Petra Ivanovich

"''In this world, it's eat or be eaten. Who are you gonna be? The predator, or lunch?" - Petra''

Petra Ivanovich (3088 AC - 3114 AC) was the commandant of Count Vrodas's forces and a minor antagonist encountered by the Hunters during the Crown of Thorns arc.

Description
Petra was a female human with dark green hair and reddish-brown eyes with particularly pale skin, further accentuated by the bold black lipstick she wore. She wore a set of black and gold half-plate armor, though this was seemingly decorative in nature as she seemingly preferred to take on wounds during combat. In combat, she wielded a barbed lance that made grievous wounds on targets she struck, and accentuated her already lethal outfit.

As a Voidborn, she was capable of entering a rage state that channeled her abyssal blood. Her neck and parts of her face would become tinged with purple, and an area of her body would take on bestial traits. She was capable of growing a long and powerful tail, with two axelike bony "blades," upon it, which she could use as a powerful natural weapon. Her eyes would also assume a vivid purple color during this rage.

Personality
Petra was a deeply sadistic individual who relished combat above all else. Having a particular disdain for the weak, she was seemingly quite happy to execute civilians to prove a point to the Cambrian Partisans. She also seemed to be a masochist, enjoying wounds sustained in combat and diving full-on into the fray despite the threat to her life. She seemingly craved the chance to fight someone she viewed as an equal, with this being quite evident in her excitement at seeing Bromm Tryndamere's true nature as a Voidborn. Oddly enough, despite her brutal and bloodthirsty nature, she seemed to desire a fair fight in such a circumstance, deciding to give Bromm a healing potion so that he could match her in a "fair," duel. This was in despite of the fact that she could easily have won the fight and devoured Bromm to grow stronger had she not chosen to heal him.

Abilities
As a Voidborn, Petra possessed superhuman strength and durability, as well as the ability to partially shift into a monstrous form. This mutation allowed her to shift between having razor-sharp claws, powerful mandibles, or a massive axelike tail. She could also run faster, jump higher, and hit harder than nearly any other human. Her durability was in particular immense, as she could take on mortal wounds without faltering as long as she maintained her rage. This was seen quite well in her fight against the Hunters, when she was able to sustain a long battle against Bromm Tryndamere, Artoron L. Graves, and Travis Kash at once, and nearly come out victorious.

Petra, like all Voidborn, had unnatural regenerative capabilities. While it was never confirmed, as a Voidborn she likely possessed the ability to resurrect from death similar to Bromm.

Early Life
Petra grew up in the Caldaran mountains, living in hiding with the rest of the Voidborn. What her true name was is unknown. Around the age of 8 years old, she was captured along with many other young Voidborn after the Witch Slayers raided the hidden caves. She, like Bromm Tryndamere and others, was taken to Tunita following the raid. Here, unlike Bromm, she was not sold into slavery, but rather was taken to Demacian Narcan.

Life as a Test Subject
Petra was taken to Demacian Narcan's seat of power, where she was held as a prisoner for many years and trained to be a weapon of war. It was during this time that she became hardened and likely took on her sadistic and masochistic tendencies. At the age of 16, she was taken into a fighting pit and forced to fight a red-haired Voidborn, killing and devouring the other woman to survive at Demacian's orders. It was hereafter that Demacian took her under his special service and gave her the name Petra.

Life as one of Demacian's personal pets was not any better than life as a nameless test subject. Petra endured further grueling training, knowing that failure could mean being fed to Subject #3, something Demacian threatened her with often. During this time she was fed a lesser Voidborn who had displeased Demacian. Here she learned that her abyssal blood could be strengthened by devouring others of her kind, though Demacian noted the same could be done to her should she fail him. Petra become one of his strongest subjects, perhaps only second to the aforementioned Subject #3. After a long period in service to Demacian, she was given to the service of Count Emhir Vrodas as a form of connection between Demacian and the power-hungry Gallacian noble.

Commandant
As Vrodas's Commandant of Forces, Petra possessed a great deal of power and influence. Vrodas feared her more than anything else, and sought to keep her bloodlust sated by allowing her to take full control of dealing with dissidents. Petra preferred to lead from the front, though not out of any concern for her soldiers, whom she threatened constantly to keep in line. During the Cambrian Revolution, she led the way in numerous battles against the partisans, callously indulging in bloodshed.

The Crown of Thorns Arc (I)
The Hunters first met Petra during their visit to Delmeoux to deal with the alleged bandit problem. Petra was glimpsed during an altercation with an unfortunate patron in the local inn. Petra callously and easily impaled the man upon her lance, to which not a single citizen dared respond. Petra also forced the hand of Captain Sanclair in betraying the party once she learned that they knew the truth about the Order of the Thorn. The party was promptly forced to retreat from the duchy, though Petra never forgot their descriptions should she run by them again.

Second Encounter and Death
Petra was encountered again by the party following their acquisition of the Khorok Sapphire on Mount Allende. Petra was notified of the party's actions and formed a battalion to track them down. Meanwhile, the party found themselves unable to proceed south due to the Fear in the countryside. Forced to turn back and head east, the party saw her and her force chase down and execute some partisans. As the party hid, she detected the presence of Artoron and Travis, but kept her demeanor. Loudly ordering the half of her force to head to a nearby village and massacre its inhabitants, she then expressed her intent to take the rest of the force to Mount Allende. Correctly surmising the party would give chase to prevent the massacre, she turned her force around to catch them in a pincer.

However, Petra underestimated the party, and her force was decimated by Amanda Skellig and Bromm. Initially fighting from the advantage of horseback, she dismounted and shifted into her bestial form upon seeing Bromm's transformation. Thereafter she held her ground against the party, sustaining a battle with the entire group of frontliners, eventually incapacitating Travis and Artoron. Challenging Bromm to a duel and offering him a healing potion, she expressed her desire to test her abilities against him. Even more so, she expressed the maxim of "eat or be eaten," stating that whether or not she won, would of them would feast upon the other and grow stronger for it, and that was just the nature of life. The ensuing battle was fierce and fast, with each of the fighters pushed to the brink. Eventually, however, Petra faltered. Bromm managed to cripple her left arm before punching a hole in her chest and tearing out her heart, killing her instantly.

Following her death, Bromm indulged his primal hunger, devouring her and absorbing her abyssal blood. This blood not only granted him her strength, but also granted him visions of her past. Her psyche remained ingrained in Bromm's head, speaking into his mind to taunt him and encourage him in equal measure.