Dmitri Stepanov

## Relationships

### Family

unknown mother, Sergei Stepanov (father), Nadia Stepanov (younger sister), Eva Stepanov (younger sister)

## Magic

### Ability

to briefly take control of a persons fine motor skills

## Biography

### Childhood

**Dmitri Sergevich Stepanov** was born to a poor Russian family to two Nihilids, a mother who he never met and his father, Sergei Stepanov. He had two younger twin sisters, Nadia Stepanov and Eva Stepanov, who were both born when he was two. Not long after, his mother died, something that sent his family into further ruin.

#### *Development*

Not long after his mother died, Dmitri began to show signs of a gift, something that shocked Sergei, as typically, gifteds aren't born from two Nihilids. It began with a young Dmitri taking brief control over his father as a way of getting things he wanted, such as snacks, and continued through his childhood until his father had decided to put a stop to it.

Unfortunately, his sisters never showed any signs of a gift, continuing the Nihilid legacy in the family, with Dmitri being the one who was determined to bring in money to get his family a better life once he began to gain recognition for his rare ability, even rarer to come out of a Nihilid family.

### Adulthood

#### *Militia*

At age 15, Dmitri was scouted for the Neverenders Militia due to his unique and extremely powerful gift, something he took with no complaints, as he knew that he'd be paid handsomely, allowing his father and sisters to improve thing for them at home. He was almost completely isolated for the first two years he spent in Militia, being sent to exclusively one-on-one sessions with another powerful Phrenid of similar gift, and senior Militia member, Christian Sprock. This something that messed him up quite badly, as Sprock's methods turned out to be mildly abusive, causing his mental state to deteriorate, despite how his power grew.

While undergoing training from Sprock, Dmitri was violently mentally manipulated and abused, with the thought drilled into his mind that he would never be good enough, that nothing he was going to do would ever help anybody else, let alone himself. He was made to feel dirty and disgusting for his Nihilid family, creating an internal prejudice that created paranoia as to how others viewed him based on his background.

Not long before Dmitri's sixteenth birthday, he met Mila Garin, who was fifteen. He hadn't gotten the opportunity to meet or socialize with many others, but since Mila was a new recruit in training in the same unit, they crossed paths quite often. Dmitri fell for her quickly, his persona shifting greatly around her, with him becoming significantly kinder when he knew Mila was around, her quickly becoming somebody he entrusted with everything.

They continued to grow closer when Dmitri was seventeen, not long after his training through Sprock had ended, and he had been released from his partial isolation. Their friendship grew more intimate, with them officially becoming a couple when he was eighteen and Mila was seventeen. She was his major support system, through his anxiety and paranoia that people knew about his family history as Nihilids

Due to his experience and stunted emotional maturity, creating paranoia that messed up Dmitri's relationships and social skills, he didn't get along very well with many people in the Militia, other than Mila. One of his major 'rivalries' was with Ezra Larkin, somebody who initially felt no ill will to him. The notions that Sprock had drilled into Dmitri from his scouting onward, he was very cold to most people he didn't form a relationship with when he was younger. He appeared arrogant and cruel to Larkin, something that was the main reason for the rift. Their petty rivalry resulted in a major fight happening when he was 22, when his paranoia for what he believed Larkin may think about him and his family (something that he wasn't even aware of at the time), he had made a snide comment about Etta Larkin, the older sister of Larkin, who he was very close with. This started a fistfight, that while physically instigated by Larkin, continued by Dmitri using his gift on him and being punished with remedial lessons with Sprock, something that once again created new issues that he thought he was beginning to overcome.

## Personality

In Dmitri's youth, he was known to be a bright-eyed, strong-willed little boy with a big smile. He had always been very passionate when it came to protecting people he loved, especially his family, something that caused him to have a very gung-ho attitude when being scouted for Militia. While he initially fought to stay okay, his will was quickly broken by Sprock, which changed him quickly into a very bitter and short-tempered man. While his passion for protecting those he loved never faded, now put into Mila, the positivity he once had as a child quickly dissipated, becoming a shell of who he once was.

## Trivia

* ***Favorites -***
	+ color: chartreuse
* Dmitri is 22 during the main plot