PERSONAL INFORMATION
Name: Anton Zelenko
Nicknames: None
IGN: Anton
Face Claim: Ivan Kozak
BASIC INFORMATION:
Age: 28
Date of Birth: June 19 1995
Current Residences: Renting an apartment in the city
Species: Therien (Iberian wolf)
Gender: Male
Occupation: Gamekeeper
Powers: None
Non-Grid Powers:
Immense physical strength
Pain and hunger suppression
Preternatural recovery
Supernatural durability
Extreme metabolism
Accelerated regeneration
High-speed reflexes
G-force adaptation
Indomitable will
Immunity to most toxins, diseases, and cancer
Hyper awareness
Enhanced hearing, smell, taste, touch, and vision
Full wolf transformation
Half wolf transformation
Razor claws
Hardened skin
Animal ken
Firearms and weapons training
Weaknesses:
Sensory overload
Wolf’s bane
Berserker rage
Bestial instincts
Spontaneous propagation
Susceptibility to magic
Spouse: None
Keeper: None
Sworn: None
Oath: None
Affiliation: None
PHYSICAL TRAITS
Eyes: Green
Hair: Brown
Height: 190cm - 6ft 3in
Weight: 95kg - 210lbs
Build: A well-proportioned body and a naturally athletic physique
Tattoos: None
Piercings: None
Scars: Inch-long horizontal scar located along the left cheekbone
Physical Description: Anton keeps a low profile, with hunched shoulders and shaggy, dark clothing that blur the outline of his figure from the shadows he prefers. When he speaks, his voice rumbles; a sound so low it can be felt through the floor and the soles of the feet. His scent is a mix of leaf litter and botanical spices, often accompanied by cigarette smoke and hard liquor.
PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAITS
Merits:
Dedicated
Strong-willed
Direct and honest
Loyal, patient, and reliable
Dependable
Practical and realistic
Flaws:
Inflexible and stubborn
Uncomfortable with change
Judgemental and bossy
Has difficulty relaxing
Has difficulty expressing emotion
Personality: Anton is a hardworking traditionalist, eager to take charge in organising projects and people. Orderly, rule-abiding, and conscientious, he likes to get things done, and tends to go about projects in a systematic, methodical way. He values predictability and prefers things to proceed in a logical order, but can appear critical and overly aggressive—particularly when other people fail to live up to his high standards.
Anton takes command in situations, with a sense that he knows how things should go and is ready to take charge to make sure that it happens. He is task-oriented and puts work before play. Confident and tough-minded, he appears almost always to be in control; Anton appreciates structure and often begins to organise as soon as he enters a room to establish the ground rules and make sure everyone does what they’re supposed to.
BACKGROUND
Family:
Name - Davyd Zelenko
Relationship - Father
DOB - 04/10/1966
Race - Therien (Brown bear)
Face claim - Mark Reay
Name - Tamila Zelenko
Relationship - Mother
DOB - 29/06/1972
Race - Therien (Eurasian Lynx)
Face claim - Anke Diana H.
Name - Maxim Zelenko
Relationship - Brother
DOB - 02/07/1995
Race - Therien (Steppe polecat)
Face claim - Andrea Zelletta
Name - Helena Zelenko
Relationship - Sister-in-law
DOB - 24/08/1994
Race - Therien (Speckled ground squirrel)
Face claim - Jade Weber
Name - Maria Zelenkov
Relationship - Niece
DOB - 20/08/2015
Race - Therien (Ferret)
Name - Anna Zelenko
Relationship - Aunt
DOB - 13/10/1959
Race - Therien (Red fox)
Face claim - Sheree Davenport
Name - Borys Zelenko
Relationship - Uncle
DOB - 28/08/1943
Race - Therien (Wild boar)
Face claim - Simon Cole
Name - Nataliya Zelenko
Relationship - Cousin
DOB - 06/01/1990
Race - Therien (European otter)
Face claim - Vanja Jagnic
Name - Nina Zelenko
Relationship - Cousin
DOB - 07/06/1988
Race - Therien (Pine Marten)
Face claim - Yael Shelbia
Name - Marko Vandrov-Zelenko
Relationship - Cousin’s husband
DOB - 12/12/1987
Race - Therien (European badger)
Face claim - Vito Basso
Name - Yarkiv Zelenko
Relationship - Second cousin
DOB - 05/04/2020
Race - Therien (European hamster)
Name - Mykhailo Zelenko
Relationship - Cousin
DOB - 03/09/1989
Race - Therien (European jackal)
Face claim - Luke Eisner
Name - Irvanna Zelenko
Relationship - Cousin’s wife
DOB - 06/06/1989
Race - Therien (European wildcat)
Face claim - Kirby Johnson
Name - Alina Zelenko
Relationship - Second cousin
DOB - 14/07/2005
Race - Therien (Brown bear)
Name - Dymtrus Zelenko
Relationship - Second cousin
DOB - 15/03/2010
Race - Therien (Grey wolf)
Friends:
Name - Stefan Marković
Relationship - Acquaintance
DOB - 25/02/2000
Race - Therien (Grey wolf)
Face claim - Milijan Marinovic
Name - Jason Doukas
Relationship - Acquaintance
DOB - 28/03/1990
Race - Therien (Grey wolf)
Face claim - Alexis Papas
Name - Oliver Kratky
Relationship - Acquaintance
DOB - 15/03/1993
Race - Therien (Eurasian wolf)
Face claim - Daniel Illescas
Enemies:
Name - Luis Méndez
Relationship - Acquaintance
DOB - 18/09/1985
Race - Vampire
Face claim - Leonel Ivan Mangieri
Name - Flora Méndez
Relationship - Acquaintance
DOB - 03/01/1952
Race - Vampire
Face claim - Flor Grillo
Backstory: Anton Zelenko was born in the mountainous settlement of Dzembronya, Ukraine. These are the rustic heartlands of the Ukrainian national spirit, where an untamed, soaring landscape stands apart from the broad, rolling steppe and a vivid folklore points to an era far more ancient than the Soviet empire that once encompassed the region. It is here, in this remote village bordering Romania and situated within the Carpathians, that the Zelenko family has made its home for many hundreds of years.
This dramatic patchwork of highlands and virgin forest, braided by pristine streams and garlanded by wildflowers, is also home to Europe’s large carnivores—brown bears, wolves, and lynx. Amid these increasingly threatened habitats dwell elk and bison, too, as well as smaller creatures, from fox, marmot, and minx to mountain wagtail, two-tailed owl, and golden eagle. Village life continues much the same as it has for centuries and deep-rooted traditions endure. Here, the bowls of borscht are bounteous, the mountain air is crisp, the views boundless. It is a land with its own poetry.
The Zelenko family are Hutsuls, Ukraine’s proud highlanders. Traditional dress is embroidered with distinctive diamond shapes in earthy tones while their dialect is a swirl of old Ruthenian, Romanian, Magyar, and their own esoteric expressions. For centuries, sheep-herding and gamekeeping has provided Hutsul families with food, clothing, and income in the mountain pastures. This ethno-cultural group was immortalised in Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, a classic of Soviet cinema by Sergei Paradzhanov, whose film crew stayed at the Zelenko home during the shoot in the early 1960s. To this day, the cottage serves as a retreat for artists from the city of Lviv as well tourists from across the globe.
Tourism has allowed the family to remain connected to the outside world. However, this is not the kind of guesthouse to be found in a guidebook or by the mere click of a button on Airbnb; word of mouth is its sole publicity. Even in this secluded idyll, hundreds of miles from the eastern front, it is impossible to escape the spectre of war. About the only place of true peace and refuge in this country these days is the one nature built — the high hills of the eastern Carpathians, thick with stands of silver fir dusted with fresh snow, dotted with villages now ballooning in size as tens of thousands flee here.
Anton’s brother, Maxim, quit his job in 2016 as a border guard and signed a new contract to fight in the war. While his wife, Helena, raises their 8-year-old girl, Maxim is stationed with government forces in the notorious hot spot of Marinka on the outskirts of Donetsk, a stronghold of Russian-backed separatists. Villagers in the valley below still pack up jars of food to support the war effort, sending them to Ukraine’s undersupplied soldiers at the front. Even now, nearly 10 years since the war began, conversations in valleys often centre on the fighting.
War couldn’t feel further from the peaceful, pastoral setting of Dzembronya. Fourteen months after Russia’s full-scale invasion, the epicentre of fighting lies in the eastern town of Bakhmut, more than 700 miles from the sleepy mountain village. Rather than the flat, war-torn steppe of the Donbas, the Zelenko live among snow-capped mountains and steep, wooded slopes. Cottages and haystacks, not Soviet-era apartment blocks, catch the eye. Cowbells and birdsong, not the thunder of artillery, are what catch the ear.
The locals are different, too. They’ve avoided Russian missile attacks, so far. But they’ve made other sacrifices. Step behind the closed doors of Ukraine’s deep homefront, and the devastating impact of the distant war becomes clear.
It is most glaring in the churchyard. The graves of soldiers are adorned with flowers and embroidered linen, as well as a pysanka egg and paska cake brought by mothers over the Orthodox Easter period. Two flags fly from each grave—the blue-and-yellow national flag alongside the red-and-black standard of Ukrainian nationalists, dating back to their guerrilla war against Soviet forces in the 1940s. Around 10 more soldiers from this remote hamlet continue the fight.
Maxim wasn’t the only one from the family to go to battle. Anton’s uncle, Borys, and his daughter, Nataliya, both serve in the Territorial Defense Forces and have seen action farther east. They know exactly what they’re fighting for. Grandparents and great-grandparents in the family were among the thousands of Ukrainians exiled to Siberia under Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. It’s an atrocity with a grim encore. Russia’s current leader, Vladimir Putin, has deported thousands more Ukrainians to filtration camps deep inside Russia after laying siege to Mariupol and other areas in 2022.
Grief has muted other aspects of their culture. Anton’s father, Davyd, has been writing and performing folk songs for 30 years, and missing arm aside, he still would—but now won’t. In Hutsul culture, there is a custom that you cannot sing for one year if you’re in mourning. After losing his father more than five years past, Davyd won’t sing.
When war broke out, Davyd joined the Territorial Defense Forces as a driver. Anton helped keep the family farm going with his mother, Tamila, who also uses her spare time to knit woollen socks and body armour warmers for the troops. Davyd was later deployed to the brutal slog around Bakhmut, where he was wounded early 2023, suffering a serious concussion and broken arm from an explosion. Bleeding from his ears and mouth, he was rushed to the hospital; his arm was later amputated.
Determined not to follow his family into war between mortals, Anton left the serene, far-flung mountains to pursue rumours of a realm that immortals could retreat into. When he finally found the world of Andalvyn, however, it proved far from the utopia murmurs had led him to believe. The whole region is on high alert. Agents from the Disciples of Man patrol the streets menacing non-believers, and Anton knows that it’s only a matter of time before he is conscripted to war regardless.
Offsite Character Sheet: None
