Count Strahd von Zarovich was a Darklord of domain of dread lost to the Deepmists. Trapped in a remote corner of the Umbral Realms, the Vampire lorded over Barovia from Castle Ravenloft, perched high above the valley, and possessed singular control over his realm. Denizens of Barovia were terrorized by Strahd relentlessly, he became known to the citizens as the "Devil", though he referred to himself as "The Ancient" and "The Land".
Strahd was once a Human born in the Zarovich Valley. Nobly born to Barov von Zarovich and Ravenovia van Roeyen, into the noble von Zarovich family, rightful rulers of the eastern Zarovich Valley. He was trained to be a warrior and general from a young age, skills that he would use to conquer the lands in the west of the valley, and establish Barovia, which he named after his parents. Strahd spent much of his adult life at war with other houses and the native forest-folk of Barovia; he was so focused on this mission, he never wed or sired children. He employed the wizard Orlev ben Khazan to construct Castle Ravenloft, and planned to move his parents to the castle, but they passed away before it could be completed, killed in the Rout Of Barovia by the knights of Argynvostholt.
Though Strahd ultimately succeeded in gaining power over the valley and constructing his great castle, he began to grow mad in a quest for power, learning ancient magics from the Amber Temple. He fell in love with a young woman, Tatyana Federovna; though she was not of noble birth, her beauty entranced him, and he desired her to be his own. However, Tatyana was engaged to be betrothed to his brother Sergei von Zarovich, twenty-five years his junior.
Enraged at his brother, who he had invited to live in the castle, as well as at the waste of his own youth, Strahd killed Sergei on the day of their wedding. Craving further power, he invoked a ritual he learned from the Temple and made a pact with "Death", the Dark Power Vampyr, resulting in the Wedding That Never Was.
This pact killed Strahd, turning him undead and granting him powers over the night. He wished to take Tatyana for his own and live with her forever in Castle Ravenloft. Horrified and grief-stricken, Tatyana flung herself from his tower into the mists below as Strahd was attacked by the castle guards. He eventually subsumed the powers of the Ladies Three, taking their abilities unto his own, and he gained power to shape the land himself. He began calling himself the Ancient, the Land, and the First Vampire, and much of Barovia began bearing the Mark of Strahd.
Rumours of his dark origin were largely cut out by the Count before they could spread, and the truth of how he came into power was known by very few. He had slain the guards and attendees of the wedding, though journaled the events in a Tome, which he kept locked away below the castle. The fates around Strahd's pact, and Vampyr's need to continuously feed on souls warped the reality of the valley, turning it into a demiplane that only Strahd could grant entry and exit from. As a price for his power, the fates twisted around Strahd, and Tatyana's soul would be reincarnated continuously, such as in Marina Ulrich and Ireena Kolyana. However, in no incarnation would Strahd ever have her fall in love with him; his torment was to be eternal.
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