twilight fact file

Vladimir

Vladimir

Vladimir is one of the founding members of the Romanian coven, the enemy clan of the Volturi. His coven was once the most powerful in the world, but when the Volturi rose to power, they were defeated in a century-long struggle. After losing his mate, Stefan became his only companion. They both long for the opportunity to one day oppose the Volturi and take back their power.

Vladimir was one of the original twelve ruling members of the Romanian coven. Vladimir was the head of a coven of four (large, by normal vampire standards) when he joined forces with the other Romanian vampires. His big, successful coven was one of the inspirations for the notion of coexistence to pursue power.

During their rule - which lasted nearly 1000 years - the Romanians lived brazenly and decadently. For thousands of miles in every direction, they were known and feared. They ruled over humans and vampires alike, demanding slave labor and copious amounts of human sacrifice. Occasionally humans would create armies to try to overthrow what they considered to be beautiful demonic overlords, but all such attacks were futile, resulting in an easy feast for the Romanians. Obedient humans were spared death, if not labor, and a few lucky individuals pleased the Romanians enough to earn immortality. Vampires were a well-known fact in the human world when the Volturi began to rise. Their contention that vampires should conceal their existence was scoffed at.

When the Volturi defeated the Romanians, most of their coven was destroyed, leaving only Stefan, Vladimir and his mate as survivors. The Volturi copied many aspects of the Romanians' way of life - the formation of a permanent guard, the stationary home, and the eschewing of hunting in favor of prey being rounded up and delivered to them. The difference was that they did all of these things while remaining invisible to humans.

Vladimir's mate was killed around 810 AD, during the last of many attempts the Romanians made during the centuries to regroup, repopulate, and topple the Volturi. The Romanians amassed an army of more than 100 new recruits and were confident that the Volturi would fall. This ill-fated assault occurred a decade after the Volturi had acquired Jane and Alec. It was the first time Aro displayed their powers in battle. Stefan and Vladimir were planning to spring a trap for the expected Volturi retreat, and so escaped slaughter when their recruits failed. After this, they made no further attempt to create more vampires for their coven, and decided to disappear until the Volturi weakened or another power presented itself.

The two were constantly on the run and on their guard from the Volturi's agents, but since the two never posed much of a threat anymore, their efforts were not put at their best. At one point Vladimir met Laurent, who stayed with them for a short time due to their power before, but then left to look for more powerful individuals.

After hearing some rumors involving the Volturi and the Cullen family, Vladimir and Stefan show up uninvited at the Cullen territory, hoping that the controversy caused by the half-vampire Renesmee Cullen will finally destroy the Volturi.

During their stay in the weeks prior to the arrival of the Volturi, Renesmee finds their company fascinating. Bella, however, deems them a bad influence after they colorfully described to the child how they would rip out the eyes of the Volturi from their sockets, and subsequently makes an effort to limit Renesmee's exposure to them from then on. Jacob nicknames Vladimir "Dracula One".

Vladimir chooses Alec as his opponent if it did come to a fight. But, after having witnessed the growth of Renesmee, their hopes are vanquished by Aro's insight into the truth through Carlisle and Nahuel. There is no battle with the Volturi, though they are surprised at seeing their bitter enemies on Carlisle's side. Vladimir and Stefan are disappointed that they didn't get to fight their rivals, but are happy to see the Volturi retreat after the confrontation.

Vladimir has ashy blond hair and eyelashes that almost look pale gray (though it looks almost entirely white in the movies), and is 5'4" tall. He wears simple black clothes that could pass for modern but hinted at older design. Vladimir's skin has the same powdery look as the Volturi's, though it is not as pronounced due to the lack of mobilization of his body. His eyes, as well as Stefan's, are dark burgundy since the two vampires feed on human blood.

He speaks in a smooth tandem, with a voice so similar to Stefan's that anyone with ears less sensitive than a vampire's would assume they were one speaker.