Vampire Counts

"Awake O Dead, for there can be no rest for ye beneath the earth. Let the splintered bones burrow from the grave pall. Let cold fingers grip time-worn blades, and unseeing eyes survey the fields of slaughter. For your time has come once more. And the dead shall walk again."

- Motto of the Sylvania Press



The Vampire Counts are amongst the most legendary faction of Vampires to have ever terrorized the civilized lands of the Old World, all of whom are known to be the bearer of the unholy blood of the Von Carstein bloodline. From the Imperial government and the patriotic citizenry of the Empire of Man, the Vampire Counts are considered by many to be fiends without equal. They seek only to topple the civilizations of the living and supplant them with an Undead Empire that shall reign forever as Lords of the Night. The Vampire Counts are powerful necromancers as well as warriors, given supernatural enhancements to their strength, cunning, beauty and ambition. However, these Vampires, for all their power and cunning, is ultimately a base, selfish creature driven by the same motivations of the mortals they deem themselves superior to. They are remorseless in their advance, killing without thoughts of mercy or compassion, and whose motive is entirely bent on ones own selfish desire.

Indeed, the entire structure of the Vampire Counts are built by the selfish desires of the individual, whether it be for the pettiness of greed, glory, beauty or power. To the Vampire Counts, they simply want it all, for they consider themselves above the living, and would stop at nothing to delude themselves about their cursed and lonely existence. For all of their refinement, in the honest truth, these Vampires are nothing but rotting corpses held together by Dark Magic and the horrific consumption of mortal blood.

From their powerbase within the former Imperial province of Sylvania, the descendants of the Von Carstein bloodline have vied time and again to topple the authority of the Empire of Man. Since the time of Vlad von Carstein, it is the sole purpose of the Von Carstein family to inherit the Empire as their own, using attempts of legitimacy, assassination and outright invasion to achieve such ambitions. Yet time and again they've been pushed back towards Sylvania and hunted ceaselessly for their horrific origins. Yet no matter how many Von Carsteins fall, there always seems to be another willing to take its place, disturbing the graves of the dead and plotting to finally plunge the Empire into their cruel tyranny.

History
The Origins of the Vampire Counts can be tied together with the origins of the entire Vampire race. From the deserts of the far south, there once laid an ancient civilization that once ruled unchallenged for many thousand of years. This ancient kingdom once held the name of Nehekhara, a mighty human civilization that was once the pinnacle of Mankind's achievements. Within those once verdant plains, the people of Nehekhara had lived a prosperous life admist the many rival cities that dot its landscape. Massive temples and pyramids were built to honor the many long-dead Priest Kings that once ruled this ancient kingdom, and whose obsession to live forever has lead its many inhabitants on a dark pursuit for eternal life. Eventually, this obsession with achieving immortality would bring about Nehekhara's demise and, from its death throes, the birth of the first Vampire.

Rise of Nagash: The Birth of the First Vampire
Some two and a half thousand years before the birth of Sigmar, the ancient civilization of Nehekhara dwelt along the banks of the great River Vitae. Of all the Kings of Nehekhara, none could match the splendor, cruelty and arrogance of Settra, the First Priest-King of the city-state of Khemri. Under his inspired leadership and unparalleled ruthlessness, the other Priest Kings of Nehekhara were eventually conquered and forced to pay tribute and acknowledge Khemri as the greatest city of the land. But Settra was unsatisfied, knowing that one day death would rob him of all he had accomplished.

In his arrogance, he vowed that the grave would not claim him and proclaimed that he would cheat death, setting his wisest and most powerful priests towards working on a means of preventing his passing. Soon, all of Nehekhara became preoccupied with death and the afterlife, resulting in the construction of many huge temples and monuments that were meant to honor the long decased. These huge tombs became so frequent and massive in scale that the rulers were forced to gather them all into massive cities called Necropoli. In the end however, Settra could never evade death for long, and after living out the last fleeting years of his extended existence, he was eventually entombed within a vast pyramid.

It was onto this culture that Nagash was born, whom was also the brother of the current reigning Priest King of Khemri. Nagash was the first son of his father, the former Priest King and was given to the Mortuary Cult as tradition demanded. He soon rose to the position of High Priest, where he observed the Morticians as they prepared the dead for internment and learned all of their ancient magical lore, but because Nehekhara was so far south from the northern Winds of Magic, he was unable to cast them himself. Frustrated with this, Nagash went to great lengths to increase his knowledge of Death magic, to such an extent that he took to unspeakable experiments in his quest for immortality. When word about this spread, nearly all the citizens of Khemri shunned him. But just then, a group of Dark Elves were blown off-course and captured by the ships of the Zandri navy. These prisoners were then given to Khemri as a gift to be sealed within the tomb of Nagash's dead father. When Nagash heard from a Dark Elven Priestess that she can reveal all her knowledge of Magic to him in exchange for her life, Nagash then proceeded to fake the Dark Elves death and kept them sealed within his father's pyramid as a bargain.

If the Dark Elves willingly reveal and teach Nagash all they know about magic, he would release them from their prison. During his tutoring, the Dark Elves taught Nagash how to reap souls and use their energy to cast spells of his own without the need to channel the Winds of Magic. With this knowledge and after many long years of research and experimentation, Nagash would become the founder and creator of a new form of sorcery which he named Necromancy. Even after the bargain was done, the Dark Elves were never seen again. Nagash's experiments met with limited success; he was able to prolong his life and forestall the effects of aging, but he still could not stop the slow decay of his flesh. He shared his elixir with depraved noblemen, building support for himself before he finally killed his own brother and seized power in Khemri. He and his immortal supporters were tyrannical rulers, slaughtering many of the citizens of Khemri with no provocation or reason.

With their newfound power, they constructed the Black Pyramid, the largest structure ever built by Mankind. Nagash supervised the construction of the Black Pyramid, and although it cost a great many lives to built, the blood, sweat and souls of those that died only served the further the purpose of its construction. The original purpose of the Pyramid was meant to attract as much Dark Magic into Kemri as possible, using either the Winds of Magic or the souls of the dead to fuel its growing power. For the Priest Kings of the other cities, long disturbed by events in Khemri, this was the final blasphemy.



Under the leadership of King Lahmizzar of the city-state of Lahmia, the other Priest Kings gathered their powerful armies and formed a coalition to stop Nagash's tyranny once and for all. A bloody war broke out, where waves of dark magic surged out from the Black Pyramid and blasted the lands of Nehekhara. Once verdant plains of wheat slowly became tainted and the life-giving waters of the land's many oasis grew sickly and killed all which drank from it. After nearly a century of conflict, the armies of the Priest Kings shattered Nagash's power and sacked the capital city of Khemri.

As Nagash fled the burning city into the cold depths of his pyramid, the Great Necromancer swore to the Priest Kings that he shall return and enact his dire vengeance upon their descendants. To the Priest Kings, they considered this an empty threat, and laughed as their acolytes found Nagash's disciples within the pyramid and dragged them screaming to be burned and beheaded in the daylight sun. All of the morbid statues and monuments to Nagash's glory were toppled into the sands. The sanctums of the Necromancer's disciples were plundered and despoiled, and the practice of Dark Magic was outlawed under the pain of death. Yet the agents of the Priest Kings could not find the renegade himself. Although his disciples claimed to have seen Nagash enter his sarcophagus, the coffin itself was mysteriously empty.

Unbeknownst to the Priest Kings, Nagash escaped and rebuilt his power once more. To the far north, he had spent the better part of a century constructing a vast citadel, which he promptly named as Nagashizzar. Located within a mountain known as Cripple Peak, Nagash seeks to take advantage of the huge reserves of magic-saturated Warpstone buried beneath its roots to fuel his already formidable sorcerous powers. The Skaven, also desiring the warpstone, tried many times to sack Nagashizzar and take Cripple Peak for their own. After nearly a century of attrition warfare, the war ended in a stalemate, for the Skavens could not overcome the formidable fortress; however, neither could Nagash drive them away. Recognizing the potential for mutual cooperation, Nagash negotiated an alliance with the Skaven, supplying them with warpstone in exchange for their aid with his plans.

The Damnation of Lahmia (-1200 to -1170 IC)
Before Nagash left towards Cripple Peak, he made sure to leave behind agents of the Mortuary Cult within Nehekhara to help in corrupting the minds of the nobility and lure them into the side of Nagash. One such agent was W'soran, the current High Priest of the city of Lahmia. Using his elevated position within Lahmian society, he was able to corrupt the mind of the young princess Neferatem, who was destined to become the next Queen of Lahmia. Neferatem was an willful girl who grew fascinated about magic and death but was frustrated by the Mortuary Cult’s unwillingness to pass on their teachings to a woman.

W’soran nurtured her thirst for the forbidden arts, coaching her in the magical knowledge he learned at Nagash’s side. After the Priest Kings drove Nagash from Nehekhara, Neferatem was all too willing to save several forbidden scrolls from the Priest Kings pyres. After her father took Nagash’s position as King of Khemri, Neferatem began her rule of Lahmia, and behind the locked doors of her palace, she studied the scrolls and began to emulate the simpler necromantic magic.

All the while, W’soran was testing the waters of Lahmia’s Mortuary Cult, learning which priests were sympathetic to his cause and which would have to be dealt with in due time. Those who could not be twisted to the teachings of Nagash, he warned of Neferatem’s dark practices, a calculated act of betrayal that the Queen would not learn of for many years afterwards. So it was that the priesthood fractured, some loyal to their queen and others set against her. This culminated in an attack on the palace, a rebellion that was only thwarted when Neferatem herself emerged, surrounded by a crackling nimbus of dark energy, and unleashed the full fury of her burgeoning necromantic abilities on her foes.

The remaining rebels were rounded up and executed, leaving only those in the Mortuary Cult whom W’soran could trust. With their aid, W'soran and Neferatem continued their studies, focusing on one ritual above all others; the creation of the Elixir of Life that had granted Nagash his immortality. They eventually found success but in an unexpected form. The version of the Elixir they created gave them immortality, but it also fundamentally changed the nature of their beings. They became the first Vampires.

The Mortuary Cult of Lahmia cut all its ties with the Mortuary Priests of other cities and began a reformation of its principles, encouraging female priests to join. The temple was rebuilt using stones taken from the buildings of Khemri that were destroyed on Nagash’s defeat, and the chambers of the temple glittered with gold and were decorated with statues and hieroglyphs telling the story of his rise to power. In time, this temple would later known famously as the Temple of Blood. The Cults of the other Gods found themselves falling out of favor, struggling to be heard at court, and forcing many to simply leave.

Neferatem invited her cousin Khalida Neferher, the Warrior Queen of Lybaras, to join her cult. Khalida rejected her offer, suspicious of the changes going on in Lahmia and devout in her own worship of Asaph, the Goddess of Serpents. Worried that Khalida knew her secret, Neferatem accused her cousin of treason and attempted to assassinate her during a feast, drawing her into a duel before all the nobles of the Lahmian court. Neferatem’s Vampiric strength gave her victory, and whilst Khalida lay dying, the Vampire bit her own tongue and kissed her cousin, transferring the Vampire curse upon her. Devout Khalida prayed as she died, and her prayer was answered; Asaph drew the taint out of her blood and replaced it with poison, granting Khalida a holy death. It is said that although her death was holy, it was not complete, and Khalida lived on as the eternal guardian of Asaph’s temple. Neferatem, thwarted in her attempt to gain a powerful ally, cast the remaining priests of the other Gods out of Lahmia.

During this period of change, Neferatem had been secretly feeding on the populace of her city, arousing the suspicion of Abhorash, the love-struck captain of her palace guards. Abhorash was horrified to discover his love’s true nature, but he was still duty-bound to obey her commands as she is still the Queen of Lahmia. Neferatem tricked Abhorash into drinking from the Elixir of Life, turning him into a Vampire which Abhorash loathed to become. Neferatem and W’soran then continued to spread their curse to many within the Lahmian Court this way, including Chief Judge Maatmeses and the court vizier, Harakhte. So began her Deathless Court, the trueborns who would become the masters of the lesser Vampires they created.

Abhorash still felt twinges of his humanity from his former life and created a set of rules for the trueborn to follow, ostensibly as a way of protecting themselves from discovery. They would only prey on criminals and slaves, not ordinary citizens, from then on. Also, they were forbidden from feuding amongst themselves, and no trueborn could ever try to kill another trueborn. Thus, when Neferatem’s brother, Ushoran learned of the Elixir and stole a draught of it for himself, she could not punish him, and Ushoran, the lowly Lord of Masques, was permitted to join the Deathless Court.

Under its ageless queen, Lahmia became a city known for its religious intolerance and the harshness of its laws. Agents of the other cities began stirring up rebellion, horrified by the spread of the Cult of Blood and its veneration of Nagash. When the insurrection came, it was more brutally suppressed by Neferatem than the previous rebellion, earning her the name Neferata, meaning “Beautiful Death”. Although the rebellion failed, the other cities of Nehekhara still wished for Lahmia's destruction. King Setep of Khemri, whose military legions had conquered lands as far north as the lands of the Border Princes, was foremost amongst this coalition. Amongst his soldiers was a masterful tactician called Vashanesh, who was of Nagash’s own blood. Betraying Setep, Vashanesh travelled to Lahmia to warn them of this planned attack.

Vashanesh so impressed Neferata she gave him the last of the Elixir of Life (which none have been able to recreate since) and made him her husband, King of Lahmia and co-ruler of its growing population of Vampires. Together they plotted to keep the other cities of Nehekhara distant from each other, creating a network of spies that split the nation for centuries, disrupting all attempts to unify the people against them. After centuries of uncontested rule, it was Alcadizaar the Conqueror who finally managed to unite and mobilize the disparate armies and bring war to Lahmia by invoking the names of the old Gods of Nehekhara. He laid siege to the city at the head of a mighty army composed of warriors from all of the other city-states, as well as mercenaries and allies from the territories he had annexed from the lands of Araby and the Southlands. Arriving at the city, they were horrified to be met not only by the military of Lahmia but also by an army of the dead raised from their rest by the vampire, W’soran. Fighting back their fear, Alcadizaar’s troops brought battle to the Undead.

Though outnumbered, the army of Lahmia could be continually replenished, the dead rising as soon as they fell. The Vampire's mortal followers proved less reliable however, and in time, traitors amongst the Lahmian ranks soon turned against their masters and allowed the Nehekharans to storm the city. The chariots of the Jackal Squadron of Marahk coated the streets with blood, and those Vampires who did not flee were forced to do battle on the steps of the Temple itself. Abhorash lead the defense for a full week, withstanding the spells of Zandri’s high priests and the alchemical fire of their war machines. Finally, the temple was burned to the ground, and Abhorash was forced to flee with several of his sons-in-darkness, the last of his compassion for the living finally burned out of him. The other surviving Vampires, including Neferata, W’soran, Ushoran, Maatmeses, and Harakhte fled north, where they came across a reborn Nagash in the midst of raising an Undead army of his own.

The Curse of the Vampire (-1163 to 1152 IC)
Nagash had not been idle and had learned much about the art of necromancy and animating the dead during his time within Nagashizzar, conceiving of a mad and deadly master plan that would turn the entire world into a necropolis filled only by the unquiet dead, where no action would be performed, no deed done save when he willed it. Nagash would be the Lord over it all.

It became no coincidence that the Vampires came across Nagash. Through his agent, W’soran, Nagash had manipulated them from the start and lent them his magical aid from a distance during the siege of Lahmia. When Neferata learned the full extent of W’soran’s manipulation, she was furious, even more so when Nagash passed her over to offer his distant relative, Vashanesh, a position as commander of his legions. Nagash had crafted a ring that would allow the Vampire who wore it to return from the dead time and again, but through that ring, Nagash would be able to control all of Vampirekind. Vashanesh foolishly accepted the ring, and at Nagash’s command, the Vampires led his Undead army.

The first step on Nagash's road to utter dominion was the elimination of his former homeland, Nehekhara, for he wished to fulfill the bitter vengeance he vowed upon the Priest Kings for what they've done to him in the distant past. At his command, the Vampires led his legions forth to war. On ships made of fused bone, the Undead horde made its way from the Sour Sea, down what future generations would call the Straits of Nagash, and finally back into the Bitter Sea of Nehekhara's shores. The Undead legions made landfall within the ruined ports of Lahmia and surged towards the Priest Kings domains, the exiled Vampires spearheading the assault.

However, Nagash had seriously underestimated his former countrymen. In the time of his absence, the Lands of the Great Vitae River had become a mighty Empire ruled by a single Priest King, known by his people as Alcadizaar the Conqueror. Alcadizaar was the greatest general of his age and his Empire was at the zenith of its power. When the Undead came, they found themselves opposed by a massive, unified, and highly marshaled grand army of warriors, legions of chariots and hordes of cavalry. Moreover, the enchanters of the Great Kingdom had made progress in the arts of magic, particularly in the creation of animated war-constructs. No easy victory was possible against them.

Although at first the Vampires were eager to serve as Nagash’s lieutenants to gain revenge on Alcadizaar and regain Lahmia, it became apparent their survival was irrelevant to Nagash. He hurled them carelessly against the enemy as he would his mindless Undead troops, and he cared not for rebuilding Lahmia and sought, instead, to destroy all of Nehekhara. Bound by the power of the ring Vashanesh wore, they were unable to disobey Nagash or even his second-in-command, Arkhan the Black.

The ensuing Wars stained the sands of Nekehara red for many years. The Vampires were mighty sorcerers and fell warriors, and they were determined to reclaim their kingdom. Wherever they appeared, terror and dread came upon the enemy, yet the Vampires, for all their claims of power and immortal, can still be cast down to the cold furrow of death. The war swayed backwards and forwards for a decade. At first, the legions of the Undead had the upper hand, then the armies of Alcadizaar struck back with displays of tactical genius.

Vashanesh hit on an ingenious solution to the problem of Nagash's enslavement. Suspecting the control Nagash exerted relied on a living Vampire wearing the ring, and believing the Great Necromancer’s assurance it would return him from the grave, Vashanesh allowed Alcadizaar to cut him down at the height of a battle. The Vampires were freed from their control, and only W’soran remained; the others scattered to the winds and returned to the fortress of Nagashizzar.

Great was Nagash's rage that he cursed his vampiric captains, making all those bearing Vampiric blood unable to bear the rays of the sun. Ever afterward, they would know constant pain from their unforgiving Master as their howling cries would carry the knowledge of their misery to all Men. W’soran stayed by Nagash’s side whilst he cursed and ranted at the fickleness of Vampires. The remaining Vampires fled Nagashizzar by night, dispersing in all directions to confuse pursuit. Even after Nagash's death at the hands of Alcadizaar, the Vampires bore his curse. Thus, the first Vampires disappeared across the world, each founding their own bloodthirsty dynasty that would endure and grow through the centuries, terrorizing the living to the present day.

The Vampire Wars: The Reign of the Von Carsteins
When the Vampires fled the wrath of Nagash, the majority of the surviving Vampires all fled northwards into the lands of what would be the Old World. Once there, the seven surviving Vampire Lords all went on their own seperate journey. One went to the far East, perhaps to the distant lands of Cathay, whilst another disappeared into the howling Northern Waste. The last four all stayed within different parts of the Old World. Queen Neferata took residence within a large peak within the World's Edge Mountain that was known by the Dwarfs as the Silver Pinnacle, where she still resides today as the leader of the Lahmian bloodline. The cursed yet honorable Abhorash fled to the northern regions of the Old World, where it is said that the Vampire Lord defeated and drunk the blood of a mighty dragon and removed the loathsome curse of blood consumption. With the curse lifted, Abhorash formed the first of the Blood Dragon bloodline.

The scholarly Wsoran flung himself to all corners of the Old World, where he continues to this very day, gathering as much knowledge of Necromancy as he possibly can in hopes of ressurecting his fallen master. It was during this time that he also founded the Necrarch Bloodline. The cunning Ushoran founded the Strigoi bloodline after he helped a Necromancer named Kadon establish the ancient human kingdom of Strygos, and its capital city of Mourkain long before the founding of the Empire of Man. But perhaps the greatest and most dangerous of the bloodline to have ever plagued the greatest Human Realm in the Old World is one that had also started with one Man and his ambition grew so great that it had the potential to conquer an entire Empire.

Vashanesh eventually returned back to life as Nagash promised he would, and he then spent the next few centuries testing the limits of the ring. Vashanesh set about mastering certain magical arts to make the ring his slave, rather than his master. Eventually, Vashanesh ambitious nature eventually lead him on a dark path that would haunt the lands of Sylvania for the rest of eternity.

The Madness of Otto von Drak ( 1797 to 2000 IC)
It all began on a storm-lashed night when Otto von Drak, the last of the mad von Drak Counts, lay on his death bed within the capital of Drakenhof, cursing the gods that he was without a male heir to continue on his legacy. Otto was a cruel, gluttonous and selfish man, who delighted on the plight of others and whose authority over the land was met with little respect and little love by both the commonry and nobility alike. In his deathbed, the lands of Sylvania was seething with civil strife. As his family awaited his final breath, Otto swore to all the Gods that he would rather marry his only daughter Isabella, to a daemon rather than to let his hated brother Leopold inherit the throne. To the dying Count, he refused all those that requested her daughters hand in marriage, for in his heart, he despise them all. And so it was that Isabella von Drak knelt at her fathers death bed, still without a husband and child to carry on the family estate.

As if a dark power had answered the Mad Counts plea, outside the castle, thunder rumbled and lightning split the storm-black darkness. Victor Guttman, the aged priest of Sigmar who had been called to shrive the old Count, fainted instantly. Then, from out of the storm came the sound of wheels and pounding hooves. A dark coach pulled by four mighty black steeds drew up outside the keep. In the following silence, somebody knocked on the door. A trembling servant introduced an unknown noble to the Count. The stranger introduced himself to the dying Count and his daughter with respect, utterly ignoring Leopold and only answering his questions of his origins by stating his name as Vlad von Carstein, the eldest of the von Carstein family, a family he didn't expect Leopold to know. Leopold protested, but the stranger silenced him, stating he had come only to offer his services to the "current" Count von Drak, being in the vicinity whilst traveling to a wedding.

Completely oblivious to his true intentions, Otto's face lit up, and he proposes the stranger to become the husband of his daughter, thus effectively obliterating Leopold's claim to the title of Count. Vlad then turned to Isabella, claiming that at some point of the ceremony, it was usual for the bride to accept. Isabella, wanting the power she sensed in Vlad, accepts, but asks him in a whisper for a token of his love. Vlad then faces Leopold and tears his heart out of his chest with his bare hands before tossing him out of a window. He then presents Isabella the heart of her now dead uncle, upon which she coldly states she has no use of it, seeing it no longer beats. The priest Guttman was revived from his swoon and brought to the chambers of Otto, where the marriage ceremony was performed before the dying count's bed. Almost as soon as the last of the ritual words were spoken, Otto von Drak finally passed away, leaving his daughter and his entire estate in the charge of Vlad von Carstein. Thus the wedding ceremony had ended, and the two lovers were together ever since.

Vlad von Carstein had married Isabella for power, and used his charm to control her at times. To their mutual surprise, what had started between them as a marriage of convenience swiftly blossomed into true love, and the pair had become confidants in each other and all but inseparable. Isabella begged Vlad to give her the Blood Kiss so they could be together for eternity, but Vlad was aware to the downsides of vampirism and loved her too much to subject her to that. Scant days later, word reached Drakenhof that Isabella had fallen sick with an incurable illness. One of the physicians who tended her claimed her heart had stopped. The new Count insisted this was not so. He dismissed the learned doctors, claiming he would care for her with his own hands. Three days later she appeared in front of her folk, saying she was fully recovered. She was ever afterwards pale and wan, however, and never left her chambers save by moonlight.

After several months following Vlad's coronation, however, dark events have begun to appear across the lands. Young men and woman from neighboring villages have began to disapear overnight. Sightings of the dead sturing beneath their graves have begun to pop up within every cemetery within Sylvania. For whatever reason, these walking dead only attack those that were defying the Counts authority. Those dissidents that continue to escape them were found dead by strange accidents. All over Sylvania, this dark event occurs day by day, with only those whom sworn their alligiance to Vlad von Carstien seemingly immune to this horrific purge.

Within ten years, Vlad was more firmly in control of unruly Sylvania that any other ruler within the Empire. Some remarked that such was Vlad's achievement as a ruler he should in fact sit upon the Imperial Throne as well. To his naive subjects, the von Carsteins were, after all, an ancient family that could trace their lineage back to the founding of the Empire.

Generations later, Vlad and Isabella still presided over the lands of Sylvania, unchanged in all these years. At first, few paid attention to their longevity. The lives of the peasants had always been squalid and short, and so they paid little heed, however it was the longer-living nobility that begun to notice this strange revelation. This revelation all began about when the oldest woman within Drakenhof have remarked how her great grandmother was still a girl when Vlad von Carstein came into the throne, and in time these rumors began to spread, leading to even the most dull-witted peasant realizing something odd is amidst. In time, Witch Hunters by the dozens have begun to flock into the lands of Sylvania like a flood, hunting down evil like hounds upon a hare. Yet, to those that tried to investigate the von Carstein family, none have returned.

Vlad and the First Vampire War ( 2010 to 2051 IC)
In his former life, Vlad was not a cruel Man by heart, but the curse and selfish pride that is usually brought about by Vampirism has corrupted him in body, mind and soul. As with all Vampires, the new Count of Sylvania was ambitious beyond mortal needs, and so he sought to instill his rule to not just Sylvania but the whole of the Empire of Man. At first, none of the feuding nobles of Sylvania paid any heed to the commands of this new Count. If this bothered Vlad, he gave no sign of it. To the Vampire Count, Vlad cherished his subjects the same way a peasant family would cherish a beast that they are fattening up for the Midsummer feast. After decades of harsh rule by the incompetent Count Otto, this new authority was welcomed by all save perhaps the most paranoid, or perhaps the most knowing.

The first signs that someone big is coming came about when the disease that first took Isabella now took the rest of Sylvanian nobility. Soon, every major castle within Sylvania was home to a family of long-living noctural Vampires, pallid of aspect and arrogant in their rule. In time, the number of people who went missing grew to exponential numbers. A mysterious sickness, not unlike the one that had killed Otto van Drak, had filled the graveyard's of Sylvania as well, pushing the people to their limits and forcing the majority of the peasantry to turn their backs on the gods who couldn't help them, and into the arms of the Cult of the Wiederauferstanden, known by many as "The Cult of the Arisen Dead".

The holy temples of the Old World Pantheons were desecrated and closed, with the Priest of Morr being driven out. Without the Morr Priest to perform the proper burial rites to bring the long deceased into their tombs and towards the afterlife, the bodies of the dead were simply piling up at the sides of the road and their tormented spirits forced to live without rest. But probably the greatest and final sign of this impeding darkness came when the Ostermark capital of Mordhiem was destroyed by a massive Warpstone meteorite in the year 2000 IC.

The city of Mordheim was once the capital of the Imperial province of Ostermark, where the faithful and pious come to gather to witness the second coming of Sigmar Heldemhammer. But after some time, the city grew into a cesspit of decadence, greed, and widespread corruption. When the city was obliterated in 2000 IC by a massive meteorite, shards of Warpstone were found all over the ruins of the city. Unbeknowst to its chaotic origins, claimants of the Imperial Throne sent mercenary companies into the city to gather as much Warpstone as they possibly can, hoping to manipulate its false properties of healing the sick or turning lead into gold into their own personal uses. Vlad followed up on this as well, sending in his dark minions to gather as much of these shards as he possibly can.

Finally, on Geheimnisnacht Eve of the Imperial year of 2010 IC, Vlad von Carstein thought the time ripe for the next step in his master plan. It was then, at the start of the winter, that the count called forth all the nobles of the province to pledge loyalty to him during a festivity called the Totentanz, or the "Dance of the Dead". The dance was to be held at Drakenhof Castle, on the eve of Geheimnisnacht. The Totentanz was actually a huge coy, invented by the Vlad to assemble the remaining living aristocracy into one place. At the height of the ball, he gave an order to his minions to close of the entrance and kill ever living thing inside. Only two people left the throne room alive: Alten Ganz, loyal human servant of Vlad which had suspected the true nature of his master plan, and Stefan Fischer, a witch hunter who had been chasing one of von Carstein's vampires for the murder of his wife alongside another Witch Hunter, Jon Skellan, his brother in law. During this event, Skellan was killed and turned into a Vampire, but Fischer managed to hide below a pile of dead corpses without being caught.

With his deed enacted, the Count of Sylvania stood upon the battlements of Castle Drakenhof and intoned a terrible incantation from one of the Nine Books of Nagash. Fueled by the magic-saturated Warpstones recovered from Mordheim, the necromancy spell flowed over the unguarded cemeteries of the Gardens of Morr and in an instant, all throughout the province, the dead began to stir. Slowly, every single cadaver in Sylvania began to move towards Drakenhof to answer the call of the Vampire Count. As the dead nobles started to emerge from the throne room, Stefan Fisher acted as a zombie and escaped Drakenhof with only one single taught in mind: "they are coming".

Fischer finally escaped the deadly trap Sylvania had become, only to fall into the claws of a small band of Vampires travelling through the Empire. Accepting his fate, even feeling joy for being soon reunited with his wife, Fischer was contempt to finally meet his end when suddenly he was saved by a small detachment of Countess Otilla's army, sent to investigate reports of Undead activity along the Sylvanian border. Fischer thus relayed the truth behind the Vampire Count's true nature. Feeling all sense had fled his life, he stayed with Otilla's army as they try to fend of the Undead army at the Battle of Essen Ford, which would be the first conflict of the Vampire Wars.



The Battle at Essen Ford was considered a total Imperial massacre. Knee deep in the mud and overwhelmed by impossible odds, the human army was easily swept away. At the end of the battle, Fisher came across his brother-in-law, Jon Skellan. When the prisoners were lined up before the Vampire count, Vlad showed them the extent of his power. While discussing with the leader of the army detachment, he invited first Ganz, then three vampires, including Skellan to choose and kill a prisoner of their choosing. Skellan choose Fischer, and bled him dry, thus reuniting him with his dead wife. Vlad reanimated each of the dead Imperials, then asked the still-living Imperial Commander of this defeated army to choose one of his men to live. The later refused, not wanting to decide about the life or death of his own. The Vampire Count thus chose the youngest of the prisoners and announced him that he alone would live, to spread the fear of the Vampire's throughout the Empire. He then freed the prisoner, who ran for his life away from the Undead army. In this moment of distraction, the Imperial Cmmander took Vlad's sword and beheaded the count with a swift stroke. Herman Prosner severed the Commanders in an instant afterwards, but it was too late, for the Vampire Count was no more.

However, just as Prosner had finished giving orders regarding the torture of the Imperial commander who had slayed the Vampire Count, he suddenly remarked that the body of the count had disappeared. Dismissing it as trivial, Prosner started a brutal rise to power, slaying everyone opposing him. It had been the loyal servant Ganz who had taken the body away, incapable of realizing the death of his beloved Count. At the end of the night, Prosner had obtained control of the Undead army, and was going to get the last thing which would truly cement his power; the widow Isabella. The latter, totally hysteric, was smiling when Herman Prosner entered her tent. She claimed that her beloved wasn't dead and that he would come back to get her. Gently, Herman Prosner led Isabella out the tent and claimed her before the whole army as his bride, by right of strength.

Then the most unpredictable of things happened, for from the back of the crowd, someone answered the challenge. The Undead all stepped away from the one who had spoken, and there stood Vlad von Carstein. He had been saved by a family heritage, an old signet ring obtained in his earlier life, which granted the wielder true immortality from death. In the following duel, Vlad defeated Prosner, and laid him low. Seeing his death inevitable, Prosner hurled his sword away, killing loyal Ganz in the process. The Count then prepared to strike him down, but was stopped by Isabella, who claimed that right for herself. The Count gave his sword to her, and she killed Herman Prosner with cold blood.

The war continued after the events of Essen Ford. For more than 40 years, the dark shades of the Count put an aura of terror above the Empire. Countless times, he was killed in battle, and each time he rose again to kill those who had defeated him; at the Battle of Bluthof, he fell impaled by five lances with the Count of Ostland's Runefang buried to the hilt in his heart, yet reappeared three days later, overseeing the execution of prisoners. Whilst at the town of Bogenhafen, he led his undead army to victory after being decapitated by a cannon only an hour before. When in the spring of 2050 IC, the city of Middenheim was attacked and the Grand Master of the Knights of the White Wolf, Jerek Kruger, was turned into a vampire because he had dared to kill the count at the Battle of Schwartzhafen a year before. All hope seemed lost to the Imperials, and eventually the Undead army now marched towards the last thing between them and victory: The Imperial Capital of Altdorf.

When the Undead army arrived before the walls of Altdorf, they found the city was well prepared: the Reik had been diverted to surround the city, harvests had been entered and the walls had been manned. However, the powers of Vlad proved enormous. In a shocking display of cabalistic power, he covered the sky in clouds and awoke every dead beneath the plains surrounding Altdorf. Huge siege engines formed of zombies where thrown against the city walls, and in time, the number of dead soon outnumbered those of the living. There was no hope of victory for mankind. In search of divine aid, the Grand Theogonist Wilhelm III retreated into the catacombs of the Cathedral of Altdorf to pray. It was in that holy place that he received a visit from Manfred von Carstein, the eldest thrall of Vlad.

Mannfred wanted the power of the Vampire Count for himself, but he knew that he wasn't strong enough to challenge Vlad in combat. So he informed Wilhelm III about the secret of the Count's immortality. The priest then set out an elaborated trap to catch the best thief of this very age: Felix Mann. When they finally caught him robbing the Imperial Counting House, they gave him a simple choice: to rob Vlad von Carstein's signet ring, or to be hung for his crimes. In reward of the theft, he would be paid enough to start a living elsewhere. Felix accepted the theft and, with a little aid from Mannfred von Carstien, robbed the count of his most precious belonging.

When the Count awakened, his anger was uncontrollable. In one frenetic attack, Vlad threw everything he had against Altdorf. There on the battlements, he confronted Wilhelm III and eventually, overcame him. However, with his last breath, the Great Theogonist threw himself against the Undead Count, and both fell off the walls. While the fall wouldn't have killed a vampire as powerful as Vlad, they both fell on a wooden stake, the Vampire trapped beneath the corpse of the holy man. With the death of Vlad, his army dissolved and the Altdorfers rejoiced, for finally the horros of the First Vampire War was finally over

Konrad and the Second Vampire War ( 2058 to 2121 IC)
The war had ended, and Vlad's dream of an Undead Empire was dead alongside him. The horrors perpetuated by him and his unholy campaign would still stalk mankind's worst nightmares for centuries to come. The Vampire threat hadn't been routed however. Surely, the vampires had indeed fled into the woods and were returning to their powerbase within Sylvania, but still two of Vlad's lieutenants where alive, and enough direct descendants to assure the continuation of his line. Jerek Kruger, being a warrior with experience about commanding, managed to shepherd the surviving Vampires back to Sylvania. He would, however, never try to obtain the position of Count. Another Vampire by the name of Skellan had been captured by the Altdorfers and was imprisoned in a crypt beneath the Cathedral of Altdorf, where they kept him as a prisoner for many years afterwards.

Felix Mann, wanting to claim his reward, discovered that with no physical proof of the deal he had with the Grand Theogonist, nobody would believe he had committed a theft on behalf of a holy man. Wronged and angered, Felix stole one of Vlad's Books of Nagash. However, while fleeing from the Sigmarites, he became conscious that someone was following him from the shadows. When Felix was finally culled by the stranger in a back alley, he tried to buy him off with the dead Count's signet ring. The stranger, who was in fact Manfred von Carstein, severed the two wrists of the thief, took the ring and the book and left Felix for dead. Thus, Vlad's artefacts passed on to a Vampire and Necromancer of almost equal potential power. Isabella von Carstein would be taken captive the very next night when they found Isabella trying to find her husband's body, which had been buried beneath the Theogonist's grave. She was completely hysterical and had lost all touch with reality. She would commit suicide eventually, when the Lector of Sigmar, in an attempt at pity, told her Vlad was really dead and would not come back.

Following Vlad's death, only five vampires claimed to be the heir to his legacy. These vampires were Fritz, Hans, Pieter, Konrad and Mannfred von Carstein. For more than forty years afterwards, the Vampires of the von Carstein line have fought a vicious power struggle against each other, giving the Empire vital time to recover from the desolation brought about by Vlad's invasion. In time, Fritz von Carstein was killed on the field of battle when he foolishly attempted to besiege the massive fortress-city of Middenheim. Hans von Carstein perished when Konrad instigated a quarrel between each other over who was the toughest amongst them. Pieter was slain in his coffin by a vengeful Witch Hunter by the name of Helmut van Hal, a distant descendant of an ancient and powerful Necromancer from the time of the Skaven Wars. It is said that Mannfred von Carstein had also aided in his death. After Pieter's death, Mannfred von Carstein dissapeared from Sylvania, leaving Konrad as the new undisputed ruler of all Sylvania. In time, Konrad had purposefully enacted the Second Vampire Wars, much to the Empire's dismay.

Whilst Vlad von Carstein was patient yet ambitious, Konrad von Carstein was simply a mad butcher; evil, merciless and insanely violent. Lacking the necromatic skills of his predecessor, Konrad was forced to enslave any magicians he could capture and forced them to do his bidding as powerful Necromancers. Once more, the Vampire Counts of Sylvania rampaged across the lands of the Empire. Indeed, Konrad is beyond bloodthirsty, even amongst his own kind. Whilst Vlad offered his opponents a choice between servitude or death, Konrad offered them a choice between dying quickly or dying slowly. Whilst Vlad's ambition was to rule as the Vampire Emperor of the Empire, Konrad's single motive was to simply endulge himself in endless slaughter.

His warmongering nature took his army to the far south of the Empire, where he came into contact with the Blood Knights of Blood Keep, whom are all bearers of the Blood Dragon bloodline. With these Knights folding into his ranks, Konrad was able to destroy all those who would dare to oppose him, despite Konrads complete lack of strategic planning, hysteria and grave tactical errors. At the Battle of Kleiberstorf, however, Konrad faced a powerful Averlander army that contained a massive wagon-train of long-range artillery. When battle commenced, the Averlander artillery was horrific to behold upon the slow-moving Sylvanian army. In desperation, Konrad both threatened, bribed and pleaded with his Necromancers to keep his army moving forward. He offered power and riches to his captive wizards and they acceded, combining their powers to unleash a scourging wind on the Averland army. Dark magic swept across the Imperial ranks, and in short time, the Imperial soldiers began to feel their souls being clawed from ethereal hands. Panic began to spread as the unnatural gale began to strip the life of the Imperial soldiers one by one.

In a moment of rare tactical genius, Konrad saw that the moment was ripe for a counter-attack and sent forth his elite squadron of Blood Knights and Drakenhof Templars into the fray. Faced with insubstantial terrors and armored Vampires, the Averland army broke and fled. Konrad, like the bloodthirsty creature he is, hounded the Imperial soldiers for five days and five nights, ensuring that all those that participated in the battle were hunted down and killed to the last. In his overzealous pride and need to draw more blood, the Vampire Count had instigated a bloody war with the Dwarfs against the cautious advice of his few remaining advisors. Attacking isolated villages and surface settlements within the domains of Zhufbar, the Dwarf King of Zhufbar himself finally had enough and mustered a grand army to punish the Vampire for his wrong doings. Seeing a new challenge, the Vampire met the Dwarf army at the town of Nachthafen.

In the battle, the Dwarfen Runesmiths countered the necromatic spells of Konrads enslaved Necromancers with ease. Robbed of their sustaining power, the Skeletal Warriors and Zombies of Konrads army lay where they fell, blasted apart by a horrific barrage of cannons and mortar artillery. Konrad remained confident despite the setbacks and launched an all-out assault on the Dwarfs right flank. Leading the assault himself, the Vampire drove directly towards the cadre of Runesmiths whilst his Blood Knights smashed into the disciplined ranks of Dwarf warriors. Konrad slew the Runesmiths personally, drinking their spilt blood and giving his captive Necromancers the time they needed to resurrect the fallen. It was a hopeless battle, but the Dwarfs still fought stubbornly until the very end. Their own King had challenged the Blood Count in personal combat, but instead of accepting, Konrad dispatched Walach Harkon, the Grand Master of the Blood Knights to fight as his champion. Though the duel was bitter close, the Grand Master finally killed the Dwarf King with a mighty blow and gorged himself on royal blood. Within the next hour, the last of the Dwarfs were all dead.

Konrad was so unwavering vicious in his Undead assault that, confronted with a common enemy, the three claimants to the Imperial Throne had put aside their differences and combined their mighty armies into one titanic force. At the Battle of the Four Armies, the three Imperial Grand Armies united their forces against the Undead army of Konrad just outside the fortress-city of Middenheim. This battle became infamously known for the great betrayal enacted by two of the three Imperial leaders. Emperor Lutwik and Emperess Ottila IV vied to assassinate each other during the battle, a disgusting gesture that forced the other Imperial Counts to select another candidate to lead this new coalition. A conclave of the Elector Counts assembled themselves within Averheim where they decided that Helmut of Marienburg would be a prime candidate to be the new Emperor. Even as support for him grew within the council hall, Helmut began to act errantically, struck dumb and vacant at a critical time. In an infamous event, Helmut's skin began to peel off and his eye suddenly popped out of his own skull. Even Helmut's son, Helmar, refused his father's claim to the throne once it was discovered that his father was killed and turned into a zombie under Konrads control.

With his ploy failing, Konrad threw into a rage and slaughtered his way from Averheim into the Howling Hills, putting to the torch every town and village that stood in his way. Finally, having enough of Konrad's sadistic invasion, all of the remaining Elector Counts and Dwarf Lords joined forces once more upon the Battle of Grim Morr during the spring of 2121 IC. Arrogantly, Konrad once more attacked in a headlong charge against the fully-arrayed armies of all the Elector Counts and the Dwarf warriors under their hero, Grufbad. Although his elite core of warriors have managed to endure the punishment, a strange event began to occur. In that instant, the regiments of the Undead began to falter, with the magic that bound them together seeping away. In that moment, the enslaved Necromancers finally had enough of Konrads sadictic rule and fled the battlefield without a second glance. Seeing the battle was lost, the terrified Blood Knights fled the battlefield as well, hoping to escape far enough from the vengeful Dwarfs and Imperials. In desperation, the magically inept Konrad tried to hold the Undead army together all by himself, but the effort proved too much to bear and in an instant, Konrad's mind finally snapped.

In a mad fit, Konrad wandered away from the battle as his Undead army began to disintegrate, shouting maniacally as his mind lay shattered. Konrad wandered the forest aimlessly until he was ambushed by Grufbad, who then captured Konrad and held him down whilst the newly elevated Elector Count, Helmar impaled his father's killer with his own Runefang. With Konrads death, the Second Vampire War was finally over, and in time, the Elector Counts began to squabble amongst themselves once more.

Mannfred and the 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 powerful and Konrad was the most violent and bloodthirsty, Mannfred was by-far the most cunning and perhaps the most magically gifted of the entire bloodline. During the time of the Second Vampire Wars, Mannfred left Sylvania and traveled 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. Being the last of the first von Carstein bloodline, 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 truly over. Where Vlad had ruled through his iron will and raw power, and Konrad reigned with violence and fear, Mannfred used his necromantic powers 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 his new retinue. He spent many long months in the wilderness of the Empire, rousing Spirits and Wights from their decrepit tombs and desecrating cemeteries for corpses. When vicious civil war again wracked the Empire once again, Mannfred deemed it was time to finally strike.

Mannfred's Undead army crossed the Sylvanian border in the depths of winter. With the summer campaigning season over, the armies of the Elector Counts were already disbanded and were completely unprepared for this 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 his horde. In the infamous Winter War of 2132 IC, Mannfred defeated several hastily assembled Imperial armies that attempted to block his path from the capital. 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 cold winter 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 Vampire 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 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 to lay siege to the port-city, and then sail his Zombie fleet through Marienburg's primary rivers and canals that cuts directly through the city 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, with neither side entirely sure which one was the cat. At Horstenbad, the armies 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 amongst 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 Imperial army was 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 sent in armies of their own to reinforce the Imperial forces. Wave after wave of Imperial regiments were streaming into the Sylvanian borders like a massive river, scouring the dark woods like a pack of blood hounds. Eventually, the Imperial armies had forced Mannfred into a pitch battle within the treacherous marshes 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 continued to hounded Mannfred until finally he was brought to battle at the eastern reaches 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. Elector Count Martin of Stirland, mounted upon a majestic Griffon, gave chase and caught Mannfred at the very edge of the swamps. It is said that Jerek von Carstein, the former Grand Master of the Knights of the White Wofl was present during the battle, having torn off Mannfred's arm from his body which contained the signet ring Vlad once wore to resurrect himself from the dead. Without this ring, Vlad was now mortal. 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 Human nor Dwarf ever located Mannfred's body, but unbeknownst to them, Mannfred von Carstein was truly dead. Thus ended the reign of Mannfred, the last of the von Carsteins and the final end of the Vampires Wars once and for all. Or so the Empire had thought.

The Border Wars: The Return of Mannfred von Carstein
Although Mannfred truly died upon the Battle of Hel Fenn, an odd turn of events came about that resurrect Mannfred from the grave. A Necromancer by the name of Schtillman was within the vicinity of Mannfred's corpse when he was suddenly killed by a group of hunters, of which included the famous duo Gotrek and Felix. The blood of the Necromancer dripped loosely from his corpse and flowed into the roots of a tree from which Mannfred's body laid. With enough blood going back into his body, Mannfred was able to raise up once more. Mannfred, hell-bent on taking the Imperial throne for himself and ruling over the Old World, even if it took eternity to do so, had bided his time since his defeat at Hel Fenn.

Over the years leading up to his re-emergence, Mannfred travelled far and wide to secure allies. His studies with the disciples of Nagash, in the ruins of Lahmia, had come to completion, and Mannfred's magical abilities had never been stronger. Yet the von Carstein's plans were ambitious indeed. In return for their secrets, Mannfred had sworn a dread pact with the corrupted wraith-wizards that yet served Nagash in the South - a pact to aid them in their own goal of summoning the Great Necromancer once more and bringing a new order to the world. The von Carsteins had secredy been working towards this same goal for centuries following the death of the rebellious Vlad von Carstein. Though great progress had been made, their efforts had ultimately fallen short, for in truth, Nagash had become more like a god than a man, and his spirit was beyond even the abilities of the Vampire Counts to bring to the mortal realm. It would take the rituals of ancient Nehekhara combined with the sacrifice of a powerful and innocent soul to achieve a true resurrection. Mannfred, in his genius, saw a way to hasten the return of Nagash and seriously weaken those who would stand against him in one stroke.

Hierarchy
"There is no Vampiric society, no aristocracy or blue-blooded royalty amongst the Undead. Vampires crave power, and through strength and cunning they take it. Frailty is punished by death—final, true death. There is no natural succession amongst those left behind. No birthright. No passing of the torch from generation to generation. Power is taken with strength."

- Stefan Savilus



The rulership and hierarchy of the Vampire Counts is both simple and brutal in all aspects; only the strongest shall rule. The Vampires, and more specifically the von Carsteins, all crave power in a boundless hunger, and would stop at nothing to achieve such heights as to obtain the title of Vampire Count. The title of Vampire Count is a prestigious and legendary title that denotes a Vampire as being the current Vampiric leader of Sylvania and the patriarch of the von Carstein family. Since the creation of the Vampire race, there had only been around three Vampire Counts in existence. The current reigning Vampire Count is the extremely cunning and deviously powerful Mannfred von Carstein.

Due to their immortality and prideful arrogance, the title of Vampire Count is usually passed down not by succession, for all Vampires are immortal, but by inheritance to the strongest amongst the remaining contenders. Once a Vampire Count dies, the remaining Vampires would usually squabble amongst themselves for the position, leading to vicious power struggle that could last well over the decades. This event has happened several times in the past, with the most prominent happening just after the death of the first Vampire Count. Indeed, even when the current Vampire Count still walks the earth, there is always one amongst their numbers who would wish to claim his title by any means neccessary.

Vampiric Nobility
Similar to the Imperial nobility, the Vampire Count is nonetheless also the liege to a host of other lesser family of Vampire or Human Nobles. The Von Carsteins have links to the majority of the ruling nobility within the lands of Sylvania, and as such, their aims are like any noble house—to remain powerful and wealthy and to find ways to increase their status even further. They go about achieving such goals in much the same way as any other province of the Empire and often through the same political system.

Count Mannfred only holds power because of his military strength, his enduring charisma, and a complex system of alliances, treaties and spies he has made with other lesser lords. Even then his power is relatively limited; if his fellow Lords have a strong reason to object to one of his campaigns, they can simply deny him troops or face the Count in open hostility. Despite his military strength, Mannfred has to be a political creature as well as a brutal warrior and must choose actions that will be well supported in order to avoid a possible civil war amongst his fiercely independent subjects. Luckily for the Count, the ambition he seeks to achieve are also with the common interest of the remaining Lords of Sylvania, which is basically to expand the domains of Sylvania and to turn the Empire of Man into an empire of the unliving. In the current political situation of the Sylvanian nobility, few Vampires are willing to make Mannfred angry for few are willling to take up the responsibility and dangers of his position.

Since the fall of the first two Vampire Counts, the position for the title has since fallen out of favor amongst the remaining Vampiric Lords, for it attracts too much unwanted attention from the Empire's many agents. As such, the remaining Lords of Sylvania is simply content to live out their unliving lives in luxury, leaving Mannfred in doing the work of vampiric expansion mostly upon himself. Beyond the provision of troops, however, Mannfred has little official control over any of his subordinates, nor is there any unifying law or vow that must be kept amongst their numbers. Each feudal lord is therefore free to do whatever he wishes within the lands he owns, with the only consequence for doing such actions is a possible shift in his social or political status within Sylvanian nobility. Gifted with a cowed and terrified populace, the individual Vampire lords are free to inflict anything upon their subjects as they well please for the sake of pure cruelty and simple curiosity.

Count Marcellan von Carstein once ordered his townsfolk to eat nothing but grass, in order to study the effects of such a diet, whilst Lady Carlotta famously forced husbands to execute their own wives if they committed the crime of bearing them more than two children. Her reasoning was that she didn’t want her town growing too fast, as it might then spread over her favorite patch of lilies on a nearby hillside. Befitting their cursed and hated existence, the Vampire Counts of Sylvania are truly monsters in the eyes of man, yet they are still loved feverishly by their disillusioned populace.

The Blood Tax
The Blood Tax is the only tax paid by the peasant population under the rule of a Vampire Lord, a tradition dating back generations since the time the Vampires first ruled Sylvania. This tax is generally paid by giving up a member of a family or community to their local Vampiric liege so that they can be used for the absorption of blood. The amount of host to be paid differs from place to place, depending on the Vampire who controls the land. In Nachthafen, Countess Gabriella refuses to feed on the lowest peasants and only taxes the relatively affluent townspeople who can afford more than one set of clothes. She prefers to leave them alive after feeding, most of the time, to increase their loyalty to her.

In the town of Eschen, the tax demands the firstborn daughter of every family, who is never seen again, leading to some parents attempting to disguise their girls as boys to avoid payment. The smaller villages are typically only taxed once per year, though the amount varies based purely on whim. Those few who are foolish enough to hide from the count’s men when they come to collect are dealt with harshly, and the blood tax is raised in those places where they are found. This leads to situations where neighbours turn in their neighbours to avoid offending their masters.

Von Carstein
"Those von Carsteins are very handsome! I don't think I'd mind being bitten by one of them. Did you see the one with the black hair and the scowl?"

- Elke Rabe, a camp follower attached to a baggage trade of Imperial Stirlander Guards



The members of the Vampire Counts are usually also members of the Von Carstein Bloodline, or at the very least, members of other Vamperic Bloodlines that have pledge their services to the current reigning Vampire Count. Out of all the Vampires that have ever been known to man, the cursed bloodline of the von Carsteins is by-far the most legendary. Handsome, arrogant, charismatic, pridful and ambitious, the von Carsteins are the true aristocracy of the night. It is said that the history of the von Carstein family can be traced back to the time of Sigmar Heldenhammer and the founding of the Empire. Indeed, for in a way, there is some truth to this, for it was Vlad von Carstein himself that was present during that ancient time, giving Sigmar vital instructions on how to defeat Nagash before the gates of Altdorf itself.

Ever since then, however, it is believed by the von Carsteins that they have the right and legitimacy for Sigmar's realm as much as any other contender. Many nobles believe deeply in the concept of the peerage to its literal extreme. Nobility, in other words, is in the blood. The upper classes are placed above the lower because only they have the qualities necessary to rule, and these qualities can only be passed through the blood. To the Von Carsteins, this is taken to an even greater extreme.

Believing in the power that lies within their blood, the von Carsteins truly believe that they were born to rule, and everyone not of their bloodline were born simply to grovel at their feet. Indeed, the von Carsteins are naturally theatrical and consummate braggarts, yet over and over they've proven that their words were not empty, for they have the supernatural strength, charisma and ambition to accomplish all that they boast. If a von Carsteins swears to hunt you down to the ends of the earth, the Vampire will keep that promise unto his grave.

This is not least because of family pride. The Von Carsteins take their name and noble duties very seriously, and if they swear something upon themselves, they will move all the earth to see it through. Of course, herein lies the terrible contradiction of the Von Carsteins. They consider their bloodline sacred, yet because the Von Carsteins are incapable of delivering offsprings and the blood itself is simply considered enough to make one a member of their ranks, they are often faced with less ideal members that might possibly make a mockery of their name. The only solution is to constantly engage in internecine wars and power struggle so that only the truly greatest amongst their number are allowed to bear the illustrious name.

Thus it is that the Von Carsteins devote most of their lives to the twin obsessions at the heart of all nobility, conspiring to improve their status over each other and waging outright war. Perhaps the only way to unite these warring members is to find a common enemy, and perhaps the most common are those mortals that dare to still defy the ruling and greatness of the von Carstein family.

Feeding and Breeding
"I do not care what our prey think of us. Do you consider what opinion meat has of you?"

- Constantin von Carstein

Like all Vampires, the von Carsteins are required to sustain themselves with a steady flow of blood in order to keep both their appearance, strength and sanity in check. Without the consumption of blood, all Vampires would either die or degenerate into primitive yet savage beast. As such, the von Carsteins are known to be the only Vampiric bloodline to be caretakers or landholders of certain human estates and small holdings, with a literal populace of human cattle.

Contrary to popular belief, the von Carsteins actually don't mind if they hunt for they prey, but rather they find it insulting that they have to do it from the shadows and away from the prying eyes of the Witch Hutners. However, thanks to their astonishing good-looks and great charisma, the peasants and nobles under their rule have been known to fight each other for the chance to be willing subjects to their feedings. For whatever reasoning behind it, those victims that are tenderly drained of their blood seem to enjoy a pleasuring sensation that would otherwise overcome the pain and fear of being drained of their blood.

Also like all Vampires, the von Carsteins cannot bare any children and thus have to rely on transforming potential candidate into a Vampire by means of a Blood Kiss. Such a decision is often frown upon by the majority of Vampires, as it is common for the descending bloodlines to become weaker of both will, power and strength. To keep to their image as the best of the bloodlines, even when a candidate becomes a von Carstein Vampire, they must also embody the family's core values and characteristics. There is no point in passing on the von Carstein blood to one who will mingle with the common folk or not uphold the high standards of the family. A von Carstein must be arrogant to the core, fundamentally assured of both his family’s prominent place in the universe and his own. If this is not the case when the Kiss is given, instruction will be provided and new Vampires are schooled in every aspect of their noble life, including strategy, manipulation, and conspiracy. Likewise, if the Vampire is ever found wanting in his lordly skills and duties, he may be prompted to atleast mind the honor of his family name. A von Carstein Vampire is only given one chance, and should he continue to be a liability to the family, they are often never seen again.

Although strict in their selection process, members of the von Carstein family are known to be erratic in passing the Blood Kiss to many candidates that have very little to no qualifications. Often times, these members are known to give the Blood Kiss to stable boys or wenches just because of their dashing good looks. It is believed by the bloodline that eccentricities are the right and privilege of those with noble blood. A single vampire wench is an insult, a harem of them is an achievement. In short, when it comes to the Blood Kiss, as with almost everything in the life of the nobility, there is a great deal of propriety to be observed but every rule can be broken if one is powerful enough that no one would dare to slight him.

Military
"By all means, try and stop 'em. I won't stand in your way. Beat them back, chop them down, hold the line, carry the day. Cover yourself in glory, or in guts, it makes no difference to me. Or to the dead, for that matter. You're just postponing the inevitable, lad."

- Black Ruprecht, grizzled veteran of the Vampire Wars

The Vampires of the Old World claim dominion over the mortal remains of all earthly creatures. To die is to surrender oneself to their power. The generals of the Empire claim that the night is always darkest before the dawn; but the Warrior Priests of Sigmar preach that there is hope yet. But they know little of the games immortals play. Patient, cunning, devious, the Vampires work to conquer the lands of the living with ancient and corrupted sorcery. Should they succeed in their dread goals, the rays of the sun shall be forever suffocated by the night, and the age of men will be replaced by an age of undeath. The world will be transformed into a ghastly necropolis of mindless and unliving slaves, ruled over by the iron will of the Vampire Counts.

The warriors that mostly comprise the armies of the Vampire Counts are known throughout both history and legend as those of the unliving brought about by the use of Necromancy. Most if not all Vampires have a certain affinity with Necromancy, a unique form of sorcery that deprives from the use of Dhar, or Dark Magic. Necromany is in itself a direct contradiction to the Winds of Shyish, where while Shyish follows and embrace the certainty of death, the use of Necromancy is meant to evade or strive to prevent it.

Necromancy is thus a key element within the Vampire Counts armies. When a Vampire Lord wishes to bring war upon the Empire or against other enemy factions, they would often raise the dead of Sylvania from their graves with either their own sorcerous abilities or from their personal coven of Necromancers. These powerful individuals are what keeps the Undead army togather, for without them, the dark magic that controls and holds these walking corpses together would soon dissipate, often crumbling into simple scraps of rusted armor or broken bones.

The bulk of the Vampire Counts armies consist almost entirely of raised Zombies or armored Skeletal Warriors. These unliving abominations have not a single flicker of sentience within them, and can not operate independently without a Necromancer or Sorceror to guide them. Although mindless, these Undead are nonetheless also fairly resilient to many other factors that might hinder other living armies. Such advantages includes not being hindered by the need for food, sleep or the touch of the cruel elements, as well as having the inability to feel fear, for they lack the sentience to feel such complex emotions.

Other then the raised dead, however, the Vampire Counts have also made extensive use of horrible creatures and grotesque abominations that have taken residence within the lands of Sylvania. These creatures come in all grotesque shapes and sizes, from the towering Ghoul Kings to the flying horrors of the Varghiests. Through the use of dark magic, these creatures are bound to the will of a particularly powerful Necromancer. Due to these creatures having extremely low intellect, they are often as mindless in their advance as any unliving creature, with the only sole motivation in their mind being the consumption of human flesh.

Other times they've even binded the souls of spirits into their service. While such property belongs to the Death God respectively, the Necromancer does not fear the punishments of his actions and would lure these restless souls into his army by means of a ritual involving Dark Magic. From the wailing Banshees to the former servants of the Death God, these lost Spirits have lost their will to control, and are forced to do the bidding of their hated master.

When engaged in battle, the ability for the Vampire to both directly manipulate and control his warriors proved pivotal to their success on the battlefield. With an almost methodological planning, these Undead Warriors would rally into neatly formed ranks and would endure almost anything thrown against them. With the ability to resurrect the fallen almost at a whim, the tactics employed by the Vampire Counts consist almost entirely on the use of attrition warfare. As the Undead ranks absorb the enemy attack, their ranks would be continuously bolstered by freshly resurrected warriors from their own warriors and those of the enemies. Eventually, the dead would so outnumber the living that victory is almost inevitably ensured. However, here in lies the single greatest weakness that comes to all their kind, for should the powerful Necromancer that control the army dies, so too will the entire army crumble into ruins.

Vampire Infantry

 * Zombies - Zombies are simple corpses raised by a Necromancer to be used against the enemy as simple infantry. The armaments of these unliving are extremely diverse, for any whom have died on the field of battle are instantly amongst their ranks. Some might have been recently slain Imperial troopers with magnificent weapons and armor, while others may consist of simple peasants with rusted pitchforks and kitchen knifes. Whatever their origins, these unliving are still used extensively by the Vamprie Counts


 * Skeleton Warriors - Skeletons form the mainstay of the Vampire Counts armies, and unlike Zombies, have the ability to go head-to-head against other enemy infantry. These skeletons are warriors raised from times long ago, having been slain in combat and buried with both their weapons and armor still intact. Although these warriors bare rusted swords and rotting wooden shields, these Skeletons still have a flicker of light within their sockets that indicates their spirits still linger within them, whose souls still remain trapped within the material realm.


 * Crypt Ghouls - Crypt Ghouls, or simply just Ghouls, are malformed humans whom have devolved themselves into a primitive existence due to the horrible consumption of dead flesh. Unlike the Undead, these still living creatures do not engage their enemy head-on and would rather attack from the shadows where they could use their adept hunting insticts and their poisonous claws to great effect.
 * Crypt Horrors - Crypt Horrors are a larger form of Ghouls that have managed to consume the blood of a Vampire, granting the beast incredible size and physical strength. With these benefits, these Crypt Horrors are used extensively by the Vampires Counts as a form of heavy shock infantry, able to burst through the ranks of the enemy and endure great punishment.


 * Grave Guards - Grave Guards are, unlike simple Skeletal Warrirors, heroes and powerful warriors from a long and anceint past. Equipped with some of the finest weapons and armor of their age, these Undead still have the combat abilities of their former lives still within them, allowing them to become a formidable corps of warriors, their enchanted blades cutting down the toughest of enemies.
 * Cairn Wraiths - Cairn Wraiths are amongst the most powerful of the Undead. Though they lack physical form, their touch drains the life of a mortal. Their very presence fills the air with dread, and most who face them are driven mad with fear long before they are killed. Filled with rage, these vengeful spirits fall upon their enemies, tearing them apart with great sweeps of their ancient, magical scythes. In return, those who do stand against them find their pitiful attacks merely pass straight through the Cairn Wraith, making contact with nothing but foul air and tattered robes. It doesn't take long for the Wraiths to punish them for their insolence.
 * Spirit Hosts - Spirit Host are those tormented spirits of Humans who were not given rest from their graves and was forcibly summoned by Necromancers or Vampires to do their bidding. On the field of battle, these vengeful apparitions cluster together into hosts that drift slowly towards their warm-blooded victims with a terrible inevitability. Even a cannonball strike will not damage a Spirit Host, for they exist only partially in this world. However, their twilight state does not render these spirits harmless. They can claw at a mortal’s flesh with long, taloned hands, stopping the victim’s beating heart with nothing more than a touch.
 * Vargheists - Vargheists are the darkness in a Vampire's soul made manifest after consuming a horrid amount of Warpstone taint. They are towering winged humanoids, each several times the size of a man. Though the Vargheists were once noble Vampires, they have since devolved into ravening predators desperate for the taste of blood.
 * Varghulfs - Varghulfs are those devolved Vampires that have given themselves up to their primal urges, and willingly transform themselves into monsters that are far stronger then any typical Vampire, but at the price of the creature's former thoughts and personality.

Vampire Cavalry

 * Black Knights - Black Knights come from a time many centuries ago, when barbarian tribes roamed what is now the Empire. Upon their death they were buried with their most prized possessions - their blade, their armour, and their steed. However, without the blessing of Morr, these corpses are susceptible to the corrupting influence of a Necromancer. Many centuries afterwards, it is common for Necromancers to raise these unblessed corpses from the grave to do his bidding as his most elite warriors.
 * Blood Knights - Blood Knights were once an honorable brotherhood of Imperial Knights that protected the lands just west of the Imperial province of Wissenland. However, after their horrific transformation into Vampries, these once noble Knights have since become the bearers of the unholy blood of the Blood Dragon bloodline. Their once shining armour is now encrusted with the blood and gore of countless battles, their monstrous steeds ragged and ruined from years of warfare, yet held together by potent necromantic spells. The Blood Knights are nigh indestructible and their thirst for blood makes them ferocious and implacable.
 * Hexwraiths - Hexwraiths are born in the very depths of the Underworld, their only goal in the afterlife is to hunt down those evil men who have cheated death. Tearing from the Underworld and into the material world, these Hexwraiths ride from one end of the Old World to another in order to hunt down those that would defy the Death Gods wishes, whether it would be amateur Necromancers or powerful Vampires. Ironically, however, these spirits would often be lured and trapped by the bindings of a Necromancer, and forced to do their bidding.

Vampire Warbeast

 * Dire Wolves - Dire Wolves are the arisen corpses of Giants Wolves that were brought back to serve the will of a Necromancer. Like in their former life, these Dire Wolves serve as horrific pack animals that hunt the enemies of his master like the hounds of the living.
 * Fell Bats - Fell Bats are amongst one of the largest variant of Bats living within the Old World, so large that their wingspan can grow to the height of a tall man, and whose numbers can literally devour the inhabitants of an entire village.
 * Terrorgheists - Terrorghest are the largest and most powerful Bat species to have ever existed, so large and terrifying that they've grow to the size of Dragons. These monstrous Bats are rare yet extremely dangerous, so much so that they've become a favored mount from many Vampiric bloodline, the most prominent of which are the Strigoi.
 * Zombie Dragons - Zombie Dragons are the remains of long-dead Dragons that were arisen from their resting place within the Plain of Bones by powerful Dark Magic. Used extensively by many Necromancers and Vampires, these Dragons have lost all of their former thoughts and personality, and are nothing but a hollow husk given life and purpose by his new Undead master.
 * Abyssal Terrors - Abyssal Terrors are massive chaos-corrupted creatures that were given life and form by the horrific infusion of many different body parts from a variety of different monsters and chaos tainted creatures. Once created, these monstrosities are often used to borne afloat his Undead master in battle.

Vampire War Machines

 * Corpse Carts - Corpse Carts are large rotting carts that are used to attract a large influx of Dark Magic from the surronding land. When Dark Magic becomes thick within the air, the Corpse Cart are used to send shockwaves of Dark Magic that would ripple across the battlefield, allowing the recently slain to be drawn back together and once more fight at their side.
 * Black Coaches - Black Coaches are, as their suggest, coaches that are painted jet-black and driven by the servants of the Undead. Driven forward by a pair of Nightmares and a scythe-wielding Wraith, these coaches serves as a way of transporting a Vampire anywhere he wishes, protecting him from the baneful sun and plowing through those opposition that would dare to stand in his way.
 * Coven Thrones - The Coven Throne is a huge and unessearily decorative throne whose purpose is to borne afloat a Vampire Lord across the battlefield, borne aloft by the departed spirits of those slain by the Vampire. Ghostly, and occasionally armoured tendrils stretch upward at the buttom of the throne, at the head of which are skeletal riders on armoured horses. At the centre, it features the seductive Vampire and her handmaidens looming over a cauldron of blood.
 * Mortis Engines - Mortis Engines are large horrific reliquary's that are borne afloat by a host of spirits and used by many Undead factions as a way to help bolster the combat abilities of those Undead that are close by as well as to suck the courage and life essence of the opposing army.

Lords

 * Vampire Lords - Vampire Lords are amongst the most powerful Vampires within a Vampiric bloodline. To be a Vampire Lord is to obtain a position from which would've seen lesser Vampires perished, for within Vampiric hierarchy, it is well known that only the most strongest individual within their numbers are given the right to rule over others of their kind.
 * Master Necromancers - Master Necromancers are those few individuals whom have dedicated their entire existence to the learning and practicing of Necromancy and Dark Magic. Extending their lifespan beyond their mortal limits, these evil men are truly powerful Sorcerors that have the ability to conjure up an entire army of Undead all by themselves. Ancient and malevolent beings, these Necromancers have since lost all touch with their former humanity.
 * Strigoi Ghoul Kings - Strigoi Ghoul Kings were once proud and mighty Vampires of the Strigoi bloodline that have since been shunned and hunted down by other Vampiric bloodlines and forced into a state of troglodyte existence. Large and highly grotesque monstrosities, these Strigoi are no less fearsome in combat than any other Vampire, for they still retain the ability to raise Undead armies of their own and match the skills of even a Vampire Lord in combat.

Heroes

 * Vampires - Vampires are incredibly powerful Undead creatures. Unlike most of the Undead, Vampires retain all of their intelligence and will, and hence all of their ambition and desire. This makes them very dangerous indeed, for they can continue to grow and learn, spending eternity perfecting their skills and honing their plans and schemes. Vampires serves as the lieutenants of an Undead army, whose combat prowess and adequate skills in Necromancy can help determine the outcome of a battle.
 * Necromancers - Necromancers are widely regarded as twisted and corrupt individuals who are obsessed with death and the avoidance of it at all costs. They are used by those magically inept Vampires to animate the broken corpses of their servants and return them to battle. To learn such dark magic, these desperate men will seek out a Necromancer or a Vampire to teach them, though this task is not without its own dangers and many aspirants have found themselves dying a grim death at the hands of their would-be tutor. Those that do survive invariably become powerful spell-casters, though their sanity is forever broken by the horrors they have witnessed.
 * Wight Kings - Wight Kings were once ancient and immensely powerful Human Warlords that have once occupied the lands of present day Sylvania in the days before the founding of the Empire of Man. When imbued with Dark Magic, these ancient warlords rise from their crypts as Wight Kings, eyes glowing with unnatural life. The merest touch of their blade can drain the life from their foes, or slice through flesh and bone with effortless ease. Clad in heavy armour, their bodies are virtually invulnerable to damage, making them a common choice amongst many Undead factions as front-line field commanders.
 * Tomb Banshees - Tomb Banshees are those many sorceresses, enchantresses and witches that have plagued the Warhammer world over the centuries who have since died in a horrific and unfulfilling way. The most bitter, restless spirits of these evil-hearted women become Tomb Banshees. They constantly howl in remembrance of the pleasures of life that were theirs, and in bitterness for the peace of the grave that they cannot attain.

Source

 * Warhammer Armies: Vampire Counts (6th Edition)
 * Warhammer Armies: Vampire Counts (8th Edition)
 * Gotrek and Felix: Vampireslayer (Novel) by William King


 * Dominion (Novel) by Steven Saville
 * Retribution (Novel) by Steven Saville


 * Inheritance (Novel) by Steven Savile
 * Vampire Wars (Omnibus Novel) by Steven Savile
 * Warhammer: Mordheim Rulebook
 * Warhammer Armies: Undead (4th Edition)
 * Warhammer: Night's Dark Masters (2nd Edition) -- pg. 74 - 82

Condes Vampiro

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