Birthday - 1st February 2007, 19 years
Birthplace - Moscow, Russia.
Residing - Knareswick dormitories
Occupation - Acolyte, Knareswick - Dark Craft with a special emphasis on elemental fodder (Natural Studies)

Focus - A chervonet (gold) coin; worn on chain or under the skin
Familiar - Caro, a small white ermine
Favour - Changeling


Physical Description
Nicolai's default appearance is tall and lanky, averaging at just under six foot tall. Black curls frame an intense, angular countenance set with inky dark eyes. Being a Changeling, they may sometimes alter hair colour, height and such, but this is their preferred face.

They are always in motion - restless, tactile, wandering. Even their wardrobe is full of meandering turns; Nika likes to experiment with colours and silhouettes and expressions. They move gracefully enough, still affected by the physical joy and awkwardness of adolescence. 

Nicolai has a sometimes-there tongue ring and ear piercings. Their changeling ability allows them to easily remove or place pierced jewellery. They make scant use of expensive perfume, something herbal with hints of rose.

Personality Description
On the surface, Nika has seemingly inherited some of their father's natural charm. They have no trouble being friendly and offering smiles and can carry on a conversation with ease. He is maybe more direct than most - preferring to declare his doubts or intentions when amongst peers. This is sometimes charming, sometimes arrogant.

Being young and uncertain, he tries to affect more courage than he thinks he has. He is especially skittish around authority figures, always wondering how much of the truth to offer them - caught between rebellion and wishing to please.

Despite a certain social and physical restlessness, Nicolai is a watchful person at heart. They can call upon an eerie stillness when focused. They enjoy a variety of hobbies; map-making and taxidermy among others. Nika has an eidetic memory and a habit of falling back on it when they are slacking at their studies.


History
Nicolai was born and raised in Siberia, Russia, to Irina Aleksandrova - wanted in Great Britain for using forbidden craft to murder her enemies.

CHILDHOOD (2007 - 2015)
As a child, Nika knew nothing of their mother's criminal history. He knew her as 'Ira'. The world was a particular one: him and her and the unforgiving landscape. Winted months prompted trips to Moscow, Paris, Belfast. Mother and son were picturesque – slipping into Russian or French or English as they pleased. And, well, if Ira had meetings with strange men in rooms that reeked of incense and rotten meat, Nicolai thought nothing of it.

In the forests around their Siberian cottage, Ira taught him how to track and hunt and use natural resources. There was no coven life for him. Only Ira. She was a strict mother, emotionally reserved.

Nika could not always tell what would set off his mother's unpredictable temper and so he became adept at emulating that same reserve - obscuring, hiding, smoothing over the expressions of his own feelings.

One night in his eighth year, Ira received a phone call that changed the rest of his life. He never knew what it was, though he could guess, years later.

At the time this was all he knew: someone was coming to hurt them both. They departed Siberia almost immediately. Ira left Nika with relatives in Moscow and then did what she had done so many years ago, barely pregnant with him: she disappeared.

RUNAWAY (2015 - 2016)
Nika did not take well to living with Moscow relatives. His mother's abandonment was still a fresh wound and he ran away from the family. It took months to find him, living rough with a group of mundanes peers. This rebellion was not looked upon kindly and it was eventually decided that Nicolai would be sent to live with his father.

EDINBURGH (2017 - 2025)
His father - a man he had never met and who was not aware of Nika's existence.

Alasdair Brodie had little idea of what to do with a child turning up on his doorstep. He was divorced, single, and leading a team of Stalkers. Confirmation of Nika's relation was enough for him to accept the boy as his son, however.

The Brodies are a large family and Alasdair arranged for Nicolai to be absorbed into the House of Selkirk. He also gave up his job  after watching fellow Stalkers interrogate Nika for Ira's whereabouts.

Nicolai was an unusual child but settled into the life carved out for him, attending the same mundane school as his cousins. He joined the coven of Red Gate and benefited socially from Alasdair's popularity. There were whispers about him, of course, about his mother. Nika had to learn the hard way that nobody would ever think of her the way he thought of her.

As a teen Nicolai experimented with gender and expression. They grew into themselves, becoming independent from the identity nurtured in early childhood. Nika developed interests in practical hobbies and enjoyed travelling with family.

Coven learning proved them bright and diligent, if somewhat unorthodox. Nicolai had a knack for fodder and quick spellcasting. He was encouraged to pursue his studies at Knareswick, as he did not seem to have any particular occupation in mind upon leaving Red Gate and finishing his A levels.

Nika accepted their father's advice and took a year to travel before applying to the Phrontistery. They visited relatives in Europe and even stayed in Moscow for a short time - waiting to hear from a mother who never came.

LATELY...
At present Nicolai is a first year acolyte at Knareswick, where they are studying dark craft with a special emphasis on elemental fodder. He is part of a precocious group of friends, other acolytes who enjoy their studies and party hard.

Nika is finding his legs in academia and still has a lot to experience of life. He has a habit of getting into sticky situations but is quick to learn from them.

Birthday - 1st February 2007, 19 years old
Birthplace - Moscow, Russia.
Residing - Knareswick dormitories
Occupation - Acolyte, Knareswick - Dark Craft with a special emphasis on elemental fodder (Natural Studies)

Focus - A chervonet (gold) coin; worn on chain or under the skin
Familiar - Caro, a small white ermine
Favour - Changeling

Physical Description
Nicolai's default appearance is tall and lanky, averaging at just under six foot tall. Black curls frame an intense, angular countenance set with inky dark eyes. Being a Changeling, they may sometimes alter hair colour and such but this is their preferred, default face.

They are always in motion - restless, tactile, wandering. Even their wardrobe is full of meandering turns; Nika likes to experiment with colours and silhouettes and expressions. They move gracefully enough, still affected by the physical joy and awkwardness of adolescence. 

Nicolai has a sometimes-there tongue ring and ear piercings. Their changeling ability allows them to easily remove or place pierced jewellery. They make scant use of expensive perfume, something herbal with hints of rose.

Personality Description
On the surface, Nika has seemingly inherited some of their father's natural charm. They have no trouble being friendly and offering smiles and can carry on a conversation with ease. He is maybe more direct than most - preferring to declare his doubts or intentions when amongst peers. This is sometimes charming, sometimes arrogant.

Being young and uncertain, he tries to affect more courage than he thinks he has. He is especially skittish around authority figures, always wondering how much of the truth to offer them - caught between rebellion and wishing to please.

Despite a certain social and physical restlessness, Nicolai is a watchful person at heart. They can call upon an eerie stillness when focused. They enjoy a variety of hobbies; map-making and taxidermy among others. Nika has an eidetic memory and a habit of falling back on it when they are slacking at their studies.

History
Nicolai was born and raised in Siberia, Russia, to Irina Aleksandrova - wanted in Great Britain for using forbidden craft to murder her enemies.

CHILDHOOD (2007 - 2015)
As a child, Nika knew nothing of their mother's criminal history. He knew her as 'Ira'. The world was a particular one: him and her and the unforgiving landscape. Winted months prompted trips to Moscow, Paris, Belfast. Mother and son were picturesque – slipping into Russian or French or English as they pleased. And, well, if Ira had meetings with strange men in rooms that reeked of incense and rotten meat, Nicolai thought nothing of it.

In the forests around their Siberian cottage, Ira taught him how to track and hunt and use natural resources. There was no coven life for him. Only Ira. She was a strict mother, emotionally reserved.

Nika could not always tell what would set off his mother's unpredictable temper and so he became adept at emulating that same reserve - obscuring, hiding, smoothing over the expressions of his own feelings.

One night in his eighth year, Ira received a phone call that changed the rest of his life. He never knew what it was, though he could guess, years later.

At the time this was all he knew: someone was coming to hurt them both. They departed Siberia almost immediately. Ira left Nika with relatives in Moscow and then did what she had done so many years ago, barely pregnant with him: she disappeared.

RUNAWAY (2015 - 2016)
Nika did not take well to living with Moscow relatives. His mother's abandonment was still a fresh wound and he ran away from the family. It took months to find him, living rough with a group of mundanes peers. This rebellion was not looked upon kindly and it was eventually decided that Nicolai would be sent to live with his father.

EDINBURGH (2017 - 2025)
His father - a man he had never met and who was not aware of Nika's existence.

Alasdair Brodie had little idea of what to do with a child turning up on his doorstep. He was divorced, single, and leading a team of Stalkers. Confirmation of Nika's relation was enough for him to accept the boy as his son, however.

The Brodies are a large family and Alasdair arranged for Nicolai to be absorbed into the House of Selkirk. He also gave up his job  after watching fellow Stalkers interrogate Nika for Ira's whereabouts.

Nicolai was an unusual child but settled into the life carved out for him, attending the same mundane school as his cousins. He joined the coven of Red Gate and benefited socially from Alasdair's popularity. There were whispers about him, of course, about his mother. Nika had to learn the hard way that nobody would ever think of her the way he thought of her.

As a teen Nicolai experimented with gender and expression. They grew into themselves, becoming independent from the identity nurtured in early childhood. Nika developed interests in practical hobbies and enjoyed travelling with family.

Coven learning proved them bright and diligent, if somewhat unorthodox. Nicolai had a knack for fodder and quick spellcasting. He was encouraged to pursue his studies at Knareswick, as he did not seem to have any particular occupation in mind upon leaving Red Gate and finishing his A levels.

Nika accepted their father's advice and took a year to travel before applying to the Phrontistery. They visited relatives in Europe and even stayed in Moscow for a short time - waiting to hear from a mother who never came.

LATELY...
At present Nicolai is a first year acolyte at Knareswick, where they are studying dark craft with a special emphasis on elemental fodder. He is part of a precocious group of friends, other acolytes who enjoy their studies and party hard.

Nika is finding his legs in academia and still has a lot to experience of life. He has a habit of getting into sticky situations but is quick to learn from them.