Vampires have long been a favorite monster in literature, movies, and other works of fantasy. From the silent terror of Nosferatu, to the countless depictions of Count Dracula, to more modern takes like the motorcycle-riding punks of Lost Boys or the sparkling bloodsuckers of Twilight, there is a flavor of vampire to appeal to everyone’s tastes! This “Races of Mythoss” feature will focus on the various vampiric figures which have been released in the Mythic Legions line.
The First Vampires
The first vampire released in the Mythic Legions line set the tone for what Four Horsemen Studios’ interpretation of these creature would be. These were not elegant or beautiful creatures, the vampires of Mythoss were terrifying to behold – truly creatures of the night who were to be feared and avoided at all costs!
The first vampire that was shown, and the first member of the Illythia’s Brood faction released, was the deadly swordsman known as Carpathias. His bio tells of this horror –
“Carpathias is a warrior possessed with unmatched precision and effectiveness. As a high-ranking member of Illythia’s court, he has been responsible for the annihilation of entire villages. Rather than going directly for the kill, Carpathias prefers to paralyze his victims with a poison-tipped blade, leaving them helpless as he silently drains them of life.”
The first wave of Mythic Legions also gave us a second member of Illythia’s Brood, albeit a very different kind of “vampire” – the Blood Armor, Vorgus Vermillius!
This suit of “enchanted armor” has a long and bloody backstory, starting with a terrible bargain made by the vampiric warlord known as Lord Eddsek. According to the bio for this character:
“One of the first to receive Illithya’s gift of eternal life as a vampire, the brutal knight Lord Edsekk became one of the first generals in Illythya’s Brood. As centuries passed and the tedium of immortality set in, Lord Edsekk was no longer satisfied with the vast powers bequeathed to him as a vampire. Edsekk's ambition drove him to seek out the dark sorcerers Azhar and Zazhar and strike a deal to obtain more power. He bartered the lives of one hundred of his men to the agents of Poxxus for an enchanted suit of armor that possessed immense power and near invulnerability. What Edsekk did not know was that he had been tricked into wearing a suit of armor infused with a parasitic spell that slowly consumed his lifeforce, causing him to vanish from inside the armor. The Blood Armor, known to the people as Vorgus Vermillius, now roams from victim to victim, leaving behind only the memory of the warriors it devours.”
Covenant of Shadow
The "Coventant of Shadow" wave gave us the Realm's first true born vampire - Baron Volligar. As his bio states:
“As the first pure born Vampire, Baron Volligar is ancient Vampiric royalty. The product of an unholy union between Illythia and one of the Elves of the first age, Volligar is the most knowledgeable and powerful of all Vampire-kind. Early in the days following the disappearance of the ancient evil powers, Volligar bore a daughter named Lucretia who possessed a power that nearly matched his own. Wanting no part of leadership, Volligar spent decades training Lucretia so that she could take the mantle as leader of Illythia’s Brood.”
This storyline would start to shape the politics and leadership structure of Illythia’s Brood, while also giving a glimpse of how this terrifying race came to be. It introduced a connection between the vampires and the elves of Mythoss, and foreshadowed another member of vampire royalty who we would see in a future wave.
The Advent of Decay
The second Mythic Legions Kickstarter gave fans a number of new additions to the Illythia’s Brood faction, along with some additional insights into the storyline of these vampires.
Lucretia would be one of the first figures shown for the Advent of Decay wave, giving us the daughter of the first vampire and the leader of this faction. Her bio reads:
”Groomed from birth by her father, the legendary Baron Volligar, to become the leader of Illythia’s Brood, Lucretia couldn’t be more suited to her bloody reign of horror. Completely devoid of emotion or empathy, she is a callous warmonger who is all too willing to wipe out thousands as a means to her cruel ends. A bloodline descended directly from Illythia herself gives Lucretia immense power and a militant sense of responsibility that continually urges her to bring back her ancient ancestor.”
In addition to this important member of the faction, Advent of Decay also gave fans some releases which could be used to build out the ranks of their vampiric army. These included the Vampire Legion Builder and the Vampire Knight. Both of these figures came with extra heads, allowing fans to create numerous looks by buying multiples and bolstering their vampire displays with a terrible force of blood-thirsty warriors!
Non-canon Vampires
While the Soul Spiller wave did not include any true vampires or members of Illythia’s Brood, it did introduce a new race to the Realm of Mythoss – the Uubyr known as Malynna. This figure is one of our "Power-con debut" releases, which we have long said are not part of the canon story of Mythic Legions.
“As one of the last remaining Uubyr in existence, Malynna has sought refuge in the dark corners of Alkyrium where she seeks to refine her dark magical abilities into a devastating and deadly weapon. An ancient mixture of orc and vampire bloodlines, the Uubyr have been shunned and despised despite their immense inherent magical potential. Under the protection of Malachi Cinderhorn and his Shadow Elves, Malynna the Malevolent has sworn to return The Soul Spiller to Lucretia and the Vampire kingdom.”
So despite the fact that the Soul Spiller wave did not include any vampires, this bio greatly furthers the lore of this race and their faction. Not only does it create a race that has vampire blood in it, but it details that the dreaded Soul Spiller weapon belonged to the vampire kingdom, and it may seemingly be back on its way to Lucretia and her armies of the night!
Another non-canon vampire was introduced in the All Stars 3 wave. While that wave was largely made of reissued figures, there were a few new characters who debuted in that wave as well, including the vampiric war hero Lord Draguul. Again, this character is a "Power-con debut" and not part of the canon of Mythic Legions, even though his bio references members of Illythia's Brood which very much are part of the story!
“An ancient vampiric war hero hearkening back to the days of Baron Volligar's rise, Lord Draguul has spent ages scheming to put himself in a position of power. When he was passed over in favor of Volligar's daughter Lucretia, a bitter Draguul chose to feign loyalty while surreptitiously continuing his pursuit of advancement. Lucretia, being quite aware of Lord Draguul's resentment, sought to keep him safely at arms length by tasking him with the recruitment of soldiers in the Northlands. Unbeknownst to both Lucretia and Volligar, Draguul is secretly assembling a motley army of brigands and cutthroats who share his ultimate aim of overthrowing the vampiric kingdom.”
The Vampire Goddess Illytha
At G-Con 2020, the wave that bore the name of the vampiric faction’s founder, Illythia, was revealed. These reveals included the terrifying Illythia herself atop her black steed, Phobus. Like the previously revealed Arethyr wave, this series not only gave Mythic Legions fans one of the dark gods of the storyline of Mythoss, but it also added another “Horseman” to the ranks, for while Arethyr is the personification of war, Illythia represents famine through her brood’s undying thirst for blood. Her bio details how she has once again risen to power to lead her brood:
“Cold and calculating in nature, Illythia is the gracefully lethal personification of the eternal famine which curses her vampiric children. Whereas Arethyr’s rage is full of fire and fury, Illythia’s touch is decidedly icy and silent. After waiting in the shadows, her reunion with her long lost weapon The Soul Spiller has brought the apocalypse closer than ever. And just as Soul Spiller possesses the power to rob its victims of their life force, Illythia stands ready to drain the blood from Mythoss itself.”
Joining Illythia in this latest wave were first looks at some other sub-species within the vampiric race. These included the “vampire brute” known as Decebalus, who is a Vogrr, or a mix between an ogre and a vampire. His bio discusses this horrifying crossbreed:
“The cunning and strategic nature of Illythia’s vampiric brood is well exemplified in their experimentation with the breeding and manipulating of bloodlines. The results of such experiments bring to Mythoss such abominations as the winged Varggs and the massive Vampire brutes called the Vogyrr. A foul combination of Ogre and Vampire blood, The Vogyrr are bred for blunt force, and help guard the Vampire leadership. The first of all Vogyrr, named Decebalus, has been the personal bodyguard to Lucretia throughout her reign, and is now prepared for the ultimate honor of offering his service to the Vampire goddess Illythia.”
That bio mentioned the "winged Vargg", who were also introduced in this latest wave:
“Wildly ferocious and implicitly deadly, the Vargg are bred by the Vampires of Illythia’s Brood to serve as their personal bloodhounds. Bound by chains to their controllers, they are often brought on expeditions to sniff out and hunt prey for their masters. Massive wings and razor sharp claws equip the Vargg with an arsenal of weapons so deadly that they are some of the most feared creatures in the Vampire realm.”
In addition to these two new kinds of vampires, the Illythia wave also included the Vampire Falconer, Vallak, and a new version of a familiar character from the vampiric bloodline – Baron Volligar!
“Though Illythia’s return is reason to rejoice for the entirety of her Brood, for Baron Volligar, the significance of her homecoming goes far deeper. Volligar has spent ages tirelessly scheming not only to bring back his faction’s goddess, but of even more personal significance, to see his mother again. Relentlessly carving a bloody path through Mythoss, he has stopped at nothing to hasten her return. Now that he and his daughter Lucretia have been reunited with Illythia, Baron Volligar and his family will bring great suffering the like of which has been hitherto unknown in the realms of Mythoss.”
With the rise of Illythia, two of the Horsemen are now ready to ride and the vampires are out for blood. Can the hoofbeats of their fellow dark gods be far behind?
The Blood Armor Returns
When the show figures for LegionsCon 2023 were announced in the build up to that event, one of the most sought-after members of Illythia’s Brood was included – Vorgus Vermillius the Blood Armor was back!
This updated version of this character explained how the cursed armor would evolve its appearance as it consumed more victims. The bio also expanded the story of this armor beyond the original wearer, placing a new champion within the armor (along with a teaser of something to come). This is the updated bio for Vorgus Vermillius 2:
Created by Poxxus’ demon twins at the behest of a power-hungry vampire lord, the Blood Armor is a weapon that has been worn by some of the most powerful warriors in Illythia's Brood. While the wearer of the Blood Armor is granted near God-like levels of power, transforming them into the champion known as Vorgus Vermillius, these gifts come at a terrible cost to its wearer.
The curse of the Blood Armor is that it possesses a thirst as unquenchable as the vampires who dare to try to master its powers. None have succeeded in this endeavor, and over the years the Blood Armor has claimed countless victims, all of them believing that they had the will to control the armor and harness its strength. With each soul it consumes, the Blood Armor changes in appearance and grows stronger, yet its thirst remains unsated.
With the vampire Goddess Illythia now returned to Mythoss, a challenge is presented to see which of her children believe they have the strength to wield the armor in the great battle which is to come. An ambitious member of the Vampire Phalanx accepts the challenge and claims the armor. Will he stand by the side of his dark Goddess as her champion, or will he be just another soul consumed by the Blood Armor.
Reinforcements from the Vampire Phalanx
When the Legion Builder Reinforcements 2 wave was revealed in late 2023, one of the new figures featured in that wave would be a new vampiric army builder – the Vampire Phalanx. This character was teased in that aforementioned Blood Armor figure from LegionsCon, and the new wearer of the armor is meant to have been a member of the Phalanx. According to their bio:
The vampires of Illythia’s Brood make their home in the remote region known as The White Spine. Protecting the gates to the black palace of the vampires are the tireless guardians known as the Vampire Phalanx. These black-armored soldiers use their shields to form an impenetrable wall, while the long tridents they wield can be thrust forward to impale any who get too close. Perfect coordination along with vampiric strength and reflexes make these guardians a formidable force that ensures the protection of the vampiric royalty seated within the Bloodless Throne.
The Second Great War
With the Dark Four now recalled from their banishement and returned to Mythoss, the Second Great War looms. Illythia’s Brood prepares to do their part in the coming battle, for as the armies clash, blood shall flow across all of Mythoss – blood which calls to the vampires of the Brood. Which new members of Illythia’s army will we meet as they emerge from the shadows to follow their Goddess? Only time will tell, but rest assured that we have not seen all the nightmares who fight under this banner.
Originally published on 11.24.20
Published on 02.13.24