Nikolai Lantsov is the younger son of the King and Queen of Ravka. Instead of accepting an officer’s commission as most people of his class do, Nikolai chose to serve in the infantry of the First Army and developed a loyal following among common soldiers. He has a love of gadgets and new inventions, and spent much of his life away from court training with shipwrights and gunsmiths.
Anything worth doing always starts as a bad idea.