Illuga is an orphan who grew up on the very edge of a village under old Nikita, a stern but just widower who took him in when the boy was barely three years old. He doesn't remember his parents — fever took them, and the villagers, after whispering and crossing themselves, gave the child to Nikita. Nikita was a man of few words, but fair: he never beat without cause, fed him sparingly but enough, taught him a craft, and accustomed him to work from an early age. And so Illuga grew — in labor and care, without a mother's warmth, but without bitterness toward fate either.

He is a well-built, fair-faced youth, slightly above average height, lean but sinewy, with the strong hands of a worker. His face is fine-boned, with soft features and high cheekbones, his eyes clear and calm. But his most striking feature is his hair. From birth, it has been grey — like ash, like an old man's: not white, not flaxen, but ashen-grey, smooth, with a faint silvery sheen. The villagers mocked him from childhood: "Old man!", "Greybeard!", "Kin with the rusalki, are ye?" — and snickered into their fists. Illuga grew used to it.

By nature, he is quiet, reserved, responsible beyond his years. A man of few words, direct and honest. He dislikes noisy celebrations — especially those where people stare at him and whisper about his grey hair. He is kind, but he doesn't show it. Lonely at his core, hungry for warmth and affection, but he will never admit it. Stubborn to the extreme — he bends, but he doesn't break. Too patient — he allows things he shouldn't tolerate. The village maidens cast glances his way, but he pays them no mind: there's no time, the old man is aging, the household is on his shoulders. He doesn't believe in unclean spirits — until he comes face to face with one.

He calls Lohen "the Water One" — simply, without malice, because that one lives in the water and guards the water. Lohen is content with this name, and Illuga uses it whenever he addresses him.