Hey everyone, it’s Tim with you!

For today’s post, I’m pulling back the curtain on one of my favorite characters in the Legend of Nero SAGA: Natasha. She’s mysterious, powerful, and driven by secrets that could shake the entire world of Nero. I’ll share how her troubled past shapes her path, her connection to the undead, and introduce the mysterious NecroRunes—objects of immense power that might just change everything. Let’s dive in.

This is post number three, and today, we’re diving into one of my absolute favorite topics: our primary antagonist in Legend of Nero—Natasha.

Natasha is such a fascinating, complex character. She has a brother named Tristam, and the two of them grew up together. But something happened in their late teenage years—a complication that changed everything.

Siblings with an ill-fated past

In Blood & Oaths, the first book in the Legend of Nero SAGA, we start getting glimpses into Natasha’s past. She’s haunted by vivid nightmares, waking up terrified, with the same image burned into her mind: her brother, Tristam, standing over her, plunging a sword straight into her heart.

It’s this fear that drives Natasha. She convinces herself she has to become more powerful—that maybe these dreams are omens, glimpses of the future. She questions everything: Has her brother betrayed her? Is there some hidden threat coming for her?

So she throws herself into gaining power. She studies at the Mages Guild and starts delving deeper into the dark arts—what we call the Black Arts in Nero—which ultimately leads her into necromancy.

We don’t know all her reasons yet for pursuing necromancy, but we start to pick up clues that it somehow ties back to Tristam.

Her lust for power.

As she trains, Natasha becomes an incredibly skilled necromancer—capable of raising the dead. But her experiments don’t always go as planned. She’s had countless failed attempts, and she refers to these reanimated beings simply as “experiments.”

What’s interesting is that all of these undead creations remain connected to her, either mentally or through some mysterious, unseen link. Whether they escape, wander off, or she sends them away—she still knows exactly where they are.

When we first meet Natasha in Blood & Oaths, she’s already powerful, and we’re thrown right into a pivotal battle between her and Adrianna. The whole first book actually unfolds in a sort of flashback, showing how things reached that boiling point.

Natasha’s harem.

Now, I hate to use the term “zombie” because it doesn’t fully capture what Sarah is. She’s undead, yes, but she’s still self-aware, still conscious of her actions. Yet she remains utterly dependent on Natasha for her existence and power.

Sarah serves as Natasha’s right hand. She’s beautiful, formidable, and wholly devoted to Natasha, who brought her back from death. Natasha and Sarah share an intense bond that’s both powerful and unsettling.
But Natasha doesn’t stop there.

She surrounds herself with an entire harem—hundreds of cloaked figures who serve her in various ways. Many of them are undead like Sarah. They’re mages, warriors, extensions of Natasha herself, reflections of her darkness and power. And eventually, Adrianna and her allies will have to battle through this formidable army.

Natasha’s first day in Village Ashe

Natasha is a master of appearances. She’s deeply cynical, sarcastic, and often lost in her own mind, talking to herself and shutting out the world around her. Physically, she’s part skeletal—particularly around her feet. She doesn’t walk like other people; instead, she hovers a few inches above the ground, as if the earth itself rises up to meet her. It’s a striking image and makes for quite an entrance.

Later in the story, we see Natasha arrive at the Village of Ashe—a bustling port town and mercantile hub in Nero. When she first appears, she’s cloaked and floating above the ground, looking eerie and ghost-like. The villagers are terrified.
But then Natasha becomes aware of their stares and murmurs. She lowers herself to the ground, and as her feet touch the dirt, flesh grows back over her skeletal limbs. She pulls back her hood to reveal a youthful, stunning face, framed by silky, velvety hair streaked in purple and black. The townspeople are left speechless, wondering if they really saw what they just saw.

It’s also during this scene that we meet Sarah for the first time.

Natasha’s ability to manipulate her appearance speaks volumes about her character. She spends so much time trapped in her own head, but when she chooses to be aware of the world around her, she can project exactly what she wants people to see.

I absolutely love writing Natasha. She’s one of my favorite characters. She’s the kind of antagonist who makes every scene more intense and layered. She fits the story so perfectly, and there’s still so much more to uncover about her.

Introducing the NecroRunes

One of the biggest pieces of Natasha’s story is her connection to something called the NecroRunes.

NecroRunes are mythical stones scattered across Nero’s world. There are only six in existence, each shrouded in legend. Some people swear they’ve seen them or encountered the powerful beings tied to them, while others dismiss them as pure myth.

But Natasha believes.

She’s convinced she’s found one. And since she’s already obsessed with gaining power, the NecroRunes become her ultimate goal. The first time she touches one, she feels a rush of incredible power—and she’s hooked. She wants more.

Of course, like any deal with the devil, NecroRunes come with a price. They carry side effects, consequences, and hidden dangers. And Natasha isn’t the only one who’s crossed paths with them. In future volumes, we’ll meet other characters who’ve tangled with these stones and paid the price.

There’s a lot more to Natasha’s motivations, and we’ll definitely dive deeper into her story in another post.

For now, that’s all from me. Thanks for hanging out, and I’ll see you next time.

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