Vladimir

"We have them on the run. Now is the time to attack."

- Vladimir talking about the Volturi

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.

Early life
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.

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

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".

Physical appearance
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.

Personality
Vladimir is noted as cunning, ambitious and vengeful regarding the Volturi's. He has strong survival instinct, can even when driven by vengeance. He and Stefan have a tendency of finishing each other's sentences.

Powers and abilities
Vladimir never demonstrated his vampiric abilities in the novels. However, in the movie adaptations, he and his covenmate, Stefan, display amazing physical reflexes and battle skills despite the lack of special powers. They manage to avoid Jacob's assault and confuse the pack by jumping around trees in circles until they run into each other.

Stefan
Stefan is Vladimir's coven mate as well as one of the founders of the coven. When the Romanians were decimated by the Volturi, he and Vladimir managed to evade their death. After the death of Vladimir's mate, Stefan has been his only company throughout the centuries. Their voices are heard to be so similar to weaker ears can easily mistake them to be one person.

Like him, Stefan is incredibly eager for an opportunity to challenge the Volturi and dethrone them once and for all.

Others
Vladimir had a mate during his reign. When the Volturi dethroned them and destroyed their troops, she escaped with him. Sometime later, they attempted to destroy the enemy clan by assembling over 100 vampire soldiers. Vladimir's mate ran the front line while he and Stefan covered the escape route. Their underestimation of the Volturi cost the lives of the entire army, including his mate. Since vampires don't overcome their grief, it is assumed that Vladimir is still grieving and resenting after all the centuries.

Film portrayal
Vladimir is portrayed by Canadian actor Noel Fisher in Breaking Dawn - Part 2.

During an interview, Noel says that filming a Twilight movie was more different than any role he had ever done.

"I love vampire stuff, I love fantasy/sci-fi, and all that kind of stuff so it’s right up my alley. That was another lucky thing. I get to play like a 3000 year old bad-ass vampire. That’s awesome!"

- Noel's interview

Appearances

 * Breaking Dawn
 * Breaking Dawn - Part 2