Thar Shaddin

Name: Vladimir Petrovich Sidorov
Age: 39
Race: Human
Height: 6'6" (2 m)
Weight: 193 lbs (86 kg)
Physical Description: Somewhat chiseled and disheveled, with prominent Slavic features. Has dark brown hair, which is often kept at a short length to match the trim beard that aligns his face. Across his left hand is a crude tattoo of numbers that once served as his identification when he spent time at a gulag in the far northeast. Usually appears to be in a drunken stupor or, otherwise, a generally mischievous character.

Alignment: Neutral
Personality: Alcoholic, womanizer, and swindler, with an oddly warm sort of demeanor. Talks with a heavy, unrefined accent, sometimes slurring words together in speech. Tends to draw too much attention to himself when ranting and raving about his radical political and/or philosophical views. Can be a bit arrogant, especially to authority figures, who he loathes the most. Never backs down from a challenge, but will not engage in activity that could potentially cause another's death (e.g. battles, duels). Has a great fondness for animals, especially for his bondsmate. At best, perceived as being seductively charming; at worst, as a dangerous, unbridled drunkard.
Possessions: Leather hip flask, metal lockpicking tools, old mahogany pipe, penny whistle, coin sack, and carved bone stiletto
Strengths: Thievery, sleight-of-hand, pickpocketing, lockpicking, counterfeiting, drinking, gambling, and penny whistle playing
Weaknesses: Swordfighting, hand-to-hand combat, and the allure of women and ale
Bondsmate: Feirr: male blue merle collie

History
Vladimir was born into the noble aristocratic line of Sidorovs who ruled the cold, northeastern land, Vrostka, with their extreme wealth and influence. His father, Pyotr Ivanovich Sidorov, was a powerful general in the Vrostkian military, and his mother, Elizaveta Aleseyova, reared twelve beautiful, healthy children under a roof of decadence. However, being the black sheep of the family, Vladimir certainly had no passion for the gentleman's life; he did poorly in his studies, showed no signs of skill with weaponry or craftsmanship, was frequently chastised for being crass and ill-mannered, and was regularly whipped for his rebellious nature. In his adolescent years, he had a habit for smuggling his father's vodka and downing an entire bottle in a single night. (This sort of behavior would ultimately lead to his addictive alcoholism and kleptomania.)

At the age of seventeen, when the males of the Sidorov family usually trained to become soldiers, Vladimir was disowned by his father and banished from his native country. He had been practicing fighting techniques with his older brother Peter, and, being too weak to wield the sword properly, accidentally tore through his brother's abdomen. Shocked and horrified, Vladimir sent for the healer, but Peter bled to death long before the medic could be of any assistance. The Sidorovs mourned the loss of the firstborn and most favored son; Pyotr fell into an uncontrollable depression that would lead to his furious decision to exile his youngest child. Vladimir left Vrostka with no possessions, no direction, and no will to live -- he vowed never to touch another blade again unless it was to be pressed into his own chest. Ever since, he has had an unhealthy obsession with cleaning his body with water, as if to wash the guilt from his skin.

Years passed, and Vladimir wandered from town to town, living off his most beloved talent: stealing. He spent his time in taverns and brothels, gambling away the coins he pilfered and then bedding an unsuspecting tramp, only to leave before daybreak with her purse in his cloak. His time in and out of prisons turned his heart toward anarchist philosophies; he grew bitter toward military figures, tax collectors, and, oddly, dogfight managers.

Vladimir liberated a brutally wounded, underfed collie from one of these managers and ran off to another district in order to nurse the dog back to full health. He formed a blood pact with the dog, whom he had called "Feirr", thus creating an unbreakable spiritual bond that would last until their deaths.

They both happened to stumble upon the craggy hilltops of Shim while traveling, and washed themselves in the river. It occurred to Vladimir that the nearby city of Marn may just be the place to finally settle. So they had come...