Anastasia is the vampiric human granddaughter of Lavidia and Caldaur in KQ2 (AGDI)).
Background[]
Her parents were killed by Llowh'wof's brotherhood of wolves when she was a baby, and she lived with her grandmother. Her grandmother gave her the nickname Possom.
For the next couple of decades she and her grandmother lived under the nose of the Brotherhood of the Pack.
Graham encountered her, after she lost a basket of flowers somewhere in the forest, that she would like to return to her grandmother Lavidia.
She and her Grandmother were later brought to Castle Kolyma to live with her grandfather Caldaur. He gave them the gift of eternal life after death, transforming them into vampires, their physical bodies changed.
As a new vampire, she was trying to read the book "Little Red Riding Hood" wondering what it was about, and King Graham knew the story. This was to further separate her from the character of Red Riding Hood.
When Anastasia asked what it was that Graham sought, he explained his unsuccessful attempts to locate the tiara. She handed him Sleepy Hollow to Graham which she believed could point the way.
Personality and traits[]
Despite being an adult for some time, she has a very child-like/simple-minded personality, stunted physical growth (possibly dwarfism), and seemingly limited intelligence. She is not able to read. As Possum she has the appearance of a young child in a red riding hood (despite being late teens/early twenties).
When her grandmother Lavidia returned to Count Caldaur, and being transformed into a vampire, she matured into appearance of a beautiful young woman wearing a red satin dress. Upon becoming a vampire her body changes to an appearance that better fits her age (in an extreme ideal of beauty, more beautiful than the average human). However her mind and personality still remains child-like and simple.
Names and titles[]
- Anastasia
- Possum
Behind the scenes[]
This character was inspired by the character of Red Riding Hood in KQ2, though certain details surrounding her were modified and expanded. However she is never directly called that during the remake but instead goes by her nickname/alias, and becomes Anastasia later on.
Possum's name is a reference to a children's book called "Possum Magic." In the story: “Grandma Poss uses her best bush magic to make Hush invisible. But when Hush longs to be able to see herself again, the two possums must make their way across Australia to find the magic food that will make Hush visible once more.”
Thematically this suggests Grandam considered this book a favorite story and took inspiration from it in order to hide the granddaughter. It would imply that Anastasia had a glamour put over her to make her appearance remain young as time passed. To hide her under the nose of the Church of the Faith. When she was turned into a vampire/drank blood it broke the spell. None of this is mentioned or confirmed in the game however (and can only be considered speculation), leaving her change unexplained and confusing.
Anastasia was the name of the lost princess of Russia, the youngest daughter of Czar Nicholas II. When her family was killed during the uprising, it was believed that she may have been one of the only survivors. Many people claimed to be, but none of them were ever confirmed.
When all the specific references made in the game are added up Anastasia between 18-28 (though she doesn't look much older than 12). The fact that Caldaur stopped ruling some 40-50 years before the story in 1646, and Anastasia was born in 1668 shortly before her parents death that year, would place KQ2 somewhere between 1686 and 1696. This would make Anastasia 18 on the low end to 28 on the high end. Llowh'wof's letter would correspond to a longer date, as the letter discussing their infiltration of the swamp was written over twenty years before the story.
Upon becoming a vampire, she grows into her age.