Anna Yusupova "Annatoliya" is a Toreador from Russia.
Biography[]
| “ | I am the last of my line. My childer will not bear the blessing of the blood, but they will bear the promise of the Dream. | ” |
Mortal Days[]
Anna was the only daughter of a minor aristocrat and a dancer in the Russian Ballet. Her earliest memories of childhood are watching her mother perform. She would twirl and leap through the air in a way that seemed to defy the laws of nature. Anna believed that there was nothing her mother could not do. One of the things she was unable to do, however, was prevent the swelling discontent among the people of her country toward the ruling classes. Her father was certainly not a humble or pious man, but not the monster that many of those denouncing him from their pulpits made out. He couldn’t cast down the Tsar and undo centuries of tradition just to appease a mob.
Anna remembers being scared in those nights and trying to soothe her mother’s terror by learning to dance. Instead, she found herself engrossed in the music to which the dances took place. Her father had tutors brought in from around the country and Anna proved prodigious, with a voice as clear as an angel’s bell. Her performances provided a stay of execution and she became known as the “Songbird of St. Petersburg.” For a time, publications spoke of her as the Russian Mozart, saying her music could unite the nation.
With the assassination of Tsar Alexander, it became clear this would not be. No matter how talented she was, she could not sing away the reality in her country. She yearned for a way to save her parents but also to heal her wounded nation. A vampire offered her everything she wanted, at the cost of her life.
Kindred Nights[]
He introduced himself to her as “a Spaniard” but she came to know him as Andreu La Torre. With his exotic accent, devilish charm and handsome looks he seduced and Embraced the young Anna, giving her the power to enthrall and entrance the crowds. Her abilities soared, though her parents and some others noticed how pale she had become, and how she was never seen during the day. Word spread among the people of the city and, before long, the Bolsheviks were decrying her father as a demon worshiper who had made pacts with devils. The family home was burned with her parents inside.
Only Anna was spared and spirited away by La Torre to his home in Spain. The journey took them across the Eastern and Western fronts of the Great War and Anna hoped things would get better once they reached Barcelona. While their first years in Spain were relatively happy, she quickly lost the interest of her sire. La Torre became more interested in the politics of the city than he was in his young charge. The rising tensions of Franco’s civil war convinced her to abandon La Torre in search of peace in which to live with her art.
It seemed war and destruction followed her; Europe was on fire. She moved from Spain to Italy, then to Greece and finally Turkey. She adopted the name Annatoliya, in homage to the beautiful land she now called home. She lived as a hermit songbird, going from town to town, entertaining, gaining what nourishment and money she could before moving on. It was a transient existence, but also her calling. Annatoliya found her way to Istanbul, arriving at what would become the first tabernacle of the Angel. Something in her blood called her to enter the sanctum and, once inside, bid her stay as others, including her sire, began to arrive.
Those who had gathered questioned the reason why. They discovered that they all had one thing in common: their link to the ancient known as Michael the Archangel. As they spent their time there in contemplation, each vampire received the same vision, of a light piercing the sky, a guiding hand reaching from the past and pointing the way to a glorious destiny.
“Go forth,” it seemed to say, “bring my truth to the world!”
In that first conclave, the Nephilim were forged. They put aside old enmities and spoke of a hope and a restoration of what had once been. Anna would play her part, she would be a guiding light, leading the world to the place she had always wanted to live.
Character Sheet[]
Anna Yusupova
Sire: Andreu La Torre
Embraced: 1881 (born 1860)
Ambition: Sing the dreamers to the Dream
Convictions: Make the world into the heaven I imagine; Be a worthy childe
Touchstones: Bertrand Phelan — Virtuoso Cellist; Sandra Dawn — Sound Engineer
Humanity: 6
Generation: 7th
Blood Potency: 4
Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 5, Stamina 4; Charisma 5, Manipulation 4, Composure 4; Intelligence 3, Wits 5, Resolve 4
Health: 7
Willpower: 8
Skills: Athletics 2, Craft (Instruments) 2, Firearms 1, Melee (Fencing) 3, Stealth 2; Animal Ken (Horses) 3, Etiquette (Elysium) 3, Insight 3, Intimidation 1, Leadership 4, Performance (Opera) 5, Persuasion 3, Subterfuge 4; Academics 2, Awareness 3, Finance 3, Occult 2, Politics (Camarilla) 4, Technology (Sound Production) 2
Disciplines: Auspex 3, Celerity 3, Presence 4
References[]
- VTM: Cults of the Blood Gods, p. 111-114
