Skip to main content

The Auction

“It has been said that Vlad Tepes once donated a vial of his own blood to Wilhelmina Harker. This vial was to be kept secret; only to be used in a time of great need. However, as is the way of our kind, Mina passed the vial onto her true love Jonathan, who in turn passed it onto their child, and so on and so forth, until, through the generations, it came to me. What I offer, to the highest bidder, is the blood of Vlad Tepes himself…”


In October 2025, a gathering of the Cabal was called at Elvaston Castle by James Faustus III, for the auction of a vial of blood belonging to Vlad Tepes, founder of the Tepes dynasty. All five monarchs were present, along with their dynasties and the Cabal’s seneschal, Hermia.

During the events of the auction, heirs of each of the dynasties were appointed by the monarchs. However, the Tepes monarch Styx was found unconscious. Fingers were pointed and accusations were made, but the attacker was never found and Styx was later revived by Faustus.

The auction began at 10.00pm and it soon became a bidding war between the Tepes dynasty, who wanted the blood of their founder returned, and the Bathory dynasty, who wanted the prize to humiliate their foe. It seemed like the Tepes were going to win the auction, until the Lilith dynasty pledged their entire dynasty's doubloons to the Bathory and enabled them to win the prize.

Faustus claimed the doubloons that were bid by the Bathory dynasty and in turn gave them the vial, before ordering Hermia to bring the monarchs drinks as a toast to the Cabal.

It was then Faustus revealed that he is Vlad Tepes and was there to announce his claim over all vampires. As he said that, the monarchs collapsed, poisoned by the blood in the chalice. At that point, Faustus departed with the seneschal Hermia at his side.

The vial currently remains in the possession of the Bathory dynasty.

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Anatomy of a Vampire

The vampires in As Night Falls are undead monsters that were once human and need to drink the blood of the living in order to sustain themselves. Human or animal, blood is blood, but it has to be from a living creature. Only blood pumped by a still-beating heart can truly satisfy a vampire’s need to feed, although stored blood may have its uses. Vampires never feed from the dead. Vampires are immortal creatures that are no longer constrained by the ravages of time. They can live for centuries and never age a day. However, should a vampire be starved of blood, the decades can quickly catch up with them, causing a vampire to wither away to a dry husk, from which they may never recover. Although vampires are able to withstand grievous wounds, they are not invulnerable. Fire and sunlight can still hurt them, whilst a stake through the heart will paralyse them (to be fair, it will paralyse most people). Decapitations are always lethal to vampires. Garlic and running water do not harm ...
Read more

The Cabal of vampires

The Cabal is an ancient conspiracy of silence that governs the undead lives of vampires to ensure the veil of secrecy is preserved. Vampires are typically loners by nature. People, however, are generally not. Humanity’s ability form communities, communicating with others around the world and sharing their knowledge, is a threat to all vampires. In order to remain hidden from humanity’s gaze, a loose network was created. Although most vampires live by their own standards, it was mutually agreed that certain rules should be enforced to ensure vampires never reveal the secrets of their existence. These rules became known as the four cardinals of the Cabal: Never reveal vampires exist.   Never refuse the will of the Cabal. N ever enter another vampire’s territory. Never kill another vampire. The Cabal is regional, with each country having its own communion. In the UK, the Cabal is led by the five monarchs of the vampire dynasties. Supporting the Cabal is the seneschal, an in...
Read more

Bathory Dynasty

“A promise whispered at the right moment binds tighter than any chain.” (Isabella Ravingham, monarch of the Bathory dynasty) Founder: Countess Elizabeth Bathory Monarch: Isabella Ravingham Archetypes: courtesans, companions and femme fatales From gilded ballrooms to exclusive nightclubs, vampires of the Bathory dynasty hunt using their charm and beauty to entrance their prey and bring them to their knees. The Bathory are decadent, elegant and ruthlessly charismatic. They thrive on charm and persuasion, and are often at the centre of lavish gatherings or whispered deals. Masters of emotional manipulation, a Bathory will disarm opponents with their grace, before a well-placed strike with a smile seals their victim’s fate. The Bathory dynasty is aligned with the de Morieve and Lilith dynasties, but are opposed to the Orlock and Tepes dynasties.  
Read more