
Further Information
Sporting blond hair and at a tall 6’6”, he walks confidently, his face defaulting to a look that borders on sneering in unhappiness. He is wearing an elaborate and well made black leather jacket, complete with a military style braid and, curiously, a single armoured shoulder and armplate, coming down to his hand on his left side. The shoulder plate prominently bears the Get of Fenris Glyph. He speaks with a low voice with a very heavy Eastern European accent. Any chance that his bass tone makes him difficult to hear, however, is dashed due to his general volume.
Obvious Traits: Heroic Lineage, Appearance Focus
1983 (Age 0) March 28th: Nikolai Volkov is born in Estonia while still a state of the USSR. Born as the first child to a Heroic line of the Get of Fenris, the Baptism By Fire Rite proclaimed, to the joy of his parents, that he was to become Garou. This instantly catapulted him into a different life than what one would normally consider. Even with the drawbacks of being a satellite state of the USSR, the Lineage was possessed of resources and means to keep the child sequestered from the public. His young life would prove to be severe but, in the mindset of the Get of Fenris, all too necessary.
1991 (Age 7) February 2nd: Aleksey Volkov is born.
The 8th child to his parents, Aleksey was seen as the runt of the litter, particularly as the Baptism By Fire Rite revealed he would be a Kin. The Lineage had no real need for another Kin. But more than that, there was just something always off about Aleksey. When growing up and sent to human schools he was never able to fit in. Almost as though he gave off the Curse, despite not being a full Garou. He was pulled from society at large, only rarely being allowed out of the Sept, and even then under strict supervision. Seen as an embarrassment, his family would never truly accept him. Nikolai, not wanting to disobey his father, but still wanting to support his brother, treats him with an awkward distance.
August 20th: Estonia declares its independence from the Soviet Union. During its occupation, Estonia was forced into a manufacturing economy, which polluted large portions of the natural environment. By the end of the decade, Estonia will have become one of the leading software developers in the world.
The Silver Fang noble house, House Austere Howl, has been using the budding alliance of the European Union and the decline of the USSR as an excuse to seek territory outside of the British Isles. They end up gaining positions of prominence in Septs throughout Estonia, claiming their rights to rule from more Moscow focused Silver Fangs.
Unbeknownst to all, House Austere Howl had turned towards Wyrm worship. House Gleaming Eye started to purge them, which left a power vacuum in Estonia just prior to Estonia declaring its independence.
The Get of Fenris take over the Septs of Estonia, and they strike a deal with Weaver spirits in the cities; essentially a non-aggression pact. The Weaver will let the Garou maintain such a large portion of the country’s resources in their natural state if they stay out of the cities. While this is happening, local Garou and Fera are able to keep approximately 50% of Estonia’s land as natural landscape, largely cleaning the pollution left behind in the wake of Austere Howl and the USSR.
2003 (Age 20) February 6th: Nikolai undergoes his First Change.
His family rejoices, he gains what seems like true respect from his father for the first time. The feelings of elation quickly are overtaken by the feelings of both responsibility and a sudden increase in training. He learns a new definition of pain and hardship before he even is sent to be accepted into the local Sept.
June 3rd: Nikolai’s Rite of Passage.
He is assigned to investigate the claims of a group of Kinfolk that something is wrong with the goings on at a protest over an oil pipeline leaking in an area near an aquifer. Along with him are several members of the organized crime syndicate that his father is in charge of. When he arrived at the scene of the protest, he saw the protesters being harassed by the police. They were being pushed back, and were close to being broken up. Nikolai was able to identify several of the police as being possessed by Banes into acting particularly brutally.
Ignoring the protests of the Kinfolk, he proceeded towards the beleaguered protesters. He made his way to their centre, before launching into a loud rallying cry. While the Kinfolk looked on in hesitation and confusion, he whipped the failing protesters into anger. When the police began to beat him with clubs, he took the beatings, but also invoked his Tribe’s gifts to endure what amounted to a savage amount of punishment. The gang members, seeing this, realized that they had no choice, but attacked. It was then that the protest turned into a brawl. Now fighting back, the tide turned against the police who were beset on two fronts. Most of them survived, but the ones who were possessed did not.
After the incident, he was named “Crushes Injustice” by his father, who was eager to make the most out of this opportunity to aggrandize his lineage.
2004 (Age 21) Estonia becomes part of the EU and NATO.
2005 (Age 22) Estonia becomes the first state to conduct an election over the internet. The Get of Fenris fail to recognize this as the Weaver tightening her grip on the citizens of Estonia.
2006 (Age 23) Nikolai earns Fostern. He is seen as a rising star in the local Sept, especially with the political machinations of his father assisting him. He is soon introduced to a promising Kinfolk with good breeding and connections to other families and takes her as his mate.
2007 (Age 24) Nikolai’s son is born. Complications in the birth render his mate unable to have any more children, but the Baptism of Fire is auspicious.
2011 (Age 28) January 1st: Arrival of the First of Many and the Telos.
The Get of Fenris were suspicious of these new allies and still are to this day. Only as individuals prove themselves in battle do these suspicions begin to fade but it is difficult to let one’s guard down around them.
2012 (Age 29) February 1st: The Cearn Plague.
As caerns fell, the Get of Fenris suffered great losses. Most would not leave, resigning to their fates as they felt it better to stand and fight than have their Glory tainted by retreat. Those who did move to other caerns would band together there, forming the battle lines and strengthening those defenses as they moved.
June 12th: First Shard Seed Planting
Many Get of Fenris eagerly defend the ritual that plants the Shard Seed and ties it to the land. When it is a success, they are hungry to get their own seeds and lead new protectorates as Sept Leaders and members of the Sept Councils.
July 4th: The Kinfolk Incident.
When brothers, sisters, and children disappeared, it set a fire of rage within the Get of Fenris. They grew angered with the Glass Walkers over their own kins’ dependency to technology and succumbing to the One Song. The Get of Fenris' respect for the kinfolk’s place grew, mainly to keep them near where they could be watched in case they would walk away.
July 5th: The Glasswalker tech crash.
Estonia is hit particularly hard, as they have moved to a modern tech economy. Due to their non-aggression pact, few sheed shards need to be moved to avoid the worst of the Weaver’s forces. Unfortunately, this leaves the Get of Fenris out of their element, as this new enemy is essentially unknown to them.
This affirmed the Glass Walkers' fault in the kinfolks’ disappearances in the eyes of most Get of Fenris and bolstered many in their faith of the Sanctum of Gaia’s tenets.
July 9th: The Kitsune leave the Beast Courts.
August 8th: The Sanctum of Gaia is formed.
The Get of Fenris of Estonia enthusiastically join the Sanctum of Gaia.
September 1st: Kinfolk officially become a part of the Nation.
A mix of pride and fear come over the Get of Fenris. They are glad to see their brothers and sisters have a voice and prove their worth to the Nation as individuals, but they see that individuality pulling them away from their protection and worry for what is left of their kin.
2013 (Age 30) February 2nd: The Jade Curtain goes up (Year of the Serpent).
Surprisingly, the Get of Fenris are welcoming to those allies who stayed in the West, closed off from their homelands. Those Sept Leaders offer hospitality to any who have been displaced as long as they fight beside them in battle. The Tribe has little love for the Beast Courts who turned their back on the united effort.
November 20th: The Concordat of Stars is formed.
2014 (Age 31) Estonia becomes the first state to offer e-residency.
At this point the Get of Fenris are aware of the threat, but do not know what to do about it. Their war to purge the Weaver of the cities of Estonia continues to fail.
October 1st: Ahadi Alliance shuts its borders.
The Get of Fenris welcome those who were closed off from their homelands. Garret Villborge takes this personally due to his own connection to the lands to which he is now denied access.
2015 (Age 32) Nikolai earns Adren. After the ceremony, he talks to Aleksey and councils him on what will happen if he goes through with his secret desire to request the Bite. Although he does not discourage him, he assures him that his father and lineage will be furious.
2017 (Age 34) April 28th: Aleksey receives the Bite and survives.
October 10th: Aleksey earns Cliath.
Nikolai congratulates him in private, and informs him that his deed name was a concealed mockery by their father. Conflicted, Nikolai tells Aleksey to prove father wrong.
December 12th: The Kisune introduce the Rite of Harmonious Journey.
The Get of Fenris are excited to welcome their kinfolk to their packs. It gives them an opportunity to keep a watchful eye on them and add their strength to their own. They are less welcoming to those who are not warriors of other Fera breeds.
2018 (Age 35) March 9th: Aleksey earns Fostern.
Despite this, his family rejects him for asking for the Bite and being unable to continue their Heroic line. Nikolai, having warned him of this inevitable outcome, does not treat him any different than the rest of the family.
September 1st: Aleksey, in desperation, heads to America to battle Wyrm and Weaver alike in Worcester County. Nikolai is the only one to see him go, coming up with the excuse that he must verify to their father that Aleksey is truly gone.
2019 (Age 36) February 18th to March 19th: Get of Fenris Civil War
A large faction of the Tribe turns their back on the Nation, seeing its alliance with other shifters as weakness. Their hearts were filled with tainted Rage, fueled by the Beast of War itself. The splinter faction, calling themselves Hasswolfe, used a twisted version of the tribal glyph as a symbol for their group on their flags and bodies. Garret and his camp leaders call what is left of the tribe to arms and they descend upon the Hasswolfe they once called brothers and sisters. There is a great battle where the Jarlhammer carried by Garret Villborge is sundered, but victory goes to the Get of Fenris, resulting in a purge of The Hasswolfe. Garret Villborge decides that the Tribal Glyph should be changed and the Fangs of Garm are given the additional task of rooting out any remaining Hasswolfe members who may have escaped their purge. Garret Villborge travels to the Umbra with the Incarna of Fenris at his side, seeking a new weapon. The journey takes him to Mars and the realm of Nurgul. There, he finds an axe made of pure sharpened Ice. This weapon becomes a symbol of leadership and becomes the icon of the new Tribal Glyph.
Nikolai convinces his father to call Aleksey back and join in the ensuing war, arguing that if their younger brother dies, then they are free of their shame and can bury him with honour. Secretly though, he hopes this can be an opportunity for his youngest brother to prove himself and serve as leverage to force his father to accept him back.
Although Aleksey proves himself, Nikolai is unable to convince their father to change his views. While Aleksey returns to America, Nikolai is assigned to hunting down and bringing the Tribe’s judgement to any Hasswolfe who escaped the purge.
September 22nd: The formation of the Gaian Alliance.
The Get of Fenris are not happy with the other Breeds forming their own independent faction despite being unwelcoming of the idea of those Fera joining the Nation. There is little evidence The Get of Fenris would be happy with any outcome involving the alliances with other Fera breeds.
October 1st: The Red Talon exodus.
The Get of Fenris are troubled by their Red Talon allies leaving the Nation. Of the other Tribes, the Red Talons shared the Get of Fenris’ ferocity in battle and were respected for their views on the Wyld and humanity. The Get of Fenris are protective of those Red Talons who remain and try to appeal to the leaders of the tribe to get them to return.
2020 (Age 37)
Having hunted the Hasswolfe for a year, Nikolai returns in glory and honour. On the eve of his ceremony to earning Athro however, his mate and child are ambushed and murdered. That same day, Nikolai’s father accuses him of being responsible for the deaths. In the ensuing trial, Nikolai says not a single word. The Get take this as an admission of guilt and carry out his father’s suggested sentence of a Satire Rite. He remains Fostern to this day.
2021 (Age 38) November 11th: The Massacre of the Volkovs
Nikolai’s family compound is attacked. Striking in the dead of night and with neither mercy nor sign of their passing, Nikolai only survives due to chance as his motorcycle broke down while he was patrolling and he needed to walk his way back home. Coming back, he saw the flames. He found his father, who lay dying. Moments from death, he gave his last order: Nikolai must survive, take what assets he could salvage and make his way swiftly to America.
November 19th: Arrival at The Lonely Mountain
Nikolai arrives at the Sept, riding his motorcycle that in the US is comically outlandish, but still causes Glass Walkers near physical disgust to behold, so he doesn’t mind. He finds himself agog at the state of the Sept, having never seen such a diverse gathering. He calls a family Meeting and provides the last of the traditional mead, for those who are on duty and cannot drink, as well as buckets of vodka for those who can. He gives Aleksey the honour of choosing who to name as Friends of their family, an honour denied him by their father.
Named so are: DARKRUNNER (Cliath Fianna Ragabash), KYLE (Black Fury Kinfolk) and FRONT TOWARDS ENEMY (Athro Bone Gnawer Galliard).
They are the first to learn of the massacre.
After, Nikolai is offered Acceptance into the Sept, but is conflicted as he wishes to clear the Dishonourable from the Sept Leader, unaware of the complete circumstances around the issue.
- Estonian: "Nikolai is the last living decent of Ruslan the Lion, our Heroic Ancestor who can sire children. I will not allow our family's legacy to fail. He will live." - Aleksey "Aleks" Volkov
| Player | William Smith |
|---|---|
| Pronouns | He/Him |
| MES # | Pending |
| Domain | MA-005-D |
| Storyteller | Erin Smith |
