O God of Earth and altar,
bow down and hear our cry.
Our earthly rules falter.
Our people drift and die.
The walls of gold entomb us.
The swords of scorn divide.
Take not thy thunder from us,
but take away our pride-
G.K. Chesterson-English hymnal-
(from Iron Maiden's "Revelations")
Darkness and Light
For the next three hundred years I lived in a world of dreams. I dreamed about the happier times with my mother. I dreamed about how she used to cuddle me on her lap, while she read fairy tales to me about heroic knights and wicked dragons. I dreamed about my father as well, but in a more positive light. My memories of him were when he was together with my mother in happier times. Such as the evening I sneaked out of my room and caught them dancing under moonlight in the throne room.
I thought about my companions Trevor, Sypha, and Grant. I wondered what they were doing in the world where the young eventually grow old. Perhaps Trevor and Sypha became lovers (although Richter told me that this was not to be). And what was life for Grant, since he was now living a civilian lifestyle over a life on the Black Sea.
Unfortunately, not all my dreams were happy ones. My dreams about Flame were often depressing. I took her life away from her. I certainly did not mean to do so, but it happened nevertheless. I remember this one dream in particular.
In this dream she was surrounded by light. She may have been in Heaven, I really do not know; but her clothes were dazzling white. Once again her red hair stood out to me, as it did in life. She smiled at me, and I thought for a moment she was going to touch me; but it was at that moment that the dream changed.
I began to see myself trapped in a pit. I touched the walls around me and they were as smooth as glass. I was trapped, and I feared to use my vampiric powers based on what happened to me with Flame. Then my body began to sweat, and I smelled the foul odor of sulfurous ash under my feet. "What the hell is going on?" I thought to myself, but all I could do was raise my eyes and look at Flame. She was staring down at me, but the look on her face was rather queer. She had this grin—a wicked grin—a look that she never wore in life. I did not know what to think yet I called out her name.
"Flame?"
"Time for you to face justice Adrian Tepes," she replied. Her voice sounded evil, unlike the sweet tempered voice that I remembered in life.
"Flame I'm sorry about what happened. It's all my fault." I was almost ready to cry, but the look on Flame's face did not show an ounce of compassion.
"And you deserve to burn for eternity for it!" she shouted back.
"What's going on here?! You're not Flame! What kind of demon are you?!" But my question was never answered. The next thing I felt was the dampness of the casket. I could see its stone covering, and I could see the gentle rays of the moon breaking through the tiny holes of the casket. I was alive to the world of men once again.
I suppose that I could have remained in the casket if I chose to do so, but something made me want to see the world again; so I exited the casket and steeped outside the crypt. Due to the cool breeze in the air I could tell that it was wintertime. I stared at the snow-covered peaks of the Carpathians. They had not changed since the last time I saw them, but one thing was definitely different…the Castle! It was back! Did that mean… I had to remember what Trevor said before we exited the Castle so long ago. When the Castle was crumbling Trevor stated that the Castle was bound to its master and would stand as long as its master was alive. For the Castle to be reborn that would have to mean that my father was somehow alive!
If Father was alive that probably meant he was doing the Devil's business, and that was not something I was going to allow again. I unsheathed my mother's family sword, and charged into the Castle, hoping to find the answers.
When I first entered the Grand Hall I noticed that it was flowing with monsters. The fact that monsters were present convinced me that Father was probably back. I slashed through every monster that tried to block my path. None of these particular creatures posed a major threat to me, but the figure I encountered after exiting the Grand Hall certainly made me gasp.
"Ah, Alucard," the monster began. Flashing me his bony smile and powerful scythe. "What brings you back home?"
I swallowed a lump in my throat and my knees began to shake. Death grinned at my body language, because he thought that I was terrified of him. 'Terrified' is not really the proper word to describe how I felt. I was afraid, yes. Who would not be? But it was not as much the fact that I was afraid more than I was confused.
"Are you afraid of me?" Death asked, as he continued to stare at me with the same grin.
"You…" I began. "What're you doing here?! We killed you! Trevor, Sypha, Grant, and I all killed you!"
Death laughed. "Killed me? No, you may've defeated me, I'll grant you that. But kill me? No. That you cannot do. I'm immortal, Alucard, unlike Trevor, Sypha, and Grant who've been dead for centuries."
"Centuries!?"
"Yes, Alucard. You last fought me in the Christian year of 1495, but over 300 years have passed. This is the year 1797, but I believe that we can forget our old wounds can we not?"
"What the hell's that supposed to mean?!"
"Why don't you return to our side, Alucard? Why don't you help your father accomplish his goal? Quit thinking on your stupid human emotions!"
"If I was to do that it would be the equivalent of throwing my mother's gift away," I declared, while tightening the grip on my sword. I was sure that Death would soon attack me, and I had no idea how well I could do against him now. The last time we battled I was not alone, but now I was alone.
"Still befriending mortals I see. I suppose that it was foolish for me to ask you to return to your father's side."
"So he's back then? As much as it hurt me to do so last time I'll make my way to the throne room and do battle with him again!"
Death chuckled. "Well, I believe that you may find the situation somewhat different this time."
"What the hell's that supposed to mean?!"
Death did not respond to my question. He only laughed, and gestured his hand upward. His gesture forced me to lose my grip on my sword, as though a magnet was pulling it away from me. "What the hell's going on?! What happened to my sword?!" But again Death did not respond. He only laughed at me again, before levitating into the darkness. I assumed that he was returning to his chamber.
In any event I was without a sword, and only had my two hands to fight. Fortunately being born with the strength of a vampire has its advantages, as I was able to fight off Father's weaker minions with my two hands, and was able to secure a sword by defeating a minion who carried one.
Ironically my visit to the Castle would result in one of the biggest changes of my life, and it will be a moment that I will remember forever. I was on the Castle's second floor when I saw her. An absolutely beautiful woman with gorgeous blonde hair, bright sea-green eyes, porcelain face, perky breasts, petite waist, perfect backside, and long slender legs! She was also wearing a short green blouse with matching top and a pair of stockings. Women certainly did not dress this way in the late 15th century, but I did not care! I must admit, however, that this was probably not how a woman should be dressed when they are in such a place as Castle Dracula (adding to the fact that I do not think she carried a weapon), but when I saw her I forgot that for a moment I was in Castle Dracula.
Of course because she was so beautiful the shyness factor that I have had towards women started to come back. I remember that when her green eyes locked with my brown eyes she did not know what to think of me. "Who're you?" she asked, confused. I do not believe that she expected to see another person inside the Castle. "You seem human and yet…"
She could not think of the next words to say, but I was slow to respond back, because all I could think about was how beautiful she was. I had to swallow a lump in my throat before I could say the words, "…I've come to destroy this Castle."
"Well then. It appears that we're on the same side. I'm Maria, and you are?"
"…Alucard." I was too scared to tell her my real name, so I chose to go by my nickname.
"Not the talkative type I see," she added with a smile. "Tell me Alucard, are you familiar with a man named Richter Belmont?"
The name 'Belmont' threw me for just as much of a loop as Maria's beauty. "…Of the Belmont family?"
She nodded.
"I'm familiar with the name, but…" my thoughts drifted back to Trevor, but obviously Trevor had been dead for centuries.
"Well, Alucard," Maria continued, "Richter's my brother-in-law, and a few weeks ago he set off for Castle Dracula after he saw its return in the distance from his home. If you see him please tell him that I'm searching for him."
I nodded rather nervously and said, "Yes, Ma'am."
"Thank you, and please give him this." She walked over to me and placed a crucifix in my hand. My knees started to shake a little; not because of the crucifix, but because of how close she was to me.
I placed the crucifix in my pocket and replied, "I will."
"Thank you again," she added, before she turned to walk away, but before she completely left the room she turned to face me again. "And Alucard?"
"Yes?"
"Please, you don't have to be so nervous when you talk to me," she added with a smile—a smile that I saw once before—through the eyes of Flame!
I found it ironic that I woke up at the same time that the Castle had returned even though it had returned quite a number of times before over the past three hundred years. The last time was in 1792, but the return of the Castle in 1797 was the masterwork of a dark priest known as Shaft. Shaft was once a priest in the Orthodox Church, but a mind-altering experience caused him to renounce his faith. Because of this he was excommunicated and stripped of his pastoral duties. Apparently Shaft took interest in the life of my father when he learned about Father's struggles with the Church. The interest he took in my father's life somehow increased his interest to study the black arts, and through those arts he discovered how he could resurrect him. Why exactly would anyone want to resurrect my father is a question that I simply cannot answer.
As a citizen of Romania, Shaft was certainly aware of the Belmont family. The descendents of Trevor Belmont had done battle with my father for over the last 300 years. Richter Belmont was Trevor's current descendent.
When Father returned in 1792 he apparently wanted to strike fear into Richter's heart (who was only 19 at the time) by kidnapping Richter's then girlfriend, Annette, and her little sister, Maria. In the end, however, it was Richter who triumphed over the prince.
Not only was Shaft smart enough to resurrect the Castle he was also smart enough to cover other bases. Shaft was aware that the return of the Castle would mark the return of Richter Belmont, but when Richter arrived he placed him under a spell that made Richter believe that he was the 'Lord' of Castle Dracula.
It is because of all of this that I believe I was called out my dream world by some particular force that most men would call 'God.' God, or whatever the force was, called me out of my dream world because there was no Belmont to defeat Father, and if there was no Belmont to defeat Father…well, I honestly do not know what the world would be like if such a situation was to exist.
I charged my way through the Castle, fighting off the familiar monsters of my father, but something seemed different this time from the last time I was in the Castle. When I entered Death's chamber the monster was not present. Death is usually the beast that guards my father and when he is not around something is not right.
The throne room had not changed in the last 300 years, but when I arrived Richter Belmont, rather than my father, was waiting for me. Richter was under Shaft's control, which made him unable to control his own actions. He cracked his whip against me, and I dodged the blow. I was still carrying the small sword that I secured from a defeated monster, but I did not want to use it against Richter. Of course, I had to think of something. I did not want to hurt Richter, but he was certainly trying to hurt me!
I remembered years ago that when I was possessed by my father's control that Trevor used a piece of the Host to free me from Father's curse. I did not have a piece of the Host, but I did have the crucifix that Maria gave me.
When Richter attempted to strike me again I raised the crucifix before his eyes. Richter recoiled, as though he were a vampire. He fell to the ground, and I stamped the icon into his forehead. Richter let out a scream, but I could feel Shaft's power leaving his body; he was free!
No sooner had I freed Richter that Maria came from behind me shouting "Richter!"
Richter of course was in a great deal of pain. Maria took his head and placed it against his bosom, which was where I wanted to place my head. Richter let out a groan and asked, "What happened?"
"You were possessed," I told him.
"I was? Really…" Richter was still confused when he asked Maria what was going on.
"You left your house two weeks ago. When you never came back Ann started to worry, and I entered the Castle to look for you."
"Maria you never should've done that! You could've been killed this is no place for a woman!"
"Excuse me, Richter, but I believe that I actually did quite well for myself!"
Richter prepared to respond to her, but I interrupted him before he had the chance. "She's right by the way." Maria looked up at me and smiled. "She did quite well for herself in a place that many who come here never leave."
Richter looked at me again, utterly confused by what I had just told him. "Who're you, sir?"
"My name is Alucard. …Alucard Tepes."
"Tepes?!" both of them screeched at the same time.
I nodded.
"Wait!" Richter began. "I heard that when my ancestor, Trevor Belmont, fought Dracula 300 years ago he was aided by the son of Dracula and a human woman whose name was Alucard."
I nodded my head again, and added the words that shocked both of them. "I am he."
"What?!" the two of them gasped.
"I'm sorry, but I don't have time to explain. I know that my father's still out there, and I know that Death's with him."
"But he's not here in the throne room," replied Richter.
"No, he's not," I responded, thinking to myself about how queer all of this felt.
"Hey!" Maria exclaimed. "What's that?"
She was pointing to a castle window. Something did indeed appear to be outside. Maria and I assisted Richter to his feet and the three of us walked over to the window together.
Outside was a castle. A castle no different in looks and appearances to the one we were already standing in. The only difference was that this castle was inverted.
"What in the world's going on here?" asked Richter.
"I don't know," I told him; "but I'm going to find out."
"Would you like me to come with you?" he asked.
"I appreciate the offer, but you're in no condition to fight."
"Whatever," he replied, trying to stand on his feet, only to have Maria catch him before he fell over.
"Please Belmont, stay with Maria." And then I remembered the crucifix. "Here take this," I said, handing him the crucifix. "Maria wanted me to give this to you when we first met in the Castle."
"No," he replied, handing it back to me. "You hold onto it. You never know when you might need it."
I returned the crucifix to my pocket and added, "Thank you Belmont." And then I looked at both him and Maria. "I'll see both of you after my task is done."
I leapt into the alternate castle from the wall of the regular castle. It honestly was not much different from the actual castle except that everything was literally upside down, but it was not something that my body could not adjust to. All I had to do was tell my mind that I was walking on the ceiling and I was fine. All I had to worry about were the first of two evils I would eventually have to face.
I charged into Death's upside down chamber and shouted for the beast to come forward and face me. Death descended through the darkness with his cold black robes swaying back and forth. He presented me with a bony grin, while his scythe gleamed through the moonlight.
"So we meet again Alucard."
"Yes," I declared while tightly holding my sword. "And hopefully it'll be for the final time."
Death grinned at my action. "You have no admiration for me I see. I suppose you have even less for your father."
"I have great admiration for my father! It's you that I've no respect for! My father was at least once a person with a good heart. You've absolutely no heart!"
Death sighed. "You really are a big hearted fool."
"That may be, but I'm smart enough to know how to chop you down!"
"Aren't you forgetting something Alucard?" responded Death with a chuckle. "You don't have Trevor, Sypha, and Grant here to help you! I'll admit the four of you got the better of me centuries ago, but that was then…" Death surprised me with an attack. I tried to parry-and-dodge it, but the sword that I was carrying shattered under the force of Death's blade. Now I was in serious trouble! I was unarmed, and facing a monster that was right when he declared that 300 years ago it took four people to vanquish him!
Death hacked at me with his scythe, and I did my best to roll out of the way from his sharp blade, which could have easily cut me in two. Honestly I had no idea what I was going to do. I thought that was perhaps I could wrestle Death's scythe away and use it as a weapon against him, but that plan was probably foolhardy. Fortunately I was able to see a beacon of light through Death's chamber.
My mother's sword was standing against the wall in a dimly lit portion of Death's chamber, but with Death furiously attacking me I had no idea how I could reach it. It was in that moment that I remembered that I did indeed have a weapon! The crucifix that Maria gave me! I removed the crucifix from my pocket and after dodging another one of Death's attacks threw it into the beast's torso. Death recoiled and snarled from the crucifix, and I seized upon the opportunity to grab my mother's sword. I kept my guard while I watched him sweep the icon away by using the handle of his scythe.
"So now I know you've truly abandoned your father. I see that you've apparently turned to Jesus in hope that He'll defeat me, and yet you're forgetting that I'm an immortal!"
A twinkle entered my eye after hearing Death's statement. Although I am not the best with words I knew what I could say to make him act irrationally and force him to make a mistake. "I wouldn't say that I've turned to Jesus, but I did hear once that he conquered death."
Death snarled at my comment and began to violently swing his scythe at me, which is exactly what I wanted. Death may be an ageless being, but he is not free from thinking irrationally. The more violently he swung his scythe the more he opened himself up for an attack.
Eventually he swung violently enough where I was able to impale my blade through his chest. Death fell back, and I hastily removed my sword from his chest and swiped it against vertebrae, severing his head. Just as before, Death crumbled into a pile of sulfurous ash. Death was gone, but one battle still remained.
In this alternative Castle, Father's chamber was not his throne room. In fact, I do not even know if I would call his room a 'room.' It felt more like what I would call an abyss. I know that I was standing on solid ground when I faced him, but everything around me was black. Next to him was a pair of torches, and they provided the only light in the room.
"Father," I said, looking at him squarely in the eye.
"Well, met my son! It's been a long time!"
"Father, I'm not going to allow you to leave this place."
"You've ever been the ally of mortals! Have you forgotten what they did to your mother?!"
"You know damn well that I'd never forget what they did, but at the same time I remember what Mother said. She always told me not to 'hate people, because sometimes they can't help being what they are.' Besides the humans who killed Mother are long dead. It's wrong to hate people who're innocent of what happened."
Father shook his head. "I simply don't understand you Alucard."
"I know that, Father, but I understand you."
"Oh…how?" Father asked me with an inquisitive eye.
"Father you're a man filled with hate. You can't let go of the past. You blame God for everything that happened to you, but if God was to blame for all the evils in the world how would the good that exists in the world be understood by both of us? Tell me Father, did you not experience good in this world as well? You were born into an aristocratic class, and born with a gift of power. You were a loved figure among your people. You also had the ability to receive any woman that you wanted. Do you not know how many men would love to have had those same blessings? Yet you continue to blame God because the world's not perfect. Damn it Father, nobody's had a perfect life, but compared to the lives of others your life was one worth living according to the average peasant in the field! I've found inner peace Father. I can accept that the world contains suffering, and that's just how the world works; but you can't!"
Father's eyes flashed bright red. He opened his cloak and tossed a few fireballs in my direction, but I was quick to dodge them. "You're a fool Alucard! Declaring my life to that of an ignorant peasant! How stupid can you be!"
"I can be a stupid fool who's found inner peace within myself!"
Father snarled and raised his sword at me. He attempted to slash me, but I parried the attack. Sweat started to form on my brow, but I was not going to let my fears pull me under. Yet before I could attack my father caught me with a sharp right cross that sent me to the ground. "I'm glad that your mother's not here to witness this," he told me.
"Actually Father," I began, rising back to my feet; "I'm sure Mother is watching. And I'm sure that she's suffering from a broken heart, but at the same time I know that she'd want me to stop you because you're not the same man she once loved."
Father snarled and swiped his sword at me again. I dodged the blade and retaliated with a slice across the chest. I tore a hole into Father's royal robes, but I did not do enough to actual hurt him. Father lunged at me again, but this time my sword pierced his heart.
I gasped as I watched my father attempt to remove the blade from his chest. He was gasping for air.
"How?" he gasped. "How can I've been so easily defeated?"
"You've been defeated ever since you lost the ability to love."
Father wanted to snarl back at me, but the sword that was killing him would not allow it. "I still love…"
"No," I said, cutting him off. "You do not love. You've lost the ability to love, just the same as you lost the ability to find inner peace."
Father did not respond to that statement. Instead he only lifted his eyes upward into that abyss—perhaps he was looking up to Heaven—but it would be his final scene because with the sword piercing his heart he breathed his last.
After the battle was over I encountered Maria and Richter outside the remains of the fallen castle.
"Is he dead?" asked Maria.
"Yes, he's dead."
"I'm sorry that you had to do something like that," added Richter. "I'm sorry that you had to fight your own father. It must've been hard."
Richter's statement made me think about Trevor for a moment. Trevor, at first, did not understand how I felt when we defeated Father long ago, but his descendent, Richter, did.
"…Indeed."
"Alucard," began Maria, "what'll you do now?"
"My blood's cursed Maria. It would be better off if I was to leave the world again, but may God be with you both. We shall not meet again."
I began to walk away, but as I turned around I noticed that Maria was following me. The expression on her face reminded me of a lost puppy trying to find its owner. I looked back at her and told her, "You cannot follow me Maria." But she paid no attention to me and continued to follow even though she kept her distance from me. I knew that she was watching me when I returned to my coffin to sleep for eternity. I thought for a moment about making her go away, but then I just chose not to. I suppose that, that was another decision that would affect my life forever. I thought that I would sleep for another eternity, but once again fate played a role in my life.
After Maria and Richter returned home, Richter decided to enter an Orthodox seminary to become a priest; and a few years after that he and his wife, Annette, celebrated the birth of their first child, Christian Simon Belmont, who was playfully called 'Riff.'
Maria was apparently unable to stop thinking about me after our final encounter. Although she met a man at a party one year later, and found him to be attractive she still could not stop thinking about me. Her sister, Annette, persuaded her to marry him although she had indirectly given her heart to me. Annette told her to forget about me, because I was a lost cause. Maria bought into the pressure and married the man who's name was Michael, but the marriage was not to last.
Maria eventually came to the point where she would no longer have sex with her husband anymore, and through that act, and the fact that it had been declared she was forced into the marriage, Richter granted her an annulment. Unfortunately, Maria was unable to claim any rights to anything she shared with her husband, and went back to living at home with her parents and the Belmonts—where she often babysitted Christian. Finally she decided that she was going to have me one way or another. Her determination was so strong that she roused me out of my sleep. Another chapter in my life was about to begin.