Prince Vhordrai

Prince Vhordrai, the Fist of Nagash, is the leader of the Kastelai dynasty of Soulblight Vampires.

He was originally conceived as a special character made from some of the parts of the Vampire Lord on Zombie Dragon kit to give the Legions of Nagash another special character besides the Mortarchs and Nagash himself, since the Flesh-Eater Courts, Nighthaunt and Ossiarch Bonereapers hadn't been introduced yet.

History

Prince Vhordrai has been around for a long time, as he was already a powerful Vampire Lord during the Age of Chaos. At some unspecified point, Vhordrai gained his current steed, the zombie dragon named Shordmaire. But Vhordrai hated serving Nagash, given Nagash's tyranny.

It was during the Age of Chaos that his rise to infamy began. Prince Vhordrai was present at the Battle of the Black Skies, fighting for Nagash against Archaon. When Nagash was slain by Archaon, Vhordari saw this as an opportunity to be rid of him for good. Vhordrai attempted to throw Nagash's remains into the Chaos-corrupted realmgate of Yulghuan so the Chaos Gods could consume Nagash and destroy him once and for all.

Vhordrai's plan would've succeeded if not for the intervention of Arkhan the Black. Arkhan engaged Vhordrai in a lengthy duel between vampire and Mortarch. It's telling that Vhordrai managed to put up a huge fight since he couldn't match Arkhan's magic. But Arkhan's magic won him the duel, and he sealed Vhordrai in a sarcophagus made of Shadeglass. Arkhan then took Nagash's remains to Stygx with Neferata while Vhordrai was left trapped. So Prince Vhordrai is a bald vampire royal who tried to betray Nagash, only for his treachery to bite him back hard. Where have I seen this before?

Thus Prince Vhordrai was trapped in the sarcophagus until the Age of Sigmar, the vitrified realmstone preventing Vhordrai from dying from lack of blood or devolving into a Vargheist. Nagash freed Vhordrai, the vampire now in a half-insane state. Unfortunately for him, Nagash knew about Prince Vhordrai's attempted treachery and had released him to use and punish him. Vhordrai was bound to the fortress the Crimson Keep, and would die an agonizing and permanent death if he left its walls for more than a day. Nagash also used his power to move the Crimson Keep between realms, placing it near anyone he wanted to die horribly. For those keeping score, Prince Vhordrai is a prestigious vampire warrior who was magically imprisoned after turning against his former ruler, plus the imprisonment and lack of blood to feed on drove him insane, which is also a familiar story.

As a result, Vhordrai was leashed and gained the title "Fist of Nagash", albeit as a form of mockery. Despite his binding, many vampires go to the Crimson Keep to serve or fight alongside Prince Vhordrai, who is now revered as a paragon of slaughter. The fact that visiting binds them to the Crimson Keep like him the longer they stay doesn't dampen their devotion.

Vhordrai and the other vampires established the Kastelai dynasty, revolving around martial prowess. Kastelai armies are almost entirely mounted to both maintain their knightly image and also out of necessity due to the Crimson Keep relocating each dawn. Given his half-insane, bloodthristy nature, Vhordrai revels in the suffering he gets to inflict, though he despises having to do it at Nagash's bidding.

When Nagash lost his physical form at the end of the Soul Wars, Vhordrai reconsidered his position and the possibility that he could be free of Nagash's curse. However, he's seen and experienced what happens when you betray the skelepope once, let alone twice. As such, he's reluctant to really make any moves without a very good reason and chance of success.

On the Tabletop

Prince Vhordrai's dynasty revolves around lances of Blood Knights form the core and supported by Dire Wolf hunting hounds raised from the most ferocious canine beasts. They will resurrect slain infantry from local barrows and corpse pits as needed but are considered entirely expendable and left to crumble by dawn.