Joël of the FoS wrote: ↑Tue Aug 16, 2022 12:48 pm
OK so both come from Leo's Dilisnya lineage, but that was may be 10-12 generations ago!
No actually only Camille and Ivana come from Leo's lineage.
From Realm of Terror (Black Box) p.94
"
Boris Dilisnya, Ivan's father grew up in Barovia. He married Stefania Septow and they had a daughter, Kristina. In 684 a distant cousin, Camille Dilisnya became the lord of Borca, and Ivan's family moved to that nearby domain. Camille considered them to be "the wrong side of the family tree"* - the side that should be pruned. They won no favors from her. Five years later, under a dark moon, Stefania bore a second child- a boy, Ivan, who was destined to become lord of Dorvinia. On the same day, Camille Dilisnya gave birth to a girl, whom she named Ivana. The names were coincidental, but the two children were like evil twins, Ivana eventually became lord of Borca."
*Probably Camille believed that Leo's lineage, one created by deceit was better suited for the Dilisnya name.
Leo Dilisnya was supposedly killed in 398 BC and his next direct descendant is shown to be Camille's father Lev Dilisnya born in 620 BC. In this span of more than two centuries other people of Dilisnya bloodline could have been born through illicit affairs, as it seems to be the "tradition" of this lineage. But the Dilisnya official lineage from this side of the family tree, the one with lawful claim to the Dilisnya property is only Camille's.
Well in the end she pruned Leo's side of the family tree during her late husbands Oleh Fortich's funeral in 698 BC with only her offspring and the descendants of Lev Dilisnya and Niki Romanoff's illicit affair continuing Leo Dilisnya's lineage. This side of the family are now called the Boritsi's, the only lawful heirs of Leo Dilisnya's property.
Gazetteer IV p. 19
"
The plans were scrapped following the attack and two years later Ivan and Ivana eagerly signed the Treaty of Four Towers. As a note, only in Borca did I learn that the symbolic “Four Towers” refer to the ruling families who signed the pact — Guignol, Weathermay, Renier and Dilisnya — not the five countries they represented*." *(Dementlieu, Mordent, Richemulot, Dorvinia, Borca)
Ivana considers herself to be a Dilisnya even if she has adopted her father's name.
Gazetteer IV p. 150 & 154
"
I can find no record that Lord Ivan and Lady Ivana ever visited each other, but they remained on good terms and their lands were closely allied. When the Great Upheaval struck in 740 BC, the cousins reputedly fled to each other’s arms in terror. When the tremors ended, the cousins decided to merge their realms peacefully under the Borcan banner. Weeks of intense bargaining followed, in which Ivan and Ivana — frequently overruling their advisors — traded deeds and indentures until they reached a new, integrated balance of power."
"
Terrified by the tremors, Ivan sought out his cousin Ivana Boritsi for comfort. The two were in close proximity when the Grand Conjunction ended, and their domains merged, with Borca subsuming Dorvinia. Ivan now shares lordship with Ivana, and the awkwardness of this situation has driven the cousins to mutual hatred."
"
As children, Ivana counted Ivan as a dear friend, but this sentiment now came to an end. The impish child Ivana once knew has been replaced by a bitter old man who craves her eternal youth — a gift not in her power to give."
I have a theory that as Ivan was "in love" with his sister Kristina, maybe he had the same feelings for Ivana since they were kids. When he grew up and became lord of Dorvinia, he didn't meet her until the Grand Conjunction, they only corresponded through mail. When the Grand Conjunction occurred he sought her out because he was attracted to her (for comfort) and was amazed to see the same young woman he was attracted to when he was younger (and still craved her youth, also in a sexual way). Well although Ivana rejected his advances, which is more possible as Ivana has a fixation with beautiful (on the outside) people she tried to give him the secret of youth, the
vital venom formula, but since Ivan is immune to poison he was unaffected by the effects of the elixir/poison and became even more bitter as he thought that Ivana was keeping the secret from him. There is a chance they had bad sex during the Grand Conjunction (as the cousins reputedly fled to each other’s arms) but I doubt it.
The thing is that Ivan is probably the only person Ivana could have a sexual relationship with, since he is immune to her poisonous touch but because of Ivan's old age and temperament (as well as his attachment issues e.g. clinginess, jealousy etc.) she finds him unattractive, even repulsive. At the same time Ivan feels scorned and ridiculed so there are more reasons for them to despise each other than just Ivan's fixation with the secret of youth.