The Story So Far

In the Beginning: Progs 1035-1041

(Please note that I am writing this mostly from memory, so it isn't definitive by any means)

Nikolai Dantes' first appearance is in St. Petersburg in the year 2666. We know little of his origins and his background up to that point.

Dante is apprehended by Commander Pyre of the Tsars' Own Scarlet Wraiths, having seduced a courtesan in the employ of one of the Tsars Officers and then sold her underwear.

Commander Pyre is acting under the orders of Tsarina Jena Makarov, the Tsars favourite daughter, who was engaged to be married to the aforementioned Officer.

Surprisingly instead of the expected death penalty, the Tsar gives Dante a commission in the Imperial Raven Corps, a unit of elite troops who form part of the Tsars' bodyguard. Dante is then dispatched to the Murmansk Alienation Zone, under the command of the Tsarina, in order to investigate a crashed starship. While investigating the wrecked ship, Dante and Jena come under the attack of a Romanov Bird of Prey. Though Dante manages to heavily damage the Robot, it forcibly implants an unknown device into his left shoulder. We later learn that Dante has been set up, he has been used as bait to capture a Romanov Weapons Crest. Dante is in fact an illegitimate son of the Romanov Dynasty, his genetic code is therefore suitable to act as a host to the Crest, a very powerful Bio-Weapon. The Starship had in fact been shot down by the Tsars forces with a view to aquiring the Crest, the rival Romanov families' greatest weapon.

Jena and Dantes' escape is blocked by Aleksandr & Aleksandra Romanov, twins who both wield the Weapons Crest and are able to bond together into a single monstrous being. Dante with his newfound power and a fair amount of dumb luck, manages to kill the twins and escape. He is met by Jena who commands him to come back to St. Petersburg to the Tsar. Dante and Jena fight a duel, which Dante wins by trickery. He makes his getaway.

The Romanov Dynasty Progs 1042-1050

We next meet Dante in the Romanov Winter Palace some weeks later. Here he tries to claim his birthright as a Romanov. The Family Patriarch , Dmitri Romanov, regards Dante with suspicion. He orders Dante to kill Tsarina Jena, who has been tracking Dante since he eluded her at Murmansk. The confrontation is cut short by the arrival of the Tsars Imperial Palace and the Tsar himself. The Tsar wants Dante and Dmitri Romanov does not want the Tsar to get his hands on the Romanov Weapons Crest. There is an uneasy truce as the 2 sides contemplate war.

Meanwhile the Tsar sends one of his Scarlet Wraiths to kill Dante. The assassination attempt is unsuccessful, Dante manages to rather publicly kill his would be Assassin. The 2 sides are at stalemate and agree to a detente. Dante is welcomed into the bosom of his new family.

Rudinshtein see above

Dantes' first mission as an envoy of the Romanov Dynasty is to Rudinshtein in order to rescue Arkady Romanov from the Karazin. Rudinshtein is a squalid, impoverished Romanov domain, Dante finds the inhabitants have been enslaved by the Karazin in order to produce a powerful narcotic called 'Chert'. With the help of a local woman ,Tamara, Dante frees Arkady, but then attempts to free the enslaved populous before the rest of the Romanovs arrive and the city turns into an abattoir. He is almost overwhelmed by the Karazin warriors when the Romanov elite arrive. They make short work of the Karazin and then instruct Lazarev, the Karazin leader, to continue his business as before, but pay the profits to the Romanov Dynasty. Dante is enraged by the injustice of this and challenges Lazarev to a duel. The drug enhanced Lazaref proves to be a tough opponent though and Dante only narrowly defeats him. Dante has now made himself the Protector of Rudinshtein and its people and so manages to fulfil his promise to Tamara.

Dante is brought to the Winter palace medical facility , where he is visited by Dmitri Romanov. The Head of the Dynasty explains to Dante that he is in fact his father and that he was conceived out of a Rape! Dante attempts to kill Dmitri, but discovers that his Weapons Crest is ineffective against his Father. Dmitri then 'tests' Dante to see if he should be allowed to live.

Dmitri decides not to kill his son, but Dante is left wondering what he has got himself involved with.