@Leslie Hall I'm really excited to play in this so if it's not up to par let me know how to tweak him!
Alexander Lestrange
Prince of Tricks
Character Age: 16 Character Gender: Cis-male Nationality: American, originally from Seattle, Washington. Appearance:
Personality: Alexander is the mischievous spirit. He loves pulling harmless pranks mostly making things disappear, performing jump scares, and seeming to appear out of thin air. Though he'll never get tired of the old water bucket trick. A classic.
Outside of pranking, Alexander runs rather than walks. He can't sit still for longer than five seconds without jittering. He picks up fads and tires of them quicker than most even realize they exist. He's constantly on the look out for the newest fashions and trends and trying the most outrageous foods and styles.
He wears his heart on his sleeve and tries to cheer everyone up around him. Despite his forced silence, Alexander is loud and bold.
Faction: Moon Prince
Magical Weapon: Deck of Cards. Although he loves to fidget with them, they are actually razor sharp. They always fly in a straight line when thrown and detonate on contact. They can be commanded to grow five feet tall and three feet wide, providing either cover or a platform. Both forms are perminately fixed in space until returned to the deck or broken. Replenishing the deck takes little effort but uses some magic.
Magical Powers:
-Pulling out the Rabbit: Alexander pulls an ally he can see or is linked with to him through his hat while leaving a calling card in its place. It sings happy birthday before detonating.
-Telepathy: Unable to speak, Alexander projects his voice directly into the mind of those he can see. With permission, Alexander can establish a telepathic bond temporarily with other Prince's.
-Vanishing Act: Alexander tosses up his hat with a sharp smirk and vanishes into it before appearing near someone he is telepathically linked to or somewhere he is familiar with.
-52 Card Pick Up: Alexander let's all his cards fly. They whirl rapidly, creating a ten foot sphere around a target. Accidently brushing against one causes them all to detonate simultaneously. With a little extra magic, Alexander can detonate them early if need ne.
Strengths: Alexander stays out of the immediate action and mostly observes, providing support for his allies. While streamlining communications, pinning down possible enemies, and creating new pathways, Alexander tries to pick out the best way to prank his teammates.
Weaknesses: Mobility and stress management. Alexander likes to stick to one place and assist. When he gets overwhelmed, he tends to panic and forget to maintain communications before disappearing if possible.
Biography: It was a car crash that did it. At the age of two, his mother and her boyfriend decided to take a family trip- at two in the morning after twelve shots of vodka each- and loaded her three year old son into the car before taking off at breakneck speed. Five minutes and a house later, the man died instantly, his mother lost her right arm, and seven shards of glass and metal inbedded into the child's face and neck. Although the boy lived, the multiple surgeries couldn't save his voice. Heavy scarring covered his neck but as he grew older, they faded. Afterwards, his mother struggled. Although she avoided jail and managed to keep him despite child endangerment charges, she lost her job and had to find a way to finish school. Alexander matured quickly and learned how to cook and clean at a young age. In order to keep him in a special school, pay bills, and keep her self in school, his mother worked two jobs and sometimes picked up the odd one under the table here and there.
He discovered card tricks rather in middle school. They were easy and fun and it made people pay attention to him. He mastered easy ones like the elevator card and the fold quickly and moved on to magic tricks past cards. Optical illusions and slight of hand found his attention next and he discovered the only hobby to hold his interest longer than a week. He picked up every book, read every article, and listened to every podcast on stage magic and two years later he would perform magic tricks at every school talent show or stage competition.
Just as he entered high school at age 14, his Mom graduated and landed a job as a Japanese translator in Japan, forcing them to relocate without so much of a good bye to many of his friends. He had sulked for a solid six months before finding a new arena for his shows and realizing there was an entire fashion culture he didn't know about. He perked up, forced himself to learn JSL, and decided to enjoy life. His mother suffered enough guilt as it was. He still wrote to his old friends sometime but in became less and less frequent as time moved on.
Now at age 16, he enjoys strolling through the inner city gardens, practicing magic tricks, drinking copious amounts of coffee, and being a Cosmic Prince apparently. The only downside was losing his telepathy after transforming back but that was survivable. The magic was fun, the telepathy amazing, and even hunting shadows with others was nice. What more could a boy ask for?
@Leslie Hall It could depend on how much magic is put in but the low-end being a radius of a few feet while the uttermost high-end range being a mile? A whole city block (as in roughly 500 by 500 feet) could be the average. Again, how long the 'pause' is being held for would increase the ongoing drain. A few feet for an hour might be pretty petty change in comparison to a whole mile for a minute but holding a spell for an hour is in itself quite taxing.
In my opinion the time stop spell seems a little off.
> Everything is frozen, so nobody could actually move.
> Tim has to manually keep the spell going if he wants it to continue. (In addition he's the only person who can move, because everybody is effected besides him. That includes teammates. Well it should...)
> Can only really hold it for a few seconds (at risk of serious magic drain)
The magic skill seems a little flawed? Or maybe I don't really get it.
Edit: You'd probably benefit giving your character a different skill that's not so flawed @ModeGone
@ModeGone I do see @Pudding's point, but I'd like to hear your response to the skill seeming counter intuitive or flawed before I make any judgement. Just to clarify, I don't see anything wrong with a contained time freeze spell; provided it's roleplayed fairly. Perhaps the field has to expand out from Tim or there's a relatively obvious sign that the spell is coming? Just something to give a window for other characters to have the option to react to the spell.
@Baklava Time to get started on my Bard character then.
@Pudding@Leslie Hall I'm just going to ditch the time power if that's alright. I've been spending the last three hours or more rewriting and figuring out the costs and limitations and I give up. While thematic in the whole "time and space" concept and having the limitations be within a few seconds to a few minutes due to how fast combat can be and how much wide of an area the magic has an effect on... I'm banging my head against a wall for an ability that feels too much like I'm trying to imp Homura while keeping the spell from being overpowered with how long it can last.
The spell was expanding from where Tim had been at the point of casting. If he leaves the bubble before the time's up, it pops taking with it all the magic put into its creation. It effectively would immobilize everything within the bubble but not prevent, say, attacks from entering it. However any outside force would just freeze at the edge before resuming its projected path and speed.
The way I saw it playing out was a silver-white pattern emitting motes of rainbow light spreading itself out during casting on the floor from his feet or (if Tim was airborne) out from his navel in the air. While it takes a brief amount of time to 'load' (though this takes a bit longer the further out it has to spread), it is enough for a being to realize an AoE or something was about to take place and either target Tim or try to get out of range.
@Leslie Hall Tragic backstory AND bootleg Reaper powers??? Jokes aside, here's my application.
Character Name: Mitsuru Sazanami Title: Prince of Smoke Character Age: 16 Character Gender: Non-binary (They/them pronouns) Nationality: Japanese Appearance: Androgynous. Slim, frail frame. Vacant-looking eyes. 175cm and 60kg. Noticeably pale. When transformed, their hair turns into a glowing yellow, Super Saiyan style. Their cloak is constantly billowing behind them like smoke, whether their ability is activated or not.
Personality: Mitsuru expertly wears the façade of a well-adjusted teenager. They’re polite, confident, knows when to crack a joke, is a consistently excellent student, and is pretty good-looking to top it all off. Teachers see their elegance and attitude as befitting of a future Student Council President, while adoring fangirls (and fanboys) see them as “princely”. Mitsuru commands attention and respect with ease, making them seem like an excellent leader-type person. Mitsuru is pretty good at socialising and making light conversation. Being a straight A student, their hardworking nature and natural intelligence is something to brag about. But they’ve never really been the type to show off. They do however, have occasional ditzy moments, such as ineptitude in sport and general clumsiness. Most people dismiss them as endearing traits. Very few people know that these moments are due to their illness. In reality, Mitsuru is quite cynical and irritable, the latter due to their illness’ symptoms. However it would be a stretch to call them pessimist. Because of the mindset they were forced to grow up with and the recent magical developments in their life, Mitsuru is unsure of how to go on from this point in time. They have latched themselves to the ideal of a ‘hero’, choosing to portray themselves as a noble warrior of justice during their Cosmic Prince duties. Although they approach their new role with enthusiasm and gratitude, their preoccupation with what they should be doing, rather than what they want to, is quite rigid. A side effect of this trait is that they treat the Sun Princes with disdain and view them as selfish scum, mostly because they are unable to comprehend the nonchalance and freedom that the Sun Princes possess. More worryingly, this attitude has instilled in Mitsuru a martyrdom complex. Mitsuru is not afraid of death but they can’t exactly be deemed suicidal either. They know to exercise restraint when throwing themself into the thick of battle but if the odds are too low and the stakes are too high, Mitsuru will gladly give their life. This would be an incredibly virtuous trait if it were done with an actual purpose. Mitsuru lived for four years with the knowledge that they would die before they reached the age of twenty. Now with magic erasing most symptoms of their illness, they have yet to adapt from their previous mindset and acceptance of fate. This martyrdom is possibly an unconscious manifestation of this, a way to return things to the way they were before.
Faction: Moon Prince Magical Weapon: A curved double bladed staff. Mitsuru’s staff is a formidable close-ranged weapon that possesses an impressive amount of attack power. A common attack used with this weapon is to rush a horde of enemies and essentially clothesline them while racing past. The staff can also turn into a bow at times, shooting magical energy projectiles. However, Mitsuru rarely ever uses this function and is nowhere as skilled with it as they are with its staff form.
Magical Abilities:
Shadow Stalk – Mitsuru can turn any part of their body to a dark cloud of smoke. In smoke form, Mitsuru’s mobility and speed is greatly increased. They can scale buildings and pass through small gaps. Inanimate objects can pass through the cloud without injuring Mitsuru. However, they are unable to attack in this form. There are a few weaknesses to this ability. Mitsuru is extremely vulnerable to electricity. They are unable to pass through electrical panels, telephone wires, and plugged in appliances because of this. Mitsuru's smoke form can also be harmed by magical projectiles. If the smoke form sustains damage, they forcibly revert back to human form. It is possible for an exceptionally strong gust of wind to blow Mitsuru off course in this form. It is unknown what would happen if Mitsuru reverted back into human form while their smoke form is separated, e.g. trapped in separate jars. Teleport – In their smoke form, Mitsuru can teleport to any spot in their line of sight within a range of 35 metres. However, this ability is extremely taxing, so Mitsuru can only use this around two times per night for now.
Strengths: Speed/mobility, offense, tactics, keeping cool under pressure. Weaknesses: Lacking in defence (sturdiness), weak in beliefs (susceptible to being swayed or corrupted), fatalistic, vulnerable to electricity in smoke form.
Biography: Mitsuru was born and raised in Tanzaku City, the second child to a middle-to-upper class family. They were an obedient child, hardworking and smart. Their family was kind, financially stable, well liked within the community. Mitsuru’s sister, Honoka, played with them often and was as talented as Mitsuru was predicted to be. At the age of 12 they were diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease, or ALS. The doctors told the Sazanami family that Mitsuru would be lucky if they lived to age 20. Bucketloads of medicine were consumed to offset the symptoms but as time went on, Mitsuru’s condition only got irreparably worse. They would wake up every morning in a great deal of pain. They had to enter a restricted diet. Physical activity became almost impossible unless they had the whole day to prepare for it, and even then they were in pain. Worst of all were the mood swings, the sudden lapses between laughter and crying, the sheer inability of it all. Mitsuru’s body was a torturous prison. Despite it all, Mitsuru wasn’t a complainer. They contained all their sadness, all their frustration and hatred within themselves. They never let their family see the devastating emotional effects it had on their youngest child. Mitsuru begged their parents to keep it a secret within their family and to let them attend school like any normal kid. They wouldn’t have been able to bear the piteous looks from their peers. The ones they received from their family were hurtful enough. All this would seem to be an attitude that was far too relaxed, coming from a not-even teenager faced with their mortality. And it really was. Mitsuru had always been a reasonable, well-behaved kid. So with an uncanny amount of calm, they had accepted it on the drive back from the doctor’s office that day. They were going to die. No amount of tears or anger was going to change it. Although there was a sea of rage under that unnerving façade of acceptance, Mitsuru never let show how distraught they were. They continued living in greyscale, depression. They learned to live with it. They were fine. Then they received their powers. All at once, the physical symptoms of their ALS disappeared. For the most part, the mental symptoms did too, though it is uncertain if they have left completely. Mitsuru tentatively started living normally again, unsure of what to do now that their fate had been erased. For now, they would fulfil their duty as a Cosmic Prince.
So I was pretty sick today. I did my best to get this finished but I failed. I was gonna try and finish it before bed but I just took my nightly dose of medicine and now I'm starting to see through time. Don't worry though, because I filled out most of my template with placeholder information!
Anyway, time to sleep.
✿ Prince of Roses | Sun Prince ✿
✿ Character Theme | Spirit of Fire✿ "This isn't some game to me. I'm not going to watch another person get hurt."
Kim is somewhat of a celebrity at Yagami High, partly due to the interesting way his magic influences others even when not transformed, but also due to his conventionally attractive appearance. Kim is slightly taller than average and possesses a lean build that is suggestive of someone who partakes in regular physical activity. He has a light complexion with sharp, angular features that give his face an appealing maturity. His eyes are a light brown and he sports short, spiky red hair that is very clearly styled to look as though he doesn't spend an hour every morning on it. When not in his school attire, Kim is usually seen wearing very casual clothing; usually a simple t-shirt and jeans. He wears his uniform very sloppily, leaving the shirt tucked out and the first two top buttons undone with his tie loosely hanging down to his waist.
Cosmic Prince Appearance
When transformed, the most noticeable difference in Kim's physical appearance is his fringe changing color from red to blonde. He also seems to gain the heavenly scent of roses. His outfit transforms into a very regal white Captain's uniform with matching pants, red innards and gold trimmings. A large star brooch is placed on the left side of his chest. To accompany this he also wears white gloves and red knee high boots.
"I just want to see him one more time. I want to apologise for not being strong enough."
Faction
Sun Prince
Likes
Boxing, Drama, Bad Horror Movies, Comic Books
Dislikes
Maths, Romance Movies (or 'chick flicks' as he calls them), School, Sitting still
Personality
Kim is a very energetic and playful young man. Easy to befriend and approachable with a kind smile, Kim is quite a popular person among the student body. Yet despite this, the young man has a very strange and alienating habit of pushing away almost everybody. He is not a fan of making connections, much preferring to keep everyone at an arms length. There is a very sad person hiding inside this young man; one who would much prefer to not be apart of the world anymore.
Kim can often be found disassociating in class or out during the break when he thinks no one is looking. He usually chalks these incidents up to him just being a space case and laughs it off. Despite his cheery disposition, Kim is actually quite shy and dislikes talking about his feelings. He thinks that they're a burden to other people, preferring to shoulder everything on his own.
While Kim used to be what many would consider to be your typical Sun Prince; arrogant, reckless and bloodthirsty, his attitude in battle has changed drastically. Kim puts more effort into protecting his fellow Princes from danger, which usually causes them to think he doesn't trust them to be able to fight for themselves. Kim cherishes the bonds he has with the other Princes, considering their safety to be much more important than the fight against Shadows. He likes to take a lot of solo missions, thinking that excluding the others will lesson the risk of them getting hurt.
Kim's heart is filled with pain over the one person he failed to protect. He constantly blames himself for that and has a very unhealthy habit of trying to shoulder everyone's burdens.
Blooming Rose is the Prince of Roses' sacred weapon. The longsword is incredibly light to wield and is very durable, though not indestructible. Kim is able to summon multiple swords at once and manipulate them telepathically; though the more swords he controls the less focus he has on the individual blades.
Magical Abilities
Red Pheromone | Kim has a heightened perception of Shadows and is able to detect them where another Prince may not be able to. Inversely, this causes Shadows to be drawn to him much more so than other Princes. Additionally, Kim's magic effects the way humans perceive him even when not transformed. He releases a very subtle magical pheromone naturally, which very subtly attracts others to him. Princes and Witches are immune to this effect.
The Royal Garden | Kim has the ability to create and manipulate Magical Roses. He is able to summon various parts of a rose for different effects. He can summon hundreds of razor sharp petals that he is able swarm opponents with, thorny vines to be used as a method of transportation or ensnaring enemies, or even throw out Magical Rosebuds that release a heavenly scent when bloomed that can temporarily numb shadows.
Scarlet Kiss | Can only be used on Shadows. Kim blows a kiss at his target, sending a wave of magical petals flying at them. If it connects, Kim is able to bring the afflicted Shadow to his side temporarily. Drains magic the longer the control is established, with a larger drain based on how strong the Shadow is. Currently Scarlet Kiss is only capable of briefly stunning Familiars and has no effect on Witches. When the effect ends, the petals surrounding the target explode violently.
Rule of Rose | The signature move of the Rose Prince. Currently Kim is unable to use it. It's exact effects are unknown, but it is told in old legends of the previous Princes of Rose that the Rule of Rose allowed them to completely bypass and control the magic of a Witch temporarily. This allowed them to render a single spell completely useless, though at a large cost. Almost entirely draining them of Magic, a Prince's Life Force, the Princes who used the Rule of Rose would often fall into a deep sleep for an indeterminable amount of time. Some of them never woke up.
Strengths
Kim is a melee oriented fighter that is more suited to holding the front line against multiple shadows. His attacks are predominantly area of effect based with an emphasis on control. He possesses quite a lot of stamina and endurance, even beyond that of a regular Prince to help keep him in the front lines longer. Paired with a more supportive ally, Kim is able to excel in battle.
Weaknesses
Kim suffers in direct duels, his skill set being much more oriented for mowing down waves of Shadows effortlessly. In a fight against a coordinated opponent, he might struggle to keep up as he is not the most agile Prince. While he is quite good at enduring, he lacks the power to finish off tougher opponents; relying on his back line to deal the killing blow while he keeps them distracted.
"I'm so lucky to have someone like you by my side, Naoto."
Country of Origin
Vietnam
Family
Trung Lien, Father (Divorced) 46 Mai Lien, Mother, 43 Jack McKnight, Step-Father, 49 Drew McKnight, Step-Brother, 16
Languages Spoken
Japanese and English. Understands some Vietnamese, but can't speak it.
Biography
Kim was born in Vietnam with his father and mother, but his parents quickly realised after having him that their marriage was not going to work out. They divorced, and Kim went with his mother back to her home country Japan. He he would grow up in Tanzaku City as an only child with occasional visits from his dad. Eventually these visits grew scarce, and it became clear to Kim's mother that even though he was quite young he was still suffering from the divorce. Kim was not interested in socialising in pre-school, which was definitely a concern for his teachers. While he excelled at any physical activity, he just seemed disinterested with everything else. He wasn't as playful with his mother anymore at home, preferring to be alone.
Things would eventually get better when Kim's mother married into a foreign man who was visiting Japan on business. Mai had fallen in love with a man named Jack McKnight, welcoming him and his young son Drew into her family. Now with a little brother yapping at his heels wherever he went, Kim had no choice but to learn to be social. He grew up with Drew, doing everything you'd expect young brothers to do together. When they were about ten, Kim's Step-Father began to teach Kim and Drew boxing. Jack used to work as an amateur boxer back in his home country of Australia and thought the exercise would be a good outlet for Kim and Drew as well as a fun form of exercise. Kim took to the sport quite well and would even go on to join his High School team later.
In his first year of High School, Kim was approached by older kids who told him that he was a Cosmic Prince. Excited and confused by the news, Kim's doubts were quickly washed away the first time he transformed into the Prince of Roses. With all new powers, Kim eagerly joined the hunt. There he would grow extremely close to a boy named Naoto Nanase, the Prince of Winter. The two spent every moment at school together, and then would fight shadows afterwards side by side. They became infamous as a strong duo, which would eventually go to their heads.
Two years later, the boys continued to grow in strength and ability. Naoto's ego as a Sun Prince inflated to new levels, which eventually lead to him accepting a dare from a Moon Prince when he and Kim were trying to stir them up one night. The Dare was for Naoto and Kim to go and fight the Witch Beatrice. If the two of them could beat Beatrice, then that would prove to the Moon Princes that the Sun Princes were more powerful. Without a care in the world, the two boys accepted the challenge and faced Beatrice alone. They failed.
Kim had never faced a Witch before, but he suspected that Beatrice was on a completely different level to other Witches. He had never felt such a malicious presence in his life. It shook him to the core and turned his blood to ice. Her demonic stare was enough to paralyse the young boy in fear. Taking advantage of his fear, Beatrice lunged forward to deliver the final blow to Kim. He had closed his eyes and braced for the impact, but felt nothing. When he opened his eyes, he saw Naoto in front of him. He wasn't moving. After a few moments, Naoto's transformation disappeared and his body fell limp in front of Kim.
Distraught and terrified by the death of his closest friend, Kim collapsed to the floor in tears as Beatrice readied another strike. Yet before she could eliminate Kim as well, the Moon Princes showed up to the scene. Horrified at what they saw and feeling guilty for being inadvertently responsible, they came to Kim's aid and fought against Beatrice. Despite their best efforts, they were unable to slay her. Beatrice was definitely an experienced Witch; one who had been allowed to grow in power for years. They were able to scare her off enough so that they could remove Kim from the scene.
After Naoto's death, or 'kidnapping' as the news called it since the Prince's made sure to remove all trace of the body to avoid raising suspicion in the city, Kim had changed. He had seemingly reverted back to the way he was as a child; cold, distant and unwilling to socialise. He stopped showing up to boxing club, instead preferring to spend his time watching the Drama club that Naoto was once a part of. Kim continues to fulfill his duty as a Prince, though he is much more serious about it now. He tends to be very overprotective of the other Princes and has started to question the amount of enthusiasm the Sun Princes take in the hunt. The fact that they don't seem to recognise the risk feels like an insult to Naoto's memory to him.
Character Name: Ivan Dorovich Title: Prince of the Sun Character Age: 15 Character Gender: Male Nationality: Russian Appearance (and theme): When not transformed, he dresses in an average suit with a hat and his hair is shorter.
Personality: Ivan wants nothing more than glory. He packs his actions with flair and flamboyance, aiming to outshine even the sun. Anyone who has met him would summarize him with the word "showy". However, Ivan doesn't want this glory for himself - instead, he attributes all his glory to his homeland, the great Mother Russia.
Faction: Sun Prince Magical Weapon: Ivan wields a brilliant bow that shoots arrows made of magical light. This light bursts upon impact, resulting in a firework-style effect and fire- or light-based magic damage in addition to the explosive physical blast.
Magical Abilities: Light Trickery: Ivan can manipulate light to produce illusions, illuminate dark areas, or even remove light from an area. The effect is reduced the further out of sight the target is, similar to the way light can shine around corners at a reduced vibrance.
Noble Steed: Ivan's trusty dog Makar transforms with him, becoming a mammoth covered in glorious golden armor. Makar is capable of providing Ivan with a mighty solar lance should the situation necessitate it; otherwise, he attacks with his golden tusks.
Solar Beam: Ivan's signature Magical Boy finisher attack. Ivan uses magical light to create multiple foci (AKA lenses) that magnify natural light into a single deadly beam. This laser cannot be formed on naturally cloudy days, though magical clouds and darkness have no effect.
Strengths: Ivan is best when fighting at range, on Makar's back or not. He is also incredibly nimble, even for a Prince - after all, it was his agility that earned his status as a Prince. Weaknesses: Ivan's power significantly falls when forced into a close-range battle, or when an ally is too close to the target to avoid friendly fire. Despite having training in the use of Makar's solar lance, Ivan remains fairly unskilled with it in combat. Ivan also falls behind the other princes in brute strength.
Biography: Thousands of years ago, the Cosmic Princes were founded. Using both his power and his personal charisma, The Prince of the Sun worked to found Russia. By way of actions probably too graphic to describe on this public forum, The Prince of the Sun ended up being a part of the family tree of all true Russians. Thus, all Russians became candidates for inheriting The Prince of the Sun's powers.
The Prince of the Sun, not wanting to cause strife within his people, laid out plans for a tournament to determine prospective successors. Participants would be tested in many areas deemed important to The Prince of the Sun's fighting style to make sure that the most capable would be chosen. The top contestants would then be brought before Makar, The Prince of the Sun's dog, who would make the final decision as to who would inherit the powers of The Prince of the Sun.
So it was for thousands of years that The Prince of the Sun was selected in secret by the Russian people. In the present day, school P.E. incorporates training for the tournament into the basic curriculum, regardless of whether the position is open. The government keeps the real meaning behind the tournament under wraps, but it has become so ingrained into culture that none think to question it. You wouldn't question drying your hands after washing them, after all.
Ivan enters the story in the present day, two years after the demise of the previous Prince of the Sun. Ivan used his outstanding agility to perform well in all the tournament events, landing him among the top contestants and earning him a meeting with Makar. Ivan was chosen, and he accepted the powers after swearing to glorify Russia in all his acts as Prince of the Sun.
Presently, Ivan is in Japan investigating reports of Chaos Witch activity that had begun affecting the eastern cities of Russia.