It has been three years since the body of the late Wallachian prince Vlad Dracula had disappeared. That story has now come full circle.

Chapter 2

In 1479, a Transylvanian farmer woke up to the sound of bellowing from his cows. He quickly got out of bed and rushed outside only to find his cows running around the farm frantically as if evading a predator. In the middle of the farm he saw one of his cows lying lifeless on the ground. He approached closer, and to his horror he saw the animal in a pool of blood with its neck cut open. This was one of many strange events that would lead to rumours of a creature prowling the night in search of blood. There were many incidents where people's livestock fall victim to, not the many wolves that existed in the region of Transylvania, but to the same creature. The creature did not only feast upon the animals in the farmer's care. A young girl was found dead with her body pale and limp with tooth marks in her neck. It appeared that all of her blood was sucked out of her body. This creature was also living off the blood of humans. One night a man and his wife were attacked by the same creature. The husband survived, but the creature had drained the life of his wife. The man was able to catch a glimpse of the creature in the light of the moon. The creature's skin was dead pale, its hair was dead grey, it had extremely white fangs and it had a resemblance to the late prince of Wallachia, Vlad Dracula! After killing his wife, the creature ran at a speed he could comprehend, disappearing from his sight. This is not the only sighting of the creature supposedly being Vlad Dracula. Many told stories of a blood sucking creature resembling Vlad Dracula snatching victims in the dead of the night. Around this same time the coffin of Prince Vlad Dracula, who was believed to be assassinated in 1476, was found; but in it was not body of the prince. The coffin was completely empty. This led people to believe that the creature of the night that thirsted for blood was indeed Vlad Dracula.

Within a deep forest in Transylvania, the ground is being beaten by one with every step he takes. Exhausted, he comes upon a fallen tree trunk and takes a seat. He would not be in peace, for Vlad Dracula, thoughts would begin to torment him. "What am I still doing in this time?" he thought. "It has been years since the great winter battle against Turkey that I have been taken by the hand of death. Wait. How do I know this? How I know that I was once dead? I no longer walk among the dead. Why have these thoughts struck me? But how do I know that death's hand no longer holds me? Have I been resurrected? By who? Why? On the road that I have taken, I craved for something. To obtain satisfaction, I had to take the life of another. When I when drain one's life, I most pleased. My teeth. They are like are like the ones of a wolf. These teeth helped me grasp something that satisfies me so. Blood. I can't live without the blood of another. That is what kills my cravings. Why does one have to die in order for me to live? Those that I have put to sleep soon became like me. Neither dead nor alive, they walk through the night, draining the blood of innocents which soon begins running within them. When I see those who work their powerless to stop me, I feel joy. Their weakness is my strength. Why? Why was I allowed to live to see all these? Why do I live the life of a creature of death? Why?"

One evening, Vlad Dracula sits upon a hill overlooking a village that seemed powerless to stop his reign of terror. He had plagued this village in the past, leaving it to mourn the loss of its loved ones and to fend for itself against those who had risen from the dead and return to drain the last remnants of life that inhabited this village. It bellows in fear and in sorrow, for it is like an ant under Dracula's boot. As he sits there he feels no remorse, for he looks back on the life he had lived with his loved one Elisabetha. "Elisabetha," he thought, "her memory stabs me like a dagger in my heart. She was always at my side from day I married her. She was a beautiful creation no man can ever forge. In her eyes I saw innocence. Innocence I could not see in others. She was a saint, a special gift to me. I felt no love until she came to me. She taught me love and mercy. I forged no other relationship from the day we were married. On the day when I was off to fight a great battle against the armies of Turkey she begged me not to go. She cared so much. She would lay down her life for mine. When news of my supposed death reached her ears she took her own life. The Turks delivered that great lie to her. Curse them! When she died, a part of my life was taken from me. I could not live without my love. We were one. I did not loose Elisabetha, she was taken from me." Then, Dracula bowed his head and wept.

When Dracula was in his state of mind, he did not know that he was not alone. "Friend, why do you weep?" a man's voice said. When Dracula looked up with eyes red and tears running down his cheek, there stood a man dressed in an elegant robe, with long, white hair and light blue eyes. He had a handsome, youthful appearance. "Have you lost a love one?"

"Yes," replied Dracula. "My wife, Elisabetha."

"Painful, yes?"

"Yes. Truly painful."

Dracula then realized that this man did not tremble in fear, despite the fact that he could feed upon his blood at that very moment. "You do not fear me?" Dracula asked.

"I fear no one," the man replied. "No beast that crawls the earth and no bird that flies in the air."

"But I suck the blood of men," Dracula said.

"Do not be troubled. Blood is what you need. Blood is life for a creature such as yourself."

"Is that how you truly feel?"

"Yes. I know there are questions in your life that you want answers to. I can give you those answers, my friend."

"Why do you call me friend?"

"You can trust me. I can give you want, Vlad Dracula."

"How do you know my name? Who are you?"

"I know all about you, Dracula. Now come. We must find the answers to your questions."