Vlad The Impaler (Vengeance)

Aspect: 0
Domain: 0
Persona: 5
Treasure: 0

Passions and Skills
Passion: Evil must be punished. (2)
Passion: I am not a vampire! (1)
Passion: I am not unreasonable. (2)
Skill: Executioner (3)

Bonds and Afflictions
Affliction: I am feared. (4)
Affliction: I cannot harm the innocent. (2)
Bond: I must never forgive any crime against me. (4)
Bond: I protect my familia at any cost. (3)

Estate Properties
(2) Vengeance is cruel.
(2) Vengeance never relents.
(1) Vengeance never strikes first.
(1) Vengeance is hideous.
(1) Vengeance is terrifying.

Gifts
Eternal [Major Preservation of Self 6, Self Only -3, Comprehensive -1, Automatic 1, Total: 3]
Shape-Shifter (Swarm of Bats) [Lesser Enchantment of Bats 4, Automatic 1, Self Only -3, Limited -2, Total: 1]
Lightning Quickness [Fairy Tale Feat (Skill: Stalker) 7, Simple -1, Local -1, Comprehensive -1, Uncommon 1, Total: 5]

History
Vlad III Tepes, the three-time voivode of Wallachia, is steeped in legend to such an extent that the actual character of his rule. Many remember him as a just lord who protected his people by ferociously punishing the wicked. Many, many more remember him as a monster who inspired great warlords to cower in terror from his . He rarely speaks of his past, taking a certain pleasure in letting those around him wonder. A few things, however, are clear. First, he is not a vampire, and referring to him as such angers him to no end.

More importantly, at least some of the stories are true, and those that are not are probably partly rooted in fact. For example, Vlad fondly remembers the time he declared that he would end poverty in his land. He extended an invitation to all the poor and crippled under his reign, to a great feast. According to legend, late into the night he made an appearance and asked them, "What else do you desire? Do you want to be without cares, lacking nothing in this world?" When they responded positively, he is said to have locked the doors behind him and set fire to the place. He refuses to comment further on this.

He was enNobled at the moment of his historical assassination. He heard the song of Heaven in his heart, sharing the space with a poisoned knife. In that instant he understood true beauty, and loved it. He heard, also, the songs of Hell and the Dark, and was sickened. He tried to turn away, and embrace beauty- but all the hideous evil in the world seemed to surround him and swim through his veins, and he knew, with more certainty than he had of anything, that he did not belong to Heaven. The knowledge was far more painful than the knife in his back. He asked a single question of the world: "Why?"

He answered his own question. His body exploded into a swarm of shrieking bats, provoking his would-be assassin to stumble back in shock and terror, stumbling from a balcony and to a lethal fall. The bats left him and flew through his lands, through his Forest of the Dead, where tens of thousands of those who crossed him stood, impaled on spikes. Invading armies of men, famed for their own cruelty, had turned and fled, screaming from the sight. The bats swirled back into the shape of a man, and he walked among the dead for a year in contemplation.

He might have repented, sworn to better himself. He should have gone mad, swore to destroy Heaven. Instead, he said, as if correcting reality, "No." No, it was not wrong, the things he had done, and he need not be ashamed of it. But it was Dark, and Hellish, and perhaps even Evil. He did not belong to Heaven, but neither could he be loyal to the Dark. He understood that some things should not be, and that he was one of them. The reasoning from there was simple. He would destroy all that was evil, that was like him, so that the world would be better for it in the end. When his work was finished, there would be no more need for him, and he could fade into oblivion.

Since then he has been, even moreso than before, an executioner, crusader, a wandering minstrel of justice. But not justice, exactly, which is the province of Heaven. Justice is fair, even forgiving, and seeks to enforce good. The Impaler is Vengeance, which cares not for good or law or any greater understanding of righteousness, but only that evil should suffer and die. Vlad does not heal, or try to avert or undo the damage that evil does to the world. He wishes only to destroy its source. His sense of self is stretched, necessarily, for him to accept that he, himself, should in the end die for the good of all creation. He refuses to think about how he will not be there to experience a world without evil, since he will have purged himself from it, and prefers to feel, as the Wild does, that his identity is merely a piece of the greater whole. Mostly, though, he just tries not to think about it- it isn't pleasant.

He never quite realized just how big a task he had set for himself, however. He really did not expect it to take nearly as long as it has, especially considering how little progress he has made. In fact, he often feels that the more he works at destroying evil, the more of it there is to destroy. Sometimes he thinks that he is only making things worse, but such doubts he always casts aside, and continues in endless, maddening frustration, determined to work harder, to hurt more, until there is nothing left to hurt, if need be.

Lifepath
Key of Rage (Aconite, V)
My Hatred:

  • I'm a monster.
  • I shall personally punish all evil in the world.
  • I cannot forgive any offense.

What Lets Me Oppose It:

  • I kill for a reason, and the world is better for it.
  • I am disgusted by things that share my nature.
  • Do I go too far? Am I any better than those I destroy?

Key of Something Powerful (Vervain, II)
My Identity:

  • Executioner, a destroyer of evil

Burdens:

  • Set apart
  • Bound by Duty
  • My goal is to destroy evil, but I cannot help but think- I ought to protect the innocent.
  • My ultimate success, when the world is made in heaven's image by the destruction of evil, will be sealed by my own destruction.
  • Are my goals too high? I am just one god, after all. Is it within my power to remove all the evil from Creation?

Foundations: Epic, Inhuman, and Powerful:

  • I will destroy all evil, including, ultimately, myself. And as I die, torn to ribbons of nothing, Creation will thank me for all I did, and I will be happy.

My Estate: The Dark Side of Human Experience:

  • Vengeance is evil, it is so. But it shall destroy all evil, until, in the end, it is the only evil left. That is a fair price.

I Lived an Extraordinary Life:

  • I was a beloved ruler and a feared warlord. Today, centuries later, I am remembered as a terror to behold.

Contacts:

  • Nemesis: My brother- I thought him dead, but there are rumors…
  • Cammora: I had dealings with them a couple of centuries ago. It was so long ago, but I occasionally wonder if they'll ever collect on that favor I owe them.
  • Noble Friend or Enemy: I know Justice hates me, and I know that she is right to hate me. Justice is a beautiful force for good- THE Force of Good, in fact, and Vengeance is a hideous, wicked thing. But we both have the same goal- don't we? Could we ever be friends?

I have heard the Song of Heaven:

  • This world, and all worlds, must be cleansed of hideous evil. Even when all evil has been bound into Hell, the cleansing will not be complete until Hell is flung from the Ash and into the Lands Beyond- or, better yet, the Not.

I have heard the Song of the Wild:

  • The only way I can hold fast to my ultimate dream- which ends in my own destruction- is to feel that I am somehow a part of a greater whole. If my world ends when I am destroyed, then all I do is in vain.
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