Vilya Zyomin

Hellasar Goncharov, Dimir Smirnoff, Ivantal Goncharov, Herahd Kepeshkmolik, Threkesh Kepeshkmolik (cousins)

### Occupation

Mercenary
Leader of the Zyomingard

Vilya Zyomin is a mercenary in Arcadia, a former member of the Murder of Crows and the founder and leader of the Zyomingard.

## Appearance

Zyomin is a tall and well-built woman with pale skin and dark eyes. Her hair is usually done in a braided crown with the excess hair done in rope braids and draped over the opposite shoulders. As a revenant, she has permanent dark shadows around her eyes. Half of her hair has turned white from the overabundance of magic that was used to restore her head.

## Personality

Zyomin is a woman of a few words. She is level-headed, professional, and can often seem cold at first. Zyomin can be kind, helpful, and generous, but no one would typically call her "nice."

## Biography

Vilya Zyomin was adopted by Zoran and Toqiro Zyomin, a dragonborn couple in Lycia. As a teenager, Zyomin trained with Zoran and some other members of the Acid Snakes. She eventually picked up work for them, alongside an orphan recruit named Ziya Niano. She got into trouble when her entire team was infected with madness-inducing parasites, and Zyomin chose to kill them rather than let them spread and suffer. Ziya was among those infected, but unbeknowst to Zyomin, she survived. Thanks to Zoran's sway in the gang, Constance Keenore exiled Zyomin rather than executing her. Zyomin's fathers encouraged her to flee Lycia for a while to lie low, so Zyomin travelled to Arcadia and began working for the Murder of Crows. She later left Arcadia and went to Drakkenbone, her father's home and lived with her aunts Alikras and Vyrarith and her cousins Herahd and Threkesh.

When Drakkenbone suffered a political coup at the hands of Kromtharm, Zyomin and her cousins started the Drakkengard to rebel against him. Zyomin and Herahd were leaders alongside Terebovka Fenik and Archibald McDonough. Despite its initial success, the rebellion slowly dwindled after its fifth leader was killed. Zyomin herself was killed as well, by a powerful warrior on Kromtharm's side named Jenters Wallifer when their fight ended with Jenters caving Zyomin's head in. Two weeks later, Zyomin awoke in her coffin and clawed her way out of her grave as a revenant. She never met who did her transformation, but she learned that they had overshot their magic when repairing her body, causing the excess magic to leak out as spells she could cast.

Zyomin left Drakkenbone after that, but did not go back to the Murder and instead started the Zyomingard with her old contact and partner, Lykke Bjornbrand, and eventually recruited Dante Rosmarino, Nico Acquarone, Emilia Limoncello, Gin Diciao, and Raffaella Battaglia. She stole Gin and Raffaella from the Murder, causing a fracture between her and her former boss, the Count.

Zyomin once encountered and worked with a younger Demetrius Beck and remained one of his contacts.

In 1608 PS, Zyomin received a visit from Demetrius Beck, Verin Gallus, Averford Gallus, and Xiao Kai, asking her to help resurrect their friend, who was none other than Ziya Niano. Since she did not know who resurrected her, Zyomin instead decided to conduct a ritual herself. She breathed life into Ziya, transferring the excess undead energy into her. Ziya was brought back to life as a revenant, and Zyomin lost her ability to cast spells.

## Abilities

### General Abilities

* Fighting Prowess: Zyomin is a skilled fighter, especially unarmed.
* Form of Dread: As a revenant, Zyomin can contort her appearance to frighten others

### Former Abilities

* Spellcasting: Zyomin had the ability to cast shadowy spells. She lost this ability when she transferred some of her necromantic energy into Ziya Niano.