Darkonian Kargatane Record
- Known Name: Gabriela Luceanu (birth name: Ana Kemnitz)
- Race: Canjar Half-Vistani
- Apparent Age: Late teens-early 20s
- Birthday: 28 May, 737 BC.
- Height: 5'1"
- Alignment: Neutral Good.
- Affiliations: None known.
- Religion: Cult of the Morninglord.
- Character Class: Rogue/Wizard (Evoker).
- Place of Origin: Village of Barovia, Barovia.
- Player/Type: Former PC
Appearance
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Background
Early Life
Born Ana Kemnitz, Gabriela Luceanu's life began in the village of Barovia, a land perpetually cloaked in mist and shadow. Her parents, Vasile and Yvonne Kemnitz, were both Canjar half-Vistani, with Yvonne also having a potent mix of Forfarian ancestry. This unique heritage endowed Gabriela with her mother's vibrant red hair, a striking feature, and latent magical potential from both sides of her heritage. Unbeknownst to her, she also had a sister, Sofya, lost to her until much later in life.
The danger that surrounded her family was intense and immediate. Believing Gabriela's parents dead and to protect her from their enemies, Sister Anika, a friend of her parents, left young Ana in the care of Sister Rodika Luceanu, a nun at the Temple of the Blessed Succor in Barovia. This small sanctuary of the Morninglord became Ana's new home, where Sister Rodika, though stern, provided a semblance of stability. Kept in the dark about her true identity to ensure Ana's safety, Sister Rodika named the orphan Gabriela, severing her from her past and her true identity but unknowingly ensuring her protection against the enemies that had plagued Gabriela's family.
Childhood Struggles
Growing up as a half-Vistani orphan in Barovia was a constant struggle. The villagers were suspicious and unkind, seeing Gabriela as an outsider and bad omen. Sister Rodika’s care provided some solace, but her own battle with depression cast a long shadow over Gabriela's formative years. This culminated in Rodika's tragic suicide when Gabriela was only ten years old. The loss of her guardian left Gabriela to navigate a hostile world alone.
Forced to fend for herself, Gabriela turned to thievery and cunning. She quickly learned to survive by her wits, using manipulation and conning to obtain what she needed. On learning of sister Rodika's suicide, Sister Anika returned to the temple to protect Gabriela, and did her best to look out for the orphaned girl, offering occasional help despite her own limited means. This sporadic aid was often the difference between survival and starvation for Gabriela. Gabriela would only much later on, in adulthood, learn that sister Anika had been a friend of her mother and brought her to the village for her own protection, and now felt compelled to aid her as best she could in promise to the memory of her old friend.
A Fateful Encounter
When Gabriela was eleven, her life took a dramatic turn. One fateful night, she stumbled upon a young boy, lost and bleeding, pursued by a vampire. With Sister Anika’s aid, they managed to save the boy, whom Gabriela named Dmitry. The village blacksmith, recognizing the boy's potential strength, took him in as an apprentice and adopted son with the words "He seems like a strong lad. I'll have him for me forge." Dmitry and Gabriela quickly became inseparable friends, forging a bond that would shape their futures.
Dmitry, harbouring secret romantic feelings for Gabriela from the start, became her steadfast companion. He provided a sense of stability and support that she had sorely lacked since Sister Rodika's death. Their friendship was a beacon of light in the otherwise dark and oppressive environment of the village of Barovia. Gabriela's feelings for Dmitry were not so much unrequited as simply unaware. She loved Dmitry in her own way but having never really known love in her life without loving parents or family, and a harsh carer, she simply couldn't understand what she felt beyond knowing she cared for Dmitry in her own way. For Dmitry, however, it was enough.
Nathaniel Halloway's Arrival
Years later, a stranger named Nathaniel Halloway arrived in the village of Barovia. Nathaniel was a noble from Mordent, displaced by the mysterious mists that permeate the lands of Mists. Gabriela and Dmitry extended their aid, helping him find shelter and quickly becoming close friends. Seeking to find a way to help Nathaniel return home, they found Vistani willing to take Nathaniel through the poisonous fog surrounding the village, a well-known and easy to secure solution for those with the wealth to pay their exorbitant fee. Financially wealthier than his new friends, Nathaniel offered to pay the Vistani to also take Dmitry and Gabriela with him, allowing them to finally fulfil Gabriela's dream of leaving the village she despised so much.
Nathaniel's presence acted as a catalyst, bringing hidden truths to light and attracting unwanted attention. His noble bearing and mysterious background intrigued the villagers and caught the eye of sinister forces. This set off a chain of events that would draw Gabriela, Dmitry, and Nathaniel into a web of intrigue and danger. In the end, Nathaniel’s arrival would end up leading them to leave the village of Barovia and begin both adventuring, as well as a search for answers about their mysterious pasts and potential destinies.
Uncovering the Past
Before leaving Barovia, Gabriela sought Sister Anika’s counsel. The nun, aware of Gabriela's true heritage, directed her to a crypt where Gabriela discovered a spellbook that only she could read. This book, once belonging to her mother Yvonne, unlocked her latent magical abilities and set her on the path of wizardry. Anika revealed that Gabriela’s parents were killed by a former friend turned vampire enemy named Sorin, because they interfered with Sorin's dark ambitions towards Dmitry's mother. Sorin now believed the entire family dead as her mother’s last act was to protect her daughters, leaving Gabriela the spellbook as a legacy, which Anika hid until she felt the time was right for Gabriela to learn her true heritage.
The spellbook was a treasure trove of arcane knowledge, filled with spells and incantations that seemed to resonate with Gabriela on a profound level. As she studied its contents, she felt a surge of power and purpose. This newfound magical ability marked the beginning of her journey as a wizard, specifically in the school of evocation.
The Journey Begins
Their journey took them far from the familiar confines of Barovia. Along the way, they encountered Nathaniel’s sister, Audrey, who had spend years searching for him and now located him thanks to the costly services of Vistani seers - apparently the Mists displaced Nathaniel in time as well as location, and he was stunned to see his baby sister now a young adult and accomplished master of foxhounds. He had believed gone from home a mere few days. Close to each others ages, Audrey and Gabriela soon became close friends, with Audrey secretly developing an unrequited crush on Gabriela. Despite her feelings, Audrey remained a loyal and supportive companion.
They also met Marcus, a kind cleric of Ezra from Borca, who became a mentor and ally. This cleric, with his deep knowledge of the divine and the occult, provided invaluable guidance and support. His teachings helped Gabriela refine her magical abilities and broaden her understanding of the mystical forces at play in the land of Mists.
Reuniting with Family
Their quest eventually led to the shocking discovery that Gabriela’s mother, Yvonne, was still alive. Although Anika had believed her dead after seemingly failing to save her with magical healing, Yvonne had somehow survived, although permanently blinded and scarred. Believing her children and husband were all dead at Sorin's hands, blind and scarred, Yvonne fell into depression and ended up living as a cryptkeeper in Vallaki. Tending for the dead in a sad way made Lavinia the Blind, as she was now known, feel a form of connection to the family she believed gone. The reunion brought her some solace, though the years of separation and hardship had taken their toll. Knowing her own adventuring days were long past, and that Gabriela was fated to finish the events that her generation had set in course, Lavinia gifted Gabriela her silver mage robes and imparted further magical knowledge to her daughter to best prepare her for what was to come.
Reuniting with her mother was a bittersweet experience for Gabriela. The joy of finding her mother alive was tempered by the realization of the suffering she had endured. Lavinia, now blind and frail, had spent years in solitude, mourning the loss of her family. The silver mage robes were a symbol of her mother’s legacy and a source of great pride for Gabriela. One she now wears with pride and respect.
In time, they also found and reconnected with her sister Sofya, who mostly now resides with and cares for their mother in the town of Vallaki. This reunion brought a sense of completeness to Gabriela, filling a void she had long felt but never fully understood. Sofya, though initially a stranger and somewhat arrogant and abrasive, eventually became a cherished part of Gabriela's life. They all kept their new names and identities, however, both as a practical acceptance of what they now were accustomed to being called, and as a symbolic reflection that the past was gone, and they were all now different people from the lost people they once were.
Dmitry's Tragic Past
Their journey also uncovered the tragic past of Dmitry. He was the son of Sashine, a beautiful human woman who loved an elf that adventured with them. Their companion, Sorin, also lusted after Sashine but his love was unrequited. It was at best an unpleasant situation within their adventuring group but, after Sorin became a vampire, his obsession with Sashine turned darker as he aligned himself with an evil cult and master that the group would come to oppose. Unable to win her love away from her husband, Sorin's obsession led to him violating Sashine and leaving her with child, who she named Brian. Although they hid out in a secluded mountain monastery for years, where Brian learnt the monastic arts, Sorin eventually found them and attacked. After the death of her husband fighting Sorin, with her son Brian hurt and terrified and to protect him from Sorin, Sashine sacrificed herself using the last of her magical ability to send Brian into the mists, where he appeared in the village of Barovia, losing his memories in the trauma, where he was saved by a young girl who shortly after named the lost child Dmitry.
The revelation of Dmitry’s true heritage was a painful and shocking discovery. The trauma of his mother’s death and his own near-fatal escape had left deep scars, both physical and emotional. He had always known he was different and not normal - stronger and faster than most, but now the truth of his origins - that he was a dhampyr, the child of a human and a vampire - added a new layer of complexity to his relationship with Gabriela and his own sense of identity.
Confronting Sorin and Lyssa
Their adventures brought them into direct conflict with Sorin and the cult led by Lyssa von Zarovich. The cult’s nefarious plans threatened not only their lives but the very fabric and power structure of Barovia. Though they ultimately triumphed, Dmitry died in the process. However, due to his dhampyr heritage, he rose from death as a full vampire, his love for Gabriela twisted into a dark obsession. He now seeks to turn Gabriela into an undead bride, but she is determined to remain alive and free.
The battle against Sorin and Lyssa was a gruelling and harrowing experience. The cult’s power and influence were vast, and the danger they posed was immense. The loss of Dmitry was a devastating blow to Gabriela, but his resurrection as a vampire added a sinister and tragic twist to their story. To add further tragedy, their cleric friend Marcus also fell against Lyssa von Zarovich's forces, but his sacrifice not only saved a young child named Elizabeta from a dark ritual, but thwarted her plans and enabled the heroes to bring an end to the cult with the help of Strahd's Spymaster, Sandrine, ironically the same vampire who nearly killed Dmitry were it not for Gabriela's intercession years ago.
A New Home in Leiksburg
In gratitude for their efforts against Lyssa, Strahd von Zarovich’s spymaster granted Nathaniel the title of Burgomaster of their new home of Leiksburg, and their limited protection. Leiksburg became a sanctuary and a base of operations for Gabriela and her companions. The protection offered by Strahd’s spymaster provided a measure of safety for the group but it also came with its own set of challenges and intrigues. The town, while a refuge, was also a place where they had to navigate the complex and often dangerous politics of Barovia and the many supernatural threats that surrounded it.
When Dmitry returned, revealing his new vampiric condition and seeking to coerce Gabriela to join him as his undead eternal bride, they resisted. Dmitry would have followed his father's footsteps and killed all his former friends were it not for the interference of Strahd's vampiric Spymaster, Sandrine, who pointed out that she would protect the Halloways both as they were living descendants of hers, and they were Burgomasters of Barovia. And as Dmitry was now bound to Strahd's service, he could therefore not act against officials of Barovia unless they lost the protection by breaking Strahd's laws.
However, Gabriela was under no such protection. In the desire to not endanger her friends, she fled from Dmitry's grasp with the help of one of their adventuring friends, Dominique, who paid a transportation mage to transport them both to Darkon, where Dominique had planned to go and seek the famed Dirge Bards of Darkon. The spell cast in haste to flee Dmitry, Dominique now brought Gabriela along with her to Darkon, without Gabriela able to give a proper goodbye to the rest of their friends.
Pursuit of Knowledge and Power
Slipping through Dmitry's damned fingers, Gabriela's desire to pursue arcane knowledge and power is relentless. She delves into ancient tomes, seeks out forgotten lore, and hones her skills as an evocation wizard. Her magical prowess grows with each adventure, and she remains steadfast in her commitment to fight for the light, even as she seeks to uncover the mysteries of the realm.
Her travels take her to various domains of the land of mists, each with its own unique dangers and secrets. From the haunted forests of Kartakass, to the oppressive cities of Falkovnia, Gabriela faces countless threats and uncovers hidden truths. Her encounters with other adventurers and heroes enrich her understanding of the world and strengthen her resolve to fight against the forces of darkness. .
The Ever-Present Threat of Dmitry
Throughout her journey, Gabriela must constantly stay one step ahead of Dmitry’s relentless pursuit. His love for her has turned into a dark and twisted obsession. As a full vampire, he possesses immense power and influence, making him a formidable adversary. Gabriela’s determination to remain free and alive drives her to continue her quest, always vigilant and ready to face the dangers that roam the land. The sad part is that even if she had the power to defeat him directly, he has been her true love and her love for him is not so easy to put behind her and act against. And thus they are stuck in an eternal dark waltz of obsessive whirls. As long as she remained outside Barovia, Dmitry was unable to pursue as he was now bound in service to Barovia, and this gave her freedom, although her friends and family are in Barovia, and her heart longs to return and see them - but she knows when she does, she will have to face that dark reckoning with Dmitry, and may put her friends and family in danger in the process, in a twisted fate-repetition of the events around Dmitry's father that led to the deaths of his mother, Gabriella's father, and so many of their friends.
Personality
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Other Notes
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Signature Equipment
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Gallery
Gabriela in her signature white mage robes
Gabriela in a ball gown made for her by Dominique Petite
Gabriela in the leather armour she wore during her travels
Gabriela in common clothing she wore just before her adventuring days begun
