Sasha Maslov Durnovo
Sasha Maslov Durnovo is a player character in the White Rose campaign, played by Ben Swiatek. He is 6 foot 2 inches tall, and has black hair, light skin, and gray eyes.
Contents |
History
Early Childhood
Sasha was born in Epone on Pisces 1st, 1569, the fourth and final child of artists Leonid and Marina (née Maslov) Durnovo, after Tania (older by 7 years), Yuri (by 5) and Nicolai (by 2).
Leonid Durnovo was an artist of some repute whose primary craft was stone sculpture. His children were seen primarily as projects to be completed, and his active involvement in each new child's life lasted about as long as a standard commission. Sasha was no exception, and in fact being the fourth child held little interest to his father. Marina strove to provide the necessities for her children, but little beyond; she had eyes only for Leonid, and was almost comically submissive in the face of his harsh nature. In this way, she was the perfect wife for him: an empty shell waiting to be sculpted.
The peak of their neglect came during a family vacation to Airmed, during which time Sasha (then age 7) was mistakenly left at home, locked in a closet (a typical punishment for his frequent outcries for attention was removing him from sight) for four and a half days, his parents having simply assumed he had run away for the duration. This incident fostered in Sasha an intense claustrophobia that continued well into his adult life.
Adolescence and Early Adulthood
Though Leonid's attitude toward fatherhood changed little, Sasha gained certain freedoms as he grew, and by the time he entered middle school, he was beginning to overcome the childhood traumas that had thus far defined his life. He performed well academically, and though a troublemaker, Sasha received pleasant comments from his teachers, though their reports of praise fell on deaf ears.
Nicolai (or Nico, as young Sasha took to calling him) and Sasha, being closest in age of the siblings, formed a strong bond. Nico was unquestionably Sasha's idol, a natural painter who taught Sasha technique and style even before Nico's formal collegiate training at the Aether Conservatory in Epone's prestigious Idylla Column.
Sasha quickly made friends with the local Fomorian population, finding kinship in a mutual understanding of subjugation, though he never wandered far into the few tunnel-like territories his friends sometimes played in. Over time, he bore witness to a number of instances wherein his friends were taken advantage of (including several violent punishments), and bade them to fight back, or at least to protest, to no avail. An intense frustration, coupled with his already quick temper, led to eventual estrangement from most of his Fomorian companions.
At the age of fourteen, his blooming potential for integration and happiness was shattered irrevocably. His sister Tania, overcome by lust for her youngest brother, lured Sasha to her studio under the pretense of giving him artistic instruction (an "artist of the flesh," Tania specialized in tattooing and other forms of body modification). Sasha's admiration for his sister's work made him easy prey. Her advances and threats left him overpowered and horrified, and Sasha proved unable to fight off the rape. Crippled by self-disgust and disillusionment, fear and shame drove Sasha to cover up the entire incident.
Soon after, Tania married into the dis Pater family, hoping to increase her ability to market her artwork, and Sasha dropped out of school.
Macha and the Blackout
Sasha was in Macha running errands for Nico when Marissa Aciesvor initiated the Blackout,
The Ashcairn Family
Campaign Role
The Eye of the People
After accepting Malcolm Troy's offer to join the White Rose, Sasha and his new comrades Matthew Shepard and Soraya North accompany Troy, Renee Catheline, and Blaine Durant on a mission to destroy the Halcyon Library. Almost immediately animosities form between himself and the others - save Troy, who seems to approve of his intense and unforgiving manner. Following the successful operation, during which Sasha's claustrophobia and strangely negative treatment of Fomorians come to light, Sasha places a map of the library (that he has illustrated to look like an emotive eye and inscribed with ominous text) over its entrance. This will become the first of a series. With the rest of the White Rose leadership, he confronts the masked leader of Briar Fell and begins to accrue public status.
The Theatre of the Heavens
After relentless prodding, a surprisingly agreeable Renee reveals to Sasha that she acquired the crystal explosives used in the library operation from a mysterious woman named Sharon connected to an equally mysterious Order called RNV. Sasha visits Kade, who panics upon hearing the Order name, enlisting Sasha to "bring [him] the head" of RNV. Soraya reveals to Sasha that Gwydion Fehlstein, the target of the White Rose's next operation, has taken an interest in an Order called Ret ne Verp, a reversal of the word "Preventer." Sasha confronts Shelly, suspecting she is Renee's Sharon; she likewise recognizes him as the "s m d" who initialed the map left at the library.
After a heated exchange with Matthew Shepard (in which an enraged Sasha condemns Matt for his unwillingness to sacrifice his comfort and morality for their cause, an assertion that Renee contests vigorously), Sasha, Matt and Soraya go undercover in effort to kidnap Gwydion Fehlstein from his home. After Soraya incapacitates the Order head, Sasha suggests leaving Soraya behind to preserve her cover. Their escape is interrupted by Lucrezia Tavion, leader of the Topaz Four division of Briar Fell, who forces Sasha and Matt to bring Fehlstein to her personal headquarters. Sasha leaves behind Regina Blancfleur's map of Fehlstein's house, altered to resemble a ghoulish theater and inscribed with a continuation of the library epigram.
A furious Blaine is waiting at T4 HQ and presents Sasha with the results of the White Rose's efforts to absorb Briar Fell: Over half of its units are now officially members. Sasha is shocked to discover a line from his own as-yet-unrevealed map epigram atop the results page. Sasha and Lucrezia make an agreement that ensures both she and the White Rose have access to Fehlstein, and proceed to interrogate him. Their progress is slow until Sasha engages Fehlstein in a ruthless philosophical debate, after which he proceeds to torture him via a primitive form of waterboarding. A distraught Fehlstein reveals the location of one of Macha's hidden radio broadcasting stations.
The Wrathful Conscience
Sasha, tormented by his own barbarism, wanders aimlessly and arrives at Soraya's house, where to his surprise and consternation he discovers former Eponen President Heather dis Pater. Heather explains that she is a Preventer, one of three agents chosen by the Arians to stop the use of destructive crystal technology leftover from Kade's Massacre-era stockpile, and that the crystal bombs employed by the White Rose are almost certainly part of this collection. Sasha and Soraya bring her to meet Troy. Sasha, Soraya and Matt resolve to assault the known radio station and to use its facilities both to announce the White Rose's mission and as a demonstration of its power. After the discussion, Sasha confronts Troy about the line from his epigram. Troy reveals that he took the line from a Crona religious text.
Sasha composes the broadcast, and the radio operation is a success, though it highlights Sasha's continued harsh treatment of Fomorians and reveals that Sasha's artistic propaganda has inspired a cult-like following whose members have begun tattooing his designs on their faces. Instead of victory bells, they are greeted at White Rose HQ by alarms, as Simon Auriga, new head of Macha's military, declares a state of emergency and begins what will become known as the Second Purge, designed to forcefully remove all insurgents from the Everfalls district - White Rose's home. The situation is further complicated as Troy quits the White Rose without explanation, Georgiana Aciesvor at his side.
Bent Wires Barbed
The Thick Throat of the Earth
The Hands of Time
Parspiritus
The Garden of the Taught
The Shades of Fate
Related Pages
| White Rose | Sessions | |
| Appendices | History | Timeline | Atlas | Mechanics | |
| Categories | Affiliations | Characters | Documents and Transcripts | Events | Institutions | Locations | Weapons and Technology | |
| White Rose and associated original media are copyright © 2009-2010. All rights reserved. |
