### The History of Vampires
**The First Night (c. 3,200 BR – Before Reckoning)**
The **Blood-Echo** curse was the first infernal scar. A rogue demon-prince named **Zarneth the Hollow** slipped the leash of the Seven Circles and wandered Lymbus for seven nights. On the seventh, he kissed a dying human warlord, **Valdris the Iron**, replacing his heart with a **void engine** that drank life instead of beating it. Valdris rose, pale and immortal, and turned his honor guard in a single feast. The **First Brood** was born—twelve vampires who scattered across the continents, each founding a **bloodline**.
**The Shadow Century (3,200–3,100 BR)**
For a hundred years, vampires ruled openly. They built **crimson citadels** in the northwest forests, draining villages dry. Humans called them **“Night Kings”** and offered tribute in living flesh. The **Sommerisle Legion**, still forming, hunted them with crude silver and fire. Zarneth vanished on the 100th anniversary—torn apart by his own brood in a **Crimson Schism** over who would rule the eternal night. His heart, the **Void Core**, was lost.
**The Masquerade’s Birth (3,100–2,800 BR)**
The Legion’s numbers grew; silver mines opened; stakes became commonplace. The surviving Elders—**Lady Sereth**, **Count Veyl**, and **Baron Noctis**—convened the **Crimson Accord** in a moonless crypt. They decreed:
1. **No open rule**.
2. **Blend with the living**.
3. **Feed in silence**.
The **Masquerade** began. Vampires infiltrated human clans as “reclusive patrons,” funding wars to harvest battlefields. Their citadels sank into legend.
**The Age of Dust (0–400 AR)**
As humans forged the **First Gear**, vampires adapted. **House Northington** (secretly led by **Count Veyl’s fledgling**) monopolized ether-crystal trade, using blood-slaves in hidden forges. Vampires became **silent shareholders**, draining one worker per shift and blaming “black lung.” Redlands nomads whispered of **“pale riders”** who left exsanguinated corpses at dawn.
**Rebmosian Golden Age (400–700 AR)**
Vampires thrived in **Kaldius’** shadowed salons. **Lady Sereth** posed as a widowed industrialist, hosting **Masquerade Balls** where one guest vanished per waltz. **Baron Noctis** sired **King Douglas I’s** chief advisor, ensuring royal blood tasted of **Northington vintage**. The **Crimson Court**—a rotating council of Elders—met yearly in Kaldius’ sewers, tallying thralls and territories.
**The Ashen War (750 AR–Present)**
War was a banquet. Vampires funded both sides:
- **Rebmos**: Bankrolling dreadnoughts for trench-fed harvests.
- **Red Suns**: Arming raiders to keep the chaos flowing.
**Key Event**: **The Fogfall Feast (874 AR)**—vampires infiltrated Dustvein’s plague-pits, turning infected into **blood-zombies** (mindless, contagious). The Legion culled them in a **Silver Night**, staking 47 sires in one sweep.
**Modern Era**: **House Northington** is 60% vampire-controlled. **Opulent Spire** hosts a **Crimson Enclave** beneath the mesa. The **Void Core** resurfaced in 915 AR, unearthed by Red Suns miners—sparking a **Blood War** among Elders to claim it.
**Current State (925 AR)**
- **Population**: ~1,200 worldwide (300 Elders, 900 fledglings/thralls).
- **Strongholds**: Kaldius manors, Opulent Spire crypts, abandoned Shatterchain lighthouses.
- **Threats**: Sommerisle Wardens (47 confirmed kills in 925 AR alone), Covenant curses, rival bloodlines.
- **Goal**: **The Eternal Masquerade**—rule from boardrooms and ballrooms, never thrones.
Vampires are the **shadow behind every crown**, the **whisper in every contract**, the **hunger that progress feeds**. Their history is written in crimson ink, one drained dynasty at a time.