Dr. Vitalyia Reznikov

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## **History**

### Early Life

Vitalyia was to Alexander and Ophelia Reznikov. The pair had tried for many years to conceive a child and Ophelia feared for the worst when time after time again she failed to get pregnant. When Vitalyia was born, Alexander and Ophelia were incredibly relieved and it seemed to them that their little girl was a miracle from the Light itself.

The Reznikov family had a comfortable life living in Brill. Alexander was a court physician to the Menethil family as well as the town doctor. Ophelia helped her husband by creating and maintaining a vast garden full of medicinal herbs and flowers. Many of Vitalyia's earliest memories consist of her following her father around the town and castle as he visited patients and helping her mother in the garden.

Alexander was more than happy to support his daughter's interest in medicine and as Vitalyia entered her teenage years she became her father's assistant. Whether this meant fetching supplies from her mother's garden or handing her father tools during surgery, Vitalyia was invested in her family craft and was determined to follow in her father's footsteps.

As with any field of study, there was only so much Vitalyia could learn from her father and the other physicians of the court. On her 20th birthday she enrolled into Stormwind's Medical College to continue her studies and obtain her medical license. With Alexander's letter of recommendation and her carrying the Reznikov name, it wasn't long before Vitalyia was sent her acceptance letter. The day she left was filled with happy tears and words of congratulations from both her family and the patients she had helped.

### The Third War

As reports of the plague began to flood into Lordaeron, Alexander became one of the lead researchers into the outbreak. Vitalyia wrote to her father every week as the two exchanged theories and words of encouragement with one another. After a few weeks, the letters stopped coming and an official quarantine was placed onto the Kingdom of Lordaeron.

When news of the quarantine hit Stormwind, Vitalyia rode as fast as she could to the border with nothing on her mind but putting her new found knowledge to work and finding out what happened to her family. Once she arrived, she was informed that the plague had hit the capital and Prince Arthas, the same little boy she had played with as a child, had assassinated his father. Vitalyia scoured the faces of the refugees with a shred of hope that her parents would be part of the survivors. Instead, she found a shaken woman whom Vitalyia recognized from when she delivered her baby shortly before she left for Stormwind.

The woman explained that, as the people of the town began to fall one by one, the stress was beginning to weigh on Alexander. Vitalyia's father lost one patient after another and it wasn't long before all of the lives lost under his hand began to drive Alexander to the edge. Eventually, the doctor contracted the plague himself and in response Alexander quarantined himself in his office. He spent the rest of his life desperately looking for a cure until the plague finally consumed himself as well.

A numbness filled Vitalyia as she listened to the woman's story. Her family was gone and there was no amount of medical knowledge in the world that could bring them back. A knot formed in Vitalyia's gut as she thought of her father and mother turning into mindless shamblers unable to do anything but follow the usurpers will. She rode back to Stormwind as quick as she could with nothing else on her mind besides the burning sensation of loss and revenge bubbling in her stomach.

### The Rise of the Lich King

When Vitalyia returned to the college she began her work on unraveling the plague. She spent the majority of her time scouting out banned literature on the Scourge and studying forbidden artifacts in an attempt to unlock their secrets. In Vitalyia's mind there was no way to cure something no one understood. The only way to discover how to stop the plague was to find out how it started in the first place.

The Stormwind Medical College seriously frowned upon human experimentation but Vitalyia saw no qualms in it if it brought her closer to a cure. At night, she would abduct the denizens of the streets and back alleys to test her theories on. Vitalyia became consumed by her work and soon began skipping out on classes and dismissing her actual living patients. When the staff of the college investigated further they found her stash of black market research material and the men and women she was experimenting on.

The Stormwind Medical College immediately revoked Vitalyia's license and cast her out of Stormwind. They vowed to destroy any reputation that the Reznikov family held in the medical field to stop a monster such as herself from continuing her work. In another life, Vitalyia may have been crushed by their verdict, but she knew that she would get farther in her study if she wasn't restrained by the concept of ethics.

### Present

Vitalyia moved to the Eastern Plaguelands in an attempt to get as far away from the eye of the medical board as she possibly could. Seeing her old homeland covered in death and decay only fueled her desire to find a cure. The presence of the Argent Dawn was a pleasant surprise to the doctor and the organization was interested in helping her further her study if she would work for them as a physician.

The more Vitalyia dug into the magic and structure of the Scourge the closer she came to finding her patron. One night, as the doctor hit wall after wall in her research, a corruption demon by the name of Kavarak reached out to her through an old tome she had picked up months earlier. Ner'zhul's priests had created the book as a prison for the demon and a catalyst to channel its powers.

The only thing Kavarak wanted more than to escape his bindings was to see the Scourge and everything Ner'zhul had built cease to exist. He promised to grant Vitalyia his unholy powers to continue her research if, in exchange, once the Scourge was destroyed Kavarak could take the doctor's body to inhabit and escape his confines. Once Vitalyia cured the plague, her life's drive ceased to exist and the only thing she wanted was to be with her mother and father once again. She accepted the deal full well knowing the consequences that lay at the end of her research.

With a plethora of fresh Scourge samples, the support of the Argent Dawn, and her new found powers Vitalyia was free to continue her practice in any way she deemed necessary. Her hunt for Scourge artifacts brought her in contact with a privateering company, The Obsidian Sun Company. She accepted their offer of employment in hopes of being able to study Scourge artifacts that came into their possession. When Vitalyia is not working in her lab she could be found running jobs and appraising the relics that the company comes across.

## Physical Description

Vitalyia is taller than average and looks like she doesn't weigh more than 130 pounds soaking wet. Her grey hair is tied up into a neat bun and a small pair of spectacles sits in front of hazel eyes. The doctor's face is angular and gaunt; high cheek bones lead way into a strong jawline all covered by unnaturally pale flesh. Dark bags hang under her eyes which are only accentuated by her pallid skin. It doesn’t seem as if she minds though. While other women may attempt to cover it up with makeup it doesn’t look like there is an ounce of artificial color on Vitalyia's face.

Despite Vitalyia's lack of curves, her clothing fits nice and snugly as if every piece is hand tailored to fit her lithe form. A large book hangs off of her belt by a chain that looks more suited to be holding up something heavier than a few hundred pages of bound paper. The cover itself is simply just a piece of cured leather with an imprint of a cross, the upper portion backed by a circle. There is an eeriness to this book. Almost as if it’s watching you closely and attempting to peer past your mortal form and into something deeper inside of you.

As Vitalyia walks by, the smell of roses perfume hangs in the air masking the smell of decay coming off of the woman. At times, bits of viscera and rotting flesh cling to her gloves and boots alluding to the kind of work that she does. Despite Vitalyia's usually chipper tone, there is a sense of tiredness to her voice as if it’s been awhile since she has gotten a proper night's sleep. In every conversation the woman chooses her words deliberately. As if she is only telling partial truths in anything that she says.

## Personality

Finding Scourge artifacts and illegal tomes isn't a favorable task and has caused Vitalyia to spend much of her time in back alley markets and bartering with unsavory tomb robbers. Therefore, she quickly learned that her own well being, and coin purse, should be put first and foremost.

Vitalyia's time in school and her own work experience has caused her to think with a very logical mind. The scientific method can be applied to more than just medicine and the doctor is very likely to think of all of the options before jumping to a conclusion.

With Vitalyia's experience working with demons and scoundrels she learned what to say to get what she wants. Making deals seemed to become a normal part of her life and with practice makes perfect. Vitalyia's quick wit and silver tongue has gotten her out of many troublesome situations