Vampire Counts emblem
The following is a list of historic events related to Vampires, both Sylvanian and abroad. Dates are given according to the Imperial Calendar. Entries are frequently based on unreliable sources, such as the accounts of necromancers, heretics, adventurers, and other undesirables, especially those pre-dating the founding of the Empire. They are approximate and provided as a rough guide only.[1b]
History[]
- -2500 IC - The rise of Nehekhara. Upon their death, the Priest Kings are entombed in great pyramids.[2a]
- -1968 IC - A group of Dark Elves are shipwrecked off the Nehekharan coast and captured by the High Priest of Khemri. Nagash studies their Dark Magic and proves a more than apt pupil.[2a]
- -1950 to -1750 IC - Nagash rules Khemri and distils the Elixir of Life from Human blood.[1a] He recruits certain depraved noblemen to rule under him. Their span of life extends far beyond that of ordinary mortals. Nagash slays the Priest King of Khemri and seizes power. He later orders the construction of the Black Pyramid, one of the largest structures ever built by man, dwarfing even the Great Pyramid of Khemri.[2a]
- -1750 to -1600 IC - The Priest Kings form a great confederation against the Great Necromancer. After nearly a century of warfare, Nagash's power is finally broken, and he is forced to flee north. Neferatem, the Queen of Lahmia secretly takes Nagash's books,[2a] under the influence of High Priest W'soran.[1a]
- -1590 IC - A rebellion in Lahmia is brutally quashed. Neferatem becomes known as Neferata.[1a]
- -1520 IC - Neferata creates a corrupted version of the Elixir of Life. Though she achieves immortality, the Lahmian queen is left with a terrible thirst for human blood. She eventually passes the curse to others, creating the race of Vampires.[2a]
- -1500 to -1350 IC - Nagash uses his Undead slaves to excavate mines beneath Cripple Peak, creating the citadel of Nagashizzar. Primitive human tribesmen start to worship Nagash, leading to their devolution into the corpse-eating race of Ghouls.[2a]
- ca. -1200 to -1170 IC - The rulers of Lahmia become aware of the Great Necromancer's presence and send emissaries to him. Rumour of the Lahmian cult reaches the Priest Kings, and the followers of Nagash are defeated and driven out.[2a]
- -1200 IC - King Alcadizaar the Conqueror besieges Lahmia and drives out the Vampires. They return for a time at the head of Nagash's army before scattering.[1a]
- -1163 to -1152 IC - Nagash declares war upon the Priest Kings. Alongside other fell creatures, the Vampires lead Nagash's armies. The Priest Kings are united under King Alcadizaar, and his formidable leadership defeats Nagash's first assault. The Vampire W'soran stays with Nagash and dares his wrath, whilst the other Vampires flee to escape the Great Necromancer's anger. Nagash unleashes a plague upon the land. His own Undead forces are immune to the foul magic but the folk of the land die in droves. A new army is freshly-raised Undead invades the lands of the Priest Kings, sweeping all before them. Alcadizaar is brought in chains to Nagashizzar to be tormented by Nagash.[2a]
- -1151 IC - The Great Ritual. After consuming prodigious amounts of warpstone, Nagash begins the Ritual of the Waking. Sensing the danger they are in, the Skaven of Cripple Peak free King Alcadizaar, who cuts down Nagash and flees with his Crown of Sorcery.[2a]
- -1150 IC - W'soran quits Nagashizzar with a cabal of Nagash's priests and one of the Great Necromancer's spell books.[2a]
- -1147 IC - The body of Alcadizaar is discovered by Kadon, who wrests the Crown of Sorcery from the dead priest king's grasp. Possessed by the spirit of Nagash, the shaman founds the city of Mourkain - meaning Place of Death - atop Alcadizzar's burial mound.[2a]
- -1122 IC - W'soran gives the Blood Kiss to his apprentices so that they may continue to aid him in his studies for eternity.[2a]
- -1020 IC - Ushoran arrives in Mourkain, drawn by the power of the Crown of Sorcery. He usurps Kadon and assumes control of the city, founding the kingdom of Strigos.[2a]
- ca. -600 IC - Vorag Bloodytooth unites the scattered tribes of Crypt Ghouls that lurk below Cripple Peak and becomes the first Ghoul King. The vast, if undisciplined army under his command quickly overruns, and all but destroys the Red Cloud Goblin tribe. The survivors are enslaved and forced to build the Fortress of Vorag, east of the Plain of Bones. While besieging the Goblin lair of Grey Hag, Vorag is struck by a bolt from a goblin artillery piece and killed. The Fortress of Vorag is forgotten and falls into ruins.[1a][2a]
- -326 IC - The Dwarf city of Silver Pinnacle is invaded and conquered by Neferata, former queen of Lahmia.[2a]
- -250 IC - Strigos reaches its height, and Ushoran calls upon the Vampires of the old world to join with him. Neferata spurns his invitation, desiring secrecy for Vampire-kind, and uses her influence to incite the men of the surrounding regions to attack Strigos.[2a]
- -223 IC - Melkhior, one of Wsoran's students, slays his master and takes the Book of Nagash from his vault.[2a]
- ca. -200 IC - Mourkain is sacked by Orcs and Goblins, led by Warboss Garsnag Craktoof. Ushoran is destroyed while defending the gates, by the Orc shaman known as 'Red Eye'. The surviving Strigoi Vampires are driven into the wilds and their people scatter, eventually devolving into the Ghoul Kings.
- -40 IC - Nagash is reborn again.[1a]
- 15 IC - Nagash returns from his crypt in Nagashizzar to rebuild his empire of the dead. He attacks the newly-founded Empire of Sigmar, and several Vampires return from their exile to fight alongside him. After an epic battle, Nagash is slain by the man-god and the Vampires flee into hiding once more, pursued by the warriors of Sigmar.[2a]
- 253 IC - Abhorash slays a Dragon in the Worlds Edge Mountains and drinks its blood, curing himself of his Blood Thirst forever. His followers spread across the world seeking to emulate their master.[2a]
- 876 IC - Norse raiders bound for Lustria capture an Imperial merchant ship, unwittingly taking on board the Vampire Luthor Harkon's body. When the ship arrives, the crew have all been enslaved or made Undead. Luthor creates an empire in southern Lustria, the Vampire Coast.[1a]
- 1111 IC - The Black Death unleashed by the Skaven wipes out three-quarters of the Empire's population. Skaven erupt from their hidden tunnel systems and overrun the land. After a shower of warpstone shards falls in Sylvania, the Necromancer Frederick Vanhal raises a huge Undead army from the bodies of the plague victims and turns back the Skaven invaders.[2a] The first Corpse Carts also come about in this year.[2c]
- 1116 IC - Vanhel raises an army made of dead plague victims with the aid of the mysterious Prince Vladimir and fights off the Skaven.[1a]
- 1112 to 1124 IC - Vanhal builds the fortress of Vanhaldenschlosse and carves out a powerful Undead empire. Over the following decades Vanhal, the remnants of the Empire, and the Skaven fight a prolonged war against each other. The fighting ends when Vanhal is assassinated by his apprentice and his Undead horde crumbles. The Skaven, weakened by their war with Vanhal, are driven back underground by Count Mandred Skavenslayer.[2a]
- 1207 to 1244 IC - Dieter Helsnicht is discovered to be Necromancer and driven out of the Empire city of Middenheim. He escapes to the Forest of Shadows where he raises a large Undead army and attacks the Empire. He annihilates one army that is sent to stop him, but is defeated at the Battle of Beeckerhoven by a combined Empire and Kislevite force. Dieter's body is never found.[2b]
- 1454 IC - The Red Duke, of Abhorash's line, terrorises Aquitaine. He is defeated at the Battle of Ceren Fields, pierced by the king's own lance.[1a]
- 1492 IC - The Tilean explorer Marco Colombo "discovers" the continent of Lustria. Upon his return, his ships are laden with gold, and he is lauded across Tilea. Word of his discovery soon spreads, swiftly followed by a veritable armada of treasure seekers setting sail for the New World, intent on following his example. With the lands north of the Chaos Wastes relatively quiet, the followers of Chaos are abroad, setting sail for the corners of the globe in order to win glory for their dread masters. Many Norscan pirates attack ships of the other races at sea to reach the riches of Lustria. At the same time, other Norscan reavers wait until they have landed upon the shores of Lustria to ambush other Old World explorers in lands that the Norscans themselves have already explored long before the newcomers. The followers of Chaos are eager to find even more rewards on the continent, from gold, slaves, magical artifacts, and even the many extracts of exotic plants which are particularly attractive to the followers of Slaanesh. The power of the Vampire Counts wax, for dark arts are practised openly in many parts of the Old World. The Undead occupants of the Vampire Coast seek to expand their own borders in the face of the influx of the recent invaders. Many necromancers are drawn to Lustria, to them there is no greater prize than the mummified remains of a long-dead Slann Mage-Priest.[3a][3b]
- 1681 IC - The Night of the Restless Dead. Nagash returns to life once again, 1,666 years after he was slain by Sigmar. For one night, throughout the known world, the dead stir and walk the land, sowing terror and confusion amongst the living. Many Vampires come out of hiding and wage war to increase their domains. Countless villages and towns are overrun before the night of terror ends.[2b]
- 1750 IC - Nourgul the Necrarch razes all the land between the Irrana Mountains and the Southern Sea in what the Estalians call the War of Blood. After a month-long siege of Magritta, he enters the temple of Myrmidia to steal the Tome of Wisdom. His ashes are later found beside it.[1a]
- 1797 IC - Vlad von Carstein marries Isabella von Drak and becomes Count of Sylvania.[1a] Over the following two centuries, the remaining aristocratic families of the region are infected with Vampirism.[2b]
- 1887 IC - Walach Harkon, student of Abhorash, arrives at Blood Keep. In one night he defeats their best warriors, slaughtering the unworthy. He spares a few and turns them into Vampires, forming the legendary Ordo Draconis - known to the superstitious folk of the Empire as the Blood Dragons or Blood Knights.[2b]
- 1932 IC - The Red Duke is freed by his disciples and once more wages war on Aquitaine. He is again defeated at Ceren Field, and the Red Duke flees to the sanctuary of the Forest of Châlons.[1a][2b]
- 1946 IC - Blood Keep finally falls to siege. Walach and several of his followers escape the persuing forces of the Empire.[2b]
- 2000 IC - After a warpstone meteor destroys the city of Mordheim, Vlad von Carstein sends agents to the ruined city to secure warpstone shards with which he can power his magic.[2b]
- 2010 IC - On Geheimnisnacht (the night of the Day of Mystery), Vlad von Carstein raises an army of the dead, and the Wars of the Vampire Counts begin. He devastates Ostermark, and his armies rampage between Stirland and the northern border.[1a]
- 2014 to 2015 IC - Vlad attacks Middenheim and is slain by Jerek Kruger, Grand Master of the Knights of the White Wolf, but returns to Middenheim within the year and butchers Jerek Kruger and his knights.[2b]
- 2051 IC - Vlad von Carstein is slain at the Siege of Altdorf. Isabella von Carstein commits suicide in her grief. The remaining Vampire counts bicker over who is to be the next Count of Sylvania.[1a]
- 2056 IC - A string of deaths amongst the nobles of Nuln is blamed on the Undead, creating a Vampire panic that results in the beheadings of several innocents.[1a]
- 2057 IC - Fritz and Pieter von Carstein, two of Vlad's get, besiege Middenheim and Nuln, respectively, in attempts to prove themselves. A silver-tipped arrow ends Fritz before he can cause much harm to the City of the Wolf. Pieter is more successful, butchering many before he is slain by a descendant of Vanhel the Necromancer, Helmut van Hel, who seeks to redress his forefather's sins.[1a]
- 2058 IC - Konrad von Carstein leads an army of Wights into the Moot and ravages several villages. He is forced to return to Sylvania when Hans von Carstein takes up residence in Drakenhof castle and claims the rulership of Sylvania.[2b]
- 2094 IC - Mannfred von Carstein leaves Sylvania and travels south. Konrad von Carstein begins his bloody reign over Sylvania.[2b]
- 2100 IC - Konrad's rampage is stopped by a union of armies from Stirland, Marienburg and Reikland, aided by Dwarfs sent by the High King of Karaz-a-Karak. After the Battle of Four Armies, Count Helmut is nearly elected as Emperor until it is discovered that he is in fact a Zombie controlled by Konrad von Carstein.[2b]
- 2108 to 2121 IC - The Undead of Sylvania continue to plague Ostermark, Stirland and Middenheim, though Konrad himself is rarely seen. When the Blood Count does take command of the armies, a series of impulsive assaults against Imperial castles sees the Undead horde repelled several times. Konrad is finally defeated by a combined Empire and Dwarf army at the Battle of Grim Moor. He is slain by Grufbad, the Dwarf hero, and Elector Count Helmar.[2b]
- 2122 IC - Mannfred returns to Sylvania and takes undisputed rule over the von Carsteins. He bides his time and builds alliances with Vampires beyond the borders of Sylvania, including the Sisterhood of Silver Pinnacle.[2b]
- 2124 to 2145 IC - The forces of the Empire and Mannfred's Undead army fight over a dozen battles in an attempt to gain a decisive superiority. After two decades of sporadic war, Mannfred is finally forced to retreat back to Sylvania by a combined army of Empire troops.[2b]
- 2132 IC - Mannfred von Carstein launches a surprise winter attack against the Empire when it is in the grip of a vicious civil war. He almost succeeds by in capturing Altdorf, but is thwarted by the Grand Theogonist of Sigmar, Kurt III.[2b]
- 2145 IC - Determined to end the threat of the Vampire Counts once and for all, the various factions of the Empire unite and, along with their Dwarf allies, scour the dark forests of Sylvania. Mannfred is finally brought to bay at the Battle of Hel Fenn, where he is defeated.[2b]
- 2158 IC - Gottlieb the Stern leads the Cleansing of Sylvania, hoping to prevent the Von Carsteins from ever returning.
- 2300 IC - Duke Maldred d'Mousillon dies from the Red Pox and the city falls into decay. None claim the castle or its lands and the Undead walk amongst the streets.[2b]
- 2304 to 2305 IC - The forces of Ostermark fight several battles with the Undead hordes of Waldakir Rahtep, before the Vampire is eventually slain by Captain Stefan von Kessel.[2b]
- 2491 IC - Heinrich Kemmler, the Lichemaster, finds the burial mound of Krell and raises the Chaos Champion back to life. At the head of a powerful Undead horde, the two sweep down from the Grey Mountains into Bretonnia. In a wild battle at la Maisontaal Abbey, their army suffers such heavy casualties that they are forced to retreat.[2b]
- 2503 IC - Mannfred von Carstein is resurrected.
- 2505 IC - Itinerant poet and adventurer Felix Jaeger claims to meet Mannfred von Carstein in Drakenhof Castle.[2b]
- 2506 to 2518 IC - In an ironic repeat of history, Melkhior's apprentice, Zacharias, attempts to steal the Book of Nagash from his master. Melkhior awakes and drives Zacharias from his tower, pursuing him across the Old World. Zacharias eventually hides in the Middle Mountains. There, he slays a Black Dragon and uses the beast's carcass as a mount, returning to Melkhior's tower and defeating his former master.[2b]
- 2512 IC - The Ghoul Swarms blight Stirland.[2b]
- 2520 IC - Following rumours of activity in Drakenhof Castle, Grand Theogonist Volkmar despatches the Witch Hunter Gunther Stahlberg to investigate. He is never heard from again.[2b]
- ca. 2522 IC - Nyklaus von Carstein, tired of the infighting of his peers, uses shadow magic to translocate his entire castle into the fabled nautical realm of the Galleon's Graveyard. There he becomes Count Noctilus, terror of the seas and commander of the fabled Dreadfleet. He is hunted down and killed in his lair by a confederation of pirate lords led by the vengeful Captain Roth.[2b]
- 2522 IC - Rumours begin to circulate in Stirland that Castle Drakenhof is once again inhabited by the Undead. Screams can be heard upon the winds and ever more people are going missing. The Witch Hunters grow increasingly frantic as the name Nagash is once again whispered in the shadowed corners of the old World.[2b]
- 2522 IC - The Storm of Chaos. Mannfred von Carstein's army breaks Archaon's horde and then returns to Sylvania.
Canon Conflicts[]
As of the End Times, the Storm of Chaos is no longer canon.