Von Schattenmeer dynasty

Long before the Mortal Realms were forged from the ashes of the Old World, tales speak of a time when the infamous Vlad von Carstein sought to transcend death itself. In his relentless pursuit of immortality, he created a cursed artifact known as the Schattenspiegel (Shadow Mirror). This mirror, more than mere glass and silver, was a vessel capable of housing fragments of his indomitable soul, ensuring his will and influence would endure even in the face of ultimate destruction.

The legend tells of a final, cataclysmic battle upon the walls of Altdorf, where Vlad’s enemies, desperately defending their city, ultimately defeated him and his relentless undead legions, shattering his reign in a single, decisive moment of ruin. Amidst the carnage, the Schattenspiegel was shattered, its shards scattered across the realms, each fragment imbued with a sliver of Vlad’s power and essence. One such shard is said to have plunged into the depths of a storm-wracked lake, a place now known as Schattenmeer, leaving the surrounding land forever cursed and steeped in unnatural dread.

After the Realms rose from the ruins of the Old World, shadowed echoes of this ancient curse lingered. Grabsturm Keep, a fortress perched on the cliffs above Schattenmeer, became the chosen seat of power for a lineage of nobles who adopted the title von Schattenmeer. Though not direct heirs of Vlad’s bloodline, they are bound to his legacy through the lake’s dark influence. The shard of the Schattenspiegel buried beneath the lake’s depths imprinted its power upon the keep and its rulers, marking them as stewards of its restless tides and guardians of its cursed secrets.

Now, the von Shattenmeer name carries both honor and dread, a symbol of their burden and their claim to the cursed power that lingers in Schattenmeer’s black waters. With the keep’s walls echoing with whispers of the past and the lake’s reflection shifting with visions of ruin, the von Schattenmeer nobles wield a terrifying authority, their fates forever entwined with the fractured will of Vlad von Carstein.

Legend claims the lake's black waters are a reflection of the underworld itself, and the shard embedded within its depths has tainted the surrounding land with dark, necromantic power. The waves carry whispers of Vlad’s voice, and those who gaze into the lake’s surface often see visions of their death—or worse, glimpses of their soul trapped within its depths.

The Reflection of Ruin, the warband forged by Isolde von Schattenmeer, was once solely bound to her will, its existence intertwined with the Schattenspiegel’s fragmented power and the cursed tides of the Schattenmeer. It was meant to be her army, her legacy, her path to domination. But that time has passed.

With the return of Baron Edgar von Schattenmeer, the warband now marches under a darker, far more dreadful master. Though Isolde still commands its forces, she does so not as the sovereign of its fate, but as its second-in-command. The Reflection of Ruin no longer answers only to her ambition—it is now an instrument of Edgar’s will, reforged in his monstrous reign.

The Unholy Forces of the Schattenmeer

At the forefront of the warband remain the Tidemarked Knights, vampiric cavalry mounted upon spectral steeds capable of galloping across water and storm-lashed skies. Clad in noble armor the color of blood, they exude an aura of dark majesty, their presence befitting their noble lineage. Their enchanted weapons, glowing with eldritch energy, cleave through mortal flesh and spirit alike, leaving nothing but ruin in their wake. Kaelith Morvain, emissary of Prince Vhordrai, continues to lead them, his tactical brilliance ensuring their effectiveness in battle.

Alongside them rise the Wavesworn, dread mages who wield necromantic power drawn from the cursed lake. Under the leadership of Primarch Wilhelm Nachtmahr, the Stormcaller of the Abyss, these sinister mages weave deathly energies, bending both storm and soul to their will.

Yet the warband’s purpose has shifted. Once dedicated solely to the recovery of the Schattenspiegel’s remaining shards, it now wages war at Edgar’s command. The Baron does not seek scattered power—he seeks dominion. His wrath is methodical, his conquests precise. And to enforce his reign, he has brought forth his most loyal and terrifying servants.

The Forsaken Triumvirate—Edgar’s Shadow and Talons

The true terror of the Reflection of Ruin is no longer Isolde’s dark ambitions, but the Forsaken Triumvirate, the three horrors that now hunt at Edgar’s side—Voldrik the Crimson Maw, Rhadomar the Red Thirst, and Kasimir the Wretched. Once his most loyal knights, these wretched beings followed him into the depths of Grabsturm Keep and never returned as men. Now, they are his Vargheists, his enforcers, his executioners, descending upon the battlefield like winged nightmares, rending enemies limb from limb. When Edgar demands blood, they obey.

The Wavesworn: Keepers of Emberstone and the Cursed Tide

Among the Reflection of Ruin’s arcane elite, the Wavesworn remain bound to Isolde’s command, their mastery over the cursed tides of the Schattenmeer making them invaluable to her designs. Yet, with Baron Edgar von Schattenmeer’s return, their allegiance has become twofold. Wilhelm Nachtmahr, the Stormcaller of the Abyss, continues to serve as Isolde’s trusted necromantic advisor, yet he now also holds the title of court necromancer to Edgar himself, ensuring that the warband’s dark sorceries serve the will of the dynasty’s true master. While the warband wages war, the Wavesworn turn their efforts toward esoteric research, focusing not only on the Schattenspiegel’s power but also the mysteries of Emberstone, a substance whose latent energies could hold the key to amplifying their necromantic dominion. Though they have not yet unleashed the undead legions lurking beneath the lake’s cursed depths, they wait patiently for the moment when their research is complete—and when that day comes, the Schattenmeer’s tide of death will rise unchecked.

The Master of the Reflection

Where Isolde once sought to shape the warband in her image, Edgar has reshaped it into something more monstrous, more absolute. The Reflection of Ruin no longer exists for her ascension alone—it now serves the reborn lord of Schattenmeer. Isolde still rides at its head, still seeks the shards, but she does so beneath Edgar’s shadow, under his watchful, scornful gaze.

And though she dreams of seizing true power, of breaking the Schattenspiegel’s will and her father’s dominion, she knows one truth above all:

This is no longer her warband. It is his.