"Everyone knew who the Drakenhof Templars were, and gave them room -- even the scions of Blood Keep, who eyed them in the way a wolf might eye a rival from another pack..."
- —A description of the Drakenhof Templars interacting with the less elite von Carstein Blood Knights.[3]
A Drakenhof Templar charging the foe.[1]
The Drakenhof Templars were an order of Vampiric Blood Knights who acted as the elite cavalry of the von Carstein bloodline. They were believed to be among the greatest of Vampire knights, second only to the Blood Dragons themselves.
History[]
Origins[]
A mortal Drakenhof Templar bearing the banner and heraldry of House von Drak of Sylvania before the coming of the von Carstein bloodline transformed the order into Vampiric Blood Knights.[4a]
The original Drakenhof Templars were a genuine knightly order. Founded long before the reign of Otto von Drak as the Count of Sylvania, they were usurped by Vlad von Carstein after his rise to power in that land and transformed into brutal Blood Knights.[1a]
The order originally had the noble goal of driving the darkness out of Sylvania. Needless to say, they failed, and Konrad von Carstein tore the last grand master of the order apart hundreds of years ago. There were several iterations of the order, for Vlad von Carstein and his heirs among the Vampire Counts were ever imitators of Human tradition.[1a]
End Times[]
When Vlad von Carstein was resurrected by the Liche Lord Nagash during the early years of the End Times, most of the order abandoned Mannfred von Carstein, and returned to Vlad's service, helping him legitimise his claim over Sylvania once more. They served Vlad during his campaign in the north to covertly help the Imperial forces hold the Auric Bastion against the Chaos hordes.[3]
After the collapse of the Bastion they rode with him to aid in lifting the Siege of Altdorf. They later assisted in the defence of the Siege of Averheim, after the Bretonnians sent a messenger to Nagash's court, though due to the hesitation of Nagash and the other Mortarchs to aid their old enemy the Empire, they arrived too late.[3]
After constant combat for several years during the End Times the majority of the order was destroyed. The last few members either fell in defence of the Dead and Buried Inn against Nurgle's Daemons, or were sent by Vlad von Carstein to escort Duke Jerrod d'Quenelles to Bretonnia's last stand when he and his knights left Athel Loren.[3]
Battle of La Maisontaal[]
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A Drakenhof Templar during the End Times.
The bodyguard that fought with the Liche Lord Arkhan the Black at La Maisontaal was composed entirely of Vampires Mannfred von Carstein did not consider worthy of the von Carstein name.[1a]
Led by their grand master, Anark von Carstein, the Drakenhof Templars spent much of the battle attempting to hack their way into meeting Bretonnia's own knights.[1]
Battle of Mordkin Lair[]
Only one brotherhood of Drakenhof Templars had accompanied Arkhan the Black. The rest of the Vampire knights -- four brotherhoods in all -- followed Mannfred von Carstein south beneath the Drakenhof banner. Though Mannfred would never have admitted it, he was greatly reliant on the Drakenhof Templars in the battle beneath Mad Dog Pass, as they were the only troops he could rely on to act autonomously -- all others were slaved to his will.[1b]
Dead and Buried[]
A once-great order of mortal knights, the Drakenhof Templars' numbers were greatly thinned following Nagash's resurrection during the End Times. Loyal to all Vampires of the von Carstein bloodline, they had many times been pressed into battle by Vlad von Carstein and Mannfred von Carstein, and they were given the most dangerous and difficult missions simply because no other body of the Vampire Counts' troops could be trusted to see them through.[2a]
All in all, this had taken a heavy toll on the knights of Drakenhof. The handful of Drakenhof Templars who had arrived at the Dead and Buried Inn with Vlad von Carstein were the largest formation that remained -- and there they were destroyed by the Daemonic minions of the Plague Lord Nurgle.[2a]
Notable Drakenhof Templars[]
- Albrecht Nictus - Albrecht Nictus was the first grand master of the order and cousin to Isabella von Carstein. He stood down from his post after turning into a monstrous Varghulf.
- Anark von Carstein - Anark von Carstein was the brutal grand master of the order during the events of the End Times.
- Erikan Crowfiend - Erikan Crowfiend was the son of the infamous Cannibal Knight of Mousillon, who later left the order to serve Mallobaude during the Bretonnian Civil War.