Ivan Dilisnya

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Ivan Dilisnya (689-present)[1][2][3][4] is the co-darklord of Borca with his cousin, Ivana Boritsi.[5][2][6][4] Prior to the Grand Conjunction and the merging of their domains, Ivan was the darklord of Dorvinia. He was granted his darklordship when he fled into the Mists some time after poisoning his sister and her husband, and attempting to kill their newborn child. Formerly flamboyant and a lover of the finer things in life, his personal curse is the loss of his sense of taste, leaving him murderously frustrated when others around him enjoy what he cannot anymore.[7][8][2][6][4]

Ivan owns Nicolai's Dagger.[9]

History

Family Information

Ivan was born the son of Stefania Septow and Boris Dilisnya[2] on a dark night in the December[10] of 689 BC, the same moonless night as his cousin, Ivana Boritsi.[4] Though not actual twins, their dual sinister natures would later earn them the collective moniker of the Dark Twins[11], the day of their birth known by the Borcans as the Day of the Dark Moon's Get[12]

Early Life

Ivan began displaying a diabolical nature from an early age and got worse as he grew older. The torture of animals at age 6 grew into a matricide with no motivation by age 12. Ivan bore a great hatred of the world around him save for Ivana Boritsi, a childhood companion, and especially Kristina Dilisnya, his elder sister. In fact, Ivan had a quite sinister, even obsessive and incestuous attachment to her. Kristina never discovered Ivan's dark nature until it was too late.[13][2][14][4]

Ignorant of Ivan's depraved emotions towards her, Kristina eventually fell in love and married Edgar Leskovich[15] Despite having married Lucretia Marzeya in 712 BC[7], Ivan harbored a great envy for Kristina's husband. When Kristina gave birth to Edgar's child, Ivan's jealous rage boiled over, and he poisoned both Kristina and her husband. Fortunately, a midwife was able to sneak off with the baby safely.[7][4] The other Dilisnya]s gave chase to Ivan, but he escaped them by fleeing into the Mists. Yet Ivan' treachery did not go unnoticed by the Dark Powers, for his betrayal was the seminal event that granted him the domain of Dorvinia.[4] The year was 715 BC.[16][17][18]

Over the few years of their brief marriage, Lucretia bore three children. Although supposedly dead at birth, it is rumored these children were also taken to safety by midwives at Lucretia's behest.[7] (According to the Dilisnya family tree in the Realm of Terror Black Boxed Set all survived, and one was married.)[15] Regardless, Ivan poisoned Lucretia in 716 BC, adding uxoricide to his list of transgressions.[7]

As Darklord

In Dorvinia, Ivan took ownership over his family's ancestral lands. Ivan's rule was one of corruption, built towards Ivan's depraved pleasures. Ivan's personal corruption invited corruption into his courts and government.[19]

Vlad Drakov took notice of the above corruption and diverted some of his troops from the Dead Man's Campaign for a surprise attack in the 727 BC Gold Claw Massacre. Falkovnian soldiers put numerous Dorvinian civilians to the sword and pillaged Lechberg. However, when they loaded up the stolen goods, the Falkovnian raiders quickly died off in legions. According to Ivan's own claims, he caused the mass poisoning while wearing the disguise of Falkovnian Talon Armor. The long-term diplomatic consequence of the event was Ivan Dilisnya's signing of the Treaty of Four Towers.[19]

In 740 BC, the Great Upheaval occurred. In the chaos of that catastrophe, Ivan discovered he was no longer bound to his domain. He raced off to find Ivana Boritsi. Their close proximity, both spatially and spiritually, at the time of the Upheaval's end resulted in the combining of Dorvinia and Borca. Ivana's stronger sense of self won over Ivan's, making Borca the name of the newly consolidated domain.[5] Moreover, Ivana claimed ownership of all the lands of the new Borca, save for Lechberg and some land in Doldak Heights. However, Ivan took command of Borca's police and military forces, including those of tax collection[20]

The year of 747 BC saw the rise of Malocchio Aderre to power in Invidia. In the years that followed, Malocchio began sending his mercenaries and soldiers over the border to nearby lands on the hunt for Vistani.[21] These intrusions have enraged Ivan, whom issued threat after threat to Malocchio to cease and desist. "Recently" (as of 757 BC), Ivan assembled his own squad of killers to wipe out Invidian forces that come into Borca.[22]

Current Sketch

As previously mentioned, Ivan Dilisnya's curse has robbed him of his sense of taste, a sensation he formerly took great pleasure in.[7][5][2][6][4] Moreover, rumors speak of how his nightly sleep disturbances where he wakes screaming the name of his sister, Kristina. Regardless of the rumors' veracity, to mention of her name to Dilisnya is to court death.[7][5][2] In recent years, Ivan's mounting age has began to way dearly upon his soul despite the fact he has the strength and vigor of a man half his years.[2][23][24]

Whereas Ivan and Ivana were quite close friends prior to the merging of their realms, the elimination of their spatial barrier has ironically turned them into vitriolic foes. Both are the only ones that regularly send assassinss after each other. for his part, Ivan (mistakenly) believes that Ivana holds the secret of eternal youth and immortality from him.[24]

Ivan Dilisnya keeps a watchful eye for external threats to Borca and deals with them using cloak and dagger diplomacy. Malocchio's incursions have caused relations between Invidia and Borca to simmer. Ivan may want Malocchio killed, but the latter is protected by his alliance with Drakov.[25]

Stats

2nd Edition

male human 0-Level Character, Chaotic Evil[26]<[7][2]

3rd Edition

(revised)

Pathfinder

Rogue (poisoner) 6/Courter 5[29]

Missing Dread Possibility from Gaz IV - Scions and Pretenders

In 716 BC Ivan Dilisnya took a wife, Lucretia Marzeya. She bore him twins the next year and a third child in 720 BC, a year before he finally poisoned her. However, each time Lucretia grew heavy with child, Ivan would mutter darkly like a cuckolded husband. Fearing that Ivan would turn on his own children, Lucretia had her nursemaids secret each newborn away. She never saw her children again, and Ivan was told they had all been stillborn. The infants’ ultimate fates are unknown. They may have been raised as commoners by the nursemaids themselves, perhaps under Ivan’s own roof. A rival house may have adopted them, hoping to one day use them to usurp Ivan’s power. They might even have been whisked far from Dorvinia, their heritage forgotten. The heirs' birth records in Degravo include descriptions of identifying marks. If any of the heirs are still alive and can prove their heritage, they would have a claim to Ivan’s properties in the event of his death. Such heirs would be unwise to reveal themselves before such a time, however; Ivan’s own kin whisper that he would murder sons and seduce daughters.[30]

Continuity Errors

There have been numerous contradictions between (and even within) sources over the exact timeline of the events of Ivan Dilisnya's life. These are listed below by event.

Matricide

According to several sources, Ivan murdered his mother when he was 12.[7] Considering his birthday was in December of 689 BC[7], this would make the date of his mother's murder December of 701 BC or somewhere in the first 11 months of 702 BC. However, the Realm of Terror (aka "black box") lists the death of his mother, Stefania Septow, as 703 BC.[15]

Formation of Dorvinia

According to several sources, the Dilisnyas chased Ivan into the Mists in 710 BC, resulting in the creation of Dorvinia.[7][1][2] Elsewhere, the date given for the formation of Dorvinia is 715 BC.[31][32][16][17][18][33]

To complicate matters further, Gazetteer IV link the murder of Ivan's sister Kristina and her husband to why Ivan had to flee into the Mists (and therefore link the murder to the creation of Dorvinia). The date given is 709 BC.[11], which conflicts with the date of Dorvinia's formation given above. In addition, the Black Box Dilisnya family tree gives 700 BC as the year that Kristina and her husband perish.[15]


Chronology

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Ravenloft Campaign Setting: Domains and Denizens (Red Box) p.60
  2. 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 Domains of Dread p.58
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Secrets of the Dread Realms p. 14
  4. 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 Gazetteer IV p. 154
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Ravenloft Campaign Setting: Domains and Denizens (Red Box) p.61
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Secrets of the Dread Realms p. 15
  7. 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 7.11 7.12 7.13 7.14 7.15 7.16 Realm of Terror p.94
  8. Ravenloft Campaign Setting: Domains and Denizens (Red Box) p.61
  9. Legacy of the Blood, p. 45-46
  10. 10.0 10.1 Gazetteer IV p. 26
  11. 11.0 11.1 Gazetteer IV p. 18
  12. Gazetteer IV p. 26
  13. Ravenloft Campaign Setting: Domains and Denizens (Red Box) p.60-61
  14. Secrets of the Dread Realms p. 14-1515
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 Realm of Terror (Black Box) p.123
  16. 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 Domains of Dread p.17
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 Ravenloft Third Edition p.17
  18. 18.0 18.1 18.2 Ravenloft Player's Handbook p.19
  19. 19.0 19.1 19.2 Gazetteer IV p. 19
  20. Gazetteer IV p. 28
  21. Gazetteer IV p. 147
  22. Gazetteer IV, p. 32, p. 4 gives the date of the Gaz
  23. Secrets of the Dread Realms p. 16
  24. 24.0 24.1 Gazetteer IV p. 155
  25. Gazetteer IV p. 32
  26. Realm of Terror p.93-94
  27. Secrets of the Dread Realms p.13
  28. Gazetteer IV p.153-154
  29. Pathfinder in the Mists p.40
  30. Gazetteer Volume IV Web Enhancement
  31. 31.0 31.1 Realm of Terror (Black Box) p.9
  32. 32.0 32.1 Ravenloft Campaign Setting: Realm of Terror (Red Box) p.13
  33. 33.0 33.1 Gazetteer IV p. 9
  34. Gazetteer IV p. 17
  35. Gazetteer IV p. 19, 34-35. p. 4 gives the year of the Gazetteer.

Data from the Ravenloft Catalogue

Secrets of the Dread Realms
Domains of Dread

Secrets of the Dread Realms - p15
Domains of Dread - p57
Realm of Terror - reference card

Secrets of the Dread Realms - pp14-16
Domains of Dread - p58
The Ravenloft Campaign Setting:Domains and Denizens - pp60-62
Realm of Terror - pp93-94,reference card

Secrets of the Dread Realms - pp7,14-16
Ravenloft Third Edition - pp115,124
Domains of Dread - p58
The Ravenloft Campaign Setting:Domains and Denizens - pp10-11,60-62
Realm of Terror - pp93-94,p123,reference card