[color=gray][center][img]http://i.imgur.com/gex820z.png[/img]


[img]http://imgur.com/QrP9Ntg.png[/img]
[color=0b0b0b]❝[sub][b]We have such a law: If you forgive, it means that God has forgiven you;
but if you do not forgive your brother, it means that your sin remains with you[/b][/sub]❞
[sub][b][i]— St. Silouan the Athonite[/i][/b][/sub][/color][/center]

[hider=+][color=0b0b0b][sub][b]N A M E[/b][/sub][/color]
[indent]Annushka Yuryevna Golitsyna[/indent]

[color=0b0b0b][sub][b]N I C K N A M E  /  A L I A S /  R A N K[/b][/sub][/color]
[indent]Annu, Anni, Anna, Hannah, Nushka
[/indent] 

[color=0b0b0b][sub][b]P A T R O N  S A I N T[/b][/sub][/color]
[indent]St. Hannah, Mother of the Prophet Samuel[/indent]

[color=0b0b0b][sub][b]G E N D E R[/b][/sub][/color]
[indent]Female[/indent]

[color=0b0b0b][sub][b]A G E[/b][/sub][/color]
[indent]24[/indent]

[color=0b0b0b][sub][b]N A T I O N A L I T Y[/b][/sub][/color]
[indent]Russian[/indent]

[color=0b0b0b][sub][b]C L A N[/b][/sub][/color]
[indent]Zaporozhian[/indent]

[color=0b0b0b][sub][b]A P P E A R A N C E[/b][/sub][/color]
[indent]The young woman stands at 1.7 meters, and her lithe but sturdy frame hides behind dull-colored clothing, long and draped for tough and constant wear.  Upon her head is always a headscarf -- a bandana of sorts, cotton and tied in the back.  Even in the times that a [i]papakha[/i] is worn, her headscarf is securely measured and wrapped comfortably over her long, wavy brown hair.  Once upon a time, her garments might have been vibrant and alive.  However, age has faded her clothing as well as her youthful expression, which now rests in a constant, pensive displeasure.  Even her girlish cheeks, full and round and sometimes flushed from toil, don’t brighten the shadows that rest underneath her agonizing gaze.  Perhaps if her lips ever boasted a cheerful smile when she wasn’t drunk, her innocence would return.  Until then, the liveliest thing she wears is her fighting spirit.[/indent]

[color=0b0b0b][sub][b]P E R S O N A L I T Y  /  T R A I T S[/b][/sub][/color]
[indent]So much like a foreboding creature, her demeanor curates negativity often masked with the cloak of stoicism.  As the Fathers had proclaimed before her time, emotion is a weakness and a door that links materialism to the soul.  For such reasoning, Annushka is not one for attachments; however, as impiety stirs her, when she does become attached, letting such a thing go can be quite treacherous for her stubborn and possessive mental state, especially as someone who more than willingly shall fight for what she wants.

Along with her stubborn, often unwavering mind, Annushka is a tough creature, as well.  She would never have made it as a Cossack if she were not.  Many of times, she has pushed aside her womanly woes and hiked up her skirt -- as any strong Russian woman would do.  Her upper body strength is flexible and can be easily maneuvered in instances such as when wielding a sword, and her thighs and calves are firm and athletic for gripping a horse's back or journeying in long lengths.  More so, she is unafraid to take a few physical blows, and this is not just because she had received several from her husband before his violent repose in the Lord.

There is a sarcastic streak that fires from her sharp tongue -- often the dismantling of the fighter in her and a thick line of piercing defense, which is sometimes more cumbersome than her [i]Shashka[/i].  Despite such a quick and edged muscle, she knows her place in the group and respects it thankfully and dutifully.  She would never be able to manage on her own; although, the years of wistful wandering have helped her become more independent and resourceful than she had ever dreamed herself to become.  She would hardly admit to such a romantic thing and hide the embarrassing, boastful excitement in a calloused manner unless with the Hetman to whom she owes the most gratitude and utmost loyalty.

In the midst of the nomadic life, Annushka has learned to patiently contemplate things as there is no other way to spiritually continue such a lifestyle without the ascetic meditation.  There is far more that she does not know than she does know, and with anguished humility, she has accepted her place even if during the nights, she finds her shirt sleeves damp with tears.  In all, she could never have it any other way.[/indent]

[color=0b0b0b][sub][b]S K I L L S[/b][/sub][/color]
[indent][indent][color=0b0b0b][i]Equestrian[/i] [/color]- Part of her upbringing in a family with nobility was her horseback riding.  A rider's companionship is highly valued in the territory, and with such, the familiar relationships translated its core to the Nomadic life, but Annushka found many difference between the Cossacks and the Moscow Society.  In any case, her Equestrian skills have been hard-earned. 

[color=0b0b0b][sub][i]HUNTING & GATHERING[/i][/sub] [/color]- Eight years have taught her many tricks of the trade, but it is assumed that she could very well not survive on her own like a blessed hermit or other such independent person.

[color=0b0b0b][sub][i]MUSICIAN[/i][/sub] [/color]- Annushka learned to play the human vocals and the piano.  Through the years living as a Cossack she picked up the ability to play the Bandura, which helps add her two-cents to the festivities of the Clan.

[color=0b0b0b][sub][i]OBEDIENCE[/i][/sub] [/color]- This was not always a skill Annushka had.  However, under the rule of the Cossacks, the unruly nature that had lead her to the majestic nomadic warriors was tamed under the Hetmen from whom she took order.  It is not to do the will of herself, but of someone else.  

[color=0b0b0b][sub][i]SEAMSTRESS[/i][/sub] [/color]- Annushka was amongst the many women in the Russian Empire who learned the art and skill of thread and needlework.  The status of her family speaks for her talent.

[color=0b0b0b][sub][i]SWORDSMANSHIP[/i][/sub] [/color]- With a limber frame and strong wrists, Annushka can wield a [i]Shashka[/i] fluently.  She has slain an enemy and defended herself.  However, if perhaps her skill were better, her reposed husband would still be alive, today, or so, she does assume.  Since his death, her dedication to increasing the skill has been a major concentration.[/indent][/indent]

[color=0b0b0b][sub][b]G E A R[/b][/sub][/color]
[indent][indent][color=0b0b0b][sub][i]BANDURA[/i][/sub] [/color]- Ukranian pluck stringed, folk instrument.  Her instrument has a total of 12 strings.

[color=0b0b0b][sub][i]CLOTHING[/i][/sub] [/color]- As stated in her [i]Appearance,[/i] alongside her heavy winter clothing.

[color=0b0b0b][sub][i]CHOSKI[/i][/sub] [/color]- A birthday gift from her Godmother, which she

[color=0b0b0b][sub][i]SHASHKA[/i][/sub] [/color]- Not quite the master of her [i]Shashka,[/i] yet, doesn't mean Annushka is a weakling when it comes to her fighting style.  It is also safe to know that as a female, her leeway amongst the clan has been limited when in the face of danger.  However, she has more than once proven herself, but what Cossack has not?

[color=0b0b0b][sub][i]KARABAKH HORSE[/i][/sub] [/color]- [i]Byznut[/i] is Annushka's companion and perhaps, even, best friend.  She is a ten year old horse who stands just over fourteen hands.

[color=0b0b0b][sub][i]CAMPSITE[/i][/sub] [/color]- Such objects used for enduring the Rus terrain during the night.

[color=0b0b0b][sub][i]SATCHEL[/i][/sub] [/color]- Various trinkets such as string, needle, a small knife, moss, and other such herbs bound in a sheepskin sack, secured around her belt.
[/indent][/indent]

[color=0b0b0b][sub][b]B I O G R A P H Y[/b][/sub][/color]
[indent]Born to the noble Yuri Vasilyevich Golitsynov, Annushka was raised in the riches of the Russian Empire.  With privilege, she was able to dine on occasion with the Grand Princes and Princesses.  Her family was rich and steadfast in their ways — admitting much dedication and loyalty to Imperial Russia.  With frou-frou dresses and the new introduction of the Western World to Russia, Annushka was taught French and, of course, late-Baroque music amongst other worldly affairs for a young woman to be groomed in the light of the Moscow Society.  

Her family was not all status, however.  The 'centerfold' of her family's life was the never-changing Eastern Orthodox Church.  Her upbringing had been nurtured more into naivety and sheltering, as opposed to strength through piety, and in her weak will, she was swept off her feet by a tall, handsome, smooth talking pawn shop keeper's son, Daniil Volkov.

To spare the reader, who may very well be annoyed with such length, Daniil was not one to fear the judgement of God, and enchanted by his cowardly courage, Annushka eventually disobeyed the Church's teachings and her family's wishes and began living with Daniil.  Her family eventually, after much pleading and prayer, disowned her as a harlot having turned her back on God.

The romantic life of the streets stopped after a drunken incident between Daniil and his older brother.  Having had too much to drink, both brothers got into a feud with Daniil coming out as the victor at the cost of his brother's death. Out of fear for the punishment, Daniil and Annushka made way to the Black Sea to join the Cossacks.  They joined a schismatic Old Calendarist clan out of some intellectual and logistical reasoning to spit on the Church and her family who had turned their back on Annushka.

As a stubborn, strong woman, Annushka kept her bond with Daniil and (whimsically) employed herself to fight alongside Daniil during battles, defending the Russian Empire's border. It was some five years after their being taken in by the Cossacks did Daniil suffer a violent death during a fight with the Ottoman Empire.  Somewhere, to not, again, bore the reader with unnecessary details, Annushka's clan gets into a trifle with the Zaporozhian, and Hetman Dmitry Krepchenko takes her (amongst others) under his wing.[/indent]

[color=0b0b0b][sub][b]V I E W S[/b][/sub][/color][indent]Still a believer in Fate, Annushka struggles with the concept of the benevolent, ever-merciful God.  Even when living in the pompous baroque architecture of the Russian capital, Annushka was still able to see witness of the ardent struggles of Life and Humanity.  How could such a God allow these treacherous things to rampage like rabies through the generations?  And for such a wicked world into which has been born, it is the wickedness of herself she has realized that she can never escape.

Not just in spite of her womanhood, Annushka rejects emotions.  Although, in her God-given desire for truth, the depths of her own passions are seemingly bottomless.  At times, it appears that her tired eyes are more tired from noetic warfare as opposed to the physical struggles of the material world. 

Having been taken in by the Zaporozhian under the guise of Dmitry Krepchenko, a small spark in her eyes can be seen flaring-up, igniting the charcoal of her nous so the incense of her prayers may truly rise, again.[/indent][/hider][/color]