Anastasia

Name	Nuit
Race	Vampire
Type	Mortem
Faction	Nightbred
Premiere	Desideratum: Blood Bonds
Relative(s)	The Románova Family

Anastasíya Nikoláyevna Románova

"Every tear shed, remembers the dead."

Biography

Anastasia is the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, the last sovereign of Imperial Russia, and his wife, Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna. She was raised while there was still a Russian Empire, in 1901. "Anastasia" is a Greek name (Αναστασία), meaning "of the resurrection", a portend of what was to come. As she grew, her mother befriended Grigori Rasputin, a peasant and wandering starets- a type of holy man. Alexandra was convinced that this man held spiritual powers, and though such powers came at a cost, she was correct.

Rasputin became very close to the girl and her family. In time, they learned from his religious teachings, and grew even closer for it. Yet, many in Russia did not like that peasant having the ear of the Tsar, and terrible rumors circulated in society. Nicholas could no longer abide the holy man’s presence and sent him away. Rasputin did maintain his friendship via correspondence with the royal family, until his foul murder. This had a profound effect on Anastasia and she missed her friend. She had little time to grieve, after the Bolshevik revolution in October 1917, Russia quickly disintegrated into civil war. A group of these men, bloodthirsty and excited, burst into the room where she and her family hid, along with their servants. These ruthless men murdered the entire family on the spot, with Anastasia huddled in a corner, the last of her family, sobbing and holding an amulet that Rasputin had once given her, until they bayoneted her to death.

And, that is where things became strange. She woke with a start in a dark tomb. It took her mind a moment to grasp that she was alive. Then a familiar voice called her name. She turned to see Rasputin, alive, but pale and his eyes glowed like fire. They embraced, and he held the crying woman as he explained that he could not raise her entire family, managing only to recover her body. He had been resurrected as a vampire, and he did the same for her, unable to bear her death. They spent years avenging her family, killing the forces of Lenin, and draining them of their blood. They sabotaged things as well, sewing chaos for decades.

Anastasia tattooed her face in remembrance of her family, inking black tears to never forget the wonderful life she had lost. In time, the pair ran afoul of the Countess Elizabeth Báthory, interrupting her own plans to summon Nuit, and generally being a thorn in her side. When Ivor sent word out about what he intended, the pair set sail for the US. Upon arrival, they tried to seek an audience with Ivor, and had planned to fight him on the spot in their usual daring, bold way, but Báthory refused them and had them sent away. Before their attempt on visiting Ivor, they had spent hours wandering the Shanghai Tunnels with the thousands of other vampires arriving, and heard plenty of gossip. From this, they learned of Brone Lorcan, a nosferatu that they had heard of as far away as Russia. They were pleased to find the legend to be true and sought his aid.

They met him at the museum, and tried to strike a deal with him, in the hopes of stopping Ivor, but were interrupted by assassins sent by Báthory. She had hoped to destroy all three upstarts and claim the Book of Thoth for herself so that she- not Ivor- could summon the goddess. However, Brone drew the assassins away and Rasputin and Anastasia managed to flee. Having no other choice, they decided to reach out to the Night Stalkers. They had heard the name Van Gothen enough times in their undead lives to know that this accord might be the last chance at stopping Ivor.

Thanks to Katerina Mordova, Brone Lorcan, and Absinthe Van Gothen choosing to side with the pair, they forged an alliance. Anastasia and Rasputin gave the Night Stalkers valuable information on where to hit the Nightbred and how to defeat them in battle. When the night finally arrived, it was Anastasia who reacted quickly enough at Sanctuary to save the life of Katerina. After the defeat of Ivor, the pair left Portland, following Báthory back to Europe to hound her again.

Abilities

• Unholy Strength
• Expert Shot