Through war and triumph [ MISCHA BARINOV ] rises, at [ 885 ] years old, serving as [ MUSEUM CURATOR / REPATRIATION SPECIALIST ] residing in [ NORTHLAND ]. They are a [ VAMPIRE ] that resembles [ MARTIN SENSMEIER ]. Upon meeting them, they are [ UNASSUMING ] and [ INTROSPECTIVE ]. Donât be fooled, they can be [ EVASIVE ] and [ PATRONIZING ].
I.
N A M E
Mischa Barinov (adopted name, birth name unknown)
N I C K N A M E S
Meesh
A G E
885 (physically 30ish)
B I R T H P L A C E
In the land that was once known as Alaska
C U R R E N T Â R E S I D E N C E
Northland
F A M I LY
Barin Sokolov (Sire)
UNKNOWN
O C C U P A T I O N
Museum Curator/Repatriation Specialist
S E X U A L Â O R I E N T A T I O N
Demiromatic/Demisexual
II.
E Y E Â C O L O R
Brown
H A I R Â C O L O R
Black
H E I G H T
6'1
S C A R S
TBD
F A C E C L A I M
Martin Sensmeier
III.
B I O G R A P H Y
Almost a millenia ago, he awoke. All he remembers is waking up in pain, such an unbearable pain that he was convinced he had awoken in the midst of dying. Before he could truly understand what was happening, warm flesh was shoved between his teeth and he was told to bite, to drink. He resisted, or at least he tried, but an instinct, one he had never felt previously, told him not only to comply but also made him want to drink. So he did. And as he would later find out, it was what completed his transition from living to...Something else.
Confused, hungry, and afraid of his own self, what else was he to do except follow the man who had eased the pain he had upon waking? Once time had passed and he had fed enough to be in his right mind, the man explained their circumstances. His sireâs name was Barin Sokolov, a Russian expeditioner. He had stumbled upon him dying from a bear attack, and told him that something about him had reminded him of his son, and he couldnât let him perish, and decided to change him instead. He had taken to calling him Mischa in reference to the beast that supposedly killed him. He couldnât dispute the story the man told him, having no memory of his life before waking up with that horrible pain. Much later, though, Mischa would learn that while the story had threads of truth running throughout it, it had been made to look pretty, to be appetizable, so Mischa could stomach it. Instead, the truth was not nearly as pretty. Sure, he had reminded Barin of his son, a son that had died, but he himself had not been dying. Instead, Barin with no mind for the irony of ripping a son away from a family to replace the one that had been ripped away from him, changed him without permission, without reason other than his own selfishness. He didnât even stop to learn his name, leaving him with the only name heâs ever known being Mischa. And wasnât that the cherry on top, the name wasnât given to him to notate the way he died, by a bear, but rather it was Barinâs sonâs name. Another sick attempt to fill the role of his son that had been vacated prematurely.
But Mischa wouldnât know that information for quite awhile, and instead found himself feeling grateful for the man, for saving him, for taking him in, for teaching him the so called ropes of existing as whatever he was now (âupyrâ, Barin had told him). Mischa fell much into the role that Barin had hoped he would, and the two acted much like father and son as they spent the years together, traveling, working together to gain territory and political credibility for the older man. The beginning of the ending came, though, when the two realized that along with his immortality, Mischa had received another gift: psychometry. He hadnât realized that the flashes of visions heâd get when holding certain objects had meant anything. He hadnât been sure what they had been, but his life was filled with mysteries, and he just assumed this, along with his past, was one of them. It wasnât, and Barin quickly began to make use of the power in whichever ways he could. Â
Perhaps, if he had simply acknowledged the gift as another aspect of Mischaâs life instead of trying to use it to move his own life forward, their father-son facade could have survived. But instead, through a series of events while sorting through Barinâs belongings in an attempt to find an item that could help them out of their current bind, Mischa had stumbled upon a beaded bracelet, one unlike anything he had ever seen before, and differed greatly from Barinâs personal style. Curious, Mischa picked it up. Sometimes, he wonders what would have happened if he hadnât.
He saw flashes of what he assumes was his life before, made blurry by his own lack of context. But more importantly he saw visions of his own death move past his mindâs eye. There was no bear. But instead, a bear of a man, coming at him with an intensity that when thinking of it, still makes Mischa shiver. It had been Barin. The man had lied to him all this time.
The two parted shortly after, and fortunately Barin had enough feeling for Mischa that he didnât force him to stay, even though he could have with his sire bond. Every once in awhile, Mischa will feel him calling, but heâs learned that if he can make it through a round while resisting the call, heâll generally stop. Heâs unsure but Mischa thinks itâs just Barin doing it to remind him that heâs still out there, that no matter his hate for the man, theyâre still bonded. Â
Since they parted, Mischa made it his mission to not only learn about his forgotten human life, but the world that was constantly and rapidly changing around him while stuck amongst the old guard of Barinâs world. At almost 900 years old, Mischa has lived through revolutions, civil wars, endless historical events, the wars between the species and even the creation of Lume Noua. He holds crystal clear memories of all of them. But yet, he still has none from his own life. Â
The place he called home for the first three or so decades of his life no longer exists, and only in the dark depths of dreams can he remember flashes of it. From his research, the somewhat unreliable information from his sire and his own sparse memories he knows the following:  He lived sometime in the early to mid 18th century, in what one day would come to be known as Alaska.  He was turned in the 1740s by Barin Sokolov. Those are the only hard facts he has. Everything else is conjecture, possibilities that he most likely will never be able to confirm. Â
His working in museums had been borne from an almost desperate need to get his hands on objects to see their past, in hopes of one day finding something that can connect him to his own, but had eventually evolved into a genuine love for trying to find out the past of every object so it could be fully appreciated, or when needed, returned to itâs people.
Throughout all his time alive (well, sort of anyways), Mischa had never been interested in the politics and power struggles of the world around him despite the power his age could give him, and even to this day, it stands true. He holds no alliances or hopes for the current throes of instability Lume Noa is experiencing, and simply hopes that it can end before it really starts, tired of seeing the same mistakes being made over and over again.
