A true archetype of a Vel Anir initiate, Ivan has an appearance in line with what one would expect from a Dreadlord. He is well-built and boasts an athletic physique with muscular arms, broad shoulders, a well-defined torso, as well as a handful of scars here and there. Apart from this, he has blonde hair, and is always clean-shaven. His eyes are ice-grey.​

Armed Combat: Proficient in combat. His combat style is aggressive and relentless, waging on a quick victory through strong, vicious attacks, and a few accurate, well-placed, devastating blows. He tends to prefer heavier weapons such as zweihänders, war hammers, or double-headed axes.

Numeracy: Ivan has a very good mind for numbers, being able to solve rather complex calculations well faster than the average individual. Additionally, he also has a pretty good grasp of business practices and divining the correct valuation of products and goods.

Decay Magic: Decay magic, very simply, is the ability to rot and corrode matter. Whether it is the flesh that withers and rots, the sword that rusts away, or the stone that cracks and erodes, decay spells are lethal to whichever mark happens to be on the receiving end of the magic. For all decay spells, the amount of effort depends on the object being decomposed, with substances like paper taking virtually no effort, while others - such as iron or stone - taking a much larger toll.

He can also enchant objects which can then be used as agents of decay: or in other words, objects that gradually corrode into everything they touch. Making any of these latter arcane items though is a rather difficult process as it is extremely hard to balance the magical energy so that the object does not decay before it can properly incorporate the charm.

More recently, after his foray into Epiri with Amos Savren [1], Ivan also learned to use his decay powers to craft magical diseases. Just as sicknesses and plagues decay the body naturally, Ivan's decay powers can propagate virulent, arcane epidemics. He is still very new to this however, and can only spread rather basic - even if deadly - diseases, and only through touch.

Aesthetically, all expressions of decay spells are associated with a set of dark, monochromatic colours, which range from ashen-grey to jet-black. When casting, Ivan’s hands seem to be enveloped by a faint black aura, while for visual outbursts - such as those given form in flames or lightning rays - the projection of the spell as opposed to emitting light instead seems to absorb and suppress it.​

One of the most lethal initiates the Academy of Vel Anir got to offer, Ivan is brave, courageous, and relentless in pursuit of his goals no matter the odds, nor the consequences. He does however have his own way of doing things, tends to be rather dismissive of established rules and norms, and is careless when faced with danger, all of which have granted him a bit of a reputation as a "wildcard" among peers and proctors.​

When Alisa Skender became the sole heiress, and last living member, of her House, eyebrows rose in suspicion. While not the oldest, nor the richest, clan in Aniria, the Skender were certainly one of the most disreputable of them all.

Rumours of all sorts abounded; tales about blood sacrifices, necromancy, and other foul arcana filtered out of their fortress from time to time, while it was said that many had either gone mad or met their untimely demise within its dark halls.

Though many thought this cursed dynasty would die out with Alisa, a mere year after coming into her inheritance she defied these expectations when she got pregnant.

It became clear soon enough though that this pregnancy would not be a smooth affair. It was never clear what had come to pass. Some said Alisa had been cursed, hexed by the unknown father's paramour; others believed her rumoured dabbling in corruptive magic was to blame, while a few more whispered that she had broken one of the five laws of magic, thus drawing doom upon herself. Whatever the case, the result soon became clear: She grew pale, her skin dried and broken, while her body became covered with open, gaping wounds as magic seemingly rotted and corroded her body from the inside out.

Predictably, Alisa did not survive labour, leaving her newborn son, Ivan, as the last living member of the dynasty. While the decay magic that had cursed his mother did not appear to have affected him at first, a magical connection of some sort did take hold during the pregnancy. This bond became obvious when, as a child, Ivan revealed himself to have a propensity for decay magic.​