The Blood of Dawnwalker Lore

After centuries of bloody invasions and ruthless rulers, the secluded Carpathian valley of Vale Sangora is now completely sealed off from the outside world under Brencis.

Our home, Vale Sangora, is a secluded valley in the Carpathian Mountains.

From what I know, it's had a troubled history, constantly being fought over and passed from hand to hand. At times it's belonged to the Moravians, the Kievan Rus or the Serbian Voivodeship. It's been pillaged by Hungarians, Mongols, and Tatars. In the last decades before Brencis, it belonged to the Dragosti family, who ruled it with an iron fist.

Nowadays, under Brencis, Vale Sangora is cut off from the outside world. With all the bridges destroyed and the mountain passes blocked, there's almost no way to get in or out.

Carpathians

The Carpathians are a range of high mountains, stretching in a long arc through the heart of Europe. Even in the summer, they aren't easy to traverse. And in the winter, when snow blocks the mountain passes, the Carpathians become an insurmountable wall.

I guess that is why Brencis chose Vale Sangora to be his realm. When it comes to controlling borders, it's hard to think of a better place.

Once human, the immortal vrakhiri fear only silver and sunlight, keeping humanity around to feed on our blood and terror.

All vrakhiri used to be human. At some point in their lives, they were turned. To make that happen, their heart must have been stabbed by another vrakhir's fang.

Vrakhiri consider themselves above humans, better than us. And in some regards, they are. They don't grow old, their wounds heal instantly, and they have a whole array of other inhuman abilities. Contrary to what people may believe, they don't fear crucifixes or garlic, either. Only silver and sunlight are a threat to them, but they've learned to avoid both of those things pretty well.

But in spite of what they say, they need us. For one, we supply them with our blood. But also and maybe more importantly they feed on our fear. They are themselves too feral and too proud to be ruled and snarled at. And our obedience brings them immense satisfaction.

A gruesome plague continues to ravage Europe, and while vrakhiri blood is a proven cure, Brencis refuses to share it with anyone outside Vale Sangora.

The plague, or 'the great pestilence', broke out two years ago. For all we know, it's still spreading like wildfire through most of Europe.

In addition to being deadly, the disease causes much suffering. It starts with swollen lumps, or buboes, that appear in the groin or armpits. Some of those swellings grow as large as an apple or an egg. If you open them, they bleed. And from them, the disease spreads to all other parts of the body. After a while, black spots appear, followed by fever and vomiting. Most of the infected die within a few days.

People do what they can to avoid getting infected. Some stay at home and refuse to talk to anyone. Others flock to churches, praying for protection and seeking forgiveness for their sins, which according to some are why God brought the plague on us.

But, as it turns out, there is a remedy. Vrakhiri blood has the power to cure the infected and prevent others from catching the disease. That is how Brencis healed the people of Vale Sangora, but I don't think he plans on sharing his blood with anyone outside the valley.

And so, the plague rages on.

With Europe torn apart by plague and war, peasant life remains a grim and inescapable cycle of serving oppressive lords until death.

Some say we're living in the end of days.

At the moment, almost all of Europe is being ravaged by the great plague - an unstoppable and merciless pestilence that wipes out entire towns and villages. Meanwhile, two great powers, France and England, are warring over the French throne, possibly willing to set the entire continent on fire to get what they want. And any day now, the Mongols or the Turks may come from the East, burning and pillaging. Nothing is certain anymore, the world seems to be crumbling beyond repair.

But even without any of these things, our lives would be far from easy. We work for our lords, who feed off us like leeches. Most of what we produce, we're forced to hand over to our masters, who have little to no sympathy for our suffering. It doesn't matter how smart or hardworking we are - if we were born peasants, we'll die as peasants.

Brencis commands a formidable army of vrakhiri henchmen, loyal blood guards, and uriashi, backed by a reluctant force of regular soldiers forced to stand in my way.

Brencis' forces are different from what other rulers have at their disposal. For one, there are the three vrakhiri henchmen: Bakir, Ambrus, and Xanthe, ready to fight alongside Brencis whenever needed. Beside them, the knyaz may also count on the fiercely loyal blood guards, created by Xanthe. And then, there are also uriashi - strong, obedient, and often eager to prove their worth.

But the majority of the troops are just regular soldiers, who two years ago were still loyal to knyaz Skender. I bet they wouldn't fight anyone if they didn't have to. But they're still what stands between me and the vrakhiri, so - whether I want it or not - they are my enemies.

The mysterious ruins of the ancient Arimaspians in Vale Sangora leave us with unanswered questions about their lost civilization and a creeping fear that our society might eventually share their fate.

We don't know much about ancient peoples who lived in Vale Sangora before us. Anca says they were called Arimaspians, and that some of them were nomads, while others built cities and temples ... but that's about it.

Were they anything like ancient Greeks or Romans whose works Anca let me read? What gods did they believe in? Did they value peace - which seems unlikely - or did they wage neverending wars? And what treasures did they leave behind in their tombs, mausoleums and shrines?

And then, an even bigger question: if once they flourished and now they're gone, will the same happen to us?

Legends speak of a glorious Golden Age where champions easily defeated ancient monsters, but today only deadly ruins remain to claim the lives of foolish treasure hunters.

The tales say we're just a pale imitation of the past, an era known as the Golden Age. While we struggle just to stay alive, the champions of old feasted with the gods. They used to marry them and have children with them. They fought glorious battles against giants and demons, some of whom may have been ancient vrakhiri - and they had no trouble defeating these monsters.

Little is left of that world - mostly crumbling ruins of ancient tombs and temples. Those few who dare venture into their depths hope to find gold, jewels and other treasures ... but mostly find death instead, and are never seen again. Do they just get lost in the ancient mazes? Or does something else prey on them there?

Too weak to fight Brencis openly, the Manumit rebels and their elusive leader Crake wage a brutal guerrilla war by sabotaging supplies and claiming soldiers' ears as trophies.

Soon after Brencis's coup, people started whispering about a group formed to bring him down. At first, they were just called 'the rebels', but after a few months a new name started popping up: 'the manumits'.

They have a leader, known as 'Crake, but his true identity remains a well-kept secret. Some even say he doesn't exist at all.

They are too few and too weak to oppose Brencis openly, at least for now. Instead, they try to make his life harder by destroying his supplies, attacking convoys with prisoners or blood transports, and by killing his soldiers, whose ears they cut off and take as trophies.

Brencis rules Vale Sangora alongside a vrakhiri court of three boyars, Bakir, Ambrus, and Xanthe, all united by strict obedience and a mysterious shared bond.

Brencis doesn't rule alone. I don't know if all vrakhiri do the same, but in Vale Sangora they've formed a court, consisting of the knyaz and his three boyars: Bakir, Ambrus and Xanthe. Not all three of them were sired by Brencis, but they all obey him. Could they stand up to him? Could they kill him? Could he kill them? I have no idea, but they clearly share some sort of a bond.

Brencis forced the people of Vale Sangora into the Blood Covenant, a mandatory religion where subjects trade their blood for his healing gifts and face harsh punishment for any perceived blasphemy.

After becoming the Knyaz of Vale Sangora, Brencis banned all religion - except for his own, which he calls the Blood Covenant. It is now the official and compulsory faith of all who live in the valley.

Though Brencis hasn't gone so far as to call himself God, he clearly tries to paint himself as God's messenger and His chief disciple. He claims he's the only one capable of protecting us from the plague, outside influences and any calamity that may threaten us in the future.

The Covenant requires all Brencis's subjects to feed him with their blood. In turn, Brencis feeds us with his own blood, which cures all our illnesses. Everyone has to attend Blood Mass, and - of course - nobody is allowed to criticise the Knyaz, for that is considered blasphemy.

And that's it. Just a few simple rules, easy to remember. And yet, they have turned all our lives upside down.

Brencis shut down Vale Sangora's deep silver mines to protect the vrakhiri from their only weakness, but the buried metal still waits to be weaponized against his court.

Vale Sangora is a place of many riches, some of them - like silver - hidden deep underground. It's this precious metal that first drew people to our remote valley - and the foundation upon which the city of Svartrau was built.

For hundreds of years, Vale Sangora was a land of miners, but all that changed two years ago. Since silver is one of the few things that can weaken a vrakhir, Brencis ordered all the mines to close. As for the men who had worked there, they became farmers. And not many of them complained, since there's hardly any tougher job than mining.

Still, the silver is there, waiting to be used against Brencis and his court.

Once a silver mining village, Laslea was forced by Brencis into a harsh agricultural existence where locals endure back-breaking labor just to survive the winter.

Laslea, my home, was once mainly a mining village. But after Brencis became knyaz, he closed down the silver mines. Since then, we've been farmers and herders. Our life may seem peaceful and quiet to some, but it's mainly back-breaking labor from dawn till dusk - no matter the weather. If we don't have enough food before winter, we'll starve.

Anca taught me to cast forbidden blood hexes by carving symbols into my skin, and despite the severe risks to my soul and the wrath of the Inquisition, I will use these dark arts to defeat Brencis.

Vrakhiri may have powers humans can only dream of, but it turns out that there are other arcane arts out there ... And Anca showed me how to access them. To cast a hex you first have to carve its symbol on your skin, and then draw some of your own blood. It feels ... wrong, but also good.

And the cost? For one, it's forbidden. In places where the Inquisition operates, casting a hex or even being seen with symbols on your arms would put you in prison, or worse. And besides, who knows what the source of these powers is, or what we let into our souls when we practise this dark art?

But I don't have a choice. If it helps me defeat Brencis, I'm going to use it, no matter what.

Knyaz Skender built the imposing stone walls of Greifberg Castle to deter rebel attacks, but the fortress failed to stop Brencis from seizing it and throwing my family into its dungeons.

Looking at Greifberg Castle, you might think it has towered over Svartrau for centuries. But it was actually built just thirteen years ago. Before that, a much less impressive stronghold stood there - one made mostly of wood, with only a few crucial parts fortified with stone.

But I heard that Knyaz Skender had been fantasising about a proper castle for years. He started building it right after taking over. And then, in AD 1333, after the infamous Shrike's Crag massacre, he pressed on even harder, possibly worried the rebels might strike again. They never did, and three years later the castle was finished.

Skender boasted that this imposing castle would keep all his enemies at bay ... But its walls were no great obstacle for Brencis. He took over the castle, along with its dungeons, where he imprisoned my family.

I have always avoided the nearby Briar Sloughs due to its chilling eastern swamps and the heavy military presence at Stoneward Post, but my reasons for staying away are about to change.

Briar Sloughs isn't far from my home village, Laslea, but I don't go there often. Its eastern part is mostly a swamp, which - especially at night - always gave me the chills. The western part, on the other hand, is full of Brencis's soldiers, stationed at Stoneward Post, one of the largest military camps in the valley. Either way, I've never had much need to visit those parts, other than on the way to Svartrau. But that might change now ...

Nestled in a lush forest, the village of Maragir survives on logging and hunting while its people maintain a suspiciously vocal devotion to their boyar Ambrus.

The village of Maragir is nestled in a dense, lush forest. Some of the villagers hunt there, now that Brencis has made that legal for peasants - or they pick berries and mushrooms. Others earn their living as lumberjacks. And they all love their boyar, Ambrus. At least, that's what you hear whenever you set foot in Maragir.

Once packed to the brim with pilgrims traveling to St. Tyna's convent, the Crossroads Inn now sits completely abandoned and rotting away.

The Crossroads Inn used to be the last stop for pilgrims on their way to the nearby convent of St. Tyna's. It used to be so busy that once all the rooms were booked, the overflow guests would sleep in the stables. But now it stands abandoned, windows gaping wide open, shutters creaking on the wind, moss slowly covering the roof.

Once a strict convent for unwanted daughters, St. Tyna's became a mass grave when the plague wiped out both the nuns and the desperate pilgrims seeking a miracle.

Back in the day, St. Tyna's convent was run like clockwork. I bet the prioress never complained of a shortage of candidates for the novitiate. If you were a third daughter with no dowry, or if you were giving your parents a hard time and 'needed some discipline', Saint Tyna's was where you ended up.

And then the plague came, and a wave of pilgrims flooded the convent. Some of them came to ask the saint for protection, others - already infected - to pray for a miracle. The sisters worked their fingers to the bone tending the sick ... until, in the end, there was no one left. Rumour is, all the pilgrims died, and so did the nuns. The convent and the surrounding woods fell silent. But not for long ...

St. Tyna's Convent

Once, St. Tyna's used to be a place of hope. Pilgrims would come here in droves to ask the Heavens for blessings and forgiveness - the wonderfully preserved body of the convent's founder was considered a holy relic, capable of inducing all sorts of wonders. And yet, when the plague came, it was of no avail.

Though its dense forests hide rumored rebel camps and a blood-stained abandoned quarry, the Boar's Back region remains dangerously under the control of the mad Boyar Bakir.

The region of Boar's Back was once known mainly for the Shrike's Crag quarry - until, years ago, Knyaz Skender turned the place into a slaughterhouse, killing peasants who dared oppose his unjust rule. Today, Shrike's Crag is abandoned and people give it a wide berth.

That plus the thick forests covering Boar's Back make it a good place to lie low, which has spawned rumours of the manumits having many of their hideouts there. However, it's also a part of the valley overseen by the mad Boyar Bakir, a cruel and unpredictable monster.

The capital of Svartrau hides sprawling ruins beneath its sharply contrasting districts, while its breathtaking cathedral stands abandoned by locals who fear its aura of divine wrath.

Svartrau, the capital of Vale Sangora, is a city of contrasts. The opulent mansions of the Silberstein district are just a stone's throw away from the decrepit hovels of the Middens, the bustling Altenmarkt square adjoins the quiet, winding alleys of Neustadt. And beneath the populous city lies a sprawl of abandoned old basements and empty ruins ...

The Svartrau Cathedral is a staggering architectural achievement - its richly carved spires, colorful stained windows and meticulously painted frescos inspire awe. And yet ... The people of Svartrau tend to avoid it. Why? Even though the cathedral was built to celebrate the glory of God, it feels more like a monument to His wrath and vengefulness.

Left completely unchecked by Brencis, the secluded region of the Silts serves as Xanthe's personal fiefdom and the staging ground for Bakir's infamous Lunar Tournaments.

The Silts is part of Boyaress Xanthe's fiefdom. It's a secluded place far from the valley's centre. Bakir has his manor there as well, and it's where he holds his infamous Lunar Tournaments. Brencis seldom casts his gaze over this part of the valley - whether by neglect or by choice - and his boyars do as they please in the Silts, undisturbed by anyone.

Originally arriving with the Mongol army, the Tatars now herd sheep in the segregated village of Tantari, enduring the same forced isolation as the Jews of Neustadt.

A century ago, a large group of Tatars came to our region with the Mongol army, led by Batu-khan. Some of those Tatars, tired of warring, began looking for a place to settle. Soon they came to Vale Sangora and in exchange for the right to herd sheep, they pledged their allegiance to house Dragosti.

Just like the Jews of Neustadt district in Svartrau, the Tatars now live predominantly in one place - the village of Tantari. And just like with the Jews, I don't think it's entirely by their own choice. Our world isn't a just place for anyone, but for some - it's even less so.

Hidden deep within the Tantari Woods, the elusive Howling Keep phases in and out of reality and swallows anyone who dares to cross its threshold.

Deep in the Tantari Woods lies a mysterious mansion, known to the people of Vale Sangora as the Howling Keep. On some days, you can see it from afar, towering over the firs and beeches. On other occasions, though, it's nowhere to be found. And maybe it's for the better, for, if stories are to be believed, those who cross the keep's threshold rarely return.

Plagued by unnaturally frequent avalanches, the treacherous Rockfalls region is rumored to hide ancient mountain magic and the highly secretive villages of the uriashi.

The region of Rockfalls owes its name to the landslides and avalanches whose roar so often echoes over the peaks. They're too frequent to be of nature's doing, some say. There are legends of mountain giants or ancient sites of volatile magic causing these phenomena ... but since few people have actually wandered through Rockfalls and survived, we still don't know the truth.

Maybe the uriashi, whose villages are rumoured to lie somewhere in Rockfalls, know more. Unfortunately, they aren't eager to share any of their people's secrets.

Hidden high in the mountains in perfectly camouflaged homes, the secretive uriashi protect their existence from the outside world by burying any human trespassers under deadly avalanches.

Since time immemorial, the uriashi kept their existence a secret from humans. They live high up in the mountains, in humble houses built of rocks and twigs, which blend with the surroundings. Few ever wander near their villages - and those who do tend to be buried by sudden avalanches.

Anachora is a desolate afterlife where the unabsorbed souls of slain vrakhiri are trapped forever, forced to wander cursed plains under the constant gaze of a mysterious entity.

For thousands of years we've been wondering what happens to us after we die. Is there an afterlife? For vrakhiri there is, but it's far from hospitable. It's called Anachora.

When one vrakhir dies by another vrakhir's hand, the killer may decide to absorb their victim's soul, carrying the dead spirit inside themselves. If the killer refuses, victim's soul is trapped in Anachora.

At that point, there's no way back. The dead souls are condemned to wander through the cursed plains forever, constantly watched by something ... An unnamed presence, hidden behind the clouds, whose gaze sinks into the vrakhiri's souls the way fangs sink into flesh. Who is it? And what does it want?