Venthyr

Venthyr
Faction/Affiliation	Venthyr Covenant, Court of Harvesters, The Avowed, Ember Court
Character classes	Hopebreaker
Racial capital	Castle Nathria; Sinfall
Racial leader(s)	Prince Renathal; Court of Harvesters
Formerly	Sire Denathrius
Area(s)	Revendreth, Shadowlands

Not to be confused with Vanthir.

The venthyr of Revendreth are vampiric punishers of the unworthy, charged with rehabilitating the sinful souls sent to them by the Arbiter. Souls who are successfully rehabilitated can then choose to be sent to another realm to serve for eternity, or become a venthyr themselves and continue the cycle as an instrument of repentance.

The venthyr were created by Sire Denathrius in his own likeness. The first of them, Prince Renathal,^[1] and other members of the original Court of Harvesters such as the Curator and the first Harvester of Wrath were willed into being by Denathrius.^[2] Later venthyr—the first of which was the Stonewright^[3]—were (and are) created from redeemed souls who are given a new name and taught the ways of Revendreth by a venthyr, who endorse and sire them in turn.^[4] Their original names are still very important to them, for they could potentially let someone find their sinstones and compel the venthyr to their will.^[5] A venthyr is unable to act directly against someone with their sinstone.^[6]

Venthyr find exposure to the Light extremely painful. If a venthyr is exposed to the Light for too long, they're driven mad and eventually becomes an ash ghoul. The only preventative remedy after too much exposure is to quickly find a dark spot and to consume the anima that venthyr extract, referred to as liquid shadows.^[7] It is noted to taste bad to the dredgers. The Light is not normally lethal to venthyr, but if focused through mirrors, depending on the amount of concentrated Light a venthyr can be trapped in one spot, torturously unable to move, all the way up to instantly bursting into a cloud of ash.

The Venthyr Covenant is one of the four covenants ruling over the Shadowlands.^[8]

Description[]

Sire Denathrius — Denathrius, the creator of the venthyr.

The venthyr have a good thing going. They lord over Revendreth's castles and ceaseless twilight while arrogant souls are delivered to their tables. The harvesters' otherworldly punishments strip the pride from their thralls, sparing them an even worse fate: eternal torment in the Maw.

But souls thus drained can't just leave Revendreth for a better place. They have years of penance to slog through while they reflect on the precarity of their afterlives. And, after eons of service, the venthyr are increasingly ruled by their decadence and pride. The very purpose of the plane may be flawed… and those who were once accusers have become gluttonous and corrupt.

Revendreth must always have a master, and rumor suggests that Denathrius, foremost among the venthyr, may no longer be fit for the role. Crowning a new Sire could return the plane to its former glory… or leave Revendreth mired in the same decadence and sin it is charged with cleansing.^[9]

The venthyr are aristocratic overseers of souls burdened with excessive pride and wickedness. They guide troubled souls upon the rigorous path to atonement, harvesting anima to keep their realm strong.^[10]

Nobility[]

Redelav District

Chalice District

Old Gate

House Thornhill

Banished

House Scowl

Venthyr quartermasters[]

Venthyr Covenant

Ember Court

Temel in the Spire of the Unseen Guests
Lady Rovinette in the Spire of the Unseen Guests
Lady Ilinca in the un-instanced Ember Court

Court of Harvesters

Mistress Mihaela in Darkhaven

The Avowed

Archivist Janeera in the Halls of Atonement

Notes and trivia[]

Venthyr are mentioned to commonly have allergic reactions to garlic,^[11] a play on the folkloric belief that vampires hate garlic.
No venthyr document is official until it's excessively ornate.^[12]
Amongst the venthyr, superstition is considered a vice rather than a sin.^[13]
Madame Iza and Duke Horas are the only two venthyr that refer to the player as "food".

Inspirations[]

The appearance and themes of the venthyr seem mainly inspired by Dracula and its adaptations.
The name "venthyr" is similar to the Ventrue, a prominent vampire clan from Vampire: The Masquerade. It's also similar to a number of Eastern European names for vampires or vampire-like creatures, such as Dhamphir.
Specific Venthyr that are references to real-world vampire myths or franchises that have been noticed by the editors are:
- Sire Denathrius and Duke Vlad are references to Count Vlad Tepes III the Dracul (Dracula).
- Tremen Winefang is a reference to the Tremere clan of Vampire: The Masquerade.
- The Countess and is a reference to Countess Elizabeth Bathory.
- Prince Renathal and The Stonewright are likely references to Castlevania.
- Nadjia the Mistblade, Sir Nandru, Nandor, and Lord Afanas are references to What We Do In The Shadows.
- Dredhunter Eileena is a reference to Bloodborne.
- The three venthyr of the Council of Blood and Lord Stefan may be references to The Vampire Diaries.
- Lord Stefan may also be a reference to the character of the same name in the Subspecies movie series.
- Madame Sorina, Lord Sorin, and Inquisitor Sorin may be a reference to "Sorin, Vampire Lord" of Magic: The Gathering.
- High Inquisitor Radu may be a reference to Radu Bavron in the anime/manga Trinity Blood or the character of the same name in the Subspecies movie series.
- High Inquisitor Dacian may be a reference to the Dacian Clan of Twilight.
- Sir Marius may be a reference to the character of the same name in the Underworld movies.
- Duke Grigore may be a reference to either the Nephilim (called Grigori), who in the Blue Bloods vampire novels are vampires, or to the vampire Gregor of The Vampire Diaries.
- Lord Andrei may be a reference to the Tzimisce Clan vampire Andrei from Vampire: The Masquerade.
Some of the male venthyr NPCs are voiced by Simon Templeman, who is known for his role as Kain, a vampire antihero in the video game series Legacy of Kain.
Many venthyr have romanian first names which is due to common association of vampires with Romania coming from aforementioned Dracula.

Gallery[]

Art

Venthyr in Afterlives
Venthyr aristocrats
A venthyr being exposed to the Light.
Two venthyr extracting anima in the Beyond the Veil cinematic.
Female venthyr concept art
Cinematic concept art of venthyr, with more realistic hand and armor proportions.