Hadrian Voivode

Hadrian Voivode is the main antagonist in the novel Dark Blaze. In his 1918-1920 storyline he is searching for a new bride to replace his fallen beloved, Miranda Lefèvre, who turns out to be Alundra Gardner. In his 1915-1916 storyline he joins the Strigoi-Trupp's Squad D, under the command of Fw. Otto von Langsdorff.

Pre-Book History:
Born into strigoic nobility, Hadrian had a luxurious upbringing. After his Ceremony of Maturity, in the 17th Century, he began to court Caoimhe Murphy to better relations between the Thule and the Neamh-Mairbh, however, relations broke down between the two strigoic factions and Hadrian courted a few other noble suitresses before his father, Mircea Voivode, the Grandmaster of the Thule, came to an agreement with a political rival, Lothar Wedemeyer, for Hadrian to wed his daughter Bianca, and further strengthen the interior stability of the Thule.

After Hadrian and Bianca became wed, Lothar and Bianca came to the agreement that they will bear the Voivode name once Grandmaster Mircea was able to replicate Vlad Drăculești's advanced science which granted the strigoi life within birthing chambers which had been destroyed when Vlad was defeated in Wallachia by a united human front.

Between the 1700s up to 1912, Hadrian had been involved in various wars and skirmishes involving the Thule, becoming well versed in the state of the world. He had fought other strigoic factions, the Kataphraktoi, the P.C.O. (Protestant Church Order), the Vatican and even organised factions made up by other monsters, such as small hordes led by apex-werewolves.

Gaining trust with both the Munich and Berlin Courts of the Thule granted Hadrian a high place in the Thule's political circles. The relationship between the Thule and the daemonic factions had been a rocky one, however, Hadrian was able to track down and aid a iusto daemon on the run, named Lotan, who proved to be a invaluable resource and ally.

By August, 1914, Hadrian had joined the Great War on the side of the Thule's operations within the Central Powers, with this being his ultimate challenge, a test to see if he was worthy to one day surpass his father and become the Grandmaster of the Thule when Mircea stepped down or died.

Physical Appearance:

 * Eye Colour - Blue
 * Hair Colour - Dark Brown.
 * Hair Style - Short, combed.
 * Facial Hair - Clean-cut.
 * Skin Colour - White.
 * Height - 5'11" (180cm)
 * Weight - 12.3st (172lbs)
 * Accent - Bavarian w/ a hint of Transylvanian (in German & French), Pronounced English (in English).
 * Age (End Of Novel) - 299-years-old.
 * Other Features - Has various war wounds and scars across his body from various silver weaponry he had been stabbed or shot by.

Attire & Arsenal:
Hadrian Voivode wears whatever he can rob from the victims he has killed from the houses he has raided. Although he wears whatever is available, he prefers to remain well-dressed and has an affixation towards flat caps.

Below is a list of weapons Hadrian used during the Great War: After the Great War, Hadrian did not use weapons, as he had no immediate need for them, preferring to use his own hands and teeth.
 * Silver Bayonet.
 * Luger P08.
 * Mauser Gewehr 98 Rifle.

Personality:
Hadrian Voivode has strong features, stereotypically Germanic in appearance. Even without his strigoic hypnotic and sexualised powers, Hadrian would still be regarded as a handsome man by most. From his years in noble circles, he carries himself strongly and presents himself with esteem as to control the situations he is in, regardless of whom he is conversing with.

His prolonged life has warped his sense of reality. He had not truly recovered from the traumatic death of his second wife, Miranda, which had impacted the rest of his life and his decisions, becoming a rash and tempermental individual, a far cry from how he used to be before Miranda's death.

Voivode's dedication to replace Miranda and replace that hole in his heart that he so desperately craved to be filled. Hadrian's referral to Eliza Bowie as his wine, something to be matured, speaks volumes about how different his outlook on love and women had become after the Battle of Königsberg in February, 1916.

Biography (1915-1916):
This section contains potential spoilers, be warned.

This story begins with Hadrian Voivode recovering in no-man's-lands after a British shell had gone off nearby him and the debris had knocked him out. He inevitably introduces Nicholas Aero to the supernatural world by biting his best friend Benjamin Campbell and leaving him to wreak havoc behind enemy lines.

It is revealed that the charge he had been a part of where he had been knocked out was a test by his superior officer, Fw. Otto von Langsdorff, to join the elite Thule fighting force; the Strigoi-Trupp. He gets his second chance, with other initiates and is successful, taking a P.C.O. bunker.

After this, Hadrian and the Strigoi-Trupp fight their way through the Great War, clashing with the P.C.O., French Resistance, the Klyki and a rabble of werewolves led by an apex-werewolf named the Great White Wolf.

Biography (1918-1920):
This section contains potential spoilers, be warned.

This story begins at the beginning of the novel, whereby Hadrian uses his alias, Garland Webb, and a false story about his car being broken down to get inside the Aero Farm residence. Once in, Hadrian, in the dead of night, slaughters Nicholas' family in retribution for Aero murdering his wife, during the Great War.

Before this dastardly act, he was exiled for his ridicule and shame he had brought during the Great War to the Thule. Hadrian resided in forming his own pack and searching for a replacement for Miranda, to Bianca's protests. Tina and Eliza prove lacklustre to him, and so he orders his pack to go in search for a worthy suitress. Reginald Parker discovers Alundra Gardner, who is identical to Miranda's painting.

Whilst he attempted to sire Alundra, Nicholas came to her rescue and killed Reginald, grazing Hadrian with his second shot of his shotgun. After this, Hadrian both goes on the run from Nicholas and begins to set in motion his plot to return to his previous seat at the court in Munich. He believes aiding his father initially would greatly help him, before he made amends with the Berlin Court and Lothar Wedemeyer, with the intention of overthrowing his father.

Powers & Abilities:

 * Knowledge of Lingua Diaboli.
 * Top marksman with various weaponry.
 * Increased speed.
 * Increased strength.
 * Increased hearing.
 * Inceased sense of smell.
 * Increased durability.
 * Deep knowledge in lore.
 * Sexual persuasion over humans.
 * Power over lesser strigoii.
 * Immortal.

Weaknesses:

 * Holy water.
 * Fire.
 * Silver.
 * Cast-iron.
 * Palo Santo.
 * Mountain Ash.
 * Chloroform.
 * Direct sunlight.
 * Lack of blood.

Major Relationships:
This section contains potential spoilers, be warned.

Defeated:
This section contains potential spoilers, be warned.

This section is still under editing.

Below is a table displaying the enemies which Hadrian Voivode has beaten, either defeating them or outright killing them:

Trivia:

 * Hadrian Voivode can speak fluent English, French, German, Italian, Latin, can speak some Polish, Russian, Spanish, Romanian and some Lingua Diaboli.
 * Hadrian Voivode's name comes from Hadrian's Wall and the Voivode (woiwode) titles of Central Europe's Middle Ages.
 * Darryl M. Finch-Ellis believes that either Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Max Lloyd-Jones or Tom Cullen would be perfect casts for Hadrian in a live action adaption.
 * Although Hadrian was born in Sighișoara, Transylvania, Wallachia, he considers himself German and has lived in Munich, Germany, for most of his existence.
 * 19 days after Hadrian was born, the Protestant Party in Germany formally dissolved.
 * Hadrian's Zodiac Star Sign is a Taurus.
 * Hadrian Voivode joined the Great War in 3rd August, 1914, graduating his training under the Thule with the rank of Unteroffizier.
 * Hadrian is the closest strigoi (vampire) to the original Bram Stoker lore, from his presence, asking permission for entry, his allusiveness, multiple wives, and the weather changing around him.
 * Hadrian's loathing for the Jewish religion is why Hawford uses his middle name, Mitchell, as a placeholder for his surname, Greene.
 * Uniquely, Hadrian's hatred for the Jews is not a major issue when he deals with his daemonic ally, Lotan.
 * Hadrian does not trust druggans or grey-pygmies, which is why in his pack he only has other strigoii, and when needs be, ghouls too.
 * Theodore is the only ghoul in Voivode's life which he has actually cared for.
 * Due to having two Scottish members in his pack, Stuart McDonald and Ewan McGraw, it is safe to assume that Hadrian has travelled to Scotland during his exile on the British Isles.
 * All of Hadrian's chapters are headed in German, his native language.
 * Hadrian Voivode had been married to Bianca Wedemeyer since 31st May, 1723, at the Schaezlerpalais baroque in Augsburg, where Mircea and Edith hosted a second birthday celebration on the night for Hadrian. Mircea and Lothar Wedemeyer had agreed to the marriage at the beginning of that month.
 * Hadrian has had multiple women in his life, these include; Caoimhe Murphy, Bianca Wedemeyer, Miranda Lefèvre, Eliza Bowie, Tina Bowie, and Alundra Gardner, amongst others from across the nobility of the strigoi ruling classes.