In the first two parts about Vila, I told the history of their clan. Now it is time to learn about Vesna — the hope of the entire Strivozha family.
The fragment of the Ruler of Life’s power held by the Vila clan had been passed down through the Strivozha family for years before finally coming into the possession of Vesna Strivozha. By the Fae standards, Vesna is still quite young, yet great things are already expected of her. One winter, while her mother, Grand Duchess Benigna, was pregnant with Vesna and resting at the Strivozha estate, the Vila noticed that the famous red fern, cultivated by Vaselisa "The Pure One" herself, was on the verge of blooming. As the Vila are experts on flora, Benigna realised that the natural rhythm of nature had been disrupted, causing the fern’s growth cycle to accelerate by a full month.
When the Grand Duchess set out to inspect the other plants in the garden, they would immediately begin to grow just as rapidly wherever she went. However, just as Benigna was about to report the phenomenon, she accidentally slipped and fell. Falling, she crushed the red fern and went into premature labor, giving birth to her daughter. That year, the harsh winter ended early: on the day of the Strivozha daughter’s birth, birch buds unfurled, and early spring flowers broke through the snow. After the Tsaritsa learned what happened, she personally visited the estate and bestowed a name upon the newborn girl: Vesna — the spring that walks beside her.
Born under the dual blessing of winter and spring, Vesna was expected by the Vila elders to become a truly extraordinary individual. And though she had been born prematurely, she soon outpaced all her peers in her development. By the age of one, she could clearly name every flower in the garden. By two, she was flying over the estate, and by three, the perfumes she created graced the dressing tables of court ladies.
Among the elders, only her grandfather, the father of Grand Duchess Benigna, the reigning Grand Duke of the Vila named Pyotr, knew of the power hidden within the little girl. Her early birth, the premature arrival of spring, and the Vila’s astonishing rate of growth all signaled the awakening of the Ruler of Life's power. One day, her grandfather summoned his granddaughter and told her that the Vila had not enjoyed the Tsaritsa's trust since the time of Grand Duchess Glowatza. Now, the fate of the Vila clan and the Strivozha family rested in the hands of Vesna — the only one in five hundred years fortunate enough to have the power of the blood awaken within her.
When Vesna turned five, she began her formal education under various tutors. She no longer had time to play with friends, and the smile that had always brightened her face vanished. Even her walks with her mother were strictly controlled by Grand Duke Pyotr, who viewed her as the hope of their lineage. This continued for another five years, until one day Pyotr invited an important guest to their home — Pulcinella, The Rooster, Mayor of Snezhnograd, Presiding Member of the Snezhnograd Veche, and the Fifth of the Fatui Harbingers.
Pulcinella revealed the true reason for the Tsaritsa’s distrust of the Vila clan. The history of the Vila was littered with those who kept a foot in every camp, smiling sweetly while keeping a knife close at hand/ Before leaving, the mayor struck a bargain with Vesna: he told her of the crisis facing the Vila lineage, and in return, he would come back in three days to demand an answer to his question.
For those three days, Vesna was tormented by doubt. The glorious history of her lineage, once a source of pride, was crumbling to dust, while questions raced through her mind: Why had the Tsaritsa bestowed her name upon her? Why did that fragment of sacred authority awaken within her? Would she truly be forced to choose between the Tsaritsa and her family? When the time for the meeting arrived, Vesna, before even hearing the question, declared that she would betray neither her mother, nor the Strivozha family, nor the Tsaritsa who had given her her name. And if the Tsaritsa no longer recognized the Strivozha family's loyalty, then she would revive the clan with her own blood. With that, Vesna drew a dagger and drove it into the table between them. Then she stiffened her neck, squeezed her eyes shut, and solemnly presented herself like some valiant martyr awaiting the blade.
Pulcinella watched the scene in astonishment, then finally asked his question: What is love? Vesna had not expected such a question, but without a moment’s hesitation, she replied: "Love is creation! It's the power to create strength for those we cherish, to create laughter, courage, and hope. Yes, love is creation." And though Pulcinella did not know if the Tsaritsa would be pleased with this answer, he left the estate with a joyful smile, for Vesna had truly won his heart. He believed that perhaps she would become his apprentice, and a year later, the youngest member of the Snezhnograd Veche, and that one day, Vesna would help the Tsaritsa create a world filled with more love.
After learning of the future the Tsaritsa had in store for her, Vesna was filled with grand ambitions. Yet, when she arrived at the Zapolyatny Palace a week later, she was issued a Druzhna recruit’s badge, and it was Capitano, not Pulcinella, who became her mentor. Since Vila are not that good at combat, Vesna began to worry about her future. She fretted that if the power of the Ruler of Life that didn't belong to her were to ever abandon her, she might no longer be able to live up to everyone's expectations. Hearing these concerns, Capitano knelt down and removed his mask. Vesna instinctively sensed that whatever lay behind that presence was of the same order of power as the force of Life coursing through her blood. Capitano explained that he, too, harbored a supernatural power within his body that did not belong to him. Yet, he vowed that even if that power were to leave him, he would never allow himself to become lesser than the man he was today. It was not the power itself that made Vesna extraordinary, rather, it was Vesna herself who had awakened that force and mastered it for the first time in five hundred years.
Among Capitano’s other trainees, Vesna spent the most time with Danica Postelnitskaya, a young woman from a family that had served the Tsaritsa for generations. The two were polar opposites: Vesna was mischievous and free-spirited, while Daniсa was serious and reserved. Though Vesna was only a few months older, she often treated her friend like a little one. Later, Danica received permission to travel the world and spend 8 years on her journey, while Vesna eventually rose to become a commander of the Druzhna.
When Vesna learned what had happened to her mentor, she hurried home to the garden with the red fern that had never bloomed again since the day she was born. Though it had not died, it had stopped growing. Even its fronds remained exactly as they had been when the plant was crushed all those years ago. Sometimes, Vesna wondered if this was what immortality truly was. She then called upon the power of Life within her and tried to revive the fern, but miracle didn't happen. Yet, just as she was about to leave, she caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of her eye: a tiny bud had appeared at the center of three fern fronds.
Vesna knew that ferns could not produce buds, as they propagated via spores. She bent over the plant once more, pouring the power of Life into it again. The small bud began to swell, growing larger and larger until it finally burst with a loud pop, releasing a thick cloud of toxic spores directly into Vesna’s face. As the Vila lost consciousness from the poison, she saw a brilliant, radiant world in her dream, a place where her mentor stood firm at the edge of the world, just as he always had.
"Vesna. Go back."
"Teacher... Aren't you coming with me?"
"This is where my journey ends."
"But Danica and I miss you. We miss you a lot."
"We will meet again, among the myriad lives touched by the thousand winds."
When Vesna awoke, her Stellar Linchpin lay at the very heart of the now-bloomed fern.
And though Vesna had succeeded in awakening the red fern, she never did learn to master the power of the Ruler of Life. When Snezhnaya decided to combat the Ruler of Death using the power of life, Vesna, using her power, managed to create Seals of Life from people's memories. These seals attracted the Ruler of Life herself. She destroyed the seals and reclaimed the power that had been stolen from her. Only the portion of power contained within the lantern, which was kept there to facilitate the creation of the seals, escaped Rhinedottir and Naberius's attention and was returned to Vesna.
When Vesna first joined the Druzhna, she burned with the dream of redeeming any Fae who had strayed from their path and guiding them back to the right way. Over time, however, she came to understand the necessity of strict laws for the state and a clear system of rewards and punishments for the army. She began to realise the sheer weight of her idealistic dream. Capitano had told her that one’s deepest desires should not be flaunted but cherished within the heart, so she began to suppress her true self to set a worthy example for the Druzhna.
One day, she discovered a book of unknown origin titled "Ancient Sword Esoterica" at the Yae Publishing House and bought it for a pittance. The book described how, in ancient times, people cultivated their bodies and spirits to gain power rivaling that of the Adepti. Some could command flying swords, nurture sword spirits, vanquish evil, and subdue demons. Reasoning that, as an immortal who already possessed a flying sword forged from the fusion of elemental power and her own consciousness, she could create sword spirits by following the m****cript's instructions, Vesna set to work.
During the experiment, Vesna channeled more spiritual energy than intended, and the sword spirits immediately scattered with one of them stealing the second half of the m****cript. The spirits had inherited Vesna’s own desires, but these desires spiraled out of control, turning the spirits into criminals. Using a Divine Sense Compass crafted with Liyue technology, Vesna managed to track down all the sword spirits and recover the m****cript, while the spirits themselves were then sent to serve in the Druzhna as recruits. Notes left in the book revealed that this draft had been written by the Seelie known as Mr. Nine, but she and Nicole never agreed on the text, so the m****cript was never finished or published. Yet, like many of Mr. Nine’s works, the book possessed special powers that enabled Vesna to create sword spirits by following its instructions.
