Ravenloft Reading Room - Vampire of the Mists (Book #1)
Welcome to the Ravenloft Reading Room!
Tonight, my friends, we discuss the very first canon novel set in the Ravenloft setting, "Vampire of the Mists" by Christie Golden!
While this was not the very first Ravenloft novel I ever read, I really wish it had been. That's all I have to say right now, haha! Tonight, we're going to give a broad overview of the history of the novel, and the story contained within!
This is going to be a very, very, veeeeeeeeeeerry long post; and we're going through a lot of spoilers as well. You have been warned!
Although, you can read the novel for yourself first, if you want to go on this journey with me. (oops how'd this link to the pdf on the Internet Archive get here?)
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| Vampire of the Mists by Christie Golden Book cover from Wikipedia |
Ravenloft 101 - Backstory
Vampire of the Mists was published in 1991 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc.; written by first-time author Christie Golden. If you are new to the history of Dungeons & Dragons and its contributors, here is a quick rundown.
TSR Inc was the original gaming company founded by the creators of Dungeons & Dragons--including Gary Gygax, Don Kaye, Dave Arneson, and other contributors. In 1984, the company began hiring writers to adapt and create standalone novels set in the many canon realms of D&D. They started with series set in their Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms settings, and eventually decided to create a new line set in the gothic horror setting of Ravenloft.
Ravenloft itself began as a standalone module for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (aka 2nd edition D&D). It was written by Tracy and Laura Hickman, and published in 1983. They also published the module Pharaoh (1982) for TSR around that time. Ravenloft (the module) is the original source of iconic villain Strahd von Zarovich and his maze-like Castle Ravenloft. Tracy Hickman is probably best known for three Dragonlance novels, which he co-authored with Margaret Weiss.
Vampire of the Mists was many readers' introduction to Ravenloft and it's most iconic character, the very heart of the Demiplane of Dread--the infamous Count Strahd von Zarovich! Before the seminal I, Strahd novel came about, Golden's work alone revealed the depth of this darklord's infamous rise to power-slash-powerlessness.
Everyone in the Ravenloft fandom nowadays "knows" the story of Strahd. It has become common knowledge in the D&D player community these days due to the popular modules Expedition to Castle Ravenloft and Curse of Strahd for 5th edition. In a way, Ravenloft is much like it's original inspiration of Dracula--being uncannily well-known through cultural osmosis. But back in '91, Count Strahd had very little story so to speak. He was a terrifying boss monster in a massive castle dungeon, yes; but the lands beyond and Barovia's history in the Demiplane were very unknown to the broad community.
For Barovia began alone in the module, and there was no setting beyond it so to speak. There was no neighboring Core of dread domains, each holding another lord of dark horror. Barovia was as a solitary realm in endless Mist, hosting-slash-imprisoning a tyrant...
A vampire like no other; anchored by his own evil to a misty, empty planescape by dark powers beyond comprehension. No creature could travel beyond Strahd's mountain borders, and what they cradled was just a pastiche of a gothic not-Transylvania-- all inspired by Bram Stoker's Dracula. Strahd and his personal hell barely had a plot beyond a classic "kill the vampire" self-contained module--players and game masters could only vaguely imagine Ravenloft's potential as a compelling narrative of gothic horror. But work was being done with the module as a jumping-off point. And it came down to first-time author Christie Golden to reveal the connections between Barovia's itty bitty module and its potential to draw in adventurers and creatures from well-known settings, starting with the classic Forgotten Realms setting.
Through this novel, Golden unveils the earliest days of the Demiplane of Dread. She describes what solitary Barovia was like for decades, surrounded in the sea of poisonous Mist. No one left Barovia and lived, save for the mysterious Vistani unaffected-slash-protected from the Devil Strahd's powers... What lands lay beyond Barovia, not even those alive before his conquering could remember... Only the first darklord, Strahd von Zarovich, knew a fraction of the truth of the realm's formation--of the bargain struck that sealed his fate and those of all in Barovia, past and future. Even Strahd himself only has vague feelings surrounding the lands he once served...
With this first novel in the setting, Golden took chances when furthering the culture and lore of Ravenloft's abyssal heart. She could have created any everyday hero protagonist, in an expected and digestible good verses evil fight. But with her choice of protagonist--a peer and foil to the iconic Strahd--Golden raised the stakes of all Ravenloft literature. She created an entirely new fantasy archetype: the elven vampire.
Immortality turned into horror; tortured, romantic and frightened of succumbing to the urges of their immortal hungers. Jander Sunster, the elven vampire of Waterdeep, rose to become a truly iconic character in Dungeons & Dragons canon. A blood-drinking monster of the night, yes; but with despair and yearning only a long-lived creature like an elf could muster. Jander was depressingly devoted and supplemented his blood diet with animals long before Twilight, haha. And he didn't have to fake going to high school again and again. (Okay I'm done kidding around lol).
With this story of the lamenting vampire intermingling with the forces of early Strahd, Golden was given to share her incredible talent for adaptation and storytelling. She later penned the Ravenloft novels Dance of the Dead (1992) and The Enemy Within (1994). and is credited for many other D&D novels. From Vampire of the Mists, she launched an incredibly storied career afterwards. Check out her extensive Wikipedia page--she has been creating nerdy tales for Warcraft, Star Trek, Assassin's Creed and so many more favorite franchises for years.
All in all, I have incredible respect for this author, and her first novel was really a joy to read. It honestly surprised me, even though I've known about Barovia and Strahd for years now. On paper anyway.
I, being a newbie contrarian when I first got into D&D and Ravenloft, avoided digging too much into Barovia for many years. Objectively, the domains outside of Barovia intrigued me more at the time. The other domains allowed more variety to the sea of gothic fantasy and horror, rather than Dracula retold but with the names sanded off. Naively, I wrote off the story of Barovia and Strahd von Zarovich as just a tribute made to fit D&D; and I had no opportunity to have that preconception challenged. I didn't have many people hosting D&D in my groups at the time, and I shied away from hosting anything with a canon I didn't homebrew and couldn't adjust on the fly.
So I went into Vampire of the Mists with reservations. I will admit that I was prejudiced during my first chapter readings. While the novel starts out entirely with Jander's story, I was dreading the moment the story would shift and we'd be "stuck" in singular Barovia. But, to my genuine surprise, Golden's story really helped me break through my bias.
Through the ancient, woeful eyes and thoughts of Jander, I got the chance to discover what makes Barovia and Strahd such a fan favorite realm. The fearful villages in the shadow of Strahd's reign. The enchanting Vistani facing the night's horrors. The ruined beauty and horrors imprisoned within Castle Ravenloft. By discovering the story through the perspectives of Jander and several natives of Barovia, the tragic loop of Strahd's torment became compelling! I couldn't put the book down during the last third of it!
I must point out that this novel (and Ravenloft's setting as a whole) does make use of certain stereotypes and slurs against the Romani/Traveler culture when describing their fictionalized Ravenloft counterparts, the Vistani people. This was written in the 90s and gothic horror fiction has always relied on social and cultural archetypes to "other" people not of the white protagonist mindset; but we recognize today that terms like "gypsy" and disrespect towards marginalized peoples are not appropriate.
Going into this project--and this is more a warning in advance--the fictions made for these marginalized cultures do impact certain aspects of novel's story and Ravenloft's gothic setting as a whole. We will discuss them when they come up, but if these topics upset you, that is an appropriate feeling to have. It is important that we challenge the cultural biases that we've unconsciously internalized through the books, movies and media we partake in.
Back to the story as a whole, Jander is a really interesting protagonist. He does not make good decisions, despite truly knowing better. He is flawed but in a realistic and interesting way--he is long-lived but has blind spots; and he is usually carried away by his intense emotions and old hero complex.
Honestly I was perturbed by his thought process until I remembered a crucial part of reading genre fiction: characters are unaware they're in genre writing. At least good characters aren't aware. My genre savviness and dread for what was to come had me nitpicking everything. I reread the early chapters, because I just wasn't having fun with it. (It had been a long time since I'd read for pleasure and not to pass time in some pandemic lockdown).
So I decided to go with the flow and experience the story as it unfolds--not using any brainpower to predict where it would go.
And fun was had once I changed my mindset! Jander's experience no longer was just picking out tropes, it was a character's tragic descent into immortal despair. Traits about Jander had the chance to shine, now that I wasn't overlooking them--and his personality and history became interesting.
Story Review
** Now we get into Spoiler Territory! There will be several spoiler checkpoints as we go! **
Before his transformation into a creature of the night, the reader gets to see that Jander Sunstar, also known as Rathandal, lived an incredible life of adventure in the Forgotten Realms. A golden elf of the glorious realm of Evermeet, he fought terrible monsters with his wits and blade, drank with the greatest heroes of his era, and made massive impacts to the lives of people and nations by his adventuring. One day, as his friends went their separate ways (through adventure, fame or death) he decided to return to his people in glorious Evermeet and live out his immortality in natural splendor.
Unfortunately for him, one adventure from his past had long-lasting consequences. Decades prior, he and his band of friends (the famous Silver Six) once uncovered a lesser vampire conspiracy in a small village. Friends fell, people were drained and turned... And one day, a decade or so after, one of his long-fallen friends returned! As a vampire.
Betrayed and beaten by the undead husk of his friend, Jander was turned by the vampire's dark master, damned for eternity. Eventually Jander slayed his vampiric master and friend, after years of being their thrall. But somehow, an immortal like no other, Jander retained a sense of his own soul and heart. Probably, as an elf, he understood immorality and a life well-lived better than most mortals in that situation.
Jander mourned the loss of life his existence demanded. He attempted to be cured, but in the Realms there was no such thing. He lived in solitude thereafter, slaking his thirst with animal blood (honoring even their sacrifices) and only rarely trespassed to take the minimum of human blood he needed to survive.
Reading through Jander's eyes, I found him to be a compelling and reasonably imperfect character. He is all too aware of his fate to be destroyed one day--he suffers as an undead abomination, after all. The only thing holding him back from letting himself burn out in the sun or starve completely is fear that he'll transform into a worse undead abomination if he does so. (As this is D&D at the end of the day, the writers make us very aware that that is an option).
Already his life and unlife would be a fascinating novel to read. By the end we too mourn what Jander once was, glorious and just and thrilled to be alive. But Golden goes a step further.
The book reveals the full backstory of the elven vampire over multiple chapters, not sequentially. Its first chapter, however, drops us in on a very particular night of his centuries-long undead existence. The night his fate was changed forever.
During his isolation in the wilderness, the city of Waterdeep itself grew beside him; from a humble village into a metropolitan hub of life and commerce. And in such a city, where the powerful rule and magic is an everyday occurrence, the people need a place to sequester the unwanted. (Real dark from the start).
The mental asylum outside Waterdeep is where Jander procures his necessary human blood. Those cursed by black magic, driven insane from trauma and otherwise abandoned by humanity are interred in that stone prison. Jander would visit the women's ward when his hunger spiked, shifting between the forms of mist, wolf and himself to appear before a chosen inmate. He would charm them and take a nibble, draining just enough to deal no real harm and satisfy his monstrous metabolism.
But on this particular night, Jander finds a new inmate... A fair young woman, her soul obliterated into true innocence by circumstances unknown. It is love at first sight for the romantic elf. He visits her, bringing her gifts and soothing her night terrors. She gives everything ever received to another, out of a strange generous streak. She reveals nothing of her life before the asylum, only that she names herself Anna. She is too pure to take blood from, even as his hunger burns within. She is seemingly too pure to survive this or any world, and Jander is awfully compelled to protect her.
He visits her for many years. He is unable to heal her mind--the horrors she witnessed must still haunt her dreams. All he can do is visit by night, bring her simple delights and hold her close when her nightmares overtake her... Eventually, the long-lived vampire realizes there is something is something else strange about Anna's condition. She is not in the aslyum merely for her sanity, but she also doesn't age. Decades have passed for the unchanging vampire, and he didn't realize she stayed the same alongside him. Magic or a curse is at play.
The realization and euphoria of his having a companion at last is short lived, however... Anna falls ill to some unnatural fever, her haunted mind inflamed until she is incapable of being saved by skill or magic.
Jander is even tempted to gift her his vampiric blood, to make her immortal. She would still be insane and their relationship would change from caretaker to master and slave... But to live another century without her, he cannot bear it. And yet, on her deathbed, the innocent Anna refuses to drink even when his dark blood is pushed to her lips. She dies swaddled in Jander's arms, released from her torment at last...
Next thing we know, Jander blacked out. He wakes up in the asylum and realizes he's murdered everyone in the women's ward. This is really really bad. For anyone slain by a vampire, whether by touch or fang, will arise as one of the undead. An army of insane women, warped by magic and now hungering for blood--he cannot bear to be responsible for unleashing that horror upon the innocent of Waterdeep. Jander decides to prevent it entirely. He scares off the staff, releases all the living inmates, builds a pyre for Anna and sets the asylum completely ablaze. Anna and all those he slayed go up in a cloud of smoke during the night.
Leaving the sight of his atrocity, Jander enters the forests once again. The eternity laid out before him is too much, however, and he falls to his knees in despair. Anna did not deserve to die like that. Nor did she deserve to be bound immortal and insane by some great evil. Jander's courage returns to his undead heart and he swears to the night that he shall avenge the girl he loved. Whoever traumatized her beyond the obliteration of her soul, he would hunt them the rest of his days.
Suddenly, Jander takes the form of a bat and flies off to beat the rising sun. He has a mission, a purpose once more. But something strange happens to him in flight... The forest below him becomes overrun by clouds of tainted mist. The sky above shifts from sunrise to sunset, with the stars above completely unfamiliar to him. The trees change into a sea of black pines. He eventually finds a safe space to land, and suddenly he stands before a sloping valley surrounded by jagged, misty mountains. A poor village sits by a winding river, and the moonlight illuminates a towering, ersatz castle far in the distance...
Jander has wound up in Barovia... Perhaps some dark powers heard his oath of revenge, saw it was impossible for him in the Realms and transported him here to accomplish it? Whatever the case, Jander sets out to explore this new world. He goes down to the village, hoping to get answers. Perhaps someone here knew Anna in life, before her mind and soul were shattered?
But the rules of this land are strange to Jander, even for one so ancient. Wolves accost him and do not bow to his vampiric influence. Animal blood is as toxic as human food to him. There are virtually no races beyond human in the village, so he is practically alien to the superstitious villagers. The people even seem to have qualms among their own kind--for a forbidden dalliance with the burgomaster's daughter and a rakish Vistani juggler cause quite a scene.
And a driverless black coach, with matching, enthralled black horses, appears before Jander. An invitation to the eerie Castle Ravenloft, where supposedly the Devil Strahd himself resides...
More Spoilers Ahead!
Jander's narrative has several other stories spliced in throughout. He is an immortal vampire after all, and he is on the outskirts of two whole generations throughout the novel. He first witnesses the starcrossed romance of the Barovian burgomaster's daughter Anastasia and her rakish Vistani love, Petya. He saves the man from a bigoted Barovian mob and is taken to meet his caravan. Petya is trusting to a fault, even going so far as to carry the elf across a river bridge (for vampires cannot cross moving water) and the rascal doesn't find that at all suspicious!
There Jander has his tarokka read (Ravenloft's version of tarot cards) by Petya's sister Maruschka, a mystic in training to eventually lead her people. His fate is to meet the Sun, a sign of good fortune to mortals (but death to one such as he). The current leader of the caravan, Madame Eva, recognizes what Jander for what he is and demands the undead depart peacefully. But she warns him never to approach her people again. He agrees with a heavy heart. Madame Eva warns her kin of the elven vampire, and sends a message to her long-time ally...
The Vistani in this novel are wanderers, free to come and go through the Mists beyond Barovia's poisoned borders. I do have to bring up that they are written with a lot of cultural stereotypes for the Romani/Traveler people I'm aware of; and the term "gypsy" is thrown around a lot. The men are predominantly rakish and free, the women are liberated and mystical; and all are depicted with a bit of shadiness to them.
A bit awkward and not an innovative take on this stereotype but luckily they quickly move on from the story, leaving us with the singular central antagonist.
Strahd von Zarovich, conqueror and tyrant, welcomes Jander to his enormous home, Castle Ravenloft. By his power he has a carriage drive up to the elf, driven by ensorcelled black horses. The castle is enormous, dark, decrepit and full of undead and beasts at the dark lord's command. But something about those ruined, ancient halls calls to Jander... If anyone can help him uncover the mystery of Anna's origins, the lord of this strange dark land would be best as an ally, rather than an enemy...
The two vampires are wary of one another, intrigued at how they have lived their un-lives. Strahd is prideful and doesn't enjoy his status as "the first vampire" challenged like this--Jander is far older after all. Jander doesn't appreciate the power posing of all the undead slaves and obvious magecraft around Strahd--he disdains necromancy or other vampires much. But interestingly, they do not conflict right away. Strahd offers Jander all the resources and use of his Castle and its archives; so long as his own private domicile is off-limits. Perhaps the two can learn from each other...
He and Jander actually cohabitate the ruined castle for many, many years. Jander use Strahd's library and resources to investigate his beloved Anna. Strahd has companionship, the closest thing to an equal he's ever known, and he enjoys seeing Jander struggle with the new "rules" his domain imposes on him. For Jander cannot imbibe in animal blood, the beasts of the wild are almost impossible for him to command at first, and he must drink human blood every night... To satiate his guest's latter need, Strahd provides Jander with a nightly companion for his first few nights in Barovia. Jander tries to comfort the young maid and treat her safely, but he cannot only sample what he needs to survive... The elf inevitably he buries the poor girl on the castle grounds, swearing that all of his victims will be honored as he restores the castle gardens... To Strahd's pompous glee...
Strahd is a villain, that much is certain. The people in the village below superstitiously "know" he is the most terrible tyrant, but they are powerless to resist his whims. For his protection is the only thing keeping beast attacks and mysterious slaughters by things in the night from claiming them all.
Despite this, Jander doesn't feel he is worthy to really judge Strahd's actions. They each have lived immortal lives and made choices on how they have survived or thrived. They even share a moment making music together, filling the hollow halls with life in a way nothing has for decades... The moment is almost sweet, and Strahd's humanity is uncovered for the very briefest flash... But we, as readers, know it cannot last...
Strahd has his own goals and ambitions, and having a sentimental elf vampire is ruining his groove (so to speak). He brings Jander along some nights to hunt, forcing the elf to confront their undead natures and want for violence and power... Jander is affected, but he buries himself in side projects to distract from these truths he cannot admit. He restores frescoes, sweeps up the dungeons, and dedicates himself to making Castle Ravenloft beautiful. Strahd literally doesn't care about his home being presentable, but he profits off the minimal changes to the atmosphere and the socializing with the elf...
Jander has plenty of time to find Anna's source of misery and trauma. Time is not really present for the vampiric characters, and rapidly decades pass by without a care. But Jander never asks deep questions of Strahd--he only listens to what the dark lord tells of his past... That he loved a young girl who died, that he heroically "liberated" the people and expanded his family's empire (though he cannot remember where he came from before Barovia...) One of Jander's major flaws is that he doesn't take human atrocity and history seriously. Not only as a vampire, but as an elven flaw, he views their squabbles as minutes past rather than decades of true events. So he doesn't care to ask Strahd about his seat of power, nor the tombs of those buried within. He only cares that they've both loved and lost, as well as the petty spite of prettying up Strahd's home as his cohabitant vampire brings in worse atrocities...
Another element to these vampires' story is that they are both very lonely. Neither Jander Sunstar or the Strahd would admit it, of course; but they enjoy having others they can spend their endless nights conversing with. Strahd constantly adds new vampiric brides and undead servants to his castle, as well as unique agents like the werewolf Katrina (also known as Trina) who is lovesick for the uninterested Strahd. But Castle Ravenloft remains dead and drafty no matter how decorated or populated with monsters it becomes...
Jander often accompanies Strahd to the village whenever his patron needs to lay down his law. Strahd has entire households slaughtered for perceived offenses; and Jander is often able to convince his fellow vampire to spare one or two among them. His interference results in sparing a child: one who, incidentally, forms a cult after him due to his "divine intervention". Jander, drenched in blood but beautifully golden and merciful, becomes the cult's icon of Lathander Morninglord.
Eventually, this priest, Martyn Pelkar, takes care of another person spared from one of Strahd's slaughters: the half-Vistani child Alexi Petrovich aka "Sasha", son of Anastasia and Petya from so long ago. Sasha is also spared by Jander's interference, and he grows up to become a cleric of Lathander Morninglord by day, and a vampire hunter by night!
The human characters are fascinating to this novel. Their lives are so much shorter and more at risk than the vampires', so every moment and interaction they have has meaning. Sasha becomes the head priest of his village when Martyn passes. He charitably welcomes a pair of newcomers to the village: a mysterious rogue named Leisl and a beautiful maiden named Katya. Sasha and Katya fall in love through their time together; while Liesl hides her romantic feelings for the young priest... Leisl eventually discovers Sasha's nightly escapades in staking the lesser vampires and brides of Strahd. She secretly joins him in protecting the village, and eventually he accepts her aid.
She enjoys having this closeness to Sasha, a secret they share--with innocent Katya completely unaware... She feels guilty at loving a man who loves another, and keeping secrets from his betrothed--but Leisl has lived a hard life until now, and she will relish this guilty pleasure until it is inevitably taken away from her...
Even More Spoilers Ahead!
Jander's visions of Anna lead him nowhere. Decades have passed and he's traveled all over the dark land of Barovia looking for clues about his mysterious love. He has acclimated to the land of Strahd and its rules, the violence is routine now, the horror commonplace within the castle... It is only when he begins to exhibit a strange withering effect upon any plant he touches--destroying years of work by night in his garden--that Jander seemingly gives up his quest. No one knows any specific woman by her name; too commonplace in those superstitious lands.
Meanwhile, Strahd grows both more angry and yet somehow hopeful by the day... Jander knows that Sasha is killing his host's brides and thralls, and has done nothing to intervene... But the hope is confusing. He tricks the werewolf Katrina, who has been learning magic from Strahd, into spilling some details. Strahd's household being threatened by some lone hunter is one thing, but apparently Strahd is becoming agitated about someone important returning... The last time she left--on the night of Jander's appearance it seems--Strahd had been wounded at her loss and was vulnerable to Jander's friendship. But the vampires have cohabitated for too long, and Strahd is no longer enamored with his elven guest...
Strahd has always kept his secrets, but Jander recognizes that his host is leaving the castle more often... And there is that forbidden room, Strahd's personal study for wizardry, he has remained away from. Strahd is master of great magic, owner of many strange objects and knows the history of this land far better than anyone alive--his study is the one place Jander has never looked for information.
When Strahd takes Katrina out to seek out the vampire killer, Jander betrays his one promise to his host and enters the tyrant's lair. It is there that he uncovers Strahd's mysterious private archives. On the most prominent table, Jander discovers, are two unique books. The first appears to be the start of a diary or journal, titled pompously I, Strahd... The other is ragged and also penned in Strahd's own hand... Jander scans the books and realizes the first is Strahd's memoir, a retelling of his tragic and storied life that places him in the hero's spotlight. And the other is the truth of what Strahd did and thought as a man, and as the first vampire in these realms...
Jander learns that Strahd conquered the realm of Barovia and had his castle built in order to inter his long-gone parents and have his remaining family rule with him. Strahd had been a warrior and commander for over thirty years by the time he rose as Barovia's ruler. His youngest brother, Sergei, had been born long after he'd left on the campaign--but he greeted his elder brother warmly upon his arrival. Sergei was so young and handsome, where Strahd was aged and stern. He should have been a priest, but Sergei was liked by the people of Barovia and served as his brother's liaison, due to their fear of their conqueror. And it was in the village that Sergei met someone that would change both their lives: the beautiful Tatyana Federovna. (Jander had heard of this maiden in Strahd's confessions over the years, a maiden who died under mysterious circumstances).
Sergei fell in love with Tatyana the day he met her. It sickened Strahd to hear his brother pine so about how she was not only beautiful but was kind and charitable to any creature she met. Any gifts he gave her, she gave away to those in need. Strahd felt that was wasteful, but Sergei saw it as kind to a fault. Eventually, he courted the beautiful Tatyana and brought her to the castle to meet his brother.
Strahd understood then and there, standing in front of the young maiden, that his brother's poetry had not done justice. She was fair beyond words, and she greeted the battle-weatherd Strahd with warmth and kindness (as if he were a long-lost elder brother). Strahd desired her completely; his journals reflected his growing obsession for Tatyana, as well as his hatred and jealousy for his young, handsome brother. He began to imagine taking her for himself, despite what brotherly ties he had for Sergei.
The obsessed lord began to look for a way to restore his youth, using all his influence to study magic. As his search grew more fruitless and his desires grew more inflamed, he delved into darker and darker rituals and rites. And one night, as the wedding of his brother was nearly upon the castle, a mysterious entity reached out to Strahd von Zarovich. Invisible to the mortal eye, this entity called itself the Dark Powers, and it offered Strahd the power to stop time's ravages, as well as claim lovely Tatyana for himself. All he need do is perform one great act and he would have no obstacle to possessing her. It is "rewarding" his ambitions and desires, which inflames the tyrant's ego to monstrous proportions.
On the day of Sergei and Tatyana's wedding, Strahd entered his brother's chambers and used a magical dagger to stab him in the back. Then he drinks his brother's blood and is transformed into a vampire! When guards come at the sound, Strahd compels them to search for an unseen assassin and close down the castle, no guest can leave!
Strahd, power flowing through him (but his blood now frozen forever), finds Tatyana in her wedding dress, weeping for her beloved. He approaches to soothe her despair, and asks that she rejoice that they can finally be together. The fair maiden's grief turns into pure horror, and she flees from Strahd, rejecting him as if he were only an older brother. Strahd demands she be his, otherwise he killed his brother for nothing! The horror shatters the poor girl's mind and heart...
Tatyana flees through the gardens of Castle Ravenloft, the obsessed vampire giving chase. The castle becomes swallowed in mysterious gray Mist, and Tatyana throws herself off the castle to her death below. Her body vanishes into the Mists, and that act of great evil (to shatter the heart of a truly innocent creature) binds Strahd and Barovia to a place never before known.
Barovia is carved off of its Material Plane, and becomes swallowed in poison Mist. Strahd's own guards witnessed the tragedy and shot their lord for his crimes. But Strahd was not allowed to die! His heart stops beating forever, and he rises as a powerful vampire to slaughter all those within the castle. And he remained the lord of Barovia ever since, living on forever as his life's achievements and landmarks fell to the ravages of time... He could not die, nor could he live...
But the Dark Powers do not merely wish to imprison Strahd for his crimes... They seek to torment him, with the very thing he can never truly possess as an unrepentant monster. And Jander, stricken so completely by this slaughter of innocents and profane act of ritual, continues to read Strahd's journal.
Time passed, about 50 years or so, and that dreadful massacre faded from the peasantfolk's memory. The village of Barovia continued on, fearing Strahd's wrath by day and unknowingly quenching his eternal thirst by night. And one night, Strahd sees a young maiden in the village: Tatyana once more! Her name was different--Marina this time--and she first appeared as an orphaned child in the countryside, raised to adulthood by kindly villagers. But he recognizes her immediately and seeks to possess her before she vanishes.
Ironically, however, he loses her again! He attempted to court the girl as a man, but not two months later Marina's father murders her. Before Strahd took violent revenge, the man revealed that he refused to allow someone like Strahd to have her. After he slaughtered the mortal, Strahd despaired once more, his lost love gone yet again. But it would not be the last.
Seventy five years pass, and Tatyana returns; this time as a young woman named Olya. He recognizes that though each incarnation of Tatyana has her appearance, there is something lost within her. As if part of her soul remained elsewhere, unreachable to him. She died soon after Strahd encountered her, by some terrible fever.
Jander recalls something he overheard in the village long ago. On the very night that he appeared in Barovia... A pair of men were drinking in the village tavern, lamenting the loss of their beloved Olya...
The horrible truth dawns upon the elven vampire--as scorching as the sun to his undead flesh... His beloved Anna, insane and fractured of soul, was Strahd's perpetual victim. "Anna", as she'd called herself, was short for "Tatyana". And her name for Jander, always calling him "Sir", was her way in her insanity to call for her beloved "Sergei"...
Somehow, through a great cosmic injustice, the woman that was both Tatyana, Anna and all these others, was bound to the undead existence of her killer: Strahd von Zarovich! Jander fell in love with a fraction of the woman's soul, bound to the realms he knew... Anna had also died for an incurable fever, and she lived for nearly a century since her supposed appearance in Faerun. Jander had been living with the monster that shattered the soul of his beloved, all these years!
Strahd was out so often because it was yet that time for another incarnation of poor Tatyana to reappear. Jander had been living in his enemy's house for over fifty years, and the cycle of her dying for Strahd's eternal torment would start again!
The elf saw through the hidden journal just how wicked and monstrous Strahd was, long before he had become undead. And he had only strengthened the Devil Strahd through his friendship, and the insights into their vampiric nature he offered.
Strahd could return in five days or five weeks; Jander must depart and finally plan his true revenge upon the murderer of Anna, her soul and her beloved.
Greatest Spoiler Warning Ahead Ever! You Have Been Warned!!
Strahd cannot be killed like his lesser spawn and brides. He is a powerful wizard and master of his vampiric nature. He has a practical army of undead, beasts and other monstrous servants at his disposal--chattel to surround and weaken his enemies before they even get to him. So they will enter by day, despite Jander suffering outside of his time of rest. And the trio will go through the catacombs of Castle Ravenloft and destroy every creature in the castle, while they rest in their coffins and crypts. But Sasha has an idea first--perhaps a trip to the approaching vardo of Vistani is in order?
Sasha goes with Leisl to the Vistani caravan beyond the poison mists; the travelers have returned at quite an opportune time. If Strahd is as dangerous as Jander says, the insight of Sasha's people may balance the scales. Sasha is recognized as the son of Petya by the new raunie leader, Maruschka. The seer has fully grown into her second sight, and she reads the future for the pair. Leisl's fears for Sasha are revealed, but her fear of losing him to his crusade is worse. Sasha is told that "the one who loved best has a heart of stone", and that stone will answer his call for direction. The monster hunters return to Barovia, and (like her ancient predecessor before her) Maruschka sighs that she must do what must be done to protect her people...
While Sasha and Leisl sought insights to the future; Jander searched the past. He learned of an ancient relic, a "piece of the sun" used to banish darkness by a local folk hero. Additionally, there is supposedly another relic, made for the von Zarovich line, called the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind... These could be useful to their quest to purge Strahd's influence, but both are lost... He also spoke with Trina while the humans were away, using her to glean information about Strahd's planned return. There is little time to prepare; Jander meets an intrigued Leisl, and the trio put their heads together... What stone could speak and have the insights to face Strahd? Why have these ancient relics been lost and seemingly wiped from all records?
The trio realize they must go to a place of power within Barovia--a set of ancient standing stones, older than the village itself, let alone Strahd's invasion and castle. With a prayer to athander Morninglord, Sasha compels these ancient plinths to speak--and they reveal in ancient voices that both the Piece of the Sun and the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind are one and the same. One became the other in name upon the von Zarovich invasion... So if any place has record of the relic, it must be Castle Ravenloft!
Jander sneaks the humans into the castle during the day, when every creature of Strahd is docile and on effective autopilot without their master. Jander is weakened by the sun overhead, but he maintains a calculated determination as they set out. He protects the humans against traps, willing to sacrifice his undead flesh as an odd sort of penance... And the process of cleansing the unaware castle, staking the denizens of each coffin and hovel becomes oddly routine to the trio. Sasha doubts Jander understands the emotional weight such an endeavor has upon him; but the elf snaps that he knows this is heartbreaking and cruel, but Strahd will simply rebuild his army if they let him. They must not falter!
Jander is now fully aware of Strahd's true cruelty, and that it rubbed off on him unconsciously offends him. The cruelty of a powerful vampire, taking slaves and destroying lives, is something he allowed to exist alongside him--he grew numb to his monstrous nature, just as Strahd hoped he would. But no longer!
Upon opening the crypt of Strahd himself, the group realizes Strahd von Zarovich's supposed coffin holds another vampire. He used magic to disguise the thrall as him, in the place Jander was told was his host's. But Jander once again underestimated his peer--from night one, Strahd never trusted Jander! They could scour the castle top to bottom now and never find Strahd's resting place! But if they acquire the ancient relic Holy Symbol, they may not need to...
They search a bit and eventually Jander carries the humans to the old chapel on the castle grounds. If the relic would be anywhere in Strahd's reach, it would be in the desecrated chapel. A solitary skeleton lingers here, harmlessly; but there are no relics to be seen. Jander wracks his brains, all that he's seen and done at the castle, for any chance of finding the relic. The skeleton shuffles on...
And that is when it hits him. Strahd's journal mentioned briefly someone who was meant to be the next priest in line... The same person who is missing from all the crypts, portraits and statuary... Sergei... Tatyana's love and Strahd's slain brother... The elf looks to the lumbering skeleton--one that had been long-rotted and alone here long before Jander's arrival. He goes over to the undead and destroys it, freeing the remaining soul of Sergei von Zarovich from its deathless torment. And around the skeleton's neck--for the one who loved best has a heart of stone--is the glistening jewel of the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind!
Sasha is bewildered, Leisl is intrigued; but Jander recoils from its divinity, scorching his flesh with a mere touch! They have the relic now, though, so what do they do with it?
Sasha wishes he'd asked the seer Maruschka for insight regarding this moment. But Jander recognizes the name and realizes all too late--like how Madame Eva alerted Strahd to the elf vampire's presence, the raunie of the traveling caravan must tell the lord of Barovia anything he'd desire knowing. Strahd has known they were coming!
And, as if on cue, Strahd's wolves emerge from the shadows. Strahd has been waiting for this moment, wickedly. Sasha recovers quickly to cast a protective circle, keeping the wolves and the master vampire out! Their enemy paces around the circle, mocking their endeavor. He can repopulate his castle with slaves in less than a generation. The circle cannot last forever. He's known of Sasha's activities from the start, and is not impressed. Even channeling the Morninglord's miracles through the Holy Symbol cannot be sustained. He's grateful though--he lost sight of the relic long ago, since he refused to see his brother's skeletal remains in the old temple; and now that he'll possess the Holy Symbol and he can end its potential harm to him!
Jander wishes to face Strahd headfirst, but breaking the circle would put his allies at risk.
Strahd looks to the faithful Sasha and reveals his trump card! He has the beautiful Katya in his clutches, a hostage! Sasha is compelled to trade it for her life, but Leisl snaps that they'll all die if he gives it up! He stays strong just long enough for Strahd to grab Katya and make her give a cry--he cannot help but kick it out of the circle to save her!
But wait... Jander knows this maiden. By another name... Katya is no ingenue maid, she is Katrina the lovesick werewolf at Strahd's beck and call! As soon as the relic is snatched up by her, the game is revealed and Sasha's heart shatters at the revelation. Katrina the lycanthrope was sent to seduce and monitor the vampire hunter, all this time! She never loved him, and she did it out of a malicious devotion to the murderer of his family! She transforms into her full hybrid form right in front of them, terrifying Leisl and Sasha alike.
Sasha pulls his holy symbol of Lathander out, but Strahd will not be shaken. As the circle of protection begins to break down, Strahd turns to lovely Leisl. He uses his gaze to freeze her, claiming he will take her as his first new bridge! But that is where Strahd messes up--not only does that make Sasha more determined (to finally protect the one who's protected him), but jealous Katrina despises the idea! She demands he kill her instead, or else she'll betray him.
Strahd agrees to her demand, seeing the jealous lycanthrope as more useful. He grabs Leisl is is about to hurt her... Katrina lowers her guard, and the jewel...
Jander catches the werewolf off-guard, shapeshifting too rapidly between wolf, mist and elf for her to react! He snatches the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind from her, and holds it despite pain it brings to his vampire flesh! Leisl is tackled by a fully lupine Katrina, and as she's raked and bitten she pulls out a silver dagger to strike the werewolf hard! She had found it within the castle during their escapade--one of the assassin's blades Strahd used to slay his own brother! But she's failing fast against the wounds Katrina is inflicting!
Sasha sets some oil flasks alight to drive off the rest of Strahd's wolves, and he rushes to rescue Leisl.
That leaves Strahd and Jander, face to face! Strahd mocks the elf vampire, and how he pitifully holds the Holy Symbol in his scorched hand. He believes Jander will destroy himself in an attempt to use the relic against him. But Jander has secrets Strahd never pulled from his lips--including that he once worshipped Lathander the Morninglord in his living days! But before he raises it against his enemy, Jander reveals the truth he learned of his beloved Anna.
Jander reveals that Anna was Tatyana, reborn in his world with only a fraction of her soul. Strahd is, for once, confused! He's been chasing her reincarnations for decades, because she is his true love. Jander shatters those delusions--he left her broken and damned, her soul scattered into worlds unknown. Though beset by the horrors Strahd had inflicted upon her, Tatyana had found an escape from him for one hundred years. And though Jander knew now that she'd loved Sergei most, he loved the version of Tatyana so much that he'd do anything to avenge her.
Strahd could never understand such a selfless love.
With his one arm nothing but blackened bones, Jander sends up a prayer to Lathander Morninglord. And the power of his god wells up within him through the relic, crossing the impassable reaches of the Mists! Strahd is overwhelmed by a burst of divine sunlight, burning from within! But all it takes is one split second as he writhed in agony for him to find an escape--using magic to cowardly flee before he could be fully destroyed!
Jander falls, his foe escaped and his own unlife faltering! Vengeance was nearly his! He passes out, and wakes in the care of Sasha.
Leisl is alive but wounded. Sasha faced the wolves and drove them off. Katrina fled when Strahd did. Jander feels as if he's failed them all: Leisl was bitten by a werewolf... The Holy Symbol of Ravenkind's power wasted... And Anna, or Tatyana, left unavenged--as she had asked him to in his visions...
But something suddenly gives Jander pause... Did he truly fail Anna? He considers the visions of his rotting, hateful beloved--would the Tatyana as Strahd had written of, or the Anna he himself had known, ever wish vengeance upon another?
No. She would not. Tatyana was a true Innocent soul, even broken in that asylum she'd given everything to others. She was a being of generosity and kindness. And even though she suffered, and may continue to suffer forever thanks to this land's dark curse, Tatyana, Anna and whichever incarnation would come next would never ask for her wounds to be avenged... She'd forgive Strahd, unburdened by hate.
Jander then thinks back to the night he came to Barovia. He swore to the night, and something had answered his call to avenge the woman he loved. Something in the night heard his cry, and plucked him with the Mists to this corrupt place. Much like when something Dark and unknown answered the mortal Strahd's call for answers.
These Dark Powers had planned this all along. Setting the two vampires up as peers, perhaps once friends, and then bitter enemies. All over the perceived visions of the woman they'd both fallen for. The forces at play wished to see the self-sacrificing and self-effacting elven vampire as Strahd's rival. They would chase one another through the night forevermore; throwing pawn and peers at one another while they both remained unscathed... And Jander will become like his enemy--brutal and twisted and numb to the cost of his cause.
Jander looked to Sasha, and saw that he was the best hope to free his own land from Strahd von Zarovich. He must take the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind, and the wounded Leisl and flee! They must gather allies against the dark lord of Barovia. Jander must leave the board in order for them to be strong enough without relying upon him...
The sun peeks through a broken window of the chapel, and Jander's instincts are to flee. But he's felt the sting of sunlight already tonight--the holy symbol hurt as much as it helped him against Strahd. He is not afraid of the sun any longer. He will not be a puppet of these Dark Powers. He will not fight over Tatyana's soul, to avenge one who would never seek revenge upon another soul. He will not become Strahd's equal; leader of a second faction challenging the darklord in the night.
Jander pulls out his flute, and waits with a weeping Sasha for the sun to finally free him... Perhaps with his use of the relic, and with Sasha now a true cleric of their god, the grace of the Morninglord has finally reached this land? They have done some good, despite it all. Sasha will leave with Leisl, and they will use their faith and human cleverness to keep the Holy Symbol away from Strahd.
Strahd will remain as he always is--immortal and monstrous as he always desired, and forever dissatisfied and useless to defy his imprisonment in this strange land... Though his body is recuperating in his hidden coffin, with Katrina lingering nearby for him to return...
Jander plays a song that welcomes the dawn. And the dawn's light embraces him...
Reviewer's Notes:
The Ravenloft novels are pretty mixed in quality, considering they are paperback adventures written in the 90s. Vampire of the Mists by Christie Golden, however, is probably the best written among them that I have read so far. I've read a couple others previously, and have read a few others after--but none have left such an impact on me as Golden's characters and story.
Jander Sunstar is a fascinating character, and after I took the time to understand his shortcomings I saw they weren't flaws to get upset over. He is a hero who had everything stolen from him--his life, his purpose, his love, his humanity (or the elf version of that)... And he is stupendously single-minded, blind to his own faults due to his extensive life experience (and undeath existence as well).
Barovia and the story of Strahd von Zarovich were never my favorites in the Ravenloft canon--but this novel helped me see the way the tragic cycle of the darklord's curse affected generations of humans and heroes. It made me see why Barovia is the keystone to the whole Demiplane of Dread. And it made Barovia feel like it could be the start of many great adventures.
We know that Strahd von Zarovich is still around, lording the darkness of Barovia, thinking he's the pinnacle of vampire-dom now that his only rival is seemingly gone. Pathetically deluded and desperate for the one love he can never possess. It turns out, after this novel was written, that Jander may still be in Ravenloft.
The 3e/3.5 supplemental book, by Sword & Sorcery Studios, introduces Jander Sunstar and his unique elf vampiric existence as a potential story hook for D&D games. The Mists kept him wandering the Mists after the sun seemingly destroyed him--the Dark Powers don't like their playthings to stop following their rules, and they never throw or let anything out. And part of me wishes I could bring him to life in my own campaigns, traveling the expanded Core centuries after the other domains were pulled in.
But I feel like his potential to be in Ravenloft stories is just a fun easter egg for long-time fans. I like to imagine Jander Sunstar, elven vampire, finally at peace despite his torments. But, then again, I am often accused by my players of being a merciful Dungeon Master. And if Tatyana, the purest soul ever, cannot be freed due to the nature of Ravenloft; it sadly makes sense for Jander to still be kicking around.
Ah, well. That's my headcanon, anyway.
If you're still here, thank you for reading along with my choppy retelling! I tried to paint the story of Vampire of the Mists with a wide brush, because I do recommend Ravenloft fans to read it for themselves. (And you can with this PDF from Internet Archive...) Oops, who put that there!
It is hard to find copies of it nowadays, but if you really crave that in person reading experience (like me) it's usually around 22 to 25 bucks online. If you love Ravenloft, Strahd von Zarovich and the realm of Barovia you should give it a read for yourself. There's so much I didn't cover--explore it for yourself!