#house draculesti

[lilyhargrave]

Beta Readers wanted!

Hello hello, everyone!

I am looking for beta readers for the ebook release of The Rose of Whitby. It's going to be a trilogy, 440k words in total, with the first book at 110k words. Ideally, I'd like to finish edits by the end of July this year, 2024.

If anyone is interested helping another indie queer story make it out into the world by way of telling me where you're bored and what you like, drop me a DM! : )

[lilyhargrave]

They totally do that, don't they...

glancing down at mens chest hair while theyre talking like it's cleavage

[vladpostings]

Vlad and (some of) his family

Vlad Dracula

Mircea the Elder (grandfather)

Vlad Dracul (father)

Stephen the Great (cousin)

Michael the Brave (great-great-great-nephew)

[lady-plantagenet]

I realise this joke may be a bit too niche. I just had to though :s.

[heliotrope-journey]

The Revival of a Beacon from the Dark Ages

Good evening, vampire hunters.

The legendary sword dating back to 6th Century Britain, Excalibur, is now available for purchase on Society6. In the present-day era, Frederick, Eforie, and Abiataka will have to learn everything they can about the blade's original owner and scour the calm yet foreboding Evergreen Forest to reclaim it. Like the Solar Flare Whip's allegiance to the Chinezu clan, the most potent of Excalibur's light magic can only be tapped into by a swordsman or sorcerer with blood ties to the Pendragon family. Though one has not yet accompanied Frederick, they are the only individuals that have knowledge of Vlad Dracula Tepes's upcoming siege on London. If King Arthur is ultimately needed on the battlefield, now's the time to pray for his return. The Dark Lord will not wait for a fair fight. D:

https://society6.com/product/excalibur-in-evergreen-forest_sham

And now, I present with Excalibur's bio;

A holy sword that was said to be a gift from the heavens due to its divine light magic, ability to cleave through iron, and healing properties. Though many will seek it out, only a righteous monarch can channel its power and save the British Isles from darkness. Excalibur's previous wielder, the legendary King Arthur, was illustrious for using this blade to maintain order throughout his reign and slay armies upon armies of invaders should they cross his borders. That is, until his illegitimate son, Mordred used his connection to the Knights of the Round to cease Camelot from the inside out as vengeance for being abandoned as an infant. Arthur was slain during the confrontation and was smuggled to Avalon to recuperate indefinitely. Fearing Excalibur could fall into the wrong hands, Merlin returned the sword to the Lady of the Lake. Regardless of how legend remembers him, divine blood still ran in Mordred's veins and could easily use Excalibur to force his people into submission. Centuries have passed since the scandal costed the Pendragon family the throne and the House of Draculesti would become a threat to not only the British Isles, but to all of the magical kingdoms. Having lost faith that Arthur would return, an anxious young sorceress approached the Lady of the Lake and requested that she place Excalibur in her hands. Her physical resemblance to Morgana le Fey compelled the Lady to decline immediately, believing that she is collaborating with the Dark Lord. The Veiled Nocturne would have no use for such a weapon other than conceal it from its rightful owners, however, it is rumored that Mordred is still alive and has sent one of his subordinates to retrieve the blade by passing off as a legitimate descendant of his father. The sorceress was not discouraged for she was well aware of the close relationship that Arthur and Merlin shared in their youth so she regaled the Lady with these stories and why they mean the world to her. Moved by the sorceress's drive to honor her ancestors, she gained the Lady's trust, allowing her to agree to bequeath her ownership of Excalibur. The sorceress thanked her and took a peaceful road in Evergreen Forest to collect her thoughts before leaving for communist Romania. Her daydream became a mistake that she would regret for years to come; she was ambushed by her anguished lover and two pagan wizards. The sorceress fought a fierce battle against them and triumphed, but she was lost Excalibur to an earth elemental in the commotion. Ashamed that she let love cloud her judgment and afraid to confess her transgression to her family, the sorceress commissioned a silversmith to forge a replica of the blade in the hope that it would aid her against the creatures of the night during her trip. The sorceress speculates that Excalibur can still be found within Evergreen Forest; hidden in plain sight amongst the trees and stones. Its years spent inside may have transfigured it to resemble a petrified sword so it would be easily overlooked. Many replicas of Excalibur exist in both the mortal and magical realms, but only by keen curiosity and knowledge of the forest can the true blade be rediscovered, reigniting hope that London can be spared from invasion.

Here's a sneak peek of what's coming tomorrow before I hit the hay for the night. A vacation is long overdue, but for some of us, trouble will follow wherever we go.

Sincerely,

WN

[lilyhargrave]

I'm knitting a bolero (finished soon!) and a sweater (Knives Out sweater, cabling takes soooo long, but it looks so nice!) and writing a fanfic containing cat shenanigans. And also writing, as always, our queer vampires/dhampirs/mages/everything story with my partner.

ITT: Tell me about something you're making or doing

I'm gonna write a story about a werewolf 🐺

[lilyhargrave]

Posting Announcement!

Get ready for new people joining our cast, more action, more romance, more world-building, more of everything! Oh, we're really in it now!

Obsidian: Ash and Moonbeams will start posting:

On Patreon: Wed., 19th of July (that’s next week! Sign up is pay what you want, from 1 €/$/£)

On House Draculesti: Wed., 16th of August – free to read!

On AO3: Wed., 13th of September

Initial schedule will be 2 chapters of roughly 4k words a week, updating Wednesdays and Fridays.

We are deep in the writing and editing, and ecstatic to get back to sharing it all with you!

Newcomers, join the story here:

Anyone who needs a refresher on this arc, we started here:

Woot!

About House Draculesti:

Do you need more queer in your life? More found family? Do you need more vampires, more weres, more fog-wreathed streets of Victorian London? More castles and mountains and dragons? Then you're in the right place! House Draculesti is a fiction web serial written by author team Lily Hargrave and Devan Dacian, following Darcy Seward, child of Dr Jack Seward and Lucy Westenra (yes, like from Dracula) and Arthur Lancaster, mage, accidental demon-summoner, as they pick their way through politics and family and life among humans and supernaturals alike.

[auralrapeblackearth]

I was just checking my drafts and I found this. It was an inside joke between some friends a couple years ago (I recorded it between 2014-15), still worth a listen though.

https://houseofdraculesti.bandcamp.com

[vladdocs]

Dracula's Godly Deeds The information collected in this article is not a secret, although few people pay attention to it, because Dracula wrongfully has a image of a fighter against God. ___________ In this article, there will be no assumptions, only facts regarding what Dracula did! So: When: sec. floor. 1456 - first. floor. 1457 What: Patronage of the Govora monastery. Dracula gives money to cast a large (weighing about 250 kg) church bell. How is it known: The bell, no longer used, is still kept in the monastery. There is an inscription on it: "This bell was cast in the name of our Lord our God and St. Nicholas in 6965 (the year after the creation of the world)." Since in this chronology the new year was counted from September 1, then the specified year (6965) covers the period from September 1. 1456 to 31 Aug. 1457 - just the beginning of the reign of Dracula. At the same time, a large bell is an expensive thing, and the monks themselves could not afford such expenses. Notable Facts: Fact 1: In a letter dated March 22, 1497, Prince Radu the Great, making a donation to the Govora monastery, notes that earlier the "ktitors" (main sponsors) of this monastery were "pious sovereigns ... our grandfather and great-grandfather," that is, Dracula's father and Dracula's grandfather. The youngest brother of Dracula, called Vlad the Monk (father of Radu the Great), also gave a lot to this monastery, like Radu the Great himself. That is why the monastery is considered the "Draculesti family monastery". Fact 2: In the charter of April 1, 1551, Prince Mircea Chobanul (Shepherd) tells the legend of how the lord Albu ruined monastery to talk and made a riot, for which he was punished by Dracula: "And it was in the days of Vlad magistrates Tepes, and was then boyar, who was called Albu the Great. And he took the boyar (from the monastery) the aforementioned villages (Glodul and Khintse) by his own strength and also ruined the holy monastery itself (which stood in desolation) until the time when the Lord God granted power to the sovereign, my parent, Radul Voivode Good ... And then, in the days of Vlad the voivode Tepes, that boyar Albu the Great encroached on becoming a sovereign over the head of Vlad the voivode Tepes, and Vlad the voivode went directly to him with an army and grabbed him, and cut off the head both to him and to all his relatives " ... + + + When: spring 1457 What: Patronage of the Kozia monastery. Dracula assigns to the monastery the village of Troeshi, previously bought by the monastery from one of the boyars, and frees this village from all duties and taxes. How is it known: Dracula's letter dated April 16, 1457, where it is said, has been preserved. Notable Facts: Fact 1: Dracula's charter begins with a very beautiful speech, but this speech was not written by Dracula, but by his grandfather Mircea the Old, who patronized the Kozia monastery. Everyone liked the speech so much that they began to reproduce it in new letters related to Kozia, and then in letters to other monasteries: Whom the Spirit of God directs, they are the sons of God, says the holy apostle, and everyone who appreciates the truth and does good deeds, wishing to receive eternal life - to leave earthly things on earth for reward in heaven. Blessed are those who have heard the good voice, for they always hear it: "Come, blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world." Fact 2: Prince Mircea the Old is buried in the Koziya monastery. + + + When: Summer 1457 What: A gift to the monastery of St. Panteleimon on Mount Athos (in Greece). Dracula makes a donation. How is it known: Dracula's letter of June 12, 1457, where it is said, has been preserved. A noteworthy fact: Now the monastery of St. Panteleimon is also called Russian, since the bulk of the inhabitants are Russian monks, but at the time of Dracula the monks of this monastery were mainly Serbs. + + + When: spring 1458 What: Patronage of the Romanian monastery of Tismana. Dracula assigns to the monastery all the estates

previously donated by other sovereigns and boyars. How is it known: Dracula's letter dated March 5, 1458, where it is said, has been preserved. + + + When: sec. floor. 1460 - first. floor. 1461 What: A gift to the Philotheus monastery on Mount Athos (in Greece). Dracula makes a donation of 4000 asp (aspra is a small silver coin) How it is known: Dracula's letter, dated 6969 from the creation of the world, has been preserved. Since in this chronology the new year was counted from September 1, then the specified year (6969) covers the period from September 1. 1460 to 31 Aug. 1461. A remarkable fact: V. Erlikhman in his book about Dracula writes that, making a donation, Dracula ordered memorial prayers for his father and prayers for the health of a certain nun Eupraxia. If V. Erlikhman does not confuse anything (and he confuses something quite often), then it turns out that Dracula asked the Athonite monks to pray for his late father and for his stepmother Koltsun, who after the death of her husband took her hair as a nun and began to be called Eupraxia, and according to other sources Efrosinya. + + + When: 1461 What: Foundation of a monastery called Comana near Giurgiu How is it known: Dracula's letter dated September 27, 1461, where lands are given to the monastery, has been preserved. The words of this dedication are the earliest mention of the monastery. Notable Facts: Fact 1: There is a legend about why Dracula founded Comana. This is associated with the events when Dracula with his army crossed the Danube into Turkish territory in order to free several thousand Romanians, who had recently been taken prisoner by the Turks near the Turnu Severin fortress. The liberation was successful, and then a legend begins, which says that several hundred Turkish horsemen secretly followed the Romanian army, which was returning back across the Danube. After waiting for the moment when Dracula with a small detachment drove off to the side, the Turks attacked. In this skirmish, only Dracula and two of his commanders survived (a certain Ler and a certain Mikhnya). All three were wounded, and besides, they could not get through to the main army, and the Turks continued to pursue them even after crossing the Danube, on Romanian territory. Completely tired, Dracula, along with Leer and Mikhney, stopped for the night in some remote place, hoping that they would not be found at least until morning. When it got completely dark, nine lights suddenly appeared in the distance, so Ler and Mikhnya grabbed their swords, but monks appeared from the fog, who took Dracula and his commanders to an island among the river creeks, where there was a skete (several houses-cells). The fugitives were safe there, because the Turks would never have found their way to the island. Dracula and his commanders rested, healed their wounds a little and left, and in gratitude, Dracula decided to found a monastery on this place and in the already mentioned charter from 1461 granted the monastery land. Fact 2: There is a version of the Romanian professor Konstantin Rezakevichi, according to which Dracula is buried in Comana, and not somewhere else. + + + When: unknown. What: Patronage of the Snagov Monastery. How is it known: The charter of Dracula himself concerning the awards to Snagov has not survived, but in the charter dated June 26, 1558, Prince Mircea Chobanul (Shepherd) mentions that "Vlad Voivode Tepes" was recorded in the monastery book among other donors. Notable Facts: Fact 1: The monastery is mentioned in the letters of Dracula's grandfather, Prince Mircea the Old, but despite this, the Romanian chronicles call Dracula himself the founder of the monastery. According to the testimony of the Romanian researcher A. Odobescu, in the 19th century, the monks in Snagov also considered Dracula to be the founder of the monastery. Fact 2: Snagov is considered the burial place of Dracula, although excavations carried out at the monastery in the 1930s did not allow confirming this well-established opinion. The grave in Snagov, which is

considered the grave of Dracula + + + When: 1461 What: Construction of a church near the town of Targushor How is it known: A stone slab with an inscription has survived, originally embedded above the entrance to the temple. The inscription reads: "By the grace of God Iw Vlad, voivode and lord of all the land of Ugrovlachi, the son of the great Vlad voivode, built and completed this temple on June 24, in the summer of 6969 (1461), indict 9". This slab was discovered at the dawn of his scientific career by the Romanian historian Constantin K. Djurescu, and he spoke about the find in the article "The Church of Vlad Tepes in Tirgshor". Published in "Buletinul Comisiunii Monumentelor Istorice (Bulletin of the Commission for Historic Monuments)", January-March 1924 issue. From this article it follows that the church was built by Dracula, but rebuilt three times : - the first time by Prince Anthony of Popesti (reigned from March 1669 to February 1672). After the restructuring, his image appeared on the wall inside the church, as it should be for those who gave money for the construction-restructuring; - rebuilt for the second time by Prince Konstantin Brancovianu (reigned from October 1688 to March 24, 1714), and then his image appeared on another wall of this church; - the church was rebuilt for the third time in the 19th century, after which (in 1886) a slab embedded above the entrance door was taken out, where it was written that the church was originally built by "Vlad voivode". Together with other stones left after the restructuring, the inscription was taken to the neighboring Strezhniku ​​for the construction of the local church, but they did not manage to stick the stone with the inscription anywhere, and it remained lying in the churchyard. Now this inscription is in the Turnu monastery. The main temple of the Turnu monastery is the rebuilt Church of Vlad. A copy of the inscription is kept in the Museum of History and Archeology in Ploiesti . ____________ * The inscription on the front side was copied and sent to the "Bulletin of the Commission of Historical Monuments" when Mr. G. Zagorits, who knew about my research in Tyrgshor, hastened to publish - of course, in order to ensure the significance of the discovery - an article called "Vlad Tepes" in "Book Newspaper" (April 15, 1922), which appeared in Ploiesti. This article contains the inscription I discovered and, in addition, the Latin transcription with translation. But, as you know, haste spoils the matter (here the Romanian version of the proverb "hurry up - you make people laugh"). The transcription of Mr. Zagorits is, first of all, fundamentally incorrect, because the Latin alphabet - in the absence of signs - cannot convey all the Slavic sounds ... Moreover, some words of its transcription simply lack symbols ...I consider it necessary - the inscription should be studied by philologists - I also give my version of the transcription with the attachment of a photograph of the inscription. ** In the first part, the inscription is well preserved. The second part is more influenced by the weather, the inscription is more worn out, as can be seen in the photograph. *** Ioan Bogdan Vlad Tepesh and German and Russian stories about him. - Bucharest, 1896. - p. 3-4. **** There is no written mention of this transformation that can confirm the date. And yet the style indicates (first half of the 19th century).

[lilyhargrave]

I guess I'll put myself out here: Me and my partner have House Draculesti, a Dracula-media inspired web serial full of drama and all sorts of queerness, free to read! Just finished the second part, many more to come.

I'm still working on the end to my Dracula Daily annotations, but for anyone else who's looking for "what's next" to read, and to celebrate all the people who read the darn thing and made the community, I thought we could do a little thread of writers on Tumblr with published vampire things! So reblog with links to your vampire writing, and I'll keep this original post updated to include everyone.

I'll go first: I have the published book Something's Not Right, which includes multiple vampires; the free short story Something Weird I Heard About Rebecca for the LGBT vampire BLOOD&BREATH zine, about vampires and gender and sexuality; and two pieces of flash fiction on Patreon.

Please add on so we can all read more vampires! Marginalized authors especially welcome.

First addition is @thebibliosphere's Hunger Pangs, which is eternally on my list: a polyamorous vampire romance with both an explicit and fade-to-black edition available to read!

Yah Yah Scholfield @fluoresensitive has a free short story available online titled Lavenders. It looks gay as all get-out and, I'll be honest, I'm saving it for a rainy day because 1) I know I will adore it, and 2) when I finish reading it there won't be any more Yah Yah vampwriting left! Just LOOK at those influences & opening lines.

Scaevola @scaevolawrites has been featured in the zine WHAT MUSIC THEY MAKE, for pieces inspired by Dracula!

Amatullah Bourdon @butchniqabi wrote Immortals Chat at the End of the World, which is exactly what it sounds like-- immortals in a chatroom at the end of the world. Beautiful and affecting.

[lesmismignon]

I just realized I never commented on your HP AU little fic (ficlet?), and since you haven't published it in AO3, I'll do so here. First of all, I love it. I'm sure I've mentioned before I love Integra and Alucard growing up together. And the troubles they'd get into in Hogwarts! Her no-nonsense attitude is great in that context. (They'd be Slytherins, you think?) And to see how vampires fit in the HP lore would be very interesting. So, all in all, wouldn't you reconsider continuing it...? -F221

Ah, and thank you very much, it's so nice to hear that you enjoyed the little ficlet! If I were to expand on the Hellsing x HP crossover, I would have them both be Slytherins, yes, and they become a House power couple; I would set them in Tom Riddle's time, just for kicks; the fic if I ever expand this idea won't be a super serious long endeavor, just a collection of scenes. Headcanons: - Integra and Vlad will be from opposing families, so while they become friends in the train it's only at the Sorting that they find out each other's family names and they'll be like, "You're a HELLSING?" "And you're a DRACULESTI" - Integra is from a line of vampire hunters that never really bothered with Hogwarts and the wizarding world and did their own thing; Vlad is from an ancient line of vampire-wizards(?) - They are a few years ahead of Tom. Prefects, most probably. And on a night patrol they run into Tom doing his ickle Voldemort thing and Vlad just goes "Well, what do we have here," all amused at this Dark-wizard-wannabe - Integra insists on bringing Muggle weapons to Hogwarts and mocks using magic to kill when one bullet can do the thing. She starts a Dueling club and people are baffled that she makes them use swords and guns. Everyone, of course, is terrified of her - Seras and Pip and Walter are also attending but I need more plot bunnies for them Etc., etc.

[ancientphantom]

June came through with some fancy-looking new options!

Children of the Night by Zan Safra is another one of those pastiche stories, with the children of classic monsters - Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster, Jekyll/Hyde - fighting back against an evil vampire menace that lurks beneath Venice. The Phantom’s offspring doesn’t look like they’re front and center (the main character is the hilariously named Ayanda Draculesti), but they’re around...

KISS: Phantom Obsession by Ian Edginton is, I am delighted to report, another piece of KISS-related media in which somehow the band takes on the role of Christine and is summoned to give command performances by an evil genius inventor who refuses to let them go. I cannot yet speculate on how similar it is to the 1979 movie, but my deepest hope is that it’s at least as campy.

Music and Mirrors by Celine Jeanjean is a retelling of the original story with swapped genders, featuring the young ingenue Eric Asher in his debut as a member of the opera chorus falling in love with backstage machinery engineer Ada Byron, but their budding relationship is threatened by the mysterious woman who owns the opera house and will stop at nothing to possess Eric whether he likes it or not.

Silence and Secrets by Celine Jeanjean is the sequel to Music and Mirrors above, and carries on the gender-swapped story after Eric and Ada flee the opera house only to discover that they can’t truly leave the past behind.

Violinist in the Dark by Jibbs J. Kent is the story of Deandra, a destitute young woman who gets a job at a haunted opera house only to be catapulted into the spotlight as understudy for its temperamental headliner. While this book is definitely retelling some of the Phantom story, it’s hard to tell whether Deandra is a Christine figure or the Phantom herself - and with both a mental institution and a mafia-connected ex-husband in play, it looks like it’ll be exciting to find out!

Summer’s really bringing all the Phantoms out of the woodwork. Until July!

[aion-rsa]

Castlevania Season 4 Easter Eggs Explained

https://ift.tt/3w16SAH

This Castlevania article contains spoilers.

The endgame is finally here in Castlevania season 4, which sees Trevor Belmont, Sypha Belnades, and Alucard face off against the forces of evil that wish to wipe out humanity. While the story takes a few interesting turns you’re not expecting, fans of the long-running Konami series will likely notice quite a few connections to the original video games.

As you’d expect, that all means that there are quite a few easter eggs and references to the games as well as real-world history in Castlevania season 4. Here are all of the easter eggs we’ve found so far:

Varney

Although Varney seems like a two-bit vampire thirsty for glory at first, he turns out to be the main villain of the season. It’s a surprise twist worthy of Malcolm McDowell, the legendary actor who brings the character to life.

While Varney doesn’t appear in the games, the character does have a long history in vampire fiction. The vampire was first introduced in a series of penny dreadfuls titled Varney the Vampire; or, the Feast of Blood by James Malcolm Rymer and Thomas Peckett and published between 1845-1847. The series spanned 232 chapters and 876 pages, and while it isn’t remembered today as a must-read vampire story, it is responsible for many of the tropes later popularized by Bram Stoker’s Dracula and other horror classics.

Varney the Vampire was the first vampire story to establish that these creatures of the night had fangs which they used to puncture the neck of their victims. It was also the first story to establish many of the powers vampires are known for today, such as the ability to hypnotize their prey and enhanced strength. Like Dracula, Varney preys on sleeping women in the night.

Throughout Castlevania season 4, Varney is constantly complaining that he hasn’t received the recognition he deserves as the loyal soldier sent to conquer Targoviste for his master. This is a bit on the nose since the character he’s based is hardly a household name today despite the fact that he influenced the much more famous Count Dracula in a big way.

The Grim Reaper

By the end of the season, Castlevania has dropped its big twist: Varney is just a disguise for the Grim Reaper, a vampiric being who feeds on the souls of the dead. Also known simply as Death itself, the Grim Reaper has been a staple of the video game series since the very start.

Originally one of Dracula’s minions and a boss in 1986’s Castlevania for the NES, Death eventually became one of the main villains of the series. The Reaper’s plan to resurrect Dracula is also ripped right out of the games, especially 2005’s Curse of Darkness, which sees Death manipulate Hector and Isaac into resurrecting the Lord of Vampires.

Zead

Death using Varney is a disguise is also very reminiscent of another major plot point in Curse of Darkness. In the game, the Grim Reaper disguises himself as a priest named Zead, who aids Hector on his quest to kill Isaac. Secretly, the Reaper needs Hector to kill Isaac so that Dracula can posses the latter’s body and return to life.

Greta

While Greta is an original character for the animated series, her role in season 4 as the unofficial fourth member of the group of heroes who fight Death’s forces at the end will likely remind some fans of Grant Danasty, one of the four playable characters in Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse and a pirate who is very skilled with a knife. Greta also happens to be the head woman of the village of Danesti, an obvious nod to Danasty.

Christopher Belmont

In the original continuity, Trevor and Sypha have two children, one of which becomes the parent of Christopher Belmont, the protagonist of two Castlevania games for the Game Boy, 1989’s The Adventure and 1991’s Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge.

In the Lords of Shadow alternate timeline, Trevor and Sypha give birth to Simon Belmont, the protagonist of the 2013 Nintendo 3DS game Mirror of Fate. In the original timeline, Simon is also the protagonist of the very first games in the franchise, the 1986 original and 1987’s Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest for the Famicom and NES.

Okay, this is getting confusing. Moving on.

Read more

Games

How Resident Evil Village’s Lady Dimitrescu Calls Back to Castlevania’s Dracula

By John Saavedra

Games

Assassin’s Creed: What the Netflix Series Can Learn From Castlevania and The Witcher

By Matthew Byrd

Danesti

Look on a map and you’ll find that Danesti is a real place. In fact, there are several communes and villages named “Danesti” in modern Romania. Danesti may also be a reference to the House of Danesti, one of the two noble lineages of Wallachia. The other noble lineage? Draculesti, the line that bore Vlad the Impaler, the main inspiration for Count Dracula.

Targoviste

We also visit the city of Targoviste in season 4. The city is in ruins after countless battles with Dracula and his vampire horde. Fortunately, the city is in much better shape in 2021. It is located in the region of Muntenia, Romania. It was also the capital of Wallachia in the 15th and 16th centuries.

Rebis

The Grim Reaper’s plan is to transport Dracula and Lisa Tepes’ souls out of Hell and into the Rebis, also known as the divine hermaphrodite in ancient alchemy. The Rebis is a symbol of the “great work,” the ultimate goal of the alchemist, which involves “spiritual transformation, the shedding of impurities, the joining of opposites, and the refinement of materials,” according to Learn Religion. In ancient alchemy, the Rebis represents “a reconciliation of spirit and matter” and has “both male and female qualities.” The “great work” is also used to describe the alchemist’s mission to create the philosopher’s stone, a mythical substance that was said to turn base metals into gold or silver.

This is a bit outside my area of expertise, but as it relates to Castlevania season 4, it goes back to Count Saint Germain, who is an alchemist who has strayed from his path to find the love of his life in the Infinite Corridor. But when he meets a fellow alchemist in the corridor (actually Death is disguise), she tells him that the only way for him to find his love is achieve the great work, in this case creating a literal rebis that will act as a vessel for the souls of Dracula and Lisa Tepes.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Rosa

Rosa, a supporting character in Castlevania 64 and Legacy of Darkness, doesn’t actually appear on the show, but Carmilla’s appearance in episode 6 –red dress with sword in hand — does remind me of the Rosa boss fight in those games. Carmilla’s chamber is also drenched in blood…just like Rosa’s flowers in the game.

Skeletons

One of the most basic enemy types in the Castlevania games makes an appearance in the first episode of the season. Trevor and Sypha fight these skeleton soldiers, which are armed with swords and shields, on their war to Targoviste. Throughout the years, Konami has introduced countless variations on the skeleton enemy, but Trevor and Sypha only really have to deal with the regular kind.

Hunchbacks

Super fast, hopping hunchbacks are constant thorns in Trevor, Sypha, and Alucard’s sides throughout the season. While one of these tiny enemies might not be a challenge, hunchbacks tend to attack in groups, making it harder to keep track of each blade-wielding baddie as they hop around you. Hunchbacks have been part of the series since 1986.

Golem

Mighty golems charge into Alucard’s castle during the final battle against Varney/Death and Dragan. They’re essentially giant man-made monsters made of rock and clay, formidable opponents for any Belmont. Golems have appeared in many of the games, either as bosses or regular enemies through out the levels.

Gergoth

Gergoth is one of the most gruesome monsters featured in season 4. Introduced as a boss character in 2005’s Dawn of Sorrow, Gergoth is basically a rotting dinosaur that shoot a laser beam out of its mouth. The half-dead beast is basically kept alive by magic, even as its flesh continues to fall off. The meaty red stump where its tail used to be is particularly grotesque.

Cross/Boomerang

Trevor finally acquires a cross-shaped boomerang weapon for his final fight with Death. The four-sided blade weapon is a callback to one of the Belmonts’ signature tools of the trade. Since the very first game, these vampire hunters have used the cross/boomerang (the name differs depending on the game) to vanquish monsters inside Dracula’s castle.

The Dagger

Belmont also finds a dagger that he later uses to finish off the Grim Reaper. This is another weapon you’ll find in most Castlevania games (sometimes simply referred to as “knife”). Like in the games, Trevor is able to “upgrade” the dagger in order to land a killing blow during the final fight.

Did I miss anything? Let me know in the comments!

The post Castlevania Season 4 Easter Eggs Explained appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3bIdP1Z

[vladvodadracul]

Drăculeştii, by Georgina-Viorica Rogoz, 1977

Codre 

[...] I read that secret letter, kept in our house in a copy, countless times, I learned it like a prayer and I know it even today, as if I have it under my eyes. It was sent by the old enemy of the Draculesti, by the boyar Albu the Great to some of his friends and boyar brothers from Wallachia, both older and younger. After sending them good wishes and salutations, came a note of great value to the Voievode, but written in shameless words, which apparently made Vlad terribly furious.

"Also, we inform you about that Voivode you appointed - Dracula's son. Who cares about him, kiss him in the ... cause you won't have him for a long time (the letter said). For I have hope in God and in my Lord Basaraba, son of Dan - whom the Caesar himself has regaled with the herb of Fürteş, and even Mattia the King holds in honor, that we will expel Dracula's son from the throne when we we will rise up against him with armies, immediately after Easter. ”...

Hm, it didn't turn out as the old traitor thought. And they didn't fight us then, but only a year after the letter. Albu, the cunning devil, went on to say that there were many boyars of the Danesti, from the old ones, and younger ones, in the camp of Dan, son of Vladislav II - at Feldioara. And counted them.

“...For there are here with me (boasted the former great treasurer from the time of Aldea the Elder) Bogdan Dobăcescu Vornicul, and Berivoi Vistiernicul, and Dragomir Broască and Dragomir Paharnicul and Bărlăbaş Comisul, and Pugul and Roşul, and Stan, and others ...”

Albu was also waiting for his nephew, Aldeş. But in vain he waited for him. Aldeş, all those from the family of Albu the Great, and all those proven to have had connections with the traitors and the fugitives, had been gathered and impaled on Vlad's orders, in Târgovişte, in front of the crowd. That rascal of a boyar Albu followed in the same tone certainof victory:

"And one of the magisters of Brasov told me that Draculea's son asked for permission to give him the boyars who fled to Brasov and the Scaune, so that he could punish them; but the great merchants did not agree. Nor do our merchants like the privileges and the safe-conducts, as your Drăculea wants them, because our Dan is more benevolent and wise, and has given them a strengthened act that he will compensate them, the great merchants of Brasov, with the fortunes of the merchants from Wallachia, seized by the House of Commerce in Brasov. Also the Saxon merchants don't like border fairs, so Dan swore to them that he would let them roam freely in our country,  to buy and sell without being stopped by the Wallachians.”

As Harefta said, what had bitterly upset the Saxons were those barriers that Vlad had put on their abusive trade. Oh, what can I say... I wasn't very good at politics and business at the time. The Saxons were pissed off, but Vlad would not forgive them either, for giving shelter and aiding rival pretenders to his throne, like Vlad the Monk, or Vladislav's son ... 

Mde...The voivode understood to be the only master within his Country. And he was... In vain did his enemies, those siding with the Danesti, struggle at first. In vain has the old fugitive Albu advised them "to decide for themselves, the boyars with better minds, and not to trust in Drăculea, because he would put them in the yoke like stupid oxen, whenever he would want..." 

The yoke of the Voivode would have seemed much better to them than the stakes into which the Voivode had thrust them, in his terrible revenge... He was bitter when he was angry, like a blizzard whipping and freezing everything. [...]

[cincinnatusvirtue]

Vlad III Dracula (1428/1431-1476/1477)  AKA Vlad the Impaler.  Voivode of Wallachia and real life inspiration for the modern popular conception of the vampire.

Some historical figures are steeped in more mythology and it can be hard to separate fact from fiction.  This could well be true of one especially seen to be viewed as the inspiration for one of the most popular monster figures of contemporary culture.  Let’s look in more detail at what we know of the real life, Dracula, Vlad III, Voivode of Wallachia...

-Vlad was born between the years 1428-1431 in what is the modern nation of Romania.  At the time Romania was divided among different provinces, Transylvania in the north, then part of the Kingdom of Hungary.  Moldavia in the east, a part of modern Romania and Moldovia and Wallachia in the south just north of the Danube river border with Bulgaria.  

-He was born in the town of Sighisoara in Transylvania, the town was largely a merchant town controlled by Transylvanian Saxons (Germans) burghers and located in the Kingdom of Hungary.  Transylvania was populated by Hungarians, German Saxons and Romanians (Vlachs/Wallachians).  

-Vlad was an ethnic Romanian with roots in the nobility of Wallachia & Moldavia.  His father was originally from the House of Basarab, but their branch became known as Draculesti.  Vlad’s father was Vlad II of Wallachia, also known as Vlad Dracul, due to his membership in a Christian military order sanctioned by the Catholic Church, the Order of the Dragon.  Their mission was to prevent the spread of Islam into Europe, namely from the threat of the Turkish Ottoman Empire that had conquered much of the Balkans in Southeastern Europe by then.

-The sobriquet Dracul was Medieval Romanian for “dragon” and Dracula as Vlad III would be called or Vlad Dracula meant “son of the dragon” as relates to his father.  In modern Romanian, Dracul means the “devil”.  

-Vlad’s mother is unknown, Vlad II’s first was unknown but some historians now believe his mother to have been Eupraxia of Moldavia, a relative of Alexander I of Moldavia.

-Vlad II Dracul would serve as voivode of Wallachia on more than one occasion, due to his family’s noble status.  The term voivode was used mostly in Southeastern Europe, taken from the Slavic languages to mean roughly warlord, or later as prince.  It mostly used in Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia & Croatia, Poland, Ukraine & Russia as well as Romania and Hungary.

-In 1436 his father came to power as voivode of Wallachia in the south of Romania following the death of his half-brother Alexander I Aldea.  At the time, Wallachia found itself caught in a power struggle between rival factions and interests internally as well as in the wider context of the rival ambitions of Moldavia, Hungary and the Ottomans.  Nominally, the voivode of Wallachia needed the blessing of the Hungarian King, Sigismund of Luxembourg, later Holy Roman Emperor or the Ottoman Sultan.

-Vlad II was made a member of the Order of the Dragon by Sigismund and given his blessing on the grounds, he protect Roman Catholicism, despite himself being a member of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

-Vlad was supported by the Hungarians whereas his brother had paid homage to the Ottoman Sultan.  However, in 1437 Sigismund died, followed by rebellion in Transylvania which weakened the Hungarian position.  In order to protect his own precarious position on the throne, he now chose to deal with the Ottomans and traveled to the then Ottoman capital in Adrianople, modern Edirne, Turkey.  In return for Ottoman patronage he agreed to annual monetary tribute and had to serve on military campaigns in support of the Turks.  Becoming their vassal.  The Sultan at the time was Murad II.

-Vlad II supported the invasion of Hungarian Transylvania serving as Murad’s guide and aided the Turks in capturing 30,000 slaves for them.  However, he also sought to placate the new Hungarian king, Albert of the House of Hapsburg by releasing some prisoners taken.  He hoped to maintain a balance between patrons, leaving both the king & sultan to be wary of his intentions.

-Albert died in 1439 and was replaced by the young King of Poland Wladyslaw III, now King of Hungary as well.  He appointed John Hunyadi, a Hungarian as Voivode of Transylvania in 1441.  Hunyadi asked Vlad join him on a renewed Crusade against the Turks.  He would meet Vlad in the Wallachian capital of Targoviste.

-Vlad II was accused of betraying Turks by their governor of Bulgaria following a Hungarian victory in 1442.  Murad ordered Vlad to Adrianople to prove his loyalty.  He named his eldest son, Mircea to serve in his stead, possibly suspecting danger.  He was indeed arrested by the Ottomans and held prisoner for a time.

-The Turks tried to invade and annex Wallachia proper in 1442 but were defeated again by the Hungarians under Hunyadi who placed Basarab, Vlad’s cousin the new voivode.

-The Turks realized working with Vlad once again, maybe in their interest.  In order to secure his throne once more, he made a new pledge to the Ottomans, to supply an annual blood tribute of 500 Wallachian boys to serve as janissaries in the Ottoman army (Christian boys forcibly converted to Islam and trained to be personal guard of the sultan).  He also had to leave two of his own sons as hostages in Adrianople for training in Turkish culture and the ways of Islam.  These two sons were Vlad (Dracula) & Radu.

-Vlad II was back to power in Wallachia in summer 1443 under unknown circumstances.  During the subsequent war between the Hungary and the Ottomans he was to remain neutral.  His sons were to be released if a peace deal with Hungary was signed.  However, the papal legate to Hungary prevented its signing and encouraged the war to continue with the disastrous Battle of Varna (1444) fought in Bulgaria which resulted in the Turks defeating a Christian coalition of several nations, Wladyslaw III was himself killed while charging the Ottoman sultan’s position, nearly succeeding only to be stopped and saved by his bodyguards. 

-The war between the Crusaders & Turks raged on over the next couple of years and gradually Vlad came out of his neutrality to fight against the Turks, meanwhile he may have believed his sons were murdered during their hostage stay in Turkey.

-In fact Murad had not killed Vlad’s sons, instead they were given an education in all matters, including Turkish warfare, military structure, governance, language, history and Turkish and greater Islamic culture.  Vlad Dracula was reported to have been far more resistant to the Turks attempts to earn his favor than his brother Radu who is believed to have become a potential lover of Murad II’s son the future sultan, Mehmed II.

-In 1446 he made peace with the Turks once more on his own, but his relations with Hungary and Hunyadi in particular was worsened, he still believed his sons had been murdered having not heard on their condition.  Meanwhile, Hunyadi wanting to make sure Wallachia remained a Hungarian and not Turkish vassal was prepared to now replace Vlad II once more, he had given shelter to another cousin of Vlad’s and pretender to the throne of Wallachia, named Vladislav or Dan.  He invaded in late November 1447, during this invasion Vlad II fled but was caught and killed along with his son Mircea, betrayed by the boyars (Romanian aristocracy) who were possibly paid off by Hunyadi and the Saxon burghers who saw Vlad and his back and forth with the Turks as harmful to their political and economic influence in the area.

-Vlad Dracula meanwhile now as eldest surviving son of Vlad II had a claim to the throne of Wallachia and the Turks wanted a client to continue their influence.  Taking advantage of his cousin Vladislav II ‘s absence from Wallachia to support Hunyadi in the Battle of Kosovo 1448, with Ottoman support he snuck back into Wallachia and was proclaimed voivode, becoming Vlad III, but his reign only lasted a month as his cousin returned with an army that he couldn’t compete with.  Dracula fled back to Turkey.

-His exile in Turkey soon transferred to Moldavia where he was taken in as a guest of his possible maternal uncle and brother in law of his father.  He travelled between Moldavia, Transylvania and Hungary during this time, at times conversing with Hunyadi in the hopes of restoring himself to the throne.  However, Hunyadi saw him as not as useful having concluded peace with the Turks in 1451 and denied the right of him settling in Brasov, a major center of Transylvanian Saxon mercantile power, crucial to Hunyadi’s power base.

-Nevertheless, Vlad procured some support from Hungary and in the late summer of 1456 invaded Wallachia to overthrow his cousin Vladislav II, who did indeed die in the invasion, some sources state by Dracula’s hand in one on one combat.

-What followed was the consolidation of his second and ultimately most lengthy and notable reign as voivode.  Vlad III set about settling old political scores and implementing reforms to his lands.

-First, he dealt with the boyars that had killed his father in conspiracy with the Saxons by purging them and killing hundred of them during a feast. Those not killed were put to slave labor towards building his castles and fortresses.  He also at this time sent a letter to the Transylvanian Saxons asking for mutual aid against the Turks, whose politicking he felt jeopardized his father’s rule and whose harsh treatment including beatings and whippings as a hostage made him resentful of them. 

-He also made land reforms and had some property from his victims (former boyars) confiscated to compensate his new supporters who in turn pledged loyalty to him.

-Dracula passed new laws as well which included punishment for crimes committed by nobility & commoners.  Criminals, beggars, transients & committers of adultery among his own people were punished, sometimes with death.  His preferred form of capital punishment was what became most associated with him, impalement.  Using wooden stakes hammered into the ground, his victims would be placed upon the stake which would pierce the body and leave the body in great agonizing pain and left for public display as a deterrent for others.  Impalement was often a slow form of execution and thought to take hours or days to complete death.  Blood loss and damage to the vital organs would ultimately be the cause of death, the impalements depicted in this time, could be done frontally or dorsally, some may have been vertical for the victim as well, but the contemporary artwork from the time only depict the frontal or dorsal aspects.  The frequent use of impalement earned him the moniker Vlad Tepes or Vlad the Impaler.

-Dracula during this time, continued his tribute to the Turks whose sultan sent 1451 was Mehmed II, the Conqueror.  So named because he at long last achieved the goal of his ancestors, the completed conquest of Constantinople, the capital city of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire) in 1453.  This successful siege swept away the last remnants of ancient Rome and consolidated the links between Ottoman controlled Asia Minor and Southeastern Europe.  Mehmed had known Vlad during his childhood imprisonment and had probably become lovers with his brother Radu, known as Radu the Fair or Handsome.  Radu didn’t officially convert to Islam but he was more receptive to the Turkish education and attempts to control him than his older brother Vlad.

-Dracula used this time not only to reform his own land but to partake in a Hungarian civil war in Transylvania.  He invaded and sacked the villages around Brasov, killing Saxon families including women & children by impalement. His attack wasn’t for wanton cruelty so much as to secure his position since the Saxons were harboring another Wallachian pretender that could usurp his throne.  They agreed to peace and to hand over the pretender as well as have mutual trade for Saxon & Wallachian merchants in both Transylvania & Wallachia.  Vlad’s agreements with the Saxons would be off and on over the years, alternating between peace brief periods of war, usually consisting of raids.  Vlad laid claim to parts of Transylvania as well during this time.

-Hunyadi had died in 1456 and eventually a son of his Matthias Corvinus, in part aided by Dracula’s raids against the Saxons was elected King of Hungary in 1458.  Convinus would like his father and Dracula’s father before him also play politics siding both with and against one another.  Initially he had peace with Dracula but later supported a pretender, Dan III against him only to have Vlad defeat Dan’s ad hoc army in battle, killed Dan and then raided southern Transylvania once more, killing peasants in the surrounding area, both German & Romanian who had supported his ouster.  However, peace was concluded by 1460 with Corvinus & the Saxons.

-Sources vary and aren’t conclusive but suggest Dracula’s problem with the Turks was renewed by 1461, due to his lack of paying tribute, some said he stopped paying tribute in 1459 others only in 1461.  This brought him into conflict with Mehmed.

-Finding out through spies that Dracula was negotiating with Corvinus, Mehmed sent emissaries to demand Dracula’s personal presence in audience with the sultan.  As the story goes, Vlad found out that he was to be arrested at the border on the Danube river like his father decades before.  While meeting with the emissaries, he had them executed.  Supposedly during an audience, Dracula asking them to take off their turbans as a sign of respect, when they refused on religious and political grounds, Dracula obliged them and instead had nails hammered into their skulls so that their turbans would never leave their head again.  He sent the executed envoys returned to the sultan, essentially an act of war.

-Dracula knowing Mehmed would now find reason to invade Wallachia, decided to preempt him and go to war.  Hoping a new Crusade would materialize with Hungarian support.  He first lead his troops to the fortress of Giurgiu, along the Danube river.  There disguised as a Turkish official and being fluent in Turkish deceived the garrison commander into opening the gates to let him in.  He and his guards overwhelmed a portion of the garrison and let in awaiting other troops to sack the city and kill the Turks.  

-From the sack of Girugiu, Dracula’s army crisscrossed Ottoman Bulgaria, along the Danube river, killing mostly Turkish soldiers and settlers but also some Bulgarians who were Christian as well, this may have been out of necessity if they had loyalty to their Turkish overlords.  By his own account in February of 1462, 23,000+ were killed by his troops.  Wallachian settlers in Bulgaria joined in his cause too, declaring themselves liberated.

-Dracula wrote to Corvinus of his actions in the hope of spurning an alliance with Hungary.  He wrote of the need to defend Christendom and protect Catholics, though he had been raised Eastern Orthodox, he had functionally become Catholic.

-Mehmed responded by raising an army, the size of which varied according to the sources, some suggest as big as 150,000 troops and others as small as 25,000-60,000.  Mehmed personally led this army and was accompanied by Radu, Dracula’s younger brother, who had become a Ottoman loyalist.  Mehmed sought to replace Vlad with the more receptive Radu at this point.

-The sultan and his army crossed the Danube in summer of 1462.  Realizing he was outnumbered, Dracula began an scorched earth policy, burning crops so the Turks could not live off the land.  Meanwhile, Vlad fled to Targoviste.

-Schooled in Turkish warfare, he knew their methods, strategy and structure and as such he hoped exploit any weakness he could.  The Turks encamped near Targoviste on June 17-18th 1462, Vlad would lead a daring charge into the Ottoman encampment with the goal of either abducting or killing Mehmed.  Knowing the loss of the sultan would demoralize the army, they would likely retreat in the chaos.  Nevertheless, the so called Night Attack did not succeed in its goal, as he attacked a subordinate commander’s tent and not the sultan’s.  It roused the Turks to action, despite their initial surprise.  Vlad managed to escape at dawn having fought his way back out of the camp.

-Vlad retreated to the Carpathians abandoning his capital to the inevitable.  However, Mehmed and his army came to a now famous and horrific sight at the abandoned Targoviste.  A field full of 20,000 impaled corpses, a mix of men women and children, including Turks impaled on stakes, creating a so called “forest of the impaled” it measured by some accounts larger than several stadium sized venues combined.  Mehmed was said to be alternately sick or impressed with the sight, either way astonished.  

-Vlad then hid at Castle Poernari located in the mountains near the Arges river valley northwest of Targoviste.  Here in the isolated mountaintop fortress with a commanding view Vlad awaited any movement from his enemies.  Nonetheless, Mehmed ordered Wallachia abandoned having suffered attrition through the scorched earth tactics with was causing starvation and thirst among his troops and no decisive action to boost morale.

-Dracula harassed the rearguard of the retreating Turks in guerilla warfare marked by ambush and hit and run tactics.  Nevertheless, his brother Radu was gathering support from the local boyars who were tired of warfare and Dracula’s strict criminal justice and authoritarian rule.  Not only did he gather boyars to defect to him, Radu promised the Transylvanian Saxons restored trade rights and lasting peace, all parties finding him more agreeable than his brother, they turned on Dracula, aside from a host of devoted loyalists.  Dracula was driven from power in late 1462, ending his seven year longest period of rule.

-Radu ended up accomplishing the goal of Mehmed by diplomacy and a show of force where the sultan had failed with show of force alone.  Radu would reign uninterrupted for the next 11 years and voivode of Wallachia.  Fulfilling, the promise of increased Turkish influence in the area at the expense of the Hungarians.  

-Radu’s reign was marked by some conflict with his future son in law, Stephen III of Moldavia.

-Dracula meanwhile fled to Hungary, hoping for help from Corvinus who did not intervene during the Turkish invasion of Wallachia.  Instead, Corvinus charged Dracula with trumped up charges of treason and imprisoned him first in Romania and then Hungary proper at the citadel in Visegrad.  Vlad would remain there for the next 14 years.

-Meanwhile, Radu ruled Wallachia until a dispute with the Ottoman in the 1470′s lead to his dethronement though he would be restored a few more times albeit briefly.

-Records of his life during imprisonment do not survive.  He was only released in 1476 when the Hungarians felt he could be of use once more to drive away the latest Ottoman puppet on the Wallachian throne.  He also had to officially convert to Catholicism, the brand of Christianity he and his father had agreed to defend while remaining Orthodox in affiliation. 

-The new Ottoman puppet was Basarab Laoita. Vlad had moved to Transylvania in 1475 but was called elsewhere by Corvinus to fight the Turks in Bosnia.  Meanwhile, the Turks invaded Moldavia but were countered by a Hungarian force consisting of Stephen Bathory & Dracula.

-The Hungarians launched a two pronged attack into Wallachia with the intent of forcing out Basarab and Ottoman influence and placing Vlad on the throne, this was confirmed in late November 1476.  Vlad once more had made peace with the Saxon merchants of Transylvania and was restored this third and final reign as voivode.  

-His reign was short lived, less than two months after regaining the throne Dracula was on the defensive against a renewed Ottoman invasion backing Basarab Laoita.  Dracula would be killed in battle with his retinue, fighting to the very end.

-The Turks hacked his body to pieces and sent his head to Mehmed in Constantinople as a confirmation that Vlad was at long last dead and no longer a threat.  The location of the burial for the rest of his body is not known but widely speculated to this day.

Epilogue:

-Vlad Dracula later most famously served as both the name and partial inspiration for Irish author Bram Stoker’s 1897 Victorian gothic horror novel, Dracula which in turned popularized the modern vampire myth, with its association in Transylvania etc.  Stoker never visited Romania but he did read up on its history and the folklore of the area which along with Slavic sources had plenty of vampire references.  He came across the name Dracula and made it the central character’s namesake but beyond the name and location of his characterization, little else from Vlad’s life was taken into account for the novel.

-In his own time, German and other sources note and portray Vlad as cruel, sadistic and authoritarian in his rule.  This is portrayed in both print and woodcut artwork of the 15th century and later.  Some portrayals going so far as to say he dined outdoors amid the forest of impaled victims and dipped his food in the blood of dead and dying, perhaps somewhat influencing the literary vampire connection.  These sources are mostly believed to be exaggerated propaganda from biased sources, especially the German ones given Dracula’s antagonistic relations with the Saxons.  Undoubtedly, he did engage in impalement and other forms of execution and torture, but realistically he was not the only ruler in that time period to engage in such cruelty.

-Some historians also tend to view his widespread capital punishment and strict justice system as a political means to an end, rather than for mere enjoyment or barbarism.  Vlad would have viewed it as a matter of political necessity to maintain a balance of power amid so many warring interests both internally and externally.  Given the warring influences, any such widespread torture and execution of the populace was likely to alienate enough factions and ultimately undermine his rule so as to guarantee it was short lived and he like many of his contemporaries and holders of his title held short reigns or multiple reigns for quick time periods.

-Today, in Romania he is still revered as a folk hero by some.  With some people believing his methods were justified and others less so.  Those who support his memory positively, praise his defense of the country from the Turkish threat, the German economic influence and Hungarian meddling, they also praise his justice system that they view as ridding Wallachia of corrupting internal influences such as the boyars.  His detractors of course cite his methods as brutal, arbitrary and authoritarian.  Whatever view one takes, Vlad III Dracula’s name is one hard to forget nowadays and his memory lives on far beyond his own short life...

[lilyhargrave]

“Darling, do me a favour and explode, please!”

Writers, this is an invitation to reblog this with an out of context quote from your WIP.

Why? Because I just like hearing things with no context.