| [ | Serving under my predecessor, he was at once an artist, a tactician, a loyal retainer and a traitor, a musician and a warrior, and an inventor and a destroyer. Truly an entertainer of many faces. | ] |
–Gerhardt von Waldstein on Carnald, Vamp! III, Color Insert 3. | ||
Carnald Strassburg (カルナルド・シュトラスブルク Karunarudo Shutorasuburuku) was a German polymath Eater of the late 17th and early 18th centuries who served as the Waldsteins' court painter on Growerth, his native island. His talent in art extended to to music and theater, for he was simultaneously a musician, actor, and playwright; he was moreover an accomplished inventor, engineer, warrior, and tactician. These latter skills would facilitate his rise as a 'first-rate' Hunter—and collector—of vampires; as a 'collector,' he would occasionally spare a vampire and bring them back to Growerth for the sake of artistic inspiration. Despite being both an Eater and Hunter, he he made significant efforts to strike a harmony between vampires and humans.
Gerhardt von Waldstein, who succeeded the Waldstein aristocrat whom Carnald served, has claimed that Carnald was a loyal retainer yet also a traitor and destroyer; however, these claims have not yet been elaborated upon. Regardless of his loyalty or alleged traitorhood, he is the sole resident of Growerth who has left a mark on the outside world and therefore remains the island's most celebrated figure.
In honor of Carnald, Growerth hosts a Carnale Festival every year. The outside world knows Carnald only for his creative, scientific, and military accomplishments and not his preternatural existence nor pastimes.
In the Naritaverse[]
- Carnald designed the floating fortress (a 'wall' of connected ships) that House Dormentaire uses to blockade the harbor of Lotto Valentino in 1711. According to Dormentaire delegation leader Carla Alvarez Santoña, the plans designed by an engineer from the "Strassburg family" were so complex that not even the local workmen could comprehend the fortress's workings entirely.
- According to Lady Lucrezia de Dormentaire, Strassburg was responsible for equipping Growerth with "perfect sewage facilities."
- The Nebula corporation appears to have a keen interest in Carnald's work. Several of Carnald's paintings are on display in their Chicago headquarters in the 1930s, and Nebula's current emblem is rumored to be one of Carnald's designs.
- In Volume Five, a saleswoman attempts to sell a cheap print of one of Carnald's paintings to Chikage Rokujou at an exorbitant price.
- Carnald is the answer to the hint "German artist from [Growerth] Island" in a crossword puzzle Shingen Kishitani attempts to solve in Volume Three.
- According to Kasane Kujiragi, the demonic hammer Bannajin is inspired by and a replica of another hammer created by Carnald.
Trivia[]
- In Vamp! II, it is stated that Carnald was born and raised in the city of Neuberg. However, since the city of Neuberg was founded in the early 2000s, one must presume he was born in either Rukram or Mozartzungen—the two cities that merged to form Neuberg.
- Yen Press Name Spellings: The Yen Press translation of Durarara!! Volume Five (translation by Stephen Paul) spells his name as "Karnard Strasburg." However, the Yen Press translation of Baccano! Volume Nine (translation by Taylor Engel) spells his name as "Carnald Strassburg."