Description: She is a woman indelibly stamped with the signature traits of House Thrax, down to her straight-backed bearing and the lack of blatant ostentation in her clothing. Natasha is, overall, a striding set of contrasts that provides for a striking, complicated picture painted with the colors of purposeful determination and highlighted by a refined, but wholly understated beauty. She is tall and slim, whose clear preference for solid colors, sleek lines and subtle embroidery often make her appear taller than she actually is. Dark hair falls past her shoulders in loose curls, framing equally dark and surprisingly expressive eyes that burn like embers whenever seized by high emotion, nevermind that her usually inscrutable countenance and sharply precise diction generally don't reflect it. Her fair complexion lends a certain aristocratic fragility to her fine-boned features, offset by the determined cant of a jaw that would look delicate otherwise, and a mouth prone to subtle turns.

Personality: From childhood to adulthood, Natasha has always been known as one who never smiles. It's not that she lacks for enjoyment or fulfillment, she has plenty of both. But emotion has no place in decision-making or fulfilling one's duties, and showing any hint of favoritism or personal opinion would jeopardize her work. Rational, stoic, pragmatic, driven and responsible. These are the tenets that make up her unshakable core beliefs. She has spent much of her life buried in books or mediating in disputes big and small. It has given her a firm outlook on life. She has been called cold and aloof, but Natasha has never been cruel or even unkind. She has merely striven to be as fair as possible in all things, no matter how difficult a choice it would be.

Background: After Prince Argus Thrax's affair that led to the birth of a bastard, Prince Drake Thrax gave his brother an ultimatum. Marry politically or be cast from the house. Argus obeyed and a match was secured. Princess Natasha was born years later from the connection, the younger half-sister to Victus Baseborn. Her youth was often spent being tutored in matters of law, stewardship and scholarly pursuits, as is tradition for Thraxian women. Natasha took to her studies naturally, soon becoming the honor student for her teachers and a shining example of Mourning Isles discipline.

Prince Donrai soon ascended to High Lord of the Mourning Isles, he ensured Princess Natasha would be set on the path of law and order. Into her teenage years and onward, she was groomed to act as a magistrate for Maelstrom's needs. Natasha took to the role with frightening efficiency. Solutions were devised of a purely pragmatic approach, earning her praise and ire from those effected by her contributions. Her desire for the perfection of justice eventually led her to taking up a discipleship with the Faith, after meeting the Palace Seraph Ailith by chance. She came to venerate the Sentinel. The Faceless God was fairness in its purest form, something she aspired to in all of her responsibilities.

Through the years, she has been a constant creator of order for the Mourning Isles. Lawlessness and chaos were the two things she abhorred the most and she sought to make it right wherever she went. Several Islander peers have had her assistance in managing their domains. Surprisingly for one so driven to constant improvement of one's House, she even eschewed taking a political match as to not interfere with her duties. Instead of searching for alliance, Natasha took up a role with the Inquisition. Dedicated to rooting out trouble and madness through her individual merit.

The death of Donrai and the raise of a usurper was a frightening prospect. To her, it was perhaps the worst crisis that could've befallen her home. Natasha sought to maintain cohesion and stability as best she could through a turbulent time, a role she played well into the wars of Tolmar Brand and the Gyre. Ensuring that the institutions that protected her people would be safe, through and through. The Princess was a bedrock of tradition and a force of consistency through hardship.

In recent times, Natasha finds herself growing too sedentary. Rumors and tales of myth and legend have begun to circulate back to her ears. People who speak of demons, of Abyss, of apocalypse and ruin. What were once simple stories are taking shape as real, physical concepts among the populace. What's more, reformation and change has begun sweeping through the Isles to a tune of uncertainty. The world she'd known for so long has begun to quake and shadows fall in its wake.

Unsatisfied with remaining on the Isles with such growing tension in the back of her mind, Princess Natasha has sailed to Arx to join the rest of the world. In search of answers and devising a solution.

Relationship Summary

Family:

Alarissa - My sister-in-law whom I've come to love as my own and who has been a comfort to me in some very difficult nights. Her reinstatement as a Voice of Thrax is both a personal boon and relief, as her advice and insight has always been invaluable to me.

Tyrus - My cousin, recently returned to us much changed, but the brilliance I remember as a young girl remains and is all the more intensified by what he has endured. He is a constant recipient of my care and concern.

Sorrel - My cousin-in-law, whose stunning ability to unearth the dusty ingots of our world's forgotten history will never cease to amaze me.

Jaenelle - My beloved cousin and favorite pen-pal.

Fatima - My halfway estranged half-Eurusi cousin, whose wit ought to be considered one of House Thrax's deadlier weapons.

Jasher - While his sister, Vega, is somewhat of a mystery to me, Jasher and I have always been of similar mind and temperament. His time at sea has only intensified the aura of stoic gravitas he has mastered by the time we reached adolescence, but he embodies, in many ways, the image of what I hope my sons aspire to be whenever they are born and grown.

Friend:

Vanora - The Duchess Grimhall, who has been a close friend since girlhood.

Valdemar - The Duke of Grimhall and a childhood friend; my uncle tried to betroth me to him once, but I declined the match.

Ailith - The woman who encouraged me to involve myself further with the Faith, and seek a discipleship. Her insight in religions matters is always invaluable.

Lianne - I have heard of the Marquessa Malespero since my arrival at Arx, but have not had an opportunity to get to know her until I was tasked to investigate her husband's murder. Since then, our relationship has blossomed to its own animal. I do not know what I can do for her that she cannot manage herself, being so inordinately talented as she is. But I am determined to look after her as best as I am able.

Acquaintance:

Octavia - The Crown's Chief Magistrate and representative of all that the Isles holds dear. Her counsel is always appreciated.

Deceased:

Donrai - My uncle, whose ruthlessness sometimes left me uneasy and whose lack of affection I detested. I would not know what or who I would be without him for he has taught me both these things.

Margot - I swear to the sea and sky, and the endless blue, that those who took you from us will suffer in the most excruciating ways I can devise.

Ally:
Oathlands:
Lyceum:

Martino - The infamous Malvici playboy and I are incredibly similar intellectually and positionally. I easily count him as one of my few significant friends in the capital.

Alistair - The High Inquisitor, who has taken it upon himself to not just train me for the rigors of Inquisition work, but mentor me in the ins and outs of the organization for the purposes of my advancement. My relationship with him is one of my most important connections to date.

Protege:

Ember - I seem to have cultivated an inadvertent pattern where my proteges became so because of unusual circumstances that required my involvement, and that they are all remarkable women who have been put to the fire and forged into dangerous weapons regardless of appearance or stature. The Baroness Redreef exemplifies this new rule; a force to be reckoned with and armed with an intensity to match or even surpass my own.

Zoey - As with all of my other proteges, my lady Kennex approached me for my patronage due to some interesting circumstances that have spurred her to seek me out specifically. Just as brilliant and just as accomplished as my ladies Ember and Lianne, perhaps out of all three of them, I lean on her the most in a few projects related to the governance of the Mourning Isles.

Sibling:

Victus - My brother and the person who ranks the highest among my current and future priorities. I always knew from the time I was cognizant of my place that his safety would be my most paramount concern. I just never realized how true that would be until I rejoined him in Arx.

Spouse:

Romulius - I never paid much attention to my instructors' views on an acceptable marriage, so convinced was I that I would never find myself at the altar, though one piece of advice managed to stick with me in those formative years: Marry the one who feels like your oldest friend.  Having met Rom at eight years of age, it just so happens that he actually is, and I consider myself blessed and cursed, in equal measure, that the man who has studied me for most of our lives was determined enough to wage a two decade-long campaign against my defenses to claim me for his own.  Against such vicious, merciless tenacity, what chance did my recalcitrant heart truly have against him?