Duke Gregori Rakonova-Pale

Duke Gregori Rakonova

(Art by Midjourny)
"He was a beautiful nightmare, death wrapped in a lovelorn smile and eyes that could steal the hearts of young men and women alike. Some of his kind were hunters, stalking their prey, while others were farmers, gathering herds of sycophantic cattle to feed on. He, however, was a trapper, luring his oblivious victims into their doom. I didn't know his name, but I knew what he was—handsome, well-dressed, the kind of man who glided through a room and made a dozen hearts skip a beat in the process. But beneath that exterior, my supernatural senses screamed the truth: he was the source of the missing people and the lesser vampires I had staked in the village graveyard a few nights ago.
The evidence had led me to the dance hall where he prowled. His sloppiness in hiding clues suggested he was either young and foolish or overly confident, perhaps believing that the fearful village folk were powerless to harm him. I leaned toward the latter, suspecting he had the town's guards and nobility under his thumb. It wasn't the nobles who had hired me, though; it was the Merchant's Guild, and they had done so discreetly. They knew something was taking people, creating monsters to serve its designs, and that this monster had power over the nobles and guards, using them to cover up its activities.
I wasn't fond of working in the shadows; it made me feel more like an assassin than a hunter. But I didn't want to have to fight my way through pawns who were only guilty of being psychically dominated by a vampire's supernatural gaze. My options were limited. I considered tracking him back to his lair and staking him while he slept, but I'd likely have to fight past those thralls he employed as guardians. Moreover, he seemed fixated on a young man, and I wasn't about to let the vampire claim another victim.
Subterfuge wasn't my preferred approach, but I had no choice. There were many tools in a monster slayer's kit, and seduction and charm, though my least favored, were among them. I smiled and swayed with the grace of a drunkard, tossing my hair and casting a come-hither smile in the handsome vampire's direction. He took the bait, hook, line, and sinker. Soon enough, he was whispering sweet nothings and practically purring over my pale skin and rugged looks. I had to suppress my urge to gag; the creature's attentions filled me with deep revulsion. My dhampir blood recoiled in his presence.
He invited me to join him in private, his eyes flashing blood-red. His charms had no effect on me, but I feigned being mesmerized and followed him. Vampires sickened and disgusted me, especially this one. He used people's hearts to lure them into his embrace, treating their lives as though they were part of some romantic fantasy where he was the dashing leading man. He craved the drama as much as the blood.
He plied me with compliments and poetic words. Though unnecessary to charm his victims, they served his appetite for the dramatic. I played along, fawning over his attention and playing the part he expected. I even tilted my neck, allowing him to lean in for a caress with his lips that would ultimately lead to his fangs pressing into my pale skin.
In that moment, when I felt his fangs, I sprung my trap. He recoiled the instant he tasted my blood. I can't say I know what my blood tastes like, but every vampire I've encountered recoiled in disgust. This pretty vampire was no exception. The wound was shallow, nothing I couldn't shake off. However, his handsome face twisted in disgust, as if he had just ingested a bitter poison.
I had set my plan into motion. He backed away, hissing at the empty reflection of himself in the silver mirror I had concealed in my coat. I needed to act swiftly; he would either transform into mist or a bat to escape or confront me with his fangs and supernatural strength. I had to strike while he was disoriented from feeding on my cursed blood and recoiling from the mirror thrust into his face.
My free hand drew one of the wooden stakes hidden on my inner thigh, strapped securely in a hidden crease of my pants. I slammed the hawthorn shaft into his heart until the vampire's hissing screams fell silent, and his body crumpled to the floor. I couldn't risk leaving him to the mercy of the sun; any of his pawns might come looking for him. I took his head with a silver kukri and poured a draught of blessed wine into his fanged maw. Once done, I slipped out of the room through the window and later disposed of his head. Quick and dirty kills weren't my style, nor was playing the assassin. But a hunter must be prepared for anything and ready to take down their prey by any means necessary."
-From the Journal of Duke Gregori Rakonova, Headmaster of the School of the Spectre and required reading material for novice vampire slayers.
Duke Gregori Rakonova, a formidable figure among monster slayers, is renowned not only in Russvaria but across the world for his centuries-long career dedicated to combating the forces of darkness. He has progressed from hunting minor undead creatures to taking down some of the most powerful vampires, liches, and nightmarish horrors that threaten humanity. While he devotes a significant portion of his time to training and mentoring the next generation of monster hunters, as well as fulfilling his responsibilities as a duke, he still seizes opportunities to personally engage in the hunt. As he aptly puts it, "My Dhampir blood calls to the hunt, craving the eradication of the insatiable dead and seeking justice for their victims."
Duke Gregori stands as a living legend among those who champion the cause against the undead. His very name strikes fear into the hearts of creatures that dwell in the shadows of undeath, for he is the embodiment of death itself for those who walk the path of eternal darkness.