Vlad Drakul

Vlad Drakul, also known as Count Dracula, was a warlord from Transylvania known for his barbaric sadism in the 1400s. His military was routed and Vlad was driven into the snowy mountains. One by one, his army perished in the wastes. Sensing his impending death, Vlad stared into the licking flames of a dwindling survival fire and contemplated eternity in Hell.

Instead of repenting, Vlad swore he'd defy God if he must, and screamed his rage and defiance from the mountaintop. The flames answered him, an ancient and malevolent force offering Vlad eternal life in exchange for his immortal soul.

Vlad was provided a phial of the blood of the vampire primogenitor, Drake. He became a Vampire Lord of incredible power, blessed with vampiric powers unseen in centuries. He oppressed the European covens for almost four centuries. Defiant of their various bureaucratic agreements, Dracula turned thousands of soldiers and produced scores of progeny. Mercifully for the world, his descendents did not possess the blood power of true blooded vampires of other bloodlines. Opposition from groups such as the Illuminati and from enemies such as Clan Akkaba checked Dracula's conquest of Europe; his strongest lieutenants were destroyed or entombed. When his armies were routed they took their lesser vampirism into Europe and it spread like a plague.

In 1898, the legendary Mina Harker and the hunter known as van Helsing fought their way to Dracula's castle and were able to foil a plot to overtake a large part of Romania.