VAMPYRE HISTORY
Vlad Dracula Tepes: In the COTC universe the vampire count does exist. However, in the story line �The Council of Three� we find that his ashes are housed within the Council vault. Although Dracula himself may be dead, those whom he sired and their vampiric descendents remain loyal to him. Late in the story a group of vampires try and resurrect the Count, but they fail. It is discovered that Mina, Lilith�s right-hand woman was the mastermind behind this plot. This is the same Mina that graced the pages of Bram Stoker�s novel. How she is still alive and not a vampire is as yet unknown at this point. Some say it is magic. Vampires are quite secretive about their communities. What is known about Dracula is this. He does seem to be the same Vlad Dracula who was crowned Prince of Wallachia, one of the three Romanian provinces, in 1436 CE. His names include Son of the Dragon, Son of the Devil, and Vlad Tepes (translation: Vlad the Impaler). Vlad imposed a strict moral code upon his people, and crime was extremely low in Wallachia. However, his punishments and atrocities were renowned. Even liars were impaled. However he is still thought of, as a hero is certain circles. He did manage to hold off the Turks from invading Romania for several years and reclaimed his thrown three times. His death is unclear. Some say that he was assassinated, while others claim that he was killed in battle. What is clear is that Dracula�s �human� life ended in 1476 CE. In 1931 Vlad Dracula�s grave was unearthed, only to find that the remains inside belonging to an animal, not the Romanian Prince. The life of the first Tepes-Vampire is shrouded in mystery until in 1897 when an Irish writer published the novel, Dracula. How true the events in the book are to actual historical events is uncertain. Obviously some of it must be based in fact since Mina does exist. Dracula was killed in that year, but his death was short lived. He was resurrected about a year later and the spell he had over Mina returned. She left her husband and returned to the vampire. He did not turn her, but instead cursed her with a type of immortality. Some say it was magic that he used to do this. Shortly before World War One, Lilith killed Dracula. His ashes were enclosed in a silver urn and placed in the Vault of the Council of Three, the last such artifact added to the Vault before Dissolution.
