1940s - 1960s

Ilya Mikhailovich Kiselyov was born in Omsk, Omsk Oblast, USSR on December 27th, 1944. His parents, Mikhail Nazarovich Kiselyov and Maiia Timofeyevna Kiseleva, owned a cattle ranch in Ukraine, but were temporarily moved to Omsk in 1941; only a small portion of Ilya’s childhood was spent in Omsk before his family moved back to the outskirts of Kiev in 1946. He grew up relatively poor as his family rebuilt their livelihood. Most of his childhood was spent working on the farm, but Ilya always had an ambitious attitude of moving past his working class background; he had lofty goals to become the Soviet Premier someday, and idolized Khrushchev. Despite his hardworking attitude and academic excellence in school, he was never one to truly stand out in the way he wanted to, typically being passed over for awards or academic recognition.

A lack of recognition simply fueled his need to prove himself. He continued to pursue his goal to work for the government, despite disliking the current leadership of the USSR. He moved to Moscow to study International Relations at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. It was during his studies that he met Dmitri Yurievich Rukov, and the two of them quickly became close – though Ilya was certainly aware that such a friendship with someone with familial influence could be strategic in gaining rank; and it did end up beneficial in the end, as Dmitri helped secure Ilya a place in training with the KGB. He attended the Academy of Foreign Intelligence in Chelebityevo in 1968, with the intent to graduate at the top of his class and join the First Chief Directorate. Only he found himself only second in the class – only overshadowed by Dmitri, creating a one-sided friction between them. Ilya resented Dmitri’s skills and recognition, despite lacking any true ambition for such a career. Still, he graduated second in his class, but still achieved his goal in joining the First Chief Directorate.

1970s - PRESENT (1980s)

In 1972, Ilya was stationed in Alberta, Canada, as an illegal resident spy, under his handler Andrey Kirillovich Leonov and the callsign Artemis. He resided within the city of Edmonton. His assignments were to gain top secret information by acting as a sort of “Romeo spy” – he would get close to, or romantically involved with, individuals with access to top secret information, and ideally tease out the information naturally. He enjoyed the luxuries such a job offered him, especially the nightlife of a big city – though it was a perk being able to escape the chaos of the city and visit the countryside farms of Alberta that reminded him of home. It was in 1978 that he was informed Dmitri had died in the US on assignment, a sobering reminder of the dangers of his work. But as disheartening as it was, he refused to let any melancholy set in.

On one of his nighttime drives through the countryside in 1980, he came across an injured deer that was tangled in barbed wire. He stopped to untangle the deer, but in the process was injured by it. Though the wound looked like a bite wound, he convinced himself he must’ve just misremembered what had happened. Unbeknownst to him at the time, though, the deer was afflicted with lycanthropy, and had transferred the curse to him. The following full moon thus introduced a new wrench into his life: but it was a secret he thought was easily kept under wraps, as long as he kept a close eye on the moon cycles. To some degree, the enhanced senses from such a transformation helped in his work; he found himself stronger, and much more sensitive to sounds and smells, making it much easier to tell if he was being followed, or if someone he was speaking to was especially fearful.

Ilya’s first ever encounter with monster hunters was in the early 1980s; it was sheer luck he heard a figure approaching during the full moon, and managed to escape with only a grazing wound from a silver bullet. He had assumed previously he had flown under the radar, but clearly had barely escaped with his life, and needed to be more cautious. In the ensuing month, Ilya was faced with the one who had been hunting him down – someone he thought was long dead, Dmitri. He found his first assumption, that Dmitri had simply abandoned his post, was incorrect, and that his friend was instead undead. This left him at a crossroads: pursue his current job and his dreams, or take Dmitri’s offer to become a monster hunter and stay loyal to his closest friend. It was with great hesitance he chose to stay loyal to Dmitri, though he still isn’t quite convinced it was the right choice to make.

STRENGTHS

• Intelligent. More book smart than street smart, but talented in both areas.
• Hardworking. Will always put 110% into whatever task he’s assigned.
• Extroverted. Great around people, no matter the situation.
• Self-Assured. Never doubts himself, even in the face of failure.
• Creative. Always coming up with out of the box solutions. Loves to challenge conventions.
• Charismatic. Well liked wherever he goes. Easily blends into the friend group of all different types of crowds.

NEUTRALS

• Daring, But Too Risky. Always willing to take a risk, and loves gambling on low odds.
• Boisterous. Always full of energy, but can be a bit too hedonistic. Gets restless easy.
• Loyal. Sticks to those he pledged allegiance to, even when it's unwise to.
• Prankster. Enjoys goofing off. Hates extremely professional settings - not anti-authority, just strictly anti-professional. 
• Ambitious. Has lofty goals, but will sooner work himself to death over them than give them up.
• Idealistic. Has strong opinions and values he sticks to, but can get caught up in “the ends justify the means” sort of mentality when it comes to achieving his ideals.

WEAKNESSES

• Cunning. Skillfully deceitful. Uses his extroverted and sometimes foolish seeming nature as a mask to lower other’s guard.
• Dishonourable. Has no qualms in doing whatever it takes to get what he wants, even he knows it's wrong.
• Arrogant. Hates being proven wrong. Loves being the center of attention, and playing the hero.
• Blindly Obedient. Has a tendency to follow orders, no matter what, even if he disagrees with them.
• Stubborn. Slow to change his opinions, but is sooner to break from authority if it goes against a strongly held belief.
• Vindictive. Easily feels wronged in situations. More likely to seek revenge when wronged.