Elena Alexandrovna Volkov. The woman who would become the strongest in the world was born 181 years ago. 2 years after the future head of the Ivanov Family, Andrei Mikhailovich Ivanov was born.

 

Her parents were commoners in the terms of Russian High Society but in Norilsk, they were like royalty. They were always around when the people needed them and were just shy of running the whole town. They would’ve run it if they weren't more interested in expanding their own magic knowledge instead.

 

Around this time, Magic was STILL very very primitive. It had been over 200 years since great mages like Vikentiy Ivanov and people still didn’t quite understand magic. Prodigies continued to be born but few were actually keen on sharing their knowledge of magic. Keeping silent seemed like the status quo, especially for highly gifted individuals who more often than not were either recruited by countries to serve their rulers or recruited by churches to prove the existence of their respective god.

 

Alexander and Irina were both prodigies but they deserted their families together specifically to avoid their fate. They believed that everyone in the world probably had some capacity to learn magic and that everyone hiding that knowledge from them was wrong.  Norilsk was barely a village 181 years ago and it was barely a city in the present so it seemed like a sort of perfect hideaway. But because of the Black Tortoise Temple residing in it, Alexander and Irinia didn’t really like the idea of living in Norilsk. They knew nothing about the temple and their religion but they figured it was just like any other religious group that wanted to keep the magic to themselves.

 

They only stayed in Norilsk because of a blizzard that left them stranded and with no choice but to take shelter in the white tortoise temple. They really wanted nothing to do with the temple but  Irina was pregnant at the time and they didn’t have much of a choice. Of course, their stay wasn’t fully free, they had to hear all about the temple in return.

 

“If you had come a few days sooner you could’ve been blessed by our Lord, unfortunately, he passed yesterday night, but  a new incarnation of them will soon come or perhaps they are already here.” The elder of the temple said as she lead the couple up the stairs to a room where they could rest for the night.

 

“They will be immature so you might not be able to get a blessing for yourselves or your child unless you come back for a few years.” The elder apologized

 

Alexander bit back his words, he thought it was all bullshit. 

 

“Ah, I’m afraid we cannot stay too long, we are going to china…” Alexander explained, holding Irina’s hand as they walked up the stairs.

 

“Oh? You’ve chosen a rather roundabout way to get there…?” The elder murmured.

 

“We cannot go westward for… personal reasons,” Alexander murmured. 

 

The elder didn’t pry and simply continued to lead them.

 

“How long until your child is born?” The elder asked.

 

“Soon. In late January.” Alexander smiled a little as he said this, he felt a tug at his hand afterward and looked toward Irina. He kind of expected her to be glaring at him for revealing that to someone they didn’t quite trust but instead, Irina was looking pale and sickly as she held onto both the railing and Alexander’s hand for dear life.

 

“Ira?!”

 

“Can you carry her?” The elder quickly asked as she examined Irina’s complexion.

 

Alexander didn’t even answer and quickly did so and followed the elder quickly to the room they were to stay at.

 

“I will call for more assistance, please light the fire and make sure she stays warm.” The elder said and rushed off. Alexander did as she said and sat by Irina’s side as he waited, he wanted to comfort Irina but her immediate first thought was that she would miscarry and just the mere utterance of that thought drove him to silence.

 

Of course, they didn’t exactly need a child but…. Having cut the thread that bonded them to their own families and being only bound to one another by a band of metal and a promise to a God they didn’t believe in… Their child was going to be their one true connection to anything in the world of humans. A reminder that they were made of blood and bone just like anyone else and that they weren't tools made to be exploited for their magic.

 

Other people came and helped, one of them was even a little girl probably less than 5 years old who insisted on holding anything that needed to be held for the others.

Alexander stayed off to the side, the more he watched the more he worried but he didn’t dare take his eyes away, Irina would only resent him if he did.

 

The Black tortoise temple in Norilsk was right beside the water and despite the raging winds of the blizzard outside and how far up they were in the large tower that was the temple, Alexander could still hear waves raging against the shore as the clock struck midnight.

 

“The baby is out?” The little girl asked as she looked over.

 

The room was still silent though, no wailing baby to be heard. Alexander grit his teeth, crying could be heard now, but it was Irina, not a baby.

 

“Please don’t cry ma’am, your baby is alive… She just…isn’t crying..” A woman said as she wrapped the baby up and then held her up for Irina and Alexander to see.

 

Irina was in shock for a second as she watched the baby’s golden eyes staring at her without a care in the world. Alexander took her into his arms and immediately brought her closer to Irina.

 

“Have you thought of a name for her?” The elder who led them there asked as she brought a warmer blanket for the baby.

 

“...I have no idea…” Irina murmured, staring at the newborn and then looking at Alexander who looked like he was on the verge of tears.

 

“Elena,” Alexander murmured and Irina blushed a little, the inspiration was clear.

 

“It’s been a while since we’ve had a child be born in the temple, go find the birth documentation papers.” The elder said to a man who was standing at the door and then turned back to the couple.

 

“What is that on the baby’s back?” The little girl asked Alexander as she pointed at Elena.

 

Alexander and Irina were both very confused but they uncovered Elena’s back and turned her around to stare at her in shock.

 

Like a tortoise, black scutes covered Elena’s whole back. The followers of the temple who saw this almost couldn’t believe their eyes but they quickly dropped to their knees as the amazed Elder walked closer to the bed.

 

“...It was no coincidence…It was no coincidence at all!” The elder exclaimed in joy.

 

“All winter the lakes have refused to freeze for this very day! The new incarnation of our savior, the Black Tortoise of the North.” The elder wanted to touch the baby but Alexander and Irina seemed frightened and did not allow her to do so.

 

Elena just laughed. As if she knew exactly what was going on she giggled at the antics of both the elder and her parents.

 

There was a push and pull for a while, Irina and Alexander weren’t fully convinced about the truth of who and what Elena was but once she grew up it wasn’t exactly something they could deny.

 

She was invulnerable to any and every kind of physical attack, she learned magic before she had even grown teeth, and she was talking earlier than anyone even thought possible. And as her pitch-black hair became more and more starkly different from Alexander and Irina’s blonde locks… It was time for them to give in at last.

 

They stayed in Norilsk and began to learn what it meant to be a follower of the black tortoise temple.

 

–

 

“There has never been a Black Tortoise quite like Her holiness… Usually, they are demure and level headed, not rambunctious and outspoken like she is… it is simultaneously a breath of fresh air and… cause for great worry.” The elder who had helped Irina give birth murmured as she and Irina watched Alexander and Elena prepare to go out and hunt for magic beasts.

 

“...I know that it is wrong for me to feel this way but I would hope that she learned to act a bit more human…” Irina murmured.

 

“If there were other strong children like her  she would learn more easily but right now… everyone her age seems like they are too far below her for her to even consider interacting with…” The elder murmured.

 

—-

Elena had yet to go on a dungeon raid alone, she always went with her father and some of the followers because of their over protective nature. She was already 16 and she was still pretty unknown to the world because of this. Dungeons that were honestly cleared by her were said to have been cleared by the Black Tortoise Temple.

 

They never cleared a dungeon with outsiders so no one saw her performance either…until a dungeon that was just out of the normal range they went through for dungeons started to ruin an area. A large group was called to clear it and it was the first time so many aristocrats and noble blooded mages had gone so far north. The Black tortoise temple had to help out just so they wouldn’t all die from the climate. They also had to help them traverse the terrain.

 

Alexander wasn’t too fond of the idea but he longed to share his studies on magic with someone who’s brain worked the same way his did. He of course wanted to keep an eye on Elena too but he figured Anya—the little girl who had helped when Irina gave birth— could watch over her.

 

The black tortoise temple had a very unique set of clothes for when they fought magic beasts and dungeons during the arctic winters. Skin tight black clothing that fully covered the legs , arms and torso and also the fingers like gloves. The men wore loose pants over it with gold frills and embroidery while women usually wore a black skirts with gold trim over them and at times both wore black shorts with gold trim instead. They wore black cape with gold trim that clasped at the neck in a high collar and had a hood that was trimmed in gold as well. The outside of the hood was covered in luxurious gold embroidery of tortoise scutes and flowers while the inside was covered in similar gold designs on a dark blue background. The clothes were as warm as possible and represented them clearly. 

 

Anyone at the raid could tell who they were.  That was important because they were the only ones who really knew their way around a place like this.

 

Elena kept her hood on for most of the waiting time before the raid started, her father had asked her to do so for the sake of not attracting too much attention before the raid even began. She wasn’t mad about his request at all but it seemed the wind had chosen not to cooperate with the request. As a teenage boy and his father approached fo greet the Black tortoise temple and ask about their leader—technically Alexander who was busy spending to someone else—- the wind picked up and knocked her hood over just as she looked over at the two.

 

Both parties were s bit shocked, Elena was the kind of beauty that made jaws drop to the floor, her eyes like gold attracted everyone around her since birth and her hair as black as the night brought everyone’s attention to her immediately. Among countless light haired Russians she stuck out like s sour thumb. Elena was shocked by the boy and his father though, both had pure white hair and an odd aura…one she found so familiar but couldn’t quite place.

 

She wanted to ask their name, so she could investigate more but for a second she wondered if they were the kind of people to care for manners and so she hesitated.

 

“Marry me.” The boy said without a second of hesitation as he grabbed Elena’s hand and looked her right in the eye with his piercing blue eyes.

 

Elena was appalled, Anya was frozen and Alexander was so shocked he could faint. He was going to rush over there and immediately say no but Elena already started giggling.

 

When given a choice….if Elena starts giggling at the choices, she’ll definitely choose…

 

The funnest option.

 

“Sure!” Elena laughed. The boy was overjoyed and his father was trying to process what just happened.

 

“No! No! No! Absolutely not!” Alexander immediately exclaimed and ran over.

 

“Huh? Why not, Father?” Elena asked and tried to peek over Alexander’s shoulder.

 

“You don’t even know his name!” 

 

“That’s right son! You don’t even know her name!” The boy’s father said and pulled his son’s ear. 

 

The boy was unfazed, “What’s your name?”

 

“Elena Alexandrovna Volkov,” Elena giggled, watching the boy’s perfectly straight face, “and You are?”

 

“Andrei Mikhailovich Ivanov.” 

 

The two fathers shared a look and immediately separated the two as the call for the raid to start rang out. They had both already decided that they wouldn’t allow it.

 

Fighting alongside one another only made this proposal more serious on both sides though.

 

While Andrei only became more enamored after seeing Elena completely outshine everyone else in the dungeon, Elena became more and more interested in him as well. Strength mattered more than anything to both of them so finding that someone who they had already found to be quite charming had the skills to match wws the perfect sequence of events.

 

Other people took notice as well. They already knew Andrei was strong, it was a given, he was an Ivanov after all. But Elena, the unknown girl from the Black tortoise temple… she was the strongest woman they’d ever met, actually she was probably the strongest person they had met in general!

 

“I will marry you. No matter what.” Andrei said and handed Elena the button from his fur coat, it had the symbol of the Ivanov family and served as the mark of his promise, although Elena didn’t quite get it.

 

“Y-You can’t marry a commoner!” Andrei’s father exclaimed and Alexander begrudgingly agreed with him, all in an effort to stop this.

 

“Well I’m not exactly a commoner now am I? I’m the Saintess of the Black Tortoise Temple, that’s practically the equivalent of being god here in Norilsk.” Elena laughed.

 

Alexander cursed…that…the black tortoise temple had met with the tsar many incarnations ago…and they had decided that the title of Saint or Saintess would be considered the same as a royal title in Russia…Elena was technically right!