Kazimierz var Morvich
“It is said that you can discover the servants of Death by their profane marks. No man is born so unnatural that his body does not revolt at the foul pollution of this tainted undead blood. And it is by these marks you can tell them: by the fangs of the predator, for theirs is a terrible and unholy thirst for blood; by their porcelain white skin, cold to the touch and unnatural to the eye; the glow of their evil eyes, behind which lives the terrible hunger that afflicts them. These are the marks of the blackest and most accursed evil. These are the marks of one touched by Vampirism…”
- Hausbrjotr the Reckless, Monster Hunter
Appearance
To most, Kazimierz appears as a middle-aged man. In this form, a well-kept crown of swept-back black hair adorns his head, though the signs of aging make themselves known as streaks of grey in an otherwise ordinary mane. He is pale, though perhaps not as wholly unnaturally-so as the uneducated might believe. His eyes are a frigid and icy glacial blue, giving him an almost ethereal appearance when compared with his dark hair and pale skin. Notably, his canine teeth appear marginally longer than more typical humans, which might be noticeable to the more astute, should they suspect him of the heresy of vampirism. He stands tall at around six-foot-three and looks to weigh about one-hundred-eighty-odd pounds. His voice is an even and mellifluous tenor, and he seems to conduct himself with an air of authority.
When the illusion falls, however, his true form is a much more profane thing. Where once human features rested, now only the visage of a terrible and corpse-like monster remain. He stands much taller and looks monstrously decayed; ancient, sickly skin lines a lithe and sinewy frame. His ears grow pointed, much like an elf's; his eyes become pale orbs and thin veins snake across his skin like a spider's web. His nose becomes bat-like, and his teeth grow sharp and jagged, the necessity for disguising his inhuman predatory features no longer relevant. Where once his finger tips would end in nails, now only terrible claws remain. To most mortals, this visage is the last thing they witness before death, and few outside of his family know of the terrible and true form of Lord Kazimierz.
When the illusion falls, however, his true form is a much more profane thing. Where once human features rested, now only the visage of a terrible and corpse-like monster remain. He stands much taller and looks monstrously decayed; ancient, sickly skin lines a lithe and sinewy frame. His ears grow pointed, much like an elf's; his eyes become pale orbs and thin veins snake across his skin like a spider's web. His nose becomes bat-like, and his teeth grow sharp and jagged, the necessity for disguising his inhuman predatory features no longer relevant. Where once his finger tips would end in nails, now only terrible claws remain. To most mortals, this visage is the last thing they witness before death, and few outside of his family know of the terrible and true form of Lord Kazimierz.
Skills and Abilities
Much like other ancient vampires, Kazimierz is an adept necromancer. Sorcery and dark magic are his primary forms of doling out punishment, and the gifts of vampirism assist with this profane magery. Having lived for nearly six centuries, he has had considerable time to refine his magical skills. Monstrous and wizened, he may appear frail, but he is a veritable force to be reckoned with on the field of magic. As a higher vampire, he can play with weaker mortal minds as if they were putty, seducing or dominating them to his own malefic ends. The eyes of the vampire are two deep pits in which a mortal can find his doom. How can a mortal resist the allure of a creature who has preyed on warm blooded beings since the dawn of time? Who can refuse to become his willing slave?
The darkness is his domain, and as such can become one with the shadows with but a thought. In the uncertain light of the forest, one might see a noble-born and handsome man, but in the blink of an eye he disappears. If they are wise, they should realize they are now the prey. Additionally, he can commune with vermin and minor predators; swarms of rats will heed his beckon, and the traditional symbol of vampires - bats - obey his commands.
In his lifeless state, he is resistant to most mundane methods of killing him. However, he has a number of weaknesses: silver; holy weapons, symbols, books, and oil; witchbane roots; stakes or weapons made of ash, hawthorne, or rosewood; emril weapons; and fire -- all of these are anathema to the vampire lord, and he takes special precautions in avoiding an untimely demise or being forced into hiding to regenerate for some time by them. Furthermore, the blow of another vampire can often be fatal as a result of the foul magicks tying the two together, even if there are differences in ‘strains.’
Additionally, a vampire may only be truly sated with the blood of the living, and, as such, he must feed to maintain his power. The longer he ignores his cravings, the more the insanity of unlife wracks his brain, weakens his body, and the less control he has over hiding his true form. On the other hand, vampires who gorge on blood often become addicted to it, their grip on reality growing ever more tenuous. Should he truly need it, he can subsist on pure necromantic magic, but prolonged usage of this will cause his true form to be more difficult to conceal. Many vampires are cursed, so they can never behold their visage in the surface of a mirror or in a shadow cast by the moonlight. Mirrors or other reflective surfaces do not show the appearance of these vampires.
Finally, he has the ability to grant the curse of undeath to those worthy of his choosing, though it is an extremely secret, personal, and agonizing ritual. A few have received the gift of his blood kiss and now roam the world as vampires.
The darkness is his domain, and as such can become one with the shadows with but a thought. In the uncertain light of the forest, one might see a noble-born and handsome man, but in the blink of an eye he disappears. If they are wise, they should realize they are now the prey. Additionally, he can commune with vermin and minor predators; swarms of rats will heed his beckon, and the traditional symbol of vampires - bats - obey his commands.
In his lifeless state, he is resistant to most mundane methods of killing him. However, he has a number of weaknesses: silver; holy weapons, symbols, books, and oil; witchbane roots; stakes or weapons made of ash, hawthorne, or rosewood; emril weapons; and fire -- all of these are anathema to the vampire lord, and he takes special precautions in avoiding an untimely demise or being forced into hiding to regenerate for some time by them. Furthermore, the blow of another vampire can often be fatal as a result of the foul magicks tying the two together, even if there are differences in ‘strains.’
Additionally, a vampire may only be truly sated with the blood of the living, and, as such, he must feed to maintain his power. The longer he ignores his cravings, the more the insanity of unlife wracks his brain, weakens his body, and the less control he has over hiding his true form. On the other hand, vampires who gorge on blood often become addicted to it, their grip on reality growing ever more tenuous. Should he truly need it, he can subsist on pure necromantic magic, but prolonged usage of this will cause his true form to be more difficult to conceal. Many vampires are cursed, so they can never behold their visage in the surface of a mirror or in a shadow cast by the moonlight. Mirrors or other reflective surfaces do not show the appearance of these vampires.
Finally, he has the ability to grant the curse of undeath to those worthy of his choosing, though it is an extremely secret, personal, and agonizing ritual. A few have received the gift of his blood kiss and now roam the world as vampires.
Personality
Kazimierz is a calm, collected, and calculating man. Six centuries of undeath have given him ample time to understand his condition, his desires, and what incenses him. Raised as a noble, he exudes an air of authority, which is only further amplified by his unnatural powers, should he so choose. His is the insatiable pursuit of knowledge, and the gift of immortality has given him plenty of time to amass a sizable collection of dark and forbidden tomes. For those who desire mastery of the dark arts, the curse of Undeath grants many long centuries during which the secrets of Necromancy can be unlocked. Such study can be arduous and perilous, but many vampires find its lure irresistible at some point in their unlives and will seek to increase their necromantic powers, much like he has. Necromancy is at the core of a Vampire's existence and to master it is to master themselves and their fate, thus Kazimierz seeks true and total mastery over the undead. Long must one study to gain knowledge of the netherworld, let alone several paths of magical teaching, but time is no worry to an undying scholar.
He prefers the company of higher and lesser vampires and beasts, shunning the world of man except when he deems something urgent enough to venture beyond his lair. Given this, he is fairly maladjusted to the conniving and unusual ways of society as it has changed in the centuries he has been alive.
He prefers the company of higher and lesser vampires and beasts, shunning the world of man except when he deems something urgent enough to venture beyond his lair. Given this, he is fairly maladjusted to the conniving and unusual ways of society as it has changed in the centuries he has been alive.
Biography & Lore
Kazimierz var Morvich was born before the current Age on a small island in the Gulf of Ryt to a wealthy and reclusive noble family. Much of his childhood was spent as a young lord might spend his formative years; higher education, physical training, and having servants attend to his every need. It was a relaxing, if boring, life for the young lord, which kept him shielded from much of the profane occult rituals his elders participated in. Intensely eager to seek the secret to immortality, his family scoured the continents for esoteric and proscribed lore. Amassing an impressive collection, these upstart occultists attempted all manner of foul ritual; weeks would go by, and the servant population seemed to dwindle, though young lord Kazimierz did not notice. The efforts of the family to attain immortality seemed fruitless, were it not for a chance encounter with a shadowy figure whose attention they had attracted with their frenetic searches.
A reckoning in blood would overtake the nobles of House var Morvich, and an orgy of death followed a particularly disastrous ritual. The newcomer had come along to advise them in the ways of necromancy, his ulterior motives unbeknownst to the desperate and insane nobles. After failing to bring a servant to life in a most unpleasant manner, the figure descended upon his unwitting victims, unveiling the reality of the ritual he instructed them to complete. Insanity wracked their brains, and few know what truly happened within those walls beyond the initial otherwordly screams. The doors were sealed, and young Kazimierz was out in the garden, blissfully unaware. The stranger, his foul corruption complete, found the young master alone, and, rather than inflict upon him the same malefic cruelty he did to the others, took him in as his own dark apprentice, revealing his nature as a vampire. He was whisked away, never to return to his family grounds again. Some have said that the baleful wails of cursed and deformed beasts can still be heard over the crash of waves, though none have ever attempted to enter the site of such an accursed ritual.
The gift of the dark awakening is one few are granted, but Kazimierz proved himself a worthy apprentice. Once the agonizing torture of turning was complete, he set about his new life as a vampire. Centuries would pass, and eventually his master would end up on the sharp end of a silver blade, his monstrous life finally at an end. The young lord fled to lands unknown, eager to live his life among mortals and continue the work his master had dedicated his life to: the study and mastery over the undead -- necromancy. With the desire to turn the realm of the living into the land of the dead, Kazimierz var Morvich now lurks in plain sight, a man of unsettling presence and indefatigable will.
All credit to the original authors of any references, photos, quotes, etc.
A reckoning in blood would overtake the nobles of House var Morvich, and an orgy of death followed a particularly disastrous ritual. The newcomer had come along to advise them in the ways of necromancy, his ulterior motives unbeknownst to the desperate and insane nobles. After failing to bring a servant to life in a most unpleasant manner, the figure descended upon his unwitting victims, unveiling the reality of the ritual he instructed them to complete. Insanity wracked their brains, and few know what truly happened within those walls beyond the initial otherwordly screams. The doors were sealed, and young Kazimierz was out in the garden, blissfully unaware. The stranger, his foul corruption complete, found the young master alone, and, rather than inflict upon him the same malefic cruelty he did to the others, took him in as his own dark apprentice, revealing his nature as a vampire. He was whisked away, never to return to his family grounds again. Some have said that the baleful wails of cursed and deformed beasts can still be heard over the crash of waves, though none have ever attempted to enter the site of such an accursed ritual.
The gift of the dark awakening is one few are granted, but Kazimierz proved himself a worthy apprentice. Once the agonizing torture of turning was complete, he set about his new life as a vampire. Centuries would pass, and eventually his master would end up on the sharp end of a silver blade, his monstrous life finally at an end. The young lord fled to lands unknown, eager to live his life among mortals and continue the work his master had dedicated his life to: the study and mastery over the undead -- necromancy. With the desire to turn the realm of the living into the land of the dead, Kazimierz var Morvich now lurks in plain sight, a man of unsettling presence and indefatigable will.
All credit to the original authors of any references, photos, quotes, etc.