Vlad the Nightborn

Vlad grew up in a Sacred Order orphanage, a harsh and uncompromising existence, and it was only through his kinship with a fellow orphan, the brave and bold Konstantin, that Vlad endured. Together they later became knights of the Order, and saw each other as brothers. Vlad fell short of knightly ideals. Besides indulging in youthful practices that the puritanical Order frowned upon, he increasingly believed that the Order was hypocritical, even corrupt. Vlad’s struggles were made worse by the fact that Konstantin reveled in the Order’s uncompromising mindset. The two drifted apart. Matters came to a head when Vlad discovered a senior member of the Order had been pocketing donations supposed to be used for the relief of the poor. Vlad’s accusations fell on deaf ears, and even Konstantin refused to believe him, claiming a high-ranking member of the Order would never stoop so low. Vlad decided that he could endure this hypocrisy no more, renouncing his knighthood. Vlad served as a mercenary for years until entering the employ of one Count Aluncar, who ruled over the Kaerok fiefdom of Torovia. Aluncar was old, and his estates were falling into disrepair. He sought a family heirloom, a sword said to be able to grant immortality. While doubting such a weapon existed, Vlad agreed to accompany the count in exchange for his coin. An ancient map discovered in Aluncar’s castle vault led them to a tomb high in the neighboring Redspike Mountains. To Vlad’s shock, they found a wicked-looking blade. Aluncar took up the sword and declared his quest a success. He returned to his castle with Vlad, and it soon seemed he had shrugged off the worst of the age and exhaustion afflicting him. Aluncar offered to make Vlad his chief retainer, with a handsome payment for each year of service. Vlad was deeply intrigued by the sword. It rarely left Aluncar’s grasp, and nor was it long before Vlad noticed the count had new, unusual habits. He became increasingly nocturnal and withdrawn, refusing to eat or meet with other members of the Kaerok nobility. Rumors also spread that servants within the castle were disappearing. Vlad’s Order-trained suspicions were aroused. Vlad observed the count’s night-time movements and, eventually, caught him in the act of attacking a cook. Aluncar had been infected by the Crimson Hunger, the vampiric curse of Siroth. In his feeding frenzy, the count had discarded his sword, and when Vlad confronted him the vampire swiped aside the warrior’s weapon with monstrous speed and strength. In desperation, Vlad snatched up the count’s blade, and decapitated him in the fight that followed. Unbeknownst to Vlad, the hilt of the sword contained slender, poisoned needles that pricked his skin as he grasped it. He was overcome by agony, and while he tried to fight it, he received a vision of Siroth. The God of Shadows offered to save Vlad from imminent death, in exchange for fealty via the Crimson Hunger. Seeing no other choice, and believing he could perhaps fight the dark urges of vampirism, he agreed. Unfortunately, he was not the only one who had noticed the darkness that had fallen on Torovia in the previous months. Days later, a Sacred Order Inquisitor came to the province, guarded by none other than Vlad’s childhood 'brother', Konstantin. He demanded that Vlad explain what had become of Aluncar, and when he refused, Konstantin ordered him to surrender his sword. Vlad realized that as soon as Konstantin grasped the weapon, he too would suffer from its curse. Wishing to save his old friend from such a fate, but also not daring to admit that he himself now bore a link to Siroth, Vlad refused. The argument escalated, with the Inquisitor accompanying Konstantin claiming that Vlad had been corrupted and had murdered Aluncar. His righteous anger stoked, Konstantin drew his sword, the fiery light of Lumaya blazing across it. The friends clashed, old disputes reigniting with fierce passion. They battled relentlessly, Konstantin’s sword, blessed by the Sacred Order, ringing again and again off Vlad’s cursed blade. Neither showed restraint as they put every ounce of strength and skill into slaying their opponent, the duel taking them through the castle’s great hall, along corridors, and up the stairs of the keep. Ultimately Konstantin prevailed, cutting down Vlad in the north tower and leaving him for dead. He did not know of Vlad’s pact with Siroth, and the vampire rose the next night. He found the castle burned, its inhabitants as well as those of the nearby village slaughtered by the inquisitor, purged just for their unwitting association with him. A bitter vengefulness rose up in Vlad, convincing him he had made the right choice in swearing to Siroth. The next time he met Konstantin, he would show his former brother what it truly meant to battle a creature of the night.