Viktor
The Man Who Killed a STAR
“Telling it makes it mine again.”
Once a royal soldier of Taria, Viktor Bortsov is the only man known to have killed a STAR with nothing but a knife, a deed he has spoken of exactly once. He lives by the chain of command and will turn his gun on his own companions before he breaks it. Since the night his wife Polina was taken, Viktor has had one purpose, and he will follow any leader who promises to bring her home, whatever else that leader may be.
Bonds
- Jess The Lost Daughter
- Jack Bergen The Frysian Wolf
- Axel The Lionheart
The Chronicle
The Kill
In the Tarian war Viktor faced a STAR at arm's length and found the one opening its body allowed. He has never boasted of it. Years later he told the story to Jess across a kitchen table, in a flat voice, as a method she might one day need. He left out everything but the method.
The Promise
His wife Polina was seized in Taria while he listened on the telephone. Her last words to him were a plea to guard her daughter Jess as his own. Viktor brought the girl beyond the reach of Tarian spies, to the free south of Frysia, and began to look for anyone with the power to win Polina's release.
The Soldier
The crew offered him that power in exchange for his gun. Viktor has kept his side of the bargain without question, for a soldier does not question. He has seen armies fall dark in a single pulse and STARs walk through what remained, and he fears none of it. He fears only that the man who made him the promise never meant to keep it.
He killed a STAR and will not speak of it. He lost his wife and speaks of little else.