CHAPTER 1
Part 1
Strange Discovery
"In einem entlegenen Schloss ausserhalb der Stadt Klausenburghwuerde eine merkwuerdige Entdeckung gemacht." Burgermeistervon Klausenburgh, 24 June, 18--
In a remote castle outside the city of Klausenburgh, astrange discovery was made. There, a book was found that givesan account so fantastic, I hesitated to make it public for fear Iwould be doing more harm than good. Also found was a paintingof a Count who lived in this region many years ago, and whosome feel is still alive today. This painting shows the Count in hislibrary. I believe this book came from this library.
I will begin with a drawing of the castle. The vault, theheavy door of which was unlocked so as to make entrancepossible, shows where the book was located.
It is important that this work be come to light, for if theevents presented within are true, and I believe they are, thenthese beings may still be alive and must be found, confronted andrevealed!
Mayor of Klausenburgh, 24 June 18--
The Birth of the Daughter
Account Written by the Attending Physician,Klausenburgh, Romania February 20
On the 20th of February I presided over the birth ofClaudia D., daughter of the Count. I was awaken from my sleepby an emissary to the Count who gave me instructions to fetchmy medical bag and come with him. The emissary presented sucha terrible image that I simply froze in my bed, gaping at him. As Ihesitated, he suddenly presented a dagger. He pressed this daggerto my neck, the pressure of which led me to my utensils and thento the carriage that was to take me to the Count's castle. Thecountryside of Romania has been so ravaged by war that I sawmany unbelievable sights along the way, and I will tell you thetale of the "Forest of the Impaled" is no tale, but rather the truth,because the roads were lined with bodies run through with longstakes and then set out on display for any would be invaders tocontemplate.
As we approached the castle, I heard the dreadful howlingof wolves and the barking of what must have been huge dogs, forI could not even hear the galloping of the horses due to their echoesoff the Carpathian mountains.
The passes were so narrow, I thought at certain times wewould go headlong over the cliffs into the abyss.
When we finally arrived, the horrible sounds had stoppedand I stood at the entrance of a truly magnificent palace. Thecastle's stone steps and hallways were illuminated by torchesmaking it easy to find my way. Once in the Count's presence, Iquickly bowed and removed my hat. I had heard the stories toldby the townspeople of visitors who had forgotten to remove theirhats, and how He, offended by their rudeness, had then nailed theirhats to their heads!
In a rather spacious room that was dimly lit by the torches,I found a young woman whose countenance both fascinated andfrightened me. She was remarkably pale with the blackest hairand the lightest grey eyes. Her appearance was so strange that Ihad to fight the impulse to react in a negative way. I was luckythat I did not, for the Count was in the room, barely visible inthe torchlight. His eyes were dark, and he didn't say a word, butrather motioned for me to get on with the delivery of the child.
The mother showed little emotion. Even though slight ofbuild, she was remarkably strong, and at one point, she grabbedmy arm during the act of giving birth. I later noticed an abrasionwhere she had held my arm in her vice-like grip. All this froma woman whose body weight could not have been more than 110pounds!
I was amazed at the quickness of the birth. In less than45 minutes, a girl was brought into the world. I examined thechild as well as I could, for the light was dim.
She seemed quite healthy, but there was one thing thatbothered me greatly. The child was born with teeth!
The Reflection
From The Diary Of The Count, June 24
My little Claudia is growing up wonderfully. She is sosmart. Her tutors are amazed at her abilities in the arts andmathematics. I have purposely kept her from any hint of astrologyor the supernatural. I have even tried to give her a good groundingin the natural sciences. Science. Now there is an interesting subject.I don't think there is anything in any science treatise that wouldexplain the phenomenon that is us. She knows that we aredifferent, but she doesn't quite know how. One of her tutors isworried about her obsession with her reflection. It seems she goesto the lake in the meadow and stares at her reflection for longperiods of time. I myself am not worried about her looking ather reflection excessively in the lake, but rather if that reflectionwould disappear. We all know what that would mean.
Night Walks
From The Diary Of The Count, August 25
It is a disturbing trend that I see. That trend is my littleClaudia being more and more in love with the night. She is tendingtowards getting up late and neglecting her lessons. The "Lightingof the Candle" has become a nightly routine. And then comes herwanderings through the forest. And where she wanders. I havewarned my charges to keep their distance. I watch her on herwalks, as far as that is possible, but she gets away from me attimes. It is as if she knows I am there and does everything she canto elude me, for her nature is rebellious. I am worried.
Narcissistic?
Diary Of The Count, September 13
It has come to the attention of those of us in the castle thatClaudia spends much time gazing at her reflection in a mirror thatwas locked away in one of the castle's abandoned towers. Sheeven carries it with her into the forest, so she can look at herselfin the moonlight. The word being spoken around here is that sheis "narcissistic". Coming from our kind, that is so funny. Afterall, if some of could enjoy our reflections, I'm sure we would. So, Ican understand her obsession with the mirror. After all, withoutthe mirror we really don't have any idea of ourselves. We reflectnothing. Think about it.
She Is So Beautiful
From the Diary of the Count, March 4,
She is so beautiful.... my one and only. I love her so andcannot bear the fate to which she is doomed. I have tried everything,but I cannot reverse the curse which is ours. I'm hoping somehowthat it will skip her, that she will be spared. If she does start tomanifest the symptoms, I do have a plan that will allow her toescape. It will be painful to implement, but she must survive!
Marie Auf Der Heide
The writings of a peasant father.
I will never understand how such a fatecould befall one so innocent. She alwaysloved her walks in the countryside,picking flowers and listening to thesongs of the birds. And she was alwaysso curious. No matter how dangerous itwas, I simply couldn't keep her awayfrom that castle with all of its legendsand tales. I told the girl numerous timesnot to wander off and above all, not togo near that god forsaken place. "ThatCount is mad!", I told her, but did shelisten? Well, you see the results. My wifeand I have grieved, and it is so horriblenot to know her fate. Oh, she came homealright at one point, but she had changed,so pale, so utterly distant. Trying to keep a watch on her wasuseless. It would always happen at night, you see. We resolved tokeep her in her room, in her bed, so she could sleep. There came atime, however, where we had no control ... that look, that stare! Wewere paralyzed! We even enlisted the help of the local pastor, butafter dealing with our daughter for an evening, he told us thatwhatever was possessing her was beyond him and that exorcismwas not his expertise.
She eventually never returned from her midnight wanderings.I thought at first that his guard dogs or those howling wolves hadgotten her. But I then heard that she was seen near the abandonedtower in the Carpathian mountains. I tried to see if it was true,but even though I know the forest like the back of my hand, Icouldn't find it. It was like a spell had been cast over the towerwhich made it disappear!
I Could See It In Her Eyes
From the Diary of the Count, October 31
What else could I do? I had to take the life of a peasant tosave my own blood. She was such a common girl. She will neverbe missed. Someone should have been watching her anyway. Whocould know?
I could see it in her eyes that it was meant to be. Shedidn't even resist when I took her in. It was like she wanted it.Now the townspeople are all alarmed because she is missing. Theyhad ample opportunity to protect their little Marie Auf Der Heide,but didn't. Now I need her. Things are closing in, and I need thispeasant girl to help me see my plan through. I am afraid they arefinding out that there are moments when we are vulnerable. Underall circumstances, my little Claudia must survive and Marie willhelp me make it so!
It's Too Late
From the Diary of the Count, April 6
It's too late. The curse is upon her. I so hoped she would bespared, but there is nothing I can do. The plan I have must work.It will be difficult to let her go, but I must. The fortress outside ofKlausenburgh will be her haven until such time has come. I willmove her in the dead of night so as to not arouse suspicions. TheSouth Tower will be perfect for her. These townspeople, as stupidas they are, do have ways of outsmarting one. They will notoutsmart me! I will not let them. She must survive! She must!!
Is She Dead?
From an article published in the Klausenburgher Zeitung (newspaper)by the journalist Herr Karkov
Resurrection
Account given by Serfo N. concerning the gravewatch.
I did my very best. I was awake the whole time, even thoughit is being reported otherwise. I was nodding off, I admit, but I heardthe heavy stone being pushed aside and I awoke. It was then Isaw her! I couldn't believe my eyes. It was our own Marie pushingaway the stone covering the grave. I called out to her, but thenshe looked at me with a stare so mesmerizing, Icouldn't move. It was like watching everythingthrough a veil. She then gathered the bodyof the Count's daughter from the grave,placed it on the ground, and as she lookedat me again, the young Claudia just roseto her feet as if she hadn't died at all! Thisgirl who just a few hours beforehad been laid to rest, was upand walking! Why, she walkedright past me while our littleMarie watched! It was aResurrection!!
The Vault of Claudia
Diary of the Count, February 18
The Vault of Claudia is in the fortress I prepared for justthis occasion. I have kept this secret dutifully, for I believe thetownspeople have arranged search parties to find her since the"Resurrection". Ha! Resurrection! Such superstitious people! Theyhave no idea what they are dealing with. And even if they do, therewill be little they can do to stop it. With their little Marie guardingher coffin, let them try! They don't realize that she is capable oftearing them limb from limb! And they think I am violent! It wasjust dumb luck that I was able to lure her in so easily. And nowshe is watching my little Claudia until I can send her to her newhome! And Marie will be her escort!
The Prison Of No Return
Journal of a Bavarian Mercenary, 14 March
We captured her, the little Marie Auf Der Heide. Little?! Ittook ten of us to subdue her and three of them didn't survive thefight with "Little Marie"! In fact, they were ripped almost beyondrecognition! What kind of a being is this? You won't believe whatthen happened. After holding her for only a day, the guard simplyopened the gate for her! He says she called to him and then hedoesn't remember anything after that. And not only that. The otherssimply let her find her way out. They said it had something to dowith her eyes, her stare. And now she is on the loose again. Thisshows me that the "Hexenjagd" (witch hunt) was justified. How elsecan you explain this?
The Mirror
Letter From Sylvia L. To Veronika L.
I realize you have to flee. The authorities are after all thewrong people. Of course, I feel bad for all those innocents, but thechance of detection is too great, and it is better to let the situationbe what it is, rather than revealing ourselves by resisting them.
The "Chateau Dubrovnik" is readyand waiting for you. This time youneed to take up residence thereand wait out the purge that issweeping our land. I am oldand will not be able to followyou to your new home. I willdo what I can here to help someof these girls survive, but afteryou move, I want you to stay inDubrovnik and sharpen yourpowers. If what is happeninghere is any indication, the purgemay spread, and your being onthe other side of the Adriaticwill ensure your survival.Therefore, I am willing you themost potent weapon in our arsenal,"The Mirror", whose powers you already know.
The chateau is complicated, but you will eventually find"The Mirror" in the back on a stair landing. I keep in out in theopen, rather than under lock and key, because the more a secretis allowed to be a part of the natural fabric of the environment,the less suspicious it is. This is an axiom that you will understandin time and which will become important to you later. For now,though, keep the mirror right where it is and don't let anyone standin front of it too long, otherwise, it will be impossible to stop thetransformation that is taking place.
Coastal Chateau
Diary of the Count, February 4
In my despair, I am making a journey to a particular girlwho it is rumored to have survived the awful "Hexenjagd" (WitchHunt) that is sweeping through the provinces of Germany andtaking the lives of so many innocent, young girls. If the storiesof supernatural powers and magic are true, and it is my deepestwish that they are, then through them I spy a kind of hope. Ahope that my little Claudia will be saved. Therefore, I will travelby night to the coastal city of Dubrovnik on the Adriatic wherethis young witch is said to have a Coastal Chateau. I will see if itis in her powers to help with my dilemma. I don't need to tell youthat I fear no man, but to tell you the truth, I go to this house withgreat trepidation, because if the stories that I hear concerning thisgirl are true, then her powers are great and one has reason to fear.But then, that is why I am going to her!
In The Family
From Veronika's Diaries, July 22
I felt sorry for all of those girls. They had nothing to do withanything. The men going after them are so weak, so threatened.And the outrageous accusations; spells, sorcery and what not.What do they know about it? It was hideous they way they triedto get them to confess. All of those methods of torture! What kindof mind comes up with those things! They didn't even know whatthey were to confess to. At the end, the girls were saying anythingjust to avoid the "Third Wheel". It kills them you know, that "ThirdWheel"! And now they are talking about the "Scheiterhaufen".(Burning at the stake.) These authorities have no idea what theyare doing. There is no telltale sign, and those of us who do knowthese things, have ways to avoid detection. When they came to mydoor, I simply looked them in the eye and used the words that workevery time. It runs in the family you know. Our powers are passeddown, and a few threatened men arenot going to stop us, torture ornot. Besides I have the mirror. Ileft Germany and came hereso as not to provoke themand cause more deathsamong those innocentgirls. But why is hecoming? His reputationis one of the worst in allof Europe. If he thinkshe can harm me, he ismistaken. I and myfamily will handlehim too, just likeall the others.
The Agreement
Letter from Veronika L. to Aunt Sylvia, June 24
The meeting began sinister enough. He insisted for reasonsthat I understand now, that it take place at night. He also askedpermission before he entered our Chateau. There seemed to besomething important in this, and, because I detected fear, I wentalong with this ritual and formally granted permission for him toenter. Can you imagine. Him afraid of me!
His request was not unreasonable. I told him I could ensuresafe passage, and we agreed on a fee and protection of our kindin the provinces he controls. He asked me how I could ensure safepassage, but I told him that would be a secret I could not divulge.He tested me on this point, trying to stare me down, and then hisassistant, the powerful little peasant girl, also tried, but to noavail. They don't understand the origins of our magic, and withina few minutes they could see it was useless. I think he wantedto see the extent of our power, and needless to say, I convincedboth him and the little one. Now it is underway, and thanks to thefamily secret, I can certainly take his precious daughter to her newhome. It won't be pleasant for the others who are involved, but Iam extracting a huge benefit from him, so what must be done, mustbe done. It is a matter of business and that is all.
