Sturmhond refuses to listen to Alina's entreaty to help her against the Darkling but opposes the Darkling's mistreatment of Alina. The Darkling has, at this point, captured Alina and her partner Mal, and they are held prisoner aboard Sturmhond's ship, the Volkvolny. He and his crew have been hired by the Darkling to transport him and a group of his Grisha through the icy seas in their hunt for a supposedly mythical dragon, Rusalye, which the Darkling believes to be real. Nikolai is first introduced as an infamous privateer known as Sturmhond, a young captain commanding his own personal fleet of ships which he uses to aid the war effort of his native Ravka. However, leading this life had meant that he was at sea when the Darkling made his attempt on the throne, and now his father, King Alexander III's health was failing. He found that as Sturmhond, he was able to amass resources and mount offenses that were not possible for the Ravkan navy and that he had done more to support Ravka's war effort as a privateer than he ever had as a soldier or a prince. He, therefore, concealed his real identity from all but his most trusted crew members – Tolya, Tamar Kir-Bataar, Privyet, and a few of the Etherealki, presumably the ones who were on the Hummingbird. Nikolai took on the name Sturmhond (which was given to him by feeding a captain's fingers to his dog) because he quickly realized that on the sea, a prince would be more valuable as a hostage than a captain. Although Nikolai had been away from court for almost seven years, he couldn't take the risk that the Darkling or one of his Grisha might recognize him, and so he had Tolya Yul-Bataar, a member of his ship, tailor his face. This led him to begin his life as Sturmhond, the privateer. When his service ended, he left Ravka in order to apprentice with a shipwright, a civil engineer, and a gunsmith, excelling in all professions. Before the end of his service, Nikolai earned his final rank of Major. That is where he spoke to Isaak Andreyev and advised him to make use of his talent for languages. After the Battle of Halmhend, he visited an infirmary to talk to the wounded. During this campaign, Nikolai learned about the Spinning Wheel. Nikolai was beside him on the battlefield where he died. During the Halmhend campaign, Dominik was shot. They ended up in the 22nd Regiment, where Nikolai took his first bullet. Nikolai worked hard to provide for Dominik and his family by using his privileges as prince.Īt sixteen, Nikolai and Dominik enlisted in the First Army together as infantry. Dominik was barred from the palace and lost his stipend from the palace. At the age of fifteen, Nikolai was caught by Vasily coming back from the countryside. Nikolai also learned the realities of Dominik's position as a commoner with a special position at the Grand Palace. At the age of twelve, Nikolai began sneaking out to the countryside where he helped out on Dominik's family farm. From then on, he was well behaved.ĭominik and Nikolai's friendship grew as they studied together into adolescence. The next day, Nikolai apologized to Dominik and pledged to do better. Mitkin explained that this punishment method would continue every time Nikolai misbehaved. When Mitkin lifted his hat to find the mouse beneath it, he lashed Dominik's forearms and hands ten times. In the first class with Dominik, Nikolai placed a mouse under Mitkin's hat to scare him.

Because Nikolai could not be punished directly, Dominik was brought to the class to use as a punishment device.

However, Vasily paid little attention to his younger brother, so Nikolai continued to misbehave.Īt age nine, Nikolai was pranking Tutor Mitkin regularly. Nikolai favored Vasily's attention the most and tried to emulate his brother in everyway to garner a smile or praise.

Nannies, tutors, servants, and even his mother tried to get him to keep still but none of their methods worked. He was surrounded by an army of nannies and was a constant troublemaker. Nikolai grew up at court and craved attention.

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