Konstantin/Lore

Official Introduction

The famed Siren of Snezhnaya of the Morozov Opera House is one of most celebrated names throughout Teyvat. Not many people know he is sponsored by the Fatui, and said organization would like to keep it that way as much as possible. His image is used by the Fatui as a form of diplomacy by bringing him around Teyvat. After all, if anything happened to the celebrated Siren, it would cause quite a stir in the world of music; and it could compromise the Fatui and their operations.

His "world tour" is a rather big deal. People would travel far and wide to listen to his singing and be enchanted by his haunting voice. He has a charm that lulls people into the worlds he sings about when on stage, bringing out about a magical fantasy in which people immerse themselves in. The experience is phenomenal, and people would kill to live it for themselves.

To sing is Konstantin's true love, not whatever the Fatui are doing. He finds no joy in drowning his enemies with his Delusion, nor does he enjoy the orders barked at him in order for an operation to go smoothly. It is only a blessing, depending on one's outlook on life, that he answers directly to the Harbingers rather than some other grunt. He struggles with himself and the person he is becoming due to the pressures of the Fatui, and he does not know if he can keep it up.

Character Stories

The name Konstantin L'vovich Rusakov rings a bell to many a cultured connoisseur of music to the most casual opera enjoyer. A mellow singer with a haunting voice, anyone would be enchanted by him. Those who have met Konstantin will always have something different to say, and these things more often than not never line up. It is said that Konstantin always has a different face to show people, and that nobody truly gets to know or understand who he is. Although, this is often excused as professional behavior, as Konstantin has a right to be distant from his audience.

He would rather be distant from everyone due to the person he is becoming just from being in the Fatui. He feels himself developing a satisfaction from violence as a way to cope with the harshness of his reality. He is becoming what he feared the most, and he hates himself for allowing it to fester in him and manifest as an outlet. He despises the fact he is now accustomed to such violence, and that he is beginning to feel at home on the battlefield just as he is on stage.

With all that said, Konstantin is an enigma to others and to himself. He is relearning who he is outside of the stage, as he uses opera as an escape from the reality he has to face. He despises his circumstances and his acclimation to violence, but a part of him seems to want to embrace this side of him as a way to be free of himself and his fears. However, whatever sanity he has left refuses to become a monster.

On the surface, Konstantin is a celebrity with the image of a mellow, sorrowful looking young man who simply seems to embody a certain type of artist. A suffering artist whose best performances are when he is at his low points. He seems to embrace this image as well as pretend to be helpless if it means to sell his act. He acts in a way that one may say he wears his heart on his sleeve, but this is far from the truth.

Konstantin is a sorrowful man full of turbulent emotions, angry with what he has and the lack of freedom he's suffered through for years. The lies he's been fed about his security and the betrayal of his trust, all of it. He's angry, and he needs an outlet. Unfortunately that outlet is that of a violent nature, where he drowns his enemies with the force of his sorrow. If he can't be free, nobody can be free.

But that is simply him at his lowest. He doesn't do much to hide that sort of misery either. People think he is just playing the miserable artist when he has been crying for help for years. He can never find that help, not when he's put on a pedestal and when he is seen as above others. Those above him like to remind him that there is no help, and that staying in the Fatui is the best chance he can ever get at staying alive and with a career.

After all, they still allowed him to sing, right?

Konstantin is another one of the so called "Miracles" of the Fatui. He has the capability to become a Harbinger on account of his power thresholds, with no small thanks to the Doctor for being able to make it work. Konstantin is considered a “miracle” due to the fact that the Doctor did not even need to do extensive invasive procedures on him. He only nudged his body just a little, and suddenly his power thresholds increased tenfold. Not to mention, it was surprising how Konstantin’s body positively reacted to this procedure.

He managed to physically take it all in stride; but mentally, it destroyed him. He felt violated, for lack of a better term. He felt that his body was no longer his but just a plaything for the Fatui. What hurt him the most was that he couldn’t even see the scars left behind by the procedure, making him believe this was all in his mind and that not much, or even nothing, was even done to him in the first place. Konstantin had become paranoid of touch, especially from a Harbinger.

This was no miracle to him, and he detests that he is even called a “miracle” in the first place. It’s no different from being called anything close to a doll, toy, plaything, whatever derogatory word could be used. It is a burden and a sore spot, a symbol of shame that looms over his head.

Not that his superiors care about how he truly feels about being called a “Miracle” anyway.

Lulled into a sense of security, Konstantin thought he found freedom.

The Morozov Opera House is one the most if not the most prestigious opera house in Snezhnaya. It has four centuries worth of longstanding excellence and providing entertainment to the people of Snezhnaya. It is said that the shows there are second to none, and that even the Tsaritsa and the Harbingers leave their patronage to the opera house when time permits it. Its performers and staff uphold this said virtue of excellence in service to the Tsaritsa and the people of Snezhnaya.

Konstantin did not use his family name to land himself a position as a singer of the opera house. The director genuinely believed that he had the talent for it and immediately took him in at the age of 18. The director was so impressed with his performance of both male and female roles that Konstantin would be casted as either sex for his performances, enchanting the audience with the spectacle of his singing and acting. The Morozov Opera House believed that Konstantin was indeed a natural, and only thought it was a shame that they would have to share him with the Fatui considering his circumstances.

Imagine his shock when he realized that the Rooster and Regrator had long been sponsoring the Morozov Opera House. His heart was broken, and he realized that he never was truly free. The director of the opera house had closely been working with the two Harbingers, using their performers as a way to recruit into the Fatui. Konstantin was broken by this revelation, and resigned himself to his fate whenever he looked upon the opera house’s stage again.

The Rusakov family is a well decorated clan in Snezhnaya, dating back to over 400 years ago for their technological savviness and their contribution to the technologies enjoyed by Snezhnayans today. They formerly were traders with Fontaine, who brought their technologies to Snezhnaya, but they soon began to learn about the devices and gadgets that were being traded to the point that they would also begin to alter them and improve on them before selling them at higher prices. They are also popular among the magic-using communities in Snezhnaya for providing devices that convert magical energy into different other sorts of energies to improve the quality of life.

The members of the Rusakov family were not only technologically savvy scholars, but celebrated mages as well. With their services, they provided magic education and protection to the elite society of Snezhnaya. With their expertise, they were also recruited into different research labs to study elemental and magic energy.

It is an open secret that the family works with the Fatui, and have closely worked with the likes of the Marionette in recent years, helping her test her new machines and researches and double checking the efficacy of them. They have also helped provide for the Doctor’s instruments and labs should he require new spaces.

This was the background and legacy Konstantin was born into, and expected to carry on his back. However; his dreams were different, and that was a point of contention between him and his family. So, his family devised a plan that ensured he would never be able to escape them, nor the Fatui.

Konstantin once had a Vision.

He remembers it as clear as day. There was a blizzard swirling outside his family manor when the Doctor came to visit his family to inquire about the progress of their research. While the visit was very cordial, the atmosphere within the manor had turned cold since the arrival of the Harbinger. The exchange was professional and the family had nothing to hide, so the Doctor had nothing to suspect of them.

Konstantin had just turned 18 in the past few days and was preparing his audition piece for the Morozov Opera House. He had not been aware of the Doctor’s arrival when the latter applauded his performance after silently standing by his doorway. In shock, Konstantin froze at the Harbinger’s presence. The latter soon approached him and teased him for being a little songbird in a family of scholars, and how peculiar it was.

Konstantin would later be escorted by the Doctor to his family for a little bit of a cordial chat. What Konstantin heard had given him nightmares that night: talk about experimentation, children, adults, humans. Such things being done to them and his family didn’t as so much as bat an eye at what had been discussed. Konstantin seeing their lack of compassion had terrified him, and he excused himself from them and the Doctor and was going to retire to his quarters.

He remembers heaving from the nausea that night. The images of poor people just like him undergoing such invasive procedures being done to them at the Doctor’s and his family’s approval. It just was not right, not to him. He remembers passing out cold that night and waking up to a Hydro Vision on his person the next morning. Right before his audition.

Among Konstantin's belongings are two old books he read back to back numerous times. It was a book of a forbidden love between a lord and his vassal, and the political backlash of such a union when the lord was already betrothed. He had always imagined himself as the vassal who would have tension with the lord and they would secretly meet in the courtyard and exchange flowers and words of love. The second book is of a mermaid princess who was taken away by a sailor, and she grew legs and explored the world of the surface with him. But the story was a tragedy, as a witch took her lover’s heart and she turned to seafoam. He always imagined himself as the poor damsel being taken away to a world she doesn’t know.

And the fantasy of these books linger in his heart. He would press flowers that came with love letters and he would daydream about a man taking him away and traveling around Teyvat, away from the Fatui, away from the cruel reality he has to face. He would reread such love letters over and over again, and open these two books in which he pressed the flowers in.

Konstantin loves receiving these flowers. The fragrance was a quick escape from his reality. And he would always love to preserve them by taking his favorite flowers and pressing them between the pages. He had memorized these books from cover to cover, and there was no need to reread them all over again. Instead, they now served the purpose of preserving his form of escapism. He cherishes each and every flower, and in the blank spaces of the pages he would write the names of the men who gave him the flower and a corresponding love letter.

Then he would go back to daydreaming again. Daydreaming of a day he would be swept off of his feet and be free to travel the world without the guilt of the Fatui leering over him.

Konstantin will never forgive nor forget the day he got his Delusion.

His dreams were crushed when he realized he was going to be a part of the Fatui ranks. He was among a few grunts who had been whispering about his presence among them. Not only was he a Rusakov, but he was the Siren of Snezhnaya. He held his Vision tightly in the biting cold, fearful of the reasons he had been summoned to the presence of the Jester.

He knew he was going to be taking orders about recruitment, as he usually had taken. But what he didn’t realize was that today would take a turn for the worst. He was singled out by the Jester, and was called to his quarters. The whispers that would erupt from the crowd behind him will always linger in his mind. Threats of death, special treatment, lapdog, whatever he could hear made his shoulders heavy, and he hung his head in shame.

Konstantin remembers standing by the Jester in his quarters, and the Harbinger summoning his family almost in a ceremonial fashion. He wanted to present to them a gift from the Tsaritsa, which would be bestowed upon Konstantin. This news shocked his family, and they were proud that he got the Tsaritsa’s attention.

The gift was a Delusion, and Konstantin could never be more fearful for his life.

While this was a point of pride of his family, it was a source of shame for him. He was no longer free, and his Vision ripped from his person by the Jester. The words still ring in his mind whenever he holds his Delusion.

“You will not be needing this anymore. You will use the Tsaritsa’s blessing from this day forth.”

Trivia

• Konstantin's magic appears in the shape of magical water harpoons in combat. However; according to different Fatui Agents and troops, his favorite method of killing is apparently drowning, which earned him the moniker The Vodyanoy.
• It is rumored that Konstantin uses some kind of magic with his voice to lure people in. This is entirely untrue as Konstantin relies on his acting skills without the use of magic.
• Konstantin's makeup, highlights and nail polish are all actually from his glamour magic. He often doesn't find the time of day to really sit down to look pretty.
• There is a saying among the Fatui: " There is blood in the water. " which usually pertains to Konstantin's presence in the area.
• Konstantin's Passive Ability, Fight or Flight, increases all party members' ATK by 35% and Movement Speed by 25% if his health is 25% and below.
• Konstantin despises his Delusion, but there is a part of him that cannot seem to be entirely rid of it.
• The Harbingers know Konstantin quite well, and most of them have watched his performances and even applaud him for being multi-talented. They simply find it a shame that if he simply had more heart in the Fatui, he would have been a Harbinger rather than Tartaglia. Konstantin brushes those compliments off, sadly.
• Power-wise, Konstantin is definitely comparable to a Harbinger, and many Fatui Agents find it a shame he refuses to unleash his full power.
• There are instances wherein others get a taste of his full power without a Delusion, granted that he feels cornered enough in a fight to just end it all quickly and messily.
• Konstantin is one of four non-Harbingers who carry Delusions, the others being Pavel Zamyatin, Yuliyan Chernekov and Elisei Taranov. To the Fatui, they're called 'The Miracles' and are often called upon when a situation is tough, but not enough to warrant a Harbinger.
• His magic that appears similar to harpoons work similar to The Knight of Despair, becoming projectiles with normal speed.
• Activating his Delusion is also similar to the Knight of Despair's Death Animation, stabbing himself through the heart with his own harpoons, then unleashing a powerful Anemo blast.