HISTORY & EXTRA INFO

Russia might have been known to be a barren place of ice and snow, for the most part it might as well have been, but there were beautiful places within the vast winter wonderland. And it was within one of the great cities that Valeriya Konstantinov and Mikhail Volkov married one another. While some might have thought it was a marriage hatched from true love, it was far from the truth. Valeriya Konstantinov was beautiful and bright, but she was the daughter of a business mogul and wasn't beautiful or bright enough to realize and marry someone better. Mikhail Volkov was the son of one of the larger Russian mafia families and married Valeriya as one of the insurances to her father. In return for the increased influence in the business empire, Mikhail and Valeriya's marriage was used to cement the start of a brighter future for the underworld organized crime division.

Their marriage might not have been a product of love, but it would be wrong to say it was a marriage without it. Mikhail did love Valeriya very much, but she came second to his rule over an underground empire. Not that it was hard to please and make her smile. Pretty things, gifts, find clothes, and such were easily used to appease her should he have left her alone for a day or two. Of course, he took time off to spend time with her. In those days that sometimes went on into a period of a week, he catered to all her wishes and fancies. Mikhail was no petty thug trying to court a high class lady, but rather an intelligent business man who in a blink of an eye can turn from doting husband to cold killer. That side he never showed to his darling Valeriya. No, no. What type of husband would he be? Then within a few years of their marriage, they were both expecting their first born child. Dimitri Volkov was the child that had entered their lives and both of them were ready to make him into the brightest star in the sky.

By the time Dmitri was four, it was obvious to Valeriya that her first born child would be the heir to Mikhail's empire. The constant hounding and hovering that Mikhail was doing, while endearing at times, pushed the young child further and further away from her. So then, when Dmitri was five, Andrei Aleksandr Volkov was the second child to be born into the household and this time, Valeriya was determined to keep him. While it was true and undeniable that Mikhail Volkov loved both his children, it was also true and undeniable that he loved Dmitri just a little more. That was to be expected of course. As the first born and a sacrifice like himself, Dmitri would have the throne that their father had built. Where as the second son and fighter, Andrei was doted upon by their mother, who indeed put mother in smother. Anything he could have wished for, he would have gotten. Anything his heart desired, his mother would have gone through anything to get it. Andrei was his mother's darling boy and nothing would change it.

But as he grew, he began to understand the circumstances of his birth. Maybe that was when the resentment he had for his brother started to appear. Don't get him wrong, Andrei loves his older brother. He truly does care, admire, and love Dmitri, but there was always this form of resentment that lurked. As the younger brother of Dimitri Volkov, there was quite a large shadow cast over him. Andrei was raised with high expectations. Andrei constantly pushed himself to do better, hoping to achieve more than what his brother had, but those only played to his father's high expectations. After all, Andrei was his son regardless of being second born or not. There was always a smile waiting on his father's face for Dmitri whenever papers with gold stars were presented to him, but a more patronizing and almost nonchalant one when Andrei presented his. Then when the bedtime stories came about how Princes become Kings, Andrei realized that in the end, no matter how smart he was, no matter how hard he practiced, he would always be second place in comparison to his brother. And while he might have had a chance at the throne that his father had built, a very slim chance that only suited to be a false glimmer of hope, Andrei would never be the one wearing the crown.

Dmitri was sent to Selene Isle to study abroad at a prestigious academy while he was stuck back home in the motherland. With his brother away, his father's attention returned back to managing his business empire full time. Andrei did not take to this too well, not when he wanted his father's attention now that his older brother was away for high school. Where his father might have tried his best to appease his younger child, nothing quite worked. Even with his mother's constant promises of the newest toys or largest cakes wouldn't do. By the time Andrei was thirteen, he spent his afternoons running with the drug cartels on the streets. He wasn't dealing himself and he certainly wasn't using, no, he was smarter than that, but he was smuggling them across the city to places that it needed to be.

In a near death accident, one where people had apparently never heard of the expression don't shoot the messenger, was enough to earn him a life long sentence of in house suspension. His mother worried far too much, incessantly hovering and trailing after him throughout the house, never once letting him out of her sight. His father on the other hand was livid and Andrei believed, that if he weren't his father's son, then his father would have finished the job that the bullet did not the first time. Although really, Andrei also believed that maybe it was also the fact that he was his father's son that caused him to be so angry. If there were any further investigations, then surely his father and his underground empire might have been caught in the middle of it and no one wanted their very own flesh and blood to ruin what took years in the making.

As a way to rein in the unruly teenager, his father finally decided that it would be best to send him along to Selene Isle as well. There, his father hoped that his second son would grow out of that headstrong and rash phase away from Russia and his mother hoped that he would be safer. Instead of wandering around the streets doing lord knows what, he' be spending time learning and growing. Of course, the plan was only finalized after the reassurance that Dmitri, who by that time had finished his education, would keep an eye on the young Andrei. So off his father shipped Andrei to Selene Isle where he would study abroad.

Transitioning from his home in Moscow, Russia to Selene Isle. Within the first two weeks and he had settled in and found himself right at home in the dorms of the academy. However, Andrei was a fool to think that this was a gateway to possibly earning his father's attention. He might have had the freedom he craved from being out from underneath his mother's overbearing nature, but it was nothing like running along the streets of Moscow. It was quieter and a lot more tame. And so the boy's interest in coming disappeared while his bitter resentment started to grow deeper.

• sleeping

    
What is there to not like? Sleeping is essential to everyone not just because they're tired. Andrei can easily recite to you why sleep is beneficial if it meant getting you to leave him alone to his nap. He has a tendency to sleep in the sun whenever he can.

• dogs and cats

Animals weren't something that he got to play with often growing up. His mother feared large dogs and his father was allergic to cats. Fish were out of the question due to the freezing temperatures of Russia. Andrei might not be chasing after every dog to pet them or meowing to any stray cat he finds, but he will welcome their company if they come near.

• talking with his mother

Still a mama's boy at heart, he does enjoy talking to his mother about his day when she calls weekly. He's rather grateful that she's no longer calling on a daily basis, but it's nice to speak in his home language every now and then. It puts him at ease knowing that she is doing well along with father's side of things.

• pastries

Pastries are his favorite food items and he will happily shove them into his mouth. Pies, tarts, doughnuts, and cakes are just a few on his list. He is particularly fond of sweet pastries, namely tarts and cake because of the fruit. He had plenty of these to eat when he was younger and he has no intention of stopping himself either now that he is older as well.

• sports

It's a way to get all this pent up energy out of his system along with whatever anger or frustration he might have. Andrei loves sports even though he doesn't play all of them himself. He does fancy a game of soccer outside of the basketball court from time to time. Track would also be one of his favorites despite his brother having called it mindless running and jumping. He's also fond of volleyball since a couple of his classmates got him hooked onto it.  Honestly, any sport is great for him.

• nosy people

His business is no one else's business. How hard is that to understand?

• mundanes

This is more his father's fault than anything. Andrei has been taught that regular humans, those without true names and spell battling capabilities, are beneath him. While he has yet to hear this from a scientific and evolutionary point of view, Andrei does see the logistics in his father's approach. Having had this ingrained into him since he was little, thankfully not much of a fanatic about it like his old man, he holds himself at distance from mundanes.

• hot weather

An adaptation to his winter environment back in Russia, Andrei is used to the colder temperatures of his homeland. Hot weather is the bane of his existence and he'll more or less be seen spending his time indoors where the AC is blasting.

• orders

Being as unmotivated as he is, being told to do something only makes it harder for it to be done. He does respect his teachers and those who have earned his respect, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's going to do everything they tell or suggest him to do. If anything, it's similar to you about to do something and losing interest once someone scolds you to do it.

• obligations

Perhaps another reason why relationships aren't exactly something possible with Andrei. Obligations are troublesome to maintain in his opinion and even more so when people come up to him saying he has an obligation to do something. Andrei prefers having a choice in doing something, regardless of how other people may see it.

• university student

He's on his first year as a university student and he enjoys the free life of being able to pick his classes out at his convenience. While he doesn't mind the really early classes that start at seven thirty in the morning, he'd rather sleep in late. Granted, that's not an option seeing as he's on the basketball team and also a bench player for the volleyball team as well. He's got a lot to do and so very little time to do it.

• assistant patisserie at cafe mystique

The one thing he has motivation for besides sports, Andrei's love of pastries has shone through. He's not aiming to be head patisserie, that requires a lot of effort and study to maintain that amount of education and creativity, but this is the next best thing. Or so he assumes. He picks up information and techniques to make pastries rather easily considering he's motivated to bake himself some cake and other sweet delights.

• mikhail volkov
• valeriya volkov
• dmitri volkov

His parents are well and alive back home in Moscow. His father continues to manage the family business while his mother continues to worry from afar. Andrei still gets calls from her and always calls her back. There are times where he'll also text her if he's feeling particularly down. Of course, Valeriya always spoils her baby boy. She sends him care packages and always keeps his black card stocked with money in the account to pay off whatever it is his little heart desires. She also calls Dmitri to make sure he keeps an eye on Andrei.

• infinite

Andrei's name makes home on his left bicep, running across his arm in a black worded band. It's a strange name to have, not only because it doesn't conform to the usual -less suffix, but Andrei doesn't quite understand what it's supposed to mean. He simply thinks it's supposed to symbolize his never ending or his continuous beginning, which is pretty much him bullshitting. The meaning behind his name is his infinite amount of possibilities as a fighter and there is more than what he has set before himself. There is more than being the second born, more than being the heir to the family business, and more than what he believes he can do. He is infinite in his potential and all the possibilities he has before him, a million and more paths to choose from. He simply has to realize this. He is infinite. 

Due to the nature of his name, is rather compatible with other sacrifices. He is, after all, filled with infinite possibilities. Andrei does suffer from side affects considering if the sacrifice he is currently with does not share the same name as he does. It's a finicky thing. He suffers from migraines and his arm is sore to the point of where he doesn't have the strength or desire to lift it. Dmitri will occasionally ask him to be his fighter for a spell battle, but his older brother has been pretty good at keeping battles away from Andrei. Their mother would have a fit somewhere back home if she found out. His best work will be done with his actual sacrifice and this is assuming anyone even manages to get him to participate in a spell battle.



Survival of the fittest doesn't mean the person with the best well built body, but rather the person that has the better ability to adapt to their surroundings. Andrei is exactly that. He is quick in taking in his surroundings and making best of what is is given at hand. Of course, this usually means a lot of observation and paying close attention to the particular details that others might deem dismissible. Granted, this doesn't happen right away as there is a learning curve, but pressure is always the best motivator in this scenario for Andrei. It really doesn't show if you look at his grades, but if you give him the chance, he's a lot brighter than what you might take him for. If you were to offhandedly ask him a question regarding a school subject, then he surely will be able to answer it. Albeit, in the most bored tone. In the instances that he doesn't know the answer to something, Andrei does take the time to search for one. Although, not quite an extensively. While Andrei isn't the captain of the basketball team, that's too much work and he's not into it all that much, but he does help point out flaws in defense and gives suggestions on what might be better plays.

Oh boy. From a young age, Andrei has proven to himself and those around him, that he is an independent person. He doesn't need babying and smothering as his mother would do so when he was younger and he certainly does not need any help either. Andrei is fine if you leave him to his own devices and is relatively well mannered, for the most part that is. He's not quite eager to work in groups, but he still does relatively well in them. Hence his position on the basketball team. The only downside to this would be his need to push this on those around him. He finds people who are too clingy and dependent on others annoying. And yet, he's rather patient.  Now here's something that might seem out of place for someone like Andrei. Thank his lucky stars, he was blessed with the virtue of patience. Without it, he would have certainly been the most foul tempered person to be around with. As his mother had taught him, patience leads to greater things and better outcomes. Tasks that are long and arduous aren't so much of a problem to him. They might be annoying, but they certainly won't be troublesome. It's not to say that Andrei is a bottomless well of patience, even he has his limits.

Andrei prefers the more logical approach to a situation because that is the most efficient and less problematic way to handle it. This does question his ability to perform well in spell battles because of his straightforward nature; however, this doesn't mean he lacks creativity. He handles himself rather well in and in the very same logical manner. As Andrei likes to see it, a spell battle is merely a way of one up-ing your opponent so to speak. You counter darkness with light, wind with earth, fire with water, etc. Unlike his brother who has a filter on his mouth and is far more tactful, Andrei speaks it the way he means it. There's no point in skirting around the bush or sugarcoating things in his opinion. If you want things done, you had better put it straight out there. While some might find his blunt and forward nature rather refreshing, others might find it less pleasing. All in all though, Andrei will tell you the truth if you want it and he's not afraid to get on your bad side just because you couldn't handle it either.

His loyalty is harder to earn than his friendship and there is a good reason why. His loyalty is dependent on his trust that he holds to you and that is not something he gives away freely. Andrei might not be moved by you saving his life, but that doesn't mean he'll automatically give you his loyalty and allegiance. Just a bit of his trust. Little by little, patience is the key here, he'll eventually come to trust you and soon enough, his loyalty will follow. Keep in mind though, just because he'll have your back in things, doesn't mean he'll fight for you nor would it mean he'd always blindly follow you everywhere. Andrei has a brain of his own thank you very much. And of course, with his loyalty hard earned, it is even harder or near impossible to earn back. Forgiving is not second nature to Andrei. He has heard enough from his father about those who will take advantage of you as soon as they think you're vulnerable and backstabbing traitors. Complete forgiveness might as well be something foreign. He might be more willing to forgive in order to diffuse the awkward tension that trails between you and him, if it should hinder his efficiency to function properly around school, but he won't fully let it go. Without a doubt, Andrei isn't the kind to forget so easily either. Every single thing, regardless of how small, that had irked him in any way will hold against you.

With his father's line or work, Andrei grew up cynical. He doubted the so called good intentions of others and questions those of authority. This leads to plenty of trust issues, especially when it comes to forming relationships with others. He has grown distrusting of most, if not all, people and has a habit of pondering on possible ulterior motives. While at times it has helped him in becoming cautious in whatever dealings or people he associates himself with, it is certainly a lot more detrimental on the long term side. Most people shove back when they get pushed, but Andrei is more run you over with an eighteen wheeled truck going at a hundred and twenty. This doesn't even just apply to his competitive aggression in basketball. Andrei is physically aggressive and a kiss with a fist will certainly make things better, to him anyway. Spell battles are something he would rather avoid, more so because action has always spoken louder than words. Don't be mistaken though, that if it does come down to a battle of words and letters, then he will meet you with the same amount of ferocity. While he might not be ready to slam you against the wall at the snap of a twig, rest assured, once you've worn through his patience, he'll be snapping at your throat. 

Andrei is self centered and he would prefer it that way as well. In the eyes of others, that puts him as selfish, but to Andrei that only means survival. After all, no one else is going to take care of you all the time. It's better to focus more on yourself and the situation you have at hand than that of others. It's simpler that way and a lot less troublesome without having to worry over the feelings and wellbeing of others. Andrei might be willing to lend an ear or a shoulder for you to cry on, although rather grudgingly and probably not as willing as many might mistake him to, he's not the best friend who will call you to see how you're doing after your breakup. At the end of the day, it isn't his problem. It's yours.

A habit of his that Andrei has yet to break and possibly won't. He doesn't actively do this, seeking out people to flirt with that is. Whoever is there at the time will simply have to do. He likes seeing their reactions far more than actually trying to get into bed with them. The latter would just be an added bonus, much to his amusement and his mother's distress should she ever find out. While sweet words and good looks might get him in the graces of some ladies and gentlemen, Andrei doesn't see himself forming a relationship with anyone that quickly, i.e. his lack of trust and lack of motivation to keep one.

Stubborn, determined, and a little bit like trying to get a dog to let go of you. Once Andrei is set on something, let it be a belief of his or stance in an argument, there's a good chance you won't ever get him to budge. It sucks to be the person trying to get him to budge, but its heaven sent should you be on the same side he's on. If he has his sights set on something, it'll be hard to shake him off of it no matter how impossible it might seem. Despite that it's hard to get him remotely motivated into doing things. Andrei is a very unmotivated individual, finding things rather uninteresting rather quickly. If it has nothing to do with him in any way, shape, or form, then he certainly will not give it a second glance. Even then, he has a lack of drive to do just about anything. He puts in little to no effort when it comes to his studies, only enough to keep him on the basketball team. Rest in pieces to whoever ends up as his sacrifice because there is a good 85% chance that he won't be fighting for you because it's not worth his time or effort. Yet, when he finally finds the drive or motivation to set him forward, Andrei has a tendency to have that become his single focus and strive towards it with his absolute best.

SPELL LIST

MADE BY PANNY FOR WAR OF CHANGE IN-SITE USAGE ONLY!