Court Activities & Duel Order
The Blood of Dawnwalker Bosses
Four vampires stand between Coen and his family. Three vassals rule their own regions and must be provoked before they will duel you, and defeating all three draws out Brencis. This page covers how to unlock each fight, the order to take them in, how to beat each boss and the choice that follows every duel.
The Four Bosses
Ambrus, Bakir and Xanthe are the vassals of the Vrakhiri Court. Brencis, the knyaz who abducted your family, becomes available only after the other three are dead.
| Boss | Role | What defines the fight |
|---|---|---|
| Ambrus | Youngest vassal | The recommended first duel. Still proving his competence and loyalty to Brencis. |
| Bakir | Second vassal | Cruel and openly contemptuous of humans. Lures mortals into the Lunar Tournament. |
| Xanthe | Eldest vassal | Older than Brencis himself. Attacks the mind rather than the body. |
| Brencis | Knyaz, final boss | Unlocks after all three vassals fall. Holds your family. |
How to Unlock Each Duel
The game does not tell you where to go. Each vassal has an Anger Level that rises as you complete Court Activities in their region, and only at maximum Anger does their duel quest appear.
- Open the Court menu after the prologue to see which vassal each activity belongs to.
- Court Activities are short clear-out fights. Each one advances the clock a little.
- Visit the 11 Towers first to mark every activity on your map, which matters most on higher presets.
- All three are available immediately after the prologue and can be angered in any order.
How to Beat Each Boss
All four duels reward the same habits: read the telegraph, punish the recovery, and bring silver. Here is what each one tests.
| Boss | Watch for | How to answer it |
|---|---|---|
| Ambrus | Fast one-handed swordplay, evasive blinks and red unblockable slashes. | Dodge the red attacks instead of blocking, then counter while he recovers. Poisoning him before the duel through The Bittersweet Toast weakens him from the start. |
| Bakir | A crimson whirlwind claw flurry, a leaping overhead smash and arena thralls summoned below half health. | Sidestep the smash and punish the long recovery after he lands. Silver and fire oils add stagger, and wide sweeps like Broadswing clear the thralls. |
| Xanthe | Rapier lunges, red-mist teleports and a miasma shockwave from a glyph on the floor. | Dodge sideways out of the lunge, turn to face her when she reappears behind you, and sprint clear of the glyph. Kill her masked thralls first. |
| Brencis | Two phases: a rapier duel, then a winged beast form built on dives and blood geysers. | In phase one, parry the third hit of his four-hit combo. In phase two, keep moving, dodge the dive shockwave and strike his wing joints after each landing. |
If one of these fights walls you, drop the preset for that duel and raise it again afterwards. The difficulty guide shows how to switch mid-game.
Choices After Each Duel
Every vassal fight ends in a decision, and several of them change what happens later. The full branches live on each boss's own guide.
- Ambrus: kill him for his legendary weapon and armour, or drain him and decide in Anachora whether to invite his soul in or abandon it.
- Bakir: kill him, invite him in for a faster-rage and lifesteal passive, banish him, or bargain in the vault and skip the fight entirely.
- Xanthe: spare her to gain an ally on the inside, or execute her for her rapier and an optional soul perk.
- Brencis: beating him in the prologue triggers a secret early ending, and the campaign finale decides whether you reach the good ending.
Full walkthroughs: Bakir, Xanthe and Brencis. For how these choices feed into the finale, see all endings.
Recommended Order
Take them Ambrus, then Bakir, then Xanthe. The order follows their level ranges, so read it as a difficulty ranking rather than a lock. Keep a save after the third vassal falls: from that point you can still set up every ending.