Very interesting perspective to take (and I say this as someone who has written background fic on Kolya and thinks Chaya Sar had a lot of wasted plot potential). Points for using Hippopharalcus, and now you've got me interested in Helia's background on a larger scale. Ancient culture is something I've avoided dabbling in, but I imagine you could go some fascinating places with it...

All in all, you win for thought-provoking post-of-the-day.