"The Founder" by Natalia Turchaninova, summary Automatic translate

"The Founder" is an urban fantasy novel co-written by Alexey Pekhov, Elena Bychkova, and Natalia Turchaninova. The book concludes the "Kindrat" cycle — a series about a world of vampire clans existing alongside modern human society. The action takes place in the present day, primarily in Moscow and Prague.

Founder’s Cross

In early March, the necromancer Christoph, head of the Cadavercian clan, arrives in Prague with his servant Boschet, a spirit killer known as a Betailas. The city has long been abandoned by the clans: beneath Petrin Hill, Bitach sleeps — an otherworldly devouring entity that the Cadavercians once summoned to destroy the rival Luder clan. That night turned disastrous: Bitach went out of control and slaughtered over two hundred innocent blood brothers from various clans. Only the skill of Christoph’s mentor, Master Wolfger, managed to put the monster into a deep slumber, but they were unable to cast it back into the afterlife.

Christophe enters the catacombs through a dilapidated grate on the hillside. Inside, the clan’s underground city awaits him — halls lined with black marble, stained glass by Fariartos, and a council chamber with the clan’s crest on the floor. Along the way, Boschet discovers and helps disarm several deadly traps left by Wolfger. Christophe’s goal is the Founder’s Cross, a relic of black metal with a malachite ivy crosspiece. It was this artifact that once allowed him to summon Bitach, and now the necromancer takes it with him, realizing that without Wolfger, the clan is defenseless against threats from beyond.

Escape to the surface through a secret passage, Christophe encounters Inokanoan, the leader of the Illusion clan, disguised as a sick man in a wheelchair. He warns that the artifact’s appearance in the Capital could provoke the clans to dangerous actions. Christophe responds harshly: he intends to protect only his closest brothers and sisters, and he cares nothing for the rest. The two part coldly.

Amir and the Dangerous Guest

The story of the Asiman clan’s Grand Master, Amir ar Rahal, unfolds in parallel. A fire mage who has lived for centuries, he reminisces about Kia, the mortal alchemist who once brought him to the clan and helped him take the leadership, before dying, rejecting immortality. Amir oversees extensive magical laboratories, where students search for ways to prolong life by combining medicine and magic.

Unexpectedly, Darel Dakhanavar, a former telepath of the Dakhanavar clan, previously considered a disgraced outcast who had amassed the power of all the clans, appears before the Magister. Amir greets him with hostility and attacks, but Darel easily dispatches three Asiman guards and paralyzes the Magister with an ice spell. The guest demonstrates mastery of the Asiman’s highest fire magic and ancient Leargini spells, and summons a fire salamander — the Spirit of Fire, who obeyed no one but the Founder.

It was then that Amir began to suspect that this was not who he claimed to be. The guest recounted the legend of the Founder and the Cadavercian clan and asked for refuge, promising in exchange to destroy Felicia Dakhanavar, the head of the Dakhanavar clan, whom the Asiman had unsuccessfully attempted to eliminate. Stunned, Amir was forced to agree.

The Founder in a New Body

The reader immediately learns the truth from within: the narrative shifts to the voice of Darel, whose mind is inhabited by an alien being. This is Atum, the Founder, an ancient spirit from another world who gave birth to all the Kindreth clans thousands of years ago. He once sacrificed his own magic, dividing it among the first creatures — his blood brothers — and placed his spirit within the most gifted of them, plunging himself into a millennia-long slumber. Master Wolfger, when converting the young necromancer Vivian, transferred not only his power but also the Founder’s otherworldly spirit. Darel, attempting to access Vivian’s memories, unwittingly drew Atum into his own mind.

The Founder discovered the ideal vessel in the telepath: a scanner capable of gathering the magic of all the clans. Atum gradually takes over Darel’s consciousness, exploiting his memories, phone contacts, and language. Finding himself in the Asiman’s refuge, he calls Felicia Dakhanavar, who immediately agrees to meet, unaware that Darel’s voice is now at the service of another.

Felicia and the Gin-chi-nai warning

Felicia, the head of the Dakhanavar clan — "Lady," a mormolikaya — is experiencing a severe internal crisis. The otherworldly gin-chi-nai beings she serves long ago ordered her to destroy the telepath before he became dangerous. She hesitated, unwilling to kill Darel. Now retribution has come: the Founder deceived her, exploiting her senses. Waking up after a meeting in an illusory room, Felicia discovers the dead body of her old acquaintance, a man named Constantinis, nearby.

She turns to the ancient mirror — an artifact of communication with the gin-chi-nai. They respond immediately: Cadavercian is the Founder’s favored clan, and the Dakhanavar are created to oppose him. Felicia summons the second elder, Stefanie, the living embodiment of the gin-chi-nai’s will, and shows her the mirror with the crimson mist. She understands without further ado.

Paula, Gemran and the death of Miklos

A separate story arc is dedicated to the fairy Paula and the singer Gemran. Paula is grief-stricken after the death of her mentor, Maestro Alexander. She is convinced that Miklós Balza of the Nachtzerret clan killed him and thirsts for revenge. Gemran and the werewolf Sloven restrain her from rash actions.

The denouement comes unexpectedly: Hemran receives a call informing him that Miklós Balza has died that very morning – burned to death by the sun by his own sister. Upon learning this, Paula experiences a bitter mixture of relief, disappointment, and malicious triumph: revenge has been accomplished without her participation. From then on, she becomes colder and more reserved, but soon becomes alarmed again – after a conversation with a certain necromancer – and urgently calls Hemran.