Natalia Ruyemov comes from a very interesting section of the world in Taylor's book series that is off in the far west compared to the events that occur in the first few books, but takes inspiration from what is traditionally known as the far east in our world. It's a nice smattering mix of Chinese, Russian and even some Mongolian culture mixed together onto a backdrop of a mountainous region of snow, ice and verdant valleys filled with fields of plenty.
Born and raised in a military household, Natalia never lost sight of what truly made life special: family and friends. Hardened to be a stone-cold killer and then later mercenary, she still kept true to her heart and valued her friends - even going so far as to nearly give her life in protection of one. She doesn't condone war, despite being born into it, but she sees reason to fight if the cause is just and the benefits to her countrymen, family and friends outweigh the negatives. After she had separated and became a mercenary for the High Council, she took the job to seek out Taylor for a personal family reason. She had no interest in the job itself, only in the subject of the job and how it directly involved the life of her little sister, Sarah. Upon meeting and getting to know Taylor personally, she grew to like the young wolf and her tailmaw and sought to become somewhat of an older sister figure to her - a decision she has not regretted since.
