Katrina Novikov

Katrina Novikov III was a non-player character in the main Crossworlds campaign. She was the ruler of the Crossworlds for its duration.

## History

Katrina III was born approximately 310 years ago from Katrina Novikov II and her munavri spouse. She was raised mostly by nannies and tutors, as her mother was decidedly too busy running the kingdom. As such, she was a lonely child. She busied herself with her studies, and was willing and ready to take her mother's position by the time she turned twenty.

She made her priority serving the people and keeping the rest of the government in line. She quickly became a beloved ruler known for a strict kindness. She nurtured her mother in her last days. Over the next several hundred years, she mastered an intimidating aura that could melt away for the right person.

And that right person she did find. She met Alyosha Tarasov, a human citizen of the Crossworlds. They fell in love and married, with Alyosha taking her last name, prompting the press to go absolutely wild.

Twelve years later, Alyosha fell ill. It wasn't long after that Katrina found out that she was carrying her first child. Despite the news, she was excited. She pulled her husband in on every decision, small and large, even when he was too sick to sit up properly. She cared for him, hoping that he would be alive to meet their child, but he passed away a month before he could.

Katrina gave birth to Zia Novikov, her first heir to the throne. She was a loving and caring mother. Remembering her own experiences growing up, she created time in her schedule where she would spend time with her daughter. During this time, nobody was allowed to contact her unless it was a plane-shaking emergency. She brought Zia to meetings, soothed her to sleep, and ate every meal she could at the same table.

She was also, because of this, increasingly aware of her daughter's reluctance to take up her duties. She assigned extra guards to Zia as she grew closer to a coronation date and gave her a stricter schedule. In the meantime, she had duties of her own to worry about. She had secured an alliance with Egalia and its ruler, Darcy Reynolds. However, due to customs of this neighboring kingdom, they had agreed to a marriage of convenience.

For the first time since she was married, she took off her wedding ring and exchanged it for Darcy's. It was not a loving marriage. They never so much as slept in the same bed. They rarely spoke outside of practical needs. Still, they didn't hate each other. At first, anyway.

Katrina met Killian Foy twelve years later, at a gala she and Darcy were hosting. Killian was attempting to pull off a heist, but they found themselves trapped in each other's casting and forced to either sit in angry silence or interact. In an unlikely series of events, they spent the night with each other. Katrina thought little of this until she realized she was carrying a second child.

Nobody was happy about this. Katrina knew who it belonged to. Darcy knew that it wasn't his, and resented Katrina for it but pleaded with her to keep the child. The only person that felt positive about this was Zia, who saw a potential way out of the throne.

Later in her pregnancy, Killian reconnected with her and explained that nobody could know of his paternity, even the child. Not only that, but he warned her to never let her child near Capua Tor, and that Alseta may not take to him as she had taken to the rest of the Novikov family. She assured him that she would be careful, assuming that he was a *follower* of Shade or Lyvalia. She was relieved when Luka Novikov was born with her golden eyes rather than his father's violet ones.

She divorced Darcy soon after, citing parental differences to the public. She raised Luka to believe that Darcy was, in fact, his father. She consoled him when his older sister ran away, and continued to make the same concessions she had for Zia. She kept a closer eye on Luka, raising him from the outset to lean into his coming duties as ruler of the Crossworlds.

Luka was excited for his duties, and Katrina delighted. She delegated duties to him before his coronation date was even set, leading him to meet the party. She was aware of his actions as Spectre, but given that it furthered her own agenda and allowed him freedom, she made the strategic decision not to bring it up. She knew that by allowing him to leave Refersi without guards, to adventure on his own, she was risking a lot. She had never told him to avoid Capua Tor, and to do so now would be suspicious. Still, she allowed him to leave.

In his absence, she began preparing for the possibility that she would need a new heir. She knew he would be okay, and sent letters to him often, but worried that he would learn the truth about his father, or his sister, and decline the throne as well. It was during this period that she met a tiefling from a neighboring kingdom and hit it off. They decided that the Crossworlds and his kingdom would become allies, perhaps securing this alliance through a marriage. However, Katrina held off, concerned about loopholes or conditions that would revoke Luka's right to the throne.

She knew as soon as he told her he'd gotten into Kritya that he had, in fact, been to Capua Tor. She wanted him and his friends, who had *somehow* secured divinity, back in Refersi as soon as possible. She organized a gala to be held in their honor and requested their presence almost immediately.

The morning after the gala, Luka finally confronted her about the secrets she had held for eighteen years about his father. Knowing that she couldn't hide it anymore, she told him about her short-lived relationship with Killian Foy. She explained that while she regretted that night and the consequences it brought to her marriage, she considered him a blessing.

After the battle, she sat with Luka as he explained his own newfound divinity. The fact that Killian was Shade certainly came as a surprise, but she'd reflect later that it explained some strange occurrences in Luka's childhood. She assured him that it would be alright if he no longer felt capable to take the throne. Once he agreed, she set to work securing the alliance she'd been considering.

It was barely a year before she discovered she was carrying not one heir to the throne, but two. She gave birth to Vasha and Irina Novikov. This time, she ensured their happiness. She prepared both of them for the throne but warned them from an early age that only one of them could take the role while the other remained a princess. She roped Luka into the teaching process. She spent time with them as often as possible, but allowed them space to grow and frequent trips from Refersi.

Vasha took the throne twenty years after the twins were born, excited for her duties and with a priority to create a fairer justice system. Katrina finally retired to live with her husband, where she resides today.