Voltan Szarlnaxi

Voltan Szarlnaxi was a traitorous Tethyrian noble in the 15 century DR.

History
Once Voltan was a count in Tethyr until he was found guilty of conspiracy and his holdings were seized and his family arrested. He managed to escape by ship to Baldur's Gate. There Voltan gathered a cadre of petty thugs and together they devoted themselves to Shar.

For a time, Voltan enjoyed his life with thieves, until adventurers hired by the Tethyrian crown found and killed Voltan. However, they failed to dispose of his body.

Eight of Voltan's most devoted friends prayed to Shar over the bleeding body of their master and the goddess transformed them in vampires using Voltan's blood. Thanks to their new powers, the Szarlnaxi vampires managed to defeat the adventurers. Afterward, they started a coven that preyed on the slum-dwellers of the city for a time.

Finally driven away, they wandered for a time in the Sword Coast and the Western Heartlands, always with the objective of freeing Voltan from the Hell where his soul was sent.

Around 1484 DR, the Szarlnaxi vampires settled in Dragonspear Castle. There they were found by Nadir the rakshasa, who manipulated them by promising to save Voltan's soul.