Ireena

"Whatever you've done in the past no longer matters. You saved us, you saved me, you saved this valley." - Ireena Kolyana, AoR 597, Speaking to Tylus Symshade after the defeat of Strahd von Zarovich
Ireena was a young woman that hailed from the small hamlet known as Barovia Village. Alongside her adopted brother Ismark Kolyana, Ireena lived in the village manor. Ireena eventually became the subject of Strahd Von Zarovich's obsession, leading her on a doomed chase across Barovia to escape his clutches. She would soon learn that the incarnated spirit of Tatyana lived within her, and agreed to take her place alongside Sergei Von Zarovich, rising to Empyrean upon doing so.

History

Adoption by Kolyan Indirovich

As a child, Ireena was taken in by a man named Kolyan Indirovich. He would become her adopted father. Born to the Strazni family, Ireena has no memory of her time with them, as Kolyan rescued her when she was yet a baby. Koylan knew that the Stranzi family had ties to Ravenloft and perhaps Strahd himself. Koylan would bring the child to Barovia Village, where she would grow up alongside Ismark, his son. Neither Ireena nor Ismark are aware of this fact, always believing themselves to be siblings by blood. Kolyan would later die, taking this secret to the grave.

Strahd's Obsession

Strahd eventually keyed in on Ireena's true identity as the reincarnated form of his former obsession; Tatyana. Strahd would soon begin to visit Ireena himself, though under the disguise of a Barovian man named Vasili Von Holtz. Even then, Ireena showed no interest, turning her attention towards protecting the people of her village in place of her now frail father. Looking to rid Ireena of this purpose, Strahd began prodding the town with his dark creatures, events that would culminate in multiple attacks on the Kolyana Manor. On the 2nd to last attack on the manor, Ireena's father would be killed, ending Koylan's time as Townmaster.
The next night, Ireena and her brother would meet and employ the services of a group of adventurers. This group aided Ireena and Ismark in defending the manor once again. The following morning, at the behest of Ismark, the adventurers agreed to escort Ireena to Vallaki, a city where Ismark believed his sister would be safe from Strahd's whims. Though it took several days, Ireena and her brother would make it to Vallaki, seemingly safe from Strahd at the moment.

Vallaki

Ireena and Ismark would hold up in the Blue Water Inn, guests of Urwin Martikov. During a subsequent uprising from the Wachter family, aided by the very same group of adventurers, Ireena was present in the Blue Water Inn during a battle between the group and the city watch. The city guards were led by Izek Strazni, Ireena's true sibling. Upon seeing Ireena, Izek entered a blind rage, seemingly recognizing her and attempted to kidnap her from the inn. Luckily, Tanka Barbearian engaged Izek in combat, and managed to finish off the captain before he reached his target. Feeling unsafe, Ismark led Ireena to the Church of Saint Andral, a place that he hoped would be free of violence.
Later, after the Wachter uprising had been complete, Strahd himself visited Vallaki. Free to enter the church because of a missing ward, Strahd engaged Ismark, Ireena and the Saviours of Barovia in combat. Raising the undead around the church, Strahd summoned them inside, killing dozens of townsfolk that had taken refuge in the building. Aided by an undead dragon, Strahd easily turned the battle in his favor and captured Tylus Symshade, the Sun Elf member of the Saviours. Ireena quickly stepped in, offering herself to Strahd in an attempt to save Tylus and the remaining townsfolk currently being slaughtered. Intrigued by this new development, Strahd accepted her offer and left Vallaki with Ireena in tow. For the first time in their lives, Ireena and Ismark had truly been separated.

The Wedding

Now captured, Ireena became the instrument of Strahd's taunting over the Saviours of Barovia. In an attempt to further drive home his victory, Strahd invited the Saviours to Ravenloft, as he planned to marry Ireena in front of all his friends and enemies. Furthermore, Ireena would be turned into a vampire spawn, a way to finally have Tatyana under his control for eternity. Ireena knew her fate was bleak and fell into a sad stupor upon arriving at Ravenloft. The day of the wedding drew close, though Ireena planned to deny Strahd his prize if such a chance presented itself.
On the day of the wedding, knowing the Saviours were now within Ravenloft, Ireena requested the presence of Colborn Sergeant. Sarge arrived in Ireena's chambers, escorted by Rahadin. Feigning happiness and bliss, Ireena asked Sarge to escort her down the aisle for the ceremony and to stand beside her at the alter. Sarge agreed, though as he turned to leave, Ireena saw her chance. She quickly whispered her true wish in Sarge's ear; a wish for death. Knowing that it would deny Strahd his prize and an eternity of servitude to him, Ireena commanded Sarge to end her life, should there be no other way out. Sarge obliged to this request, though he promised to try and find another way.
The ceremony began, with the proceedings progressing normally. As the moment arrived for the kiss, the Saviours launched an attack on Strahd, creating pure chaos within the cathedral of Ravenloft. Unfortunately, Strahd was able to escape with Ireena, leaving his allies to fight and die at the Saviours' hands. Strahd whisked Ireena back to her chambers, where Strahd would begin the transformation process for Ireena. He bit into Ireena's neck, injecting the curse of vampirism into her body. Ireena quickly passed, her lifeless corpse to soon be buried, though Strahd would leave to deal with the Saviours before taking this step in the ritual. Ismark, also present at the wedding, fought his way to Ireena's chambers. However, Ismark would be killed by a vampiric servant of Strahd, his ravaged body left on the ground by Ireena's bedside.

Resurrection; Return to Sergei

Hours later, Strahd himself would be destroyed by the Saviours of Barovia, ending his reign over the valley. After doing so, the Saviours returned to Ireena's chamber, discovering the corpses of both Kolyana siblings. Using power granted to him by The Amber Temple, Shamruuc would use ancient magic to raise Ireena and her brother from the grave. Alive and reunited, the Kolyana siblings were instructed to flee Ravenloft and head to Krezk at the behest of Sarge. Relived to be spared of Strahd, Ireena and Ismark agreed and departed for Krezk. Now on the road, Ireena would spot Tylus and thank him for his help in freeing the land, not aware that the elf had joined Strahd during the final confrontation against the Saviours. This emotional reunion between the two would spur Tylus to change his ways, with the rogue deciding to join the travel to Krezk.
Now in Krezk, Ireena and Ismark would meet the spirit of Sergei. Ireena felt the spirit of Tatyana rise up inside her, overcome with a sense of finality. This seemed to be her purpose, to rejoin the spirts of this ancient couple. Unsure of what would become of her once Tatyana 's spirit had departed, Ireena said a possible final goodbye to her brother and to Tylus. Indeed, upon steeping into the pool with Sergei spirit, Ireena's physical form dissipated, giving way to Tatyana's spirit. Together, Sergei and Tatyana ascended into the sky, bound for the golden halls of Empyrean. Ireena's destiny had been realized, her sacrifice would see Tatyana now forever out of reach of the Devil Strahd.

Basic Information

Race: Human, Female
Ethnicity: Barovian
Other Names/Titles: Tatyana 
Home: Barovia Village (Formerly)
Status: Unknown

Dates

Born: AoR 570
Death: AoR 597
Cause of Death: Bitten by Strahd Von Zarovich
Resurrection: AoR 597