The King Of The World

THE KING OF THE WORLD

Visakh C R

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CONTENTS

1. PREFACE

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2. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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3. CHAPTER ONE

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4. CHAPTER TWO

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5. CHAPTERTHREE

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6. CHAPTER FOUR

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7. CHAPTER FIVE

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8. CHAPTER SIX

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9. CHAPTER SEVEN

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10. CHAPTER EIGHT

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11. CHAPTER NINE

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12. CHAPTER TEN

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13. CHAPTER ELEVEN

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14. CHAPTER TWELVE

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15. CHAPTER THIRTEEN

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16. AUTHOR’S NOTES

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to thank Bram Stoker and all horror novelists who entertained the world with their wonderful stories. I want to thank the people who have put the story of Vlad Tepes online for sharing with the world. I want to thank Google for its wonderful search machine that gave me all the information that I needed from tips to write a novelette on the history of Vlad III.

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PREFACE

This novel is a work of fiction. Some of the characters in this story have historically existed, but the events mentioned are completely a work of fiction. So, if you are an historian, please don’t get provoked by the stories that I interwove into the events that actually occurred.

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CHAPTER ONE

The old man was watching the snow. The day had started fine with some hope of sunshine and he had come out for a walk. But, by the time he reached the park, it had started snowing. So, he cuddled himself under the old bench which was covered by a dented tin sheet. His eyes wandered around. The entire road was deserted. Apart from some cars on the sides, there was nothing other than snow in the street. The old man's eyes began to feel the weight of the tiresome walk and he slowly dozed off. There, on top of the mountain stood a castle. The king and his army were falling against the enemy. And on top of the tower, that overlooked the river stood a lady in a flowing gown. She looked at the raging war. She looked towards the heaven and murmured a prayer. And then she jumped to the river. The old man opened his eyes. He heard an gasp and saw that a boy was sitting beside him. He was looking intently at the old man. 'Looks like you had a bad dream. You are sweating in this snow!’ the boy exclaimed. The old man touched his neck and felt the beads of sweat flowing down. He quickly wrapped the blanket a around his neck and said, 'Yes. I had a bad dream. And I have been seeing it for years'. The boy looked surprised.

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The old man studied the boy. He looked like in his teens. He was wearing a blue jacket and a jean. His head was covered in a red scarf. He looked like a middle class boy in that area. ‘Can you tell me your dream? May be I can give you an interpretation.’ The old man looked irritated. ‘I know what it means’. The boy became sullen by the old man’s reply. The old man noticed the change in the boy’s face and felt guilty. He tried to cheer him up. ‘I didn’t mean to be rude. My dream has got a long story behind it. That’s why.’ ‘Story behind a dream! It will be a wonderful one. I love stories. If you don’t mind, can you tell me your story?’ ‘It’s a very long one. And might not be as interesting as you think.’ ‘Any story behind a dream will be interesting. And I have got the entire day. Please tell me the story.’ The boy pleaded. Finally, the old man thought that he will tell the story. ‘Anyway, it had been a part of my life for a long time. And maybe if I tell it to someone, it will give me more peace’, he thought. And then he began his story.

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CHAPTER TWO

‘It happened long back, when the world was small and divided’, the old man started. ‘After the crusades, the enmity between the Christian and Muslim kingdoms was aggravating day by day. Peace never existed. During the fourteenth and fifteenth century, the Muslim kingdom existed till Turkey which was called the Ottoman empire and the Christian empire started from Hungary. The separating region between these two powers was a small kingdom called Wallachia.’ The boy was intensely gazing at the old man. He continued the story. ‘Lying between two powerful kingdoms that are fighting each other causes a lot of problems. Both of them try to get control of that small region. And the same was happening in Wallachia. The rulers of Wallachia were constantly changing sides to meet their political ambitions. And in the middle of fifteenth century, the throne was seized by Vlad II. He was serving as a military governor of a nearby province. Being a man of high ambitions, he gathered supporters and seized power and became the king of Wallachia.’ ‘For half a decade, Vlad II was able to follow a middle ground between his two neighbors. But after some time, the Turks invaded the nearby province of Transylvania. But he remained neutral. The forces of Hungary were able to drive the Turks out but they were furious about Vlad II neutrality. Vlad II and his family fled Wallachia. One year later, he came back and regained the throne with Turkish support. But for their help, Vlad II sent many boys and his two sons, Vlad III and Radu to be kept as hostages by the Turks.’ The boy looked at the old man. He seemed to be visualizing the events in front of him as he narrated. The old man continued.

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‘The Varna Campaign was a big event led by John Hunyadi against the Turks. Vlad II didn’t support Hunyadi and the Christian army was completely defeated. Hunyadi escaped and he turned hostile towards Vlad II. Vlad II was assassinated and his elder son, Mircea was buried alive. One of Hunyadi’s trusted man was made the prince of Wallachia,’ The boy wondered whether the old man’s eyes became moist when he told this. But, he continued without a pause. ‘The sons of Vlad II, Vlad III and Radu, who were kept as hostages by Turks were released and Turks supported Vlad III as their candidate for Wallachian throne. Vlad III succeeded in that, but only for a short time. In two months, Hunyadi made his supporter Vladislov II as the prince. But Vladislov II suddenly changed sides and became proTurkish.’ ‘The fall of Constantinople took the entire Christian empire by surprise. Hunyadi was killed in the war against Turks and Vlad III was able to get back the throne of Wallachia. And his reign started.’ The man paused. The boy looked at him eagerly. The old man smiled at the boy and continued.

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CHAPTER THREE

‘In 1456, the state of Wallachia was suffering economic anarchy. For years, the economy and business of Wallachia was completely dominated by German Saxons. They were ruthless and cunning. The nobility called boyars, were also a prominent power and mostly unfaithful to the king. One week after Vlad III became the prince, he made the town of Tirgoviste as the seat of administration. He called a meeting of his ministers and advisors. “Our land is going through a financial crisis. Also, we have a law and order problem. I want proper laws to be framed that maintain law and order. And I want a solution to prevent the breakdown of economy.” Vlad III retired to his chamber and called for his army chief. Soon, he was ushered into his chamber. “My lord, me, Nicole, chief of army, presents myself for your service.” Nicole was a well built man of proportionate height and weight. He had cold eyes that looked like the eyes of a hawk. But he was not as tall as Vlad III.’ ‘Tell me how Vlad III looked like,’ the boy interrupted. The old man gave an irritated look and said, ‘It’s not important to the story. And don’t interrupt me suddenly. Vlad III was around six and a half feet tall. He had a slim muscular body. His eyes were fierce and looked liked that of a lion. His nose was a little long and he kept a moustache.’

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The boy felt that the description closely matched the old man’s looks. But he didn’t want to interrupt the old man since he feared he might stop telling the story. The old man continued from where he had stopped. ‘ “I called for you because I have some other important matters to be decided other than what I told the court. But before that, I want your full loyalty. Show me that you are loyal.” The army chief didn’t hesitate. He took his sword and placed it at Vlad’s feet. He bowed and said, “I, Nicole, take an oath on my life that I will serve my lord and will be faithful to him. I place my life in my lord’s possession.’ With that he stood up, made a cut in his thumb and dropped the blood on the sword. Vlad was really impressed. He embraced Nicole. “Now you have my confidence. I have decided to save Wallachian economy from the clutches of those parasitic German’s. And I want to clean the nobility by flowing down a river of boyar blood. This is what I want you to do.” Nicole was impressed by the ferocity of speech of Vlad. “Only a true patriot can speak like this” he thought. “I will serve my lord in this patriotic act by whatever way I can,” declared Nicole. Vlad was satisfied and dismissed Nicole. “A new dawn is going to launch. Wallachia will become a state of power and prosperity and I will achieve my dream,” he thought. The next two months were full of activity for the army. By king’s orders, the German merchants were asked to leave the state. If they disobeyed, they were to be executed. It was during this period that Vlad started execution by impalement, one of his favorite

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methods. Those merchants who saw the situation of their friends and relatives fled the state. Slowly Wallachia started recovering from the financial crisis that loomed on it for years. The local trade flourished and agriculture boomed. The people were happy and Vlad III won their heart. The next campaign was against the boyars. For devising plans, he called a meeting of his top officials. “I want all the unfaithful boyars to be executed. But it should not be hastily done as we did with the merchants. I want a plan to be devised that will slowly and methodically eliminate those who are against me.” The army chief came out with a plan and it was accepted by Vlad. And that plan was called the “Good Easter”.

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CHAPTER FOUR

The next day Vlad made the announcement. “All nobles are invited for the party to be held in my castle on this Easter. Those who do not attend will be dismissed from my court and banished from Wallachia.” It was a command that all should attend the feast. And as expected, on Easter, all the nobles and their family turned up. Vlad threw a wonderful party with all the delicacies from around the world. As per the nobles request, Vlad agreed to give a speech. “I have the immense pleasure to have all of you for my party today. I know that this is a rare and wonderful event in the history of Wallachia. I want my state to become the hub of prosperity and happiness. And I have been making and executing some strict laws.” Vlad paused. The nobles clapped in agreement. Vlad scanned his audience and continued. “I wanted to ask you one question. I know we rulers are always short lived. I wanted to know how many rulers have you served in you lifetime.” He looked questioningly at his audience. Some answered four, some five, some six and some eight. And a very old boyar answered ten. “Those who have seen more than one ruler in their lifetime please stand,” Vlad requested. Almost all of them stood up. “I order my army chief to arrest all these people and I convict them as traitors.”

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There was a gasp from the people. They started running and there was utter chaos. By that time, the doors were locked. Soon, all of them were taken as prisoners. “The old ones and their family will be executed. The healthier ones will be kept in prison and will be marched north from Tirgoviste to the ruins of the castle in the mountains above the Arges River. And they will construct a new castle there.” Vlad was vehemently opposed by some of his ministers against this supposedly cruel act. Vlad replied to their complaints. “I am the king of Wallachia. I have the right to do anything that will be good for the general public. These boyars were the ones who cheated us and made our economy weak. Many of them were spies. They were just living in luxury ignoring the poor peasants and traders. I don’t want this to happen in my state. I want everyone to be happy. These are the people who killed my father and brother. My brother was buried alive by them.” He faltered a bit. Quickly, he regained his composure and continued. “Whatever I did in the past, doing now and will be doing in the future will be only for improving the conditions in my state. As some people are saying, I don’t derive any personal pleasure from killing people. I ordered to impale them because it is a slow and painful death. Whoever did a crime should not be killed with a single blow. It should be a slow and painful death. And my experience with the Ottoman’s had taught me that impalement is the most painful way to death.”’

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CHAPTER FIVE

‘After successfully completing his campaign against the nobles and traders, Vlad took interest in building new castles and monasteries. He took great interest in building a monastery in the island of Snagov near Bucharest. Vlad donated a lot of money to churches and monasteries. At that time, he was an Orthodox Christian. (Later he converted into Catholism). The word Snagov means “human body” in Bulgarian. Snagov is a lake. The monastery of Snagov was on an islet in the lake. When Vlad III came to know about the bad situation of the monastery, he took personal interest and built a very beautiful and eerie new building. During this time, Vlad made some additions to his castle in Tirgoviste. The famous Chindia tower which became a landmark was built by Vlad III. He reinforced the castle of Poienari and built a personal house nearby. Vlad was very strict in maintaining a good military order in the state. He took interest in training his troop, the art of guerilla warfare. It proved very useful in driving away the Turks in the coming years.’

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CHAPTER SIX

‘Vlad wanted all people in his state to be honest and happy. He eradicated all the thieves and liars. He wanted everyone to know that his state was the most perfect in Europe. To prove his fact, one day he ordered that a golden cup should be kept in the city centre unprotected and unguarded. It has been said that the golden cup lay in the city center untouched for many years. This made Vlad famous for his harsh treatment of robbers. Another incident happened that took Vlad popularity across the borders. One merchant from Italy had come to Tirgoviste. As he was aware of the people’s honesty in Wallachia, he left his cart unguarded at night. In the morning he woke up to find that two hundred gold coins have gone missing. The merchant went to Vlad’s court and pleaded his case. Vlad assured that he will get the merchant’s money back the next day itself. The next day, when the merchant presented before Vlad, the thief had been caught. Vlad gave his money back to the merchant but added one coin extra. The merchant counted the money and told that there was one coin extra which did not belong to him. Vlad was happy with the metchant’s honesty. “I had put an extra coin to test your honesty. If you had not reported the extra coin to me, I would have impaled you along with the thief.” Such stories that told about Vlad III’s justice which was combined with cruelty spread across all the countries.

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Another incident happened that showed his cruelty. When Vlad was ruling from Tirgoviste, some foreign ambassadors came to see him. They were wearing turbans. As it was considered disrespectful to wear turbans while in presence of king, they were asked to remove it. But the arrogant ambassadors were adamant and they did not remove it. This made Vlad furious and he ordered the turbans to be nailed to their heads so that they will not able to remove the turbans in their life. But this was a common punishment in Eastern Europe and Russia at that time.’

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CHAPTER SEVEN

‘One day, two monks from the Snagov monastery came to visit their patron, Vlad. Vlad was greatly delighted by the arrival of the monks and escorted them in his palace. “You know that some people say that I am a cruel king because I give harsh punishments. You might have seen some people impaled on poles when you came here. I wanted to know what you think about it. Am I unjust and cruel or am I doing my duty?” he asked the monks when they were in the garden. The monks hesitated before giving a reply. Vlad short temper was well known among all. Similar was his kindness and appreciation. After a little bit of thought, one of them answered. “My lord, I think you are doing a great service to the land by eradicating the parasites. You have been sent by God to cleanse the land from the cunning and evil forces. What you are doing is perfectly right.” Vlad’s face didn’t show any reaction at this reply. He looked questioningly at the other monk. “I know that you are doing this to make the people happy,” the monk answered cautiously. “But sometimes you are giving harsh punishments to those who have done a petty crime. What I believe is that you should give a second chance to those who repent from the inside of their heart. But, it’s for you lord to decide the best.” Vlad was greatly impressed by the second monk’s reply. He immediately ordered the first monk to be impaled and showered the second monk with gifts.

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“I am really glad that you have shown the courage to give an answer that might displease me. That is what I want from all my people. I want them to show their integrity.” He paused. He added thoughtfully, “About the objections that you raised, I have my answer. Sometimes, I have also thought about giving some of those convicted a second chance. But that will finally tend people to say that I am lenient. This will lead to an increase in the atrocities in my state. So I decided not to give anyone a second chance even though it might be harsh for some of them.” The priest was happy by the wise reply of the king. He was made the main caretaker of the Snagov monastery which had an important role later in his life.’

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CHAPTER EIGHT

‘Vlad III was a good host. He always had people visiting him from other countries. Some of them came to verify the truth of the rumors that they were hearing about Vlad’s atrocities. Some came to find out how he was able to bring back economic stability and prosperity in his state. Some came to study the guerilla warfare that in which Vlad and his army were experts. Some others came to see and study the huge library that he had built. One day, Vlad had a visitor from Poland. He was a noble man and a scholar who had come to Wallachia to study about the legends and stories of vampires. Vlad gave his visitor a grand welcome. When he came to know about the noble man’s objectives, Vlad became more interested. He took his guest to his garden for a walk. “I am delighted to know that you have come to my state to study my book collections. It makes me proud and happy. I am also interested in the phenomenon of vampirism. I did a lot of research into it and collected a lot of books. My collection on this topic is pretty immense.” They continued walking. The Polish noble was happy with the reception he got. Then they came across a golden spear. Vlad turned to him and said, “This is a golden spear that I use to impale special people. Do you know why it’s here now?” The noble man was surprised by the question. Choosing his words carefully, he replied, “My lord, I believe that some boyar has offended your highness and you have ordered to impale him.”

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“No. It’s not for any boyar. It has been set up in honor of you, my friend.” The Pole was taken aback. But without losing his presence of mind, he replied, “If you believe that I have done something wrong that has offended you and if you think that I deserve this punishment, then I will be happy to accept that.” Vlad was greatly impressed by this answer. “I am really pleased by your reply. If you had replied in any other manner, then I would have you impaled in the golden spear.” “I want you to stay in my court and assist me in my study about vampirism. You will have the post of my chief mentor.” Vlad was really happy to announce this. “I thank you my lord for giving me this rare opportunity. I will be here alongside you all my life.” Thus began a friendship that lasted for a long time. Even after the death of Vlad III.’

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CHAPTER NINE

‘Then came a day that was really bad in the history of Wallachia. It was that day that made Vlad be remembered as one of the worst tyrants the world has ever seen. All things were going perfect in Wallachia. People were happy and prosperous. But Vlad was not so happy. He was irritated when he saw a large number of sick and old people in his kingdom. He wanted everyone to be healthy and young. This thought made him create the most horrible plan ever executed. One day, Vlad made an announcement. “I don’t want any people in my state to be poor and go hungry. I don’t want anyone to be sick. So, this Sunday, I am inviting all sick, elderly and poor to my castle for a party.” People were happy when they heard this announcement. They thanked God for giving them such a great ruler. That Sunday, all the sick, poor and old people rushed to the king’s castle. They were ushered into the great hall. The king himself took part in the feast. It was one of the greatest feasts Wallachia had ever seen. More that ten thousand people attended the party. “Are you happy now?” Vlad asked them. “Yes”, the crowd roared. “What else do you desire? Do you want to be the one’s lacking nothing?”

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“Yes”, the crowd exclaimed. “Ok. I will see to it that it is taken care of.” With that Vlad left the hall. The doors were bolted and the entire hall was set on fire. No one escaped the flames. There was a great outcry in the court against this horrible act of Vlad. Vlad dismissed the outcry and justified his actions. “I don’t want anyone to be poor or sick in my country. I have liberated them from their damned life.” Only after many years, he understood the value of life and the extent of crime that he had committed that day.’

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CHAPTER TEN

‘The healthy and younger of the nobility had been sent to the mountains of the Arges river to built a castle. They were tortured and forced to work in harsh conditions. They were not given food and clothes fell off from their body. The castle was build by using the remains of a nearby old castle. Finally, the castle was completed. Only a very few survived the ordeal of building it and they were impaled to death. Vlad III shifted his palace to the newly built one on the mountains. It overlooked the beautiful Arges river and the valleys below. To replace the corrupt and unfaithful boyar class, Vlad himself selected people from the peasant class and promoted then to the nobility class. These nobles were loyal to Vlad and were ready to give their life for Vlad. In the meantime, Vlad was able to fend off the Turkish attacks by his guerilla warfare. The mountains of Wallachia had a very rough terrain. It was nearly impossible for the Turkish men to find their way through the mountains. Vlad and his army knew the mountains like the lines of their hands. By their guerilla tactics, Vlad and his army killed around twenty thousand Turkish troops. But, Ottoman empire became strong under Sultan Mehmed. In 1462, they launched a massive attack on Wallachia. The news of the huge Turkish army marching towards Tigoviste made Vlad uncomfortable. He sent a messenger to king of Hungary Mathius Cornivus, son of John Hunyadi. But the request for help from Vlad was rejected by Cornivus.

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Vlad summoned up his army chief, Nicole. “The Turks are nearing and we don’t have help from Hungary. Our small army cannot withstand them much longer. I want you take charge as commanding officer and lead the army. Instill the desire to win in the heart of all. I will join you soon.” And the war started. Vlad retired to his room and was surprised to find his wife there. Seeing him, she started crying. He didn’t know what to tell her.’ ‘You didn’t tell me anything about his wife till now,’ the boy interrupted after a long time. ‘Ha. I forgot to tell you. Vlad married a girl from a peasant family and promoted them to the noble class. She was a very beautiful and caring woman for whom the entire world was him. And Vlad too, loved her very much.’ The old man checked his watch and said, ‘Its midday. I am feeling hungry. Can you get some sandwiches?’ He gave some money to the boy. The boy returned very fast with two sandwiches and coke. It seemed like he ran all the way up and down. The old man took a bite and continued. ‘ “My lord, how are you going to fight such a big army? It’s impossible to defeat them. And I heard that Hungary has turned down our request.” She looked at him with pleading eyes. “The duty of a king is to defend his land from invaders. And however big or strong the invader is, I will defend my state to my last breath. Don’t be afraid. One who has courage and faith in his heart will succeed. I just want your love to be with me till my death.” He held her hands for a moment and wiped her tears.

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By the time Vlad reached the battle field, many of his men had fallen. Still, the determined mind of the great man didn’t falter a bit. By noon, the fight had become tense. Only a few hundred remained in Vlad’s side whereas the Turkish army increased in size by new troops that came in each moment. Success seemed an unfulfilled dream. Vlad turned back and saw his lady looking at him from the tower. She wore a flowing white gown and had a strange glow in her face. The kind of glow you see in angels. Vlad was suddenly brought back to his senses by the sound of fighting near him. And the sight he saw sickened him. ‘His most loyal Nicole had sacrificed himself to save the life of his lord.’ When he turned back another sight broke his heart. ‘His dear wife was looking at heaven and murmuring a prayer. She closed her eyes and jumped into the Arges river.’ And he fainted. When he was back to his senses, he was being carried by his loyal guards to a hideout in the mountains. From there, he found his way to Hungary and requested for asylum with Mathew Cornivus. Immediately, Cornivus had him arrested and imprisoned in a tower in his palace.’

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CHAPTER ELEVEN

The old man looked at the boy. He was still looking at him expectantly. ‘This was my dream. The scene of a lady jumping down from the tower and falling into the river flowing down the mountains’ ‘You read a lot and then dream about those events. I dreamed that I was in Hitler’s camp and about to die. That was after reading a book on world war. So what happened to Vlad after that? Was he executed?’ ‘Vlad was never executed. As I said, he was imprisoned by Cornivus in a tower. He was kept there for four years. After Vlad fled Wallachia, Vlad’s brother Radu was made the ruler. Radu followed a pro-Turkish policy that irritated Cornivus. But peace prevailed for fourteen years. By 1466, Vlad was released from prison. By that time, Cornivus had made friends with Vlad. Vlad renounced Orthodox faith and adopted Catholism. This pleased Cornivus. In 1466, Vlad married Cornivus’s sister. He fathered two sons. But, Vlad was made to stay in Cornivus’ palace till 1474. It was during that time he did a lot of study with his mentor, the Polish noble man. Vlad made frequent visits to the monastery at Snagov that he had built during his rule. The head monk was also a close friend of Vlad. It’s said that Vlad learned the dark arts and became a master in them during these periods. The science of sorcery was in its primitive stage at that time.

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At that time, Vlad constructed his tomb in the monastery of Snagov. It was created as a cellar. It had a false opening on the top. Below the marble surface was a trap door. The trap door opened to the foundation of the building. People believe that Vlad instructed the head monk and his mentor, the Polish nobleman to do some specific rite while they were burying him. It is said that he discovered the elixir of life and believed that he could live till the end of the world. .

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CHAPTER TWELVE

‘Meanwhile, tension between Cornivus and Radu reached its peak. Cornivus wanted Vlad to become the king again. But Vlad was not ready to dethrone his brother for his benefit. But things took an unexpected turn when Radu died and Basarab took the power. Vlad decided that it was the best time to regain power. Vlad III, along with Stephen Bathory and a huge army attacked Wallachia and regained the throne. Vlad III once more became the king of Wallachia. But the success was not to last long. Within a month, Stephen Bathory and his forces returned back. This left Vlad in a difficult position. Within that short period, Vlad was not able to raise and train an army. Turks took advantage of the situation and started an attack. And that was the last war that Vlad III fought. The Wallachian army was humbled by the Turks within hours. For the first time in his life, Vlad felt fear in his heart. But he fought as a warrior till the last breath. He killed as many as possible till his hands failed him. Finally, Vlad was brought down. He blood thirsty Ottoman’s crowded around him and decapitated him. His head was sent to Constantinople and his body was buried in the tomb that was built by Vlad himself in the monastery of Snagov.’ The old man stopped. The boy felt the eyes of the man relaxing.

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CHAPTER THIRTEEN

‘What actually happened that day?’ The old man has been asking this question to himself for years. Still he can find only a vague answer. ‘When Vlad fell from his horse, he was surrounded by Turkish army. They cut his head and were celebrating by passing it to all. By that time, Vlad’s loyal guards were able to get his headless body out from there. They took it to the Snagov monastery. The Polish noble and the head monk were waiting there. The ceremonies were done as per Vlad’s orders. But, without the head something went wrong. On the third day, a wolf sprang up from the tomb. The same day, Vlad’s head, which was displayed in Constantinople, went missing. Was this interconnected, he never knew.’ ‘After these incidents, a sweep of vampirism swept the entire Europe. People started thinking that Vlad III came back from his tomb and became a vampire.’ But the old man never believed in these stories. ‘At least I have to see Vlad to believe in these stories.’ He thought. ‘It should have been a great strain on him to tell such a long story.’ The boy thought. He excused himself. ‘Just relax a little. I will get you something to drink.’ The boy came back with some milkshake to drink. The image of the boy started fading in his mind. ‘He saw a king fighting the enemy. He saw a lady jumping from the tower into the Arges river.’ The old man suddenly felt the taste of blood in his mouth. The boy was not to be seen. Instead, he saw an apparition. And it held out his hand and called him, “My mentor, how long have I been waiting for you?” It was Vlad III.

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AUTHOR’S NOTES In this novel, I have drawn inspiration from several sources. The primary inspiration came from ‘Dracula’ by Bram Stoker. There is still a dispute between scholars whether he drew inspiration from Vlad Tepes (Vlad III). As I have said in the introduction, this book is not intended for a study of the history. Some of the characters in this novel existed, some did not.

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