I propose that it could be that Drakul is the third Walker (who might be called He Who Walks Between).
1. Drakul is something entirely unhuman that got trapped in human form. Dracula was his half-human child that wound up turning himself into the first Black Court vampire (around 600 years ago*). Ebenezar described him as "
the Creature" and "Formidable. Dangerous. Cruel". Which is really something, considering all the stuff Ebenezar would have seen. Also notice the emphasis on "the".
2. The Black Court vampires are actually tainted by something hideous and unworldly. The are not of the same ilk really as other vampires (compared to Reds in the quote - see bottom of post).
3. When Jim refers to things like Mordite and Outsiders (both in the novels and in interviews - he often decribes them as "not of
this world" and "the Netherworld" etc. World here meaning the universe, not merely Earth. He also often describes the magic associated with them in the same way.
4. He is one of the few beings that could take out Mab.
5. Vlad Tepes (Dracula - the son of Drakul) was the King of Walachia roughly 600 years ago. Which means Mavra likely is one of the first Black Court Vampires (even if she wasn't one of the "Elders") - they would have definitely known each other. WOJ puts Mavra's age at around 600 years old.
So I think it is reasonable to think that Drakul has a strong connection to the Outside. But why specifically is he the Walker? Because of his nature. He seems to be described in terms of Other - not the regular levels of evil and monstrous. We know he is powerful enough to beat Mab. Something else that was not on that list that was as big and scary as Mab, but also hideously
deeper, was Sharkface (He Who Walks Before). And there seems to be a strange connection between Mavra, the Black Court, the Black Council/The Circle, and the Outsiders.
The obvious counter-argument to my theory is why would he sign the accords? Shouldn't he and Mab be mortal enemies?
Well my answer is this - it is because he is Between. As in Between
two worlds: this one and the Netherworld. A foot in each (a common trope in mythology). Unlike his fellows (Before and Behind) he is not truly immortal any more, perhaps a little more like Vadderung. He is
trapped in human form, and that makes him vulnerable. So part of his cold war with Mab is he agreed to not take open action against her. Perhaps he resents being trapped, or left, in his human body. Perhaps he likes being in the mortal world (like Vadderung) and doesn't want to lose the influence he has. The openly horrific nature of the Walkers would be intolerable to the world (I believe there is a WOJ that HWWBh is at Uriel's level, in some ways). But as a somewhat mortal with unbelievable powers, yet still vulnerable, he can be flexible enough to work with. Almost like the Wyldfae, he is his own Power. Sure, when push comes to shove he will side with his own kind. Maybe he likes Reality now that he is in it, maybe he is pissed off at the Outsiders. But one thing is for sure - he is beyond the "usual evil".
Let me know what you think!
PS here is the quote
Black Court Vamps are a different story. They’re actually tainted by something hideous and unworldly. They are driven to kill to survive. They don’t really have a lot of choice about it. They enjoy being what they are, and doing what they do. They can be sad that they don’t have someone who loves them, or upset that the world has passed them by and has changed on them, but at the end of the day, they’re basically black-hearts who occasionally pull out a few of the tattered remains of their humanity, fail to fit back into them like they used to, and get maudlin about their glory days when they could watch the sun rise.
And also what is Drakul a scion of?
Drakul wasn’t a scion of anything! He was something entirely unhuman that got trapped in human form. Dracula was his half-human child, who naturally had enormous paternal issues, and wound up creating himself as the first Black Court Vampire in an effort to win his father’s approval.
It didn’t work out so well.
2015 AMA
My only other theory is that he is the Son of the Devil (the Antichrist). Based on Blood Rites, p219. In that area Eb explains that he is the Blackstaff. He implies that Drakul is a scion (which Jim has since contradicted, see above). He is discussing that Scions are often freakishly powerful, insane malformed and monstrous, but occasionally look human. Which is how both Drakul and Kincaid look. Perhaps they are related. Kincaid (while he worked for Drakul was called the Hound of Hell or the Hellhound). One might take that to mean he is a servant of Hell. Which interestingly enough, some stories about the Antichrist mention a hellhound. It would fit that if an Archangel (Lucifer/Satan) had a child with a mortal, it would be an extraordinarily powerful scion (the most powerful Nephalim). But - as the above quote seems to contradict it (and is more recent 2015 AMA versus Blood rites in 2004) and we know Jim has retconned a lot of his original ideas - I think my first theory is more likely.
And no, I don't buy that Drakul is a Dragon. That is just too on the nose, even for Jim. It might have worked if Drakul
was a scion, but he isn't anymore. I think that knowledge would be well known too - when Harry is mentioning who the Freeholding lords under the Unseelie Accord's are (White Night) when telling Murphy that he has bribed Marcone with becoming one, he mentions specifically that he has researched it and that there are
two Dragons, Drakul, the Archive, the Ukrainian semi-immortal shapeshifting Guru, Vadderung. He specifically separates the Dragons from Drakul.
