Vanstrom Klause

Vanstrom Klause was a very powerful upper-class vampyre and one of the most dangerous henchmen of House Drakan. He is the most infamous opponent of the Myreque resistance movement, infiltrated in their ranks to find one of their lieutenants, Safalaan Hallow, and is responsible for the murders of at least three members, and several more indirectly. Vanstrom had a large mansion in the most respected region of Darkmeyer where he kept his pet bloodveld Harold.

One of the main antagonists of the Myreque quest series, Vanstrom appears in several quests as well as the novels Return to Canifis and Legacy of Blood. He serves as the boss for The Branches of Darkmeyer and uses a variety of powerful attacks.

Personality and abilities
Like all fully fledged vampyres, Vanstrom was a capable shapeshifter, and had access to exceptionally powerful blood and shadow magic. He also possessed superhuman strength and dexterity, traits that would be preserved upon changing appearance. He had powers over the undead, to a certain degree, and the vampyres' innate mind-reading ability, making Blisterwood his only real weakness. Finally, Vanstrom was able to summon bloodveld to aid him in combat at will.

Cruel and unforgiving, Vanstrom would take delight in his opponents' suffering, although he would occasionally be overconfident of his plans' succeeding. For instance, upon finding the hideout of the Myreque beneath The Hollows, he summoned a skeleton to kill the Myreque rather than finishing the job himself. He is a master of manipulation, having tricked the Myreque for years by shapeshifting into a human. In the company of the Drakans or Tenebra, Vanstrom would be more servile, ensuring that his status was kept intact. Veliaf Hurtz calls him arrogant as a result of his power.

Vanstrom had a blue-grey skin with red markings on his head, horns, and a split black beard. He wore dark crimson clothing with exquisite gold ornaments and a brown cloak, with dark trousers and sandals. In vyre form, he had a pitch black skin with a similar piece of gold-trimmed red clothing, in addition to a golden piece of cloth hanging from his waist. While infiltrated in the Myreque, Vanstrom was disguised a bearded man, and he as a - shaven - one in orange clothes while in the Hair of the Dog.

Early history
Vanstrom's origins are unknown, although he is rumoured to be centuries old. It is uncertain whether he was a true vampyre from Vampyrium, or a vampyrised human. Regardless, he rose high in vampyric society, having frequent contact with Vanescula and Ranis Drakan, and became a well-known figure in the Sanguinesti Region.

At some point, Vanstrom became occupied with the eradication of Safalaan Hallow, a second-in-command within the Myreque, an underground resistance movement in Morytania, and son of the legendary Icyene Queen Efaritay and a human. Apparently, he once nearly succeeded, but Safalaan managed to survive nonetheless, albeit without any memory of his Icyene heritage.

Toward the end of the Fifth Age, Vanstrom disguised himself as a human and infiltrated the Myreque in an effort to locate his opponent. He posed as an inhabitant of Meiyerditch and used his knowledge of the area to gain the Myreque's trust. Over the years, he became one of their most valued members, always accomplishing his tasks successfully and avoiding capture.

Capture in Canifis
In the summer of 165, Vanstrom was captured while on a mission for the Myreque and placed in a cage in Canifis, to be eaten by the werewolves. He was soon joined by Pia and her brother Jack, who had crossed the River Salve and likewise been captured. He comforted them, which made Pia grow very fond of Vanstrom. That same day, an embassy from Misthalin, consisting of Kara-Meir, Sir Theodore Kassel, Doric, Gar'rth, Castimir, Arisha, Lord Reinhard Despaard, Gideon Gleeman and Albertus Black, met with Lord Malak to pass on King Roald's message to House Drakan. Upon seeing her friends Pia and Jack imprisoned, Kara attempted to bargain with him to get them released, but the vampyre did not concede, and Vanstrom, Gar'rth, Despaard and Theodore persuaded her not to intervene. Vanstrom also revealed to Despaard that he was a member of the Myreque.

Later that night, while Roavar escorted some of the members of the envoy to the House of Artefacts, the Myreque set Canifis on fire in an attempt to free Vanstrom. During the ensuing chaos, Albertus attempted to trade places with Pia and Jack, thus breaking the terms of the embassy and nullifying the blood mark, to which the werewolves attacked all of the people who had not escaped. While Arisha, Vanstrom, Pia, Jack, Despaard and Doric managed to escape the burning town with the help of Karnac and the rest of the Myreque, Kara, Theodore, Castimir and Gar'rth had locked themselves in the cage to avoid being slain by the werewolves, and eventually passed out due to the smoke. Meanwhile, Albertus and Gideon had been detained by Roavar and taken by Vyrewatch.

During their journery towards Hope Rock, Pia found out Vanstrom had known about the attack in advance, but he would not reveal any more. He would occasionally carry Jack on his back when wading through deeper water, while Despaard did the same for Doric. On Hope Rock, the party met with the gnome Master Peregrim, and it was decided that his hot air balloon's basket be repaired, with ropes being attached so that all the fugitives on the plateau could hang on and escape to Misthalin.

At dawn the next morning, Pia sat on ne of the wooden barricades around the plateau with Vanstrom, watching sunrise together while he comforted her. The two of them discussed the escape plan and Vanstrom expressed doubt, stating that he would have preferred the use of boats out of the swamps. He also revealed that he had been captured on his way back from Meiyerditch, whither he had gone to check if any Myreque members remained since their flight two years ago. He also explained that the Myreque's current concern was The Black Prince, believed to control the ravenous vampyres, moreso than Lord Drakan himself. Vanstrom stated that he might remain in Morytania and scolded Pia for wishing to do the same on the grounds that she was wanted for murder in Kandarin, explaining that Morytania was terrible to live in. He then comforted her and they proceeded to watch the sun rise together.

Escape from Hope Rock
That same day, Myreque member Harold reported that the Vyrewatch had taken Kara, Theodore, Gideon, Gar'rth, Albertus and Castimir, and Vanstrom deduced that they would have been taken to Meiyeditch. An argument about how to proceed ensued, but Despaard, Vanstrom and Doric decided to rescue them, with Vanstrom urging Pia to remain on Hope Rock for her and Jack's own safety. Kara, Gideon, Theodore, Albertus, who had to be carried, and Castimir left Castle Drakan with the werewolf servant Georgi, as Gar'rth, who had been forced to stay behind, had negotiated their release. While escaping, they spotted the Black Prince's bridges under construction that could be used to cross the River Salve.

As daylight faded, Georgi let them away from the Vyrewall and towards the Barrows, stating that they would have to move quickly without stopping to evade the atrocities of the Barrows Brothers. The werewolf then left the escapees as they met with Vanstrom, and they proceeded to run in terror while the Brothers, Dharok the Wretched first, appeared above the mounds. They then made their way west, meeting with Karnac and Harold, where they boarded the boats, guarded by Arisha and Despaard, to Hope Rock.

When they arrived, Vanstrom briefly embraced Pia with a smile before Karnac inquired on the status of Peregrim's balloon. Several hours later, he was confronted by Myreque member Hereward and the two began arguing, with the latter insisting that the plan to escape by balloon was madness and that he would rather face both Lord Drakan and the Black Prince himself than attempt it. The man announced that he would confront Karnac "once and for all." Vanstrom attempted to stop him, but Hereward drew a knife on him, stating that he was not one of them, being suspicious of the many lucky breaks he had had travelling between Canifis and Meiyerditch so often. A scuffle ensued, at which point Pia, who had been eavesdropping, emerged from a corner and leapt onto Hereward to protect Vanstrom, who proceeded to crack his opponent's skull using a large rock. He then ordered a shocked Pia to wash her blood- and brain-stained hand and tell nobody of what had happened, while he took care of the body.

Vanstrom then sat down with Pia, holding her and assuring her they would be out of Morytania soon. Suddenly, he began pushing forward and she nearly fell off the edge of Hope Rock, begging to be spared. He quickly grabbed her wrist and pulled her back, asking what she thought she was doing. Pia apologised and Vanstrom assured her that killing Hereward in self-defence had been the right act for everyone's sake, before revealing to her that the dying Albertus Black had offered to exchange his own life for hers in Canifis and telling her that she and Jack would have to live a good life to honour him. At that moment, Peregrim's balloon jerked upward and several archers, including Kara, Theodore, Castimir, Despaard and Harold, volunteered to mount the wooden platform at the top to shoot anyone who could try to prevent the escape. A fierce argument ensued as the group on the plateau split in two, with one half arguing that the plan was suicide, to which both groups drew daggers.

At that moment, Vanstrom noted a howling on the wind and panickingly urged everyone to listen. Realising the werewolves of Canifis had found them, Karnac ordered everyone to mount the balloon at once, to which everybody obeyed. People strapped themselves to the nets hanging below the balloon, Vanstrom next to Pia and Albertus, while he lied to Karnac that Hereward had volunteered to board last. As the balloon took flight and Peregrim ordered to cut the mooring lines, a werewolf attacked the gnome, although Castimir managed to ward it off with a water spell. The werewolf launched a second attack, however, evading another spell and leapt toward the balloon. Vanstrom, his dagger drawn, jumped off the netting, breaking his fall using a rope. Pia screamed in terror as Vanstrom shot her a last look and cut the balloon loose as the werewolf attacked him.

The balloon, pursued by the Canifian werewolves and Vanescula's Vyrewatch flew westwards while Vanstrom, presumed dead, returned to Meiyerditch.

Finding the Myreque
Following Tenebra's downfall at the Second Battle of the Salve, Vanstrom continued his efforts to find Safalaan. Despite numerous attempts to locate the Myreque hideout, he failed to do so for several years. Realising that he needed to take a different approach, Vanstrom disguised himself as a human. In 169, he went to the Hair of the Dog Inn in the werewolf town of Canifis, where he waited for someone capable of finding the Myreque for him to come by. At some point, an adventurer who had recently helped reinforce the River Salve with rune essence, visited Canifis and met Vanstrom. The latter set them on a mission to locate the Myreque, whom he called his friends despite never meeting them, to give them a selection of steel weapons in order to defend themselves.

The adventurer forged the weapons and embarked on a journey through the Mort Myre Swamp to search for the group, unaware they were being followed by Vanstrom. In Mort'ton, they came across a boatman named Cyreg Paddlehorn who was acquainted with the Myreque and convinced him to reveal that the Myreque were hidden in a cave under The Hollows in the east of the swamp. After being deemed friendly by the guard, Curpile Foyd, they entered the Myreque hideout, introduced themselves to all members there and delivered the weapons to lieutenant Veliaf Hurtz.

At that point, Vanstrom entered the room in vapour form, which Veliaf immediately recognised as a vampyre. He then revealed himself and swiftly killed Sani Piliu and Harold Evans before transforming into his vampyre form. The vampyre summoned a skeleton hellhound to finish off the remaining Myreque before leaving. However, the adventurer was able to vanquishe the undead hound, saving the Myreque and earning their trust.

Further Actions
Since their base had been discovered, the Myreque decided to move to Burgh de Rott, a refugee village south of Mort'ton, and the adventurer, feeling guilty, did some restoration work in the village to gain the trust of the residents. Among other things, they patched up the old furnace to make it work once more. At the same time, Vanstrom was arguing with blood tithe collector Gadderanks just east of the village about the latter not reaching his blood quota. As Gadderanks complained that he simply could not harvest any more, Vanstrom smelled nearby smoke from the furnace and discovered Burgh de Rott, which had previously been hidden behind the remains of Hallowglade.

Having found a new source of blood, Vanstrom sent Gadderanks there to tithe the villagers before flying off. Gadderanks set up a tithing station in Aurel's Supplies but was confronted by the adventurer when trying to tithe Wiskit. The two fought and Veliaf also arrived to help deal with Gadderanks' two Vampyre Juvinate companions. Gadderanks passed away then, but not before revealing that his family was being held captive by the vampyres and that a potion made with garlic, red spider's eggs, silver and harralandar is harmful to them.

The Myreque set up base in the basement of Burgh de Rott's dilapidated pub after their youngest member, Ivan Strom, was escorted to Paterdomus due to the danger the vampyres posed. During the journey, he was assaulted by juvinates but survived the encounter with the adventurer's help, who joined the Myreque as a private. They were then tasked with establishing content with the Sanguinesti division of the Myreque, led by Safalaan. After sailing around the Great Vyre Wall and meeting Safalaan's second-in-command, Vertida Sefalatis, the adventurer found Safalaan sketching Castle Drakan from atop the wall. They took over the job and Safalaan returned to the base.

While sketching the castle, they saw Vanstrom meet with Ranis and Vanescula Drakan. He informed them that the current tithe rotation was yielding maximum blood and the three shared some fresh blood before they each departed. Shortly afterwards, the vampyre noticed the adventurer from a balcony and descended upon them, planning to kill them. Vanstrom's premonitory abilities allowed him to effortlessly defeat his opponent, but did not kill them as Sarius Guile, Vanescula's human servant, appeared and informed him that her mistress had ordered that the adventurer be kept alive, after which he left.

Extreme Measures and Demise
Following the Myreque's creation of the Ivandis flail, a weapon able to bypass the Vyrewatch's mindreading, and their discovery of haemalchemy in the old Meiyerditch laboratories, where Safalaan discovered his Icyenic powers, Vanstrom began working towards their utter eradication. He launched an aggressive campaign against the Myreque, having the vyrewatch cut off their supply routes, block off naval access to Meiyerditch and carry out an assault on the mercenary transport route.

At the same time, the Vyrewatch's tithings became irregular and more aggressive, with rogue groups forming, while dissatisfied vyrelords' respect for both Vanstrom and Lord Drakan decreased. Taking advantage of this loss of favour, Vanescula Drakan, who had had an interest in Safalaan for a long time, began to aid the Myreque, proposing a new final goal to them in which they would remove Vanstrom and her brother from power and have her rule instead, for she would use haemalchemy to feed the vampyres, allowing the residents of Meiyerditch to be liberated. The Myreque hesitantly agreed and the adventurer infiltrated Darkmeyer in a vampyre disguise to obtain Blisterwood, which could be used to craft very potent vampyre-slaying weapons.

While the adventurer was in Darkmeyer, Vanstrom finally discovered the location of the Myreque base. Shortly after they obtained Blisterwood logs and Vanescula killed her brother Ranis, the adventurer discovered this and immediately warned Vertida. It was decided that Vanstrom should be faced, therefore they returned to Darkmeyer and entered the vampyre's mansion, where they were met by his bloodveld Harold.

After dispatching Harold, the adventurer confronted Vanstrom himself, who revealed Safalaan's Icyene heritage to them before attacking. A long battle ensued and, in spite of using a wide variety of powerful attacks, Vanstrom eventually succumbed to the blisterwood. He continued the battle in his vapour form, but was finally defeated due to the adventurer's use of holy water. Before dying, he summoned ten bloodveld guardians to finish off his opponent, after which his body exploded, which knocked the adventurer unconscious. Vanescula and Sarius arrived, however, and the former defeated all of the bloodveld and destroyed Vanstrom's desk, which contained his intel on the Myreque.

Vanstrom in combat
Vanstrom is fought briefly during Darkness of Hallowvale, but his mind-reading ability allows him to effortlessly evade all incoming attacks, even those of the Rod of Ivandis. After a few hits, he knocks down his opponent but is stopped from kiling them by Sarius Guile. By their next encounter during The Branches of Darkmeyer, however, the Myreque's private has blisterwood weaponry at hand - Vanstrom consequently serves as the boss for that quest.

He is fought toward the end of the quest, shortly after the Blisterwood Tree in Darkmeyer is healed. Initially, he is in his regular, humanoid form, but soon transforms into his vyre form. Vanstrom uses powerful melee attacks when up close, lashing out with his claws. Otherwise, he uses high-hitting magical attacks in the form of blood spells. In addition to these standard attacks, he has a number of special attacks:
 * He can launch a wave of extremely damaging darkness. This attack can be evaded by standing with your back to Vanstrom.
 * He can teleport you to the middle of the room, where a powerful blood spell lies in wait. It can be evaded by quickly running away, otherwise it hits high. Vanstrom himself can also be damaged if lured onto the spell.
 * He can summon two bloodveld leechers which begin to regenerate his health if not killed in time. They slowly approach him from opposite sides of the rook before starting to heal him.
 * He can take flight and fly after you, dropping a powerful blood spell to the ground every so often. If not avoided, these attacks will hit very high and in rapid succession. He only way to avoid them is to keep running around the room. It should be noted that Vanstrom's defence is considerably lower than usual when airborne, allowing for some high hits while running if you are skilled enough.

When most of his health is depleted, Vanstrom ceases all attacks and enters his vapour form, slowly following you around and dealing very rapid typeless damage when in your vicinity. He can only be harmed if lured onto pools of holy water. Eventually, he runs out of health and dies in a large explosion but not before summoning ten bloodveld guardians to kill you off. Vanescula and Sarius arrive to rescue you, however.

Vanstrom is immune to the offensive effects of the ring of recoil and deflection curses, although the rest of the Ancient Curses still affect him. Only blisterwood weapons are able to deal any significant damage to him, with the polearm appearing to be his weakness.

He cannot be fought in the Dominion Tower for the time being.

Trivia

 * Vanstrom was one of the first few NPCs to be voiced, his voice being provided by Mod Benny.
 * On the week of the release of the Branches of Darkmeyer, Vanstrom was able to deal damage to players when they respawned after dying to him. This was a glitch and was patched by Jagex.
 * Oddly, when in mist form during The Branches of Darkmeyer, he has Ivan Strom's chathead according to the old combat interface.