The Vampire Counts of Sylvania

In the Warhammer World the dead do not rest easy, for the Winds of Magic – if properly harnessed – have the power to reanimate a corpse and prolong the existence of mortals beyond their natural lifespan. The undisputed master of the dark art of Necromancy was Nagash, Lord of the Undeath, which sowed terror and despair in the southern lands of Nehekara thousands of years ago.

Nagash’s plan to raise all the dead of the world under his command through an unholy ritual was eventually foiled by the Skaven but, even after his destruction, his legacy carried on in his trusted generals, the degenerate nobles of Nehekara whom he corrupted with the offer of eternal life and unlimited power in change of their services. Those were the fist Vamprires, humans who were turned into monsters by drinking Nagash’s blood elixir.

After the demise of the Great Necromancer, the remaining Vampires scattered all around the world, some fleeing north to the Old World, in the lands that now are part of the great nation that is the Empire. There they hid for centuries until eight hundred years ago, when Count Vlad Von Carstein of Sylvania revealed himself as the first Vampire Count and plunged the eastern provinces of the Empire into darkness. His reign of terror lasted for two hundred and fifty years as he waged war to the Empire and managed to lay siege to Altdorf, the capital itself. It was only through the sacrifice of the Great Theogonist of Sigmar, Wilhelm III, that the greatest of all Vampire Counts was finally defeated. After Vlad’s destruction his whole army crumbled to dust; the Empire was safe, for now, but the shadow that fell on Sylvania was never truly eradicated, as Vlad’s descendants still lurk in the dark forest and ruined castles, a deadly thorn in the heart of the Empire.

Vlad Von Carstein consolidated his power over the Province of Sylvania by engaging Count Otto Von Drak’s daughter Isabella in a marriage of convenience. Though at first cold and distant, their relationship grew stronger and stronger, and the two became inseparable. Not wanting to lose her because of a fatal sickness, Vlad finally acknowledged her pledges and granted her the gift of undeath, so that the two could be joined forever. When Vlad set forth on his mission to become Emperor, she joined him, teaching him all she could about the nobility of the Empire and fighting at his side on the battlefield, where she could call upon the sorcerous powers of the Chalice of Bathori, whose endless flow of blood was able to heal every wound she took. Eventually, as Vlad was slain in the siege of Altdorf, Isabella could not stand to face eternity alone, and committed suicide.

Of all the Vampires of the Von Carstain family, Mannfred was certainly the most cunning, and one of the strongest in the dark arts. After Vlad’s defeat in Altdorf, Mannfred disappeared, travelling the world in a long search for obscure and forgotten necromantic knowledge. Eventually, his journeys took him to Nagashizzar, the stronghold of Nagash himself. No one can say for sure what he found there, but when he returned to Sylvania, he was most powerful than ever. Keeping his true nature concealed, as Vlad did before, he sought for allies in an attempt to overthrow the Emperor before launching once again a massive assault to the Empire. He was finally defeated at the Battle of Hel Fenn, but some say he was never vanquished completely.

Many mortals seek to master the perverse arts of necromancy, but very few succeed. One of the most powerful and feared Necromancer, Heinrich Kemmler used his dark sorceries to plunder every wizard’s tower or temple he found in his search for power until those he preyed upon joined forces to stop him, eventually defeating him in battle. Battered and driven half-mad by the confusion spell he cast at his enemies in a last, desperate attempt to survive, he fled into the Grey Mountains where he stumbled upon the burial mound of Krell, a dreaded Chaos Champion from the times of Sigmar. Foreseeing an opportunity to rise to glory once again, Kemmler struck a bargain with the Dark Gods: in return for his lost power, he vowed to raise Krell to slay in their name

Many who dare to delve in the forbidden art of Necromancy seek the guidance of a Necromancer or Vampire, becoming their apprentices, or try to learn on their own by studying ancient tomes of power like the Book of the Dead. Of the many Aspiring Necromancers who tread this path, very few succeed, for either choice has his own perils. Those who manage to master the dark arts, surviving the horrors they witnessed and the dangerous, however, become very powerful, able to extinguish the life of nearby creatures with a mere word or to raise entire armies of undead soldiers.

The majority of the Vampire Counts armies is composed of mindless Skeleton Warriors, the reanimated remains of those who died on the various battlefields of the Old World, raised to fight again. Tireless, knowing no doubt nor fear, all that remains of their lost lives are the fickle memories of battles past and their former training, their free will and autonomy completely subjugated by the magic of their new masters.

The lands of the eastern Empire are infested by giant, black-furred wolves, that haunt the forests and the hills and attack farms and villages. The inhabitants of these regions know the corpses of these creatures must be burned or buried deep, lest they return as reanimated horrors to hunt again. These Dire Wolves are the hunting hounds of Vampires, following their armies in large packs, driving away enemy cavalry, jumping on smaller, vulnerable units like archers or war machine crews, and hunting down fleeing enemy units.

In ancient times, proud warriors of the tribes that in time had become the Empire were buried in underground tombs, their bodies preserved through rituals long forgotten. Reanimated by the presence of Vampires and the arcane spells of Necromancers, they have now become Wights, undead of bones and tattered flesh, with much more self-awareness of common Skeleton Warriors. Armed with ensorcelled weapons whose deadly enchantments still survive today and wearing ornate armor of ages past, they form the ranks of the Grave Guard, tireless sentries of the strongholds of the Vampire Counts.

Before the dawn of the Empire, there were few domesticated horses in the Old World, and horsemen were quite rare. In most tribes only the chieftain and his chosen warriors could ride a horse into battle, and when they died, their faithful mounts were usually buried with them, along with their armor and weapons. These powerful warriors now ride again on the battlefield as Black Knights, whose spectral steeds and deadly rune-covered blades instill terror in the heart of enemy soldiers.

Those who follow the path of Necromancy often find themselves trapped between worlds after their death. Constantly howling in remembrance of what has been taken from them, and for the despair of not being able to rest in the peace of the grave, Tomb Banshees are the restless, incorporeal spirits of evil sorceresses, unwilling to pass to the afterlife for the fear of facing punishment for their wicked deeds. Anyone who hears their screams will cower in fear, and to the less resolute their lamentations could mean certain death.

When a powerful Vampire is destroyed, traces of his spirit and strength can live on in its remains. If these remains are placed in the Vampire’s coffin, they can be preserved almost indefinitely, giving the time for the Vampire’s followers to perform a special ritual that creates a Black Coach, a magic-infused carriage driven by a spectral Wraith that bears the Vampire’s remains and transport them to the fields of battle, where the Vampire can feed of the life force of those slain around him, slowly regaining power and regenerating himself.

In the dark crypts beneath the Von Carstein’s Castle, many family members that were deemed too weak or are fallen out of favor are buried in their own coffins and left at the mercy of their most feral instincts. Unable to sate their thirst for blood, they are driven mad and let their inner beast come forth. Thanks to the dark energies and the taint of warpstone, they emerge as Vargheists, dreadful, crazed half-Vampire, half-beast, whose only craving is the blood of mortals.

East of the World Edge Mountains lies the Plain of Bones, a vast desert littered with the skeletons of countless dragons, for this is the place where the mightiest creatures of the Old World once came to die before the first great Chaos incursion. When Chaos came to the world, its dark energies swept the land, instilling new life to the corpses buried beneath the sand. Powerful Vampires travel east and confront the perils of the Plain of Bones in order to tame the mighty Zombie Dragons as their mounts, binding them with their dark arts. Though death has stripped these once majestic creatures of their former glory, they are a terrifying view on the battlefield nevertheless, their claws and fangs as deadly as when they were alive, and their noxious breath able to corrode flesh and armor alike.