#ivan belikov

[danimanou]

[further-up]

MMXXIII 2023 https://ivanbelikov.com/portfolio/mmxxiii Feathered water rabbit as a symbol of hope and a guardian of 2023 year.

[siryl]

"Sirin: Bird of Sorrow" by Ivan Belikov.

[judgeitbyitscover]

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

Cover art by Ivan Belikov

Digital, Wacom Intous + Photoshop CC

Bloomsbury Publishing, February 2019

A world divided.

A queendom without an heir.

An ancient enemy awakens.

The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction--but assassins are getting closer to her door.

Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.

Across the dark sea, Tané has trained all her life to be a dragonrider, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.

Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.

[hiccuppedstudio]

Title - The Good. The Bad. And Rose.

Rating - Explicit

Summary - Western AU set in 1875. Rose is kidnapped by enemies of her father, so he sends the one man he knows that will be able to find her. Now, she has to survive the trip back to San Francisco and not give into fleeting fancies for the man hired to protect her.

—

Link

Fanfic / Ao3

—

“Will you please stop running,” the tall man rasped, his accent making the words nearly impossible to understand. “We won’t hurt you, Rose.” I laughed; a hint of hysteria in the high pitch. “Forgive me if I don’t believe you,” I snapped, “I’ve been through too much to believe the words of a man I don’t know.” His lips pressed together, and he reached into his coat. I flinched back, and he froze. Our eyes met, and he didn’t look away as he slowly withdrew a small item. When he turned it, my eyes widened, and I felt the first ounce of hope since my ordeal began. It was a silver badge, barely half the size of his palm. I recognised the intricate detail, the simple lines that represented each of the four elements—it was the seal of my father.

[welldonekhushi]

He coughs. "I'm sorry, Vasili... I hope you can forgive me."

Vasili cradled Dimitri's lifeless body in his arms, as tears dwelled into his eyes. Despite the years of lies, Dimitri's secret work with the CIA to save the world as he saw it, and hiding the truth about the General's murder, Dimitri never wanted Vasili to suffer for his actions. He wished he could apologize, and in his final act of saving Vasili, he hoped to find redemption and prove his loyalty towards his friend until the very end.

Though still angered by Dimitri's betrayal, Vasili's heart shattered at the loss of his closest companion. In that moment, he felt that everything had been taken away from him, leaving him truly alone.

".. Dima."

The lore continues..

Finally finished with this art piece! This drawing is based on Ilya Repin's painting of Ivan The Terrible and his son. Looking at the two, I literally pictured Vasili and Dimitri, with their tragic end. I'm very evil, I know. I hope you like it! (⁠人⁠ ⁠•͈⁠ᴗ⁠•͈⁠)

[dilemmaontwolegs]

You've put the thought into my head with these polls now and I'm afraid I don't care who wins, after you write the winning fic, I'm officially putting in a request for enemies to lovers for Dimitri Belikov×RoyalMoroi Reader. I will now check this blog every month for it and you are responsible for keeping my sanity intact 😭😭😭

Your wish is my command ♥️ It got way too long so I have broken it down into parts 😊

Dusters & Diamonds {1}

Dimitri Belikov x fem!Badica!reader Summary: After tragedy befalls your family you decide life is easier emotionally alienating everyone, except for one friend who has known you most of your life. Unfortunately, he comes with a certain dhampir. Warnings: reader is a bitch (but that will change in future parts) WC: 2.7k

Part 1 || Part 2 ||

Senior Year - St Constantine’s Academy, St Constantine’s Province The room was full and class had already started by the time you arrived, the teacher pausing with an impatient twitch of his eye as you leisurely strolled in like you owned the place. In a way you kind of did, since your family owned the academy and all of the surrounding area. Mr Hamner wouldn’t dare to call you out for the tardiness, royals were treated, well, like royalty.

You let him get back to his English Lit lesson with a tip of your head and made your way to the back of the class where Ivan was sitting beside your empty desk. 

“Hey, Zeklos, you weren’t at my party last night,” you greeted as you dropped into the free space. “Ronny said you were busy with a little dhampir girl but that can’t be right. You wouldn’t blow me off for a dhampir.”

“Her name is Eloise, and she isn’t a little girl, she’s in our year,” Ivan replied under his breath while he took notes of the lesson. 

“So you did blow me off.”

Ivan dropped his pen and turned in his chair with a sigh. “Sorry, but you know I don’t care about royal parties, not when there’s bigger things happening beyond the school gates. I’m sorry.”

“You apologise too much,” you said with a cringe before flipping your notebook open. “It’s embarrassing for you.”

In the row ahead, Dimitri turned and narrowed his eyes at you. The dhampir was tipped to be the next best guardian to pass through the gates of St Constantine and like the rest of the guardians, he was a stickler for the rules. 

“What?” you growled at him. 

His brown eyes should have been plain compared to some of the electric blues that ran with the likes of the Ivashkov’s or Ozera’s but they reminded you of the acorns that fell at home in September. “Some of us are trying to learn,” he whispered and you caught yourself staring at his lips before breaking away with a laugh that drew even more attention your way. 

“Why does a guardian need to know about gothic literature?” you asked him, ignoring the tug Ivan gave to your arm in warning. “Shouldn’t you be with the other gym bunnies in training?”

“Miss Badica, is there a problem?” Mr Hamner asked as he stopped his lesson once again.

“I’m just a little confused why there’s any dhampirs in this class,” you said with an innocent shrug. “It almost seems rude to offer them an elective that a guardian will never have use of.”

“Then why do you take Home Economics?” Dimitri muttered too quietly for Mr Hamner to hear. “Don’t you have personal chefs?”

Ivan snorted a laugh that he tried to hide along with a few other students and you looked around at their snickering, your palms growing heated a second before fire erupted from them. The flames licked like fiery cat o’ nine tails, whipping the laughter from their faces before you blew a kiss, extinguishing all evidence of the attack in a split second.

Dimitri shook his head as the class erupted into chaos. “Nice tantrum, princess.”

You leaned over your desk close enough to see your reflection in his eyes as you threatened, “Call me princess again and see how you look with no eyebrows.”

“Miss Badica!” You startled away as Mr Hamner shouted from behind you after crossing the room with a growing red face. “To the headmaster’s office now. Mr Zeklos, make sure she gets there.”

Ivan swallowed at the thought of making you go anywhere you didn’t want to but you were already swinging your bag onto your back and walking out of the room. He caught up to you before you reached the stairs that led to the admin floor, his cheeks flushed pink from the short sprint.

“I can’t believe you did that,” Ivan said before backtracking. “Actually, I can, I just don’t understand why? You know all the dhampirs think you are a bitch.”

“I don’t care what they think.”

“Well you should. They are the ones who will be risking their lives to protect you when you graduate,” he argued. “It doesn’t hurt to be nicer to them.”

“Why? So I can lose them too?” A choked sound escaped your tightening throat and you growled in frustration as tears pricked your eyes. It was still the same whenever you thought about your parents who had been killed in a strigoi attack in your sophmore year, time didn’t make a difference. “It’s easier this way.”

“Acting like a bitch isn’t making your life easier,” he said as he opened the door to the academy reception. 

“Maybe it’s not an act.” You did your best to pull off your signature smirk as you stepped past him but he didn’t buy it from the quiet sigh he gave. 

“You forget I’ve known you since preschool, Y/N.” He reached a hand out like he was going to try to touch you but one curve of your perfectly shaped brows had him drop it once again. He left without another word and you waited a moment before leaving too, deciding your time was better spent in the elemental training area than being punished by the headmaster.

The arena was nothing compared to what the guardian training space had, but the walls that surrounded the open space were warded to withstand the elements so you could freely practise fire magic without worrying about anything catching fire. Since it was still early in the night, before the Moroi and dhampir separated into specialist classes, the arena was empty and you freed the pent up emotion with a burst of flame. 

You closed your eyes and imagined the strigoi that had killed your parents. Your hands filled with fireballs and you threw them at a huge rock an earth user had left in the arena, pretending it was your target. The fireball met stone with a bang and the rock exploded, sending dust and debris into the air, but it wasn’t enough. 

It never brought your parents back, or their guardians - dhampirs who had watched over you since you were born. 

The pillar of orange flame speared the night sky with your scream and you immediately felt clearer as the heat in your veins drained away, leaving you with a hunger instead. The magic always came with a price, burning through your energy, and you sluggishly made your way to the feeders in the Moroi campus. 

“Please, make yourself comfortable, Miss Badica,” the feeding assistant offered with a smile before closing the privacy curtain and leaving you alone with the feeder. 

The human looked fresh as he reclined on the specially designed chair, awake and alert, but you could see the longing in his gaze that focused on your lips. Your stomach grumbled at the sight of his pulse as he bared his neck to you and he shuddered softly when you leant across him and opened your mouth. 

The feeders breath blew across your shoulder as you sank your fangs into his neck and relished the warmth that flooded your mouth before you swallowed deeply. Your strength returned and the ache in your belly receded until you heard another Moroi enter the feeding rooms.

“They are seriously going to look at changing the elective classes for dhampirs?” Matthew Teller’s voice filtered through the curtain as he walked by. 

“The royalists think she made a good point,” Daniel Polenski replied. “Why waste time when they could be training to graduate sooner and restock the guardian pool?”

Their voices faded out of your advanced hearing range and you suddenly lost your appetite as you pulled away from the feeder and grabbed a tissue to wipe the blood from your lips. As if you couldn’t feel any worse, the doors opened again with another voice you recognised.

“...will be fine.”

“I’m sorry, but dhampir should wait outside,” the assistant said but she was cut off.

“He’s with me,” Ivan stated without room for argument, a tone he rarely used because he said it made him sound entitled. “It’s just a rumour, Dimitri, I’m sure nothing will come of it. She didn’t mean it.”

“It sounded to me like she meant it,” Dimitri answered gruffly. “Did you see that fire magic? She’s lucky she didn’t hurt anyone. Absolutely psychotic. She should be locked up to keep everyone else safe.”

Ivan sighed, an exhausted sound you thought was only reserved for you. “She had it under control.”

“Why do you defend her? She is a terrible person.”

“She’s not a terrible person, Dima. She just had terrible things happen to her.”

“That doesn’t excuse her. I overheard Guardian Florence say they had to draw straws to see who protects her out of the grounds because no-one wants to do it.”

The feeder fell heavy in your arms as he succumbed to the high and you pushed him away before running from the shame that filled you. The harsh scratch of the curtain being thrown along its rail was grating in your ears that burned and your shoulder caught the doorway of the exit drawing a sharp gasp through your clenched teeth. 

“Y/N!” Ivan called after you but you couldn’t face him as you sprinted through the corridors, out of the building and into the forest that bordered the academy.

You ran until your legs grew weak and your chest burned before collapsing against a tree and gasping for air. There were no sounds this deep in the woods, not even an owl hooted, and you felt utterly alone. 

It was a different sense of loneliness to what you felt in the academy. You couldn’t disappear inside those corridors, but out here…A twig snapped and you spun around with a sword of fire lighting up the dark. 

“Natasha?” You dropped the magic you had drawn to your hands, the flame petering out. 

“I saw you running like you were being chased by strigoi.” The raven haired Moroi grinned as she pointed to your hands, her ice blue Ozera eyes glowing in the moonlight. “Can you teach me that?” She cupped her hands together and a flicker grew to a flame before it erupted and she dropped it before it singed her eyebrows. “Damn.”

You frowned at the attempt before asking, “Didn’t you graduate like five years ago?” 

She crossed her arms and quirked an eyebrow as she looked down her nose at you. “Considering offensive magic has been banned for centuries, does that really matter?”

“Whatever, I can’t teach you anyway. I don’t know what to tell you, I picture it and it happens.” To prove your point, you burned a circle of fire around your feet before raising your hands and the flames shot up to form a wall around you. 

Her jaw dropped at the control before a screech sounded over the top of the crackle of the fire and you both turned towards it. “Where’s your guardian, Tasha?” you whispered as your fire split and spread to encircle her within too. 

She swallowed as the screech broke through the silent night and trembled beside you. “He was reassigned. I came here to choose a replacement.”

Your hands were shaking and your fire flickered with them. The air seemed thinner as the sound grew closer and you felt like a deer in the headlights, just waiting to be roadkill. 

“We have to run,” Tasha said as she grabbed your hand. “Run!”

You were only 16. You had a whole life ahead of you. You were too young to die. 

That was a lie, there was no right age to die. Death didn’t discriminate. There was only the choice to do your damnedest to survive or die trying.

Tasha tugged your hand as she began to sprint back towards the dim lights of the academy on the horizon and you lurched forward with renewed strength, the flames growing thicker at your back. There was no mistaking the creature for an animal when the scent of the strigoi reached you, the sickly odour of their undead state wafting around as it raced to catch you before you reached the wards. 

The constant stream of magic flowing through you was beginning to drain what little extra energy the flood of adrenaline had given you and you stumbled over a tree root but Tasha kept you upright, just.

“Almost there,” she urged as she turned and tried to throw a fireball but it fell short, only serving to illuminate the horror scene behind you. 

You didn’t even realise you were screaming as the strigoi looked through the flames, his red eyes chilling you to your core. The sound was detached from your body, everything was detached. You couldn’t feel the connection to your element and lost hold of it altogether. You couldn’t feel your hands as you lifted them to cower from the teeth about to tear your throat out.

You tumbled backwards, taking Tasha down with you as you scrambled away from the monster but just before it could curl its pale fingers around your neck a wave of black washed over him. 

The Guardians. They had come. 

You collapsed to the damp grass sobbing with the knowledge you were safe and let the exhaustion take you under.

When you woke in the infirmary an entire day had come and gone but your muscles still ached and there was a lingering taste of smoke on your tongue. Blinking against the sunlight filtering through the shades, you tried to sit up and groaned before giving up and falling back into the pillows. 

A single card sat on the table beside the bed and you reached for it to see who it was from before you recognised one of the voices in the hospital wing.

“Look at you all grown up,” Tasha said to someone. “How’s Karolina?” 

You opened the card and saw Ivan’s cursive handwriting wishing you a quick recovery before the man himself stuck his head in your room. A smile split his face when he saw you were awake and he rushed inside to take a seat at the edge of the bed. 

“Hey, Zeklos,” you croaked, your voice weak and dry from disuse. “Where’s the flowers?”

Dimitri stepped into the room with Tasha at his side, talking to each other with a comfortable familiarity.

“I only get flowers for funeral, please don’t make me buy flowers for you,” he said as he took your hand. “What were you thinking going past the wards?”

“It was an accident. I didn’t know how far I went,” you admitted sheepishly, daring to glance at the reason you had been running but he was paying no attention as he updated Tasha about his older sisters’ lives. “I won’t be doing that again.”

“Yeah, about that, your Uncle Anthony is here. He’s taking you to St Vladimir’s Provence.” Ivan looked pained as he chewed his lip before spilling the news. “Turns out the Guardians saw what you did in the forest and after the fire display in class yesterday, well, they think it’s best that you have a fresh start. You can finish the year at St Vlad’s Academy.”

“A fresh start?” Your voice sounded as broken as you felt and Dimitri looked at you for the first time since he entered the room. “I, I don’t know anyone at St Vladimir’s. The only family I have left are here. The only friend I have is here, you’re my only friend, Ivan.”

The monitors connected to you began to beep erratically as panic set in and you tore them off your skin to pull your knees to your chest. 

“I’ll come visit after graduation, it’s only a few months away,” he promised as he wiped the tears that cascaded down your cheeks. “I’m still your friend, even if we’re in another province. You taught me how to make mudpies, remember?”

You sniffed a small chuckle and nodded at the memory. “And you taught me how to play Uno.”

“Totally better than mudpies, I might add.” He smiled at the real laugh you gave before he pulled you into a hug and for the first time since your parents’ funeral you let him. “I’m really glad you didn’t die, Badica.”

“Me too, Zeklos,” you whispered into his neck as you wrapped your arms around him too. “Me too.”

Click here for part two.

[americiumam]

prayer circle for no live action priory. i would explode if we got a priory live action book cover instead of the gorgeous illustration

[obsidianc]

@ncturnallyyours​

IVAN

               The house was quiet and still, and yet the walls seemed to offer a welcome familiarity Zoya hadn’t realised she had missed. It was the one place in the world she had only ever considered her home and she had spent the last several weeks wondering if it would still feel the same. She crept into the kitchen, knowing soon enough someone would notice the shift in the house of something strange. The Russian witch was back, with a new sense of who and what she was. “You know,” Zoya began the moment she heard footsteps approaching the kitchen, her back facing the door as she rummaged through the cutlery drawer. “I have been gone an entire year and we still only have one fork. Are you kidding me?” she turned around, her cheeks tugging at an eager smile.

[sshannonauthor]

In 2025, witness the fall of the Kingdom of Yscalin.

🥀

Among the Burning Flowers, a short prequel to The Priory of the Orange Tree, is publishing in hardback, ebook and audiobook in September 2025.

Told by three characters – Marosa Vetalda, Estina Melaugo, and Aubrecht Lievelyn – it will not only feature another stunning cover from Ivan Belikov, but also beautiful interior illustrations from Rovina Cai. You can pre-order it here.

🥀

Yscalin, land of sunshine and lavender, will soon be ablaze.

It has been centuries since the Draconic Army took wing, almost extinguishing humankind. 

Marosa Vetalda is a prisoner in her own home, controlled by her cold father, King Sigoso. Over the mountains, her betrothed, Aubrecht Lievelyn, rules Mentendon in all but name. Together, they intend to usher in a better world.

A better world seems impossibly distant to Estina Melaugo, who hunts the Draconic beasts that have slept across the world for centuries.

And now the great wyrm Fýredel is stirring, and Yscalin will be the first to fall . . .

[thesacrificialdove]

( 𝐈 )   ───   𝇄𝇃⠀⠀ׅ⠀ 𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐀𝐒 𝐆𝐈𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐀𝐍𝐎 (THE LION)   ׅ    ͡                                42yr / he/him / male / yan !

during the thrill of the night, he offers you a glass you cannot refuse. do you accept it? 

🦁     ⌗     ۟     ،   a towering figure stands in front of you. his slick raven hair falls until his waist. often, he pulls it back in a high ponytail. it shapes his face perfectly, framing his squared jaw and the subtlest stubble. his work, though unknown to you, doesn’t give him many opportunities in the daylight.

⌗    ۟     ،   as he often strolls at night, his skin is pale and almost sickly. you’d mistake him for a corpse in the right lighting. now that you think about it, what is his job? he seems very eager to try and employ you to it. maybe you should ask . . .     ָ֢   

─── WHY THE LION !? the lion is a predator higher than the rest. thought it may look elegant and still, its long patience ends one way or another. it will pounce. it will take. it will devour.

[ TAGS . ]   yandere , (d)ilf — no child but the age of a parent , obsessive behaviour , possessive behaviours , stalking , sugar daddy , sex toys , large age gap 𓇬⠀ ،  𝘄𝘄𝘄 ⏤ nicolas' archive  /  “send me a dove, amore”   ָ֢  🍾  ۪

do not redistrubute this character as yours/without permission or feed to AI 📷 art by @ garumill2 & @ Ivan Belikov

[infinitymythos]

Embodiments of Creation, Demiurge Incarnate🐉☄️❤️‍🔥

By: Samantha Shannon, David Mann, and Ivan Belikov

[leeenuu]

Streets are flooded in Kherson, Ukraine, Wednesday, June 7, 2023 after the walls of the Kakhovka dam collapsed. Residents of southern Ukraine, some who spent the night on rooftops, braced for a second day of swelling floodwaters on Wednesday as authorities warned that a Dnieper River dam breach would continue to unleash pent-up waters from a giant reservoir. (AP Photo/Libkos)

Russian rockets are launched against Ukraine from Russia's Belgorod region, seen from Kharkiv, Ukraine, late Sunday, June 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Vadim Belikov)

Volunteers evacuate dogs and goats from the flooded city in Kherson, Ukraine, Wednesday, June 7, 2023. Floodwaters from a collapsed dam kept rising in southern Ukraine on Wednesday, forcing hundreds of people to flee their homes in a major emergency operation that brought a dramatic new dimension to the war with Russia, now in its 16th month. (AP Photo/Libkos)

A woman identifying the body of her 34-year-old daughter, who was killed in an overnight missile strike in Kyiv on Thursday, June 1, 2023. (Nicole Tung/The New York Times)

Local resident Tetiana holds her pets, Tsatsa and Chunya, as she stands inside her house that was flooded after the Kakhovka dam blew up overnight, in Kherson, Ukraine, Tuesday, June 6, 2023. Ukraine on Tuesday accused Russian forces of blowing up a major dam and hydroelectric power station in a part of southern Ukraine that Russia controls, risking environmental disaster. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

People look at a fire on the top of residential building following a drone attack, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, May 20, 2023. Russian air attacks have escalated to near-nightly raids over the last month. The attacks come at night, when most in Kyiv are sound asleep. The sirens wail across the Ukrainian capital, rousing bleary-eyed residents, who, after 15 months of war, have customized individual routines to cope with Russia’s latest air campaign. (AP Photo/Alex Babenko)

Dead fish are seen on the drained bottom of the Nova Kakhovka reservoir after the Nova Kakhovka dam breached in the village of Marianske in Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, June 7, 2023. (REUTERS/Sergiy Chalyi)

Children attend a group therapy class at the recovery camp for children and their mothers affected by the war near Lviv, Ukraine, Wednsday, May 3, 2023. A generation of Ukrainian children have seen their lives upended by Russia's invasion of their country. Hundreds of kids have been killed. For the survivors, the wide-ranging trauma is certain to leave psychological scars that will follow them into adolescence and adulthood. UNICEF says an estimated 1.5 million Ukrainian children are at risk of mental health issues. (AP Photo/Vasilisa Stepanenko)

Police evacuate local residents from a flooded area after the Nova Kakhovka dam breached in Kherson, Wednesday, June 7, 2023 (REUTERS/Ivan Antypenko)

Ukrainian emergency workers wearing radiation protection suits attend training in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Wednesday, June 7, 2023. The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe’s biggest, relies in large part on water from the now-emptying reservoir at the Kakhovka dam. The U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency reported “no immediate risk to the safety of the plant,” whose six reactors have been shut down for months but still need water for cooling. (AP Photo/Andriy Andriyenko)

[fischerfrey]

► mini profile;

Full Name: Klara Sergeyovna Belikova Birthday: December 19th, 1892 (Sagittarius) Pronouns: she/her Sexual Orientation: lesbian

►academics:

Best Subject: Charms Worst Subject: Potions Extracurriculars: Duelling, ice swimming Languages spoken: German, Russian, French, very little English

►magic:

Wand: Red oak, 10¾”, unicorn hair core You will often hear the ignorant say that red oak is an infallible sign of its owner’s hot temper. In fact, the true match for a red oak wand is possessed of unusually fast reactions, making it a perfect duelling wand. Less common than English oak, I have found that its ideal master is light of touch, quick-witted and adaptable, often the creator of distinctive, trademark spells, and a good man or woman to have beside one in a fight. Red oak wands are, in my opinion, among the most handsome. Patronus: Wolf Wolf Patronuses see their casters as part of their pack, and they are ready to defend them at any cost. Wolves have incredible instincts; they will attack all Dementors in the immediate vicinity and hunt down any stragglers remaining at a distance. No Dementor should cross a wolf Patronus - they are fierce protectors and loyal to their casters beyond any other guardian.

►appearance:

Faceclaim: Alicia Agneson Eye colour: Blue Hair colour: Dark brown Height: 5′ 2½″ (159cm)

►relationships:

Parents: Sergey Belikov and Gisela Leibniz Sergey is a pure-blood wizard of Russian decent. He married Gisela, a German pure-blood witch and together they have four children. Sergey is a Durmstrang alumnus, so the family sent all of their children to attend the institute, too. Klara, the second-born and first daughter, spent her childhood surrounded by wealth and power. Her family holds pure-blood supremacist values and they were instilled upon her at a young age. Her parents also made sure she knew she would have to marry a suitable man to further the family's social standing. Klara doesn't have a close relationship with her parents, being mostly raised by nannies and tutors, as well as spending most of her teenage years at school. Older brother: Stepan Belikov Stepan is the eldest of the Belikov siblings. He was born in 1886, attended Durmstrang and excelled academically. Klara admired Stepan greatly growing up. He is the heir to the vast fortune of his parents and shares their beliefs and values. FC: Ivan Kolesnikov

Younger brother: Andrey Belikov Andrey was born in 1893 and attended Durmstrang like Klara. Andrey was never one to conform to society's expectations, unless he felt like it, which infuriated his parents. Klara was not close with Andrey growing up, but after their parents cut ties with them both, Andrey and Klara move to France and became each others' only family. FC: Evgeniy Shvarts

Younger sister: Anya Belikova The youngest of the bunch, Anya was born in 1898. She also attended Durmstrang. Anya admired Klara and felt betrayed by her, after Klara's refusal to marry Gerold Faust (@potionboy3). Especially, sine their parents put a lot of pressure on Anya to find a good match, since things didn't work out for Klara. FC: Ulyana Vaskovich

Friends: OPEN! Alexej Kavinsky and Fiete Tegeler by @potionboy3 Kateryna Von Engelhardt by @cursebreakerfarrier​

In school Klara was close friends with Alexej, Kateryna and Fiete. Klara, Kateryna and Alexej all came from similar backgrounds and shared the same type of values. Fiete was different, being a half-blood and coming from a working class background. He didn't have strong opinions against muggle-borns and most importantly, he was kind. The three would often claim that Fiete was a pure-blood to avoid controversy among the other students. This bothered Fiete, but loving his friends, he let them keep their perfect picture. The group would often pair up during balls and they spent holiday breaks together being practically inseparable. During their seventh year Alexej managed to gain a few enemies in school after sharing information he was not suppose to. This lead to the boys attacking him and Fiete while the girls watched, trying to stop it from happening. The fight ended with Fiete's death. After his passing away it was hard for the group to spend time together as just a trio and it took a long time for them to get close again. FCs: Tom Schilling, Max Schimmelpfennig, and Alina Kovalenko

Love interest: OPEN!

►about:

Klara was raised to be a proper pure-blood witch, including holding blood-purist views and seeing muggles as lesser beings. She began to question her parents' values as a teenager but only truly broke out of the mold after graduation. She refused to marry the man she was supposed to and moved to France, leaving everything she had known behind. Her brother Andrey joined her shortly after, upon being disowned by their parents. Growing up, Klara is guarded, haughty, cold, and proud. She knows her value exactly, and doesn't question many things in her life. Only after Fiete's death, her world-view begins to crumble and she has to face some uncomfortable truths about herself. She spends years trying to figure herself out.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

[mybookhaven]

A Day of Fallen Night - Samantha Shannon

High Fantasy - Queer Rep - WOMEN

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5)

I had extremely high expectations for this book, so much that i thought i am going to ruin the experience purely because of all the pent up excitement. Boyyyy was i taken by surprise. This is going to me my favorite read of 2023, yes i know it's still early to decide, no this will not be changed regardless of what i end up reading.

Designed by David Mann and illustrated by Ivan Belikov

Frankly i do not even know where to start. Everything about this book was magnificent, from the complicated world building, the fascinating character arches, to the intricate dissection of the plot that kept me entranced throughout. I got to fall back into the world of "The Roots of Chaos" so easily that i ache for having to leave it behind again.

The story was narrated by 4 characters: Tunuva Melim of the south, Noziken pa Dumai of the east, Glorian Berethnet of the West, and Wulfert Glenn alternating between west and north. To say that it was easy to relate to and fall in love with each of the characters would be an understatement. Each had their own tone, Tunuva being in her 50s with half her life already spent fine tuning her image of herself, Dumai in her late 20s her life about to be turned upside down, and Wulf and Glorian being close to their mid/late teens battling the world to carve a place to fit themselves into (we do not know the actual age of Wulf for reasons i will keep unknown here because OH BOYYYYY was that one of my favorite plot lines in the book).

The sorrow of ages arrives, and no one is prepared to deal with the wrath of earth unleashed. As i've read "The Priory of the Orange Tree" before, i knew the general direction of the events to take place, and i want to stress the genius of Ms. Shannon in giving us a story that kept me on the edge of my seat regardless of that fact.

The strength and warmth of Tunuva, the love between her and Esbar, an old love nurtured for years and set in admiration, comfort, and lasting desire. The fear, resolve, and retaliation of Queen Glorian who sees the Berethnet legacy for what it actually is. The perseverance of Wulf, a man lost to the world and to himself. The trusting nature of Dumai, a woman raised for the peace of temples swept into the war of politics. I could go on and on about almost every character mentioned in this book, major or minor. The amount of attention given to the creation of this world is beyond my greatest imagination and i cannot thank Samantha Shannon enough for sharing it with us.

I don't want to talk about specific details of this books because i'm trying to stay spoiler free, but it needs to be said that there are moments in this book where i've lost my breath with the unfolding of events leaving me full and empty within a couple of sentences.

I cannot recommend this book, or this series enough. Samantha Shannon is officially my favorite writer and i doubt anything will change that in the foreseeable future.

[hypercaring5]

Ivan Belikov, the artist behind the illustration for The Priory of the Orange Tree and A Day of Fallen Night, has a tagline and it's creatures and feathers. Looking at their portfolio, that sounds about right.

The hardcover of Priory shimmers??? The dragon scales are sparkly??? Am I going to buy a hardcover of Priory just for this??? ...maybe.