The Sarafan Crusades

Long after the Pillars passed to human hands and the Ancients had vanished into legend, the vampires left behind continued to spread their curse and propagate the species. As their population grew and became perceived as a threat to humankind, the Circle of Nine took action. The Conflict Guardian Malek, sworn by his position to protect the rest of the Circle at all costs, founded and led a militant organization of warrior-priests. Funded by the Circle and led by Moebius and Malek, this organization called itself the Sarafan brotherhood and swiftly rose to power, sweeping over Nosgoth and decimating the vampire population. Under their self-righteous genocide, expansive killing fields littered with impaled corpses became a common sight. In a golden age for humankind, six of the group's most promising members were promoted to the rank of elite inquisitors, second only to Malek within the hierarchy of the Sarafan Brotherhood. And at the height of their organization's power, these six cruelly righteous warriors tracked down the long-protected hideout of the last surviving Ancient, Janos Audron, and tore his black, still-beating heart from his chest. Taken back to the Sarafan stronghold to serve as a trophy of the most brutal purge in Nosgoth's history, this unholy organ would eventually be known in legends as the Heart of Darkness.