Category:Dilisnya Family

This section contains canon info from officially published sources

Origins

The Dilisnya family nearly 800 years ago were a family engaged in banking in one or more city-states. They were one of several successful mercantile families that used their wealth and influence to have themselves raised to the nobility of Prime Material Barovia when the nation was forged of independent city-states by the von Zarovich family in BC 1.^[1]

Izabela Dilisnya, the aged matriarch of her line, was assassinated in 314 BC. The crime was blamed upon the Katsky and the Petrovna families. They had been locked in a dispute with the Dilisnyas over the rights to the prosperous (but now played out) silver mines of Mount Gries. There was also a century of accumulated ill-will between the families. The assassination touched off the War of Silver Knives. It was far less a war than a series of tit-for-tat assassinations that Count Barov von Zarovich ordered an end to in 316 BC. Peace was restored, but well before Izabela could be avenged sufficiently avenged so far as her son Pidlwik Dilisnya was concerned. He developed an intense hatred for the von Zaroviches that he passed on to his son, or in fact, stepson (by way of Dorfina's adulterous tryst with Gunther Cosco) Leo Dilisnya. Leo plotted not merely to punish them. He plotted to make himself the ruler of Prime Material Barovia. The von Zaroviches would be wiped out.^[1] His ailing brother Reinhold would be installed as Count of Barovia. And after a year or two, Count Reinhold would appear to die of his stomach illness, which was in fact a result of poisoning by his brother. Leo would then succeed Reinhold as Count of Barovia.^[2]

The Wedding of Sergei von Zarovich was the moment when Leo struck. The massacre turned out to be somewhat wider than had been intended initially.^[3] It would claim his biological father Gunther Cosco, his brother Reinhold, his sister Gertrude, her husband Ivan Buchvold, together their three children, and his sister Oleka, together with three of her four children. Count Strahd von Zarovich appeared to be fatally wounded. And the couple to be married, Sergei von Zarovich and his bride Tatyana Federovna, were already dead, Strahd having murdered his brother Sergi and Tanyana having escaped Strahd by throwing herself from the castle wall. Leo was far from unpleased with the result. Unfortunately, Strahd, rather than expiring peaceably, rose up as one of the undead and routed the Leo's forces. The only Dilisnyas to escape Castle Ravenloft were Leo, Lovina Wachter, Reinhold's wife Nadia Yakimov and her children. Contemporary Dilisnyas are the descendants of the one line, the other, or both.^[4][3]

Leo and his remaining kin went to ground, rightly fearing the vengeance of the vampire that now ruled the realm. Flight to other lands proved to be impossible, for the Mists had cut off the land from its neighbours. The patriarch of the Dilisnyas hid himself away in a monastery and prepared himself for the night when Strahd would come. In 398 BC, the Count of Barovia at last came for his most wayward subject. The preparations proved to be insufficient, if just barely. Strahd ended Leo's life, but not his existence. He made him a vampire and then seal him away in a tomb on the Wachter Estate to be driven mad by hunger before eventually expiring of it.^[3]

Time in Hiding and Dispersion

The remaining Dilisnyas spent over two centuries hiding themselves from Count Strahd von Zarovich within the narrow confines of Barovia. The annexation of Mordent by the Mists in 579 BC^[5] opened an outlet for immigration to the west. That outlet widened with the incorporation of Gundarak in 593 BC and of Invidia in 603 BC. Lev Dilisnya, descended from Leo Dilisnya, was the son of one of the first Dilisnyas to establish himself and his family openly in the domain of Mordent. They were, however, viewed with a great deal of suspicion by the Mordentish.^[6] Lev married Elena Almeida and she bore him three children, Yakov Dilisnya and Oleska Dilisnya in 640 BC and Stepan Dilisnya in 650 BC. The family lived in a luxurious manor built by Lev's father in northern Mordent. Elena died in 651 BC. Within a year, Lev had taken Anna Kurdzeil as his second wife. She bore him two children, Richtor Dilisnya in 658 BC and Camille Dilisnya in 662 BC. There would be seven grandchildren, including Clifford Dilisnya and Virginia Dilisnya, both werewolves, and Anton Boritsi, Ivana Boritsi and Sulo Boritsi, not werewolves.^[7]

Domain Formation

The subsequent fortune of the descendants of Leo Dilisnya would be shaped by Camille Dilisnya. She discovered that Siegfried Grymig, her husband, was having an affair Maria Diazi and poisoned them to death in what would soon prove to be the seminal event that gave birth to Borca. The Mordentish authorities failed to solve the mystery of the murders, although the truth of the matter is now an open secret. As a precaution however, Lev and Anna sent Camille to distant relatives in Invidia. En route, she was seized by the Mists and Borca was formed with her as its darklord. It is probable that Lev and Anna immigrated to Borca in the years following its formation in 684 BC, at once invited by Camille and drawn by the prospect of being raised to nobility.^[6] In 698 BC, the Dilisnya family gathered for the funeral of Camille's fourth husband, Oleh Fortich. Camille was persuaded that her family had been conspiring to kill her. She proceeded to poison to death the nigh entirety of her branch of the Dilisnyas, including Lev, Anna and all their other children.^[8]

On a new moon in the year of 689 BC, Ivana Boritsi and Ivan Dilisnya, both cousins but later nicknamed the Dark Twins for their similarly dark natures, were born to different mothers.^[9] Only Ivana was the child of Camille, though Ivan would demonstrate depravity enough to rival his cousin and aunt. He began murder and treachery from a young age. Past his teens, he was depraved enough to be chased into the Mists, and the domain of Dorvinia formed thereafter.^[10] Meanwhile, Ivana eventually killed Camille and inherited rule (both political over the domain of Borca. Ivan and Ivana's rule over their respective domains were no less malevolent than that of Camille.^[11]

In 740 BC, the Grand Conjunction occurred and shook all of the Core. Yet the darklords could move beyond their domains. Ivan panicked and fled into Borca to join his cousin and childhood companion Ivana in Borca. Their proximity and similarity when the Conjunction ended caused Borca and Dorivinia to merge. Separated for years in their respective domains but now forced to share rule over the same merged domain, Ivan and Ivana became bitter enemies, an enmity that continues to shape life in Borca to this day.^[10] The rivalry between Ivan and Ivana also characterizes the shaky life of the Dilisnyas in Borca to this day.^[12]

The Dilisnyas Today

Ironically, in contemporary times, the Dilisnyas can be found all over the Land of Mists except in the land of their bloodlines birth, Barovia. For example, in Invidia, Dilisnyas serve both Malocchio's mercenary forces and the Gundarakite rebels. Vistani even hire them to wreak vengeance upon those in that domain that have wronged them. They are also equally at home in the intrigues of Richemulot or the criminal fringe of Port-a-Lucine. A Dilisnyas made aware of their background collectively have an almost uncanny ability to find each other, but such knowledge may come at the cost of knowing new enemies.^[13]

The Dilisnyas remain most commonly in Borca, where they may operate out in the open. However, Dilisnyas might kowtow to or at least take stock of the realm's two diabolical rules and sometimes must walk a fine line between loyalties. Ivan sees others of the Dilisnya family as potential recruits and resources, though he monitors their activities with a watchful eye. For her part, Ivana sees the Dilisnyas as sources of conspiracy and rebellion against her rule. She is quick to assert her dominance, and resistance can quickly in painful death from poison.^[12]

Family Links

Over the Dilisnya family's long history, its fate has become intertwined with that of a number of other families. As the offspring of an adulterous tryst between Dorfinya and Gunther Cosco, Leo Dilisnya was technically never a Dilisnya by blood but instead one of the Cosco Family^[14], making all his descendants also members of the Cosco family. However, Leo's descendants all bear the marks of Dilisnya family membership and its subsequent stain the same as any of Reinhold's descendants^[13] (though Leo himself is probably more responsible for staining the Dilisnya family with an evil legacy.)

With the marriage of Richtor Dilisnya to Ester Timothy several centuries later, the Dilisnya has descendants who are also members of the werewolf Timothy Family. Born among a litter of werewolf offspring, Virginia Dilisnya was Richtor and Esther's daughter and sired several children. Virginia married Richard Ratcliff. The daughter of Richard and Virginia, Winifred Ratcliff, went onto marry Alfred Timothy, the werewold darklord of Verbrek and produced a litter of werewolf offspring in turn.^[15]

Camille Dilisnya, Borca's infamous first darklord, became linked with the Boritsi Family when she married Klaus Boritsi. After she murdered him in 697 BC^[14], she would change the history of that formerly soft-spoken mercantile family for the darker. Ivana Boritsi, her daughter and murderer, would continued Camille's vile ways.^[16]

Chronology

• 1 BC Following Prime Material Barovia's solidification as a nation state, the Dilisnya Family is one of the families given noble status.^[1]
• 280 BC Pidlwik Dilisnya is born.^[14]
• 289 BC Dorfniya is born.^[17]
• 310 BC Reinhold Dilisnya is born to Pidlwik Dilisnya and Dorfniya.^[14]
• 314 BC The War of Silver Knives, a conflict between the Dilisnyas, Katskies, and the Petrovnas, purportedly begins with the Assassination of Lady Izabela Dilisnya.^[1]
• 315 BC Gertrude Dilisnya is born to Pidlwik Dilisnya and Dorfniya.^[14]
• 316 BC Count Barov von Zarovich commands an end to the War of Silver Knives and appeases the warring parties with gifts of land, though the war will still fragment Barovia in the face of the Terg invasion to come.
• 317 BC Oleka Dilisnya is born to Pidlwik Dilisnya and Dorfniya.^[14]
• 320 BC Dorfniya, the wife of Pidlwik Dilisnya, gives birth to Leo Dilisnya thanks to an illicit affair with Gunther Cosco.^[17]
• 340 BC Dorfniya dies.^[17]
• 349 BC Pidlwik Dilisnya dies.^[14] Leo Dilisnya learns of his truth birth heritage and walks away from the Dilisnya Family.^[17]
• 351 BC The Wedding Day Massacre Much of the Dilisnya Family and their relatives lose their lives. The death toll includes^[14]:
  • Gunther Cosco, biological father of Leo Dilisnya
  • Gertrude Dilisnya, her husband Ivan Buchvold, and at least two of their three children.
  • Oleka Dilisnya and three of her four children. Her husband Victor Wachter and their daughter Lovina Wachter survive.
  • Reinhold Dilisnya perishes, but his wife Nadia Yakimov and perhaps any children they had, survive to produce a branch of the Dilisnya Family that eventually produces Roman Dilisnya.
• 398 BC Count Strahd von Zarovich confronts Lord Leo Dilisnya at the Monastery of Silver Threads, walking into Lord Dilisnya's trap. Strahd is almost put down, but the monks of the monastery act to turn the tide of battle. Strahd turns Lord Leo Dilisnya into a vampire and imprisons him in a tomb to starve from a lack of blood.^[18]
• 579 BC Mordent is annexed by the Mists.^[19] The Dilisnyas subsequently spread out to the rural areas of that land.^[6]
• 611 BC Roman Dilisnya is born.^[14]
• 605 BC Camille Yakimov, later the first wife of Roman Dilisnya, is born.^[14]
• 619 BC Anna Spachuk, later the mistress of Roman Dilisnya, is born.^[14]
• 620 BC Lev Dilisnya, a descendant of Leo Dilisnya, is born.^[17]
• 623 BC Elena Almeida, the future first wife of Lev Dilisnya, is born.^[17]
• 627 BC Natalia Olzanik, later the second wife of Roman Dilisnya, is born.^[14]
• 632 BC Camille Yakimov dies.^[14]
• 635 BC Niki Romanoff, the future mistress of Lev Dilisnya, is born.^[17]
• 641 BC Oleska Dilisnya Yakov Dilisnya are born to Elena Almeida and Lev Dilisnya.^[17]
• 643 BC Anna Spachuk and Roman Dilisnya have an illegitimate child.^[14]
• 645 BC Fredrik Dilisnya is born to Natalia Olzanik and Roman Dilisnya.^[14]
• 645 BC Anna Kurdzeil, the future second wife of Lev Dilisnya, is born.^[17]
• 649 BC Boris Dilisnya is born to Natalia Olzanik and Roman Dilisnya.^[14]
• 650 BC Stepan Dilisnya is born to Elena Almeida and Lev Dilisnya.^[17]
• 651 BC Anna Spachuk and Roman Dilisnya die.^[14]
• 651 BC Elena Almeida dies.^[17]
• 657 BC Natalia Olzanik dies.^[14]
• 657 BC Tara Yanoff, later the wife of Frederik Dilisnya, is born.^[14]
• 658 BC Richtor Dilisnya is born Lev Dilisnya and Anna Kurdzeil^[17]
• 659 BC Lev Dilisnya and Niki Romanoff have a child of |undetermined name out of wedlock.^[17]
• 660 BC Ester Timothy, future wife of Richtor Dilisnya, is born.^[17]
• 660 BC Stephania Septow, future wife of Boris Dilisnya, is born.^[14]
• 662 BC Camille Dilisnya is born to Lev Dilisnya and Anna Kurdzeil.^[17]
• 662 BC Oleh Fortich, future fourth husband of Camille Dilisnya, is born.^[17]
• 667 BC Anna Kurdzeil has a child out of wedlock with Tadeusz Paldo.^[17]
• 670 BC Klaus Boritsi is born^[17]
• 677 BC Katina Dilisnya is born to Tara Yanoff and Fredrik Dilisnya.^[14]
• 677 BC Stepan Taroyan, future third husband to Camille Boristi and the only one to escape, is born.^[17]
• 680 BC Edgar Leskovich, later husband of Kristina Dilisnya is born.^[14]
• 681 BC Hasslig Dilisnya is born to Tara Yanoff and Fredrik Dilisnya.^[14]
• 681 BC Camille Dilisnya becomes married to Boyar Siegfried Grymig
• 682 BC Kristina Dilisnya is born to Stefania Septow and Boris Dilisnya.^[14]
• 684 BC Borca forms with Camille Dilisnya as its darklord after she poisons her husband Boyar Siegfried Grymig and his mistress Maria Diazi.^[17]
• 684 BC Boris Dilisnya and others of Ivan Dilisnya's family move from Barovia to Borca. Being a descendant of Leo Dilisnya, she feels only scorn for them.^[20]
• 687 BC Camille Dilisnya marries Klaus Boritsi.
• 688 BC Abelardo Leoni, future first husband of Ivana Boritsi, is born.^[17]
• 689 BC Ivana Boritsi is born to Camille Dilisnya and Klaus Boritsi.^[17][21]
• 689 BC Ivan Dilisnya is born to Stefania Septow and Boris Dilisnya.^[14]
• 693 BC Nikoli Chesniak, future second husband of Ivana Boritsi, is born.^[17]
• 694 BC Sulo Boritsi is born to Camille Dilisnya and Klaus Boritsi.^[17]
• 695 BC Ivan Dilisnya begins torturing animals.^[20]
• 695 BC Lucretia Marzeya, later wife of Ivan Dilisnya, is born.^[14]
• 696 BC Anton Boritsi is born to Camille Dilisnya and Klaus Boritsi.^[17]
• 697 BC Klaus Boristi buys Danzig's Icon of Ezra and gives it to his daughter Ivana Boritsi.
• 697 BC Klaus Boristi dies.^[17] Camille Dilisnya poisons Klaus Boritsi and his mistress.
• 697 BC Katarina Piechota, the future wife of Anton Boristi is born.^[17]
• 698 BC Camille Dilisnya holds the Dinner of Death. It wipes out a large portion of the family tree.^[17]
• 699 BC Ivan Dilisnya poisons the child of a servant to category:death merely for swiping a pastry.^[20]
• 699 BC Lucia Ritter is born. She will eventually go on to become the wife of Count Sulo Boritsi.^[17]
• {{700 BC Kristina Dilisnya and Edgar Leskovich have a child. That same year, they are both killed^[14] by Ivan Dilisnya due to his jealousy of Edgar. Kristina is nursing the baby child, but a midwife sneaks the child away to safety.^[22]
• 702 BC Alexander Manduchi, future third husband of Ivana Boritsi, is born.^[17]
• 703 BC Stefania Septow dies^[14] thanks to the poison of Ivan Dilisnya.^[20]
• 706 BC Camille Dilisnya manipulates Ivana Boritsi into killing her lover Pieter.^[23][21]
• 708 BC Ivana Boritsi's |unnamed illegitimate lover dies.^[17]
• 711 BC Ivana Boritsi turns her friend Nostalia Romaine into the first ermordenung, and used her to assassinate her mother^[24] Ivana subsequently becomes the new ruler and darklord of Borca.^[25][21]
• 712 BC Ivan Dilisnya marries Lucretia Marzeya.^[20]
• 712 BC Lucretia gives birth to a pair of twins, both sired by Ivan Dilisnya.
• 715 BC Lucretia and Ivan Dilisnya have another child.
• 715 BC Ivan Dilisnya becomes the darklord of Dorvinia.^[14]
• 716 BC Ivana Boritsi takes domination of Borca away from her mother Camille.^[26]
• 716 BC Lucretia Marzeya dies^[14] when Ivan Dilisnya poisons her.^[20]
• 717 BC Ivana Boritsi gives birth to a child.^[17]
• 717 BC {: Starting on this approximate year, rumors start flying around about Ivana Boritisi giving birth to an illegitimate child
• 718 BC Lucia Ritter, the wife of Count Sulo Boritsi, bears him a child.^[17][27]
• 718 BC Hasslig Dilisnya dies.
• 719 BC Katarina Piechota bears Anton Boritsi their first child.^[17]
• 721 BC Boris Dilisnya dies.^[14]
• 722 BC Tara Yanoff dies.^[14]
• 724 BC Oton Boritsi is born to Anton Boritsi and Katarina Piechota in Borca. He is their second child.
• 727 BC Stepan Taroyan die.^[17]
• 729 BC Anton Boritsi dies. He is survived by his wife and children.^[17]
• 730 BC Fredrik Dilisnya dies.^[14]
• 740 BC The Grand Conjunction occurs. Ivan Dilisnya panics but senses he can leave Dorvinia. He flees to Ivana Boritsi for comfort. Their close positions to each other result in the merging of their two domains as the Grand Conjuntion is concluded.^[25][28]
• 757 BC By this year, Oton Boritsi is 33. He has joined the Church of Ezra. He plans a conspiracy to seize power over the Church with the help of his fellow Scions of Yakov Dilisnya

References