Aurel
Aurel walked through the village near the castle, the men stared suspiciously at him. The few women who were out suddenly crossed themselves and fled.
Hissed voices as he was surrounded, "Uită-te la el, uita-te la sabie! El a venit de la castel, el servește vampir. Probabil, el este un cercetaș al naibii de creatura." ("Look at him, look at the sword ! He came from the castle, he serves the vampire. Likely he is a scout for the damn creature.")
He demanded, "What vampire ? There is no vampire in the castle that I know of. You are safe." Stopped as mentally he knew what he was saying, but aloud it was nonsense.
A dark-blond man un-sheathed an old, half-rusting sword and advanced on him. In a second, he had un-sheathed his own, formerly his father's, sword. The sword of House Constantine's Boyar's. As the calm swept over him, it was easy for him to kill the man. Others jumped in, swords flashed in swinging, lunging and dodging. Growled as pain from a cut in his cheek dashed the calm. Pulled his sword out of an old man's body.
Someone called, "Buna ziua, eu sunt Pricolici Varcolac." ("Hello, I am Pricolici Varcolac.")
Turned to see a black-haired man with curiously, light-brown eyes, sheathing his own sword. Bodies lay around Pricolici and he nodded his thanks.
End Dream
He groaned, disoriented as anything, as he blinked and lifted his head. For a reason he knew not, the back of his throat burned horribly. Where ever he was, it was not where he wanted to be. His back was to a wall, his hands and feet manacled to it. All around him was a chamber of smooth, dark-gray stone; along one wall was a rack of instruments. It looked very much like a torture chamber to his eyes.
'How ? How did I get here ? All I remember is pain before everything faded. Where are my memories ? Where is meu Dracul-Inger ?'
Desperate, he cried, "Draculea. Draculea Vladimir ! Meu Voivode, meu dragoste." On the far side of the room a door opened and he hoped. Even as his eyes hurt from the light, he saw clearly that it was not his dear and valiant prince. Disappointed, he still couldn't believe his eyes as someone else walked in. "Umbra ? Draga Umbra, Doru sprijin-mă!" ("Longing, help me.")
Umbra's dark-green eyes were frightened as he shook his light-blond head, and held the torch higher. Something entered after his friend, it was a giant human-like, silver-furred ram. It's eyes were like the brightest moon, and there was something vaguely familiar in that colour. Half-curled around and above its head were dark-bronze coloured horns. The ram's voice was like a rushing waterfall, "He will not, little Constantine, Doru is my servant."
"No ! He would never do such a thing."
The Ram-demon walked up to him, surely it was seven feet tall, and grinned down with terribly sharpened teeth before it kicked him with a cloven hoof. He felt and heard the sharp crack of his ribs breaking, seconds later it started all over before it stopped. Noticed it's upper-hooves were split into finger-like sections as it tilted his face up. "He already has, his soul belongs to me and eventually your's will too."
He jerked his head out of the demon's grip and shouted, "Dumnezeu sprijin-mă !" Then slammed his head back against the wall at the mental agony that suddenly seized him. Umbra, strangely, laughed at him and gave him a pitying look. 'What cursed thing has it done to me ?'
Umbra put a tanned hand on his arm, smiled gently and said, "It is not as bad as you would think it, dear Aurel."
Could not believe that he was actually glaring at his friend, "Nu vreodată, eu refuz sămăgândesc la ea. La naiba cu tine, capră demonul!" ("Not ever, I refuse to think of it. Damn you, goat demon!")
Umbra's fist slammed into his face and, again, everything faded to black.