Mannfred von Carstein

"We are the masters of night, and humans are but our cattle. While we walk upright, they're on their knees."

- Mannfred von Carstein



Mannfred von Carstein is the most magically gifted of all of the von Carsteins, having studied the ancient spells within the Book of the Dead and mastered them completely. Imbued with staggering magical power, Mannfred the Acolyte knows all the spells from the Lore of the Vampires. Like many of his vampiric kin, Mannfred has led the armies of Sylvania to war on many occasions, his mastery of the necromantic arts sustaining his army far beyond their normal potential. This combination of magic and martial skill makes Mannfred a foe that few Generals would ever want to face.

History
Mannfred von Carstein was sired by Vlad himself and it is implied that Vlad sired him in the days before his arrival at Drakenhof and marriage to Isabella (it is also implied they may have shared a relationship before Vlad married Isabella). He held the greatest claim to his sire's throne but chose to remain in the shadows, letting the other contenders destroy themselves before assuming full control of Sylvania. After aiding the escape of Jon Skellan, a man who hunted his wife's murderers who had been turned to vampirism by one of Vlad's undead minions, he and his unlikely companion travelled around feeding from maidens to spread terror and discord. After destroying the ruling family of Nuln in a single night's blood fest, Mannfred deemed his work finished. He sent Skellan to the east to return to Sylvania, where he would serve as Mannfred's agent in stoking the raging paranoia that was Mannfred's brother Konrad's constant companion. When asked why he did not simply betray Konrad and seize power himself, Mannfred was nonchalant, but reminded Skellan that should he attempt to do so, the next Von Carstein he would face would be Mannfred himself. During this time Mannfred journeyed south to Nehekhara, wandering Khemri and the other dead cities, where he procured much necromantic lore from a stolen Book of Nagash and the few Tomb Kings willing to deal with him.

With the death of his 'brother' Konrad, Mannfred seized power and returned to Drakenhof aboard a 'Black Ship' that swiftly became infamous in the Empire. Mannfred set about rebuilding Drakenhof and Sylvania one corrupt piece at a time. When Skellan discovered a coven of Lahmian Vampires in Nuln, an intrigued Mannfred soon arrived to meet with their leader, 'The Eternal' and propose a truce between their bloodlines. Soon Mannfred marched his troops beneath the Empire in the ancient tunnels beneath the world, battling through Skaven forces to strike from below.

Third Vampire War ( 2124 to 2145 IC)
With the death of Konrad, the last contender for Vlad's position was Mannfred von Carstein. Whilst Vlad was the most magically gifted and Konrad was the most violent and bloodthirsty, Mannfred was by far the most cunning of the entire bloodline. During the time of the Second Vampire Wars, Mannfred had left Sylvania and travelled to the dead lands of Nehekhara to seek out necromatic artifacts of great power. As he spent the next century reading through forbidden books, by the time Mannfred returned to Castle Drakenhof, he soon possessed an entire library of dark lore. With the last of the first von Carstein bloodline dead, Mannfred became the undisputed ruler of Sylvania.

For a full decade, Mannfred von Carstein had bid his time wisely and allowed the Imperial contenders to believe that the threat of Sylvania was over. Where Vlad had ruled through his iron will and raw power, and Konrad reigned with fear, Mannfred used his necromantic prowess and devious manipulations to forge his new Undead armies. He sought out Vampires from beyond the borders of Sylvania and bribed, coerced and flattered them into joining his new retinue. He spent many long months in the wilderness of the Empire, rousing spirits and Wights from their decrepit tombs. When vicious civil war again wracked the Empire, Mannfred deemed it was time to finally strike.

Mannfred von Carstein's Undead legions crossed the Sylvanian border in the depths of winter, as the cold does little harm to the flesh of the dead. With the summer campaigning season over, the armies of the Elector Counts were unprepared for the sudden assault. Mannfred's armies marched through the snows towards Altdorf, putting to the sword any living men they met and raising the corpses to swell the ranks of Mannfred's horde. In the infamous Winter War of 2132, Mannfred defeated several hastily assembled Imperial armies that attempted to block his path. Victory followed victory and, soon, the dark rumour of Mannfred's coming was enough to send villagers fleeing from their homes only to freeze to death in the snow. When Mannfred's massive legions reached Altdorf, they found the city seemingly undefended.

Triumph filled Mannfred. He looked set to become not a Vampire Count but a Va mpire Emperor, achieving what Vlad and Konrad had failed to do. Then the Grand Theogonist, Kurt III, appeared on the battlements of the city. The Sigmarite high priest had brought forth the evil Liber Mortis from the deepest locked vaults of his temple, and he began to recite the Great Spell of Unbinding from its pages. As the incantation continued, Mannfred's power over his minions began to weaken. Seeing his followers crumbling to dust, Mannfred ordered a hasty retreat, for the hidden Imperial armies within Altdorf were mobilizing for a massive counter-attack.

Unperturbed, Mannfred marched his army along the River Reik downstream and into the port-city Marienburg, capturing several large vessels along the way and manning them with the raised corpses of their crews. Mannfreds initial plan was the lay siege to the port-city, and then sail his Zombie fleet through Marienburg's primary rivers and canals that splits the city in half and attack from the river ports. In desperation, the entire city was roused to the defence, and in time, the first Undead assault upon the ports were repulsed. Unable to make a beachead within the riverways, Mannfred began construction of massive siege towers and catapults within the outskirts of the city. However, scouts have reported to Mannfred that a massive Imperial army was hounding them all the way from the city of Altdorf. Realising he can't win this siege, Mannfred promptly retreated.

So began a long cat-and-mouse chase that encircled the entire Empire of Man, with neither side entirely sure which one was the cat. At Horstenbad, the army of Ostermark was able to surround and ambush Mannfred as his army wound its way along the forest road, destroying nearly half of his forces. Yet Mannfred escaped the slaughter and within the month had siezed the town of Felph and created a new army. On and on the campaign raged, with neither side able to secure the ultimate victory. Twice, Mannfred was forced to retreat to Sylvania in order to escape pursuit from his relentless enemies.

Determined not to make the same mistakes as they had before, all the nobility of the Empire has sworn a truce among themselves to finally rid the Empire of Man of the Vampire threat once and for all. United under a rightous cause, the entire military might of the Empire was brought to full swing and in time, army after army was being mustered from all the Grand Provinces for the inevitable Sylavnian campaign. To repay themselves for lost grudges, the High King of the Dwarfs have also mustered also sent in armies of heavily armored warriors into the fighting. Wave after wave of Imperial armies are streaming into the Sylvanian borders like a massive flood, and soon the relentless Imperials had forced Mannfred into a pitch battle known famously as the Battle of Hel Fenn.

Mannfred's army was vast, his necromatic power having raised a legion of Zombies from the muddy depths of Hel Fenn itself. Mannfred's unliving host continued to retreat deeper into the swamps, drawing the exhausted Imperial armies onwards into the filth and gloom. Yet Mannfred had not reckoned on the determination of their foes. Tirelessly, the Imperial and Dwarfen armies hounded Mannfred like bloodthirsty hounds until finally he was brough into battle at the eastern reachs of the marshlands, where the warriors of the Empire and the Dwarfs fought with grim resolve.

Mannfred saw that victory was beyond him and attempted to flee. The Elector Count of Stirland, mounted upon a majestic Griffon, gave chase and caught Mannfred at the very edge of the swamps. Though the Elector Count was wounded badly, his Runefang cleaved great gouges into Mannfred's flesh and the Vampire's mangled corpse sank into the depths of the swamp. Despite a long search, neither Man nor Dwarf ever located Mannfred's body. Thus ended the reign of Mannfred, the last of the von Carsteins and the final end of the Vampires Wars once and for all.

Return
Rumours abounded for years that Mannfred might have survived his death at Hel Fenn, and centuries after the battle, they were proven correct when Mannfred was resurrected by a petty necromancer named Schtillmann, who did not survive to see the fruits of his terrible labour (Schtillman was killed by the infamous Dwarf Slayer, Gotrek Gurnisson who cut him in two - the blood from his body spilled on Mannfred's corpse, leading to his resurrection). By the time of the Storm of Chaos, Mannfred was once again Lord of Sylvania, and remains a threat to the Empire at the present time.

Mannfred made his presence known again during the Storm of Chaos after the Battle of Sokh, where his army fell upon the survivors of both the Imperial attackers and Archaon's rearguard. Exhausted from their earlier fighting, the two armies were in no position to challenge the Vampire and his undead army, augmented as it was by the reanimated corpses of Imperial state troops and Chaos warriors, and both sides fled: the forces of Chaos retreated to Brass Keep (their base of operations in the Empire) while the armies of the Empire fled back to Middenheim. Mannfred pursued the Imperials back to Middenheim, surrounded the city and prepared to begin a siege. On the day of his planned attack, he spoke to Emperor Karl Franz "As my sire called out to your ancestor, so shall I call out to you. Surrender the city to me, and you will all be spared. Resist and you will all die".

There was silence, then a lone rider emerged from Middenheim's gates and rode up to Mannfred. It was Volkmar the Grim, and he had not come to discuss terms of surrender. Riding up to Mannfred, he looked without fear into the vampire's eyes and said coldly "Nearly five hundred years ago, a man like me killed a monster like you. It can be done again".

At this, Mannfred was given pause, and his smug confidence vanished. He could remember all too well the sight of Grand Theogonist Wilhelm dragging Vlad von Carstein off the walls of Altdorf to his death, and was reminded of the threat Vardek Crom and his army posed to his holdings in Sylvania. With a snarl of fury at Volkmar, Mannfred turned his horse around and ordered his army to withdraw. Mannfred's retreat signalled the end of the battle for Middenheim: though fighting would continue to rage on for some months in the various provinces of the Empire, the war was officially over. Mannfred wiped out the intruding Chaos forces of Vardek Crom and retreated to Sylvania to brood and make his next plans. Rumours abound that he is working with the ancient Lich Arkhan the Black on a scheme to resurrect Nagash himself...