History

The sixth of eight siblings, Tatiana's early days were comprised of a restless roller coaster of people rushing in and out of her life. Her father was a very rich and promiscuous man with a taste for human women. By the time Tatiana was 4, her mother had been sent away- replaced by faceless women and men alike who came and went before she could even learn their names. Her siblings, all significantly older than her, commanded the attention of her father by virtue of all their great accomplishments. And naively desiring the attention of her parent as well, Tatiana applied herself to perfecting everything she put her hand to, impatient to be counted amongst her elders.

At last in her preteens Tatiana's efforts paid off- but not in attracting the attention of her father, but of those of her eldest brother, Orland. She displayed a propensity for magecraft, and he seized upon the opportunity to get a free assistant in his research. For a few years, he was gratified in his desires, as she was perfectly obliging- between Orland and the tutors he hired, Tatiana was shaping up to be an excellent mage herself, poised to finally have the attentions of her thus disinterested father. But now that she was older and more sensible of his nature and reputation, she soon decided that being close to him would be impossible- a choice that she realized a number of her elder siblings had made before her. She experimented with the church at the behest of a sister who had done the same, though quickly realized that it didn't suit. But it was not a fruitless effort, for she met a soldier at the weekly service who pressed her to join the military instead, promising the structure and propriety that had thus been terribly lacking. 

Happier than she had ever been, Tatiana's passion for the military and zeal to do right appealed to the soldier, whom she had by now discovered to be Serge, a Centurion of the Heavy Legion. Though she was largely indifferent to him as a person, to Tatiana he embodied two very tempting promises: A possible future promotion in the military, and a guaranteed promotion in society given that he was the younger brother of a Visconte. They were married, and to her chagrin, she was almost instantly with child. It seemed to her that all her ambitions were at an end. Disgusted with the whole business of pregnancy, she was disconsolate- and not even the safe delivery of her son could recover her. Torn now between the feelings of maternity that everyone seemed to expect from her and the much realer distaste that she felt, Tatiana withdrew into herself. 

After many weeks of despair, she found comfort from the unlikeliest of sources. Her father, who had descended from his lofty throne of debauchery and excess, managed to talk some sense in Tatiana by recommending to her his own method of dealing with infants: leaving them with nurses until they were old enough for coherency. It was the validation that she had been unconciously hoping for, and she threw herself back into the military with renewed gusto. She gained the promotion she had longed for, and was restored to full spirits-- though no more interested in her child. It would be another 6 years and a promotion before she could be persuaded to care, when a respected Centurion likened her duty as a mother as that of her duty to the soldiers under her command. Being hugely concerned with all the soldiers in her century, this greatly changed her perspective on her relationship with her son- and in the ensuing years kept a critical eye on his progress. 

But to the relief of her smothered son, the Koben Empire's attacks sharply drew her attention away. Serge's elder brother was killed while vacationing in a theater at Belport, her own father was missing for a time, and in the tumult of war her husband was promoted doubly-- to the title of Visconte, and Vice-Tribune in the Heavy Legion. Both her and her husband were eager to dedicate themselves to the cause- but were largely dissatisfied with the King's dilatory response. For this reason she felt little real remorse for the loss of such a pacifistic King-- but in Serge, who had spent the chief of his life in court and close under the King's rule, she noticed a tangible change. He was, however, still eager to have revenge for his deceased brother at Belport- and jumped at the opportunity when Silvan's determination to reclaim it became clear. Victory was bittersweet, however, as the port city would claim yet one victim more. Serge had been blinded and crippled in the attack by an enemy acid mage, and was so terribly handicapped as to be forced into retirement.

They quarreled, but Tatiana was resolved: She refused to give up her position in the military. Her husband now fully embraced Giovan's old ideals and wanted nothing more to do with war- but Serge was alone in this. Even their son, who had once been so averse to the army, was eager to join the cause now that his only beloved parent had been reduced to the present condition. It was clear now that Tatiana would set the rules in the household, and Serge was shoehorned into playing the part of Visconte through the patience of his steward.

The outbreak of the civil war surprised Tatiana- though more for who had taken part than of it's happening at all. She was disappointed in the lost soldiers, but mourned little as she regarded "East" Miras to be a dismissable teenage-like phase. But their alliance with the Koben Empire solidified her resolve to join in crushing their juvenile rebellion; For deserters, she might be optimistic and think they had good reasons. Traitors, however, were beyond all reason.