CDC Canon Update
Aug. 19th, 2014 06:20 pmCANON UPDATE APPROVED.
✖ Timing: Taking place during Mission 1: Ajna, Day 37. Mod notes: [ Sturmhond ] and Clary Fray will be escorted to Rover 581, and transported back to their home worlds by teleportation, where they will stay for exactly five (5) hours upon arrival. The teleportation will seem instantaneous, without any nausea or noticeable passage of time. A warning will alert them when they have only five (5) minutes left before their time is up. All inventory items listed in this request has also been approved.
BASIC INFO.
✖ Character Name & Journal: Lantsov, Nikolai (using canon alias of ‘Sturmhond’ in game) (sturmhond)
✖ Application Link: Original application.
✖ Current Canon Point: The end of Siege and Storm, after Alina and Nikolai separate and she turns back to look at him in the palace grounds.
✖ New Canon Point: As a reward for winning the shooting competition judged by Gliese, Nikolai and Clary Fray were allowed to return home for a period of 5 hours and bring back with them whatever they could carry. This update is to cover that 5 hour period, so his new canon point will be during the period between Siege and Storm and Ruin and Rising. Nikolai’s actions during this period are referenced during the course of Ruin and Rising, published 17 June 2014.
✖ Personality Section: There are no notable changes to Nikolai’s personality during this time. His previous canon point saw him standing on a battlefield that was his home, as it was overtaken by the Darkling’s conquering forces. Ruin and Rising reveals that Nikolai, always a strategist with plans and more plans up his sleeve, had prepared for that possibility, and had prepared a place to which he could flee if the Capital fell. This is hinted at during Siege and Storm when he builds the Kingfisher, an airship, in the grounds of the palace to facilitate escape when the time comes. When the Darkling attacks the palace, Nikolai makes to evacuate with his parents, Ravka’s King and Queen, and Alina. When Alina chooses to go back to the Little Palace instead, he leaves without her, but promises to come back for her. Ruin and Rising confirms that Nikolai manages to evacuate the palace along with his parents, several Grisha, and Baghra, the Grisha teacher whose safety Alina had asked him to ensure. Inside Baghra's hut, he finds a young boy called Misha whose mother had worked at the Little Palace. Nikolai forcibly lifts the boy and brings him along with them. He gets them out of the palace grounds, before attempting to go back and find both Alina, and the corpse of his older brother Vasily. With the grounds overrun, he’s unable to find either of them. He flies those that he had managed to evacuate directly across the border, into the snowy mountain range between Ravka and the neighbouring country of Fjerda. Hidden in the mountains is an old temple, which Nikolai has converted into a large hangar bay, prepped and waiting for his arrival. He has nicknamed it the Spinning Wheel, because it provides expansive views of the night sky and the constellations which Ravkans call by that name. It is filled with his own inventions and with the beginnings of more of his airships, and it is from here that he will mass his forces and strike back at the Darkling. During his 5 hours at home, he will proceed with this evacuation, getting the Kingfisher and its passengers safely to the Spinning Wheel. Once they land, he will excuse himself under the pretence of letting them settle in, and will collect from the hangar’s stores the items listed in the Inventory below. He will ensure he is alone in his quarters by the time the five hours are up, so that he can be taken back to Ajna without any disruption.
Notably, although Nikolai’s actual personality does not change during this time, Ruin and Rising does provide some clarification over elements that were unclear or unspecified before. In particular, it is confirmed that Nikolai is indeed a bastard, and that his father was a Fjerdan ambassador – not the Ravkan King. Both the King and Queen are aware of this fact, but he is formally considered to be both their son and – with the death of his older brother – the official heir to Ravka’s throne. During the course of Ruin and Rising, Nikolai is able to force his ‘father’ to abdicate, with only the Darkling standing in his way to the throne. Additionally, his feelings towards Alina are clarified. During the course of the book it is shown that he feels for her genuinely, and is not solely interested in the power or influence that she holds. He respects and cares for her, and sees potential for more than that if they have the chance to be together. Even after Alina is no longer the ‘Sun Saint’, Nikolai still wants to marry her. Although these revelations take place after Nikolai’s new canonpoint, they are elements which had been hinted at but not confirmed in Siege and Storm, and I am referencing them as I had highlighted the uncertainty around them in my original application.
✖ Abilities Section: Most of Nikolai’s powers and abilities are as per my original application and so I have copied and pasted them. As with his personality, Ruin and Rising has clarified/expanded on some of his skills, so I have made some additional notes below.
Nikolai is an ordinary human – known as an Otkazats’ya in the Ravkan language, meaning that he cannot use Grisha powers. However, he has a form of restless intelligence that has pushed him into a life of continual practical learning and activity.
He is an experienced soldier and strategist, having served first in Ravka’s military and risen to the rank of Major. His exploits as Sturmhond have given him considerable naval prowess. He is able to lead troops and regiments, captain and operate ships of various kinds, plot and navigate courses and direct battle on both land and sea.
On top of his strategic prowess he is an excellent hand to hand combatant, and is comfortable in the use of guns, knives and swords. The sword is his favoured weapon and he’s particularly proficient in its use. His reputation among Ravka’s soldiers denotes him as a fierce and ruthless fighter. He is shown to have quick reflexes and a habit of keeping weapons on his person all the time.
He has also apprenticed as both a gunsmith and a shipwright, which has led to him inventing, developing and building his own advances in weaponry. He has taken his shipbuilding prowess further than what would be considered standard by developing his own gliders, which he is also able to pilot.
Additional notes: I realised that I didn’t mention explosives before! Grenatki are a form of Ravkan grenade, which are used fairly widely by multiple characters in the books. Having served in the First Army, Nikolai is familiar with and comfortable in their use. As a gunsmith, he’s able to work with, build and enhance them similarly to show he does with guns.
Ruin and Rising shows more of Nikolai’s shipbuilding skills, which extend to him inventing and improving on base materials in order to get a better result for his ships – for example he creates a large balloon-based craft similar to a Zepellin, which has a deck made from a form of fibreglass which Nikolai had invented. He’s therefore able to work with materials at a base level and can construct based on his own ingenuity – he can create the materials he needs even when they don’t currently exist. This also shows that his interest in airships goes beyond gliders, and is a subject he’s actively pursuing and advancing.
Ruin and Rising also highlights his skill with a gun – he is a self-confessed excellent shot, and was able to shoot a man between his eyes while apparently moving through treetops to keep himself concealed.
✖ Inventory: Note: I am presuming that because it was part of the reward for the shooting challenge, he is allowed to bring more than the standard weapon + personal item. Please let me know if this is wrong!
Nikolai will change into a fresh uniform. He will also have brought his CDC backpack to help carry supplies. His new inventory will be as follows:
Wearing♛ Fresh and clean Ravkan military uniform, with royal insignias
♛ Clean and polished riding boots
♛ Underwear
♛ His personal sword – rapier style, made from Grisha steel (a metal reinforced by Grisha craft, stronger and more durable than ordinary steel)
♛ 5x long knives, made from Grisha steel (concealed inside his uniform)
Carrying♛ 5x bottles of Ravkan brandy (they’re not all for him, he promises)
♛ An additional uniform, tailored to fit him
♛ 3x dresses tailored to fit Alina Starkov (taken from the chest of clothes he had made in preparation for her – one is a kefta lined with fox fur, one is a fine evening gown with an inappropriate neckline, and one is an ordinary wearing dress)
♛ 1 additional sword, made from Grisha steel (he’s not obsessed, this one’s for Clary)
♛ 2x additional long knives, made from Grisha steel (one for Elena Gilbert, one for Lydia Martin)
♛ 1x straight razor
♛ 1 pair scissors
♛ 10x grenatki (Ravkan grenades)
♛ 1 sharpening belt
♛ 1 portfolio filled with paper
♛ 2 pencils
♛ 1x quill with ink well (black ink)
♛ His pillow (grabbed at the last minute – he can’t help himself)
