Vladimir Zelanski

Lady Olya Baranova (mother)

Prince Petrov Zelanski (brother)

Lady Malina Petrova (former wife)

### Affiliation

House Zelanski (member, second in line for the throne)Zyabak (citizen, member of royal family)

## Physical description

### Weight

144 lbs

Prince Vladimir Zelanski, known as the Red Prince of Zyabak, is a member of Zyabak's royal family. The great-grandson of the reigning Tsar, Ivan I, Vladimir is the son of the Crown Prince, Ivan, and is second in line to the throne of Zyabak. Like his father, Vladimir is little loved by the people of his country, known to be a cold, uncaring man. Nevertheless, Vladimir wields great power in Zyabak, having been appointed Grand Marshal of the Zyabaki Armed Forces and prosecuting a brutal campaign of conquest against the tsardom's neighbor, Crovia.

## Biography

### Early Life

Prince Vladimir was born in 1180 CE, to Prince Ivan Zelanski and his wife, Lady Olya Baranova. His birth put great strain on his mother, whose health was delicate, and left her bedridden for nearly three months after he was born. As the court physician advised further attempts at pregnancy be put off for the sake of her health, Vladimir spent the first few years of his life bereft of the usual clutches of siblings most princes experienced.

During this time, Vladimir was something of a loner, having very few friends, and spent much of his time in his mother's company. However, when he was six, his brother Petrov was born a month premature. Vladimir refused to be parted from her side after the long and difficult labor, and was present when Lady Olya died three days after the birth.

Vladimir blamed his brother Petrov for their mother's death, and prayed that he would die. However, against all odds, Petrov lived, much to Vladimir's disappointment. Nevertheless, he endeavored to torment Petrov as much as he could in childish acts of vengeance, sneaking into his nursery in order to pinch his brother and make him cry.

### Growing Up

For the first few years after his mother's death, Vladimir spent much of his time in isolation, not doing much besides attending the lessons of his tutors. When he was ten, his uncle Dmitri took him out hunting for the first time, and Vladimir finally found something that interested him, enjoying the thrill of the kill, and becoming proficient in tracking and the use of the bow. During his teens, Vladimir took up the hobby of breeding fine hunting hounds, and amassed himself a coterie of guardsmen who he began to spend most of his time with. He grew particularly close with a man named Andrei, eventually taking him as a lover. Additionally, while not a strong warrior, Vladimir did take well to the lessons he received on the subject of military history and strategy.

### Marriage

Vladimir was married at the age of eighteen, to Lady Malina Petrova. Though he protested the marriage, given his preference towards men, his words fell on deaf ears, and the marriage went through. However, his father, Prince Ivan, did speak out in support of Ivan, protesting the marriage on his son's behalf. Though his pleas too were useless, Vladimir has always greatly appreciated the fact that his father stuck up for him during the incident.

Naturally, the match between Vladimir and Malina was loveless, and was childless, until Lady Malina was found pregnant in CE 1201. Never having touched her, Vladimir knew the child was not his. Having long loathed his wife as an insipid fool, Vladimir took the opportunity to accuse her of high treason, causing a scandal that shook the court. While the tsar pardoned Lady Malina for her crime on account of her high birth, and arranged for an annulment of the marriage on the grounds that it had not been consummated, Vladimir was able to discover the identity of her lover, finding him to be a household guardsman named Yosef.

Vladimir himself oversaw that the man was tortured to death, personally gelding him and sending his genitals to Lady Malina in a gilded box. After the incident, Vladimir received no further marriage proposals.

### Conquest of Crovia

In 1213 CE, when Tsar Ivan declared war against the Republic of Crovia for (insert triggering reason to be established later), Vladimir was given command over a sizeable force of the Zyabaki military, serving under his uncle Prince Dmitri. However, after Prince Dmitri was slain during the Battle of Riev in 1214 CE, crushed by a wild trebuchet shot, Vladimir assumed command, being appointed Grand Marshal of the Zyabaki Armed Forces, and successfully stormed and captured Riev. The massacre that followed was known as the Rape of Riev by the Crovians, where the Zyabaki soldiers ran amok, burning, looting, killing and raping as they put every man who had raised arms against them to the sword. Every nobleman within the city was executed, with several ancient Crovian lines being extinguished on Vladimir's orders. It was after this bloody atrocity that he gained the epithet of "the Red Prince".

When Vladimir's cousin, the seventeen year old Prince Mikael, sought the tsar's permission to join in the battle against Crovia, Vladimir and his father the Crown Prince both argued against Mikael's participation, citing their concern for his safety. In reality, the pair did not wish the popular young prince's presence on the warfront to upstage Vladimir himself. Unfortunately, Mikael snuck onto the front lines, posing as a common soldier. He was among the first over the walls of the port city of Rustovich, raising the Zyabaki flag over the city and personally slaying (insert lord name here) in single combat. When the heroes of the Battle of Rustovich were brought before Vladimir to be commended for their efforts, Vladimir immediately recognized his cousin, and sent him home in a cold fury. He was further enraged by the fact that news of Mikael's valiant heroism spread, and even more so when songs of Mikael's patriotism, courage, and desire for righteous vengeance began to be composed.

The subsequent two years saw a drastic increase in the brutality of the war, with Vladimir employing numerous mercenaries to ravage the Crovian countryside. Recently, he engaged a fleet of Hyrochi sellsails to blockade the Crovian capital city of Tabor.

## Physical Appearance

Like most members of House Zelanski, Vladimir's hair is naturally black. Since he began to bald in his early thirties, he has commanded his barber to keep his head completely shaved, though he does sport a black goatee, which he combs to a pointed position. He also wears a mustache, though several grey hairs have become visible in it.

Vladimir's eyes are the typical Zelanski green, though his are an extremely pale, greyish shade of the color. His face is gaunt and narrow, and he possesses a distinct aquiline nose, inherited from his mother.

In terms of his build, Vladimir is of average height, standing at 5'9'' (175.26 cm), and possesses a lean, wiry build, with narrow shoulders and a flat stomach. His skin is quite pale, even by Druskevi standards, and he has a red birthmark upon the right corner of his jaw.

## Personality

Vladimir is a cold, calculating man. Possessed of a shrewd intelligence and a strong capacity for patience, he does not forget slights, and is quite meticulous in planning revenge for them. Largely devoid of empathy for the common man, Vladimir is capable of ordering death and torture without a second thought, and has no qualms whatsoever about dirtying his own hands. Not possessed of any capacity for charm, Vladimir leads through fear, speaking in a soft, quiet voice that forces others to silence themselves in order to hear him. A sadistic streak runs through him, and he enjoys act of killing and making other people afraid of him, though he largely keeps these tendencies in check.

## Relationships

### Tsar Ivan Zelanski

Vladimir respects his great-grandfather's achievements as a monarch, his intelligence, and his long experience in rule and battle, but is not particularly fond of him. He views the tsar as overly sentimental and merciful, and thinks that he has gone soft in his old age. He hopes that Tsar Ivan will perish soon, and hasten his own ascent to the throne, though he does not dislike him enough that he wishes to hurry his passing. He also resents the Tsar for the marriage he forced upon him.

### Crown Prince Ivan Zelanski

Vladimir considers to be intelligent and a capable administrator, and does have a strong affection and respect for him, though he also considers his aversion to combat and general physical activity to be a weakness. Vladimir often corresponds with his father, and they have discussed on numerous occasions what they will do once the tsar dies and the Crown Prince ascends the throne. He also greatly appreciates the fact that while his father is aware of Vladimir's sexual proclivities, he has never treated him differently because of it.

### Prince Petrov Zelanski

Vladimir despises his younger brother, blaming him for killing their mother, and takes great pleasure whenever Petrov makes a fool out of himself. As Petrov is a slave to his impulses, prone to frequent drinking, eating, and whoring, Vladimir loathes him all the more, considering him to be a worthless oaf and a disgrace to their house. Given that Petrov would be next in line to the throne after him, and the idea of him being Tsar is abhorrent, Vladimir is even considering marrying again for the sole purpose of producing an heir that would supplant Petrov's place in the line of succession.

## Abilities

Vladimir is an ordinary human, and does not possess any magical traits. However, he is fairly athletic, with endurance and dexterity somewhat above average for human norms.

## Skills

Vladimir is a skilled and shrewd general, having a firm grasp of military strategy and tactics, having read numerous books on military history and been taught the ways of war since childhood. Given his noble heritage, he was also trained to horsemanship and battle from an early age, though he does not particularly excel in either, preferring to lead his battles from the rear. He is, however, an adept archer and a skilled woodsman, and is capable of skinning and gutting beast or man with equal ease.