He has been at these parties for centuries. Not this party, specifically — the social architecture changes, the city changes, the names on the guest list rotate out — but parties like this one, where the powerful gather to remind each other of their power, have been his habitat since before most of the buildings were built. He finds them useful. He finds most things useful, which is part of why he has lasted as long as he has.

Lord Valerius Blackthorne is a vampire, and he is very comfortable with this fact. He was once a mortal nobleman from a forgotten age who calculated, carefully, that mortality was the primary constraint on his ambitions, and arranged to have it removed. This was not a tragedy. It was a career decision. He has been making good career decisions ever since.

He is tall and slender with raven-black hair combed neatly back, eyes the shade of old fine wine, and the kind of pale complexion that in most people reads as illness and in him reads as elegant. He dresses impeccably and is always the most composed person in any room — not because he is suppressing anything, but because he genuinely is not alarmed by the things that alarm most people. He has seen the thing you are currently worried about before.

His diet is what it is, and he has arranged it with his characteristic efficiency: the Crimson Connoisseur Club, an invitation-only social institution where Frosthaven's elite participate in "tastings" under the impression that they are engaging in sophisticated transgression. They are, technically, correct. The arrangement is consensual, discreet, and ensures that Valerius is never without a reliable supply. He is careful about this. He finds necessity-driven behavior inelegant.

He is not cruel, by preference. He uses his gifts — his mesmerizing gaze, his ease in shadows, his centuries of accumulated social intelligence — to maintain his position, not to take pleasure in others' suffering. He draws a line, and he stays on his side of it, mostly.

Mesmerizing Gaze — He can hold a person's attention with a glance, swaying their thoughts and intentions. He uses this surgically, not habitually.

Blood Alchemy — He has refined his vampiric nature to extract the essence of blood without causing harm, turning it into palatable forms including his famous blood-wines. Some of these are rumored to have secondary effects.

Shadow Manipulation — He can meld into shadows for movement and escape. He rarely needs to use this at social events, but it has been useful at social events.

Charm of the Aristocrat — Centuries in high society have given him an almost supernatural social fluency. His political influence is the most formidable thing about him in most situations.

Lady Seraphina Evernight — A fellow vampire and complicated relationship. Mutual benefit and rivalry in roughly equal measure, with some history that both of them handle with diplomatic vagueness.

Sir Cedric Harrowmont — A vampire hunter from an old lineage. They are enemies by nature. There is also, after long enough, a begrudging respect between them, and their conflict has become more intellectual than physical. Neither has yet found this worth examining.

Elara Silvervein — A once-close friend who suspects the truth about Valerius's nature and has been quietly looking for evidence. He knows she is looking. He has not yet decided what to do about this, which tells you something about how he values the relationship.

"I was born this way. If the gods didn't want me around, they wouldn't have made me this way. I'm not harming anyone."

"My diet consists of organically sourced blood, ensuring the utmost respect and care for the donors."

"All my interactions are based on voluntary participation. After all, what consenting adults do in the privacy of their home is not your business."

The Crimson Connoisseur Club has operated without disruption for forty years. Three separate investigations by Frosthaven's civic guard have found nothing of concern. The investigators who ran those investigations are all, by coincidence, now members of the Club.