Rasputin – Grigori Rasputin
https://wiki.wizard101central.com/wiki/NPC:Rasputin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grigori_Rasputin
Rasputin, also known as The Rat, is chief advisor to Empress Antuskette. He seeks to restore chaos in the Spiral by using the crystals in the Frigid Maw. In his Rat form he is the final Boss of Polaris. He is also the firstborn Child of Grandfather Spider.
“Oh, what a pleasant surprise! You decided to attend the ceremony after all. The final moments of this twisted experiment called the Spiral. For centuries, we lay in the darkness and torment, but we dreamed of this day, when shadows would rise and pure Chaos would be properly restored. Now that we’ve reached this fateful moment, I can finally shed this silly skin…” – Rasputin
“Behold my true form, you insignificant mortal. It is much more comfortable… and immensely more powerful. Come on and challenge me. I welcome the amusement. With my Titan, I will destroy you and your world at the same time.” – The Rat
Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin (Russian: Григорий Ефимович Распутин; January 21, [O.S. 9 January, on the Julian Calendar] 1869 – December 30, [O.S. 17 December] 1916) was a Russian mystic and holy man. He is best-known for having befriended the imperial family of Nicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia, through whom he gained considerable influence in the final years of the Russian Empire.
Rasputin was born to a family of peasants in the Siberian village of Pokrovskoye, located within Tyumensky Uyezd in Tobolsk Governorate (present-day Yarkovsky District in Tyumen Oblast). He had a religious conversion experience after embarking on a pilgrimage to a monastery in 1897 and has been described as a monk or as a strannik (wanderer or pilgrim), though he held no official position in the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1903 or in the winter of 1904–1905, he traveled to Saint Petersburg and captivated a number of religious and social leaders, eventually becoming a prominent figure in Russian society. In November 1905, Rasputin met Nicholas II and his empress consort, Alexandra Feodorovna.
In late 1906, Rasputin began acting as a faith healer for Nicholas’ and Alexandra’s only son, Alexei Nikolaevich, who suffered from hemophilia. He was a divisive figure at court, seen by some Russians as a mystic, visionary and prophet, and by others as a religious charlatan. The extent of Rasputin’s power reached an all-time high in 1915, when Nicholas left Saint Petersburg to oversee the Imperial Russian Army as it was engaged in the First World War. In his absence, Rasputin and Alexandra consolidated their influence across the Russian Empire. However, as Russian military defeats mounted on the Eastern Front, both figures became increasingly unpopular, and in the early morning of 30 December [O.S. 17 December] 1916, Rasputin was assassinated by a group of conservative Russian noblemen who opposed his influence over the imperial family.
Historians often suggest that Rasputin’s scandalous and sinister reputation helped discredit the Tsarist government, thus precipitating the overthrow of the House of Romanov shortly after his assassination. Accounts of his life and influence were often based on hearsay and rumor; he remains a mysterious and captivating figure in popular culture.
The current list of all the (known) Polaris references can be found here.
Although I am well versed in Pop Culture references but I do not claim to have caught them all. Let me know your favorites in the comments and if I’ve missed one you caught, let me know so I can add it to the list.
Text for this article is excerpted from the linked wiki pages
Rasputin image is from Wizard101, and is copyright of KingsIsle Entertainment
Grigori Rasputin is borrowed from Wikipedia and is in the public domain
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