~Vlad von Carstein ~

Vlad von Carstein was the first and greatest of the Vampire Counts of Sylvania. It was he who tainted the once human aristocracy of Sylvania with the curse of undeath and in so doing created an Undead kingdom at the very heart of the Empire. For years he gathered his strength until he felt confident enough to attempt the conquest of the whole Empire. Then Vlad fought a brilliant campaign against the warring Elector Counts and almost managed to claim total victory. He was halted at the very gates of Altdorf, the capital of the Empire.

Vlad was a towering figure of a man, with a mane of black hair and piercing eyes. Those who met him and survived the encounter describe him as having a feral charm and being extremely intelligent, but with an evil temper that could easily turn into berserk fury if he was thwarted in his endeavours. It was said that at such times only his wife Isabella could calm him without blood being spilt.

Vlad's wife, Isabella, was the daughter of the insane duke Otto von Drak. Vlad married Isabella and then inherited her father's estates when both Otto and his brother Leopold died soon after the marriage. Isabella was a quick-witted and darkly beautiful woman, and what started out as a marriage of convenience soon developed into unholy love. Vlad long resisted Isabella's requests to join him in undeath, but when she lay dying from a fatal wasting illness, Vlad realised that he could not carry on without her and reluctantly inducted her into the Undead.

Isabella was Vlad's most valued confidante, and the only person whose advice he trusted. When Vlad was killed by Grand Theogonist Wilhelm at the Siege of Altdorf, Isabella committed suicide rather than carry on through eternity without him?

Now, however, Vlad von Carstein is risen once more in a different land...?lt;/p>

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