[CHAR] Шᴀшᴋᴀ

[Briza]

[Briza]

····································· Iosif Moskvin	Лорем ипсум долор сит амет, пер цлита поссит ех, ат мунере фабулас петентиум сит. Иус цу цибо саперет сцрипсерит, нец виси муциус лабитур ид. Ет хис нонумес нолуиссе дигниссим. Лорем ипсум долор сит амет, пер цлита поссит ех, ат мунере фабулас петентиум сит. Иус цу цибо саперет сцрипсерит, нец виси муциус лабитур ид. Ет хис нонумес нолуиссе дигниссим. Лорем ипсум долор сит амет, пер цлита поссит ех, ат мунере фабулас петентиум сит. Иус цу цибо саперет сцрипсерит, нец виси муциус лабитур ид. Ет хис нонумес нолуиссе дигниссим. Лорем ипсум долор сит амет, пер цлита поссит ех, ат мунере фабулас петентиум сит. Иус цу цибо саперет сцрипсерит, нец виси муциус лабитур ид. Ет хис нонумес нолуиссе дигниссим.
····································· Anatoly Ozerov	Лорем ипсум долор сит амет, пер цлита поссит ех, ат мунере фабулас петентиум сит. Иус цу цибо саперет сцрипсерит, нец виси муциус лабитур ид. Ет хис нонумес нолуиссе дигниссим. Лорем ипсум долор сит амет, пер цлита поссит ех, ат мунере фабулас петентиум сит. Иус цу цибо саперет сцрипсерит, нец виси муциус лабитур ид. Ет хис нонумес нолуиссе дигниссим. Лорем ипсум долор сит амет, пер цлита поссит ех, ат мунере фабулас петентиум сит. Иус цу цибо саперет сцрипсерит, нец виси муциус лабитур ид. Ет хис нонумес нолуиссе дигниссим. Лорем ипсум долор сит амет, пер цлита поссит ех, ат мунере фабулас петентиум сит. Иус цу цибо саперет сцрипсерит, нец виси муциус лабитур ид. Ет хис нонумес нолуиссе дигниссим.
····································· Nyestor Onegin	Лорем ипсум долор сит амет, пер цлита поссит ех, ат мунере фабулас петентиум сит. Иус цу цибо саперет сцрипсерит, нец виси муциус лабитур ид. Ет хис нонумес нолуиссе дигниссим. Лорем ипсум долор сит амет, пер цлита поссит ех, ат мунере фабулас петентиум сит. Иус цу цибо саперет сцрипсерит, нец виси муциус лабитур ид. Ет хис нонумес нолуиссе дигниссим. Лорем ипсум долор сит амет, пер цлита поссит ех, ат мунере фабулас петентиум сит. Иус цу цибо саперет сцрипсерит, нец виси муциус лабитур ид. Ет хис нонумес нолуиссе дигниссим. Лорем ипсум долор сит амет, пер цлита поссит ех, ат мунере фабулас петентиум сит. Иус цу цибо саперет сцрипсерит, нец виси муциус лабитур ид. Ет хис нонумес нолуиссе дигниссим.

[Briza]

❝_{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}❞
_{— St. Silouan the Athonite}

+

_{N A M E}

Annushka Yuryevna Golitsyna

_{N I C K N A M E / A L I A S / R A N K}

Annu, Anni, Anna, Hannah, Nushka

_{P A T R O N S A I N T}

St. Hannah, Mother of the Prophet Samuel

_{G E N D E R}

Female

_{A G E}

24

_{N A T I O N A L I T Y}

Russian

_{C L A N}

Zaporozhian

_{A P P E A R A N C E}

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 papakha 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.

_{P E R S O N A L I T Y / T R A I T S}

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 Shashka. 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.

_{S K I L L S}

Equestrian - 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.

_{HUNTING & GATHERING} - 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.

_MUSICIAN - 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.

_OBEDIENCE - 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.

_SEAMSTRESS - 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.

_{SWORDSMANSHIP} - With a limber frame and strong wrists, Annushka can wield a Shashka 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.

_{G E A R}

_BANDURA - Ukranian pluck stringed, folk instrument. Her instrument has a total of 12 strings.

_CLOTHING - As stated in her Appearance, alongside her heavy winter clothing.

_CHOSKI - A birthday gift from her Godmother, which she

_SHASHKA - Not quite the master of her Shashka, 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?

_{KARABAKH HORSE} - Byznut is Annushka's companion and perhaps, even, best friend. She is a ten year old horse who stands just over fourteen hands.

_CAMPSITE - Such objects used for enduring the Rus terrain during the night.

_SATCHEL - Various trinkets such as string, needle, a small knife, moss, and other such herbs bound in a sheepskin sack, secured around her belt.

_{B I O G R A P H Y}

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.

_{V I E W S}

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.

[ct199]

❝_{If it wasn't for the word, what else would we stand upon?}❞
_{- Milos Obilic before the Sultan in the Film *Battle of Kosovo*,
Zdravko Sotra}

_{N A M E}

Dmitry Krepchenko

_{N I C K N A M E / A L I A S / R A N K}

Nickname:
Rank: Hetman of the Zeporozhian Cossack Host

_{P A T R O N S A I N T}

Heiromartyr Demetrius of Thessaloniki

_{G E N D E R}

Male

_{A G E}

61

_{N A T I O N A L I T Y}

Ruthenian

_{C L A N}

Hetman of the
Zaporozhian Cossack Host

_{A P P E A R A N C E}

A tall, portly, and svelte barrel chested man, with the round face and high cheekbones to match, Dmitri Krepchenko was at the same time as fearful as he was welcoming, as cheerful to his friends and peaceful strangers as he was prone to anger at injustice or dishonor.

His steely blue eyes poked out from his pale, rosy face with a vibrant humor - both joyous and wolf like, with thick crows feet tracing the path of the years in his cheeks, still pockmarked lightly from youthful scars and delicately latticed with the frost of tiny blood vessels etched in not least through years of exposure to the elements, but also not most of which being homemade vodka and beer, in addition to the harshly inland winters along the dnieper and the strong northern sun of the long summer days in the fields of golden grain.

His hair glistened slightly from the virility generated by sweat and oil, a dense reddish brown 'chupryna' forelock pulled back into a tied pony tail across his otherwise shaven skull, accompanied by a similarly long and flowing handlebar moustache, in the typical manner of the cossack.

Beyond his superior drapery, modest despite its intricate weaving, his girth and stature indicated his high rank, the successful confidence of his many trials radiating from his person, his ability to maintain some measure of heft despite the hard life showing his favor among those many kind muzhichky who showed him their hospitality, and further still, also belied his fond enjoyment of the many nights by the fire in the wooden Sich eating Kolbasa, Smoked fish and cheese, sharing tales of adventure and lively debate of all things masculine over a warm mug of grog; whether the subject philosophy, ukrainian politics, heroic tales of past cossacks, or lewd and boisterous humor, held always with a tongue firmly in cheek to both dissipate the strong desires of the men and yet protect the virtue of the prized and cherished divichy by self deprecation.

_{P E R S O N A L I T Y / T R A I T S}

At one time, many battles ago, Dimitri's angry temperament and nearly insurmountable desire for all manner of conquest earned him him the adapted surname of Krepchenko, or, 'the mighty', as well as several other less noble titles long forgotten even to his cohort and not dared to be repeated here, if not for their lack of currency to our tale, then at the very least for the possibility that your humble narrator might be narrating in mixed company..

Nonetheless, as the pain of his difficult youth faded away into the more painful bloodshed of many fallen brothers in many long ago battles, the distance of time aided further by his elevation in the ranks of the Zoprozhian Host and of husbandry, this perhaps ill-reputable temper was now tempered into something of a functional character, much like the blade of his Shashka, focused into a strong and crisp blade, sheathed quietly and nearly invisibly beneath his long 'burka' outercoat, yet always nearby and ready, should the honor of the Host and of the Cossack Code need be defended against knowing aggressors.

The detail of Knowledge, so important in the above, was a key part of the honing of his angry blade as he grew into manhood; as he came to train the younger members of the Host, and of his own sons, the cultivation of his gentle, boyish and loving patronal side which was previously hidden under the sort of brittle metal armour so
foreign to Cossack dress became increasingly important to him, most especially as he grew in his true Obedience to his fair bride, Evgenia Ivanova Kovalesky.

But now, even some of these younger memories sadly faded, as his daughters married into leaders of the Host, or to lesser Nobles, his sons sons departed this realm, lost in battle or to illness, and his fair love Evgenia fell away in the cold and near starvation of one particularly harsh winter..

Although he was immeasurably sad for these irreparable losses which he mourned with every available thought, he knew that carrying more loss and sadness was part of the price he paid for his longevity, and for the good of the Host, the losses strengthened him in giving him patience, balance, and foresight to shrewdly and cautiously lead the host in the extremely delicate and dangerous reality that was survival in war-torn lands of the Ukraine.

_{S K I L L S}

Though once the best swordfighter and fighter in the whole of the Zaprozhian Host, and quite possibly Sloboda Ukraine as well, these days his still formidable strength and agility was best kept in reserve, and applied more philosophically in the development of training and skills education of his troops.

Other time spent now, when not mourning the loss of his family and kinsmen, was better spent in deliberate council with his trusted elders, and reviewing tactics and techniques, both hard and soft, so that his ability to lead in battle and in trading and political negotiations with friend and foe alike were always beneficial and just, for both the Host and the Right-Believing Rus nation.

On a less formal level, he was an excellent story teller and listener, always happy to lend an ear or play a game of draughts or gorodki with his Cossack family if time permitted, so as to provide assistance, direct or indirect to his tribe, and perhaps even venture to earn some measure of forgiveness for the many sins and shortgivings incurred in a long and violent life as a soldier in the Host.

Although at one time an excellent Balalaika player, he now gave this up, preferring instead to listen to his younger kinsmen, especially since after the loss of his dear Evgenia, the playing of the old familiar favorites, once performed together for all during the many cold but celebratory festal campfire nights now made him prone to bouts of intolerable loneliness and drunken despair for her loss, which at the very least would be a shameful set of habits for a man of his important rank to cultivate, let alone to even further dishonor her beloved and cherished memory in such a unfitting and ungreatful way.

_{G E A R}

As a Hetman of the Zaprozhian host, Dmitry requires little in the way of gear - but the few items he did posess were treasured as priceless. Of all, the most important of course was his cross necklace, a smoothly warn hand forged affair of simple metal given to him to replace his infant baptismal cross by his Godparents upon becoming a full soldier in the Host.

After this, in keeping with values, which placed god first, family second, and tribe next, was the small locket he kept in his pocket, with a tiny oil portrait and two locks of his dear bride, the first taken on their wedding day, and the last taken mournfully from her at her burial.

Lastly, were the three emblems of his role in the Host - First among these was his Nagaika, the whip given to him in childhood to aid in his equestrian training, the seed of its firmly implated muscle memories later bearing fruit as a young man as he began training with his second possession, the shashka sword. Both of these invaluable items were handed down from his grandfather, in typical cossack style, with his father's nagaika and shashka being given to his son Illya In this way the active and living adult males would be duly armed according to the custom of the Host, with neither being able to break the tradition solely of their own accord. Such was the sense of honor and fidelity entrenched in the blood of the cossacks from an early age.

Lastly of his prized cossack possessions, aside from his horse, zakluchek, meaning the wind gust, was his Kokarda, the metal emblem worn on his fur hat, symbolizing his leadership of the Host, a ukranian trident formed into with a 3 bar cross at the top, its base seated firmly atop an inverted crescent moon, held aright by a lion on the one side, and a cossack on the other.

Certainly there were other items of importance kept for him, including many gifts, honors and trophies from his many years of service to the Host, all kept in his wooden house inside the fortress of the Zaprozhians, but, even counting those listed here, as being a man of strong faith, these earthly items carried their importance not as simply material possessions, but as symbols for the virtues of duty and fidelity to his people and nation that they represented, the right to carry each earned through the grace of God bestowed upon him despite his fallen unworthyness as a result of his years
of struggling for righteousness and the Cossack Way.

_{B I O G R A P H Y}

Dimitry was originally born to a lesser-ranking recently ennobled landed cossack family in the Right Bank Ukraine, scholastically trained in the best schools of the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth, owing to their noble rank, he was also trained in the old cossack ways of his family by his Grandparents, who kept the old ways in the Host and were still near and dear to his parents. His parents, devout and pious orthodox, structuring their whole life as service and prayer to god, ensured he would be birthed with St Dimitry as protector, both as a reference to that great martyr of old, and
also as a prayer to end the terrible reign of the False Dmitris over the Rus people in the dark Time of Troubles when he was born.

As the tensions grew between the commonwealth and moscovy grew, and his parents and elders saw the incursion of the Uniates and polish suppression of the ukranian way which they had tolerated in order to increase their lot as increasingly intolerable, Dimitry, with his parents blessing, joined the Cossack Host, initially fighting as a cossack mercenary for the poles in foreign lands, gaining wealth, rank and prestige within the ranks until the time was right for the full rebellion of the Cossack Ukranian/Ruthenian people against the polish incursion began. It was at this time that Dimitry truly came into his own, rising first as a lesser a junior Uryadnik, with several men under his wing, and later into an Ataman, the highest military rank in the Host.

It was at this time at a remove from the daily fray of the cossack warrior life that he wed his beloved bride, known to him to be god-ordained as his partner immediately from youth on, and tended to the raising of their children. This period was his fondest, with his vitality strong, devoid of it's foolish childishness, his previous military skills in battle developed in their application to leadership and strategy, when he was able to devote himself completely and absolutely to patiently and carefully tending to the intense yet gentle fire of love for his beloved and their children.

Yet as all things must, the time came quickly and suddenly to a close, his sons ready to join the host, they were away at battle with the Ottomans in the south when his bride became too sick in the fierce cold and perished while he was gaining the victories in battle and negotiations which earned him his Cockarda as Hetman of the Host. Though the loss was almost too much to bear at the time, and still haunted sharply him to this day, Dmitri viewed it as a terrible but necessary trial and divine provenance, for as those present when she departed told him, she was peaceful and serene, seeming to know him to be safe through some divine source, the vision of this yet still terrible passing of his beloved giving him strength to endure through the fiercest and toughest times as Hetman, the burden of which he all too well knew would have caused her great and nearly unbearable strain. When he was alone at night, remembering the many times they stood together silent and together and in prayer, he was quite sure he could feel her presence, gently leaning into his bosom to hug him dearly, or leaning over to give him the sweetest and most unexpected angelic kiss on the right cheek, and was assured
and comforted that if he performed his duties righteously and faithfully as Hetman, his journey to her through the trials would be swift, and he would be united as one with her again for all eternity.

It is at this point that we find our Dmitri, Hetman of the Cossack Host, carefully balancing his duties as negotiator, leader, and warrior through a most delicate time, since there was great struggle among the varying Cossack bands for the vision and direction of their land, with many opportunists and competing factions threatening to destroy them from within in a far more terrible and vicious way than could ever be imagined by any external threat.

_{V I E W S}

As a virtuous and balanced man, Dmitri's view of faith, person, and tribe can only be described as that of the ordinary kind, in the wonderfully extraordinary meaning of that Word, however, in other more subtle and murky matters with good opinions less clearly proscribed, he had his own clear and definite views.

A cossack of cossacks, yet of semi noble and nominally left-bank birth, he both had a stormy and fierce propensity towards battling for the valor of the True Ideal, yet also a strong and particular desire and taste for balanced nuance and right compromise. It is here that we find our beloved Krepchenko, having been forced to align himself with the more bloodthirsty cossack hosts against his better intention in order to preserve the Hetmanate and the local Cossack unity, but now, with the moon of that time full and the tides changing ever so slightly, seeking to alter course and forge a greater alliance for the great nation and subdue that base and lesser propensity which had been so recently dominant in the post-war
peace.

_{O T H E R}

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