Chương 1: (MC-Intro) My Legacy - 1
Act (1) - Genesis
Since the beginning of people's illumination, they debated whether reincarnation exists in our great world and beyond.
The people from the greatest ancestors had one single common passing time, staring at the sky and beyond and thinking of what could be hiding in the veil of stars.
So many religions are passing in existence, from the most primitive forms of religion that are called pagan by the modern, or monotheistic one could draw the similarities regarding the beliefs of where you go after your own demise, and everyone had their own hell.
But to where and what is that place, nobody knows the answer. We people just believe that it is the kingdom of evil or the ruler of darkness.
Like this, we thought of possibilities, of what really the universe and the creator still have hidden over us.
The universe is still a mystery for many, and the most pressing and disturbing was where one would go after death, the destination for the lost souls or their new beginnings.
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Act (2) - Chaos
Since the conception of humanity and our rise, the desire for conflict and chaos runs deep ingrained in our minds. The desire to dominate one another regardless of that is by ruling over people. It started in the ancient era, or the modern era where people find different ways to dominate the "lesser" one.
They entered into petty conflicts regardless of when we were regarded as monkeys, homo neanderthals, and later on, homo sapiens. We always had reasons for petty squabbles, except when it came to our own survival.
However, what needs to be known from this small telling is that there would always be someone profiting from our destruction and chaos.
Lurking around ourselves and whispering in our ears like a phantom, he would be watching over and merely smiling with amusement from his great throne.
Yet this left them unaware of the consequences of their chaos and conflict.
The ancient era had its fair share of conflicts. After that came the classical antiquity age, where it marked the rise of the Roman Empire. The Post-Classic Era, where the Empire was divided into two administrations, followed by the German's rise. This era was marked by the fall of the western part of the Empire, known as the Dark Age. Later stabilizing and following the high middle ages and late middle age.
From all this history, we can conclude that humans like to create disturbance in the world order left by the creator. All the reasons for doing so could be described as mere excuses for having a casus belli.
Like this, years counting in the large history that marked forgotten events still unknown to us, it moved like a finger tap to the creator.
Slowly, this time seemed to stop a bit with the rise to prominence of a certain individual who seemed to lose his light and slowly be shrouded into a veil of darkness while cutting down individuals with a cold expression on his face.
This individual was a figurehead that, at his time, only by calling out his name and remembering the deeds he has done against his foes, you would have your skin crawling in fear.
One of the most feared rulers of the late-middle age period, whose legends still run deep in the people's minds even after hundreds of years have passed, his story will remain immemorial.
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Act (3) - Conflict
In the year 1448, everything changed for a small country in the old continent of Europe. This year marked the ascension of a young prince to the throne of this small country called Wallachia.
At that time, this young prince of only 18 years old had his fair share of hardships to endure to reach his new status. One could even say he sold himself to his own enemy to ascend to the throne, using the help of Sultan Murad to take the throne.
However, it was short-lived. The wars drew on against the Sultan's Empire, and the army that accompanied the young prince left him alone without an army to defend himself.
At that time, the young man was reading the letter written in Turkish, received from the captain of this Janissary Army it had the young man cold and said to himself while sitting on the throne room.
"I need to recruit the people of the realm and form an army to fight against the traitors who want to dethrone me. A king without an army to protect his divine right to rule isn't a true king.
I hope I'm not too late and taken by surprise by those bastards.
"Vladislav, don't think I will forget you and your deeds against my family."
Days passed, and the process of creating a new army without the support of the nobles was strenuous to a complex process. However, as the war between the Kingdom of Hungary and the Ottoman Empire ensued, it was at that time Vlad Dracula found himself circled from all sides by this throne pretender Vladislav.
Some of his assistance came running to him, not knowing what to say to an already cold young ruler.
"My lord, Vladislav, with the rest of the boyars start approaching the castle, we only have 1000 men to fight against him and the Hungarian troops."
The young prince's face stared coldly at the servant who came bringing this message, and after a long moment of thinking, he said to him.
"Tell my royal guard to prepare for a journey, also Ion, go prepare my horse."
"My lord? Are you going to engage Vladislav's army? You can't. They are 8.000 strong."
The young ruler looked at the servant and said with a serious tone.
"Does my face looks like one of a fool? I know those boyars want me dead. Without much of an army, I can't do anything. We'll flee to Adrianople."
Like this, his first reign as a ruler went by, after only some months, being forced out of his rightful throne by the pretender supported by the Hungarian Regent John Hunyadi.
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The years passed, and we find Vlad sitting in a decent-sized mansion inside Adrianople, renamed by the Turks as Edirne, their capital until Constantinople fell and became the new capital of the Ottoman Empire under Mehmed.
Then it was on that day that the servant following him since his young days came rushing inside his private room, holding a letter in his hand.
"My lord, a letter coming from the Hungarians!"
The now adult Vlad, who had long curly hair flowing over his back, looked calmly at the servant and said to him before taking the letter from his hand.
"You can take your leave, Ion."
The servant could only nod his head and go out of the private chambers.
After finding himself alone, Vlad walked to his desk and removed the seal on the letter, looking a bit at the writing, his eyes grew cold.
*** [Son of the Dragon, after contemplating many times on my treatment of you and your family, I bring myself to write this letter to you as an invitation or, better said, an offer at reclaiming your family throne.
This offer comes with the guarantee that you, Vlad Basarab, like your grandfather Mircea, will swear upon the great name of God and his son Jesus Christ and your ancestors that you will be loyal to the Hungarian Crown.
Our conflict and small squabbles will be forgotten if you agree to my offer.
If you agree and make your way from the Turks chains, I will await you with open arms at Alba.
Signed by Ioan de Hunedoara, Voievod of Transylvania, Regent of Hungarian Ruler.] ***
After reading the letter, the cold expression he held on his face got a bit better, yet he leaned on his chair and said to himself.
"Would you look at that? Old Ioan, did you get bitten by the dog you have risen to power? You even remember about my grandfather and father who you supported in getting killed."
"This offer is tempting, and I also doubt Mehmed will even want to support me after Vladislav became his dog.
The fact that the old man wants to treat me like a gatekeeper is a bit annoying. However, I have to see him, hear his own conditions to support me."
"Ion! Prepare my horses and also note my guards. We'll move toward Wallachia."
The servant who heard Vlad from his private chambers instantly reacted and moved to prepare things.
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The journey home, or better said toward Alba, took him quite some time, but he safely reached the castle of the regent John Hunyadi.
The guards of the regent stopped his own guards who were riding alongside him and even the servant and said to Vlad.
"Draculea, Lord Hunyadi is awaiting you. Come inside. Your followers will have to wait outside the stronghold."
"No problem, let's get this meeting done faster. I can't wait to see the mutt of Vladislav."
As he said that, he kept riding his black stallion while his voivod clock began fluttering in the wind, moving toward the long wooden bridge protecting the castle entrance.
Looking around himself, he could see the impressive fortifications of this castle and the status it emanated from its facade.
Then as he moved more on the bridge, the trumpets and drums could be heard sounding, coming from the castle's inner gardens, as if in welcoming his arrival.
Slowing down his stallion Vlad, looked left and right and could see the troops of John Hunyadi stationed in a ceremonious manner, but without the actual important person of this meeting insight.
Getting off his horse, Vlad stared at those people calmly and asked one of the guards.
"Where is the meeting with Lord Hunyadi taking place?"
The guard who was wearing his armor calmly looked at Vlad, meeting his gaze, and said to him.
"Lord Hunyadi awaits you at the chapel. Follow me, Draculea."
Soon, after following the guard and staring around the castle's structure, with the sudden stop of the guard, who was near a slightly smaller building, Vlad stepped inside in a calm manner.
'A chapel? Are you that serious about me making this oath?'
Looking forward, he could see a man that was about 49-50 years old who had his hair at a medium length.
"Come in, young dragon, I don't bite for the dumb things you've done against me." said the late middle-aged man in a calm tone while his body was facing the sculpture of Jesus Christ.
"No need to welcome me, old raven." said Vlad while moving toward the man seated in a prayer, where he followed in tandem.
"So, what are your conditions for helping me take the Wallachian throne from Vladislav?" asked Vlad while giving a small prayer to the statue.
"I want that Vladislav fool's head. Hmph, he dares oppose me and even took some of the Saxon cities at the border. But mostly, I want you to assist me in the fight against the Turks and to be loyal to the Hungarian Crown instead of the Turks."
Without much to think, Vlad looking at the statue of Jesus, said to John Hunyadi in a composed manner.
"Lord Hunyadi, you have my word that I will be loyal to the Royal Crown and also help you fight against those Turks."
The late middle-aged man turned his face at Vlad, whose long curly hair draped down, touching the ground as he was giving a prayer to God.
"I kind of knew you would agree. You are an ambitious young dragon, even more than your father, who remained loyal until his dying breath. It was regrettable that those dirty rats from your realm are incompetent fools. However, you need power to feed that ambition. If you don't have it, you better be cerebral in your choices and don't let your anger judge your choices.
Only with God's guidance will we prevail against those heathens." ended Hunyadi in a confident manner while doing a cross sign.
Vlad only called an "Amen." to accompany the regent of Hungary.
"Young Vlad, I will give you a part of my army to get your throne back, but they will stay for a bit with you since I'm preparing to fight against the Turks since they are planing a campaign toward Europe heartland. You better take note of any chance to attack the flanks of Mehmed's army."
"I understand, Lord Hunyadi. I can only pray to God you are victorious against those hateful heathens, and may our alliance last long."
Hunyadi smiled a bit, getting up from his kneel and patting Vlad's shoulder a bit, and not long after that, they exited the chapel without a heated atmosphere. Their alliance moving smoothly until someone would backstab first.
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After receiving John Hunyadi's support in taking back Wallachia's throne, Vlad, at the helm of 7.000 armed men, marched from Transylvania toward Targoviste, the capital of Wallachia. Their journey went without heavy resistance from the boyars army. In fact, Vlad was received with wide arms from boyars and the people alike.
Then, when he arrived at the stronghold of Targoviste, at the helm of his army, he stared at the enemy army, and especially at the one staying at the helm.
"I've come for you, Vladislav of Dănești. Do you have the guts to fight me one on one, in front of this entire gathering of warriors?" said Vlad in a high tone that could be heard by everyone on the stronghold, targeting the pretender ruler.
"DAMNED, BASARAB! DO YOU WANT YOUR THRONE SO MUCH THAT YOU EVEN KISSED HUNYADI'S FEET TO GET HIS SUPPORT!" said Vladislav, the pretender ruler of Wallachia who was about in his mid-40s
"So what about it? Are you afraid to face me, Vladislav? Let's have a fight. I've even heard you fought at the Battle of Kosovo against the Turks and found some success there, heck you even did the Saxons of Transylvania."
Vladislav glared at Vlad and then turned to look around his soldiers, who didn't seem confident at fighting Vlad's army.
'I have no choice but to fight this Basarab bastard. Hmph, you might have the numerical advantage, but if we fight one against one, I will have your head easily, kid.'
Then as he thought that, he began walking forward, making his soldiers a bit panicked, but then later, they saw Vlad wearing his chain armor move forward.
"Hmph, you got guts, little bastard. However, those will not help you in this fight." said Vladislav when seeing Vlad face to face.
Meanwhile, Vlad looked coldly at Vladislav and took a high sword stance.
"Let's see who is the rightful holder of the throne, you pretender." said Vlad coldly as he watched the older man take his sword stance.
And so their duel began seeming equal in strength, but Vlad, who was an able officer of the Janissary Army, almost reaching the Command chain if he wasn't stubborn or hating the Turks, seemed to slowly take control of the duel.
After only one minute, Vladislav began breathing hard while swinging his sword, while Vlad was moving like a wind breeze, dodging and parrying his strikes and inflicting wounds on his opening. Like this wetting the mud in fresh blood.
With another slash on the pretender's flesh, Vlad, whose face was frigid cold, asked in an authoritative tone.
"Surrender, and I will let you go with your life intact."
Hearing this, Vladislav glared at Vlad, and while breathing hard, he screamed while swinging his sword.
"NEVER! DANESTI WILL NEVER SURRENDER TO A BASARAB!"
The boyars on Vladislav's side looked with pity as Vlad, whose eyes were cold, did a large swing that cut the pretender's head clean off.
Breathing a bit hard, Vlad stared at the soldiers belonging to Vladislav and also the boyars gathered and said to them in a high tone.
"STARTING TODAY, I, VLAD III BASARAB, WILL TAKE BACK THE THRONE THAT WAS RIGHTFULLY MINE SINCE MY FATHERS PASSING!"
"However, you soldiers and boyars, fear none. I will be a just ruler to anyone and everyone. All you have to do is to follow my lead in the face of our enemies!"
As Vlad said that, the soldiers of his side that were a part of the boyars that turned out to be supporting him along with the ones he recruited and Hunyadi's support began saying his name, celebrating a well-deserved victory, that it made even some soldiers coming from Vladislav side cheer for Vlad's win.
Even some boyars cheered, feeling that this younger ruler will prove to be more able than Vladislav, but mostly they were following their own privileges even more.
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With assuring his throne and also still having the Hungarian troops with him, he began cleaning the realm, starting with the boyars who betrayed his father and killed him and his older brother.
Some more months passed, which brought shocking news to his ears. The Ottomans prepared to lay siege of Belgrade Fortress, which made the soldiers landed by Hunyadi march toward Belgrade.
He began intensifying his efforts at building his army, but months passed, and the news letters coming from his informants reached him in July, which shocking news.
"Lord Hunyadi won against Mehmed. He inflicted a heavy wound on their morale and army and even boosted our own. This is the greatest news I've heard in a while. I should prepare my army to campaign against the ottomans."
Yet, as he prepared for this campaign, another shocking news came to him following the next month, which made him enter multiple emotional states, from sadness, regret, anger, and fury.
"Sigh, why Lord Hunyadi. Why did God have to summon you so early? I just began my preparations to fight those damned Turks encroaching in our lands. Damn them all, he died of illness? Not even receiving a glorious death in battle!
To hell with it. GOD! This is how you celebrate your champions!?" roared Vlad while looking at the sky, while thinking about how long his plans had to stop advancing.
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Years passed, and Vlad was preoccupied with strengthening his realm and taking the power of the boyars who were too influential and powerful, like the Danesti, a rival house of the Basarabs, that Vlad belonged to.
Yet, the guarantee of the Hungarians could no longer protect Vlad from the greedy eyes of the Turks, who began asking for tribute. This created conflict between himself and Mehmed and made his hatred for the Turks run even stronger.
Knowing well that he still didn't have a chance at winning on his own and looking at the civil war happening in Hungary, he could only grit his teeth and pay tribute to the Ottomans.
The tribute got so heavy that in short story, he was forced to tax his people so much that they suffered just not to spill blood. Yet, after watching his country's suffering amounting more and more, he had enough.
He began increasing his process of strengthening his army, even accelerate his talks with the Christian countries that could help him in his crusade.
He found success in his talks, especially since the new king of Hungary was familiar to him, Matthias Corvinus, the little raven, the son of the late John Hunyadi.
With an army made up of mercenaries, Hungarian troops, and his own contingency, he began his rebellion.
At first, things seemed promising. Vlad found much success that began increasing the morale of the Christian countries, and still, with all that morale, they coward away from facing this monster that kept growing in power.
He used every tactic he learned from being trained in the janissary army but still lost. He was just a voivod which an army of about 35.000 people.
Years and years of fighting and suffering, thousands of people dying, lands infested with all signs of decay, for the simple fact that he didn't want to be a slave in his lands, to be a simple puppet. Never resigning to a fate unwanted by him, he kept fighting in his own ways until his very last breath.
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A/N: This is the first chapter of Vlad's Origin, my interpretation.
Progression 1/6 chapters.
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