Svarog

Jager (vampiric sire)

Damian, Amara (vampiric broodmates)

Belobog (adopted son/vampiric progeny)

Human (formeryl)

> *"If you cannot protect yourself and that which you love, die and get out of the way of those who can."*
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> *-Svarog*
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Svarog is an ancient Pre-Slavic vampire, originating in modern day Ukraine, where he founded the city that is now Kiev. Progeny of the Firstborn vampire Jager, Svarog was once a powerful mortal warrior-mage of such renown that the belief of those who knew his legend granted him power. Coming to vampirism against his will, he went on to become the only vampire ever to Embrace a Nephilim after adopting a pair of Nephilim twins as sons. Unbeknownst to him, he had been manipulated into doing so as part of an experiment by their father, the Archduke Gadreel, who he has served as an unwitting pawn of for centuries.

## Biography

### Early Life

Svarog was born on the hilled west bank of what would be called the Dnieper river, some sixteen centuries before Christ. His father was the shaman of the tribe to which he belonged, and his mother the daughter of a prominent warrior. As he grew, Svarog proved to be a youth of considerable intellect, charisma and strength. His father recognized the magical potential within him, and Svarog was subjected to brutal and intense training throughout his youth, during which time he Awakened. His every error was met with pain from his tyrannical sire, and Svarog endured his torment for years.

When he was fourteen, however, he reached his limit. When a young woman Svarog was courting found herself brutally assaulted by the shaman for "being a distraction", Svarog's rage broke. He unleashed his power upon his father, burning him alive and reducing him to a crumbling ash pile. In a final gesture of contempt, he scattered his father’s ashes into the river, a grave insult to his tribe, as funerary rites were of great importance.

### Rise to Power

When the tribe's chief attempted to punish Svarog for murdering their shaman, Svarog responded by slaying of of the chieftain's three sons in single combat. His champions bested, the chief engaged Svarog in a duel which ended with Svarog decapitating him as the tribe looked on. His victory witnessed by all, Svarog assumed leadership of his tribe. The young chief claimed the eldest of his predecessor's daughters as a wife, and quickly proved himself to be more competent and ambitious. With his mystical might, he ensured that their crops grew, their hunts were bountiful and their battles victorious.

Svarog steadily expanded his control over the land of rivers and tributaries that his tribe inhabited, gradually subjugating the other tribes whic inhabited the territory that would become Kiev. His conquests began as he sent envoys to demand that his neighbors surrender, or be slaughtered. Only two returned, and only one with news that the tribe's chief wished to parlay with him. Svarog agreed, and they met on an island in the river. Yet there was no chief present, and Svarog and his retinue were ambushed. Slaying them all, Svarog travelled to the camp of the treacherous chief, cutting through his warriors and relieving his head from his shoulders. Rival slain, Svarog proclaimed his rule over the tribe. The only resistance came from the daughter of one of the warriors he had slain, who attempted to slay him in turn. The newly made Chief of Two Tribes was amused by her insolence, sparing her life.

Svarog's conquests continued, and two years later, he had achieved rule over six tribes and a vast domain. Had he been content with his achievements, Svarog would have been remembered for generations as a mighty ancestor. Yet Svarog was not born to be content, but to forever march onward.

### Encounter with the Moonbeasts

Another year of unstoppable conquest saw Svarog ruling a domain that stretched from modern Chernobyl to Kaniv.It was at the age of seventeen that word reached him of how a group of his finest warriors were slaughtered in the attempt to conquer a fringe tribe. No sooner had the news reached his ears than an attack was mounted on Svarog’s own home by warriors of beastly shape. Mighty they were, and many of the Great Chief's finest warriors died to their fangs and claws, but Svarog's magical might was such that he held the bestial warriors off. Eventually after a bloody stalemate, the attackers relented, and returned to request a meeting between the two sides. Svarog nearly refused, but the woman who made the request had caught his eye.

At the summit between the two foes, Svarog learned the dignitary he had met with was the clans leader, Lada Yorak, who had taken on the guise to take the measure of him. Impressed by her boldness, Svarog found himself enamored with the woman. As the negotiations progressed, they agreed to strike up an alliance. To cement the accord, Svarog requested that the fierce werewolf queen marry him. Though reluctant, her duty to her clan won out against her misgivings, and she consented. By the time their first child was born, the two had fallen deeply in love. With their union, Svarog's domains swelled, extending over the next few years into parts of modern Belarus and Russia. As his domains grew, so did his legend, and tales of Svarog spread across Ukraine.

### Fall

In the following years Svarog’s power continued to expand. His unsurpassed magical might and immense warrior prowess made him one of the most powerful beings in all of Eastern Europe at the time. In this period, the once beaten child of a mere shaman was content. For Svarog enjoyed the rigors of rulership, the occasional bloody battle, and most of all, Svarog took delight in his beloved wife Lada. Within his borders, the seeds of a great civilization had begun to take root. His once small village had grown to have several thousand inhabitants, and was protected by mighty walls. The lands of the Dnieper prospered under Svarog, and the nomads of the south east who once raided his people now paid them tribute. But it was not to last.

Eventually, a hunter of great renown was welcomed into Svarog's hall, his skill impressing the mage-king. Many such visitors arrived in his domain, coming in and out of his town with great frequency. This hunter did not come alone. With him came strange deaths, occurring all throughout residence. Servants began to waste away, growing pale, sickly, and eventually dying, their bodies empty of blood. When Svarog's young son Perun began to grow pale and weak, the mighty king decided enough was enough. Svarog watched his child carefully, and lay in wait for whatever horrid creature had dared prey upon his child. That night he discovered the creature that had dared to steal his own child’s blood was not a twisted monster, but a pale young man in a state of undeath. In this first encounter with a vampire, Svarog granted it a quick destruction. With the tried and trusted method of eliminating his foes, he called upon his magics and burnt the leech where he stood. As the sun returned not an hour after the monster's incineration, he celebrated the day, content in knowing he had slain the creature. That day Svarog was also met with lamentation, as his youngest daughter by Lada, Kupala, had inherited the moonblood from her mother. That morning, the two of then set off, for Lada to present her daughter to be trained in their ways. As the sun set the king stood atop his walls, gazing upon the hill he had seen his daughter disappear over, and pondering the state of the kingdom he had forged. That is when the cruelest of nights began, one Svarog relives every night since.

### Embrace

As the sun dipped below the horizon, Svarog's primal sense was suddenly crushed by the hideous weight of a dark presence. He had no time to contemplate what abomination approached, for as soon as he sensed it, the streets erupted with violence. Men set fire to their own homes as their sons cut them down from behind. Mothers dashed the skulls of their own children against the wall, while brothers bludgeoned their sisters to death. As the horror unfolded before him, Svarog rushed to his hall, to defend his family from whatever dark power had caused this, blasting apart any who stood in his path. He met his family in the courtyard, surrounded by the corpses of their guards and servants. They alone had been spared the madness, it seemed.

Then is when Jager came for them. Appearing out of the dark, the pale hunter who had graced his hall was covered in gore. Dabog, Svarog's eldest son by Lada, took on his war form and leapt courageously to defend his family. But with a mere gesture from the hunter, the shadows themselves rose up and tore him asunder. Enraged, Svarog hopelessly unleashed a storm of flame upon the ancient vampire, only for it to be snuffed out by the shadows with a scornful laugh. In answer, Jager contemptuously knocked Svarog to the ground with a flick of his wrist, as the rest of Svarog's family were bound in arms of shadow. As Svarog lay there, his body broken by the merest touch of the ancient's power, Jager enacted his masterpiece of cruelty. Svarog called upon his magick to heal his form, and as he did so, Jager employed his godlike mastery of Glamour to render Svarog’s family obsessively devoted to him in a instant. All except the young Perun, who was sat upon knee of Jager, where he cried out in fear. With a word, Jager bade Svarog's own relatives to slay him. They complied, raining down blow with their fists. In this moment which so reminded Svarog of the brutal beatings of his youth, the pure power within him was unleashed, and he lashed out. A moment later, as rational thought returned to him, Svarog beheld the broken corpses of his wives, daughters and sons. Not killed by Jager’s hand, but by Svarog’s own.

As the full horror of his deed dawned upon him, the mighty Svarog fell to his knees and cried for the first and ever time in his life, demanding to know what evil he had done to merit such. Jager did not answer, only laughing as Svarog wailed his lamentations to the sky and Perun's cries grew ever louder. Eventually, Jager grew annoyed by Perun’s incessant crying, and moved to kill the child. Svarog threw himself at the Dark God's feet, and begged for his son's life. Jager set the boy down, and said the price for Perun’s life would be Svarog's own. Without hesitation, Svarog agreed. In an instant, his blood was drained by the Firstborn.

Yet this was not his end. Svarog had taken Jager’s progeny from him, and a replacement was required. They spent the day under earth, as Perun and the town above remained in shock. When Svarog rose the next night, he sated his great thirst on the nearest living thing. When he came to his senses, he realized who it was. That is when Svarog truly died. When he saw the bloodless corpse of Lada in his arms. Filled with pure and utter rage at himself and Jager, Svarog yelled out a curse, a promise and a vow in honor of his dead wife. He swore in his ancient tongue that he would make Jager feel the pain he had caused him and others, that he would kill Jager before he dared to let himself die. The Firstborn laughed, stated he would be watching, and vanished into the night.

From the utter ruin the Firstborn had heaped upon him, Svarog rose with only one goal: Revenge.

## Physical Appearance

Svarog is huge brute of a man, with with a broad, powerful physique and tattoos upon both of his muscled arms. His features are hard and strong, and he usually sports a thick beard and keeps his hair at ear length. His brown eyes are always brimming with simmering anger that can blossom into an inferno of rage at the slightest provocation.

## Powers

As might be expected for a vampire who has been undead for some thirty five millennia, Svarog is a being of horrific power. His mastery of Virtus means his physical might is godlike, and his power over Glamour allows him to project emotions of his choice across vast areas. Svarog is also one of the most potent masters of the Umbra among Cainites. Svarog is also a tremendously skilled wielder of Ardor, and to a slightly lesser degree, Legerity, making him extremely resilient and quick. Svarog's skill in Mesmer, Permutation, and Fera is also considerable, giving him the power to command both man and beast to his will, and he is competent in the use of Augury.

## Stats

**Name:** Svarog

**Race:** Vampire

**Date of Birth:** 1605 BC

**Date of Embrace:** 1574 BC

**Sire:** Jager

**Clan:** Veismar

**Generation:** 2nd

**Blood Potency:** 9

**Power Class:** Ancient Blood

**Blood Gifts:**

Ardor 7

Augury 4

Fera 5

Glamour 9

Legerity 6

Mesmer 5

Permutation 5

Tenebrae 9

Virtus 9