Nikolai Belkov

NIKOLAI BELKOV

personality

biography

My name is Nikolai Armand Belkov. I am the youngest of five children born to Grigory and Arina Belkov. My eldest siblings, Filip and Andrei left to fight in a silly war when I was a teenager, and my two sisters married off at early ages. Thus, I remained behind to take care of my parents as they grew older. My brothers never came home from the war as Filip had died and Andrei had disappeared from the battlefield. My parents and I just assumed that he had died and they had never found his body, or anyone to come and tell us that he had died.

I remained with my parents until their passing. I had just turned 25 when they both died of a fever. I buried them next to each other in our backyard and tried to get on with my life. I stayed in the house for a few months afterward, only leaving to go to the market or to go hunting. Sadly, the last time I went hunting was the last time I was ever human again.

I went out on a full moon. I was hunting. I don't exactly remember everything that happened, but I know that I was attacked by a wolf. I lay dying in the middle of the forest, and only felt a small bit of relief when a familiar face revealed himself to me. My brother, Andrei, had returned. He'd found me bleeding out from the attack, and pulled me into his arms. I begged him and begged him not to let me die. I'd never lived a life of my own. My entire life had been my family and taking care of our parents after everyone had left hope. I was the only one who hadn't gotten to go out and see the world or experience anything of the like. At that moment, I started sobbing, knowing that I'd done my best to serve my family, but crushed that I hadn't been able to truly live my own life. Just when everything was starting to go dark, I felt some liquid slide into my mouth, and I swallowed desperately, realizing that it wasn't water. At first, the taste was awful... when I woke, it was all I could think about.

Andrei had turned me into a vampire. He'd given me a second chance at life.

With that second chance at life came hundreds of voices and an extreme thirst for blood. The voices were easy enough to shut off, but the thirst was an entirely different story. It took me months, years even to finally be able to control my lust for the red liquid. After a few months of me being a vampire, I finally realized that the voices were the thoughts of the people around me. I could only read the thoughts of one person at a time, and I always had to be focused on them to be able to hear their voices in my own head. I kept this ability to myself, unsure of whether other vampires could do the same thing that I could.

I stayed with my brother and his creator for quite a few years until Andrei started to go on killing sprees. After the loss of his lover, Andrei turned into a man that I could hardly recognize. His thoughts were so dark that I could hardly stand to look at him, and it eventually lead me to leave my brothers company and go out on my own. It was around this time that I found out my sister, Anya, was still alive. Needless to say, I kept an eye on both my brother and my sister, keeping constant tabs on the both of them.

I also started to follow the various decedents of the Belkov family, appearing at random times to ensure their protection and their survival. No one related to me was going to die by a supernatural hand, and anyone who even tried or thought about it was snuffed out before they could even get close enough. I became a master of my ability, and made connections all over the world, using them to my advantage when I needed them. It became my goal in life to protect my family at all costs, and I would do anything and everything to ensure that it happened.

I avoided my siblings for the most part, running into them from time to time, even though it was far more comfortable for me to watch them from afar. I'm pretty sure that my act didn't fool my brother, knowing he was a tracker, but I still attempted to keep myself hidden. I was like the man pulling all the strings. I was playing god with my family, and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

During the Civil War, I enlisted as a soldier of the north and fought in the various battles. It was easy to keep myself out of the spotlight, of course, but I fought my hardest for the freedom of my new country. Soon after the war ended, I essentially disappeared off the face of the Earth. I went into hiding, becoming a recluse and focusing on my painting. I'd go out to feed, and buy supplies, but that was the most anyone would see of me. I had my connections keep an eye on my family, and enjoyed the silence that came with me shutting myself in. I stayed like this for about ten years before I started to travel once more. I explored many different countries but quickly returned to the USA.

I've spent the last few years in Las Vegas, working as a painter. The connections that I've kept have let me continue to keep track of my family all this time, and I still intend to protect them from harm. Anyone even distant related to my blood can expect to go through life without much of a hitch. If you mess with my family, who are my entire life, you'll be happy to know that the wrath of the youngest Belkov brother will befall you. I'll torture you or take you out using any means necessary to protect that which I feel needs to remain safe.

Now, I realize that I haven't made much of the life that Andrei has given to me. Family has still been the entire reason that I'm still alive and kicking. I've never given much thought to love or romance, and I've always kept everyone at such an arms length that I've never even let anyone in. However, no one has ever caught my eye. That doesn't mean I don't want something new and exciting, but she has to be right. She has to be perfect.

JOSEPH MORGAN