Tatiana and Sergei

The origin of Strahd's obsession and, by most accounts, the beginning of Barovia's long decline.

What Happened

When Strahd von Zarovich was still human, he courted a Barovian woman named Tatiana — a woman of fine lineage, considered remarkable. He believed she would make a worthy bride and acted accordingly: gifts, attention, the full campaign. It did not work. Tatiana fell in love with Strahd's younger brother Sergei instead.

Strahd watched them together. On their wedding day — standing there, professing their love to each other — he decided he had been a fool to let this slip through his fingers. He was the superior man. He had conquered the land. He murdered Sergei.

Tatiana, upon learning what had happened, went to Strahd seeking the truth. He attempted to claim her. She ran from him through the castle gardens and threw herself from a tower rather than be taken. She has been dead for approximately two centuries.

The Pattern

Strahd has been looking for her face in women ever since. It is not necessarily about beauty — it is about recognition, something spiritual. He sees Tatiana when he looks at Ireena Kolyana.

He has come to Ireena's home twice. He charmed his way in both times. He bit her both times. He did not turn her. He appeared, after the second visit, frustrated — which is an unusual state for someone two centuries into an uncontested vampire fiefdom.

What Is Known (and By Whom)

Ismark Kolyana knows the broad shape of this history through education and family position. He shared it with the party in Session 9. The general outline is common knowledge in Barovia. The specifics — Tatiana's name, what happened to Sergei, why Strahd became a vampire — are known in the way old myths are known: imprecisely, with variations, and with an implicit understanding that the man in question is still alive and has opinions about how the story is told.

How Strahd Became a Vampire

No one knows precisely. Theories include: corruption from his choices; a blood pact made when he drank Sergei's blood at the moment of murder; a curse contracted during the battles he fought to claim the land. He is not the first vampire in Barovia's history — the species predates him — but he is the reason the problem is locally relevant.

First Discussed

Session 9 — Ismark shared the history over drinks at the Blue Water Inn