Vlad Drakulya

, infamously known as, is the master of all , the basis for Bounts, and was a former human warlord in life. His exploits in both life and death earned him the.

Appearance
Vlad appears as a tall man with a long face, large nose, and a thick mustache. He has long black hair, which often appears to be a flowing cape, and brown eyes which glow red whenever he is emotionally excited. He is regally dressed, wearing the jeweled red cap of a  in addition to a long green cape, a red vest, trousers, and black trench boots. He also appears to wear jewelry, as several large rings adorn his dominant hand. During his time as both a nobleman and a warlord, he wore iron armor over his torso and legs, as well as a pair of iron gauntlets. He also wore a much longer, tattered cape which was black in color rather than green. In combat, he can assume this appearance once again.

Personality
Very little is known about the events that impacted Vlad Drakulya and shaped him into the person he eventually became, other than what is recorded about him as a human warlord. During this time, when Vlad was still alive, he was considered to be someone who despised wickedness, and went to extreme measures to exterminate the wicked members of society—he frequently ordered the execution of thieves and others who broke the law.

Despite his self-proclaimed hatred of wickedness, Vlad became well-known for his brutality and cruelty. During his conflict with Yhwach and the early incarnation of the Wandenreich, Vlad became infamously known as after he impaled an entire army of Quincy for Yhwach to later find; this method of execution became a staple of Vlad in both life and death, leading to his post-mortem adoption of the  "Impaler". After his transformation into a vampire, he showed cruel indifference for humanity, referring to them with the derogatory term. He detests human weakness and forbade all mentions that he ever was one himself. He so-despised his own mortality that he forsook his human name and took the name Dracula, a diminutive of his family name: "Dracul".

His early dealings with Soul Society led him to have a begrudged respect for the Yonkō, whom he saw as ferocious warriors capable of matching his own brutality and strength. In particular, he respected Seireitou Kawahiru above all of the other Yonkō for his ability to suspend his morality during wartime and become a "creature of darkness." He frequently compares the silver-haired man to himself, stating that they both must have come to similar conclusions regarding their own weaknesses and then sought to exterminate that weakness. He nevertheless shows contempt for Soul Society and Shinigami in general, though his exact reasons for disliking them remain a mystery.

In terms of warfare, Vlad is unlike most monarchs in that he believes in fighting on the frontlines with his men. For someone admittedly consumed by evil, he has a strange sense of camaraderie with his underlings in battle. Some of his longest-lived servants fondly recall watching his fights during the early conflicts with the Quincy, a conflict during which Vlad frequently appeared on the frontlines. This same trait, combined with his brutality, struck fear into the hearts of his enemies, whom would frequently shout out warnings like "Lord Impaler!" whenever he was sighted on the battlefield; this would occasionally be followed up by a full enemy retreat.

While often calm and collected, Vlad is also prone to bursts of insane rage and incidents of domestic abuse. In one of his fits, he lashed out and violently attacked one of his consorts, only to return to normal moments later. He also enjoys playing mind games with his foes, preferring to break them mentally before either turning them into a vampire themselves or killing them.

History
Centuries ago, a young Vlad was offered to Yhwach, known to his people as the, by his as a sign of loyalty. The time he spent in Yhwach's court remains mostly undocumented, however, by his own account, he was subjected to horrible treatment at the hand of Yhwach's men—treatment that included abuse and torture. During this crucial period in his development, the seeds of hatred and cruelty were planted. When his father suddenly fell ill and died, Yhwach allowed Vlad to return home and ascend his father's throne as the  of his people. Upon seizure of power, Vlad began to rally his people around him while searching for a way to destroy Yhwach once and for all. During this blank period, Vlad discovered his latent Reiryoku and began to master it. Years later, Vlad made himself known again by breaking away from Yhwach's empire and declaring war on the Wandenreich. His forces lacked both number and spiritual power, but the war still lasted many long, bloody years. Vlad's most famous act during the war was impaling an entire army of Quincy soldiers and then leaving them for Yhwach to find. Furious, Yhwach personally left to deal with Vlad himself. However, before Yhwach could find him, Vlad won several more battles and became known as to the Quincies; many Quincy feared him and would therefore retreat whenever he was sighted. Upon hearing that Yhwach was hunting him, Vlad fled into the mountains in search of a way to kill the powerful emperor. He found a, but details of his encounter with this vampire are lost to history. Later, Yhwach finally captured Vlad and had him executed. The war ended, the Wandenreich subdued Vlad's followers, but Vlad mysteriously returned from the dead as a vampire himself. Resolving to kill Yhwach, he disappears from history. Vlad didn't resurface until all most five centuries after Yhwach was sealed away. He took up the identity of a nobleman in his home country, forsook his mortal name, and became known as. With his ancient enemy asleep, Dracula began looking for a way to achieve what Yhwach never could: complete control of the Human World. He attempted to do this in modern day Europe, but was thwarted by an. The events of this incident eventually faded from the public mind, and became regarded as fiction when it was. Word of this event did not go unnoticed by others in the spiritual realm. Intrigued by the legend of Dracula and his power, the Shinigami began attempting to replicate it, leading to the creation of the Bounts.

Sometime after these events, Dracula went into hiding in an unmarked tomb. His movements are difficult to track at this point, but sometime during his self-imposed exile, he encountered the Yonkō during one of the many wars that rocked the fledgling Soul Society. At the time of this encounter, Seireitou Kawahiru noted that the ancient vampire was as strong as Yhwach, whom they had fought during the Quincy Blood War. He also became aware of Yhwach's survival, yet remained out of the conflict that emerged when his old adversary returned.

Powers & Abilities

 * As a powerful vampire, Vlad is capable of conferring the curse of vampirism upon anyone he desires. By having a victim consume his blood, he transforms them into a vampire themselves. As the of these vampires, he obtains a telepathic link to their minds, allowing him to influence (and occasionally outright control) their actions. It is said that killing Vlad will end the effects of this ability, effectively curing the vampirism at the cost of the victim's life.
 * Vampiric Bite: Seemingly a sub-ability of this, Vlad's bite also carries the potential of turning a victim into a vampire. He must, however, bite a victim three separate times to achieve this result. His bite allows him to suck the blood of his victims and also absorb their Reiryoku.
 * Biological Immortality: As a vampire, Vlad cannot be killed in a traditional manner. He can only be killed by destroying his heart. However, he can die naturally of starvation and therefore requires a steady supply of living blood. How long he can go without feeding is unknown, however prolonged periods without feeding can lead to a loss of his senses and eventual death.


 * Through unknown supernatural means, Vlad is immune from most conventional means of attack. Such means includes physical attacks, leading Hikaru Kurosaki to presume that only Kidō and Kidō-based Zanpakuō can harm him. All other attacks, such a sword slashes or other means of physical combat simply pass through his body without damage.

Enhanced Speed: Though he uses no known method of speed enhancement, his speed does seem to be supernaturally beyond that of an ordinary human. During his time as Count Dracula, he was known to disappear and appear elsewhere instantaneously, much like an advanced stage of. With it, he can keep up with the likes of Yhwach and a young Seireitou Kawahiru.

Gravity Defiance: Using his Reiryoku, Vlad can defy gravity and float above the ground. He also uses this ability to scale walls.


 * One of his greatest abilities is to feed off of the fear of his targets. He is then able to subtly manipulate these fears, causing his foes to become rash and unable to properly defend themselves. Even the strongest of foes can fall victim to this ability.
 * Illusion Generation: Vlad is a powerful illusionist. When manipulating his victim's fears, he may often generate illusions meant to demoralize or even strike terror into them. His illusions are very realistic, to the point of looking, feeling, and even sounding real.
 * Black Shadow Manipulation: Though Vlad generates no shadow, his most powerful illusion is to generate waves of shadows which overtake the target. These shadows induce feelings of coldness and fear, increasing anxiety already present, with the intended goal of inducing a.



Immense Strength: Vlad has tremendous strength. During his time as a mortal, he was already said to possess the strength of twenty men. After obtaining spiritual power, this strength increases manyfold.

Behind the Scenes
Vlad Drakulya was inspired by, a real-life voivode of. He was also inspired by the fictional characters and. Some of his abilities, traits, and even his appearance may make it seem as though he was based on, however the inspiration for this article was almost entirely drawn from historical events participated in by Vlad himself or fictional events involving the vampire Dracula. As a result, it is possible drew inspiration from Vlad the Impaler when he invented Yhwach.

Trivia

 * Drakulya is another way of spelling "Dracula" and was used in 's 2005 novel .
 * The word Drakulya, or as it is more famously written Dracula, stems from two sources:
 * Vlad's father (and later, he himself) was a member of the . In Old Romanian, drac meant "dragon." In modern Romanian, drac means "devil."
 * Vlad's father used the name "Dracul," so Vlad took on the name "Dragwlya" (Dracula), which would later be translated as "Son of the Dragon."
 * Contrary to popular belief, Vlad's surname was not, nor ever was, Țepeș. Țepeș was a nickname assigned to him after his death, and meant "Impaler"—hence his name, "Vlad the Impaler", or just Vlad Țepeș in Romanian. In his life, he was known as "Kaziklu Bey": Lord Impaler.