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Description
FIRST: The Triumvirate
PREVIOUS: Carmilla
NEXT: Jiangshi

LEFT TO RIGHT:
Conde Estruch
Wizard Uniila
Chieftain Abhartach

Though Dracula is the Vampire King and the Progenitor of the Nosferatu, there were others that came before him. For millennia, the Devil has attempted to create an agent to do his bidding and to spread the plague of the undead across the Earth. Every previous candidate has failed, the Forces of Good having vanquishing his would-be apprentices. It's hard to say how many potential Vampire Kings there has been, but all of them and their spawn have been slain before their evil could spread. Though they had been vanquished, their legends have persisted throughout the centuries until Dracula would arise as the definitive King of Vampires.

ESTRUCH
  In the twelfth century, King Alfonso II of Aragon sent Conde Arnaldo Wilfredo Estruch to Catalonia in Spain to combat witchcraft. However, Conde Estruch was secretly a heretic. For this, he was chosen to be the Devil's servant and rose from his grave as a vampire in 1173. From Llers Castle, he began his reign of terror. He feed upon the blood of the peasants and would seduce the young women of the surrounding villages. The women he seduced would go on to give birth to hideous creatures that were dead at birth. Conde Estruch's actions did not go unnoticed and he was slain by an elderly nurse and a Jewish hermit.

UNIILA
  Uniila was a wizard of the Order of Solomon. A wise and noble man, Uniila was aware of the Devil's plan to create a powerful servant to spread his evil. Through his research, he discovered that vampires were created when an evil spirit inhabits a dead body, causing it rise as an undead creature. Uniile didn't know whether this spirit is the Devil himself or one of his lieutenants is unknown, but he knew that he had to contain this evil in order to prevent the rise of a race of blood drinking monsters.
  Using his knowledge, Uniila was able to summon and then bind the Devil in a cave in the mountains of Romania. The two then began to negotiate a deal. Uniila would become the vessel of the spirit of the vampire, but Uniila would be sealed within the cave by his own spell. The Devil would not be so easily cheated. Uniila may have trapped the vampire spirit within his own body and within the cave, but the wizard would have to pass on the secrets of the dark arts. And for every ten students he would teach, one would have to be offered to the Devil as a candidate.
  Uniila agreed to the terms, believing that his isolation would prevent him from being discovered. But eventually, aspiring sorcerers would seek him out and Uniila reluctantly founded the Scholomance, the School of Black Magic. For centuries, Uniila remained his cave teaching magic to those who sought him out. As his part of the deal, he would teach ten students at a time, the most promising of each class was presented to the Devil. However, all of the students presented lacked the taste for blood the Devil was looking for in a potential Vampire King. Disappointed, the Devil would claim the soul of these failures.
Uniila prayed that he would never find such a person that the Devil sought, but then Vlad III, former Voivode of Wallachia, came to the Scholomance. Even in his isolation, Uniila knew of the reputation of Vlad the Impaler and that this was the soul the Devil was seeking. Uniila tried to dissuade Vlad, but he was determined to reclaim his throne and repel the invading Ottomans. Reluctantly, Uniila taught Vlad. Vlad proved to be the one the Devil had been waiting ages for and offered Vlad the power he sought.
  When Vlad accepted, the Devil ordered him to kill the remaining nine students and drink their blood. This act completed the deal made between Uniila and the Devil and the sealing spell was undone. The vampire spirit left Uniila and entered into Vlad. Without the evil spirit sustaining him, Uniila's body crumbled into dust and bones, the long prolonged death coming to claim him.

ABHARTACH
  Abhartach was a Celtic Chieftain from Ireland. Despite his short stature, he was feared for his cruelty and his skill in the dark arts. His tyranny was put to an end when a neighboring chieftain, Cathain, faced him in battle and killed him. But even death couldn't end Abhartach's evil and he would return as a neamh-mairbh, the walking dead. When Cathain heard that Abhartach had returned even more cruel than before, he again felled him in battle. When Abhartach again refused to stay dead, Cathain consulted a druid and a Christian saint. They armed Cathain with a sword made of yew. Upon slaying the vampire for a third time, the chieftain, druid, saint buried the body upside down, covered the grave with sacred hawthorn thorns, and placed a large stone on top of the grave.

Notes:
I had a hard time deciding on the origins of vampires for the Vampire Project. After making a poll, I decided to keep Dracula as the progenitor of the vampires. But I also used parts of the other options. The "vampire spirit" I refer to in this entry would be the entity that would merge with Vlad the Impaler to form Dracula. It's kind of like Vaatu and Raava from The Legend of Korra, the spirit forming a bond with it's host. Being a lieutenant of the Devil, its host becomes the "Son of the Devil." This is also true for the other vampires, a demon fusing with the human host's soul and reanimating the host body. It's only when the vampire is slain that the human is soul is free from this bond and is able to rest in peace.
  Belalugosi20 introduced me to the character from Romanian folklore, Uniila. Uniila was the headmaster of the Scholomance. I also took inspiration from the Master Vampire from Dracula Untold, played by Charles Dance. As a reference to the Solomonari, I gave him red hair and have him wear white robes. Unlike the other two precursors, Uniila isn't a vampire since he hasn't died and he his soul hasn't bonded with the vampire spirit. His body is sustained by the vampire spirit that he has trapped within him, but being the vessel for such a spirit certainly has had effects on him.
Conde Estruch is the oldest known vampire legend from Europe. I modeled his design from Antonio Banderas portrayal of Armand from the 1994 adaptation of Interview with the Vampire and Strahd von Zarovich from Dungeons and Dragons. In some tellings of the legend, it was nun that slayed Estruch. In others, it was a Jewish hermit. I decided to use both to show the forces of good uniting to stop the forces of evil. Him being a vampiric count made him an ideal precursor for Dracula.
Abhartach is a vampiric figure from Irish legends. Some scholars theorize that he was Bram Stoker's true inspiration for the character of Dracula. In the legends, he's described as a dwarf, his name apparently meaning "dwarf." Appropriately, Abhartach was slain with a yew sword and buried under hawthorn, both plants having religious significance. As with Estruch, the legend varies on who helps the chieftain defeat Abhartach. Some say a druid, and others say a Christian saint. Again, I went with both so that there can be an alliance of good.

Description
FIRST: The Triumvirate
PREVIOUS: Carmilla
NEXT: Jiangshi

LEFT TO RIGHT:
Conde Estruch
Wizard Uniila
Chieftain Abhartach

Though Dracula is the Vampire King and the Progenitor of the Nosferatu, there were others that came before him. For millennia, the Devil has attempted to create an agent to do his bidding and to spread the plague of the undead across the Earth. Every previous candidate has failed, the Forces of Good having vanquishing his would-be apprentices. It's hard to say how many potential Vampire Kings there has been, but all of them and their spawn have been slain before their evil could spread. Though they had been vanquished, their legends have persisted throughout the centuries until Dracula would arise as the definitive King of Vampires.

ESTRUCH
  In the twelfth century, King Alfonso II of Aragon sent Conde Arnaldo Wilfredo Estruch to Catalonia in Spain to combat witchcraft. However, Conde Estruch was secretly a heretic. For this, he was chosen to be the Devil's servant and rose from his grave as a vampire in 1173. From Llers Castle, he began his reign of terror. He feed upon the blood of the peasants and would seduce the young women of the surrounding villages. The women he seduced would go on to give birth to hideous creatures that were dead at birth. Conde Estruch's actions did not go unnoticed and he was slain by an elderly nurse and a Jewish hermit.

UNIILA
  Uniila was a wizard of the Order of Solomon. A wise and noble man, Uniila was aware of the Devil's plan to create a powerful servant to spread his evil. Through his research, he discovered that vampires were created when an evil spirit inhabits a dead body, causing it rise as an undead creature. Uniile didn't know whether this spirit is the Devil himself or one of his lieutenants is unknown, but he knew that he had to contain this evil in order to prevent the rise of a race of blood drinking monsters.
  Using his knowledge, Uniila was able to summon and then bind the Devil in a cave in the mountains of Romania. The two then began to negotiate a deal. Uniila would become the vessel of the spirit of the vampire, but Uniila would be sealed within the cave by his own spell. The Devil would not be so easily cheated. Uniila may have trapped the vampire spirit within his own body and within the cave, but the wizard would have to pass on the secrets of the dark arts. And for every ten students he would teach, one would have to be offered to the Devil as a candidate.
  Uniila agreed to the terms, believing that his isolation would prevent him from being discovered. But eventually, aspiring sorcerers would seek him out and Uniila reluctantly founded the Scholomance, the School of Black Magic. For centuries, Uniila remained his cave teaching magic to those who sought him out. As his part of the deal, he would teach ten students at a time, the most promising of each class was presented to the Devil. However, all of the students presented lacked the taste for blood the Devil was looking for in a potential Vampire King. Disappointed, the Devil would claim the soul of these failures.
Uniila prayed that he would never find such a person that the Devil sought, but then Vlad III, former Voivode of Wallachia, came to the Scholomance. Even in his isolation, Uniila knew of the reputation of Vlad the Impaler and that this was the soul the Devil was seeking. Uniila tried to dissuade Vlad, but he was determined to reclaim his throne and repel the invading Ottomans. Reluctantly, Uniila taught Vlad. Vlad proved to be the one the Devil had been waiting ages for and offered Vlad the power he sought.
  When Vlad accepted, the Devil ordered him to kill the remaining nine students and drink their blood. This act completed the deal made between Uniila and the Devil and the sealing spell was undone. The vampire spirit left Uniila and entered into Vlad. Without the evil spirit sustaining him, Uniila's body crumbled into dust and bones, the long prolonged death coming to claim him.

ABHARTACH
  Abhartach was a Celtic Chieftain from Ireland. Despite his short stature, he was feared for his cruelty and his skill in the dark arts. His tyranny was put to an end when a neighboring chieftain, Cathain, faced him in battle and killed him. But even death couldn't end Abhartach's evil and he would return as a neamh-mairbh, the walking dead. When Cathain heard that Abhartach had returned even more cruel than before, he again felled him in battle. When Abhartach again refused to stay dead, Cathain consulted a druid and a Christian saint. They armed Cathain with a sword made of yew. Upon slaying the vampire for a third time, the chieftain, druid, saint buried the body upside down, covered the grave with sacred hawthorn thorns, and placed a large stone on top of the grave.

Notes:
I had a hard time deciding on the origins of vampires for the Vampire Project. After making a poll, I decided to keep Dracula as the progenitor of the vampires. But I also used parts of the other options. The "vampire spirit" I refer to in this entry would be the entity that would merge with Vlad the Impaler to form Dracula. It's kind of like Vaatu and Raava from The Legend of Korra, the spirit forming a bond with it's host. Being a lieutenant of the Devil, its host becomes the "Son of the Devil." This is also true for the other vampires, a demon fusing with the human host's soul and reanimating the host body. It's only when the vampire is slain that the human is soul is free from this bond and is able to rest in peace.
  Belalugosi20 introduced me to the character from Romanian folklore, Uniila. Uniila was the headmaster of the Scholomance. I also took inspiration from the Master Vampire from Dracula Untold, played by Charles Dance. As a reference to the Solomonari, I gave him red hair and have him wear white robes. Unlike the other two precursors, Uniila isn't a vampire since he hasn't died and he his soul hasn't bonded with the vampire spirit. His body is sustained by the vampire spirit that he has trapped within him, but being the vessel for such a spirit certainly has had effects on him.
Conde Estruch is the oldest known vampire legend from Europe. I modeled his design from Antonio Banderas portrayal of Armand from the 1994 adaptation of Interview with the Vampire and Strahd von Zarovich from Dungeons and Dragons. In some tellings of the legend, it was nun that slayed Estruch. In others, it was a Jewish hermit. I decided to use both to show the forces of good uniting to stop the forces of evil. Him being a vampiric count made him an ideal precursor for Dracula.
Abhartach is a vampiric figure from Irish legends. Some scholars theorize that he was Bram Stoker's true inspiration for the character of Dracula. In the legends, he's described as a dwarf, his name apparently meaning "dwarf." Appropriately, Abhartach was slain with a yew sword and buried under hawthorn, both plants having religious significance. As with Estruch, the legend varies on who helps the chieftain defeat Abhartach. Some say a druid, and others say a Christian saint. Again, I went with both so that there can be an alliance of good.