The Legend of Alexei Dagranova

An epoch ago, when Volinsk was but a dream and the Seven Tribes ruled themselves, its people were in constant peril from the invading forces of mighty Gneiss. The northerners used superior and ruthless military tactics as well as powerful divine magic to push the Tribes further and further south. Their sons were killed, their women raped, and their children sold into slavery by the cruel forces of Gneiss. For many years the Gneissians kept the Tribes under their ruthless heel until in the most desperate of moments, the first Hero of Volinsk was born.
Having had his tribe slaughtered and sold into slavery when he was a young boy, Alexei Dagranova was raised as a steward in the camp of brutal Gneissian General Vettius Gallus. Slaves were forbidden to learn the ways of sword and shield but Alexei was of keen mind, and used his position as the General’s steward to note the soldiers as they trained and the General as he held council in his War Tent. For years Alexei silently absorbed these lessons and found time to practice in secret with a friendly Gneissian soldier who had taken pity on the poor slave.
Years later Alexei made a daring escape and used his knowledge of the General’s tactics to rouse his fellow tribesmen who still stood in conflict with the northern aggressors. His able mind and his understanding of Gneissian strategy allowed Alexei and his fellow rebels to undertake dangerous missions, utilizing stealth and hit and run tactics with incredibly high rates of success. Although young, his star rose quickly amongst the Tribes, who bent their knees to him and declared their loyalty.
Over the next years, Alexei led a daring campaign against Gneiss and despite the superior numbers of the northerners, managed to spite them at nearly every turn. It was during this time that Alexei met and was wed to Kira Volinskya, the daughter of one of the other Tribal Chieftains.
Through the workings of Alexei and Kira, the Tribes were uniting like they never had before. With better training, smarter strategy, and guerilla tactics, they returned tenfold the hell that had been visited upon them by the Gneissians.
The Gneissians were not without stratagems of their own, however. Under the banner of parlay, they brought Alexei and his chieftains together to meet with an assembly of every General in the Gneissian’s Southern Campaign. A great betrayal took place and Alexei was taken prisoner while every one of his Chieftains was executed. Having finally taken hostage the enemy that had so long eluded them, they decided to make an example of Alexei and crucified him in the middle of their camp. They reveled from the afternoon and into the night, prodding him with spears, tossing their wine in his face, and spitting upon his dignity. As their revelry ended and the drunken generals returned to their tents to sleep off their victory, Alexei made a quiet prayer in the night.
Alexei’s prayer was answered not by the Gods, but by a dark creature of the night; what the tribes referred to as “Vampyr”. Although it had no soul, this creature took pity on the crucified form of Alexei, having watched the cruelty visited upon him by the foreign devils. As the creature floated before Alexei’s dying body, a pact was forged. Alexei would willingly give his life and in return would be granted the power to smite his foes. The creature drank deep of Alexei’s blood, and turned the hero into a creature of the night.
Wasting no time, Alexei visited every one of the Gneissian Generals that night and turned them into Vampyr. With his new dominating power over them, he sent them to turn the soldiers of their armies into creatures of darkness; and create army of vampyr. Through the gloom of the night the generals and their soldiers spread the curse throughout the camp until not a soldier remained unturned.
Many have speculated what happened next. Some say that it was a locket bearing the portrait of Alexei’s beloved Kira that gave him a moment of clarity in his bloodlust. But none can debate what happened next. Using his dominating charms, Alexei gave an order to the Generals who passed it through the ranks of their soldiers. They were to take a knee and salute to the south, towards the city of Kladinsk and stay in supplication until ordered at ease.
That order would never come.
The Generals and the soldiers saluted Kladinsk from their knees, raised their spears to honor their foes, and remained that way when the sun rose the next morning. In an eternity of instants the sun’s rays laid waste to the army of the undead and scattered their unholy ashes amongst the fields. From the darkness of a tent nearby, Alexei heard the screams of thousands and smiled to himself.
It is not known how word came to Alexei’s beloved Kira what had happened during the long night and Victorious Morning but when she finally visited her husband in the wasted battlefield, she brought two things with her. A crown of gold and a stake of wood. There in the darkness of the tent, Kira told Alexei that his actions had turned back the forces of Gneiss for good and that the Cheiftains had unanimously decided to name him “Dread Sovereign of Volinsk”. She placed the crown upon his head and kissed his hand before she plunged the stake into his heart. Taking the crown from the pile of ashes she placed it atop her head with tearstained hands.
She emerged from the tent crowned in all her glory. Second ruler of the country that would forever bear her name, Kira Volinskya, the Dread Empress of Volinsk.