Von Carstein

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The von Carsteins are a vampiric bloodline in the Warhammer Fantasy including the Warhammer Fantasy Battle tabletop wargame.

Their stories are told through background material in publications such as Warhammer Armies: Undead and Vampire Counts and in a trilogy of novels by Steven Savile; published so far are Inheritance and Dominion.

Contents 1 The Reign of Vlad 2 Mannfred 3 Konrad 4 Source of the Name

[edit] The Reign of Vlad

It is not known when the von Carsteins came into existence, although their power reached its zenith when Vlad von Carstein took over rulership of the Imperial province of Sylvania.

Sylvania had, since the beginning of Imperial record, been an inhospitable and dangerous place, with the majority of the land covered in dark and ominous forests. Its soil was poor and the land barely produced enough food to feed the people who lived there. At the time of Vlad's arrival, the province of Sylvania was ruled over by the evil and corrupt Otto von Drak, the head of the von Drak family and the father of Vlad's future wife.

In the year 1797 the Count died without a male heir, at which point Vlad stepped forth and married Isabella, the Count's daughter, thus seizing the province. Most of the other noble families objected to the thought of having an outsider rule them, but these dissidents were quickly silenced, and under Vlad's iron grip, the province of Sylvania started to prosper.

The other Counts looked on with indifference at the changes, since the von Carstein seemed a far better ruler than the old von Drak family, who were suspected of the crime of using black magic and daemon worship, and for two hundred years, Vlad ruled over Sylvania, using different names so that none would grow suspicious of him.

Sometime around this period, Isabella fell ill from wasting sickness, and Vlad became struck with grief at the thought of losing his wife. Isabella suggested that Vlad give her the Blood Kiss so they could be together for eternity. Vlad, however, was disgusted at the suggestion: he did not want to turn his wife into a monster like himself. As Isabella's condition got worse, Vlad started to realise that he could not go on throughout eternity without his wife, and so granted Isabella the Blood Kiss, turning her into a Vampire, saving and damning her at the same time.

In the year 2010, Vlad deemed his forces strong enough to take over the Empire, and at the head of an immense horde, sacked Stirland and ravaged Ostermark. After these victories, Vlad turned his gaze toward the heart of the Empire, Reikland, and for forty years, his armies rampaged their way across the land.

In 2051, Vlad laid siege to Altdorf, his armies having grown enormous during the long years of fighting the Imperial armies. The siege lasted for many months, and the Imperials were slowly losing hope. However, the Grand Theogonist Wilhelm the Third had no thoughts about giving up without a fight, and spurned the soldiers to fight one more battle against the Undead. The night before, Wilhelm despatched Felix Mann, the greatest thief of the age, to steal Vlad's fabled ring, the source of his immortality. After slipping by the curiously inactive guards, Mann stole the ring, leaving Vlad vulnerable, and outraged. As Vlad launched his final attack against the city, the Grand Theogonist meet the Vampire Lord on the walls of the city, and sacrificing himself, the Theogonist managed to destroy the vampire by dragging Vlad with him off the wall, impaling them both on one of the many stakes that surrounded the city.

With Vlad and many of the other vampires dead, the undead army crumbled to dust, and the few surviving vampires fled quickly to Sylvania, fearing the reprisal of the Empire's forces. The last casualty of the Siege of Altdorf was Isabella, who, rather than carrying on through eternity without her husband, impaled herself on a stake and shriveled to dust, right in front of the eyes of the soon-to-be-Emperor Ludwig and his bodyguards.

[edit] Mannfred

Mannfred Von Carstein is a descendant of Vlad. Where most Vampires have little interest in magic, Mannfred studied it intensly. He searched throughout Khemri for powerful artifacts. He was eventually defeated at the battle of Hel Fenn, and slain by Prince Martin of Stirland. Mannfred was later resurrected by the duped necromancer Schtillmann. By the time of the Storm of Chaos Mannfred was once again Lord of Sylvania, and remains a threat to the Empire.

As a result in the WFB game his magic ability is higher than normal for a vampire making him an equal of the more powerful Necromancer characters

[edit] Konrad

Konrad Von Carstein is described as the most ferocious & bloodthirsty vampire of the Von Carstien blood line. Even as a human, Konrad's sanity was all but non-existent, and he even bricked up his own mother in her tower for having given birth to him without his permission. His receiving of the Blood Kiss destroyed what was left of his mind, and he became a savage berserker in combat, prone to bouts of murderous rage. Wishing to emulate the victories of Vlad, Konrad marched on the Empire, but was slain at the Battle of Grim Moor by Helmar of Marienburg, who impaled him on his father's Runefang.

[edit] Source of the Name

The name of Carsteins have been inspired by the 1974 film Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter. The main vampire in the film, lady Durward, came from the vampiric family of Carsteins.^{[citation needed]}

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