Lauka Vai, the Mother of Nightmares

I don't know what the fuck that thing is, but I want it.

"I hate what I’ve become! The nightmare’s just begun! I must confess that I feel like a monster!"

– ”Monster” by Skillet

Lauka Vai, the Mother of Nightmares, is the leader of the Avengorii dynasty of Soulblight vampires. Her main schtick is that she is a bloodthirsty monster desperately trying to conceal her bloodlust behind a thinly veiled pretense of honor and nobility.

History

Vai was originally the leader of the Askurga Renkai, an order of monster hunting vampires who refused to prey on those weaker than themselves. However, in a battle against a Tzeentch sorcerer, she was mutated into a horrific winged reptilian centaur-like form, becoming the first of the Vengorian Lords. Believing her to be corrupt, the Askurga Renkai turned on her, forcing Vai to kill them in self-defense.

Disgusted by what she became, Lauka Vai exiled herself into the wilderness of Ghur, where she fought monstrous beasts and warlords by herself. If civilians saw her, she usually fled, but sometimes she could not control her bloodlust and committed atrocities that would haunt her when she returned to lucidity. Eventually, she'd be discovered by the Avengorii dynasty, a bloodline of vampires that willingly embraced their own monstrosity and viewed mutating into a Vengorian or Vargheist as an honor. Given their shared forms, the Avengorii revered her as a paragon of their kind. Although their savagery offended her code of honor, she agreed to become their leader, as this was the first companionship she could find in a long time. Though she first had to prove herself by slaying the then-current Patriarch of the Dynasty Ghorvar, who tried to tame her with his enchanted collar...to little success (this aforementioned collar is still treated as a dynasty artifact however).

Even as the leader of a bloodline of abominations, Lauka Vai still attempts to keep to her code of honor, refusing to prey upon the defenseless and focusing instead on fighting the forces of Chaos and Destruction. She even led the Avengorii against the forces of the Ivory Host Bonereapers for a time, believing their bone-tithing of civilians instead of exclusively hunting monsters and worthy foes was a cowardly disgrace to the forces of Death. Vai nearly won the resulting war until Vokmortion negotiated a compromise between the two parties. Despite these principles, every time she falls into her bloodlust, it becomes more difficult to return to sanity. If she ever reaches a point where her mind breaks entirely, a grim fate will be released on the denizens of Ghur.

The Mother of Nightmares and her Dynasty are currently based in the labyrinthine underground of the Sascathran Dunes, neighboring the pristine and monster-hating free city of the Collonade. The Avengorii mostly keep to themselves and only hunt the large beasts native to the land. However, this doesn't stop the Azyrites from occasionally going on vampire hunts to rid the realm of the Vengorian Lords. This meant it was a surprise to Lauka Vai when she was approached by a human woman called Atella, a councilor from the Collonade requesting an alliance with the vampires to stop a gargantuan beastherd barreling towards their city. Lauka agreed to such an alliance, hoping to teach the prideful humans a lesson in humility. However, she underestimated just how much the Collonade loathed the Avengorii, even going as far as to go back on their own alliance in a bid to wipe out the Dynasty. This didn't end too well for the Collonade, who had their standing army decimated and the entire city razed following their betrayal. Lauka Vai did though find a new vampire in Atella, the one human who seemed just as fed up with the city's false pride as the vampires were.

The Era of the Beast was a time of trials for Lauka Vai and her nightmare brood. Many new bloods were joining the dynasty after embracing their monstrous heritage, while some of her most devoted kin were fully devolving into uncontrollable beasts that needed to be put down. Even the Mother of Nightmares proved to be affected by the wafting bestial energies as on one gore filled night, she and her retainers slaughtered an entire Gargant Stomp and destroyed the territory of some undead blacksmiths who were proud allies of the Kastelai Dynasty. Prince Vhordrai and his Crimson Keep materialized in the Sascathran Dunes and called Lauka Vai a traitor, to which she retorted that Vhordrai was one to talk about being a traitor. The two Dynasts clashed, and it was only the sudden arrival of an ogor mawtribe (they smelled all the dead gargants) that stopped the two vampires. Vhordrai fled back to his keep and issues Lauka Vai an ultimatum to settle this feud at a later date at the Gates Below, an intersection of Aqshy and Shyish realmgates. Lauka Vai eagerly accepts.

On the Tabletop

Lauka is the sole special character of the Avengorii Dynasty - a dynasty which, incidentally, really likes big scary monsters (and really, who can blame them) to the point of being able to take Terrorgheists and Zombie Dragons as battleline. In terms of stats she acts as a slightly buffed up version of a Vengorian Lord, with a Command Ability that lets her add +1 to hit rolls for attacks made with by friendly Monsters. Pair her up with some of the aforementioned beasties and you're good to go.