Vladimir the Conqueror

Vladimir the Conqueror was one of the so called True Vampires created by the now lost Blood Stone.   Vladimir is not the only True Vampire to have sired lesser vampires but he was the most prolific.  He created dozens of vampires, and these vampires created more vampires and these vampires created more vampires and son on and so forth.  At its peak, there were said to be two thousand vampires of Vladmir's lineage running around Scarterra.   Vladimir's ambitions was to do no less than take over all of Scarterra.  With vampires as his lieutenants, Vladimir's army used undead soldiers as the bulk of his army supplemented by living human and demi-human vassals.   Within barely a century, Vladimir had subjugated over half then land and people of West Colassia most of the coastal region of East Colassia and had conquered major footholds in all the southern continents.   Vladimir had expanded too far, too fast.  Nearly every priesthood united against him (the Children were officially neutral).   Before Vladimir's reign of terror, most nations and tribes in Scarterra were very isolationist and gave very little thought to people beyond their borders.  Now far flung groups that wouldn't have talked to each other before were now allying against him.   Vladimir also faced increasing dissension within his own ranks as some of his lieutenants bristled against Vladimir's tight grip on power or killing each other in competition for Vladimir's favor.  Supposedly, the other surviving True Vampires and their small broods were also opposing Vladimir from the shadows quietly assassinating his lieutenants.   No one is sure who killed Vladimir but most agree on when he was was destroyed by because the night sky was said to be filled with shooting stars as the Nine collectively celebrated his demise.   Vladimir's empire did not survive Vladimir.  Nearly all of Vladimir's direct offspring believed they were his rightful heir and Vladimir's lieutenants fought bitterly among themselves at the very moment when their external enemies were more united and emboldened the ever before and their conquered living subjects were in open revolt.   In less than fifty years, hundreds of vampires were destroyed and the survivors were driven underground, in some cases literally.  Almost no vampire was able to rule over even the tiniest scrap of territory directly.   The repercussions of Vladimir's unlife and death were far reaching.  While the wartime alliances against him did not last long after the last vampire was destroyed, it did change the paradigm of most kings and chiefdoms.  Now they were interested in international politics like never before.   Vladimir's death was such a major event that Vladimir's death marks Year 1 on the West Colassian Scarterran Calendar.   A great many kings and queens today, either in truth or via fiction claim how their heroic ancestors battled against Vladimir's horde.   While most Scarterrans are loathe to admit it, the widespread nature of Scarterran Feudalism was pioneered and popularized by Vladimir himself and later copied by many rulers.