True Story of Dracula

By Martin Kukk-Grønbjerg

True Story of Dracula is a horror book. It is written as if Dracula had existed. So it starts with Vlad III, from his early childhood, and tries to give him a character one can relate to, until the moment he was killed and how he was transformed into Dracula. How Dracula was and acted among his fellow humans. Not to forget how he managed to stay hidden for all those years. As one can see in the personified characteristics, I have also built up the character of Dracula, giving him a whole lot more depth. I have also built on the vampires whom Dracula makes and have given them a lot more of a persona as well. I have chosen to give one other character in the book more detail. Then we begin with the main plot of the book, a class from California traveling to Romania on a research trip. As they are to discover, it turns from a research trip to a getaway trip. Here, I have also found it necessary to give each student that goes on the trip a character that goes into depth, not only so we can get an understanding of the person, but also to assist me in writing. An example would be, given these characteristics, what would most likely happen? I have personified each characteristic such as mine, where after each book, it has hopefully increased the number of characters it goes to depth with. It does not only help you think forward but also backward. An example would be, her mother is interesting; she may have had an affair, which we can include in a new book. The other alternative could be that this character is so rich. Maybe we can focus on highlighting them more or perhaps tell his side of the story.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Nov 9, 2017
• ISBN: 9781641380676

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True Story of Dracula

Martin Kukk-Grønbjerg

Copyright © 2017 Martin Kukk-Grønbjerg

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING, INC.

New York, NY

First originally published by Page Publishing, Inc. 2017

ISBN 978-1-64138-066-9 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64138-067-6 (Digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Introduction

M

y story begins with my

grandfather, the last good person in my family’s bloodline. His name was Mircea, Prince Mircea. He started his reign over the land of Walachia, prioritizing the needs of others before his own. He kept the land from falling under the control of other countries with the help of the Polish, Moldavians, and Hungarians. Walachia was intact for thirty-two years. Thirty-two years of peace for the people, making Walachia stand out to everybody, both allies and enemies.

Mircea had also taken on a great enemy: the Ottomans. It started with Mircea favoring the Bulgarians rather than the Ottomans. The Bulgarians were helping the Wallachians defend the river of Danube from the invasion of the Turks.

Mircea mustered within the time given a small army of his own men before joining with an army of the Bulgarians. Together they had a better chance of standing up against the Ottomans. He then led his army into battle against an army much larger and stronger than his own.

Mircea knew that if he were to face the enemy head-on, he would lose. However, that would not be the case if the enemy army was weakened beforehand.

Mircea knew the route that the enemy was taking. Therefore, he strategically laid out his army so that when they would come face-to-face, it would be the Wallachians who had better odds of defeating the Ottomans.

The route the enemy was taking was through a dense forest, much of it filled with swamps, with little room for soldiers to march side by side. Therefore, they were divided into a singular formation, marching behind one another.

Mircea had placed several men at many key points that he was sure the enemy would pass by. His men were scattered behind the trees near the route of the enemy so that they could attack without being seen. Mircea’s idea was simple: when the enemy passes, kill them, and then return to base camp. If such a task were carried out, it would reduce the size of the enemy army greatly. The last point in his plan was to burn the bridge, because once the bridge was destroyed, there would be no escaping for the enemy back to the Ottoman Empire.

This was how the mind of my grandfather worked: To win, one must know the weakness of one’s enemy.

After the battle of the river of Danube, his issues with the Turks grew larger. He participated in crusades against the Ottoman Empire started by Hungarian monarchs, later siding with an Ottoman prince just to get a revolt started within the Ottomans.

Mircea’s anger toward the Ottomans was like an ever-burning flame.

Mircea had kept the land of Wallachia at peace for thirty-two years, having managed to keep the lands safe while participating in wars himself. After all these years of battles and wars, he thought maybe it would be best if he lay down his sword and settle down somewhere. He thought it might be time for a peace agreement with the Ottomans. He forged an agreement offering Wallachia to the Ottomans for a handsome sum of gold pieces each year.

The Ottoman Empire was now in charge of Romania, and Mircea was free to do whatever he wanted. He chose to start a family.

Meanwhile, King Sigismund of Hungary became the Holy Roman emperor, creating an order, the Order of the Dragon, setting out on crusades, determined to fulfill quests from God himself.

And my father, Vlad II, went into that order not for his love for his country or the good of his heart but for his greed and his lust for power. He was offered great power and respect by coming into the order.

This order, much as the earlier ones, had conflicts with the Ottomans, so my father, just as his father before him, went into battle with the Ottomans.

There is nothing more painful than starting to pour acid on an open wound.

My father was called Vlad the Dragon, though he was not as successful as his father was against the Turks. One of the tasks he had received from the emperor Sigismund was to defend the river Danube. He triumphed over many smaller armies and was feared around those parts.

But great warriors must have their defeat. His defeat came one night when the enemy caught him off guard.

Vlad laid camp with five thousand men. They found a place near the slopes of a mountain close to the river Danube. The location was ideal for setting out early in the morning. One had the advantage of seeing far and over much of the forest. But even a greater advantage was that one could see the crossing over the river.

There was a large bridge not that far away from their encampment connecting both sides of the river. Each side had their own outpost that kept a lookout for the enemy. Both outposts had a couple of men inside them: One rider to inform whether there was any activity on the other side. Two guards who shifted after a twelve-hour duty. Three quartermasters who were most often unknown as to their duty—guards, cooks, or scouts.

If one of these outposts were to be under siege, one of the quartermasters would automatically close the fire they had on a pole at the top of the outpost. The guards would see to it that the big wooden gate next to the outpost was closed. The purpose of this gate was to slow down the enemy. The outpost, on the other hand, contained the men who would eventually close the gate and the rider who was to warn that the enemy had taken this outpost.

But little did Vlad II know that there was a traitor among his men. One who had earned his trust through years of loyalty. The traitor was from the Ottoman heir, a loyal servant to Yildinim Beyazit, also known as the Thunderbolt.

Vlad II’s army found a valley where they could act decisively if they were to be besieged. Tents were laid out in a circular formation so that it came to be like a circle. There was one tent of weaponry for every twenty-five tents of soldiers. These tents were to be found in the outer flanks, where, if there was a siege, weapons would be accessed quickly. War machines, together with other single-manned machinery, could be found at the inner flanks, protecting the center, where Vlad was. Larger tents were set up as well, where they could assemble.

Fifty men were placed on watch for the enemy on the opposite side of the mountain to where the camp was being held. This meant five outposts with ten at each. At each of these outposts, the men were scattered out due to the range of visibility. They laid out tents where they could see over the area that they were supposed to guard. Each of these tents had a spear pushed into the ground. On the top of the spear, they had tied a wool cloth around so that it would light easily. The flame could be seen over a long distance. It was meant to be lit if they were under siege.

It was a very hot season with little rain, but on that night, it was raining heavily. Most of the men, therefore, were mainly inside tents in the camp. There were two big tents laid out in the camp. Meant as gathering points and for serving beer, these tents had tables and chairs as well.

Vlad II felt safe within his camp, especially due to the structure of it; therefore, he decided not to have his five crown servants protect him. They could be more useful given the task to go and fetch water for the whole company throughout the night.

They had to walk through a small portion of a much larger forest pretty much surrounding the encampment. You could see the river from where the forest started. Due to the mud, they had to walk slowly so as not to lose any water on the way. After filling up the buckets, they had to go to a larger tent, where they kept storage of all their water supplies.

One of the Big Tents

First Soldier: This beer does not taste good. He was complaining to his comrade.

Second Soldier: Don’t worry, tomorrow we will return to Transylvania. Then you can choose whatever kind of beer you want to buy.

First Soldier: Yes, I can also choose where and with whom I would like to sleep as well. He then took a sip of beer.

First Soldier: How long before the next journey? One, two weeks?

Second Soldier: I am afraid it might be a little bit more, like, one or two days. I have heard a rumor that the Ottomans are planning something.

First Soldier: Ahhh, there are so many rumors these days you cannot be sure any of them are true. He took another sip of beer.

Second Soldier: Well, true or not, rumor has it that there is a spy among us spying for the Ottomans.

The soldier just whiffed with his hand.

First Soldier: You worry too much. I will get you a beer, and then you will forget all about your worries. He smiled to his comrade.

The soldier went up to the bar and asked for another beer. A glass was taken, getting filled halfway with beer and the other half with something else.

First Soldier: What is it that you are mixing together?

Bartender: Beer and water.

First Soldier: Water. Why water?

Bartender: Because, otherwise, we don’t have enough.

The bartender handed the glass to the soldier, and the soldier went back to his comrade.

First Soldier: You know what I saw when I gave the glass to the other soldier?

Second Soldier. No.

First Soldier: I saw the bartender put only half of beer. The other half is water. No wonder I think the beer is so bad.

The bartender went to and opened the door behind the bar and next to the shelves that had a few glasses left. It was a room where they kept their water supplies and some of their leftover beer.

Bartender: I think I am going to have to let you get some more water from the river. He then looked toward the crown servants.

The crown servants took ten buckets with them and opened the door. It was raining heavily, so the only sounds they could hear were the noise of raindrops and the occasional hooting of an owl.

Luckily, the trip in itself was not that long. They started with going past two smaller tents and then through the forest. Short as it was, it still posed a bit of a challenge. On the other side of the forest, four of the five crown servants went to fill up all the buckets while the fifth one stayed up the hill to keep watch.

Crown Servant 1: I do not have the best feeling about this. He said this while keeping watch.

Crown Servant 2: We are almost done. Just two more to go.

Crown Servant 3: We are done.

They started going up the small hill, and all the crown servants concentrated on not letting any of the water spill; therefore, they were looking down at the buckets constantly. When they had come up the hill, they looked up to find their friend and give him his two buckets to carry.

But instead, what they saw were arrows. Arrows all pointed at them, and the crown servant whom they were looking for was on his knees, with a saber being held close to his neck by an Arabian dressed in light armor. Next to him, there were eight Arabian archers. All with their bows pointed at the servants.

The Siege

Vlad and his generals were in a tent, discussing their plans for what they would do when they arrived at Transylvania.

Vlad: I suggest that we take one week to gather our troops before we set on our next guard trip. This will give them the chance to gather their strength.

One General: I do not think it will be necessary for all our men to go on this long march again. I can take some of my best and fastest scouts to move throughout the land while on search for enemy spies. He showed it on the map in front of him.

Second General: I think our men have also grown tired of simply walking around. What motivates them is battle. To fight for what you love.

Suddenly, the carpet in front of the doorway was pulled toward one side, and a soldier came in.

Soldier: Sire, we are being besieged!

They grabbed their swords.

One General: We must hide the king!

Vlad: How many are there?

Soldier: Ten thousand, maybe twenty thousand.

Second General: Impossible!

He went toward the soldier and could not believe what he saw while looking out of the tent. It was a horrific sighting, like if they were looking for the enemy and had no idea he was there all along. There were soldiers running for their weapons, soldiers being slaughtered, tents burning—it was chaos everywhere the general looked. The soldier who had brought the news had gone back to battle.

One General: Then we must fight! He moved toward the entrance when he could see the other general backing up toward him.

One General: What’s wrong?

There were men coming in both sides of the doorway, men with sabers, axes, pikes, and bows, surrounding the second general and forcing him to back down.

Second General: It is no use! Put down your sword! He consequently dropped his own sword.

One General: I will put down my sword only when my king says it. Then he rushed furiously into battle.

But he did not get that far; after having charged into battle, he was quickly struck with a saber right under his right arm.

Vlad could not believe it. One of his generals throwing down his sword and the other one being killed for what he believed in was right. Vlad did not like it. Word might get out that he was a coward if the general were to escape the scene of the battle, with having only one of his generals killed. But he could do nothing to prevent it because he was also now being held prisoner.

There walked a taller man with a long beard up to Vlad. He said something in his native tongue to his fellow men. He then took a hard grip of Vlad’s chin with his thumb, touching one cheek, and his other fingers, the other.

Tall Man: So you are Vlad II, son of Mircea. I have heard many great things of your father, how he fought and killed the Ottomans. I have also heard how his days of triumph ended and how the Ottomans were forced to pay him tribute. I would like to see your father’s face now once his son is captured. Tell me, how is your father now? He stared into Vlad’s eyes.

Vlad said nothing. The tall man let go of his chin.

Tall Man: What now? Is Vlad, the son of the mighty Mircea, too afraid of answering me? He looked toward his men with a smile on his face, seeing some of them laugh.

Vlad: I will pay you handsomely if you let me go.

Tall Man: What do you have to offer that would give me more joy than cutting off your head? He turned his head back toward Vlad, staring into his eyes.

Vlad: I can offer you my kingdom.

Tall Man: No kingdom would be worth killing the son, if not the father.

Vlad suddenly came upon a thought, a very cruel thought, but a thought that would save his own life.

Vlad: I am old, and if you kill me now, the joy you can receive from it will be short-lived. However, I can offer you my two sons as slaves.

Vlad could see it had caught the man’s attention.

Vlad: Think about it, knowing that the Ottomans have two in the bloodline of Mircea working for you as slaves.

The tall man got a big smile on his face for a short while.

Tall Man: I will keep you to your word. He pointed toward Vlad. How old are they?

Vlad: One and two.

Tall Man: I will give you three years, then I will send some of my men after them. He looked toward Vlad II’s general. Your general, shall we also spare him?

Vlad: No, you can kill him.

Vlad got a horse to ride back to his hometown, where he forged a terrible lie as to why he was the only one who came back, leaving out anything that could be linked to the true story and that he had offered to give away two of his sons as a compromise to escape with his life.

Story of the Traitor

Alrashid was a nobleman from Hungary. He had joined with the Order of the Dragon when it was formed and received the rank of a laticlavian tribune.

Though his vast wealth proved to be little in the art of war, often he only managed to gain victory over his opponent once someone else had taken control.

In one of his early times as laticlavian tribune commanding a company of no more than fifty men, he was ambushed by the army of the Ottoman Empire, surviving the ambush and managing to escape with his life only if he would pay back the Ottomans for the deed at another time.

Prestory to Vlad the Impaler

Vlad’s second son got the name Dracula, Son of the Dragon. I was born in the year 1431. I knew nothing about this deal until it was too late. I was about five when my father sent my brother Radu and me to Turkey to prove his loyalty to the Ottoman Empire.

Vlad II had also given in to the Ottomans’ desires.

A small platoon of soldiers arrived at the castle one night. One of them was bearing a scroll. When Vlad II saw the scroll, he knew what it meant. He sent for Radu and, me. Vlad II’s wife was not there at first; therefore, she had no idea that we were being given away to the Turks. She came later, when we were being put on a wagon.

I can still remember that evening when the Turks came and took me and my brother. My mother, a Moldavian princess, tried to stop them, but she could not. When me and my brother were taken, I could vividly remember seeing my mother cry on my father’s shoulder. But my father, Vlad II, did not shed a single tear; he just looked.

It was just another promise of loyalty to him. What terrible things greed could do to a person!

That night, I swore to myself that I would never become my father.

The wagon Radu and I were loaded onto was taken to the region of Dobrogea into the city of Mangalia. We were treated as dogs, given some bread to survive on while the soldiers had big meals. We could not believe what had just happened. A father we thought loved us had transformed into someone who did not even put up a fight when we were taken from him.

We did not understand what these soldiers were talking about. I knew it was on me to make sure that my little brother, Radu, was not hurt.

Radu and I were brought to the city of Ankara, where we were to be sold as slaves. There was no interest at first. Only whispers were spread of who our father and grandfather were.

One day, there came a couple of nobles looking for something. Indeed, the couple had also heard of Radu and me, the sons of a Romanian monarch traded away to save his own life.

Of course, when the couple saw Radu with his good looks, they immediately began to see potential in him; hence, they forged a deal to purchase him. That was when Radu and I were split apart.

I had always noticed something peculiar about the way Radu was treated. It was almost as if people favored being in the company of Radu more than they liked that of me. Until Radu was sold to a well-off family, I had thought it was only my imagination that created the difference between good looks and awful ones.

I spent four years trying to survive in Turkey as a slave in Ankara, wanted by none.

But I had to get along to survive at that market of slaves.

Near the end of those four years, I came back to Romania, winning back the throne with help from an Ottoman army. I got to know of the passing of my father, Vlad II, and of my eldest brother, Mircea II.

At that time, I was sad but also felt something growing within me. The anger, hatred, and lust for revenge against the Ottomans.

It was funny because Vlad II gave away his two sons, yet there was this anger that I felt for losing my father.

It changed me for good. I started distrusting everybody, especially the ones closest to me. I imagined that if someone was telling a lie, the causes of this lie could be fatal.

So I played it out upon everyone who was disloyal to me. I imprisoned them. I liked to hear them scream in pain. It was the noise my prisoners made that showed they were really sorry. My torture was all dependent on the cruelty of their lies, which I was the judge of.

I often had the dilemma of judging whether I would cut off my prisoners’ head and place it upon a spike or find some other means of punishment. The other punishments could be putting my prisoners to use for something. This was so everybody could see the things that would happen to them once I caught them lying. It was also to prove a point, that lies can have fatal consequences. The cries for mercy and the cries of death. I began on the throne as a prince of darkness.

Shortly after, John Hyunadi, the Hungarian regent, had me exiled and put Vladislav II on the throne of Walachia. I fled to my uncle in Moldova, who I knew would protect me. My uncle Bogdan II was assassinated in 1451. This forced me to flee to Hungary, since I knew my brother was behind the murder.

Soon after, though, I won the alliance of my former enemy John Hyunadi since he was impressed by my vast knowledge of the mind-set and inner workings of the Ottoman Empire. I presumed it was also of his great hatred toward Mehmed II. In 1456, I invaded Walachia, and my ally conquered Serbia and took it from the Ottoman Empire. Hyunadi died shortly after that, when I killed Vladislav II and took his throne.

After I invaded the castle, I invited all the poor and sick people in the town to my castle, ostensibly for a party. In reality, it was to start anew and rid the land of those dishonest people. When they arrived, I asked them all if they would like their problems to end. Foolishly, they all said yes. So I locked up the castle and burned it to the ground.

One would probably say that was evilly done, but I would say it was rightly done, because they were the citizens that could become a threat to me. But that was not enough, because I knew I still had lots of enemies throughout the land.

I held another party, where I invited all the boyars throughout the land. I then asked them how many kings there had been in their lifetime. Most of them said many. This made me angry. I had them arrested for the disloyalty they had toward their new prince, me myself. The oldest ones, I had impaled, because everyone should know the price of being disrespectful in my land. The younger ones, I forced as my slaves to build me a mighty castle upon a mountain.

How Dracula Came to Being a Vampire and the First of His Kind

I was somewhere, somewhere dark, after I was slain. But I was sure that I was alive and not dead.

The last thing I remember is being caught by Radu’s assassins. They were dressed as merchants who pretended to have a wagon filled with many exotic things from the Middle East. They saw me on the street one night, and they saw that I was hurt. They told me they had some medicine that would fix the wound on my left leg, which I had gotten from escaping Radu’s army through the tunnels I had built in my castle that led to a smaller village outside. I really believed them since I knew there were many strange and very powerful medicines in the Middle East. I went to the back of the wagon, where they said they had the goods. But the second I came, I was hit from behind.

I woke up some time later. It seemed to me that I was in the wagon. It was dark, and I could only see the light coming through the bars in one corner of the room. It was shining on me and on a stick that was close to me. I could hear the horses going, and I could hear two men, one of whom had probably hit me. They were speaking some form of Arabic that I had heard at a younger age, when I was working for a rich Arabian family as a slave.

I could understand some of it since the family where I had been working had two kids. I got along with their kids. They had, from time to time, taught me some Arabic. It was so that I could find my way once I had won my freedom.

The merchants were discussing the price they should ask for me when turning me over to Radu. I thought of all the times we had known each other and if he really could kill me. The wagon stopped. I could hear the two men jumping off the wagon. They were walking toward the door of the wagon.

I could see one’s shadow when he passed by the bars. Then the doors swung open. I could see the two men’s faces.

One had a beard, a turban on, a robe, black trousers, and a gray shirt. He had an expensive belt that had a golden symbol drawn around it. It seemed to be of a snake with a dragon’s face.

The other man had brown-black hair and a beard. I could see he had problems with one eye since it was not as open as the other one. His one hand had a minor scar on it. He had black trousers as well and a black shirt.

He reached out for me. I fell to the ground. I was in the middle of some sort of camp. Before I could see much more, I was pulled up.

My legs were tied so I could not walk but had to drag them along while being carried by the shoulders. I remember everyone who saw me was in shock. Could it be Vlad the Impaler?

I did not feel like smiling, because for once, I was the one going to be executed. The merchants were both strong men. They managed to drag me in a standing position toward Radu. As I was being taken through the tents, I could slowly begin to see where Radu was standing with his top generals and discussing something. They all stopped at the sight of me.

We stopped right in front of Radu. They did not let go of my shoulders and let me fall to the ground. Not at first. Radu’s generals started talking. One of them took up his saber and put it close to my neck while saying something to Radu. Radu took a look into my eyes. He replied to his adviser and came toward me. He put his hand around my chin and cheek and took a tight grip of them. He whispered to me.

Radu: Who is now in need of help, big brother?

He nodded to his adviser, and with one swift swing of his saber, he cut into my neck. Blood started to pour out. The two men who had brought me let go of my shoulders, and I fell. The last thing I remember is seeing Radu discussing with his advisers what he should do with Romania while looking at me die a painful death.

There was no heaven or hell. It was all pitch-black. But I was all right; it was like nothing had ever happened to me. Was it just a bad dream? Where was I? I looked and saw nothing. But I did see light coming from somewhere.

It looked like the doorway to a tomb, but this time, it seemed to be leading out of a tomb. It must have been night, because I could not see anything. I walked toward the doorway, and when I reached it, I could see more clearly.

I saw a tree, a dead tree, and the ground seemed dead as well. There was no grass or anything symbolizing life or joy, just gray and black. There seemed to be something else as well. I started walking closer to see if I could see better what it was. When I was close enough, I realized, Burial grounds. But where was it I had come out? It seemed obvious yet could not be. I turned around. The doorway I had come out of was the doorway leading to a mausoleum, my mausoleum.

Suddenly, it was clear—the graves, the tree, the dust. Everything.

The tree looked a lot darker than I had first anticipated. It looked like it had been burned; the ground that before seemed gray