Mannfred von Carstein
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Mannfred Von Carstein was a Von Carstein Vampire sired by Vlad von Carstein himself. He held the greatest claim to his sire's throne but chose to remain in the shadows, letting the other contenders destroy themselves before assuming full control of Sylvania. He led a huge army in a rampage across The Empire in the Old World, but was defeated when he laid siege to Altdorf, being driven back until he was killed at the Battle of Hel Fenn. The Story of Mannfred is written in the novels Inheritance, Dominion and Retribution by Steven Savile.
[edit] Overview
[edit] Rise and Defeat
After stealing the Von Carstein Ring, which allowed Vlad to be killed, and aiding the escape of Jon Skellan, a witch hunter who had been Vampirised by one of Vlad's minions, Mannfred and his unlikely companion travelled around feeding from maidens to spread terror and discord. After destroying the ruling family of Nuln in a single night's bloodfest, Mannfred deemed his work finished. He sent Skellan to the east to return to Sylvania, where he would serve as Mannfred's agent in stoking the raging paranoia that was Mannfred's brother Konrad's constant companion. During this time Mannfred journeyed south to Khemri in the Land of the Dead, where he procured much lore from a stolen Book of Nagash. When asked why he did not simply betray Konrad and seize power himself Mannfred was nonchalant, but reminded Skellan that should he attempt to do so, the next Von Carstein he would face would be Mannfred himself.
With the death of his "brother" Konrad, Mannfred seized power and returned to Drakenhof aboard a "Black Ship" (sailing up the River Reik) that swiftly became infamous in the Empire. Mannfred set about rebuilding Drakenhof and Sylvania one corrupt piece at a time. When Skellan discovered a coven of Lahmian Vampires in Nuln, an intrigued Mannfred soon arrived to meet with "The Eternal" and propose a truce between their bloodlines. Soon Mannfred marched his troops beneath the Empire in the ancient tunnels beneath the world, battling through Skaven forces to strike from below. His assaults upon the Empire were initially successful, and Mannfred butchered entire armies before finally marching to Altdorf itself. But as he made ready to lay siege to the capital of the Empire, the Grand Theogonist appeared on the battlements and read the spell of unbinding from the Liber Mortis, forcing Mannfred into a hasty retreat as his unholy army crumbled to dust around him. After several long months of Mannfred playing a cat-and-mouse game with the Empire and her allies, they drove him back to Sylvania...and Hel Fenn. Here an alliance of troops from the Empire and the Dwarfs defeated Mannfred. With the aid of the renegade vampire Jerek, Prince Martin of Stirland cornered Mannfred and slew him with his Runefang. After centuries of terror, the last Vampire of Count of Sylvania was no more.
[edit] Modern Times
Or so it seemed. Centuries later Mannfred was resurrected by a petty necromancer named Schtillmann, who did not survive to see the fruits of his terrible labour (Schtillman was killed by the infamous Slayer, Gotrek Gurnisson, who cut him in two- the blood from his bifurcated body spilled on Mannfred's corpse, leading to his resurrection). By the time of the Storm of Chaos Mannfred was once again Lord of Sylvania, and remains a threat to the Empire.
