LOL I did too XD.
Brilliant.
Due Porfiry “intel guy”, being russian (east europe at least) and remarkable accent, could he be the Disavowed member mentioned in TJ backstory? Maybe the Coven covers many actors without them knowing?
Despite seeming “evil/bad”(vampires, kidnapp Mira, kills people…), could the Coven work like Ultratech, searching biggers goals by any means necesary?
But when she activates her Instinct she says “vampira”, the portuguese word for female vampire.
Actually it’s “Tuman Vampira” - “The Vampire’s Mist”. It’s Russian.
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Really??? O.o
I promise - check this thread:
Lol! Wow. IG seriously goes above and beyond with their character designs.
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Keep in mind that the backstories had a schedule to them and more of a time crunch for each one. They had to make one per week, which I can’t imagine is easy with all the other work they must have had.
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Now that I’ve seen Mira’s backstory so far. Was there any Castlevania/Dracula/Bloodrayne/Underworld vibes in there? No Van Helsing?
I can’t wait for Tusk’s backstory to be revealed! Wonder if there’ll be a Highlander/Conan/He-Man vibe in there. “There can be only one!”
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You say “format aside” then go on to list a bunch of things that are conducive to the format! Also, I find your usage of the word “credibility” rather off the wall - particularly when used before the word “believability”.
I believe I typed this before on another backstory but feel the need to do so again: This was a great read!
For Killer Instinct more than any other fighting game, it always feels so weird for me to read in detail about these characters doing anything other than getting ready to fight. I guess it’s because we spend so much time watching them killing each other that it can be jarring to think they have a life outside of that…
I still have some questions regarding the vampires in KI’s lore, though:
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What is the extent to which they can control magic?
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What is the full extent to their physical status and capabilities, particularly Mira’s compared to the rest - are they “alive” or “technically diseased” and do they age?
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What is the effect sunlight has on them?
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How much of their free will do they retain past the point where they are “sired”?
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How exactly does the “siring” process occur - before reading this I was under the impression that it took place the old fashioned way but the writer described Mira being infused with some sort of special elixir that took at least a day to take effect - I guess the obvious follow-up questions are: What is this elixir? Is its effects permanent?
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How are members of the Coven chosen?
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Are there other Covens throughout their world, affiliated or otherwise?
On a side-note, I’d just like to remark that I found it rather ironic/hypocritical that the lady with a dead body stuffed in her trunk was turning her nose up at a guy with severed limbs hanging from hooks - unless she specifically took issue with the usage of formaldehyde…
Looking forward to the next chapter! 
OMG MIRA SPEAK PORTUGUESE!! XDDD
Hey Mira! I’d love to talk with you!
“And it was snarling like a wolf.” Holy crap that gonna be awesome!! I can’t wait to read this whole novella!!
I have thought how difficult is to write it, because they must put the classic story and the new characters together AND take care of the way they do it. I’ve said once that I would feel really disappointed if something bad happen with my “poor filthy dog”, and probably everyone think the same with their own favorite characters.
Go on guys!
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so far she’s show no magic per say, but she has gained “powers” from becoming a vampire, like turning into mist. She does use artifacts though, err…alchemy.
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she is a meta-human. Stronger and faster than the strongest and fastest human.
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no effect (iirc).
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the novella makes it seem like she chose to give in to the thirst, and furthermore embraced her new powers.
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TBD
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same as Mira?
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probably.
Poor punctuation and grammatical/spelling errors that we see sprinkled throughout a number of the backstories are not conducive to their formats,
For instance, look at the first sentence of Jago’s story:
“Jago was abandoned as a baby at a secluded monastery in the Himalayas where he was trained by the Monks of the Tiger.”
I needed a breather after reading that. It’s verbose and could use a comma. Read through the rest of his story, and you’ll find many instances of missing punctuation and wordiness.
Look, as many would attest, the overall quality of the backstories has come a long way since the first batch, which is made evident by the novella. I don’t know why you view that as an insult.
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You don’t consider “turning into mist” a magical ability?
Well, okay then.
Aside from that, what is the force they are using to command the wendigos? -
Yes, she is stronger and faster than the best humans, so we’ve seen, but I’d like an example of the vampires’ peak performance standards. I’m also still wondering whether her kind is technically considered “alive” or “undead” and if they age. She is described as having a beating heart but I want to know if the implications are still the same as with a normal living creature. (Do they still need oxygen to survive?)
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None whatsoever - not even sight difficulties?
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But how much of her current personality is a result of her transformation - what (obviously, besides her opinion of vampires) is the difference between her personality as a monster and her as a monster hunter?
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Meh.
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No volunteers?
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- I guess it depends on how you define magic. When I think of magic, I think of sorcery, alchemy, or some other sort of incantation that uses mana or some other sacrifice. I don’t see mutant abilities, or chi attacks, as magic, thus moves like Jago’s Endokuken I don’t consider magic, and I put Mira’s vampire abilities on that same level. Her vampire attacks are abilities she’s gained once she was turned in my book. (I get a real Legacy of Kain vibe from her…might be why I like her.)
I do consider her alchemy powered gauntlets as magic though. The gauntlets essentially take her blood as a sacrifice, thus she is drained as she uses them. Now that I think about it though, she is drained in game when she uses her mist form, so is that an actual vampire ability for her? Or is it a power she gains from the gauntlets. Hmmm…
Side Note: I love this design. I love the idea of a vampire having to replenish there blood reserves as they are essentially being drained themselves.
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I guess that is only something the Devs can answer definitively. The novella doesn’t mention anything about her / them being undead, only that she was “reborn,” and that her “soul” belonged to the Tsar.
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The beginning of the novella is happening before sunset. It only starts to gets dark after she arrives at the castle. So she was driving and holding casual conversations during the day. Presumably she killed the dude in the trunk during the day too. She was wearing sunglasses though. So I think the fact that she has “cat-eyes,” and that they are described as such, just goes to show that she is a nocturnal being, but it seems like she has no issues during the day.
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I’m sure she is still herself, only with a new perspective. She grew up hunting, and probably hating, monsters, and after she was captured and subsequently “healed” the novella states that she fought against the Tsar’s influence as best she could. Once she gave into the thirst though, it would seem (and make sense to me) that she devotes the same amount of passion, if not more, that she did to the NG, to her coven.
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Probably. TBD.
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¯ \ _ (ツ) _ / ¯
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Me saying “a bunch” made it sound like it was more things but I was mainly referring to the emboldened:
“clarity and focus; better language, grammar and style”
Much (but not all) of the extended backstories released, though engaging and very well done, were still technically just extended character overviews rather than what we got here - so it’s to be expected that the narratives told in those wouldn’t be as focused or “deep” as a full-blown novella that not only introduces the characters as protagonists but narrates their perspective play-by-play.
Second, to my knowledge, there have been spelling and grammar errors with all the writings released, including this one, but I think you’re exaggerating their severity.
Case in point.
I found nothing immediately wrong with that sentence.
I take issue with your framing. Your comments “praising the improvement” of the writing read more as backhanded compliments rather than genuine sentiment.
Personally, I do see value in gaining insight into these characters’ thoughts and personal moments through a novella approach - but I prefer the previous formats, not because of some “perceived deviation of quality” but simple preference.
As was said: Same writing team, different format.
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Well, if alchemy is something you consider to be in the field of magic, it’s implied that the Tsar changed her with the use of some kind of “elixir”. Idk, maybe it’s just my stereotypes from mainstream vampire lore and my fondness for Kan-Ra that have caused me to see things like this as “sorcery” of some kind, but I’d just like a confirmation from a higher up.
I’m not sure if the gauntlets wouldn’t fall under “technology”… -
Le shrug.
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Does this account for layover?
jk. I was a bit unsure of the dusk implications, given how dark I know it can be but good explanation! -
That intro and outro, though…
Given Maya’s intro and outro, the daggers’ influence over her mind not withstanding, it’s not totally impossible that this is the way Mira normally talks, but I have my doubts that this was her demeanor before being changed…
@TempusChaoti, PLS!
- Full disclosure, I never thought of alchemy as “magic” until I watched Full Metal Alchemist. Alchemy is mostly just described as chemistry, but then you get into things like summoning and transmutation, and things like that can only be described as magic. Mira’s gauntlets ‘transmute’ her blood into metal, so that why I think of them that way.
Also, the “Elixir”…
- It is my belief that the elixir is the Tsar’s blood. In a lot of the vampire lore that I’ve come across, the way a someone is turned into a vampire is by consuming the blood of a (master) vampire (along with other things like first being bitten). Through that ritual, the one being turned is pretty much bent to the master’s will, as they are sort of joined in a sense. That is possibly what happened here, as the novella states that the her soul belongs to the Tsar…what if that isn’t just figurative?
The Tsar and Mira have probably been joined through the turning process (Master and Thrall), and if this is the case it also isn’t out of the realm of possibility that some of the Tsar’s traits have rubbed off on her (her Russian accent). People have been asking why / how she got the stereotypical vampire accent, and that is a good theory as to why. She has her memories and mannerisms from before she was turned, but also the “Emperor’s” power and knowledge, thus how she is now is the result of them melding.
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