Illya Vanko - The Unseelie Princess

by **Illya** March 22nd 2012, 4:48 am

Personal Information
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Real Name: Illya Vanko
Title: Princess of the Unseelie, Heiress to the Throne of Winter
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Age: 18 (Physical Age)/ 42 (Supposed actual age)/ 2 (Actual Age)
Gender: Female
Race: Faerie
Citizenship: Winter Court
Hair: White
Skin: Light Green
Eyes: Blue-Green
Blood Type: Fae
Height: 156cm (5'1½")
Weight: 41kg (90 lbs)

Known Family Members:

Lilia Ivanov aka Etoile - Unseelie Daughter

John Vanko aka Doctor Necrodium - Human Son

Personality:
Despite her appearance and history, Illya is not the sweet little girl she once was. With the influence of the Grimoire of Darkness and her title as the Unseelie Princess, Illya's personality has become twisted and warped to the point that it is unrecognizable. Illya was something originally kind and without want, never thinking about herself above others. Now, Illya still retains her sentimental connections, but now is willing to use whatever means are necessary to get what she wants. She is cruel and cunning, but never openly; always finding a way to feign innocence. Her sweetness is only skin deep but is well hidden behind the facade of a petulant child; never showing the cruel mastermind that is hidden beneath.

Like all Fae, Illya cannot lie. However, she is capable of wordplay, allowing people to come to false conclusions, twisting meaning and literal speech. In addition, she constantly attempts to snare unsuspecting humans into promises that would bind them to her at any opportunity.

Deep inside, Illya is the same person she once was. However, her lack of spirit stops her from being able to resist the instinct of being an Unseelie. From time to time the small piece of Illya will shine through; but overall, the Unseelie mindset is in control, guiding her every thought. It is believed that Illya still holds a bit of sentimental feelings for her past life, but is overall uncapable of acting upon it unless it is incredibly important.

History:
Early Life and Young Romance
Illya Vanko, a name that has been mentioned many times in the lives of the O’Day family, but very little people know the real story behind the woman who gave birth to Doctor Necrodium, helped Pain through his younger life, and ultimately was Doctor Necrodium’s sole reason for laying waste to New York City and eradicating so many innocent lives. Despite being in the background for so long, Illya also has her own tragic background, which was always subverted by the woman’s boundless love, kindness and hope.

Illya was born in a small town along the borders of some unknown European country, as a member of a Gypsy travelling group. The group travelled over the years from their homeland, moving into Russia to attempt to make trade amongst the poor and desperate. Making use of her natural beauty, her family worked to use her as an entertainer, and when times became rough, she was sold off as a slave to a brothel in Russia. Despite this, Illya never blamed her family for anything, that they had no choice. In fact, Illya would eventually thank her family for what they did, for because of that event, Illya eventually would meet the second most important person in her life. After working several years as a prostitute and dancer for a Russian pimp, Illya soon met the man who would change her life forever, Brock O’Day. At first a shaky relationship, Brock being a regular customer, brought in by his friends to get a little action. But Illya’s curious nature proved too powerful to keep her nose out of his business, knowing in her heart that Brock wasn’t the run of the mill brute, that he was someone with a great destiny, someone who could really end up becoming world shaking, which he turned out to be. After meeting after fateful meeting, Illya and Brock fell in love, sharing a relationship that was rare in the world in which they lived.

Life with Motherhood
But when Brock took off to the United States, Illya stayed behind, never telling Brock that she was carrying his child, a young baby boy, the most important person in her life. Naming the boy John, Illya worked even harder to provide not only for herself, but for her newborn child, working herself from dusk till dawn. John was a sickly child, no one ever expected that he would grow past his first five years, but Illya knew better. She alone witnessed the wonders that John was capable of, she knew that he would become something like his father, someone that would change the world. Their similarities brought joy and safety to Illya’s life, John even weak and sickly managed to save her life from a man who thought he could treat her like trash. In turn, Illya took care of her son, praying his success and long life for years to come, eventually watching him leave her to the United States, just like his father, to become a doctor. Illya never told John of her illness, the years of unprotected sex and unreliable medical treatment took their toll on Illya’s health. Each passing day she became weaker, but still she worked hard to help those around her, bringing pain to those who watched her smile through the suffering, even her boss, who tried to keep a distance, eventually softened up to her and gave her the possibility to live the last months of her life. Sitting at her hospital bed, Illya happened to catch footage from a recent news story, telling the tale of Pain, a well known superhero around the world, even in the gutters of Russia. That day since the day John left for America, Illya’s life had brightened up once again. With only a single glance, Illya recognized her old love, her lover Brock O’Day was Pain, the greatest hero in reality.

Death
Despite her happiness, the world wasn’t so kind. Illya’s health deteriorated even more rapidly with each day, and soon the doctors were uncertain when she would finally pass away. Respecting her final request, John returned home after so many years to see her mother again. As Illya laid dying, she learned of how much of a success that John had become, even able to cure cancer with his breakthrough discoveries. John stayed with her through day and night, telling each other about old and new memories they had made since they separated, but it was not until the final moments that Illya revealed the truth. Telling John of his father, Illya knew her son’s rage at the father he never had, but still she told him how important it was that he never lose himself, that he never work for something that wasn’t really worth while, and that she was proud of him. It was then that Illya Vanko died, never having a regret in the world, always working for the sake of others ahead of herself. But she never knew what effect her lone selfish act would incur, the great destruction that would happen so many years later, for her sake. Not even a year after her death, Illya’s son worked his plan on how to revive his mother, looking over every detail, trying to recreate her exactly how he remembered her, the commitment soon becoming an obsession. John’s medical genius reached a threshold that no person ever really tried to achieve, he created perfect, unaltered life. Each success brought forth a new problem, each bringing new stress and obsession to John’s life. Lack of personality, too much personality, lack of compassion, too much compassion, sadism, masochism, suicidal tendencies, possessiveness, nothing was right for John, not a single clone was capable of creating the soul of his mother, none of them was capable of recreating the mother he longed for.

John's Desperation
John racked over each possible outcome, each one proving more and more hopeless each time he tried, soon John had all but lost hope of restoring his mother, and that hope was draining fast. But then a “whisper” came to John’s ear, hinting to search for a name “Perfection”. Taking this as a gift of god, John worked to find this “Perfection”, which eventually leading him to the ones who gave his father superpowers, Project Perfection. Striking a deal that they couldn’t refuse, John traded Project Perfection plans to some of his lesser creations, and in return provided him with every resource he could ever ask for in order to complete his secret plan, which he guaranteed would “make Pain suffer”. Becoming a killer for hire, John worked as Agent Dakota, an operative who excelled at killing superhumans, namely those who possessed powers similar to Pain. But after a fateful run in with the creature known as Ibis, John was mortally wounded and found himself at his own deathbed, waiting for the day that he had to pass on into the afterlife, never able to face her mother to tell her how he tried and failed. However, a mysterious figure came to John, an evil that predated most of the modern world, convincing John to abandon his quest with science, and instead work his ways through the arcane disciplines. Without choice and desperate, John took the offer and transformed into the dreaded Doctor Necrodium, a scion of the god of destruction. Sealing his emotions within, John became a machine that could kill an entire race without a pause for thought, and worked to the success of the god, Kaluoshen’s plans.

However, deep within John knew what he was really after, to use the power of the god in order to do the one thing that he or any spellcaster could ever perform, to pull a soul from the unknown afterlife and return it to the land of the living. Through the cracks in the plan, John worked his influence, working against the control of a god to make sure that everything went the way he wanted them to. John’s plan was relatively simple at its core, something that Kaluoshen would have ever predicted, something that Doctor Necrodium could never predict. In the event of the New York Assault, the conflict created between the superheroes and the armies of Necrodium would generate an energy of pure chaos, one that would be able to free the god Kaluoshen and allow him to rule unchallenged in the world of man. However, John changed it to something that would not only stop Doctor Necrodium, but save millions of lives in the process. Instead of creating the energy of Death that Kaluoshen required, the siphon in the form of the Statue of Liberty would become a beacon for the energy of Life.

Resurrection
In his final moment, John rid himself of his Doctor Necrodium persona and did the final acts in order to cause Pain to commit a sacrifice, and kill his son in order to save the world and fulfill John’s sole wish in life, her mother’s true freedom. With the last beat of his heart, John used his body as the catalyst to create the energy he needed, destroying Doctor Necrodium’s armies and preventing Kaluoshen from coming to the world of man to bring forth an age of darkness. Within the chambers of the Statue of Liberty, a single life was restored anew, at the cost of millions. Opening her eyes for the first time in so many years, Illya was unable to comprehend what happened and where she was. John made sure that Illya would be free from all things that tied her down, and with the last movement of his hand, restored her at the time that she never met Brock, and never gave birth to John. With no sense of where to go, scared and confused, Illya was confronted with the spirit of her son, relaying his final message. Even Illya could see what her so called son had gone through, and as a memento to him, Illya keeps a piece of him with her wherever she goes. She may not remember who he was, but she could see that he was more important to her and vice versa.

Now Illya travels through the land trying to find a purpose in her life, something to pursue. She herself does not know that she will soon be more effective on the world than her son or lover before her, the one to tip the balance of universal order forever. As a result, the previous Sorcerer Supreme has placed his title on Illya so that she is protected from all the possible external powers that would attempt to influence her. With little to guide her other than the wind that blows, Illya traveled. Those travels brought her to places all over the world, meeting new people and joining groups of superheroes in their fight against evil. But as she traveled, more powerful beings started to notice her. The chief among these creatures were the Unseelie, the source of all nightmares and the darkest of the Arcadians.

Ascension
While the protection of the magical community was enough to thwart of many, the Sorcerer Supreme did not suspect that Mab, the Queen of the Winter Court, had show signs of interest in young Illya. Unlike many things in the universe, the Fae did not care for the laws of man, and thus ignored the claims to Illya's future by the magical community. Tainting her with The Grimoire of Darkness to counteract her natural production of Aether, Mab had the opening she required to grant Illya's body the mantle of Winter, which transformed her into a powerful Unseelie, far beyond the comprehension of most.

Powers and Abilities
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Powers:

Unseelie: Since her ascension into Unseelie life, Illya’s formerly erratic powers have stabilized due to their usage in fueling Illya’s Fae Magics. As the Unseelie Princess of Hibernal, Illya’s powers base themselves around the temperate season of Winter. Even when not in use, others can see where Illya is from. Her skin is cold to the touch and the air around her is difficult to breath for the average human.
- Aurora Manipulation (8 AB:) Like everything else about her body, Illya's powers over Aether have developed into a power that suits her new position, taking the form of the Aurora. The Aurora retains many of the properties of Aether, but is different in various ways. The Aurora is more than just pure light imbedded within air, it is a cascade of colors created by reflecting in a unique form of ice crystals, catching even the smallest bit of light and magnifying it into a beautiful art. In addition to its new appearance, The Aurora works to freeze and preserve, rather than incinerate and destroy. The Aurora functions like Aether and Wind in its applications, focused in condensed balls, tornadoes and giant gusts; but also appears like Ice, being able to form shapes and animated figures.
- Aurora Physiology: Being a member of the Winter Court, Illya's body has transformed past the point of requiring flesh. Rather, Illya's body is a mass of magical energy, designed to alter itself based on the Unseelie Princess' wishes. With her body, she can constitute her matter in many ways, namely in a similar fashion to otherworldly beings. This new form grants her abilities not originally her own.
  - Intellectus (4 AB:) The Unseelie are full of knowledge, vast amounts pertaining to the darkest holes of the Universe. Because of this, Illya has been granted the Intellectus, an ability that allows her to see the world in a third person view. Within 162 meters of her location in a sphere radius, Illya is capable of watching into the entire radius from her body as if she were experiencing it right in front of her. This allows her to bear witness to events that she normally wouldn't have, and also removes the element of surprise for many enemies that wish to come up close and personal.
  - Aurora Decomposition & Reconstruction (2 AB:) When time calls for it, such as when she needs to hide among the humans or add emphasis to her speech, Illya is capable of transforming into another person. She must know the appearance and voice of a person before she mimics them, so as to avoid any confusion from those who are familiar with them. Basically Illya is capable of looking and sounding like another person, but must rely on her own knowledge before acting like them.
  - Silent Window (2 AB:) Perhaps the most feared capability of the Unseelie Royalty, the ability to enter space silently. When required to, Illya is capable of moving between planes of existence as if she were the wind. Silently, Illya will disappear from her current position, and reappear in an area within her sight. (Range: 182 meters within sight)
  - Wind Walking (Pseudo-Flight:) Illya is capable of walking on unsubstantial surfaces such as Air as if it were solid ground. While it isn't flight, it gives Illya access to areas she normally wouldn't have any.

Experience/Abilities:

Dancer: Even while human, Illya has always been a talented dancer. In the form of ballet and folk dances, Illya thrived on her natural fluidity in learning the movements. Now as an Unseelie, her ability to dance is almost inhuman, skill beyond what would seem mortal.
Mystical Experience: Due to the influence of The Grimoire of Darkness, Illya has gained mythical knowledge not known to humans. She is capable pulling out information from the book as if it were her own memories, granting her knowledge of otherworldly beings, monsters and the mythical arts of all kinds.

Paraphernalia

Grimoire of Darkness (4 OCC/AB Replacement:) The source of Illya's increased intelligence and corrupted attitude, and known only by the oldest of beings as one of the most dangerous mystical artifacts. Holding knowledge of the Forgotten, those forsaken by the gods and left in the Forgotten Realm. Upon reading, the words of the grimoire bind themselves to the reader, granting them incredible occult knowledge and the ability to access the Forgotten Realms. However, due to its nature, the host is constantly corrupted by its twisted words and suffers as the voices of the Fallen call them.
- Nether Manipulation (4 OCC:) With the Grimoire of Darkness written upon her body, Illya is capable of harnessing the power of the Forgotten Realm and call forth the element of Nether. Nether takes the form of black crystals, bearing a similar structure to ice. However, instead of water, Nether element is a black poison, capable of slowing eating away at a victim with sickness. This ice is capable of creating structures and shapes of either snow or ice, which slice apart the bodies of her victims and administer the black poison of Nether into their veins. Illya has been known to make even more sinister uses of the power, such as using it to control dead bodies like puppets or taking the shape of sinister beings.

Weaknesses

Iron: Like all Fae, Illya's body is vulnerable to Iron. The touch of Iron burns Illya's skin and her magic loses its strength upon exposure. With enough Iron passing through her body, Illya has the potential of catching ablaze and can possibly lead to death by combustion.
Words: Illya, like all Fae, is unable to resist the binding nature of words. As a result, Illya can never lie, merely cause deception through wordplay. In addition, oaths and promises are binding to Illya, meaning she can never break one once it is made. However, this also goes for one who makes a promise to her. In addition, when one calls upon Illya's name 3 times, they summon her into their realm, no matter where they are.

Powergrid
Illya Vanko - The Unseelie Princess Illya_10

Trivia
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Illya once carried around a small chunk of metal as a necklace, very little know that it was a piece of the metal shell that encased her son, John Vanko, during his time as the supervillain Doctor Necrodium. Due to her Unseelie nature, the metal is now painful to touch, and thus the princess keeps it in her quarters as a memoir.
Though she lost her memory when she first returned to the world, Illya now remembers everything of her past life.
Because of the influence of the Grimoire of Darkness, Illya's personality has been warped to the point that she fits her title as the Unseelie Princess.
Despite being evil, small bits of Illya's old personality still take form whenever she is near a loved one. However, these are incapable of defeating her Unseelie nature.
It is revealed that this version of Illya is merely a construct of the original, infected by Unseelie energies cohabiting with the Nether within Illya.

Images
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