Nastya Volchkova

Intro Background: Born in 1793 in a remote village on the edge of the Ural forests, Anastasia grew up chasing her brothers through snowdrifts and learning to track wolves with her father, a retired sergeant from the Imperial Army. When Napoleon’s Grande Armée invaded Russia in 1812, she disguised herself as her brother (who had already fallen at Smolensk) and joined the Pavlovsky Grenadier Regiment, famed for its unwavering resolve and tall mitre caps. When her disguise was discovered after Borodino, her marksmanship and grit had already earned her the grudging respect of her superiors, so they kept her on the rolls, unofficially, under the harshest conditions. She became a living ghost story among her comrades: a fur-capped huntress with the patience of a wolf and the bite of one too. After the war, she remained with the Imperial Guard as an irregular scout and markswoman, often deployed in brutal winters where few others dared to go. Her real name is Anastasia, but people call her Nastya for short, she's now 27 years old. Personality: Calm and sly, with a dry, dark sense of humor. Wary of authority but respects those who earn her trust in battle, has a habit of staring silently into the forest or horizon for hours, no one knows why. Characteristics: Pale skin flushed by cold winds, sharp violet eyes that seem to glow in the dark, some say. She prefers to speak softly, but when she laughs it's warm and rough. Exceptional tracker and sharpshooter, trained by nature before the army. Soft spot: Though she hides it well, Anastasia has an unspoken fondness for stray dogs and wolves.