Reign of Vampires
The Reign of Vampires (13th of Flamerule - 2nd of Eleasis, 1447) was a bloody and short-lived civil war in Elturel that began when the city's High Rider, Klav Ikaia, was discovered to be a vampire by High Watcher Naja Bellandi. The twenty day conflict was bloody and one-sided, until Bellandi's prayers for aid were answered with the arrival of the Companion, which burnt away the surprised vampires with its radiant light.
However, in truth the Companion was not of divine origin but infernal, and its appearance was the result of a pact made between Zariel, archduke of Avernus, and a desperate Naja Bellandi. Additionally, while nearly all the vampires in the city were destroyed by the Companion's appearance, Klav Ikaia survived and retreated into the Maze underneath Elturel. His survival, and the terms of Bellandi's pact, wouldn't become known until the Damnation of Elturel in 1497.
The Conflict
Prelude
In 1442, High Rider Klav Ikaia of Elturel's Hellriders, led an expedition into the Snakehills. A feral vampire had begun turning a wide swatch of yuan-ti, orcs, trolls, and other monstrous races into vampire thralls, which threatened the safety of the various settlements under the protection of Elturel's Guard. The expedition was a success, and the feral vampire, and most of its spawn, were destroyed. Unbeknownst to the rest of the expedition, however, Ikaia had become infected.
The new vampire lord of Elturel kept his true nature hidden, but the darkness of his curse ate at the city like a cancer. In 1447 DR, the secret was discovered by Naja Bellandi, the High Watcher of Helm. Bellandi managed to escape from the High Hall before she was turned into a vampire herself, fled through the moonlit shadows of the garden, and escaped from the vampires hunting her by jumping from the Maiden's Leap into the canal below.
The Engagement
Following Ikaia's reveal as a vampire, the High Rider moved into action, realizing that he couldn't remain hidden any longer. Ikaia and his supporters had already infiltrated the highest ranks of the government and, at Ikaia's signal, they swept through what remained, killing or converting dozens. The Hellriders themselves were betrayed, caught off guard, and slaughtered in a vampiric frenzy. Thus began the Night of the Red Coup, so named for the amount of blood spilled in the city's streets.
Naja Bellandi, having dragged herself from the canal, returned to Helm's Shieldhall, only to find it an abattoir. She gathered any survivors she could find and sent word to the patrols still operating outside the city. A siege was raised, but the Hellriders were ill-equipped for such an action and their one-time allies had been alienated by High Rider Ikaia's imperial actions, even before he became a vampire. Inside the city, desperate Elturians began barricading their homes and gathering in churches and other defensible areas, hoping to withstand the onslaught. Naja Bellandi, growing increasingly desperate, began pleading with the various good-aligned deities to bring salvation to Elturel. During this time, she was contacted by Elturel's cult of Zariel, who offered her an infernal pact to save the city in the short term at the cost of all of its souls in the long term. Bellandi initially refused, but after the High Harvest Slaughter, when hoards of vampires broke into High Harvest Temple and slaughtered the entire congregation of Chauntea worshipers, Bellandi, seeing no other option, agreed to Zariel's pact. On the morning of the 2nd of Eleasis, a blazing new sun appeared over Elturel. Named the Companion, this giant orb of radiant power ripped apart the vampires on the streets like true sunlight, utterly decimating Ikaia's forces and effectively ending the Reign of Vampires.
Naja Bellandi, having dragged herself from the canal, returned to Helm's Shieldhall, only to find it an abattoir. She gathered any survivors she could find and sent word to the patrols still operating outside the city. A siege was raised, but the Hellriders were ill-equipped for such an action and their one-time allies had been alienated by High Rider Ikaia's imperial actions, even before he became a vampire. Inside the city, desperate Elturians began barricading their homes and gathering in churches and other defensible areas, hoping to withstand the onslaught. Naja Bellandi, growing increasingly desperate, began pleading with the various good-aligned deities to bring salvation to Elturel. During this time, she was contacted by Elturel's cult of Zariel, who offered her an infernal pact to save the city in the short term at the cost of all of its souls in the long term. Bellandi initially refused, but after the High Harvest Slaughter, when hoards of vampires broke into High Harvest Temple and slaughtered the entire congregation of Chauntea worshipers, Bellandi, seeing no other option, agreed to Zariel's pact. On the morning of the 2nd of Eleasis, a blazing new sun appeared over Elturel. Named the Companion, this giant orb of radiant power ripped apart the vampires on the streets like true sunlight, utterly decimating Ikaia's forces and effectively ending the Reign of Vampires.
Outcome
Following the Companion's appearance, Naja Bellandi led the Hellriders to hunt down the remaining vampires in the city. Klav Ikaia's body was not found and was presumed dead, though he had in fact slipped into the Maze underneath the city.
Aftermath
The Reign of Vampires denoted the beginning of Elturel's modern history. Following the purging of the old guard, Naja Bellandi was declared the High Observer of the city.
Deeply aware of the terms of the pact she signed with Zariel, which stated that Elturel and all of its inhabitants would be taken into Avernus and Zariel's service in fifty years, Naja Bellandi began trying to find a way to get out of the pact's terms. However, she was assassinated by the cult of Zariel in 1449, the details of her pact and the Companion's true origin never having been made public.
Replacing Bellandi as High Observer was Cathasach Restat, who began further centralizing Elturel's government. Elturel also took note of the various settlements under their "protection" that had refused to aid the city during the crisis. Elturel began consolidating their control over their neighbors, eventually becoming the head of the newly formed nation of Elturgard.
The Companion's appearance over the Elturel to save the city is enshrined in legend. It was and remains unclear which deity answered Bellandi's prayers, and the city quickly began trying to find answers. Under Restat's rule, a variety of laws, called the Unity Laws, were passed in order to settle the matter, which proclaimed that no one deity or group could claim ownership or responsibility for the Companion. Instead, the holy device belonged to all Elturians and should serve as a tool to unite, not divide.
The Companion's role in protecting Elturel led to the creation of the Order of the Companion, a paladin order created to defend Elturel and placed above the Hellriders. This also brought Cathasach Restat to the forefront of Elturian politics, as the future High Observer began as a founding member of the Order of the Companion. While all of this was happening, Klav Ikaia began regrouping in the Maze of Elturel. His isolation allowed him further mastery over his vampiric abilities, and he slowly but surely began rebuilding forces loyal to him out of the street rats and other forgotten humans that found their way into the deep Maze. Rather than turning them into vampires, Ikaia instead learned to make dhampirs, half-vampires that he had less control over, though whether this was out of pragmatism or a regret at the violence wrought during the Reign of Vampires is unknown. Though the problems caused by the Reign of Vampires appeared resolved to the citizens of Elturel, the pact Bellandi formed with Zariel still hung over the city, even if its populace didn't know it, directly causing a crisis far worse than anything Ikaia's reign could have posed during the Damnation of Elturel.
The Companion's role in protecting Elturel led to the creation of the Order of the Companion, a paladin order created to defend Elturel and placed above the Hellriders. This also brought Cathasach Restat to the forefront of Elturian politics, as the future High Observer began as a founding member of the Order of the Companion. While all of this was happening, Klav Ikaia began regrouping in the Maze of Elturel. His isolation allowed him further mastery over his vampiric abilities, and he slowly but surely began rebuilding forces loyal to him out of the street rats and other forgotten humans that found their way into the deep Maze. Rather than turning them into vampires, Ikaia instead learned to make dhampirs, half-vampires that he had less control over, though whether this was out of pragmatism or a regret at the violence wrought during the Reign of Vampires is unknown. Though the problems caused by the Reign of Vampires appeared resolved to the citizens of Elturel, the pact Bellandi formed with Zariel still hung over the city, even if its populace didn't know it, directly causing a crisis far worse than anything Ikaia's reign could have posed during the Damnation of Elturel.
Historical Significance
Legacy
The memory of the Reign of Vampires lingers in modern day Elturel, especially among the older generation. The High Harvest Slaughter, in particular, is often mentioned as a single instance that represents the tragedy and vile nature of the civil war.
Due to Naja Bellandi's role in saving the city and bringing forth the Companion, she became a modern day hero to Elturel.
Modern historians debate heartily about High Rider Ikaia's rationale for the conflict. Ikaia's record prior to his vampiric infection was exemplary, but scholars are divided on whether the vampirism brought out Ikaia's innate darker desires or corrupted the once noble leader.
Following Elturel's damnation and salvation in 1497 and 1498, the Reign of Vampires was reevaluated as the prelude to that larger, grander conflict, with Bellandi herself recieving the most scrutiny from historians as either a desperate woman trying to make the best of a bad situation, a naive fool, or a power-hungry tyrant that did not care who had to die for her to rule Elturel. Due to the violence and trauma of Elturel's damnation still looming large in recent memory, it is unlikely any consensus will be reached anytime soon.
Included Conflicts
Conflict Type
War
Battlefield Type
Urban
Start Date
13th of Flamerule, 1447
Ending Date
2nd of Eleasis, 1447
Conflict Result
Location
Comments